Petro-Lewis Sells More Properties

DENVER — Petro-Lewis Corp., once the nation’s leader in oil income-fund sales, has announced the sale of another $38.35 million in oil and gas properties, bringing to about $950 million the total holdings sold by the Denver-based company in the past year.

Petro-Lewis said that it sold properties in Oklahoma and Arkansas to Consolidated Oil & Gas Inc., an independent Denver oil firm, for about $17.25 million in cash and securities. The sale is subject to approval by the boards of both companies.

Consolidated Chairman Harry A. Trueblood Jr. said the properties include proven reserves of 530,000 barrels of oil and 15.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Petro-Lewis also said it had sold $21 million in petroleum holdings to a privately held Denver firm it would not identify.

In addition, it announced the closing of an offer to exchange zero coupon subordinated notes and three issues of preferred stock for other securities. Petro-Lewis said the security swaps would result in pretax cash savings of $21.7 million during the 12 months ending June 30, 1986, and $86 million during the five years ending June 30, 1990.

At its peak, Petro-Lewis had formed 171 limited partnerships and raised $2.5 billion to purchase oil and gas reserves. But it was staggered by falling oil prices, high interest rates and a debt that early last year topped $1 billion. The company has been reducing debt for more than a year by selling some of its holdings.