Concentrations of Credit Risk

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

15. 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, 2017 and 2016, the Company’s demand deposits and temporary cash investments consisted of the following (in thousands):

	2017			2016
Deposits in FDIC and SIPC-insured institutions under insurance limits	$	13,860		$	846
Deposits in FDIC and SIPC-insured institutions over insurance limits		106,849			12,866
Deposits in foreign banks		21,479			27,557
		142,188			41,269
Less outstanding checks and other reconciling items		(99,360	)		(6,117	)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	42,828		$	35,152

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. No significant losses from individual customers were experienced during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 or 2015. No expense for bad debts was recognized in 2017, 2016 or 2015.