General	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011
General [Abstract]
General	Note 1. General Our accompanying interim consolidated financial statements do not include all the notes in our annual financial statements and, therefore, should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto in Exhibit 99.1 of our Form 8-K dated June 1, 2011. The accompanying unaudited financial statements include all normal recurring adjustments and others that, in the opinion of management, are necessary to present fairly our financial position at June 30, 2011, results of operations and changes in equity for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, and cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. On February 16, 2011, we announced that our Board of Directors approved our reorganization plan to divide our business into two separate, publicly traded corporations. On April 29, 2011, our wholly owned subsidiary, WPX Energy, Inc. (WPX), filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with respect to an initial public offering (IPO) of its equity securities and on July 28, 2011, WPX filed the third amendment to its registration statement with the SEC. This is the first step in our reorganization plan, which calls for a separation of our exploration and production business through an IPO and a subsequent tax-free spin-off of our remaining interest in WPX to our shareholders. We retain the discretion to determine whether and when to complete these transactions.

Note 1. General

Our accompanying interim consolidated financial statements do not include all the notes in our annual financial statements and, therefore, should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto in Exhibit 99.1 of our Form 8-K dated June 1, 2011. The accompanying unaudited financial statements include all normal recurring adjustments and others that, in the opinion of management, are necessary to present fairly our financial position at June 30, 2011, results of operations and changes in equity for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, and cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

On February 16, 2011, we announced that our Board of Directors approved our reorganization plan to divide our business into two separate, publicly traded corporations. On April 29, 2011, our wholly owned subsidiary, WPX Energy, Inc. (WPX), filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with respect to an initial public offering (IPO) of its equity securities and on July 28, 2011, WPX filed the third amendment to its registration statement with the SEC. This is the first step in our reorganization plan, which calls for a separation of our exploration and production business through an IPO and a subsequent tax-free spin-off of our remaining interest in WPX to our shareholders. We retain the discretion to determine whether and when to complete these transactions.