Leases

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Note 12 - Leases

Effective January 1, 2019, the Company adopted Topic 842, which requires lessees to recognize operating and finance leases with terms greater than 12 months on the balance sheet. The Company adopted this standard using the modified retrospective method and elected to use the optional transition methodology whereby reporting periods prior to adoption continue to be presented in accordance with legacy accounting guidance. As of June 30, 2019, the Company did not have any agreements in place that were classified as finance leases under Topic 842. Arrangements classified as operating leases are included on the accompanying balance sheets within the other noncurrent assets, other current liabilities, and other noncurrent liabilities line items. For any agreement that contains both lease and non-lease components, such as a service arrangement that also includes an identifiable ROU asset, the Company’s policy for all asset classes is to combine lease and non-lease components together and account for the arrangement as a single lease. Aside from the recognition of ROU assets and corresponding lease liabilities on the accompanying balance sheets, Topic 842 does not have a material impact on the timing or classification of costs incurred for those agreements considered to be leases.

As outlined in Topic 842, a ROU asset represents a lessee’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, while the associated lease liability represents the lessee’s obligations to make lease payments. At the commencement date, which is the date on which a lessor makes an underlying asset available for use by a lessee, a lease ROU asset and corresponding lease liability is recognized based on the present value of the future lease payments. The initial measurement of lease payments may also be adjusted for certain items, including options that are reasonably certain to be exercised, such as options to purchase the asset at the end of the lease term, or options to extend or early terminate the lease. Excluded from the initial measurement of a ROU asset and corresponding lease liability are certain variable lease payments, such as payments made that vary depending on actual usage or performance.

The Company evaluates a contractual arrangement at its inception to determine if it is a lease or contains an identifiable lease component as defined by Topic 842. When evaluating a contract to determine appropriate classification and recognition under Topic 842, significant judgment may be necessary to determine, among other criteria, if an embedded leasing arrangement exists, the length of the term, classification as either an operating or financing lease, which options are reasonably likely to be exercised, fair value of the underlying ROU asset or assets, upfront costs, and future lease payments that are included or excluded in the initial measurement of the ROU asset. Certain assumptions and judgments made by the Company when evaluating a contract that meets the definition of a lease under Topic 842 include:


•	Discount Rate - Unless implicitly defined, the Company determines the present value of future lease payments using an estimated incremental borrowing rate based on a yield curve analysis that factors in certain assumptions, including the term of the lease and credit rating of the Company at lease inception.

•

Lease Term - The Company evaluates each contract containing a lease arrangement at inception to determine the length of the lease term when recognizing a ROU asset and corresponding lease liability. When determining the lease term, options available to extend or early terminate the arrangement are evaluated and included when it is reasonably certain an option will be exercised. Because of the Company’s intent to maintain financial and operational flexibility, there are no available options

to extend that the Company is reasonably certain it will exercise. Additionally, based on expectations for those agreements with early termination options, there are no leases in which early termination options are reasonably certain to be exercised.

Currently, the Company has operating leases for asset classes that include office space, office equipment, drilling rigs, well completion agreements, midstream agreements, vehicles, and equipment rentals used in field operations. For those operating leases included on the accompanying balance sheets, which only includes leases with terms greater than 12 months at commencement, remaining lease terms range from less than one year to approximately seven years. The weighted-average lease term remaining for these leases is three years. Certain leases also contain optional extension periods that allow for terms to be extended for up to an additional 10 years. An early termination option also exists for certain leases, some of which allow for the Company to terminate a lease within one year. Exercising an early termination option may also result in an early termination penalty depending on the terms of the underlying agreement.

Subsequent to initial measurement, costs associated with the Company’s operating leases are either expensed or capitalized depending on how the underlying ROU asset is utilized and in accordance with GAAP requirements. For example, costs associated with drilling rigs and completion crews that are considered ROU assets are typically capitalized as part of the development of the Company’s oil and gas properties. Please refer to Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the Company’s 2018 Form 10-K for additional information on its accounting policies for oil and gas development and producing activities. When calculating the Company’s ROU asset and liability for a contractual arrangement that qualifies as an operating lease, the Company considers all of the necessary payments made or that are expected to be made upon commencement of the lease. Excluded from the initial measurement are certain variable lease payments, which for the Company’s drilling rigs, completion crews, and midstream agreements, may be a significant component of the total lease costs.

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, total costs related to operating leases, including short-term leases, and variable lease payments made for leases with initial lease terms greater than 12 months, were $139.8 million and $315.1 million, respectively. These totals do not reflect amounts that may be reimbursed by other third parties in the normal course of business, such as non-operating working interest owners. Components of the Company’s total lease cost, whether capitalized or expensed, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, were as follows:



	For the Three Months Ended June 30, 2019		For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2019
	(in thousands)
Operating lease cost	$	11,479	$	20,458
Short-term lease cost ⁽¹⁾	102,085		237,002
Variable lease cost ⁽²⁾	26,198		57,606
Total lease cost ⁽³⁾	$	139,762	$	315,066

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⁽¹⁾

Costs associated with short-term lease agreements relate primarily to operational activities where underlying lease terms are less than one year. This amount is significant as it includes drilling and completion activities and field equipment rentals, most of which are contracted for 12 months or less. It is expected this amount will fluctuate primarily with the number of drilling rigs and completion crews the Company is operating under short-term agreements.

⁽²⁾

Variable lease payments include additional payments made that were not included in the initial measurement of the ROU asset and corresponding liability for lease agreements with terms longer than 12 months. Variable lease payments relate to the actual volumes transported under certain midstream agreements, actual usage associated with drilling rigs and completion crews, and variable utility costs associated with the Company’s leased office space. Fluctuations in variable lease payments are driven by actual volumes delivered and the number of drilling rigs and completion crews operating under long-term agreements.


⁽³⁾	Lease costs are either expensed on the accompanying statements of operations or capitalized on the accompanying balance sheets depending on the nature and use of the underlying ROU asset.

Other information related to the Company’s leases for the six months ended June 30, 2019, was as follows:



	For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2019
	(in thousands)
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash flows from operating leases	$	20,774
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new operating lease liabilities	$	22,729

Maturities for the Company’s operating lease liabilities included on the accompanying balance sheets as of June 30, 2019, were as follows:



	As of June 30, 2019
	(in thousands)
2019 (remaining after June 30, 2019)	$	13,581
2020	20,146
2021	11,699
2022	5,526
2023	3,476
Thereafter	3,721
Total Lease payments	$	58,149
Less: Imputed interest ⁽¹⁾	(4,161		)
Total	$	53,988

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⁽¹⁾	The weighted-average discount rate used to determine the operating lease liability as of June 30, 2019 was 6.6 percent.

Amounts recorded on the Company’s accompanying balance sheets for operating leases as of June 30, 2019, were as follows:



	As of June 30, 2019
	(in thousands)
Other noncurrent assets	$	51,085

Other current liabilities	$	25,803
Other noncurrent liabilities	$	28,185

As of June 30, 2019, and through the filing of this report, the Company has no material lease arrangements which are scheduled to commence in the future.