Definition
The financial accounting term depletion refers to the allocation of cost to an accounting period as units of a natural resource are mined, cut, pumped or otherwise harvested or consumed.
Calculation
Depletion per Unit = (Original Cost - Residual Value) / Total Number of Units
Depletion Expense = Depletion per Unit x Units Consumed
Explanation
Examples of natural resources include minerals, oil, natural gas wells and timber. As these resources are removed from the ground or harvested, they are converted into inventory. For this reason, natural resources are usually listed separately from other tangible assets on a company's balance sheet.
Natural resources are recorded on the company's balance sheet at cost. Oftentimes this cost will include not only the purchase price of the asset, but also exploration and development costs if they are reasonably expected to provide future benefits.
As those resources are consumed, the asset account must be reduced. Depletion is the process that allows a company to assign a cost to the number of units consumed in any accounting period. As the above calculation demonstrates, this allocation is accomplished by assigning a unit cost to the natural resource. Each accounting period, depletion expense is calculated by assigning a pro-rata share of the total cost of the asset to that time period.
Example
Company A paid $100,000,000 to obtain rights to natural gas reserves held within the Marcellus Shale region. Exploration and development costs were $10,000,000, and it has been determined these reserves held 1 billion cubic feet of extractable gas. The rights to these natural gas reserves are expected to have a residual value of $1,000,000.
In the current accounting period 50,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas was extracted from the ground. The depletion per unit for Company A would be:
= ($100,000,000 + $10,000,000 - $1,000,000) / 1,000,000,000 = $109,000,000 / 1,000,000,000, or $0.109 unit
The depletion expense for Company A would be:
= $0.109 per unit x 50,000,000 units, or $5,450,000
Related Terms
Also known as a statement of financial position, the balance sheet is used to show the financial health of a company at a particular point in time. The balance sheet consists of assets, liabilities, and owner's equity in the company. It is one of the four key financial statements issued by public companies.
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The income statement is a financial accounting report that demonstrates how net income, or profit, is derived from revenues. The main categories appearing on an income statement include revenues, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, non-recurring items and net income.Moneyzine EditorNovember 6th, 2024
The financial accounting term depreciation is sometimes defined as a decline in tangible plant's service potential. Depreciation is a method of allocating the cost of a tangible asset in a systematic manner to those time periods that benefit from the use of the asset.Moneyzine EditorJanuary 16th, 2024
The financial accounting term depletion base refers to the total cost associated with assets that are a natural resource too. The depletion base typically includes three costs: acquisition, exploration and development. This base is the value used when determining the company's depletion expense.Moneyzine EditorNovember 6th, 2024- The financial accounting term research and development costs refer to those expenses associated with investigations into new processes or techniques (research) and the translating of this information into new designs, products, or processes (development).Moneyzine EditorNovember 6th, 2024
