Organization and basis of presentation	9 Months Ended
Organization and basis of presentation	Sep. 30, 2025
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Organization and basis of presentation	Organization and basis of presentation Organization Vital Energy, Inc. ("Vital Energy," "Vital" or the "Company"), together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Vital Midstream Services, LLC ("VMS"), is an independent energy company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas. In these notes, the "Company" refers to Vital Energy and VMS collectively, unless the context indicates otherwise. All amounts, dollars and percentages presented in these unaudited consolidated financial statements and the related notes are rounded and, therefore, approximate. Explanatory Note On August 24, 2025, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Crescent Energy Company, a Delaware corporation ("Crescent"), Venus Merger Sub I Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Crescent (“Merger Sub Inc.”), and Venus Merger Sub II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Crescent (“Merger Sub LLC”). Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, Crescent will acquire the Company in an all-equity transaction through: (i) the merger of Merger Sub Inc. (the “First Company Merger”) with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving entity (the “Surviving Corporation”) and (ii) immediately following the First Company Merger, the merger of the Surviving Corporation (the “Second Company Merger” and, together with the First Company Merger, the “Mergers”) with and into Merger Sub LLC, with Merger Sub LLC continuing as the surviving entity (the “Surviving Company”), in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement. On the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement: •at the effective time of the First Company Merger (the “Effective Time”), (i) each share of capital stock of Merger Sub Inc. issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time will be converted into and will represent one fully paid and nonassessable share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Surviving Corporation and (ii) each share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (“Common Stock”), issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (excluding each share of Common Stock held by the Company as treasury shares or by Crescent, Merger Sub Inc. or Merger Sub LLC, or by any wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, Merger Sub Inc. or Merger Sub LLC immediately prior to the Effective Time ("Excluded Shares")) will be converted into the right to receive from Crescent 1.9062 fully paid and nonassessable shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of Crescent (the “Crescent Common Stock” and such right to receive Crescent Common Stock, the "Merger Consideration"), with cash to be paid in lieu of fractional shares, if any, and (iii) each Excluded Share will automatically be canceled and will cease to exist and no consideration will be delivered in exchange for such share; and •at the effective time of the Second Company Merger (the “Second Company Merger Effective Time”), (i) each share of common stock of the Surviving Corporation issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Second Company Merger Effective Time will automatically be cancelled and cease to exist, and no consideration will be delivered in exchange therefor, and (ii) the limited liability company interests of Merger Sub LLC issued and outstanding as of immediately prior to the Second Company Merger Effective Time will remain outstanding and will not be affected by virtue of the Second Company Merger, and no consideration will be paid in respect thereof, and Crescent will continue as the sole member of the Surviving Company. As a result of the Mergers and as of the closing of the Mergers (the “Closing”), the Company's stockholders as of immediately prior to the Effective Time will own approximately 23% of the outstanding shares of Crescent Common Stock, and Crescent's stockholders as of immediately prior to the Effective Time will own approximately 77% of the outstanding shares of Crescent Common Stock. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, prior to the Effective Time, Crescent will (i) cause the number of directors constituting the board of directors of Crescent (the “Crescent Board”) to increase to 12, to become effective immediately prior to, but conditioned on, the Effective Time and (ii) appoint two directors designated by the Company and reasonably acceptable to Crescent to the Crescent Board as of the Effective Time (such directors, the “Company Designated Directors”). Our board of directors (the “Board”) and the Crescent Board have each unanimously approved and declared advisable the Merger Agreement and transactions contemplated thereby. The completion of the Mergers is generally subject to certain customary mutual conditions, including (i) the receipt of the required approval from the Company’s stockholders, (ii) the receipt of the required approval from Crescent’s stockholders, (iii) the termination or expiration of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, (iv) the absence of any governmental order or law that makes consummation of the Mergers illegal or otherwise prohibited, (v) Crescent’s registration statement on Form S-4 having been declared effective by the SEC under the Securities Act and no stop order having been issued, initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company or Crescent, threatened by the SEC, and (vi) the shares of Crescent Common Stock issuable in connection with the Mergers having been authorized for listing on the NYSE, subject to official notice of issuance. The obligation of each party to consummate the Mergers is further generally conditioned upon certain of the parties’ representations and warranties being true and correct (subject to certain materiality exceptions), the absence of a material adverse effect on each party, the parties having performed in all material respects their respective obligations under the Merger Agreement, and the receipt by each party of a compliance certificate. Until the approval by shareholders and the subsequent closing (as described above), the Company must continue to operate as a stand-alone entity. Basis of presentation The unaudited consolidated financial statements were derived from the historical accounting records of the Company and reflect the historical financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods described herein. The unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. All material intercompany transactions and account balances have been eliminated in the consolidation of accounts. The unaudited consolidated financial statements have not been audited by the Company's independent registered public accounting firm, except that the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2024 is derived from the Company's audited consolidated financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited consolidated financial statements reflect all necessary adjustments to present fairly the Company's interim financial position, results of operations and cash flows. All adjustments are of a recurring nature unless otherwise disclosed herein. Certain disclosures have been condensed or omitted from the unaudited consolidated financial statements. Accordingly, the unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the 2024 Annual Report. Significant accounting policies There have been no material changes in the Company's significant accounting policies during the nine months ended September 30, 2025. See Note 2 in the 2024 Annual Report for further discussion of significant accounting policies. Use of estimates The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions about future events. These estimates and the underlying assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Although management believes these estimates are reasonable, actual results could differ. See Note 2 in the 2024 Annual Report for further information regarding the use of estimates and assumptions.