Asset Retirement Obligations

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2013

Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]

Asset retirement obligation (ARO) consists primarily of estimated costs of dismantlement, removal, site reclamation and similar activities associated with our oil and gas properties. Changes in ARO are as follows:



	Six Months Ended June 30,
	2013			2012
(millions)
Asset Retirement Obligations, Beginning Balance	$	402		$	377
Liabilities Incurred	2			23
Liabilities Settled	(10		)	(2		)
Revision of Estimate	7			20
Accretion Expense ⁽¹⁾	14			14
Other	—			(89		)
Asset Retirement Obligations, Ending Balance	$	415		$	343

⁽¹⁾Accretion expense is included in DD&A expense in the consolidated statements of operations.

Liabilities incurred in 2013 relate primarily to wells drilled in the DJ Basin, onshore US. Liabilities incurred in 2012 include costs to abandon the Leviathan-2 appraisal well, offshore Israel. Liabilities settled in 2013 relate primarily to onshore US properties sold. See Note 3. Divestitures. Revisions relate primarily to our Alen development, offshore Equatorial Guinea, in 2013 and China in 2012. Other includes ARO liabilities associated with North Sea properties held for sale, which were included within liabilities associated with assets held for sale.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for an asset retirement obligation and the associated long-lived asset. An asset retirement obligation is a legal obligation associated with the disposal or retirement from service of a tangible long-lived asset that results from the acquisition, construction or development, or the normal operations of a long-lived asset, except for certain obligations of lessees.

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