Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

LONG-TERM DEBT

v3.20.2
LONG-TERM DEBT
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Long-term Debt, Unclassified [Abstract]  
LONG-TERM DEBT LONG-TERM DEBT
Long-term debt consisted of the following items as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019:
September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019
(In thousands)
Revolving credit agreement(1)
$ 279,857  $ 120,000 
6.625% senior unsecured notes due 2023
324,583  329,467 
6.000% senior unsecured notes due 2024
579,568  603,428 
6.375% senior unsecured notes due 2025
507,870  529,525 
6.375% senior unsecured notes due 2026
374,617  397,529 
Net unamortized debt issuance costs(2)
(19,772) (23,751)
Construction loan 21,969  22,453 
Less: current maturities of long term debt (656) (631)
Debt reflected as long term $ 2,068,036  $ 1,978,020 
(1) The Company has entered into a senior secured revolving credit facility, as amended (the "revolving credit facility"), with The Bank of Nova Scotia, as the lead arranger and administrative agent and other lenders. The credit agreement provides for a maximum facility of $1.5 billion and matures on December 13, 2021. On May 1, 2020, the Company entered into the fifteenth amendment to the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. As part of the amendment, the Company's borrowing base and elected commitment were reduced from $1.2 billion and $1.0 billion, respectively, to $700.0 million. Additionally, the amendment added a requirement to maintain a ratio of Net Secured Debt to EBITDAX (as defined under the revolving
credit agreement) not exceeding 2.00 to 1.00, deferred the requirement to maintain a ratio of Net Funded Debt to EBITDAX of 4.00 to 1.00 until September 30, 2021, and added a limitation on the repurchase of unsecured notes, among other amendments.
On July 27, 2020, the Company entered into the sixteenth amendment to the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. Among other changes, the Sixteenth Amendment amends the Credit Agreement to: (i) require that, in the event of any issuances of Senior Notes, including Second Lien Notes, after the effective date, the then effective borrowing base will be reduced by a variable amount prescribed in the Credit Agreement to the extent the proceeds are not used to satisfy previously issued senior notes within 90 days of such issuance; (ii) require that each Loan Notice specify the amount of the then effective Borrowing Base and Pro Forma Borrowing Base, the Aggregate Elected Commitment Amount, and the current Total Outstandings, both with and without regard to the requested Borrowing; (iii) permit the Borrower or any Restricted Subsidiary to enter into obligations in connection with a Permitted Bond Hedge Transaction or Permitted Warrant Transaction; (iv) permit the Borrower to make any payments of Senior Notes and Subordinated Obligation prior to their scheduled maturity, in any event not to exceed $750 million or, if lesser, the net cash proceeds of any Senior Notes issued within 90 days before such payment; (v) require that the Senior Notes have a stated maturity date of no earlier than March 13, 2024, as well as not require payment of principal prior to such date, in order for the Borrower to be permitted to secure indebtedness under the Senior Notes; (vi) permit certain additional liens securing obligations in respect of the incurrence or issuance of any Permitted Refinancing Notes (as such term is defined in the Credit Agreement) not to exceed $750 million, subject to the terms of an intercreditor agreement; and (vii) amend and restate the Applicable Rate Grid.
As of September 30, 2020, $279.9 million was outstanding under the revolving credit facility and the total availability for future borrowings under this facility, after giving effect to an aggregate of $320.0 million letters of credit, was $100.1 million. The Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries have guaranteed the obligations of the Company under the revolving credit facility.
At September 30, 2020, amounts borrowed under the revolving credit facility bore interest at a weighted average rate of 2.90%. The Company was in compliance with its financial covenants under the revolving credit facility at September 30, 2020.
(2) Loan issuance costs related to the 2023 Notes, the 2024 Notes, the 6.375% Senior Notes due 2025 (the "2025 Notes") and the 6.375% Senior Notes due 2026 (the "2026 Notes") (collectively the “Notes”) have been presented as a reduction to the principal amount of the Notes. At September 30, 2020, total unamortized debt issuance costs were $2.6 million for the 2023 Notes, $5.7 million for the 2024 Notes, $8.1 million for the 2025 Notes and $3.3 million for the 2026 Notes. In addition, loan commitment fee costs for the Company's construction loan agreement were $0.1 million at September 30, 2020.
The Company capitalized approximately $0.2 million and $0.9 million in interest expense to its unevaluated oil and natural gas properties during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively. The Company capitalized approximately $1.0 million and $2.8 million in interest expense to its unevaluated oil and natural gas properties during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively.
Debt Repurchases
In 2019, the Company's Board of Directors authorized $200 million of cash to be used to repurchase its senior notes in the open market at discounted values to par. The Company used borrowings under its revolving credit facility to repurchase in the open market $73.3 million aggregate principal amount of its outstanding Notes for $22.8 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2020. The Company recognized a $49.6 million gain on debt extinguishment, which included retirement of unamortized issuance costs and fees associated with the repurchased debt, during the nine months ended September 30, 2020. This gain is included in gain on debt extinguishment in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. On May 1, 2020, further repurchases under this program were limited due to the agreements entered into under the fifteenth amendment to the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement of the Company's credit facility. As such, there were no repurchases during the three months ended September 30, 2020.
Fair Value of Debt
At September 30, 2020, the carrying value of the outstanding debt represented by the Notes was approximately $1.8 billion. Based on the quoted market prices (Level 1), the fair value of the Notes was determined to be approximately $1.1 billion at September 30, 2020.
Subsequent Event
On October 8, 2020, the Company's borrowing base under its revolving credit facility was reduced for the second time during 2020. The October redetermination reduced the Company's borrowing base from $700 million to $580 million, thereby significantly reducing available liquidity.
Additionally, the Company elected not to make an interest payment of $17.4 million due October 15, 2020 on the 2024 Notes. The Company elected not to make an interest payment of $10.8 million due November 2, 2020 on the 2023 Notes. The elections to defer the interest payments do not constitute an “Event of Default” as defined under the Indentures if the interest payments are made within 30 days of the due date. If the Company does not make such interest payments within such 30-day period, there will be an event of default under the Indentures upon expiration of the grace period and there can be no assurance that it will have sufficient funds to pay such interest payments prior to such time.
Additionally, on October 15, 2020, the Company entered into the First Forbearance Agreement. Pursuant to the First Forbearance Agreement, the lender parties have agreed to (i) temporarily waive any default in connection with the non-payment of interest on the 2024 Notes within 30 days of becoming due prior to its occurrence without any further action and (ii) forbear from exercising certain of their default-related rights and remedies against the Company and the other loan parties with respect to any default in connection with the Specified Default, in each case, until the earlier of October 29, 2020 or another event that would trigger the end of the forbearance period. On October 26, 2020, the Company entered into the Second Forbearance Agreement, which extends the First Forbearance Agreement. Pursuant to the Second Forbearance Agreement, the lender parties have agreed to (i) temporarily waive any default in connection with the Specified Default prior to its occurrence without any further action, (ii) expand the definition of "Specified Default" to include the failure to make the interest payment on the 2023 Notes within 30 days of becoming due and (iii) extend the agreement to forbear from exercising certain of their default-related rights and remedies against the Company and the other loan parties with respect to any default in connection with the Specified Default, in each case, until the earlier of November 13, 2020 or another event that would trigger the end of the forbearance period.
As of November 5, 2020, $355.5 million was outstanding under the revolving credit facility, after giving effect to an aggregate of $243.7 million letters of credit outstanding, the Company had no availability under its revolver. As of November 5, 2020, the Company had $61.7 million in cash on hand to fund ongoing operations.