This might be the most bearish statement yet from an oil CEO

In a cautious and prudent display of corporate strategy, Anadarkos CEOannounced that his company would not seek to expand its holdings unless and until it becomes profitable to do so.The Texas-based company has a market cap of $34 billion, and operates in the Gulf of Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, as well as a few locations around the world. It produced about 787,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the third quarter.Not overstretching is a logical strategy, but flies in the face of the aggressive growth strategy typically taken by companies looking to expand during a downturn by scooping up smaller players.Anadarkos Al WalkerPresident, Chairman and CEOtold investors on a conference call that he would be more careful. Growth will not be rewarded in this environment, and focusing on building and preserving value is more important at this time.Behind Walkers thinking is a rather pessimistic view of the state of the oil markets. For companies thinking that a rebound is likely at some point in the foreseeable future, growing by acquiring new assets often makes sense.But Anadarko sees oil prices remaining low. As such, the company will continue to cut costs, keep spending at levels that can be covered by cash flow, slowing decline at existing fields, and maybe even selling off more assets.In the third quarter, Anadarko had a rough go of it. The company took a $2.6 billion impairment charge, and posted a $2.2 billion net loss.But Walker also sees a bright side: drilling efficiencies have allowed costs to come down by about 15 percent. When we see value in pursuing growth, well be prepared to accelerate activity.The EIA reported that crude oil inventories jumped once again this week, rising by 3.4 million barrels to 480 million barrels. The number is closing in on the high reached earlier this year of 490 million barrels, and remains near 80-year highs.That bodes ill for oil prices in the near-term. Rising storage suggests an increase in oil prices may not be just around the corner.Anadarkos strategybuckling down, cutting costs, bringing spending in line with cash flow, and not pursuing relentless growth at this timemay be a practical one.SEE ALSO:Shell's scrapped oil sands project highlights a major problem for CanadaJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: There's a hidden wire stretched above American cities ' and few people know what it's for
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