There is no written employment contract between Mr. Piontek and Newpark which guarantees Mr. Piontek's term of employment, salary or other incentives, all of which are entirely at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Mr. Piontek is eligible to participate in Newpark's incentive compensation plan and he is also eligible to receive annual stock options and performance-based awards under Newpark's stock incentive plan as determined in the discretion of the Compensation Committee. Mr. Piontek is also eligible to participate in Newpark's broad-based benefit programs generally available to it s salaried employees, including health, life, disability and other insurance and benefits, 401(k) Plan, vacation, paid sick leave and other employee benefits.

There is no other arrangement or understanding between Mr. Piontek and any other person pursuant to which he was selected as an officer. Mr. Piontek has no family relationship to any other executive officer or director of Newpark.

Eric Wingerter, who formerly served in this position, was named as Assistant Controller effective as of April 2, 2007 and will serve in this capacity until his departure from Newpark in May, 2007.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act that are based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about Newpark's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "projects," "indicates," and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Newpark, particularly its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, as well as o thers, could cause results to differ materially from those stated. These factors include, but are not limited to, the results of several class action and derivative lawsuits against Newpark and certain of our current and former directors and former officers; the results of the internal investigation into accounting matters by Newpark's Audit Committee; changes in the laws, regulations, policies and economic conditions, including inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates, of countries in which Newpark does business; competitive pressures; successful integration of structural changes, including restructuring plans, acquisitions, divestitures and alliances; cost of raw materials, research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance; and seasonality of sales of Newpark products. Newpark's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission can be obtained at no charge at www.sec.gov, as well as through our website at www.newpark.com.