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                                                                     EXHIBIT 3.3

                                                                          Page 1
                               STATE OF DELAWARE

                        OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
                        ________________________________


         I, EDWARD J. FREEL, SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE, DO
HEREBY CERTIFY THE ATTACHED IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF THE CERTIFICATE OF
DESIGNATION OF "APACHE CORPORATION", FILED IN THIS OFFICE ON THE TWENTY-SECOND
DAY OF JANUARY, A.D. 1996, AT 10 O'CLOCK A.M.

         A CERTIFIED COPY OF THIS CERTIFICATE HAS BEEN FORWARDED TO THE NEW
CASTLE COUNTY RECORDER OF DEEDS FOR RECORDING.





                                             /s/ Edward J. Freel
                                             -----------------------------------
                                             Edward J. Freel, Secretary of State

                                     [SEAL]

                                                AUTHENTICATION:   7798054

                                                          DATE:  01-23-96
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                          CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATIONS,
                             PREFERENCES AND RIGHTS

                                       OF

                 SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK

                                       OF

                               APACHE CORPORATION

             PURSUANT TO SECTION 151 OF THE GENERAL CORPORATION LAW
                            OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

Apache Corporation, a corporation organized and existing under the General
Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, in accordance with the provisions of
Section 103 thereof, DOES HEREBY CERTIFY:

That pursuant to the authority vested in the Board of Directors in accordance
with the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the said
Corporation, the said Board of Directors at a meeting duly held on December 14,
1995, adopted the following resolution creating a series of twenty-five
thousand (25,000) shares of Preferred Stock designated as "Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock":

         RESOLVED: That, pursuant to the authority granted to and vested in the
         Board of Directors of the Corporation in accordance with the
         provisions of its Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of
         Directors hereby creates a series of Preferred Stock of the
         Corporation and hereby states the designation and number of shares,
         and fixes the relative rights, preferences and limitations thereof (in
         addition to the provisions set forth in the Restated Certificate of
         Incorporation of the Corporation, which are applicable to all series
         of the Corporation's preferred stock) as follows:

                 SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK

         1.      Designation and Amount.  There shall be a series of Preferred
Stock, no par value per share, that shall be designated as "Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock," and the number of whole shares constituting
such series shall be 25,000.  Such number of shares may be increased or
decreased by resolution of the Board of Directors; provided, however, that no
decrease shall reduce the number of shares of Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock to less than the number of shares then issued and outstanding
plus the number of shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding rights, options
or warrants, or upon conversion of outstanding securities issued by the
Corporation.





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         2.      Dividends and Distribution.

                 (A)      Subject to the prior and superior rights of the
holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock ranking prior and
superior to the shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock with
respect to dividends, the holders of record of shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock as of the close of business on the last Business
Day of December, March, June and September in each year, in preference to the
holders of shares of any class or series of stock of the Corporation ranking
junior to the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, shall be entitled
to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board of Directors out of funds
legally available for the purpose, quarterly dividends payable in cash on the
last Business Day of January, April, July and October in each year (each such
date being referred to herein as a "Quarterly Dividend Payment Date"),
commencing on the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date after the first
issuance of a share or fraction of a share of Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock, in an amount per share (rounded to the nearest cent) equal to
the greater of (a) $100 or (b) the Adjustment Number (as defined below) times
the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and the Adjustment Number
times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash
dividends or other distributions other than a dividend payable in shares of
Common Stock or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by
reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common Stock, par value $1.25
per share, of the Corporation (the "Common Stock") since the immediately
preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, or, with respect to the first
Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance of any share or
fraction of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock.  The
"Adjustment Number" shall initially be 10,000.  In the event the Corporation
shall at any time after January 31, 1995 (the "Effective Date") (i) declare any
dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the
outstanding Common Stock or (iii) combine the outstanding Common Stock into a
smaller number of shares, then in each such case the Adjustment Number in
effect immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such
Adjustment Number by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares
of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of
which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately
prior to such event.

                 (B)      The Corporation shall declare a dividend or
distribution on the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock as provided
in paragraph (A) above immediately after it declares a dividend or distribution
on the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock).

                 (C)      Dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on
outstanding shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock from the
Quarterly Dividend Payment Date next preceding the date of issue of such shares
of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, unless the date of issue of
such shares is prior to the record date for the first Quarterly Dividend
Payment Date, in which case dividends on such shares shall begin to accrue from
the date of issue of such shares, or unless the date of issue is a Quarterly
Dividend Payment Date or is a date after the record date for the determination
of holders of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock entitled
to receive a quarterly dividend and before such Quarterly Dividend Payment
Date, in either of which events such dividends shall begin to accrue and be
cumulative from such Quarterly





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Dividend Payment Date.  Accrued but unpaid dividends shall not bear interest.
Dividends paid on the shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock
in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at the time accrued
and payable on such shares shall be allocated pro rata on a share-by-share
basis among all such shares at the time outstanding.  The Board of Directors
may fix a record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A
Junior Participating Preferred Stock entitled to receive payment of a dividend
or distribution declared thereon, which record date shall be no more than 60
days prior to the date fixed for the payment thereof.

         3.      Voting Rights.  The holders of shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:

                 (A)      Each share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred
Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to a number of votes equal to the
Adjustment Number on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the
Corporation.

                 (B)      Except as required by law and by Section 10 hereof,
holders of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall have no special
voting rights and their consent shall not be required (except to the extent
they are entitled to vote with holders of Common Stock as set forth herein) for
taking any corporate action.

         4.      Certain Restrictions.

                 (A)      Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or
distributions payable on the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock as
provided in Section 2 are in arrears, thereafter and until all accrued and
unpaid dividends and distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid
in full, the Corporation shall not

                          (i)     declare or pay dividends on, make any other
distributions on, or redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration
any shares of stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation,
dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Junior Participating Preferred
Stock;

                          (ii)    declare or pay dividends on or make any other
distributions on any shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to
dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series A
Junior Participating Preferred Stock, except dividends paid ratably on the
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock and all such parity stock on
which dividends are payable or in arrears in proportion to the total amounts to
which the holders of all such shares are then entitled; or

                          (iii)   purchase or otherwise acquire for
consideration any shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, or
any shares of stock ranking on a parity with the Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock, except in accordance with a purchase offer made in writing or
by publication (as determined by the Board of Directors) to all holders of
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, or to such holders and holders
of any such shares ranking on a parity therewith, upon such terms as the Board
of Directors, after consideration of the respective annual





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dividend rates and other relative rights and preferences of the respective
series and classes, shall determine in good faith will result in fair and
equitable treatment among the respective series or classes.

                 (B)      The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary or
other affiliate controlled by the Corporation to purchase or otherwise acquire
for consideration any shares of stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation
could, under paragraph (A) of this Section 4, purchase or otherwise acquire
such shares at such time and in such manner.

         5.      Reacquired Shares.  Any shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the
Corporation in any manner whatsoever shall be retired promptly after the
acquisition thereof.  All such shares shall upon their retirement become
authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued as part
of a new series of Preferred Stock to be created by resolution or resolutions
of the Board of Directors, subject to any conditions and restrictions on
issuance set forth herein.

         6.      Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up.  (A) Upon any
liquidation (voluntary or otherwise), dissolution or winding up of the
Corporation, no distribution shall be made to the holders of shares of stock
ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or
winding up) to the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock unless, prior
thereto, the holders of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock
shall have received $100 per share, plus an amount equal to accrued and unpaid
dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not declared, to the date of
such payment (the "Series A Liquidation Preference").  Following the payment of
the full amount of the Series A Liquidation Preference, no additional
distributions shall be made to the holders of shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of
Common Stock shall have received an amount per share (the "Common Adjustment")
equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the Series A Liquidation
Preference by (ii) the Adjustment Number.  Following the payment of the full
amount of the Series A Liquidation Preference and the Common Adjustment in
respect of all outstanding shares of (1) Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock and (2) Common Stock, respectively, (a) holders of Series A
Junior Participating Preferred Stock and (b) holders of shares of Common Stock
shall, subject to the prior rights of all other series of Preferred Stock, if
any, ranking prior thereto, receive their ratable and proportionate share of
the remaining assets to be distributed in the ratio of the Adjustment Number to
1 with respect to (x) the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock and (y)
the Common Stock, on a per share basis, respectively.

                 (B)      In the event, however, that there are not sufficient
assets available to permit payment in full of the Series A Liquidation
Preference and the liquidation preferences of all other series of Preferred
Stock, if any, that rank on a parity with the Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock, then such remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the
holders of such parity shares in proportion to their respective liquidation
preferences.  In the event, however, that there are not sufficient assets
available to permit payment in full of the Common Adjustment, then such
remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the holders of Common Stock.

                 (C)      Neither the merger or consolidation of the
Corporation into or with another corporation nor the merger or consolidation of
any other corporation into or with the Corporation





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shall be deemed to be a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the
Corporation within the meaning of this Section 6.

         7.      Consolidation, Merger, Etc.  In case the Corporation shall
enter into any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction in which
the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed into other stock or
securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any such case each share of
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall at the same time be
similarly exchanged or changed in an amount per share equal to the Adjustment
Number times the aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash and/or any other
property (payable in kind), as the case may be, into which or for which each
share of Common Stock is changed or exchanged.

         8.      No Redemption.  Shares of Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock shall not be subject to redemption by the Company.

         9.      Ranking.  The Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock
shall rank junior to all other series of the Corporation's Preferred Stock as
to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets, unless the terms of
any such series shall provide otherwise, and shall rank senior to the Common
Stock as to such matters.

         10.     Amendment.  At any time that any shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock are outstanding, the Restated Certificate of
Incorporation of the Corporation shall not be amended in any manner which would
materially alter or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely
without the affirmative vote of the holders of two-thirds of the outstanding
shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, voting separately as a
class.

         11.     Fractional Shares.  Series A Junior Participating Preferred
Stock may be issued in fractions of a share that shall entitle the holder, in
proportion to such holder's fractional shares, to exercise voting rights,
receive dividends, participate in distributions and to have the benefit of all
other rights of holders of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock.

This Certificate shall be effective as of January 31, 1996.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, said Apache Corporation has caused this Certificate to be
signed by Raymond Plank, its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, this 18th
day of January, 1996.

                                        APACHE CORPORATION

                                        By: /s/ Raymond Plank 
                                            -----------------------------------
                                            Name:  Raymond Plank
                                            Title: Chairman and Chief Executive
                                                   Officer





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