Atlantic Richfield - Subsids Disposal, etc.

RNS No 2660a
ATLANTIC RICHFIELD COMPANY
4th August 1998


ARCO, Mobil Reach Agreement on Exchange of Oil and Gas Properties
in California and Gulf of Mexico

Exchange is Contingent on Due Diligence Review

Vastar Resources, Inc. to Acquire Properties Through Purchase of Subsidiary

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- ARCO (NYSE: ARC) announced today that
its wholly-owned subsidiary, Western Midway Company, has reached agreement
with Mobil Exploration & Producing U.S. Inc. to exchange all its oil and gas
producing properties and associated facilities in California's San Joaquin
Valley for certain Mobil oil and gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico.

The exchange is contingent upon the completion of a due diligence period
during which each party has certain rights to withdraw from the exchange.  The
effective date of the transaction is July 1, with closing scheduled for
October 30.

In a separate agreement between ARCO and Houston-based Vastar Resources,
Inc. (NYSE: VRI), ARCO has agreed that, upon completion of the exchange with
Mobil, it will sell Western Midway Company, including its newly acquired Gulf
of Mexico properties, to Vastar for $470 million.  ARCO owns an 82.2 percent
interest in Vastar, a major oil and gas producer in the Gulf of Mexico and
onshore U.S.

"This is a value-enhancing exchange for all parties," said ARCO Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer Mike R. Bowlin. "It provides ARCO with a great
opportunity to increase high value reserves in the Gulf of Mexico where we are
a major player through our interest in Vastar."

ARCO's California properties include five fields in Kern and Los Angeles
counties and an interest in a cogeneration facility in the Midway-Sunset field
in Kern county.  Net production from the fields is 40,000 barrels per day of
oil and 10 million cubic feet per day of gas.  Proved reserves total
approximately 160 million barrels of oil equivalent.  The exchange does not
involve the operations of ARCO Long Beach, Inc. in Long Beach Harbor.

Mobil's properties include working interests in 23 producing fields and 93
platforms, as well as interests in over 80 lease blocks in the western and
central Gulf of Mexico.  The majority of the net production attributable to
the planned exchange is natural gas, with 1999 production, net of
divestitures, estimated to average 180 million cubic feet of gas equivalent
per day.  As of July 1, 1998, net proved reserves are 360 billion cubic feet
of gas equivalent, with substantial future potential.  Also included in the
proposed exchange are interests in pipelines, gathering lines and a shorebase
in Cameron, Louisiana.

The exchange will result in the closing of the Bakersfield, Calif., headquarters
of Western Midway Company.  Some 270 professional and hourly ARCO employees will
be affected, including about 80 in Bakersfield and 190 at various field units.
The exchange will also result in a pre-tax loss in excess of $100 million for
ARCO to be charged against earnings in the third quarter, but the transaction
will be accretive to earnings starting in 1999.

"The exchange agreement is consistent with ARCO's goal of focusing its oil
and gas efforts on core producing areas, in this case, the Gulf of Mexico,"
said Bowlin.

"While our San Joaquin Valley assets are of high quality, Mobil, through
its partnership with Shell, is a more significant producer of heavy oil in
California," Bowlin added.

"ARCO, through its ownership in Vastar, has clearly improved its
production profile in an area of increasing importance to the company.  We
believe that as the oil industry continues to consolidate and become more
efficient, all parties will benefit from this type of exchange."

NOTE TO EDITORS:  For a menu of ARCO news releases or to retrieve a specific
release, visit our Website at http://www.arco.com on the Internet.

CONTACT:  ARCO Media: Albert Greenstein, 213-486-3384, or ARCO Investors:
Dennis Schiffel, 213-486-1511; or Vastar Media: James Bartlett, 281-584-3448.


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