Patterson-UTI Reports Drilling Activity for December 2016

HOUSTON, Jan. 4, 2017

Average drilling rigs operating reported in the Company's monthly announcements represent the average number of the Company's drilling rigs that were operating under a drilling contract.  The Company cautioned that numerous factors in addition to average drilling rigs operating can impact the Company's operating results and that a particular trend in the number of drilling rigs operating may or may not indicate a trend in or be indicative of the Company's financial performance.  The Company intends to continue providing monthly updates on drilling rigs operating shortly after the end of each month.

About Patterson-UTI

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. subsidiaries provide onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America, and drilling rig pipe handling technology worldwide.  Patterson-UTI Drilling Company LLC and its subsidiaries operate land-based drilling rigs in oil and natural gas producing regions of the continental United States and western Canada.  Universal Pressure Pumping, Inc. and Universal Well Services, Inc. provide pressure pumping services primarily in Texas and the Appalachian region.  Warrior Rig Technologies Limited provides pipe handling components and related technology to drilling contractors around the world.

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 low commodity prices, reactivation or construction; liabilities from operations; decline in, and ability to realize, backlog; 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, or reduction in business with, key customers; legal proceedings; ability to effectively identify and enter new markets; governmental regulation; 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.