MARCH 30, 2005 – SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Pioneer Drilling Company (AMEX: PDC) announced today that it has closed the public offering of a total of 14,490,000 shares of common stock on March 29, 2005, with Pioneer Drilling selling 6,945,000 shares, resulting in net proceeds of $81.4 million, and certain selling shareholders selling an aggregate of 7,545,000 shares. Included in the total shares sold were 945,000 shares that the underwriters purchased from Pioneer Drilling pursuant to the exercise of an over-allotment option. Also included were 945,000 shares that the underwriters purchased from WEDGE Energy Services, L.L.C., one of the selling shareholders, pursuant to the exercise of an over-allotment option. The sale of shares by the Company represented a new financing.

The proceeds of the offering will be used by Pioneer Drilling to fund the completion of the construction of two rigs for $13 million from new and used components and to repay approximately $20 million of indebtedness Pioneer Drilling incurred under the acquisition facility portion of the new credit facility Pioneer Drilling entered into in October 2004. The remaining proceeds from the offering will be used by Pioneer Drilling for general corporate purposes, which may include funding capital expenditures for rig additions and upgrades.

Jefferies & Company, Inc. acted as sole book-running manager for the public offering. Copies of the final prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from Jefferies & Company, Inc., Attention: Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and has become effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Pioneer Drilling Company provides land contract drilling services to independent and major oil and gas operators drilling wells in north, east and south Texas, Oklahoma and in the Rocky Mountain region. With the addition of a recently constructed 1000hp rig moving onto location in Utah, Pioneer Drilling’s fleet consists of 50 land drilling rigs that drill in depth ranges between 6,000 and 18,000 feet.