HOUSTON, Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: WTI) today announced the appointment of Jesus G. Melendrez as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.

From 2003 to 2010, Mr. Melendrez worked at Mariner Energy, Inc. and served in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility, culminating as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer and acting Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. From February 2000 until July 2003, Mr. Melendrez was a Vice President of Enron North America Corp. in the Energy Capital Resources group, where he managed the group's portfolio of oil and gas investments. He was a Senior Vice President of Trading and Structured Finance with TXU Energy Services from 1997 to 2000.  From 1992 to 1997, Mr. Melendrez was employed by Enron in various commercial positions in the areas of domestic oil and gas financing and international project development. From 1980 to 1992, Mr. Melendrez was employed by Exxon in various reservoir engineering and planning positions. Mr. Melendrez graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering in 1980 and a M.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering in 1986 and from the University of Houston with a Master of Business Administration degree in 1992.

"We are excited to attract an executive with such a wide range of talent and expertise. Jesus has many years of industry experience and knowledge and will instantly strengthen our management team," said Jamie Vazquez, President of W&T Offshore, Inc.

About W&T Offshore

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 holds working interests in approximately 75 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 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 Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and subsequent Form 10-Q reports found at www.sec.gov.

Contacts:

Janet Yang, Finance Manager

investorrelations@wtoffshore.com

713-297-8024



Lisa Elliott / lelliott@drg-l.com

DRG&L / 713-529-6600

SOURCE W&T Offshore, Inc.