Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Note 8 – Commitments and Contingencies

We are named as a defendant in certain lawsuits and are a party to certain regulatory proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. We do not expect these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

Franchise Tax Action. We have been served with several petitions filed by the Louisiana Department of Revenue (“LDR”) in Louisiana state court claiming additional franchise taxes due. In addition, we have received preliminary assessments from the LDR for additional franchise taxes resulting from audits of Stone and other subsidiaries. These assessments all relate to the LDR’s assertion that sales of crude oil and natural gas from properties located on the OCS, which are transported through the state of Louisiana, should be sourced to the state of Louisiana for purposes of computing the Louisiana franchise tax apportionment ratio. Total asserted claims plus estimated accrued interest amount to approximately $30.1 million. The franchise tax years 2010 and 2011 for Stone remain subject to examination, which potentially exposes us to additional estimated assessments of $3.3 million including accrued interest. We estimate the potential range of loss upon resolution of this matter to be between $0 and $34.0 million.