Asset Retirement Obligations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Asset Retirement Obligations [Abstract]

(6) Asset Retirement Obligations

We record the fair value of a liability for an asset retirement obligation in the period in which it is incurred, along with a corresponding increase in the carrying amount of the related long-lived asset. The following table reconciles the beginning and ending aggregate recorded amount of our asset retirement obligations.


		Year Ended December 31,
		2013		2012
		(in thousands)
Beginning of period total	$	235,110	$	99,347
Accretion expense		28,299		15,565
Liabilities assumed in acquisitions		23,541		132,109
Liabilities incurred		1,187		1,210
Revisions		24,586		22,308
Liabilities associated with assets sold		(3,965)		-
Liabilities settled		(53,308)		(35,429)
End of period total		255,450		235,110
Less: End of period, current portion		51,601		30,179
End of period, noncurrent portion	$	203,849	$	204,931

We revise our estimates of ARO as information about material changes to the liability becomes known. During the year ended December 31, 2013, our revisions include an increase to our estimated asset retirement obligations (“ARO”) of $20.8 million related to our only remaining four non-producing wellbores in our non-operated deepwater properties. These deepwater abandonment costs are primarily attributable to changes in regulatory interpretations and enforcement by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in the deepwater that increased the required scope of work. As a result, we recorded an associated $20.8 million loss on abandonment activities, which is included in Other costs and expenses in our consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2013.