Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of Income Before Income Taxes Table

Components of income (loss) from operations before income taxes are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
(millions)	2016			2015			2014
Domestic	$	(1,859	)	$	(2,338	)	$	282
Foreign	87			119			1,428
Total	$	(1,772	)	$	(2,219	)	$	1,710

Components of Income Tax Provision Table

The income tax provision (benefit) consists of the following:

	Year Ended December 31,
(millions)	2016			2015			2014
Current Taxes
Federal	$	(4	)	$	(1	)	$	19
State	5			—			1
Foreign	196			107			208
Total Current	$	197		$	106		$	228
Deferred Taxes
Federal	$	(784	)	$	216		$	237
State	(24		)	(5		)	13
Foreign	(176		)	(95		)	18
Total Deferred	$	(984	)	$	116		$	268
Total Income Tax Provision (Benefit) Attributable to Noble Energy	$	(787	)	$	222		$	496
Effective Tax Rate	44.4		%	(10.0		)%	29.0		%

Tax Rate Reconciliation Table

A reconciliation of the federal statutory tax rate to the effective tax rate is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
(percentages)	2016		2015		2014
Federal Statutory Rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
Effect of
Earnings of Equity Method Investees	1.0		0.6		(3.3	)
Noncontrolling Interests	0.4		—		—
Foreign Rate Change	1.6		—		—
State Taxes, Net of Federal Benefit	1.3		0.3		0.8
Difference Between US and Foreign Rates	(0.1	)	2.6		(14.2	)
Foreign Exploration Loss	0.1		2.7		—
Change in Valuation Allowance	(2.0	)	—		1.9
Oil Profits Tax - Israel	—		0.1		0.2
Tax Contingency	0.2		0.4		0.1
Accumulated Undistributed Foreign Earnings	7.2		(37.7	)	8.2
Goodwill Impairment	—		(12.3	)	—
Other, Net	(0.3	)	(1.7	)	0.3
Effective Rate	44.4	%	(10.0	)%	29.0	%

Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

Deferred tax assets and liabilities resulted from the following:

	December 31,
(millions)	2016			2015
Deferred Tax Assets
Loss Carryforwards	$	474		$	468
Employee Compensation and Benefits	150			151
Other	49			81
Total Deferred Tax Assets	$	673		$	700
Valuation Allowance - Foreign Loss Carryforwards	(242		)	(206		)
Net Deferred Tax Assets	$	431		$	494
Deferred Tax Liabilities
Mark to Market of Commodity Derivative Instruments	44			(128		)
Accumulated Undistributed Foreign Earnings	(240		)	(368		)
Property, Plant and Equipment, Principally Due to Differences in Depreciation, Amortization, Lease Impairment and Abandonments	(2,054		)	(2,824		)
Total Deferred Tax Liability	$	(2,250	)	$	(3,320	)
Net Deferred Tax Liability	$	(1,819	)	$	(2,826	)

Deferred Tax Liability Balance Sheet Classifcation

Net deferred tax liabilities were classified in the consolidated balance sheets as follows:

	December 31,
(millions)	2016			2015
Deferred Income Tax Liability - Current	$	—		$	—
Deferred Income Tax Liability - Noncurrent	(1,819		)	(2,826		)
Net Deferred Tax Liability	$	(1,819	)	$	(2,826	)

Schedule of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A reconciliation of our beginning and ending amounts of unrecognized tax benefits follows:

(millions)	Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2016
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Beginning Balance	$	8
Additions for Tax Positions Related to Current Year	—
Additions for Tax Positions of Prior Years	—
Reductions for Tax Positions of Prior Years	(3		)
Settlements	(2		)
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Ending Balance	$	3