Patterson-UTI Reports Drilling Activity For May 2012

HOUSTON, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --  PATTERSON-UTI ENERGY, INC. (NASDAQ: PTEN) today reported that for the month of May 2012, the Company had an average of 223 drilling rigs operating, including 223 rigs in the United States and no rigs in Canada.  For the two months ended May 31, 2012, the Company had an average of 225 drilling rigs operating, including 225 rigs in the United States and no rigs in Canada.

Average drilling rigs operating reported in the Company's monthly announcements represent the average number of the Company's drilling rigs that were operating under a drilling contract.  The Company cautioned that numerous factors in addition to average drilling rigs operating can impact the Company's operating results and that a particular trend in the number of drilling rigs operating may or may not indicate a trend in or be indicative of the Company's financial performance.  The Company intends to continue providing monthly updates on drilling rigs operating shortly after the end of each month.

About Patterson-UTI

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. subsidiaries provide onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. Patterson-UTI Drilling Company LLC has approximately 330 marketable land-based drilling rigs and operates primarily in oil and natural gas producing regions of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and western Canada. Universal Pressure Pumping, Inc. and Universal Well Services, Inc. provide pressure pumping services primarily in Texas and the Appalachian region.

Statements made in this press release which state the Company's or management's intentions, beliefs, expectations or predictions for the future are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that actual results could differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, deterioration of global economic conditions, declines in customer spending and in oil and natural gas prices that could adversely affect demand for the Company's services, and their associated effect on rates, utilization, margins and planned capital expenditures, excess availability of land drilling rigs and pressure pumping equipment, including as a result of  reactivation or construction, adverse industry conditions, adverse credit and equity market conditions, difficulty in integrating acquisitions, shortages of labor, equipment, supplies  and materials, supplier issues, weather, loss of key customers, liabilities from operations, governmental regulation and ability to retain management and field personnel. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, which may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC. These filings are also available through the Company's web site at http://www.patenergy.com or through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering and Analysis Retrieval System (EDGAR) at http://www.sec.gov . We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE PATTERSON-UTI ENERGY, INC.

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