Whiting Petroleum Corporation Announces the Completion of Six Prolific Bakken Wells at Its Sanish Field in North Dakota

DENVER, June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Whiting Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: WLL) today announced that it recently completed six prolific Bakken wells in its Sanish field in Mountrail County, North Dakota.  A summary of the results is as follows:

During a 24-hour test of the Middle Bakken formation on May 28, 2010, the Lacey 12-1H flowed at a daily rate of 3,199 barrels of oil and 1.5 million cubic feet (MMcf) of gas, or 3,445 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day.  The initial 24-hour production rate was gauged on a 40/64-inch choke with a flowing casing pressure of 842 pounds per square inch (psi).  The well was fracture stimulated in a total of 18 stages, all using sliding sleeve technology.  The Lacey well was drilled in the southeast portion of the Sanish field.  Whiting, the operator of the well, holds an 86% working interest and a 70% net revenue interest in the new producer.

The Company's Behr 11-34H, located in the east-central portion of the Sanish field, has produced a cumulative total of more than 575,000 BOE since its completion on June 17, 2008.  The well's initial production rate during a 24-hour test was 3,245 BOE per day.  The Behr well, which was fracture stimulated in 11 stages, continues to flow.  It is currently producing at a rate of 786 BOE per day through a 34/64-inch choke with a flowing tubing pressure of 190 psi.  Whiting holds a 54% working interest and a 45% net revenue interest in the Behr.

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's largest projects are in the Bakken and Three Forks plays in North Dakota and its Enhanced Oil Recovery fields in Oklahoma and Texas.  The Company trades publicly under the symbol WLL on the New York Stock Exchange.  For further information, please visit www.whiting.com.

SOURCE Whiting Petroleum Corporation