Suspended Exploratory Well Costs

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Disclosure Text Block [Abstract]

Suspended Exploratory Well Costs

5. Suspended Exploratory Well Costs

       The Company’s suspended exploratory well costs were $2.2 billion at September 30, 2013, and $2.1 billion at December 31, 2012. The increase in suspended exploratory well costs during 2013 is primarily related to the capitalization of costs associated with successful exploration drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, and Mozambique. Management believes projects with suspended exploratory well costs exhibit sufficient quantities of hydrocarbons to justify potential development and is actively pursuing efforts to assess whether reserves can be attributed to these projects. If additional information becomes available that raises substantial doubt as to the economic or operational viability of any of these projects, the associated costs will be expensed at that time. During the nine months ended September 30, 2013, $95 million of exploratory well costs previously capitalized as suspended exploratory well costs for greater than one year at December 31, 2012, were charged to dry hole expense.