Note 6—Suspended Wells and Other Exploration Expenses

The capitalized cost of suspended wells at March 31, 2017, was $834 million, a decrease of $229 million from $1,063 million at year-end 2016. Two suspended wells in Shenandoah in the Gulf of Mexico totaling $94 million and one suspended well in Alaska totaling $17 million were charged to dry hole expense during the first three months of 2017 relating to exploratory well costs capitalized for a period greater than one year as of December 31, 2016.

In February 2017, we reached a settlement agreement on our contract for the Athena drilling rig, initially secured for our four-well commitment program in Angola. As a result of the cancellation, we recorded a before-tax charge of $43 million net in the first quarter of 2017.

This charge is included in the “Exploration expenses” line on our consolidated income statement.