Properties and Equipment	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012
Disclosure Text Block [Abstract]
Properties and Equipment	4. Properties and Equipment Suspended Exploratory Well Costs The Company's suspended exploratory well costs at September 30, 2012, and December 31, 2011, were $1.9 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively. The increase in suspended exploratory well costs during 2012 primarily relates to the capitalization of costs associated with successful exploration drilling in Mozambique, the Gulf of Mexico, the Marcellus shale in the Southern and Appalachia Region, and Ghana. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, $41 million of exploratory well costs previously capitalized as suspended exploratory well costs for greater than one year as of December 31, 2011, were charged to dry hole expense. 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. Assets Held for Sale In 2011, the Company began marketing certain domestic properties from the oil and gas exploration and production reporting segment and the midstream reporting segment in order to redirect operating activities and capital investment to other areas. These assets were remeasured to their fair value, estimated using Level 3 fair-value inputs, with resulting losses of $268 million related to oil and gas exploration and production reporting segment properties and $31 million related to midstream reporting segment properties for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011. In 2012, the Company recognized losses on assets held for sale of $5 million and $35 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, respectively, primarily related to certain oil and gas exploration and production reporting segment properties. Gains and losses related to assets held for sale are included in gains (losses) on divestitures and other, net in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Income. At September 30, 2012, the remaining balances of assets and liabilities associated with assets held for sale were not material.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for long-lived, physical assets that are used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include land, buildings, machinery and equipment, and other types of furniture and equipment including, but not limited to, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment and software. This disclosure may include property plant and equipment accounting policies and methodology, a schedule of property, plant and equipment gross, additions, deletions, transfers and other changes, depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, net, accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization expense and useful lives, income statement disclosures, assets held for sale and public utility disclosures.

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