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Recent Accounting Pronouncements
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011
Recent Accounting Pronouncements  
Recent Accounting Pronouncements

(4) Recent Accounting Pronouncements

     In July 2010, the "Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act" ("Wall Street Reform Act") was signed into law. The Wall Street Reform Act permanently exempts small public companies with less than $75 million in market capitalization (nonaccelerated filers) from the requirement to obtain an external audit on the effectiveness of internal financial reporting controls provided in Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404(b) requires a registrant to provide an attestation report on management's assessment of internal controls over financial reporting by the registrant's external auditor. Disclosure of management's assessment of internal controls over financial reporting under existing Section 404(a) is still required for nonaccelerated filers.

     In February, 2010, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2010-09, effective immediately, which amended ASC Topic 855, Subsequent Events. The amendment was made to address concerns about conflicts with SEC guidance and other practice issues.

     Among the provisions of the amendment, the FASB defined a new type of entity, termed an "SEC filer," which is an entity required to file with or furnish its financial statements to the SEC. Entities other than registrants whose financial statements are included in SEC filings (e.g., businesses or real estate operations acquired or to be acquired, equity method investees, and entities whose securities collateralize registered securities) are not SEC filers.

     While an SEC filer is still required by U.S. GAAP to evaluate subsequent events through the date its financial statements are issued, it is no longer required to disclose in the financial statements that it has done so or the date through which subsequent events have been evaluated. The Company does not believe the changes have a material impact on its results of operations or financial position.

     In January 2010, the FASB issued ASU 2010-06, "Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (Topic 820): Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements". This update requires more robust disclosures about valuation techniques and inputs to fair value measurements. The update is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2009. This update had no material effect on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

     On December 31, 2008, the SEC published the final rules and interpretations updating its oil and gas reporting requirements ("Modernization of Oil and Gas Reporting"). In January 2010, the FASB released ASU 2010-03, Extractive Activities - Oil and Gas ("Topic 932"); Oil and Gas Reserve Estimation and Disclosures, aligning U.S. GAAP standards with the SEC's new rules. Many of the revisions were updates to definitions in the existing oil and gas rules to make them consistent with the petroleum resource management system, which is a widely accepted standard for the management of petroleum resources that was developed by several industry organizations. Key revisions include: (a) changes to the pricing used to estimate reserves utilizing a 12-month average price rather than a single day spot price which eliminates the ability to utilize subsequent prices to the end of a reporting period when the full cost ceiling was exceeded and subsequent pricing exceeds pricing at the end of a reporting period; (b) the ability to include nontraditional resources in reserves; (c) the use of new technology for determining reserves; and (d) permitting disclosure of probable and possible reserves. The SEC requires companies to comply with the amended disclosure requirements for registration statements filed after January 1, 2010, and for annual reports on Form 10-K for fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2009. ASU 2010-03 is effective for annual periods ending on or after December 31, 2009. Adoption of Topic 932 did not have a material impact on the Company's results of operations or financial position. In April 2010, the FASB issued ASU 2010-14, Accounting for Extractive Activities-Oil & Gas: Amendments to Paragraph 932-10-S99-1. This ASU amends terminology as defined in Topic 932-10-S99-1.