October 24, 2017 - 4:30 PM EDT
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Whiting Petroleum Corporation Names Bradley J. Holly President and Chief Executive Officer

DENVER

James J. Volker, 34-Year Veteran of Whiting, to Retire as Chief Executive Officer

Whiting Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: WLL) today announced that Bradley J. Holly has been named President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, effective November 1, 2017. Mr. Holly previously served as Executive Vice President, U.S. Onshore Exploration and Production for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

Mr. Holly has been appointed in connection with the planned retirement of James J. Volker, age 70, who has served as Whiting’s President and Chief Executive Officer since 2002. Mr. Volker will assume the role of Executive Chairman of the Whiting Board and will serve in that capacity until December 31, 2017. Mr. Volker will then serve as non-executive Chairman of the Whiting Board until the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, at which time Mr. Holly will be appointed Chairman of the Whiting Board.

William N. Hahne, Lead Independent Director of the Whiting Board of Directors, commented, “On behalf of the Board of Directors and everyone at Whiting, I thank Jim for his many outstanding contributions to the Company throughout his more than three decades of distinguished service. Jim joined Whiting in 1983 as Vice President of Corporate Development, and he has been an instrumental contributor to the Company’s success. Under Jim’s leadership, Whiting has established itself as a premier Bakken and Niobrara operator with a world-class asset base and acreage positions, innovative technology leadership and significant production capabilities. The Company produced more than 112,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter of 2017. In recent years, Jim has taken decisive actions to strengthen the balance sheet, enhance the Company’s financial flexibility and improve its cost structure, all of which have driven value and established a strong foundation for growth. We wish Jim all the best in his well-deserved retirement and look forward to continuing to benefit from his expertise through his ongoing service as Chairman of the Board.”

Mr. Hahne continued, “We are pleased to name an extremely qualified and experienced leader as the Company’s new President and CEO. As part of our leadership succession planning, we conducted an extensive search and carefully evaluated Brad and many other candidates. We are confident that Brad’s integrity, passion and extensive industry experience in both the Rocky Mountains and the onshore U.S. make him the ideal choice to lead Whiting in its next phase of value growth. We believe that Brad and the existing executive team will provide outstanding leadership that will continue to drive value for our stakeholders.”

Mr. Volker said, “It has been a privilege to lead Whiting as President and CEO for more than a decade and serve the Company in other capacities for more than thirty years, and I am proud of everything the team has accomplished. We have grown Whiting into one of the leading Bakken / Three Forks producers through outstanding execution and technological innovation. Today, Whiting is a strong company, strategically positioned to realize the full value of our world-class asset base. Brad has demonstrated a track record of outstanding performance operating U.S. onshore assets, and I look forward to working with him to ensure a seamless transition.”

Mr. Holly commented, “I am honored to succeed Jim as President and CEO of Whiting Petroleum. It is a privilege to join an industry leader with an impressive asset base, highly efficient capital plan and proven record of strong performance. Jim has created a culture of continuous improvement based on the core values of integrity, teamwork and innovation, and I am excited to work closely with the talented Whiting team to advance the Company’s strategic initiatives. I look forward to capitalizing on the Company’s operational capabilities, technical expertise and superior acreage to support Whiting’s growth objectives and enhance stockholder value.”

About Bradley J. Holly

Bradley J. Holly, 46, brings more than 20 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry. Mr. Holly previously served as Executive Vice President, U.S. Onshore Exploration and Production for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, an independent exploration and production company. Prior to his promotion to Executive Vice President in May 2017, he served as Senior Vice President, U.S. Onshore Exploration and Production at Anadarko from September 2016. He was previously Senior Vice President, Operations for Anadarko's Rocky Mountain Region from May 2013 to September 2016, and Vice President, Operations for the Southern and Appalachia Region from July 2012 to May 2013. Mr. Holly also previously served as General Manager of Anadarko's Greater Natural Buttes area in eastern Utah and the Maverick Basin, which included the Eagleford Shale development in southern Texas, and Reserves and Planning Manager for the Southern and Appalachia Region. He joined Anadarko in 1997 as a reservoir engineer and development supervisor on Anadarko's Marco Polo and K2 developments in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Holly began his career in 1994 with Amoco. Mr. Holly holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from Texas Tech University, and he is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

Mr. Holly returns to Denver where he served as the past Chairman of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) in 2016 and is a member of the inaugural class of the Colorado Governor’s Fellows Program. Mr. Holly served on Governor Hickenlooper’s task force on oil and gas in 2014-2015 and was the chairman of Protect Colorado in 2016. He has served as a trustee of the Mile High United Way for the past three years.

About Whiting Petroleum Corporation

Whiting Petroleum Corporation, a Delaware corporation, is an independent oil and gas company that develops, produces, acquires and explores for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids primarily in the Rocky Mountains region of the United States. The Company’s largest projects are in the Bakken and Three Forks plays in North Dakota and Montana and the Niobrara play in northeast Colorado. The Company trades publicly under the symbol WLL on the New York Stock Exchange. For further information, please visit http://www.whiting.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that we believe to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 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 or extended periods of low oil, NGL or natural gas prices; our level of success in exploration, development and production activities; risks related to our level of indebtedness, ability to comply with debt covenants and periodic redeterminations of the borrowing base under our credit agreement; impacts to financial statements as a result of impairment write-downs; our ability to successfully complete asset dispositions and the risks related thereto; revisions to reserve estimates as a result of changes in commodity prices, regulation and other factors; adverse weather conditions that may negatively impact development or production activities; the timing of our exploration and development expenditures; inaccuracies of our reserve estimates or our assumptions underlying them; risks relating to any unforeseen liabilities of ours; 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; federal and state initiatives relating to the regulation of hydraulic fracturing and air emissions; unforeseen underperformance of or liabilities associated with acquired properties; the impacts of hedging on our results of operations; failure of our properties to yield oil or gas in commercially viable quantities; availability of, and risks associated with, transport of oil and gas; our ability to drill producing wells on undeveloped acreage prior to its lease expiration; shortages of or delays in obtaining qualified personnel or equipment, including drilling rigs and completion services; 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; the potential impact of changes in laws, including tax reform, that could have a negative effect on the oil and gas industry; cyber security attacks or failures of our telecommunication systems; and other risks described under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2016. We assume no obligation, and disclaim any duty, to update the forward-looking statements in this news release.

Whiting Petroleum
Eric K. Hagen, 303-837-1661
Vice President, Investor Relations
Eric.Hagen@whiting.com
or
Media Contacts:
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

Andrew Siegel and Jon Keehner, 212-355-4449


Source: Business Wire (October 24, 2017 - 4:30 PM EDT)

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