P6-15 (Fair Value Estimate) Murphy Mining Company recently purchased a quartz mine that it intends to work for the next 10 years. According to state environmental laws, Murphy must restore the mine site to its original natural prairie state after it ceases mining operations at the site. To properly account for the mine, Murphy must estimate the fair value of this asset retirement obligation. This amount will be recorded as a liability and added to the value of the mine on Murphys books.

There is no active market for retirement obligations such as these, but Murphy has developed the following cash flow estimates based on its prior experience in mining-site restoration. It will take 3 years to restore the mine site when mining operations cease in 10 years. Each estimated cash outflow reflects an annual payment at the end of each year of the 3-year restoration period.

Restoration Estimated Cash Outflow	Probability Assessment
$15,000	10%
22,000	30%
25,000	50%
30,000	10%

Instructions

(a) What is the estimated fair value of Murphys asset retirement obligation? Murphy determines that the appropriate discount rate for this estimation is 5% Round calculations to the nearest dollar.

(b) Is the estimate developed for part (a) a Level 1 or Level 3 fair value estimate? Explain.