Apache

Clay Bretches has been appointed CEO of Permian Basin pure-play Altus Midstream Co., formed in 2018 by Apache Corp. and Kayne Anderson Corp. Bretches also will serve as Apache senior vice president (SVP) of U.S. midstream operations. Brian Freed, who has been Altus CEO since its inception, will continue as Apache SVP, midstream and marketing. Bretches previously was CEO of Sendero Midstream and served in various leadership roles at Anadarko Petroleum Corp. He holds a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in business from The University of Texas at Austin.

Apache Corp. has raised its full-year production guidance following a solid performance in the third quarter, propelled yet again by Alpine High development in the Permian Basin, where natural gas volumes climbed 86% from a year ago.

Apache Corp.’s foray into the sparse patch of West Texas set off no alarm bells when exploration a few years ago began in earnest, a part of the Permian Basin long considered too geologically complex to develop. Unearthing Alpine High in 2016 has changed perceptions.

ExxonMobil Corp., one of the biggest leaseholders and producers in the Permian Basin, signed a letter of intent to take capacity on the proposed Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP) Project, designed to carry up to 2 Bcf/d to the Texas coast and beyond.

Houston-based Apache Corp. and Kayne Anderson Acquisition Corp. (KAAC) late Wednesday agreed to form a pure-play Permian Basin midstream operator to hold substantially all of Apache’s gathering, processing and transportation assets in the No. 1 prospect Alpine High.

Driven by record production from the Permian Basin, including a near-70% increase in natural gas output from No. 1 prospect Alpine High, Apache Corp. is boosting its capital spending this year by $400 million to $3.4 billion.

A Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) subsidiary is proposing a partnership with a Blackstone Energy Partners unit and Apache Corp. to build a second natural gas system from the Permian Basin to markets along the Texas coast and potentially into Mexico.

Apache Corp., which is working to secure takeaway options for its surging Alpine High project in West Texas, has inked a long-term agreement that gives Enterprise Products Partners LP 100% of the liquids production.

An Apache Corp. subsidiary and ARM Energy Holdings LLC said Monday that Salt Creek Midstream LLC is developing a 445,000 b/d natural gas liquids (NGL) header system in West Texas to serve growing production in the Permian Basin’s Delaware formation.