The deal gives Apache access to land with potential oil and gas fields in Oklahoma and Texas. Apache also gets oil wells that are already producing in the region.
The land will give Apache opportunities to drill new wells in underground shale rock that's estimated to contain 71.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Existing wells already produce 18,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The move underscores Apache's shift in focus to land-based drilling in North America.
Its horizontal wells drilled in the last three years now make up about half of Apache's Central Region production. Cordillera's owners, including EnCap Investments, other institutional investors and Cordillera management, will receive about $600 million in Apache stock. The rest of the acquisition will be paid in cash.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. Apache said it is expected to add to its earnings and cash flow starting this year.
Apache, which is based in Houston, has operations in the U.S., Canada, Egypt, the North Sea, Australia and Argentina.
Its shares finished at $96.80 on Friday. They are up 32 percent from their 52-week low of $73.04 in early October. They traded as high as $134.13 in late April.
