Document:

ex10_1.htm

Exhibit 10.1

SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT

This Securities Purchase Agreement (this “Agreement”) is dated as of October 6, 2010, between ERHC Energy Inc., a Colorado corporation (the “Company”), and each purchaser identified on the signature pages hereto (each, including its successors and assigns, a “Purchaser” and collectively the “Purchasers”).

WHEREAS, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the Company desires to issue and sell to each Purchaser, and each Purchaser, severally and not jointly, desires to purchase from the Company, securities of the Company as more fully described in this Agreement.

NOW, THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERATION of the mutual covenants contained in this Agreement, and for other good and valuable consideration the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and each Purchaser agree as follows:

ARTICLE I.

DEFINITIONS

1.1           Definitions.   In addition to the terms defined elsewhere in this Agreement, for all purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings set forth in this Section 1.1:

“Acquiring Person” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.5.

“Action” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(j).

“Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act.

“Board of Directors” means the board of directors of the Company.

“Business Day” means any day except any Saturday, any Sunday, any day which is a federal legal holiday in the United States or any day on which banking institutions in the State of New York are authorized or required by law or other governmental action to close.

“Closing” means the closing of the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to Section 2.1.

“Closing Date” means the Trading Day on which all of the Transaction Documents have been executed and delivered by the applicable parties thereto, and all conditions precedent to (i) the Purchasers’ obligations to pay the Subscription Amount and (ii) the Company’s obligations to deliver the Securities, in each case, have been satisfied or waived, but in no event later than the third Trading Day following the date hereof.

  

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“Commission” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Common Stock” means the common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share, and any other class of securities into which such securities may hereafter be reclassified or changed.

“Common Stock Equivalents” means any securities of the Company or the Subsidiaries which would entitle the holder thereof to acquire at any time Common Stock, including, without limitation, any debt, preferred stock, right, option, warrant or other instrument that is at any time convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or otherwise entitles the holder thereof to receive, Common Stock.

“Company Counsel” means Thompson & Knight LLP, with offices located at 900 Third Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, New York 10022.

“Evaluation Date” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(r).

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

“Exempt Issuance” means the issuance of (a) shares of Common Stock or options to employees, officers or directors of the Company pursuant to any stock or option plan duly adopted for such purpose, by a majority of the non-employee members of the Board of Directors or a majority of the members of a committee of non-employee directors established for such purpose, (b) securities upon the exercise or exchange of or conversion of any Securities issued hereunder and/or other securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding on the date of this Agreement, provided that such securities have not been amended since the date of this Agreement to increase the number of such securities or to decrease the exercise price, exchange price or conversion price of such securities, (c) securities issued pursuant to mergers, acquisitions or strategic transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested directors of the Company, provided that the Company is not issuing securities primarily for the purpose of raising capital or to an entity whose primary business is investing in securities, and (d) securities issued pursuant to stock splits, stock dividends or distributions, recapitalizations and similar events affecting the Common Stock.

“FCPA” means the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.

“GAAP” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).

“Indebtedness” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(z).

“Intellectual Property Rights” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(o).

“Liens” means a lien, charge, pledge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first refusal, preemptive right or other restriction.

  

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“Material Adverse Effect” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.1(b).

“Material Permits” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(m).

“Per Share Purchase Price” equals $0.22, subject to adjustment for reverse and forward stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and other similar transactions of the Common Stock that occur after the date of this Agreement.

“Person” means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind.

“Pro Rata Portion” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.11(e).

“Proceeding” means an action, claim, suit, investigation or proceeding (including, without limitation, an informal investigation or partial proceeding, such as a deposition), whether commenced or threatened.

“Prospectus” means the final prospectus filed for the Registration Statement.

“Prospectus Supplement” means the supplement to the Prospectus complying with Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act that is filed with the Commission and delivered by the Company to each Purchaser at the Closing.

“Purchaser Party” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.8.

“Registration Statement” means the effective registration statement with Commission file No. 333-168012 which registers the sale of the Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares to the Purchasers.

“Required Approvals” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(e).

“Rule 144” means Rule 144 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended or interpreted from time to time, or any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission having substantially the same purpose and effect as such Rule.

“Rule 424” means Rule 424 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended or interpreted from time to time, or any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission having substantially the same purpose and effect as such Rule.

“SEC Reports” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).

  

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“Securities” means the Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares.

“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

“Shares” means the shares of Common Stock issued or issuable to each Purchaser pursuant to this Agreement.

“Short Sales” means all “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act (but shall not be deemed to include the location and/or reservation of borrowable shares of Common Stock).

 “Subscription Amount” means, as to each Purchaser, the aggregate amount to be paid for Shares and Warrants purchased hereunder as specified below such Purchaser’s name on the signature page of this Agreement and next to the heading “Subscription Amount,” in United States dollars and in immediately available funds.

 “Subsidiary” means any subsidiary of the Company as set forth in the SEC Reports, and shall, where applicable, also include any direct or indirect subsidiary of the Company formed or acquired after the date hereof.

“Trading Day” means a day on which the principal Trading Market is open for trading.

“Trading Market” means any of the following markets or exchanges on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted for trading on the date in question: the NYSE AMEX, the Nasdaq Capital Market, the Nasdaq Global Market, the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the New York Stock Exchange or the OTC Bulletin Board (or any successors to any of the foregoing).

“Transaction Documents” means this Agreement, the Warrants and any other documents or agreements executed in connection with the transactions contemplated hereunder.

“Transfer Agent” means Corporate Stock Transfer, Inc., the current transfer agent of the Company, with a mailing address of 3200 Cherry Creek Drive South, Suite 430, Denver, Colorado 80209 and a facsimile number of (303) 282-5800, and any successor transfer agent of the Company.

“Variable Rate Transaction” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.12(b).

“Warrants” means, collectively, the Common Stock purchase warrants delivered to the Purchasers at the Closing in accordance with Section 2.2(a) hereof, which Warrants shall be exercisable immediately and have a term of exercise equal to 5 years, in the form of Exhibit A attached hereto.

  

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“Warrant Shares” means the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants.

“WS” means Weinstein Smith LLP with offices located at 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2620, New York, New York 10170-0002.

ARTICLE II.

PURCHASE AND SALE

2.1           Closing.  On the Closing Date, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, substantially concurrent with the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the parties hereto, the Company agrees to sell, and the Purchasers, severally and not jointly, agree to purchase, up to an aggregate of $2,000,000 of Shares and Warrants.  Each Purchaser shall deliver to the Company, via wire transfer or a certified check, immediately available funds equal to such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount as set forth on the signature page hereto executed by such Purchaser and the Company shall deliver to each Purchaser its respective Shares and a Warrant as determined pursuant to Section 2.2(a), and the Company and each Purchaser shall deliver the other items set forth in Section 2.2 deliverable at the Closing.  Upon satisfaction of the covenants and conditions set forth in Sections 2.2 and 2.3, the Closing shall occur at the offices of WS or such other location as the parties shall mutually agree.

2.2           Deliveries.

(a)           On or prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to each Purchaser the following:

(i)             this Agreement duly executed by the Company;

(ii)           a legal opinion of Company Counsel, substantially in the form of Exhibit B attached hereto;

(iii)           a copy of the irrevocable instructions to the Company’s transfer agent instructing the transfer agent to deliver via The Depository Trust Company Deposit or Withdrawal at Custodian system (“DWAC”) Shares equal to such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount divided by the Per Share Purchase Price, registered in the name of such Purchaser;

(iv)           a Warrant registered in the name of such Purchaser to purchase up to a number of shares of Common Stock equal to 75% of such Purchaser’s Shares, with an exercise price equal to $0.28, subject to adjustment therein (such Warrant certificate may be delivered within three Trading Days of the Closing Date); and

(v)           the Prospectus and Prospectus Supplement (which may be delivered in accordance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act).

(b)           On or prior to the Closing Date, each Purchaser shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the Company the following:

  

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(i)             this Agreement duly executed by such Purchaser; and

(ii)           such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount by wire transfer to the account as specified in writing by the Company.

2.3           Closing Conditions.

(a)           The obligations of the Company hereunder in connection with the Closing are subject to the following conditions being met:

(i)             the accuracy in all material respects on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Purchasers contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein in which case they shall be accurate as of such date);

(ii)            all obligations, covenants and agreements of each Purchaser required to be performed at or prior to the Closing Date shall have been performed; and

(iii)           the delivery by each Purchaser of the items set forth in Section 2.2(b) of this Agreement.

(b)           The respective obligations of the Purchasers hereunder in connection with the Closing are subject to the following conditions being met:

(i)             the accuracy in all material respects when made and on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein);

(ii)           all obligations, covenants and agreements of the Company required to be performed at or prior to the Closing Date shall have been performed;

(iii)           the delivery by the Company of the items set forth in Section 2.2(a) of this Agreement;

(iv)          there shall have been no Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company since the date hereof; and

(v)           from the date hereof to the Closing Date, trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended by the Commission or the Company’s principal Trading Market, and, at any time prior to the Closing Date, trading in securities generally as reported by Bloomberg L.P. shall not have been suspended or limited, or minimum prices shall not have been established on securities whose trades are reported by such service, or on any Trading Market, nor shall a banking moratorium have been declared either by the United States or New York State authorities nor shall there have occurred any material outbreak or escalation of hostilities or other national or international calamity of such magnitude in its effect on, or any material adverse change in, any financial market which, in each case, in the reasonable judgment of such Purchaser, makes it impracticable or inadvisable to purchase the Securities at the Closing.

  

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ARTICLE III.

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

3.1           Representations and Warranties of the Company.  The Company hereby makes the following representations and warranties to each Purchaser:

(a)           Subsidiaries.  All of the direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Company are set forth in the SEC Reports.  The Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the capital stock or other equity interests of each Subsidiary free and clear of any Liens, and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Subsidiary are validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and free of preemptive and similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities.  If the Company has no subsidiaries, all other references to the Subsidiaries or any of them in the Transaction Documents shall be disregarded.

(b)           Organization and Qualification.  The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is an entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, with the requisite power and authority to own and use its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation nor default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents.  Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, could not have or reasonably be expected to result in: (i) a material adverse effect on the legality, validity or enforceability of any Transaction Document, (ii) a material adverse effect on the results of operations, assets, business, prospects or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iii) a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under any Transaction Document (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “Material Adverse Effect”) and no Proceeding has been instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing or seeking to revoke, limit or curtail such power and authority or qualification.

(c)           Authorization; Enforcement.  The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder.  The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents by the Company and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Company and no further action is required by the Company, the Board of Directors or the Company’s stockholders in connection herewith or therewith other than in connection with the Required Approvals.  This Agreement and each other Transaction Document to which it is a party has been (or upon delivery will have been) duly executed by the Company and, when delivered in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof, will constitute the valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.

  

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(d)           No Conflicts.  The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party, the issuance and sale of the Securities and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not and will not (i) conflict with or violate any provision of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents, or (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation (with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of, any agreement, credit facility, debt or other instrument (evidencing a Company or Subsidiary debt or otherwise) or other understanding to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which any property or asset of the Company or any Subsidiary is bound or affected, or (iii) subject to the Required Approvals, conflict with or result in a violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment, injunction, decree or other restriction of any court or governmental authority to which the Company or a Subsidiary is subject (including federal and state securities laws and regulations), or by which any property or asset of the Company or a Subsidiary is bound or affected; except in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), such as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(e)           Filings, Consents and Approvals.  The Company is not required to obtain any consent, waiver, authorization or order of, give any notice to, or make any filing or registration with, any court or other federal, state, local or other governmental authority or other Person in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Transaction Documents, other than: (i) the filings required pursuant to Section 4.4 of this Agreement, (ii) the filing with the Commission of the Prospectus Supplement, (iii) application(s) to each applicable Trading Market for the listing of the Shares and Warrant Shares for trading thereon in the time and manner required thereby and (iv) such filings as are required to be made under applicable state securities laws (collectively, the “Required Approvals”).

(f)            Issuance of the Securities; Registration.  The Securities are duly authorized and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the applicable Transaction Documents, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company.  The Warrant Shares, when issued in accordance with the terms of the Warrants, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company.  The Company has reserved from its duly authorized capital stock the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to this Agreement and the Warrants. The Company has prepared and filed the Registration Statement in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act, which became effective on August 31, 2010 (the “Effective Date”), including the Prospectus, and such amendments and supplements thereto as may have been required to the date of this Agreement.  The Registration Statement is effective under the Securities Act and no stop order preventing or suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus has been issued by the Commission and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or, to the knowledge of the Company, are threatened by the Commission.  The Company, if required by the rules and regulations of the Commission, proposes to file the Prospectus, with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b).  At the time the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto became effective, at the date of this Agreement and at the Closing Date, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, at time the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto was issued and at the Closing Date, conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

  

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(g)           Capitalization.  The capitalization of the Company is as set forth in the SEC Reports.  Except as set forth in the Prospectus Supplement, the Company has not issued any capital stock since its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act, other than pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options under the Company’s stock option plans, the issuance of shares of Common Stock to employees pursuant to the Company’s employee stock purchase plans and pursuant to the conversion and/or exercise of Common Stock Equivalents outstanding as of the date of the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act.  No Person has any right of first refusal, preemptive right, right of participation, or any similar right to participate in the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.  Except as a result of the purchase and sale of the Securities, there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities, rights or obligations convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or giving any Person any right to subscribe for or acquire, any shares of Common Stock, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue additional shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents.  The issuance and sale of the Securities will not obligate the Company to issue shares of Common Stock or other securities to any Person (other than the Purchasers) and will not result in a right of any holder of Company securities to adjust the exercise, conversion, exchange or reset price under any of such securities. All of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, have been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws, and none of such outstanding shares was issued in violation of any preemptive rights or similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities.  No further approval or authorization of any stockholder, the Board of Directors or others is required for the issuance and sale of the Securities.  There are no stockholders agreements, voting agreements or other similar agreements with respect to the Company’s capital stock to which the Company is a party or, to the knowledge of the Company, between or among any of the Company’s stockholders.

  

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(h)           SEC Reports; Financial Statements.  The Company has filed all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) thereof, for the two years preceding the date hereof (or such shorter period as the Company was required by law or regulation to file such material) (the foregoing materials, including the exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, together with the Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement, being collectively referred to herein as the “SEC Reports”) on a timely basis or has received a valid extension of such time of filing and has filed any such SEC Reports prior to the expiration of any such extension.  As of their respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Company has never been an issuer subject to Rule 144(i) under the Securities Act. The financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the rules and regulations of the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing.  Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (“GAAP”), except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial, year-end audit adjustments.

(i)            Material Changes; Undisclosed Events, Liabilities or Developments.  Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, except as specifically disclosed in a subsequent SEC Report filed prior to the date hereof, (i) there has been no event, occurrence or development that has had or that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) the Company has not incurred any liabilities (contingent or otherwise) other than (A) trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (B) liabilities not required to be reflected in the Company’s financial statements pursuant to GAAP or disclosed in filings made with the Commission, (iii) the Company has not altered its method of accounting, (iv) the Company has not declared or made any dividend or distribution of cash or other property to its stockholders or purchased, redeemed or made any agreements to purchase or redeem any shares of its capital stock and (v) the Company has not issued any equity securities to any officer, director or Affiliate, except pursuant to existing Company stock option plans.  The Company does not have pending before the Commission any request for confidential treatment of information.  Except for the issuance of the Securities contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth in the Prospectus Supplement, no event, liability, fact, circumstance, occurrence or development has occurred or exists or is reasonably expected to occur or exist with respect to the Company or its Subsidiaries or their respective businesses, prospects, properties, operations, assets or financial condition that would be required to be disclosed by the Company under applicable securities laws at the time this representation is made or deemed made that has not been publicly disclosed at least 1 Trading Day prior to the date that this representation is made.

  

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(j)            Litigation.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, there is no action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation, proceeding or investigation pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties before or by any court, arbitrator, governmental or administrative agency or regulatory authority (federal, state, county, local or foreign) (collectively, an “Action”) which (i) adversely affects or challenges the legality, validity or enforceability of any of the Transaction Documents or the Securities or (ii) could, if there were an unfavorable decision, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any director or officer thereof, is or has been the subject of any Action involving a claim of violation of or liability under federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary duty.  There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the Commission involving the Company or any current or former director or officer of the Company.  The Commission has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed by the Company or any Subsidiary under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act.

(k)           Labor Relations.  No labor dispute exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent with respect to any of the employees of the Company, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.  None of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ employees is a member of a union that relates to such employee’s relationship with the Company or such Subsidiary, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to a collective bargaining agreement, and the Company and its Subsidiaries believe that their relationships with their employees are good.  To the knowledge of the Company, no executive officer of the Company or any Subsidiary, is, or is now expected to be, in violation of any material term of any employment contract, confidentiality, disclosure or proprietary information agreement or non-competition agreement, or any other contract or agreement or any restrictive covenant in favor of any third party, and the continued employment of each such executive officer does not subject the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any liability with respect to any of the foregoing matters.  The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, except where the failure to be in compliance could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

  

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(l)            Compliance.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary: (i) is in default under or in violation of (and no event has occurred that has not been waived that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would result in a default by the Company or any Subsidiary under), nor has the Company or any Subsidiary received notice of a claim that it is in default under or that it is in violation of, any indenture, loan or credit agreement or any other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties is bound (whether or not such default or violation has been waived), (ii) is in violation of any judgment, decree or order of any court, arbitrator or other governmental authority or (iii) is or has been in violation of any statute, rule, ordinance or regulation of any governmental authority, including without limitation all foreign, federal, state and local laws relating to taxes, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, product quality and safety and employment and labor matters, except in each case as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(m)           Regulatory Permits.  The Company and the Subsidiaries possess all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports, except where the failure to possess such permits could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (“Material Permits”), and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Material Permit.

(n)           Title to Assets.  The Company and the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property owned by them and good and marketable title in all personal property owned by them that is material to the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all Liens, except for (i) Liens as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries and (ii) Liens for the payment of federal, state or other taxes, for which appropriate reserves have been made in accordance with GAAP and, the payment of which is neither delinquent nor subject to penalties.  Any real property and facilities held under lease by the Company and the Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with which the Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance.

(o)           Intellectual Property.  The Company and the Subsidiaries have, or have rights to use, all patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark applications, service marks, trade names, trade secrets, inventions, copyrights, licenses and other intellectual property rights and similar rights necessary or required for use in connection with their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports and which the failure to so have could have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, the “Intellectual Property Rights”).  None of, and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received a notice (written or otherwise) that any of, the Intellectual Property Rights has expired, terminated or been abandoned, or is expected to expire or terminate or be abandoned, within two (2) years from the date of this Agreement.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, a written notice of a claim or otherwise has any knowledge that the Intellectual Property Rights violate or infringe upon the rights of any Person, except as could not have or reasonably be expected to not have a Material Adverse Effect.  To the knowledge of the Company, all such Intellectual Property Rights are enforceable and there is no existing infringement by another Person of any of the Intellectual Property Rights.  The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken reasonable security measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of all of their intellectual properties, except where failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

  

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(p)           Insurance.  The Company and the Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which the Company and the Subsidiaries are engaged, including, but not limited to, directors and officers insurance coverage at least equal to the aggregate Subscription Amount.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business without a significant increase in cost.

(q)           Transactions With Affiliates and Employees.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, none of the officers or directors of the Company or any Subsidiary and, to the knowledge of the Company, none of the employees of the Company or any Subsidiary is presently a party to any transaction with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, providing for the borrowing of money from or lending of money to or otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director or such employee or, to the knowledge of the Company, any entity in which any officer, director, or any such employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee, stockholder, member or partner, in each case in excess of $120,000 other than for (i) payment of salary or consulting fees for services rendered, (ii) reimbursement for expenses incurred on behalf of the Company and (iii) other employee benefits, including stock option agreements under any stock option plan of the Company.

(r)            Sarbanes-Oxley; Internal Accounting Controls.  The Company is in material compliance with all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that are effective as of the date hereof, and any and all applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder that are effective as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date.

(s)           Certain Fees.  Except as set forth in the Prospectus Supplement, no brokerage or finder’s fees or commissions are or will be payable by the Company or any Subsidiary to any broker, financial advisor or consultant, finder, placement agent, investment banker, bank or other Person with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.  The Purchasers shall have no obligation with respect to any fees or with respect to any claims made by or on behalf of other Persons for fees of a type contemplated in this Section that may be due in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.

  

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(t)            Investment Company. The Company is not, and is not an Affiliate of, and immediately after receipt of payment for the Securities, will not be or be an Affiliate of, an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.  The Company shall conduct its business in a manner so that it will not become an “investment company” subject to registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

(u)           Registration Rights.  No Person has any right to cause the Company or any Subsidiary to effect the registration under the Securities Act of any securities of the Company or any Subsidiary.

(v)           Listing and Maintenance Requirements.  The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or which to its knowledge is likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission is contemplating terminating such registration.  The Company has not, in the 12 months preceding the date hereof, received notice from any Trading Market on which the Common Stock is or has been listed or quoted to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements of such Trading Market.

(w)           Application of Takeover Protections.  The Company and the Board of Directors have taken all necessary action, if any, in order to render inapplicable any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or other similar anti takeover provision under the Company’s certificate of incorporation (or similar charter documents) or the laws of its state of incorporation that is or could become applicable to the Purchasers as a result of the Purchasers and the Company fulfilling their obligations or exercising their rights under the Transaction Documents, including without limitation as a result of the Company’s issuance of the Securities and the Purchasers’ ownership of the Securities.

(x)           Disclosure.  Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, the Company confirms that neither it nor any other Person acting on its behalf has provided any of the Purchasers or their agents or counsel with any information that it believes constitutes or might constitute material, non-public information which is not otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus Supplement.   The Company understands and confirms that the Purchasers will rely on the foregoing representation in effecting transactions in securities of the Company.  All of the disclosure furnished by or on behalf of the Company to the Purchasers regarding the Company and its Subsidiaries, their respective businesses and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Disclosure Schedules to this Agreement, is true and correct and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The press releases disseminated by the Company during the twelve months preceding the date of this Agreement taken as a whole do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made and when made, not misleading.  The Company acknowledges and agrees that no Purchaser makes or has made any representations or warranties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby other than those specifically set forth in Section 3.2 hereof.

  

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(y)           No Integrated Offering. Assuming the accuracy of the Purchasers’ representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.2, neither the Company, nor any of its Affiliates, nor any Person acting on its or their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would cause this offering of the Securities to be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of any applicable shareholder approval provisions of any Trading Market on which any of the securities of the Company are listed or designated.

(z)           Solvency.  Based on the consolidated financial condition of the Company as of the Closing Date, after giving effect to the receipt by the Company of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities hereunder, (i) the fair saleable value of the Company’s assets exceeds the amount that will be required to be paid on or in respect of the Company’s existing debts and other liabilities (including known contingent liabilities) as they mature, (ii) the Company’s assets do not constitute unreasonably small capital to carry on its business as now conducted and as proposed to be conducted including its capital needs taking into account the particular capital requirements of the business conducted by the Company, consolidated and projected capital requirements and capital availability thereof, and (iii) the current cash flow of the Company, together with the proceeds the Company would receive, were it to liquidate all of its assets, after taking into account all anticipated uses of the cash, would be sufficient to pay all amounts on or in respect of its liabilities when such amounts are required to be paid.  The Company does not intend to incur debts beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature (taking into account the timing and amounts of cash to be payable on or in respect of its debt).  The Company has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances which lead it to believe that it will file for reorganization or liquidation under the bankruptcy or reorganization laws of any jurisdiction within one year from the Closing Date.  The SEC Reports set forth as of the date hereof all outstanding secured and unsecured Indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiary, or for which the Company or any Subsidiary has commitments.  For the purposes of this Agreement, “Indebtedness” means (x) any liabilities for borrowed money or amounts owed in excess of $50,000 (other than trade accounts payable incurred in the ordinary course of business), (y) all guaranties, endorsements and other contingent obligations in respect of indebtedness of others, whether or not the same are or should be reflected in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet (or the notes thereto), except guaranties by endorsement of negotiable instruments for deposit or collection or similar transactions in the ordinary course of business; and (z) the present value of any lease payments in excess of $50,000 due under leases required to be capitalized in accordance with GAAP.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in default with respect to any Indebtedness.

  

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(aa)         Tax Status.  Except for matters that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its Subsidiaries each (i) has made or filed all United States federal, state and local income and all foreign income and franchise tax returns, reports and declarations required by any jurisdiction to which it is subject, (ii) has paid all taxes and other governmental assessments and charges that are material in amount, shown or determined to be due on such returns, reports and declarations and (iii) has set aside on its books provision reasonably adequate for the payment of all material taxes for periods subsequent to the periods to which such returns, reports or declarations apply.  There are no unpaid taxes in any material amount claimed to be due by the taxing authority of any jurisdiction, and the officers of the Company or of any Subsidiary know of no basis for any such claim.

(bb)         Foreign Corrupt Practices.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, any agent or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary, has (i) directly or indirectly, used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses related to foreign or domestic political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to any foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds, (iii) failed to disclose fully any contribution made by the Company or any Subsidiary (or made by any person acting on its behalf of which the Company is aware) which is in violation of law, or (iv) violated in any material respect any provision of FCPA.

(cc)         Accountants.  The Company’s accounting firm is set forth in the SEC Reports.  To the knowledge and belief of the Company, such accounting firm (i) is a registered public accounting firm as required by the Exchange Act and (ii) shall express its opinion with respect to the financial statements to be included in the Company’s next Annual Report on Form 10-K.

(dd)         Acknowledgment Regarding Purchasers’ Purchase of Securities.  The Company acknowledges and agrees that each of the Purchasers is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length purchaser with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby.  The Company further acknowledges that no Purchaser is acting as a financial advisor or fiduciary of the Company (or in any similar capacity) with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby and any advice given by any Purchaser or any of their respective representatives or agents in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby is merely incidental to the Purchasers’ purchase of the Securities.  The Company further represents to each Purchaser that the Company’s decision to enter into this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents has been based solely on the independent evaluation of the transactions contemplated hereby by the Company and its representatives.

  

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(ee)         Acknowledgement Regarding Purchaser’s Trading Activity.  Anything in this Agreement or elsewhere herein to the contrary notwithstanding (except for Sections 3.2(e) and 4.14 hereof), it is understood and acknowledged by the Company that: (i) none of the Purchasers has been asked by the Company to agree, nor has any Purchaser agreed, to desist from purchasing or selling, long and/or short, securities of the Company, or “derivative” securities based on securities issued by the Company or to hold the Securities for any specified term; (ii) past or future open market or other transactions by any Purchaser, specifically including, without limitation, Short Sales or “derivative” transactions, before or after the closing of this or future private placement transactions, may negatively impact the market price of the Company’s publicly-traded securities; (iii) any Purchaser, and counter-parties in “derivative” transactions to which any such Purchaser is a party, directly or indirectly, presently may have a “short” position in the Common Stock, and (iv) each Purchaser shall not be deemed to have any affiliation with or control over any arm’s length counter-party in any “derivative” transaction.  The Company further understands and acknowledges that (y) one or more Purchasers may engage in hedging activities at various times during the period that the Securities are outstanding, including, without limitation, during the periods that the value of the Warrant Shares deliverable with respect to Securities are being determined, and (z) such hedging activities (if any) could reduce the value of the existing stockholders' equity interests in the Company at and after the time that the hedging activities are being conducted.  The Company acknowledges that such aforementioned hedging activities do not constitute a breach of any of the Transaction Documents.

(ff)           Regulation M Compliance.  The Company has not, and to its knowledge no one acting on its behalf has, (i) taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Securities, (ii) sold, bid for, purchased, or, paid any compensation for soliciting purchases of, any of the Securities, or (iii) paid or agreed to pay to any Person any compensation for soliciting another to purchase any other securities of the Company, other than, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), compensation paid to the Company’s placement agent in connection with the placement of the Securities.

(gg)         Office of Foreign Assets Control.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary nor, to the Company's knowledge, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company  or any Subsidiary is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”).

(hh)         U.S. Real Property Holding Corporation.  The Company is not and has never been a U.S. real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the Company shall so certify upon Purchaser’s request.

(ii)           Bank Holding Company Act.  Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates is subject to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”) and to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”).  Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates owns or controls, directly or indirectly, five percent (5%) or more of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities or twenty-five percent or more of the total equity of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.  Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates exercises a controlling influence over the management or policies of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.

  

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(jj)           Money Laundering.  The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any Subsidiary with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, threatened.

3.2           Representations and Warranties of the Purchasers.  Each Purchaser, for itself and for no other Purchaser, hereby represents and warrants as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date to the Company as follows (unless as of a specific date therein):

(a)           Organization; Authority.  Such Purchaser is either an individual or an entity duly incorporated or formed, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation with full right, corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and performance by such Purchaser of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar action, as applicable, on the part of such Purchaser.  Each Transaction Document to which it is a party has been duly executed by such Purchaser, and when delivered by such Purchaser in accordance with the terms hereof, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of such Purchaser, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except: (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.

(b)           Understandings or Arrangements.  Such Purchaser is acquiring the Securities as principal for its own account and has no direct or indirect arrangement or understandings with any other persons to distribute or regarding the distribution of such Securities (this representation and warranty not limiting such Purchaser’s right to sell the Securities pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws).  Such Purchaser is acquiring the Securities hereunder in the ordinary course of its business.

(c)           Purchaser Status.  At the time such Purchaser was offered the Securities, it was, and as of the date hereof it is, and on each date on which it exercises any Warrants, it will be either: (i) an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7) or (a)(8) under the Securities Act or (ii) a “qualified institutional buyer” as defined in Rule 144A(a) under the Securities Act.  Such Purchaser is not required to be registered as a broker-dealer under Section 15 of the Exchange Act.

  

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(d)           Experience of Such Purchaser.  Such Purchaser, either alone or together with its representatives, has such knowledge, sophistication and experience in business and financial matters so as to be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the prospective investment in the Securities, and has so evaluated the merits and risks of such investment.  Such Purchaser is able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Securities and, at the present time, is able to afford a complete loss of such investment.

(e)           Certain Transactions and Confidentiality.  Other than consummating the transactions contemplated hereunder, such Purchaser has not, nor has any Person acting on behalf of or pursuant to any understanding with such Purchaser, directly or indirectly executed any purchases or sales, including Short Sales, of the securities of the Company during the period commencing as of the time that such Purchaser first received a term sheet (written or oral) from the Company or any other Person representing the Company setting forth the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereunder and ending immediately prior to the execution hereof.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Purchaser that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the representation set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Securities covered by this Agreement.  Other than to other Persons party to this Agreement, such Purchaser has maintained the confidentiality of all disclosures made to it in connection with this transaction (including the existence and terms of this transaction). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for avoidance of doubt, nothing contained herein shall constitute a representation or warranty, or preclude any actions, with respect to the identification of the availability of, or securing of, available shares to borrow in order to effect Short Sales or similar transactions in the future.

The Company acknowledges and agrees that the representations contained in Section 3.2 shall not modify, amend or affect such Purchaser’s right to rely on the Company’s representations and warranties contained in this Agreement or any representations and warranties contained in any other Transaction Document or any other document or instrument executed and/or delivered in connection with this Agreement or the consummation of the transaction contemplated hereby.

ARTICLE IV.

OTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE PARTIES

4.1           Warrant Shares.  If all or any portion of a Warrant is exercised at a time when there is an effective registration statement to cover the issuance or resale of the Warrant Shares or if the Warrant is exercised via cashless exercise, the Warrant Shares issued pursuant to any such exercise shall be issued free of all legends.  If at any time following the date hereof the Registration Statement (or any subsequent registration statement registering the sale or resale of the Warrant Shares) is not effective or is not otherwise available for the sale or resale of the Warrant Shares, the Company shall immediately notify the holders of the Warrants in writing that such registration statement is not then effective and thereafter shall promptly notify such holders when the registration statement is effective again and available for the sale or resale of the Warrant Shares (it being understood and agreed that the foregoing shall not limit the ability of the Company to issue, or any Purchaser to sell, any of the Warrant Shares in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws).  The Company shall use best efforts to keep a registration statement (including the Registration Statement) registering the issuance or resale of the Warrant Shares effective during the term of the Warrants.

  

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4.2           Furnishing of Information.  Until the earliest of the time that (i) no Purchaser owns Securities or (ii) the Warrants have expired, the Company covenants to timely file (or obtain extensions in respect thereof and file within the applicable grace period) all reports required to be filed by the Company after the date hereof pursuant to the Exchange Act even if the Company is not then subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act.

4.3           Integration.  The Company shall not sell, offer for sale or solicit offers to buy or otherwise negotiate in respect of any security (as defined in Section 2 of the Securities Act) that would be integrated with the offer or sale of the Securities for purposes of the rules and regulations of any Trading Market such that it would require shareholder approval prior to the closing of such other transaction unless shareholder approval is obtained before the closing of such subsequent transaction.

4.4           Securities Laws Disclosure; Publicity.  The Company shall (a) by 9:00 a.m. (New York City time) on the Trading Day immediately following the date hereof, issue a press release disclosing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby, and (b) file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including the Transaction Documents as exhibits thereto, with the Commission within the time required by the Exchange Act.  From and after the issuance of such press release, the Company represents to the Purchasers that it shall have publicly disclosed all material, non-public information delivered to any of the Purchasers by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or agents in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.  The Company and each Purchaser shall consult with each other in issuing any other press releases with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby, and neither the Company nor any Purchaser shall issue any such press release nor otherwise make any such public statement without the prior consent of the Company, with respect to any press release of any Purchaser, or without the prior consent of each Purchaser, with respect to any press release of the Company, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld or delayed, except if such disclosure is required by law, in which case the disclosing party shall promptly provide the other party with prior notice of such public statement or communication.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not publicly disclose the name of any Purchaser, or include the name of any Purchaser in any filing with the Commission or any regulatory agency or Trading Market, without the prior written consent of such Purchaser, except (a) as required by federal securities law in connection with the filing of final Transaction Documents (including signature pages thereto) with the Commission and (b) to the extent such disclosure is required by law or Trading Market regulations, in which case the Company shall provide the Purchasers with prior notice of such disclosure permitted under this clause (b).

  

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4.5           Shareholder Rights Plan.  No claim will be made or enforced by the Company or, with the consent of the Company, any other Person, that any Purchaser is an “Acquiring Person” under any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or similar anti-takeover plan or arrangement in effect or hereafter adopted by the Company, or that any Purchaser could be deemed to trigger the provisions of any such plan or arrangement, by virtue of receiving Securities under the Transaction Documents or under any other agreement between the Company and the Purchasers.

4.6           Non-Public Information.  Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, the Company covenants and agrees that neither it, nor any other Person acting on its behalf will provide any Purchaser or its agents or counsel with any information that the Company believes constitutes material non-public information, unless prior thereto such Purchaser shall have entered into a written agreement with the Company regarding the confidentiality and use of such information.  The Company understands and confirms that each Purchaser shall be relying on the foregoing covenant in effecting transactions in securities of the Company.

4.7           Use of Proceeds.  Except as set forth in the Prospectus Supplement, the Company shall use the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities hereunder for working capital purposes and shall not use such proceeds: (a) for the satisfaction of any portion of the Company’s debt (other than payment of trade payables in the ordinary course of the Company’s business and prior practices), (b) for the redemption of any Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents, (c) for the settlement of any outstanding litigation or (d) in violation of FCPA or OFAC regulations.

4.8           Indemnification of Purchasers.  Subject to the provisions of this Section 4.8, the Company will indemnify and hold each Purchaser and its directors, officers, shareholders, members, partners, employees and agents (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title), each Person who controls such Purchaser (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act and Section 20 of the Exchange Act), and the directors, officers, shareholders, agents, members, partners or employees (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title) of such controlling persons (each, a “Purchaser Party”) harmless from any and all losses, liabilities, obligations, claims, contingencies, damages, costs and expenses, including all judgments, amounts paid in settlements, court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of investigation that any such Purchaser Party may suffer or incur as a result of or relating to (a) any breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by the Company in this Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents or (b) any action instituted against the Purchaser Parties in any capacity, or any of them or their respective Affiliates, by any stockholder of the Company who is not an Affiliate of such Purchaser Party, with respect to any of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents (unless such action is based upon a breach of such Purchaser Party’s representations, warranties or covenants under the Transaction Documents or any agreements or understandings such Purchaser Party may have with any such stockholder or any violations by such Purchaser Party of state or federal securities laws or any conduct by such Purchaser Party which constitutes fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct or malfeasance).  If any action shall be brought against any Purchaser Party in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to this Agreement, such Purchaser Party shall promptly notify the Company in writing, and the Company shall have the right to assume the defense thereof with counsel of its own choosing reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser Party.  Any Purchaser Party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Purchaser Party except to the extent that (i) the employment thereof has been specifically authorized by the Company in writing, (ii) the Company has failed after a reasonable period of time to assume such defense and to employ counsel or (iii) in such action there is, in the reasonable opinion of counsel, a material conflict on any material issue between the position of the Company and the position of such Purchaser Party, in which case the Company shall be responsible for the reasonable fees and expenses of no more than one such separate counsel.  The Company will not be liable to any Purchaser Party under this Agreement (y) for any settlement by a Purchaser Party effected without the Company’s prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; or (z) to the extent, but only to the extent that a loss, claim, damage or liability is attributable to any Purchaser Party’s breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by such Purchaser Party in this Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents. The indemnification required by this Section 4.8 shall be made by periodic payments of the amount thereof during the course of the investigation or defense, as and when bills are received or are incurred. The indemnity agreements contained herein shall be in addition to any cause of action or similar right of any Purchaser Party against the Company or others, and (y) any liabilities the Company may be subject to pursuant to law.

  

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4.9           Reservation of Common Stock.  As of the date hereof, the Company has reserved and the Company shall continue to reserve and keep available at all times, free of preemptive rights, a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock for the purpose of enabling the Company to issue Shares pursuant to this Agreement and Warrant Shares pursuant to any exercise of the Warrants.

4.10         Listing of Common Stock.  The Company hereby agrees to use best efforts to maintain the listing or quotation of the Common Stock on the Trading Market on which it is currently listed, and concurrently with the Closing, the Company shall apply to list or quote all of the Shares and Warrant Shares on such Trading Market and promptly secure the listing of all of the Shares and Warrant Shares on such Trading Market. The Company further agrees, if the Company applies to have the Common Stock traded on any other Trading Market, it will then include in such application all of the Shares and Warrant Shares, and will take such other action as is necessary to cause all of the Shares and Warrant Shares to be listed or quoted on such other Trading Market as promptly as possible.  The Company will then take all action reasonably necessary to continue the listing and trading of its Common Stock on a Trading Market and will comply in all respects with the Company’s reporting, filing and other obligations under the bylaws or rules of the Trading Market.

4.11         [Intentionally Omitted].

4.12         Subsequent Equity Sales.

  

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(a)            From the date hereof until 60 days after the Closing Date, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary shall issue, enter into any agreement to issue or announce the issuance or proposed issuance of any shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents.

(b)           From the date hereof until such time as no Purchaser holds any of the Warrants, the Company shall be prohibited from effecting or entering into an agreement to effect any issuance by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents for cash consideration (or a combination of units hereof) involving a Variable Rate Transaction.  “Variable Rate Transaction” means a transaction in which the Company (i) issues or sells any debt or equity securities that are convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for, or include the right to receive additional shares of Common Stock either (A) at a conversion price, exercise price or exchange rate or other price that is based upon and/or varies with the trading prices of or quotations for the shares of Common Stock at any time after the initial issuance of such debt or equity securities, or (B) with a conversion, exercise or exchange price that is subject to being reset at some future date after the initial issuance of such debt or equity security or upon the occurrence of specified or contingent events directly or indirectly related to the business of the Company or the market for the Common Stock or (ii) enters into any agreement, including, but not limited to, an equity line of credit, whereby the Company may sell securities at a future determined price.  Any Purchaser shall be entitled to obtain injunctive relief against the Company to preclude any such issuance, which remedy shall be in addition to any right to collect damages.

(c)            Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Section 4.12 shall not apply in respect of an Exempt Issuance, except that no Variable Rate Transaction shall be an Exempt Issuance.

4.13         Equal Treatment of Purchasers.  No consideration (including any modification of any Transaction Document) shall be offered or paid to any Person to amend or consent to a waiver or modification of any provision of any of the Transaction Documents unless the same consideration is also offered to all of the parties to the Transaction Documents.  For clarification purposes, this provision constitutes a separate right granted to each Purchaser by the Company and negotiated separately by each Purchaser, and is intended for the Company to treat the Purchasers as a class and shall not in any way be construed as the Purchasers acting in concert or as a group with respect to the purchase, disposition or voting of Securities or otherwise.

4.14         Certain Transactions and Confidentiality.  Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that neither it nor any Affiliate acting on its behalf or pursuant to any understanding with it will execute any purchases or sales, including Short Sales of any of the Company’s securities during the period commencing with the execution of this Agreement and ending at such time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4.  Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that until such time as the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are publicly disclosed by the Company pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, such Purchaser will maintain the confidentiality of the existence and terms of this transaction and the information included in the Disclosure Schedules.  Notwithstanding the foregoing and notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that (i) no Purchaser makes any representation, warranty or covenant hereby that it will not engage in effecting transactions in any securities of the Company after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, (ii) no Purchaser shall be restricted or prohibited from effecting any transactions in any securities of the Company in accordance with applicable securities laws from and after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4 and (iii) no Purchaser shall have any duty of confidentiality to the Company or its Subsidiaries after the issuance of the initial press release as described in Section 4.4.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Purchaser that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the covenant set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Securities covered by this Agreement.

  

23

  

4.15         Capital Changes.  Until the 12 month anniversary of the Closing Date, the Company shall not undertake a reverse or forward stock split or reclassification of the Common Stock without the prior written consent of the Purchasers holding a majority in interest of the Shares.

ARTICLE V.

MISCELLANEOUS

5.1           Termination.  This Agreement may be terminated by any Purchaser, as to such Purchaser’s obligations hereunder only and without any effect whatsoever on the obligations between the Company and the other Purchasers, by written notice to the other parties, if the Closing has not been consummated on or before October 14, 2010; provided, however, that no such termination will affect the right of any party to sue for any breach by any other party (or parties).

5.2           Fees and Expenses.  Except as expressly set forth in the Transaction Documents to the contrary, each party shall pay the fees and expenses of its advisers, counsel, accountants and other experts, if any, and all other expenses incurred by such party incident to the negotiation, preparation, execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.  The Company shall pay all Transfer Agent fees, stamp taxes and other taxes and duties levied in connection with the delivery of any Securities to the Purchasers.

5.3           Entire Agreement.  The Transaction Documents, together with the exhibits and schedules thereto, the Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement, contain the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, oral or written, with respect to such matters, which the parties acknowledge have been merged into such documents, exhibits and schedules.

  

24

  

5.4           Notices.  Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of: (a) the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number set forth on the signature pages attached hereto at or prior to 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on a Trading Day, (b) the next Trading Day after the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number set forth on the signature pages attached hereto on a day that is not a Trading Day or later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, (c) the second (2nd) Trading Day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. nationally recognized overnight courier service or (d) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given.  The address for such notices and communications shall be as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto.

5.5           Amendments; Waivers.  No provision of this Agreement may be waived, modified, supplemented or amended except in a written instrument signed, in the case of an amendment, by the Company and the Purchasers holding at least 67% in interest of the Shares based on the initial Subscription Amounts hereunder or, in the case of a waiver, by the party against whom enforcement of any such waived provision is sought.  No waiver of any default with respect to any provision, condition or requirement of this Agreement shall be deemed to be a continuing waiver in the future or a waiver of any subsequent default or a waiver of any other provision, condition or requirement hereof, nor shall any delay or omission of any party to exercise any right hereunder in any manner impair the exercise of any such right.

5.6           Headings.  The headings herein are for convenience only, do not constitute a part of this Agreement and shall not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions hereof.

5.7           Successors and Assigns.  This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties and their successors and permitted assigns.  The Company may not assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of each Purchaser (other than by merger).  Any Purchaser may assign any or all of its rights under this Agreement to any Person to whom such Purchaser assigns or transfers any Securities, provided that such transferee agrees in writing to be bound, with respect to the transferred Securities, by the provisions of the Transaction Documents that apply to the “Purchasers.”

5.8           No Third-Party Beneficiaries.  This Agreement is intended for the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns and is not for the benefit of, nor may any provision hereof be enforced by, any other Person, except as otherwise set forth in Section 4.8.

5.9           Governing Law.  All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of the Transaction Documents shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law thereof.  Each party agrees that all legal proceedings concerning the interpretations, enforcement and defense of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and any other Transaction Documents (whether brought against a party hereto or its respective affiliates, directors, officers, shareholders, partners, members, employees or agents) shall be commenced exclusively in the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or discussed herein (including with respect to the enforcement of any of the Transaction Documents), and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is improper or is an inconvenient venue for such proceeding.  Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof via registered or certified mail or overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof.  Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law.  If either party shall commence an action, suit or proceeding to enforce any provisions of the Transaction Documents, then, in addition to the obligations of the Company under Section 4.8, the prevailing party in such action, suit or proceeding shall be reimbursed by the other party for its reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such action or proceeding.

  

25

  

5.10         Survival.  The representations and warranties contained herein shall survive the Closing and the delivery of the Securities.

5.11         Execution.  This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to each other party, it being understood that the parties need not sign the same counterpart.  In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or by e-mail delivery of a “.pdf” format data file, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such facsimile or “.pdf” signature page were an original thereof.

5.12         Severability.  If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions set forth herein shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated, and the parties hereto shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to find and employ an alternative means to achieve the same or substantially the same result as that contemplated by such term, provision, covenant or restriction. It is hereby stipulated and declared to be the intention of the parties that they would have executed the remaining terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions without including any of such that may be hereafter declared invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable.

5.13         Replacement of Securities.  If any certificate or instrument evidencing any Securities is mutilated, lost, stolen or destroyed, the Company shall issue or cause to be issued in exchange and substitution for and upon cancellation thereof (in the case of mutilation), or in lieu of and substitution therefor, a new certificate or instrument, but only upon receipt of evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Company of such loss, theft or destruction.  The applicant for a new certificate or instrument under such circumstances shall also pay any reasonable third-party costs (including customary indemnity) associated with the issuance of such replacement Securities.

  

26

  

5.14         Remedies.  In addition to being entitled to exercise all rights provided herein or granted by law, including recovery of damages, each of the Purchasers and the Company will be entitled to specific performance under the Transaction Documents.  The parties agree that monetary damages may not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of any breach of obligations contained in the Transaction Documents and hereby agree to waive and not to assert in any action for specific performance of any such obligation the defense that a remedy at law would be adequate.

5.15         Independent Nature of Purchasers’ Obligations and Rights.  The obligations of each Purchaser under any Transaction Document are several and not joint with the obligations of any other Purchaser, and no Purchaser shall be responsible in any way for the performance or non-performance of the obligations of any other Purchaser under any Transaction Document.  Nothing contained herein or in any other Transaction Document, and no action taken by any Purchaser pursuant hereto or thereto, shall be deemed to constitute the Purchasers as a partnership, an association, a joint venture or any other kind of entity, or create a presumption that the Purchasers are in any way acting in concert or as a group with respect to such obligations or the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.  Each Purchaser shall be entitled to independently protect and enforce its rights including, without limitation, the rights arising out of this Agreement or out of the other Transaction Documents, and it shall not be necessary for any other Purchaser to be joined as an additional party in any proceeding for such purpose.  Each Purchaser has been represented by its own separate legal counsel in its review and negotiation of the Transaction Documents.  For reasons of administrative convenience only, each Purchaser and its respective counsel have chosen to communicate with the Company through WS.  WS does not represent any of the Purchasers and only represents Rodman & Renshaw, LLC, the placement agent.  The Company has elected to provide all Purchasers with the same terms and Transaction Documents for the convenience of the Company and not because it was required or requested to do so by any of the Purchasers.  It is expressly understood and agreed that each provision contained in this Agreement and in each other Transaction Document is between the Company and a Purchaser, solely, and not between the Company and the Purchasers collectively and not between and among the Purchasers.

5.16         Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, etc.  If the last or appointed day for the taking of any action or the expiration of any right required or granted herein shall not be a Business Day, then such action may be taken or such right may be exercised on the next succeeding Business Day.

5.17         Construction.  The parties agree that each of them and/or their respective counsel have reviewed and had an opportunity to revise the Transaction Documents and, therefore, the normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of the Transaction Documents or any amendments thereto. In addition, each and every reference to share prices and shares of Common Stock in any Transaction Document shall be subject to adjustment for reverse and forward stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and other similar transactions of the Common Stock that occur after the date of this Agreement.

  

27

  

5.18         WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL.  IN ANY ACTION, SUIT, OR PROCEEDING IN ANY JURISDICTION BROUGHT BY ANY PARTY AGAINST ANY OTHER PARTY, THE PARTIES EACH KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY, TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, HEREBY ABSOLUTELY, UNCONDITIONALLY, IRREVOCABLY AND EXPRESSLY WAIVES FOREVER TRIAL BY JURY.

(Signature Pages Follow)

  

28

  

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Securities Purchase Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized signatories as of the date first indicated above.

	
ERHC ENERGY INC.

	
Address for Notice:

	  	  
	
By:

	  	  	
Fax:

	
Name:

	  
	
Title:

	  
	
With a copy to (which shall not constitute notice):

	
Fax:

[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

SIGNATURE PAGE FOR PURCHASER FOLLOWS]

  

29

  

[PURCHASER SIGNATURE PAGES TO ERHE SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT]

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Securities Purchase Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized signatories as of the date first indicated above.

	
Name of Purchaser:

	  	  
	  	  	  
	
Signature of Authorized Signatory of Purchaser:

	  	  
	  	  	  
	
Name of Authorized Signatory:

	  	  
	  	  	  
	
Title of Authorized Signatory:

	  	  
	  	  	  
	
Email Address of Authorized Signatory:

	  	  
	  	  	  
	
Facsimile Number of Authorized Signatory:

	  	  

Address for Notice to Purchaser:

Address for Delivery of Securities to Purchaser (if not same as address for notice):

Subscription Amount: $_________________

Shares: _________________

Warrant Shares: __________________

EIN Number:  [PROVIDE THIS UNDER SEPARATE COVER]

q  Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, by checking this box (i) the obligations of the above-signed to purchase the securities set forth in this Agreement to be purchased from the Company by the above-signed, and the obligations of the Company to sell such securities to the above-signed, shall be unconditional and all conditions to Closing shall be disregarded, (ii) the Closing shall occur on the third (3rd) Trading Day following the date of this Agreement and (iii) any condition to Closing contemplated by this Agreement (but prior to being disregarded by clause (i) above) that required delivery by the Company or the above-signed of any agreement, instrument, certificate or the like or purchase price (as applicable) shall no longer be a condition and shall instead be an unconditional obligation of the Company or the above-signed (as applicable) to deliver such agreement, instrument, certificate or the like or purchase price (as applicable) to such other party on the Closing Date.

[SIGNATURE PAGES CONTINUE]

 

 

30ex10_1.htm

Exhibit 10.1

 

DRILLING AND OPERATING AGREEMENT

This Agreement is entered into by and between PDC 2002-D Limited Partnership, hereinafter designated and referred to as the "Partnership", and Petroleum Development Corporation, hereinafter referred to and designated as "PDC".

Whereas, the parties to this agreement desire to enter into an agreement to explore and develop certain Prospects for the production of oil and gas as hereinafter provided,

It is agreed as follows:

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

As used in this agreement, the following words and terms shall be defined as follows:

A.           The term "oil and gas" shall mean oil, gas, casinghead gas, gas condensate, and all other liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons and other marketable substances produced therewith, unless an intent to limit the inclusiveness of this term is specifically stated.

B.           The term "Prospect" shall mean a spacing unit established according to state regulatory guidelines and industry practice on which the Partnership proposes to drill a well.  Generally spacing units for Appalachian gas wells cover approximately 25-40 acres, and spacing units for Michigan Basin gas wells cover approximately 80-100 acres.

C.           "Royalty" shall mean a payment from gross revenues made to the owner of the oil and gas mineral rights of a Prospect.

D.           "Overriding royalty" shall mean a payment from gross revenues to a party other than the owner of oil and gas mineral rights of a Prospect.

E.           "Proportionate Working Interest" shall mean an interest in a well or Prospect of less than 100% which bears that same percentage of costs of development and production as it receives in production revenues after deducting for royalty and overriding royalties.

F.            "Non-operators" shall mean all parties holding a proportionate working interest in a Prospect, including the Additional General Partners and the Limited Partners, but excluding PDC if it is also serving as Operator.

ARTICLE II

EXHIBITS

The following exhibits are incorporated in and made a part of this agreement:

	
  

	
A.

	
Exhibit "A", Prospects.

	
  

	
1.

	
Identification of each Prospect to be drilled.

	
  

	
2.

	
Target formation.

	
  

	
3.

	
The Partnership fractional interest therein.

	
  

	
B.

	
Exhibit "B", Insurance.

  

  

  

	
  

	
C.

	
Exhibit "C", Additional Prospects.

1.             Identification of additional Prospects added or substituted after the original date of this agreement, and if substituted, identification of the Prospect which is replaced.

2.             Target formation.

3.             The Partnership fractional interest therein.

4.             Approval by the Partnership and PDC.

ARTICLE III

OPERATOR

A.           Designation and Responsibilities of Operator:

PDC shall be the Operator of the Prospects, and shall conduct and direct and have full control of all operations on the Prospects as permitted and required by, and within the limits of this agreement.  It shall conduct all such operations in a good workmanlike manner, but it shall have no liability as Operator to the Partnership for losses sustained or liabilities incurred, except such as may result from negligence or misconduct.  The Managing General Partner may subcontract with another operator or operators to perform some of all of the duties of the operator, on Terms and conditions substantially the same as those discussed herein.  The Managing General Partner will supervise operations by other non-affiliated drilling contractors and subcontractors.

B.           Resignation or Removal of Operator and Selection of Successor:

1.            Resignation or Removal of Operator: PDC may resign as Operator at any time by giving written notice thereof to the Partnership.  If PDC terminates its legal existence, no longer owns an interest in the Prospects, has filed a petition under the Federal bankruptcy laws or any state insolvency law or a receiver, fiscal agent, or similar officer has been appointed by a court for the business or property of PDC, or is otherwise no longer capable of serving as Operator, PDC shall be deemed to have resigned without any action by the Partnership, except the selection of a successor.  PDC may be removed by the affirmative vote of Non-Operators owning a majority working interest in each Prospect after excluding the voting interest of Operator.  Such resignation or removal shall not become effective until 7:00 o’clock A.M., Eastern time, on the first day of calendar month following the expiration of ninety (90) days after the giving of notice of resignation of PDC or action by the Non-Operators to remove PDC as Operator, unless a successor Operator has been selected and assumes the duties of PDC at an earlier date.  PDC, after effective date of resignation or removal, shall be bound by the terms hereof as a Non-Operator.  A change of a corporate name or structure of PDC or transfer of PDC’s interest to any single subsidiary, parent or successor corporation shall not be the basis for removal of PDC as Operator.

2.            Selection of Successor Operator: Upon the resignation or removal of PDC, a successor Operator shall be selected by the parties.  The successor Operator shall be selected by the affirmative vote of parties owning a majority working interest in each Prospect; provided, however, if an Operator which has been removed fails to vote or votes only to succeed itself, the successor Operator shall be selected by the affirmative vote of parties owning a majority interest after excluding the voting interest of the Operator that was removed.

C.            Employees:

The number of employees used by PDC in conducting operations hereunder, their selection, and the hours of labor and the compensation for services performed shall be determined by PDC.

  

  

  

ARTICLE IV

DRILLING PROSPECTS

	
  

	
A.

	
Prospects:

Exhibit "A" lists Prospects initially to be acquired by the Partnership, and its proportionate working interest in each Prospect.  Most wells to be drilled by the Partnerships will be offsets to producing wells.  Therefore, it is unlikely that a well drilled on a Prospect will prove up any additional acreage outside the Prospect.  If a Partnership well does prove up additional acreage, PDC will assign the Partnership a proportionate interest in such spacing units.

	
  

	
B.

	
Cost:

The Partnership shall reimburse PDC for its proportionate share of the lesser of:

 

	
  

	
1.

	
The fair market value of the Prospect, or

	
  

	
2.

	
The “Cost” of acquisition of the Prospect including: (a) the price paid by PDC for such property; (b) title examination, abstracting, brokers commissions, filing fees, recording costs, transfer taxes, and other charges incurred in connection with the acquisition of the property; (c) bonuses, rentals and ad valorem taxes paid by PDC with respect to the Prospect to the date of its transfer to the Partnership, interest on funds used to acquire or maintain such property, and such portion of PDC’s expenses for geological, drafting, accounting, legal and other like services allocated to the Prospect in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, not including for expenses incurred in the prior drilling of wells, and provided such expenses shall have been incurred not more than 36 months prior to the purchase by the program.

 

	
  

	
C.

	
Substitution:

As drilling progresses other, more desirable Prospects may become may become less desirable as a result of additional information not available as of the date of this agreement.  For any undrilled Prospect, the Partnership may request that PDC substitute another Prospect, in which case the entire acquisition cost paid for the Prospect or a substitute thereof will be applied against the cost of the substituted Prospect, and against other costs of this contract if and to the extent the cost of the substitute Prospect is less than the cost of the original Prospect it replaces.  An amendment to this agreement in the form of Exhibit “C” shall be used for the addition or substitution of a Prospect.

	
  

	
D.

	
Title Examination and Opinion:

Title examination shall be made by outside attorneys on the drillsite of any proposed well prior to commencement of drilling operations.  The opinion will include ownership of the working interest, mineral, royalty, overriding royalty, and production payments under the applicable leases.  A copy of the opinion will be furnished to the Partnership.

PDC shall take such steps as are necessary in its best judgment to render title to the leases assigned to the Partnership acceptable for the purposes of the Partnership.  No operation shall be commenced on leases acquired by the Partnership unless the Partnership Manager is satisfied that necessary title requirements have been satisfied by PDC and that the undertaking of such operation would be in the interest of the Partnership.  PDC shall be free, however, to use their own best judgment in waiving title requirements and shall not be liable to the Partnership, or Participants for any mistakes of judgment; nor shall PDC be deemed to be making any warranties or representations, express or implied, as to the validity or merchantability of the title to any lease assigned to the Partnership or the extent of the interest covered thereby.

  

  

  

ARTICLE V

INTEREST IN COSTS AND PRODUCTION

A.           Royalties and Overriding Royalties:

The Partnership interest in production from drilling Prospects will be subject to the payment to non-affiliated parties of royalties and overriding royalties which may range from 12.5% to 22.00% of gross revenues, provided the weighted average for all Partnership Prospects drilled shall not exceed 20% gross revenues.  No such royalty or overriding royalty will be paid to PDC or its affiliates.

B.            Proportionate Working Interest:

The Partnership may acquire 100% of the working interest in a Prospect or a proportionate interest of less than 100%.  In the event the Partnership acquires a proportionate interest, the respective obligations and benefits acquired by the Partnership will be proportionately the same as the working interest acquired.  PDC and its affiliates may not retain any overrides or other burdens on the interest conveyed to the Partnership.  The Partnership will pay a proportionate share of the total of lease, development, and operating costs, and will be entitled to receive a proportionate share of production subject only to royalties and overriding royalties discussed in Article V, A.

C.            Joint Venture Activities:

PDC may retain an interest or convey interests in undrilled Prospects to other Joint Venturers, retaining for its own account a profit or promotional interest on the interest conveyed.  PDC shall require any party acquiring such an interest to acquire a proportionate working interest and to assume and bear alone all obligation associated with such an interest, and to bear alone and hold the Partnership and other Joint Venturers harmless from all costs, claims, and burdens associated with the interest acquired.  At the discretion of the Managing General Partner, the Partnership may enter into joint ventures which allow a functional allocation of tangible, intangible and lease costs, where each joint venturer is responsible for its overhead costs, provided the Partnerships interest in the revenues and income of such a joint venture is proportional to its contribution to the total cost of such venture.

D.           Adjustments:

Payment of any bill shall not prejudice the right of Partnership to protest or question the correctness thereof: provided, however, all bills and statements rendered to Partnership by PDC during any calendar year shall conclusively be presumed to be true and correct after a twenty-four (24) month period unless the Partnership takes written exception thereto and makes claim on PDC for adjustment.  No adjustment favorable to PDC shall be made unless it is made within the same prescribed period.  The provisions of this paragraph shall not prevent adjustments resulting from a physical inventory of controllable material.

E.            Audits:

The Partnership, upon notice in writing to PDC and all other Non-Operators, shall have the right to audit PDC's accounts and records relating to the Partnership wells for any calendar year within the twenty-four (24) month period following the end of such calendar year; provided, however the making of an audit shall not extend the time for the taking of written exception to and the adjustments of account.  Where there are two or more Non-Operators, the Non-Operators shall make every reasonable effort to conduct a joint audit in a manner which will result in a minimum of inconvenience to PDC.  PDC shall bear no portion of the Non-Operators audit cost incurred under this paragraph unless agreed to by PDC.  The audits shall not be conducted more than once each year without prior approval of PDC, except upon the resignation or removal of PDC as operator, and shall be made at the expense of those Non-Operators requesting such audit.

PDC shall reply in writing to an audit report within 75 days after receipt of such report.

  

  

  

ARTICLE VI

DRILLING AND DEVELOPMENT

A.           Agreement To Drill and Complete:

PDC shall commence drilling of a well or wells on each Prospect within 180 days of the date of the initial formation of the Partnerships, but in no case later than March 30, 2003 with respect to the partnerships designated "PDC 2002-D Limited Partnership" and shall continue drilling thereafter with due diligence to the Target formation unless a condition which renders further drilling impractical is encountered at a lesser depth, or unless the Partnership agrees to complete or abandon the well at a lesser depth.

PDC shall make reasonable tests of all formations encountered during drilling which give indication of containing economic quantities of oil and/or gas.  If such tests indicate the presence of economic quantities of oil and/or gas, PDC shall complete the well and install such surface and well equipment, gathering pipelines, heaters, separators, etc., as are necessary and normal in the area in which the Prospect is located.  If it is determined that the well is not likely to produce oil and/or gas in commercial quantities PDC shall plug and abandon the well in accordance with applicable regulations.

B.            Cost of Drilling and Completion:

The Partnership shall bear its proportionate share of the cost of drilling and completing or drilling and abandoning each Partnership well, where the Managing General Partner serves as operator as follows:

	 	
1. 

	
The Cost of the Prospect, as defined; and

	 	
2. 

	
For intangible well Costs:

	
  

	
a.

	
For each well completed and placed in production, an amount equal to the depth of the well in feet at its deepest penetration as recorded by the drilling contractor multiplied by the "intangible drilling and completion cost" in the following table, plus the actual extra completion costs for work required by state law in the event an intermediate or third string of surface casing is run; plus the actual cost for directional drilling services, if required, or

	
  

	
b.

	
For each well in which the Partnership elects not to complete, an amount equal to the "intangible dry hole cost" in the following table, plus actual additional cost for work required by state law in the event an intermediate or third string of surface casing is run, plus the actual costs for directional drilling services, if required; and

	
  

	
3.

	
The tangible Costs of drilling and completing the Partnership wells and of gathering pipelines necessary to connect the well to the nearest appropriate sales point or delivery point.

To the extent that a Partnership acquires less than 100% of a Prospect, its Drilling and Completion Costs of that Prospect will proportionately decrease.

  

  

  

Footage Based Rate

 

	
Location

	 	Target Formation	 	
Approximate

Well Depth

	  	
Intangible Drilling

and Completion

Cost*

	 	
Intangible Dry

Hole

Cost*

	  	 	  	 	  	  	  	 	  
	
Northern West Virginia and Pennsylvania

	 	Upper Devonian and Mississippian	 	
2,000' - 5, 000'

	  	
$60 per foot for first 2,200 feet plus $16 per foot for each additional foot below 2,200 feet

	 	
$33 per foot for the first 2,200 feet plus $9 per foot for each additional foot below 2, 200 feet

	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	 	  
	
Michigan

	  	
Antrim Shale

	  	
800-1,200'

	  	
$138 per foot for the first 1,000 feet plus $22 per foot for each additional foot below 1,000 feet

	 	
$60 per foot for the first 1,000 feet plus $12 for each additional foot below 1,000

	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	 	  
	
Wattenberg Field

	  	
Cretaceous Codell

	  	
6,500-7,800'

	  	
$60 per foot

	 	
$20 per foot

	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	 	  
	
Wattenberg Field

	  	
Cretaceous J Sandstone

	  	
7,000-8,000'

	  	
$72 per foot

	 	
$23 per foot

	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	 	  
	
Piceance Basin

	  	
Cretaceous

	  	
7,000-10,000'

	  	
$150 per foot

	 	
$85 per foot

	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	 	  
	
North Dakota

	  	
Mesaverde Mississippian Through Ordovician Carbonates Uinta

	  	
8,000-15,000'

	  	
$150 per foot

	 	
$100 per foot

	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	 	  
	
Utah

	  	
Green River Wsatch Mesaverde Ferron

	  	
5.000-14,000'

	  	
$150 per foot

	 	
$85 per foot

	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	 	  
	
Wyoming

	  	
Mesaverde Lewis Almond

	  	
7,000-14,000'

	  	
$150 per foot

	 	
$85 per foot

* The depth used for determination well charges will be the deepest penetration by the drilling bit.

In the event the foregoing rates exceed competitive rates available from other non-affiliated persons in the area engaged in the business of rendering or providing comparable services or equipment, the foregoing rates will adjust to an amount equal to that competitive rate.

It is anticipated that the Partnerships, PDC, and other third party joint venturers will share the cost of the Michigan Antrim projects.  The Partnerships will be allocated the well cost with the additional project costs for multiple flow lines, saltwater injection well, equipment for the central production facility and Leases allocated to the other joint venture partners through the use of tax partnership.  In return for contribution of the well costs to an Antrim project, the Partnerships will acquire 55% Working Interest in the project.  Remaining Working Interests will be allocated to the parties bearing the project costs for multiple flowlines, leases, salt water injection well, and equipment for the central production facility.  Michigan Antrim project Leases are unitized for the purpose of payment of royalties, distribution of working interest revenue and allocation of project production expenses.  Project working interest revenue and project production expenses are allocated to working interest owners based on the number of net wells drilled, completed and placed into production, expressed as a percentage of the total number of wells in a project.  To the extent that a Partnership drills and pays for less than the total number of wells in a project, its overal Working Interest in the project will be proportionally reduced.  Each Partnership will be responsible only for its obligtions and will be liable only for its proportionate share of the costs of developing and operating the Prospects; and, in the event of the default of another party, the Managing General Partner has agreed to indemnify the Partnership and its Partners for the obligations of such party.  If any party fails or is unable to pay its share of expense within 60 days after rendition of a statement therefor by the Managing General Partner, the Managing General Partner will pay the unpaid amount in the proportion that the interest of each such party bears to the interest of all such parties.

  

  

  

 

In the event the foregoing rates exceed competitive rates available from other persons in the area engaged in the business of rendering comparable services or equipment, the foregoing rates will be adjusted to an amount equal to that competitive rate, but not less than the cost of providing such services or equipment.

C.           Completion By Less Than All Parties:

In the event not all Participants in a well wish to participate in a completion attempt, the parties desiring to do so may pay all costs of the completion attempt including the cost of necessary well equipment and a gathering pipeline, and such parties shall receive all income and pay all operating costs from the well until they have received an amount equal to 300% of the completion and connection costs, after which time the non-consenting parties shall have the right to receive their original interest in further revenues and expenses.

D.           Prepayment:

The Partnership agrees to pay PDC the Prospect cost for each planned well prior to the spud date.  The Partnership shall pay drilling and completion costs of the Operator as incurred.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, PDC may require full prepayment by December 31, 2002 with respect to partnership designated "PDC 2002-D Limited Partnership" in order to assure the Partnership of the rates quoted in Article VI, B, to arrange for the drilling equipment for the wells through subcontractors and to provide PDC with working capital for the drilling of the wells.

E.            Refunds:

In no event shall PDC be obligated to refund any moneys paid to it by the Partnership under this Agreement.  In the event any amounts paid under Article VI, D exceed costs due under Article VI, B, such excess shall be credited to the Partnership and shall be expended for additional drilling.

ARTICLE VII

PRODUCTION AND SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS

A.           Commencement of Production:

For purposes of this agreement, production will commence:

	
  

	
1.

	
In the case of gas wells when gas is first delivered from the well through a pipeline or other delivery system to a purchaser;

	
  

	
2.

	
In the case of oil wells when the well has produced 100 barrels; or

  

  

  

	
  

	
3.

	
In the case of combination wells when either of criteria have been satisfied.

A well will be deemed to be "in production" in any month thereafter in which oil or gas are produced in commercial quantities.

B.            Production Operations:

PDC shall provide all necessary labor, vehicles, supervision, management, accounting, and overhead services for normal production operations, and lease accounting, and shall be entitled to deduct from Partnership revenues a monthly operating charge of $225 per well and a monthly accounting and management charge of $75 per well.  Nonroutine operations will be billed to the Partnership at their proportionate cost.  Any nonroutine operation with an estimated cost exceeding $2,000 will be authorized for expenditure ("AFE" or "AFE'd") and submitted to the Non-Operators for approval.  Approval of a majority of the working interest owners will be required to authorize such operations.  If the Partnership authorized such operations PDC shall have the right to deduct payment for the cost from Partnership revenues.

C.            Abandonment of Wells That Have Produced:

Any well which has been completed as a producer shall not be plugged and abandoned without the consent of all Non-operators.  If all parties consent to such abandonment, the well shall be plugged and abandoned in accordance with applicable regulations and at the cost, risk of expense of all owners.  If, within (30) days after receipt of the notice of the proposed abandonment of any well, all parties do not agree to the abandonment of such well, those wishing to continue its operations from the interval(s) of the formation(s) then open to production shall tender to each of the other parties its proportionate shale of the value of the wells salvageable material and equipment, less the estimated cost of salvaging and assign the non-abandoning parties, without warranty, express or implied, as to title or as to quantity, or fitness for use of the equipment and material, all of its interest in the well and related equipment, together with its interest in leasehold estate as to, but only as to, the interval or intervals of the formation or formations then open to production.

D.            Marketing of Production:

The Partnership shall have the right to take in kind and separately dispose of its share of all oil and gas produced from the Prospects, excluding its proportionate share of production required for lease operations and production unavoidably lost.  Initially the Partnership designates PDC as its agent to market such production and authorizes PDC to enter into and bind the Partnership in such agreements as it deems in the best interest of the Partnership for the sale of such oil and/or gas.  The Partnership may rescind the designation of PDC as its agent with regard to all subsequent marketing agreements by written notice at any time, but agrees to be bound by such agreements as may then be in effect during their terms.  The Partnership shall bear its proportionate share of all marketing costs, if any.  In the event PDC provides marketing services, its charge shall be no greater than those charges made by unaffiliated marketers.  If pipelines which have been built by PDC are used in the delivery of natural gas to market, PDC may charge a gathering fee not to exceed that which would be charged by a nonaffiliated third party for a similar service.

E.            Escalation in the Event of Rising Costs:

The production and accounting charges provided in Article VII, B, may be adjusted annually beginning January 1, 2002, to an amount equal to the rates from Article VII, B, multiplied by the ratio of the then current average weekly earnings of Crude Petroleum and Gas Production workers to the average weekly earnings of Crude Petroleum and Gas Production workers for 1991, as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, provided that the charge may not exceed the rate which would be charged by other comparable operators in the area of operations.

  

  

  

ARTICLE VIII

LIABILITY OF PARTIES

A.           Liability of Parties:

If Partnership participates in a well with third parties the liability of the parties shall be several, not joint or collective.  The Partnership shall be responsible only for its obligations, and shall be liable only for its proportionate share of the costs of developing and operating the Prospects.  It is not the intention of the parties to create, nor shall this agreement be construed as creating, a mining or other partnership or association, or to render the parties liable as partners.

B.            Liens and Payment Defaults:

The Partnership grants to PDC a lien upon its oil and gas rights in the Contract Area, and a security interest in its share of oil and/or gas when extracted and its interest in all equipment, to secure payment of its share of expense, together with interest thereon.  To the extent that PDC has a security interest under the Uniform Commercial code of the state, PDC shall be entitled to exercise the rights and remedies of a secured party under the Code.  The bringing of a suit and the obtaining of judgment by PDC for the secured indebtedness shall not be deemed an election of remedies or otherwise affect the lien rights or security interest as security for the payment thereof.  In addition, upon default by the Partnership in the payment of its share of expense, PDC shall have the right, without prejudice to other rights or remedies, to collect from the purchaser the proceeds from the sale of the Partnership's share of oil and/or gas until the amount owed by the Partnership, plus interest, has been paid.  Each purchaser shall be entitled to rely upon PDC's written statement concerning the amount of any default.  PDC grants a like lien and security interest to the Partnership to secure payment of PDC's proportionate share of expenses.

If any party fails or is unable to pay its share of expense within sixty (60) days after rendition of a statement therefor by PDC, PDC shall pay the unpaid amount in the proportion that the interest of each such party bears to the interest of all such parties.

C.            Payments and Accounting:

Except as herein otherwise specifically provided, PDC shall promptly pay and discharge expenses incurred in the development and operation of the Contract Area pursuant to this agreement.  PDC shall keep an accurate record of the account hereunder, showing expenses incurred and charges and credits made and received.

Regardless of which party has contributed the lease(s) and/or oil and gas interest(s) hereto on which royalty is due and payable, PDC shall pay or deliver or cause to be paid or delivered the royalty and overriding royalty payments due under the terms associated with the acquisition of each Prospect, and shall deduct such payments from the revenue of the Partnership.

D.            Taxes:

Unless Partnership elects to take production in kind, PDC shall pay or cause to be paid alI production, severance, excise, gathering and other taxes imposed upon or with respect to the production or handling of such party's share of oil and/or gas produced under the terms of this agreement, and shall be entitled to reimbursement for such taxes from partnership revenue.

E.            Insurance:

At all times while operations are conducted hereunder, PDC shall comply with the workmen's compensation laws of the state of West Virginia.  PDC shall also carry or provide insurance as outlined in Exhibit "B", attached to and made a part hereof.  PDC shall require all contractors engaged in work on or for the Contract Area to comply with the workmen's compensation law of the state where the operations are being conducted and to maintain such other insurance as PDC may require.

  

  

  

No additional charge will be made for such insurance during drilling and completion operations.  When wells have been placed in production PDC may bill for the cost of providing such insurance, allocated among wells and operations in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

ARTICLE IX

INTERNAL REVENUE CODE ELECTION

This agreement is not intended to create, and shall not be construed to create, a relationship of partnership or an association for profit between or among the parties hereto.  Notwithstanding any provision herein that the rights and liabilities hereunder are several and not joint or collective, or that this agreement and operations hereunder shall not constitute a partnership, if, for federal income tax purposes, this agreement and the operations hereunder are regarded as a partnership, each party hereby affected elects to be excluded from the application of all of the provisions of Subchapter "K", Chapter 1, Subtitle "A", of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") as permitted and authorized by Code Section 761 and the regulations promulgated thereunder.  PDC is authorized and directed to execute on behalf of the Partnership such evidence of this election as may be required by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States or the Federal Internal Revenue Service, including specifically, but not by way of limitation, all of the returns, statements, and the data required by Regulations 1.761.  Should there be any requirement that each party hereby affected to give further evidence of this election, each such party shall execute such documents and furnish such other evidence as may be required by the Federal Internal Revenue Service or as may be necessary to evidence this election.  No such party shall give any notices or take any other action inconsistent with the election made hereby.  If any present or future income tax laws of the state or states in which the Contract Area is located or any future income tax laws of the United States contain provisions similar to those in Subchapter "K", Chapter 1, Subtitle "A", of the Code, under which an election similar to that provided by Section 761 of the Code is permitted, each party hereby affected shall make such election as may be permitted or required by such laws.  In making the foregoing election, each such party states that the income derived by such party from operations hereunder can be adequately determined without the computation of partnership taxable income.

ARTICLE X

CLAIMS AND LAWSUITS

PDC may settle any single uninsured third party damage claim or suit arising from operations hereunder if the expenditure does not exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) and if the payment is in complete settlement of such claim or suit.  If the amount required for settlement exceeds the above amount, the Partnership shall assume and take over the further handling of its interest in the claim suit, unless such authority is delegated to PDC.  All costs and expenses of handling, settling, or otherwise discharging such claim or suit shall be at the joint expenses of the parties participating in the operation from which the claim or suit arises.  If a claim is made against any party or if any party is sued on account of any matter arising from operations hereunder over which such individual has no control because of the rights given Operator by this agreement, such party shall immediately notify all other parties, and the claim or suit shall be treated as any other claim or suit involving operations hereunder all claims and suits involving title to any interest subject to this Agreement shall be treated as a claim or suit against all parties participating in the Prospect so affected.

ARTICLE XI

FORCE MAJEURE

If either party is rendered unable, wholly or in part, by force majeure to carry out its obligations under this agreement, other than the obligation to make money payments, that party shall give to the other party prompt written notice of the force majeure with reasonably full particulars concerning its; thereupon, the obligations of the party giving the notice, so far as they are affected by the force majeure, shall be suspended during, but no longer than, the continuance of the force majeure.  The affected party shall use all reasonable diligence to remove the force majeure situation as quickly as practicable.

  

  

  

The requirement that any force majeure shall be remedied with all reasonable dispatch shall not require the settlement of strikes, lockouts, or other labor difficulty by the party involved, contrary to its wishes; how all such difficulties shall be handled shall be entirely within the discretion of the party concerned.

The term "force majeure", as here employed, shall mean act of God, strike, lockout, or other industrial disturbance act of the public enemy, war, blockade, public riot, lightning, fire, storm, flood, explosion, governmental action, governmental delay, restraint or inaction, unavailability of equipment or market for oil and/or gas, and any other cause, whether of the kind specifically enumerated above or otherwise, which is not reasonably within the control of the party claiming suspension.

ARTICLE XII

NOTICES

All notices required by this agreement shall be given in writing addressed to the parties as follows:

1.             For the Partnership:

Petroleum Development Corporation, Managing General Partner PDC 2002-D Limited Partnership, P.O. Box 26 Bridgeport, WV 26330

2.             For PDC:

Petroleum Development Corporation

P.O.  Box 26

Bridgeport, WV 26330

Each party shall have the right to change its address at any time, by giving written notice to all other parties.

ARTICLE XIII

TERM OF AGREEMENT

In the event a well drilled under any provision of this agreement, results in production of oil and/or gas in paying quantities, this agreement shall continue in force so long as any such well or wells produce, or are capable of production, and for an additional period of 180 days from cessation of all production; provided, however, if, prior to the expiration of such additional period, one or more of the parties hereto are engaged in drilling, reworking, deepening, plugging back, testing or attempting to complete a well or wells hereunder, this agreement shall continue in force until such operations have been completed and if production results therefrom, this agreement shall continue in force as provided herein.

It is agreed, however, that the termination of this agreement shall not relieve any party hereto from any liability which has accrued or attached prior to the date of such termination.

  

  

  

ARTICLE XIV

COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND REGULATIONS

A.           Laws, Regulations and Order:

This agreement shall be subject to the conservation laws of the state in which the Prospects are located, to the valid rules, regulations, and orders of any duly constituted regulatory body of said state; and to all other applicable federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, and orders.

B.            Governing Law:

This agreement and all matters pertaining hereto, including, but not limited to, matters of performance, non-performance, breach, remedies, procedures, rights, duties and interpretation or construction, shall be governed and determined by the law of the state in which the Prospect is located.

C.            Regulatory Agencies:

Nothing herein contained shall grant, or be construed to grant, PDC the right or authority to waive or release any rights, privileges, or obligations which Partnership may have federal or state laws or under rules, regulations or orders promulgated under such laws in reference to oil, gas and mineral operations, including the location, operation, or production of wells, on tracts offsetting or adjacent to the Contract Area.

With respect to operations hereunder, the Partnership agrees to release PDC from any and all losses, damages, injuries, claims and causes of action arising out of, incident to or resulting directly or indirectly from Operator's interpretation or application of rules, rulings, regulations, or orders of the Department of Energy or predecessor or successor agencies to the extent such interpretation or application was made in good faith.  The Partnership further agrees to reimburse PDC for any amounts applicable to Partnerships share of production that PDC may be required to refund, rebate or pay as a result of such an incorrect interpretation or application.

ARTICLE XV

MISCELLANEOUS

This agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and to their respective heirs, devisees, legal representative, successors and assigns.

This instrument may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be considered an original for all purposes.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this agreement shall be effective as of 31st day of December, 2002.

	
/s/ Dale G. Rettinger

	  
	
Dale G. Rettinger,

	
Executive V.P.

	
Petroleum Development Corp.

	  
	
/s/ Steven R. Williams

	  
	
Steven R. Williams, President

	
Petroleum Development Corp.,

	
Managing General Partner

	
PDC 2002-D Limited Partnership

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