Contact: Monty Jones, (512) 499-4363

Date: July 30, 1998

UT System News Release

The Board for Lease of University Lands awarded 414 oil and gas leases yesterday covering 289,822.5 acres in Hudspeth County, Texas.

Bonuses of more than $1,970,575 were deposited in the Permanent University Fund. The average bid per acre was $6.80. The high bid of $18,198.45, or $26.79 per acre, was offered by Trail Mountain, Inc. on a 679.3-acre tract. There are now more than 1.3 million acres of University Lands under lease and all University Lands in Hudspeth County are leased.

"The interest in this large block of unexplored property is extraordinary and exciting, especially in this period of low oil prices." said T. Michael O'Connor, Regent, Texas A&M University System and member of the Board for Lease of University Lands.

The winning bidders were Burlington Resources Oil and Gas ($1,157,953.91), Trail Mountain, Inc. ($760,763.49), and Harvey E. Yates Co. ($51,857.77).

Information about these lease sales may be obtained from the Office of University Lands, P.O. Box 553, Midland, Texas 79702, phone 915-684-4404, fax 915-682-7456. Additional information about University Lands is available on the Internet at http://www.utlands.utsystem.edu.

The Board for Lease is composed of the commissioner of the General Land Office and regents of The University of Texas and Texas A&M University Systems. Oil and gas bonuses and royalties from University lands are deposited in the Permanent University Fund, a constitutionally created endowment fund that benefits institutions in the two university systems.