General and administrative. General and administrative costs decreased by $49.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. The decrease is primarily a result of a decrease in non-cash stock-based compensation and effective cost control. Depletion and depreciation. Depletion and depreciation decreased $15.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared with the year ended December 31, 2015, primarily as a result of depletion recognized related to the sale of seven cargos of oil during 2016, as compared to nine cargos during the prior year. Interest and other financing costs, net. Interest expense increased by $6.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. Higher gross interest costs on a larger debt balance and a full year of interest in 2016 on the 2021 Senior Notes totaling $14.2 million were partially offset by $7.4 million of higher capitalized interest during the current year as compared to the prior year. Derivatives, net. During the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, we recorded a loss of $48.0 million and a gain of $210.6 million, respectively, on our outstanding hedge positions. The loss recorded in 2016 was a result of increases in the forward oil price curve and the gain recorded in 2015 was a result of decreases in the forward oil price curve. Other expenses, net. Other expenses, net increased by $17.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2015, primarily as a result of a $14.9 million inventory write off and $11.3 million in disputed charges and related costs offset by $4.0 million of insurance proceeds related to the damaged riser. Income tax expense (benefit). The Company’s effective tax rates for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 were a tax benefit of 4% and a tax expense of 182%, respectively. The effective tax rates for the periods presented were impacted by losses, primarily related to exploration expenses, incurred in jurisdictions in which we are not subject to taxes and losses incurred in jurisdictions in which we have valuation allowances against our deferred tax assets and therefore we do not realize any tax benefit on such expenses or losses. The effective tax rate in Ghana is impacted by non-deductible expenditures associated with the damage to the turret bearing which we expect to recover from insurance proceeds. Any such insurance recoveries would not be subject to income tax. Income tax expense decreased by $166.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared with the year ended December 31, 2015, primarily as a result of lower revenue in Ghana. Liquidity and Capital Resources We are actively engaged in an ongoing process of anticipating and meeting our funding requirements related to exploring for and developing oil and natural gas resources along the Atlantic Margins. We have historically met our funding requirements through cash flows generated from our operating activities and obtained additional funding from issuances of equity and debt as well as partner carries. In relation to cash flow generated from our operating activities, if we are unable to continuously export associated natural gas in large quantities, which causes potential production restraints, then the Company’s cash flows from operations will be adversely affected. In the past, we have experienced equipment failures, and we are currently working to fully remediate the turret bearing issue on the Jubilee FPSO. This equipment downtime negatively impacted oil production, and we are in the process of repairing the current mechanical issues and implementing a long-term solution for the turret bearing issue. While we are presently in a strong financial position, a future decline in oil prices, if prolonged, could negatively impact our ability to generate sufficient operating cash flows to meet our funding requirements. It could also impact the borrowing base available under the Facility or the related debt covenants. Commodity prices are volatile and future prices cannot be accurately predicted. We maintain 89