S-3D
Table of Contents

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2024

Registration No. 333-    

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Form S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

ENERGY TRANSFER LP

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   30-0108820

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 600

Dallas, TX 75225

(214) 981-0700

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Dylan A. Bramhall

Executive Vice President and Group Chief Financial Officer

Energy Transfer LP

8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 600

Dallas, TX 75225

(214) 981-0700

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

James M. Wright

Executive Vice President & General Counsel

Energy Transfer LP

8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 600

Dallas, TX 75225

(214) 981-0700

 

Lande A. Spottswood

Jackson A. O’Maley

Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.

845 Texas Ave., Suite 4700

Houston, TX 77002

(713) 758-2222

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement as determined by market conditions and other factors.

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ☑

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act:

 

Large accelerated filer      Accelerated filer  
Non-accelerated filer      Smaller reporting company  
     Emerging Growth Company  

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

 

 

 


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PROSPECTUS

 

 

LOGO

ENERGY TRANSFER LP

Distribution Reinvestment Plan

40,000,000 Common Units

With this prospectus, we are offering participation in our Distribution Reinvestment Plan (the “Plan”) to owners of our common units. We have appointed Equiniti Trust Company, LLC (“Equiniti”) as the administrator of the Plan. The Plan provides a simple and convenient means of investing in our common units.

Plan Highlights:

 

   

You may participate in the Plan if you currently are a unitholder of record of our common units or if you own our common units through your broker (by having your broker participate on your behalf).

 

   

You may purchase additional common units by reinvesting all or a portion of the cash distributions paid on your common units.

 

   

You may purchase our common units at a discount ranging from 0% to 5% (currently set at 0.0%) without paying any service fees, brokerage trading fees or other charges. (Note: If you participate in the Plan through your broker, you should consult with your broker; your broker may charge you a service fee.)

Your participation in the Plan is voluntary, and you may terminate your account at any time.

You should read carefully this prospectus before deciding to participate in the Plan. You should read the documents we have referred you to in the “Where You Can Find More Information” section of this prospectus for information on us and for our financial statements.

Our common units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “ET.”

Investing in our common units involves risks. Limited partnerships are inherently different from corporations. You should carefully consider the risk factors described under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 4 of this prospectus before enrolling in the Plan.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is March 1, 2024.


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

Energy Transfer LP

     1  

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

     2  

Risk Factors

     4  

The Plan

     5  

Commonly Asked Questions

     6  

Use of Proceeds

     11  

Description of Common Units

     12  

Cash Distribution Policy

     22  

Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences

     36  

Plan of Distribution

     53  

Legal Matters

     54  

Experts

     54  

Where You Can Find More Information

     54  

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any other information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it.

You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of this prospectus. You should not assume that the information contained in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the respective dates of those documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

 

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ENERGY TRANSFER LP

Energy Transfer LP is a Delaware limited partnership with common units publicly traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “ET”.

Unless the context requires otherwise, references to “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Partnership” and “Energy Transfer” mean Energy Transfer LP and its consolidated subsidiaries, which include Sunoco LP and USAC.

The primary activities in which we are engaged, which are located in the United States, are as follows:

 

   

natural gas operations, including the following:

 

   

natural gas midstream and intrastate transportation and storage;

 

   

interstate natural gas transportation and storage; and

 

   

crude oil, natural gas liquids (“NGL”) and refined products transportation, terminalling and acquisition and marketing activities, as well as NGL storage and fractionation services.

In addition, we own investments in other businesses, including Sunoco LP (“Sunoco”); and USA Compression Partners, LP (“USAC”), both of which are master limited partnerships.

Energy Transfer derives cash flows from distributions related to its investment in its subsidiaries, including Sunoco and USAC. The amount of cash that our subsidiaries distribute to us is based on earnings from their respective business activities and the amount of available cash. Energy Transfer’s primary cash requirements are for distributions to its partners, general and administrative expenses and debt service requirements. Energy Transfer distributes its available cash remaining after satisfaction of the aforementioned cash requirements to its unitholders on a quarterly basis.

We expect our subsidiaries to utilize their resources, along with cash from their operations, to fund their announced growth capital expenditures and working capital needs; however, Energy Transfer may issue debt or equity securities from time to time as we deem prudent to provide liquidity for new capital projects of our subsidiaries or for other partnership purposes.

We are a limited partnership formed under the laws of the State of Delaware. Our principal executive offices are located at 8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 600, Dallas, Texas 75225, and our telephone number at that location is (214) 981-0700. We maintain a website at http://www.energytransfer.com that provides information about our business and operations. Information contained on this website, however, is not incorporated or otherwise a part of this prospectus.

 

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains various forward-looking statements and information that are based on our beliefs and those of our general partner, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to us. These forward-looking statements are identified as any statement that does not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Statements using words such as “anticipate,” “project,” “expect,” “plan,” “goal,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “intend,” “continue,” “could,” “believe,” “may,” “will” or similar expressions help identify forward-looking statements. Although we and our general partner believe such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and current expectations and projections about future events, no assurance can be given that such assumptions, expectations or projections will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated, projected, forecasted, expressed or expected in forward-looking statements since many of the factors that determine these results are subject to uncertainties and risks that are difficult to predict and beyond management’s control. Among the key risk factors that may have a direct bearing on our results of operations and financial condition are:

 

   

the ability of our subsidiaries to make cash distributions to us, which is dependent on their results of operations, cash flows and financial condition;

 

   

the actual amount of cash distributions by our subsidiaries to us;

 

   

the volumes transported on our subsidiaries’ pipelines and gathering systems;

 

   

the level of throughput in our subsidiaries’ processing and treating facilities;

 

   

the fees our subsidiaries charge and the margins they realize for their gathering, treating, processing, storage and transportation services;

 

   

the prices and market demand for, and the relationship between, natural gas and NGLs;

 

   

energy prices generally;

 

   

impacts of world health events;

 

   

the possibility of cyber and malware attacks;

 

   

the prices of natural gas and NGLs compared to the price of alternative and competing fuels;

 

   

the general level of petroleum product demand and the availability and price of NGL supplies;

 

   

the level of domestic oil, natural gas and NGL production;

 

   

the availability of imported oil, natural gas and NGLs;

 

   

actions taken by foreign oil and gas producing nations;

 

   

the political and economic stability of petroleum producing nations;

 

   

the effect of weather conditions on demand for oil, natural gas and NGLs;

 

   

availability of local, intrastate and interstate transportation systems;

 

   

the continued ability to find and contract for new sources of natural gas supply;

 

   

availability and marketing of competitive fuels;

 

   

the impact of energy conservation efforts;

 

   

energy efficiencies and technological trends;

 

   

governmental regulation and taxation;

 

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changes to, and the application of, regulation of tariff rates and operational requirements related to our subsidiaries’ interstate and intrastate pipelines;

 

   

hazards or operating risks incidental to the gathering, treating, processing and transporting of natural gas and NGLs;

 

   

competition from other midstream companies and interstate pipeline companies;

 

   

loss of key personnel;

 

   

loss of key natural gas producers or the providers of fractionation services;

 

   

reductions in the capacity or allocations of third-party pipelines that connect with our subsidiaries pipelines and facilities;

 

   

the effectiveness of risk-management policies and procedures and the ability of our subsidiaries liquids marketing counterparties to satisfy their financial commitments;

 

   

the nonpayment or nonperformance by our subsidiaries’ customers;

 

   

risks related to the development of new infrastructure projects or other growth projects, including failure to make sufficient progress to justify continued development, delays in obtaining customers, increased costs of financing and regulatory, environmental, political and legal uncertainties that may affect the timing and cost of these projects;

 

   

risks associated with the construction of new pipelines, treating and processing facilities or other facilities, or additions to our subsidiaries’ existing pipelines and their facilities, including difficulties in obtaining permits and rights-of-way or other regulatory approvals and the performance by third-party contractors;

 

   

the availability and cost of capital and our subsidiaries’ ability to access certain capital sources;

 

   

a deterioration of the credit and capital markets;

 

   

risks associated with the assets and operations of entities in which our subsidiaries own a noncontrolling interests, including risks related to management actions at such entities that our subsidiaries may not be able to control or exert influence;

 

   

the ability to successfully identify and consummate strategic acquisitions at purchase prices that are accretive to our financial results and to successfully integrate acquired businesses;

 

   

changes in laws and regulations to which we are subject, including tax, environmental, transportation and employment regulations or new interpretations by regulatory agencies concerning such laws and regulations;

 

   

the costs and effects of legal and administrative proceedings; and

 

   

risks associated with a potential failure to successfully combine our business with that of Crestwood Equity Partners LP.

You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. When considering forward-looking statements, please review the risk factors described under “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and those incorporated by reference into this prospectus from our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and any Current Reports on Form 8-K.

All forward-looking statements, expressed or implied, included herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This cautionary statement should also be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that we, or persons acting on our behalf, may issue.

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this prospectus is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

 

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RISK FACTORS

Limited partner interests are inherently different from the capital stock of a corporation, although many of the business risks to which we are subject are similar to those that would be faced by a corporation engaged in a similar business. An investment in our common units involves risks. You should consider carefully the following risk factors relating to the Plan, together with all of the other information included in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus before deciding to participate in the Plan. The risks relating to the Plan are not the only risks associated with an investment in our common units. For key current risks inherent in our business that may have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition, risks inherent in an investment in us related to our common units as a result of our partnership structure, and tax risks to common unitholders, please read “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and our future annual, quarterly and current reports, which are generally incorporated by reference into this prospectus, as such information may be amended or supplemented by any future filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

This prospectus also contains or incorporates by reference forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please read “Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements.” Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including risks described in the above documents and in this prospectus. If the events or possibilities described in any of these risks occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or prospects could be adversely affected. In that case, our ability to make distributions to our unitholders may be reduced, the trading price of our common units could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating to the Plan

You will not know the price of the common units you are purchasing under the Plan at the time you authorize the investment or elect to have your distributions reinvested. The price of our common units may fluctuate between the time you decide to purchase common units under the Plan and the time of actual purchase. As a result, you may purchase common units at a price higher than the price you anticipated.

If you instruct the administrator to sell common units under the Plan, you will not be able to direct the time or price at which your common units are sold. The price of our common units may decline between the time you decide to sell common units and the time of actual sale.

If you decide to withdraw from the Plan and you request a certificate for common units credited to you under the Plan from the administrator, the market price of our common units may decline between the time you decide to withdraw and the time you receive the certificate.

 

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THE PLAN

Plan Overview

The Plan offers a simple, convenient and no-cost way for owners of our common units to invest all or a portion of their cash distributions in our common units. The Plan is designed for long-term investors who wish to invest and build their common unit ownership over time. Unlike an individual brokerage account, the timing of purchases is subject to the provisions of the Plan. The principal terms and conditions of the Plan are summarized in this prospectus under “Commonly Asked Questions” below.

We have appointed Equiniti Trust Company, LLC, or the “Administrator,” to administer the Plan, and certain administrative support will be provided to the Administrator by its designated affiliates. Together, the Administrator and its affiliates will purchase and hold common units for Plan participants, keep records, send statements and perform other duties required by the Plan.

Only registered holders of our common units can participate directly in the Plan. If you are a beneficial owner of common units in a brokerage account and wish to reinvest your distributions, you can make arrangements with your broker or nominee to participate in the Plan on your behalf, or you can request that your common units become registered in your name.

Please read this entire prospectus for a more detailed description of the Plan. If you are a registered holder of our common units and would like to participate in the Plan, you can enroll online by following the enrollment procedures specified on the Administrator’s website at https://equiniti.com/us/ast-access/individuals/ or by completing and signing an authorization form and returning it to the Administrator. Authorization forms may be obtained at any time by written request, by contacting the Administrator at the address and telephone number provided in Question 6, or via the Internet at the Administrator’s website at https://equiniti.com/us/ast-access/individuals/.

 

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COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “we,” “our” or “us” are references to Energy Transfer LP and include our operating subsidiaries; and references in this section to “you” and “your” are references to Plan participants and prospective Plan participants.

1. How can I participate in the Plan?

If you are a current holder of record, or registered holder, of our common units, you may participate directly in the Plan. If you own common units that are registered in someone else’s name (for example, a bank, broker or trustee), the Plan allows you to participate through such person, should they elect to participate, without having to withdraw your common units from such bank, broker or trustee. If your broker or bank elects not to participate in the Plan on your behalf, you can participate by withdrawing your common units from such bank or broker and registering your common units in your name.

2. How do I get started?

If you are a registered holder of our common units, once you have read this prospectus, you can get started by enrolling in the Plan online by following the enrollment procedures specified on the Administrator’s website at https://equiniti.com/us/ast-access/individuals/ or by completing and signing an authorization form (see Question 6) and returning it to the Administrator. Your participation will begin promptly after your authorization is received. Once you have enrolled, your participation continues automatically, as long as you wish. If you own common units that are registered in someone else’s name (for example a bank, broker or trustee), then you should contact such person to arrange for them to participate in the Plan on your behalf.

3. How are distributions reinvested?

By enrolling in the Plan, you direct the Administrator to apply distributions to the purchase of additional common units in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Plan. You may elect to reinvest all or a portion of your distributions in additional common units. The Administrator will invest distributions in whole and fractional common units on the quarterly distribution payment date (the investment date). No interest will be paid on funds held by the Administrator pending investment.

If the Administrator receives your authorization form on or before the record date for the payment of the next distribution, the amount of the distribution that you elect to be reinvested will be invested in additional common units for your Plan account. If the authorization form is received in the period after any distribution record date, that distribution will be paid by check or automatic deposit to a bank account that you designate and your initial distribution reinvestment will commence with the following distribution.

You may change your distribution reinvestment election at any time online via https://equiniti.com/us/ast-access/individuals/, by telephone or by notifying the Administrator in writing. To be effective with respect to a particular distribution, any such change must be received by the Administrator on or before the record date for that distribution.

4. When are distributions reinvested?

The investment date will be the distribution payment date for each quarter (generally, on or around the 20th calendar day of February, May, August and November). The record date for eligibility to receive distributions generally will be approximately one week before the date upon which distributions are paid. In the unlikely event that, due to unusual market conditions, the Administrator is unable to invest the funds within 30 days of the distribution payment date, the Administrator will return the funds to you by check or by automatic deposit to a bank account that you designate. No interest will be paid on funds held by the Administrator pending investment.

 

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5. What is the source and price of common units purchased under the Plan?

We have the sole discretion to determine whether common units purchased under the Plan will come from our authorized but unissued common units or from common units purchased on the open market by the Administrator. We currently intend to use our authorized but unissued common units for all common units to be purchased under the Plan.

The price for authorized but unissued common units purchased with reinvested distributions will be the volume-weighted average closing price of our common units on the NYSE for the five trading day period immediately preceding the investment date, less a discount ranging from 0% to 5%. The discount is initially set at 0.0%; therefore, the initial purchase price for authorized but unissued common units purchased with reinvested distributions will be 100% of such average closing price. (Note: If you participate in the Plan through your broker, you should consult with your broker to determine if your broker will charge you a service fee.)

The purchase price for common units purchased with reinvested distributions on the open market will be the weighted average price of all common units purchased for the Plan for the respective investment date, less a discount ranging from 0% to 5%. (Note: If you participate in the Plan through your broker, you should consult with your broker to determine if your broker will charge you a service fee.)

We will provide notice to you of any changes in the discount rate at least 30 days prior to the following record date.

6. Who is the Administrator of the Plan?

Equiniti Trust Company, LLC (“Equiniti”) is the Administrator of the Plan. Certain administrative support will be provided to the Administrator by its designated affiliates.

For transaction requests, please write to the Administrator at the following address: Equiniti Trust Company, LLC, P.O. Box 10027, Newark, NJ 07101. For all other correspondence regarding the Plan, please write to the Administrator at the following address: Equiniti Trust Company, LLC, P.O. Box 10027, Newark, NJ 07101. In addition, you may call the Administrator at (888) 257-7340 or contact the Administrator via the Internet at https://equiniti.com/us/ast-access/individuals/.

Please include a reference to Energy Transfer LP and the Plan in all correspondence.

7. What is the cost of participating in the Plan?

There is no fee for reinvesting distributions through the Plan. You may be responsible for certain charges if you withdraw from the Plan. Additionally, if you are a beneficial owner of our common units and are participating in the Plan through your broker, you should consult with your broker; you may be charged a fee by your broker for participating in the Plan on your behalf.

8. How many common units will be purchased for my account?

If you are a registered holder of our common units and are directly participating in the Plan, the number of common units, including fractional common units, purchased under the Plan will depend on the amount of your cash distribution you elect to reinvest and the price of the common units determined as provided above. Common units purchased under the Plan, including fractional common units, will be credited to your account. Both whole and fractional common units will be purchased. Fractional common units will be computed to three decimal places.

If you are a beneficial owner and are participating in the Plan through your broker, you should contact your broker for the details of how the number of common units you purchase will be determined.

 

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This prospectus relates to 40,000,000 of our common units registered for sale under the Plan. We cannot assure you there will be enough common units to meet the requirements under the Plan. If we do not have a sufficient number of authorized but unissued common units to meet the Plan requirements during any quarter, and if the Administrator is unable to purchase a sufficient number of common units in the open market, any reinvested distributions received by the Administrator but not invested in our common units under the Plan will be returned to participants without interest.

9. What are the U.S. federal income tax consequences of purchasing common units under the Plan?

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, you will be treated as if you first received the full cash distribution on your common units that participate in the Plan and then purchased additional common units with the portion of such cash distributions that is subject to the Plan. As a result, your adjusted basis for tax purposes in your common units will be reduced by the full amount of the deemed cash distribution and then increased by the amount of the distributions reinvested in additional common units pursuant to the Plan. Purchasing common units pursuant to the Plan will not affect the tax obligations associated with the common units you currently own or your allocable share of our net income allocable to such common units. However, participation in the Plan will reduce the amount of cash distributions available to you to satisfy any tax obligations associated with owning such common units. Please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” for information relevant to holders of common units generally.

10. How can I withdraw from the Plan?

If you are a registered holder of our common units, you may discontinue the reinvestment of your distributions at any time by providing notice to the Administrator. In addition, you may change your distribution election online under the Administrator’s account management service, as described above. To be effective for a particular distribution payment, the Administrator must receive notice three days prior to the payment date for that distribution for that distribution to be paid out in cash. In addition, you may request that all or part of your common units be sold. When your common units are sold through the Administrator, you will receive the proceeds less a service fee of $17.00 and any brokerage trading fees, currently $0.15 per unit.

If you are a beneficial owner of our common units and you are participating in the Plan through your broker, you should direct your broker to discontinue participation in the Plan on your behalf.

If you dispose of all the common units registered in your name, but do not give notice of withdrawal to the Administrator, the Administrator will continue to reinvest the cash distributions on any common units held in your account under the Plan until the Administrator is notified otherwise.

Generally, an owner of common units may again become a participant in the Plan. However, we reserve the right to reject the enrollment of a previous participant in the Plan on grounds of excessive joining and termination. This reservation is intended to minimize administrative expense and to encourage use of the Plan as a long-term investment service.

11. How will my common units be held under the Plan?

If you are a registered holder of our common units and you are directly participating in the Plan, the common units that you acquire under the Plan will be maintained in your Plan account in non-certificated form for safekeeping. Safekeeping protects your common units against physical loss, theft or accidental destruction and also provides a convenient way for you to keep track of your common units. Only common units held in safekeeping may be sold through the Plan.

If you own common units in certificated form, you may deposit your certificates for those common units that you own and that are registered in your name for safekeeping under the Plan with the Administrator, for a

 

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one-time fee of $7.50. This fee will be waived by the plan administrator if you are selling your certificated common units at the same time you are committing common units with the Administrator for safekeeping. The Administrator will credit the common units represented by the certificates to your account in “book-entry” form and will combine the common units with any whole and fractional units then held in your plan account. In addition to protecting against the loss, theft or destruction of your certificates, this service is convenient if and when you sell common units through the Plan. Because you bear the risk of loss in sending certificates to the Administrator, you should send certificates by registered mail, return receipt requested, and properly insured to the address specified in Question 6 above.

No certificates will be issued to you for common units in the Plan unless you submit a written request to the Administrator or until your participation in the Plan is terminated. At any time, you may request the Administrator to send a certificate for some or all of the common units credited to your account. This request should be mailed to the Administrator at the address set forth in the answer to Question 6 or made via www.equiniti.com. There is no fee for this service. Any remaining whole common units and any fraction of a common unit will remain credited to your plan account. Certificates for fractional common units will not be issued under any circumstances.

If you are a beneficial owner of our common units and you are participating in the Plan through your broker, the common units that are purchased on your behalf under the Plan will be maintained in your account with your broker.

12. How do I sell common units held under the Plan?

If you are a registered holder of our common units and you are directly participating in the Plan, you can sell your Plan common units at any time by contacting the Administrator. Your sale request will be processed, and your common units will, subject to market conditions and other facts, generally be sold within 24 hours of receipt and processing of your request. Please note that the Administrator cannot and does not guarantee the actual sale date or price, nor can it stop or cancel any outstanding sale or issuance requests. All requests are final. The Administrator will mail a check to you (less applicable sales fees) on the applicable settlement date. Please allow an additional five to seven business days from the settlement date to receive your check.

Alternatively, you may choose to withdraw your common units from your Plan account and sell them through a broker of your choice, in which case you would have to request that the Administrator electronically transfer your common units to the broker through the Direct Registration System. Or, you may request a certificate for your common units from the Administrator for delivery to your broker prior to such sale.

If you are a beneficial owner of our common units and you are participating in the Plan through your broker, you should contact your broker to sell your common units.

13. How will I keep track of my investments?

If you are a registered holder of our common units and you are directly participating in the Plan, the Administrator will send you a transaction notice confirming the details of each transaction that you make and a quarterly statement of your account.

If you are a beneficial owner of our common units and you are participating in the Plan through your broker, the details of the reinvestment transactions will be maintained by your broker. You should contact your broker to determine how this information will be provided to you.

14. Can the Plan be suspended, modified or terminated?

We reserve the right to suspend, modify or terminate the Plan at any time. Participants will be notified of any suspension, modification or termination of the Plan. If you are a registered holder of our common units and

 

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you are directly participating in the Plan, upon our termination of the Plan, a certificate will be issued to you for the number of whole common units in your account. Any fractional common unit in your Plan account will be converted to cash and remitted to you by check.

15. What would be the effect of any unit splits, unit distributions or other distributions?

Any common units we distribute as a distribution on common units (including fractional common units) that are credited to your account under the Plan, or upon any split of such common units, will be fully credited to your account including common units held by you. In the event of a rights offering, your entitlement will be based upon your total holdings, including those credited to your account under the Plan. Rights applicable to common units credited to your account under the Plan will be sold by the Administrator and the proceeds will be credited to your account under the Plan and applied to the purchase of common units on the next investment date.

If you want to exercise, transfer or sell any portion of the rights applicable to the common units credited to your account under the Plan, you must request, at least two days prior to the record date for the issuance of any such rights, that a portion of the common units credited to your account be transferred from your account and registered in your name. Transaction processing may either be curtailed or suspended until the completion of any unit dividend, unit split or other corporate action.

Responsibilities Under the Plan

We, the Administrator and any agent will not be liable in administering the Plan for any act done in good faith, or for any omission to act in good faith with regards to purchasing and/or selling common units for participants and, including, without limitation, any claim of liability arising out of failure to terminate a participant’s account upon that participant’s death prior to the receipt of notice in writing of such death. Since we have delegated all responsibility for administering the Plan to the Administrator, we specifically disclaim any responsibility for any of its actions or inactions in connection with the administration of the Plan.

You should recognize that neither we, the Administrator, nor any agent can assure you of a profit or protect you against an economic loss on common units purchased under the Plan.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We do not know either the number of common units that will be purchased under the Plan or the prices at which common units will be sold to participants. The net proceeds we realize from sales of our common units pursuant to the Plan will be used for general partnership purposes.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF COMMON UNITS

Our common units represent limited partner interests in Energy Transfer LP (the “Partnership”). Our common units entitle the holders to participate in our cash distributions and to exercise the rights and privileges available to our limited partners under our Fourth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership, as amended to date (our “partnership agreement”). For a description of the rights of holders of our common units to cash distributions, see the section below entitled “Distribution Policy.” For a description of the rights and privileges of limited partners under our partnership agreement, including voting rights, see the section below entitled “Our Partnership Agreement.” We urge you to read our partnership agreement, as our partnership agreement, and not this description, governs the rights of holders of our common units.

Number of Common Units

The majority of our common units are held by the public and the remaining are held by our affiliates. In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we may issue additional common units without the approval of the then-existing holders of common units, and such additional issuance may dilute the then-existing common unitholders percentage interests in our net assets and the voting rights of the common unitholders under our partnership agreement. As of February 28, 2024, we had 3,369,377,611 common units outstanding, the majority of which are held by the public and the remaining held by our affiliates.

Voting Rights

Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, the holders of our common units have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business. The holders of our common units have no right to elect the general partner or the directors of the general partner on an annual or otherwise continuing basis. Our general partner may not be removed except by the vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding units, including units owned by the general partner and its affiliates. Each holder of common units is entitled to one vote for each common unit on all matters submitted to a vote of the unitholders. Common unitholders do not have preemptive rights to acquire additional common units or other partnership securities.

Holders of Energy Transfer common units may vote on the following matters:

 

   

a sale or exchange of all or substantially all of our assets;

 

   

the election of a successor general partner in connection with the withdrawal or removal of our general partner;

 

   

dissolution or reconstitution of the Partnership;

 

   

a merger of the Partnership;

 

   

issuance of limited partner interests in some circumstances; and

 

   

some amendments to our partnership agreement, including any amendment that would cause Energy Transfer to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation.

Removal of the general partner requires:

 

   

a 66 2/3% vote of all outstanding units; and

 

   

the election of a successor general partner by the holders of a majority of our outstanding common units.

 

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Transfer of Energy Transfer Common Units

Any transfers of common units will not be recorded by the transfer agent or recognized by us unless the transferee executes and delivers a transfer application. By executing and delivering a transfer application, the transferee of common units:

 

   

becomes the record holder of the common units and is an assignee until admitted as a substituted limited partner;

 

   

automatically requests admission as a substituted limited partner;

 

   

represents and warrants that such transferee has the right, power and authority and, if an individual, the capacity to enter into our partnership agreement;

 

   

grants the powers of attorney set forth in our partnership agreement; and

 

   

gives the consents and approvals and makes the waivers contained in our partnership agreement.

An assignee will become a substituted limited partner for the transferred common units upon the consent of our general partner and the recording of the name of the assignee on our books and records. Our general partner may withhold its consent in its sole discretion.

A transferee’s broker, agent or nominee may complete, execute and deliver a transfer application. We are entitled to treat the nominee holder of common units as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holder’s rights are limited solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the nominee holder.

Our common units are securities and are transferable according to the laws governing transfer of securities.

In addition to other rights acquired upon admission as a substituted limited partner for the transferred common units, a purchaser or transferee of our common units who does not execute and deliver a transfer application obtains only:

 

   

the right to assign the common units to a purchaser or other transferee; and

 

   

the right to transfer the right to seek admission as a substituted limited partner for the transferred common units.

Thus, a purchaser or transferee of our common units who does not execute and deliver a transfer application:

 

   

will not receive cash distributions or federal income tax allocations, unless the common units are held in a nominee or “street name” account and the nominee or broker has executed and delivered a transfer application; and

 

   

may not receive some federal income tax information or reports furnished to record holders of common units.

The transferor of common units has a duty to provide the transferee with all information that may be necessary to transfer the common units. The transferor does not have a duty to insure the execution of the transfer application by the transferee and has no liability or responsibility if the transferee neglects or chooses not to execute and forward the transfer application to the transfer agent.

Until a common unit has been transferred on our books, we and the transfer agent may treat the record holder of the common unit as the absolute owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange regulations.

 

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Listing

Our outstanding common units are listed on the NYSE under the symbol “ET.” Any additional common units we issue also will be listed on the NYSE.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

Our transfer agent and registrar for the common units is Equiniti.

 

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Our Partnership Agreement

This description is a summary of the material provisions of our partnership agreement. The provisions of our partnership agreement relating to distributions of our available cash are described under “Distribution Policy.”

The description of our partnership agreement contained herein does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of our Fourth Amended Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer LP, dated November 3, 2023. A copy of our partnership agreement is filed as Exhibit 3.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 6, 2023.

We urge you to read our partnership agreement, as our partnership agreement, and not this description, governs our partnership interests.

Purpose

Under our partnership agreement, we are permitted to engage, directly or indirectly, in any business activity that is approved by our general partner and that lawfully may be conducted by a limited partnership organized under Delaware law, provided that our general partner may not cause us to engage, directly or indirectly, in any business activity that our general partner determines would cause us to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes.

Power of Attorney

Each unitholder, and each person who acquires a unit from a unitholder, by accepting the unit, automatically grants to our general partner and, if appointed, a liquidator, a power of attorney to, among other things, execute and file documents required for our qualification, continuance or dissolution. The power of attorney also grants the authority to amend, and to make consents and waivers under, our partnership agreement.

Distributions

Pursuant to our partnership agreement, we make quarterly distributions of available cash to all unitholders and our general partner. Please see “Distribution Policy.”

Reimbursement of Expenses

Our partnership agreement requires us to reimburse our general partner for all direct and indirect expenses it incurs or payments it makes on our behalf and all other expenses allocable to us or otherwise incurred by our general partner in connection with operating our business. These expenses include salary, bonus, incentive compensation and other amounts paid to persons who perform services for us or on our behalf and expenses allocated to our general partner by its affiliates. Our general partner is entitled to determine in good faith the expenses that are allocable to us.

Issuance of Additional Partnership Securities; Preemptive Rights

Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional partnership securities and options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to the partnership securities for any partnership purpose at any time and from time to time to such persons, for such consideration and on such terms and conditions as our general partner determines, all without the approval of any limited partners.

It is possible that we will fund acquisitions through the issuance of additional common units or other equity securities. Holders of any additional common units we issue will be entitled to share equally with the then-

 

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existing holders of common units in our distributions of available cash. In addition, the issuance of additional partnership interests may dilute (i) the percentage interests of the then-existing holders of common units in our net assets and (ii) the voting rights of the then-existing holders of common units under our partnership agreement.

In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we may also issue additional partnership securities that have special voting rights to which the common units are not entitled.

Upon issuance of additional partnership securities, our general partner will have the right to make additional capital contributions to the extent necessary to maintain its then-current general partner interest in us; provided, however, that the capital contributions of our general partner will be offset to the extent contributions received by us in exchange for the issuance of additional partnership securities are used by us concurrently with such contributions to redeem or repurchase from any person outstanding partnership securities of the same class as the partnership securities that were issued. Moreover, our general partner will have the right, which it may from time to time assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates, to purchase common units or other partnership securities whenever, and on the same terms that, we issue those securities to persons other than our general partner and its affiliates, to the extent necessary to maintain its percentage interest, including its interest represented by common units, that existed immediately prior to each issuance.

The holders of our common units do not have preemptive rights to acquire additional common units or other partnership securities.

We also have Class A units representing limited partner interests (the “Class A units”) outstanding. The Class A units vote together with our common units, as a single class, on any matter for which the holders of common units are entitled to vote, except as required by law. Additionally, for so long as Kelcy Warren is an officer or a director of our general partner, upon the issuance by us of additional common units or any securities that have voting rights that are pari passu with our common units, we will issue to the holder of Class A units a number of additional Class A units such that the holder maintains a voting interest in us that is identical to its voting interest in us prior to such issuance. The Class A units are not entitled to distributions and otherwise have no economic attributes, except that the Class A units in the aggregate will be entitled to an aggregate $100 distribution prior and in preference to any distribution of assets to the holders of any other classes or series of our securities upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up. The Class A units are not convertible into, or exchangeable for, common units. In addition to the other voting rights of the Class A units, without the approval of 66 2/3% of the Class A units, we may not take any action that disproportionately or materially adversely affects the rights, preferences or privileges of the Class A units or amend the terms of the Class A units. Without the prior approval of a conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner, the Class A units may not be transferred to any person or entity, other than to Kelcy Warren, Ray Davis or to any trust, family partnership or family limited liability company the sole beneficiaries, partners or members of which are Kelcy Warren, Ray Davis or their respective relatives.

Amendment of Our Partnership Agreement

General

Amendments to our partnership agreement may be proposed only by our general partner. Our general partner has no duty or obligation to propose any amendment to our partnership agreement and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us, any limited partner or assignee and, in declining to propose an amendment, is not required to act in good faith or pursuant to any other standard imposed by our partnership agreement, any other agreement contemplated under our partnership agreement or under the Delaware Act or any other law, rule or regulation. A proposed amendment will be effective upon its approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units (a “unit majority”), unless a greater or different percentage is required under our partnership agreement or by Delaware law. Each proposed amendment that

 

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requires the approval of the holders of a specified percentage of outstanding units will be set forth in a writing that contains the text of the proposed amendment. If such an amendment is proposed, our general partner will seek the written approval of the requisite percentage of outstanding units or call a meeting of the unitholders to consider and vote on such proposed amendment. Our general partner will notify all record holders upon final adoption of any such proposed amendments.

Restrictions on Certain Amendments

Our partnership agreement provides that:

1. no provision of our partnership agreement that establishes a percentage of outstanding units (including units deemed owned by our general partner) required to take any action shall be amended, altered, changed, repealed or rescinded in any respect that would have the effect of reducing such voting percentage unless such amendment is approved by the written consent or the affirmative vote of holders of outstanding units whose aggregate outstanding units constitute not less than the voting requirement sought to be reduced;

2. no provision of our partnership agreement that establishes a percentage of outstanding units (including units deemed owned by our general partner) required to take any action shall be amended, altered, changed, repealed or rescinded in any respect that would have the effect of reducing such voting percentage unless such amendment is approved by the written consent or the affirmative vote of holders of outstanding units whose aggregate outstanding units constitute not less than the voting requirement sought to be reduced;

3. no amendment to our partnership agreement may (a) enlarge the obligations of any limited partner without its consent, unless such shall be deemed to have occurred as a result of an amendment approved pursuant to clause (3) below, (b) enlarge the obligations of, restrict in any way any action by or rights of, or reduce in any way the amounts distributable, reimbursable or otherwise payable to, our general partner or any of its affiliates without its consent, which consent may be given or withheld at its option, (c) change the provision of our partnership agreement providing for our dissolution upon an election to dissolve our partnership by our general partner that is approved by a unit majority (the “election to dissolve provision”), or (d) change the term of our partnership or, except as set forth in the election to dissolve provision, give any person the right to dissolve our partnership;

4. except for mergers or consolidations approved pursuant to the partnership agreement, and without limitation of our general partner’s authority to adopt amendments to our partnership agreement described below under “—No Unitholder Approval,” any amendment that would have a material adverse effect on the rights or preferences of any class of partnership interests in relation to other classes of partnership interests must be approved by the holders of not less than a majority of the outstanding partnership interests of the class affected;

5. except for amendments described below under “—No Unitholder Approval” and except in connection with unitholder approval of a merger or consolidation, no amendments shall become effective without the approval of the holders of at least 90% of the outstanding units voting as a single class unless we obtain an opinion of counsel to the effect that such amendment will not affect the limited liability of any limited partner under applicable law; and

6. except for amendments described below under “—No Unitholder Approval,” the provisions set forth in clauses (1) through (4) above may only be amended with the approval of the holders of at least 90% of the outstanding units.

No Unitholder Approval

Our general partner, without the approval of any limited partner, may amend any provision of our partnership agreement to reflect:

1. a change in our name, the location of our principal place of business, our registered agent or our registered office;

 

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2. admission, substitution, withdrawal or removal of partners in accordance with our partnership agreement;

3. a change that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate to qualify or continue the qualification of our partnership as a limited partnership or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability under the laws of any state or to ensure that the members of the partnership group will not be treated as associations taxable as corporations or otherwise taxed as entities for federal income tax purposes;

4. a change that our general partner determines (a) does not adversely affect the limited partners (including any particular class of partnership interests as compared to other classes of partnership interests) in any material respect, (b) to be necessary or appropriate to (i) satisfy any requirements, conditions or guidelines contained in any opinion, directive, order, ruling or regulation of any federal or state agency or judicial authority or contained in any federal or state statute (including the Delaware Act) or (ii) facilitate the trading of our units (including the division of any class or classes of outstanding units into different classes to facilitate uniformity of tax consequences within such classes of units) or comply with any rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of any national securities exchange on which the units are or will be listed for trading, (c) to be necessary or appropriate in connection with action taken by our general partner pursuant to the provisions of our partnership agreement governing distributions, subdivisions and combinations of partnership securities or (d) is required to effect the intent of the provisions of our partnership agreement or is otherwise contemplated by our partnership agreement;

5. a change in our fiscal year or taxable year and any other changes that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate as a result of a change in our fiscal year or taxable year, including, if our general partner shall so determine, a change in the definition of “Quarter” under our partnership agreement and the dates on which distributions are to be made by us;

6. an amendment that is necessary, in the opinion of counsel, to prevent us, or our general partner or its directors, officers, trustees or agents from in any manner being subjected to the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, or “plan asset” regulations adopted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, regardless of whether such are substantially similar to plan asset regulations currently applied or proposed by the United States Department of Labor;

7. subject to certain limitations, an amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate in connection with the authorization of issuance of any class or series of partnership securities pursuant to our partnership agreement;

8. any amendment expressly permitted in our partnership agreement to be made by our general partner acting alone;

9. an amendment effected, necessitated or contemplated by a merger agreement approved in accordance with the provisions of our partnership agreement;

10. an amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate to reflect and account for the formation by us of, or investment by us in, any corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company or other entity, in connection with the conduct by us of activities permitted by the terms of our partnership agreement;

11. a merger or conveyance pursuant to which (a) our general partner has received an opinion of counsel that the conversion, merger or conveyance, as the case may be, would not result in the loss of the limited liability of any limited partner or any member of the partnership group or cause us or any member of the partnership group to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise to be taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes (to the extent not previously treated as such), (b) the sole purpose of such conversion, merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in the legal form of us into another limited liability entity and (c) the governing instruments of the new entity provide the limited partners and our general partner with the same rights and obligations as are contained in our partnership agreement; or

12. any other amendments substantially similar to the foregoing.

 

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Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner

Our general partner may withdraw as general partner without first obtaining approval of any unitholder by giving 90 days’ notice to our unitholders, and that withdrawal will not constitute a breach of our partnership agreement. In addition, our partnership agreement permits our general partner in some instances to sell or otherwise transfer all of its general partner interest in us without the approval of the unitholders.

If our general partner gives a notice of withdrawal, the holders of a unit majority, may, prior to the effective date of such withdrawal, elect a successor general partner. The person so elected as successor general partner will automatically become the successor general partner or managing member, to the extent applicable, of the other members of the partnership group of which our general partner is a general partner or a managing member. If, prior to the effective date of our general partner’s withdrawal, a successor is not selected by our unitholders or we do not receive a withdrawal opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters, our partnership will be dissolved in accordance with our partnership agreement.

Our general partner may be removed if such removal is approved by our unitholders holding at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding units (including units held by our general partner and its affiliates). The right of the holders of outstanding units to remove our general partner may not be exercised unless we have received a withdrawal opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. The ownership of more than 33 1/3% of our outstanding units by our general partner and its affiliates would give it the practical ability to prevent its removal.

We will be required to reimburse the departing general partner for all amounts due the departing general partner, including, without limitation, all employee-related liabilities, including severance liabilities, incurred in connection with the termination of any employees employed by the departing general partner or its affiliates for the benefit of us or the other members of the partnership group.

Transfer of General Partner Interest

Our general partner may transfer all or any of its general partner interest without unitholder approval. At any time, the members of our general partner may sell or transfer all or part of their membership interests in our general partner to an affiliate or a third party without the approval of our unitholders.

Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds

We will continue as a limited partnership until dissolved under our partnership agreement. We will dissolve upon:

 

   

the withdrawal, removal, bankruptcy or dissolution of our general partner, unless a successor general partner is elected prior to or on the effective date of such withdrawal, removal, bankruptcy or dissolution and a withdrawal opinion of counsel is received by us;

 

   

an election to dissolve us by our general partner that is approved by the holders of a unit majority;

 

   

the entry of a decree of judicial dissolution of us pursuant to the provisions of the Delaware Act; or

 

   

the sale, exchange or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets and properties of the partnership group.

Upon (a) our dissolution following the withdrawal or removal of our general partner and the failure of the partners to select a successor general partner, then within 90 days thereafter, or (b) our dissolution upon the bankruptcy or dissolution of our general partner, then, to the maximum extent permitted by law, within 180 days thereafter, the holders of a unit majority may elect to reconstitute us and continue our business on the same terms and conditions set forth in our partnership agreement by forming a new limited partnership on terms identical to

 

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those set forth in our partnership agreement and having as the successor general partner a person approved by the holders of a unit majority. Unless such an election is made within the applicable time period as set forth above, we shall conduct only activities necessary to wind up our affairs.

Limited Call Right

If at any time our general partner and its affiliates hold more than 90% of the total limited partner interests of any class then outstanding, our general partner will then have the right, which right it may assign and transfer in whole or in part to us or any affiliate of our general partner, exercisable at its option, to purchase all, but not less than all, of such limited partner interests of such class then outstanding held by persons other than our general partner and its affiliates. As a consequence, a unitholder may be required to sell his common units at an undesirable time or price.

Indemnification

Section 17-108 of the Delaware Act empowers a Delaware limited partnership to indemnify and hold harmless any partner or other person from and against all claims and demands whatsoever. Under our partnership agreement, in most circumstances, we will indemnify the following persons (each an “indemnitee”) to the fullest extent permitted by law, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, joint or several, expenses (including legal fees and expenses), judgments, fines, penalties, interest, settlements or other amounts arising from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, in which any indemnitee may be involved, or is threatened to be involved, as a party or otherwise, by reason of its status as an indemnitee:

 

   

our general partner;

 

   

any departing general partner;

 

   

any person who is or was an affiliate of our general partner or any departing general partner;

 

   

any person who is or was a member, partner, officer, director, fiduciary or trustee of any member of the partnership group, our general partner or any departing partner or any affiliate of any member of the partnership group, our general partner or any departing partner;

 

   

any person who is or was serving at the request of our general partner or any departing partner or any affiliate of our general partner or any departing partner as an officer, director, member, partner, fiduciary or trustee of another person (provided, that a person will not be an indemnitee by reason of providing, on a fee-for-services basis, trustee, fiduciary or custodial services); or

 

   

any person that our general partner designates as an “indemnitee” for purposes of our partnership agreement.

Any indemnification under these provisions will only be out of our assets. Unless it otherwise agrees in its sole discretion, our general partner will not be personally liable for, or have any obligation to contribute or loan funds or assets to us to enable us to effectuate, such indemnification. We may purchase insurance against liabilities asserted against and expenses incurred by persons for our activities, regardless of whether we would have the power to indemnify the person against liabilities under the partnership agreement.

Under our partnership agreement, an indemnitee will not be indemnified and held harmless if there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that, in respect of the matter for which the indemnitee is seeking indemnification pursuant to our partnership agreement, the indemnitee acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud, willful misconduct or gross negligence or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that the indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful.

In the opinion of the SEC, indemnification provisions that purport to include indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act are contrary to public policy and are, therefore, unenforceable.

 

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Registration Rights

Under our partnership agreement, we have agreed to register for resale under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws any units or other partnership securities proposed to be sold by our general partner or any of its affiliates or their assignees if an exemption from the registration requirements is not otherwise available. We are obligated to pay all expenses incidental to the registration, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions.

 

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CASH DISTRIBUTION POLICY

General

We will distribute to our unitholders, within 50 days after the end of each quarter, all of our available cash in the manner described below.

Definition of Available Cash

Available cash generally means, for any calendar quarter, all cash on hand at the end of such quarter:

 

   

less the amount of cash that the general partner determines in good faith is necessary or appropriate to:

 

   

provide for the proper conduct of business;

 

   

satisfy general, administrative and other expenses and debt service requirements;

 

   

comply with applicable law, any of our debt instruments or other agreements;

 

   

provide funds for distributions to our unitholders and to our general partner for any one or more of the next four quarters; or

 

   

provide funds for distributions on our outstanding preferred units and Class B units;

 

   

plus all cash on hand on the date of determination of available cash for the quarter.

Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation

If we dissolve in accordance with our partnership agreement, we will sell or otherwise dispose of our assets in a process called a liquidation. We will first apply the proceeds of liquidation to the payment of our creditors in the order of priority provided in our partnership agreement and by law, and, thereafter, we will distribute $100 to the holders of our Class A Units in the aggregate and any remaining proceeds to our other unitholders, including the holders of our common units and our general partner, in accordance with their respective positive capital account balances, as adjusted to reflect any gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of our assets in liquidation.

No unitholder will have any obligation to restore any negative balance in its capital account upon liquidation of us.

Distributions to Preferred Unitholders

Prior to making any distributions to the unitholders as described above, the holders of our preferred units are entitled to receive, when, as, and if declared by our general partner out of legally available funds for such purpose, cumulative quarterly cash distributions. Unless otherwise determined by our general partner, distributions on our preferred units are deemed to have been paid out of available cash with respect to the quarter ended immediately preceding the quarter in which the distribution is made.

Distributions on each class of our preferred units are subject to an initial fixed distribution rate for a specified term, followed by a floating or reset distribution rate, as applicable, to extend thereafter until all of our outstanding preferred units of that class are redeemed.

The 6.250% Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units had an initial distribution rate of 6.250% of the Series A liquidation preference of $1,000 per Series A preferred unit (the “Series A Liquidation Preference”) until February 14, 2023 and, thereafter, distributions accumulate for each distribution period at a percentage of the Series A Liquidation Preference equal to an annual floating rate of the three-month LIBOR, or a successor rate, plus a spread of 4.028% per annum.

 

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The 6.625% Series B Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units have an initial distribution rate of 6.625% of the Series B liquidation preference of $1,000 per Series B preferred unit (the “Series B Liquidation Preference”) until February 14, 2028 and, thereafter, distributions will accumulate for each distribution period at a percentage of the Series B Liquidation Preference equal to an annual floating rate of the three-month LIBOR, or a successor rate, plus a spread of 4.155% per annum.

The 7.600% Series E Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units have an initial distribution rate of 7.600% of the Series E liquidation preference of $25.00 per Series E preferred unit (the “Series E Liquidation Preference”) until May 15, 2024 and, thereafter, distributions will accumulate for each distribution period at a percentage of the Series E Liquidation Preference equal to an annual floating rate of the three-month LIBOR, or a successor rate, plus a spread of 5.161% per annum.

The 6.750% Series F Fixed-Rate Reset Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units have an initial distribution rate of 6.750% of the Series F liquidation preference of $1,000 per Series F preferred unit (the “Series F Liquidation Preference”) until May 15, 2025 and, thereafter, distributions will accumulate for each distribution period at a percentage of the Series F Liquidation Preference equal to the Five-year U.S. Treasury Rate as of the most recent Series F Reset Distribution Determination Date plus a spread of 5.134% per annum.

The 7.125% Series G Fixed-Rate Reset Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units have an initial distribution rate of 7.125% of the Series G liquidation preference of $1,000 per Series G preferred unit (the “Series G Liquidation Preference”) until May 15, 2030 and, thereafter, distributions will accumulate for each distribution period at a percentage of the Series G Liquidation Preference equal to the Five-year U.S. Treasury Rate as of the most recent Series G Reset Distribution Determination Date plus a spread of 5.306% per annum.

The 6.500% Series H Fixed-Rate Reset Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units have an initial distribution rate of 6.500% of the Series H liquidation preference of $1,000 per Series H preferred unit (the “Series H Liquidation Preference”) until November 15, 2026 and, thereafter, distributions will accumulate for each distribution period at a percentage of the Series H Liquidation Preference equal to the Five-year U.S. Treasury Rate as of the most recent Series H Reset Distribution Determination Date plus a spread of 5.694% per annum.

The 9.250% Series I Fixed Rate Perpetual Preferred Units have a cumulative distribution rate of $0.2111 per Series I preferred unit per fiscal quarter. Each Series I preferred unit is entitled to a liquidation preference of the sum of $9.1273 plus all accrued and unpaid distributions until an event giving rise to the dissolution of the Partnership.

Distributions to Other Units

Our partnership agreement provides that each Class B unit is entitled to a quarterly cash distribution in an amount equal to $0.35325 per Class B unit. If we are unable to pay the Class B unit quarterly distribution with respect to any quarter, (i) the amount of such accrued and unpaid distributions will accumulate until paid in full in cash and (ii) the balance of such accrued and unpaid distributions shall increase at a rate of 1.5% per annum, compounded quarterly, from the date such distribution was due until the date it is paid.

Sunoco’s Cash Distribution Policy

Sunoco’s partnership agreement requires that, within 60 days after the end of each quarter, Sunoco will distribute all of its available cash to Sunoco common unitholders of record on the applicable record date.

 

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Definition of Available Cash

Available cash, for any quarter, generally consists of all cash and cash equivalents on hand at the end of that quarter:

 

   

less, the amount of cash reserves that Sunoco GP LLC, the general partner of Sunoco (“Sunoco GP”), establishes to:

 

   

provide for the proper conduct of Sunoco’s business;

 

   

comply with applicable law, any of Sunoco’s debt instruments or other agreements or any other obligation; or

 

   

provide funds for distributions to Sunoco’s unitholders for any one or more of the next four quarters (provided that Sunoco GP may not establish cash reserves for the payment of distributions unless it determines that the establishment of such reserves will not prevent Sunoco from distributing the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution on all common units for the current quarter);

 

   

plus all cash on hand on the date of determination of available cash for the quarter resulting from working capital borrowings made after the end of the quarter.

Working capital borrowings are generally borrowings that are made under Sunoco’s revolving credit facility and in all cases are used solely for working capital purposes or to pay distributions to partners.

Intent to Distribute the Minimum Quarterly Distribution

Sunoco intends to distribute to the holders of common units at least the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.4375 per unit, or $1.75 on an annualized basis (the “Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution”), to the extent it has sufficient cash from its operations after establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses, including payments to Sunoco GP and its affiliates. However, there is no guarantee that Sunoco will pay the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units in any quarter. Even if Sunoco’s cash distribution policy is not modified or revoked, the amount of distributions paid under Sunoco’s policy and the decision to make any distribution is determined by Sunoco GP, taking into consideration the terms of Sunoco’s partnership agreement.

Class C Units

Sunoco’s partnership agreement provides that the Sunoco Class C units are entitled to receive quarterly distributions at a rate of $0.868176 per Sunoco Class C unit. The distributions on the Sunoco Class C units will be paid out of Sunoco’s available cash, except that the Class C units will not share in distributions of cash to the extent such cash is derived from or attributable to any distribution received by Sunoco from Susser Petroleum Property Company LLC (“PropCo”), the proceeds of any sale of the membership interests in PropCo, or any interest or principal payments received by Sunoco with respect to indebtedness of PropCo or its subsidiaries (the “PropCo available cash”). The Class C units are entitled to receive distributions of Sunoco’s available cash (other than PropCo available cash) prior to distributions of such cash being made on the Sunoco common units. Any unpaid distributions on the Sunoco Class C units will accrue interest at a rate of 1.5% per annum until paid in full in cash. The Class C units are perpetual and do not have any rights of redemption or conversion.

General Partner Interest and Incentive Distribution Rights

Sunoco GP owns a non-economic general partner interest in Sunoco. We hold all of Sunoco’s IDRs, which entitles us to receive increasing percentages, up to a maximum of 50.0%, of the cash Sunoco distributes from operating surplus (as defined below) in excess of $0.503125 per common unit per quarter. The maximum distribution of 50.0% does not include any distributions that we may receive on any limited partner units that we own. Please read “—Incentive Distribution Rights” below for a more detailed description of Sunoco’s IDRs.

 

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Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus

All cash distributed to Sunoco’s unitholders is characterized as being paid from either “operating surplus” or “capital surplus.” Sunoco distributes available cash from operating surplus differently than available cash from capital surplus. Operating surplus distributions will be made to Sunoco’s unitholders and, if Sunoco makes quarterly distributions above the first target distribution level described below, to the holder of Sunoco’s IDRs. Sunoco does not anticipate that it will make any distributions from capital surplus. In such an event, however, any capital surplus distribution would generally be made first to the holders of Class C units, pro rata, the amount of accrued and unpaid distributions, and then pro rata to all unitholders.

Definition of Operating Surplus

Operating surplus for any period generally means:

 

   

$25.0 million (as described below); plus

 

   

all of Sunoco’s cash receipts, excluding cash from interim capital transactions (as defined below), provided that cash receipts from the termination of any hedge contract prior to its stipulated settlement or termination date will be included in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such hedge contract had it not been terminated; plus

 

   

working capital borrowings made after the end of a period but on or before the date of distribution of operating surplus for that period; plus

 

   

cash distributions paid on equity issued (including incremental distributions on IDRs), to finance all or a portion of expansion capital expenditures in respect of the period from the date that Sunoco enters into a binding obligation to commence the construction, acquisition or improvement of a capital asset until the earlier to occur of the date the capital asset commences commercial service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of; plus

 

   

cash distributions paid on equity issued (including incremental distributions on IDRs), to pay the construction period interest on debt incurred, or to pay construction period distributions on equity issued, to finance the expansion capital expenditures referred to above, in each case, in respect of the period from the date that Sunoco enters into a binding obligation to commence the construction, acquisition or improvement of a capital asset until the earlier to occur of the date the capital asset is placed in service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of; less

 

   

all of Sunoco’s operating expenditures (as defined below); less

 

   

the amount of cash reserves established by Sunoco GP to provide funds for future operating expenditures; less

 

   

all working capital borrowings not repaid within twelve months after having been incurred, or repaid within such twelve-month period with the proceeds of additional working capital borrowings; less

 

   

any cash loss realized on the disposition of an investment capital expenditure.

As described above, operating surplus does not reflect actual cash on hand that is available for distribution to Sunoco’s unitholders and is not limited to cash generated by Sunoco’s operations. For example, it includes a basket of $25.0 million that enables Sunoco, if it chooses, to distribute as operating surplus up to that amount of cash Sunoco receives from non-operating sources such as asset sales, issuances of securities and long-term borrowings that would otherwise be distributed as capital surplus. In addition, the effect of including certain cash distributions on equity interests in operating surplus, as described above, will be to increase operating surplus by the amount of any such cash distributions. As a result, Sunoco may also distribute as operating surplus up to that amount of cash that it receives from non-operating sources.

The proceeds of working capital borrowings increase operating surplus and repayments of working capital borrowings are generally operating expenditures, as described below, and thus reduce operating surplus when

 

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made. However, if a working capital borrowing is not repaid during the twelve-month period following the borrowing, it will be deemed repaid at the end of such period, thus decreasing operating surplus at such time. When such working capital borrowing is in fact repaid, it will be excluded from operating expenditures because operating surplus will have been previously reduced by the deemed repayment.

Sunoco defines operating expenditures as all of its cash expenditures, including, but not limited to, taxes, reimbursement of expenses to Sunoco GP or its affiliates, payments made in the ordinary course of business under interest rate hedge agreements or commodity hedge agreements (provided that (1) payments made in connection with the initial purchase of an interest rate hedge contract or a commodity hedge contract will be amortized over the life of the applicable interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract and (2) payments made in connection with the termination of any interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract prior to its stipulated settlement or termination date will be included in operating expenditures in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such contract), compensation of officers, directors and employees of Sunoco GP, repayment of working capital borrowings, debt service payments and maintenance capital expenditures (as discussed in further detail below), provided that operating expenditures do not include:

 

   

repayment of working capital borrowings deducted from operating surplus pursuant to the penultimate bullet point of the definition of operating surplus above when such repayment actually occurs;

 

   

payments (including prepayments and prepayment penalties) of principal of and premium on indebtedness other than working capital borrowings;

 

   

expansion capital expenditures;

 

   

investment capital expenditures;

 

   

payment of transaction expenses relating to interim capital transactions;

 

   

distributions to Sunoco’s partners (including distributions in respect of Sunoco’s IDRs); or

 

   

repurchases of equity interests (other than repurchases to satisfy obligations under employee benefit plans) or reimbursements of Sunoco GP for such purchases.

Interim Capital Transactions

Sunoco defines cash from interim capital transactions to include proceeds from:

 

   

borrowings other than working capital borrowings;

 

   

sales of equity and debt securities; and

 

   

sales or other dispositions of assets, other than inventory, accounts receivable and other assets sold in the ordinary course of business or assets sold or disposed of as part of normal retirement or replacement of assets.

Capital Surplus

Capital surplus is defined as any distribution of available cash in excess of operating surplus. Although the cash proceeds from interim capital transactions do not increase operating surplus, all distributions of available cash from whatever source are deemed to be from operating surplus until cumulative distributions of available cash exceed cumulative operating surplus. Thereafter, all distributions of available cash are deemed to be from capital surplus to the extent they continue to exceed cumulative operating surplus.

Characterization of Cash Distributions

Sunoco will treat all available cash distributed as coming from operating surplus until the sum of all available cash distributed since the closing of its initial public offering equals the operating surplus as of the most

 

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recent date of determination of available cash. Sunoco will treat any amount distributed in excess of operating surplus, regardless of its source, as capital surplus. As reflected above, operating surplus includes $25.0 million in addition to Sunoco’s cash balance on the closing date of its initial public offering, cash receipts from its operations and cash from working capital borrowings. This amount does not reflect actual cash on hand that is available for distribution to Sunoco’s unitholders. Rather, it is a provision that will enable Sunoco, if it chooses, to distribute as operating surplus up to $25.0 million of cash it receives in the future from interim capital transactions that would otherwise be distributed as capital surplus. Sunoco does not anticipate that it will make any distributions from capital surplus.

Capital Expenditures

Maintenance capital expenditures reduce operating surplus, but expansion capital expenditures and investment capital expenditures do not. Under Sunoco’s partnership agreement, maintenance capital expenditures are capital expenditures made to maintain Sunoco’s long-term operating income or operating capacity, while expansion capital expenditures are capital expenditures that Sunoco expects will increase its operating income or operating capacity over the long term. Examples of maintenance capital expenditures include those expenditures Sunoco makes to maintain existing contract volumes or renew existing distribution contracts, maintain its real estate leased to third-party dealers in leaseable condition or maintain its company operated convenience stores. Maintenance capital expenditures also include interest (and related fees) on debt incurred and distributions in respect of equity issued (including incremental distributions on IDRs), other than equity issued in any offering, to finance all or any portion of the construction or development of a replacement asset that are paid in respect of the period that begins when Sunoco enters into a binding obligation to commence construction or development of a replacement asset and ending on the earlier to occur of the date that such replacement asset commences commercial service and the date that it is disposed of or abandoned. Capital expenditures made solely for investment purposes are not considered maintenance capital expenditures.

Expansion capital expenditures are capital expenditures made to increase Sunoco’s operating capacity over the long term. Examples of expansion capital expenditures include the acquisition of new properties or equipment, to the extent such capital expenditures are expected to expand Sunoco’s long-term operating capacity. Expansion capital expenditures also include interest (and related fees) on debt incurred and distributions in respect of equity issued (including incremental distributions on IDRs) to finance all or any portion of the construction of a capital improvement paid in respect of the period that commences when Sunoco enters into a binding obligation to commence construction of a capital improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of date such capital improvement commences commercial service and the date that it is disposed of or abandoned. Capital expenditures made solely for investment purposes are not be considered expansion capital expenditures.

Investment capital expenditures are those capital expenditures that are neither maintenance capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures. Investment capital expenditures largely consist of capital expenditures made for investment purposes. Examples of investment capital expenditures include traditional capital expenditures for investment purposes, such as purchases of securities, as well as other capital expenditures that might be made in lieu of such traditional investment capital expenditures, such as the acquisition of a capital asset for investment purposes or the development of assets that are in excess of those needed for the maintenance of Sunoco’s existing operating capacity, but which are not expected to expand, for more than the short term, its operating capacity.

As described above, neither investment capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures are included in operating expenditures, and thus do not reduce operating surplus. Because expansion capital expenditures include interest payments (and related fees) on debt incurred to finance all or a portion of the construction, acquisition or development of a capital improvement during the period that begins when Sunoco enters into a binding obligation to commence construction, acquisition or development of a capital improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of the date such capital improvement commences commercial service and the date that it is disposed of or abandoned, such interest payments also do not reduce operating surplus. Losses on the disposition

 

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of an investment capital expenditure will reduce operating surplus when realized and cash receipts from an investment capital expenditure will be treated as a cash receipt for purposes of calculating operating surplus only to the extent the cash receipt is a return on principal.

Capital expenditures that are made in part for maintenance capital purposes, investment capital purposes and/or expansion capital purposes are allocated as maintenance capital expenditures, investment capital expenditures or expansion capital expenditures by Sunoco GP.

Distributions of Available Cash from Operating Surplus

Sunoco will make distributions of available cash from operating surplus for any quarter in the following manner:

 

   

first, to the holders of Sunoco’s Class C units to the extent of the distribution preference on the Class C units, as described above under “Sunoco’s Cash Distribution Policy—Class C Units;”

 

   

second, to all Sunoco unitholders holding Sunoco common units, pro rata, until Sunoco distributes for each outstanding Sunoco common unit an amount equal to the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution for that quarter; and

 

   

thereafter, in the manner as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “—Incentive Distribution Rights” below.

The preceding discussion is based on the assumption that Sunoco does not issue additional classes of equity interests.

Incentive Distribution Rights

IDRs represent the right to receive an increasing percentage (15.0%, 25.0% and 50.0%) of quarterly distributions of available cash from operating surplus after the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels have been achieved. We currently hold all of Sunoco’s IDRs, but may transfer these rights, subject to restrictions in Sunoco’s partnership agreement.

The following discussion assumes that Energy Transfer continues to own Sunoco’s IDRs.

If for any quarter Sunoco has distributed available cash from operating surplus to the holders of Sunoco’s Class C units to the extent of their distribution preference and to the Sunoco common unitholders in an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution then it will make distributions of available cash from operating surplus for that quarter in the following manner:

 

   

first, to all unitholders holding Sunoco common units, pro rata, until each unitholder receives a total of $0.503125 per Sunoco common unit for that quarter (the “first target distribution”);

 

   

second, 85.0% to all unitholders holding Sunoco common units, pro rata, and 15.0% to Energy Transfer (in its capacity as the holder of Sunoco’s IDRs), until each unitholder receives a total of $0.546875 per Sunoco common unit for that quarter (the “second target distribution”);

 

   

third, 75.0% to all unitholders holding Sunoco common units, pro rata, and 25.0% to Energy Transfer (in its capacity as the holder of Sunoco’s IDRs), until each unitholder receives a total of $0.65625 per Sunoco common unit for that quarter (the “third target distribution”); and

 

   

thereafter, 50.0% to all unitholders holding Sunoco common units, pro rata, and 50.0% to Energy Transfer (in its capacity as the holder of Sunoco’s IDRs).

 

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Distributions from Capital Surplus

Sunoco will make distributions of available cash from capital surplus, if any, in the following manner once the required distributions of available cash (other than PropCo available cash) are made to the Class C unitholders:

 

   

first, to all unitholders holding Sunoco common units, pro rata, until the minimum quarterly distribution level has been reduced to zero as described below; and

 

   

thereafter, Sunoco will make all distributions of available cash from capital surplus as if they were from operating surplus. The preceding paragraph assumes that Sunoco does not issue additional classes of equity interests.

Sunoco’s partnership agreement treats a distribution of capital surplus as the repayment of the initial unit price from the initial public offering, which is a return of capital. The initial public offering price less any distributions of capital surplus per unit is referred to as the “unrecovered initial unit price.” Each time a distribution of capital surplus is made, the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels will be reduced in the same proportion that the distribution had to the fair market value of the Sunoco common units immediately prior to the announcement of the distribution (or the average of the closing prices for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately prior to the ex-dividend date). Because distributions of capital surplus will reduce the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution and target distribution levels after any of these distributions are made, it may be easier for Energy Transfer (in its capacity as the holder of Sunoco’s IDRs) to receive incentive distributions.

Once Sunoco distributes capital surplus on a unit in an amount equal to the initial unit price, it will reduce the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels to zero. Sunoco will then make all future distributions from operating surplus, first, to the holders of Class C units to the extent required, and then, 50% being paid to the holders of Sunoco common units and 50% to Energy Transfer (in its capacity as the holder of Sunoco’s IDRs), assuming that Energy Transfer has not transferred the IDRs.

Adjustment to the Minimum Quarterly Distribution and Target Distribution Levels

In addition to adjusting the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution and target distribution levels to reflect a distribution of capital surplus, if Sunoco combines its units into fewer units or subdivides its units into a greater number of units, it will proportionately adjust its:

 

   

minimum quarterly distribution;

 

   

target distribution levels; and

 

   

unrecovered initial unit price.

For example, if a two-for-one split of common units should occur, the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution, the target distribution levels and the unrecovered initial unit price would each be reduced to 50% of its initial level. Sunoco will not make any adjustment by reason of the issuance of additional units for cash or property.

In addition, if legislation is enacted or if existing law is modified or interpreted by a governmental taxing authority, so that Sunoco becomes taxable as a corporation or otherwise subject to taxation as an entity for federal, state or local income tax purposes, it will reduce the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels for each quarter may, in the sole discretion of Sunoco GP, be reduced by multiplying each distribution level by a fraction, the numerator of which is available cash for that quarter (reduced by the amount of the estimated tax liability for such quarter) and the denominator of which is the sum of available cash for that quarter before any adjustment for estimated taxes. To the extent that the actual tax liability differs from the estimated tax liability for any quarter, the difference will be accounted for in subsequent quarters.

 

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Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation

General. If Sunoco dissolves in accordance with its partnership agreement, it will sell or otherwise dispose of its assets in a process called liquidation. Sunoco will first apply the proceeds of liquidation to the payment of its creditors. Sunoco will distribute any remaining proceeds to the unitholders and the holder of its IDRs, in accordance with their capital account balances, as adjusted to reflect any gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of its assets in liquidation.

The allocations of gain and loss upon liquidation are intended, to the extent possible, to permit holders of Sunoco common units to receive their unrecovered initial unit price plus the minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter during which liquidation occurs. However, there may not be sufficient gain upon Sunoco’s liquidation to enable Sunoco’s common unitholders to fully recover all of these amounts. Any further net gain recognized upon liquidation will be allocated in a manner that takes into account the IDRs.

Manner of Adjustments for Gain. The manner of the adjustment for gain is set forth in Sunoco’s partnership agreement. Sunoco will generally allocate any gain to its partners in the following manner:

 

   

first, to the holders of Sunoco’s Class C units, pro rata, until the capital account for each Class C unit is equal to the sum of: (1) the unrecovered initial unit price for that Class C unit; and (2) the unpaid amount of all accrued but unpaid distributions on that Class C unit;

 

   

second, to all Sunoco common unitholders, pro rata, until the capital account for each common unit is equal to the sum of:

 

   

the unrecovered initial unit price; and

 

   

the unpaid amount of the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter during which Sunoco’s liquidation occurs;

 

   

third, to all Sunoco common unitholders, pro rata, until Sunoco allocates under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to:

 

   

the excess of the first target distribution per unit over the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution per unit for each quarter of Sunoco’s existence; less

 

   

the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the Sunoco minimum quarterly distribution per unit for each quarter of Sunoco’s existence that it distributed to the unitholders, pro rata;

 

   

fourth, 85.0% to all Sunoco common unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to Energy Transfer (in its capacity as the holder of Sunoco’s IDRs), until Sunoco allocates under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to:

 

   

the excess of the second target distribution per unit over the first target distribution per unit for each quarter of Sunoco’s existence; less

 

   

the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the first target distribution per unit for each quarter of Sunoco’s existence that it distributed 85.0% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to Energy Transfer (in its capacity as the holder of Sunoco’s IDRs);

 

   

fifth, 75.0% to all Sunoco common unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to Energy Transfer (in its capacity as the holder of Sunoco’s IDRs), until Sunoco allocates under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to:

 

   

the excess of the third target distribution per unit over the second target distribution per unit for each quarter of Sunoco’s existence; less

 

   

the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the second target distribution per unit for each quarter of Sunoco’s existence that it

 

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distributed 75.0% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to Energy Transfer (in its capacity as the holder of Sunoco’s IDRs); and

 

   

thereafter, 50.0% to all Sunoco common unitholders, pro rata, and 50.0% to Energy Transfer (in its capacity as the holder of Sunoco’s IDRs).

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if immediately prior to making allocations pursuant to the fourth, fifth and sixth clauses above, the capital account of each Sunoco common unit equals or exceeds the issue price of Sunoco’s Class C units ($38.5856), then Sunoco will allocate 1.0% of the remaining items of gain (other than gain attributable to PropCo) to the holders of Class C units, pro rata.

Manner of Adjustments for Losses

Sunoco will generally allocate any loss to its unitholders in the following manner:

 

   

first, to Sunoco’s common unitholders, pro rata, until the capital accounts of the common unitholders have been reduced to zero; and

 

   

thereafter, to the holders of Sunoco’s Class C units, pro rata, until the capital accounts of the Class C units have been reduced to zero.

provided, that Class C units will not be allocated any items of loss attributable to the ownership or sale of Sunoco’s membership interests in PropCo or any indebtedness of PropCo or its subsidiaries.

Adjustments to Capital Accounts

Sunoco will make adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units. In doing so, Sunoco generally will allocate any unrealized and, for tax purposes, unrecognized gain resulting from the adjustments to the unitholders and the holders of Sunoco’s IDRs in the same manner as it allocates gain upon liquidation. By contrast to the allocations of gain, and except as provided above, Sunoco generally will allocate any unrealized and unrecognized loss resulting from the adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units to Sunoco’s common unitholders based on their percentage ownership of Sunoco. In the event Sunoco makes negative adjustments to the capital accounts as a result of such loss, future positive adjustments resulting from the issuance of additional units will be allocated in a manner designed to reverse the prior negative adjustments, and special allocations will be made upon liquidation in a manner that results, to the extent possible, in Sunoco’s common unitholders’ capital account balances equaling the amounts they would have been if no earlier adjustments for loss had been made. The Sunoco Class C units will not be allocated any items of gain or loss attributable to Sunoco’s ownership or sale of the membership interests in PropCo or any indebtedness of PropCo or its subsidiaries.

USAC’s Cash Distribution Policy

General

USAC’s partnership agreement requires that, within 45 days after the end of each quarter, USAC distribute all of its available cash to unitholders of record on the applicable record date.

Definition of Available Cash

Available cash, for any quarter, consists of all cash on hand at the end of that quarter:

 

   

less, the amount of cash reserves established by USAC’s general partner to:

 

   

provide for the proper conduct of USAC’s business;

 

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comply with applicable law, USAC’s revolving credit facility or other agreements; and

 

   

provide funds for distributions to USAC’s unitholders for any one or more of the next four quarters;

 

   

plus, if USAC’s general partner so determines, all or a portion of cash on hand on the date of determination of available cash for the quarter resulting from working capital borrowings made after the end of the quarter.

Working capital borrowings are borrowings that are made under a credit facility, commercial paper facility or similar financing arrangement, and in all cases, are used solely for working capital purposes or to pay distributions to partners and with the intent of the borrower to repay such borrowings within twelve months from sources other than additional working capital borrowings.

Series A Preferred Units

Record holders of USAC’s Series A preferred units are entitled to receive cumulative quarterly distributions equal to $24.375 per Series A preferred unit, which may be paid in cash or, subject to certain limits, a combination of cash and additional Series A preferred units as determined by USAC’s general partner with respect to any quarter ending on or prior to June 30, 2019. USAC cannot pay any distributions on any junior securities, including any of the common units, prior to paying the quarterly distribution payable on the Series A preferred units, including any previously accrued and unpaid distributions thereon.

Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus

General. All cash distributed will be characterized as either “operating surplus” or “capital surplus.” USAC’s partnership agreement requires that USAC distribute available cash from operating surplus differently than available cash from capital surplus.

Operating Surplus. Operating surplus for any period consists of:

 

   

$36.6 million (as described below); plus

 

   

all of USAC’s cash receipts beginning January 18, 2013, the closing date of USAC’s initial public offering, excluding cash from interim capital transactions, which include the following:

 

   

borrowings (including sales of debt securities) that are not working capital borrowings;

 

   

sales of equity interests;

 

   

sales or other dispositions of assets outside the ordinary course of business; and

 

   

capital contributions received;

provided that cash receipts from the termination of a commodity hedge or interest rate hedge prior to its specified termination date w be included in operating surplus in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such commodity hedge or interest rate hedge; plus

 

   

working capital borrowings made after the end of the period but on or before the date of determination of operating surplus for the period; plus

 

   

cash distributions paid on equity issued to finance all or a portion of the construction, acquisition or improvement of a capital improvement (such as equipment or facilities) in respect of the period beginning on the date that USAC enters into a binding obligation to commence the construction, acquisition or improvement of a capital improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of the date the capital improvement or capital asset commences commercial service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of; plus

 

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cash distributions paid on equity issued to pay the construction period interest on debt incurred, or to pay construction period distributions on equity issued, to finance the capital improvements referred to above; less

 

   

all of USAC’s operating expenditures (as defined below) after the closing of USAC’s initial public offering; less

 

   

the amount of cash reserves established by USAC’s general partner to provide funds for future operating expenditures; less

 

   

all working capital borrowings not repaid within twelve months after having been incurred; less

 

   

any loss realized on disposition of an investment capital expenditure.

As described above, operating surplus does not reflect actual cash on hand that is available for distribution to USAC’s unitholders and is not limited to cash generated by USAC’s operations. For example, it includes a basket of $36.6 million that will enable USAC, if it chooses, to distribute as operating surplus cash it receives in the future from non-operating sources such as asset sales, issuances of securities and long-term borrowings that would otherwise be distributed as capital surplus. In addition, the effect of including, as described above, certain cash distributions on equity interests in operating surplus will be to increase operating surplus by the amount of any such cash distributions. As a result, USAC may also distribute as operating surplus up to the amount of any such cash that it receives from non-operating sources.

The proceeds of working capital borrowings increase operating surplus and repayments of working capital borrowings are generally operating expenditures, as described below, and thus reduce operating surplus when made. However, if a working capital borrowing is not repaid during the twelve-month period following the borrowing, it will be deemed repaid at the end of such period, thus decreasing operating surplus at such time. When such working capital borrowing is in fact repaid, it will be excluded from operating expenditures because operating surplus will have been previously reduced by the deemed repayment.

USAC defines operating expenditures in its partnership agreement, and operating expenditures generally means all of USAC’s cash expenditures, including, but not limited to, taxes, reimbursement of expenses to USAC’s general partner and its affiliates, payments made under interest rate hedge agreements or commodity hedge contracts (provided that (i) with respect to amounts paid in connection with the initial purchase of an interest rate hedge contract or a commodity hedge contract, such amounts will be amortized over the life of the applicable interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract and (ii) payments made in connection with the termination of any interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract prior to the expiration of its stipulated settlement or termination date will be included in operating expenditures in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract), officer compensation, repayment of working capital borrowings, debt service payments and maintenance capital expenditures (as defined below), provided that operating expenditures will not include:

 

   

repayment of working capital borrowings deducted from operating surplus pursuant to the penultimate bullet point of the definition of operating surplus above when such repayment actually occurs;

 

   

payments (including prepayments and prepayment penalties) of principal of and premium on indebtedness, other than working capital borrowings;

 

   

expansion capital expenditures (as defined below);

 

   

investment capital expenditures (as defined below);

 

   

payment of transaction expenses relating to interim capital transactions;

 

   

distributions to USAC’s partners; or

 

   

repurchases of equity interests except to fund obligations under employee benefit plans.

 

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Capital Surplus. Capital surplus is defined in USAC’s partnership agreement as any distribution of available cash in excess of USAC’s cumulative operating surplus. Accordingly, capital surplus would generally be generated by:

 

   

borrowings other than working capital borrowings;

 

   

sales of USAC’s equity and debt securities; and

 

   

sales or other dispositions of assets for cash, other than inventory, accounts receivable and other assets sold in the ordinary course of business or as part of normal retirement or replacement of assets.

Characterization of Cash Distributions. USAC’s partnership agreement requires that USAC treat all available cash distributed as coming from operating surplus until the sum of all available cash distributed since January 18, 2013, the closing date of USAC’s initial public offering, equals the operating surplus from January 18, 2013 through the end of the quarter immediately preceding that distribution. USAC’s partnership agreement requires that USAC treat any amount distributed in excess of operating surplus, regardless of its source, as capital surplus. USAC does not anticipate that we will make any distributions from capital surplus.

Capital Expenditures

Maintenance capital expenditures are those capital expenditures required to maintain USAC’s long-term operating capacity and/or operating income. Capital expenditures made solely for investment purposes will not be considered maintenance capital expenditures.

Expansion capital expenditures are those capital expenditures that USAC expects will increase USAC’s operating capacity or operating income over the long term. Expansion capital expenditures will also include interest (and related fees) on debt incurred to finance all or any portion of the construction of such capital improvement in respect of the period that commences when USAC enters into a binding obligation to commence construction of a capital improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of the date any such capital improvement commences commercial service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of. Capital expenditures made solely for investment purposes will not be considered expansion capital expenditures.

Investment capital expenditures are those capital expenditures that are neither maintenance capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures. Investment capital expenditures largely will consist of capital expenditures made for investment purposes. Examples of investment capital expenditures include traditional capital expenditures for investment purposes, such as purchases of securities, as well as other capital expenditures that might be made in lieu of such traditional investment capital expenditures, such as the acquisition of a capital asset for investment purposes or development of facilities that are in excess of the maintenance of USAC’s existing operating capacity or operating income, but which are not expected to expand, for more than the short term, USAC’s operating capacity or operating income.

As described above, neither investment capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures will be included in operating expenditures, and thus will not reduce operating surplus. Because expansion capital expenditures include interest payments (and related fees) on debt incurred to finance all or a portion of the construction or improvement of a capital asset (such as gathering compressors) in respect of the period that begins when USAC enters into a binding obligation to commence construction of the capital asset and ends on the earlier to occur of the date the capital asset commences commercial service or the date that it is abandoned or disposed of, such interest payments are also not subtracted from operating surplus. Losses on disposition of an investment capital expenditure will reduce operating surplus when realized and cash receipts from an investment capital expenditure will be treated as a cash receipt for purposes of calculating operating surplus only to the extent the cash receipt is a return on principal.

Capital expenditures that are made in part for maintenance capital purposes, investment capital purposes and/or expansion capital purposes will be allocated as maintenance capital expenditures, investment capital expenditures or expansion capital expenditures by USAC’s general partner.

 

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Distributions of Available Cash from Operating Surplus

USAC’s partnership agreement requires that USAC make distributions or payments of available cash from operating surplus for any quarter in the following manner:

 

   

first, as distributions or payments with respect to the Series A preferred units (as described above under “—Distributions of Available Cash”); and

 

   

thereafter, to the holders of common units, pro rata.

Holders of USAC’s Class B units are not entitled to distributions from available cash prior to conversion of the Class B units into common units.

Distributions from Capital Surplus

USAC’s partnership agreement generally provides that USAC may not declare or pay any distribution from capital surplus without the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of USAC’s Series A preferred units. In the event a distribution from capital surplus is so approved, USAC may make distributions of available cash from capital surplus, as if they were from operating surplus.

General Partner Interest

USAC’s general partner owns a non-economic general partner interest, which does not entitle it to receive cash distributions. However, to the extent USAC’s general partner owns common units or other equity securities in USAC, it is entitled to receive cash distributions on any such interests. Similarly, to the extent USAC’s general partner owns units that have voting rights, it is entitled to exercise its voting power with respect to such interests.

Distributions of Cash upon Liquidation

If USAC dissolves in accordance with its partnership agreement, USAC will sell or otherwise dispose of its assets in a process called a liquidation. USAC will first apply the proceeds of liquidation to the payment of its creditors. USAC will distribute any remaining proceeds to the unitholders, in accordance with their capital account balances, as adjusted to reflect any gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of USAC’s assets in liquidation; provided, that any cash or cash equivalents for distributions will be distributed with respect to USAC’s Series A preferred units (up to the positive balance in the associated capital accounts), prior to any distribution of cash or cash equivalents with respect to USAC’s common units or other junior securities.

 

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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

This section summarizes the material U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to prospective Plan participants and is based upon current provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), existing and proposed U.S. Treasury regulations thereunder (the “Treasury Regulations”) and current administrative rulings and court decisions, all of which are subject to change. Changes in these authorities may cause the federal income tax consequences to a prospective unitholder to vary substantially from those described below, possibly on a retroactive basis. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “we,” “our” or “us” are references to the Partnership and include our operating subsidiaries.

Legal conclusions contained in this section, unless otherwise noted, are the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. and are based on the accuracy of representations made by us to them for this purpose. However, this section does not address all U.S. federal income tax matters that may affect us or our unitholders, such as the application of the alternative minimum tax. This section also does not address local taxes, state taxes, non-U.S. taxes or other taxes that may be applicable, except to the limited extent that such tax considerations are addressed below under “—State, Local and Other Tax Considerations.” Furthermore, this section focuses on unitholders who (i) are individual citizens or residents of the United States (for U.S. federal income tax purposes), (ii) have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency, (iii) use the calendar year as their taxable year, (iv) own common units that participate in the Plan, (v) do not materially participate in the conduct of our business activities and (vi) hold such common units as capital assets (typically, property that is held for investment). This section has limited applicability to corporations (including other entities treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes), partnerships (including other entities treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes), estates, trusts, non-resident aliens or other unitholders subject to specialized tax treatment, such as tax-exempt entities, non-U.S. persons, individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”), employee benefit plans, real estate investment trusts or mutual funds.

Accordingly, we encourage each prospective unitholder to consult the unitholder’s own tax advisor in analyzing the federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences that are particular to that unitholder resulting from ownership or disposition of our common units and potential changes in applicable tax laws.

We are relying on the opinions and advice of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. with respect to the matters described herein. An opinion of counsel represents only that counsel’s best legal judgment and does not bind the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) or a court. Accordingly, the opinions and statements made herein may not be sustained by a court if contested by the IRS. Any such contest of the matters described herein may materially and adversely impact the market for our common units and the prices at which our common units trade. In addition, our costs of any contest with the IRS will be borne indirectly by our unitholders and our general partner because the costs will reduce our cash available for distribution. Furthermore, the tax consequences of an investment in us may be significantly modified by future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions, which may be retroactively applied.

For the reasons described below, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion with respect to the following U.S. federal income tax issues:

 

   

the treatment of a unitholder whose common units are the subject of a securities loan (e.g., a loan to a short seller to cover a short sale of common units) (please read “—Tax Consequences of Common Unit Ownership—Treatment of Securities Loans”);

 

   

whether our monthly convention for allocating taxable income and losses is permitted by existing Treasury Regulations (please read “—Disposition of Common Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees”);

 

   

whether our method for taking into account Section 743 adjustments is sustainable in certain cases (please read “—Tax Consequences of Common Unit Ownership—Section 754 Election” and “—Uniformity of Common Units”); and

 

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whether our use of simplifying conventions for making adjustments to “book” basis and relevant allocations is permitted by existing Treasury Regulations (please read “—Tax Consequences of Common Unit Ownership—Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction” and “—Uniformity of Common Units”).

Taxation of the Partnership

Partnership Status

We are treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, subject to the discussion below under “—Administrative Matters—Information Returns and Audit Procedures,” generally will not be liable for entity-level U.S. federal income taxes. Instead, as described below, each of our unitholders will take into account his or her respective share of our items of income, gain, loss and deduction in computing his or her U.S. federal income tax liability as if the unitholder had earned such income directly, even if we make no cash distributions to the unitholder. Distributions we make to a unitholder will not give rise to income or gain taxable to such unitholder, unless the amount of cash distributed exceeds the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis in his or her common units. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Common Unit Ownership—Treatment of Distributions” and “—Disposition of Common Units”).

Section 7704 of the Code generally provides that publicly-traded partnerships will be treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, if 90% or more of a partnership’s gross income for every taxable year it is publicly-traded consists of “qualifying income,” the partnership may continue to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes (the “Qualifying Income Exception”). Qualifying income includes, (i) interest, (ii) dividends, (iii) real property rents within the meaning of Section 856(d) of the Code, as modified by Section 7704(d)(3) of the Code, (iv) gains from the sale or other disposition of real property, (v) income and gains derived from the exploration, development, mining or production, processing, refining, transportation (including pipelines transporting gas, oil, or products thereof) or the marketing of any “mineral or natural resource” and (vi) gains from the sale or other disposition of capital assets (or property described in Section 1231(b) of the Code) held for the production of income that otherwise constitutes qualifying income. We estimate that less than 5% of our current gross income is not qualifying income; however, this estimate could change from time to time.

No ruling has been or will be sought from the IRS with respect to our classification as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes or as to the classification of our partnership and limited liability company operating subsidiaries. Instead we have relied on the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. that, based upon the Code, existing Treasury Regulations, published revenue rulings and court decisions and representations described below, the Partnership and each of our partnership and limited liability company operating subsidiaries, other than those that have been identified as corporations to Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., will be classified as a partnerships or disregarded as an entity separate from us for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that we will be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and each of our partnership and limited liability company operating subsidiaries, other than those that have been identified as corporations to Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., will be treated as a partnership or will be disregarded as an entity separate from us. In rendering its opinion, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has relied on factual representations made by us and our general partner, including, without limitation:

(a) Neither we nor any of our partnership or limited liability company operating subsidiaries, other than those that have been identified as corporations to Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., has elected or will elect to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

(b) For each taxable year since and including the year of our initial public offering, more than 90% of our gross income has been and will be income of a character that Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has opined is “qualifying income” within the meaning of Section 7704(d) of the Code; and

 

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(c) Each hedging transaction that we treat as resulting in qualifying income has been and will be appropriately identified as a hedging transaction pursuant to applicable Treasury Regulations, and has been and will be associated with oil, natural gas or products thereof that are held or to be held by us in activities that Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has opined or will opine result in qualifying income.

We believe that these representations are true and will be true in the future.

If we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, other than a failure that is determined by the IRS to be inadvertent and that is cured within a reasonable time after discovery (in which case the IRS may also require us to make adjustments with respect to our unitholders or pay other amounts), we will be treated as transferring all of our assets, subject to all of our liabilities, to a newly formed corporation, on the first day of the year in which we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception in return for stock in that corporation and then as distributing that stock to our unitholders in liquidation of their interests in us. This deemed contribution and liquidation should not result in the recognition of taxable income (i) to us (which would be allocated to our unitholders) so long as the aggregate amount of our liabilities does not exceed the adjusted tax basis of our assets or (ii) by our unitholders so long as their respective shares of our liabilities do not exceed their adjusted tax basis in their units. Thereafter, we would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our common units may be modified by administrative or legislative action or judicial interpretation at any time. From time to time, members of the U.S. Congress and certain presidential administrations have proposed and considered substantive changes to the existing U.S. federal income tax laws that would affect publicly-traded partnerships. Recent proposals have provided for the expansion of the Qualifying Income Exception in certain circumstances and other proposals have provided for the total elimination of the Qualifying Income Exception upon which we rely for our partnership tax treatment.

It is possible that a change in law could affect us and may be applied retroactively. Any such changes could negatively impact the value of an investment in our common units. If for any reason we are taxable as a corporation in any taxable year, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction would be taken into account by us in determining the amount of our liability for U.S. federal income tax, rather than being passed through to our unitholders.

At the state level, several states have been evaluating ways to subject partnerships to entity-level taxation through the imposition of state income, franchise, or other forms of taxation. Imposition of a similar tax on us in the jurisdictions in which we operate or in other jurisdictions to which we may expand could substantially reduce our cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

Our taxation as a corporation would materially reduce the cash available for distribution to unitholders and thus would likely substantially reduce the value of our common units. Any distribution made to a unitholder at a time when we are treated as a corporation would be (i) a taxable dividend to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, then (ii) a nontaxable return of capital to the extent of the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis in his or her common units (determined separately for each common unit), and thereafter (iii) taxable capital gain.

The remainder of this discussion is based on the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. that we will be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Tax Consequences of Common Unit Ownership

Limited Partner Status

Unitholders of the Partnership who are admitted as limited partners of the partnership will be treated as partners of the Partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In addition, assignees who have executed and

 

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delivered transfer applications and are awaiting admission as limited partners, and unitholders whose common units are held in street name or by a nominee and who have the right to direct the nominee in the exercise of all substantive rights attendant to the ownership of their common units will be treated as partners of the Partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

As there is no direct or indirect controlling authority addressing assignees of common units who are entitled to execute and deliver transfer applications and thereby become entitled to direct the exercise of attendant rights, but who fail to execute and deliver transfer applications, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.’s opinion does not extend to these persons. Furthermore, a purchaser or other transferee of common units who does not execute and deliver a transfer application may not receive some U.S. federal income tax information or reports furnished to record holders of common units unless the common units are held in a nominee or street name account and the nominee or broker has executed and delivered a transfer application for those common units.

For a discussion related to the risks of losing partner status as a result of securities loans, please read “—Treatment of Securities Loans.” Unitholders who are not treated as partners in us as described above are urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences applicable to them under their particular circumstances.

Flow-Through of Taxable Income

Subject to the discussion below under “—Entity-Level Collections of Unitholder Taxes” and “—Administrative Matters—Information Returns and Audit Procedures,” and assuming, our general partner does not make an election for us to be taxed as a corporation as a result of a change in tax law, with respect to payments we may be required to make on behalf of our unitholders, we will not pay any U.S. federal income tax. Rather, each unitholder will be required to report on his or her U.S. federal income tax return each year his or her share of our income, gains, losses and deductions for our taxable year or years ending with or within his or her taxable year. Except as described below under “—Treatment of Distributions,” participants in our Plan will be allocated taxable income and loss in the same manner as all other unitholders even if they elect to reinvest their entire cash distribution. Consequently, we may allocate income to a unitholder even if that unitholder has not received a cash distribution.

Basis of Common Units

A unitholder’s tax basis in his or her common units initially will be the amount paid or treated as paid for those common units increased by the unitholder’s initial allocable share of our liabilities. That basis generally will be (i) increased by the unitholder’s share of our income and any increases in such unitholder’s share of our liabilities, and (ii) decreased, but not below zero, by the amount of all distributions to the unitholder, the unitholder’s share of our losses, any decreases in his or her share of our liabilities, and the amount of any excess business interest allocated to the unitholder. The IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all of those interests.

Treatment of Distributions

Distributions made by us to a unitholder generally will not be taxable to the unitholder, unless such distributions are of cash or marketable securities that are treated as cash and exceed the unitholder’s tax basis in his or her common units, in which case the unitholder generally will recognize gain taxable in the manner described below under “—Disposition of Common Units.”

If, and to the extent that, a unitholder participates in our Plan, such unitholder will receive common units in lieu of all or a portion of any cash distributions it would otherwise receive from us. The tax consequences of such participation are generally expected to be the same to the Plan participants as if they had received their cash

 

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distributions paid to the unitholders and then used these cash distributions to purchase additional common units either from us or on the open market, depending on how we instruct the Administrator to reinvest the distributions subject to our distribution reinvestment plan. If a participant in our Plan is deemed to have purchased additional common units at a discount, it may be necessary to allocate income to such participant in our Plan in order to preserve the uniformity of our units. Accordingly, a participant in our Plan may recognize income in the amount of the discount.

Any reduction in a unitholder’s share of our “nonrecourse liabilities” (liabilities for which no partner bears the economic risk of loss) will be treated as a distribution by us of cash to that unitholder. A decrease in a unitholder’s percentage interest in us because of our issuance of additional common units may decrease such unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities. For purposes of the foregoing, a unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities generally will be based upon such unitholder’s share of the unrealized appreciation (or depreciation) in our assets, to the extent thereof, with any excess nonrecourse liabilities allocated based on the unitholder’s share of our profits. Please read “—Disposition of Common Units.”

A non-pro rata distribution of money or property (including a deemed distribution as a result of the reallocation of our nonrecourse liabilities described above) may cause a unitholder to recognize ordinary income if the distribution reduces the unitholder’s share of our “unrealized receivables,” including depreciation recapture and substantially appreciated “inventory items,” both as defined in Section 751 of the Code (“Section 751 Assets”). To the extent of such reduction, the unitholder would be deemed to receive his or her proportionate share of the Section 751 Assets and exchange such assets with us in return for a portion of the non-pro rata distribution. This deemed exchange will generally result in the unitholder’s recognition of ordinary income in an amount equal to the excess of (i) the non-pro rata portion of that distribution over (ii) the unitholder’s tax basis (typically zero) in the Section 751 Assets deemed to be relinquished in the exchange.

Limitations on Deductibility of Losses

A unitholder may not be entitled to deduct the full amount of loss we allocate to such unitholder because his or her share of our losses will be limited to the lesser of (i) the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis in his or her common units, and (ii) in the case of a unitholder that is an individual, estate, trust or certain types of closely-held corporations, the amount for which the unitholder is considered to be “at risk” with respect to our activities. A unitholder will be at risk to the extent of his or her adjusted tax basis in his or her common units, reduced by (1) any portion of that basis attributable to the unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities, (2) any portion of that basis representing amounts otherwise protected against loss because of a guarantee, stop loss agreement or similar arrangement and (3) any amount of money the unitholder borrows to acquire or hold his or her common units, if the lender of those borrowed funds owns an interest in us, is related to another unitholder or can look only to the common units for repayment. A unitholder subject to the at risk limitation must recapture losses deducted in previous years to the extent that distributions (including distributions deemed to result from a reduction in a unitholder’s share of nonrecourse liabilities) cause the unitholder’s at risk amount to be less than zero at the end of any taxable year.

Losses disallowed to a unitholder or recaptured as a result of the basis or at risk limitations will carry forward and will be allowable as a deduction in a later year to the extent that the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis or at risk amount, whichever is the limiting factor, is subsequently increased. Upon a taxable disposition of our common units, any gain recognized by a unitholder can be offset by losses that were previously suspended by the at risk limitation but not losses suspended by the basis limitation. Any loss previously suspended by the at risk limitation in excess of that gain can no longer be used, and will not be available to offset a unitholder’s salary or active business income.

In addition to the basis and at risk limitations, passive activity loss limitations limit the deductibility of losses incurred by individuals, estates, trusts, some closely-held corporations and personal service corporations from “passive activities” (generally, trade or business activities in which the taxpayer does not materially

 

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participate). The passive loss limitations are applied separately with respect to each publicly-traded partnership. Consequently, any passive losses we generate will be available to offset only passive income generated by us in the future and will not be available to offset income from other passive activities or investments, including any dividend or interest income we derive from our other investments (including our investments in other publicly traded partnerships, such as Sunoco and USAC) or from a unitholder’s other investments (including investments in other publicly traded partnerships, such as Sunoco and USAC), or salary or active business income. Passive losses that exceed a common unitholder’s share of the passive income we generate may be deducted in full when a common unitholder disposes of all of his or her common units in a fully taxable transaction with an unrelated party. The passive activity loss rules are applied after other applicable limitations on deductions, including the at risk and basis limitations.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the IRS could take the position that for purposes of applying the passive loss limitation rules to tiered publicly traded partnerships, such as Sunoco, USAC and us, the related entities are treated as one publicly traded partnership. In that case, any passive losses we generate would be available to offset income from a unitholder’s investments in Sunoco and USAC. However, passive losses that are not deductible because they exceed a unitholder’s share of income we generate would not be deductible in full until a unitholder disposes of his or her entire investment in us, Sunoco and USAC in a fully taxable transaction with an unrelated party. If any unitholder holds interest in both us and either of Sunoco or USAC, such unitholder should consult his or her own tax advisor regarding the application of the passive loss rules.

For taxpayers other than corporations in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, and before January 1, 2029, an “excess business loss” limitation further limits the deductibility of losses by such taxpayers. An excess business loss is the excess (if any) of a taxpayer’s aggregate deductions for the taxable year that are attributable to the trades or businesses of such taxpayer (determined without regard to the excess business loss limitation) over the aggregate gross income or gain of such taxpayer for the taxable year that is attributable to such trades or businesses plus a threshold amount. The threshold amount for 2024 is equal to $305,000 or $610,000 (increased annually by the applicable inflation adjustment) for taxpayers filing a joint return. Disallowed excess business losses are treated as a net operating loss carryover to the following tax year. Any losses we generate that are allocated to a unitholder and not otherwise limited by the basis, at risk, or passive loss limitations will be included in the determination of such unitholder’s aggregate trade or business deductions. Consequently, any losses we generate that are not otherwise limited will only be available to offset a unitholder’s other trade or business income plus an amount of non-trade or business income equal to the applicable threshold amount. Thus, except to the extent of the threshold amount, our losses that are not otherwise limited may not offset a unitholder’s non-trade or business income (such as salaries, fees, interest, dividends and capital gains). This excess business loss limitation will be applied after the passive activity loss limitation.

Limitations on Interest Deductions

In general, we are entitled to a deduction for interest paid or accrued on indebtedness properly allocable to our trade or business during our taxable year. However, our deduction for this “business interest” is limited to the sum of our business interest income and 30% of our “adjusted taxable income.” For the purposes of this limitation, our adjusted taxable income is computed without regard to any business interest or business interest income. This limitation is first applied at the partnership level and any deduction for business interest is taken into account in determining our non-separately stated taxable income or loss. Then, in applying this business interest limitation at the partner level, the adjusted taxable income of each of our unitholders is determined without regard to such unitholder’s distributive share of any of our items of income, gain, deduction or loss and is increased by such unitholder’s distributive share of our excess taxable income, which is generally equal to the excess of 30% of our adjusted taxable income over the amount of our deduction for business interest for a taxable year.

To the extent our deduction for business interest is not limited, we will allocate the full amount of our deduction for business interest among our unitholders in accordance with their percentage interests in us. To the

 

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extent our deduction for business interest is limited, the amount of any disallowed deduction for business interest will also be allocated to each unitholder in accordance with their percentage interest in us, but such amount of “excess business interest” will not be currently deductible. Subject to certain limitations and adjustments to a unitholder’s basis in his or her common units, this excess business interest may be carried forward and deducted by a unitholder in a future taxable year. Further, a unitholder’s basis in his or her common units will generally be increased by the amount of any excess business interest upon a disposition of such common units.

In addition to this limitation on the deductibility of a partnership’s business interest, the deductibility of a non-corporate taxpayer’s “investment interest expense” is generally limited to the amount of that taxpayer’s “net investment income.” Investment interest expense includes:

 

   

interest on indebtedness allocable to property held for investment;

 

   

interest expense allocated against portfolio income; and

 

   

the portion of interest expense incurred to purchase or carry an interest in a passive activity to the extent allocable against portfolio income.

The computation of a unitholder’s investment interest expense will take into account interest on any margin account borrowing or other loan incurred to purchase or carry a common unit. Net investment income includes gross income from property held for investment and amounts treated as portfolio income under the passive loss rules, less deductible expenses, other than interest, directly connected with the production of investment income. Net investment income does not include qualified dividend income (if applicable) or gains attributable to the disposition of property held for investment. A unitholder’s share of a publicly-traded partnership’s portfolio income and, according to the IRS, net passive income will be treated as investment income for purposes of the investment interest expense limitation.

Entity-Level Collections of Unitholder Taxes

If we are required or elect under applicable law to pay any federal, state, local or non-U.S. tax on behalf of any current or former unitholder or our general partner, our partnership agreement authorizes us to treat the payment as a distribution of cash to the relevant unitholder or general partner. Where the tax is payable on behalf of all unitholders or we cannot determine the specific unitholder on whose behalf the tax is payable, our partnership agreement authorizes us to treat the payment as a distribution to all current unitholders. We are authorized to amend our partnership agreement in the manner necessary to maintain uniformity of intrinsic tax characteristics of common units and to adjust later distributions, so that after giving effect to these distributions, the priority and characterization of distributions otherwise applicable under our partnership agreement is maintained as nearly as is practicable. Payments by us as described above could give rise to an overpayment of tax on behalf of a unitholder, in which event the unitholder may be entitled to claim a refund of the overpayment amount. Please read “—Administrative Matters—Information Returns and Audit Procedures.” Unitholders are urged to consult their tax advisors to determine the consequences to them of any tax payment we make on their behalf.

Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction

After giving effect to special allocation provisions in our partnership agreement, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated among our unitholders in accordance with their percentage interests in us.

Specified items of our income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated under Section 704(c) of the Code (or the principles of Section 704(c) of the Code) to account for any difference between the adjusted tax basis and fair market value of our assets at the time such assets are contributed to us and at the time of any subsequent offering of our common units (a “Book-Tax Disparity”). As a result, the U.S. federal income tax burden associated with any Book-Tax Disparity immediately prior to an offering will be borne by our partners holding

 

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interests in us prior to such offering. In addition, items of recapture income will be specially allocated to the extent possible (subject to the limitations described above) to the unitholder who was allocated the deduction giving rise to that recapture income in order to minimize the recognition of ordinary income by other unitholders.

It may not be administratively feasible to make the relevant adjustments to “book” basis and the relevant Section 704(c) allocations separately each time we issue units, particularly in the case of small or frequent unit issuances. If that is the case, we may use simplifying conventions to make those adjustments and allocations, which may include the aggregation of certain issuances of units. Our counsel, Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P., is unable to opine as to the validity of such conventions.

An allocation of items of our income, gain, loss or deduction, other than an allocation required by the Code to eliminate a Book-Tax Disparity, will be given effect for U.S. federal income tax purposes in determining a unitholder’s share of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction only if the allocation has “substantial economic effect.” In any other case, a unitholder’s share of an item will be determined on the basis of the unitholder’s interest in us, which will be determined by taking into account all the facts and circumstances, including (i) the unitholder’s relative contributions to us, (ii) the interests of all the partners in profits and losses, (iii) the interest of all the partners in cash flow and (iv) the rights of all the partners to distributions of capital upon liquidation. With the exception of the issues described in “—Section 754 Election” and “—Disposition of Common Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees” and certain aspects of the tax treatment of our preferred units and Class B Units, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that the allocations of income, gain, loss or deduction set forth in our partnership agreement will be respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Treatment of Securities Loans

A unitholder whose common units are the subject of a securities loan (for example, a loan to a “short seller” to cover a short sale of common units) may be treated as having disposed of those common units. If so, such unitholder would no longer be treated for tax purposes as a partner with respect to those common units during the period of the loan and may recognize gain or loss as a result of such deemed disposition. As a result, during this period (i) any of our income, gain, loss or deduction allocated to those common units would not be reportable by the lending unitholder, and (ii) any cash distributions received by the lending unitholder as to those common units may be treated as ordinary taxable income.

Due to a lack of controlling authority, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion regarding the tax treatment of a unitholder that enters into a securities loan with respect to his or her common units. A unitholder desiring to assure his or her status as a partner and avoid the risk of income recognition from a loan of his or her common units is urged to modify any applicable brokerage account agreements to prohibit his or her brokers from borrowing and lending his or her common units. The IRS has announced that it is studying issues relating to the tax treatment of short sales of partnership interests. Please read “—Disposition of Common Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.”

Tax Rates

Under current law, the highest marginal U.S. federal income tax rates for individuals applicable to ordinary income and long-term capital gains (generally, gains from the sale or exchange of certain investment assets held for more than one year) are 37% and 20%, respectively. These rates are subject to change by new legislation at any time.

In addition, a 3.8% net investment income tax applies to certain net investment income earned by individuals, estates, and trusts. For these purposes, net investment income generally includes a unitholder’s allocable share of our income and gain realized by a unitholder from a sale of common units (without taking into account the 20% deduction discussed below). In the case of an individual, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) the unitholder’s net investment income from all investments, or (ii) the amount by which the unitholder’s

 

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modified adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 (if the unitholder is married and filing jointly or a surviving spouse), $125,000 (if the unitholder is married and filing separately) or $200,000 (if the unitholder is unmarried or in any other case). In the case of an estate or trust, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) undistributed net investment income, or (ii) the excess adjusted gross income over the dollar amount at which the highest income tax bracket applicable to an estate or trust begins.

For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and ending on or before December 31, 2025, subject to certain limitations, an individual unitholder is entitled to a deduction equal to 20% of his or her allocable share of our “qualified business income.” For purposes of this deduction, our “qualified business income” is equal to the sum of:

 

   

the net amount of our U.S. items of income, gain, deduction, and loss to the extent such items are included or allowed in the determination of taxable income for the year, excluding, however, certain specified types of passive investment income (such as capital gains and dividends) and certain payments made to the unitholder for services rendered to the Partnership; and

 

   

any gain recognized upon a disposition of our common units to the extent such gain is attributable to Section 751 Assets, such as depreciation recapture and our “inventory items,” and is thus treated as ordinary income under Section 751 of the Code.

Section 754 Election

We have made the election permitted by Section 754 of the Code that permits us to adjust the tax basis in each of our assets as to specific purchasers of our common units under Section 743(b) of the Code to reflect the common unit purchase price upon subsequent purchases of common units. That election is irrevocable without the consent of the IRS. The Section 743(b) adjustment separately applies to a unitholder who purchases common units from another unitholder based upon the values and adjusted tax basis of each of our assets at the time of the relevant unit purchase, and the adjustment will reflect the purchase price paid. The Section 743(b) adjustment does not apply to a person who purchases common units directly from us. For purposes of this discussion, a unitholder’s basis in our assets will be considered to have two components: (i) his or her share of the tax basis in our assets as to all unitholders and (ii) his or her Section 743(b) adjustment to that tax basis (which may be positive or negative).

Under our partnership agreement, we are authorized to take a position to preserve the uniformity of common units even if that position is not consistent with applicable Treasury Regulations. A literal application of Treasury Regulations governing a Section 743(b) adjustment attributable to properties depreciable under Section 167 of the Code may give rise to differences in the taxation of unitholders purchasing common units from us and unitholders purchasing from other unitholders. If we have any such properties, we intend to adopt methods employed by other publicly traded partnerships to preserve the uniformity of common units, even if inconsistent with existing Treasury Regulations, and Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not opined on the validity of this approach. Please read “—Uniformity of Common Units.”

The IRS may challenge the positions we adopt with respect to depreciating or amortizing the Section 743(b) adjustment to preserve the uniformity of common units due to the lack of controlling authority. Because a unitholder’s adjusted tax basis for his or her common units is reduced by his or her share of our items of deduction or loss, any position we take that understates deductions will overstate a unitholder’s tax basis in his or her common units, and may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such common units. Please read “—Disposition of Common Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.” If a challenge to such treatment were sustained, the gain from the sale of common units may be increased without the benefit of additional deductions.

The calculations involved in the Section 754 election are complex and are made on the basis of assumptions as to the value of our assets and other matters. The IRS could seek to reallocate some or all of any Section 743(b)

 

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adjustment we allocated to our assets subject to depreciation to goodwill or non-depreciable assets. Goodwill, as an intangible asset, is generally amortizable over a longer period of time or under a less accelerated method than our tangible assets. We cannot assure any unitholder that the determinations we make will not be successfully challenged by the IRS or that the resulting deductions will not be reduced or disallowed altogether. Should the IRS require a different tax basis adjustment to be made, and should, in our opinion, the expense of compliance exceed the benefit of the election, we may seek permission from the IRS to revoke our Section 754 election. If permission is granted, a subsequent purchaser of common units may be allocated more income than it would have been allocated had the election not been revoked.

Tax Treatment of Operations

Accounting Method and Taxable Year

We use the year ending December 31 as our taxable year and the accrual method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Each unitholder will be required to include in tax return his or her share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for each taxable year ending within or with his or her taxable year. In addition, a unitholder who has a taxable year ending on a date other than December 31 and who disposes of all of his or her common units following the close of our taxable year but before the close of his or her taxable year must include his or her share of our income, gain, loss and deduction in income for his or her taxable year, with the result that the unitholder will be required to include in income for his or her taxable year his or her share of more than twelve months of our income, gain, loss and deduction. Please read “—Disposition of Common Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees.”

Tax Basis, Depreciation and Amortization

The tax basis of each of our assets will be used for purposes of computing depreciation and cost recovery deductions and, ultimately, gain or loss on the disposition of these assets. If we dispose of depreciable property by sale, foreclosure or otherwise, all or a portion of any gain, determined by reference to the amount of depreciation deductions previously taken, may be subject to the recapture rules and taxed as ordinary income rather than capital gain. Similarly, a unitholder who has taken cost recovery or depreciation deductions with respect to property we own will likely be required to recapture some or all of those deductions as ordinary income upon a sale of his or her interest in us. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Common Unit Ownership—Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction” and “—Disposition of Common Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.”

The costs we incur in offering and selling our common units (collectively, “syndication expenses”) must be capitalized and cannot be deducted currently, ratably or upon our termination. While there are uncertainties regarding the classification of certain costs as organization expenses, which may be amortized by us, and as syndication expenses, which may not be amortized by us, the underwriting discounts and commissions we incur will be treated as syndication expenses. Please read “—Disposition of Common Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.”

We are allowed a first-year bonus depreciation deduction equal to 100% of the adjusted basis of certain depreciable property acquired and placed in service after September 27, 2017 and before January 1, 2023. For property placed in service during subsequent years, the deduction is phased down by 20% per year until December 31, 2026. This depreciation deduction applies to both new and used property. However, use of the deduction with respect to used property is subject to certain anti-abuse restrictions, including the requirement that the property be acquired from an unrelated party. We can elect to forgo the depreciation bonus and use the alternative depreciation system for any class of property for a taxable year.

Valuation and Tax Basis of Each of Our Properties

The U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of common units will depend in part on our estimates of the relative fair market values and the tax basis of each of our assets. Although we may

 

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from time to time consult with professional appraisers regarding valuation matters, we will make many of the relative fair market value estimates ourselves. These estimates and determinations of tax basis are subject to challenge and will not be binding on the IRS or the courts. If the estimates of fair market value or tax basis are later found to be incorrect, the character and amount of items of income, gain, loss or deduction previously reported by a unitholder could change, and such unitholder could be required to adjust his or her tax liability for prior years and incur interest and penalties with respect to those adjustments.

Disposition of Common Units

Recognition of Gain or Loss

A unitholder will be required to recognize gain or loss on a sale or exchange of a common unit equal to the difference, if any, between the unitholder’s amount realized and the adjusted tax basis in the common unit sold (taking into account any basis adjustments attributable to previously disallowed interest deductions). A unitholder’s amount realized generally will equal the sum of the cash and the fair market value of other property the unitholder receives plus his or her share of our nonrecourse liabilities with respect to the common unit sold or exchanged. Because the amount realized includes a unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities, the gain recognized on the sale or exchange of a common unit could result in a tax liability in excess of any cash received from such sale or exchange.

Except as noted below, gain or loss recognized by a unitholder on the sale or exchange of a common unit held for more than one year generally will be taxable as long-term capital gain or loss. However, gain or loss recognized on the disposition of common units will be separately computed and taxed as ordinary income or loss under Section 751 of the Code to the extent attributable to Section 751 Assets, such as depreciation recapture and our “inventory items,” regardless of whether such inventory item has substantially appreciated in value. Ordinary income attributable to Section 751 Assets may exceed net taxable gain realized on the sale or exchange of a common unit and may be recognized even if there is a net taxable loss realized on the sale or exchange of a common unit. Thus, a unitholder may recognize both ordinary income and capital gain or loss upon a sale or exchange of a common unit. Net capital loss may offset capital gains and, in the case of individuals, up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year.

For purposes of calculating gain or loss on the sale or exchange of a common unit, the unitholder’s adjusted tax basis will be adjusted by his or her allocable share of our income or loss in respect of his or her common unit for the year of the sale. Furthermore, as described above, the IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all those interests. Upon a sale or other disposition of less than all of those interests, a portion of that tax basis must be allocated to the interests sold using an “equitable apportionment” method, which generally means that the tax basis allocated to the interest sold equals an amount that bears the same relation to the partner’s tax basis in his or her entire interest in the partnership as the value of the interest sold bears to the value of the partner’s entire interest in the partnership.

Treasury Regulations under Section 1223 of the Code allow a selling unitholder who can identify common units transferred with an ascertainable holding period to elect to use the actual holding period of the common units transferred. Thus, according to the ruling discussed in the paragraph above, a unitholder will be unable to select high or low basis common units to sell or exchange as would be the case with corporate stock, but, according to the Treasury Regulations, such unitholder may designate specific common units sold for purposes of determining the holding period of the common units transferred. A unitholder electing to use the actual holding period of any common unit transferred must consistently use that identification method for all subsequent sales or exchanges of our common units. A unitholder considering the purchase of additional common units or a sale or exchange of common units purchased in separate transactions is urged to consult his or her tax advisor as to the possible consequences of this ruling and application of the Treasury Regulations.

Specific provisions of the Code affect the taxation of some financial products and securities, including partnership interests, by treating a taxpayer as having sold an “appreciated” financial position, including a

 

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partnership interest with respect to which gain would be recognized if it were sold, assigned or terminated at his or her fair market value, in the event the taxpayer or a related person enters into:

 

   

a short sale;

 

   

an offsetting notional principal contract; or

 

   

a futures or forward contract with respect to the partnership interest or substantially identical property.

Moreover, if a taxpayer has previously entered into a short sale, an offsetting notional principal contract or a futures or forward contract with respect to the partnership interest, the taxpayer will be treated as having sold that position if the taxpayer or a related person then acquires the partnership interest or substantially identical property. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to issue Treasury Regulations that treat a taxpayer that enters into transactions or positions that have substantially the same effect as the preceding transactions as having constructively sold the financial position. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Common Unit Ownership—Treatment of Securities Loans.”

Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees

In general, our taxable income or loss will be determined annually, will be prorated on a monthly basis and will be subsequently apportioned among the unitholders in proportion to the number of common units owned by each of them as of the opening of the applicable exchange on the first business day of the month (the “Allocation Date”). Nevertheless, we allocate certain deductions for depreciation of capital additions based upon the date the underlying property is placed in service, and gain or loss realized on a sale or other disposition of our assets or, in the discretion of the general partner, any other extraordinary item of income, gain, loss or deduction will be allocated among the unitholders on the Allocation Date in the month in which such income, gain, loss or deduction is recognized. As a result, a unitholder transferring common units may be allocated income, gain, loss and deduction realized after the date of transfer.

Although simplifying conventions are contemplated by the Code and most publicly traded partnerships use similar simplifying conventions, existing Treasury Regulations do not specifically authorize the use of the proration method we have adopted. Accordingly, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is unable to opine on the validity of this method of allocating income and deductions between transferee and transferor unitholders. If the IRS determines that this method is not allowed under the Treasury Regulations our taxable income or losses could be reallocated among our unitholders. Under our partnership agreement, we are authorized to revise our method of allocation between transferee and transferor unitholders, as well as among unitholders whose interests vary during a taxable year, to conform to a method permitted under the Treasury Regulations.

A unitholder who disposes of common units prior to the record date set for a cash distribution for that quarter will be allocated items of our income, gain, loss and deduction attributable to the month of disposition (and any other month during the quarter to which such cash distribution relates and the holder held common units on the first day of such month) but will not be entitled to receive a cash distribution for that period.

Notification Requirements

A unitholder who sells or exchanges any of his or her common units is generally required to notify us in writing of that transaction within 30 days after the transaction (or, if earlier, January 15 of the year following the transaction in the case of a seller). Upon receiving such notifications, we are required to notify the IRS of the transaction and to furnish specified information to the transferor and transferee. Failure to notify us of a transfer of common units may, in some cases, lead to the imposition of penalties. However, these reporting requirements do not apply to a sale by an individual who is a citizen of the United States and who effects the sale or exchange through a broker who will satisfy such requirements.

 

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Uniformity of Common Units

Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of common units and for other reasons, we must maintain uniformity of the economic and tax characteristics of the common units to a purchaser of these common units. As a result of the need to preserve uniformity, we may be unable to completely comply with a number of U.S. federal income tax requirements. Any non-uniformity could have a negative impact on the value of our common units. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Common Unit Ownership—Section 754 Election.”

Our partnership agreement permits our general partner to take positions in filing our tax returns that preserve the uniformity of our common units. These positions may include reducing the depreciation, amortization or loss deductions to which a unitholder would otherwise be entitled or reporting a slower amortization of Section 743(b) adjustments for some unitholders than that to which they would otherwise be entitled. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is unable to opine as to the validity of such filing positions.

A unitholder’s adjusted tax basis in common units is reduced by his or her share of our deductions (whether or not such deductions were claimed on an individual income tax return) so that any position that we take that understates deductions will overstate the unitholder’s basis in his or her common units, and may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such common units. Please read “—Disposition of Common Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss” and “—Tax Consequences of Common Unit Ownership—Section 754 Election” above. The IRS may challenge one or more of any positions we take to preserve the uniformity of our common units. If such a challenge were sustained, the uniformity of common units might be affected, and, under some circumstances, the gain from the sale of our common units might be increased without the benefit of additional deductions.

In addition, as described above at “—Tax Consequences of Common Unit Ownership—Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction,” if we aggregate multiple issuances of units for purposes of making adjustments to “book” basis and related tax allocations, to ensure the uniformity of our units, we will treat each of our units as having the same capital account balance, regardless of the price actually paid by each purchaser of units in the aggregated offerings. Although our counsel, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., is unable to opine as to the validity of such an approach, we do not expect the number of affected units, or the differences between the purchase price of a unit and the initial capital account balance assigned to the unit, to be material.

Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors

Ownership of our common units by employee benefit plans and other tax-exempt organizations, as well as by non-resident alien individuals, non-U.S. corporations and other non-U.S. persons (collectively, “Non-U.S. Unitholders”) raises issues unique to those investors and, as described below, may have substantial adverse tax consequences to them. Employee benefit plans and most other tax-exempt organizations, including IRAs and other retirement plans, are subject to U.S. federal income tax on unrelated business taxable income. Virtually all of our income allocated to tax-exempt organizations will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to a tax-exempt unitholder. Additionally, all or part of any gain recognized by a tax-exempt organization upon a sale or other disposition of our units may be unrelated business taxable income and may be taxable to them. Each prospective unitholder that is a tax-exempt entity or a Non-U.S. Unitholder should consult his or her tax advisors before investing in our common units.

Non-U.S. Unitholders are taxed by the United States on income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (“effectively connected income”) and on certain types of U.S.-source non-effectively connected income (such as dividends), unless exempted or further limited by an income tax treaty. Each Non-U.S. Unitholder will be considered to be engaged in business in the United States because of his or her ownership of our common units. Furthermore, Non-U.S. Unitholders will be deemed to conduct such activities through a permanent establishment in the United States within the meaning of an applicable tax treaty. Consequently, each Non-U.S. Unitholder will be required to file U.S. federal tax returns to report his or her share of our income, gain, loss or

 

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deduction and pay U.S. federal income tax on his or her share of our net income or gain. Moreover, under rules applicable to publicly-traded partnerships, distributions to Non-U.S. Unitholders are subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate. In addition, distributions to non-U.S. persons will also be subject to a 10% withholding tax on the amount of any distribution in excess of our cumulative net income. As we do not compute our cumulative net income for such purposes due to the complexity of the calculation and lack of clarity in how it would apply to us, we intend to treat all of our distributions as being in excess of our cumulative net income for such purposes and subject to such 10% withholding tax. Accordingly, distributions to non-U.S. persons will be subject to a combined withholding tax rate equal to the sum of the highest applicable effective tax rate and 10%. Each Non-U.S. Unitholder must obtain a taxpayer identification number from the IRS and submit that number to our transfer agent on a Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or other applicable or successor form) in order to obtain credit for these withholding taxes.

In addition, if a Non-U.S. Unitholder is classified as a non-U.S. corporation, such unitholder will be treated as engaged in a United States trade or business and may be subject to the U.S. branch profits tax at a rate of 30%, in addition to regular U.S. federal income tax, on his or her share of our income and gain as adjusted for changes in the foreign corporation’s “U.S. net equity” to the extent reflected in the corporation’s earnings and profits. That tax may be reduced or eliminated by an income tax treaty between the United States and the country in which the foreign corporate unitholder is a “qualified resident.” In addition, this type of unitholder is subject to special information reporting requirements under Section 6038C of the Code.

A Non-U.S. Unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a common unit will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on gain realized from the sale or disposition of that common unit to the extent the gain is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the Non-U.S. Unitholder. Gain realized by a Non-U.S. Unitholder from the sale of his or her interest in a partnership that is engaged in a trade or business in the United States will be considered to be “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business to the extent that gain that would be recognized upon a sale by the partnership of all of his or her assets would be “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business. Thus, all of a Non-U.S. Unitholder’s gain from the sale or other disposition of our common units would be treated as effectively connected with a unitholder’s indirect U.S. trade or business constituted by his or her investment in us and would be subject to U.S. federal income tax. As a result of the effectively connected income rules described above, the exclusion from U.S. taxation under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act for gain from the sale of partnership common units regularly traded on an established securities market will not prevent a Non-U.S. Unitholder from being subject to U.S. federal income tax on gain from the sale or disposition of his or her common units to the extent such gain is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. We expect substantially all of the gain from the sale or disposition of our common units to be treated as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business.

Moreover, the transferee of an interest in a partnership that is engaged in a U.S. trade or business is generally required to withhold 10% of the amount realized by the transferor unless the transferor certifies that it is not a foreign person. While the determination of a partner’s “amount realized” generally includes any decrease of a partner’s share of the partnership’s liabilities, the Treasury Regulations provide that the “amount realized” on a transfer of an interest in a publicly traded partnership, such as our common units, will generally be the amount of gross proceeds paid to the broker effecting the applicable transfer on behalf of the transferor, and thus will be determined without regard to any decrease in that partner’s share of a publicly traded partnership’s liabilities. For a transfer of interests in a publicly traded partnership that is effected through a broker, the obligation to withhold is imposed on the transferor’s broker. Current and prospective non-U.S. Unitholders should consult their tax advisors regarding the impact of these rules on an investment in our common units.

Administrative Matters

Information Returns and Audit Procedures

We intend to furnish to each unitholder, within 90 days after the close of each taxable year, specific tax information, including a Schedule K-1, which describes his or her share of our income, gain, loss and deduction

 

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for our preceding taxable year. In preparing this information, which will not be reviewed by counsel, we will take various accounting and reporting positions, some of which have been mentioned earlier, to determine each unitholder’s share of income, gain, loss and deduction. We cannot assure our unitholders that those positions will yield a result that conforms to all of the requirements of the Code, Treasury Regulations or administrative interpretations of the IRS.

The IRS may audit our U.S. federal income tax information returns. Neither we nor Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. can assure prospective unitholders that the IRS will not successfully challenge the positions we adopt, and such a challenge could adversely affect the value of our common units. Adjustments resulting from an IRS audit may require each unitholder to adjust a prior year’s tax liability, and may result in an audit of the unitholder’s own return. Any audit of a unitholder’s return could result in adjustments unrelated to our returns.

Publicly-traded partnerships are treated as entities separate from their owners for purposes of U.S. federal income tax audits, judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS and tax settlement proceedings. The tax treatment of partnership items of income, gain, loss and deduction are determined in a partnership proceeding rather than in separate proceedings for each of the partners. If the IRS makes audit adjustments to our income tax returns, it may assess and collect any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from us, unless we elect to have our general partner, unitholders and former unitholders take any audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the taxable year under audit. Similarly, for such taxable years, if the IRS makes audit adjustments to income tax returns filed by an entity in which we are a member or partner, it may assess and collect any taxes (including penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from such entity.

Generally, we expect to elect to have our general partner, unitholders and former unitholders take any such audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the taxable year under audit, but there can be no assurance that such election will be effective in all circumstances. If we are unable or if it is not economical to have our general partner, unitholders and former unitholders take such audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the taxable year under audit, then our current unitholders may bear some or all of the tax liability resulting from such audit adjustment, even if such unitholders did not own our common units during the taxable year under audit. If, as a result of any such audit adjustment, we are required to make payments of taxes, penalties or interest, or, if we bear such payment directly, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders might be substantially reduced. Congress has proposed changes to the rules regarding audits of tax partnerships, and we anticipate that amendments may be made. Accordingly, the manner in which these rules may apply to us in the future is uncertain.

We are required to designate a partner, or other person, with a substantial presence in the United States as the partnership representative (“Partnership Representative”). The Partnership Representative has the sole authority to act on our behalf for purposes of, among other things, U.S. federal income tax audits and judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS. If we do not make such a designation, the IRS can select any person as the Partnership Representative. We have designated our general partner as the Partnership Representative. Further, any actions taken by us or by the Partnership Representative on our behalf with respect to, among other things, U.S. federal income tax audits and judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS, will be binding on us and all of our unitholders.

Additional Withholding Requirements

Withholding taxes may apply to certain types of payments made to “foreign financial institutions” (as specially defined in the Code) and certain other non-U.S. entities. Specifically, a 30% withholding tax may be imposed on withholdable payments, including interest, dividends and other fixed or determinable annual or periodic gains, profits and income from sources within the United States (“FDAP Income”) paid to a foreign financial institution or to a “non-financial foreign entity” (as specially defined in the Code), unless (i) the foreign financial institution undertakes certain diligence and reporting, (ii) the non-financial foreign entity either certifies

 

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it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial U.S. owner or (iii) the foreign financial institution or non-financial foreign entity otherwise qualifies for an exemption from these rules. While withholdable payments would have originally included payments of gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of any property of a type which could produce interest or dividends from sources within the United States on or after January 1, 2019, proposed Treasury Regulations provide that such payments of gross proceeds do not constitute withholdable payments. Taxpayers may rely generally on these proposed Treasury Regulations until they are revoked or final Treasury Regulations are issued.

If the payee is a foreign financial institution and is subject to the diligence and reporting requirements in clause (i) above, it must enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury requiring, among other things, that it undertake to identify accounts held by certain U.S. persons or U.S.-owned foreign entities, annually report certain information about such accounts, and withhold 30% on payments to noncompliant foreign financial institutions and certain other account holders. Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the United States governing these requirements may be subject to different rules.

To the extent we have FDAP Income that is not treated as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (please read “—Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors”), a unitholder that is a foreign financial institution or certain other non-U.S. entity, or a person that holds his or her common units through such foreign entities, may be subject to withholding on distributions they receive from us, or his or her distributive share of our income, pursuant to the rules described above. Each prospective unitholder should consult his or her own tax advisors regarding the potential application of these withholding provisions to his or her investment in our common units.

Nominee Reporting

Persons who hold an interest in us as a nominee for another person are required to furnish to us:

 

   

the name, address and taxpayer identification number of the beneficial owner and the nominee;

 

   

a statement regarding whether the beneficial owner is:

 

   

a non-U.S. person;

 

   

a non-U.S. government, an international organization or any wholly-owned agency or instrumentality of either of the foregoing; or

 

   

a tax-exempt entity;

 

   

the amount and description of common units held, acquired or transferred for the beneficial owner; and

 

   

specific information including the dates of acquisitions and transfers, means of acquisitions and transfers, and acquisition cost for purchases, as well as the amount of net proceeds from sales.

Each broker and financial institution is required to furnish additional information, including whether such broker or financial institution is a U.S. person and specific information on any common units such broker or financial institution acquires, holds or transfers for his or her own account. A penalty per failure, with a significant maximum penalty per calendar year, is imposed by the Code for failure to report that information to us. The nominee is required to supply the beneficial owner of our common units with the information furnished to us.

Accuracy-Related Penalties

Certain penalties may be imposed as a result of an underpayment of tax that is attributable to one or more specified causes, including negligence or disregard of rules or regulations, substantial understatements of income

 

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tax and substantial valuation misstatements. No penalty will be imposed, however, for any portion of an underpayment if it is shown that there was a reasonable cause for the underpayment of that portion and that the taxpayer acted in good faith regarding the underpayment of that portion. We do not anticipate that any accuracy-related penalties will be assessed against us.

State, Local and Other Tax Considerations

In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, unitholders may be subject to other taxes, including state and local income taxes, unincorporated business taxes and estate, inheritance or intangibles taxes that may be imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we conduct business or own property now or in the future or in which the unitholder is a resident. We conduct business or own property in many states in the United States. Some of these states may impose an income tax on individuals, corporations and other entities. As we make acquisitions or expand our business, we may own property or conduct business in additional states that impose a personal income tax. Although an analysis of those various taxes is not presented here, each prospective unitholder should consider the potential impact of such taxes on his or her investment in us.

A unitholder may be required to file income tax returns and pay income taxes in some or all of the jurisdictions in which we do business or own property, though such unitholder may not be required to file a return and pay taxes in certain jurisdictions because his or her income from such jurisdictions falls below the jurisdiction’s filing and payment requirement. Further, a unitholder may be subject to penalties for a failure to comply with any filing or payment requirement applicable to such unitholder. Some of the jurisdictions may require us, or we may elect, to withhold a percentage of income from amounts to be distributed to a unitholder who is not a resident of the jurisdiction. Withholding, the amount of which may be greater or less than a particular unitholder’s income tax liability to the jurisdiction, generally does not relieve a nonresident unitholder from the obligation to file an income tax return.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH UNITHOLDER TO INVESTIGATE THE LEGAL AND TAX CONSEQUENCES, UNDER THE LAWS OF PERTINENT JURISDICTIONS, OF HIS OR HER INVESTMENT IN US. WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT EACH PROSPECTIVE UNITHOLDER CONSULT, AND DEPEND UPON, HIS OR HER OWN TAX COUNSEL OR OTHER ADVISOR WITH REGARD TO THOSE MATTERS. FURTHER, IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH UNITHOLDER TO FILE ALL STATE, LOCAL AND NON-U.S., AS WELL AS U.S. FEDERAL, TAX RETURNS THAT MAY BE REQUIRED OF HIM OR HER. VINSON & ELKINS L.L.P. HAS NOT RENDERED AN OPINION ON THE STATE, LOCAL, ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX OR NON-U.S. TAX CONSEQUENCES OF AN INVESTMENT IN US.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

Subject to the discussion below, we will distribute newly issued common units sold under the Plan. A registered broker/dealer that is an affiliate of the Administrator will assist in the identification of investors and other related services, but will not be acting as an underwriter with respect to common units sold under the Plan. You will pay no service fees or brokerage trading fees whether common units are newly issued or purchased in the open market. We will pay all brokerage trading fees or other charges on common units purchased through the Plan. However, if you are participating in the Plan through your broker, you may be charged a fee by your broker for participating in the Plan on your behalf. Additionally, if you request that your common units held by the Administrator be sold, you will receive the proceeds less a service fee of $17.00 and any brokerage trading fees. The common units are currently listed on the NYSE.

Persons who acquire common units through the Plan and resell them shortly after acquiring them, including coverage of short positions, under certain circumstances, may be participating in a distribution of securities that would require compliance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act, and may be considered to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act. We will not extend to any such person any rights or privileges other than those to which he, she or it would be entitled as a participant, nor will we enter into any agreement with any such person regarding the resale or distribution by any such person of the common units.

We have no arrangements or understandings, formal or informal, with any person relating to the sale of our common units to be received under the Plan. We reserve the right to modify, suspend or terminate participation in the Plan by otherwise eligible persons to eliminate practices that are inconsistent with the purposes of the Plan.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the securities offered in this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., Houston, Texas. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. will also render an opinion on the material U.S. federal income tax consequences regarding the securities.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Energy Transfer LP and subsidiaries and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement have been so incorporated by reference in reliance upon the reports of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We have filed a registration statement with the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933 that registers the securities offered by this prospectus. The registration statement, including the attached exhibits, contains additional relevant information about us. The rules and regulations of the SEC allow us to omit some information included in the registration statement from this prospectus.

In addition, we file annual, quarterly and other reports and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available on the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov. We also make available free of charge on our website, at http://www.energytransfer.com, all materials that we file electronically with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, Section 16 reports and amendments to these reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such materials are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Information on our website is not incorporated into this prospectus and is not a part of this prospectus. Additionally, you can obtain information about us through the New York Stock Exchange, 20 Broad Street, New York, New York 10005, on which our common units are listed.

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we have filed with the SEC. This means that we can disclose important information to you without actually including the specific information in this prospectus by referring you to other documents filed separately with the SEC. These other documents contain important information about us, our financial condition and results of operations. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus. Information that we file later with the SEC (excluding in each case information deemed furnished rather than filed) will automatically update and may replace information in this prospectus and information previously filed with the SEC.

We incorporate by reference in this prospectus the documents listed below:

 

   

our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023;

 

   

our current reports on Form  8-K filed with the SEC on January 11, 2024, January  25, 2024 and January 26, 2024;

 

   

the description of our common units contained in our registration statement on  Form 8-A, filed on January 31, 2006, and including any subsequent amendment thereto filed for the purpose of updating such description; and

 

   

all documents filed by us under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 between the date of this prospectus and the termination of this offering (excluding any information deemed furnished rather than filed).

You may obtain any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus from the SEC through the SEC’s website at the address provided above. You also may request a copy of any document incorporated by

 

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reference in this prospectus (including exhibits to those documents specifically incorporated by reference in this prospectus), at no cost, by visiting our internet website at http://www.energytransfer.com, or by writing or calling us at the address set forth below. Information on our website is not incorporated into this prospectus and is not a part of this prospectus.

Energy Transfer LP

8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 600

Dallas, TX 75225

Attention: Investor Relations

Telephone: (214) 981-0700

 

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PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 14.

Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution

Set forth below are the expenses (other than underwriting discounts and commissions) expected to be incurred in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities registered hereby. With the exception of the Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee, the amounts set forth below are estimates:

 

Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee

   $ 87,000  

Legal fees and expenses

     50,000  

Accounting fees and expenses

     20,000  

Printing and engraving expenses

     50,000  

Miscellaneous

     10,000  
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 217,000  
  

 

 

 

 

Item 15.

Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Section 17-108 of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act empowers a Delaware limited partnership to indemnify and hold harmless any partner or other persons from and against any and all claims and demands whatsoever. As provided in our partnership agreement, which is incorporated herein by reference, we will, to the fullest extent permitted by law but subject to the limitations expressly provided therein, indemnify and hold harmless our general partner, any Departing General Partner (as defined therein), any person who is or was an affiliate of our general partner or any Departing General Partner, any person who is or was a member, partner, officer, director, fiduciary or trustee of any Group Member (as defined therein), our general partner or any Departing General Partner, or any affiliate of any Group Member, our general partner or any Departing General Partner, or any person who is or was serving at the request of our general partner or any Departing General Partner, or any affiliate of our general partner or any Departing General Partner, as an officer, director, employee, member, partner, agent, fiduciary or trustee of another person, or any person that our general partner designates as an Indemnitee for purposes of our partnership agreement (each, an “Indemnitee”) from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities (joint or several), expenses (including legal fees and expenses), judgments, fines, penalties, interest, settlements or other amounts arising from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, in which any Indemnitee may be involved, or is threatened to be involved, as a party or otherwise, by reason of its status as an Indemnitee, provided that the Indemnitee shall not be indemnified and held harmless if there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that, in respect of the matter for which the Indemnitee is seeking indemnification, the Indemnitee acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud, willful misconduct, or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that the Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful.

This indemnification would under certain circumstances include indemnification for liabilities under the Securities Act. To the fullest extent permitted by law, expenses (including legal fees and expenses) incurred by an Indemnitee who is indemnified pursuant to our partnership agreement in defending any claim, demand, action, suit or proceeding shall, from time to time, be advanced by us prior to a determination that the Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified upon receipt by the partnership of any undertaking by or on behalf of the Indemnitee to repay such amount if it shall be determined that the Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified under our partnership agreement. Any indemnification under these provisions will be only out of the assets of the partnership.

We are authorized to purchase and maintain (or to reimburse our general partner for the costs of) insurance against liabilities that may be asserted against and expenses that may be incurred by our general partner, its

 

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affiliates and such other persons as our general partner may determine and described in the paragraphs above in connection with their activities, whether or not we would have the power to indemnify such person against such liabilities under the provisions described in the paragraphs above. Our general partner has purchased insurance covering its officers and directors against liabilities that may be asserted and expenses that may be incurred in connection with their activities as officers and directors of our general partner or any of its direct or indirect subsidiaries.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

Item 16.

Exhibits

 

  (a)

Exhibits

The exhibits required to be filed pursuant to the requirements of Item 601 of Regulation S-K are set forth in the Index to Exhibits accompanying this Registration Statement on Form S-3 and are incorporated herein by reference:

 

Item 17.

Undertakings

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

 

  (1)

To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

  (i)

To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

 

  (ii)

To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Filing Fee Tables” table in the effective registration statement; and

 

  (iii)

To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(i), (1)(ii) and (1)(iii) above do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3 and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

 

  (2)

That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

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  (3)

To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

  (4)

That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

 

  (i)

Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

 

  (ii)

Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

 

  (5)

That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

  (i)

Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

  (ii)

Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

 

  (iii)

The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

 

  (iv)

Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

 

  (6)

For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

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  (7)

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

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INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit
Number
  

Description

 3.1    Certificate of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of Form S-1, File No. 333-128097, filed September 2, 2005)
 3.2    Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of Form 8-K, File No. 1-32740, filed October 19, 2018)
 3.3    Fourth Amended Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer LP, dated November  3, 2023 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of Form 8-K, File No. 1-32740, filed November 6, 2023)
 5.1*    Opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. as to the legality of the securities being offered
 8.1*    Opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. as to certain tax matters
23.1*    Consent of Grant Thornton LLP related to Energy Transfer LP
23.3*    Consent of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. (included in Exhibit 5.1)
23.4*    Consent of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. (included in Exhibit 8.1)
24.1    Powers of Attorney (included on the signature pages of this registration statement)
107*    Filing Fee Table

 

*

Filed herewith.


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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, each of the signatories hereto certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing this Registration Statement on Form S-3 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Dallas, State of Texas, on March 1, 2024.

 

ENERGY TRANSFER LP
By:   LE GP, LLC, its general partner
By:  

/s/ Dylan A. Bramhall

  Dylan A. Bramhall
  Executive Vice President & Group Chief Financial Officer

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Thomas E. Long, Dylan A. Bramhall, James M. Wright, and William J. Healy, and each of them, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agents, with full power to act without the other, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement and any additional registration statement pursuant to Rule 462(b), and to file the same with all exhibits thereto and any and all other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any national exchange or self-regulatory agency, and to do and perform any and all acts and things requisite and necessary to be done in connection with the foregoing as fully as he might or could do in person hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or either of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated on the dates indicated:

 

/s/ Kelcy L. Warren

Kelcy L. Warren

   Executive Chairman   March 1, 2024

/s/ Thomas E. Long

Thomas E. Long

  

Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director

(Principal Executive Officer)

  March 1, 2024

/s/ Marshall S. McCrea, III

Marshall S. McCrea, III

  

Co- Chief Executive Officer and Director

(Principal Executive Officer)

  March 1, 2024

/s/ Dylan A. Bramhall

Dylan A. Bramhall

  

Executive Vice President and Group Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

  March 1, 2024

/s/ A. Troy Sturrock

A. Troy Sturrock

  

Senior Vice President and Controller

(Principal Accounting Officer)

  March 1, 2024

/s/ Matthew S. Ramsey

Matthew S. Ramsey

   Director   March 1, 2024

/s/ Steven R. Anderson

Steven R. Anderson

   Director   March 1, 2024


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/s/ Richard D. Brannon

Richard D. Brannon

   Director   March 1, 2024

/s/ James R. Perry

James R. Perry

   Director   March 1, 2024

/s/ Michael K. Grimm

Michael K. Grimm

   Director   March 1, 2024

/s/ John W. McReynolds

John W. McReynolds

   Director   March 1, 2024
EX-5.1

EXHIBIT 5.1

 

LOGO

March 1, 2024

Energy Transfer LP

8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 600

Dallas, Texas 75225

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel for Energy Transfer LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Partnership”) in connection with the registration of the sale of up to 40,000,000 common units representing limited partner interests (the “Units”), which may be issued pursuant to the Partnership’s Distribution Reinvestment Plan (the “Plan”), pursuant to the Partnership’s registration statement on Form S-3 filed on the date hereof by the Partnership (the “Registration Statement”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

In connection with the rendering of the opinions hereinafter set forth, we have examined (i) executed copies of the organizational documents of the Partnership and LE GP, LLC, the general partner of the Partnership (the “General Partner”); (ii) the Registration Statement; (iii) the prospectus included in the Registration Statement dated the date of the Registration Statement (the “Prospectus”); (iv) the Plan, (v) resolutions of the Board of Directors of the General Partner; and (vi) such other certificates, statutes and other instruments and documents as we considered appropriate for purposes of the opinions hereafter expressed. In addition, we reviewed such questions of law as we considered appropriate.

In connection with rendering the opinions set forth below, we have assumed that (i) all information contained in all documents reviewed by us is true and correct, (ii) all signatures on all documents examined by us are genuine, (iii) all documents submitted to us as originals are authentic and all documents submitted to us as copies conform to the originals of those documents, (iv) the Registration Statement, and any amendments thereto (including post-effective amendments), will have become effective, and all Units will be sold in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and in the manner specified in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

Based on the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, qualifications, limitations and exceptions set forth herein, we are of the opinion that the Units will be validly issued and, under the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (the “Delaware Act”), purchasers of the Units will have no obligation to make further payments for their purchase of the Units or contributions to the Partnership solely by reason of their ownership of the Units or their status as limited partners of the Partnership, and no personal liability for the debts, obligations and liabilities of the Partnership, whether arising in contract, tort or otherwise, solely by reason of being limited partners of the Partnership.

The foregoing opinion is limited to the Delaware Act and the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act (including the applicable provisions of the Delaware Constitution and the reported judicial decisions interpreting these laws) and the federal laws of the United States of America as in effect on the date hereof, and we undertake no duty to update or supplement the foregoing opinion to reflect any facts or circumstances that may hereafter come to our attention or to reflect any changes in any law that may hereafter occur or become effective. We are expressing no opinion as to the effect of the laws of any other jurisdiction, domestic or foreign.

 

Vinson & Elkins LLP Attorneys at Law

Austin Dallas Dubai Houston London Los Angeles

New York Richmond San Francisco Tokyo Washington

  

845 Texas Avenue, Suite 4700

Houston, TX 77002

Tel +1.713.758.2222 Fax +1.713.758.2346 www.velaw.com


LOGO   March 1, 2024 Page 2

 

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the use of our name in the Prospectus forming a part of the Registration Statement under the caption “Legal Matters.” In giving this consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act.

 

Very truly yours,

/s/ Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.

Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.
EX-8.1

Exhibit 8.1

 

LOGO

March 1, 2024

Energy Transfer LP

8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 600

Dallas, Texas 75225

 

Re:

Energy Transfer LP Registration Statement on Form S-3

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel for Energy Transfer LP (the “Partnership”), a Delaware limited partnership, with respect to certain legal matters in connection with the preparation of a Prospectus dated on or about the date hereof (the “Prospectus”) forming part of the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the “DRIP Registration Statement”) to which this opinion is an exhibit. The DRIP Registration Statement relates to the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”) of common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership.

This opinion is based on various facts and assumptions, and is conditioned upon certain representations made by the Partnership as to factual matters through a certificate of an officer of the Partnership (the “Officer’s Certificate”). In addition, this opinion is based upon the factual representations of the Partnership concerning its business, properties and governing documents as set forth in the DRIP Registration Statement.

In our capacity as counsel to the Partnership, we have made such legal and factual examinations and inquiries, including an examination of originals or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction of such documents, corporate records and other instruments, as we have deemed necessary or appropriate for purposes of this opinion. In our examination, we have assumed the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the genuineness of all signatures thereon, the legal capacity of natural persons executing such documents and the conformity to authentic original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies. For the purpose of our opinion, we have not made an independent investigation or audit of the facts set forth in the above-referenced documents or in the Officer’s Certificate. In addition, in rendering this opinion we have assumed the truth and accuracy of all representations and statements made to us which are qualified as to knowledge or belief, without regard to such qualification.

We hereby confirm that all statements of legal conclusions contained in the discussion in the DRIP Registration Statement under the caption “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” constitute the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. with respect to the matters set forth therein as of the effective date of the DRIP Registration Statement, subject to the assumptions, qualifications, and limitations set forth therein. This opinion is

 

Vinson & Elkins LLP Attorneys at Law

Austin Dallas Dubai Hong Kong Houston London New York

Richmond San Francisco Tokyo Washington

  

845 Texas Avenue, Suite 4700

Houston, TX 77002

Tel +1.713.758.2222 Fax +1.713.758.2346 www.velaw.com


LOGO

 

based on various statutory provisions, regulations promulgated thereunder and interpretations thereof by the Internal Revenue Service and the courts having jurisdiction over such matters, all of which are subject to change either prospectively or retroactively. Also, any variation or difference in the facts from those set forth in the representations described above, including in the DRIP Registration Statement and the Officer’s Certificate, may affect the conclusions stated herein.

No opinion is expressed as to any matter not discussed in the DRIP Registration Statement under the caption “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences.” We are opining herein only as to the federal income tax matters described above, and we express no opinion with respect to the applicability to, or the effect on, any transaction or other federal laws, foreign laws, the laws of any state or any other jurisdiction or as to any matters of municipal law or the laws of any other local agencies within any state.

This opinion is rendered to you as of the effective date of the DRIP Registration Statement, and we undertake no obligation to update this opinion subsequent to the date hereof. This opinion is furnished to you and may be relied on by you in connection with the transactions set forth in the DRIP Registration Statement. In addition, this opinion may be relied on by persons entitled to rely on it pursuant to applicable provisions of federal securities law, including persons purchasing common units pursuant to the DRIP Registration Statement. However, this opinion may not be relied upon for any other purpose or furnished to, assigned to, quoted to or relied upon by any other person, firm or other entity, for any purpose, without our prior written consent.

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion of counsel as an exhibit to the DRIP Registration Statement and the use of our name in the DRIP Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act.

 

Very truly yours,
/s/ VINSON & ELKINS L.L.P.
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.
EX-23.1

Exhibit 23.1

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We have issued our reports dated February 16, 2024, with respect to the consolidated financial statements and internal control over financial reporting of Energy Transfer LP included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, which are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement. We consent to the incorporation by reference of the aforementioned reports in this Registration Statement, and to the use of our name as it appears under the caption “Experts.”

/s/ GRANT THORNTON LLP

Dallas, Texas

March 1, 2024

EX-FILING FEES

Exhibit 107

Calculation of Filing Fee Tables

Form S-3

(Form Type)

Energy Transfer LP

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Table 1: Newly Registered and Carry Forward Securities

 

                 
      Security
Type
  

Security

Class

Title

   Fee
Calculation 
or Carry
Forward
Rule
   Amount
Registered(1)
   Proposed
Maximum 
Offering
Price Per
Unit(2)
  

Maximum
Aggregate

Offering

Price(2)

  

Fee

Rate

  

Amount of
Registration

Fee

                 
Fees to Be Paid    Equity    Common units representing  limited partner interests    Rule 457(c)     40,000,000     $14.665     $586,600,000     0.00014760     $86,582.16 
           
     Total Offering Amounts         $586,600,000         

$86,582.16 

           
     Total Fee Offsets                  
           
     Net Fee Due                   $86,582.16 

 

(1)

Pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the common units representing limited partner interests in Energy Transfer LP (“Common Units”) being registered hereunder include such indeterminate number of Common Units as may be issuable with respect to the Common Units being registered hereunder as a result of unit splits, unit dividends or similar transactions.

 

(2)

Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act. The price is based on the average high and low sale prices for our common units on February 28, 2024 as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.