Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies Policies  
Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

  

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the accounting and disclosure rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). A summary of the significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of the accompanying financial statements follows.

Management Estimates

Management Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant estimates made in preparing these financial statements include asset retirement obligations(Note 8), income taxes (Note 9) and the estimate of proved oil and gas reserves and related present value estimates of future net cash flows therefrom (Note 10).

Reclassification

Reclassifications – Certain amounts previously presented for prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation. The reclassifications had no effect on net loss, working capital or equity previously reported.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents — The Company considers all highly liquid instruments purchased with an original maturity date of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

Oil and Gas Properties

Oil and Gas Properties — The Company follows the full cost accounting method to account for oil and natural gas properties, whereby costs incurred in the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and gas reserves are capitalized. Such costs include lease acquisition, geological and geophysical activities, rentals on nonproducing leases, drilling, completing and equipping of oil and gas wells and administrative costs directly attributable to those activities and asset retirement costs. Disposition of oil and gas properties are accounted for as a reduction of capitalized costs, with no gain or loss recognized unless such adjustment would significantly alter the relationship between capital costs and proved reserves of oil and gas, in which case the gain or loss is recognized to operations.

 

The capitalized costs of oil and gas properties, excluding unevaluated and unproved properties, are amortized as depreciation, depletion and amortization expense using the units-of-production method based on estimated proved recoverable oil and gas reserves.

 

The costs associated with unevaluated and unproved properties, initially excluded from the amortization base, relate to unproved leasehold acreage, wells and production facilities in progress and wells pending determination of the existence of proved reserves, together with capitalized interest costs for these projects. Unproved leasehold costs are transferred to the amortization base with the costs of drilling the related well once a determination of the existence of proved reserves has been made or upon impairment of a lease. Costs associated with wells in progress and completed wells that have yet to be evaluated are transferred to the amortization base once a determination is made whether or not proved reserves can be assigned to the property. Costs of dry wells are transferred to the amortization base immediately upon determination that the well is unsuccessful.

 

All items classified as unproved property are assessed on a quarterly basis for possible impairment or reduction in value. Properties are assessed on an individual basis or as a group if properties are individually insignificant. The assessment includes consideration of various factors, including, but not limited to, the following: intent to drill; remaining lease term; geological and geophysical evaluations; drilling results and activity; assignment of proved reserves; and economic viability of development if proved reserves are assigned. During any period in which these factors indicate an impairment, the cumulative drilling costs incurred to date for such property and all or a portion of the associated leasehold costs are transferred to the full cost pool and become subject to amortization. 

 

Under full cost accounting rules for each cost center, capitalized costs of evaluated oil and gas properties, including asset retirement costs, less accumulated amortization and related deferred income taxes, may not exceed an amount (the “cost ceiling”) equal to the sum of (a) the present value of future net cash flows from estimated production of proved oil and gas reserves, based on current prices and operating conditions, discounted at ten percent (10%), plus (b) the cost of properties not being amortized, plus (c) the lower of cost or estimated fair value of any unproved properties included in the costs being amortized, less (d) any income tax effects related to differences between the book and tax basis of the properties involved. If capitalized costs exceed this limit, the excess is charged to operations. For purposes of the ceiling test calculation, current prices are defined as the unweighted arithmetic average of the first day of the month price for each month within the 12 month period prior to the end of the reporting period. Prices are adjusted for basis or location differentials. Unless sales contracts specify otherwise, prices are held constant for the productive life of each well. Similarly, current costs are assumed to remain constant over the entire calculation period. There was no impairment during the year ended December 31, 2014. In 2015, there was an impairment of $668,073 which was primarily due to the decrease in oil prices during the year.

 

Given the volatility of oil and gas prices, it is reasonably possible that the estimate of discounted future net cash flows from proved oil and gas reserves could change in the near term. If oil and gas prices decline in the future, even if only for a short period of time, it is possible that impairments of oil and gas properties could occur. In addition, it is reasonably possible that impairments could occur if costs are incurred in excess of any increases in the present value of future net cash flows from proved oil and gas reserves, or if properties are sold for proceeds less than the discounted present value of the related proved oil and gas reserves.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition — Revenues from the sale of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids are recognized when the product is delivered at a fixed or determinable price, title has transferred; collectability is reasonably assured and evidenced by a contract. The Company follows the sales method of accounting for its oil and natural gas revenue, so it recognizes revenue on all crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids sold to purchasers, regardless of whether the sales are proportionate to its ownership in the property. A receivable or liability is recognized only to the extent that the Company has an imbalance on a specific property greater than the expected remaining proved reserves. The Company had no imbalance positions at December 31, 2015 or 2014. Charges for gathering and transportation are included in production expenses.

Receivables and allowance for doubtful accounts

Receivables and allowance for doubtful accounts — Oil revenues receivable do not bear any interest. We regularly review collectability and establish or adjust an allowance for uncollectible amounts as necessary using the specific identification method. Account balances are charged off against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. Management has determined that a reserve for uncollectible amounts was not required in the periods presented.

Asset Retirement Obligations

Asset Retirement Obligations — The Company records a liability for asset retirement obligations (“ARO”) associated with its oil and gas wells when those assets are placed in service. The corresponding cost is capitalized as an asset and included in the carrying amount of oil and gas properties and is depleted over the useful life of the properties. Subsequently, the ARO liability is accreted to its then-present value.

 

Inherent in the fair value calculation of an ARO are numerous assumptions and judgments including the ultimate settlement amounts, inflation factors, credit adjusted discount rates, timing of settlement, and changes in the legal, regulatory, environmental and political environments. To the extent future revisions to these assumptions impact the fair value of the existing ARO liability, a corresponding adjustment is made to the oil and gas property balance. Settlements greater than or less than amounts accrued as ARO are recorded as a gain or loss upon settlement.

Debt Issuance Costs

Debt Issuance Costs — Costs incurred in connection with the issuance of long-term debt are capitalized and amortized over the term of the related debt.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation The Company accounts for stock-based compensation to employees in accordance with FASB ASC 718. Stock-based compensation to employees is measured at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as expense over the requisite employee service period. The Company accounts for stock-based compensation to other than employees in accordance with FASB ASC 505-50. Equity instruments issued to other than employees are valued at the earlier of a commitment date or upon completion of the services, based on the fair value of the equity instruments, and is recognized as expense over the service period. The Company estimates the fair value of stock-based payments using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model for common stock options and warrants and the closing price of the Company’s common stock for common share issuances. The Company may grant stock to employees and contractors in exchange for services rendered.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes Income taxes are accounted for pursuant to ASC 740, Income Taxes, which requires recognition of deferred income tax liabilities and assets for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the Company’s financial statements or tax returns. The Company provides for deferred taxes on temporary differences between the financial statements and tax basis of assets using the enacted tax rates that are expected to apply to taxable income when the temporary differences are expected to reverse. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred income tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

 

Uncertain tax positions are recognized in the financial statements only if that position is more likely than not of being sustained upon examination by taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in the income tax provision. There are currently no unrecognized tax benefits that if recognized would affect the tax rate. There was no interest or penalties recognized for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015.

  

The Company is required to file federal income tax returns in the United States and in various state and local jurisdictions. The Company’s tax returns filed since the 2010 tax year are subject to examination by taxing authorities in the jurisdictions in which it operates in accordance with the normal statutes of limitations in the applicable jurisdiction.

Furniture, equipment, and software

Furniture, equipment, and software — Furniture, equipment, and software are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related asset, generally three to five years. Fully depreciated assets are retained in property and accumulated depreciation accounts until they are removed from service. We perform ongoing evaluations of the estimated useful lives of the property and equipment for depreciation purposes. Maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. We periodically review our long-lived assets, other than oil and gas property, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable. We recognize an impairment loss when the sum of expected undiscounted future cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset. The amount of impairment is measured as the difference between the asset’s estimated fair value and its book value. We recorded no impairment on our non-oil and gas long-lived assets during the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Earnings (Loss) Per Share

Earnings (Loss) Per Share — Basic earnings (loss) per share have been calculated based upon the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. The weighted-average number of common shares outstanding used in the computations of earnings (loss) per share was 25,893,957 for 2015 and 18,070,038 for 2014. Diluted EPS amounts would include the effect of outstanding stock options, warrants, and other convertible securities if including such potential shares of common stock is dilutive. Basic and diluted earnings per share are the same in all periods presented because losses are anti-dilutive.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Concentration of Credit Risk — The Company is subject to credit risk resulting from the concentration of its oil receivables with significant purchasers. Two purchasers accounted for all of the Company’s oil sales revenues for 2015 and 2014. The Company does not require collateral. While the Company believes its recorded receivable will be collected, in the event of default the Company would follow normal collection procedures. The Company does not believe the loss of a purchaser would materially impact its operating results as oil is a fungible product with a well-established market and numerous purchasers.

 

At times, the Company maintains deposits in federally insured financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. Management monitors the credit ratings and concentration of risk with these financial institutions on a continuing basis to safeguard cash deposits.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements — The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, and accounts payable, as reflected in the balance sheets, approximate fair value because of the short-term maturity of these instruments.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements 

 

The Company has evaluated all the recent accounting pronouncements through the filing date and believes that none of them will have a material effect on the Company.