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Asset Retirement Obligations
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]  
ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS
ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS
In general, the Company’s asset retirement obligations relate to future costs associated with plugging and abandonment of its oil and natural gas wells, removal of equipment and facilities from leased acreage and returning such land to its original condition. The amounts recognized are based on numerous estimates and assumptions, including future retirement costs, future recoverable quantities of oil and natural gas, future inflation rates and the Company’s credit-adjusted risk-free interest rate. Revisions to the liability can occur due to changes in these estimates and assumptions or if federal or state regulators enact new plugging and abandonment requirements. At the time of the actual plugging and abandonment of its oil and natural gas wells, the Company includes any gain or loss associated with the operation in the amortization base to the extent the actual costs are different from the estimated liability.
The following table summarizes the changes in the Company’s asset retirement obligations for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 (in thousands). 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
2015
 
2014
Beginning asset retirement obligations
 
$
11,951

 
$
7,484

Liabilities incurred during period
 
4,508

 
2,322

Liabilities settled during period
 
(588
)
 
(22
)
Revisions in estimated cash flows
 
(1,185
)
 
1,663

Accretion expense
 
734

 
504

Ending asset retirement obligations
 
15,420

 
11,951

Less: current asset retirement obligations (1)
 
(254
)
 
(311
)
Long-term asset retirement obligations
 
$
15,166

 
$
11,640


__________________
(1)
Included in accrued liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2015 and 2014.