Apache Corp. discovers massive shale gas site in British Columbia

Apache Corp., the second-largest gas producer in the United States, has announced that it has found what is “probably the best shale gas reservoir in the world," Reuters reported.

The 430,000-acre shale gas field is located in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, near where the province meets the borders of the Yukon and Northwest Territories, Reuters reported. Apache executives estimate it contains as much as 48 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, the CBC reported.

A reservoir of this size alone could supply the United States with natural gas for almost two years, Reuters reported.

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According to the CBC:

One of three test wells on the find produced 21.3 million cubic feet of gas per day in its first month. Apache says that would make the well one of the most productive ones in the world.

"Apache has typically … been viewed as an M&A driven company," Rob Cordray, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities, said, according to Reuters. "But this shows a tremendous amount of organic growth potential. There's a huge drilling inventory for these guys."

John Bedingfield, the company's vice president of worldwide exploration, said Apache will hold off developing the field while gas prices remain at record lows, Reuters reported. He described the site as "a huge resource for the future."

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