ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Organization

Forest Oil Corporation is an independent oil and gas company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (“NGLs”) primarily in North America. Forest was incorporated in New York in 1924, as the successor to a company formed in 1916, and has been a publicly held company since 1969. Forest holds assets in several exploration and producing areas in the United States and has exploratory and development interests in two other countries. Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “Forest,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us,” as used in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, refer to Forest Oil Corporation and its subsidiaries.

Basis of Presentation

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included herein are unaudited and include the accounts of Forest and its consolidated subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, which are of a normal recurring nature, have been made that are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position of Forest at September 30, 2013, and the results of its operations, its comprehensive income, its cash flows, and changes in its shareholders’ equity for the periods presented. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of expected annual results because of the impact of fluctuations in the prices of oil, natural gas, and NGLs and the impact the prices have on Forest’s revenues and the fair values of its derivative instruments.

In the course of preparing the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, management makes various assumptions, judgments, and estimates to determine the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, and in the disclosures of commitments and contingencies. Changes in these assumptions, judgments, and estimates will occur as a result of the passage of time and the occurrence of future events and, accordingly, actual results could differ from amounts previously established.

The more significant areas requiring the use of assumptions, judgments, and estimates relate to volumes of oil, natural gas, and NGL reserves used in calculating depletion, the amount of future net revenues used in computing the ceiling test limitations, and the amount of future capital costs and abandonment obligations used in such calculations, assessing investments in unproved properties and goodwill for impairment, determining the need for and the amount of deferred tax asset valuation allowances, and estimating fair values of financial instruments, including derivative instruments.

Certain amounts in the prior year financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the 2013 financial statement presentation.

For a more complete understanding of Forest’s operations, financial position, and accounting policies, reference is made to the consolidated financial statements of Forest, and related notes thereto, filed with Forest’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).