NOTE 14 COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

PURCHASE OBLIGATIONS

Equipment, parts and supplies are ordered in advance to promote efficient construction and capital improvement progress. At September 30, 2017, we had purchase commitments for equipment, parts and supplies of approximately $56.2 million.

LEASES

At September 30, 2017, we were leasing approximately 221,021 square feet of office space near downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. We also lease other office space and equipment for use in operations. For operating leases that contain built-in pre-determined rent escalations, rent expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the life of the lease. Leasehold improvements are capitalized and amortized over the lease term. Future minimum rental payments required under operating leases having initial or remaining non-cancelable lease terms in excess of a year at September 30, 2017 are as follows:


Fiscal Year	Amount
	(in thousands)
2018	$	8,015
2019		5,454
2020		3,795
2021		2,944
2022		2,926
Thereafter		6,825
Total	$	29,959

Total rent expense was $14.0 million, $13.5 million and $13.6 million for fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

CONTINGENCIES

Various legal actions, the majority of which arise in the ordinary course of business, are pending. We maintain insurance against certain business risks subject to certain deductibles. With the exception of the matters discussed below, none of these legal actions are expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.

We are contingently liable to sureties in respect of bonds issued by the sureties in connection with certain commitments entered into by us in the normal course of business. We have agreed to indemnify the sureties for any payments made by them in respect of such bonds.

During the ordinary course of our business, contingencies arise resulting from an existing condition, situation, or set of circumstances involving an uncertainty as to the realization of a possible gain contingency. We account for gain contingencies in accordance with the provisions of ASC 450, Contingencies, and, therefore, we do not record gain contingencies and recognize income until realized. The property and equipment of our Venezuelan subsidiary was seized by the Venezuelan government on June 30, 2010. Our wholly-owned subsidiaries, Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co. (“HPIDC”) and Helmerich & Payne de Venezuela, C.A., filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on September 23, 2011 against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (“PDVSA”) and PDVSA Petroleo, S.A. (“Petroleo”). Our subsidiaries seek damages for the taking of their Venezuelan drilling business in violation of international law and for breach of contract. While there exists the possibility of realizing a recovery, we are currently unable to determine the timing or amounts we may receive, if any, or the likelihood of recovery. No gain contingencies are recognized in our Consolidated Financial Statements.

On November 8, 2013, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana approved the previously disclosed October 30, 2013 plea agreement between our wholly owned subsidiary, HPIDC, and the United States Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana (“DOJ”). The court’s approval of the plea agreement resolved the DOJ’s investigation into certain choke manifold testing irregularities that occurred in 2010 at one of HPIDC's offshore platform rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. We also engaged in discussions with the Inspector General’s office of the Department of Interior (“DOI”) regarding the same events that were the subject of the DOJ’s investigation. Although we do not presently anticipate any further action by the DOI in this matter, we can provide no assurance as to the timing or eventual outcome of the DOI’s consideration of the matter.

On or about April 28, 2015, Joshua Keel ("Keel"), an employee of HPIDC, filed a petition in the 152nd Judicial Court for Harris County, Texas (Cause No. 2015-24531) against us, our customer and several subcontractors of our customer. The suit arose from injuries Keel sustained in an accident that occurred while he was working on HPIDC Rig 223 in New Mexico in July of 2014. Keel alleged that the defendants were negligent and negligent per se, acted recklessly, intentionally, and/or with an utterly wanton disregard for the rights and safety of the plaintiff and sought damages well in excess of $100 million. Pursuant to the terms of the drilling contract between HPIDC and its customer, HPIDC indemnified most of the co-defendants in the lawsuit. On September 14, 2016, the parties in the Keel litigation entered into a global settlement agreement, which was approved by the court on October 14, 2016. The total settlement amount of $72 million, accrued at September 30, 2016, was paid by the Company and its insurers on behalf of all defendants, in December 2016, pursuant to industry standard contractual indemnification obligations.