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	6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($) $ / d $ / bbl item bbl	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 26, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 17, 2018 USD ($)
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Joint owner obligation			$ 25,800
Gross lease liabilities			37,455
Abandonment Funding			11,550		$ 11,571
Accrued liabilities and other			$ 19,539		14,138
Charter fee for production up to 20,000 BOPD \| $ / bbl			0.93
Charter fee amount threshold \| bbl			20,000
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		$ 900
Number of drilled wells required by agreement \| item			2
Number of appraisal wells required by agreement \| item			2
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			$ 11,600
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			37,400
Loss contingency			$ 4,400
Gabon \| Subsequent Event
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency						$ 4,400
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			$ 53,900		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			$ 200		$ 200