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Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
Document and Entity Information - shares	Sep. 30, 2012	Nov. 14, 2012
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	Matador Resources Co
Entity Central Index Key	0001520006
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		55,569,667

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 4,178	$ 10,284
Certificates of deposit	266	1,335
Accounts receivable
Oil and natural gas revenues	17,046	9,237
Joint interest billings	4,252	2,488
Other	591	1,447
Derivative instruments	6,395	8,989
Lease and well equipment inventory	1,478	1,343
Prepaid expenses	974	1,153
Total current assets	35,180	36,276
Oil and natural gas properties, full-cost method
Evaluated	654,292	423,945
Unproved and unevaluated	164,514	162,598
Other property and equipment	24,597	18,764
Less accumulated depletion, depreciation and amortization	(295,042)	(205,442)
Net property and equipment	548,361	399,865
Other assets
Derivative instruments	1,880	847
Deferred income taxes	1,878	1,594
Other assets	1,537	887
Total other assets	5,295	3,328
Total assets	588,836	439,469
Current liabilities
Accounts payable	17,364	18,841
Accrued liabilities	50,262	25,439
Royalties payable	5,920	1,855
Borrowings under Credit Agreement		25,000
Derivative instruments		171
Advances from joint interest owners	1,782
Income taxes payable	188
Deferred income taxes	1,878	3,024
Dividends payable - Class B		69
Other current liabilities	56	177
Total current liabilities	77,450	74,576
Long-term liabilities
Borrowings under Credit Agreement	106,000	88,000
Asset retirement obligations	4,551	3,935
Derivative instruments	142	383
Other long-term liabilities	1,465	1,060
Total long-term liabilities	112,158	93,378
Commitments and contingencies (Note 10)
Shareholders' equity
Additional paid-in capital	403,248	263,562
Retained earnings	6,178	18,279
Treasury stock, at cost, 1,192,509 and 1,179,175 shares, respectively	(10,765)	(10,765)
Total shareholders' equity	399,228	271,515
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	588,836	439,469
Class A
Shareholders' equity
Common stock	567	429
Class B
Shareholders' equity
Common stock		$ 10

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) (Unaudited) - $ / shares	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Treasury stock, shares	1,192,509	1,179,175
Class A
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	80,000,000	80,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	56,697,718	42,916,668
Common stock, shares outstanding	55,505,209	41,737,493
Class B
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	0	2,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	0	1,030,700
Common stock, shares outstanding	0	1,030,700

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Revenues
Oil and natural gas revenues	$ 38,008	$ 17,447	$ 103,250	$ 52,009
Realized gain on derivatives	3,371	1,435	11,147	4,237
Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives	(12,993)	2,870	(1,149)	1,534
Total revenues	28,386	21,752	113,248	57,780
Expenses
Production taxes and marketing	2,822	1,848	7,605	4,801
Lease operating	6,491	2,065	17,511	5,639
Depletion, depreciation and amortization	21,680	7,288	52,799	22,578
Accretion of asset retirement obligations	59	61	170	158
Full-cost ceiling impairment	3,596		36,801	35,673
General and administrative	3,439	4,207	11,321	9,919
Total expenses	38,087	15,469	126,207	78,768
Operating (loss) income	(9,701)	6,283	(12,959)	(20,988)
Other income (expense)
Net loss on asset sales and inventory impairment			(60)
Interest expense	(144)	(171)	(453)	(461)
Interest and other income	55	82	157	248
Total other expense	(89)	(89)	(356)	(213)
(Loss) income before income taxes	(9,790)	6,194	(13,315)	(21,201)
Income tax provision (benefit)
Current	188		188	(46)
Deferred	(781)		(1,430)	(6,906)
Total income tax benefit	(593)		1,242	(6,952)
Net (loss) income	$ (9,197)	$ 6,194	$ (12,073)	$ (14,249)
Basic
Basic	55,271	42,751	53,519	42,702
Diluted
Diluted	55,271	42,879	53,519	42,702
Class A
Basic
Basic	$ (0.17)	$ 0.14	$ (0.23)	$ (0.34)
Diluted
Diluted	$ (0.17)	$ 0.14	$ (0.23)	$ (0.34)
Basic
Basic	55,271	41,720	53,379	41,671
Diluted
Diluted	55,271	41,848	53,379	41,671
Class B
Basic
Basic		$ 0.21	$ (0.03)	$ (0.14)
Diluted
Diluted		$ 0.21	$ (0.03)	$ (0.14)
Basic
Basic		1,031	140	1,031
Diluted
Diluted		1,031	140	1,031

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Shareholders' Equity (Unaudited) - 9 months ended Sep. 30, 2012 - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total	Additional paid-in capital	Retained earnings	Treasury Stock	Class A	Class A Common Stock	Class B	Class B Common Stock
Beginning Balance at Dec. 31, 2011	$ 271,515	$ 263,562	$ 18,279	$ (10,765)		$ 429		$ 10
Beginning Balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2011				(1,179,000)	41,737,493	42,917,000	1,030,700	1,031,000
Issuance of Class A common stock	146,510	146,388				$ 122
Issuance of Class A common stock, shares						12,209
Cost to issue equity	(11,268)	(11,268)
Conversion of Class B common stock to Class A common stock						$ 10		$ (10)
Conversion of Class B common stock to Class A common stock, shares						1,031		(1,031,000)
Issuance of Class A common stock to Board advisors	71	71
Issuance of Class A common stock to Board advisors, shares						7,000
Stock options expense	379	379
Stock options exercised	3,544	3,541				$ 3
Stock options exercised, shares						295,000
Liability based stock option awards forfeited or expired	192	192
Restricted stock issued		(3)				$ 3
Restricted stock issued shares						239,000
Restricted stock forfeited	(29)	(29)
Restricted stock forfeited shares				(13,000)
Restricted stock and restricted stock units expense	391	391
Swing sale profit contribution	24	24
Class B dividends declared	(28)		(28)
Current period net loss	(12,073)		(12,073)
Ending Balance at Sep. 30, 2012	$ 399,228	$ 403,248	$ 6,178	$ (10,765)		$ 567
Ending Balance, shares at Sep. 30, 2012				1,192,000	55,505,209	56,698,000	0

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Operating activities
Net loss	$ (12,073)	$ (14,249)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities
Unrealized loss (gain) on derivatives	1,149	(1,534)
Depletion, depreciation and amortization	52,799	22,578
Accretion of asset retirement obligations	170	158
Full-cost ceiling impairment	36,801	35,673
Stock option and grant expense	(585)	1,379
Restricted stock and restricted stock units expense	391	36
Deferred income tax benefit	(1,430)	(6,906)
Loss on asset sales and inventory impairment	60
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
Accounts receivable	(8,718)	(2,411)
Lease and well equipment inventory	(285)	(1)
Prepaid expenses	179	240
Other assets	(650)
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other liabilities	6,105	(2,360)
Income taxes payable	188
Royalties payable	4,065	2,548
Advances from joint interest owners	1,782	(723)
Other long-term liabilities	406	15
Net cash provided by operating activities	80,325	34,443
Investing activities
Oil and natural gas properties capital expenditures	(212,702)	(104,733)
Expenditures for other property and equipment	(5,297)	(3,303)
Purchases of certificates of deposit	(416)	(3,721)
Maturities of certificates of deposit	1,485	3,985
Net cash used in investing activities	(216,930)	(107,772)
Financing activities
Repayments of borrowings under Credit Agreement	(123,000)
Borrowings under Credit Agreement	116,000	60,000
Proceeds from issuance of common stock	146,510	592
Swing sale profit contribution	24
Cost to issue equity	(11,599)	(1,185)
Proceeds from stock options exercised	2,660	837
Payment of dividends - Class B	(96)	(206)
Net cash provided by financing activities	130,499	60,038
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents	(6,106)	(13,291)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	10,284	21,059
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$ 4,178	$ 7,768

Nature of Operations

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Nature of Operations [Abstract]

NATURE OF OPERATIONS

NOTE 1 - NATURE OF OPERATIONS

Matador Resources Company (“Matador” or the “Company”) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, acquisition and production of oil and natural gas resources in the United States, with a particular emphasis on oil and natural gas shale plays and other unconventional resource plays. Matador’s current operations are located primarily in the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas and the Haynesville shale play in Northwest Louisiana and East Texas. In addition to these primary operating areas, Matador has acreage positions in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas and in Southwest Wyoming and adjacent areas in Utah and Idaho where the Company continues to identify new oil and natural gas prospects.

On November 22, 2010, the company formerly known as Matador Resources Company, a Texas corporation founded on July 3, 2003, formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, Matador Holdco, Inc. Pursuant to the terms of a corporate reorganization that was completed on August 9, 2011, the former Matador Resources Company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Matador Holdco, Inc. and changed its corporate name to MRC Energy Company, and Matador Holdco, Inc. changed its corporate name to Matador Resources Company.

MRC Energy Company holds the primary assets of the Company and has four wholly owned subsidiaries: Matador Production Company, MRC Permian Company, MRC Rockies Company and Longwood Gathering and Disposal Systems GP, Inc. Matador Production Company serves as the oil and natural gas operating entity. MRC Permian Company conducts oil and natural gas exploration and development activities in Southeast New Mexico. MRC Rockies Company conducts oil and natural gas exploration and development activities in the Rocky Mountains and specifically in the states of Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. Longwood Gathering and Disposal Systems GP, Inc. serves as the general partner of Longwood Gathering and Disposal Systems, LP which owns a majority of the pipeline systems and salt water disposal wells used in the Company’s operations and also transports limited quantities of third-party natural gas.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 2 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Interim Financial Statements, Basis of Presentation, Consolidation and Significant Estimates

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Matador and its subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) but do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 filed with the SEC. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In management’s opinion, these interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments of a normal recurring nature necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s consolidated financial position as of September 30, 2012, consolidated results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, consolidated changes in shareholders’ equity for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and consolidated cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011. Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period items to conform to the current period presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on previously reported results of operations, cash flows or retained earnings. Amounts as of December 31, 2011 are derived from the audited consolidated financial statements as filed with the SEC in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Accounting measurements at interim dates inherently involve greater reliance on estimates than at year end and the results for the interim periods shown in this report are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year due in part to volatility in oil and natural gas prices, global economic and financial market conditions, interest rates, access to sources of liquidity, estimates of reserves, drilling risks, geological risks, transportation restrictions, oil and natural gas supply and demand, market competition and interruptions of production.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. These estimates and assumptions may also affect disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. The Company’s consolidated financial statements are based on a number of significant estimates, including accruals for oil and natural gas revenues, accrued assets and liabilities primarily related to oil and natural gas operations, stock-based compensation, valuation of derivative instruments and oil and natural gas reserves. The estimates of oil and natural gas reserves quantities and future net cash flows are the basis for the calculations of depletion and impairment of oil and natural gas properties, as well as estimates of asset retirement obligations and certain tax accruals. While the Company believes its estimates are reasonable, changes in facts and assumptions or the discovery of new information may result in revised estimates. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Property and Equipment

The Company uses the full-cost method of accounting for its investments in oil and natural gas properties. Under this method of accounting, all costs associated with the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties and reserves, including unproved and unevaluated property costs, are capitalized as incurred and accumulated in a single cost center representing the Company’s activities, which are undertaken exclusively in the United States. Such costs include lease acquisition costs, geological and geophysical expenditures, lease rentals on undeveloped properties, costs of drilling both productive and non-productive wells, capitalized interest on qualifying projects and general and administrative expenses directly related to exploration and development activities, but do not include any costs related to production, selling or general corporate administrative activities. The Company capitalized approximately $1.7 million and $1.3 million of its general and administrative costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The Company capitalized approximately $1.0 million and $0.8 million of its interest expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

The net capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties are limited to the lower of unamortized costs less related deferred income taxes or the cost center ceiling, with any excess above the cost center ceiling charged to operations as a full-cost ceiling impairment. The need for a full-cost ceiling impairment is assessed on a quarterly basis. The cost center ceiling is defined as the sum of (a) the present value discounted at 10 percent of future net revenues of proved oil and natural gas reserves, plus (b) unproved and unevaluated property costs not being amortized, plus (c) the lower of cost or estimated fair value of unproved and unevaluated properties included in the costs being amortized, if any, less (d) income tax effects related to the properties involved. Future net revenues from proved non-producing and proved undeveloped reserves are reduced by the estimated costs for developing these reserves. The fair value of the Company’s derivative instruments is not included in the ceiling test computation as the Company does not designate these instruments as hedge instruments for accounting purposes.

The estimated present value of after-tax future net cash flows from proved oil and natural gas reserves is highly dependent on the commodity prices used in these estimates. These estimates are determined in accordance with guidelines established by the SEC for estimating and reporting oil and natural gas reserves. Under these guidelines, oil and natural gas reserves are estimated using then-current operating and economic conditions, with no provision for price and cost escalations in future periods except by contractual arrangements.

The commodity prices used to estimate oil and natural gas reserves are based on unweighted, arithmetic averages of first-day-of-the-month oil and natural gas prices for the previous 12-month period. For the period October 2011 through September 2012, these average oil and natural gas prices were $91.48 per Bbl and $2.826 per MMBtu (million British thermal units), respectively. For the period October 2010 through September 2011, these average oil and natural gas prices were $91.00 per Bbl and $4.158 per MMBtu, respectively. In estimating the present value of after-tax future net cash flows from proved oil and natural gas reserves, the average oil prices were adjusted by property for quality, transportation and marketing fees and regional price differentials, and the average natural gas prices were adjusted by property for energy content, transportation and marketing fees and regional price differentials. At September 30, 2012 and 2011, the Company’s oil and natural gas reserves estimates were prepared by the Company’s engineering staff in accordance with guidelines established by the SEC and then audited for their reasonableness and conformance with SEC guidelines by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc., independent reservoir engineers.

Using the average commodity prices, as adjusted, to determine the Company’s estimated proved oil and natural gas reserves at September 30, 2012, the Company’s net capitalized costs less related deferred income taxes exceeded the full-cost ceiling by $2.3 million. The Company recorded an impairment charge of $3.6 million to its net capitalized costs and a deferred income tax credit of $1.3, related to the full-cost ceiling limitation at September 30, 2012. The Company recorded no impairment to its net capitalized costs and no corresponding charge to its unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2011. Using the average commodity prices, as adjusted, to determine the Company’s estimated proved oil and natural gas reserves at June 30, 2012, the Company’s net capitalized costs less related deferred income taxes exceeded the full-cost ceiling by $21.3 million. The Company recorded an impairment charge of $33.2 million to its net capitalized costs and a deferred income tax credit of $11.9 million related to the full-cost ceiling limitation at June 30, 2012. At March 31, 2011, the Company’s net capitalized costs less related deferred income taxes exceeded the full-cost ceiling by $23.0 million. The Company recorded an impairment charge of $35.7 million to its net capitalized costs and a deferred income tax credit of $12.7 million related to the full-cost ceiling limitation at March 31, 2011. These charges are reflected in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011. Changes in oil and natural gas production rates, reserves estimates, future development costs and other factors will determine the Company’s actual ceiling test computation and impairment analyses in future periods.

As a non-cash item, the full-cost ceiling impairment impacts the accumulated depletion and the net carrying value of the Company’s assets on its balance sheet, as well as the corresponding shareholders’ equity, but it has no impact on the Company’s net cash flows as reported.

Capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties are amortized using the unit-of-production method based upon production and estimates of proved reserves quantities. Unproved and unevaluated property costs are excluded from the amortization base used to determine depletion. Unproved and unevaluated properties are assessed for possible impairment on a periodic basis based upon changes in operating or economic conditions. This assessment includes consideration of the following factors, among others: the assignment of proved reserves, geological and geophysical evaluations, intent to drill, remaining lease term and drilling activity and results. Upon impairment, the costs of the unproved and unevaluated properties are immediately included in the amortization base. Dry holes are included in the amortization base immediately upon determination that the well is not productive.

Earnings Per Common Share

The Company reports basic earnings per common share, which excludes the effect of potentially dilutive securities, and diluted earnings per common share, which includes the effect of all potentially dilutive securities, unless their impact is anti-dilutive.

Prior to the consummation of the Company’s Initial Public Offering (see Note 7) in February 2012, the Company had issued two classes of common stock, Class A and Class B. The holders of the Class B shares were entitled to be paid cumulative dividends at a per share rate of $0.26-2/3 annually out of funds legally available for the payment of dividends. These dividends were accrued and paid quarterly. Dividends declared during the three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 totaled zero and $68,713, respectively. Dividends declared during the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 totaled $27,643 and $206,140, respectively, in each period. Class B dividends declared during the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012 were paid during the first quarter of 2012 totaling $96,356. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had not paid any dividends to holders of the Class A shares. Concurrent with the completion of the Initial Public Offering, all 1,030,700 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock were converted to Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis. The Class A common stock is now referred to as the common stock.

The following are reconciliations of the numerators and denominators used to compute the Company’s basic and diluted distributed and undistributed earnings (loss) per common share as reported for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 (in thousands, except per share amounts).


	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Net (loss) income - numerator
Net (loss) income	$	(9,197	)	$	6,194		$	(12,073	)	$	(14,249	)
Less dividends to Class B shareholders - distributed earnings		—			(69	)		(28	)		(206	)

Undistributed (loss) earnings	$	(9,197	)	$	6,125		$	(12,101	)	$	(14,455	)

Weighted average common shares outstanding - denominator
Basic
Class A		55,271			41,720			53,379			41,671
Class B		—			1,031			140			1,031

Total		55,271			42,751			53,519			42,702

Diluted
Class A
Weighted average common shares outstanding for basic earnings (loss) per share		55,271			41,720			53,379			41,671
Dilutive effect of options and restricted stock units		—			128			—			—

Class A weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted		55,271			41,848			53,379			41,671
Class B

Weighted average common shares outstanding - associated no associated dilutive shares		—			1,031			140			1,031

Total diluted weighted average common shares outstanding		55,271			42,879			53,519			42,702


	Three Months Ended September 30,					Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2012			2011		2012			2011
Earnings (loss) per common share
Basic
Class A
Distributed earnings	$	—		$	—	$	—		$	—
Undistributed (loss) earnings	$	(0.17	)	$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Total	$	(0.17	)	$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Class B
Distributed earnings	$	—		$	0.07	$	0.20		$	0.20
Undistributed earnings (loss)	$	—		$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Total	$	—		$	0.21	$	(0.03	)	$	(0.14	)

Diluted
Class A
Distributed earnings	$	—		$	—	$	—		$	—
Undistributed (loss) earnings	$	(0.17	)	$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Total	$	(0.17	)	$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Class B
Distributed earnings	$	—		$	0.07	$	0.20		$	0.20
Undistributed earnings (loss)	$	—		$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Total	$	—		$	0.21	$	(0.03	)	$	(0.14	)

A total of 1,085,152 options to purchase the Company’s Class A common stock and 151,051 restricted stock units were excluded from the calculations above for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 because their effects were anti-dilutive. Additionally, 233,349 restricted shares, which are participating securities, were excluded from the calculations above for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 as the security holders do not have the obligation to share in the losses of the Company. A total of 1,024,500 options to purchase shares of the Company’s Class A common stock were excluded from the calculations above for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 because their effects were anti-dilutive. These options were included in the calculations above for the three months ended September 30, 2011.

Fair Value Measurements

The Company measures and reports certain assets and liabilities on a fair value basis. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). The Company follows Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) guidance establishing a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation methods used to measure fair value.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Balance Sheet. In December 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, 2011-11, Balance Sheet. The requirements amend the disclosure requirements related to offsetting in Accounting Standard’s Codification, or ASC, 210-20-50. The amendments require enhanced disclosures by requiring improved information about financial instruments and derivative instruments that are either (1) offset in accordance with either ASC 210-20-45 or ASC 815-10-45 or (2) subject to an enforceable master netting arrangement or similar agreement, irrespective of whether they are offset in accordance with either ASC 210-20-45 or ASC 815-10-45. The adoption of ASU 2011-11 is not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, but may require certain additional disclosures. The amendments in ASU 2011-11 are to be applied for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013 and are to be applied retrospectively for all periods presented.

Fair Value. In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRS. ASU 2011-04 amends ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements, providing a consistent definition and measurement of fair value, as well as similar disclosure requirements between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. ASU 2011-04 changes certain fair value measurement principles, clarifies the application of existing fair value measurements and expands the ASC 820 disclosure requirements, particularly for Level 3 fair value measurements. The Company adopted ASU 2011-04 on January 1, 2012; adoption did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, but did require additional disclosures.

Asset Retirement Obligations

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Asset Retirement Obligations [Abstract]

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

NOTE 3 - ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

The following table summarizes the changes in the Company’s asset retirement obligations for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 (in thousands).


Beginning asset retirement obligations	$	4,269
Liabilities incurred during period		459
Liabilities settled during period		—
Accretion expense		170

Ending asset retirement obligations	$	4,898

At September 30, 2012, approximately $0.3 million of the Company’s asset retirement obligations were classified as current liabilities and included in “accrued liabilities” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet (see Note 11).

Revolving Credit Agreement

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Revolving Credit Agreement [Abstract]

REVOLVING CREDIT AGREEMENT

NOTE 4 - REVOLVING CREDIT AGREEMENT

On September 28, 2012, the Company amended and restated its senior secured revolving credit agreement. This third amended and restated credit agreement (“Credit Agreement”) increased the maximum facility amount from $400 million to $500 million and named Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”) as administrative agent. Under the Credit Agreement, the borrowing base was increased to $200 million from the previous borrowing base of $125 million. In addition, the Credit Agreement provides for a conforming borrowing base of $165 million. The borrowing base will automatically be reduced to the conforming borrowing base on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2013 or (ii) the closing of a secondary public offering of equity interests by the Company that results in net cash proceeds to the Company in an amount greater than or equal to $25 million. The Credit Agreement matures in December 2016. The Credit Agreement superseded the second amended and restated credit agreement which had been entered into by the Company on December 30, 2011. The second amended and restated credit agreement increased the maximum facility amount from $150 million to $400 million, and borrowings under the Credit Agreement were limited to the lower of $400 million or the borrowing base which was then set at $125 million.

MRC Energy Company is the borrower under the Credit Agreement, and borrowings are secured by mortgages on substantially all of the Company’s oil and natural gas properties and by the equity interests of all of MRC Energy Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries, which are also guarantors. In addition, all obligations under the Credit Agreement are guaranteed by Matador Resources Company, the parent corporation. Various commodity hedging agreements with RBC and Comerica Bank (or affiliates thereof) are also secured by the collateral and guaranteed by Matador Resources Company and the subsidiaries of MRC Energy Company.

The borrowing base under the Credit Agreement is determined semi-annually as of May 1 and November 1 by the lenders based primarily on the estimated value of the Company’s proved oil and natural gas reserves, but also on external factors, such as the lenders’ lending policies and the lenders’ estimates of future oil and natural gas prices, over which the Company has no control. At December 31, 2011, the borrowing base was $125 million and the Company had $113 million in outstanding borrowings under the Credit Agreement. In January 2012, the Company borrowed an additional $10 million to finance a portion of its working capital requirements and capital expenditures, bringing the then outstanding revolving borrowings under the Credit Agreement to $123 million. Following the completion of the Initial Public Offering in February 2012, the Company used a portion of the net proceeds to repay the then outstanding $123 million under the Credit Agreement in full, at which time the borrowing base was reduced to $100 million. On February 28, 2012, the borrowing base was increased to $125 million pursuant to a special borrowing base redetermination made at the Company’s request. The borrowing base increase was determined by the lenders based upon, among other items, the increase in the Company’s oil and natural gas reserves at December 31, 2011.

Between March 1, 2012 and September 30, 2012, the Company borrowed $106 million under the Credit Agreement to finance a portion of its working capital requirements and capital expenditures. At September 30, 2012, the Company had $106 million in borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement, approximately $1.1 million in outstanding letters of credit issued pursuant to the Credit Agreement and approximately $92.9 million available for additional borrowings. At September 30, 2012, the Company’s outstanding borrowings bore interest at an effective rate of approximately 5.3% per annum as the borrowings were outstanding as a base rate advance. In early October, the borrowings were converted to a Eurodollar-based rate advance and bore interest at an effective rate of approximately 3.3% per annum.

Both the Company and the lenders may each request one unscheduled redetermination of the borrowing base between scheduled redetermination dates. In the event of a borrowing base increase, the Company is required to pay a fee to the lenders equal to a percentage of the amount of the increase, which will be determined based on market conditions at the time of the borrowing base increase. If the borrowing base were to be less than the outstanding borrowings under the Credit Agreement at any time, the Company would be required to provide additional collateral satisfactory in nature and value to the lenders to increase the borrowing base to an amount sufficient to cover such excess or to repay the deficit in equal installments over a period of six months.

If the Company borrows funds as a base rate loan, such borrowings will bear interest at a rate equal to the higher of (i) the prime rate for such day or (ii) the Federal Funds Effective Rate on such day, plus 0.50% or (iii) the daily adjusting LIBOR rate plus 1.0% plus, in each case, an amount from 0.75% to 2.25% of such outstanding loan depending on the level of borrowings under the Credit Agreement. If the Company borrows funds as a Eurodollar loan, such borrowings will bear interest at a rate equal to (i) the quotient obtained by dividing (A) the LIBOR rate by (B) a percentage equal to 100% minus the maximum rate during such interest calculation period at which RBC is required to maintain reserves on Eurocurrency Liabilities (as defined in Regulation D of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System) plus (ii) an amount from 1.75% to 3.25% of such outstanding loan depending on the level of borrowings under the Credit Agreement. The interest period for Eurodollar borrowings may be one, two, three or six months as designated by the Company. A commitment fee of 0.375% to 0.50%, depending on the unused availability under the Credit Agreement, is also paid quarterly in arrears. The Company includes this commitment fee and any loan amortization costs in its interest rate calculations and related disclosures.

Key financial covenants under the Credit Agreement require the Company to maintain (1) a current ratio, which is defined as consolidated total current assets plus the unused availability under the Credit Agreement divided by consolidated total current liabilities, of 1.0 or greater measured at the end of each fiscal quarter beginning March 31, 2013 and (2) a debt to EBITDA ratio, which is defined as total debt outstanding divided by a rolling four quarter EBITDA calculation, of 4.0 or less.

Subject to certain exceptions, the Credit Agreement contains various covenants that limit the Company’s, along with its subsidiaries’, ability to take certain actions, including, but not limited to, the following:

•

incur indebtedness or grant liens on any of its assets;

•

enter into commodity hedging agreements;

•

declare or pay dividends, distributions or redemptions;

•

merge or consolidate;

•

make any loans or investments;

•

engage in transactions with affiliates; and

•

engage in certain asset dispositions, including a sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets.

If an event of default exists under the Credit Agreement, the lenders will be able to accelerate the maturity of the borrowings and exercise other rights and remedies. Events of default include, but are not limited to, the following events:

•

failure to pay any principal or interest on the notes or any reimbursement obligation under any letter of credit when due or any fees or other amount within certain grace periods;

•

failure to perform or otherwise comply with the covenants and obligations in the Credit Agreement or other loan documents, subject, in certain instances, to certain grace periods;

•

bankruptcy or insolvency events involving the Company or its subsidiaries; and

•

a change of control, as defined in the Credit Agreement.

At September 30, 2012, the Company believes that it was in compliance with the terms of the Credit Agreement.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for information about short-term and long-term debt arrangements, which includes amounts of borrowings under each line of credit, note payable, commercial paper issue, bonds indenture, debenture issue, own-share lending arrangements and any other contractual agreement to repay funds, and about the underlying arrangements, rationale for a classification as long-term, including repayment terms, interest rates, collateral provided, restrictions on use of assets and activities, whether or not in compliance with debt covenants, and other matters important to users of the financial statements, such as the effects of refinancing and noncompliance with debt covenants.

+ References + Details

Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Income Taxes [Abstract]

INCOME TAXES

NOTE 5 - INCOME TAXES

The Company had a net loss for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and a net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2011. The Company established a valuation allowance at September 30, 2012 of approximately $2.4 million due to uncertainties regarding the future realization of its deferred tax assets. The Company established a valuation allowance at March 31, 2011 and retained a valuation allowance of approximately $0.8 million at September 30, 2011, due to uncertainties regarding the future realization of its deferred tax assets. As a result, there was no income tax expense recorded for the three months ended September 30, 2011.

During the first quarter of 2012, the Company recorded an adjustment to the estimated permanent differences between book and taxable income related to stock compensation expense in prior periods. The adjustment resulted in a charge to deferred tax assets and additional deferred income taxes of approximately $0.7 million, which is reflected in the Company’s statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. During the third quarter of 2012, the Company recorded an adjustment to the estimated permanent differences between book and taxable income related to an acquisition in a prior period. The adjustment resulted in a charge to deferred tax assets and additional deferred income taxes of approximately $0.2 million which is reflected in the Company’s statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. Although the total adjustments made during the year may be considered material to the financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Company does not believe that the adjustment will have a material impact on the financial results for the year ended December 31, 2012.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for income taxes. Disclosures may include net deferred tax liability or asset recognized in an enterprise's statement of financial position, net change during the year in the total valuation allowance, approximate tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carryforward that gives rise to a significant portion of deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets, utilization of a tax carryback, and tax uncertainties information.

+ References

+ Details

Stock-Based Compensation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Stock-Based Compensation [Abstract]

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

NOTE 6 - STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

Effective January 1, 2012, the Board of Directors adopted the 2012 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2012 Incentive Plan”). The 2012 Incentive Plan was also approved by the Company’s shareholders at its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on June 7, 2012. The 2012 Incentive Plan provides for a maximum of four million shares of common stock in the aggregate that may be issued by the Company pursuant to grants of stock options, restricted stock, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units and other performance awards. The persons eligible to receive awards under the 2012 Incentive Plan include employees, contractors and outside directors of the Company. The primary purpose of the 2012 Incentive Plan is to attract and retain key employees, key contractors and outside directors of the Company.

In February 2012, the Company granted one of its executive officers the option to purchase 150,000 shares of its common stock at $12.00 per share. The award was classified as an equity award, vesting over a service period of approximately three years. The total grant date fair value of the option was approximately $1.1 million. The Company reversed previously recognized stock-based compensation expense related to this grant of approximately $70,000 at June 30, 2012, as the executive officer terminated his employment with the Company in July 2012, and therefore, the service condition requirement for this award was not met.

On April 16, 2012, the Board of Directors approved an award of stock options, restricted stock and restricted stock units to both executive and non-executive employees under the 2012 Incentive Plan. Non-qualified options to purchase an aggregate of 472,318 shares of the Company’s common stock at $10.49 per share were awarded; these options vest over four years. A total of 116,842 shares of time-lapse restricted stock was granted, and these shares also vest over four years. A total of 116,841 shares of performance-based restricted stock was granted. These shares vest based on the outcome of the Company’s total shareholder return over a three-year period as compared to a designated peer group. This award may result in the issuance of an aggregate of up to 116,841 restricted stock units in addition to the restricted stock grants. If the minimum performance conditions are not met, however, this award may also result in no performance-based restricted stock being vested and no restricted stock units being issued. The grant date fair value of all of these awards is approximately $5.5 million.

On April 11, 2012, June 29, 2012 and September 13, 2012, the Company awarded 13,608, 12,215 and 12,755 restricted stock units, respectively, to its Board of Directors and one advisor to the Board as payment for their services to the Company during the first, second and third quarters of 2012. The restricted stock units vest over three years and have an aggregate grant date fair value of approximately $0.4 million.

On April 11, 2012, June 29, 2012 and September 13, 2012, the Company issued 500 shares of common stock to each of two advisors to the Board of Directors (aggregate of 1,500 shares issued per advisor) as payment for their services to the Company during the first, second and third quarters of 2012. The fair value of these awards was $11,020, $10,740 and $10,270, respectively, which was recorded as an expense during the three months ended March 31, 2012, June 30, 2012 and September 30, 2012, respectively. On June 6, 2012, the Company issued 4,000 shares of common stock to a retiring director as payment for his services during the second quarter of 2012. The fair value of this award was $38,840, which was recorded as an expense during the nine months ended September 30, 2012.

On September 28, 2012, the Company granted an employee the option to purchase 20,000 shares of its common stock at $10.39 per share. The award was classified as an equity award, vesting over a service period of four years. The total grant date fair value of the options was $110,646. Additionally, the Company issued this employee 5,000 shares of restricted stock vesting over a four-year service period; the grant date fair value of this award was $51,950.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for compensation-related costs for equity-based compensation, which may include disclosure of policies, compensation plan details, allocation of equity compensation, incentive distributions, equity-based arrangements to obtain goods and services, deferred compensation arrangements, employee stock ownership plan details and employee stock purchase plan details.

+ References

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-Name Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB)
-Number Topic 14

Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)
-Number 123R
-Paragraph 64, 65, A240
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-Name Statement of Position (SOP)
-Number 93-6
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+ Details

Common Stock

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Common Stock [Abstract]

COMMON STOCK

NOTE 7 - COMMON STOCK

On August 12, 2011, the Company filed a Form S-1 Registration Statement under the Securities Act of 1933 to commence the initial public offering of its common stock (the “Initial Public Offering”). The Company’s Registration Statement (File 333-176263), as amended, was declared effective by the SEC on February 1, 2012. The underwriters for the Company’s Initial Public Offering were RBC Capital Markets, LLC; Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.; Jefferies & Company, Inc.; Howard Weil Incorporated; Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated; Simmons & Company International; Stephens Inc.; and Comerica Securities, Inc. On February 2, 2012, shares of the Company’s common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “MTDR” at an initial offering price of $12.00 per share.

Pursuant to its Prospectus dated February 1, 2012, the Company and the selling shareholders offered 13,333,334 shares of the Company’s common stock for sale. The Company offered 11,666,667 shares of its common stock, and the selling shareholders offered 1,666,667 shares. On February 7, 2012, the Company closed the Initial Public Offering and issued 11,666,667 shares of its common stock pursuant to the Initial Public Offering.

The Company and the selling shareholders granted the underwriters the right to purchase up to an additional 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at the initial offering price of $12.00 per share, less the underwriters’ discounts and commissions, for a period of 30 days following the Initial Public Offering to cover over-allotments, with the Company offering 700,000 shares and the selling shareholders offering 1,300,000 shares. On March 2, 2012, the underwriters exercised their option to purchase an additional 1,550,000 shares, including the purchase of 542,500 shares from the Company and the purchase of 1,007,500 shares from the selling shareholders. On March 7, 2012, the Company closed this transaction and issued 542,500 shares of its common stock pursuant to the underwriters’ exercise of the over-allotment.

Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering and the over-allotment, the Company issued a total of 12,209,167 shares of its common stock at $12.00 per share. The Company received cash proceeds of approximately $136.6 million from this transaction, net of underwriting discounts and commissions. The Company did not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of its common stock by the selling shareholders. The underwriters received underwriting discounts and commissions totaling approximately $9.9 million, and the Company incurred additional costs of approximately $3.5 million in connection with the offering, which amounted to total fees and costs of approximately $13.4 million, of which approximately $2.1 million was incurred in a prior period. On February 8, 2012, the Company used a portion of the net proceeds of the offering to repay the $123.0 million in borrowings then outstanding under its Credit Agreement in full. The Company used the remaining net proceeds of the offering to fund a portion of its 2012 capital expenditures.

Concurrent with the completion of the Initial Public Offering, all 1,030,700 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock were converted to Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis. In addition, in February 2012, the Company issued an additional 295,500 shares of its Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of stock options and received net proceeds of $2.7 million. The Class A common stock is now referred to as the common stock.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for shareholders' equity, comprised of portions attributable to the parent entity and noncontrolling interest, if any, including other comprehensive income (as applicable). Including, but not limited to: (1) balances of common stock, preferred stock, additional paid-in capital, other capital and retained earnings; (2) accumulated balance for each classification of other comprehensive income and total amount of comprehensive income; (3) amount and nature of changes in separate accounts, including the number of shares authorized and outstanding, number of shares issued upon exercise and conversion, and for other comprehensive income, the adjustments for reclassifications to net income; (4) rights and privileges of each class of stock authorized; (5) basis of treasury stock, if other than cost, and amounts paid and accounting treatment for treasury stock purchased significantly in excess of market; (6) dividends paid or payable per share and in the aggregate for each class of stock for each period presented; (7) dividend restrictions and accumulated preferred dividends in arrears (in aggregate and per share amount); (8) retained earnings appropriations or restrictions, such as dividend restrictions; (9) impact of change in accounting principle, initial adoption of new accounting principle and correction of an error in previously issued financial statements; (10) shares held in trust for Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP); (11) deferred compensation related to issuance of capital stock; (12) note received for issuance of stock; (13) unamortized discount on shares; (14) description, terms, and number of warrants or rights outstanding; (15) shares under subscription and subscription receivables, effective date of new retained earnings after quasi-reorganization and deficit eliminated by quasi-reorganization and, for a period of at least ten years after the effective date, the point in time from which the new retained dates; and (16) retroactive effective of subsequent change in capital structure.

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+ Details

Derivative Financial Instruments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Derivative Financial Instruments [Abstract]

DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

NOTE 8 - DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

From time to time, the Company uses derivative financial instruments to mitigate its exposure to commodity price risk associated with oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids prices. These instruments consist of put and call options in the form of costless collars and swap contracts. The Company records derivative financial instruments on its balance sheet as either an asset or a liability measured at fair value. The Company has elected not to apply hedge accounting for its existing derivative financial instruments. As a result, the Company recognizes the change in derivative fair value between reporting periods currently in its consolidated statement of operations as an unrealized gain or loss. The fair value of the Company’s derivative financial instruments is determined using purchase and sale information available for similarly traded securities. Comerica Bank and RBC (or affiliates thereof) are the counterparties for our commodity derivatives. We have considered the credit standings of the counterparties in determining the fair value of our derivative financial instruments.

The Company has entered into various costless collar contracts to mitigate its exposure to fluctuations in oil prices on a portion of its future anticipated oil production, each with an established price floor and ceiling. For each calculation period, the specified price for determining the realized gain or loss to the Company pursuant to any of these transactions is the arithmetic average of the settlement prices for the NYMEX West Texas Intermediate oil futures contract for the first nearby month corresponding to the calculation period’s calendar month. When the settlement price is below the price floor established by these collars, the Company receives from its counterparty an amount equal to the difference between the settlement price and the price floor multiplied by the contract oil volume. When the settlement price is above the price ceiling established by these collars the Company pays to its counterparty an amount equal to the difference between the settlement price and the price ceiling multiplied by the contract oil volume.

The Company has entered into various costless collar transactions to mitigate its exposure to fluctuations in natural gas prices on a portion of its future anticipated natural gas production, each with an established price floor and ceiling. For each calculation period, the specified price for determining the realized gain or loss to the Company pursuant to any of these transactions is the settlement price for the NYMEX Henry Hub natural gas futures contract for the delivery month corresponding to the calculation period’s calendar month for the last day of that contract period. When the settlement price is below the price floor established by these collars, the Company receives from its counterparty an amount equal to the difference between the settlement price and the price floor multiplied by the contract natural gas volume. When the settlement price is above the price ceiling established by these collars, the Company pays to its counterparty an amount equal to the difference between the settlement price and the price ceiling multiplied by the contract natural gas volume.

In August 2012, the Company entered into various swap contracts to mitigate its exposure to fluctuations in natural gas liquids (“NGL”) prices on a portion of its future anticipated NGL production, each with an established fixed price. For each calculation period, the settlement price for determining the realized gain or loss to the Company pursuant to any of these transactions is the arithmetic average of any current month for delivery on the nearby month futures contracts of the underlying commodity as stated on the “Mont Belvieu Spot Gas Liquids Prices: NON-TET prop” on the pricing date. When the settlement price is below the fixed price established by these swaps, the Company receives from its counterparty an amount equal to the difference between the settlement price and the fixed price multiplied by the contract NGL volume. When the settlement price is above the fixed price established by these swaps the Company pays to its counterparty an amount equal to the difference between the settlement and the fixed price multiplied by the contract NGL volume.

At September 30, 2012, the Company had multiple costless collar contracts open and in place to mitigate its exposure to oil and natural gas price volatility, each with a specific term (calculation period), notional quantity (volume hedged) and price floor and ceiling. Each contract is set to expire at varying times during 2012, 2013 and 2014.

At September 30, 2012, the Company had multiple swap contracts open and in place to mitigate its exposure to NGL price volatility, each with a specific term (calculation period), notional quantity (volume hedged) and fixed price. Each contract is set to expire at varying times during 2012 and 2013.

The following is a summary of the Company’s open costless collar contracts for oil and natural gas and open swap contracts for natural gas liquids at September 30, 2012.


Commodity	Calculation Period	Notional Quantity (Bbl/month)		Price Floor ($/Bbl)		Price Ceiling ($/Bbl)		Fair Value of Asset (thousands)
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		20,000		90.00		104.20	$	113
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		10,000		90.00		108.00		65
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		10,000		90.00		109.50		68
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		20,000		90.00		111.00		139
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		20,000		90.00		111.90		141
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		20,000		95.00		116.00		291
Oil	10/01/2012 - 03/31/2013		20,000		90.00		110.00		356
Oil	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		20,000		85.00		102.25		61
Oil	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		20,000		90.00		115.00		1,233
Oil	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		20,000		85.00		110.40		598
Oil	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		20,000		85.00		108.80		515
Oil	01/01/2013 - 06/30/2014		8,000		90.00		114.00		794
Oil	01/01/2013 - 06/30/2014		12,000		90.00		115.50		1,242

Total Oil (open costless collar contracts)								$	5,616

Commodity	Calculation Period	Notional Quantity (MMBtu/month)		Price Floor ($/MMBtu)		Price Ceiling ($/MMBtu)		Fair Value of Asset (Liability) (thousands)
Natural Gas	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		300,000		4.50		5.60	$	1,067
Natural Gas	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		150,000		4.25		6.17		424
Natural Gas	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		70,000		2.50		3.34		(36	)
Natural Gas	10/01/2012 - 07/31/2013		150,000		4.50		5.75		1,398
Natural Gas	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2013		100,000		3.00		3.83		(381	)

Total Natural Gas (open costless collar contracts)								$	2,472


Commodity	Calculation Period	Notional Quantity (Gal/month)		Fixed Price ($/Gal)		Fair Value of Asset (Liability) (thousands)
Purity Ethane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		55,700		0.333	$	—
Purity Ethane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		55,700		0.337		—
Propane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		27,000		0.945		1
Propane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		27,000		0.992		5
Normal Butane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		7,500		1.465		—
Normal Butane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		7,500		1.580		3
Isobutane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		4,000		1.535		(2	)
Isobutane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		4,000		1.675		(1	)
Natural Gasoline	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		6,000		2.095		2
Natural Gasoline	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		6,000		2.150		3
Purity Ethane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		110,000		0.335		(41	)
Purity Ethane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		110,000		0.355		(15	)
Propane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		53,000		0.953		7
Propane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		53,000		1.001		38
Normal Butane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		14,700		1.455		(3	)
Normal Butane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		14,700		1.560		16
Isobutane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		7,000		1.515		(7	)
Isobutane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		7,000		1.625		3
Natural Gasoline	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		12,000		2.085		17
Natural Gasoline	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		12,000		2.102		19

Total NGL’s (open swap contracts)						$	45

Total open derivative financial instruments						$	8,133

The following table summarizes the location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets for the periods presented (in thousands). These derivative financial instruments are not designated as hedging instruments.


Type of Instrument	Location in Balance Sheet	September 30, 2012			December 31, 2011
Derivative Instrument
Oil	Current assets: Derivative instruments	$	3,736		$	—
Oil	Other assets: Derivative instruments		1,880			—
Oil	Current liabilities: Derivative instruments		—			(171	)
Oil	Long-term liabilities: Derivative instruments		—			(383	)
Natural Gas	Current assets: Derivative instruments		2,610			8,989
Natural Gas	Other assets: Derivative instruments		—			847
Natural Gas	Long-term liabilities: Derivative instruments		(138	)		—
NGL’s	Current assets: Derivative instruments		49			—
NGL’s	Long-term liabilities: Derivative instruments		(4	)		—

Total		$	8,133		$	9,282

The following table summarizes the location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated statements of operations for the periods presented (in thousands). These derivative financial instruments are not designated as hedging instruments.


		Three Months Ended September 30,					Nine Months Ended September 30,
Type of Instrument	Location in Statement of Operations	2012			2011		2012			2011
Derivative Instrument
Oil	Revenues: Realized gain on derivatives	$	374		$	—	$	1,093		$	—
Natural Gas	Revenues: Realized gain on derivatives		2,996			1,435		10,053			4,237
NGL’s	Revenues: Realized gain on derivatives		1			—		1			—
Realized gain on derivatives			3,371			1,435		11,147			4,237
Oil	Revenues: Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives		(9,053	)		—		(7,364	)		—
Natural Gas	Revenues: Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives		(3,985	)		2,870		6,170			1,534
NGL’s	Revenues: Unrealized gain (loss) on derivatives		45			—		45			—

Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives			(12,993	)		2,870		(1,149	)		1,534

Total		$	(9,622	)	$	4,305	$	9,998		$	5,771

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the entity's entire derivative instruments and hedging activities. Describes an entity's risk management strategies, derivatives in hedging activities and non-hedging derivative instruments, the assets, obligations, liabilities, revenues and expenses arising therefrom, and the amounts of and methodologies and assumptions used in determining the amounts of such items.

+ References

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Reference 21: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
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+ Details

Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Fair Value Measurements [Abstract]

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

NOTE 9 - FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The Company measures and reports certain financial and non-financial assets and liabilities on a fair value basis. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). Fair value measurements are classified and disclosed in one of the following categories.

Level 1

Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities. Active markets are considered to be those in which transactions for the assets or liabilities occur in sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.

Level 2

Quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs which are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability. This category includes those derivative instruments that are valued using observable market data. Substantially all of these inputs are observable in the marketplace throughout the full term of the derivative instrument, can be derived from observable data or supported by observable levels at which transactions are executed in the marketplace.

Level 3

Unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data. This category is comprised of financial and non-financial assets and liabilities whose fair value is estimated based on internally developed models or methodologies using significant inputs that are generally less readily observable from objective sources.

Financial and non-financial assets and liabilities are classified based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement requires judgment, which may affect the valuation of the fair value of assets and liabilities and their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.

At September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the carrying values reported on the consolidated balance sheets for cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, royalties payable, income taxes payable, advances from joint owners and other current liabilities approximate their fair values due to their short-term maturities and are classified at Level 1.

At September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the carrying value of borrowings under the Credit Agreement approximates fair value as it is subject to short-term floating interest rates that reflect market rates available to the Company at the time and is classified at Level 2.

The following tables summarize the valuation of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis in accordance with the classifications provided above as of September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011 (in thousands).


Description	Fair Value Measurements at September 30, 2012 using
	Level 1		Level 2			Level 3		Total
Assets (Liabilities)
Certificates of deposit	$	—	$	266		$	—	$	266
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives		—		8,275			—		8,275
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives		—		(142	)		—		(142	)

Total	$	—	$	8,399		$	—	$	8,399


Description	Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2011 using
	Level 1		Level 2			Level 3		Total
Assets (Liabilities)
Certificates of deposit	$	—	$	1,335		$	—	$	1,335
Oil and natural gas derivatives		—		9,836			—		9,836
Oil and natural gas derivatives		—		(554	)		—		(554	)

Total	$	—	$	10,617		$	—	$	10,617

Additional disclosures related to derivative financial instruments are provided in Note 8. For purposes of fair value measurement, the Company determined that certificates of deposit and derivative financial instruments (e.g., oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives) should be classified at Level 2.

The Company accounts for additions to asset retirement obligations and lease and well equipment inventory at fair value on a non-recurring basis. The following tables summarize the valuation of the Company’s assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a non-recurring basis for the periods ended September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011 (in thousands).


Description	Fair Value Measurements for the period ended September 30, 2012 using
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3			Total
Assets (Liabilities)
Asset retirement obligations	$	—	$	—	$	(459	)	$	(459	)

Total	$	—	$	—	$	(459	)	$	(459	)


Description	Fair Value Measurements for the period ended December 31, 2011 using
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3			Total
Assets (Liabilities)
Asset retirement obligations	$	—	$	—	$	(187	)	$	(187	)
Lease and well equipment inventory		—		—		1,343			1,343

Total	$	—	$	—	$	1,156		$	1,156

For purposes of fair value measurement, the Company determined that the additions to asset retirement obligations should be classified at Level 3. The Company recorded additions to asset retirement obligations of $459,158 for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and $186,873 for the year ended December 31, 2011.

For purposes of fair value measurement, the Company determined that lease and well equipment inventory should be classified as Level 3. In 2011, the Company recorded an impairment to some of its equipment held in inventory consisting primarily of drilling rig parts of $17,500 and pipe and other equipment of $22,276; no impairment to any equipment was recorded for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012. The Company periodically obtains estimates of the market value of its equipment held in inventory from an independent third-party contractor or seller of similar equipment and uses these estimates as a basis for its measurement of the fair value of this equipment.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
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+ Details

Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NOTE 10 - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Office Lease

The Company’s corporate headquarters are located in 28,743 square feet of office space at One Lincoln Centre, 5400 LBJ Freeway, Suite 1500, Dallas, Texas. The lease, as amended on July 1, 2011, expires on June 30, 2022. The effective base rent is $19.75 per square foot per year. The base rate escalates in July 2015, July 2017, July 2019 and July 2020.

Natural Gas and NGL Transportation and Processing Commitments

The Company entered into a firm transportation and processing agreement whereby it has committed to transport its anticipated natural gas and natural gas liquids production from a significant portion of its Eagle Ford acreage in south Texas through the counterparty’s pipeline for further processing at the counterparty’s facilities. The agreement was effective as of September 1, 2012 and expires on September 1, 2017. The arrangement contains fees that vary based on the price of natural gas, the quality of natural gas transported to the processing facility and the contract period.

If the Company does not meet 80% of the maximum thermal quantity transportation and processing commitments in a contract year, it will be required to pay a deficiency fee per MMBtu of natural gas deficiency. Any quantity in excess of the maximum MMBtu delivered in a contract year can be carried over to the next contract year for purposes of calculating the gas deficiency. The Company believes that its current and anticipated production from the wells covered by this agreement is sufficient to meet 80% of the maximum thermal quantity transportation and processing commitments under this agreement. We paid approximately $64,000 in transportation and processing fees under this agreement for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012.

The aggregate undiscounted minimum commitments under this agreement at September 30, 2012 are as follows (in thousands).


Year ending December 31, 2012	Amount
2012	$	780
2013		5,985
2014		4,731
2015		2,992
2016		1,800
Thereafter		1,195

Total	$	17,483

Other Commitments

During the first quarter of 2012, the Company extended one of its drilling rig contracts in South Texas for an additional nine months. The Company terminated its second contract with no termination penalty and entered into a new contract for a higher performance rig with the same drilling rig contractor for a period of one year. Drilling operations under these two contracts began in early March 2012. Should the Company elect to terminate one or both contracts and if the drilling contractor were unable to secure work for one or both rigs or if the drilling contractor were unable to secure work for one or both rigs at the same daily rate being charged to the Company prior to the end of their respective terms, the Company would incur termination obligations. The Company’s maximum outstanding aggregate termination obligations under these contracts were approximately $3.7 million at September 30, 2012.

At September 30, 2012, the Company had outstanding commitments to participate in the drilling and completion of various non-operated wells, primarily in the Haynesville shale and the Eagle Ford shale. The Company’s working interests in these wells are small, and most of these wells were in progress at September 30, 2012. If all of these wells are drilled and completed, the Company’s minimum outstanding aggregate commitments at September 30, 2012 for its participation in these wells were approximately $3.6 million, and the Company expects these costs to be incurred in the next twelve months.

Legal Proceedings

Cynthia Fry Peironnet, et al. v. Matador Resources Company. The Company is involved in a dispute over a mineral rights lease involving certain acreage in Louisiana. The dispute regards an extension of the term of a lease in Caddo Parish, Louisiana (the “Lease”) where the Company has drilled or participated in the drilling of both Cotton Valley and Haynesville shale wells. At issue are the deep rights below the Cotton Valley formation on approximately 1,805 gross acres where the Company has the right to participate for up to a 25% working interest, and also retains a small overriding royalty interest, in Haynesville shale wells drilled in units that include portions of the acreage. The Company’s total net revenue and overriding royalty interests in several non-operated Haynesville shale wells previously drilled on this acreage range from approximately 2% to 23%, and only portions of these interests are attributable to this acreage. The sum of the Company’s overriding royalty and net revenue interests attributable to this acreage from Haynesville wells previously drilled on this acreage comprises less than one net well.

The plaintiffs brought this claim against the Company on May 15, 2008 in the First Judicial District Court, Caddo Parish, Louisiana (the “Trial Court”). The plaintiffs sought (i) reformation or rescission of the lease extension, (ii) an accounting for additional royalty, (iii) monetary damages and (iv) attorney’s fees. During the pendency of the case in the Trial Court, the Company settled with one lessor who owned a 1/6^th undivided interest in the minerals. Since May 2008, the Trial Court has rendered multiple rulings in the favor of the Company, including a unanimous jury verdict in favor of the Company in the fall of 2010. Final judgment of the Trial Court was rendered in favor of Matador on June 6, 2011. On August 1, 2012, the Louisiana Second Circuit of Appeal (the “Court of Appeal”) affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the Trial Court and remanded the case to the Trial Court for determination of damages. The Court of Appeal affirmed the Trial Court with respect to the 1/6 ^th royalty owner that settled and also affirmed that the Company’s lease extension was unambiguous. Nonetheless, the Court of Appeal reformed the lease extension to cover only approximately 169 gross acres, holding that the deep rights covering the remaining 1,636 gross acres had expired. The Court of Appeal denied the Company’s motion for rehearing, and the Company and certain other defendants have filed an appeal with the Louisiana Supreme Court.

The Company believes that the facts of the case and the applicable law do not support the Court of Appeal’s judgment and it intends to vigorously pursue its rights to have the Trial Court’s judgment reinstated. Although the Company does not consider a loss resulting from this dispute to be probable, it is reasonably possible that the Company could incur a loss as a result of the continuing litigation of this matter. The Company currently estimates that a reasonable range of potential loss is zero to $6 million.

Other

The Company is a defendant in several other lawsuits encountered in the ordinary course of its business, none of which, in the opinion of management, will have a material adverse impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for commitments and contingencies.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 825
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6449706&loc=d3e16207-108621

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 460
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6398077&loc=d3e12565-110249

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6952336&loc=d3e14435-108349

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.25)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 440
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6394976&loc=d3e25287-109308

Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name FASB Interpretation (FIN)
-Number 14
-Paragraph 3
-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)
-Number 5
-Paragraph 9, 10, 11, 12
-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

+ Details

Supplemental Disclosures

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Supplemental Disclosures [Abstract]

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES

NOTE 11 - SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES

Accrued Liabilities

The following table summarizes the Company’s current accrued liabilities at September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011 (in thousands).


	September 30, 2012		December 31, 2011
Accrued evaluated and unproved and unevaluated property costs	$	39,813	$	18,185
Accrued support equipment and facilities costs		590		216
Accrued cost to issue equity		—		332
Accrued stock-based compensation		586		2,860
Accrued lease operating expenses		4,506		575
Accrued interest on borrowings under Credit Agreement		43		—
Accrued asset retirement obligations		347		334
Other		4,377		2,937

Total accrued liabilities	$	50,262	$	25,439

Supplemental Cash Flow Information

The following table provides supplemental disclosures of cash flow information for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 (in thousands).


	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2012			2011
Cash paid for interest expense, net of amounts capitalized	$	442		$	201
Asset retirement obligations related to mineral properties		405			437
Asset retirement obligations related to support equipment and facilities		54			15
Increase (decrease) in liabilities for oil and natural gas properties capital expenditures		19,067			(3,638	)
Increase in liabilities for support equipment and facilities		482			112
Issuance of restricted stock units for Board and advisor services		34			—
Issuance of common stock for Board and advisor services		71			125
Decrease in liabilities for accrued cost to issue equity		(332	)		(173	)
Stock-based compensation expense recognized as liability		(930	)		1,254
Transfer of costs to support equipment and facilities from oil and natural gas properties capital expenditures		—			129
Transfer of inventory from oil and natural gas properties		(91	)		(313	)

Subsequent Events

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Subsequent Events [Abstract]

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

NOTE 12 - SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On October 1, 2012, the Company entered into additional costless collar contracts to mitigate its exposure to commodity price risk associated with natural gas on a portion of its future anticipated natural gas production. The following table summarizes these contracts.


Commodity	Calculation Period	Notional Quantity (MMBtu/month)		Price Floor ($/MMBtu)		Price Ceiling ($/MMBtu)
Natural Gas	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		100,000		3.00		4.95
Natural Gas	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		100,000		3.00		4.96
Natural Gas	01/01/2014 - 12/31/2014		100,000		3.25		5.37
Natural Gas	01/01/2014 - 12/31/2014		100,000		3.25		5.42

On November 1, 2012, the Company entered into additional swap contracts to mitigate its exposure to commodity price risk associated with natural gas liquids on a portion of its future anticipated natural gas liquids production. The following table summarizes these contracts.


Commodity	Calculation Period	Notional Quantity (Gal/month)		Fixed Price ($/Gal)
Natural Gasoline	11/01/2012 - 11/30/2012		12,000		2.200
Natural Gasoline	12/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		12,000		2.120
Natural Gasoline	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		12,000		2.025

In October and November 2012, the Company borrowed an additional $14 million and $15 million, respectively, under the Credit Agreement to fund a portion of its working capital requirements and capital expenditures. At November 14, 2012, the Company had $135 million in borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement, approximately $1.1 million in outstanding letters of credit issued pursuant to the Credit Agreement and approximately $63.9 million available for additional borrowings.

On November 8, 2012, the Company awarded a total of 73,000 shares of restricted stock to certain employees. Of these 73,000 shares, 13,833 were fully vested as of the grant date; the remaining 59,167 vest between November 2013 and November 2016. The grant date fair value of these awards is approximately $0.6 million.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	9 Months Ended
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	Sep. 30, 2012
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Interim Financial Statements, Basis of Presentation, Consolidation and Significant Estimates	Interim Financial Statements, Basis of Presentation, Consolidation and Significant Estimates The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Matador and its subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) but do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 filed with the SEC. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In management’s opinion, these interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments of a normal recurring nature necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s consolidated financial position as of September 30, 2012, consolidated results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, consolidated changes in shareholders’ equity for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and consolidated cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011. Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period items to conform to the current period presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on previously reported results of operations, cash flows or retained earnings. Amounts as of December 31, 2011 are derived from the audited consolidated financial statements as filed with the SEC in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Accounting measurements at interim dates inherently involve greater reliance on estimates than at year end and the results for the interim periods shown in this report are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year due in part to volatility in oil and natural gas prices, global economic and financial market conditions, interest rates, access to sources of liquidity, estimates of reserves, drilling risks, geological risks, transportation restrictions, oil and natural gas supply and demand, market competition and interruptions of production. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. These estimates and assumptions may also affect disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. The Company’s consolidated financial statements are based on a number of significant estimates, including accruals for oil and natural gas revenues, accrued assets and liabilities primarily related to oil and natural gas operations, stock-based compensation, valuation of derivative instruments and oil and natural gas reserves. The estimates of oil and natural gas reserves quantities and future net cash flows are the basis for the calculations of depletion and impairment of oil and natural gas properties, as well as estimates of asset retirement obligations and certain tax accruals. While the Company believes its estimates are reasonable, changes in facts and assumptions or the discovery of new information may result in revised estimates. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
Property and Equipment	Property and Equipment The Company uses the full-cost method of accounting for its investments in oil and natural gas properties. Under this method of accounting, all costs associated with the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties and reserves, including unproved and unevaluated property costs, are capitalized as incurred and accumulated in a single cost center representing the Company’s activities, which are undertaken exclusively in the United States. Such costs include lease acquisition costs, geological and geophysical expenditures, lease rentals on undeveloped properties, costs of drilling both productive and non-productive wells, capitalized interest on qualifying projects and general and administrative expenses directly related to exploration and development activities, but do not include any costs related to production, selling or general corporate administrative activities. The Company capitalized approximately $1.7 million and $1.3 million of its general and administrative costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The Company capitalized approximately $1.0 million and $0.8 million of its interest expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The net capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties are limited to the lower of unamortized costs less related deferred income taxes or the cost center ceiling, with any excess above the cost center ceiling charged to operations as a full-cost ceiling impairment. The need for a full-cost ceiling impairment is assessed on a quarterly basis. The cost center ceiling is defined as the sum of (a) the present value discounted at 10 percent of future net revenues of proved oil and natural gas reserves, plus (b) unproved and unevaluated property costs not being amortized, plus (c) the lower of cost or estimated fair value of unproved and unevaluated properties included in the costs being amortized, if any, less (d) income tax effects related to the properties involved. Future net revenues from proved non-producing and proved undeveloped reserves are reduced by the estimated costs for developing these reserves. The fair value of the Company’s derivative instruments is not included in the ceiling test computation as the Company does not designate these instruments as hedge instruments for accounting purposes. The estimated present value of after-tax future net cash flows from proved oil and natural gas reserves is highly dependent on the commodity prices used in these estimates. These estimates are determined in accordance with guidelines established by the SEC for estimating and reporting oil and natural gas reserves. Under these guidelines, oil and natural gas reserves are estimated using then-current operating and economic conditions, with no provision for price and cost escalations in future periods except by contractual arrangements. The commodity prices used to estimate oil and natural gas reserves are based on unweighted, arithmetic averages of first-day-of-the-month oil and natural gas prices for the previous 12-month period. For the period October 2011 through September 2012, these average oil and natural gas prices were $91.48 per Bbl and $2.826 per MMBtu (million British thermal units), respectively. For the period October 2010 through September 2011, these average oil and natural gas prices were $91.00 per Bbl and $4.158 per MMBtu, respectively. In estimating the present value of after-tax future net cash flows from proved oil and natural gas reserves, the average oil prices were adjusted by property for quality, transportation and marketing fees and regional price differentials, and the average natural gas prices were adjusted by property for energy content, transportation and marketing fees and regional price differentials. At September 30, 2012 and 2011, the Company’s oil and natural gas reserves estimates were prepared by the Company’s engineering staff in accordance with guidelines established by the SEC and then audited for their reasonableness and conformance with SEC guidelines by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc., independent reservoir engineers. Using the average commodity prices, as adjusted, to determine the Company’s estimated proved oil and natural gas reserves at September 30, 2012, the Company’s net capitalized costs less related deferred income taxes exceeded the full-cost ceiling by $2.3 million. The Company recorded an impairment charge of $3.6 million to its net capitalized costs and a deferred income tax credit of $1.3, related to the full-cost ceiling limitation at September 30, 2012. The Company recorded no impairment to its net capitalized costs and no corresponding charge to its unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2011. Using the average commodity prices, as adjusted, to determine the Company’s estimated proved oil and natural gas reserves at June 30, 2012, the Company’s net capitalized costs less related deferred income taxes exceeded the full-cost ceiling by $21.3 million. The Company recorded an impairment charge of $33.2 million to its net capitalized costs and a deferred income tax credit of $11.9 million related to the full-cost ceiling limitation at June 30, 2012. At March 31, 2011, the Company’s net capitalized costs less related deferred income taxes exceeded the full-cost ceiling by $23.0 million. The Company recorded an impairment charge of $35.7 million to its net capitalized costs and a deferred income tax credit of $12.7 million related to the full-cost ceiling limitation at March 31, 2011. These charges are reflected in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011. Changes in oil and natural gas production rates, reserves estimates, future development costs and other factors will determine the Company’s actual ceiling test computation and impairment analyses in future periods. As a non-cash item, the full-cost ceiling impairment impacts the accumulated depletion and the net carrying value of the Company’s assets on its balance sheet, as well as the corresponding shareholders’ equity, but it has no impact on the Company’s net cash flows as reported. Capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties are amortized using the unit-of-production method based upon production and estimates of proved reserves quantities. Unproved and unevaluated property costs are excluded from the amortization base used to determine depletion. Unproved and unevaluated properties are assessed for possible impairment on a periodic basis based upon changes in operating or economic conditions. This assessment includes consideration of the following factors, among others: the assignment of proved reserves, geological and geophysical evaluations, intent to drill, remaining lease term and drilling activity and results. Upon impairment, the costs of the unproved and unevaluated properties are immediately included in the amortization base. Dry holes are included in the amortization base immediately upon determination that the well is not productive.
Earnings Per Common Share	Earnings Per Common Share The Company reports basic earnings per common share, which excludes the effect of potentially dilutive securities, and diluted earnings per common share, which includes the effect of all potentially dilutive securities, unless their impact is anti-dilutive. Prior to the consummation of the Company’s Initial Public Offering (see Note 7) in February 2012, the Company had issued two classes of common stock, Class A and Class B. The holders of the Class B shares were entitled to be paid cumulative dividends at a per share rate of $0.26-2/3 annually out of funds legally available for the payment of dividends. These dividends were accrued and paid quarterly. Dividends declared during the three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 totaled zero and $68,713, respectively. Dividends declared during the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 totaled $27,643 and $206,140, respectively, in each period. Class B dividends declared during the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012 were paid during the first quarter of 2012 totaling $96,356. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had not paid any dividends to holders of the Class A shares. Concurrent with the completion of the Initial Public Offering, all 1,030,700 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock were converted to Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis. The Class A common stock is now referred to as the common stock.
Fair Value Measurements	Fair Value Measurements The Company measures and reports certain assets and liabilities on a fair value basis. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). The Company follows Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) guidance establishing a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation methods used to measure fair value.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements Balance Sheet. In December 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, 2011-11, Balance Sheet. The requirements amend the disclosure requirements related to offsetting in Accounting Standard’s Codification, or ASC, 210-20-50. The amendments require enhanced disclosures by requiring improved information about financial instruments and derivative instruments that are either (1) offset in accordance with either ASC 210-20-45 or ASC 815-10-45 or (2) subject to an enforceable master netting arrangement or similar agreement, irrespective of whether they are offset in accordance with either ASC 210-20-45 or ASC 815-10-45. The adoption of ASU 2011-11 is not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, but may require certain additional disclosures. The amendments in ASU 2011-11 are to be applied for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013 and are to be applied retrospectively for all periods presented. Fair Value. In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRS. ASU 2011-04 amends ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements, providing a consistent definition and measurement of fair value, as well as similar disclosure requirements between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. ASU 2011-04 changes certain fair value measurement principles, clarifies the application of existing fair value measurements and expands the ASC 820 disclosure requirements, particularly for Level 3 fair value measurements. The Company adopted ASU 2011-04 on January 1, 2012; adoption did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, but did require additional disclosures.

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for computing basic and diluted earnings or loss per share for each class of common stock and participating security. Addresses all significant policy factors, including any antidilutive items that have been excluded from the computation and takes into account stock dividends, splits and reverse splits that occur after the balance sheet date of the latest reporting period but before the issuance of the financial statements.

+ References + Details

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for property, plant and equipment which may include the basis of such assets, depreciation methods used and estimated useful lives, the entity's capitalization policy, including its accounting treatment for costs incurred for repairs and maintenance activities, whether such asset balances include capitalized interest and the method by which such is calculated, how disposals of such assets are accounted for and how impairment of such assets is assessed and recognized.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/subtopic&trid=2155824

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 235
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6367646&loc=d3e18780-107790

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.13(a))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)
-Number 34
-Paragraph 8, 9
-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher AICPA
-Name Accounting Research Bulletin (ARB)
-Number 43
-Section C
-Paragraph 5
-Chapter 9
-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher AICPA
-Name Accounting Principles Board Opinion (APB)
-Number 12
-Paragraph 5
-Subparagraph d
-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher AICPA
-Name Accounting Principles Board Opinion (APB)
-Number 22
-Paragraph 12, 13
-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)
-Number 144
-Paragraph 7
-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Regulation S-X (SX)
-Number 210
-Section 02
-Paragraph 13
-Subparagraph a
-Article 5

+ Details

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Reconciliations of basic and diluted distributed and undistributed earnings (loss) per common share


	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Net (loss) income - numerator
Net (loss) income	$	(9,197	)	$	6,194		$	(12,073	)	$	(14,249	)
Less dividends to Class B shareholders - distributed earnings		—			(69	)		(28	)		(206	)

Undistributed (loss) earnings	$	(9,197	)	$	6,125		$	(12,101	)	$	(14,455	)

Weighted average common shares outstanding - denominator
Basic
Class A		55,271			41,720			53,379			41,671
Class B		—			1,031			140			1,031

Total		55,271			42,751			53,519			42,702

Diluted
Class A
Weighted average common shares outstanding for basic earnings (loss) per share		55,271			41,720			53,379			41,671
Dilutive effect of options and restricted stock units		—			128			—			—

Class A weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted		55,271			41,848			53,379			41,671
Class B

Weighted average common shares outstanding - associated no associated dilutive shares		—			1,031			140			1,031

Total diluted weighted average common shares outstanding		55,271			42,879			53,519			42,702


	Three Months Ended September 30,					Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2012			2011		2012			2011
Earnings (loss) per common share
Basic
Class A
Distributed earnings	$	—		$	—	$	—		$	—
Undistributed (loss) earnings	$	(0.17	)	$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Total	$	(0.17	)	$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Class B
Distributed earnings	$	—		$	0.07	$	0.20		$	0.20
Undistributed earnings (loss)	$	—		$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Total	$	—		$	0.21	$	(0.03	)	$	(0.14	)

Diluted
Class A
Distributed earnings	$	—		$	—	$	—		$	—
Undistributed (loss) earnings	$	(0.17	)	$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Total	$	(0.17	)	$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Class B
Distributed earnings	$	—		$	0.07	$	0.20		$	0.20
Undistributed earnings (loss)	$	—		$	0.14	$	(0.23	)	$	(0.34	)

Total	$	—		$	0.21	$	(0.03	)	$	(0.14	)

Asset Retirement Obligations (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Asset Retirement Obligations [Abstract]

Schedule of changes in Company's asset retirement obligations


Beginning asset retirement obligations	$	4,269
Liabilities incurred during period		459
Liabilities settled during period		—
Accretion expense		170

Ending asset retirement obligations	$	4,898

Derivative Financial Instruments (Tables) - Open costless collar contracts [Member]

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Open Option Contracts Written [Line Items]

Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas


Commodity	Calculation Period	Notional Quantity (Bbl/month)		Price Floor ($/Bbl)		Price Ceiling ($/Bbl)		Fair Value of Asset (thousands)
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		20,000		90.00		104.20	$	113
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		10,000		90.00		108.00		65
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		10,000		90.00		109.50		68
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		20,000		90.00		111.00		139
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		20,000		90.00		111.90		141
Oil	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		20,000		95.00		116.00		291
Oil	10/01/2012 - 03/31/2013		20,000		90.00		110.00		356
Oil	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		20,000		85.00		102.25		61
Oil	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		20,000		90.00		115.00		1,233
Oil	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		20,000		85.00		110.40		598
Oil	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		20,000		85.00		108.80		515
Oil	01/01/2013 - 06/30/2014		8,000		90.00		114.00		794
Oil	01/01/2013 - 06/30/2014		12,000		90.00		115.50		1,242

Total Oil (open costless collar contracts)								$	5,616

Commodity	Calculation Period	Notional Quantity (MMBtu/month)		Price Floor ($/MMBtu)		Price Ceiling ($/MMBtu)		Fair Value of Asset (Liability) (thousands)
Natural Gas	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		300,000		4.50		5.60	$	1,067
Natural Gas	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		150,000		4.25		6.17		424
Natural Gas	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		70,000		2.50		3.34		(36	)
Natural Gas	10/01/2012 - 07/31/2013		150,000		4.50		5.75		1,398
Natural Gas	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2013		100,000		3.00		3.83		(381	)

Total Natural Gas (open costless collar contracts)								$	2,472


Commodity	Calculation Period	Notional Quantity (Gal/month)		Fixed Price ($/Gal)		Fair Value of Asset (Liability) (thousands)
Purity Ethane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		55,700		0.333	$	—
Purity Ethane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		55,700		0.337		—
Propane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		27,000		0.945		1
Propane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		27,000		0.992		5
Normal Butane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		7,500		1.465		—
Normal Butane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		7,500		1.580		3
Isobutane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		4,000		1.535		(2	)
Isobutane	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		4,000		1.675		(1	)
Natural Gasoline	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		6,000		2.095		2
Natural Gasoline	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		6,000		2.150		3
Purity Ethane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		110,000		0.335		(41	)
Purity Ethane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		110,000		0.355		(15	)
Propane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		53,000		0.953		7
Propane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		53,000		1.001		38
Normal Butane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		14,700		1.455		(3	)
Normal Butane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		14,700		1.560		16
Isobutane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		7,000		1.515		(7	)
Isobutane	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		7,000		1.625		3
Natural Gasoline	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		12,000		2.085		17
Natural Gasoline	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		12,000		2.102		19

Total NGL’s (open swap contracts)						$	45

Total open derivative financial instruments						$	8,133

Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets


Type of Instrument	Location in Balance Sheet	September 30, 2012			December 31, 2011
Derivative Instrument
Oil	Current assets: Derivative instruments	$	3,736		$	—
Oil	Other assets: Derivative instruments		1,880			—
Oil	Current liabilities: Derivative instruments		—			(171	)
Oil	Long-term liabilities: Derivative instruments		—			(383	)
Natural Gas	Current assets: Derivative instruments		2,610			8,989
Natural Gas	Other assets: Derivative instruments		—			847
Natural Gas	Long-term liabilities: Derivative instruments		(138	)		—
NGL’s	Current assets: Derivative instruments		49			—
NGL’s	Long-term liabilities: Derivative instruments		(4	)		—

Total		$	8,133		$	9,282

Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated statements of operations


		Three Months Ended September 30,					Nine Months Ended September 30,
Type of Instrument	Location in Statement of Operations	2012			2011		2012			2011
Derivative Instrument
Oil	Revenues: Realized gain on derivatives	$	374		$	—	$	1,093		$	—
Natural Gas	Revenues: Realized gain on derivatives		2,996			1,435		10,053			4,237
NGL’s	Revenues: Realized gain on derivatives		1			—		1			—
Realized gain on derivatives			3,371			1,435		11,147			4,237
Oil	Revenues: Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives		(9,053	)		—		(7,364	)		—
Natural Gas	Revenues: Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives		(3,985	)		2,870		6,170			1,534
NGL’s	Revenues: Unrealized gain (loss) on derivatives		45			—		45			—

Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives			(12,993	)		2,870		(1,149	)		1,534

Total		$	(9,622	)	$	4,305	$	9,998		$	5,771

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the location and amount of gains and losses reported in the statement of financial performance, or when applicable, the statement of financial position. For example, (a) gains and losses recognized in the income statement on derivative instruments designated and qualifying as hedging instruments in fair value hedges and related hedged items designated and qualifying in fair value hedges and (b) gains and losses initially recognized in other comprehensive income on derivative instruments designated and qualifying as cash flow hedges.

+ References + Details

Fair Value Measurements (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Fair Value Measurements [Abstract]

Summary of the valuation of the Company's financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis


Description	Fair Value Measurements at September 30, 2012 using
	Level 1		Level 2			Level 3		Total
Assets (Liabilities)
Certificates of deposit	$	—	$	266		$	—	$	266
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives		—		8,275			—		8,275
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives		—		(142	)		—		(142	)

Total	$	—	$	8,399		$	—	$	8,399


Description	Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2011 using
	Level 1		Level 2			Level 3		Total
Assets (Liabilities)
Certificates of deposit	$	—	$	1,335		$	—	$	1,335
Oil and natural gas derivatives		—		9,836			—		9,836
Oil and natural gas derivatives		—		(554	)		—		(554	)

Total	$	—	$	10,617		$	—	$	10,617

Additions to asset retirement obligations and lease and well equipment inventory at fair value on a non-recurring basis


Description	Fair Value Measurements for the period ended September 30, 2012 using
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3			Total
Assets (Liabilities)
Asset retirement obligations	$	—	$	—	$	(459	)	$	(459	)

Total	$	—	$	—	$	(459	)	$	(459	)


Description	Fair Value Measurements for the period ended December 31, 2011 using
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3			Total
Assets (Liabilities)
Asset retirement obligations	$	—	$	—	$	(187	)	$	(187	)
Lease and well equipment inventory		—		—		1,343			1,343

Total	$	—	$	—	$	1,156		$	1,156

Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

Summary of aggregate undiscounted minimum commitments


Year ending December 31, 2012	Amount
2012	$	780
2013		5,985
2014		4,731
2015		2,992
2016		1,800
Thereafter		1,195

Total	$	17,483

Supplemental Disclosures (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Supplemental Disclosures [Abstract]

Summary of current accrued liabilities


	September 30, 2012		December 31, 2011
Accrued evaluated and unproved and unevaluated property costs	$	39,813	$	18,185
Accrued support equipment and facilities costs		590		216
Accrued cost to issue equity		—		332
Accrued stock-based compensation		586		2,860
Accrued lease operating expenses		4,506		575
Accrued interest on borrowings under Credit Agreement		43		—
Accrued asset retirement obligations		347		334
Other		4,377		2,937

Total accrued liabilities	$	50,262	$	25,439

Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information


	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2012			2011
Cash paid for interest expense, net of amounts capitalized	$	442		$	201
Asset retirement obligations related to mineral properties		405			437
Asset retirement obligations related to support equipment and facilities		54			15
Increase (decrease) in liabilities for oil and natural gas properties capital expenditures		19,067			(3,638	)
Increase in liabilities for support equipment and facilities		482			112
Issuance of restricted stock units for Board and advisor services		34			—
Issuance of common stock for Board and advisor services		71			125
Decrease in liabilities for accrued cost to issue equity		(332	)		(173	)
Stock-based compensation expense recognized as liability		(930	)		1,254
Transfer of costs to support equipment and facilities from oil and natural gas properties capital expenditures		—			129
Transfer of inventory from oil and natural gas properties		(91	)		(313	)

Subsequent Events (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Subsequent Events [Abstract]

Schedule of Costless Collar Contracts with RBC


Commodity	Calculation Period	Notional Quantity (MMBtu/month)		Price Floor ($/MMBtu)		Price Ceiling ($/MMBtu)
Natural Gas	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		100,000		3.00		4.95
Natural Gas	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		100,000		3.00		4.96
Natural Gas	01/01/2014 - 12/31/2014		100,000		3.25		5.37
Natural Gas	01/01/2014 - 12/31/2014		100,000		3.25		5.42


Commodity	Calculation Period	Notional Quantity (Gal/month)		Fixed Price ($/Gal)
Natural Gasoline	11/01/2012 - 11/30/2012		12,000		2.200
Natural Gasoline	12/01/2012 - 12/31/2012		12,000		2.120
Natural Gasoline	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013		12,000		2.025

Nature of Operations (Details)	Sep. 30, 2012 Subsidiaries
Nature of Operations (Textual) [Abstract]
Number of wholly owned subsidiary	4

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Net income (loss) - numerator
Net loss	$ (9,197)	$ 6,194	$ (12,073)	$ (14,249)
Less dividends to Class B shareholders - distributed earnings		(69)	(28)	(206)
Undistributed (loss) earnings	$ (9,197)	$ 6,125	$ (12,101)	$ (14,455)
Weighted average common shares outstanding - denominator
Weighted average common shares outstanding for basic earnings (loss) per share	55,271	42,751	53,519	42,702
Total diluted weighted average common shares outstanding	55,271	42,879	53,519	42,702
Class A [Member]
Weighted average common shares outstanding - denominator
Weighted average common shares outstanding for basic earnings (loss) per share	55,271	41,720	53,379	41,671
Dilutive effect of options and restricted stock units		128
Total diluted weighted average common shares outstanding	55,271	41,848	53,379	41,671
Basic
Distributed earnings
Undistributed (loss) earnings	(0.17)	0.14	(0.23)	(0.34)
Total	(0.17)	0.14	(0.23)	(0.34)
Diluted
Distributed earnings
Undistributed (loss) earnings	(0.17)	0.14	(0.23)	(0.34)
Total	$ (0.17)	$ 0.14	$ (0.23)	$ (0.34)
Class B [Member]
Weighted average common shares outstanding - denominator
Weighted average common shares outstanding for basic earnings (loss) per share		1,031	140	1,031
Total diluted weighted average common shares outstanding		1,031	140	1,031
Basic
Distributed earnings		$ 0.07	$ 0.20	$ 0.20
Undistributed (loss) earnings		0.14	(0.23)	(0.34)
Total		0.21	(0.03)	(0.14)
Diluted
Distributed earnings		0.07	0.20	0.20
Undistributed (loss) earnings		0.14	(0.23)	(0.34)
Total		$ 0.21	$ (0.03)	$ (0.14)

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details Textual)	3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($) shares	Mar. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($) shares	Sep. 30, 2012 $ / MMBTU	Sep. 30, 2012 $ / bbl	Sep. 30, 2011 $ / MMBTU	Sep. 30, 2011 $ / bbl
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Textual) [Abstract]
Dividends declared	$ 0		$ 68,713			$ 27,643	$ 206,140
Dividends paid						96,000	206,000
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Additional Textual) [Abstract]
Capitalized general and administrative costs						1,700,000	1,300,000
Capitalized interest expense						$ 1,000,000	800,000
Present value discounted percent of future net revenues of proved oil and natural gas reserves						10.00%
Average oil and natural gas prices								2.826	91.48	4.158	91.00
Net capitalized costs less related deferred income taxes exceeded the full-cost ceiling				$ 23,000,000	$ 21,300,000	$ 2,300,000
Impairment charge of net capitalized costs	$ 3,596,000			35,700,000	33,200,000	36,801,000	$ 35,673,000
Deferred income tax credit				$ 12,700,000	$ 11,900,000	$ 1,300,000
Class B Common stock were converted into Class A \| shares						1,030,700
Conversion of stock conversion ratio						1
Restricted Stock [Member]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Textual) [Abstract]
Total options to purchase shares of the Company's common stock and restricted stock excluded from the calculations \| shares	151,051					151,051
Restricted shares, participating securities [Member]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Textual) [Abstract]
Total options to purchase shares of the Company's common stock and restricted stock excluded from the calculations \| shares	233,349					233,349
Stock options [Member]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Textual) [Abstract]
Total options to purchase shares of the Company's common stock and restricted stock excluded from the calculations \| shares	1,085,152					1,085,152	1,024,500
Class A [Member]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Textual) [Abstract]
Dividends declared						$ 0
Class B [Member]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Textual) [Abstract]
Dividends paid		$ 96,356
Cumulative annual dividends per share rate \| $ / shares						$ 0.26

Asset Retirement Obligations (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Changes in the Company's asset retirement obligations
Beginning asset retirement obligations			$ 4,269
Liabilities incurred during period			459
Liabilities settled during period
Accretion expense	$ 59	$ 61	170	$ 158
Ending asset retirement obligations	$ 4,898		$ 4,898

Asset Retirement Obligations (Details Textual) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)
Asset Retirement Obligations (Textual) [Abstract]
Asset retirement obligations were classified as current liabilities and included in accrued liabilities	$ 0.3

Revolving Credit Agreement (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended		7 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Feb. 08, 2012	Feb. 28, 2012	Jan. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Nov. 14, 2012	Nov. 09, 2012	Oct. 09, 2012	Sep. 28, 2012	Jan. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Senior secured revolving credit maximum facility											$ 400,000
Borrowing base		$ 125,000									125,000
Credit facility, outstanding				$ 106,000	$ 106,000		$ 15,000	$ 14,000		$ 123,000	113,000
Net cash proceeds from secondary public offering					$ 146,510
Revolving Credit Agreement (Additional Textual) [Abstract]
Credit Agreement, maturity date					Dec. 31, 2016
The borrowing base under the Credit Agreement determined					semi-annually
Outstanding letters of credit				1,100	$ 1,100	$ 1,100
Additional outstanding borrowings under the Credit Agreement			$ 10,000	106,000
Repayment of the outstanding under the Credit Agreement in full	$ 123,000	123,000
Available for additional borrowings				$ 92,900	$ 92,900
Outstanding borrowings bore interest effective rate				3.30%	3.30%
Percentage of reserves required to maintain					100.00%
Total debt outstanding to EBITDA					4.0
Current ratio					1.0
Federal Funds Effective Plus Rate					0.50%
Before amendment [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Senior secured revolving credit maximum facility											$ 150,000
Second amended credit agreement [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Company amended and restated its senior secured revolving credit agreement					December 2011
Third amended credit agreement [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Senior secured revolving credit maximum facility									$ 500,000
Borrowing base									200,000
Conforming borrowing base									$ 165,000
Net cash proceeds from secondary public offering					$ 25,000
Conforming borrowing base description					The borrowing base will automatically be reduced to an amount equal to the conforming borrowing base on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2013 or (ii) the closing of a secondary public offering of equity interests by the Company that results in net cash proceeds to the Company in an amount greater than or equal to $25 million.
Conforming borrowing base date					Dec. 31, 2013
Company amended and restated its senior secured revolving credit agreement					September 28, 2012
February 2012 [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Borrowing base		$ 100,000
Federal Reserve System [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Borrowings interest rate				5.30%	5.30%
Base rate loan [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Borrowings interest rate description					If the Company borrows funds as a base rate loan, such borrowings will bear interest at a rate equal to the higher of (i) the prime rate for such day or(ii) the Federal Funds Effective Rate on such day, plus 0.50% weighted average of rates used in overnight federal funds transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System plus 0.50% or (iii) the daily adjusting LIBOR rate plus 1.0% plus, in each case, an amount from 1.75% to 3.25% of such outstanding loan depending on the level of borrowings under the agreement.
LIBOR rate [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Borrowings interest rate				1.00%	1.00%
Eurodollar Loan [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Borrowings interest rate description					If the Company borrows funds as a Eurodollar loan, such borrowings will bear interest at a rate equal to (i) the quotient obtained by dividing (A) the LIBOR rate by (B) a percentage equal to 100% minus the maximum rate during such interest calculation period at which RBC is required to maintain reserves on Eurocurrency Liabilities (as defined in Regulation D of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System) plus (ii) an amount from 1.75% to 3.25% of such outstanding loan depending on the level of borrowings under the agreement
Maximum [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Credit facility fee					0.50%
Maximum [Member] \| Base rate loan [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Additional interest rate					2.25%
Maximum [Member] \| Eurodollar Loan [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Additional interest rate					3.25%
Minimum [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Credit facility fee					0.375%
Minimum [Member] \| Base rate loan [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Additional interest rate					0.75%
Minimum [Member] \| Eurodollar Loan [Member]
Revolving Credit Agreement (Textual) [Abstract]
Additional interest rate					1.75%

Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Income Taxes (Textual) [Abstract]
Valuation allowance	$ 2,400		$ 2,400
Company established valuation allowance				$ 800
Income tax expense	(593)		1,242	$ (6,952)
Deferred tax assets and additional deferred income taxes	$ 200		$ 700

Stock-Based Compensation (Details)				1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
Stock-Based Compensation (Details)	Sep. 13, 2012 shares	Jun. 29, 2012 shares	Apr. 11, 2012 shares	Feb. 28, 2012 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($) shares	Jun. 30, 2012 USD ($) Director shares	Mar. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($) Advisor $ / shares shares
Stock-based Compensation (Textual) [Abstract]
Option granted to purchase shares of its common stock								472,318
Granted option share purchase price, per share \| $ / shares								$ 10.49
Common stock issued as a payment for services	500
Aggregate common stock issued as a payment for services								1,500
Vested period for time lapse restricted stock								4 years
Grant date fair value of all awards \| $					$ 5,500,000			$ 5,500,000
Aggregate grant date fair value \| $								$ 400,000
Stock-based Compensation (Additional Textual) [Abstract]
Maximum shares of common stock provided					4,000,000			4,000,000
Company awarded restricted stock units	12,755	12,215	13,608
Executive officers [Member]
Stock-based Compensation (Textual) [Abstract]
Option granted to purchase shares of its common stock				150,000
Granted option share purchase price, per share \| $ / shares				$ 12.00
Total grant date fair value of the option \| $				$ 1,100,000
Stock-based compensation expense \| $						$ 70,000
Vested period for time lapse restricted stock				3 years
Board of Directors Special Advisor [Member]
Stock-based Compensation (Textual) [Abstract]
Common stock issued as a payment for services		500	500
Number of advisors \| Advisor								2
Fair value of common stock issued \| $					$ 10,270	$ 10,740	$ 11,020
Retiring Director [Member]
Stock-based Compensation (Textual) [Abstract]
Common stock issued as a payment for services						4,000
Fair value of common stock issued \| $								$ 38,840
Number of directors \| Director						1
Employee [Member]
Stock-based Compensation (Textual) [Abstract]
Option granted to purchase shares of its common stock								20,000
Granted option share purchase price, per share \| $ / shares								$ 10.39
Vested period for time lapse restricted stock								4 years
Aggregate grant date fair value \| $								$ 110,646
Time lapse restricted stock [Member]
Stock-based Compensation (Textual) [Abstract]
Restricted stock issued shares								116,842
Vested period for time lapse restricted stock								4 years
Performance Based Restricted Stock [Member]
Stock-based Compensation (Textual) [Abstract]
Restricted stock issued shares								116,841
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member]
Stock-based Compensation (Textual) [Abstract]
Vested period for time lapse restricted stock								3 years
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member] \| Employee [Member]
Stock-based Compensation (Textual) [Abstract]
Option granted to purchase shares of its common stock								5,000
Aggregate grant date fair value \| $								$ 51,950

Common Stock (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Feb. 08, 2012	Feb. 28, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 02, 2012	Feb. 07, 2012	Feb. 02, 2012	Jan. 31, 2012
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Company's common stock began trading, date				Feb. 01, 2012
Initial public offering closure date			Feb. 07, 2012
Cash proceeds from issuance of common stock				$ 146,510	$ 592
Fees and costs for issue of shares				11,599	1,185	$ 2,100
Common Stock (Additional Textual) [Abstract]
Repayment of the outstanding under the Credit Agreement in full	$ 123,000	$ 123,000
Proceeds from stock options exercised for additional shares		$ 2,700		$ 2,660	$ 837
Class A [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Common stock for sale				56,697,718		42,916,668
Matador Resources Company [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Common stock for sale								11,666,667
Matador Resources Company [Member] \| Over-allotments [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Common stock for sale							542,500
Initial Public Offering [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Initial public offering of its common stock description				On August 12, 2011, the Company filed a Form S-1 Registration Statement under the Securities Act of 1933 to commence the initial public offering of its common stock (the “Initial Public Offering”). The Company’s Registration Statement (File 333-176263), as amended, was declared effective by the SEC on February 1, 2012. The underwriters for the Company’s Initial Public Offering were RBC Capital Markets, LLC; Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.; Jefferies & Company, Inc.; Howard Weil Incorporated; Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated; Simmons & Company International; Stephens Inc.; and Comerica Securities, Inc.
Initial offering price per share									$ 12.00
Common stock for sale										13,333,334
Fees and costs for issue of shares				$ 3,500
Initial Public Offering [Member] \| Over-allotments [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Common stock for sale							1,550,000
Selling shareholders [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Common stock for sale								1,666,667
Selling shareholders [Member] \| Over-allotments [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Common stock for sale							1,007,500
Common stock [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Fees and costs for issue of shares				$ 13,400
Common stock [Member] \| Class A [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Initial offering price per share			$ 12.00
Issuance of common stock				12,209
Cash proceeds from issuance of common stock				$ 136,600
Conversion of Class B common stock to Class A common stock, shares				1,031
Issuance of additional shares of common stock		295,500		295,000
Underwriters [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Initial offering price per share								$ 12.00
Initial public offering closure date			Mar. 07, 2012
Initial offering period			30 days
Underwriting discounts and commissions				$ 9,900
Underwriters [Member] \| Matador Resources Company [Member] \| Right [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Common stock for sale								1,300,000
Underwriters [Member] \| Initial Public Offering [Member] \| Right [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Common stock for sale								2,000,000
Underwriters [Member] \| Selling shareholders [Member] \| Right [Member]
Common Stock (Textual) [Abstract]
Common stock for sale								700,000

Derivative Financial Instruments (Details) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
Derivative Financial Instruments (Details) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($) bbl / mo MMBTU / mo $ / MMBTU $ / bbl	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 8,133	$ 9,282
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Natural Gas contract 1 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo	100,000
Price Floor \| $ / MMBTU	3.00
Price Ceiling \| $ / MMBTU	4.95
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Natural Gas contract 2 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo	100,000
Price Floor \| $ / MMBTU	3.00
Price Ceiling \| $ / MMBTU	4.96
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Natural Gas contract 3 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	01/01/2014 - 12/31/2014
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo	100,000
Price Floor \| $ / MMBTU	3.25
Price Ceiling \| $ / MMBTU	5.37
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Natural Gas Contract 4 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	01/01/2014 - 12/31/2014
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo	100,000
Price Floor \| $ / MMBTU	3.25
Price Ceiling \| $ / MMBTU	5.42
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 5,616
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 1 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 12/31/2012
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	20,000
Price Floor	90.00
Price Ceiling	104.20
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 113
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 2 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 12/31/2012
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	10,000
Price Floor	90.00
Price Ceiling	108.00
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 65
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 3 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 12/31/2012
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	10,000
Price Floor	90.00
Price Ceiling	109.50
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 68
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 4 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 12/31/2012
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	20,000
Price Floor	90.00
Price Ceiling	111.00
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 139
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 5 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 12/31/2012
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	20,000
Price Floor	90.00
Price Ceiling	111.90
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 141
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 6 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 12/31/2012
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	20,000
Price Floor	95.00
Price Ceiling	116.00
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 291
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 7 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 03/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	20,000
Price Floor	90.00
Price Ceiling	110.00
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 356
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 8 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	01/01/2013 – 12/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	20,000
Price Floor	85.00
Price Ceiling	102.25
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 61
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 9 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	01/01/2013 – 12/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	20,000
Price Floor	90.00
Price Ceiling	115.00
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 1,233
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 10 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	01/01/2013 – 12/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	20,000
Price Floor	85.00
Price Ceiling	110.40
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 598
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 11 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	01/01/2013 – 12/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	20,000
Price Floor	85.00
Price Ceiling	108.80
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 515
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 12 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	01/01/2013 – 06/30/2014
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	8,000
Price Floor	90.00
Price Ceiling	114.00
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 794
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Oil [Member] \| Oil contract 13 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	01/01/2013 – 06/30/2014
Notional Quantity \| bbl / mo	12,000
Price Floor	90.00
Price Ceiling	115.50
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 1,242
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Natural Gas [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 2,472
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Natural Gas [Member] \| Natural Gas contract 1 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 12/31/2012
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo	300,000
Price Floor \| $ / MMBTU	4.50
Price Ceiling \| $ / MMBTU	5.60
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 1,067
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Natural Gas [Member] \| Natural Gas contract 2 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 12/31/2012
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo	150,000
Price Floor \| $ / MMBTU	4.25
Price Ceiling \| $ / MMBTU	6.17
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 424
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Natural Gas [Member] \| Natural Gas contract 3 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 12/31/2012
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo	70,000
Price Floor \| $ / MMBTU	2.50
Price Ceiling \| $ / MMBTU	3.34
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ (36)
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Natural Gas [Member] \| Natural Gas Contract 4 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 07/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo	150,000
Price Floor \| $ / MMBTU	4.50
Price Ceiling \| $ / MMBTU	5.75
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ 1,398
Open costless collar contracts [Member] \| Natural Gas [Member] \| Natural Gas Contract 5 [Member]
Summary of contracts for oil and natural gas
Calculation Period	10/01/2012 – 12/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo	100,000
Price Floor \| $ / MMBTU	3.00
Price Ceiling \| $ / MMBTU	3.83
Fair Value of Asset (Liability) \| $	$ (381)

Derivative Financial Instruments (Details 1) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
Derivative Financial Instruments (Details 1) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($) Gallons / mo $ / Gallons	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 8,133	$ 9,282
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 45
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Natural Gas contract 2 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 3
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	6,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	2.150
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Purity Ethane contract 1 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	55,700
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	0.333
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Purity Ethane contract 2 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	55,700
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	0.337
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Purity Ethane contract 3 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ (41)
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	110,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	0.335
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Purity Ethane contract 4 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ (15)
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	110,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	0.355
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Propane contract 1 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 1
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	27,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	0.945
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Propane contract 2 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 5
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	27,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	0.992
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Propane contract 3 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 7
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	53,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	0.953
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Propane contract 4 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 38
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	53,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	1.001
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Normal Butane contract 1 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	7,500
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	1.465
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Normal Butane contract 2 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 3
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	7,500
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	1.580
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Normal Butane contract 3 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	10/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ (3)
Notional Quantity \| $ / Gallons	14,700
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	1.455
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Normal Butane contract 4 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	01/01/2013 – 12/31/2013
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 16
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	14,700
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	1.560
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Isobutane contract 1 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ (2)
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	4,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	1.535
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Isobutane contract 2 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ (1)
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	4,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	1.675
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Isobutane contract 3 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ (7)
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	7,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	1.515
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Isobutane contract 4 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 3
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	7,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	1.625
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Natural Gasoline contract 1 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	10/01/2012 - 12/31/2012
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 2
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	6,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	2.095
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Natural Gasoline contract 3 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 17
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	12,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	2.085
NGL's [Member] \| Open Swap Contract [Member] \| Natural Gasoline contract 4 [Member]
Open Swap Contracts For Natural Gas Liquid
Calculation Period For Natural Gas Liquid	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Fair Value of Asset (Liability)	$ 19
Notional Quantity \| Gallons / mo	12,000
Fixed Price \| $ / Gallons	2.102

Derivative Financial Instruments (Details 2) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets
Current assets: Derivative instruments	$ 6,395	$ 8,989
Current liabilities: Derivative instruments		171
Other assets: Derivative instruments	1,880	847
Long-term liabilities: Derivative instruments	142	383
Total Fair Value	8,133	9,282
Oil [Member] \| Current liabilities [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets
Current liabilities: Derivative instruments		(171)
Oil [Member] \| Long-term liabilities [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets
Long-term liabilities: Derivative instruments		(383)
Oil [Member] \| Current Assets [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets
Current assets: Derivative instruments	3,736
Oil [Member] \| Other assets [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets
Other assets: Derivative instruments	1,880
Natural Gas [Member] \| Long-term liabilities [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets
Long-term liabilities: Derivative instruments	(138)
Natural Gas [Member] \| Current Assets [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets
Current assets: Derivative instruments	2,610	8,989
Natural Gas [Member] \| Other assets [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets
Other assets: Derivative instruments		847
NGL's [Member] \| Long-term liabilities [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets
Long-term liabilities: Derivative instruments	(4)
NGL's [Member] \| Current Assets [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated balance sheets
Current assets: Derivative instruments	$ 49

Derivative Financial Instruments (Details 3) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated statements of operations
Realized gain on derivatives	$ 3,371	$ 1,435	$ 11,147	$ 4,237
Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives	(12,993)	2,870	(1,149)	1,534
Total	(9,622)	4,305	9,998	5,771
Revenues [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated statements of operations
Realized gain on derivatives	3,371	1,435	11,147	4,237
Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives	(12,993)	2,870	(1,149)	1,534
Oil [Member] \| Revenues [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated statements of operations
Realized gain on derivatives	374		1,093
Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives	(9,053)		(7,364)
Natural Gas [Member] \| Revenues [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated statements of operations
Realized gain on derivatives	2,996	1,435	10,053	4,237
Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives	(3,985)	2,870	6,170	1,534
NGL's [Member] \| Revenues [Member]
Summary of location and aggregate fair value of all derivative financial instruments recorded in the consolidated statements of operations
Realized gain on derivatives	1		1
Unrealized (loss) gain on derivatives	$ 45		$ 45

Fair Value Measurements (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Assets
Certificates of deposit	$ 266	$ 1,335
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives	8,133	9,282
Liabilities
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives	8,133	9,282
Fair value on a recurring basis [Member]
Assets
Certificates of deposit	266	1,335
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives	8,275	9,836
Liabilities
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives	8,275	9,836
Total	8,399	10,617
Fair value on a recurring basis [Member] \| Oil [Member]
Assets
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives	(142)	(554)
Liabilities
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives	(142)	(554)
Fair value on a recurring basis [Member] \| Level 1 [Member]
Assets
Certificates of deposit
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives
Liabilities
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives
Total
Fair value on a recurring basis [Member] \| Level 1 [Member] \| Oil [Member]
Assets
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives
Liabilities
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives
Fair value on a recurring basis [Member] \| Level 1 [Member] \| Natural Gas [Member]
Assets
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives
Liabilities
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives
Fair value on a recurring basis [Member] \| Level 2 [Member]
Assets
Certificates of deposit	266	1,335
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives		9,836
Liabilities
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives		9,836
Total	8,399	10,617
Fair value on a recurring basis [Member] \| Level 2 [Member] \| Oil [Member]
Assets
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives	(142)	(554)
Liabilities
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives	(142)	(554)
Fair value on a recurring basis [Member] \| Level 2 [Member] \| Natural Gas [Member]
Assets
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives	8,275
Liabilities
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives	8,275
Fair value on a recurring basis [Member] \| Level 3 [Member]
Assets
Certificates of deposit
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives
Liabilities
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives
Total
Fair value on a recurring basis [Member] \| Level 3 [Member] \| Oil [Member]
Assets
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives
Liabilities
Oil, natural gas and NGL derivatives

Fair Value Measurements (Details 1) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Assets (Liabilities)
Lease and well equipment inventory	$ 1,478	$ 1,343
Fair value on a non-recurring basis [Member]
Assets (Liabilities)
Lease and well equipment inventory		1,343
Total	(459)	1,156
Fair value on a non-recurring basis [Member] \| Asset retirement obligations [Member]
Assets (Liabilities)
Asset retirement obligations	(459)	(187)
Fair value on a non-recurring basis [Member] \| Level 1 [Member]
Assets (Liabilities)
Lease and well equipment inventory
Total
Fair value on a non-recurring basis [Member] \| Level 1 [Member] \| Asset retirement obligations [Member]
Assets (Liabilities)
Asset retirement obligations
Fair value on a non-recurring basis [Member] \| Level 2 [Member]
Assets (Liabilities)
Lease and well equipment inventory
Total
Fair value on a non-recurring basis [Member] \| Level 2 [Member] \| Asset retirement obligations [Member]
Assets (Liabilities)
Asset retirement obligations
Fair value on a non-recurring basis [Member] \| Level 3 [Member]
Assets (Liabilities)
Lease and well equipment inventory		1,343
Total	(459)	1,156
Fair value on a non-recurring basis [Member] \| Level 3 [Member] \| Asset retirement obligations [Member]
Assets (Liabilities)
Asset retirement obligations	$ (459)	$ (187)

Fair Value Measurements (Details Textual) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Fair Value Measurements (Details Textual) - USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Fair Value Measurements (Additional Textual) [Abstract]
Additions to asset retirement obligations		$ 459,158	$ 186,873
Drilling rig [Member]
Fair Value Measurements (Textual) [Abstract]
Impairment to some of its equipment held in inventory			17,500
Pipe and other equipment [Member]
Fair Value Measurements (Textual) [Abstract]
Impairment to some of its equipment held in inventory			$ 22,276
Any equipment [Member]
Fair Value Measurements (Textual) [Abstract]
Impairment to some of its equipment held in inventory	$ 0	$ 0

Commitments and Contingencies (Details) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)
Summary of aggregate undiscounted minimum commitments
2012	$ 780
2013	5,985
2014	4,731
2015	2,992
2016	1,800
Thereafter	1,195
Total	$ 17,483

Commitments and Contingencies (Details Textual)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Commitments and Contingencies (Details Textual)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($) ft² a	Aug. 01, 2012 a	May 15, 2008
Commitments and Contingencies (Textual) [Abstract]
Transportation and processing fees under the agreement	$ 64,000	$ 64,000
Commitments and Contingencies (Additional Textual) [Abstract]
Term of lease		July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2022
Effective base rent per square foot per year		$ 19.75
Extension of contracts		9 months
Term of new contract drilling rig		1 year
Maximum termination outstanding obligations of contracts		$ 3,700,000
Minimum outstanding commitments		$ 3,600,000
Expected period for incurring costs		12 months
Issue on the deep rights below the Cotton Valley formation \| a		1,805
Right to participate in working capital		25.00%
Company's total revenue and overriding royalty interests on the acreage range Min		2.00%
Company's total revenue and overriding royalty interests on the acreage range Max		23.00%
Loss contingency, lawsuit filing date		May 15, 2008
Royalty owner undivided interest in mineral				0.167
Acres reformed by court \| a			169
Rights on remaining acres \| a			1,636
Minimum delivery commitment to avoid paying gas deficiency fee		80.00%
Percentage of minimum delivery commitment to anticipated production		80.00%
Maximum [Member]
Commitments and Contingencies (Textual) [Abstract]
Potential loss to the company		$ 6,000,000
Minimum [Member]
Commitments and Contingencies (Textual) [Abstract]
Potential loss to the company		$ 0
Area of Land [Member] \| Lease agreements [Member]
Commitments and Contingencies (Textual) [Abstract]
Office space of headquarters \| ft²		28,743

Supplemental Disclosures (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Summary of current accrued liabilities
Other	$ 4,377	$ 2,937
Total accrued liabilities	50,262	25,439
Accrued evaluated and unproved and unevaluated property costs [Member]
Summary of current accrued liabilities
Total accrued liabilities	39,813	18,185
Accrued support equipment and facilities costs [Member]
Summary of current accrued liabilities
Total accrued liabilities	590	216
Accrued cost to issue equity [Member]
Summary of current accrued liabilities
Total accrued liabilities		332
Accrued stock-based compensation [Member]
Summary of current accrued liabilities
Total accrued liabilities	586	2,860
Accrued lease operating expenses [Member]
Summary of current accrued liabilities
Total accrued liabilities	4,506	575
Accrued interest on borrowings under Credit Agreement [Member]
Summary of current accrued liabilities
Total accrued liabilities	43
Accrued asset retirement obligations [Member]
Summary of current accrued liabilities
Total accrued liabilities	$ 347	$ 334

Supplemental Disclosures (Details 1) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information
Cash paid for interest expense, net of amounts capitalized	$ 442	$ 201
Asset retirement obligations related to mineral properties	405	437
Asset retirement obligations related to support equipment and facilities	54	15
Increase (decrease) in liabilities for oil and natural gas properties capital expenditures	19,067	(3,638)
Increase in liabilities for support equipment and facilities	482	112
Issuance of restricted stock units for Board and advisor services	34
Issuance of common stock for Board and advisor services	71	125
Decrease in liabilities for accrued cost to issue equity	(332)	(173)
Stock-based compensation expense recognized as liability	(930)	1,254
Transfer of costs to support equipment and facilities from oil and natural gas properties capital expenditures		129
Transfer of inventory from oil and natural gas properties	$ (91)	$ (313)

Subsequent Events (Details)		9 Months Ended
Subsequent Events (Details)	Oct. 31, 2012 gal $ / Gallons	Sep. 30, 2012 MMBTU / mo $ / MMBTU
Natural Gas contract 1 [Member] \| Costless Collar Contracts [Member]
Open Costless Collar Contracts For Natural Gas
Calculation Period		01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo		100,000
Price Floor		3.00
Price Ceiling		4.95
Natural Gas contract 1 [Member] \| Swap Contracts [Member]
Open Costless Collar Contracts For Natural Gas
Calculation Period	11/01/2012 - 11/30/2012
Notional Quantity \| gal	12,000
Commodity fixed price \| $ / Gallons	2.200
Natural Gas contract 2 [Member] \| Costless Collar Contracts [Member]
Open Costless Collar Contracts For Natural Gas
Calculation Period		01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo		100,000
Price Floor		3.00
Price Ceiling		4.96
Natural Gas contract 2 [Member] \| Swap Contracts [Member]
Open Costless Collar Contracts For Natural Gas
Calculation Period	12/01/2012 - 12/31/2012
Notional Quantity \| gal	12,000
Commodity fixed price \| $ / Gallons	2.120
Natural Gas contract 3 [Member] \| Costless Collar Contracts [Member]
Open Costless Collar Contracts For Natural Gas
Calculation Period		01/01/2014 - 12/31/2014
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo		100,000
Price Floor		3.25
Price Ceiling		5.37
Natural Gas contract 3 [Member] \| Swap Contracts [Member]
Open Costless Collar Contracts For Natural Gas
Calculation Period	01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Notional Quantity \| gal	12,000
Commodity fixed price \| $ / Gallons	2.025
Natural Gas Contract 4 [Member] \| Costless Collar Contracts [Member]
Open Costless Collar Contracts For Natural Gas
Calculation Period		01/01/2014 - 12/31/2014
Notional Quantity \| MMBTU / mo		100,000
Price Floor		3.25
Price Ceiling		5.42

Subsequent Events (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Nov. 08, 2012	Nov. 14, 2012	Nov. 09, 2012	Oct. 09, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jan. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Subsequent Events (Textual) [Abstract]
Additional borrowings under the Credit Agreement			$ 15.0	$ 14.0	$ 106.0	$ 123.0	$ 113.0
Borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement		$ 135.0
Outstanding letters of credit		1.1			$ 1.1
Additional borrowings outstanding letter of credit		$ 63.9
Restricted Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Restricted stock awarded to certain employees	73,000
Restricted stock, vesting in period	13,833
Grant date fair value of restricted stock awards	$ 0.6
Maximum [Member] \| Restricted Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Restricted stock, vesting date	2016-11
Minimum [Member] \| Restricted Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Restricted stock, vesting date	2013-11
Vesting date between November, 2014 and November, 2016 [Member] \| Restricted Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Restricted stock, vesting in period	59,167