T\ue000 Annual\ue000 Report\ue000 Pursuant\ue000 to\ue000 Section\ue000 13\ue000 or\ue000 15(d)\ue000 of\ue000 the\ue000 Securities\ue000 Exchange\ue000 Act\ue000 of\ue000 1934
For\ue000 the\ue000 fiscal\ue000 year\ue000 ended\ue000 December\ue000 31,\ue000 2008
Commission\ue000 file\ue000 number\ue000 1-9735

Indicate\ue000 by\ue000 check\ue000 mark\ue000 whether\ue000 the\ue000 registrant\ue000 (1)\ue000 has\ue000 filed\ue000 all\ue000 reports\ue000 required\ue000 to\ue000 be\ue000 filed\ue000 by\ue000 Section\ue000 13\ue000 or\ue000 15(d)\ue000 of\ue000 the\ue000 Securities\ue000 Exchange\ue000 Act
of\ue000 1934\ue000 during\ue000 the\ue000 preceding\ue000 12\ue000 months\ue000 (or\ue000 for\ue000 such\ue000 shorter\ue000 period\ue000 that\ue000 the\ue000 registrant\ue000 was\ue000 required\ue000 to\ue000 file\ue000 such\ue000 reports),\ue000 and\ue000 (2)\ue000 has\ue000 been
subject\ue000 to\ue000 such\ue000 filing\ue000 requirements\ue000 for\ue000 the\ue000 past\ue000 90\ue000 days.\ue000 YES\ue000 T\ue000 NO\ue000 \u00a3
Indicate\ue000 by\ue000 check\ue000 mark\ue000 if\ue000 disclosure\ue000 of\ue000 delinquent\ue000 filers\ue000 pursuant\ue000 to\ue000 Item\ue000 405\ue000 of\ue000 Regulation\ue000 S-K\ue000 is\ue000 not\ue000 contained\ue000 herein,\ue000 and\ue000 will\ue000 not\ue000 be
contained,\ue000 to\ue000 the\ue000 best\ue000 of\ue000 registrant\u2019s\ue000 knowledge,\ue000 in\ue000 definitive\ue000 proxy\ue000 or\ue000 information\ue000 statements\ue000 incorporated\ue000 by\ue000 reference\ue000 in\ue000 Part\ue000 III\ue000 of\ue000 this\ue000 Form
10-K\ue000 or\ue000 any\ue000 amendment\ue000 to\ue000 this\ue000 Form\ue000 10-K.\ue000 \u00a3
Indicate\ue000 by\ue000 check\ue000 mark\ue000 whether\ue000 the\ue000 registrant\ue000 is\ue000 a\ue000 large\ue000 accelerated\ue000 filer,\ue000 an\ue000 accelerated\ue000 filer,\ue000 or\ue000 a\ue000 non-accelerated\ue000 filer,\ue000 or\ue000 a\ue000 smaller\ue000 reporting
company.\ue000 See\ue000 definition\ue000 of\ue000 \u201clarge\ue000 accelerated\ue000 filer\u201d,\ue000 \u201caccelerated\ue000 filer\u201d\ue000 and\ue000 \u201csmaller\ue000 reporting\ue000 company\u201d\ue000 in\ue000 Rule\ue000 12b-2\ue000 of\ue000 the\ue000 Exchange\ue000 Act.
(Check\ue000 one):
Large\ue000 accelerated\ue000 filerT

Smaller\ue000 reporting\ue000 company\u00a3
Indicate\ue000 by\ue000 check\ue000 mark\ue000 whether\ue000 the\ue000 registrant\ue000 is\ue000 a\ue000 shell\ue000 company\ue000 (as\ue000 defined\ue000 in\ue000 Rule\ue000 12b-2\ue000 of\ue000 the\ue000 Act).\ue000 YES\ue000 \u00a3\ue000 NO\ue000 T
As\ue000 of\ue000 June\ue000 30,\ue000 2008,\ue000 the\ue000 aggregate\ue000 market\ue000 value\ue000 of\ue000 the\ue000 voting\ue000 and\ue000 non-voting\ue000 common\ue000 stock\ue000 held\ue000 by\ue000 non-affiliates\ue000 was\ue000 $2,173,457,341.\ue000 As\ue000 of
February\ue000 2,\ue000 2009,\ue000 the\ue000 registrant\ue000 had\ue000 42,782,521\ue000 shares\ue000 of\ue000 Class\ue000 A\ue000 Common\ue000 Stock\ue000 outstanding.\ue000 The\ue000 registrant\ue000 also\ue000 had\ue000 1,797,784\ue000 shares\ue000 of\ue000 Class
B\ue000 Stock\ue000 outstanding\ue000 on\ue000 February\ue000 2,\ue000 2009\ue000 all\ue000 of\ue000 which\ue000 are\ue000 held\ue000 by\ue000 an\ue000 affiliate\ue000 of\ue000 the\ue000 registrant.

BERRY\ue000 PETROLEUM\ue000 COMPANY
TABLE\ue000 OF\ue000 CONTENTS
PART\ue000 I

\ue000 \u201cSafe\ue000 harbor\ue000 under\ue000 the\ue000 Private\ue000 Securities\ue000 Litigation\ue000 Reform\ue000 Act\ue000 of\ue000 1995:\u201d\ue000 Any\ue000 statements\ue000 in\ue000 this\ue000 Form\ue000 10-K\ue000 that\ue000 are\ue000 not\ue000 historical\ue000 facts\ue000 are
forward-looking\ue000 statements\ue000 that\ue000 involve\ue000 risks\ue000 and\ue000 uncertainties.\ue000 Words\ue000 or\ue000 forms\ue000 of\ue000 words\ue000 such\ue000 as\ue000 \u201cwill,\u201d\ue000 \u201cmight,\u201d\ue000 \u201cintend,\u201d\ue000 \u201ccontinue,\u201d
\u201ctarget,\u201d\ue000 \u201cexpect,\u201d\ue000 \u201cachieve,\u201d\ue000 \u201cstrategy,\u201d\ue000 \u201cfuture,\u201d\ue000 \u201cmay,\u201d\ue000 \u201ccould,\u201d\ue000 \u201cgoal,\u201d,\ue000 \u201cforecast,\u201d\ue000 \u201canticipate,\u201d\ue000 or\ue000 other\ue000 comparable\ue000 words\ue000 or\ue000 phrases,\ue000 or
the\ue000 negative\ue000 of\ue000 those\ue000 words,\ue000 and\ue000 other\ue000 words\ue000 of\ue000 similar\ue000 meaning,\ue000 indicate\ue000 forward-looking\ue000 statements\ue000 and\ue000 important\ue000 factors\ue000 which\ue000 could\ue000 affect
actual\ue000 results.\ue000 Forward-looking\ue000 statements\ue000 are\ue000 made\ue000 based\ue000 on\ue000 management\u2019s\ue000 current\ue000 expectations\ue000 and\ue000 beliefs\ue000 concerning\ue000 future\ue000 developments
and\ue000 their\ue000 potential\ue000 effects\ue000 upon\ue000 Berry\ue000 Petroleum\ue000 Company.\ue000 These\ue000 items\ue000 are\ue000 discussed\ue000 at\ue000 length\ue000 on\ue000 page\ue000 14\ue000 in\ue000 Part\ue000 I,\ue000 Item\ue000 1A\ue000 in\ue000 this\ue000 Form\ue000 10-K
filed\ue000 with\ue000 the\ue000 Securities\ue000 and\ue000 Exchange\ue000 Commission,\ue000 under\ue000 the\ue000 heading\ue000 \u201cRisk\ue000 Factors.\u201d

crude\ue000 oil\ue000 and\ue000 natural\ue000 gas.\ue000 While\ue000 we\ue000 were\ue000 incorporated\ue000 in\ue000 Delaware\ue000 in\ue000 1985\ue000 and\ue000 have\ue000 been\ue000 a\ue000 publicly\ue000 traded\ue000 company\ue000 since\ue000 1987,\ue000 we\ue000 can\ue000 trace
our\ue000 roots\ue000 in\ue000 California\ue000 oil\ue000 production\ue000 back\ue000 to\ue000 1909.\ue000 In\ue000 2003,\ue000 we\ue000 purchased\ue000 and\ue000 began\ue000 operating\ue000 properties\ue000 in\ue000 the\ue000 Rocky\ue000 Mountains.\ue000 In\ue000 2008,\ue000 we
purchased\ue000 and\ue000 began\ue000 operating\ue000 properties\ue000 in\ue000 East\ue000 Texas\ue000 (E.\ue000 Texas).\ue000 \ue000 Also\ue000 in\ue000 2008,\ue000 we\ue000 relocated\ue000 our\ue000 corporate\ue000 headquarters\ue000 to\ue000 Denver,
Colorado\ue000 and\ue000 we\ue000 have\ue000 regional\ue000 offices\ue000 in\ue000 Bakersfield,\ue000 California\ue000 and\ue000 Plano,\ue000 Texas.\ue000 Information\ue000 contained\ue000 in\ue000 this\ue000 report\ue000 on\ue000 Form\ue000 10-K\ue000 reflects
our\ue000 business\ue000 during\ue000 the\ue000 year\ue000 ended\ue000 December\ue000 31,\ue000 2008\ue000 unless\ue000 noted\ue000 otherwise.

,\ue000 can\ue000 be\ue000 used\ue000 to\ue000 access\ue000 recent\ue000 news\ue000 releases\ue000 and\ue000 Securities\ue000 and\ue000 Exchange\ue000 Commission\ue000 (SEC) filings,\ue000 crude\ue000 oil\ue000 price\ue000 postings,\ue000 hedging\ue000 summaries,\ue000 our\ue000 Annual\ue000 Report,\ue000 Proxy\ue000 Statement,\ue000 Board\ue000 committee\ue000 charters,\ue000 Corporate\ue000 Governance Guidelines,\ue000 code\ue000 of\ue000 business\ue000 conduct\ue000 and\ue000 ethics,\ue000 the\ue000 code\ue000 of\ue000 ethics\ue000 for\ue000 senior\ue000 financial\ue000 officers,\ue000 and\ue000 other\ue000 items\ue000 of\ue000 interest.\ue000 Information\ue000 on\ue000 our website\ue000 is\ue000 not\ue000 incorporated\ue000 into\ue000 this\ue000 report.\ue000 \ue000 SEC\ue000 filings,\ue000 including\ue000 supplemental\ue000 schedules\ue000 and\ue000 exhibits,\ue000 can\ue000 also\ue000 be\ue000 accessed\ue000 free\ue000 of\ue000 charge through\ue000 the\ue000 SEC\ue000 website\ue000 at\ue000 http://www.sec.gov.

developmental\ue000 and\ue000 step-out\ue000 drilling,\ue000 down-spacing,\ue000 well\ue000 completions,\ue000 remedial\ue000 work\ue000 and\ue000 by\ue000 application\ue000 of\ue000 enhanced\ue000 oil\ue000 recovery\ue000 (EOR)
methods,\ue000 and\ue000 optimization\ue000 technologies,\ue000 as\ue000 applicable.\ue000 We\ue000 also\ue000 have\ue000 large\ue000 potential\ue000 hydrocarbon\ue000 resources\ue000 in\ue000 place\ue000 in\ue000 the\ue000 San\ue000 Joaquin\ue000 Valley,
California\ue000 (diatomite);\ue000 Piceance,\ue000 Colorado;\ue000 Uinta,\ue000 Utah\ue000 (Lake\ue000 Canyon);\ue000 and\ue000 Cotton\ue000 Valley\ue000 Trend\ue000 in\ue000 E.\ue000 Texas.\ue000 We\ue000 have\ue000 a\ue000 proven\ue000 track\ue000 record\ue000 of
developing\ue000 reserves\ue000 and\ue000 establishing\ue000 new\ue000 businesses\ue000 in\ue000 the\ue000 Rocky\ue000 Mountain\ue000 and\ue000 E.\ue000 Texas\ue000 regions.

projects\ue000 where\ue000 we\ue000 are\ue000 likely\ue000 to\ue000 have\ue000 success\ue000 in\ue000 increasing\ue000 production\ue000 and/or\ue000 reserves\ue000 at\ue000 attractive\ue000 returns.\ue000 We\ue000 believe\ue000 that\ue000 maintaining\ue000 a
strong\ue000 financial\ue000 position\ue000 will\ue000 allow\ue000 us\ue000 to\ue000 capitalize\ue000 on\ue000 investment\ue000 opportunities\ue000 in\ue000 all\ue000 commodity\ue000 cycles.\ue000 Our\ue000 capital\ue000 programs\ue000 are\ue000 developed\ue000 to
be\ue000 fully\ue000 funded\ue000 through\ue000 internally\ue000 generated\ue000 cash\ue000 flows\ue000 while\ue000 our\ue000 acquisitions\ue000 have\ue000 been\ue000 primarily\ue000 funded\ue000 through\ue000 debt.\ue000 We\ue000 hedge\ue000 a
significant\ue000 portion\ue000 of\ue000 our\ue000 production\ue000 and\ue000 utilize\ue000 long-term\ue000 sales\ue000 contracts\ue000 whenever\ue000 possible\ue000 to\ue000 maintain\ue000 a\ue000 strong\ue000 financial\ue000 position\ue000 and
provide\ue000 the\ue000 cash\ue000 flow\ue000 necessary\ue000 for\ue000 the\ue000 development\ue000 of\ue000 our\ue000 assets.