Apache to speed up first oil from North Sea discovery

Houston-based oil and gas company Apache plans to accelerate initial production from its Garten discovery located in the UK North Sea.

In its financial report for the third quarter 2018 published on Wednesday Apache said it would fast-track first production from the Garten discovery from the first quarter 2019 to fourth quarter 2018 to achieve first oil only eight months after the discovery.

Apache announced the Garten oil discovery on Block 9/18a Area-W in the UK sector of the North Sea in March 2018 and initially planned to start production in the first quarter of 2019.

The Garten discovery well targeted a downthrown structural closure and encountered more than 700 feet of net oil pay in stacked, high quality Jurassic-aged sandstone reservoirs. The discovery marked Apache’s fourth commercial discovery in the Beryl area in the past three years.

The Garten well will be tied back to the Beryl Alpha platform, which is located six kilometers from the discovery.

According to Apache’s statement from March, recoverable resource was expected to exceed 10 million barrels of light oil, which was at the high end of predrill estimates. Apache has a 100 percent working interest in the Garten block.

When it comes to its financial performance in 3Q 2018, Apache reported earnings of $81 million compared to $63 million in the prior-year quarter. The company’s revenues for 3Q 2018 increased to $1.98 billion from $1.58 billion in the same period last year.

Offshore Energy Today Staff