Apache 2Q Earnings Buoyed by Record Production

- Apache 2Q Earnings Buoyed by Record Production

Thursday, August 04, 2011
Apache Corp.

Apache reported production of 749,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day and earnings of $1.2 billion, or $3.17 per diluted share, for the three-month period ending June 30, 2011. These compare with production of 647,000 boe per day and net income of $860 million, or $2.53 per diluted share, for the same period in the prior year.

"Apache had an outstanding quarter with record production in oil, gas, and natural gas liquids," said G. Steven Farris, chairman and chief executive officer. "This reflects the scale and balance of our portfolio, which comes from diversity across geographic regions, gas and liquids production, and a constant focus on rate of return. We're realizing additional value from last year's acquisitions and pursuing opportunities for future growth at both our legacy assets and in new areas."

The combination of higher oil prices and record production levels resulted in record quarterly revenues for second quarter 2011. Oil and gas revenues were $4.4 billion, a 47 percent increase from revenues of $3.0 billion for the same period last year. Cash from operations before changes in operating assets and liabilities* also were a quarterly record at $2.6 billion, up 44 percent from the prior year's $1.8 billion. Excluding certain items that management believes affect the comparability of operating results, Apache reported adjusted earnings* of $1.3 billion in second quarter 2011 compared with $834 million in the year-earlier period. On a per-share basis, adjusted earnings were $3.22 in the second quarter compared with $2.46 per diluted share in the prior-year period.

Liquid hydrocarbons represented 49 percent of production and 78 percent of revenues. Apache benefited from higher oil prices for its international production indexed to Dated Brent benchmarks, as well as sweet crudes from the Gulf of Mexico, which continue to receive a meaningful premium per barrel compared with production benchmarked to West Texas Intermediate prices.

On the operational and commercial front, the company has achieved several recent milestones. These include:

• Successful bidder on nearly 515,000 acres in onshore and offshore state leases at Alaska's Cook Inlet. The company now has approximately 800,000 acres of prospective land in the region, and a seismic survey for the area is planned over the next 12-18 months.
• Signing of a long-term sales and purchase agreement with Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Wheatstone LNG project in Western Australia. The Wheatstone partners (Apache, Chevron and a subsidiary of Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Co.) will supply TEPCO with 3.1 million metric tons per annum when the facility comes online, which will be determined at project sanction forecasted for later this year. Apache's expected net share of LNG sales to TEPCO is equivalent to approximately 58 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
• Unitization of portions from four leases at the Lucius deepwater oil and gas discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, where Apache and its partners also signed an agreement that allows for joint venture processing of gas from a nearby third-party discovery.
• Agreement to a 50-50 partnership to build additional gas processing infrastructure in the Permian Basin. A new gas processing plant will remove constraints to higher production at the Deadwood field, where Apache is currently running nearly half of its 24 rigs in the region.
• Commencement of production from Apache's most prolific development well in the Forties field (North Sea), which came online in excess of 12,500 barrels of oil per day. A second development well also completed in June came online at a daily rate of nearly 8,800 barrels of oil.
• Drilling of five new field discoveries in the Faghur basin of Egypt's Western Desert. In aggregate the wells tested at rates exceeding 12,000 barrels of oil per day and 19 million cubic feet of natural gas.

"Our regional business model is central to our value creation," Farris said. "It provides us with many ways to win -- we're not dependent on any single market or play. This results in more predictable, profitable long-term growth."

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