UNITED
STATES
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): January 13, 2006 (January 13, 2006)
BERRY
PETROLEUM COMPANY
(Exact
Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
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DELAWARE
(State
or Other Jurisdiction of
Incorporation
or Organization)
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1-9735
(Commission
File Number)
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77-0079387
(IRS
Employer
Identification
Number)
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5201
TRUXTUN AVE., STE. 300, BAKERSFIELD, CA
(Address
of Principal Executive Offices)
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93309
(Zip
Code)
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Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code: (661)
616-3900
Check
the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously
satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions:
o
Written
communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
230.425)
o
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
o
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the
Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
o
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
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Item 7.01 Regulation
FD
On
Janurary 13, 2006, Berry Petroleum Company issued a news release
announcing commerical drilling results at the Company's
Lake Canyon Prospect in the Uinta Basin, Utah. The information
contained in the press release is incorporated herein by reference and furnished
as Exhibit 99.1.
The
information in this Current Report on Form 8-K and Exhibit 99.1 is being
furnished and shall not be deemed "filed" for the purposes of Section 18 of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the
liabilities of that Section.
Item 9.01 Financial
Statements and Exhibits
(c)
Exhibits
99.1
News
Release by Berry Petroleum Company dated January 13, 2006 titled "Berry
Petroleum Company Announces Discovery at Lake Canyon, Utah.
SIGNATURES
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 hereto
duly authorized.
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BERRY
PETROLEUM COMPANY
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By:
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/s/
Kenneth A. Olson
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Kenneth
A. Olson
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Corporate
Secretary
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Date:
January 13, 2006
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News
Release
Berry
Petroleum Company
5201
Truxtun Avenue, Suite 300
Bakersfield,
California 93309-0640
Phone
(661) 616-3900
Internet www.bry.com
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Contacts:
Robert F. Heinemann, President and CEO - - Ralph J. Goehring, Executive
Vice President and CFO
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BERRY
PETROLEUM ANNOUNCES DISCOVERY AT LAKE CANYON, UTAH
Bakersfield,
CA -January 13, 2006
- Berry
Petroleum Company (NYSE:BRY) announced commercial drilling results from its
shallow Lake Canyon Prospect in the Uinta Basin of Utah. The Nielsen Marsing
and
Taylor Herrick wells have tested production rates of 98 barrels of oil
equivalent per day (BOE/D) and 163 BOE/D, respectively, from the same Green
River formation that is productive immediately east in the Company’s Brundage
Canyon field. Initial performance from these discovery wells suggests that
expected reserves per well are on par with the Brundage Canyon field that is
currently being developed on 40 acre spacing. Current production from the Taylor
Herrick well is not at full capacity as additional facilities are in the process
of being installed. Production from the Nielsen Marsing well is selectively
limited to two of five completion intervals within the well and will be further
optimized when natural gas facilities are completed.
The
Lake
Canyon prospect covers 171,000 gross acres with Berry owning 56.25% working
interest in the shallow zones. Ute Energy L.L.C., an affiliated company of
the
Ute Indian Tribe, owns 25% and Bill Barrett Corporation owns the remaining
18.75%. The shallow zones are those above the Wasatch which is at approximately
6,500 feet.
Robert
Heinemann, president and chief executive officer stated, “Our exploration
efforts are proving successful, and demonstrate increased inventory in the
Uinta
Basin where we have the ability to leverage our existing operations and
services. We have three drilling rigs under contract in the Uinta Basin to
achieve our 2006 drilling activities at Brundage Canyon, Coyote Flats and Lake
Canyon. We plan to drill four additional shallow Lake Canyon wells over the
next
several months to further delineate the prospect acreage as we construct a
natural gas pipeline to service the area. We are initiating plans to accelerate
the development of the Lake Canyon shallow zones in 2006.”
Berry
Petroleum Company is a publicly traded independent oil and gas production and
exploitation company with its headquarters in Bakersfield,
California.
Safe
harbor under the “Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995”
Any
statements in this news release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Words such
as
“suggests,” “expected,”“plan(s),”
and
others indicate forward-looking statements and important factors which could
affect actual results are discussed in Part II of Berry’s Form 10-K filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the heading "Other Factors
Affecting the Company's Business and Financial Results" in the section titled
"Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations."
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