Apache Corporation says that its Ewing Banks 998 #1 discovery test-flowed 4,254 barrels of oil and 5.4 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The well will be connected to existing facilities using a subsea tie-back with first production expected during the first quarter of 2010.

Apache owns a 50-percent interest in the discovery, which is located in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 150 miles southwest of New Orleans in water about 1,000 feet deep. Walter Oil & Gas Corporation is the operator and owns the remaining 50 percent. The well was drilled to a measured depth of 14,538 feet and tested on an interval between 14,352 and 14,400 feet.

"Apache acquired this block and another block in the immediate area via a joint venture with Walter because of similarities in the amplitudes, identified on three-dimensional seismic, with those found at Apache's Ewing Banks 826 field," said Jon Jeppesen, senior vice president of Apache's Gulf Coast Region.

Apache has completed eight wells at Ewing Banks 826 and increased production from 700 barrels per day in 2007 to a current rate of 5,300 barrels and 12.9 MMcf per day. Apache, which owns a 100-percent working interest in the block, is continuing the drilling program.

Tags: Apache Corporation