For the past quarter of a century, the cornerstone of Swift Energy’s success in a volatile industry has been its seasoned leadership. Many of the Company’s leaders have worked together for a decade or more, forming a flexible and knowledgeable management team that is able to respond quickly and competently to industry changes.

This veteran leadership, combined with an experienced and competent board of directors and effective mechanisms of corporate control, has been key to Swift’s long-term success.

In making appointments to its management team in 2004, Swift continued its policy of promoting from within employees who have been instrumental in past successes and recruiting new staff with exemplary industry experience in areas critical to the Company’s future plans for growth.

In this tradition, Bruce H. Vincent, who has been with the Company for 15 years, was named president of Swift Energy in November 2004. He also continues to serve as corporate secretary, a position he assumed in August 2000, and as president of Swift’s wholly owned subsidiary, Swift Energy International, Inc., a position he assumed in February 2004. Mr. Vincent served in several strategic positions prior to his latest promotion, most recently as executive vice president–corporate development.

Other key appointments made to Swift’s management team in November 2004 included the promotion of Alton D. Heckaman, Jr., to executive vice president from senior vice president–finance. Mr. Heckaman, who has been with the Company for 23 years, also continues to serve as chief financial officer.

Victor R. Moran, who has been with the Company for 13 years, was named senior vice president and chief compliance officer. Mr. Moran’s most recent position within the Company was senior vice president–energy marketing and business development.

In February 2004, Robert J. Banks was appointed vice president–international operations of Swift’s wholly owned subsidiary, Swift Energy International, Inc. Mr. Banks is based at Swift’s Houston office, serving as a liaison between Swift’s U.S. headquarters and its international operations, currently focusing in New Zealand. He joined Swift with more than 25 years of oil and gas industry experience, with his most recent work focused on international operations involving exploration, production, and project development in several countries, including New Zealand.

In December 2004, Swift appointed Laurent "Larry" A. Baillargeon as the Company’s general counsel. Mr. Baillargeon, who has been with Swift for five years, previously served as general counsel–exploration and production. He has 29 years of legal background in oil and gas, including exploration and production activities, land and legal contracts, and acquisitions and divestitures. Prior to joining Swift, Mr. Baillargeon held legal positions with various oil and gas companies from independents to majors.

D. Wynn Ibach, Swift’s former general counsel, is now "Of Counsel" to the Company.

Long before the nation’s recent emphasis on corporate accountability with the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, Swift had controls in place that exemplify the Company’s belief in openness and ethical conduct.

For many years, the majority of Swift’s Board of Directors has been comprised of outside independent directors. In May 2004, the board welcomed new outside director Deanna L. Cannon, president of Cannon & Company CPA’s PLC, a privately held consulting firm in Traverse City, Michigan. Ms. Cannon previously served as chief financial officer of Miller Exploration Company, a publicly held independent oil and gas exploration and production company that was acquired by Edge Petroleum Corporation.

Internally, Swift’s corporate controls begin with its five-year strategic plan, which is closely intertwined with the control environment created by management. A review of the Company’s progress in fulfilling its strategic plan is presented to the Board of Directors each year.

The strategic plan’s implementation begins with the budgeting process, which is overseen by a committee chaired by the chief operating officer and comprised of representatives from appropriate contributing departments. The Budget Committee—with input from the entire executive management team—sets the direction of the budgeting process by determining the basic parameters that will guide the development of each department’s annual budget.

The Budget Committee creates capital expenditure scenarios and financial outlooks using project rankings created by various asset teams. Ultimately, the committee presents its top scenarios to the board for final consideration, and during the fourth quarter of each year, the board approves one scenario as the consolidated budget for the following year. Once a budget is approved, individual projects within the budget undergo an "authority for expenditure" (AFE) approval process that includes both operating and financial reviews.

Altogether, the AFE approval process, the annual budget, and the strategic plan help set the Company’s basic direction and tone and assist in structuring many of Swift’s major expenditure controls.

General information about Swift’s corporate governance is available in the corporate governance section of the Company’s web site.