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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
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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
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SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY COMPANY
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Arkansas 1 - 8246 71-0205415
(State of incorporation (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
or organization) File Number) Identification No.)
1083 Sain Street, P.O. Box 1408, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72702-1408
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(501) 521-1141
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
No Change
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year; if changed
since last report)
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Item 5.
Other Events
Reference is made to the press release issued August 27, 1997, filed
herewith as Exhibit 1, announcing the Company's plans to commence civil
litigation against certain former employees and independent contractors.
Item 7.(c)
Exhibits Reference
(1) Press release dated August 27, 1997 p. 3 - 4
SIGNATURES
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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.
SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY COMPANY
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(Registrant)
DATE: August 27, 1997 BY: /s/ GREG D. KERLEY
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Greg D. Kerley
Vice President -- Treasurer and
Secretary
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For Further Information Contact:
August 27, 1997 Stanley D. Green
Executive Vice President-Finance
and Corporate Development
(501) 521-1141
SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY COMPANY TO COMMENCE CIVIL LITIGATION
AGAINST FORMER EMPLOYEES AND INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., August 27, 1997 - Southwestern Energy Company
(NYSE:SWN) announced today that the Company's Board of Directors has authorized
the commencement of civil litigation against certain former employees of
Southwestern Energy Production Company (SEPCO), a Houston-based subsidiary of
Southwestern, and certain independent contractors who provided land acquisition
services to SEPCO in connection with its ongoing exploration activities in south
Louisiana. The litigation will allege overbilling and misrepresentation of
expenses related to certain of the Company's south Louisiana projects.
The Company, which is continuing its own detailed investigation of the
alleged misconduct, has also been authorized by the Board to turn over certain
materials to the appropriate law enforcement authorities, and the Company
intends to cooperate fully in any investigation that may result.
Said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles E. Scharlau: "We
suspect that the misconduct of former employees and independent contractors may
have artificially inflated costs on certain projects and we intend to pursue
recovery of the alleged overcharges. We have
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conferred with our auditors and do not expect any material impact on our
financial position or results of operation, although we cannot yet speak
definitively about the financial impact of these events."
Scharlau added: "In April, we introduced new management for our
exploration and production operations when we named Harold Korell Executive Vice
President and Chief Operating Officer of Southwestern. We will continue with our
reorganization of these activities and will remain focused on our south
Louisiana projects. Despite the unfortunate development announced today, we
remain confident that our south Louisiana projects still provide the opportunity
for Southwestern and industry partners to find significant new gas reserves
through the use of 3-D seismic exploration technology. The preliminary results
of our investigation have not diminished our enthusiasm about these projects,
and we are encouraged by continuing negotiations with three potential partners
who could help us bring them to fruition."
He continued: "Our Company has been a victim of dishonest practices
and, with our litigation, in addition to recovering our losses, we intend to
send a strong message to the industry that we will not tolerate misconduct by
employees or independent contractors."
Southwestern also announced today that B. Brick Robinson, Executive
Vice President in charge of SEPCO, will retire effective September 1, 1997, and
that David Reinkemeyer, Exploration Manager, resigned from the Company on July
30, 1997. Neither Robinson nor Reinkemeyer is expected to be named in the
Company's civil complaint.
Southwestern Energy Company is a diversified natural gas company whose
wholly owned subsidiaries are engaged in gas and oil exploration and production,
natural gas gathering, transmission, and marketing, and natural gas
distribution.
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