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Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies
NOTE 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Principles of consolidation. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries since their acquisition or formation. All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period amounts to conform to the current period's presentation.
Use of estimates in the preparation of financial statements. Preparation of the Company's consolidated financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Depletion of oil and gas properties and impairment of proved and unproved oil and gas properties and goodwill, in part, is determined using estimates of proved, probable and possible oil and gas reserves. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in the estimation of quantities of proved, probable and possible reserves and in the projection of future rates of production and the timing of development expenditures. Similarly, evaluations for impairment of proved and unproved oil and gas properties are subject to numerous uncertainties including, among others, estimates of future recoverable reserves and commodity price outlooks. Actual results could differ from the estimates and assumptions utilized.
Cash and cash equivalents. The Company's cash and cash equivalents include depository accounts held by banks and marketable securities with original issuance maturities of 90 days or less.
Restricted cash. The Company's restricted cash includes funds held in escrow to cover future deficiency fee payments in connection with the Company's 2019 sale of its Eagle Ford assets and other remaining assets in South Texas (the "South Texas Divestiture"). Beginning in 2021, the required escrow balance declines and, to the extent there is any remaining balance after the payment of deficiency fees, the balance will become unrestricted and revert to the Company on March 31, 2023. Interest income related to restricted cash is recorded in interest and other income in the consolidated statements of operations.
Investments. Periodically, the Company invests in commercial paper and corporate bonds with investment grade rated entities. The Company also periodically enters into time deposits with financial institutions. Commercial paper and time deposits are included in cash and cash equivalents if they have maturity dates that are less than 90 days at the date of purchase; otherwise, investments are included in short-term investments or long-term investments in the consolidated balance sheets based on their maturity dates.
As of December 31, 2019, the Company has no investments classified as held-to-maturity. As of December 31, 2018, the Company's investments were carried at amortized cost and classified as held-to-maturity as the Company had the intent and ability to hold them until they mature. The carrying values of held-to-maturity investments were adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts over the remaining life of the investment. Income related to these investments was recorded in interest and other income in the consolidated statements of operations.
Accounts receivable. The Company's accounts receivable – trade are primarily comprised of oil and gas sales receivables, joint interest receivables and other receivables for which the Company does not require collateral security. The Company's share of oil and gas production is sold to various purchasers who must be prequalified under the Company's credit risk policies and procedures. The Company records allowances for doubtful accounts based on the age of accounts receivables and the financial condition of its purchasers. The Company's credit risk related to collecting accounts receivables is mitigated by using credit and other financial criteria to evaluate the credit standing of the entity obligated to make payment on the accounts receivable, and where appropriate, the Company obtains assurances of payment, such as a guarantee by the parent company of the counterparty or other credit support.
The Company's allowance for doubtful accounts totaled $2 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. The Company establishes allowances for bad debts equal to the estimable portions of accounts receivable for which
failure to collect is considered probable. The Company estimates the portions of joint interest receivables for which failure to collect is probable based on percentages of joint interest receivables that are past due. The Company estimates the portions of other receivables for which failure to collect is probable based on the relevant facts and circumstances surrounding the receivable. Allowances for doubtful accounts are recorded as reductions to the carrying values of the receivables included in the Company's consolidated balance sheets and are recorded in other expense in the consolidated statements of operations in the accounting periods during which failure to collect an estimable portion is determined to be probable.
Inventories. The Company's inventories consist of materials, supplies and commodities. The Company's materials and supplies inventory is primarily comprised of oil and gas maintenance materials and repair parts, water, chemicals and other operating supplies. The materials and supplies inventory is primarily acquired for use in future drilling and production operations or repair operations and is carried at the lower of cost or market, on a weighted average cost basis. Valuation allowances for materials and supplies inventories are recorded as reductions to the carrying values of the materials and supplies inventories included in the Company's consolidated balance sheets and are recorded in other expense in the consolidated statements of operations.
Commodity inventories are carried at the lower of cost or market, on a first-in, first-out basis. The Company's commodity inventories consist of oil, NGLs and gas volumes held in storage or as linefill in pipelines. Any valuation allowances of commodity inventories are recorded as reductions to the carrying values of the commodity inventories included in the Company's consolidated balance sheets and as charges to other expense in the consolidated statements of operations.
The components of inventories are as follows:
As of December 31,
20192018
(in millions)
Materials and supplies (a)$75  $128  
Commodities130  114  
Total inventories$205  $242  
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(a)As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company's materials and supplies inventories were net of valuation allowances of $2 million and $5 million, respectively.
Investment in affiliate. In December 2018, the Company completed the sale of its pressure pumping assets to ProPetro Holding Corp. ("ProPetro") in exchange for cash and 16.6 million shares of ProPetro's common stock, representing an ownership interest in ProPetro of 16 percent. Additionally, in October 2019, Phillip A. Gobe, a nonemployee member of the Company's board of directors, was appointed by the board of directors of ProPetro to serve as its Executive Chairman. Mark S. Berg, the Company's Executive Vice President, Corporate Operations, continues to serve as a member of the ProPetro board of directors under the Company's right to designate a director to the board of directors of ProPetro so long as the Company owns five percent or more of ProPetro's outstanding common stock. Based on the Company's ownership in ProPetro and representation on the ProPetro board of directors, ProPetro is considered an affiliate and deemed to be a related party. The Company uses the fair value option to account for its equity method investment in ProPetro with any changes in fair value recorded in interest and other income in the consolidated statements of operations. The carrying value of the Company's investment in ProPetro is included in investment in affiliate in the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 4 and Note 12 for additional information.
Oil and gas properties. The Company utilizes the successful efforts method of accounting for its oil and gas properties. Under this method, all costs associated with productive wells and nonproductive development wells are capitalized while nonproductive exploration costs and geological and geophysical expenditures are expensed. The Company capitalizes interest on expenditures for significant development projects, generally when the underlying project is sanctioned, until such projects are ready for their intended use.
The Company does not carry the costs of drilling an exploratory well as an asset in its consolidated balance sheets following the completion of drilling unless both of the following conditions are met: (i) the well has found a sufficient quantity of reserves to justify its completion as a producing well and (ii) the Company is making sufficient progress assessing the reserves and the economic and operating viability of the project.
Due to the capital-intensive nature and the geographical location of certain projects, it may take an extended period of time to evaluate the future potential of an exploration project and the economics associated with making a determination on its commercial viability. In these instances, the project's feasibility is not contingent upon price improvements or advances in technology, but rather the Company's ongoing efforts and expenditures related to accurately predicting the hydrocarbon recoverability based on well information, gaining access to other companies' production data in the area, transportation or processing facilities and/or getting partner approval to drill additional appraisal wells. These activities are ongoing and are being pursued constantly. Consequently, the Company's assessment of suspended exploratory well costs is continuous until a decision can be made that the project has found sufficient proved reserves to sanction the project or is noncommercial and is charged to exploration and abandonments expense. See Note 6 for additional information.
As of December 31, 2019, the Company owns interests in 11 gas processing plants, including the related gathering systems. The Company's ownership interests in the gas processing plants are primarily to accommodate handling the Company's gas production and thus are considered a component of the capital and operating costs of the respective fields that they service. The operators of the plants process the Company's and third-party gas volumes for a fee. The Company's share of revenues and expenses derived from volumes processed through the plants and treating facilities are reported as components of oil and gas production costs. Revenues generated from the processing plants and treating facilities for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 were $90 million, $78 million and $60 million, respectively. Expenses attributable to the processing plants and treating facilities for the same respective periods were $43 million, $36 million and $26 million. The capitalized costs of the plants and treating facilities are included in proved oil and gas properties and are depleted using the unit-of-production method along with the other capitalized costs of the field that they service.
The capitalized costs of proved properties are depleted using the unit-of-production method based on proved reserves. Costs of significant nonproducing properties, wells in the process of being drilled and development projects are excluded from depletion until the related project is completed and proved reserves are established or, if unsuccessful, impairment is recognized.
Proceeds from the sales of individual properties and the capitalized costs of individual properties sold or abandoned are credited and charged, respectively, to accumulated depletion, depreciation and amortization, if doing so does not materially impact the depletion rate of an amortization base. Generally, no gain or loss is recorded until an entire amortization base is sold. However, gain or loss is recorded from the sale of less than an entire amortization base if the disposition is significant enough to materially impact the depletion rate of the remaining properties in the amortization base.
The Company performs assessments of its long-lived assets to be held and used, including proved oil and gas properties accounted for under the successful efforts method of accounting, whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of those assets may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is indicated if the sum of the expected future cash flows, including vertical integrated services that are used in the development of the assets, is less than the carrying amount of the assets, including the carrying value of vertical integrated services assets. In these circumstances, the Company recognizes an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the estimated fair value of the assets. Impairment charges for proved oil and gas properties are recorded in impairment of oil and gas properties in the consolidated statements of operations. See Note 4 for additional information.
Unproved oil and gas properties are periodically assessed for impairment on a project-by-project basis. These impairment assessments are affected by the results of exploration activities, commodity price outlooks, planned future sales or expiration of all or a portion of such projects. If the estimated future net cash flows attributable to such projects are not expected to be sufficient to fully recover the costs invested in each project, the Company will recognize an impairment charge at that time. Impairment charges for unproved oil and gas properties are recorded in exploration and abandonments in the consolidated statements of operations.
Goodwill. Goodwill is assessed for impairment whenever it is likely that events or circumstances indicate the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, but no less often than annually. An impairment charge is recorded for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair value of a reporting unit in the period it is determined to be impaired.
The Company performed its annual qualitative assessment of goodwill during the third quarter of 2019 to determine whether it was more likely than not that the fair value of the Company's reporting unit was less than its carrying amount. Based on the results of the assessment, the Company determined it was not likely that the carrying value of the Company's reporting unit exceeded its fair value.
Other property and equipment, net. Other property and equipment is recorded at cost. The carrying values of other property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $382 million and $854 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, are as follows:
As of December 31,
20192018
(in millions) 
Land and buildings (a)$877  $380  
Water infrastructure (b)404  343  
Construction-in-progress and capitalized interest (c)152  311  
Information technology120  143  
Transport and field equipment (d)35  50  
Furniture and fixtures28  15  
Proved and unproved sand properties (e)16  36  
Leasehold improvements—  13  
Total other property and equipment, net$1,632  $1,291  
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(a)Includes land, buildings, any related improvements to land and buildings, and a finance lease entered into by the Company for its new corporate headquarters in Irving, Texas. See Note 10 for additional information.
(b)Includes costs for pipeline infrastructure and water supply wells.
(c)Includes capitalized costs and capitalized interest on other property and equipment not yet placed in service.
(d)Includes vehicles and well servicing equipment, including pulling units, fracture stimulation tanks, water transport trucks, hot oilers, construction equipment and fishing tools, that are used on Company-operated properties.
(e)Includes sand mines, facilities and unproved leaseholds that primarily provide the Company with proppant for use in the fracture stimulation of oil and gas wells.
Other property and equipment is depreciated over its estimated useful life on a straight-line basis. Buildings are generally depreciated over 20 to 39 years. Equipment, vehicles, furniture and fixtures and information technology assets are generally depreciated over three to 10 years. Water infrastructure is generally depreciated over three to 50 years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of their estimated useful lives or the underlying terms of the associated leases.
The Company reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recorded is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its estimated fair value. The estimated fair value is determined using either a discounted future cash flow model or another appropriate fair value method.
Leases. The Company enters into leases for drilling rigs, storage tanks, equipment and buildings and recognizes lease expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Lease right-of-use assets and liabilities are initially recorded on the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most of the Company's lease contracts do not provide an implicit discount rate, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate, which is determined based on information available at the commencement date of a lease. Leases may include renewal, purchase or termination options that can extend or shorten the term of the lease. The exercise of those options is at the Company’s sole discretion and is evaluated at inception and throughout the contract to determine if a modification of the lease term is required. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded as a lease right-of-use asset and liability. See Note 10 for additional information.
Asset retirement obligations. The Company records a liability for the fair value of an asset retirement obligation in the period in which the associated asset is acquired or placed into service, if a reasonable estimate of fair value can be made. Asset retirement obligations are generally capitalized as part of the carrying value of the long-lived asset to which it relates. Conditional asset retirement obligations meet the definition of liabilities and are recorded when incurred and when fair value can be reasonably estimated.
The Company includes the current and noncurrent portions of asset retirement obligations in other current liabilities and other liabilities, respectively, in the consolidated balance sheets and expenditures are included as cash used in operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. See Note 9 for additional information.
Treasury stock. Treasury stock purchases are recorded at cost. Upon reissuance, the cost of treasury shares held is reduced by the average purchase price per share of the aggregate treasury shares held.
Revenue recognition. On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 606, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers," ("ASC 606") using the modified retrospective transition method. The adoption did not require an adjustment to retained earnings as there was no material change to the timing or pattern of revenue recognition due to the adoption of ASC 606. The Company recognizes revenue when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to customers at an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.
Oil sales. Sales under the Company's oil contracts are generally considered performed when the Company sells oil production at the wellhead and receives an agreed-upon index price, net of any price differentials. The Company recognizes the sales revenue when (i) control/custody transfers to the purchaser at the wellhead and (ii) the net price is fixed and determinable.

NGL and gas sales. Under the majority of the Company’s gas processing contracts, gas is delivered to a midstream processing entity and the Company elects to take residue gas and NGLs in-kind at the tailgate. The Company recognizes revenue when the products are delivered (custody transfer) to the ultimate third-party purchaser at a contractually agreed-upon delivery point at a specified index price.
Sales of purchased oil and gas. The Company enters into purchase transactions with third parties and separate sale transactions with third parties to diversify a portion of the Company's West Texas Intermediate oil ("WTI") and gas sales to Gulf Coast refineries and LNG facilities, international export markets and to satisfy unused gas pipeline capacity commitments. Revenues and expenses from these transactions are presented on a gross basis as the Company acts as a principal in the transaction by assuming both the risk and rewards of ownership, including credit risk, of the commodities purchased and the responsibility to deliver the commodities sold. Transportation costs associated with these transactions are presented on a net basis in purchased oil and gas expense. Firm transportation payments on excess pipeline capacity are recorded as other expense in the consolidated statements of operations.
See Note 14 and Note 16 for additional information.
Derivatives. All of the Company's derivatives are accounted for as non-hedge derivatives and are recorded at estimated fair value in the consolidated balance sheets. All changes in the fair values of its derivative contracts are recorded as gains or losses in the earnings of the periods in which they occur. The Company enters into derivatives under master netting arrangements, which, in an event of default, allows the Company to offset payables to and receivables from the defaulting counterparty. The Company classifies the fair value amounts of derivative assets and liabilities executed under master netting arrangements as net current or noncurrent derivative assets or net current or noncurrent derivative liabilities, whichever the case may be, by commodity and counterparty.
Net derivative asset values are determined, in part, by utilization of the derivative counterparties' credit-adjusted risk-free rate curves and net derivative liabilities are determined, in part, by utilization of the Company's credit-adjusted risk-free rate curve. The credit-adjusted risk-free rate curves for the Company and the counterparties are based on their independent market-quoted credit default swap rate curves plus the United States Treasury Bill yield curve as of the valuation date.
The Company's credit risk related to derivatives is a counterparty's failure to perform under derivative contracts owed to the Company. The Company uses credit and other financial criteria to evaluate the credit standing of, and to select, counterparties to its derivative instruments. Although the Company does not obtain collateral or otherwise secure the fair value of its derivative instruments, associated credit risk is mitigated by the Company's credit risk policies and procedures.
The Company has entered into International Swap Dealers Association Master Agreements ("ISDA Agreements") with each of its derivative counterparties. The terms of the ISDA Agreements provide the Company and the counterparties with rights of set off upon the occurrence of defined acts of default by either the Company or a counterparty to a derivative, whereby the party not in default may set off all derivative liabilities owed to the defaulting party against all derivative asset receivables from the defaulting party. See Note 5 for additional information.
Income taxes. The provision for income taxes is determined using the asset and liability approach of accounting for income taxes. Under this approach, deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes and net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The amount of deferred taxes on these temporary differences is determined using
the tax rates that are expected to apply to the period when the asset is realized or the liability is settled, as applicable, based on tax rates and laws in the respective tax jurisdiction enacted as of the balance sheet date.
The Company reviews its deferred tax assets for recoverability and establishes a valuation allowance based on projected future taxable income, applicable tax strategies and the expected timing of the reversals of existing temporary differences. A valuation allowance is provided when it is more likely than not (likelihood of greater than 50 percent) that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
The Company recognizes the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities, based upon the technical merits of the position. If all or a portion of the unrecognized tax benefit is sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities, the tax benefit will be recognized as a reduction to the Company's deferred tax liability and will affect the Company's effective tax rate in the period it is recognized. See Note 17 for additional information.
The Company records any tax-related interest charges as interest expense and any tax-related penalties as other expense in the consolidated statements of operations.
Stock-based compensation. Stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock, restricted stock units and performance units expected to be settled in the Company's common stock ("Equity Awards") is measured at the grant date or modification date, as applicable, using the fair value of the award, and is recorded, net of estimated forfeitures, on a straight line basis over the requisite service period of the respective award. The fair value of Equity Awards, except performance unit awards, is determined on the grant date or modification date, as applicable, using the prior day's closing stock price. The fair value of performance unit awards is determined using the Monte Carlo simulation model.
Equity Awards are net settled by withholding shares of the Company's common stock to satisfy income tax withholding payments due upon vesting. Remaining vested shares are remitted to individual employee brokerage accounts. Shares to be delivered upon vesting of Equity Awards are made available from authorized, but unissued shares or shares held as treasury stock.
Restricted stock awards expected to be settled in cash on their vesting dates, rather than in common stock ("Liability Awards"), are included in accounts payable – due to affiliates in the consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of Liability Awards is determined on the grant date using the prior day's closing stock price. The Company recognizes the value of Liability Awards on a straight line basis over the requisite service period of the award. Liability Awards are marked to fair value as of each balance sheet date using the closing stock price on the balance sheet date. Changes in the fair value of Liability Awards are recorded as increases or decreases to stock-based compensation expense.
Equity Awards and Liability awards participate in dividends during vesting periods and generally vest over three years.
Segments. Based upon how the Company is organized and managed, the Company has one reportable operating segment, which is oil and gas development, exploration and production. The Company considers its vertical integration services as ancillary to its oil and gas development, exploration and producing activities and manages these services to support such activities. In addition, the Company has a single, company-wide management team that allocates capital resources to maximize profitability and measures financial performance as a single enterprise.
Adoption of new accounting standards. In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2016-02, "Leases (Topic 842)" ("ASC 842"), which supersedes the lease recognition requirements in ASC 840, "Leases" ("ASC 840"), and requires lessees to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities for those leases previously classified as operating leases. The Company adopted ASC 842 as of January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective transition method. The Company elected to apply the transition guidance under ASU 2018-11, "Leases (Topic 842) Targeted Improvements," in which ASC 842 is applied at the adoption date, while the comparative periods will continue to be reported in accordance with historic accounting under ASC 840. This standard does not apply to leases to explore for or use minerals, oil or gas resources, including the right to explore for those natural resources and rights to use the land in which those natural resources are contained.
ASC 842 allowed for the election of certain practical expedients at adoption to ease the burden of implementation. At implementation, the Company elected to (i) maintain the historical lease classification for leases prior to January 1, 2019, (ii) maintain the historical accounting treatment for land easements that existed at adoption, (iii) use historical practices in assessing
the lease term of existing contracts at adoption, (iv) combine lease and non-lease components of a contract as a single lease and (v) not record short-term leases in the consolidated balance sheet, all in accordance with ASC 842.
The adoption of ASC 842 did not have a material impact on the consolidated statements of operations and had no impact on the Company's cash flows. The Company did not record a change to its opening retained earnings as of January 1, 2019, as there was no material change to the timing or pattern of recognition of lease costs due to the adoption of ASC 842.
New accounting pronouncements. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, "Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments" ("ASU 2016-13"). ASU 2016-13 changes the impairment model for most financial assets and certain other instruments, including trade and other receivables, and requires entities to use a new forward-looking expected loss model that will result in the earlier recognition of allowances for losses. This update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. Entities will use the modified retrospective approach to apply the standard's provisions and record a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings for additional receivable loss allowances, if any, as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is adopted. While the Company continues to prepare for the adoption of ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2020, the Company does not expect that it will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.