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Southern California Pipeline Incident | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2022
Southern California Pipeline Incident |
Southern California Pipeline Incident | Note 16. Southern California Pipeline Incident On October 2, 2021, contractors operating under the direction of Beta, a subsidiary of Amplify, observed an oil sheen on the water approximately four miles off the coast of Newport Beach, California (the “Incident”). Beta platform personnel were notified and promptly initiated the Company’s Oil Spill Response Plan, which was reviewed and approved by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s Oil Spill Preparedness Division within the United States Department of the Interior, and which included the required notifications of specified regulatory agencies. On October 3, 2021, a Unified Command, consisting of the Company, the U.S. Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, was established to respond to the Incident. On October 5, 2021, the Unified Command announced that reports from its contracted commercial divers and Remotely Operated Vehicle footage indicated that a 4,000-foot section of the Company’s pipeline had been displaced with a maximum lateral movement of approximately 105 feet and that the pipeline had a 13-inch split, running parallel to the pipe. On October 14, 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that it had a high degree of confidence the size of the release was approximately 588 barrels of oil, which is below the previously reported maximum estimate of 3,134 barrels. On October 16, 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that it had identified the Mediterranean Shipping Company (DANIT) as a “vessel of interest” and its owner Dordellas Finance Corporation and operator Mediterranean Shipping Company, S.A. as parties in interest in connection with an anchor-dragging incident, in January 2021 (the “Anchor Dragging Incident”), which occurred in close proximity to the Company’s pipeline, and that additional vessels of interest continued to be investigated. On November 19, 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that it had identified the COSCO (Beijing) as another vessel involved in the Anchor Dragging Incident and named its owner Capetanissa Maritime Corporation of Liberia and its operator V.Ships Greece Ltd. as parties in interest. The cause, timing and details regarding the Incident remain under investigation. At the height of the Incident response, the Company deployed over 1,800 personnel working under the guidance and at the direction of the Unified Command to aid in cleanup operations. As of October 14, 2021, all beaches that had been closed following the Incident have reopened. On February 2, 2022, the Unified Command announced that response and monitoring efforts have officially concluded for the Incident, and Unified Command would stand down as of such date. Amplify is grateful to its Unified Command partners for their collaboration and professionalism over the course of the response. In response to the Incident, all operations have been suspended and the pipeline has been shut-in until the Company receives the required regulatory approvals to begin operations. On October 4, 2021, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) issued a Corrective Action Order (CAO) pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60112, which makes clear that no restart of the affected pipeline may occur until PHMSA has approved a written restart plan. Additionally, the California Coastal Commission requested approval from the Office of Coastal Management for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to conduct a Coastal Zone Management Act consistency review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12 application for the proposed permanent repair permit; on April 7, 2022, NOAA denied that request. On September 30, 2022, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the NWP 12 permit. As of November 1, 2022, the permanent repairs are ongoing. The Company is working expeditiously and cooperatively to comply with the requirements of the relevant agencies in order to gain any other regulatory approvals that are necessary to restart operations. As a result of the uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process, the Company can provide no assurances as to whether and when, if at all, operation will restart at the Beta field. At present, no operations are underway in the Beta field. On December 15, 2021, a federal grand jury in the Central District of California returned a federal criminal indictment against Amplify Energy Corp., Beta Operating Company, LLC, and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Company in connection with the Incident. The indictment alleges that the Company committed a misdemeanor violation of the federal Clean Water Act for negligently discharging oil into the contiguous zone of the United States. As previously disclosed, state authorities were conducting parallel criminal investigations. As noted above, the Company has reached court approved agreements to resolve all criminal matters stemming from the incident. The Company is currently subject to a number of ongoing investigations related to the Incident by certain federal and state agencies. To date, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the U.S. Department of Justice, PHMSA, the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the California Department of Justice, the Orange County District Attorney, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife have conducted or are conducting investigations or examinations of the Incident. On April 8, 2022, in light of the allegations raised in the December 15, 2021 federal indictment, the Company received a Show Cause Notice from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) asking the Company to provide information as to why it should not be suspended from participating in future Federal contracting and assisting activities pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 180.700(a), (c) and 2 C.F.R. § 180.800(a)(4). On April 22, 2022, the Company responded to the Show Cause Notice. On September 9, 2022, the EPA informed the Company’s counsel that the EPA has administratively closed the case at this time, and as such, the Company is no longer under a Show Cause Notice. Other federal agencies may or have commenced investigations and proceedings, and may initiate enforcement actions seeking penalties and other relief under the Clean Water Act and other statutes. Amplify continues to comply with all regulatory requirements and investigations. The outcomes of these investigations and the nature of any remedies pursued will depend on the discretion of the relevant authorities and may result in regulatory or other enforcement actions, as well as civil liability. The Company and two subsidiaries have been named as defendants in a consolidated putative class action in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Plaintiffs filed a consolidated class action complaint on January 28, 2022 and an amended complaint on March 21, 2022. Plaintiffs assert claims against the Company, Beta Operating Company, LLC, San Pedro Bay Pipeline Company, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, Dordellas Finance Corp., the MSC Danit (proceeding in rem), Costamare Shipping Co. S.A., Capetanissa Maritime Corporation of Liberia, V.Ships Greece Ltd., and the COSCO Beijing (proceeding in rem). The Company filed a third-party complaint on February 28, 2022, an amended complaint on June 21, 2022, and second amended complaint on October 5, 2022. The Company has sued the same shipping defendants and has added claims against the Marine Exchange of Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor, COSCO Shipping Lines Co. Ltd., COSCO (Cayman) Mercury Co. Ltd., Mediterranean Shipping Company S.r.l., and MSC Shipmanagement Limited. The Company has moved to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ complaint, and the Marine Exchange of Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor and certain of the shipping defendants have moved to dismiss the Company’s complaint. On October 3, 2022, the Court denied several of the motions to dismiss filed by certain shipping defendants; other motions to dismiss remain pending. Further, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, Dordellas Finance Corp., and Capetanissa Maritime Corporation of Liberia have filed petitions for limitations of liability under maritime law in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The court consolidated the limitation actions into a single limitation action and also coordinated discovery between the consolidated limitation and the consolidated class actions. Discovery is ongoing, and the Court has set a trial for April 24, 2023 in that proceeding. Resolution of the civil litigation may take considerable time, and it is not possible at this time to estimate the Company’s potential liability resulting from these actions. As noted above, on August 25, 2022, the Company reached an agreement in principle with plaintiffs in the class action to resolve all civil claims against it and its subsidiaries. The settlement of $50.0 million, which also includes certain injunctive relief, will be funded under the Company’s insurance policies, and the final agreement will be subject to court approval. On October 17, 2022, counsel to the putative class filed a motion for preliminary approval of the final settlement agreement; that motion is noticed for a hearing with the Court on November 16, 2022. Under the OPA 90, the Company’s pipeline was designated by the U.S. Coast Guard as the source of the oil discharge and therefore the Company is financially responsible for remediation and for certain costs and economic damages as provided for in OPA 90, as well as certain natural resource damages associated with the spill and certain costs determined by federal and state trustees engaged in a joint assessment of such natural resource damages. The Company is currently processing covered claims under OPA 90 as expeditiously as possible. In addition, the Natural Resource Damage Assessment remains ongoing and therefore the extent, timing and cost related to such assessment are difficult to project. While the Company anticipates insurance will reimburse it for expenses related to the Natural Resource Damage Assessment, any potentially uncovered expenses may be material and could impact the Company’s business and results of operations and could put pressure on its liquidity position going forward. On August 26, 2022, the Company reached an agreement with the United States government, subject to court review and approval, to resolve all federal criminal matters involving the Company and its subsidiaries stemming from Incident. As part of the resolution with the United States, the Company agreed to plead guilty to one count of misdemeanor negligent discharge of oil in violation of the Clean Water Act. The Court approved the plea. The Company will pay a fine of approximately $7.1 million in installments over a period of three years, serve a term of four years’ probation and reimburse governmental agencies approximately $5.8 million for their response to this event. On September 8, 2022, as part of the resolution with the state of California, the Company agreed to enter a plea of No Contest to six misdemeanor charges. The Company will pay a fine in the amount of $4.9 million to be distributed among the state of California, including the State’s Fish and Game Preservation Fund, and Orange County. The Company will serve a one-year term of probation and has agreed to certain compliance enhancements to its operations. Based on presently enacted laws and regulations and currently available facts, the Company estimates that the total costs it has incurred or will incur with respect to the Incident to be approximately $120.0 million to $140.0 million, which includes (i) actual and projected response and remediation under the direction of the Unified Command, (ii) estimated fines and penalties of $12.0 million resulting from the resolution of the federal and state of California matters discussed above, and (iii) certain legal fees. The range of total costs is based on the Company’s assumptions regarding (i) settlement of costs associated with certain vendors for response and remediation expenses, (ii) resolution of certain third-party claims, excluding claims with respect to losses, which are not probable or reasonably estimable, and (iii) future claims and lawsuits. While the Company believes it has accurately reflected all probable and reasonably estimable costs incurred in the Company’s Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations, these estimates are subject to uncertainties associated with the underlying assumptions. For example, settlements with vendors for response and remediation expenses may be significantly higher or lower than the Company has currently estimated. Accordingly, as the Company’s assumptions and estimates may change in future periods based on future events, the Company can provide no assurance that total costs will not materially change in future periods. The Company’s estimates do not include (i) the nature, extent and cost of future legal services that will be required in connection with all lawsuits, claims and other matters requiring legal or expert advice associated with the Incident, (ii) any lost revenue associated with the suspension of operations at Beta, (iii) any liabilities or costs that are not reasonably estimable at this time or that relate to contingencies where the Company currently regards the likelihood of loss as being only reasonably possible or remote and (iv) the costs associated with the permanent repair of the pipeline and the restart of the Beta operations. In accordance with customary insurance practice, the Company maintains insurance policies, including loss of production income insurance, against many potential losses or liabilities arising from its operations and at costs that the Company believes to be economic. The Company regularly reviews its risk of loss and the cost and availability of insurance and revises its insurance accordingly. The Company’s insurance does not cover every potential risk associated with its operations and is subject to certain exclusions and deductibles. While the Company expects its insurance policies will cover a material portion of the total aggregate costs associated with the Incident, including but not limited to response and remediation expenses, defense costs and loss of revenue resulting from suspended operations, it can provide no assurance that its coverage will adequately protect it against liability from all potential consequences, damages and losses related to the Incident and such view and understanding is preliminary and subject to change. On September 30, 2022, and December 31, 2021, the Company’s insurance receivables were $30.6 million and $49.1 million, respectively. Excluding the costs associated with the resolution of the federal and state matters discussed above, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company incurred response and remediation expenses and legal fees of $28.3 million. Of these costs, the Company has received, or expects that it is probable that it will receive, $20.0 million in insurance recoveries. The remaining amount of $8.3 million, which primarily relates to certain legal costs that are not expected to be recovered under an insurance policy, are classified as “Pipeline Incident Loss” on the Company’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company received $38.5 million in insurance recoveries. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company recorded $12.0 million related to the resolution of the federal and state matters discussed above, which amount is classified as “Pipeline Incident Settlement” on the Company’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations. Additionally, during the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company recognized $39.6 million related to approved loss of production income (“LOPI”) insurance proceeds, which is classified as “Other Revenues” in the Company’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

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