Statements of Operations (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010
Revenues:
Oil, NGL and natural gas sales	$ 40,818,434	$ 43,469,130	$ 44,068,947
Lease bonuses and rentals	7,152,991	352,757	1,120,674
Gains (losses) on derivative contracts	73,822	734,299	6,343,661
Income from partnerships	487,070	420,465	405,134
Total revenues	48,532,317	44,976,651	51,938,416
Costs and expenses:
Lease operating expenses	9,141,970	8,441,754	8,193,319
Production taxes	1,449,537	1,456,755	1,446,545
Exploration costs	979,718	1,025,542	1,583,773
Depreciation, depletion and amortization	19,061,239	14,712,188	19,222,123
Provision for impairment	826,508	1,728,162	605,615
Loss (gain) on asset sales, interest and other	39,493	(68,325)	(1,028,148)
General and administrative	6,388,856	5,994,663	5,594,499
Total costs and expenses	37,887,321	33,290,739	35,617,726
Income (loss) before provision (benefit) for income taxes	10,644,996	11,685,912	16,320,690
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	3,274,000	3,192,000	4,901,000
Net income (loss)	$ 7,370,996	$ 8,493,912	$ 11,419,690
Basic and diluted earnings per common share:
Net income (loss)	$ 0.88	$ 1.01	$ 1.36