NOTE 10. ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

The Company has a number of oil and gas wells in production and will have AROs once the wells are permanently removed from service. The primary obligations involve the removal and disposal of surface equipment, plugging and abandoning the wells and site restoration.

AROs associated with the retirement of tangible long-lived assets are recognized as liabilities with an increase to the carrying amounts of the related long-lived assets in the period incurred. The fair value of AROs is recognized as of the acquisition date of the working interest. The cost of the tangible asset, including the asset retirement cost, is depleted over the life of the asset. AROs are recorded at estimated fair value, measured by reference to the expected future cash outflows required to satisfy the retirement obligations discounted at the Company’s credit-adjusted risk-free interest rate. Accretion expense is recognized over time as the discounted liabilities are accreted to their expected settlement value. If estimated future costs of AROs change, an adjustment is recorded to both the ARO and the long-lived asset. Revisions to estimated AROs can result from changes in retirement cost estimates, revisions to estimated discount rates and changes in the estimated timing of abandonment.

The Company’s ARO is measured using primarily Level 3 inputs. The significant unobservable inputs to this fair value measurement include estimates of plugging costs, remediation costs, inflation rate and well life. The inputs are calculated based on historical data as well as current estimated costs. For the Canadian properties, abandonment and reclamation liabilities are prescribed by the province in which the Company operates in. For the purpose of determining the fair value of AROs incurred during the years presented, the Company used the following assumptions:

The following table shows the change in the Company’s ARO liability for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018: