Apache drills 344 wells in first quarter

Apache is setting a lively drilling pace in Canada, as natural gas production edges up while oil and natural gas liquids volumes shrink.

The company drilled 344 wells in Canada in the first quarter, of which 187 are waiting to be tied-in to gathering and processing infrastructure.

The winter program was concentrated on Zama in northwestern Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and Western Canadian properties that are part of a farm-out agreement with ExxonMobil. Gas production in Canada averaged 386 million cubic feet per day, unchanged from the final quarter of 2005, but 11 percent higher than a year earlier; oil averaged 21,691 barrels per day, down 1,586 bpd from the same period of 2005; and NGLs declined to 2,178 bpd from 2,419 bpd.

—Gary Park