BR Announces Results on Madden Field Bighorn 5-6 Well.

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 15, 1999--

Burlington Resources Inc. (NYSE:BR) today announced that it had completed drilling its fourth Deep Madison Formation well, the Bighorn 5-6, at the Madden Field in central Wyoming. Burlington Resources, as operator, holds a 50.6% working interest in the well. Other working interest owners include W.A. Moncrief, Jr. (36.1%); and North Central Oil Corporation (13.3%).

The Bighorn 5-6 well reached a total depth of 25,190 feet in a record 300 days from spud date. Based upon log analysis, a total of 279 feet of the Madison dolomite reservoir was penetrated in the well, yielding 196 feet of net pay. No water level was encountered in the formation. The overall thickness and quality of the reservoir in this well is very similar to that of the three existing Madison wells, each of which are currently capable of producing up to 50 million cubic feet of gas per day. The lowest known gas in the Madison Formation, which had previously been delineated by the Bighorn 4-36, was extended downdip by an additional 210 feet.

Prior to the drilling of the Bighorn 5-6, gross proved gas reserves in the Madison Formation were approximately 2 TCF. Evaluation to determine the magnitude of reserve additions associated with drilling the Bighorn 5-6 will be conducted in January 2000, simultaneous with final well testing and completion activities. The rig used to drill the Bighorn 5-6 will be moved to begin drilling the next Deep Madison Formation well, the Bighorn 6-27 in January 2000. The Bighorn 6-27 will be drilled in a location expected to be 600 feet downdip from the Bighorn 5-6 in an attempt to extend the known limit of the reservoir and prove up the existence of additional downdip reserves.

By reaching total depth on the 300th day, the Bighorn 5-6 was drilled 40% faster than the last Deep Madison well, the Bighorn 4-36, which reached a total depth of 24,600 feet. Projected drilling, completion and equipment savings are anticipated to be almost $10 million or 24% less compared to the Bighorn 4-36.

Bobby S. Shackouls, Chairman, President and CEO, commented: "We are extremely pleased with the results on the Bighorn 5-6 well, which has provided further evidence of the world-class nature of the Madison reservoir. As importantly, the time and cost savings realized in drilling this well is clear evidence of what we can do when we apply BR's strong engineering capability to improving the value of underdeveloped assets such as the Madden Field. The combination of expanding the known reserves in this legacy type gas reservoir, combined with these substantial cost reductions, is consistent with our overall goal of improving the financial return realized by our shareholders on the assets we manage."

BR acquired its interest in the Madden Field through its merger with The Louisiana Land & Exploration Company in October 1997.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS 

This press release may contain projections and other forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any such projections or statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. No assurances can be given, however, that these events will occur or that such projections will be achieved and actual results could differ materially from those projected. A discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected is included in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.