Fitch ups Apache ratings

Fitch Ratings said it raised the senior unsecured debt rating of Apache Corp. to A from A-, the preferred stock rating to A- from BBB and the short-term rating to F1 from F2.

The outlook is stable.

Fitch said the rating action reflects Fitch's expectation that Apache will continue to generate strong results throughout the industry cycle in each of the metrics Fitch uses to evaluate upstream oil companies. The company's balanced asset mix across its five core regions provides an overall reserve life of more than 10 years, with 71% of the reserves developed at year-end 2003.

Although Apache has shown an ability to add reserves at economic costs, Fitch noted the company faces the challenge of continuing to replace reserves at these costs particularly given the volatile nature of the industry and Fitch's expectations of a return to more mid-cycle prices.

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