United States
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) August 27, 1997
Coastal Caribbean Oils & Minerals, Ltd.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Bermuda 1-4668 NONE
State or other jurisdiction (Commission (IRS Employer
of incorporation) File Number) Identification No.)
Clarendon House, Church Street, Hamilton HM DX, BERMUDA NONE
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (441) 295-1422
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
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FORM 8-K
COASTAL CARIBBEAN OILS & MINERALS, LTD.
Item 5. Other Events
Coastal Petroleum Company, the Company's majority owned subsidiary,
advised the State of Florida that its petroleum consultants have evaluated the
offshore St. George Island prospect and have estimated the structure to contain
2.19 billion barrels of oil in place with 546 million barrels recoverable. The
Company disclosed this evaluation in connection with a pending drilling permit
application to test the prospect
A press release relating to this development is filed herewith as an
exhibit and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 7. Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and
Exhibits
(c) Exhibits
(99) Additional Exhibits
(a) Press release of the registrant dated August 27, 1997.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
COASTAL CARIBBEAN OILS & MINERALS, LTD.
(Registrant)
By /s/ Benjamin W. Heath
Benjamin W. Heath
President
Date: September 2, 1997
COASTAL PETE PROSPECT
SAID TO HAVE 2.19 BILLION
BARRELS OF OIL IN PLACE
APALACHICOLA, FL, August 27, 1997 -- Coastal Petroleum Company today
advised the State that its petroleum consultants have evaluated the Company's
most promising drilling prospect, offshore St. George Island in the Florida
Panhandle region, and have estimated the structure contains 2.19 billion barrels
of oil in-place.
Using a conservative recovery factor, the prospect's recoverable oil
reserves have been calculated at 546 million barrels, the Company said.
Phillip W. Ware, president, said a public hearing on Coastal's drilling
permit application is scheduled to begin on September 29, and that the St.
George reserve estimates will be presented at that hearing. He also noted that
the Company's petroleum consultants will give testimony there.
"If the St. George Island prospect is validated by drilling, it would
become the largest U.S. discovery ever made east of the Mississippi," said Ware.
"But it is evident that the State is doing everything it can to prevent Coastal
from obtaining a drilling permit. Moreover, as in any exploration venture,
drilling may not establish commercially viable quantities of oil or gas."
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Ware further noted that the projected cost of drilling the St. George
Island prospect, approximately $5 million, would make it necessary for the
Company to seek a partner or raise additional capital.
Coastal, which has a 425 mile-long, 880,000 acre offshore leasehold
along the Gulf Coast, has been seeking to drill the St. George Island prospect
for the past five years in the face of unremitting opposition from the State.
Two previous attempts to impose exorbitant surety bond requirements on
the Company have been invalidated by the Florida Supreme Court. On September 9,
however, the governor and cabinet are expected to set a new surety amount of
approximately $4 billion as a precondition for the issuance of a permit under a
1997 statute aimed solely at Coastal.
Ware said the Company contends the new law cannot be applied
retroactively to Coastal, and that $4 billion cannot, in any case, be deemed to
be "reasonable" as required by the statute. He also expressed the view that the
surety bond issue probably will have to be resolved by the Court.
Coastal Petroleum Company is a majority-held subsidiary of Coastal
Caribbean Oils & Minerals, Ltd. (Boston: CCO-B; CCO-BN).
Contact: Phillip W. Ware, at (904) 653-2732
