At times, short-term payables and receivables, which do not bear interest, arise from transactions with affiliates in the ordinary course of business.
10. Commitments and Contingencies
Funding Commitment
Pursuant to the Participation Agreement, the Company has provided for funding commitments to meet the funding requirements for the initial exploration, development and completion of ILX II Leasehold Interests. The funding requirements that are necessary for the development and completion of the ILX II Leasehold Interests will be based on an annual budget, which is subject to the approval of the Company’s Managing Committee. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had unfunded funding commitments of $129.3 million.
Capital Commitments
As of December 31, 2019, the Company’s estimated capital commitments related to its oil and gas properties were $126.0 million (which include asset retirement obligations for the Company’s projects of $16.5 million), of which $73.2 million is expected to be spent during the year ending December 31, 2020. Capital expenditures, other than for asset retirement obligations, are expected to be funded with unfunded funding commitments and cash flows from operations. Asset retirement obligations are expected to be funded through amounts withheld from operating income from the related project.
Based upon its current cash position and its current reserve estimates, the Company expects cash flows from operations and unfunded funding commitment to be sufficient to cover its commitments and ongoing operations. Future operating income and cash flows are dependent on the continued successful development of the Company’s oil and gas properties and the related production and sale of oil and gas reserves from the Company’s properties under development. Reserve estimates are projections based on engineering data that cannot be measured with precision, require substantial judgment, and are subject to frequent revision.
Environmental and Governmental Regulations
The exploration for and development of oil and natural gas involves the extraction, production and transportation of materials which, under certain conditions, can be hazardous or cause environmental pollution problems. The Manager and operators of the Company’s properties are continually taking action they believe appropriate to satisfy applicable federal, state and local environmental regulations and do not currently anticipate that compliance with federal, state and local environmental regulations will have a material adverse effect upon capital expenditures, results of operations or the competitive position of the Company in the oil and gas industry. However, due to the significant public and governmental interest in environmental matters related to those activities, the Manager cannot predict the effects of possible future legislation, rule changes, or governmental or private claims. As of December 31, 2019, there were no known environmental contingencies that required adjustment to, or disclosure in, the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Oil and gas industry legislation and administrative regulations are periodically changed for a variety of political, economic, and other reasons. Any such future laws and regulations could result in increased compliance costs or additional operating restrictions, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s operating results and cash flows. It is not possible at this time to predict whether such legislation or regulation, if proposed, will be adopted as initially written, if at all, or how legislation or new regulation that may be adopted would impact the Company’s business.
BOEM Notice to Lessees on Supplemental Bonding
On July 14, 2016, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) issued a Notice to Lessees (“NTL 2016-N01”) that discontinued and materially replaced existing policies and procedures regarding financial security (i.e. supplemental bonding) for decommissioning obligations of lessees of federal oil and gas leases and owners of pipeline rights-of-way, rights-of use and easements on the Outer Continental Shelf (“Lessees”). Generally, NTL 2016-N01 (i) ended the practice of excusing Lessees from providing such additional security where co-lessees had sufficient financial strength to meet such decommissioning obligations, (ii) established new criteria for determining financial strength and additional security requirements of such Lessees, (iii) provided acceptable forms of such additional security, and (iv) replaced the waiver system with one of self-insurance. The rule became effective as of September 12, 2016; however, on January 6, 2017, the BOEM announced that it was suspending the implementation timeline for six months in certain circumstances. On May 1, 2017, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior (“Interior”) directed the BOEM to complete a review of NTL 2016-01, to provide a report to certain Interior personnel describing the results of the review and options for revising or rescinding NTL 2016-N01, and to keep the implementation timeline extension in effect pending the completion of the review of NTL 2016-N01 by the identified Interior personnel. On June 22, 2017, the BOEM announced that the implementation timeline extension will remain in effect pending the completion of the review of NTL 2016-N01. As of December 31, 2019, the BOEM has not lifted its suspension of the implementation of NTL 2016-N01. The impact of NTL 2016-N01, if enforced without change or amendment, may require the Company to fully secure all of its potential abandonment liabilities to the BOEM’s satisfaction using one or more of the enumerated methods for doing so. Potentially this could increase costs to the Company if the Company is required to obtain additional supplemental bonding, fund escrow accounts or obtain letters of credit.
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