A P U B L I C A T I O N O F

IT’S IMPORTANT: STOP THE JOB

Roger Dyer, Drilling Superinten-

dent in West Texas, encountered

a recent situation when he had

no choice but to Stop the Job.

Roger’s experience is a great

example of Pioneer’s commitment

to a culture of safety.

When Roger arrived at a rig loca-

tion he saw a third party person

on a casing crew climbing on the

derrick without wearing any sec-

ondary fall protection equipment.

“This is extremely dangerous and

I informed the Toolpusher what

was happening and we immedi-

ately Stopped the Job,” explains

Roger. “The fellow then unhooked

completely and climbed down

about 40 feet – which is very

unsafe. He was angry because he

said we were interfering with his

job. He became belligerent and

we escorted him off the property.

His boss was not happy with us

and said he would take his crew

and go home. We talked with the

operator and we all agreed to get

another casing crew to come and

complete the job safely.”

Roger has been in the oil and

gas industry since 1980 and he

understands how important safety

is. “Stopping the job is the right

thing to do in this type of situation

and we instill this mindset in our

crews,” he adds. “This JMJ work-

shop re-enforces how important

safety is at all times.”

Spirit

ThePioneer

FALL 2011

ISSUE 6

PIONEER STRENGTHENS ITS CULTURE OF SAFETY

Enthusiasm is spreading throughout the Company about Pioneer’s new safety program and the positive impact it is already having.

The JMJ Associates’ Incident and Inju-ry-Free® program began at Pioneer in early 2011. The program’s first phase included a customized survey process for employees that helped the Com-pany understand the employees’ cur-rent attitudes about safety. Individual and group interviews with employees followed.

Phase II focused on two-day workshops that were held in July and August. Topics included safety awareness, with approximately 50 participants from across all Pioneer divisions attending each workshop.

“We received important feedback from our employee surveys and interviews,” explains Stacy Locke, President and CEO, “and the workshop feedback adds to our strategy about how to tailor this safety program to meet Pioneer’s needs. This program is an opportunity to build on our existing safety efforts

SIX NEW-BUILDS WILL ENHANCE DRILLING RIG FLEETPioneer’s six new-builds scheduled for early 2012 delivery will enhance the operational scope and performance capabilities of the Drilling Services’ rig fleet.

Four of the new-builds are planned for the Bakken Shale of North Dakota and two are planned for the Marcellus Shale. Pioneer has multi-year contracts for the rigs.

“It is exciting to see our six new-builds become a reality,” says Stacy Locke, President and CEO. “They are the

result of our strategic vision and they are coming to life due to considerable teamwork throughout the Company.”

“ The new build fabrication market is extremely busy at this time,” says Chris Price, Vice President of Engineering. “While we have purchased all of each rig’s primary equipment and secured our fabrication slots, the construction phase has just recently started.”

The rigs are being fabricated at various locations in Houston and will be rigged up at Integrated Drilling Equipment’s

continued on page 4

continued on page 4

Benefits Open Enrollment Is Coming Soon!

Watch for the Benefits Open Enrollment

packets to arrive in early November.

This is the one time in the year when em-

ployees can adjust their benefits’ coverage

for the upcoming calendar year. Changes

in coverage are in effect from January 1

through the following December 31, unless

an employee has a specific change relating

to a family member.

LET PIONEER KNOW ABOUT A CHANGE IN THE FAMILY STATUS

When employees make their choices for

benefits coverage, that coverage remains

through the end of the calendar year. The

only way to make a change in benefits

coverage (for example because of a change

in their family) is for employees to submit

the proper benefit elections’ change form

to Pioneer.

Examples of a family status change event

are marriage, divorce, birth or adoption, or

if a spouse gains or loses benefits cover-

age in another plan.

If employees want to change their ben-

efits’ coverage during the year because of

a change in the family status, they must

submit a benefit enrollment form to Human

Resources within 30 days of the event. It

is critical that employees notify Human

Resources within this timeframe or this

change in coverage will not be possible

until the next Open Enrollment.

For additional information, contact a

Pioneer‘s division office or the Human

Resource’s team in the corporate office.

IN THIS ISSUE:• Page 2 President’s Message• Page 2 Wireline Services• Page 2 Well Services• Page 3 Meet James Bomar

• Page 3 Community Activities• Page 3 Safety Milestones• Page 4 Family Event

Attending the two-day safety workshop were (left to right) F.C. “Red” West, President, Drilling Services Division; Stacy Locke, President and CEO; Robert Bates, JMJ Associates and Joe Eustace, President, Production Services Division.

2 | T H E P I O N E E R S P I R I T | F A L L 2 0 1 1 P I O N E E R D R I L L I N G C O M P A N Y

NIOBRARA SHALEThe Niobrara Shale is located in

Northeast Colorado, Northwest

Kansas, Southwest Nebraska and

Southeast Wyoming.

This exciting shale play is being

compared to the Bakken Shale,

which is located in North Dakota

and is potentially the largest find

in U.S. history, next to the oil fields

in Alaska.

“While the Niobrara play is still

in the early stages, the results are

very promising, but these results

are preliminary,” concludes

Martin. “However, we think we

are positioned in the right place at

the right time.”

Nebraska

NIOBRARASHALE

Kansas

South DakotaWyoming

Idaho

Utah Colorado

What We Believe

Pioneer is on a journey to excellence and this journey means we are moving from being a very good company to becoming a great company.

One of the ways we are doing this is through our efforts in safety. As you know, we have begun JMJ Associates’ Incident and Injury-Free™ safety program. During the first workshop I was deeply touched by the commitment of our people to achieve the goal of working without injury. It is important to realize that when we meet this goal, Pioneer will become the first oil services company to achieve this milestone. I know that our people are dedicated to make this happen and it is exciting to see the results of the efforts of all of our employees. See the article about the work-shop on page 1 and read comments about why the program will make a difference.

Another way we are achieving excellence is in reducing operating downtime. Chris Price, Vice President of Engineering, joined us in 2010 and since then we have been tracking drilling rig downtime. By track-ing the data and sharing it with all of our Toolpushers and Managers, we are seeing significant improvement. We have several rigs with over 300 days without downtime and many have over 50 days. We will soon be developing ways to track downtime in Well Services and Wireline Services.

You will see some themes developing as we roll out the JMJ Associates’ Incident and Injury-Free training throughout the organization:

1. We want to treat our people with dignity and respect.

2. We want to make our employees feel a part of the Pioneer family.

3. We want to develop Pioneer into a place where our employees are not afraid to ask questions and learn, or even Stop a Job that appears unsafe.

4. We want to be an organization where all employees are motivated to insure the service job performed is done professionally, efficiently, and safely and meets or exceeds our clients’ expectations.

This is the culture of excellence Pioneer is trying to achieve.

Our journey to excellence will be a success because Pioneer is a great Company and we have the best people in the industry.

WIRELINE SERVICES: OUR GROWTH TREND CONTINUES

Pioneer Wireline Services is having another banner year, enhanced by its presence in new geographic markets.

Earlier this year, Wireline Services opened a new District in Casper, Wyo-ming and expanded its operations in the Gulf Coast region.

“We are proud that we have a strong presence in most of the major un-conventional plays in the U.S.,” adds Martin O’Neil, Vice President, North-ern Region. Optimistic about growth, he adds, “We expect our Wireline fleet to exceed 100 units by the end of the year.”

New Casper DistrictMartin is very pleased with the poten-tial in Casper. “Casper is an example of how well we expand geographically to be positioned for growth,” he says.

“Our Casper group has 16 employees, plus a regional Human Resources Manager” adds Martin. “We have both experienced and new employees who are all proud to be part of a great team in an exciting market,” adds Martin. The team is currently running three

cased-hole wireline units and one open-hole unit.

According to Mark Fondren, District Manager, “the Niobrara Shale has been a focal point for Casper because the area offers potential for growth.”

Another positive element, Mark adds, is “Our sales team has considerable experience in this area, and has solid relationships with clients.”

Gulf Coast Expansion Pioneer Wireline Services saw oppor-tunities for rapid expansion in the Gulf Coast region and since 2010 has added five district offices in Houston, Texas; Laurel, Miss.; and Houma, La. The two most recent additions are in Victo-ria, Texas and Alice, Texas.

Pioneer acquired K&N Wireline, a business in Victoria, Texas that served the area for 30 years. “This acquisition enables Pioneer to have a key service location in the Eagle Ford Shale,” explains Bill Bouziden, Vice President, Gulf Coast Region. The Pioneer Wire-line Victoria District is the name of the new operation.

“We believe this acquisition provides us with a good foundation in South Texas because it gives us a head start with a

built-in business here,” he adds. Terry Thede is the District Manager and there are 17 employees and five full-service wireline trucks in Victoria.

The goal of Pioneer’s new shop in Alice, Texas is to better serve the Eagle Ford Shale from the southern part of the state. Called the Pioneer Wireline Alice District, the facility has one full service wireline truck. Jesse Burr, with over 20 years of industry experience, is the Division Manager. There are six employees.

Wm. Stacy Locke President and CEO

The Casper District includes (left to right) Tom Lev, Senior Operator; Chuck Canaday, Operator; Mark Fondren, District Manager; Peaches Lynch, Regional Human Resources Manager; Kelly Bloom, Salesman; Mark Perez, Senior Opera-tor; Ronnie Condelario, Shop Manager; Kevin Ward, Operator; Rhonda McDonald, Administrative Assistant; Jeff Loose, Open-hole Engineer; and Jim Rodgers, Open-hole Operator. Missing from the photo are Donnie Mundell, Engineer; John Stone, Engineer; James Barnett, Don Brownlee and Dan Bullington, all Operators, and Ron Kidder, Sales Manager. On the left is a cased-hole wireline unit and on the right is an open-hole wireline unit.

OUR PEOPLE AND EQUIPMENT ARE OUTSTANDING It is not surprising why Pioneer’s Well Services Division is a market leader.

“We have the best team of people work-ing with the best equipment in the busi-ness,” explains Daniel Hindes, Business Manager, Operations, Well Services.

Joe Freeman, Vice President of Well Services, praises the crews. “Our equip-ment is great but our equipment would be useless without the outstanding people who work these rigs every day. We have one of the most experienced, knowledgeable and safety-minded teams in the business. The commit-ment to quality and safety from our crews and our entire leadership team positions Pioneer above the rest.”

Pioneer emphasizes the importance of training for employees throughout the Company. Early in 2011, Pioneer opened the Pioneer Well Services Safety

Training Center in Bryan, Texas to train new Well Services employees. New Hire Training, in addition to other specialized courses, is offered at this state-of-the-art facility.

One of the Newest FleetsPioneer operates one of the newest well service rig fleets in the industry with the highest average horsepower rating.

“We currently operate over 80 rigs in our fleet, with an average age of only four years,” adds Daniel. “So far in 2011 we have added six new well service rig packages, with another six to be delivered before the end of the year.” This translates to over 15% unit growth in 2011.

Crew members (left to right) are: Paul Hernandez, Floorhand; Arthur Vasquez, Floorhand: David Reese, Toolpusher; Chris Quintana, Derrickman; and Tony Puentes, Driller.

continued on page 4

T H E P I O N E E R S P I R I T | F A L L 2 0 1 1 | 3

INDUSTRY VETERAN LOVES HIS JOBAfter being in the oil and gas industry for 44 years, James Bomar still loves going to work at 6 a.m. every day.

District Manager for Pioneer Well Services in Bryan, Texas, James thinks the secret to a successful career “is sur-rounding yourself with the best possible team you can get. That is what I have here – they don’t come any better.”

He likes everything about his job but one of his favorite parts is “seeing our folks develop new skills. Working with our employees and watching how they assume leadership roles and look out for each other is very rewarding.”

Valuable ExpertiseJames brings valuable expertise to Pioneer. He started his career in 1964 with Pool Well Services Co. and he was

with the company for 34 years, eventu-ally serving as the Vice President of Southern Operations.

In 1995 he started a company with a friend called TC3, which had six work-over rigs. WEDGE Well Services, Inc. bought his company in 2005 and in 2008 Pioneer purchased WEDGE Well Services, L.L.C., WEDGE Wireline, Inc., and WEDGE Fishing and Rental Services L.L. C.

In addition to his work, James en-joys his weekends, making time for bird hunting and training and raising English Pointer bird dogs. He and his wife Bessie have fun spending time with their daughter Cris, and her husband Klint, and their granddaughter Kath-leen, 16, and grandson, Colton, 14.

HEART-FELT SUPPORT OFFERED BY EMPLOYEESPioneer is committed to serving the communities in which it operates and the Company has many employees who gladly volunteer their time to non-profit organizations.

MS 150 The Pioneer Wireline Services group had a six-member team who participat-ed in this year’s MS 150 in Colorado, a bike ride that supports the national Multiple Sclerosis Society. The team members were Marcie Olivo, Sherri and Greg Pleva, Gary Fisher, Scott Pfeil and Dean Anderson and this group raised $3,875.00 towards the ride total of over $3 million. The riders

began in Westminster, Colorado and ended in Fort Collins, Colorado, with the bikers travelling about 75 miles

each day. Pioneer sponsored the event by providing the team jerseys.

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

Pioneer was a sponsor for the Susan G. Komen San Antonio Race for the Cure, a 5k Run/Walk, with more than 40 participants from Pioneer enjoying the event that began at the Alamodome. The employees and family members enjoyed spending time together for a great cause.

This year marked the first time Pioneer Drilling Company sponsored the Men for a Cure program and Pioneer employees and family members were enthusiastic to be there.

Jon’s RunPioneer Drilling was the title sponsor for Jon’s Run held in Brackenridge Park in San Antonio. Approximately 60

Pioneer employees and family members supported the event for the Any Baby Can’s Center for Infant and Child Loss Program. Pioneer has proudly support-ed this non-profit for many years.

Hunts for HeroesJoe Freeman, Vice President of Well Services, and Eugene Bustamante, Operations Manager for the Well Ser-vices’ El Campo Division, are involved with numerous organizations in the community and they recently enjoyed a fun day fishing as part of the non-profit organization Hunts for Heroes that typically hosts outdoor events for wounded veterans. Joe and Eugene vol-unteered to take a young veteran of the

Afghanistan war fishing on Joe’s boat. They hosted Tim Fallon, a 26-year-old veteran who served as a 1st Lt. in the United States Marine Corps. Tim was leading his company on a mission when a land mine exploded and he lost his vision as a result of his injuries. “We were joined by Tim’s uncle, retired Ma-rine John O’Brien,” explained Eugene,

“and we had a great time. Tim is one of thousands of young men who were defending our freedom and then came home because of being injured in the line of duty.” The group caught some fish, including an 18” black tip shark Joe caught.

SAFETY MILESTONES

Congratulations to these rigs for reaching a major safety milestone of working time without Record-able Incidents.

SIX YEARSPDC Rig 25

FOUR YEARSPDC Rig 26

THREE YEARSPDC Rig 58

TWO YEARS PDC Rig 10

PDC Rig 27

PDC Rig 28

PDC Rig 31

PDC Rig 37

PDC Rig 45

PDC Rig 56

PDC Rig 59

PDC Rig 60

ONE YEAR PDC Rig 1

PDC Rig 4

PDC Rig 5

PDC Rig 8

PDC Rig 12

PDC Rig 15

PDC Rig 16

PDC Rig 29

PDC Rig 44

PDC Rig 50

PDC Rig 57

PDC Rig 62

PDC Rig 65

PDC Rig 67

PDC Rig 69

The Denver, Colo. Wireline Services team said the weather was fantastic for the MS 150 event. Left to right are Gary Fisher, Dean Anderson, Marcie Olivo, Greg Pleva, Sherri Pleva and Scott Pfeil.

Pioneer employees and friends enjoyed supporting the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Jon’s Run is a special event Pioneer employees and friends support each year.

Tim Fallon, a United States Marine Corps veteran, enjoyed his special fishing outing.

James Bomar, Division Manager

4 | T H E P I O N E E R S P I R I T | F A L L 2 0 1 1 P I O N E E R D R I L L I N G C O M P A N Y

David Armbruster (left), Program Director of Rig Engineer-ing; Tony Cuevas (center), Manager, Pioneer’s Houston Service Center, and Doug Miller, Customer Service Manager at Consolidated Pressure Control (CPC), are looking at the Accumulator Human Machine Interface (HMI) that is one of the exciting features of the new-builds. The equipment features a control screen that is the latest technology for land rigs to control the blowout preventer (BOP).

PIONEER FAMILY EVENT IS A SUCCESS

Approximately 100 Pioneer employees

and guests attended Pioneer Family

Night at a minor league baseball

game in San Antonio, presented by the

corporate office’s Employee Activities

Committee.

The family event also featured

activities for the children and a

fireworks display.

The purpose of the event was to have

an opportunity for employees and their

families to spend time with their co-

workers in a more casual setting than

the office.

The Pioneer Drilling Company

newsletter is published by Pioneer

Drilling Company for our employees.

Questions or comments should be

directed to Newsletter@pioneerdrlg.com

The online version of the newsletter can

be found on www.pioneerdrlg.com. A

Spanish version is available upon request.

Pioneer Drilling Company

1250 N.E. Loop 410, Suite 1000

San Antonio, Texas 78209

www.pioneerdrlg.com

Editorial Committee

J. Blaine David, Leanna Khrystyuk, Alma

Green, Shannon Elkins, Bill Schneider,

Laura Martinez, Jerry Rios, Mark Fraley,

Norma Pantoja, Darron Turner, Greg

Lakey, Chris Baecker, Steve Ofstehage,

Amy Morris, Clayton Myers and Sammie

Southerland.

Editorial Coordination

Wendy Cederberg

Design

MDesign

www.mdesignfreelance.com

continued from page 1

COMING SOON ….Watch for the next issue of The

Pioneer Spirit and learn about:

• Trucking Capabilities

• Colombia Update

• Newbuild Progress

and help us achieve an even higher level of safety performance.”

Leading the new safety initiative are Carlos Pena, General Counsel/Director of Safety, and Laura Martinez, Director of Human Resources.

Several workshop participants described the value of the program:

Herby Dauphinet, District Manager, Well Services“This program proves Pioneer is taking safety to a higher level. It means every-thing to me that a big company like this is putting a major effort into our safety. I am honored to say I work for Pioneer Well Services.”

Stanley Fields, Jr., Operations Man-ager, Well Services

“This is refreshing to see Pioneer make this effort to take care of its people. Pioneer is being proactive and not reac-tive and this program personalizes the relationship Pioneer has with us.”

Jeremy Schmeidler, District Manager, Wireline Services“The entire workshop was a very positive experience. The program definitely puts us on the right track. Pioneer is heading in the right direction on behalf of all of us and our families.”

Skip Locken, Vice President and Di-vision Manager “We are very excited about the program and I am proud of the Company for mak-ing this effort. This program makes our people feel like they are more of a person here and not just a worker. Any com-pany can have a safety program, but this program gives us the tools that take us to another level.”

David Utley, Trucking Superinten-dent, Alice, Texas

“The program touched on a lot of the procedures the trucking department already tries to live everyday. I hope to continue to do my best to help my fellow workers and family be safe and injury free. Keep the training coming!”

Here are just a few of the many other positive comments about the workshop:

“It shows the importance of treating each other with respect.”

“The commitment from senior leadership to attend a two-day workshop away from the office shows me how important they feel this is. Their commitment puts me on board!”

“It was important to hear the discussion about why safety matters and the impact my lack of attention could have on oth-ers.”

“I learned the importance of accepting responsibility and being accountable.”

PIONEER STRENGTHENS ITS CULTURE OF SAFETY

Advanced Rig Services (ARS) facility in North Houston, Texas.

Features Increase Safety and Effi-ciencyThese six new-builds have state-of-the-art equipment and technological capabilities that enhance the rigs’ safety and efficiency.

All of the rigs are fully-automated AC electric rigs equipped with 500-ton top drives, iron roughnecks, automatic cat-walks and walking systems for pad drill-ing. They are designed for a crane-free rig up for mobilization flexibility. The Driller has a climate-controlled cabin where the rig systems are monitored

and the hoisting, rotating, and pumping systems are controlled.

All six rigs have LeTourneau mud pumps and four have 2,000 horse-power 7,500-psi operating systems that increase flexibility for down hole operations.

“These new-builds strengthen Pioneer’s position in the marketplace,” explains F.C. “Red” West, President, Drilling Services Division. “We are confident these high-quality rigs will be a great as-set to our fleet and provide safe, efficient and successful drilling operations for our customers.”

continued from page 1

continued from page 2

SIX NEW-BUILDS WILL ENHANCE DRILLING RIG FLEET

OUR PEOPLE AND EQUIPMENT ARE OUTSTANDING Two of the new rigs are 600XL Series rigs, with another two 600XL Series rigs to be delivered soon. The remainder of the new rigs are 550 horsepower rigs, similar to the rest of the Pioneer fleet.

The new Pioneer 600XL Series rigs are 600 horsepower well service rigs specifi-cally designed for completion of high-pressure shale wells. The rigs feature a 112-foot tall derrick not found on smaller

well service rigs. The extra length in the derrick provides more work-ing room when a taller blow out preventer stack is needed to contain a high pressure well. The operator can work as high as 31 feet off of the ground.

“The foresight of Pioneer manage-ment early on to purchase new high horsepower rigs has Pioneer positioned to be a market leader in the shale plays,” adds Daniel. “Our rig fleet’s age, horsepower and qual-ity are superior to our competitors’, leading to less downtime for our customers.”

Well Services currently operates out of 10 locations across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and North Dakota.

Pioneer Well Services is an example of how outstanding people and equipment throughout the Com-pany are positioning Pioneer for the future.

Paul Hernandez is one of the 3,000 Pioneer employees who enjoy reading The Pioneer Spirit. This 550 horsepower Well Services rig is shown working near

Alvin, Texas.

Participants in the safety workshops think the topics are excellent.