Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Schedule of Fair Value Impairments, Average Prices of Oil and Gas Properties And Applicable Discount Rates

The following table presents the fair value and impairments recorded by the Company during the three months ended September 30, 2015, as well as the average oil price per barrel and gas price per thousand cubic feet over the life of the properties and the applicable discount rates utilized in the Company's assessments:

	Fair Value		Impairment		Management's Price Outlook		Annual Discount Rate
					Oil	Gas
	(In thousands)				(Per barrel)	(Per Mcf)
Oil properties	$	330,257	$	405,308	$73.70	$4.04	10%
Natural gas properties	$	61,625	$	139,406	$75.91	$3.91	10%

Operating Income (Loss) Results of Operations

Results of operations for these properties were as follows:

	Three Months Ended  September 30,						Nine Months Ended  September 30,
	2015			2014			2015			2014
	(In thousands)
Total oil and gas sales	$	2,239		$	4,170		$	18,036		$	6,655
Total operating expenses(1)		(337	)		(14,735	)		(66,251	)		(16,627	)
Operating income (loss)	$	1,902		$	(10,565	)	$	(48,215	)	$	(9,972	)

(1) Includes direct operating expenses, depreciation, depletion and amortization and exploration expense.  Excludes interest expense and general and administrative expenses.

Summary of Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities at September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 consist of the following:

	As of September 30, 2015		As of December 31, 2014
	(In thousands)
Accrued drilling costs	$	4,492	$	26,269
Accrued interest		23,796		9,011
Accrued ad valorem taxes		4,500		—
Current deferred income taxes payable		460		—
Accrued rig termination fees		—		2,600
Other accrued liabilities		6,516		6,962
	$	39,764	$	44,842

Summary of Changes in Reserve for Future Abandonment Costs

The following table summarizes the changes in Comstock's total estimated liability during the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014:

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2015			2014
	(In thousands)
Future abandonment costs — beginning of period	$	14,900		$	14,534
Accretion expense		600			615
New wells placed on production		309			1,045
Liabilities settled and assets disposed of		(703	)		(76	)
Future abandonment costs — end of period	$	15,106		$	16,118

Summary of Outstanding Oil Price Derivatives

As of September 30, 2015, the Company had the following outstanding commodity derivatives:

Commodity and Derivative Type	Weighted-Average Contract Price	Contract Volume (Mmcf)	Contract Period
Price Swap Agreements	$3.20 per Mcf	2,700	October 2015 – June 2016

Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

The following is an analysis of consolidated income tax expense (benefit):

	Three Months Ended  September 30,						Nine Months Ended  September 30,
	2015			2014			2015			2014
	(In thousands)
Current provision	$	687		$	(73	)	$	1,170		$	(36	)
Deferred provision (benefit)		(31,333	)		(417	)		(146,118	)		1,487
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	$	(30,646	)	$	(490	)	$	(144,948	)	$	1,451

Difference Between Customary Rate and Effective Tax Rate on Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes Due

The difference between the Company's customary rate of 35% and the effective tax rate on income (loss) before income taxes is due to the following:

	Three Months Ended  September 30,						Nine Months Ended  September 30,
	2015			2014			2015			2014
Tax at statutory rate		35.0	%		35.0	%		35.0	%		35.0	%
Tax effect of:
State income taxes net of federal benefit		2.0			5.5			2.1			(5.5	)
Nondeductible stock-based compensation		—			(15.1	)		(0.1	)		20.1
Valuation allowance on deferred tax assets – Federal		(31.0	)		—			(19.8	)		—
Valuation allowance on deferred tax asset – State		(0.7	)		—			(1.2	)		—
Other		—			(4.9	)		—			6.0
Effective tax rate		5.3	%		20.5	%		16.0	%		55.6	%

Summary of Financial Assets and Liabilities at Fair Value

The following table summarizes financial assets and liabilities accounted for at fair value as of September 30, 2015:

	Carrying Value Measured at Fair Value at September 30, 2015		Level 1		Level 2
	(In thousands)
Assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis:
Cash and cash equivalents held in bank accounts	$	163,840	$	163,840	$	—
Derivative financial instruments		1,314		—		1,314
Total assets	$	165,154	$	163,840	$	1,314

Basic and Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share

Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 were determined as follows:

	Three Months Ended September 30,
	2015								2014
	Loss			Shares		Per Share			Loss			Shares		Per Share
	(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Net loss	$	(544,996	)						$	(1,903	)
Income allocable to unvested stock grants		—								(151	)
Basic net loss attributable to common stock	$	(544,996	)		46,150	$	(11.81	)	$	(2,054	)		46,651	$	(0.04	)
Effect of dilutive securities:
Stock options		—			—					—			—
Performance share units		—			—					—			—
Diluted net loss attributable to common stock	$	(544,996	)		46,150	$	(11.81	)	$	(2,054	)		46,651	$	(0.04	)

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2015								2014
	Loss			Shares		Per Share			Income (Loss)			Shares		Per Share
	(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Net income (loss)	$	(758,566	)						$	1,160
Income allocable to unvested stock grants		—								(444	)
Basic net income (loss) attributable to common stock	$	(758,566	)		46,100	$	(16.45	)	$	716			46,628	$	0.02
Effect of dilutive securities:
Stock options		—			—					—			—
Performance share units		—			—					—			320
Diluted net income (loss) attributable to common stock	$	(758,566	)		46,100	$	(16.45	)	$	716			46,948	$	0.02

Weighted Average Shares of Unvested Restricted Stock

Weighted average shares of unvested restricted stock outstanding during the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 were as follows:

	Three Months Ended  September 30,				Nine Months Ended  September 30,
	2015		2014		2015		2014
	(In thousands)
Unvested restricted stock		1,576		1,210		1,430		1,184

Common Stock Stock Options Excluded as Anti-Dilutive from Determination of Diluted Earnings Per Share

Options to purchase common stock and PSUs that were outstanding and that were excluded as anti-dilutive from the determination of diluted earnings per share are as follows:

	Three Months Ended  September 30,				Nine Months Ended  September 30,
	2015		2014		2015		2014
	(In thousands except per share/unit data)
Weighted average stock options		103		115		106		115
Weighted average exercise price per share	$	32.94	$	32.90	$	32.98	$	32.90
Weighted average performance share units		670		257		631		—
Weighted average grant date fair value per unit	$	9.13	$	20.71	$	9.13	$	—

Cash Payments Made for Interest and Income Taxes

The following is a summary of cash payments made for interest and income taxes:

	Nine Months Ended  September 30,
	2015		2014
	(In thousands)
Interest payments	$	68,877	$	30,914
Income tax payments	$	77	$	1,467