Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment, including investment properties, are recognized using the cost model and stated at their purchase or construction cost including any costs directly attributable to bringing the asset to the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management. When a substantial period of time is required to make the asset ready for use, the purchase price or construction cost includes the borrowing costs incurred that could have otherwise been avoided if the expenditure had not been made.
In the case of a present obligation for dismantling and removal of assets and restoration of sites, the initial carrying amount of an item of property, plant and equipment includes the estimated (discounted) costs to be incurred when the removal event occurs (a corresponding amount is recognized as part of a specific provision). Changes in provisions due to the passage of time and changes in discount rates are recognized as described in the accounting policy for “Provisions, contingent liabilities and contingent assets”11.
Property, plant and equipment are not revalued for financial reporting purposes.
Assets under finance lease, or under arrangements that do not take the legal form of a finance lease but substantially transfer all the risks and rewards of ownership of the leased asset, are recognized, at the commencement of the lease term, at fair value, net of grants attributable to the lessee or, if lower, at the present value of the minimum lease payments. Leased assets are included within property, plant and equipment. A corresponding financial debt to the lessor is recognized. These assets are depreciated as described below. If there is no reasonable certainty that the lessee will obtain ownership by the end of the lease term, the assets are depreciated over the shorter of the lease term and the useful life of the asset.
Expenditures on upgrading, revamping and reconversion are recognized as items of property, plant and equipment when it is probable that they will increase the expected future economic benefits of the asset. Assets acquired for safety or environmental reasons, although not directly increasing the future economic benefits of any particular existing item of property, plant and equipment, qualify for recognition as assets when they are necessary to obtain future economic benefits from other assets.
Depreciation of tangible assets begins when they are available for use, i.e. when they are in the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating as planned. Property, plant and equipment are depreciated on a systematic basis, using a straight-line method over their useful life. The useful life is the period over which an asset is expected to be available for use by the Company. When tangible assets are composed of more than one significant part with different useful lives, each part is depreciated separately. The depreciable amount is the asset’s carrying amount less its residual value at the end of its useful life, if it is significant and can be reasonably determined. Land is not depreciated, even when purchased with a building. Tangible assets held for sale are not depreciated (see the accounting policy for “Assets held for sale and discontinued operations”). A change in the depreciation method, deriving from changes in the asset’s useful life, in its residual value or in the pattern of consumption of the future economic benefits embodied in the asset, shall be recognized prospectively.
Assets that can be used free of charge by third parties are depreciated over the shorter term of the duration of the concession or the asset’s useful life.
Replacement costs of identifiable parts in complex assets are capitalized and depreciated over their useful life; the residual carrying amount of the part that has been substituted is charged to the profit and loss account. Leasehold improvement costs are depreciated over the useful life of the improvements or, if lower, over the residual length of the lease, considering any renewal period if renewal depends entirely on the lessee and is virtually certain. Expenditures for ordinary maintenance and repairs are recognized as an expense as incurred.
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| (11) | These liabilities relate essentially to assets in the Exploration & Production segment. Decommissioning and restoration liabilities associated with tangible assets of Refining & Marketing and Chemical and Gas & Power segments are recognized when the cost is actually incurred and the amount of the liability can be reliably estimated, considering that undetermined settlement dates for assets dismantlement and restoration do not allow a discounting estimate of the obligation. With regard to this, Eni performs periodic reviews of its tangible assets of Refining & Marketing and Chemical and Gas & Power segments for any changes in facts and circumstances that might require recognition of a decommissioning and restoration liability. |
The carrying amount of property, plant and equipment is reviewed for impairment whenever there is any indication that the carrying amounts of those assets may not be recoverable. The recoverability of an asset is assessed by comparing its carrying amount with the recoverable amount, which is the higher of the asset’s fair value less costs of disposal and its value in use. Value in use is the present value of the future cash flows expected to be derived from continuing use of the asset and, if significant and reliably measurable, the cash flows expected to be obtained from its disposal at the end of its useful life, after deducting the costs of disposal. Expected cash flows are determined on the basis of reasonable and supportable assumptions that represent management’s best estimate of the range of economic conditions that will exist over the remaining useful life of the asset, giving greater weight to external evidence.
With reference to commodity prices, management assumes the price scenario adopted for economic and financial projections and for whole life appraisal for capital expenditures. In particular, for the cash flows associated to oil, natural gas and petroleum products prices (and prices derived from them), the price scenario is approved by the Board of Directors and is based on management’s long-term planning assumptions and, if there is a sufficient liquidity and reliability level, on the forward prices prevailing in the marketplace. When commodity prices fluctuate quite considerably, management considers the most updated variables available.
Discounting is carried out at a rate that reflects a current market assessment of the time value of money and of the risks specific to the asset that are not reflected in the expected future cash flows. In particular, the discount rate used is the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) adjusted for the specific country risk of the asset. These adjustments are measured considering information from external parties. WACC differs considering the risk associated with each operating segments where the asset operates. In particular, for the assets belonging to the Gas & Power segment and the Chemical business, taking into account their different risk compared with Eni as a whole, specific WACC rates have been defined on the basis of a sample of companies operating in the same segment/business, adjusted to take into consideration the risk premium of the specific country of the activity. For the other segments/businesses, a single WACC is used considering that the risk is the same to that of Eni as a whole. Value in use is calculated net of the tax effect as this method results in values similar to those resulting from discounting pre-tax cash flows at a pre-tax discount rate deriving, through an iteration process, from a post-tax valuation. Valuation is carried out for each single asset or, if the recoverable amount of a single asset cannot be determined, for the smallest identifiable group of assets that generates independent cash inflows from their continuous use, the so-called “cash-generating unit”. When an impairment loss no longer exists or has decreased, a reversal of the impairment loss is recognized in the profit and loss account. The reversal shall not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined, net of depreciation, had no impairment loss been recognized for the asset in prior years.
The carrying amount of property, plant and equipment is derecognized on disposal or when no future economic benefits are expected from its use or disposal; the arising gain or loss is recognized in the profit and loss account.