OUR BUSINESS MAY SUFFER IF WE LOSE KEY PERSONNEL.

We depend to a large extent on the services of certain key management personnel, including our executive officers and other key employees, the loss of any of whom could have a material adverse effect on our operations. We have entered into employment agreements with each of S.P. Johnson IV, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Paul F. Boling, our Chief Financial Officer, Jeremy T. Greene, our Vice President of Exploration, Kendall A. Trahan, our Vice President of Land, and J. Bradley Fisher, our Vice President of Operations. We do not maintain key-man life insurance with respect to any of our employees. Our success will be dependent on our ability to continue to employ and retain skilled technical personnel.

WE MAY EXPERIENCE DIFFICULTY IN ACHIEVING AND MANAGING FUTURE GROWTH.

We have experienced growth in the past primarily through the expansion of our drilling program. Future growth may place strains on our resources and cause us to rely more on project partners and independent contractors, possibly negatively affecting our financial condition and results of operations. Our ability to grow will depend on a number of factors, including:

• our ability to obtain leases or options on properties for which we have 3-D seismic data;
  
  
• our ability to acquire additional 3-D seismic data;
  
  
• our ability to identify and acquire new exploratory prospects;
  
  
• our ability to develop existing prospects;
  
  
• our ability to continue to retain and attract skilled personnel;
  
  
• our ability to maintain or enter into new relationships with project partners and independent contractors;
  
  
• the results of our drilling program;
  
  
• hydrocarbon prices; and
  
  
• our access to capital.

We may not be successful in upgrading our technical, operations and administrative resources or in increasing our ability to internally provide certain of the services currently provided by outside sources, and we may not be able to maintain or enter into new relationships with project partners and independent contractors. Our inability to achieve or manage growth may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

WE MAY CONTINUE TO HEDGE THE PRICE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR PRODUCTION. OUR HEDGE TRANSACTIONS MAY RESULT IN OUR MAKING CASH PAYMENTS OR PREVENT US FROM BENEFITING TO THE FULLEST EXTENT POSSIBLE FROM INCREASES IN PRICES FOR NATURAL GAS AND OIL.

Because natural gas and oil prices are unstable, we periodically enter into price-risk-management transactions such as swaps, collars, futures and options to reduce our exposure to price declines associated with a portion of our natural gas and oil production and thereby to achieve a more predictable cash flow. The use of these arrangements limits our ability to benefit from increases in the prices of natural gas and oil. Our hedging arrangements may apply to only a portion of our production, thereby providing only partial protection against declines in natural gas and oil prices. These arrangements may expose us to the risk of financial loss in certain circumstances, including instances in which production is less than expected, our customers fail to purchase contracted quantities of natural gas and oil or a sudden, unexpected event materially impacts natural gas or oil prices.

WE HAVE SUBSTANTIAL CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS THAT, IF NOT MET, MAY HINDER OPERATIONS.

We have experienced and expect to continue to experience substantial capital needs as a result of our active exploration, development and acquisition programs. We expect that additional external financing will be required in the future to fund our growth. We may not be able to obtain additional financing, and financing under existing or new credit facilities may not be available in the future. Without additional capital resources, we may be forced to limit or defer our planned natural gas and oil exploration and development program and thereby adversely affect the recoverability and ultimate value of our natural gas and oil properties, in turn negatively affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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