Property, Plant and Equipment Accounting Policy
Oil and Gas
The carrying value of Occidental's property, plant and equipment (PP&E) represents the cost incurred to acquire or develop the asset, including any capitalized interest, net of accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization (DD&A) and net of any impairment charges. For business acquisitions, PP&E cost is based on fair values at the acquisition date. Interest costs incurred in connection with qualifying capital expenditures are capitalized and amortized over the lives of the related assets.
Occidental uses the successful efforts method to account for its oil and gas properties. Under this method, costs of acquiring properties, costs of drilling successful exploration wells and development costs are capitalized. The costs of exploratory wells are initially capitalized pending a determination of whether proved reserves have been found. If proved reserves have been found, the costs of exploratory wells remain capitalized. Otherwise, the costs of the related exploratory wells are charged to expense. In some cases, a determination of proved reserves cannot be made at the completion of drilling, requiring additional testing and evaluation of the wells. Occidental's practice is generally to expense the costs of such exploratory wells if a determination of proved reserves has not been made within a 12-month period after drilling is complete.
Annual lease rentals and geological, geophysical and seismic costs are expensed as incurred.
Occidental's policy is to expense the costs of injectants for secondary and tertiary recovery.
Depreciation and depletion of oil and gas producing properties are determined by the unit-of-production method. Leasehold acquisition costs are amortized over total proved reserves, while capitalized development and successful exploration costs are amortized over proved developed reserves.
Proved oil and gas reserves (as defined in the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation S-X, Rule 4-10(a)) are those quantities of oil and gas, which, by analysis of geoscience and engineering data, can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be economically producible—from a given date forward, from known reservoirs, and under existing economic conditions, operating methods, and government regulations—prior to the time at which contracts providing the right to operate expire, unless evidence indicates that renewal is reasonably certain, regardless of whether deterministic or probabilistic methods are used for the estimation. Occidental has no proved oil and gas reserves for which the determination of commercial viability is subject to the completion of major additional capital expenditures.
A portion of the carrying value of Occidental's oil and gas properties is attributable to unproved properties. At December 31, 2011, the net capitalized costs attributable to unproved properties were $4.9 billion. The unproved amounts are not subject to DD&A or impairment until they are classified as proved properties. As exploration and development work progresses, if reserves on these properties are proved, capitalized costs attributable to the properties will become subject to DD&A. If the exploration and development work were to be unsuccessful, or management's plans changed with respect to these properties, as a result of economic, operating or contractual conditions, the capitalized costs of the related properties would be expensed. The timing of any writedowns of these unproved properties, if warranted, depends upon management's plans, the nature, timing and extent of future exploration and development activities and their results. Occidental believes its current plans and exploration and development efforts will allow it to realize its unproved property balance.
Additionally, Occidental performs impairment tests with respect to its proved properties generally when prices decline other than temporarily, reserve estimates change significantly or other significant events occur that may impact its ability to realize the recorded asset amounts. Impairment tests incorporate a number of assumptions involving expectations of future cash flows, which can change significantly over time. These assumptions include estimates of future product prices, which Occidental bases on forward price curves and, where applicable, contractual prices, estimates of oil and gas reserves and estimates of future expected operating and development costs. Fluctuations in commodity prices and production and development costs could cause management's plans to change with respect to unproved properties and could cause the carrying values of proved properties to be unrealizable. Such circumstances could result in impairments in the carrying values of proved or unproved properties or both. Any impairment loss would be calculated as the excess of the asset's net book value over its estimated fair value.
Chemical
Occidental's chemical assets are depreciated using either the unit-of-production or straight-line method, based upon the estimated useful lives of the facilities. The estimated useful lives of Occidental's chemical assets, which range from three years to 50 years, are also used for impairment tests. The estimated useful lives for the chemical facilities are based on the assumption that Occidental will provide an appropriate level of annual expenditures to ensure productive capacity is sustained. Such expenditures consist of ongoing routine repairs and maintenance, as well as planned major maintenance activities (PMMA). Ongoing routine repairs and maintenance expenditures are expensed as incurred. PMMA costs are capitalized and amortized over the period until the next planned overhaul. Additionally, Occidental incurs capital expenditures that extend the remaining useful lives of existing assets, increase their capacity or operating efficiency beyond the original specification or add value through modification for a different use. These capital expenditures are not considered in the initial determination of the useful lives of these assets at the time they are placed into service. The resulting revision, if any, of the asset's estimated useful life is measured and accounted for prospectively.
Without these continued expenditures, the useful lives of these assets could decrease significantly. Other factors that could change the estimated useful lives of Occidental's chemical assets include sustained higher or lower product prices, which are particularly affected by both domestic and foreign competition, demand, feedstock costs, energy prices, environmental regulations and technological changes.
Occidental performs impairment tests on its chemical assets whenever events or changes in circumstances lead to a reduction in the estimated useful lives or estimated future cash flows that would indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable, or when management's plans change with respect to those assets. Any impairment loss would be calculated as the excess of the asset's net book value over its estimated fair value.
Midstream and Marketing
Occidental's midstream and marketing PP&E is depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the assets, using either the unit-of-production or straight-line method.
Occidental performs impairment tests on its midstream and marketing assets whenever events or changes in circumstances lead to a reduction in the estimated useful lives or estimated future cash flows that would indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable, or when management's plans change with respect to those assets. Any impairment loss would be calculated as the excess of the asset's net book value over its estimated fair value.
Source: Occidental Petroleum Corp., Annual Report
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