APA Corp. Execs Hyped Worthless Oil Field, Lawsuit Says (1)

The CEO and two vice presidents at APA Corp. reaped about $78 million in compensation while touting a purportedly important shale discovery despite internal data showing it would be unprofitable, an investor says in a derivative suit.

Their public statements sent the company’s stock price soaring, Steve Silverman says in a suit on behalf of APA, previously known as Apache Corp. Silverman filed his suit Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The oil field, called Alpine High, “was in fact so devoid of oil and gas that the Company was forced to cease all ...