Exhibit 99.1
[MERIDIAN RESOURCE CORPORATION LOGO]
MERIDIAN RESOURCE CORPORATION ANNOUNCES
INITIAL RESUMPTION OF PRODUCTION
IN BILOXI MARSHLAND AREA
SINCE HURRICANE KATRINA
Houston, Texas - Oct 7, 2005 - The Meridian Resource Corporation (NYSE: "TMR")
today announced it has initiated production equal to approximately 52% of
pre-storm production since Hurricane Katrina as it completed the repairs and
replacement of equipment at its Facility 1 and Facility 3 in the Biloxi
Marshland ("BML") project area.
"We are extremely pleased with the efforts and results of our operational staff
as well as our service and materials suppliers who have accomplished a near
miracle in a short 38 days since the storm", says Dale Breaux, Vice President of
Production and Operations.
Of the four main production facilities in the BML area that incurred damage,
Facility 1 resumed production on Wednesday with an initial rate of approximately
16 million cubic feet of gas per day ("Mmcf/d") gross (10.5 Mmcf/d net). The
Company anticipates that production from this facility will increase to
pre-storm levels (21 Mmcf/d gross, 13 Mmcf/d net) upon the installation of new
compression equipment which is expected within three to four weeks. This
facility receives production from three wells, the BML 6-1, 6-2 and 6-3 located
in the Company's Atlas prospect area. Additionally, production from the SL 17958
well at Facility 3 in the Apollo prospect area was returned to production on
Thursday at a rate of approximately 12 Mmcf/d gross (7.8 Mmcf/d net).
Meridian expects that it will continue to add production from its BML project
area over the course of the next two to three weeks from the remaining wells at
Facility 2, Facility 3 and Facility 4, all of which will have been returned to
production within 38-60 days of Hurricane Katrina's landfall.
The Company anticipates that the remainder of its facilities near the BML area,
which are currently under reconstruction, including the String of Pearls
facility, the Hornets Nest facility and the Bayou Gentilly tie-in will be
repaired and ready to resume production by the end of October, as anticipated.
However, because the pipelines from these facilities were also damaged and are
under repair by third party operators, the Company is uncertain about the exact
date the pipelines will be open to receive the production from these wells.
As previously announced, the Company expects that essentially all costs to
repair or replace the physical plants and facilities damaged by Hurricane
Katrina will be covered under its insurance policies subject to deductibles
approximating $1.0 million. Meridian continues to drill and explore other core
exploration prospect areas and believes that it has sufficient cash flow and
liquidity to fund both the repairs as well as its exploration and development
drilling programs.
The Company estimates that weather-related production shut-ins have resulted in
approximately 2 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent ("Bcfe") of deferred
production for the third
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1401 Enclave Parkway, Suite 300 o Houston, Texas 77077 o (281) 597-7000
o Fax (281) 558-5744 o www.tmrc.com
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quarter. No reserves have been lost as a result of the two recent storms and the
Company's exploration program remains unchanged other than the timing delays
resulting from damages to its contracted drilling rigs.
THIRD QUARTER UPDATE
Due to the unique events of the past quarter, the Company has deemed it
appropriate to provide some preliminary operating and financial guidance for the
third quarter of 2005. The Company's preliminary assessment for third quarter
2005 production is in the range of 4.4 to 4.8 Bcfe. At this level of production,
after taking into consideration the Company's hedge positions for the quarter
and the accounting treatment of the insurance deductible, the Company estimates
earnings per share will range between $0.00 and $0.02 per fully diluted share
outstanding for the third quarter 2005. The specifics relating to these and
other items affecting earnings will be discussed in more detail when the Company
announces earnings in early November.
RE-CAP OF DATA - Below is a re-capitulation of the data discussed in this press
release:
o BML Facility 1 back online at 10.5 Mmcf/d net, compression expected to
improve rate to pre-storm levels (13 Mmcf/d net)
o BML Facility 3 back online at 7.8 Mmcf/d net, with other wells to be
added soon
o BML Facility 4 expected within next 2 weeks
o BML Facility 2 repairs on schedule
o String of Pearls, Hornets Nest, and Bayou Gentilly repairs on schedule,
production could be delayed because of third party pipelines
o Essentially all repair cost covered by insurance for Katrina damages,
less approximately $1 million deductibles
o Estimated production deferred due to storms in the third quarter: 2 Bcfe
o Current estimates for third quarter earnings range between $0.00 and
$0.02
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT AND DISCLAIMER
Statements identified by the words "expects," "projects," "plans," and certain
of the other foregoing statements may be deemed "forward-looking statements."
Although Meridian believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual future activities and results to be
materially different from those suggested or described in this press release.
These include risks inherent in the drilling of oil and natural gas wells,
including risks of fire, explosion, blowout, pipe failure, casing collapse,
unusual or unexpected formation pressures, environmental hazards, and other
operating and production risks inherent in oil and natural gas drilling and
production activities, which may temporarily or permanently reduce production or
cause initial production or test results to not be indicative of future well
performance or delay the timing of sales or completion of drilling operations;
risks with respect to oil and natural gas prices, a material decline in which
could cause the Company to delay or suspend planned drilling operations or
reduce production levels; and risks relating to the availability of capital to
fund drilling operations that can be adversely affected by adverse drilling
results, production declines and declines in oil and gas prices.
These and other risks are described in the Company's documents and reports,
available from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the report
filed on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004.
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The Meridian Resource Corporation is an independent oil and natural gas company
engaged in the exploration for and development of oil and natural gas in
Louisiana, Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico. Meridian has access to an extensive
inventory of seismic data and, among independent producers, is a leader in using
3-D seismic technology to analyze prospects, define risk, and target
high-potential wells for exploration and development. Meridian is headquartered
in Houston, Texas, and has a field office in Weeks Island, Louisiana. Meridian
stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "TMR."
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lance L. Weaver at (281) 597-7125
Meridian Resource Corporation Website: www.tmrc.com
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1401 Enclave Parkway, Suite 300 o Houston, Texas 77077 o (281) 597-7000
o Fax (281) 558-5744 o www.tmrc.com
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