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Mr. Whaling has served as a director since the date of the Combination. In addition, he has served as a director of Brigham Exploration Company, an independent exploration and production company, since June 2001. Mr. Whaling is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Laredo Energy, LP, a privately owned partnership engaged in the acquisition and development of natural gas reserves in south Texas, and has spent his entire career in the energy industry, as a petroleum engineer, an energy investment banker, a chief financial officer and a chief executive officer of energy companies. Mr. Whaling worked as a petroleum engineer for nine years in the beginning of his career primarily with Ryder Scott Company, an oil and gas consulting firm. Mr. Whaling then spent seven years as an investment banker focusing on the energy industry with Lazard Freres & Co. and Credit Suisse First Boston. Mr. Whaling then became the Chief Financial Officer for Santa Fe Energy, an independent exploration and production company, where he managed the initial public offering and the spin-off of Santa Fe’s western division, Monterey Resources. Mr. Whaling was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Monterey Resources from its inception until it was acquired by Texaco in 1997. From May 1999 to May 2001, Mr. Whaling was a Managing Director with Credit Suisse First Boston’s Global Energy Partners, which specializes in private equity investments in energy businesses world-wide. Immediately prior to joining Laredo Energy, LP, Mr. Whaling was Chairman of Michael Petroleum Corporation, an independent exploration and production company that no longer exists. | 