Financial Statement Presentation

During interim periods, Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (the Company) follows the same accounting policies disclosed in its Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2017 (Form 10-K/A) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the notes to the consolidated financial statements and information presented in the Form 10-K/A. In management’s opinion, the accompanying interim condensed consolidated financial statements contain all material adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement. The results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the expected results for the entire year.

Certain reclassifications have been made to prior year statements to conform with the current year presentation. These reclassifications had no impact on previously reported stockholders' equity, net income or cash flows.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

Revenue Recognition. In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Boards (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 606, as subsequently amended). ASC 606 supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in Topic 605 Revenue Recognition (ASC 605), and requires entities to recognize revenue when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to customers at an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. The Company adopted ASC 606 as of January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective transition method.

The adoption of ASC 606 also included the adoption and modification of other guidance, particularly the creation of ASC 340-40 on costs to obtain or fulfill contracts with customers and ASC 610-20 on gains or losses on derecognition of nonfinancial assets. ASC 340-40 provides additional capitalization, amortization and impairment guidance for certain costs associated with obtaining or fulfilling contracts subject to ASC 606. ASC 610-20 provides guidance on the measurement and recognition of gains and losses for disposals of assets that are not the outputs of ordinary activities, such as sales of fixed assets, when they are not businesses or deconsolidation of subsidiaries. The guidance in ASC 610-20 largely aligns with the guidance in ASC 606. It also supersedes most guidance on real estate sales that was contained in ASC 360-20; however, it does not apply to conveyances of oil and gas interests, which continue to be governed by guidance in ASC 932 for oil and gas extractive activities.

There was no material effect from the adoption of ASC 340-40 or ASC 610-20 separate from those discussed from the adoption of ASC 606.

Financial Instruments. In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall, as an amendment to ASC Subtopic 825-10. The amendments in this update address certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of financial instruments. Among other items, this update will simplify the impairment assessment of equity investments without readily determinable fair values by requiring a qualitative assessment to identify impairment. When a qualitative assessment indicates that impairment exists, an entity is required to measure the investment at fair value. This impairment assessment reduces the complexity of the other-than-temporary impairment guidance that entities follow currently. The Company adopted ASU 2016-01 as of January 1, 2018. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material effect on the Company's financial position, results of operation or cash flows.

Statement of Cash Flows. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230), which is intended to reduce diversity in practice in how certain transactions are classified in the statement of cash flows. The guidance addresses eight specific cash flow issues for which current accounting guidance is either unclear or does not include specific guidance. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2018. In conjunction with the adoption, the Company made an accounting policy election to classify distributions it receives from its equity method investees based on the nature of distributions approach in which distributions received are classified on the basis of the nature of the activity that generated the distribution as either a return on investment (cash inflows from operating activities) or a return of investment (cash inflows from investing activities). The adoption of this guidance did not have a material effect on the Company's financial position, results of operation or cash flows.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Leases. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The new lease guidance supersedes Topic 840. The core principle of the guidance is that entities should recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from leases. This ASU does not apply to leases to explore for or use minerals, oil, natural gas and similar nonregenerative resources, including the intangible right to explore for those natural resources and rights to use the land in which those natural resources are contained. The guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. This ASU is to be adopted using a modified retrospective approach. The Company plans to adopt this guidance effective January 1, 2019 by applying the transition approach as of the beginning of the period of adoption. Comparative periods will not be restated.

The Company plans to make use of the following practical expedients which are provided in the leases standard:


•	an election not to apply the recognition requirements in the leases standard to short-term leases (a lease that at commencement date has a lease term of 12 months or less and does not contain a purchase option that the Company is reasonably certain to exercise);


•	a package of practical expedients to not reassess whether a contract is or contains a lease, lease classification and initial direct costs;


•	a practical expedient to use hindsight when determining the lease term; and


•	a practical expedient to not reassess certain land easements in existence prior to January 1, 2019.

The Company is currently evaluating the effect that adopting this guidance will have on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Revenue Recognition

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and the related guidance in ASC 340-40 (the new revenue standard), and related guidance on gains and losses on derecognition of nonfinancial assets ASC 610-20, using the modified retrospective method applied to those contracts which were not completed as of January 1, 2018. Under the modified retrospective method, the Company recognizes the cumulative effect of initially applying the new revenue standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings; however, no significant adjustment was required as a result of adopting the new revenue standard. Results for reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2018 are presented under the new revenue standard. The comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under the historic accounting standards in effect for those periods.

The Company’s revenue is typically generated from contracts to sell natural gas, crude oil or NGLs produced from interests in oil and gas properties owned by the Company. These contracts generally require the Company to deliver a specific amount of a commodity per day for a specified number of days at a price that is either fixed or variable. The contracts specify a delivery point which represents the point at which control of the product is transferred to the customer. These contracts frequently meet the definition of a derivative under ASC 815, and are accounted for as derivatives unless the Company elects to treat them as normal sales as permitted under that guidance. The Company typically elects to treat contracts to sell oil and gas production as normal sales, which are then accounted for as contracts with customers. The Company has determined that these contracts represent multiple performance obligations which are satisfied when control of the commodity transfers to the customer, typically through the delivery of the specified commodity to a designated delivery point.

Revenue is measured based on consideration specified in the contract with the customer, and excludes any amounts collected on behalf of third parties. The Company recognizes revenue in the amount that reflects the consideration it expects to be entitled to in exchange for transferring control of those goods to the customer. The contract consideration in the Company’s variable price contracts are typically allocated to specific performance obligations in the contract according to the price stated in the contract. Amounts allocated in the Company’s fixed price contracts are based on the standalone selling price of those products in the context of long-term, fixed price contracts, which generally approximates the contract price. Payment is generally received one or two months after the sale has occurred.

Gain or loss on derivative instruments is outside the scope of ASC 606 and is not considered revenue from contracts with customers subject to ASC 606. The Company may use financial or physical contracts accounted for as derivatives as economic hedges to manage price risk associated with normal sales, or in limited cases may use them for contracts the Company intends to physically settle but do not meet all of the criteria to be treated as normal sales.

Taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are both imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-producing transaction, and that are collected by the Company from a customer, are excluded from revenue.

Producer Gas Imbalances. The Company applies the sales method of accounting for natural gas revenue. Under this method, revenues are recognized based on the actual volume of natural gas sold to purchasers. Natural gas production operations may include joint owners who take more or less than the production volumes entitled to them on certain properties. Production volume is monitored to minimize these natural gas imbalances. Under this method, a natural gas imbalance liability is recorded if the Company's excess takes of natural gas exceed its estimated remaining proved developed reserves for these properties at the actual price realized upon the gas sale. A receivable is recognized only to the extent an imbalance cannot be recouped from the reserves in the underlying properties. The Company’s aggregate imbalance positions at September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 were not material.

Brokered Natural Gas. Revenues and expenses related to brokered natural gas are reported gross as part of operating revenues and operating expenses in accordance with applicable accounting standards. The Company buys and sells natural gas utilizing separate purchase and sale transactions whereby the Company or the counterparty obtains control of the natural gas purchased or sold.

Disaggregation of Revenue. The following table presents revenues disaggregated by product:



	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In thousands)	2018			2017			2018			2017
OPERATING REVENUES
Natural gas	$	440,835		$	323,319		$	1,217,603		$	1,152,089
Crude oil and condensate	—			56,913			48,722			144,528
Brokered natural gas	105,849			3,528			203,375			12,260
Other	2,026			2,492			3,775			8,486
Total revenues from contracts with customers	548,710			386,252			1,473,475			1,317,363
Gain (loss) on derivative instruments	(3,537		)	(836		)	(1,628		)	46,353
Total operating revenues	$	545,173		$	385,416		$	1,471,847		$	1,363,716

All of the Company’s revenues from contracts with customers represent products transferred at a point in time as control is transferred to the customer and are generated in the United States.

Transaction Price Allocated to Remaining Performance Obligations. A significant number of the Company’s product sales are short-term in nature with a contract term of one year or less. For those contracts, the Company has utilized the practical expedient exempting the Company from disclosure of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations if the performance obligation is part of a contract that has an original expected duration of one year or less.

As of September 30, 2018, the Company has $9.2 billion of unsatisfied performance obligations related to natural gas sales that have a fixed pricing component and a contract term greater than one year. The Company expects to recognize these obligations over the next 10 to 20 years.

Contract Balances. Receivables from contracts with customers are recorded when the right to consideration becomes unconditional, generally when control of the product has been transferred to the customer. Receivables from contracts with customers were $221.5 million and $215.5 million as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, and are reported in accounts receivable, net on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. The Company currently has no assets or liabilities related to its revenue contracts, including no upfront or rights to deficiency payments.

Practical Expedients. The Company has made use of certain practical expedients in adopting the new revenue standard, including the value of unsatisfied performance obligations are not disclosed for (i) contracts with an original expected length of one year or less, (ii) contracts for which the Company recognizes revenue at the amount to which the Company has the right to invoice, (iii) contracts with variable consideration which is allocated entirely to a wholly unsatisfied performance obligation and meets the variable allocation criteria in the standard and (iv) only contracts that are not completed at transition.

The Company has not adjusted the promised amount of consideration for the effects of a significant financing component if the Company expects, at contract inception, that the period between when the Company transfers a promised good or service to the customer and when the customer pays for that good or service will be one year or less.