WPX Energy Extends Grants to Benefit Three Affiliated Tribes

TULSA, Okla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WPX Energy (NYSE:WPX) is issuing $140,000 in grants for an affordable housing initiative and youth programs on North Dakota’s Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, which is home to the Three Affiliated Tribes.

“those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than proved reserves but which, together with proved reserves, are as likely as not to be recovered.”

WPX entered the area in late 2010, where it has more than 86,000 net acres for developing the Bakken and Three Forks oil shales. WPX has an estimated 47.8 million barrels of proved oil reserves underlying this acreage on an equivalent basis.

The grants include $100,000 for Governor Dalrymple’s North Dakota Housing Incentive Fund and $40,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Three Affiliated Tribes.

The housing effort is a public-private partnership that provides funding for developers who pledge to build affordable housing. WPX directed its contribution for future projects that are identified on the reservation.

The Boys & Girls Club will use WPX’s grant to purchase a new passenger van for the organization. The area has six Boys & Girls Clubs in the Fort Berthold region.

“Supporting worthy causes and engaging with our stakeholders is part of who we are,” said Bill Stenzel, WPX’s Bakken vice president.

“As we’ve worked and talked and met with tribal leaders, we’ve consistently heard that these things are critical for families and children.

“We’re very active in the Bakken Shale as an operator and we want to be a difference-maker civically, too. We’re embracing what we can do to support the quality of life,” Stenzel added.

For the remainder of the year, WPX plans to use five drilling rigs on its North Dakota acreage. All five are new fit-for-purpose rigs.

In 2011, WPX opened local offices in New Town and Minot and helped launch an industry cooperative to protect Lake Sakakawea.

Company officials also attended the grand opening ceremony for the Elbowoods Memorial Healthcare Center on the reservation to present a $50,000 grant for emergency-related equipment.

Previously, WPX also provided support for the Three Affiliated Tribes Fire Management Program, the Red Sage organization for economic and community development, the Tribes’ employee appreciation day, and the Four Bears Community Board playground.

About WPX Energy, Inc.

WPX Energy is an exploration and production company focused on developing its significant oil and gas reserves, particularly in the liquids-rich Piceance Basin, the Bakken and Three Forks oil shales and the Marcellus Shale. WPX also has domestic operations in the San Juan and Powder River basins, as well as a 69 percent interest in Apco Oil and Gas International. Go to http://www.wpxenergy.com/investors/subscribe-to-email/ to join our e-mail list.

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the company. Statements regarding future drilling and production are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties normally incident to the exploration for and development and production of oil and gas. These risks include, but are not limited to, the volatility of oil, natural gas and NGL prices; uncertainties inherent in estimating oil, natural gas and NGL reserves; drilling risks; environmental risks; and political or regulatory changes. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, even if subsequently made available by WPX Energy on its website or otherwise. WPX Energy does not undertake and expressly disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investors are urged to consider carefully the disclosure in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available from us at WPX Energy, Attn: Investor Relations, P.O. Box 21810, Tulsa, Okla., 74102, or from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Additionally, the SEC requires oil and gas companies, in filings made with the SEC, to disclose proved reserves, which are those quantities of oil and gas, which, by analysis of geoscience and engineering data, can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be economically producible – from a given date forward, from known reservoirs, under existing economic conditions, operating methods, and governmental regulations. The SEC permits the optional disclosure of probable and possible reserves. From time to time, we elect to use “probable” reserves and “possible” reserves, excluding their valuation. The SEC defines “probable” reserves as “those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than proved reserves but which, together with proved reserves, are as likely as not to be recovered.” The SEC defines “possible” reserves as “those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than probable reserves.” The Company has applied these definitions in estimating probable and possible reserves. Statements of reserves are only estimates and may not correspond to the ultimate quantities of oil and gas recovered. Any reserve estimates provided in this presentation that are not specifically designated as being estimates of proved reserves may include estimated reserves not necessarily calculated in accordance with, or contemplated by, the SEC’s reserves reporting guidelines. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our SEC filings that may be accessed through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

The SEC’s rules prohibit us from filing resource estimates. Our resource estimations include estimates of hydrocarbon quantities for (i) new areas for which we do not have sufficient information to date to classify as proved, probable or even possible reserves, (ii) other areas to take into account the low level of certainty of recovery of the resources and (iii) uneconomic proved, probable or possible reserves. Resource estimates do not take into account the certainty of resource recovery and are therefore not indicative of the expected future recovery and should not be relied upon. Resource estimates might never be recovered and are contingent on exploration success, technical improvements in drilling access, commerciality and other factors.