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Partnerships and Joint Ventures
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
Partnerships and Joint Ventures  
Partnerships and Joint Ventures Partnerships and Joint Ventures
In the normal course of business, the company forms partnerships or joint ventures primarily for the execution of single contracts or projects. The majority of these partnerships or joint ventures are characterized by a 50 percent or less, noncontrolling ownership or participation interest, with decision making and distribution of expected gains and losses typically being proportionate to the ownership or participation interest. Many of the partnership and joint venture agreements provide for capital calls to fund operations, as necessary. Accounts receivable related to work performed for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures included in “Accounts and notes receivable, net” on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet were $123 million and $148 million as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively. Notes receivable from unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures included in “Accounts and notes receivable, net” and “Other assets” on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet were $31 million as of September 30, 2019 and $27 million as of December 31, 2018.
For unconsolidated construction partnerships and joint ventures, the company generally recognizes its proportionate share of revenue, cost and profit in its Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and uses the one-line equity method of accounting on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet, which is a common application of ASC 810-10-45-14 in the construction industry. The company also executes projects through collaborative arrangements for which the company recognizes its relative share of revenue and cost. The equity method of accounting is also used for other investments in entities where the company has significant influence. The company’s investments in unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures accounted for under these methods amounted to $607 million and $886 million as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, and were classified under “Investments” and “Other accrued liabilities” on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.
One of the company's more significant joint ventures is COOEC Fluor Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (“CFHI”), a joint venture in which the company has a 49% ownership interest and Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation, has a 51% ownership interest. Through CFHI, the two companies own, operate and manage the Zhuhai Fabrication Yard in China’s Guangdong province. The company has a future funding commitment of $26 million. The carrying value of the company's investment in CFHI was reduced from $376 million as of December 31, 2018 to $112 million as of September 30, 2019. See Note 20 for a discussion of the impairment loss recognized on this investment during the third quarter of 2019. The company intends to continue exploring strategic alternatives for its investment, which could include dilution of the company's ownership interest in the joint venture.
Variable Interest Entities
In accordance with ASC 810, “Consolidation,” the company assesses its partnerships and joint ventures at inception to determine if any meet the qualifications of a variable interest entity (“VIE”). The company considers a partnership or joint venture a VIE if it has any of the following characteristics: (a) the total equity investment is not sufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support, (b) characteristics of a controlling financial interest are missing (either the ability to make decisions through voting or other rights, the obligation to absorb the expected losses of the entity or the right to receive the expected residual returns of the entity), or (c) the voting rights of the equity holders are not proportional to their obligations to absorb the expected losses of the entity and/or their rights to receive the expected residual returns of the entity, and substantially all of the entity’s activities either involve or are conducted on behalf of an investor that has disproportionately few voting rights. Upon the occurrence of certain events outlined in ASC 810, the company reassesses its initial determination of whether the partnership or joint venture is a VIE. The majority of the company’s partnerships and joint ventures qualify as VIEs because the total equity investment is typically nominal and not sufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support.
The company also performs a qualitative assessment of each VIE to determine if the company is its primary beneficiary, as required by ASC 810. The company concludes that it is the primary beneficiary and consolidates the VIE if the company has both (a) the power to direct the economically significant activities of the entity and (b) the obligation to absorb losses of, or the right to receive benefits from, the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The company considers the contractual agreements that define the ownership structure, distribution of profits and losses, risks, responsibilities, indebtedness, voting rights and board representation of the respective parties in determining if the company is the primary beneficiary. The company also considers all parties that have direct or implicit variable interests when determining whether it is the primary beneficiary. As required by ASC 810, management’s assessment of whether the company is the primary beneficiary of a VIE is continuously performed.
The net carrying value of the unconsolidated VIEs classified under “Investments” and “Other accrued liabilities” on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet was a net asset of $212 million and $237 million as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively. Some of the company’s VIEs have debt; however, such debt is typically non-recourse in nature. The company’s maximum exposure to loss as a result of its investments in unconsolidated VIEs is typically limited to the aggregate of the carrying value of the investment and future funding necessary to satisfy the contractual obligations of the VIE. Future funding commitments as of September 30, 2019 for the unconsolidated VIEs were $77 million.
In some cases, the company is required to consolidate certain VIEs. As of September 30, 2019, the carrying values of the assets and liabilities associated with the operations of the consolidated VIEs were $1.1 billion and $785 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2018, the carrying values of the assets and liabilities associated with the operations of the consolidated VIEs were $1.2 billion and $745 million, respectively. The assets of a VIE are restricted for use only for the particular VIE and are not available for general operations of the company.
The company has agreements with certain VIEs to provide financial or performance assurances to clients. See Note 15 for a further discussion of such agreements.