EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1006655
Filing Year: 2024
Filename: 1006655_10-K_2024_0001558370-24-012740.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
Note: See Glossary of Selected Petroleum Industry Terms starting on page iv.
General
Evolution Petroleum Corporation (“Evolution,” and together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the “Company”, “our”, “we, “us” or similar terms) is an independent energy company focused on maximizing total returns to its shareholders through the ownership of and investment in onshore oil and natural gas properties in the United States. Our long-term goal is to maximize total shareholder return from a diversified portfolio of long-life oil and natural gas properties built through acquisition and through selective development opportunities, production enhancement, and other exploitation efforts on our oil and natural gas properties.
Recent Developments
Dividend Declaration
On September 9, 2024, Evolution’s Board of Directors approved and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per common share payable September 30, 2024.
SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions
On February 12, 2024, we closed the acquisitions of certain non-operated oil and natural gas assets in the SCOOP and STACK plays in central Oklahoma (the "SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions") from Red Sky Resources III, LLC, Red Sky Resources IV, LLC, and Coriolis Energy Partners I, LLC. After taking into account customary closing adjustments and an effective date of November 1, 2023, total combined cash consideration for the SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions was approximately $39.2 million, which includes $43.9 million paid at closing less purchase price adjustments totaling approximately $4.7 million related to net cash flows earned on the properties from the effective date to the closing date.
The acquired assets consist of an average net working interest of approximately 2.6% in 253 producing wells in the SCOOP and STACK plays of the Anadarko Basin in Blaine, Canadian, Carter, Custer, Dewey, Garvin, Grady, Kingfisher, McClain, Murray, and Stephens counties, Oklahoma. The acquisitions also include approximately 4,200 net acres with approximately 300 associated potential drilling opportunities.
Senior Secured Credit Facility
On February 12, 2024, we entered into an amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment required that we enter into hedges for the next 12-month period, and on a rolling 12-month basis thereafter, covering expected crude oil and natural gas production from proved developed reserves, calculated separately, equal to a minimum of 40% of expected crude oil production each month, or 25% of expected crude oil and natural gas production each month over that period. We have the option to choose whether to hedge 40% of expected crude oil production or 25% of expected crude oil and natural gas production.
For further discussion of this amendment and our Senior Secured Credit Facility, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources” within Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations.
Appointment of Chief Accounting Officer
On December 18, 2023, we announced that the Board of Directors approved the appointment of Kelly M. Beatty as Chief Accounting Officer, effective January 1, 2024. Ms. Beatty has been serving as Principal Accounting Officer since December 2022 and has served as the Company’s Controller since February 2022.
Share Repurchase Program
In November 2023, we entered into a Rule 10b5-1 plan that authorized a broker to repurchase shares in the open market subject to pre-defined limitations on trading volume and price. The plan was effective until June 30, 2024 and had a maximum authorized amount of $0.8 million over that period. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, 0.1 million shares of the Company’s common stock were repurchased under the plan at a cost of approximately $0.8 million, including incremental direct transaction costs. These shares were subsequently cancelled. We may enter into additional Rule 10b5-1 plans in the future, the terms of which will be approved by the Board of Directors.
Chaveroo Oilfield Participation Agreement
On September 12, 2023, we entered into a participation agreement (the “Participation Agreement”) with PEDEVCO for the joint development of the Chaveroo oilfield, a conventional oil-bearing San Andres field located in Chaves and Roosevelt Counties, New Mexico (the “Chaveroo Field”).
Pursuant to the Participation Agreement, we have the right, but not the obligation, to elect to participate in drilling locations on approximately 16,000 gross leasehold acres consisting of all leasehold rights from surface to the base of the San Andres formation, where PEDEVCO currently holds leasehold interest. We have agreed to pay PEDEVCO $450 per acre to acquire a 50% working interest share in the leases associated with the locations that we choose to participate in. The Participation Agreement initially includes up to 80 gross drilling locations across twelve development blocks. We have entered into a standard operating agreement with PEDEVCO serving as the operator with respect to the development of the properties. The Participation Agreement includes customary representations and warranties of the parties and other terms and conditions that are standard in such participation agreements.
As of June 30, 2024, we have incurred approximately $0.8 million, in exchange for a 50% working interest share in approximately 1,600 net acres, associated with five development blocks. As of June 30, 2024, we have participated in the drilling and completion of the first development block which consisted of three gross (1.5 net) wells. Refer to Capital Expenditures below for a further discussion of Chaveroo drilling and completion activities since entering into the Participation Agreement.
Business Strategy
Our business strategy is to maximize total shareholder return based on our assessment of the operating environment and marketplace, subject to our obligations to other stakeholders. The key elements of our strategy to accomplish our goal of maximizing shareholder return are:
● Maintaining a strong balance sheet and conservative financial management;
● Growing the asset base through investment in our existing properties, direct acquisitions of new low decline, long-life oil and natural gas properties, selective development opportunities, or accretive acquisitions of similar companies; and
● Returning cash to shareholders by sustaining and growing our dividend payout over time or repurchases of our shares in the open market.
Properties
Our oil and natural gas properties consist of non-operated interests in the following areas: the SCOOP and STACK plays of the Anadarko Basin located in central Oklahoma; the Chaveroo oilfield in Chaves and Roosevelt Counties of New Mexico; the Jonah Field in Sublette County, Wyoming; the Williston Basin in North Dakota; the Barnett Shale located in North Texas; the Hamilton Dome Field located in Hot Springs County, Wyoming; the Delhi Holt-Bryant Unit in the Delhi Field in Northeast Louisiana; as well as small overriding royalty interests in four onshore central Texas wells.
SCOOP/STACK - Central Oklahoma
Our non-operated interests in the SCOOP and STACK plays, consist of oil and natural gas producing properties in the Anadarko basin, where we hold approximately 2.6% average net working interest and approximately 2.0% average net revenue interests located on approximately 4,200 net acres (approximately 96% held by production) across Blaine, Canadian, Carter, Custer, Dewey, Garvin, Grady, Kingfisher, McClain, Murray, and Stephens counties in Oklahoma. The oil and natural gas properties are operated by Continental Resources, Inc., Ovintiv USA Inc. and EOG Resources, Inc. with approximately 40% of wells operated by other operators.
Average net daily production from the date of acquisition through June 30, 2024 was 1.4 MBOEPD. For the year ended June 30, 2024, our average net daily production from the SCOOP/STACK properties consisted of 47% natural gas, 37% oil, and 16% NGLs. Hydrocarbons produced from our SCOOP/STACK properties are sold to various purchasers throughout the mid-continent.
Chaveroo Field - Chaves and Roosevelt Counties, New Mexico
Our non-operated interests in the Chaveroo oilfield consist of a 50% net working interest, with an average associated 41% revenue interest, in approximately 1,600 net acres all held by production, associated with five development blocks
with the right to acquire the same working interest in additional development locations and associated acreage at a fixed price. The field is operated by PEDEVCO Corp. (“PEDEVCO”).
Average net daily production from the date of first production in February 2024 through June 30, 2024 was 0.2 MBOEPD. For the year ended June 30, 2024 our average net daily production from the Chaveroo Field properties consisted of 90% oil, 7% natural gas, and 3% NGLs. Oil produced from our Chaveroo Field properties is sold to various purchasers in New Mexico and gas and NGLs are sold to Targa Resources Corp.
Jonah Field - Sublette County, Wyoming
Our non-operated interests in the Jonah Field, a natural gas and NGL property in Sublette County, Wyoming, consist of approximately 20% average net working interest and approximately 15% average net revenue interest located on approximately 950 net acres all held by production. The properties are operated by Jonah Energy (“Jonah”).
For the year ended June 30, 2024 our average net daily production from the Jonah Field properties was 1.8 MBOEPD consisting of 89% natural gas, 6% NGLs, and 5% oil. Hydrocarbons produced from our Jonah Field properties are sold to West Coast markets.
Williston Basin - Williston, North Dakota
Our non-operated interests in the Williston Basin, oil and natural gas producing properties, consist of approximately 39% average net working interest and approximately 33% average net revenue interest located on approximately 43,000 net acres (approximately 93% held by production) across Billings, Golden Valley, and McKenzie Counties in North Dakota. The properties are operated by Foundation Energy Management (“Foundation”).
For the year ended June 30, 2024, our average net daily production from the Willison Basin properties was 0.5 MBOEPD consisting of 81% oil, 11% NGLs, and 8% natural gas. The primary producing reservoirs are the Three Forks, Pronghorn, and Bakken formations. Hydrocarbons produced from the Williston Basin properties are sold to local refineries and purchasers.
Barnett Shale - North Texas
Our non-operated interests in the Barnett Shale, a natural gas and NGL producing shale reservoir, consist of approximately 17% average net working interest and approximately 14% average net revenue interest (inclusive of small overriding royalty interests) located on approximately 21,000 net acres held by production across nine North Texas counties (Bosque, Denton, Erath, Hill, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Somervell, and Tarrant), in the Barnett Shale. The oil and natural gas properties are primarily operated by Diversified Energy Company with approximately 10% of wells operated by six other operators.
For the year ended June 30, 2024, our average net daily production from the Barnett Shale properties was 2.6 MBOEPD consisting of 74% natural gas, 25% NGLs, and 1% oil. The producing reservoir is the Barnett Shale, which is also the source rock. Hydrocarbons produced from our Barnett Shale properties are sold to Gulf Coast markets.
Hamilton Dome - Hot Springs County, Wyoming
Our non-operated interests in the Hamilton Dome Field, a secondary recovery field utilizing water injection wells to pressurize the reservoir, consist of approximately 24% average net working interest, with an associated 20% average net revenue interest (inclusive of a small overriding royalty interest). The unitized field, of which we hold approximately 1,400 net acres, is operated by Merit Energy Company (“Merit”), a private oil and natural gas company, who owns the majority of the remaining working interest in the Hamilton Dome Field. The Hamilton Dome Field is located in the southwest region of the Big Horn Basin in northwest Wyoming.
For the year ended June 30, 2024, our average net daily production from the Hamilton Dome Field properties was 0.4 MBOEPD consisting of 100% oil. The primary producing reservoirs in the field are the Tensleep and Phosphoria. Produced oil from the field is subject to Western Canadian Select pricing.
Delhi Field - Enhanced Oil Recovery CO2 Flood - Onshore Louisiana
Our non-operated interests in the Delhi Field, a CO2-EOR project, consist of approximately 24% average net working interest, with an associated 19% revenue interest and separate overriding royalty and mineral interests of approximately 7% yielding a total average net revenue interest of approximately 26%. The field is operated by Denbury Onshore LLC (“Denbury”), which was acquired by Exxon Mobil Corporation (“ExxonMobil”) on November 2, 2023. The unitized Delhi Field, of which we hold approximately 3,200 net acres, is located in northeast Louisiana in Franklin, Madison, and Richland Parishes.
For the year ended June 30, 2024, our average net daily production from the Delhi Field properties was 1.0 MBOEPD consisting of 78% oil and 22% NGLs. The primary producing reservoirs in the field are the Tuscaloosa and Paluxy formations. Produced oil from the field is priced off of Louisiana Light Sweet (“LLS”) crude, which often trades at a premium to West Texas Intermediate (“WTI”).
Refer to “Production volumes, average sales price and average production costs” table below for further information regarding our properties and their fiscal year results.
Estimated Oil and Natural Gas Reserves and Estimated Future Net Revenues
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) sets rules related to reserve estimation and disclosure requirements for oil and natural gas companies. These rules require disclosure of oil and natural gas proved reserves by significant geographic area, using the trailing 12-month average price, calculated 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, rather than year-end prices, and allows the use of new technologies in the determination of proved reserves if those technologies have been demonstrated empirically to lead to reliable conclusions about reserve volumes. Subject to limited exceptions, the rules also require that proved undeveloped reserves may only be classified as such if a development plan has been adopted indicating that they are scheduled to be drilled within five years.
There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of proved reserves and estimates of reserves quantities and values must be viewed as being subject to significant change as more data about the properties becomes available.
Summary of Oil & Gas Reserves for Fiscal Year Ended 2024
Our proved reserves as of June 30, 2024, denominated in thousands of barrels of oil equivalent (“MBOE”), were estimated by our independent reservoir engineers, Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (“NSAI”), DeGolyer and MacNaughton (“D&M”) and Cawley, Gillespie and Associates, Inc. (“CG&A”), all worldwide petroleum consultants.
NSAI evaluated the reserves for our SCOOP/STACK, Jonah Field and Williston Basin properties. NSAI began evaluating these properties when we acquired each of them. The scope and results of their procedures are summarized in a letter from the firm, which is included as Exhibit 99.1 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
D&M evaluated the reserves for our Barnett Shale, Hamilton Dome, and Delhi Field properties. The scope and results of their procedures are summarized in a letter from the firm, which is included as Exhibit 99.2 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
CG&A evaluated the reserves for our Chaveroo Field properties. CG&A has a history with the field as it evaluates reserves for the operator of the field. The scope and results of their procedures are summarized in a letter from the firm, which is included as Exhibit 99.3 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The following table sets forth our estimated proved reserves as of June 30, 2024. For additional reserve information, see our Supplemental Disclosure about Oil and Natural Gas Properties (unaudited) to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. The New York Mercantile Exchange (“NYMEX”) previous 12-month unweighted arithmetic average first-day-of-the-month price used to calculate estimated revenues was $79.45 per barrel of oil and $2.32 per MMBtu of natural gas. The net price per barrel of NGLs was $23.86, which does not have
any single comparable reference index price. The NGL price was based on historical prices received. For periods for which no historical price information was available, we used comparable pricing in the geographic area. Pricing differentials were applied based on quality, processing, transportation, location and other pricing aspects for each individual property and product.
Proved Reserves as of June 30, 2024
Total Proved
Percent of
Oil
Natural Gas
NGLs
Reserves
Total Proved
Reserve Category
(MBbls)
(MMcf)
(MBbls)
(MBOE)(1)
Reserves
Proved:
Developed Producing
7,746
66,627
5,065
23,917
75.2
%
Developed Non-Producing
0.4
%
Undeveloped
3,956
11,249
1,914
7,745
24.4
%
Total Proved
11,810
77,909
6,988
31,785
100.0
%
Product Mix
37%
41%
22%
100%
Total Proved by Property:
SCOOP/STACK
1,277
12,314
4,116
13.0
%
Chaveroo Field
2,218
2,461
7.7
%
Jonah Field
25,113
4,744
14.9
%
Williston Basin
2,798
7,135
1,653
5,640
17.7
%
Barnett Shale
32,711
2,452
7,983
25.1
%
Hamilton Dome Field
2,182
-
-
2,182
6.9
%
Delhi Field
3,018
-
1,641
4,659
14.7
%
Total Proved
11,810
77,909
6,988
31,785
100.0
%
(1) Equivalent oil reserves are defined as six Mcf of natural gas and 42 gallons of NGLs to one barrel of oil conversion ratio which reflects energy equivalence and not price equivalence. Natural gas prices per Mcf and NGL prices per barrel often differ significantly from the equivalent amount of oil.
Internal Controls Over Reserves Estimation Process and Qualifications of Technical Persons with Oversight for the Company’s Overall Reserve Estimation Process
Our policies regarding internal controls over reserves estimates require such estimates to be prepared by an independent petroleum engineering firm under the supervision of our internal reserve engineering team, which includes our Chief Operating Officer (“COO”), J. Mark Bunch. Our internal reserve engineering team has a combined experience of over 80 years in Petroleum Engineering. Our COO, the person responsible for overseeing the preparation of our reserves estimates, has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University, is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas (No. 86704), has over 40 years of oil and natural gas experience including large independents and financial firm services for projects and acquisitions. Our Board of Directors also has oversight of our reserve estimation process and contains a Reserves Committee with William Dozier, an independent director who is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas (No. 47279) with experience in energy company reserve evaluations. Such reserve estimates comply with generally accepted petroleum engineering and evaluation principles, definitions, and guidelines as established by the SEC.
The reserves information in this filing is based on estimates prepared by NSAI, D&M and CG&A. The person responsible for the preparation of the reserve report at NSAI is Matthew D. Pankey, P.E., Petroleum Engineer. Mr. Pankey, a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas (No. 142931), has been practicing consulting petroleum engineering at NSAI since 2019 and has over six years of prior industry experience. Mr. Pankey received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering in 2012 from Auburn University. The person responsible for the preparation of the reserve report at D&M is Dr. Dilhan Ilk, P.E., Executive Vice President. Dr. Ilk received a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering in 2003 from Istanbul Technical University and a Master’s degree and Doctorate in Petroleum Engineering in 2005 and 2010, respectively, from Texas A&M University, and he has in excess of 14 years of experience in oil and natural gas reservoir studies and evaluations and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Texas (No. 139334). The person responsible for the preparation of the reserve report at CG&A is W. Todd Brooker,
P.E., President. Mr. Brooker received a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering in 1989 from the University of Texas at Austin and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas (No. 83462). Mr. Brooker joined CG&A in 1992 and has over 30 years of experience in engineering and geological services.
We provide NSAI, D&M and CG&A with our property interests, production, current operating costs, current production prices, estimated abandonment costs and other information in order for them to prepare the reserve estimates. This information is reviewed by our senior management team and designated operations personnel to ensure accuracy and completeness of the data prior to submission to the reserve engineers. The scope and results of NSAI’s, D&M’s and CG&A’s procedures, as well as their professional qualifications, are summarized in the letters included as Exhibit 99.1, Exhibit 99.2 and Exhibit 99.3, respectively, to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Proved Undeveloped Reserves
During the year ended June 30, 2024 our proved undeveloped (“PUD”) reserves changed as follows:
Oil
Natural Gas
NGLs
Total Reserves
Proved undeveloped reserves:
(MBbls)
(MMcf)
(MBbls)
(MBOE)(1)
June 30, 2023
2,687
2,431
3,697
Revisions of previous estimates
(1,557)
1,802
(863)
Improved recovery, extensions and discoveries
2,891
5,005
4,510
Purchase of reserves in place
2,011
Transfers
(98)
-
(20)
(118)
June 30, 2024
3,956
11,249
1,914
7,745
(1) Equivalent oil reserves are defined as six Mcf of natural gas and 42 gallons of NGLs to one barrel of oil conversion ratio which reflects energy equivalence and not price equivalence. Natural gas prices per Mcf and NGL prices per barrel often differ significantly from the equivalent amount of oil.
Our PUD reserves were 7.7 MMBOE as of June 30, 2024, with related future development costs of approximately $90.5 million, which are primarily associated with the Williston Basin and Chaveroo Field and to a lesser extent our SCOOP/STACK properties, where we hold a smaller average net working interest, and the Delhi Field. Extensions of 4.5 MMBOE are primarily associated with new wells at SCOOP/STACK, subsequent to our acquisition, and Chaveroo Field. Transfers of 0.1 MMBOE are associated with two Delhi wells placed online during the first fiscal quarter of 2024. The net downward revisions were due primarily to adjustments made to the Williston Basin development plan. These adjustments include updated economic assumptions to drill and complete wells, changes to the specific well locations on the drilling plan based on continuous technical analysis of the acreage, and the development timing of the project that maximizes the efficiency of our capital projects. The positive revisions in natural gas and NGLs are associated with changes in type curves at SCOOP/STACK subsequent to our acquisition. Under SEC reporting requirements, our PUD reserves include only those reserves in which the Company has current plans to develop within five years. See “Drilling and Present Activities” below for a further discussion of our expected development of the PUDs associated with Williston Basin, Chaveroo Field, SCOOP/STACK and Delhi Field.
Drilling and Present Activities
Currently, none of our oil and natural gas properties are operated by us. We therefore rely on information from our operators regarding near-term drilling programs. There are no plans to drill new wells in fiscal year 2025 in the Jonah Field, the Barnett Shale, and the Hamilton Dome Field. At this time, operators of our properties at SCOOP/STACK, Williston Basin, Hamilton Dome Field and Delhi Field are periodically running workover rigs focusing on projects to return wells to production that have experienced mechanical issues.
At SCOOP/STACK, we currently expect 13 gross wells to be brought online during fiscal year 2025. Additionally, as our third-party operators continue to be active around our acreage, we would expect additional wells to be drilled and/or completed. At Chaveroo Field, the next development block is currently planned to begin drilling during the second quarter of fiscal 2025, with production estimated to commence during the second half of fiscal 2025. At the Williston Basin, we anticipate that fiscal year 2025 will be used to finalize permits, maximize economic efficiencies in vendor
contracts, and prepare for initiating a drilling program to exploit the Three Forks formation on our acreage. We envision production to begin in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. At Delhi Field, the third-party operator is planning to drill three new wells within Test Site V. The first of these three new wells is expected to come online during the second half of fiscal 2025.
For further discussion, see “Capital Expenditures” within Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations.
Production volumes, average sales price and average production costs
The following table summarizes our crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids production volumes, average sales price per unit and average daily production on an equivalent basis for the periods indicated:
Years Ended June 30,
Volume
Price
Volume
Price
Volume
Price
Production:
Crude oil (MBBL)
SCOOP/STACK
$
79.77
-
$
-
-
$
-
Chaveroo Field
77.90
-
-
-
-
Jonah Field
78.51
84.58
112.50
Williston Basin
73.97
79.38
101.25
Barnett Shale
75.01
76.12
82.56
Hamilton Dome Field
65.18
65.18
76.03
Delhi Field
79.46
81.57
86.57
Other
78.79
88.03
58.57
Total
$
75.38
$
77.46
$
85.11
Natural gas (MMCF)
SCOOP/STACK
$
2.46
-
$
-
-
$
-
Chaveroo Field
2.17
-
-
-
-
Jonah Field
3,448
3.55
3,675
$
10.63
1,000
$
7.80
Williston Basin
1.72
4.48
6.30
Barnett Shale
4,165
1.87
5,337
4.55
6,087
5.11
Other
-
-
4.66
1.21
Total
8,243
$
2.61
9,109
$
7.00
7,141
$
5.49
Natural gas liquids (MBBL)
SCOOP/STACK
$
23.16
-
$
-
-
$
-
Chaveroo Field
21.93
-
-
-
-
Jonah Field
28.67
$
34.76
$
52.92
Williston Basin
21.85
27.23
38.50
Barnett Shale
27.61
32.54
46.91
Delhi Field
27.91
34.95
48.02
Other
-
-
26.15
18.33
Total
$
27.13
$
32.86
$
46.89
Equivalent (MBOE) (1)
SCOOP/STACK(2)
$
40.43
-
$
-
-
$
-
Chaveroo Field(2)
72.10
-
-
-
-
Jonah Field(3)
24.76
63.37
50.57
Williston Basin(3)
63.10
68.12
88.93
Barnett Shale
15.93
1,173
28.89
1,280
34.27
Hamilton Dome Field
65.18
65.18
76.03
Delhi Field
68.03
72.13
79.32
Other
78.79
73.71
52.08
Total
2,485
$
34.56
2,593
$
49.56
2,173
$
50.13
Average daily production (BOEPD) (1)
SCOOP/STACK(2)
-
-
Chaveroo Field(2)
-
-
Jonah Field(3)
1,768
1,877
Williston Basin(3)
Barnett Shale
2,557
3,214
3,507
Hamilton Dome Field
Delhi Field
1,096
1,208
Other
Total
6,790
7,104
5,953
(1) Equivalent oil reserves are defined as six Mcf of natural gas and 42 gallons of NGLs to one barrel of oil conversion ratio which reflects energy equivalence and not price equivalence. Natural gas prices per Mcf and NGL prices per barrel often differ significantly from the equivalent amount of oil.
(2) Average daily production presented in the table above represents our fiscal year production divided by 366 days in the year for fiscal year 2024. At SCOOP/STACK and Chaveroo Field, our average daily production since SCOOP/STACK’s acquisition date of February 12, 2024 and first production at Chaveroo Field beginning February 2024 through June 30, 2024, was 1.4 MBOEPD and 0.2 MBOEPD, respectively.
(3) Average daily production presented in the table above represents our fiscal year production divided by 365 days in the year for fiscal years 2023 and 2022. At Williston and Jonah, our average daily production since their respective acquisition dates of January 14, 2022 and April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022, was 0.5 MBOEPD and 2.1 MBOEPD, respectively.
The following table summarizes our production costs, and production costs per unit for the periods indicated:
Years Ended June 30,
Production costs (in thousands, except per BOE)
Lease operating costs
Amount
per BOE
Amount
per BOE
Amount
per BOE
SCOOP/STACK
$
1,647
$
8.71
$
-
$
-
$
-
$
-
Chaveroo Field
15.40
-
-
-
-
Jonah Field
9,101
14.09
12,350
18.03
2,990
15.82
Williston Basin
5,235
29.08
5,581
30.42
2,419
27.49
Barnett Shale
14,695
15.68
20,756
17.70
22,825
17.83
Hamilton Dome Field
5,722
40.37
5,574
37.45
5,480
36.53
Delhi Field
11,390
31.76
15,275
38.22
14,933
33.86
Other
9.10
3.35
0.40
Total
$
48,273
$
19.43
$
59,545
$
22.96
$
48,657
$
22.39
Productive Wells
The following table sets forth the number of productive oil and natural gas wells in which we own a working interest as of June 30, 2024.
Company Operated
Non-Operated
Total
Gross
Net
Gross
Net
Gross
Net
Oil
-
-
92.6
92.6
Natural gas
-
-
1,489
266.1
1,489
266.1
Total
-
-
2,044
358.7
2,044
358.7
Acreage
The following table sets forth certain information regarding our developed and undeveloped lease acreage as of June 30, 2024. Developed acreage refers to acreage on which wells have been drilled or completed to a point that would allow production of oil and natural gas in commercial quantities. Undeveloped acreage refers to acreage on which wells have not been drilled or completed to a point that would permit production of oil and natural gas in commercial quantities whether or not the acreage contains proved reserves.
Developed Acreage
Undeveloped Acreage
Total
Field(1)
Gross
Net
Gross
Net
Gross
Net
SCOOP/STACK, Oklahoma
100,480
3,971
3,200
103,680
4,153
Chaveroo Field, New Mexico
2,768
1,384
3,248
1,624
Jonah Field, Wyoming
5,280
-
-
5,280
Williston Basin, North Dakota
124,800
37,306
18,560
5,661
143,360
42,967
Barnett Shale, Texas
123,777
20,918
-
-
123,777
20,918
Hamilton Dome Field, Wyoming
5,908
1,389
-
-
5,908
1,389
Delhi Field, Louisiana
9,126
2,180
4,510
1,077
13,636
3,257
Total(2)
369,851
66,960
29,038
8,304
398,889
75,264
(1) Except for our undeveloped acreage in the SCOOP/STACK, Oklahoma, which will expire in 2026 if we do not establish production in paying quantities on the units in which such acreage is included to maintain the lease and our acreage at the Williston Basin, North Dakota (see expiration table below), all acreage, including any undeveloped, nonproductive or undrilled acreage, is held by existing production as long as continuous production is maintained in the unit.
(2) This table excludes acreage attributable to small overriding royalty interests retained in various formations in the Texas Giddings Field area. Except for de minimis production that began on two leases during late fiscal year 2019, none of such acreage is currently producing and our interests are subject to expiration if leases are not maintained by others or commercial production is not established. It does not currently appear likely that we will obtain any significant value from these interests and no reserves have been assigned to any of the Giddings’ interests.
The table below reflects our net undeveloped acreage in Williston Basin, North Dakota as of June 30, 2024 that will expire each year if we do not establish production in paying quantities on the units in which such acreage is included to maintain the lease:
Net Acreage
Fiscal Year
Expiration(1)
1,665
-
-
2029 & beyond
2,914
(1) Excluded 2,747 net acres held by existing production as long as continuous production is maintained in the unit.
Markets and Customers
Our production is marketed to third parties in a manner consistent with industry practices. In the United States market where our properties are operated, crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs are readily transportable and marketable. In the Jonah Field, we take our natural gas and NGL working interest production in-kind and market separately to purchasers on six-month contracts for natural gas and to Enterprise Products Partners L.P. for NGLs. We do not currently market our share of oil, natural gas, or NGLs production from any other field separately from the operators’ shares of production. Although we have the right to take our working interest production in-kind, we are currently selling our production through the field operators pursuant to the delivery and pricing terms of their sales contracts. Under such arrangements, we typically do not know the identity of the buyers.
As a non-operator, we are highly dependent on the success of our third-party operators and the decisions made in connection with their operations. With the exception of the Jonah Field, our third-party operators sell our oil, natural gas, and NGLs to purchasers, collect the cash, and distribute the cash to us. In the year ended June 30, 2024, four individual purchasers, Denbury, Diversified, Foundation, and Merit, each accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues, collectively representing approximately 69% of our total revenues for the year. In the year ended June 30, 2023, three individual purchasers, Diversified, Denbury, and Conoco Phillips, each accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues, collectively representing approximately 65% of our total revenues for the year.
The loss of a purchaser at any of our major producing properties or disruption to pipeline transportation from these fields could adversely affect our net realized pricing and potentially our near-term production levels.
Market Conditions
Prices we receive for crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs are influenced by many factors that are beyond our control, the exact effect of which is difficult to predict. These factors include changes in supply and demand, the relative strength of the U.S. dollar, government regulation, weather, and actions of major foreign producers.
Oil and natural gas prices over the past few years have been volatile and we expect that volatility to continue. Worldwide factors such as global health pandemics, geopolitical, international trade disruptions and tariffs, macroeconomics, supply and demand, refining capacity, petrochemical production, and derivatives trading, among others, influence prices for oil, natural gas, and NGLs. Local and domestic factors also influence prices for oil, natural gas, and NGLs and include increasing or decreasing production trends, quality differences, regulation, legislation and transportation issues unique to certain producing regions and reservoirs.
Competition
The oil and natural gas industry is highly competitive for prospects, acreage, and capital. Our competitors include major integrated oil and natural gas companies, numerous independent oil and natural gas companies, individuals, and drilling and income programs. Many of our competitors are large, well-established companies with substantially larger operating
staff and greater capital resources. Competitors are national, regional, or local in scope and compete on the basis of financial resources, technical prowess or local knowledge. The principal competitive factors in our industry are expertise in given geographical areas and geologic systems and the ability to efficiently conduct operations, achieve technological advantages, identify and acquire economically producible reserves, and obtain capital at rates that allow economic investments.
Risk Management
We are exposed to certain risks relating to our ongoing business operations, including commodity price risk. In accordance with our company strategy and the covenants under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, derivative instruments are occasionally utilized to hedge our exposure to price fluctuations and reduce the variability in our cash flows associated with anticipated sales of future oil and natural gas production. We do not enter into derivative contracts for speculative trading purposes.
While there are many different types of derivative instruments available, historically we have used costless collars, stand alone put options, and fixed-price swaps to attempt to manage price risk. Costless collar agreements are put and call options used to establish floor and ceiling commodity prices for a fixed volume of production during a certain time period. All costless collar agreements provide for payments to counterparties if the settlement price under the agreement exceeds the ceiling and payments from the counterparties if the settlement price under the agreement is below the floor. Stand alone put options are floors that are purchased for a cost and provide that counterparties make payments to us if the settlement price is below the established floor. The fixed-price swap agreements call for payments to, or receipts from, counterparties depending on whether the index price of oil or natural gas for the period is greater or less than the fixed price established for the period contracted under the fixed-price swap agreement.
It is our policy to enter into derivative contracts only with counterparties that are creditworthy financial institutions deemed by management as competent and competitive market makers. We will continue to evaluate the benefit of employing derivatives in the future. Our hedge strategies and objectives may change as our operational profile changes. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk and Note 7, “Derivatives” to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for additional information.
Government Regulation
As an oil and natural gas exploration and production company, our interests are subject to numerous legal requirements.
Regulation of Oil and Natural Gas Production
Federal, state and local authorities have promulgated extensive rules covering oil and natural gas exploration, production and related operations. Those regulations require our third-party operator to obtain permits, post bonds and submit reports. They also may address conservation, including unitization or pooling of oil and natural gas properties, well locations, the method of drilling and casing wells, surface use and restoration of properties where wells are drilled, sourcing and disposal of water used in the process of drilling, completion and abandonment, the establishment of maximum rates of production from wells, and plugging and abandonment of wells. The effect of these regulations is to limit the amount of oil and natural gas that we can produce and to limit the number of wells or the locations at which we can produce. Moreover, many states impose a production or severance tax with respect to the production and sale of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids within their jurisdictions. Failure to comply with any applicable legal requirements may result in substantial penalties. Because such regulations are frequently amended or reinterpreted, we are unable to predict future compliance costs or impacts. Significant expenditures may be required to comply with governmental laws and regulations, however, and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Regulation of Transportation of Oil and Natural Gas
The prices for crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids and natural gas are negotiated and not currently regulated. But Congress, which has been active in oil and natural gas regulation, could impose price controls in the future.
Our sales of crude oil and natural gas are affected by the availability, terms and cost of transportation. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) primarily regulates interstate oil and natural gas transportation rates. In some circumstances, FERC regulations also may affect intrastate pipelines. In addition, states may impose on intrastate pipelines various obligations relating to such matters as safety, environmental protection, nondiscriminatory take and pay rates. The basis for intrastate oil and natural gas pipeline regulation, and the degree of regulatory oversight and scrutiny given to such matters, vary from state to state. To the extent effective interstate and intrastate rates are equally applicable to all comparable shippers, we believe that the regulation of oil and natural gas transportation rates will not affect our business in any way that is of material difference from those of our competitors who are similarly situated.
Environmental Matters
Our properties are subject to extensive and changing federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, worker safety and human health. Such requirements may address:
● the generation, storage, handling, emission, transportation and disposal of materials;
● reclamation or remediation of sites, including former operating areas;
● the acquisition of a permit or other authorization;
● air emissions;
● protection of water supplies;
● limits on construction, drilling and other activities in wilderness or other environmentally sensitive areas; and
● assessment of environmental impacts.
Failure to comply with such requirements may result in a variety of sanctions, including fines, administrative orders and injunctions. In addition, issuing authorities may revoke, adversely condition or deny permits necessary for our operations. In the opinion of management, our properties are in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations, and we have no material commitments for capital expenditures to comply with existing environmental requirements. Nevertheless, changes in existing environmental laws and regulations or in interpretations thereof could have a significant impact on our company, as well as the oil and natural gas industry in general. Significant environmental requirements that may affect our operations are described below.
The Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) and comparable state statutes impose strict liability, and in some cases joint and several liability, on owners and operators of sites and on persons who arranged for the disposal of “hazardous substances” found at such sites. It is not uncommon for neighboring landowners or other third parties to also file claims for personal injury and property damage allegedly caused by any hazardous substances released into the environment. Although CERCLA currently excludes petroleum from its definition of “hazardous substance,” our operations do entail handling other chemicals that may be subject to the statute. In addition, state laws affecting our properties may impose cleanup liability relating to petroleum and petroleum related products. The Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) and comparable state statutes govern the disposal of “solid waste” and “hazardous waste.” Violations may result in substantial fines. Although RCRA currently classifies certain oil field wastes as “non-hazardous,” such exploration and production wastes could be reclassified as hazardous, thereby subjecting our operations to more stringent handling and disposal requirements. In some circumstances, moreover, RCRA authorizes both the federal government and private persons to seek injunctions requiring the cleanup of wastes, whether hazardous or non-hazardous.
The Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) protects fish, wildlife and plants that are listed as threatened or endangered. Under the ESA, exploration and production operations may not significantly impair or jeopardize a protected species or its habitat. The ESA provides for criminal penalties for willful violations. Our operations also may be subject to other statutes that protect animals and plants such as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Although we believe that our properties are in compliance with such statutes, any change in these statutes or any reclassification of a species as endangered could subject our company (directly or indirectly through our third-party operators) to significant expenses to modify operations, could force discontinuation of certain operations altogether and could limit the locations our third-party operators may utilize in the future.
The Clean Air Act (“CAA”) is the comprehensive federal law addressing sources of air emissions. Oil and natural gas production and natural gas processing operations are among the many source categories subject to the CAA. Regulated emissions from oil and natural gas operations include sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) and hazardous air pollutants such as benzene, among others.
In particular, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced regulations in December 2023 that impose more comprehensive restrictions on emissions of methane (a greenhouse gas) and VOCs from new, existing, and modified facilities in the oil and gas sector (such as wells and storage tank batteries). Among other things, the rule sets new emissions standards for certain equipment; requires routine monitoring for and repair of leaks at well sites, centralized production facilities, and compressor stations; limits flaring from existing oil wells; and prohibits flaring from new oil wells. EPA also established a “Super Emitter Program” to authorize third parties to detect “super emitter events” at operators’ sites and report them to EPA. The regulations do provide phase-in periods for certain requirements. And State plans for existing sources are due 24 months after the rule’s effective date. States can either adopt the rule’s presumptive standards or develop their own requirements that are at least as strict as EPA’s. These regulations or practices and any other new rules requiring the installation of more sophisticated pollution control equipment could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The Clean Water Act (the “CWA”) is the primary federal law controlling the discharge of produced waters and other pollutants into waters of the United States. Permits must be obtained for such discharges and to conduct construction activities in waters and wetlands. Some states also require permits for discharges or operations that may impact groundwater.
The CAA, CWA and comparable state statutes authorize civil, criminal and administrative penalties for violations. Further, the CWA and Oil Pollution Act may impose liability on owners or operators of onshore facilities that impact surface waters.
Pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA (or an authorized state) regulates the construction, operation, permitting, and closure of injection wells used to place oil and natural gas wastes and other fluids underground for enhanced hydrocarbon recovery, storage or disposal. The primary objective of injection well operating requirements is to ensure the mechanical integrity of the injection apparatus and to prevent migration of fluids from the injection zone into underground sources of drinking water. Underground injection associated with oil and gas operations, particularly the disposal of produced water, has been linked in some cases to localized earthquakes. This in turn has led to new legislative and regulatory initiatives, which have the potential to restrict injection in certain wells or limit operations in certain areas.
Certain of the oil and natural gas production in which we have an interest is developed from unconventional sources that require hydraulic fracturing as part of the completion process. Hydraulic fracturing involves the injection into the formation of water, sand and chemicals under pressure to stimulate production. From time to time, legislation has been proposed in the United States Congress to repeal the Safe Drinking Water Act’s exemption for hydraulic fracturing from the definition of “underground injection” and to require federal permitting of hydraulic fracturing. If ever enacted, such legislation would add to costs for hydraulic fracturing.
Scrutiny of hydraulic fracturing activities continues in other ways. Several states where our properties are located have proposed or adopted legislative or regulatory restrictions on hydraulic fracturing. A number of municipalities likewise have enacted bans on hydraulic fracturing. We cannot predict whether any other legislation restricting hydraulic fracturing will be enacted and if so, what its provisions would be. If additional levels of regulation and permits were to be required through the adoption of new laws and regulations at the federal, state or local level, it could lead to delays, increased operating costs and process prohibitions that could materially adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.
The National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions. Among the broad range of actions covered by NEPA are decisions on permit applications and federal land management. Many of the activities of our third-party operators involve federal decisions subject to NEPA. Such federal actions may trigger robust NEPA review, which could lead to delays and increased costs
that could materially adversely affect our revenues and results of operations. The Biden Administration reversed changes to NEPA rules enacted under the Trump Administration that had been intended to streamline NEPA review. The revised regulations lay the foundation for additional scrutiny of impacts on climate change, which could affect the assessment of projects ranging from oil and gas leasing to development on public and Indian lands.
Climate Change
Climate change has become a major public concern and policy issue in the United States and around the world. Much of the debate has focused on greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions from oil and natural gas, particularly carbon dioxide and methane.
In the United States, there is no comprehensive federal regulatory statute addressing climate change, although Congress does periodically consider such measures. At the federal level, the United States therefore has primarily addressed climate change through executive actions and regulatory initiatives pursuant to existing statutes. These include rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Biden Administration’s commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to 50-52 percent of 2005 levels, various executive orders, limiting land available for oil and gas leasing, the United States Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan (intended to reduce overall methane emissions by 30% below 2020 levels by 2030), and Clean Air Act rules (such as regulation announced in December 2023 to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector). The SEC even promulgated new rules in 2024 that would require disclosure of various specific risks related to climate but promptly issued an order staying their applicability pending resolution of legal challenges. In addition, several states have already implemented or are considering programs to reduce GHG emissions. These include cap and trade programs, promotion of alternative forms of energy, transportation standards and restrictions on particular GHGs. New Mexico, for example, is requiring oil and gas operators to capture 98% of their produced natural gas by December 31, 2026, and is limiting most venting and flaring. To the extent that new climate change measures are adopted, our business may be adversely impacted.
In addition, recent court decisions have left open the question of whether tort claims alleging property damage may proceed under state common law against entities responsible for GHG emissions. Thus, there is some litigation risk for such claims.
Legislation or regulations that may be adopted to address climate change could also affect the markets for our products by making our products more or less desirable than competing sources of energy. To the extent that our products are competing with higher GHG emitting energy sources, for example, our products would become more desirable in the market with more stringent limitations on GHG emissions. But in 2022, the United States enacted the Inflation Reduction Act that, among other things, creates a series of financial incentives intended to discourage use of oil and natural gas (including imposing a fee on methane emissions) and to promote alternative sources of energy. Pursuant to that Act, EPA announced a proposed rule in December 2023 that would implement the program for collecting the annual “Waste Emissions Charge” on certain excess methane emissions from oil and gas facilities. By statute, the charge would be $900 per metric ton of methane for 2024, $1,200 per metric ton for 2025, and $1,500 per metric ton each year thereafter. To the extent that our products are competing with lower GHG emitting energy sources such as solar and wind, our products may become less desirable in the market with such government intervention. We cannot predict with any certainty at this time how these possibilities may affect our operations.
Various studies on climate change indicate that extreme weather conditions and other risks may occur in the future in the areas where we operate. Although we have not experienced any material impact from such extreme conditions to date, no assurance can be given that they will not have a material adverse effect on our business in the future.
See discussion captioned “Government regulation and liability for oil and natural gas operations and environmental matters may adversely affect our business and results of operations” in Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Insurance
We maintain insurance on our oil and natural gas properties and operations for risks and in amounts customary in the industry. Such insurance includes, but is not limited to, general liability, excess liability, control of well, operators extra expense, casualty, fraud, and directors and officer’s liability coverage. Not all losses are insured, and we retain certain
risks of loss through deductibles, limits, and self-retentions. We do not carry business interruption or lost profits coverage.
Human Capital, Sustainability, and ESG
Employees
As of June 30, 2024, we had eleven full-time employees, not including contract personnel and outsourced service providers. Due to our current focus on non-operating properties, our staff is disproportionately weighted towards higher wage professionals. We believe that we have positive relations with our employees. Our team is broadly experienced in oil and natural gas operations, development, acquisitions, and financing. We follow a strategy of outsourcing most of our property accounting, human resources, administrative, and other non-core functions. For our full-time employees, our benefits package, as determined by our Board of Directors, includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, short-term disability, 401(k) contributions based on a portion of the employee’s base salary, short and long-term performance-based and service-based incentive pay (i.e., annual bonuses and stock awards), and paid time off.
Our workforce is provided with annual training and is expected to sign an acknowledgement regarding our policies and disclosures which include, but are not limited to, the Corporate Sustainability Report (“CSR”), employee handbook, human rights, code of ethics, health and safety, emergency procedures, conflicts of interest, insider trading, bribery, kickbacks, discrimination, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Sustainability and ESG
In fiscal year 2023, we formed a Sustainability Committee which is responsible for overseeing our Environmental Social Governance (“ESG”) initiatives. In fiscal year 2021-2022, under the supervision of our Board of Directors, the Nominating and Corporate Governance committee, and senior management, the foundation of our sustainability efforts and CSR were led by an ESG Task Force. Evolution’s most recent CSR was published in November 2023. This report is accessible on our website at www.evolutionpetroleum.com.
The ESG Task Force formalized our existing ESG programs, proposed and implemented new ESG initiatives, monitored adherence to our internal and third-party sustainability standards, and provided public disclosures for our stakeholders. Each year, we continue to disclose, enhance, implement, and provide training for a number of new and existing policies and procedures. These include, but are not limited to: implementing a charitable donation program and employee volunteer initiatives, an annual company-wide ESG training program for both the Board of Directors and our workforce, implementation of safety inspections and health and safety coordinators, and incorporating ESG considerations into our compensation structure.
We are committed to high standards of conduct and ethics in order to contribute to the sustainability of our business. Our core values are the base to support our strategy and long-term success. We believe integrity is paramount and we are committed to developing and producing energy resources in environmentally, socially, and ethically respectful and responsible ways. Our people are critical to our success and as such we promote and maintain a safe and inclusive work environment. We strategically plan for the long-term and strive to maintain capital discipline, stakeholder transparency, and continuous focus on returning capital to shareholders.
We work with third-party operators that share our desire to operate and work responsibly, particularly for the natural environments in which they operate.
Denbury Inc., the operator of our Delhi Field property, and now a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, is an industry leader in Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage with a network of CO2 EOR operations and the United States’ largest operated system of CO2 transmission pipelines. As of year-end 2022, Denbury reportedly injects over three million tons of captured industrial-sourced CO2 annually, and has a goal to reach Net Zero for Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 CO2 emissions by 2030, primarily through increasing the amount of captured industrial-sourced CO2 used in their operations.
Jonah Energy, the operator of our Jonah Field property, is one of the leading sustainable natural gas producers in the U.S. In 2021, Jonah was the first and only U.S. company to achieve the Gold Standard Rating, announced by the United Nations Environment Programme International Methane Emissions Observatory.
As a non-operator of our current properties, we do not have direct control over environmental initiatives at a property-level. However, we believe it is important to partner with third-party operators that share our core values and are committed to being environmental stewards as they responsibly produce energy resources. We recognize that the expectations, requirements, and responsibilities of operators regarding safeguarding the environment and environmental stewardship continue to evolve. We are, and will continue to be, committed to supporting our third-party operators as they respond to these expectations, requirements, and responsibilities.
In fiscal year 2023, we implemented our first annual voluntary Environmental Operator Questionnaire to collect various environmental metrics on behalf of our third-party operators. In addition, we host regular operations meetings with our third-party operators in which we discuss asset level operations, expenses, any environmental issues and compliance, including ESG and health and safety related topics. The objectives of these endeavors are to obtain environmental data to better disclose the impact of operations, as well as to be better prepared to work with our operating partners in mitigating potential environmental impacts.
We report in our CSR the estimated Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions for our corporate office located in Houston, Texas. We are not required to and do not report Scope 1 GHG, or direct, emissions to the EPA as we are not the operator of our oil and natural gas properties, nor do we have financial control over our oil and natural gas properties and operations. We prefer to partner with third-party operators that work to reduce their Scope 1 GHG emissions, and we encourage them to accelerate their efforts as appropriate in this regard. Scope 2 GHG emissions are based on indirect emissions representing purchased electricity. We are one of many tenants leasing space in our corporate office building and do not know the actual amount of electricity used in our space. As such, we estimate our consumption by multiplying the electricity purchased for the entire building by the percentage of the floor area that we occupy. Water use is also reported in the CSR and is calculated in a similar fashion.
We maintain a hotline which operates 24/7/365 and allows anonymous and confidential reporting for employees, consultants, partners, and contractors, including the ability to report concerns or violations of our policies through the phone or internet (Phone: 877-628-7489 / Website: www.epm.alertline.com).
Additional Information
We file Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other reports with the SEC. Our reports filed with the SEC are available free of charge to the general public through our website at www.evolutionpetroleum.com. These reports are accessible on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after being filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. This Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings can also be obtained by contacting: Corporate Secretary, 1155 Dairy Ashford Road, Suite 425, Houston, Texas 77079, or calling (713) 935-0122. These reports are also available at the SEC Public Reference Room at 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Our business involves a high degree of risk. If any of the following risks, or any risk described elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, actually occurs, our business, financial condition, or results of operations could suffer. The risks described below are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or which we currently consider to be immaterial also may adversely affect us.
Risks Related to Our Business:
A substantial or extended decline in oil and natural gas prices may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and our ability to meet our capital expenditure obligations and financial commitments.
The price we receive for our oil and natural gas significantly influences our revenue, profitability, access to capital, capital spending, and future rate of growth. At June 30, 2024, approximately 37% of our proved reserves were oil reserves, 41% were natural gas and 22% were NGLs. Oil, natural gas and NGLs are commodities and their prices are subject to wide fluctuations in response to relatively minor changes in supply and demand. Historically, the markets for oil, natural gas, and NGLs have been volatile and these markets will likely continue to be volatile in the future. The prices we receive for our production depend on numerous factors beyond our control, including, but not limited to the following:
●changes in global supply and demand for oil and natural gas;
●worldwide and regional economic conditions impacting the global supply and demand for oil and natural gas;
●social unrest, political instability or armed conflict in major oil and natural gas producing regions outside the United States, such as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the conflict between Israel and Gaza, and acts of terrorism or sabotage;
●the ability and willingness of the members of OPEC+ to agree and maintain oil price and production controls;
●the price and quantity of imports of foreign oil and natural gas;
●energy transition away from hydrocarbons in response to governmental, scientific, and public concern over the threat of climate change arising from greenhouse gas emissions;
●the relative strength or weakness of the U.S. dollar compared to other currencies;
●the level of global oil and natural gas exploration and production;
●the level of global oil and natural gas inventories;
●localized supply and demand fundamentals of regional, domestic, and international transportation availability;
●weather conditions, natural disasters, and seasonal trends;
●domestic and foreign governmental regulations, including embargoes, sanctions, tariffs, and environmental regulations;
●speculation as to the future price of oil and the speculative trading of oil and natural gas futures contracts;
●price and availability of competitors’ supplies of oil and natural gas;
●technological advances affecting energy consumption; and
●the price, availability and use of alternative fuels.
Substantially all of our production is sold to purchasers under short-term (less than 12-month) contracts at market-based prices. A decline in oil, natural gas, and NGL prices will reduce our cash flows, borrowing ability, the present value of our reserves, and our ability to develop future reserves. We may be unable to obtain the needed capital or financing on satisfactory terms. Low oil, natural gas, and NGL prices may also reduce the amount of oil, natural gas, and NGL that we can produce economically, which could lead to a decline in our oil, natural gas and NGL reserves. Generally, we hedge substantially less than all of our anticipated oil and natural gas production and typically only with the requirements of our Senior Secured Credit Facility. To the extent that we have not hedged production, any significant and extended decline in oil, natural gas, and NGL prices may adversely affect our financial position.
Our existing developed oil and natural gas production will decline; we may be unable to acquire or develop the additional oil and natural gas reserves that are required in order to sustain our production and business operations.
The volume of production from developed oil and natural gas properties declines as reserves are depleted, with the rate of decline depending on reservoir characteristics. Environmental issues, operating problems, or lack of extended future investment in any of our properties would cause our net production of oil, natural gas, and NGLs to decline significantly over time, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
The types of resources we focus on have substantial operational risks.
Our business plan focuses on the acquisition and development of known resources in partially depleted, naturally fractured, or low permeability reservoirs. Our Chaveroo oilfield, Hamilton Dome Field and Delhi Field properties produce from relatively shallow reservoirs, while our SCOOP/STACK, Jonah Field, Williston Basin and Barnett Shale properties produce from deeper reservoirs. Shallower reservoirs usually have lower pressure, which generally translates into lower reserves volumes in place. Deeper reservoirs have higher pressures and usually more reserves volumes in place, but capturing those reserves often comes at increased drilling and completion costs and risks and, generally, a higher rate of initial production decline. Low permeability reservoirs require substantial stimulation for development of commercial production. Naturally fractured reservoirs require penetration of sufficient un-depleted fractures to establish commercial production. Depleted reservoirs require successful application of newer, or more expensive, technologies to produce incremental reserves. Our approach on the development and application of technologies on these different types of reservoirs could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
The CO2-EOR project in the Delhi Field, operated by Denbury, requires significant amounts of CO2 reserves, development capital, and technical expertise, the sources of which to date have been committed by the operator. On November 2, 2023, ExxonMobil acquired Denbury. Additional capital remains to be invested to fully develop the EOR project and maximize the value of the properties. The operator’s failure to manage these and other technical, environmental, operational, strategic, financial, and logistical risks may ultimately cause enhanced recoveries from the planned CO2-EOR project to fall short of our expectations in volume and/or timing. Such occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We have limited control over the activities on properties we do not operate.
All of our property interests are operated by third-party working interest owners, not by us. As a result, we have limited ability to influence or control the operations or future development of such properties, including compliance with environmental, safety, and other standards, or the amount of capital or other expenditures that we will be required to fund with respect to such properties. Operators of these properties may act in ways that are not in our best interest. Moreover, we are dependent on the other working interest owners of such projects to fund their contractual share of the capital expenditures of such projects. These limitations and our dependence on the operator and other working interest owners for these projects could cause us to incur unexpected future costs, result in lower production, and materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We will be subject to risks in connection with acquisitions.
We periodically evaluate acquisitions of reserves, properties, prospects, leaseholds, and other strategic transactions that appear to fit within our overall business strategy. The successful acquisition of producing properties requires an assessment of several factors, including, but not limited to:
● recoverable reserves;
● future oil and natural gas prices and their appropriate differentials;
● development and operating costs;
● potential for future drilling and production;
● validity of the seller’s title to properties, which may be less than expected at closing; and
● potential environmental issues, litigation, and other liabilities.
The accuracy of these assessments is inherently uncertain. In connection with these assessments, we perform a review of the subject properties that we believe to be generally consistent with industry practices. Our review will not reveal all
existing or potential problems nor will it permit us to become sufficiently familiar with the properties to fully assess their deficiencies and potential recoverable reserves. Inspections may not always be performed on every well, and environmental problems are not necessarily observable at the ground surface or otherwise when an inspection is performed. Even when problems are identified, the seller may be unwilling or unable to provide effective contractual protection against all or part of the problems. Moreover, in the event of such an acquisition, there is a risk that we could ultimately be liable for unknown obligations related to acquisitions and, importantly, that our assumptions regarding future oil and natural gas prices, differentials, reserves, or production could prove materially inaccurate and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.
Our inability to complete acquisitions at our historical rate and at appropriate prices, that support our long-term strategy, could negatively impact our growth rate and stock price.
One of our key strategies is growth through acquisition of low decline, long-life oil and natural gas properties. Our ability to grow revenues, earnings and cash flow at or above our historic rates depends in part upon our ability to identify and successfully acquire and integrate oil and natural gas properties at appropriate prices, and to make appropriate investments that support our long-term strategy. We may not be able to consummate acquisitions at rates similar to the past, which could adversely impact our growth rate and our stock price. Acquisitions are difficult to identify and complete for a number of reasons, including high valuations, competition among prospective buyers or investors, the availability of affordable funding in the capital markets and the need to satisfy applicable closing conditions.
We may encounter difficulties integrating the operations of newly acquired oil and natural gas properties or businesses.
Increasing our reserve base through acquisitions has been an important part of our business strategy. We may encounter difficulties integrating newly acquired oil and natural gas properties or businesses. In particular, we may face significant challenges in consolidating functions and integrating procedures, personnel, and business operations in an effective manner. The failure to successfully integrate such properties or businesses into our Company may adversely affect our business and results of operations. Any acquisition we make may involve numerous risks, including:
● a significant increase in our indebtedness and working capital requirements;
● the inability to timely and effectively integrate the operations of recently acquired businesses or assets;
● the incurrence of substantial costs to address unforeseen environmental and other liabilities arising out of the acquired businesses or assets;
● liabilities arising from the operation of the acquired businesses or assets before our acquisition;
● our lack of drilling or operational history in the areas in which the acquired business operates;
● customer or key employee loss from the acquired business;
● increased administration of new personnel;
● additional costs due to increased scope and complexity of our business;
● potential disruption of our ongoing business; and
● assumptions made on estimated development by the operator may not be accurate or may change.
Additionally, significant acquisitions can change the nature of our operations and business depending upon the character of the acquired properties, which may have substantially different operating and geological characteristics or be in different geographic locations than our existing properties. To the extent that we acquire properties substantially different from the properties we currently own or that require different technical expertise, we may not be able to realize the economic benefits of these acquisitions as effectively as with acquisitions within our current footprint and expertise. We may not be successful in addressing these risks or any other problems encountered in connection with any acquisition we may make.
Oil and natural gas development, re-completion of wells from one reservoir to another reservoir, restoring wells to production, and drilling and completing new wells are speculative activities which involve numerous risks and substantial uncertain costs.
Our growth will be partially dependent upon the success of future development programs on our properties. Drilling for oil and natural gas and extracting NGLs and re-working existing wells involve numerous risks. The cost of drilling, completing, and operating wells is substantial and uncertain; drilling operations may be curtailed, delayed, or canceled as a result of a variety of factors beyond our control, including, but not limited to:
● unexpected drilling conditions;
● pressure fluctuations or irregularities in reservoir formations;
● equipment failures or accidents;
● well blowouts and other releases of hazardous materials;
● inability to obtain or maintain leases on economic terms, where applicable;
● the cost and availability of goods and services, such as drilling rigs, fracture stimulation services, and tubulars;
● adverse weather conditions;
● compliance with governmental requirements; and
● shortages or delays in the availability of drilling rigs or crews and the delivery of equipment.
Drilling or re-working is a highly speculative activity. Even when fully and correctly utilized, modern well completion and production techniques, such as Horizontal Drilling or CO2 injection, do not guarantee that we will find and produce oil and/or natural gas in economic quantities. Our future drilling, completion and production activities may not be successful and, if unsuccessful, such failure would have an adverse effect on our future results of operations and financial condition.
We may also identify and develop prospects through a number of methods, some of which may include Horizontal Drilling or tertiary injectants, and some of which may be unproven. The drilling and results for these prospects may be particularly uncertain. We cannot ensure that these projects can be successfully developed or that wells will, if drilled, encounter reservoirs of commercially productive oil or natural gas.
Our oil and natural gas reserves are only estimates and may prove to be inaccurate.
There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating oil and natural gas reserves and their estimated values. Our reserves are only estimates that may prove to be inaccurate because of these inherent uncertainties. Reservoir engineering is a subjective process of estimating underground accumulations of oil and natural gas that cannot always be measured in an exact manner. Estimates of economically recoverable oil and natural gas reserves depend upon a number of variable factors. These factors include historical production from the area compared with production from other comparable producing areas, assumptions concerning effects of regulations by governmental agencies, future oil and natural gas product prices, future operating costs, severance and excise taxes, development costs, workover costs, and remedial costs. Some or all of these assumptions utilized in estimating reserve volumes may vary considerably from actual results. For these reasons, estimates of the economically recoverable quantities of reserves, classifications of such reserves based on risk of recovery, and estimates of the future net cash flows expected from reserves may vary substantially depending on the timing and different engineers preparing reserves estimates.
Accordingly, reserve estimates may be subject to downward or upward adjustments. Actual production, revenue, and expenditures with respect to our reserves will likely vary from estimates; such variances may be material. The information regarding discounted future net cash flows included in this report should not be considered as the current market value of the estimated oil and natural gas reserves attributable to our properties. The estimated discounted future net cash flows from proved reserves are based on the 12-month average price, calculated 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, and costs as of the date of the estimate, while actual future prices and costs may be materially higher or lower. Actual future net cash flows also will be affected by factors such as the amount and timing of actual production, supply and demand for oil and natural gas, increases or decreases in consumption, and changes in governmental regulations or taxation. In addition, the 10% discount factor, which is required by the SEC to be used in calculating discounted future
net cash flows for reporting purposes, is not necessarily the most appropriate discount factor. Interest rates in effect vary from time to time based on risks associated with us or the oil and natural gas industry in general. The Standardized Measure does not necessarily correspond to market value.
Regulatory and accounting requirements may require substantial reductions in reporting proven reserves.
On a periodic basis, we review the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties under the applicable rules of various regulatory agencies, including the SEC. Under the full cost method of accounting that we use, the after-tax carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties may not exceed the present value of estimated future net after-tax cash flows from proved reserves, discounted at 10%. Application of this “ceiling” test requires pricing future revenues at the previous 12-month average beginning-of-month price and requires a write-down of the carrying value for accounting purposes if the ceiling is exceeded. We may in the future be required to write down the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties when oil and natural gas prices are depressed or unusually volatile. Whether we will be required to take such a charge will depend in part on the prices of oil and natural gas during the previous period and the effect of reserve additions or revisions and capital expenditures during such period. If a write-down is required, it would result in a current charge to our earnings but would not impact our current cash flow from operating activities. A large write-down could adversely affect our compliance with the current financial covenants under our credit facility, could limit our access to future borrowings under that facility, or require repayment of any amounts that might be outstanding at the time.
Our derivative activities could result in financial losses or could reduce our income.
Under the terms of our Senior Secured Credit Facility, we are required to hedge a certain portion of our anticipated oil and natural gas production for future periods when we reach a defined utilization percentage. We may also elect to hedge additional production volumes from time to time based upon our view of the attractiveness of commodity futures and the risks that downward price fluctuations might pose to our business plans. When we engage in hedging transactions, we may utilize costless collars, fixed price swaps or purchased floors to cost-effectively provide us with some protection against price changes. We have not historically designated any of our derivative instruments as hedges for accounting purposes and record all derivative instruments on our balance sheet at fair value. Changes in the fair value of our derivative instruments are recognized in earnings. Accordingly, our earnings may fluctuate significantly as a result of changes in the fair value of our future derivative instruments. Derivative arrangements may also expose us to the risk of financial loss in some circumstances, including, but not limited to, if:
● actual production is less than the volume covered by the derivative instruments;
● the counterparty to the derivative instrument defaults on its contract obligations; or
● there is a change in the expected differential between the underlying price in the derivative instrument and actual price received.
In addition, in a rising commodity price environment, derivative arrangements may limit the extent to which we might benefit from increases in prices of oil and natural gas and may expose us to cash margin requirements.
Our operations, funding required to develop and produce reserves and our growth plans require significant amounts of capital and our ability to access additional capital at acceptable costs is important if we are to fund our operations, grow our reserves and production and execute our growth plans.
Cash flow from our production varies based on commodity prices and may decline along with nature declines in our production. As a consequence, our cash flow may not be sufficient to fund our ongoing or planned activities at all times. From time to time, we may require additional financing in order to fund our operations, acquisitions, exploitation, and development activities. We have, for instance, accessed our credit facility on a routine basis, including, recently, to fund acquisitions. As a result of our SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions, our credit facility has current availability of $10.5 million, and the maximum amount that may be outstanding under our credit facility at any one time is $50.0 million. Further, the size of our credit facility is influenced by many factors, including our production, reserves and prevailing views on future commodity prices, and it may decrease based on developments negatively impacting those and other factors. While ordinarily positive developments in such factors might increase the amount that lenders are willing to lend to us,
we are currently at the limit of our lender to increase the size of our credit facility due to limitations that the lender has on the loans it may extend to a single borrower. While we may pursue a syndication or refinance of our credit facility to alleviate this issue, we may be unable to do so upon the terms that are favorable to us. Additionally, access to debt and equity capital markets or other alternatives may also prove unavailable or unattractive at such times or in such amounts as we may require. If we are unable to access adequate capital at acceptable costs, it could adversely affect our ability to expend the necessary capital to replace our reserves, maintain our production and execute our business plans.
Government regulation and liability for oil and natural gas operations and environmental matters may adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Oil and natural gas operations are subject to extensive federal, state, and local government regulations, which may change from time to time. Matters subject to regulation include discharge permits for drilling operations, drilling bonds, reports concerning operations, the spacing of wells, unitization and pooling of properties, and taxation. From time to time, regulatory agencies have imposed price controls and limitations on production by restricting the rate of flow of oil and natural gas from wells below actual production capacity in order to conserve supplies of oil and natural gas. There are federal, state, and local laws and regulations addressing protection of human health and the environment that apply to the development, production, handling, storage, and transportation of oil, natural gas, and their by-products; the disposal of related wastes; the emission of CO2, methane, and other greenhouse gases; the emission of volatile organic compounds; and the management of other substances and materials released, produced or used in connection with oil and natural gas operations. These laws and regulations may affect the costs, manner, and feasibility of our operations by, among other things, requiring us to make significant expenditures in order to comply and restricting the areas available for oil and gas production. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in substantial liabilities to third-parties or governmental entities. In addition, we may be liable for significant environmental damages and cleanup costs, without regard to fault, for releases of hazardous materials on or from property we own or operate, even if we did not cause or contribute to the release. We are also subject to changing and extensive tax laws, the effects of which cannot be predicted. The implementation of new, or the modification of existing, laws or regulations, could have a material adverse effect on us, such as by imposing new emission controls, penalties, fines and/or fees, taxes and tariffs on carbon that could have the effect of raising prices to the end user and thereby reducing the demand for our products.
The risks arising out of the threat of climate change, including transition risks and physical risks, may adversely affect our business and results of operations.
The threat of climate change poses both transition risks and physical risks that could have a material adverse effect on us. Transition risks may arise from political and regulatory, legal, technological or financial changes as society tries to safeguard the climate, while physical risks may result from extreme weather events or other shifts in the natural world.
We have been facing increased political and regulatory risks as federal, state and local governments have adopted new measures to restrict sources of greenhouse gas emissions and promote energy alternatives, including the final EPA rule announced in December 2023 to reduce the emission of methane from oil and gas facilities. Many such measures have been proposed, and still more can be expected. From time to time, there are proposals to ban hydraulic fracturing of oil and natural gas wells and to remove more lands, both onshore and offshore, from new hydrocarbon production. Many other actions could be pursued such as more rigorous requirements for drilling and construction permits, stricter greenhouse gas emissions standards for both new and existing sources, further limits on construction of new pipelines, reinstatement of the ban on oil exports, enhanced reporting obligations, taxing carbon emissions and creating further incentives for use of alternative energy sources. These actions may cause operational delays or restrictions, increased operating costs and additional regulatory burdens.
Litigation risks are also increasing for oil and natural gas companies. A number of suits alleging, among other things, that oil and natural gas companies created public nuisances by producing fuels that contributed to climate change have been brought in state or federal court.
Technological changes may drive market demand for products other than oil and natural gas. Wider adoption of hybrid engines and electric cars, for example, would reduce demand for our products. At the same time, our capital and operating costs may increase if we need to add new emission reduction technologies.
There are also financial risks for the petroleum industry. It may become more difficult for us to access the capital markets if the threat of climate change discourages new investment. Institutional lenders who provide financing to fossil-fuel energy companies also have become more attentive to sustainable lending practices, and some of them may elect not to provide funding for fossil fuel energy companies. Limitation of investments in and financings for the energy industry could result in the restriction, delay or cancellation of drilling programs or development or production activities.
The threat of climate change also may subject our operations and business to severe weather or other natural hazards, such as flooding, drought, wildfires, and extreme temperatures. Any such event could halt production or exploration activities, damage equipment, disrupt transportation, reduce consumer demand and significantly increase our costs.
Poor general economic, business, or industry conditions may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, liquidity, and financial condition.
During the last few years, concerns over inflation, energy costs, volatile oil and natural gas prices, geopolitical issues, the availability and cost of credit, the United States mortgage market, uncertainties with regard to European sovereign debt, the slowdown in economic growth in large emerging and developing markets, such as China, regional or worldwide increases in tariffs or other trade restrictions, and other issues have contributed to increased economic uncertainty and diminished expectations for the global economy. Concerns about global economic conditions have had a significant adverse impact on domestic and international financial markets and commodity prices. If uncertain or poor economic, business, or industry conditions in the United States or abroad remain prolonged, demand for petroleum products could diminish or stagnate, and production costs could increase. These situations could impact the price at which we can sell our oil, natural gas, and NGLs, affect our vendors’, suppliers’, and customers’ ability to continue operations, and ultimately adversely impact our results of operations, liquidity, and financial condition.
Events outside of our control, including a pandemic or broad outbreak of an infectious disease, such as the global outbreak of a novel strain of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”), may materially adversely affect our business.
We face risks related to pandemics, outbreaks, or other public health events that are outside of our control and could significantly disrupt our operations and adversely affect our financial condition. In December 2019, COVID-19 was identified in Wuhan, China and rapidly spread around the world. This virus and its variants, and governmental actions to contain it, had material adverse economic impacts globally. These and other actions could, among other things, impact the ability of our employees and contractors to perform their duties, cause increased technology and security risk due to extended and company-wide telecommuting, and lead to disruptions in our permitting activities and critical business relationships. Additionally, governmental restrictions intended to contain COVID-19 or future pandemics have in the past, and may in the future, significantly impact economic activity and markets and dramatically reduce actual or anticipated demand for oil and natural gas, adversely impacting the prices we receive for our production. The severity and duration of any such events are uncertain and difficult to predict, as is the extent that such events may have on our business.
Our business could be negatively affected by security threats. A cyber-attack or similar incident could occur and result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption, damage to our reputation, and/or financial loss.
The oil and natural gas industry has become increasingly dependent on digital technologies to conduct certain exploration, development, production, processing, and financial activities. We depend on digital technology to estimate quantities of oil and natural gas reserves, manage operations, process and record financial and operating data, analyze seismic and drilling information, and communicate with our employees and third-party operators. Our technologies, systems, networks, seismic data, reserves information, or other proprietary information, and those of our operators, vendors, suppliers, customers, and other business partners may become the target of cyber-attacks or information security breaches. Cyber-attacks or information security breaches could result in the unauthorized release, gathering, monitoring, misuse, loss or destruction of proprietary and other information, or could otherwise lead to the disruption of our business operations or other operational disruptions in our exploration or production operations. Cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated and certain cyber incidents, such as surveillance, may remain undetected for an extended period and could lead to disruptions in critical systems or the unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information. These events could lead to financial losses from remedial actions, loss of business, disruption of operations,
damage to our reputation, or potential liability. Also, computers control nearly all of the oil and natural gas distribution systems in the United States and abroad. Computers are necessary to transport our oil and natural gas production to market. A cyber-attack directed at oil and natural gas distribution systems could damage critical distribution and storage assets or the environment, delay or prevent delivery of production to markets and make it difficult or impossible to accurately account for production and settle transactions. Cyber incidents have increased, and the United States government has issued warnings indicating that energy assets may be specific targets of cybersecurity threats. Our systems and insurance coverage for protecting against cybersecurity risks may not be sufficient. Further, as cyber-attacks continue to evolve, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to cyber-attacks.
Our insurance may not protect us against all of the operating risks to which our business is exposed.
The oil and natural gas business involves numerous operating hazards such as well blowouts, mechanical failures, explosions, uncontrollable flows of oil, natural gas, or well fluids, fires, formations with abnormal pressures, hurricanes and storms, flooding, pollution, releases of toxic gas, and other environmental hazards and risks, which can result in (1) damage to or destruction of wells and/or production facilities, (2) damage to or destruction of formations, (3) injury to persons, (4) loss of life, or (5) damage to property, the environment or natural resources. While we carry general liability, control of well, and operator’s extra expense coverage typical in our industry, we are not fully insured against all risks incidental to our business. Should we experience any losses, the costs of our premiums may rise, which could in turn reduce the amount of insurance we are able to carry.
The loss of key personnel could adversely affect us.
We depend to a large extent on the services of certain key management personnel, including our executive officers. The loss of one or more key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our operations. In particular, our future success is dependent upon the abilities of our executive officers to source, evaluate, and close deals, raise capital, and oversee our development activities and operations. Presently, we are not a beneficiary of any key man life insurance.
Oilfield service and materials prices may increase, and the availability of such services and materials may be inadequate to meet our needs.
Our business plan to develop or redevelop oil and natural gas resources requires third-party oilfield service vendors and various material providers, which we do not control. We also rely on third-party carriers for the transportation and distribution of our oil and natural gas production. As our production increases, so does our need for such services and materials. Generally, we do not have long-term agreements with our service and materials providers. Accordingly, there is a risk that any of our service providers could discontinue providing services for any reason or we may not be able to source the services or materials we need. Any delay in locating, establishing relationships, and training our sources could result in production shortages and maintenance problems, resulting in loss of revenue to us. In addition, if costs for such services and materials increase, it may render certain or all of our projects uneconomic, as compared to the earlier prices we may have assumed when deciding to redevelop newly purchased or existing properties. Further adverse economic outcomes may result from the long lead times often necessary to execute and complete our redevelopment plans.
We may assume risks and financial responsibility for drilling and completing wells at our Chaveroo oilfield and Williston Basin properties if our third-party operator declines to drill wells and it or other joint interest owners elect not to participate.
As discussed elsewhere in this report, pursuant to agreements related to our interests in the Chaveroo oilfield and Williston Basin properties, we have the ability to propose to the operator a drilling plan for certain wells, which the operator may accept or reject. In the event the operator rejects our proposed drilling plan, we have the right to undertake all necessary activities to drill and complete the wells and related facilities in accordance with our proposed drilling plan. In the event we undertake to do so, and the operator and other joint interest owners elect not to participate, we will bear the entire liability and expense associated with drilling and completing the wells and related facilities, subject only to our right to recoup costs incurred on behalf of non-participating joint interest owners to the extent a well generates sufficient revenues to do so. We thus may be required to bear a share of such expenses to an extent that is disproportionate to our
economic interest in the property. If we elect to proceed to drill and complete wells we have proposed and the operator has rejected, we also will bear many of the other risks highlighted elsewhere herein, including, without limitation, failing to find economic quantities of oil and natural gas, drilling accidents, potential environmental liabilities, unavailability of insurance at a reasonable cost to cover associated liabilities, and price increases and delivery delays for required drilling and completion equipment, products and services. Ongoing operations of any wells we elect to drill will be turned over to the operator of the property upon completion.
We cannot market the oil and natural gas that we produce without the assistance of third-parties.
The marketability of the oil and natural gas that we produce depends upon the proximity of our reserves and production to, and the capacity of, facilities and third-party services, including oil and natural gas gathering systems, pipelines, trucking or terminal facilities, and processing facilities necessary to make the products marketable for end use. The unavailability or lack of capacity of such services and facilities could result in the shut-in of producing wells or the delay or discontinuance of development plans for properties. A shut-in, delay, or discontinuance could adversely affect our financial condition.
We face strong competition from larger oil and natural gas companies.
Our competitors include major integrated oil and natural gas companies, numerous larger independent oil and natural gas companies, individuals, and drilling and income programs. Many of our competitors are large, well-established companies with substantially larger operating staffs and greater capital resources. We may not be able to successfully conduct our operations, evaluate and select suitable properties, or consummate transactions in this highly competitive environment. Specifically, these larger competitors may be able to pay more for development projects and productive oil and natural gas properties and may be able to define, evaluate, bid for, and purchase a greater number of properties and prospects than our financial or human resources permit. In addition, such companies may be able to expend greater resources on hiring contract service providers, obtaining oilfield equipment, and acquiring the existing and changing technologies that we believe are, and will be, increasingly important to attaining success in our industry.
We have been, and in the future may become, involved in legal proceedings related to our properties or operations and, as a result, may incur substantial costs in connection with those proceedings.
From time to time we may be a defendant or plaintiff in various lawsuits. The nature of our operations exposes us to further possible litigation claims in the future. There is risk that any matter in litigation could be decided unfavorably against us regardless of our belief, opinion, and position, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flow. Litigation can be very costly, and the costs associated with defending litigation could also have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. Adverse litigation decisions or rulings may damage our business reputation.
Ownership of our oil, natural gas, and mineral production depends on good title to our property.
Good and clear title to our oil, natural gas, and mineral properties is important to our business. Although title reviews will generally be conducted prior to the purchase of most oil, natural gas, and mineral producing properties or the commencement of drilling wells, such reviews do not assure that an unforeseen defect in the chain of title will not arise to defeat our claim. This could result in a reduction or elimination of the revenue received by us from such properties.
Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates or laws or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to tax by U.S. federal, state, and local tax authorities. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:
● changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;
● expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowances;
● tax effects of stock-based compensation;
● costs related to intercompany restructurings; or
● changes in tax laws, regulations, or interpretations thereof.
For example, in previous years, legislation has been proposed to eliminate or defer certain key U.S. federal income tax deductions historically available to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. Such proposed changes have included: (1) a repeal of the percentage depletion allowance for oil and natural gas properties; (2) the elimination of deductions for intangible drilling and exploration and development costs; (3) the elimination of the deduction for certain production activities; and (4) an extension of the amortization period for certain geological and geophysical expenditures. Under the current Administration there is an increased risk of the enactment of legislation that alters, eliminates, or defers these or other tax deductions utilized within the industry, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales, and other transaction taxes by U.S. federal, state, and local taxing authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Associated with our Common Stock
Our stock price has been and may continue to be volatile.
Our common stock has a relatively low trading volume and the market price has been, and is likely to continue to be, volatile. The variance in our stock price makes it difficult to forecast the stock price at which an investor may be able to buy or sell shares of our common stock. The market price for our common stock could be subject to fluctuations as a result of factors that are out of our control, such as:
● actual or anticipated variations in our results of operations;
● changes or fluctuations in the commodity prices of oil and natural gas;
● general conditions and trends in the oil and natural gas industry;
● redemption demands on institutional funds that hold our stock; and
● general economic, political, and market conditions.
Significant ownership of our common stock is concentrated in a small number of shareholders who may be able to affect the outcome of the election of our directors and all other matters submitted to our stockholders for approval.
As of June 30, 2024, our executive officers and directors, in the aggregate, beneficially owned approximately 3.2 million shares, or approximately 9.5% of our outstanding common stock and, based on recent filings with the SEC, we believe one large unaffiliated fund complex owned in excess of 7% of the outstanding shares of our common stock. As a result, a significant percentage of our common stock is concentrated in the hands of relatively few shareholders. These shareholders could potentially exercise significant influence over matters submitted to our stockholders for approval (including the election and removal of directors and any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets). This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, deferring, or preventing any matter that requires shareholder approval, including a change in control of our company, impede a merger, consolidation, takeover, or other business combination involving our company or discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company, which in turn could have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.
The market for our common stock is limited and may not provide adequate liquidity.
Our common stock trades on the NYSE American. Trading volume in our common stock is relatively low compared to larger companies. Our holders may find it more difficult to sell their shares, should they desire to do so, based on the trading volume and price of our stock at that time relative to the quantity of shares to be sold.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research reports about our business, or if they downgrade our stock, the price of our common stock could decline.
Small, relatively unknown companies can achieve visibility in the trading market through research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish. To our knowledge, only two research analysts actively cover our company. The limited number of published reports by securities analysts could limit the interest in our common stock and negatively affect our stock price. We do not have any control over the research and reports these analysts publish or whether they will be published at all. If any analyst who does cover us downgrades our stock, our stock price could decline. If any analyst ceases coverage of our company or fails to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline.
Our stated objective of returning cash to shareholders is subject to our ability to generate sufficient cash flows to pay dividends on our common stock and to repurchase shares of our common stock, as applicable, and we have, in the past, and may in the future, reduced or eliminate dividend payments and stock repurchases.
Our Board of Directors declared cash dividends on our common stock for the first time in December 2013 and we have declared and paid quarterly cash dividends since that time. Additionally, our Board of Directors has approved stock repurchase programs pursuant to which we have expended $8.6 million to repurchase shares over such period. Although one of our primary objectives is to return cash to shareholders, we are not required to repurchase shares of common stock or to pay dividends thereon and may be contractually or legally prohibited from doing so at certain times. Further, even if we are legally and contractually permitted to do so and have available cash to do so, we may elect to reduce or suspend the payment of dividends or the repurchase of shares of common stock to preserve cash based on the current and future capital requirements of our business, our financial condition, the amount of funds legally available therefor, any contractual restrictions to which we are subject at such time, our expectations about future cash inflows and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Accordingly, there is no certainty that dividends will be declared by our Board of Directors or shares of common stock will be repurchased by us in the future.
There may be future sales or issuances of our common stock, which will dilute the ownership interests of stockholders and may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
We may in the future issue additional shares of common stock, including securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, common stock or substantially similar securities, which may result in dilution to our stockholders. In addition, our stockholders may be further diluted by future issuances under our equity incentive plans. The market price of our common stock could decline as a result of future sales or issuances of a large number of shares of our common stock or similar securities in the market or the perception that such sales or issuances could occur.
Non-U.S. holders may be subject to U.S. income tax and withholding tax with respect to gain on disposition of the Company’s common stock.
We believe we are a U.S. real property holding corporation. As a result, Non-U.S. holders that own (or are treated as owning under constructive ownership rules) more than a specified amount of our common stock during a specified time period may be subject to U.S. federal income tax and withholding on a sale, exchange or other disposition of such common stock, and may be required to file a U.S. federal income tax return.
Investor sentiment towards climate change, fossil fuels, sustainability, and other ESG matters could adversely affect our business and our stock price.
There have been efforts in recent years aimed at the investment community, including investment advisors, sovereign wealth funds, public pension funds, universities, and other groups, to promote the divestment of shares of fossil fuel companies, as well as to pressure lenders and other financial services companies to limit or curtail activities with fossil fuel companies. As a result, some financial intermediaries, investors, and other capital markets participants have reduced or ceased lending to, or investing in, companies that operate in industries with higher perceived environmental exposure, such as the oil and natural gas industry. For example, in December 2020, the State of New York announced that it will
be divesting the state’s Common Retirement Fund from fossil fuels. If this or similar divestment efforts are continued, the price of our common stock or debt securities, and our ability to access capital markets or to otherwise obtain new investment or financing, may be negatively impacted.
Members of the investment community are also increasing their focus on ESG practices and disclosures, including practices and disclosures related to greenhouse gases and climate change in the energy industry in particular, and diversity and inclusion initiatives and governance standards among companies more generally. The SEC, for example, promulgated new rules in 2024 that require disclosure of various specific risks related to climate but promptly issued an order staying their applicability pending resolution of legal challenges. The growing emphasis on ESG may lead the investment community to screen our ESG performance before investing in our common stock or debt securities or lending to us. Over the past few years there also has been an acceleration in investor demand for ESG investing opportunities, and many large institutional investors have committed to increasing the percentage of their portfolios that are allocated towards ESG-focused investments. As a result, there has been a proliferation of ESG-focused investment funds seeking ESG-oriented investment products.
If we are unable to meet the ESG standards or investment or lending criteria set by these investors and funds, we may lose investors, investors may allocate a portion of their capital away from us, our cost of capital may increase, the price of our common stock may be negatively impacted, and our reputation may be negatively affected.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties
Information regarding our properties is included in Item 1. Business above and in Note 4, “Property and Equipment” to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8. Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, which information is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
See Note 10, “Commitments and Contingencies” to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8. Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for a description of any legal proceedings, which is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not Applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our common stock is currently traded on the NYSE American stock exchange under the ticker symbol “EPM”.
Shares Outstanding and Holders
As of June 30, 2024, there were 33,339,535 shares of common stock issued and outstanding. As of September 1, 2024, there were approximately 219 registered shareholders of our common stock.
Dividends
We began paying cash quarterly dividends on our common stock in December 2013. Over the last two fiscal years, we made the following cash dividends per share:
Fiscal Year
Fourth quarter ended June 30,
$
0.12
$
0.12
Third quarter ended March 31,
0.12
0.12
Second quarter ended December 31,
0.12
0.12
First quarter ended September 30,
0.12
0.12
As of June 30, 2024, we have paid 43 consecutive quarterly dividends on our common stock. In September 2024, the Company declared a $0.12 per share dividend payable on September 30, 2024. Any future determination with regard to the payment of dividends will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will be dependent upon our future earnings, financial condition, results of operations, applicable dividend restrictions, capital requirements, and other factors deemed relevant by the Board of Directors.
Securities Authorized For Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
Number of
Number of securities
securities to
remaining
be issued
Weighted-average
available for future
upon exercise
exercise
issuance under
of outstanding
price of
equity compensation
options,
outstanding
plans (excluding
warrants and
Options, warrants
securities reflected
Plan category
rights (a)
and rights (b)
in column (a))(1)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders:
Outstanding options
-
$
-
Outstanding contingent rights to shares
150,788
(1)
-
Total
150,788
-
881,652
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders
-
-
-
Total
150,788
$
-
881,652
(1) The Evolution Petroleum Corporation 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended, the “2016 Plan”) authorizes the issuance of 3.6 million shares of common stock prior to its expiration on December 8, 2026. As of June 30, 2024, we have granted 2.7 million equity awards under the 2016 Plan and 0.9 million shares of common stock remain available for future grants.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The table below summarizes information about the Company’s purchases of its equity securities during the three months ended June 30, 2024.
(c) Total number
(d) Maximum dollar value
(a) Total number
of shares
of shares that may yet be
of shares
purchased as part
purchased under the
purchased and
(b) Average price
of public announced
plans or programs
Period
received (1)
paid per share (1)
plans or programs(2)
(in thousands)(2)
April 2024
2,222
$
5.94
-
$
20,403
May 2024
-
-
-
20,403
June 2024
18,597
5.27
-
20,403
(1) During the three months ended June 30, 2024, no shares were purchased under the share repurchase program, discussed further below. All of the shares listed in the table above were surrendered by employees in exchange for the payment of tax withholding upon the vesting of restricted stock awards.
(2) On September 8, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program, under which the Company is authorized to repurchase up to $25.0 million of its common stock in the open market through December 31, 2024. The shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions, through privately negotiated transactions or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws. The timing, as well as the number and value of shares repurchased under the program, will depend on a variety of factors, including management’s assessment of the intrinsic value of the Company’s shares, the market price of the Company's common stock, our capital needs and resources, general market and economic conditions, and applicable legal requirements. The value of shares authorized for repurchase by the Company's Board of Directors does not require the Company to repurchase such shares or guarantee that such shares will be repurchased, and the program may be suspended, modified, or discontinued at any time without prior notice. In November 2023, the Company entered into a Rule 10b5-1 plan that authorized a broker to repurchase shares in the open market subject to pre-defined limitations on trading volume and price. The plan was effective until June 30, 2024 and had a maximum authorized amount of $0.8 million over that period. We may enter into additional Rule 10b5-1 plans in the future, the terms of which will be approved by the Board of Directors.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. Reserved

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Executive Overview
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Results of Operations
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Executive Overview
General
Evolution Petroleum Corporation is an independent energy company focused on maximizing total returns to its shareholders through the ownership of and investment in onshore oil and natural gas properties in the United States. In support of that objective, our long-term goal is to maximize total shareholder return from a diversified portfolio of long-life oil and natural gas properties built through acquisitions and through selective development opportunities, production enhancements, and other exploitation efforts on our oil and natural gas properties.
Our oil and natural gas properties consist of non-operated interests in the SCOOP and STACK plays of the Anadarko Basin located in central Oklahoma; the Chaveroo oilfield in Chaves and Roosevelt Counties of New Mexico; Jonah Field in Sublette County, Wyoming; the Williston Basin in North Dakota; the Barnett Shale located in North Texas; the Hamilton Dome Field located in Hot Springs County, Wyoming; the Delhi Holt-Bryant Unit in the Delhi Field in Northeast Louisiana; and small overriding royalty interests in four onshore central Texas wells.
Our non-operated interests in the SCOOP and STACK plays, consist of oil and natural gas producing properties in the Anadarko basin, where we hold approximately 2.6% average net working interest and approximately 2.0% average net revenue interests located on approximately 4,200 net acres (approximately 96% held by production) across Blaine, Canadian, Carter, Custer, Dewey, Garvin, Grady, Kingfisher, McClain, Murray, and Stephens counties in Oklahoma. The oil and natural gas properties are operated by Continental Resources, Inc., Ovintiv USA Inc. and EOG Resources, Inc. with approximately 40% of wells operated by other operators.
Our non-operated interests in the Chaveroo oilfield consist of a 50% net working interest, with an average associated 41% revenue interest, in approximately 1,600 net acres all held by production, associated with five development blocks, with the right to acquire the same working interest in additional development locations and associated acreage at a fixed price. The field is operated by PEDEVCO Corp. (“PEDEVCO”). See “Chaveroo Oilfield Participation Agreement” below for further information.
Our non-operated interests in the Jonah Field, a natural gas and NGL property in Sublette County, Wyoming, consist of approximately 20% average net working interest and approximately 15% average net revenue interest located on approximately 950 net acres all held by production. The properties are operated by Jonah Energy.
Our non-operated interests in the Williston Basin, an oil and natural gas producing property, consist of approximately 39% average net working interest and approximately 33% average net revenue interest located on approximately 43,000 net acres (approximately 93% held by production) across Billings, Golden Valley, and McKenzie Counties in North Dakota. The properties are operated by Foundation Energy Management.
Our non-operated interests in the Barnett Shale, a natural gas and NGL producing shale reservoir, consist of approximately 17% average net working interest and approximately 14% average net revenue interest (inclusive of small overriding royalty interests). The approximately 21,000 net acres are held by production across nine North Texas counties. The oil and natural gas properties are primarily operated by Diversified Energy Company with approximately 10% of wells operated by six other operators.
Our non-operated interests in the Hamilton Dome Field, a secondary recovery field utilizing water injection wells to pressurize the reservoir, consist of approximately 24% average net working interest, with an associated 20% average net revenue interest (inclusive of a small overriding royalty interest). The unitized field, of which we hold approximately 1,400 net acres, is operated by Merit Energy Company, who owns the majority of the remaining working interest in the Hamilton Dome Field. The Hamilton Dome Field is located in the southwest region of the Big Horn Basin in northwest Wyoming.
Our non-operated interests in the Delhi Field, a CO2-EOR project, consist of approximately 24% average net working interest, with an associated 19% revenue interest and separate overriding royalty and mineral interests of approximately 7% yielding a total average net revenue interest of approximately 26%. The field is operated by Denbury Onshore LLC. The unitized Delhi Field, of which we hold approximately 3,200 acres, is located in northeast Louisiana in Franklin, Madison, and Richland Parishes.
Recent Developments
Dividend Declaration
On September 9, 2024, Evolution’s Board of Directors approved and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per common share payable September 30, 2024.
SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions
On February 12, 2024, we closed the acquisitions of certain non-operated oil and natural gas assets in the SCOOP and STACK plays in central Oklahoma (the “SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions”) from Red Sky Resources III, LLC, Red Sky Resources IV, LLC, and Coriolis Energy Partners I, LLC. After taking into account customary closing adjustments and an effective date of November 1, 2023, total combined cash consideration for the SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions was approximately $39.2 million, which includes $43.9 million paid at closing less purchase price adjustments totaling approximately $4.7 million related to net cash flows earned on the properties from the effective date to the closing date.
The acquired assets consist of an average net working interest of approximately 2.6% in 253 producing wells in the SCOOP and STACK plays of the Anadarko Basin in Blaine, Canadian, Carter, Custer, Dewey, Garvin, Grady, Kingfisher, McClain, Murray, and Stephens counties, Oklahoma. The acquisitions also include approximately 4,200 net acres (approximately 96% held by production) with approximately 300 associated potential drilling opportunities.
Senior Secured Credit Facility
On February 12, 2024, we entered into an amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment required that we enter into hedges for the next 12-month period, and on a rolling 12-month basis thereafter, covering expected crude oil and natural gas production from proved developed reserves, calculated separately, equal to a minimum of 40% of expected crude oil production each month, or 25% of expected crude oil and natural gas production each month over that period. We have the option to choose whether to hedge 40% of expected crude oil production or 25% of expected crude oil and natural gas production.
Appointment of Chief Accounting Officer
On December 18, 2023, we announced that the Board of Directors approved the appointment of Kelly M. Beatty as Chief Accounting Officer, effective January 1, 2024. Ms. Beatty has been serving as Principal Accounting Officer since December 2022 and has served as the Company’s Controller since February 2022.
Share Repurchase Program
In November 2023, we entered into a Rule 10b5-1 plan that authorized a broker to repurchase shares in the open market subject to pre-defined limitations on trading volume and price. The plan was effective until June 30, 2024 and had a
maximum authorized amount of $0.8 million over that period. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, 0.1 million shares of the Company’s common stock were repurchased under the plan at a cost of approximately $0.8 million, including incremental direct transaction costs. These shares were subsequently cancelled. We may enter into additional Rule 10b5-1 plans in the future, the terms of which will be approved by the Board of Directors.
Chaveroo Oilfield Participation Agreement
On September 12, 2023, we entered into a participation agreement (the “Participation Agreement”) with PEDEVCO for the joint development of the Chaveroo oilfield, a conventional oil-bearing San Andres field located in Chaves and Roosevelt Counties, New Mexico (the “Chaveroo Field”).
Pursuant to the Participation Agreement, we have the right, but not the obligation, to elect to participate in drilling locations on approximately 16,000 gross leasehold acres consisting of all leasehold rights from surface to the base of the San Andres formation, where PEDEVCO currently holds leasehold interest. We have agreed to pay PEDEVCO $450 per acre to acquire a 50% working interest share in the leases associated with the locations that we choose to participate in. The Participation Agreement initially includes up to 80 gross drilling locations across twelve development blocks. We have entered into a standard operating agreement with PEDEVCO serving as the operator with respect to the development of the properties. The Participation Agreement includes customary representations and warranties of the parties and other terms and conditions that are standard in such participation agreements.
As of June 30, 2024, we have incurred approximately $0.8 million in exchange for a 50% working interest share in approximately 1,600 net acres, associated with five development blocks. As of June 30, 2024, we have participated in the drilling and completion of the first development block which consisted of three gross (1.5 net) wells. Refer to Capital Expenditures below for a further discussion of Chaveroo drilling and completion activities since entering into the Participation Agreement.
Proved Reserves
The following table is a summary of our proved reserves as of June 30, 2024 and 2023:
Proved Reserves
Change
Proved Reserves MMBOE
31.8
31.2
1.9
%
% Developed
75.6
%
88.1
%
(12.5)
%
Liquids %
59.1
%
50.5
%
8.6
%
Standardized Measure ($MM)
$
166.6
$
238.2
(30.1)
%
Proved oil equivalent reserves as of June 30, 2024 were 31.8 MMBOE, a 0.6 MMBOE, or 1.9%, increase from the previous year of 31.2 MMBOE. The net increase in total proved reserves was primarily due extensions of 4.8 MMBOE primarily in Chaveroo Field and SCOOP/STACK as well as 3.2 MMBOE of reserves purchased in our SCOOP/STACK acquisition. These increases are partially offset by production of 2.5 MMBOE and net negative revisions of 4.9 MMBOE. Net negative revisions of 4.9 MMBOE are primarily due to declines in SEC trailing 12-month pricing, especially for natural gas reserves where the price per MMBTU declined 51.5% from the prior year, as well as impacting the late-in-life economic limits of production.
The Standardized Measure for proved reserves decreased 30.1% to $166.6 million, primarily due to decreases in the SEC mandated trailing 12-month average first day of the month prices for oil and natural gas and the price received for our NGLs; sales of oil, natural gas and NGLs produced during the period; and decreases in reserves estimates partially offset by extensions in Chaveroo Field and SCOOP/STACK and our SCOOP/STACK Acquisition. Prices decreased from $83.23 per barrel of oil, $4.78 per MMBtu of natural gas and $33.71 per barrel of NGLs at June 30, 2023 to $79.45 per barrel of oil, $2.32 per MMBtu of natural gas and $23.86 per barrel of NGLs at June 30, 2024. Our proved reserves consist of 37% oil, 41% natural gas, and 22% NGLs; 75.6% are classified as proved developed producing and 24.4% are proved undeveloped.
Additional property and project information is included under Item 1. Business and in Note 4, “Property and Equipment” and our Supplemental Disclosure about Oil and Natural Gas Properties (unaudited) to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, and in Exhibit 99.1, 99.2, and 99.3 of this Form 10-K.
Risks and uncertainties
The oil and natural gas industry is a global market impacted by many factors, such as government regulations, particularly in the areas of trade sanctions, taxation, energy, climate change and the environment, geopolitical instability and armed conflicts (including between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East between Israel and Gaza), demand in Asian and European markets, and the extent to which members of OPEC and other oil exporting nations manage oil supply through export quotas. Natural gas prices are generally determined by North American supply and demand and are also affected by imports and exports of liquefied natural gas. Weather also has a significant impact on demand for natural gas since it is a primary heating source.
Oil and natural gas prices have been, and we expect may continue to be, volatile. Lower oil and gas prices not only decrease our revenues, but an extended decline in oil or gas prices may affect planned capital expenditures and the oil and natural gas reserves that we can economically produce. Lower oil and gas prices may also reduce the amount of our borrowing base under our Senior Secured Credit Facility, which is determined at the discretion of the lenders based on various factors including the collateral value of our proved reserves.
At times, we do maintain cash balances in excess of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”); however, we believe our bank counterparty to be financially sound. We also utilize insured cash sweep deposits to maximize the amount of our cash that is protected by FDIC insurance. We also rely heavily on our third-party operators who manage their own liquidity with various financial institutions.
The Federal Reserve has taken actions to raise interest rates in an attempt to tame inflation and slow the economy, which has contributed to volatility in markets.
Given the dynamic nature of these events, we cannot reasonably estimate the period of time that these market conditions will persist; predict the broader impact of liquidity concerns around financial institutions; the impact to long-term cost of capital or economic growth as a result of the Federal Reserve’s policies; or the impact on the commodity prices that we realize.
Currently, our oil and natural gas properties are operated by third-party operators and involve other third-party working interest owners. As a result, we have limited ability to influence the operation or future development of such properties. Despite these uncertainties, we remain focused on our long-term objectives and continue to be proactive with our third-party operators to review capital expenditures and present alternative plans as necessary.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of June 30, 2024, we had $6.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and $39.5 million outstanding borrowings on our Senior Secured Credit Facility compared to $11.0 million in cash and cash equivalents and no borrowings outstanding on our Senior Secured Credit Facility at June 30, 2023. Our primary sources of liquidity and capital resources during the year ended June 30, 2024 were cash provided by operations as well as net borrowings under our Senior Secured Credit Facility. Our primary uses of liquidity and capital resources for the year ended June 30, 2024 were our SCOOP/STACK Acquisition, cash dividend payments to our common stockholders, and development capital expenditures, primarily at Chaveroo oilfield where we participated in the drilling of three gross (1.5 net) wells. As of June 30, 2024, working capital was $5.9 million, a decrease of $3.0 million from working capital of $8.9 million as of June 30, 2023.
The Senior Secured Credit Facility has a maximum capacity of $50.0 million subject to a borrowing base determined by the lender based on the value of our oil and natural gas properties. The Senior Secured Credit Facility has a current borrowing base of $50.0 million, with $39.5 million drawn as of June 30, 2024. The Senior Secured Credit Facility is secured by substantially all of our oil and natural gas properties and matures on April 9, 2026.
Borrowings bear interest, at our option, at either the SOFR plus 2.80% or the Prime Rate, as defined under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, plus 1.0%. For the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the weighted average interest on our borrowings was 8.12% and 5.25%, respectively. The Senior Secured Credit Facility contains covenants requiring the maintenance of (i) a total leverage ratio of not more than 3.00 to 1.00, (ii) a current ratio of not less than 1.00 to 1.00, and (iii) a consolidated tangible net worth of not less than $40.0 million, each as defined in the Senior Secured Credit Facility. It also contains other customary affirmative and negative covenants, including a hedging covenant discussed below, and events of default. As of June 30, 2024, we were in compliance with all covenants under the Senior Secured Credit Facility.
On February 12, 2024, we entered into an amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment required that we enter into hedges for the next 12-month period, and on a rolling 12-month basis thereafter, covering expected crude oil and natural gas production from proved developed reserves, calculated separately, equal to a minimum of 40% of expected crude oil production each month, or 25% of expected crude oil and natural gas production each month over that period. We have the option to choose whether to hedge 40% of expected crude oil production or 25% of expected crude oil and natural gas production.
On May 5, 2023, we entered into the Tenth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment, among other things, extended the maturity of our Senior Secured Credit Facility to April 9, 2026, converted our benchmark interest rate from LIBOR to SOFR plus a credit spread adjustment of 0.05%, and modified the Margined Collateral Value, as defined in the Ninth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility, to $95.0 million. We are required to enter into hedges on a rolling 12-month basis when the borrowings under the Senior Secured Credit Facility exceed 25% of the Margined Collateral Value. The required amount of hedged oil and natural gas production is related to the amount of borrowings outstanding. At each redetermination, our Margined Collateral Value takes into account the estimated value of our oil and natural gas properties, proved developed reserves, total indebtedness, and other relevant factors consistent with customary oil and natural gas lending criteria.
On February 7, 2022, we entered into the Ninth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment, among other things, modified the definition of utilization percentage related to the required hedging covenant such that for the purposes of determining the amount of future production to hedge, the utilization of the Senior Secured Credit Facility will be based on the Margined Collateral Value, as amended above, to the extent it exceeds the borrowing base then in effect. This amendment also required us to enter into hedges for the 12-month period ending February 2023, covering 25% of expected oil and natural gas production over that period.
On November 9, 2021, we entered into the Eighth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment, among other things, increased the borrowing base to $50.0 million and added a hedging covenant whereby we must hedge a certain amount of our future production on a rolling 12-month basis when 25% or more of the borrowing base is utilized. The hedging covenant was amended in subsequent amendments, as discussed above.
We have historically funded operations through cash from operations and working capital. Our primary source of cash is the sale of produced crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs. A portion of these cash flows is used to fund capital expenditures and pay cash dividends to shareholders. We expect to fund near-future capital development activities for our properties with cash flows from operating activities, existing working capital and, as needed, borrowings under our Senior Secured Credit Facility.
We are pursuing new growth opportunities through acquisitions and other transactions. In addition to cash on hand, we have access to the undrawn portion of the borrowing base available under our Senior Secured Credit Facility, totaling $10.5 million as of June 30, 2024. We also have an effective shelf registration statement with the SEC under which we may issue up to $500.0 million of new debt or equity securities.
Our Board of Directors instituted a cash dividend on common stock in December 2013. We have since paid 43 consecutive quarterly dividends. Distribution of a substantial portion of free cash flow in excess of operating and capital requirements through cash dividends remains a priority of our financial strategy, and it is our long-term goal to increase dividends over time, as appropriate. On September 9, 2024, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.12 per share of common stock to shareholders of record on September 20, 2024 and payable on September 30, 2024.
On September 8, 2022, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program, under which we are authorized to repurchase up to $25.0 million of our common stock in the open market through December 31, 2024. We intend to fund any repurchases from working capital and cash provided by operating activities. As we continue to focus on our goal of maximizing total shareholder return, the Board of Directors along with the management team believe that a share repurchase program is complimentary to the existing dividend policy and is a tax efficient means to further improve shareholder return.
In December 2022, we entered into a Rule 10b5-1 plan that authorizes a broker to repurchase shares in the open market subject to pre-defined limitations on trading volume and price. The plan included a 30-day cooling off period that did not allow repurchases to commence until January 2023. The plan was effective until June 30, 2023 and had a maximum authorized amount of $5.0 million over that period. During the year ended June 30, 2023, 0.6 million shares of our common stock were repurchased under the plan at a total cost of approximately $3.9 million, including incremental direct transaction costs. These treasury shares were subsequently cancelled.
In November 2023, we entered into a Rule 10b5-1 plan that authorized a broker to repurchase shares in the open market subject to pre-defined limitations on trading volume and price. The plan was effective until June 30, 2024 and had a maximum authorized amount of $0.8 million over that period. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, 0.1 million shares of the Company’s common stock were repurchased under the plan at a cost of approximately $0.8 million, including incremental direct transaction costs. These shares were subsequently cancelled. We may enter into additional Rule 10b5-1 plans in the future, the terms of which will be approved by the Board of Directors.
Capital Expenditures
For the year ended June 30, 2024, we incurred $12.3 million on development capital expenditures across our portfolio of assets, excluding acquisitions. At the Chaveroo Field, we purchased undeveloped acreage and also participated in drilling and completion of three gross (1.5 net) wells. First production on the three gross wells at Chaveroo Field occurred at the beginning of February 2024. We also participated in the drilling and completion of two new wells in the Delhi Field that came online during the first fiscal quarter of 2024. Since acquiring our SCOOP/STACK properties, we have participated in the drilling and completion of 14 gross wells.
Based on discussions with our operators, we expect capital workover projects to continue in all the fields. Overall, for fiscal year 2025, we expect budgeted capital expenditures to be in the range of $12.5 million to $14.5 million, which excludes any potential acquisitions. Our expected capital expenditures for the next 12 months include bringing approximately 13 gross wells online at our SCOOP/STACK properties, the drilling and completion of four new wells at Chaveroo Field, and the drilling and completion of one new well at Delhi Field Test Site V.
As of June 30, 2024, our PUD reserves included 7.7 MMBOE of reserves and approximately $90.5 million of future development costs primarily associated with the SCOOP/STACK, Chaveroo Field, and Williston Basin properties, and Test Site V at Delhi Field.
Funding for our anticipated capital expenditures over the near-term is expected to be met from cash flows from operations and current working capital, and as needed from borrowings under our Senior Secured Credit Facility.
Full Cost Pool Ceiling Test
Under the full cost method of accounting, capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties, net of accumulated depletion, depreciation, and amortization and related deferred taxes, are limited to the estimated future net cash flows from proved oil and natural gas reserves, discounted at 10%, plus the lower of cost or fair value of unproved properties, as adjusted for related income tax effects (the valuation “ceiling”). If capitalized costs exceed the full cost ceiling, the excess would be charged to expense as a write-down of oil and natural gas properties in the quarter in which the excess occurred. The quarterly ceiling test calculation requires that we use the average first day of the month price for our petroleum products during the 12-month period ending with the balance sheet date. The prices used in calculating our ceiling test as of June 30, 2024 were $79.45 per barrel of oil, $2.32 per MMBtu of natural gas and $23.86 per barrel of NGLs. As of June 30, 2024, our capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties were below the full cost valuation
ceiling. If commodity price levels were to substantially decline from the 12-month average first day of the month pricing levels as of June 30, 2024 and remain down for a prolonged period of time, our valuation ceiling over our capitalized costs may be reduced and adversely impact our ceiling tests in future quarters. We cannot give assurance that a write-down of capitalized oil and natural gas properties will not be required in the future. Additionally, a 10% reduction in respective commodity prices at June 30, 2024, while all other factors remained constant, would not have generated an impairment.
Overview of Cash Flow Activities
Years Ended June 30,
Change
Cash flows provided by operating activities
$
22,729
$
51,272
$
(28,543)
Cash flows used in investing activities
(49,633)
(6,992)
(42,641)
Cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities
22,316
(41,526)
63,842
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
$
(4,588)
$
2,754
$
(7,342)
Cash provided by operating activities decreased $28.5 million during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 compared to fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 primarily due to a decrease in revenue. Total revenues decreased $42.6 million as compared to the prior year primarily due to lower commodity prices coupled with lower sales volumes. Our average realized price per barrel of oil equivalent (“BOE”) decreased $15.00, or 30.3% from the prior year period. Refer to “Results of Operations” below for further information.
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended June 30, 2023 increased $42.6 million from the prior year primarily due to the acquisition of our SCOOP/STACK properties in February 2024 together with an increase in capital expenditures related to the drilling and completion of three gross (1.5 net) new wells in the Chaveroo Field and to a lesser extent, drilling and completion expenditures at Delhi Field and SCOOP/STACK. As of the year ended June 30, 2024, we have paid approximately $38.7 million for the SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions and have accrued purchase price adjustments of $0.5 million related to net cash flows due on the properties from the effective date to the closing date to arrive at a net purchase price of $39.2 million.
Net cash flows provided by financing activities for the year ended June 30, 2024 were $22.3 million compared to net cash flows used in financing activities of $41.5 million for the year ended June 30, 2023. In the current year period, we had net borrowings of $39.5 million under our Senior Secured Credit Facility to finance our SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions, $16.0 million cash dividends paid to our common stockholders together with $0.8 million paid to repurchase shares of common stock under our share repurchase plan. In the prior year period, we had repayments totaling $21.3 million of borrowings outstanding under our Senior Secured Credit Facility, $16.1 million in cash dividends paid to our common stockholders and $3.9 million paid to repurchase shares of common stock under our share repurchase program.
Results of Operations
Years Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023
We reported net income of $4.1 million and $35.2 million for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The following table summarizes the comparison of financial information for the periods presented:
Years Ended June 30,
(in thousands, except per unit and per BOE amounts)
Variance
Variance %
Net income (loss)
$
4,080
$
35,217
$
(31,137)
(88.4)
%
Revenues:
Crude oil
53,446
51,044
2,402
4.7
%
Natural gas
21,525
63,800
(42,275)
(66.3)
%
Natural gas liquids
10,906
13,670
(2,764)
(20.2)
%
Total revenues
85,877
128,514
(42,637)
(33.2)
%
Operating costs:
Lease operating costs:
CO2 costs
4,242
7,375
(3,133)
(42.5)
%
Ad valorem and production taxes
5,281
8,158
(2,877)
(35.3)
%
Other lease operating costs
38,750
44,012
(5,262)
(12.0)
%
Depletion, depreciation, and accretion:
Depletion of full cost proved oil and natural gas properties
18,605
13,142
5,463
41.6
%
Accretion of asset retirement obligations
1,457
1,131
28.8
%
General and administrative expenses:
General and administrative
7,499
7,944
(445)
(5.6)
%
Stock-based compensation
2,137
1,639
30.4
%
Other income (expense):
Net gain (loss) on derivative contracts
(1,292)
(1,805)
(351.9)
%
Interest and other income
182.6
%
Interest expense
(1,459)
(458)
(1,001)
218.6
%
Income tax (expense) benefit
(1,417)
(10,072)
8,655
(85.9)
%
Production:
Crude oil (MBBL)
7.6
%
Natural gas (MMCF)
8,243
9,109
(866)
(9.5)
%
Natural gas liquids (MBBL)
(14)
(3.4)
%
Equivalent (MBOE)(1)
2,485
2,593
(108)
(4.2)
%
Average daily production (BOEPD)(1)
6,790
7,104
(314)
(4.4)
%
Average price per unit(2):
Crude oil (BBL)
$
75.38
$
77.46
$
(2.08)
(2.7)
%
Natural gas (MCF)
2.61
7.00
(4.39)
(62.7)
%
Natural Gas Liquids (BBL)
27.13
32.86
(5.73)
(17.4)
%
Equivalent (BOE)(1)
34.56
49.56
(15.00)
(30.3)
%
Average cost per unit:
Operating costs:
Lease operating costs:
CO2 costs
$
1.71
$
2.84
(1.13)
(39.8)
%
Ad valorem and production taxes
2.13
3.15
(1.02)
(32.4)
%
Other lease operating costs
15.59
16.97
(1.38)
(8.1)
%
Depletion of full cost proved oil and natural gas properties
7.49
5.07
2.42
47.7
%
General and administrative expenses:
General and administrative
3.02
3.06
(0.04)
(1.3)
%
Stock-based compensation
0.86
0.63
0.23
36.5
%
(1) Equivalent oil reserves are defined as six MCF of natural gas and 42 gallons of NGLs to one barrel of oil conversion ratio which reflects energy equivalence and not price equivalence. Natural gas prices per MCF and NGL prices per barrel often differ significantly from the equivalent amount of oil.
(2) Amounts exclude the impact of cash paid or received on the settlement of derivative contracts since we did not elect to apply hedge accounting.
Revenues
Crude oil, natural gas and NGL revenues were $85.9 million and $128.5 million for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The decrease in revenues is primarily due to the decrease in our average realized price per BOE coupled with a decrease in our sales volumes. Our average realized commodity price (excluding the impact of derivative contracts) decreased approximately $15.00 per BOE, or 30.3%, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 compared to June 30, 2023. The amount we realize for our production depends predominantly upon commodity prices, which are affected by changes in market demand and supply, as impacted by overall economic activity, weather, inventory storage levels, basis differentials and other factors. Realized natural gas prices decreased 62.7% from the prior fiscal year, which was the largest portion of the driver of the decrease in revenues. This was partially attributed to the prior fiscal year benefit of strong natural gas price differentials received at the Jonah Field where we realized an average natural gas price of $10.63 per MCF in the prior fiscal year compared to $3.55 for the current fiscal year. Average daily equivalent production decreased 4.4% from 7,104 BOEPD to 6,790 BOEPD in the current fiscal year as a result of natural production declines in our properties combined with operational issues and downtime at certain properties throughout the year. As of June 30, 2024, due to low natural gas prices, certain wells at Barnett Shale are shut-in and remain offline which has continued to negatively impact production volumes. The overall decrease in production was partially offset by the acquisitions of non-operated working interests in the SCOOP/STACK in February 2024 and first production at our wells in the Chaveroo Field in early February 2024, which collectively increased production for the year ended June 30, 2024 by approximately 601 BOEPD. Combined production at these two fields is primarily oil, thus increasing our oil volumes year over year.
Lease Operating Costs
Ad valorem and production taxes were $5.3 million and $8.2 million for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. On a per unit basis, ad valorem and production taxes were $2.13 per BOE and $3.15 per BOE for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The decrease in ad valorem and production taxes is primarily due to decreases in our realized oil and natural gas prices as well as decreased production volumes described above as production taxes are based on sales at the wellhead.
The following table summarizes CO2 costs per Mcf and CO2 volumes for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023. CO2 purchase costs are for the Delhi Field. Under our contract with the Delhi Field operator, purchased CO2 is priced at 1% of the realized oil price in the field per Mcf, plus sales taxes and transportation costs as per contract terms.
Years Ended June 30,
Variance
Variance %
CO2 costs per MCF
$
0.97
$
0.99
$
(0.02)
(2.0)
%
CO2 volumes (MMCF per day, gross)
50.3
85.2
(34.9)
(41.0)
%
The $3.1 million decrease in CO2 costs for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 was primarily due to a 41.0% decrease in purchased CO2 volumes combined with a 2.0% decrease in CO2 costs per MCF, which was driven by a decrease in our average realized oil price. In February 2024, CO2 purchased volumes were suspended due to maintenance on the CO2 pipeline. CO2 purchases provide approximately 20% of the injected volumes in the field and the field’s recycle facilities provide the other 80%. We do not have any ownership in the CO2 pipeline which is owned and operated by Denbury. On a per unit basis, CO2 costs were $1.71 per BOE and $2.84 per BOE for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. CO2 purchases are expected to restart in early second quarter of fiscal 2025.
Other lease operating costs decreased $5.3 million, or 12.0%, compared to the prior fiscal year primarily due to lower production combined with the lower commodity price environment. On a per unit basis, other lease operating costs decreased to $15.59 per BOE in the current year from $16.97 per BOE in the prior year. The largest decrease in other lease operating costs is at our Barnett Shale properties and the Delhi Field. At the Barnett Shale, significant cost savings efforts are being prioritized due to the lower realized natural gas prices and the shut-in of certain low margin wells at current natural gas prices. We are incurring lower operating costs in all cost categories, especially lower water hauling costs and lower gathering, transportation and processing charges. At Delhi Field, we have seen lower electricity charges due to lower commodity prices and decreased electrical demand due the installation of heat exchangers. These decreases are partially offset by increases in other lease operating costs associated with our acquisitions of non-operated working
interests in the SCOOP/STACK in February 2024 and first production at our wells in the Chaveroo Field in early February 2024.
Depletion of Full Cost Proved Oil and Natural Gas Properties
Depletion expense increased $5.5 million or 41.6% from $13.1 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 to $18.6 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 primarily due to an increase in the depletion rate. On a per unit basis, depletion expense was $7.49 per BOE and $5.07 per BOE for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The depletion rate of our unit of production calculation increased primarily due to an increase in our depletable base due to our SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions and capital expenditures since the prior year period.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 decreased $0.4 million, or 5.6%, to $7.5 million compared to $7.9 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. The decrease primarily relates to lower consulting fees totaling approximately $0.3 million related to our search for a CEO in the prior year period. On a per unit basis, general and administrative expenses were $3.02 per BOE and $3.06 per BOE for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Stock-based Compensation Expenses
Stock-based compensation increased $0.5 million to $2.1 million for the year ended June 30, 2024 compared to $1.6 million the prior period due primarily to the addition of new personnel and the associated new awards granted during the current year period to all staff and directors.
Net Gain (Loss) on Derivative Contracts
Periodically, we utilize commodity derivative financial instruments to reduce our exposure to fluctuations in oil and natural gas prices. We have elected not to designate our open derivative contracts for hedge accounting, and accordingly, we recorded the net change in the mark-to-market valuation of the derivative contracts in the consolidated statements of operations. The amounts recorded on the consolidated statements of operations related to derivative contracts represent the (i) gains (losses) related to fair value adjustments on our open, or unrealized, derivative contracts, and (ii) gains (losses) on settlements of derivative contracts for positions that have settled or been realized. The table below summarizes our net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on derivative contracts as well as the impact of net realized (gains) losses on our average realized prices for the periods presented.
Years Ended June 30,
(in thousands, except per unit and per BOE amounts)
Variance
Variance %
Realized gain (loss) on derivative contracts
$
(399)
$
(1,481)
$
1,082
(73.1)
%
Unrealized gain (loss) on derivative contracts
(893)
1,994
(2,887)
(144.8)
%
Total net gain (loss) on derivative contracts
$
(1,292)
$
$
(1,805)
(351.9)
%
Average realized crude oil price per BBL
$
75.38
$
77.46
$
(2.08)
(2.7)
%
Cash effect of oil derivative contracts per BBL
(0.56)
(0.37)
(0.19)
51.4
%
Crude oil price per Bbl (including impact of realized derivatives)
$
74.82
$
77.09
$
(2.27)
(2.9)
%
Average realized natural gas price per MCF
$
2.61
$
7.00
$
(4.39)
(62.7)
%
Cash effect of natural gas derivative contracts per MCF
-
(0.14)
0.14
(100)
%
Natural gas price per Mcf (including impact of realized derivatives)
$
2.61
$
6.86
$
(4.25)
(62.0)
%
As a result of our acquisitions during fiscal years 2024 and the corresponding borrowings on our Senior Secured Credit Facility, we were required by terms in our Senior Secured Credit Facility to hedge a portion of our production. The increase in commodity prices since entering into the hedges and the continued increase in forward commodity prices resulted in a realized loss on hedges for the current year and an unrealized loss on the mark-to-market of our hedges. As of June 30, 2024, we had $0.8 million derivative assets, $0.6 million of which was classified as current, and a $1.7 million derivative liability, $1.2 million of which was classified as current.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased $1.0 million during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 compared to fiscal year 2023 primarily due to borrowings drawn on our Senior Secured Credit Facility to finance our SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions during the current year. In addition, the weighted average interest rate on our borrowings increased to 8.12% for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 compared to 5.25% for fiscal year 2023.
Income tax (expense) provision
For the year ended June 30, 2024, we recognized income tax expense of $1.4 million on net income before income taxes of $5.5 million compared to an income tax expense of $10.1 million on net income before income taxes of $45.3 million for the year ended June 30, 2023. The effective tax rates were 25.8% and 22.2% for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The effective tax rate increased compared to the prior year period as projected state income taxes have become a larger component of our overall income tax expense during the period.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires that we select certain accounting policies and make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of the assets, liabilities, and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the balance sheet as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. These policies, together with our estimates, have a significant effect on our consolidated financial statements. Our significant accounting policies are included in Note 1, “Summary of Significant Events and Accounting Policies” to our consolidated statements in Item 8. Following is a discussion of our most critical accounting estimates, judgments, and uncertainties that are inherent in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Oil and Natural Gas Properties. Companies engaged in the production of oil and natural gas are required to follow accounting rules that are unique to the oil and natural gas industry. We apply the full cost accounting method for our oil and natural gas properties as prescribed by SEC Regulation S-X Rule 4-10. Under this method of accounting, the costs of unsuccessful and successful, exploration and development activities are capitalized as properties and equipment. This includes any internal costs that are directly related to property acquisition, exploration, and development activities but does not include any costs related to production, general corporate overhead, or similar activities. Gain or loss on the sale or other disposition of oil and natural gas properties is not recognized unless the gain or loss would significantly alter the relationship between capitalized costs and proved reserves. Oil and natural gas properties include costs that are excluded from costs being depleted or amortized. Oil and natural gas property costs excluded represent investments in unevaluated properties. We exclude these costs until the property has been evaluated. Costs are transferred to the full cost pool as the properties are evaluated. As of June 30, 2024, we had no unevaluated property costs. Oil and natural gas properties include costs that are excluded from depletion and amortization, which represent investments in unproved and unevaluated properties and include non-producing leasehold, geologic and geophysical costs associated with leasehold or drilling interests, and exploration drilling costs.
Estimates of Proved Reserves. The estimated quantities of proved oil and natural gas reserves have a significant impact on the underlying financial statements. The estimated quantities of proved reserves are used to calculate depletion expense and the estimated future net cash flows associated with those proved reserves is the basis for determining impairment under the quarterly ceiling test calculation. The process of estimating oil and natural gas reserves is very complex and requires significant decisions in the evaluation of all available geologic, geophysical, engineering, and economic data. Estimated reserves are often subject to future revisions, which could be substantial, based on the
availability of additional information; this includes reservoir performance, additional development activity, new geologic and geophysical data, additional drilling, technological advancements, price changes, and other economic factors. As a result, material revisions to existing reserve estimates may occur from time to time. Although every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the reported reserve estimates prepared by our third-party independent engineers represent the most accurate assessments possible, the subjective decisions and variances in available data for the properties make these estimates generally less precise than other estimates included in our financial statements. Material revisions to reserve estimates and/or significant changes in commodity prices could substantially affect our estimated future net cash flows of our proved reserves. These changes could affect our quarterly ceiling test calculation and could significantly affect our depletion rate. Additionally, a 10% decrease in commodity prices used to determine our proved reserves as of June 30, 2024, while all other factors remained constant, would not have resulted in an impairment of our oil and natural gas properties. Holding all other factors constant, a reduction in our proved reserve estimates at June 30, 2024 of 10% would affect depletion, depreciation, and amortization expense by approximately $0.5 million.
On December 31, 2008, the SEC issued its final rule on the modernization of reporting oil and natural gas reserves. The rule allows consideration of new technologies in evaluating reserves, generally limits the designation of proved reserves to those projects forecasted to be drilled five years from the initial recognition date of such reserves, allows companies to disclose their probable and possible reserves to investors, requires reporting of oil and natural gas reserves using an average price based on the previous 12-month unweighted arithmetic average first-day-of-the-month price rather than year-end prices, revises the disclosure requirements for oil and natural gas operations, and revises accounting for the limitation on capitalized costs for full cost companies.
Stock-based Compensation. The fair value, and for certain awards the expected vesting period, of our performance-based awards were determined using a Monte Carlo simulation. This technique uses a geometric Brownian motion model with defined variables and randomly generates values for each variable through multiple trials. Variables include stock price volatility, expected term of the award, the expected risk-free interest rate, and the expected dividend yield of our stock. The risk-free interest rate used is the U.S. Treasury yield for bonds matching the expected term of the award on the date of grant. Vesting of performance-based awards is based on our total common stock return compared to a peer group of other companies in our industry with comparable market capitalizations and, for certain awards, our share price attaining a set target.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements. Refer to Note 1, “Summary of Significant Events and Accounting Policies” to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for discussion of the recent accounting pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

---

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risks
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity
We are exposed to various risks, including energy commodity price risk, such as price differentials between the NYMEX commodity price and the index price at the location where our production is sold. When oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids prices decline significantly, our ability to finance our capital budget and operations may be adversely impacted. We expect energy prices to remain volatile and unpredictable, therefore we monitor commodity prices to identify the potential need for the use of derivative financial instruments to provide partial protection against declines in oil and natural gas prices. We do not enter into derivative contracts for speculative trading purposes. In accordance with our Senior Secured Credit Facility, we may be required to enter into hedges if we meet certain utilization levels of the borrowing base under the credit facility. We intend to remain in compliance with these covenants and will enter into derivative contracts from time to time to meet the requirements. Additionally, depending on market conditions, financial and other considerations we may enter into additional hedges to meet our objectives of increasing value to shareholders.
We are exposed to market risk on our open derivative contracts related to potential non-performance by our counterparties. It is our policy to enter into derivative contracts only with counterparties that are creditworthy institutions deemed by management as competitive market makers. For the derivative contracts settled during fiscal 2024 and 2023, we did not post collateral. We account for our derivative activities under the provisions of ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, (“ASC 815”). ASC 815 establishes accounting and reporting that every derivative instrument be recorded on
the balance sheet as either an asset or liability measured at fair value. See Note 7, “Derivatives” to our consolidated financial statements for more details.
Interest Rate Risk
We are exposed to changes in interest rates. Changes in interest rates affect the interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents. Additionally, any borrowings under the Senior Secured Credit Facility will bear interest, at our option, at either SOFR plus 2.80%, which includes a 0.05% credit spread adjustment from LIBOR, subject to a minimum SOFR of 0.50%, or the Prime Rate, as defined under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, plus 1.00%. SOFR rates are sensitive to the period of contract and market volatility, as well as changes in forward interest rate yields. Under our current practices, we do not use interest rate derivative instruments to manage exposure to interest rate changes.

---

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID No. 659) on Consolidated Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2024 and 2023
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended June 30, 2024 and 2023
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Supplemental Disclosure about Oil and Natural Gas Properties (unaudited)
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of
Evolution Petroleum Corporation
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Evolution Petroleum Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of June 30, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations, cash flows, and changes in stockholders’ equity for the years then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company as of June 30, 2024 and 2023, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated September 11, 2024, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures to respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
The Impact of Proved Oil and Natural Gas Reserves on Depletion, Depreciation, and Amortization (“DD&A”) and Full Cost Ceiling Test Impairment Calculation (“Ceiling Test”)
As described in Note 1, the Company follows the full cost method of accounting, pursuant to which oil and natural gas properties are amortized using the unit-of-production method over total proved reserves. The Company’s proved oil and natural gas properties are evaluated for impairment by the Ceiling Test utilizing the Company’s proved oil and natural gas reserves in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and SEC guidelines. For the year ended June 30, 2024, the Company recorded DD&A related to its proved oil and natural gas properties of approximately $18.6 million, and there was no ceiling test impairment.
The Company engages three independent reservoir engineering firms to serve as a management specialist and to assist with the estimation of proved oil and natural gas reserves. To estimate the volume of proved oil and natural gas reserves and associated future net cash flows, management and their specialists make significant estimates and assumptions including forecasting the production decline rate of producing properties and forecasting the timing and volume of production associated with the Company’s development plan for proved undeveloped properties (“PUDs”). The estimation of proved oil and natural gas reserves is impacted by management’s judgments and estimates regarding the financial performance of wells associated with proved reserves to determine if wells are expected, with reasonable certainty, to be economical under the appropriate pricing assumptions required. Changes in significant assumptions or engineering data could have a significant impact on the amount of DD&A and impairment recorded for the Company’s proved oil and natural gas properties.
We identified the impact of proved oil and natural gas reserves on DD&A and the Ceiling Test as a critical audit matter due to use of significant judgment by management, including the use of specialists, when developing the estimates of proved oil and natural gas reserves. This in turn led to a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence related to the significant assumptions used in developing those estimates of proved oil and natural gas reserves.
The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:
● Evaluating the knowledge, skill, and ability of the Company’s third-party reservoir engineering specialists and their relationship to the Company, inquiries of those reservoir engineers regarding the process followed and judgments made to estimate the proved reserve volumes and reading the reserve report prepared by the reservoir engineering specialists.
● Evaluating significant assumptions used by management and its specialists in developing the estimates of proved oil and natural gas reserves, including pricing differentials, future operations costs, future production rates, and capital expenditures. The procedures performed included tests of the data inputs used by specialists for completeness and accuracy and an evaluation of the specialist’s findings. The procedures performed included:
o Testing the operating effectiveness of controls over the Company’s estimation of oil and natural gas reserve quantities;
o Testing the data inputs used by specialist for completeness and accuracy;
o Testing the specialist’s findings for mathematical accuracy; and
o Performing analytical procedures on pricing, reserve quantities and cost estimates developed by management and its specialists. Those procedures entailed comparisons of:
◾ prices to historical benchmark prices, adjusted for pricing differentials,
◾ production forecasts to recent historical actual production,
◾ projections of lease operating costs to costs incurred by property during fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, and
◾ projected production taxes to recent historical taxes incurred and to statutory tax rates.
● Evaluating the accuracy of revenue and working interest percentages used in the reserve reports by comparing a sample of such interests to the land records.
● Performing retrospective review of historical estimates of proved oil and natural gas reserves to identify potential management bias in estimates.
● Testing the mathematical accuracy of the Company’s depletion and impairment calculations that included these proved reserves.
/s/ Moss Adams LLP
Houston, Texas
September 11, 2024
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2017.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of
Evolution Petroleum Corporation
Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited Evolution Petroleum Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company”) internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the consolidated balance sheets of Evolution Petroleum Corporation and subsidiaries as of June 30, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations, cash flows, and changes in stockholders’ equity for the years then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”) and our report dated September 11, 2024, expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements.
Basis for Opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting included in Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Moss Adams LLP
Houston, Texas
September 11, 2024
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2017.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
$
6,446
$
11,034
Receivables from crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids revenues
10,826
7,884
Derivative contract assets
-
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
3,855
2,277
Total current assets
21,723
21,195
Property and equipment, net of depletion, depreciation, and impairment
Oil and natural gas properties, net-full-cost method of accounting, of
which none were excluded from amortization
139,685
105,781
Other noncurrent assets
Derivative contract assets
-
Other assets
1,298
1,341
Total assets
$
162,877
$
128,317
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable
$
8,308
$
5,891
Accrued liabilities and other
6,239
6,027
Derivative contract liabilities
1,192
-
State and federal taxes payable
Total current liabilities
15,813
12,283
Long term liabilities
Senior secured credit facility
39,500
-
Deferred income taxes
6,702
6,803
Asset retirement obligations
19,209
17,012
Derivative contract liabilities
-
Operating lease liability
Total liabilities
81,750
36,223
Commitments and contingencies (Note 10)
Stockholders' equity
Common stock; par value $0.001; 100,000,000 shares authorized: issued and
outstanding 33,339,535 and 33,247,523 shares as of June 30, 2024
and 2023, respectively
Additional paid-in capital
41,091
40,098
Retained earnings
40,003
51,963
Total stockholders' equity
81,127
92,094
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
$
162,877
$
128,317
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Years Ended June 30,
Revenues
Crude oil
$
53,446
$
51,044
Natural gas
21,525
63,800
Natural gas liquids
10,906
13,670
Total revenues
85,877
128,514
Operating costs
Lease operating costs
48,273
59,545
Depletion, depreciation, and accretion
20,062
14,273
General and administrative expenses
9,636
9,583
Total operating costs
77,971
83,401
Income (loss) from operations
7,906
45,113
Other income (expense)
Net gain (loss) on derivative contracts
(1,292)
Interest and other income
Interest expense
(1,459)
(458)
Income (loss) before income taxes
5,497
45,289
Income tax (expense) benefit
(1,417)
(10,072)
Net income (loss)
$
4,080
$
35,217
Net income (loss) per common share:
Basic
$
0.12
$
1.05
Diluted
$
0.12
$
1.04
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic
32,691
32,985
Diluted
32,901
33,190
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
Years Ended June 30,
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income (loss)
$
4,080
$
35,217
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depletion, depreciation, and accretion
20,062
14,273
Stock-based compensation
2,137
1,639
Settlement of asset retirement obligations
(20)
(174)
Deferred income taxes
(101)
(296)
Unrealized (gain) loss on derivative contracts
(1,994)
Accrued settlements on derivative contracts
(919)
Other
-
(4)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Receivables from crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids revenues
(2,910)
18,441
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
(1,562)
(692)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities and other
(13,489)
State and federal taxes payable
(291)
(730)
Net cash provided by operating activities
22,729
51,272
Cash flows from investing activities:
Acquisition of oil and natural gas properties
(38,734)
(31)
Capital expenditures for oil and natural gas properties
(10,899)
(6,961)
Net cash used in investing activities
(49,633)
(6,992)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Common stock dividends paid
(16,040)
(16,106)
Common stock repurchases, including stock surrendered for tax withholding
(1,144)
(4,170)
Borrowings under senior secured credit facility
42,500
-
Repayments of senior secured credit facility
(3,000)
(21,250)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
22,316
(41,526)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
(4,588)
2,754
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
11,034
8,280
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
$
6,446
$
11,034
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest on senior secured credit facility
$
1,331
$
Cash paid for income taxes
2,804
11,876
Non-cash investing and financing transactions:
Increase (decrease) in accrued capital expenditures for oil and natural gas properties
$
(1,969)
$
Oil and natural gas property costs attributable to the recognition of asset retirement obligations
2,015
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(In thousands)
Additional
Total
Common Stock
Paid-in
Retained
Treasury
Stockholders'
Shares
Par Value
Capital
Earnings
Stock
Equity
Balances at June 30, 2022
33,471
$
$
42,629
$
32,852
$
-
$
75,514
Issuance of restricted common stock
(1)
-
-
-
Forfeitures of restricted stock
(26)
-
-
-
-
-
Common stock repurchases, including stock surrendered for tax withholding
-
-
-
-
(4,170)
(4,170)
Retirements of treasury stock
(673)
(1)
(4,169)
-
4,170
-
Stock-based compensation
-
-
1,639
-
-
1,639
Net income (loss)
-
-
-
35,217
-
35,217
Common stock dividends paid
-
-
-
(16,106)
-
(16,106)
Balances at June 30, 2023
33,248
$
$
40,098
$
51,963
$
-
$
92,094
Issuance of restricted common stock
-
-
-
-
-
Common stock repurchases, including stock surrendered for tax withholding
-
-
-
-
(1,144)
(1,144)
Retirements of treasury stock
(202)
-
(1,144)
-
1,144
-
Stock-based compensation
-
-
2,137
-
-
2,137
Net income (loss)
-
-
-
4,080
-
4,080
Common stock dividends paid
-
-
-
(16,040)
-
(16,040)
Balances at June 30, 2024
33,340
$
$
41,091
$
40,003
$
-
$
81,127
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1. Summary of Significant Events and Accounting Policies
Nature of Operations. Evolution Petroleum Corporation (“Evolution,” and together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the “Company”) is an independent energy company focused on maximizing returns to shareholders through the ownership of and investment in onshore oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The Company’s long-term goal is to maximize total shareholder return from a diversified portfolio of long-life oil and natural gas properties built through acquisitions and through selective development opportunities, production enhancement, and other exploitation efforts on its oil and natural gas properties.
The Company’s oil and natural gas properties consist of non-operated interests in the following areas: the SCOOP and STACK plays of the Anadarko Basin located in central Oklahoma; the Chaveroo oilfield in Chaves and Roosevelt Counties of New Mexico; the Jonah Field in Sublette County, Wyoming; the Williston Basin in North Dakota; the Barnett Shale located in North Texas; the Hamilton Dome Field located in Hot Springs County, Wyoming, a secondary recovery field utilizing water injection wells to pressurize the reservoir; the Delhi Holt-Bryant Unit in the Delhi Field in Northeast Louisiana, a CO2 enhanced oil recovery project; as well as small overriding royalty interests in four onshore Texas wells.
Principles of Consolidation and Reporting. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Evolution Petroleum Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The consolidated financial statements for the previous year may include certain reclassifications to conform to the current presentation. To conform with the current year presentation, $0.6 million of accrued ad valorem and productions taxes at June 30, 2023 are included with “Accrued taxes other than federal and state income tax” instead of “Accrued payables” as disclosed in Note 13, “Additional Financial Information.” This reclassification has no impact on previously reported net income or stockholders’ equity.
Risk and Uncertainties. The Company’s oil and natural gas interests are operated by third-party operators and involve other third-party working interest owners. As a result, the Company has a limited ability to influence the operation or future development of such properties. However, the Company is proactive with its third-party operators to review capital projects and related spending and present alternative plans as appropriate.
Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, if any, at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the respective reporting periods. Significant estimates include (a) reserve quantities and estimated future cash flows associated with proved reserves, which may significantly impact depletion expense and potential impairments of oil and natural gas properties, (b) asset retirement obligations, (c) stock-based compensation, (d) fair values of derivative contract assets and liabilities, (e) income taxes and the valuation of deferred income tax assets, (f) commitments and contingencies, and (g) accruals of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (“NGL”) revenues and expenses. The Company analyzes estimates and judgments based on historical experience and various other assumptions and information that are believed to be reasonable. Estimates and assumptions about future events and their effects cannot be predicted with certainty and, accordingly, these estimates may change as additional information is obtained, as new events occur, and as the Company’s environment changes. Actual results may differ from the estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Cash and Cash Equivalents. The Company considers all highly liquid investments, with original maturities of 90 days or less when purchased, to be cash and cash equivalents.
Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts. Accounts receivable consist of accrued hydrocarbon revenues due under normal trade terms, generally requiring payment within 30 to 60 days of production, and other
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
miscellaneous receivables. No interest is charged on past-due balances. Payments made on accounts receivable are applied to the earliest unpaid items. The Company establishes provisions for losses on accounts receivable if it is determined that collection of all or a part of an outstanding balance is not probable. Collectability is reviewed regularly and an allowance is established or adjusted, as necessary, using the specific identification method. As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, no allowance for doubtful accounts was considered necessary.
Oil and Natural Gas Properties. The Company uses the full-cost method of accounting for its investments in oil and natural gas properties. Under this method of accounting, all costs incurred in the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties, including unproductive wells, are capitalized. This includes any internal costs that are directly related to property acquisition, exploration, and development activities but does not include any costs related to production, general corporate overhead, or similar activities. Gain or loss on the sale or other disposition of oil and natural gas properties is not recognized, unless the gain or loss would significantly alter the relationship between capitalized costs and proved reserves.
The depreciable base for oil and natural gas properties includes the sum of all capitalized costs net of depletion, estimated future development costs, and asset retirement costs (net of salvage values) not included in oil and natural gas properties, less costs excluded from amortization. The depreciable base of oil and natural gas properties is amortized using the unit-of-production method over total proved reserves.
The capitalized costs of the Company’s oil and natural gas properties, net of accumulated amortization and related deferred income taxes are subject to a full cost ceiling limitation in which the costs are not allowed to exceed their related estimated future net revenues discounted at 10%, net of tax considerations. Any excess over the full cost ceiling limitation is charged to expense as an impairment and is reflected as additional accumulated depletion, depreciation, and impairment or as a credit to oil and natural gas properties.
Oil and natural gas properties include costs that are excluded from depletion and amortization, which represent investments in unproved and unevaluated properties and include non-producing leasehold, geologic and geophysical costs associated with leasehold or drilling interests, and exploration drilling costs. These costs are excluded until the project is evaluated and proved reserves are established or impairment is determined. As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company did not have any costs excluded from depletion and amortization.
Other Property and Equipment. Other property and equipment includes building leasehold improvements, data processing and telecommunications equipment, office furniture, and office equipment. These items are recorded at cost and depreciated over expected lives of the individual assets or group of assets, which range from three to seven years. The assets are depreciated using the straight-line method. Realization of the carrying value of other property and equipment is reviewed for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Assets are determined to be impaired if a forecast of undiscounted estimated future net operating cash flows directly related to the asset, including disposal value, if any, is less than the carrying amount of the asset. If any asset is determined to be impaired, the loss is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value. Repair and maintenance costs are expensed in the period incurred.
Asset Retirement Obligations. An asset retirement obligation (“ARO”) associated with the retirement of a tangible long-lived asset is recognized as a liability in the period incurred. It is associated with an increase in the carrying amount of the related long-lived asset, the Company’s oil and natural gas properties. The cost of the tangible asset, including the asset retirement cost, is depleted over the useful life of the asset. The initial recognition or subsequent revision of asset retirement cost is considered a Level 3 fair value measurement. The asset retirement obligation is recorded at its estimated fair value, measured by reference to the expected future cash outflows required to satisfy the retirement obligation discounted at the Company’s credit-adjusted risk-free interest rate. Accretion expense is recognized over time as the discounted liability is accreted to its expected settlement value. If the estimated future cost of the asset retirement obligation changes, an adjustment is recorded to both the asset retirement obligation and the long-lived asset. Revisions
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
to estimated asset retirement obligations can result from changes in retirement cost estimates, revisions to estimated inflation rates, and changes in the estimated timing of abandonment.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments. The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, derivative instruments, and debt. Except for derivatives, the carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable are short-term instruments and approximate fair value due to their highly liquid nature. The carrying amount of debt approximates fair value as the variable rates on the Senior Secured Credit Facility, as defined in Note 5, “Senior Secured Credit Facility,” are market interest rates. The fair values of the Company’s derivative assets and liabilities are based on a third-party industry-standard pricing model that uses market data obtained from third-party sources, including quoted forward prices for oil and natural gas, discount rates, and volatility factors.
Concentrations of Credit Risk. The Company’s primary concentrations of credit risk are the risks of uncollectible accounts receivable, and to a lesser extent, the non-performance by counterparties under the Company’s derivative contracts, and cash and cash equivalent balances in excess of limits federally insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Substantially all of the Company’s accounts receivable as of June 30, 2024 and 2023 are from crude oil, natural gas, and NGL sales to third-party purchasers in the oil and natural gas industry. The Company holds working interests in crude oil and natural gas properties for which a third-party serves as operator. As a non-operator, the Company primarily markets its production through its field operators, except at the Jonah Field, where the Company takes its natural gas and NGL production in-kind. As a non-operator, the Company is highly dependent on the success of its third-party operators and the decisions made in connection with their operations. With the exception of the Jonah Field, the third-party operator sells the crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs to the purchaser, collects the cash, and distributes the cash to the Company. In the year ended June 30, 2024, four individual purchasers, Denbury, Diversified, Foundation, and Merit, each accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s total revenues, collectively representing approximately 69% of the Company’s total revenues for the year. In the year ended June 30, 2023, three individual purchasers, Diversified, Denbury, and Conoco Phillips, each accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s total revenues, collectively representing approximately 65% of the Company’s total revenues for the year. The majority of the Company’s crude oil, natural gas, and NGL production is sold to purchasers under short-term (less than 12 months) contracts at market-based prices.
Derivative Instruments. The Company follows Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). From time to time, in accordance with the Company’s risk management strategy and with certain covenants under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, it may hedge a portion of its forecasted crude oil, natural gas, and NGL production. All derivative instruments are recorded on the consolidated balance sheet as either an asset or liability measured at fair value. The Company nets its derivative instrument fair value amounts executed with the same counterparty pursuant to an International Swap Dealers Association Master Agreement (“ISDA”); the agreement provides for net settlement over the term of the contract and in the event of default or termination of the contract. Although the derivative instruments provide an economic hedge of the Company’s exposure to commodity price volatility, the Company elected not to meet the criteria to qualify its derivative instruments for hedge accounting treatment. Accordingly, the Company records the net change in the mark-to-market valuation of these positions, as well as payments and receipts on settled contracts, in “Net gain (loss) on derivative contracts” on the consolidated statements of operations.
Estimates of Proved Reserves. The estimated quantities of proved oil and natural gas reserves have a significant impact on the underlying financial statements. The estimated quantities of proved reserves are used to calculate depletion expense and the estimated future net cash flows associated with those proved reserves is the basis for determining impairment under the quarterly ceiling test calculation. The process of estimating oil and natural gas reserves is very complex and requires significant decisions in the evaluation of all available geologic, geophysical, engineering, and economic data. Estimated reserves are often subject to future revisions, which could be substantial, based on the
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
availability of additional information; this includes reservoir performance, additional development activity, new geologic and geophysical data, additional drilling, technological advancements, price changes, and other economic factors. As a result, material revisions to existing reserve estimates may occur from time to time. Although every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the reported reserve estimates prepared by the Company’s third-party independent engineers represent the most accurate assessments possible, the subjective decisions and variances in available data for the properties make these estimates generally less precise than other estimates included in the Company’s financial statements. Material revisions to reserve estimates and/or significant changes in commodity prices could substantially affect the Company’s estimated future net cash flows of its proved reserves. These changes could affect the Company’s quarterly ceiling test calculation and could significantly affect its depletion rate.
Income Taxes. The Company recognizes deferred income tax assets and liabilities based on the differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and its reported amounts in the financial statements that may result in taxable or deductible amounts in future years. The measurement of deferred income tax assets may be reduced by a valuation allowance based upon management’s assessment of available evidence if it is deemed more likely than not that some or all of the deferred income tax assets will not be realizable. The Company recognizes a tax benefit from an uncertain position when it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon examination which is based on the technical merits of the position. The Company records the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement with a taxing authority. The Company classifies any interest and penalties associated with income taxes as income tax expense.
Earnings (Loss) Per Share. The Company grants restricted stock awards which entitle the recipient to all of the rights of a shareholder of the Company including non-forfeitable rights to receive all dividends or other distributions paid with respect to such share; therefore, it applies the two-class method of calculating basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share (“EPS”) in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings Per Share (“ASC 260”). Basic EPS is computed by dividing earnings or loss available to common stockholders, after allocating undistributed earnings to participating securities, by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. The computation of diluted EPS is similar to the computation of basic EPS, except that the denominator is increased to include the number of additional common shares that would have been outstanding if potentially dilutive common shares had been issued. Unvested performance-based restricted stock awards and unvested contingent restricted share units are only potentially dilutive if the awards meet their respective performance criteria as of the period end. The Company uses the treasury stock method to determine the effect of potentially dilutive common shares on diluted EPS, unless the effect would be anti-dilutive. The unamortized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested awards is assumed to be used to repurchase shares of common stock at the average market price during the period. The incremental shares (the difference between the number of shares assumed issued and the number of shares assumed repurchased) are included in the denominator of the diluted EPS computation. Awards with performance-based vesting restrictions are included in the computation of diluted shares, if dilutive, when the underlying performance conditions either (i) were satisfied as of the end of the reporting period or (ii) would be considered satisfied if the end of the reporting period were the end of the related contingency period.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU 2023-09”). ASU 2023-09 enhances the transparency of income tax disclosures by expanding the income tax rate reconciliation disclosure and income taxes paid information. ASU 2023-09 also includes certain other amendments to improve the effectiveness of income tax disclosures. ASU 2023-09 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company is currently evaluating ASU 2023-09 and the impact it may have to the Company’s financial position, results of operations, cash flow or disclosures.
In November 2023 the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (“ASU 2023-07”). ASU 2023-07 expands the segment disclosures, even for entities with only one reportable segment, to include additional information about significant segment expenses and other segment items on an annual and interim basis as well as the title and position of the chief operating decision maker. ASU 2023-07 is effective
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2023 and interim periods withing fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted and entities must adopt the amendment retrospectively for all prior periods presented in the financial statements. The Company is currently evaluating ASU 2023-07 and the impact it may have to the Company’s financial position, results of operations, cash flow or disclosures.
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (“ASU 2016-13”). ASU 2016-13 changes the impairment model for most financial assets and certain other instruments, including trade and other receivables, and requires the use of a new forward-looking expected loss model that will result in the earlier recognition of allowances for losses. Early adoption is permitted and entities must adopt the amendment using a modified retrospective approach to the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective. For smaller reporting companies, as provided by ASU 2019-10, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326), Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), and Leases (Topic 842), ASU 2016-13 is effective for annual periods, including interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2022. The Company adopted ASU 2016-13 effective July 1, 2023. The adoption did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, cash flows or disclosures.
Other accounting pronouncements that have recently been issued by the FASB or other standards-setting bodies are not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, cash flows or disclosures.
Note 2. Revenue Recognition
The Company’s revenues are primarily generated from its crude oil, natural gas and NGL production from the SCOOP and STACK plays in central Oklahoma, the Chaveroo oilfield in Chaves and Roosevelt Counties of New Mexico, the Jonah Field in Sublette County, Wyoming; the Williston Basin in North Dakota; the Barnett Shale located in North Texas; the Hamilton Dome Field in Wyoming; and the Delhi Field in Northeast Louisiana. Additionally, an overriding royalty interest retained in a past divestiture of Texas properties provides de minimis revenue. The following table disaggregates the Company’s revenues by major product for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
Years Ended June 30,
Revenues
Crude oil
$
53,446
$
51,044
Natural gas
21,525
63,800
Natural gas liquids
10,906
13,670
Total revenues
$
85,877
$
128,514
In the Jonah Field, the Company has elected to take its natural gas and NGL working interest production in-kind and markets its NGL production to Enterprise Products Partners L.P. and its natural gas production to different purchasers.
The Company does not take production in-kind at any of its other properties and does not negotiate contracts with customers for such production. The Company recognizes crude oil, natural gas, and NGL production revenue at the point in time when custody and title (“control”) of the product transfers to the customer. The sales of oil and natural gas are made under contracts which the Company’s third-party operators of its wells have negotiated with customers, which typically include variable consideration that is based on pricing tied to local indices and volumes delivered in the current month. The Company typically receives payment from the sale of oil and natural gas production one to two months after delivery.
Judgments made in applying the guidance in ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, relate primarily to determining the point in time when control of product transfers to the customer. The Company does not believe that significant judgments are required with respect to the determination of the transaction price, including amounts that represent variable consideration, as volume and price carry a low level of estimation uncertainty given the precision of
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
volumetric measurements and the use of index pricing with predictable differentials. Accordingly, the Company does not consider estimates of variable consideration to be constrained.
The Company’s contractual performance obligations arise upon the production of hydrocarbons from wells in which the Company has an ownership interest. The performance obligations are considered satisfied upon control of produced hydrocarbons transferring to a customer at a specified delivery point. Consideration is allocated to completed performance obligations at the end of an accounting period.
Revenue is recorded in the month when contractual performance obligations are satisfied. However, settlement statements from the purchasers of hydrocarbons and the related cash consideration are received by field operators one to two months before the Company receives payment and documentation from the operator, which is typical in the oil and natural gas industry. As a result, the Company must estimate the amount of production delivered to the customer and the consideration that will ultimately be received for the sale of the product. To estimate accounts receivable from operators’ contracts with customers, the Company uses knowledge of its properties, information from field operators, historical performance, contractual arrangements, index pricing, quality and transportation differentials, and other factors. Because the contractual performance obligations have been satisfied and an unconditional right to consideration exists as of the balance sheet date, the Company recognized amounts due from contracts with field operators as “Receivables from crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids revenues” on the consolidated balance sheets. Differences between estimates and actual amounts received for product sales are recorded in the month that payments received from purchasers are remitted to the Company by field operators.
Note 3. Acquisitions
SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions
On February 12, 2024, the Company closed the acquisitions of certain non-operated oil and natural gas assets in the SCOOP and STACK plays in central Oklahoma (the "SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions") from Red Sky Resources III, LLC, Red Sky Resources IV, LLC, and Coriolis Energy Partners I, LLC. After taking into account customary closing adjustments and an effective date of November 1, 2023, total combined cash consideration for the SCOOP/STACK Acquisitions was approximately $39.2 million, which includes $43.9 million paid at closing less purchase price adjustments totaling approximately $4.7 million related to net cash flows received on the properties subsequent to closing. The Company accounted for these transactions as asset acquisitions and allocated all of the combined purchase price (including $0.3 million of transaction costs) to proved oil and natural gas properties. In addition, the Company recognized $0.1 million in non-cash asset retirement obligations, the estimated net present value of future net retirement costs. The transactions were funded with cash on hand and $42.5 million in borrowings under the Company’s Senior Secured Credit Facility.
The acquired assets consist of an average net working interest of approximately 2.6%, in 253 producing wells in the SCOOP and STACK plays of the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma.
Chaveroo Oilfield Participation Agreement
On September 12, 2023, the Company entered into a Participation Agreement with PEDEVCO for the joint development of a portion of PEDEVCO’s Permian Basin property in the Chaveroo oilfield, located in Chaves and Roosevelt Counties, New Mexico. In accordance with the Participation Agreement, the Company will have the right, but not the obligation, to elect to participate and acquire a 50% working interest share in certain development blocks at a fixed price of $450
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
per net acre for up to a total of approximately 16,000 gross acres. The Participation Agreement does not include any of PEDEVCO’s existing vertical or horizontal wells.
As of June 30, 2024, the Company incurred approximately $0.8 million in exchange for a 50% working interest share in the existing leases associated with five development blocks. As of June 30, 2024, the Company has participated in the drilling and completion of the first development block, consisting of three gross wells (1.5 net wells).
In accordance with the FASB’s authoritative guidance on asset acquisitions, the Company allocated the cost of the above acquisitions to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on a relative fair value basis of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with no recognition of goodwill or bargain purchase gain recorded. Incremental legal and professional fees related directly to the acquisitions were capitalized as part of the acquisition cost. The fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). Fair value measurements also utilize market assumptions of market participants.
Note 4. Property and Equipment
Property and equipment as of June 30, 2024 and 2023 consisted of the following (in thousands):
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
Oil and natural gas properties
Property costs subject to amortization
$
249,559
$
197,049
Less: Accumulated depletion, depreciation, and impairment
(109,874)
(91,268)
Oil and natural gas properties, net
$
139,685
$
105,781
The Company uses the full cost method of accounting for its investments in oil and natural gas properties. All costs of acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas reserves are capitalized as the cost of oil and natural gas properties when incurred. To the extent capitalized costs of evaluated oil and natural gas properties, net of accumulated depletion, exceed the discounted future net revenues of proved oil and natural gas reserves, net of deferred taxes, such excess capitalized costs would be charged to expense as a write-down of oil and natural gas properties.
Additionally, the Company assesses all properties classified as unevaluated property on a quarterly basis for possible impairment. The Company assesses properties on an individual basis or as a group, if properties are individually insignificant. The assessment includes consideration of the following factors, among others: intent to drill; remaining lease term; geological and geophysical evaluations; drilling results and activity; the assignment of proved reserves; and the economic viability of development if proved reserves are assigned. During any period in which these factors indicate 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 are then subject to depletion and the full cost ceiling test limitation.
As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, all oil and natural gas property costs were subject to amortization. Depletion on oil and natural gas properties was $18.6 million and $13.1 million for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. During the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company incurred development capital expenditures of $12.3 million and $6.2 million, respectively.
At June 30, 2024, the ceiling test value of the Company’s reserves was calculated based on the first-day-of-the-month average for the 12-months ended June 30, 2024 of the West Texas Intermediate (“WTI”) crude oil spot price of $79.45 per barrel and Henry Hub natural gas spot price of $2.32 per MMBtu, adjusted by market differentials by field. The net price per barrel of NGLs was $23.86, which was based on historical differentials to WTI as NGLs do not have any single comparable reference index price. Using these prices at June 30, 2024, the cost center ceiling was higher than the capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties and, as a result, no write-down was applicable.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
At June 30, 2023, the ceiling test value of the Company’s reserves was calculated based on the first-day-of-the-month average for the 12-months ended June 30, 2023 of the WTI crude oil spot price of $83.23 per barrel and Henry Hub natural gas spot price of $4.78 per MMBtu, adjusted by market differentials by field. The net price per barrel of NGLs was $33.71, which was based on historical differentials to WTI as NGLs do not have any single comparable reference index price. Using these prices at June 30, 2023, the cost center ceiling was higher than the capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties and, as a result, no write-down was applicable.
Note 5. Senior Secured Credit Facility
On April 11, 2016, the Company entered into a three-year, senior secured reserve-based credit facility, as amended, (the “Senior Secured Credit Facility”) with MidFirst Bank in an amount up to $50.0 million with a current borrowing base of $50.0 million. On May 5, 2023, the Company entered into the Tenth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility extending the maturity to April 9, 2026. The Tenth Amendment also replaced the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) plus a credit spread adjustment of 0.05% to effectively convert SOFR to a LIBOR equivalent and modifies the Margined Collateral Value, as defined in the Ninth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility, to $95.0 million. The borrowing base will be redetermined semiannually, with the lenders and the Company each having the right to one interim unscheduled redetermination between any two consecutive semi-annual redeterminations. The borrowing base takes into account the estimated value of the Company’s oil and natural gas properties, proved reserves, total indebtedness, and other relevant factors consistent with customary oil and natural gas lending criteria. The Senior Secured Credit Facility carries a commitment fee of 0.25% per annum on the undrawn portion of the borrowing base. Any borrowings under the Senior Secured Credit Facility will bear interest, at the Company’s option, at either SOFR plus 2.80%, which includes a 0.05% credit spread adjustment from LIBOR, subject to a minimum SOFR of 0.50%, or the Prime Rate, as defined under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, plus 1.00%.
The Company may elect, at its option, to prepay any borrowings outstanding under the Senior Secured Credit Facility without premium or penalty. Amounts outstanding under the Senior Secured Credit Facility are guaranteed by the Company’s direct and indirect subsidiaries and secured by a security interest in substantially all of the properties of the Company and its subsidiaries. Borrowings under the Senior Secured Credit Facility may be used for the acquisition and development of oil and natural gas properties, investments in cash flow generating properties complimentary to the production of oil and natural gas, and for letters of credit or other general corporate purposes.
The Senior Secured Credit Facility contains certain events of default, including non-payment; breaches or representation and warranties; non-compliance with covenants; cross-defaults to material indebtedness; voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy; judgments and change in control. The Senior Secured Credit Facility also contains financial covenants including a requirement that the Company maintain, as of the last day of each fiscal quarter, (i) a maximum total leverage ratio of not more than 3.00 to 1.00, (ii) a current ratio of not less than 1.00 to 1.00, and (iii) a consolidated tangible net worth of not less than $40.0 million, each as defined in the Senior Secured Credit Facility. As of June 30, 2024, the Company had $39.5 million in borrowings outstanding under its Senior Secured Credit Facility, resulting in $10.5 million of available borrowing capacity. For the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the weighted average interest rate on borrowings under the Senior Secured Credit Facility was 8.12% and 5.25%, respectively. As of June 30, 2024, the Company was in compliance with all covenants under the Senior Secured Credit Facility.
On February 12, 2024, the Company entered into an amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment required that the Company enter into hedges for the next 12-month period, and on a rolling 12-month basis thereafter, covering expected crude oil and natural gas production from proved developed reserves, calculated separately, equal to a minimum of 40% of expected crude oil production each month, or 25% of expected crude oil and natural gas production each month over that period. The Company has the option to choose whether to hedge 40% of expected crude oil production or 25% of expected crude oil and natural gas production.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
On February 7, 2022, the Company entered into the Ninth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment, among other things, modified the definition of utilization percentage related to the required hedging covenant such that for the purposes of determining the amount of future production to hedge, the utilization of the Senior Secured Credit Facility will be based on the Margined Collateral Value, as defined in the agreement, to the extent it exceeds the borrowing base then in effect. This amendment also required the Company to enter into hedges for the next 12-month period ending February 2023, covering 25% of expected crude oil and natural gas production over that period.
On November 9, 2021, the Company entered into the Eighth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment, among other things, increased the borrowing base to $50.0 million and added a hedging covenant whereby the Company must hedge a minimum of 25% to 75% of future production on a rolling 12-month basis when 25% or more of the borrowing base is utilized. The hedging covenant was amended in subsequent amendments, as discussed above.
Note 6. Income Taxes
The Company files a consolidated federal income tax return in the United States and various combined and separate filings in several state and local jurisdictions.
There were no unrecognized tax benefits, nor any accrued interest or penalties associated with unrecognized tax benefits during the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023. The Company believes that it has appropriate support for the income tax positions taken and to be taken on the Company’s tax returns and that the accruals for tax liabilities are adequate for all open years based on its assessment of many factors including past experience and interpretations of tax law applied to the facts of each matter. The Company’s federal and state income tax returns are open to audit under the statute of limitations for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2020 through June 30, 2023 for federal tax purposes and for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2019 through June 30, 2023 for state tax purposes. To the extent the Company utilizes net operating losses (“NOLs”) generated in earlier years, such earlier years may also be subject to audit.
Income tax (expense) benefit for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 is comprised of the following (in thousands):
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
Current:
Federal
$
(898)
$
(9,600)
State
(620)
(768)
Total current income tax (expense) benefit
(1,518)
(10,368)
Deferred:
Federal
State
(161)
Total deferred income tax (expense) benefit
Total income tax (expense) benefit
$
(1,417)
$
(10,072)
For the year ended June 30, 2024 the Company recognized income tax expense of $1.4 million and had an effective tax rate of 25.8% compared to income tax expense of $10.1 million and an effective tax rates of 22.2% for the year ended June 30, 2023. During the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company recognized an income tax benefit of less than $0.1 million and $0.1 million, respectively, related to the vesting of restricted stock awards.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company’s effective tax rate will typically differ from the statutory federal rate as a result of state income taxes, primarily in the states of Louisiana, North Dakota, and Texas, due to percentage depletion in excess of basis, and other permanent differences. The following table presents the reconciliation of the Company’s income taxes calculated at the statutory federal tax rate to the income tax (expense) benefit (in thousands).
% of Income
% of Income
Before
Before
June 30, 2024
Income Taxes
June 30, 2023
Income Taxes
Income tax (expense) benefit computed at the statutory federal rate:
$
(1,154)
21.0
%
$
(9,511)
21.0
%
Reconciling items:
Return to provision adjustments
(0.1)
%
-
-
%
Depletion in excess of tax basis
(2.1)
%
(0.2)
%
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit
(458)
8.4
%
(734)
1.6
%
Permanent differences related to stock-based compensation and other
(1.5)
%
(0.2)
%
Other
(2)
0.1
%
(1)
-
%
Income tax (expense) benefit
$
(1,417)
25.8
%
$
(10,072)
22.2
%
Deferred income taxes primarily represent the net tax effect of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. The components of net deferred income tax assets (liabilities) recognized are as follows (in thousands):
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
Deferred tax assets:
Non-qualified stock-based compensation
$
$
Net operating loss carry-forwards and other carry-forwards
-
Derivative losses
-
Asset retirement obligations
4,427
3,883
Other deferred tax assets
Total deferred tax assets
5,510
4,334
Deferred tax liabilities:
Oil and natural gas properties
(12,072)
(11,137)
Total deferred tax liabilities
(12,072)
(11,137)
Valuation allowance
(140)
-
Net deferred tax liabilities
$
(6,702)
$
(6,803)
Evolution Petroleum OK, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, has a prior year carryforward of NOLs of $8.9 million generated during tax years 2011 through 2017. With the current year acquisition of assets in Oklahoma by Evolution Petroleum OK, Inc., a deferred tax asset was recorded for a portion of this NOL carryforward.
Note 7. Derivatives
The Company is exposed to certain risks relating to its ongoing business operations, including commodity price risk and interest rate risk. In accordance with the Company’s strategy and the requirements under the Senior Secured Credit Facility (as discussed in Note 5, “Senior Secured Credit Facility”), it may hedge or may be required to hedge a varying portion of anticipated oil and natural gas production for future periods. Derivatives are carried at fair value on the consolidated balance sheets as assets or liabilities, with the changes in the fair value included in the consolidated statements of operations for the period in which the change occurs. The Company’s hedge strategies and objectives may change significantly as its operational profile changes or as required under the Senior Secured Credit Facility. The Company does not enter into derivative contracts for speculative trading purposes.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
It is the Company’s policy to enter into derivative contracts only with counterparties that are creditworthy financial or commodity hedging institutions deemed by management as competent and competitive market makers. As of June 30, 2024, the Company did not post collateral under any of its derivative contracts during the periods in which contracts were open as they were secured under the Company’s Senior Secured Credit Facility.
When the Company utilizes commodity derivative contracts, it expects to enter into deferred premium puts, costless put/call collars and/or fixed-price swaps to hedge a portion of its anticipated future production. A costless collar consists of a sold call, which establishes a maximum price the Company will receive for the volumes under contract, and a purchased put that establishes a minimum price. Fixed-price swaps are designed so that the Company receives or makes payments based on a differential between fixed and variable prices for the volumes under contract. The Company has elected not to designate its open derivative contracts for hedge accounting. Accordingly, the Company records the net change in the mark-to-market valuation of the derivative contracts and all payments and receipts on settled derivative contracts in “Net gain (loss) on derivative contracts” on the consolidated statements of operations.
All derivative contracts are recorded at fair market value in accordance with ASC 815 and ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”) and included in the consolidated balance sheets as assets or liabilities. The “Derivative contract assets” and “Derivative contract liabilities” represent the difference between the market commodity prices and the hedged prices for the remaining volumes of production hedges as of June 30, 2024 (the “mark-to-market valuation”). The following table summarizes the location and fair value amounts of all derivative contracts in the consolidated balance sheets as of June 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
Derivatives not designated
as hedging contracts
Balance sheet
Derivative Contract Assets
Balance sheet
Derivative Contract Liabilities
under ASC 815
location
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
location
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
Commodity contracts
Current assets - derivative contract assets
$
$
-
Current liabilities - derivative contract liabilities
$
1,192
$
-
Commodity contracts
Other assets - derivative contract assets
-
Long term liabilities - derivative contract liabilities
-
Total derivatives not designated as hedging contracts under ASC 815
$
$
-
$
1,660
$
-
The following table summarizes the location and amounts of the Company’s realized and unrealized gains and losses on derivative contracts in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands). “Realized gain (loss) on derivative contracts” represents all receipts (payments) on derivative contracts settled during the period. “Unrealized gain (loss) on derivative contracts” represents the net change in the mark-to-market valuation of the derivative contracts.
Derivatives not designated
Location of gain (loss)
as hedging contracts
recognized in income on
Years Ended June 30,
under ASC 815
derivative contracts
Commodity contracts:
Realized gain (loss) on derivative contracts
Other income and expenses - net gain (loss) on derivative contracts
$
(399)
$
(1,481)
Unrealized gain (loss) on derivative contracts
Other income and expenses - net gain (loss) on derivative contracts
(893)
1,994
Total net gain (loss) on derivative contracts
$
(1,292)
$
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
As of June 30, 2024, the Company had the following open crude oil and natural gas derivative contracts:
Weighted Average
Weighted Average
Weighted Average
Volumes in
Swap Price per
Floor Price per
Ceiling Price per
Period
Instrument
Commodity
MMBTU/BBL
MMBTU/BBL
MMBTU/BBL
MMBTU/BBL
July 2024 - December 2024
Fixed-Price Swap
Crude Oil
73,558
$
74.20
July 2024 - December 2024
Collar
Crude Oil
73,558
$
70.00
$
77.40
January 2025 - March 2025
Collar
Crude Oil
42,566
68.00
73.77
January 2025 - February 2025
Fixed-Price Swap
Natural Gas
312,286
3.56
April 2025 - June 2025
Collar
Crude Oil
41,601
65.00
84.00
March 2025 - December 2026
Fixed-Price Swap
Natural Gas
3,170,705
3.60
The Company presents the fair value of its derivative contracts at the gross amounts in the consolidated balance sheets. The following table shows the potential effects of master netting arrangements on the fair value of the Company’s derivative contracts as of June 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
Derivative Contract Assets
Derivative Contract Liabilities
Offsetting of Derivative Assets and Liabilities
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
Gross amounts presented in the Consolidated Balance Sheet
$
$
-
$
1,660
$
-
Amounts not offset in the Consolidated Balance Sheet
(497)
-
(497)
-
Net amount
$
$
-
$
1,163
$
-
The Company enters into an ISDA with each counterparty prior to a derivative contract with such counterparty. The ISDA is a standard contract that governs all derivative contracts entered into between the Company and the respective counterparty. The ISDA allows for offsetting of amounts payable or receivable between the Company and the counterparty, at the election of both parties, for transactions that occur on the same date and in the same currency.
Note 8. Fair Value Measurement
Accounting guidelines for measuring fair value establish a three-level valuation hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements. The valuation hierarchy categorizes assets and liabilities measured at fair value into one of three different levels depending on the observability of the inputs employed in the measurement.
The three levels are defined as follows:
Level 1-Observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities.
Level 2-Other inputs that are observable directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices in markets that are not active or inputs which are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability.
Level 3-Unobservable inputs for which there are little or no market data and which the Company makes its own assumptions about how market participants would price the assets and liabilities.
Fair Value of Derivative Instruments. The Company’s determination of fair value incorporates not only the credit standing of the counterparties involved in transactions with the Company resulting in receivables on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets, but also the impact of the Company’s nonperformance risk on its own liabilities. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The Company utilizes market data or assumptions that market
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk and the risks inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. These inputs can be readily observable (Level 1) market corroborated (Level 2), or generally unobservable (Level 3). The Company classifies fair value balances based on observability of those inputs.
As required by ASC 820, a financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement requires judgment, and may affect the valuation of fair value assets and liabilities and their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels. There were no transfers between fair value hierarchy levels for any period presented. The following table, set forth by level within the fair value hierarchy, shows the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value as of June 30, 2024 (in thousands). The Company did not have any open positions as of June 30, 2023.
June 30, 2024
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Total
Assets
Derivative contract assets
$
-
$
$
-
$
Liabilities
Derivative contract liabilities
$
-
$
1,660
$
-
$
1,660
Derivative contracts listed above as Level 2 include fixed-price swaps and costless put/call collars that are carried at fair value. The Company records the net change in fair value of these positions in “Net gain (loss) on derivative contracts” in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. The Company is able to value the assets and liabilities based on observable market data for similar instruments, which resulted in the Company reporting its derivatives as Level 2. This observable data includes the forward curves for commodity prices based on quoted market prices and implied volatility factors related to changes in the forward curves. See Note 7, “Derivatives,” for additional discussion of derivatives.
The Company’s derivative contracts are with large utilities with investment grade credit ratings which are believed to have minimal credit risk. As such, the Company is exposed to credit risk to the extent of nonperformance by the counterparties in the derivative contracts; however, the Company does not expect such nonperformance.
Other Fair Value Measurements. The following disclosure of the estimated fair value of financial instruments is made in accordance with the requirements of ASC 825, Financial Instruments. The estimated fair value amounts have been determined at discrete points in time based on relevant market information. These estimates involve uncertainties and cannot be determined with precision. The estimated fair value of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, and accounts payable approximates their carrying value due to their short-term nature. The estimated fair value of the Company’s Senior Secured Credit Facility approximates carrying value because the interest rates approximate current market rates.
The Company follows the provisions of ASC 820, for nonfinancial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis. These provisions apply to the Company’s initial measurement and any subsequent revision of ARO for which fair value is calculated using discounted future cash flows derived from historical costs and management’s expectations of future cost environments. Significant Level 3 inputs used in the calculation of ARO include the costs of plugging and abandoning wells, surface restoration, and reserve lives. Subsequent to initial recognition, revisions to estimated asset retirement obligations are made when changes occur for input values. See Note 9, “Asset Retirement Obligations,” for a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the liability for the Company’s ARO.
Note 9. Asset Retirement Obligations
The Company’s ARO represents the estimated present value of the amount expected to be incurred to plug, abandon, and remediate its oil and natural gas properties at the end of their productive lives in accordance with applicable laws and
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
regulations. The Company records the ARO liability on the consolidated balance sheets and capitalizes the cost in “Oil and natural gas properties, net” during the period in which the obligation is incurred. The Company records the accretion of its ARO liabilities in “Depletion, depreciation and accretion” expense in the consolidated statements of operations.
The following is a reconciliation of the activity related to the Company’s ARO liability (inclusive of the current portion) for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
Asset retirement obligations - beginning of period
$
17,067
$
13,921
Liabilities incurred
Liabilities settled
(39)
(136)
Liabilities acquired(1)
-
Accretion of discount
1,457
1,131
Revisions of previous estimates(2)
2,094
Asset retirement obligations - end of period
19,411
17,067
Less: current asset retirement obligations
(202)
(55)
Long-term portion of asset retirement obligations
$
19,209
$
17,012
(1) See Note 3, “Acquisitions,” for additional information on the Company’s acquisition activities.
(2) Primarily related to upward revisions for increased cost estimates for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023.
Note 10. Commitments and Contingencies
The Company is subject to various claims and contingencies in the normal course of business. In addition, from time to time, the Company receives communications from government or regulatory agencies concerning investigations or allegations of noncompliance with laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which the Company operates. The Company discloses such matters if it believes there is a reasonable possibility that a future event or events will confirm a material loss through impairment of an asset or the incurrence of a material liability. The Company accrues a material loss if it believes it probable that a future event or events will confirm a loss and the loss is reasonably subject to estimation. Furthermore, the Company will disclose any matter that is unasserted if it considers it probable that a claim will be asserted and there is a reasonable possibility that the outcome will be unfavorable and material in amount. The Company expenses legal defense costs as they are incurred.
Note 11. Stockholders’ Equity
Common Stock
As of June 30, 2024, the Company had 33,339,535 shares of common stock outstanding.
The Company began paying quarterly cash dividends on common stock in December 2013. As of June 30, 2024, the Company has cumulatively paid over $118.4 million in cash dividends. The Company paid dividends of $16.0 million and $16.1 million to its common stockholders during the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The following table reflects the dividends paid per share within the respective quarterly periods:
Fiscal Year
Fourth quarter ended June 30,
$
0.12
$
0.12
Third quarter ended March 31,
0.12
0.12
Second quarter ended December 31,
0.12
0.12
First quarter ended September 30,
0.12
0.12
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
On September 9, 2024, Evolution’s Board of Directors approved and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per common share payable September 30, 2024. Refer to Note 14, “Subsequent Events,” for a further discussion.
On September 8, 2022, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program, under which the Company is authorized to repurchase up to $25.0 million of its common stock in the open market through December 31, 2024. The Company intends to fund repurchases from working capital and cash provided by operating activities. The Board of Directors along with the management team believe that a share repurchase program is complimentary to the existing dividend policy and is a tax efficient means to further improve shareholder return. The shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions, through privately negotiated transactions or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws. The timing, as well as the number and value of shares repurchased under the program, will depend on a variety of factors, including management’s assessment of the intrinsic value of the Company’s shares, the market price of the Company’s common stock, the Company’s capital needs and resources, general market and economic conditions, and applicable legal requirements. The value of shares authorized for repurchase by the Company's Board of Directors does not require the Company to repurchase such shares or guarantee that such shares will be repurchased, and the program may be suspended, modified, or discontinued at any time without prior notice. As of June 30, 2024, a total of 0.8 million shares of the Company’s common stock have been repurchased under the plan at a total cost of approximately $4.6 million, including incremental direct transaction costs.
In December 2022, the Company entered into a Rule 10b5-1 plan that authorized a broker to repurchase shares in the open market subject to pre-defined limitations on trading volume and price. The plan included a 30-day cooling off period that did not allow repurchases to commence until January 2023. The plan was effective until June 30, 2023 and had a maximum authorized amount of $5.0 million over that period. During the year ended June 30, 2023, 0.6 million shares of the Company’s common stock were repurchased under the plan at a total cost of approximately $3.9 million, including incremental direct transaction costs. These treasury shares were subsequently cancelled.
In November 2023, the Company entered into a Rule 10b5-1 plan that authorized a broker to repurchase shares in the open market subject to pre-defined limitations on trading volume and price. The plan was effective until June 30, 2024 and had a maximum authorized amount of $0.8 million over that period. During the year ended June 30, 2024, 0.1 million shares of the Company’s common stock were repurchased under the plan at a total cost of approximately $0.8 million, including incremental direct transaction costs. These treasury shares were subsequently cancelled.
During the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company acquired treasury stock upon the ordinary course of scheduled vestings of employee stock-based awards to fund payroll tax withholding obligations. These treasury shares were subsequently cancelled. Such shares were valued at fair market value on the date of vesting. The following table summarizes all treasury stock purchases in the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands, except per share amounts):
Years Ended June 30,
Number of treasury shares acquired(1)
Average cost per share(1)
$
5.66
$
6.20
Total cost of treasury shares acquired
$
1,144
$
4,170
(1) For the year ended June 30, 2024, includes 140,672 shares repurchased under the Company’s share repurchase program for a weighted average price of $5.33 per share. For the year ended June 30, 2023, includes 633,789 shares repurchased under the Company’s share repurchase program for a weighted average price of $6.07 per share.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Expected Tax Treatment of Dividends
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, all common stock dividends for that fiscal year were treated for tax purposes as qualified dividend income to the recipients. Based on its current projections for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, the Company expects all common stock dividends for such period to be treated as qualified dividend income to the recipients.
Stock-Based Incentive Plan
The Evolution Petroleum Corporation 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended the “2016 Plan”), authorizes the issuance of 3.6 million shares of common stock prior to its expiration on December 8, 2026. Incentives under the 2016 Plan may be granted to employees, directors, and consultants of the Company in any one or a combination of the following forms: incentive stock options and non-statutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards and restricted stock unit awards, performance share awards, performance cash awards, and other forms of incentives valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, the Company’s common stock, including its appreciation in value. As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, approximately 0.9 million shares and 1.3 million shares, respectively, remained available for grant under the 2016 Plan.
The Company estimates the fair value of stock-based compensation awards on the grant date to provide the basis for future compensation expense. For the years ended June 30, 2024, and 2023, the Company recognized $2.1 million and $1.6 million, respectively, related to stock-based compensation expense recorded as a component of “General and administrative expenses” on the consolidated statements of operations.
Time-Vested Restricted Stock Awards
Time-vested restricted stock awards contain service-based vesting conditions and expire after a maximum of four years from the date of grant if unvested. The common shares underlying these awards are issued on the date of grant and participate in dividends paid by the Company. These service-based awards vest with continuous employment by the Company, generally in annual installments over terms of three to four years. Awards to the Company’s directors generally have one-year cliff vesting. For such awards, grant date fair value is based on market value of the Company’s common stock at the time of grant. This value is then amortized ratably over the service period. Previously recognized amortization expense subsequent to the last vesting date of an award is reversed in the event that the holder has no longer rendered service to the Company resulting in forfeiture of the award.
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Awards and Performance-Based Contingent Stock Units
Performance-based restricted stock awards and performance-based contingent stock units contain market-based vesting conditions based on the price of the Company’s common stock, the intrinsic value indexed solely to its common stock or the intrinsic value indexed to its common stock compared to the performance of the common stock of its peers. The common shares underlying the Company’s performance-based restricted stock awards are issued on the date of grant and participate in dividends paid by the Company and expire after a maximum of four years from the date of grant if unvested. Performance-based contingent share units do not participate in dividends and shares are only issued in part or in full upon the attainment of vesting conditions, generally have a lower probability of achievement and expire after a maximum of four years from the date of grant if unvested. Shares underlying performance-based contingent share units are reserved from the 2016 Plan. Performance-based restricted stock awards and contingent restricted stock units are valued using a Monte Carlo simulation and geometric Brownian motion techniques applied to the historical volatility of the Company’s total stock return compared to the historical volatilities of other companies or indices to which the Company compares its performance and/or the Company’s absolute total stock return. For certain awards, this Monte Carlo simulation also provides an expected vesting term. Stock-based compensation is recognized ratably over the expected vesting period, so long as the award holder remains an employee of the Company. Previously recognized
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
compensation expense is only reversed for the awards with market-based vesting conditions if the requisite service period is not rendered by the holder resulting in forfeiture of the award or as a result of regulatory required clawback.
Vesting of grants with performance-based vesting conditions is dependent on the future price of the Company’s common stock. Such awards vest in part or in full if the trailing total returns on the Company’s common stock for a specified three-year period exceed the corresponding total returns of various quartiles of indices consisting of peer companies or, in some cases, vest when the average of the Company’s closing common stock price over a defined measurement period meets or exceeds a required common stock price.
For performance-based awards granted during the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the assumptions used in the Monte Carlo simulation valuations were as follows:
Years Ended June 30,
Weighted average fair value of performance-based awards granted
$
3.58
$
6.52
Risk-free interest rate
4.87%
3.91% to 4.51%
Expected term in years
2.77
2.36 to 2.78
Expected volatility
55.0%
56.5% to 70.9%
Dividend yield
7.4%
6.1% to 7.8%
Unvested restricted stock awards as of June 30, 2024 consisted of the following:
Weighted
Number of
Average
Restricted
Grant-Date
Award Type
Shares
Fair Value
Time-vested awards
395,104
$
6.57
Performance-based awards
233,407
5.87
Unvested at June 30, 2024
628,511
$
6.31
The following table sets forth the restricted stock award transactions for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023:
Weighted
Weighted
Unamortized
Average
Number of
Average
Compensation
Remaining
Aggregate Intrinsic
Restricted
Grant-Date
Expense
Amortization
Value (1)
Shares
Fair Value
(In thousands)
Period (Years)
(In thousands)
Unvested at June 30, 2022
341,211
$
4.54
Time-vested shares granted
376,015
7.18
Performance-based shares granted
100,239
7.39
Vested
(196,431)
4.91
Forfeited
(25,620)
6.51
Unvested at June 30, 2023
595,414
$
6.48
$
2,827
2.4
$
4,805
Time-vested shares granted
157,692
6.22
Performance-based shares granted
136,315
4.80
Vested
(260,910)
5.85
Unvested at June 30, 2024
628,511
$
6.31
$
2,492
1.8
$
3,312
(1) The intrinsic value of restricted stock was calculated as the closing market price on June 30, 2024 and 2023 of the underlying stock multiplied by the number of restricted shares that would be issuable. The total fair value of shares vested was $1.6 million and $1.4 million for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The following table sets forth contingent restricted stock unit transactions for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023:
Weighted
Unamortized
Average
Number of
Weighted Average
Compensation
Remaining
Aggregate Intrinsic
Restricted
Grant-Date
Expense
Amortization
Value (1)
Stock Units
Fair Value
(In thousands)
Period (Years)
(In thousands)
Unvested at June 30, 2022
50,062
$
2.21
Performance-based awards granted
50,123
4.79
Forfeited
(3,787)
3.69
Unvested at June 30, 2023
96,398
$
3.49
$
1.9
$
Performance-based awards granted
102,239
1.95
Expired
(47,849)
2.19
Unvested at June 30, 2024
150,788
$
2.86
$
1.6
$
(1) The intrinsic value of contingent restricted stock units was calculated as the closing market price on June 30, 2024 and 2023 of the underlying stock multiplied by the number of restricted shares that would be issuable.
Note 12. Earnings (Loss) per Common Share
The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings (loss) per common share, reflecting the application of the two-class method (in thousands, except per share amounts):
Years Ended June 30,
Numerator
Net income (loss)
$
4,080
$
35,217
Undistributed earnings allocated to unvested restricted stock
(83)
(560)
Net income (loss) for earnings per share calculation
$
3,997
$
34,657
Denominator
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - Basic
32,691
32,985
Effect of dilutive securities:
Unvested restricted stock awards
Unvested contingent restricted stock units
Weighted average number of common shares and dilutive potential common shares used in diluted earnings per share
32,901
33,190
Net income (loss) per common share - Basic
$
0.12
$
1.05
Net income (loss) per common share - Diluted
$
0.12
$
1.04
Unvested restricted stock awards (both time-vested and performance-based), totaling approximately 0.1 million for each of the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per common share because the effect would have been anti-dilutive.
In addition, unvested performance-based restricted stock awards and unvested contingent restricted stock units that would not meet the performance criteria as of the period end are excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per common share.
EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 13. Additional Financial Statement Information
Certain amounts on the consolidated balance sheets are comprised of the following (in thousands):
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
Prepaid expenses and other current assets:
Other receivables
$
$
Prepaid insurance
Prepaid federal and state income taxes
1,798
Carryback of EOR tax credit
Advances to operators
-
Prepaid other
Total prepaid expenses and other current assets
$
3,855
$
2,277
Other assets:
Deposit(1)
$
1,158
$
1,158
Right of use asset under operating lease
Total other assets
$
1,298
$
1,341
Accrued liabilities and other:
Accrued payables
$
2,570
$
3,005
Accrued capital expenditures
Accrued incentive and other compensation
Accrued royalties payable(2)
Accrued taxes other than federal and state income tax
1,062
Accrued severance
-
Accrued settlements on derivative contracts
-
Operating lease liability
Asset retirement obligations due within one year
Accrued interest and other
Total accrued liabilities and other
$
6,239
$
6,027
(1) The deposit of $1.2 million is related to a long-term gas gathering deposit with Enterprise entered into at closing of the Company’s Jonah Field properties.
(2) Accrued royalties payable relate to royalty and owner payments in the Jonah Field as the Company takes its natural gas and NGL working interest production in-kind. See Note 2, “Revenue Recognition” for a further discussion.
Note 14. Subsequent Events
On September 9, 2024, the Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.12 per share of common stock to shareholders of record on September 20, 2024 and payable on September 30, 2024.
Supplemental Disclosure about Oil and Natural Gas Properties (unaudited)
Capitalized costs relating to oil and natural gas producing activities
The following table summarizes the amounts of capitalized costs relating to oil and natural gas producing activities and the amount of related accumulated depletion (in thousands).
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
June 30, 2022
Oil and natural gas properties
Property costs subject to amortization
$
249,559
$
197,049
$
188,634
Less: Accumulated depletion, depreciation, and impairment
(109,874)
(91,268)
(78,126)
Oil and natural gas properties, net
$
139,685
$
105,781
$
110,508
Costs incurred for oil and natural gas property acquisition, exploration, and development activities
The following table summarizes costs incurred and capitalized in oil and natural gas property acquisition, exploration, and development activities (in thousands). Property acquisition costs are those costs incurred to lease property, including both undeveloped leasehold, and the purchase of reserves in place. Exploration costs include costs of identifying areas that may warrant examination, examining specific areas that are considered to have prospects containing oil and natural gas reserves, costs of drilling exploratory wells, geologic and geophysical assessment costs, and carrying costs on undeveloped properties. Development costs are incurred to obtain access to proved reserves, including the cost of drilling. Development costs also include amounts incurred due to the recognition of asset retirement obligations of $0.9 million, $2.0 million, and $7.8 million during the years ended June 30, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively.
For the Years Ended June 30,
Oil and Natural Gas Activities
Property acquisition costs:
Proved property
$
39,153
$
$
49,920
Unproved property
-
-
-
Exploration costs
-
-
-
Development costs
13,357
8,384
9,591
Total costs incurred for oil and natural gas activities
$
52,510
$
8,415
$
59,511
Estimated Net Quantities of Proved Oil and Natural Gas Reserves
The following estimates of net proved oil and natural gas reserves of the Company’s oil and natural gas properties located entirely within the United States are based on evaluations prepared by third-party reservoir engineers, Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (“NSAI”), DeGolyer & MacNaughton (“D&M”), and Cawley, Gillespie and Associates, Inc. (“CG&A”). Reserve volumes and values were determined under the method prescribed by the SEC for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022. SEC methodology requires the application of the previous 12-month unweighted arithmetic average first-day-of-the-month price, and current costs held constant throughout the projected reserve life, when estimating whether reserve quantities are economical to produce.
Our policies regarding internal controls over reserves estimates require such estimates to be prepared by an independent petroleum engineering firm under the supervision of our internal reserve engineering team, which includes our Chief Operating Officer (“COO”), J. Mark Bunch. Our internal reserve engineering team and third-party consultants have a combined experience of over 80 years in Petroleum Engineering. Our COO, the person responsible for overseeing the preparation of our reserves estimates has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University, is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas (No. 86704), has over 40 years of oil and natural gas experience including large independents and financial firm services for projects and acquisitions. Our Board of Directors also has oversight of our reserve estimation process and contains a Reserves Committee with William Dozier, an independent director who is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas (No. 47279) with experience in energy company reserve evaluations. Such reserve estimates comply with generally accepted petroleum engineering and evaluation principles, definitions, and guidelines as established by the SEC.
The person responsible for the preparation of the reserve report at NSAI is Matthew D. Pankey, P.E., Petroleum Engineer. Mr. Pankey, a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas (No. 142931), has been practicing consulting petroleum engineering at NSAI since 2019 and has over six years of prior industry experience. Mr. Pankey received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering in 2012 from Auburn University. The person responsible for the preparation of the reserve report at D&M is Dr. Dilhan Ilk, P.E, Executive Vice President. Dr. Ilk received a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering in 2003 from Istanbul Technical University and a Master’s degree and Doctorate in Petroleum Engineering in 2005 and 2010, respectively, from Texas A&M University, and he has in excess of 14 years of experience in oil and natural gas reservoir studies and evaluations and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Texas (No. 139334). The person responsible for the preparation of the reserve report at CG&A is W. Todd Brooker, P.E., President. Mr. Brooker received a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering in 1989 from the University of Texas at Austin and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas (No. 83462). Mr. Brooker joined CG&A in 1992 and has over 30 years of experience in engineering and geological services.
Proved oil and natural gas reserves are estimated quantities of oil, natural gas, and NGLs that geologic and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions. Proved developed oil and natural gas reserves are reserves that can be expected to be recovered through existing wells with existing equipment and operating methods. There are uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of proved oil and natural gas reserves, projecting future production rates, and timing of development expenditures. Accordingly, reserve estimates often differ from the quantities of oil and natural gas that are ultimately recovered.
Estimated quantities of proved oil, natural gas, and NGL reserves and changes in quantities of proved developed and undeveloped reserves for each of the periods indicated are as follows:
Natural Gas
Crude Oil
Natural Gas
Liquids
Equivalent
(MBbls)
(MMcf)
(MBbls)
(MBOE)
Proved developed and undeveloped reserves:
June 30, 2021
8,420
48,571
6,871
23,386
Revisions of previous estimates
(1,111)
25,268
(944)
2,157
Improved recovery, extensions and discoveries
2,608
2,197
3,597
Purchase of reserves in place
2,172
38,096
9,276
Production (sales volumes)
(619)
(7,141)
(364)
(2,173)
June 30, 2022
11,470
106,991
6,941
36,243
Revisions of previous estimates
(1,038)
(5,352)
(668)
(2,598)
Improved recovery, extensions and discoveries
Production (sales volumes)
(659)
(9,109)
(416)
(2,593)
June 30, 2023
9,871
92,563
5,877
31,176
Revisions of previous estimates
(1,420)
(21,448)
(4,939)
Improved recovery, extensions and discoveries
3,149
5,089
4,803
Purchase of reserves in place
9,948
3,230
Production (sales volumes)
(709)
(8,243)
(402)
(2,485)
June 30, 2024
11,810
77,909
6,988
31,785
MBOE
Proved
Proved
Total
Developed
Undeveloped
Proved
Reserves
Reserves
Reserves
Proved developed and undeveloped reserves:
June 30, 2021
21,573
1,813
23,386
Revisions of previous estimates
3,970
(1,813)
2,157
Improved recovery, extensions and discoveries
-
3,597
3,597
Purchase of reserves in place
9,276
-
9,276
Production (sales volumes)
(2,173)
-
(2,173)
June 30, 2022
32,646
3,597
36,243
Revisions of previous estimates
(2,580)
(18)
(2,598)
Improved recovery, extensions and discoveries
Production (sales volumes)
(2,593)
-
(2,593)
June 30, 2023
27,479
3,697
31,176
Revisions of previous estimates
(4,076)
(863)
(4,939)
Improved recovery, extensions and discoveries
4,510
4,803
Purchase of reserves in place
2,711
3,230
Transfers
(118)
-
Production (sales volumes)
(2,485)
-
(2,485)
June 30, 2024
24,040
7,745
31,785
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, notable change in proved reserves include the following:
● Improved recovery, extensions and discoveries. During the fiscal year 2024, the Company added 4.8 MMBOE of proved reserves primarily associated with the addition of new PUDs at SCOOP/STACK, added subsequent to the acquisition date, for acreage acquired at Chaveroo Field, as well as, wells drilled and completed at Chaveroo Field in fiscal 2024.
● Purchase of reserves in place. During the fiscal year ended 2024, the Company completed the SCOOP/STACK Acquisition. See Note 3, “Acquisitions” for more details.
● Revisions of previous estimates. Net Revisions in fiscal year 2024 totaled 4.9 MMBOE primarily associated with the declines in SEC trailing 12-month pricing, especially for natural gas reserves where the price per MMBTU declined 51.5% from the prior year, as well as impacting the late-in-life economic limits of production.
● Production. The company produced 2.5 MBOE during the year ended June 30, 2024.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, notable changes in total proved reserves included the following:
● Production. The company produced 2.6 MBOE during the year ended June 30, 2023.
● Improved recovery, extensions and discoveries. During the fiscal year 2023, the Company added 0.1 MMBOE of proved reserves primarily associated with the addition of two new PUD wells at Delhi Field.
● Revisions of previous estimates. Net Revisions in fiscal year 2023 totaled 2.6 MMBOE primarily associated the Delhi Field and Barnett Shale. Reserve projections were revised downward at Delhi Field due to actual fiscal 2023 production coming in lower than fiscal year end 2022 projection. Additionally, Barnett Shale reserves decreased due primarily to increased production costs in the field shortening the economic life of many wells.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, notable changes in total proved reserves included the following:
● Purchase of reserves in place. During the fiscal year ended 2022, the Company completed the acquisitions of its Williston Basin and the Jonah Field properties totaling $26.4 million and $25.2 million, respectively.
● Improved recovery, extensions and discoveries. During the fiscal year 2022, the Company added 3.6 MBOE of PUD reserves associated with drilling locations at its Willison Basin properties.
● Revisions of previous estimates. Net Revisions in fiscal year 2022 totaled 2.2 MMBOE, which included a net positive revision in the Company’s proved developed reserves of 4.0 MMBOE offset by the removal of 1.8 MMBOE of PUD reserves at the Delhi Field, related to Test Site V. At this time, the operator at Delhi does not currently have Test Site V on its expenditure schedule for the next five years and, as a result, has been excluded from the Company’s PUD reserves. The net positive revision in the Company’s proved developed reserves of 4.0 MMBOE includes positive revisions totaling 4.7 MMBOE primarily related to the improvement in the SEC
trailing 12-month pricing offset by a 0.7 MMBOE downward adjustment at Delhi due to lower than anticipated production during fiscal year 2022.
Future oil and natural gas sales, production, and development costs have been estimated using prices and costs in effect at the end of the years indicated, as required by ASC 932, Extractive Activities - Oil and Gas (“ASC 932”). ASC 932 requires that net cash flow amounts be discounted at 10%. Future production and development costs are computed by estimating the expenditures to be incurred in developing and producing proved oil and natural gas reserves and for asset retirement obligations, assuming continuation of existing economic conditions. Future income tax expenses are computed by applying the appropriate period-end statutory tax rates to the future pretax net cash flow related to proved oil and natural gas reserves, less the tax basis of the related properties. The future income tax expenses do not give effect to tax credits, allowances, or the impact of general and administrative costs of ongoing operations relating to the Company’s proved oil and natural gas reserves. Changes in the demand for oil and natural gas, inflation, and other factors make such estimates inherently imprecise and subject to substantial revision. The table below should not be construed to be an estimate of the current market value of the Company’s proved reserves.
The Standardized Measure of discounted future net cash flows related to proved oil and natural gas reserves as of June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022 are as follows (in thousands):
For the Years Ended June 30,
Future cash inflows
$
1,250,176
$
1,521,363
$
1,846,708
Future production costs and severance taxes
(748,927)
(860,054)
(997,362)
Future development costs
(139,628)
(120,648)
(105,966)
Future income tax expenses
(61,742)
(109,189)
(159,912)
Future net cash flows
299,879
431,472
583,468
10% annual discount for estimated timing of cash flows
(133,278)
(193,295)
(268,685)
Standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows
$
166,601
$
238,177
$
314,783
Future cash inflows represent expected revenues from production of period-end quantities of proved reserves based on the previous 12-month unweighted arithmetic average first-day-of-the-month commodity prices for each year and reflect adjustments for lease quality, transportation fees, energy content, and regional price differentials.
For the Years Ended June 30,
NYMEX prices used in determining future cash flows:
Oil (Bbl)
$
79.45
$
83.23
$
85.82
Gas (MMBtu)
2.32
4.78
5.19
The NGL prices utilized for future cash inflows were based on historical prices received, where available.
A summary of the changes in the standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows applicable to proved oil, natural gas, and NGL reserves is as follows (in thousands):
For the Years Ended June 30,
Balance, beginning of year
$
238,177
$
314,783
$
87,583
Net changes in sales prices and production costs related to future production
(125,539)
(31,923)
171,602
Changes in estimated future development costs
1,081
(8,286)
(6,320)
Sales of oil, natural gas and NGLs produced, net of production costs
(37,604)
(68,969)
(60,269)
Net change due to extensions, discoveries, and improved recovery
52,014
4,695
43,495
Net change due to revisions in quantity estimates
(47,244)
(34,056)
48,177
Net change due to purchase of minerals in place
37,139
-
100,675
Development costs incurred during the period
-
-
Accretion of discount
30,121
40,382
14,425
Net change in discounted income taxes
26,743
26,006
(65,559)
Other
(9,220)
(4,455)
(19,026)
Balance, end of year
$
166,601
$
238,177
$
314,783

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.

---

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms; this information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow for timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 13a-15(b), we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective in ensuring that the information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Generally accepted accounting principles include those policies and procedures that:
● pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company;
● provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and
● provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the Principal Executive Officer and the Principal Financial Officer, an evaluation was conducted on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on criteria established in the Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in 2013. Management concluded that we maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024.
The effectiveness of the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024, has been audited by Moss Adams LLP., an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the three months ended June 30, 2024 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information
None.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance
Incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days of the end of our 2024 fiscal year.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation
Incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days of the end of our 2024 fiscal year.

---

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
Incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days of the end of our 2024 fiscal year.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
Incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days of the end of our 2024 fiscal year.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
Incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days of the end of our 2024 fiscal year.
PART IV.

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
The following documents are filed as part of this report:
1.Financial Statements.
The consolidated financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries are included in Part II, Item 8 of this report:
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Consolidated Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Consolidated Balance Sheets
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Supplemental Disclosure about Oil and Natural Gas Properties (unaudited)
2.Financial Statements Schedules and Supplementary Information Required to be Submitted:
None.
3.Exhibits
A list of the exhibits filed or furnished with this report on Form 10-K (or incorporated by reference to exhibits previously filed or furnished by us) is provided in the Exhibit Index of this report. Those exhibits incorporated by reference herein are indicated as such by the information supplied in the parenthetical thereafter. Otherwise, the exhibits are filed herewith.