Fair Value Measurements (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

We carry certain assets and liabilities at fair value, which we measure at the reporting date using the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (i.e., an exit price), and disclose the quality of these fair values based on the valuation inputs used in these measurements under the following hierarchy:


•	Level 1: Fair value measured with unadjusted quoted prices from an active market for identical assets or liabilities.


•	Level 2: Fair value measured either with: (1) adjusted quoted prices from an active market for similar assets or liabilities; or (2) other valuation inputs that are directly or indirectly observable.


•	Level 3: Fair value measured with unobservable inputs that are significant to the measurement.

We classify the fair value of an asset or liability based on the significance of its observable or unobservable inputs to the measurement. However, the fair value of an asset or liability initially reported as Level 3 will be subsequently reported as Level 2 if the unobservable inputs become inconsequential to its measurement or corroborating market data becomes available. Conversely, an asset or liability initially reported as Level 2 will be subsequently reported as Level 3 if corroborating market data becomes unavailable.

We used the following methods and assumptions to estimate the fair value of financial instruments:


•	Cash and cash equivalents—The carrying amount reported on our consolidated balance sheet approximates fair value.


•	Accounts and notes receivable—The carrying amount reported on our consolidated balance sheet approximates fair value.

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Derivative instruments—We fair value our exchange-traded contracts based on quoted market prices obtained from the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Intercontinental Exchange or other exchanges, and classify them as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy. When exchange-cleared contracts lack sufficient liquidity, or are valued using either adjusted exchange-provided prices or nonexchange quotes, we classify those contracts as Level 2.

Physical commodity forward purchase and sales contracts and over-the-counter (OTC) financial swaps are generally valued using forward quotes provided by brokers and price index developers, such as Platts and Oil Price Information Service. We corroborate these quotes with market data and classify the resulting fair values as Level 2. When forward market prices are not available, we estimate fair value using the forward price of a similar commodity, adjusted for the difference in quality or location. In certain less liquid markets or for longer-term contracts, forward prices are not as readily available. In these circumstances, physical commodity purchase and sales contracts and OTC swaps are valued using internally developed methodologies that consider historical relationships among various commodities that result in management’s best estimate of fair value. We classify these contracts as Level 3. Physical and OTC commodity options are valued using industry-standard models that consider various assumptions, including quoted forward prices for commodities, time value, volatility factors and contractual prices for the underlying instruments, as well as other relevant economic measures. The degree to which these inputs are observable in the forward markets determines whether the options are classified as Level 2 or 3. We use a midmarket pricing convention (the midpoint between bid and ask prices). When appropriate, valuations are adjusted to reflect credit considerations, generally based on available market evidence.

We determine the fair value of our interest rate swaps based on observable market valuations for interest rate swaps that have notional amounts, terms and pay and reset frequencies similar to ours.


•	Rabbi trust assets—These deferred compensation investments are measured at fair value using unadjusted quoted prices available from national securities exchanges and are therefore categorized as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy.

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Debt—The carrying amount of our floating-rate debt approximates fair value. The fair value of our fixed-rate debt is estimated based on observable market prices.