Concentrations of Credit Risk

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

17. Concentrations of Credit Risk

Financial instruments which potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of demand deposits, temporary cash investments and trade receivables.

The Company believes it has placed its demand deposits and temporary cash investments with high credit-quality financial institutions. At December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company’s demand deposits and temporary cash investments consisted of the following (in thousands):

	2019			2018
Deposits in FDIC and SIPC-insured institutions under insurance limits	$	1,250		$	750
Deposits in FDIC and SIPC-insured institutions over insurance limits		179,375			229,132
Deposits in foreign banks		2,309			22,698
		182,934			252,580
Less outstanding checks and other reconciling items		(8,749	)		(7,551	)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	174,185		$	245,029

Concentrations of credit risk with respect to trade receivables are primarily focused on companies involved in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties. The concentration is somewhat mitigated by the diversification of customers for which the Company provides services. As is general industry practice, the Company typically does not require customers to provide collateral. A $5.7 million provision for bad debts was recognized in 2019 with respect to accounts receivable balances that were estimated to be uncollectible. No expense for bad debts was recognized in 2018 and 2017.