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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Nature of Operations and Principles of Consolidation

The Company is engaged in the business of crude oil and natural gas marketing, as well as tank truck transportation of liquid chemicals and oil and gas exploration and production. Its primary area of operation is within a 1,000 mile radius of Houston, Texas. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Adams Resources & Energy, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its wholly owned subsidiaries (the ‟Company") after elimination of all intercompany accounts and transactions.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include any Treasury bill, commercial paper, money market fund or federal funds with maturity of 90 days or less. Depending on cash availability and market conditions, investments in corporate and municipal bonds, which are classified as investments in marketable securities, may also be made from time to time. Cash and cash equivalents are maintained with major financial institutions and such deposits may exceed the amount of federally backed insurance provided. While the Company regularly monitors the financial stability of such institutions, cash and cash equivalents ultimately remain at risk subject to the financial viability of such institutions.

Inventory

Inventory consists of crude oil held in storage tanks and at third-party pipelines as part of the Company's crude oil marketing operations. Crude oil inventory is carried at the lower of average cost or market.

Property and Equipment

Expenditures for major renewals and betterments are capitalized, and expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. Interest costs incurred in connection with major capital expenditures are capitalized and amortized over the lives of the related assets. When properties are retired or sold, the related cost and accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization is removed from the accounts and any gain or loss is reflected in earnings.

Oil and gas exploration and development expenditures are accounted for in accordance with the successful efforts method of accounting. Direct costs of acquiring developed or undeveloped leasehold acreage, including lease bonus, brokerage and other fees, are capitalized. Exploratory drilling costs are initially capitalized until the properties are evaluated and determined to be either productive or nonproductive. Such evaluations are made on a quarterly basis. If an exploratory well is determined to be nonproductive, the costs of drilling the well are charged to expense. Costs incurred to drill and complete development wells, including dry holes, are capitalized. As of March 31, 2013, the Company had no unevaluated or suspended exploratory drilling costs.

Depreciation, depletion and amortization of the cost of proved oil and gas properties are calculated using the unit-of-production method. The reserve base used to calculate depreciation, depletion and amortization for leasehold acquisition costs and the cost to acquire proved properties is the sum of proved developed reserves and proved undeveloped reserves. For lease and well equipment, development costs and successful exploration drilling costs, the reserve base includes only proved developed reserves. All other property and equipment is depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated average useful lives of three to twenty years.

The Company reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever there is evidence that the carrying value of such assets may not be recoverable. Any impairment recognized is permanent and may not be restored. Producing oil and gas properties are reviewed on a field-by-field basis. For properties requiring impairment, the fair value is estimated based on an internal discounted cashflow model. The fair value of each oil and gas property is estimated based on an internal discontinued cash flow model. Cash flows are developed based on estimated future production and prices and then discounted using a market based rate of return consistent with that used by the Company in evaluating cash flows for other assets of a similar nature. For the three-month periods ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, there were zero and $1,000, respectively, impairment provisions on producing oil and gas properties.

On a quarterly basis, management evaluates the carrying value of non-producing oil and gas leasehold properties and may deem them impaired based on remaining lease term, area drilling activity and the Company's plans for the property. This fair value measure depends highly on management's assessment of the likelihood of continued exploration efforts in a given area and, as such, data inputs are categorized as unobservable or Level 3 inputs. Importantly, this fair value measure only applies to the write-down of capitalized costs and will never result in an increase to reported earnings. Accordingly, impairment provisions on non-producing properties totaling $52,000 and $264,000 were recorded for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Capitalized costs for non-producing oil and gas leasehold interests currently represent approximately four percent of total oil and gas property costs and are categorized as follows (in thousands):

	March 31,		December 31,
	2013		2012

South Texas Project acreage	$	3,474	$	3,263
West Texas Project acreage		172		180
Napoleonville, Louisiana acreage		323		323
Other acreage areas		310		329

Total Non-producing Leasehold Costs	$	4,279	$	4,095

The South Texas, West Texas and Napoleonville acreage areas have active or scheduled drilling operations underway and holding the underlying acreage is essential to the ongoing exploration effort. The ‟other acreage areas" category consists of smaller onshore interests dispersed over a wide geographical area. Since the Company is generally not the operator of its oil and gas property interest, it does not maintain the underlying detail acreage data and the Company is dependent on the operator when determining which specific acreage will ultimately be drilled. The capitalized cost detail on a property-by-property basis is reviewed however, by management, and deemed impaired if development is not anticipated prior to lease expiration. Onshore leasehold periods are normally three years and may contain renewal options. Capitalized cost activity on the ‟other acreage areas" was as follows (in thousands):

Balance December 31, 2012	$	329
Property additions		33
Impairments		(52	)

Balance March 31, 2013	$	310

During the first quarter of 2012, the Company sold certain used trucks and equipment from its transportation segment and recorded pre-tax gains totaling $1,269,000. Such sales did not recur during 2013.

Cash Deposits and Other Assets

The Company has established certain deposits to support participation in its liability insurance program and remittance of state crude oil severance taxes and other state collateral deposits. Insurance collateral deposits are invested at the discretion of the Company's insurance carrier and such investments primarily consist of intermediate term federal government bonds and bonds backed by federal agencies. Components of cash deposits and other assets are as follows (in thousands):

	March 31,		December 31,
	2013		2012
Insurance collateral deposits	$	3,330	$	3,413
State collateral deposits		170		170
Materials and supplies		601		616
	$	4,101	$	4,199

Revenue Recognition

Certain commodity purchase and sale contracts utilized by the Company's marketing businesses qualify as derivative instruments. Further, all natural gas, as well as certain specifically identified crude oil contracts, are designated as trading activities. From the time of contract origination, such trading activity contracts are marked-to-market and recorded on a net revenue basis in the accompanying financial statements.

Most crude oil purchase contracts and sale contracts qualify and are designated as non-trading activities and the Company considers such contracts as normal purchases and sales activity. For normal purchases and sales, the Company's customers are invoiced monthly based upon contractually agreed upon terms with revenue recognized in the month in which the physical product is delivered to the customer. Such sales are recorded gross in the financial statements because the Company takes title, has risk of loss for the products, is the primary obligor for the purchase, establishes the sale price independently with a third party and maintains credit risk associated with the sale of the product.

Certain crude oil contracts may be with a single counterparty to provide for similar quantities of crude oil to be bought and sold at different locations. These contracts are entered into for a variety of reasons, including effecting the transportation of the commodity, to minimize credit exposure, and/or to meet the competitive demands of the customer. Such buy/sell arrangements are reflected on a net revenue basis in the accompanying financial statements. Reporting such crude oil contracts on a gross revenue basis would increase the Company's reported revenues by $353,141,000 and $374,441,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Transportation segment customers are invoiced, and the related revenue is recognized, as the service is provided. Oil and gas revenue from the Company's interests in producing wells is recognized as title and physical possession of the oil and gas passes to the purchaser.

Concentration of Credit Risk

The Company's largest customers consist of large multinational integrated oil companies and utilities. In addition, the Company transacts business with independent oil producers, major chemical concerns, crude oil and natural gas trading companies and a variety of commercial energy users. Within this group of customers the Company generally derives up to 50 percent of its revenues from two to three large crude oil refining concerns. While the Company has ongoing established relationships with certain domestic refiners of crude oil, alternative markets are readily available since the Company supplies less than one percent of U.S. domestic refiner demand. As a fungible commodity delivered to major Gulf Coast supply points, the Company's crude oil sales can be readily delivered to alternative end markets. Management believes that a loss of any of those customers where the Company currently derives more than 10 percent of its revenues would not have a material adverse effect on the Company's operations.

Accounts receivable associated with crude oil and natural gas marketing activities comprise approximately 95 percent of the Company's total receivables and industry practice requires payment for such sales to occur within 25 days of the end of the month following a transaction. The Company's customer makeup, credit policies and the relatively short duration of receivables mitigate the uncertainty typically associated with receivables management.

Letter of Credit Facility

The Company maintains a Credit and Security Agreement with Wells Fargo Bank to provide a $60 million stand-by letter of credit facility that is used to support the Company's crude oil and natural gas purchases within the marketing segment. This facility is collateralized by the eligible accounts receivable within those operations and certain marketing and transportation equipment. Stand-by letters of credit issued totaled $15.4 million and $21.9 million as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively. The issued stand-by letters of credit are cancelled as the underlying purchase obligations are satisfied by cash payment when due. The letter of credit facility places certain restrictions on the Company's Gulfmark Energy, Inc. and Adams Resources Marketing, Ltd. subsidiaries. Such restrictions included the maintenance of a combined 1.1 to 1.0 current ratio and the maintenance of positive net earnings excluding inventory valuation changes, as defined, among other restrictions. The Company is currently in compliance with all such financial covenants.

Statement of Cash Flows

Interest paid totaled $2,000 and $1,000 during the three-month periods ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, while taxes paid during these same periods totaled $23,000 and $76,000, respectively. Non-cash investing activities for property and equipment were $1,802,000 and $2,419,000 as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively and $4,843,000 and $4,070,000 as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively. There were no significant non-cash financing activities in any of the periods reported.

Earnings Per Share

Earnings per share are based on the weighted average number of shares of common stock and potentially dilutive common stock shares outstanding during the period presented herein. The weighted average number of shares outstanding was 4,217,596 for 2013 and 2012. There were no potentially dilutive securities during those periods.

Share-Based Payments

During the periods presented herein, the Company had no stock-based employee compensation plans, nor any other share-based payment arrangements.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Examples of significant estimates used in the accompanying consolidated financial statements include oil and gas reserve volumes forming the foundation for calculating depreciation, depletion and amortization and for estimating cash flows when assessing impairment triggers and when estimating values associated with oil and gas properties. Other examples include revenue accruals, the provision for bad debts, insurance related accruals, income tax permanent and timing differences, contingencies and valuation of fair value contracts.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for using the asset and liability method. Under this approach, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on anticipated future tax consequences attributable to differences between financial statement carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis.

Use of Derivative Instruments

The Company's marketing segment is involved in the purchase and sale of crude oil and natural gas. The Company seeks to make a profit by procuring such commodities as they are produced and then delivering such products to the end users or intermediate use marketplace. As is typical for the industry, such transactions are made pursuant to the terms of forward month commodity purchase and/or sale contracts. Certain of these contracts meet the definition of a derivative instrument, and therefore, the Company accounts for such contracts at fair value, unless the normal purchase and sale exception is applicable. Such underlying contracts are standard for the industry and are the governing document for the Company's crude oil and natural gas wholesale distribution businesses. The accounting methodology utilized by the Company for its commodity contracts is further discussed below under the caption ‟Fair Value Measurements".

None of the Company's derivative instruments have been designated as hedging instruments and the estimated fair value of forward month commodity contracts (derivatives) is reflected in the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of March 31, 2013 as follows (in thousands):

	Balance Sheet Location and Amount
	Current			Other		Current			Other
	Assets			Assets		Liabilities			Liabilities
Asset Derivatives
- Fair Value Forward Hydrocarbon Commodity Contracts at Gross Valuation	$	908		$	-	$	-		$	-
Liability Derivatives
- Fair Value Forward Hydrocarbon Commodity Contracts at Gross Valuation		-			-		648			-
Less Counterparty Offsets		(146	)		-		(146	)		-

As Reported Fair Value Contracts	$	762		$	-	$	502		$	-

As of March 31, 2013, thirty-five commodity purchase and sales contracts comprised all of the Company's derivative valuations. Such contracts encompass the purchase and sale of approximately 1,400, 400, 400, 200 and 200 barrels of crude oil per day in each of April, May, June, July and August 2013, respectively, plus the purchase and sale of 39,180,000, 1,885,000, 3,795,000 and 465,000 mmbtu's of natural gas during April, May, July and August 2013, respectively.

Forward month commodity contracts (derivatives) are reflected in the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2012 as follows (in thousands):

	Balance Sheet Location and Amount
	Current			Other		Current			Other
	Assets			Assets		Liabilities			Liabilities
Asset Derivatives
- Fair Value Forward Hydrocarbon Commodity Contracts at Gross Valuation	$	688		$	-	$	-		$	-
Liability Derivatives
- Fair Value Forward Hydrocarbon Commodity Contracts at Gross Valuation		-			-		682			-
Less Counterparty Offsets		(270	)		-		(270	)		-

As Reported Fair Value Contracts	$	418		$	-	$	412		$	-

As of December 31, 2012, twenty-four commodity purchase and sales contracts comprise all of the Company's derivative valuations. Such contracts encompass the purchase and sale of approximately 900 barrels of crude oil per day and 172,000 mmbtu of natural gas per day during January 2013 with crude oil volumes continuing at the rate of 200 barrels per day through June 2013 together with natural gas volumes of 1,000 mmbtu and 41,000 mmbtu per day in February 2013 and March 2013, respectively.

The Company only enters into commodity contracts with credit worthy counterparties or obtains collateral support for such activities. As of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the Company was not holding nor has it posted any collateral to support its forward month fair value derivative activity. The Company is not subject to any credit-risk related trigger events. The Company has no other financial investment arrangements that would serve to offset its derivative contracts.

Forward month commodity contracts (derivatives) are reflected in the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012 as follows (in thousands):

	Earnings (Loss)
	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
Location	2013		2012

Revenues – marketing	$	254	$	(2,882)

Fair Value Measurements

The carrying amount reported in the balance sheet for cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable approximates fair value because of the immediate or short-term maturity of these financial instruments. Marketable securities are recorded at fair value based on market quotations from actively traded liquid markets.

Fair value contracts consist of derivative financial instruments and are recorded as either an asset or liability measured at its fair value. Changes in fair value are recognized immediately in earnings unless the derivatives qualify for, and the Company elects, cash flow hedge accounting. The Company had no contracts designated for hedge accounting during any current reporting periods.

Fair value estimates are based on assumptions that market participants would use when pricing an asset or liability and the Company uses a fair value hierarchy of three levels that prioritizes the information used to develop those assumptions. Currently, for all items presented herein, the Company utilizes a market approach to valuing its contracts. On a contract by contract, forward month by forward month basis, the Company obtains observable market data for valuing its contracts. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets and the lowest priority to unobservable data. The fair value hierarchy is summarized as follows:

Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that may be accessed at the measurement date. Active markets are those in which transactions for the asset or liability occur in sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. For Level 1 valuation of marketable securities, the Company utilizes market quotations provided by its primary financial institution and for the valuation of derivative financial instruments the Company utilizes the New York Mercantile Exchange NYMEX for such valuations.

Level 2 – (a) quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, (b) quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities but in markets that are not actively traded or in which little information is released to the public, (c) observable inputs other than quoted prices and (d) inputs derived from observable market data. Source data for Level 2 inputs include information provided by the NYMEX, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), published price data and indices, third party price survey data and broker provided forward price statistics.

Level 3 – unobservable market data inputs for assets or liabilities.

As of March 31, 2013, the Company's fair value assets and liabilities are summarized and categorized as follows (in thousands):

	Market Data Inputs
	Gross Level 1		Gross Level 2			Gross Level 3		Counterparty
	Quoted Prices		Observable			Unobservable		Offsets			Total
Derivatives
- Current assets	$	510	$	398		$	-	$	(146	)	$	762
- Current liabilities		-		(648	)		-		146			(502	)
Net Value	$	510	$	(250	)	$	-	$	-		$	260

As of December 31, 2012, the Company's fair value assets and liabilities are summarized and categorized as follows (in thousands):

	Market Data Inputs
	Gross Level 1		Gross Level 2			Gross Level 3		Counterparty
	Quoted Prices		Observable			Unobservable		Offsets			Total
Derivatives
- Current assets	$	299	$	389		$	-	$	(270	)	$	418
- Current liabilities		-		(682	)		-		270			(412	)
Net Value	$	299	$	(293	)	$	-	$	-		$	6

When determining fair value measurements, the Company makes credit valuation adjustments to reflect both its own nonperformance risk and its counterparty's nonperformance risk. When adjusting the fair value of derivative contracts for the effect of nonperformance risk, the impact of netting and any applicable credit enhancements, such as collateral postings, thresholds, and guarantees are considered. Credit valuation adjustments utilize Level 3 inputs, such as credit scores to evaluate the likelihood of default by the Company or its counterparties. As of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, credit valuation adjustments were not significant to the overall valuation of the Company's fair value contracts. As a result, applicable fair value assets and liabilities are included in their entirety in the fair value hierarchy.

Recent Accounting Pronouncement

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-11. This update requires additional disclosures about an entity's right of setoff and related arrangements associated with its financial and derivative instruments. The ASU requires a tabular presentation that reflects the gross, net and setoff amounts associated with such assets and liabilities among other requirements. The Company adopted ASU 2011-11 effective January 1, 2013 and the adoption of ASU 2011-11 did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements, but additional disclosures regarding fair value measurements resulted.

Management believes the impact of other recently issued standards and updates, which are not yet effective, will not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption.