Utes

Berry Petroleum and an unnamed industry partner have signed a joint exploration and development agreement with the Ute Indian Tribe to explore and develop 125,000 acres of tribal lands in the Uinta Basin in Utah. Berry also has agreed to purchase an interest in 46,000 acres of fee lands adjacent to or near the tribal acreage.

As a precursor to an expected mid-April Supreme Court decisionon the Southern Ute Indian Tribe vs. BP Amoco rights and royaltycase, the Williams Cos., one of the defendants represented by BPAmoco, announced a partial settlement with the Southern Ute tribeThursday. The settlement released the Williams subsidiary involvedin the trial, Williams Production Co., from all claims included inthe lawsuit, but did not address key ownership issues.