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
                                 January 3, 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 January 2, 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:      ___________________________________
                                      Chris Williford
                                      Executive Vice President, Chief Financial
                                      Officer and Treasurer


Dated:    January 3, 2002







                                                                   Exhibit 99.1

     ABRAXAS ANNOUNCES $150 MILLION CDN PROJECT FINANCING WITH MIRANT CANADA
                              ENERGY CAPITAL, LTD.

SAN ANTONIO,  TX (January 2, 2002) - Abraxas  Petroleum  Corporation  (AMEX:ABP)
("Abraxas")  today  announced  that  its  wholly-owned  subsidiary,   Grey  Wolf
Exploration Inc. ("Grey Wolf"), has entered into an agreement with Mirant Canada
Energy  Capital,  Ltd.  ("Mirant")  for a $150  million Cdn  (approximately  $96
million  U.S.)  project  finance  facility to fund Grey Wolf's  development  and
acquisition activities in Canada.

The facility will replace Grey Wolf's existing bank facility and provide funding
initially  for  as  many  as  45  wells  plus  associated   land,   seismic  and
infrastructure  costs over the next two years.  The facility  will be secured by
the assets of Grey Wolf and is non-recourse to Abraxas.

Abraxas' CEO, Bob Watson,  commented,  "This  facility will permit us to greatly
accelerate  our  development  operations  in Canada  which will allow us to grow
production and reserves at a much greater rate than would  otherwise be possible
in the current environment. In addition to providing an independent verification
of the unbooked  upside of our Canadian  assets,  it will also provide us with a
vehicle to pursue favorable acquisition opportunities that may become available.
This  financing  will help further our stated goal to  aggressively  develop our
existing asset base while maintaining financial flexibility."

Mirant's  Rob  Lindermanis,  Managing  Director,  commented,  "We are pleased to
expand our  relationship  with Abraxas into Canada with the Grey Wolf  facility.
Grey  Wolf  has a  number  of  exciting  opportunities  and we look  forward  to
participating in their future growth in Canada."

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.    Please    visit
www.abraxaspetroleum.com  for the most current and updated information.  The web
site is updated daily to comply with the SEC Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure).

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