Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation

The financial statements include the accounts of Foothills Exploration, Inc., and all of its direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Basis of Presentation and Functional Currency

These consolidated financial statements and related notes are presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, and are expressed in United States dollars (USD).

Exploration Stage

The Company has not produced revenues from its principal business and is still in the exploration stage. The Company is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil and gas properties. As of December 31, 2016, the Company had acquired the rights to 45,648 acres of oil and gas property in the state of Wyoming, excluding 6,115 acres of Ironwood prospect that are subject to drilling a well in 2017, through its transaction with the shareholders of Foothills, its farmout agreement with Koch Exploration Company, and other acquisitions made by the Company since its inception.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported periods. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The carrying value of those investments approximates their fair market value due to their short maturity and liquidity. Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand and amount on deposit with financial institutions, which amounts may at times exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses on such accounts and it does not believe it is exposed to any significant credit risk. As of December 31, 2016, the Company had no cash equivalents.

Restricted Cash

Cash and cash equivalents that are restricted as to withdrawal or use under the terms of certain contractual agreements are recorded in restricted cash in the non-current assets section of our consolidated balance sheet. As of December 31, 2016, and 2015, the Company had restricted cash of $240,000 and $25,000 respectively, a result of the cash held in an escrow account for the purpose of an acquisition.

Oil and Gas Properties

The Company follows the full cost method of accounting for its investments in oil and gas properties. Under the full cost method, all costs associated with the exploration of properties are capitalized into appropriate cost centers within the full cost pool. Internal costs that are capitalized are limited to those costs that can be directly identified with acquisition, exploration, and development activities undertaken and do not include any costs related to production, general corporate overhead, or similar activities. Cost centers are established on a country-by-country basis.

Capitalized costs within the cost centers are amortized on the unit-of-production basis using proved oil and gas reserves. The cost of investments in unevaluated properties and major development projects are excluded from capitalized costs to be amortized until it is determined whether or not proved reserves can be assigned to the properties. Until such a determination is made, the properties are assessed annually to ascertain whether impairment has occurred. The costs of drilling exploratory dry holes are included in the amortization base immediately upon determination that the well is dry.

For each cost center, capitalized costs are subject to an annual ceiling test, in which the costs shall not exceed the cost center ceiling. The cost center ceiling is equal to: (i) the present value of estimated future net revenues computed by applying current prices of oil and gas reserves (with consideration of price changes only to the extent provided by contractual arrangements) to estimated future production of proved oil and gas reserves as of the date of the latest balance sheet presented, less estimated future expenditures (based on current costs) to be incurred in developing and producing the proved reserves computed using a discount factor of ten percent and assuming continuation of existing economic conditions; plus (ii) the cost of properties not being amortized; plus (iii) the lower of cost or estimated fair value of unproven properties included in the costs being amortized; and less (iv) income tax effects related to differences between the book and tax basis of the properties. If unamortized costs capitalized within a cost center, less related deferred income taxes, exceed the cost center ceiling, the excess is charged to expense and separately disclosed during the period in which the excess occurs. The Company will perform this test no less than each fiscal year beginning in 2017.

Capitalization of Fixed Assets

The Company capitalizes expenditures related to property and equipment, subject to a minimum rule, that have a useful life greater than one year for: (1) assets purchased; (2) existing assets that are replaced, improved or the useful lives have been extended; or (3) all land, regardless of cost. Acquisitions of new assets, additions, replacements and improvements (other than land) costing less than the minimum rule in addition to maintenance and repair costs, including any planned major maintenance activities, are expensed as incurred.

Office equipment – 3 years

Vehicle – 5 years

Drill equipment – 7 years

Oil and gas properties – 20 years

Asset Retirement Obligations

The asset retirement obligation relates to the plug and abandonment costs when its wells are no longer useful. The Company determines the value of the liability by obtaining quotes for this service and then estimating the increase it will face in the future. The Company then discounts the future value based on an intrinsic interest rate that is appropriate. If costs rise more than what was expected there could be additional future charges, however, Foothills monitors the costs of the abandoned wells and intends to adjust this liability as required.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

For certain of the Company’s financial instruments, including cash and equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities and short-term debt, the carrying amounts approximate their fair values due to their short maturities. ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” requires disclosure of the fair value of financial instruments held by the Company. ASC Topic 825, “Financial Instruments,” defines fair value, and establishes a three-level valuation hierarchy for disclosures of fair value measurement that enhances disclosure requirements for fair value measures. The carrying amounts reported in the consolidated balance sheets for receivables and current liabilities each qualify as financial instruments and are a reasonable estimate of their fair values because of the short period of time between the origination of such instruments and their expected realization and their current market rate of interest. The three levels of valuation hierarchy are defined as follows:

The Company analyzes all financial instruments with features of both liabilities and equity under ASC 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity,” and ASC 815.

As of December 31, 2016, the Company did not identify any assets and liabilities that are required to be presented on the balance sheet at fair value.

Net Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share

The Company computes earnings per share under ASC 260-10, “Earnings Per Share.” Basic earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing the net income (loss) attributable to the common stockholders (the numerator) by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding (the denominator) during the reporting periods. Diluted loss per share is computed by increasing the denominator by the weighted average number of additional shares that could have been outstanding from securities convertible into common stock (using the “treasury stock” method), unless their effect on net loss per share is anti-dilutive. There were 1,475,000 potentially dilutive shares, which include outstanding warrants and options, for the period ended December 31, 2016. The potential shares are excluded from the determination of basic and diluted net loss per share as their effect is anti-dilutive.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method whereby deferred tax assets are recognized for deductible temporary differences, and deferred tax liabilities are recognized for taxable temporary differences. Temporary differences are the differences between the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax bases. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will be realized. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted for the effects of changes in tax laws and rates on the date of enactment.

Stock-Based Compensation

All share-based payments, including grants of stock to employees, directors and consultants, are recognized in the consolidated financial statements based upon their estimated fair values.

The Company’s accounting policy for equity instruments issued to consultants and vendors in exchange for goods and services follows ASC Topic 505. As such, the value of the applicable stock-based compensation is periodically re-measured and income or expense is recognized during their vesting terms. The measurement date for the fair value of the equity instruments issued is determined at the earlier of (i) the date at which a commitment for performance by the consultant or vendor is reached or (ii) the date at which the consultant or vendor’s performance is complete. In the case of equity instruments issued to consultants, the fair value of the equity instrument is primarily recognized over the term of the consulting agreement. In accordance with FASB guidance, an asset acquired in exchange for the issuance of fully vested, non-forfeitable equity instruments should not be presented or classified as an offset to equity on the grantor’s balance sheet once the equity instrument is granted for accounting purposes.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In November 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-17, Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes (“ASU 2015-17”). ASU 2015-17 requires companies to classify all deferred tax assets and liabilities as noncurrent on the balance sheet instead of separating deferred taxes into current and noncurrent amounts. The guidance is effective for financial statements issued for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted. The guidance may be adopted on either a prospective or retrospective basis. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) ("ASU 2016-02"). ASU 2016-02 addresses the financial reporting of leasing transactions. Under current guidance for lessees, leases are only included on the balance sheet if certain criteria, classifying the agreement as a capital lease, are met. This update will require the recognition of a right-of-use asset and a corresponding lease liability, discounted to the present value, for all leases that extend beyond 12 months. For operating leases, the asset and liability will be expensed over the lease term on a straight-line basis, with all cash flows included in the operating section of the statement of cash flows. For finance leases, interest on the lease liability will be recognized separately from the amortization of the right-of-use asset in the statement of operations and the repayment of the principal portion of the lease liability will be classified as a financing activity while the interest component will be included in the operating section of the statement of cash flows. This guidance is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption is permitted. The Company has not yet completed the analysis of how adopting this guidance will affect its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting ("ASU 2016-09"). ASU 2016-09 simplifies several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. Some of the areas of simplification apply only to nonpublic entities. For public business entities, the amendments in ASU 2016-09 are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods. The Company has not yet completed the analysis of how adopting this guidance will affect its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2017-01, Clarifying the Definition of a Business ("ASU 2017-01"). The standard clarifies the definition of a business by adding guidance to assist entities in evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions of assets or businesses. ASU 2017-01 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Under ASU 2017-01, to be considered a business, the assets in the transaction need to include an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create outputs. Prior to the adoption of the new guidance, an acquisition or disposition would be considered a business if there were inputs, as well as processes that when applied to those inputs had the ability to create outputs. Early adoption is permitted for certain transactions. Adoption of ASU 2017-01 may have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements if it enters into future business combinations.

In January 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2017-04, Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment ("ASU 2017-04"). ASU 2017-04 simplifies the accounting for goodwill impairment by removing Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test, which requires a hypothetical purchase price allocation. ASU 2017-04 is effective for annual or interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and should be applied on a prospective basis. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The Company does not anticipate the adoption of ASU 2017-04 will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Other recent accounting pronouncements issued by the FASB, including its Emerging Issues Task Force, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Securities and Exchange Commission did not or are not believed by management to have a material impact on the Company’s present or future consolidated financial statements.