Supplemental Information on Natural Gas and Oil Exploration, Development and Production Activities (Unaudited) | (18) Supplemental Information on Natural Gas and Oil Exploration, Development and Production Activities (Unaudited) Our natural gas and oil producing activities are conducted onshore within the continental United States and all of our proved reserves are located within the United States. Capitalized Costs and Accumulated Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization (a) December 31, 2015 2014 2013 (in thousands) Natural gas and oil properties: Properties subject to depletion $ 8,047,181 $ 9,624,725 $ 8,225,859 Unproved properties 949,155 943,246 807,022 Total 8,996,336 10,567,971 9,032,881 Accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization (2,635,031 ) (2,590,398 ) (2,274,444 ) Net capitalized costs $ 6,361,305 $ 7,977,573 $ 6,758,437 (a) Costs Incurred for Property Acquisition, Exploration (a) December 31, 2015 2014 2013 (in thousands) Acquisitions (b) $ ¾ $ 404,252 $ ¾ Acreage purchases 73,025 226,475 137,538 Development 708,268 1,119,896 938,668 Exploration: Drilling 87,505 180,925 189,742 Expense 18,421 58,979 60,384 Stock-based compensation expense 2,985 4,569 4,025 Gas gathering facilities: Development 13,337 13,137 47,086 Subtotal 903,541 2,008,233 1,377,443 Asset retirement obligations 22,184 56,822 76,373 Total costs incurred $ 925,725 $ 2,065,055 $ 1,453,816 (a) (b) Estimated Quantities of Proved Oil and Gas Reserves (Unaudited) Reserves of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate are estimated by our petroleum engineering staff and are adjusted to reflect contractual arrangements and royalty rates in effect at the end of each year. Many assumptions and judgmental decisions are required to estimate reserves. Reported quantities are subject to future revisions, some of which may be substantial, as additional information becomes available from reservoir performance, new geological and geophysical data, additional drilling, technological advancements, price changes, production taxes and other economic factors. Reserve Audit All reserve information in this report is based on estimates prepared by our petroleum engineering staff. At year-end 2015, the following independent petroleum consultant conducted an audit of our reserves: Wright and Company, Inc. (Appalachia). These engineers were selected for their geographic expertise and their historical experience in engineering certain properties. At December 31, 2015, our consultant collectively audited approximately 94% of our proved reserves. A copy of the summary reserve reports prepared by our independent petroleum consultant is included as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The technical person at our independent petroleum consulting firm responsible for reviewing the reserve estimates presented herein meets the requirements regarding qualifications, independence, objectivity and confidentiality set forth in the Standards Pertaining to the Estimating and Auditing of Oil and Gas Reserves Information promulgated by the Society of Petroleum Engineers. We maintain an internal staff of petroleum engineers and geoscience professionals who work closely with our independent petroleum consultants to ensure the integrity, accuracy and timeliness of data furnished during the reserves audit process. Throughout the year, our technical team meets periodically with representatives of our independent petroleum consultants to review properties and discuss methods and assumptions. While we have no formal committee specifically designated to review reserves reporting and the reserves estimation process, our senior management reviews and approves any significant changes to our proved reserves. We provide historical information to our consultants for our largest producing properties such as ownership interest, natural gas, NGLs and oil production, well test data, commodity prices and operating and development costs. The consultants perform an independent analysis and differences are reviewed with our Senior Vice President of Reservoir Engineering and Economics. In some cases, additional meetings are held to review identified reserve differences. The reserve auditor estimates of proved reserves and the pretax present value of such reserves discounted at 10% did not differ from our estimates by more than 10% in the aggregate. However, when compared lease-by-lease, field-by-field or area-by-area basis, some of our estimates may be greater and some may be less than the estimates of our reserve auditor. When such differences do not exceed 10% in the aggregate, our reserve auditor is satisfied that the proved reserves and pretax present value of such reserves discounted at 10% are reasonable and will issue an unqualified opinion. Remaining differences are not resolved due to the limited cost benefit of continuing such analysis. Historical variances between our reserve estimates and the aggregate estimates of our independent petroleum consultants have been less than 5%. All of our reserve estimates are reviewed and approved by our Senior Vice President of Reservoir Engineering and Economics, who reports directly to our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Alan Farquharson, our Senior Vice President of Reservoir Engineering and Economics, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. Before joining Range, he held various technical and managerial positions with Amoco, Hunt Oil and Union Pacific Resources and has more than thirty-five years of engineering experience in the oil and gas industry. During the year, our reserves group may also perform separate, detailed technical reviews of reserve estimates for significant acquisitions or for properties with problematic indicators such as excessively long lives, sudden changes in performance or changes in economic or operating conditions. The SEC defines proved reserves as those volumes of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty are recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions. Proved developed reserves are those proved reserves, which can be expected to be recovered from existing wells with existing equipment and operating methods. Proved undeveloped reserves are volumes expected to be recovered from new wells on undrilled acreage or from existing wells where a relatively major expenditure is required for recompletion. Reserves on undrilled acreage shall be limited to those drilling units offsetting productive units that are reasonably certain of production when drilled. Proved reserves for other undrilled units can be claimed only where it can be demonstrated with certainty that there is continuity of production from the existing productive formation. Proved undeveloped reserves can only be assigned to acreage for which improved recovery technology is contemplated when such techniques have been proven effective by actual tests in the area and in the same reservoir. Undrilled locations can be classified as having undeveloped reserves only if a development plan has been adopted indicating each location is scheduled to be drilled within five years from the date it was booked as proved reserves, unless specific circumstances justify a longer time. The reported value of proved reserves is not necessarily indicative of either fair market value or present value of future net cash flows because prices, costs and governmental policies do not remain static, appropriate discount rates may vary, and extensive judgment is required to estimate the timing of production. Other logical assumptions would likely have resulted in significantly different amounts. The average realized prices used at December 31, 2015 to estimate reserve information were $35.07 per barrel of oil, $11.74 per barrel of NGLs and $2.07 per mcf for gas using a benchmark (NYMEX) of $50.13 per barrel and $2.59 per Mmbtu. The average realized prices used at December 31, 2014 to estimate reserve information were $79.04 per barrel of oil, $27.20 per barrel of NGLs and $4.14 per mcf for gas, using a benchmark (NYMEX) of $94.42 per barrel and $4.35 per Mmbtu. The average realized prices used at December 31, 2013 to estimate reserve information were $86.66 per barrel of oil, $25.93 per barrel of NGLs and $3.75 per mcf for gas, using a benchmark (NYMEX) of $97.33 per barrel and $3.67 per Mmbtu. Natural Gas NGLs Crude Oil and Condensate Natural Gas (Mmcf) (Mbbls) (Mbbls) (Mmcfe) (a) Proved developed and undeveloped reserves: Balance, December 31, 2012 4,792,676 240,399 45,082 6,505,570 Revisions 384,825 7,743 2,935 448,898 Extensions, discoveries and additions 853,746 135,810 10,723 1,732,944 Purchases ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ Property sales (101,074 ) (286 ) (6,553 ) (142,116 ) Production (264,528 ) (9,254 ) (3,827 ) (343,022 ) Balance, December 31, 2013 5,665,645 374,412 48,360 8,202,274 Revisions (30,566 ) 19,716 515 90,822 Extensions, discoveries and additions 1,393,108 154,664 12,936 2,398,709 Purchases 262,813 ¾ ¾ 262,813 Property sales (81,238 ) (14,064 ) (9,083 ) (220,122 ) Production (286,926 ) (18,821 ) (4,070 ) (424,267 ) Balance, December 31, 2014 6,922,836 515,907 48,658 10,310,229 Revisions (340,286 ) 17,717 3,804 (211,163 ) Extensions, discoveries and additions 1,017,956 36,308 4,924 1,265,348 Purchases ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ Property sales (960,122 ) (441 ) (109 ) (963,423 ) Production (362,687 ) (20,356 ) (4,084 ) (509,328 ) Balance, December 31, 2015 6,277,697 549,135 53,193 9,891,663 Proved developed reserves: December 31, 2013 2,797,483 206,477 26,054 4,192,666 December 31, 2014 3,583,051 270,271 24,180 5,349,761 December 31, 2015 3,376,165 309,306 31,679 5,422,075 Proved undeveloped reserves: December 31, 2013 2,868,162 167,935 22,306 4,009,608 December 31, 2014 3,339,785 245,636 24,478 4,960,468 December 31, 2015 2,901,533 239,828 21,514 4,469,588 (a) Oil and NGLs are converted to mcfe at the rate of one barrel equals six mcf based upon the approximate relative energy content of oil to natural gas, which is not indicative of the relationship of oil and natural gas prices. During 2015, we added approximately 1.3 Tcfe of proved reserves from drilling activities and evaluation of proved areas primarily in the Marcellus Shale. Approximately 80% of the 2015 reserve additions are attributable to natural gas. Included in 2015 proved reserves is a total of 292.8 Mmbbls of ethane reserves (1,296 Bcfe) in the Marcellus Shale. Revisions of previous estimates of a negative 211 Bcfe includes positive performance revisions and improved recoveries of 781.0 Bcf primarily from our Marcellus Shale natural gas properties more than offset by negative price revisions and 1.2 Tcfe reclassified to unproved because of lower future capital spending in response to lower commodity prices. During 2014, we added approximately 2.4 Tcfe of proved reserves from drilling activities and evaluation of proved areas primarily in the Marcellus Shale. Approximately 58% of 2014 reserve additions were attributable to natural gas. Included in 2014 proved reserves is a total of 1,170 Bcfe of ethane reserves (264.3 Mmbbls) in the Marcellus Shale. Revisions of previous estimates of a positive 91 Bcfe includes positive performance revisions, improved recoveries of 449.6 Bcfe primarily from our Marcellus Shale natural gas properties and positive price revisions are somewhat offset by reserves of 611 Bcfe reclassified to unproved as we continue to see success from drilling longer laterals, increasing the number of frac stages and better lateral targeting which caused some previously planned wells to not be drilled within the original five-year development horizon. During 2013, we added approximately 1.7 Tcfe of proved reserves from drilling activities and valuation of proved areas primarily in the Marcellus Shale. Approximately 49% of 2013 reserve additions were attributable to natural gas. Also, included in 2013 proved reserves is a total of 676 Bcfe of ethane reserves (155.8 Mmbbls) in the Marcellus Shale. Revisions of previous estimates of a positive 449 Bcfe includes positive performance revisions and improved recoveries of 630.3 Bcfe primarily from our Marcellus Shale natural gas properties and positive pricing revisions, somewhat offset by reserves reclassified to unproved because of a slower pace of development activity beyond the five-year development horizon. The following details the changes in proved undeveloped reserves for 2015 (Mmcfe): Beginning proved undeveloped reserves at December 31, 2014 4,960,468 Undeveloped reserves transferred to developed (762,936 ) Revisions (a) (441,874 ) Purchases/(sales) (201,809 ) Extension and discoveries 915,739 Ending proved undeveloped reserves at December 31, 2015 4,469,588 (a) Approximately $398.8 million was spent during 2015 related to undeveloped reserves that were transferred to developed reserves. Estimated future development costs of proved undeveloped reserves are projected to be approximately $435.6 million in 2016, $509.4 billion in 2017 and $471.6 million in 2018. As of December 31, 2015, we have no proved undeveloped well locations that are scheduled to be drilled more than five years from their original date of booking. All proved undeveloped drilling locations are scheduled to be drilled prior to the end of 2020. Standardized Measure of Discounted Future Net Cash Flows Relating to Proved Oil and Gas Reserves (Unaudited) The following summarizes the policies we used in the preparation of the accompanying natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate reserve disclosures, standardized measures of discounted future net cash flows from proved natural gas, NGLs and oil reserves and the reconciliations of standardized measures from year to year. The information disclosed is an attempt to present the information in a manner comparable with industry peers. The information is based on estimates of proved reserves attributable to our interest in natural gas and oil properties as of December 31 of the years presented. These estimates were prepared by our petroleum engineering staff. Proved reserves are estimated quantities of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate, which geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions. The standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows from production of proved reserves was developed as follows: 1. Estimates are made of quantities of proved reserves and future amounts expected to be produced based on current year-end economic conditions. 2. For the years ended 2015, 2014 and 2013, estimated future cash inflows are calculated by applying a twelve-month average price of natural gas, NGLs and oil relating to our proved reserves to the quantities of those reserves produced in each future year. 3. Future cash flows are reduced by estimated production costs, administrative costs, costs to develop and produce the proved reserves and abandonment costs, all based on current year-end economic conditions. Future income tax expenses are based on current year-end statutory tax rates giving effect to the remaining tax basis in the natural gas, NGLs and oil properties, other deductions, credits and allowances relating to our proved natural gas and oil reserves. 4. The resulting future net cash flows are discounted to present value by applying a discount rate of 10%. The standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows does not purport, nor should it be interpreted, to present the fair value of our natural gas, NGLs and oil reserves. An estimate of fair value would also take into account, among other things, the recovery of reserves not presently classified as proved, anticipated future changes in prices and costs and a discount factor more representative of the time value of money and the risks inherent in reserve estimates. The standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows relating to proved natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate reserves is as follows and excludes cash flows associated with derivatives outstanding at each of the respective reporting dates. Future cash inflows are net of third party transportation, gathering and compression expense. As of December 31, 2015 2014 (in thousands) Future cash inflows $ 21,290,873 $ 46,507,646 Future costs: Production (10,411,360 ) (15,239,210 ) Development (a) (2,213,582 ) (4,275,693 ) Future net cash flows before income taxes 8,665,931 26,992,743 Future income tax expense (2,007,794 ) (8,900,383 ) Total future net cash flows before 10% discount 6,658,137 18,092,360 10% annual discount (3,932,274 ) (10,499,333 ) Standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows $ 2,725,863 $ 7,593,027 (a) The following table summarizes changes in the standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows. December 31, 2015 2014 2013 (in thousands) Revisions of previous estimates: Changes in prices and production costs $ (7,231,629 ) $ 5,069 $ 2,172,704 Revisions in quantities (868,886 ) 102,760 513,168 Changes in future development and abandonment costs 359,540 (407,688 ) (275,468 ) Net change in income taxes 2,173,904 (441,935 ) (1,299,227 ) Accretion of discount 1,007,027 789,754 395,989 Purchases of reserves in place ¾ 297,358 ¾ Additions to proved reserves from extensions, discoveries and improved recovery 486,478 2,713,999 1,981,054 Natural gas, NGLs and oil sales, net of production costs (522,682 ) (1,391,663 ) (1,286,103 ) Development costs incurred during the period 1,033,539 755,384 462,862 Sales of reserves in place (1,050,237 ) (249,055 ) (162,463 ) Timing and other (254,218 ) (443,187 ) 135,910 Net change for the year (4,867,164 ) 1,730,796 2,638,426 Beginning of year 7,593,027 5,862,231 3,223,805 End of year $ 2,725,863 $ 7,593,027 $ 5,862,231 |