SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Details)	3 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) $ / shares $ / bbl $ / MMBTU	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($) $ / bbl $ / MMBTU	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($) $ / bbl $ / MMBTU	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($) $ / bbl $ / MMBTU	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($) $ / shares shares	May. 18, 2015 USD ($)	May. 13, 2013 USD ($)
Cash and Cash Equivalents [Abstract]
Threshold amount of FDIC coverage	$ 250,000				$ 250,000
Accounts Receivable [Abstract]
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 4,500,000				4,500,000	$ 1,800,000
Provision for doubtful accounts					6,200,000	1,400,000	$ 1,100,000
Charged against the allowance for doubtful accounts					$ 3,500,000	600,000
Advance to Operators [Abstract]
Period for advance payments to be applied against joint interest billings					90 days
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Depreciation expense					$ 300,000	300,000	300,000
Oil and Gas Properties [Abstract]
Capitalized Certain Payroll and Other Internal Costs					2,717,913	2,153,448	3,295,427
Capitalized Interest Cost					1,506,172	4,409,544	5,976,981
Total					$ 4,224,085	6,562,992	9,272,408
Minimum percentage of proved reserves sold to be considered a significant alteration					25.00%
Discount rate					10.00%
Impairment of oil and natural gas properties					$ 1,163,959,246	0	0
Proceeds from sale of oil and gas properties					0	0	0
Capitalized costs related to expired leases subject to depletion					19,000,000	26,300,000	14,100,000
Impairment costs related to expired leases subject to depletion					37,600,000	21,400,000	5,100,000
Debt Issuance Costs [Abstract]
Amortization of debt issuance costs					$ 3,696,532	$ 2,776,024	$ 2,625,240
Rate of Senior notes	8.00%				8.00%	8.00%	8.00%
Amortization of bond premium					$ 1,500,000	$ (1,486,726)	$ (960,177)
Amortization of bond discount					1,200,000	0	0
Restructuring Costs [Abstract]
Employee severance and related benefit costs					500,000
Non-cash expense					100,000
Income Taxes [Abstract]
Valuation allowance	$ 232,260,000				$ 232,260,000	$ 0	$ 0
Net Income Per Common Share [Abstract]
Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding - Basic (in shares) | shares					60,652,447	60,691,701	62,364,957
Plus: Potentially Dilutive Common Shares Including Stock Options and Restricted Stock (in shares) | shares					0	169,068	382,341
Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding - Diluted (in shares) | shares					60,652,447	60,860,769	62,747,298
Restricted Stock Excluded From EPS Due To The Anti-Dilutive Effect (in shares) | shares					322,393	15,590	7,330
Impairment [Abstract]
Asset impairment charges					$ 1,200,000,000	$ 0	$ 0
Noncurrent assets [Abstract]
Decrease in total assets	733,945,448				733,945,448	2,026,746,332
Current liabilities [Abstract]
Decrease in deferred income taxes	0				0	(43,938,000)
Decrease in total current liabilities	78,115,147				78,115,147	285,734,207
Noncurrent liabilities [Abstract]
Increase in deferred income taxes	0				0	158,412,555
Decrease in total liabilities	$ 931,547,562				$ 931,547,562	$ 1,255,884,691
Minimum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, estimated useful lives					3 years
Maximum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, estimated useful lives					7 years
Senior Unsecured Notes [Member]
Debt Issuance Costs [Abstract]
Capitalized costs in connection with debt								$ (10,000,000)	$ 10,500,000
Rate of Senior notes								8.00%	8.00%
NYMEX [Member]
Defined Price Per Unit [Line Items]
Defined price for each quarter | $ / bbl	50.28	59.21	71.68	82.72
Henry Hub [Member]
Defined Price Per Unit [Line Items]
Defined price for each quarter | $ / MMBTU	2.58	3.06	3.39	3.88
Stock Options [Member]
Net Income Per Common Share [Abstract]
Plus: Potentially Dilutive Common Shares Including Stock Options and Restricted Stock (in shares) | shares					141,872	141,872	241,872
Exercise price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 5.18				$ 5.18	$ 5.18	$ 5.18
Restricted Stock [Member]
Net Income Per Common Share [Abstract]
Plus: Potentially Dilutive Common Shares Including Stock Options and Restricted Stock (in shares) | shares					2,365,396	538,499	592,565
Restricted Stock Excluded From EPS Due To The Anti-Dilutive Effect (in shares) | shares					322,393	15,590	7,330
Accounting Standards Update 2015-17 [Member]
Noncurrent assets [Abstract]
Decrease in deferred income taxes		$ (31,696)	$ (27,424)	$ 0		$ 0
Decrease in total assets		(31,696)	(27,424)	0		0
Current liabilities [Abstract]
Decrease in deferred income taxes		(31,696)	(27,424)	(41,679)		(43,938)
Decrease in total current liabilities		(31,696)	(27,424)	(41,679)		(43,938)
Noncurrent liabilities [Abstract]
Increase in deferred income taxes		0	0	41,679		43,938
Decrease in total liabilities		$ (31,696)	$ (27,424)	$ 0		$ 0