The company, which plans to drill its first deep sea oil and gas exploration well in the Canterbury Basin 65km off Otago's coast during the 2013-14 summer, was only in the early exploration phase of operations, director of external communications Alan Seay said.
Any successful exploration would be followed by a field appraisal and development phase, and it was usually years before a site reached the production phase.
However, it was important to start engaging the community in the meantime because oil exploration was new in the area, and many people did not know what it involved.
Company representatives are in the city this week to talk to various groups about their plans.
The company was not talking at this stage about what economic benefit there would be for the city from a significant strike, and would not be in a position to quantify anything until at least after exploration was completed, Mr Seay said.
"All we can say is that in other parts of the world, where we have had strikes, there has been major economic benefit."
Anadarko had seen a two-page advertisement placed in the ODT yesterday by the Otago Chamber of Commerce welcoming the company to the city, and felt it reflected the tenor of conversations the company had been having with Dunedin groups over the years.
"It is very encouraging to see that sentiment expressed."
Anadarko was looking at several places for a base if there was a significant strike in the Canterbury Basin, but at this stage Dunedin made the most sense.
The advertisement featured the banners of 155 companies and names of seven city councillors who supported the chamber's welcome message.
One of those, Cr John Bezett, said he added his name to the chamber's advertisement because there otherwise was a "dearth" of leadership in welcoming the company to the city.
He felt the council was not taking a strong enough lead in laying out the welcome mat, especially on something that so clearly sat well with the city's economic development strategy, which all councillors signed off last week.
"I think it is important at this stage to show support for them and to welcome them.
"We should all be concerned about them."
Cr Colin Weatherall disagreed, and said he felt Mayor Dave Cull's multiple meetings with the company were evidence the council welcomed the company, but said he was on the list because he wanted Anadarko to be aware councillors were open to things that would benefit residents.
Mr Cull said the city council was approached about adding its banner to the advertisement, but the chief executive declined on the basis it was not clear what exactly was being endorsed at that stage, and there was no official council position on the matter.
The issue of general council support or otherwise for Anadarko and the promotion of the city as support base had never come before the council, nor had it been discussed by councillors, Mr Cull said.
He was not sure if it ever would, but councillors could bring up anything they wanted to at council meetings.
It was possible, in the case of an oil or gas strike, that the company would have to apply for consent for land-based activities, at which stage a panel of councillors would have to consider that application.
Council staff had for some time been promoting Dunedin to overseas companies as a shore base for oil and gas exploration and exploitation, and he had narrated a promotional video the council had made and sent to companies, he said.
Mr Cull had also met Anadarko representatives four times.
He said he believed direct contact was the most appropriate way for the mayor and the council to interact and engage with important multinational companies.
"I'm not sure what more we could do."
