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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.24















                         THE HOUSTON EXPLORATION COMPANY
                           DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
                                       FOR
                             NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS











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                         THE HOUSTON EXPLORATION COMPANY
                           DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
                                       FOR
                             NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS



                                Table of Contents

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<S>              <C>                                                                 <C>
Section 1         Definitions...................................................       1

Section 2         Administration................................................       3

Section 3         Participants..................................................       4

Section 4         Benefits......................................................       4

Section 5         General Provisions............................................       7
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                         THE HOUSTON EXPLORATION COMPANY
                         DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR
                             NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS

                                    PREAMBLE

                  WHEREAS, The Houston Exploration Company (the "Company")
desires to establish The Houston Exploration Company Deferred Compensation Plan
For Non-Employee Directors (the "Plan") to assist the Company in attracting and
retaining highly qualified individuals to serve as members of the Company's
Board of Directors by permitting them to defer all or part of their annual
retainer and meeting fees;

                  NOW, THEREFORE, the Company does hereby adopt the Plan as set
forth herein, effective as of October 1, 1997.

                                    SECTION 1

                                   DEFINITIONS

                  For purposes of the Plan, the following terms shall have the 
meanings indicated:

1.1      Account means a ledger Account as provided in Section 4.2.

1.2      Beneficiary means the person(s) designated by a Participant, on a form 
         provided by the Company and filed with the Company's Human Resources 
         Department, to receive benefits from the Plan in the event of the 
         Participant's death.  A Participant may change his or her beneficiary 
         designation at any time; provided, however, no such designation or 
         change in designation shall be effective until received by the Company 
         during the Participant's life. If no designated Beneficiary survives 
         the Participant, the Beneficiary shall be the Participant's surviving
         spouse or, if none, his or her estate.


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1.3      Board means the Board of Directors of the Company.

1.4      Committee means the Compensation Committee of the Board.

1.5      Common Stock means the common stock, par value $.01 per share, of the 
         Company.

1.6      Compensation means, with respect to a Plan Year, the Participant's 
         annual retainer for such Plan Year and any meeting fees for each 
         regular and special meeting and any committee meeting attended by the 
         Participant during the applicable Plan Year.

1.7      Exchange Act means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

1.8      Fair Market Value, means as of any date, (a) the closing sale price of
         the Common Stock on that date (or, if there was no sale on such date,
         the next preceding date on which there was such a sale) on the
         principal securities exchange on which the Common Stock is listed; or
         (b) if the Common Stock is not listed on a securities exchange, the
         closing sale price of the Common Stock on that date (or, if there was
         no sale on such date, the next preceding date on which there was such a
         sale) as reported on the NYSE; or (c) if the Common Stock is not listed
         on the NYSE, the average of the high and low bid quotations for the
         Stock on that date as reported by the National Quotation Bureau
         Incorporated; or (d) if none of the foregoing is applicable, an amount
         at the election of the Compensation Committee equal to (x) the average
         between the closing bid and ask prices per share of Common Stock on the
         last preceding date on which those prices were reported or (y) an
         amount as determined by the Compensation Committee in its sole
         discretion.

1.9      Non-Employee Director means a member of the Board who is not also an
         employee of the Company or a subsidiary thereof.


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1.10     Participant means each Non-Employee Director who elects to participate
         in the Plan in accordance with Section 3.

1.11     Payment Date means the Participant's Termination Date or, if elected
         pursuant to Section 4.5, the date following such Termination Date on
         which payment of the Participant's Account is to be made or begin.

1.12     Phantom Stock means a phantom share of Common Stock. A Participant
         shall not possess any rights of a stockholder of the Company with
         respect to a share of Phantom Stock.

1.13     Plan means The Houston Exploration Company Deferred Compensation Plan
         For Non-Employee Directors as it may be amended from time to time.

1.14     Plan Year means the calendar year, with the initial year being a short 
         year beginning October 1, 1997.

1.15     Section 16(b) means Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act, and all rules 
         promulgated thereunder.

1.16     Termination means a Participant's ceasing to be a member of the Board.


                                    SECTION 2

                                 ADMINISTRATION

2.1      Compensation Committee. The Plan shall be administered by the
         Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee shall have the
         complete authority and power to interpret the Plan, prescribe, amend
         and rescind rules relating to its administration, determine eligible
         Participants, determine a Participant's (or Beneficiary's) right to a
         payment and the amount of such payment, and to take all other actions
         necessary or desirable for the administration of the Plan. All actions
         and decisions of the Compensation Committee shall be final and binding
         upon all Participants and Beneficiaries.


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                                    SECTION 3

                                  PARTICIPANTS

3.1      Participants. Each person who is a Non-Employee Director shall be
         eligible to become a Participant.

                                    SECTION 4

                                    BENEFITS

4.1      Voluntary Deferrals. Before the beginning of each Plan Year (or, with
         respect to an individual who first becomes a Non-Employee Director
         during a Plan Year, within 30 days of the date on which he or she
         becomes a Non-Employee Director), each Non-Employee Director may elect
         to have the payment of all or a portion of his or her Compensation for
         that Plan Year (or, if applicable, the remainder of the Plan Year)
         deferred until his or her Termination. The election shall be
         irrevocable and shall be made on a form prescribed by the Company,
         which shall govern the amount deferred, the form of its payment
         pursuant to Section 4.5 following the Participant's Termination, and
         the initial investment of the Participant's Account for such deferred
         Compensation pending its payment. A Participant's deferral election
         shall apply to Compensation earned during that specified Plan Year or
         partial Plan Year, as the case may be, and for all Compensation earned
         in subsequent Plan Years, unless the election is changed by the
         Participant prior to the beginning of such Plan Year. Notwithstanding
         the foregoing, a Participant may change the manner in which the
         Participant's Account is to be paid on Termination pursuant to Section
         4.5 by filing a new 


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         election with the Company at any time, provided such new election will
         not be given effect unless it is received by the Company at least one 
         year prior to the Participant's Termination.  In addition, a 
         Participant may completely terminate the Participant's deferral 
         election at any time by giving written notice thereof to the Company, 
         provided that such termination shall only be effective for Compensation
         earned by the Participant after the date such termination notice is 
         received by the Company. If a Non-Employee Director has not made a 
         deferral election with respect to a Plan Year, the Compensation payable
         to him or her for that Plan Year shall be paid in accordance with the 
         Company's normal practices.

                  In addition to the foregoing deferrals, effective on and after
         October 1, 1997, the amounts of Compensation previously deferred by
         James Q. Riordan pursuant to a letter agreement with the Company dated
         January 23, 1997, shall be governed by, and be credited to the
         Participant's Account under, this Plan, which supersedes and replaces
         such letter agreement in all respects.

4.2      Accounts. The Company shall establish a ledger or notional account (the
         "Account") for each Non-Employee Director who has elected to defer
         payment of all or part of his or her Compensation for the purpose of
         reflecting the Company's obligation to pay to the Participant (or the
         Participant's Beneficiary) the amount credited to such Account as
         specified pursuant to Section 4.5.

4.3      Investment of Accounts. Unless, and to the extent, a Participant elects
         to invest all or a specified portion of his or her Account in shares of
         Phantom Stock as provided below, each Account shall automatically
         accrue interest on the amount credited to such Account from the date
         such amount is credited to the Account through the date of its
         distribution. Such interest 


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         shall be credited to the Account at the end of each calendar quarter or
         at such other times as may be determined by the Committee. The 
         Committee shall determine, in its sole discretion, the rate of interest
         to be credited periodically to the Accounts, which may not be less than
         the prime rate of interest from time to time as reported in The Wall 
         Street Journal; provided that any change in such rate may only be given
         effect prospectively.

                  In lieu of having his or her Account credited with interest, a
         Participant may direct that all or a specified percentage of his or her
         deferred Compensation be invested in shares of Phantom Stock. In such
         event, the Participant's Account shall be credited with whole and
         fractional shares of Phantom Stock periodically as of the dates of the
         deferrals, and with phantom dividends with respect to the Phantom
         Stock, which shall be credited as being reinvested in additional shares
         of Phantom Stock. All credits and debits of the Phantom Stock to an
         Account shall be made based on the Fair Market Value per share of the
         Common Stock on the applicable date. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
         however, if the Company's Common Stock ceases to be readily tradeable
         on a national securities market, effective therewith all then elections
         under the Plan to invest in shares of Phantom Stock, including
         elections with respect to existing Account balances, shall be
         automatically canceled and all deferrals and Account balances after
         such date shall be credited with interest as provided above.

4.4      Change in Investment Elections. Each Participant may elect at any time
         or times, in a manner provided by the Company, to change the investment
         of his or her future deferrals and/or the current investment of his or
         her Account between shares of Phantom Stock and deferred cash credited
         with interest. Such election change shall be given effect when 


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         received by the Company provided such transaction will be an exempt
         "discretionary transaction" for purposes of Rule 16b-3.

4.5      Payment of Accounts. Upon a Participant's Termination or, the January 1
         specified following such Termination, but not later than the fifth
         January 1 subsequent to such Termination, as may be elected by the
         Participant on a form received by the Company at least one year prior
         to the Participant's Termination (the "Payment Date"), the Company
         shall pay to such Participant an amount in cash equal to the balance
         then credited to his or her Account as follows:

                  (a) a lump sum payment; or

                  (b) in substantially equal annual installments, not to exceed
         10; whichever form of payment has been elected by the Participant and,
         if in installments, the number of such installments elected by the
         Participant. To the extent shares of Phantom Stock are credited to the
         Account, "substantially equal" shall be determined by reference to the
         number of such shares, not their value.

                  Payment of Accounts shall commence or be made on or as soon as
         reasonably practical following the Participant's Payment Date.
         Notwithstanding the foregoing, upon a Participant's death the balance
         then credited to the Participant's Account shall be paid in a lump sum
         to the Participant's Beneficiary as soon as reasonably practical
         following the Participant's death.


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                                    SECTION 5

                               GENERAL PROVISIONS

5.1      Unfunded Obligation. The amounts to be paid to Participants pursuant to
         this Plan are unfunded obligations of the Company. The Company is not
         required to segregate any monies from its general funds, to create any
         trusts, or to make any special deposits with respect to this 
         obligation. Title to and beneficial ownership of any investments,
         including trust investments, which the Company may make to fulfill
         this obligation shall at all times remain in the Company. Any
         investments and the creation or maintenance of any trust or notional
         accounts shall not create or constitute a trust or a fiduciary
         relationship between the Committee or the Company and a Participant,
         or otherwise create any vested or beneficial interest in any
         Participant or his or her Beneficiary or his or her creditors in any
         assets of the Company whatsoever. The Participants (and Beneficiaries)
         shall have no claim against the Company for any changes in the value
         of any Accounts and shall be general unsecured creditors of the
         Company with respect to any payment due under this Plan.

5.2      Incapacity of Participant or Beneficiary. If the Committee finds that
         any Participant or Beneficiary to whom a payment is payable under the
         Plan is under a legal disability, any payment due (unless a prior claim
         therefore shall have been made by a duly appointed legal
         representative) at the discretion of the Committee, may be paid to the
         spouse, child, parent or brother or sister of such Participant or
         Beneficiary. Any such payment shall be a complete discharge of the
         obligations of the Company under the provisions of the Plan.

5.3      Nonassignment. The right of a Participant or Beneficiary to the payment
         of any amounts under the Plan may not be assigned, transferred, pledged
         or encumbered in any manner nor 


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         shall such right or other interests be subject to attachment, 
         garnishment, execution or other legal process.

5.4      Termination and Amendment. The Board may from time to time amend or
         terminate the Plan, in whole or in part, and if the Plan is suspended
         or terminated, the Board may reinstate any or all of its provisions.
         The Committee may also amend the Plan; provided, however, it may not
         terminate the Plan or substantially increase the obligations of the
         Company under the Plan (provided, however, that the addition of new
         phantom investments with respect to the Accounts shall not be deemed
         an increase in the obligations of the Company under the Plan). No
         amendment or termination of the Plan may impair the right of a
         Participant or his or her Beneficiary to receive the benefit accrued
         hereunder prior to the effective date of such amendment, suspension or
         termination.

5.5      Compliance with Securities Laws. It is the intention of the Company
         that, so long as any of the Company's equity securities are registered
         pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act, this Plan shall
         be operated in compliance with Section 16(b).

5.6      Applicable Law. Except to the extent preempted by applicable federal
         law, the Plan shall be construed and governed in accordance with the
         laws of the State of Texas.


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