Commitments and Contingencies

The following table sets forth our significant commitments as of December 31, 2016, by category, for the next five years and thereafter:



Year	Minimum Rentals		Gathering and Intermediate Transportation		Derivatives		Other Commitments
2017	$	264	$	9,646	$	12,932	$	596
2018	190		10,376		8,691		71
2019	70		11,702		5,746		—
2020	41		12,962		—		—
2021	—		12,962		—		—
Thereafter	—		76,674		—		—
Total	$	565	$	134,322	$	27,369	$	667

Rental Commitments

Operating lease rental expense was $0.2 million, $2.4 million, $7.2 million and $8.7 million, for the Successor period from September 13, 2016 through December 31, 2016, the Predecessor period from January 1, 2016 through September 12, 2016, and the Predecessor years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, related primarily to field equipment, office equipment and office leases.

Gathering and Intermediate Transportation Commitments

We have long-term agreements with Republic Midstream and Republic Midstream Marketing, LLC (“Republic Marketing” and, together with Republic Midstream, collectively, “Republic”) to provide gathering and intermediate pipeline transportation services for a substantial portion of our crude oil and condensate production in the South Texas region as well as volume capacity support for certain downstream interstate pipeline transportation.

In August 2016, the Bankruptcy Court approved a settlement with Republic and authorized the assumption of certain amended agreements with Republic (the “Amended Agreements”). We paid Republic $0.3 million in connection with the settlement which is included in “Reorganization items, net” in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Under the terms of the Amended Agreements, Republic is obligated to gather and transport our crude oil and condensate from within a dedicated area in the Eagle Ford (the “Dedication Area”) via a gathering system and intermediate takeaway pipeline connecting to a downstream interstate pipeline operated by a third party. The amended gathering agreement reduced our minimum volume commitment from 15,000 to 8,000 gross barrels of oil per day. The term of the amended gathering agreement runs through 2041, with the term of the minimum volume commitment extended from 10 to 15 years. The gathering portion of these minimum commitments are being recognized as a component of our gathering, processing and transportation expense while the intermediate transportation and pipeline support commitments are recognized as a reduction to the index-based price that we receive for crude oil sold to Republic in accordance with Amended Agreements.

Under the amended marketing agreement, we have a 10-year commitment to sell 8,000 barrels per day of crude oil to Republic, or any third party, utilizing Republic Marketing’s capacity on a certain downstream interstate pipeline.

Other Commitments

We have entered into certain contractual arrangements for other products and services. We have minimum commitments under information technology licensing, service agreements and employment agreements, among others.

Legal

We are involved, from time to time, in various legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. While the ultimate results of these proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, our management believes that these claims will not have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. During 2016, we reduced our reserve for a litigation matter to $0.1 million from $0.9 million due to our dismissal from the subject litigation.

Environmental Compliance

Extensive federal, state and local laws govern oil and gas operations, regulate the discharge of materials into the environment or otherwise relate to the protection of the environment. Numerous governmental departments issue rules and regulations to implement and enforce such laws that are often difficult and costly to comply with and which carry substantial administrative, civil and even criminal penalties for failure to comply. Some laws, rules and regulations relating to protection of the environment may, in certain circumstances, impose “strict liability” for environmental contamination, rendering a person liable for environmental and natural resource damages and cleanup costs without regard to negligence or fault on the part of such person. Other laws, rules and regulations may restrict the rate of oil and gas production below the rate that would otherwise exist or even prohibit exploration or production activities in sensitive areas. In addition, state laws often require some form of remedial action to prevent pollution from former operations, such as plugging of abandoned wells. As of December 31, 2016, we have recorded AROs of $2.5 million attributable to these activities. The regulatory burden on the oil and gas industry increases its cost of doing business and consequently affects its profitability. These laws, rules and regulations affect our operations, as well as the oil and gas exploration and production industry in general. We believe that we are in substantial compliance with current applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations and that continued compliance with existing requirements will not have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Nevertheless, changes in existing environmental laws or the adoption of new environmental laws, including any significant limitation on the use of hydraulic fracturing, have the potential to adversely affect our operations.