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Acquisitions and Dispositions of Oil and Gas Properties
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Business Combination and Asset Acquisition [Abstract]  
Acquisitions and Dispositions of Oil and Gas Properties Acquisitions and Dispositions of Oil and Gas Properties
Acquisitions
In 2021, the Company acquired a 50% interest in approximately 35,000 net acres of predominantly undeveloped Haynesville shale acreage in East Texas from an unaffiliated third party, which also included interests in 37 producing wells for $34.7 million of cash consideration. During 2021 and 2020, the Company acquired 32,556 and 13,519 net acres through acquisitions or direct leasing for $22.9 million and $7.9 million, respectively.
On November 1, 2019, Comstock acquired a privately held company with producing properties and acreage in the Haynesville shale in exchange for 4,500,000 newly issued shares of the Company's common stock. The transaction was valued at approximately $42.3 million.
On July 16, 2019, Comstock acquired Covey Park Energy LLC ("Covey Park") for total consideration of $700.0 million of cash, the issuance of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock with a redemption value of $210.0 million, and the issuance of 28,833,000 shares of common stock (the "Covey Park Acquisition"). In addition to the consideration paid, Comstock assumed $625.0 million of Covey Park's 7.5% senior notes, repaid $380.0 million of Covey Park's then outstanding borrowings under its bank credit facility and redeemed all of Covey Park's preferred equity for $153.4 million. Based on the fair value of the preferred stock issued and the closing price of the Company's common stock of $5.82 per share on July 16, 2019, the transaction was valued at approximately $2.2 billion. Covey Park's operations were focused primarily in the Haynesville/Bossier shale in East Texas and North Louisiana. Funding for the cash consideration was provided by the sale of 50 million newly issued shares of common stock for $300.0 million and 175,000 shares of newly issued Series B Convertible Preferred Stock for $175.0 million to the Company's majority shareholder and by borrowings under Comstock's bank credit facility and cash on hand. Comstock incurred $41.0 million of advisory and legal fees and other acquisition-related costs in connection with the acquisition. These acquisition costs are included in transaction costs in the Company's consolidated statements of operations.
The transaction was accounted for as a business combination, using the acquisition method. The purchase price allocation of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed was finalized in the third quarter of 2020.
The Series A Convertible Preferred Stock was issued with a face value of $210.0 million. Management retained a third-party valuation firm to assess the fair value of the preferred stock. A yield methodology using Level 2 inputs of the Company's
publicly traded debt, including the assumption of Covey Park's 7.5% senior notes, resulted in a fair value of $200.0 million. On May 19, 2020, the Company redeemed the 210,000 outstanding shares of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock for an aggregate redemption price of $210.0 million plus accrued and unpaid dividends of approximately $2.9 million.
The fair values determined for accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued drilling costs and other current liabilities were equivalent to the carrying value due to their short-term nature. The fair value of the proved and unproved oil and natural gas properties was derived from estimated future discounted net cash flows, a Level 3 measurement, based on existing production curves and timing of development of those properties. The key factors used in deriving the estimated future cash flows include estimated recoverable reserves, production rates, future operating and development costs, and future commodity prices. Key inputs to the valuation included average oil prices of $74.80 per barrel and average natural gas prices of $3.32 per Mcf utilizing a combination of third-party price estimates and management price forecasts as of the acquisition date. The resulting estimated future cash flows from the acquired assets were discounted at rates ranging from 10% - 25% depending on risk characteristics of reserve categories acquired. Management utilized the assistance of an independent reserve firm and internal resources to estimate the fair value of the oil and natural gas properties.
The fair value measurements of long-term debt were estimated based on market prices and represent Level 2 inputs. The fair value measurements of derivative instruments assumed were determined based on fair value measurements consistent with managements valuation methodologies including implied market volatility, contract terms and prices and discount factors as of the close date. These inputs represent Level 2 inputs. The fair values of commodity derivative instruments in an asset position include a measure of counterparty nonperformance risk and the derivative instruments in a liability position include a measure of the Company's own nonperformance risk, each based on the current published credit default swap rates.
The fair value of the asset retirement obligations of $5.4 million was included in oil and natural gas properties with the corresponding liability in noncurrent liabilities. The fair value was based on a discounted cash flow model that included assumptions of current abandonment costs, inflation rates, discount rates and timing of actual abandonment and restoration activities. Due to the inputs and significant assumptions associated with the estimation of asset retirement obligations, the estimates made by management represent Level 3 inputs.
The Covey Park Acquisition qualified as a tax free merger whereby the Company acquired carryover tax basis in Covey Park's assets and liabilities, adjusted for differences between the purchase price allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on the fair value and the carryover tax basis.
Dispositions
On November 16, 2021, the Company sold its non-operated properties in the Bakken shale for $138.1 million after selling expenses. The properties sold included non-operated interests in 442 producing wells (68.3 net) producing approximately 4,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The Company incurred a $162.2 million pre-tax loss on the divestiture.