EXHIBIT 99(a)

                            Coastal Petroleum Company
                                  P.O. Box 609
                             Apalachicola, FL 32329



Contact:
Ron Bartlett
Hill and Knowlton
(813) 221-0030

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COASTAL PETROLEUM FILES LAWSUIT
OVER PROPERTY RIGHTS TAKING BY STATE
tallahassee,  Fla., January 16, 2001--Coastal  Petroleum Company announced today
that it has filed a lawsuit  against the state of Florida  seeking  compensation
for the state's taking of its property  rights to explore for oil and gas within
its state lease in the Gulf of Mexico.

The lawsuit, filed in Leon County Circuit Court, asks the court to determine the
fair market value of the  60-year-old  state lease that gives Coastal  Petroleum
the exclusive right to drill for oil and gas in state waters in the gulf.

"The state wants it both ways," said Coastal  Petroleum  President  Philip Ware.
"The state is refusing to allow Coastal Petroleum to exercise its legal right to
explore for oil and gas under the leases the state sold to us. At same time, the
state is refusing to compensate us for taking away our property rights."

Ware noted that the intent of the lawsuit is only to seek  compensation  for the
state's taking of its property  rights,  not to force the state to allow Coastal
Petroleum to drill for oil and gas.  Although Coastal Petroleum has consistently
sought a state permit to drill on the lease,  the company also  recognizes  that
Florida  public  officials  are opposed to  offshore  oil and gas  drilling  and
unlikely to change their minds in the near future.

Coastal Petroleum  officials and independent oil exploration experts have strong
scientific  evidence of oil deep below the ocean floor where the company holds a
state lease.

The validity of Coastal  Petroleum's  leases with the state have repeatedly been
upheld by state and federal courts, and acknowledged by state officials.

On June 26, 2000, the First District Court of Appeal  affirmed an earlier ruling
that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) could deny Coastal
Petroleum  a permit to drill an  exploratory  well about nine miles south of St.
George  Island in the Florida  Panhandle.  While the appeals court held that DEP
could  take such  action  on the basis of a  compelling  public  purpose  in not
allowing  offshore  oil and gas  drilling in Florida,  the court also found that
DEP's action would be  unconstitutional  "if just  compensation  is not paid for
what is taken."

The appeals court  concluded "this is a matter to be resolved in circuit court."
Thus, the company is seeking the recourse suggested by the court.

"After more than 30 years of litigation and numerous court rulings upholding the
validity of the  leases,  it's time for the state to provide  Coastal  Petroleum
with fair market compensation for what amounts to a taking of property," said S.
Cary Gaylord of Gaylord, Merlin, Ludovici, Diaz & Bain, the Tampa-based law firm
representing Coastal Petroleum.

Coastal  Petroleum's  lawsuit seeks  compensation for the taking of lease 224-A,
which  covers  about  400,000  acres  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  extending  from
Apalachicola  to Pasco County.  That lease  includes the location off St. George
Island where the company was denied a drilling permit.

The history of the oil and gas leases dates back to 1941, when the state granted
the leases to Arnold Oil Exploration,  Coastal Petroleum's  predecessor.  Arnold
Oil Exploration  became Coastal Petroleum in 1947. For years,  Coastal Petroleum
explored its  leaseholds,  but by 1968,  public  officials  sought to regain the
leaseholds and the leases have been the subject of litigation ever since.

Coastal  Petroleum  Company is a majority-owned  subsidiary of Coastal Caribbean
Oils & Minerals,  Ltd., which is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board (COCBF.OB) and
traded on the Boston Stock Exchange (CCO-B; CCO-BN).

Statements  included in this press  release,  which are not historical in nature
are intended to be, and are hereby  identified as, "forward looking  statements"
for  purposes  of the  "Safe  Harbor  Statement"  under the  Private  Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company cautions readers that forward looking
statements  are  subject to certain  risks and  uncertainties  that could  cause
actual results to differ  materially from those indicated in the forward looking
statements.  Among  the  risks  and  uncertainties  are the  uncertainty  of any
decision  favorable to Coastal Petroleum in its litigation  against the state of
Florida and the substantial cost of continuing the litigation.

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