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Asset Retirement Obligation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Asset Retirement Obligation [Abstract] 
Asset Retirement Obligation

(8)     Asset Retirement Obligation

The Company follows the requirements of FASB ASC 410, "Asset Retirement Obligations and Environmental Obligations". Among other things, FASB ASC 410 requires entities to record a liability and corresponding increase in long-lived assets for the present value of material obligations associated with the retirement of tangible long-lived assets. Over the passage of time, accretion of the liability is recognized as an operating expense and the capitalized cost is depleted over the estimated useful life of the related asset. The Company's asset retirement obligations relate primarily to the plugging, dismantling and removal of wells drilled to date. The Company's calculation of Asset Retirement Obligation used a credit-adjusted risk free rate of 12%, when the original liability for wells drilled prior to 2009 was recognized. In 2009, the retirement obligations for new wells were recognized using a credit adjusted risk free rate of 8%. The retirement obligations for new wells drilled in January through July 2010 were recognized using a credit adjusted risk free rate of 6%. The retirement obligations for new wells drilled after July 2010 were recognized using a credit adjusted risk free rate of 5.25%. The Company used an estimated useful life of wells ranging from 10-40 years and an estimated plugging and abandonment cost of $11,000 per well in Kansas and $7,500 per well in Tennessee. Management continues to periodically evaluate the appropriateness of these assumptions.