W&T Offshore, Inc. Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

8. Fair Value Measurements

Under GAAP, fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The fair value of an asset should reflect its highest and best use by market participants, whether using an in-use or an in-exchange valuation premise. The fair value of a liability should reflect the risk of nonperformance, which includes, among other things, the Company’s credit risk.

Valuation techniques are generally classified into three categories: the market approach; the income approach; and the cost approach. The selection and application of one or more of these techniques requires significant judgment and is primarily dependent upon the characteristics of the asset or liability, the principal (or most advantageous) market in which participants would transact for the asset or liability and the quality and availability of inputs. Inputs to valuation techniques are classified as either observable or unobservable within the following hierarchy:

Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 – inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for an asset or liability. These include: quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability; and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means (market-corroborated inputs).

Level 3 – unobservable inputs that reflect the Company’s own expectations about the assumptions that market participants would use in measuring the fair value of an asset or liability.

The following table presents the fair value of our derivative financial instruments, our 8.50% Senior Notes, the 9.00% Term Loan and our revolving bank credit facility (in thousands):

		December 31, 2015				December 31, 2014
	Hierarchy	Assets		Liabilities		Liabilities

Derivatives	Level 2	$	7,672	$	—	$	—
8.50% Senior Notes	Level 2		—		324,000		594,000
9.00% Term Loan	Level 2		—		217,500		—
Revolving bank credit facility	Level 2		—		—		447,000

We measure the fair value of our derivative financial instruments by applying the income approach, using models with inputs that are classified within Level 2 of the valuation hierarchy. The inputs used for the fair value measurement of our derivative financial instruments are the exercise price, the expiration date, the settlement date, notional quantities, the implied volatility, the discount curve with spreads and published commodity futures prices. The fair value of our 8.50% Senior Notes and the 9.00% Term Loan is based on quoted prices, although the market is not an active market; therefore, the fair value is classified within Level 2. The carrying amount of debt under our revolving bank credit facility approximates fair value because the interest rates are variable and reflective of market rates.

Derivatives are reported in the statement of financial position at fair value. The 8.50% Senior Notes are reported in the statement of financial position at their carrying value, which was $900.0 million at December 31, 2015 and 2014. The 9.00% Term Loan is reported in the statement of financial position at its carrying value, which was $300.0 million at December 31, 2015. The revolving bank credit facility debt is reported in the statement of financial position at its carrying value, which was zero and $447.0 million at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

For additional information about our derivative financial instruments refer to Note 6 and for additional information on our 8.50% Senior Notes, the 9.00% Term Loan and revolving bank credit facility refer to Note 7.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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