Whiting Petroleum Corporation Increases Its 2008 Exploration and Development Budget to $850 Million from $765 Million

Whiting Petroleum Corporation Increases Its 2008 Exploration and Development Budget to $850 Million from $765 Million

Whiting Petroleum Corporation has published a report to the media today that record second quarter 2008 net income of $80.4 million, or $1.90 per basic and diluted share, on total revenues of $345.8 million. This compares to second quarter 2007 net income of $26.5 million, or $0.72 per basic and diluted share, on total revenues of $192.9 million. During the second quarter of 2008, as a result of rising commodity prices, Whiting recognized a non-cash, after-tax unrealized loss on commodity derivative contracts of $12.9 million, or $0.30 per share.

Discretionary cash flow in the second quarter of 2008 totaled a record $216.3 million, more than double the $100.2 million reported for the same period in 2007. A reconciliation of discretionary cash flow to net cash provided by operating activities is included at the end of this news release. The increases in net income and discretionary cash flow in the second quarter of 2008 versus the comparable 2007 period were primarily the result of an 8% increase in the Company’s total equivalent production, a 67% increase in the Company’s net realized oil price and a 44% increase in its net realized gas price.

Production in the second quarter of 2008 totaled a record of 4.02 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE), of which 2.80 million barrels were crude oil (70%) and 1.22 MMBOE was natural gas (30%). This second quarter 2008 production total equates to a daily average production rate of 44,200 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), compared to the 40,920 BOE per day average rate in 2007′s second quarter. The second quarter 2008 daily average production rate of 44,200 BOE also represents a 7.5% increase from the first quarter 2008 daily average rate of 41,120 BOE. June 2008 average production of 47,100 BOE per day represents a 12.7% increase from the March 2008 average daily rate of 41,800 BOE.

The net profits interest in properties conveyed to third-party holders of Whiting USA Trust I, which closed April 30, 2008, represented production of approximately 3,100 BOE per day in April 2008. These volumes were included in Whiting’s production totals only for the month of April 2008. Whiting’s acquisition of the Flat Rock field in the Uinta Basin closed May 30, 2008. Net production of 3,010 BOE per day from the Uinta Basin properties was included in Whiting’s production totals only for the month of June 2008.

Production increases were due to a combination of successful drilling in the prolific Piceance and Bakken projects and continued increases in the Company’s CO2 flood projects. The primary contributor to Whiting’s production increases in the second quarter of 2008 came from new wells in the Middle Bakken formation in the Sanish and Parshall fields in Mountrail County, North Dakota. The following table summarizes the Company’s net production from the Sanish and Parshall fields in the second quarter and in June 2008

Whiting Petroleum Corporation, a Delaware corporation, is an independent oil and gas company that acquires, exploits, develops and explores for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids primarily in the Permian Basin, Rocky Mountains, Mid-Continent, Gulf Coast and Michigan regions of the United States. The Company trades publicly under the symbol WLL on the New York Stock Exchange.

Source: Whiting Petroleum Corporation

Share this post