Property, Plant and Equipment

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment

3.  Property, Plant and Equipment

Assets Held for Sale:

In March 2021, we entered into an agreement to sell our interests in Denmark for total consideration of $150 million, with an effective date of January 1, 2021. At June 30, 2021, property, plant and equipment and operating lease right-of-use assets totaling $228 million, and asset retirement obligations and operating lease liabilities totaling $139 million, associated with our interests in Denmark were presented as Assets held for sale and as liabilities held for sale within Accrued Liabilities, respectively, in our Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Dispositions:

In April 2021, we completed the sale of our Little Knife and Murphy Creek nonstrategic acreage interests in the Bakken for net cash consideration of $297 million, after closing adjustments. The sale included approximately 78,700 net acres, which are located in the southernmost portion of the Corporation's Bakken position. The acreage constituted part of a larger amortization base and the sale was treated as a normal retirement. Accordingly, no gain or loss was recognized upon sale.

Capitalized Exploratory Well Costs:  

The following table discloses the net changes in capitalized exploratory well costs pending determination of proved reserves during the six months ended June 30, 2021 (in millions):

Balance at January 1, 2021	$	459
Additions to capitalized exploratory well costs pending the determination of proved reserves	72
Balance at June 30, 2021	$	531

Capitalized exploratory well costs capitalized for greater than one year following completion of drilling were $375 million at June 30, 2021 and primarily related to:  

Guyana: Approximately 85% of the capitalized well costs in excess of one year relate to successful exploration wells where hydrocarbons were encountered on the Stabroek Block (Hess 30%), offshore Guyana.  The operator plans further appraisal drilling and is conducting pre-development planning for additional phases of development beyond the three previously sanctioned development projects on the Block.

Joint Development Area (JDA):  Approximately 10% of the capitalized well costs in excess of one year relates to the JDA (Hess 50%) in the Gulf of Thailand, where hydrocarbons were encountered in three successful exploration wells drilled in the western part of Block A-18. The operator has submitted a development plan concept to the regulator to facilitate ongoing commercial negotiations for an extension of the existing gas sales contract to include development of the western part of the Block.

Malaysia:  Approximately 5% of the capitalized well costs in excess of one year relate to the North Malay Basin (Hess 50%), offshore Peninsular Malaysia, where hydrocarbons were encountered in one successful exploration well.  Subsurface evaluation and pre-development studies are ongoing.