Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

20. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

General

U.S. GAAP requires or permits certain assets and liabilities to be measured at fair value on a recurring or nonrecurring basis in our balance sheets, and those assets and liabilities are presented below under “Recurring Fair Value Measurements” and “Nonrecurring Fair Value Measurements.” Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis, such as derivative financial instruments, are measured at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis, such as the impairment of property, plant and equipment, are measured at fair value in particular circumstances.

U.S. GAAP also requires the disclosure of the fair values of financial instruments when an option to elect fair value accounting has been provided, but such election has not been made. A debt obligation is an example of such a financial instrument. The disclosure of the fair values of financial instruments not recognized at fair value in our balance sheet is presented below under “Other Financial Instruments.”

U.S. GAAP provides a framework for measuring fair value and establishes a three-level fair value hierarchy that prioritizes inputs to valuation techniques based on the degree to which objective prices in external active markets are available to measure fair value. The following is a description of each of the levels of the fair value hierarchy.

•Level 1 - Observable inputs, such as unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

•Level 2 - Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets and quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.

•Level 3 - Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability. Unobservable inputs reflect our own assumptions about what market participants would use to price the asset or liability. The inputs are developed based on the best information available in the circumstances, which might include occasional market quotes or sales of similar instruments or our own financial data such as internally developed pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies, as well as instruments for which the fair value determination requires significant judgment.

Recurring Fair Value Measurements

The following tables present information (in millions) about our assets and liabilities recognized at their fair values in our balance sheets categorized according to the fair value hierarchy of the inputs utilized by us to determine the fair values as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.

We have elected to offset the fair value amounts recognized for multiple similar derivative contracts executed with the same counterparty, including any related cash collateral assets or obligations as shown below; however, fair value amounts by hierarchy level are presented in the following tables on a gross basis. We have no derivative contracts that are subject to master netting arrangements that are reflected gross on the balance sheet.


	December 31, 2020
							Total Gross Fair Value		Effect of Counter- party Netting		Effect of Cash Collateral Netting		Net Carrying Value on Balance Sheet		Cash Collateral Paid or Received Not Offset
	Fair Value Hierarchy
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets
Commodity derivative contracts	$	403	$	—	$	—	$	403	$	(373)	$	(18)	$	12	$	—
Physical purchase contracts	—		13		—		13		n/a		n/a		13		n/a

Investments of certain benefit plans	74		—		8		82		n/a		n/a		82		n/a

Total	$	477	$	13	$	8	$	498	$	(373)	$	(18)	$	107

Liabilities
Commodity derivative contracts	$	405	$	—	$	—	$	405	$	(373)	$	(32)	$	—	$	(44)
Environmental credit obligations	—		96		—		96		n/a		n/a		96		n/a

Foreign currency contracts	4		—		—		4		n/a		n/a		4		n/a

Total	$	409	$	96	$	—	$	505	$	(373)	$	(32)	$	100


	December 31, 2019
							Total Gross Fair Value		Effect of Counter- party Netting		Effect of Cash Collateral Netting		Net Carrying Value on Balance Sheet		Cash Collateral Paid or Received Not Offset
	Fair Value Hierarchy
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets
Commodity derivative contracts	$	617	$	—	$	—	$	617	$	(612)	$	—	$	5	$	—

Foreign currency contracts	27		—		—		27		n/a		n/a		27		n/a
Investments of certain benefit plans	65		—		9		74		n/a		n/a		74		n/a

Total	$	709	$	—	$	9	$	718	$	(612)	$	—	$	106

Liabilities
Commodity derivative contracts	$	668	$	—	$	—	$	668	$	(612)	$	(56)	$	—	$	(84)
Environmental credit obligations	—		2		—		2		n/a		n/a		2		n/a
Physical purchase contracts	—		3		—		3		n/a		n/a		3		n/a
Foreign currency contracts	10		—		—		10		n/a		n/a		10		n/a
Total	$	678	$	5	$	—	$	683	$	(612)	$	(56)	$	15

A description of our assets and liabilities recognized at fair value along with the valuation methods and inputs we used to develop their fair value measurements are as follows:

•Commodity derivative contracts consist primarily of exchange-traded futures, which are used to reduce the impact of price volatility on our results of operations and cash flows as discussed in Note 21. These contracts are measured at fair value using a market approach based on quoted prices from the commodity exchange and are categorized in Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy.

•Physical purchase contracts represent the fair value of fixed-price corn purchase contracts. The fair values of these purchase contracts are measured using a market approach based on quoted prices from the commodity exchange or an independent pricing service and are categorized in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

•Investments of certain benefit plans consist of investment securities held by trusts for the purpose of satisfying a portion of our obligations under certain U.S. nonqualified benefit plans. The plan assets categorized in Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy are measured at fair value using a market approach based on quoted prices from national securities exchanges. The plan assets categorized in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy represent insurance contracts, the fair value of which is provided by the insurer.

•Foreign currency contracts consist of foreign currency exchange and purchase contracts and foreign currency swap agreements related to our international operations to manage our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations on transactions denominated in currencies other than the local (functional) currencies of our operations. These contracts are valued based on quoted foreign currency exchange rates and are categorized in Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy.

•Environmental credit obligations represent our liability for the purchase of (i) biofuel credits (primarily RINs in the U.S.) needed to satisfy our obligation to blend biofuels into the products we produce and (ii) emission credits under the California Global Warming Solutions Act (the California cap-and-trade system, also known as AB 32) and similar programs, (collectively, the cap-and-trade systems). To the degree we are unable to blend biofuels (such as ethanol and biodiesel) at percentages required under the biofuel programs, we must purchase biofuel credits to comply with these programs. Under the cap-and-trade systems, we must purchase emission credits to comply with these systems. These programs are described in Note 21 under “Risk Management Activities by Type of Risk—Environmental Compliance Program Price Risk.” The liability for environmental credits is based on our deficit for such credits as of the balance sheet date, if any, after considering any credits acquired or under contract, and is equal to the product of the credits deficit and the market price of these credits as of the balance sheet date. The environmental credit obligations are categorized in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy and are measured at fair value using the market approach based on quoted prices from an independent pricing service.

There were no transfers into or out of Level 3 for assets and liabilities held as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 that were measured at fair value on a recurring basis.

There was no significant activity during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018 related to the fair value amounts categorized in Level 3 as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Nonrecurring Fair Value Measurements

There were no assets or liabilities that were measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Other Financial Instruments

Financial instruments that we recognize in our balance sheets at their carrying amounts are shown in the following table along with their associated fair values (in millions):


		December 31, 2020				December 31, 2019
	Fair Value Hierarchy	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Financial assets
Cash and cash equivalents	Level 1	$	3,313	$	3,313	$	2,583	$	2,583
Financial liabilities
Debt (excluding finance leases)	Level 2	13,013		15,103		8,881		10,583

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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