Commitments and contingencies	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments and contingencies	Commitments and contingencies Standby letters of credit (“Letters”) available under our Credit Facility are used in lieu of surety bonds with various organizations for liabilities relating to the operation of oil and natural gas properties. We had Letters outstanding totaling $869 as of each of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018. When amounts under the Letters are paid by the lenders, interest accrues on the amount paid at the same interest rate applicable to borrowings under the Credit Facility. No amounts were paid by the lenders under the Letters; therefore, we paid no interest on the Letters during the six months ended June 30, 2019 or 2018. Litigation and Claims Chapter 11 Proceedings. Commencement of the Chapter 11 Cases automatically stayed many of the proceedings and actions against us noted below as well as other claims and actions that were or could have been brought prior to May 9, 2016 (“Petition Date”), and the claims remain subject to Bankruptcy Court jurisdiction. With respect to the proofs of claim asserted in the Chapter 11 Cases arising from the proceedings or actions below which were initiated prior to the Petition Date, we are unable to estimate the amount of such claims that will be allowed by the Bankruptcy Court due to, among other things, the complexity and number of legal and factual issues which are necessary to determine the amount of such claims and uncertainties related to the nature of defenses asserted in connection with the claims, the potential size of the putative classes, and the types of the properties and scope of agreements related to such claims. As a result, no reserves were established in respect of such proofs of claims or any of the proceedings or actions described below. To the extent that any of the legal proceedings were filed prior to the Petition Date and result in a claim being allowed against us, pursuant to the terms of the Reorganization Plan, such claims will be satisfied through the issuance of new stock in the Company or, if the amount of such claim is below the convenience class threshold, through cash settlement. Of the total alleged dollar amount of claims still unresolved, the large majority, as measured by the alleged amount of such claims, is comprised of claims from the Naylor Farms case described below. If the Bankruptcy Court were to allow the remaining unresolved proofs of claims from any of these cases, the Company, pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization, would be required to issue additional shares to the holders of such allowed proofs of claim, which could result in dilution to existing stockholders. Naylor Farms, Inc., individually and as class representative on behalf of all similarly situated persons v. Chaparral Energy, L.L.C (the “Naylor Farms case”). On June 7, 2011, an alleged class action was filed against us in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (“Naylor Trial Court”) alleging that we improperly deducted post-production costs from royalties paid to plaintiffs and other non-governmental Royalty Interest owners from crude oil and natural gas wells we operate in Oklahoma. The plaintiffs have alleged a number of claims, including breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, and other claims and seek termination of leases, recovery of compensatory damages, interest, punitive damages and attorney fees on behalf of the alleged class. Plaintiffs indicated they seek damages in excess of $5,000, the majority of which would be comprised of interest and may increase with the passage of time. We responded to the Naylor Farms petition, denied the allegations and raised arguments and defenses. Plaintiffs filed a motion for class certification in October 2015. In addition, the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment asking the Naylor Trial Court to determine as a matter of law that natural gas is not marketable until it is in the condition and location to enter an interstate pipeline. On May 20, 2016, we filed a Notice of Suggestion of Bankruptcy with the Naylor Trial Court. Subsequently the bankruptcy stay was lifted for the limited purpose of determining the class certification issue. On January 17, 2017, the Naylor Trial Court certified a modified class of plaintiffs with oil and gas leases containing specific language. The modified class constitutes less than 60% of the leases the plaintiffs originally sought to certify. After additional briefing on the subject, on April 18, 2017, the Naylor Trial Court issued an order certifying the class to include only claims relating back to June 1, 2006. On May 3, 2019, our appeal of that class certification was denied by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Tenth Circuit”). In addition to filing claims on behalf of the named and putative plaintiffs, on August 15, 2016, plaintiffs’ attorneys filed a proof of claim on behalf of the putative class claiming damages in excess of $150,000 in our Chapter 11 Cases. The Company objected to treatment of the claim on a class basis, asserting the claim should be addressed on an individual basis. On April 20, 2017, plaintiffs filed an amended proof of claim reducing the claim to an amount in excess of $90,000 inclusive of actual and punitive damages, statutory interest and attorney fees. On May 24, 2017, the Bankruptcy Court denied the Company’s objection, ruling the plaintiffs may file a claim on behalf of the class. This order did not establish liability or otherwise address the merits of the plaintiffs’ claims, to which we will also object. On June 7, 2017 we appealed the Bankruptcy Court order to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. As discussed above, pursuant to the Reorganization Plan, if the plaintiffs ultimately prevail on the merits of their claims, any liability arising under judgment or settlement of the unsecured claims would be satisfied through the issuance of stock in the Company. We continue to dispute the plaintiffs’ allegations, dispute the case meets the requirements for class certification, and are objecting to the claims both individually and on a class-wide basis. Lacheverjuan Bennett et al. v. Chaparral Energy, L.L.C., et al. On March 26, 2018, a group of twenty-seven individual plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Logan County, State of Oklahoma against twenty-three named defendants, including us, and twenty-five unnamed defendants. Plaintiffs are all property owners and residents of Logan County, Oklahoma, and allege the defendants, all oil and gas companies which have engaged in injection well operations, induced earthquakes which have caused damage to real and personal property, and caused emotional damages. Plaintiffs claim absolute liability for ultra-hazardous activities, negligence, gross negligence, public and private nuisance, and trespass, and ask for compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney fees and costs. We have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit which we expect the court to consider during the third quarter of 2019. In the meantime, we will vigorously defend the case. Hallco Petroleum, Inc. v. Chaparral Energy, L.L.C. On November 7, 2017, Hallco Production, LLC (“Hallco”) filed a lawsuit against us in the District Court of Kay County, State of Oklahoma. Plaintiffs alleged carbon dioxide which was injected for enhanced oil recovery in wells operated by us in the North Burbank Unit migrated to wells operated by Hallco, damaging its salt water disposal well and therefore preventing operation of, and production from, all wells on Hallco’s lease. Plaintiffs allege the migration of carbon dioxide constituted trespass, and further allege negligence and nuisance. Plaintiff seeks actual damages in excess of $75, plus punitive damages in an unspecified amount. Because we sold the EOR wells on November 17, 2017, Hallco filed an amended petition on March 6, 2018 to add the purchaser, Perdure Petroleum, LLC, as an additional defendant in the lawsuit. Plaintiff claims the damage is ongoing. We dispute the plaintiff’s claims, dispute the remedies requested are available under Oklahoma law, and are vigorously defending the case. We are involved in various other legal proceedings including, but not limited to, commercial disputes, claims from royalty and surface owners, property damage claims, quiet title actions, personal injury claims, employment claims, and other matters which arise in the ordinary course of business. These proceedings may include allegations of damages from induced earthquakes, which we will vigorously defend as necessary. In addition, other proofs of claim have been filed in our bankruptcy case which we anticipate repudiating. While the outcome of these legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not expect any of them individually to have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Contractual obligations We have numerous contractual commitments in the ordinary course of business including debt service requirements, operating leases, financing leases and purchase obligations. Our operating leases include leases for drilling rigs, which have terms of up to 15 months, and leases on CO₂ recycle compressors, which have terms of seven years. Aside from operating leases, we also have financing leases for our CO₂ recycle compressors and fleet vehicles. In conjunction with the sale of our EOR assets, all our leased CO₂ compressors were subleased to the buyer of those assets although we remain the primary obligor in relation to U.S. Bank, the originating lessor. The subleases are structured such that the lease payments and remaining lease term are identical to the original leases. As of June 30, 2019, other than additional borrowings under our Credit Facility and our new leases for fleet vehicles (see "Note 5: Leases"), we did not have material changes to our contractual commitments since December 31, 2018.

Commitments and contingencies

Standby letters of credit (“Letters”) available under our Credit Facility are used in lieu of surety bonds with various organizations for liabilities relating to the operation of oil and natural gas properties. We had Letters outstanding totaling $869 as of each of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018. When amounts under the Letters are paid by the lenders, interest accrues on the amount paid at the same interest rate applicable to borrowings under the Credit Facility. No amounts were paid by the lenders under the Letters; therefore, we paid no interest on the Letters during the six months ended June 30, 2019 or 2018.

Litigation and Claims

Chapter 11 Proceedings. Commencement of the Chapter 11 Cases automatically stayed many of the proceedings and actions against us noted below as well as other claims and actions that were or could have been brought prior to May 9, 2016 (“Petition Date”), and the claims remain subject to Bankruptcy Court jurisdiction. With respect to the proofs of claim asserted in the Chapter 11 Cases arising from the proceedings or actions below which were initiated prior to the Petition Date, we are unable to estimate the amount of such claims that will be allowed by the Bankruptcy Court due to, among other things, the complexity and number of legal and factual issues which are necessary to determine the amount of such claims and uncertainties related to the nature of defenses asserted in connection with the claims, the potential size of the putative classes, and the types of the properties and scope of agreements related to such claims. As a result, no reserves were established in respect of such proofs of claims or any of the proceedings or actions described below. To the extent that any of the legal proceedings were filed prior to the Petition Date and result in a claim being allowed against us, pursuant to the terms of the Reorganization Plan, such claims will be satisfied through the issuance of new stock in the Company or, if the amount of such claim is below the convenience class threshold, through cash settlement. Of the total alleged dollar amount of claims still unresolved, the large majority, as measured by the alleged amount of such claims, is comprised of claims from the Naylor Farms case described below. If the Bankruptcy Court were to allow the remaining unresolved proofs of claims from any of these cases, the Company, pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization, would be required to issue additional shares to the holders of such allowed proofs of claim, which could result in dilution to existing stockholders.

Naylor Farms, Inc., individually and as class representative on behalf of all similarly situated persons v. Chaparral Energy, L.L.C (the “Naylor Farms case”). On June 7, 2011, an alleged class action was filed against us in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (“Naylor Trial Court”) alleging that we improperly deducted post-production costs from royalties paid to plaintiffs and other non-governmental Royalty Interest owners from crude oil and natural gas wells we operate in Oklahoma. The plaintiffs have alleged a number of claims, including breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, and other claims and seek termination of leases, recovery of compensatory damages, interest, punitive damages and attorney fees on behalf of the alleged class. Plaintiffs indicated they seek damages in excess of $5,000, the majority of which would be comprised of interest and may increase with the passage of time. We responded to the Naylor Farms petition, denied the allegations and raised arguments and defenses. Plaintiffs filed a motion for class certification in October 2015. In addition, the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment asking the Naylor Trial Court to determine as a matter of law that natural gas is not marketable until it is in the condition and location to enter an interstate pipeline. On May 20, 2016, we filed a Notice of Suggestion of Bankruptcy with the Naylor Trial Court. Subsequently the bankruptcy stay was lifted for the limited purpose of determining the class certification issue.

On January 17, 2017, the Naylor Trial Court certified a modified class of plaintiffs with oil and gas leases containing specific language. The modified class constitutes less than 60% of the leases the plaintiffs originally sought to certify. After additional briefing on the subject, on April 18, 2017, the Naylor Trial Court issued an order certifying the class to include only claims relating back to June 1, 2006. On May 3, 2019, our appeal of that class certification was denied by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Tenth Circuit”).

In addition to filing claims on behalf of the named and putative plaintiffs, on August 15, 2016, plaintiffs’ attorneys filed a proof of claim on behalf of the putative class claiming damages in excess of $150,000 in our Chapter 11 Cases. The Company objected to treatment of the claim on a class basis, asserting the claim should be addressed on an individual basis. On April 20, 2017, plaintiffs filed an amended proof of claim reducing the claim to an amount in excess of $90,000 inclusive of actual and punitive damages, statutory interest and attorney fees. On May 24, 2017, the Bankruptcy Court denied the Company’s objection, ruling the plaintiffs may file a claim on behalf of the class. This order did not establish liability or otherwise address the merits of the plaintiffs’ claims, to which we will also object. On June 7, 2017 we appealed the Bankruptcy Court order to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

As discussed above, pursuant to the Reorganization Plan, if the plaintiffs ultimately prevail on the merits of their claims, any liability arising under judgment or settlement of the unsecured claims would be satisfied through the issuance of stock in the Company. We continue to dispute the plaintiffs’ allegations, dispute the case meets the requirements for class certification, and are objecting to the claims both individually and on a class-wide basis.

Lacheverjuan Bennett et al. v. Chaparral Energy, L.L.C., et al. On March 26, 2018, a group of twenty-seven individual plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Logan County, State of Oklahoma against twenty-three named defendants, including us, and twenty-five unnamed defendants. Plaintiffs are all property owners and residents of Logan County, Oklahoma, and allege the defendants, all oil and gas companies which have engaged in injection well operations, induced earthquakes which have caused damage to real and personal property, and caused emotional damages. Plaintiffs claim absolute liability for ultra-hazardous activities, negligence, gross negligence, public and private nuisance, and trespass, and ask for compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney fees and costs. We have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit which we expect the court to consider during the third quarter of 2019. In the meantime, we will vigorously defend the case.

Hallco Petroleum, Inc. v. Chaparral Energy, L.L.C. On November 7, 2017, Hallco Production, LLC (“Hallco”) filed a lawsuit against us in the District Court of Kay County, State of Oklahoma. Plaintiffs alleged carbon dioxide which was injected for enhanced oil recovery in wells operated by us in the North Burbank Unit migrated to wells operated by Hallco, damaging its salt water disposal well and therefore preventing operation of, and production from, all wells on Hallco’s lease. Plaintiffs allege the migration of carbon dioxide constituted trespass, and further allege negligence and nuisance. Plaintiff seeks actual damages in excess of $75, plus punitive damages in an unspecified amount. Because we sold the EOR wells on November 17, 2017, Hallco filed an amended petition on March 6, 2018 to add the purchaser, Perdure Petroleum, LLC, as an additional defendant in the lawsuit. Plaintiff claims the damage is ongoing. We dispute the plaintiff’s claims, dispute the remedies requested are available under Oklahoma law, and are vigorously defending the case.

We are involved in various other legal proceedings including, but not limited to, commercial disputes, claims from royalty and surface owners, property damage claims, quiet title actions, personal injury claims, employment claims, and other matters which arise in the ordinary course of business. These proceedings may include allegations of damages from induced earthquakes, which we will vigorously defend as necessary. In addition, other proofs of claim have been filed in our bankruptcy case which we anticipate repudiating. While the outcome of these legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not expect any of them individually to have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Contractual obligations

We have numerous contractual commitments in the ordinary course of business including debt service requirements, operating leases, financing leases and purchase obligations. Our operating leases include leases for drilling rigs, which have terms of up to 15 months, and leases on CO₂ recycle compressors, which have terms of seven years. Aside from operating leases, we also have financing leases for our CO₂ recycle compressors and fleet vehicles. In conjunction with the sale of our EOR assets, all our leased CO₂ compressors were subleased to the buyer of those assets although we remain the primary obligor in relation to U.S. Bank, the originating lessor. The subleases are structured such that the lease payments and remaining lease term are identical to the original leases. As of June 30, 2019, other than additional borrowings under our Credit Facility and our new leases for fleet vehicles (see "Note 5: Leases"), we did not have material changes to our contractual commitments since December 31, 2018.