Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Asset Retirement Obligations (Reconciliation Of Asset Retirement Obligations Liability) (Details)

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Asset Retirement Obligations (Reconciliation Of Asset Retirement Obligations Liability) (Details) (USD $)
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Dec. 31, 2011
Asset Retirement Obligations [Line Items]    
Balance, December 31, 2011 $ 393,880  
Liabilities settled (5,384)  
Accretion of discount 5,483  
Liabilities incurred 165  
Balance, March 31, 2012 368,479  
Less current portion 105,442 138,185
Long-term 263,037 255,695
Hurricane Ike[Member]
   
Asset Retirement Obligations [Line Items]    
Revisions of estimated liabilities (30,452) [1]  
All Other [Member]
   
Asset Retirement Obligations [Line Items]    
Revisions of estimated liabilities $ 4,787  
[1] During the three months ended March 31, 2012, the Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement (the "BSEE") approved our recommended remediation plan of one of the hurricane damaged platforms and its associated wells. The approved plan includes remediating the damaged platform as a reef in place. The approved plan for this one platform and its associated wells contributed to most of the reduction of the estimated costs.