WPX Energy Commended for Technology, Efficiency and Collaboration

WPX Energy Commended for Technology, Efficiency and Collaboration

TULSA, Okla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- WPX Energy (NYS: WPX) received three awards today recognizing its staff in the Piceance and San Juan basins for using new technology, achieving drilling efficiencies and collaborating with state agencies.

"We strive for excellence everywhere we operate," says Bryan Guderian, WPX's senior vice president of operations.

"We continually challenge ourselves to do things better and better. We know we can create shareholder value through innovation, cost savings, efficiency gains and a track record of safety."

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission honored WPX at its Outstanding Oil and Gas Operations Awards ceremony in Denver.

WPX operates more than 4,100 natural gas wells across 216,000 net acres in the Piceance Basin where the company averaged 592 million cubic feet per day of net natural gas production and 19,700 barrels per day of NGL production during the second quarter.

The Piceance also is home to WPX's Niobrara Shale natural gas discovery. Over its first 180 days, WPX's Niobrara discovery well produced 1.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas. WPX expects to complete its second Niobrara well later this month.

The new technology award recognized WPX for partnering with PDP Wireline to create a more efficient and cost effective system for temperature logging in the Kokopelli Field, where WPX has drilled 163 natural gas wells.

The new system saves an average of eight hours of standby rig time and about $15,000 per well due to its suspended pulley system with no attachments to the rig.

Previously, crews had to wait six hours on cement time before starting to spud the next well. Under the new design, the rig immediately skids, enabling crews to start drilling the next well while simultaneously logging temperature at the first well.

The COGCC also honored WPX for drilling efficiency in the Piceance basin and using significantly less land through multi-well pads. Since 2007, WPX has improved its Piceance Basin drilling efficiency (as measured by number of wells drilled per rig per year) by more than 70 percent. WPX's record time for drilling a well on its acreage in the Piceance valley is 3.7 days.

"We are drilling more efficiently than ever in the Piceance. That has allowed us to use fewer rigs and 75 percent less land," Guderian says. "While drilling times are important, our safety standards remain high. We do not compromise safety to achieve quicker drilling times."

WPX's San Juan Basin team received the third COGCC award for coordinating a full-scale emergency response drill with multiple government agencies near Ignacio, Colo.

WPX personnel assembled industry representatives, first responders, and local, state and tribal government officials for a live training exercise last September.

"This kind of activity is essential to assess our practices and processes alongside various agencies' emergency response plans," Guderian said.

WPX operates more than 880 natural gas wells in the San Juan Basin, which traverses both Colorado and New Mexico. The company also has a joint ownership interest in another 2,400 San Juan wells and recently announced an oil discovery coming from the basin's Gallup Sandstone.

The company's first four Gallup Sandstone wells flowed at a maximum rate of 488, 623, 1,004 and 800 barrels of oil equivalent per day, respectively. WPX plans to drill eight to 10 more Gallup Sandstone wells during 2013, three of which are already under way.

The company's initial estimate of resource potential on its existing Gallup Sandstone acreage is approximately 66 million barrels of oil equivalent.

In 2013, WPX has received several awards and honors, including the Mile High United Way Spirit of Hope Award in Denver; Partners in Education Valuable Investment Award in Tulsa; and Best Management Practices and Industry Community Service awards from the Three Affiliated Tribes at the Bakken Oil & Gas Expo in North Dakota.

About WPX Energy, Inc.

WPX Energy is an exploration and production company focused on developing its significant oil and gas reserves, particularly in the Piceance, Williston and Appalachian basins. WPX also has domestic operations in the San Juan and Powder River basins, as well as a 69 percent interest in Apco Oil and Gas International. Go to http://www.wpxenergy.com/investors.aspx to join our e-mail list.

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements.Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the company.Statements regarding future drilling and production are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties normally incident to the exploration for and development and production of oil and gas.These risks include, but are not limited to, the volatility of oil, natural gas and NGL prices; uncertainties inherent in estimating oil, natural gas and NGL reserves; drilling risks; environmental risks; and political or regulatory changes.Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, even if subsequently made available by WPX Energy on its website or otherwise.WPX Energy does not undertake and expressly disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.Investors are urged to consider carefully the disclosure in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available from us at WPX Energy, Attn:Investor Relations, P.O. Box 21810, Tulsa, Okla., 74102, or from the SEC's website atwww.sec.gov.

Additionally, the SEC requires oil and gas companies, in filings made with the SEC, to disclose proved reserves, which are those quantities of oil and gas, which, by analysis of geoscience and engineering data, can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be economically producible - from a given date forward, from known reservoirs, under existing economic conditions, operating methods, and governmental regulations. The SEC permits the optional disclosure of probable and possible reserves. From time to time, we elect to use "probable" reserves and "possible" reserves, excluding their valuation. The SEC defines "probable" reserves as "those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than proved reserves but which, together with proved reserves, are as likely as not to be recovered." The SEC defines"possible" reserves as "those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than probable reserves." The Company has applied these definitions in estimating probable and possible reserves. Statements of reserves are only estimates and may not correspond to the ultimate quantities of oil and gas recovered. Any reserve estimates provided in this presentation that are not specifically designated as being estimates of proved reserves may include estimated reserves not necessarily calculated in accordance with, or contemplated by, the SEC's reserves reporting guidelines. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our SEC filings that may be accessed through the SEC's website atwww.sec.gov.

The SEC's rules prohibit us from filing resource estimates. Our resource estimations include estimates of hydrocarbon quantities for (i) new areas for which we do not have sufficient information to date to classify as proved, probable or even possible reserves, (ii) other areas to take into account the low level of certainty of recovery of the resources and (iii) uneconomic proved, probable or possible reserves. Resource estimates do not take into account the certainty of resource recovery and are therefore not indicative of the expected future recovery and should not be relied upon. Resource estimates might never be recovered and are contingent on exploration success, technical improvements in drilling access, commerciality and other factors.

WPX Energy
Media Contact:
Kelly Swan, 539-573-4944
or
Investor Contact:
David Sullivan, 539-573-9360

KEYWORDS: United States North America Colorado Oklahoma

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