Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of unrecognized tax benefits

Unrecognized tax benefit activity is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
	(in millions)
Beginning unrecognized tax benefits	$	141	$	124	$	112
Current year additions	—		17		12
Effectively settled tax positions	(102)		—		—
Ending unrecognized tax benefits	$	39	$	141	$	124

Summary of open tax years

The earliest open years in the Company's key jurisdictions are as follows:

U.S. federal	2012
Various U.S. states	2013

Income tax (provision) benefit attributable to continuing operations

Income tax (provision) benefit is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
	(in millions)
Current:
U.S. federal	$	8	$	—	$	5
U.S. state	(3)		(2)		—
Current income tax (provision) benefit	5		(2)		5
Deferred:
U.S. federal	(224)		(258)		526
U.S. state	(12)		(16)		(7)
Deferred income tax (provision) benefit	(236)		(274)		519
Income tax (provision) benefit	$	(231)	$	(276)	$	524

Reconciliation of federal statutory tax rate

The effective tax rate for income (loss) is reconciled to the United States federal statutory rate as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2019			2018			2017
	(in millions, except percentages)
Income before income taxes	$	987		$	1,251		$	309
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	—			3			—
Income attributable to common stockholders before income taxes	$	987		$	1,254		$	309
Federal statutory income tax rate	21		%	21		%	35		%
Provision for federal income taxes at the statutory rate	(207)			(263)			(108)
State income tax provision (net of federal tax)	(12)			(12)			(4)
Change in federal income tax rate (a)	—			—			625
Other	(12)			(1)			11
Income tax (provision) benefit	$	(231)		$	(276)		$	524
Effective income tax rate, excluding net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	23		%	22		%	(170		%)

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(a)During 2017, the Company recorded a benefit of $625 million as a result of the Tax Reform Legislation that reduced the federal income tax rate beginning in 2018.

Schedule of deferred tax assets and liabilities

Significant components of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities are as follows:

	As of December 31,
	2019		2018
	(in millions)
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss carryforward (a)	$	996	$	882
Credit carryforwards (b)	101		111
Deferred interest carryforward (c)	43		—
Asset retirement obligations	41		40
Incentive plans	40		48
Net deferred hedge losses	—		11
South Texas Divestiture	75		—
Lease deferred tax assets	191		—
Other	47		51
Deferred tax assets	1,534		1,143
Deferred tax liabilities:
Oil and gas properties, principally due to differences in basis, depletion and the deduction of intangible drilling costs for tax purposes	(2,628)		(2,248)
Other property and equipment, principally due to the deduction of bonus depreciation for tax purposes and differences in lease right of use assets	(189)		(47)
Net deferred hedge gains	(4)		—
South Texas Divestiture	(35)		—
Lease deferred tax liabilities	(61)		—
Other	(6)		—
Deferred tax liabilities	(2,923)		(2,295)
Net deferred tax liability	$	(1,389)	$	(1,152)

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(a)Net operating loss carryforwards as of December 31, 2019, consist of $5.0 billion of U.S. federal NOLs, which expire between 2032 and 2039 and $177 million of Colorado NOLs that begin to expire in 2027. The Colorado NOL has a fully offsetting valuation allowance.

(b)Credit carryforwards as of December 31, 2019, consist of $12 million of U.S. federal minimum tax credits and U.S. federal and Texas credits for research activities of $88 million and $1 million, respectively. The U.S. federal and state research credits as of December 31, 2019 exclude $39 million of unrecognized tax benefits.

(c)The deferred interest carryforward represents disallowed interest deductions under IRC Section 163(j) (Limitation on Deduction for Interest on Certain Indebtedness) for the current and prior years. The disallowed interest can be carried forward indefinitely and utilized in future years.