Apache Corp., Houston, has reduced its 2020 capital investment plan to $1.0-1.2 billion from a previous range of $1.6-1.9 billion and will reduce its Permian rig count to zero in the coming weeks, limiting exposure to short-cycle oil projects, the company said Mar. 12. The company had previously planned to run 5-6 rigs in the region this year.
Activity reductions are also planned in Egypt and the North Sea. In Suriname, following the conclusion of operations at the Sapakara West-1 exploration well in Block 58, Apache will proceed, as planned, to a third exploration prospect.
The company said it will reduce its quarterly dividend per share to $0.025 from $0.25 and use the $340 million of cash retained annually from the dividend reduction to strengthen its financial position. Apache has an undrawn revolver of $4 billion and $937 million of bonds maturing between February 2021 and January 2023.
In early March the company said it expected to deliver flat to low single-digit total company oil production growth on an adjusted basis in 2020 with its original upstream oil and gas capital spending program, which, at the midpoint, represented a 26% reduction from 2019 (OGJ Online, Mar. 2, 2020).