Ventures and Variable Interest Entities

Consolidated Variable Interest Entities

The Company has a joint venture, Fairway Methanol LLC ("Fairway"), with Mitsui & Co., Ltd., of Tokyo, Japan ("Mitsui"), in which the Company owns 50% of Fairway, for the production of methanol at the Company's integrated chemical plant in Clear Lake, Texas. The methanol unit utilizes natural gas in the US Gulf Coast region as a feedstock and benefits from the existing infrastructure at the Company's Clear Lake facility. Both Mitsui and the Company supply their own natural gas to Fairway in exchange for methanol tolling under a cost-plus off-take arrangement.

The Company determined that Fairway is a variable interest entity ("VIE") in which the Company is the primary beneficiary. Under the terms of the joint venture agreements, the Company provides site services and day-to-day operations for the methanol facility. In addition, the joint venture agreements provide that the Company indemnifies Mitsui for environmental obligations that exceed a specified threshold, as well as an equity option between the partners. Accordingly, the Company consolidates the venture and records a noncontrolling interest for the share of the venture owned by Mitsui. Fairway is included in the Company's Acetyl Intermediates segment.

The carrying amount of the assets and liabilities associated with Fairway included in the unaudited consolidated balance sheets are as follows:



	As of March 31, 2017	As of December 31, 2016
	(In $ millions)
Cash and cash equivalents	13	18
Trade receivables, net - third party & affiliate	10	8
Property, plant and equipment (net of accumulated depreciation - 2017: $60; 2016: $50)	724	734
Intangible assets (net of accumulated amortization - 2017: $1; 2016: $1)	26	26
Other assets	8	9
Total assets⁽¹⁾	781	795

Trade payables	7	15
Other liabilities⁽²⁾	2	2
Total debt	5	5
Deferred income taxes	3	2
Total liabilities	17	24

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⁽¹⁾	Assets can only be used to settle the obligations of Fairway.


⁽²⁾	Primarily represents amounts owed by Fairway to the Company for reimbursement of expenditures.

Nonconsolidated Variable Interest Entities

The Company holds variable interests in entities that supply certain raw materials and services to the Company. The variable interests primarily relate to cost-plus contractual arrangements with the suppliers and recovery of capital expenditures for certain plant assets plus a rate of return on such assets. Liabilities for such supplier recoveries of capital expenditures have been recorded as capital lease obligations. The entities are not consolidated because the Company is not the primary beneficiary of the entities as it does not have the power to direct the activities of the entities that most significantly impact the entities' economic performance. The Company's maximum exposure to loss as a result of its involvement with these VIEs as of March 31, 2017 relates primarily to the recovery of capital expenditures for certain property, plant and equipment.

The carrying amount of the assets and liabilities associated with the obligations to nonconsolidated VIEs, as well as the maximum exposure to loss relating to these nonconsolidated VIEs are as follows:



	As of March 31, 2017	As of December 31, 2016
	(In $ millions)
Property, plant and equipment, net	58	60

Trade payables	38	53
Current installments of long-term debt	10	10
Long-term debt	88	91
Restructuring reserves (Note 13)	27	—
Total liabilities	163	154

Maximum exposure to loss	221	240

The difference between the total liabilities associated with obligations to nonconsolidated VIEs and the maximum exposure to loss primarily represents take-or-pay obligations for services included in the Company's unconditional purchase obligations (Note 17).