Natural Gas and Oil Properties	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Natural Gas And Oil Properties Abstract
Natural Gas and Oil Properties	(5) NATURAL GAS AND OIL PROPERTIES The Company utilizes the full cost method of accounting for costs related to the exploration, development and acquisition of natural gas and oil reserves. Under this method, all such costs (productive and nonproductive), including salaries, benefits and other internal costs directly attributable to these activities are capitalized on a country by country basis and amortized over the estimated lives of the properties using the units-of-production method. These capitalized costs, less accumulated amortization and related deferred income taxes, are subject to a ceiling test that limits such pooled costs to the aggregate of the present value of future net revenues attributable to proved natural gas and oil reserves discounted at 10 percent plus the lower of cost or market value of unproved properties. Any costs in excess of the ceiling are written off as a non-cash expense. The expense may not be reversed in future periods, even though higher natural gas and oil prices may subsequently increase the ceiling. Full cost companies must use the average quoted price from the first day of each month from the previous 12 months, including the impact of derivatives qualifying as cash flow hedges, to calculate the ceiling value of their reserves. Using the average quoted price from the first day of each month from the previous 12 months for Henry Hub natural gas of $3.73 per MMBtu and $94.65 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate oil, adjusted for market differentials, the Company's net book value of its United States natural gas and oil properties did not exceed the ceiling amount and did not result in a ceiling test impairment at March 31, 2012. Cash flow hedges of natural gas production in place increased the ceiling value by $303.2 million at March 31, 2012. Excluding the effect of cash flow hedges, from the ceiling test at March 31, 2012 would have resulted in a $213.9 million (net of taxes) ceiling test impairment. Decreases in market prices as well as changes in production rates, levels of reserves, evaluation of costs excluded from amortization, future development costs and production costs could result in future ceiling test impairments. Using the first-day-of-the-month prices of natural gas for the first five months of 2012 and NYMEX strip prices for the remainder of 2012, as applicable, the prices required to be used to determine the ceiling amount in our full cost ceiling test are likely to require write-downs in each of the remaining quarters in 2012. All of our costs directly associated with the acquisition and evaluation of properties in New Brunswick, Canada relating to our exploration program at March 31, 2012 were unproved and did not exceed the ceiling amount. If our exploration program in Canada is unsuccessful on all or a portion of these properties, a ceiling test impairment may result in the future.

(5) NATURAL GAS AND OIL PROPERTIES

The Company utilizes the full cost method of accounting for costs related to the exploration, development and acquisition of natural gas and oil reserves. Under this method, all such costs (productive and nonproductive), including salaries, benefits and other internal costs directly attributable to these activities are capitalized on a country by country basis and amortized over the estimated lives of the properties using the units-of-production method. These capitalized costs, less accumulated amortization and related deferred income taxes, are subject to a ceiling test that limits such pooled costs to the aggregate of the present value of future net revenues attributable to proved natural gas and oil reserves discounted at 10 percent plus the lower of cost or market value of unproved properties. Any costs in excess of the ceiling are written off as a non-cash expense. The expense may not be reversed in future periods, even though higher natural gas and oil prices may subsequently increase the ceiling. Full cost companies must use the average quoted price from the first day of each month from the previous 12 months, including the impact of derivatives qualifying as cash flow hedges, to calculate the ceiling value of their reserves.

Using the average quoted price from the first day of each month from the previous 12 months for Henry Hub natural gas of $3.73 per MMBtu and $94.65 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate oil, adjusted for market differentials, the Company's net book value of its United States natural gas and oil properties did not exceed the ceiling amount and did not result in a ceiling test impairment at March 31, 2012. Cash flow hedges of natural gas production in place increased the ceiling value by $303.2 million at March 31, 2012. Excluding the effect of cash flow hedges, from the ceiling test at March 31, 2012 would have resulted in a $213.9 million (net of taxes) ceiling test impairment. Decreases in market prices as well as changes in production rates, levels of reserves, evaluation of costs excluded from amortization, future development costs and production costs could result in future ceiling test impairments. Using the first-day-of-the-month prices of natural gas for the first five months of 2012 and NYMEX strip prices for the remainder of 2012, as applicable, the prices required to be used to determine the ceiling amount in our full cost ceiling test are likely to require write-downs in each of the remaining quarters in 2012.

All of our costs directly associated with the acquisition and evaluation of properties in New Brunswick, Canada relating to our exploration program at March 31, 2012 were unproved and did not exceed the ceiling amount. If our exploration program in Canada is unsuccessful on all or a portion of these properties, a ceiling test impairment may result in the future.