# EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORP (EPM) FY 2023 MD&A

Verbatim Item 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis from EVOLUTION PETROLEUM CORP's 10-K for fiscal year 2023.

SEC filing source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1006655/000155837023015706/epm-20230630x10k.htm
Accession: 0001558370-23-015706
Filing date: 2023-09-13
Report date: 2023-06-30
Extracted structurally from real Item 7 body heading to real Item 7A/8 boundary. Published MD&A gate trimmed front/tail over-capture.
Confidence: high

Company profile: /company/EPM/
All MD&A years: /company/EPM/mda/
Previous year: /company/EPM/mda/fy2022/ (FY 2022)
Next year: /company/EPM/mda/fy2024/ (FY 2024)

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Executive Overview

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Results of Operations

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Executive Overview

General

Evolution Petroleum Corporation is an independent energy company focused on maximizing total returns to its shareholders through the ownership of and investment in onshore oil and natural gas properties in the United States. In support of that objective, our long-term goal is to maximize total shareholder return from a diversified portfolio of long-life oil and natural gas properties built through acquisitions and through selective development opportunities, production enhancements, and other exploitation efforts on our oil and natural gas properties.

Our oil and natural gas properties consist of non-operated interests in the Jonah Field in Sublette County, Wyoming, a natural gas producing field; non-operated interests in the Williston Basin in North Dakota, a producing oil and natural gas property; non-operated interests in the Barnett Shale located in North Texas, a natural gas producing property; non-operated interests in the Hamilton Dome Field located in Hot Springs County, Wyoming, a secondary recovery field utilizing water injection wells to pressurize the reservoir; non-operated interests in the Delhi Holt-Bryant Unit in the Delhi Field in Northeast Louisiana, a CO2 enhanced oil recovery (“EOR”) project; and small overriding royalty interests in four onshore central Texas wells.

Our non-operated interests in the Jonah Field, a natural gas and NGL property in Sublette County, Wyoming, consist of approximately 20% average net working interest and approximately 15% average net revenue interest located on approximately 950 net acres. The properties are operated by Jonah Energy, an established operator in the geographic region.

Our non-operated interests in the Williston Basin, an oil and natural gas producing property, consist of approximately 39% average net working interest and approximately 33% average net revenue interest located on approximately 43,300 net acres (approximately 92% held by production) across Billings, Golden Valley, and McKenzie Counties in North Dakota. The properties are operated by Foundation Energy Management, an established operator in the geographic region.

Our non-operated interests in the Barnett Shale, a natural gas and NGL producing shale reservoir, consist of approximately 17% average net working interest and approximately 14% average net revenue interest (inclusive of small overriding royalty interests). The approximately 21,000 net acres are held by production across nine North Texas counties. The oil and natural gas properties are primarily operated by Diversified Energy Company with approximately 10% of wells operated by six other operators.

Our non-operated interests in the Hamilton Dome Field, a secondary recovery field utilizing water injection wells to pressurize the reservoir, consist of approximately 24% average net working interest, with an associated 20% average net revenue interest (inclusive of a small overriding royalty interest). The approximately 5,900 gross acre unitized field, of which we hold approximately 1,400 net acres, is operated by Merit Energy Company, who owns the vast majority of the remaining working interest in the Hamilton Dome Field. The Hamilton Dome Field is located in the southwest region of the Big Horn Basin in northwest Wyoming.

Our non-operated interests in the Delhi Field, a CO2-EOR project, consist of approximately 24% average net working interest, with an associated 19% revenue interest and separate overriding royalty and mineral interests of approximately

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7% yielding a total average net revenue interest of approximately 26%. The field is operated by Denbury Onshore LLC. The Delhi Field is located in northeast Louisiana in Franklin, Madison, and Richland Parishes and encompasses approximately 14,000 gross unitized acres, or approximately 3,200 net acres.

Recent Developments

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Dividend Declaration

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On September 11, 2023, Evolution’s Board of Directors approved and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per common share payable September 29, 2023.

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Senior Secured Credit Facility

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On May 5, 2023, we entered into the Tenth Amendment to our Senior Secured Credit Facility, which has a current borrowing base of $50.0 million. This amendment, among other things, extends the maturity of our Senior Secured Credit Facility to April 9, 2026 and converts our benchmark interest rate from LIBOR to SOFR plus a credit spread adjustment of 0.05%. For further discussion of the amendment and our Senior Secured Credit Facility, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below.

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Appointment of Chief Operating Officer

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On February 23, 2023, we announced that the Board of Directors appointed J. Mark Bunch as COO. Mr. Bunch had been providing consulting services to the Company since 2016. We entered into an offer letter with Mr. Bunch setting forth his compensation as COO on February 21, 2023.

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Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

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On October 27, 2022, we announced that the Board of Directors selected Kelly W. Loyd as President and CEO. Mr. Loyd had been serving as Interim CEO since June 2022 and has served as a member of the Board of Directors since 2008. We entered into an offer letter with Mr. Loyd setting forth his compensation as CEO on October 25, 2022. Upon commencing employment, Mr. Loyd no longer receives compensation for his services as a member of the Board of Directors.

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Share Repurchase Program

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On September 8, 2022, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program under which we are authorized to repurchase up to $25.0 million of our common stock in the open market through December 31, 2024. We intend to fund repurchases from available working capital and cash provided by operating activities. As we continue to focus on our goal of maximizing total shareholder return, the Board of Directors and management team believe that a share repurchase program is complimentary to the existing dividend policy and is a tax efficient means to further improve shareholder return. The shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions, through privately negotiated transactions or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws. The timing, as well as the number and value of shares repurchased under the program, will depend on a variety of factors, including management’s assessment of the intrinsic value of our shares, our capital needs and resources, the market price of our common stock, general market and economic conditions, and applicable legal requirements. The value of shares authorized for repurchase by our Board of Directors does not require us to repurchase such shares or guarantee that such shares will be repurchased, and the program may be suspended, modified, or discontinued at any time without prior notice.

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Once we completed repayment of borrowings on our Senior Secured Credit Facility and emerged from our blackout period in December 2022, we entered into a Rule 10b5-1 plan that authorized a broker to repurchase shares in the open market subject to pre-defined limitations on trading volume and price. The plan included a 30-day cooling off period that did not allow repurchases to commence until January 2023. The plan was effective until June 30, 2023 and had a

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maximum authorized amount of $5.0 million over that period. During the year ended June 30, 2023, 0.6 million shares of our common stock were repurchased under the plan at a total cost of approximately $3.9 million, including incremental direct transaction costs. These treasury shares were subsequently cancelled. We may enter into additional Rule 10b5-1 plans in the future, the terms of which will be approved by the Board of Directors.

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Proved Reserves

The following table is a summary of our proved reserves as of June 30, 2023 and 2022:

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
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[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

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Proved oil equivalent reserves as of June 30, 2023 were 31.2 MMBOE, a 5.0 MMBOE, or 13.8%, decrease from the previous year of 36.2 MMBOE. The net decrease in total proved reserves was primarily due production of 2.6 MMBOE and net negative revisions of 2.6 MMBOE partially offset by additions and extensions of 0.1 MMBOE. Net negative revisions of 2.6 MMBOE are primarily due to declines in SEC trailing 12-month pricing that impacted late-in-life economic limits of production, adjustment to projections and increased production costs partially offset by restored production at Hamiton Dome Field and improved economics from our differentials at Jonah Field.

The Standardized Measure for proved reserves decreased 24.3% to $238.2 million, primarily due to sales of oil, natural gas and NGLs produced during the period, decreases in reserves estimates, decreases in the SEC mandated trailing 12-month average first day of the month prices for oil and natural gas and the price received for our NGLs. Prices decreased from $85.82 per barrel of oil, $5.19 per MMBtu of natural gas and $44.24 per barrel of NGLs at June 30, 2022 to $83.23 per barrel of oil, $4.78 per MMBtu of natural gas and $33.71 per barrel of NGLs at June 30, 2023. Our proved reserves consist of 32% oil, 49% natural gas, and 19% NGLs; 88.1% are classified as proved developed producing and 11.9% are proved undeveloped.

Additional property and project information is included under Item 1. Business and in Note 4, “Property and Equipment” and our Supplemental Disclosure about Oil and Natural Gas Properties (unaudited) to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, and in Exhibit 99.1 and 99.2 of this Form 10-K.

Risks and uncertainties

The global economy was deeply impacted by the effects of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic and related efforts to mitigate the spread of the disease. These events led to crude oil prices falling to historic lows during the second quarter of 2020 and remaining depressed through much of 2020.

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Beginning in 2021, the demand for oil and natural gas started to recover primarily as a result of the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine and lessening of pandemic related government restrictions on individuals and businesses. In addition, the military activities of Russia into Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed on Russia and other actions have created significant market uncertainties, including uncertainties around potential supply disruptions for oil and natural gas, which further enhanced volatility in global commodity prices in the first half of 2022.

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Additionally, in March 2023, the closures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and their placement into receivership with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) created broad uncertainty around world-wide financial institutions and liquidity risk. While we do not have exposure to these banks, we do maintain cash balances in excess of FDIC insurance protections at banks we believe to be financially sound. We also utilize insured cash sweep deposits to maximize the amount of our cash that is protected by FDIC insurance. We also rely heavily on our third-party operators who manage their own liquidity with various financial institutions.

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Given the dynamic nature of these events, we cannot reasonably estimate the period of time that these market conditions will persist; predict the broader impact of liquidity concerns around financial institutions; or the impact on the commodity prices that we realize.

​

Currently, our oil and natural gas properties are operated by third-party operators and involve other third-party working interest owners. As a result, we have limited ability to influence the operation or future development of such properties. Despite these uncertainties, we remain focused on our long-term objectives and continue to be proactive with our third-party operators to review capital expenditures and present alternative plans as necessary.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of June 30, 2023, we had no borrowings outstanding on our Senior Secured Credit Facility and $11.0 million in cash and cash equivalents compared to $21.3 million of borrowings on our Senior Secured Credit Facility and $8.3 million in cash and cash equivalents at June 30, 2022. Our primary sources of liquidity and capital resources during the year ended June 30, 2023 were cash provided by operations and the unused portion of our Senior Secured Credit Facility. Our primary uses of liquidity and capital resources for the year ended June 30, 2023 were repayments on our Senior Secured Credit Facility, cash dividend payments to our common stockholders, common stock repurchases, and capital expenditures on our existing oil and natural gas properties. As of June 30, 2023, working capital was $8.9 million, an increase of $2.8 million from working capital of $6.1 million as of June 30, 2022.

The Senior Secured Credit Facility has a maximum capacity of $50.0 million subject to a borrowing base determined by the lender based on the value of our oil and natural gas properties. The Senior Secured Credit Facility has a current borrowing base of $50.0 million. The Senior Secured Credit Facility is secured by substantially all of our oil and natural gas properties and matures on April 9, 2026.

Borrowings bear interest, at our option, at either the SOFR plus 2.80% or the Prime Rate, as defined under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, plus 1.0%. For the year ended June 30, 2023, the weighted average interest on our borrowings was 5.25%. The Senior Secured Credit Facility contains covenants requiring the maintenance of (i) a total leverage ratio of not more than 3.00 to 1.00, (ii) a current ratio of not less than 1.00 to 1.00, and (iii) a consolidated tangible net worth of not less than $40.0 million, each as defined in the Senior Secured Credit Facility. It also contains other customary affirmative and negative covenants, including a hedging covenant discussed below, and events of default. As of June 30, 2023, we were in compliance with all covenants under the Senior Secured Credit Facility.

On May 5, 2023, we entered into the Tenth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment, among other things, extended the maturity of our Senior Secured Credit Facility to April 9, 2026, converted our benchmark interest rate from LIBOR to SOFR plus a credit spread adjustment of 0.05%, and modified the Margined Collateral Value, as defined in the Ninth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility, to $95.0 million. We are required to enter into hedges on a rolling 12-month basis when the borrowings under the Senior Secured Credit Facility exceed 25% of the Margined Collateral Value. The required amount of hedged oil and natural gas production is related to the amount of borrowings outstanding. At each redetermination, our Margined Collateral Value takes into account the estimated value of our oil and natural gas properties, proved developed reserves, total indebtedness, and other relevant factors consistent with customary oil and natural gas lending criteria.

On February 7, 2022, we entered into the Ninth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment, among other things, modified the definition of utilization percentage related to the required hedging covenant such that for the purposes of determining the amount of future production to hedge, the utilization of the Senior Secured Credit Facility will be based on the Margined Collateral Value, as amended above, to the extent it exceeds the borrowing base then in effect. This amendment also required us to enter into hedges for the 12-month period ending February 2023, covering 25% of expected oil and natural gas production over that period.

On November 9, 2021, we entered into the Eighth Amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility. This amendment, among other things, increased the borrowing base to $50.0 million and added a hedging covenant whereby we must

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hedge a certain amount of our future production on a rolling 12-month basis when 25% or more of the borrowing base is utilized. The hedging covenant was amended in the Ninth Amendment, as discussed above.

On August 5, 2021, we entered into the Seventh Amendment of our Senior Secured Credit Facility which, among other things, added definitions for the terms “Acquired Entity or Mineral Interests” and “Acquired Entity or Mineral Interests EBITDA Adjustment.” Additionally, the consolidated tangible net worth covenant level was reduced to $40.0 million from $50.0 million.

We have historically funded operations through cash from operations and working capital. Our primary source of cash is the sale of produced crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs. A portion of these cash flows is used to fund capital expenditures and pay cash dividends to shareholders. We expect to fund near-future capital development activities for our properties with cash flows from operating activities and existing working capital.

We are pursuing new growth opportunities through acquisitions and other transactions. In addition to cash on hand, we have access to the undrawn portion of the borrowing base available under our Senior Secured Credit Facility, totaling $50.0 million as of June 30, 2023. We also have an effective shelf registration statement with the SEC under which we may issue up to $500.0 million of new debt or equity securities.

Our Board of Directors instituted a cash dividend on common stock in December 2013. We have since paid 39 consecutive quarterly dividends. Distribution of a substantial portion of free cash flow in excess of operating and capital requirements through cash dividends remains a priority of our financial strategy, and it is our long-term goal to increase dividends over time, as appropriate. On September 11, 2023, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.12 per share of common stock to shareholders of record on September 22, 2023 and payable on September 29, 2023.

On September 8, 2022, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program, under which we are authorized to repurchase up to $25.0 million of our common stock in the open market through December 31, 2024. We intend to fund any repurchases from working capital and cash provided by operating activities. As we continue to focus on our goal of maximizing total shareholder return, the Board of Directors along with the management team believe that a share repurchase program is complimentary to the existing dividend policy and is a tax efficient means to further improve shareholder return.

​

Once we completed the repayment of borrowings on our Senior Secured Credit Facility and emerged from our blackout period in December 2022, we entered into a Rule 10b5-1 plan that authorizes a broker to repurchase shares in the open market subject to pre-defined limitations on trading volume and price. The plan included a 30-day cooling off period that did not allow repurchases to commence until January 2023. The plan was effective until June 30, 2023 and had a maximum authorized amount of $5.0 million over that period. During the year ended June 30, 2023, 0.6 million shares of our common stock were repurchased under the plan at a total cost of approximately $3.9 million, including incremental direct transaction costs. These treasury shares were subsequently cancelled. We may enter into additional Rule 10b5-1 plans in the future, the terms of which will be approved by the Board of Directors.

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Capital Expenditures

For the year ended June 30, 2023, we incurred $6.2 million on development capital expenditures and $0.2 million for plugging and abandoning costs. During the latter half of fiscal year 2023, we participated in the completion and fracture stimulation of a vertical Bakken well. Toward the end of fiscal 2023 and into fiscal 2024 we have participated in the drilling of two new down dip wells in the Delhi Field. Completion and first production of the wells are expected in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.

Based on discussions with our operators, we expect capital workover projects to continue in all the fields. Overall, for fiscal year 2024, we expect budgeted capital expenditures to be in the range of $4.0 million to $5.0 million, which excludes any potential acquisitions. Our expected capital expenditures for the next 12 months include the two new drill wells at Delhi Field, discussed above, and also include Foundation, the operator of our Williston Basin properties, drilling two sidetrack locations targeting the Birdbear formation.

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As of June 30, 2023, our PUD reserves included 3.7 MMBOE of reserves and approximately $71.7 million of future development costs primarily associated with the Williston Basin properties.

Funding for our anticipated capital expenditures over the near-term is expected to be met from cash flows from operations and current working capital, and as needed from borrowings under our Senior Secured Credit Facility.

Full Cost Pool Ceiling Test

Under the full cost method of accounting, capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties, net of accumulated depletion, depreciation, and amortization and related deferred taxes, are limited to the estimated future net cash flows from proved oil and natural gas reserves, discounted at 10%, plus the lower of cost or fair value of unproved properties, as adjusted for related income tax effects (the valuation “ceiling”). If capitalized costs exceed the full cost ceiling, the excess would be charged to expense as a write-down of oil and natural gas properties in the quarter in which the excess occurred. The quarterly ceiling test calculation requires that we use the average first day of the month price for our petroleum products during the 12-month period ending with the balance sheet date. The prices used in calculating our ceiling test as of June 30, 2023 were $83.23 per barrel of oil, $4.78 per MMBtu of natural gas and $33.71 per barrel of NGLs. As of June 30, 2023, our capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties were below the full cost valuation ceiling. If commodity price levels were to substantially decline from the 12-month average first day of the month pricing levels as of June 30, 2023 and remain down for a prolonged period of time, our valuation ceiling over our capitalized costs may be reduced and adversely impact our ceiling tests in future quarters. We cannot give assurance that a write-down of capitalized oil and natural gas properties will not be required in the future. Additionally, a 10% reduction in respective commodity prices at June 30, 2023, while all other factors remained constant, would not have generated an impairment.

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Overview of Cash Flow Activities

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
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[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

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Cash provided by operating activities decreased $1.2 million during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 compared to fiscal year ended June 30, 2022 primarily due to decreases in our operating assets and liabilities from the timing of converting working capital into cash. These decreases are partially offset by increases in total revenues over our increase in operating costs. Total revenues increased $19.6 million as compared to the prior year driven by an increase in our average daily production primarily due to our acquisition of non-operated working interests in the Jonah Field and Williston Basin in April 2022 and January 2022, respectively, partially offset by decreases in the average realized price per BOE.

Cash used in investing activities for the year ended June 30, 2023 decreased $47.9 million from the prior year. In fiscal year 2022, we completed the acquisition of our Jonah Field properties totaling $26.4 million and the acquisition of our Williston Basin properties total $25.8 million. The decrease was partially offset by an increase in development capital expenditures in the current fiscal year.

Net cash flows used in financing activities for the year ended June 30, 2023 were $41.5 million which included the repayment of $21.3 million of borrowings outstanding under our Senior Secured Credit Facility, $16.1 million in dividends paid to our common stockholders, and $3.9 million paid to repurchase shares of common stock under our share repurchase program. Net cash flows provided by financing activities for the year ended June 30, 2022 were $5.4 million which primarily included $17.3 million in net borrowings under our Senior Secured Credit Facility offset by $11.8 million in dividends paid to our common stockholders.

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Results of Operations

Years Ended June 30, 2023 and 2022

We reported net income of $35.2 million and $32.6 million for the years ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The following table summarizes the comparison of financial information for the periods presented:

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[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
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revenues","\u200b","\u200b","128,514","\u200b","\u200b","108,926","\u200b","\u200b","19,588","\u200b","18.0","%"],["Operating costs:","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Lease operating costs:","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["CO2 costs","\u200b","\u200b","7,375","\u200b","\u200b","7,708","\u200b","\u200b","(333)","\u200b","(4.3)","%"],["Ad valorem and production taxes","\u200b","\u200b","8,158","\u200b","\u200b","6,960","\u200b","\u200b","1,198","\u200b","17.2","%"],["Other lease operating costs","\u200b","\u200b","44,012","\u200b","\u200b","33,989","\u200b","\u200b","10,023","\u200b","29.5","%"],["Depletion, depreciation, and accretion:","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Depletion of full cost proved oil and natural gas properties","\u200b","\u200b","13,142","\u200b","\u200b","7,518","\u200b","\u200b","5,624","\u200b","74.8","%"],["Depreciation of other property and equipment","\u200b","\u200b","\u2014","\u200b","\u200b","4","\u200b","\u200b","(4)","\u200b","(100.0)","%"],["Accretion of asset retirement obligations","\u200b","\u200b","1,131","\u200b","\u200b","531","\u200b","\u200b","600","\u200b","113.0","%"],["General and administrative expenses:","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["General and administrative","\u200b","\u200b","7,944","\u200b","\u200b","6,710","\u200b","\u200b","1,234","\u200b","18.4","%"],["Stock-based compensation","\u200b","\u200b","1,639","\u200b","\u200b","125","\u200b","\u200b","1,514","\u200b","1,211.2","%"],["Other income (expense):","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Net gain (loss) on derivative contracts","\u200b","\u200b","513","\u200b","\u200b","(3,763)","\u200b","\u200b","4,276","\u200b","(113.6)","%"],["Interest and other income","\u200b","\u200b","121","\u200b","\u200b","95","\u200b","\u200b","26","\u200b","27.4","%"],["Interest expense","\u200b","\u200b","(458)","\u200b","\u200b","(572)","\u200b","\u200b","114","\u200b","(19.9)","%"],["Income tax (expense) benefit","\u200b","\u200b","(10,072)","\u200b","\u200b","(8,513)","\u200b","\u200b","(1,559)","\u200b","18.3","%"],["\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Production:","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Crude oil (MBBL)","\u200b","\u200b","659","\u200b","\u200b","619","\u200b","\u200b","40","\u200b","6.5","%"],["Natural gas (MMCF)","\u200b","\u200b","9,109","\u200b","\u200b","7,141","\u200b","\u200b","1,968","\u200b","27.6","%"],["Natural gas liquids (MBBL)","\u200b","\u200b","416","\u200b","\u200b","364","\u200b","\u200b","52","\u200b","14.3","%"],["Equivalent (MBOE)(1)","\u200b","\u200b","2,593","\u200b","\u200b","2,173","\u200b","\u200b","420","\u200b","19.3","%"],["Average daily production (BOEPD)(1)","\u200b","\u200b","7,104","\u200b","\u200b","5,953","\u200b","\u200b","1,151","\u200b","19.3","%"],["\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Average price per unit(2):","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Crude oil (BBL)","\u200b","$","77.46","\u200b","$","85.11","\u200b","$","(7.65)","\u200b","(9.0)","%"],["Natural gas (MCF)","\u200b","\u200b","7.00","\u200b","\u200b","5.49","\u200b","\u200b","1.51","\u200b","27.5","%"],["Natural Gas Liquids (BBL)","\u200b","\u200b","32.86","\u200b","\u200b","46.89","\u200b","\u200b","(14.03)","\u200b","(29.9)","%"],["Equivalent (BOE)(1)","\u200b","\u200b","49.56","\u200b","\u200b","50.13","\u200b","\u200b","(0.57)","\u200b","(1.1)","%"],["\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Average cost per unit:","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Operating costs:","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Lease operating costs:","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["CO2 costs","\u200b","$","2.84","\u200b","$","3.55","\u200b","\u200b","(0.71)","\u200b","(20.0)","%"],["Ad valorem and production taxes","\u200b","\u200b","3.15","\u200b","\u200b","3.20","\u200b","\u200b","(0.05)","\u200b","(1.6)","%"],["Other lease operating costs","\u200b","\u200b","16.97","\u200b","\u200b","15.64","\u200b","\u200b","1.33","\u200b","8.5","%"],["Depletion of full cost proved oil and natural gas properties","\u200b","\u200b","5.07","\u200b","\u200b","3.46","\u200b","\u200b","1.61","\u200b","46.5","%"],["General and administrative expenses:","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["General and administrative","\u200b","\u200b","3.06","\u200b","\u200b","3.09","\u200b","\u200b","(0.03)","\u200b","(1.0)","%"],["Stock-based compensation","\u200b","\u200b","0.63","\u200b","\u200b","0.06","\u200b","\u200b","0.57","\u200b","950.0","%"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["(1)","Equivalent oil reserves are defined as six MCF of natural gas and 42 gallons of NGLs to one barrel of oil conversion ratio which reflects energy equivalence and not price equivalence. Natural gas prices per MCF and NGL prices per barrel often differ significantly from the equivalent amount of oil."]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["(2)","Amounts exclude the impact of cash paid or received on the settlement of derivative contracts since we did not elect to apply hedge accounting."]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

​

35

Table of Contents

Revenues

Fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 revenues increased 18.0% to $128.5 million compared to $108.9 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. The increase in revenue is primarily due to our acquisitions of non-operated working interests in the Jonah Field and Williston Basin in the second half of fiscal year 2022. Average daily equivalent production increased 19.3%, from 5,953 BOEPD to 7,104 BOEPD in the current year. Production increases were driven by our acquisitions of non-operated working interests in the Jonah Field and Williston Basin in the second half of fiscal 2022, which increased current fiscal year production by approximately 1,621 BOEPD. The increase in our average daily production from our acquisitions was partially offset by decreases related to downtime at our Barnett Shale properties due to compressor and pipeline repairs as well as shut-in wells and our Delhi Field properties due to winter storms, and Delhi heat exchanger upgrade installation and NGL plant repairs during the fourth fiscal quarter. Our average realized commodity price (excluding the impact of derivative contracts) decreased approximately $0.57 per BOE, or 1.1%, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 compared to June 30, 2022. Realized oil and NGL prices decreased approximately 9.0% and 29.9% respectively, over the prior year. These decreases are partially offset by an increase of approximately 27.5% in realized natural gas prices from the prior year period despite the substantial decrease in natural gas prices that occurred in late third quarter. The year over year increase in realized natural gas prices is primarily attributed to the benefit of natural gas price differentials received at the Jonah Field where our realized price for natural gas for the current year period was $10.63 per MCF.

​

Lease Operating Costs

Ad valorem and production taxes were $8.2 million and $7.0 million for the years ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase in ad valorem and production taxes is primarily due to increased production volumes described above as production taxes are based on sales at the wellhead. On a per unit basis, ad valorem and production taxes were $3.15 per BOE and $3.20 per BOE for the years ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The decrease in ad valorem and production taxes on a per unit basis are due to the increased production volumes described above.

The following table summarizes CO2 costs per Mcf and CO2 volumes for the years ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. CO2 purchase costs are for the Delhi Field. Under our contract with the Delhi Field operator, purchased CO2 is priced at 1% of the realized oil price in the field per Mcf, plus sales taxes and transportation costs as per contract terms.

​

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["","\u200b","Years Ended June 30,","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["\u200b","","2023","","2022","","Variance","","Variance %"],["CO2 costs per MCF","\u200b","$","0.99","\u200b","$","1.07","\u200b","$","(0.08)","\u200b","(7.5)","%"],["CO2 volumes (MMCF per day, gross)","\u200b","\u200b","85.2","\u200b","\u200b","82.6","\u200b","\u200b","2.6","\u200b","3.1","%"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

​

The $0.3 million decrease in CO2 costs for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 was primarily due to a 7.5% decrease in CO2 costs per MCF, which was driven by a decrease in our average realized oil price partially offset by a 3.1% increase in purchased CO2 volumes. CO2 purchases provide approximately 20% of the injected volumes in the field and the field’s recycle facilities provide the other 80%. We do not have any ownership in the CO2 pipeline which is owned and operated by Denbury. On a per unit basis, CO2 costs were $2.84 per BOE and $3.55 per BOE for the years ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Other lease operating costs include remedial workover costs and gathering and transportation costs for our oil and natural gas production. Compared to the prior year, other lease operating costs increased $10.0 million, or 29.5%, to $44.0 million in the year ended June 30, 2023 primarily due to the acquisitions in the Jonah Field and Williston Basin in April 2022 and January 2022, respectively, which increased current year other lease operating costs by $8.0 million. Other lease operating costs on a per BOE basis increased to $16.97 per BOE in the current year from $15.64 per BOE in the prior year, an increase of $1.33 per BOE.

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Table of Contents

Depletion of Full Cost Proved Oil and Natural Gas Properties

Depletion expense increased $5.6 million or 74.8% from $7.5 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022 to $13.1 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 primarily due to an increase in production. On a per unit basis, depletion expense was $5.07 per BOE and $3.46 per BOE for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase in depletion per BOE was due primarily to an increase in the depletable base of our unit of production calculation due to our acquisitions in fiscal year 2022 and an increase in our future development costs associated with our proved undeveloped reserve addition in fiscal year 2022 combined with a decrease in our proved reserve volumes.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 increased $1.2 million, or 18.4%, to $7.9 million compared to $6.7 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. The increase is primarily due to approximately $0.6 million for salary and employee benefits due to additional personnel added as additional assets were acquired, and $0.3 million in professional fees associated with our search for a CEO. The remaining increase is associated with fees for accounting and audit-related services and public reporting expenses due to the increased size of our Company. On a per unit basis, general and administrative expenses decreased $0.03 per BOE to $3.06 per BOE for the year ended June 30, 2023 from $3.09 per BOE for the prior year. The decrease in general and administrative expenses on a per unit basis are due to the increased production volumes described above.

Stock-based Compensation Expenses

Stock-based compensation increased $1.5 million to $1.6 million for the year ended June 30, 2023 compared to $0.1 million the prior period due primarily to the $1.2 million reduction in prior year expense related to the forfeiture of unvested shares in connection with severance, combined with the addition of new personnel, including our CEO and COO, and the associated new awards granted during the current year period to all staff and directors. In addition, approximately $0.1 million of the current year period increase related to a one-time share award granted in November 2022, which vested and was fully expensed immediately.

Net Gain (Loss) on Derivative Contracts

Periodically, we utilize commodity derivative financial instruments to reduce our exposure to fluctuations in oil and natural gas prices. We have elected not to designate our open derivative contracts for hedge accounting, and accordingly, we recorded the net change in the mark-to-market valuation of the derivative contracts in the consolidated statements of operations. The amounts recorded on the consolidated statements of operations related to derivative contracts represent the (i) gains (losses) related to fair value adjustments on our open, or unrealized, derivative contracts, and (ii) gains (losses) on settlements of derivative contracts for positions that have settled or been realized. The table below summarizes our net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on derivative contracts as well as the impact of net realized (gains) losses on our average realized prices for the periods presented. As a result of our acquisitions during fiscal year 2022 and the corresponding borrowings on our Senior Secured Credit Facility, we were required by terms in our Senior Secured Credit Facility to hedge a portion of our production. The increase in commodity prices since entering into the hedges resulted in realized losses on derivative contracts for the current and prior years. As of June 30, 2023, we did not have any open crude oil or natural gas derivative contracts.

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["\u200b","\u200b","Years Ended June 30,","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["(in thousands, except per unit and per BOE amounts)","","2023","","2022","","Variance","","Variance %"],["Realized gain (loss) on derivative contracts","\u200b","$","(1,481)","\u200b","$","(1,769)","\u200b","$","288","\u200b","(16.3)","%"],["Unrealized gain (loss) on derivative contracts","\u200b","\u200b","1,994","\u200b","\u200b","(1,994)","\u200b","\u200b","3,988","\u200b","(200.0)","%"],["Total net gain (loss) on derivative contracts","\u200b","$","513","\u200b","$","(3,763)","\u200b","$","4,276","\u200b","(113.6)","%"],["\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Average realized crude oil price per BBL","\u200b","$","77.46","\u200b","$","85.11","\u200b","$","(7.65)","\u200b","(9.0)","%"],["Cash effect of oil derivative contracts per BBL","\u200b","\u200b","(0.37)","\u200b","\u200b","(1.24)","\u200b","\u200b","0.87","\u200b","(70.2)","%"],["Crude oil price per Bbl (including impact of realized derivatives)","\u200b","$","77.09","\u200b","$","83.87","\u200b","$","(6.78)","\u200b","(8.1)","%"],["\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b","\u200b"],["Average realized natural gas price per MCF","\u200b","$","7.00","\u200b","$","5.49","\u200b","$","1.51","\u200b","27.5","%"],["Cash effect of natural gas derivative contracts per MCF","\u200b","\u200b","(0.14)","\u200b","\u200b","(0.14)","\u200b","\u200b","\u2014","\u200b","\u2014","%"],["Natural gas price per Mcf (including impact of realized derivatives)","\u200b","$","6.86","\u200b","$","5.35","\u200b","$","1.51","\u200b","28.2","%"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

​

37

Table of Contents

Interest Expense

Interest expense decreased $0.1 million during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 compared to fiscal year 2022 primarily due to the repayment of borrowings outstanding on our Senior Secured Credit Facility throughout the year.

Income tax (expense) provision

For the year ended June 30, 2023, we recognized income tax expense of $10.1 million on net income before income taxes of $45.3 million compared to an income tax expense of $8.5 million on net income before income taxes of $41.1 million for the year ended June 30, 2022. The effective tax rates were 22.2% and 20.7% for the years ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. In the prior year, the Company benefited from certain EOR tax credits whereas in the current year the credits were not available.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires that we select certain accounting policies and make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of the assets, liabilities, and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the balance sheet as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. These policies, together with our estimates, have a significant effect on our consolidated financial statements. Our significant accounting policies are included in Note 1, “Summary of Significant Events and Accounting Policies” to our consolidated statements in Item 8. Following is a discussion of our most critical accounting estimates, judgments, and uncertainties that are inherent in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.

Oil and Natural Gas Properties.   Companies engaged in the production of oil and natural gas are required to follow accounting rules that are unique to the oil and natural gas industry. We apply the full cost accounting method for our oil and natural gas properties as prescribed by SEC Regulation S-X Rule 4-10. Under this method of accounting, the costs of unsuccessful and successful, exploration and development activities are capitalized as properties and equipment. This includes any internal costs that are directly related to property acquisition, exploration, and development activities but does not include any costs related to production, general corporate overhead, or similar activities. Gain or loss on the sale or other disposition of oil and natural gas properties is not recognized unless the gain or loss would significantly alter the relationship between capitalized costs and proved reserves. Oil and natural gas properties include costs that are excluded from costs being depleted or amortized. Oil and natural gas property costs excluded represent investments in unevaluated properties. We exclude these costs until the property has been evaluated. Costs are transferred to the full cost pool as the properties are evaluated. As of June 30, 2023, we had no unevaluated property costs. Oil and natural gas properties include costs that are excluded from depletion and amortization, which represent investments in unproved and unevaluated properties and include non-producing leasehold, geologic and geophysical costs associated with leasehold or drilling interests, and exploration drilling costs.

Estimates of Proved Reserves.    The estimated quantities of proved oil and natural gas reserves have a significant impact on the underlying financial statements. The estimated quantities of proved reserves are used to calculate depletion expense and the estimated future net cash flows associated with those proved reserves is the basis for determining impairment under the quarterly ceiling test calculation. The process of estimating oil and natural gas reserves is very complex and requires significant decisions in the evaluation of all available geologic, geophysical, engineering, and economic data. Estimated reserves are often subject to future revisions, which could be substantial, based on the availability of additional information; this includes reservoir performance, additional development activity, new geologic and geophysical data, additional drilling, technological advancements, price changes, and other economic factors. As a result, material revisions to existing reserve estimates may occur from time to time. Although every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the reported reserve estimates prepared by our third-party independent engineers represent the most accurate assessments possible, the subjective decisions and variances in available data for the properties make these estimates generally less precise than other estimates included in our financial statements. Material revisions to reserve estimates and/or significant changes in commodity prices could substantially affect our estimated future net cash flows of our proved reserves. These changes could affect our quarterly ceiling test calculation and could significantly affect our depletion rate. Additionally, a 10% decrease in commodity prices used to determine our proved reserves as of

38

Table of Contents

June 30, 2023, while all other factors remained constant, would not have resulted in an impairment of our oil and natural gas properties. Holding all other factors constant, a reduction in our proved reserve estimates at June 30, 2023 of 10% would affect depletion, depreciation, and amortization expense by approximately $0.4 million.

On December 31, 2008, the SEC issued its final rule on the modernization of reporting oil and natural gas reserves. The rule allows consideration of new technologies in evaluating reserves, generally limits the designation of proved reserves to those projects forecasted to be drilled five years from the initial recognition date of such reserves, allows companies to disclose their probable and possible reserves to investors, requires reporting of oil and natural gas reserves using an average price based on the previous 12-month unweighted arithmetic average first-day-of-the-month price rather than year-end prices, revises the disclosure requirements for oil and natural gas operations, and revises accounting for the limitation on capitalized costs for full cost companies.

Stock-based Compensation.   The fair value, and for certain awards the expected vesting period, of our performance-based awards were determined using a Monte Carlo simulation. This technique uses a geometric Brownian motion model with defined variables and randomly generates values for each variable through multiple trials. Variables include stock price volatility, expected term of the award, the expected risk-free interest rate, and the expected dividend yield of our stock. The risk-free interest rate used is the U.S. Treasury yield for bonds matching the expected term of the award on the date of grant. Vesting of performance-based awards is based on our total common stock return compared to a peer group of other companies in our industry with comparable market capitalizations and, for certain awards, our share price attaining a set target.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements.   Refer to Note 1, “Summary of Significant Events and Accounting Policies” to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for discussion of the recent accounting pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.