Apache, Total make 'significant' oil discovery off South American coast
Apache shares were on track for their biggest gain since September 1973
Apache Corporation and Total S.A. have made a “significant” oil discovery off the coast of Suriname – the second in the region in less than a month.
Shares of Houston-based Apache soared on the news and were on track for their biggest daily gain since September 1973. Paris-based Total was little changed.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APA | APA CORP. | 32.07 | -0.40 | -1.23% |
| TOT | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
“Preliminary formation evaluation data indicates the potential for prolific oil wells,” Apache CEO and President John Christmann said in a statement about the discovery at the Maka Central-1 well. “Additionally, the size of the stratigraphic feature, as defined by 3-D seismic imaging, suggests a substantial resource.”
Apache and Total, which each hold a 50 percent stake in the well, do not yet know how much oil is located at the well.
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Block 58, where the well is located, comprises 1.4 million acres and has “significant potential beyond the discovery at Maka Central,” Christmann said.
The finding was made less than a month after rival ExxonMobil announced a discovery in neighboring Guyana which could yield as many as 6 billion barrels of oil and gas.
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Apache shares fell 2.5 percent in 2019 while Total was up 6.5 percent.