Exhibit 99.1


                          ABRAXAS PETROLEUM CORPORATION
                            www.abraxaspetroleum.com
           500 N. Loop 1604 East, Suite 100, San Antonio, Texas 78232
                     Office: 210.490.4788 Fax: 210.490.8816

                                  NEWS RELEASE

                   Abraxas Revises 2005 Earnings Upward by 13%

SAN ANTONIO (March 16, 2006) - Abraxas  Petroleum  Corporation  (AMEX:ABP) today
announced that due to a change in the accounting  treatment  related to the sale
of Grey Wolf shares owned by Abraxas in Grey Wolf's initial public offering that
closed on February  28,  2005,  the  Company's  2005 net income was $2.2 million
higher  than the $16.9  million (or $0.43 per share) the  Company  disclosed  on
March 6, 2006. As a result,  the Company's net income increased to $19.1 million
($0.49 per share) for 2005.  This item is non-cash  and relates  exclusively  to
discontinued operations.

As a result of this  accounting  change,  the Company  filed a Form 12b-25 today
with the Securities and Exchange  Commission (SEC) to report that it anticipates
filing its Annual  Report on Form 10-K for the year ended  December  31, 2005 no
later than March 31,  2006,  as the Company is still in the process of providing
information necessary for the independent auditors to complete their audits. The
Annual Report was due March 16, 2006.

Abraxas Petroleum  Corporation is a San Antonio-based  crude oil and natural gas
exploitation and production company with operations in Texas and Wyoming.

Safe Harbor for forward-looking  statements:  Statements in this release looking
forward in time involve  known and unknown  risks and  uncertainties,  which may
cause Abraxas' actual results in future periods to be materially  different from
any future performance  suggested in this release. Such factors may include, but
may not be necessarily limited to, changes in the prices received by Abraxas for
natural gas and crude oil. In addition,  Abraxas'  future  natural gas and crude
oil  production is highly  dependent upon Abraxas' level of success in acquiring
or finding additional reserves.  Further, Abraxas operates in an industry sector
where the  value of  securities  is highly  volatile  and may be  influenced  by
economic  and  other  factors  beyond  Abraxas'  control.   In  the  context  of
forward-looking  information provided for in this release,  reference is made to
the discussion of risk factors  detailed in Abraxas' filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission during the past 12 months.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Barbara M. Stuckey/Director of Corporate Development
Direct Telephone 210.757.9835
Main Telephone 210.490.4788
bstuckey@abraxaspetroleum.com
www.abraxaspetroleum.com