George S. Dotson to Retire from Helmerich & Payne

Helmerich & Payne reports that George S. Dotson, who will reach his 65th birthday this month, will retire from the Company effective March 1, 2006, after a career that has spanned more than 35 years. Mr. Dotson began his career with the Company in 1970, and was named Vice President of the Company and President and Chief Operating Officer of Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co., the Company's drilling subsidiary, in 1977. In 1990, Mr. Dotson was elected to the Company's Board of Directors. Upon his retirement, Mr. Dotson will provide advisory services to the Company for a period of at least one year and will continue to serve as a Director of the Company until the expiration of his current term in March 2007.

The Company also announced that, effective March 1, 2006, following the retirement of Mr. Dotson, John Lindsay and Alan Orr will assume additional responsibilities and serve as Executive Vice Presidents for Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co. Mr. Lindsay will become Executive Vice President, U.S. and International Operations, and Mr. Orr will serve as Executive Vice President, Engineering and Development. Both positions will report directly to the CEO.

Mr. Lindsay, age 45, joined the Company in 1987 as a drilling engineer. He has since served in various positions including operations manager for the Company's Mid-Continent region and division manager of U.S. Land Operations. In 1997, Mr. Lindsay was appointed to his present position of Vice President, U.S. Land Operations, for Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co. Mr. Lindsay graduated in 1986 from the University of Tulsa, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering.

Mr. Orr, age 54, joined the Company in 1975 as a roughneck. In his 30-year career, Mr. Orr has held various supervisory positions in the Company's domestic and international operations. In 1992, Mr. Orr was appointed to his present position as Vice President and Chief Engineer for Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co. Mr. Orr graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1973, with a Bachelor of Science degree in General Engineering.

Company President and CEO, Hans Helmerich commented, "George has made an outstanding contribution to the success of the Company. I am pleased that we will continue to benefit from George's experience and expertise. We are fortunate to have a very experienced management team and look forward to even greater contributions from John and Alan."

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. is a contract drilling company that owns 90 U.S. land rigs, 11 U.S. platform rigs located in the Gulf of Mexico, and 27 international rigs, for a total of 128 rigs. Included in the total fleet of 128 rigs are 50 H&P-designed and operated FlexRigs(R). The Company has reached contractual agreements with customers that will result in the construction of 50 additional FlexRigs.