EXHIBIT 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATIONAL OILWELL VARCO ANNOUNCES

FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2012 EARNINGS

HOUSTON, TX, February 1, 2013 — National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE: NOV) today reported that for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012 it earned net income of $668 million, or $1.56 per fully diluted share. Earnings improved nine percent compared to the third quarter of 2012, and improved 16 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. Excluding $51 million in pre-tax transaction charges and a net $69 million tax benefit related to certain U.S. foreign tax credits in the fourth quarter of 2012, net income was $638 million, or $1.49 per fully diluted share, down two percent from the third quarter of 2012, and up nine percent from the fourth quarter of 2011, excluding transaction charges from all periods. The net $69 million tax benefit resulted from a strategic reorganization of certain foreign operations to more fully integrate recently acquired business groups.

Revenues reported for the full year 2012 were $20.04 billion, and net income was $2.49 billion, or $5.83 per fully diluted share. Operating profit for the full year 2012 was $3.55 billion. Excluding $143 million in pre-tax transaction charges and a net $69 million tax benefit related to certain U.S. foreign tax credits in 2012, net income was $2.52 billion, or $5.91 per fully diluted share, and operating profit was $3.69 billion or 18.4 percent of sales, for the full year 2012. Earnings per share increased 24 percent from 2011, excluding transaction charges and unusual tax benefits from both periods.

Revenues for the fourth quarter increased seven percent sequentially to $5.69 billion. Operating profit for the fourth quarter, excluding transaction charges, was $954 million or 16.8 percent of sales, up one percent from the third quarter of 2012. Operating profit flow-through, or the change in operating profit divided by the change in revenue, was two percent from the third quarter of 2012 to the fourth quarter of 2012, and was seven percent from the fourth quarter of 2011 to the fourth quarter of 2012, excluding transaction charges from all periods.

Backlog for capital equipment orders for the Company’s Rig Technology segment at December 31, 2012 was a record at $11.86 billion, up two percent from the third quarter of 2012. New orders during the quarter were $2.42 billion, reflecting continued good demand for oilfield equipment.

Pete Miller, Chairman and CEO of National Oilwell Varco, remarked, “The fourth quarter marked a strong finish to a record-breaking year. For the year, the Company’s continued investments in technology, product and service line extensions, facilities and machines, and our people, enabled us to better support our customers and establish new benchmarks in revenues, net income and ending backlog. I would like to thank all of our dedicated employees for their hard work and outstanding execution this year.

As we enter 2013, we recognize that there are some near-term headwinds facing us in the North American land market. However, we are excited to be entering the year with strong financial resources, a solid backlog, a well-constructed and balanced business, and an experienced and capable group at NOV that remains committed to delivering the highest quality of products and services to our customers. We also enter the year with the firm belief that the oil and gas industry will continue to upgrade the world’s aging rig fleet, while simultaneously building out both a deepwater and a worldwide shale infrastructure that are still in the early stages of development, and we look forward to playing a leadership role in those efforts.”

Rig Technology

Fourth quarter revenues for the Rig Technology segment were $2.90 billion, an increase of 14 percent from the third quarter of 2012 and an increase of 25 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011. Operating profit for this segment was $648 million, or 22.4 percent of sales, an increase of six percent from the third quarter of 2012 and an increase of seven percent from the fourth quarter of 2011. Sequential operating profit flow-through was 11 percent. Year-over-year operating profit flow-through was eight percent. Revenue out of backlog for the segment increased 16 percent sequentially and increased 25 percent year-over-year, to $2.21 billion for the fourth quarter of 2012.

Petroleum Services & Supplies

Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012 for the Petroleum Services & Supplies segment were $1.77 billion, up three percent compared to third quarter 2012 results and up 13 percent compared to fourth quarter 2011 results. Operating profit was $355 million, or 20.1 percent of sales, down seven percent from the third quarter of 2012 and an increase of 18 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011. Operating profit flow-through was 27 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011 to the fourth quarter of 2012.

Distribution & Transmission

Fourth quarter revenues for the Distribution & Transmission segment were $1.27 billion, down four percent from the third quarter of 2012, and up 126 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011 (due mostly to previously disclosed mergers completed in 2012). Fourth quarter operating profit was $78 million or 6.2 percent of sales. Operating profit flow-through was flat sequentially, and was five percent from the fourth quarter of 2011 to the fourth quarter of 2012.

The Company has scheduled a conference call for February 1, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time to discuss fourth quarter and 2012 results. The call will be broadcast through the Investor Relations link on National Oilwell Varco’s web site at www.nov.com, and a replay will be available on the site for thirty days following the conference. Participants may also join the conference call by dialing 1- 800-446-1671 within North America or 1-847-413-3362 outside of North America five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time, and ask for the “National Oilwell Varco Earnings Conference Call.”

National Oilwell Varco is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of equipment and components used in oil and gas drilling and production operations, the provision of oilfield services, and supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry.

Statements made in this press release that are forward-looking in nature are intended to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and may involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to documents filed by National Oilwell Varco with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K, which identify significant risk factors which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Unaudited)

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OPERATING PROFIT – AS ADJUSTED SUPPLEMENTAL SCHEDULE (Unaudited)

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AS ADJUSTED EBITDA RECONCILIATION EXCLUDING OTHER COSTS

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Note 1: EBITDA excluding other costs means earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and other costs, and is a non-GAAP financial measurement. Management uses EBITDA excluding other costs because it believes it provides useful supplemental information regarding the Company’s on-going economic performance and, therefore, uses this financial measure internally to evaluate and manage the Company’s operations. The Company has chosen to provide this information to investors to enable them to perform more meaningful comparisons of operating results and as a means to emphasize the results of on-going operations.