Appointment
of Certain Officers
. On November 18, 2008, the Board of
Directors of the Company approved the promotions of Keith A. Hutton to Chief
Executive Officer and Vaughn O. Vennerberg II to President. Bob R.
Simpson will serve as Chairman of the Board and Founder. The
promotions are effective December 1, 2008.
Mr.
Simpson, a founder of the Company, currently serves as Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer. As Chairman of the Board and Founder, Mr.
Simpson will continue to serve as a director of XTO Energy and be involved in
setting the overall strategic and financial vision for the Company and for
managing the acquisition and divesture strategy and the hedging
program. Mr. Hutton currently serves as President of the
Company. As the principal executive officer for the Company, he will
be responsible for the development of XTO Energy’s operational strategy,
overseeing the exploration and development of oil and gas properties and
administration of the capital budget. Mr. Vennerberg currently serves
as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff of the
Company. In his role as President, he will have responsibility for
implementing the acquisition strategy, land, legal, oil and gas marketing, human
resources, property management, office administration, aviation and governmental
relations.
Employment
Agreements
. On November 18, 2008, the Compensation Committee
of the Board of Directors approved a new employment agreement with Mr. Simpson
reflecting his role as Chairman of the Board and Founder. The
committee also approved new agreements with Messrs. Hutton and Vennerberg to
reflect their new positions with the Company. Each of the new
agreements is effective December 1, 2008 and continues for a one-year term
ending November 30, 2009, which automatically continues year to year thereafter
unless terminated by either party upon thirty days’ written notice prior to each
November 30. The new agreements replace the existing employment agreements dated
May 16, 2006, as amended. The terms of the new agreements are
substantially the same as the existing agreements except for the changes
described below.
Pursuant
to his new agreement, Mr. Simpson is to receive an annual base salary of
$3,600,000. After the payment of a semi-annual bonus on December 1,
2008, he will not be eligible to participate in the Company’s cash bonus
program. On the first business day of January 2009, he will be
entitled to receive grants of 110,000 shares of common stock with no vesting
criteria and 40,000 performance shares that will have vesting criteria set by
the Compensation Committee at the time of grant. Grants will be made
under the Company’s 2004 Stock Incentive Plan, as Amended and Restated as of May
20, 2008, or any similar subsequently adopted equity incentive
plan. Mr. Simpson will not be entitled to any other equity
grants. If his agreement is extended, similar grants of shares will
be made to him on the first business day of each January
thereafter. Mr. Simpson is also to continue to receive a monthly car
allowance to be set from time to time by the Compensation Committee and is to be
provided with tax preparation services.
The new employment
agreements with Messrs. Hutton and Vennerberg provide for minimum base salaries
of $1,400,000 and $900,000, respectively, and for minimum cash bonuses each year
equal to their base salaries. The Compensation Committee has
authority to pay base salaries and bonuses in excess of the minimum base
salaries and bonuses provided for in the agreements, subject to an annual cap on
total cash compensation in the form of salary and bonuses to Messrs. Hutton and
Vennerberg of $12,500,000 and $7,500,000, respectively. Messrs.
Hutton and Vennerberg are entitled to participate in any cash or equity
incentive compensation program established by the Company for its executive
officers in a
manner
approved by the Compensation Committee and are to continue to receive monthly
car allowances to be set from time to time by the Compensation
Committee.
In
addition to the changes described above, the new agreements with Messrs.
Simpson, Hutton and Vennerberg have been updated to address potential issues
concerning deferred compensation under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue
Code, to provide for reimbursement of any penalty and interest paid as a result
of the application of Section 409A to certain payments, and to clarify payments
to be made if employment terminates due to death or
disability. Additionally, the agreements have been revised to provide
that any options and stock awards that have not vested at the time of
retirement, or are not otherwise accelerated upon retirement, will continue to
be outstanding for the original term of grant and may vest following retirement
if vesting conditions are subsequently satisfied during the remaining term of
the grant.
Item
8.01. Other Events.
On
November 20, 2008, the Company announced that the Board of Directors has
approved a 2009 capital budget for development and exploration expenditures of
$3.3 billion. An additional $500 million has been budgeted for the
construction of pipeline infrastructure and compression and processing
facilities. With these expenditures, the Company plans to increase 2009
production volumes by 18% over 2008 levels. The Company also
announced that it plans to dedicate at least $1.25 billion to debt
reduction.
During
2009, the Eastern Region will be allocated $1.0 billion. The Barnett
Shale Region will utilize about $800 million. The Arkoma Basin and
Mid-Continent properties will be allocated $500 million. The Bakken,
Gulf Coast and Offshore areas will be allocated $350
million. Programs in the Permian District are expected to utilize
another $300 million. The San Juan, Raton, Unita and Piceance basins
combined will be allocated $250 million. The Company will target $100
million for exploration events.
Forward-Looking
Statements
Statements
made in this Form 8-K, including those relating to projected production volume
increases, debt reduction, and development budget expenditures by
area and for exploration events are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based on
assumptions and estimates that management believes are reasonable based on
currently available information; however, management’s assumptions and the
Company’s future performance are subject to a wide range of business risks and
uncertainties, and there is no assurance that these estimates and projections
can or will be met. Any number of factors could cause actual results
to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including,
but not limited to, the timing and extent of changes in oil and gas prices,
changes in underlying demand for oil and gas, the timing and results of drilling
activity, production downtime due to maintenance, weather or other factors
outside the Company’s control, availability of drilling equipment and technical
personnel, changes in interest rates, results of hedging activities, higher than
expected production costs and other expenses, future acquisitions, general
economic conditions and failure to obtain or delays in obtaining
necessary permits for construction projects. The Company undertakes
no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements. Further information on risks and uncertainties is
available in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
which are incorporated by this reference as though fully set forth
herein.