XML 31 R15.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.19.1
Asset Retirement Obligation
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]  
Asset Retirement Obligation
Asset Retirement Obligation
The Company accounts for asset retirement obligations in accordance with ASC Topic 410-20, which requires recording the fair value of an asset retirement obligation associated with tangible long-lived assets in the period incurred. Asset retirement obligations associated with long-lived assets included within the scope of ASC Topic 410-20 are those for which there is a legal obligation to settle under existing or enacted law, statute, written or oral contract or by legal construction under the doctrine of promissory estoppel. The Company has legal obligations to plug, abandon and dismantle existing wells and facilities that it has acquired and constructed.
The following table summarizes the changes to the Company’s asset retirement obligation (in thousands):
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
2018
 
2017
Asset retirement obligation, beginning of period
$
31,310

 
$
36,610

Liabilities incurred
7

 
574

Liabilities settled
(863
)
 
(3,364
)
Accretion expense
322

 
2,252

Revisions in estimated cash flows
(62
)
 
(4,514
)
Divestiture of oil and gas properties
(28,234
)
 
(248
)
Asset retirement obligation, end of period
2,480

 
31,310

Less: current portion of asset retirement obligation
(183
)
 
(687
)
Long-term asset retirement obligation
$
2,297

 
$
30,623


Divestitures of oil and gas properties during 2018 included $28.2 million as a result of the sale of the Company's Gulf of Mexico assets in January 2018. The liabilities incurred, revisions in estimated cash flows and divestitures represent non-cash investing activities for purposes of the statement of cash flows.