Asset Retirement Obligations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]

Note 14 – 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,
	2018			2017
	(in thousands)
Beginning asset retirement obligations	$	114,470		$	123,307
Liabilities incurred ⁽¹⁾	4,054			7,588
Liabilities settled ⁽²⁾	(33,024		)	(30,432		)
Accretion expense	4,438			5,988
Revision to estimated cash flows	4,256			8,019
Ending asset retirement obligations ⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾	$	94,194		$	114,470

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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⁾	Balance as of December 31, 2017, included $11.4 million of asset retirement obligations associated with oil and gas properties held for sale.


⁽⁴⁾	Balances as of December 31, 2018, and 2017, included $2.3 million and $75,000, respectively, related to the Company’s current asset retirement obligation liability, which is recorded in the accounts payable and accrued expenses line item on the accompanying balance sheets.