UNIT CORP - Annual Report: 2008 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008

OR

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission file number: 1-9260

UNIT CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) (918) 493-7700

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes x    No ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

Yes ¨    No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes x    No ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.    ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer x    Accelerated filer ¨    Non-accelerated filer ¨    Smaller reporting company ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes ¨    No x

As of June 30, 2008, the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity (based on the closing price of the stock on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2008) held by non-affiliates was approximately $2,759,469,527. Determination of stock ownership by non-affiliates was made solely for the purpose of this requirement, and the registrant is not bound by these determinations for any other purpose.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Exhibit Index—See Page 108

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FORM 10-K

UNIT CORPORATION

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DEFINITIONS

The following are explanations of some of the terms used in this report.

ARO—Asset retirement obligations.

Bcf—Billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Bcfe—Billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent. Determined using the ratio of one barrel of crude oil to six Mcf of natural gas.

Bbl—Barrel, or 42 U.S. gallons liquid volume.

BOKF—Bank of Oklahoma Financial Corporation.

Btu—British thermal unit, used in terms of volumes. Btu is used to refer to the amount of natural gas required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit at one atmospheric pressure.

CEGT—Center Point Energy Gas Transmission

Development drilling—The drilling of a well within the proved area of an oil or gas reservoir to the depth of a stratigraphic horizon known to be productive.

DD&A—Depreciation, depletion and amortization.

FASB—Financial and Accounting Standards Board.

Finding and development costs—Costs associated with acquiring and developing proved natural gas and oil reserves which are capitalized under generally accepted accounting principles, including any capitalized general and administrative expenses.

Gross acres or gross wells—The total acres or wells in which a working interest is owned.

IF—Inside FERC (U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission).

LIBOR—London Interbank Offered Rate.

MBbls—Thousand barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons.

Mcf—Thousand cubic feet of natural gas.

Mcfe—Thousand cubic feet of natural gas equivalent. Determined using the ratio of one barrel of crude oil and/or NGLs to six Mcf of natural gas.

MMBbls—Million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons.

MMBtu—Million Btu’s.

MMcf—Million cubic feet of natural gas.

MMcfe—Million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent. Determined using the ratio of one barrel of crude oil and/or NGLs to six Mcf of natural gas.

Net acres or net wells—The sum of the fractional working interests owned in gross acres or gross wells.

NGLs—Natural gas liquids.

NGPL-TXOK—Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America/Texok zone.

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DEFINITIONS – (Continued)

NYMEX—The New York Mercantile Exchange.

OPIS—Oil Price Information Service.

PEPL—Panhandle East Pipeline Co.

Producing property—A natural gas and oil property with existing production.

Proved developed reserves—Proved reserves that can be expected to be recovered from existing wells with existing equipment and operating methods. For additional information, see the SEC’s definition in Rule 4-10(a)(3) of Regulation S-X.

Proved reserves—The estimated quantities of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids which geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions. For additional information, see the SEC’s definition in Rule 4-10(a)(2)(i) through (iii) of Regulation S-X.

Proved undeveloped reserves—Proved reserves that are expected to be recovered from new wells on undrilled acreage, or from existing wells where a relatively major expenditure is required for recompletion. Reserves on undrilled acreage are limited to those drilling units that offset productive units and that are reasonably certain of production when drilled. For additional information, see the SEC’s definition in Rule 4-10(a)(4) of Regulation S-X.

SARs—Stock appreciation rights.

Undeveloped acreage—Lease acreage on which wells have not been drilled or completed to a point that would permit the production of commercial quantities of natural gas and oil regardless of whether the acreage contains proved reserves.

Well spacing—The regulation of the number and location of wells over an oil or gas reservoir, as a conservation measure. Well spacing is normally accomplished by order of the appropriate regulatory conservation commission.

Workovers—Operations on a producing well to restore or increase production.

WTI—West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark crude oil in the United States.

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UNIT CORPORATION

Annual Report

For The Year Ended December 31, 2008

PART I

Unless otherwise indicated or required by the context, the terms “corporation”, “company”, “Unit”, “us”, “our”, “we” and “its” refer to Unit Corporation and, as appropriate, Unit Corporation and/or one or more of its subsidiaries.

Our executive offices are at 7130 South Lewis, Suite 1000, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136; our telephone number is (918) 493-7700. In addition to our executive offices, we have offices or yards in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Borger, Canadian, Houston and Weatherford, Texas; Englewood and Denver, Colorado; Casper and Pinedale, Wyoming; and Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

Information regarding our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to these reports, will be made available in print, free of charge, to any shareholders who request them, or at our internet website at www.unitcorp.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file these reports with or furnish them to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Materials we file with the SEC may be read and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F. Street, N.E. Room 1580, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding our company that we file electronically with the SEC.

In addition, we post on our Internet website, www.unitcorp.com, copies of the various corporate governance documents that we have adopted. We may from time to time provide important disclosures to investors by posting them in the investor relations section of our website, as allowed by SEC rules. Information regarding our corporate governance guidelines and code of ethics, and the charters of our Board’s Audit, Compensation and Nomination and Governance Committees, are available free of charge on our website or in print to any shareholder who requests them.

GENERAL

We were founded in 1963 as a contract drilling company. Today, our operations are generally conducted through our three principal wholly owned subsidiaries:

At various times, and from time to time, each of these three principal subsidiaries may conduct operations through subsidiaries of their own.

The following table provides certain information about us as of February 13, 2009:

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NOTABLE EVENTS

Certain notable events by us in 2008 include:

Contract Drilling

Oil and Natural Gas

Mid-Stream

FINANCIAL INFORMATION ABOUT SEGMENTS

See Note 15 of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this report for information with respect to each of our segment’s revenues, profits or losses and total assets.

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CONTRACT DRILLING

General. Our contract drilling business is conducted through Unit Drilling Company and its subsidiary Unit Texas Drilling L.L.C. Effective January 30, 2009, Leonard Hudson Drilling Co., Inc. another subsidiary of Unit Drilling Company was merged into Unit Texas Drilling L.L.C. Through these companies we drill onshore natural gas and oil wells for our own account as well as for a wide range of other oil and natural gas companies. Our drilling operations are mainly located in the Oklahoma and Texas areas of the Anadarko and Arkoma Basins, the North Texas Barnett Shale, the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast, East Texas and the Rocky Mountain regions of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and North Dakota.

The following table identifies certain information concerning our land contract drilling operations:

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Description and Location of Our Drilling Rigs.    A land drilling rig is composed of major equipment components, such as engines, drawworks or hoists, derrick or mast, substructure, pumps to circulate the drilling fluid, blowout preventers and drill pipe that are collectively unitized into an operating system commonly referred to as a drilling rig. As a result of the normal wear and tear of operating 24 hours a day, several of the major components of a drilling rig, such as engines, mud pumps and drill pipe, must be replaced or rebuilt on a periodic basis. Other components, such as the substructure, mast and drawworks, can be used for extended periods of time with proper maintenance. We also own additional equipment used in the operation of our drilling rigs, including top drives, skidding systems, large air compressors, trucks and other support equipment.

The maximum depth capacities of our various drilling rigs range from 5,000 to 40,000 feet. In 2008, 122 of our 132 drilling rigs performed contract drilling services.

The following table shows certain information about our drilling rigs (including their distribution) as of February 13, 2009:

Anadarko Basin.    The Anadarko Basin is a geologic feature covering approximately 50,000 square miles primarily in Central and Western Oklahoma, but also includes the upper Texas Panhandle, southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado region. The basin contains sedimentary deposits ranging in thickness from 2,000 feet on its northern and western flanks to 40,000 feet in its southern portion.

During 2008, our Anadarko, Mid-Continent and Woodward divisions marketed 48 drilling rigs in the Anadarko Basin. These three divisions averaged 14, 16 and 11 drilling rigs operating during 2008, respectively.

Panhandle of Texas.    During 2008, we marketed 23 drilling rigs through our Panhandle and Pampa divisions. 18 drilling rigs operated during the year in these two divisions. We are the largest drilling contractor in the combined Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle.

Arkoma Basin.    The Arkoma Basin is another geologic feature that encompasses approximately 33,800 square miles of southeastern Oklahoma and west-central Arkansas. The Arkoma Basin holds deposits ranging in thickness from 3,000 to 20,000 feet. It is home to multiple conventional gas plays as well as two of the more recent notable unconventional plays—the Woodford Shale and Fayetteville Shale.

During 2008, Our Arkoma division marketed 12 drilling rigs with an average of over 10 drilling rigs operating during the year. The Woodford Shale brought an increase in activity to the Arkoma division operations. Additionally, our oil and natural gas segment’s active presence in the Arkoma Basin has been a source of work for our drilling fleet.

East Texas, Gulf Coast and North Texas Barnett Shale.    Our Gulf Coast Division provides drilling rigs to the onshore areas of the south Louisiana Gulf Coast and upper Texas Gulf Coast region as well as the conventional and unconventional gas plays of northwest Louisiana and East Texas. Our Gulf Coast division marketed 17 drilling rigs during 2008, with an average of over 13 drilling rigs operating. The increased interest in the Houston/Haynesville Shale play provided opportunity to reposition drilling rigs into this active market area.

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North Central Texas is the home of the Barnett Shale. It is touted as one of the largest natural gas fields in the U.S., and as being one of the first unconventional shale gas formations to have been unlocked by technological advances through multi-stage high pressure fracturization completion processes of this tight gas bearing formation.

During 2008, our North Texas division marketed 6 drilling rigs and operated 3 drilling rigs during the year.

Rocky Mountains.    The Rocky Mountain area covers several states, including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota. This vast area has produced a number of conventional and unconventional oil and gas fields. Our drilling rig fleet numbers 26 drilling rigs with an average of 18 drilling rigs operating during 2008. We have a number of drilling rigs operating in the Pinedale Anticline of western Wyoming and the Uintah Basin in eastern Utah, as well as other areas throughout this expansive geographical area. Two drilling rigs made our first entry into the Bakken Shale in North Dakota during the year.

At present, we do not have a shortage of drilling rig related equipment. However, at any given time, our ability to use all of our drilling rigs is dependent on a number of conditions, including the availability of qualified labor, drilling supplies and equipment as well as demand. In 2006, demand for our drilling rigs increased and our utilization rate remained above 92%. In 2007 our average utilization rate was 80%. In late 2008 our utilization rate was significantly affected by the U.S. and world economic downturn. For the first nine months of 2008 our average utilization rate was 81%, however by December 2008, our average utilization rate had declined to 61% The decline in drilling rig utilization has reduced the competition for labor that previously existed within the drilling industry which in turn has reduced the upward pressure on our labor costs.

The following table shows the average number of our drilling rigs working by quarter for the years indicated:

Drilling Rig Fleet.    The following table summarizes the changes made to our drilling rig fleet during 2008. A more complete discussion of these changes follows the table:

Acquisitions and Construction.    In June 2007, we acquired a privately owned drilling company operating primarily in the Texas Panhandle. This acquisition included nine drilling rigs ranging from 800 to 1,000 horsepower. Eight of the nine drilling rigs were operational immediately after the purchase; the last drilling rig was refurbished and became operational during March of 2008. During the first six months of 2007, we completed the construction of two 1,500 horsepower drilling rigs for approximately $19.4 million and placed one of them into each of our Rocky Mountain and Anadarko divisions. In the fourth quarter of 2007, we completed the construction of a third 1,500 horsepower drilling rig for an estimated $12.0 million which was also moved into our Rocky Mountain division.

During the second quarter of 2008, we completed the construction of two new 1,500 horsepower diesel electric drilling rigs for approximately $32.2 million and placed these drilling rigs into service in our Rocky Mountain division. During the fourth quarter of 2008, we completed the construction of another new 1,500

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horsepower diesel electric drilling rig for approximately $14.1 million and placed this drilling rig into service in North Dakota. The addition of these drilling rigs brought our drilling rig fleet to 132 at December 31, 2008.

In late 2008, as a result of the significant decline in commodity prices and the resulting drop in demand for our drilling rigs, we stored a 1,500 horsepower diesel electric drilling rig in our Oklahoma City rig fabrication facility and yard that was scheduled to be placed into service in North Dakota during the first quarter of 2009. The mobilization has been delayed pending final negotiation with our customer. In addition, after discussions with our customers, we postponed the construction of eight additional drilling rigs we had previously anticipated building and instead substituted drilling rigs we already owned. As a result of existing contractual obligations, we expect to take delivery of a new drilling rig during the fourth quarter of 2009.

As part of the proposed new rig construction program, we negotiated with our equipment suppliers postponement or cancellation of orders where possible; however during 2008, we paid approximately $31.7 million for the purchase of major components that we intended to use in the construction of the eight new drilling rigs. We plan to maintain this equipment for future use.

Drilling Contracts.    Our drilling contracts are generally obtained through competitive bidding on a well by well basis. Contract terms and payment rates vary depending on the type of contract used, the duration of the work, the equipment and services supplied and other matters. We pay certain operating expenses, including the wages of our drilling personnel, maintenance expenses and incidental drilling rig supplies and equipment. The contracts are usually subject to termination by the customer on short notice and on payment of a fee. Our contracts also contain provisions regarding indemnification against certain types of claims involving injury to persons, property and for acts of pollution. The specific terms of these indemnifications are subject to negotiation on a contract by contract basis.

The type of contract used determines our compensation. Contracts are generally one of three types: daywork; footage; or turnkey. Additional compensation may be acquired for special risks and unusual conditions. Under a daywork contract, we provide the drilling rig with the required personnel and the operator supervises the drilling of the well. Our compensation is based on a negotiated rate to be paid for each day the drilling rig is used. Footage contracts usually require us to bear some of the drilling costs in addition to providing the drilling rig. We are paid on completion of the well at a negotiated rate for each foot drilled. Under turnkey contracts we drill the well to a specified depth for a set amount and provide most of the required equipment and services. We bear the risk of drilling the well to the contract depth and are paid when the contract provisions are completed.

Under turnkey contracts we may incur losses if we underestimate the costs to drill the well or if unforeseen events occur. To date, we have not experienced significant losses in performing turnkey contracts. In 2008, 2007 and 2006, we did not drill any turnkey wells. All of our work in 2008 was under daywork contracts. Because market demand for our drilling rigs as well as the desires of our customers determine the types of contracts we use, we cannot predict when and if a part of our drilling will be conducted under footage or turnkey contracts.

The majority of our contracts are on a well-to-well basis, with a small portion under term contracts. Of the term contracts, they range from six months to three years in length of term. Depending on the contract, the rates can either be fixed throughout the term or allow for adjustment at periodic intervals.

Customers.    During 2008, Questar Corporation was our largest drilling customer providing approximately 19% of our total contract drilling revenues. No other third party customer accounted for 10% or more of our contract drilling revenues. During 2008, 2007 and 2006, we drilled 122, 77 and 72 wells, respectively, for our oil and natural gas segment. As required by the SEC, the profit received by our contract drilling segment when we drill wells for our oil and natural gas segment reduced the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties by $27.9 million, $22.7 million and $22.2 million during 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively, rather than being included in our operating profit.

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OIL AND NATURAL GAS

General.    In 1979, we began to develop our exploration and production operations to diversify our contract drilling revenues. Today, our wholly owned subsidiary, Unit Petroleum Company, conducts our exploration and production activities. Our producing oil and natural gas properties, undeveloped leaseholds and related assets are located mainly in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico and, to a lesser extent, in Arkansas, North Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland and a small portion in Canada.

The following table presents certain information regarding our oil and natural gas operations as of December 31, 2008:

When we are the operator of a property, we generally attempt to use a drilling rig owned by our contract drilling segment.

In response to the recent industry events we elected to close our Midland office in January 2009.

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Acquisitions.    On October 13, 2006, we completed the acquisition of Brighton Energy, L.L.C., a privately owned oil and natural gas company. On February 1, 2008, Brighton Energy, L.L.C. was merged with and into Unit Petroleum Company.

Our oil and natural gas segment did not make any significant acquisitions during 2007.

On January 18, 2008, we purchased a 50% interest in a 6,800 gross-acre leasehold that we did not already own in our Segno area of operations located in Hardin County, Texas. Included in this purchase were five producing wells with 4.9 Bcfe of then estimated proved reserves and production of 2.8 MMcf of natural gas per day and 88.2 barrels of condensate. The purchase price was $16.8 million of which $15.8 million was allocated to the reserves of the wells and $1.0 million was allocated to the undeveloped leasehold.

In September 2008, we completed an acquisition consisting of a 75% working interest in four producing wells and other proved undeveloped properties for $22.2 million along with working interests in undeveloped leasehold valued at approximately $3.5 million, all located in the Texas Panhandle region.

During 2008, we acquired interest in approximately 55,000 undeveloped acres in the Marcellus Shale, located mainly in Pennsylvania for approximately $40.1 million.

Well and Leasehold Data.    The following tables identify certain information regarding our oil and natural gas exploratory and development drilling operations:

As of February 13, 2009, we had participated in 13 gross (3.03 net) wells started during 2009.

Cost incurred for development drilling includes $89.4 million, $52.7 million and $34.3 million in 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively, to develop booked proved undeveloped oil and natural gas reserves.

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The following table summarizes our oil and natural gas leasehold acreage for each of the years indicated:

The future estimated development costs necessary to develop our proved undeveloped oil and natural gas reserves in the United States for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011, as disclosed in our December 31, 2008 oil and natural gas reserve report, are $66.5 million, $133.3 million and $27.6 million, respectively.

Price and Production Data.    The following table identifies the average sales price, oil, NGLs and natural gas production volumes and average production cost per equivalent Mcf for our oil, NGLs and natural gas production for the years indicated:

Oil, NGL and Natural Gas Reserves.    The following table identifies our estimated proved developed and undeveloped oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves for the years indicated:

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Contracts.    Our oil production is sold at or near our wells under purchase contracts at prevailing prices in accordance with arrangements customary in the oil industry. Our natural gas production is sold to intrastate and interstate pipelines as well as to independent marketing firms under contracts with terms generally ranging from one month to a year. Few of these contracts contain provisions for readjustment of price as most of them are market sensitive.

Customers.    During 2008, we did not have a third party customer that accounted for 10% or more of our oil and natural gas revenues, the top five third party customers accounted for approximately 29% of our oil and natural gas revenues. During 2008, our mid-stream segment purchased $52.0 million of our natural gas production and natural gas liquids and provided gathering and transportation services of $4.3 million. Intercompany revenue from services and purchases of production between our mid-stream segment and our oil and natural gas segment has been eliminated in our consolidated financial statements. In 2007 and 2006, we eliminated intercompany revenues of $23.1 million and $13.3 million, respectively, of natural gas production and NGLs.

MID-STREAM

General.    Superior is a mid-stream company engaged primarily in the buying, selling, gathering, processing and treating of natural gas and operates three natural gas treatment plants, nine operating processing plants, 37 active gathering systems and 770 miles of pipeline. Superior and its subsidiary operate in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Kansas and Pennsylvania.

The following table presents certain information regarding our mid-stream operations for the years indicated:

Acquisitions.    In September 2006, we closed the acquisition of Berkshire Energy, LLC, a private company for an adjusted purchase price of $21.7 million. The principal tangible assets of the acquired company consisted of a natural gas processing plant, a natural gas gathering system with 15 miles of pipeline, three field compressors and two plant compressors. This purchase had an effective date of July 31, 2006. The financial results of this acquisition are included in the company’s statement of income from September 1, 2006 forward with the results for the period of August 1, 2006 through August 31, 2006 included as an adjustment to the purchase price.

Our mid-stream segment did not have any significant acquisitions during 2007 or 2008.

Contracts.    Our mid-stream segment provides its customers with a full range of gathering, processing and treating services. These services are usually provided to each customer under long-term contracts (more than one year), but we do have some short-term contracts as well. Our customer agreements include the following types of contracts:

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For the above contracts, operating margin is defined as total operating revenues less operating expenses and does not include depreciation and amortization, general and administrative expenses, interest expense or income taxes.

Customers.    During 2008, ONEOK accounted for approximately 79% of our mid-stream revenues; however, we believe there are other customers available to purchase our gas and liquids should it become necessary.

VOLATILE NATURE OF OUR BUSINESS

The prevailing prices for natural gas, NGLs and oil significantly affect our revenues, operating results, cash flow and future rate of growth. Because natural gas makes up the biggest part of our oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves, as well as the focus of most of the contract drilling work we do for others, changes in natural gas prices have a larger impact on us than changes in oil and NGL prices. Historically, oil, NGLs and natural gas prices have been volatile, and we expect them to continue to be so. The following table shows the highest and lowest average monthly natural gas, oil and NGL prices we received by quarter, for our oil and gas segment, without taking into account the effect of our hedging activity, for each of the periods indicated:

Prices for oil, NGLs and natural gas are subject to wide fluctuations in response to relatively minor changes in the supply of and demand for oil and natural gas, market uncertainty and a variety of additional factors that are beyond our control. These factors include:

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These factors and the volatile nature of the energy markets make it impossible to predict the future prices of oil, NGLs and natural gas. You are encouraged to read the Risk Factors discussed in Item 1A of this report for additional risks that can impact our operations.

Our contract drilling operations are dependent on the level of demand in our operating markets. Both short-term and long-term trends in oil and natural gas prices affect demand. Because oil and natural gas prices are volatile, the level of demand for our services can also be volatile. Both demand for our drilling rigs and dayrates steadily increased over the first three quarters of 2006, before declining late in the fourth quarter of 2006 and throughout 2007. This was followed by a resurgence in activity during the first nine months of 2008, before a decline in activity during the fourth quarter 2008. Our average dayrate and utilization rate were as follows for the month of December for each of the following years:

The decrease in utilization starting in the fourth quarter of 2006 and again during the fourth quarter of 2008 was, in part, due to the decline in the price of natural gas as well as concerns regarding future demand for natural gas on the part of our customers. Since short-term and long-term trends in oil and natural gas prices affect the demand for our drilling rigs, the future demand for and the dayrates we will receive for our drilling services is expected to decline further given the unsettled outlook for future commodity prices.

Our mid-stream operations provide us greater flexibility in delivering our (and other parties) natural gas from the wellhead to major natural gas pipelines. Margins received for the delivery of this natural gas is dependent on the price for oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids and the demand for natural gas in our area of operations. If the price of natural gas liquids falls without a corresponding decrease in the cost of natural gas, it may become uneconomical to us to extract certain natural gas liquids. The volumes of natural gas processed are highly dependent on the volume and Btu content of the natural gas gathered.

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COMPETITION

All of our businesses are highly competitive and price sensitive. Competition in the land contract drilling business traditionally involves factors such as demand, price, efficiency, condition of equipment, availability of labor and equipment, reputation and customer relations. A few of our contract drilling competitors are substantially larger than we are and have greater resources.

Our oil and natural gas operations likewise encounter strong competition from other oil and gas companies. Many of these competitors have greater financial, technical and other resources than we do and have more experience than we do in the exploration for and production of oil and natural gas.

Our mid-stream operations compete with purchasers and gatherers of all types and sizes, including those affiliated with various producers, other major pipeline companies, as well as independent gatherers for the right to purchase natural gas, build gathering systems in production fields and deliver the natural gas once the gathering systems are established. The principal elements of competition include the rates, terms and availability of services, reputation and the flexibility and reliability of service.

As discussed elsewhere in this report, throughout 2006, 2007 and through the first nine months of 2008 all of our operations experienced strong competition for qualified labor. However, if the recent depressed conditions within our industry continue, we do not anticipate that competition to keep qualified employees and attract individuals with the skills required to meet our immediate requirements will materially effect us. Likewise, if current commodity price and industry drilling utilization declines continue, we do not anticipate that our drilling labor costs will increase from those levels in effect at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2008.

OIL AND NATURAL GAS PROGRAMS AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Unit Petroleum Company serves as the general partner of 14 oil and gas limited partnerships. Three of these partnerships were formed for investment by third parties and 11 (the employee partnerships) were formed to allow our employees and directors to participate with Unit Petroleum Company in its operations. The partnerships formed for use in connection with third party investments were formed in 1984 and 1986. One employee partnership has been formed each year beginning with 1984.

The employee partnerships formed in 1984 through 1999 have been consolidated into a single consolidating partnership. The employee partnerships each have a set annual percentage (ranging from 1% to 15%) of our interest in most of the oil and natural gas wells we drill or acquire for our own account during the year in which the partnership was formed. The total interest the participants have in our oil and natural gas wells by participating in these partnerships does not exceed one percent of our interest in the wells.

Under the terms of our partnership agreements, the general partner has broad discretionary authority to manage the business and operations of the partnership, including the authority to make decisions regarding the partnership’s participation in a drilling location or a property acquisition, the partnership’s expenditure of funds and the distribution of funds to partners. Because the business activities of the limited partners and the general partner are not the same, conflicts of interest will exist and it is not possible to entirely eliminate these conflicts. Additionally, conflicts of interest may arise when we are the operator of an oil and natural gas well and also provide contract drilling services. In these cases, the drilling operations are conducted under drilling contracts containing terms and conditions comparable to those contained in our drilling contracts with non-affiliated operators. We believe we fulfill our responsibility to each contracting party and comply fully with the terms of the agreements which regulate these conflicts.

These partnerships are further described in Notes 2 and 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this report.

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EMPLOYEES

As of February 13, 2009, we had approximately 1,643 employees in our contract drilling operations, 217 employees in our oil and natural gas operations, 88 employees in our mid-stream operations and 62 in our general corporate area. None of our employees are members of a union or labor organization nor have our operations ever been interrupted by a strike or work stoppage. We consider relations with our employees to be satisfactory.

GOVERNMENTAL REGULATIONS

Our business depends on the demand for services from the oil and natural gas exploration and development industry, and therefore our business can be affected by political developments and changes in laws and regulations that control or curtail drilling for oil and natural gas for economic, environmental or other policy reasons.

Various state and federal regulations affect the production and sale of oil and natural gas. All states in which we conduct activities impose restrictions on the drilling, production, transportation and sale of oil and natural gas.

Under the Natural Gas Act of 1938, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the “FERC”) regulates the interstate transportation and the sale in interstate commerce for resale of natural gas. The FERC’s jurisdiction over interstate natural gas sales has been substantially modified by the Natural Gas Policy Act under which the FERC continued to regulate the maximum selling prices of certain categories of gas sold in “first sales” in interstate and intrastate commerce. Effective January 1, 1993, however, the Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act (the “Decontrol Act”) deregulated natural gas prices for all “first sales” of natural gas. Because “first sales” include typical wellhead sales by producers, all natural gas produced from our natural gas properties is sold at market prices, subject to the terms of any private contracts which may be in effect. The FERC’s jurisdiction over natural gas transportation is not affected by the Decontrol Act.

Our sales of natural gas will be affected by intrastate and interstate gas transportation regulation. Beginning in 1985, the FERC adopted regulatory changes that have significantly altered the transportation and marketing of natural gas. These changes are intended by the FERC to foster competition by, among other things, transforming the role of interstate pipeline companies from wholesale marketers of natural gas to the primary role of gas transporters. All natural gas marketing by the pipelines is required to divest to a marketing affiliate, which operates separately from the transporter and in direct competition with all other merchants. As a result of the various omnibus rulemaking proceedings in the late 1980s and the individual pipeline restructuring proceedings of the early to mid-1990s, the interstate pipelines must provide open and nondiscriminatory transportation and transportation-related services to all producers, natural gas marketing companies, local distribution companies, industrial end users and other customers seeking service. Through similar orders affecting intrastate pipelines that provide similar interstate services, the FERC expanded the impact of open access regulations to intrastate commerce.

FERC has pursued other policy initiatives that have affected natural gas marketing. Most notable are (1) the large-scale divestiture of interstate pipeline-owned gas gathering facilities to affiliated or non-affiliated companies; (2) further development of rules governing the relationship of the pipelines with their marketing affiliates; (3) the publication of standards relating to the use of electronic bulletin boards and electronic data exchange by the pipelines to make available transportation information on a timely basis and to enable transactions to occur on a purely electronic basis; (4) further review of the role of the secondary market for released pipeline capacity and its relationship to open access service in the primary market; and (5) development of policy and promulgation of orders pertaining to its authorization of market-based rates (rather than traditional cost-of-service based rates) for transportation or transportation-related services upon the pipeline’s demonstration of lack of market control in the relevant service market. We do not know what effect the FERC’s other activities will have on the access to markets, the fostering of competition and the cost of doing business.

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As a result of these changes, sellers and buyers of natural gas have gained direct access to the particular pipeline services they need and are better able to conduct business with a larger number of counter parties. We believe these changes generally have improved the access to markets for natural gas while, at the same time, substantially increasing competition in the natural gas marketplace. We cannot predict what new or different regulations the FERC and other regulatory agencies may adopt or what effect subsequent regulations may have on production and marketing of natural gas from our properties.

In the past, Congress has been very active in the area of natural gas regulation. However, as discussed above, the more recent trend has been in favor of deregulation and the promotion of competition in the natural gas industry. Thus, in addition to “first sales” deregulation, Congress also repealed incremental pricing requirements and natural gas use restraints previously applicable. There are other legislative proposals pending in the Federal and State legislatures which, if enacted, would significantly affect the petroleum industry. At the present time, it is impossible to predict what proposals, if any, might actually be enacted by Congress or the various state legislatures and what effect, if any, these proposals might have on the production and marketing of natural gas by us. Similarly, and despite the trend toward federal deregulation of the natural gas industry, whether or to what extent that trend will continue or what the ultimate effect will be on the production and marketing of natural gas by us cannot be predicted.

Our sales of oil and natural gas liquids are not regulated and are at market prices. The price received from the sale of these products will be affected by the cost of transporting the products to market. Much of that transportation is through interstate common carrier pipelines. Effective as of January 1, 1995, the FERC implemented regulations generally grandfathering all previously approved interstate transportation rates and establishing an indexing system for those rates by which adjustments are made annually based on the rate of inflation, subject to certain conditions and limitations. These regulations may tend to increase the cost of transporting oil and natural gas liquids by interstate pipeline, although the annual adjustments may result in decreased rates in a given year. These regulations have generally been approved on judicial review. Every five years, the FERC will examine the relationship between the annual change in the applicable index and the actual cost changes experienced by the oil pipeline industry. We are not able to predict with certainty what effect, if any, these relatively new federal regulations or the periodic review of the index by the FERC will have on us.

Federal, state, and local agencies have promulgated extensive rules and regulations applicable to our oil and natural gas exploration, production and related operations. Oklahoma, Texas and other states require permits for drilling operations, drilling bonds and the filing of reports concerning operations and impose other requirements relating to the exploration of oil and natural gas. Many states also have statutes or regulations addressing conservation matters including provisions for the unitization or pooling of oil and natural gas properties, the establishment of maximum rates of production from oil and natural gas wells and the regulation of spacing, plugging and abandonment of such wells. The statutes and regulations of some states limit the rate at which oil and natural gas is produced from our properties. The federal and state regulatory burden on the oil and natural gas industry increases our cost of doing business and affects our profitability. Because these rules and regulations are amended or reinterpreted frequently, we are unable to predict the future cost or impact of complying with those laws.

Our operations are subject to stringent federal, state and local laws and regulations governing protection of the environment. These laws and regulations may require acquisition of permits before certain of our operations may be commenced and may restrict the types, quantities and concentrations of various substances that can be released into the environment. Planning and implementation of protective measures are required to prevent accidental discharges. Spills of oil, natural gas liquids, drilling fluids, and other substances may subject us to penalties and cleanup requirements. Handling, storage and disposal of both hazardous and non-hazardous wastes are subject to regulatory requirements.

The federal Clean Water Act, as amended by the Oil Pollution Act, the federal Clean Air Act, the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and their state counterparts, are the primary vehicles for imposition of such requirements and for civil, criminal and administrative penalties and other sanctions for violation of their

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requirements. In addition, the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act and similar state statutes impose strict liability, without regard to fault or the legality of the original conduct, on certain classes of persons who are considered responsible for the release of hazardous substances into the environment. Such liability, which may be imposed for the conduct of others and for conditions others have caused, includes the cost of remedial action as well as damages to natural resources.

Environmental laws and regulations are complex and subject to frequent change that may result in more stringent and costly requirements. Compliance with applicable requirements has not, to date, had a material affect on the cost of our operations, earnings or competitive position. However, compliance with amended, new or more stringent requirements, stricter interpretations of existing requirements, or the discovery of contamination may cause us to incur additional costs or subject us to liabilities that may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION ABOUT GEOGRAPHIC AREAS

Our revenues during the last three fiscal years, as well as information relating to long-lived assets attributable to our Canadian operations are immaterial. We have no other international operations.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS/CAUTIONARY STATEMENT AND RISK FACTORS

This report, including information included in, or incorporated by reference from future filings by us with the SEC, as well as information contained in written material, press releases and oral statements issued by or on our behalf, contain, or may contain, certain statements that are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of federal securities laws. This report modifies and supersedes documents filed by us before this report. In addition, certain information that we file with the SEC in the future will automatically update and supersede information contained in this report. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included or incorporated by reference in this report, which address activities, events or developments which we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking statements. The words “believes,” “intends,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “estimates,” “predicts” and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements include, among others, such things as:

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These statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments as well as other factors we believe are appropriate in the circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to our expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, including:

You should not place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we disclaim any current intention to update forward-looking information and to release publicly the results of any future revisions we may make to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

In order to help provide you with a more thorough understanding of the possible effects of some of these influences on any forward-looking statements made by us, the following discussion outlines some (but not all) of the factors that in the future could cause our 2009 consolidated results and beyond to differ materially from those that may be presented in any such forward-looking statement made by or on behalf of us.

Drilling Customer Demand.    With the exception of the drilling we do for our own account, the demand for our drilling services depends entirely on the needs of third parties. Based on past history, these parties’ requirements are subject to a number of factors, independent of any subjective factors, that directly impact the demand for our drilling rigs. These factors include the availability of funds to carry out their drilling operations. For many of these parties, even if they have the funds available, their decision to spend those funds is often based on the then current prices for oil, NGLs and natural gas. Many of our customers’ budgets tend to be susceptible to the influences of current price fluctuations. Other factors that affect our ability to work our drilling rigs are: the weather which, under adverse circumstances, can delay or even cause the abandonment of a project by an operator; the competition faced by us in securing the award of a drilling contract in a given area; our experience and recognition in a new market area; and the availability of labor to operate our drilling rigs.

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As noted elsewhere in this report, the recent economic decline and commodity price decline have significantly reduced the demand for our drilling rigs. If these conditions continue, we expect that the demand for our drilling rigs will continue to stay depressed, if not reduced further.

Oil, NGLs and Natural Gas Prices.    The prices we receive for our oil, NGLs and natural gas production have a direct impact on our revenues, profitability and cash flow as well as our ability to meet our projected financial and operational goals. The prices for natural gas and crude oil are heavily dependent on a number of factors beyond our control, including:

Oil prices are extremely sensitive to foreign influences based on political, social or economic underpinnings, any one of which could have an immediate and significant effect on the price and supply of oil. In addition, prices of natural gas, NGLs and oil are becoming more and more influenced by trading on the commodities markets which, at times, has tended to increase the volatility associated with these prices resulting, at times, in large differences in such prices even on a week-to-week and month-to-month basis. All of these factors, especially when coupled with the fact that much of our product prices are determined on a daily basis, can, and at times do, lead to wide fluctuations in the prices we receive.

Based on our 2008 production, a $0.10 per Mcf change in what we receive for our natural gas production, without the effect of hedging, would result in a corresponding $371,000 per month ($4.5 million annualized) change in our pre-tax operating cash flow. A $1.00 per barrel change in our oil price, without the effect of hedging, would have an $99,000 per month ($1.2 million annualized) change in our pre-tax operating cash flow and a $1.00 per barrel change in our NGLs price, without the effect of hedging, would have a $109,000 per month ($1.3 million annualized) change in our pre-tax operating cash flow. During 2008, substantially all of our natural gas, crude oil and NGLs volumes were sold at market responsive prices.

In order to reduce our exposure to short-term fluctuations in the price of oil, NGLs and natural gas, we sometimes enter into hedging arrangements such as swaps and collars. Our hedging arrangements apply to only a portion of our production and provide only partial price protection against declines in oil, NGLs and natural gas prices. These hedging arrangements may expose us to risk of financial loss and limit the benefit to us of future increases in prices. A more thorough discussion of our hedging arrangements is contained in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of this report contained in Item 7.

Uncertainty of Oil, NGLs and Natural Gas Reserves; Ceiling Test.    There are many uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves and their values, including many factors beyond our control. The oil, NGLs and natural gas reserve information included in this report represents only an estimate of these reserves. Oil, NGLs and natural gas reservoir engineering is a subjective and an inexact process of estimating underground accumulations of oil, NGLs and natural gas that cannot be measured in an exact manner. Estimates of economically recoverable oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves depend on a number of variable factors, including historical production from the area compared with production from other producing areas, and assumptions concerning:

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Some or all of these assumptions may vary considerably from actual results. For these reasons, estimates of the economically recoverable quantities of oil and natural gas attributable to any particular group of properties, classifications of those oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves based on risk of recovery, and estimates of the future net cash flows from oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves prepared by different engineers or by the same engineers but at different times may vary substantially. Accordingly, oil, NGLs and natural gas reserve estimates may be subject to periodic downward or upward adjustments. Actual production, revenues and expenditures with respect to our oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves will likely vary from estimates, and those variances may be material.

The information regarding discounted future net cash flows included in this report is not necessarily the current market value of the estimated oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves attributable to our properties. As required by the SEC, the estimated discounted future net cash flows from proved oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves are determined based on prices and costs as of the date of the estimate. Actual future prices and costs may be materially higher or lower. Actual future net cash flows are also affected, in part, by the following factors:

In addition, the 10% discount factor, required by the SEC for use in calculating discounted future net cash flows for reporting purposes, is not necessarily the most appropriate discount factor based on interest rates in effect from time to time and the risks associated with our operations or the oil and natural gas industry in general.

We periodically review the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties under the full cost accounting rules of the SEC. Under these rules, capitalized costs of proved oil and natural gas properties may not exceed the present value of estimated future net revenues from proved reserves, discounted at 10%. Application of this “ceiling test” generally requires pricing future revenue at the unescalated prices in effect as of the end of each fiscal quarter and requires a write-down for accounting purposes if we exceed the ceiling, even if prices are depressed for only a short period of time. We may be required to write down the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties when oil, NGLs and natural gas prices are depressed or unusually volatile. If a write-down is required, it would result in a charge to earnings but would not impact our cash flow from operating activities. Once incurred, a write-down of oil and natural gas properties is not reversible.

Based on December 31, 2008 unescalated prices of $44.60 per barrel of oil, $26.04 per barrel of NGLs and $5.71 per Mcf of natural gas, adjusted for regional price differentials, for the estimated life of the respective properties, the unamortized cost of our oil and natural gas properties exceeded the ceiling of our proved oil, NGL and natural gas reserves. We recorded a non-cash ceiling test write down of $282.0 million pre-tax ($175.5 million, net of tax) during the year ended December 31, 2008 as a result of these declines in commodity prices. Price declines can also adversely affect the semi-annual determination of the amount available for us to borrow under our bank credit facility since that determination is based mainly on the value of our oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves. Such a reduction could limit our ability to carry out our planned capital projects. After December 31, 2008 commodity prices have continued to decrease and should commodity prices remain below December 31, 2008 levels, an additional write-down of the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties will be required for the quarter ending March 31, 2009.

We are continually identifying and evaluating opportunities to acquire oil and natural gas properties, including acquisitions that would be significantly larger than those we have consummated to date. We cannot

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assure you that we will successfully consummate any acquisition, that we will be able to acquire producing oil and natural gas properties that contain economically recoverable reserves or that any acquisition will be profitably integrated into our operations.

Debt and Bank Borrowing.    We have incurred and currently expect to continue to incur substantial working capital expenditures because of the growth in our operations. Historically, we have funded our working capital needs through a combination of internally generated cash flow and borrowings under our bank credit facility. We have also, from time to time, obtained funds through equity financing. We currently have, and will continue to have, a certain amount of indebtedness. At December 31, 2008, our outstanding long-term debt was $199.5 million.

Our level of debt, the cash flow needed to satisfy our debt and the covenants contained in our bank credit facility could:

Our ability to meet our debt obligations depends on our future performance. If the requirements of our indebtedness are not satisfied, a default could be deemed to occur and our lenders would be entitled to accelerate the payment of the outstanding indebtedness. If that were to occur, we would not have sufficient funds available and probably would not be able to obtain the financing required to meet our obligations.

The amount of our existing debt, as well as our future debt, is, to a large extent, a function of the costs associated with the projects we undertake at any given time and of our cash flow. Generally, our normal operating costs are those incurred as a result of the drilling of oil and natural gas wells, the acquisition of producing properties, the costs associated with the maintenance or expansion of our drilling rig fleet, and the operations of our natural gas buying, selling, gathering, processing and treating systems. To some extent, these costs, particularly the first two items, are discretionary and we maintain a degree of control regarding the timing or the need to actually incur them. However, in some cases, unforeseen circumstances may arise, such as in the case of an unanticipated opportunity to make a large acquisition or the need to replace a costly drilling rig component due to an unexpected loss, which could force us to incur increased debt above that which we had expected or forecasted. Likewise, if our cash flow should prove to be insufficient to cover our current cash requirements we would need to increase our debt either through bank borrowings or otherwise.

We entered into the following interest rate swaps to help manage our exposure to possible future interest rate increases. Under these transactions we have swapped the variable interest rate we would otherwise incur on a portion of our bank debt for a fixed interest rate. A more thorough discussion of our hedging or swap arrangements are contained in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation section of this report contained in Item 7.

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RISK FACTORS

There are many other factors that could adversely affect our business. The following discussion describes the material risks currently known to us. However, additional risks that we do not know about or that we currently view as immaterial may also impair our business or adversely affect the value of our securities. You should carefully consider the risks described below together with the other information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this report.

Recent events in the financial markets and the economy could adversely affect our operations and financial condition.

As a result of recent volatility in oil and natural gas prices and substantial uncertainty in the capital markets due to the deteriorating global economic environment, a number of our drilling customers have reduced spending on exploration and development drilling, in addition it is uncertain whether customers and/or vendors and suppliers will be able to access financing necessary to sustain their operations, fulfill their commitments and/or fund future operations and obligations. The current deterioration in the global economic environment is resulting in a decrease in demand for drilling rigs. These conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If demand for oil and natural gas is reduced, our ability to market as well as produce our oil and natural gas may be negatively affected.

Historically, oil and gas prices have been extremely volatile, with significant increases and significant price drops being experienced from time to time. In the future, various factors beyond our control will have a significant effect on oil and gas prices. Such factors include, among other things, the domestic and foreign supply of oil and gas, the price of foreign imports, the levels of consumer demand, the price and availability of alternative fuels, the availability of pipeline capacity and changes in existing and proposed federal regulation and price controls.

The natural gas market is also unsettled due to a number of factors. In the past, production from natural gas wells in some geographic areas of the United States was curtailed for considerable periods of time due to a lack of market demand. Over the past several years demand for natural gas has increased greatly limiting the number of wells being shut-in for lack of demand. It is possible, however, that some of our wells may in the future be shut-in or that natural gas will be sold on terms less favorable than might otherwise be obtained should demand for gas lessen in the future. Competition for available markets has been vigorous and there remains great uncertainty about prices that purchasers will pay. Natural gas surpluses could result in our inability to market natural gas profitably, causing us to curtail production and/or receive lower prices for our natural gas, situations which would adversely affect us.

Recent disruptions in the financial markets could affect our ability to obtain financing or refinance existing indebtedness on reasonable terms and may have other adverse effects.

Widely-documented commercial-credit market disruptions have resulted in a tightening of credit markets in the United States. Liquidity in the global-credit markets have been severely contracted by these market disruptions making terms for certain financings less attractive, and in certain cases, have resulted in the unavailability of certain types of financing. As a result of ongoing credit-market turmoil, we may not be able to obtain debt financing, or refinance existing indebtedness on favorable terms, which could affect operations and financial performance.

Oil, NGLs and natural gas prices are volatile, and low prices have negatively affected our financial results and could do so in the future.

Our revenues, operating results, cash flow and future rate of growth depend substantially on prevailing prices for oil, NGLs and natural gas. Historically, oil, NGLs and natural gas prices and markets have been volatile, and they are likely to continue to be volatile in the future. Any decline in prices in the future would have

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a negative impact on our future financial results. Because our oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves are predominantly natural gas, significant changes in natural gas prices would have a particularly large impact on our financial results.

Prices for oil, NGLs and natural gas are subject to wide fluctuations in response to relatively minor changes in the supply of and demand for oil and natural gas, market uncertainty and a variety of additional factors that are beyond our control. These factors include:

These factors and the volatile nature of the energy markets make it impossible to predict with any certainty the future prices of oil, NGLs and natural gas.

Our contract drilling operations depend on levels of activity in the oil and natural gas exploration and production industry.

Our contract drilling operations depend on the level of activity in oil and natural gas exploration and production in our operating markets. Both short-term and long-term trends in oil, NGLs and natural gas prices affect the level of that activity. Because oil, NGLs and natural gas prices are volatile, the level of exploration and production activity can also be volatile. Recent decreases in oil, NGLs and natural gas prices have depressed the level of exploration and production activity. This, in turn, has resulted in a decline in the demand for our drilling services and has had an adverse effect on our contract drilling revenues, cash flows and profitability. As a result, the future demand for our drilling services is uncertain.

Due to declining commodity prices of oil and natural gas, several of our drilling rig customers have significantly reduced their drilling budgets for 2009, resulting in a significant reduction in the average utilization of our drilling rig fleet. Our average utilization rate was 81% for the nine months ended September 30, 2008, 61% for the month of December 2008 and 48% for the month of January 2009. We currently expect this rate to continue to decline in 2009.

The industries in which we operate are highly competitive, and many of our competitors have greater resources than we do.

The drilling industry in which we operate is generally very competitive. Most drilling contracts are awarded on the basis of competitive bids, which may result in intense price competition. Some of our competitors in the contract drilling industry have greater financial and human resources than we do. These resources may enable

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them to better withstand periods of low drilling rig utilization, to compete more effectively on the basis of price and technology, to build new drilling rigs or acquire existing drilling rigs and to provide drilling rigs more quickly than we do in periods of high drilling rig utilization.

The oil and natural gas industry is also highly competitive. We compete in the areas of property acquisitions and oil and natural gas exploration, development, production and marketing with major oil companies, other independent oil and natural gas concerns and individual producers and operators. In addition, we must compete with major and independent oil and natural gas concerns in recruiting and retaining qualified employees. Many of our competitors in the oil and natural gas industry have substantially greater resources than we do.

Continued growth through acquisitions is not assured.

Over the past several years, we have increased each of our segments, in part, through mergers and acquisitions. The land drilling industry, the exploration and development industry, as well as the gas gathering and processing industry, have experienced significant consolidation over the past several years, and there can be no assurance that acquisition opportunities will continue to be available. Additionally, we are likely to continue to face intense competition from other companies for available acquisition opportunities.

There can be no assurance that we will:

We may incur substantial indebtedness to finance future acquisitions and also may issue equity securities or convertible securities in connection with any acquisitions. Debt service requirements could represent a significant burden on our results of operations and financial condition and the issuance of additional equity would be dilutive to existing shareholders. Also, continued growth could strain our management, operations, employees and other resources.

Successful acquisitions, particularly those of oil and natural gas companies or of oil and natural gas properties require an assessment of a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include recoverable reserves, exploration potential, future oil, NGLs and natural gas prices, operating costs and potential environmental and other liabilities. Such assessments are inexact and their accuracy is inherently uncertain.

Our operations have significant capital requirements, and our indebtedness could have important consequences to you.

We have experienced and may continue to experience substantial working capital needs in the growth of our operations. On February 13, 2009, our outstanding long-term debt was $193.5 million. Our level of indebtedness, the cash flow needed to satisfy our indebtedness and the covenants governing our indebtedness could:

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Our ability to meet our debt service and other contractual and contingent obligations will depend on our future performance. In addition, lower oil, NGLs and natural gas prices could result in future reductions in the amount available for borrowing under our credit facility, reducing our liquidity and even triggering mandatory loan repayments.

Our future performance depends on our ability to find or acquire additional oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves that are economically recoverable.

In general, production from oil and natural gas properties declines as reserves are depleted, with the rate of decline depending on reservoir characteristics. Unless we successfully replace the reserves that we produce, our reserves will decline, resulting eventually in a decrease in oil and natural gas production and lower revenues and cash flow from operations. Historically, we have succeeded in increasing reserves after taking production into account through exploration and development. We have conducted these activities on our existing oil and natural gas properties as well as on newly acquired properties. We may not be able to continue to replace reserves from these activities at acceptable costs. Lower prices of oil and natural gas may further limit the kinds of reserves that can economically be developed. Lower prices also decrease our cash flow and may cause us to decrease capital expenditures.

We are continually identifying and evaluating opportunities to acquire oil and natural gas properties, including acquisitions that would be significantly larger than those consummated to date by us. We cannot assure you that we will successfully consummate any acquisition, that we will be able to acquire producing oil and natural gas properties that contain economically recoverable reserves or that any acquisition will be profitably integrated into our operations.

The competition for producing oil and natural gas properties is intense. This competition could mean that to acquire properties we will have to pay higher prices and accept greater ownership risks than we have in the past.

Our exploration and production and mid-stream operations involve a high degree of business and financial risk which could adversely affect us.

Exploration and development involve numerous risks that may result in dry holes, the failure to produce oil and natural gas in commercial quantities and the inability to fully produce discovered reserves. The cost of drilling, completing and operating wells is substantial and uncertain. Numerous factors beyond our control may cause the curtailment, delay or cancellation of drilling operations, including:

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Exploratory drilling is a speculative activity. Although we may disclose our overall drilling success rate, those rates may decline. Although we may discuss drilling prospects that we have identified or budgeted for, we may ultimately not lease or drill these prospects within the expected time frame, or at all. Lack of drilling success will have an adverse effect on our future results of operations and financial condition.

Our mid-stream operations involve numerous risks, both financial and operational. The cost of developing gathering systems and processing plants is substantial and our ability to recoup these costs is uncertain. Our operations may be curtailed, delayed or cancelled as a result of many things beyond our control, including:

Many of the wells from which we gather and process natural gas are operated by other parties. As a result, we have little control over the operations of those wells which can act to increase our risk. Operators of those wells may act in ways that are not in our best interests.

Competition for experienced technical personnel may negatively impact our operations or financial results.

Our continued drilling success and the success of other activities integral to our operations will depend, in part, on our ability to attract and retain experienced explorationists, engineers and other professionals. Competition for these professionals can be extremely intense, particularly when the industry is experiencing favorable conditions.

Our hedging arrangements might limit the benefit of increases in oil, NGLs and natural gas prices.

In order to reduce our exposure to short-term fluctuations in the price of oil, NGLs and natural gas, we sometimes enter into hedging arrangements. Our hedging arrangements apply to only a portion of our production and provide only partial price protection against declines in oil, NGLs and natural gas prices. These hedging arrangements may expose us to risk of financial loss and limit the benefit to us of increases in prices.

Estimates of our reserves are uncertain and may prove to be inaccurate.

There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of proved reserves and their values, including many factors beyond our control. The reserve data represents only estimates. Reservoir engineering is a subjective and inexact process of estimating underground accumulations of oil and natural gas that cannot be measured in an exact manner. Estimates of economically recoverable oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves depend on a number of variable factors, including historical production from the area compared with production from other producing areas, and assumptions concerning:

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Some or all of these assumptions may vary considerably from actual results. For these reasons, estimates of the economically recoverable quantities of oil and natural gas attributable to any particular group of properties, classifications of those reserves based on risk of recovery, and estimates of the future net cash flows from reserves prepared by different engineers or by the same engineers but at different times may vary substantially. Accordingly, reserve estimates may be subject to downward or upward adjustment. Actual production, revenues and expenditures with respect to our reserves will likely vary from estimates, and those variances may be material.

The information regarding discounted future net cash flows should not be considered as the current market value of the estimated oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves attributable to our properties. As required by the SEC, the estimated discounted future net cash flows from proved reserves are based on prices and costs as of the date of the estimate, while actual future prices and costs may be materially higher or lower. Actual future net cash flows also will be affected by the following factors:

In addition, the 10% per year discount factor, which is required by the SEC to be used in calculating discounted future net cash flows for reporting purposes, is not necessarily the most appropriate discount factor based on interest rates in effect from time to time and risks associated with our operations or the oil and natural gas industry in general.

If oil, NGLs and natural gas prices decrease or are unusually volatile, we may be required to take write-downs of our oil and natural gas properties, the carrying value of our drilling rigs or our natural gas gathering and processing systems.

We periodically review the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties under the full cost accounting rules of the SEC. Under these rules, capitalized costs of proved oil and natural gas properties may not exceed the present value of estimated future net revenues from proved reserves, discounted at 10% per year. Application of the ceiling test generally requires pricing future revenue at the unescalated prices in effect as of the end of each fiscal quarter and requires a write-down for accounting purposes if the ceiling is exceeded, even if prices were depressed for only a short period of time. We may be required to write down the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties when oil, NGLs and natural gas prices are depressed or unusually volatile. If a write-down is required, it would result in a charge to earnings, but would not impact cash flow from operating activities. Once incurred, a write-down of oil and natural gas properties is not reversible at a later date.

We recorded a non-cash ceiling test write down of $282.0 million pre-tax ($175.5 million, net of tax) during the year ended December 31, 2008 as a result of declines in commodity prices. After December 31, 2008 commodity prices have continued to decrease and should commodity prices remain below December 31, 2008 levels, an additional write-down of the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties will be required for the quarter ending March 31, 2009.

Our drilling equipment, transportation equipment, gas gathering and processing systems and other property and equipment are carried at cost. We are required to periodically test to see if these values, including associated goodwill and other intangible assets, have been impaired whenever events or changes in circumstances suggest the carrying amount may not be recoverable. If any of these assets are determined to be impaired, the loss is

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measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value. An estimate of fair value is based on the best information available, including prices for similar assets. Changes in these estimates could cause us to reduce the carrying value of property, equipment and related intangible assets. Once these values have been reduced, they are not reversible.

Our operations present inherent risks of loss that, if not insured or indemnified against, could adversely affect our results of operations.

Our drilling operations are subject to many hazards inherent in the drilling industry, including blowouts, cratering, explosions, fires, loss of well control, loss of hole, damaged or lost drilling equipment and damage or loss from inclement weather. Our exploration and production and mid-stream operations are subject to these and similar risks. Any of these events could result in personal injury or death, damage to or destruction of equipment and facilities, suspension of operations, environmental damage and damage to the property of others. Generally, drilling contracts provide for the division of responsibilities between a drilling company and its customer, and we seek to obtain indemnification from our drilling customers by contract for some of these risks. To the extent that we are unable to transfer these risks to drilling customers by contract or indemnification agreements, we seek protection from some of these risks through insurance. However, some risks are not covered by insurance and we cannot assure you that the insurance we do have or the indemnification agreements we have entered into will adequately protect us against liability from all of the consequences of the hazards described above. The occurrence of an event not fully insured or indemnified against, or the failure of a customer to meet its indemnification obligations, could result in substantial losses. In addition, we cannot assure you that insurance will be available to cover any or all of these risks. Even if available, the insurance might not be adequate to cover all of our losses, or we might decide against obtaining that insurance because of high premiums or other costs.

In addition, we are not the operator of many of our wells. As a result, our operating risks for those wells and our ability to influence the operations for those wells are less subject to our control. Operators of those wells may act in ways that are not in our best interests.

Governmental and environmental regulations could adversely affect our business.

Our business is subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations on taxation, the exploration for and development, production and marketing of oil and natural gas and safety matters. Many laws and regulations require drilling permits and govern the spacing of wells, rates of production, prevention of waste, unitization and pooling of properties and other matters. These laws and regulations have increased the costs of planning, designing, drilling, installing, operating and abandoning our oil and natural gas wells and other facilities. In addition, these laws and regulations, and any others that are passed by the jurisdictions where we have production, could limit the total number of wells drilled or the allowable production from successful wells, which could limit our revenues.

We are also subject to complex environmental laws and regulations adopted by the various jurisdictions where we own or operate. We could incur liability to governments or third parties for discharges of oil, natural gas or other pollutants into the air, soil or water, including responsibility for remedial costs. We could potentially discharge these materials into the environment in any number of ways including the following:

Because the requirements imposed by laws and regulations are frequently changed, we cannot assure you that laws and regulations enacted in the future, including changes to existing laws and regulations, will not adversely affect our business. The current Congress and newly elected White House administration may impose

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or change laws and regulations that will adversely affect our business. With the trend toward stricter standards, greater regulation and more extensive permit requirements, our risks related to environmental matters and our environmental expenditures could increase in the future. In addition, because we acquire interests in properties that have been operated in the past by others, we may be liable for environmental damage caused by the former operators, which liability could be material.

Any future implementation of price controls on oil, NGLs and natural gas would affect our operations.

Certain groups have asserted efforts to have the United States Congress impose some form of price controls on either natural gas, oil or both. There is no way at this time to know what result these efforts will have nor, if implemented, their effect on our operations. However, it is possible that these efforts, if successful, would serve to limit the amount that we might be able to get for our future oil and natural gas production. Any future limits on the price of oil, NGLs and natural gas could also result in adversely affecting the demand for our drilling services.

Our shareholders’ rights plan and provisions of Delaware law and our by-laws and charter could discourage change in control transactions and prevent shareholders from receiving a premium on their investment.

Our by-laws and charter provide for a classified board of directors with staggered terms and authorizes the board of directors to set the terms of preferred stock. In addition, our charter and Delaware law contain provisions that impose restrictions on business combinations with interested parties. We have also adopted a shareholders’ rights plan. Because of our shareholders’ rights plan and these provisions of our by-laws, charter and Delaware law, persons considering unsolicited tender offers or other unilateral takeover proposals may be more likely to negotiate with our board of directors rather than pursue non-negotiated takeover attempts. As a result, these provisions may make it more difficult for our shareholders to benefit from transactions that are opposed by an incumbent board of directors.

New technologies may cause our current exploration and drilling methods to become obsolete, resulting in an adverse effect on our production.

Our industry is subject to rapid and significant advancements in technology, including the introduction of new products and services using new technologies. As competitors use or develop new technologies, we may be placed at a competitive disadvantage, and competitive pressures may force us to implement new technologies at a substantial cost. In addition, competitors may have greater financial, technical and personnel resources that allow them to enjoy technological advantages and may in the future allow them to implement new technologies before we can. We cannot be certain that we will be able to implement technologies on a timely basis or at a cost that is acceptable to us. One or more of the technologies that we currently use or that we may implement in the future may become obsolete, and we may be adversely affected.

We May Be Affected by Climate Change and Market or Regulatory Responses to Climate Change.

Climate change, including the impact of global warming, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity. Restrictions, caps, taxes, or other controls on emissions of greenhouse gasses, including diesel exhaust, could significantly increase our operating costs. Restrictions on emissions could also affect our customers that (a) use commodities that we carry to produce energy, (b) use significant amounts of energy in producing or delivering the commodities we carry, or (c) manufacture or produce goods that consume significant amounts of energy or burn fossil fuels, including chemical producers, farmers and food producers, and automakers and other manufacturers. Significant cost increases, government regulation, or changes of consumer preferences for goods or services relating to alternative sources of energy or emissions reductions could materially affect the markets for the commodities we carry, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity. Government incentives

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encouraging the use of alternative sources of energy could also affect certain of our customers and the markets for certain of the commodities we carry in an unpredictable manner that could alter our traffic patterns, including, for example, the impacts of ethanol incentives on farming and ethanol producers. Finally, we could face increased costs related to defending and resolving legal claims and other litigation related to climate change and the alleged impact of our operations on climate change. Any of these factors, individually or in operation with one or more of the other factors, or other unforeseen impacts of climate change could reduce the amount of traffic we handle and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity.

The results of our operations depend on our ability to transport oil and gas production to key markets.

The marketability of our oil and natural gas production depends in part on the availability, proximity and capacity of pipeline systems. The unavailability of or lack of available capacity on these systems and facilities could result in the shut-in of producing wells or the delay or discontinuance of development plans for properties. Federal and state regulation of oil and natural gas production and transportation, tax and energy policies, changes in supply and demand, pipeline pressures, damage to or destruction of pipelines and general economic conditions could adversely affect our ability to produce, gather and transport oil and natural gas.

The loss of one or a number of our larger customers could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

During 2008, our largest customer, Questar Corporation accounted for approximately 19% of our contract drilling revenues. No other third party customer accounted for 10% or more of our contract drilling revenues. Any of our customers may choose not to use our services and the loss of one or a number of our larger customers could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our mid-stream segment depends on certain natural gas producers for a significant portion of its supply of natural gas and NGLs. The loss of any of these producers could result in a decline in our volumes and revenues.

We rely on certain natural gas producers for a significant portion of our natural gas and NGL supply. While some of these producers are subject to long-term contracts, we may be unable to negotiate extensions or replacements of these contracts on favorable terms, if at all. The loss of all or even a portion of the natural gas volumes supplied by these producers, as a result of competition or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our mid-stream segment unless we were able to acquire comparable volumes from other sources.

The counterparties to our commodity derivative contracts may not be able to perform their obligations to us, which could materially affect our cash flows and results of operations.

To reduce our exposure to adverse fluctuations in the prices of oil and natural gas, we currently, and may in the future, enter into commodity derivative contracts for a significant portion of our forecasted oil and natural gas production. The extent of our commodity price exposure is related largely to the effectiveness and scope of our derivative activities, as well as to the ability of counterparties under our commodity derivative contracts to satisfy their obligations to us. The recent worldwide financial and credit crisis may have adversely affected the ability of these counterparties to fulfill their obligations to us. If one or more of our counterparties is unable or unwilling to make required payments to us under our commodity derivative contracts, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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None.

The information called for by this item was consolidated with and disclosed in connection with Item 1 above.

We are a party to various legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business, none of which, in our opinion, will result in judgments which would have a material adverse effect on our financial position, operating results or cash flows.

No matters were submitted to our security holders during the fourth quarter of 2008.

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PART II

Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “UNT.” The following table identifies the high and low sales prices per share of our common stock for the periods indicated:

On February 13, 2008, the closing sale price of our common stock, as reported by the NYSE, was $26.27 per share. On that date, there were approximately 1,289 holders of record of our common stock.

We have never declared any cash dividends on our common stock and currently have no plans to do so. Any future determination by our board of directors to pay dividends on our common stock will be made only after considering our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements and other relevant factors. Additionally, our bank credit facility prohibits the payment of cash dividends on our common stock under certain circumstances. For further information regarding our bank credit facility’s impact on our ability to pay dividends see “Our Credit Facility” under Item 7 of this report.

The following table shows selected consolidated financial data. The data should be read in conjunction with Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” for a review of 2008, 2007 and 2006 activity.

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Please read the following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in Item 8 of this report.

General

We were founded in 1963 as a contract drilling company. Today, we operate, manage and analyze our results of operations through our three principal business segments:

Business Outlook

As discussed in other parts of this report, the success of our business and each of our three main operating segments depend, on a large part, on the prices we receive for our natural gas and oil production and the demand for oil and natural gas as well as for our drilling rigs which, in turn, influences the amounts we can charge for the use of those drilling rigs. While our operations are located within the United States, events outside the United States can also impact us and our industry.

Recent events, both within the United States and the world, have brought about significant and immediate changes in the global financial markets which in turn are affecting the United States economy, our industry and us. In the United States, these events and others have had a significant impact on the prices for oil and natural gas as reflected in the following table:

As noted in the table, oil and natural gas prices have declined significantly during recent months in a deteriorating national and global economic environment. The current economic environment and the recent decline in commodity prices is causing us (and other oil and gas companies) to reduce our overall level of drilling activity and spending. When drilling activity and spending decline for any sustained period of time our dayrates and utilization rates also tend to decline. In addition, lower commodity prices for any sustained period of time could impact the liquidity condition of some of our industry partners and customers, which, in turn, might limit their ability to meet their financial obligations to us.

The recent slowdown in the United States and world economies will also result (to varying degrees) in a reduction in the demand for oil and natural gas products by those industries and consumers that use those

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products in their business operations. The degree to which that demand is reduced and for how long it may last are unknown at this time. Significant reductions in demand for our commodities would result in lower prices for our products as well as forcing us to curtail our production of those products and impact our rig utilization which, in turn, would affect our financial results.

The impact on our business and financial results as a consequence of the recent volatility in oil and natural gas prices and the global economic crisis is uncertain in the long term, but in the short term, it has had a number of consequences for us, including the following:

Executive Summary

Contract Drilling

Our fourth quarter 2008 utilization rate was 74%, compared to 85% and 80% in the third quarter 2008 and fourth quarter 2007, respectively. Dayrates for the fourth quarter of 2008 averaged $19,330, an increase of 4% from the third quarter of 2008 and 7% from the fourth quarter of 2007. Direct profit (contract drilling revenue less contract drilling operating expense) decreased 12% from the third quarter of 2008 and 3% from the fourth quarter of 2007, primarily due to the decrease in utilization. Operating cost per day increased 10% from the third quarter of 2008 and increased 10% from the fourth quarter of 2007. In the third quarter of 2008, prices for oil and natural gas started to decrease and continued to decrease throughout the fourth quarter of 2008 and we anticipate will continue to decrease, for an unknown period of time which will further reduce our dayrates and utilization.

We finished constructing one new 1,500 horsepower diesel electric drilling rig which was placed into service in the fourth quarter of 2008 in North Dakota. Mobilization has been delayed on an additional 1,500 horsepower diesel electric drilling rig to work in North Dakota that we previously announced to be placed in service during the first quarter of 2009, pending final negotiations with the customer. Regarding the plans for constructing additional drilling rigs see the above discussion in “Business Outlook”. Our anticipated 2009 capital expenditures for this segment are $77.0 million.

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Oil and Natural Gas

Fourth quarter 2008 production from our oil and natural gas segment was 183,000 Mcfe per day, a 6% increase over the third quarter of 2008 and a 15% increase over the fourth quarter of 2007. The increase from the third quarter 2008 resulted from the third quarter 2008 shut-in of approximately 400 MMcfe of production due to the impact Hurricanes Gustav and Ike had on the infrastructure necessary for ongoing production activity in the affected areas and production from new wells completed during the fourth quarter. The increase from the fourth quarter 2007 resulted from production from new wells completed throughout 2008.

Oil and natural gas revenues decreased 30% from the third quarter of 2008 and decreased 6% from the fourth quarter of 2007. Our oil, natural gas and NGL prices in the fourth quarter of 2008, decreased 24%, 32% and 58%, respectively, from the third quarter of 2008 and our oil, natural gas and NGL prices decreased 12%, 12% and 51%, respectively, from the fourth quarter of 2007. Direct profit (oil and natural gas revenues less oil and natural gas operating expense) decreased 32% from the third quarter of 2008 and decreased 6% from the fourth quarter of 2007. The decrease from the third quarter 2008 and the fourth quarter 2007 primarily resulted from the impact of lower natural gas prices. Operating cost per Mcfe produced decreased 24% from the third quarter of 2008 and decreased 18% from the fourth quarter of 2007. We had hedged 72% of our fourth quarter 2008 average daily oil production and approximately 36% of our fourth quarter 2008 average natural gas production in 2008 to help manage our cash flow and capital expenditure requirements. Currently for 2009, we have hedged 72% of our average daily oil production (based on our fourth quarter 2008 production) and approximately 69% of our average daily natural gas production (based on our fourth quarter 2008 production). Currently for 2010, we have hedged approximately 47% of our average daily natural gas production (based on our fourth quarter 2008 production).

In December 2008, we incurred a non-cash ceiling test write down of our oil and natural gas properties of $282.0 million pre-tax ($175.5 million net of tax) due to low commodity prices at year-end. After December 31, 2008 commodity prices have continued to decrease and should commodity prices remain below December 31, 2008 levels, an additional write-down of the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties will be required for the quarter ending March 31, 2009.

Our estimated production for 2009 is approximately 63.0 to 64.0 Bcfe, or essentially unchanged from our 2008 production. We currently anticipate that we will participate in the drilling of approximately 175 wells during 2009, a decrease of 37% over 2008. Our current anticipated 2009 capital expenditures for this segment are $200.0 million.

Commodity prices which started to decrease during the third quarter of 2008, continued to decrease throughout the fourth quarter of 2008 and into 2009. We anticipate these prices will remain at their current lower levels for an indeterminable period of time. As a result of these lower commodity prices combined with service costs that remain relatively high, we began slowing our drilling activity during the fourth quarter of 2008 and will continue to do so into 2009. In the Mid-Continent area, natural gas spot prices have been very weak and in certain situations we have shut-in production rather than selling the production at those prices.

Mid-Stream

Fourth quarter 2008 liquids sold per day decreased 1% from the third quarter of 2008 and increased 16% from the fourth quarter of 2007. Liquids sold per day decreased from the third quarter of 2008 primarily due to operating the processing plants in an ethane rejection mode due to an extremely low ethane price, and increased from the fourth quarter of 2007 primarily as the result of upgrades and expansions to existing plants. Gas processed per day increased 2% and 23% over the third quarter of 2008 and the fourth quarter of 2007, respectively. In 2007, we upgraded several of our existing processing facilities and added three processing plants which was the primary reason for increased volumes. Gas gathered per day decreased 4% from the third quarter of 2008 and 12% from the fourth quarter of 2007 primarily from our Southeast Oklahoma gathering system experiencing natural production declines associated with connected wells.

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NGL prices, including hedges, in the fourth quarter of 2008 decreased 41% from the price received in the third quarter of 2008 and decreased 31% over the price received in the fourth quarter of 2007. The price of liquids as compared to natural gas affects the revenue in our mid-stream operations and determines the fractionation spread which is the difference in the value received for the NGLs recovered from natural gas in comparison to the amount received for the equivalent MMBtu’s of natural gas if unprocessed. We had hedged 50% of our fourth quarter 2008 average fractionation spread volumes to help manage our cash flow from this segment in 2008. We currently do not have any fractionation spread hedges in place for 2009 and beyond.

Direct profit (mid-stream revenues less mid-stream operating expense) decreased 57% from the third quarter of 2008 and decreased 43% from the fourth quarter of 2007. The decrease from the third quarter 2008 and the fourth quarter 2007 resulted primarily from decreased commodity prices. Total operating cost for our mid-stream segment decreased 45% from the third quarter of 2008 and decreased 24% from the fourth quarter of 2007. Our anticipated capital expenditures for 2009 for this segment are $13.0 million. Commodity prices started to decline in the third quarter of 2008, continued to decrease throughout the fourth quarter of 2008 and into 2009. Prices may continue to decrease or remain at their current lower levels for an indeterminable period of time, which could result in fewer wells being connected to existing gathering systems and lower fractionation spreads resulting in possible future declines in volumes or margins.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Summary

In this section, we identify those critical accounting policies we follow in preparing our financial statements and related disclosures. Many of these policies require us to make difficult, subjective and complex judgments in the course of making estimates of matters that are inherently imprecise. Some accounting policies involve judgments and uncertainties to such an extent that there is reasonable likelihood that materially different amounts could have been reported under different conditions, or if different assumptions had been used. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on a regular basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates and assumptions used in preparation of our financial statements. In the following discussion we will attempt to explain the nature of these estimates, assumptions and judgments, as well as the likelihood that materially different amounts would be reported in our financial statements under different conditions or using different assumptions.

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The following table lists the critical accounting policies, estimates and assumptions that can have a significant impact on the application of these accounting policies, and the financial statement accounts affected by these estimates and assumptions.

Significant Estimates and Assumptions

Full Cost Method of Accounting for Oil, NGLs and Natural Gas Properties.    The determination and valuation of our oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves is a very subjective process. It entails estimating underground accumulations of oil, NGLs and natural gas that cannot be measured in an exact manner. The degree of accuracy of these estimates depends on a number of factors, including, the quality and availability of geological and engineering data, the precision of the interpretations of that data, and individual judgments based on experience and training. Each year, we hire an independent petroleum engineering firm to audit our internal evaluation of

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our oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves. The wells or locations for which estimates of reserves were audited were reserves that comprised the top 82% of the total proved discounted future net cash flows based on the unescalated pricing policy of the SEC as taken from reserve and income projections prepared by us as of December 31, 2008.

As a general rule, the degree of accuracy of oil, NGLs and natural gas reserve estimates varies with the reserve classification and the related accumulation of available data, as shown in the following table:

Assumptions as to future oil, NGLs and natural gas prices and operating and capital costs also play a significant role in estimating oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves and the estimated present value of the cash flows to be received from the future production of those reserves. Volumes of recoverable reserves are influenced by the assumed prices and costs due to what is known as the economic limit (that point in the future when the projected costs and expenses of producing recoverable oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves is greater than the projected revenues from the oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves). But more significantly, the estimated present value of the future cash flows from our oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves is extremely sensitive to prices and costs, and may vary materially based on different assumptions. SEC financial accounting and reporting standards require that the pricing we use be tied to the price we received for our oil, NGLs and natural gas on the last day of the reporting period. This requirement can result in significant changes from period to period given the volatile nature of oil, NGLs and natural gas prices. For example, based on our year end 2008 oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves, a $1.00 decline in the price used to calculate our economically recoverable oil and NGLs reserves will reduce our estimated oil reserves by 63,000 barrels and estimated NGL reserves by 28,000 barrels and a $0.10 decline in the price of natural gas used to calculate our natural gas reserves will reduce our estimated economically recoverable natural gas reserves by 1,401,000 Mcf. Estimated future cash flows discounted at 10% before income taxes would change by $31.7 million.

We compute our provision for DD&A on a units-of-production method. Each quarter, we use the following formulas to compute the provision for DD&A for our producing properties:

Oil, NGLs and natural gas reserve estimates have a significant impact on our DD&A rate. If reserve estimates for a property or group of properties are revised downward in the future, the DD&A rate will increase as a result of the revision. Alternatively, if reserve estimates are revised upward, the DD&A rate will decrease. Based on our 2008 production level of 63,368,000 equivalent Mcf, a 5% decline in the amount of our 2008 oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves would increase our DD&A rate by $0.13 per Mcfe and would decrease pre-tax income by $8.2 million annually. A 5% increase in the amount of our 2008 oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves would decrease our DD&A rate by $0.12 per Mcfe and would increase pre-tax income by $7.6 million annually.

We account for our oil and natural gas exploration and development activities using the full cost method of accounting. Under this method, all costs incurred in the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties are capitalized. At the end of each quarter, the net capitalized costs of our oil and natural gas properties are limited to the lower of unamortized cost or a ceiling. The ceiling is defined as the sum of the present value (using a 10% discount rate) of the estimated future net revenues from our proved reserves, based on period-end oil, NGLs and natural gas prices adjusted for any cash flow hedges, plus the lower of cost or estimated fair value of unproved properties not included in the costs being amortized, less related income taxes. If the net capitalized costs of our oil and natural gas properties exceed the ceiling, we are required to write-down

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the excess amount. A ceiling test write-down is a non-cash charge to earnings. If required, it reduces earnings and impacts shareholders’ equity in the period of occurrence and results in lower depreciation, depletion and amortization expense in future periods. Once incurred, a write-down cannot be reversed.

The risk that we will be required to write-down the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties increases when oil, NGLs and natural gas prices are depressed or if we have large downward revisions in our estimated proved oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves. Application of these rules during periods of relatively low oil or natural gas prices, even if temporary, increases the chance of a ceiling test write-down. Based on December 31, 2008 unescalated prices of $44.60 per barrel of oil, $26.04 per barrel of NGLs and $5.71 per Mcf of natural gas, adjusted for regional price differentials, for the estimated life of the respective properties, the unamortized cost of our oil and natural gas properties exceeded the ceiling of our proved oil, NGL and natural gas reserves. We recorded a non-cash ceiling test write down of $282.0 million pre-tax ($175.5 million, net of tax) during the year ended December 31, 2008 as a result of these declines in commodity prices. After December 31, 2008 commodity prices have continued to decrease and should commodity prices remain below December 31, 2008 levels, an additional write-down of the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties will be required for the quarter ending March 31, 2009.

Derivative instruments qualifying as cash flow hedges are to be included in the computation of limitation on capitalized costs. Our qualifying cash flow hedges as of December 31, 2008, which consisted of swaps and collars, covered 40.2 Bcfe and 23.7 Bcfe in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The effect of these cash flow hedges was a $96.0 million pre-tax increase in the value of our oil and natural gas properties. Our oil and natural gas hedging activities are discussed in Note 12 of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

We use the sales method for recording natural gas sales. This method allows for the recognition of revenue, which may be more or less than our share of pro-rata production from certain wells. Our policy is to expense our pro-rata share of lease operating costs from all wells as incurred. The expenses relating to the wells in which we have an imbalance are not material.

Accounting for ARO for Oil, NGLs and Natural Gas Properties.    We record the fair value of liabilities associated with the retirement of assets having a long life. In our case, when the reserves in each of our oil or gas wells deplete or otherwise become uneconomical, we are required to incur costs to plug and abandon the wells. These costs under Financial Accounting Standards No. 143 (FAS 143), “Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations,” are recorded in the period in which the liability is incurred (at the time the wells are drilled or acquired). We do not have any assets restricted for the purpose of settling these plugging liabilities. Our engineering staff uses historical experience to determine the estimated plugging costs taking into account the type of well (either oil or natural gas), the depth of the well and physical location of the well to determine the estimated plugging costs.

Accounting for Impairment of Long-Lived Assets.    Drilling equipment, transportation equipment, gas gathering and processing systems and other property and equipment are carried at cost. Renewals and enhancements are capitalized while repairs and maintenance are expensed. Realization of the carrying value of property and equipment is reviewed for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances suggest that these carrying amounts may not be recoverable. Assets are determined to be impaired if a forecast of undiscounted estimated future net operating cash flows directly related to the asset, including disposal value if any, is less than the carrying amount of the asset. If any asset is determined to be impaired, the loss is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value. The estimate of fair value is based on the best information available, including prices for similar assets. Changes in these estimates could cause us to reduce the carrying value of property and equipment. An estimate of the impact to our earnings if other assumptions had been used is not practicable because of the significant number of assumptions that would be involved in the estimates. No impairment was recorded at December 31, 2008.

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Goodwill.    Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of acquisitions over the fair value of the net assets acquired. An annual impairment test is performed in the fourth quarter to determine whether the fair value has decreased and additionally when events indicate an impairment may have occurred. Goodwill is all related to our drilling segment, and accordingly, the impairment test is based on the estimated discounted future net cash flows of our drilling segment, utilizing discount rates and other factors in determining the fair value of our drilling segment. No goodwill impairment was recorded at December 31, 2008.

Turnkey and Footage Drilling Contracts.    In our contract drilling operations, because we do not bear the risk of completion of a well being drilled under a “daywork” contract, we recognize revenues and expense generated under “daywork” contracts as the services are performed. Under “footage” and “turnkey” contracts we bear the risk of completion of the well, so revenues and expenses are recognized when the well is substantially completed. Substantial completion is determined when the well bore reaches the depth specified in the contract. The entire amount of a loss, if any, is recorded when the loss can be reasonably determined, however, any profit is recorded only at the time the well is finished. The costs of drilling contracts uncompleted at the end of the reporting period (which includes expenses incurred to date on “footage” or “turnkey” contracts) are included in other current assets. In 2008 and 2007, we did not drill any wells under turnkey or footage contracts.

Mid-Stream Contracts.    We recognize revenue from the gathering and processing of natural gas and NGLs in the period the service is provided based on contractual terms.

Accounting for Value of Stock Compensation Awards.    Effective January 1, 2006, we adopted SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004), “Share-Based Payment,” (SFAS 123(R)) to account for stock-based compensation. Under this method, compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of an award and is recognized over the service period, which is usually the vesting period. We elected to use the modified prospective method for adoption, which requires compensation expense to be recorded for all unvested stock options and other equity-based compensation beginning in the first quarter of adoption. The determination of the fair value of an award requires significant estimates and subjective judgments regarding, among other things, the appropriate option pricing model, the expected life of the award and performance vesting criteria assumptions. As there are inherent uncertainties related to these factors and our judgment in applying them to the fair value determinations, there is risk that the recorded stock compensation may not accurately reflect the amount ultimately earned by the employee.

Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging.    We account for derivative contracts to hedge against possible future interest rate increases and the variability in cash flows associated with the forecasted sale of our future natural gas, NGLs and oil production under Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 133 (subsequently amended by Financial Accounting Standard No.’s 137, 138 and 149), “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities” (FAS 133). We have hedged a portion of our anticipated oil, NGLs and natural gas production for the next 12-24 months. This statement requires all derivatives to be recognized on the balance sheet and measured at fair value. If a derivative is designated as a cash flow hedge, we are required to measure the effectiveness of the hedge, or the degree that the gain (loss) for the hedging instrument offsets the loss (gain) on the hedged item, at each reporting period. The effective portion of the gain (loss) on the derivative instrument is recognized in other comprehensive income as a component of equity and subsequently reclassified into earnings when the forecasted transaction affects earnings. The ineffective portion of a derivative’s change in fair value is required to be recognized in earnings immediately. Derivatives that do not qualify for hedge treatment under FAS 133 must be recorded at fair value with gains (losses) recognized in earnings in the period of change.

New Accounting Standards

Fair Value Measurements.    In September 2006, the FASB issued Statement No. 157 (FAS 157), “Fair Value Measurements,” which establishes a framework for measuring fair value and requires additional disclosures about fair value measurements. Beginning January 1, 2008, we partially applied FAS 157 as allowed by FASB Staff Position (FSP) 157-2, which delayed the effective date of FAS 157 for nonfinancial assets and

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liabilities. As of January 1, 2008, we have applied the provisions of FAS 157 to our financial instruments and the impact was not material. Under FSP 157-2, we will be required to apply FAS 157 to our nonfinancial assets and liabilities beginning January 1, 2009. We do not anticipate the applicability of FAS 157 to our nonfinancial assets and liabilities will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Business Combinations.    In December 2007, the FASB issued Statement No. 141R (FAS 141R), “Business Combinations,” which will require most identifiable assets, liabilities, noncontrolling interest (previously referred to as minority interests) and goodwill acquired in a business combination to be recorded at full fair value. FAS 141R is effective for our year beginning January 1, 2009, and will be applied prospectively. We do not anticipate the adoption of FAS 141R will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements, absent any material business combinations.

Noncontrolling Interests.    In December 2007, the FASB issued Statement No. 160 (FAS 160), “Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Financial Statements—an Amendment to ARB No. 51,” which requires noncontrolling interests (previously referred to as minority interests) to be reported as a component of equity. FAS 160 is effective for our year beginning January 1, 2009, and will require retroactive adoption of the presentation and disclosure requirements for existing minority interests. Since we currently do not have any noncontrolling interests, this standard does not presently have an impact on us.

Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities.    In March 2008, the FASB issued Statement No. 161 (FAS 161), “Disclosures About Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities—an Amendment of FASB Statement 133,” which requires enhanced disclosures about how derivative and hedging activities affect our financial position, financial performance and cash flows. FAS 161 is effective for our year beginning January 1, 2009, and will be applied prospectively. This statement will not have a significant impact on us due to it only requiring enhanced disclosures.

Modernization of Oil and Gas Reporting.    On December 31, 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted major revisions to its rules governing oil and gas company reporting requirements. These include provisions that permit the use of new technologies to determine proved reserves, and that allow companies to disclose their probable and possible reserves to investors. The current rules limit disclosure to only proved reserves. The new disclosure requirements also require companies to report the independence and qualifications of the auditor of the reserve estimates and file reports when a third party is relied upon to prepare reserves estimates. The new rules also require that oil and gas reserves be reported and the full cost ceiling value calculated using an average price based upon the first-of-month posted price for each month in the prior twelve-month period. The new oil and gas reporting requirements are effective for annual reports on Form 10-K for fiscal years ending on or after December 31, 2009, with early adoption not permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact the new rules may have on our consolidated financial statements.

Financial Condition and Liquidity

Summary.    Our financial condition and liquidity depends on the cash flow from our operations and borrowings under our bank credit facility. Our cash flow is influenced mainly by:

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The following is a summary of certain financial information as of December 31, and for the years ended December 31: