INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Analysis of Deferred Taxes

An analysis of our deferred taxes follows:

	As of December 31,
	2016			2015
Tax effect of temporary differences:
Net operating loss carryforwards	$	201,557		$	31,624
Oil and gas properties	85,772			76,766
Asset retirement obligations	85,312			79,618
Stock compensation	3,294			5,199
Hedges	—			(13,598		)
Accrued incentive compensation	954			1,234
Debt issuance costs	7,480			—
Other	441			(722		)
Total deferred tax assets (liabilities)	384,810			180,121
Valuation allowance	(384,810		)	(180,121		)
Net deferred tax assets (liabilities)	$	—		$	—

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,
	2016	2015	2014
Income tax expense computed at the statutory federal income tax rate	35.0%	35.0%	35.0%
State taxes	0.2	0.6	1.0
Change in valuation allowance	(35.0)	(12.8)	—
IRC Sec. 162(m) limitation	(0.3)	(0.1)	(0.5)
Tax deficits on stock compensation	(0.7)	(0.1)	(0.2)
Reorganization fees	(0.3)	—	—
Other	(0.2)	(0.1)	(0.3)
Effective income tax rate	(1.3)%	22.5%	35.0%

Summary of Income Tax Contingencies

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

Total unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2015	$	491
Increases (decreases) in unrecognized tax benefits as a result of:
Tax positions taken during a prior period	—
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, 2016	$	491