Debt

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Debt [Abstract]

Debt

10. Debt

The Company is party to borrowing arrangements with a syndicate of banks. See Note 8 in the Company’s 2010 Form 10-K for a complete description of these arrangements. Total borrowing capacity for the Company under all lines of credit is currently at $1.1 billion. At September 30, 2011, the Company had a total of $989.2 million available for borrowing under its lines of credit.

The long-term portion of the syndicate line can be drawn on and the resulting debt considered long-term when used for long-term purposes such as replacing long-term debt that is maturing, funding the purchase of long-term assets, or increasing permanent working capital when needed. The expectation at the time of drawing is that it will be kept open until more permanent replacement debt is secured, until other long-term assets are sold, or earnings are generated to pay it down.

The Company drew $20.0 million on the long-term syndicate line at the end of the first quarter, and again in the second quarter of 2011 as a partial replacement for $25.0 million in long-term private placement debt that was becoming a current maturity and another $17.0 million that was maturing. In the third quarter, a combination of reduced borrowings due to a drop in commodity prices, increasing earnings and working capital, and lower capital spending than originally planned resulted in pay down of $26.5 million of long-term debt. Total payments of long-term debt are $66.2 million year-to-date.

On February 26, 2010, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Note Purchase Agreement for its Senior Guaranteed Notes. The Amended and Restated Note Purchase Agreement changed the maturity of the $92 million Series A note, which was originally due March 2011, into Series A - $17 million due March 2011; Series A-1 - $25 million due March 2012; Series A-2 - $25 million due March 2013; and Series A-3 - $25 million due March 2014. The Series A note was paid off during the first quarter of 2011.

The Company’s long-term debt at September 30, 2011, December 31, 2010 and September 30, 2010 consisted of the following:

	September 30, 2011		December 31, 2010		September 30, 2010
Current maturities of long-term debt – nonrecourse	$	2,806	$	2,841	$	3,081
Current maturities of long-term debt – recourse		42,365		21,683		20,872
Total current maturities of long-term debt		45,171		24,524		23,953
Long-term debt, less current maturities – nonrecourse		6,971		13,150		13,853
Long-term debt, less current maturities – recourse		228,758		263,675		250,496
Total long-term debt, less current maturities		235,729	$	276,825	$	264,349