Asset Retirement Obligations

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]

Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

The following table presents the changes in carrying amounts of the asset retirement obligations associated with our working interests in crude oil and natural gas properties:

	Amount
	(in thousands)
Balance at December 31, 2016	$	92,387
Obligations incurred with development activities	3,296
Accretion expense	4,906
Revisions in estimated cash flows	155
Obligations discharged with asset retirements	(8,929		)
Balance at September 30, 2017	91,815
Less liabilities held for sale	(499		)
Less current portion	(13,128		)
Long-term portion	$	78,188

Our estimated asset retirement obligations liability is based on historical experience in plugging and abandoning wells, estimated economic lives and estimated plugging and abandonment costs considering federal and state regulatory requirements in effect. The liability is discounted using the credit-adjusted risk-free rate estimated at the time the liability is incurred or revised. As of September 30, 2017, the credit-adjusted risk-free rates used to discount our plugging and abandonment liabilities ranged from 6.5 percent to 8.2 percent. In periods subsequent to initial measurement of the liability, we must recognize period-to-period changes in the liability resulting from the passage of time, revisions to either the amount of the original estimate of undiscounted cash flows or changes in inflation factors, and changes to our credit-adjusted risk-free rate as market conditions warrant. Short-term asset retirement obligations are included in other accrued expenses on the condensed consolidated balance sheets.