2.2.0.25falsefalse10701 - Disclosure - ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONStruefalsefalse1falsefalseUSDfalsefalse1/1/2010 - 12/31/2010
USD ($)
USD ($) / shares
$Duration_1_1_2010_To_12_31_2010http://www.sec.gov/CIK0000798949duration2010-01-01T00:00:002010-12-31T00:00:00Unit12Standardhttp://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217USDiso42170Unit13Dividehttp://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217USDiso4217http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instancesharesxbrli0Unit1Standardhttp://www.xbrl.org/2003/instancesharesxbrli0USDUSD$2true0us-gaap_AssetRetirementObligationAbstractus-gaaptruenadurationNo definition available.falsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalse1falsefalsefalse00falsefalsefalsefalsefalseOtherxbrli:stringItemTypestringNo definition available.falsefalse3false0us-gaap_AssetRetirementObligationDisclosureTextBlockus-gaaptruenadurationNo definition available.falsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalseterselabel1falsefalsefalse00<div>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"><b>Note 7. Asset Retirement Obligations </b></font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 6px; text-indent: 4%; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">We are required to record the estimated fair value of the liabilities relating to the future retirement of our long-lived assets. Our oil and natural gas wells are plugged and abandoned when the oil and natural gas reserves in those wells are depleted or the wells are no longer able to produce. The plugging and abandonment expense for a well is recorded in the period in which the obligation is incurred (at the time the well is drilled or acquired). None of our assets are restricted for purposes of settling these AROs. </font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 12px; text-indent: 4%; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">The following table shows certain information about our AROs for the periods indicated: </font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 12px;"> </p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="92%" align="center">
<tr><td width="79%"> </td>
<td valign="bottom" width="5%"> </td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td valign="bottom" width="4%"> </td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td></tr>
<tr><td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td style="border-bottom: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom" colspan="2" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1"><b>2010</b></font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td style="border-bottom: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom" colspan="2" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1"><b>2009</b></font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" colspan="6" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1"><b>(In thousands)</b></font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#cceeff"><td valign="top">
<p style="text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">ARO liability, January 1:</font></p></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">$</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">56,404</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">$</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">49,230</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">
<p style="text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">Accretion of discount</font></p></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">2,937</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">2,585</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#cceeff"><td valign="top">
<p style="text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">Liability incurred</font></p></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">4,768</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">3,447</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">
<p style="text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">Liability settled</font></p></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">(763</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">) </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">(1,331</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">) </font></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#cceeff"><td valign="top">
<p style="text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">Revision of estimates </font><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1"><sup style="position: relative; bottom: 0.8ex; vertical-align: baseline;">(1)</sup></font><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></p></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">5,919</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">2,473</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td></tr>
<tr style="font-size: 1px;"><td valign="bottom"> </td>
<td valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td> </td>
<td valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td> </td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">
<p style="text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">ARO liability, December 31:</font></p></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">69,265</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">56,404</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#cceeff"><td valign="top">
<p style="text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">Less current portion</font></p></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">1,915</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">1,080</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td></tr>
<tr style="font-size: 1px;"><td valign="bottom"> </td>
<td valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td> </td>
<td valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td> </td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">
<p style="text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">Total long-term ARO liability</font></p></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">$</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">67,350</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">$</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">55,324</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td></tr>
<tr style="font-size: 1px;"><td valign="bottom"> </td>
<td valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 3px double;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 3px double;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td> </td>
<td valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 3px double;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td style="border-top: #000000 3px double;" valign="bottom"> </td>
<td> </td></tr></table>
<p style="border-bottom: #000000 0.5pt solid; line-height: 8px; margin-top: 0px; width: 10%; margin-bottom: 2px;"> </p>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%">
<tr><td valign="top" width="4%" align="left"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">(1)</font></td>
<td valign="top" align="left"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">ARO liability estimates were revised upward in 2010 and 2009 due to the increase in the cost of contract services utilized to plug wells over the preceding years.</font></td></tr></table> </div>Note 7. Asset Retirement Obligations
We are required to record the estimated fair value of the liabilities relating to the future retirement of ourfalsefalsefalsefalsefalseOtherus-types:textBlockItemTypestringDescription of the asset retirement obligation and the associated long-lived asset. An asset retirement obligation is a legal obligation associated with the disposal or retirement from service of a tangible long-lived asset that results from the acquisition, construction or development, or the normal operations of a long-lived asset, except for certain obligations of lessees. This element may be used for all the disclosures related to asset retirement obligations.Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)
-Number 143
-Paragraph 22
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