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3. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation. The consolidated financial statements herein have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) and include the accounts of the Company and those of its wholly-owned subsidiaries as follows: (i) Eagle Domestic Drilling Operations LLC, a Texas limited liability company (which was voluntarily dissolved effective July 10, 2013); (ii) Blast AFJ, Inc., a Delaware corporation; (iii) Pacific Energy Development Corp., a Nevada corporation; (iv) Pacific Energy Technology Services, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company; (v) Pacific Energy & Rare Earth Limited, a Hong Kong company; (vi) Blackhawk Energy Limited, a British Virgin Islands company; and (vii) Pacific Energy Development MSL, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.
Equity Method Accounting for Joint Ventures

Equity Method Accounting for Joint Ventures. The majority of the Company’s oil and gas interests are held all or in part by the following joint ventures which are collectively owned with affiliates of MIE Holdings:

 

- Condor Energy Technology LLC, a Nevada limited liability company owned 20% by the Company and 80% by an affiliate of MIE Holdings. The Company accounts for its 20% ownership in Condor using the equity method; and

 

- White Hawk Petroleum, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company owned 50% by the Company and 50% by an affiliate of MIE Holdings. The Company accounts for its 50% interest in White Hawk using the equity method.

 

The Company evaluated its relationship with Condor and White Hawk to determine if either qualified as a variable interest entity ("VIE"), as defined in ASC 810-10, and whether the Company is the primary beneficiary, in which case consolidation would be required. The Company determined that both Condor and White Hawk qualified as VIE’s, but since the Company is not the primary beneficiary of either Condor or White Hawk, the Company concluded that consolidation was not required for either entity.

 
Use of Estimates in Financial Statement Preparation

Use of Estimates in Financial Statement Preparation. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, as well as certain financial statement disclosures. While management believes that the estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of the financial statements are appropriate, actual results could differ from these estimates. Significant estimates generally include those with respect to the amount of recoverable oil and gas reserves, the fair value of financial instruments, oil and gas depletion, asset retirement obligations, and stock-based compensation.

 
Cash, Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents. As of June 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, cash equivalents consisted of money market funds and cash on deposit.
Concentrations of Credit Risk

Concentrations of Credit Risk. Financial instruments which potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk include cash deposits placed with financial institutions. The Company maintains its cash in bank accounts which, at times, may exceed federally insured limits as guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). At June 30, 2013, approximately $1,269,874 of the Company’s cash balances were uninsured. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts.

 

Sales to two customers comprised 100% of the Company’s oil revenues and sales to one customer comprised 100% of its gas revenues for the six month period ended June 30, 2013.  For the six months ending June 30, 2012, sales to two customers comprised 100% of the Company’s oil revenues and there were no gas revenues for the six month period ended June 30, 2012. The Company believes that, in the event that its primary customer was unable or unwilling to continue to purchase the Company’s production, there are a substantial number of alternative buyers for its production at comparable prices.
Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable. Accounts receivable typically consist of oil and gas receivables. The Company has classified these as short-term assets in the balance sheet because the Company expects repayment or recovery within the next 12 months. The Company evaluates these accounts receivable for collectability considering the results of operations of these related entities and when necessary records allowances for expected unrecoverable amounts. To date, no allowances have been recorded.
Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition. All revenue is recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the service or sale is complete, the price is fixed or determinable and collectability is reasonably assured. Revenue is derived from the sale of crude oil and natural gas. Revenue from crude oil and natural gas sales is recognized when the product is delivered to the purchaser and collectability is reasonably assured. The Company follows the “sales method” of accounting for oil and natural gas revenue, so it recognizes revenue on all natural gas or crude oil sold to purchasers, regardless of whether the sales are proportionate to its ownership in the property. A receivable or liability is recognized only to the extent that the Company has an imbalance on a specific property greater than its share of the expected remaining proved reserves. If collection is uncertain, revenue is recognized when cash is collected.

 
Deferred Property Acquisition Costs

Deferred Property Acquisition Costs. The Company defers the costs, such as title and legal fees, related to oil and gas property acquisitions. At the time the acquisition is completed, these costs are reclassified and included as part of the purchase price of the property acquired. To the extent a property acquisition is not consummated these costs are expensed.
Oil and Gas Properties, Successful Efforts Method

Oil and Gas Properties, Successful Efforts Method. The successful efforts method of accounting is used for oil and gas exploration and production activities. Under this method, all costs for development wells, support equipment and facilities, and proved mineral interests in oil and gas properties are capitalized. Geological and geophysical costs are expensed when incurred. Costs of exploratory wells are capitalized as exploration and evaluation assets pending determination of whether the wells find proved oil and gas reserves. Proved oil and gas reserves are the estimated quantities of crude oil and natural gas which geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions, (i.e., prices and costs as of the date the estimate is made). Prices include consideration of changes in existing prices provided only by contractual arrangements, but not on escalations based upon future conditions.

 

Exploratory wells in areas not requiring major capital expenditures are evaluated for economic viability within one year of completion of drilling. The related well costs are expensed as dry holes if it is determined that such economic viability is not attained. Otherwise, the related well costs are reclassified to oil and gas properties and subject to impairment review. For exploratory wells that are found to have economically viable reserves in areas where major capital expenditure will be required before production can commence, the related well costs remain capitalized only if additional drilling is under way or firmly planned. Otherwise the related well costs are expensed as dry holes.

 

Exploration and evaluation expenditures incurred subsequent to the acquisition of an exploration asset in a business combination are accounted for in accordance with the policy outlined above.

 

Depreciation, depletion and amortization of capitalized oil and gas properties are calculated on a field by field basis using the unit of production method. Lease acquisition costs are amortized over the total estimated proved developed and undeveloped reserves and all other capitalized costs are amortized over proved developed reserves. 
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets. The Company reviews the carrying value of its long-lived assets annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the historical cost-carrying value of an asset may no longer be appropriate. The Company assesses recoverability of the carrying value of the asset by estimating the future net undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the asset, including eventual disposition. If the future net undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying value of the asset, an impairment loss is recorded equal to the difference between the asset’s carrying value and estimated fair value.
Income Taxes

 

Income Taxes. The Company utilizes the asset and liability method in accounting for income taxes. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for operating loss and tax credit carry-forwards and for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the year in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the results of operations in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the carrying amounts of deferred tax assets unless it is more likely than not that the value of such assets will be realized.
Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation. The Company utilizes the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value of employee stock option awards at the date of grant, which requires the input of highly subjective assumptions, including expected volatility and expected life. Changes in these inputs and assumptions can materially affect the measure of estimated fair value of the Company’s share-based compensation. These assumptions are subjective and generally require significant analysis and judgment to develop. When estimating fair value, some of the assumptions will be based on, or determined from, external data and other assumptions may be derived from the Company’s historical experience with stock-based payment arrangements. The appropriate weight to place on historical experience is a matter of judgment, based on relevant facts and circumstances.

 

The Company estimates volatility by considering the historical stock volatility. The Company has opted to use the simplified method for estimating expected term, which is generally equal to the midpoint between the vesting period and the contractual term.
Earnings or Loss per Share

Earnings or Loss per Common Share. Basic earnings per common share equal net earnings or loss divided by weighted average common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share include the impact on dilution from all contingently issuable shares, including options, warrants and convertible securities. The common stock equivalents from contingent shares are determined by the treasury stock method. The Company incurred net losses for the six month periods ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, and therefore, basic and diluted earnings per share for those periods are the same as all potential common equivalent shares would be anti-dilutive. As of June 30, 2013, the Company excluded 1,335,800 potentially issuable shares of common stock related to options and 696,213 potentially issuable shares of common stock related to warrants due to their anti-dilutive effect.

 
Derivative Liability

Derivative Liability. The Company follows Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815-40”), which limits the extent to which the conversion or exercise price (the “strike price”) of a warrant can be adjusted for subsequent transactions. The Company utilizes a two-step process to determine whether an instrument is indexed to its stock: (a) evaluate the instrument’s contingent exercise provisions, if any and (b) evaluate the instrument’s settlement provisions. If it is determined the instrument is not indexed to the Company’s stock, the warrant is recognized as a derivative warrant at issuance and is measured at fair value at each reporting period and the change is recorded in earnings.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments. The Company follows Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”), which clarifies fair value as an exit price, establishes a hierarchal disclosure framework for measuring fair value, and requires extended disclosures about fair value measurements. The provisions of ASC 820 apply to all financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value.

 

As defined in ASC 820, fair value, clarified as an exit price, represents the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As a result, fair value is a market-based approach that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or a liability.

 

As a basis for considering these assumptions, ASC 820 defines a three-tier value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used in the valuation methodologies in measuring fair value.

 

Level 1 – Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
 
Level 2 – Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar    assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.
 
Level 3 – Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

 

The fair value hierarchy also requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value.

 
Reclassifications

Reclassifications. Certain amounts in the consolidated financial statements of the prior year have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation for comparative purposes.

 
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements. There were no accounting standards and interpretations issued during 2013 and 2012, which had or are expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, operations or cash flows.
Subsequent Events

Subsequent Events. The Company has evaluated all transactions through the date the consolidated financial statements were issued for subsequent event disclosure consideration.