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Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Contingencies  
Contingencies

(15) Contingencies

Environmental

In June 2018, the Company received a Notice of Violation (“NOV”) from the EPA Region III for alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act and the West Virginia State Implementation Plan. The NOV alleges that combustion devices at these facilities did not meet applicable air permitting requirements. Separately, in June 2018, the Company received an information request from the EPA Region III pursuant to Section 114(a) of the Clean Air Act relating to the facilities that were inspected in September 2017 as well as additional Antero Resources facilities for the purpose of determining if the additional facilities have the same alleged compliance issues that were identified during the September 2017 inspections. Subsequently, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) and the EPA Region V (covering Ohio facilities) each conducted its own inspections, and the Company has separately received NOVs from WVDEP and EPA Region V related to similar issues being investigated by the EPA Region III. The Company continues to negotiate with the EPA and WVDEP to resolve the issues alleged in the NOVs and the information request. The Company’s operations at these facilities are not suspended, and management does not expect these matters to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

WGL

The Company and Washington Gas Light Company and WGL Midstream, Inc. (collectively, “WGL”) were involved in multiple contractual disputes involving firm gas sales contracts executed June 20, 2014 (the “Contracts”) that the Company began delivering gas under in January 2016. In late 2015, WGL asserted that the natural gas index price specified in the Contracts was no longer appropriate and sought to invoke an alternative index clause in the Contracts. This dispute was referred to arbitration. In January 2017, the arbitration panel ruled in the Company’s favor and found that the natural gas index price specified in the Contracts should remain.

In March of 2017, WGL filed a lawsuit against the Company in Colorado district court claiming that the Company breached contractual obligations by failing to deliver “TCO pool” gas, ultimately seeking damages of more than $40 million. Subsequently, after WGL failed to take certain volumes of gas required under the Contracts, the Company filed a separate lawsuit against WGL to recover damages that WGL refused to pay. These two lawsuits were consolidated and tried in June 2019. On June 20, 2019, the Company was awarded a jury verdict of approximately $96 million in damages against WGL. In addition, the jury rejected WGL’s claim against the Company, finding that the Company did not breach the Contracts. On December 10, 2020, the Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court in favor of the Company. In February 2021, the Company and its royalty owners received a gross payment of approximately $107 million from WGL, which was in full satisfaction and discharge of the June 2019 judgment entered in favor of the Company.

Other

The Company is party to various other legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of its business. The Company believes that certain of these matters will be covered by insurance and that the outcome of other matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In addition, pending litigation against the Company and other similarly situated peer operators could have an impact on the methods for determining the amount of permitted post-production costs and types of costs that have been, and may be, deducted from royalty payments, among other things. While the amounts claimed could be material, we are unable to predict with certainty the ultimate outcome of such claims and proceedings. Rulings were recently received in two cases to which the Company is a party, and where the plaintiffs alleged, and the court found, that certain post-production costs may not be deducted: a non-class action lawsuit in West Virginia and a class action lawsuit in Ohio. In each case, the alleged damages were not material. The Company will continue to challenge the legal conclusions reached in each of these cases with respect to deductibility of post-production costs, and continues to analyze how these decisions may impact other cases to which the Company is a party. At this time, the Company cannot predict how these issues may ultimately be resolved, and therefore is also unable to estimate any potential damages, if any, that may result. The Company accrues for litigation, claims and proceedings when liability is both probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated, and does not currently have any material amounts accrued with respect to its pending litigation matters.