HOUSTON, May 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Apache
Corporation (NYSE, Nasdaq: APA) said today two recent hydrocarbon
discoveries illustrate the continuing reserve upside to be found
across the company's 6.8 million gross acres in Egypt's Western Desert.
- The Herunefer-1X discovery, located in the Matruh Basin in the
eastern portion of Khalda Offset Concession, encountered pay in the
Alamein, Alam El Buieb-6 (AEB), Masajid, Upper Safa and Lower Safa
formations. Tests from the Lower Safa and Upper Safa intervals
flowed at a combined rate of 49 million cubic feet (MMcf) of gas
and 7,700 barrels of condensate per day. The estimated cost to
drill and complete the well was $6
million.
- The BAT-1X discovery, located in the northern Shushan Basin in
the Khepri-Sethos Development Lease, tested at a rate of 31 MMcf of
gas and 390 barrels of condensate per day from a thick Paleozoic
Shiffah sandstone interval. The well, which was drilled to a total
depth of 15,555 feet, also encountered pay in the Cretaceous Upper
Bahariya, Lower Bahariya, Alamein, AEB-3C and AEB-3D formations.
The estimated cost to drill and complete the well was $5.25 million.
Both discoveries were drilled by Khalda Petroleum Company, an
Apache-operated joint venture with the Egyptian General Petroleum
Company. Apache operates in Egypt
in partnership with Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and
Production Corporation, which owns a one-third interest in Apache's
Egypt oil and gas business. The
Apache-Sinopec partnership has a 100-percent contractor interest in
both fields.
"Herunefer-1X is the first of a series of exploration wells
planned for the Matruh Basin area this year," said Thomas M. Maher, Apache Egypt Region vice
president. "The basin remains an attractive focus area for
exploration and development and has been relatively
under-explored. We have identified a number of untested
structural features, and trends have been mapped and identified,
with the potential for stacked targets and high-condensate-yield
gas objectives."
Apache plans to construct a new, 7.5-mile (14 km) pipeline that
will connect to the existing transportation grid at the Jade area
manifold. From Jade, the production can be delivered to
either the Salam or Tarek gas plants.
"BAT-1X is a potentially large discovery and the latest in
Apache's pursuit of stratigraphic traps and Paleozoic subcrop
plays," Maher said. "Our understanding of this play concept has
evolved since the 2007 Hydra Field discovery. We now recognize that
these traps and subcrop plays were key geologic elements in more
than 20 previous Western Desert field discoveries."
Apache plans to drill several trend exploration wells in 2014 to
evaluate and appraise the BAT discovery. Alternatives for
delivering the production to market are under evaluation.
Additional production facilities were installed at the Hydra
Field during the first quarter. The field is currently producing
180 MMcf of gas and 8,600 barrels of condensate per day from six
wells. One additional well was recently completed and is being
connected to production facilities.
About Apache
Apache Corporation is an oil and gas exploration and production
company with operations in the United
States, Canada,
Egypt, the United Kingdom and Australia. Apache posts announcements,
operational updates, investor information and copies of all press
releases on its website, www.apachecorp.com, and on its Media and
Investor Center mobile application, which is available for free
download from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
Forward-looking statements
This news release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified
by words such as "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "seeks,"
"believes," "estimates," "expects," and similar references to
future periods. These statements include, but are not limited to,
statements about future plans, expectations, and objectives for
Apache's operations, including statements about drilling plans and
production expectations in Egypt.
While forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and
analyses made by us that we believe to be reasonable under the
circumstances, whether actual results and developments will meet
our expectations and predictions depend on a number of risks and
uncertainties which could cause our actual results, performance,
and financial condition to differ materially from our expectations.
See "Risk Factors" in our 2013 Form 10-K filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission for a discussion of risk factors that
affect our business. Any forward-looking statement made by us in
this news release speaks only as of the date on which it is made.
Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may
emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict
all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future development, or otherwise, except as may be required by
law.
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SOURCE Apache Corporation