Other Contingencies and Commitments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Other Contingencies and Commitments

Other Contingencies and Commitments

Income Taxes The company calculates its income tax expense and liabilities quarterly. These liabilities generally are subject to audit and are not finalized with the individual taxing authorities until several years after the end of the annual period for which income taxes have been calculated. Refer to Note 19, beginning on page FS-49, for a discussion of the periods for which tax returns have been audited for the company’s major tax jurisdictions and a discussion for all tax jurisdictions of the differences between the amount of tax benefits recognized in the financial statements and the amount taken or expected to be taken in a tax return.

Settlement of open tax years, as well as other tax issues in countries where the company conducts its businesses, are not expected to have a material effect on the consolidated financial position or liquidity of the company and, in the opinion of management, adequate provision has been made for income and franchise taxes for all years under examination or subject to future examination.

GuaranteesThe company has two guarantees to equity affiliates totaling $1,157. Of this amount, $749 is associated with a financing arrangement with an equity affiliate. Over the approximate 5-year remaining term of this guarantee, the maximum amount will be reduced as payments are made by the affiliate. The remaining amount of $408 is associated with certain payments under a terminal use agreement entered into by an equity affiliate. Over the approximate 11-year remaining term of this guarantee, the maximum guarantee amount will be reduced as certain fees are paid by the affiliate. There are numerous cross-indemnity agreements with the affiliate and the other partners to permit recovery of amounts paid under the guarantee. Chevron has recorded no liability for either guarantee.

Indemnifications In the acquisition of Unocal, the company assumed certain indemnities relating to contingent environmental liabilities associated with assets that were sold in 1997. The acquirer of those assets shared in certain environmental remediation costs up to a maximum obligation of $200, which had been reached at December 31, 2009. Under the indemnification agreement, after reaching the $200 obligation, Chevron is solely responsible until April 2022, when the indemnification expires. The environmental conditions or events that are subject to these indemnities must have arisen prior to the sale of the assets in 1997.

Although the company has provided for known obligations under this indemnity that are probable and reasonably estimable, the amount of additional future costs may be material to results of operations in the period in which they are recognized. The company does not expect these costs will have a material effect on its consolidated financial position or liquidity.

Long-Term Unconditional Purchase Obligations and Commitments, Including Throughput and Take-or-Pay AgreementsThe company and its subsidiaries have certain contingent liabilities with respect to long-term unconditional purchase obligations and commitments, including throughput and take-or-pay agreements, some of which relate to suppliers’ financing arrangements. The agreements typically provide goods and services, such as pipeline and storage capacity, drilling rigs, utilities, and petroleum products, to be used or sold in the ordinary course of the company’s business. The aggregate approximate amounts of required payments under these various commitments are: 2017 – $1,527; 2018 – $1,566; 2019 – $1,389; 2020 – $1,071; 2021 – $968; 2022 and after – $2,572. A portion of these commitments may ultimately be shared with project partners. Total payments under the agreements were approximately $1,300 in 2016, $1,900 in 2015 and $3,700 in 2014.

Environmental The company is subject to loss contingencies pursuant to laws, regulations, private claims and legal proceedings related to environmental matters that are subject to legal settlements or that in the future may require the company to take action to correct or ameliorate the effects on the environment of prior release of chemicals or petroleum substances, including MTBE, by the company or other parties. Such contingencies may exist for various operating, closed and divested sites, including, but not limited to, federal Superfund sites and analogous sites under state laws, refineries, chemical plants, marketing facilities, crude oil fields, and mining sites.

Although the company has provided for known environmental obligations that are probable and reasonably estimable, it is likely that the company will continue to incur additional liabilities. The amount of additional future costs are not fully determinable due to such factors as the unknown magnitude of possible contamination, the unknown timing and extent of the corrective actions that may be required, the determination of the company’s liability in proportion to other responsible parties, and the extent to which such costs are recoverable from third parties. These future costs may be material to results of operations in the period in which they are recognized, but the company does not expect these costs will have a material effect on its consolidated financial position or liquidity.

Chevron’s environmental reserve as of December 31, 2016, was $1,467. Included in this balance was $284 related to remediation activities at approximately 146 sites for which the company had been identified as a potentially responsible party under the provisions of the federal Superfund law or analogous state laws which provide for joint and several liability for all responsible parties. Any future actions by regulatory agencies to require Chevron to assume other potentially responsible parties’ costs at designated hazardous waste sites are not expected to have a material effect on the company’s results of operations, consolidated financial position or liquidity.

Of the remaining year-end 2016 environmental reserves balance of $1,183, $808 is related to the company’s U.S. downstream operations, $51 to its international downstream operations, $322 to upstream operations and $2 to other businesses. Liabilities at all sites were primarily associated with the company’s plans and activities to remediate soil or groundwater contamination or both.

The company manages environmental liabilities under specific sets of regulatory requirements, which in the United States include the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and various state and local regulations. No single remediation site at year-end 2016 had a recorded liability that was material to the company’s results of operations, consolidated financial position or liquidity.

Refer to Note 26 on page FS-62 for a discussion of the company’s asset retirement obligations.

Other ContingenciesOn November 7, 2011, while drilling a development well in the deepwater Frade Field about 75 miles offshore Brazil, an unanticipated pressure spike caused oil to migrate from the well bore through a series of fissures to the sea floor, emitting approximately 2,400 barrels of oil. The source of the seep was substantially contained within four days and the well was plugged and abandoned. On March 14, 2012, the company identified a small, second seep in a different part of the field. No evidence of any coastal or wildlife impacts related to either of these seeps emerged. As reported in the company’s previously filed periodic reports, it has resolved civil claims relating to these incidents brought by a Brazilian federal district prosecutor. As also reported previously, the federal district prosecutor also filed criminal charges against Chevron and 11 Chevron employees. These charges were dismissed by the trial court on February 19, 2013, reinstated by an appellate court on October 9, 2013, and then, upon Chevron’s motion for reconsideration, dismissed by the appellate court on August 27, 2015. The federal district prosecutor has appealed the appellate court’s decision.

Chevron receives claims from and submits claims to customers; trading partners; joint venture partners; U.S. federal, state and local regulatory bodies; governments; contractors; insurers; suppliers; and individuals. The amounts of these claims, individually and in the aggregate, may be significant and take lengthy periods to resolve, and may result in gains or losses in future periods.

The company and its affiliates also continue to review and analyze their operations and may close, abandon, sell, exchange, acquire or restructure assets to achieve operational or strategic benefits and to improve competitiveness and profitability. These activities, individually or together, may result in significant gains or losses in future periods.