Miscellaneous Financial Information

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Disclosure Text Block Supplement [Abstract]

Miscellaneous Financial Information

Miscellaneous Financial Information

During the first quarter of 2020, the balance of supply and demand for petroleum and petrochemical products experienced two significant disruptive effects. On the demand side, the COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly through most areas of the world resulting in substantial reductions in consumer and business activity and significantly reduced demand for crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum products. This reduction in demand coincided with announcements of increased production in certain key oil-producing countries which led to increases in inventory levels and sharp declines in prices for crude oil and petrochemical products. During the second and third quarters, the effects of COVID-19 continued to have a negative impact on the world’s major economies and demand for our products. Market conditions continue to reflect considerable uncertainty as consumer and business activity has exhibited some degree of recovery, but remains lower when compared to prior periods as a result of the pandemic.

Crude oil, products and merchandise inventories are carried at the lower of current market value or cost, generally determined under the last-in first-out method (LIFO). The Corporation's results for the third quarter of 2020 included a before-tax credit of $153 million, included in "Crude oil and product purchases" on the Statement of Income, as rising commodity prices resulted in the reversal of the charge against the book value of inventories as of the second quarter. This adjustment, together with a market adjustment to inventory for equity companies included in "Income from equity affiliates," resulted in a $113 million after-tax credit to earnings (excluding noncontrolling interests) in the third quarter. At year-end, any required adjustment to write down the book value of inventories to their market value is considered permanent and is incorporated into the LIFO carrying value of the inventory.

Primarily as a result of declines in prices for crude oil and other petrochemical products in 2020 and a significant decline in its market capitalization at the end of the first quarter, the Corporation recognized after-tax impairment charges of $884 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2020. These charges included goodwill impairments of $562 million in Upstream, Downstream, and Chemical reporting units and other impairment charges of $322 million, mainly in the Upstream segment. Fair value of the goodwill reporting units primarily reflected market-based estimates of historical EBITDA multiples at the end of the first quarter. Other impairment charges, mainly related to the Corporation’s investment in an Upstream equity company, reflect a write down to estimated fair value based on third party price outlooks, internal estimates of future volumes and costs, and estimates of discount rates for similar properties. Charges related to goodwill and asset impairments are included in “Depreciation and depletion” on the Statement of Income and charges related to equity method investments are included in “Income from equity affiliates.”