COASTAL (CGP) SEES INCREASE IN 1987 PROFITS

  Coastal Corp said it expected earnings
  for 1987 "to be significantly above" profits of 71.6 mln dlrs
  last year.
      In a letter to shareholders appearing in the company's
  newly-issued 1986 annual report, Coastal chairman Oscar Wyatt
  did not elaborate on how much earnings were expected to
  increase.
      The 1986 profits of Coastal, a natural gas production and
  pipeline company, were halved from 1985 levels due to slumping
  energy prices. The company's sales totaled 6.7 billion dlrs
  last year.
      Coastal also said it sold its natural gas for an average
  price of 2.17 dlrs per mcf in 1986, a drop of 18 pct from the
  previous year. Oil and natural gas liquids sold for an average
  14.20 dlrs a barrel in 1986, a reduction of 37 pct.
      The Houston-based company, which produced a daily average
  of 120 mln cubic feet of gas and 11,149 barrels of oil, said it
  had proved reserves at yearend 1986 of 28.6 mln barrels of oil
  and 954 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Average reserve
  replacement costs were 8.28 dlrs per barrel of oil equivalent
  during the past three-year period, representing a little more
  than half of the industry average, the company said.
      Coastal's more than 800 gasoline retail outlets were
  operated profitably during 1986 "and are expected to continue
  to do so," the company said.
  

