Note 4 - Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 4 — Commitments and Contingencies

The Company may be involved from time to time in litigation arising from the normal course of business. In management’s opinion, as of the date of this report, the Company is not engaged in legal proceedings which individually or in the aggregate are expected to have a materially adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations or financial condition.

Gas purchase commitments

The Company has entered into a natural gas fixed price contract to purchase natural gas, which provides approximately 80% to 90% of the natural gas requirements at Pryor through December 31, 2017. The remaining commitment under this contract is to purchase 117,055 MMBTUs at a price of 4.06 per MMBTU during the fourth quarter of 2017. Purchases under the gas contract were $0.5 million and $0.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and $1.4 million and $1.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. If the Company is unable to purchase the contracted amounts and the market price at that time is less than the contracted price, the Company would be obligated under the terms of the agreement to reimburse an amount equal to the difference between the contracted amount and the amount actually purchased, multiplied by the difference between the contract price and a price designated in the contract (approximates spot price).

In 2015 the Company began construction on an integrated paper converting facility in Barnwell, South Carolina. As of September 30, 2017, obligations under open purchase orders for this project totaled $0.4 million.