By Everdeen Mason
Apache Corp. (APA) said severe winter storms and power outages
hurt its oil and gas production in the fourth quarter, as the
recent divestiture of some assets also reduced volumes.
The oil and gas producer said power outages in late November and
early December, as well as icy roads, offset new production at its
Permian Basin operations in West Texas and New Mexico. Apache
expects a production increase of about 1,000 barrels of oil
equivalent a day for the Permian Basin from the third quarter's
131,700 barrels. That marks an increase from last year's production
of 117,900 barrels a day.
In the company's central region, which includes the Texas
Panhandle and Western Oklahoma, severe weather and downtime issues
disrupted operations. Additionally, the company reduced drilling
operations to 25 rigs from 31 in the previous quarter. As a result,
Apache posted a slight decrease in oil and gas production in the
fourth quarter from the third quarter's 94,800 barrels of oil
equivalent a day.
Apache said it estimates a reduction in oil and gas volume after
selling its stake in a business in Egypt, its Gulf of Mexico shelf
operations, and some of its Canadian assets. The company estimates
its production will fall by 134,000 barrels a day after the sale of
its Egypt business alone.
The exploration and production company last year exceeded its $4
billion target for asset sales, part of a plan to shore up its
balance sheet after years of acquisitions.
Apache shares closed at $84.44 Wednesday and were inactive
premarket. The stock is down 6.4% in the past three months.
Write to Everdeen Mason at everdeen.mason@wsj.com
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