HOUSTON, Jan. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Apache Corporation (NYSE, Nasdaq: APA) announced today that downtime caused by severe winter storms and outages at third-party owned infrastructure adversely affected the company's oil and gas production from its Permian Basin and Central Region operations during the fourth-quarter 2013. The company experienced widespread power outages primarily in West Texas and New Mexico in late November and early December, with icy road conditions contributing to delays in immediately resuming operations. In addition, in the Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma, Apache temporarily reduced drilling activity in its Central Region during the quarter as part of a capital discipline program.

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Fourth-quarter volumes will also reflect recent divestitures by Apache, including the sale of a one-third minority participation in its Egypt oil and gas business that closed on Nov. 14, divestment of its Gulf of Mexico Shelf operations that closed on Sept. 30, and the sales of selected Canadian assets, which closed in late September and mid October.

Permian Region impact

Apache estimates that the combination of downtime and pipeline outages caused from severe weather in its Permian Region somewhat offset new production added through its drilling program. As a result, a production increase of approximately 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) or more is expected for the Permian in the fourth-quarter 2013 compared with the third-quarter 2013, when the region averaged 131,700 boepd. This represents an increase over the fourth-quarter 2012, in which the region averaged 117,900 boepd.

Central Region impact

Severe weather and downtime issues also caused disruptions to company operations in the Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma. Capital discipline resulted in a scaling back from 31 drilling rigs in the third quarter to 25 in the fourth. The combination of unusually severe weather, pipeline outages and reduced drilling in the Central Region resulted in a slight decrease in production for the fourth-quarter 2013 compared with third-quarter 2013, when the region averaged 94,800 boepd. This represents an increase over the fourth-quarter 2012, in which the region averaged 79,300 boepd.

Asset divestiture impact

Quarter over quarter, Apache anticipates asset sale volumes will reflect an approximate 134,000 boepd reduction in total production volumes from the third quarter when adjusting for amounts attributable to the sale of a one-third, non-controlling partnership interest in Apache's Egypt oil and gas operations. For reference, the Gulf of Mexico Shelf averaged 91,200 boepd and Egypt averaged 147,700 boepd of production during the third-quarter 2013. The Canadian properties that were sold averaged approximately 18,000 boepd during the third-quarter 2013.

About Apache

Apache Corporation is an oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Canada, Egypt, the United Kingdom, Australia and Argentina. Apache posts announcements, operational updates, investor information and copies of all press releases on its website, www.apachecorp.com.

Forward-looking statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "believes," "estimates," "expects" and similar references to future periods. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future plans, expectations, and objectives for Apache's operations, including statements about our drilling plans, production expectations, and production estimates for the fourth-quarter 2013. While forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by us that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, whether actual results and developments will meet our expectations and predictions depend on a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results, performance, and financial condition to differ materially from our expectations. See "Risk Factors" in our 2012 Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of risk factors that affect our business. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this news release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future development, or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

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SOURCE Apache Corporation