HOUSTON, July 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Apache Corporation (NYSE, Nasdaq: APA) today announced that an Apache Australian subsidiary and its partners have signed long-term sales and purchase agreements with Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Chevron-operated Wheatstone Project in Western Australia.

The LNG sales agreements are binding subject to a positive final investment decision (FID) by the Wheatstone partners to proceed with the project. Front-end engineering and design of the Wheatstone Project's first phase � consisting of two processing trains with a combined capacity of approximately 8.9 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) and a domestic gas plant � is complete, and the FID is expected during the second half of 2011.

The Wheatstone partners agreed to supply TEPCO with 3.1 mtpa of LNG for up to 20 years. Through its 13-percent share in Wheatstone, Apache Julimar Pty Ltd, an Apache subsidiary, will supply 0.45 mtpa from natural gas produced at the Julimar and Brunello fields in offshore license WA-356-P.

"This agreement is an important milestone for the Wheatstone development and for the long-term relationship between Apache and TEPCO," said Janine McArdle, Apache's senior vice president of gas monetization. "World-class discoveries like Julimar and Brunello enable Apache to help meet rising demand for gas across Asia."

Apache Julimar Pty Ltd and KUFPEC Australia (Julimar) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Co. k.s.c., own a 20-percent share in the LNG facility. Apache Julimar Pty Ltd has a 65-percent interest in Julimar-Brunello and the WA-356-P partners' share of the LNG facility. Apache's expected net share of LNG sales to TEPCO is equivalent to approximately 58 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

The Apache and KUFPEC subsidiaries will develop facilities to supply gas from their Julimar and Brunello discoveries to Wheatstone. Apache is operator of the WA-356-P segment of the project. The Wheatstone onshore facilities will be located at Ashburton North near Onslow in Western Australia.

Apache Corporation is an oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Canada, Egypt, the United Kingdom North Sea, Australia and Argentina. From time to time, Apache posts announcements, updates and investor information, in addition to copies of all press releases, on its website, www.apachecorp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. � Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "believes," "estimates," "expects" and similar references to future periods. � These include statements about the expected date for a final investment decision on the Wheatstone project, development of LNG facilities, LNG marketing activities and future production and exploration prospects in Western Australia. While forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by us that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, whether actual results and developments will meet our expectations and predictions depend on a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results, performance, and financial condition to differ materially from our expectations. � See "Risk Factors" in our 2010 Form 10-K as amended by Amendment No. 1 to our annual report on Form 10-K/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of risk factors that affect our business. � Any forward-looking statement made by us in this news release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. � Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. � We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future development or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

APA-AU

SOURCE Apache Corporation