Since entering Australia in 1993 Apache has focused on the Carnarvon Basin in Western Australia (WA) where it has become a significant producer of oil and gas, operating several conventional offshore platforms, monopods and gas plants. Apache’s primary production hub is located on Varanus Island, off the West Australia coast. Apache now has exploration interests in the Carnarvon, Browse and Gippsland basins, administered by the Western Australian, Northern Territory and Victorian state governments respectively.

Since entering Australia, Apache has drilled 260 exploration and appraisal wells and 102 development wells with a total of 1,027 kilometer (km) of section drilled (up to March 2009). Of the exploration and appraisal wells, 58 percent have been geological successes and 25 percent were commercial successes.

Drilling programs are typically a mix of exploration, appraisal and development objectives. Exploration drilling comprises both targeting proven plays, often in near-field locations as well as higher-risk wildcat targets. The basins Apache explores within Australia contain the full spectrum from deepwater to fluvial reservoirs, and from Mesozoic to Tertiary age with a broad range of trap styles from simple four-way and fault highside closures to purely stratigraphic closures. All the basins Apache explore within Australia contain proven oil and gas resources.

Some of the fields discovered and subsequently commercialized, or currently in the process of being commercialized, by Apache include Reindeer, Van Gogh, Julimar and Brunello. Given Apache's drilling record, the company has acquired not only extensive knowledge of the subsurface, but also of the requirements for offshore drilling and developments in Australian state and commonwealth waters.

The Australian region aggressively leverages technology to reduce risk, cost and differentiate itself from competitors. Modern 3-D seismic has been integral to Apache's successes in Australia with significant investment in the acquisition and processing of numerous 3-D surveys leading to the majority of Apache's permits. The Exploration department is equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and software, and comprises 22 professionals, 12 of whom have 10 or more years experience. The staff employ a range of skills including structural geology, stratigraphy, geophysics, petrophysics, biostratigraphy and geochemistry.