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     As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 26, 1997
                                        Registration Statement No. 333-
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                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C.  20549

                             --------------------

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                             --------------------

                            TITAN EXPLORATION, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



         DELAWARE                                     75-2671582
(State or other jurisdiction              (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
of incorporation or organization)

     500 WEST TEXAS, SUITE 500
           MIDLAND, TEXAS                                79701
(Address of principal executive offices)               (Zip Code)

                             --------------------
                                  OPTION PLAN
                            (Full title of the Plan)
                             --------------------

         Jack D. Hightower                            Copy to:
     President, Chief Executive                    Joe Dannenmaier
  Officer and Chairman of the Board               Thompson & Knight,
      Titan Exploration, Inc.                A Professional Corporation
     500 West Texas, Suite 500                   1700 Pacific Avenue
        Midland, Texas 79701                          Suite 3300
(Name and address of agent for service)           Dallas, Texas 75201
                                                     (214) 969-1700
          (915) 682-6612                     
  (Telephone number, including
  area code, of agent for service)

                             -------------------

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE



============================================================================================================================
   Title of securities to     Amount to be     Proposed maximum offering       Proposed maximum              Amount of
             be              registered(1)        price per share(2)          aggregate offering          registration fee
         registered                                                                price(2)
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  
  Common Stock par value       3,631,350                $2.08                    $7,553,208                   $2,289   
  $.01 per share  . . . .        shares
============================================================================================================================ 



(1)  Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, shares issuable 
     upon any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction with respect 
     to these shares are also being registered hereunder.
(2)  Estimated solely for the purpose of determining the registration fee 
     pursuant to Rule 457(h).

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                                     PART I

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(A) PROSPECTUS

Item 1.     Plan Information.*

Item 2.     Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information.*

- ------------

*     Information required by Part I to be contained in the Section 10(a)
      prospectus is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with
      Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Note to Part I of Form
      S-8.
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                                    PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.     Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

      The following documents filed by the Registrant with the Securities and
Exchange Commission are incorporated by reference in this Registration
Statement:

      (1)   The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
            December 31, 1996, containing the consolidated financial statements
            of the Company and its subsidiaries and certain supplementary data
            for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1996, together with the
            report thereon of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP, independent public
            accountants.

      (2)   All other reports filed by the Company pursuant to Section 13(a) or
            15(d) of the Exchange Act since December 31, 1996.

      (3)   The description of the Common Stock contained in the Company's
            Registration Statement on Form 8-A (Registration Statement No.
            000-21843), including any amendment or report filed for the purpose
            of updating such description.

      In addition, all documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to
the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-
effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold
or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part
hereof from the date of filing of such documents.


Item 4.     Description of Securities.

      Not applicable.


Item 5.     Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

      Not Applicable.


Item 6.     Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

      The General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the "DGCL") permits
the Registrant and its stockholders to limit directors' exposure to liability
for certain breaches of the directors' fiduciary duty, either in a suit on
behalf of the Registrant or in an action by stockholders of the Registrant.

      The Registrant's Certificate of Incorporation eliminates the liability of
directors to stockholders or the Registrant for monetary damages arising out of
the directors' breach of their fiduciary duty of care.  The Certificate of
Incorporation also authorizes the Registrant to indemnify its directors,
officers, incorporators, employees, and agents with respect to certain costs,
expenses and amounts incurred in connection with an action, suit or proceeding
by reason of the fact that such person was serving as a director, officer,
incorporator, employee or agent of the Registrant.  In addition, the
Registrant's Certificate of Incorporation permits the Registrant to provide
additional indemnification rights to its officers and directors and to
indemnify them to the greatest extent possible under the DGCL.

      The foregoing summaries are necessarily subject to the text of the
statute, bylaws, and certificate of incorporation referenced above and are
qualified in their entirety by reference thereto.





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Item 7.     Exemption from Registration Claimed.

      Not Applicable.


Item 8.     Exhibits.

      The following documents are filed as exhibits to this Registration
Statement:

            4.1   Option Plan (filed as Exhibit 10.8 to the Registrant's
                  Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No.
                  333-14029) and incorporated herein by reference.

            5.1   Opinion of Thompson & Knight, A Professional Corporation.

            23.1  Consent of Thompson & Knight, A Professional Corporation
                  (included in the opinion of Thompson & Knight, P.C. filed
                  herewith as Exhibit 5.1).

            23.2  Consent of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP.

            24.1  Power of Attorney (included on signature page of this
                  Registration Statement).


Item 9.     Undertakings.

      The Registrant hereby undertakes:

            (1)   To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
      made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

                  (i)   To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3)
            of the Securities Act of 1933;

                  (ii)  To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
            arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or
            the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
            individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in
            the information set forth in this Registration Statement.
            Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume
            of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities
            offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any
            deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum
            offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed
            with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate,
            the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change
            in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the
            "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the effective
            registration statement; and

                  (iii)       To include any material information with respect
            to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this
            Registration Statement or any material change to such information
            in this Registration Statement;

      provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(i) and (1)(ii) do not apply if the
      information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by
      those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the Registrant
      pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
      1934 that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

            (2)   That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
      Securities Act of 1933, each such post- effective amendment shall be
      deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
      offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall
      be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.





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            (3)   To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
      amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at
      the termination of the offering.

            (4)   That, for purposes of determining any liability under the
      Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant's annual report
      pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
      of 1934 that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement
      shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the
      securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that
      time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

            (5)   Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
      Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and
      controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing
      provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the
      opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is
      against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore,
      unenforceable.  In the event that a claim for indemnification against
      such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses
      incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the
      Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding)
      is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection
      with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the
      opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling
      precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question
      whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed
      in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.





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                                   SIGNATURES

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets
all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of Midland and State of Texas on the 25th day of
June, 1997.

                                            TITAN EXPLORATION, INC.            
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                            By:       /s/ Jack D. Hightower    
                                                  -----------------------------
                                                  Jack D. Hightower, President 
                                                  Chief Executive Officer      
                                                  and Chairman of the Board    


                               POWER OF ATTORNEY

      KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned directors and
officers of Titan Exploration, Inc., a Delaware corporation, which is filing a
Registration Statement on Form S-8 with the Securities and Exchange Commission
under the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, hereby
constitute and appoint Jack D. Hightower and William K.  White, and each of
them, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of
substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in
any and all capacities, to sign such Registration Statement and any or all
amendments to the Registration Statement, including a Prospectus or an amended
Prospectus therein, and all other documents in connection therewith to be filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said
attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do
and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in
and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or
could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said
attorneys-in-fact as agents or any of them, or their substitute or substitutes,
may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration
Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the
dates indicated.



          SIGNATURE                           TITLE                       DATE
          ---------                           -----                       ----
                                                               
    /s/ Jack D. Hightower          President, Chief Executive        June 25, 1997
- --------------------------------                                                  
      Jack D. Hightower            Officer and Chairman of
                                   the Board (principal
                                   executive officer)
                               
     /s/ William K. White          Vice President, Finance           June 25, 1997
- --------------------------------                                                  
       William K. White            and Chief Financial
                                   Officer (principal
                                   financial and accounting
                                   officer)
                               
     /s/ George G. Staley          Executive Vice President,         June 25, 1997
- --------------------------------                                                  
       George G. Staley            Exploration and Director
                               
                               
      /s/ David R. Albin           Director                          June 25, 1997
- --------------------------------                                                  
        David R. Albin         
                               
     /s/ Kenneth A. Hersh          Director                          June 25, 1997
- --------------------------------                                                  
       Kenneth A. Hersh        
                               
  /s/ William J. Vaughn, Jr.       Director                          June 25, 1997
- --------------------------------                                                  
    William J. Vaughn, Jr.     






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                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS



Exhibit Number                                           Exhibit
- --------------                                           -------
                     
      4.1               Option Plan (filed as Exhibit 10.8 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1
                        (Registration Statement No. 333-14029) and incorporated herein by reference.

      5.1               Opinion of Thompson & Knight, A Professional Corporation.

      23.1              Consent of Thompson & Knight, A Professional Corporation (included in the opinion of Thompson &
                        Knight, P.C. filed herewith as Exhibit 5.1).

      23.2              Consent of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP.

      24.1              Power of Attorney (included on signature page of this Registration Statement).