LONG-TERM LIABILITIES (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	6 Months Ended			6 Months Ended							6 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2011 Line of Credit	Jun. 30, 2014 Line of Credit item	May 31, 2014 Line of Credit	Dec. 15, 2011 Line of Credit	Jun. 30, 2014 Line of Credit LIBOR	Jun. 30, 2014 Line of Credit Base Rate	Jun. 30, 2014 Line of Credit Prime rate	Jun. 30, 2014 Line of Credit Federal Funds rate	Jun. 30, 2014 Line of Credit Minimum	Jun. 30, 2014 Line of Credit Minimum LIBOR	Jun. 30, 2014 Line of Credit Minimum Federal Funds rate	Jun. 30, 2014 Line of Credit Maximum LIBOR	Jun. 30, 2014 Line of Credit Maximum Federal Funds rate	Jun. 30, 2014 Convertible debentures	Jun. 30, 2014 Convertible debentures Maximum
LONG-TERM LIABILITIES
Line of Credit	$ 81,500,000	$ 81,500,000	$ 94,500,000
Convertible debentures	1,636,000	1,636,000	1,636,000
Asset retirement obligations	28,198,000	28,198,000	26,785,000
Litigation allowance	3,100,000	3,100,000	3,100,000
Total long-term liabilities	114,434,000	114,434,000	126,021,000
Less current portion	1,663,000	1,663,000	1,936,000
Long-term portion	112,771,000	112,771,000	124,085,000
Long-term liabilities
Term of credit facility				5 years
Maximum borrowing capacity							300,000,000
Number of wholly-owned subsidiaries that guarantee Line of Credit Facility					2
Initial borrowing base						175,000,000
Number of additional redetermination rights in each year					1
Credit line interest accrued, approximate					121,000
Borrowing base increased		14,500,000			81,500,000
Current ratio												1.0
Annualized consolidated EBITDAX to net interest expense ratio												2.5
Variable rate basis								LIBOR	Base Rate	Prime rate	Federal Funds
Margin (as a percent)											0.50%		1.75%		2.75%
Additional margin (as a percent)														0.75%		1.75%
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
Weighted average interest rate (as a percent)					2.41%