Exhibit 99(a)
MAGELLAN PETROLEUM CORPORATION
MAGELLAN BOARD APPROVES
STOCK REPURCHASE PLAN
MADISON, Conn., December 8, 2000 -- Magellan Petroleum Corporation
(NASDAQ: MPET; Boston & Pacific: MPC) said its Board of Directors has authorized
the open market purchase of up to one million shares of the company's common
stock. The company said management will determine the timing, terms of purchase,
and the number of shares actually purchased, based on market conditions and
other factors, with purchases conducted in accordance with the applicable rules
of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Magellan, an oil and gas exploration company with its primary
operations in Australia, has approximately $15 million of cash and marketable
securities with no long-term debt, a spokesman said, noting that the company is
in an excellent position to proceed to the drilling phase of the aggressive
exploration program initiated in 1998.
The company also reported that two of its directors, Donald V. Basso
and Hedley Howard were elected to three year terms at the December 4th annual
meeting in Orlando, Florida, where shareholders approved a proposal to increase
the authorized common stock of the company to 200 million shares .
Statements in this press release that are not historical in nature are
intended to be - and are hereby identified as -- "forward-looking statements"
for purposes of the "Safe Harbor Statement" under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.
Contact: James R. Joyce, at (203) 245-7664
