EPL Epl Oil & Gas

Energy Partners, Ltd. ("EPL") (NYSE: EPL) announced that at its meeting of the Board of Directors today, the Board voted to authorize an increase in the capital budget for 2005 to $265 million and appointed Phillip A. Gobe as President in addition to his current role as Chief Operating Officer. Also, earlier in the day at the Company's annual shareholder meeting, Dr. Norman C. Francis and Mr. William R. Herrin were elected to the Company's Board of Directors. The new 2005 capital budget of $265 million represents a 10% increase over the previous 2005 capital budget of $240 million and a 39% increase over the 2004 capital budget of $190 million. The Company said that the increase in the budget will fund additional exploratory activity as well as the development of early 2005 exploratory successes. EPL said that it expects the expanded budget will be funded entirely from internally generated cash flow. Also at the meeting, the Board appointed Phillip A. Gobe as President. Mr. Gobe joined EPL in December of 2004 and has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. As President and COO, Mr. Gobe will be responsible for all aspects of EPL's operations as well as other corporate and strategic matters. Participating in the Board of Directors meeting today were the two newly elected members of the Board, Dr. Norman C. Francis and Mr. William R. "Bob" Herrin. Dr. Francis has served as the President of Xavier University of Louisiana since 1968. He is the Chairman of the Board for the Southern Education Foundation and for Liberty Bank and Trust, a member of the board of directors of the American Council on Education and a Fellow of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Herrin served in a number of capacities for Chevron Corporation, most recently as Vice President and General Manager, Gulf of Mexico Production Business Unit, Chevron U.S.A. Production Co. from July 1992 until his retirement in 1998. Richard A. Bachmann, EPL's Chairman and CEO, commented, "We are delighted to have both Norman and Bob join our Board, their experience and advice will be an asset to the Company as we continue to grow. In their first Board meeting today, they have already shared in two important steps for EPL, raising the capital budget for 2005 and appointing Phillip as President. Phillip has played and will continue to play a critical role in leading EPL's operations and assuring that our budget is well spent. The increased budget is largely a reflection of our exploration successes to date. Even with the increased budget, we still expect to have free cash flow available for other uses over the course of the year." Founded in 1998, EPL is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Company's operations are focused along the U. S. Gulf Coast, both onshore in south Louisiana and offshore in the shallow to moderate depth waters of the Gulf of Mexico Shelf. Any statements made in this news release, other than those of historical fact, about an action, event or development, which the Company hopes, believes or anticipates may or will occur in the future, are "forward-looking statements" under U. S. securities laws. Such statements are subject to various assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which are specifically described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or an assurance that the Company's current assumptions and projections are valid. Actual results may differ materially from those projected.