Laredo Petroleum Completes $185 Million Acquisition of Strategic Assets

Laredo Petroleum, Inc., a privately-held oil and gas exploration and production company, announced today that it recently completed its acquisition of $185 million of strategic assets located in the Verden area of south central Oklahoma from Linn Energy. The transaction encompasses a total of 50,000 net acres and proven reserves of 45 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent.

Laredo Petroleum, Inc. was formed in May 2007 by CEO Randy Foutch, who previously founded Lariat Petroleum, Inc. and Latigo Petroleum, Inc., in partnership with Warburg Pincus. Laredo was formed to pursue the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and gas properties in the Mid-Continent region of the United States. Expanding from the drilling of its first operated well in June 2007, Laredo is currently running seven drilling rigs and has committed to five additional rigs, to continue its aggressive drilling program on its 225,000 gross acres position.

As part of its ongoing growth strategy, the company announced that it remains on-track to invest a total of $200 million in capital expenditures during 2008, growing to over $350 million for 2009, excluding acquisitions.

Randy Foutch, Chairman and CEO, stated, “We have experienced significant success with our drilling activities during our short history. The completion of our acquisition of the Verden properties, combined with our existing core areas in the Texas Panhandle and Permian basin, should further accelerate our growth. We remain focused on the pursuit of additional acquisition and exploration opportunities in the Mid-Continent region.”

Peter R. Kagan, a Warburg Pincus Managing Director, said, “We are very pleased with the progress that Laredo Petroleum has made in building a durable company of significant scale with an excellent portfolio of assets.”

About Laredo Petroleum

Laredo Petroleum, Inc. is a rapidly growing independent oil and gas company with headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Laredo’s business strategy is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and gas properties in the Mid-Continent region of the United States. Formed with financial support from its management team and global private equity firm Warburg Pincus, Laredo is led by Randy Foutch and a highly talented team of technical professionals, many of whom worked together for many years successfully building Lariat Petroleum and Latigo Petroleum, both former Warburg Pincus portfolio companies, among other industry experience. For additional information, please contact Mark Womble, CFO at Laredo Petroleum: phone (918) 513-4570, or visit www.laredopetro.com.

About Warburg Pincus

Warburg Pincus has been a leading private equity investor since 1971. The firm currently has more than $35 billion of assets under management. Over the past 20 years, Warburg Pincus has invested more than $3.4 billion in more than 30 companies in the energy-sector worldwide. The firm has been the lead investor in numerous successful public and private oil and gas exploration and production companies, including: Newfield Exploration Co., Spinnaker Exploration, Inc. (since acquired by Norsk Hydro ASA), Encore Acquisition Company, Bill Barrett Corp., MEG Energy Corp., Antero Resources Corp., and Kosmos Energy. Warburg Pincus has an active portfolio of more than 125 portfolio companies, and has offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai and Tokyo. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com.