XML 64 R7.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.0.8
2. BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
Notes to Financial Statements  
2. BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

 

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Treaty Energy Drilling, C&C Petroleum Management, LLC,, and Treaty Belize Energy, Ltd., in which the Company holds a 76% interest.  All significant intercompany transactions have been eliminated.

 

The consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of financial information for the interim periods presented.  These adjustments are of a normal recurring nature and include appropriate estimated provisions.

 

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant estimates underlying these consolidated financial statements include the estimated quantities of proved oil reserves used to compute depletion of oil and natural gas properties and the estimated fair value of asset retirement obligations.

 

All of the Company’s accounting policies are not included in this Form 10-Q.  A more comprehensive set of accounting policies adopted by the Company are included on our Form 10-K as of December 31, 2012 and are herein incorporated by reference.

 

Revenue Recognition

 

The Company recognizes oil, gas and natural gas condensate revenue in the period of delivery. Settlement on sales occurs anywhere from two weeks to two months after the delivery date. The Company recognizes revenue when an arrangement exists, the product has been delivered, the sales price is fixed or determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured.

 

The Company recognizes drilling revenue in the period services are rendered.  The Company recognizes revenue when a drilling engagement exists, the service has been rendered, the contract fee is fixed or determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured.

 

Stock-Based Compensation

 

In December of 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued guidance now codified as Topic 718 (“Topic 18”) which applies to transactions in which an entity exchanges its equity instruments for goods or services and also applies to liabilities an entity may incur for goods or services that are based on the fair value of those equity instruments. For any unvested portion of previously issued and outstanding awards, compensation expense is required to be recorded based on the previously disclosed Topic 18 methodology and amounts.  Prior periods presented are not required to be restated. The Company adopted Topic 18 at its inception and applied the standard using the modified prospective method.

 

Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations

 

The Company accounts for conditional asset retirement obligations in accordance with FASB ASC 410-20.  Accordingly, an entity is required to recognize a liability for the fair value of a conditional asset retirement obligation if the fair value can be reasonably estimated. The Company estimates a fair value of the obligation on each well in which it owns an interest by identifying costs associated with the future dismantlement and removal of production equipment and facilities and the restoration and reclamation of a production operation’s surface to a condition similar to that existing before oil and natural gas extraction began.

 

In general, the amount of an Asset Retirement Obligation (“ARO”) and the costs capitalized will be equal to the estimated future cost to satisfy the abandonment obligation using current prices that are escalated by an assumed inflation factor up to the estimated settlement date which is then discounted back to the date that the abandonment obligation was incurred using an assumed cost of funds for the Company. After recording these amounts, the ARO is accreted to its future estimated value using the same assumed cost of funds and the liability is increased each period as the retirement obligation approaches.  See Note 11 for a discussion of our estimated Asset Retirement Obligation.