ITEMS 1 and 2 – Business and Properties

 

Overview

Callon Petroleum Company has been engaged in the exploration, development, acquisition and production of oil and natural gas properties since 1950. As used herein, the “Company,” “Callon,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Callon Petroleum Company and its predecessors and subsidiaries unless the context requires otherwise. We were incorporated in the state of Delaware in 1994.

We are an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the acquisition and development of unconventional onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin. The Permian Basin is located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico and is comprised of three primary sub-basins: the Midland Basin, the Delaware Basin, and the Central Basin Platform. We have historically been focused on the Midland Basin and entered the Delaware Basin through an acquisition completed in February 2017. We further expanded our presence in the Delaware Basin through our acquisitions in 2018.

Our drilling activity during 2018 was predominantly focused on the horizontal development of several prospective intervals in the Midland and Delaware Basins, including multiple levels of the Wolfcamp formation and the Lower Spraberry shales. As a result of our horizontal development efforts and contributions from acquisitions, our net daily production for calendar year  2018  as compared to calendar year 2017  grew approximately 44% to  32,926 BOE/d (approximately 79% oil). For the year ended  December 31, 2018 , our net proved reserve volumes increased 74%  as compared to the year ended  December 31, 2017 , to 238.5 MMBOE, comprised of 76% oil ( 180.1 MMBbls) and 24% natural gas ( 350.5 Bcf). Approximately  54%  of our net proved year-end 2018  reserves were proved developed on a BOE basis.

We intend to grow our reserves and production through the drilling and development of our multi-year inventory of identified drilling locations. We will also seek to grow our inventory of locations through delineation of emerging zones and selective “bolt-on” acquisition and leasing programs in areas complementary to our core operating areas.

Our Business Strategy

Our principal objective is to enhance shareholder value through capital efficient growth in proved reserves and associated production and cash flows while acting as a responsible corporate citizen in the areas in which we operate. Key elements of the execution of this strategy include:

Our Strengths

We believe the following attributes position Callon to achieve its objectives:

Reserve Data

As of December 31, 2018 , our estimated net proved reserves grew 74% from prior year-end, totaling 238.5 MMBOE and included 180.1 MMBbls of oil and 350.5 Bcf of natural gas with a standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows of $2.9 billion . Oil constituted approximately 76% of our total estimated equivalent net proved reserves and approximately 72% of our total estimated equivalent proved developed reserves. We added 85 MMBOE of new reserves in extensions and discoveries through our development efforts in our operating areas, where we drilled a total of 70 gross ( 57.5 net) wells. We purchased reserves in place of 39.7 MMBOE from the Delaware Asset Acquisition as well as bolt-on acquisitions completed within the Permian Basin and reduced our estimated net proved reserves through net revisions of previous estimates of 2.0 MMBOE and reclassifications of 9.1 MMBOE to probable reserves. Our net revisions of previous estimates were primarily related to technical revisions of proved undeveloped reserves. We reclassified 19 PUD locations to probable reserves, primarily due to acreage trades and changes in our development plan, including larger pad development concepts and co-development of zones. These changes resulted in the anticipated drilling of PUD locations being moved beyond five years from initial booking. The changes in our proved reserves are as follows (in MBOE):

Annually, the Company reviews its PUDs to ensure appropriate plans exist for development of this reserve category. PUD reserves are recorded only if the Company has plans to convert these reserves into PDPs within five years of the date they are first recorded. Our development plans include the allocation of capital to projects included within our 2019 capital budget and, in subsequent years, the allocation of capital within our long-range business plan to convert PUDs to PDPs within this five year period. In general, our 2019 capital budget and our long-range capital plans are primarily governed by our expectations of internally generated cash flow, borrowing availability under our senior secured revolving credit facility (“Credit Facility”) and corporate credit metrics. Reserve calculations at any end-of-year period are representative of our development plans at that time. Changes in commodity pricing, oilfield service costs and availability, and other economic factors may lead to changes in development plans. The following table shows changes in proved undeveloped reserves for 2018 (in MBOE):

A breakdown by commodity of our proved oil and natural gas reserves follows:

Controls Over Reserve Estimates

Compliance as it relates to reporting the Company’s reserves is the responsibility of our Chief Operating Officer, who is also our principal engineer. Until December 2018, our Chief Operating Officer was Gary A. Newberry who had over 36 years of industry experience, including 30 years as a manager, and holds a degree in Petroleum Engineering.  In December 2018, Jeffrey S. Balmer became our Chief Operating Officer upon Mr. Newberry’s retirement from the Company. Dr. Balmer has over 30 years of operations and industry experience.  In addition to his years of experience, Dr. Balmer holds B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Petroleum Engineering, in addition to a M.S. in Environmental and Planning Engineering, and is experienced in asset evaluation and management. 

Callon’s controls over reserve estimates included retaining DeGolyer and MacNaughton, a Texas registered engineering firm, as our Reserve Engineering Firm. The Company provided to DeGolyer and MacNaughton information about our oil and gas properties, including production profiles, prices and costs, and DeGolyer and MacNaughton prepared its own estimates of the reserves attributable to the Company’s properties. All of the information regarding  2018 ,  2017  and 2016  reserves in this annual report is derived from DeGolyer and MacNaughton’s report. DeGolyer and MacNaughton’s reserve report letter is included as an exhibit to this annual report. The principal engineer at DeGolyer and MacNaughton, who certified the Company’s reserve estimates, has over 34 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and is a Texas Licensed Professional Engineer. Further professional qualifications include a degree in petroleum engineering and membership in the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers. 

To further enhance the control environment over the reserve estimation process, our Strategic Planning and Reserves Committee, an independent committee of the Board of Directors, assists management and the Board with its oversight of the integrity of the determination of the Company’s oil and natural gas reserves and the work of our Reserve Engineering Firm. The Committee’s charter also specifies that the Committee shall perform, in consultation with the Company’s management and senior reserves and reservoir engineering personnel, the following responsibilities:

prior period reports; (ii) reviewing key assumptions used or relied upon by the Reserve Engineering Firm; (iii) evaluating the quality of the reserve estimates prepared by both the Reserve Engineering Firm and the Company relative to the Company’s peers in the industry; and (iv) reviewing any  material  reserves adjustments  and significant differences between the Company’s and Reserve Engineering Firm’s estimates.

During our last fiscal year, we filed no reports with other federal agencies which contain an estimate of total proved net oil and natural gas reserves. 

See Supplemental Information on Oil and Natural Gas Operations in Item 8 - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for additional information regarding our estimated net proved reserves and our estimated future net cash flows and discounted future net cash flows from proved reserves.

2019  Capital Budget

Our operational capital budget for 2019  has been established in the range of $500 to $525 million on an accrual, or GAAP, basis, running an average of five drilling rigs to support larger, and more efficient, multi-well pad development. Of this range, approximately 15% is comprised of infrastructure and facilities capital.

As part of our 2019 operated horizontal drilling program, we expect to place 47 to 49 net wells on production with an increase of approximately 15% in average net lateral length as compared to the 2018 program.

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In addition to the operational capital expenditures budget, which includes well costs, facilities and infrastructure capital, and surface land purchases, we budgeted an estimated $25 to $30 million for capitalized general and administrative expenses.

Our revenues, earnings, liquidity and ability to grow are substantially dependent on the prices we receive for, and our ability to develop, our reserves of oil and natural gas. We believe the long-term outlook for our business is favorable due to our resource base, low cost structure, financial strength, risk management, and disciplined investment of capital. We monitor current and expected market conditions, including the commodity price environment, and our liquidity needs and may adjust our capital investment plan accordingly.

Exploration and Development Activities

Our 2018 total capital expenditures, including acquisitions, on a cash basis were $1,324.1 million , of which  $546.1 million consisted of operational capital expenditures, including drilling and completion and facilities and infrastructure expenditures.

For the year ended December 31, 2018 , we drilled 70 gross ( 57.5 net) horizontal wells, completed 65 gross ( 53.1 net) horizontal wells and had 11 gross ( 9.5 net) horizontal wells awaiting completion.

The following table sets forth the Company’s drilled wells, none of which were natural gas wells, nor nonproductive wells for the periods reflected:

Productive Wells

As of December 31, 2018 , we had 896 gross ( 688.1 net) working interest oil wells, three gross ( 0.1 net) royalty interest oil wells and no natural gas wells. A well is categorized as an oil well or a natural gas well based upon the ratio of oil to natural gas reserves on a BOE basis. However, most of our wells produce both oil and natural gas.

Because alternative purchasers of oil and natural gas are readily available, the Company believes that the loss of any of these purchasers would not result in a material adverse effect on its ability to market future oil and natural gas production. In order to mitigate potential exposure to credit risk, we may require from time to time for our customers to provide financial security.

The following table sets forth as of December 31, 2018 the number of our leased gross and net undeveloped acres in the Permian Basin that will expire over the next three years unless production begins before lease expiration dates. Gross amounts may be more than net amounts in a particular year due to timing of expirations.

The expiring acreage set forth in the table above accounts for approximately 83%  of our net undeveloped acreage ( 10,771 total net acres). We are continually engaged in a combination of drilling and development and discussions with mineral lessors for lease extensions, renewals, new drilling and development units and new leases to address any potential expiration of undeveloped acreage that occurs in the normal course of our business.

Other

Industry Segment and Geographic Information

For segment reporting purposes, the Company considers all of the current development and operating areas to be one reportable segment: the development and production of oil and natural gas. All of the Company’s assets and operations are located within the United States, and all of the production revenues generated from operations are contracted and sold to customers located in the United States.

Title to Properties

The Company believes that the title to its oil and natural gas properties is good and defensible in accordance with standards generally accepted in the oil and gas industry, subject to such exceptions which, in our opinion, are not so material as to detract substantially from the use or value of such properties. The Company’s properties are potentially subject to one or more of the following:

To the extent that such burdens and obligations affect the Company’s rights to production revenues, these characteristics have been taken into account in calculating Callon’s net revenue interests and in estimating the size and value of its reserves. The Company believes that the burdens and obligations affecting our properties are typical within the industry for properties of the kind owned by Callon.

Seasonality of Business

Weather conditions and seasonality affect the demand for and prices of, oil and natural gas. Due to these fluctuations, results of operations for quarterly interim periods may not be indicative of the results realized on an annual basis.

Competition

The Company operates in the oil and natural gas industry, which is highly competitive. The Company’s business experiences strong competition from a number of parties that may range from small independent producers to major integrated companies. Competition affects the Company’s ability to acquire additional properties and resources necessary to develop assets. In higher commodity pricing environments, competition also exists in the form of contracting for drilling, pumping, and workover equipment, and securing skilled personnel to both develop and operate existing assets. Many of the competitors mentioned above may be able to pay for more sought-after properties or access equipment, infrastructure, or personnel. The industry also experiences, from time to time, shortages in resources such as the availability of drilling and workover rigs, other equipment, pipes and materials, infrastructures, and skilled personnel, all of which can delay development, exploration, and workover activities as well as result in significant cost increases.

Insurance

In accordance with industry practice, the Company maintains insurance against some, but not all, of the operating risks to which its business is exposed. While not all inclusive, the Company’s insurance policies generally protect against bodily injury and property damage, pollution and other environmental damages, employee benefits, employee injury and control of well insurance for its exploration and production operations.

The Company enters into master service agreements with its third-party contractors, including hydraulic fracturing contractors, in which they agree to indemnify the Company for injuries and deaths of the service provider’s employees, as well as contractors and subcontractors hired by the service provider. Similarly, the Company generally agrees to indemnify each third-party contractor against claims made by employees of the Company and the Company’s other contractors. Additionally, each party generally is responsible for damage to its own property. The Company re-evaluates the purchase of insurance, coverage limits and deductibles annually. Future insurance coverage for the oil and natural gas industry could increase in cost and may include higher deductibles or retentions. In addition, some forms of insurance may become unavailable in the future or unavailable on terms that are economically acceptable. While based on the Company’s risk analysis we believe that we are properly insured, no assurance can be given that the Company will be able to maintain insurance in the future at rates that it considers reasonable. In such circumstances, the Company may elect to self-insure or maintain only catastrophic coverage for certain risks in the future.

Corporate Offices

The Company’s headquarters are located in Houston, Texas, in a building with office space leased by the Company. We own an office building in Natchez, Mississippi and lease and own offices in the Midland, Texas area. Because alternative locations to our leased spaces are readily available, the replacement of any of our leased offices would not result in material expenditures .

Employees

Callon had 218 employees as of December 31, 2018 . None of the Company’s employees are currently represented by a union, and the Company believes that it has good relations with its employees.

Regulations

General.    Oil and natural gas operations such as ours are subject to various types of legislation, regulation and other legal requirements enacted by governmental authorities. Legislation and regulation affecting the entire oil and natural gas industry is continuously being reviewed for potential revision. Some of these requirements carry substantial penalties for failure to comply.

Exploration and Production .  Our operations are subject to federal, state and local regulations that include requirements for permits to drill and to conduct other operations and for provision of financial assurances (such as bonds and letters of credit) covering drilling and well operations. Other activities subject to regulation are:

Our sales of oil and natural gas are affected by the availability, terms and cost of pipeline transportation. The price and terms for access to pipeline transportation remain subject to extensive federal and state regulation. If these regulations change, we could face higher transmission costs for our production and, possibly, reduced access to transmission capacity.

Various proposals and proceedings that might affect the petroleum industry are pending before Congress, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, various state legislatures, and the courts. Historically, the industry has been heavily regulated and we can offer you no assurance that the less stringent regulatory approach recently pursued by the FERC and Congress will continue nor can we predict what effect such proposals or proceedings may have on our operations.

We do not currently anticipate that compliance with existing laws and regulations governing exploration and production will have a significantly adverse effect upon our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position.

Environmental Matters and Regulation. Our oil and natural gas exploration, development and production operations are subject to stringent laws and regulations governing the discharge of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to environmental protection. Numerous federal, state and local governmental agencies, such as the EPA, issue regulations which often require difficult and costly compliance measures. These laws and regulations may require the acquisition of a permit before drilling commences, restrict the types, quantities and concentrations of various substances that can be released into the environment in connection with drilling and production activities, limit or prohibit construction or drilling activities on certain lands lying within wilderness, wetlands, ecologically sensitive and other protected areas, require action to prevent or remediate pollution from current or former operations, such as plugging abandoned wells or closing pits, result in the suspension or revocation of necessary permits, licenses and authorizations, require that additional pollution controls be installed and impose substantial liabilities for pollution resulting from our operations or relating to our owned or operated facilities. Violations of environmental laws could result in administrative, civil or criminal fines and injunctive relief. The strict and joint and several liability nature of certain such laws and regulations could impose liability upon us regardless of fault. Moreover, it is not uncommon for neighboring landowners and other third parties to file claims for personal injury and property damage allegedly caused by the release of hazardous substances, hydrocarbons, air emissions or other waste products into the environment. Changes in environmental laws and regulations occur frequently, and any changes that result in more stringent and costly pollution control or waste handling, storage, transport, disposal or cleanup requirements could materially adversely affect our operations and financial position, as well as the oil and natural gas industry in general. In recent years, the oil and natural gas exploration and production industry has been the subject of increasing scrutiny and regulation by environmental authorities. Our management believes that we are in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations and we have not experienced any material adverse effect from compliance with these environmental requirements. Although such laws and regulations can increase the cost of planning, designing, installing and

operating our facilities, it is anticipated that, absent the occurrence of an extraordinary event, compliance with them will not have a material effect upon our operations, capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position in the marketplace.

Waste Handling. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), as amended, and comparable state statutes and regulations promulgated thereunder, affect oil and natural gas exploration, development and production activities by imposing requirements regarding the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, disposal and cleanup of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. With federal approval, the individual states administer some or all of the provisions of RCRA, sometimes in conjunction with their own, more stringent requirements. Although most wastes associated with the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas are exempt from regulation as hazardous wastes under RCRA and its state analogs, it is possible that some wastes we generate presently or in the future may be subject to regulation under RCRA and state analogs. Additionally, we cannot assure you that the EPA or state or local governments will not adopt more stringent requirements for the handling of non-hazardous wastes or categorize some non-hazardous wastes as hazardous for future regulation. Indeed, legislation has been proposed from time to time in Congress to re-categorize certain oil and natural gas exploration, development and production wastes as “hazardous wastes.” Additionally, following the filing of a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in May 2016 by several non-governmental environmental groups against the EPA for the agency’s failure to timely assess its RCRA Subtitle D criteria regulations for oil and gas wastes, EPA and the environmental groups entered into an agreement that was finalized in a consent decree issued by the District Court on December 28, 2016. Under the decree, the EPA is required to propose no later than March 15, 2019, a rulemaking for revision of certain Subtitle D criteria regulations pertaining to oil and gas wastes or sign a determination that revision of the regulations is not necessary. If EPA proposes a rulemaking for revised oil and gas waste regulations, the Consent Decree requires that the EPA take final action following notice and comment rulemaking no later than July 15, 2021. Any such changes in the laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our capital expenditures and operating expenses.

Administrative, civil and criminal penalties can be imposed for failure to comply with waste handling requirements. We believe that we are in substantial compliance with applicable requirements related to waste handling, and that we hold all necessary and up-to-date permits, registrations and other authorizations to the extent that our operations require them under such laws and regulations. Although we do not believe the current costs of managing our wastes, as presently classified, to be significant, any legislative or regulatory reclassification of wastes associated with oil and natural gas exploration and production could increase our costs to manage and dispose of such wastes.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.   The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), imposes joint and several liability for costs of investigation and remediation and for natural resource damages without regard to fault or legality of the original conduct, on certain classes of persons with respect to the release into the environment of substances designated under CERCLA as hazardous substances. These classes of persons, or so–called potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) include the current and past owners or operators of a site where the release occurred and anyone who disposed or arranged for the disposal of a hazardous substance found at the site. CERCLA also authorizes the EPA and, in some instances, third parties to take actions in response to threats to public health or the environment and to seek to recover from the PRPs the costs of such action. Many states have adopted comparable or more stringent state statutes.

Although CERCLA generally exempts “petroleum” from the definition of hazardous substance, in the course of our operations, we have generated and will generate wastes that may fall within CERCLA’s definition of hazardous substance and may have disposed of these wastes at disposal sites owned and operated by others. Comparable state statutes may not provide a comparable exemption for petroleum. We may also be the owner or operator of sites on which hazardous substances have been released. To our knowledge, neither we nor our predecessors have been designated as a PRP by the EPA under CERCLA; we also do not know of any prior owners or operators of our properties that are named as PRPs related to their ownership or operation of such properties. In the event contamination is discovered at a site on which we are or have been an owner or operator or to which we sent hazardous substances, we could be liable for the costs of investigation and remediation and natural resources damages.

We currently own, lease, or operate numerous properties that have been used for oil and natural gas exploration and production for many years. Although we believe we have utilized operating and waste disposal practices that were standard in the industry at the time, and for water disposal, hazardous substances, wastes or hydrocarbons may have been released on or under the properties owned or leased by us, or on or under other locations, including offsite locations, where such substances have been taken for disposal. In addition, some of these properties have been operated by third parties or by previous owners or operators whose treatment and disposal of hazardous substances, wastes, or hydrocarbons were not under our control. These properties and the substances disposed or released on them may be subject to CERCLA, RCRA and analogous state laws. In the future, we could be required to remediate property, including groundwater, containing or impacted by previously disposed wastes (including wastes disposed or released by prior owners or operators, or property contamination, including groundwater contamination by prior owners or operators) or to perform remedial plugging operations to prevent future or mitigate existing contamination.

Water Discharges. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, as amended, also known as the “Clean Water Act,” the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act (“OPA”), and analogous state laws and regulations promulgated thereunder impose restrictions and strict controls regarding the unauthorized discharge of pollutants, including produced waters and other gas and oil wastes, into navigable waters of the United States (a term broadly defined to include, among other things, certain wetlands), as well as state waters for analogous state programs. The discharge of pollutants into regulated waters is prohibited, except in accordance with the terms of a permit issued by the EPA or applicable state analog. The Clean Water Act and regulations implemented thereunder also prohibit the discharge of dredge and fill material into regulated waters, including jurisdictional wetlands, unless authorized by an appropriately issued permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The EPA issued a final rule on the federal jurisdictional reach over waters of the United States in 2015. The rule is the subject of various legal challenges. Recently, the EPA proposed to repeal that rule and re-codify the pre-2015 rule while it revises the definition of “waters of the United States,” creating uncertainty regarding federal jurisdiction over waters of the United States.

The EPA has also adopted regulations requiring certain oil and natural gas exploration and production facilities to obtain individual permits or coverage under general permits for storm water discharges. Costs may be associated with the treatment of wastewater or developing and implementing storm water pollution prevention plans, as well as for monitoring and sampling the storm water runoff from certain of our facilities. Some states also maintain groundwater protection programs that require permits for discharges or operations that may impact groundwater conditions.

The Oil Pollution Act is the primary federal law for oil spill liability. The OPA contains numerous requirements relating to the prevention of and response to petroleum releases into waters of the United States, including the requirement that operators of offshore facilities and certain onshore facilities near or crossing waterways must develop and maintain facility response contingency plans and maintain certain significant levels of financial assurance to cover potential environmental cleanup and restoration costs. The OPA subjects owners of facilities to strict, joint and several liability for all containment and cleanup costs and certain other damages arising from a release, including, but not limited to, the costs of responding to a release of oil to surface waters.

Noncompliance with the Clean Water Act or OPA may result in substantial administrative, civil and criminal penalties, as well as injunctive obligations. We believe we are in material compliance with the requirements of each of these laws.

Air Emissions. The federal Clean Air Act, as amended, and comparable state and local laws and regulations, regulate emissions of various air pollutants through the issuance of permits and the imposition of other requirements. The EPA has developed, and continues to develop, stringent regulations governing emissions of air pollutants at specified sources. New facilities may be required to obtain permits before work can begin, and modified and existing facilities may be required to obtain additional permits. As a result, we may need to incur capital costs in order to remain in compliance. Obtaining or renewing permits also has the potential to delay the development of oil and natural gas projects. Federal and state regulatory agencies can impose administrative, civil and criminal penalties and seek injunctive relief for non-compliance with air permits or other requirements of the federal Clean Air Act and associated state laws and regulations. We believe that we are in substantial compliance with all applicable air emissions regulations and that we hold all necessary and valid construction and operating permits for our operations.

On June 3, 2016, the EPA expanded its regulatory coverage in the oil and natural gas industry with additional regulated equipment categories, and the addition of new rules limiting methane emissions from new or modified sites and equipment. Although the EPA attempted to suspend enforcement of the methane rule, this action was ruled improper by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on July 2, 2017. Subsequently, in September 2018, the EPA issued a proposed rulemaking that could substantially change the obligations associated with methane emissions, limiting obligations for the oil and natural gas industry. That rulemaking has not been finalized and, therefore, future obligations continue to remain uncertain.

Climate Change. Numerous reports from scientific and governmental bodies such as the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have expressed heightened concerns about the impacts of human activity, especially fossil fuel combustion, on the global climate. In turn, governments and civil society are increasingly focused on limiting the emissions of greenhouse gases, including emissions of carbon dioxide from the use of oil and natural gas.

In December 2015, the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change resulted in 195 countries, including the United States, coming together to develop the so-called “Paris Agreement,” which calls for the parties to undertake “ambitious efforts” to limit the average global temperature. The Agreement went into effect on November 4, 2016, and establishes a framework for the parties to cooperate and report actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the United States announced that it would withdraw from the Paris Agreement on June 1, 2017, given the requirements of the withdrawal process the earliest possible exit would be November 2020. Certain U.S. city and state governments have announced their intention to satisfy their proportionate obligations under the Paris Agreement. In addition, legislation has from time to time been introduced in Congress that would establish measures restricting GHG emissions in the United States, and a number of states have begun taking actions to control and/or reduce emissions of GHGs.

Any legislation or regulatory programs at the federal, state, or city levels designed to reduce GHG emissions could increase the cost of consuming, and thereby reduce demand for, the oil and natural gas we produce. Consequently, legislation and regulatory programs to reduce emissions of GHGs could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, incentives to conserve energy or use alternative energy sources, such as policies designed to increase utilization of zero-emissions or electric vehicles, as a means of addressing climate change could reduce demand for the oil and natural gas we produce.

In the absence of comprehensive federal legislation on GHG emission control, the EPA attempted to require the permitting of GHG emissions. Although the Supreme Court struck down the permitting requirements, it upheld the EPA’s authority to control GHG emissions when a permit is required due to emissions of other pollutants.

The EPA has established GHG reporting requirements for certain sources in the petroleum and natural gas industry, requiring those sources to monitor, maintain records on, and annually report their GHG emissions. Although these requirements do not limit the amount of GHGs that can be emitted, they do require us to incur costs to monitor, keep records of, and report GHG emissions associated with our operations.

Parties concerned about the potential effects of climate change have also directed their attention at sources of financing for energy companies, which has resulted in certain financial institutions, funds and other capital providers restricting or eliminating their investment in oil and natural gas activities. In addition, some parties have initiated public nuisance claims under federal or state common law against certain companies involved in the production of oil and natural gas. Although our business is not a party to any such litigation, we could be named in actions making similar allegations, which could lead to costs and materially impact our financial condition in an adverse way.

Finally, most scientists have concluded that increasing concentrations of GHGs in the Earth’s atmosphere may produce climate changes that have significant physical effects, such as increased frequency and severity of droughts, storms, floods and other climatic events. If any such effects were to occur, they could adversely affect or delay demand for the oil or natural gas produced or cause us to incur significant costs in preparing for or responding to the effects of climatic events themselves.

Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing.   Hydraulic fracturing is an important common practice that is used to stimulate production of hydrocarbons, particularly natural gas, from tight formations, including shales. The process involves the injection of water, sand and chemicals under pressure into formations to fracture the surrounding rock and stimulate production. The federal Safe Drinking Water Act (“SDWA”) regulates the underground injection of substances through the Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) program. Hydraulic fracturing is generally exempt from regulation under the UIC program, and the hydraulic fracturing process is typically regulated by state oil and gas commissions and not at the federal level, as the SDWA expressly excludes regulation of these fracturing activities (except where diesel is a component of the fracturing fluid, as further discussed below). Legislation to amend the SDWA to repeal the exemption for hydraulic fracturing from the definition of “underground injection” and require federal permitting and regulatory control of hydraulic fracturing has been proposed in past legislative sessions but has not passed.

The EPA, however, issued guidance on permitting hydraulic fracturing that uses fluids containing diesel fuel under the UIC program, specifically as “Class II” UIC wells. In  December 2016, the EPA released its final report on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources, concluding that “water cycle” activities associated with hydraulic fracturing may impact drinking water resources “under some circumstances,” including water withdrawals for fracturing in times or areas of low water availability; surface spills during the management of fracturing fluids, chemicals or produced water; injection of fracturing fluids into wells with inadequate mechanical integrity; injection of fracturing fluids directly into groundwater resources; discharge of inadequately treated fracturing wastewater to surface waters; and disposal or storage of fracturing wastewater in unlined pits. This report could result in additional regulatory scrutiny that could make it more difficult to perform hydraulic fracturing and increase our costs of compliance and business. Further, on June 28, 2016, the EPA published an effluent limit guideline final rule prohibiting the discharge of wastewater from onshore unconventional oil and natural gas extraction facilities to publicly owned wastewater treatment plants.

On June 3, 2016, the EPA adopted regulations under the federal Clean Air Act that establish new air emission controls for oil and natural gas production and natural gas processing operations. Specifically, the EPA’s rule package included New Source Performance Standards (“NSPS”) for hydraulically fractured natural gas and oil wells to address emissions of sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) and methane, with a separate set of emission standards to address hazardous air pollutants frequently associated with oil and natural gas production and processing activities. The final rule sought to achieve a 95% reduction in VOCs and methane emitted by requiring the use of reduced emission completions or “green completions” on all hydraulically-fractured gas and oil wells newly constructed or refractured. The rules also established specific new requirements regarding emissions from compressors, controllers, dehydrators, storage tanks and other production equipment. Notably, on October 15, 2018, the EPA published a proposed rule that would make a series of revisions to the 2016 NSPS; these revisions have yet to be finalized.

 

Several states, including Texas, and some municipalities, have adopted, or are considering adopting, regulations that could restrict or prohibit hydraulic fracturing in certain circumstances and/or require the disclosure of the composition of hydraulic fracturing fluids. For example, Texas law requires that the well operator disclose the list of chemical ingredients subject to the requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSHA”) for disclosure on a website and also file the list of chemicals with the Texas Railroad Commission with the well completion report. The total volume of water used to hydraulically fracture a well must also be disclosed to the public and filed with the Texas Railroad Commission.

Additionally, some states, localities and local regulatory districts have adopted or have considered adopting regulations to limit, and in some cases impose a moratorium on, hydraulic fracturing or other restrictions on drilling and completion operations, including requirements regarding casing and cementing of wells; testing of nearby water wells; or restrictions on access to, and usage of, water.  Further, there has been increasing public controversy regarding hydraulic fracturing with regard to the use of fracturing fluids, impacts on drinking water supplies, use of water and the potential for impacts to surface water, groundwater and the environment generally. A number of lawsuits and enforcement actions have been initiated across the U.S. implicating hydraulic fracturing practices. If new laws or regulations that significantly restrict hydraulic fracturing are adopted, such laws could make it more difficult or costly for us to perform fracturing to stimulate production from tight formations as well as make it easier for third parties opposing the hydraulic fracturing process to initiate legal proceedings based on allegations of harm. In addition, if hydraulic fracturing is further regulated at the federal or state level, our fracturing activities could become subject to additional permitting and financial assurance requirements, more stringent construction specifications, increased monitoring, reporting and recordkeeping obligations, plugging and abandonment requirements and also to attendant permitting delays and potential increases in costs. Such legislative changes could cause us to incur substantial compliance costs, and compliance or the consequences of any failure to comply by us could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. At this time, it is not possible to estimate the impact on our business of potential federal or state legislation governing hydraulic fracturing.

Surface Damage Statutes (“SDAs”) . In addition, a number of states and some tribal nations have enacted SDAs. These laws are designed to compensate for damage caused by oil and gas development operations. Most SDAs contain entry notification and negotiation requirements to facilitate contact between operators and surface owners/users. Most also contain binding requirements for payments by the operator to surface owners/users in connection with exploration and operating activities in addition to bonding requirements to compensate for damages to the surface as a result of such activities. Costs and delays associated with SDAs could impair operational effectiveness and increase development costs.

National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act .  Oil and natural gas exploration and production activities on federal lands may be subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), which requires federal agencies, including the Department of Interior, to evaluate major agency actions having the potential to significantly impact the environment. In the course of such evaluations, an agency will prepare an Environmental Assessment that assesses the potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of a proposed project and, if necessary, will prepare a more detailed Environmental Impact Statement that may be made available for public review and comment. Recent litigation by environmental non-governmental organizations has alleged that the Environmental Assessments for certain oil and natural gas projects violated NEPA by failing to account for climate change and the greenhouse gas emissions impacts of such projects. To the extent that our current exploration and production activities, as well as proposed exploration and development plans, on federal lands require governmental permits that are subject to the requirements of NEPA, this process has the potential to delay or impose additional conditions upon the development of oil and natural gas projects.

The Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) was established to protect endangered and threatened species. Pursuant to that act, if a species is listed as threatened or endangered, restrictions may be imposed on activities adversely affecting that species’ or its habitat. Similar protections are offered to migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must also designate the species’ critical habitat and suitable habitat as part of the effort to ensure survival of the species. A critical habitat or suitable habitat designation could result in further material restrictions to land use and may materially delay or prohibit land access for oil and natural gas development. If the Company was to have a portion of its leases designated as critical or suitable habitat or a protected species were located on a lease, it may adversely impact the value of the affected leases.

Other Regulation of the Oil and Natural Gas Industry. The oil and natural gas industry is extensively regulated by numerous federal, state and local authorities. Legislation affecting the oil and natural gas industry is under constant review for amendment or expansion, frequently increasing the regulatory burden. Also, numerous departments and agencies, both federal and state, are authorized by statute to issue rules and regulations that are binding on the oil and natural gas industry and its individual members, some of which carry substantial penalties for failure to comply. Although the regulatory burden on the oil and natural gas industry increases our cost of doing business and, consequently, affects our profitability, these burdens generally do not affect us any differently or to any greater or lesser extent than they affect other similar companies in the industry with similar types, quantities and locations of production.

The availability, terms and cost of transportation significantly affect sales of oil and natural gas. The interstate transportation of oil and natural gas is subject to federal regulation, including regulation of the terms, conditions and rates for interstate transportation, storage and various other matters, primarily by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC. Federal and state regulations govern the rates and other terms for access to oil and natural gas pipeline transportation. FERC’s regulations for interstate oil and natural gas transmission in some circumstances may also affect the intrastate transportation of oil and natural gas.

Although oil and natural gas sales prices are currently unregulated, the federal government historically has been active in the area of oil and natural gas sales regulation. We cannot predict whether new legislation to regulate oil and natural gas sales might be proposed, what proposals, if any, might actually be enacted by Congress or the various state legislatures, and what effect, if any, the proposals might have on our operations. Sales of condensate, oil and natural gas liquids are not currently regulated and are made at market prices.

Exports of US Oil Production and Natural Gas Production . In December 2015, the federal government ended its decades-old prohibition of exports of oil produced in the lower 48 states of the US. As a result, exports of U.S. oil have increased significantly, reinforcing the general perception in the industry that the end of the U.S. export ban was positive for producers of U.S. oil. In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) authorizes exports of natural gas, including exports of natural gas by pipelines connecting U.S. natural gas production to pipelines in Mexico, and the export of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) through LNG export facilities, the construction of which are regulated by FERC. Since 2016, natural gas produced in the lower 48 states of the U.S. has been exported as LNG from LNG export facilities being developed and constructed in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. This export capacity has steadily increased, and is expected to continue on that trajectory. The general perception in the industry is that this sustained growth in exports will be a positive development for producers of U.S. natural gas.

Drilling and Production. Our operations are subject to various types of regulation at the federal, state and local level. These types of regulation include requiring permits for the drilling of wells, drilling bonds and reports concerning operations. The state, and some counties and municipalities, in which we operate also regulate one or more of the following:

State laws regulate the size and shape of drilling and spacing units or proration units governing the pooling of oil and natural gas properties. Some states allow forced pooling or integration of tracts to facilitate exploration while other states rely on voluntary pooling of lands and leases. In some instances, forced pooling or unitization may be implemented by third parties and may reduce our interest in the unitized properties. In addition, state conservation laws establish maximum rates of production from oil and natural gas wells, generally prohibit the venting or flaring of natural gas and impose requirements regarding the ratability of production. These laws and regulations may limit the amount of oil and natural gas we can produce from our wells or limit the number of wells or the locations at which we can drill. Moreover, each state generally imposes a production or severance tax with respect to the production and sale of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids within its jurisdiction. States do not regulate wellhead prices or engage in other similar direct regulation, but we cannot assure you that they will not do so in the future. The effect of such future regulations may be to limit the amounts of oil and natural gas that may be produced from our wells, negatively affecting the economics of production from these wells or to limit the number of locations we can drill.

Federal, state and local regulations provide detailed requirements for the abandonment of wells, closure or decommissioning of production facilities and pipelines and for site restoration in areas where we operate. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and many other state and local authorities also have regulations for plugging and abandonment, decommissioning and site restoration. Some state agencies and municipalities require bonds or other financial assurances to support those obligations.

Natural Gas Sales and Transportation. Historically, federal legislation and regulatory controls have affected the price of the natural gas we produce and the manner in which we market our production. FERC has jurisdiction over the transportation and sale for resale of natural gas in interstate commerce by natural gas companies under the Natural Gas Act of 1938 and the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978. Since 1978, various federal laws have been enacted which have resulted in the complete removal of all price and non-price controls for sales of domestic natural gas sold in “first sales,” which include all of our sales of our own production. Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (“EPAct”), FERC has substantial enforcement authority to prohibit the manipulation of natural gas markets and enforce its rules and orders, including the ability to assess substantial civil penalties.

Under the EPAct Congress amended the Natural Gas Act (“NGA”) to give FERC substantial enforcement authority to prohibit the manipulation of natural gas markets and enforce its rules and orders, including the ability to assess substantial civil penalties. EPAct also amended the NGA to authorize FERC to “facilitate transparency in markets for the sale or transportation of physical natural gas in interstate commerce,” pursuant to which authorization FERC now requires natural gas wholesale market participants, including a number of entities that may not otherwise be subject to FERC’s traditional NGA jurisdiction, to report information annually to FERC concerning their natural gas sales and purchases. FERC requires any wholesale market participant that sells 2.2 million MMBtus or more annually in “reportable” natural gas sales to provide a report, known as FERC Form 552, to FERC. Reportable natural gas sales include sales of natural gas that utilize a daily or monthly gas price index, contribute to index price formation, or could contribute to index price formation, such as fixed price transactions for next-day or next-month delivery.

FERC also regulates interstate natural gas transportation rates, terms and conditions of natural gas transportation service, and the terms under which we as a shipper may use interstate natural gas pipeline capacity, which affects the marketing of natural gas that we produce, as well as the revenues we receive for sales of our natural gas and for the release of our excess, if any, natural gas pipeline capacity. Commencing in 1985, FERC promulgated a series of orders, regulations and rule makings that significantly fostered competition in the business of transporting and marketing gas. Today, interstate pipeline companies are required to provide nondiscriminatory transportation services to producers, marketers and other shippers, regardless of whether such shippers are affiliated with an interstate pipeline company. FERC’s initiatives have led to the development of a competitive, open access market for natural gas purchases and sales that permits all purchasers of natural gas to buy gas directly from third-party sellers other than pipelines. However, the natural gas industry historically has been very heavily regulated; therefore, we cannot guarantee that the less stringent regulatory approach currently pursued by FERC and Congress will continue indefinitely into the future nor can we determine what effect, if any, future regulatory changes might have on our natural gas related activities.

Under FERC’s current regulatory regime, interstate transportation services must be provided on an open-access, non-discriminatory basis at cost-based rates or at market-based rates if the transportation market at issue is sufficiently competitive. The FERC-regulated tariffs, under which interstate pipelines provide such open-access transportation service, contain strict limits on the means by which a shipper releases its pipeline capacity to another potential shipper, which provisions include FERC’s “shipper-must-have-title” rule. Violations by a shipper (i.e., a pipeline customer) of FERC’s capacity release rules or shipper-must-have-title rule could subject a shipper to substantial penalties from FERC.

With respect to its regulation of natural gas pipelines under the NGA, FERC has not generally required the applicant for construction of a new interstate natural gas pipeline to produce evidence of the GHG emissions of the proposed pipeline’s customers. In August 2017, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued a decision remanding a natural gas pipeline certificate application to FERC, which required FERC to revise its environmental impact statement for the proposed pipeline to take into account GHG carbon emissions from downstream power plants using natural gas transported by the new pipeline. It is too early to determine the impacts of this Court decision, but it could be significant.

Gathering service, which occurs on pipeline facilities located upstream of FERC-jurisdictional interstate transportation services, is regulated by the states onshore and in state waters. Depending on changes in the function performed by particular pipeline facilities, FERC has in the past reclassified certain FERC-jurisdictional transportation facilities as non-jurisdictional gathering facilities and FERC has reclassified certain non-jurisdictional gathering facilities as FERC-jurisdictional transportation facilities. Any such changes could result in an increase to our costs of transporting gas to point-of-sale locations.

The pipelines used to gather and transport natural gas being produced by the Company are also subject to regulation by the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) under the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, as amended (“NGPSA”), the Pipeline Safety Act of 1992, as reauthorized and amended (“Pipeline Safety Act”), and the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011.  The DOT Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) has established a risk-based approach to determine which gathering pipelines are subject to regulation and what safety standards regulated gathering pipelines must meet. In addition, PHMSA had initially considered regulations regarding, among other things, the designation of additional high consequence areas along pipelines, minimum requirements for leak detection systems, installation of emergency flow restricting devices, and revision of valve spacing requirements. In October 2015, PHMSA issued proposed new safety regulations for hazardous liquid pipelines, including a requirement that all hazardous liquid pipelines have a system for detecting leaks and that operators address affected pipelines following extreme weather events or natural disasters. On January 13, 2017, these proposed regulations were finalized; however, the rule was subsequently withdrawn by PHMSA on January 24, 2017. The future disposition of these potential new requirements remains uncertain.

Oil and NGLs Sales and Transportation. Sales of oil, condensate and natural gas liquids are not currently regulated and are made at negotiated prices. Nevertheless, Congress could reenact price controls in the future.

The Company’s sales of oil and natural gas liquids are also affected by the availability, terms and costs of transportation. The rates, terms, and conditions applicable to the interstate transportation of oil and natural gas liquids by pipelines are regulated by FERC under the Interstate Commerce Act. FERC has implemented a simplified and generally applicable ratemaking methodology for interstate oil and natural gas liquids pipelines to fulfill the requirements of Title XVIII of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 comprised of an indexing system to establish ceilings on interstate oil and natural gas liquids pipeline rates. Intrastate oil pipeline transportation rates are subject to regulation by state regulatory commissions. The basis for intrastate oil pipeline regulation, and the degree of regulatory oversight and scrutiny given to intrastate oil pipeline rates, varies from state to state. Insofar as effective interstate and intrastate rates are equally applicable to all comparable shippers, we believe that the regulation of oil transportation rates will not affect our operations in any materially different way than such regulation will affect the operations of our competitors.

Further, interstate common carrier oil pipelines must provide service on a non-discriminatory basis under the Interstate Commerce Act (“ICA”), which is administered by FERC. Under this open access standard, common carriers must offer service to all shippers requesting service on the same terms and under the same rates. When oil pipelines operate at full capacity, access is governed by prorationing provisions set forth in the pipelines’ published tariffs. Accordingly, we believe that access to oil pipeline transportation services generally will be available to us to the same extent as to our competitors.

In addition, FERC issued a declaratory order in November 2017, involving a marketing affiliate of an oil pipeline, which held that certain arrangements between an oil pipeline and its marketing affiliate would violate the ICA’s anti-discrimination provisions. FERC held that providing transportation service to affiliates at what is essentially the variable cost of the movement, while requiring non-affiliated shippers to pay the filed tariff rate, would violate the ICA. Rehearing has been sought of this FERC order by various pipelines. It is too recent an event to determine the impact this FERC order may have on oil pipelines, their marketing affiliates, and the price of oil and other liquids transported by such pipelines.

Any transportation of the Company’s oil, natural gas liquids and purity components (ethane, propane, butane, iso-butane, and natural gasoline) by rail is also subject to regulation by the DOT’s PHMSA and the DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”) under the Hazardous Materials Regulations at 49 CFR Parts 171-180, including Emergency Orders by the FRA regulations initially established on May 8, 2015 by PHMSA, arising due to the consequences of train accidents and the increase in the rail transportation of flammable liquids; PHMSA regulations were subsequently amended to remove certain requirements on September 25, 2018.

On January 13, 2017, PHMSA issued final new safety regulations for hazardous liquid pipelines, including a requirement that all hazardous liquid pipelines have a system for detecting leaks and addressing affected pipelines following extreme weather events or natural disasters. However, this rule was subsequently withdrawn by PHMSA on January 24, 2017; the future disposition of these potential new requirements remains uncertain.

State Regulation. Texas regulates the drilling for, and the production, gathering and sale of, oil and natural gas, including imposing severance taxes and requirements for obtaining drilling permits. Texas currently imposes a 4.6% severance tax on oil production and a 7.5% severance tax on natural gas production. States also regulate the method of developing new fields, the spacing and operation of wells and the prevention of waste of oil and natural gas resources. States may regulate rates of production and may establish maximum daily production allowables from oil and natural gas wells based on market demand or resource conservation, or both. States do not regulate wellhead prices or engage in other similar direct economic regulation, but we cannot assure you that they will not do so in the future. The effect of these regulations may be to limit the amount of oil and natural gas that may be produced from our wells and to limit the number of wells or locations we can drill.

The petroleum industry is also subject to compliance with various other federal, state and local regulations and laws. Some of those laws relate to resource conservation and equal employment opportunity. We do not believe that compliance with these laws will have a material adverse effect on us.

 

Commitments and Contingencies

The Company’s activities are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations governing environmental quality and pollution control. Although no assurances can be made, the Company believes that, absent the occurrence of an extraordinary event, compliance with existing federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations governing the release of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment will not have a material effect upon the capital expenditures, earnings or the competitive position of the Company with respect to its existing assets and operations. The Company cannot predict what effect additional regulation or legislation, enforcement policies included, and claims for damages to property, employees, other persons, and the environment resulting from the Company’s operations could have on its activities. See Note 14 in the Footnotes to the Financial Statements for additional information.

Available Information

We make available free of charge on our website (www.callon.com) our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and amendments to such filings, as soon as reasonably practicable after each are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.

We also make available within the “About Callon” section of our website our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Corporate Governance Guidelines, and Audit, Compensation, Strategic Planning and Reserve, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Charters, which have been approved by our Board of Directors. We will make timely disclosure on our website of any change to, or waiver from, the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for our principal executive and senior financial officers. A copy of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is also available, free of charge by writing us at: General Counsel, Callon Petroleum Company, 1401 Enclave Parkway, Suite 600, Houston, TX 77077.