Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011
Operating activities:
Net income (loss)	$ 1,147	$ (2,515)
Reconciliation of net income (loss) to cash provided (used) by operating activities:
Depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion	17,333	34,040
Impairments of long-lived assets	0	3,352
Provision (benefit) for deferred income taxes	(1,200)	(3,398)
Equity-based compensation expense	2,355	1,836
Provision for doubtful accounts	90	913
Gain on sale of property, plant, and equipment	(3,967)	(732)
Other non-cash charges and credits	778	6,987
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	(16,232)	3,506
Inventories	(3,226)	7,411
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	1,772	15,916
Trade accounts payable and accrued expenses	4,659	(28,225)
Decommissioning liabilities	(15,724)	(9,250)
Other	599	526
Net cash provided (used) by operating activities	(11,616)	30,367
Investing activities:
Purchases of property, plant, and equipment	(25,764)	(19,319)
Acquisition of business, net	(64,528)	(1,500)
Proceeds (payments) on sale of property, plant, and equipment	12,336	(2,298)
Other investing activities	3,688	(4,935)
Net cash used in investing activities	(74,268)	(28,052)
Financing activities:
Proceeds from long-term debt	1,952	0
Excess tax benefit from exercise of stock options	178	861
Compressco Partners' distributions	(1,065)	0
Proceeds from exercise of stock options	469	2,333
Net cash provided by financing activities	1,534	3,194
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash	1,337	1,612
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(83,013)	7,121
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	204,412	65,360
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	121,399	72,481
Supplemental cash flow information:
Interest paid	0	0
Income taxes paid (refunded)	2,862	(9,471)
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:
Adjustment of fair value of decommissioning liabilities capitalized to oil and gas properties	$ 0	$ 509