INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

INCOME TAXES [Abstract]

Income tax expense provision (benefit)

The income tax provision (benefit) for the year ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013 consists of the following:

	2015			2014		2013
Current	$	(73,649	)	$	3,259,445	$	(8,386	)
Deferred
Federal		(186,150,724	)		87,625,430		29,826,000
State		(16,199,831	)		8,482,125		1,950,000
Total Expense (Benefit)	$	(202,424,204	)	$	99,367,000	$	31,767,614

Reconciliation of reported amount of income tax expense (benefit)

The following is a reconciliation of the reported amount of income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014, and 2013 to the amount of income tax expenses that would result from applying the statutory rate to pretax income.

	2015			2014			2013
Income (Loss) Before Taxes and NOL	$	(1,177,778,745	)	$	263,112,945		$	84,834,650
Federal Statutory Rate		X 35	%		X 35	%		X 35	%
Taxes Computed at Federal Statutory Rates		(412,223,000	)		92,090,000			29,692,000
State Taxes, Net of Federal Taxes		(23,825,000	)		5,404,300			909,614
Non-Deductible Compensation		777,000			1,872,700			1,166,000
Other		586,796			-			-
Valuation Allowance		232,260,000			-			-
Reported Provision (Benefit)	$	(202,424,204	)	$	99,367,000		$	31,767,614

Components of deferred tax asset (liability)

The components of the Company's deferred tax assets (liabilities) were as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2015			2014
Deferred Tax Assets
Current:
Share Based Compensation	$	-		$	1,141,000
Accrued Interest		-			1,238,000
Accrued Expenses		-			986,000
Other		-			683,000
Total Current		-			4,048,000
Non-Current:
Net Operating Loss (NOLs) and Tax Credit Carryforwards		195,207,000			194,227,445
Share Based Compensation		1,762,000			-
Accrued Interest		1,723,000			-
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts		1,662,000			-
Crude Oil and Natural Gas Properties and Other Properties		55,939,000			-
Other		-			94,000
Total Non-Current		256,293,000			194,321,445
Total Deferred Tax Asset	$	256,293,000		$	198,369,445
Deferred Tax Liabilities
Current:
Derivative Instruments	$	-		$	(47,877,000	)
Other		-			(110,000	)
Total Current	$	-		$	(47,987,000	)
Non-Current:
Crude Oil and Natural Gas Properties and Other Properties		-			(343,657,000	)
Derivative Instruments		(23,855,000	)		(9,076,000	)
Other		(178,000	)		-
Total Non-Current		(24,033,000	)		(352,733,000	)
Total Deferred Tax Liabilities(1)	$	(24,033,000	)		(400,720,000	)
Total Net Deferred Tax Assets (Liabilities) Before Valuation Allowance		232,260,000			(202,350,555	)
Valuation Allowance		(232,260,000	)		-
Total Net Deferred Tax Assets Liabilities	$	-		$	(202,350,555	)

(1) All deferred tax liabilities and assets as of December 31, 2015, are classified as noncurrent on the accompanying balance sheets upon the Company's adoption of ASU 2015-17 on a prospective basis.  Prior year amounts have not been restated.  Please refer to Note 2 "New Accounting Pronouncements" for additional disclosure.