Apache Corporation said recently that after more than two years of extensive geologic and geophysical work, methodical acreage accumulation and strategic testing and delineation drilling, the company can confirm the discovery of a significant new resource play, the “Alpine High.”
Apache’s Alpine High acreage lies 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 Tcf of rich gas and 3 Bbbl 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 secured 307,000 contiguous net acres (352,000 gross acres) at an average cost of approximately $1,300 per acre, the company said in a statement, adding that the Alpine High has 4,000–5,000 ft of stacked pay in up to five distinct formations including the Bone Springs, Wolfcamp, Pennsylvanian, Barnett and Woodford.
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.