FEBRUARY 6, 2003 – SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Pioneer Drilling Company (AMEX: PDC) today reported results for the three months and nine months ended December 31, 2002.

Revenues for the fiscal third quarter of 2003 were $19.7 million compared to revenues of $16.5 million in the third quarter of 2002. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, was $1.2 million in the third quarter of 2003 compared to $3.6 million in the same period last year. Net loss attributable to common shareholders in the third quarter of 2003 was $1.7 million, or $0.11 loss per share, versus net income of $0.6 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, during the third quarter of 2002.

Revenue days were 1,579 days during the third quarter of fiscal 2003 compared to 1,304 days for the third quarter of fiscal 2002. Drilling margin was 8.7 percent, or $1.7 million for the third fiscal quarter of 2003, versus drilling margin of 25.4 percent, or $4.2 million in the third quarter of 2002. Average rig utilization for the third quarter was 76 percent, up slightly from 75 percent in the same period last year.

Michael E. Little, Pioneer Drilling’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “As testament to our strategy of providing premium equipment and personnel, Pioneer has maintained a solid rig utilization rate of 76 percent for the third quarter and 78 percent in the nine months ending December 31, 2002. In the third quarter we added two premium quality SCR rigs and put them to work in our South Texas division and will add one additional 18,000 foot SCR rig and one Cabot 1200 rig in the first quarter of fiscal 2004. With these additions, we have successfully positioned the company as a provider of high end rigs. As we continue to execute on our strategy to expand our fleet, we will focus on acquiring US land rigs or companies that complement our existing operations.”

Revenues for the first nine months of fiscal year 2003 were $55.1 million compared to revenues of $52.6 million for the first nine months of fiscal year 2002. EBITDA was $5.6 million in the nine months of 2003 compared to $16.7 million in the same period last year. Net loss attributable to common shareholders during the fiscal nine months of 2003 was $3.2 million, or $0.20 loss per share, versus net income of $6.2 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, during the nine months of fiscal 2002.

Revenue days were 4,609 days during the first nine months of fiscal 2003 compared to 4,144 days for the comparable period of fiscal 2002. Drilling margin was 13.4 percent, or $7.4 million in the nine month period in fiscal 2003, versus drilling margin of 35.7 percent, or $18.8 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2002. Average rig utilization for the nine months of 2003 was 78 percent, down from 89 percent last year in the nine month period.

Pioneer Drilling’s management team will be holding a conference call on Thursday, February 6, 2003, at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. To participate in the call, dial (303) 262-2075 at least ten minutes before the conference call begins and ask for the Pioneer Drilling conference call. A replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after the call ends and will be accessible until February 13, 2003. To access the replay, dial (303) 590-3000 and enter the pass code 523327.

Investors, analysts and the general public will also have the opportunity to listen to the conference call over the Internet by accessing Pioneer Drilling’s web site at http://www.pioneerdrlg.com. To listen to the live call on the web, please visit Pioneer Drilling’s web site at least fifteen minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. For those who cannot listen to the live web cast, an archive will be available shortly after the call. For more information, please contact Karen Roan at DRG&E at (713) 529-6600 or email kroan@drg-e.com. Pioneer Drilling Company provides contract land drilling services to independent and major oil and gas operators drilling wells in central, south and east Texas.

The Company’s fleet consists of 24 land drilling rigs that drill in depth ranges between 10,000-18,000  feet, with an additional 1500 HP SCR land rig and a Cabot 1200 scheduled to be added in late Spring 2003. This press release contains various forward-looking statements and information that are based on management’s belief as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. Forward-looking information includes statements regarding the Company’s anticipated growth, demand from the Company’s customers, capital spending by oil and gas companies and the Company’s expectations regarding its new rigs. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Such statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, among other matters: general and regional economic conditions and industry trends; the continued strength or weakness of the contract land drilling industry in the  geographic areas where the Company operates; decisions about onshore exploration and development  projects to be made by oil and gas companies; the highly competitive nature of the contract land drilling business; the Company’s future financial performance, including availability, terms and deployment of capital; the continued availability of qualified personnel; and changes in governmental regulations, including those relating to the environment. Should one or more of these risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. These risks, as well as others, are discussed in greater detail in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2002 and subsequent Form 10- Q’s.

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                PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
                   Statements of Operations - Unaudited

                         Three Months Ended          Nine Months Ended
                     12/31/2002     12/31/2001   12/31/2002     12/31/2001
  Revenues:
      Contract
       drilling      $19,714,287   $16,514,838  $55,112,724   $52,451,790
      Other               12,310        24,058       34,743       155,598
    Total operating
     revenues         19,726,597    16,538,896   55,147,467    52,607,388
  Costs & Expenses:
    Contract
     drilling         17,995,124    12,321,642   47,741,641    33,686,284
    Depreciation       3,006,185     2,325,366    8,521,830     5,892,522
    General &
     administrative      552,714       598,609    1,677,622     2,211,553
    Bad debt expense         ---           ---      110,000           ---
      Total operating
       costs          21,554,023    15,245,617   58,051,093    41,790,359
  Operating profit
   (loss)             (1,827,426)    1,293,279   (2,903,626)   10,817,029
  Other income
   (expense):
    Interest expense    (673,194)     (480,506)  (1,900,116)   (1,008,033)
    Interest income       19,516        39,273       72,912        59,323
    Gain on sale of
     securities              ---           ---      203,887           ---
    Total other         (653,678)     (441,233)  (1,623,317)     (948,710)
  Earnings (loss)
   before taxes       (2,481,104)      852,046   (4,526,943)    9,868,319
  Income tax (expense)
   benefit               777,009      (300,766)   1,349,348    (3,531,229)
  Net earnings
   (loss)             (1,704,095)      551,280   (3,177,595)    6,337,090
  Preferred dividends        ---           ---          ---        92,814

  Net earnings (loss)
   to common         $(1,704,095)     $551,280  $(3,177,595)   $6,244,276

  Earnings (loss)
   per share:
    Basic                 $(0.11)        $0.03       $(0.20)        $0.42
    Diluted               $(0.11)        $0.03       $(0.20)        $0.36
  Weighted average
   number of shares
   outstanding:
    Basic             16,142,024    15,919,502   16,078,277    14,847,120
    Diluted           16,142,024    17,280,475   16,078,277    18,309,123
  Operating statistics:
    Utilization rate       76.0%         75.0%        78.0%         89.0%
    Revenue days           1,579         1,304        4,609         4,144
    Drilling margin   $1,719,163    $4,193,196   $7,371,083   $18,765,506
    Drilling
     margin/day           $1,089        $3,216       $1,599        $4,528
    Drilling margin %
     of revenue             8.7%         25.4%        13.4%         35.7%
    EBITDA            $1,178,759    $3,618,645   $5,618,204   $16,709,551
    EBITDA as % of
     revenues               6.0%         21.9%        10.2%         31.8%


                PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
                  Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

                                        (Unaudited)
                                         12/31/2002           3/31/2002
                    Assets
  Current assets:
    Cash and cash equivalents           $8,315,688           $5,383,045
    Securities available for sale              ---              337,309
    Receivables, net                     5,868,290            6,160,797
    Contract drilling in progress        4,762,252            3,120,252
    Federal income tax receivable          629,218              880,068
    Prepaid expenses                     1,449,712              634,747
      Total current assets              21,025,160           16,516,218
  Net property, plant and
   equipment                            86,771,720           66,731,626
  Other assets                             374,298              201,914
  Total assets                        $108,171,178          $83,449,758

            Liabilities and Equity
  Current liabilities:
    Notes payable                       $7,276,765           $6,329,925
    Current long-term debt               2,513,263            1,945,989
    Accounts payable                    11,766,530            6,507,169
    Accrued expenses                     3,045,587            2,034,408
      Total current liabilities         24,602,145           16,817,491
  Long-term debt                        46,692,586           26,118,601
  Deferred taxes                         6,713,663            7,170,661
      Total liabilities                 78,008,394           50,106,753
  Total shareholders' equity            30,162,784           33,343,005
                                      $108,171,178          $83,449,758