Long-Term Debt

Long-term debt consists of the following (in thousands):



	March 31, 2013		December 31, 2012
Senior credit facility	$	—	$	—
Senior notes
9.875% Senior Notes due 2016, net of $8,843 discount at December 31, 2012	—		356,657
8.0% Senior Notes due 2018	—		750,000
8.75% Senior Notes due 2020, net of $5,725 and $5,873 discount, respectively	444,275		444,127
7.5% Senior Notes due 2021, including a premium of $4,230 and $4,328, respectively	1,179,230		1,179,328
8.125% Senior Notes due 2022	750,000		750,000
7.5% Senior Notes due 2023, net of $3,962 and $4,029 discount, respectively	821,038		820,971
Total debt	3,194,543		4,301,083
Less: current maturities of long-term debt	—		—
Long-term debt	$	3,194,543	$	4,301,083

Senior Credit Facility

The senior credit facility is available to be drawn on subject to limitations based on its terms and certain financial covenants, as described below. As of March 31, 2013, the senior credit facility contained financial covenants, including maintaining agreed upon levels for the (i) ratio of total net debt to EBITDA, which may not exceed 4.5:1.0 at each quarter end, calculated using the last four completed fiscal quarters and (ii) ratio of current assets to current liabilities, which must be at least 1.0:1.0 at each quarter end. If no amounts are drawn under the senior credit facility when calculating the ratio of total net debt to EBITDA, the Company’s debt is reduced by its cash balance in excess of $10.0 million. In the current ratio calculation, any amounts available to be drawn under the senior credit facility are included in current assets, and unrealized assets and liabilities resulting from mark-to-market adjustments on the Company’s derivative contracts are disregarded. The senior credit facility matures in March 2017.

The senior credit facility also contains various covenants that limit the ability of the Company and certain of its subsidiaries to: grant certain liens; make certain loans and investments; make distributions; redeem stock; redeem or prepay debt; merge or consolidate with or into a third party; or engage in certain asset dispositions, including a sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets. Additionally, the senior credit facility limits the ability of the Company and certain of its subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness with certain exceptions. As of and during the three-month period ended March 31, 2013, the Company was in compliance with all applicable financial covenants under the senior credit facility.

The obligations under the senior credit facility are guaranteed by certain Company subsidiaries and are secured by first priority liens on all shares of capital stock of certain of the Company’s material present and future subsidiaries, certain intercompany debt of the Company, and substantially all of the Company’s assets, including proved oil and natural gas reserves representing at least 80.0% of the discounted present value (as defined in the senior credit facility) of proved oil and natural gas reserves considered by the lenders in determining the borrowing base for the senior credit facility.

At the Company’s election, interest under the senior credit facility is determined by reference to (a) the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus an applicable margin between 1.75% and 2.75% per annum or (b) the “base rate,” which is the highest of (i) the federal funds rate plus 0.5%, (ii) the prime rate published by Bank of America or (iii) the Eurodollar rate (as defined in the senior credit facility) plus 1.00% per annum, plus, in each case under scenario (b), an applicable margin between 0.75% and 1.75% per annum. Interest is payable quarterly for base rate loans and at the applicable maturity date for LIBOR loans, except that if the interest period for a LIBOR loan is six months, interest is paid at the end of each three-month period. During the three-month periods ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, the Company paid commitment fees assessed at an annual rate of 0.5% on the available portion of the senior credit facility as there were no amounts outstanding under the senior credit facility for these periods.

Borrowings under the senior credit facility may not exceed the lower of the borrowing base or the committed amount. In August 2012, the borrowing base was reduced to $775.0 million from $1.0 billion as a result of the issuance of the 7.5% Senior Notes due 2023 and additional 7.5% Senior Notes due 2021, as discussed below. The Company’s borrowing base was reaffirmed at $775.0 million in March 2013, and the next redetermination will take place in October 2013. With respect to each redetermination, the administrative agent and the lenders under the senior credit facility consider several factors, including the Company’s proved reserves and projected cash requirements, and make assumptions regarding, among other things, oil and natural gas prices and production. Because the value of the Company’s proved reserves is a key factor in determining the amount of the borrowing base, changing commodity prices and the Company’s success in developing reserves may affect the borrowing base.

At March 31, 2013, the Company had no amount outstanding under the senior credit facility and $30.2 million in outstanding letters of credit, which reduce the availability under the senior credit facility on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

Senior Fixed Rate Notes

The Company’s unsecured senior fixed rate notes (“Senior Fixed Rate Notes”) bear interest at a fixed rate per annum, payable semi-annually, with the principal due upon maturity. Certain of the Senior Fixed Rate Notes were issued at a discount or a premium. The discount or premium is amortized to interest expense over the term of the respective series of senior notes. The Senior Fixed Rate Notes are redeemable, in whole or in part, prior to their maturity at specified redemption prices and are jointly and severally guaranteed unconditionally, in full, on an unsecured basis by certain of the Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries. See Note17 for condensed financial information of the subsidiary guarantors.

Debt issuance costs of $70.2 million incurred in connection with the offerings of the Senior Fixed Rate Notes, including the senior notes issued in 2012 and excluding the senior notes redeemed in March 2013, both as discussed below, and any subsequent registered exchanges are included in other assets in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets and are being amortized to interest expense over the term of the respective senior notes.

2012 Activity. In 2012, the Company completed offerings of the 8.125% Senior Notes due 2022, additional 7.5% Senior Notes due 2021 and 7.5% Senior Notes due 2023 (collectively, the “2012 Senior Notes”) to qualified institutional buyers eligible under Rule 144A of the Securities Act and to persons outside the United States under Regulation S under the Securities Act. The Company incurred $41.0 million of debt issuance costs in connection with the 2012 Senior Notes offerings and subsequent registered exchange offers completed in November 2012. These costs are included in other assets in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets and are being amortized to interest expense over the term of the respective senior notes.

In April 2012, the Company issued $750.0 million of unsecured 8.125% Senior Notes due 2022. Net proceeds from the offering were approximately $730.1 million after deducting offering expenses, and were used to finance the cash portion of the Dynamic Acquisition purchase price and to pay related fees and expenses, with any remaining amount used for general corporate purposes.

In August 2012, the Company issued $825.0 million of unsecured 7.5% Senior Notes due 2023 at 99.5% of par and $275.0 million of additional unsecured 7.5% Senior Notes due 2021 at 101.625% of par, plus accrued interest from March 15, 2012. The Company received net proceeds from this offering of approximately $1.1 billion, after deducting offering expenses and excluding accrued interest received. The net proceeds of the offering were used to fund the Company’s tender offer for, and subsequent redemption of, its Senior Floating Rate Notes due 2014 (the “Senior Floating Rate Notes”), discussed under Senior Floating Rate Notes due 2014 below, to fund the Company’s capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes.

In November 2012, pursuant to registered exchange offers, the Company replaced the 2012 Senior Notes with equivalent senior notes that are registered under the Securities Act. The exchange offers did not result in the incurrence of any additional indebtedness.

2013 Activity. In March 2013, the Company redeemed the outstanding $365.5 million aggregate principal amount of its 9.875% Senior Notes due 2016 and the outstanding $750.0 million aggregate principal amount of its 8.0% Senior Notes due 2018 for total consideration of $1,061.34 per $1,000 principal amount and $1,052.77 per $1,000 principal amount, respectively. The premiums paid to redeem these notes and the associated unamortized debt issuance costs, totaling $82.0 million, were recorded as a loss on extinguishment of debt in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations for the three-month period ended March 31, 2013.

Indentures. The indentures governing the Company’s senior notes contain covenants which restrict the Company’s ability to take a variety of actions, including limitations on the incurrence of indebtedness, payment of dividends, investments, asset sales, certain asset purchases, transactions with related parties and consolidations or mergers. As of and during the three-month period ended March 31, 2013, the Company was in compliance with all of the covenants contained in the indentures governing its senior notes.

Senior Floating Rate Notes Due 2014

In August 2012, the Company purchased approximately 94.3%, or $329.9 million, of the aggregate principal amount of its Senior Floating Rate Notes pursuant to a tender offer, which expired on August 31, 2012. On September 4, 2012, the Company redeemed the remaining outstanding $20.1 million aggregate principal amount of its Senior Floating Rate Notes. All holders whose notes were purchased in the tender offer or redemption received accrued and unpaid interest from July 1, 2012 through the date of purchase. The Senior Floating Rate Notes were issued in May 2008 and bore interest at LIBOR plus 3.625% prior to their retirement.