FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2014

5. FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Our financial instruments consist of cash equivalents, restricted cash, asset retirement obligations and derivative liabilities. U.S. GAAP defines “fair value” as the price that would be received to sell an asset or be paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price) and establishes a fair-value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value using the following definitions (from highest to lowest priority):

Level 1 — Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities.

Level 2 — Observable inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, including quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.

Level 3 — Prices or valuation techniques requiring inputs that are both significant to the fair-value measurement and unobservable.

The Company considers all highly liquid instruments purchased with an original maturity of three-months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company continually monitors its positions with, and the credit quality of, the financial institutions with which it invests. Periodically throughout the year, the Company has maintained balances in various U.S. operating accounts in excess of U.S. federally insured limits.

The following table presents information about financial instruments recognized at fair value on a recurring basis as of June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, and indicates the fair value hierarchy:


	June 30, 2014
	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Total
Assets
Restricted cash	$ 4,010,967	$ -	$ -	$ 4,010,967
Total financial assets	$ 4,010,967	$ -	$ -	$ 4,010,967

Liabilities
Asset retirement obligation	$ -	$ 3,788,502	$ -	$ 3,788,502
Derivative liabilities	-	-	3,956,886	3,956,886
Total financial liabilities	$ -	$ 3,788,502	$ 3,956,886	$ 7,745,388


	December 31, 2013
	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Total
Assets
Restricted cash	$ 4,010,937	$ -	$ -	$ 4,010,937
Total financial assets	$ 4,010,937	$ -	$ -	$ 4,010,937

Liabilities
Asset retirement obligation	$ -	$ 3,833,608		$ 3,833,608
Derivative liabilities	-	-	2,169,408	2,169,408
Total financial liabilities	$ -	$ 3,833,608	$ 2,169,408	$ 6,003,016

- 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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