Apache Bolsters North Sea Production, Seeks More Assets.

Oil Daily, The, June, 2004 by Deborah Kelly

LONDON -- Houston-based independent Apache has ramped up oil production at its North Sea Forties field to more than 60,000 barrels of oil per day, but opportunities to acquire more North Sea assets are few and far between, according to John Crum, managing director of the company's North Sea unit.

"We set a new production record of 60,964 b/d on Wednesday," Crum said of the Forties asset, which Apache acquired from BP in 2003. Production had been disrupted by maintenance work, but Crum said the company is gradually working its way through the repair program.

"We knew what we were taking on," said Crum, speaking at a conference in London on Thursday. "We are making the investment because we want the field to last for another 30 years." Forties has estimated...