Fortune Petroleum Acquires Oil, Gas Interests

Fortune Petroleum Corp. of Agoura Hills, in completing the first two steps of a three-step deal, said it has acquired a 65% interest in oil and gas properties operated by Fairbanks & Haas Inc. of Ventura.

The first two parts of the deal were completed Jan. 7, and included purchases of leasehold interests in oil and gas in properties in Ventura, Kern and Solano counties and in two counties in Oklahoma. Fortune purchased the majority interest in the energy properties by paying Fairbanks & Haas and its partners 600,000 shares of Fortune’s common stock, which represents 9% of Fortune’s total common shares, said Dan Pasquini, Fortune’s president and chief executive officer.

In the third part of the deal, Fortune hopes to acquire the remaining 35% interest in the same properties by offering holders of that interest 320,000 of Fortune’s common shares, Pasquini said. Fortune hopes to complete that deal by Feb. 15.

Fortune now produces about 105 barrels of oil per day and about 250,000 cubic feet of gas per day. When completed, the purchase will boost production to about 180 barrels of oil a day and 325,000 cubic feet of gas per day, Pasquini said.

As part of the deal, two representatives of Fairbanks & Haas--James D. Langston and Tyrone J. Fairbanks--will be added to the Fortune Petroleum board of directors, Pasquini said.