The table below contains certain information concerning exercises of stock options and other stock awards by our named executive officers during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006.
Abraxas does not sponsor any pension benefit plans and none of the named executive officer’s contribute to such a plan.
Abraxas does not sponsor any non-qualified defined compensation plans or other non-qualified deferred compensation plans and none of the named executive officer’s contributes to any such plans.
Abraxas has entered into employment agreements with each of our named executive officers pursuant to which each will receive compensation as determined from time to time by the Board in its sole discretion.
The employment agreements for Messrs. Watson and Williford are scheduled to terminate on December 21, 2007, and are automatically extended for additional one-year terms unless Abraxas gives 120 days notice of its intention not to renew the employment agreement. The employment agreements for Messrs. Wallace and Wendel and Dr. Billingsley are scheduled to terminate on December 31, 2007, and are automatically extended for an additional year if by December 1 neither Abraxas nor Messrs. Wallace and Wendel or Dr. Billingsley, as the case may be, has given notice to the contrary.
The employment agreements contain the following defined terms:
“Cause” means termination upon
(i) the continued failure by the officer to substantially perform his duties with Abraxas (other than any such failure resulting from his incapacity due to physical or mental illness or any such actual or anticipated failure resulting from termination by him for Good Reason) after a written demand for substantial performance is delivered to the officer by the Board, which demand specifically identifies the manner in which the Board believes that he has not substantially performed his duties, or
(ii) the engaging by the officer in conduct which is demonstrably and materially injurious to the Company, monetarily or otherwise. The officer shall not be deemed to have been terminated for Cause unless and until the officer has been delivered a copy of a resolution duly adopted by the affirmative vote (which cannot be delegated) of not less than a majority of the members of the Board who are not officers of the Company at a meeting of the Board called and held for such purposes (after reasonable notice to the officer and an opportunity for the officer, together with the officer’s counsel, to be heard before the Board), finding that in the good faith opinion of the Board, the officer was guilty of conduct set forth above in clauses (i) or (ii) above and specifying the particulars thereof in detail.
“Change in Control” means the occurrence of
(i) any “person” or “group” (as such terms are used in Section 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”)) becoming the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), except that a person shall be deemed to be the “beneficial owner” of all shares that any such person has the right to acquire pursuant to any agreement or arrangement or upon exercise of conversion rights, warrants, options or otherwise, without regard to the sixty day period referred to in such Rule), directly or indirectly, of securities representing 20% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities,
(ii) any person or group making a tender offer or an exchange offer for 20% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities,
(iii) at any time during any period of two consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constituted the Board and any new directors, whose election by the Board or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Company directors then still in office who either were the Company directors at the beginning of the period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved (“Current Directors”), ceasing for any reason to constitute a majority thereof,
(iv) the Company consolidating, merging or exchanging securities with any other entity and the stockholders of the Company immediately before the effective time of such transaction not beneficially owning, immediately after the effective time of such transaction, shares entitling such stockholders to a majority of all votes (without consideration of the rights of any class of stock entitled to elect directors by a separate class vote) to which all stockholders of the corporation issuing cash or securities in the consolidation, merger or share exchange would be entitled for the purpose of electing directors or where the Current Directors immediately after the effective time of the consolidation, merger or share exchange not constituting a majority of the Board of Directors of the corporation issuing cash or securities in the consolidation, merger or share exchange, or
(v) any person or group acquiring 50% or more of the Company’s assets.
“Disability” means the incapacity of the officer due to physical or mental illness which causes the officer to have been absent from the full-time performance of his duties with the Company for six consecutive months, and within
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30 days after the Company gives the officer written notice of termination, the officer has not returned to the full-time performance of his duties.
“Good Reason” means, without the officer’s express written consent, any of the following:
(i) a material adverse alteration in the nature or status of his position, duties or responsibilities;
(ii) a reduction in his current annual base salary;
(iii) a change in the principal place of his employment to a location more than twenty-five (25) miles from the Company’s current principal place of employment, excluding required travel on the Company’s business to an extent substantially consistent with the officer’s present business travel obligations;
(iv) the failure by the Company, without his consent, to pay to him any portion of his current compensation, or to pay to him any portion of any deferred compensation, within ten (10) days of the date any such compensation payment is due;
(v) the failure by the Company to continue in effect any compensation plan in which he participates, or any substitute plans or the failure by the Company to continue his participation therein on the same basis, both in terms of the amount of benefits provided and the level of his participation relative to other participants, as existing;
(vi) the failure by the Company to continue to provide him with benefits at least as favorable to those enjoyed by him under any of the Company’s pension, life insurance, medical, health and accident, disability, deferred compensation or savings plans in which he is currently participating, the taking of any action by the Company which would directly or indirectly materially reduce any of such benefits or deprive the officer of any material fringe benefit enjoyed by him, or the failure by the Company to provide him with the number of paid vacation days to which he is entitled on the basis of the Company’s practice with respect to him;
(vii) the failure of the Company to obtain a satisfactory agreement from any successor to assume and agree to perform his employment agreement; or
(viii) any purported termination of his employment which is not effected pursuant to the employment agreement’s termination provisions.
“Retirement” means termination in accordance with the Company’s retirement policy, generally applicable to its salaried employees or in accordance with any retirement arrangement established with the officer’s consent with respect to himself.
If, during the term of the employment agreement for each named executive officer or any extension thereof, an officer’s employment is terminated other than for Cause or Disability, by reason of the officer’s death or Retirement, or by such officer for Good Reason, then such officer will be entitled to receive the following:
Watson and Williford: a lump sum payment equal to the greater of (a) his annual base salary for the last full year during which he was employed by Abraxas or (b) his annual base salary for the remainder of the term of his employment agreement.
Wallace, Wendel and Billingsley: no provisions for termination of employment because at all times during the term of each officer’s employment agreements, such officer’s employment is at will and may be terminated by Abraxas for any reason with notice or cause. If, during the term of the employment agreement for each of Messrs. Wallace and Wendel or Dr. Billingsley or any extension thereof, a change in control occurs, then such officer will be entitled to an automatic extension of the term of the officer’s employment agreement for a period of 36 months beyond the term in effect immediately before the change in control.
If, following a change in control, an officer’s employment is terminated other than for Cause or Disability, by reason of the officer’s death or Retirement or by such officer for Good Reason, then such terminated officer will be entitled to the following:
Watson and Williford: a lump sum payment equal to 2.99 times his annual base salary.
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Wallace, Wendel and Billingsley: a lump sum payment equal to three times his annual base salary.
If any lump sum payment to a named executive officer would individually or together with any other amounts paid or payable constitute an “excess parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and applicable regulations thereunder, the amounts to be paid will be increased so that each named executive officer, as the case may be, will be entitled to receive the amount of compensation provided in his contract after payment of the tax imposed by Section 280G.
In addition, unvested options that have been awarded to our named executive officers will vest upon any change in control. As of December 31, 2006, 270,000 options were unvested and 262,500 of those were “out-of-the-money” with an exercise price of $4.59.
The table below contains certain information concerning termination and change in control payments to each of our named executive officers as if the event occurred on December 31, 2006.
Termination and Change in Control Payments Table
Name | Type of Benefit | Before Change in Control Termination w/o Cause or for Good Reason (1) | After Change in Control Termination w/o Cause or for Good Reason (2) | Voluntary Termination | Death / Disability | Change in Control (3) |
Robert L.G. Watson | Severance pay | $ 330,000 | $ 986,700 | $ - | $ - | $ - |
Chris E. Williford | Severance pay | 201,000 | 600,990 | - | - | - |
Lee T. Billingsley | Severance pay | - | 564,000 | - | - | 564,000 |
| Option acceleration | | | | | 9,038 |
William H. Wallace | Severance pay | - | 564,000 | - | - | 564,000 |
| Option acceleration | | | | | 9,038 |
Stephen T. Wendel | Severance pay | - | 456,000 | - | - | 456,000 |
__________________
(1) | These amounts reflect a lump sum payment equal to the officer’s annual base salary as of December 31, 2006. |
(2) | These amounts reflect a lump sum payment equal to 2.99x (Watson and Williford) and 3.0x (Billingsley, Wallace and Wendel) the officer’s annual base salary during 2006. |
(3) | The amounts on the severance pay row reflect a 36-month extension of each officer’s respective employment agreement based on the officer’s base salary during 2006, and would be paid over the 36-month extension period. The amounts on the option acceleration row reflect 3,750 options at a potential value of $2.41 per share (the difference between the fair market value on December 31, 2006 and the exercise price of the options). |
Compensation of Directors
All compensation paid to directors is limited to non-employee directors. We use a combination of cash and stock-based incentive compensation to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve on the Board.
Compensation. Abraxas pays each director an annual retainer fee of $12,000 in four quarterly payments. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2006, each quarterly payment will be paid in shares of restricted stock pursuant to the 2005 Director Plan; prior to this time, each quarterly payment was paid in cash. The number of shares issued to each non-employee director is calculated each quarter by dividing one-quarter of the then-established annual retainer fee by the closing price of our common stock on the date of each quarterly board meeting. Fractional shares are not issued; therefore, any shortfall of the then-established annual retainer fee will be paid in cash after the last quarterly board meeting of each year. Any non-employee director who leaves the Board during the calendar year is not eligible for any restricted stock awards after leaving the Board. In addition, Abraxas pays each
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director, including the advisory director, $1,500 for each board meeting attended and $1,000 for each committee meeting attended. The chairman of the audit committee receives an additional annual fee of $3,000 and the chairmen of the compensation, governance, and nominating committees each receive an additional annual fee of $1,500.
Stock Options. Abraxas has awarded each director a total of 85,000 options (40,000 to the advisory director), with exercise prices equal to the prevailing market prices at the time of issuance, ranging between $0.68 and $4.59 per share. In addition, each year at the first regular board meeting following the annual meeting, Abraxas awards each director, including the advisory director, 10,000 options, in accordance with the terms of the 2005 Director Plan. The 2005 Directors Plan reserves 900,000 shares of Abraxas common stock, subject to adjustment following certain events, such as stock splits. The maximum annual award for any one director is 10,000 shares plus the number of restricted shares awarded pursuant to the retainer payment described above. The exercise price of all options awarded are no less than 100% of the fair market value on the date of the award while the option terms and vesting schedules are at the discretion of the Compensation Committee. The following is a description of the material terms of the 2005 Director Plan:
Unless otherwise provided in the applicable award agreement or any severance agreement, vested awards granted under the 2005 Directors Plan shall expire, terminate, or otherwise be forfeited as follows:
| • | three months after the date the Company delivers a notice of termination of a Participant’s Active Status, other than in circumstances covered by the following three circumstances: |
| § | immediately upon termination for misconduct; |
| § | 12 months after the date of death; and |
| § | 36 months after the date on which the director ceased performing services as a result of retirement. |
COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS
The following table sets forth a summary of compensation for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 that Abraxas paid to each director. Abraxas does not sponsor a pension benefits plan, a non-qualified deferred compensation plan or a non-equity incentive plan for our directors; therefore, these columns have been omitted from the following table. Except for reimbursement of travel expenses to attend board and committee meetings, no other or additional compensation for services were paid to any of the directors.
Director Compensation Table
Name | Fees Earned or Paid in Cash (1) | Stock Awards (2) | Option Awards (3) | Total (4) |
C. Scott Bartlett, Jr.
| $ 29,502
| $ 2,998
| $ 32,400
| $ 64,900
|
Franklin A. Burke | 25,002 | 2,998 | 34,000 | 62,000 |
Harold D. Carter | 17,002 | 2,998 | 38,025 | 58,025 |
Ralph F. Cox | 17,502 | 2,998 | 32,400 | 52,900 |
Barry J. Galt | 15,502 | 2,998 | 41,775 | 60,275 |
Dennis E. Logue | 18,502 | 2,998 | 35,067 | 56,567 |
Paul A. Powell, Jr. | 24,002 | 2,998 | 89,100 | 116,100 |
Richard M. Riggs | 6,000 | 0 | 32,400 | 38,400 |
Joseph A. Wagda (5) | 21,500 | 0 | 32,400 | 53,900 |
__________________
(1) | This column represents the amounts paid in cash to each director. |
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(2) | This column represents the dollar value of stock awarded to each director for one-quarter of their annual retainer fee. Each director was awarded 826 vested shares of Abraxas common stock on November 16, 2006 and the closing price of our common stock on that date was $3.63 per share. |
(3) | The amounts in this column reflect the recognized value of options granted to each director, calculated in accordance with SFAS 123R for the year ended December 31, 2006, which include options granted in prior years to the extent they were not fully-vested by January 1, 2006. The grant date fair value of all options awarded during 2006, calculated in accordance with SFAS 123R, was $291,600. See note 2 of the notes to our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 14, 2007 for a discussion of all assumptions made in the calculation of this amount. |
(4) | The dollar value in this column for each director represents the sum of all compensation reflected in the previous columns. |
(5) | Mr. Wagda resigned from the board on October 19, 2006. |
The table below contains certain information concerning outstanding option awards at December 31, 2006 for each of the directors. None of the named directors had outstanding stock awards at December 31, 2006.
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal-Year End Table
Name | Option Awards |
C. Scott Bartlett, Jr. | 70,000 |
Franklin A. Burke | 87,000 |
Harold D. Carter | 87,000 |
Ralph F. Cox | 95,000 |
Barry J. Galt | 95,000 |
Dennis E. Logue | 88,000 |
Paul A. Powell, Jr. | 87,000 |
Richard M. Riggs | 42,000 |
Joseph A. Wagda (1) | 57,403 |
__________________
(1) | Mr. Wagda resigned from the board on October 19, 2006. |
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
Messrs. Cox, Carter, Galt and Logue served on the Compensation Committee during 2006. No member of the Compensation Committee was at any time during 2006 or at any other time an officer or employee of Abraxas, and no member had any relationship with Abraxas requiring disclosure as a related-party transaction in the section “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” of this report. No executive officer of Abraxas has served on the board of directors or compensation committee of any other entity that has or has had one or more executive officers who served as a member of the Board of Directors or the Compensation Committee during 2006.
Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters |
Based upon information received from the persons concerned, each person known to Abraxas to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the outstanding shares of common stock of Abraxas, each director and nominee for director, each of the named executive officers and all directors and officers of Abraxas as a group, owned beneficially as of April 20, 2007, the number and percentage of outstanding shares of common stock of Abraxas indicated in the following table. Abraxas has not adopted stock ownership guidelines; consequently, there are no minimum requirements for ownership of Abraxas’ common stock. None of the shares listed below have been pledged as security.
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Name and Address of Beneficial Owner | Number of Shares (1) | Percentage (%) |
Robert L.G. Watson | 1,228,640 (2) | 2.8 |
Chris E. Williford | 255,205 (3) | * |
Lee T. Billingsley | 217,586 (4) | * |
William H. Wallace | 132,498 (5) | * |
Stephen T. Wendel | 218,931 (6) | * |
C. Scott Bartlett, Jr. | 84,300 (7) | * |
Franklin A. Burke | 3,491,759 (8) | 8.1 |
Harold D. Carter | 122,475 (9) | * |
Ralph F. Cox | 356,800 (10) | * |
Barry J. Galt | 121,800 (11) | * |
Dennis E. Logue | 96,800 (12) | * |
Paul A. Powell, Jr. | 116,179 (13) | * |
Richard M. Riggs | 183,263 (14) | * |
All Officers and Directors as a Group (13 persons) | 6,626,236 (2)(3)(4)(5)(6) (7)(8)(9)(10) (11)(12)(13)(14) | 15.4 |
__________________
(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, all shares are held directly with sole voting and investment power. |
(2) | Includes 28,577 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the Abraxas Petroleum Corporation 1993 Key Contributor Stock Option Plan, 395,136 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the Abraxas Petroleum Corporation 1994 Long Term Incentive Plan (the “1994 LTIP”), 25,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the Abraxas Petroleum Corporation 2005 Employee Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan (the “2005 Employee Plan”) and 17,670 shares in a retirement account. Does not include a total of 75,880 shares owned by the Robert L G. Watson, Jr. Trust and the Carey B. Watson Trust, the trustees of which are Mr. Watson’s brothers and the beneficiaries of which are Mr. Watson’s children. Mr. Watson disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares owned by these trusts. |
(3) | Includes 138,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 1994 LTIP, 25,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 2005 Employee Plan and 7,934 shares in a retirement account. |
(4) | Includes 111,250 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 1994 LTIP, 12,500 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 2005 Employee Plan and 15,896 shares in a retirement account. |
(5) | Includes 84,750 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 1994 LTIP, 12,500 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 2005 Employee Plan and 10,832 shares in a retirement account. |
(6) | Includes 62,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 1994 LTIP, 12,500 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 2005 Employee Plan and 67,869 shares in a retirement account. |
(7) | Includes 50,000 shares issuable upon exercise of certain option agreements, 20,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the Abraxas Petroleum Corporation 2005 Non-Employee Director Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan (the “2005 Director Plan”) and 11,000 shares in a retirement account. |
(8) | Includes 22,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the Amended and Restated Director Stock Option Plan (the “Director Option Plan”), 45,000 shares issuable upon exercise of certain option agreements, 20,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 2005 Director Plan, 185,930 shares in a retirement account, 1,807,352 shares owned by Venture Profit Sharing Trust Plan (voluntary), Venture Profit Sharing Plan Trust (designated) and Venture Pension Plan Trust over which Mr. Burke has shared discretion to dispose of, direct the disposition of, vote, and direct the voting of such shares for the benefit of the beneficiary of the trust, 16,500 shares in various trust and guardianship accounts, of which Mr. Burke is a trustee or guardian, 24,222 shares in the Pleasantville Church |
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Foundation, of which Mr. Burke is a director, and 1,353,129 shares managed by BLB&B Advisors, LLC, on behalf of third parties, of which Mr. Burke is the sole owner.
(9) | Includes 22,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the Director Option Plan, 45,000 shares issuable upon exercise of certain option agreements, 20,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 2005 Director Plan, 7,577 shares in a family trust and 18,098 shares in a retirement account. |
(10) | Includes 75,000 shares issuable upon exercise of certain option agreements and 20,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 2005 Director Plan. |
(11) | Includes 75,000 shares issuable upon exercise of certain option agreements and 20,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 2005 Director Plan. |
(12) | Includes 68,000 shares issuable upon exercise of certain option agreements and 20,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 2005 Director Plan. |
(13) | Includes 22,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the Director Option Plan, 15,000 shares issuable upon exercise of certain option agreements, 20,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 2005 Director Plan and 25,277 shares in various entities managed by Mr. Powell. |
(14) | Includes 22,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the Director Option Plan, 20,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the 2005 Director Plan and 700 shares in a retirement account. |
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The following table gives aggregate information regarding grants under all of Abraxas’ equity compensation plans through December 31, 2006.
Plan Category | Number of Securities to be Issued upon Exercise of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Rights (a) | Weighted-Average Exercise Price of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Rights (b) | Number of Securities Remaining Available for Future Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans (Excluding Securities Reflected in Column (a)) (c) |
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders | 2,006,713 | $ 2.52 | 1,245,218 |
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders | 450,403 (1) | $ 1.27 | 0 |
__________________
(1) | Other than the amount of shares and the exercise price, the director options were generally granted upon the same terms. The director options expire no later than 10 years from the grant date, become vested and exercisable in one-third increments as of each of the first and second anniversaries of the grant date, and as of the earliest to occur of (i) the date on which the optionee is replaced as a director of Abraxas as a result of the expiration of the optionee’s term and not as a result of optionee’s death, disability, resignation or removal from Abraxas’ Board of Directors for cause in accordance with Abraxas’ Articles of Incorporation, and optionee’s successor as a director of Abraxas is duly elected and qualified, or (ii) the third anniversary of the grant date. |
Item 13. | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence |
Transactions in 2006
Abraxas did not have any transactions with any related parties during 2006.
Policy
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On February 21, 2007, our Board of Directors adopted a formal written related person transaction approval policy, which sets out Abraxas’ policies and procedures for the review, approval, or ratification of “related person transactions”. For these purposes, a “related person” is a director, nominee for director, executive officer, or holder of more than 5% of our common stock, or any immediate family member of any of the foregoing. This policy applies to any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship or any series of similar financial transactions, arrangements or relationships in which Abraxas is a participant and in which a related person has a direct or indirect interest, other than the following:
| • | | payment of compensation by Abraxas to a related person for the related person’s service in the capacity or capacities that give rise to the person’s status as a “related person”; |
| • | | transactions available to all employees or all stockholders on the same terms; |
| • | | purchases of supplies from Abraxas in the ordinary course of business at the same price and on the same terms as offered to our other customers, regardless of whether the transactions are required to be reported in Abraxas’ filings with the SEC; and |
| • | | transactions, which when aggregated with the amount of all other transactions between the related person and Abraxas’, involve less than $10,000 in a fiscal year. |
Our Audit Committee is to approve any related person transaction subject to this policy before commencement of the related person transaction, provided that if the related person transaction is identified after it commences, it shall be brought to the Audit Committee for ratification, amendment or rescission. The chairman of our Audit Committee has the authority to approve or take other actions in respect of any related person transaction that arises, or first becomes known, between meetings of the audit committee, provided that any action by the Chairman must be reported to our Audit Committee at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
Our Audit Committee will analyze the following factors, in addition to any other factors the members of the Audit Committee deem appropriate, in determining whether to approve a related person transaction:
| • | | whether the terms are fair to Abraxas; |
| • | | whether the transaction is material to Abraxas; |
| • | | the role the related person has played in arranging the related person transaction; |
| • | | the structure of the related person transaction; and |
| • | | the interest of all related persons in the related person transaction. |
Our Audit Committee may, in its sole discretion, approve or deny any related person transaction. Approval of a related person transaction may be conditioned upon Abraxas and the related person following certain procedures designated by the Audit Committee.
Director Independence
The Board of Directors has determined that each of the following members of the Board of Directors is independent as determined in accordance with the listing standards of the American Stock Exchange and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act: C. Scott Bartlett, Jr., Franklin A. Burke, Harold D. Carter, Ralph F. Cox, Barry J. Galt, Dennis E. Logue and Paul A. Powell, Jr. All of members of the Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees of the Board of Directors are independent as determined in accordance with the listing standards of the American Stock Exchange and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act.
Item 14. | Principal Accounting Fees and Services |
Audit Fees. The aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by BDO Seidman, LLP for the audit of Abraxas’ annual financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, for
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the audit of Abraxas’ internal controls over financial reporting for the year ended December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, and the reviews of the condensed financial statements included in Abraxas’ quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the years ended December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, were $422,247 and $459,972, respectively.
Audit-Related Fees. The aggregate fees billed by BDO Seidman, LLP for assurance and related services that were reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of Abraxas’ financial statements and are not reported in “audit fees” above, for the years ended December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, were $25,284 and $12,270, respectively. These fees were for services provided by BDO Seidman, LLP related to consulting services associated with determining the appropriate accounting treatment of various transactions.
All Other Fees. There were no aggregate fees billed for other services, exclusive of the fees disclosed above relating to financial statement audit services, rendered by BDO Seidman, LLP during the years ended December 31, 2006 or December 31, 2005.
Consideration of Non-audit Services Provided by the Independent Auditors. The Audit Committee has considered whether the services provided for non-audit services are compatible with maintaining BDO Seidman, LLP’s independence, and has concluded that the independence of such firm has been maintained.
AUDIT COMMITTEE PRE-APPROVAL POLICY
The Audit Committee’s policy is to pre-approve all audit, audit-related and non-audit services provided by the independent auditors. These services may include audit services, audit-related services, tax services and other services. The Audit Committee may also pre-approve particular services on a case-by-case basis. The independent auditors are required to periodically report to the Audit Committee regarding the extent of services provided by the independent auditors in accordance with such pre-approval. The Audit Committee may also delegate pre-approval authority to one or more of its members. Such member(s) must report any decisions to the Audit Committee at the next scheduled meeting.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| ABRAXAS PETROLEUM CORPORATION |
| By: | /s/ Robert L.G. Watson | By: /s/ Chris E. Williford |
| President and Principal | Executive Vice President and |
| Executive Officer | Principal Financial and |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the date indicated.
| Signature | Name and Title | Date |
/s/ Robert L.G. Watson | Chairman of the Board, |
Robert L.G. Watson | President (Principal Executive Officer) |
| and Director | April 30, 2007 |
/s/ Chris E. Williford | Executive Vice President and |
Chris E. Williford | Treasurer (Principal Financial |
| and Accounting Officer) | April 30, 2007 |
/s/ Craig S. Bartlett, Jr. | Director | April 30, 2007 |
Craig S. Bartlett, Jr.
/s/ Franklin A. Burke | Director | April 30, 2007 |
Franklin A. Burke
/s/ Harold D. Carter | Director | April 30, 2007 |
Harold D. Carter
/s/ Ralph F. Cox | Director | April 30, 2007 |
Ralph F. Cox
/s/ Barry J. Galt | Director | April 30, 2007 |
Barry J. Galt
/s/ Dennis E. Logue | Director | April 30, 2007 |
Dennis E Logue
/s/ Paul Powell | Director | April 30, 2007 |
Paul Powell
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