Spirit Energy 76, Unocal Corp.’s Lower 48 exploration andproduction unit, agreed to sell substantially all of its oil andgas assets in Oklahoma to Magnum Hunter Production Inc. for about$36 million in cash.

About 115,300 net leasehold acres currently producing about 16.2MMcfe/d are included in the sale, in addition to some acreage inthe Texas Panhandle. Estimated reserves were not disclosed. About80% of the proven reserves are in the proved producing category andhave a reserve life index of nine years. One of the fields includesa gas processing plant and gas gathering system.

The reserves are located principally in the Ardmore Basin insouth-central Oklahoma and in the Oklahoma-Texas panhandle. About90% of the estimated reserves are gas and 10% are oil. Theacquisition is seen by Magnum to complement its Panoma gasproduction in the Texas panhandle and throughout Oklahoma.

The effective date of the transaction will be Dec. 31, andclosing is expected by year-end. Unocal expects to record a gain inthe fourth quarter At closing, it is expected that Magnum Huntersubsidiary Gruy Petroleum Management Co. will become the operatorof many of the Unocal operated wells, the gas gathering system, andassociated assets.

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