EXHIBIT 99.1 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 1999

Contact:

Michael O. Aldridge

Vice President - Corporate Communications
1201 Louisiana, Suite 1400

Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 420-1142

           Ocean Energy and Seagull Energy Shareholders Approve Merger

HOUSTON - Ocean Energy,  Inc. (NYSE: OEI) and Seagull Energy  Corporation (NYSE:
SGO) today announced that shareholders  approved the merger of the two companies
in special  shareholder  meetings  earlier today.  After  obtaining  shareholder
approval,  the companies filed the necessary  legal documents  making the merger
effective today.

The combined company,  named Ocean Energy, Inc. and headquartered in Houston, is
the country's ninth-largest independent exploration and production company based
on a market  capitalization of $3 billion, with proved reserves at Dec. 31, 1998
of 2.98 trillion cubic feet of gas equivalent.

Executive officers of Ocean Energy are:

         James C. Flores, Chairman of the Board
         James T. Hackett, President and Chief Executive Officer
         James L. Dunlap, Vice Chairman
         William L.Transier,Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
         Robert K. Reeves, Executive Vice President and General Counsel
         Richard F. Barnes, President, ENSTAR Natural Gas
         John D. Schiller, Senior Vice President of North America
         Richard G. Zepernick, Jr., Senior Vice President of Gulf of Mexico

The  15-member  Ocean  Energy board of  directors  comprises  eight former Ocean
Energy board  members  including  Mr.  Flores,  and seven former  Seagull  board
members including Mr. Hackett.

The common  stock of the new  company  will begin  trading on the New York Stock
Exchange  at the  opening of  business  on  Wednesday,  March 31, 1999 under the
ticker  symbol "OEI".  The Company's  stock will trade under the CUSIP number of
67481E 10 6.

In the  merger,  Ocean  Energy will merge with and into  Seagull,  which will be
renamed Ocean Energy,  Inc. Each old Ocean Energy  shareholder  will receive one
newly issued share of Seagull  common stock for each Ocean Energy  common share,
and all Seagull shares will remain  outstanding.  As a result,  new Ocean Energy
will have approximately 165 million shares  outstanding,  of which approximately
61.5%  will be owned by Ocean  Energy  shareholders  and 38.5%  will be owned by
Seagull  shareholders.  As OEI  stockholders  will  own a  majority  of the  new
company's common stock, the merger will be treated for accounting purposes as an
acquisition by Ocean Energy of Seagull in a purchase business transaction.

Seagull shareholders will retain their stock certificates. Record holders of old
OEI common stock will be sent letters of transmittal and other  instructions for
exchanging their stock certificates for certificates  representing the new Ocean
Energy common stock.

Certain statements in this news release regarding future expectations, plans for
acquisitions,  dispositions, and oil and gas reserves, exploration, development,
production and pricing may be regarded as "forward  looking  statements"  within
the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. They are subject to various
risks, such as operating hazards, drilling risks, and the inherent uncertainties
in interpreting  engineering  data relating to underground  accumulations of oil
and gas,  as well as other  risks  discussed  in  detail  in the  Companys'  SEC
filings,  including the Annual  Report on Form 10-K for the year ended  December
31, 1998. Actual results may vary materially.

     For more information,  contact Investor Relations at (713) 420-1143 or mail
requests to 1201 Louisiana, Suite 1400, Houston, Texas 77002.