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Asset Retirement Obligations and Accrued Environmental Costs
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]  
Asset Retirement Obligations and Accrued Environmental Costs
Note 10—Asset Retirement Obligations and Accrued
 
Environmental Costs
 
Asset retirement obligations and accrued environmental
 
costs at December 31 were:
Millions of Dollars
2019
2018
Asset retirement obligations
$
6,206
7,908
Accrued environmental costs
171
178
Total asset retirement obligations and accrued environmental costs
6,377
8,086
Asset retirement obligations and accrued environmental
 
costs due within one year*
(1,025)
(398)
Long-term asset retirement obligations and accrued
 
environmental costs
$
5,352
7,688
*Classified as a current
 
liability on the balance sheet
 
under “Other accruals.” $
741
 
million relates to assets which
 
are held for sale as
 
of
December 31, 2019. For additional
 
information see Note 5—Asset Acquisitions
 
and Dispositions.
Asset Retirement Obligations
We
 
record the fair value of a liability for an ARO when it
 
is incurred (typically when the asset is installed at
the production location).
 
When the liability is initially recorded, we capitalize
 
the associated asset retirement
cost by increasing the carrying amount of the related PP&E.
 
If, in subsequent periods, our estimate of this
liability changes, we will record an adjustment
 
to both the liability and PP&E.
 
Over time, the liability
increases for the change in its present value, while the
 
capitalized cost depreciates over the useful life of the
related asset.
 
 
We
 
have numerous AROs we are required to
 
perform under law or contract once an
 
asset is permanently taken
out of service.
 
Most of these obligations are not expected
 
to be paid until several years, or decades, in the
future and will be funded from general company resources
 
at the time of removal.
 
Our largest individual
obligations involve plugging and abandonment of
 
wells and removal and disposal of offshore oil and gas
platforms around the world, as well as oil and gas production
 
facilities and pipelines in Alaska.
During 2019 and 2018, our overall ARO changed
 
as follows:
Millions of Dollars
2019
2018
Balance at January 1
$
7,908
7,798
Accretion of discount
322
348
New obligations
155
657
Changes in estimates of existing obligations
50
(266)
Spending on existing obligations
(229)
(228)
Property dispositions
(1,920)
(161)
Foreign currency translation
(80)
(240)
Balance at December 31
$
6,206
7,908
Accrued Environmental Costs
Total accrued environmental costs at December 31, 2019 and 2018, were $
171
 
million and $
178
 
million,
respectively.
 
 
We
 
had accrued environmental costs of $
112
 
million and $
100
 
million at December 31, 2019 and 2018,
respectively, related to remediation activities in the U.S.
 
and Canada.
 
We had also accrued in Corporate and
Other $
47
 
million and $
67
 
million of environmental costs associated with
 
sites no longer in operation at
December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
 
In addition, $
12
 
million and $
11
 
million were included at both
December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, where the company has been named
 
a potentially responsible party
under the Federal Comprehensive Environmental
 
Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or similar
 
state
laws.
 
Accrued environmental liabilities are expected
 
to be paid over periods extending up to
30
 
years.
 
Expected expenditures for environmental obligations
 
acquired in various business combinations are discounted
using a weighted-average
5
 
percent discount factor, resulting in an accrued balance
 
for acquired environmental
liabilities of $
97
 
million at December 31, 2019.
 
The expected future undiscounted payments related
 
to the
portion of the accrued environmental costs that
 
have been discounted are: $
10
 
million in 2020, $
7
 
million in
2021, $
10
 
million in 2022, $
3
 
million in 2023, $
2
 
million in 2024, and $
108
 
million for all future years
after 2024.