ATP Begins Drilling at Shimshon Well in the Mediterranean Sea

ATP Oil & Gas Corporation ATPG and its wholly-owned subsidiary ATP East Med B.V. (“ATP East Med”) have initiated drilling at the Shimshon well in the Levant Basin of offshore Israel with the Ensco 5006 drilling unit. The Shimshon well is in a water depth of 3,622 feet with a target depth of 14,764 feet. After spudding, several protective casing strings will be set until the well has penetrated the salt layer. A full set of electric logs will be run at total depth to assist in evaluation of target reservoirs. ATP expects to announce results during the third quarter of 2012. ATP through ATP East Med operates with a 40% working interest.