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Gold/Mining/Energy : Conoco (COC) - The biggest U.S. IPO ever -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Night Writer who wrote (42)	1/25/1999 2:17:00 PM
From: Night Writer	Respond to of 123

Conoco Strengthens its Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Portfolio HOUSTON, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Conoco (NYSE: COC) announced today an agreement with Exxon Corporation (NYSE: XON) to exchange interest in 59 deepwater blocks in the Gulf of Mexico. Conoco acquired a 50-percent interest in 29 of Exxon's blocks, while Exxon acquired a 50-percent interest in 30 of Conoco's blocks. Conoco was the sole lessee of its 30 blocks and will retain a 50-percent interest in each. The acreage is in Green Canyon, Garden Banks, Walker Ridge and Keathley Canyon areas in the Gulf of Mexico. "The Gulf of Mexico continues to be one of the great growth opportunities for oil and gas in the U.S., and these newly acquired interests are perfectly aligned with our exploration strategy to focus on deepwater," said Rob McKee, Conoco executive vice president, exploration production. "This exchange increases our access to acreage and at the same time spreads economic and geological risks." Conoco is a leading deepwater leaseholder in the Gulf of Mexico, with interests in 295 blocks -- amounting to 1.2 million net acres (or 1.7 million gross acres) -- in water depths up to 10,500 feet. Later this month, Conoco and R & B Falcon will debut their ultra-deepwater drillship, the Deepwater Pathfinder. It is the world's first new-build drillship capable of drilling in depths as great as 10,000 feet. The Deepwater Pathfinder will spend its first five years drilling in the Gulf of Mexico for Conoco. "To improve drilling efficiency and achieve cost reductions, we've introduced a very focused set of team building sessions with the crew of the Deepwater Pathfinder and the Lafayette operations staff. The team's goal is to improve drilling performance daily and achieve optimal performance early in the drilling program," McKee said. "I believe this unique approach, which has been successfully used by a limited number of other companies, will have very tangible results." Worldwide, Conoco holds interests in 35 million acres of deepwater leases, and is the largest deepwater leaseholder in the industry. The company is focused on five highly prospective areas: the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, northern South America, the Atlantic Margin of Northwest Europe, West Africa and Asia Pacific. Conoco is a major, integrated energy company based in Houston and active in 40 countries. SOURCE Conoco Inc. CO: Conoco Inc.; Exxon Corporation ST: Texas IN: OIL SU: 01/25/99 11:00 EST prnewswire.com