Umbarka-174 tests 4,300 barrels per day from AEB-3D sand HOUSTON, July 30
HOUSTON, July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apache Corporation
(NYSE, Nasdaq: APA) reported today that the Heqet-2 appraisal well in Egypt's
Greater Khalda area is producing approximately 2,100 barrels of oil per day
from the Jurassic Safa formation.
Apache also said the Umbarka-174 well tested approximately 4,300 barrels
of oil per day from 46 feet of perforations in the Alam El Bueib (AEB) 3D sand
in a 40-year-old field also located in the Greater Khalda area.
The Heqet-2 was drilled to a total depth of 14,700 feet, about one-half
mile from the Heqet-1 discovery drilled in the Faghur Basin in 1991. The new
well is about 66 miles southwest of Apache's large Qasr gas and condensate
field and 66 miles east of the Libyan border.
"Using improvements in fracture stimulation technology, we have turned a
marginally economic play into a potentially significant oil accumulation. We
are planning four wildcats targeting Jurassic oil pools in the Heqet and Neith
South areas, and we are studying other ways to increase productivity through
fracture stimulation," said G. Steven Farris, Apache's president and chief
executive officer. "Heqet-2 is a good example of the opportunities to be found
across Apache's 15 million acres in Egypt."
The Heqet Safa oil accumulation is estimated to be about 835 acres. The
prospective area of the Jurassic oil play fairway associated with the Faghur
Basin is estimated to comprise approximately 830 square miles, mostly within
Apache-operated concessions.
Oil produced in Heqet Field and nearby Kalabsha and Neith Fields is found
in Jurassic-aged sands below 14,000 feet that were sourced from nearby
Jurassic-aged shales and coals buried within the Faghur Basin. The Faghur
Basin has much cooler temperatures than the Shushan Basin, the location of the
Jurassic Qasr field, Apache's largest field; thus, a large portion of the
Faghur Basin is oil-bearing, as opposed to the hotter-temperature, gas-bearing
Shushan Basin.
The Umbarka-174 was drilled to a total depth of 11,306 feet to develop
AEB-3D reserves in an independent three-way fault closure of approximately
150 acres located northeast of the Umbarka field's main AEB-3D accumulation.
Apache is planning to drill five additional AEB wells in the Umbarka area.
The Umbarka field, which was discovered in 1968, has produced a total of
33 million barrels of oil. Since taking over operation in March 2001, Apache
has drilled 137 wells in the field and increased production from about 1,100
barrels of oil per day from five wells to the current level of 15,000 barrels
per day. A waterflood development of approximately 7,300 acres in the Upper
Bahariya formation produces approximately 70 percent of the field's current
output.
Apache Corporation is a large independent oil and gas exploration and
production company with operations in the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom North Sea, Egypt, Australia and Argentina.
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 including, without limitation, expectations, beliefs, plans
and objectives regarding production and exploration activities. Any matters
that are not historical facts are forward-looking and, accordingly, involve
estimates, assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation,
risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed in our 2007 Form 10-K and on
our Web site, http://www.apachecorp.com. There is no assurance that Apache's
expectations will be realized, and actual results may differ materially from
those expressed in the forward-looking statements. We assume no duty to
update these statements as of any future date.
APA-EG
SOURCE Apache Corporation
