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Commitments and Contingencies | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Securities and related litigation Commencing in June 2002, a number of class action lawsuits were filed against us in federal court alleging violations of the federal securities laws arising out of our change in accounting for revenue on long-term construction projects, our 1998 acquisition of Dresser Industries, Inc. and our reserves for asbestos liability exposure. In December 2016, we reached an agreement to settle these lawsuits and in July 2017, the district court issued final approval of the settlement. The above settlement resolved all pending cases other than Magruder v. Halliburton Co., et. al. (the Magruder case). The allegations in the Magruder case arise out of the same general events described above, but for a later class period, December 8, 2001 to May 28, 2002. Several dismissal motions have been filed in the Magruder case. On March 12, 2019, the case was dismissed with prejudice. The Magruder plaintiff did not appeal and the matter has been concluded. Environmental We are subject to numerous environmental, legal and regulatory requirements related to our operations worldwide. In the United States, these laws and regulations include, among others:
- | the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act;
- | the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act;
- | the Clean Air Act;
- | the Federal Water Pollution Control Act;
- | the Toxic Substances Control Act; and
- | the Oil Pollution Act.
In addition to the federal laws and regulations, states and other countries where we do business often have numerous environmental, legal, and regulatory requirements by which we must abide. We evaluate and address the environmental impact of our operations by assessing and remediating contaminated properties in order to avoid future liabilities and comply with environmental, legal and regulatory requirements. Our Health, Safety and Environment group has several programs in place to maintain environmental leadership and to help prevent the occurrence of environmental contamination. On occasion, we are involved in environmental litigation and claims, including the remediation of properties we own or have operated, as well as efforts to meet or correct compliance-related matters. We do not expect costs related to those claims and remediation requirements to have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, consolidated results of operations, or consolidated financial position. Our accrued liabilities for environmental matters were $49 million as of March 31, 2019 and $42 million as of December 31, 2018. Because our estimated liability is typically within a range and our accrued liability may be the amount on the low end of that range, our actual liability could eventually be well in excess of the amount accrued. Our total liability related to environmental matters covers numerous properties. Additionally, we have subsidiaries that have been named as potentially responsible parties along with other third parties for six federal and state Superfund sites for which we have established reserves. As of March 31, 2019, those six sites accounted for approximately $14 million of our $49 million total environmental reserve. Despite attempts to resolve these Superfund matters, the relevant regulatory agency may at any time bring suit against us for amounts in excess of the amount accrued. With respect to some Superfund sites, we have been named a potentially responsible party by a regulatory agency; however, in each of those cases, we do not believe we have any material liability. We also could be subject to third-party claims with respect to environmental matters for which we have been named as a potentially responsible party. Guarantee arrangements In the normal course of business, we have agreements with financial institutions under which approximately $2.1 billion of letters of credit, bank guarantees or surety bonds were outstanding as of March 31, 2019. Some of the outstanding letters of credit have triggering events that would entitle a bank to require cash collateralization. None of these off balance sheet arrangements either has, or is likely to have, a material effect on our condensed consolidated financial statements.

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