24,530,000 SHARES SANDRIDGE ENERGY, INC. COMMON STOCK UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

24,530,000 SHARES

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ENERGY, INC.

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

November 5, 2007

▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.
Banc of America Securities LLC
As Representatives of the several
      Underwriters named in Schedule 1 attached hereto,
c/▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇

Ladies and Gentlemen:

          ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Energy, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes to sell 24,530,000 shares (the “Firm Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”). In addition, the Company proposes to grant to the underwriters (the “Underwriters”) named in Schedule 1 attached to this agreement (this “Agreement”) an option to purchase up to an aggregate of 3,679,500 additional shares of the Common Stock on the terms set forth in Section 2 (the “Option Shares”). The Firm Shares and the Option Shares, if purchased, are hereinafter collectively called the “Shares.” This is to confirm the agreement concerning the purchase of the Shares from the Company by the Underwriters.

          1. Representations, Warranties and Agreements of the Company. The Company represents, warrants and agrees that:

     (a) Preparation, Filing, and Effectiveness of the Registration Statement. A registration statement on Form S-1 relating to the Shares has (i) been prepared by the Company in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the rules and regulations (the “Rules and Regulations”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) thereunder; (ii) been filed with the Commission under the Securities Act; and (iii) become effective under the Securities Act. Copies of such registration statement and any amendment thereto have been delivered by the Company to you as the representatives (the “Representatives”) of the Underwriters. As used in this Agreement:

     (i) “Applicable Time” means 4:15 p.m. (New York City time) on the date of this Agreement;

     (ii) “Effective Date” means the date and time as of which such registration statement, or the most recent post-effective amendment thereto, was declared effective by the Commission;

     (iii) “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means each “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules and Regulations) prepared by or on behalf of the Company or used or referred to by the Company in connection with the offering of the Shares;

     (iv) “Preliminary Prospectus” means any preliminary prospectus relating to the Shares included in such registration statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations;

     (v) “Pricing Disclosure Package” means, as of the Applicable Time, the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, together with the information set forth in Schedule 3 hereto and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus filed or used by the Company on or before the Applicable Time, other than a road show that is an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus but is not required to be filed under Rule 433 of the Rules and Regulations

     (vi) “Prospectus” means the final prospectus relating to the Shares, as filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations; and

     (vii) “Registration Statement” means the registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-144004), as amended as of the Effective Date, including any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus and all exhibits to such registration statement.

Any reference to the “most recent Preliminary Prospectus” shall be deemed to refer to the latest Preliminary Prospectus included in the Registration Statement or filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) prior to or on the date hereof. The Commission has not issued any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, and no proceeding or examination for such purpose has been instituted or threatened by the Commission.

     (b) Company Not Ineligible Issuer. The Company was not at the time of initial filing of the Registration Statement and at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the Rules and Regulations) of the Shares, is not on the date hereof and will not be on the applicable Delivery Date an “ineligible issuer” (as defined in Rule 405).

     (c) Compliance with Registration Requirements. The Registration Statement conformed and will conform in all material respects on the Effective Date and on the applicable Delivery Date, and any amendment to the Registration Statement filed after the date hereof will conform in all material respects when filed, to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations. The most recent Preliminary Prospectus

conformed, and the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects when filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) and on the applicable Delivery Date to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations.

     (d) The Registration Statement. The Registration Statement did not, as of the Effective Date, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided that no representation or warranty is made as to information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is specified in Section 8(e).

     (e) The Prospectus. The Prospectus will not, as of its date and on the applicable Delivery Date, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that no representation or warranty is made as to information contained in or omitted from the Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is specified in Section 8(e).

     (f) The Pricing Disclosure Package. As of the Applicable Time, the Pricing Disclosure Package did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The preceding sentence does not apply to statements or omissions from the Pricing Disclosure Package based upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of the Underwriters specifically for the inclusion therein, which information is specified in Section 8(e).

     (g) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (including, without limitation, any road show that is a free writing prospectus under Rule 433), when considered together with the Pricing Disclosure Package as of the Applicable Time, did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

     Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conformed or will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations on the date of first use, and the Company has complied with all prospectus delivery and any filing requirements applicable to such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus pursuant to the Rules and Regulations. The Company has not made any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus without the prior written consent of the Representatives. The Company has retained in accordance with the Rules and Regulations all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses that were not required to be filed pursuant to the Rules and Regulations. The Company has taken all actions necessary so

that any “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 of the Rules and Regulations) in connection with the offering of the Shares will not be required to be filed pursuant to the Rules and Regulations.

     (h) No Integration. None of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has, directly or through any agent, sold, offered for sale, solicited offers to buy or otherwise negotiated in respect of, any “security” (as defined in the Securities Act) that is or will be integrated with the sale of the Shares in a manner that would require registration of such offer or sale of such securities under the Securities Act.

     (i) Exclusive Agreement. The Company has not paid or agreed to pay to any person any compensation for soliciting another person to purchase any securities of the Company (except as contemplated in this Agreement).

     (j) Statements in Prospectus. The statements in the Prospectus under the headings “Description of Capital Stock” and “Certain U.S. Tax Consequences to Non-U.S. Holders” insofar as such statements summarize legal matters, agreements, documents or proceedings discussed therein, are accurate and fair summaries of such legal matters, agreements, documents or proceedings.

     (k) Materials Furnished to Underwriters. The Company has delivered to the Representatives the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, in such quantities and at such places as the Representatives have reasonably requested for each of the Underwriters.

     (l) Authorization of the Underwriting Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

     (m) Authorization of the Shares. The Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters from the Company have been duly authorized for issuance and sale pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement on the Initial Delivery Date or any Subsequent Delivery Date, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, and the issuance of the Shares will not be subject to any preemptive or similar rights.

     (n) No Material Adverse Change. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Pricing Disclosure Package, subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus: (i) there has been no material adverse change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business, properties, operations or prospects (other than as a result of developments affecting the oil and gas industry generally), whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one entity (a “Material Adverse Change”); (ii) the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one entity, have not incurred any material liability or obligation, indirect, direct or contingent, nor entered into any material transaction or agreement; and (iii) there has been no cash dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company

or, except for dividends paid to the Company or other subsidiaries, any of its subsidiaries on any class of capital stock or repurchase or redemption by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any class of capital stock.

     (o) Independent Accountants. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, who have expressed their opinion with respect to the financial statements (which term as used in this Agreement includes the related notes thereto) and supporting schedules included in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are independent registered public accountants with respect to the Company as required by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the applicable published rules and regulations thereunder.

     ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, who have expressed their opinion with respect to the financial statements and supporting schedules included in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are independent registered public accountants with respect to NEG Oil & Gas LLC as required by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the applicable published rules and regulations thereunder.

     (p) Preparation of the Financial Statements. The consolidated financial statements of the Company included in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly the consolidated financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries as of and at the dates indicated and the results of their operations and cash flows for the periods specified. Such financial statements comply as to form with the applicable accounting requirements of Regulation S-X and have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved, except as may be expressly stated in the related notes thereto. The financial data set forth in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption “Selected Consolidated Historical Financial Data” and the “Actual” column under the caption “Capitalization” fairly present the information set forth therein on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements contained in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus. The pro forma condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries and the related notes thereto and the other pro forma financial data included in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus have been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines with respect to pro forma financial statements and have been properly presented on the basis described therein, and the assumptions used in the preparation thereof are reasonable and the adjustments used therein are appropriate to give effect to the transactions and circumstances referred to therein.

     (q) Incorporation and Good Standing of the Company and its Subsidiaries. Each of the Company and its significant subsidiaries, as defined by Rule 405 under the Securities Act (the “Significant Subsidiaries”), has been duly incorporated or otherwise formed and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation, as the case may be, and has power and authority (corporate or otherwise) to own or lease, as the case may be, and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and, in the case of the Company, to enter into and perform its obligations under this

Agreement. Each of the Company and each Significant Subsidiary is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except for such jurisdictions where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a material adverse effect on the condition, financial or otherwise, or on the earnings, business, properties or operations, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one entity (a “Material Adverse Effect”). All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock, or similar equity interest, of each subsidiary have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and are owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or claim, except that (1) the Senior Credit Facility, dated November 21, 2006, by and among ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Energy, Inc. (as successor by merger to Riata Energy, Inc.) and Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent and Banc of America Securities LLC as Lead Arranger and Book Running Manager, as amended, and (2) Credit Agreement, dated March 22, 2007 by and among ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Energy, Inc. and Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent and Banc of America Securities LLC as Lead Arranger, as amended, are secured by a negative pledge on any of the Company’s non-mortgage properties.

     (r) Capitalization and Other Capital Stock Matters. The authorized, issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company is as set forth in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the caption “Capitalization” (other than for subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to employee benefit plans described in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or upon exercise of outstanding options described in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as the case may be). The Common Stock conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. All of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and have been issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws. None of the outstanding shares of Common Stock were issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company except for preemptive rights claims that may have existed that are now barred by statute. There are no authorized or outstanding options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, any capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries other than those described in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The description of the Company’s stock option, stock bonus and other stock plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted thereunder, set forth in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus accurately presents and summarizes such plans, arrangements, options and rights.

     (s) Non-Contravention of Existing Instruments; No Further Authorizations or Approvals Required. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its charter or by laws (or other applicable organizational document), (ii) is (or, with the giving of notice or lapse of time, would be) in default (“Default”) under any indenture, mortgage, loan or credit agreement, note, contract, franchise, lease or other instrument to

which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound (including, without limitation, the (1) the Senior Credit Facility, dated November 21, 2006, by and among ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Energy, Inc. (as successor by merger to Riata Energy, Inc.) and Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent and Banc of America Securities LLC as Lead Arranger and Book Running Manager, as amended, and (2) Credit Agreement, dated March 22, 2007 by and among ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Energy, Inc. and Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent and Banc of America Securities LLC as Lead Arranger, as amended) or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject (each, an “Existing Instrument”), or (iii) is in violation of any statute, law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company or such subsidiary or any of its properties, as applicable, except with respect to clause (ii) and (iii), for such Defaults or violations as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

     The Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement (i) have been duly authorized by all necessary action (corporate or otherwise) and will not result in any violation of the charter or by laws (or other applicable organizational document) of the Company or any subsidiary, (ii) will not conflict with or constitute a breach of, or Default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, or require the consent of any other party to, any Existing Instrument and (iii) will not result in any violation of any statute, law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree applicable to the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of its or their properties.

     No consent, approval, authorization or other order of, or registration or filing with, any court or other governmental or regulatory authority or agency is required for the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, except for such as have been obtained or made by the Company and are in full force and effect under the Securities Act, applicable state securities or blue sky laws and from the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. or any successor organization (“NASD”).

     (t) No Stamp or Transfer Taxes. There are no stamp or other issuance or transfer taxes or duties or other similar fees or charges required to be paid in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the issuance or sale by the Company of the Shares.

     (u) No Material Actions or Proceedings. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Pricing Disclosure Package, there are no legal or governmental actions, suits or proceedings pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened (i) against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) which has as the subject thereof any officer or director of, or property owned or leased by, the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (iii) relating to environmental or discrimination matters, where in any such case (A) there is a reasonable possibility that such action, suit or proceeding might be determined adversely to the Company or such subsidiary and (B) any such action, suit or proceeding, if so

determined adversely, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

     (v) Labor Matters. No labor problem or dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or is threatened or imminent that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

     (w) Intellectual Property Rights. The Company and its subsidiaries own, possess, license or have other rights to use, on reasonable terms, all patents, patent applications, trade and service marks, trade and service ▇▇▇▇ registrations, trade names, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets, technology, know-how and other intellectual property (collectively, the “Intellectual Property”) necessary for the conduct of the Company’s business as now conducted or as proposed in the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus to be conducted except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as set forth in the Pricing Disclosure Package, (a) no party has been granted an exclusive license to use any portion of such Intellectual Property owned by the Company; (b) to the Company’s knowledge there is no material infringement by third parties of any such Intellectual Property owned by or exclusively licensed to the Company; (c) there is no pending or threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company’s rights in or to any material Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; (d) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity or scope of any material Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; and (e) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that the Company’s business as now conducted infringes or otherwise violates any material patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others, and the Company is unaware of any other fact which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim.

     (x) All Necessary Permits, etc. The Company and each Significant Subsidiary possess such valid and current licenses, certificates, authorizations or permits issued by the appropriate state, federal or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct their respective businesses except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and neither the Company nor any Significant Subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of, or non-compliance with, any such certificate, authorization or permit which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

     (y) Title to Properties. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has (i) generally satisfactory title to its oil and gas properties, title investigations having been carried out by the Company or its subsidiaries in accordance with the practice in the oil and gas industry in the areas in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate, (ii) good and marketable title to all other real property owned by it (including pipeline easement

rights) to the extent necessary to carry on its business, and (iii) good and marketable title to all personal property owned by it, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as are described in the Prospectus or such as do not materially affect the value of the properties of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and do not interfere in any material respect with the use made and proposed to be made of such properties, by the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise; and all of the easements, leases and subleases material to the business of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and under which the Company or any of its subsidiaries holds or uses properties described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has any notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or its subsidiaries under any of the easements, leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or any subsidiary thereof to the continued possession or use of the easement or leased or subleased premises;

     (z) Condition of Properties. Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company, the plants, buildings, structures and equipment owned by the Company are in good operating condition and repair and have been reasonably maintained consistent with standards generally followed in the industry (giving due account to the age and length of use of same, ordinary wear and tear excepted), are adequate and suitable for their present uses and, in the case of plants, buildings and other structures, are structurally sound.

     (aa) Tax Law Compliance. The Company and its consolidated subsidiaries have filed all necessary federal, state, local and foreign income and franchise tax returns in a timely manner and have paid all taxes required to be paid by any of them and, if due and payable, any related or similar assessment, fine or penalty levied against any of them, except for any taxes, assessments, fines or penalties as may be being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings or where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has made appropriate provisions in the financial statements included in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus in respect of all federal, state and foreign income and franchise taxes for all current or prior periods as to which the tax liability of the Company or any of its consolidated subsidiaries has not been finally determined except to the extent it would not have a Material Adverse Effect.

     (bb) Company Not an “Investment Company”. The Company is not, and, after receipt of payment for the Shares and application of the proceeds as described under “Use of Proceeds” in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus will not be, required to register as an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act and will conduct its business in a manner so that it will not become subject to the Investment Company Act.

     (cc) Insurance. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries are insured by recognized, and to the knowledge of the Company, financially sound and reputable institutions with policies in such amounts and with such deductibles and covering such

risks as are generally deemed adequate and customary for their businesses including, but not limited to, policies covering real and personal property owned or leased by the Company and its subsidiaries against theft, damage, destruction, acts of terrorism or vandalism and earthquakes. All policies of insurance and fidelity or surety bonds insuring the Company or any of its subsidiaries or their respective businesses, assets, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance, in all material respects, with the terms of such policies and instruments; and there are no material claims by the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any such policy or instrument as to which any insurance company is denying liability or defending under a reservation of rights clause; and neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has, in the past three years, been refused any insurance coverage sought or applied for. The Company has no reason to believe that it or any subsidiary will not be able (i) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (ii) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted and at a cost that would not have a Material Adverse Effect.

     (dd) No Restriction on Distributions. No subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company, except as described in or contemplated by the Pricing Disclosure Package.

     (ee) No Price Stabilization or Manipulation. The Company has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might be reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares. The Company acknowledges that the Underwriters may engage in stabilization transactions as described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus.

     (ff) Related Party Transactions. There are no business relationships or related-party transactions involving the Company or any subsidiary or any other person required to be described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus which have not been described as required.

     (gg) Compliance with Environmental Laws. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Pricing Disclosure Package (i) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign law, regulation, order, permit or other requirement relating to pollution or protection of human health or the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including without limitation, laws and regulations relating to emissions, discharges, releases or threatened releases of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum and petroleum products (collectively, “Materials of Environmental Concern”), or otherwise relating to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or

handling of Materials of Environmental Concern (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), which violation includes, but is not limited to, noncompliance with any permits or other governmental authorizations required for the operation of the business of the Company or its subsidiaries under applicable Environmental Laws, or noncompliance with the terms and conditions thereof, nor has the Company or any of its subsidiaries received any written communication, whether from a governmental authority, citizens group, employee or otherwise, that alleges that the Company or any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any Environmental Law, except, in each case, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) there is no claim, action or cause of action filed with a court or governmental authority, no investigation with respect to which the Company has received written notice, and no written notice by any person or entity alleging potential liability for investigatory costs, cleanup costs, governmental responses costs, natural resources damages, property damages, personal injuries, attorneys’ fees or penalties arising out of, based on or resulting from the presence, or release into the environment, of any Material of Environmental Concern at any location owned, leased or operated by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, now or in the past (collectively, “Environmental Claims”), pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any person or entity whose liability for any Environmental Claim the Company or any of its subsidiaries has retained or assumed either contractually or by operation of law, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (iii) to the Company’s knowledge, there are no past, present or anticipated future actions, activities, circumstances, conditions, events or incidents, including, without limitation, the release, emission, discharge, presence or disposal of any Material of Environmental Concern, that reasonably could result in a violation of any Environmental Law, require expenditures to be incurred pursuant to Environmental Law, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iv) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is subject to any pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened proceeding under Environmental Law to which a governmental authority is a party and which is reasonably likely to result in monetary sanctions of $100,000 or more.

     (hh) Independent Petroleum Engineers. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, whose reports as of December 31, 2005 and 2006 and June 30, 2007, are referenced in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus, was, as of the date of such reports, and is, as of the date hereof, an independent petroleum engineer with respect to the Company (with respect to the reports as of December 31, 2005) and PetroSource Energy Company, L.P. (with respect to the report as of December 31, 2006 and June 30, 2007). Netherland, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates Inc., whose reports as of December 31, 2005 and 2006 and June 30, 2007, are referenced in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus, was, as of the date of such reports, and is, as of the date hereof, an independent petroleum engineer with respect to NEG Oil & Gas LLC (with respect to the reports as of December 31, 2005) and the Company (excluding PetroSource Energy Company, L.P.) (with respect to the report as of December 31, 2006 and June 30, 2007). ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc., whose report as of December 31, 2005, is referenced in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus, was, as of the date of such report, and is, as of the date hereof, an independent petroleum engineer with respect to the Company. The information underlying the estimates of reserves of the Company and its subsidiaries, which was

supplied by the Company to ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and MacNaughton, Netherland, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates Inc. and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc. for purposes of reviewing the reserve reports and estimates of the Company and preparing the letters (the “Reserve Report Letters”) of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and MacNaughton, Netherland, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates Inc. and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc., including, without limitation, production, costs of operation and development, current prices for production, agreements relating to current and future operations and sales of production, was true and correct in all material respects on the dates such estimates were made and such information was supplied and was prepared in accordance with customary industry practices; other than normal production of the reserves and intervening market commodity price fluctuations described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus, the Company is not aware of any facts or circumstances that would result in a material adverse change in its total proved reserves, or the present value of future net cash flows therefrom, as described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus and as reflected in the Reserve Report Letter; estimates of such reserves and present values as described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus and reflected in the Reserve Report Letter comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of Regulation S-X and Industry Guide 2 under the Act.

     (ii) Brokers. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

     (jj) No Outstanding Loans or Other Indebtedness. There are no outstanding loans, advances (except normal advances for business expenses in the ordinary course of business) or guarantees or indebtedness by the Company to or for the benefit of any of the officers or directors of the Company or any of the members of any of their families, except as disclosed in the Pricing Disclosure Package.

     (kk) Subsidiaries. The subsidiaries listed on Schedule 4 attached hereto are the only Significant Subsidiaries of the Company.

     (ll) Lending Relationship. Except as disclosed in the Pricing Disclosure Package, to the best of its knowledge, the Company (i) does not have any material lending or other relationship with any bank or lending affiliate of any Underwriter and (ii) does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Shares hereunder to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of any Underwriter.

     (mm) Directed Share Program. The Company has not offered, or caused the RBC Capital Markets Corporation, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Lynch, Pierce, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇ Incorporated and Capital West Securities, Inc. (the “Directed Share Program Managers”) to offer, any Shares to any person pursuant to the Directed Share Program with the intent to unlawfully influence (i) a customer or supplier of the Company to alter the customer’s or supplier’s level or type of business with the Company or (ii) a trade journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company or its products.

     (nn) New York Stock Exchange Listing. The Shares have been approved for listing, subject to official notice of issuance and evidence of satisfactory distribution, on the New York Stock Exchange.

     (oo) Internal Controls. The Company maintains effective internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act and a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and to maintain accountability for its assets, (C) access to the Company’s assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization and (D) the recorded accountability for the Company’s assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.

     Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to the Representatives or to counsel for the Underwriters in connection with this offering shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to each Underwriter as to the matters set forth therein.

          2. Purchase of the Shares by the Underwriters. On the basis of the representations and warranties contained in, and subject to the terms and conditions of, this Agreement, the Company agrees to sell 24,530,000 shares of the Firm Shares to the several Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase the number of shares of the Firm Shares set forth opposite that Underwriter’s name in Schedule 1 hereto. The respective purchase obligations of the Underwriters with respect to the Firm Shares shall be rounded among the Underwriters to avoid fractional shares, as the Representatives may determine.

          In addition, the Company grants to the Underwriters an option to purchase up to 3,679,500 additional shares of Option Shares. Such option is exercisable in the event that the Underwriters sell more shares of Common Stock than the number of Firm Shares in the offering and as set forth in Section 4 hereof. Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase the number of shares of Option Shares (subject to such adjustments to eliminate fractional shares as the Representatives may determine) that bears the same proportion to the total number of shares of Option Shares to be sold on such Delivery Date as the number of shares of Firm Shares set forth in Schedule 1 hereto opposite the name of such Underwriter (or such number increased pursuant to Section 9 hereof) bears to the total number of shares of Firm Shares.

          The price of both the Firm Shares and any Option Shares purchased by the Underwriters shall be $24.44 per share.

          The Company shall not be obligated to deliver any of the Firm Shares or Option Shares to be delivered on the applicable Delivery Date, except upon payment for all such Shares to be purchased on such Delivery Date as provided herein.

     3. Offering of Shares by the Underwriters. Upon authorization by the Representatives of the release of the Firm Shares, the several Underwriters propose to offer the Firm Shares for sale upon the terms and conditions to be set forth in the Prospectus.

     It is understood that approximately 1,435,000 shares of the Firm Shares (the “Directed Shares”) will initially be reserved by the several Underwriters for offer and sale upon the terms and conditions to be set forth in the Prospectus and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (the “NASD”) to employees of the Company and its subsidiaries and persons having business relationships with the Company and its subsidiaries who have heretofore delivered to the Directed Share Program Managers offers or indications of interest to purchase shares of Firm Shares in form satisfactory to the Directed Share Program Managers (such program, the “Directed Share Program”) and that any allocation of such Firm Shares among such persons will be made in accordance with timely directions received by the Directed Share Program Managers from the Company; provided that under no circumstances will any Underwriter be liable to the Company or to any such person for any action taken or omitted in good faith in connection with such Directed Share Program. It is further understood that any Directed Shares not affirmatively reconfirmed for purchase by any participant in the Directed Share Program by 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the date hereof or otherwise are not purchased by such persons will be offered by the Underwriters to the public upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.

     The Company agrees to pay all fees and disbursements incurred by the Underwriters in connection with the Directed Share Program and any stamp duties or other taxes incurred by the Underwriters in connection with the Directed Share Program.

     4. Delivery of and Payment for the Shares. Delivery of and payment for the Firm Shares shall be made at 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the third full business day following the date of this Agreement or at such other date or place as shall be determined by agreement between the Representatives and the Company. This date and time are sometimes referred to as the “Initial Delivery Date.” Delivery of the Firm Shares shall be made to the Representatives for the account of each Underwriter against payment by the several Underwriters through the Representatives and of the respective aggregate purchase prices of the Firm Shares being sold by the Company to or upon the order of the Company of the purchase price by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the accounts specified by the Company. Time shall be of the essence, and delivery at the time and place specified pursuant to this Agreement is a further condition of the obligation of each Underwriter hereunder. The Company shall deliver the Firm Shares through the facilities of DTC unless the Representatives shall otherwise instruct.

     The option granted in Section 2 will expire 30 days after the date of this Agreement and may be exercised in whole or in part at any one time by written notice being given to the Company by the Representatives; provided that if such date falls on a day that is not a business day, the option granted in Section 2 will expire on the next succeeding business day. Such notice shall set forth the aggregate number of shares of Option Shares as to which the option is being exercised, the names in which the shares of Option Shares are to be registered, the denominations in which the shares of Option Shares are to be issued and the date and time, as determined by the Representatives, when the shares of Option Shares are to be delivered; provided, however, that this date and time shall not be earlier than the Initial Delivery Date nor

earlier than the second business day after the date on which the option shall have been exercised nor later than the fifth business day after the date on which the option shall have been exercised (unless such date is postponed pursuant to Section 9 hereof). Each date and time the shares of Option Shares are delivered is sometimes referred to as a “Subsequent Delivery Date” and the Initial Delivery Date and any Subsequent Delivery Date are sometimes each referred to as a “Delivery Date.”

          Delivery of the Option Shares by the Company and payment for the Option Shares by the several Underwriters through the Representatives shall be made at 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the date specified in the corresponding notice described in the preceding paragraph or at such other date or place as shall be determined by agreement between the Representatives and the Company. On the Option Shares Delivery Date, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered the Option Shares to the Representatives for the account of each Underwriter against payment by the several Underwriters through the Representatives and of the respective aggregate purchase prices of the Option Shares being sold by the Company to or upon the order of the Company of the purchase price by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the accounts specified by the Company. Time shall be of the essence, and delivery at the time and place specified pursuant to this Agreement is a further condition of the obligation of each Underwriter hereunder. The Company shall deliver the Option Shares through the facilities of DTC unless the Representatives shall otherwise instruct.

          5. Further Agreements of the Company and the Underwriters. (a) The Company agrees:

     (i) Securities Act Compliance. To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Representatives and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus prior to the last Delivery Date except as provided herein; to advise the Representatives, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish the Representatives with copies thereof; to advise the Representatives, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding or examination for any such purpose or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or suspending any such qualification, to use promptly its best efforts to obtain its withdrawal;

     (ii) Copies of Amendments and Supplements to the Registration Statement. To furnish promptly to each of the Representatives and to counsel for the Underwriters a copy of the executed Registration Statement as originally filed with the Commission, and

each amendment thereto filed with the Commission, including all consents and exhibits filed therewith;

     (iii) Delivery of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. To deliver promptly to the Representatives such number of the following documents as the Representatives shall reasonably request: (A) conformed copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed with the Commission and each amendment thereto (in each case excluding exhibits other than this Agreement and the computation of per share earnings), (B) each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and any amended or supplemented Prospectus and (C) each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and, if the delivery of a prospectus is required at any time after the date hereof in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares or any other securities relating thereto and if at such time any events shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to comply with the Securities Act, to notify the Representatives and, upon their request, to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many copies as the Representatives may from time to time reasonably request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus that will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance;

     (iv) Amendments and Supplements to the Registration Statement. To file promptly with the Commission any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus that may, in the judgment of the Company or the Representatives, be required by the Securities Act or requested by the Commission;

     (v) Representatives Review of Proposed Amendments and Supplements. Prior to filing with the Commission any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus to furnish a copy thereof to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters and obtain the consent of the Representatives to the filing which consent shall be provided promptly and shall not be unreasonably withheld;

     (vi) Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses. Not to make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus without the prior written consent of the Representatives;

     (vii) Copies of Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. To retain in accordance with the Rules and Regulations all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses not required to be filed pursuant to the Rules and Regulations; and if at any time after the date hereof any events shall have occurred as a result of which any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented, would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the most recent Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary to amend or

supplement any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, to notify the Representatives and, upon their request, to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter as many copies as the Representatives may from time to time reasonably request of an amended or supplemented Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that will correct such conflict, statement or omission or effect such compliance;

     (viii) Earnings Statement. As soon as practicable after the Effective Date (it being understood that the Company shall have until at least 410 days or, if the fourth quarter following the fiscal quarter that includes the Effective Date is the last fiscal quarter of the Company’s fiscal year, 455 days after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter), to make generally available to the Company’s security holders and to deliver to the Representatives an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158);

     (ix) Blue Sky Compliance. Promptly from time to time to take such action as the Representatives may reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of Canada and such other jurisdictions as the Representatives may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Shares; provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to (i) qualify as a foreign corporation in any jurisdiction in which it would not otherwise be required to so qualify, (ii) file a general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction or (iii) subject itself to taxation in any jurisdiction in which it would not otherwise be subject;

     (x) Agreement Not to Offer or Sell Additional Shares. For a period commencing on the date hereof and ending on the 180th day after the date of the Prospectus (the “Lock-Up Period”), not to, directly or indirectly, (1) offer for sale, sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of (or enter into any transaction or device that is designed to, or could be expected to, result in the disposition by any person at any time in the future of) any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock (other than the Shares, the 4,170,000 shares of Common Stock offered directly to an entity controlled by ▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇ and shares issued pursuant to employee benefit plans, qualified stock option plans or other employee compensation plans existing on the date hereof or pursuant to currently outstanding options, warrants or rights not issued under one of those plans), or sell or grant options, rights or warrants with respect to any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock (other than the grant of options pursuant to option plans existing on the date hereof), (2) enter into any swap or other derivatives transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic benefits or risks of ownership of such shares of Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise, (3) file or cause to be filed a registration statement, including any amendments, with respect to the registration of any Common Stock or securities convertible, exercisable or exchangeable into Common Stock or any other securities of the Company (other than (i) any registration statement on Form S-8) and (ii) the shelf

registration statement of Form S-1 (File No. 333-145386) or any amendment thereto) or (4) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing, in each case without the prior written consent of the Representatives, on behalf of the Underwriters, and to cause each officer, director and stockholder of the Company set forth on Schedule 2 hereto to furnish to the Representatives, prior to the Initial Delivery Date, a letter or letters, substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto (the “Lock-Up Agreements”); notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) during the last 17 days of the Lock-Up Period, the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs or (2) prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the Lock-Up Period, then the restrictions imposed in this paragraph shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the announcement of the material news or the occurrence of the material event, unless the Representatives, on behalf of the Underwriters, waive such extension in writing;

     (xi) Use of Proceeds. To apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Shares being sold by the Company as set forth in the Prospectus;

     (xii) Directed Share Program. In connection with the Directed Share Program, to ensure that the Directed Shares will be restricted from sale, transfer, assignment, pledge or hypothecation to the same extent as sales and dispositions of Common Stock by the Company are restricted pursuant to Section 5(a)(x). At the request of the Directed Share Program Managers, the Company will direct the transfer agent to place stop transfer restrictions upon such securities for such period of time as is consistent with Section 5(a)(x); and

     (xiii) to comply with all applicable securities and other applicable laws, rules and regulations in each foreign jurisdiction in which the Directed Shares are offered in connection with the Directed Share Program.

          (b) Permitted Issuer Information. Each Underwriter severally agrees that such Underwriter shall not include any “issuer information” (as defined in Rule 433) in any “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405) used or referred to by such Underwriter without the prior consent of the Company (any such issuer information with respect to whose use the Company has given its consent, “Permitted Issuer Information”); provided that (i) no such consent shall be required with respect to any such issuer information contained in any document filed by the Company with the Commission prior to the use of such free writing prospectus and (ii) “issuer information,” as used in this Section 5(b), shall not be deemed to include information prepared by or on behalf of such Underwriter on the basis of or derived from issuer information.

          6. Expenses. The Company agrees, whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, to pay all costs, expenses, fees and taxes incident to and in connection with (a) the authorization, issuance, sale and delivery of the Shares and any stamp duties or other taxes payable in that connection, and the preparation and printing of certificates for the Shares; (b) the preparation, printing and filing under the Securities Act of the Registration Statement (including any exhibits thereto), any

Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto; (c) the distribution of the Registration Statement (including any exhibits thereto), any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, all as provided in this Agreement; (d) the production and distribution of this Agreement, any supplemental agreement among Underwriters, and any other related documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares; (e) the delivery and distribution of the Custody Agreements and the Powers of Attorney and the fees and expenses of the Custodian (and any other attorney-in-fact); (f) any required review by the NASD of the terms of sale of the Shares (including related fees and expenses of counsel to the Underwriters in an amount that, taken together with any fees and expenses of counsel to the Underwriters pursuant to clause (h), is not greater than $30,000; (g) the listing of the Shares on the New York Stock Exchange and/or any other exchange; (h) the qualification of the Shares under the securities laws of the several jurisdictions as provided in Section 5(a)(ix) and the preparation, printing and distribution of a Blue Sky Memorandum (including related fees and expenses of counsel to the Underwriters in an amount that, taken together with any fees and expenses of counsel to the Underwriters pursuant to clause (f), is not greater than the amount specified in clause (f)); (i) the preparation, printing and distribution of one or more versions of the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus for distribution in Canada (often in the form of a Canadian “wrapper” (including related fees and expenses of Canadian counsel to the Underwriters); (j) any Independent Underwriter (as defined in Section 8(g)); (k) the offer and sale of shares of the Shares by the Directed Share Program Managers in connection with the Directed Share Program, including the fees and disbursements of counsel to the Directed Share Program Managers related thereto, the costs and expenses of preparation, printing and distribution of the Directed Share Program material and all stamp duties or other taxes incurred by the Directed Share Program Managers in connection with the Directed Share Program; (l) the investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Shares, including, without limitation, expenses associated with any electronic roadshow, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and one half (1/2) of the cost of any aircraft chartered in connection with the road show; and (m) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement; provided that, except as provided in this Section 6 and in Section 11, the Underwriters shall pay their own costs and expenses, including the costs and expenses of their counsel, any transfer taxes on the Shares which they may sell and the expenses of advertising any offering of the Shares made by the Underwriters; provided further that the Underwriters shall pay one half (1/2) of the cost of any aircraft chartered in connection with the road show.

     7. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligations of the several Underwriters to purchase and pay for the Shares as provided herein on the Initial Delivery Date and, with respect to the Option Shares, any Subsequent Delivery Date, shall be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company set forth in Section 1 hereof as of the date hereof and as of the Initial Delivery Date as though then made and, with respect to the Option Shares, as of the related Subsequent Delivery Date as though then made, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company made in any certificates pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the timely performance by the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder, and to each of the following additional conditions:

          (a) Accountants’ Comfort Letter. On the date hereof, the Representatives shall have received from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent public accountants for the Company, and ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, independent accountants for NEG Oil & Gas LLC, a letter dated the date hereof addressed to the Underwriters, the form of which is attached as Exhibit C-1 and Exhibit C-2, respectively.

          (b) No Material Adverse Change. For the period from and after the date of this Agreement and prior to the Initial Delivery Date and, with respect to the Option Shares, any Subsequent Delivery Date:

          (i) in the judgment of the Representatives there shall not have occurred any Material Adverse Change; and

          (ii) there shall not have been any change or decrease specified in the letter or letters referred to in paragraph (a) of this Section 7 which is, in the sole judgment of the Representatives, so material and adverse as to make it impractical or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or delivery of the Shares as contemplated by the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and

          (c) Opinion of Counsel for the Company. On each of the Initial Delivery Date and any Subsequent Delivery Date, the Representatives shall have received the favorable opinion of (i) ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel for the Company, dated as of such Delivery Date, the form of which is attached as Exhibit B-1 and (ii) V. ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Senior Vice President—Legal and General Counsel of the Company, dated as of such Delivery Date, the form of which is attached as Exhibit B-2.

          (d) Opinion of Counsel for the Underwriters. On each of the Initial Delivery Date and any Subsequent Delivery Date, the Representatives shall have received the favorable opinion of ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, counsel for the Underwriters, dated as of such Delivery Date, in form and substance satisfactory to, and addressed to, the Representatives, with respect to the issuance and sale of the Shares, the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus (together with any supplement thereto) and other related matters as the Representatives may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters.

          (e) Officers’ Certificate. On each of the Initial Delivery Date and any Subsequent Delivery Date, the Representatives shall have received a written certificate executed by the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer or President of the Company and the Chief Financial Officer or Chief Accounting Officer of the Company, dated as of such Delivery Date, to the effect that the signers of such certificate have reviewed the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any amendments or supplements thereto, the Disclosure Package and this Agreement, to the effect set forth in subsection (b)(ii) of this Section 7, and further to the effect that:

     (i) For the period from and after the date of this Agreement and prior to such Delivery Date, there has not occurred any Material Adverse Change.

     (ii) the representations, warranties and covenants of the Company set forth in Section 1 of this Agreement are true and correct on and as of the Delivery Date with the same force and effect as though expressly made on and as of such Delivery Date; and

     (iii) the Company has complied with all the agreements hereunder and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to such Delivery Date.

          (f) Bring-down Comfort Letter. On each of the Initial Delivery Date and any Subsequent Delivery Date, the Representatives shall have received from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent public accountants for the Company, and ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, independent accountants for NEG Oil & Gas LLC, letters dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished by them pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section 7, except that the reference to November 1, 2007 shall be to November 6, 2007 and the specified date referred to therein for the carrying out of procedures shall be no more than three business days prior to the Initial Delivery Date or any Subsequent Delivery Date, as the case may be.

          (g) Lock-Up Agreement from Certain Securityholders of the Company. On or prior to the date hereof, the Company shall have furnished to the Representatives an agreement in the form of Exhibit A-1 hereto from each of the executive officers and directors of the Company, in the form of Exhibit A-2 with respect to ▇▇. ▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇ and in the form of Exhibit A-3 with respect to ▇▇. ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, 3rd, and such agreement shall be in full force and effect on each of the Initial Delivery Date and any Subsequent Delivery Date.

          (h) Engineers’ Comfort Letters. On the date hereof, the Representatives shall have received from ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and MacNaughton, Netherland, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates Inc. and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc., independent petroleum engineers, a letter dated the date hereof addressed to the Underwriters, the form of which is attached as Exhibits ▇-▇, ▇-▇ and D-3, respectively.

          (i) Ratings Downgrade. Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Company’s debt securities or preferred stock by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as that term is defined by the Commission for purposes of Rule 436(g)(2) of the Rules and Regulations), and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with possible negative implications, its rating of any of the Company’s debt securities or preferred stock.

          (j) Additional Documents. On or before each of the Initial Delivery Date and any Subsequent Delivery Date, the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters shall have received such information, documents and opinions as they may reasonably require for the purposes of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Shares as contemplated herein, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations

and warranties, or the satisfaction of any of the conditions or agreements, herein contained.

          If any condition specified in this Section 7 is not satisfied when and as required to be satisfied, this Agreement may be terminated by the Representatives by notice to the Company at any time on or prior to the Initial Delivery Date and, with respect to the Option Shares, at any time prior to the applicable Subsequent Delivery Date, which termination shall be without liability on the part of any party to any other party, except that Section 6, Section 8 and Section 11 shall at all times be effective and shall survive such termination.

          8. Indemnification and Contribution.

     (a) The Company shall indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its directors, officers and employees and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, from and against any loss, claim, damage or liability, joint or several, or any action in respect thereof (including, but not limited to, any loss, claim, damage, liability or action relating to purchases and sales of Shares), to which that Underwriter, director, officer, employee or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of, or is based upon, (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in (A) any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto, (B) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or (C) any Permitted Issuer Information used or referred to in any “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405) used or referred to by any Underwriter, (D) any “road show” (as defined in Rule 433) not constituting an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (a “Non-Prospectus Road Show”) or (E) any Blue Sky application or other document prepared or executed by the Company (or based upon any written information furnished by the Company for use therein) specifically for the purpose of qualifying any or all of the Shares under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction (any such application, document or information being hereinafter called a “Blue Sky Application”) or (ii) the omission or alleged omission to state in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or in any Permitted Issuer Information, any Non-Prospectus Road Show or any Blue Sky Application, any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and shall reimburse each Underwriter and each such director, officer, employee or controlling person promptly upon demand for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by that Underwriter, director, officer, employee or controlling person in connection with investigating or defending or preparing to defend against any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of, or is based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any such amendment or supplement thereto or in any Permitted Issuer Information, any Non-Prospectus Road Show or any Blue Sky Application, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information

concerning such Underwriter furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information consists solely of the information specified in Section 8(e). The foregoing indemnity agreement is in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have to any Underwriter or to any director, officer, employee or controlling person of that Underwriter.

     (b) Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, officers and employees, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, from and against any loss, claim, damage or liability, joint or several, or any action in respect thereof, to which the Company or any such director, officer, employee or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of, or is based upon, (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or in any Non-Prospectus Road Show or Blue Sky Application, or (ii) the omission or alleged omission to state in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or in any Non-Prospectus Road Show or Blue Sky Application, any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, but in each case only to the extent that the untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information concerning such Underwriter furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of that Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is limited to the information set forth in Section 8(e). The foregoing indemnity agreement is in addition to any liability that any Underwriter may otherwise have to the Company or any such director, officer, employee or controlling person.

     (c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 8 of notice of any claim or the commencement of any action, the indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under this Section 8, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the claim or the commencement of that action; provided, however, that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have under this Section 8. If any such claim or action shall be brought against an indemnified party, and it shall notify the indemnifying party thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it wishes, jointly with any other similarly notified indemnifying party, to assume the defense thereof with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party. After notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense of such claim or action, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to the indemnified party under this Section 8 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation; provided, however, that the indemnified party shall have the right to employ counsel to represent jointly the indemnified party and those other indemnified parties and their respective directors, officers, employees and

controlling persons who may be subject to liability arising out of any claim in respect of which indemnity may be sought under this Section 8 if (i) the indemnified party and the indemnifying party shall have so mutually agreed; (ii) the indemnifying party has failed within a reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party; (iii) the indemnified party and its directors, officers, employees and controlling persons shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to them that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party; or (iv) the named parties in any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the indemnified parties or their respective directors, officers, employees or controlling persons, on the one hand, and the indemnifying party, on the other hand, and representation of both sets of parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them, and in any such event the fees and expenses of such separate counsel shall be paid by the indemnifying party. No indemnifying party shall (x) without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any pending or threatened claim, action, suit or proceeding in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties to such claim or action) unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such claim, action, suit or proceeding and does not include any findings of fact or admissions of fault or culpability or a failure to act as to the indemnified party, or (y) be liable for any settlement of any such action effected without its written consent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), but if settled with the consent of the indemnifying party or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff in any such action, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify and hold harmless any indemnified party from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment.

     (d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 8 shall for any reason be unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under Section 8(a), 8(b), 8(f) or 10(g) in respect of any loss, claim, damage or liability, or any action in respect thereof, referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party, contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such loss, claim, damage or liability, or action in respect thereof, (i) in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, from the offering of the Shares or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, with respect to the statements or omissions that resulted in such loss, claim, damage or liability, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, with respect to such offering shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Shares purchased under this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company, as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus, on the one hand, and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters with respect to the shares of the Shares purchased under this Agreement, as

set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus, on the other hand. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Underwriters, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 8(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, damage or liability, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 8(d) shall be deemed to include, for purposes of this Section 8(d), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8(d), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the net proceeds from the sale of the Shares underwritten by it exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise paid or become liable to pay by reason of any untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations to contribute as provided in this Section 8(d) are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.

     (e) The Underwriters severally confirm and the Company acknowledges and agrees that the statements regarding the concession and reallowance figures, the paragraphs relating to stabilization and the sentence relating to discretionary sales by the Underwriters appearing under the caption “Underwriting” in, the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus are correct and constitute the only information concerning such Underwriters furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of the Underwriters specifically for inclusion in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or in any Non-Prospectus Road Show.

     (f) The Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriters (including their directors, officers and employees) and each person, if any, who controls each Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act (“Underwriter Entities”), from and against any loss, claim, damage or liability or any action in respect thereof to which any of the Underwriter Entities may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or action (i) arises out of, or is based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any material prepared by or with the approval of the Company for distribution to Directed Share Participants in connection with the Directed Share Program or any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) arises out of, or is based upon, the failure of the Directed Share Participant to pay for and accept delivery of Directed Shares that the Directed Share Participant agreed to purchase or (iii)

is otherwise related to the Directed Share Program; provided that the Company shall not be liable under this clause (iii) for any loss, claim, damage, liability or action that is determined in a final judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Underwriter Entities. The Company shall reimburse the Underwriter Entities promptly upon demand for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending or preparing to defend against any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action as such expenses are incurred.

     (g) Without limitation of and in addition to its obligations under the other paragraphs of this Section 8, the Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc. (in the capacity described in this paragraph, the “Independent Underwriter”), its directors, officers and employees and each person who controls Independent Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act from and against any and all loss, claim, damage or liability, joint or several, or any action in respect thereof (including, but not limited to, any loss, claim, damage, liability or action relating to purchases and sales of Stock) to which the Independent Underwriter, director, officer, employee or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of, or is based upon, the Independent Underwriter’s acting as a “qualified independent underwriter” (within the meaning of NASD Conduct Rule 2720) in connection with the offering contemplated by this Agreement, and agrees to reimburse each such indemnified party promptly upon demand for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending or preparing to defend any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that it is determined in a final judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction that such loss, claim, damage, liability or action resulted directly from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Independent Underwriter. The relative benefits received by the Independent Underwriter with respect to the offering contemplated by this Agreement shall, for purposes of Section 8(d), be deemed to be equal to the compensation received by the Independent Underwriter for acting in such capacity. In addition, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8(d), the Independent Underwriter shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the compensation received by the Independent Underwriter for acting in such capacity.

          9. Defaulting Underwriters. If, on any Delivery Date, any Underwriter defaults in the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, the remaining non-defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated to purchase the Shares that the defaulting Underwriter agreed but failed to purchase on such Delivery Date in the respective proportions which the number of shares of the Firm Shares set forth opposite the name of each remaining non-defaulting Underwriter in Schedule 1 hereto bears to the total number of shares of the Firm Shares set forth opposite the names of all the remaining non-defaulting Underwriters in Schedule 1 hereto; provided, however, that the remaining non-defaulting Underwriters shall not be obligated to purchase any of the Shares on such Delivery Date if the total number of shares of the Shares that the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed to purchase on such date exceeds 9.09% of the total number of shares of the Shares to be purchased on such Delivery Date, and any remaining non-defaulting Underwriter shall not be obligated to purchase more

than 110% of the number of shares of the Shares that it agreed to purchase on such Delivery Date pursuant to the terms of Section 2. If the foregoing maximums are exceeded, the remaining non-defaulting Underwriters, or those other underwriters satisfactory to the Representatives who so agree, shall have the right, but shall not be obligated, to purchase, in such proportion as may be agreed upon among them, all the Shares to be purchased on such Delivery Date. If the remaining Underwriters or other underwriters satisfactory to the Representatives do not elect to purchase the shares that the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed to purchase on such Delivery Date, this Agreement (or, with respect to any Option Shares Delivery Date, the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase, and of the Company to sell, the Option Shares) shall terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company, except that the Company will continue to be liable for the payment of expenses to the extent set forth in Sections 6 and 11. As used in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” includes, for all purposes of this Agreement unless the context requires otherwise, any party not listed in Schedule 1 hereto that, pursuant to this Section 9, purchases Shares that a defaulting Underwriter agreed but failed to purchase. As used in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” includes, for all purposes of this Agreement unless context otherwise requires, any person not listed in Schedule 1 hereto that, pursuant to this Section 9, purchases shares that a defaulting Underwriter agreed but failed to purchase.

     Nothing contained herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter of any liability it may have to the Company for damages caused by its default. If other Underwriters are obligated or agree to purchase the Shares of a defaulting or withdrawing Underwriter, either the Representatives or the Company may postpone the Delivery Date for up to seven full business days in order to effect any changes that in the opinion of counsel for the Company or counsel for the Underwriters may be necessary in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or in any other document or arrangement.

     10. Termination. On or after the Applicable Time, this Agreement may be terminated by the Representative by notice given to the Company if at any time (i) trading in securities generally on either the New York Stock Exchange shall have been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices shall have been generally established on any of such stock exchanges by the Commission or the NASD; (ii) a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by any federal or New York authority or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States has occurred; or (iii) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of national or international hostilities or any crisis or calamity, or any change in the United States or international financial markets, or any substantial change or development involving a prospective substantial change in United States’ or international political, financial or economic conditions, as in the judgment of the Representative is material and adverse and makes it impracticable or inadvisable to market the Shares in the manner and on the terms described in the Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus or to enforce contracts for the sale of securities.

     11. Reimbursement of Underwriters’ Expenses. If the Company shall fail to tender the Shares for delivery to the Underwriters for any reason or (b) the Underwriters shall decline to purchase the Shares for any reason permitted under this Agreement (other than Section 10), the Company will reimburse the Underwriters for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (including fees and disbursements of counsel) incurred by the Underwriters in connection with

this Agreement and the proposed purchase of the Shares, and upon demand the Company shall pay the full amount thereof to the Representatives. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 9 by reason of the default of one or more Underwriters, the Company shall not be obligated to reimburse any defaulting Underwriter on account of those expenses.

     12. Research Analyst Independence. The Company acknowledges that the Underwriters’ research analysts and research departments are required to be independent from their respective investment banking divisions and are subject to certain regulations and internal policies, and that such Underwriters’ research analysts may hold views and make statements or investment recommendations and/or publish research reports with respect to the Company and/or the offering that differ from the views of their respective investment banking divisions. The Company hereby waives and releases, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriters with respect to any conflict of interest that may arise from the fact that the views expressed by their independent research analysts and research departments may be different from or inconsistent with the views or advice communicated to the Company by such Underwriters’ investment banking divisions. The Company acknowledges that each of the Underwriters is a full service securities firm and as such from time to time, subject to applicable securities laws, may effect transactions for its own account or the account of its customers and hold long or short positions in debt or equity securities of the companies that may be the subject of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

     13. No Fiduciary Duty. The Company acknowledges and agrees that in connection with this offering, sale of the Shares or any other services the Underwriters may be deemed to be providing hereunder, notwithstanding any preexisting relationship, advisory or otherwise, between the parties or any oral representations or assurances previously or subsequently made by the Underwriters: (i) no fiduciary or agency relationship between the Company and any other person, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, exists; (ii) the Underwriters are not acting as advisors, expert or otherwise, to the Company, including, without limitation, with respect to the determination of the public offering price of the Shares, and such relationship between the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, is entirely and solely commercial, based on arms-length negotiations; (iii) any duties and obligations that the Underwriters may have to the Company shall be limited to those duties and obligations specifically stated herein; and (iv) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may have interests that differ from those of the Company. The Company hereby waives any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriters with respect to any breach of fiduciary duty in connection with this offering.

     14. Notices, etc. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and:

If to the Underwriters:

▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Facsimile: ▇▇▇-▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇
Attention: Syndicate Department

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Sachs & Co.
▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇^▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Facsimile: ▇▇▇-▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇
Attention: Registration Department

Banc of America Securities LLC
▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇^▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Facsimile: ▇▇▇-▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇
Attention: Syndicate Department

with a copy to:

▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.
Office of the General Counsel
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇^▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Facsimile: ▇▇▇-▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇
Attention: Director of Litigation
(in the case of any notice pursuant to Section 8(c))

▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Facsimile: ▇▇▇-▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇
Attention: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇.

If to the Company:

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Energy, Inc.
▇▇▇▇ ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
Facsimile:
Attention: General Counsel

with a copy to:

▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇ L.L.P.
First City Tower
▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Facsimile: ▇▇▇-▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇
Attention: T. ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇

Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect at the time of receipt thereof. The Company shall be entitled to act and rely upon any request, consent, notice or agreement given or made on behalf of the Underwriters by ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc. on behalf of the Representatives.

     15. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters, the Company and their respective successors. This Agreement and the terms and provisions hereof are for the sole benefit of only those persons, except that (A) the representations, warranties, indemnities and agreements of the Company contained in this Agreement shall also be deemed to be for the benefit of the directors, officers and employees of the Underwriters and each person or persons, if any, who control any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act and (B) the indemnity agreement of the Underwriters contained in Section 8(b) of this Agreement shall be deemed to be for the benefit of the directors of the Company, the officers of the Company who have signed the Registration Statement and any person controlling the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act. Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, other than the persons referred to in this Section 15, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision contained herein.

     16. Survival. The respective indemnities, representations, warranties and agreements of the Company and the Underwriters contained in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall survive the delivery of and payment for the Shares and shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any of them or any person controlling any of them.

     17. Definition of the Terms “Business Day” and “Subsidiary”. For purposes of this Agreement, (a) “business day” means each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday that is not a day on which banking institutions in New York are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close and (b) “subsidiary” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405.

     18. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

     19. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts and, if executed in more than one counterpart, the executed counterparts shall each be deemed to be an original but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.

     20. Headings. The headings herein are inserted for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of, or to affect the meaning or interpretation of, this Agreement.

     If the foregoing correctly sets forth the agreement among the Company and the Underwriters, please indicate your acceptance in the space provided for that purpose below.

Accepted:

▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.
Banc of America Securities LLC

For themselves and as Representatives
of the several Underwriters named
in Schedule 1 hereto

By ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.

By:/s/  ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇                               
      Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇
      Title: Vice President

By ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.

By:/s/  ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Sachs & Co.              
      ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.

By Banc of America Securities llc

By:/s/  ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇                            
      Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
      Title: Managing Director

SCHEDULE 1

		Number of Firm
Underwriter		Shares
▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.			6,132,500
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.			6,132,500
Banc of America Securities LLC			2,453,000
Bear, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. Inc.			1,471,800
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC			1,471,800
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.			1,471,800
▇.▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Securities Inc.			1,471,800
UBS Securities LLC			1,471,800
▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ Incorporated			490,600
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc.			490,600
RBC Capital Markets Corporation			490,600
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Company International			490,600
Tudor, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. Securities, Inc.			490,600
Total			24,530,000

SCHEDULE 2

PERSONS DELIVERING LOCK-UP AGREEMENTS

Directors

▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇.

D. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇

Officers

▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇

V. ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇

Stockholders

N. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ 3^rd

SCHEDULE 3

     • Price of Shares to public: $26.00

     • Number of Shares: 28,700,000 (24,530,000 of which are offered to the public)

SCHEDULE 4

Lariat Services, Inc.

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Exploration and Production, LLC

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Onshore, LLC

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Offshore, LLC

EXHIBIT A

LOCK-UP LETTER AGREEMENT

▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.
Banc of america securities LLC
As Representatives of the several
      Underwriters named in Schedule 1, 
c/▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     The undersigned understands that you and certain other firms (the “Underwriters”) propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) providing for the purchase by the Underwriters of shares (the “Shares”) of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Energy, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and that the Underwriters propose to reoffer the Shares to the public (the “Offering”).

     In consideration of the execution of the Underwriting Agreement by the Underwriters, and for other good and valuable consideration, the undersigned hereby irrevocably agrees that, without the prior written consent of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co., and Banc of America Securities LLC, on behalf of the Underwriters, the undersigned will not, directly or indirectly, (1) offer for sale, sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of (or enter into any transaction or device that is designed to, or could be expected to, result in the disposition by any person at any time in the future of) any shares of Common Stock (including, without limitation, shares of Common Stock that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by the undersigned in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon exercise of any options or warrants) or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, (2) enter into any swap or other derivatives transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic benefits or risks of ownership of shares of Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise, (3) make any demand for or exercise any right or cause to be filed a registration statement, including any amendments thereto, with respect to the registration of any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or any other securities of the Company or (4) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing, for a period commencing on the date of the Prospectus relating to the Offering and ending on the 180th day after the date of the Prospectus relating to the Offering (such 180-day period, the “Lock-Up Period”).

     Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) during the last 17 days of the Lock-Up Period, the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs or (2) prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the Lock-Up Period, then the restrictions imposed by this Lock-Up Letter Agreement shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the announcement of the material news or the occurrence of the material event, unless waive such extension in writing. The undersigned hereby further agrees that, prior to engaging in any transaction or taking any other action that is subject to the terms of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement during the period from the date of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement to and including the 34^th day following the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, it will give notice thereof to the Company and will not consummate such transaction or take any such action unless it has received written confirmation from the Company that the Lock-Up Period (as such may have been extended pursuant to this paragraph) has expired.

     In furtherance of the foregoing, the Company and its transfer agent are hereby authorized to decline to make any transfer of securities if such transfer would constitute a violation or breach of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.

     It is understood that, if the Company notifies the Underwriters that it does not intend to proceed with the Offering, if the Underwriting Agreement does not become effective, if the Offering shall not have commenced by February 1, 2008, or if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Shares, the undersigned will be released from its obligations under this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.

     The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters will  proceed with the Offering in reliance on this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.

     Whether or not the Offering actually occurs depends on a number of factors, including market conditions. Any Offering will only be made pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation between the Company and the Underwriters.

[Signature page follows]

     The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power and authority to enter into this Lock-Up Letter Agreement and that, upon request, the undersigned will execute any additional documents necessary in connection with the enforcement hereof. Any obligations of the undersigned shall be binding upon the heirs, personal representatives, successors and assigns of the undersigned.

Very truly yours,

By:                                                            
Name:

EXHIBIT A-1

LOCK-UP LETTER AGREEMENT

▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.
Banc of america securities LLC
As Representatives of the several
      Underwriters named in Schedule 1, 
c/▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     The undersigned understands that you and certain other firms (the “Underwriters”) propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) providing for the purchase by the Underwriters of shares (the “Shares”) of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Energy, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and that the Underwriters propose to reoffer the Shares to the public (the “Offering”).

     In consideration of the execution of the Underwriting Agreement by the Underwriters, and for other good and valuable consideration, the undersigned hereby irrevocably agrees that, without the prior written consent of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co., and Banc of America Securities LLC, on behalf of the Underwriters, the undersigned will not, directly or indirectly, (1) offer for sale, sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of (or enter into any transaction or device that is designed to, or could be expected to, result in the disposition by any person at any time in the future of) any shares of Common Stock (including, without limitation, shares of Common Stock that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by the undersigned in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon exercise of any options or warrants) or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, (2) enter into any swap or other derivatives transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic benefits or risks of ownership of shares of Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise, (3) make any demand for or exercise any right or cause to be filed a registration statement, including any amendments thereto, with respect to the registration of any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or any other securities of the Company or (4) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing, for a period commencing on the date of the Prospectus relating to the Offering and ending on the 180th day after the date of the Prospectus relating to the Offering (such 180-day period, the “Lock-Up Period”); provided, however, that the undersigned shall be permitted to effect any transfer pursuant to the loan agreement between ▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇ and Bank of America, N.A., dated [      ], as amended from time to time.

     Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) during the last 17 days of the Lock-Up Period, the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs or (2) prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the Lock-Up Period, then the restrictions imposed by this Lock-Up Letter Agreement shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the announcement of the material news or the occurrence of the material event, unless waive such extension in writing. The undersigned hereby further agrees that, prior to engaging in any transaction or taking any other action that is subject to the terms of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement during the period from the date of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement to and including the 34^th day following the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, it will give notice thereof to the Company and will not consummate such transaction or take any such action unless it has received written confirmation from the Company that the Lock-Up Period (as such may have been extended pursuant to this paragraph) has expired.

     In furtherance of the foregoing, the Company and its transfer agent are hereby authorized to decline to make any transfer of securities if such transfer would constitute a violation or breach of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.

     It is understood that, if the Company notifies the Underwriters that it does not intend to proceed with the Offering, if the Underwriting Agreement does not become effective, if the Offering shall not have commenced by February 1, 2008, or if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Shares, the undersigned will be released from its obligations under this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.

     The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters will  proceed with the Offering in reliance on this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.

     Whether or not the Offering actually occurs depends on a number of factors, including market conditions. Any Offering will only be made pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation between the Company and the Underwriters.

[Signature page follows]

     The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power and authority to enter into this Lock-Up Letter Agreement and that, upon request, the undersigned will execute any additional documents necessary in connection with the enforcement hereof. Any obligations of the undersigned shall be binding upon the heirs, personal representatives, successors and assigns of the undersigned.

Very truly yours,

By:                                                            
Name:

EXHIBIT A-2

LOCK-UP LETTER AGREEMENT

▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Sachs & Co.
Banc of america securities LLC
As Representatives of the several
      Underwriters named in Schedule 1, 
c/▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     The undersigned understands that you and certain other firms (the “Underwriters”) propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) providing for the purchase by the Underwriters of shares (the “Shares”) of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Energy, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and that the Underwriters propose to reoffer the Shares to the public (the “Offering”).

     In consideration of the execution of the Underwriting Agreement by the Underwriters, and for other good and valuable consideration, the undersigned hereby irrevocably agrees that, without the prior written consent of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Brothers Inc, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Sachs & Co., and Banc of America Securities LLC, on behalf of the Underwriters, the undersigned will not, directly or indirectly, (1) offer for sale, sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of (or enter into any transaction or device that is designed to, or could be expected to, result in the disposition by any person at any time in the future of) any shares of Common Stock (including, without limitation, shares of Common Stock that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by the undersigned in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon exercise of any options or warrants) or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, (2) enter into any swap or other derivatives transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic benefits or risks of ownership of shares of Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise, (3) make any demand for or exercise any right or cause to be filed a registration statement, including any amendments thereto, with respect to the registration of any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or any other securities of the Company or (4) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing, for a period commencing on the date of the Prospectus relating to the Offering and ending on the 180th day after the date of the Prospectus relating to the Offering (such 180-day period, the “Lock-Up Period”); provided, however, that the undersigned shall be permitted to pledge any shares of Common Stock as collateral for a personal loan so long as the

lender agrees to be bound by the terms set forth in this Lock-Up Letter Agreement with respect to any shares of Common Stock that are transferred to such lender as a result of foreclosure.

     Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) during the last 17 days of the Lock-Up Period, the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs or (2) prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the Lock-Up Period, then the restrictions imposed by this Lock-Up Letter Agreement shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the announcement of the material news or the occurrence of the material event, unless waive such extension in writing. The undersigned hereby further agrees that, prior to engaging in any transaction or taking any other action that is subject to the terms of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement during the period from the date of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement to and including the 34^th day following the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, it will give notice thereof to the Company and will not consummate such transaction or take any such action unless it has received written confirmation from the Company that the Lock-Up Period (as such may have been extended pursuant to this paragraph) has expired.

     In furtherance of the foregoing, the Company and its transfer agent are hereby authorized to decline to make any transfer of securities if such transfer would constitute a violation or breach of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.

     It is understood that, if the Company notifies the Underwriters that it does not intend to proceed with the Offering, if the Underwriting Agreement does not become effective, if the Offering shall not have commenced by February 1, 2008, or if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Shares, the undersigned will be released from its obligations under this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.

     The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters will  proceed with the Offering in reliance on this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.

     Whether or not the Offering actually occurs depends on a number of factors, including market conditions. Any Offering will only be made pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation between the Company and the Underwriters.

[Signature page follows]

     The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power and authority to enter into this Lock-Up Letter Agreement and that, upon request, the undersigned will execute any additional documents necessary in connection with the enforcement hereof. Any obligations of the undersigned shall be binding upon the heirs, personal representatives, successors and assigns of the undersigned.

Very truly yours,

By:                                                            
     Name:
      Title:

                                        , 2007

EXHIBIT B-1

FORM OF OPINION OF ISSUER’S COUNSEL

          Opinion of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP., counsel for the Company to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(c) of the Underwriting Agreement.

          References to the Final Prospectus in this Exhibit B-1 include any supplements thereto at the Initial Delivery Date.

          (i) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware.

     (ii) The Company’s authorized capitalization is as set forth in the Final Prospectus. The authorized, issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof set forth in the Final Prospectus. All of the outstanding shares of Common Stock have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable.

     (iii) The Underwriting Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

     (iv) The Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters from the Company pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement have been duly authorized for issuance and sale pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company to the Underwriters pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement on the Initial Delivery Date or any Subsequent Delivery Date, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, and the issuance of such Shares will not be subject to any preemptive or similar rights.

     (vi) No stockholder of the Company or any other person has any preemptive right, right of first refusal or other similar right to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company arising by operation of the Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws of the Company or the Delaware General Corporations Laws, other than preemptive rights that are barred by the statute of limitations.

     (vii) The execution and delivery of the Underwriting Agreement and the Shares by the Company and the performance by the Company of its obligations thereunder (other than performance by the Company of its obligations under the indemnification and contribution sections of the Underwriting Agreement, as to which no opinion need be rendered) (i)  will not result in any violation of the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws (or other applicable organizational document) of the Company or any subsidiary; (ii) will not constitute a breach of, or Default under, (A) the Senior Credit Facility, dated November 21, 2006, by and among ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Energy, Inc. (as successor by merger to Riata Energy, Inc.) and Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent and Banc of America Securities LLC as Lead Arranger and Book Running

Manager, as amended or (B) Credit Agreement, dated March 22, 2007 by and among ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Energy, Inc. and Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent and Banc of America Securities LLC as Lead Arranger, as amended; or (iii) to the best knowledge of such counsel, will not result in any violation of any statute, law, rule, judgment, regulation, order or decree applicable to the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of its or their properties; except in the case of clause (ii) and (iii), such breaches, defaults and violations that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; provided however, we express no opinion in this paragraph (vii) with respect to federal or state securities laws or blue sky laws, rules or regulations or any state or federal anti-fraud statute, rule or regulation.

     (viii) The Company is not, and after receipt of payment for the Shares and the application of the proceeds as contemplated under the caption “Use of Proceeds” in the Final Prospectus will not be, an “investment company” within the meaning of Investment Company Act.

     (ix) The statements in the Final Prospectus under the headings “Description of Capital Stock” and “Certain U.S. Tax Consequences to Non-U.S. Holders,” insofar as such statements summarize legal matters, legal agreements or legal conclusions discussed therein, fairly present in all material respects such legal matters, legal agreements or legal conclusions.

     (x) The Registration Statement was declared effective under the Securities Act as of the date and time specified in such opinion, and the Prospectus was filed with the Commission pursuant to the subparagraph of Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations specified in such opinion on the date specified therein. To such counsel’s knowledge, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and no proceeding or examination for such purpose has been instituted or threatened by the Commission.

     (xi) (A) The Registration Statement, on the Effective Date and on the applicable Delivery Date, and (B) the Prospectus, when filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) and on the applicable Delivery Date, were, on their face, appropriately responsive, in all material respects, to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations, except that in each case such counsel need express no opinion with respect to the financial statements or other financial data contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.

          In addition, such counsel shall state that they have participated in conferences with officers and other representatives of the Company, representatives of the independent public or certified public accountants for the Company and with representatives of the Underwriters at which the contents of the Final Prospectus, and any supplements or amendments thereto, and related matters were discussed. Although such counsel has made certain additional inquiries and investigations in connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement, Preliminary Prospectus and Final Prospectus, it is not passing on and does not assume any responsibility for

the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements contained in the Final Prospectus (other than as specified in paragraphs (ii) and (ix) above). On the basis of the foregoing, no information has come to their attention which would lead them to believe:

     (a) the Registration Statement, as of the Effective Date, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading;

     (b) the Prospectus, as of its date and as of such Delivery Date, contained or contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or

     (c) the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, together with the information included on Schedule 3 of the Underwriting Agreement and together with any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading,

          except that in each case such counsel need express no opinion with respect to the financial statements and schedules and other financial data derived therefrom and the oil and gas reserve data contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the most recent Preliminary Prospectus.

          In rendering such opinion, such counsel may rely (A) as to matters involving the application of laws of any jurisdiction other than the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or the federal law of the United States, to the extent they deem proper and specified in such opinion, upon the opinion (which shall be dated the Initial Delivery Date or any Subsequent Delivery Date, as the case may be, shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the Underwriters, shall expressly state that the Underwriters may rely on such opinion as if it were addressed to them and shall be furnished to the Representative) of other counsel of good standing whom they believe to be reliable and who are satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters; and (B) as to matters of fact, to the extent they deem proper, on certificates of responsible officers of the Company and public officials.

EXHIBIT B-2

FORM OF OPINION OF COMPANY’S COUNSEL

               Opinion of V. ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Senior Vice President –Legal and General Counsel for the Company to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(c) of the Underwriting Agreement.

               References to the Final Prospectus in this Exhibit B-2 include any supplements thereto at the Initial Delivery Date.

     (i) The Company has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Final Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under the Underwriting Agreement.

     (ii) The Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except for such jurisdictions where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

     (iii) Each significant subsidiary of the Company (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) has been duly incorporated or otherwise formed and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation, as the case may be, has power and authority (corporate or otherwise) to own or lease, as the case may be, and to operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Final Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except for such jurisdictions where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

     (iv) All of the issued and outstanding capital stock, or similar equity interest, of each such significant subsidiary of the Company has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable and is owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or, to the best knowledge of such counsel, any pending or threatened claim.

     (v) The Company and each subsidiary possess such valid and current certificates, authorizations or permits issued by the appropriate state, federal or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct their respective businesses, and, to such counsel’s knowledge, neither the Company nor any subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of, or non-compliance with, any such certificate, authorization or permit which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, could have a Material Adverse Effect.

     (vi) The Company and its subsidiaries own or possess sufficient Intellectual Property Rights reasonably necessary to conduct their business as now conducted; and the expected expiration of any of such Intellectual Property Rights would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. To such counsel’s knowledge, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of infringement or conflict with, and to the best of such counsel’s knowledge, there is no infringement of or conflict with, asserted Intellectual Property Rights of others, which infringement or conflict, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, would, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company is not a party to or bound by any options, licenses or agreements with respect to the Intellectual Property Rights of any other person or entity that are required to be set forth in the Final Prospectus and are not described in all material respects. To such counsel’s knowledge, none of the technology employed by the Company has been obtained or is being used by the Company in violation of any contractual obligation binding on the Company or any of its officers, directors or employees or otherwise in violation of the rights of any persons.

     (vi) After due inquiry, such counsel does not know of any legal or governmental actions, suits or proceedings pending or, to the best of such counsel’s knowledge, threatened (i) against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) which has as the subject thereof any officer or director of, or property owned or leased by, the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (iii) relating to environmental or discrimination matters, where in any such case (A) there is a reasonable possibility that such action, suit or proceeding might be determined adversely to the Company or such subsidiary and (B) any such action, suit or proceeding, if so determined adversely, would reasonably be expected to, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect or adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. After due inquiry, such counsel does not know of any existing or, to the best of such counsel’s knowledge, threatened or pending, material labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or with the employees of any principal supplier of the Company.

     (vii) No consent, approval, authorization or other order of, or registration or filing with, any court or other governmental authority or agency is required for the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of the Underwriting Agreement and consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby and by the Final Prospectus, except as required under the Securities Act, applicable state securities or blue sky laws and from the NASD.

     (viii) To the best knowledge of such counsel, neither the Company nor any subsidiary (A) is in violation of (i) its charter, by-laws or other organizational document, as the case may be, or (ii) any statute, law, rule, judgment, regulation, order or decree applicable to the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its or their properties or (B) is in Default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any material Existing Instrument.

          In addition, such counsel shall state that they have participated in conferences with officers and other representatives of the Company, representatives of the independent public or certified public accountants for the Company and with representatives of the Underwriters at which the contents of the Final Prospectus, and any supplements or amendments thereto, and related matters were discussed. Although such counsel has made certain additional inquiries and investigations in connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement, Preliminary Prospectus and Final Prospectus, it is not passing on and does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements contained in the Final Prospectus (other than as specified in paragraphs (i)-(viii) above). On the basis of the foregoing, no information has come to their attention which would lead them to believe:

     (a) the Registration Statement, as of the Effective Date, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading;

     (b) the Prospectus, as of its date and as of such Delivery Date, contained or contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or

     (c) the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, together with the information included on Schedule 3 of the Underwriting Agreement and together with the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses set forth on a schedule to such opinion acceptable to counsel to the Underwriters, as of the Applicable Time, and, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading,

          except that in each case such counsel need express no opinion with respect to the financial statements and schedules and other financial data derived therefrom and the oil and gas reserve data contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the most recent Preliminary Prospectus.

          In rendering such opinion, such counsel may rely (A) as to matters involving the application of laws of any jurisdiction other than the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or the federal law of the United States, to the extent they deem proper and specified in such opinion, upon the opinion (which shall be dated the Initial Delivery Date or any Subsequent Delivery Date, as the case may be, shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the Underwriters, shall expressly state that the Underwriters may rely on such opinion as if it were addressed to them and shall be furnished to the Representative) of other counsel of good standing whom they believe to be reliable and who are satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters; and (B) as to matters of fact, to the extent they deem proper, on certificates of responsible officers of the Company and public officials.

Exhibit C-1

Exhibit C-2

Exhibit D-1

Exhibit D-2

Exhibit D-3