DELTA PETROLEUM CORPORATION
Roger A. Parker, President, CEO and Chairman
Kevin K. Nanke, CFO
Dave Donegan, VP Corporate Communications
370 Seventeenth Street, Suite 4300
Denver, Colorado 80202
DENVER, Colorado (November 8, 2005) -- Delta Petroleum Corporation (NASDAQ: DPTR), an independent energy exploration and development company, today announced that it has entered into a merger agreement with Castle Energy Corporation (“Castle”; NASDAQ: CECX). Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both Delta and Castle, the Company would acquire Castle, which holds 6,700,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, and would issue 8,500,000 shares of common stock to Castle’s stockholders, for a net issuance of 1,800,000 shares of common stock. Castle also holds $40 million in net cash and producing oil and gas properties located in Western Pennsylvania. The Merger is subject to the approval of the Castle stockholders. The Castle family and all of the Castle officers and directors have agreed to vote shares representing approximately 32% of the Castle common stock in favor of the transaction. The Company also intends to seek the approval of its stockholders of the reincorporation of the Company in Delaware in connection with the Castle merger. The Company engaged Lehman Brothers Inc. as its financial advisor for the transaction.
Delta Petroleum Corporation is an oil and gas exploration and development company based in Denver, Colorado. The Company’s core areas of operations are the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain Regions, which comprise the majority of its proved reserves, production and long term growth prospects. Its common stock is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol “DPTR”
Forward-looking statements in this announcement are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty, including without limitation, the costs of exploring and developing new oil and natural gas reserves, the price for which such reserves can be sold, environmental concerns effecting the drilling of oil and natural gas wells, as well as general market conditions, competition and pricing. Please refer to the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings for additional information.
This material is not a substitute for the prospectus/proxy statement Delta and Castle will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are urged to read the prospectus/proxy statement which will contain important information, including detailed risk factors, when it becomes available. The prospectus/proxy statement and other documents which will be filed by Delta with the Securities and Exchange Commission will be available free of charge at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, or by directing a request when such a filing is made to Delta at the address set forth below.
For further information contact the Company at (303) 293-9133 or via email at info@deltapetro.com
OR
RJ Falkner & Company, Inc., Investor Relations Counsel at (800) 377-9893 or via email at info@rjfalkner.com
SOURCE: Delta Petroleum Corporation