UNITED STATES

(918) 513-4570

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. 

Number of shares of registrant's common stock outstanding as of May 4,October 31, 2023: 18,596,81024,760,683

Glossary of Oil and Natural Gas Terms and Certain Other Terms

The following terms are used throughout this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this "Quarterly Report"):

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Various statements contained in or incorporated by reference into this Quarterly Report are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements include statements, projections and estimates concerning our operations, performance, business strategy, oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves, drilling program capital expenditures, liquidity and capital resources, the timing and success of specific projects, outcomes and effects of litigation, claims and disputes, derivative activities and potential financing. Forward-looking statements are generally accompanied by words such as "estimate," "project," "predict," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "potential," "could," "may," "will," "foresee," "plan," "goal," "should," "intend," "pursue," "target," "continue," "suggest" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. These statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments as well as other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. Among the factors that significantly impact our business and could impact our business in the future are:

These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should, therefore, be considered in light of various factors, including those set forth under "Part I, Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations"and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report, and under "Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors" and "Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 (the "2022 Annual Report") and those set forth from time to time in our other filings with the SEC. These documents are available through our website or through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering and Analysis Retrieval system at http:https://www.sec.gov. In light of such risks and uncertainties, we caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Quarterly Report, or if earlier, as of the date they were made. We do not intend to, and disclaim any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements unless required by securities law.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

Vital Energy, Inc. ("Vital" or the "Company"), together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is an independent energy company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas. The Company has identified one operating segment: exploration and production. In these notes, the "Company" refers to Vital and its subsidiaries collectively, unless the context indicates otherwise. All amounts, dollars and percentages presented in these unaudited consolidated financial statements and the related notes are rounded and, therefore, approximate.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements were derived from the historical accounting records of the Company and reflect the historical financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods described herein. The unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. All material intercompany transactions and account balances have been eliminated in the consolidation of accounts.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements have not been audited by the Company's independent registered public accounting firm, except that the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2022 is derived from the Company's audited consolidated financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited consolidated financial statements reflect all necessary adjustments to present fairly the Company's interim financial position, as of March 31, 2023, results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022.flows. All adjustments are of a recurring nature unless otherwise disclosed herein.

Certain disclosures have been condensed or omitted from the unaudited consolidated financial statements. Accordingly, the unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the 2022 Annual Report.

There have been no material changes in the Company's significant accounting policies during the threenine months ended March 31,September 30, 2023. See Note 2 in the 2022 Annual Report for discussion of significant accounting policies.

Use of estimates

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions about future events. These estimates and the underlying assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Although management believes these estimates are reasonable, actual results could differ.

See Note 2 in the 2022 Annual Report for further information regarding the use of estimates and assumptions.

The Company considered the applicability and impact of all accounting standard updates ("ASU") issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to the Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") and has determined there are no ASUs that are not yet adopted and meaningful to disclose as of March 31,September 30, 2023. Additionally, the Company did not adopt any new ASUs during the threenine months ended March 31,September 30, 2023.

On February 14,September 13, 2023, the Company entered into a purchase and sale agreement (the "Driftwood PSA"“Henry PSA”) with DriftwoodHenry Resources, LLC, Henry Energy Operating,LP and Moriah Henry Partners LLC (the "Seller"(collectively, “Henry”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to purchase (the "Driftwood“Henry Acquisition”) Henry’s oil and gas properties in the Midland and Delaware Basin, including approximately 15,900 net acres located in Midland, Reeves and Upton Counties, equity interests in certain subsidiaries and related assets and contracts, for consideration comprising (i) approximately 3.72 million shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Common Stock”), and (ii) approximately 4.98 million shares of the Company’s 2.0% Cumulative Mandatorily Convertible Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share ("Preferred Stock"), each subject to purchase price adjustments and customary closing adjustments. Upon entering into the Henry PSA, the Company issued Preferred Stock as a deposit to be held in escrow until the closing of the Henry Acquisition, which shares may remain in escrow post-closing to satisfy potential title defect claims under the Henry PSA. See Note 5 for additional information. The Company expects the Henry Acquisition to close in the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions.

On June 30, 2023 ("Forge Closing Date"), the Company purchased certain oil and natural gas properties located in the Delaware Basin, including approximately 34,000 net acres in Pecos, Reeves and Ward Counties, and related assets and contracts, with an effective date of March 1, 2023 (the "Forge Acquisition") Seller'sfrom Forge Energy II Delaware, LLC ("Forge").

On April 3, 2023 ("Driftwood Closing Date"), the Company purchased certain oil and natural gas properties in the Midland Basin, including approximately 11,200 net acres located in Upton and Reagan Counties and related assets and contracts, inclusive of derivatives for a(the "Driftwood Assets") with an effective date of January 1, 2023 (the "Driftwood Acquisition") from Driftwood Energy Operating, LLC ("Driftwood").

The aggregate purchase price of $201.3 million consisted of (i) $127.6$117.0 million of cash, subject to customary closing priceinclusive of post-closing adjustments, and (ii) 1,578,948 shares of Common Stock based upon the Company's common stock. Under the termsshare price as of the Driftwood PSA,Closing Date and (iii) $4.2 million in transaction related expenses. The Driftwood Acquisition was accounted for as an asset acquisition, as substantially all the Company deposited $16.3 million intogross assets acquired are concentrated in a third-party escrow account, which is included in "Other noncurrent assets, net"group of similar identifiable assets. Based on the consolidated balance sheetsrelative fair values on the Driftwood Closing Date, the acquired assets and liabilities assumed were allocated as follows: i) $148.4 million to evaluated properties, ii) $58.3 million to unevaluated properties, iii) $0.5 million to revenue suspense liabilities, iv) $4.2 million to derivative liabilities and v) $0.7 million to asset retirement obligation liabilities.

During the second quarter of March 31, 2023. The Company funded the cash portion of the purchase price and related transaction costs2023, in connection with respect to the Driftwood Acquisition, from cash on hand and borrowings under its Senior Secured Credit Facility.

On August 16, 2022, the Company entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. ("NOG"),NOG, pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell to NOG the Company's working interests in certain specified non-operated oil and gas properties (the "NOG Working Interest Sale").

On October 3, 2022, the Company closed the NOG Working Interest Sale for an aggregate sales price of $106.1 million, inclusive of post-closing adjustments.

The following table presents the Company's long-term debt and unamortized debt issuance costs, netdiscounts and premiums included in "Long-term debt, net" on the consolidated balance sheets as of the dates presented:

As of March 31,September 30, 2023, the Senior Secured Credit Facility, which matures on July 16, 2025 (subject to a springing maturity date of July 29, 2024 if any of the January 2025 Notes are outstanding on such date), had a maximum credit amount of $2.0 billion, a borrowing base and an aggregate elected commitment of $1.3 billion and $1.0 billion, respectively, with a $120.0 millionno balance outstanding, and was subject to an interest rate of 7.385%.outstanding. The Senior Secured Credit Facility contains both financial and non-financial covenants, all of which the Company was in compliance with for all periods presented. Additionally, the Senior Secured Credit Facility provides for the issuance of letters of credit, limited to the lesser of total capacity andor $80.0 million. As of March 31,September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had no letters of credit outstanding under the Senior Secured Credit Facility. For additional information see Note 7 in the 2022 Annual Report. See Note 1315 for discussion of (i) additional borrowings and repayments on and (ii) the reaffirmation of the borrowing base and aggregate commitment ofchanges to the Senior Secured Credit Facility in connection with the closing of the Maple Acquisition subsequent to March 31,September 30, 2023.