UPDATE 1-McMoRan says commenced 11 mln share offering, shrs fall

* Says commenced offering for 50,000 preferred shrs too

* Says proceeds to be used for capital spending * Shares down 9 pct after-market

June 15 (Reuters) - Oil and gas explorer McMoRan Exploration Co (MMR.N) said it had commenced a public offering of about 11 million shares, the proceeds of which it intends to use to fund its capital spending.

Shares of the company were down almost 9 percent after market close on Monday.

McMoRan said the underwriters had an option to purchase up to an additional 1.65 million common shares of the company. It also said it had commenced a public offering of 50,000 shares of convertible perpetual preferred stock.

The preferred stock was priced at $1,000 per share and would be convertible to McMoRan common stock at a conversion price to be determined at the time of pricing, the company said.

Shares of McMoRan closed at $7.25 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. They fell 8.6 percent after market close to $6.62.

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