Apache plans expansion

HOUSTON: Apache Corp Chief Executive John Christmann is betting the future of his company on a remote corner of the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. oilfield, planning to spend billions of dollars in the next 20 years to drill more than 5,000 wells.

The development of the company´s Alpine High field holds ramifications for U.S. oil reserves and future output from the already prolific Permian oilfield in Texas. The region was first tapped in the 1920s. After decades of drilling, it was considered largely exhausted by the late 1990s.

But the shale revolution gave the Permian a new lease on life, and production has risen so fast it contributed to a collapse in global oil prices. Now, Apache´s efforts in a once-overlooked corner of the Permian suggest the oil field can still provide surprises. "The Permian and Alpine High are the engine behind our North American operations," Christmann said in an interview at the company´s headquarters. He detailed a goal of drilling more than 5,000 Alpine High wells, up from 2,000 to 3,000 when the discovery was announced last year.