SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
__________________________
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) November 11, 2004
Berry Petroleum Company
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 1-9735 77-0079387
(State or other (Commission IRS Employer
jurisdiction of File Number) Identification No.
incorporation)
5201 Truxtun Avenue, Suite 300 Bakersfield, CA 93309
(Address of principal executive offices)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (661) 616-3900
N/A
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
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Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.
The information in this Form 8-K and the Exhibit attached hereto shall
not be deemed "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Act
of 1934, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing
under the Securities Act of 1933, except as shall be expressly set forth
by specific reference in such filing.
On November 11, 2004, Berry Petroleum Company (Berry) announced that it
was the recipient of the Bureau of Land Management's "2004 California
State Director's Award". A copy of the news release is attached hereto
as Exhibit 99.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
BERRY PETROLEUM COMPANY
By /s/ Kenneth A. Olson
Name: Kenneth A. Olson
Title: Corporate Secretary/Treasurer
November 11, 2004
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News Release
Berry Petroleum Company Phone (661) 616-3900
5201 Truxtun Avenue, Suite 300 E-mail: ir@bry.com
Bakersfield, California 93309-0640 Internet: www.bry.com
Contacts: Robert F. Heinemann, President and CEO - -
Ralph J. Goehring, Executive Vice President and CFO
BERRY PETROLEUM COMPANY RECIPIENT OF
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT'S
"2004 CALIFORNIA STATE DIRECTOR'S AWARD"
Bakersfield, CA - November 11, 2004 - Berry Petroleum Company
(NYSE:BRY) received the Bureau of Land Management's "2004 California
State Director's Award" for excellence in oil and gas producing
operations at the McVan property in California's Poso Creek field.
Berry employees Leo Martinez and John Hess accepted the award on
behalf of the company from Richard Grabowski, deputy state director
of the California BLM, at the 2004 Oil and Gas Conference held in
Bakersfield November 10.
At the presentation of the award, Mr. Grabowski said, "On behalf of
the BLM, I would like to congratulate and thank Berry Petroleum for
its continued excellence in the development of federal oil and gas
resources in California. Berry Petroleum is a prudent operator and
while increasing oil production, has remained sensitive to
environmental and safety standards."
Bob Heinemann, Berry's president and CEO commented, "Berry is very
proud to receive this award and I especially would like to thank the
employees who have spearheaded the development of this property. Once
having over 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day of
production, this property fell into disrepair and neglect during the
1980s with production dropping to essentially zero. Since we acquired
the property in early 2003, we have increased production to around
500 BOE per day. We continue to add facilities and steam generation
to the field and have targeted production of over 1,500 BOE per day
in the next several years. This small but profitable property is a
perfect example of Berry making smart, profitable acquisitions, and
is representative of how we manage all of our resources."
In a letter to the company, BLM state director Mike Pool stated, "It
is evident that Berry Petroleum has taken the responsibility of
operating a federal oil and gas lease seriously. Your company has
been a good steward of the property entrusted to you by the people of
the United States. This kind of cooperation helps the BLM in our
efforts to utilize the country's mineral estate in a manner that
safely and effectively utilizes the resources while maintaining a
high environmental and safety standard. BLM will use the McVan-Poso
Creek lease as an example of the proper way to operate a federal
lease."
Berry Petroleum Company is a publicly traded independent oil and gas
production and exploitation company with its headquarters in
Bakersfield, California and was ranked number 25 by Forbes Magazine
on its 2004 "200 Best Small Companies" list.
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