Cross Timbers Oil Co., riding high on a wave of record earnings and gas production growth, has adopted a new name, XTO Energy Inc., which takes effect June 1. The company will continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “XTO.”

“Our new name, XTO Energy, recognizes the company’s emergence as a dynamic force in the domestic natural gas business,” said CEO Bob R. Simpson. “Our gas production is expected to grow by 20% per year during 2001 and 2002, and proved reserves are slated to increase to 3 Tcfe by year-end 2002, goals which lead the industry.”

Simpson said the name change followed many questions on why the company called itself an oil company when it concentrated on natural gas. Many people already called the company “XTO,” he said.

At the company’s annual meeting in Fort Worth Tuesday, Simpson said that the company’s future had never been brighter. The company began to aggressively purchase natural gas properties in 1997, collecting about $1 billion worth of properties since then, many in East Texas. For the payoff so far, the company’s earnings are up about 13 times from what they were in 1996.

“As a point of reference,” said Simpson, “cash flow in the last 15 months is equal to the last 15 years.”

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