15. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS

        Under the Huntsman Corporation Stock Incentive Plan, as amended and restated (the "Stock Incentive Plan"), a plan approved by stockholders, we may grant nonqualified stock options, incentive stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, phantom stock, performance awards and other stock-based awards to our employees, directors and consultants and to employees and consultants of our subsidiaries, provided that incentive stock options may be granted solely to employees. The terms of the grants are fixed at the grant date. As of March 31, 2015, we were authorized to grant up to 37.2 million shares under the Stock Incentive Plan. As of March 31, 2015, we had 7 million shares remaining under the Stock Incentive Plan available for grant. Option awards have a maximum contractual term of 10 years and generally must have an exercise price at least equal to the market price of our common stock on the date the option award is granted. Stock-based awards generally vest over a three-year period; certain performance awards vest over a two-year period.

        The compensation cost from continuing operations under the Stock Incentive Plan for our Company and Huntsman International were as follows (dollars in millions):

                                                                                                                                                                                    

        The total income tax benefit recognized in the statements of operations for us and Huntsman International for stock-based compensation arrangements were $2 million and $1 million, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

STOCK OPTIONS

        The fair value of each stock option award is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes valuation model that uses the assumptions noted in the following table. Expected volatilities are based on the historical volatility of our common stock through the grant date. The expected term of options granted was estimated based on the contractual term of the instruments and employees' expected exercise and post-vesting employment termination behavior. The risk-free rate for periods within the contractual life of the option was based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant. The assumptions noted below represent the weighted average of the assumptions utilized for stock options granted during the periods.

                                                                                                                                                                                    

        A summary of stock option activity under the Stock Incentive Plan as of March 31, 2015 and changes during the three months then ended is presented below:

                                                                                                                                                                                    

        The weighted-average grant-date fair value of stock options granted during the three months ended March 31, 2015 was $10.14 per option. As of March 31, 2015, there was $18 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested stock option arrangements granted under the Stock Incentive Plan. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.2 years.

        The total intrinsic value of stock options exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was approximately nil and $1 million, respectively.

NONVESTED SHARES

        Nonvested shares granted under the Stock Incentive Plan consist of restricted stock and performance awards, which are accounted for as equity awards, and phantom stock, which is accounted for as a liability award because it can be settled in either stock or cash.

        During the first quarter of 2015, we began issuing performance awards to certain employees. The fair value of each performance award is estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation model that uses various assumptions, including an expected volatility rate and a risk-free interest rate. For the three months ended March 31, 2015, the weighted-average expected volatility rate was 30.0% and the weighted average risk-free interest rate was 0.7%. For the performance awards granted in the three months ended March 31, 2015, the number of shares earned varies based upon the Company achieving certain performance criteria over two-year and three-year performance periods. The performance criteria are total stockholder return of our common stock relative to the total stockholder return of a specified industry peer-group for the two-year and three-year performance periods.

        A summary of the status of our nonvested shares as of March 31, 2015 and changes during the three months then ended is presented below:

                                                                                                                                                                                    

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        As of March 31, 2015, there was $39 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested share compensation arrangements granted under the Stock Incentive Plan. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.2 years. The value of share awards that vested during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was $20 million and $19 million, respectively.