Anadarko plant to begin production in Uinta Basin

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the second-largest independent oil and natural-gas producer in the United States, said Wednesday that its Chapita Wells processing plant in the Uinta Basin in eastern Utah is finished, and it will begin processing gas in the next few days.

The facility adds 250 million cubic feet a day of processing capacity in the basin. A project in Wyoming's Powder River Basin has added 50 million cubic feet a day to the company's net production.

The company also increased its 2007 production forecast by 2 million barrels of oil equivalent as offshore fields ramp up. Output is expected to be the equivalent of about 193 million barrels of oil, compared with a previous forecast of 191 million barrels, The Woodlands, Texas-based company said Wednesday in a statement.

Anadarko attributed the increase to its Independence Hub project in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and gas projects in the Rocky Mountains.