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): June 8, 2006 (June 7, 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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1
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Item 1.01 Entry
Into A Material Definitive Agreement
On
June
8, 2006, Berry Petroleum Company issued a news release announcing that
Berry
Petroleum Company (NYSE:BRY) had entered into a definitive agreement with
EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. (NYSE:ECA) to jointly develop a portion of
EnCana’s North
Parachute Ranch property
in the
Piceance Basin of western Colorado. Berry will fund the drilling of 90 natural
gas wells on EnCana’s valley lands and will acquire 4,300 gross acres
elsewhere in the North Parachute Ranch property with a working interest of
95%
and a net revenue interest of 79%.
The
information contained in the press release is incorporated herein by reference
and furnished as Exhibit 99.1.
Item 9.01 Financial
Statements and Exhibits
(c)
Exhibits
99.1
News
Release by Berry Petroleum Company dated June 8, 2006 titled "Berry
Petroleum Company Expands Piceance Basin Asset Base."
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:
June 8, 2006
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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
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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 EXPANDS PICEANCE BASIN ASSET BASE
Bakersfield,
CA - June 8, 2006
- Berry
Petroleum Company (NYSE:BRY) announced that it has entered into a definitive
agreement with EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. (NYSE:ECA) to jointly develop a
portion of EnCana’s North
Parachute Ranch property
in the
Piceance Basin of western Colorado. Berry will fund the drilling of
90 natural
gas wells on EnCana’s valley lands and will acquire 4,300 gross acres
elsewhere in the North Parachute Ranch property with a working interest
of 95%
and a net revenue interest of 79%.
Robert
F.
Heinemann, president and chief executive officer of Berry said, “We are excited
to have the opportunity to expand our reserves and drilling inventory
in the
prolific Piceance Basin. Berry’s asset base is rapidly becoming balanced between
natural gas and crude oil. The Company estimates it now has proved
and probable
reserves of almost 850 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent
in this
basin when combined with the Grand Valley field acquisition completed
earlier
this year. This project has the size and scale to materially grow Berry’s
natural gas production in the Rockies. With an inventory of 400 drilling
locations, Berry plans to invest over $750 million of development capital
over
the next several years in this opportunity alone.”
Dan
Anderson, vice president of Rocky Mountain production added, “We are pleased to
partner with EnCana on this joint development project and look forward
to
maximizing the production and reserves from this new asset. In addition
to the
capital for the 90 participation wells, Berry will invest $24 million
in 2006 to
drill and complete wells on the Company’s acquired acreage. We have two
rigs available to start drilling in July and anticipate having a total
of six
rigs in 2006 as part of a continuous drilling program in the basin.
We expect
the productivity of the North Parachute Ranch wells to be comparable
to wells in
our adjacent Grand Valley project. Initial natural gas production from
these
wells ranges from 1.3 million to 2 million cubic feet per day.”
About
Berry Petroleum Company
Berry
Petroleum Company is a publicly traded independent oil and gas production
and
exploitation company with its headquarters in Bakersfield, California
and a
regional office in Denver, Colorado.
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
“will,” “plans,” “estimates,” “expect,” “anticipate,” and forms of those words
and others indicate forward-looking statements. Important factors which
could
affect actual results are discussed in PART
1, Item 1A. Risk Factors
of
Berry’s 2005 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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