Basis of Financial Statement Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	May 31, 2014	Oct. 31, 2013	May 21, 2014 acre Well
Basis Of Financial Statement Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Deferred gain on Republic PSA										$ 6,959,816
Sales price										15,000,000
Number of acre interest sold										2,239
Percentage of profit in sales of assets										25.00%
Percentage of leasehold interest										1.50%
Number of wells, royalty interest										6
Percentage of royalty interest in wells										1.00%
Financing fees incurred						122,230	1,741,976
Amortization of financing cost		555,072	369,859	905,875	701,807
Written down on oil and gas properties							10,100,000
Sale of shallow wells	11,500,000
Asset impairment charge				0	0
Current portion of the asset retirement obligation		0		0		0
Net operating loss carry forwards		65,000,000		65,000,000
Net operating loss expiration				Various dates through 2033
Current tax provision		0		0
Income tax benefit recorded by offsetting NOLs or Alternative Minimum Tax against valuation allowance description				No tax benefit has been recorded in the consolidated financial statements for the remaining NOLs or Alternative Minimum Tax ("AMT") credit since the potential tax benefit is offset by a valuation allowance of the same amount.
Income tax benefit		0	0	0	0
Valuation allowance				100.00%
Material unrecognized tax benefits		0		0		0
Tax penalties		0		0		0
Open Tax years				2010
Material imbalances		0		0		0
Total share-based compensation expense		214,906	283,892	698,122	919,755
Morgan Stanley [Member]
Basis Of Financial Statement Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Financing fees incurred								4,706,656
Oppenheimer & Co., Inc [Member]
Basis Of Financial Statement Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Financing fees incurred									$ 401,625
Marcellus Shale Wells [Member]
Basis Of Financial Statement Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Asset retirement obligation amortization period				40 years
Minimum [Member] | Vehicles, Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Basis Of Financial Statement Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Asset retirement obligation amortization period				5 years
Minimum [Member] | Pipelines and Other Related Equipment [Member]
Basis Of Financial Statement Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Asset retirement obligation amortization period				10 years
Maximum [Member] | Vehicles, Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Basis Of Financial Statement Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Asset retirement obligation amortization period				10 years
Maximum [Member] | Pipelines and Other Related Equipment [Member]
Basis Of Financial Statement Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Asset retirement obligation amortization period				25 years