FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

Fair value accounting guidance includes a hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 inputs) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 inputs).

FCX recognizes transfers between levels at the end of the reporting period. FCX did not have any significant transfers in or out of Level 1, 2 or 3 for 2014. A summary of the carrying amount and fair value of FCX’s financial instruments, other than cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, and dividends payable follows:



	At December 31, 2014
	Carrying		Fair Value
	Amount		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets
Investment securities:^a,b,c
U.S. core fixed income fund	$	23	$	23	$	—	$	23	$	—
Money market funds	20		20		20		—		—
Equity securities	3		3		3		—		—
Total	46		46		23		23		—

Legally restricted funds:^a,b,d
U.S. core fixed income fund	52		52		—		52		—
Government bonds and notes	39		39		—		39		—
Corporate bonds	27		27		—		27		—
Government mortgage-backed securities	25		25		—		25		—
Asset-backed securities	17		17		—		17		—
Money market funds	11		11		11		—		—
Municipal bonds	1		1		—		1		—
Total	172		172		11		161		—



Derivatives:^a,e
Embedded derivatives in provisional sales/purchase
contracts in a gross asset position	15		15		—		15		—
Crude oil options	316		316		—		—		316
Total	331		331		—		15		316

Total assets			$	549	$	34	$	199	$	316

Liabilities
Derivatives:^a,e
Embedded derivatives in provisional sales/purchase
contracts in a gross liability position	$	93	$	93	$	—	$	93	$	—
Copper futures and swap contracts	7		7		6		1		—
Total	100		100		6		94		—

Long-term debt, including current portion^f	18,970		18,735		—		18,735		—

Total liabilities			$	18,835	$	6	$	18,829	$	—



	At December 31, 2013
	Carrying		Fair Value
	Amount		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets
Investment securities:^a,b
U.S. core fixed income fund	$	21	$	21	$	—	$	21	$	—
Money market funds	18		18		18		—		—
Equity securities	5		5		5		—		—
Total	44		44		23		21		—

Legally restricted funds:^a,b,d
U.S. core fixed income fund	48		48		—		48		—
Government mortgage-backed securities	34		34		—		34		—
Corporate bonds	28		28		—		28		—
Government bonds and notes	28		28		—		28		—
Money market funds	28		28		28		—		—
Asset-backed securities	15		15		—		15		—
Municipal bonds	1		1		—		1		—
Total	182		182		28		154		—

Derivatives:^a,e
Embedded derivatives in provisional sales/purchase
contracts in a gross asset position	63		63		—		63		—
Copper futures and swap contracts	6		6		5		1		—
Total	69		69		5		64		—

Total assets			$	295	$	56	$	239	$	—

Liabilities
Derivatives:^a
Embedded derivatives in provisional sales/purchase
contracts in a gross liability position^e	$	16	$	16	$	—	$	16	$	—
Crude oil options^e	309		309		—		—		309
Natural gas swaps^e	4		4		—		4		—
Copper forward contracts^e	1		1		1		—		—
Plains Offshore warrants^g	2		2		—		—		2
Total	332		332		1		20		311

Long-term debt, including current portion^f	20,706		20,487		—		20,487		—

Total liabilities			$	20,819	$	1	$	20,507	$	311


a.	Recorded at fair value.


b.	Current portion included in other current assets and long-term portion included in other assets.


c.	Excludes $115 million of time deposits (which approximated fair value) at December 31, 2014 (included in other assets), associated with an assurance bond to support PT-FI's commitment for smelter development in Indonesia (refer to Note 13 for further discussion).

Excludes time deposits (which approximated fair value) of $17 million (included in other current assets) associated with a customs audit assessment and a reclamation guarantee at PT-FI at December 31, 2014, and $15 million included in other current assets and $210 million in other assets at December 31, 2013, associated with the Cerro Verde royalty dispute (refer to Note 12 for further discussion).


e.	Refer to Note 14 for further discussion and balance sheet classifications. Crude oil options were net of $210 million at December 31, 2014, and $444 million at December 31, 2013, for deferred premiums and accrued interest.


f.	Recorded at cost except for debt assumed in acquisitions, which are recorded at fair value at the respective acquisition dates.


g.	Included in other liabilities.

Valuation Techniques

Money market funds are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using quoted market prices in active markets.

Fixed income securities (U.S. core fixed income funds, government securities, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities and municipal bonds) are valued using a bid evaluation price or a mid-evaluation price. A bid evaluation price is an estimated price at which a dealer would pay for a security. A mid-evaluation price is the average of the estimated price at which a dealer would sell a security and the estimated price at which a dealer would pay for a security. These evaluations are based on quoted prices, if available, or models that use observable inputs and, as such, are classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

Equity securities are valued at the closing price reported on the active market on which the individual securities are traded and, as such, are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy.

FCX’s embedded derivatives on provisional copper concentrate, copper cathode and gold purchases and sales have critical observable inputs of quoted monthly LME or COMEX copper forward prices and the London gold forward price at each reporting date based on the month of maturity; however, FCX's contracts themselves are not traded on an exchange. As a result, these derivatives are classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

FCX's derivative financial instruments for crude oil options are valued using an option pricing model, which uses various observable inputs including IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (ICE) crude oil prices, volatilities, interest rates and contract terms. FCX's derivative financial instruments for natural gas swaps were valued using a pricing model that had various observable inputs, including NYMEX price quotations, interest rates and contract terms (classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy). Valuations are adjusted for credit quality, using the counterparties' credit quality for asset balances and FCX's credit quality for liability balances (which considers the impact of netting agreements on counterparty credit risk, including whether the position with the counterparty is a net asset or net liability). For asset balances, FCX uses the credit default swap value for counterparties when available or the spread between the risk-free interest rate and the yield rate on the counterparties' publicly traded debt for similar instruments. The crude oil options are classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy because the inputs used in the valuation models are not observable for substantially the full term of the instruments. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the crude oil options are implied volatilities and deferred premiums. Significant increases (decreases) in implied volatilities in isolation would result in a significantly higher (lower) fair value measurement. The implied volatilities range from 34 percent to 53 percent, with a weighted average of 39 percent. The weighted-average cost of deferred premiums totals $6.89 per barrel at December 31, 2014. Refer to Note 14 for further discussion of these derivative financial instruments.

FCX’s derivative financial instruments for copper futures and swap contracts and copper forward contracts that are traded on the respective exchanges are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using quoted monthly COMEX or LME prices at each reporting date based on the month of maturity (refer to Note 14 for further discussion). Certain of these contracts are traded on the over-the-counter market and are classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy based on COMEX and LME forward prices.

Long-term debt, including current portion, is not actively traded and is valued using prices obtained from a readily available pricing source and, as such, is classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

The techniques described above may produce a fair value calculation that may not be indicative of net realizable value or reflective of future fair values. Furthermore, while FCX believes its valuation techniques are appropriate and consistent with other market participants, the use of different techniques or assumptions to determine fair value of certain financial instruments could result in a different fair value measurement at the reporting date. There have been no changes in the techniques used at December 31, 2014.

A summary of the changes in the fair value of FCX's most significant Level 3 instruments, crude oil options, follows:



Fair value at January 1, 2013	$	—
Crude oil options assumed in the PXP acquisition	(83		)
Net realized losses	(38		)	^a
Net unrealized losses included in earnings related to liabilities still held at the end of the period	(230		)	^b
Settlement payments	42
Fair value at December 31, 2013	$	(309	)
Net realized losses	(42		)	^a
Net unrealized gains included in earnings related to assets still held at the end of the period	430			^b
Settlement payments	237
Fair value at December 31, 2014	$	316


a.	Includes net realized losses of $37 million recorded in revenues in 2013 and $41 million in 2014, and $1 million of interest expense associated with deferred premiums in 2013 and 2014.


b.	Includes unrealized losses (gains) of $228 million recorded in revenues in 2013 and $(432) million in 2014, and $2 million of interest expense associated with deferred premiums in 2013 and 2014.

Refer to Note 2 for the levels within the fair value hierarchy associated with other assets acquired, liabilities assumed and redeemable noncontrolling interest related to PXP and MMR acquisitions and the goodwill impairment.