Vastar Achieves 10-Percent Reserve Growth and 170-Percent Reserve Replacement As Total Reserves Reach New All-Time High
HOUSTON, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Vastar Resources, Inc. (NYSE: VRI - news) today announced that the company replaced 170 percent of 1999 production with new reserves at the lowest replacement cost in its history, while also achieving a new high in year-end total reserves.
Proved reserve additions totaled 979 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent (Bcfe) at an average reserve replacement cost, including acquisitions, of $0.71 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas equivalent (Mcfe). Year-end total reserves increased to a record 4,074 Bcfe, up 10 percent over the year-end 1998 base of 3,700 Bcfe.
Exclusive of acquisitions and divestitures, Vastar's exploration, exploitation and development efforts achieved 155 percent reserve replacement, adding 828 Bcfe of new reserves at a finding and development cost of $0.77 per Mcfe. Acquisitions resulted in the addition of 151 Bcfe of reserves, while 72 Bcfe of reserves were divested.
Reserve replacement was achieved for all of the company's products -- natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids.
``The outstanding replacement rate attained by Vastar at such low costs during 1999 further confirms the investment potential of our core-area and deepwater holdings, as well as the effectiveness of our strategies,' said Charles D. Davidson, president and chief executive officer. ``We had an excellent year in both drilling and acquisitions.'
Instrumental to these accomplishments was a 68-percent exploratory drilling success rate, with 40 successes among 59 wells decisioned. In the Gulf of Mexico, 28 successes in 39 wells included discoveries on the Mirage and Horn Mountain deepwater prospects and six new field discoveries on the shelf. Onshore, Vastar achieved 12 successes among 20 wells in the Anadarko basin of Oklahoma, the Arkoma basin of Oklahoma and Arkansas, the Gulf Coast areas of Texas and Louisiana, and Wyoming.
Also contributing to reserve additions were successful development drilling, hydraulic fracturing, the addition of compression and similar measures in many of Vastar's more than 100 producing fields.
Key acquisitions led to expansion of Vastar's interests in such major producing fields as the Grand Isle complex offshore, and the Spider/Logansport, Bayou Sale and San Juan basin areas onshore.
Vastar Resources, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, finds, develops and produces natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons. The company is currently active in more than 100 producing fields, with production in the Gulf of Mexico shelf, Gulf Coast, Rocky Mountains and Mid-Continent areas, and a growing exploratory and development presence in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater trend. Additional information on Vastar is available on the company's website at www.vastar.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially based upon numerous factors, including the accuracy of our reserve estimates. Reservoir engineering is a subjective process of estimating underground accumulations of natural gas and oil that cannot be measured in an exact way. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of proved natural gas and liquids reserves. As a result, reserve estimates are generally different from the quantities of gas and oil that are ultimately recovered. Further details with respect to this as well as other assumptions, risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the material on pages 10-13 in the company's Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998.
SOURCE: Vastar Resources, Inc. |
