APA Apache Corporation

By Tess Stynes 

The chief executive of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said the oil-and-gas company recently made a preliminary offer for rival Apache Corp. but has since withdrawn it.

Anadarko CEO Al Walker said in prepared remarks Wednesday that the Houston oil-and-gas exploration and production company's efforts to reach a mutually acceptable confidentiality agreement with Apache to explore a possible deal were rejected, and no substantial talks took place.

An Apache spokesman wasn't immediately available to comment. The company had a market value of about $20 billion as of Tuesday's close.

Apache shares dropped 6.2% to $50 in recent premarket trading, while Anadarko shares rose 2.7% to $65.10.

Mr. Walker said the company was unwilling to pursue the transaction without access to detailed non-public information and said its analysis suggests Apache appears to trade at or near full value.

Apache last week raised its full-year production guidance and reported a loss that wasn't as deep as analysts had expected for the September quarter. However, the bottom line was hurt by billions of dollars in write-downs driven by low commodities prices.

Like many other U.S. energy companies hurt by tanking commodities prices, Apache has cut back on drilling rigs and has been delaying well completions.

For its part, Anadarko last month reported that it swung to a $2.24 billion loss in its third quarter amid hefty write-downs and a drop in revenue.

The Houston-based oil-and-gas exploration and production company has been hurt by the tumble in crude prices over the past 15 months.

Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 11, 2015 09:15 ET (14:15 GMT)

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