Asset Retirement Obligations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]

Note 9 – Asset Retirement Obligations

Please refer to Asset Retirement Obligations in Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies for a discussion of the initial and subsequent measurements of asset retirement obligation liabilities and the significant assumptions used in the estimates.

A reconciliation of the Company’s total asset retirement obligation liability is as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2017			2016
	(in thousands)
Beginning asset retirement obligations	$	123,307		$	140,874
Liabilities incurred ⁽¹⁾	7,588			21,293
Liabilities settled ⁽²⁾	(30,432		)	(57,100		)
Accretion expense	5,988			7,795
Revision to estimated cash flows	8,019			10,445
Ending asset retirement obligations ⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾	$	114,470		$	123,307

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⁽¹⁾	Reflects liabilities incurred through drilling activities and acquisitions of drilled wells.


⁽²⁾	Reflects liabilities settled through plugging and abandonment activities and divestitures of properties.


⁽³⁾	Balances as of December 31, 2017, and 2016, included $11.4 million and $26.2 million, respectively, of asset retirement obligations associated with oil and gas properties held for sale.


⁽⁴⁾	Balances as of December 31, 2017, and 2016, included $75,000 and $932,000, respectively, related to the Company’s current asset retirement obligation liability, which is recorded in accounts payable and accrued expenses on the accompanying balance sheets.