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Asset Retirement Obligations
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2025
Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]  
Asset Retirement Obligations

Note 4 - Asset Retirement Obligations

 

The Company’s asset retirement obligations (“ARO”) represent the estimated present value of the estimated cash flows the Company will incur to plug, abandon and remediate its producing properties at the end of their productive lives, in accordance with applicable state laws. Market risk premiums associated with asset retirement obligations are estimated to represent a component of the Company’s credit-adjusted risk-free rate that is utilized in the calculations of AROs.

 

The Company’s ARO activities are summarized in the following table:

 

            
   For the Six Months Ended June 30, 
   2025   2024 
         
Asset retirement obligations, beginning of period  $30,188   $28,168 
Liabilities incurred from drilling activity and assumed in acquisitions   —    788 
Revisions   —    — 
Liabilities settled   (162)   (585)
Accretion expense   1,060    977 
Asset retirement obligations, end of period  $31,086   $29,348 
Less: current portion included in Accrued expenses   1,765    700 
Asset retirement obligations, long-term  $29,321   $28,648 

 

The liabilities incurred from drilling activity in 2024 primarily relate to the completion of new wells as part of Empire’s North Dakota Starbuck Drilling Program. The liabilities assumed in acquisitions in 2024 relate to additional working interest acquired in New Mexico. (see Note 3).