Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405]

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

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STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Share-Based Payment Arrangement, Noncash Expense [Abstract]  
STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
In May 2021, the Board of Directors adopted the Incentive Plan with a share reserve of 2.8 million shares of common stock. The Incentive Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, dividend equivalents and performance awards or any combination of the foregoing.
The Company has granted both restricted stock units and performance vesting restricted stock units to employees and directors pursuant to the Incentive Plan, as discussed below. During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company's stock-based compensation expense was $16.4 million and $12.3 million of which the Company capitalized $5.4 million and $4.0 million, respectively, relating to its exploration and development efforts. Stock compensation expense, net of the amounts capitalized, is included in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. As of December 31, 2024, the Company has awarded an aggregate of approximately 444,493 restricted stock units and approximately 462,982 performance vesting restricted stock units under the Incentive Plan.
The vesting for certain share-based awards was accelerated in the first three months of 2023 in conjunction with the restructuring activities described in Note 13 and is included in restructuring costs in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations.
The following table summarizes activity for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2023 and 2024:
Number of
Unvested
Restricted Stock Units		 Weighted
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value		 Number of
Unvested
Performance Vesting Restricted Stock Units		 Weighted
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
Unvested shares as of December 31, 2021 198,413  $ 66.04  153,138  $ 48.54 
Granted 78,192  96.90  37,666  66.82 
Vested (67,564) 65.91  —  — 
Forfeited/canceled (11,269) 80.11  —  — 
Unvested shares as of December 31, 2022 197,772  $ 77.49  190,804  $ 52.15 
Granted 104,901  88.59  83,820  58.39 
Vested (101,804) 75.75  —  — 
Forfeited/canceled (7,267) 91.61  (19,046) 49.37 
Unvested shares as of December 31, 2023 193,602  $ 83.89  255,578  $ 54.40 
Granted(1)
75,476  152.79  188,358  81.90 
Vested (96,942) 81.14  (265,797) 48.65 
Forfeited/canceled (5,122) 114.91  —  — 
Unvested shares as of December 31, 2024 167,014  $ 115.67  178,139  $ 92.06 
_____________________
(1)    The table includes the impacts of performance share units granted in a prior year that vested higher than 100% of target due to the Company's TSR performance compared to peers.
The aggregate fair value of share-based awards that vested during the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, was approximately $56.8 million, $9.9 million and $5.9 million, respectively, based on the stock price at the time of vesting.
Restricted Stock Units
Restricted stock units awarded under the Incentive Plan generally vest over a period of 3 years in the case of employees and 1 or 4 years in the case of directors upon the recipient meeting applicable service requirements. Stock-based compensation expense is recorded ratably over the service period. The grant date fair value of restricted stock units represents the closing market price of the Company's common stock on the date of the grant. Unrecognized compensation expense as of December 31, 2024, was $12.1 million. The expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.72 years.
Performance Vesting Restricted Stock Units
The Company has awarded performance vesting restricted stock units to certain of its executive officers under the Incentive Plan. The number of shares of common stock issued pursuant to the award will be based on a combination of (i) the Company's TSR and (ii) the Company's RTSR for the performance period. Participants will earn from 0% to 200% of the target award based on the Company's TSR and RTSR ranking compared to the TSR of the companies in the Company's designated peer group at the end of the performance period. Awards will be earned and vested at the end of a three-year performance period, subject to earlier termination of the performance period in the event of a change in control. The grant date fair values were determined using the Monte Carlo simulation method and are being recorded ratably over the performance period.
The table below summarizes the assumptions used in the Monte Carlo simulation to determine the grant date fair value of awards granted during the years ended December 31, 2022, 2023 and 2024:
Grant date April 29, 2022 January 24, 2023 March 3, 2023 April 3, 2023 March 1, 2024
Forecast period (years) 3 3 3 3 3
Risk-free interest rates 2.87% 3.88% 4.64% 3.79% 4.36%
Implied equity volatility 88.4% 87.2% 86.4% 70.8% 46.7%
Stock price on the date of grant $93.98 $72.99 $82.20 $79.50 $142.00
Unrecognized compensation expense as of December 31, 2024, related to performance vesting restricted shares was $8.0 million. The expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.73 years.