Filed by Stone Energy Corporation and Basin
                                Exploration, Inc. pursuant to Rule 425 under the
                                Securities Act of 1933 and deemed filed pursuant
                                to Rule 14a-12 of the Securities Act of 1934

                                Stone Energy Commission File No.: 001-12074
                                Basin Exploration Commission File No.: 000-20125
                                Subject Company: Basin Exploration, Inc.

THE FOLLOWING IS A PRESS RELEASE DISSEMINATED BY STONE ENERGY CORPORATION AND
BASIN EXPLORATION, INC. ON DECEMBER 12, 2000


[STONE ENERGY LOGO]                                             [BASIN LOGO]


              STONE ENERGY CORPORATION AND BASIN EXPLORATION, INC.
                      ANNOUNCE DATE AND LOCATIONS OF THEIR
                        SPECIAL MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS
                        RELATING TO THEIR PROPOSED MERGER



CONTACT FOR STONE:
James H. Prince
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(337) 237-0410

CONTACT FOR BASIN:
Neil Stenbuck
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(303) 685-8000

         Lafayette,  LA and  Denver,  CO,  December  12,  2000 --  Stone  Energy
Corporation  (NYSE: SGY) and Basin  Exploration,  Inc. (NASDAQ:  BSNX) announced
today that they each will hold a special  meeting of  stockholders  on Thursday,
February 1, 2001 in connection with their proposed merger.

         Stone will hold its  special  meeting at 10:00 a.m.,  Central  Standard
Time,  in the third floor  conference  room of the  Company's  offices at 625 E.
Kaliste Saloom Road, Lafayette, Louisiana. The purposes of the Stone meeting are
to consider and vote upon the merger between Stone and Basin and to consider and
vote upon an increase in the number of authorized  common shares of Stone to 100
million  shares.  The close of business  on December  22, 2000 has been fixed by
Stone as the record date for  determination  of Stone  stockholders  entitled to
receive notice of and to vote at the Stone special meeting.

         Basin will hold its  special  meeting at 9:00 a.m.,  Mountain  Standard
Time,  at the Onyx Room in the Brown  Palace  Hotel,  321 17th  Street,  Denver,
Colorado . The  purpose of the Basin  meeting is to  consider  and vote upon the
merger  between Stone and Basin.  The close of business on December 22, 2000 has
been fixed by Basin as the record date for  determination of Basin  stockholders
entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the Basin special meeting.

         Stone  Energy  Corporation  is  an  independent  oil  and  gas  company
headquartered  in  Lafayette,  Louisiana,  and is  engaged  in the  acquisition,
exploitation  and operation of oil and gas properties  located in the Gulf Coast
Basin. For additional  information,  contact James H. Prince, Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer at 337-237-0410-phone, 337-237-0426-fax or via e-mail at
princejh@StoneEnergy.com.

         Basin  Exploration,   Inc.  is  an  independent  oil  and  gas  company
headquartered  in  Denver,   Colorado,   and  is  engaged  in  the  exploration,
acquisition,  development  and  exploitation  of oil and gas  properties  in the
United  States,  both  onshore  and  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  For  additional
information,    contact   Neil   Stenbuck,    Chief    Financial    Officer   at
303-685-8000-phone, 303-685-8030-fax or via e-mail at neils@bsnx.com.

         ADDITIONAL   INFORMATION.   Stone   and   Basin   will   file  a  proxy
statement/prospectus and other relevant documents concerning the proposed merger
transaction   with   the  SEC.   INVESTORS   ARE   URGED   TO  READ  THE   PROXY
STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS  WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS
FILED WITH THE SEC BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.  You will be
able to obtain the documents free of charge at the website maintained by the SEC
at http://www.sec.gov.  In addition, you may obtain documents filed with the SEC
by Stone  free of  charge  by  requesting  them in  writing  from  Stone  Energy
Corporation,   625  East  Kaliste  Saloom  Road,  Lafayette,   Louisiana  70508,
Attention:  Corporate  Secretary,  or by  telephone at (337)  237-0410.  You may
obtain  documents  filed with the SEC by Basin free of charge by requesting them
in writing from Basin  Exploration,  Inc.,  1670 Broadway,  Suite 2800,  Denver,
Colorado,  80202,  Attention:   Corporate  Secretary,  or  by  telephone,  (303)
685-8000.

         Stone and Basin, and their respective directors and executive officers,
may be  deemed  to be  participants  in the  solicitation  of  proxies  from the
stockholders of Stone and Basin in connection with the merger. Information about
the directors and executive officers of Stone and their ownership of Stone stock
is set  forth  in the  proxy  statement  for  Stone's  2000  Annual  Meeting  of
stockholders.  Information  about the directors and executive  officers of Basin
and their  ownership  of Basin  stock is set forth in the  proxy  statement  for
Basin's 2000 Annual  Meeting of  stockholders.  Investors may obtain  additional
information  regarding the interests of such  participants  by reading the proxy
statement/prospectus when it becomes available.

         Investors should read the proxy statement/prospectus  carefully when it
becomes available before making any voting or investment decisions.

         Certain  statements in this press release are  forward-looking  and are
based upon Stone's and Basin's  current  beliefs as to the outcome and timing of
future events.  All statements,  other than statements of historical facts, that
address  activities that Stone and/or Basin expect,  believe or anticipate will,
should or may occur in the  future  are  forward-looking  statements.  Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ  materially  from those in the
forward-looking statements herein are described in Stone's Annual Report on Form
10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange  Commission and in Basin's Annual
Report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should
one or  more of  these  risks  or  uncertainties  occur,  or  should  underlying
assumptions  prove  incorrect,  Stone's  and/or Basin's actual results and plans
could differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.