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Share Based Compensation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Stock Based Compensation [Abstract] 
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block]
4. SHARE BASED COMPENSATION:            
              
Valuation and Expense Information            
              
    Three Months  Nine Months
    Ended September 30,  Ended September 30,
    2011  2010  2011  2010
              
 Total cost of share-based payment plans $ 5,344 $ 4,778 $ 15,475 $ 15,273
 Amounts capitalized in fixed assets $ 1,898 $ 1,793 $ 5,583 $ 6,151
 Amounts charged against income, before            
  income tax benefit $ 3,446 $ 2,985 $ 9,892 $ 9,122
 Amount of related income tax benefit recognized            
  in income $ 1,237 $ 1,060 $ 3,551 $ 3,238

Changes in Stock Options and Stock Options Outstanding

 

The following table summarizes the changes in stock options for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and the year ended December 31, 2010:

 

    Weighted
  Number of Average
  Options Exercise Price
  (000's) (US$)
         
 Balance, December 31, 2009 3,504 $1.49to$98.87
         
 Forfeited (68) $51.60to$76.01
 Exercised (1,206) $1.49to$45.95
         
 Balance, December 31, 2010 2,230 $3.91to$98.87
         
 Forfeited (20) $51.60to$75.18
 Exercised (661) $3.91to$33.57
         
 Balance, September 30, 2011 1,549 $16.97to$98.87

PERFORMANCE SHARE PLANS:

 

Long Term Incentive Plans.  The Company offers a Long Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) in order to further align the interests of key employees with shareholders and to give key employees the opportunity to share in the long-term performance of the Company when specific corporate financial and operational goals are achieved. Each LTIP covers a performance period of three years. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, the Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) approved an award consisting of performance-based restricted stock units to be awarded to each participant.

 

For each LTIP award, the Committee establishes performance measures at the beginning of each performance period. Under each LTIP, the Committee establishes a percentage of base salary for each participant which is multiplied by the participant's base salary to derive a Long Term Incentive Value as a “target” value which corresponds to the number of shares of the Company's common stock the participant is eligible to receive if the target level for all performance measures is met. In addition, each participant is assigned threshold and maximum award levels in the event that actual performance is below or above target levels. For LTIP awards in each of 2009, 2010 and 2011, the Committee established the following performance measures: return on equity, reserve replacement ratio, and production growth.

 

For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, the Company recognized $7.5 million in pre-tax compensation expense related to the 2009, 2010 and 2011 LTIP awards of restricted stock units as compared to $5.9 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2010 related to the 2008, 2009 and 2010 LTIP awards of restricted stock units. The amounts recognized during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 assumes that maximum performance objectives are attained. If the Company ultimately attains these performance objectives, the associated total compensation, estimated at September 30, 2011, for each of the three year performance periods is expected to be approximately $23.8 million, $11.5 million, and $11.2 million related to the 2009, 2010 and 2011 LTIP awards of restricted stock units, respectively. The 2008 LTIP award of restricted stock units was paid in shares of the Company's stock to employees during the first quarter of 2011 and totaled $4.3 million (41,443 net shares).