Note 5 - Oil and Natural Gas Production Activities	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Notes to Financial Statements
Oil and Gas Properties [Text Block]	5. OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES Divestitures During the nine months ended September 30, 2023 there were no divestitures of oil and gas properties. During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company divested of the Wildhorse Waterflood Unit in Osage County, Oklahoma, which was part of the Acquired Assets acquired on January 5, 2022. Net proceeds from the sale of the Wildhorse Waterflood Unit were $1.2 million. In addition, in December 2022, the Company sold its approximately 30% interest in two non-operated wells in Zavala County, Texas and associated acreage of approximately 4,500 acres for $1.1 million. The proceeds from divestitures are recorded as reductions in the full cost pool. Unevaluated Properties As of September 30, 2023, the Company re-evaluated its use of capital relative to its portfolio and strategic initiatives and determined that it no longer intends to fund development activities required to develop its unevaluated acreage. Therefore, it impaired the $1.6 million book value of unevaluated properties by transferring them into evaluated properties subject to depletion and the full cost pool ceiling test as of September 30, 2023. Ceiling Test and Impairment The reserves used in the ceiling test incorporate assumptions regarding pricing and discount rates over which management has no influence in the determination of present value. In the calculation of the ceiling test as of September 30, 2023, the Company used $78.53 per barrel for oil and $3.43 per one million British Thermal Units (MMbtu) for natural gas (as further adjusted for property, specific gravity, quality, local markets and distance from markets) to compute the future cash flows of the Company’s producing properties. The discount factor used was 10%. The Company recorded a $6.5 million ceiling test write-down of its oil and gas properties during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, primarily due to a reduction in the value of proved oil and natural gas reserves as a result of a decrease in crude oil and natural gas prices. In addition, asset retirement obligation cost and life revisions and the transfer of unevaluated properties into the full cost pool increased the net book value of our oil and gas properties subject to the ceiling test.

Note 5 - Oil and Natural Gas Production Activities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

5. OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES

Divestitures

During the nine months ended September 30, 2023 there were no divestitures of oil and gas properties. During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company divested of the Wildhorse Waterflood Unit in Osage County, Oklahoma, which was part of the Acquired Assets acquired on January 5, 2022. Net proceeds from the sale of the Wildhorse Waterflood Unit were $1.2 million. In addition, in December 2022, the Company sold its approximately 30% interest in two non-operated wells in Zavala County, Texas and associated acreage of approximately 4,500 acres for $1.1 million. The proceeds from divestitures are recorded as reductions in the full cost pool.

Unevaluated Properties

As of September 30, 2023, the Company re-evaluated its use of capital relative to its portfolio and strategic initiatives and determined that it no longer intends to fund development activities required to develop its unevaluated acreage. Therefore, it impaired the $1.6 million book value of unevaluated properties by transferring them into evaluated properties subject to depletion and the full cost pool ceiling test as of September 30, 2023.

Ceiling Test and Impairment

The reserves used in the ceiling test incorporate assumptions regarding pricing and discount rates over which management has no influence in the determination of present value. In the calculation of the ceiling test as of September 30, 2023, the Company used $78.53 per barrel for oil and $3.43 per one million British Thermal Units (MMbtu) for natural gas (as further adjusted for property, specific gravity, quality, local markets and distance from markets) to compute the future cash flows of the Company’s producing properties. The discount factor used was 10%.

The Company recorded a $6.5 million ceiling test write-down of its oil and gas properties during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, primarily due to a reduction in the value of proved oil and natural gas reserves as a result of a decrease in crude oil and natural gas prices. In addition, asset retirement obligation cost and life revisions and the transfer of unevaluated properties into the full cost pool increased the net book value of our oil and gas properties subject to the ceiling test.