Decommissioning and Other Asset Retirement Obligations

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Notes to Financial Statements [Abstract]

Decommissioning and Other Asset Retirement Obligations

NOTE D – DECOMMISSIONING AND OTHER ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

The large majority of our asset retirement obligations consists of the future well abandonment and decommissioning costs for offshore oil and gas properties and platforms owned by our Maritech subsidiary, including the decommissioning and debris removal costs associated with its remaining offshore platforms previously destroyed by hurricanes. The amount of decommissioning liabilities recorded by Maritech is reduced by amounts allocable to joint interest owners. We also operate facilities in various U.S. and foreign locations that are used in the manufacture, storage, and sale of our products, inventories, and equipment. These facilities are a combination of owned and leased assets. The value of our asset retirement obligations for non-Maritech properties was approximately $7.8 million and $7.6 million as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively. We are required to take certain actions in connection with the retirement of these assets. The changes in consolidated asset retirement obligations during the three month period ended March 31, 2014, are as follows:

	Three Months Ended   March 31, 2014
	(In Thousands)
Beginning balance for the period, as reported	$	50,904
Activity in the period:
Accretion of liability	190
Revisions in estimated cash flows	9,380
Settlement of retirement obligations	(13,307		)
Ending balance as of March 31	$	47,167

Revisions in estimated cash flows during the first three months of 2014 resulted primarily from additional workincurred andanticipated to be required on Maritech’s offshore oil and gas properties, including remediation work required on certain wells that had been previously plugged.