Benton Oil Reports Profit of $336,906 for 4th Quarter

Helped by increased drilling and the rise in oil prices at the end of last year, Benton Oil and Gas Co. in Ventura reported a $336,906 profit for the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31, while revenues climbed to $2.5 million from $128,989 a year earlier. In the fourth quarter of 1989, Benton lost $123,071.

For all of 1990, Benton, an oil and gas exploration and production company, earned $159,444, compared with a $513,352 loss in 1989. Revenues surged to $4.7 million from $408,997 in the prior year.

Benton said the latest results reflect the increase in the company’s oil and gas operations during 1990, largely due to its acquisition and development of interests in the West Cote Blanche Bay Field in Louisiana and the Pershing Field in Oklahoma. It also noted the jump in oil prices from $17 in July to more than $38 per barrel during the fourth quarter--just before to the Persian Gulf War.