Basis Of Presentation Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements of Seitel, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") for interim financial information and with the instructions of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Certain reclassifications have been made to the amounts in the prior year's financial statements to conform to the current year's presentation.

Use of Estimates and Assumptions

In preparing the Company’s financial statements, a number of estimates and assumptions are made by management that affect the accounting for and recognition of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue from Data Acquisition

The Company generates revenue when it creates a new seismic survey that is initially licensed by one or more of its customers to use the resulting data. The payments for the initial licenses are sometimes referred to as underwriting or prefunding. Customers make periodic payments throughout the creation period, which generally correspond to costs incurred and work performed. These payments are non-refundable. Contracts which are signed up to the time the Company makes a firm commitment to create the new seismic survey are considered underwriting. Any subsequent licensing of the data while it is in progress is considered a resale license (see “Revenue from Non-Exclusive Data Licenses”).

Underwriting revenue is recognized throughout the creation period using the proportional performance method based upon costs incurred and work performed to date as a percentage of total estimated costs and work required. Management believes that this method is the most reliable and representative measure of progress for its data creation projects. On average, the duration of the data creation process is approximately one year. Under these contracts, the Company creates new seismic data designed in conjunction with its customers and specifically suited to the geology of the area using the most appropriate technology available.

The Company outsources the substantial majority of the work required to complete data acquisition projects to third party contractors. The Company’s payments to these third party contractors comprise the substantial majority of the total estimated costs of the project and are paid throughout the creation period. A typical survey includes specific activities required to complete the survey, each of which has value to the customers. Typical activities, that often occur concurrently, include:

• permitting for land access, mineral rights, and regulatory approval;

• surveying;

• drilling for the placement of energy sources;

• recording the data in the field; and

• processing the data.

The customers paying for the initial licenses receive legally enforceable rights to any resulting product of each activity described above. The customers also receive access to and use of the newly acquired, processed data.

The customers’ access to and use of the results of the work performed and of the newly acquired, processed data is governed by a license agreement, which is a separate agreement from the acquisition contract. The Company’s acquisition contracts require the customer either to have a license agreement in place or to execute one at the time the acquisition contract is signed. The Company maintains sole ownership of the newly acquired data, which is added to its library, and is free to license the data to other customers.

Revenue from Non-Exclusive Data Licenses

The Company recognizes a substantial portion of its revenue from licensing of data once it is available for delivery. These are sometimes referred to as resale licensing revenue, late sales or shelf sales.

These sales fall under the following four basic forms of non-exclusive license contracts.

• Specific license contract—The customer licenses and selects data from the data library, including data currently in progress, at the time the contract is entered into and holds this license for a long-term period.

• Library card license contract—The customer initially receives only access to certain data. The customer may then select specific data, from the collection of data to which it has access, to hold long-term under its license agreement. The length of the selection periods under the library card contracts is limited in time and varies from customer to customer.

• Review and possession license contract—The customer obtains the right to review a certain quantity of data for a limited period of time. During the review period, the customer may select specific data from that available for review to hold long-term under its license agreement. Any data not selected for long-term licensing must be returned to the Company at the end of the review period.

• Review only license contract—The customer obtains rights to review a certain quantity of data for a limited period of time, but does not obtain the right to select specific data to hold long-term.

The Company’s non-exclusive license contracts specify the following:

• that all customers must also execute a master license agreement that governs the use of all data received under the Company’s non-exclusive license contracts;

• the specific payment terms, generally ranging from 30 days to 12 months, and that such payments are non-cancelable and non-refundable;

• the actual data that is accessible to the customer; and

• that the data is licensed in its present form, where is and as is, and the Company is under no obligation to make any enhancements, modifications or additions to the data unless specific terms to the contrary are included.

Revenue from the non-exclusive licensing of seismic data is recognized when the following criteria are met:

• the Company has an arrangement with the customer that is validated by a signed contract;

• the sales price is fixed and determinable;

• collection is reasonably assured;

• the customer has selected the specific data or the contract has expired without full selection;

• the data is currently available for delivery; and

• the license term has begun.

Copies of the data are available to the customer immediately upon request.

For licenses that have been invoiced for which payment is due or has been received, but have not met the aforementioned criteria, the revenue is deferred along with the related direct costs (primarily consisting of sales commissions). This normally occurs under the library card, review and possession or review only license contracts because the data selection may occur over time. Additionally, if the contract allows licensing of data that is not currently available or enhancements, modifications or additions to the data are required per the contract, revenue is deferred until such time that the data is available.

Revenue from Non-Monetary Exchanges

In certain cases, the Company will take ownership of a customer’s seismic data or revenue interest (collectively referred to as “data”) in exchange for a non-exclusive license to selected seismic data from the Company’s library and, in some cases, services provided by Seitel Solutions (“Solutions”). In connection with specific data acquisition contracts, the Company may choose to receive both cash and ownership of seismic data from the customer as consideration for the underwriting of new data acquisition. In addition, the Company may receive advanced data processing services on selected existing data in exchange for

a non-exclusive license to selected data from the Company’s library. These exchanges are referred to as non-monetary exchanges. A non-monetary exchange for data always complies with the following criteria:

• the data license delivered is always distinct from the data received;

• the customer forfeits ownership of its data; and

• the Company retains ownership in its data.

In non-monetary exchange transactions, the Company records a data library asset for the seismic data received or processed at the time the contract is entered into or the data is completed, as applicable, and recognizes revenue on the transaction in equal value in accordance with its policy on revenue from data licenses, which is when the data is selected by the customer or revenue from data acquisition, as applicable, or as services are provided by Solutions. The data license to the customer is in the form of one of the four basic forms of contracts discussed above. These transactions are valued at the fair value of the data received or delivered, whichever is more readily determinable.

Fair value of the data exchanged is determined using a multi-step process as follows:

• First, the Company considers the value of the data or services received from the customer. In determining the value of the data received, the Company considers the age, quality, current demand and future marketability of the data and, in the case of 3D seismic data, the cost that would be required to create the data. In addition, the Company applies a limitation on the value it assigns per square mile on the data received. In determining the value of the services received, the Company considers the cost of such similar services that it could obtain from a third party provider.

• Second, the Company determines the value of the license granted to the customer. Typically, the range of cash transactions by the Company for licenses of similar data during the prior six months are evaluated. In evaluating the range of cash transactions, the Company does not consider transactions that are disproportionately high or low.

Due to the Company’s revenue recognition policies, revenue recognized on non-monetary exchange transactions may not occur at the same time the seismic data acquired is recorded as an asset. The activity related to non-monetary exchanges was as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2013		2012		2013		2012
Seismic data library additions	$	926	$	726	$	3,903	$	3,115
Revenue recognized on specific data licenses or selections of data	941		1,849		1,623		2,882
Revenue recognized related to acquisition contracts	3		1,645		87		3,273
Revenue recognized related to Solutions	—		—		—		20

Revenue from Solutions

Revenue from Solutions is recognized as the services for reproduction and delivery of seismic data are provided to customers.

Seismic Data Library

The Company’s seismic data library consists of seismic surveys that are offered for license to customers on a non-exclusive basis. Costs associated with creating, acquiring or purchasing the seismic data library are capitalized and amortized principally on the income forecast method subject to a straight-line amortization period of four years, applied on a quarterly basis at the individual survey level.

Costs of Seismic Data Library

For purchased seismic data, the Company capitalizes the purchase price of the acquired data.

For data received through a non-monetary exchange, the Company capitalizes an amount equal to the fair value of the data received by the Company or the fair value of the license granted to the customer, whichever is more readily determinable. See Note B – “Revenue Recognition – Revenue from Non-Monetary Exchanges” for discussion of the process used to determine fair value.

For newly created data, the capitalized costs include costs paid to third parties for the acquisition of data and related permitting, surveying and other activities associated with the data creation activity. In addition, the Company capitalizes certain internal

costs related to processing the created data. Such costs include salaries and benefits of the Company’s processing personnel and certain other costs incurred for the benefit of the processing activity. The Company believes that the internal processing costs capitalized are not greater than, and generally are less than, those that would be incurred and capitalized if such activity were performed by a third party. Capitalized costs for internal data processing were $0.9 million and $0.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively, and $2.7 million and $2.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Data Library Amortization

The Company amortizes its seismic data library investment using the greater of the amortization that would result from the application of the income forecast method subject to a minimum amortization rate or a straight-line basis over the useful life of the data. With respect to each survey in the data library, the straight-line policy is applied from the time such survey is available for licensing to customers on a non-exclusive basis.

The Company applies the income forecast method by forecasting the ultimate revenue expected to be derived from a particular data library component over the estimated useful life of each survey comprising part of such component. This forecast is made by the Company annually and reviewed quarterly. If, during any such review, the Company determines that the ultimate revenue for a library component is expected to be significantly different than the original estimate of total revenue for such library component, the Company revises the amortization rate attributable to future revenue from each survey in such component. The lowest amortization rate the Company applies using the income forecast method is 70%. In addition, in connection with the forecast reviews and updates, the Company evaluates the recoverability of its seismic data library investment, and if required, records an impairment charge with respect to such investment. See discussion on “Seismic Data Library Impairment” below.

The actual aggregate rate of amortization depends on the specific seismic surveys licensed and selected by the Company’s customers during the period and the amount of straight-line amortization recorded. The income forecast amortization rates can vary by component and, as of October 1, 2013, is 70% for all components. For those seismic surveys which have been fully amortized, no amortization expense is required on revenue recorded.

The greater of the income forecast or straight-line amortization policy is applied quarterly on a cumulative basis at the individual survey level. Under this policy, the Company first records amortization using the income forecast method. The cumulative amortization recorded for each survey is then compared with the cumulative straight-line amortization. If the cumulative straight-line amortization is higher for any specific survey, additional amortization expense is recorded, resulting in accumulated amortization being equal to the cumulative straight-line amortization for such survey. This requirement is applied regardless of future-year revenue estimates for the library component of which the survey is a part and does not consider the existence of deferred revenue with respect to the library component or to any survey.

Seismic Data Library Impairment

The Company evaluates its seismic data library investment by grouping individual surveys into components based on its operations and geological and geographical trends, resulting in the following data library segments for purposes of evaluating impairments: (I) North America 3D onshore comprised of the following components: (a) Texas Gulf Coast, (b) Eastern Texas, (c) West Texas, (d) Panhandle Plays in North Texas/Oklahoma, (e) Southern Louisiana/Mississippi, (f) Northern Louisiana, (g) Rocky Mountains, (h) Utica/Marcellus in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, (i) other United States, (j) Montney in British Columbia and Alberta, (k) Horn River in British Columbia, (l) Cardium in Alberta and (m) other Canada; (II) United States 2D; (III) Canada 2D; (IV) Gulf of Mexico offshore; and (V) international data outside North America. The Company believes that these library components constitute the lowest levels of independently identifiable cash flows.

The Company evaluates its seismic data library investment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts may not be recoverable. The Company considers the level of sales performance in each component compared to projected sales, as well as industry conditions, among others, to be key factors in determining when its seismic data investment should be evaluated for impairment. In evaluating sales performance of each component, the Company generally considers five consecutive quarters of actual performance below forecasted sales to be an indicator of potential impairment.

The impairment evaluation is based first on a comparison of the undiscounted future cash flows over each component’s remaining estimated useful life with the carrying value of each library component. If the undiscounted cash flows are equal to or greater than the carrying value of such component, no impairment is recorded. If undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying value of any component, the forecast of future cash flows related to such component is discounted to fair value and compared with such component’s carrying amount. The difference between the library component’s carrying amount and the discounted future value of the expected revenue stream is recorded as an impairment charge.

For purposes of evaluating potential impairment losses, the Company estimates the future cash flows attributable to a library component by evaluating, among other factors, historical and recent revenue trends, oil and gas prospectivity in particular regions, general economic conditions affecting its customer base and expected changes in technology and other factors that the Company deems relevant. The cash flow estimates exclude expected future revenues attributable to non-monetary data exchanges and future data creation projects.

The estimation of future cash flows and fair value is highly subjective and inherently imprecise. Estimates can change materially from period to period based on many factors, including those described in the preceding paragraph. Accordingly, if conditions change in the future, the Company may record impairment losses relative to its seismic data library investment, which could be material to any particular reporting period.

The Company did not have any impairment charges during the nine months ended September 30, 2013 or 2012.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In July 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2013-11, "Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists." The ASU was issued to eliminate diversity in practice in the presentation of unrecognized tax benefits when a net operating loss ("NOL") carryforward, a similar tax loss or a tax credit carryforward exists. Under the new guidance, an entity should present an unrecognized tax benefit as a reduction of the deferred tax asset for an NOL or similar tax loss or tax credit carryforward rather than as a liability when the uncertain tax position would reduce the NOL or other carryforward under the tax law. The new standard is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013, with early adoption permitted. The amendments in this ASU should be applied prospectively to all unrecognized tax benefits that exist at the effective date, but retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the provisions of ASU 2013-11, but does not expect the standard to have a significant impact on its financial statements.