Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Contractual Commitments

Future minimum contractual commitments as of December 31, 2021 under non-cancelable agreements having initial or remaining terms in excess of one year are as follows: 

	2022		2023		2024		2025		2026		Thereafter
Office leases	696		595		605		152		—		—
Total	$	696	$	595	$	605	$	152	$	—	$	—

Additionally, the Company leases corporate office space in The Woodlands, Texas and Midland, Texas. Rent expense was approximately $0.8 million, $0.8 million and $0.8 million, for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Minimum lease payments under the terms of non-cancelable operating leases as of December 31, 2021 are included in the table above.

Environmental

The Company’s operations are subject to risks normally associated with the drilling, completion and production of oil and gas, including blowouts, fires, and environmental risks such as oil spills or gas leaks that could expose the Company to liabilities associated with these risks.

In the Company’s acquisition of existing or previously drilled well bores, the Company may not be aware of prior environmental safeguards, if any, that were taken at the time such wells were drilled or during such time the wells were operated. The Company maintains comprehensive insurance coverage that it believes is adequate to mitigate the risk of any adverse financial effects associated with these risks.

However, should it be determined that a liability exists with respect to any environmental cleanup or restoration, the liability to cure such a violation could still fall upon the Company. No claim has been made, nor is the Company aware of any liability which the Company may have, as it relates to any environmental cleanup, restoration, or the violation of any rules or regulations relating thereto except for the matter discussed above.

Legal

From time to time, Earthstone and its subsidiaries may be involved in various legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business.

Olenik v. Lodzinski et al.: On June 2, 2017, a purported shareholder class and derivative action in the Delaware Court of Chancery was filed against Earthstone’s Chief Executive Officer, along with other members of the Board, EnCap Investments L.P. (“EnCap”), Bold Energy Holdings, LLC (“Bold Holdings”), and Bold Energy III LLC (“Bold”) and Oak Valley Resources,

LLC. The complaint alleged that Earthstone’s directors breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the contribution agreement dated as of November 7, 2016 and as amended on March 21, 2017 (the “Bold Contribution Agreement”), by and among Earthstone, EEH, Lynden US, Lynden USA Operating, LLC, Bold Holdings and Bold. The Plaintiff asserted that the directors negotiated the business combination pursuant to the Bold Contribution Agreement (the “Bold Transaction”) to the detriment of the Earthstone stockholders who were not affiliated with EnCap or Earthstone management, did not follow an adequate process in negotiating and approving the Bold Transaction and made materially misleading or incomplete proxy disclosures in connection with the Bold Transaction. On July 20, 2018, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss and entered an order dismissing the action in its entirety with prejudice. The Plaintiff filed an appeal with the Delaware Supreme Court. On April 5, 2019, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Delaware Court of Chancery’s dismissal of the proxy disclosure claims but reversed the Delaware Court of Chancery’s dismissal of the other claims, holding that the allegations with respect to those claims were sufficient for pleading purposes. After engaging in extensive pre-trial discovery, the parties entered into a settlement agreement that was approved by the Delaware Court of Chancery on March 31, 2021. The principal terms of the settlement agreement are: (i) a $3.5 million all-in cash settlement payment (the “Fund”) to be funded by defendants and/or their insurers into an escrow account, (ii) a bi-lateral complete and full release of all claims against defendants and plaintiffs, and (iii) 55% of the Fund (the derivative payment) be paid to Earthstone to be used as determined by management, 45% of the Fund (the class payment) be paid to members of the class or current stockholders of Earthstone. Earthstone paid the $3.5 million settlement in April 2021 and the insurance carriers reimbursed their agreed upon allocation of the settlement totaling $2.8 million. In addition, Earthstone has received $1.3 million from the derivative portion of the settlement, which was included as a reduction of Transaction costs in the Consolidated Statement of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2021.