Apache redesigns organizational structure

Oil and gas company Apache Corporation has made several changes to its executive team.

Apache announced in October 2019 that it would undertake a comprehensive redesign of its organizational structure and operations to further align its work processes and cost structure with long-term planned activity levels.

Apache said on Wednesday that the new design would enable more effective management of its diverse portfolio of assets through centralized teams organized around three functional pillars: Operations, Development, and Exploration.

To facilitate the redesign of its organizational structure, Apache named Clay Bretches as its executive vice president of operations, and David Pursell as its executive vice president of development.

The leader of the exploration department will be named following the completion of an ongoing search.

Bretches will continue to serve in his role as CEO and president of Altus Midstream Company, a controlled subsidiary of Apache. All three executives will report directly to Apache CEO and president John J. Christmann IV.

Christmann said: “Our new organization, built on central pillars of operations, development, and exploration, will enable us to manage our assets more efficiently while enhancing our strategy of finding and developing new, low-cost resources.

“Clay Bretches and Dave Pursell bring tremendous leadership and technical experience to their respective roles and have been an integral part of the strategic redesign of the organization.”

As the head of the development pillar, Dave Pursell established a leadership team that will take responsibility for reserves, planning, reservoir engineering, and domestic and international asset management.

Clay Bretches will lead a team responsible for the functional areas of drilling and completion, facilities engineering, production engineering, and operations, as well as environment, health, and safety.

On the Altus side, Steve Noe recently joined the senior leadership team as vice president of business development, while Bryan Graham and Ben Rodgers continue to report to Bretches in their respective roles as VP of operations and CFO, respectively.

In January 2019, Bretches was appointed as the SVP of U.S. midstream operations of Apache and CEO and president of Altus Midstream.

Previously, Bretches served as the president and CEO of Sendero Midstream since 2014 and in various leadership roles at Anadarko for 14 years prior to that.

As for Pursell, he previously served as Apache’s EVP of planning, reserves, and fundamentals. Before joining Apache in early 2018, Pursell served as managing director of investment banking for Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH). Previously, he served as head of Macro Research and was one of the founders of Pickering Energy Partners.