Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2025

Notes to Financial Statements

Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

NOTE 2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Presentation. In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company as of March 31, 2025 and for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 include all adjustments and accruals, consisting only of normal, recurring adjustments and accruals necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"). Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period condensed consolidated financial statement presentation. These reclassifications had an immaterial effect on the previously reported total assets, total liabilities, stockholders’ equity, results of operations or cash flows. The operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2025 are not indicative of results for a full year.

Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read together with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Principles of consolidation. The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries since their acquisition or formation. All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

Use of estimates in the preparation of financial statements. Preparation of the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Depletion of crude oil and natural gas properties is determined using estimates of proved crude oil, NGL and natural gas reserves and evaluations for impairment of proved and unproved crude oil and natural gas properties, in part, is determined using estimates of proved and risk adjusted probable and possible crude oil, NGL and natural gas reserves. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in the estimation of quantities of proved, probable and possible reserves and in the projection of future rates of production and the timing of development expenditures. Similarly, if needed, evaluations for impairment of proved crude oil and natural gas properties are subject to numerous uncertainties including, among others, estimates of future recoverable reserves, commodity price outlooks and future undiscounted and discounted net cash flows. In addition, evaluations for impairment of unproved crude oil and natural gas properties on a project-by-project basis are also subject to numerous uncertainties including, among others, estimates of future recoverable reserves, results of exploration activities, commodity price outlooks, planned future sales or expirations of all or a portion of such projects. Other items subject to such estimates and assumptions include, but are not limited to, the carrying value of crude oil and natural gas properties, asset retirement obligations, equity-based compensation, fair value of derivatives, expected credit losses and estimates of income taxes. Actual results could differ from the estimates and assumptions utilized.

Cash and cash equivalents. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents include depository accounts held by banks with original issuance maturities of 90 days or less. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents are generally held in financial institutions in amounts that may exceed the insurance limits of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. However, management believes that the Company’s counterparty risks are minimal based on the reputation and history of the institutions selected.

Accounts receivable. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company’s accounts receivables primarily consist of amounts due from the sale of crude oil, NGL and natural gas of $70.1 million and $76.0 million, respectively, and are based on estimates of sales volumes and realized prices the Company anticipates it will receive, joint interest receivables of $3.3 million and $4.7 million, respectively, current U.S. federal income tax receivables of $3.1 million and $3.1 million, respectively, and receivables related to settlements of derivative contracts of $1.9 million and $1.4 million, respectively. The Company’s share of crude oil, NGL and natural gas production is sold to various purchasers who must be prequalified under the Company’s credit risk policies and procedures. The Company’s credit risk related to collecting accounts receivables is mitigated by using credit and other financial criteria to evaluate the credit standing of the entity obligated to make payment on the accounts receivable, and where appropriate, the Company obtains assurances of payment, such as a guarantee by the parent company of the counterparty or other credit support.

Accounts receivable are stated at amounts due from purchasers or joint interest owners, net of an allowance for expected losses as estimated by the Company when collection is doubtful. For receivables from joint interest owners, the Company typically has the ability to withhold future revenue disbursements to recover any non-payment of joint interest billings. Accounts receivable from purchasers or joint interest owners outstanding longer than the contractual payment terms are considered past due. The Company determines its allowance for each type of receivable by considering a number of factors, including the length of time accounts receivable are past due, the Company’s previous loss history, the debtor’s current ability to pay its obligation to the Company, the condition of the general economy and the industry as a whole. The Company writes off specific accounts receivable when they become uncollectible, and payments subsequently received on such receivables are credited to the allowance for expected losses. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company had no allowance for credit losses related to accounts receivable.

Concentration of credit risk. The Company is subject to credit risk resulting from the concentration of its crude oil and natural gas receivables with significant purchasers. For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and the year ended December 31, 2024, sales to the Company’s largest purchaser accounted for approximately 81% and 76%, respectively, and sales to the Company’s second largest purchaser accounted for approximately 10% and 18%, respectively, of the Company’s total crude oil, NGL and natural gas sales revenues. The Company generally does not require collateral and does not believe the loss of these particular purchasers would materially impact its operating results, as crude oil and natural gas are fungible products with well-established markets and numerous purchasers in various regions.

Inventory. Inventory is comprised primarily of crude oil and natural gas drilling and completion or repair items such as pumps, tubing, casing, vessels, operating supplies and ordinary maintenance materials and parts. The materials and supplies inventory is primarily acquired for use in future drilling and completion or repair operations and is carried at the lower of cost or net realizable value, on a weighted average cost basis. Valuation allowances for materials and supplies inventories are recorded as reductions to the carrying values of the materials and supplies inventories in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet and as charges to other expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. The Company’s materials and supplies inventory as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 is $8.7 million and $11.0 million, respectively, and the Company has not recognized any valuation allowance to date.

Prepaid expenses. Prepaid expenses are comprised primarily of fees related to a debt refinancing that will be included in debt issuance costs when consummated or charged to expense if not successful, strategic alternatives that will be deducted from eventual commissions on a future transaction, caliche that will be used on future locations and roads in our development areas, and prepaid insurance, software maintenance fees, listing fees and subscriptions that will be amortized over the life of the contracts. Prepaid expenses as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 are $8.3 million and $4.6 million, respectively.

Crude oil and natural gas properties. The Company utilizes the successful efforts method of accounting for its crude oil and natural gas properties. Under this method, all costs associated with productive and nonproductive development wells are capitalized while nonproductive exploration costs and geological and geophysical expenditures are expensed.

The Company does not carry the costs of drilling an exploratory well as an asset in its condensed consolidated balance sheet following the completion of drilling unless both of the following conditions are met: (i) the well has found a sufficient quantity of reserves to justify its completion as a producing well and (ii) the Company is making sufficient progress assessing the reserves and the economic and operating viability of the project.

Due to the capital-intensive nature and the geographical location of certain projects, it may take an extended period of time to evaluate the future potential of an exploration project and the economics associated with making a determination on its commercial viability. In these instances, the project’s feasibility is not contingent upon price improvements or advances in technology, but rather the Company’s ongoing efforts and expenditures related to accurately predict the hydrocarbon recoverability based on well information, gaining access to other companies’ production data in the area, transportation or processing facilities and/or getting partner approval to drill additional appraisal wells. These activities are ongoing and are being pursued constantly. Consequently, the Company’s assessment of suspended exploratory well costs is continuous until a decision can be made that the project has found sufficient proved reserves to sanction the project or is noncommercial and is charged to exploration and abandonment expense. See Note 6 for additional information.

The capitalized costs of proved properties are depleted using the unit-of-production method based on proved reserves for leasehold costs and proved developed reserves for drilling, completion and other crude oil and natural gas property costs. Unproved leasehold costs are excluded from depletion until proved reserves are established or, if unsuccessful, impairment is determined.

Proceeds from the sales of individual properties are credited to proved or unproved crude oil and natural gas properties, as the case may be, if doing so does not materially impact the depletion rate of an amortization base. Generally, no gain or loss is recorded until an entire amortization base is sold. However, gain or loss is recorded from the sale of less than an entire amortization base if the disposition is significant enough to materially impact the depletion rate of the remaining properties in the amortization base.

The Company performs assessments of its long-lived assets to be held and used, including proved crude oil and natural gas properties accounted for under the successful efforts method of accounting, whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of those assets may not be recoverable. If there is an indication the carrying value of the assets may not be recovered, an impairment loss is recognized if the sum of the expected future cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the assets. In these circumstances, the Company recognizes an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the estimated fair value of the assets.

Unproved crude oil and natural gas properties are periodically assessed for impairment on a project-by-project basis. These impairment assessments are affected by the estimates of future recoverable reserves, results of exploration activities, commodity price outlooks, planned future sales or expirations of all or a portion of such projects. If the estimated future net cash flows attributable to such projects are not expected to be sufficient to fully recover the costs invested in each project, the Company will recognize an impairment charge at that time.

Other property and equipment, net. Other property and equipment is recorded at cost. The carrying values of other property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $1.1 million and $1.1 million as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively, are as follows (in thousands):

	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024
Land	$	1,869	$	1,869
Transportation equipment		569		620
Buildings		513		516
Leasehold improvements		189		193
Field equipment		1		2
Furniture and fixtures		—		1
Total other property and equipment, net	$	3,141	$	3,201

Other property and equipment are depreciated over their estimated useful life on a straight-line basis. Land is not depreciated. Transportation equipment is generally depreciated over five years, buildings are generally depreciated over forty years, field equipment is generally depreciated over seven years and furniture and fixtures is generally depreciated over five years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of their estimated useful lives or the underlying terms of the associated leases.

The Company reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recorded is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its estimated fair value. The estimated fair value is determined using either a discounted future cash flow model or another appropriate fair value method.

Aid-in-construction assets. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company had aid-in-construction assets totaling $17.7 million and $18.0 million, respectively, included in other noncurrent assets. The Company funded aid-in-construction projects during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and the year ended December 31, 2024 of zero and $17.5 million, respectively, under the contract. The Company has received and will continue to receive payments based on gross system throughput, including any third-party natural gas that is potentially tied into the Flat Top gathering system in the future. Payments received during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and the year ended December 31, 2024 were approximately $375,000 and $2.0 million, respectively. The contract calls for future aid-in-construction fundings if expansions of the system are necessary as determined in the sole discretion of the Company.

Leases. The Company enters into leases for drilling rigs, storage tanks, equipment and buildings and recognizes lease expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Lease right-of-use assets and liabilities are initially recorded on the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most of the Company’s lease contracts do not provide an implicit discount rate, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate, which is determined based on information available at the commencement date of a lease. Leases may include renewal, purchase or termination options that can extend or shorten the term of a lease. The exercise of those options is at the Company’s sole discretion and is evaluated at inception and throughout the contract to determine if a modification of the lease term is required. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are generally not recorded as lease right-of-use assets and liabilities. See Note 10 for additional information.

Current liabilities. Current liabilities as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 totaled approximately $298.9 million and $284.6 million, respectively, including current maturities of long-term debt, trade accounts payable, accrued capital expenditures revenues and royalties payable, derivative liabilities and accruals for operating and general and administrative expenses, interest expense, operating leases, dividends and dividend equivalents and other miscellaneous items.

Debt issuance costs and original issue discount. The Company has paid a total of $25.1 million in debt issuance costs, zero and $58,000 of which were incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and the year ended December 31, 2024, respectively, primarily related to the completion of the Term Loan Credit Agreement and Senior Credit Facility Agreement. Amortization based on the straight-line method over the terms of the Term Loan Credit Agreement and Senior Credit Facility Agreement which approximates the effective interest method was $2.0 million and $2.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. In addition, the Company realized a total of $30.0 million in original issue discounts on the issuance of its Term Loan Credit Agreement that is being amortized over the life of the agreement which approximates the effective interest method and was $2.4 million and $2.5 million during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. See Note 7 for more information. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the remaining net debt issuance costs and discounts related to the Term Loan Credit Agreement and Senior Credit Facility Agreement are netted against the outstanding long-term debt on the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Asset retirement obligations. The Company records a liability for the fair value of an asset retirement obligation in the period in which the associated asset is acquired or placed into service if a reasonable estimate of fair value can be made. Asset retirement obligations are generally capitalized as part of the carrying value of the long-lived asset to which it relates. Conditional asset retirement obligations meet the definition of liabilities and are recorded when incurred and when fair value can be reasonably estimated. See Note 8 for additional information.

Revenue recognition. The Company follows FASB ASC 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” (“ASC 606”) whereby the Company recognizes revenues from the sales of crude oil, NGL and natural gas to its purchasers and presents them disaggregated on the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.

The Company enters into contracts with purchasers to sell its crude oil, NGL and natural gas production. Revenue on these contracts is recognized in accordance with the five-step revenue recognition model prescribed in ASC 606. Specifically, revenue is recognized when the Company’s performance obligations under these contracts are satisfied, which generally occurs with the transfer of control of the crude oil and natural gas to the purchaser. Control is generally considered transferred when the following criteria are met: (i) transfer of physical custody, (ii) transfer of title, (iii) transfer of risk of loss and (iv) relinquishment of any repurchase rights or other similar rights. Given the nature of the products sold, revenue is recognized at a point in time based on the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive in accordance with the price specified in the contract. Consideration under the crude oil and natural gas marketing contracts is typically received from the purchaser one to two months after the date of sale. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company had receivables related to contracts with purchasers of approximately $70.1 million and $76.0 million, respectively.

Crude Oil Contracts. The Company’s crude oil marketing contracts transfer physical custody and title at or near the wellhead, which is generally when control of the crude oil has been transferred to the purchaser. The crude oil produced is sold under contracts using market-based pricing which is then adjusted for the differentials based upon delivery location and crude oil quality. Since the differentials are incurred after the transfer of control of the crude oil, the differentials are included in crude oil sales on the condensed consolidated statements of operations as they represent part of the transaction price of the contract.

Natural Gas Contracts. The majority of the Company’s natural gas is sold at the lease location, which is generally when control of the natural gas has been transferred to the purchaser. The natural gas is sold under (i) percentage of proceeds processing contracts or (ii) a hybrid of percentage of proceeds and fee-based contracts. Under the majority of the Company’s contracts, the purchaser gathers the natural gas in the field where it is produced and transports it to natural gas processing plants where NGL products are extracted. The NGL products and remaining residue natural gas are then sold by the purchaser. Under percentage of proceeds and hybrid percentage of proceeds and fee-based contracts, the Company receives a percentage of the value for the extracted liquids and the residue natural gas. Since control of the natural gas transfers upstream of the transportation and processing activities, revenue is recognized as the net amount received from the purchaser.

The Company does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations under its contracts with customers as it applies the practical exemption in accordance with ASC 606. The exemption, as described in ASC 606-10-50-14(a), applies to variable consideration that is recognized as control of the product is transferred to the customer. Since each unit of product represents a separate performance obligation, future volumes are wholly unsatisfied and disclosure of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations is not required.

Derivatives. All the Company’s derivatives are accounted for as non-hedge derivatives and are recorded at estimated fair value in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. All changes in the fair values of its derivative contracts are recorded as gains or losses in the earnings of the periods in which they occur. The Company enters into derivatives under master netting arrangements, which, in an event of default, allows the Company to offset payables to and receivables from the defaulting counterparty. The Company classifies the fair value amounts of derivative assets and liabilities executed under master netting arrangements as net current or noncurrent derivative assets or net current or noncurrent derivative liabilities, whichever the case may be, by commodity and counterparty.

The Company’s credit risk related to derivatives is a counterparties’ failure to perform under derivative contracts owed to the Company. The Company uses credit and other financial criteria to evaluate the credit standing of, and to select, counterparties to its derivative instruments. Although the Company does not obtain collateral or otherwise secure the fair value of its derivative instruments, associated credit risk is mitigated by the Company’s credit risk policies and procedures.

The Company has entered into International Swap Dealers Association Master Agreements (“ISDA Agreements”) with each of its derivative counterparties. The terms of the ISDA Agreements provide the Company and the counterparties with rights of set off upon the occurrence of defined acts of default by either the Company or a counterparty to a derivative, whereby the party not in default may set off all derivative liabilities owed to the defaulting party against all derivative asset receivables from the defaulting party. See Note 5 for additional information.

Income taxes. The provision for income taxes is determined using the asset and liability approach of accounting for income taxes. Under this approach, deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the carrying amounts for income tax purposes and net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The amount of deferred taxes on these temporary differences is determined using the tax rates that are expected to apply to the period when the asset is realized or the liability is settled, as applicable, based on tax rates and laws in the respective tax jurisdiction enacted as of the balance sheet date.

The Company reviews its deferred tax assets for recoverability and establishes a valuation allowance based on projected future taxable income, applicable tax strategies and the expected timing of the reversals of existing temporary differences. A valuation allowance is provided when it is more likely than not (likelihood of greater than 50 percent) that some portion or all the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company has not established a valuation allowance as of March 31, 2025 or December 31, 2024.

Tax benefits from an uncertain tax positions are recognized only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities, based upon the technical merits of the position. If all or a portion of the unrecognized tax benefit is sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities, the tax benefit will be recognized as a reduction to the Company’s deferred tax liability and will affect the Company’s effective tax rate in the period it is recognized. See Note 12 for additional information.

Tax-related interest charges are recorded as interest expense and any tax-related penalties as other expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations of which there have been none to date.

The Company is also subject to Texas Margin Tax. The Company realized zero and $223,000 in current Texas Margin Tax during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements.

Stock-based compensation. Stock-based compensation expense for stock option awards is measured at the grant date or modification date, as applicable, using the fair value of the award, and is recorded, net of forfeitures, on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the respective award. The fair value of stock option awards is determined on the grant date or modification date, as applicable, using a Black-Scholes option valuation model with the following inputs; (i) the grant date’s closing stock price, (ii) the exercise price of the stock options, (iii) the expected term of the stock option, (iv) the estimated risk-free adjusted interest rate for the duration of the option’s expected term, (v) the expected annual dividend yield on the underlying stock and (vi) the expected volatility over the option’s expected term.

Stock-based compensation for restricted stock awarded to outside directors, employee members of the Board and certain other employees is measured at the grant date using the fair value of the award and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the respective award.

Segments. The Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas. The Company’s crude oil and natural gas exploration and production activities are solely focused in the U.S., specifically the Midland Basin portion of the Permian Basin in West Texas. For financial reporting purposes, the Company aggregates its operations into one reporting segment due to the similar geographic location and nature of the operations.

The Company’s Chief Executive Officer and President are the chief operating decision makers (“CODMs”). To assess the performance of our assets, the CODMs use net income. We believe net income provides information useful in assessing our operating and financial performance across periods.

The following table reflects the Company’s net income, assets and capital expenditures for the Company’s one reporting segment for the time periods presented:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025		2024
Total operating revenues	$	257,448	$	287,764
Lease operating expenses		31,599		28,511
Production and ad valorem taxes		15,152		14,402
Expensed workover costs		3,963		1,760
Total significant expenses		50,714		44,673
Depletion, depreciation and amortization		109,325		130,850
General and administrative expenses, including stock-based comp		6,522		8,483
Interest expense, net		36,178		41,242
Provision for income taxes		9,939		2,297
Other segment items(1)		8,435		53,781
Total expenses		221,113		281,326
Net income	$	36,335	$	6,438
Total assets	$	3,093,081	$	3,054,692
Capital costs incurred, including acquisitions	$	182,488	$	150,070

⁽¹⁾ Other segment items included in segment net income are exploration and abandonment expense, accretion of discount, other expense and gains and losses on derivative instruments.

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements. In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures,” which is intended to enhance the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures. The amendments in this standard provide for enhanced income tax information primarily through changes to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid. This ASU is effective for the Company prospectively to all annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024, and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2025. While the adoption of this ASU will modify the Company's disclosures, it will not have an impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

New accounting pronouncements not yet adopted. In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income - Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Topic 220): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses. The amendments in this update require disclosure in the Company's annual and interim consolidated financial statements of specified information about certain costs and expenses, including depletion, depreciation and amortization recognized as part of crude oil and natural gas producing activities and employee compensation. This ASU is effective for the Company to all annual periods beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027. While the adoption of this ASU will modify the Company's disclosures, it will not have an impact on the Company's financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

The Company considers the applicability and the impact of all ASUs. ASUs were assessed and determined to be either not applicable, the effects of adoption are not expected to be material or are clarifications of ASUs previously disclosed.