2.2.0.25falsefalse11501 - Disclosure - Litigation and Other Contingenciestruefalsefalse1falsefalseUSDfalsefalse1/1/2010 - 12/31/2010
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<p style="margin-top: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"><b><a name="fin121382_40"> </a>15. Litigation and Other Contingencies </b></font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 6px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"><b>Litigation</b>. A variety of claims have been made against ExxonMobil and certain of its consolidated subsidiaries in a number of pending lawsuits. Management has regular litigation reviews, including updates from corporate and outside counsel, to assess the need for accounting recognition or disclosure of these contingencies. The Corporation accrues an undiscounted liability for those contingencies where the incurrence of a loss is probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. If a range of amounts can be reasonably estimated and no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount, then the minimum of the range is accrued. The Corporation does not record liabilities when the likelihood that the liability has been incurred is probable but the amount cannot be reasonably estimated or when the liability is believed to be only reasonably possible or remote. For contingencies where an unfavorable outcome is reasonably possible and which are significant, the Corporation discloses the nature of the contingency and, where feasible, an estimate of the possible loss. ExxonMobil will continue to defend itself vigorously in these matters. Based on a consideration of all relevant facts and circumstances, the Corporation does not believe the ultimate outcome of any currently pending lawsuit against ExxonMobil will have a materially adverse effect upon the Corporation's operations, financial condition, or financial statements taken as a whole. </font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 1px;"> </p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"><b>Other Contingencies</b>. The Corporation and certain of its consolidated subsidiaries were contingently liable at December 31, 2010, for $<font class="_mt">8,771</font> million, primarily relating to guarantees for notes, loans and performance under contracts. Included in this amount were guarantees by consolidated affiliates of $<font class="_mt">5,290</font> million, representing ExxonMobil's share of obligations of certain equity companies. </font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 12px;"> </p>
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<td style="border-bottom: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom" colspan="10" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">Dec. 31, 2010</font></td>
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<td style="border-bottom: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom" colspan="2" nowrap="nowrap" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">Equity</font><br /><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">Company</font><br /><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">Obligations</font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
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<td style="border-bottom: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom" colspan="2" nowrap="nowrap" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">Other</font><br /><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">Third-Party</font><br /><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">Obligations</font></td>
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<td style="border-bottom: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom" colspan="2" nowrap="nowrap" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">Total</font></td>
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<td valign="bottom" colspan="10" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1"><i>(millions of dollars)</i></font></td>
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<p style="text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">Guarantees</font></p></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">$</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">5,290</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">$</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">3,481</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">$</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">8,771</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td></tr></table>
<p style="margin-top: 12px; text-indent: 4%; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">Additionally, the Corporation and its affiliates have numerous long-term sales and purchase commitments in their various business activities, all of which are expected to be fulfilled with no adverse consequences material to the Corporation's operations or financial condition. Unconditional purchase obligations as defined by accounting standards are those long-term commitments that are noncancelable or cancelable only under certain conditions, and that third parties have used to secure financing for the facilities that will provide the contracted goods or services. </font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 12px;"> </p>
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<td style="border-bottom: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom" colspan="14" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">Payments Due by Period</font></td>
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<td style="border-bottom: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom" colspan="2" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">2011</font></td>
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<td style="border-bottom: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom" colspan="2" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">2012-</font><br /><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">2015</font></td>
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<td style="border-bottom: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom" colspan="2" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">2016</font><br /><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">and</font><br /><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">Beyond</font></td>
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<td style="border-bottom: #000000 1px solid;" valign="bottom" colspan="2" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1">Total</font></td>
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<td valign="bottom" colspan="14" align="center"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="1"><i>(millions of dollars)</i></font></td>
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<p style="text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">Unconditional purchase obligations <i>(1)</i></font></p></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">$</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">287</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">$</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">748</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">$</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">487</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap="nowrap"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font class="_mt" size="1"> </font></td>
<td valign="bottom"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">$</font></td>
<td valign="bottom" align="right"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">1,522</font></td>
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<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 6px;"> </p>
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<tr><td valign="top" width="4%" align="left"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"><i>(1)</i></font></td>
<td class="MetaData" valign="top" align="left"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2"><i>Undiscounted obligations of $<font class="_mt">1,522</font> million mainly pertain to pipeline throughput agreements and include $<font class="_mt">996</font> million of obligations to equity companies. The present value of these commitments, which excludes imputed interest of $<font class="_mt">273</font> million, totaled $<font class="_mt">1,249</font> million. </i></font></td></tr></table>
<p style="margin-top: 12px; text-indent: 4%; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">In accordance with a nationalization decree issued by Venezuela's president in February 2007, by May 1, 2007, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan National Oil Company (PdVSA) assumed the operatorship of the Cerro Negro Heavy Oil Project. This Project had been operated and owned by ExxonMobil affiliates holding a <font class="_mt">41.67</font> percent ownership interest in the Project. The decree also required conversion of the Cerro Negro Project into a "mixed enterprise" and an increase in PdVSA's or one of its affiliate's ownership interest in the Project, with the stipulation that if ExxonMobil refused to accept the terms for the formation of the mixed enterprise within a specified period of time, the government would "directly assume the activities" carried out by the joint venture. ExxonMobil refused to accede to the terms proffered by the government, and on June 27, 2007, the government expropriated ExxonMobil's <font class="_mt">41.67</font> percent interest in the Cerro Negro Project. </font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 12px; text-indent: 4%; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman;" class="_mt" size="2">On September 6, 2007, affiliates of ExxonMobil filed a Request for Arbitration with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) invoking ICSID jurisdiction under Venezuela's Investment Law and the Netherlands-Venezuela Bilateral Investment Treaty. The ICSID Tribunal issued a decision on June 10, 2010, finding that it had jurisdiction to proceed on the basis of the Netherlands-Venezuela Bilateral Investment Treaty. The ICSID arbitration proceeding is continuing and a hearing on the merits is currently scheduled for the first quarter of 2012. An affiliate of ExxonMobil has also filed an arbitration under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) against PdVSA and a PdVSA affiliate for breach of their contractual obligations under certain Cerro Negro Project agreements. A hearing on the merits of the ICC arbitration concluded in September 2010 and the parties filed post-hearing briefs. At this time, the net impact of this matter on the Corporation's consolidated financial results cannot be reasonably estimated. However, the Corporation does not expect the resolution to have a material effect upon the Corporation's operations or financial condition. ExxonMobil's remaining net book investment in Cerro Negro producing assets is about $<font class="_mt">750</font> million.</font></p> </div>15. Litigation and Other Contingencies
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