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Venezuela
9 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017
Equity Method Investments And Joint Ventures [Abstract]  
Venezuela

M. Venezuela

Cabot owns 49% of an operating carbon black affiliate in Venezuela, which is accounted for as an equity affiliate, through wholly-owned subsidiaries that carry the investment and receive its dividends. As of June 30, 2017, these subsidiaries carried the operating affiliate investment of $15 million.

During the nine month periods ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, the Company received dividends in the amounts of $3 million and $2 million, respectively, which were paid in U.S. dollars.

A significant portion of the Company’s operating affiliate’s sales are exports denominated in U.S. dollars. The Venezuelan government mandates that a certain percentage of the dollars collected from these sales be converted into bolivars. During the third quarter of fiscal 2017, the exchange rate that was made available to the Company when converting these dollars to bolivars was changed from 709 bolivars to the U.S. dollar to 2,640 bolivars to the U.S. dollar. The operating affiliate remeasured its bolivar denominated monetary accounts to reflect the new rate. The impact of the exchange rate devaluation on the operating affiliate’s results was a net gain of $1 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2017.

The operating entity has generally been profitable. The Company continues to closely monitor developments in Venezuela and their potential impact on the recoverability of its equity affiliate investment. Any future change in the exchange rate made available to the Company or opening of additional parallel markets could cause the Company to change the exchange rate it uses and result in gains or losses on the bolivar denominated assets held by its operating affiliate and wholly-owned subsidiaries.