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Other Long-Term Liabilities
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Subclassifications of assets, liabilities and equities [abstract]  
Other Long-Term Liabilities Other Long-Term Liabilities
 2023

2022
Asset retirement obligations$7,690 

$6,908 
Lease liabilities (note 8)
1,555 1,540 
Share-based compensation780 832 
Transportation and processing contracts (1)
87 

159 
Risk management (note 19)
4 

3 
Other73 

92 
 10,189 9,534 
Less: current portion1,503 

1,373 
 $8,686 $8,161 
(1)Product transportation and processing obligations assumed from acquisitions in prior years (note 7).
ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS
The Company’s asset retirement obligations are expected to be settled on an ongoing basis over a period of approximately 60 years and discounted using a weighted average discount rate of 5.2% (2022 – 5.6%; 2021 – 4.0%) and inflation rates of up to 2% (December 31, 2022 – up to 2%). Reconciliations of the discounted asset retirement obligations were as follows:
 
202320222021
Balance – beginning of year
$6,908 

$6,806 

$5,861 
Liabilities incurred
25 

20 

5 
Liabilities acquired, net
— 

11 

76 
Liabilities settled
(509)

(449)

(307)
Asset retirement obligation accretion
366 281 185 
Revision of cost, inflation and timing estimates (1)
621 897 

508 
Impact of regulatory changes (2)
— 

982 1,208 
Change in discount rates
314 

(1,698)

(723)
Foreign exchange adjustments
(35)

58 

(7)
Balance – end of year
7,690 6,908 6,806 
Less: current portion
634 

495 

249 
 
$7,056 $6,413 $6,557 
(1)Includes normal course revisions of cost, inflation and timing estimates, as well as revisions related to the acceleration of the abandonment and subsequent cost estimate increases on future abandonment at the Ninian field in the North Sea in 2022 and 2023.
(2)Reflects changes to the estimated timing of settlement of the Company's asset retirement obligations due to provincial regulatory changes in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan in 2022 and 2021.
Segmented Asset Retirement Obligations
 
2023

2022
Exploration and Production
 

 
North America
$4,471 

$4,326 
North Sea
1,441 

1,011 
Offshore Africa
165 

143 
Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading
1,612 

1,427 
Midstream and Refining
1 

1 
 
$7,690 $6,908 
SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
The liability for share-based compensation includes costs incurred under the Company’s Option and PSU plans. The Company’s Option Plan provides current employees with the right to elect to receive common shares or a cash payment in exchange for stock options surrendered. The PSU plan provides certain executive employees of the Company with the right to receive a cash payment, the amount of which is determined with reference to the value of the Company's shares, and by individual employee performance and the extent to which certain other performance measures are met.
The Company recognizes a liability for potential cash settlements under these plans. The current portion of the liability represents the maximum amount of the liability payable within the next twelve month period if all vested stock options and PSUs are settled in cash.
 
202320222021
Balance – beginning of year
$832 $489 $160 
Share-based compensation expense
491 804 514 
Cash payment for stock options surrendered and PSUs vested
(110)(79)(48)
Transferred to common shares
(435)(387)(139)
Other
2 5 2 
Balance – end of year
780 832 489 
Less: current portion
538 559 329 
 
$242 $273 $160 
Included within share-based compensation liability as at December 31, 2023 was $96 million (2022 – $127 million; 2021 – $90 million) related to PSUs granted to certain executive employees.
The fair value of stock options outstanding was estimated using the Black-Scholes valuation model with the following weighted average assumptions:
 202320222021
Fair value$35.93 $32.96 $16.98 
Share price$86.81 $75.19 $53.45 
Expected volatility30.9%35.8%35.5%
Expected dividend yield4.6%4.5%4.4%
Risk free interest rate3.6%3.8%1.1%
Expected forfeiture rate5.4%5.0%4.7%
Expected stock option life (1)
4.2 years
4.2 years
4.2 years
(1)At original time of grant.
The intrinsic value of vested stock options at December 31, 2023 was $164 million (2022 – $208 million; 2021 – $112 million).