Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To The Board of Directors and Shareholders
of Plains Exploration & Production Company:
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated
statements of income, comprehensive income, equity and cash flows present fairly, in all material
respects, the financial position of Plains Exploration & Production Company and its subsidiaries (the
Company) at December 31, 2011 and 2010, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for
each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011 in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in our opinion, the Company
maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2011, based on criteria established in
Internal Control - Integrated Framework
issued by
the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s
management is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control
over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial
reporting, included in Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
appearing under Item 9A – Controls and Procedures. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these
financial statements and on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our
integrated audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the
audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material
misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all
material respects. Our audits of the financial statements included examining, on a test basis, evidence
supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting
principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial
statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an
understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness
exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on
the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we consider
necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our
opinions.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for
external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal
control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the
maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and
dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are
recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made
only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide
reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or
disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect
misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the
risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of
compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Houston, Texas
February 23, 2012
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