The agreement between Apache Energy and the government is very normal, it is true. These kinds of contracts became standard, and are not really scrutinized for whether or not they are correct islamically, or for the benefit of the population.
I don’t think anyone would deny that oil and natural gas fall under the category of pre-existing natural resources, and thus, in the Shari’ah, they should belong to the population and be utilized for their benefit. The labor of the energy firms should be regarded as similar to the labor of someone who is contracted to dig a well until it reaches water. He has a right to a fixed payment for his service, but not a right to the water he finds. These contracts are like the example in the Qur’an:
” قَالُواْ نَفْقِدُ صُوَاعَ الْمَلِكِ وَلِمَن جَآءَ بِهِ حِمْلُ بَعِيرٍ وَأَنَاْ بِهِ زَعِيمٌ”
A fixed reward for a service rendered; half of the king’s bowl was not offered. And Rasulullah ﷺ approved of the offer by someone poisoned by a snake to pay 30 sheep to anyone who could recite the Qur’an over him to cure him. Again, a fixed reward, the man did not offer himself as a slave to whoever could heal him from the snake poison.
I see no reason why energy companies should not be treated in the same way. Give them a fixed payment for their services, but do not give them from the oil and gas resources they extract. These belong to the people