The Kerr-McGee Corporation (NYSE: KMG) is an energy company involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas resources.

The company, founded in 1929, has about 11.4 billion U.S. dollars in assets as of 3/31/2006.

The current CEO is Luke R. Corbett.

On June 23, 2006, Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation agreed to acquire Kerr-McGee in an all-cash transaction totaling $16.4 billion. Pending shareholder and regulatory approval, the purchase is expected to close by the end of the third quarter (9/30/2006). As a result, the company name will cease to exist and all operations will move out of the State of Oklahoma, where Kerr-McGee employs approximately 200 people at its Oklahoma City headquarters.

History

Kerr-McGee was initially focused in mostly off-shore oil exploration and production, being one of the first companies to use drillships in the Gulf of Mexico, and later one of the first companies to use an FPSO type platform in the area. With the acquisition of the Oryx Energy Company of Dallas, Texas in 1999, Kerr-McGee gained more onshore assets, as well as significant assets in several foreign areas, most notably Algeria and western Kazakhstan. Later acquisitions of HS Resources and Westport established the base of operations in Denver, Colorado and added large resource areas throughout the Rocky Mountains.

Until 2005, Kerr-McGee had two major divisions: chemical and oil-related. On November 21, 2005, the chemical division of the company, based in Oklahoma City, was sold off by IPO as Tronox, thereby making Oklahoma City home to only the administrative side of Kerr-McGee, while all exploration and production management is located in Denver and Houston.