Company Reports Commencement of Production through Its Oil Pipeline

Three More Bakken Wells Average 2,334 BOE/D

DENVER, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Whiting Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: WLL) today announced that it completed a discovery well in the Three Forks formation at the Company's Lewis & Clark prospect in Golden Valley County, North Dakota.

On November 25, 2009, the Federal 32-4HBKCE flowed 1,835 barrels of oil and 811 thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of gas per day or 1,970 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day during a 24-hour test of the Three Forks formation at a vertical depth of 10,530 feet. The initial 24-hour production rate was gauged on a 28/64-inch choke with a flowing casing pressure of 700 pounds per square inch (psi). The well was fracture stimulated in 15 stages, all using sliding sleeve technology. Whiting holds a working interest of 84% and a net revenue interest of 71% in the Federal well.

The Federal well was drilled on the southwest side of the Lewis & Clark prospect, where Whiting holds 175,352 gross (107,136 net) acres. Whiting expects to move a drilling rig to the Lewis & Clark prospect in March 2010 and anticipates drilling at least nine Three Forks wells on the prospect during 2010.

Whiting's 17-mile, 8-inch diameter oil pipeline was placed on stream December 4, 2009 at an initial rate of 6,200 barrels of oil per day. Whiting's current gross operated oil production in the Sanish and Parshall fields is 20,014 barrels per day. By the end of March 2010, Whiting expects all of its operated production to be transported by pipeline. The Company's pipeline has a capacity of 65,000 barrels of oil per day. The pipeline transports oil from a central gathering point near Whiting's Robinson Lake gas plant north to Stanley, North Dakota where it connects to the Enbridge pipeline. Enbridge has ongoing construction to expand its oil pipeline to a capacity of 161,000 barrels of oil per day from its current capacity of 110,000 barrels per day. This expansion is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2010.

The following table summarizes Whiting's current gross and net production from the Sanish and Parshall fields and its gas plant:

       Operated and Non-operated Gross and Net Production for Sanish and
                                   Parshall Fields
                                        (In BOE)
                           For the Week Ended December 4, 2009

                          Gross                          Net
               ---------------------------    ----------------------------
                 BO/D     Mcf/d      BOE/D     BO/D     Mcf/d     BOE/D
               -------   -------    ------    ------   ------   ----------
Sanish/
 Parshall -
 Operated      20,014    13,816     22,317    10,238    5,469   12,398 (1)

Parshall
 Operator      30,831    13,268     33,042     5,476    2,397    5,876

Other
 Operators     11,400     4,785     12,198     2,226      641    2,333
               -------   -------    ------    ------   ------   ----------

Total          62,245    31,869     67,557    17,940    8,507   20,607 (2)
               =======   =======    ======    ======   ======   ==========

(1)  Includes 1,249 barrels per day of NGLs.
(2)  Excludes production from the recently completed Sanish Bay 42-12H.

                                Robinson Lake Gas Plant
                          For the Week Ended December 4, 2009

                         Gross                           Net
              -----------------------------  --------------------------
               Inlet    Residue      NGL     Residue      NGL
              (Mcf/d)   (Mcf/d)    (Bbls/d)   (Mcf/d)   (Bbls/d)  BOE/D
              -------   --------   --------   -------   -------- ------
               19,025    13,666      3,137     1,708      392      677*

Grand Total                                                     21,784
                                                                ======
* The plant receives 25% of volumes and Whiting owns 50% of the plant.
  Therefore, net volumes are 12.5% of gross.

James J. Volker, Whiting's Chairman, President and CEO, commented, "We are very pleased with our recent drilling results at the Lewis & Clark prospect and at our Sanish field. We have a lot of running room for additional Bakken and Three Forks drilling."

Mr. Volker continued, "We are also pleased that our oil pipeline is on stream. As we ramp up volumes in the pipeline, the negative effect of winter weather will be mitigated as we take more trucks off the road. Initially, we have eliminated 31 tanker trips a day, or about one-third of our total, off local roads in Mountrail County. We expect substantially all of our oil production to be transported via our pipeline by the end of March 2010."

In the Sanish field, Whiting completed the Ogden 11-3TFH in the Three Forks formation flowing at a daily rate of 1,329 barrels of oil and 902 Mcf of gas, or 1,479 BOE. The well was completed on November 10, 2009. The initial 24-hour production rate was gauged on a 46/64-inch choke with a flowing casing pressure of 445 psi. The well was fracture stimulated in 24 stages, all with sliding sleeves. The Ogden 11-3TFH well was drilled on the northwest side of the Sanish field. Whiting, the operator of the well, holds a 57% working interest and a 47% net revenue interest in the new producer. Total completed well cost for the Ogden well is estimated at approximately $5.5 million.

A summary of three recent Whiting-operated Bakken wells drilled in the Sanish field is as follows:

                     Initial Daily Production Rate on 24-Hour Test
                     ---------------------------------------------


                          Oil                  Gas              Equivalent
Well Name                (Bbls)               (Mcf)                (BOE)
---------                ------               -----                -----

Sanish Bay 42-12H         2,286               2,113                2,638
Littlefield 12-31H        1,995               1,369                2,223
Sikes State 44-16H        1,982                 946                2,140
                          -----                 ---                -----

Average                   2,088               1,476                2,334

During a 24-hour test of the Middle Bakken formation on December 6, 2009, the Sanish Bay 42-12H flowed at a daily rate of 2,286 barrels of oil and 2,113 Mcf of gas, or 2,638 BOE. The initial 24-hour production rate was gauged on a 40/64-inch choke with a flowing casing pressure of 826 psi. The Sanish Bay well was drilled in the southwest portion of the Sanish field and was fracture stimulated in 20 stages. Whiting, the operator of the well, holds a 43% working interest and a 36% net revenue interest in the new producer.

Approximately four miles to the northeast, Whiting completed its third infill well in the Sanish field. The Littlefield 12-31H flowed 1,995 barrels of oil and 1,369 Mcf of gas (2,223 BOE) per day from the Middle Bakken on November 22, 2009. This 24-hour initial production rate was gauged on a 36/64-inch choke with a flowing casing pressure of 800 psi. The Littlefield well was fracture stimulated in 20 stages. Whiting holds a 43% working interest and a 35% net revenue interest in the new producer. The initial well in this 1,280-acre spacing unit, the Littlefield 11-31H, was completed on March 8, 2009 flowing 1,978 BOE per day. The Littlefield 11-31H flowed at an average rate of 983 BOE per day during its first 30 days of production and 802 BOE per day during its first 60 days of production.

Drilled in the north-central part of the Sanish field, the Sikes State 44-16H was completed on November 26, 2009 flowing at an initial daily rate of 1,982 barrels of oil and 946 Mcf of gas (2,140 BOE) during a 24-hour test of the Middle Bakken formation. This 24-hour initial production rate was gauged on a 36/64-inch choke with a flowing casing pressure of 654 psi. This well was fracture stimulated in 18 stages. Whiting holds a 100% working interest and an 82% net revenue interest in the Sikes State 44-16H.

About Whiting Petroleum Corporation

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. For further information, please visit www.whiting.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that we believe to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy, projected revenues, earnings, costs, capital expenditures and debt levels, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, words such as we "expect," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe" or "should" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such statements.

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: declines in oil or natural gas prices; impacts of the global recession and tight credit markets; our level of success in exploitation, exploration, development and production activities; adverse weather conditions that may negatively impact development or production activities; the timing of our exploration and development expenditures, including our ability to obtain CO2; inaccuracies of our reserve estimates or our assumptions underlying them; revisions to reserve estimates as a result of changes in commodity prices; risks related to our level of indebtedness and periodic redeterminations of the borrowing base under our credit agreement; our ability to generate sufficient cash flows from operations to meet the internally funded portion of our capital expenditures budget; our ability to obtain external capital to finance exploration and development operations and acquisitions; our ability to identify and complete acquisitions and to successfully integrate acquired businesses; unforeseen underperformance of or liabilities associated with acquired properties; our ability to successfully complete potential asset dispositions; the impacts of hedging on our results of operations; failure of our properties to yield oil or gas in commercially viable quantities; uninsured or underinsured losses resulting from our oil and gas operations; our inability to access oil and gas markets due to market conditions or operational impediments; the impact and costs of compliance with laws and regulations governing our oil and gas operations; our ability to replace our oil and natural gas reserves; any loss of our senior management or technical personnel; competition in the oil and gas industry in the regions in which we operate; risks arising out of our hedging transactions; and other risks described under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2009. We assume no obligation, and disclaim any duty, to update the forward-looking statements in this news release.

SOURCE Whiting Petroleum Corporation

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