Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies [Text Block}

Note 6 - Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments

During the first quarter of 2017, the Company completed the divestiture of its outside-operated Eagle Ford shale assets. Upon closing of the sale, the Company is no longer subject to gathering, processing, and transportation throughput commitments totaling 514 Bcf of gas, 52 MMBbl of oil, and 13 MMBbl of NGLs, or $501.9 million of the potential undiscounted deficiency payments as of December 31, 2016. As of September 30, 2017, the Company had total gathering, processing, transportation throughput, and purchase commitments with various third parties that require delivery of a minimum quantity of 850 Bcf of gas, 15 MMBbl of oil, and 25 MMBbl of water through 2028 and a minimum purchase quantity of 16 MMBbl of water by 2022. If the Company fails to deliver or purchase any product, as applicable, the aggregate undiscounted deficiency payments totaled approximately $445.0 million as of September 30, 2017. As of the filing of this report, the Company does not expect to incur any material shortfalls with regard to these commitments.

Additionally, the Company entered into new and amended drilling rig contracts during the first nine months of 2017 and subsequent to September 30, 2017. As of the filing of this report, the Company’s drilling rig commitments totaled $30.4 million; however, if the Company terminated these rig contracts immediately, it would incur penalties of $17.5 million.

There were no other material changes in commitments during the first nine months of 2017. Please refer to Note 6 - Commitments and Contingencies to the Company’s consolidated financial statements in its 2016 Form 10-K for additional discussion of the Company’s commitments.

Contingencies

The Company is subject to litigation and claims arising in the ordinary course of business.  The Company accrues for such items when a liability is both probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated.  On July 7, 2017, Michael Lirette filed a Collective Action Complaint against the Company in the Southern District of Texas, claiming damages related to unpaid overtime wages under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act. This case involves complex legal issues and uncertainties, a potentially large class of plaintiffs, and an alleged class period commencing in 2014. Because the proceedings are in the early stages, with discovery yet to be completed, the Company is unable to estimate what impact, if any, the action will have on its financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.