Commitments and Other Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

We lease facilities and equipment under non-cancelable long-term operating lease agreements. In addition, we have various obligations under other office space and equipment leases of less than one year. Rent expense on facilities and equipment was $3,872,000 in 2015, $2,617,000 in 2014 and $2,374,000 in 2013. Future minimum rental commitments under non-cancelable operating leases having a remaining term in excess of one year are: 2016 — $2,696,000; 2017 — $2,738,000; 2018 — $1,706,000; 2019 — $170,000; 2020 — $174,000 and thereafter —$59,000.

We have two years remaining on groundwater leases of about 20,000 acres. At year-end 2015, the remaining contractual obligation for these groundwater leases is $1,009,000.

We lease approximately 32,000 square feet of office space in Austin, Texas, which we occupy as our corporate headquarters. The remaining contractual obligation for this lease is $4,212,000. We also lease office space in several other locations in support of our business operations with approximately 21,000 square feet in Denver, Colorado. The total remaining contractual obligations for these leases is $2,269,000.

We may provide performance bonds and letters of credit on behalf of certain ventures that would be drawn on due to failure to satisfy construction obligations as general contractor or for failure to timely deliver streets and utilities in accordance with local codes and ordinances.

Unallocated Severance-related Costs

In connection with the departures of our former CEO and CFO in September 2015, we recorded severance-related charges of $3,314,000 which are included in general and administrative expense on our consolidated statements of income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss). We paid $2,732,000 of these severance-related charges in fourth quarter 2015 with the balance to be paid in 2016.

Oil and Gas Restructuring Costs

In connection with review of strategic alternatives with respect to our oil and gas business and the determination it is a non-core business that we will be exiting over time, we offered retention bonuses to key personnel provided they remained our employees through December 2015. We expensed retention bonus costs over the retention period. In 2015, we incurred severance expenses related to staff reductions, paid a portion of the 2014 accrual under written severance agreements and incurred costs associated with closure of our Fort Worth office. Office closure costs include a $1,750,000 lease termination charge and $391,000 for write off of leasehold improvements which were partially offset by a deferred lease credit of $364,000. These restructuring costs are included in other operating expense on our consolidated statements of income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss). We may incur additional costs related to our initiatives to exit non-core oil and gas assets.

The following table summarizes activity related to liabilities associated with our oil and gas restructuring activities in 2015:



	Employee-Related Costs			Lease Termination Charge			Total
	(In thousands)
Balance at year-end 2014	$	(2,367	)	$	—		$	(2,367	)
Additions	(2,047		)	(1,750		)	(3,797		)
Payments	3,365			1,750			5,115
Balance at year-end 2015	$	(1,049	)	$	—		$	(1,049	)