Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

NOTE 11—COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Lease Commitment

The Company leases office facilities under an operating lease agreement that expires October 31, 2022. The lease agreement requires future payments as follows:

Year	Amount
2019	$	128,348
2020		130,717
2021		133,087
2022		112,551
2023		—
Total	$	504,703

Total rental expense was $129,370 and $119,619 in 2018 and 2017, respectively. The Company does not have any capital leases or other operating lease commitments.

Legal Contingencies

The Company is subject to legal proceedings, claims and liabilities that arise in the ordinary course of its business. The Company accrues for losses associated with legal claims when such losses are probable and can be reasonably estimated. These accruals are adjusted as further information develops or circumstances change.

Environmental Contingencies

The Company’s oil and natural gas operations are subject to stringent federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the release or disposal of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to environmental protection. These laws and regulations may require the acquisition of a permit before drilling commences, restrict the types, quantities and concentration of substances that can be released into the environment in connection with drilling and production activities, limit or prohibit drilling activities on certain lands lying within wilderness, wetlands and other protected areas, and impose substantial liabilities for pollution resulting from our operations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in the assessment of administrative, civil and criminal penalties, incurrence of investigatory or remedial obligations or the imposition of injunctive relief. Changes in environmental laws and regulations occur frequently, and any changes that result in more stringent or costly waste handling, storage, transport, disposal or cleanup requirements could require the Company to make significant expenditures to maintain compliance, and may otherwise have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, competitive position or financial condition as well as the industry in general. Under these environmental laws and regulations, the Company could be held strictly liable for the removal or remediation of previously released materials or property contamination regardless of whether the Company was responsible for the release or if its operations were standard in the industry at the time they were performed. The Company maintains insurance coverage, which it believes is customary in the industry, although the Company is not fully insured against all environmental risks.

Development Commitments

During the ordinary course of oil and gas prospect development, the Company commits to a proportionate share for the cost of acquiring mineral interests, drilling exploratory or development wells and acquiring seismic and geological information.

Production Incentive Arrangements and ORRIs

In conjunction with our efforts to secure oil and gas prospects, financing and services, we have, from time to time, granted overriding royalty interests (“ORRI”) in various properties and have adopted a Production Incentive Compensation Plan under which grant interests in pools, which may take the form of ORRIs, to provide additional incentive identify and secure attractive oil and gas properties.

Production Incentive Compensation Plan. In August 2013, the Company’s compensation committee adopted a Production Incentive Compensation Plan. The purpose of the Plan is to encourage employees and consultants participating in the Plan to identify and secure for the Company participation in attractive oil and gas opportunities.

Under that Plan, the committee may establish one or more Pools and designate employees and consultants to participate in those Pools and designate prospects and wells, and a defined percentage of the Company’s revenues from those wells, to fund those Pools. Only prospects acquired on or after establishment of the Plan, and excluding all prospects in Colombia, may be designated to fund a Pool. The maximum percentage of the Company’s share of revenues from a well that may be designated to fund a Pool is 2% (the “Pool Cap”); provided, however, that with respect to wells with a net revenue interest to the 8/8 of less than 73%, the Pool Cap with respect to such wells shall be reduced on a 1-for-1 basis such that no portion of the Company’s revenues from a well may be designated to fund a Pool if the NRI is 71% or less.

Designated participants in a Pool will be assigned a specific percentage out of the Company’s revenues assigned to the Pool and will be paid that percentage of such revenues from all wells designated to such Pool and spud during that participant’s employment or services with the Company. In no event may the percentage assigned to the Company’s chief executive officer relative to any well within a Pool exceed one-half of the applicable Pool Cap for that well. Payouts of revenues funded into Pools shall be made to participants not later than 60 days following year end, subject to the committee’s right to make partial interim payouts. Participants will continue to receive their percentage share of revenues from wells included in a Pool and spud during the term of their employment or service so long as revenues continue to be derived by the Company from those wells even after termination of employment or services of the Participant; provided, however, that a participant’s interest in all Pools shall terminate on the date of termination of employment or services where such termination is for cause.

In the event of certain changes in control of the Company, the acquirer or survivor of such transaction must assume all obligations under the Plan; provided, however, that in lieu of such assumption obligation, the committee may, at its sole discretion, assign overriding royalty interests in wells to substantially mirror the rights of participants under the Plan. Similarly, the committee may, at any time, assign overriding royalty interests in wells in settlement of obligations under the Plan.

The Plan is administered by the Company’s compensation committee which shall consult with the Company’s chief executive officer relative to Pool participants, prospects, wells and interests assign although the committee will have final and absolute authority to make all such determinations.

During 2018, a Pool was established under the Plan representing an aggregate of 1% of the Company’s interest in the Company’s Yoakum County acreage.

The Company records amounts payable under the plan as a reduction to revenue as revenues are recognized from prospects included in pools covered by the plan based on the participants’ interest in such prospect revenues and records the same as accounts payable until such time as such amounts are paid out.

ORRI Grants. All present and future prospects in Colombia are subject to a 1.5% ORRI in favor of each of a current director and our former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. During 2017, ORRIs were issued to two employees in full settlement of obligations under the Plan with respect to the Pool established relating to the Reeves County acreage.

Payments made by the Company under the Plan and ORRI’s paid totaled $1,439 and $6,016 in 2018 and 2017, respectively. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company had accrued $0 and $7,781, respectively, under the Plan as accounts payable.