ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]

Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 12 - ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

The following table presents the changes in carrying amounts of the asset retirement obligations associated with our working interests in crude oil and natural gas properties for the periods presented:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2021		2020
	(in thousands)
Beginning balance	$	166,570	$	127,251
Obligations incurred with development activities and other	4,750		6,494
Obligations incurred with acquisition	—		47,673
Accretion expense	12,086		10,072
Revisions in estimated cash flows	10,609		4,742
Obligations discharged with asset retirements and divestitures	(34,343)		(29,662)
Asset retirement obligations at end of period	159,672		166,570
Current portion(1)	(32,146)		(33,933)
Long-term portion	$	127,526	$	132,637

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(1)The current portion of the asset retirement obligation is included in other accrued expenses on our consolidated balance sheets.

Our estimated asset retirement obligations liability is based on historical experience in plugging and abandoning wells, estimated economic lives and estimated plugging, abandonment and surface reclamation costs considering federal and state regulatory requirements in effect at that time. The liability is discounted using the credit-adjusted risk-free rate estimated at the time the liability is incurred or revised. To the extent future revisions to these assumptions impact the present value of the existing asset retirement obligations liability, a corresponding adjustment is made to the properties and equipment balance. Changes in the liability due to the passage of time are recognized as an increase in the carrying amount of the liability and as accretion expense.