Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Nature of Business

Nature of Business. SandRidge Energy, Inc. is an oil and natural gas company with a principal focus on the acquisition, exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources in the United States.

Principles of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned or majority owned subsidiaries, including its proportionate share of the Royalty Trusts. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Reclassifications

Reclassifications. Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior period financial statements to conform to the current period presentation. These reclassifications have no effect on the Company’s previously reported results of operations.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates. The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America 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 revenues and expenses during the reporting period.

The more significant areas requiring the use of assumptions, judgments and estimates include: oil, natural gas and NGL reserves; impairment tests of long-lived assets; the carrying value of unproved oil and natural gas properties; depreciation, depletion and amortization; asset retirement obligations; determinations of significant alterations to the full cost pool and related estimates of fair value used to allocate the full cost pool net book value to divested properties, as necessary; valuation allowances for deferred tax assets; income taxes; valuation of derivative instruments; contingencies; and accrued revenue and related receivables. Although management believes these estimates are reasonable, actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents. The Company considers all highly-liquid instruments with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents as these instruments are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and bear insignificant risk of changes in value due to their short maturity period.

Restricted Cash

Restricted Cash. The Company maintains restricted escrow funds as required by certain contractual arrangements in accordance with the Plan.

Accounts Receivable, Net

Accounts Receivable, Net. The Company has receivables for sales of oil, natural gas and NGLs, as well as receivables related to the drilling, completion, and production of oil and natural gas, which have a contractual maturity of one year or less. An allowance for doubtful accounts has been established based on management’s review of the collectibility of the receivables in light of historical experience, the nature and volume of the receivables and other subjective factors. Accounts receivable are charged against the allowance, upon approval by management, when they are deemed uncollectible. Refer to Note 5 for further information on the Company’s accounts receivable and allowance for doubtful accounts.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments. Certain of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities are measured at fair value. Fair value represents the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. The Company’s financial instruments, not otherwise recorded at fair value, consist primarily of cash, restricted cash, trade receivables, prepaid expenses, and trade payables and accrued expenses. The carrying values of cash, trade receivables and trade payables are considered to reflect fair values due to the short-term maturity of these instruments. See Note 4 for further discussion of the Company’s fair value measurements.

Fair Value of Non-financial Assets and Liabilities

Fair Value of Non-financial Assets and Liabilities. The Company also applies fair value accounting guidance to initially, or as events dictate, measure non-financial assets and liabilities such as those obtained through business acquisitions, property, plant and equipment and asset retirement obligations. These assets and liabilities are subject to fair value adjustments only in certain circumstances and are not subject to recurring revaluations. Fair value may be estimated using comparable market data, a discounted cash flow method, or a combination of the two as considered appropriate based on the circumstances. Under the discounted cash flow method, estimated future cash flows are based on management’s expectations for the future and include estimates of future oil and natural gas production or other applicable sales estimates, operational costs and a risk-adjusted discount rate. The Company may use the present value of estimated future cash inflows and/or outflows, third-party offers or prices of comparable assets with consideration of current market conditions to fair value its non-financial assets and liabilities when necessary.

Derivative Financial Instruments

Derivative Financial Instruments. The Company enters into oil and natural gas derivative contracts to manage risks related to fluctuations in prices of its expected oil and natural gas production. The Company considers current and anticipated market conditions, planned capital expenditures, and any debt service requirements when determining whether to enter into oil and gas derivative contracts. The Company may also, from time to time, enter into interest rate swaps in order to manage risk associated with its exposure to variable interest rates.

The Company recognizes its derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in earnings unless designated as a hedging instrument. The Company has elected not to designate price risk management activities as accounting hedges under applicable accounting guidance. The Company nets derivative assets and liabilities whenever it has a legally enforceable master netting agreement with the counterparty to a derivative contract. The related cash flow impact of the Company’s derivative activities are reflected as cash flows from operating activities unless the derivative contract contains a significant financing element, in which case, cash settlements are classified as cash flows from financing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. See Note 6 for further discussion of the Company’s derivatives.

Oil and Natural Gas Operations

Oil and Natural Gas Operations. The Company uses the full cost method to account for its oil and natural gas properties. Under full cost accounting, all costs directly associated with the acquisition, exploration and development of oil, natural gas and NGL reserves are capitalized into a full cost pool. These capitalized costs include costs of unproved properties and internal costs directly related to the Company’s acquisition, exploration and development activities and capitalized interest. The Company capitalized gross internal costs of $5.7 million, $8.8 million and $14.8 million during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Capitalized costs are amortized using the unit-of-production method. Under this method, depreciation and depletion is computed at the end of each quarter by multiplying total production for the quarter by a depletion rate. The depletion rate is determined by dividing the total unamortized cost base plus future development costs by net equivalent proved reserves at the beginning of the quarter.

Costs associated with unproved properties are excluded from the amortizable cost base until it has been determined that proved reserves exist or a lease is impaired. Unproved properties are reviewed at the end of each quarter to determine whether the costs incurred should be reclassified to the full cost pool and amortized. The costs associated with unproved properties are primarily the costs to acquire unproved acreage. All items classified as unproved property are assessed, on an individual basis or as a group if properties are individually insignificant, on a quarterly basis for possible impairment. The assessment includes consideration of various factors, including, but not limited to, the following: intent to drill; remaining lease term; geological and geophysical evaluations; drilling results and activity; assignment of proved reserves; and whether the proved reserves can be developed economically. During any period in which these factors indicate an impairment, all or a portion of the associated leasehold costs are transferred to the full cost pool and become subject to amortization. Costs of seismic data are allocated to unproved leaseholds and transferred to the amortization base with the associated leasehold costs on a specific project basis.

Under the full cost method of accounting, total capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties and electrical infrastructure assets, net of accumulated depreciation, depletion and impairment, less related deferred income taxes may not exceed the ceiling limitation. A ceiling limitation calculation is performed at the end of each quarter. If the ceiling limitation is exceeded, a write-down or impairment of the full cost pool is required. A write-down of the carrying value of the full cost pool is a non-cash charge that reduces earnings and impacts stockholders’ equity and typically results in lower depreciation and depletion expense in future periods. Once incurred, a write-down cannot be reversed at a later date.

The ceiling limitation calculation is prepared using SEC prices adjusted for basis or location differentials, held constant over the life of the reserves. If applicable, these prices would be further adjusted to include the effects of any fixed price arrangements for the sale of oil and natural gas. Derivative contracts that qualify and are designated as cash flow hedges are included in estimated future cash flows, although the Company historically has not designated any of its derivative contracts as cash flow hedges. The future cash outflows associated with future development or abandonment of wells are included in the computation of the discounted present value of future net revenues for purposes of the ceiling limitation calculation.

Sales and abandonments of oil and natural gas properties being amortized are accounted for as adjustments to the full cost pool, with no gain or loss recognized, unless the adjustments would significantly alter the relationship between capitalized costs and proved oil, natural gas and NGL reserves. A significant alteration would not ordinarily be expected to occur upon the sale of reserves involving less than 25% of the proved reserve quantities of a cost center.

Property, Plant and Equipment, Net

Property, Plant and Equipment, Net. Other capitalized costs, including other property and equipment, such as electrical infrastructure assets and buildings, are carried at cost or the fair value established on the Emergence Date. Renewals

and improvements are capitalized while repairs and maintenance are expensed. Depreciation of such property and equipment is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, which range from 7 to 39 years for buildings and 1 to 27 years for the electrical infrastructure assets and other equipment. When property and equipment components are disposed, the cost and the related accumulated depreciation are removed and any resulting gain or loss is reflected in the consolidated statements of operations.

Realization of the carrying value of property and equipment, other than electrical infrastructure assets, is reviewed for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of such asset may not be recoverable. Assets are considered to be impaired if a forecast of undiscounted estimated future net operating cash flows directly related to the asset or asset group including disposal value is less than the carrying amount of the asset or asset group. Impairment is measured as the excess of the carrying amount of the impaired asset or asset group over its fair value. See Note 9 for further discussion of impairments.

Capitalized Interest

Capitalized Interest. Interest is capitalized on assets being made ready for use using a weighted average interest rate based on the Company’s borrowings outstanding during that time.

Debt Issuance Costs

Debt Issuance Costs. The Company includes unamortized line-of-credit debt issuance costs, if any, related to its credit facility in other assets in the consolidated balance sheets. Other debt issuance costs related to long-term debt, if any, are presented in the balance sheets as a direct deduction from the associated debt liability. Debt issuance costs are amortized to interest expense over the term of the related debt. When debt is retired, any unamortized costs are written off and included in gain or loss on extinguishment of debt.

Asset Retirement Obligations

Asset Retirement Obligations. The Company owns oil and natural gas assets that require expenditures to plug, abandon and remediate associated property at the end of their productive lives, in accordance with applicable federal and state laws. Liabilities for these asset retirement obligations are recorded at the estimated present value at the time the wells are drilled or acquired, with the offsetting increase to property cost. These property costs are depreciated on a unit-of-production basis within the full cost pool. The liability accretes each period until it is settled or the asset is sold and the liability is removed. Both the accretion and the depreciation are included in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company determines its asset retirement obligations by calculating the present value of estimated expenses related to the liability. Estimating future asset retirement obligations requires management to make estimates and judgments regarding timing, existence of a liability and what constitutes adequate restoration. Inherent in the present value calculation are the timing of settlement and changes in the legal, regulatory, environmental and political environments, which are subject to change. See Note 12 for further discussion of the Company’s asset retirement obligations.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition and Natural Gas Balancing. Sales of oil, natural gas and NGLs are recorded at a point in time when control of the oil, natural gas and NGL production passes to the customer at the inlet of the processing plant or pipeline, or the delivery point for onloading to a delivery truck, net of royalties, discounts and allowances, as applicable. Additionally, the Company deducts transportation costs from oil, natural gas and NGL revenues. Taxes assessed by governmental authorities on oil, natural gas and NGL sales are included in production, ad valorem and other taxes in the consolidated statements of operations. See Note 16 for further information on the Company's accounting policies related to revenues.

The Company accounts for natural gas production imbalances using the sales method, which recognizes revenue on all natural gas sold even though the natural gas volumes sold may be more or less than the Company's ownership entitles it to sell. Liabilities are recorded for imbalances greater than the Company’s proportionate share of remaining estimated natural gas reserves. The Company has recorded a liability for natural gas imbalance positions of $1.6 million and $1.7 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The Company includes the gas imbalance positions in other long-term obligations in the consolidated balance sheets.

Oil, natural gas and NGL revenues. A majority of the Company’s revenues come from sales of oil, natural gas and NGLs. In accordance with the contracts governing these sales, performance obligations to customers are satisfied and revenues are recorded at a point in time when control of the oil, natural gas and NGL production passes to the customer at the inlet of the processing plant or pipeline, or the delivery point for onloading to a delivery truck. As the Company’s customers obtain control of the production prior to selling it to other end customers, the Company presents its revenues on a net basis, rather than on a gross basis.

Pricing for the Company’s oil, natural gas and NGL contracts is variable and is based on volumes sold multiplied by either an index price, net of deductions, or a percentage of the sales price obtained by the customer, which is also based on index prices. The transaction price is allocated on a pro-rata basis to each unit of oil, natural gas or NGL sold based on the terms of the contract. Oil, natural gas and NGL revenues are also recorded net of royalties, discounts and allowances, and transportation costs, as applicable. Taxes assessed by governmental authorities on oil, natural gas and NGL sales are presented separately from revenues and are included in production, ad valorem, and other taxes expense in the consolidated statements of operations.

Revenues Receivable. The Company records an asset in accounts receivable, net on its consolidated balance sheet for revenues receivable from contracts with customers at the end of each period. Pricing for revenues receivable is estimated using current month crude oil, natural gas and NGL prices, net of deductions. Revenues receivable are typically collected the month after the Company delivers the related production to its customers. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018 the Company had revenues receivable of $22.3 million and $31.8 million, respectively, and did not record any bad debt expense on revenues receivable during the year ended December 31, 2019.

Allocation of Share-Based Compensation

Allocation of Share-Based Compensation. Equity compensation provided to employees directly involved in exploration and development activities is capitalized to the Company’s oil and natural gas properties. Equity compensation not capitalized is recognized in general and administrative expenses, production expenses, and other operating expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes. Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the amounts of assets and liabilities reported for financial statement purposes and their tax basis. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if it is deemed more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

The Company has elected an accounting policy in which interest and penalties on income taxes resulting from the underpayment or late payment of income taxes due to a taxing authority or relating to income tax contingencies are presented as a component of the income tax provision, rather than as interest expense.

Earnings per Share

Earnings per Share. Basic earnings per common share is calculated by dividing earnings available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per common share is calculated by dividing earnings available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of diluted common shares outstanding, which includes the effect of potentially dilutive securities. Potentially dilutive securities consist of unvested restricted stock awards, performance share units, warrants, and stock options using the treasury method.

Under the treasury method, the amount of unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested stock-based compensation grants or the proceeds that would be received if the warrants were exercised are assumed to be used to repurchase shares at the average market price. When a loss exists, all potentially dilutive securities are anti-dilutive and are therefore excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share. See Note 21 for the Company’s earnings per share calculation.

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies. Liabilities for loss contingencies arising from claims, assessments, litigation or other sources are recorded when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. Environmental expenditures are expensed or capitalized, as appropriate, depending on future economic benefit. Expenditures that relate to an existing condition caused by past operations and that have no future economic benefit are expensed. Environmental liabilities related to future costs are recorded on an undiscounted basis when assessments and/or remediation activities are probable and costs can be reasonably estimated. See Note 13 for discussion of the Company’s commitments and contingencies.

Concentration of Risk

Concentration of Risk. All of the Company’s commodity derivative transactions have been carried out in the over-the-counter market, which involves the risk that the counterparties may be unable to meet the financial terms of the transactions. The counterparties for all of the Company’s commodity derivative transactions have an “investment grade” credit rating. The Company monitors the credit ratings of its commodity derivative counterparties on an ongoing basis and considers their credit default risk ratings in determining the fair value of its commodity derivative contracts. The Company’s commodity derivative contracts are with multiple counterparties to minimize exposure to any individual counterparty.

If the Company defaults on its credit facility it will also default on commodity derivative contracts with counterparties that are lenders under the credit facility. The Company does not require collateral or other security from counterparties to support commodity derivative instruments. The Company has master netting agreements with all of its commodity derivative counterparties, which allow the Company to net its commodity derivative assets and liabilities for like commodities and derivative instruments with the same counterparty. As a result of the netting provisions, the Company’s maximum amount of loss under commodity derivative transactions due to credit risk is limited to the net amounts due from the counterparties under the commodity derivative contracts. The Company’s loss is further limited as any amounts due from a defaulting counterparty that is a lender under the credit facility can be offset against any amounts owed to the same counterparty under the credit facility.

The Company operates a substantial portion of its oil and natural gas properties. As the operator of a property, the Company makes full payment for costs associated with the property and seeks reimbursement from the other working interest owners in the property for their share of those costs. The Company’s joint interest partners are primarily independent oil and natural gas producers. If the oil and natural gas exploration and production industry in general was adversely affected, the ability of the joint interest partners to reimburse the Company could be adversely affected.

Purchasers of the Company’s oil, natural gas and NGL production consist primarily of independent marketers, large oil and natural gas companies and gas pipeline companies. The Company believes alternate purchasers are available in its areas of operations and does not believe the loss of any one purchaser would materially affect its ability to sell the oil, natural gas and NGLs it produces.

The Company had sales exceeding 10% of total revenues to the following oil and natural gas purchasers (in thousands):

	Sales		% of Revenue
December 31, 2019
Targa Pipeline Mid-Continent West OK LLC	$	85,780	32.1	%
Sinclair Crude Company	$	74,810	28.0	%
Plains Marketing, L.P.	$	69,214	25.9	%
December 31, 2018
Targa Pipeline Mid-Continent West OK LLC	$	126,548	36.2	%
Plains Marketing, L.P.	$	102,182	29.2	%
Sinclair Crude Company	$	62,623	17.9	%
December 31, 2017
Targa Pipeline Mid-Continent West OK LLC	$	144,583	40.5	%
Plains Marketing, L.P.	$	117,927	33.0	%

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements. In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842),” and subsequently issued other associated ASU's related to Topic 842 which supersede Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 840 and require lessees to recognize right of use ("ROU") lease assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for long-term leases formerly classified as operating leases under ASC 840, and to disclose key information about leasing arrangements. The Company adopted this ASU on January 1, 2019 using a modified retrospective approach for all ROU leases that existed at the period of adoption and did not restate its comparative periods. See Note 7 for additional discussion of the new leasing standard.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted. The FASB issued ASU 2016-13, “Financial Instruments —Credit Losses (Topic 326) Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” and subsequently issued other associated ASU's related to Topic 326, which change how entities will measure credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments that are not measured at fair value through net income. The standard will replace the currently required incurred loss approach with an expected loss model for instruments measured at amortized cost. The standard is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for the interim and annual periods beginning after December 31, 2018, and will be applied using a modified retrospective approach resulting in a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings upon adoption. The Company does not plan to early adopt and is currently evaluating the effect the guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements; however, the impact is not expected to be material.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, "Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes," which simplifies various aspects of accounting for income taxes, including requirements related to hybrid tax regimes, the tax basis step-up in goodwill obtained in a transaction that is not a business combination, separate financial statements of entities not subject to tax, the intraperiod tax allocation exception to the incremental approach, ownership changes in investments, interim-period accounting for enacted changes in tax laws, and year-to-date loss limitation in interim-period tax accounting. The standard is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted, and will be applied on a prospective basis. The Company is currently evaluating the effect the guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.