SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC. 20549
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) February 13, 1997
-------------------
UNOCAL CORPORATION
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)
1-8483 95-3825062
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Commission File Number) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
2141 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 4000, El Segundo, California 90245
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
(310) 726-7600
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
<PAGE>
Item 5. Other Events.
On February 13, 1997 the following news release was issued:
UNOCAL REPLACES 101% OF WORLDWIDE OIL, GAS PRODUCTION
IN 1996; FOREIGN PRODUCTION REPLACEMENT AT 234%
El Segundo, Calif., Feb. 13, 1997 -- Unocal Corporation today said it
replaced 101 percent of its net worldwide oil and gas production in 1996 as the
company continued its aggressive development of energy resources overseas.
The company's worldwide replacement rate excludes the impact of reserve
sales, including most of Unocal's California oil and gas properties, during the
year.
The company said it replaced 234 percent of its foreign production on a
barrel-of-oil-equivalent (BOE) basis with major oil and gas additions from new
and existing fields in Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan.
"We booked more than 268 million BOE in new reserves in 1996 from
discoveries and extensions," said Roger C. Beach, Unocal chairman and chief
executive officer. "This record reflects the success we've had in developing new
projects and lowering development costs with new production techniques to make
additional reserves economic." Nearly 94 percent of these new reserves were in
foreign projects. Approximately 216 million BOE, or 81 percent of these new
reserves, were natural gas.
Beach noted that foreign oil and gas holdings account for nearly 60
percent of the company's total reserves, compared with 48 percent a year ago.
"We added 113 million BOE in Thailand, principally due to the new Pailin field
and additional delineation
<PAGE>
work, 73 million BOE in Myanmar as the Yadana project progressed, and 46 million
BOE in Indonesia, primarily because of our successful exploration and
development program."
The company also added 14 million BOE associated with Unocal's 10
percent interest in the early oil production program with Azerbaijan in the
Caspian Sea.
In the U.S., oil and gas reserves (excluding sales) declined 13 percent
during the year, including downward revisions of nearly 35 million BOE.
"Over the past several years our U.S. emphasis has been development of our
proved reserves inventory to increase production levels," Beach said. "Those
efforts, however, do not show up in total reserve replacement statistics.
"We have now shifted our focus in the Louisiana/Gulf Coast region to
high-return projects that can increase both reserves as well as production. We
formed our new Spirit Energy 76 unit to focus on oil and gas operations in the
Lower 48, and we have hired a new exploration team to build our reserve base."
At year-end 1996, Unocal's worldwide crude oil, condensate and natural
gas reserves totaled nearly 1.65 billion BOE, up from 1.64 billion BOE (excludes
sales) a year before. This included 6,795 billion cubic feet of gas -- 69
percent of the company's reserves, or 1.13 billion BOE -- and 513 million
barrels of crude and condensate (31 percent of the company's reserves).
Unocal calculates the conversion of natural gas to crude oil equivalent
at the ratio of 6.0 thousand cubic feet (mcf) to one barrel.
The sale of Unocal's California oil and gas assets included 147 million
BOE. In the first quarter 1996, prior to the sale closing, the net daily
production from these properties was 30,200 barrels of oil and 52 million cubic
feet of gas. Aftertax earnings from these operations in the first quarter 1996
were $1 million.
2
<PAGE>
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
UNOCAL CORPORATION
CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL GAS RESERVE DATA
ESTIMATED PROVED RESERVES OF CRUDE, CONDENSATE AND NATURAL GAS
Liquids Gas Oil Equivalent
(mmbbls) (bcf) (mmBOE)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C>
1996 Beginning Reserves ................. 667 6,765 1,794
------ ------ ------
Discoveries and Extensions .......... 52 1,297 268
------ ------ ------
Improved Recovery ................... 4 - 4
------ ------ ------
Revisions ........................... (20) (376) (83)
------ ------ ------
Purchases ........................... 2 20 6
------ ------ ------
Sales ............................... (116) (211) (150)
------ ------ ------
Total Adjustments ....................... (78) 730 45
------ ------ ------
Production .............................. (76) (700) (193)
------ ------ ------
1997 Beginning Reserves* ................ 513 6,795 1,646
------ ------ ------
*Includes host country share for
Indonesia, Yemen and Zaire of: ....... 70 530 158
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
ESTIMATED PROVED RESERVES BY GEOGRAPHIC AREA (MILLIONS OF BOE)
U.S. Far East Other Total
Foreign
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
1996 Beginning Reserves ............ 931 712 151 1,794
------ ------ ------ ------
Discoveries and extensions ..... 17 232 19 268
------ ------ ------ ------
Improved Recovery .............. 1 1 2 4
------ ------ ------ ------
Revisions ...................... (35) (29) (19) (83)
------ ------ ------ ------
Purchases ...................... 4 - 2 6
------ ------ ------ ------
Sales .......................... (149) - (1) (150)
------ ------ ------ ------
Total Adjustments .................. (162) 204 3 45
------ ------ ------ ------
Production ......................... (104) (74) (15) (193)
------ ------ ------ ------
1997 Beginning Reserves* ........... 665 842 139 1,646
------ ------ ------ ------
*Includes host country share
for Indonesia, Yemen, and
Zaire of: ...................... -- 152 6 158
</TABLE>
Note: Far East includes Thailand, Indonesia, and Myanmar
Other Foreign includes Canada, UK, Netherlands, Yemen, Zaire, AIOC
3
<PAGE>
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.
UNOCAL CORPORATION
(Registrant)
Date: February 13, 1997 By: CHARLES S. MCDOWELL
- ------------------------ ------------------------
Charles S. McDowell,
Vice President and Comptroller
4
