Plains Exploration & Production Company (NYSE: PXP) has reported a 2010 full-year revenue of $1.5 billion and a net income of $103.3 million, or $0.73 per diluted share, a decisive increase from 2009’s revenue of $1.2 billion.

For its fourth quarter, PXP reported revenues of $408.1 million and a net loss of $19.5 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to revenues of $367.7 million and net income of $48.1 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, for the fourth-quarter 2009.

James C. Flores, chairman, president and chief executive officer of PXP commented, "The fourth-quarter and full-year financial and operational results highlight the sound execution of our strategic plan and high-quality asset base. We navigated a challenging business environment by, once again, applying experience and innovation and remaining focused on our long-term goal of value creation. We safely grew production and reserves, increased operating cash flow, strengthened our financial position, lowered portfolio geologic risk and aggressively expanded our onshore oil resource potential."

Proved Reserves

Year-end estimated proved reserves of 416.1 million BOE were 54% oil and 46% natural gas and 57% developed and 43% undeveloped. The estimated reserves are based on the twelve-month average West Texas Intermediate oil price of $79.43 per barrel and Henry Hub natural gas price of $4.38 per million British thermal units.

In 2010, PXP added total proved reserves of 98.5 million BOE. These additions replaced 302% of 2010 production at a cost of $17.69 per BOE. Finding and development costs, excluding acquisition costs which primarily reflect the Eagle Ford property acquisition, were $11.15 per BOE.

In 2010, PXP had a total of 77 million BOE of extensions and discoveries, including 54 million BOE in the Haynesville Shale resulting from successful drilling during 2010 that extended and developed the proved acreage and 17 million BOE in the Panhandle resulting from successful horizontal development of the Granite/Atoka Wash area. Positive revisions of 20 million BOE were primarily related to higher realized oil and gas prices, and proved reserve additions related to interests acquired in the Eagle Ford Shale were approximately 1 million BOE.