Income Taxes	12 Months Ended
Income Taxes	Dec. 31, 2020
Income Taxes [Abstract]
Income Taxes	Note 18—Income Taxes Components of income tax expense (benefit) were: Millions of Dollars 2020 2019 2018 Income Taxes Federal Current $ 3 18 4 Deferred (625) (113) 545 Foreign Current 350 2,545 3,273 Deferred (70) (323) (166) State and local Current (4) 148 108 Deferred (139) (8) (96) $ (485) 2,267 3,668 Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effect of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for tax purposes. Major components of deferred tax liabilities and assets at December 31 were: Millions of Dollars 2020 2019 Deferred Tax Liabilities PP&E and intangibles $ 7,744 8,660 Inventory 64 35 Other 242 234 Total deferred tax liabilities 8,050 8,929 Deferred Tax Assets Benefit plan accruals 540 542 Asset retirement obligations and accrued environmental costs 2,262 2,339 Investments in joint ventures 1,653 1,722 Other financial accruals and deferrals 907 777 Loss and credit carryforwards 8,904 8,968 Other 365 345 Total deferred tax assets 14,631 14,693 Less: valuation allowance (9,965) (10,214) Total deferred tax assets net of valuation allowance 4,666 4,479 Net deferred tax liabilities $ 3,384 4,450 At December 31, 2020, noncurrent assets and liabilities included deferred taxes of $ 363 million and $ 3,747 million, respectively. At December 31, 2019, noncurrent assets and liabilities included deferred taxes of $ 184 million and $ 4,634 million, respectively. At December 31, 2020, the loss and credit carryforward deferred tax assets were primarily related to U.S. foreign tax credit carryforwards of $ 7 billion and various jurisdictions net operating loss and credit carryforwards of $ 1.9 billion. If not utilized, U.S. foreign tax credits and net operating losses will begin to expire in 2021. The following table shows a reconciliation of the beginning and ending deferred tax asset valuation allowance for for 2020, 2019 and 2018: Millions of Dollars 2020 2019 2018 Balance at January 1 $ 10,214 3,040 1,254 Charged to expense (benefit) 460 (225) (26) Other* (709) 7,399 1,812 Balance at December 31 $ 9,965 10,214 3,040 *Represents changes due to originating deferred tax asset that have no impact to our effective tax rate, acquisitions/dispositions/revisions and the effect of translating foreign financial statements. Certain items in the prior year have been reclassed to conform with the current year presentation, with no impacts to beginning and ending balances. Valuation allowances have been established to reduce deferred tax assets to an amount that will, more likely than not, be realized. At December 31, 2020, we have maintained a valuation allowance with respect to substantially all U.S. foreign tax credit carryforwards as well as certain net operating loss carryforwards for various jurisdictions. During 2020, the valuation allowance movement charged to earnings primarily relates to capital losses in Australia and to the fair value measurement of our Cenovus Energy common shares that are not expected to be realized. Other movements are primarily related to valuation allowances on expiring tax attributes. Based on our historical taxable income, expectations for the future, and available tax-planning strategies, management expects deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowances, will primarily be realized as offsets to reversing deferred tax liabilities. On December 2, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service finalized foreign tax credit regulations related to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Due to the finalization of these regulations, in the fourth quarter of 2019 we recognized $ 151 million of net deferred tax assets. Correspondingly, we recorded $ 6,642 million of existing foreign tax credit carryovers where recognition was previously considered to be remote. Present legislation still makes their realization unlikely and therefore these credits have been offset with a full valuation allowance. At December 31, 2020, unremitted income considered to be permanently reinvested in certain foreign subsidiaries and foreign corporate joint ventures totaled approximately $ 3,982 million. Deferred income taxes have not been provided on this amount, as we do not plan to initiate any action that would require the payment of income taxes. The estimated amount of additional tax, primarily local withholding tax, that would be payable on this income if distributed is approximately $ 199 million. The following table shows a reconciliation of the beginning and ending unrecognized tax benefits for 2020, 2019 and 2018: Millions of Dollars 2020 2019 2018 Balance at January 1 $ 1,177 1,081 882 Additions based on tax positions related to the current year 6 9 268 Additions for tax positions of prior years 67 120 43 Reductions for tax positions of prior years (34) (22) (73) Settlements (9) (9) (35) Lapse of statute (1) (2) (4) Balance at December 31 $ 1,206 1,177 1,081 Included in the balance of unrecognized tax benefits for 2020, 2019 and 2018 were $ 1,128 million, $ 1,100 million and $ 1,081 million, respectively, which, if recognized, would impact our effective tax rate. The balance of the unrecognized tax benefits increased in 2019 mainly due to the treatment of our PDVSA settlement. The balance of the unrecognized tax benefits increased in 2018 mainly due to the treatment of distributions from certain foreign subsidiaries. See Note 12—Contingencies and Commitments, for more information on the PDVSA settlement. At December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, accrued liabilities for interest and penalties totaled $ 46 million, $ 42 million and $ 45 million, respectively, net of accrued income taxes. Interest and penalties resulted in a reduction to earnings of $ 4 million in 2020, a benefit to earnings of $ 3 million in 2019, and a benefit to earnings of $ 4 million in 2018, respectively. We file tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and in many foreign and state jurisdictions. Audits in major jurisdictions are generally complete as follows: U.K. (2015), Canada (2014), U.S. (2014) and Norway (2019). Issues in dispute for audited years and audits for subsequent years are ongoing and in various stages of completion in the many jurisdictions in which we operate around the world. Consequently, the balance in unrecognized tax benefits can be expected to fluctuate from period to period. It is reasonably possible such changes could be significant when compared with our total unrecognized tax benefits, but the amount of change is not estimable. The amounts of U.S. and foreign income (loss) before income taxes, with a reconciliation of tax at the federal statutory rate to the provision for income taxes, were: Millions of Dollars Percent of Pre-Tax Income (Loss) 2020 2019 2018 2020 2019 2018 Income (loss) before income taxes United States $ (3,587) 4,704 2,867 114.2 % 49.4 28.7 Foreign 447 4,820 7,106 (14.2) 50.6 71.3 $ (3,140) 9,524 9,973 100.0 % 100.0 100.0 Federal statutory income tax $ (659) 2,000 2,095 21.0 % 21.0 21.0 Non-U.S. effective tax rates 194 1,399 1,766 (6.2) 14.7 17.7 Tax Legislation - - (10) - - (0.1) Australia disposition (349) - - 11.1 - - U.K. disposition - (732) (150) - (7.7) (1.5) Recovery of outside basis (22) (77) (21) 0.7 (0.8) (0.2) Adjustment to tax reserves 18 9 (4) (0.6) 0.1 - Adjustment to valuation allowance 460 (225) (26) (14.6) (2.4) (0.3) State income tax (112) 123 135 3.6 1.3 1.4 Malaysia Deepwater Incentive - (164) - - (1.7) - Enhanced oil recovery credit (6) (27) (99) 0.2 (0.3) (1.0) Other (9) (39) (18) 0.3 (0.4) (0.2) $ (485) 2,267 3,668 15.5 % 23.8 36.8 Our effective tax rate for 2020 was impacted by the disposition of our Australia-West assets as well as the valuation allowance related to the fair value measurement of our Cenovus Energy common shares. The Australia-West disposition generated a before-tax gain of $ 587 million with an associated tax benefit of $ 10 million and resulted in the de-recognition of deferred tax assets resulting in $ 92 million of tax expense. The disposition also generated an Australia capital loss tax benefit of $ 313 million which has been fully offset by a valuation allowance. Due to changes in the fair market value of Cenovus Energy common shares, the valuation allowance was increased by $ 178 million to offset the expected capital loss. Our effective tax rate for 2019 was favorably impacted by the sale of two of our U.K. subsidiaries. The disposition generated a before-tax gain of more than $ 1.7 billion with an associated tax benefit of $ 335 million. The disposition generated a U.S. capital loss of approximately $ 2.1 billion which has generated a U.S. tax benefit of approximately $ 285 million. The remaining U.S. capital loss has been recorded as a deferred tax asset fully offset with a valuation allowance. See Note 4—Asset Acquisitions and Dispositions, for additional information on the disposition. During the third quarter of 2019, we received final partner approval in Malaysia Block G to claim certain deepwater tax credits. As a result, we recorded an income tax benefit of $ 164 million. The decrease in the effective tax rate for 2018 was primarily due to the impact of the Clair Field disposition in the U.K. and our overall income position, partially offset by our change in mix of income among taxing jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate for 2018 was favorably impacted by the sale of a U.K. subsidiary to BP. The subsidiary held 16.5 percent of our 24 percent interest in the BP-operated Clair Field in the U.K. The disposition generated a before-tax gain of $ 715 million with no associated tax cost. See Note 4—Asset Acquisitions and Dispositions, for additional information on the disposition. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic uncertainty, many countries in which we operate, including Australia, Canada, Norway and the U.S., have enacted responsive tax legislation. During the second quarter, Norway enacted legislation to accelerate the recovery of capital expenditures and allow immediate monetization of tax losses. As a result, in the second quarter of 2020, we recorded an increase to our net deferred tax liability of $ 120 million and a decrease to our accrued income and other taxes liability of $ 124 million. Legislation in other jurisdictions did not have a material impact to ConocoPhillips.

The entire disclosure for income taxes. Disclosures may include net deferred tax liability or asset recognized in an enterprise's statement of financial position, net change during the year in the total valuation allowance, approximate tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carryforward that gives rise to a significant portion of deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets, utilization of a tax carryback, and tax uncertainties information.