Discontinued Operations

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Discontinued Operations [Abstract]

Discontinued Operations

NOTE Q. Discontinued Operations

During December 2011, the Company committed to a plan to divest Pioneer South Africa. In March 2012, the Company agreed to sell its net assets in Pioneer South Africa to an unaffiliated third party, using a January 1, 2012 effective date, for net cash proceeds of $52.0 million, before normal closing adjustments. The sale is subject to certain regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in mid-2012. Accordingly, the historical results of operations of Pioneer South Africa have been classified as discontinued operations herein.

During December 2010, the Company committed to a plan to sell Pioneer Tunisia and in February 2011 completed a sale to an unaffiliated party for cash proceeds of $802.5 million, including normal post-closing adjustments and excluding cash and cash equivalents sold, resulting in a pretax gain of $645.2 million. The historical results of operations of Pioneer Tunisia have been classified as discontinued operations herein.

During the three months ended March 31, 2011, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement ("BOEMRE") paid the Company $2.0 million of interest on excess royalty payments associated with properties that were sold by the Company during 2006. Accordingly, the interest income is classified as income from discontinued operations.

The following table represents the components of the Company's discontinued operations for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2012			2011
	(in thousands)
Revenues and other income:
Oil and gas	$	19,592		$	43,531
Interest and other		20			4,935
Gain (loss) on disposition of assets, net (a)		(23	)		649,872
		19,589			698,338
Costs and expenses:
Oil and gas production		790			3,222
Depletion, depreciation and amortization (a)		—			13,692
Exploration and abandonments		84			2,712
General and administrative		1,120			6,815
Accretion of discount on asset retirement obligations (a)		652			692
Interest		(75	)		—
Other		(397	)		1,202
		2,174			28,335
Income from discontinued operations before income taxes		17,415			670,003
Current tax provision		(5,405	)		(13,892	)
Deferred tax provision (a)		(1,315	)		(236,229	)
Income from discontinued operations	$	10,695		$	419,882

(a) Represents the significant noncash components of discontinued operations.