Raymond Plank, founder and chairman of Apache Corp., Houston, has retired after more than five decades spent building the company into one of the largest U.S. E&Ps.


G. Steven Farris, Apache’s president, chief executive and chief operating officer, succeeds Plank as chairman.


Farris says, “Raymond Plank is Apache. His commitment and drive are embedded in the fabric of Apache’s culture. He has been a mentor, a friend and a confidant over 20 years together. That won’t change as we maintain close contact and continue to build on what he has accomplished, making Apache all it can be.”


Apache began in 1954 with initial seed capital of $250,000, growing to market value of approximately $25 billion. Equity value has multiplied 1,700 times to its current value of $73 per share on Feb. 16.


Plank established a culture at Apache that introduced a number of firsts, such as pioneering the public drilling program. When oil and gas commodity prices were regulated at low levels during the 1960s, Plank built Apache into a miniconglomerate. He later noted, “Sometimes the best way to grow a portion of our oil and gas business was to be out of it; rather than trying to drill through or climb the mountain, we went around it, gaining strength while doing so.”


During the 1970s, Apache affiliate Apexco grew as valuable as the entire company, leaving Apache vulnerable to hostile takeovers. Instead of selling its other businesses, Plank sold Apexco and used the additional capital to speed the company’s growth.


Apache created the world’s first MLP in 1981, which provided it with valuable acquisition currency, helping it to gain critical mass during the brutal industry downturn of the 1980s. The collateral damage of the defeat of the Soviet Union wiped out most smaller oil and gas companies.


As other independents retreated to the U.S., Plank steered Apache into the international arena to access larger reserve targets. Describing the company’s characteristic approach of squeezing value out of properties acquired from larger companies, Plank told The Wall Street Journal, “We’re a bit like pigs following cows through a cornfield. The scraps are pretty good for a company with our particular strategy.”


More recently, Plank has avoided industry trends such as share repurchases and acquisitions at peak prices, with Apache opting instead to pay down debt and build cash balances in preparation for the resumption of growth through increased acquisition, exploration and exploitation activity.


Plank says, “It’s been a great run. I leave Apache with cash on hand, debt under 20% of capitalization, quality properties, operations diversified across five continents, and motivated, capable personnel who have grown with the company.”


Inscribed on a fountain outside the company’s Houston headquarters, are words Plank first spoke in 1964: “The capacity of the individual is infinite. Limitations are largely of habit, convention, acceptance of things as they are, fear or lack of self-confidence.”

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