Apache Corp. (APA) said Wednesday that it completed a highly productive oil well at a mature U.K. offshore operation, opening up opportunities for further development of what is known as the Beryl Field.

The well is "one of the best wells drilled in the past 10 years" in the Beryl field, and it produced at a rate of 11,625 barrels of oil per day and 13.1 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, Apache said.

The field was acquired in 2011 by Apache from Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM). Houston-based Apache has historically focused on bringing new life to declining reservoirs that were originally discovered and exploited by major oil companies such as Exxon and BP PLC (BP, BP.LN). The recent Gusher at Beryl will "open up further development opportunities," said Jim House, managing director of Apache North Sea, in a statement.

Apache said it plans a new three-dimensional seismic survey this summer, the first since 1997. The company owns 50% of the field, and operates it. Partners include Hess Corp. (HES), Enterprise Oilfield Group Ltd. (E.T) and OMV AG's (OMV.VI) OMV (U.K.) Ltd. unit.

-By Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9214;angel.gonzalez@dowjones.com

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