EXHIBIT 99.3
NEWS RELEASE
Pioneer and Woodside Agree to Jointly Explore for Gas
on Gulf of Mexico Shelf
Dallas, Texas, January 23, 2003 -- Pioneer Natural Resources Company ("Pioneer")
(NYSE:PXD) and Woodside Energy (USA) Inc., a subsidiary of Woodside Energy Ltd.
of Australia (ASX:WPL) have agreed to a joint exploration program for a two-year
campaign over the shallow-water Texas Shelf region of the Gulf of Mexico.
Under the agreement, Woodside has taken a 50% interest in 47 offshore
exploration blocks operated by Pioneer. The agreement covers eight prospects and
19 leads and includes five wells in 2003 and three in 2004. The agreement
represents a total cost to Woodside of US$55 million. Most of the wells will
target gas plays below 15,000 feet (4500 meters).
The eight wells to be drilled by the parties in 2003 and 2004 are on prospects
generated and leased by Pioneer since 1997. In addition, the companies will
evaluate for potential inclusion in the drilling program shallower gas prospects
on other blocks covered by the leases.
Woodside's Director of New Ventures, Dr. Agu Kantsler, said the Pioneer
agreement is a key building block in Woodside's growth strategy. It provides the
company with a cost-effective opportunity to participate in and evaluate the
Gulf of Mexico shelf gas play.
"The Gulf of Mexico is one of Woodside's four focus areas in our search for
international exploration and production opportunities to complement our
Australian interests," Dr. Kantsler said. "Through this transaction, we continue
our staged approach to building a balanced portfolio of shallow and deepwater
opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico to manage risk and reward."
Pioneer's Executive Vice President of Exploration, Chris Cheatwood, said
drilling of the first of five wells is expected to begin before the end of
March. "By combining both companies' technical expertise and capital, we can
better manage our risk and properly test a broader portfolio of prospects," he
said.
Dr. Kantsler said the Pioneer acreage targets emerging deep gas, an
under-explored play that has attracted significant interest in the past few
years, primarily because discoveries can be brought into production within six
months to two years due to their proximity to existing infrastructure. "This
opportunity offers the potential for Woodside to achieve gas production and
revenue from the Gulf shelf within the next two years," Dr. Kantsler said.
Woodside Energy Ltd. is Australia's largest exploration and production company
by market capitalization and is operator of the North West Shelf Venture,
Australia's largest resource project. Its interests include Australia, Gulf of
Mexico, North Africa and West Africa.
Pioneer is a large U.S. independent oil and gas exploration and production
company with operations in the United States, Canada, Argentina, South Africa,
Gabon and Tunisia.
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this News
Release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor
Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements and the business prospects of Pioneer Natural
Resources Company are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may
cause Pioneer's actual results in future periods to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other
things, volatility of oil and gas prices, product supply and demand,
competition, government regulation or action, foreign currency valuation
changes, foreign government tax and regulation changes, litigation, the costs
and results of drilling and operations, Pioneer's ability to replace reserves,
implement its business plans, or complete its development projects as scheduled,
access to and cost of capital, uncertainties about estimates of reserves,
quality of technical data, environmental and weather risks. These and other
risks are described in Pioneer's 10-K and 10-Q Reports and other filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Pioneer Natural Resources Company Woodside Energy Ltd. & Subsidiaries
5205 N. O'Connor Blvd., Suite 1400 ACN 004 898 962
Irving, Texas 75039 1 Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia 6000
Tel: 972 444 9001 Tel: 61 8 9348 4000 Fax: 61 8 9348 5539
www.pioneernrc.com www.woodside.com.au
Investment and Media Contact: Media Contact:
Susan Spratlen, Vice President, Rob Millhouse, Public Issues Manager
Investor Relations and Communication W: 61 8 9348 4281
972 444 9001 M: 61 419 588 166
Investment Contact:
Mike Lynn, Investor Relations Manager
W: 61 8 9348 4283
M: 61(10439) 691 592