Item 1A. Risk Factors

Oil and natural gas prices are volatile.  The continuing and extended decline in oil and natural gas prices has adversely affected, and could continue to adversely affect, our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flow.

The oil and natural gas markets are very volatile, and we cannot predict future oil and natural gas prices.  Oil and natural gas prices declined significantly and have remained depressed since late 2014.  The prices we receive for our oil and natural gas production heavily influences our revenue, profitability, access to capital and future rate of growth.  We seek to mitigate volatility and potential declines in oil prices through derivative arrangements that hedge a portion of our expected production. As of December 31, 2017 , we had hedged 3.1 million , 1.9 million and 1.2 million barrels of oil in 2018 , 2019 and 2020, respectively, at an average price of $53.26 , $51.80 and $50.41 per barrel of oil in 2018 , 2019 and 2020, respectively (see Note 13 to our financial statements).

The prices we receive for our production and the levels of our production depend on numerous factors beyond our control.  These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

Lower oil and natural gas prices have and, if they continue, will continue to decrease our revenues, the amount of oil and natural gas that our operators can produce economically, and our reserve bookings.  A substantial or extended decline in oil or natural gas prices, such as the depressed commodity price environment that we’ve experienced since late 2014, has resulted in and could result in further future impairments of our proved oil and natural gas properties and may materially and adversely affect our future business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or ability to finance planned capital expenditures. To the extent commodity prices received from production are insufficient to fund planned capital expenditures, we may be required to reduce spending or borrow or issue additional equity to cover any such shortfall.  Lower oil and natural gas prices may limit our ability to comply with the covenants under our term loan credit agreement and/or limit our ability to access borrowing availability thereunder, which is dependent on many factors including the value of our proved producing reserves.

Our estimated reserves are based on many assumptions that may prove to be inaccurate. Any material inaccuracies in these reserve estimates or underlying assumptions will materially affect the quantities and present value of our reserves.

Determining the amount of oil and natural gas recoverable from various formations involves significant complexity and uncertainty.  No one can measure underground accumulations of oil or natural gas in an exact way.  Oil and natural gas reserve engineering requires subjective estimates of underground accumulations of oil and/or natural gas and assumptions concerning future oil and natural gas prices, production levels, and operating, exploration and development costs.  Some of our reserve estimates are made without the benefit of a lengthy production history, and are less reliable than estimates based on a lengthy production history.  As a result, estimated quantities of proved reserves and projections of future production rates and the timing of development expenditures may prove to be inaccurate.

We routinely make estimates of oil and natural gas reserves in connection with managing our business and preparing reports to our lenders and investors.  We make these reserve estimates using various assumptions, including assumptions as to oil and natural gas prices, development schedules, drilling and operating expenses, capital expenditures, taxes and availability of funds.  Some of these assumptions are inherently subjective, and the accuracy of our reserve estimates relies in part on the ability of our management team, reserve engineers and other advisors to make accurate assumptions.  Any significant variance from these assumptions by actual figures could greatly affect our estimates of reserves, the economically recoverable quantities of oil, natural gas and NGLs attributable to any particular group of properties, the classifications of reserves based on risk of recovery, and estimates of the future net cash flows.  Numerous changes over time to the assumptions on which our reserve estimates are based, as described above, often result in the actual quantities of oil, natural gas and NGLs we ultimately recover being different from our reserve estimates.  Any significant variance could materially affect the estimated quantities and present value of reserves shown in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports we file with the SEC.  For example, the estimated quantities and value of our proved reserves as of December 31, 2016 declined significantly from the prior year, due to the decline in oil and natural gas prices as well as a reduction in the number of undeveloped locations included in our proved reserve estimates, due to reduced levels of drilling in a low commodity price environment.  In addition, we may adjust estimates of net proved reserves to reflect production history, changes in operating costs, results of exploration and development, prevailing oil and natural gas prices and any other factors, many of which are beyond our control.

Drilling for and producing oil, natural gas and NGLs are high risk activities with many uncertainties that could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

Our operators’ drilling activities are subject to many risks, including the risk that they will not discover commercially productive reservoirs.  Drilling for oil or natural gas can be uneconomical, not only from dry holes, but also from productive wells that do not produce sufficient revenues to be commercially viable.  In addition, drilling and producing operations on our acreage may be curtailed, delayed or canceled by our operators as a result of other factors, including:

Any of these events can cause substantial losses, including personal injury or loss of life, damage to or destruction of property, natural resources and equipment, pollution, environmental contamination, loss of wells and regulatory penalties.

We ordinarily maintain insurance against various losses and liabilities arising from our operations; however, insurance against all operational risks is not available to us.  Additionally, we may elect not to obtain insurance if we believe that the cost of available insurance is excessive relative to the perceived risks presented.  Losses could therefore occur for uninsurable or uninsured risks or in amounts in excess of existing insurance coverage.  The occurrence of an event that is not fully covered by insurance could have a material adverse impact on our business activities, financial condition and results of operations.

Due to the declines in oil and natural gas prices, we have taken significant writedowns of our oil and natural gas properties.  We may be required to record further writedowns of our oil and natural gas properties.

In 2015 and 2016 we were required to write down the carrying value of certain of our oil and natural gas properties, and further writedowns could be required in the future.  Writedowns may occur when oil and natural gas prices are low, or if we have downward adjustments to our estimated proved reserves, increases in our estimates of operating or development costs, deterioration in drilling results or mechanical problems with wells where the cost to redrill or repair is not supported by the expected economics.

Under the full cost method of accounting, capitalized oil and gas property costs less accumulated depletion and net of deferred income taxes may not exceed an amount equal to the present value, discounted at 10%, of estimated future net revenues from proved oil and gas reserves plus the cost of unproved properties not subject to amortization (without regard to estimates of fair value), or estimated fair value, if lower, of unproved properties that are subject to amortization.  Should capitalized costs exceed this ceiling, an impairment would be recognized.

During 2017 , we performed an impairment review using prices that reflect an average of 2017 ’s monthly prices as prescribed pursuant to the SEC’s guidelines.  As a result of improving commodity prices, no impairment was recorded during 2017 .  Although oil and natural gas prices have improved, if a lower pricing environment reoccurs we expect we could be required to further write down the value of our oil and natural gas properties. If lower average monthly pricing is reflected in the trailing twelve-month average pricing calculation, the present value of our future net revenues could decline and additional impairment could be recognized. The quarterly ceiling test considers many factors including reserves, capital expenditure estimates and trailing twelve-month average prices.  SEC defined prices for each quarter in 2017 were as follows:                        

Any significant reduction in the value of our proved producing reserves could limit our ability to comply with the covenants under our term loan credit agreement, limit the borrowing availability thereunder, and/or otherwise negatively impact our liquidity and, consequently, our ability to fund our operations, and we may not have sufficient funds to repay borrowings under our term loan credit agreement or any other obligation if required as a result of a reduction in the value of our proved producing reserves.

Our term loan credit agreement includes a covenant that requires the ratio of (i) our Total PDP PV-10 (as defined in the term loan credit agreement) plus the aggregate amount of our unrestricted cash and cash equivalents to (ii) the amount of Senior Secured Debt (as defined in the term loan credit agreement), to not be less than 1.30 to 1.00. The covenant calculation is performed quarterly (March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31). Reductions in estimates of our producing oil, NGL and natural gas reserves could result in a covenant violation under our term loan credit agreement and/or limit our borrowing availability thereunder.  The same could also arise from other factors, including but not limited to:

As of December 31, 2017 , we had $300 million of borrowings outstanding under our term loan credit agreement and cash of $102 million. We may make further borrowings under our term loan credit agreement in the future.  Any significant reduction in our quarterly PDP PV-10 valuation could result in a default under current and/or future debt instruments, negatively impact our liquidity and our ability to fund our operations and, as a result, would have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operation and cash flow.  If we do not have sufficient funds and we are otherwise unable to arrange new financing, we may have to sell significant assets. Any such sale could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Our future success depends on our ability to replace reserves that our operators produce.

Because the rate of production from oil and natural gas properties generally declines as reserves are depleted, our future success depends upon our ability to economically find or acquire and produce additional oil and natural gas reserves.  Except to the extent that we acquire additional properties containing proved reserves, conduct successful exploration and development activities or, through engineering studies, identify additional behind-pipe zones or secondary recovery reserves, our proved reserves will decline as our reserves are produced.  We have added significant net wells and production from wellbore-only acquisitions, where we don’t hold the underlying leasehold interest that would entitle us to participate in future wells. Future oil and natural gas production, therefore, is highly dependent upon our level of success in acquiring or finding additional reserves that are economically recoverable.  We cannot assure you that we will be able to find or acquire and develop additional reserves at an acceptable cost.

We may acquire significant amounts of unproved property to further our development efforts.  Development and exploratory drilling and production activities are subject to many risks, including the risk that no commercially productive reservoirs will be discovered.  We acquire both proved and producing properties as well as undeveloped acreage that we believe will enhance growth potential and increase our earnings over time.  However, we cannot assure you that all of these properties will contain economically viable reserves or that we will not abandon our initial investments.  Additionally, we cannot assure you that unproved reserves or undeveloped acreage that we acquire will be profitably developed, that new wells drilled on our properties will be productive or that we will recover all or any portion of our investments in our properties and reserves.

As a non-operator, our development of successful operations relies extensively on third-parties, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operation.

We have only participated in wells operated by third-parties.  Our current ability to develop and maintain successful business operations depends on the success of our third-party operators.  If our operators are not successful in the development, exploitation, production and exploration activities relating to our leasehold interests, or are unable or unwilling to perform, our financial condition and results of operation would be materially adversely affected.

These risks are heightened in a low commodity price environment, which presents significant challenges to most (if not all) of our operators.  The challenges and risks faced by our operators may be similar to or greater than our own, including with respect to their ability to service their debt, remain in compliance with their debt instruments and, if necessary, access additional capital.  We have already seen some bankruptcy filings for oil and gas operators, and a low commodity price environment could result in additional operators being forced into bankruptcy.  The insolvency of an operator of any of our properties, the failure of an operator of any of our properties to adequately perform operations or an operator’s breach of applicable agreements could reduce our production and revenue and result in our liability to governmental authorities for compliance with environmental, safety and other regulatory requirements, to the operator’s suppliers and vendors and to royalty owners under oil and gas leases jointly owned with the operator or another insolvent owner.  Finally, an operator of our properties may have the right, if another non-operator fails to pay its share of costs because of its insolvency or otherwise, to require us to pay our proportionate share of the defaulting party’s share of costs.

Our operators will make decisions in connection with their operations (subject to their contractual and legal obligations to other owners of working interests), which may not be in our best interests.

Additionally, we may have virtually no ability to exercise influence over the operational decisions of our operators, including the setting of capital expenditure budgets and drilling locations and schedules. Dependence on our operators could prevent us from realizing our target returns for those locations.  The success and timing of development activities by our operators will depend on a number of factors that will largely be outside of our control, including:

We could experience periods of higher costs as activity levels in the Williston Basin fluctuate or if commodity prices rise.  These increases could reduce our profitability, cash flow, and ability to complete development activities as planned.

The recent rise in commodity prices has increased activity and investment in the Williston Basin.  As a result of increased activity in the Williston Basin, competition for equipment, labor and supplies is also expected to increase.  Likewise, higher oil, natural gas and NGL prices generally increase the demand for equipment, labor and supplies, and can lead to shortages of, and increasing costs for, drilling equipment, services and personnel.  Shortages of, or increasing costs for, experienced drilling crews and equipment and services could restrict our operating partners’ ability to drill the wells and conduct the operations that we currently expect.

In addition, capital and operating costs in the oil and natural gas industry have generally risen during periods of increasing commodity prices as producers seek to increase production in order to capitalize on higher commodity prices.  In situations where cost inflation exceeds commodity price inflation, our profitability and cash flow, and our operators’ ability to complete development activities as scheduled and on budget, may be negatively impacted.  Any delay in the drilling of new wells or significant increase in drilling costs could reduce our revenues and cash available to make payments on our debt obligations.

Our lack of industry and geographical diversification may increase the risk of an investment in our company.

Our business focus is on the oil and natural gas industry in properties that are primarily in the areas of the Williston Basin located in Montana and North Dakota.  While other companies may have the ability to manage their risk by diversification, the narrow focus of our business, in terms of both the industry focus and geographic scope of our business, means that we will likely be impacted more acutely by factors affecting our industry or the region in which we operate than we would if our business were more diversified.  As a result of the narrow focus of our business, we may be disproportionately exposed to the effects of regional supply and demand factors, delays or interruptions of production from wells in this area caused by governmental regulation, processing or transportation capacity constraints, market limitations, weather events or interruption of the processing or transportation of oil or natural gas.  Additionally, we may be exposed to further risks, such as changes in field-wide rules and regulations that could cause us to permanently or temporarily shut-in all of our wells within the Williston Basin.  We do not currently intend to broaden either the nature or geographic scope of our business.

Locations that the operators of our properties decide to drill may not yield oil or natural gas in commercially viable quantities.

The cost of drilling, completing and operating a well is often uncertain, and cost factors can adversely affect the economics of a well. Our efforts will be uneconomical if the operators of our properties drill dry holes or wells that are productive but do not produce enough to be commercially viable after drilling, operating and other costs. If the operators of our properties drill future wells that are identified as dry holes, the drilling success rate would decline and may adversely affect our results of operations.

To the extent we are unable to obtain future hedges at attractive prices or our derivative activities are not effective, our cash flows and financial condition may be adversely impacted.

To achieve more predictable cash flows and reduce our exposure to adverse fluctuations in the price of oil, we enter into derivative instrument contracts for a portion of our expected oil production, including swaps, collars, puts and basis swaps.  In accordance with applicable accounting principles, we are required to record our derivatives at fair market value, and they are included on our balance sheet as assets or liabilities and in our statements of operations as gain (loss) on derivatives, net.  Accordingly, our earnings may fluctuate significantly as a result of changes in the fair market value of our derivative instruments.

Our derivatives activities could result in financial losses or could reduce our cash flow.

We enter into swaps, collars or other derivatives arrangements from time to time to hedge our expected production depending on projected production levels and expected market conditions, and to comply with covenant requirements under our term loan credit agreement.  While intended to mitigate the effects of volatile oil and natural gas prices, such transactions may limit our potential gains and increase our potential losses if oil and natural gas prices were to rise substantially over the price established by the hedge.

Our actual future production may be significantly higher or lower than we estimate at the time we enter into derivative contracts for such period. If the actual amount of production is higher than we estimate, we will have greater commodity price exposure than we intended. If the actual amount of production is lower than the notional amount that is subject to our derivative financial instruments, we might be forced to satisfy all or a portion of our derivative transactions without the benefit of the cash flow from our sale of the underlying physical commodity, resulting in a substantial diminution of our liquidity. As a result of these factors, our hedging activities may not be as effective as we intend in reducing the volatility of our cash flows, and in certain circumstances may actually increase the volatility of our cash flows.  In addition, such transactions may expose us to the risk of loss in certain circumstances, including instances in which:

Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations.

We have net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards that we may use to offset against taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes.  At December 31, 2017 , we had an estimated NOL carryforward of approximately $714.5 million for United States federal tax return purposes. In general, under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” can be subject to limitations on the use of its NOLs to offset future taxable income.  Future changes in our stock ownership, some of which are outside of our control, could result in an ownership change under Section 382 of the Code. For example, in connection with the potential exchange transaction described in Note 16 to the financial statements, we expect that a limitation under Section 382 could be triggered. In addition, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”), which was signed into law on December 22, 2017, (i) the amount of post-2017 NOLs that we are permitted to deduct in any taxable year is limited to 80% of our taxable income in such year, where taxable income is determined without regard to the NOL deduction itself, and (ii) NOLs can no longer be carried back to prior taxable years. There is a risk that due to changes under the Tax Act, regulatory changes, or other unforeseen reasons, our existing NOLs could expire or otherwise be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities. For these reasons, we may not be able to realize a tax benefit from the use of our NOLs.

The present value of future net cash flows from our proved reserves is not necessarily the same as the current market value of our estimated proved reserves.

We base the estimated discounted future net cash flows from our proved reserves using a 12-month average price and costs in effect on the day of the estimate. However, actual future net cash flows from our oil and natural gas properties will be affected by factors such as:

The timing of both our production and our incurrence of expenses in connection with the development and production of oil and natural gas properties will affect the timing of actual future net cash flows from proved reserves, and thus their actual present value. In addition, the 10% discount factor we use when calculating discounted future net cash flows may not be the most appropriate discount factor based on interest rates in effect from time to time and risks associated with us or the oil and natural gas industry in general. Any material inaccuracies in these reserve estimates or underlying assumptions will materially affect the quantities and present value of our reserves, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business depends on oil and natural gas transportation and processing facilities and other assets that are owned by third parties.

The marketability of our oil and natural gas depends in part on the availability, proximity and capacity of pipeline systems, processing facilities, oil trucking fleets and rail transportation assets owned by third parties.  The lack of available capacity on these systems and facilities, whether as a result of proration, physical damage, scheduled maintenance or other reasons, could result in a substantial increase in costs, the shut-in of producing wells or the delay or discontinuance of development plans for our properties.  The negative effects arising from these and similar circumstances may last for an extended period of time.  In many cases, operators are provided only with limited, if any, notice as to when these circumstances will arise and their duration.  In addition, many of our wells are drilled in locations in the Williston Basin that are serviced to a limited extent, if at all, by gathering and transportation pipelines, which may or may not have sufficient capacity to transport production from all of the wells in the area.  As a result, we rely on third party oil trucking to transport a significant portion of our production to third party transportation pipelines, rail loading facilities and other market access points.  Any significant curtailment in gathering system or pipeline capacity, or the unavailability of sufficient third party trucking or rail capacity, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Certain of our undeveloped leasehold acreage is subject to leases that will expire over the next several years unless production is established or operations are commenced on units containing the acreage or the leases are extended.

A significant portion of our acreage is not currently held by production or held by operations.  Unless production in paying quantities is established or operations are commenced on units containing these leases during their terms, the leases will expire.  If our leases expire and we are unable to renew the leases, we will lose our right to participate in the development of the related properties.  Drilling plans for these areas are generally in the discretion of third party operators and are subject to change based on various factors that are beyond our control, such as: the availability and cost of capital, equipment, services and personnel; seasonal conditions; regulatory and third party approvals; oil, NGL and natural gas prices; results of title work; gathering system and other transportation constraints; drilling costs and results; and production costs.  As of December 31, 2017 , we estimate that we had leases that were not developed that represented 11,915 net acres potentially expiring in 2018 , 3,690 net acres potentially expiring in 2019 , 980 net acres potentially expiring in 2020 and 2,264 net acres potentially expiring in 2021 and beyond.

Seasonal weather conditions adversely affect operators’ ability to conduct drilling activities in the areas where our properties are located.

Seasonal weather conditions can limit drilling and producing activities and other operations in our operating areas and as a result, a majority of the drilling on our properties is generally performed during the summer and fall months. These seasonal constraints can pose challenges for meeting well drilling objectives and increase competition for equipment, supplies and personnel during the summer and fall months, which could lead to shortages and increase costs or delay operations. Additionally, many municipalities impose weight restrictions on the paved roads that lead to jobsites due to the muddy conditions caused by spring thaws. This could limit access to jobsites and operators’ ability to service wells in these areas.

Significant capital expenditures are required to develop our properties and replace our reserves.

Our exploration, development and acquisition activities require substantial capital expenditures. Historically, we have funded our capital expenditures through a combination of cash flow from operations, our credit facility, debt issuances, and equity issuances. We have also engaged in asset sales from time to time. If our access to capital were limited due to numerous factors, which could include a decrease in operating cash flow due to lower oil and natural gas prices or decreased production or deterioration of the credit and capital markets, we would have a reduced ability to develop our properties and replace our reserves. We may not be able to incur additional debt under our term loan credit agreement, issue debt or equity, engage in asset sales or access other methods of financing on acceptable terms to develop our properties and/or meet our reserve replacement requirements.

We may be unable to obtain additional capital that we will require to implement our business plan.

Future acquisitions and future exploration, development, production and marketing activities, will require a substantial amount of capital.  Cash reserves, cash from operations and borrowings under our term loan credit agreement may not be sufficient to fund both our continuing operations and our planned growth.  We may require additional capital to continue to grow our business through acquisitions and to further expand our exploration and development programs.  We may be unable to obtain additional capital if and when required.

We may pursue sources of additional capital through various financing transactions or arrangements, including joint venturing of projects, debt financing, equity financing or other means.  We may not be successful in consummating suitable financing transactions in the time period required or at all, and we may not be able to obtain the capital we require by other means.  If the amount of capital we are able to raise from financing activities, together with our cash from operations, is not sufficient to satisfy our capital requirements, we may not be able to implement our business plan and may be required to scale back our operations, sell assets at unattractive prices or obtain financing on unattractive terms, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The development of our proved undeveloped reserves in the Williston Basin and other areas of operation may take longer and may require higher levels of capital expenditures than we currently anticipate.  Therefore, our undeveloped reserves may not be ultimately developed or produced.

Approximately 39% of our estimated net proved reserves volumes were classified as proved undeveloped as of December 31, 2017 . Development of these reserves may take longer and require higher levels of capital expenditures than we currently anticipate.  Delays in the development of our reserves or increases in costs to drill and develop such reserves will reduce the PV-10 value of our estimated proved undeveloped reserves and future net revenues estimated for such reserves and may result in some projects becoming uneconomic.  In addition, delays in the development of reserves could cause us to have to reclassify our proved reserves as unproved reserves.

Our acquisition strategy will subject us to certain risks associated with the inherent uncertainty in evaluating properties for which we have limited information.

We intend to expand our operations in part through acquisitions.  Our decision to acquire a property will depend in part on the evaluation of data obtained from production reports and engineering studies, geophysical and geological analyses and seismic and other information, the results of which are often inconclusive and subject to various interpretations.  Also, our reviews of acquired properties are inherently incomplete because it generally is not feasible to perform an in-depth review of the individual properties involved in each acquisition.  Even a detailed review of records and properties may not necessarily reveal existing or potential problems, nor will it permit us to become sufficiently familiar with the properties to assess fully their deficiencies and potential. Inspections may not always be performed on every well, and environmental problems, such as ground water contamination, are not necessarily observable even when an inspection is undertaken.

Any acquisition involves other potential risks, including, among other things:

The loss of any member of our management team, upon whose knowledge, relationships with industry participants, leadership and technical expertise we rely could diminish our ability to conduct our operations, and harm our ability to execute our business plan.

Our success depends heavily upon the continued contributions of those members of our management team whose knowledge, relationships with industry participants, leadership and technical expertise would be difficult to replace.  In particular, our ability to successfully acquire additional properties, to increase our reserves, to participate in drilling opportunities and to identify and enter into commercial arrangements depends on developing and maintaining close working relationships with industry participants.  In addition, our ability to select and evaluate suitable properties and to consummate transactions in a highly competitive environment is dependent on our management team’s knowledge and expertise in the industry.  To continue to develop our business, we rely on our management team’s knowledge and expertise in the industry and will use our management team’s relationships with industry participants to enter into strategic relationships, which may take the form of joint ventures with other private parties and contractual arrangements with other oil and natural gas companies.

The members of our management team may terminate their employment with our company at any time.  If we were to lose members of our management team, we may not be able to replace the knowledge that they possess.  In addition, we may not be able to establish or maintain strategic relationships with industry participants.  If we were to lose the services of the members of our management team, our ability to conduct our operations and execute our business plan could be materially harmed.

Deficiencies of title to our leased interests could significantly affect our financial condition.

We typically do not incur the expense of a title examination prior to acquiring oil and natural gas leases or undivided interests in oil and natural gas leases or other developed rights. If an examination of the title history of a property reveals that an oil or natural gas lease or other developed rights have been purchased in error from a person who is not the owner of the mineral interest desired, our interest would substantially decline in value or be eliminated. In such cases, the amount paid for such oil or natural gas lease or leases or other developed rights may be lost. It is generally our practice not to incur the expense of retaining lawyers to examine the title to the mineral interest to be acquired.  Rather, we typically rely upon the judgment of oil and natural gas lease brokers or landmen who perform the fieldwork in examining records in the appropriate governmental or county clerk’s office before attempting to acquire a lease or other developed rights in a specific mineral interest.

Prior to drilling an oil or natural gas well, however, it is the normal practice in the oil and natural gas industry for the person or company acting as the operator of the well to obtain a preliminary title review of the spacing unit within which the proposed oil or natural gas well is to be drilled to ensure there are no obvious deficiencies in title to the well. Frequently, as a result of such examinations, certain curative work must be done to correct deficiencies in the marketability of the title, such as obtaining affidavits of heirship or causing an estate to be administered. Such curative work entails expense, and the operator may elect to proceed with a well despite defects to the title identified in the preliminary title opinion.  Furthermore, title issues may arise at a later date that were not initially detected in any title review or examination.  Any one or more of the foregoing could require us to reverse revenues previously recognized and potentially negatively affect our cash flows and results of operations.  Our failure to obtain perfect title to our leaseholds may adversely affect our current production and reserves and our ability in the future to increase production and reserves.

Competition may limit our ability to obtain rights to explore and develop oil and natural gas reserves.

The oil and natural gas industry is highly competitive.  Other oil and natural gas companies may seek to acquire oil and natural gas leases and other properties and services we will need to operate our business in the areas in which we expect to operate.  This competition is increasingly intense as prices of oil and natural gas on the commodities markets have risen in recent years.  Additionally, other companies engaged in our line of business may compete with us from time to time in obtaining capital from investors.  Competitors include larger companies which, in particular, may have access to greater resources, may be more successful in the recruitment and retention of qualified employees and may conduct their own refining and petroleum marketing operations, which may give them a competitive advantage.  In addition, actual or potential competitors may be strengthened through the acquisition of additional assets and interests.  If we are unable to compete effectively or respond adequately to competitive pressures, our results of operation and financial condition may be materially adversely affected.

Insufficient transportation or refining capacity in the Williston Basin could cause significant fluctuations in our realized oil and natural gas prices.

The Williston Basin crude oil business environment has historically been characterized by periods when oil production has surpassed local transportation and refining capacity, resulting in substantial discounts in the price received for crude oil versus prices quoted for WTI crude oil.  Although additional Williston Basin transportation takeaway capacity has been added over the last several years, production also increased substantially during the same period.  The increased production coupled with delays in rail car arrivals and commissioning of rail loading facilities has caused price differentials to significantly increase at times.

Crude oil from the Bakken/Three Forks formations may pose unique hazards that may have an adverse effect on our operations.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (“USDOT”) recently concluded that crude oil from the Bakken/Three Forks formations has a higher volatility than most other U.S. crude oil and thus is more ignitable and flammable.  Based on that information, and several fires involving rail transportation of crude oil, USDOT has started a rulemaking to develop new requirements for shipping crude oil by rail.  In addition, the rail industry has adopted increased precautions for crude shipments.  Any new restrictions that significantly affect transportation of crude oil production could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our business involves the selling and shipping by rail of crude oil, including from the Bakken shale, which involves risks of derailment, accidents and liabilities associated with cleanup and damages, as well as potential regulatory changes that may adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

A portion of our crude oil production is transported to market centers by rail.  Derailments in North America of trains transporting crude oil have caused various regulatory agencies and industry organizations, as well as federal, state and municipal governments, to focus attention on transportation by rail of flammable materials. Transportation safety regulators in the United States and Canada are concerned that crude oil from the Bakken shale may be more flammable than crude oil from other producing regions and are investigating that issue and are also considering changes to existing regulations to address those possible risks.  In May 2015, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) adopted a final rule that, among other things, imposes a new and enhanced tank car design standard for certain tank cars carrying crude oil and ethanol, a phase out by as early as January 2018 for older DOT-111 tank cars that are not retrofitted, and a classification and testing program for unrefined petroleum based products, including crude oil.  The rule also includes new operational requirements such as routing analyses, speed restrictions and enhanced braking controls.  Transport Canada has also issued legal requirements that align with the rule adopted by PHMSA, including standards relating to train speed restrictions, route risk analyses and a phase out of non-compliant DOT-111 tank cars.

Any changes to existing laws and regulations, or promulgation of new laws and regulations, including any voluntary measures by the rail industry, that result in new requirements for the design, construction or operation of tank cars used to transport crude oil could increase our costs of doing business and limit our ability to transport and sell our crude oil at favorable prices at market centers throughout the United States, the consequences of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

To the extent that new regulations require design changes or other modifications of tank cars, we may incur significant constraints on transportation capacity during the period while tank cars are being retrofitted or newly constructed to comply with the new regulations. In addition, any derailment of crude oil from the Bakken shale involving crude oil that we have sold or are shipping may result in claims being brought against us that may involve significant liabilities. Although we believe that we are adequately insured against such events, we cannot assure you that our insurance policies will cover the entirety of any damages that may arise from such an event.

Market conditions or operational impediments may hinder our access to oil and natural gas markets or delay our production.

Market conditions or the unavailability of satisfactory oil and natural gas transportation arrangements may hinder our access to oil and natural gas markets or delay our production. The availability of a ready market for our oil and natural gas production depends on a number of factors, including the demand for and supply of oil and natural gas and the proximity of reserves to pipelines and terminal facilities. Our ability to market our production depends, in substantial part, on the availability and capacity of gathering systems, pipelines and processing facilities owned and operated by third-parties. Our failure to obtain such services on acceptable terms could materially harm our business. We may be required to shut in wells due to lack of a market or inadequacy or unavailability of crude oil or natural gas pipelines or gathering system capacity. If our production becomes shut-in for any of these or other reasons, we would be unable to realize revenue from those wells until other arrangements were made to deliver the products to market.

Our derivative activities expose us to potential regulatory risks .

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), Federal Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) have statutory authority to monitor certain segments of the physical and futures energy commodities markets.  These agencies have imposed broad regulations prohibiting fraud and manipulation of such markets.  With regard to derivative activities that we undertake with respect to oil, natural gas, NGLs, or other energy commodities, we are required to observe the market-related regulations enforced by these agencies.  Failure to comply with such regulations, as interpreted and enforced, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Legislative and regulatory developments could have an adverse effect on our ability to use derivative instruments to reduce the effect of commodity price, interest rate and other risks associated with our business .

In July of 2010, the United States Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”), which contains measures aimed at increasing the transparency and stability of the over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives market and preventing excessive speculation.  In November 2013, the CFTC re-proposed implementing regulations imposing position limits for certain physical commodity contracts in the major energy markets and economically equivalent futures, options and swaps, with exemptions for certain bona fide hedging positions.  The CFTC’s initial position limit rules were vacated by a federal court in 2012.  It is not clear when the newly-proposed rules on position limits would become effective.  CFTC rules under the Dodd-Frank Act also may impose clearing and trade execution requirements in connection with our derivatives activities, although currently those requirements do not extend to derivatives based on physical commodities in the energy markets and some or all of our derivatives activities may be exempt from such requirements based on our non-financial end-user status.

    

Regulations issued under the Dodd-Frank Act also may require certain counterparties to our derivative instruments to spin off some of their derivatives activities to a separate entity, which may not be as creditworthy as the current counterparty.  The final rules are being phased in over time depending on the finalization of certain other rules to be promulgated jointly by the CFTC and the SEC.  The legislation and regulations could significantly increase the cost of derivative contracts (including from swap recordkeeping and reporting requirements and through requirements to post collateral which could adversely affect our available liquidity), materially alter the terms of derivative contracts, reduce the availability of derivatives to protect against risks we encounter, reduce our ability to monetize or restructure our existing derivative contracts, and increase our exposure to less creditworthy counterparties. We maintain an active hedging program related to oil price risks.  The Dodd-Frank Act and rules and regulations thereunder could reduce trading positions and the market-making activities of our counterparties.  If we reduce our use of derivatives as a result of legislation and regulations or any resulting changes in the derivatives markets, our results of operations may become more volatile and our cash flows may be less predictable, which could adversely affect our ability to plan for and fund capital expenditures or to make payments on our debt obligations.  Finally, the legislation was intended, in part, to reduce the volatility of oil and natural gas prices, which some legislators attributed to speculative trading in derivatives and commodity instruments related to oil and natural gas.  Our revenues could therefore be adversely affected if a consequence of the legislation and regulations is to lower commodity prices.  Any of these consequences could have a material adverse effect on our business, our financial condition, and our results of operations.

Our business is subject to complex federal, state, local and other laws and regulations that could adversely affect the cost, manner or feasibility of doing business.

Our operational interests, as operated by our third-party operating partners, are regulated extensively at the federal, state, tribal and local levels.  Environmental and other governmental laws and regulations have increased the costs to plan, design, drill, install, operate and abandon oil and natural gas wells.  Under these laws and regulations, our company (either directly or indirectly through our operating partners) could also be liable for personal injuries, property and natural resource damage and other damages.  Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in the suspension or termination of our business and subject us to administrative, civil and criminal penalties. Moreover, public interest in environmental protection has increased in recent years, and environmental organizations have opposed, with some success, certain drilling projects.

Part of the regulatory environment in which we do business includes, in some cases, legal requirements for obtaining environmental assessments, environmental impact studies and/or plans of development before commencing drilling and production activities.  In addition, our activities are subject to the regulations regarding conservation practices and protection of correlative rights.  These regulations affect our business and limit the quantity of natural gas we may produce and sell.  A major risk inherent in the drilling plans in which we participate is the need for our operators to obtain drilling permits from state and local authorities.  Delays in obtaining regulatory approvals or drilling permits, the failure to obtain a drilling permit for a well or the receipt of a permit with unreasonable conditions or costs could have a material adverse effect on the development of our properties.  Additionally, the oil and natural gas regulatory environment could change in ways that might substantially increase the financial and managerial costs of compliance with these laws and regulations and, consequently, adversely affect our profitability.  At this time, we cannot predict the effect of this increase on our results of operations.  Furthermore, we may be put at a competitive disadvantage to larger companies in our industry that can spread these additional costs over a greater number of wells and larger operating staff.

Environmental risks may adversely affect our business.

All phases of the oil and natural gas business can present environmental risks and hazards and are subject to environmental regulation pursuant to a variety of federal, state and municipal laws and regulations. Environmental legislation provides for, among other things, restrictions and prohibitions on spills, releases or emissions of various substances produced in association with oil and natural gas operations.  The legislation also requires that wells and facility sites be operated, maintained, abandoned and reclaimed to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities.  There is risk of incurring significant environmental costs and liabilities as a result of the handling of petroleum hydrocarbons and wastes, air emissions and wastewater discharges related to our business, and historical operations and waste disposal practices.  Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in the assessment of administrative, civil and criminal penalties, loss of our leases, incurrence of investigatory or remedial obligations and the imposition of injunctive relief.

Environmental legislation is evolving in a manner we expect may result in stricter standards and enforcement, larger fines and liability and potentially increased capital expenditures and operating costs.  The discharge of oil, natural gas or other pollutants into the air, soil or water may give rise to liabilities to governments and third parties and may require us to incur costs to remedy such discharge, regardless of whether we were responsible for the release or contamination and regardless of whether our operating partners met previous standards in the industry at the time they were conducted.  In addition, claims for damages to persons, property or natural resources may result from environmental and other impacts of operations on our properties.  The application of environmental laws to our business may cause us to curtail production or increase the costs of our production, development or exploration activities.

Federal and state legislative and regulatory initiatives relating to hydraulic fracturing could result in increased costs and additional operating restrictions or delays.

Hydraulic fracturing is used extensively by our third-party operating partners.  The hydraulic fracturing process is typically regulated by state oil and natural gas commissions.  Hydraulic fracturing involves the injection of water, sand and chemicals under pressure into formations to fracture the surrounding rock and stimulate production. The Safe Drinking Water Act (the “SDWA”) regulates the underground injection of substances through the Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) program.  While hydraulic fracturing generally is exempt from regulation under the UIC program, the EPA has taken the position that hydraulic fracturing with fluids containing diesel fuel is subject to regulation under the UIC program as “Class II” UIC wells.  On October 21, 2011, the EPA announced its intention to propose federal Clean Water Act regulations governing wastewater discharges from hydraulic fracturing and certain other natural gas operations.  In addition, the Department of Interior (“DOI”) published a revised proposed rule on May 24, 2013 that would update existing regulation of hydraulic fracturing activities on Federal and Indian lands, including requirements for disclosure, well bore integrity and handling of flowback water.  The final rule was issued on March 26, 2015.

The EPA has commenced a study of the potential environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing activities, and a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives has also conducted an investigation of hydraulic fracturing practices.  A final assessment of the EPA study was released in December 2016, generally concluding that hydraulic fracturing activities can impact drinking water resources in some circumstances and identifying factors that can influence the impacts.  As part of these studies, both the EPA and the House committee have requested that certain companies provide them with information concerning the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process. These studies could spur initiatives to regulate hydraulic fracturing under the SDWA or otherwise.  Congress has in recent legislative sessions considered legislation to amend the SDWA, including legislation that would repeal the exemption for hydraulic fracturing from the definition of “underground injection” and require federal permitting and regulatory control of hydraulic fracturing, as well as legislative proposals to require disclosure of the chemical constituents of the fluids used in the fracturing process, were proposed in recent sessions of Congress.  The U.S. Congress may consider similar SDWA legislation in the future.

Recent EPA CAA regulations established emission limits for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for oil and natural gas production and natural gas processing operations.  The final rule mandates the use of reduced emission completions or “green completions” on all hydraulically-fractured gas wells constructed or refractured after January 1, 2015.  The rules also established requirements regarding emissions from compressors, controllers, dehydrators, storage tanks and other production equipment.   EPA’s 2016 proposed Clean Air Act regulations addressing methane emissions from certain oil and gas facilities are in effect but under review by EPA.

In addition, several state and local governments are considering or have adopted legislative or regulatory restrictions on hydraulic fracturing through additional permit requirements, operational restrictions, and temporary or permanent bans on hydraulic fracturing in certain environmentally sensitive areas such as watersheds.  For example, Montana and North Dakota have both adopted regulations requiring the disclosure of all fluids, additives, and chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process.  And, in 2014, North Dakota adopted new requirements aimed at capturing gas and reducing flaring.

A number of lawsuits and enforcement actions have been initiated across the country alleging that hydraulic fracturing practices have adversely impacted drinking water supplies, use of surface water, and the environment generally.  If new laws or regulations that significantly restrict hydraulic fracturing, such as amendments to the SDWA, are adopted, such laws could make it more costly for us and difficult for our third party operating partners to perform fracturing to stimulate production from tight formations as well as make it easier for third parties opposing the hydraulic fracturing process to initiate legal proceedings based on allegations that specific chemicals used in the fracturing process could adversely affect groundwater.  In addition, if hydraulic fracturing is further regulated at the federal or state level, our third-party operating partners fracturing activities could become subject to additional permitting and financial assurance requirements, more stringent construction specifications, increased monitoring, reporting and recordkeeping obligations, plugging and abandonment requirements and also to attendant permitting delays and potential increases in costs.

Any such federal or state legislative or regulatory changes with respect to hydraulic fracturing could cause us to incur substantial compliance costs or result in operational delays, and the consequences of any failure to comply by us or our third-party operating partners could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.  Until such pending or threatened legislation or regulations are finalized and implemented, it is not possible to estimate their impact on our business.

Any of the above risks could impair our ability to manage our business and have a material adverse effect on our operations, cash flows and financial position.

Climate change legislation or regulations restricting emissions of “greenhouse gases” could result in increased operating costs and reduced demand for the oil and natural gas that we produce.

The EPA has determined that emissions of certain “greenhouse gases” (“GHG”) present an endangerment to public health and the environment because emissions of such gases are, according to the EPA, contributing to warming of the earth’s atmosphere and other climatic changes.  Based on its findings, the EPA has begun adopting and implementing regulations to restrict emissions of greenhouse gases under existing provisions of the CAA. In 2015 and 2016, EPA approved rules that would require controls on methane emissions from oil and gas facilities and proposed the Clean Power Plan, which required states to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from utility operations, with a long-term goal of 30% reduction below 2005 rates of CO2 from electric utilities by the year 2030.  The Trump Administration is reviewing both the methane rules for oil and gas facilities and the Clean Power Plan, and the execution of the latter is stayed. While the future of climate change regulation is uncertain under the current administration, future GHG regulations of the oil and gas industry remain a possibility.

In addition, the U.S. Congress has from time to time considered adopting legislation to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, though it is yet to do so, and almost one-half of the states have already taken legal measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases primarily through the planned development of greenhouse gas emission inventories and/or regional greenhouse gas cap and trade programs.  Most of these cap and trade programs work by requiring major sources of emissions, such as electric power plants or major producers of fuels, such as refineries and gas processing plants, to acquire and surrender emission allowances that correspond to their annual emissions of GHGs.  The number of allowances available for purchase is reduced each year in an effort to achieve the overall GHG reduction goal.  As the number of GHG emission allowances declines each year, the cost or value of such allowances is expected to escalate significantly.  The adoption of legislation or regulatory programs to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases could require our third-party operating partners, and indirectly us, to incur increased operating costs, such as costs to purchase and operate emissions control systems, to acquire emissions allowances or comply with new regulatory or reporting requirements.  Any such legislation or regulatory programs could also increase the cost of consuming, and thereby reduce demand for, the oil and natural gas produced by our operational interests.  Consequently, legislation and regulatory programs to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Regulation of GHG emissions could also result in reduced demand for our production, as oil and natural gas consumers seek to reduce their own GHG emissions.  Any regulation of GHG emissions, including through a cap-and-trade system, technology mandate, emissions tax, reporting requirement or other program, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.  In addition, to the extent climate change results in more severe weather and significant physical effects, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, floods, droughts and other climatic effects, our own, our third-party operating partners or our customers’ operations may be disrupted, which could result in a decrease in our available products or reduce our customers’ demand for our products.

Further, there have been various legislative and regulatory proposals at the federal and state levels to provide incentives and subsidies to (i) shift more power generation to renewable energy sources and (ii) support technological advances to drive less energy consumption.  These incentives and subsidies could have a negative impact on oil, natural gas and NGL consumption.

Any of the above risks could impair our ability to manage our business and have a material adverse effect on our operations, cash flows and financial position.

Decommissioning costs are unknown and may be substantial.  Unplanned costs could divert resources from other projects.

We may become responsible for costs associated with plugging, abandoning and reclaiming wells, pipelines and other facilities that we use for production of oil and natural gas reserves.  Abandonment and reclamation of these facilities and the costs associated therewith is often referred to as “decommissioning.”  We accrue a liability for decommissioning costs associated with our wells, but have not established any cash reserve account for these potential costs in respect of any of our properties.  If decommissioning is required before economic depletion of our properties or if our estimates of the costs of decommissioning exceed the value of the reserves remaining at any particular time to cover such decommissioning costs, we may have to draw on funds from other sources to satisfy such costs.  The use of other funds to satisfy such decommissioning costs could impair our ability to focus capital investment in other areas of our business.

Our term loan credit agreement contains operating and financial restrictions that may restrict our business and financing activities.

Our term loan credit agreement contains, and any future indebtedness we incur (including the debt contemplated by the potential exchange transaction described in Note 16 to the financial statements) may contain, a number of restrictive covenants that will impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us, including restrictions on our ability to, among other things:

In addition, the term loan credit agreement includes financial maintenance and other covenants, as summarized in Note 4 to the financial statements. As a result of these covenants, we could be limited in the manner in which we conduct our business, and we may be unable to engage in favorable business activities or finance future operations or capital needs.

Our ability to comply with some of the covenants and restrictions may be affected by events beyond our control.  If market or other economic conditions deteriorate, our ability to comply with these covenants may be impaired.  A failure to comply with the covenants, ratios or tests in our term loan credit agreement or any future indebtedness could result in an event of default under our term loan credit agreement or our future indebtedness, which, if not cured or waived, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.  If an event of default under our term loan credit agreement occurs and remains uncured, the lenders thereunder:

An event of default or an acceleration under our term loan credit agreement could result in an event of default and an acceleration under other existing or future indebtedness, including our senior notes and/or the debt contemplated by the potential exchange transaction described in Note 16 to the financial statements.  Conversely, an event of default or an acceleration under any other existing or future indebtedness could result in an event of default and an acceleration under our term loan credit agreement.  In addition, our obligations under the term loan credit agreement are collateralized by perfected first priority liens and security interests on substantially all of our assets and if we are unable to repay our indebtedness under the term loan credit agreement, the lenders could seek to foreclose on our assets.

Our leverage and debt service obligations may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and business prospects.

Our level of indebtedness could affect our operations in several ways, including the following:

Our ability to meet our expenses and debt obligations will depend on our future performance, which will be affected by financial, business, economic, regulatory and other factors.  We will not be able to control many of these factors, such as economic conditions and governmental regulation.  We depend on our term loan credit agreement for future capital needs, because we use operating cash flows for investing activities and borrow as needed.  We cannot be certain that our cash flow will be sufficient to allow us to pay the principal and interest on our current and future debt and meet our other obligations.  If we do not have enough money, we may be required to refinance all or part of our debt, sell assets, borrow more money or raise equity.  We may not be able to refinance our debt, sell assets, borrow more money or raise equity on terms acceptable to us, if at all.  Our ability to comply with the financial and other restrictive covenants in our current and future indebtedness will be affected by the levels of cash flow from our operations and future events and circumstances beyond our control.  Failure to comply with these covenants would result in an event of default under our indebtedness, and such an event of default could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to generate enough cash flow to meet our debt obligations.

We expect our earnings and cash flow to vary significantly from year to year due to the cyclical nature of our industry.  As a result, the amount of debt that we can service in some periods may not be appropriate for us in other periods.  Additionally, our future cash flow may be insufficient to meet our debt obligations and commitments. Any insufficiency could negatively impact our business.  A range of economic, competitive, business and industry factors will affect our future financial performance, and, as a result, our ability to generate cash flow from operations and to pay our debt.  Many of these factors, such as oil and natural gas prices, economic and financial conditions in our industry and the global economy or competitive initiatives of our competitors, are beyond our control.

If we do not generate enough cash flow from operations to satisfy our debt obligations, we may have to undertake alternative financing plans, such as:

However, we cannot assure you that undertaking alternative financing plans, if necessary, would allow us to meet our debt obligations.  Our inability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy our debt obligations, or to obtain alternative financing, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The inability of one or more of our operating partners to meet their obligations to us may adversely affect our financial results.

Our principal exposures to credit risk are through receivables resulting from the sale of our oil and natural gas production ($52.0 million in receivables at December 31, 2017 ), which operating partners market on our behalf to energy marketing companies, refineries and their affiliates.

We are subject to credit risk due to the concentration of our oil and natural gas receivables with a limited number of operating partners.  This concentration may impact our overall credit risk since these entities may be similarly affected by changes in economic and other conditions.  A low commodity price environment may strain our operating partners, which could heighten this risk.  The inability or failure of our operating partners to meet their obligations to us or their insolvency or liquidation may adversely affect our financial results.

Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.

Borrowings under our term loan credit agreement bear interest at variable rates and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates increase and we are unable to effectively hedge our interest rate risk, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness would increase even if the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash available for servicing our indebtedness would decrease.  A 1% increase in interest rates on the debt outstanding under our term loan credit agreement as of December 31, 2017 would cost us approximately $3.0 million in additional annual interest expense.

Despite our current level of indebtedness, we may still be able to incur substantially more debt. This could further exacerbate the risks associated with our substantial indebtedness.

We may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, subject to certain limitations, including under our term loan credit agreement, our senior notes and under any future debt agreements.  If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we now face could increase.  Our level of indebtedness could, for instance, prevent us from engaging in transactions that might otherwise be beneficial to us or from making desirable capital expenditures.  This could put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to other less leveraged competitors that have more cash flow to devote to their operations.  In addition, the incurrence of additional indebtedness could make it more difficult to satisfy our existing financial obligations.

Our articles of incorporation, bylaws, and Minnesota state law contain provisions that may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control and may adversely affect the market price of our capital stock.

Our articles of incorporation authorize our board of directors to issue preferred stock without any further vote or action by the stockholders. The rights of the holders of our common stock will be subject to the rights of the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued in the future. The issuance of preferred stock could delay, deter or prevent a change in control and could adversely affect the voting power or economic value of our shares.

In addition, some provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us, even if the change of control would be beneficial to our stockholders, including, among others, limitations on the ability of our stockholders to call special meetings, limitations on the ability of our stockholders to act by written consent, and advance notice provisions for stockholder proposals and nominations for elections to the board of directors to be acted upon at meetings of stockholders.

Minnesota law prohibits us from engaging in any business combination with any “interested stockholder,” meaning generally that a stockholder who owns 10% or more of our stock cannot acquire us for a period of four years from the date such stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless various conditions are met, such as the approval of the transaction by our board of directors. Pursuant to our January 2, 2015, agreement with TRT Holdings, Inc. (and certain of its affiliates), however, a 20% threshold applies for such parties instead of the statutory 10% threshold.

The availability of shares for sale in the future could reduce the market price of our common stock.

Our board of directors has the authority, without action or vote of our stockholders, to issue all or any part of our authorized but unissued shares of common stock. In the future, we may issue securities to raise cash for acquisitions, to pay down debt, to fund capital expenditures or general corporate expenses, in connection with the exercise of stock options or to satisfy our obligations under our incentive plans. We may also acquire interests in other companies by using a combination of cash and our common stock or just our common stock. We may also issue securities convertible into, exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, our common stock. Any of these events may dilute your ownership interest in our company, reduce our earnings per share and have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock.

Because we have no plans to pay, and are currently restricted from paying dividends on our common stock, investors must look solely to stock appreciation for a return on their investment in us.

We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain all future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. Any payment of future dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our earnings, financial condition, capital requirements, level of indebtedness, statutory and contractual restrictions applying to the payment of dividends and other considerations that our board of directors deems relevant. Covenants contained in our term loan credit agreement and the indentures governing our senior notes restrict the payment of dividends. Investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize a return on their investment.