ASC Topic 932—Extractive Industries provides that an exploratory well shall be capitalized as part of the entity’s uncompleted wells pending the determination of whether the well has found proved reserves. Further, an exploration well that discovers oil and gas reserves, but those reserves cannot be classified as proved when drilling is completed, shall be capitalized if the well has found a sufficient quantity of reserves to justify its completion as a producing well and the entity is making sufficient progress assessing the reserves and the economic and operating viability of the project. If either condition is not met, the exploration well would be assumed to be impaired and its costs would be charged to expense.

Offshore Gabon

In the second and third quarters of 2010, the Company drilled the Southeast Etame No. 1 well with two sidetracks in the Etame Marin block offshore Gabon. The well discovered a five meter sand of oil. Additional evaluation of the well and sidetrack information was conducted to facilitate options for developing the discovery. The Company and its joint venture partners evaluated the merits of two development options. One option involved a sub-sea well to develop the Southeast Etame discovery only, whereas the second option envisioned a platform development to access both the Southeast Etame area as well as the North Tchibala field, where a discovery was made on the block prior to VAALCO’s block participation. In the second quarter of 2012, the Company and its partners agreed to proceed with the development plan featuring a fixed leg platform for developing the Southeast Etame discovery area and the North Tchibala field. The Company has capitalized $8.1 million for this well in accordance with the criteria contained in ASC Topic 932.

United States – Montana

In the second quarter of 2012, the Company completed the EPU-120 exploration well in the East Poplar Dome field in Roosevelt County, Montana at a total cost of $8.9 million. The vertical well discovered hydrocarbons shows in the Bakken/Three Forks formation, but did not initially find commercial quantities of hydrocarbons in the formations deeper than the Bakken/Three Forks formation. Targeting the Nisku formation, the Company is planning to drill an additional well in this field in the fourth quarter of 2012. The outcome of that well will be used to consider further stimulation and completion options for the EPU-120 well. The Company has capitalized $6.0 million associated with the costs attributable to the Bakken/Three Forks formation segment of this well in accordance with the criteria contained in ASC Topic 932 and, as previously stated, recorded dry hole expense of $2.9 million for the costs associated with the deeper formations.