Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
OMB APPROVAL
OMB Number: 3235-0104
Expires: January 31, 2005
Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5

(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Holcomb James Michael
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
01/01/2012		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
PATTERSON UTI ENERGY INC [PTEN]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
450 GEARS ROAD, SUITE 500		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
President-Drilling Subsidiary
 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

HOUSTON, TX 77067		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Stock, $.01 par value per share 125,064 (1)
D
 

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Stock Option (Right to Buy) 10/29/2012 10/28/2018 Common Stock, $.01 par value per share 44,445 (2) $ 12.32 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Holcomb James Michael
450 GEARS ROAD, SUITE 500
HOUSTON, TX 77067		       President-Drilling Subsidiary  

Signatures

By Gregory W. Pipkin pursuant to a Limited Power of Attorney filed with the SEC on 1/6/2012./s/Gregory W. Pipkin 01/06/2012
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) Includes 58,334 shares of restricted stock. 28,334 of these shares will vest on June 9, 2012; 20,000 of these shares will vest on June 9, 2013; and 10,000 of these shares will vest on June 9, 2014.
(2) As of January 1, 2012, options for 16,668 shares are fully vested. The remaining options for 27,777 shares will vest in equal monthly installments from January 29, 2012 through October 29, 2012.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, See Instruction 6 for procedure.

Potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB number.