LONG-TERM LIABILITIES (Details) (USD $)	9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended									9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013 item	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 15, 2011 Line of Credit	Sep. 30, 2013 Line of Credit	May 31, 2013 Line of Credit	Sep. 30, 2013 Line of Credit Base Rate	Sep. 30, 2013 Line of Credit Prime rate	Sep. 30, 2013 Line of Credit Federal Funds rate	Sep. 30, 2013 Line of Credit LIBOR	Sep. 30, 2013 Line of Credit Minimum	Sep. 30, 2013 Line of Credit Minimum Federal Funds rate	Sep. 30, 2013 Line of Credit Minimum LIBOR	Sep. 30, 2013 Line of Credit Maximum Federal Funds rate	Sep. 30, 2013 Line of Credit Maximum LIBOR	Sep. 30, 2013 Convertible debentures	Sep. 30, 2013 Convertible debentures Maximum
LONG-TERM LIABILITIES
Line of Credit	$ 94,500,000	$ 99,500,000
Convertible debentures	1,636,000	1,636,000
Asset retirement obligations	26,286,000	25,236,000
Litigation allowance	3,100,000	3,100,000
Total long-term liabilities	125,522,000	129,472,000
Less current portion	1,386,000	1,790,000
Long-term portion	124,136,000	127,682,000
Long-term liabilities
Term of credit facility			5 years
Option one per the terms of the debt agreement used in the calculation of the maximum borrowing capacity			300,000,000
Number of wholly-owned subsidiaries that guarantee Line of Credit Facility	2
Initial borrowing base					145,000,000
Number of additional redetermination rights in each year	1
Credit line interest accrued, approximate				16,000
Borrowing base increased				94,500,000
Current ratio										1.0
Annualized consolidated EBITDAX to net interest expense ratio										2.5
Variable rate basis						Base Rate	Prime rate	Federal Funds	LIBOR
Margin (as a percent)												1.75%		2.75%
Additional margin (as a percent)											0.75%		1.75%
Weighted average interest rate (as a percent)				2.43%
Percentage of principal amount at which debentures may be converted from the date of issuance until maturity into common stock															100.00%
Conversion price (in dollars per share)															$ 50
Percentage of convertible bond issued and outstanding that the holders may tender each year																10.00%
Amount of bond redemptions	$ 0