EXHIBIT 99.1


                                NEWS RELEASE

            ABRAXAS REPLACES 218% OF 2003 PRODUCTION FROM DEVELOPMENT
                ACTIVITIES WITH FINDING COSTS OF $1.15 PER MCFE

SAN ANTONIO, TX (March 2, 2004) - Abraxas Petroleum Corporation (AMEX:ABP) today
announced  proved  reserves at December  31,  2003.  Total  proved crude oil and
natural gas reserves  were 121.1 Bcfe at year-end  2003, of which 56.7 Bcfe were
proved  developed  compared to 112.5 Bcfe at year-end  2002,  of which 46.3 Bcfe
were proved  developed.  The 2002  numbers  are after the sale of the  Company's
Canadian  producing  assets,  which closed on January 23,  2003.  This 15.9 Bcfe
increase,  (considering 7.3 Bcfe of production during 2003) represents replacing
218% of the Company's 2003 production.  Based on the Company's  capital spending
of $18.3 million during 2003 on retained  assets,  these new reserves were added
at a finding cost of $1.15 per Mcfe. The independent  reservoir-engineering firm
of DeGolyer and  MacNaughton  prepared  the  year-end  reports for both U.S. and
Canadian properties of the Company.

Under SEC  guidelines,  Abraxas'  proved  reserves  at  December  31,  2003 were
computed utilizing  unescalated year-end realized commodity prices of $31.03 per
barrel of oil and $5.13 per MMBtu of natural gas on U.S. reserves and $31.02 per
barrel of oil and $4.71 per MMBtu of natural  gas on  Canadian  reserves.  Using
these prices,  the discounted net present value of the proved reserves ("PV10"),
before  projected income taxes, at December 31, 2003, using a 10% discount rate,
was approximately $217 million. This PV10 compares to $136 million at the end of
2002, on retained assets, utilizing year-end 2002 realized prices.

Abraxas'  President,  Bob  Watson,  commented,  "With  the  announcement  of our
year-end  reserves,  we have again demonstrated our business plan is working and
our development activities continue to be successful. The fact that we were able
to replace our 2003 production by over 200% at a very attractive finding cost of
$1.15 per Mcfe  testifies  to the  quality  of our  assets  and  should set up a
continuation  of this success for the near term.  This  replacement is even more
impressive  considering  that a significant  amount of our 2003 capital spending
related to conversion of proved  undeveloped  reserves to proved developed,  and
did not generate new incremental  reserves to our total. The continuing strength
in the  commodity  markets  and the  demonstrated  quality of our  inventory  of
development  projects  should  help  us  in  our  ongoing  efforts  to  maximize
shareholder value."

Abraxas Petroleum  Corporation is a San Antonio-based  crude oil and natural gas
exploitation and production company.  The Company operates in Texas, Wyoming and
western Canada.

Safe Harbor for  forward-looking  statement:  Statements in this release looking
forward in time involve  known and unknown  risks and  uncertainties,  which may
cause the Company's 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 the
Company for crude oil and natural gas. In addition,  the Company's  future crude
oil and natural gas production is highly  dependent upon the Company's  level of
success in  acquiring  or finding  additional  reserves.  Further,  the  Company
operates in an industry  sector where the value of securities is highly volatile
and may be  influenced  by  economic  and other  factors  beyond  the  Company's
control.  In the context of  forward-looking  information  provided  for in this
release,  reference is made to the  discussion  of risk factors  detailed in the
Company's filing with the Securities and Exchange  Commission during the past 12
months.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Janice Herndon/Manager Corp. Communications
Telephone 210.490.4788
jherndon@abraxaspetroleum.com
www.abraxaspetroleum.com