Delta Petroleum Corp., Denver, (Nasdaq: DPTR) plans to acquire a 65% working interest in approximately 88,000 acres in the central Utah Hingeline Play from privately held Armstrong Resources LLC for $24 million and approximately 673,000 Delta shares. This play was recently established with a discovery at the Covenant Field. Armstrong will retain the remaining 35% working interest in the acreage. As part of the transaction, Delta will pay 100% of the drilling costs for the first three wells in the project. Delta will be the operator of the majority of the acreage and drilling is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2006.