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

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Commitments and Contingencies (Details)

Commitments and Contingencies (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended			1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2012 Y	May 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012 Well	Dec. 31, 2011	Nov. 01, 2010	Sep. 30, 2012 Offshore Gabon [Member] sqkm Well	Jul. 31, 2012 Offshore Gabon [Member] Barrels	Jul. 17, 2011 Offshore Gabon [Member]	Apr. 30, 2012 Onshore Gabon [Member] sqkm	Oct. 31, 2010 Onshore Gabon [Member] sqkm	Nov. 01, 2010 Onshore Gabon [Member]	Jan. 31, 2007 Angola [Member] sqkm	Nov. 30, 2006 Angola [Member] Well acre	Jun. 30, 2012 Angola [Member]	Dec. 31, 2008 Angola [Member] sqkm	Sep. 30, 2012 Angola [Member] sqkm	Sep. 30, 2011 United States - Montana [Member] Well acre	Sep. 30, 2012 United States South Dakota [Member] acre	May 31, 2011 United States - Sheridan County, Montana [Member] acre Well
Commitments and Contingencies (Textual) [Abstract]
Cost for acquire property							$ 5.3
Number of exploration wells							2							2				3
Length of acquired property							150
Additional reprocess length of acquired property										350
Cost related to drilling							8.6							29.5
Cost related to share of drilling							2.6
Acquisition related to obligation							223
Annual funding related to production license, term							10 years
Percentage of annual funding over seven years							12.14%
Percentage of annual funding over last three years							5.00%
Abandonment cost related to annual funding							9.6
Length of acquired property											400		1,175			524	1,000
Joint operation agreement related to third party in working interest percentage												50.00%		40.00%
Percentage of reprocessing costs and exploration well drilling costs						75.00%
Production license agreement term														4 years
Area under acquire property exploration rights agreement term														1,400,000
Additional Joint operation agreement related to third party in working interest percentage														10.00%
Drilling cost to company														14.8
Cost related to seismic obligation													7.5			6.0
Seismic obligation cost to company													3.75			3.00
Full allowance against accounts receivable from partners				5.4	4.4												5.4
Allowance recorded for accounts receivable with remainder				1.0
Production license agreement term extended by government														3 years
Percentage of working interest acquired															40.00%			65.00%	100.00%	70.00%
Gross area of acquired property																		22,000	10,000	5,200
Net area of acquired property																		14,300		3,640
Additional year granted to drill exploration commitment wells.	2
Well penalty, minimum				5.0
Well penalty, maximum				10.0
Recorded restricted cash				10.0
Number of well exploration				2																2
Dry hole expense			2.9
Additional amount to drill and complete an additional well																			3.6
Fixed royalty rate									13.00%
Number of barrels								19,000
Percentage of working interest for amounts owned																	40.00%
Percentage of carried interest																	10.00%
Capitalized costs for Bolke 11-1H																				4.6
Capitalized costs for Bolke 7-01H																				$ 2.7
Lease expiration date description		Expiration dates ranging from September 2013 to October 2019