| Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 1. Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Organization The Ridgewood Energy T Fund, LLC (the “Fund”), a Delaware limited liability company, was formed on April 12, 2006 and operates pursuant to a limited liability company agreement (the “LLC Agreement”) dated as of June 15, 2006 by and among Ridgewood Energy Corporation (the “Manager”) and the shareholders of the Fund, which addresses matters such as the authority and voting rights of the Manager and shareholders, capitalization, transferability of membership interests, participation in costs and revenues, distribution of assets and dissolution and winding up. The Fund was organized to primarily acquire interests in oil and gas properties located in the United States offshore waters of Texas, Louisiana and Alabama in the Gulf of Mexico. The Manager has direct and exclusive control over the management of the Fund’s operations. The Manager performs, or arranges for the performance of, the management, advisory and administrative services required for Fund operations. Such services include, without limitation, the administration of shareholder accounts, shareholder relations, the preparation, review and dissemination of tax and other financial information and the management of the Fund’s investments in projects. In addition, the Manager provides office space, equipment and facilities and other services necessary for Fund operations. The Manager also engages and manages contractual relations with unaffiliated custodians, depositories, accountants, attorneys, corporate fiduciaries, insurers, banks and others as required. See Notes 2, 3 and 4. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, the Manager reviews its estimates, including those related to the fair value of financial instruments, depletion and amortization, determination of proved reserves, impairment of long-lived assets and asset retirement obligations. Actual results may differ from those estimates. Fair Value Measurements The fair value measurement guidance provides a hierarchy that prioritizes and defines the types of inputs used to measure fair value. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to Level 1 inputs, which consist of unadjusted quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets. Level 2 inputs consist of quoted prices for similar instruments. Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs and include situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the instrument; hence, these inputs have the lowest priority. Cash and Cash Equivalents All highly liquid investments with maturities, when purchased, of three months or less, are considered cash equivalents. These balances, as well as cash on hand, are included in “Cash and cash equivalents” on the balance sheet. As of December 31, 2017, the Fund had no cash equivalents. At times, deposits may be in excess of federally insured limits, which are $250 thousand per insured financial institution. As of December 31, 2017, the Fund’s bank balances were maintained in uninsured bank accounts at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Salvage Fund The Fund deposits cash in a separate interest-bearing account, or salvage fund, to provide for the dismantling and removal of production platforms and facilities and plugging and abandoning its wells at the end of their useful lives in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations. Interest earned on the account will become part of the salvage fund. There are no restrictions on withdrawals from the salvage fund. Debt Discounts and Deferred Financing Costs Debt discounts and deferred financing costs include lender fees and other costs of acquiring debt such as the conveyance of override royalty interests related to the Beta Project. These costs are deferred and amortized over the term of the debt period or until the redemption of the debt. Unamortized debt discounts and deferred financing costs are presented as a reduction of “Long-term borrowings” on the balance sheets. During the period of asset construction, amortization expense, as a component of interest, is capitalized and included on the balance sheet within “Oil and gas properties”. See Note 3. “Credit Agreement – Beta Project Financing” for additional information. Oil and Gas Properties The Fund invests in oil and gas properties, which are operated by unaffiliated entities that are responsible for drilling, administering and producing activities pursuant to the terms of the applicable operating agreements with working interest owners. The Fund’s portion of exploration, drilling, operating and capital equipment expenditures is billed by operators. Acquisition, exploration and development costs are accounted for using the successful efforts method. Costs of acquiring unproved and proved oil and natural gas leasehold acreage, including lease bonuses, brokers’ fees and other related costs are capitalized. Costs of drilling and equipping productive wells and related production facilities are capitalized. The costs of exploratory wells are capitalized pending determination of whether proved reserves have been found. If proved commercial reserves are not found, exploratory well costs are expensed as dry-hole costs. At times, the Fund receives adjustments to certain wells from their respective operators upon review and audit of the wells’ costs. Interest costs related to the Credit Agreement (see Note 3. “Credit Agreement – Beta Project Financing”) are capitalized during the period of asset construction. Annual lease rentals and exploration expenses are expensed as incurred. All costs related to production activity, transportation expense and workover efforts are expensed as incurred. Once a property has been determined to be fully depleted or upon the sale, retirement or abandonment of a property, the cost and related accumulated depletion and amortization, if any, is eliminated from the property accounts, and the resultant gain or loss is recognized. The Fund may be required to advance its share of the estimated succeeding month’s expenditures to the operator for its oil and gas properties. As the costs are incurred, the advances are reclassified to proved properties. Asset Retirement Obligations For oil and gas properties, there are obligations to perform removal and remediation activities when the properties are retired. Upon the determination that a property is either proved or dry, a retirement obligation is incurred. The Fund recognizes the fair value of a liability for an asset retirement obligation in the period incurred. Plug and abandonment costs associated with unsuccessful projects are expensed as dry-hole costs. Bi-annually, or more frequently if an event occurs that would dictate a change in assumptions or estimates underlying the obligations, the Fund reassesses its asset retirement obligations to determine whether any revisions to the obligations are necessary. The following table presents changes in asset retirement obligations during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.
December 31,
2017
2016
(in thousands)
Balance, beginning of year
$
1,989
$
2,514
Liabilities incurred
2
2
Liabilities settled
(123
)
(314
)
Accretion expense
49
65
Revision of estimates
(351
)
(278
)
Balance, end of year
$
1,566
$
1,989 During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Fund recorded credits to depletion expense totaling $0.2 million, which related to an adjustment to the asset retirement obligation for a fully depleted property. As indicated above, the Fund maintains a salvage fund to provide for the funding of future asset retirement obligations. Syndication Costs Syndication costs are direct costs incurred by the Fund in connection with the offering of the Fund’s shares, including professional fees, selling expenses and administrative costs payable to the Manager, an affiliate of the Manager and unaffiliated broker-dealers, which are reflected on the Fund’s balance sheet as a reduction of shareholders’ capital. Revenue Recognition and Imbalances Oil and gas revenues are recognized when oil and gas is sold to a purchaser at a fixed or determinable price, delivery has occurred and title has transferred, and collectability of the revenue is reasonably assured. The Fund uses the sales method of accounting for gas production imbalances. The volumes of gas sold may differ from the volumes to which the Fund is entitled based on its interests in the properties. These differences create imbalances that are recognized as a liability only when the properties’ estimated remaining reserves net to the Fund will not be sufficient to enable the underproduced owner to recoup its entitled share through production. The Fund’s recorded liability, if any, would be reflected in other liabilities. No receivables are recorded for those wells where the Fund has taken less than its share of production. Impairment of Long-Lived Assets The Fund reviews the carrying value of its oil and gas properties annually and when management determines that events and circumstances indicate that the recorded carrying value of properties may not be recoverable. Impairments are determined by comparing estimated future net undiscounted cash flows to the carrying value at the time of the review. If the carrying value exceeds the estimated future net undiscounted cash flows, the carrying value of the asset is written down to fair value, which is determined using estimated future net discounted cash flows from the asset. The fair value determinations require considerable judgment and are sensitive to change. Different pricing assumptions, reserve estimates or discount rates could result in a different calculated impairment. Given the volatility of oil and natural gas prices, it is reasonably possible that the Fund’s estimate of future net discounted cash flows from proved oil and natural gas reserves could change in the near term. Fluctuations in oil and natural gas prices may impact the fair value of the Fund’s oil and gas properties. There were no impairments of oil and gas properties during the year ended December 31, 2017. During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Fund recorded impairments of oil and gas properties of $25 thousand, which represented the carrying value of Eugene Island 346/347. The impairment was primarily attributable to declines in future oil and natural gas prices. If oil and natural gas prices decline, even if only for a short period of time, it is possible that additional impairments of oil and gas properties will occur. Depletion and Amortization Depletion and amortization of the cost of proved oil and gas properties are calculated using the units-of-production method. Proved developed reserves are used as the base for depleting capitalized costs associated with successful exploratory well costs, development costs and related facilities, other than offshore platforms. The sum of proved developed and proved undeveloped reserves is used as the base for depleting or amortizing leasehold acquisition costs and costs to construct offshore platform and associated asset retirement costs. Income Taxes No provision is made for income taxes in the financial statements. The Fund is a limited liability company, and as such, the Fund’s income or loss is passed through and included in the tax returns of the Fund’s shareholders. The Fund files U.S. Federal and State tax returns and the 2014 through 2016 tax returns remain open for examination by tax authorities. Income and Expense Allocation Profits and losses are allocated to shareholders and the Manager in accordance with the LLC Agreement. Distributions Distributions to shareholders are allocated in proportion to the number of shares held. The Manager determines whether available cash from operations, as defined in the LLC Agreement, will be distributed. Such distributions are allocated 85% to the shareholders and 15% to the Manager, as required by the LLC Agreement. Available cash from dispositions, as defined in the LLC Agreement, will be paid 99% to shareholders and 1% to the Manager until the shareholders have received total distributions equal to their capital contributions. After shareholders have received distributions equal to their capital contributions, 85% of available cash from dispositions will be distributed to shareholders and 15% to the Manager. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued accounting guidance on revenue recognition, which provides for a single five-step model to be applied to all revenue contracts with customers. In July 2015, the FASB issued a deferral of the effective date of the guidance to 2018, with early adoption permitted in 2017. In March 2016, the FASB issued accounting guidance, which clarifies the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations in the new revenue recognition standard. In April 2016, the FASB issued guidance on identifying performance obligations and licensing and in May 2016, the FASB issued final amendments which provided narrow scope improvements and practical expedients related to the implementation of the guidance. The accounting guidance may be applied either retrospectively or through the use of a modified-retrospective method. Under the new accounting guidance, the revenue associated with the Fund’s existing contracts will be recognized in the period that control of the related commodity is transferred to the customer, which is generally consistent with its current revenue recognition model. The Fund adopted the new accounting guidance using the modified retrospective method on January 1, 2018. Although the Fund did not identify changes to its revenue recognition that resulted in a material cumulative adjustment to retained earnings on January 1, 2018, the adoption of the accounting guidance will result in enhanced disclosures related to revenue recognition policies, the Fund’s performance obligations and significant judgments used in applying the new revenue recognition accounting guidance. |
