Houston, Texas - Black Stone Minerals Company, L.P. (www.blackstoneminerals.com), announced that it completed the acquisition of producing and non-producing fee minerals from Ocean Energy, Inc. (NYSE: OEI), an independent oil and gas company based in Houston, for approximately $61 million.

The properties are located in 16 states -- primarily in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana -- and include royalty and overriding royalty interests in approximately 3,000 wells, with net daily production of approximately 1,500 barrels per day, on an oil equivalent basis. Black Stone now owns interests in almost all significant onshore exploration basins in the lower 48 states, and has interests in approximately 10,000 wells. "This acquisition is a major step forward for Black Stone," said President Thomas L. Carter, Jr. "We like the Ocean minerals for their geographic diversity, solid production base and acreage position.”

Mr. Carter noted that the Ocean Energy acquisition would be the first investment in its new mineral acquisition fund, Black Stone Acquisitions Partners I, a limited partnership to be managed by Black Stone Minerals Company, L.P. The fund has received over $100 million in commitments from institutional and other private investors. "This additional capital will greatly increase our ability to respond to opportunities in the marketplace, and on a potentially larger scale," Carter said.

Based in Houston, Black Stone has been increasingly active in acquiring large fee mineral properties with associated royalties. Since 1999, it has completed seven acquisitions, representing an investment of over $161 million. It has increased its interests in fee mineral acreage from just over 600,000 gross acres in two states to approximately 5 million gross acres in 40 states today.