Unocal Sets Drilling Records in Dev

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Subject: Unocal Sets Drilling Records in Developing Funan Gas Field

Offshore Thailand
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Unocal Sets Drilling Records in Developing Funan Gas Field Offshore
Thailand

               PRNewswire
               25-MAR-99

               EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire/ --
               Unocal Corporation today said its Unocal Thailand,
               Ltd., subsidiary set two records in drilling natural
               gas development wells at the Funan J platform in
               the Gulf of Thailand. 

               The company drilled the Funan J-13 well at a rate of
               5,145 feet per day (FPD), believed to be a world
               record. This performance eclipsed the previous
               single-well Gulf of Thailand record of 4,720 FPD set
               in 1997 on the Satun A-17 well. The Funan J-13
               well was drilled to 9,862 feet (7,900 feet vertical
               depth) in only 46 hours. 

               Each platform contains about 14 gas development
               (or production) wells. For the entire Funan J
               platform development, the average penetration rate
               of the 14-well drilling program was 4,010 FPD. This
               was 21 percent faster than the previous record of
               3,300 FPD for all wells on the Satun L platform in
               1997. The 14-well drilling program was completed in
               just 61 days. 

               "The records achieved on the Funan J platform
               make it the most efficiently drilled development so
               far for Unocal Thailand," said, Tara Tiradnakorn,
               Unocal Thailand's vice president of operations.
               "Continued focus on improving drilling and operating
               efficiency will ensure that we will be able to
               economically produce the maximum amount of
               clean-burning natural gas for Thailand. This will
               benefit both the Kingdom and Unocal by reducing
               the amount of imported fuels needed to drive the
               economy." 

               Tiradnakorn said the company achieved the two
               drilling records because of its familiarity with the
               behavior and characteristics of Gulf of Thailand
               geology and the application of slimhole drilling.
               Slimhole drilling, pioneered by Unocal in Indonesia,

               uses a smaller well diameter than conventional oil
               and gas wells to reduce drilling time and produce
               fewer well cuttings. 

               The 14 wells on the Funan J platform were drilled at
               an average cost of $800,000 per well, or $77.05
               per foot. The J-13 well cost $636,000, or $64.50
               per foot. 

               "These drilling records were also achieved safely,
               without any incidents," Tiradnakorn said. "We take
               great pride in our safety record, and we emphasize
               that safety and efficiency work hand in hand."
               Unocal has drilled approximately 1,200 wells in the
               Gulf of Thailand. 

               The Funan J platform is expected to produce about
               46 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent. The
               platform will come on production May 1999 at a rate
               of 60 million cubic feet of gas per day. 

               Unocal Thailand is the leading producer of natural
               gas in Thailand. Together with it's
               co-concessionaires -- Mitsui Oil Exploration
               Company Limited and PTT Exploration and
               Production Public Company Limited -- Unocal is
               currently producing nearly 1 billion cubic feet of
               natural gas and 33,000 barrels of condensate per
               day. Unocal's average net working interest is 64
               percent. 

               Unocal is one of the world's largest independent oil
               and gas exploration and production companies, with
               resource development, power plant and pipeline
               projects in Asia, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region and
               Latin America. 

               Forward-looking statements regarding reserves and
               future production rates in this news release are
               based on assumptions concerning market,
               competitive, regulatory, environmental, operational
               and other considerations. Actual results could differ
               materially as a result of factors discussed in
               Unocal's 1998 Form 10-K report filed with the
               Securities and Exchange Commission.