It is unclear, however, whether any such changes will be enacted or how soon such changes could be effective. The passage of any legislation containing these or similar changes in U.S. federal income tax law could eliminate or defer certain tax deductions that are currently available with respect to oil and gas exploration and development, and any such changes could negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations. A reduction in operating cash flow could require us to reduce our drilling activities. Since none of these proposals have yet been included in new legislation, we do not know the ultimate impact they may have on our business. We had $798.7 million in debt as of December 31, 2013, and our ratio of total debt to total capitalization was approximately 46%. Our outstanding debt will have important consequences, including, without limitation: Our debt service requirements could adversely affect our operations and limit our growth. • a portion of our cash flow from operations will be required to make debt service payments; • our ability to borrow additional amounts for capital expenditures (including acquisitions) or other purposes will be limited; and • our debt could limit our ability to capitalize on significant business opportunities, our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in market conditions and our ability to withstand competitive pressures and economic downturns. In addition, future acquisition or development activities may require us to alter our capitalization significantly. These changes in capitalization may significantly increase our debt. Moreover, our ability to meet our debt service obligations and to reduce our total debt will be dependent upon our future performance, which will be subject to general economic conditions and financial, business and other factors affecting our operations, many of which are beyond our control. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow from operations in the future to service our indebtedness and to meet other commitments, we will be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as refinancing or restructuring our indebtedness, selling material assets or seeking to raise additional debt or equity capital. We cannot assure you that any of these actions could be effected on a timely basis or on satisfactory terms or that these actions would enable us to continue to satisfy our capital requirements. Our bank credit facility contains a number of significant covenants. These covenants will limit our ability to, among other things: Our failure to comply with any of these covenants could cause a default under our bank credit facility and the respective indentures governing our senior notes. A default, if not waived, could result in acceleration of our indebtedness, in which case the debt would become immediately due and payable. If this occurs, we may not be able to repay our debt or borrow sufficient funds to refinance it given the current status of the credit markets. Even if new financing is available, it may not be on terms that are acceptable to us. Complying with these covenants may cause us to take actions that we otherwise would not take or not take actions that we otherwise would take. 40 • borrow additional money; • merge, consolidate or dispose of assets; • make certain types of investments; • enter into transactions with our affiliates; and • pay dividends.