Asset Retirement Obligations

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]

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 for the three months ended March 31, 2021:


	(in thousands)
Asset retirement obligations at beginning of period	$	166,570
Obligations incurred with development activities and other	1,062

Accretion expense	3,128
Revisions in estimated cash flows	(780)
Obligations discharged with asset retirements	(11,001)
Obligations discharged with divestitures	(75)
Asset retirement obligations at end of period	158,904

Current portion	(33,711)
Long-term portion	$	125,193

Our estimated asset retirement obligations liability is based on historical experience in plugging and abandoning wells, estimated economic lives and estimated plugging, abandonment and surface reclamation costs considering federal and state regulatory requirements in effect at that time. The liability is discounted using the credit-adjusted risk-free rate estimated at the time the liability is incurred or revised. To the extent future revisions to these assumptions impact the present value of the existing asset retirement obligations liability, a corresponding adjustment is made to the properties and equipment balance. Changes in the liability due to the passage of time are recognized as an increase in the carrying amount of the liability and as accretion expense. Short-term asset retirement obligations are included in other accrued expenses in our condensed consolidated balance sheets.