Atlantic Richfield - Disposal Completed

RNS No 2603w
ATLANTIC RICHFIELD COMPANY
1st June 1998

ARCO COMPLETES DISPOSITION OF U.S. COAL ASSETS TO ARCH COAL, INC.

Los Angeles, June 1/PRNewswire/--ARCO (NYSE:ARC) announced today it has
completed the disposition of its U.S. coal assets in a transaction with Arch 
Coal, Inc. of St.Louis, MO. that is valued at about $1.14 billion.  The 
disposition is effective today.

Properties included in the transaction  were the Black Thunder and Coal Creek
mines in Wyoming, the West Elk mine in Colorado, and ARCO's 65% interest in 
Canyon Fuel Company, L.L.C. which owns three mines in Utah.

The Colorado and Utah coal operations were sold to Arch Coal by an ARCO 
subsidiary, ARCO Uinta Coal Company.  Simultaneously, Arch combined these 
operations with ARCO's Wyoming coal operations and its own Wyoming coal 
operations in a new joint venture called Arch Western Resources, LLC.  The new
company is 99% owned by Arch and 1% owned by ARCO.

ARCO will continue its effort to dispose of its coal properties in Australia.
These include joint venture interests in three mines -- Curragh, Gordonstone
and Blair Athol.

ARCO's discontinuance of its coal operations will not have a material impact on
the company's earnings for the year.  Last April, ARCO announced its intention
to withdraw from the coal business because it was no longer regarded as part of
the company's core business.

For information, contact: Albert Greenstein [phone].  For a menu of
ARCO's news releases or to retrieve a specific release, visit our Web site at
http://www.arco.com on the Internet.

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