Commitments, Contingencies and Other Matters

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments, Contingencies and Other Matters

9. Commitments, Contingencies and Other Matters

As of September 30, 2014, the Company maintained letters of credit in the aggregate amount of $39.8 million for the benefit of various insurance companies as collateral for retrospective premiums and retained losses which could become payable under the terms of the underlying insurance contracts. These letters of credit expire annually at various times during the year and are typically renewed. As of September 30, 2014, no amounts had been drawn under the letters of credit.

As of September 30, 2014, the Company had commitments to purchase approximately $574 million of major equipment for its drilling and pressure pumping businesses.

The Company’s pressure pumping business has entered into agreements to purchase minimum quantities of proppants and chemicals from certain vendors. These agreements expire in 2016, 2017 and 2018. As of September 30, 2014, the remaining obligation under these agreements was approximately $72.0 million, of which materials with a total purchase price of approximately $200,000 were required to be purchased during the remainder of 2014. In the event that the required minimum quantities are not purchased during any contract year, the Company could be required to make a liquidated damages payment to the respective vendor for any shortfall.

In November 2011, the Company’s pressure pumping business entered into an agreement with a proppant vendor to advance up to $12.0 million to such vendor to finance the construction of certain processing facilities. This advance is secured by the underlying processing facilities and bears interest at an annual rate of 5.0%. Repayment of the advance is to be made through discounts applied to purchases from the vendor and repayment of all amounts advanced must be made no later than October 1, 2017. As of September 30, 2014, advances of approximately $11.8 million had been made under this agreement and principal repayments of approximately $6.9 million had been received resulting in a balance outstanding of approximately $4.9 million.

In May 2013, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission notified the Company of cause findings related to certain of its employment practices. The cause findings relate to allegations that the Company tolerated a hostile work environment for employees based on national origin and race. The cause findings also allege, among other things, failure to promote, subjecting employees to adverse employment terms and conditions and retaliation. The Company and the EEOC engaged in the statutory conciliation process. In March 2014, the EEOC notified us that this matter will be forwarded to its legal unit for litigation review. The Company believes that litigation will ensue. The Company intends to defend itself vigorously and, based on the information available to the Company at this time, the Company does not expect the outcome of this matter to have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations or cash flows; however, there can be no assurance as to the ultimate outcome of this matter.

Other than the matter described above, the Company is party to various legal proceedings arising in the normal course of its business; the Company does not believe that the outcome of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.