TPY Tipperary Corp

Tipperary Corporation Receives Term Sheet for A$150 Million Long-Term Credit Facility DENVER, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tipperary Corporation , an independent oil and gas company, today announced that a group of Australian banks has provided the Company's Australia-based subsidiary, Tipperary Oil & Gas (Australia) Pty Ltd, with an agreed term sheet for a A$150 million long-term credit facility. The facility would replace the subsidiary's current financing and fund Tipperary's and its subsidiaries' share of ongoing development costs of the Comet Ridge coalseam gas project in Queensland, Australia. Subject to bank credit committee approval and the negotiation and execution of financing documents, the credit facility is expected to be available sometime in the first quarter of 2004. Funds from the facility would be available through June 30, 2006, and would be repayable in variable portions beginning in 2007 and concluding in 2013. The facility's effective interest rate, including amortization of fees and expenses, is estimated to approximate 8% to 9% per annum, but will vary with the Australian inter-bank rate, currently 5%, and other factors. The facility will be secured by the Australian subsidiary's common stock and Tipperary's consolidated interest in the Comet Ridge project and be guaranteed for up to five years by Slough Estates plc, the U.K.-based parent of Tipperary's majority shareholder. Approximately A$90 million of the facility would be used to repay existing related-party debt, bearing interest at 13% per annum. Should Tipperary not enter into the credit facility following bank credit approval, it would owe the banks up to A$1.6 million in termination fees. David Bradshaw, Tipperary CEO, said, "We have worked very hard to obtain long-term, senior debt financing for our continuing project development costs. As operator and majority owner of the project, we are committed to the aggressive development of this resource. As existing eastern Australia reserves are depleted, we see an opportunity for our project to become a major gas supplier to both existing and future markets." Tipperary Corporation is an independent energy company focused primarily on exploration for, and production of, coalseam and conventional natural gas. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Tipperary has producing operations in Queensland, Australia. Together with its affiliates, Tipperary holds a 73% capital interest and a 69.52% pre-royalty revenue interest in southeastern Queensland's Comet Ridge coalseam gas project and holds other exploration permits in Queensland totaling approximately 390,000 acres. Domestically, Tipperary holds interests in several exploration projects in Colorado and Nebraska covering approximately 545,000 acres. Information herein contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which can be identified by words such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate" "continue," or comparable words. In addition, all statements other than statements of historical facts that address activities that Tipperary expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including estimates of unproved oil and gas reserves and values, are forward-looking statements. Readers are encouraged to read the SEC reports of Tipperary, particularly its Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the Year Ended December 31, 2002, for meaningful cautionary language disclosing why actual results may vary materially from those anticipated by management. DATASOURCE: Tipperary Corporation CONTACT: Joseph B. Feiten, CFO of Tipperary Corporation, +1-303-293-9379, or Geoff High of Pfeiffer High Public Relations, Inc., +1-303-393-7044, , for Tipperary Corporation Web site: http://www.tipperarycorp.com/

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