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Commitments and Contingencies | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | 10. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Abandonment funding Under the terms of the Etame Marin block PSC, the Company has a cash funding arrangement for the eventual abandonment of all offshore wells, platforms and facilities on the Etame Marin block. As a result of the PSC Extension, annual funding payments are spread over the periods from 2018 through 2028. The amounts paid will be reimbursed through the Cost Account and are non- refundable. The abandonment estimate used for this purpose is approximately $61.8 million ($36.4 million net to VAALCO) on an undiscounted basis. Through September 30, 2021, $37.9 million ($22.3 million net to VAALCO) on an undiscounted basis has been funded. This cash funding is reflected under “Other noncurrent assets” in the “Abandonment funding” line item of the condensed consolidated balance sheet. Future changes to the anticipated abandonment cost estimate could change the asset retirement obligation and the amount of future abandonment funding payments. On March 5, 2019, in accordance with certain foreign currency regulatory requirements, the Gabonese branch of an international commercial bank holding the abandonment funds in a U.S. dollar denominated account transferred the funds to the Central Bank for CEMAC, of which Gabon is one of the six member states. The U.S. dollars were con verted to local currency with a credit back to the Gabonese branch. During the three months ended September 30, 2021, the foreign currency loss associated with the abandonment funding account was $0.6 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company recorded $1.1 million in foreign currency losses associated with the abandonment funding account. Amendment No. 5 to the Etame Marin block PSC provides that in the event that the Gabonese bank fails for any reason to reimburse all of the principal and interest due, the Company and the other joint venture owners shall no longer be held liable for the resulting shortfall in funding the obligation to remediate the sites. FPSO charter In connection with the charter of the FPSO, the Company, as operator of the Etame Marin block, guaranteed all of the charter payments unde r the charter through its contract term. At the Company’s election, the charter could be extended for two one-year periods beyond September 2020. These elections have been made, and the charter has been extended through September 2022. The Company obtained guarantees from each of the Company’s joint venture owners for their respective shares of the payments. The Company’s ne t share of the charter payment is 58.8%, or approximately $19.4 million per year. Although the Company believes the need for performance under the charter guarantee is remote, the Company recorded a liability of $0.1 million as of September 30, 2021 and $0.4 million as of December 31, 2020 representing the guarantee’s estimated fair value. The guarantee of the offshore Gabon FPSO charter has $32.1 million in remaining gross minimum obligations as of September 30, 2021. Regulatory and Joint Interest Audits and Related Matters The Company is subject to periodic routine audits by various government agencies in Gabon, including audits of the Company’s petroleum cost account, customs, taxes and other operational matters, as well as audits by other members of the contractor group under the Company’s joint operating agreements. In 2016, the government of Gabon conducted an audit of the Company’s operations in Gabon, covering the years 2013 through 2014. The Company received the findings from this audit and responded to the audit findings in January 2017. Since providing the Company’s response, there have been changes in the Gabonese officials responsible for the audit. The Company is working with the newly appointed representatives to resolve the audit findings. The Company does not anticipate that the ultimate outcome of this audit will have a material effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Between 2019 and 2021, the government of Gabon conducted an audit of the operations in Gabon, covering the years 2015 and 2016. The Company has not yet received the findings from this audit. In 2019, the Etame joint venture owners conducted audits for the years 2017 and 2018. In June 2020, the Company agreed to a $0.8 million payment to resolve claims made by one of the Etame Marin block joint venture owners, Addax Petroleum Gabon S.A. There are now no unresolved matters related to the joint venture owner audits for these years. FSO On August 31, 2021, VAALCO and its co-venturers at Etame approved the Bareboat Contract and Operating Agreement (collectively, the “FSO Agreements”) with World Carrier Offshore Services Corp. to replace the existing FPSO with a Floating Storage and Offloading unit (“FSO”). The FSO Agreements require a prepayment of $2 million gross ($1.3 million net) in 2021 and $5 million gross ($3.2 million net) in 2022 of which $6 million will be recovered against future rentals. Current total field level capital conversion estimates are $40 to $50 million gross ($26 to $32 million net to VAALCO) with about $5 million net expected in 2021 and the remainder in 2022. No other prepayments are required under the FSO Agreements until the vessel is accepted by the Company at the Etame Marin Block location. The Bareboat Contract contains purchase provisions and termination provisions. The Company does not expect to utilize the terminations provision under the FSO Agreements. Dividend Policy On August 2, 2021, the Company announced a cash dividend policy beginning in the first quarter of 2022. Additional details of the initial record date and payable date will be announced in early 2022. Other contractual commitments In August 2020, the Company entered into an agreement to acquire approximately 1,000 square kilometers of 3-D seismic data in the Company’s Etame Marin block. The acquisition was completed in the fourth quarter of 2020 and the processing of the seismic data began in January 2021. The cost, net to VAALCO, is estimated to be approximately $2.2 million or $3.4 million gross. In June 2021, the Company entered into a short-term agreement with an affiliate of Borr Drilling Limited to drill a minimum of three wells with options to drill additional wells. The drilling rig is expected to be delivered after December 1, 2021 and before January 1, 2022.

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