Apache builds acreage position around Beryl in North Sea
Nov. 2, 2012
Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) has been awarded 11 new licenses as operator under the UK’s 27th offshore licensing round.
Offshore staff
HOUSTON – Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) has been awarded 11 new licenses as operator under the UK’s 27th offshore licensing round. The company also gained an interest in a non-operated license.
The awards cover 19 full or part-blocks. Apache has agreed to drill six wells and acquire a new 3D seismic survey.
“This…will provide avenues for continued growth near our major producing assets as well as high-potential exploration targets in the Central Graben area of the North Sea,” said James L. House, vice president and managing director of Apache’s North Sea region.
“We obtained all of the available acreage around ourBeryl field plus a key license near the Forties field.”
House added that the economic prospectivity of these areas was enhanced by recent changes to theUK’s tax allowance schemes for small and high-pressure/high-temperature fields.
Apache plans to acquire its third 4D seismic survey over the Forties area next year and complete the remaining 560 sq km (216 sq mi) of a new 1,500-sq km (579-sq mi) 3D survey in the Beryl area that started this summer. This will be the first new 3D activity over the Beryl complex since 1997, when ExxonMobil was operator.
