**Exhibit 31.1**

 

Certification of Principal Executive Officer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) of theSecurities Exchange Act of 1934

 

I, Michael J. Mauceli, certify that:

 

1.               I have reviewed this AnnualReport on Form 10-K of Reef Global Energy VIII, L.P. for the fiscal yearended December 31, 2008;

 

2.               Based on my knowledge, thisannual report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omitto state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of thecircumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading withrespect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.               Based on my knowledge, thefinancial statements, and other financial information included in this report,fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results ofoperations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periodspresented in this report;

 

4.               The registrant’s othercertifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing andmaintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and15d-15(e)), and internal control over financial reporting (as defined inExchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) for the registrantand have:

 

a)              Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, orcaused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under oursupervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant,including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others withinthose entities, particularly during the period in which this report is beingprepared;

 

b)             Designed such internal control over financialreporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to bedesigned under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliabilityof financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for externalpurposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

c)              Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’sdisclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusionsabout the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of theend of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

d)             Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’sinternal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’sfourth fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely tomaterially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

5.               The registrant’s other certifyingofficer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internalcontrol over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the auditcommittee of registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing theequivalent functions):

 

a)              All significant deficiencies and material weaknessesin the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting whichare reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record,process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

b)             Any fraud, whether or not material, that involvesmanagement or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’sinternal control over financial reporting.

 

 
| Date:  April 15, 2009 | By:  Reef Oil & Gas Partners, L.P.    |
|----------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
|                       | Managing  General Partner                      |
|                       |                                           |
|                       | By:  Reef Oil & Gas Partners, GP, LLC |
|                       | By:                                            | /s/  Michael J. Mauceli |
|                       | Michael  J. Mauceli                            |
|                       | Manager  and Member                            |
|                       | (principal  executive officer)                 |

 

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