W&T Offshore Completes Acquisition of Interest in Ship Shoal 349 Field in Gulf of Mexico

HOUSTON, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: WTI) announced that it has closed the acquisition of Apache's interest in Ship Shoal 349 field, located off the coast of Louisiana, and covering two federal offshore lease blocks, Ship Shoal Blocks 349 and 359, with an effective date of January 1, 2008. Based on the Company's December 31, 2007 reserve report, estimated proved oil and gas reserves of the acquisition are 10 million BOE, or 60.5 Bcfe, of which 83% are oil, and 50% developed. The purchase price of $116.0 million, subject to final customary closing adjustments, was funded with available cash on hand.

Tracy W. Krohn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated "We first acquired an interest in the Ship Shoal 349 field, better known as 'Mahogany,' in 1999 and have been slowly building our interest in the field ever since. We began operating in 2004, and with the closing of this transaction, we now own a 100% working interest in the field. Ship Shoal 349 was the first economic subsalt field drilled in the Gulf of Mexico. The field's production is currently 1,500 bbls and 2,400 Mcf gross per day, and we are currently exploring several alternatives to increase production including a well stimulation project and using reprocessed seismic to further identify PUD and exploration targets. The reserve adds from Mahogany will help us achieve our stated goal of growing reserves in 2008."

About W&T Offshore

Founded in 1983, W&T Offshore is an independent oil and natural gas company focused primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, including exploration in the deepwater and deep shelf regions, where it has developed significant technical expertise. W&T has grown through acquisition, exploitation and exploration and now holds working interests in over 200 fields in federal and state waters and a majority of its daily production is derived from wells it operates. For more information on W&T Offshore, please visit its Web site at http://www.wtoffshore.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains 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. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events, based on what we believe are reasonable assumptions. No assurance can be given, however, that these events will occur. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including, among other things, market conditions, oil and gas price volatility, uncertainties inherent in oil and gas production operations and estimating reserves, unexpected future capital expenditures, competition, the success of our risk management activities, governmental regulations, uncertainties and other factors discussed in our Annual Report on 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 (http://www.sec.gov).

    Contacts:
    Manuel Mondragon, Vice President of Finance
    investorrelations@wtoffshore.com
    713-297-8024

    Ken Dennard  / ksdennard@drg-e.com
    Lisa Elliott / lelliott@drg-e.com
    DRG&E / 713-529-6600

SOURCE W&T Offshore

Released January 30, 2008