Commitments and Contingencies (Details 2) (USD $)	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 acre	Jan. 31, 2011 Carry and Earning Agreement	Apr. 30, 2011 Bureau of Land Management	Jul. 31, 2011 Order of Violation from Colorado Oil and Gas Conservative Commission	Dec. 31, 2011 Royalty payment disputes	Jun. 30, 2011 Cash Settlement Order of Violation from Colorado Oil and Gas Conservative Commission	Jun. 30, 2011 Mutually Acceptable Project Order of Violation from Colorado Oil and Gas Conservative Commission
Commitments
Amount of penalty waived for each well not spud		$ 200,000
Number of acres within each tract party to the earning and carrying agreement	160
Cumulative contingent construction expenditure required by December 31, 2012		9,000,000
Percentage of difference in connection with construction shared with third-party (as a percent)	50.00%
Construction expenditure otherwise payable by third party		4,500,000
Penalty payable as a percentage of difference between specified amount and actual expended (as a percent)		50.00%
Specified amount for penalty calculation		12,000,000
Litigation settlement expense			2,100,000	100,000
Funding to mutually acceptable public project to be made as per Administrative Order						100,000	73,000
Disputed royalty amounts the company may be required to pay					$ 7,100,000