Apache Seeks to Sell Some Alberta Oil Properties

Apache Corp said on Tuesday it plans to sell some of its oil and gas properties in Western Canada as the U.S. independent oil producer continues to winnow its portfolio of international assets.

The Houston-based company said it has put its Provost holdings in east-central Alberta on the block and that bids are due by mid-October. The Provost lands produce about 9,551 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) and include a million acres of exploration property, according to a notice on the website of Scotia Waterous, which is handling the sale.

The sale is the latest for Apache as it moves to concentrate on North American shale fields. In July it said it would sell its 50 percent stake in the Kitimat LNG project planned by Chevron Corp on the Pacific Coast of northern British Columbia, along with its stake in the Wheatstone LNG project in Australia.

Paul Wyke, a spokesman for Apache's Canadian unit, said that despite the Provost sale, the company still has large land holdings in the Duvernay and Montney shale fields in Western Canada as well as conventional properties in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

"We continue to streamline our portfolio," he said, adding that the company is retaining the majority of its Alberta holdings.

The company's production from its Canadian holdings averaged 76,692 boepd in the second quarter.

Apache shares closed 0.7 percent higher at $97.82 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Scott Haggett; Editing by Peter Galloway)