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ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is testing the waters for a potential $1 billion asset sale in Oklahoma, offloading legacy oil and gas fields it picked up from its $22.5 billion Marathon Oil acquisition. The assets, located in the Anadarko Basin and producing around 39,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, are drawing interestespecially from players betting big on natural gas demand, driven by power-hungry data centers. Moelis & Co is running the sale process, but talks are still early, and a deal isn't guaranteed.
This move fits neatly into ConocoPhillips' broader game plan. The company took on $5.4 billion in debt with the Marathon deal and committed to shedding $2 billion in non-core assets. It's already halfway there, with over $1 billion sold since the deal closed last November. Shedding these Oklahoma holdings would bring ConocoPhillips closer to its leaner, more strategic footprintdoubling down on growth areas like the Permian, Eagle Ford, and Bakken, where it now holds a stronger hand.
Why the Anadarko assets? It's the gas. With data centers expected to guzzle more power, producers see natural gas as a key growth engine. That makes ConocoPhillips' Oklahoma fieldsroughly half gas outputmore attractive in a shifting energy market. If demand stays on track, this could be the kind of portfolio cleanup that sharpens focus while cashing in on future-facing trends.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.