Chevron is arguably the best of the integrated super-major oil companies. For the past 20 years, Chevron has delivered superior returns to shareholders, outperforming the S&P 500 for most of that period. The past five years have been an anomaly as the plunge in oil prices caused performance to lag, but Chevron still outperformed its peers during that period. I have learned to trust Chevron’s management. However, I had some reservations about Chevron’s agreement to acquire Anadarko at a nearly 40 percent premium. The deal was great for Anadarko shareholders. Analysts at Robert W. Baird recently ranked Anadarko 48 out of 50 oil producers in the Delaware portion of the Permian by average revenues per well. Baird analysts noted last month that Anadarko “has consistently ranked as one of the worst productivity per well companies in the Delaware.” The company hasn’t generated annual positive free cash flow since 2014. […]