ITEM 1. BUSINESS
General
Pioneer is a Delaware corporation whose common stock is listed and traded on the NYSE. The Company is a large independent oil and gas exploration and production company that explores for, develops and produces oil, NGLs and gas in the Midland Basin in West Texas.
The Company's principal executive office is located at 777 Hidden Ridge, Irving, Texas, 75038. The Company also maintains an office in Midland, Texas and field offices in the Midland Basin.
Available Information
Pioneer files or furnishes annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other documents with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). The SEC maintains a website (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, including Pioneer, that file electronically with the SEC.
The Company makes available, free of charge, through its website (www.pxd.com) its Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and, if applicable, amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after it electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC. In addition to the reports filed or furnished with the SEC, Pioneer publicly discloses information from time to time in its press releases and investor presentations that are posted on its website or during publicly accessible investor conferences. Such information, including information posted on or connected to the Company's website, is not a part of, or incorporated by reference in, this Report or any other document the Company files with or furnishes to the SEC.
Mission and Strategies
The Company's mission is to be America's leading independent energy company, focused on value, safety, the environment, technology and its people. The Company's long-term strategy is centered around the following strategic objectives:
•maintaining a strong balance sheet and financial flexibility;
•returning free cash flow to shareholders via a stable and growing base dividend, a variable dividend and share repurchases;
•utilizing the Company's scale and technological advancements to reduce costs and improve efficiency;
•delivering economic production and reserve growth through drilling, completion and production improvement activities;
•setting high expectations for employees and contractors to perform their jobs in a safe manner; and
•maintaining industry-leading sustainable development and environmental stewardship efforts.
The Company's long-term strategy is anchored by the Company's interests in the long-lived Spraberry/Wolfcamp oil field located in the Midland Basin in West Texas, which has an estimated remaining productive life in excess of 55 years.
Competition
The oil and gas industry is highly competitive in the exploration for and acquisition of reserves, the acquisition of oil and gas leases, marketing of oil, NGL and gas production, the obtaining of equipment and services and the hiring and retention of staff necessary for the identification, evaluation, operation and acquisition and development of oil and gas properties. The Company's competitors include major integrated oil and gas companies, other independent oil and gas companies and individuals engaged in the exploration for and development of oil and gas properties. The Company also faces competition from companies that supply alternative sources of energy, such as wind, solar and other renewables. Competition will increase as alternative energy technology becomes more reliable and governments throughout the world support or mandate the use of such alternative energy.
Competitive advantage is gained in the oil and gas exploration and development industry by employing well-trained and experienced personnel who make prudent capital investment decisions based on management direction, embrace technological innovation and are focused on price and cost management. The Company has a team of dedicated employees who represent the
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professional disciplines and sciences that the Company believes are necessary to allow Pioneer to maximize the long-term profitability inherent in its physical assets.
See "Item 1A. Risk Factors - The Company faces significant competition and some of its competitors have resources in excess of the Company's available resources." for additional information.
Oil and Gas Industry Considerations
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a severe worldwide economic downturn, significantly disrupting the demand for oil throughout the world, and created significant volatility, uncertainty and turmoil in the oil and gas industry. The decrease in demand for oil, combined with excess supply of oil and related products, resulted in oil prices declining significantly beginning in late February 2020. Since mid-2020, oil prices have improved, with demand steadily increasing despite the uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 variants, and related responses by governments worldwide with regards to travel restrictions, business closures and other restrictions, which have continued to inhibit a full global demand recovery. In addition, worldwide oil inventories, from a historical perspective, remain low and concerns exist with the ability of OPEC and other oil producing nations to meet forecasted future oil demand growth, with many OPEC countries not able to produce at their OPEC agreed upon quota levels due to their limited capital investments directed towards developing incremental oil supplies over the past few years. Furthermore, sanctions, import bans and price caps on Russia have been implemented by various countries in response to the war in Ukraine, further impacting global oil supply. As a result of these and other oil and gas supply constraints, the world has experienced significant increases in energy costs. During December 2022, OPEC announced a continuation of its 2 MMBOPD production cut that started in November 2022 related to the uncertainty surrounding the global economy and future oil demand. As a result of the current global supply and demand imbalances, oil and gas prices have remained strong with average NYMEX oil and NYMEX gas prices for the three months ended December 31, 2022 being $82.64 per Bbl and $6.26 per Mcf, respectively, as compared to $77.19 per Bbl and $5.84 per Mcf, respectively, for the same period in 2021. In addition, the ongoing pandemic, combined with the Russia/Ukraine conflict, has resulted in global supply chain disruptions, which has led to significant cost inflation and the potential for a global recession. Specifically, the Company's 2022 capital program was impacted by higher than expected inflation in steel, diesel and chemical prices, among other items.
Global oil price levels and inflationary pressures will ultimately depend on various factors that are beyond the Company's control, such as (i) the ability of OPEC and other oil producing nations to manage the global oil supply, (ii) the impact of sanctions and import bans on production from Russia, (iii) the timing and supply impact of any Iranian sanction relief on their ability to export oil, (iv) the effectiveness of responses by businesses and governments to combat any additional outbreaks of the COVID-19 virus and their impact on domestic and worldwide demand, (v) the global supply chain constraints associated with manufacturing and distribution delays, (vi) oilfield service demand and cost inflation, (vii) political stability of oil consuming countries and (viii) increasing expectations that the world may be heading into a global recession. The Company continues to assess and monitor the impact of these factors and consequences on the Company and its operations.
See "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" for additional information.
Divestiture Activities
The Company regularly reviews its asset base to identify nonstrategic assets, the disposition of which would increase capital resources available for other activities, create organizational and operational efficiencies and further the Company's objective of maintaining a strong balance sheet to ensure financial flexibility.
In February 2022, the Company completed the sale of its equity interest in certain gas gathering and processing systems in northern Martin County for cash proceeds of $125 million (the "Martin County Gas Processing Divestiture"). The sale was treated as a recovery of investment from a partial sale of proved property resulting in no gain or loss being recognized.
See Note 3 and Note 4 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for additional information. Marketing of Production
General. Production from the Company's properties is marketed using methods that are consistent with industry practices. Sales prices for oil, NGL and gas production are negotiated based on factors normally considered in the industry, such as an index or spot price, distance from the well to a major pipeline, commodity quality and prevailing supply and demand conditions. See "Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" for additional information.
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Seasonal nature of business. Generally, but not always, the demand for gas decreases during the summer months and increases during the winter months. Seasonal anomalies such as mild winters or hot summers may impact general seasonal changes in gas demand.
Delivery commitments. The Company has committed certain volumes of oil, NGLs and gas to customers under a variety of contracts, some of which have volumetric firm transportation or fractionation requirements that could require monetary shortfall penalties if the Company's transported or fractionation volumes are insufficient to satisfy associated commitments. See Note 11 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for additional information. Significant purchasers. During 2022, the Company's oil, NGL and gas sales to Energy Transfer Crude Marketing LLC, Shell Trading US Company, Occidental Energy Marketing Inc. and Plains Marketing Inc. accounted for 23 percent, 14 percent, 12 percent and 10 percent of the Company's oil, NGL and gas revenues, respectively. The loss of one of these significant purchasers or an inability to secure adequate pipeline, gas plant and NGL fractionation infrastructure for production could have a material adverse effect on the Company's ability to produce and sell its oil, NGL and gas production.
Revenues from sales of purchased oil to Occidental Energy Marketing Inc. accounted for 14 percent of the Company's sales of purchased commodities. No other sales customer exceeded 10 percent of the Company's sales of purchased commodities during 2022. The loss of the Company's significant purchaser of purchased commodities would not be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company's ability to sell commodities it purchases from third parties.
See Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for additional information. Sustainability and Environmental Compliance Costs
Since 2019, the Company has annually published a Sustainability Report that follows the guidance provided by the Global Reporting Initiative framework and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board to address its ESG performance. Since 2021, the Company has annually published a Climate Risk Report that is structured in accordance with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures framework. The Climate Risk Report is used to increase the transparency of Pioneer's progress toward integrating climate-related risks and opportunities into the Company's governance structure, business strategy and planning processes, and its risk management practice. For more information on the Company's approach to sustainability management, refer to its Sustainability Report and Climate Risk Report, which are available on Pioneer's website (www.pxd.com). Information contained in the Company's Sustainability Reports and Climate Risk Reports is not incorporated by reference into, and does not constitute a part of, this Report. While the Company believes that the disclosures contained in the Company's Sustainability Reports, Climate Risk Reports, and other voluntary disclosures regarding ESG matters are responsive to various areas of investor interest, the Company believes that certain of these disclosures do not currently address matters that are material to the Company's operations, strategy, financial condition, or financial results, although this view may change in the future based on new information that could materially alter the estimates, assumptions, or timelines used to create these disclosures. Given the estimates, assumptions and timelines used to create the Company's Sustainability Reports, Climate Risk Reports, and other voluntary disclosures, the materiality of these disclosures is inherently difficult to assess in advance.
The trend in environmental regulation has been to place more restrictions and limitations on activities that may affect the environment and thus, there can be no assurance as to the amount or timing of future expenditures for environmental compliance or remediation and actual future expenditures may be different from the amounts the Company currently anticipates. As with the upstream industry in general, complying with current and anticipated environmental laws and regulations can increase the Company's capital costs to drill, complete and construct and operate facilities. While these laws and regulations may affect the Company's capital expenditures and net income, the Company does not believe they will have a material adverse effect on its business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows, nor does the Company believe that they will affect its competitive position since the operations of its competitors are generally similarly affected. Future events, such as changes in existing laws or enforcement policies, the promulgation of new laws or regulations or the development or discovery of new facts or conditions may cause the Company to incur significant costs. See "Health, Safety and Environmental Risks" in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" for additional information.
Environmental, social, and governance leadership. The Company's ESG Task Force comprises a subset of the Company's executive committee (which is comprised of its Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and other executive officers ("Executive Committee") and other key officers, leaders and subject matter experts from various disciplines across the Company. The ESG Task Force shapes the Company's long-term ESG strategy and oversees the implementation of corporate ESG goals and related reporting. The ESG Task Force works to provide strategic direction and expert advice to the broader organization and through its leadership, the Company has improved its ESG governance processes, including: (i) aiding the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") in formalizing its oversight of ESG goals and the
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
formation of the Sustainability and Climate Oversight Committee; (ii) establishing and progressing the Company's long-term net zero (Scope 1 and Scope 2) emissions ambition; (iii) aligning risk management and decision-making processes with voluntary frameworks, including the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board; (iv) driving strategic and operational activities to implement ESG goals; (v) sanctioning a third-party audit to provide limited data assurance; and (vi) progressing the Company's supply chain performance. The priority of the ESG Task Force is to continue to assess, develop and progress ESG activities at the Company.
Human Capital
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had 2,076 employees, 900 of whom were employed in field operations.
Values and governance. Pioneer's approach to human capital management is guided by its core RESPECT values. These values - Respect and inclusion, Ethics and honesty, Safety and stewardship, Personal accountability, Entrepreneurship and innovation, Communication and transparency and Teamwork - apply to all employees, suppliers and contractors and guide how Pioneer interacts with partner companies, communities, the environment and all other stakeholders. Pioneer aims to conduct all aspects of its business in accordance with these core values, which serve as the cultural foundation of the Company.
The Company's Executive Committee and its Board set the Company's human capital management philosophies and goals. They routinely engage on workforce-related topics with the support of the human resources function, which oversees and administers the Company's human capital management programs.
The Company understands that employee recruiting, retention and development play a critical role in the Company's ability to conduct its business activities and achieve its long-term strategy. As a result, the Company's Executive Committee and Board take a holistic view of human capital management and have established policies and development programs with the goal of creating an equitable and inclusive environment to allow all employees to feel respected, valued and connected to the business. The key aspects of the Company's human capital management include the Company's compensation and benefits program, diversity and inclusion initiatives, recruitment, talent management and development, community involvement and Health, Safety and Environment ("HSE") programs.
Compensation and benefits program. The Company annually reviews its compensation levels for all employees in an effort to adjust compensation levels for changing market conditions, allowing the Company to attract and retain a highly skilled workforce. The Company considers its employees to be its greatest asset and encourages them to take full advantage of the benefits and programs the Company offers. To ensure Pioneer attracts and retains top talent, the Company maintains an above-average benefits package. Pioneer's employees participate in incentive plans that take into consideration individual and Company performance through a traditional cash bonus plan and a variable compensation plan denominated in Company stock. These plans align employee compensation with the Company's success on critical performance metrics and goals, while also recognizing individual performance. The variable compensation plan denominated in Company stock is designed to attract and retain employees, reward performance and align the interest of employees with stockholders through the encouragement of stock ownership. In addition to cash and equity compensation, the Company also offers other employee benefits such as Company paid premiums for life and health (medical, dental and vision) insurance, paid time off, paid parental leave, flexible work schedules and a 401(k) plan that includes employer matching contributions.
The Company routinely benchmarks its compensation and benefits program to ensure that the programs remain competitive, continue to align with the Company's RESPECT values and meet the needs of employees and their families. As part of the Company's benefits program, it offers flexible work schedules, including a hybrid remote work program, compressed workweeks and allowances for time off, including a parental leave policy that includes up to twelve weeks of paid leave for the primary caregiver and two weeks of paid leave for the secondary caregiver. The Company's wellness programs include on-site health centers, daycare centers, fitness centers, a range of healthy eating options at employee cafeterias and an employee assistance program to support the mental well-being of employees.
Diversity, equity and inclusion. The Company is committed to creating an inclusive environment where all employees feel respected, valued and connected to the business — a workplace to which individuals bring their authentic selves and can be successful in achieving their goals. The Company's dedicated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ("DEI") program is focused on every aspect of the Company's business. The Company's Executive Committee is accountable for having long-term DEI goals for their respective departments as the Company believes that senior leadership involvement is crucial for progress on these goals. In addition, DEI plans and progress are reviewed regularly with the Board. The Company has established a variety of DEI initiatives, such as OnePioneer, an employee-led Company organization whose goal is to advance DEI across the entire Company.
The Company actively monitors diversity metrics across its entire workforce. Currently, 31 percent of the Board and 33 percent of the Executive Committee are women and 23 percent of the Board and 11 percent of the Executive Committee
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identify as ethnic minorities. The Company intends to disclose its 2022 Consolidated EEO-1 Report on its website (www.pxd.com) after submission of the report to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in an effort to provide additional transparency into the Company's efforts to increase under-represented populations in its workforce.
Talent management and development. The Company's talent planning involves a comprehensive approach to adequately prepare employees for their responsibilities and for future advancement. The Company's performance management process occurs annually and, in accordance with the Company's RESPECT values, encourages and reinforces ongoing feedback and coaching between employees and managers, employee growth and development for their current role and future success and alignment of individual goals with company-wide goals and team objectives. Pioneer strives to build a more skilled and engaged workforce with skill-building and competency-based training and development opportunities. The Company's competency model comprises professional, leadership and technical competencies and complements each employee's individual development planning process. In furtherance of each employee's individual development plan, the Company's workforce is trained in accordance with Pioneer's 70/20/10 learning model (70 percent on-the-job and experience-based, 20 percent collaboration and coaching, 10 percent formal training). Employees are offered a variety of development options including in-person professional trainings, technical trainings, consultation services, vendor partnerships and more.
The Company's talent planning approach also identifies and targets development of critical talent. The Company identifies critical roles based on several factors, including strategic importance, scope and impact, and unique skills. Successor candidates for those critical roles are then identified as those who have the interest, ability and experience to succeed in the critical role within five years. Talent planning enables Pioneer to proactively advance succession planning and offer targeted development for high potential employees and successors, while enabling a cross-functional view of talent to increase visibility and mobility.
Community involvement. Pioneer's dedication to community well-being and success shows in the many ways the Company seeks to be a good neighbor in its operating areas. The Company's employees continually seek out events, organizations, initiatives and partnerships to support the communities where they work and live, and the Company is honored to support their ongoing efforts to enrich the communities where they live and work, including through a charitable matching program.
Health, safety and environment. The Company's HSE organization, with oversight from the Health, Safety and Environment Committee (the "HSE Committee") of the Board, supports the Company's business teams to provide an organized approach for HSE activities and maintain a culture of improvement in HSE practices. The Company's HSE policy identifies and manages health, safety and environmental risks and impacts through business decisions, plans and operations by fostering a culture of safety and environmental stewardship, as well as a proactive network of systems to monitor compliance with regulatory requirements. This policy applies to all employees. The Company expects contractors, vendors and suppliers on Pioneer property for business-related purposes to identify and manage their own HSE risks and impacts in collaboration with the Company, and to maintain an HSE policy that meets or exceeds the Company's HSE policy. This expectation was further strengthened in 2022 with the Company's implementation of a new Supplier Code of Conduct that aligns with and compliments the Company's Code of Conduct and provides additional clarity to suppliers regarding the Company's expectations in connection with HSE risks and other areas including values, human rights, sustainability, compliance and anti-bribery, among others.
The Company's HSE policy covers all Pioneer operations and aligns with the Company's HSE Management System ("HSEMS"). As outlined in the HSE policy, the Company is dedicated to protecting the health and safety of everyone who works at Pioneer facilities by encouraging high standards. All HSE incidents are required to be reported, no matter how small, and are investigated to develop corrective actions to reduce the likelihood of recurrence. The HSEMS consists of 13 elements that set HSE expectations, provide an avenue for employee engagement and drive HSE performance improvement. Pioneer has an HSE risk management program to identify and manage risk across business teams. In support of driving continuous improvement, HSE strategic objectives, focus areas and tactical deliverables are established annually to drive HSE performance. Throughout the year, progress toward these objectives are measured and reported to the Executive Committee and the HSE Committee.
Feedback and engagement. The Company's human capital management approach is augmented by a robust employee feedback program. The Company believes that giving employees a voice is paramount to creating a thriving and resilient culture and undertakes an annual engagement survey to provide a view into overall organizational health. The results are used to identify issues that are important to employees and to implement improvement opportunities. In 2022, the Company received a 76 percent participation rate in the survey and its engagement score ranked in the top 10 percent of companies who used the same platform. Most importantly, the quantitative and qualitative survey data was utilized by leaders across the organization to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement and to inform action plans to address issues.
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Regulation
The oil and gas industry is extensively regulated at the federal, state and local levels. Regulations affecting elements of the energy sector are under constant review for amendment or expansion and frequently more stringent requirements are imposed. Various federal and state agencies, including the Texas Railroad Commission, the Bureau of Land Management (the "BLM"), an agency of the U.S Department of the Interior ("DOI"), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA") and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA"), have legal and regulatory authority and oversight over the Company's exploration and development activities and operations. Other agencies with certain authority over the Company's business include the Internal Revenue Service, the SEC and NYSE. Ensuring compliance with the rules, regulations and orders promulgated by such entities requires extensive effort and incremental costs to comply, which affects the Company's profitability. Because public policy changes are commonplace, and existing laws and regulations are frequently amended, the Company is unable to predict the future cost or impact of compliance. However, the Company does not expect that any of these laws and regulations will affect its operations materially differently than they would affect other companies with similar operations, size and financial strength.
The following are significant areas of government control and regulation affecting the Company:
Securities regulations. Enterprises that sell securities in public markets are subject to regulatory oversight by agencies such as the SEC and the NYSE. This regulatory oversight imposes many requirements on the Company, including the responsibility for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures alongside internal controls over financial reporting, and ensuring that the financial statements and other information included in submissions to the SEC do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made in such submissions not misleading. Failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the SEC could subject the Company to litigation from public or private plaintiffs. Failure to comply with the rules of the NYSE could result in the delisting of the Company's common stock, which would have an adverse effect on the market price and liquidity of the Company's common stock. Compliance with some of these rules and regulations is costly, and regulations are subject to change or reinterpretation.
Environmental and occupational health and safety matters. The Company strives to conduct its operations in a socially and environmentally responsible manner and is required to comply with many federal, state and local laws, regulations and executive orders concerning occupational safety and health, the discharge or other release of materials and protection of the environment and natural resources. These environmental legal requirements primarily relate to:
•the discharge or other release of pollutants into federal and state waters and the ambient air;
•assessing the environmental impact of seismic acquisition, drilling and construction activities;
•the generation, storage, transportation and disposal of waste materials, including hazardous substances and wastes;
•the emission of certain gases, including GHGs, into the atmosphere;
•the monitoring, abandonment, reclamation and remediation of wells and other sites, including sites of former operations;
•the development of emergency response and spill contingency plans;
•the protection of threatened and endangered species; and
•worker protection.
The more significant of these existing environmental and occupational health and safety laws and regulations include the following U.S. legal standards, as amended from time to time:
•the Clean Air Act ("CAA"), which restricts the emission of air pollutants from many sources and imposes various preconstruction, operational, monitoring and reporting requirements, and has also been relied upon by the EPA as authority for adopting climate change regulatory initiatives relating to GHG emissions;
•the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act ("CWA"), which regulates discharges of pollutants from facilities to state and federal waters, and establishes the extent to which waterways are subject to federal jurisdiction and rulemaking as protected waters of the United States;
•the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 ("CERCLA"), which imposes liability on generators, transporters, disposers and arrangers of hazardous substances at sites where hazardous substance releases have occurred or are threatening to occur;
•the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA"), which governs the generation, treatment, storage, transport and disposal of solid wastes, including oil and gas exploration and production wastes and hazardous wastes;
•the Safe Drinking Water Act ("SDWA"), which ensures the quality of the nation's public drinking water through adoption of drinking water standards and controlling the injection of waste fluids into below-ground formations that may adversely affect drinking water sources;
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•OSHA, which establishes workplace standards for the protection of the health and safety of employees, including the implementation of hazard communications programs designed to inform employees about hazardous substances in the workplace, potential harmful effects of these substances and appropriate control measures; and
•the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), which restricts activities that may affect federally identified endangered and threatened species or their habitats through the implementation of operating restrictions or a temporary, seasonal or permanent ban in affected areas.
Additionally, there are existing tribal, state and local jurisdictions where the Company operates that also have, or are developing or considering developing, similar environmental and occupational health and safety laws and regulations governing many of these same types of activities. Failure by the Company to comply with these laws, regulations and regulatory initiatives or controls may result in the assessment of sanctions, including administrative, civil and criminal penalties; the imposition of investigatory, remedial and corrective action obligations or the obligation to incur capital or operating expenditures; the occurrence of restrictions, delays or cancellations in the permitting, development or expansion of projects; and issuance of injunctions restricting or prohibiting some or all of the Company's activities in a particular area. Historically, the Company's environmental and worker safety compliance costs have not had a material adverse effect on its results of operations. However, there can be no assurance that such costs will not be material in the future or that such future compliance will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's business and operational results.
The Company owns, leases or operates numerous properties that have been used for oil and gas exploration and production activities for many years. The Company also has acquired certain properties from third parties whose actions with respect to the management and disposal or release of hydrocarbons, hazardous substances or wastes at or from such properties were not under the Company's control prior to acquiring them. Under certain environmental laws and regulations, such as CERCLA and RCRA, the Company could incur strict joint and several liability due to damages to natural resources or for remediating hydrocarbons, hazardous substances or wastes disposed of or released by prior owners or operators. Moreover, an accidental release of materials into the environment during the Company's operations may cause it to incur significant costs and liabilities. The Company also could incur costs related to the clean-up of third-party sites to which it sent regulated substances for disposal or to which it sent equipment for cleaning and for damages to natural resources or other claims related to releases of regulated substances at or from such third-party sites.
Over time, the trend in environmental and occupational health and safety laws and regulations is to typically place more restrictions and limitations on activities that may adversely affect the environment or expose workers to injury. If existing legal requirements change or new legislative, regulatory or executive initiatives are developed and implemented in the future, the Company may be required to make significant, unanticipated capital and operating expenditures. The Company may not have insurance or be fully covered by insurance against all environmental and occupational health and safety risks. For more information on environmental and occupational health and safety matters, see the risk factors identified as Health, Safety and Environmental Risks in "Item 1A. Risk Factors."
Other regulation of the oil and gas industry. The Company's oil and gas operations are subject to laws and regulations that relate to matters including:
•the acquisition of seismic data;
•location, drilling and casing of wells;
•hydraulic fracturing;
•well production operations;
•disposal of produced water;
•regulation of transportation and sale of oil, NGLs and gas;
•surface usage;
•calculation and disbursement of royalty payments and production taxes; and
•restoration of properties used for oil and gas operations.
Development and production operations are subject to various regulations, including regulations requiring permits for the drilling of wells, the posting of bonds in connection with development and production activities and the filing of reports related to production operations. Texas, and some municipalities in which the Company operates, also regulate one or more of the following:
•the location of wells;
•the method of drilling and casing wells;
•the method and ability to fracture stimulate wells;
•the surface use and restoration of properties upon which wells are drilled;
•the disposal of produced water;
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•the plugging and abandoning of wells; and
•notices to surface owners and other third parties.
State laws regulate the size of drilling and spacing units or proration units governing the drilling and production of oil and gas properties. The Company relies on voluntary pooling, production sharing agreements and the drilling of allocation wells to develop its leases. In some instances, forced pooling or unitization may be implemented by third parties and may reduce the Company's interest in the unitized properties. In addition, state conservation laws establish maximum rates of production from oil and gas wells and generally prohibit the venting or flaring of gas without a permit. These laws and regulations may limit the amount of oil and gas the Company can produce from the Company's wells, negatively affect the economic decision to continue to produce these wells or limit the number of wells or locations that the Company can economically drill.
Approximately one percent of the Company's U.S. oil and gas leases are granted or approved by the federal government and administered by the BLM. All of the Company's federal leases are outside of Texas and the Company has no current operations or plans to further develop the leases at this time. Such leases require compliance with detailed federal regulations and orders that regulate, among other matters, drilling and operations on lands covered by these leases and the calculation and disbursement of royalty payments to the federal government.
See "Regulatory Risks" and "Health, Safety and Environmental Risks" included in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" for additional information.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The Company's operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those described below. Other risks are described in "Item 1. Business — Competition, Markets and Regulations," "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk." The Company's business could also be affected by additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to the Company or that it currently deems to be immaterial. If any of these risks actually occur, it could materially harm the Company's business, financial condition or results of operations or impair the Company's ability to implement business plans or complete development activities as scheduled. In that case, the market price of the Company's common stock could decline. The following risk factors are summarized as general business and industry; operational; financial; health, safety and environmental; and regulatory.
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General Business and Industry Risks | | |
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•The COVID-19 pandemic and related developments in the global oil markets have had, and depending on the progression of the pandemic, may continue to have, material adverse consequences for general economic, business and industry conditions and for the Company's operations, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity and those of its purchasers, suppliers and other counterparties. | | | | |
•Declining general economic, business or industry conditions could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations. | | | | |
•The Company may be unable to make attractive acquisitions and any acquisition it completes is subject to substantial risks that could materially and adversely affect its business. | | | | |
•The Company's ability to complete dispositions of assets or sell partial interests in assets may be subject to factors beyond its control, and in certain cases, the Company may be required to retain liabilities for certain matters. | | | | |
•The Company's operations and drilling activity are concentrated in the Midland Basin of West Texas; such concentration makes the Company vulnerable to risks associated with operating in a limited geographic area. | | | | |
•The Company may not be able to obtain access on commercially reasonable terms or otherwise to gathering systems, pipelines and other processing, fractionation, refining, storage, transportation and export facilities to market its oil, NGL and gas production. | | | | |
•The Company relies on a limited number of purchasers for a majority of its products. | | | | |
•The refining industry and export facilities may be unable to absorb U.S. oil production, and the ability to export oil is subject to suspension; in any such case, the resulting surplus could depress prices and restrict the availability of markets. | | | | |
•Estimates of proved reserves and future net cash flows are not precise. The actual quantities and net cash flows of the Company's proved reserves may prove to be lower than estimated. | | | | |
•Because the Company's producing wells decline continually over time, the Company will need to mitigate these declines through drilling and production enhancement initiatives and/or acquisitions. | | | | |
•A portion of the Company's total estimated proved reserves as of December 31, 2022 were undeveloped, and those proved reserves may not ultimately be developed. | | | | |
•The Company faces significant competition and some of its competitors have resources in excess of the Company's available resources. | | | | |
•The Company's business could be materially and adversely affected by security threats, including cybersecurity threats, and other disruptions. | | | | |
•Provisions of the Company's charter documents and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for the Company's common stock. | | | | |
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Operational Risks | | | | |
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•The Company's operations involve many operational risks, some of which could result in unforeseen interruptions to the Company's operations and substantial losses to the Company for which the Company may not be adequately insured. | | | | |
•Exploration and development drilling involve substantial costs and risks and may not result in commercially productive reserves. | | | | |
•Part of the Company's strategy involves using some of the latest available horizontal drilling and completion techniques, which involve risks and uncertainties in their application. | | | | |
•The Company's expectations for future drilling activities will be realized over several years, making them susceptible to uncertainties that could materially alter the occurrence or timing of such activities. | | | | |
•Multi-well pad drilling may result in volatility in the Company's operating results. | | | | |
•The Company's operations are substantially dependent upon the availability of water and its ability to dispose of produced water gathered from drilling and production activities. | | | | |
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
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•The Company's use of seismic data is subject to interpretation and may not accurately identify the presence of oil and gas, which could materially and adversely affect the results of its future drilling operations. | | | | |
•The Company's gas processing and gathering systems are subject to operational and regulatory risks. | | | | |
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Financial Risks | | | | |
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•The prices of oil, NGLs and gas are highly volatile. | | | | |
•Future declines in the price of oil, NGLs and gas could result in a reduction in the carrying value of the Company's proved oil and gas properties. | | | | |
•The Company's actual production could differ materially from its forecasts. | | | | |
•The Company could experience periods of higher costs if commodity prices rise. | | | | |
•The Company is a party to debt instruments, a Credit Facility and other financial commitments that may limit the Company's ability to fund future business and financing activities. | | | | |
• The Company's return of capital strategies, including its base and variable dividend policy and share repurchase program, may be changed at the discretion of the Board, and the Company's ability to declare and pay base and variable dividends and repurchase shares are subject to certain considerations. | | | | |
•A failure by purchasers of the Company's production to satisfy their obligations to the Company could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations. | | | | |
•The Company's derivative risk management activities could result in financial losses, limit the Company's potential gains or fail to protect the Company from declines in commodity prices. | | | | |
•Pioneer's ability to utilize its U.S. net operating loss carryforwards to offset future income taxes may be limited. | | | | |
•The Company periodically evaluates its unproved oil and gas properties for impairment and could be required to recognize noncash charges in the earnings of future periods. | | | | |
•The Company periodically evaluates its goodwill for impairment and could be required to recognize noncash charges in the earnings of future periods. | | | | |
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Health, Safety and Environmental Risks | | | | |
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•The Company's operations are subject to a series of risks arising out of the threat of climate change, energy conservation measures or initiatives that stimulate demand for alternative forms of energy. | | | | |
•The nature of the Company's assets and production operations may impact the environment or cause environmental contamination. | | | | |
•The Company's hydraulic fracturing and former sand mining operations may result in silica-related health issues and litigation. | | | | |
•Increasing attention to ESG matters may impact the Company's business. | | | | |
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Regulatory Risks | | | | |
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•The Company's operations are subject to stringent environmental, oil and gas-related and occupational safety and health legal requirements. | | | | |
•Laws, regulations and other executive actions or regulatory initiatives regarding hydraulic fracturing could increase the Company's cost of doing business and result in additional operating restrictions, delays or cancellations that could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition. | | | | |
•Laws and regulations pertaining to protection of threatened and endangered species or to critical habitat, wetlands and natural resources could delay, restrict or prohibit the Company's operations and cause it to incur substantial costs. | | | | |
•The Company's transportation of gas; sales and purchases of oil, NGLs and gas or other energy commodities; and any derivative activities related to such energy commodities, expose the Company to potential regulatory risks. | | | | |
•The enactment of derivatives legislation could have a material adverse effect on the Company's ability to use derivative instruments to reduce the effect of commodity price, interest rate and other risks associated with its business. | | | | |
•The Company's bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) will be the exclusive forum for certain legal actions between the Company and its stockholders and that the federal district courts of the United States shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of causes of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933. | | | | |
•Changes in tax laws or the interpretation thereof or the imposition of new or increased taxes or fees may adversely affect the Company's operations and cash flows. | | | | |
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
General Business and Industry Risks
The COVID-19 pandemic and related developments in the global oil markets have had, and depending on the progression of the pandemic, may continue to have, material adverse consequences for general economic, business and industry conditions and for the Company's operations, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity and those of its purchasers, suppliers and other counterparties.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the global economy, disrupted global supply chains and created significant volatility in the financial markets. In addition, the onset of the pandemic resulted in widespread travel restrictions, business closures and other restrictions that led to a significant reduction in demand for oil, NGLs and gas, resulting in oil prices declining significantly in the first quarter of 2020. While demand for and prices for oil, NGLs and gas have improved throughout 2021 and 2022 as travel restrictions, business closures and other restrictions were lifted, an increase in infections or the onset of a new variant of the virus could again reduce demand for and prices of oil, NGLs and gas. If this were to continue for a prolonged period, the Company, similar to the steps it took at the onset of the pandemic in 2020, may have to make changes to its operations and capital budgets, and the Company's operations, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity may be materially and adversely affected. Risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
•An extended decline in commodity prices could materially and adversely affect the amount of oil, NGLs and gas that the Company can produce economically, which may result in (i) the Company having to make significant downward adjustments to its estimated proved reserves and (ii) a shortfall in expected cash flows, which could require the Company to reduce capital spending or borrow funds to cover any such shortfall. In addition, the continuation of depressed prices may adversely affect the ability of the Company to pay dividends or repurchase shares of common stock in the future.
•A reduced demand for oil, combined with an oversupply of oil, would likely result in an oil surplus in the United States and worldwide. If the global demand for oil exports to foreign markets, or if the price that can be obtained in foreign markets does not support the transportation and other costs to reach those destinations, it may be uneconomical to invest in new wells and may cause the Company to shut in producing wells. The Company cannot be certain whether shut-in wells can successfully return to pre-shut-in production levels or that the costs required to return the wells to production will be economical.
•The Company's ability to develop and sell its production could be materially and adversely affected by the inability or unwillingness of third parties to provide sufficient processing, fractionation, refining, transportation, storage or export facilities to the Company. For example, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, oil storage in the United States was, at times, near full capacity in many locations. If this were to again occur for an extended period, the Company's purchasers might decline to purchase the Company's oil, NGLs and gas, and the Company may not be able to store its production. Such a lack of market for or storage capacity for the Company's products could require that the Company shut in some portion of its production. The amount of oil in storage may also keep oil prices at low levels for an extended period, even after demand begins to rise.
•Under Texas law, the Texas Railroad Commission is empowered to prorate oil production in the state based on market demand. If the Texas Railroad Commission finds that waste is taking place or is reasonably imminent, it is empowered to adopt a rule or order to correct, prevent, or lessen the waste. If the Texas Railroad Commission imposes proration in the future, or if any other similar laws or regulations are imposed, those restrictions would limit the amount of oil, NGLs and gas the Company can produce.
•It is possible that any delay, reduction or curtailment of the Company's development and producing operations, whether due to regulatory actions or actions by the Company in reaction to market conditions, could result in the loss of acreage through lease expiration.
•Market conditions resulting from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, low oil prices or a negative or recessionary economy could also increase the risk that the purchasers of the Company's production, lenders under its credit agreement, counterparties to its derivative instruments and service providers may be unable to fulfill their obligations in a timely manner, or at all. If any such counterparty were to default on its obligations, such a default could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations.
•The Company performs assessments of its proved and unproved oil and gas properties whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying values of those assets may not be recoverable. To the extent such tests indicate a reduction of the estimated useful life or estimated future cash flows of the Company's proved oil and gas properties, an impairment charge could be required to reduce the carrying value of its proved oil and gas properties to their fair value. In addition, goodwill is assessed for impairment whenever it is likely that events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value.
•The Company's operations may be adversely affected if significant portions of its workforce are unable to work effectively, including because of illness, quarantines, social distancing, government actions, or other restrictions in
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has implemented workplace restrictions, including guidance for employees to work remotely for health and safety reasons, where possible. As some employees may have been or may in the future be placed in workplaces where exposure to COVID-19 is possible, the Company may be subject to risk of liability should such employees allege that the Company failed to adequately mitigate the risk of exposure to COVID-19, to the extent obligated to do so. In addition, in order to facilitate remote working arrangements, some employees are accessing workspaces from their personal devices through cloud-based systems, which could increase cybersecurity risks to the Company and to its employees. There can be no assurance that the Company's operations will not be curtailed or suspended or otherwise adversely affected due to such workforce issues.
The Company is not able to predict the ultimate long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business, which will depend on numerous evolving factors and future developments that are beyond the Company's control, including the length of time that the pandemic continues, the speed and effectiveness of responses to combat the COVID-19 virus, the impact of the pandemic and its aftermath on the demand for oil, NGLs and gas, the response of the overall economy and the financial markets as well as the effect of governmental actions taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Declining general economic, business or industry conditions could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations.
The economies in the United States and certain countries in Europe and Asia have been growing, with resulting improvements in industrial demand and consumer confidence. However, other economies, such as those of certain South American nations, continue to face economic struggles or slowing economic growth. If these conditions worsen, combined with a decline in economic growth in other parts of the world, there could be a significant adverse effect on global financial markets and commodity prices. In addition, continued hostilities in the Middle East and the occurrence or threat of terrorist attacks in the United States or other countries could adversely affect the global economy. Global or national health concerns, including the outbreak of pandemic or contagious disease, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may adversely affect the Company by (i) reducing demand for its oil, NGLs and gas because of reduced global or national economic activity, (ii) impairing its supply chain (for example, by limiting manufacturing of materials used in operations) and (iii) affecting the health of its workforce, rendering employees unable to work or travel. If the economic climate in the United States or abroad were to deteriorate, due to inflation, rising interest rates or otherwise, demand for petroleum products could diminish or stagnate, which could depress the prices at which the Company could sell its oil, NGLs and gas, affect the ability of the Company's vendors, suppliers and customers to continue operations and ultimately decrease the Company's cash flows and profitability. In addition, reduced worldwide demand for debt and equity securities issued by oil and gas companies may make it more difficult for the Company to raise capital to fund its operations or refinance its debt obligations.
The Company may be unable to make attractive acquisitions and any acquisition it completes is subject to substantial risks that could materially and adversely affect its business.
Acquisitions of oil and gas properties, including acreage trades, have from time to time contributed to the Company's growth. Acquisition opportunities in the oil and gas industry are very competitive, which can increase the cost of, or cause the Company to refrain from, completing acquisitions. The success of any acquisition will depend on a number of factors and involves potential risks, including, among other things:
•the inability to accurately forecast future commodity prices and estimate the costs to develop the acquired reserves, the recoverable volumes of the acquired reserves, rates of future production and future net cash flows attainable from the acquired reserves;
•the assumption of unknown liabilities, including environmental liabilities, and losses or costs for which the Company is not indemnified or for which the indemnity the Company receives is inadequate;
•the validity of assumptions about costs, including synergies;
•the effect on the Company's liquidity or financial leverage of using available cash or debt to finance acquisitions or from the amount of debt assumed as part of the acquisition;
•the diversion of management's attention from other business concerns; and
•an inability to hire, train or retain qualified personnel to manage and operate the Company's growing business and assets.
All of these factors affect whether an acquisition will ultimately generate cash flows sufficient to provide a suitable return on investment. Even though the Company performs a review of the properties it seeks to acquire that it believes is consistent with industry practices, such reviews are often limited in scope. As a result, among other risks, the Company's initial estimates of reserves may be subject to revision following an acquisition, which may materially and adversely affect the desired
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
benefits of the acquisition. See "Risks Associated with Acquisitions" included in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" for additional information.
The Company's ability to complete dispositions of assets or sell partial interests in assets may be subject to factors beyond its control, and in certain cases, the Company may be required to retain liabilities for certain matters.
The Company regularly reviews its property base for the purpose of identifying nonstrategic assets, the disposition of which would increase capital resources available for other activities and create organizational and operational efficiencies. In addition, from time to time, the Company sells an interest in its oil and gas properties for the purpose of assisting or accelerating the asset's development. Various factors could materially affect the ability of the Company to dispose of such nonstrategic assets or partial interests or complete announced dispositions, including the receipt of approvals of governmental agencies or third parties and the availability of purchasers willing to acquire the nonstrategic assets or partial interests on terms and at prices acceptable to the Company.
Sellers typically retain certain liabilities or indemnify buyers for certain pre-closing matters, such as matters of litigation, environmental contingencies, royalty obligations and income taxes. The magnitude of any such retained liability or indemnification obligation may be difficult to quantify at the time of the transaction and ultimately may be material. Also, as is typical in divestiture transactions, third parties may be unwilling to release the Company from guarantees or other credit support provided prior to the sale of the divested assets. As a result, after a divestiture, the Company may remain secondarily liable for the obligations guaranteed or supported to the extent that the buyer of the assets fails to perform these obligations.
The Company's operations and drilling activity are concentrated in the Midland Basin of West Texas, an area of high industry activity, which may affect its ability to obtain the personnel, equipment, services, resources and facilities access needed to complete its development activities as planned or result in increased costs; such concentration also makes the Company vulnerable to risks associated with operating in a limited geographic area.
The Company's producing properties are geographically concentrated in the Midland Basin of West Texas. Industry activity is high in the Midland Basin and demand for and costs of personnel, equipment, power, services and resources remains high. Any delay or inability to secure the personnel, equipment, power, services and resources could result in oil, NGL and gas production volumes being below the Company's forecasted volumes. In addition, any such negative effect on production volumes, or significant increases in costs, could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations, cash flow and profitability.
As a result of this concentration, the Company may be disproportionately exposed to the impact of delays or interruptions of operations or production in this area caused by external factors such as governmental regulation, state politics, market limitations, produced water disposal limitations, water or sand shortages, or extreme weather related conditions.
The Company may not be able to obtain access on commercially reasonable terms or otherwise to gathering systems, pipelines and other processing, fractionation, refining, storage, transportation and export facilities to market its oil, NGL and gas production.
The marketing of oil, NGL and gas production depends in large part on the availability, proximity and capacity of gathering systems, pipelines and other processing, fractionation, refining, storage, transportation and export facilities, as well as the existence of adequate markets. If there were insufficient capacity available on these systems, if these systems were unavailable to the Company or if access to these systems were to become commercially unreasonable, the price offered for the Company's production could be significantly depressed, or the Company could be forced to shut in some production or delay or discontinue drilling plans and commercial production following a discovery of hydrocarbons while it constructs its own facility or awaits the availability of third party facilities. The Company also relies (and expects to rely in the future) on facilities developed and owned by third parties in order to gather, store, process, transport, fractionate, refine, export and sell its oil, NGL and gas production. The Company's plans to develop and sell production from its oil and gas reserves could be materially and adversely affected by the inability or unwillingness of third parties to provide sufficient gathering, transportation, storage, processing, fractionation, refining or export facilities to the Company, especially in areas of planned expansion where such facilities do not currently exist. Additionally, certain of these challenges may be compounded by a high level of industry activity in the Permian Basin.
For example, following Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008, certain Permian Basin gas processors were forced to shut down their plants due to the inability of certain Texas Gulf Coast NGL fractionators to operate. The Company was able to produce its oil wells and vent or flare the associated gas; however, there is no certainty the Company will vent or flare gas in the future as a result of its emissions reduction efforts and potential changes in regulations. The amount of oil and gas that can be produced is subject to limitations in certain circumstances, such as pipeline interruptions due to scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, excessive pressure, physical damage to gathering, transportation, storage, processing,
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
fractionation, refining or export facilities, or lack of capacity at such facilities. The Company has periodically experienced high line pressure at its tank batteries, which has occasionally led to the flaring of gas due to the inability of the gas gathering systems in the areas to support the increased gas production. The curtailments arising from these and similar circumstances may last for a few days, and in many cases, the Company may be provided only limited, if any, notice as to when these circumstances will arise and their duration.
To the extent that the Company enters into transportation contracts with pipelines that are subject to the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") regulation, the Company is subject to FERC requirements related to use of such capacity. Any failure on the Company's part to comply with FERC's regulations and policies related to pipeline transportation, reporting requirements or other regulations, and any failure to comply with a FERC-related pipeline's tariff, could result in the imposition of civil and criminal penalties. In addition, any changes in FERC or state regulations or requirements on pipeline transportation may result in increased transportation costs on pipelines that are subject to such regulation, thereby negatively impacting the Company's profitability.
The Company relies on a limited number of purchasers for a majority of its products.
A limited number of companies purchase a majority of the Company's oil, NGLs and gas. The loss of a significant purchaser could have a material adverse effect on the Company's ability to sell its production.
The refining industry and export facilities may be unable to absorb U.S. oil production, and the ability to export oil is subject to suspension; in any such case, the resulting surplus could depress prices and restrict the availability of markets, which could materially and adversely affect the Company's results of operations.
Absent an expansion of U.S. refining and export capacity, an increase in U.S. production of oil could result in a surplus of these products in the U.S., which would likely cause prices for these commodities to fall and markets to constrict. Although U.S. law was changed in 2015 to permit the export of oil, exports may not occur if demand is lacking in foreign markets or the price that can be obtained in foreign markets does not support associated export capacity expansions, transportation and other costs. In such circumstances, the rate of return on the Company's capital projects would decline, possibly to levels that would make execution of the Company's drilling plans uneconomical, and a lack of market for the Company's products could require that the Company shut in some portion of its production. If this were to occur, the Company's production and cash flow could decrease, or could increase less than forecasted, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's cash flow and profitability.
Under the 2015 federal law that lifted the ban on U.S. exports of oil, the President, in certain limited circumstances, has the authority to impose export licensing requirements or other restrictions on exports of oil from the U.S. for an initial period of up to one year, subject to extension. Such a limitation could result in a surplus of oil in the U.S., which would likely cause U.S. oil prices to fall.
Estimates of proved reserves and future net cash flows are not precise. The actual quantities and net cash flows of the Company's proved reserves may prove to be lower than estimated.
Numerous uncertainties exist in estimating quantities of proved reserves and future net cash flows therefrom. The estimates of proved reserves and related future net cash flows set forth in this Report are based on various assumptions, which may ultimately prove to be inaccurate.
Petroleum engineering is a subjective process of estimating underground accumulations of oil and gas that cannot be measured in an exact manner. Estimates of economically recoverable oil and gas reserves and estimates of future net cash flows depend upon a number of variable factors and assumptions, including the following:
•historical production from the area compared with production from other producing areas;
•the quality and quantity of available data;
•the interpretation of that data;
•the assumed effects of regulations by governmental agencies;
•assumptions concerning future commodity prices; and
•assumptions concerning future development costs, operating costs, severance, ad valorem and excise taxes, gathering, processing, transportation and fractionation costs and workover and remedial costs.
Because all proved reserve estimates are to some degree subjective, each of the following items may differ materially from those assumed in estimating proved reserves:
•the quantities of oil and gas that are ultimately recovered;
•the production costs incurred to recover the reserves;
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
•the amount and timing of future development expenditures; and
•future commodity prices.
Furthermore, different reserve engineers may make different estimates of proved reserves and cash flows based on the same available data. The Company's actual production, revenues and expenditures with respect to proved reserves will likely differ from the estimates, and the differences may be material.
As required by the SEC, the estimated discounted future net cash flows from proved reserves are based on average prices preceding the date of the estimate and costs as of the date of the estimate, while actual future prices and costs may be materially higher or lower. Actual future net cash flows also will be affected by factors such as:
•the amount and timing of actual production;
•the level of future capital spending;
•increases or decreases in the supply of or demand for oil, NGLs and gas; and
•changes in governmental regulations or taxation.
Standardized Measure is a reporting convention that provides a common basis for comparing oil and gas companies subject to the rules and regulations of the SEC. In general, it requires the use of commodity prices that are based upon a historical 12-month unweighted average, as well as operating and development costs being incurred at the end of the reporting period. Consequently, it may not reflect the prices ordinarily received or that will be received for future oil and gas production because of seasonal price fluctuations or other varying market conditions, nor may it reflect the actual costs that will be required to produce or develop the oil and gas properties. Accordingly, estimates included herein of future net cash flows may be materially different from the future net cash flows that are ultimately received. In addition, the 10 percent discount factor, which is required by the SEC to be used in calculating discounted future net cash flows for reporting purposes, may not be the most appropriate discount factor based on interest rates in effect from time to time and risks associated with the Company or the oil and gas industry in general. Therefore, the estimates of discounted future net cash flows or Standardized Measure in this Report should not be construed as accurate estimates of the current market value of the Company's proved reserves.
Because the Company's producing wells decline continually over time, the Company will need to mitigate these declines through drilling and production enhancement initiatives and/or acquisitions.
Producing oil and gas reservoirs are characterized by declining production rates, which vary depending upon reservoir characteristics and other factors. Because the Company's producing wells decline continually over time as those wells are produced, the Company will need to mitigate these declines through drilling and production enhancement initiatives and/or acquisitions of additional recoverable reserves. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to develop, exploit, find or acquire sufficient additional reserves to replace its current or future production.
A portion of the Company's total estimated proved reserves as of December 31, 2022 were undeveloped, and those proved reserves may not ultimately be developed.
As of December 31, 2022, 11 percent of the Company's total estimated proved reserves were undeveloped. Recovery of undeveloped proved reserves requires significant capital expenditures and successful drilling. The Company's reserve data assumes that the Company can and will make these expenditures and conduct these operations successfully, which assumptions may not prove to be correct. If the Company chooses not to spend the capital to develop these proved undeveloped reserves, or if the Company is not otherwise able to successfully develop these proved undeveloped reserves, the Company will be required to write-off these proved reserves. In addition, under the SEC's rules, because proved undeveloped reserves may be booked only if they relate to wells planned to be drilled within five years of the date of booking, the Company may be required to write-off any proved undeveloped reserves that are not developed within this five-year timeframe. The Company's future production levels and, therefore, its future cash flow and profitability will be impacted if it is not able to successfully develop its undeveloped leasehold acreage.
A substantial portion of the Company's acreage is currently held under leases that require it to establish and maintain production of hydrocarbons in paying quantities, and such leases are typically held by production from horizontal wells and/or older, lower-producing vertical wells. Unless production in paying quantities is maintained from existing lease-holding wells, or is established during the primary term of the lease and then maintained thereafter with respect to these leases, the leases will terminate, and the Company will lose the right to develop the undeveloped leasehold acreage.
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
The Company faces significant competition and some of its competitors have resources in excess of the Company's available resources.
The oil and gas industry is highly competitive. The Company competes with a large number of companies, producers and operators in a number of areas such as:
•seeking to acquire oil and gas properties suitable for exploration or development;
•marketing oil, NGL and gas production; and
•seeking to acquire the equipment, services and expertise, including trained personnel, necessary to identify, evaluate, develop and operate its properties.
Some of the Company's competitors are larger and have substantially greater financial and other resources than the Company, and as such, the Company may be at a competitive disadvantage in the identification, acquisition and development of properties that complement the Company's operations. The Company also faces competition from companies that supply alternative sources of energy, such as wind, solar power or other renewable energy. Competition is expected to increase and in certain cases, governments are providing tax advantages and other subsidies to support alternative energy sources or are mandating the use of specific fuels or technologies. Governments and other parties are also promoting research into new technologies to accelerate the implementation of alternative energy sources.
The Company's business could be materially and adversely affected by security threats, including cybersecurity threats, and other disruptions.
As an oil and gas producer, the Company faces various security threats, including cybersecurity threats to gain unauthorized access to, or control of, sensitive information or to render data or systems corrupted or unusable; threats to the security of the Company's facilities and infrastructure or third party facilities and infrastructure, such as processing plants and pipelines; and threats from terrorist acts. The potential for such security threats has subjected the Company's operations to increased risks that could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business. In particular, the Company's implementation of various procedures and controls to monitor and mitigate security threats and to increase security for the Company's information, facilities and infrastructure may result in increased capital and operating costs. Costs for insurance have also increased as a result of security threats, and insurance coverage has become more difficult to obtain, and may not be available at prices acceptable to the Company or at all. Moreover, there can be no assurance that such procedures and controls will be sufficient to prevent security breaches from occurring. If any of these security breaches were to occur, they could lead to losses of sensitive information, critical infrastructure or capabilities essential to the Company's operations and could have a material adverse effect on the Company's reputation, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Cybersecurity attacks in particular are becoming more sophisticated. The Company relies extensively on information technology systems, including internet sites, computer software, data hosting facilities and other hardware and software platforms, some of which are hosted by third parties, to assist in conducting its business. The Company's technologies systems and networks, and those of its business associates may become the target of cybersecurity attacks, including without limitation denial-of-service attacks, malicious software, data privacy breaches by employees, insiders or others with authorized access, cyber or phishing-attacks, ransomware, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data and systems, and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in critical systems and materially and adversely affect the Company in a variety of ways, including the following:
•unauthorized access to and release of seismic data, reserves information, strategic information or other sensitive or proprietary information, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's ability to compete for oil and gas resources;
•data corruption, communication interruption or other operational disruptions during drilling activities, which could result in the failure to reach the intended target or a drilling incident;
•data corruption or operational disruptions of production infrastructure, which could result in loss of production or accidental discharges;
•unauthorized access to and release of personal information of royalty owners, employees and vendors, or the data or confidential information of customers, suppliers or other third parties, which could expose the Company to allegations that it did not sufficiently protect that information;
•a cybersecurity attack on a vendor or service provider, which could result in supply chain disruptions and could delay or halt operations;
•a cybersecurity attack on third-party gathering, transportation, processing, fractionation, refining, storage or export facilities, which could delay or prevent the Company from transporting and marketing its production, resulting in a loss of revenues;
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
•a cybersecurity attack involving commodities exchanges or financial institutions, which could slow or halt commodities trading, thus preventing the Company from marketing its production or engaging in derivative activities, resulting in a loss of revenues;
•a cybersecurity attack on a communications network or power grid, which could cause operational disruptions resulting in the loss of revenues; and
•a cybersecurity attack on the Company's automated and surveillance systems, which could cause a loss in production and potential environmental hazards.
These events could damage the Company's reputation and lead to financial losses from remedial actions, loss of business or potential liability. Additionally, certain cyber incidents, such as surveillance, may remain undetected for an extended period of time.
While the Company has experienced cybersecurity incidents in the past, including attempts to gain unauthorized access to data and systems, inadvertent data exposures, distributed denial-of-service attacks and phishing-attacks, the Company has not suffered any material losses as a result of such events. However, there is no assurance that the Company will not suffer such losses in the future. As cyber threats continue to evolve, the Company may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance its protective measures or to investigate and remediate any information security vulnerabilities. Additionally, the continuing and evolving threat of cybersecurity attacks has resulted in evolving legal and compliance matters, including increased regulatory focus on prevention, which could require the Company to expend significant additional resources to meet such requirements.
Provisions of the Company's charter documents and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for the Company's common stock.
Provisions in the Company's certificate of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing an acquisition of the Company or a merger in which the Company is not the surviving company and may otherwise prevent or slow changes in the Board and management. In addition, because the Company is incorporated in Delaware, it is governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. These provisions could discourage an acquisition of the Company or other change in control transactions and thereby negatively affect the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for the Company's common stock.
Operational Risks
The Company's operations involve many operational risks, some of which could result in unforeseen interruptions to the Company's operations and substantial losses to the Company for which the Company may not be adequately insured.
The Company's operations, including (i) drilling and completion activities and (ii) water distribution, collection and disposal activities, are subject to all the risks incident to the oil and gas development and production business, including:
•blowouts, cratering, explosions and fires;
•adverse weather effects;
•environmental hazards, such as NGL and gas leaks, oil and produced water spills, pipeline and vessel ruptures, encountering naturally occurring radioactive materials, and unauthorized discharges of toxic chemicals, gases, brine, well stimulation and completion fluids or other pollutants onto the surface or into the subsurface environment;
•high costs, shortages or delivery delays of equipment, labor or other services or materials, such as water and sand for hydraulic fracturing;
•facility or equipment malfunctions, failures or accidents;
•title problems;
•pipe or cement failures or casing collapses;
•uncontrollable flows of oil, gas or water;
•compliance with environmental and other governmental requirements, including executive actions and regulatory or legislative efforts under a Biden administration;
•lost or damaged oilfield workover and service tools;
•surface access restrictions;
•unusual or unexpected geological formations or pressure or irregularities in formations;
•terrorism, vandalism, extreme physical acts of activism against fossil fuel interests and physical, electronic and cybersecurity breaches and global or national health concerns, including the outbreak of a pandemic or contagious disease, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic; and
•natural disasters.
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
The Company's overall exposure to operational risks may increase as its drilling activity expands, along with any associated increases in internally-provided water distribution, water collection, disposal or other services. In addition, any of these risks could adversely impact the Company's service providers and suppliers, causing its supply chain to be interrupted, slowed or rendered inoperable. Any of these risks could result in substantial losses to the Company due to injury or loss of life, damage to or destruction of wells, production facilities or other property and natural resources, clean-up responsibilities, regulatory investigations and penalties and suspension of operations.
The Company may not be insured or is not fully insured against certain of the risks described above, either because such insurance is not available or because of the high premium costs and deductibles associated with obtaining such insurance. Additionally, the Company relies, to a large extent, on facilities owned and operated by third parties, and damage to or destruction of those third-party facilities could adversely affect the ability of the Company to produce, gather, process, fractionate, refine, store, transport, export and sell its hydrocarbons.
Exploration and development drilling involve substantial costs and risks and may not result in commercially productive reserves.
Drilling involves numerous risks, including the risk that no commercially productive oil or gas reservoirs will be encountered. The cost of drilling, completing and operating wells is often uncertain and drilling operations may be curtailed, delayed or canceled, or become costlier, as a result of a variety of factors, including:
•unexpected drilling conditions;
•unexpected pressure or irregularities in formations;
•equipment failures or accidents;
•construction delays;
•fracture stimulation accidents or failures;
•adverse weather conditions;
•restricted access to land for drilling or laying pipelines;
•title defects;
•lack of available gathering, transportation, processing, fractionation, storage, refining or export facilities;
•lack of available capacity on interconnecting transmission pipelines;
•access to, and the cost and availability of, the equipment, services, resources and personnel required to complete the Company's drilling, completion and operating activities; and
•restrictions, delays or cancellations imposed by or resulting from compliance with or changes in environmental and other governmental, regulatory or contractual requirements.
The Company's future drilling activities may not be successful and, if unsuccessful, the Company's proved reserves and production would decline, which could have an adverse effect on the Company's future results of operations and financial condition. While all drilling, whether developmental, extension or exploratory, involves these risks, exploratory and extension drilling involves greater risks of dry holes or failure to find commercial quantities of hydrocarbons. The Company expects that it will continue to recognize exploration and abandonments expense in 2023.
Part of the Company's strategy involves using some of the latest available horizontal drilling and completion techniques, which involve risks and uncertainties in their application.
The Company's operations involve utilizing some of the latest drilling and completion techniques as developed by it and its service providers. Risks that the Company faces while drilling horizontal wells include, but are not limited to, the following:
•landing the wellbore in the desired drilling zone;
•staying in the desired drilling zone while drilling horizontally through the formation;
•running casing the entire length of the wellbore; and
•being able to run tools and other equipment consistently through the horizontal wellbore.
Risks that the Company faces while completing wells include, but are not limited to, the following:
•the ability to fracture stimulate the planned number of stages;
•the ability to run tools the entire length of the wellbore during completion operations; and
•the ability to successfully clean out the wellbore after completion of the final fracture stimulation stage.
Drilling in emerging areas is more uncertain than drilling in areas that are more developed and have a longer history of established drilling operations. New discoveries and emerging formations have limited or no production history and, consequently, the Company is more limited in assessing future drilling results in these areas. If the Company's drilling results
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
are worse than anticipated, the return on investment for a particular project may not be as attractive as anticipated and the Company may recognize noncash charges to reduce the carrying value of its unproved properties in those areas.
The Company's expectations for future drilling activities will be realized over several years, making them susceptible to uncertainties that could materially alter the occurrence or timing of such activities.
The Company has identified drilling locations and prospects for future drilling opportunities, including development, exploratory, extension and infill drilling activities. These drilling locations and prospects represent a significant part of the Company's future drilling plans. For example, the Company's proved reserves as of December 31, 2022 include proved undeveloped reserves and proved developed non-producing reserves of 120 MMBbls of oil, 86 MMBbls of NGLs and 463 Bcf of gas. The Company's ability to drill and develop these locations depends on a number of factors, including the availability and cost of capital, regulatory approvals, negotiation of agreements with third parties, commodity prices, costs, access to and availability of equipment, services, resources and personnel and drilling results. There can be no assurance that the Company will drill these locations or that the Company will be able to produce oil or gas reserves from these locations or any other potential drilling locations. Well results vary by formation and geographic area, and the Company generally prioritizes its drilling activities to focus on remaining locations that are believed to offer the highest return. Changes in the laws or regulations on which the Company relies in planning and executing its drilling programs could materially and adversely impact the Company's ability to successfully complete those programs. For example, under current Texas laws and regulations, the Company may receive permits to drill, and may drill and complete, certain horizontal wells that traverse one or more units and/or leases; a change in those laws or regulations could materially and adversely impact the Company's ability to drill those wells. Because of these uncertainties, the Company cannot give any assurance as to the timing of these activities or that they will ultimately result in the realization of proved reserves or meet the Company's expectations for success. As such, the Company's actual drilling activities may materially differ from the Company's current expectations, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's proved reserves, financial condition and results of operations.
Multi-well pad drilling may result in volatility in the Company's operating results.
The Company utilizes multi-well pad drilling, and wells drilled on a pad are not placed on production until all wells on the pad are drilled and completed. In addition, problems affecting a single well could adversely affect production from all of the wells on the pad. As a result, multi-well pad drilling can cause delays in the scheduled commencement of production, or interruptions in ongoing production. These delays or interruptions may cause volatility in the Company's operating results. Further, any delay, reduction or curtailment of the Company's development and producing operations due to operational delays caused by multi-well pad drilling could result in the loss of acreage through lease expiration.
The Company's operations are substantially dependent upon the availability of water and its ability to dispose of produced water gathered from drilling and production activities. Restrictions on the Company's ability to obtain water or dispose of produced water may have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Water is an essential component of the Company's drilling and hydraulic fracturing processes. Limitations or restrictions on the Company's ability to secure sufficient amounts of water (including limitations resulting from natural causes such as drought), could materially and adversely impact its operations. Severe drought conditions can result in local water districts taking steps to restrict the use of water in their jurisdiction for drilling and hydraulic fracturing in order to protect the local water supply. If the Company is unable to obtain water to use in its operations from local sources, it may need to be obtained from new sources and transported to drilling sites, resulting in increased costs, which could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In addition, the Company must dispose of the fluids produced from oil and gas production operations, including produced water, which it does directly or through the use of third party vendors. The legal requirements related to the disposal of produced water into a non-producing geologic formation by means of underground injection wells are subject to change based on concerns of the public or governmental authorities regarding such disposal activities. One such concern arises from seismic events near underground disposal wells that are used for the disposal of produced water resulting from oil and gas activities. In 2016, the United States Geological Survey identified Texas as being among the states with areas of increased rates of induced seismicity that could be attributed to fluid injection or oil and gas extraction. In addition, a number of lawsuits have been filed alleging that disposal well operations have caused damage to neighboring properties or otherwise violated state and federal rules regulating waste disposal. In response to these concerns, regulators in some states have imposed, or are considering imposing, additional requirements in the permitting of produced water disposal wells to assess any relationship between seismicity and the use of such wells. For example, in Texas, the Texas Railroad Commission has adopted rules governing the permitting or re-permitting of wells used to dispose of produced water and other fluids resulting from the production of oil and gas in order to address these seismic activity concerns within the state. Among other things, these rules require companies seeking permits for disposal wells to provide seismic activity data in permit applications, provide for more
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
frequent monitoring and reporting for certain wells and allow the state to modify, suspend or terminate permits on grounds that a disposal well is likely to be, or determined to be, causing seismic activity.
In response to recent seismic activity in the Midland Basin, the Texas Railroad Commission has pursued a series of actions commencing in the latter half of 2021, including suspending deep disposal activity and curtailing certain shallow disposal activities in the areas of heightened seismic activity. Such restrictions have not had a material impact on the Company's operations to date, but further restrictions across the basin as a result of more stringent regulations or legal directives, potential litigation or other developments could materially impact its ability to dispose of produced water, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Company's use of seismic data is subject to interpretation and may not accurately identify the presence of oil and gas, which could materially and adversely affect the results of its future drilling operations.
Even when properly used and interpreted, seismic data and visualization techniques are only tools used to assist geoscientists in identifying subsurface structures and hydrocarbon indicators and do not enable the interpreter to know whether hydrocarbons are, in fact, present in those structures. As a result, the Company's drilling activities may not be successful or economic. In addition, the use of advanced technologies, such as 3-D seismic data, requires greater pre-drilling expenditures than traditional drilling strategies, and the Company could incur losses as a result of such expenditures.
The Company's gas processing and gathering systems are subject to operational and regulatory risks, which could result in significant damages and the loss of revenue.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company owns interests in 10 gas processing plants, including the related gathering systems. There are significant risks associated with the operation of gas processing plants and the associated gathering systems. Gas and NGLs are volatile and explosive and may include carcinogens. Damage to or improper operation of gas processing plants or gathering systems could result in an explosion or the discharge of toxic gases, which could result in significant damage claims in addition to interrupting a revenue source.
Moreover, while the Company's gas processing and gathering systems generally are not currently subject to FERC or state regulation with respect to rates or terms and conditions of service, there can be no assurance that such processing and gathering operations will continue to be unregulated in the future. Although these facilities may not be directly regulated, other laws and regulations may affect the availability of gas for gathering and processing, such as state regulations regarding production rates and the maximum daily production allowable from gas wells, which could impact the Company's business in these areas. Such regulation could result in additional costs and reduced revenues.
Financial Risks
The prices of oil, NGLs and gas are highly volatile. A sustained decline in these commodity prices could materially and adversely affect the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Company's revenues, profitability, cash flow and future rate of growth are highly dependent on commodity prices. Commodity prices may fluctuate widely in response to relatively minor changes in the supply of and demand for oil, NGLs and gas, market uncertainty and a variety of additional factors that are beyond the Company's control, such as:
•domestic and worldwide supply of and demand for oil, NGLs and gas;
•worldwide oil, NGL and gas inventory levels, including at Cushing, Oklahoma, the benchmark location for WTI oil prices, and the U.S. Gulf Coast, where the majority of the U.S. refinery capacity exists;
•volatility and trading patterns in the commodity-futures markets;
•the capacity of U.S. and international refiners to utilize U.S. supplies of oil and condensate;
•weather conditions;
•overall domestic and global political and economic conditions, including the imposition of tariffs or trade or other economic sanctions, political instability or armed conflict in Ukraine, Russia and other oil and gas producing regions, and the effect on global markets of the price cap on Russian oil;
•global or national health concerns, including the outbreak of pandemic or contagious disease, such as the recent COVID-19 virus, which may reduce the demand for oil, NGLs and gas because of reduced global or national economic activity;
•actions of OPEC, its members and other state-controlled oil companies relating to oil price and production controls;
•the price and quantity of oil, NGLs and LNG imports to and exports from the U.S.;
•technological advances or social attitudes or policies affecting energy consumption and energy supply;
•domestic and foreign governmental legislative efforts, executive actions and regulations, including environmental regulations, climate change regulations and taxation;
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
•the effect of energy conservation efforts;
•stockholder activism or activities by non-governmental organizations to limit certain sources of capital for the energy sector or restrict the exploration, development and production of oil and gas;
•the proximity, capacity, cost and availability of gathering systems, pipelines and other processing, fractionation, refinery, storage and export facilities; and
•the price, availability and acceptance of alternative fuels.
Commodity prices have historically been, and continue to be, extremely volatile. For example, the Brent oil prices in 2022 ranged from a high of $127.98 to a low of $76.10 per Bbl and NYMEX gas prices in 2022 ranged from a high of $9.68 to a low of $3.72 per MMBtu. The Company expects this volatility to continue. A further or extended decline in commodity prices could materially and adversely affect the Company's future business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or its ability to fund planned capital expenditures, pay dividends or repurchase shares of common stock. The Company makes price assumptions that are used for planning purposes, and a significant portion of the Company's cash outlays, including rent, salaries and noncancellable capital and transportation commitments, are largely fixed in nature. Accordingly, if commodity prices are below the expectations on which these commitments were based, the Company's financial results are likely to be adversely and disproportionately affected because these cash outlays are not variable in the short-term and cannot be quickly reduced to respond to unanticipated decreases in commodity prices.
Significant or extended price declines could also materially and adversely affect the amount of oil, NGLs and gas that the Company can produce economically, which may result in the Company having to make significant downward adjustments to its estimated proved reserves. A reduction in production could also result in a shortfall in expected cash flows and require the Company to reduce capital spending or borrow funds to cover any such shortfall. Any of these factors could negatively affect the Company's ability to replace its production and its future rate of growth.
Future declines in the price of oil, NGLs and gas could result in a reduction in the carrying value of the Company's proved oil and gas properties, which could materially and adversely affect the Company's results of operations.
Significant or extended price declines could result in the Company having to make downward adjustments to the carrying value of its proved oil and gas properties. The Company performs assessments of the recoverability of its oil and gas properties whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying values of those assets may not be recoverable. In order to perform these assessments, management uses various observable and unobservable inputs, including management's outlooks for (i) proved reserves and risk-adjusted probable and possible reserves, (ii) commodity prices, (iii) production costs, (iv) capital expenditures and (v) production. To the extent such tests indicate a reduction of the estimated useful life or estimated future cash flows of the Company's oil and gas properties, the carrying value may not be recoverable and therefore an impairment charge would be required to reduce the carrying value of the proved properties to their fair value. The Company may incur impairment charges in the future, which could materially affect the Company's results of operations in the period incurred. See Note 4 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in "Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for additional information. The Company's actual production could differ materially from its forecasts.
From time to time, the Company provides forecasts of expected quantities of future oil and gas production and other financial and operating results. These forecasts are based on a number of estimates and assumptions, including that none of the risks associated with the Company's oil and gas operations summarized in this "Item 1A. Risk Factors" occur. Production forecasts, specifically, are based on assumptions such as:
•expectations of production from existing wells and future drilling activity;
•the absence of facility or equipment malfunctions;
•the absence of adverse weather effects;
•expectations of commodity prices, which could experience significant volatility;
•expected well costs; and
•the assumed effects of regulation by governmental agencies, which could make certain drilling activities or production uneconomical.
Should any of these assumptions prove inaccurate, or should the Company's development plans change, actual production could be materially and adversely affected.
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
The Company could experience periods of higher costs if commodity prices rise. These increases could reduce the Company's profitability, cash flow and ability to complete development activities as planned.
Historically, the Company's capital and operating costs have risen during periods of increasing oil, NGL and gas prices. These cost increases result from a variety of factors beyond the Company's control, such as increases in the cost of electricity, steel and other raw materials that the Company and its vendors rely upon; increased demand for labor, services and materials as drilling activity increases; and increased production and ad valorem taxes. Costs may rise faster than increases in the Company's revenue if commodity prices rise, thereby negatively impacting the Company's profitability, cash flow and ability to complete development activities as scheduled and on budget. This impact may be magnified to the extent that the Company's ability to participate in the commodity price increases is limited by its derivative risk management activities. Moreover, inflation is an area of increasing economic concern with price increases in equipment, materials, labor and distribution costs leading to possible negative impacts on the Company's financial condition and results of operations.
The Company is a party to debt instruments, a Credit Facility and other financial commitments that may limit the Company's ability to fund future business and financing activities.
The Company is a borrower under fixed rate senior and convertible notes and maintains a revolving corporate credit facility (the "Credit Facility") that was undrawn as of December 31, 2022. The terms of the Company's borrowings specify scheduled debt repayments and require the Company to comply with certain associated covenants and restrictions. The Company's ability to comply with the debt repayment terms, associated covenants and restrictions is dependent on, among other things, factors outside the Company's direct control, such as commodity prices and interest rates. In addition, from time to time, the Company enters into arrangements and transactions that can give rise to material off-balance sheet obligations, including firm purchase, transportation and fractionation commitments, gathering, processing, transportation and storage commitments on uncertain volumes of future throughput, commitments to purchase minimum volumes of goods and services, operating lease agreements and drilling commitments. The Company's financial commitments could have important consequences to its business including, but not limited to, the following:
•the incurrence of charges associated with unused commitments if actual activities do not meet the Company's expectations at the time such commitments are entered into;
•increasing its vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions;
•limiting its flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in its business and industry;
•limiting its ability to fund future development activities or engage in future acquisitions; and
•placing it at a competitive disadvantage compared to competitors that have less debt and/or fewer financial commitments.
The Company's ability to obtain additional financing is also affected by the Company's debt credit ratings and competition for available debt financing. A ratings downgrade could materially and adversely impact the Company's ability to access debt markets, increase the borrowing cost under the Company's Credit Facility and the cost of future debt and potentially require the Company to post letters of credit or other forms of credit support for certain obligations.
The Company's return of capital strategies, including its base and variable dividend policy and share repurchase program, may be changed at the discretion of the Board, and the Company's ability to declare and pay base and variable dividends and repurchase shares are subject to certain considerations.
Dividends, whether base or variable, are authorized and determined by the Board at its sole discretion. The Company's stock repurchase program has no time limit, may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time by the Board, and the repurchase of shares pursuant to the stock repurchase program approved by the Board are made from time to time based on management's discretion. Decisions regarding the payment of dividends and the repurchase of shares are subject to a number of considerations, including:
•cash available for distribution or repurchases;
•the Company's results of operations and anticipated future results of operations;
•the Company's financial condition, especially in relation to its anticipated future capital needs;
•the level of cash reserves the Company maintains to fund future capital expenditures;
•the Company's share price; and
•other factors the Board deems relevant.
The frequency and amount of dividends, if any, may vary significantly from amounts paid in previous periods. The Company can provide no assurance that it will continue to pay base or variable dividends or authorize share repurchases at the current rate or at all. Any elimination of or downward revision in the Company's base or variable dividend payout or stock
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
repurchase program could adversely affect the total return of an investment in and have a material adverse effect on the market price of the Company's common stock.
A failure by purchasers of the Company's production to satisfy their obligations to the Company could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operation.
The Company relies on a limited number of purchasers to purchase a majority of its products. To the extent that purchasers of the Company's production rely on access to the credit or equity markets to fund their operations, there is a risk that those purchasers could default in their contractual obligations to the Company if such purchasers were unable to access the credit or equity markets for an extended period of time. If for any reason the Company were to determine that it was probable that some or all of the accounts receivable from any one or more of the purchasers of the Company's production were uncollectible, the Company would recognize a charge in the earnings of that period for the probable loss.
The Company's derivative risk management activities could result in financial losses, limit the Company's potential gains or fail to protect the Company from declines in commodity prices; the Company may not enter into derivative arrangements with respect to future volumes if prices are unattractive.
The Company has historically entered into derivative arrangements covering a portion of its oil, NGL and gas production to mitigate the effect of commodity price volatility on the Company's net cash provided by operating activities and its net asset value, support the Company's annual capital expenditure plans and planned dividend payments. These derivative arrangements, on a combined basis, are subject to mark-to-market accounting treatment, and the changes in fair market value of the contracts are reported in the Company's statements of operations each quarter, which may result in significant noncash gains or losses.
While intended to reduce the effects of oil, NGL and gas price volatility, the Company's derivative arrangements may limit the Company's potential gains if prices rise over the price established by such arrangements. Conversely, the Company's derivative arrangements may be inadequate to protect the Company from continuing and prolonged declines in the price of oil, NGLs or gas. Global commodity prices are volatile. Such volatility challenges the Company's ability to forecast the price of oil, NGLs and gas, and, as a result, it may become more difficult for the Company to manage its derivative arrangements. In trying to manage its exposure to commodity price risk, the Company may end up with too many or too few derivatives, depending upon where commodity prices settle relative to the Company's derivative price thresholds and how the Company's oil, NGL and gas volumes and production mix fluctuate relative to expectations when the derivatives were entered.
The Company's derivative arrangements may also expose the Company to risk of financial loss in certain circumstances, including, but not limited to, when:
•production is less than the contracted derivative volumes;
•the counterparty to the derivative contract defaults on its contract obligations;
•there is a change in the expected differential between the underlying price in the derivative contract and actual prices received; or
•a sudden, unexpected event materially impacts oil and gas prices.
Failure to protect against declines in commodity prices exposes the Company to reduced liquidity when prices decline. A sustained lower commodity price environment would result in lower realized prices for unprotected volumes and reduce the prices at which the Company could enter into derivative contracts on future volumes. The Company has significantly reduced its derivative arrangements for 2023 and beyond; therefore, any decreases in commodity prices for oil, NGLs and gas could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition, cash flow, liquidity and results of operations.
The use of derivative risk management transactions involves the risk that the counterparties will be unable to meet the financial terms of such transactions. The Company is unable to predict changes in a counterparty's creditworthiness or ability to perform. Even if the Company accurately predicts sudden changes, the Company's ability to negate the risk may be limited depending upon market conditions and the contractual terms of the transactions. During periods of declining commodity prices, the Company's derivative receivable positions generally increase, which increases the Company's counterparty credit exposure. In periods of lower commodity prices, if any of the Company's counterparties were to default on its obligations under the Company's derivative arrangements, such a default could (i) have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations, (ii) result in a larger percentage of the Company's future production being subject to commodity price changes and (iii) increase the likelihood that the Company's derivative arrangements may not achieve their intended strategic purposes.
Pioneer's ability to utilize its U.S. net operating loss carryforwards to offset future income taxes may be limited.
As of December 31, 2022, Pioneer had U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards ("NOLs") of $1.1 billion which were incurred on or after January 1, 2018. These will not expire and will be carried forward indefinitely under current tax law.
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
Pioneer's ability to utilize these NOLs and other tax attributes to reduce future taxable income depends on many factors, including its future income, which cannot be assured. Section 382 of the Code ("Section 382") generally imposes an annual limitation on the amount of NOLs that may be used to offset taxable income when a corporation has undergone an "ownership change" (as determined under Section 382). An ownership change generally occurs if one or more stockholders (or groups of stockholders) who are each deemed to own at least five percent of such corporation's stock increase their ownership by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest ownership percentage within a rolling three-year period. In the event that an ownership change occurs, utilization of the relevant corporation's NOLs would be subject to an annual limitation under Section 382, generally determined, subject to certain adjustments, by multiplying (i) the fair market value of such corporation's stock at the time of the ownership change by (ii) a percentage approximately equivalent to the yield on long-term tax-exempt bonds during the month in which the ownership change occurs. Any unused annual limitation may be carried over to later years.
The Company periodically evaluates its unproved oil and gas properties for impairment and could be required to recognize noncash charges in the earnings of future periods.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company carried unproved oil and gas property costs of $6.0 billion. GAAP requires periodic evaluation of these costs on a project-by-project basis. These evaluations are affected by the results of current and planned exploration activities, commodity price outlooks, planned future sales or expiration of all or a portion of the leases and the contracts and permits appurtenant to such projects. If the Company determines that a project is not expected to be developed based on the results of these evaluations, the Company will recognize a noncash charge in earnings in the period in which the unproved oil and gas properties is determined to be impaired.
The Company periodically evaluates its goodwill for impairment and could be required to recognize noncash charges in the earnings of future periods.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had a carrying value for goodwill of $243 million. Goodwill is assessed for impairment annually during the third quarter and whenever facts or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the Company's goodwill may be impaired, which may require an estimate of the fair values of the reporting unit's assets and liabilities. Those assessments may be affected by (i) positive or negative reserve adjustments, (ii) results of drilling activities, (iii) management's outlook for commodity prices and costs and expenses, (iv) changes in the Company's market capitalization, (v) changes in the Company's weighted average cost of capital and (vi) changes in income taxes. If the fair value of the reporting unit's net assets is not sufficient to fully support the goodwill balance in the future, the Company will reduce the carrying value of goodwill for the impaired value, with a corresponding noncash charge to earnings in the period in which goodwill is determined to be impaired. If incurred, an impairment of goodwill could result in a material noncash charge to the Company's earnings in the period in which goodwill is determined to be impaired.
Health, Safety and Environmental Risks
The Company's operations are subject to a series of risks arising out of the threat of climate change, energy conservation measures, or initiatives that stimulate demand for alternative forms of energy that could result in increased operating costs, limit the areas in which oil and gas production may occur and reduce demand for the oil and gas production it provides.
The threat of climate change continues to attract considerable attention in the United States and around the world. Numerous proposals have been made and could continue to be made at the international, national, regional and state levels of government to monitor and limit existing emissions of GHGs as well as to restrict or eliminate such future emissions. These efforts have included consideration of cap-and-trade programs, carbon taxes, GHG disclosure obligations and regulations that directly limit GHG emissions from certain sources. Moreover, President Biden highlighted addressing climate change as a priority of his administration, issued several executive orders related to climate change and recommitted the United States to long-term international goals to reduce emissions. In recent years the U.S. Congress has considered legislation to reduce emissions of GHGs, including methane, a primary component of natural gas, and carbon dioxide, a byproduct of the burning of natural gas. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the "IRA"), which appropriates significant federal funding for renewable energy initiatives and, for the first time ever, imposes a fee on GHG emissions from certain facilities, was signed into law in August 2022. The emissions fee and funding provisions of the law could increase operating costs within the oil and gas industry and accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, which could in turn adversely affect the Company's business and results of operations.
The EPA has adopted regulations that, among other things, establish construction and operating permit reviews for GHG emissions from certain large stationary sources, require the monitoring and annual reporting of GHG emissions from certain petroleum and natural gas system sources in the United States, impose new standards reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations through limitations on venting and flaring and the implementation of enhanced emission leak detection and repair requirements, and together with the United States Department of Transportation ("DOT"), implement GHG emissions limits on vehicles manufactured for operation in the United States. The regulation of methane emissions from oil and gas
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
facilities has been subject to uncertainty in recent years and the EPA is currently proposing new and updated rules for both new and existing sources. The EPA's proposed rules, if finalized would make existing regulations more stringent, expand the scope of source types covered by the rules and require states to develop plans to reduce methane and volatile organic compound ("VOC") emissions from existing sources that must be at least as effective as presumptive standards set by EPA. Under the proposed rules, owners or operators of affected emission units or processes would have to comply with specific standards of performance that may include leak detection using optical gas imaging and subsequent repair requirements, reduction of emissions by 95 percent through capture and control systems, zero-emission requirements, operations and maintenance requirements and so-called green well completion requirements. The EPA is currently seeking comments on the supplemental proposed rule, and like each of the EPA's previous methane emission regulations, the adopted final rule is likely to face immediate litigation challenges. The BLM has also proposed rules to limit methane emissions for oil and gas operations on federal lands. Additionally, in January 2023 the Council on Environmental Quality (the "CEQ") released updated guidance for federal agency consideration of GHG emissions and climate change impacts in environmental reviews. While the Company cannot predict the final scope or compliance costs of these proposed regulatory requirements, any such requirements have the potential to adversely affect the Company's operations, financial results and cash flows.
At the international level, the United Nations ("UN") -sponsored "Paris Agreement" requires member states to submit non-binding, individually-determined reduction goals known as Nationally Determined Contributions every five years after 2020. President Biden has recommitted the United States to the Paris Agreement and, in April 2021, announced a goal of reducing the United States' emissions by 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Additionally, at the UN Climate Change Conference of Parties ("COP26"), held in November 2021, the United States and the European Union jointly announced the launch of a Global Methane Pledge, an initiative committing to a collective goal of reducing global methane emissions by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030, including "all feasible reductions" in the energy sector. COP26 concluded with the finalization of the Glasgow Climate Pact, which stated long-term global goals (including those in the Paris Agreement) to limit the increase in the global average temperature and emphasized reductions in GHG emissions. These goals were reaffirmed at the November 2022 Conference of Parties ("COP27"). At COP27, the US also announced, in conjunction with the European Union and other partner countries, that it would develop standards for monitoring and reporting methane emissions to help create a market for low methane-intensity natural gas. Moreover, various state and local governments have also publicly committed to furthering the goals of the Paris Agreement. The full impact of these actions, and any legislation or regulation promulgated to fulfill the United States' commitments thereunder, is uncertain at this time, and it is unclear what additional initiatives may be adopted or implemented that may have adverse effects upon the Company's operations.
Governmental, scientific and public concern over the threat of climate change arising from GHG emissions has resulted in increasing political risks in the United States, including climate change related pledges made by certain candidates elected to public office. President Biden has issued several executive orders focused on addressing climate change, including items that may impact costs to produce, or demand for, oil and gas. Additionally, in November 2021, the Biden Administration released "The Long-Term Strategy of the United States: Pathways to Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050," which establishes a roadmap to net zero emissions in the United States by 2050 through, among other things, improving energy efficiency, decarbonizing energy sources via electricity, hydrogen and sustainable biofuels, eliminating subsidies provided to the fossil fuel industry, reducing non-CO2 GHG emissions and increasing the emphasis on climate-related risks across government agencies and economic sectors. The Biden Administration has also called for revisions and restrictions to the leasing and permitting programs for oil and gas development on federal lands. The DOI's comprehensive review of the federal leasing program resulted in a reduction in the volume of onshore land held for lease and an increased royalty rate. Other actions that could be pursued by the Biden Administration include the imposition of more restrictive requirements for the construction and permitting of pipeline infrastructure and LNG export facilities, as well as more restrictive GHG emissions limits for oil and gas facilities. Litigation risks are also increasing as a number of parties have sought to bring suit against various oil and natural gas companies in state or federal court, alleging, among other things, that such companies created public nuisances by producing fuels that contributed to climate change or alleging that the companies have been aware of the adverse effects of climate change for some time but defrauded their investors or customers by failing to adequately disclose those impacts. Should the Company be targeted by any such litigation, it may incur liability, which, to the extent that societal pressures or political or other factors are involved, could be imposed without regard to causation or contribution to the asserted damage, or to other mitigating factors. An unfavorable ruling in any such case could significantly impact the Company's operations and could have an adverse impact on the Company's financial condition.
There are also increasing financial risks for fossil fuel producers as shareholders currently invested in fossil fuel energy companies may elect in the future to shift some or all of their investments into other sectors. Institutional lenders who provide financing to fossil fuel energy companies also have become more attentive to sustainable lending practices and some of them may elect not to provide funding for fossil fuel energy companies. Although the Company cannot predict the effects of these actions, such limitation of investments in and financing for fossil fuel energy companies could result in the restriction, delay or cancellation of drilling programs or development or production activities. Additionally, in March 2022, the SEC issued a
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proposed rule that would mandate extensive disclosure of climate risks, including financial impacts, related governance and strategy and GHG emissions, for all U.S.-listed public companies. Although the final form and substance of this rule and its requirements are not yet known and its ultimate impact on the Company's business is uncertain, compliance with the proposed rule, if finalized, may result in additional legal, accounting and financial compliance costs.
The adoption and implementation of new or more stringent international, federal or state legislation, regulations or other regulatory initiatives that impose more stringent standards for GHG emissions from the oil and natural gas sector or otherwise restrict the areas in which this sector may produce oil and natural gas or generate GHG emissions could result in increased costs of compliance or costs of consuming, and thereby reduce demand for oil and natural gas, which could reduce the profitability of the Company's business. Additionally, political, litigation and financial risks may result in the Company restricting or cancelling production activities, incurring liability for infrastructure damages as a result of climatic changes or impairments to the Company's ability to continue to operate in an economic manner, which also could reduce the profitability of the Company's operations. To date, any costs related to climate change regulation has not had a material impact on the Company's production activities or otherwise materially and adversely affected their business. However, one or more of these developments could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operation. As a final note, climate change may also result in various physical risks, such as the increased frequency or severity of extreme weather events (including storms, droughts, floods and wildfires) or changes in meteorological and hydrological patterns, that could adversely impact the Company's operations and supply chains. Such physical risks could result in damage to the Company's facilities or indirectly adversely impact the Company's supply chains or operations through, for example, water use curtailments in response to drought or decline in demand for the Company's products for heating purposes in response to warmer winters.
The nature of the Company's assets and production operations may impact the environment or cause environmental contamination, which could result in material liabilities to the Company.
The Company's assets and production operations may give rise to significant environmental costs and liabilities as a result of the Company's handling of petroleum hydrocarbons and wastes, because of air emissions and water discharges related to its operations, and due to past industry operations and waste disposal practices. The Company's oil and gas business involves the generation, handling, treatment, storage, transport and disposal of wastes, hazardous substances and petroleum hydrocarbons and is subject to environmental hazards, such as oil and produced water spills, NGL and gas leaks, pipeline and vessel ruptures and unauthorized discharges of such wastes, substances and hydrocarbons, that could expose the Company to substantial liability due to pollution and other environmental damage. The Company could also incur costs and liabilities arising out of the unintended release of its flowback water or certain other oilfield fluids that the Company injects or has injected into non-producing formations. Another consequence of such contamination may be lawsuits alleging that its operations have caused damage to neighboring properties or otherwise violated state and federal rules regulating waste disposal. The occurrence of any one or more of these developments could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Company's hydraulic fracturing and former sand mining operations may result in silica-related health issues and litigation that could have a material adverse effect on the Company.
The Company routinely conducts hydraulic fracturing in its drilling and completion programs, which activity requires the management and use of significant volumes of sand. Additionally, the Company owns and formerly operated certain sand mining operations. The inhalation of respirable crystalline silica dust is associated with the lung disease silicosis. There is evidence of an association between crystalline silica exposure or silicosis and lung cancer and a possible association with other diseases, including immune system disorders, such as scleroderma. These health risks have been, and may continue to be, a significant issue confronting the commercial sand industry. The actual or perceived health risks of mining, processing and handling sand could materially and adversely affect the Company through the threat of product liability or personal injury lawsuits, enacted OSHA silica regulations and increased scrutiny by federal, state and local regulatory authorities. The occurrence of significant silica-related health issues as well as any pending or future claims or inadequacies of insurance coverage or contractual indemnification arising out of such issues could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations.
Increasing attention to ESG matters may impact the Company's business.
Businesses across all industries are facing increasing scrutiny from stakeholders related to their ESG practices. Businesses that do not adapt to or comply with investor or stakeholder expectations and standards, which are continuing to evolve, or businesses that are perceived to have not responded appropriately to the growing concern for ESG issues, regardless of whether there is a legal requirement to do so, may suffer from reputational damage and the business, financial condition and/or share price of such business entity could be materially and adversely affected. Increasing attention to climate change, increasing societal expectations on businesses to address climate change and potential consumer use of substitutes to energy
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commodities may result in increased costs, reduced demand for the Company's hydrocarbon products, reduced profits, increased investigations and litigation and negative impacts on its share price and access to capital markets. Increasing attention to climate change, for example, may result in demand shifts for the Company's hydrocarbon products, additional governmental investigations and private litigation, an increase in shareholder activism as shareholders may attempt to effect changes to the Company's business or governance, whether by shareholder proposals, public campaigns, proxy solicitations or otherwise, or constraints in sources of capital as certain financial institutions, institutional investors and other sources of capital limit or eliminate their investment in oil and gas activities.
As part of the Company's ongoing effort to enhance its ESG efforts, its Board has established a Sustainability and Climate Oversight Committee, which is charged with the ongoing oversight of the Company's corporate climate-related risk analysis, as well as its Sustainability Report, Climate Risk Report and other related activities. The Company has established an aspirational long-term net zero (Scope 1 and Scope 2) emissions ambition to further strengthen the Company's ESG performance with interim targets as follows: (i) reduce its methane emissions intensity by 75 percent by 2030 and its Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions intensity by 50 percent by 2030, from a 2019 baseline and (ii) maintain a flaring intensity standard of less than one percent of gas produced and end routine flaring by 2030, with an aspirational goal to achieve it by 2025. The Company has also set an aspirational goal to reduce the freshwater used in its completions operations to 20 percent by 2026. While the Company may elect to establish and revise various voluntary ESG targets now or in the future, such targets are aspirational. The Company may not be able to meet such targets in the manner or on such a timeline as initially contemplated, including as a result of unforeseen material costs or technical difficulties associated with achieving such results. Some of these targets are dependent on or influenced by factors out of the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, the ability of suppliers to provide new equipment on schedule and the build out of sufficient electricity capacity in the areas the Company operates. Further, to the extent the Company elected to pursue such targets and were able to achieve the desired target levels, such achievement may have been accomplished as a result of entering into various contractual arrangements, including the purchase of various credits or offsets that may be deemed to mitigate its ESG impact instead of actual changes in ESG performance. However, even in those cases the Company cannot guarantee that sufficient quality environmental credits or offsets the Company does purchase will not subsequently be determined to have failed to result in GHG emission reductions for reasons out of the Company's control. Given the uncertainties related to the use of emerging technologies, the state of the markets for and availability of verified quality carbon offsets, the Company cannot predict whether or not it will be able to timely meet its net zero ambition, if at all.
In addition, voluntary disclosures regarding ESG matters, as well as any ESG disclosures mandated by law, could result in private litigation or government investigation or enforcement action regarding the sufficiency or validity of such disclosures. Moreover, the failure or a perception (whether or not valid) of failure to implement ESG strategies or achieve ESG goals or commitments, including any GHG reduction or neutralization goals or commitments, could result in private litigation and damage the Company's reputation, cause investors or consumers to lose confidence in the Company and negatively impact the Company's operations. While the Company may participate in various voluntary frameworks and certification programs to improve the ESG profile of its operations and services, such as the Company's participation in Project Veritas, The Environmental Partnership and OGMP 2.0, the Company cannot guarantee that such participation or certification will have the intended results on its ESG profile. Notwithstanding the Company's election to pursue aspirational targets now or in the future, it may receive pressure from investors, lenders or other groups to adopt more aggressive climate or other ESG-related goals, but the Company cannot guarantee it will be able to implement such goals because of potential costs or technical or operational obstacles. Conversely, governments and private parties are also increasingly filing lawsuits or initiating regulatory action based on allegations that certain public statements regarding ESG-related matters and practices by companies are "greenwashing," i.e. misleading information or false claims overstating potential ESG benefits. For example, in March 2021, the SEC established the Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement to identify and address potential ESG-related misconduct, including greenwashing. Similar issues can also arise relating to aspirational statements such as net-zero or carbon neutrality targets that are made without an adequate basis to support such statements. While the Company is currently not a party to any of these lawsuits, they present a high degree of uncertainty regarding the extent to which oil and gas companies face an increased risk of liability stemming from climate change or ESG disclosures and practices.
Furthermore, organizations that provide information to investors on corporate governance and related matters have developed ratings processes for evaluating business entities on their approach to ESG matters. Currently, there are no universal standards for such scores or ratings, but the importance of sustainability evaluations is becoming more broadly accepted by investors and shareholders. Such ratings are used by some investors to inform their investment and voting decisions. Additionally, certain investors use these scores to benchmark businesses against their peers and if a business entity is perceived as lagging, these investors may engage with such entities to require improved ESG disclosure or performance. Moreover, certain members of the broader investment community may consider a business entity's sustainability score as a reputational or other factor in making an investment decision. Consequently, a low sustainability score could result in exclusion of the Company's stock from consideration by certain investment funds, engagement by investors seeking to improve such scores and
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a negative perception of the Company's operations by certain investors. Additionally, though the Company believes it can achieve its voluntary ESG targets and goals, any failure to realize or the perception of a failure to realize voluntary targets or long-term goals, could lead to a negative perception of the Company.
Regulatory Risks
The Company's operations are subject to stringent environmental, oil and gas-related and occupational safety and health legal requirements that could increase its costs of doing business and result in operating restrictions, delays or cancellations in the permitting, drilling or completion of oil and gas wells, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition.
The Company's oil and gas exploration and production operations are subject to stringent federal, state and local legal requirements governing, among other things, the drilling of wells (including allocation wells on two or more leaseholds that are not pooled), rates of production, the size and shape of drilling and spacing units or proration units, the transportation and sale of oil, NGLs and gas, the discharging of materials into the environment, environmental protection and occupational safety and health. These requirements may take the form of laws, regulations and executive actions, and noncompliance with these legal requirements may subject the Company to sanctions, including administration, civil or criminal penalties, remedial cleanups or corrective actions, delays in permitting or performance of projects, natural resource damages and other liabilities. Changes in administrative procedures or authorizations, court decisions and legislative action with respect to any of these areas, including authorizations for allocation wells, could have a material adverse effect on the Company's anticipated future production, results of operations and financial condition.
In connection with its operations, the Company must obtain and maintain numerous environmental and oil and gas related permits, approvals and certificates from various federal, state and local governmental authorities, and may incur substantial costs in doing so. The need to obtain permits has the potential to delay, curtail or cease the development of oil and gas projects. The Company may in the future be charged royalties on gas emissions or required to incur certain capital expenditures for air pollution control equipment or other air emissions-related issues. For example, in 2015, the EPA under the Obama Administration issued a final rule under the CAA, making the National Ambient Air Quality Standard ("NAAQS") for ground-level ozone more stringent. Since that time, the EPA has issued area designations with respect to ground-level ozone and, on December 31, 2020, published a final action that, upon conducting a periodic review of the ozone standard in accord with CAA requirements, elected to retain the 2015 ozone NAAQS without revision on a going-forward basis. However, in October 2021, the EPA announced it will reconsider its December 2020 decision and is targeting to complete its reconsideration by the end of 2023. If the EPA were to adopt more stringent NAAQS for ground-level ozone as part of its reconsideration of the December 2020 final action, state implementation of the revised NAAQS could, among other things, require installation of new emission controls on some of the Company's equipment, result in longer permitting timelines, and significantly increase the Company's capital expenditures and operating costs.
In another example, there continues to be uncertainty on the federal government's applicable jurisdictional reach under the CWA over waters of the United States ("WOTUS"), including wetlands, as the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ("Corps") under the Obama, Trump and Biden Administrations have pursued multiple rulemakings since 2015 in an attempt to determine the scope of such reach. While the EPA and Corps under the Trump Administration issued a final rule in April 2020 narrowing federal jurisdictional reach over WOTUS, two federal district courts vacated the 2020 rule during the third quarter of 2021. The EPA and the Corps have since published a new final rule, which will take effect on March 20, 2023, defining WOTUS according to the broader pre-2015 standards with updates to incorporate existing U.S. Supreme Court decisions and agency guidance regarding regional differences. However, the new rule has already been challenged in federal court. Moreover, the EPA and the Corps have announced an intent to develop a subsequent rule that further revises the definition of WOTUS and, separately, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on certain aspects of the definition in mid-2023. Separately, in April 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held that, in certain cases, discharges from a point source to groundwater could fall within the scope of the CWA and require a permit. To the extent that any new rule or judicial determination expands the scope of the CWA's jurisdiction in areas where the Company conducts operations, such developments could delay, restrict or halt the development of projects, result in longer permitting timelines, or increased compliance expenditures or mitigation costs for the Company's operations, which may reduce the Company's rate of production of oil and gas and have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations and cash flows.
Additionally, the Company's operations are subject to federal and state laws and regulations, including the federal OSHA and comparable state statutes, whose purpose is to protect the health and safety of employees. Among other things, the OSHA hazard communication standard, the EPA community right-to-know regulations under Title III of the federal Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act and comparable state statutes require that information be maintained concerning hazardous materials used or produced in the Company's operations and that this information be provided to employees, state and local government authorities and citizens.
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Compliance with these legal requirements, or any other new environmental or occupational safety and health laws, regulations or executive actions could, among other things, require the Company to install new or modified emission or safety controls on equipment or processes, incur longer permitting timelines and incur increased capital or operating expenditures, which costs may be significant. Additionally, one or more of these developments could impact the Company's oil and gas exploration, production and development activities, which could have a material adverse effect on its business, results of operations and financial condition.
Laws, regulations and other executive actions or regulatory initiatives regarding hydraulic fracturing could increase the Company's cost of doing business and result in additional operating restrictions, delays or cancellations that could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition.
The Company routinely conducts hydraulic fracturing in its drilling and completion programs. Hydraulic fracturing is typically regulated by state oil and gas commissions, but the practice continues to attract considerable public, scientific and governmental attention in certain parts of the country, resulting in increased scrutiny and regulation, including by federal agencies.
Currently, hydraulic fracturing is generally exempt from regulation under the Underground Injection Control program of the SDWA, but the EPA has asserted federal regulatory authority over certain hydraulic fracturing activities. For example, the EPA has published permitting guidance for certain hydraulic fracturing processes involving the use of diesel fuel and issued a final regulation under the CWA prohibiting discharges to publicly owned treatment works of wastewater from onshore unconventional oil and gas extraction facilities. The EPA is also conducting a study of private wastewater treatment facilities (also known as centralized waste treatment ("CWT") facilities) accepting oil and natural gas extraction wastewater. The EPA is collecting data and information related to the extent to which CWT facilities accept such wastewater, available treatment technologies (and their associated costs), discharge characteristics, financial characteristics of CWT facilities and the environmental impacts of discharges from CWT facilities. In late 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 certain circumstances. Other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Government Accountability Office, have evaluated or are evaluating various aspects of hydraulic fracturing. These ongoing or proposed studies could spur initiatives to further regulate hydraulic fracturing and ultimately make it more difficult or costly for the Company to perform fracturing activities. Also, from time to time, legislation has been introduced, but not enacted, in Congress to provide for federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing and to require disclosure of the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process. This or other federal legislation related to hydraulic fracturing may be considered again in the future, though the extent of any such legislation cannot be predicted at this time. Also, in 2016, the BLM under the Obama Administration published a final rule imposing more stringent standards on hydraulic fracturing on federal lands; however, in late 2018, the BLM, under the Trump Administration, published a final rule rescinding the 2016 final rule. Since that time, litigation challenging the BLM's 2016 final rule and the 2018 final rule has resulted in rescission in federal courts of both the 2016 rule and the 2018 final rule but appeals to those decisions are ongoing.
At the state level, many states have adopted legal requirements that have imposed new or more stringent permitting, public disclosure or well construction requirements on hydraulic fracturing activities, including in states where the Company's oil and gas exploration and production activities occur. For example, the Texas Railroad Commission requires operators to disclose chemical ingredients and water volumes used in hydraulic fracturing treatments via the public FracFocus website. States could also elect to place prohibitions on hydraulic fracturing and local governments may seek to adopt ordinances within their jurisdictions regulating the time, place or manner of drilling activities in general or hydraulic fracturing activities in particular.
Laws and regulations pertaining to protection of threatened and endangered species or to critical habitat, wetlands and natural resources could delay, restrict or prohibit the Company's operations and cause it to incur substantial costs that may have a material adverse effect on the Company's development and production of reserves.
The federal ESA and comparable state laws were established to protect endangered and threatened species. Under the ESA, if a species is listed as threatened or endangered, restrictions may be imposed on activities adversely affecting that species' habitat. Similar protections are offered to migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act ("MBTA"). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("FWS"), during the Trump Administration, issued a final rule on January 7, 2021, which clarifies that criminal liability under the MBTA will apply only to actions "directed at" migratory birds, its nests, or its eggs; however, the FWS under the Biden Administration has since published a final rule in October 2021 revoking the January 2021 rule and affirmatively stating that the MBTA prohibits incidental takes of migratory birds. Some of the Company's operations are conducted in areas where protected species or their habitats are known to exist. In these areas, the Company may be obligated to develop and implement plans to avoid potential adverse effects to protected species and their habitats, and the Company may be
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delayed, restricted or prohibited from conducting operations in certain locations or during certain seasons, such as breeding and nesting seasons, when the Company's operations could have an adverse effect on the species. In addition, the FWS may make new determinations on the listing of species as endangered or threatened under the ESA. The Company takes proactive measures to mitigate the risks of existing or future ESA regulations regarding certain species, like the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard and Lesser Prairie Chicken, that have the potential to impact the Company's operations. For example, the Company is a participant in the Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurance ("CCAA") for the conservation of the Lesser Prairie Chicken. The terms of the CCAA enable the Company to minimize its impacts to and promote conservation of Lesser Prairie Chicken habitat but also maintain its development plans through the generation of habitat impact offsets. The southern and northern population segments of the Lesser Prairie Chicken were formally listed as endangered and threatened, respectively, by the FWS in November 2022. However, the Company's participation in the Lesser Prairie Chicken CCAA insulates the Company's operations from most of the adverse impacts of this listing. Should the habitat of the Lesser Prairie Chicken be expanded at a future date through the actions of the FWS, operations in areas pertaining to any expanded habitat would not be covered by the CCAA and future operations may require securing FWS permits. Separately, in August 2022, the FWS agreed, via a stipulated settlement agreement in a federal district court, to decide whether to list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as endangered or threatened by June 29, 2023. In January 2021, the FWS approved a CCAA covering the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard habitat in non-federal lands in certain counties of western Texas. The designation of previously unprotected species or the re-designation of under protected species as threatened or endangered in areas where the Company conducts operations could cause the Company to incur increased costs arising from species protection measures or could result in delays, restrictions or prohibitions on its development and production activities that could have a material adverse effect on the Company's ability to develop and produce reserves.
The Company's transportation of gas; sales and purchases of oil, NGLs and gas or other energy commodities and any derivative activities related to such energy commodities, expose the Company to potential regulatory risks.
The FERC, the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") hold statutory authority to monitor certain segments of the physical and futures energy commodities markets relevant to the Company's business. These agencies have imposed broad regulations prohibiting fraud and manipulation of such markets. With regard to the Company's transportation of gas in interstate commerce, physical sales and purchases of oil, NGLs, gas or other energy commodities, and any derivative activities related to these energy commodities, the Company is required to observe the market-related regulations enforced by these agencies, which hold substantial enforcement authority. Failure to comply with such regulations, as interpreted and enforced, could result in agency actions that could materially and adversely affect the Company's results of operations and financial condition.
The enactment of derivatives legislation could have a material adverse effect on the Company's ability to use derivative instruments to reduce the effect of commodity price, interest rate and other risks associated with its business.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") enacted in July 2010, established federal oversight and regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives market and entities, such as the Company, that participate in that market. The Dodd-Frank Act requires the CFTC and the SEC to promulgate rules and regulations for its implementation. While many Dodd-Frank Act regulations are already in effect, the rulemaking and implementation process is ongoing, and the ultimate effect of the adopted rules and regulations and any future rules and regulations on the Company's business remain uncertain.
In 2020, the CFTC voted to adopt a final rule regarding position limits for certain physical commodity derivatives (the "Final Position Limits Rule"). The Final Position Limits Rule establishes new and amended position limits for futures and options contracts in various commodities (including oil and gas) and for swaps that are their economic equivalents. Under the Final Position Limits Rule, certain types of derivative transactions are exempt from these limits, provided that such derivative transactions satisfy the CFTC's requirements for certain enumerated "bona fide" derivative transactions, pass-through swaps and certain anticipatory hedges. The Final Position Limits Rule also includes new exemptions for conditional spot-month positions in gas, preexisting positions acquired in good faith and, in limited circumstances, upon request to the CFTC.
The CFTC has also adopted final rules regarding the aggregation requirements applicable to position limits (such rules, as expanded by the Final Positions Limits Rule, the "Aggregation Rule"). The Aggregation Rule requires the aggregation of positions in commodity futures contracts and the economically equivalent futures, options and swaps held by separate but related entities for purposes of determining compliance with position limits. These rules may affect both the size of the positions that the Company may hold and the ability or willingness of counterparties to trade with the Company, potentially increasing the costs of transactions. Moreover, such changes could materially reduce the Company's access to derivative opportunities, which could adversely affect revenues or cash flow during periods of low commodity prices. The ultimate effect of these rules and any additional regulations on the Company's business is uncertain.
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In addition, certain banking regulators and the CFTC have adopted final rules establishing minimum margin requirements for uncleared swaps. Although the Company expects to qualify for the end-user exception from margin requirements for swaps entered into to manage its commercial risks, the application of such requirements to other market participants, such as swap dealers, may change the cost and availability of the swaps that the Company uses. If any of the Company's swaps do not qualify for the commercial end-user exception, the posting of collateral could reduce its liquidity and cash available for capital expenditures and could reduce its ability to manage commodity price volatility and the volatility in its cash flows.
The full impact of the Dodd-Frank Act and related regulatory requirements upon the Company's business will not be known until the regulations are fully implemented and the market for derivatives contracts has adjusted. In addition, it is possible that the Biden administration could expand regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives market and the entities that participate in that market through either the Dodd-Frank Act or the enactment of new legislation. The Dodd-Frank Act (and any regulations implemented thereunder) and any new legislation could significantly increase the cost of derivative contracts, materially alter the terms of derivative contracts, reduce the availability of derivatives to protect against risks the Company encounters and reduce the Company's ability to monetize or restructure existing derivative contracts. Further, the Dodd-Frank Act was intended, in part, to reduce the volatility of oil and gas prices, which some legislators attributed to speculative trading in derivatives and commodity instruments related to oil and gas. The Company's revenues could therefore be materially and adversely affected if a consequence of the Dodd-Frank Act and implementing regulations is to lower commodity prices.
The European Union and other non-U.S. jurisdictions have also implemented and continue to implement new regulations with respect to the derivatives market. To the extent the Company transacts with counterparties in foreign jurisdictions or counterparties with other businesses that subject them to regulations in foreign jurisdictions, the Company may become subject to, or otherwise affected by, such regulations. At this time, the impact of such regulations is not clear.
Regulation by the CFTC and banking regulators of the over-the-counter derivatives market and market participants could cause the Company's contract counterparties, which are generally financial institutions and other market participants, to curtail or cease their derivatives activities. The Company believes that these regulatory trends have contributed to a reduction in liquidity of the over-the-counter derivatives market, which could make it more difficult to engage in derivative transactions covering significant volumes of the Company's future production, and which could materially and adversely affect the cost and availability of derivatives to the Company. If the Company reduces its use of derivatives as a result of such regulation, the Company's results of operations may become more volatile and its cash flows may be less predictable, which could materially and adversely affect the Company's ability to plan for and fund capital expenditures. Any of these consequences could have a material adverse effect on the Company, its financial condition and its results of operations.
The Company's bylaws provide, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) will be the exclusive forum for certain legal actions between the Company and its stockholders and that the federal district courts of the United States shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of causes of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933. These provisions could increase costs to bring a claim, discourage claims or limit the ability of the Company's stockholders to bring a claim in a judicial forum viewed by the stockholders as more favorable for disputes with the Company or the Company's directors, officers or other employees.
The Company's bylaws provide to the fullest extent permitted by law that, unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) will be the sole and exclusive forum for (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company, (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, other employee, agent or stockholder of the Company to the Company or the Company's stockholders, (c) any action against the Company arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or as to which the Delaware General Corporation Law confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (d) any action against the Company or any director, officer, other employee or agent of the Company asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine, including, without limitation, any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Company's certificate of incorporation or the Company's bylaws. The Company's bylaws also provided that the federal district courts of the United States shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933. Although the Company's bylaws provide for an exclusive forum for causes of action under the Securities Act of 1933, its stockholders will not be deemed to have waived compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. The choice of forum provisions may increase costs to bring a claim, discourage claims or limit a stockholder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with the Company or the Company's directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against the Company or the Company's directors, officers and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision
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contained in the Company's bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, the Company may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions.
Changes in tax laws or the interpretation thereof or the imposition of new or increased taxes or fees may adversely affect the Company's operations and cash flows.
From time to time, U.S. federal and state level legislation has been proposed that would, if enacted into law, make significant changes to U.S. tax laws, including to certain key U.S. federal and state income tax provisions currently available to oil and natural gas exploration and development companies. Such legislative changes have included, but have not been limited to, (i) the elimination of the percentage depletion allowance for oil and natural gas properties, (ii) the elimination of current deductions for intangible drilling and development costs, (iii) an extension of the amortization period for certain geological and geophysical expenditures, (iv) the elimination of certain other tax deductions and relief previously available to oil and natural gas companies and (v) an increase in the U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to corporations such as the Company. It is unclear whether these or similar changes will be enacted and, if enacted, how soon any such changes could take effect. Additionally, states in which the Company operates or owns assets may impose new or increased taxes or fees on oil and natural gas extraction. The passage of any legislation as a result of these proposals and other similar changes in U.S. federal income tax laws or the imposition of new or increased taxes or fees on natural gas and oil extraction could adversely affect the Company's operations and cash flows.
In addition, on August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the IRA, which includes, among other things, a corporate alternative minimum tax (the "CAMT"), provides for an investment tax credit for qualified biomass property and introduces a one percent excise tax on corporate stock repurchases after December 31, 2022. Under the CAMT, a 15 percent minimum tax will be imposed on certain adjusted financial statement income of "applicable corporations," which is effective beginning January 1, 2023. The CAMT generally treats a corporation as an applicable corporation in any taxable year in which the "average annual adjusted financial statement income" of the corporation and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates for a three-taxable-year period ending prior to such taxable year exceeds $1 billion. The Company is currently assessing the potential impact of these legislative changes and will continue to evaluate the overall impact of other current, future and proposed regulations and interpretive guidance from tax authorities on the Company's effective tax rate and consolidated balance sheets. The Company is unable to predict whether any such changes or other proposals will ultimately be enacted.