Swift Energy Says Incident Response Team Sent to Lake Washington Field Following Vessel Collision, No Injuries

Swift Energy Company (NYSE: SFY) announced today, a well control incident inits Lake Washington field in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana that occurred atapproximately 7:00 pm Tuesday, February 26, when a marine vessel collided witha Swift Energy operated shut-in well head in the shallow waters of the LakeWashington field. This collision damaged the integrity of the wellhead andresulted in an outflow of water, oil and natural gas. Swift Energy's IncidentCommand Team was activated and responded to the situation during the night.As of this morning, primary containment boom and oil skimming equipment hasbeen deployed around the well site to protect shorelines, facilities andprivate property. Additional containment and skimming equipment is beingdeployed to protect any nearby marsh lands. No injuries have been reported inconnection with the incident. State, federal and local authorities have beennotified and Swift Energy is working closely in coordination with theseagencies in response to this incident. An aerial fly-over of the field wasconducted this morning to determine the extent of the impact to thesurrounding area. A definitive plan and timeline to bring this well undercontrol is currently being developed.The well involved in this incident was shut-in January 2008 and has notproduced since that time. The last production test of this well taken shortlybefore it was shut-in recorded production levels of 18 barrels of oil per day,3 barrels of water per day and 59 thousand cubic feet of natural gas per day.At this time, the well appears to be releasing primarily water and a smallamount of oil. A definitive determination of oil volumes is difficult tomeasure currently due to the high ratio of water production. Once theCompany's containment and repair plan is executed and the well is controlled,a more accurate assessment and estimate of volumes from this incident will bemade.