Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 6, 1990                   TAG: 9004060468
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

NS BUYS PART OF 77 GAS WELLS

NS announced Thursday that its subsidiary, the Pocahontas Land Corp., has bought a 29 percent average interest in 77 producing natural gas wells in Pike and Martin counties in Kentucky.

The approximately 50 wells in Pike County are on land owned by Pocahontas Land Corp.

Pocahontas bought the interest in the wells and certain other assets from WJS Inc., an affiliate of KV Oil & Gas Inc., for $5.35 million in NS stock. KV Oil & Gas is owned by Kentucky businessman William J. Simpson.

The NS purchase includes a 40 percent interest in PKV Limited Partnership, a new company that will explore for gas and develop new gas fields, primarily in Kentucky and West Virginia. KV Oil & Gas owns the remaining 60 percent of the partnership.

The 77 wells are expected to produce about 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas in 1990, Simpson said.

Pocahontas owns and leases out holdings in coal, gas and timber in several states, including Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. This is the company's first move into the production of natural gas. - Staff report