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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

                                  CERTIFICATION


I, James L. Payne, being the Chief Executive Officer, certify that:

         1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Nuevo Energy
Company;

         2. Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this
annual report;

         3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this annual report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this annual report;

         4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and we have:

              (a)  designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure
                   that material information relating to the registrant,
                   including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us
                   by others within those entities, particularly during the
                   period in which this annual report is being prepared;

              (b)  evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                   controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to
                   the filing date of this annual report (the "Evaluation
                   Date"); and

              (c)  presented in this annual report our conclusions about the
                   effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based
                   on our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

         5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed,
based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the
equivalent function):

              (a)  all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
                   internal controls which could adversely affect the
                   registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report
                   financial data and have identified for the registrant's
                   auditors any material weaknesses in internal controls; and

              (b)  any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
                   or other employees who have a significant role in the
                   registrant's internal controls; and

         6. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in
this annual report whether or not there were significant changes in internal
controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls
subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation, including any corrective
actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.



Date:      March 31, 2003                By:  /s/ James L. Payne
      --------------------------              ----------------------------------
                                                James L. Payne
                                                Chairman, President and
                                                Chief Executive Officer