Exhibit 99.1

PVR PARTNERS ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER

AND FULL YEAR 2011 RESULTS

RADNOR, PA – February 20, 2012 . . . Penn Virginia Resource Partners, L.P. (NYSE: PVR) (“PVR”) today reported financial and operational results for the three months and full year ended December 31, 2011, and provided financial guidance for 2012.

Full Year 2011 Results

Full year 2011 highlights and results, with comparisons to full year 2010 results, included the following:

Fourth Quarter Results

Fourth quarter 2011 highlights and results, with comparisons to fourth quarter 2010 results, included the following:

EBITDA, distributable cash flow, and adjusted net income are all non-GAAP measures. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to GAAP reporting measures appear in the financial tables which follow.

Management Comment

“We are pleased that total fourth quarter midstream throughput was almost 50% higher than the same period last year,” said William H. Shea, Jr., CEO of PVR’s general partner. “The increased volumes gathered on our Marcellus Systems helped offset some of the impact of our temporary capacity constraints in the Panhandle region.

“With the recent completion of Phase II of our Marcellus Lycoming System, we expect midstream volumes to continue to grow in 2012. The just completed expansion of our Marcellus Wyoming System, the completion of our joint venture water pipeline in Lycoming County to deliver fresh water to Marcellus producers for well completions, and contracting with additional producers in the Marcellus, are all anticipated to positively impact our 2012 midstream results,” said Mr. Shea.

“In our Panhandle System in Texas and Oklahoma, we expect the first quarter completion of our 60 MMcfd Antelope Hills Phase I expansion to alleviate the remaining capacity constraints there. Additionally, the expected completion of the 60 MMcfd Antelope Hills Phase II expansion by mid-year 2012 positions us to capture additional volumes from the continued strong drilling activity in the liquids-rich Granite Wash region of the Panhandle.

“Our coal and natural resources business also contributed significantly to our fourth quarter results,” continued Mr. Shea. “Segment revenues for the quarter increased more than 17% from a year ago, as higher average coal sales prices boosted the average royalty rate per ton.

“These results, combined with our positive outlook for 2012, led us to increase our cash distribution to $2.04 per unit on an annualized basis,” concluded Mr. Shea.

Natural Gas Midstream Segment

The natural gas midstream segment reported fourth quarter 2011 results, with comparisons to fourth quarter 2010 results, as follows:

Coal and Natural Resource Management Segment

The coal and natural resource management segment reported fourth quarter 2011 results, with comparisons to fourth quarter 2010 results, as follows:

During the fourth quarter of 2011, operating income for the coal and natural resource management segment increased by $3.8 million, or 18 percent, to $25.4 million from $21.6 million in the prior year quarter. Total revenues increased by $6.6 million, or 17 percent, to $44.5 million from $37.9 million in the prior year quarter, primarily due to higher average coal royalties per ton.

Expansion Projects Update

Construction of Phase II of our Marcellus Lycoming System has been completed and began flowing gas in early February. Current average daily volumes on the Lycoming System are approximately 95 MMcfd. We anticipate construction of Phase III will commence in the second quarter of 2012.

In mid-February we completed construction of an additional dehydration unit on our Marcellus Wyoming System, which expanded capacity to approximately 154 MMcfd. Current average daily volumes on the Wyoming System are approximately 120 MMcfd.

The 60 MMcfd Phase I expansion of our Antelope Hills plant on the Panhandle System is anticipated to commence operations in early March. The Phase II 60 MMcfd expansion to Antelope Hills is currently expected to be completed by mid-year 2012.

In February our joint venture with Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE: WTR) completed construction of the first portion of the 18-mile long initial segment of the water pipeline project to deliver fresh water to producers in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. Water deliveries are scheduled to commence in early March.

Cash Distribution

As previously announced, the Board of Directors of Penn Virginia Resource GP, LLC, the general partner of PVR, declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.51 per unit that was paid on February 13, 2012 to unitholders of record as of February 6, 2012. The distribution, $2.04 on an annualized basis, represents an increase of 2.0% over the prior quarter distribution and an 8.5% increase over the distribution paid in the comparable period of the prior year.

Capital Investment and Resources

We spent approximately $106.4 million on internal growth projects during the fourth quarter of 2011, including $49.5 million in the Marcellus Shale. We currently expect to invest in the range of $200-$250 million in internal growth capital during 2012. Growth capital will be invested across our operations on well connects and capacity expansions on the Panhandle System, as well as extensions to our Marcellus Systems.

As of December 31, 2011, we had borrowings of $541.0 million under our $1.0 billion revolving credit facility, with remaining borrowing capacity of $459.0 million.

Financial Guidance for 2012

We anticipate full year 2012 EBITDA in the range of $260-$280 million and full year 2012 distributable cash flow, net of maintenance and replacement capital, in the range of $160-$180 million. The guidance for 2012 is based on numerous assumptions about future events and conditions and, therefore, could vary materially from actual results. These estimates, including capital expenditure plans, are meant to provide guidance only and are subject to revision for acquisitions or operating environment changes. EBITDA and distributable cash flow are non-GAAP measures; reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to GAAP reporting measures appear in the financial tables which follow.

Merger Impact and Units Outstanding

The reported financial results include the impact of the merger with Penn Virginia GP Holdings, L.P., (“PVG”) completed on March 10, 2011. Because PVR’s equity-funded merger with PVG has been treated as a reverse merger for accounting purposes, the historical results reported for periods prior to the completion of the merger are those of PVG. Fourth quarter 2011 average units outstanding also reflect the additional 8,050,000 units sold in our most recent equity offering. As a result, the diluted weighted average number of LP units outstanding increased from 38.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 76.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Fourth Quarter 2011 Financial and Operational Results Conference Call

A conference call and webcast during which management will discuss fourth quarter 2011 financial and operational results, is scheduled for Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. ET. Prepared remarks by William H. Shea, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, and other members of company management will be followed by a question and answer period. Interested parties may participate via phone by dialing 800-860-2442 (international 412-858-4600) five to ten minutes before the scheduled start of the conference call (reference the Penn Virginia Resource Partners call), or listen via webcast by logging on to our website, www.pvrpartners.com. An on-demand replay of the webcast will be available on our website shortly after the conclusion of the call. A telephonic replay of the call will be available through February 27 by dialing 877-344-7529 (international: 412-317-0088) and using conference playback number 10008957.

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Penn Virginia Resource Partners, L.P. (NYSE: PVR) is a publicly traded limited partnership which owns and manages coal and natural resource properties and related assets, and owns and operates midstream natural gas gathering and processing businesses. We own approximately 900 million tons of proven coal reserves in Northern and Central Appalachia, and the Illinois and San Juan Basins; our midstream natural gas assets are located principally in Texas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania and include approximately 4,400 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines and 7 processing systems with approximately 420 million cubic feet per day of capacity. For more information about PVR, visit our website at www.pvrpartners.com.

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This release is intended to be a qualified notice under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b). Brokers and nominees should treat one hundred percent (100.0%) of the Partnership’s distributions to non-U.S. investors as being attributable to income that is effectively connected with a United States trade or business. Accordingly, the Partnership’s distributions to non-U.S. investors are subject to federal income tax withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate.

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This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of federal securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this release that address activities, events or developments that the Partnership expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of uncertainties, factors and risks, many of which are outside the Partnership’s ability to control or predict, which could cause results to differ materially from those expected by management. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, regulatory, economic and market conditions, the timing and success of business development efforts and other uncertainties. Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in our press releases and public periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and most recently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s views only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

PENN VIRGINIA RESOURCE PARTNERS, L.P.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS - unaudited

(dollars in thousands, except per unit data)

PENN VIRGINIA RESOURCE PARTNERS, L.P.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - unaudited

(in thousands)

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - unaudited

(in thousands)

PENN VIRGINIA RESOURCE PARTNERS, L.P.

CERTAIN NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES - unaudited

(in thousands)

PENN VIRGINIA RESOURCE PARTNERS, L.P.

QUARTERLY SEGMENT INFORMATION - unaudited

(in thousands)

PENN VIRGINIA RESOURCE PARTNERS, L.P.

DERIVATIVE CONTRACT SUMMARY - unaudited

As of December 31, 2011

We estimate that, excluding the derivative positions described above, for every $1.00 MMBtu increase or decrease in the natural gas price, our natural gas midstream gross margin and operating income in 2012 would decrease or increase by approximately $4.3 million. In addition, we estimate that for every $5.00 per barrel increase or decrease in the crude oil price, our natural gas midstream gross margin and operating income in 2012 would increase or decrease by approximately $5.5 million. This assumes that crude oil prices, natural gas prices and inlet volumes remain constant at anticipated levels. These estimated changes in gross margin and operating income exclude potential cash receipts or payments in settling these derivative positions.

(a) - Purchased put/floor.

(b) - Sold call/ceiling.