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Basis of Presentation
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation
Basis of Presentation
Nature of Business
Berry Petroleum Company, LLC (“Berry” or the “Company”) was formed as a Delaware limited liability company on December 16, 2013, and is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Linn Energy, LLC (“LINN Energy”) engaged in the production and development of oil and natural gas. The Company’s predecessor, Berry Petroleum Company, was publicly traded from 1987 until being acquired by LINN Energy on December 16, 2013 (see “LINN Energy Transaction” below and Note 2). As of March 31, 2014, Linn Acquisition Company, LLC, a direct subsidiary of LINN Energy, was the Company’s sole member.
The Company’s properties are located in the United States (“U.S.”), in California, which includes California (South Midway-Sunset (“SMWSS”)—Steam Floods, North Midway-Sunset (“NMWSS”)—Diatomite and NMWSS—New Steam Floods (“NSF”)), Texas (Permian Basin and east Texas), Utah (Uinta Basin) and Colorado (Piceance Basin).
LINN Energy Transaction
On December 16, 2013, the Company completed the previously-announced transactions contemplated by the merger agreement between LINN Energy, LinnCo, LLC (“LinnCo”), an affiliate of LINN Energy, and Berry under which LinnCo acquired all of the outstanding common shares of Berry and the contribution agreement between LinnCo and LINN Energy, under which LinnCo contributed Berry to LINN Energy in exchange for LINN Energy units. Under the merger agreement, as amended, Berry’s shareholders received 1.68 LinnCo common shares for each Berry common share they owned, totaling 93,756,674 LinnCo common shares. Under the contribution agreement, LinnCo contributed Berry to LINN Energy in exchange for 93,756,674 newly issued LINN Energy units, after which Berry became an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of LINN Energy.
Principles of Reporting
The information reported herein reflects all normal recurring adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for the fair presentation of the results for the interim periods. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted under Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules and regulations; as such, this report should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10‑K for the year ended December 31, 2013. The results reported in these unaudited condensed financial statements should not necessarily be taken as indicative of results that may be expected for the entire year.
Investments in noncontrolled entities over which the Company exercises significant influence are accounted for under the equity method.
The financial statements for previous periods include certain reclassifications that were made to conform to current presentation. Such reclassifications have no impact on previously reported net income (loss), member’s equity or cash flows.
Predecessor and Successor Reporting
The LINN Energy transaction was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. Under the acquisition method of accounting, LinnCo initially, and LINN Energy upon the contribution was treated as the accounting acquirer and the Company was treated as the acquired company for financial reporting purposes. As such, the assets and liabilities of the Company were provisionally recorded at their respective fair values as of the acquisition date. Fair value adjustments related to the transaction have been pushed down to the Company, resulting in assets and liabilities of the Company being recorded at their fair values at December 16, 2013. See Note 2 for additional information.
The Company’s statement of operations subsequent to the transaction includes depreciation, depletion and amortization expense on the Company’s oil and natural gas properties, and other property and equipment balances resulting from the fair value adjustments made under the new basis of accounting. Certain other items of income and expense were also impacted. Therefore, the Company’s financial information prior to the transaction is not comparable to its financial information subsequent to the transaction.
As a result of the impact of pushdown accounting, the financial statements and certain note presentations separate the Company’s presentations into two distinct periods, the period before the consummation of the transaction (labeled predecessor) and the period after that date (labeled successor), to indicate the application of different basis of accounting between the periods presented.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of the accompanying condensed financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management of the Company to make estimates and assumptions about future events. These estimates and the underlying assumptions affect the amount of assets and liabilities reported, disclosures about contingent assets and liabilities, and reported amounts of revenues and expenses. The estimates that are particularly significant to the financial statements include estimates of the Company’s reserves of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (“NGL”), future cash flows from oil and natural gas properties, depreciation, depletion and amortization, asset retirement obligations, certain revenues and operating expenses, fair values of commodity derivatives and fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed. As fair value is a market-based measurement, it is determined based on the assumptions that market participants would use. These estimates and assumptions are based on management’s best estimates and judgment. Management evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors, including the current economic environment, which management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Such estimates and assumptions are adjusted when facts and circumstances dictate. As future events and their effects cannot be determined with precision, actual results could differ from these estimates. Any changes in estimates resulting from continuing changes in the economic environment will be reflected in the financial statements in future periods.