Apache Corp. plans to drill 120 wells in 2007 in Argentina, where its early-year production averaged 11,000 b/d of oil and 200 MMcfd of gas.
The company holds 2.5 million acres onshore in the Cuyo, Neuquen, San Jorge, and Austral basins.
The 2007 plan calls for shooting more than 2,000 sq km of 3D seismic surveys in the Austral basin in Tierra del Fuego, where 21 of the wells will be drilled. Two rigs will work there in the second quarter.
The company also expressed interest in exploring to the west in Chilean part of Tierra del Fuego, where a licensing round may be in prospect.
Overall, Apache will shift $500 million-adjusted from $600 million estimated in February-of its preliminary $4.1 billion 2007 exploration and production budget away from North America because of rising costs and the maturing of US fields. Instead, the company will spend those funds mainly on its existing projects Australia and Egypt.