v3.26.1
Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2026
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Principles of Consolidation
Principles of Consolidation
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements (the “financial statements”) include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries, including the Predecessor, Vitesse Oil, Vitesse Management Company LLC (“Vitesse Management”), Vitesse Oil, Inc., Vitesse Holding Corp., Lucero Energy ULC, and PetroShale (US), Inc. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Lucero Energy ULC and PetroShale (US), Inc. accounts are only included subsequent to the Lucero Acquisition that closed on March 7, 2025.
Segment and Geographic Information
Segment and Geographic Information
The chief operating decision maker (CODM) of the Company is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The Company operates in a single reportable segment, which is a single operating segment. All of the Company’s operations are managed on a consolidated basis, conducted in the continental United States, and relate to the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas assets. The significant segment expenses provided to the CODM for purposes of allocating resources and assessing financial performance include lease operating expense, production taxes, general and administrative expense, depletion, depreciation, amortization, and accretion, equity-based compensation, income taxes and interest expense. These significant expenses are the same as the line items presented in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Consolidated net income is the measure used by the CODM to assess performance and determine resource allocation.
Use of Estimates
Use of Estimates
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Depletion, depreciation, and amortization (“DD&A”) and the evaluation of proved oil and gas properties for impairment are determined using estimates of oil and gas reserves. There are numerous uncertainties in estimating the quantity of reserves and in projecting the future rates of production and timing of development expenditures, which includes lack of control over future development plans as a non-operator. Oil and gas reserve engineering is a subjective process of estimating underground accumulations of oil and gas that cannot be measured in an exact way. In addition, significant estimates include, but are not limited to, estimates relating to certain oil and natural gas revenues and expenses, fair value of assets acquired and liabilities
assumed in business combinations, valuation of share-based compensation, and valuation of commodity derivative instruments. Further, these estimates and other factors, including those outside of the Company’s control, such as the impact of lower commodity prices, may have a significant adverse impact to the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.
Oil and Gas Properties
Oil and Gas Properties
The Company follows the successful efforts method of accounting for oil and gas activities. Under this method of accounting, costs associated with the acquisition, drilling, and equipping of successful exploratory wells and costs of successful and unsuccessful development wells are capitalized and depleted, net of estimated salvage values, using the units-of-production method on the basis of a reasonable aggregation of properties within a common geological structural feature or stratigraphic condition, such as a reservoir or field. The Company’s proved oil and gas reserve information was computed by applying the average first-day-of-the-month oil and gas price during the 12-month period ended on the balance sheet date. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, the Company recorded depletion expense of $34.5 million and $65.4 million, respectively. The Company’s depletion rate per Boe for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 was $21.85 and $21.69, respectively. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, the Company recorded depletion expense of $34.3 million and $60.6 million, respectively. The Company’s depletion rate per Boe for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 was $19.88 and $19.74, respectively.
Exploration, geological and geophysical costs, delay rentals, and drilling costs of unsuccessful exploratory wells are charged to expense as incurred. The sale of a partial interest in a proved property is accounted for as a cost recovery, and no gain or loss is recognized as long as this treatment does not significantly affect the units-of-production amortization rate. A gain or loss is recognized for all other sales of proved properties.
Costs associated with unevaluated exploratory wells are excluded from the depletable base until the determination of proved reserves, at which time those costs are reclassified to proved oil and gas properties and subject to depletion. If it is determined that the exploratory well costs were not successful in establishing proved reserves, such costs are expensed at the time of such determination.
The Company reviews its oil and gas properties for impairment whenever events and circumstances indicate a decline in the recoverability of their carrying value. The Company estimates the expected future cash flows of its oil and gas properties and compares such cash flows to the carrying amount of the proved oil and gas properties to determine if the amount is recoverable. If the carrying amount exceeds the estimated undiscounted future cash flows, the Company will adjust its proved oil and gas properties to estimated fair value. The factors used to estimate fair value include estimates of reserves, future estimated commodity prices adjusted for basis differentials, future production estimates, anticipated capital expenditures and operating expenses, and a discount rate commensurate with the risk associated with realizing the projected cash flows. The discount rate is a rate that management believes is representative of current market conditions and includes estimates for a risk premium and other operational risks.
Asset Retirement Obligations (AROs)
Asset Retirement Obligations (AROs)
AROs relate to estimated plugging and abandonment costs of oil and gas properties, including facilities, and the reclamation of the Company’s well locations. The Company records the fair value of an ARO in the period in which it is incurred. When the liability is initially recorded, the Company capitalizes an estimated cost by increasing the carrying amount of proved oil and gas properties. Over time, the liability is accreted each period toward an estimated future cost, and the capitalized cost is depleted. The Company uses the income valuation technique to estimate the fair value of AROs using the amounts and timing of expected future dismantlement costs, credit-adjusted risk-free rates, and the time value of money. For business combinations, the valuation utilizes a discount rate commensurate with what a market participant would use for AROs recorded. Revisions to the liability could occur due to changes in estimated abandonment costs or well economic lives or if federal or state regulators enact new requirements regarding the abandonment of wells. Adjustments to the liability are made as these estimates change. Upon settlement of the liability, the Company reports a gain or loss to the extent the actual costs differ from the recorded liability.
Equity-Based Compensation
Equity-Based Compensation
The Company recognizes equity-based compensation expense associated with its long-term incentive plan (“LTIP”) awards using the straight-line method over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the award except when provisions are present that accelerate vesting, based on their grant date fair values. The Company has elected to account for forfeitures of equity awards as they occur.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue Recognition
The majority of the Company’s revenue is derived from the sale of produced oil and natural gas from wells in which the Company holds non-operated revenue or royalty interests. For non-operated properties, the Company’s proportionate share of production is marketed at the discretion of the operators under contracts negotiated between the operators and customers. Non-operated revenues are recognized during the month in which production occurs, control of the product transfers to the customer, and it is probable that the Company will collect the consideration to which it is entitled. Due to the nature of non-operated properties, statements and payments from operators may not be received for one to six months after the date production is delivered to customers. As such, at the end of each month, the Company estimates the amount of production delivered and sold as well as the pricing based on operator-provided production reports, market indices, and estimated quality and transportation differentials. This estimated revenue is recorded in the reporting period in which the performance obligation was satisfied. Once the final statements and payments are received, differences between estimated revenues and actual amounts received are recognized in the month of receipt. Historically, these differences have not been significant.
For the sale of produced oil and natural gas from wells in which the Company has non-operated revenue or royalty interests, the Company recognizes revenue based on the details included in the statements received from the operator. Any gathering, transportation, processing, production taxes, and other deductions included on the statements are recorded based on the information provided by the operator. The Company does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations as it applies the practical exemption for variable consideration that is recognized as control of the product is transferred to the customer. Since each unit of product represents a separate performance obligation, future volumes are wholly unsatisfied, and disclosure of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations is not required.
For the properties operated by the Company, oil and natural gas revenues are recognized through contracts with customers during the month in which control of the product transfers, typically at the point of delivery when the risk of loss and title pass from the Company to the customer, and it is probable that the Company will collect the consideration to which it is entitled. The Company sells the majority of its operated production soon after it is produced at various locations, and, as a result, the Company maintains a minimum amount of product inventory in storage. Revenue from operated properties is recorded in the month that production is delivered to the customer. However, settlement statements and payments are typically not received for 20 to 45 days after the date production is delivered. Consequently, the Company estimates the volume of production delivered and the price that will be received for the sale of the product using knowledge of its properties, the properties’ historical performance, spot market prices, and other relevant factors. Differences between estimated and actual revenues are adjusted upon receipt of payment, typically in the following reporting period. Historically, these differences have not been significant. Revenue recognized related to performance obligations satisfied in prior reporting periods was not significant for the periods presented.
Concentrations of Credit Risk
Concentrations of Credit Risk
For each of the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, five operators accounted for 61 percent and 60 percent, respectively, of oil and natural gas revenue.
For the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, two and four operators accounted for 48 percent and 61 percent, respectively, of oil and natural gas revenue.
As of June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, three operators accounted for 57 percent and 50 percent, respectively, of oil and natural gas accrued revenue.
The Company’s non-operated oil and natural gas revenue is generated from the sale of oil and natural gas by operators on its behalf. The Company monitors the financial condition of its operators.
For operated properties during the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, two and three purchasers accounted for 82 percent and 80 percent, respectively, of the Company’s operated sales. During each of the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, one purchaser accounted for over 80 percent of the Company’s operated sales. The Company believes that the loss of a purchaser would not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s operations, as there are a number of alternative purchasers in the region.
Income Taxes
Income Taxes
Income taxes are provided for the tax effects of transactions reported in the financial statements and consist of taxes currently payable plus deferred income taxes related to certain income and expenses recognized in different periods for financial and income tax reporting purposes. Deferred income tax liabilities represent the future income tax consequences of those differences, which will be taxable when liabilities are settled. Deferred income taxes may also include tax credits and net operating losses that are available to offset future income taxes. Deferred income taxes are measured by applying currently enacted tax rates.
The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes for tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. Only tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold are recognized. The Company does not have any uncertain tax positions recorded as of June 30, 2026.
Commodity Derivative Instruments
Commodity Derivative Instruments
The Company enters into derivative contracts to manage its exposure to oil and gas price volatility. Commodity derivative contracts may take the form of swaps, puts, calls, or collars. Cash settlements from the Company’s commodity price risk management activities are recorded in the month the contracts mature. Any realized gains and losses on settled derivatives, as well as mark-to-market gains or losses, are aggregated and recorded to Commodity derivative gain (loss), net in the consolidated statements of operations.
GAAP requires recognition of all derivative instruments in the consolidated balance sheets as either assets or liabilities measured at fair value. Subsequent changes in the derivatives’ fair value are recognized currently in earnings unless specific hedge accounting criteria are met. The Company has elected to not designate any derivative instruments as accounting hedges, and therefore reflects all commodity derivative instruments changes in fair value in earnings. Amounts associated with deferred premiums on derivative instruments are recorded as a component of the derivatives’ fair values. See Note 6 (“Commodity Derivative Instruments”).
New Accounting Pronouncements
New Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2024, FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses (DISE). The ASU primarily requires companies to disclose additional information about specific expense categories in the notes to financial statements at interim and annual reporting periods. The guidance will be applied on a prospective basis with the option to apply the standard retrospectively. The new guidance will be effective for the Company’s year ending December 31, 2027 and interim periods during the year ending December 31, 2028. The Company is assessing the disclosure implications of this ASU. This ASU is not expected to affect the Company's financial position, results of operations, or liquidity upon adoption.