Case Study: Apache Corporation achieves faster time to discovery with NetApp high-performance, scalable storage

How Apache Corporation met intensive performance requirements for geologic modeling and seismic interpretation with NetApp

Apache Corporation, a global independent oil and gas explorer and producer, faced a data challenge as seismic, well and interpretation datasets exploded—growing 700% to more than 18 PB—while more than 200 geoscientists needed near‑instant, highly reliable access to large datasets (Schlumberger Petrel) to accelerate time to discovery. The company required fast scalability, high performance across 10GbE networks, and continuous availability, all managed by a four‑person IT team.

Apache deployed NetApp FAS storage (clustered Data ONTAP) with Flash Cache, SMB2/3 support, SnapMirror/SnapVault, deduplication, FlexClone and integrated management with Cisco and VMware. The solution cut latency by 10x with a 70% cache hit rate, reduced seismic load times from 10 to 2 minutes and model open times from 20 to under 5 minutes, sped disaster recovery from days to hours, and delivered substantial storage and power savings—enabling faster, more accurate drilling decisions.

Apache Corporation

Bradley Lauritsen

Director of Exploration Applications