UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION



                             Washington, D.C. 20549



                                   F O R M 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                       Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
                       the Securities Exchange Act of 1934



                                 Date of Report
                                December 12, 2002



                          Abraxas Petroleum Corporation
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


                                     Nevada
                 (State of other jurisdiction of incorporation)





0-19118                                         74-2584033
(Commission File Number)             (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)




                        500 N. Loop 1604 East, Suite 100
                            San Antonio, Texas 78232
                    (Address of principal executive offices)

               Registrant's telephone number, including area code:
                                  210-490-4788






Item 5.OTHER EVENTS

See attached Press Release



The following exhibits are filed as part of this report:

NUMBER                                         DOCUMENT

99.1                                    Press release dated December 12, 2002




                                   SIGNATURES


         Pursuant to the requirement of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                       ABRAXAS PETROLEUM CORPORATION


                                      By:/s/Chris Williford
                                        ---------------------
                                       Chris Williford
                                       Executive Vice President, Chief Financial
                                       Officer and Treasurer


Dated:    December 12, 2002




                                                               Exhibit 99.1


                                  NEWS RELEASE

             ABRAXAS AMENDS PRESS RELEASE ANNOUNCING EXCHANGE OFFER

SAN ANTONIO, TX (December 12, 2002) - Abraxas Petroleum  Corporation  (AMEX:ABP)
today  amended its previous  press  release in which it  announced  its exchange
offer for all of the  outstanding 11 1/2% Senior Secured Notes due 2004,  Series
A, and 11 1/2%  Senior  Notes due  2004,  Series D,  issued by  Abraxas  and its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Canadian Abraxas Petroleum Limited.

Abraxas  corrected its earlier  announcement  in which the notes to be issued in
the exchange  offer were  referred to as 11 1/2% Senior  Secured Notes due 2007,
Series A. The notes to be issued are instead  entitled 11 1/2% Secured Notes due
2007, Series A.

In exchange for each $1,000 in principal amount of the old notes tendered in the
exchange offer, Abraxas is offering the following consideration:

         o    cash in the amount of $264;
         o    a new 11 1/2%  Secured  Note due 2007,  Series A, with a principal
              amount of $610; and
         o    approximately 31.36 shares of Abraxas common stock.

The exchange offer is scheduled to expire at 12:00 midnight on January 7, 2003.

The notes and shares of Abraxas  common stock to be issued in the exchange offer
have not been  registered  under the  Securities  Act of 1933,  as amended  (the
"Securities  Act"),  and may not be offered or sold in the United States without
registration  under  the  Securities  Act  or  pursuant  to  an  exemption  from
registration.

Abraxas Petroleum  Corporation is a San Antonio-based  crude oil and natural gas
exploitation and production company that also processes natural gas. The Company
operates in Texas, Wyoming and western Canada.

Safe Harbor for  forward-looking  statement:  Statements in this release looking
forward in time involve  known and unknown  risks and  uncertainties,  which may
cause the Company's actual results in future periods to be materially  different
from any future performance suggested in this release. Such factors may include,
but may not be  necessarily  limited to,  changes in the prices  received by the
Company for crude oil and natural gas. In addition,  the Company's  future crude
oil and natural gas production is highly  dependent upon the Company's  level of
success in  acquiring  or finding  additional  reserves.  Further,  the  Company
operates in an industry  sector where the value of securities is highly volatile
and may be  influenced  by  economic  and other  factors  beyond  the  Company's
control.  In the context of  forward-looking  information  provided  for in this
release,  reference is made to the  discussion  of risk factors  detailed in the
Company's filing with the Securities and Exchange  Commission during the past 12
months.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Janice Herndon/Manager Corp. Communications
Telephone 210.490.4788
jherndon@abraxaspetroleum.com
www.abraxaspetroleum.com