Summary of significant accounting policies | Note 2 . Summary of significant accounting policies Principles of consolidation. The consolidated financial statements of the Company include the accounts of the Company and its 100 percent owned subsidiaries. The consolidated financial statements also included the accounts of a variable interest entity (“VIE”) where the Company was the primary beneficiary of the arrangements until the VIE structure dissolved in January 2018 . See Note 5 for additional information regarding the cir cumstances surrounding the VIE. The Company consolidates the financial statements of these entities. All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Reclassifications. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to confor m to the 2018 presentation. These reclassifications had no impact on net income , total stockholders’ equity or total cash flows. Use of estimates in the preparation of financial statements. Preparation of financial statements in conformity with general ly accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dat e of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from these estimates. Depletion of oil and natural gas properties is determined using estimates of proved oil and natu ral gas reserves. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in the estimation of quantities of proved reserves and in the projection of future rates of production and the timing of development expenditures. Similarly, evaluations for impairment of proved a nd unproved oil and natural gas properties are subject to numerous uncertainties including, among others, estimates of future recoverable reserves, commodity price outlooks and prevailing market rates of other sources of income and costs. Other significant estimates include, but are not limited to, asset retirement obligations, goodwill, fair value of stock-based compensation, fair value of business combinations, fair value of nonmonetary transactions, fair value of derivative financial instruments and inco me taxes. Interim financial statements. The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company have not been audited by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, except that the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2017 is deriv ed from audited consolidated financial statements. In the opinion of management, the accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments necessary to present fairly the Company’s consolidated financial statements. All such adjustments ar e of a normal, recurring nature. In preparing the accompanying consolidated financial statements, management has made certain estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements and disclosures of contingencies. Actual results may differ from those estimates. The results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of annual results. Certain disclosures have been condensed in or omitted from these consolidated financial statements. Accordingly, these c ondensed notes to the consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 . Cash equivalents. The Comp any considers all cash on hand, depository accounts held by banks, money market accounts and investments with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents are held in financial institutions in amounts that may exceed the insurance limits of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. However, management believes that the Company’s counterparty risks are minimal based on the reputation and histor y of the institutions selected. Goodwill. As a res ult of the RSP Acquisition, as defined in Note 4 , the Company has goodwill in the amount of $ 2.2 b illion at September 30, 2018 . Goodwill is not amortized but assessed for impairment on an annual basis, or more frequently if indicat ors of impairment exist. Impairment tests, which involve the use of estimates related to the fair market value of the business operations with which goodwill is associated , are performed as of July 1 of each year. The balance of goodwill is allocated in it s entirety to the Company’s one reporting unit. When tes ting goodwill for impairment, the Company first perform s a qualitative analysis to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of its reporting unit is less than its carrying value. If the analysis shows that the fair value is more likely than not less than the carrying value, then the Company perform s a qu antitative impairment test. The reporting unit’s fair value is calculated as the combined market capitalization of the Company’s equ ity plus a control premium plus the fair value of the Company’s long-term debt. As the Company has elected to early adopt Accounting S tandards Update (“ASU”) No. 2017-04 , “ Intangibles – G oodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impa irment ” (“ASU 2017-04 ”), if the results of the quantitative test are such that the fai r value of the reporting unit is less than the carrying value, goodwill is then reduced by an amount that is equal to the amount by which the carrying value of the report ing unit exceeds the fair value. Equity method investments. The Company accounts for its equity method investments under the equity method of accounting and includes the investment balance in other assets on the consolidated balance sheets. Gains and losses incurred from the Company’s equity investments are recorded in o ther income (expense) on the consolidated statements of operations. The Company owns a 23.75 percent membership interest in Oryx Southern Delaware Holdings, LLC (“Oryx”), an entity th at operates a crude oil gathering and transportation system in the Southern Delaware Basin. In February 2018 , Oryx obtained a term loan of $800 million. The proceeds were used in part to fund a cash distribution to its equity holders, of which the Company received a distribution of approximately $157 million. Of this amount, approximately $54 million fully offset the Company’s net investment in Oryx. The remaining distribution of approximately $103 million was recorded in other income (expense) on the Compa ny’s consolidated statement of operations since the lenders to the term loan do not have recourse against the Company , and the Company has no contractual obligation to repay the distribution . The Company’s net investment in Oryx was approximately $ 49 million at December 31, 2017 . The Company recorded income of approximately $ 2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and $ 5 million and $ 4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 , respectively. The Company will not record income or loss on the Oryx investment until such net income is greater than the distribution in excess of its investment. In February 2017, the Company closed on the divestiture of its 50 percent membership interest in a midstream joint venture, Alpha Crude Connector, LLC (“ACC”), that constructed a crude oil gathering and transportation system in the Northern Delaware Basin. See Note 5 for additional information regarding the di sposition of ACC. Litigation contingencies. The Company is a party to proceedings and claims incidental to its business. In each reporting period, the Company assesses these claims in an effort to determine the degree of probability and range of possible loss for potential accrual in its consolidated financial statements. The amount of any resulting losses may differ from these estimates. An accrual is recorded for a material loss contingency when its occurrence is probable and damages are reasonably estim able. See Note 10 for additional information. Revenue recognition. On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC ”) Topic 606 , “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” (“ ASC 606 ”) using the modified retrospective approach , which only applies to contracts that were not completed as of the date of initial application. The adoption did not require an adjustment to opening retained earnings for the cumulative effect adjustment and does not have a material impact on the Company ’s reported net income (loss), cash flows from operations or statement of stockholders’ equity . The C ompany recognizes revenues from the sales of oil and natural gas to its customers and presents them disaggregated on the Company’s consolidated statement s of operations. All revenues are recognized in the geographical region of the Permian Basin. P rior to the adoption of ASC 606, the Company recorded oil and natural gas revenues at the time of physical transfer of such products to the purchaser, which for the Company is primarily at the wellhead. The Company followed the sales method of accounting for oil and natural gas sales, recognizing revenues based on the Company’s actual proceeds from the oil and natural gas sold to purchasers. The Company enters in to contracts with customers to sell its oil and natural gas production. Revenue on these contracts is recognized in accordance with the five-step revenue recognition model prescribed in ASC 606 . Specifically, revenue is recognized when the Company’s perfor mance obligations under these contracts are satisfied, which generally occurs with the transfer of control of the oil and natural gas to the purchaser. Control is generally considered transfe rred when the following criteria are met: (i) transfer of physica l custody, (ii) transfer of title, (iii) transfer of risk of loss and (iv) relinquishment of any repurchase rights or other similar rights. Given the nature of the products sold, reve nue is recognized at a point in time based on the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive in accordance with the price specified in the contract. Consideration under the oil and natural gas marketing contracts is typically received from the purchaser one to two months after production. At September 30, 2018 , the C ompany had receivables related to contracts with customers of approximately $ 520 million. The following table shows the impact of the adoption of ASC 606 on the Company’s current period results as compared to the previous revenue recognition standard, ASC Topic 605, “Revenue recognition” (“ASC 605”): Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018 September 30, 2018 Under Under Increase Under Under Increase (in millions) ASC 606 ASC 605 (Decrease) ASC 606 ASC 605 (Decrease) Operating revenues: Oil sales $ 957 $ 952 $ 5 $ 2,545 $ 2,537 $ 8 Natural gas sales 235 227 8 539 519 20 Operating costs and expenses: Oil and natural gas production 156 159 (3) 416 424 (8) Gathering, processing and transportation 16 - 16 36 - 36 Net income (loss) $ (199) $ (199) $ - $ 773 $ 773 $ - Oil Contracts. The majority of the Company’s oil marketing contracts transfer physical custody and title at or near the wellhead, which is generally when control of the oil has been transferred to the purchaser. The majority of the oil produced is sold under contracts u sing market-based pricing which is then adjusted for differentials based upon delivery location and oil quality. To the extent the differentials are incurred after the transfer of control of the oil, the differentials are included in o il sales on the state ments of operations as they represent part of the transaction price of the contract. If the differentials, or other related costs, are incurred prior to the transfer of control of the oil, those costs are included in g athering, processing and transportatio n on the Company’s consolidated statement s of operations as they represent payment for services performed outside of the contract with the customer. Natural Gas Contracts. The majority of the Company’s natural gas is sold at the lease location, which is generally when control of the natural gas has been transferred to the purchaser. The natural gas is sold under (i) percent age of proceeds processing contr acts, (ii) fee-based contracts or ( iii) a hybrid of percentage of proceeds and fee-based contracts. Un der the majority of the Company’s contracts, the purchaser gathers the natural gas in the field where it is produced and transports it via pipeline to natural gas processing plants where natural gas liquid products are extracted. The natural gas liquid pro ducts and remaining residue gas are then sold by the purchaser. Under the percentage of proceeds and hybrid percentage of proceeds and fee-based contracts, the Company receives a percentage of the value for the extracted liquids and the residue gas. Under the fee - based contracts, the Company receives natural gas liquids and residue gas value, less the fee component, or is invoiced the fee component. To the extent control of the natural gas transfers upstream of the transportation and processing activities, revenue is recognized as the net amount r eceived from the purchaser. To the extent that control transfers downstream of those costs, revenue is recognized on a gross basis, and the related costs are classified in g athering, processing and transportation o n the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. The Company does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations under its contracts with customers as it applies the practical exemption in accordance with ASC 606. Th e exemption , as de scribed in ASC 606-10-50-14(a), applies to variable consideration that is recognized as control of the product is transferred to the customer. Since each unit of product represents a separate performance obligation, future volumes are wholly unsatisfied an d disclosure of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations is not required. General and administrative expense. The Company receives fees for the operation of jointly-owned oil and natural gas properties during the drilling and production phases and records such reimbursements as redu ctions to general and administrative expense. Such fees totaled approximate ly $ 4 million for each of the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 and $ 13 million and $ 12 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 , respectiv ely. Recently adopted accounting pronouncements. In January 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2017-04, which simplifies how an entity subsequently measures goodwill by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. In place of Step 2, under this standard an entity will recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the ca rrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value; however, the loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. This standard should be applied on a prospective basis and is effective for annual or any interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted after January 1, 2017. The Company has elected to early adopt this standard beginning in the third quarter of 2018. The early adoption of th is standard did not have an impact on the Company’s financial results. New accounting pronouncements issued but not yet adopted. In Februar y 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842) ” (“ASU 2016-02”), which supersedes current lease guidan ce. The new lease standard requires all leases with a term greater than one year to be recognized on the balance sheet while maintaining substantially similar classifications for financ ing and operating leases. Lease expense recognition on the consolidated statements of operations will be effectively unchanged. This guidance is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018 , and early adoption is permitted. The Company does not plan to early adopt the standard. The Company plans to make p olicy elections to not capitalize short-term leases for all asset classes and to not separate non-lease components from lease components for all asset classes except for vehicles. The Company also plans to not elect the package of practical expedients that allows for certain considerations under the original “Leases (Topic 840)” accounting standard (“Topic 840”) to be carried forward upon adoption of ASU 2016-02. The Company enters into lease agreements to support its operations. These agreements are for leases on assets such as office space, vehicles, well equipment and drilling rigs. The Company ha s substantially completed the process of reviewing and determining the contracts to which this new guidance applies . The Company is currently enhancing its acc ounting system in order to track and calculate additional information necessary for adoption of this standard. Upon adoption, the Company will be required to recognize r ight-of-use assets and associated lease liabilities that are not currently recognized under applicable guidance. T he Company does not believe this adoption will have a material impact on its consolidated balance sheets b ased on the leases in place as of the filing of this Quarterly Report. In January 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-01, “Land Easement Practical Expedie nt for Transition to Topic 842,” which provides an optional practical expedient to not evaluate land easements that exist ed or expired before the adoption of ASU 2016-02 and that were not previously accounted for as leases under Topic 840 . The Company enters into land easements on a routine basis as part of its ongoing operations and has many such agreements currently in place; however, the Company does not currently account for any land easements under Topic 840. As this guidance serves as an amendment to ASU 2016-02, t he Company will elect this practical expedient , which becomes effective upon the date of adoption of ASU 2016-02 . After the adoption of ASU 2016-02 , the Company will assess any new land easements to determine whether the arrangement should be accounted for as a lease. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-11, “Targeted Improvements , ” which provides a transition electio n to not restate comparative periods for the effects of applying the new lease standard. This transition election permits entities to change the date of initial application to the beginning of the year of adoption and to recognize the effects of applying t he new standard as a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings. The Company expects to elect this transition approach and recognize the cumulative impact of adoption in the opening balance of retained earnings as of January 1 , 2019. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-09, “Codification Improvements,” which makes amendments to multiple codification topics to clarify, correct errors in, or make minor improvements to the accounting standards codification. The effective da te of the standard is dependent on the facts and circumstances of each amendment. Some amendments do not require transition guidance and will be effective upon the issuance of this standard. Many of the amendments in ASU 2018-09 will be effective in annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company will be required to adopt this standard in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The Company is currently assessing the effect that this ASU will have on the financial position, results of operations, and disclosures. In Jun e 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments–Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which replaces the current “incurred loss” methodology for recognizing credit losses wit h an “expected loss” methodology. This new methodology requires that a financial asset measured at amortized cost be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. This standard is intended to provide more timely decision-useful information about th e expected credit losses on financial instruments. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and early adoption is allowed as early as fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company does not believe this ne w guidance will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. On August 17, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued a final rule that amends certain of its disclosure requirements that have become redundant, duplicative, overlapping, outdated or superseded, in light of other disclosure requirements, U.S. GAAP or changes in the information environment. The amendments are intended to facilitate the disclosure of information to investors and simplify compliance without significantly altering the total mix of information provided to investors. The final rule amends numerous SEC rules, items and forms covering a diverse group of topics, including, but not limited to, changes in stockholders’ equity. The final ru le extends to interim periods the annual disclosure requirement in SEC Regulation S-X, Rule 3-04, of presenting changes in stockholders’ equity. The registrants will be required to analyze changes in stockholders’ equity in the form of a reconciliation fo r the current quarter and year-to-date interim periods and comparative periods in the prior year. The final rule is effective for all filings submitted on or after November 5, 2018. The Company is currently analyzing the final rule and will comply with t he new disclosure requirements for all filings after the effective date. |