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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2012
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
12. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES We have issued the following guarantees that are not recorded on our accompanying balance sheet (dollars in thousands):
|  | Term |  | Maximum Potential Undiscounted Payments as of March 31, 2012 |
Performance guarantees through letters of credit(1) |  | 2012-2016 |  | $ | 246,425 |
Standby letters of credit |  | 2012-2015 |  | 17,149 |
Commercial letters of credit |  | 2012 |  | 2,922 |
Bid bonds and performance bonds(1) |  | 2012-2018 |  | 121,403 |
Maximum potential undiscounted payments |  |  |  | $ | 387,899 |
(1) We have issued guarantees to third parties to ensure performance of our obligations, some of which may be fulfilled by third parties. As part of an acquisition in 2001, we may be required to make contingent payments of up to $46 million to the seller, depending on our realization of certain U.S. federal tax benefits through the year 2015. To date, we have not realized any such benefits that would require a payment and we do not anticipate realizing any such benefits that would require a payment before the year 2013. See Note 2 for a discussion of our gain contingency related to assets that were expropriated in Venezuela. Our business can be hazardous, involving unforeseen circumstances such as uncontrollable flows of natural gas or well fluids and fires or explosions. As is customary in our industry, we review our safety equipment and procedures and carry insurance against some, but not all, risks of our business. Our insurance coverage includes property damage, general liability and commercial automobile liability and other coverage we believe is appropriate. In addition, we have a minimal amount of insurance on our offshore assets. We believe that our insurance coverage is customary for the industry and adequate for our business; however, losses and liabilities not covered by insurance would increase our costs. Additionally, we are substantially self-insured for worker’s compensation and employee group health claims in view of the relatively high per-incident deductibles we absorb under our insurance arrangements for these risks. Losses up to the deductible amounts are estimated and accrued based upon known facts, historical trends and industry averages. In the ordinary course of business, we are involved in various pending or threatened legal actions. While management is unable to predict the ultimate outcome of these actions, we believe that any ultimate liability arising from these actions will not have a material effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Because of the inherent uncertainty of litigation, however, we cannot provide assurance that the resolution of any particular claim or proceeding to which we are a party will not have a material effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows for the period in which the resolution occurs.

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