RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AWARD AGREEMENT
Exhibit
10.24
NEWFIELD
EXPLORATION COMPANY
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Awardee
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Date
of Award:
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May
7, 2009
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Vesting
Effective Date:
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May
7, 2009
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Number
of Restricted Stock Units:
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AWARD
OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS
The
Compensation & Management Development Committee (the “Committee”)
of the Board of Directors of Newfield Exploration Company, a Delaware
corporation (the “Company”),
pursuant to the Newfield Exploration Company 2009 Omnibus Stock Plan (the “Plan”),
hereby awards to you, the above-named awardee, effective as of the Date of Award
set forth above (the “Date of
Award”), that
number of restricted stock units set forth above (the “Restricted Stock
Units”), on the
following terms and conditions:
The
Restricted Stock Units shall be subject to the prohibitions and restrictions set
forth herein with respect to the sale or other disposition of such Restricted
Stock Units and the obligation to forfeit and surrender such Restricted Stock
Units to the Company (the “Forfeiture
Restrictions”). The Forfeiture Restrictions shall lapse as to
the Restricted Stock Units that are awarded hereby in accordance with the
following schedule provided that your employment with the Company and its direct
and indirect wholly owned subsidiaries has not terminated prior to the
applicable lapse date:
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(a)
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on
the third anniversary of the Vesting Effective Date, the Forfeiture
Restrictions shall lapse as to one-third of the Restricted Stock Units
subject to this Agreement; and
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(b)
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on
each succeeding anniversary of the Vesting Effective Date, the Forfeiture
Restrictions shall lapse as to an additional one-third of the Restricted
Stock Units subject to this Agreement, so that on the fifth anniversary of
the Vesting Effective Date the Forfeiture Restrictions shall lapse as to
all of the Restricted Stock Units subject to this
Agreement.
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If a
Change of Control of the Company occurs, you die, become Disabled or your
employment terminates by reason of a Qualified Retirement, in each case, before
the fifth anniversary of the Vesting Effective Date, your rights to
the Restricted Stock Units under this Agreement will be determined as provided
in the attached Terms and Conditions (the “Terms and
Conditions”).
Upon the
lapse of the Forfeiture Restrictions applicable to the Restricted Stock Units,
the Company shall issue to you one share of the Company’s Common Stock, $.01 par
value per share (the “Common
Stock”), in exchange for each such Restricted Stock Unit and thereafter
you shall have no further rights with respect to such Restricted Stock Unit and
such shares of the Common Stock shall be transferable by you (except to the
extent that any proposed transfer would, in the opinion of counsel satisfactory
to the Company, constitute a violation of applicable federal or state securities
law).
If during
the period in which you hold the Restricted Stock Units the Company pays a
dividend in shares of the Common Stock with respect to the outstanding shares of
the Common Stock, then the Company will increase the Restricted Stock Units that
have not then been exchanged by the Company for shares of the Common Stock by an
amount equal to the product of (a) the Restricted Stock Units that have not
been forfeited to the Company or exchanged by the Company for shares of the
Common Stock and (b) the number of shares of the Common Stock paid by the
Company per share of the Common Stock (collectively, the “Stock Dividend
Restricted Stock Units”). Each Stock Dividend Restricted Stock
Unit will be subject to same Forfeiture Restrictions and other restrictions,
limitations and conditions applicable to the Restricted Stock Unit for which
such Stock Dividend Restricted Stock Unit was awarded and will be exchanged for
shares of the Common Stock at the same time and on the same basis as such
Restricted Stock Unit.
Notwithstanding
any provisions of the Plan, shares of Common Stock shall be transferred at the
time(s) specified in this Agreement and the Terms and Conditions.
The
Restricted Stock Units may not be sold, assigned, pledged, exchanged,
hypothecated or otherwise transferred, encumbered or disposed of (other than by
will or the applicable laws of descent and distribution). Any such
attempted sale, assignment, pledge, exchange, hypothecation, transfer,
encumbrance or disposition in violation of this Agreement shall be void and the
Company shall not be bound thereby. Any shares of Common Stock issued
to you in exchange for the Restricted Stock Units may not be sold or otherwise
disposed of in any manner that would constitute a violation of any applicable
federal or state securities laws. You also agree that (a) the
Company may refuse to cause the transfer of any such shares of the Common Stock
to be registered on the stock register of the Company if such proposed transfer
would in the opinion of counsel satisfactory to the Company constitute a
violation of any applicable federal or state securities law and (b) the
Company may give related instructions to the transfer agent, if any, to stop
registration of the transfer of such shares of the Common Stock.
The
shares of Common Stock that may be issued under the Plan are registered with the
Securities and Exchange Commission under a Registration Statement on Form
S-8.
Capitalized
terms that are not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to such terms
in the Plan or the Terms and Conditions.
In
accepting the award of the Restricted Stock Units you accept and agree to be
bound by all the terms and conditions of the Plan, this Agreement and the Terms
and Conditions.
NEWFIELD
EXPLORATION COMPANY
NEWFIELD
EXPLORATION COMPANY
TERMS
AND CONDITIONS
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1.
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TERMINATION OF
EMPLOYMENT/CHANGE OF CONTROL. The following provisions
will apply in the event your employment with the Company and all of its
direct and indirect wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company
Group”)
terminates, or a Change of Control of the Company occurs prior to the
fifth anniversary of the Vesting Effective Date (the “Fifth
Anniversary Date”) under the Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement
awarded to you (the “Agreement”):
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1.1 Termination
Generally. If your employment with the Company Group
terminates on or before the Fifth Anniversary Date for any reason other than one
of the reasons described in Sections 1.2 through 1.5 below, the Forfeiture
Restrictions then applicable to the Restricted Stock Units shall not lapse and
the number of Restricted Stock Units then subject to the Forfeiture Restrictions
shall be forfeited to the Company on the date your employment
terminates.
1.2 Change of
Control. The impact of a Change of Control of the Company on
the Restricted Stock Units shall be determined under the provisions of this
Section 1.2 rather than under any provisions of the Plan dealing with vesting or
the lapse of forfeiture restrictions. If a Change of Control of the Company
occurs on or before the Fifth Anniversary Date and you do not terminate
employment with the Company Group before the date the Change of Control of the
Company occurs, then all remaining Forfeiture Restrictions shall lapse on the
date the Change of Control of the Company occurs if the Change of Control of the
Company qualifies as a change in the ownership or effective control of the
corporation, or in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets of the
corporation, within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended
and the final Department of Treasury Regulations issued thereunder (“Section
409A”).
1.3 Disability. Notwithstanding
any other provision of the Agreement or these Terms and Conditions to the
contrary, if before the Fifth Anniversary Date you incur a Separation From
Service due to your having incurred a Disability, then all remaining Forfeiture
Restrictions shall immediately lapse on the date you incur a Separation From
Service due to your Disability if you are not a Specified Employee or on the
date that is six months following your Separation From Service if you are a
Specified Employee; provided,
however, that if you die before the expiration of such six-month delay
period (if applicable) then all remaining Forfeiture Restrictions shall
immediately lapse on the date of your death. For purposes of this
Section 1.3, you will be treated as having a “Disability”
if you (a) are unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by
reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be
expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period
of not less than 12 months, or (b) are, by reason of any medically
determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in
death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than
12 months, receiving income replacement benefits for a period of not less
than three (3) months under an accident and health plan covering employees
of the Company Group. For purposes of these Terms and Conditions,
“Separation From
Service” has the
meaning ascribed to that term in Section 409A and “Specified
Employee” means
a person who is, as of the date of the person’s Separation From Service, a
“specified employee” within the meaning of Section 409A, taking into account any
elections made and procedures established in resolutions adopted by the
Compensation & Management Development Committee of the Board.
1.4 Death. Notwithstanding
any other provision of the Agreement or these Terms and Conditions to the
contrary, if you die before the Fifth Anniversary Date and before you have
otherwise terminated employment with the Company Group, all remaining Forfeiture
Restrictions shall immediately lapse on the date of the termination of your
employment due to death.
1.5 Qualified Retirement.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the Agreement or these Terms and
Conditions to the contrary, if you incur a Separation From Service as a result
of your Qualified Retirement before the Fifth Anniversary Date, then the number
of Restricted Stock Units issued to you under the Agreement shall automatically
be reduced (without further action by you and/or the Company) on the date you
incur a Separation From Service to that number of Restricted Stock Units
determined under the following formula (the “Retirement
Adjusted Restricted Stock Units”):
(1)
multiplied by (2) divided by (3)
where
(1) is the number of the Restricted Stock Units with respect to which
Forfeiture Restrictions would have otherwise lapsed on the next anniversary of
the Vesting Effective Date following your Separation From Service due to
Qualified Retirement, (2) is the number of days, if any, that have elapsed
(excluding the date of your Separation From Service) since the most recent
anniversary of the Vesting Effective Date before the date you incur a Separation
From Service due to Qualified Retirement, and (3) is 365.
The
excess of the Restricted Stock Units that were originally awarded to you under
the Agreement over the Retirement Adjusted Restricted Stock Units shall be
immediately forfeited on the date you incur a Separation From Service due to
Qualified Retirement. The Forfeiture Restrictions with respect to the
Retirement Adjusted Restricted Stock Units shall immediately lapse on the date
you incur a Separation From Service due to your Qualified Retirement if you are
not a Specified Employee or on the date that is six months following your
Separation From Service if you are a Specified Employee; provided, however, that if
you die before the expiration of such six-month delay period (if applicable)
then all remaining Forfeiture Restrictions shall immediately lapse on the date
of your death.
For
purposes of this Section 1.5 “Qualified
Retirement”
means you (i) either are (A) at least age 60 and sign a non-compete agreement
(the form of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A) that is
effective until your reaching age 62 or (B) are at least age 62, (ii) have at
least 10 years of Qualified Service and (iii) provide the Requisite
Notice. “Qualified
Service” means
(i) your continuous employment with (A) the Company or (B) a subsidiary of the
Company during the time that such subsidiary is, directly or indirectly, a
wholly owned subsidiary of the Company plus (b) any additional service credit
granted to you (or a group of employees of which you are a member) by the
Board. “Requisite
Notice” means
(a) if you are an officer of the Company, at least six months prior written
notice to the Board or (b) otherwise, at least three months prior written notice
to the chief executive officer of the Company.
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2.
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PROHIBITED
ACTIVITY. Notwithstanding any other provision of these
Terms and Conditions or the Agreement, if you engage in a “Prohibited
Activity,” as described below, while employed by one or more members of
the Company Group or within two years after the date your employment with
the Company Group terminates, then your right to receive the shares of the
Common Stock, to the extent still outstanding at that time, shall be
completely forfeited. A "Prohibited
Activity" shall be deemed to have occurred, as determined by the
Committee in its sole and absolute discretion, if you divulge any
non-public, confidential or proprietary information of the Company Group,
but excluding information that (a) becomes generally available to the
public other than as a result of your public use, disclosure, or fault, or
(b) becomes available to you on a non-confidential basis after your
employment termination date from a source other than a member of the
Company Group prior to the public use or disclosure by you, provided that such
source is not bound by a confidentiality agreement or otherwise prohibited
from transmitting the information by a contractual, legal or fiduciary
obligation.
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3.
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TAX
WITHHOLDING. To the extent that the receipt of the
Restricted Stock Units or the lapse of any forfeiture restrictions results
in income, wages or other compensation to you for any income, employment
or other tax purposes with respect to which the Company has a withholding
obligation, you shall deliver to the Company at the time of such receipt
or lapse, as the case may be, such amount of money as the Company may
require to meet its obligation under applicable tax laws or regulations,
and, if you fail to do so, the Company is authorized to withhold from any
shares of Common Stock issued under the Agreement or from any cash or
stock remuneration or other payment then or thereafter payable to you any
tax required to be withheld by reason of such taxable income, wages or
compensation including (without limitation) shares of the Common Stock
sufficient to satisfy the withholding obligation. No shares of Common
Stock shall be withheld from the shares issued under the Agreement in
excess of the Company’s minimum statutory withholding obligations
(determined using the minimum statutory withholding rates required by the
relevant tax authorities, including your share of payroll taxes that are
applicable to such supplemental taxable
income.)
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4.
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NONTRANSFERABILITY. The
Agreement is not transferable by you otherwise than by will or by the laws
of descent and distribution.
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5.
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CAPITAL ADJUSTMENTS AND
REORGANIZATIONS. The existence of the Restricted Stock
Units shall not affect in any way the right or power of the Company or any
company the stock of which is awarded pursuant to the Agreement to make or
authorize any adjustment, recapitalization, reorganization or other change
in its capital structure or its business, engage in any merger or
consolidation, issue any debt or equity securities, dissolve or liquidate,
or sell, lease, exchange or otherwise dispose of all or any part of its
assets or business, or engage in any other corporate act or
proceeding.
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6.
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RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS DO NOT
AWARD ANY RIGHTS OF A STOCKHOLDER. You shall not have
the voting rights or any of the other rights, powers or privileges of a
holder of the Common Stock with respect to the Restricted Stock Units that
are awarded hereby. Only after a share of the Common Stock is
issued in exchange for a Restricted Stock Unit will you have all of the
rights of a stockholder with respect to such share of Common Stock issued
in exchange for a Restricted Stock
Unit.
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7.
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EMPLOYMENT
RELATIONSHIP. For purposes of the Agreement, you shall
be considered to be in the employment of the Company Group as long as you
have an employment relationship with the Company Group. The
Committee shall determine any questions as to whether and when there has
been a termination of such employment relationship, and the cause of such
termination, under the Plan and the Committee’s determination shall be
final and binding on all persons.
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8.
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NOT AN EMPLOYMENT
AGREEMENT. The Agreement is not an employment agreement,
and no provision of the Agreement shall be construed or interpreted to
create an employment relationship between you and any member of the
Company Group or guarantee the right to remain employed by any member of
the Company Group for any specified
term.
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9.
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SECURITIES ACT
LEGEND. If you are an officer or affiliate of the
Company under the Securities Act of 1933, you consent to the placing on
any certificate for the shares of the Common Stock issued under the
Agreement an appropriate legend restricting resale or other transfer of
such shares except in accordance with such Act and all applicable rules
thereunder.
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10.
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LIMIT OF
LIABILITY. Under no circumstances will any member of the
Company Group be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential or
special damages (including lost profits) of any form incurred by any
person, whether or not foreseeable and regardless of the form of the act
in which such a claim may be brought, with respect to the
Plan.
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11.
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FUNDING. You
shall have no right, title, or interest whatsoever in or to any assets of
the Company or any investments which the Company may make to aid it in
meeting its obligations under this Agreement. Your right to
receive payments under this Agreement shall be no greater than the right
to an unsecured general creditor of the
Company.
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12.
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MISCELLANEOUS. The
Agreement is awarded pursuant to and is subject to all of the provisions
of the Plan, including amendments to the Plan, if any. In the
event of a conflict between these Terms and Conditions and the Plan
provisions, the Plan provisions will control. The term “you”
and “your”
refer to the Awardee named in the Agreement. Capitalized terms
that are not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms
in the Plan or the Agreement.
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EXHIBIT
A
NON-COMPETE
AGREEMENT
THIS NON-COMPETE AGREEMENT
(this “Agreement”)
is dated as of [date of Qualified Retirement] and is by and between Newfield
Exploration Company, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”)
and ________________, a retiring employee of the Company (“Retiring
Employee”).
R
E C I T A L S:
WHEREAS, Retiring Employee has
been granted the awards set forth on Annex A
hereto (the “Awards”)
by the Company;
WHEREAS, pursuant to the terms
of the agreements governing the Awards (the “Award
Agreements”), Retiring Employee is entitled to certain benefits (the
“Retirement
Benefits”) if Retiring Employee’s termination of employment with the
Company is by reason of a “Qualified Retirement” (as defined in each of the
Award Agreements); and
WHEREAS, it is a condition to
Retiring Employee being entitled to the Retirement Benefits that Retiring
Employee enter into a Non-Compete Agreement substantially in the form of this
Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in
consideration of the premises, the Retirement Benefits to be provided to
Retiring Employee and the other covenants and agreements herein contained, and
other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are
hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:
1. Definitions;
Rules of Construction.
(a) Definitions. The following
capitalized terms shall have the meaning given to it below:
“Affiliate”
means, with respect to any specified Person, any other Person that directly, or
indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by or is
under common control with, such specified Person and, if such specified Person
is a natural person, the immediate family members of such specified
Person. “Control” (including the terms “controlled by” and “under
common control with”), with respect to the relationship between or among two or
more Persons, means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to
direct or cause the direction of the affairs or management of a Person, whether
through the ownership of voting securities, as trustee or executor, as general
partner or manager, by contract or otherwise, including the ownership, directly
or indirectly, of securities having the power to elect a majority of the board
of directors or similar body governing the affairs of such Person.
“Competing
Business” means any business involved in the acquisition or development
of, or exploration for, crude oil or natural gas or any rights in or with
respect crude oil or natural gas within the Covered Area; provided, however, that
“Competing Business” shall not include any business that provides services
solely to assist other Persons in the acquisition or development of, or
exploration for, crude oil or natural gas or any rights in or with respect to
crude oil or natural gas but does not itself acquire or develop, or explore for,
crude oil or natural gas or any rights in or with respect to crude oil or
natural gas within the Covered Area.
“Covered
Area” means (a) the United States of America and (b) any foreign
jurisdiction (i) in which the Company is operating or (ii) with respect to which
the Company is actively considering for operations, in the case of clause (b)
only, as of the date hereof.
“Person”
means any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company,
trust, incorporated or unincorporated organization or association or other legal
entity of any kind.
“Term”
means the period commencing on the date hereof and ending on the date on which
Retiring Employee attains the age of 62.
(b) Rules of
Construction. For purposes of this Agreement (i) unless the
context otherwise requires, (A) “or” is not exclusive; (B) words applicable to
one gender shall be construed to apply to each gender; (C) the terms “hereof,”
“herein,” “hereby,” “hereto” and derivative or similar words refer to this
entire Agreement and (D) the term “Section” refers to the specified Section of
this Agreement, (ii) the Section and other headings and titles contained in this
Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the
meaning or interpretation of this Agreement, (iii) a reference to any Person
includes such Person’s successors and assigns.
2. Non-Competition
and Non-Solicitation. During the Term,
Retiring Employee covenants and agrees with the Company that Retiring Employee
shall not, directly or indirectly, individually, through an Affiliate or
otherwise (including as an officer, director, employee or consultant) own an
interest or engage in, participate with or provide any financial or other
support, assistance or advice to any Competing Business; provided, however, that Retiring
Employee may (i) when taken together with the ownership, directly or indirectly,
of all of his Affiliates, own, solely as an investment, up to 5% of any class of
securities of any Person if such securities are listed on any national
securities exchange or traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market so long as Retiring
Employee is not a director, officer, employee of, or analogously employed or
engaged by, such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or (ii) own
securities issued by the Company. In addition, Retiring Employee agrees that
during the Term he shall not, directly or indirectly: (1) interfere with the
relationship of the Company or any Affiliate of the Company, or endeavor to
entice away from the Company or any Affiliate of the Company, any individual or
entity who was or is a material customer or material supplier of, or who has
maintained a material business relationship with, the Company or its Affiliates,
(2) establish (or take preliminary steps to establish) a business with, or cause
or attempt to cause others to establish (or take preliminary steps to establish)
a business with, any employee or agent of the Company or any of its Affiliates,
if such business competes with or will compete with the Company or any of its
Affiliates, or (3) employ, engage as a consultant or adviser, or solicit
employment, engagement as a consultant or adviser, of any employee or agent of
the Company or any of its Affiliates, or cause or attempt to cause any
individual or entity to do any of the foregoing. Retiring Employee
agrees that the restrictions contained in this Section 2 are necessary to
protect confidential information the Company has provided to Retiring
Employee.
3. Specific
Performance; Injunctive Relief. Retiring Employee
specifically acknowledges and agrees that the Company, in providing the
Retirement Benefits, has relied on the agreements and covenants of Retiring
Employee contained in this Agreement and that the terms of this Agreement are
reasonable and necessary for the protection of the Company. Retiring
Employee specifically acknowledges and agrees that any breach or threatened
breach by Retiring Employee of his or her agreements and covenants contained
herein would cause the Company irreparable harm not compensable solely in
damages. Retiring Employee further acknowledges and agrees that it is
essential to the effective enforcement of this Agreement that Company be
entitled to the remedies of specific performance, injunctive relief and similar
remedies and Retiring Employee agrees to the granting of any such remedies upon
a breach or threatened breach by Retiring Employee of any of the terms
hereof. The Company also shall be entitled to pursue any other
remedies (at law or in equity) available to it for any breach or threatened
breach of this Agreement, including the recovery of money damages.
4. Severability. If
any term or other provision of this Agreement is invalid, illegal or incapable
of being enforced by any rule of law or public policy, all other conditions and
provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and
effect. The parties agree to cooperate in any revision of this
Agreement that may be necessary to meet the requirements of law.
5. Amendment;
Modification; Waiver. No amendment or modification of the
terms or provisions of this Agreement shall be binding unless the same shall be
in writing and duly executed by the Company and Retiring Employee, except that
any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement may be waived in writing at any
time by the party that is entitled to the benefits of such waived terms or
provisions. No single waiver of any of the provisions of this
Agreement shall be deemed to or shall constitute, absent an express statement
otherwise, a continuous waiver of such provision or a waiver of any other
provision hereof (whether or not similar).
6. Failure
or Indulgence Not Waiver; Remedies Cumulative. No failure or
delay on the part of any party hereto in the exercise of any right hereunder
shall impair such right or be construed to be a waiver of, or acquiescence in,
any breach of any covenant or agreement herein, nor shall any single or partial
exercise of any such right preclude other or further exercise thereof or of any
other right. All rights and remedies existing under this Agreement
are cumulative with, and not exclusive of, any rights or remedies otherwise
available.
7. No Effect
on Retiring Employee’s Obligations. This Agreement shall in no
way affect any other duties or obligations Retiring Employee owes to the Company
by contract, law or otherwise.
8. Legal
Fees. If either party hereto institutes any legal proceedings
against the other for breach of any provision hereof, the losing party shall be
liable for the costs and expenses of the prevailing party, including without
limitation its reasonable attorneys’ fees.
9. Counterparts. This
Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be
deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same
instrument.
10. Governing
Law; Consent to Jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be construed in
accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Texas applicable to
agreements made and to be performed wholly within that
jurisdiction.
[Signature page
follows.]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the
Company has caused this Agreement to be duly executed by an authorized officer
and Retiring Employee has executed this Agreement, in each case, as of the day
and year first above written.
NEWFIELD EXPLORATION
COMPANY
By:
Name:
Title:
RETIRING EMPLOYEE
[Retiring Employee]
