Nature of operations and summary of significant accounting policies and going concern (Revenue Recognition) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Gross commodity sales	$ 55,363	$ 53,225
Transportation and processing	(6,512)	(4,606)
Net commodity sales	48,851	48,619
Oil
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Gross commodity sales	37,026	32,802
Natural gas
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Gross commodity sales	8,655	11,206
Natural gas liquids
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Gross commodity sales	$ 9,682	$ 9,217

Revenue From Contract With Customer, Excluding Assessed Tax, Gross

No definition available.

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- Definition

The aggregate costs related to goods produced and sold and services rendered by an entity during the reporting period. This excludes costs incurred during the reporting period related to financial services rendered and other revenue generating activities.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.2(a),(d))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116634182&loc=SL114868664-224227

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount, excluding tax collected from customer, of revenue from satisfaction of performance obligation by transferring promised good or service to customer. Tax collected from customer is tax assessed by governmental authority that is both imposed on and concurrent with specific revenue-producing transaction, including, but not limited to, sales, use, value added and excise.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 606
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118956577&loc=SL49130543-203045

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 606
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118956577&loc=SL49130545-203045

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