Whiting Petroleum Corporation has 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.

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."

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