January 16, 2006
Tulsa, Oklahoma . . . Unit Corporation (NYSE –
UNT) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Unit Drilling
Company, experienced a fire on one of its drilling rigs over the weekend.
Unit's rig No. 31, a 600 horsepower drilling rig and one of the company's
smaller drilling rigs, experienced a blow out during initial drilling
operations at an approximate depth of 800 feet. No personnel were injured
although the drilling rig will be a total loss. The company anticipates
that part of this loss will be covered by insurance and it will not
incur a loss for financial statement purposes as a result of this event.
This loss brings the company's current drilling rig fleet to 111. The
company expects to replace this drilling rig in approximately 60 days
with a drilling rig currently undergoing modifications at one of the
company's drilling yards.
Unit Corporation is a Tulsa-based, publicly held
energy company engaged through its subsidiaries in oil and gas exploration,
production, contract drilling and natural gas gathering and processing.
Unit’s Common Stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under
the symbol UNT. For more information about Unit Corporation, visit its
website at http://www.unitcorp.com
