if any, such proposals might have on the Company. Similarly, and despite the trend toward federal deregulation of the natural gas industry, whether or to what extent that trend will continue, or what the ultimate effect will be on the Company's sales of gas, cannot be predicted.

   The Company owns certain natural gas pipelines that it believes meet the standards the FERC has used to establish a pipeline's status as a gatherer not subject to FERC jurisdiction under the NGA. State regulation of gathering facilities generally includes various safety, environmental, and in some circumstances, nondiscriminatory take requirements, but does not generally entail rate regulation. Natural gas gathering may receive greater regulatory scrutiny at both state and federal levels in the post-Order No. 636 environment.

   Oil Price Controls and Transportation Rates. Sales of crude oil, condensate and gas liquids by the Company are not currently regulated and are made at market prices. The price the Company receives from the sale of these products may be affected by the cost of transporting the products to market. Much of that transportation is through interstate common carrier pipelines. Effective as of January 1, 1995, the FERC implemented regulations generally grandfathering all previously approved interstate transportation rates and establishing an indexing system for those rates by which adjustments are made annually based on the rate of inflation, subject to certain conditions and limitations. These regulations may tend to increase the cost of transporting oil and natural gas liquids by interstate pipeline, although the annual adjustments may result in decreased rates in a given year. These regulations have generally been approved on judicial review. Every five years, the FERC must examine the relationship between the annual change in the applicable index and the actual cost changes experienced in the oil pipeline industry. The first such review was completed in 2000 and on December 14, 2000, FERC reaffirmed the current index. The Company is not able at this time to predict the effects of these regulations, if any, on the transportation costs associated with oil production from the Company's oil producing operations.

   Environmental Regulations. The Company's operations are subject to numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the discharge of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to environmental protection. These laws and regulations may require the acquisition of a permit before drilling commences, restrict the types, quantities and concentration of various substances that can be released into the environment in connection with drilling and production activities, limit or prohibit drilling activities on certain lands within wilderness, wetlands and other protected areas, require remedial measures to mitigate pollution from former operations, such as pit closure and plugging abandoned wells, and impose substantial liabilities for pollution resulting from production and drilling operations. Public interest in the protection of the environment has increased dramatically in recent years. The trend of more expansive and stricter environmental legislation and regulations applied to the oil and natural gas industry could continue, resulting in increased costs of doing business and consequently affecting profitability. To the extent laws are enacted or other governmental action is taken that restricts drilling or imposes more stringent and costly waste handling, disposal and cleanup requirements, the business and prospects of the Company could be adversely affected.

   The Company generates wastes that may be subject to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA") and comparable state statutes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and various state agencies have limited the approved methods of disposal for certain hazardous and nonhazardous wastes. Furthermore, certain wastes generated by the Company's oil and natural gas operations that are currently exempt from treatment as "hazardous wastes" may in the future be designated as "hazardous wastes," and therefore be subject to more rigorous and costly operating and disposal requirements.

   The Company currently owns or leases numerous properties that for many years have been used for the exploration and production of oil and gas. Although the Company believes that it has used good operating and waste disposal practices, prior owners and operators of these properties may not have used similar practices, and hydrocarbons or other wastes may have been disposed of or released on or under the properties owned or leased by the Company or on or under locations where such wastes have been taken for disposal. In addition, many of these properties have been operated by third parties whose treatment and disposal or release of hydrocarbons or other wastes was not under the Company's control. These properties and the wastes disposed thereon may be subject to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA"), RCRA and analogous state laws as well as state laws governing the management of oil and gas wastes. Under such laws, the Company could be required to remove or remediate previously disposed wastes (including wastes disposed of or released by prior owners or operators) or property contamination (including groundwater contamination) or to perform remedial plugging operations to prevent future contamination.

   CERCLA, also known as the "Superfund" law, and similar state laws impose liability, without regard to fault or the legality of the original conduct, on certain classes of persons that are considered to have contributed to the release of a "hazardous substance" into the environment. These persons include the owner or operator of the disposal site or sites where the release occurred and companies that disposed or arranged for the disposal of the hazardous substances found at the site. Persons who are or were responsible for releases of hazardous substances under CERCLA may be subject to joint and several liability for the costs of cleaning up the hazardous substances that have been released into the environment, for damages to natural resources and for the costs of certain health studies, and it is not uncommon for neighboring landowners and other third parties to file claims for personal injury and property damage allegedly caused by the hazardous substances released into the environment.

   The Company's operations may be subject to the Clean Air Act ("CAA") and comparable state and local requirements.