FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

The Company follows fair value measurement authoritative guidance, which defines fair value, establishes a framework for using fair value to measure assets and liabilities, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. The authoritative accounting guidance defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The statement establishes a hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. The hierarchy is broken down into three levels based on the reliability of the inputs as follows:

Level 1: Quoted prices are available in active markets for identical assets or liabilities

Level 2: Quoted prices in active markets for similar assets and liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active, and model-derived valuations whose inputs are observable or whose significant value drivers are observable

Level 3: Significant inputs to the valuation model are unobservable

Financial and non-financial assets and liabilities are to be classified based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect the valuation of the fair value of assets and liabilities and their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.

Derivatives

Fair value of all derivative instruments are estimated with industry-standard models that consider various assumptions, including quoted forward prices for commodities, time value of money, volatility factors, and current market and contractual prices for the underlying instruments, as well as other relevant economic measures. All valuations were compared against counterparty statements to verify the reasonableness of the estimate. The Company’s commodity swaps, collars, and puts were validated by observable transactions for the same or similar commodity options using the NYMEX futures index and were designated as Level 2 within the valuation hierarchy. The following tables present the Company's financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis and their classification within the fair value hierarchy (in thousands):


	As of September 30, 2021
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3

Derivative liabilities	$	—	$	101,828	$	—


	As of December 31, 2020
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Derivative assets	$	—	$	7,482	$	—
Derivative liabilities	$	—	$	7,732	$	—

Senior Notes

The Bonanza Creek 7.5% Senior Notes of $100.0 million, issued on April 1, 2021, are recorded at carrying value. There were no debt issuance costs, discounts or premiums associated with the Bonanza Creek 7.5% Senior Notes. The estimated fair value of the Bonanza Creek 7.5% Senior Notes of $100.8 million as of September 30, 2021 was based on quoted market prices, and as such, is designated as Level 1 within the valuation hierarchy.

Proved Oil and Gas Properties

Proved oil and gas property costs are evaluated for impairment on a nonrecurring basis and reduced to fair value when there is an indication that the carrying costs exceed the sum of the undiscounted cash flows of the underlying oil and gas reserves. Depending on the availability of data, the Company uses Level 3 inputs and either the income valuation technique, which converts future amounts to a single present value amount to measure the fair value of proved properties through an application of risk-adjusted discount rates and price forecasts selected by the Company’s management, or the market valuation approach. The calculation of the risk-adjusted discount rate is a significant management estimate based on the best information available. Management believes that the risk-adjusted discount rate is representative of current market conditions and reflects the following factors: estimates of future cash payments, expectations of possible variations in the amount and/or timing of cash flows, the risk premium, and nonperformance risk. The price forecast is based on the Company's internal budgeting model derived from the NYMEX strip pricing, adjusted for management estimates and basis differentials. Future operating costs are also adjusted as deemed appropriate for these estimates. Proved properties classified as held for sale are valued using a market approach, based on an estimated selling price, as evidenced by the most current bid prices received from third parties. If a relevant estimated selling price is not available, the Company utilizes the income valuation technique discussed above. There were no proved oil and gas property impairments during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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