Civitas Resources (CIVI) S-8Registration of securities for employees

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 10, 2024

Registration No. 333-              

UNITED STATES 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Civitas Resources, Inc. 

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Civitas Resources, Inc. 2024 Long Term Incentive Plan 

(Full title of the plan)

Adrian Milton 

Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary 

555 17th Street, Suite 3700 

Denver, Colorado 80202 

(Name and address of agent for service)

(303) 293-9100
(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to: 

Julian J. Seiguer, P.C. 

Ieuan A. List 

Kirkland & Ellis LLP 

609 Main Street, Suite 4700 

Houston, Texas 77002 

(713) 836-3600

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company.  See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

The document(s) containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be sent or given to participants of the Civitas Resources, Inc. 2024 Long Term Incentive Plan as specified by Rule 428(b)(l) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Such documents are not being filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) either as part of this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (this “Registration Statement”) or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. Such documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II hereof, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

Except to the extent that information is deemed furnished and not filed pursuant to securities laws and regulations, Civitas Resources, Inc. (the “Registrant”) hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the following documents:

Except to the extent that information is deemed furnished and not filed pursuant to securities laws and regulations, all documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment that indicates that all securities offered have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall also be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof from the dates of filing of such documents.

Any statement contained herein or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

The Registrant’s fourth amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “Charter”) provides that a director will not be liable to the Registrant or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability (1) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Registrant or its stockholders, (2) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involved intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of the law, (3) under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) for unlawful payment of dividends or improper redemption of stock, or (4) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. In addition, if the DGCL is amended to authorize the further elimination or limitation of the liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Registrant will be limited to the fullest extent permitted by the amended DGCL.

Section 145 of the DGCL provides that a corporation may indemnify directors and officers as well as other employees and individuals against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement in connection with specified actions, suits, and proceedings whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative, other than a derivative action by or in the right of the corporation, if they acted in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful. A similar standard is applicable in the case of derivative actions, except that indemnification extends only to expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of such action and the statute requires court approval before there can be any indemnification where the person seeking indemnification has been found liable to the corporation. The statute provides that it is not exclusive of other indemnification that may be granted by a corporation’s certificate of incorporation, bylaws, disinterested director vote, stockholder vote, agreement, or otherwise.

The Charter contains indemnification rights for the directors and officers of the Registrant. Additionally, the Registrant’s seventh amended and restated bylaws (the “Bylaws”) provides that the Registrant will indemnify and advance expenses to any officer or director to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL and that persons who are not directors or officers may be similarly indemnified for service to the Registrant to the extent authorized by the Registrant’s board of directors.

The Registrant has obtained directors’ and officers’ insurance to cover its directors, officers, and some of its employees for certain liabilities. Further, the Registrant has entered into written indemnity agreements with its directors and executive officers. Under these agreements, if a director or officer makes a claim of indemnification to the Registrant, either a majority of the independent directors or independent legal counsel selected by the independent directors will review the relevant facts and make a determination regarding whether the officer or director has met the standards of conduct under Delaware law that would permit, under Delaware law, and require, under the indemnity agreement, the Registrant to indemnify the officer or director.

The foregoing is only a general summary of certain aspects of Delaware law, the Charter, and the Bylaws dealing with indemnification of directors and officers and does not purport to be complete. It is qualified in its entirety by reference to the detailed provisions of Section 145 of the DGCL, the Charter, and the Bylaws.

The exhibits listed in the accompanying exhibit index are filed as part of this Registration Statement.

* Filed or furnished herewith.

provided, however, that paragraphs (A)(1)(i) and (A)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Denver, State of Colorado, on June 10, 2024.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below authorizes and appoints Marianella Foschi, Travis Counts and Adrian Milton, and each of them, either of whom may act without the joinder of the other, as such person’s true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person and in such person’s name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully and to all intents and purposes as such person might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact or agents, or their substitute or substitutes, each acting alone, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement and the above Power of Attorney have been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.