Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Note 13 - Asset Retirement Obligations

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Note 13 - Asset Retirement Obligations
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2022
Notes to Financial Statements  
Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Text Block]

13. ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

 

The following table summarizes the changes in the Company’s asset retirement obligations:

 

(in thousands)

  As of June 30, 2022     As of December 31, 2021  

Beginning balance

  $ 40,694     $ 17,334  

Accretion

    950       1,627  

Additions

          14,564  

Revisions

          7,169  

Ending balance

  $ 41,644     $ 40,694  

 

Accretion is recorded in the line item “Depreciation, depletion and amortization” on the condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

The Company is required under the Etame PSC for the Etame Marin block in Gabon to conduct abandonment studies to update the amounts being funded for the eventual abandonment of the offshore wells, platforms and facilities on the Etame Marin block. The current abandonment study was prepared in November 2021. At December 31, 2021, associated with the study, the Company recorded an upward revision of $7.2 million to the asset retirement obligation primarily as a result of increased costs expected with the abandonment of the Etame Marin block and a change in the expected timing of the abandonment costs associated with the termination of the FPSO charter. In connection with the Sasol Acquisition, as discussed in Note 3, the Company added $14.6 million of asset retirement obligations as a result of it increasing its interest in the Etame Marin block in 2021. As a result of the expected timing of the abandonment of the FPSO, included in the line item "Accrued liabilities and other" in the condensed consolidated balance sheet is $6.8 million of costs associated with the retirement obligation as of June 30, 2022.