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Abraxas Forms a Master Limited Partnership and Repays All Outstanding Indebtedness.


SAN ANTONIO San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837.  -- Abraxas Petroleum Corporation (AMEX AMEX

See: American Stock Exchange
:ABP 1. (networking) ABP - Alternating bit protocol.
2. ABP - Microsoft Address Book Provider.
) today announced that Abraxas will redeem its existing $125 million senior secured notes and has terminated its existing revolving credit Revolving Credit

A line of credit where the customer pays a commitment fee and is then allowed to use the funds when they are needed. It is usually used for operating purposes, fluctuating each month depending on the customers current cash flow needs.
 facility. A conference call to discuss these transactions has been scheduled for 11 a.m. CT today.
Abraxas outstanding indebtedness will be repaid in connection with a
series of transactions that are expected to close on May 25, 2007,
including:

    Abraxas formed a master limited partnership, Abraxas Energy
    Partners, L.P. (the "Partnership"), pursuant to which Abraxas
    contributed certain assets located in South and West Texas. The
    assets contributed to the Partnership had estimated proved
    reserves of approximately 65 Bcfe as of December 31, 2006 and
    which currently account for approximately 85% of Abraxas' daily
    production. Abraxas through certain wholly-owned subsidiaries,
    will own an approximate 47% interest in the Partnership,
    consisting of 5,131,959 common units and 227,232 general partner
    units. The general partner of the Partnership, Abraxas General
    Partner, LLC, will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abraxas.

    Abraxas, through certain wholly-owned subsidiaries, sold an
    approximate 53% interest in the Partnership in a private placement
    offering for $100 million. The private placement investor group
    was led by Lehman Brothers MLP Opportunity Fund L.P. and co-led by
    Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Third Point LLC, funds managed by
    Fiduciary Asset Management, LLC, and funds managed by Merrill
    Lynch Commodity Partners, L.P. and Tortoise Capital Resources
    Corporation. The private placement consisted of 6,002,408 common
    units at a purchase price of $16.66 per unit. In connection with
    the private placement of the Partnership units, the Partnership
    has entered into registration rights agreements with regard to the
    limited partner units purchased by the investors.

    The Partnership entered into a $150 million credit facility, of
    which $35 million was drawn at closing.

    Abraxas sold $22.5 million of its common stock in a private
    placement offering to several purchasers of the Partnership units.
    The private placement consisted of 5,874,678 shares of common
    stock, at a purchase price of $3.83 per share. The purchase price
    reflects the 10-day volume weighted average price of the Abraxas'
    common stock prior to closing. The purchasers of the common stock
    were also issued a five-year warrant to purchase up to an
    additional 1,174,938 shares of common stock, at the purchase price
    of the common stock in the private placement. In connection with
    the private placement of Abraxas' common stock, Abraxas has agreed
    to file a registration statement relating to the shares sold and
    the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants within the next
    30 days.

    Net proceeds from the above transactions of approximately $147.3
    million will be used to repay all of Abraxas' and its
    subsidiaries' outstanding indebtedness with the excess proceeds
    dedicated to fund future drilling opportunities and for general
    corporate purposes.


"I am extremely pleased to announce that for the first time in almost thirty years, Abraxas is a debt-free entity, other than the debt at the Partnership. Earlier this year, we realized there was a unique opportunity to recapitalize re·cap·i·tal·ize  
tr.v. re·cap·i·tal·ized, re·cap·i·tal·iz·ing, re·cap·i·tal·iz·es
To change the capital structure of (a corporation).



re·cap
 Abraxas on much better terms than we currently had with our existing debt, and thus, we embraced and acted upon the opportunity to form a master limited partnership. As a result of the private placement, we will ultimately own (through certain wholly-owned subsidiaries) an approximate 47% interest in the Partnership, for which we will receive commensurate com·men·su·rate  
adj.
1. Of the same size, extent, or duration as another.

2. Corresponding in size or degree; proportionate: a salary commensurate with my performance.

3.
 quarterly distributions. Outside of the Partnership, we retained approximately 34 Bcfe of proved reserves proved reserves

The quantity of minerals expected to be recoverable under current economic and operating conditions. The amount of proved reserves is important in valuing the stock of a company with significant holdings in natural resources.
 with numerous high-impact proved undeveloped and probable locations. We retained our resource plays in West Texas (Woodford Shale) and Wyoming (Brooks Draw), in addition to several exploratory projects we have identified in South Texas targeting the Wilcox formation," commented Bob Watson
    For the lacrosse player, see .
Robert Jose Watson (born April 10 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves from 1966-1984.
, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board.  of Abraxas.

A.G. Edwards acted as exclusive financial advisor in connection with the formation of the Partnership and the sole placement agent in connection with the private placement offerings of the Partnership's common units and Abraxas' common stock and warrants.

SG Americas Securities, LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol.

LLC - Logical Link Control
 acted as bookrunner and lead arranger Lead arranger

The senior tier of arranger
, and Societe Generale acted as administrative agent, for the Partnership's credit facility.

Conference call information: Abraxas invites you to participate in a conference call on Friday, May 25, 2007, at 11 a.m. CT to discuss these transactions and respond to questions. Please dial 1-866-383-8003, passcode 28714401, 10 minutes before the scheduled start time, if you would like to participate in the call. The conference call will also be webcast live on the Internet and can be accessed directly on the Company's website at www.abraxaspetroleum.com under the Investor Relations Investor relations

The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors.
 section. In addition to the audio webcast replay, a podcast (iPOD broadCAST) An audio broadcast that has been converted to an MP3 file or other audio file format for playback in a digital music player or computer. The "pod" in podcast was coined from "iPod," the predominant portable, digital music player, and although podcasts are  and transcript A generic term for any kind of copy, particularly an official or certified representation of the record of what took place in a court during a trial or other legal proceeding.

A transcript of record
 of the conference call will be posted on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website approximately 24 hours after the conclusion of the call, and will be accessible for at least 60 days.

The securities have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and unless so registered, the securities may not be offered or sold in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area.  except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation solicitation

In criminal law, the act of asking, inducing, or directing someone to commit a crime. The person soliciting another becomes an accomplice to the crime. The term also refers to the act of obtaining bribes, as well as to the crime of a prostitute who offers sexual
 of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. For more details, refer to the 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on even date.

Abraxas Petroleum Corporation is a San Antonio-based crude oil and natural gas exploitation and production company with operations in Texas and Wyoming.

Safe Harbor Safe Harbor

1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated.

2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive.
 for forward-looking statements forward-looking statement

A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections.
: Statements in this release looking forward in time involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Abraxas' actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance suggested in this release. Such factors may include, but may not be necessarily limited to, changes in the prices received by Abraxas for natural gas and crude oil. In addition, Abraxas' future natural gas and crude oil production is highly dependent upon Abraxas' level of success in acquiring or finding additional reserves. Further, Abraxas operates in an industry sector where the value of securities is highly volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond Abraxas' control. In the context of forward-looking information provided for in this release, reference is made to the discussion of risk factors detailed in Abraxas' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission during the past 12 months.
COPYRIGHT 2007 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2007, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Business Wire
Date:May 25, 2007
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