Exhibit 5.1

February 23, 2021

Laredo Petroleum, Inc.
15 W. Sixth Street, Suite 900
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel to Laredo Petroleum, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with (i) the registration, pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-230427) (the “Registration Statement”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), of the offering and sale by the Company of shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), and (ii) the preparation of a prospectus supplement, dated February 23, 2021, to be filed on the date hereof with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) under the Act (the “Prospectus Supplement”), which supplements the base prospectus contained in the Registration Statement, in connection with the offering and sale from time to time on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415(a)(4) of the Act by the Company of shares of Common Stock having an aggregate offering price not to exceed $75,000,000 (the “Shares”), pursuant to the terms of an equity distribution agreement (the “Equity Distribution Agreement”), dated February 23, 2021, between the Company and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC. This opinion is being furnished in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act.

We have examined originals or certified copies of resolutions of the board of directors of the Company (the “Board”) dated February 11, 2021 authorizing the offering and the transactions, documents and agreements related thereto (the “Offering Resolutions”) and such other corporate records of the Company and other certificates and documents of officials of the Company, public officials and others as we have deemed appropriate for purposes of this letter. We have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals and the conformity to authentic original documents of all copies submitted to us as conformed, certified or reproduced copies. We have also assumed that (i) the Shares will be issued and sold pursuant to the Registration Statement in such manner as relates to and is described in the Prospectus Supplement and in accordance with the terms of the Equity Distribution Agreement; and (ii) upon sale and delivery, (x) the consideration for the issuance and sale of the Shares established by the Board or a duly authorized committee thereof will not be less than the par value of the Common Stock; and (y) valid book-entry notations for the issuance of the Shares in uncertificated form will have been duly made in the share register of the Company. As to various questions of fact relevant to this letter, we have relied, without independent investigation, upon certificates of public officials and certificates of officers of the Company, all of which we assume to be true, correct and complete.

1111 Louisiana Street | 44th Floor | Houston, Texas 77002-5200 | 713.220.5800 | fax: 713.236.0822 | akingump.com

Laredo Petroleum, Inc.
February 23, 2021
Page 2

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, exceptions, qualifications and limitations set forth herein, we are of the opinion that, when the Shares have been issued and delivered in accordance with the Equity Distribution Agreement and the Offering Resolutions against payment in full of the consideration payable therefor as determined by the Board or a duly authorized committee thereof and as contemplated by the Equity Distribution Agreement, the Shares will have been duly authorized and validly issued and will be fully paid and non-assessable.

The opinions and other matters in this letter are qualified in their entirety and subject to the following:

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by the Company with the Commission on or about the date hereof, to the incorporation by reference of this opinion into the Registration Statement and to the use of our name in the Prospectus Supplement under the caption “Legal Matters.” In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.