Focused on efforts to continue its debt load reduction, independent Magnum Hunter Resources Inc. on Thursday said that next month it plans to redeem $30 million of its outstanding 10% senior notes that won’t come due until 2007.

On Jan. 27, the Irving, TX-based producer plans to pay its noteholders the redemption price of 105% of the principal, or $31.5 million, plus accrued and unpaid interest, totaling $475,000.

Magnum Hunter currently has $140 million principal outstanding of its 10% senior notes due in 2007; the redeemed notes will be chosen by lot. Approximately $10.5 million of the outstanding notes are already owned by an unrestricted subsidiary of the company.

“Magnum Hunter continues to deliver its balance sheet and this is just another way for us to reduce the cost of funds,” said CEO Gary C. Evans. “We are essentially taking 10% money and funding it with 3% money under our senior bank credit facility, which saves us over $2 million annually in interest expense.”

Evans added that the company’s success in completing $100 million of non-core asset sales this year gave it sufficient liquidity under its senior bank credit facility to allow for the partial redemption.

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