Apache (APA) Q4 2019 Earnings Call Transcript

Apache (APA) Q4 2019 Earnings Call Transcript

[Operator instructions] I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker for today, Gary Clark, vice president, investor relations.. Good morning, and thank you for joining us on Apache Corporation's fourth-quarter financial and operational results conference call.. I'd like to remind everyone that today's discussions will contain forward-looking estimates and assumptions based on our current views and reasonable expectations.. We sustained production levels in the North Sea with a 100% drilling success rate and achieved first production from our store discovery which was on time and on budget.. And at year end, we signed a joint venture agreement with Total in Block 58 Suriname which brought in a world-class offshore operator and established a substantial capital access framework.. Oil production in the Permian Basin exceeded guidance and averaged the highest quarterly rate in Apache's history.. We dropped the remainder of our drilling rigs in the fourth quarter and chose to defer some previously planned completions.. Production in the North Sea increased significantly, following seasonal platform maintenance turnarounds in the third quarter and first production from our store discovery in November.. As demonstrated over the last few years, we clearly have a significant inventory of high-quality investment opportunities