• Executive of the Year: XTO Energy Inc.’s Bob Simpson, whose leadership has

resulted in the Fort Worth-based independent’s growth to a top-tier U.S. gas

producer, via acquisitions, drilling and joint ventures.

• Best Discovery: Denver-based Bill Barrett Corp. for its 100%-workinginterest

Peter’s Point 6-7D, a 15,349-foot exploratory test in the Uinta Basin, Utah.

The well was completed in the Navajo, Entrada and Dakota formations with initial,

combined, gross production of 11.4 million cubic feet equivalent per day.

• M&A Deal of the Year: Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. for its

$2.2-billion acquisition of Appalachian Basin-focused Columbia Natural Resources.

The deal gives Chesapeake 1.1 trillion cubic feet of proved gas reserves and puts

the basin on the map for more competitive acquisition prices.

• Financing of the Year: Dallas-based Comstock Resources Inc. and Houston-based

Bois d’Arc Offshore Ltd. for their spin-out of joint Gulf of Mexico interests as Bois

d’Arc Energy, Inc. in an IPO.

• Best Field Rejuvenation: Fort Worth-based Range Resources Corp. for its

production expansion in the West Fuhrman-Mascho unit in the Permian Basin,

Andrews County, Texas. Discovered in the 1930s, the unit is producing at an alltime

high as a result of infill drilling and refracing.

• Best Investor Relations Program: Houston-based ATP Oil & Gas Corp., which saw

its stock price grow 99% in 2005 and increased analyst coverage significantly.

• Best Corporate Citizen: Carpenteria, Calif.-based Venoco Inc. for its communityoutreach

and environmental programs in southern California.