Contact: Mike Drickamer
Director, Investor Relations
Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.
(281) 765-7170

Patterson-UTI Energy Comments on Expected First Quarter 2014 Results

HOUSTON, Texas – March 21, 2014 – PATTERSON-UTI ENERGY, INC. (NASDAQ: PTEN) today announced that its pressure pumping operations in the Appalachian region have been negatively impacted by unusually severe weather during the first quarter. We now expect pressure pumping revenues of approximately $240 million for the first quarter, with a margin percentage of approximately 17%. The margin percentage is lower than we had projected as a result of having crews and equipment on location that were unable to provide revenue generating services during the unusually severe weather. While on location, we continued to incur labor, demurrage and other costs, including fuel costs to run our equipment in order to protect it in these extraordinary weather conditions.

The severe weather has not significantly impacted our other operations, and demand remains strong for both our pressure pumping and drilling services even in the areas impacted by weather.

Margin is defined as revenues less direct operating costs and excludes depreciation, amortization and impairment and selling, general and administrative expenses.  Margin percentage is defined as margin divided by revenues.

About Patterson-UTI

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. subsidiaries provide onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. Patterson-UTI Drilling Company LLC and its subsidiaries have more than 275 marketable land-based drilling rigs and operate primarily in oil and natural gas producing regions in the continental United States, Alaska, and western and northern Canada. Universal Pressure Pumping, Inc. and Universal Well Services, Inc. provide pressure pumping services primarily in Texas and the Appalachian region.

Location information about the Company’s drilling rigs and their individual inventories is available through the Company’s website at www.patenergy.com.

Statements made in this press release which state the Company’s or management’s intentions, beliefs, expectations or predictions for the future are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that actual results could differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, volatility in customer spending and in oil and natural gas prices, which could adversely affect demand for our services and their associated effect on rates, utilization, margins and planned capital expenditures; global economic conditions; excess availability of land drilling rigs and pressure pumping equipment, including as a result of reactivation or construction; equipment specialization and new technologies; adverse industry conditions; adverse credit and equity market conditions; difficulty in building and deploying new equipment; difficulty in integrating acquisitions; shortages, delays in delivery and interruptions of supply of equipment, supplies  and materials; weather; loss of key customers; liabilities from operations; ability to effectively identify and enter new markets; governmental regulation; ability to realize backlog; and ability to retain management and field personnel. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company’s SEC filings, which may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC. These filings are also available through the Company’s web site at http://www.patenergy.com or through the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering and Analysis Retrieval System (EDGAR) at http://www.sec.gov. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.