NOTE 2 — DEBT

The components comprising the Company’s debt are presented in the following table (in thousands):

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Current Portion of Long-Term Debt

As of September 30, 2022, the current portion of long-term debt of $35.5 million represented principal payments due within one year on the Term Loan (defined below).

As of September 30, 2022, the Company had outstanding $552.5 million principal of Senior Second Lien Notes with an interest rate of 9.75% per annum that mature on November 1, 2023. The Company has commenced discussions with potential lenders and institutional investors regarding a potential refinancing of all or a portion of the Senior Second Lien Notes prior to maturity, although there is no assurance as to the terms of any such refinancing or whether or when such refinancing will occur.

The Company believes that cash on hand and cash flows from operations will enable the Company to satisfy its debt obligations as well as meet its other funding requirements for at least one year from the date this Form 10-Q is issued.  The Company’s view regarding sufficiency of cash and liquidity is primarily based on the financial forecast, which is impacted by various assumptions including projections for pricing, production volumes and operating costs. Given the assumptions involved, the forecast is subject to uncertainty, therefore cash flows from operations may be lower than projected. 

If necessary, there are further actions the Company could undertake to increase cash flows which include limiting capital expenditures and reducing operating expenditures. Additionally, the Company may seek to raise cash through the sale of up to $100 million of equity available under the ATM program.

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Term Loan (Subsidiary Credit Agreement)

On May 19, 2021, A-I LLC and A-II LLC (collectively, the “Subsidiary Borrowers”), both Delaware limited liability companies and indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company, entered into a credit agreement (the “Subsidiary Credit Agreement”) providing for a term loan in an aggregate principal amount equal to $215.0 million (the “Term Loan”). The Term Loan requires quarterly amortization payments, which commenced on September 30, 2021. The Term Loan bears interest at a fixed rate of 7% per annum and will mature on May 19, 2028. The Term Loan is non-recourse to the Company and any subsidiaries other than the Subsidiary Borrowers and the subsidiary that owns the equity in the Subsidiary Borrowers, and is secured by the first lien security interests in the equity of the Subsidiary Borrowers and a first lien mortgage security interest and mortgages on certain assets of the Subsidiary Borrowers (the Mobile Bay Properties, defined below).

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In exchange for the net cash proceeds received by the Subsidiary Borrowers from the Term Loan, the Company assigned to (a) A-I LLC all of its interests in certain oil and gas leasehold interests and associated wells and units located in State of Alabama waters and U.S. federal waters in the offshore Gulf of Mexico, in the Mobile Bay region (such assets, the “Mobile Bay Properties”) and (b) A-II LLC its interest in certain gathering and processing assets located (i) in State of Alabama waters and U.S. federal waters in the offshore Gulf of Mexico, in the Mobile Bay region and (ii) onshore near Mobile, Alabama, including offshore gathering pipelines, an onshore crude oil treating and sweetening facility, an onshore gathering pipeline, and associated assets (such assets, the “Midstream Assets”). A portion of the proceeds to the Company was used to repay the $48.0 million outstanding balance on its reserve-based lending facility under the Credit Agreement (defined below), with the majority of the proceeds to W&T expected to be used for general corporate purposes, including oil and gas acquisitions, development activities, and other opportunities to grow the Company’s broader asset base. The transactions contemplated by the Subsidiary Credit Agreement, including the assignment of the Mobile Bay Properties to A-I LLC and the assignment of the Midstream Assets to A-II LLC are referred to herein as the “Mobile Bay Transaction”. For information about the Mobile Bay Transaction refer to Note 5 – Subsidiary Borrowers.

As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company had $157.0 million and $190.9 million in principal amount of Term Loan outstanding, respectively.

Credit Agreement

On November 2, 2021, the Company entered into the Ninth Amendment to the Sixth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the “Ninth Amendment”), which establishes a short-term $100.0 million first priority lien secured revolving credit facility with borrowings limited to a borrowing base of $50.0 million (the “Credit Agreement”) provided by Calculus Lending, LLC (“Calculus”), a company affiliated with, and controlled by W&T’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tracy W. Krohn, as sole lender under the Credit Agreement. A committee of the independent members of the Board of Directors reviewed and approved the amendments given the Chief Executive Officer’s affiliation with Calculus. As of November 2, 2021, the Company cash collateralized each of the outstanding letters of credit in the aggregate amount of approximately $4.4 million. Alter Domus (US) LLC was appointed to replace Toronto Dominion (Texas) LLC as administrative agent under the Credit Agreement.

On March 8, 2022, the Company entered into the Tenth Amendment to Credit Agreement (the “Tenth Amendment”), which extended the maturity date and Calculus’ commitment to January 3, 2023. The terms of this extension with Calculus were reviewed and approved by the Audit Committee of the Company. In connection with the Tenth Amendment, Calculus was paid arrangement and upfront fees of approximately $1.0 million in the aggregate during the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

On November 7, 2022, the Company entered into the Eleventh Amendment to the Credit Agreement (the “Eleventh Amendment”), which extended the maturity date and Calculus’ commitment to January 3, 2024, or in certain circumstances as described in more detail below, to August 1, 2023, and shifted the rate at which outstanding borrowings will accrue interest to a SOFR-based rate. The terms of this extension with Calculus were reviewed and approved by the Audit Committee of the Company.

Pursuant to the Eleventh Amendment, the commitment will expire and final maturity of any and all outstanding loans is January 3, 2024, or in the event the Senior Second Lien Notes are not refinanced or replaced in full, on or prior to August 1, 2023, with other indebtedness that matures on or after April 3, 2024 or are not otherwise discharged, defeased or repaid in full, August 1, 2023. Outstanding borrowings will accrue interest at SOFR plus 6.0% per annum. The commitment fee for the unused portion of available borrowing amounts will be 3.0% per annum. In connection with the Eleventh Amendment, the Company paid to Calculus an extension fee of $100,000.

As a result of the Ninth Amendment, Tenth Amendment and Eleventh Amendment and related assignments and agreements, the primary terms and covenants associated with the Credit Agreement as of September 30, 2022, are as follows:

·The Company’s ratio of First Lien Debt (as such term is defined in the Credit Agreement) outstanding under the Credit Agreement on the last day of the most recent quarter to EBITDAX (as such term is defined in the Credit Agreement) for the trailing four quarters must not be greater than 2.50 to 1.00 on the last day of the fiscal quarter ending March 31, 2022 and on the last day of each fiscal quarter thereafter;

·The Company’s ratio of Total Proved PV-10 (as such term is defined in the Credit Agreement) to First Lien Debt as of the last day of any fiscal quarter commencing with the fiscal quarter ending March 31, 2022 must be equal to or greater than 2.00 to 1.00;

·The ratio of the Company and its restricted subsidiaries’ consolidated current assets to Company and its restricted subsidiaries’ consolidated current liabilities (subject in each case to certain exceptions and adjustments as set forth in the Credit Agreement) at the last day of any fiscal quarter must be greater than or equal to 1.00 to 1.00;

In addition, Calculus earned commitment fees of $1,137,500, equal to 3.0% of unborrowed portion of the borrowing base lending commitment, during the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

Availability under the Credit Agreement is subject to redetermination of the borrowing base that may be requested at the discretion of either the lender or the Company in accordance with the Credit Agreement. The borrowing base is calculated by the lender based on their evaluation of proved reserves and their own internal criteria. Any redetermination by the lender to change the borrowing base will result in a similar change in the availability under the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement is secured by a first priority lien on substantially all of the Company’s and its guarantor subsidiaries’ assets, excluding those assets of the Subsidiary Borrowers, which liens were released in the Mobile Bay Transaction (as described in Note 5 – Subsidiary Borrowers).

As of September 30, 2022, there were no borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement and no borrowings had been incurred under the Credit Agreement during the nine months ended September 30, 2022. Separately, as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company had $4.4 million outstanding in letters of credit which have been cash collateralized.

9.75% Senior Second Lien Notes Due 2023

On October 18, 2018, W&T issued $625.0 million of 9.75% Senior Second Lien Notes due 2023 (the “Senior Second Lien Notes”), which were issued at par with an interest rate of 9.75% per annum and mature on November 1, 2023, and are governed under the terms of the Indenture of the Senior Second Lien Notes (the “Indenture”). The estimated annual effective interest rate on the Senior Second Lien Notes is 10.3%, which includes amortization of debt issuance costs. Interest on the Senior Second Lien Notes is payable in arrears on May 1 and November 1 of each year. As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, $552.5 million in principal amount of Senior Second Lien Notes remained issued and outstanding.

The Senior Second Lien Notes are secured by a second-priority lien on all of the Company’s assets that are secured under the Credit Agreement, which does not include the Mobile Bay Properties and the related Midstream Assets. The Senior Second Lien Notes contain covenants that limit or prohibit the Company’s ability and the ability of certain subsidiaries to: (i) make investments; (ii) incur additional indebtedness or issue certain types of preferred stock; (iii) create certain liens; (iv) sell assets; (v) enter into agreements that restrict dividends or other payments from the Company’s subsidiaries to the Company; (vi) consolidate, merge or transfer all or substantially all of the assets of the Company; (vii) engage in transactions with affiliates; (viii) pay dividends or make other distributions on capital stock or subordinated indebtedness; and (ix) create subsidiaries that would not be restricted by the covenants of the Indenture. These covenants are subject to exceptions and qualifications set forth in the Indenture. In addition, most of the above described covenants will terminate if both S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc., and Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. assign the Senior Second Lien Notes an investment grade rating and no default exists with respect to the Senior Second Lien Notes.

Covenants

As of September 30, 2022 and for all prior measurement periods presented, the Company was in compliance with all applicable covenants of the Credit Agreement and the Indenture.