HOUSTON, July 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apache Corporation (NYSE,
Nasdaq: APA) announced today that the Julimar East-1 exploratory/appraisal
well on Australia's Northwest Shelf logged 224 feet of net gas pay in six
sandstone reservoirs of the Triassic Mungaroo formation.
Julimar East-1 was drilled 3.6 miles northeast of the April 2007
Julimar-1 discovery, which encountered 132 feet of net gas in four zones.
Production tests on two zones in the discovery flowed at a combined rate of
85 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day, precluding the need for further
testing of the Julimar East-1.
Three of the six intersected pay zones in Julimar East-1 are
stratigraphically equivalent to gas bearing reservoirs in the Julimar-1
well. The well will be suspended as a future production well.
"With 70 percent more net pay than the initial discovery, the Julimar
East-1 well strengthens our belief that the ultimate recoverable reserves
in the Julimar complex could exceed 1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf)," said G.
Steven Farris, Apache's president and chief executive officer. "Julimar is
one of a number of high-potential exploration plays and prospects Apache
has matured in our core growth areas of Australia, Canada and Egypt."
The Sedco 703 rig used to drill the Julimar East-1 will next drill
Rosella, another 1 Tcf-potential gas prospect located approximately 3.6
miles southwest of the John Brookes Field, which currently is producing 250
MMcf per day of gas from three wells (138 MMcf per day net to Apache). John
Brookes, with ultimate reserves projected to exceed 1 Tcf, is Apache's
largest Australian gas field.
The Julimar complex is located on the 239,440-acre WA356P block, where
Apache owns a 65-percent interest. The latest well was drilled to a total
vertical depth of 13,517 feet in 561 feet of water approximately 87 miles
from the Australian coast. Two additional exploratory wells -- Brunello-1
and Julimar Northwest-1 are planned to further appraise the Julimar complex
during 2007.
The Julimar complex is on trend with other significant Mungaroo fields,
including the multi-Tcf West Tryal Rocks, Pluto and Gorgon fields.
Western Australia's gas market has strengthened recently, with
short-term gas contracts in excess of US$5 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf),
substantially above historic price realizations of US$1.75 per Mcf.
Apache Corporation is a large oil and gas independent 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 2006 Form 10-K and on our website. 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-AU
SOURCE Apache Corporation
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