Contact: Monty Jones, (512) 499-4363

Date: November 13, 2003

UT System News Release

104th Lease Sale Earns $2.5 Million for Permanent University Fund

The Board for Lease of University Lands awarded 34 oil and gas leases to high bidders during its meeting in Odessa on Thursday (November 13) with bonuses totaling more than $2,496,000 to be deposited in the Permanent University Fund.

Dr. Judith Craven, a member of the University of Texas System Board for of Regents, said, "We are pleased with this sale, which brought in almost $2.5 million. That is more than double the amount received at the last sale held in May. We are most appreciative of the interest shown by industry in leasing Permanent University Fund lands."

The sale was the 104th oil and gas lease sale conducted by the Board for Lease of University Lands, a state board consisting of Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson (chairman of the board), U. T. System Regents Cyndi Taylor Krier and Dr. Judith Craven, and Texas A&M University Regent Steve Stevens (vice-chairman of the board).

The leases awarded cover 11,816 acres of University Lands in seven West Texas counties. The counties are: Andrews, Crane, Loving, Upton, Schleicher, Terrell and Pecos. Bonuses paid by the nine successful bidders totaled $2,496,816.92. The average bid was $211.00 per acre.

The top five successful bidders were Jack Oil Company, Roff Oil & Gas, Hilliard Energy, Chalfant Properties, and Anadarko Petroleum.

In an effort to support the petroleum industry's leasing and development activities on University Lands, the Board for Lease of University Lands will continue to schedule two lease sales each year, in May and November. Bids for the next regular lease sale are currently scheduled to be opened on Wednesday, May 19, 2004. Nominations for lease tracts to be placed on the next lease sale will be accepted through January 30, 2004.

Information about these sales may be obtained from the office of University Lands, P.O. Box 553, Midland, Texas 79702-0553, telephone (432) 684-4404, and fax (432) 682-7456. Additional information about University Lands, including oil and gas production and well data, is available on the Internet at www.utlands.utsystem.edu