Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said it plans to invest about $950 million into its operations next year in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, which spreads north and east of Denver to the state’s borders.
That’s up from about $840 million the company (NYSE: APC), one of Colorado’s biggest oil and gas companies, said in March it planned to spend in the state during 2017.
The company, based in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands, said it plans to operate an average of five drilling rigs and three fracking crews in Colorado during 2018.
The company also said it expects its oil and gas production from the basin to jump by about 30 percent next year compared to this year.
Overall, the company expects to invest $4.2 billion to $4.6 billion, with about 85 percent of that money earmarked for Colorado, the Delaware Basin in western Texas and deepwater Gulf of Mexico operations.
About $900 million has been earmarked for exploration and production operations in the Delaware basin in Texas, with an additional $500 million intended for Anadarko’s midstream operations in that area, the company said.
In 2018, Anadarko said it expects to spend about $1.1 billion in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Anadarko’s chairman, president and CEO, Al Walker, said the company and the budget are “built to succeed” in a market where oil prices are expected to swing between $45 and $60 per barrel, and natural gas prices average $3 per thousand cubic feet.