(1) Long-term cash obligations include $1.5 million of unamortized debt discounts as of March 31, 2005. (2) Includes interest on fixed rate debt and an estimate of adjustable rate debt. The adjustable rate interest is calculated based on the indexed rate in effect at March 31, 2005. (3) Certain of the Company's long-term gas procurement contracts for the supply, storage and delivery of natural gas include fixed charges of approximately $249.7 million through October 2013. The Company also is committed to purchase minimum quantities of gas at market-related prices or to pay certain costs in the event the minimum quantities are not taken. These purchase commitments are approximately 110.5 Bcf through December 2014. Energen Resources operates in certain instances through joint ventures under joint operating agreements. Typically, the operator under a joint operating agreement enters into contracts, such as drilling contracts, for the benefit of all joint venture partners. Through the joint operating agreement, the non-operators reimburse, and in some cases advance, the funds necessary to meet the contractual obligations entered into by the operator. These obligations are typically shared on a working interest basis as defined in the joint operating contractual agreement. The Company has two defined non-contributory pension plans and provides certain post-retirement healthcare and life insurance benefits. The Company is not required to make any funding payments during 2005 for the pension plans and does not currently plan to make discretionary contributions. The Company expects to make discretionary payments of $2.6 million to post-retirement benefit program assets during the remainder of 2005. Recent Pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
The Company prospectively adopted the fair value recognition provisions of SFAS No. 123 (as amended), which provided methods of transition for a voluntary change to the fair value base method of accounting for stock-based employee compensation, effective January 1, 2003. In December 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004), "Share-Based Payment," which requires the fair value base method of accounting for all public entities using an option-pricing model that reflects the specific economics of a company's transactions. This statement is effective for the first annual reporting period beginning after June 15, 2005. The Company is currently reviewing the impact of this pronouncement on stock-based compensation. In December 2004, the FASB issued FSP No. 109-1, "Application of SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes, to the provision within the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (the Act) that provides a tax deduction on qualified production activities." This Act includes a tax deduction of up to 9 percent (when fully phased-in) of the lesser of (a) qualified production activities income as defined in the Act, or (b) taxable income of the Company determined without regard to this deduction. This tax deduction would apply to qualified production activities of Energen Resources and would be limited to 50 percent of W-2 wages paid by the Company. Pursuant to FSP No. 109-1, the deduction will be reported in the period in which the deduction is claimed on the Company's tax return and will not have an effect on deferred tax assets or deferred tax liabilities. The Company estimates the impact of this tax legislation will reduce income tax expense by approximately $1.2 million during 2005. During April 2005, the FASB issued FSP No. 19-1, "Accounting for Suspended Well Costs," which allows exploratory wells to be capitalized when the well has a sufficient quantity of reserves to justify its completion as a producing well and the enterprise is making sufficient progress assessing the reserves and the economic and operating viability of the project.This interpretation is effective for the first reporting period beginning after April 4, 2005. The impact of this position on the Company is expected to be immaterial. In March 2005, the FASB issued FIN No. 47, "Accounting for Conditional Asset Retirement Obligations", which refers to a legal obligation to perform an asset retirement activity in which the timing and (or) method of settlement are conditional on a future event that may or may not be within the control of the entity. The Company does not anticipate this interpretation to have an impact on the Company. Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors Certain statements in this report express expectations of future plans, objectives and performance of the Company and its subsidiaries and constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except as otherwise disclosed, the forward-looking statements do not reflect the impact of possible or pending acquisitions, divestitures or restructurings. The absence of errors in input data, calculations and formulas used in estimates, assumptions and forecasts cannot be guaranteed. Neither the Company nor Alagasco undertakes any obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All statements based on future expectations rather than on historical facts are forward-looking statements that are dependent on certain events, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Some of these include, but are not limited to, economic and competitive conditions, inflation rates, legislative and regulatory changes, financial market conditions, our ability to access the capital markets, future business decisions, utility customer growth and retention and usage per customer, litigation results and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of proved oil and gas reserves and in projecting future rates of production and timing of development expenditures. The total amount or timing of actual future production may vary significantly from reserve and production estimates. In the event Energen Resources is unable to fully invest its planned acquisition, development and exploratory expenditures, future operating revenues, production, and proved reserves could be negatively affected. The drilling of development and exploratory wells can involve significant risks, including those related to timing, success rates and cost overruns, and these risks can be affected by lease and rig availability, complex geology and other factors. Although Energen Resources makes use of futures, swaps and fixed-price contracts to mitigate price risk, fluctuations in future oil and gas prices could materially affect the Company's financial position and results of operations and cash flows; furthermore, such risk mitigation activities may cause the Company's financial position and results of operations to be materially different from results that would have been obtained had such risk mitigation activities not occurred. The effectiveness of such risk-mitigation assumes that counterparties maintain satisfactory credit quality. The effectiveness of such risk mitigation also assumes that actual sales volumes will generally meet or exceed the volumes subject to the futures, swaps and fixed price contracts. A substantial failure to meet sales volume targets, whether caused by miscalculations, weather events, natural disaster, accident, criminal act or otherwise, could leave Energen Resources financially exposed to its counterparties and re sult in material adverse financial consequences to Energen Resources and the Company. The adverse effect could be increased if the adverse event was widespread enough to move market prices against Energen Resources' position. Similarly, although Alagasco makes use of futures, swaps and fixed-price contracts to mitigate gas supply cost risk, fluctuations in future gas supply costs could materially affect its financial position and rates to customers. The effectiveness of Alagasco's risk mitigation assumes that its counterparties in such activities maintain satisfactory credit quality. The effectiveness of such risk mitigation also assumes that Alagasco's actual gas supply needs will generally meet or exceed the volumes subject to the futures, swaps and fixed price contracts. A substantial failure to experience projected gas supply needs, whether caused by miscalculations, weather events, natural disaster, accident, criminal act or otherwise, could leave Alagasco financially exposed to its counterparties and result in material adverse financial consequences to Alagasco and the Company. The adverse effect could be increased if the adverse event was widespread enough to move market prices against Alagasco's positio n. Inherent in gas distribution activities are a variety of hazards and operation risks, such as leaks, explosions and mechanical problems that could cause substantial financial losses. In addition, these risks could result in loss of human life, significant damage to property, environmental pollution, impairment of our operations and substantial losses to the Company. In accordance with customary industry practices we maintain insurance against some, but not all, of these risks and losses. The location of pipeline and storage facilities near populated areas, including residential areas, commercial business centers and industrial sites, could increase the level of damages resulting from these risks. The occurrence of any of these events could adversely affect Alagasco's and the Company's financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Our utility customers are geographically concentrated in central and north Alabama. Significant economic, weather or other events that adversely affec t this region could adversely affect Alagasco and the Company. |