Exhibit 99.1

W&T OFFSHORE REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2012 FINANCIAL AND

OPERATIONAL RESULTS

HOUSTON – May 8, 2012 – W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: WTI) today announces financial and operational results for the first quarter of 2012. Some of the highlights include:

Tracy W. Krohn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Due to our substantial production of oil, for which we receive a premium in the Gulf of Mexico, and natural gas liquids in the first quarter, our net cash provided by operating activities grew by 76% to $128.2 million, compared to the first quarter last year. This strong cash generating capability combined with a largely undrawn and, as of yesterday,

W&T Offshore, Inc. • Nine Greenway Plaza, Suite 300 • Houston, Texas 77046 • 713-626-8525 • www.wtoffshore.com

even larger, revolving bank credit facility provides W&T with the capital to pursue a balanced growth plan consisting of acquisitions and drilling opportunities. In addition to the active acquisition environment we currently see, we have attractive oil focused drilling projects planned for this year, including several in the Gulf of Mexico that will benefit from premium oil pricing. While almost half of our production is already from oil and NGLs, we expect that percentage to continue to grow as these drilling projects are brought on production. Like most operators, we are negatively impacted by lower natural gas prices, but a vast majority of our natural gas production is accompanied by NGLs that boost the profitability of those fields.”

Revenues, Net Income and EPS: Net income for the first quarter of 2012 was $3.2 million, or $0.04 per common share, on revenues of $235.9 million, compared to net income of $18.6 million, or $0.25 per common share on revenues of $210.9 million for the same period in 2011. First quarter 2012 net income decreased primarily due to lower natural gas prices, higher expenses and the impact of special items, including an $8.3 million litigation accrual and $39.6 million derivative loss. Revenues were higher in the first quarter of 2012 due to higher realized oil prices and increased production volumes for all of our products. Realized oil prices (unhedged) were $110.39 per barrel, which represents a 13% increase over the same quarter of the prior year, and were above the average daily West Texas Intermediate price of $102.98 per barrel due to higher premiums for offshore crude. The average daily Brent price was $118.71 per barrel in the first quarter of 2012. Net income for the first quarter of 2012, excluding special items, was $30.6 million, or $0.40 per common share. This compares to $32.7 million, or $0.43 per common share, reported for the first quarter of 2011, excluding special items, which included a $21.6 million unrealized derivative loss. See the “Reconciliation of Net Income to Net Income Excluding Special Items” and related earnings per share, excluding special items in the table under “Non-GAAP Financial Information” at the back of this press release for a description of the special items.

Cash Flow from Operating Activities and Adjusted EBITDA: EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures and are defined in the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section later in this press release. For the first quarter of 2012, Adjusted EBITDA was $146.5 million, an increase of 10% compared to $133.3 million for the first quarter of 2011. Net cash provided by operating activities for the first quarter of 2012 was $128.2 million, an increase over the $72.7 million reported for the same period of the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA and net cash provided by operating activities increased due to higher oil prices and higher production volumes, partially offset by higher costs principally related to acquisitions and lower natural gas and NGL prices.

Production and Prices: During the first quarter of 2012, we sold 1.5 million barrels of oil, 0.5 million barrels of NGLs and 14.4 Bcf of natural gas. Our average realized sales price for oil was $110.39 per barrel, $48.51 per barrel for NGLs and $2.67 per Mcf for natural gas. In total, we sold 4.5 MMBoe at an average realized sales price of $52.41 per Boe, compared to 3.8 MMBoe sold at an average realized sales price of $55.62 per Boe in the first quarter of the prior year.

Lease Operating Expenses (“LOE”): For the first quarter of 2012, LOE, which includes base lease operating expenses, insurance, workovers, facility expenses, and hurricane remediation costs net of

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insurance claims, increased to $56.7 million from $52.4 million in the first quarter of 2011. LOE on a nominal basis increased due to expanded operations associated with acquisitions completed in 2011. On a per Boe basis, LOE decreased to $12.65 per barrel from $13.85 per barrel in the first quarter of 2011.

Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion (“DD&A”): Our DD&A rate increased slightly to $19.75 per Boe in the first quarter of 2012 from $19.58 per Boe in the first quarter of the prior year. On a nominal basis, DD&A increased to $88.5 million in the first quarter of 2012 from $74.1 million in the first quarter of 2011 due to higher production volumes.

General and Administrative Expenses (“G&A”): G&A increased to $29.5 million for the first quarter of 2012, up from $18.1 million from the same period in 2011. The increase in G&A was primarily due to an $8.3 million litigation accrual recorded in the first quarter of 2012 and expanded activities onshore and offshore. On a per Boe basis, G&A was $6.58 per Boe for the first quarter of 2012, compared to $4.79 per Boe for the same period in 2011.

Bank Credit Agreement: On May 7, 2012, we executed the First Amendment to the Fourth Amended And Restated Credit Agreement, which, among other things, increased the number of banks, increased the borrowing base from $575.0 million to $650.0 million and added a survivorship of security provision. All other terms of the agreement remain substantially the same as the prior agreement, including the termination date of May 5, 2015, interest rate spreads and covenants.

Capital Expenditures Update: For the three months ended March 31, 2012, our capital expenditures for oil and gas properties were $84.6 million and were funded from cash flow from operating activities. Capital expenditures included $46.4 million for onshore activities, $33.4 million for offshore activities and $4.8 million for seismic, leasehold and other costs. Additionally, exploration and development activities accounted for $17.3 million and $62.5 million, respectively, of total capital expenditures during the first quarter.

Drilling Update: During the first quarter of 2012, we completed 18 wells, all of which were onshore vertical wells in our Permian Basin acreage and all of which were successful. Fourteen of the wells were on our Yellow Rose acreage and four were completed on our Terry County, Texas acreage, which were all exploratory. Of the 14 wells completed in Yellow Rose, nine wells were development and five were exploratory with W&T holding 100% of the working interest in all 14 wells.

We are currently drilling two wells in the Gulf of Mexico, both of which are targeting oil. One is the deepwater A-4 side track development well at Mississippi Canyon 243 “Matterhorn” and the other is the A-13 development well at Ship Shoal 349 “Mahogany.” Both wells are expected to be completed in the second quarter and are 100% owned by W&T. We are also drilling a horizontal well at our Star Prospect in East Texas targeting condensate rich gas in the James Lime formation with completion expected in the second quarter.

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Outlook: The guidance for full year 2012 represents the Company’s best estimate of the range of likely future results, and is affected by the factors described below in “Forward-Looking Statements.”

Our guidance for the full year 2012, which is unchanged from our prior guidance except for the income tax rate, is shown in the table below. Production guidance includes the planned build up from our capital budget of $425 million for 2012.

Conference Call Information: W&T will hold a conference call to discuss financial and operational results on Wednesday, May 9, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To participate, dial (480) 629-9692 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 May 16, 2012, and may be accessed by calling (303) 590-3030 and using the pass code 4532663#.

About W&T Offshore

W&T Offshore, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas producer focused primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and Texas. We have grown through acquisitions, exploration and development and currently hold working interests in approximately 60 producing offshore fields in federal and state waters. During 2011, we expanded onshore into West Texas and East Texas where we are actively pursuing exploration and development activities. A substantial majority of our daily production is derived from wells we operate offshore. For more information on W&T Offshore, please visit our website 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

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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 W&T Offshore’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and subsequent Form 10-Q reports found at www.sec.gov or at our website at www.wtoffshore.com under the Investor Relations section.

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W&T OFFSHORE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income

(Unaudited)

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W&T OFFSHORE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Operating Data

(Unaudited)

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W&T OFFSHORE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)

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W&T OFFSHORE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

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W&T OFFSHORE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Non-GAAP Information

Certain financial information included in our financial results are not measures of financial performance recognized by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures are “Net Income Excluding Special Items,” “EBITDA” and “Adjusted EBITDA.” Adjusted EBITDA margin represents the ratio of Adjusted EBITDA to total revenues. Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in its analysis of our performance. These disclosures may not be viewed as a substitute for results determined in accordance with GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures which may be reported by other companies.

Reconciliation of Net Income to Net Income Excluding Special Items

“Net Income Excluding Special Items” does not include the unrealized derivative (gain) loss, a litigation accrual, and associated tax effects. Net Income excluding special items is presented because the timing and amount of these items cannot be reasonably estimated and affect the comparability of operating results from period to period, and current periods to prior periods.

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Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA

We define EBITDA as net income plus income tax expense, net interest expense, depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion. Adjusted EBITDA excludes the unrealized gain or loss related to our derivative contracts and a litigation accrual. We believe the presentation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide useful information regarding our ability to service debt and to fund capital expenditures and help our investors understand our operating performance and make it easier to compare our results with those of other companies that have different financing, capital and tax structures. We believe this presentation is relevant and useful because it helps our investors understand our operating performance and make it easier to compare our results with those of other companies that have different financing, capital and tax structures. EBITDA and Adjusted 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 and Adjusted EBITDA, as we calculate them, may not be comparable to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA measures reported by other companies. In addition, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not represent funds available for discretionary use.

The following table presents a reconciliation of our consolidated net income to consolidated EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA.

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