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Basis of Presentation of Interim Financial Statements (Policies)
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Nature Of Business
Questar Corporation (Questar or the Company) is a Rockies-based integrated natural gas company with three complementary and wholly-owned lines of business:

- Questar Gas Company (Questar Gas) provides retail natural gas distribution in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho.
- Wexpro Company (Wexpro) develops and produces natural gas from cost-of-service reserves for Questar Gas.
- Questar Pipeline Company (Questar Pipeline) operates interstate natural gas pipelines and storage facilities in the western
United States and provides other energy services.

Questar is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Shares of Questar common stock trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:STR).
Comprehensive Income - Questar
Comprehensive income attributable to Questar, as reported in Questar's Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income, is the sum of net income attributable to Questar as reported in the Consolidated Statements of Income and other comprehensive income (loss) (OCI). OCI includes recognition of the under-funded position of pension and other postretirement benefit plans, changes in the fair value of long-term investment, interest rate cash flow hedges and commodity-based derivative instruments, and income taxes. These transactions are not the culmination of the earnings process but result from periodically adjusting historical balances to fair value. Income or loss is recognized when the pension or other postretirement benefit costs are accrued, when the long-term investment is sold or otherwise realized, as the Company records interest expense for hedged interest payments and when gas, oil or NGL underlying the derivative instrument is sold.
Comprehensive Income - Questar Pipeline
Comprehensive income, as reported in Questar Pipeline's Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income, is the sum of net income as reported in the Questar Pipeline Consolidated Statements of Income and OCI. OCI includes interest rate cash flow hedges and income taxes. These transactions are not the culmination of the earnings process but result from periodically adjusting historical balances to fair value. Income or loss is recognized as the company records interest expense for hedged interest payments.
Investment in Unconsolidated Affiliate
Questar uses the equity method to account for its investment in an unconsolidated affiliate where it does not have control, but has significant influence. White River Hub, LLC is a limited liability company and FERC-regulated transporter of natural gas. Questar Pipeline owns 50% of White River Hub, LLC and is the operator. Generally, the investment in White River Hub, LLC on the Company's balance sheets equals the Company's proportionate share of equity reported by White River Hub, LLC. The investment is assessed for possible impairment when events indicate that the fair value of the investment may be below the Company's carrying value. When such a condition is deemed to be other than temporary, the carrying value of the investment is written down to its fair value, and the amount of the write-down is included in the determination of net income.
Earnings Per Share
Basic earnings per share (EPS) is computed by dividing net income attributable to Questar by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the reporting period. Diluted EPS includes the potential increase in the number of outstanding shares that could result from the exercise of in-the-money stock options, the vesting of restricted stock units and performance shares that are part of the Company's Long-Term Stock Incentive Plan (LTSIP), less shares repurchased under the treasury stock method. Restricted stock units are participating securities for the computation of earnings per share. The application of the two-class method had an insignificant impact on the calculation of both basic and diluted EPS.
Asset Retirement Obligations
Questar records an asset retirement obligation (ARO) when there is a legal obligation associated with the retirement of a tangible long-lived asset. At Questar, AROs apply primarily to abandonment costs associated with gas and oil wells, production facilities and certain other properties. The Company has not capitalized future abandonment costs on a majority of its long-lived transportation and distribution assets because the Company does not have a legal obligation to restore the area surrounding abandoned assets. The fair value of retirement costs is estimated by Company personnel based on abandonment costs of similar properties available to field operations and depreciated over the life of the related assets. Revisions to ARO estimates result from changes in expected cash flows or material changes in estimated retirement costs. Income or expense resulting from the settlement of ARO liabilities is included in net gain (loss) from asset sales on the Consolidated Statements of Income. The ARO liability is adjusted to present value each period through an accretion calculation using a credit-adjusted risk-free interest rate.
Derivatives, Policy [Policy Text Block]
All derivative instruments are required to be recorded on the balance sheet as either assets or liabilities measured at fair value. The designation of a derivative instrument as a hedge and its ability to meet hedge accounting criteria determines how the changes in fair value of the derivative instrument are reflected in the consolidated financial statements. A derivative instrument qualifies for fair value hedge accounting if, at inception and throughout its life, the derivative is expected to be highly effective in offsetting the changes in fair value of the hedged debt attributable to the hedged interest rate. Changes in the fair value of a derivative instrument qualifying and designated as a fair value hedge as well as the offsetting changes in the fair value of the hedged debt attributable to the hedged interest rate are recorded currently in the Consolidated Statements of Income. A derivative instrument qualifies for cash flow hedge accounting if, at inception and throughout its life, the derivative is expected to be highly effective in offsetting the changes in expected cash flows of the hedged interest payments. Changes in the effective portion of the fair value of a derivative instrument qualifying and designated as a cash flow hedge are initially recorded as a component of OCI in the period and remain in AOCI in the Consolidated Balance Sheets until they are reclassified into earnings as the Company records interest expense for the hedged interest payments. Ineffective portions of a qualifying and designated cash flow hedge are recorded currently in earnings.

All derivative instruments are recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at their fair values on a gross basis. Asset and liability derivative positions with the same counterparty are not netted.

Interest rate swaps and forward starting interest rate swaps are settled in cash on periodic payment dates with one party paying the other for the net difference between the fixed and floating interest rate for the payment period as specified in the swap agreement, multiplied by the notional amount. Forward starting interest rate swaps used as cash flow hedges of forecasted fixed-rate debt issuances are terminated and settled in cash when the forecasted debt is issued or as the swaps expire, with one party paying the other for the swap's net fair value at the time of settlement. Questar reports cash flows related to derivative instruments qualifying and designated as hedges in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows based upon the nature of the hedged items.
Business Segments
Line-of-business information is presented according to senior management's basis for evaluating performance and considering differences in the nature of products, services and regulation, among other factors.