Note D – Property, Plant and Equipment

Exploratory Wells

Under FASB guidance exploratory well costs should continue to be capitalized when the well has found a sufficient quantity of reserves to justify its completion as a producing well and the Company is making sufficient progress assessing the reserves and the economic and operating viability of the project.

At March 31, 2018, the Company had total capitalized exploratory well costs pending the determination of proved reserves of $176.3 million. The following table reflects the net changes in capitalized exploratory well costs during the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.



(Thousands of dollars)	2018		2017
Beginning balance at January 1	$	175,640	148,500
Additions pending the determination of proved reserves		623	39,653
Reclassifications to proved properties based on the determination of proved reserves		–	(13,370)
Capitalized exploratory well costs charged to expense		–	(8,360)
Balance at March 31	$	176,263	166,423

There were no capitalized well costs charged to expense during the first three months of 2018. The capitalized well costs charged to expense during the first three months of 2017 included the Marakas-01 well in Block SK314A, offshore Malaysia, in which development of the well could not be justified due to noncommercial hydrocarbon quantities found.

The following table provides an aging of capitalized exploratory well costs based on the date the drilling was completed for each individual well and the number of projects for which exploratory well costs have been capitalized. The projects are aged based on the last well drilled in the project.



		March 31,
	2018				2017
(Thousands of dollars)	Amount		No. of Wells	No. of Projects	Amount		No. of Wells	No. of Projects
Aging of capitalized well costs:
Zero to one year	$	13,642	2	1	$	48,202	2	2
One to two years		27,757	1	1		53,729	3	3
Two to three years		49,642	2	2		–	–	–
Three years or more		85,222	7	1		64,492	6	–
	$	176,263	12	5	$	166,423	11	5

Of the $162.6 million of exploratory well costs capitalized more than one year at March 31, 2018, $70.4 million is in Brunei, $43.8 million is in Vietnam, $27.8 million is in the U.S. and $20.6 million is in Malaysia. In all geographical areas, either further appraisal or development drilling is planned and/or development studies/plans are in various stages of completion.

Divestments

In January 2017, a Canadian subsidiary of the Company completed its disposition of the Seal field in Western Canada. Total cash consideration to Murphy upon closing of the transaction was approximately $48.8 million. Additionally, the buyer assumed the asset retirement obligation of approximately $85.9 million. A $132.4 million pretax gain was reported in the 2017 period related to the sale. Also, in 2017, a U.S. subsidiary of the Company completed its disposition of certain non-core properties in the Eagle Ford Shale area. Total cash consideration to Murphy upon closing of the transaction was approximately $19.6 million. There were no gains or losses recorded related to these non-core Eagle Ford Shale sales.

In 2016, a Canadian subsidiary of the Company completed a divestiture of natural gas processing and sales pipeline assets that support Murphy’s Montney natural gas fields in the Tupper area of northeastern British Columbia. Total cash consideration received upon closing was $414.1 million. A gain on sale of approximately $187.0 million was deferred and is being recognized over approximately the next 18 years in the Canadian operating segment. The Company amortized approximately $1.9 million and $1.7 million of the deferred gain during the first three months of 2018 and 2017, respectively. The remaining deferred gain of $175.2 million was included as a component of Deferred credits and other liabilities in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet as of March 31, 2018.

Note D – Property, Plant and Equipment (Contd.)

Acquisitions

In 2016, a Canadian subsidiary of Murphy Oil acquired a 70% operated working interest (WI) of Athabasca Oil Corporation’s (Athabasca) production, acreage, infrastructure and facilities in the Kaybob Duvernay lands, and a 30% non-operated WI of Athabasca’s production, acreage, infrastructure and facilities in the liquids rich Placid Montney lands in Alberta, the majority of which was unproved. Under the terms of the joint venture, the total consideration amounts to approximately $375.0 million of which Murphy paid $206.7 million in cash at closing, subject to normal closing adjustments, and an additional $168.0 million in the form of a carried interest on the Kaybob Duvernay property. As of March 31, 2018, $64.3 million of the carried interest had been paid. The carry is to be paid over a period of up to five years from 2016.

Other

In 2006, the Kakap field in Block K was unitized with the Gumusut field in an adjacent block under a Unitization and Unit Operating Agreement (UUOA) between the operators. The Gumusut-Kakap Unit is operated by another company. In the fourth quarter 2016, the operators completed the first redetermination process for a revision to the blocks’ tract participation interest, and the operator of the unitized field sought the approval of Petronas to effect the change in 2017. In 2016, the Company recorded an estimated redetermination expense of $39.1 million ($24.1 million after tax) related to an expected revision in the Company’s working interest covering the period from inception through year-end 2016 at Kakap. In February 2017, the Company received Petronas’ official approval to the redetermination change that reduced the Company’s working interest in oil operations to 6.67% effective at April 1, 2017. Working interest redeterminations are required at different points within the life of the unitized field. Following a partial payment, the remaining redetermination liability of $17.3 million was included as a component of Other current liabilities in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet as of March 31, 2018.

Following a further Unitization Framework Agreement (UFA) between the governments of Brunei and Malaysia, the Company now has a 6.37% interest in the Kakap field in Block K Malaysia as of March 31, 2018. The UFA unitized the Gumusut/Kakap (GK) and Geronggong/Jagus East fields effective November 23, 2017. In the fourth quarter 2017, the Company recorded an estimated redetermination expense of $15.0 million ($9.3 million after tax) related to Company’s revised working interest. The remaining redetermination liability of $15.0 million was included as a component of Other current liabilities in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet as of March 31, 2018.