FORT WORTH, Texas and HOUSTON, May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Snyder Oil
Corporation (NYSE: SNY) (SOCO) today announced an agreement with Texaco
(NYSE: TX) covering six prospects in the Flex Trend area of the Gulf of
Mexico. Under the agreement, SOCO will obtain working interests ranging from
22.5 to 30 percent in prospects located in East Breaks, Garden Banks and
Mississippi Canyon. SOCO expects to invest $25 million in 1998 on these
prospects through a continuous drilling program slated to begin late next
month.
The Company also announced that planned 1998 exploration and development
expenditures have been increased by 40 percent to $200 million, reflecting the
Company's growing portfolio of opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico. This
year, the Company has completed agreements with Shell, British-Borneo and now
Texaco, to participate in the exploration of eight prospects in water depths
ranging from 1,000 to 2,500 feet. On an unrisked basis, SOCO estimates its
total potential net reserves for these prospects to be approximately 400
billion cubic feet of gas equivalent.
John C. Snyder, SOCO Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "With
the opportunities to organically grow our reserve base, the Board has approved
this increase in the Company's 1998 capital program. Participating in these
projects allows us to utilize our strong capital base today, and still
maintain our financial flexibility to do high impact acquisitions that fit our
operating and growth strategies. With the potentially attractive rates of
return afforded from these prospects, we will be shifting some capital from
our acquisition budget to these opportunities."
"The recent additions to our Gulf management team gives us the confidence
to drive this higher level of capital spending in order to capture these new
opportunities," said W. G. Hargett, President and Chief Operating Officer. "We
already have substantial growth built into our Gulf operations through 1999
and these new exploration activities, if successful, will enable us to extend
our production growth several years further into the future. These projects
are highly prospective, supported by recent 3-D seismic, and in some cases
with oil and gas discovered on the prospects by previously drilled wells."
Snyder Oil Corporation is engaged in the production, development,
acquisition and exploration of domestic oil and gas properties, primarily in
the Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains and North Louisiana. The Company also
has investments in two international exploration and production companies,
SOCO International plc and Cairn Energy plc. The Company's shares are traded
on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SNY". SOCO news releases and
other information about the Company can be found on the Internet at
http://www.snyderoil.com.
This release contains certain forward looking statements, which are based
on assumptions which the Company believes are reasonable, but which are
subject to a wide range of uncertainties and business risks. Factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated are
discussed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 1997.
SOURCE Snyder Oil Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.snyderoil.com
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com or
fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 105784
CONTACT:
Rodney L. Waller of Snyder Oil Corporation,
817-882-5937
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