Forbes Energy Services Reports Selected Operating Data For May 2011

ALICE, Texas, June 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Forbes Energy Services Ltd. (TSX: FRB) today announced its rig and trucking hours for the month of May 2011.

John Crisp, Forbes Energy Services' President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "May was our best month since the 2008 downturn.  We generated a third consecutive record month for truck hours, and we produced our highest U.S. rig hours per day in two and a half years.

"May was also a strong month for our Mexico operations, where we recently added two additional rigs.  The first rig began operations in Mexico the end of May, and the second should be operational by mid-June.  A third rig is expected to arrive in country by the end of June, and should be placed in service by early in the third quarter."

"The recent debt refinancing was an important milestone for Forbes Energy Services.  We're pleased that the offering of our new 9% senior notes due 2019 was over-subscribed.  With  net proceeds of $272.7 million, we have now retired over 99.8% of our 11% senior secured notes due 2015, repurchased all of our first priority floating rate notes due 2014 and have $55.6 million in unrestricted cash on the balance sheet as of June 10, 2011.  We are also in the process of negotiating a new revolving senior secured credit facility in the amount of approximately $75.0 million.

"In the near term, we anticipate using approximately $15 million to purchase equipment that we currently hold under two operating leases, including 10 well servicing rigs, 3 swabbing rigs, 17 heavy trucks and other equipment.  Going forward, we may purchase additional leased equipment as well as deploying additional capital to take advantage of the numerous growth opportunities we're seeing in the market, especially in South and West Texas.

"As previously announced, we continue to work toward finalizing a registration statement to register, under the Securities Act of 1933, the share exchange associated with our proposed reincorporation from Bermuda to Texas.  Upon completion of this transaction, we hope to move forward with our plan to list the common stock of the reincorporated Texas entity on the NASDAQ Global Market."

U.S. rigs generally work all weekdays except holidays.  Mexico rigs generally work every day except holidays.  Trucks generally operate every day except Sundays and holidays.  Rig and truck hours represent actual hours billed to customers.

Forbes Energy Services cautions that several factors other than those discussed above may impact the Company's operating results and that a particular trend regarding the factors above may or may not be indicative of the Company's current or future financial performance.

Forbes Energy Services Ltd. is an independent oilfield services contractor that provides a broad range of drilling-related and production-related services to oil and natural gas companies, primarily onshore in Texas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Mexico.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as contemplated by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, in which the Company discusses factors it believes may affect its operations and activities in the future. The accuracy of the Company's assumptions, expectations, beliefs and projections depend on events or conditions that change over time and are thus susceptible to change based on actual experience, new developments and known and unknown risks. The Company gives no assurance that the forward-looking statements will prove to be correct and does not undertake any duty to update them. The Company's actual future results might differ from the forward-looking statements made in this press release for a variety of factors, which include: the successful importation of one of our rigs into Mexico, the success of negotiations regarding the proposed credit facility, the ability to consummate the buyout of certain leased equipment, the successful deployment of capital in growth opportunities, the effectiveness of our current registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the approval of NASDAQ of our listing application, supply and demand for oilfield services and the level of oil and natural gas prices; the continued uncertainty in the global financial markets and its effect on domestic spending in the oil and natural gas industry; the Company's ability to maintain or improve pricing on its core services; the potential for excess capacity in the industry; competition and the ability to obtain additional cash resources through a financing or other permitted transaction. Should one or more of the foregoing risks or uncertainties materialize, or should the Company's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, the Company's actual results may vary materially from those anticipated in its forward-looking statements, and the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.  Additional factors that you should consider are set forth in detail in the Risk Factors section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 (the "Form 10-K") as well as other filings the Company has made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Forbes Energy Services Ltd.