RNS No 7594x
ATLANTIC RICHFIELD COMPANY
29TH APRIL 1998



Prudhoe Bay Owners to Build Large Oil Field Production Module in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Owners of the Prudhoe Bay Unit
(PBU) on the North Slope of Alaska today announced plans to build the largest
oil field production module ever assembled in Alaska at the Port of Anchorage.

ARCO Alaska, Inc., a subsidiary of Los Angeles-based ARCO (NYSE: ARC),
will manage construction of the project for the PBU partners and will operate
the facilities once they are installed on the Slope.

The 2,700-ton compressor module is part of the previously-announced
Prudhoe Bay Miscible Injectant Expansion (MIX) project which will add 20,000
barrels per day of incremental production at Prudhoe Bay by late 1999 and
increase ultimate Prudhoe Bay liquids recovery by 50 million barrels.

VECO Construction, Inc. will begin assembly of the compressor module in
May, using a site developed by BP Exploration (Alaska) and its contractors for
fabrication of modules for its Northstar development.  The 14-month
construction project will create an estimated 120 jobs in Anchorage. The
compressor module will be delivered to the North Slope by barge in summer
1999.

VECO Construction was previously selected to handle the North Slope
portion of the $160 million project, which entails major modification of the
Prudhoe Bay Central Gas Facility and installation of the compressor module in
the summer of 1999.  Modification of the gas plant and installation of the
compressor module will create an estimated 60 jobs on the North Slope.

Flowline Alaska will fabricate a pipe rack that will tie the new MIX
module to the Central Gas Facility.  The 135-foot pipe rack will be
constructed in Fairbanks this summer generating 15 jobs.  The completed pipe
rack, weighing 70 tons, will be transported in two sections by truck to the
North Slope in late August.

"We're pleased to award this work to Alaskan companies and to give
Anchorage an opportunity to enter the competition for large module
construction," said ARCO Alaska President and Chief Operating Officer Kevin
Meyers. "It's the logical next step following our development of a sealift-
capable, large module fabrication yard on the Kenai Peninsula for the Alpine
project.  We're now pleased to be managing this project in the Port of
Anchorage.  Upon startup in 1999, this project will have an immediate positive
impact on production.  The MIX project is an important part of ARCO'S 'No
Decline After '99' strategy."

"BP is committed to helping grow infrastructure and make Alaska facilities
and labor competitive," said BP Exploration President Richard Campbell. "This
contract reflects our confidence in the ability of Alaskan companies and
workers to meet this challenge.  We are pleased that BP's Northstar facility
at the Port of Anchorage can be utilized for the MIX project."

Terms of the VECO agreement are confidential.

The MIX project will increase the amount of miscible injectant made at
Prudhoe Bay by 20 percent. Miscible injectant is a solvent used for the
Prudhoe Bay miscible gas enhanced oil recovery project, which is already the
world's largest.

The MIX project will also increase the amount of natural gas that can be
produced, processed and reinjected into the Prudhoe Bay reservoir from 7.5
billion to 8 billion cubic feet per day.  This increased gas handling capacity
will boost oil production by 18,000 barrels of oil per day by allowing the
field operators to produce from a larger number of wells at any given time.
It will also increase natural gas liquids production by 2,000 barrels per day.

The Mix project team includes ARCO Alaska, Inc. and BP Exploration
(Alaska) personnel.  Costs of the project will be divided according to Prudhoe
Bay oil ownership interests, with BP paying around 50 percent, ARCO and Exxon
each paying around 20 percent, and Mobil, Phillips, Chevron and other minor
owners paying the remainder.

CONTACT: Ronnie Chappell of ARCO Alaska, 907-263-4102; Carla Beam of BP
Exploration, 907-564-5484;  ,or Bob Davis of Exxon Company USA, 713-656-4376
Web site: http://www.arco.com/

END

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