Fair Value Measurements (Tables)

3 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Dec. 31, 2011

Schedule of the Company's assets and liabilities measured at fair value

March 31, 2012:



	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	(in thousands)
Assets:
Derivatives	$	—	$	98,052	$	—
Liabilities:
Derivatives	$	—	$	76,161	$	—
Net Profits Plan	$	—	$	—	$	111,670

Schedule of reconciliation of fair value measurements using Level 3 inputs

The following table reflects the activity for the Net Profits Plan liability measured at fair value using Level 3 inputs:



	For the Three Months Ended March 31,
	2012			2011
	(in thousands)
Beginning balance	$	107,731		$	135,850
Net increase in liability ⁽¹⁾	9,162			24,285
Net settlements ^(1)(2)(3)	(5,223		)	(12,732		)
Transfers in (out) of Level 3	—			—
Ending balance	$	111,670		$	147,403

____________________________


(1)	Net changes in the Net Profits Plan liability are shown in the Change in Net Profits Plan liability line item of the accompanying statements of operations.


(2)	Settlements represent cash payments made or accrued under the Net Profits Plan. The Company accrued or made cash payments under the Net Profits Plan relating to divestiture proceeds of $286,000 and $4.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, and March 31, 2011, respectively.

(3)

During the first quarter of 2011, the Company elected to cash out several Net Profits Plan pools associated with the acquisition of Nance Petroleum Corporation in 1999, through a $2.6 million direct payment. As a result, the Company reduced its Net Profits Plan liability by that amount. There is no impact on the accompanying statements of operations for the three-month period ended March 31, 2011, related to these settlements.

Fair Value, Assets Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Table Text Block]



	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	(in thousands)
Assets:
Derivatives ⁽¹⁾	$	—	$	86,875	$	—
Proved oil and gas properties ⁽²⁾	$	—	$	—	$	139,992
Unproved oil and gas properties ⁽²⁾	$	—	$	—	$	15,809
Liabilities:
Derivatives ⁽¹⁾	$	—	$	55,681	$	—
Net Profits Plan ⁽¹⁾	$	—	$	—	$	107,731

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of assets, including [financial] instruments measured at fair value that are classified in stockholders' equity, if any, by class that are measured at fair value on a recurring and/or nonrecurring basis. The disclosures contemplated herein include the fair value measurements at the reporting date by the level within the fair value hierarchy in which the fair value measurements in their entirety fall, segregating fair value measurements using quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1), significant other observable inputs (Level 2), and significant unobservable inputs (Level 3).

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- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the fair value measurement of liabilities using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3), a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances, separately presenting changes during the period attributable to the following: (1) total gains or losses for the period (realized and unrealized), segregating those gains or losses included in earnings (or changes in net assets), and gains or losses recognized in other comprehensive income and a description of where those gains or losses included in earnings (or changes in net assets) are reported in the statement of income (or activities); (2) purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements (each type disclosed separately); and (3) transfers in and transfers out of Level 3 (for example, transfers due to changes in the observability of significant inputs) by class of liability.

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