VAALCO Energy, Inc. Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Commitments And Contingencies (Narrative) (Details)

Commitments And Contingencies (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($) $ / d $ / bbl item	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 26, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 17, 2018 USD ($)
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Joint owner obligation		$ 27,700
Abandonment Funding		11,390		$ 11,571
Accrued liabilities and other		$ 15,158		14,138
Charter fee for production up to 20,000 BOPD \| $ / bbl		0.93
Charter fee for those bbls produced in excess of 20,000 BOPD \| $ / bbl		2.50
Company's share of charter expense		$ 10,800
Rent expense, operating leases			$ 400
Number of drilled wells required by agreement \| item		2
Number of appraisal wells required by agreement \| item		2
Estimated costs of wells, gross amount		$ 61,200
Estimated costs of wells		20,500
Estimated costs of technical studies		1,300
Estimated costs of technical studies, net		400
Abandonment cost related to annual funding		61,800
Abandonment cost related to annual funding, net		$ 19,200
Payment of excise taxes	$ 1,300
Day rate of drilling rig contract \| $ / d		75,000
Maximum
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Lease terms		45 months
Minimum
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Lease terms		21 months
Potential Fees From Customs Audits [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Accrued liabilities and other				1,300
Gabon
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Abandonment Funding		$ 11,400
Contractual obligation							$ 21,800
Accrued liabilities, end of drilling activities, gross amount						$ 5,000
Accrued liabilities, end of drilling activities					$ 1,700
Abandonment funding, gross		$ 36,700
Offshore Gabon
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Production License Agreement Term Extended By Government		5 years
Percentage of annual funding over seven years		12.14%
Funding period for initial rate		7 years
Second funding period of production license		3 years
Percentage of annual funding over last three years		5.00%
Funding period abandonment funding		10 years
Number of contract extension periods \| item		2
Full Charter Payment [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Contractual obligation				53,928
FPSO Charter [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of extensions \| item		2
Period of charter (in years)		1 year
Percentage of share in charter payment		31.10%
Share in charter payment, approximate annual amount		$ 9,700
Liabilities, guarantees' fair value		$ 300		$ 300