Fortune rated Arena No. 8 on its annual list, down seven spots from 2008’s list. The only other Tulsa company to make the ranking was contract driller Helmerich & Payne, which placed No. 94.

LSB Industries of Oklahoma City rounded out the state’s representation at No. 34. Research in Motion, the Canadian maker of Blackberry and Curve smart phones, finished atop the magazine’s current group of fast-growing companies.

Arena’s reputation is hardly hurting from the fall. Fortune and cable network CNBC featured the 9-year-old Tulsa oil and gas producer among five expansive companies in an Aug. 19 television special.

Oil and gas prices falling from last year’s historic highs likely accounted for some of Arena’s drop in the Fortune rankings. Even so, the company increased its oil and gas sales volumes to more than 950,000 barrels and 990,000 million cubic feet, respectively, for the first six months of 2009, according to an earnings report.

Arena upped its planned annual capital expenditure budget $20 million to $85 million for the entire year. Company planners predict an estimated $651.6 million in PV-10 – proven future net revenue discounted 10 percent.

Arena also is basically debt free, with no amount outstanding under its $150 million credit facility, according to reports.

Fortune noted that the company added 225 wells last year, mainly in New Mexico and Texas. It also was impressed with Arena’s 91 percent annual growth in revenue over the past three years.

The magazine’s editors observed that Helmerich & Payne had a fleet of 224 rigs, and posted annual revenue growth of 32 percent during the past three years.

LSB, which through its subsidiaries makes and sells products for the mining, agricultural and industrial markets, had a 22 percent annual growth in revenue over the three-year study period.