PHX MINERALS INC. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

OR

Commission File Number 001-31759

PHX MINERALS INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (405) 948-1560

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.  Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files).  Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  yes ☐ no ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, computed by using the $2.87 per share closing price of registrant's Class A Common Stock, as reported by the New York Stock Exchange at March 31, 2021, was $63,165,371.

The number of shares of Registrant’s Class A Common Stock outstanding as of December 10, 2021, was 32,970,819.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement of PHX Minerals Inc. (to be filed no later than 120 days after September 30, 2021) relating to the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on March 1, 2022, are incorporated into Part III of this Form 10-K.

T A B L E   O F   C O N T E N T S

Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2021 (this “Annual Report on Form 10-K”, this “Annual Report” or this “Form 10-K”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements in this Form 10-K by words such as “anticipate,” “project,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “believe,” “predict,” “budget,” “projection,” “goal,” “plan,” “forecast,” “target” or similar expressions.

All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to statements relating to: our ability to execute our business strategies; the volatility of realized natural gas and oil prices; the level of production on our properties; estimates of quantities of natural gas, oil and NGL reserves and their values; general economic or industry conditions; legislation or regulatory requirements; conditions of the securities markets; our ability to raise capital; changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines; financial or political instability; acts of war or terrorism; title defects in the properties in which we invest; and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory or technical factors affecting our properties, operations or prices.

We caution you that the forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, incident to the exploration for and development, production and sale of natural gas and oil. These risks include, but are not limited to, the risks described in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and all quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed subsequently thereto.

Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties described above or elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Except as required by applicable law, all forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This cautionary statement should also be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that we or persons acting on our behalf may issue.

Glossary of Certain Terms

The following is a glossary of certain accounting, natural gas and oil industry and other defined terms used in this Annual Report:

As used herein, the “Company,” “PHX,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to PHX Minerals Inc., formerly known as Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc., and its predecessors and subsidiaries unless the context requires otherwise.

Fiscal year references

All references to years or fiscal years in this Annual Report, unless otherwise noted, refer to the Company’s fiscal year ended September 30. For example, references to 2021 mean the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021.

References to natural gas and oil properties

References to natural gas and oil properties inherently include NGL associated with such properties.

PART I

Overview

PHX Minerals Inc. was founded in Range, Texas County, Oklahoma, in 1926, as Panhandle Cooperative Royalty Company. The Company operated as a cooperative until 1979, when it merged into Panhandle Royalty Company and its shares became publicly traded. On April 2, 2007, the Company changed its name to Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc., and on October 8, 2020, the Company changed its name to PHX Minerals Inc.

PHX Minerals Inc. is an Oklahoma City-based company focused on perpetual natural gas and oil mineral ownership in resource plays in the United States. Prior to a strategy change in 2019, the Company participated with a working interest on some of its mineral and leasehold acreage and as a result still holds legacy interests in leasehold acreage and non-operated working interests in natural gas and oil properties.

Strategic Focus on Mineral Ownership

During fiscal year 2019, we made the strategic decision to focus on perpetual natural gas and oil mineral ownership and growth by acquiring minerals in our core areas of focus and by developing our significant mineral acreage inventory. In accordance with this new strategy, we have ceased taking any working interest positions on our mineral and leasehold acreage. During fiscal years 2020 and 2021, we did not participate with a working interest in the drilling of any new wells. We believe that our strategy to focus on mineral ownership is the best path forward to provide our shareholders the greatest risk-weighted returns on their investments.

A “mineral fee” is an interest in real property in which the owner owns all of the rights to the minerals under the surface forever, as compared to a mineral lease in which the lessee’s rights end at the expiration of the lease term or after production in paying quantities ceases with respect to the lease or the lease otherwise terminates in accordance with its terms. Generally, the mineral interest owner of a mineral fee interest reserves a non-cost bearing royalty interest upon the lease of such gas, oil, and other minerals to a gas and oil exploration and development company. Such companies lease such mineral interests from the fee mineral owner for a term with the expectation of producing natural gas and oil, thereby generating free cash flow from bonuses and royalties to the mineral interest owner.

As referenced above, our leasehold interests, rather than our mineral interests, are non-operated working interests. These non-operated working interests require us to contribute our proportionate share of the costs incurred by the operator in the development of such minerals. As discussed above and further below, since the end of 2019 and going forward, we no longer seek to participate with such working interests and have started a process of divesting working interests and redeploying the proceeds into high quality mineral and royalty properties. Our producing mineral and leasehold properties are located primarily in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota and Arkansas.

Although a significant amount of our revenues is currently derived from the production and sale of natural gas, oil and NGL from our working interests, a growing portion of our revenues is derived from lease bonus payments and royalties generated from the production and sale of natural gas, oil and NGL. These royalties are tied to our perpetual ownership of mineral acreage, unless we sell such mineral interests. Royalties are due and payable whenever the operator of such interest produces and sells natural gas, oil or NGL from wells located on our mineral acreage.

As of September 30, 2021, we owned approximately 251,600 perpetual mineral acres, as detailed in the table below:

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Approximately 30% of our net minerals are currently under lease with an operator and 25% have a producing well. Additionally, 70% of our net mineral position is currently unleased, providing the opportunity, through potential future leases, to generate additional cash flow from bonus payments and royalties without spending additional capital. We also own working interests, royalty interests or both, in 6,457 producing natural gas and oil wells and 277 wells in the process of being drilled or completed.

Exploration and development of our natural gas and oil properties are conducted by natural gas and oil exploration and production companies, which typically are larger, independent oil and gas operating companies. We do not operate any natural gas and oil properties. While we previously were an active working interest participant in wells drilled on our mineral and leasehold acreage, we now focus on growth through mineral acquisitions and through development of our significant mineral acreage inventory.

We intend to maximize shareholder value through the acquisition of mineral acreage in the core areas of resource plays with substantial undeveloped opportunities, divestiture of non-core minerals with limited optionality when the amount negotiated exceeds our projected total value, and proactive leasing of our mineral holdings.

Our Business Strategy

Our principal business objective is to maximize shareholder value. At the end of 2019, we made the strategic decision to cease taking working interest positions on our mineral and leasehold acreage. Our focus since then has been on growth through mineral acquisitions and by developing our significant mineral acreage inventory in our core areas. We believe this is the best path to provide our shareholders the greatest risk-weighted returns on their investment. We intend to accomplish this objective by executing the following corporate strategies:

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Our Business Strengths

We believe the following attributes position us to achieve our objectives:

Principal Products and Markets

We derive our revenue through bonus and royalty payments and from working interests on our mineral and leasehold acreage. Our principal products from the production associated with our royalty and non-operated interests, in order of revenue generated, are natural gas, crude oil and NGL. These products are generally sold by well operators to various purchasers, including pipeline and marketing companies, which service the areas where the producing wells are located. Since we do not operate any of the wells in which we own an interest, we must rely on the operating expertise of numerous companies that operate the wells in which we own interests, including expertise in the drilling and completion of new wells, producing well operations and, in most cases, the marketing or purchasing of production from the wells. We receive payment from natural gas, oil and NGL sales from the well operator or the contracted purchaser.

Prices of natural gas, oil and NGL are dependent on numerous factors beyond our control, including supply and demand, competition, weather, international events and geo-political circumstances, actions taken by OPEC and economic, political and regulatory developments. Since demand for natural gas is subject to weather conditions, prices received for our natural gas production may be subject to seasonal variations.

We enter into price risk management financial instruments (derivatives) to reduce our exposure to short-term fluctuations in the price of natural gas and oil and to protect our return on investments. The derivative contracts apply only to a portion of our natural gas and oil production, provide only partial price protection against declines in natural gas and oil prices and may limit the benefit of future increases in natural gas and oil prices. Please see Item 7A – “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” and Note 12 to the financial statements included in Item 8 – “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for additional information regarding the derivative contracts we enter into.

Competitive Business Conditions

The oil and natural gas industry is highly competitive, particularly with respect to attempting to acquire additional fee mineral interests and natural gas, oil and NGL reserves. Many factors beyond our control affect our competitive position. Some of these factors include: the quantity and price of foreign oil imports; domestic supply and deliverability of natural gas, oil and NGL;

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changes in prices received for natural gas, oil and NGL production; business and consumer demand for refined natural gas, oil products and NGL; and the effects of federal, state and local regulation of the exploration for, production of and sales of natural gas, oil and NGL (see Item 1A – “Risk Factors”). Many companies have substantially greater resources than we have, and such companies may have more resources to evaluate, bid for and purchase more mineral fee, royalty and similar interests than our financial or human resources permit.

We do not operate any of the wells in which we have an interest; rather, we rely on operating companies with greater resources, staff, equipment, research and experience for both drilling and production of gas and oil wells. Our business strategy is to use our stable and flexible financial position, coupled with our own geologic and economic evaluations, to acquire new mineral acreage and to lease or farmout our mineral and leasehold acreage interests. We believe this strategy allows us to compete effectively in a competitive mineral market; however, our ability to acquire additional mineral fee, royalty and similar interests in the future will depend upon our ability to evaluate and select suitable properties and to consummate transactions in a highly competitive environment.

Major Customers

Our natural gas, oil and NGL production is sold, in most cases, through our lessees or well operators to numerous different purchasers. The loss of certain major purchasers of natural gas, oil and NGL production could have a material adverse effect on our ability to produce and sell, through our lessees or well operators, natural gas, oil and NGL production. The following table shows sales to major purchasers, by percentage, through various operators/purchasers during 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Regulation of the Natural Gas and Oil Industry

General

As the owner of mineral fee interests and non-operating working interests, we do not have any employees or contractors actually operating in the field, and we are not directly subject to many of the regulations of the oil and gas industry. The following disclosure describes regulations and environmental matters more directly associated with operators of natural gas and oil properties, including our current operators. Since we do not operate any wells in which we have interests, actual compliance with many laws and regulations is controlled by the well operators, and we are responsible only for our proportionate share of the costs, if any, involved on wells in which we own a working interest.

Natural gas and oil operations are subject to various types of legislation, regulation and other legal requirements enacted by governmental authorities. Legislation and regulation affecting the entire oil and natural gas industry is continuously being reviewed for potential revision. Some of these requirements carry substantial penalties for failure to comply.

Although we are generally not directly subject to many of the rules, regulations and limitations impacting the natural gas and oil exploration and production industry as a whole, companies that operate our interests may be impacted by such rules and regulations and we may be responsible for our proportionate share of costs for wells on which we own a working interest. While we may be partially insulated from compliance costs applicable to our operator-lessees, we may still be indirectly impacted by operator regulations because our revenue stream depends on operators complying with applicable laws and regulations that govern the production of natural gas, oil and NGL.

Regulation of Drilling and Production

The production of natural gas and oil is subject to regulation under federal, state and local statutes, rules, orders and regulations. These statutes and regulations require that operators obtain permits for drilling operations and drilling bonds, as well as provide for reporting requirements concerning operations. Additionally, the state regulatory agencies where we own mineral and leasehold interests have enacted regulations governing conservation matters, including provisions for the unitization or pooling of natural gas and oil properties, the establishment of maximum allowable rates of production from natural gas and oil wells, the regulation of well spacing and plugging and abandonment of wells. The effect of these regulations is to limit the amount of natural gas and oil that can be produced from wells and to limit the number of wells or the locations which can be drilled. Additionally, some

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states where we hold mineral or leasehold interests may impose a production or severance tax with respect to the production and sale of natural gas, oil and NGL within the applicable jurisdictions.

Regulation of Transportation of Oil

The sale and transportation of our crude oil is generally undertaken by the operators (or by third parties at the direction of the operators) of our properties. Sales of crude oil, condensate and NGL are not currently regulated and are made at negotiated prices; however, Congress has enacted price controls in the past and could reenact price controls in the future.

Sales of crude oil are affected by the availability, terms and cost of transportation. The transportation of oil in common carrier pipelines is also subject to rate regulation. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the “FERC”) regulates interstate oil pipeline transportation rates under the Interstate Commerce Act. Intrastate oil pipeline transportation rates are subject to regulation by state regulatory commissions. The basis for intrastate oil pipeline regulation, and the degree of regulatory oversight and scrutiny given to intrastate oil pipeline rates, varies from state to state. Interstate and intrastate common carrier oil pipelines must provide service on a non-discriminatory basis. Under this open access standard, common carriers must offer service to all shippers requesting service on the same terms and under the same rates. When oil pipelines operate at full capacity, access is governed by pro-rationing provisions set forth in the pipelines’ published tariffs.

Regulation of Transportation and Sale of Natural Gas

The sale and transportation of our natural gas is generally undertaken by the operators (or by third parties at the direction of the operators) of our properties. Historically, the transportation and sale for resale of natural gas in interstate commerce has been regulated pursuant to the Natural Gas Act of 1938, the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 and regulations issued under those Acts by the FERC. In the past, the federal government regulated the prices at which natural gas could be sold. While sales by producers of natural gas can currently be made at uncontrolled market prices, Congress could reenact price controls in the future.

The FERC has endeavored to make natural gas transportation more accessible to natural gas buyers and sellers on an open and non-discriminatory basis. The FERC has stated that open access policies are necessary to improve the competitive structure of the interstate natural gas pipeline industry and to create a regulatory framework that will put natural gas sellers into more direct contractual relations with natural gas buyers by, among other things, unbundling the sale of natural gas from the sale of transportation and storage services. Although the FERC’s orders do not directly regulate natural gas producers, they are intended to foster increased competition within all phases of the natural gas industry.

Intrastate natural gas transportation is subject to regulation by state regulatory agencies. The basis for intrastate regulation of natural gas transportation and the degree of regulatory oversight and scrutiny given to intrastate natural gas pipeline rates and services varies from state to state.

Environmental Compliance and Risks

Our operators and properties are impacted by extensive and changing federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to environmental protection, including the generation, storage, handling, emission, transportation and discharge of materials into the environment and relating to safety and health.

Natural gas and oil exploration, development and production operations are subject to stringent federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the discharge of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to environmental protection. Historically, most of the environmental regulation of gas and oil production has been left to state regulatory boards or agencies in those jurisdictions where there is significant natural gas and oil production, with limited direct regulation by such federal agencies as the Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”). However, there are various regulations issued by the EPA and other governmental agencies that would govern significant spills, blow-outs or uncontrolled emissions.

Many states, including states where we own properties, have enacted natural gas and oil regulations that apply to the drilling, completion and operations of wells and the disposal of waste oil and salt water. The operators of our properties are subject to such regulations. There are also procedures incident to the plugging and abandonment of dry holes or other non-operational wells, all as governed by the applicable governing state agency.

At the federal level, among the more significant laws and regulations that may affect our business and the oil and natural gas industry are: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, also known as “CERCLA” or

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“Superfund”; the Oil Pollution Act of 1990; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, also known as “RCRA”; the Clean Air Act; Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, or the Clean Water Act; and the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974.

Since we do not operate any wells in which we own an interest, actual compliance with environmental laws is controlled by the well operators, and we are only responsible for our proportionate share of the costs for wells in which we own a working interest. As such, we have no knowledge of any instances of non-compliance with existing laws and regulations. We maintain insurance coverage at levels customary in the industry, but we are not fully insured against all environmental risks.

Taxes

Our natural gas and oil properties are subject to various taxes, such as gross production taxes and, in some cases, ad valorem taxes, which we pay on minerals we own.

Employees

At September 30, 2021, we had 20 full-time employees, including our executive officers, and did not have any part-time employees.

Executive Officers

Chad L. Stephens has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since January 2020.  Mr. Stephens served as Interim CEO from October 2019 to December 2019, and he has served as a Director of the Company since September 2017.  Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Stephens held several positions at Range Resources Corporation from 1990 through his retirement in 2018, where he served as Senior Vice President – Corporate Development.

Ralph D’Amico has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary since March 2020 and as Vice President – Business Development since January 2019.  Prior to joining the Company, Mr. D’Amico served as a Managing Director at Seaport Global Securities and held various energy investment banking positions at Stifel Nicolaus, Jefferies, Friedman Billings Ramsey and Salomon Smith Barney prior to then.

Corporate Office

Our offices are located at Valliance Bank Tower, Suite 1100, 1601 NW Expressway, Oklahoma City, OK 73118. Our telephone number is (405) 948-1560 and our website is www.phxmin.com.

Available Information

We make available free of charge on our website (www.phxmin.com) our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other filings pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, and amendments to such filings, as soon as reasonably practicable after each are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.

We also make available within the “Corporate Governance” section under the “Investors” section of our website our Code of Ethics & Business Practices, Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers, Corporate Governance Guidelines, and Audit Committee,  Governance and Nominating Committee and Compensation Committee Charters, each of which have been approved by our Board of Directors. We will make timely disclosure on our website of any change to, or waiver from, the Code of Ethics & Business Practices and Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers for our principal executive and senior financial officers. Copies of our Code of Ethics & Business Practices and Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers are available free of charge by writing us at: PHX Minerals Inc., Attn: Chad True, 1601 NW Expressway, Suite 1100, Oklahoma City, OK 73118.

In addition to the other information included in this Form 10-K, the following risk factors should be considered in evaluating our business and future prospects. If any of the following risk factors should occur, our financial condition could be materially impacted, and the holders of our securities could lose part or all of their investment in the Company. As the owner of mineral fee interests and non-operating working interests, we do not operate any natural gas and oil properties, and we do not have any employees or contractors in the field. As such, the risks associated with natural gas and oil operations only affect us indirectly and typically through our non-operating working interests as we proportionately share in the costs of operating such wells. The risk factors

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described below are not exhaustive, and investors are encouraged to perform their own investigation with respect to our Company and our business. Investors should also read the other information in this Form 10-K, including the financial statements and related notes.

Risks Related to our Business

The volatility of natural gas and oil prices due to factors beyond our control greatly affects our financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution.

The supply of and demand for natural gas, oil and NGL impact the prices we realize on the sale of these commodities and, in turn, materially affect our financial results. Our revenues, operating results, cash available for distribution and the carrying value of our natural gas and oil properties depend significantly upon the prevailing prices for natural gas, oil and NGL. Natural gas, oil and NGL prices have historically been, and will likely continue to be, volatile. The prices for natural gas, oil and NGL are subject to wide fluctuation in response to a number of factors beyond our control, including:

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These factors and the volatility of the energy markets make it extremely difficult to predict future natural gas, oil and NGL price movements with any certainty. If the prices of natural gas, oil and NGL decline, our operations, financial condition and level of expenditures for the development of our natural gas, oil and NGL reserves may be materially and adversely affected. Lower natural gas, oil and NGL prices may also result in a reduction in the borrowing base under our credit agreement, which may be determined at the discretion of our lenders.

Low natural gas, oil and NGL prices for a prolonged period of time would have a material adverse effect on the Company.

The volatility of the energy markets makes it extremely difficult to predict future natural gas, oil and NGL price movements with any certainty. Though more stable than during fiscal year 2020, natural gas, oil and NGL prices continued to fluctuate in fiscal year 2021, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic contributing to volatility and uncertainty. Our financial position, results of operations, access to capital and the quantities of natural gas, oil and NGL that may be economically produced would be negatively impacted if natural gas, oil and NGL prices were low for an extended period of time. The ways in which low prices could have a material negative effect include the following:

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (“COVID-19”) has created significant uncertainty and economic disruption, as well as heightened volatility in the prices of oil and natural gas. The negative impact on worldwide demand for oil and natural gas resulting from COVID-19 led to a precipitous decline in oil prices, further exacerbated by the early March 2020 failure by OPEC+ to reach an agreement over proposed oil production cuts and global storage considerations. Although OPEC+ subsequently agreed to cut oil production, crude oil prices remained depressed as a result of an increasingly utilized global storage network and the decrease in crude oil demand due to COVID-19. Since then, oil and natural gas prices have risen, but such prices are expected to continue to be volatile as a result of COVID-19 and related measures taken by governments around the world, and as changes in oil and natural gas inventories, oil demand and economic performance are reported. The response to COVID-19 continues to evolve, and the ultimate

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impact of this pandemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including the duration of the pandemic, COVID-19 variants, the pandemic’s severity, actions to contain the disease or mitigate its impact and the effectiveness of treatments and vaccines, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with certainty at this time. Declines in oil prices due to COVID-19 could result in the events discussed in the immediately preceding risk factor, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. We are unable to predict the ultimate adverse impact of COVID-19 on our business, which will depend on numerous evolving factors and future developments, including the pandemic’s ongoing effect on the demand for oil and natural gas and the response of the overall economy and the financial markets after the pandemic and response measures come to an end, the timing of which remains highly uncertain.

Lower natural gas, oil and NGL prices or negative adjustments to natural gas, oil and NGL reserves may result in significant impairment charges.

We have elected to utilize the successful efforts method of accounting for our natural gas and oil exploration and development activities. Exploration expenses, including geological and geophysical costs, rentals and exploratory dry holes, are charged against income as incurred. Costs of successful wells and related production equipment and development dry holes are capitalized and amortized by property using the unit-of-production method (the ratio of natural gas, oil and NGL volumes produced to total proved or proved developed reserves) as natural gas, oil and NGL are produced.

All long-lived assets, principally our natural gas and oil properties, are monitored for potential impairment when circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset on our books may be greater than our future net cash flows. The need to test a property for impairment may result from declines in natural gas, oil and NGL sales prices or unfavorable adjustments to natural gas, oil and NGL reserves. The decision to not participate in future development on our leasehold acreage can trigger a test for impairment. Also, once assets are classified as held for sale, they are reviewed for impairment. Because of the uncertainty inherent in these factors, we cannot predict when or if future impairment charges will be recorded. If an impairment charge is recognized, cash flow from operating activities is not impacted, but net income and, consequently, shareholders’ equity are reduced. In periods when impairment charges are incurred, it could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. See Note 11 to the financial statements included in Item 8 – “Financial Statements and Supplemental Data” for further discussion on impairment under the heading “Impairment.”

Our future success depends on finding, developing or acquiring additional reserves, and failure to find or acquire additional reserves will cause reserves and production to decline materially from their current levels.

The rate of production from natural gas and oil properties generally declines as reserves are depleted. Our proved reserves will decline materially as reserves are produced except to the extent that we acquire additional properties containing proved reserves, conduct additional successful exploration and development drilling, successfully apply new technologies or identify additional behind-pipe zones (different productive zones within existing producing well bores) or secondary recovery reserves.

Drilling for natural gas and oil invariably involves unprofitable efforts, not only from dry wells, but also from wells that are productive but do not produce sufficient reserves to return a profit after deducting drilling, completion, operating and other costs. In addition, wells that are profitable may not achieve a targeted rate of return. We rely on third-party operators’ interpretation of seismic data and other advanced technologies in identifying prospects and in conducting exploration and development activities. Nevertheless, prior to drilling a well, the seismic data and other technologies used do not allow operators to know conclusively whether natural gas, oil or NGL is present in commercial quantities.

Cost factors can adversely affect the economics of any project, and the eventual cost of drilling, completing and operating a well is controlled by well operators and existing market conditions. Further, drilling operations may be curtailed, delayed or canceled as a result of numerous factors, including:

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Competition for acquisitions may increase the cost of, or cause us to refrain from, completing acquisitions. Our ability to complete acquisitions is dependent upon, among other things, our ability to obtain debt and equity financing and, in some cases, regulatory approvals. Further, these acquisitions may be in geographic regions in which we do not currently hold properties, which could result in unforeseen operating difficulties. In addition, if we enter into new geographic markets, we may be subject to additional and unfamiliar legal and regulatory requirements. Compliance with regulatory requirements may impose substantial additional obligations on us and our management, cause us to expend additional time and resources in compliance activities and increase our exposure to penalties or fines for non-compliance with such additional legal requirements. Further, the success of any completed acquisition will depend on our ability to effectively integrate the acquired business into our existing operations. The process of integrating acquired businesses may involve unforeseen difficulties and may require a disproportionate amount of our managerial and financial resources. In addition, possible future acquisitions may be larger and for purchase prices significantly higher than those paid for earlier acquisitions.

No assurance can be given that we will be able to identify suitable acquisition opportunities, negotiate acceptable terms, obtain financing for acquisitions on acceptable terms or successfully acquire identified targets. Our failure to achieve consolidation savings, to integrate the acquired businesses and assets into our existing operations successfully or to minimize any unforeseen operational difficulties could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution. The inability to effectively manage the integration of acquisitions could reduce our focus on subsequent acquisitions and current operations, which, in turn, could negatively impact our growth, results of operations and cash available for distribution.

Any acquisitions of additional mineral and royalty interests that we complete will be subject to substantial risks.

Any acquisition involves potential risks, including, among other things:

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Our estimated proved reserves are based on many assumptions that may prove to be inaccurate. Any inaccuracies in these reserve estimates or underlying assumptions may materially affect the quantities and present value of our reserves.

It is not possible to measure underground accumulations of natural gas, oil and NGL with precision. Natural gas, oil and NGL reserve engineering requires subjective estimates of underground accumulations of natural gas, oil and NGL using assumptions concerning future prices of these commodities, future production levels and operating and development costs. In estimating our reserves, we and our Independent Consulting Petroleum Engineering Firm (DeGolyer and MacNaughton of Dallas, Texas) must make various assumptions with respect to many matters that may prove to be incorrect, including:

If any of these assumptions prove to be incorrect, our estimates of reserves, the classifications of reserves based on risk of recovery and our estimates of the future net cash flows from our reserves could change significantly.

Our standardized measure of oil and natural gas reserves is calculated using the 12-month average price calculated as the unweighted arithmetic average of the first-day-of-the-month individual product prices for each month within the 12-month period prior to September 30. These prices and the operating costs in effect as of the date of estimation are held flat over the life of the properties. Production and income tax expenses are deducted from this calculation of future estimated development, with the result discounted at 10% per annum to reflect the timing of future net revenue in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. Over time, we may make material changes to reserve estimates to take into account changes in our assumptions and the results of actual development and production.

The reserve estimates made for fields that do not have a lengthy production history are less reliable than estimates for fields with lengthy records. A lack of production history may contribute to inaccuracy in our estimates of proved reserves, future production rates and the timing of development expenditures. Further, our lack of knowledge of all individual well information known to the well operators such as incomplete well stimulation efforts, restricted production rates for various reasons and up-to-date well production data, etc. may cause differences in our reserve estimates.

Because PUD reserves, under SEC reporting rules, may only be recorded if the wells they relate to are scheduled to be drilled within five years of the date of recording, the removal of PUD reserves that are not developed within this five-year period may be required. Removals of this nature may significantly reduce the quantity and present value of our natural gas, oil and NGL reserves. Please read Item 2 – “Properties – Proved Reserves” and Note 16 to the financial statements included in Item 8 – “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Since forward-looking prices and costs are not used to estimate discounted future net cash flows from our estimated proved reserves, the standardized measure of our estimated proved reserves is not necessarily the same as the current market value of our estimated proved natural gas, oil and NGL reserves.

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The timing of the development and production on our properties will affect the timing of actual future net cash flows from proved reserves, and thus their actual present value. In addition, the 10% discount factor used when calculating discounted future net cash flows, in compliance with the FASB statement on oil and natural gas producing activities disclosures, may not be the most appropriate discount factor based on interest rates in effect from time to time and risks associated with the Company, or the oil and natural gas industry in general.

Debt level and interest rates may adversely affect our business.

On September 1, 2021, we entered into a four-year Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with certain lenders and Independent Bank, as Administrative Agent and Letter of Credit Issuer (as defined in the Credit Agreement). The Credit Agreement replaced our prior revolving credit facility set forth in the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of November 25, 2013, as amended, among the Company, each lender party thereto, and BOKF, NA dba Bank of Oklahoma, as administrative agent, which we repaid in full and terminated. As of September 30, 2021, we had a balance of $17,500,000 drawn on our credit facility set forth in the Credit Agreement (the “Credit Facility). The Credit Facility’s initial borrowing base is set at $27,500,000. All obligations under the Credit Agreement are secured, subject to permitted liens and other exceptions, by a first-priority security interest on substantially all of our personal property and at least 80% of the total value of the proved, developed and producing Oil and Gas Properties (as defined in the Credit Agreement) owned by the Company.

Should we incur additional indebtedness under the Credit Facility to fund capital projects or for other reasons, there is a risk this could adversely affect our business operations as follows:

The borrowing base of our Credit Facility is subject to periodic redetermination and is based in part on natural gas, oil and NGL prices. A lowering of our borrowing base because of lower natural gas, oil or NGL prices, or for other reasons, could require us to repay indebtedness in excess of the established borrowing base, or we might need to further secure the debt with additional collateral. Our ability to meet any debt obligations depends on our future performance. General business, economic, financial and product pricing conditions, along with other factors, affect our future performance, and many of these factors are beyond our control. In addition, our failure to comply with the restrictive covenants relating to our Credit Facility could result in a default, which might adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may incur losses as a result of title defects in the properties we own.

Consistent with industry practice, we do not have current abstracts or title opinions on all of our mineral acreage and, therefore, cannot be certain that we have unencumbered title to all of these properties. Our failure to cure any title defects that may exist may adversely impact our ability in the future to increase production and reserves. There is no assurance that we will not suffer a monetary loss from title defects or title failure. Additionally, undeveloped acreage has greater risk of title defects than developed acreage. If there are any title defects or defects in assignment of leasehold rights in properties in which we hold an interest, we may suffer a financial loss.

Competition in the oil and natural gas industry is intense, and most of our competitors have greater financial and other resources than we do.

We compete in the highly competitive areas of natural gas and oil acquisition, development, exploration and production. We face intense competition from both major and independent oil and natural gas companies to acquire desirable producing properties, new properties for future exploration and human resource expertise necessary to effectively develop properties. We also face similar competition in obtaining sufficient capital to maintain or grow production.

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We may be subject to information technology system failures, network disruptions, cyber-attacks or other breaches in data security.

The oil and natural gas industry in general has become increasingly dependent upon digital technologies to conduct day-to-day operations, including certain exploration, development and production activities. We use digital technology to estimate quantities of natural gas, oil and NGL reserves, process and record financial data and communicate with our employees and third parties. Power, telecommunication or other system failures due to hardware or software malfunctions, computer viruses, vandalism, terrorism, natural disasters, fire, human error or by other means could significantly affect our ability to conduct our business. Though we have implemented complex network security measures, stringent internal controls and maintain offsite backup of all crucial electronic data, there cannot be absolute assurance that a form of system failure or data security breach will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operations results. For instance, unauthorized access to our reserves information or other proprietary or commercially sensitive information could lead to data corruption, communication interruption or other disruptions in our operations or planned business transactions, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. Further, as cyber-attacks continue to evolve, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to cyber-attacks.

Our derivative activities may reduce the cash flow received for natural gas and oil sales.

In order to manage exposure to price volatility on our natural gas and oil production, we currently, and may in the future, enter into natural gas and oil derivative contracts for a portion of our expected production. Natural gas and oil price derivatives may limit the cash flow we actually realize and therefore reduce our ability to fund future projects. None of our natural gas and oil price derivative contracts are designated as hedges for accounting purposes; therefore, all changes in fair value of derivative contracts are reflected in earnings. Accordingly, these fair values may vary significantly from period to period, materially affecting reported earnings. In addition, this type of derivative contract can limit the benefit we would receive from increases in the prices for natural gas and oil. The fair value of our natural gas and oil derivative instruments outstanding as of September 30, 2021, was a net liability of $13,784,467.

There is risk associated with our derivative contracts that involves the possibility that counterparties may be unable to satisfy contractual obligations to us. If any counterparty to our derivative instruments were to default or seek bankruptcy protection, it could subject a larger percentage of our future natural gas and oil production to commodity price changes and could have a negative effect on our ability to fund future acquisitions.

Please read Item 7A – “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” and Note 1 and 12 to the financial statements included in Item 8 – “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for additional information regarding derivative contracts.

We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting which could, if not remediated, result in a material misstatement in our financial statements.

The ongoing internal control provisions of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 require us to identify material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting, which is a process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, does not expect that our internal controls and disclosure controls will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. In addition, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and the benefit of controls must be relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud in the Company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple errors or mistakes. Further, controls can be circumvented by individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more persons, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is also based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving our stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, a control may be inadequate because of changes in conditions, such as growth of the Company or increased transaction volume, or the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over our financial reporting. As disclosed in Part II, Item 9A of this Form 10-K, our management has identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.

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A material weakness is defined as a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. In connection with our management’s assessment of our internal control over financial reporting, our management, together with our independent registered public accounting firm, identified the following material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021 related to the review of the annual income tax provision prepared by a third-party firm: our review of the annual income tax provision did not include a process to sufficiently evaluate deferred tax assets to determine if a valuation allowance was necessary.  Additionally, the review was not sufficiently detailed to identify a material misstatement in deferred income taxes.

Because of this material weakness, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of September 30, 2021, based on criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organization of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013).

As disclosed in Part II, Item 9A of this Form 10-K, our management has commenced the process of designing a remediation plan to remediate the material weakness described above, although such remediation plan has not yet been designed or implemented. If our remedial measures are insufficient to address the material weakness, or if additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control are discovered or occur in the future, our financial statements may contain material misstatements and we could be required to restate our financial results, which could lead to substantial additional costs for accounting and legal fees.

Any revisions or restatements of our financial statements may lead to a loss of investor confidence and have a negative impact on the trading prices of our securities. Any of these matters could adversely affect our business, reputation, revenues, results of operations and financial condition and limit our ability to access the capital markets through equity or debt issuances.

Future legislative or regulatory changes may result in increased costs and decreased revenues, cash flows and liquidity.

Companies that operate wells in which we own a working interest are subject to extensive federal, state and local regulation. We, as a working interest owner, are therefore indirectly subject to these same regulations. New or changed laws and regulations such as those described below could have a material adverse effect on our business. In particular, changes in law or regulation related to hydraulic fracturing or greenhouse gases could potentially increase capital, compliance and operating costs significantly, as well as halt or delay the further development of oil and gas reserves on our properties.

Federal Income Taxation

We are subject to U.S. federal income tax, as well as income or capital-based taxes in various states, and our operating cash flow is sensitive to the amount of income taxes we must pay. Income taxes are assessed on our revenue after consideration of all allowable deductions and credits. Changes in the types of earnings that are subject to income tax, the types of costs that are considered allowable deductions or the rates assessed on our taxable earnings would all impact our income taxes and resulting operating cash flow.

Certain beneficial provisions within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December 2017 are set to be reduced beginning in 2023 and beyond, such as a reduction in the amount of immediate bonus depreciation available for qualified property placed into service.

Additionally, further revisions to U.S. tax law, such as a reversal of the corporate income tax rate reduction, the repeal of the percentage depletion allowance, the repeal of expensing for intangible drilling costs or the repeal of enhanced bonus depreciation, could have a materially adverse effect on our business. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Treasury has broad authority to issue regulations and interpretative guidance that may significantly impact how we apply U.S. tax law, with a corresponding impact on the results of our operations for the periods affected.

Oklahoma Taxation

Oklahoma imposes a gross production tax, or severance tax, on the value of natural gas, oil and NGL produced within the state. Under Oklahoma law, the gross production tax rate on the first three years of a horizontal well’s production is 5.2% and 7% thereafter. Future changes to Oklahoma production taxes could affect the profitability of wells producing natural gas, oil and NGL in Oklahoma.

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Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Disposal

The vast majority of natural gas and oil wells drilled in recent years have been, and future wells are expected to be, hydraulically fractured as a part of the process of completing the wells and putting them on production. This is true of the wells drilled in which we own an interest. Hydraulic fracturing is a process that involves pumping water, sand and additives at high pressure into rock formations to stimulate natural gas and oil production. In developing plays where hydraulic fracturing, which requires large volumes of water, is necessary for successful development, the demand for water may exceed the supply. A lack of readily available water or a significant increase in the cost of water could cause delays or increased completion costs.

In addition to water, hydraulic fracturing fluid contains chemical additives designed to optimize production. Well operators are being required in certain states to disclose the components of these additives. Additional states and the federal government may follow with similar requirements or may restrict the use of certain additives. This could result in more costly or less effective development of wells.

Once a well has been hydraulically fractured, the fluid produced from the fractured wells must be either treated for reuse or disposed of by injecting the fluid into disposal wells. Injection well disposal processes have been, and continue to be, studied to determine the extent of correlation between injection well disposal and the occurrence of earthquakes. Certain studies have concluded there is a correlation, and this has resulted in the cessation of or the reduction of injection rates in certain water disposal wells, especially in northern Oklahoma.

Efforts to regulate hydraulic fracturing and fluid disposal continue at the local, state and federal level. New regulations are being considered, including limiting water withdrawals and usage, limiting water disposition, restricting which additives may be used, implementing statewide hydraulic fracturing moratoriums and temporary or permanent bans in certain environmentally sensitive areas. Public sentiment against hydraulic fracturing and fluid disposal and shale production could result in more stringent permitting and compliance requirements. Consequences of these actions could potentially increase capital, compliance and operating costs significantly, as well as delay or halt the further development of gas and oil reserves on our properties. Though the Biden administration has not proposed the outright ban of hydraulic fracturing, the administration has proposed significant regulations regarding methane emissions that could potentially affect new and existing wells, including those that are hydraulically fractured.  The proposed methane rule is discussed in more detail in the Climate Change section, below.

Any of the above factors could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Climate Change

Certain studies have suggested that emission of certain gases, commonly referred to as “greenhouse gases,” may be impacting the earth’s climate. Methane, the primary component of natural gas, and carbon dioxide, a byproduct of burning natural gas and oil, are examples of greenhouse gases. Various state governments and regional organizations are considering enacting new legislation and promulgating new regulations governing or restricting the emission of greenhouse gases from stationary sources such as gas and oil production equipment and operations.

Legislation to regulate greenhouse gas emissions has periodically been introduced in the U.S. Congress, and such legislation may be proposed in the future. In addition, in December 2015, the United States joined the international community at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris, France, in preparing an agreement which set greenhouse gas emission reduction goals every five years beginning in 2020. This “Paris Agreement” was signed by the United States in April 2016 and entered into force in November 2016. To help achieve these reductions, federal agencies addressed climate change through a variety of administrative actions. The EPA issued greenhouse gas monitoring and reporting regulations that cover natural gas and oil facilities, among other industries. However, on June 1, 2017, the President of the United States announced that the United States planned to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and to seek negotiations to either reenter the Paris Agreement on different terms or establish a new framework agreement. The Paris Agreement provides for a four-year exit process beginning when it took effect in November 2016, which resulted in an exit in November 2020. While the U.S. officially exited the Paris Agreement in November of 2020, the Biden administration immediately rejoined the Paris Agreement after taking office in January of 2021.  On January 20, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order triggering a 30-day process to re-enter the agreement.

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More recently, the EPA issued a proposed rule to regulate methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.  If adopted, states will have authority to incorporate the emission guidelines proposed by EPA or to adopt their own standards that achieve the same degree of emission limitations.  The proposed rule applies to the Crude Oil and Natural Gas source category, including the production, processing, transmission, and storage segments.  If adopted, these rules would result in additional operating costs, such as costs to purchase and operate emissions controls or lower emitting equipment and costs to implement monitoring requirements.

Seismic Activity

Earthquakes in northern and central Oklahoma and elsewhere have prompted concerns about seismic activity and possible relationships with the energy industry. Legislative and regulatory initiatives intended to address these concerns may result in additional levels of regulation that could lead to operational delays, increase operating and compliance costs or otherwise adversely affect operations.

The adoption of derivatives legislation by the U.S. Congress could have an adverse effect on us and our ability to hedge risks associated with our business.

The Dodd-Frank Act requires the CFTC (the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and the SEC to promulgate rules and regulations establishing federal oversight and regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives market and entities that participate in that market including swap clearing and trade execution requirements. New or modified rules, regulations or requirements may increase the cost and availability to the counterparties of our hedging and swap positions which they can make available to us, as applicable, and may further require the counterparties to our derivative instruments to spin off some of their derivative activities to separate entities which may not be as creditworthy as the current counterparties. Any changes in the regulations of swaps may result in certain market participants deciding to curtail or cease their derivative activities.

While many rules and regulations have been promulgated and are already in effect, other rules and regulations remain to be finalized or effectuated and, therefore, the impact of those rules and regulations on us is uncertain at this time. The Dodd-Frank Act, and the rules promulgated thereunder, could (i) significantly increase the cost, or decrease the liquidity, of energy-related derivatives that we use to hedge against commodity price fluctuations (including requirements to post collateral), (ii) materially alter the terms of derivative contracts, (iii) reduce the availability of derivatives to protect against risks we encounter and (iv) increase our exposure to less creditworthy counterparties.

Risks Related to our Third-Party Operators

We cannot control activities on our properties.

We do not operate any of the properties in which we have an interest and have very limited ability to exercise influence over the third-party operators of these properties. Our dependence on the third-party operators of our properties, and on the cooperation of other working interest owners in these properties, could negatively affect the following:

Dependency on each operator’s judgment, expertise and financial resources could result in unexpected future costs, lost revenues and/or capital restrictions, to the extent they would cumulatively have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

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The natural gas and oil drilling and producing operations of our third-party operators involve various risks.

Because we do not operate our properties, our business relies heavily upon our third-party operators and their operational effectiveness. Through our third-party operators, we are subject to all the risks normally incident to the operation and development of natural gas and oil properties, including:

As a non-operator, we are also dependent on third-party operators and the contractors they hire for operational safety, environmental safety and compliance with regulations of governmental authorities.

We maintain insurance against many potential losses or liabilities arising from well operations in accordance with customary industry practices and in amounts believed by management to be prudent. However, this insurance does not protect us against all risks. For example, we do not maintain insurance for business interruption, acts of war or terrorism. Additionally, pollution and environmental risks generally are not fully insurable. These risks could give rise to significant uninsured costs that might have a material adverse effect on our business condition and financial results.

We may experience delays in the payment of royalties and be unable to replace operators that do not make required royalty payments, and we may not be able to terminate our leases with defaulting lessees if any of the operators on those leases declare bankruptcy.

A failure on the part of the operators to make royalty payments gives us the right to terminate the lease, repossess the property and enforce payment obligations under the lease. If we repossessed any of our properties, we would seek a replacement operator. However, we might not be able to find a replacement operator and, if we did, we might not be able to enter into a new lease on favorable terms within a reasonable period of time. In addition, the outgoing operator could be subject to a proceeding under title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”), in which case our right to enforce or terminate the lease for any defaults, including non-payment, may be substantially delayed or otherwise impaired. In general, in a proceeding under the Bankruptcy Code, the bankrupt operator would have a substantial period of time to decide whether to ultimately reject or assume the lease, which could prevent the execution of a new lease or the assignment of the existing lease to another operator. In the event that the operator rejected the lease, our ability to collect amounts owed would be substantially delayed, and our ultimate recovery may be only a fraction of the amount owed or nothing. In addition, if we are able to enter into a new lease with a new operator, the replacement operator may not achieve the same levels of production or sell natural gas or oil at the same price as the operator it replaced.

Shortages of oilfield equipment, services, qualified personnel and resulting cost increases could adversely affect results of operations.

The demand for qualified and experienced field personnel, geologists, geophysicists, engineers and other professionals in the oil and natural gas industry can fluctuate significantly, often in correlation with natural gas, oil and NGL prices, resulting in periodic

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shortages. When demand for rigs and equipment increases due to an increase in the number of wells being drilled, there have been shortages of drilling rigs, hydraulic fracturing equipment and personnel and other oilfield equipment. Higher natural gas, oil and NGL prices generally stimulate increased demand for, and result in increased prices of, drilling rigs, crews and associated supplies, equipment and services. These shortages or price increases could negatively affect the ability to drill wells and conduct ordinary operations by the operators of our wells, resulting in an adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flow and operating results.

The marketability of natural gas and oil production is dependent upon transportation, pipelines and refining facilities, which neither we nor many of our operators control. Any limitation in the availability of those facilities could interfere with our or our operators’ ability to market our or our operators’ production and could harm our business.

The marketability of our or our operators’ production depends in part on the availability, proximity and capacity of pipelines, tanker trucks and other transportation methods and processing and refining facilities owned by third parties. The amount of oil that can be produced and sold is subject to curtailment in certain circumstances, such as pipeline interruptions due to scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, excessive pressure, physical damage or lack of available capacity on these systems, tanker truck availability and extreme weather conditions. Also, the shipment of our or our operators’ natural gas and oil on third-party pipelines may be curtailed or delayed if it does not meet the quality specifications of the pipeline owners. The curtailments arising from these and similar circumstances may last from a few days to several months. In many cases, we or our operators are provided only with limited, if any, notice as to when these circumstances will arise and their duration. Any significant curtailment in gathering system or transportation, processing or refining-facility capacity could reduce our or our operators’ ability to market oil production and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash distributions to shareholders. Our or our operators’ access to transportation options and the prices we or our operators receive can also be affected by federal and state regulation—including regulation of oil production, transportation and pipeline safety—as well as by general economic conditions and changes in supply and demand. In addition, the third parties on whom we or our operators rely for transportation services are subject to complex federal, state, tribal and local laws that could adversely affect the cost, manner or feasibility of conducting our business.

Risks Related to the Oil and Gas Industry

Concerns over general economic, business or industry conditions may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash available for distribution.

Concerns over global economic conditions, energy costs, geopolitical issues, inflation, the availability and cost of credit in the European, Asian and U.S. markets contribute to economic uncertainty and diminished expectations for the global economy. These factors, combined with volatile prices of natural gas, oil and NGL, volatility in consumer confidence and job markets, may result in an economic slowdown or recession. In addition, continued hostilities in the Middle East and the occurrence or threat of terrorist attacks in the United States or other countries could adversely affect the economies of the United States and other countries. Concerns about global economic growth have had a significant adverse impact on global financial markets and commodity prices. If the economic climate in the United States or abroad deteriorates, worldwide demand for petroleum products could diminish, which could impact the price at which natural gas, oil and NGL from our properties are sold, affect the ability of vendors, suppliers and customers associated with our properties to continue operations and ultimately adversely impact our results of operations, financial condition and cash available for distribution.

Conservation measures and technological advances could reduce demand for natural gas and oil.

Fuel conservation measures, alternative fuel requirements, increasing consumer demand for alternatives to natural gas and oil, technological advances in fuel economy and energy generation devices could reduce demand for natural gas and oil. The impact of the changing demand for natural gas and oil services and products may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution.

Risks Related to an Investment in our Common Stock

The issuance of additional shares of our Common Stock could cause the market price of our Common Stock to decline and may result in dilution to our existing shareholders.

We filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 on October 19, 2020, and amendments thereto on December 10, 2020, February 8, 2021, and February 19, 2021, which the SEC declared effective on February 24, 2021 (the “February 2021 S-3”). The February 2021 S-3 allows us to issue up to $75 million in securities including Common Stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants and units, and is intended to provide us with increased financial flexibility and more efficient access to the capital markets. On August 25, 2021, we entered into an At-The-Market Equity Offering Sales Agreement with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company,

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Incorporated, as sales agent and/or principal (“Stifel”), pursuant to which we may offer and sell, from time to time through or to Stifel, up to 3,000,000 shares of our Common Stock under the February 2021 S-3. We have also issued shares of our Common Stock in private transactions. The 1,200,000 shares of Common Stock we issued in a private transaction on April 30, 2021, and the 2,349,207 shares of Common Stock we issued in a private transaction on September 24, 2021, as consideration for the acquisition of certain mineral and royalty assets, have been registered with the SEC through the filing of resale registration statements on Form S‑3, which the SEC declared effective on June 11, 2021, and November 5, 2021, respectively.

We cannot predict the effect, if any, that market sales of these securities or the availability of the securities will have on the prevailing market price of our Common Stock from time to time. Substantial sales of shares of our Common Stock or other securities in the public market, or the perception that those sales could occur, may cause the market price of our Common Stock to decline. Such a decrease in our share price could in turn impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. In addition, any such decline may make it more difficult for shareholders to sell shares of our Common Stock at prices they deem acceptable.

As of September 30, 2021, we were authorized to issue an aggregate of 36,000,500 shares of Common Stock.  At our Special Meeting of Shareholders held on October 5, 2021, the shareholders approved an amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of Common Stock to 54,000,500 shares of which 32,970,819 shares were issued and outstanding on December 3, 2021. Future issuances of our Common Stock, or other securities convertible into our Common Stock, may result in significant dilution to our existing shareholders. Significant dilution would reduce the proportionate ownership and voting power held by our existing shareholders.

We may reduce or suspend our dividend in the future.

We have paid a quarterly dividend for many years. Our most recent quarterly dividend was $0.01 per share, and we have paid a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share or $0.04 per share for the past three years. In the future our Board may, without advance notice, determine to reduce or suspend our dividend in order to maintain our financial flexibility and best position us for long‑term success. The declaration and amount of future dividends is at the discretion of our Board and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, prospects, industry conditions, capital requirements and other factors and restrictions our Board deems relevant. The likelihood that dividends will be reduced or suspended is increased during periods of prolonged market weakness. In addition, our ability to pay dividends may be limited by agreements governing our indebtedness now or in the future. Although we do not currently have plans to reduce or suspend our dividend, there can be no assurance that we will not reduce our dividend or that we will continue to pay a dividend in the future.

If we cannot meet the NYSE continued listing requirements, the NYSE may delist our Common Stock.

Our Common Stock is currently listed on the NYSE. In the future, if we are unable to meet the continued listing requirements of the NYSE, including, among other things, (i) the requirement of maintaining a minimum average closing price of $1.00 per share over a consecutive 30 trading-day period and (ii) the requirement of maintaining an average market capitalization of not less than $50 million over a 30 trading-day period with, at the same time, stockholders’ equity not less than $50 million, we would fall below compliance standards and risk having our Common Stock delisted. In addition, in the event of an abnormally low share price of our Common Stock and/or we fail to maintain an average market capitalization of at least $15 million over a 30-trading day period, we would be subject to immediate delisting under the NYSE’s rules without any opportunity to cure. A delisting of our Common Stock could negatively impact us by, among other things, the following:

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None

General Background

We are focused on perpetual natural gas and oil mineral ownership in resource plays in the United States. As part of our evolution as a company, we also own interests in leasehold acreage and non-operated working interests in natural gas and oil properties.

At September 30, 2021, our principal properties consisted of (i) perpetual ownership of 251,600 net mineral acres, held principally in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota and Arkansas; (ii) leases on 18,298 net acres primarily in Oklahoma; and (iii) working interests, royalty interests or both in 6,457 producing natural gas and oil wells and 277 wells in the process of being drilled or completed.

Management’s Business Strategy Related to Properties

During fiscal year 2019, we made the strategic decision to focus on perpetual natural gas and oil mineral ownership and growth through mineral acquisitions and the development of our significant mineral acreage inventory in our core areas of focus. In accordance with this strategy, we no longer participate in new development on our mineral or leasehold acreage with a cost-bearing working interest. We believe that our strategy to focus on mineral ownership is the best path to giving our shareholders the greatest risk-weighted returns on their investments.

Our goal is to increase shareholder value through the active management of our fee mineral and leasehold assets. We plan to grow our mineral fee holdings by acquiring mineral acreage, in the core areas of resource plays with substantial undeveloped opportunities, that meets or exceeds our corporate return threshold. We also plan to proactively lease our mineral holdings. We have an active program in place focused on leasing open acreage to generate additional lease bonus revenue and future royalty revenue.

Title to Properties

Consistent with industry practice, we do not have current abstracts or title opinions on all of our mineral acreage and, therefore, cannot be certain that we have unencumbered title to all of these properties. In recent years, a few insignificant challenges have been made against our fee title to our acreage.

Acreage

Mineral Interests Owned

The following table of mineral interests owned reflects, in each respective state, the number of (i) net and gross acres owned by the Company, (ii) net and gross producing acres owned by the Company, (iii) net and gross acres leased to others by the Company and (iv) net and gross acres open (unleased) as of September 30, 2021.

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Leases

The following table reflects our net mineral acres leased from others, lease expiration dates, and net leased acres held by production as of September 30, 2021. Net acres increased in 2021 due to the purchase of overriding royalty interests.

Proved Reserves

Summary of Proved Reserves

The following table summarizes estimates of proved reserves of natural gas, oil and NGL held by the Company as of September 30, 2021, compared to the two preceding year ends, using prices and costs under existing economic conditions. Proved reserves are located onshore within the contiguous United States and are principally made up of small interests in 6,457 wells, which are predominately located in the Mid-Continent region. Other than this Annual Report, our reserve estimates are not filed with any federal agency.

Summary of Proved Natural Gas and Oil Reserves

Exploration and development of our natural gas and oil properties is conducted by natural gas and oil exploration and production companies, primarily larger independent operating companies. We do not operate any of our natural gas and oil properties.

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For the year ended September 30, 2021, our net total proved reserves increased by 25.3 Bcfe, as compared to September 30, 2020. The increase in total proved reserves from 2020 to 2021 is attributable to a combination of the following factors:

Proved Undeveloped Reserves

The following details the changes in proved undeveloped reserves for fiscal year 2021 (Mcfe):

During fiscal year 2021, total net PUD reserves increased by 2.2 Bcfe. In fiscal year 2021, a total of 2.1 Bcfe (67% of the beginning balance) was transferred to proved developed. The remaining balance of approximately 4.3 Bcfe (140% of the beginning balance) of positive revisions to PUD reserves consist of acquisitions of 4.6 Bcfe in the Haynesville Shale in Texas and Louisiana and Meramec and Woodford SCOOP play in Oklahoma, and additions and extensions of 0.2 Bcfe within the active drilling program areas of (i) STACK Meramec and Woodford in western Oklahoma, (ii) the SCOOP Woodford Shale in western Oklahoma and (iii) Bakken in North Dakota. These were slightly offset by negative pricing revisions of 0.6 Bcfe resulting from permits that expired and were not renewed by the operator, as locations are only considered PUD if they are permitted, in progress, or drilled and uncompleted (DUC).

We anticipate that all our current PUD locations will be drilled and converted to PDP within five years of the date they were added. However, PUD locations and associated reserves, which are no longer projected to be drilled within five years from the date they were added to PUD reserves, will be removed as revisions at the time that determination is made. In the event that there are undrilled PUD locations at the end of the five-year period, it is our intent to remove the reserves associated with those locations from our proved reserves as revisions.

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Estimated Future Net Cash Flows

Set forth below are estimated future net cash flows with respect to our net proved reserves (based on the estimated units set forth above in Proved Reserves) for each of the years indicated, and the present value of such estimated future net cash flows, computed by applying a 10% discount factor as required by SEC rules and regulations. We follow the SEC rule, Modernization of Oil and Gas Reporting Requirements. In accordance with the SEC rule, the estimated future net cash flows were computed using the 12-month average price calculated as the unweighted arithmetic average of the first-day-of-the-month individual product prices for each month within the 12-month period prior to September 30 held flat over the life of the properties and applied to future production of proved reserves less estimated future development and production expenditures for these reserves. The amounts presented are net of operating costs and production taxes levied by the respective states. Prices used for determining future cash flows from natural gas, oil and NGL as of September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, were as follows: in fiscal year 2021, $2.79/Mcf for natural gas, $56.51/Bbl for oil and $20.58/Bbl for NGL; in fiscal year 2020, $1.62/Mcf for natural gas, $40.18/Bbl for oil and $9.95/Bbl for NGL; and in fiscal year 2019, $2.48/Mcf for natural gas, $54.40/Bbl for oil and $19.30/Bbl for NGL. These future net cash flows based on SEC pricing rules should not be construed as the fair market value of our reserves. A market value determination would need to include many additional factors, including anticipated natural gas, oil and NGL price and production cost increases or decreases, which could affect the economic life of the properties.

Evaluation and Review of Reserves

The determination of reserve estimates is a function of testing and evaluating the production and development of natural gas and oil reservoirs in order to establish a production decline curve. The established production decline curves, in conjunction with natural gas and oil prices, development costs, production taxes and operating expenses, are used to estimate natural gas and oil reserve quantities and associated future net cash flows. As information is processed regarding the development of individual reservoirs, and as market conditions change, estimated reserve quantities and future net cash flows will change over time as well. Estimated reserve quantities and future net cash flows are affected by changes in product prices. These prices have varied substantially in recent years and are expected to vary substantially from current pricing in the future.

We follow the SEC’s modernized oil and natural gas reporting rules, which were effective for annual reports on Form 10-K for fiscal years ending on or after December 31, 2009. See Note 16 to the financial statements in Item 8 – “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for disclosures regarding our natural gas and oil reserves.

Under the SEC rules, oil and natural gas reserves are those quantities of oil and natural gas which, by analysis of geoscience and engineering data, can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be economically producible – from a given date forward, from known reservoirs and under existing economic conditions, operating methods and government regulations – prior to the time at which contracts providing the right to operate expire, unless evidence indicates that renewal is reasonably certain, regardless of whether deterministic or probabilistic methods are used for the estimation. The project to extract the hydrocarbons must have commenced, or the operator must be reasonably certain that it will commence the project, within a reasonable time. The area of the reservoir considered as proved includes: (i) the area identified by drilling and limited by fluid contacts, if any, and (ii) adjacent undrilled portions of the reservoir that can, with reasonable certainty, be judged to be continuous with it and to contain economically producible oil or natural gas on the basis of available geoscience and engineering data. In the absence of data on fluid contacts, proved quantities in a reservoir are limited by the lowest known hydrocarbons as seen in a well penetration unless geoscience, engineering or performance data and reliable technology establishes a lower contact with reasonable certainty. Where direct observation from well penetrations has defined a highest known oil elevation and the potential exists for an associated natural gas cap, proved oil reserves

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may be assigned in the structurally higher portions of the reservoir only if geoscience, engineering or performance data and reliable technology establish the higher contact with reasonable certainty. Reserves, which can be produced economically through application of improved recovery techniques (including, but not limited to, fluid injection), are included in the proved classification when: (i) successful testing by a pilot project in an area of the reservoir with properties no more favorable than in the reservoir as a whole, the operation of an installed program in the reservoir or an analogous reservoir or other evidence using reliable technology establishes the reasonable certainty of the engineering analysis on which the project or program was based; and (ii) the project has been approved for development by all necessary parties and entities, including governmental entities. Existing economic conditions include prices and costs at which economic producibility from a reservoir is to be determined. The price shall be the average price during the 12-month period prior to the ending date of the period covered by the report, determined as an unweighted arithmetic average of the first-day-of-the-month price for each month within such period, unless prices are defined by contractual arrangements, excluding escalations based upon future conditions.

Developed oil and natural gas reserves are reserves of any category that can be expected to be recovered through existing wells with existing equipment and operating methods, or in which the cost of the required equipment is relatively minor, compared to the cost of a new well, and through installed extraction equipment and infrastructure operational at the time of the reserve estimate, if the extraction is by means not involving a well.

Undeveloped oil and natural gas reserves are reserves of any category that are expected to be recovered from new wells on undrilled acreage or from existing wells where a relatively major expenditure is required for recompletion. Reserves on undrilled acreage are limited to those directly offsetting development spacing areas that are reasonably certain of production when drilled, unless evidence using reliable technology exists that establishes reasonable certainty of economic producibility at greater distances. Undrilled locations can be classified as having undeveloped reserves only if a development plan has been adopted indicating that they are scheduled to be drilled within five years, unless the specific circumstances justify a longer time. Under no circumstances shall estimates for undeveloped reserves be attributable to any acreage for which an application of fluid injection or other improved recovery technique is contemplated, unless such techniques have been proved effective by actual projects in the same reservoir or an analogous reservoir or by other evidence using reliable technology establishing reasonable certainty.

The independent consulting petroleum engineering firm of DeGolyer and MacNaughton of Dallas, Texas, prepared our natural gas, oil and NGL reserves estimates as of September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019 (see Exhibits 23.2 and 99). Within DeGolyer and MacNaughton, the technical person primarily responsible for preparing the estimates set forth in the Report of DeGolyer and MacNaughton dated October 1, 2021, filed as Exhibit 99 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, was Dr. Dilhan Ilk. Dr. Ilk is a Senior Vice President with DeGolyer and MacNaughton, Division Manager of the firm’s North America Division, a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas, and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Dr. Ilk has a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering in the year 2003, a Master of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2005, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2010. He has over 10 years of experience in oil and gas reservoir studies and reserves evaluations. Dr. Ilk meets or exceeds the education, training and experience requirements set forth in the Standards Pertaining to the Estimating and Auditing of Oil and Gas Reserves Information promulgated by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and is proficient in judiciously applying industry standard practices to engineering and geoscience evaluations as well as applying SEC and other industry reserve definitions and guidelines.

All of the reserve estimates are reviewed and approved by our Director of Engineering, Danielle Mezo. Ms. Mezo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and a Professional Engineering License in Petroleum Engineering in the State of Oklahoma. Ms. Mezo has more than 10 years of experience in the oil and gas industry.

Our Director of Engineering and internal staff work closely with our Independent Consulting Petroleum Engineers to ensure the integrity, accuracy and timeliness of data furnished to them for their reserves estimation process. We provide historical information (such as ownership interest, gas and oil production, well test data, commodity prices, operating costs, handling fees, and development costs) for all properties to our Independent Consulting Petroleum Engineers. Throughout the year, our team meets regularly with representatives of our Independent Consulting Petroleum Engineers to review properties and discuss methods and assumptions. Our net proved natural gas, oil and NGL reserves (including certain undeveloped reserves described above) are located onshore in the contiguous United States. All studies have been prepared in accordance with regulations prescribed by the SEC. The reserve estimates were based on economic and operating conditions existing at September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019. Since the determination and valuation of proved reserves is a function of testing and estimation, the reserves presented are expected to change as future information becomes available.

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Natural Gas, Oil and NGL Production

The following table sets forth our net production of natural gas, oil and NGL for the fiscal periods indicated.

Average Sales Prices and Production Costs

The following tables set forth unit price and cost data for the fiscal periods indicated.

In fiscal year 2021, approximately 49% of our natural gas, oil and NGL revenue was generated from royalty payments received on our mineral acreage. Royalty interests bear no share of the field operating costs on those producing wells, but they do bear a share of the handling fees (primarily gathering and transportation).

Gross and Net Productive Wells and Developed Acres

The following table sets forth our gross and net productive natural gas and oil wells as of September 30, 2021. We own either working interests, royalty interests or both in these wells. We do not operate any wells.

Our average interest in royalty interest only wells is 0.65%. Our average interest in working interest wells is 4.33% working interest and 4.19% net revenue interest.

Information on multiple completions is not available from our records, but the number is not believed to be significant. With regard to Gross Royalty Only Wells, some of these wells are in multi-well unitized fields. In such cases, our ownership in each unitized field is counted as one gross well, as we do not have access to the actual well count in all of these unitized fields.

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As of September 30, 2021, we owned 506,251 gross (64,214 net) developed mineral acres. We had also leased from others 191,793 gross (18,298 net) developed acres.

Undeveloped Acreage

As of September 30, 2021, we owned 1,179,417 gross and 187,386 net undeveloped mineral acres. All of our leases are held by production (“HBP”), and we do not have any leases on undeveloped acres.

Drilling Activity

The following table sets forth our net productive development, exploratory and purchased wells and net dry development, exploratory and purchased wells in which we had either a working interest, a royalty interest or both were drilled and completed during the fiscal years indicated.

Present Activities

The following table sets forth our gross and net natural gas and oil wells being drilled or waiting on completion as of September 30, 2021, in which we own either a working interest, a royalty interest or both. These wells were not producing at September 30, 2021.

Other Facilities

We have an office lease on 8,776 square feet of office space in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2027.

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In the ordinary course of business, we may be, from time to time, a claimant or a defendant in various legal proceedings. There were no material pending legal proceedings involving the Company on September 30, 2021, or at the date of this Annual Report.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Market for our Common Stock

Our Common Stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the trading symbol “PHX.”

As of September 30, 2021, we were authorized to issue an aggregate of 36,000,500 shares of Common Stock.  At our Special Meeting of Shareholders held on October 5, 2021, our shareholders approved an amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase our authorized shares to 54,000,500 shares of Common Stock.

Performance Graph

The following graph compares the 5-year cumulative total return provided shareholders on our Common Stock relative to the cumulative total returns of the S&P Smallcap 600 Index and the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Index. An investment of $100 (with reinvestment of all dividends) is assumed to have been made in our Common Stock and in each of the indexes on September 30, 2016, and the relative performance of such investment is tracked through and including September 30, 2021. This table is not intended to forecast future performance of our Common Stock.

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Record Holders

At December 3, 2021, there were 1,273 holders of record of our Common Stock and approximately 5,000 beneficial owners.

Dividends

During the past three years, we have paid quarterly dividends of either $0.04 per share or $0.01 per share on our Common Stock. Approval by our Board is required before the declaration and payment of any dividends.

Historically, we have paid dividends to our shareholders on a quarterly basis. While we anticipate we will continue to pay dividends on our Common Stock, the payment and amount of future cash dividends will depend upon, among other things, financial condition, funds from operations, the level of capital and development expenditures, future business prospects, contractual restrictions and any other factors considered relevant by the Board. Our Credit Agreement sets limits on dividend payments and stock repurchases if those payments would cause the Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement) to go above 2.50 to 1.0 or the Available Commitment (as defined in the Credit Agreement) to go below ten percent of the Borrowing Base (as defined in the Credit Agreement).

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Company

During the quarter ended September 30, 2021, we did not repurchase any shares of our Common Stock.

Following approval by our shareholders of our 2010 Restricted Stock Plan (“2010 Stock Plan”) in March 2010, as amended in May 2018, our Board approved our repurchase program which, as amended, authorizes management to repurchase up to $1.5 million of our Common Stock at our discretion. The repurchase program has an evergreen provision which authorizes the repurchase of an additional $1.5 million of our Common Stock when the previous amount is utilized. As part of the amendment, the number of shares allowed to be purchased by us under the repurchase program is no longer capped at an amount equal to the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock (i) awarded pursuant to our 2010 Stock Plan, as amended, (ii) contributed by us to the PHX Minerals Inc. Employee Stock Ownership and 401(k) Plan, a tax qualified, defined contribution plan (the “ESOP”) and (iii) credited to the accounts of directors pursuant to our Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors.

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The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our accompanying financial statements and the notes to those financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The following discussion includes forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. The following discussion and analysis generally discuss fiscal year 2021 and 2020 items and fiscal year-to-year comparisons between 2021 and 2020. Discussions of 2019 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2020 and 2019 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020.

Business Overview

We are focused on perpetual natural gas and oil mineral ownership in resource plays in the United States. Prior to a strategy change in 2019, we participated with a working interest on some of our mineral and leasehold acreage and as a result, we still have legacy interests in leasehold acreage and non-operated interests in natural gas and oil properties. Effective October 8, 2020, our corporate name was changed to PHX Minerals Inc. to more accurately reflect our business strategy.

Our results of operations are dependent primarily upon the Company’s: existing reserve quantities; costs associated with acquiring, exploring for and developing new reserves; production quantities and related production costs; and natural gas, oil and NGL sales prices. Although a significant amount of our revenues is currently derived from the production and sale of natural gas, oil and NGL on our working interests, a growing portion of our revenues is derived from royalties granted from the production and sale of natural gas, oil and NGL.

Strategic Focus on Mineral Ownership

During fiscal year 2019, we made the strategic decision to focus on perpetual natural gas and oil mineral ownership and growth through mineral acquisitions and the development of our significant mineral acreage inventory in our core areas of focus. In accordance with this decision, we ceased taking working interest positions on our mineral and leasehold acreage going forward. In fiscal years 2020 and 2021, we did not participate with a working interest in the drilling of any new wells. We believe that our strategy to focus on mineral ownership is the best path to giving our shareholders the greatest risk-weighted returns on their investments.

Market Conditions and Commodity Prices

Commodity prices are affected by many factors outside of our control, including changes in market supply and demand, which are impacted by weather conditions, pipeline capacity constraints, inventory storage levels, basis differentials and other factors. As a result, we cannot accurately predict future commodity prices and, therefore, we cannot determine with any degree of certainty what effect increases or decreases in these prices will have on our production volumes or revenues.

Our working interest and royalty revenues may vary significantly from period to period as a result of changes in commodity prices, production mix and volumes of production sold by our operators.

Production and Operational Update

Our natural gas and NGL production for the fiscal year 2021 increased 12% and 2%, respectively, while oil production decreased 17% from that of 2020. The 2021 fiscal year’s higher natural gas, oil and NGL prices (as discussed below) and the overall production changes noted above resulted in a 62% increase in revenues from the sale of natural gas, oil and NGL in 2021.

Our proved natural gas, oil and NGL reserves increased to 83.0 Bcfe in 2021, compared to 57.7 Bcfe in 2020, an increase of approximately 25.3 Bcfe, or 44%. The increase was primarily due to improved gas and oil prices and acquisitions, slightly offset by production and performance revisions. The revisions were primarily related to natural gas and oil wells extending their economic limits later than was projected in 2020 due to higher gas and oil prices and other reserve parameters, such as differentials and lease operating costs. This was coupled with acquisitions predominately located in the active drilling programs of the Haynesville Shale play in east Texas and western Louisiana and the Mississippi and Woodford Shale intervals in the SCOOP and STACK plays in the Ardmore and Anadarko basins of Oklahoma.

As of September 30, 2021, we owned an average 0.5% net revenue interest, consisting of all royalty interest, in 277 wells that were being drilled or awaiting completion.

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Results of Operations

The following table reflects certain operating data for the periods presented:

Production by quarter for 2021 and 2020 was as follows (Mcfe):

Fiscal Year 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year 2020

Overview

Revenues decreased in 2021 primarily due to an increase in losses on derivative contracts, partially offset by higher natural gas, oil and NGL sales. We recorded a net loss of $6,217,237, or $0.24 per share, in 2021, compared to net loss of $23,952,037, or $1.41 per share, in 2020. Expenses decreased in 2021, primarily the result of decreases in provision for impairment (non-cash), DD&A, LOE and interest expense, partially offset by an increase in transportation, gathering and marketing expenses, production taxes and loss on debt extinguishment.

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Natural Gas, Oil and NGL Sales

The increase was due to increased natural gas, oil and NGL prices of 82%, 36% and 108%, respectively, combined with higher natural gas and NGL volumes of 12% and 2%, respectively, partially offset by lower oil volumes of 17%.

The increase in natural gas production was primarily due to acquisitions in the Haynesville Shale play of Texas and Louisiana, and slightly offset by naturally declining production in the SCOOP and Arkoma STACK. The decrease in oil production was a result of naturally declining production in high interest wells in the Eagle Ford and Bakken plays, our strategy of no longer participating with working interest in new drilling in the Eagle Ford, and reduced drilling activity in the Bakken.  These decreases were slightly offset by acquisitions and new drilling in the STACK. The increase in NGL production is primarily attributable to high interest wells coming back online after being shut-in for part of fiscal year 2020, as well as new wells being brought online in the STACK. This was slightly offset by naturally declining production in the SCOOP.

Given our strategic decision to cease participating with working interests, we plan to offset the natural decline of our existing production base by the development of our current inventory of mineral acreage and through acquisitions of additional mineral interests going forward.

Gains (Losses) on Derivative Contracts

The change in net loss on derivative contracts was due to the natural gas and oil collars and fixed price swaps being less beneficial in 2021 in relation to their respective contracted volumes and prices. The change from a net liability position of $707,647 at September 30, 2020, to a net liability position of $13,784,467 at September 30, 2021, resulted from non-cash loss on derivative contracts in the 2021 period of $4,276,820 and entry into off-market hedges with BP Energy Company (“BP”) for $8.8 million in cash. See Note 12 to the financial statements in Item 8 – “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for further explanation.

Our natural gas and oil fixed price swaps in place at September 30, 2021, had expiration dates of through March 2023. We utilize derivative contracts for the purpose of protecting our cash flow and return on investments.

Lease Operating Expenses (LOE)

We are responsible for a portion of LOE relating to a well as a working interest owner. LOE includes normal recurring and nonrecurring expenses associated with our working interests necessary to produce hydrocarbons from our natural gas and oil wells, including maintenance, repairs, salt water disposal, insurance and workover expenses. Total LOE related to field operating costs

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decreased $610,573 or 13% in 2021, compared to 2020. The decrease in LOE rate was principally the result of our strategic decision to cease participating with a working interest in new wells and the increase in royalty interest production as a percentage of total production.

Transportation, Gathering and Marketing

Transportation, gathering and marketing increased $954,418, or 20%, in 2021, compared to 2020. This increase in costs was primarily due to increased production in 2021. The increase in rate per Mcfe was primarily due to the increase in natural gas sales in relation to other products. Natural gas sales bear the large majority of our transportation, gathering and marketing fees.

Production Taxes

Production taxes are paid on produced natural gas and oil based on a percentage of revenues from products sold at both fixed and variable rates established by federal, state or local taxing authorities.  Production taxes increased $915,392, or 89%, in 2021, compared to 2020. The increase in amount was primarily the result of increased natural gas, oil and NGL sales of $14,379,041 during 2021.

Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization (DD&A)

DD&A is the amount of cost basis of natural gas and oil properties attributable to the volume of hydrocarbons extracted during such period, calculated on a units-of-production basis for working interest, and on a straight-line basis for producing and non-producing minerals. Estimates of proved developed producing reserves are a major component of the calculation of depletion. DD&A decreased $3,567,979, or 32%, in 2021 compared to 2020, of which $4,204,702 of the decrease resulted from a $0.47 decrease in the DD&A rate per Mcfe, partially offset by an increase of $636,723 resulting from production increasing 6% in 2021. The rate decrease was partially due to higher natural gas, oil and NGL prices utilized in the reserve calculations during the 2021 period, as compared to 2020 period, lengthening the economic life of wells. This resulted in higher projected remaining reserves on a significant number of wells causing decreased units of production DD&A, despite the increase in projection.

Provision for Impairment

Provision for impairment was $50,475 in 2021, as compared to $29,904,528 provision for impairment in 2020. During 2021, impairment of $37,879 was related to one field. These assets were written down to their fair market value as required by GAAP. During 2020, impairment of $29,315,806 was recorded on seven different fields including the Fayetteville and Eagle Ford shales, which represented 89% of our total impairment. The impairment in these seven fields was caused by lower future prices reducing future net cash flows associated with these fields, which caused these assets to fail the step one test for impairment as their undiscounted cash flows were not high enough to cover the book basis of the assets. These assets were written down to their fair market value as required by GAAP. The remaining $12,596 and $588,721 of impairment in the 2021 and 2020 periods, respectively, were recorded on other assets.

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Interest Expense