Oil production reached peak levels for Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) in Egypt and a trio of recent discoveries in the U.K. North Sea further debunked claims that the mature basin is near its death.

The company has strong performances at Egypt’s Ptah and Berenice oil fields, along with record production in the North Sea, to thank for pushing its international and offshore production about 20% higher in third-quarter 2015 (3Q), compared to a year ago.

But don’t expect this international success to redirect the E&P’s main focus.

“We will remain focused on driving the expansion of our North American portfolio, as it is our primary growth engine for the future,” Apache CEO John Christmann said on a conference call Nov. 5. “However, our international businesses have a demonstrated track record of delivering very high rates of return, along with the ability to sustain production volumes through time and provide significant free cash flow back to the corporation. These are franchises that we will continue to invest in for the long term.”

Onshore North America production—where the company holds acreage in the Eagle Ford, Permian, Midcontinent and Central Basin Platform/Northwest Shelf and Canada—was essentially flat at about 306,000 boe/d. But Apache was able to essentially maintain production levels despite planned and unplanned facilities outages in the Permian, running fewer rigs and spending less money. The company partly attributed the feat to supply chain efficiencies and better wellbore and completion designs, giving it confidence to increase 2015 production guidance.

Apache raised its onshore production forecast from 305 Mboe/d to 308 Mboe/d to 307 Mboe/d to 309 Mboe/d. The forecast for international and offshore production went from 164 Mboe/d to 168 Mboe/d to 172 Mboe/d to 174 Mboe/d.

In all, pro forma total production averaged 486 Mboe/d in 3Q 2015, up 7% from 3Q 1014.

“Our long-term growth is going to come from North America clearly, but in this price environment right now I’ve got a lot of optionality in the international and a lot of very high rate of return projects that bring immediate volumes that compete extremely well that we can tie in and complement,” said Christmann. “I think we’ve also proven through the exploration success that both of the international assets, those franchises have a lot of running room.”

Apache’s international and offshore operations produced 180Mboe/d in 3Q, up 5% sequentially and 21% over 3Q 2014.

Egypt: Production at Egypt’s Ptah and Berenice oil fields peaked at more than 26Mboe/d in 3Q, pushing gross production up 4% sequentially. The strong drilling results positioned Apache as the largest oil and gas producer in the country on a gross operated basis during the third quarter, the company said.

“If you take Egypt and take Ptah and Berenice, tell me how many places in the world you can have a discovery and within seven, eight months you’re producing from two handfuls of wells to 26,000 barrels of oil a day?,” Christmann asked. “We’ve got quick tie-in, quick infrastructure to those things, so very high rates of return.”

Apache’s strategy in Egypt is to target oil and liquid reservoirs, he said, while keeping production profiles as stable as possible.

“In addition to Ptah and Berenice we have seen new discoveries across multiple concessions this year which will continue to support our production and free cash flow generation,” Christmann added.

North Sea: The company cited record production efficiency, strong results from new wells and recovery from planned maintenance production outages as the driving forces behind the North Sea’s 6% sequentially production increase.

We spent $1.3 billion over the last decade at Forties and that infrastructure is in really good shape,” he said. “That's why we can operate at 92%. In our Beryl area we spent over $300 million on the infrastructure there.”

Recent exploration success in the U.K. North Sea, with discoveries representing estimated net reserves of at least 50MMboe, gives Apache momentum going forward. The company announced in October two exploration finds in the Beryl Area and another at its Seagull prospect, south of the Forties Field.

“I think you’ll be surprised at how quickly we can bring those projects on through tiebacks to the infrastructure that’s already in place,” Christmann said, referring to the Beryl discoveries.

Apache plans to give an update on its North Sea operations on Nov. 17.

The company’s international operations are less sensitive to the drop in oil price, illustrated by their cash flow, he added.

But Apache was not able to fully capitalize on the gains given lower commodity prices. The company reported a net loss of $5.7 billion, compared to a loss of $1.3 billion in 3Q 2014. The results released Nov. 5 includes a $3.7 billion write-down related to the commodity price levels.

Dire market conditions forced Apache, like its peers, to cut capex by 16% to $762 million for the quarter. Through September, the company’s capex has totaled $2.9 billion.

“As we turn to 2016, prudent capital allocation will continue to be our primary focus as we strive to spend within cash flows, enhance our returns and grow value for our shareholders,” Christmann said in a prepared statement. “Longer-term, we have great confidence in the potential inherent in our portfolio.”

Velda Addison can be reached at vaddison@hartenergy.com.