EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Compensation Related Costs [Abstract]
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS	EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS We entered into deferred compensation and disability agreements with certain of our former officers. The benefits under the deferred compensation agreements vested after certain periods of employment, and at December 31, 2017 (Successor), the liability for such vested benefits was approximately $0.9 million and is recorded in current and other long-term liabilities. The deferred compensation plan is described further below. The following is a brief description of each incentive compensation plan applicable to our employees: Annual Incentive Cash Compensation Plans In 2016, we replaced our historical long-term cash and equity-based incentive compensation programs with the 2016 Performance Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2016 Annual Incentive Plan”), pursuant to which incentive cash bonuses were calculated based on the achievement of certain strategic objectives for each quarter of 2016. On July 25, 2017, the Board approved the Stone Energy Corporation 2017 Annual Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2017 Annual Incentive Plan”) for all salaried employees (other than the interim chief executive officer) of the Company. The 2017 Annual Incentive Plan is a performance-based short-term cash incentive program that provides award opportunities based on the Company’s annual performance in certain performance measures as defined by the Board. The 2017 Annual Incentive Plan replaced the Company’s Amended and Restated Revised Annual Incentive Compensation Plan, which was adopted in November 2007, and the 2016 Annual Incentive Plan. For the period from March 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 (Successor), Stone incurred expenses of $7.0 million, net of amounts capitalized, related to incentive compensation cash bonuses. Stone incurred expenses of $13.5 million and $2.2 million, net of amounts capitalized, for each of the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 (Predecessor), respectively, related to incentive compensation cash bonuses. These charges are reflected in incentive compensation expense on the statement of operations. Key Executive Incentive Plan Pursuant to the terms of the Executive Claims Settlement Agreement, the Company’s executives agreed to waive their claims related to the Company’s 2016 Annual Incentive Plan, and in exchange therefor, the Company adopted the Stone Energy Corporation Key Executive Incentive Plan (“KEIP”), in which the Company’s executives were allowed to participate. Payments to the Company’s executives under the KEIP were limited to $2.0 million, or the equivalent of the target bonus under the 2016 Annual Incentive Plan for the fourth quarter of 2016. The KEIP payments of $2.0 million are reflected in incentive compensation expense on the statement of operations for the period from January 1, 2017 through February 28, 2017 (Predecessor). Retention Award Agreement On July 25, 2017, the Board approved retention awards and the form of Stone Energy Corporation Retention Award Agreement (the “Retention Award Agreement”) and authorized the Company to enter into Retention Award Agreements with certain executive officers and employees of the Company. The Retention Award Agreement provides for a retention award to certain individuals to be paid in a lump sum cash payment within 30 days of the earliest to occur of (i) the first anniversary (June 1, 2018) of the effective date of the Retention Award Agreement, subject to the individual remaining employed by the Company or a subsidiary of the Company on such date, (ii) a change in control of the Company or (iii) a termination of the individual’s employment with the Company (a) due to death, (b) by the Company without “cause” or (c) by the individual for “good reason.” We recognized a charge of $1.0 million for the period from March 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 (Successor), representing a prorated portion of estimated retention awards through December 31, 2017. This charge is reflected in incentive compensation expense on the statement of operations. Transaction Bonus Agreement On November 21, 2017, the Board approved transaction bonuses and the form of Stone Energy Corporation Transaction Bonus Agreement (the “Transaction Bonus Agreement”) and authorized the Company to enter into Transaction Bonus Agreements with certain of our executive officers and other employees of the Company. The Transaction Bonus Agreements provide for a lump sum cash payment within 30 days of a “change in control” (as defined in the Transaction Bonus Agreement) if the individual remains employed with the Company through the date of the “change in control” or is terminated prior to the change in control (i) due to death, (ii) by the Company without “cause” (as defined below) (including due to disability), or (iii) by the individual for “good reason” (as defined in the Transaction Bonus Agreement). The Transaction Bonus Agreements were entered into in connection with the Talos combination. 2017 Long-Term Incentive Plan On the Effective Date, pursuant to the Plan, the Stone Energy Corporation 2017 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2017 LTIP”) became effective, replacing the Stone Energy Corporation 2009 Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan (As Amended and Restated December 17, 2015). The types of awards that may be granted under the 2017 LTIP include stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, dividend equivalents and other forms of awards granted or denominated in shares of New Common Stock, as well as certain cash-based awards. The maximum number of shares of New Common Stock that may be issued or transferred pursuant to awards under the 2017 LTIP is 2,614,379. As of March 9, 2018, other than the grant of 62,137 restricted stock units to the Board (see Note 16 – Share-Based Compensation), there have been no other issuances or awards of stock under the 2017 LTIP. 401(k) and Deferred Compensation Plans The Stone Energy 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan provides eligible employees with the option to defer receipt of a portion of their compensation and we may, at our discretion, match a portion or all of the employee’s deferral. The amounts held under the plan are invested in various investment funds maintained by a third party in accordance with the direction of each employee. An employee is 20% vested in matching contributions (if any) for each year of service and is fully vested upon five years of service. For the period from March 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 (Successor) and the period of January 1, 2017 through February 28, 2017 (Predecessor), Stone contributed $0.6 million and $0.3 million, respectively, to the plan. For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 (Predecessor), Stone contributed $1.2 million and $1.6 million, respectively, to the plan. The Stone Energy Corporation Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Deferred Compensation Plan”) provides eligible executives and employees with the option to defer up to 100% of their eligible compensation for a calendar year. Historically, we could, at our discretion, match a portion or all of the participant’s deferral based upon a percentage determined by our Board. In 2016, the compensation committee of the Predecessor board adopted an amendment to the Deferred Compensation Plan that removed our ability to make matching contributions under such plan. Our Board may still elect to make discretionary profit sharing contributions to the plan. To date, there have been no matching or discretionary profit sharing contributions made by Stone under the Deferred Compensation Plan. The amounts held under the plan are invested in various investment funds maintained by a third party in accordance with the direction of each participant. At December 31, 2017 (Successor) and December 31, 2016 (Predecessor), plan assets of $5.1 million and $8.7 million, respectively, were included in other assets. An equal amount of plan liabilities were included in other long-term liabilities. Change of Control and Severance Plans On July 25, 2017, the Board approved the Stone Energy Corporation Executive Severance Plan (the “Executive Severance Plan”), which provides for the payment of severance and change in control benefits to the executive officers (other than the interim chief executive officer) of the Company. The Executive Severance Plan replaced the Stone Energy Corporation Executive Severance Plan dated December 13, 2016. Pursuant to the Executive Severance Plan, if a covered executive officer is terminated (i) by the Company without “cause” or (ii) by the executive officer for “good reason” (each, an “Involuntary Termination”), the executive officer will receive (i) a lump sum cash payment in an amount equal to 1.0x or 1.5x the executive officer’s annual base salary, (ii) a lump sum cash payment equal to 100% of the executive officer’s annual bonus opportunity, at target, prorated by the number of days that have elapsed from January 1 of that calendar year, (iii) six months of health benefit continuation for the executive officer and the executive officer’s dependents, at a cost to the participant that is equal to the cost for an active employee for similar coverage, (iv) accelerated vesting of any outstanding and unvested equity awards, (v) certain outplacement services and (vi) any unpaid portion of the executive officer’s annual pay as of the date of the Involuntary Termination. The Executive Severance Plan was amended on November 21, 2017 in connection with the proposed Talos combination to provide, among other things, that if a participant in the plan experiences a qualifying termination of employment during the twelve month period following Closing, such participant’s target bonus will be no less than such participant’s target bonus for the 2017 calendar year. On July 25, 2017, the Board approved the Stone Energy Corporation Employee Severance Plan (the “2017 Employee Severance Plan”). The 2017 Employee Severance Plan covers all full-time employees other than officers. Severance is triggered by an involuntary termination of employment on and during the twelve-month period following a change of control. Employees who are terminated within the scope of the 2017 Employee Severance Plan will be entitled to certain payments and benefits including the following: (i) a lump sum equal to (1) weekly pay times full years of service, plus (2) one week’s pay for each full $10 thousand of annual pay, but the sum of (1) and (2) cannot be less than 12 weeks of pay or greater than 52 weeks of pay, (ii) continued health plan coverage for 6 months at a cost to the participant that is equal to the cost for an active employee for similar coverage, (iii) a prorated portion of the employee’s targeted bonus for the year, and (iv) reasonable outplacement services consistent with current HR practices. The 2017 Employee Severance Plan was amended on November 21, 2017 in connection with the proposed Talos combination to provide, among other things, that if a participant in the plan experiences a qualifying termination of employment during the twelve month period following Closing, such participant’s target bonus will be no less than such participant’s target bonus for the 2017 calendar year. The 2017 Employee Severance Plan replaced the Stone Energy Corporation Employee Change of Control Severance Plan, dated December 7, 2007.

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

We entered into deferred compensation and disability agreements with certain of our former officers. The benefits under the deferred compensation agreements vested after certain periods of employment, and at December 31, 2017 (Successor), the liability for such vested benefits was approximately $0.9 million and is recorded in current and other long-term liabilities. The deferred compensation plan is described further below.

The following is a brief description of each incentive compensation plan applicable to our employees:

Annual Incentive Cash Compensation Plans

In 2016, we replaced our historical long-term cash and equity-based incentive compensation programs with the 2016 Performance Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2016 Annual Incentive Plan”), pursuant to which incentive cash bonuses were calculated based on the achievement of certain strategic objectives for each quarter of 2016. On July 25, 2017, the Board approved the Stone Energy Corporation 2017 Annual Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2017 Annual Incentive Plan”) for all salaried employees (other than the interim chief executive officer) of the Company. The 2017 Annual Incentive Plan is a performance-based short-term cash incentive program that provides award opportunities based on the Company’s annual performance in certain performance measures as defined by the Board. The 2017 Annual Incentive Plan replaced the Company’s Amended and Restated Revised Annual Incentive Compensation Plan, which was adopted in November 2007, and the 2016 Annual Incentive Plan.

For the period from March 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 (Successor), Stone incurred expenses of $7.0 million, net of amounts capitalized, related to incentive compensation cash bonuses. Stone incurred expenses of $13.5 million and $2.2 million, net of amounts capitalized, for each of the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 (Predecessor), respectively, related to incentive compensation cash bonuses. These charges are reflected in incentive compensation expense on the statement of operations.

Key Executive Incentive Plan

Pursuant to the terms of the Executive Claims Settlement Agreement, the Company’s executives agreed to waive their claims related to the Company’s 2016 Annual Incentive Plan, and in exchange therefor, the Company adopted the Stone Energy Corporation Key Executive Incentive Plan (“KEIP”), in which the Company’s executives were allowed to participate. Payments to the Company’s executives under the KEIP were limited to $2.0 million, or the equivalent of the target bonus under the 2016 Annual Incentive Plan for the fourth quarter of 2016. The KEIP payments of $2.0 million are reflected in incentive compensation expense on the statement of operations for the period from January 1, 2017 through February 28, 2017 (Predecessor).

Retention Award Agreement

On July 25, 2017, the Board approved retention awards and the form of Stone Energy Corporation Retention Award Agreement (the “Retention Award Agreement”) and authorized the Company to enter into Retention Award Agreements with certain executive officers and employees of the Company. The Retention Award Agreement provides for a retention award to certain individuals to be paid in a lump sum cash payment within 30 days of the earliest to occur of (i) the first anniversary (June 1, 2018) of the effective date of the Retention Award Agreement, subject to the individual remaining employed by the Company or a subsidiary of the Company on such date, (ii) a change in control of the Company or (iii) a termination of the individual’s employment with the Company (a) due to death, (b) by the Company without “cause” or (c) by the individual for “good reason.” We recognized a charge of $1.0 million for the period from March 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 (Successor), representing a prorated portion of estimated retention awards through December 31, 2017. This charge is reflected in incentive compensation expense on the statement of operations.

Transaction Bonus Agreement

On November 21, 2017, the Board approved transaction bonuses and the form of Stone Energy Corporation Transaction Bonus Agreement (the “Transaction Bonus Agreement”) and authorized the Company to enter into Transaction Bonus Agreements with certain of our executive officers and other employees of the Company. The Transaction Bonus Agreements provide for a lump sum cash payment within 30 days of a “change in control” (as defined in the Transaction Bonus Agreement) if the individual remains employed with the Company through the date of the “change in control” or is terminated prior to the change in control (i) due to death, (ii) by the Company without “cause” (as defined below) (including due to disability), or (iii) by the individual for “good reason” (as defined in the Transaction Bonus Agreement). The Transaction Bonus Agreements were entered into in connection with the Talos combination.

2017 Long-Term Incentive Plan

On the Effective Date, pursuant to the Plan, the Stone Energy Corporation 2017 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2017 LTIP”) became effective, replacing the Stone Energy Corporation 2009 Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan (As Amended and Restated December 17, 2015). The types of awards that may be granted under the 2017 LTIP include stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, dividend equivalents and other forms of awards granted or denominated in shares of New Common Stock, as well as certain cash-based awards. The maximum number of shares of New Common Stock that may be issued or transferred pursuant to awards under the 2017 LTIP is 2,614,379. As of March 9, 2018, other than the grant of 62,137 restricted stock units to the Board (see Note 16 – Share-Based Compensation), there have been no other issuances or awards of stock under the 2017 LTIP.

401(k) and Deferred Compensation Plans

The Stone Energy 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan provides eligible employees with the option to defer receipt of a portion of their compensation and we may, at our discretion, match a portion or all of the employee’s deferral. The amounts held under the plan are invested in various investment funds maintained by a third party in accordance with the direction of each employee. An employee is 20% vested in matching contributions (if any) for each year of service and is fully vested upon five years of service. For the period from March 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 (Successor) and the period of January 1, 2017 through February 28, 2017 (Predecessor), Stone contributed $0.6 million and $0.3 million, respectively, to the plan. For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 (Predecessor), Stone contributed $1.2 million and $1.6 million, respectively, to the plan.

The Stone Energy Corporation Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Deferred Compensation Plan”) provides eligible executives and employees with the option to defer up to 100% of their eligible compensation for a calendar year. Historically, we could, at our discretion, match a portion or all of the participant’s deferral based upon a percentage determined by our Board. In 2016, the compensation committee of the Predecessor board adopted an amendment to the Deferred Compensation Plan that removed our ability to make matching contributions under such plan. Our Board may still elect to make discretionary profit sharing contributions to the plan. To date, there have been no matching or discretionary profit sharing contributions made by Stone under the Deferred Compensation Plan. The amounts held under the plan are invested in various investment funds maintained by a third party in accordance with the direction of each participant. At December 31, 2017 (Successor) and December 31, 2016 (Predecessor), plan assets of $5.1 million and $8.7 million, respectively, were included in other assets. An equal amount of plan liabilities were included in other long-term liabilities.

Change of Control and Severance Plans

On July 25, 2017, the Board approved the Stone Energy Corporation Executive Severance Plan (the “Executive Severance Plan”), which provides for the payment of severance and change in control benefits to the executive officers (other than the interim chief executive officer) of the Company. The Executive Severance Plan replaced the Stone Energy Corporation Executive Severance Plan dated December 13, 2016. Pursuant to the Executive Severance Plan, if a covered executive officer is terminated (i) by the Company without “cause” or (ii) by the executive officer for “good reason” (each, an “Involuntary Termination”), the executive officer will receive (i) a lump sum cash payment in an amount equal to 1.0x or 1.5x the executive officer’s annual base salary, (ii) a lump sum cash payment equal to 100% of the executive officer’s annual bonus opportunity, at target, prorated by the number of days that have elapsed from January 1 of that calendar year, (iii) six months of health benefit continuation for the executive officer and the executive officer’s dependents, at a cost to the participant that is equal to the cost for an active employee for similar coverage, (iv) accelerated vesting of any outstanding and unvested equity awards, (v) certain outplacement services and (vi) any unpaid portion of the executive officer’s annual pay as of the date of the Involuntary Termination. The Executive Severance Plan was amended on November 21, 2017 in connection with the proposed Talos combination to provide, among other things, that if a participant in the plan experiences a qualifying termination of employment during the twelve month period following Closing, such participant’s target bonus will be no less than such participant’s target bonus for the 2017 calendar year.

On July 25, 2017, the Board approved the Stone Energy Corporation Employee Severance Plan (the “2017 Employee Severance Plan”). The 2017 Employee Severance Plan covers all full-time employees other than officers. Severance is triggered by an involuntary termination of employment on and during the twelve-month period following a change of control. Employees who are terminated within the scope of the 2017 Employee Severance Plan will be entitled to certain payments and benefits including the following: (i) a lump sum equal to (1) weekly pay times full years of service, plus (2) one week’s pay for each full $10 thousand of annual pay, but the sum of (1) and (2) cannot be less than 12 weeks of pay or greater than 52 weeks of pay, (ii) continued health plan coverage for 6 months at a cost to the participant that is equal to the cost for an active employee for similar coverage, (iii) a prorated portion of the employee’s targeted bonus for the year, and (iv) reasonable outplacement services consistent with current HR practices. The 2017 Employee Severance Plan was amended on November 21, 2017 in connection with the proposed Talos combination to provide, among other things, that if a participant in the plan experiences a qualifying termination of employment during the twelve month period following Closing, such participant’s target bonus will be no less than such participant’s target bonus for the 2017 calendar year. The 2017 Employee Severance Plan replaced the Stone Energy Corporation Employee Change of Control Severance Plan, dated December 7, 2007.