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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Andrew Brockway who wrote (75650)	10/5/2000 10:26:09 AM
From: Wowzer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

Bad news: UCL warned they are going to make MORE than originally thought. UCL is down 3/8 on the news....... Thursday October 5, 9:01 am Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Unocal Corporation Unocal Raises 3Q 2000 Earnings Estimate to 90-95 Cents Per Share EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Unocal Corporation (NYSE: UCL - news) today said it expects adjusted operating earnings (excluding special items) for the third quarter 2000 will be 90 to 95 cents per share. This compares with an earlier estimate (July 27, 2000) of at least 70 cents per share. Unocal's third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2000. The increased expected earnings is the result of higher commodity price benchmarks and lower dry hole expenses. Unocal's updated earnings estimate is based on an expected average price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil of $31.60 per barrel and Henry Hub natural gas price of $4.35 per thousand cubic feet (mcf). The earlier forecast anticipated a WTI price of $29.75 per barrel and Henry Hub price of $4.00 per mcf. The revised earnings estimate does not include miscellaneous special items, including accruals for environmental and litigation matters, the gain on the sale of Unocal's agricultural products business in discontinued operations, certain adjustments in deferred taxes, and the effect of non-cash, mark-to-market accruals by Unocal's Northrock subsidiary that are related to commodity derivative positions not accounted for as a hedge. These derivative positions, which were in place prior to the merger with Unocal (and considered in the valuation), extend until 2004. The third quarter charge for the derivatives accrual will be $36 million aftertax. Unocal expects to announce its third quarter 2000 earnings on Oct. 25, 2000, prior to the open of the NYSE. The company will conduct a conference call for investors at 1 p.m. PDT (4 p.m. EDT) the same day. The conference call will be webcast on the company's web site, www.unocal.com. About Unocal Corporation Unocal is one of the world's leading independent natural gas and crude oil exploration and production companies. At year-end 1999, the company had worldwide natural gas reserves of 6.6 trillion cubic feet, representing two- thirds of the company's overall hydrocarbon reserves. In North America, Unocal is one of largest independent natural gas producers, with current net production of 1 billion cubic feet per day. This news release contains certain forward-looking statements about Unocal's earnings, commodity prices, and dry hole expense. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. The statements are based upon Unocal's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward looking statements. Actual results could differ materially as a result of factors discussed in Unocal's 1999 Form 10-K report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of the company's SEC filings are available from the company by calling 800-252-2233. The reports are also available on the Unocal web site, www.unocal.com. SOURCE: Unocal Corporation