**Exhibit 10.14****SEPARATION AGREEMENT**     THIS SEPARATION AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made and effective as of the 21st day of November,2005, by and between**Encore Acquisition Company**, a Delaware corporation (including itssubsidiaries and affiliates, the “Company”), and **Roy W. Jageman**(“Employee”).     1.     Termination of Employment: Effective as of October 31, 2005 (the “SeveranceDate”), the Employee has resigned his employment and any and all director and officer positions hehas held with the Company and any affiliates.     2.     Severance Payments and Other Benefits:          (a)     In lieu of severance under any other plan or arrangement of the Company, if the Waiver andRelease has been executed as set forth in Section 12 and not revoked prior to the 8th day followingthe date of execution (the “Waiver Effective Date”) and the Employee is otherwise in compliancewith this Agreement on the relevant payment date, the Company shall pay to the Employee (or hisestate as applicable) the following severance payments (the “Severance Payments”): (i) within 30days following the Waiver Effective Date, the Company shall pay to the Employee a lump sum paymentequal to $300,000 and (ii) on March 15, 2006, the Company shall pay to the Employee a lump sumpayment equal to $290,000.          (b)     The parties agree that all unvested options and restricted stock are forfeited as of theSeverance Date. Subject to and in accordance with the governing plan and option agreement(s), theEmployee may exercise any vested and exercisable options to the extent outstanding and unexercisedas of the Severance Date until the earlier of (i) the date 3 months following the Severance Date or(ii) the expiration of the original term of the option.          (c)     The Employee will be given the opportunity to elect continuation coverage under theCompany’s group health plan at his expense in accordance with the applicable plan terms andapplicable law. All other benefits will cease as of the Severance Date. The Employee may elect toreceive his vested account balance under the Company’s 401(k) plan in accordance with the plan’sterms.     3.     Confidentiality and Noncompetition:          (a)     The Company has provided the Employee with Confidential Information regarding the Companyand the Company’s business. In return for this and other consideration provided under thisAgreement, the Employee agrees that he will not disclose or make available to any other person orentity, or use for his own personal gain, any Confidential Information, except for such disclosuresas required in the performance of his duties hereunder or as required pursuant to any law orgovernmental regulation or ruling. For purposes of this Agreement, “Confidential Information”shall mean any and all information, data and knowledge that has been created, discovered, developedor otherwise become known to the Company or any of its
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affiliates or ventures or in which property rights have been assigned or otherwise conveyed tothe Company or any of its affiliates or ventures, which information, data or knowledge hascommercial value in the business in which the Company is engaged, except such information, data orknowledge as is or becomes known to the public without violation of the terms of this Agreement.By way of illustration, but not limitation, Confidential Information includes trade secrets;prospects and strategies for the acquisition, exploration, development, exploitation and productionof oil and natural gas reserves and alternative financial structures for partnering with othercompanies with respect thereto; processes; formulas; know-how; improvements; discoveries;developments; designs; inventions; techniques (including, without limitation, financial andproduction techniques); marketing plans; manuals; records of research; reports (including, withoutlimitation, reserve reports); memoranda; computer software; strategies; forecasts; new products;unpublished financial statements or parts thereof; budgets or other financial information;projections; licenses; prices; costs; and employee, customer and supplier lists or parts thereof.          (b)     The Employee recognizes that in each of the highly competitive businesses in which theCompany is engaged, the Company’s trade secrets and other Confidential Information, along withpersonal contacts, are of primary importance in (i) identifying, acquiring, exploring for,developing, exploiting and producing oil and natural gas reserves and joint venture opportunities,and (ii) retaining the accounts and goodwill of present customers and joint venture partners andprotecting the business of the Company. The Employee, therefore, agrees that until the date sixmonths after the Severance Date, (A) he will not (i) acquire, for his own account or the account ofany business in which he owns more than 5% of the outstanding capital stock, any interest in anyoil or natural gas property in any county in which the Company has operations as of the SeveranceDate or in the Texas counties of Ward, Reeves, Pecos, Midland, Upton, or Terrell (collectively, the“Relevant Geographic Area”), (ii) accept employment, advise, assist or render service in any way toany person that competes with the Company in the acquisition, exploration, development,exploitation or production of oil and natural gas (or in pursuing joint ventures to pursue any ofsuch activities) in the Relevant Geographic Area or (iii) enter into or take part in or lend hisname, counsel or assistance to any business, either as proprietor, principal, investor, partner,director, officer, executive, consultant, advisor, agent, independent contractor, or in any othercapacity whatsoever, for any purpose that would be competitive with the acquisition, exploration,development, exploitation, production or joint venture activities of the Company or any of itsaffiliated companies in the Relevant Geographic Area and (B) he will not, on his own behalf or onbehalf of any person, firm or company, directly or indirectly, solicit or offer employment to anyperson who has been employed by the Company or any subsidiary thereof at any time during theone-year period immediately preceding such solicitation (all of the foregoing activities arecollectively referred to as the “Prohibited Activity”).          (c)     The Employee shall not, directly or indirectly, make or cause to be made and shall use hisbest efforts to cause the officers, directors, employee, agents and representatives of any entityor person controlled by the Employee not to make or cause to be made, any disparaging, denigrating,derogatory or other negative, misleading or false statement orally or in writing to any person orentity, including members of the investment community, press, and customers, competitors andadvisors to the Company, about the Company, its shareholders,
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subsidiaries or affiliates, their respective officers or members of their boards of directors,or the business strategy or plans, policies, practices or operations of the Company, itsshareholders, subsidiaries or affiliates; provided, however, that nothing in this Agreement shallapply to or restrict in any way the communication of information by the Employee to any state orfederal law enforcement agency or require notice to the Company thereof. The Company agrees to useits best efforts to prevent its officers, directors, managers, supervisors, employees, agents andrepresentatives from making any disparaging, denigrating, derogatory or other negative, misleadingor false statements orally or in writing to any person or entity, including members of theinvestment community, press, and customers, competitors and advisors to the Company regardingEmployee; provided, however, that nothing in this Agreement shall apply to or restrict in any waythe communication of information by the Company to any state or federal law enforcement agency orrequire notice to the Employee thereof.          (d)     In addition to all other remedies at law or in equity which the Company may have forbreach of a provision of this Section 3 by the Employee, it is agreed that in the event of anybreach (or, for purposes of securing injunctive relief, any threatened breach) of any suchprovision, the Company shall be entitled to immediately cease any payment otherwise required underSection 2, shall be entitled to repayment upon demand of any amounts previously paid pursuant toSection 2 and, upon application to any court of proper jurisdiction, to a temporary restrainingorder or preliminary injunction (without the necessity of (i) proving irreparable harm, (ii)establishing that monetary damages are inadequate or (iii) posting any bond with respect thereto)against the Employee prohibiting such breach or threatened breach by proving only the existence ofsuch breach or attempted or threatened breach. The parties agree that Employee’s contacting theCompany for purposes of discussing whether a potential opportunity would constitute ProhibitedActivity shall not be considered a threatened breach of this Section 3. If the provisions of thisSection 3 should ever be deemed to exceed the time, geographic or occupational limitationspermitted by the applicable law, the Employee and the Company agree that such provisions shall beand are hereby reformed to the maximum time, geographic or occupational limitations permitted bythe applicable law.          (e)     The covenants of the Employee set forth in this Section 3 are independent of and severablefrom every other provision of this Agreement; and the breach of any other provision of thisAgreement by the Company or the breach by the Company of any other agreement between the Companyand the Employee shall not affect the validity of the provisions of this Section 3 or constitute adefense of the Employee in any suit or action brought by the Company to enforce any of theprovisions of this Section 3 or seek any relief for the breach thereof by the Employee.          (f)     The Employee acknowledges, agrees and stipulates that: (i) the terms and provisions ofthis Agreement are reasonable and constitute an otherwise enforceable agreement to which the termsand provisions of this Section 3 are ancillary or a part of; (ii) the consideration provided by theCompany under this Agreement is not illusory; and (iii) the consideration given by the Companyunder this Agreement, including, without limitation, the provision by the Company of ConfidentialInformation to the Employee as contemplated by this Section 3, gives rise to the Company’s interestin restraining and prohibiting the Employee from engaging in the
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Prohibited Activity within the Relevant Geographic Area as provided under this Section 3, andthe Employee’s covenant not to engage in the Prohibited Activity within the Relevant GeographicArea pursuant to this Section 3 is designed to enforce the Employee’s consideration (or returnpromises), including, without limitation, the Employee’s promise to not disclose ConfidentialInformation under this Agreement.     4.     Expenses: The Company and the Employee shall each be responsible for their owncosts and expenses, including, without limitation, court costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred as aresult of any claim, action or proceeding arising out of, or challenging the validity orenforceability of, this Agreement or any provisions hereof.     5.     Notices: For purposes of this Agreement, notices and all other communicationsprovided for herein shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when personallydelivered or when mailed by United States registered or certified mail, return receipt requested,postage prepaid, addressed as follows:       If to the Company: Encore Acquisition Company    777 Main Street, Suite 1400    Fort Worth, TX 76102    Attention: President       If to the Employee: Roy W. Jageman    2818 Simondale Dr.    Fort Worth, TX 76109or to such other address as either party may furnish to the other in writing in accordanceherewith, except that notices of changes of address shall be effective only upon receipt.     6.     Applicable Law: The validity, interpretation, construction and performance of thisAgreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the substantive laws of the State ofTexas, but without giving effect to the principles of conflict of laws of such State.     7.     Severability: If a court of competent jurisdiction determines that any provisionof this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable, then the invalidity or unenforceability of thatprovision shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision of this Agreementand all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.     8.     Withholding of Taxes: The Company may withhold from any benefits payable underthis Agreement all federal, state, city or other taxes as may be required pursuant to any law orgovernmental regulation or ruling.     9.     No Assignment; Successors: The Employee’s right to receive payments or benefitshereunder shall not be assignable or transferable, whether by pledge, creation or a securityinterest or otherwise, whether voluntary, involuntary, by operation of law or otherwise, other thanby will or by the laws of descent or distribution, and in the event of any attempted assignment ortransfer contrary to this Section 9 the Company shall have no liability to pay any
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amount so attempted to be assigned or transferred. This Agreement shall inure to the benefitof and be enforceable by the Employee’s personal or legal representatives, executors,administrators, successors, heirs, distributees, devisees and legatees. This Agreement shall bebinding upon and inure to the benefit of the Company, its successors and assigns (including,without limitation, any company into or with which the Company may merge or consolidate).     10.     Effect of Prior Agreements: This Agreement contains the entire understandingbetween the parties hereto and supersedes any prior employment agreement or severance agreementbetween the Company or any predecessor of the Company and the Employee, including, withoutlimitation, the Employee Severance Protection Plan.     11.     Amendment and Waiver: This Agreement may be amended or modified only upon thewritten consent of the Company and the Employee. The obligations of a party and the rights of anyother party under this Agreement (including, without limitation, the obligations of the Employeeunder Section 3) may be waived only with the written consent of such other party.     12.     Release of Claims: In consideration for the compensation and other benefitsprovided pursuant to this Agreement, the Employee agrees to execute a “Waiver and Release” insubstantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A upon his termination of employment. TheCompany’s obligation to pay the Severance Payments pursuant to Section 2 of this Agreement areexpressly conditioned on the Employee’s execution of this Waiver and Release without revoking itprior to the Waiver Effective Date, and the Employee’s failure to execute and deliver (withoutrevoking) such Waiver and Release will void the Company’s remaining obligations hereunder.[The remainder of this page is intentionally blank. Signature page to follow.]
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     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed and delivered as ofthe date first written above.      **ENCORE ACQUISITION COMPANY**