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EXHIBIT 99(A)
ZAPATA CORPORATION TO SEPARATE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GAS, MARINE PROTEIN BUSINESSES JULY 11, 1994
HOUSTON--In recognition of the fundamental difference between its oil and
gas and marine protein operations, Zapata Corporation's Board of Directors
announced today that it will separate the two businesses, a process which will
take a number of months.
In preparation for this separation, Zapata Protein, Inc., the company's
menhaden fishing and marine protein subsidiary, will be operated autonomously
within the Zapata group until separation. Headquartered in Houston, Zapata
Protein has processing plants in Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia.
R.C. Lassiter, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Zapata Corporation
since 1985, is being named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Zapata
Protein. Lassiter will remain a member of the Zapata Corporation's Board of
Directors.
Zapata Director Kristian Siem has assumed the duties of President and Chief
Executive Officer of Zapata Corporation with overall responsibility for the
company's oil and gas operations. These include: Tulsa-based Cimarron Gas
Companies, Inc., which gathers and processes natural gas; Energy Industries,
Inc., headquartered in Corpus Christi, one of the nation's leading natural gas
compression companies; and Houston-based Zapata Exploration Company, Zapata's
oil and gas production subsidiary.
Malcolm I. Glazer, also a Zapata Director, is being named Chairman of the
Zapata Corporation Board of Directors.
"Historically, Zapata was a maritime company with offshore drilling rigs and
other ocean-oriented operations. Zapata Protein made sense in that mix of
businesses," Siem said.
"As we have repositioned Zapata into natural gas services and production and
shed the company's other maritime operations, however, that linkage has been
lost. We now believe the interests of Zapata's stockholders would best be
served by completely separating the two businesses," he said.
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Zapata Corporation (NYSE symbol: ZOS) is a Houston-based international
company primarily involved in natural gas services. Zapata rents, fabricates and
services natural gas compression packages; and gathers and processes natural
gas. Zapata also produces natural gas and marine protein products.
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CONTACTS: Barney White, Vice President--Corporate Affairs,
(713) 940-6240
David Skarke, Vice President--Corporate Development,
(713) 940-6148