| **ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS Asset Retirement Obligations (Tables)** | 12 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
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| **Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]**                  |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| Schedule of Change in Asset Retirement Obligation [Table Text Block]   | The following table presents the changes in carrying amounts of the asset retirement obligations associated with our working interest in natural gas and crude oil properties:  2012 2011 (in thousands)    Balance beginning of year, January 1$46,566 $28,047Obligations incurred with development activities and assumed with acquisitions14,169 9,625Accretion expense4,060 1,897Obligations discharged with disposal of properties and asset retirements(2,232) (990)Deconsolidation of PDCM and change in ownership interest— (916)Revisions in estimated cash flows— 8,903Balance end of year, December 31 (1)62,563 46,566Less current portion(1,000) (250)Long-term portion$61,563 $46,316    __________(1)Includes $2 million as of December 31, 2011 related to assets held for sale. |

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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of the changes in carrying amount of a liability for asset retirement obligations, for changes such as new obligations, changes in estimates of existing obligations, spending on existing obligations, property dispositions, and foreign currency translation.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 410 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6393242&loc=d3e13201-110859
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