1.0.0.3 false Summary of Significant Accounting Policies false 1 $ false false USD Standard http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217 USD iso4217 0 USDEPS Divide http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217 USD iso4217 http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instance shares xbrli 0 2 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract] 0 us-gaap_GeneralPoliciesAbstract us-gaap true na duration string No definition available. false false false false false true false false false 1 false false 0 0 false false No definition available. false 3 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies 1 us-gaap_SignificantAccountingPoliciesTextBlock us-gaap true na duration string No definition available. false false false false false false false false false 1 false false 0 0   <div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif"> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"><b>1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES</b> </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     As of September 30, 2009, Apache’s significant accounting policies are consistent with those discussed in Note 1 of its consolidated financial statements contained in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008. </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><u>Use of Estimates</u> </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates with regard to these financial statements include the estimate of proved oil and gas reserves and related present value estimates of future net cash flow therefrom, asset retirement obligations and income taxes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><u>Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements</u> </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     In December 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 141 (Revised), “Business Combinations” (SFAS No. 141 (R)), which was amended by FASB Staff Position (FSP) FAS No. 141 (R)-1 in April 2009. This guidance has been primarily codified into the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC, also known collectively as the Codification) Topic 805, “Business Combinations.” The guidance broadens the definition of a business combination to include all transactions or other events in which control of one or more businesses is obtained. Further, the standard establishes principles and requirements for how an acquirer recognizes and measures in its financial statements the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, any non-controlling interests in the acquiree and the goodwill acquired. The statement requires the acquiring entity in a business combination to recognize the fair value of all the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the transaction. It also modifies disclosure requirements. Apache adopted this statement effective January 1, 2009. However, since the Company did not close any material business combinations during the nine months ended September 30, 2009, the adoption had a negligible impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     Also in December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, “Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements,” which was primarily codified into ASC Topic 810, “Consolidations.” This statement amends Accounting Research Bulletin No. 51, “Consolidated Financial Statements.” This guidance establishes accounting and reporting standards for the noncontrolling interests in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a subsidiary. It clarifies that a noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary, sometimes called a minority interest, is an ownership interest in the consolidated entity that should be reported as equity in the consolidated financial statements. Additionally, the amounts of consolidated net income attributable to both the parent and the noncontrolling interest must be reported separately on the face of the income statement. Apache adopted this statement as of January 1, 2009. There were no noncontrolling interests at the adoption date. Adoption did not impact the Company’s financial position or results of operations. </div>   </div>  <div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif"> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     In March 2008, the FASB issued SFAS No. 161, “Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities,” which was primarily codified into ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging.” This guidance amends and expands the disclosure requirements of SFAS No. 133, “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities,” and requires qualitative disclosures about objectives and strategies for using derivative instruments, quantitative disclosures about fair value of derivative instruments and related gains and losses, and disclosures about credit risk-related contingent features in derivative agreements. This statement is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after November 15, 2008. Apache adopted this standard as of January 1, 2009. The statement provides only for enhanced disclosures. Therefore, adoption of this standard had no impact on the Company’s financial position or results of operations. </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     In June 2008, the FASB issued FSP Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) Issue No. 03-6-1, “Determining Whether Instruments Granted in Share-Based Payment Transactions Are Participating Securities,” which was primarily codified into ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” This guidance addresses whether instruments granted in share-based payment transactions should be considered participating securities for the purposes of applying the two-class method of calculating earnings per share (EPS) pursuant to FASB Statement No. 128, “Earnings Per Share,” also codified into ASC Topic 260. This guidance concludes that unvested share-based payment awards that contain rights to receive nonforfeitable dividends or dividend equivalents are participating securities prior to vesting and, therefore, should be included in the earnings allocations in computing basic EPS under the two-class method. Apache adopted this standard effective January 1, 2009. The number of unvested shares subject to the two-class method had a negligible impact on Apache’s earnings per share. </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     In April 2009, the FASB issued FSP FAS No. 107-1 and APB Opinion No. 28-1, “Interim Disclosures About Fair Value of Financial Instruments,” which was primarily codified into ASC Topic 825, “Financial Instruments.” This guidance requires quarterly fair value disclosures for financial instruments that are not reflected on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet at fair value in interim financial statements effective for interim periods ending after June 15, 2009. Apache adopted the new standard for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. Adoption had no impact on the Company’s financial position or results of operations. See Note 9 — Fair Value Measurements of this <font style="white-space: nowrap">Form 10-Q</font> for interim disclosures required by this statement. </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     In May 2009, the FASB issued SFAS No. 165, “Subsequent Events,” which was primarily codified into ASC Topic 855, “Subsequent Events.” This guidance establishes general standards of accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued. In particular, this statement sets forth: </div> <div style="margin-top: 6pt"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt; text-align: left"> <tr valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent"> <td width="2%" style="background: transparent"> </td> <td width="3%" nowrap="nowrap" align="left"><b>•</b></td> <td width="1%"> </td> <td>The period after the balance sheet date during which management of a reporting entity should evaluate events or transactions that may occur for potential recognition or disclosure in the financial statements;</td> </tr> </table> </div> <div style="margin-top: 6pt"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt; text-align: left"> <tr valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent"> <td width="2%" style="background: transparent"> </td> <td width="3%" nowrap="nowrap" align="left"><b>•</b></td> <td width="1%"> </td> <td>The circumstances under which an entity should recognize events or transactions occurring after the balance sheet date in its financial statements; and</td> </tr> </table> </div> <div style="margin-top: 6pt"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt; text-align: left"> <tr valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent"> <td width="2%" style="background: transparent"> </td> <td width="3%" nowrap="nowrap" align="left"><b>•</b></td> <td width="1%"> </td> <td>The disclosures that an entity should make about events or transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date.</td> </tr> </table> </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     This standard is effective for interim or annual periods ending after June 15, 2009, and is to be applied prospectively. Apache adopted this statement as of June 30, 2009. For evaluation of subsequent events, see Note 8 — Subsequent Events of this Form 10-Q. </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     In June 2009, the FASB issued SFAS No. 168, “The FASB Accounting Standards Codification<sup style="font-size: 85%; vertical-align: text-top">TM</sup> and the Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles,” which has been primarily codified into ASC Topic 105, “Generally Accepted Accounting Standards.” This guidance establishes the FASB Accounting Standards Codification, which officially commenced July 1, 2009, to become the single source of authoritative U.S. GAAP recognized by the FASB to be applied by nongovernmental entities. Rules and interpretive releases of the SEC under authority of federal securities laws are also sources of authoritative U.S. GAAP for SEC registrants. All other accounting literature excluded from the Codification is considered nonauthoritative. The subsequent issuances of new standards will be in the form of Accounting Standards Updates that will be included in the Codification. Generally, the Codification does not change U.S. GAAP. This statement is effective for financial statements issued for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. Apache has adopted this standard for the quarter ending September 30, 2009. The standard has had a minimal effect on the Company’s financial statement disclosures, as all references to authoritative accounting literature are referenced in accordance with the Codification. </div>   </div>  <div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif"> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><u>New Pronouncements Issued But Not Yet Adopted</u> </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     In December 2008, the FASB issued FSP FAS No. 132(R)-1, “Employers’ Disclosures about Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets,” which was primarily codified into ASC Topic 715, “Compensation — Retirement Benefits.” This guidance requires additional disclosures about plan assets of a defined benefit pension or other postretirement plan, including investment strategies, major categories of plan assets, concentrations of risk within plan assets, inputs and valuation techniques used to measure the fair value of plan assets and the effect of fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs on changes in plan assets for the period. This standard is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2009, with earlier application permitted. The statement provides only for enhanced disclosures and does not require additional interim disclosures. Adoption will have no impact on the Company’s financial position or results of operations. </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">     In January 2009, the SEC issued Release No. 33-8995, “Modernization of Oil and Gas Reporting,” amending oil and gas reporting requirements under Rule 4-10 of Regulation S-X and Industry Guide 2 in Regulation S-K and bringing full-cost accounting rules into alignment with the revised disclosure requirements. The new rules include changes to the pricing used to estimate reserves, the ability to include nontraditional resources in reserves, the use of new technology for determining reserves and permitting disclosure of probable and possible reserves. In September 2009, the FASB issued Proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU), <i>“</i>Extractive Industries—Oil and Gas (Topic 932): Oil and Gas Reserve Estimation and Disclosures” (Exposure Draft No. 1730-100), to align the guidance in U.S. GAAP with the changes the SEC made in December 2008. The final rules are effective for registration statements filed on or after January 1, 2010, and for annual reports for fiscal years ending on or after December 31, 2009. The public comment period for the Proposed ASU ended October 15, 2009; however, no final guidance has been issued by the FASB. The Company is continuing to evaluate the impact of this release. </div> </div>  <!-- Begin Block Tagged Note false false No definition available. No authoritative reference available. false false 1 2 false UnKnown UnKnown UnKnown false true