Apache Sticks to Its Knitting

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Well, they did it again.

Independent oil and gas company Apache (NYSE: APA) and super-major BP (NYSE: BP) are getting together for a transaction. In this case, Apache is paying about $1.3 billion for 18 producing fields on the continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico, with proved reserves of about 58 million barrels (though more than half of the reserves are actually natural gas).

This deal should benefit both parties. Apache is a proven operator in the Gulf, with an enviable track record of generating better returns from purchased properties than the original owners could have managed. On the flip side, it gives BP a gracious exit from this particular real estate and a nice chunk of cash that could be applied to other exploration and development projects.

Strangely enough, Apache has gotten a fair bit of guff lately for being highly involved in the Gulf. I guess last year's hurricanes were a reminder to folks in New York and Boston that that part of the world occasionally gets some nasty weather. But what they're seemingly forgetting, and what Apache management was quick to mention, is that this company has pulled out about $3 for every $1 invested into the region -- and that's come heck, high water, or high winds.

Let's also not forget that the Gulf will now be about 21% of the company's business versus 18% before -- hardly a dramatic shift. Moreover, Apache has done well with similar acquisitions from operators like Anadarko (NYSE: APC).

As if to put a little cherry atop this acquisition news, management announced a $1 billion share repurchase offer. Plenty of other energy producers and service providers have announced buybacks, so this is not altogether unexpected.

There are many other solid and attractively valued independent energy companies out there like Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK), Houston Exploration (NYSE: THX), Devon (NYSE: DVN), and Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE: CNQ). I think investors would do well to consider all of them, in addition to Apache. Whether you go with a basket of stocks, or single one or two ideas out as the best of the best, I think there's still money to be made from high-quality energy stocks.

For more energetic Foolishness:

• Will Anadarko Measure Up?
• Apache Should Catch Up
• Cash-Rich Growth From Occidental

Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).