Restructuring Activities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012


13.	Restructuring and Exit Activities

During the quarter ended September 30, 2012, we completed an organizational restructuring in conjunction with the sale of our Appalachian assets. We terminated approximately 30 employees and closed our regional office in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. We recorded a charge and recognized an obligation in connection with the long-term lease of that office. In addition, we have contractual commitments for certain firm transportation capacity in the Appalachian region that expire in 2022 and, as a result of the recently completed sale, we no longer have production to satisfy these commitments. While we intend to sell our unused firm transportation in the future to the extent possible, we recorded a charge of $17.3 million representing the liability for estimated discounted future net cash outflows over the remaining term of the contract.

During 2011, we completed an organizational restructuring due primarily to our decision to exit the Arkoma Basin and to consolidate certain operations functions to our Houston, Texas location. We terminated approximately 40 employees and closed our regional office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Accordingly, we recorded a charge and recognized an obligation in connection with the long-term lease of that office.

In addition to the accrual of these costs, we adjusted the lease obligation associated with the Tulsa office as a result of a change in estimated sub-lease rental income. Restructuring charges, including the accretion of the lease obligations, are included in the General and administrative expenses caption on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. The initial charge for the firm transportation commitment is presented as a separate caption on our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

The following table summarizes our restructuring-related obligations as of and for the periods presented:



	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Balance at beginning of period	$	251		$	—		$	576		$	64
Employee, office and other costs accrued, net	1,431			1,553			1,283			1,623
Firm transportation charge	17,332			—			17,332			—
Cash payments, net	(1,359		)	(286		)	(1,536		)	(420		)
Balance at end of period	$	17,655		$	1,267		$	17,655		$	1,267

The current portion of these restructuring and exit cost obligations is included in the Accounts payable and accrued expenses caption and the noncurrent portion is included in the Other liabilities caption on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of September 30, 2012, $3.2 million of the total obligations are classified as current while the remaining $14.4 million are classified as noncurrent.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for restructuring and related activities. Description of restructuring activities such as exit and disposal activities, include facts and circumstances leading to the plan, the expected plan completion date, the major types of costs associated with the plan activities, total expected costs, the accrual balance at the end of the period, and the periods over which the remaining accrual will be settled.

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