FAIR VALUE

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The Company uses a fair value hierarchy based on three levels of inputs, of which the first two are considered observable and the last unobservable, that may be used to measure fair value which are the following:

Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 - Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3 - Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

Financial Assets and Liabilities

As required, financial assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input requires judgment and may affect the valuation of fair value assets and liabilities and their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels. The following tables set forth by level within the fair value hierarchy the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2019 and 2018.


	Fair Value Measurements at Using
	December 31, 2019 Using
(In thousands)	Quoted Prices In Active Markets for Identical Assets (Liabilities) (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Commodity Derivatives – Current Asset (crude oil price swaps)	$	—	$	5,628	$	—
Commodity Derivatives – Current Liabilities (crude oil price swaps)	$	—	$	(11,298)	$	—
Commodity Derivatives – Noncurrent Asset (crude oil price swaps and crude oil price swaptions)	—		8,554		—
Commodity Derivatives – Noncurrent Liabilities (crude oil price swaps and crude oil swaptions)	—		(8,079)		—




Total	$	—	$	(5,195)	$	—


	Fair Value Measurements at
	December 31, 2018 Using
(In thousands)	Quoted Prices In Active Markets for Identical Assets (Liabilities) (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Commodity Derivatives – Current Asset (crude oil price and basis swaps)	$	—	$	115,870	$	—

Commodity Derivatives – Non-Current Asset (crude oil price swaps)	—		61,843		—
Contingent Consideration - Current Liabilities	—		—		(58,069)
Debt Exchange Derivatives - Current Liabilities	—		—		(18,183)
Commodity Derivatives – Noncurrent Liabilities (crude oil price swaps)	—		—		—
Total	$	—	$	177,713	$	(76,252)

Commodity Derivatives. The Level 2 instruments presented in the tables above consist of commodity derivative instruments (see Note 12). The fair value of the Company’s derivative financial instruments is determined based upon future prices, volatility and time to maturity, among other things. Counterparty statements are utilized to determine the value of the commodity derivative instruments and are reviewed and corroborated using various methodologies and significant observable inputs. The Company’s and the counterparties’ nonperformance risk is evaluated. The fair value of all derivative contracts is reflected on the balance sheet. The current derivative asset and liability amounts represent the fair values expected to be settled in the subsequent twelve months.

Contingent Consideration. The fair value of the contingent consideration potentially payable by the Company in connection with both the Pivotal Acquisition and W Energy Acquisition, which in certain circumstances the Company was permitted to settle in either cash or shares of common stock, was determined using Monte Carlo simulation models. Significant inputs used in the fair value measurements include (i) the Company’s common stock price, (ii) risk-free rates based on U.S. Treasury rates, (iii) volatility of the Company’s common stock, and (iv) expected average daily trading volumes. The expected volatility and average daily trading volumes used in the valuation were unobservable in the marketplace and significant to the valuation methodology, and the contingent consideration’s fair value was therefore designated as Level 3 in the valuation hierarchy. Changes in the fair value of this liability are included in other income (expense) in the Company’s statements of operations. As of December 31, 2019, there were no remaining outstanding contingent consideration liabilities.

Debt Exchange Derivatives. During the second and third quarters of 2018, the Company entered into and closed a number of independent, separately negotiated exchange agreements with holders of the Company’s previously outstanding Unsecured Notes (described as the “Additional 2018 Exchanges” in Note 4 above). Pursuant to each such exchange agreement, the Company agreed to issue the holder shares of its common stock in exchange for certain Unsecured Notes held by such holder. The Company had embedded derivatives related to certain of these exchange agreements that contained provisions whereby if at the end of the applicable restricted sale period the Company’s common stock trades below specified levels, the Company would be required to pay additional consideration to the holder in the form of cash or additional shares of common stock. The Company determined these provisions were not clearly and closely related to the shares of common stock issued under the exchange agreements and, therefore, bifurcated these embedded features and reflected them at fair value in the financial statements. Prior to their settlements, the fair values of these embedded derivatives were determined using Monte Carlo simulations which considered various inputs including (i) the Company’s common stock price, (ii) risk-free rates based on U.S. Treasury rates, (iii) volatility of the Company’s common stock, and (iv) expected average daily trading volumes. The expected volatility and average daily trading volumes used in the valuation were unobservable in the marketplace and significant to the valuation methodology, and the embedded derivatives’ fair value was therefore designated as Level 3 in the valuation hierarchy. Changes in the fair values of these liabilities are included in other income (expense) in the Company’s statements of operations. As of December 31, 2019, there were no remaining outstanding debt exchange derivative liabilities.

The following table summarizes the changes in fair value of the Company’s financial instruments classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy:


(In thousands)	Year Ended December 31, 2019
Beginning Balance	$	(76,252)


Debt exchange derivative liability settlements	16,793
Change in fair value of debt exchange derivative liability	1,390
Contingent consideration settlements	87,581
Change in fair value of contingent consideration	(29,512)
Ending Balance	$	—

Fair Value of Other Financial Instruments

The carrying amounts of cash equivalents, receivables and payables approximate fair value due to the highly liquid or short-term nature of these instruments.

Long-term debt is not presented at fair value on the balance sheets, as it is recorded at carrying value, net of unamortized debt issuance costs and unamortized premium or discount (see Note 4). The fair value of the Company’s Second Lien Notes is $434.4 million and $670.8 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018. The fair value of the Company’s Second Lien Notes are based on active market quotes, which represent Level 1 inputs.

There is not active market for the Revolving Credit Facility and the Unsecured VEN Bakken Note. The recorded value of the Revolving Credit Facility approximates its fair value because of its floating rate structure based on the LIBOR spread, secured interest, and the Company’s borrowing base utilization. The fair value measurements for the Revolving Credit Facility and the Unsecured VEN Bakken Note represent Level 2 inputs.

Non-Financial Assets and Liabilities

The Company estimates asset retirement obligations pursuant to the provisions of ASC 410. The initial measurement of asset retirement obligations at fair value is calculated using discounted cash flow techniques and based on internal estimates of future retirement costs associated with oil and natural gas properties. Given the unobservable nature of the inputs, including plugging costs and reserve lives, the initial measurement of the asset retirement obligations liability is deemed to use Level 3 inputs. Asset retirement obligations incurred and acquired during the year ended December 31, 2019 were approximately $4.0 million.

The Company accounts for acquisitions of oil and natural gas properties under the acquisition method of accounting. Accordingly, the Company conducts assessments of net assets acquired and recognizes amounts for identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the estimated acquisition date fair values, while transaction costs associated with the acquisitions are expensed as incurred. The Company makes various assumptions in estimating the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The most significant assumptions relate to the estimated fair value of oil and natural gas properties. The fair value of these properties is measured using a discounted cash flow model that converts future cash flows to a single discounted amount. These assumptions represent Level 3 inputs under the fair value hierarchy. See Note 3 for additional discussion of the Company’s acquisitions of oil and natural gas properties during the year ended December 31, 2019 and discussion of the significant inputs to the valuations.

Though the Company believes the methods used to estimate fair value are consistent with those used by other market participants, the use of other methods or assumptions could result in a different estimate of fair value. There were no transfers of financial assets or liabilities between Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 inputs for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

+ References + Details