Asset Retirement Obligation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2013

7. Asset Retirement Obligation

The Company records a liability for the estimated costs to be incurred in connection with the abandonment of oil and natural gas properties in the future. This liability is included in the caption “other” in the liabilities section of the consolidated balance sheet. The following table describes the changes to the Company’s asset retirement obligations during the six months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012 (in thousands):


	Six Months Ended June 30,
	2013			2012
Balance at beginning of year	$	4,422		$	3,455
Liabilities incurred		177			182
Liabilities settled		(31	)		(83	)
Accretion expense		82			79
Revision in estimated costs of plugging oil and natural gas wells		—			536

Asset retirement obligation at end of period	$	4,650		$	4,169