Statements of Operations (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2009
Revenues:
Oil and natural gas (and associated natural gas liquids) sales	$ 43,469,130	$ 44,068,947	$ 37,421,688
Lease bonuses and rentals	352,757	1,120,674	188,906
Gains (losses) on derivative contracts	734,299	6,343,661	(661,828)
Income from partnerships	420,465	405,134	323,848
Total revenues	44,976,651	51,938,416	37,272,614
Costs and expenses:
Lease operating expenses and production taxes	9,898,509	9,639,864	8,897,235
Exploration costs	1,025,542	1,583,773	711,582
Depreciation, depletion and amortization	14,712,188	19,222,123	28,168,933
Provision for impairment	1,728,162	605,615	2,464,520
Loss (gain) on asset sales, interest and other	(68,325)	(1,028,148)	(2,677,407)
General and administrative	5,994,663	5,594,499	4,866,044
Bad debt expense (recovery)			(185,272)
Total costs and expenses	33,290,739	35,617,726	42,245,635
Income (loss) before provision (benefit) for income taxes	11,685,912	16,320,690	(4,973,021)
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	3,192,000	4,901,000	(2,568,000)
Net income (loss)	$ 8,493,912	$ 11,419,690	$ (2,405,021)
Basic and diluted earnings per common share:
Net income (loss)	$ 1.01	$ 1.36	$ (0.29)