Oil and gas industry veteran Steven Keenan, who was credited with a high-profile shale discovery for Apache Corp., resigned from his position as senior vice president of worldwide exploration, the company said Oct. 25.

Industry veteran Steven Keenan resigned on Oct. 23 from his as senior vice president of worldwide exploration for Apache. (Source: Apache Corp.)
Industry veteran Steven Keenan resigned on Oct. 23 from his position as senior vice president of worldwide exploration for Apache. (Source: Apache Corp.)

Houston-based Apache told Reuters that Keenan's resignation, which occurred on Oct. 23, is not connected to the well the company is currently drilling offshore in Suriname. The company said, "the drill bit is still above the first target zone in the Suriname well."

Suriname's state oil company Staatsolie signed a production sharing agreement with Apache in October 2012.

Keenan has overseen the company's exploration operations, unconventional resources technology team and operations in the Delaware Basin since joining Apache five years ago.

Keenan is widely credited with the Alpine High find in West Texas in 2016.

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When Alpine High was discovered Apache's shares spiked as much as 14% with CEO John Christmann calling it a "world-class resource." However, more recently Alpine High has struggled due to lower gas prices, with the company saying it would reassign capital expenditure to other areas.

Apache had hired Keenan from EOG Resources Inc. in 2014 where he had worked on the Eagle Ford basin.