Arena Resources, Inc. Announces Completion of $10.5 Million Texas Property Acquisition
Acquisition Increases Company's Proved Reserves To Over 18 Million Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE)
Tulsa, Oklahoma — December 21, 2004 — Arena Resources, Inc. (AMEX: ARD.U, ARD) ("Arena")("Company") announced today that it has closed its previously announced acquisition of a 100% working interest, 75% net revenue interest in the Fuhrman-Mascho Field ("lease") located in Andrews County, Texas for a purchase price of $10.55 million, comprised of $9.5 million cash and 150,000 restricted shares of the Company's common stock, valued at $7.00 per share. The Company financed $9.0 million of the purchase price through borrowings under its bank credit facility. The effective date of the acquisition is December 1, 2004 and is the fifth acquisition by the Company of a Permian Basin property located in this geographic area in the past eighteen months.

Property Information
The property is located in Andrews County in the Permian Basin of West Texas and consists of 11,300 acres and 136 producing wells. Arena will be the operator and have a 100% working interest and 75% net revenue interest. In addition to the 136 existing producing wells, ArenaÕs engineering team has identified an additional 130 locations for potential future drilling and development. The Company currently plans on commencing additional development of this acreage in early 2005. Current production is from the San Andres formation at a depth of approximately 4,700 feet. Additionally, Arena has acquired the rights to the Yates gas formation (3,200 feet) covering over 9,000 acres, and is currently preparing a detailed evaluation for future exploration and development.

Production and Reserves
The current net production to the Company, from this acquisition, is approximately 240 BOE per day, which increases Arena's current total net daily production from all of its properties by 28% to approximately 1,100 BOE. The Company's initial reserve estimates, as reviewed by Lee Keeling & Associates, Inc., an independent reservoir engineering firm, indicate the lease has approximately 6.5 million BOE of proved reserves net to Arena. This represents an estimated cost of $1.62 per BOE and increases the Company's combined proved reserves to approximately 18.3 million BOE. Based on a $35.00 BOE commodity price, Arena's estimated present value of reserves, discounted at 10% (PV-10), is expected to increase approximately $90 million to a combined PV-10 value of approximately $220 million.

About Arena Resources, Inc.
Arena Resources, Inc. is an oil and gas exploration, development and production company with current operations in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico.

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a wide variety of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitations, statements with respect to the Company's strategy and prospects. Readers and investors are cautioned that the Company's actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the Company's ability to acquire productive oil and/or gas properties or to successfully drill and complete oil and/or gas wells on such properties, general economic conditions both domestically and abroad, and the conduct of business by the Company, and other factors that may be more fully described in additional documents set forth by the Company.

For further information contact:
K M Financial, Inc.
Bill Parsons
480-947-1589
k-m-financial@msn.com