As Filed With the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 26, 2008
                                     Registration Statement No. __________
_____________________________________________________________________________


                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                           Washington, D.C.  20549

                                   FORM S-8
             REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT of 1933


                            DELTA PETROLEUM CORPORATION
                    -----------------------------------------
                    (Exact Name of Registrant in its Charter)

          Delaware                                84-1060803
-------------------------------       ------------------------------------
(State or other jurisdiction of       (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
incorporation or organization)


             Suite 4300, 370 17th Street, Denver, Colorado 80202
                               (303) 293-9133
             ---------------------------------------------------
                  (Address and telephone number of principal
              executive offices and principal place of business)

        Delta Petroleum Corporation 2008 New-Hire Equity Incentive Plan
        ---------------------------------------------------------------
                            (Full title of plan)


                  Roger A. Parker, Chief Executive Officer
                       Delta Petroleum Corporation
                       Suite 4300, 370 17th Street
                         Denver, Colorado  80202
                              (303) 293-9133
                  ----------------------------------------
                       (Name, address and telephone
                       number of agent for service)

                                Copy to:
                           James P. Beck, Esq.
                             Krys Boyle, P.C.
                 600 Seventeenth Street, Suite 2700 South
                          Denver, Colorado  80202
                             (303)  893-2300

                      CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Proposed    Proposed
                                  Maximum     Maximum
Title of Class of                 Offering    Aggregate        Amount of
Securities to be   Amount to be   Price       Offering         Registration
Registered         Registered     Per Share   Price            Fee
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock,       500,000       $25.59 (1)  $12,795,000.00(1) $ 502.84
$.01 Par Value
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of computing the amount of registration
fee based on the closing price of Registrant's Common Stock on the Nasdaq
Global Market on June 24, 2008 of $25.59.



                                  PART II
             INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

     The following documents filed by the Company with the Commission are
incorporated in this Registration Statement:

     1.  Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31,
         2007.

     2.  Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

     3.  Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on January 25, 2008; February 8,
         2008; February 22, 2008; March 5, 2008 and May 8, 2008 (excluding
         information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 and any
         exhibits thereto).

     4.  All documents filed by the Company, subsequent to the date of this
         prospectus, under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the
         Securities Exchange Act of 1934, prior to the termination of the
         offering described herein.

     Any statement contained in a document incorporated by reference herein
shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for all purposes to the extent
that a statement contained in this prospectus or in any other subsequently
filed document which is also incorporated herein by reference modifies or
replaces such statement.  Any such statement so modified or superseded shall
not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of
this prospectus.

     We will provide without charge to each person to whom this prospectus is
delivered, on written or oral request of such person, a copy (without
exhibits) of any or all documents incorporated by reference in this
prospectus.  Requests for such copies should be directed to Stanley F.
Freedman, Delta Petroleum Corporation, Suite 4300, 370 17th Street, Denver,
Colorado 80202, or (303) 293-9133.

Item 4.  Description of Securities.  Not applicable.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.  Not applicable.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

     Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law ("DGCL") permits the
board of directors of Delta Petroleum Corporation, a Delaware corporation
("Delta"), to indemnify any person against expenses (including attorneys'
fees), judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and
reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with any threatened, pending
or completed action, suit, or proceeding in which such person is made a party
by reason of his or her being or having been a director, officer, employee,
or agent of Delta, or serving or having served, at the request of Delta, as a
director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership,

                                     II-1



joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, in terms sufficiently broad to
permit such indemnification under certain circumstances for liabilities
(including reimbursement for expenses incurred) arising under the Securities
Act of 1933 (the "Act"). The statute provides that indemnification pursuant
to its provisions is not exclusive of other rights of indemnification to
which a person may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of
stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise.

     Article 10 of Delta's Certificate of Incorporation provides for
mandatory, rather than permissive, indemnification of former and current
officers and directors of Delta with respect to expenses incurred in any
action brought against those persons as a result of their role with Delta if
certain conditions are satisfied. Subject to certain conditions, the
Certificate of Incorporation provides for mandatory advancement of expenses
incurred by those persons in defending such an action. Under the DGCL, a
person seeking indemnification is generally required to have acted in a
manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best
interests of the corporation.

     As permitted by sections 102 and 145 of the DGCL, Article 9 of Delta's
Certificate of Incorporation eliminates the liability of a Delta director for
monetary damages to Delta and its stockholders arising from a breach of a
director's fiduciary duty except to the extent such exemption from liability
or limitation thereof is not permitted under the DGCL.

     In addition, pursuant to Section 10.8 of Delta's Certificate of
Incorporation, Delta may maintain insurance, at its own expense, to protect
itself and any director, officer, employee or agent of Delta or another
corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against
any expense, liability or loss, whether or not Delta would have the power to
indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the DGCL.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed.  Not applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits.

Exhibit
Number   Description                        Location
------   -----------                        ---------

 5.1     Opinion of Krys Boyle, P.C.
         regarding legality.                Filed herewith electronically.

23.1     Consent of KPMG LLP.               Filed herewith electronically.

23.2     Consent of Krys Boyle, P.C.        (Contained in Exhibit 5.1)

23.3     Consent of Ralph E. Davis
         Associates, Inc.                   Filed herewith electronically.

23.4     Consent of Mannon
         Associates, Inc.                   Filed herewith electronically.

                                     II-2



Item 9.  Undertakings.

     The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

     (1)  to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made,
a post-effective amendment to the registration statement:

          (i)   To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the
                Securities Act of 1933;

         (ii)   To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising
                after the effective date of the registration statement (or
                the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
                individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental
                change in the information set forth in the registration
                statement; and

        (iii)   To include any material information with respect to the plan
                of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration
                statement or any material change to such information in the
                registration statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(i) and (1)(ii) do not apply if the
information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those
paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the
SEC by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration
statement;

     (2)  that, for purposes of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to
be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein,
and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the
initial bona fide offering thereof;

     (3)  to remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination
of the offering;

     (4)  that, for purposes of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant's annual report
pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be
deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered
therein, and the offering of such securities at the time shall be deemed to
be the initial bona fide offering; and

     (5)  that, insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and
controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions,
or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the
Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public

                                     II-3



policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.  In the
event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than
the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director,
officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of
any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or
controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the
Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been
settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against
public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final
adjudication of such issue.










































                                     II-4



                                  SIGNATURES

    Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets
all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Denver and State of Colorado on the
25th day of June, 2008.

                                  DELTA PETROLEUM CORPORATION


                                  By: /s/ Roger A. Parker
                                      Roger A. Parker, Chief Executive
                                      Officer

                                  By: /s/ Kevin K. Nanke
                                      Kevin K. Nanke, Chief Financial
                                      Officer

    Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Form S-8
Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons on the
Registrant's behalf and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

      Signature and Title                                   Date

/s/ Aleron H. Larson, Jr.                              June 19, 2008
Aleron H. Larson, Jr., Director


/s/ Roger A. Parker                                    June 25, 2008
Roger A. Parker, Director


/s/ James B. Wallace                                   June 19, 2008
James B. Wallace, Director


/s/ Jerrie F. Eckelberger                              June 25, 2008
Jerrie F. Eckelberger, Director


/s/ Russell S. Lewis                                   June 25, 2008
Russell S. Lewis, Director


/s/ Kevin R. Collins                                   June 19, 2008
Kevin R. Collins, Director


/s/ Jordan R. Smith                                    June 19, 2008
Jordan R. Smith, Director

                                    II-5




/s/ Neal A. Stanley                                    June 25, 2008
Neal A. Stanley, Director


/s/ John R. Wallace                                    June 25, 2008
John R. Wallace, Director


/s/ Hank Brown                                         June 19, 2008
Hank Brown, Director


_______________________________                        June ___, 2008
James J. Murren, Director


/s/ Daniel J. Taylor                                   June 19, 2008
Daniel J. Taylor, Director



































                                      II-6
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{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "DELTA PETROLEUM CORP/CO", "cik": "0000821483", "assigned-sic": "1311", "irs-number": "841060803", "state-of-incorporation": "CO", "fiscal-year-end": "0630"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-151958", "film-number": "08918888"}, "business-address": {"street1": "370 SEVENTEENTH STREET", "street2": "SUITE 4300", "city": "DENVER", "state": "CO", "zip": "80202", "phone": "3032939133"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "370 SEVENTEENTH STREET", "street2": "SUITE 4300", "city": "DENVER", "state": "CO", "zip": "80202"}}
As Filed With the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 26, 2008
                                     Registration Statement No. __________
_____________________________________________________________________________

                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                           Washington, D.C.  20549

                                   FORM S-8
             REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT of 1933

                            DELTA PETROLEUM CORPORATION
                    -----------------------------------------
                    (Exact Name of Registrant in its Charter)

          Delaware                                84-1060803
-------------------------------       ------------------------------------
(State or other jurisdiction of       (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
incorporation or organization)

             Suite 4300, 370 17th Street, Denver, Colorado 80202
                               (303) 293-9133
             ---------------------------------------------------
                  (Address and telephone number of principal
              executive offices and principal place of business)

        Delta Petroleum Corporation 2008 New-Hire Equity Incentive Plan
        ---------------------------------------------------------------
                            (Full title of plan)

                  Roger A. Parker, Chief Executive Officer
                       Delta Petroleum Corporation
                       Suite 4300, 370 17th Street
                         Denver, Colorado  80202
                              (303) 293-9133
                  ----------------------------------------
                       (Name, address and telephone
                       number of agent for service)

                                Copy to:
                           James P. Beck, Esq.
                             Krys Boyle, P.C.
                 600 Seventeenth Street, Suite 2700 South
                          Denver, Colorado  80202
                             (303)  893-2300

                      CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Proposed    Proposed
                                  Maximum     Maximum
Title of Class of                 Offering    Aggregate        Amount of
Securities to be   Amount to be   Price       Offering         Registration
Registered         Registered     Per Share   Price            Fee
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock,       500,000       $25.59 (1)  $12,795,000.00(1) $ 502.84
$.01 Par Value
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of computing the amount of registration
fee based on the closing price of Registrant's Common Stock on the Nasdaq
Global Market on June 24, 2008 of $25.59.

                                  PART II
             INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

     The following documents filed by the Company with the Commission are
incorporated in this Registration Statement:

     1.  Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31,
         2007.

     2.  Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

     3.  Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on January 25, 2008; February 8,
         2008; February 22, 2008; March 5, 2008 and May 8, 2008 (excluding
         information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 and any
         exhibits thereto).

     4.  All documents filed by the Company, subsequent to the date of this
         prospectus, under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the
         Securities Exchange Act of 1934, prior to the termination of the
         offering described herein.

     Any statement contained in a document incorporated by reference herein
shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for all purposes to the extent
that a statement contained in this prospectus or in any other subsequently
filed document which is also incorporated herein by reference modifies or
replaces such statement.  Any such statement so modified or superseded shall
not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of
this prospectus.

     We will provide without charge to each person to whom this prospectus is
delivered, on written or oral request of such person, a copy (without
exhibits) of any or all documents incorporated by reference in this
prospectus.  Requests for such copies should be directed to Stanley F.
Freedman, Delta Petroleum Corporation, Suite 4300, 370 17th Street, Denver,
Colorado 80202, or (303) 293-9133.

Item 4.  Description of Securities.  Not applicable.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.  Not applicable.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

     Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law ("DGCL") permits the
board of directors of Delta Petroleum Corporation, a Delaware corporation
("Delta"), to indemnify any person against expenses (including attorneys'
fees), judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and
reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with any threatened, pending
or completed action, suit, or proceeding in which such person is made a party
by reason of his or her being or having been a director, officer, employee,
or agent of Delta, or serving or having served, at the request of Delta, as a
director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership,

                                     II-1

joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, in terms sufficiently broad to
permit such indemnification under certain circumstances for liabilities
(including reimbursement for expenses incurred) arising under the Securities
Act of 1933 (the "Act"). The statute provides that indemnification pursuant
to its provisions is not exclusive of other rights of indemnification to
which a person may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of
stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise.

     Article 10 of Delta's Certificate of Incorporation provides for
mandatory, rather than permissive, indemnification of former and current
officers and directors of Delta with respect to expenses incurred in any
action brought against those persons as a result of their role with Delta if
certain conditions are satisfied. Subject to certain conditions, the
Certificate of Incorporation provides for mandatory advancement of expenses
incurred by those persons in defending such an action. Under the DGCL, a
person seeking indemnification is generally required to have acted in a
manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best
interests of the corporation.

     As permitted by sections 102 and 145 of the DGCL, Article 9 of Delta's
Certificate of Incorporation eliminates the liability of a Delta director for
monetary damages to Delta and its stockholders arising from a breach of a
director's fiduciary duty except to the extent such exemption from liability
or limitation thereof is not permitted under the DGCL.

     In addition, pursuant to Section 10.8 of Delta's Certificate of
Incorporation, Delta may maintain insurance, at its own expense, to protect
itself and any director, officer, employee or agent of Delta or another
corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against
any expense, liability or loss, whether or not Delta would have the power to
indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the DGCL.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed.  Not applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits.

Exhibit
Number   Description                        Location
------   -----------                        ---------

 5.1     Opinion of Krys Boyle, P.C.
         regarding legality.                Filed herewith electronically.

23.1     Consent of KPMG LLP.               Filed herewith electronically.

23.2     Consent of Krys Boyle, P.C.        (Contained in Exhibit 5.1)

23.3     Consent of Ralph E. Davis
         Associates, Inc.                   Filed herewith electronically.

23.4     Consent of Mannon
         Associates, Inc.                   Filed herewith electronically.

                                     II-2

Item 9.  Undertakings.

     The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

     (1)  to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made,
a post-effective amendment to the registration statement:

          (i)   To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the
                Securities Act of 1933;

         (ii)   To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising
                after the effective date of the registration statement (or
                the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
                individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental
                change in the information set forth in the registration
                statement; and

        (iii)   To include any material information with respect to the plan
                of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration
                statement or any material change to such information in the
                registration statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(i) and (1)(ii) do not apply if the
information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those
paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the
SEC by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration
statement;

     (2)  that, for purposes of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to
be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein,
and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the
initial bona fide offering thereof;

     (3)  to remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination
of the offering;

     (4)  that, for purposes of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant's annual report
pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be
deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered
therein, and the offering of such securities at the time shall be deemed to
be the initial bona fide offering; and

     (5)  that, insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and
controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions,
or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the
Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public

                                     II-3

policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.  In the
event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than
the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director,
officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of
any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or
controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the
Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been
settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against
public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final
adjudication of such issue.

                                     II-4

                                  SIGNATURES

    Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets
all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Denver and State of Colorado on the
25th day of June, 2008.

                                  DELTA PETROLEUM CORPORATION

                                  By: /s/ Roger A. Parker
                                      Roger A. Parker, Chief Executive
                                      Officer

                                  By: /s/ Kevin K. Nanke
                                      Kevin K. Nanke, Chief Financial
                                      Officer

    Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Form S-8
Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons on the
Registrant's behalf and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

      Signature and Title                                   Date

/s/ Aleron H. Larson, Jr.                              June 19, 2008
Aleron H. Larson, Jr., Director

/s/ Roger A. Parker                                    June 25, 2008
Roger A. Parker, Director

/s/ James B. Wallace                                   June 19, 2008
James B. Wallace, Director

/s/ Jerrie F. Eckelberger                              June 25, 2008
Jerrie F. Eckelberger, Director

/s/ Russell S. Lewis                                   June 25, 2008
Russell S. Lewis, Director

/s/ Kevin R. Collins                                   June 19, 2008
Kevin R. Collins, Director

/s/ Jordan R. Smith                                    June 19, 2008
Jordan R. Smith, Director

                                    II-5

/s/ Neal A. Stanley                                    June 25, 2008
Neal A. Stanley, Director

/s/ John R. Wallace                                    June 25, 2008
John R. Wallace, Director

/s/ Hank Brown                                         June 19, 2008
Hank Brown, Director

_______________________________                        June ___, 2008
James J. Murren, Director

/s/ Daniel J. Taylor                                   June 19, 2008
Daniel J. Taylor, Director

                                      II-6