MURPHY OIL ANNOUNCES STATUS OF DEEPWATER PRODUCTION FACILITIES AND MERAUX REFINERY FOLLOWING HURRICANE KATRINA - September 1, 2005

 

EL DORADO, Arkansas, September 1, 2005 - Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) announced today based on preliminary inspections, only minimal damage has been sustained as a result of Hurricane Katrina to the Company’s operated producing facilities at Front Runner (37.5%) and Medusa (60%) in the Gulf of Mexico. The Front Runner field is located in 3,500 feet of water on Green Canyon Blocks 338 and 339, approximately 135 miles south-southeast of Houma, Louisiana. The Medusa facility is located in 2,200 feet of water on Mississippi Canyon Blocks 538 and 582 approximately 70 miles south of New Orleans. No assessment has been made regarding pipelines nor can any estimated timeline be given at this time for restarting either facility or any of our other offshore Louisiana production.

Some flooding occurred at the Company’s 125,000 barrel a day refinery in Meraux, Louisiana. While repair to part of the plant’s electrical equipment and instrumentation, as well as a general cleanup of the facility, will be necessary, the refinery appears to have sustained no major damage from the storm. However, no estimate can be provided regarding timing of start-up.

Claiborne P. Deming, Murphy’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Foremost, we extend our sympathies to all of those impacted by Hurricane Katrina including, of course, the many Murphy employees and their families in the Greater New Orleans area. We are currently trying to locate all of our employees and assist them so they can begin to rebuild their lives. In terms of damage assessments to facilities and infrastructure, it is too early to tell when damages can be repaired, but we consider ourselves very lucky to have apparently escaped material harm. We will continue to keep you informed of the status of our operations as we obtain more information in the coming weeks.”

The forward-looking statements reflected in this release are made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. No assurance can be given that the results discussed herein will be attained and certain important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially are contained in Murphy’s January 15, 1997 Form 8-K report on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

For further information you may contact:

Mindy West, Director, Investor Relations at (870) 864-6315.