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Whiting Petroleum Corporation Announces 2-for-1 Stock Split

Stockholders of record at the close of business on February 7, 2011 will be entitled to receive one additional share of Whiting common stock for each share of common stock owned as of that date. Whiting anticipates that the additional shares of common stock to be issued as a result of the stock dividend will be issued in book-entry form on or about February 21, 2011. Stockholders will be entitled to receive physical stock certificates upon request. Stockholders do not need to exchange existing stock certificates and will receive a Direct Registration Statement reflecting the newly issued shares at the time such shares are issued.

The common stock dividend will result in the conversion price for Whiting's 6.25% Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock being adjusted from $43.4163 to $21.70815 as of February 7, 2011.

"I am pleased to report that Whiting's common stock will be split 2-for-1. Today's announcement of a stock split reflects the confidence of our Board of Directors and management in our long-term growth strategies and business opportunities," commented James J. Volker, Whiting's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Additionally, we believe that the stock split will make our stock more attractive to a broader investor base."

About Whiting Petroleum Corporation

Whiting Petroleum Corporation, a Delaware corporation, is an independent oil and gas company that acquires, exploits, develops and explores for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids primarily in the Permian Basin, Rocky Mountains, Mid-Continent, Gulf Coast and Michigan regions of the United States. The Company's largest projects are in the Bakken and Three Forks plays in North Dakota and its Enhanced Oil Recovery fields in Oklahoma and Texas. The Company trades publicly under the symbol WLL on the New York Stock Exchange. For further information, please visit www.whiting.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that we believe to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy, projected revenues, earnings, costs, capital expenditures and debt levels, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, words such as we "expect," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe" or "should" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such statements.

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: declines in oil or natural gas prices; impacts of the global recession and tight credit markets; our level of success in exploitation, exploration, development and production activities; adverse weather conditions that may negatively impact development or production activities; the timing of our exploration and development expenditures, including our ability to obtain CO₂; inaccuracies of our reserve estimates or our assumptions underlying them; revisions to reserve estimates as a result of changes in commodity prices; risks related to our level of indebtedness and periodic redeterminations of the borrowing base under our credit agreement; our ability to generate sufficient cash flows from operations to meet the internally funded portion of our capital expenditures budget; our ability to obtain external capital to finance exploration and development operations and acquisitions; our ability to identify and complete acquisitions and to successfully integrate acquired businesses; unforeseen underperformance of or liabilities associated with acquired properties; our ability to successfully complete potential asset dispositions; the impacts of hedging on our results of operations; failure of our properties to yield oil or gas in commercially viable quantities; uninsured or underinsured losses resulting from our oil and gas operations; our inability to access oil and gas markets due to market conditions or operational impediments; the impact and costs of compliance with laws and regulations governing our oil and gas operations; federal and state initiatives relating to hydraulic fracturing; our ability to replace our oil and natural gas reserves; any loss of our senior management or technical personnel; competition in the oil and gas industry in the regions in which we operate; risks arising out of our hedging transactions; and other risks described in our prospectus supplement, dated September 21, 2010, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation, and disclaim any duty, to update the forward-looking statements in this news release.

Whiting Petroleum
John B. Kelso, 303-837-1661
Director of Investor Relations
john.kelso@whiting.com