Occidental Petroleum snatched up some of the richest shale oilfields in Texas when it beat out rival Chevron Corp in a bidding war to acquire Anadarko Petroleum. It also quadrupled its debt – to $40 billion – at a time when investors are calling for spending cuts and higher dividends. That means the acquisition’s success will depend on how quickly Occidental can sell off some of Anadarko’s assets and focus on optimizing and integrating the assets it keeps – especially prime U.S. shale fields. Shedding debt will require selling assets when deals have been sluggish, said bankers and merger specialists. The number of U.S. deals has fallen to lows not seen in five years or more as investor demands for capital discipline have driven buyers from the market, […]