The Company is party to various legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business, including litigation and governmental and regulatory controls. As of December 31, 2020, the Company has an accrued liability of approximately $70 million for all legal contingencies that are deemed to be probable of occurring and can be reasonably estimated. The Company’s estimates are based on information known about the matters and its experience in contesting, litigating, and settling similar matters. Although actual amounts could differ from management’s estimate, none of the actions are believed by management to involve future amounts that would be material to the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or liquidity after consideration of recorded accruals. For material matters that the Company believes an unfavorable outcome is reasonably possible, the Company has disclosed the nature of the matter and a range of potential exposure, unless an estimate cannot be made at this time. It is management’s opinion that the loss for any other litigation matters and claims that are reasonably possible to occur will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or liquidity.

On March 12, 2014, the Company and its subsidiaries completed the sale of all of the Company’s subsidiaries’ operations and properties in Argentina to YPF Sociedad Anonima (YPF). As part of that sale, YPF assumed responsibility for all of the past, present, and future litigation in Argentina involving Company subsidiaries, except that Company subsidiaries have agreed to indemnify YPF for certain environmental, tax, and royalty obligations capped at an aggregate of $100 million. The indemnity is subject to specific agreed conditions precedent, thresholds, contingencies, limitations, claim deadlines, loss sharing, and other terms and conditions. On April 11, 2014, YPF provided its first notice of claims pursuant to the indemnity. Company subsidiaries have not paid any amounts under the indemnity but will continue to review and consider claims presented by YPF. Further, Company subsidiaries retain the right to enforce certain Argentina-related indemnification obligations against Pioneer Natural Resources Company (Pioneer) in an amount up to $45 million pursuant to the terms and conditions of stock purchase agreements entered in 2006 between Company subsidiaries and subsidiaries of Pioneer.

Louisiana surface owners often file lawsuits or assert claims against oil and gas companies, including the Company, claiming that operators and working interest owners in the chain of title are liable for environmental damages on the leased premises, including damages measured by the cost of restoration of the leased premises to its original condition, regardless of the value of the underlying property. From time to time, restoration lawsuits and claims are resolved by the Company for amounts that are not material to the Company, while new lawsuits and claims are asserted against the Company. With respect to each of the pending lawsuits and claims, the amount claimed is not currently determinable or is not material. Further, the overall exposure related to these lawsuits and claims is not currently determinable. While adverse judgments against the Company are possible, the Company intends to actively defend these lawsuits and claims.

Starting in November of 2013 and continuing into 2020, several parishes in Louisiana have pending lawsuits against many oil and gas producers, including the Company. These cases were all removed to federal courts in Louisiana. Some of the cases have been remanded to state court with the remand orders being appealed. In these cases, the Parishes, as plaintiffs, allege that defendants’ oil and gas exploration, production, and transportation operations in specified fields were conducted in violation of the State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act of 1978, as amended, and applicable regulations, rules, orders, and ordinances promulgated or adopted thereunder by the Parish or the State of Louisiana. Plaintiffs allege that defendants caused substantial damage to land and water bodies located in the coastal zone of Louisiana. Plaintiffs seek, among other things, unspecified damages for alleged violations of applicable law within the coastal zone, the payment of costs necessary to clear, re-vegetate, detoxify, and otherwise restore the subject coastal zone as near as practicable to its original condition, and actual restoration of the coastal zone to its original condition. While adverse judgments against the Company might be possible, the Company intends to vigorously oppose these claims.

In a case captioned Apollo Exploration, LLC, Cogent Exploration, Ltd. Co. & SellmoCo, LLC v. Apache Corporation, Cause No. CV50538 in the 385th Judicial District Court, Midland County, Texas, plaintiffs alleged damages in excess of $200 million (having previously claimed in excess of $1.1 billion) relating to purchase and sale agreements, mineral leases, and areas of mutual interest agreements concerning properties located in Hartley, Moore, Potter, and Oldham Counties, Texas. The Court entered final judgment in favor of the Company, ruling that the plaintiffs take nothing by their claims and awarding the Company its attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in defending the lawsuit. The plaintiffs’ appeal is pending.

Pursuant to a Sale and Purchase Agreement dated April 9, 2015 (Quadrant SPA), the Company and its subsidiaries divested their remaining Australian operations to Quadrant Energy Pty Ltd (Quadrant). Closing occurred on June 5, 2015. In April 2017, the Company filed suit against Quadrant for breach of the Quadrant SPA. In its suit, the Company seeks approximately AUD $80 million. In December 2017, Quadrant filed a defense of equitable set-off to the Company’s claim and a counterclaim seeking approximately AUD $200 million in the aggregate. The Company believes that Quadrant’s claims lack merit and will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operation, or liquidity.

Pursuant to a Sale and Purchase Agreement dated July 6, 2017 (Paramount SPA), the Company and its subsidiaries divested their remaining Canadian operations to Paramount Resources LTD (Paramount). Closing occurred on August 16, 2017. On September 11, 2019, four ex-employees of Apache Canada on behalf of themselves and individuals employed by Apache Canada LTD on July 6, 2017, filed an Amended Statement of Claim in a matter styled Stephen Flesch et. al. v Apache Corporation et. al., No. 1901-09160 Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta against the Company and others seeking class certification and a finding that the Paramount SPA amounted to a Change of Control of the Company, entitling them to accelerated vesting under the Company’s equity plans. In the suit, the purported class seeks approximately $60 million USD and punitive damages. The Company believes that Plaintiffs’ claims lack merit and will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operation, or liquidity.

On July 17, 2017, in three separate actions, San Mateo County, California, Marin County, California, and the City of Imperial Beach, California, all filed suit individually and on behalf of the people of the state of California against over 30 oil and gas companies alleging damages as a result of global warming. Plaintiffs seek unspecified damages and abatement under various tort theories. On December 20, 2017, in two separate actions, the City of Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz County and in a separate action on January 22, 2018, the City of Richmond, filed similar lawsuits against many of the same defendants. On November 14, 2018, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Inc. also filed a similar lawsuit against many of the same defendants. After removal of all such lawsuits to federal court, the district court remanded them back to state court. The remand decision, and further activity in the cases, has been stayed pending further appellate review.

In a case styled Apache Corporation v. Castex Offshore, Inc., et. al., Cause No. 2015-48580, in the 113th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas, Castex filed claims for alleged damages of approximately $200 million, relating to overspend on the Belle Isle Gas Facility upgrade, and the drilling of five sidetracks on the Potomac #3 well. After a jury trial, a verdict of approximately $60 million, plus fees, costs and interest was entered against the Company. The Company’s appeal is pending.

The Company is a party to two purported class actions in Oklahoma styled Bigie Lee Rhea v. Apache Corporation, Case No. 6:14-cv-00433-JH, and Albert Steven Allen v. Apache Corporation, Case No. CJ-2019-00219. The Rhea case has been certified and includes a class of royalty owners seeking damages in excess of $250 million for alleged breach of the implied covenant to market relating to post-production deductions and alleged NGL uplift value. The Allen case has not been certified and seeks to represent a group of owners who have allegedly received late royalty and other payments under Oklahoma statutes. The amount of this claim is not yet reasonably determinable. While adverse judgments against the Company are possible, the Company intends to vigorously defend these lawsuits and claims.

On February 23, 2021, a case captioned Plymouth County Retirement System v. Apache Corporation, et al. was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston Division) against the Company and certain current and former officers. The complaint, which is a shareholder lawsuit styled as a class action (1) alleges that the Company intentionally used unrealistic assumptions regarding the amount and composition of available oil and gas in Alpine High; (2) alleges that the Company did not have the proper infrastructure in place to safely and/or economically drill and/or transport those resources even if they existed in the amounts purported; (3) alleges that these statements and omissions artificially inflated the value of the Company’s operations in the Permian Basin; and (4) alleges that, as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading. Other lawsuits have followed with similar allegations. The Company believes that all plaintiffs’ claims lack merit and intends to vigorously defend these lawsuits.

The Company, as an owner or lessee and operator of oil and gas properties, is subject to various federal, state, local, and foreign country laws and regulations relating to discharge of materials into, and protection of, the environment. These laws and regulations may, among other things, impose liability on the lessee under an oil and gas lease for the cost of pollution clean-up resulting from operations and subject the lessee to liability for pollution damages. In some instances, the Company may be directed to suspend or cease operations in the affected area. The Company maintains insurance coverage, which it believes is customary in the industry, although the Company is not fully insured against all environmental risks.

The Company manages its exposure to environmental liabilities on properties to be acquired by identifying existing problems and assessing the potential liability. The Company also conducts periodic reviews, on a Company-wide basis, to identify changes in its environmental risk profile. These reviews evaluate whether there is a probable liability, the amount, and the likelihood that the liability will be incurred. The amount of any potential liability is determined by considering, among other matters, incremental direct costs of any likely remediation and the proportionate cost of employees who are expected to devote a significant amount of time directly to any possible remediation effort. As it relates to evaluations of purchased properties, depending on the extent of an identified environmental problem, the Company may exclude a property from the acquisition, require the seller to remediate the property to the Company’s satisfaction, or agree to assume liability for the remediation of the property. The Company’s general policy is to limit any reserve additions to any incidents or sites that are considered probable to result in an expected remediation cost exceeding $300,000. Any environmental costs and liabilities that are not reserved for are treated as an expense when actually incurred. In the Company’s estimation, neither these expenses nor expenses related to training and compliance programs are likely to have a material impact on its financial condition.

On September 11, 2020, the Company received a Notice of Violation and Finding of Violation, and accompanying Clean Air Act Information Request, from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following site inspections in April 2019 at several of the Company’s oil and natural gas production facilities in Lea and Eddy Counties, New Mexico. The notice and information request involve alleged emissions control and reporting violations. The Company is cooperating with the EPA and responding to the information request. The EPA has not commenced enforcement proceedings, and at this time the Company is unable to reasonably estimate whether such proceedings will result in monetary sanctions and, if so, whether they would be more or less than $100,000, exclusive of interest and costs.

Additionally, on December 29, 2020, the Company received a Notice of Violation and Opportunity to Confer, and accompanying Clean Air Act Information Request, from the EPA relating to several of the Company’s oil and natural gas production facilities in Reeves County, Texas. The notice and information request involve alleged emissions control and reporting violations. The Company is cooperating with the EPA and responding to the information request. The EPA has not commenced enforcement proceedings, and at this time the Company is unable to reasonably estimate whether such proceedings will result in monetary sanctions and, if so, whether they would be more or less than $100,000, exclusive of interest and costs.

The Company is not aware of any environmental claims existing as of December 31, 2020 that have not been provided for or would otherwise have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations, or liquidity. There can be no assurance, however, that current regulatory requirements will not change or past non-compliance with environmental laws will not be discovered on the Company’s properties.

In 2013, the Company sold its Gulf of Mexico Shelf operations and properties (Transferred Assets) to Fieldwood Energy LLC (Fieldwood). Under the terms of the purchase agreement, the Company received cash consideration of $3.75 billion and Fieldwood assumed $1.5 billion of discounted asset abandonment liabilities as of the disposition date. In respect of such abandonment liabilities, Fieldwood posted letters of credit in favor of the Company (Letters of Credit) and established a trust account (Trust A), which is funded by a 10 percent net profits interest depending on future oil prices and of which the Company is the beneficiary. On February 14, 2018, Fieldwood filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. In connection with the 2018 bankruptcy, Fieldwood confirmed a plan under which the Company agreed, inter alia, to accept bonds in exchange for certain of the Letters of Credit. Currently, the Company holds two bonds (Bonds) and the remaining Letters of Credit to secure Fieldwood’s asset retirement obligations (AROs) on the Transferred Assets as and when such abandonment and decommissioning obligations are required to be performed over the remaining life of the Transferred Assets.

On August 3, 2020, Fieldwood again filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Fieldwood has submitted a plan of reorganization, and the Company has been engaged in discussions with Fieldwood and other interested parties regarding such plan. If approved by the bankruptcy court, the submitted plan would separate the Transferred Assets into a standalone company, and proceeds of production of the Transferred Assets will be used for the AROs. If the proceeds of production are insufficient for such AROs, then Apache expects that it may be required by the relevant governmental authorities to perform such AROs, in which case it will apply the Bonds, remaining Letters of Credit, and Trust A to pay for the AROs. In addition, after such sources have been exhausted, Apache has agreed to provide a standby loan of up to $400 million for the new company to perform decommissioning, with such standby loan secured by a first and prior lien on the Transferred Assets. If the foregoing is insufficient, the Company may be forced to use available cash to cover any additional costs it incurs for performing such AROs.

On January 1, 2019, Apache adopted ASU 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842),” which requires lessees to recognize separate right-of-use (ROU) assets and lease liabilities for most leases classified as operating leases under previous GAAP. As allowed under the standard, the Company applied practical expedients permitting an entity the option to not evaluate under ASU 2016-02 those existing or expired land easements that were not previously accounted for as leases, as well as permitting an entity the option to carry forward its historical assessments of whether existing agreements contain a lease, classification of existing lease agreements, and treatment of initial direct lease costs.

The Company determines if an arrangement is an operating or finance lease at the inception of each contract. If the contract is classified as an operating lease, Apache records an ROU asset and corresponding liability reflecting the total remaining present value of fixed lease payments over the expected term of the lease agreement. The expected term of the lease may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. If the Company’s lease does not provide an implicit rate in the contract, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate when calculating the present value. In the normal course of business, Apache enters into various lease agreements for real estate, drilling rigs, vessels, aircrafts, and equipment related to its exploration and development activities, which are typically classified as operating leases under the provisions of the standard. ROU assets are reflected within “Deferred charges and other” within “Other” assets on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet, and the associated operating lease liabilities are reflected within “Other current liabilities” and “Other” within “Deferred Credits and Other Noncurrent Liabilities,” as applicable.

Operating lease expense associated with ROU assets is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Lease expense is reflected on the statement of consolidated operations commensurate with the leased activities and nature of the services performed. Gross fixed operating lease expense, inclusive of amounts billable to partners and other working interest owners, was $149 million and $222 million in 2020 and 2019, respectively. Apache elected to exclude short-term leases (those with terms of 12 months or less) from the balance sheet presentation. Costs incurred for short-term leases, which is primarily related to drilling activities in Block 58 offshore Suriname, was $80 million and $18 million in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

In addition, the Company periodically enters into finance leases that are similar to those leases classified as capital leases under previous GAAP. Finance lease assets are included in “Other” within “Property and Equipment” on the consolidated balance sheet, and the associated finance lease liabilities are reflected within “Current debt” and “Long-term debt,” as applicable. Depreciation on the Company’s finance lease asset was $2 million and $7 million in 2020 and 2019, respectively. Interest on the Company’s finance lease assets was $2 million and $3 million in 2020 and 2019, respectively.


Net Minimum Commitments(1)	Operating Leases(2)		Finance Leases(3)		Purchase Obligations(4)
	(In millions)
2021	$	120	$	3	$	236
2022	70		3		203
2023	33		3		203
2024	27		4		160
2025	7		4		159
Thereafter	25		29		600
Total future minimum payments	282		46		$	1,561
Less: imputed interest	(21)		(8)		N/A
Total lease liabilities	261		38		N/A
Current portion	116		2		N/A
Non-current portion	$	145	$	36	N/A

(2)Amounts represent future payments associated with oil and gas operations inclusive of amounts billable to partners and other working interest owners. Such payments may be capitalized as a component of oil and gas properties and subsequently depreciated, impaired, or written off as exploration expense.

(4)Amounts represent any agreement to purchase goods or services that are enforceable and legally binding and that specify all significant terms. These include minimum commitments associated with take-or-pay contracts, NGL processing agreements, drilling work program commitments, and agreements to secure capacity rights on third-party pipelines. Amounts exclude certain product purchase obligations related to marketing and trading activities for which there are no minimum purchase requirements or the amounts are not fixed or determinable. Total costs incurred under take-or-pay and throughput obligations were $120 million, $111 million, and $132 million in 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively.

The lease liability reflected in the table above represents the Company’s fixed minimum payments that are settled in accordance with the lease terms. Actual lease payments during the period may also include variable lease components such as common area maintenance, usage-based sales taxes and rate differentials, or other similar costs that are not determinable at the inception of the lease. Gross variable lease payments, inclusive of amounts billable to partners and other working interest owners was $41 million and $78 million in 2020 and 2019, respectively.