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) December 6, 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 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
On December 6, 2004, Berry Petroleum Company (Berry) signed a
development agreement with Petro-Canada Resources (USA) Inc., to
develop Petro-Canada's Coyote Flats Prospect in the Uinta Basin in
northeast Utah. Berry will be the operator and upon completing a
defined drilling program, will own 50% of approximately 75,000 gross
(72,000 net) undeveloped acres. The Company estimates its total
obligation under this agreement to be approximately $10.3 million
and will vary based on drilling costs. The news release dated
December 7, 2004 is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.
Item 7.01. Regulation FD
Regulation FD Disclosure
(c) Exhibits
The following Exhibits are hereby furnished as part of this Current
Report on Form 8-K:
Exhibit 99 - Press Release dated December 7, 2004 regarding the
Registrant's announcing the signing of a development agreement with
Petro-Canada Resources (USA) Inc., to develop Petro-Canada's Coyote
Flats Prospect in the Uinta Basin in northeast Utah.
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
December 7, 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 SIGNS DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT
ON ADDITIONAL UINTA BASIN ACREAGE
Bakersfield, CA - December 7, 2004 - Berry Petroleum Company
(NYSE:BRY) announced a Development Agreement with Petro-Canada
Resources (USA) Inc., to develop Petro-Canada's Coyote Flats Prospect
in the Uinta Basin in northeast Utah. Berry will be the operator and
upon completing a defined drilling program, will own 50% of
approximately 72,000 undeveloped acres. The Company estimates its
total obligation under this agreement to be approximately $10.3
million and will vary based on drilling costs.
Robert Heinemann, president and chief executive officer, said, "We
are very pleased to partner with Petro-Canada on this opportunity to
develop this acreage. We are buying into one completed well in the
Ferron sand that has tested at over one million cubic feet (MMcf) per
day of natural gas and is awaiting pipeline hook-up. By the end of
December we intend to begin drilling the first of three test wells
into the Ferron sand to a depth of approximately 7,500 feet.
Additionally, we will drill a six-well Emery coalbed methane (CBM)
pilot, which is based on encouraging coal thickness encountered in
the drilling of the earlier Ferron well. This coal, found at
approximately 4,500 feet, was cored and has potential to be
commercially successful. Upon the completion of this portion of the
drilling obligation, Berry will earn 50% in the subject property."
Michael Duginski, senior vice president of corporate development,
added, "We are pleased that we can add this highly prospective
acreage to our growing portfolio of assets in the Rockies. This
acreage is only 35 miles southwest of our Brundage Canyon producing
asset and will complement our asset base by adding both potential
high-volume natural gas producing wells and long-lived gas production
through the CBM development. We paid $1.3 million at signing and
expect to drill all of our obligation wells in 2005 for around $9
million, which will allow us to earn our interest in the acreage."
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.
"Safe harbor under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995:" With the exception of historical information, the matters
discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that
its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no
assurance that its goals will be achieved. Important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements herein include, but are not limited to,
the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices for oil, gas and
electricity, drilling, development and operating risks, a limited
marketplace for electricity sales within California, counterparty
risk, competition, environmental risks, litigation uncertainties, the
availability of drilling rigs and other support services, legislative
and/or judicial decisions and other government or Tribal regulations.
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