Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2025

Contingencies

Contingencies

(14) Contingencies

(a) Environmental

In June 2018, the Company received a Notice of Violation (“NOV”) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“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.

(b) Production Taxes

The Company is subject to production taxes in the states in which it operates. The Company’s production tax filings in West Virginia for 2018 to 2020 tax years were subject to audit by the State of West Virginia. All assessments received in conjunction with this audit were recorded in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income during the year ended December 31, 2024; however, the Company has filed an appeal with regard to such assessments. At this time, the Company believes the outcome of this matter will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

(c) Other

The Company is party to various legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of its business. The Company evaluates its legal proceedings on a regular basis and accrues a liability for such matters when the Company believes that a loss is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Any such accruals are adjusted thereafter to reflect changed circumstances. In the event the Company determines that (i) a loss to the Company is probable but the amount of the loss cannot be reasonably estimated, or (ii) a loss to the Company is less likely than probable but is reasonably possible, then the Company is required to disclose the matter herein, although the Company is not required to accrue such loss.

When able, the Company determines an estimate of reasonably possible losses or ranges of reasonably possible losses, whether in excess of any related accrued liability or where there is no accrued liability, for legal proceedings. In instances where such estimates can be made, any such estimates are based on the Company's analysis of currently available information and are subject to significant judgment and a variety of assumptions and uncertainties and may change as new information is obtained. The Company could also be responsible for interest on any amount the Company may be determined to owe, the amount of which is not determinable or estimable. The ultimate outcome of the matters described above, such as whether the likelihood of loss is remote, reasonably possible, or probable, or if and when the range of loss is reasonably estimable, is

inherently uncertain. Furthermore, due to the inherent subjectivity of the assessments and unpredictability of outcomes of legal proceedings, any amounts accrued or estimated as possible losses may not represent the ultimate loss to the Company from the legal proceedings in question and the Company's exposure and ultimate losses may be higher than the amounts accrued or estimated.

The Company has been named in various lawsuits alleging royalty underpayments, some of which seek class action certification. Pending litigation against the Company and other peer operators could have an impact on the methods for determining royalty payments due to lessors under oil and gas leases, including 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, many of these proceedings are in early stages, involve multiple lease forms with varying royalty provisions and seek or may seek damages the amount of which is currently indeterminate. In a class action lawsuit to which the Company is a party, Jacklin Romeo, et al. v. Antero Resources Corporation, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia certified certain questions to the West Virginia Supreme Court (the “WVSC”) with respect to the interpretation of West Virginia’s implied duty to market gas where a lease lacks any express language regarding the allocation of post-production costs and the treatment of NGLs. The WVSC answered the certified questions in November 2024; however, in December 2024, Antero petitioned the WVSC for rehearing on the certified questions, which stayed the issuance of the mandate required for the November 2024 opinion to take effect. The petition for rehearing was granted by the WVSC on December 31, 2024, and oral argument on the matter was held before the WVSC on April 22, 2025. On June 11, 2025, the WVSC answered the certified questions, the effect of which broadens the scope of products for which the Company will pay royalties and limits the amount of post-production costs the Company deducts from royalty payments, in each case, under leases that do not contain language to the contrary. With respect to the Romeo matter, the Company has accrued an immaterial amount as of June 30, 2025 for estimated damages that is recorded in contract termination, loss contingency and settlements in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).

The WVSC’s answers to the certified questions in the Romeo matter could also impact past royalty payments made by the Company, as well as royalty payments owed in the future, under certain of the Company’s other leases that are not at issue in the Romeo matter. While the Company cannot predict with certainty the timing and ultimate outcome of any other currently pending claims or potential other claims relating to royalty payments under such other leases, the Company currently estimates the amount of losses that are reasonably possible associated with such other leases, could be up to $400 million.

Rulings were also previously received in two other 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 based on interpretation of specific language in the applicable leases: 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, 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 and when the foregoing issues may ultimately be resolved, and therefore is also unable to estimate potential damages, if any, that may result.