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Apache confirms significant new resource play in Texas: 75 Tcf gas, 3B barrels of oil

Apache Corporation has confirmed the discovery of a significant new resource play—the “Alpine High”—in the southern portion of the Delaware Basin, primarily in Reeves County, Texas. The company estimates hydrocarbons in place on its acreage position are 75 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of rich gas (more than 1,300 British Thermal Units) and 3 billion barrels of oil in the Barnett and Woodford formations alone. Apache also sees significant oil potential in the shallower Pennsylvanian, Bone Springs and Wolfcamp formations.

Apache put more than two years of extensive geologic and geophysical work, methodical acreage accumulation, and strategic testing and delineation drilling into confirming the resource.

Key highlights of the discovery:

  • Alpine High has 4,000 to 5,000 feet of stacked pay in up to five distinct formations including the Bone Springs, Wolfcamp, Pennsylvanian, Barnett and Woodford.

  • 2,000 to more than 3,000 future drilling locations have been identified in the Woodford and Barnett formations alone. These formations are in the wet gas window and are expected to deliver a combination of rich gas and oil.

  • Initial estimates for the Woodford and Barnett zones indicate a pretax, net present value (NPV) range of $4 million to $20 million per well, at benchmark oil and natural gas prices of $50 per barrel and $3 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), respectively. Expected well costs in development mode for a 4,100 foot lateral are estimated to be approximately $4 million per well in normally pressured settings and $6 million per well in over-pressured settings.

  • Apache has drilled 19 wells in the play, with nine currently producing in limited quantities due to infrastructure constraints. This includes six wells in the Woodford, one well in the Barnett and one well each in the shallower Wolfcamp and Bone Springs oil formations.

  • Apache has secured 307,000 contiguous net acres (352,000 gross acres) at an attractive average cost of approximately $1,300 per acre.

To accelerate the delineation and development of the Alpine High play, Apache is increasing its 2016 capital spending by approximately $200 million for the year and raising its full-year capital guidance to approximately $2 billion. Capital spending on the Alpine High play in 2016 will represent more than 25% of Apache’s total capital spending program.

Comments

gorr

Way better than battery and hydrogen. Put that for sale near where i live at a better price than actual petrol and i might buy the minimum possible because i own a small car and i hypermile it the best i can.

HarveyD

A few more like this one (together with more HEVs, BEVs, PHEVs and FCEVs) could replace ALL imported Oil and reduce the need for future oil wars?

Engineer-Poet

3 billion bbl @ 20 million bbl/day (rough level of US consumption) = 150 days.

HarveyD

Current USA's fossil + biofuel production is not ZERO.

Of course, the current 20 million bbl/day consumption is about twice (2X) current production level but will drop progressively with the arrival of electrified vehicles and more efficient (35+ gpm) ICEVs. Norway has already switched (13%) to electrified units. Japan is not that far behind. USA will/may catch up by 2025 or so, unless........ ?

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