Exhibit 99.1

W&T OFFSHORE REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2006 FINANCIAL

AND OPERATIONAL RESULTS

Provides Guidance for the Second Quarter

HOUSTON — May 4, 2006 — W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: WTI) announced today financial and operational results for the first quarter 2006.

Net Income: Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2006 was $55.8 million, or $0.85 per diluted share, on revenue of $162.1 million. Net income reflects the impact of $5.3 million of unrealized income ($3.4 million after-tax), or $0.05 per share, associated with the fair market value of W&T’s open derivative contracts. Without the effect of the open derivatives contracts, net income for the quarter would have been $52.4 million, or $0.79 per share. See “Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income Available to Common Shareholders” later in this release.

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This compares to net income of $39.3 million or $0.60 per diluted share, on revenue of $129.1 million for the first quarter of 2005.

Cash Flow from Operations and Adjusted EBITDA: Net cash provided by operating activities increased 56% to $113.3 million during the first quarter 2006 from $72.4 million during the prior year’s first quarter. The increase in cash provided by operating activities was attributable to higher realized prices on oil and natural gas in the first quarter of 2006 coupled with a reduction in accounts payable in the first quarter of 2005, offset by lower sales volumes and the payment of a $25.0 million performance deposit in connection with the Kerr-McGee transaction in 2006. First quarter adjusted EBITDA was $128.2 million, compared to $101.5 million during the prior year’s first quarter. For additional information regarding EBITDA, please refer to “Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA.”

Production and Prices: Total production in the first quarter of 2006 was 10.9 billion cubic feet (“Bcf”) of natural gas at an average price of $8.82 per thousand cubic feet (“Mcf”) and 1.1 million barrels (“MMBbls”) of oil at an average price of $56.90 per Bbl, or 17.3 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent (“Bcfe”) at an average price of $9.06 per Mcfe. This compares to production of 12.4 Bcf of gas at an average price of $6.33 per Mcf and 1.2 MMBbls of oil at an average price of $43.67 per Bbl, or 19.3 Bcfe at an average price of $6.67 per Mcfe in the first quarter of 2005. The reduction in sales volumes for all products is attributable to hurricane deferrals and normal production declines.

Lease Operating Expenses (“LOE”): LOE for the first quarter of 2006 decreased to $15.8 million from $16.2 million in the first quarter of 2005, primarily due to the reduced production attributable to hurricane deferrals and lower workover expenses.

Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion (“DD&A”): DD&A increased to $49.1 million, or $2.84 per Mcfe, in the first quarter of 2006 from $41.3 million, or $2.14

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per Mcfe, in the same period of 2005. The increase in DD&A during the first quarter of 2006 is a result of higher depletable costs due to higher capital expenditures.

Production and Hurricane Update: W&T Offshore is producing approximately 210 million cubic feet of gas equivalent (MMcfe) net per day, which represents 85% of the Company’s pre-Hurricane Katrina production rate. W&T Offshore anticipates achieving pre-Hurricane Katrina production levels in the third quarter. Currently, the Company estimates that 19 MMcfe per day of net production is shut-in because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, primarily due to issues related to field infrastructure and product sales pipelines. W&T has $21 million in hurricane insurance receivables that it believes it will collect over the course of the year. Additional receivables will accrue during the year as work commences, which are also expected to be collected.

Capital Expenditures and Drilling Update: During the first quarter of 2006, W&T participated in the drilling of six gross exploration wells and two development wells, all of which were successful. W&T spent $62.6 million on development projects, $51.9 million on exploration and $8.4 million on other capital expenditure items. Of the exploration wells drilled in the first quarter of 2006, two were in deepwater, two were in the deep shelf, and two were on the conventional shelf.

First Quarter Exploration Wells:

First Quarter Development Wells:

Lease Sale Update: W&T was the apparent high bidder on four of seven leases at the Central Gulf of Mexico lease sale on March 15, 2006. Of the four blocks, one is on the

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shelf and three in the deepwater. W&T’s net financial exposure totaled $4.9 million. The Viosca Knoll 520 and 916 leases have already been awarded, and the remaining two, Green Canyon 73 and 74, are pending the necessary approvals from the MMS.

Dividends: On March 13, 2006, the Company’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.03 per common share, which was paid on May 1, 2006 to shareholders of record on April 14, 2006.

“We have had an excellent start to 2006. I am proud of our teams’ achievements through the drill bit,” said Tracy W. Krohn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We were also pleased to have achieved better than expected production in the first quarter. We were able to reestablish production at Green Canyon 178 (Baccarat) much sooner than anticipated and at higher rates than expected. Furthermore, production going forward will continue to ramp up significantly throughout the year. We believe our accomplishments reflect the quality and mix of our drilling prospects and the expertise of our operations and exploration teams. We are particularly excited about the Green Canyon 82 (Healey) discovery and look forward to obtaining additional information to fully evaluate this well.”

“We continue to work with Kerr-McGee and the regulatory agencies towards completing the transaction, the largest in the Company’s history. We are virtually done with due diligence, and our staff and management are prepared to close immediately,” said Mr. Krohn.

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Outlook: Certain factors affecting these forward-looking statements are listed in this news release. Guidance on performance for the second quarter and full year of 2006 is shown in the table below. This guidance is for W&T stand-alone and does not include the impact of the pending Kerr-McGee transaction.

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Conference Call Information: W&T will hold a conference call to discuss financial and operational results on Thursday, May 4, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time / 9:00 a.m. Central Time. To participate, dial (303) 205-0033 a few minutes before the call begins. The call will also be broadcast live over the Internet from the Company’s website at www.wtoffshore.com. A replay of the conference call will be available approximately two hours after the end of the call until Thursday, May 11, 2006. To access the replay, dial (303) 590-3000 and reference conference ID 11059579.

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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, where it has developed significant technical expertise. W&T has grown through acquisition, exploitation and exploration and now holds working interests in over 100 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 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 position and conditions, oil and gas price volatility, uncertainties inherent in oil and gas production operations and estimating reserves, prospects unexpected future capital expenditures, competition, the success of our risk management activities, governmental regulations and other factors discussed in our Annual Report on 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 (www.sec.gov)

- Tables to Follow -

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W&T OFFSHORE, INC.

Consolidated Statements of Income

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W&T OFFSHORE, INC.

Operating Data

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W&T OFFSHORE, INC.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

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Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

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W&T OFFSHORE, INC.

Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income Available to Common Shareholders

Earnings stated without the effect of certain items is a non-GAAP financial measure. Earnings without the effects of these items are presented because the timing and amount of these items cannot be reasonably estimated and affect the comparability of operating results from period to period. In addition, earnings without the effects of these items are more comparable to earnings estimates provided by securities analysts.

Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA

We define EBITDA as net income plus income tax expense, net interest expense, depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion and non-cash expenses associated with unrealized changes in the fair market value of open derivative contracts. Although not prescribed under GAAP, we believe the presentation of EBITDA is relevant and useful because it helps our investors understand our operating performance and makes it easier to compare our results with those of other companies that have different financing, capital or tax structures. EBITDA should not be considered in isolation from or as a substitute for net income, as an indication of operating performance or cash flows from operating activities or as a measure of liquidity. EBITDA, as we calculate it, may not be comparable to EBITDA measures reported by other companies. In addition, EBITDA does not represent funds available for discretionary use.

The following table presents a reconciliation of our consolidated net income to consolidated EBITDA:

*Adjusted EBITDA excludes certain items that management believes affect the comparability of operating results.

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W&T Offshore Inc.

Commodity Hedging Activities

at March 31, 2006

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