Arco to Buy Oil, Gas Fields in Five States

Atlantic Richfield on Wednesday agreed to purchase oil and gas properties in five states from a subsidiary of Reichhold Chemical for an undisclosed amount of cash.

Analysts said the properties in California, Kansas, Missouri, Oregon and Washington were small but productive. Charles Rose, a chemical industry analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. in New York, said the properties were worth “no more than $100 million and perhaps well under that.”

Los Angeles-based Arco confirmed that the purchase “did not involve a significant amount of cash.” Reichhold said it expected to close the deal Sept. 30.

The sale involves 113,000 acres of mostly natural gas fields. Reichhold said the fields contain reserves totaling about 7 billion cubic feet of gas and oil equivalent--a tiny fraction of Arco’s total gas reserves.

Arco said it bought the properties because it holds leases on nearby properties in Washington, Oregon and California, including a 50% share in a northwest Oregon gas field owned by Reichhold Energy, the Reichhold Chemical subsidiary involved in the transaction.

“These are known producing properties for us,” said an Arco spokesman.

Reichhold Chemical, based in White Plains, N.Y., has disposed of 18 businesses since 1982 as part of a restructuring effort. It decided to sell the energy subsidiary after it closed its St. Helens, Ore., ammonia and urea plant in April. The energy company was founded in 1975.