News Release
Berry Petroleum Company       Phone (661) 616-3900
5201 Truxtun Avenue, Suite 300 E-mail: ir@bry.com
Bakersfield, California 93309-0640
Internet:www.bry.com                  NYSE:BRY

Contacts:  Jerry V. Hoffman, Chairman, President & CEO
Ralph J. Goehring, Senior Vice President & CFO

                  BERRY PETROLEUM COMPLETES NEW
             $200 MILLION UNSECURED CREDIT FACILITY

     Bakersfield,  California, July 14, 2003  -  Berry  Petroleum
Company (NYSE:BRY) announced the successful completion of a  $200
million unsecured three-year credit facility arranged and managed
by  Wells  Fargo Bank.  Bank of America acted as Co-Lead Arranger
with  Union  Bank  of  California, Fleet National  Bank  and  BNP
Paribas in various Agent roles. Other participating banks include
Bank  of  Scotland, Comerica Bank, Citibank(West), MidFirst  Bank
and  Societe Generale. The new credit facility recognizes Berry's
strong  financial profile and replaces the previous $150  million
facility which was due to mature in January 2004.

     Ralph J. Goehring, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer,  commented, "This new credit facility provides  us  with
significant  low-cost capital to expand our  business,  primarily
through  acquisitions.  Our  initial  borrowings  are  only   $15
million,  although  we  anticipate  an  additional  borrowing  of
approximately  $40  million to close on our previously  announced
Brundage  Canyon acquisition in the Uinta Basin  of  Utah.   This
available capital, combined with our solid balance sheet and long-
lived and consistent producing assets, positions Berry to achieve
its  growth  targets. We are also very pleased with the  expanded
strength  and  depth  of  our bank  group,  as  each  bank  is  a
significant energy lender. We look forward to their contributions
to our future success."

     Berry  Petroleum  Company  is an  independent  oil  and  gas
production and exploitation company headquartered in Bakersfield,
California.

"Safe  harbor under the Private Securities Litigation Reform  Act
of  1995:" This release may contain descriptions of the Company's
expectations regarding future business activities.  These forward-
looking  statements  are  made  in  reliance  upon  safe   harbor
provisions  of  the Private Securities Litigation Reform  Act  of
1995.  Accordingly,  actual results may  differ  materially  from
those contemplated by the forward-looking statements.

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