INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Analysis of Deferred Taxes

An analysis of our deferred taxes follows:

	As of December 31,
	2015			2014
Tax effect of temporary differences:
Net operating loss carryforwards	$	31,624		$	99,615
Oil and gas properties – full cost	76,766			(476,367		)
Asset retirement obligations	79,618			113,907
Stock compensation	5,199			5,603
Hedges	(13,598		)	(54,439		)
Accrued incentive compensation	1,234			6,185
Other	(722		)	(966		)
Total deferred tax assets (liabilities)	180,121			(306,462		)
Valuation allowance	(180,121		)	—
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	—		$	(306,462	)

Reconciliation Between Statutory Federal Income Tax Rate and Effective Income Tax Rate as a Percentage of Income Before Income Taxes

A reconciliation between the statutory federal income tax rate and our effective income tax rate as a percentage of income before income taxes follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2015	2014	2013
Income tax expense computed at the statutory federal income tax rate	35.0%	35.0%	35.0%
State taxes	0.6	1.0	1.0
Change in valuation allowance	(12.8)	—	—
IRC Sec. 162(m) limitation	(0.1)	(0.5)	0.8
Tax deficits on stock compensation	(0.1)	(0.2)	—
Other	(0.1)	(0.3)	0.1
Effective income tax rate	22.5%	35.0%	36.9%

Summary of Income Tax Contingencies

A reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits follows:

Total unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2014	$	—
Increases (decreases) in unrecognized tax benefits as a result of:
Tax positions taken during a prior period	491
Tax positions taken during the current period	—
Settlements with taxing authorities	—
Lapse of applicable statute of limitations	—
Total unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2015	$	491