Apache Corporation

The header: who paid you, and for which check

Look for the payor name, your owner number, the check number and the check date. Keep the owner number: every call or letter to the operator starts with it.

What we knowApache Corporation is Railroad Commission operator 027200. The name on your check may be a parent company or a payment subsidiary.

The property line: which lease this is

Each lease you own in gets its own block, named as the operator names it. That name can be shorter than the state's, or carry a suffix such as a well number or unit letter.

What we knowApache Corporation runs 1,583 producing leases across 17 counties, so one check can list many properties. Find yours in the table above by name, or search for the name printed on the stub.

Product and volume: barrels, mcf, and the month

The stub shows the production month (the production month, not the check month), the product and your share of the volume. Divide your volume by your decimal to get the lease total, then compare it with the lease page.

What we knowFor example, open YELLOW BELLY, SILVER BULLET or BOULTINGHOUSE-LYNCH 1114 A and read the “oil sold” and “gas sold” columns.

Price: what the operator says it got

Oil is usually close to the WTI benchmark for the month. Gas prices vary widely: they depend on where the gas is sold and on what the operator subtracts before it reports a price.

What we knowGas is most of what Apache Corporation reports, so the gas price line, and what was subtracted from it, matters more on its statements than the oil price.

Deductions: gathering, compression, processing

Costs taken after the well. Some leases allow them and some do not; your lease and division order say which. A deduction that appears in one month and not the next is worth a question.

What we knowAbout 30% of the gas Apache Corporation reported in the last 12 months went to processing plants, so expect processing and plant-product lines on gas statements. Another 67% went straight to a pipeline.

Taxes: severance and ad valorem

Texas severance tax is taken from your share: 4.6% of oil value and 7.5% of gas value at market. Ad valorem tax may also appear. The rate on your stub should match these.

Net: gross, minus deductions and taxes, times your share

Check the arithmetic: volume times price gives gross value, then subtract deductions and taxes. If the net does not match your check, or a month is missing, that is the first thing to ask about.

What we know1.0% of the gas Apache Corporation reported was flared or vented. Flared gas pays no royalty, so a lease that flares heavily will show a smaller gas volume on your stub than on the state's production line.