Asset Retirement Obligations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Asset Retirement Obligations Disclosure [Abstract]

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

2. ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS:

The Company is required to record the fair value of an asset retirement obligation as a liability in the period in which it incurs a legal obligation associated with the retirement of tangible long-lived assets that result from the acquisition, construction, development and/or normal use of the assets. The following table summarizes the activities for the Company’s asset retirement obligations for the years ended:

		December 31,
		2015		2014
Asset retirement obligations at beginning of period	$	127,240	$	72,807
Accretion expense		9,122		6,571
Liabilities incurred		7,352		10,242
Liabilities acquired(1)		-		53,270
Liabilities divested(1)		-		(15,760)
Liabilities settled		(1,861)		(336)
Revisions of estimated liabilities		4,357		446
Asset retirement obligations at end of period		146,210		127,240
Less: current asset retirement obligations		(305)		(417)
Long-term asset retirement obligations	$	145,905	$	126,823

⁽¹⁾On September 25, 2014, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ultra Petroleum Corp. completed the acquisition of all producing and non-producing properties in the Pinedale field in Sublette County, Wyoming in exchange for certain of the Company’s producing and non-producing properties in Pennsylvania and a cash payment.