Fair Value Measurements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements

Note 4 Fair Value Measurements

The following table sets forth, by level within the fair-value hierarchy, our financial assets and liabilities that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2013.  Our debt securities could transfer into or out of a Level 1 or 2 measure depending on the availability of independent and current pricing at the end of each quarter.  During the three months ended March 31, 2013, there were no transfers of our financial assets between Level 1 and Level 2 measures.  Our financial assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

	Fair Value as of March 31, 2013
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
	(In thousands)
Assets:
Short-term investments:
Available-for-sale equity securities from energy industry	$	96,256	$	862	$	—	$	97,118
Available-for-sale debt securities:
Commercial paper and CDs	88		—		—		88
Corporate debt securities	—		26,550		—		26,550
Mortgage-backed debt securities	—		218		—		218
Mortgage-CMO debt securities	—		253		—		253
Asset-backed debt securities	1,365		—		—		1,365
Total short-term investments	$	97,709	$	27,883	$	—	$	125,592

Nonrecurring Fair Value Measurements

Fair value measurements were applied with respect to our nonfinancial assets and liabilities measured on a nonrecurring basis, which would consist of measurements primarily to assets held-for-sale, goodwill, intangible assets and other long-lived assets, assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination, asset retirement obligations and our contractual pipeline commitment.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of our financial instruments has been estimated in accordance with GAAP. The fair value of our long-term debt and subsidiary preferred stock is estimated based on quoted market prices or prices quoted from third-party financial institutions. The carrying and fair values of these liabilities were as follows:

	March 31, 2013				December 31, 2012
	Carrying  Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value
	(In thousands)
6.15% senior notes due February 2018	$	969,012	$	1,114,620	$	968,708	$	1,164,813
9.25% senior notes due January 2019	1,125,000		1,451,846		1,125,000		1,492,819
5.00% senior notes due September 2020	697,724		744,198		697,648		770,707
4.625% senior notes due September 2021	697,967		705,810		697,907		755,517
Subsidiary preferred stock	69,188		68,625		69,188		68,625
Revolving credit facility	890,000		890,000		890,000		890,000
Other	490		490		437		437
	$	4,449,381	$	4,975,589	$	4,448,888	$	5,142,918

The fair values of our cash equivalents, trade receivables and trade payables approximate their carrying values due to the short-term nature of these instruments.

As of March 31, 2013, our short-term investments were carried at fair market value and included $125.6 million in securities classified as available-for-sale.  As of December 31, 2012, our short-term investments were carried at fair market value and included $200.6 million and $52.7 million in securities classified as available-for-sale and trading, respectively.