Conoco and Partners Announce Second Success in Vietnam.

Business/Energy Editors

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 2000

Conoco (NYSE:COCA) (NYSE:COCB) and its partners have completed a successful step-out well that significantly extends the producing area of the Rang Dong field in Block 15-2 offshore Vietnam. The well initially tested at a rate of 8,500 barrels per day (bpd) from one zone.

Block 15-2 is about 120 miles (180 kilometers) southeast of Ho Chi Minh City in the Cuu Long Basin in 165 feet (50 meters) of water. The block covers 400,000 acres (1,615 square kilometers) and is in close proximity to the Bach Ho and Ruby fields.

"This is the first well drilled to test the boundaries of the field since Conoco farmed into Block 15-2 in February this year, and we are very pleased with the result," said Rob McKee, Conoco executive vice president for exploration and production. "It confirms our belief that there are many excellent prospects in the area, and we're looking forward to further exploration and development possibilities."

The nearness of the new reserves to the Rang Dong production facility should speed development, McKee said. Production from the Rang Dong field recently increased to about 50,000 bpd as a result of a successful development well, which added 11,000 bpd to total production.

"Conoco is positioning itself to be a significant player in Southeast Asia's oil and gas business," added McKee. "The major discovery we announced in Block 15-1 in September, the success we're announcing today, and the encouraging activity from our seismic studies in Block 16-2, put us well on our way to achieving our aggressive growth goals for Vietnam."

Conoco recently increased its interest from 30 percent to 36 percent in Block 15-2 following approvals from partners and PetroVietnam. Other partners are Japanese Vietnam Petroleum Company (46.5 percent) and PetroVietnam (17.5 percent).

Conoco is one of the leading oil companies in Vietnam, holding interests in five offshore blocks totaling more than 5.75 million acres (23,285 square kilometers).

Conoco is a major, integrated energy company active in more than 40 countries.

This release contains forward-looking statements about Conoco's business plans and operations. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, involve certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict, and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove accurate. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially. Among the factors that could cause such differences are changes in oil and gas prices; unsuccessful exploration and development drilling activities; failure to achieve expected reserve or production levels due to operating hazards, drilling risks, and the inherent uncertainties in interpreting engineering data relating to underground accumulations of oil and gas, inability to obtain government approvals for project development; interruption of operations due to accidents or political events, as well as other risks discussed in Conoco's publicly available filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.