Note 1 - Basis of Presentation	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2023
Notes to Financial Statements
Basis of Accounting [Text Block]	Note 1 – BASIS OF PRESENTATION The Reserve Petroleum Company, a Delaware corporation, is an independent oil and gas company engaged in oil and natural gas exploration, development and minerals management with areas of concentration in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming, a single business segment. The Company is also engaged in investments and joint ventures that are not significant business segments. The Company’s consolidated subsidiaries consist of Grand Woods Development, LLC (“Grand Woods”), an Oklahoma limited liability company and Trinity Water Services, LLC, an Oklahoma limited liability company, which has a water well drilling joint venture agreement (“JVA”) with TWS South, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (Collectively, “TWS”). Unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, all references in these notes to “the Company,” “its,” “our,” and “we” are to The Reserve Petroleum Company and its consolidated subsidiaries. The Company’s consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of The Reserve Petroleum Company and its subsidiaries in which the Company holds a controlling interest, reflecting ownership of a majority of the voting interest, as of the financial statement date. Additionally, the Company consolidates Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”) under certain criteria discussed further below. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. When necessary, reclassifications that are not material to the consolidated financial statements are made to prior period financial information to conform to the current year presentation. The accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (hereinafter, the “2022 Form 10-K”). In the opinion of management, the accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring accruals), which are necessary for a fair presentation of the results of the interim periods presented. The results of operations for the current interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the full year. Variable Interest Entities The Company decides at the inception of each arrangement whether an entity in which an investment is made or in which we have other variable interests is considered a VIE. Generally, an entity is a VIE if (1) the entity does not have sufficient equity at risk to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, (2) the entity’s investors lack any characteristics of a controlling financial interest or (3) the entity was established with non-substantive voting rights. The Company consolidates VIEs when the Company is deemed to be the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is generally the party that both: (1) has the power to make decisions that most significantly affect the economic performance of the VIE and (2) has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that in either case could potentially be significant to the VIE. If the Company is not deemed to be the primary beneficiary of a VIE, the Company accounts for the investment or other variable interests in a VIE in accordance with applicable GAAP. Non-Controlling Interests When the Company consolidates an entity, 100% of the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the subsidiary are included in the consolidated financial statements. For those consolidated entities in which the Company’s ownership is less than 100%, the Company records a non-controlling interest as a component of equity on the consolidated balance sheets, which represents the third-party ownership in the net assets of the respective consolidated subsidiary. Additionally, the portion of the net income or loss attributable to the non-controlling interest is reported as net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interest on the consolidated statements of income. Changes in ownership interests in an entity that do not result in deconsolidation are generally recognized within equity. See Note 5 for additional details on non-controlling interests.

Note 1 - Basis of Presentation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2023

Note 1 – BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The Reserve Petroleum Company, a Delaware corporation, is an independent oil and gas company engaged in oil and natural gas exploration, development and minerals management with areas of concentration in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming, a single business segment. The Company is also engaged in investments and joint ventures that are not significant business segments. The Company’s consolidated subsidiaries consist of Grand Woods Development, LLC (“Grand Woods”), an Oklahoma limited liability company and Trinity Water Services, LLC, an Oklahoma limited liability company, which has a water well drilling joint venture agreement (“JVA”) with TWS South, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (Collectively, “TWS”). Unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, all references in these notes to “the Company,” “its,” “our,” and “we” are to The Reserve Petroleum Company and its consolidated subsidiaries.

The Company’s consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of The Reserve Petroleum Company and its subsidiaries in which the Company holds a controlling interest, reflecting ownership of a majority of the voting interest, as of the financial statement date. Additionally, the Company consolidates Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”) under certain criteria discussed further below. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. When necessary, reclassifications that are not material to the consolidated financial statements are made to prior period financial information to conform to the current year presentation.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (hereinafter, the “2022 Form 10-K”).

In the opinion of management, the accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring accruals), which are necessary for a fair presentation of the results of the interim periods presented. The results of operations for the current interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the full year.

Variable Interest Entities

The Company decides at the inception of each arrangement whether an entity in which an investment is made or in which we have other variable interests is considered a VIE. Generally, an entity is a VIE if (1) the entity does not have sufficient equity at risk to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, (2) the entity’s investors lack any characteristics of a controlling financial interest or (3) the entity was established with non-substantive voting rights.

The Company consolidates VIEs when the Company is deemed to be the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is generally the party that both: (1) has the power to make decisions that most significantly affect the economic performance of the VIE and (2) has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that in either case could potentially be significant to the VIE. If the Company is not deemed to be the primary beneficiary of a VIE, the Company accounts for the investment or other variable interests in a VIE in accordance with applicable GAAP.

Non-Controlling Interests

When the Company consolidates an entity, 100% of the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the subsidiary are included in the consolidated financial statements. For those consolidated entities in which the Company’s ownership is less than 100%, the Company records a non-controlling interest as a component of equity on the consolidated balance sheets, which represents the third-party ownership in the net assets of the respective consolidated subsidiary. Additionally, the portion of the net income or loss attributable to the non-controlling interest is reported as net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interest on the consolidated statements of income. Changes in ownership interests in an entity that do not result in deconsolidation are generally recognized within equity. See Note 5 for additional details on non-controlling interests.