Commitments and Contingencies (Details 2) (USD $)		12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 14, 2011 Carry and Earning Agreement acre	Dec. 31, 2011 Bureau of Land Management	Sep. 30, 2012 Royalty payment disputes	Jul. 31, 2011 Cash Settlement Order of Violation from Colorado Oil and Gas Conservative Commission	Dec. 31, 2011 Cash Settlement Order of Violation from Colorado Oil and Gas Conservative Commission	Sep. 30, 2012 Mutually Acceptable Project Order of Violation from Colorado Oil and Gas Conservative Commission	Dec. 31, 2011 Mutually Acceptable Project Order of Violation from Colorado Oil and Gas Conservative Commission	Sep. 30, 2012 Recorded in Operating Expense in 2011 Royalty payment disputes	Sep. 30, 2012 Recorded in Operating Expense in 2012 Royalty payment disputes	Sep. 30, 2012 Recorded in Interest Expense in 2012 Royalty payment disputes
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 (in acres)	160
Cumulative contingent construction expenditure	9,000,000
Third party share of construction costs (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
Payments for Legal Settlements				100,000		73,000
Litigation Settlement, Expense		2,100,000			100,000		73,000
Estimated Litigation Liability			3,900,000					1,300,000	1,900,000	700,000
Disputed royalty amounts the company may be required to pay			$ 3,900,000