HOUSTON, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:HNR) today announced that it has established initial oil and gas production from an eight-well appraisal and development drilling project on its Antelope project in Duchesne County, Utah. The eight well program is operated by Newfield Exploration Company (Newfield) (NYSE:NFX) with Harvest holding a 43 percent working interest. The parties have formed a 320 acre Area of Mutual Interest (AMI) containing the eight drilling locations in the southern portion of Harvest's Antelope project land position. Production is from the Green River formation at a depth of approximately 6,800 feet and represents an extension of the existing 1,700 well Monument Butte field operated by Newfield. The first well in the program, the Moon # 1-29-4-2, was completed in November and placed on production on December 6, 2009. Average production for the first seven days was 344 BOPD and 0.5 MMCFD. The second well in the program, the Moon # 1-20-4-2, was also completed in November. This well was placed on production today. The third well in the program has been drilled and logs indicate thicker pay than either of the first two wells. This well is awaiting completion, with the fourth well currently being drilled. The parties anticipate completing the entire eight-well program in the first quarter of 2010. Harvest President and CEO James Edmiston said: "We are very pleased that the results of the first two wells in this program exceeded our pre-drill expectations. With gross drilling and completion costs of approximately $800,000 for each of these wells, the results should provide strong economics. It is also worth noting that this production represents Harvest's first oil and gas production in the United States. We look forward to building on this initial success by completing the remainder of the eight-well program and evaluating the opportunity to further expand drilling into adjacent joint acreage." About Harvest Natural Resources Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. headquartered in Houston, Texas, is an independent energy company with principal operations in Venezuela, exploration assets in the United States, Indonesia, West Africa, Oman and China and business development offices in Singapore and the United Kingdom. For more information visit the Company's website at http://www.harvestnr.com/. CONTACT: Stephen C. Haynes Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (281) 899-5716 This press release may contain projections and other forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. They include estimates and timing of expected oil and gas production, oil and gas reserve projections of future oil pricing, future expenses, planned capital expenditures, anticipated cash flow and our business strategy. All statements other than statements of historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements. Although Harvest believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Actual results may differ materially from Harvest's expectations as a result of factors discussed in Harvest's 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other public filings. DATASOURCE: Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. CONTACT: Stephen C. Haynes, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Harvest Natural Resources, Inc., +1-281-899-5716 Web Site: http://www.harvestnr.com/

Copyright