Houston Chronicle.  ConocoPhillips completed its first full year as an independent producer with a 74 percent hike in fourth-quarter earnings, driven largely by sales of overseas assets as the company turns its focus to North American shale. (Here is the 2013 fourth quarter Alaska earnings review. “The fourth quarter of 2013 is similar to what we have seen historically under ACES where we pay about twice as much in taxes as we keep,” said Bob Heinrich, vice president finance, ConocoPhillips Alaska.  “The recent oil tax reform passed by the Legislature, which [...]