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ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER CONTINGENCIES
3 Months Ended
Oct. 31, 2012
Environmental Remediation Obligations [Abstract]  
ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER CONTINGENCIES

NOTE 8 - ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER CONTINGENCIES

 

The Company's operations and earnings  may be affected  by various  forms of governmental  action in the United States.  Examples of such governmental action include,  but are by no means  limited to: tax  increases  and  retroactive  tax claims; royalty and revenue sharing increases; import and export controls; price controls;  currency controls;  allocation of supplies of crude oil and petroleum products  and  other  goods;   expropriation   of  property;   restrictions  and preferences   affecting  the  issuance  of  oil  and  gas  or  mineral   leases; restrictions on drilling and/or  production;  laws and regulations  intended for the  promotion  of  safety  and  the  protection   and/or   remediation  of  the environment;  governmental  support  for  other  forms of  energy;  and laws and regulations  affecting the Company's  relationships  with employees,  suppliers, customers,  stockholders  and  others.  Because governmental actions are often

motivated by political   considerations   and  may  be  taken   without  full consideration of their consequences,  and may be taken in response to actions of other  governments,  it is not practical to attempt to predict the likelihood of

such actions,  the form the actions may take or the effect such actions may have on the Company.

 

Companies in the oil and gas industry are subject to numerous federal, state, and local regulations dealing with the environment.  Violation of federal or state environmental laws, regulations and permits can result in the imposition of significant civil and criminal penalties, injunctions and construction bans or delays.  A discharge of hazardous  substances into the environment  could, to the extent  such  event is not  insured,  subject  the  Company  to  substantial expense,  including  both the cost to comply  with  applicable  regulations  and claims by neighboring landowners and other third parties for any personal injury and property damage that might result.

 

The Company currently leases a property at which hazardous substances could have been or are being handled.  In  addition,  many of these  properties  have been operated  by  third  parties   whose   treatment  and  disposal  or  release  of

hydrocarbons or other  wastes  were not  under  the  Company's  control.  Under existing laws,  the Company could be required to remove or remediate  previously disposed  wastes  (including  wastes  disposed of or released by prior owners or operators),   to  clean  up  contaminated  property  (including   contaminated groundwater)  or to perform  remedial  plugging  operations  to  prevent  future contamination. The Company is investigating the extent of any such liability and the availability of applicable defenses and believes the costs related to these sites will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's net income, financial condition or liquidity in a future period.

 

The Company's liability for remedial obligations includes certain amounts that are based on anticipated regulatory approval for proposed remediation of former refinery waste sites.  Although regulatory authorities may require more costly alternatives than the proposed processes, the cost of such potential alternative processes is not expected to be a material amount.  Certain environmental expenditures are likely to be recovered by the Company from other sources, primarily environmental funds maintained by certain states.  Since no assurance can be given that future recoveries from other sources will occur, the Company has not recorded a benefit for likely recoveries.

 
There is the possibility that  environmental  expenditures  could be required at currently  unidentified  sites,  and new or revised  regulations  could  require additional  expenditures at known sites. However, based on information currently available to the Company, the amount of future remediation costs incurred at known or currently unidentified sites is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company's future net income, cash flows or liquidity.  The Company has recorded $0 for its estimated asset retirement obligations as of October 31, 2012.