UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
x | QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2011
or
¨ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
Commission file number 1-32740
ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P.
(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.) |
3738 Oak Lawn Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75219
(Address of principal executive offices) (zip code)
(214) 981-0700
(Registrants telephone number, including area code)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer and smaller reporting company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | x | Accelerated filer | ¨ | |||
Non-accelerated filer | ¨ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) | Smaller reporting company | ¨ |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No x
At August 2, 2011, the registrant had units outstanding as follows:
Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. 222,972,708 Common Units
FORM 10-Q
Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and Subsidiaries
i
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain matters discussed in this report, excluding historical information, as well as some statements by Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (Energy Transfer Equity, the Partnership or ETE) in periodic press releases and some oral statements of Energy Transfer Equity officials during presentations about the Partnership, include forward-looking statements. 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, believe, intend, project, plan, expect, continue, estimate, goal, forecast, may, will or similar expressions help identify forward-looking statements. Although the Partnership and its 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, the Partnerships actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, projected, forecasted, estimated or expressed 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 managements control. For additional discussion of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, see Part II Other Information Item 1A. Risk Factors in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as well as Part I Item 1A. Risk Factors in the Partnerships Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 28, 2011.
Definitions
The following is a list of certain acronyms and terms generally used throughout this document:
/d |
per day | |
Bbls |
barrels | |
Btu |
British thermal unit, an energy measurement used by gas companies to convert the volume of gas used to its heat equivalent, and thus calculate the actual energy used | |
Capacity |
capacity of a pipeline, processing plant or storage facility refers to the maximum capacity under normal operating conditions and, with respect to pipeline transportation capacity, is subject to multiple factors (including natural gas injections and withdrawals at various delivery points along the pipeline and the utilization of compression) which may reduce the throughput capacity from specified capacity levels | |
Mcf |
thousand cubic feet | |
MMBtu |
million British thermal units | |
MMcf |
million cubic feet | |
Bcf |
billion cubic feet | |
NGL |
natural gas liquid, such as propane, butane and natural gasoline | |
Tcf |
trillion cubic feet | |
LIBOR |
London Interbank Offered Rate | |
NYMEX |
New York Mercantile Exchange | |
Reservoir |
a porous and permeable underground formation containing a natural accumulation of producible natural gas and/or oil that is confined by impermeable rock or water barriers and is separate from other reservoirs | |
WTI |
West Texas Intermediate Crude |
ii
ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES
(Dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
|||||||
ASSETS | ||||||||
CURRENT ASSETS: |
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 148,471 | $ | 86,264 | ||||
Marketable securities |
1,996 | 2,032 | ||||||
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $6,908 and $6,706 as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively |
642,928 | 612,357 | ||||||
Accounts receivable from related companies |
82,510 | 76,331 | ||||||
Inventories |
348,177 | 366,384 | ||||||
Exchanges receivable |
19,451 | 21,926 | ||||||
Price risk management assets |
13,104 | 16,357 | ||||||
Other current assets |
142,334 | 109,359 | ||||||
Total current assets |
1,398,971 | 1,291,010 | ||||||
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT |
15,461,476 | 13,284,430 | ||||||
ACCUMULATED DEPRECIATION |
(1,687,004 | ) | (1,431,698 | ) | ||||
13,774,472 | 11,852,732 | |||||||
ADVANCES TO AND INVESTMENTS IN AFFILIATES |
1,350,627 | 1,359,979 | ||||||
LONG-TERM PRICE RISK MANAGEMENT ASSETS |
7,468 | 13,971 | ||||||
GOODWILL |
2,008,896 | 1,600,611 | ||||||
INTANGIBLES AND OTHER ASSETS, net |
1,325,724 | 1,260,427 | ||||||
Total assets |
$ | 19,866,158 | $ | 17,378,730 | ||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
1
ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
|||||||
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY | ||||||||
CURRENT LIABILITIES: |
||||||||
Accounts payable |
$ | 451,795 | $ | 421,556 | ||||
Accounts payable to related companies |
14,885 | 27,351 | ||||||
Accrued distributions to ETE partners |
139,790 | | ||||||
Exchanges payable |
19,461 | 16,003 | ||||||
Price risk management liabilities |
20,729 | 13,172 | ||||||
Accrued and other current liabilities |
589,762 | 567,688 | ||||||
Current maturities of long-term debt |
22,998 | 35,305 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total current liabilities |
1,259,420 | 1,081,075 | ||||||
LONG-TERM DEBT, less current maturities |
11,123,820 | 9,346,067 | ||||||
SERIES A CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED UNITS (Note 10) |
334,170 | 317,600 | ||||||
LONG-TERM PRICE RISK MANAGEMENT LIABILITIES |
60,934 | 79,465 | ||||||
OTHER NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES |
252,892 | 235,848 | ||||||
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Note 14) |
||||||||
PREFERRED UNITS OF SUBSIDIARY (Note 10) |
71,040 | 70,943 | ||||||
EQUITY: |
||||||||
General Partner |
88 | 520 | ||||||
Limited Partners: |
||||||||
Common Unitholders |
(23,273 | ) | 115,350 | |||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) |
(356 | ) | 4,798 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total partners capital (deficit) |
(23,541 | ) | 120,668 | |||||
Noncontrolling interest |
6,787,423 | 6,127,064 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total equity |
6,763,882 | 6,247,732 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total liabilities and equity |
$ | 19,866,158 | $ | 17,378,730 | ||||
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
2
ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Dollars in thousands, except per unit data)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30, | Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||
REVENUES: |
||||||||||||||||
Natural gas operations |
$ | 1,728,951 | $ | 1,140,768 | $ | 3,157,908 | $ | 2,447,477 | ||||||||
Retail propane |
220,296 | 197,147 | 748,762 | 730,586 | ||||||||||||
Other |
25,659 | 24,613 | 57,356 | 56,446 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total revenues |
1,974,906 | 1,362,528 | 3,964,026 | 3,234,509 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
COSTS AND EXPENSES: |
||||||||||||||||
Cost of products sold natural gas operations |
1,122,857 | 723,835 | 2,006,626 | 1,636,441 | ||||||||||||
Cost of products sold retail propane |
134,728 | 110,282 | 445,592 | 415,263 | ||||||||||||
Cost of products sold other |
6,567 | 6,336 | 13,360 | 13,614 | ||||||||||||
Operating expenses |
222,717 | 179,745 | 443,413 | 350,493 | ||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
148,530 | 98,035 | 287,786 | 184,366 | ||||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative |
78,946 | 65,038 | 142,445 | 116,147 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total costs and expenses |
1,714,345 | 1,183,271 | 3,339,222 | 2,716,324 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
OPERATING INCOME |
260,561 | 179,257 | 624,804 | 518,185 | ||||||||||||
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE): |
||||||||||||||||
Interest expense, net of interest capitalized |
(181,517 | ) | (129,036 | ) | (349,446 | ) | (250,707 | ) | ||||||||
Equity in earnings of affiliates |
28,819 | 12,193 | 54,260 | 18,374 | ||||||||||||
(Losses) gains on disposal of assets |
(681 | ) | 1,375 | (2,435 | ) | (489 | ) | |||||||||
Gains (losses) on non-hedged interest rate derivatives |
1,883 | (22,468 | ) | 3,403 | (36,892 | ) | ||||||||||
Impairment of investment in affiliate |
| (52,620 | ) | | (52,620 | ) | ||||||||||
Other, net |
2,811 | (5,213 | ) | (9,715 | ) | (3,070 | ) | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
INCOME (LOSS) FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAX EXPENSE |
111,876 | (16,512 | ) | 320,871 | 192,781 | |||||||||||
Income tax expense |
5,224 | 4,053 | 15,127 | 9,264 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
INCOME (LOSS) FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS |
106,652 | (20,565 | ) | 305,744 | 183,517 | |||||||||||
Income from discontinued operations |
| 86 | | 86 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
NET INCOME (LOSS) |
106,652 | (20,479 | ) | 305,744 | 183,603 | |||||||||||
LESS: NET INCOME (LOSS) ATTRIBUTABLE TO NONCONTROLLING INTEREST |
40,367 | (39,747 | ) | 150,819 | 51,558 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO PARTNERS |
66,285 | 19,268 | 154,925 | 132,045 | ||||||||||||
GENERAL PARTNERS INTEREST IN NET INCOME |
205 | 60 | 479 | 409 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
LIMITED PARTNERS INTEREST IN NET INCOME |
$ | 66,080 | $ | 19,208 | $ | 154,446 | $ | 131,636 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
BASIC NET INCOME PER LIMITED PARTNER UNIT |
$ | 0.30 | $ | 0.09 | $ | 0.69 | $ | 0.59 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
BASIC AVERAGE NUMBER OF UNITS OUTSTANDING |
222,972,708 | 222,941,172 | 222,963,741 | 222,941,140 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
DILUTED NET INCOME PER LIMITED PARTNER UNIT |
$ | 0.30 | $ | 0.09 | $ | 0.69 | $ | 0.59 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
DILUTED AVERAGE NUMBER OF UNITS OUTSTANDING |
222,972,708 | 222,941,172 | 222,963,741 | 222,941,140 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
3
ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(Dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30, | Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||
Net income (loss) |
$ | 106,652 | $ | (20,479 | ) | $ | 305,744 | $ | 183,603 | |||||||
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax: |
||||||||||||||||
Reclassification to earnings of gains and losses on derivative instruments accounted for as cash flow hedges |
123 | 1,725 | (13,416 | ) | 2,555 | |||||||||||
Change in value of derivative instruments accounted for as cash flow hedges |
3,829 | (19,303 | ) | (7,009 | ) | 4,500 | ||||||||||
Change in value of available-for-sale securities |
(643 | ) | (724 | ) | (35 | ) | (3,053 | ) | ||||||||
3,309 | (18,302 | ) | (20,460 | ) | 4,002 | |||||||||||
Comprehensive income (loss) |
109,961 | (38,781 | ) | 285,284 | 187,605 | |||||||||||
Less: Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest |
43,250 | (50,410 | ) | 135,513 | 57,718 | |||||||||||
Comprehensive income attributable to partners |
$ | 66,711 | $ | 11,629 | $ | 149,771 | $ | 129,887 | ||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
4
ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUITY
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2011
(Dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)
General Partner |
Common Unitholders |
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) |
Noncontrolling Interest |
Total | ||||||||||||||||
Balance, December 31, 2010 |
$ | 520 | $ | 115,350 | $ | 4,798 | $ | 6,127,064 | $ | 6,247,732 | ||||||||||
Distributions to ETE partners |
(1,194 | ) | (384,612 | ) | | | (385,806 | ) | ||||||||||||
Subsidiary distributions |
| | | (376,440 | ) | (376,440 | ) | |||||||||||||
Subsidiary units issued for cash |
285 | 91,789 | | 882,030 | 974,104 | |||||||||||||||
Non-cash unit-based compensation expense, net of units tendered by employees for tax withholdings |
| 549 | | 21,684 | 22,233 | |||||||||||||||
Non-cash executive compensation |
| 13 | | 612 | 625 | |||||||||||||||
Other, net |
(2 | ) | (808 | ) | | (3,040 | ) | (3,850 | ) | |||||||||||
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax |
| | (5,154 | ) | (15,306 | ) | (20,460 | ) | ||||||||||||
Net income |
479 | 154,446 | | 150,819 | 305,744 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Balance, June 30, 2011 |
$ | 88 | $ | (23,273 | ) | $ | (356 | ) | $ | 6,787,423 | $ | 6,763,882 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
5
ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)
Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
2011 | 2010 | |||||||
NET CASH FLOWS PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES: |
||||||||
Net income |
$ | 305,744 | $ | 183,603 | ||||
Reconciliation of net income to net cash provided by operating activities: |
||||||||
Impairment of investment in affiliate |
| 52,620 | ||||||
Proceeds from termination of interest rate derivatives |
| 15,395 | ||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
287,786 | 184,366 | ||||||
Amortization of finance costs charged to interest |
9,577 | 6,311 | ||||||
Non-cash unit-based compensation expense |
22,460 | 15,194 | ||||||
Non-cash executive compensation expense |
625 | 625 | ||||||
Losses on disposal of assets |
2,435 | 489 | ||||||
Distributions in excess of equity in earnings of affiliates, net |
29,875 | 12,257 | ||||||
Other non-cash |
18,634 | (5,241 | ) | |||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions (Note 4) |
21,201 | 336,317 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net cash provided by operating activities |
698,337 | 801,936 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: |
||||||||
Cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash received |
(1,948,612 | ) | (129,390 | ) | ||||
Capital expenditures (excluding allowance for equity funds used during construction) |
(794,151 | ) | (629,372 | ) | ||||
Contributions in aid of construction costs |
13,967 | 7,957 | ||||||
Advances to affiliates, net |
(22,668 | ) | (44,518 | ) | ||||
Proceeds from the sale of assets |
6,925 | 9,138 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
(2,744,539 | ) | (786,185 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: |
||||||||
Proceeds from borrowings |
5,202,535 | 338,017 | ||||||
Principal payments on debt |
(3,420,348 | ) | (434,250 | ) | ||||
Subsidiary equity offering, net of issue costs |
974,104 | 574,522 | ||||||
Distributions to partners |
(246,016 | ) | (241,523 | ) | ||||
Debt issuance costs |
(22,198 | ) | (5,978 | ) | ||||
Distributions to noncontrolling interests |
(376,440 | ) | (230,605 | ) | ||||
Other |
(3,228 | ) | | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
2,108,409 | 183 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS |
62,207 | 15,934 | ||||||
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period |
86,264 | 68,315 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period |
$ | 148,471 | $ | 84,249 | ||||
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
6
ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular dollar amounts, except per unit data, are in thousands)
(unaudited)
1. | OPERATIONS AND ORGANIZATION: |
Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (together with its subsidiaries, the Partnership, we, or ETE) is a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership that directly and indirectly owns equity interests in Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (ETP) and Regency Energy Partners LP (Regency), both publicly traded master limited partnerships engaged in strategic diversified energy-related services.
At June 30, 2011, our equity interests consisted of:
General Partner Interest (as a % of total partnership interest) |
Incentive Distribution Rights (IDRs) |
Common Units |
||||||||||
ETP |
1.6 | % | 100 | % | 50,226,967 | |||||||
Regency |
1.9 | % | 100 | % | 26,266,791 |
The unaudited consolidated financial statements of ETE presented herein for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2011 and 2010 include the results of operations of:
| the Parent Company; |
| our controlled subsidiaries, ETP and Regency (see description of their respective operations below under Business Operations); |
| ETPs and Regencys wholly-owned subsidiaries; and |
| our wholly-owned subsidiaries that own the general partner and IDR interests in ETP and Regency. |
ETE obtained control of Regency on May 26, 2010, and as such, the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2010 include the results of Regency for the period from the acquisition date through the end of the respective periods.
Unless the context requires otherwise, references to we, us, our, and ETE mean Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and its consolidated subsidiaries, which include ETP, Energy Transfer Partners GP, L.P. (ETP GP), the General Partner of ETP, ETP GPs General Partner, Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C. (ETP LLC), Regency, Regency GP LP (Regency GP), the General Partner of Regency, and Regency GPs General Partner, Regency GP LLC (Regency LLC). References to the Parent Company mean Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. on a stand-alone basis.
Business Operations
The Parent Companys principal sources of cash flow are its direct and indirect investments in the limited partner and general partner interests in ETP and Regency. The Parent Companys primary cash requirements are for general and administrative expenses, debt service requirements, distributions to its partners and holders of the Series A Convertible Preferred Units (the Preferred Units) and at ETEs election, capital contributions to ETP and Regency in respect of ETEs general partner interests in ETP and Regency. Parent Company-only assets are not available to satisfy the debts and other obligations of ETEs subsidiaries. In order to fully understand the financial condition of the Parent Company on a stand-alone basis, see Note 19 for stand-alone financial information apart from that of the consolidated partnership information included herein.
The following is a brief description of ETPs and Regencys operations:
| ETP is a publicly traded partnership owning and operating a diversified portfolio of energy assets. ETP has pipeline operations in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Utah and West Virginia and owns the largest intrastate pipeline system in Texas. ETP currently has natural gas operations that include gathering and transportation pipelines, treating and processing assets, and three storage facilities located in Texas. ETP also holds a 70% interest in a joint venture that owns and operates natural gas liquids storage, fractionation and transportation assets in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. ETP is also one of the three largest retail marketers of propane in the United States. |
7
| Regency is a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership formed in 2005 engaged in the gathering, treating, processing, compressing and transportation of natural gas and NGLs. Regency focuses on providing midstream services in some of the most prolific natural gas production regions in the United States, including the Haynesville, Eagle Ford, Barnett, Fayetteville and Marcellus shales as well as the Permian Delaware basin. Its assets are primarily located in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Alabama and the mid-continent region of the United States, which includes Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma. Regency also holds a 30% interest in a joint venture that owns and operates natural gas liquids storage, fractionation and transportation assets in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. |
Preparation of Interim Financial Statements
The accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2010, which has been derived from audited financial statements, and the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and notes thereto of the Partnership, as of June 30, 2011 and for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) for interim consolidated financial information and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete consolidated financial statements. However, management believes that the disclosures made are adequate to make the information not misleading. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for a full year due to the seasonal nature of the Partnerships operations, maintenance activities of the Partnerships subsidiaries and the impact of forward natural gas prices and differentials on certain derivative financial instruments that are accounted for using mark-to-market accounting. Management has evaluated subsequent events through the date the financial statements were issued.
In the opinion of management, all adjustments (all of which are normal and recurring) have been made that are necessary to fairly state the consolidated financial position of the Partnership as of June 30, 2011, and the Partnerships results of operations and cash flows for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010. The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto presented in the Partnerships Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, as filed with the SEC on February 28, 2011.
Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the 2011 presentation. These reclassifications had no impact on net income or total equity.
2. | ESTIMATES: |
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the accrual for and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
The natural gas industry conducts its business by processing actual transactions at the end of the month following the month of delivery. Consequently, the most current months financial results for natural gas and NGL related operations are estimated using volume estimates and market prices. Any differences between estimated results and actual results are recognized in the following months financial statements. Management believes that the estimated operating results represent the actual results in all material respects.
Some of the other significant estimates made by management include, but are not limited to, the timing of certain forecasted transactions that are hedged, the fair value of derivative instruments, useful lives for depreciation and amortization, purchase accounting allocations and subsequent realizability of intangible assets, fair value measurements used in the goodwill impairment test, market value of inventory, assets and liabilities resulting from the regulated ratemaking process, contingency reserves and environmental reserves. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
8
3. | ACQUISITION: |
LDH Acquisition
On May 2, 2011, ETP-Regency Midstream Holdings, LLC (ETP-Regency LLC), a joint venture owned 70% by ETP and 30% by Regency, acquired all of the membership interest in LDH Energy Asset Holdings LLC (LDH), from Louis Dreyfus Highbridge Energy LLC (Louis Dreyfus) for approximately $1.97 billion in cash (the LDH Acquisition). The cash purchase price paid at closing is subject to post-closing adjustments. ETP contributed approximately $1.38 billion to ETP-Regency LLC upon closing to fund its 70% share of the purchase price, while Regency contributed approximately $591.7 million to fund its 30% share of the purchase price. Subsequent to closing, ETP-Regency LLC was renamed Lone Star NGL LLC (Lone Star).
Lone Star owns and operates a natural gas liquids storage, fractionation and transportation business. Lone Stars storage assets are primarily located in Mont Belvieu, Texas and its West Texas Pipeline transports NGLs through an intrastate pipeline system that originates in the Permian Basin in West Texas, passes through the Barnett Shale production area in North Texas and terminates at the Mont Belvieu storage and fractionation complex. Lone Star also owns and operates fractionation and processing assets located in Louisiana. The acquisition of Lone Star significantly expands the Partnerships asset portfolio by adding a NGL platform with storage, transportation and fractionation capabilities. This acquisition is expected to provide us with additional consistent fee-based revenues.
ETP accounted for the LDH Acquisition using the acquisition method of accounting. Lone Stars results of operations are consolidated into our ETP reporting segment, except for Lone Stars 20% investment in a processing plant, while Lone Stars results are recorded as an equity method investment in our Regency reporting segment. Regencys equity method investment in Lone Star is reflected by ETP as noncontrolling interest attributable to Lone Star. These amounts have been eliminated in our consolidated financial statements.
The following summarizes the preliminary assets acquired and liabilities assumed recognized at the acquisition date:
Total current assets |
$ | 118,371 | ||
Property, plant and equipment (1) |
1,438,704 | |||
Goodwill |
408,285 | |||
Intangible assets |
83,000 | |||
Other assets |
157 | |||
|
|
|||
2,048,517 | ||||
|
|
|||
Total current liabilities |
76,850 | |||
Other long-term liabilities |
438 | |||
|
|
|||
77,288 | ||||
|
|
|||
Total consideration |
1,971,229 | |||
Cash received |
31,231 | |||
|
|
|||
Total consideration, net of cash received |
$ | 1,939,998 | ||
|
|
(1) | Property, plant and equipment consists of the following: |
Pipelines and equipment (65 years) |
$ | 1,051,211 | ||
Natural gas liquids storage (40 years) |
356,242 | |||
Construction work-in-process |
31,251 | |||
|
|
|||
Property, plant and equipment |
$ | 1,438,704 | ||
|
|
9
Pro Forma Results of Operations
The following unaudited pro forma consolidated results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010 are presented as if the acquisitions of LDH and Regency had been completed on January 1, 2010:
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||
Revenues |
$ | 2,011,513 | $ | 1,659,528 | $ | 4,072,615 | $ | 3,932,061 | ||||||||
Net income |
100,768 | 19,233 | 297,298 | 208,823 | ||||||||||||
Net income attributable to partners |
64,881 | 74,673 | 152,804 | 173,799 | ||||||||||||
Basic net income per Limited Partner unit |
0.29 | 0.33 | 0.69 | 0.78 | ||||||||||||
Diluted net income per Limited Partner unit |
0.29 | 0.33 | 0.69 | 0.78 |
The pro forma consolidated results of operations include adjustments to:
| include the results of LDH and Regency for all periods presented; |
| include the incremental expenses associated with the fair value adjustments recorded as a result of applying the acquisition method of accounting; |
| include incremental interest expense related to financing the purchase price; |
| adjust for one-time expenses; and |
| adjust for relative changes in ownership resulting from both transactions. |
The pro forma information is not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that would have occurred had the transactions been made at the beginning of the periods presented or the future results of the combined operations.
The accounting for this transaction is based on the preliminary purchase price allocation, which is pending final working capital settlements.
Pending Acquisition
On July 19, 2011, we entered into a Second Amended and Restated Plan of Merger (the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement) with Sigma Acquisition Corporation, a Delaware corporation and our wholly-owned subsidiary (Merger Sub), and Southern Union Company (SUG), a Delaware corporation. The Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement modifies certain terms of the Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger entered into by us, Merger Sub and SUG on July 4, 2011. Under the terms of the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement, Merger Sub will merge with and into SUG, with SUG continuing as the surviving entity and becoming our wholly-owned subsidiary (the SUG Merger) subject to certain conditions to close. Pursuant to the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement, ETE would acquire all of the outstanding shares of SUG in a transaction valued at $9.4 billion, including $5.7 billion in cash and ETE Common Units and $3.7 billion of existing SUG indebtedness. Stockholders of SUG may elect to exchange each share of SUG stock for either $44.25 in cash or 1.00 ETE Common Unit. The maximum cash component is 60% of the aggregate consideration and the common unit component can fluctuate between 40% and 50%. Elections in excess of either the cash or common unit limits will be subject to proration.
Consummation of the SUG Merger is subject to customary conditions, including, without limitation: (i) the adoption of the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement by the stockholders of SUG, (ii) the expiration or early termination of the waiting period applicable to the SUG Merger under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the HSR Act), as amended, and any required approvals thereunder, (iii) the receipt of required approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Missouri Public Service Commission and, if required, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, (iv) the effectiveness of a registration statement on Form S-4 relating to the ETE Common Units to be issued in the SUG Merger, and (v) the absence of any law, injunction, judgment or ruling prohibiting or restraining the SUG Merger or making the consummation of the SUG Merger illegal. On July 28, 2011, the waiting period applicable to the SUG Merger under the HSR Act expired.
Citrus Transaction
On July 19,2011, ETP entered into an Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger with us (the Amended Citrus Merger Agreement). The Amended Citrus Merger Agreement modifies certain terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger entered into by ETP and us on July 4, 2011. Pursuant to the terms of the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement, immediately prior to the effective time of the SUG Merger, we will assign and SUG will assume the benefits and obligations of us under the Amended Citrus Merger Agreement.
Under the Amended Citrus Merger Agreement, it is anticipated that SUG will cause the contribution to ETP of a 50% interest in Citrus Corp., which owns 100% of the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline system and is currently jointly owned by SUG and El Paso Corporation (the Citrus Transaction). The Citrus Transaction will be effected through the merger of Citrus ETP Acquisition, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of SUG that indirectly owns a 50% interest in Citrus Corp. (CrossCountry). In exchange for the interest in Citrus Corp., SUG will receive approximately $2.0 billion, consisting of $1.895 billion in cash and $105 million of ETP Common Units, with the value of the ETP Common Units based on the volume-weighted average trading price for the 10 consecutive trading days ending immediately prior to the date that is three trading days prior to the closing date of the Citrus Transaction. In order to increase the expected accretion to be derived from the Citrus Transaction, we have agreed to relinquish our rights to approximately $220 million of incentive distributions from ETP that we would otherwise be entitled to receive over 16 consecutive quarters following the closing of the transaction.
10
The Amended Citrus Merger Agreement includes customer representations, warranties and covenants of ETP and us (including representations, warranties and covenants relating to SUG, CrossCountry and certain of CrossCountrys affiliates). Consummation of the Citrus Transaction is subject to customary conditions, including, without limitation: (i) satisfaction or waiver of the closing conditions set forth in the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement, (ii) the receipt by ETP of any necessary waivers or amendments to its credit agreements, (iii) the amendment of ETPs partnership agreement to reflect the agreed upon relinquishment by us of incentive distributions from ETP discussed above, and (iv) the absence of any order, decree, injunction or law prohibiting or making the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Amended Citrus Merger Agreement illegal. The Amended Citrus Merger Agreement contains certain termination rights for both us and ETP, including among others, the right to terminate if the Citrus Transaction is not completed by December 31, 2012 or if the Second Amended Merger SUG Agreement is terminated.
Pursuant to the Amended Citrus Merger Agreement, we have has granted ETP a right of first offer with respect to any disposition by us or SUG of Southern Union Gas Services, a subsidiary of SUG that owns and operates a natural gas gathering and processing system serving the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico.
4. | CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS: |
Cash and cash equivalents include all cash on hand, demand deposits, and investments with original maturities of three months or less. We consider cash equivalents to include short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and that are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value.
We place our cash deposits and temporary cash investments with high credit quality financial institutions. At times, our cash and cash equivalents may be uninsured or in deposit accounts that exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance limit.
The net change in operating assets and liabilities (net of effects of acquisitions) included in cash flows from operating activities is comprised as follows:
Six Months Ended June 30, |
||||||||
2011 | 2010 | |||||||
Accounts receivable |
$ | 40,057 | $ | 98,321 | ||||
Accounts receivable from related companies |
(38,515 | ) | 21,603 | |||||
Inventories |
30,181 | 159,540 | ||||||
Exchanges receivable |
2,599 | 13,151 | ||||||
Other current assets |
(19,484 | ) | 35,792 | |||||
Intangibles and other assets |
4,241 | 4,201 | ||||||
Accounts payable |
(31,956 | ) | (66,853 | ) | ||||
Accounts payable to related companies |
23,902 | (12,096 | ) | |||||
Exchanges payable |
2,970 | (7,880 | ) | |||||
Accrued and other current liabilities |
17,892 | 38,036 | ||||||
Other non-current liabilities |
11,108 | (583 | ) | |||||
Price risk management assets and liabilities, net |
(21,794 | ) | |
53,085 |
| |||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net change in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions |
$ | 21,201 | $ | 336,317 | ||||
|
|
|
|
11
Non-cash investing activities are as follows:
Six Months Ended June 30, |
||||||||
2011 | 2010 | |||||||
Accrued capital expenditures |
$ | 106,047 | $ | 73,432 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Gain from subsidiary common unit transactions |
$ | 92,074 | $ | 280,492 | ||||
|
|
|
|
5. | INVENTORIES: |
Inventories consisted of the following:
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
|||||||
Natural gas and NGLs, excluding propane |
$ | 176,093 | $ | 170,179 | ||||
Propane |
59,213 | 76,341 | ||||||
Appliances, parts and fittings and other |
112,871 | 119,864 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total inventories |
$ | 348,177 | $ | 366,384 | ||||
|
|
|
|
ETP utilizes commodity derivatives to manage price volatility associated with its natural gas inventory and designates certain of these derivatives as fair value hedges for accounting purposes. Changes in fair value of the designated hedged inventory have been recorded in inventory on our consolidated balance sheets and in cost of products sold in our consolidated statements of operations.
6. | GOODWILL, INTANGIBLES AND OTHER ASSETS: |
A net increase in goodwill of $408.3 million was recorded during the six months ended June 30, 2011 primarily due to the LDH Acquisition referenced in Note 3. This additional goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes. In addition, ETP recorded customer contracts of $83.0 million with useful lives ranging from 3 to 14 years.
Components and useful lives of intangibles and other assets were as follows:
June 30, 2011 | December 31, 2010 | |||||||||||||||
Gross Carrying Amount |
Accumulated Amortization |
Gross Carrying Amount |
Accumulated Amortization |
|||||||||||||
Amortizable intangible assets: |
||||||||||||||||
Customer relationships, contracts and agreements (3 to 46 years) |
$ | 1,053,788 | $ | (109,657 | ) | $ | 971,657 | $ | (88,583 | ) | ||||||
Trade names (20 years) |
65,500 | (2,993 | ) | 65,500 | (1,910 | ) | ||||||||||
Noncompete agreements (3 to 15 years) |
20,187 | (12,219 | ) | 21,165 | (11,888 | ) | ||||||||||
Patents (9 years) |
750 | (160 | ) | 750 | (118 | ) | ||||||||||
Other (10 to 15 years) |
1,320 | (544 | ) | 1,320 | (492 | ) | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total amortizable intangible assets |
1,141,545 | (125,573 | ) | 1,060,392 | (102,991 | ) | ||||||||||
Non-amortizable intangible assets: |
||||||||||||||||
Trademarks |
77,655 | | 77,445 | | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total intangible assets |
1,219,200 | (125,573 | ) | 1,137,837 | (102,991 | ) | ||||||||||
Other assets: |
||||||||||||||||
Financing costs (3 to 30 years) |
157,882 | (47,140 | ) | 137,012 | (38,945 | ) | ||||||||||
Regulatory assets |
107,258 | (16,381 | ) | 107,384 | (14,445 | ) | ||||||||||
Other |
31,136 | (658 | ) | 35,001 | (426 | ) | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total intangibles and other assets |
$ | 1,515,476 | $ | (189,752 | ) | $ | 1,417,234 | $ | (156,807 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
12
Aggregate amortization expense of intangibles and other assets was as follows:
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||
Reported in depreciation and amortization |
$ | 12,204 | $ | 7,910 | $ | 25,345 | $ | 13,056 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Reported in interest expense |
$ | 5,005 | $ | 3,728 | $ | 9,577 | $ | 6,645 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Estimated aggregate amortization expense for the next five years is as follows:
Years Ending December 31: |
||||
2012 |
$ | 70,449 | ||
2013 |
65,243 | |||
2014 |
62,222 | |||
2015 |
57,776 | |||
2016 |
56,250 |
7. | FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS: |
The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable approximate their fair value. Price risk management assets and liabilities are recorded at fair value.
Based on the estimated borrowing rates currently available to us and our subsidiaries for long-term loans with similar terms and average maturities, the aggregate fair value and carrying amount of our consolidated debt obligations as of June 30, 2011 was $12.02 billion and $11.15 billion, respectively. As of December 31, 2010, the aggregate fair value and carrying amount of our consolidated debt obligations was $10.23 billion and $9.38 billion, respectively.
We have marketable securities, commodity derivatives, interest rate derivatives, the Preferred Units and embedded derivatives in the Preferred Units of a Subsidiary (the Regency Preferred Units) that are accounted for as assets and liabilities at fair value in our consolidated balance sheets. We determine the fair value of our assets and liabilities subject to fair value measurement by using the highest possible level of inputs. Level 1 inputs are observable quotes in an active market for identical assets and liabilities. We consider the valuation of marketable securities and commodity derivatives transacted through a clearing broker with a published price from the appropriate exchange as a Level 1 valuation. Level 2 inputs are inputs observable for similar assets and liabilities. We consider over-the-counter (OTC) commodity derivatives entered into directly with third parties as a Level 2 valuation since the values of these derivatives are quoted on an exchange for similar transactions. Additionally, we consider our options transacted through our clearing broker as having Level 2 inputs due to the level of activity of these contracts on the exchange in which they trade. We consider the valuation of our interest rate derivatives as Level 2 since we use a LIBOR curve based on quotes from an active exchange of Eurodollar futures for the same period as the future interest swap settlements and discount the future cash flows accordingly, including the effects of credit risk. Level 3 inputs are unobservable. Derivatives related to the Regency Preferred Units are valued using a binomial lattice model. The market inputs utilized in the model include credit spread, probabilities of the occurrence of certain events, common unit price, dividend yield, and expected value, and are considered Level 3. The fair value of the Preferred Units was based predominantly on an income approach model and is also considered Level 3.
13
The following tables summarize the fair value of our financial assets and liabilities measured and recorded at fair value on a recurring basis as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 based on inputs used to derive their fair values:
Fair Value Measurements at June 30, 2011 Using |
||||||||||||||||
Fair Value Total |
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | |||||||||||||
Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
Marketable securities |
$ | 1,996 | $ | 1,996 | $ | | $ | | ||||||||
Interest rate derivatives |
18,854 | | 18,854 | | ||||||||||||
Commodity derivatives: |
||||||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||||||
Basis Swaps IFERC/NYMEX |
81,744 | 81,744 | | | ||||||||||||
Swing Swaps IFERC |
8,258 | 1,371 | 6,887 | | ||||||||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures |
19,819 | 18,445 | 1,374 | | ||||||||||||
Options Puts |
14,956 | | 14,956 | | ||||||||||||
NGLs Forward Swaps |
67 | | 67 | | ||||||||||||
Propane Forward Swaps |
557 | | 557 | | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total commodity derivatives |
125,401 | 101,560 | 23,841 | | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total Assets |
$ | 146,251 | $ | 103,556 | $ | 42,695 | $ | | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Liabilities: |
||||||||||||||||
Interest rate derivatives |
$ | (9,753 | ) | $ | | $ | (9,753 | ) | $ | | ||||||
Preferred Units |
(334,170 | ) | | | (334,170 | ) | ||||||||||
Embedded derivatives in the Regency Preferred Units |
(51,498 | ) | | | (51,498 | ) | ||||||||||
Commodity derivatives: |
||||||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||||||
Basis Swaps IFERC/NYMEX |
(79,164 | ) | (79,164 | ) | | | ||||||||||
Swing Swaps IFERC |
(11,040 | ) | (2,682 | ) | (8,358 | ) | | |||||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures |
(16,760 | ) | (16,760 | ) | | | ||||||||||
Options Puts |
(27 | ) | | (27 | ) | | ||||||||||
Options Calls |
(704 | ) | | (704 | ) | | ||||||||||
NGLs Forward Swaps |
(16,711 | ) | | (16,711 | ) | | ||||||||||
Propane Forward Swaps |
(281 | ) | | (281 | ) | | ||||||||||
WTI Crude Oil |
(3,651 | ) | | (3,651 | ) | | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total commodity derivatives |
(128,338 | ) | (98,606 | ) | (29,732 | ) | | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total Liabilities |
$ | (523,759 | ) | $ | (98,606 | ) | $ | (39,485 | ) | $ | (385,668 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14
Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2010 Using |
||||||||||||||||
Fair Value Total |
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | |||||||||||||
Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
Marketable securities |
$ | 2,032 | $ | 2,032 | $ | | $ | | ||||||||
Interest rate derivatives |
20,790 | | 20,790 | | ||||||||||||
Commodity derivatives: |
||||||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||||||
Basis Swaps IFERC/NYMEX |
15,756 | 15,756 | | | ||||||||||||
Swing Swaps IFERC |
1,682 | 1,562 | 120 | | ||||||||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures |
44,955 | 42,474 | 2,481 | | ||||||||||||
Options Calls |
75 | | 75 | | ||||||||||||
Options Puts |
26,241 | | 26,241 | | ||||||||||||
NGLs Forward Swaps |
192 | | 192 | | ||||||||||||
Propane Forward Swaps |
6,864 | | 6,864 | | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total commodity derivatives |
95,765 | 59,792 | 35,973 | | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total Assets |
$ | 118,587 | $ | 61,824 | $ | 56,763 | $ | | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Liabilities: |
||||||||||||||||
Interest rate derivatives |
$ | (20,922 | ) | $ | | $ | (20,922 | ) | $ | | ||||||
Preferred Units |
(317,600 | ) | | | (317,600 | ) | ||||||||||
Embedded derivatives in the Regency Preferred Units |
(57,023 | ) | | | (57,023 | ) | ||||||||||
Commodity derivatives: |
||||||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||||||
Basis Swaps IFERC/NYMEX |
(17,372 | ) | (17,372 | ) | | | ||||||||||
Swing Swaps IFERC |
(3,768 | ) | (3,520 | ) | (248 | ) | | |||||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures |
(42,252 | ) | (41,825 | ) | (427 | ) | | |||||||||
Options Calls |
(2,643 | ) | | (2,643 | ) | | ||||||||||
Options Puts |
(7 | ) | | (7 | ) | | ||||||||||
NGLs Forward Swaps |
(10,684 | ) | | (10,684 | ) | | ||||||||||
WTI Crude Oil |
(3,581 | ) | | (3,581 | ) | | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total commodity derivatives |
(80,307 | ) | (62,717 | ) | (17,590 | ) | | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total Liabilities |
$ | (475,852 | ) | $ | (62,717 | ) | $ | (38,512 | ) | $ | (374,623 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The following table presents a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances for liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the six months ended June 30, 2011. There were no transfers between the fair value hierarchy levels during the six months ended June 30, 2011.
Balance, December 31, 2010 |
$ | (374,623 | ) | |
Net unrealized losses included in other income (expense) |
(11,045 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Balance, June 30, 2011 |
$ | (385,668 | ) | |
|
|
15
8. | NET INCOME PER LIMITED PARTNER UNIT: |
A reconciliation of net income and weighted average units used in computing basic and diluted net income per unit is as follows:
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||
Basic Net Income per Limited Partner Unit: |
||||||||||||||||
Limited Partners interest in net income |
$ | 66,080 | $ | 19,208 | $ | 154,446 | $ | 131,636 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Weighted average Limited Partner units |
222,972,708 | 222,941,172 | 222,963,741 | 222,941,140 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Basic net income per Limited Partner unit |
$ | 0.30 | $ | 0.09 | $ | 0.69 | $ | 0.59 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Diluted Net Income per Limited Partner Unit: |
||||||||||||||||
Limited Partners interest in net income |
$ | 66,080 | $ | 19,208 | $ | 154,446 | $ | 131,636 | ||||||||
Dilutive effect of equity-based compensation of subsidiaries |
(132 | ) | | (402 | ) | (131 | ) | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Diluted net income available to Limited Partners |
$ | 65,948 | $ | 19,208 | $ | 154,044 | $ | 131,505 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Weighted average Limited Partner units |
222,972,708 | 222,941,172 | 222,963,741 | 222,941,140 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Diluted net income per Limited Partner unit |
$ | 0.30 | $ | 0.09 | $ | 0.69 | $ | 0.59 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discontinued operations per unit has been omitted as the impact rounds to $0.00 per unit for all relevant periods presented.
The calculation above for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 for diluted net income per limited partner unit excludes the impact of any ETE Common Units that would be issued upon conversion of the Preferred Units, because inclusion would have been antidilutive. The Preferred Units have a liquidation preference of $300.0 million and are subject to mandatory conversion as discussed in Note 10.
9. | DEBT OBLIGATIONS: |
Senior Notes
ETP Senior Notes
In May 2011, ETP completed a public offering of $800 million aggregate principal amount of 4.65% Senior Notes due June 1, 2021 and $700 million aggregate principal amount of 6.05% Senior Notes due June 1, 2041. ETP used the proceeds, net of commissions, of $1.48 billion to repay all of the borrowings outstanding under its revolving credit facility (the ETP Credit Facility), to fund capital expenditures related to pipeline construction projects and for general partnership purposes. ETP may redeem some or all of the notes at any time and from time to time pursuant to the terms of the indenture subject to the payment of a make-whole premium. Interest will be paid semi-annually.
Regency Senior Notes
In May 2011, Regency issued $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 6.5% Senior Notes due July 15, 2021 (the Regency 2021 Notes). Regency used the proceeds, net of commissions, of approximately $491.3 million to repay borrowings outstanding under its revolving credit facility (the Regency Credit Facility). Regency capitalized $9.8 million in debt issuance costs that will be amortized to interest expense, net over the term of the Regency 2021 Notes. Interest will be paid semi-annually.
At any time prior to July 15, 2016, Regency may redeem some or all of the Regency 2021 Notes at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus a make-whole premium, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date. At any time before July 15, 2014, Regency may redeem up to 35% of the aggregate principal amount of the Regency 2021 Notes then outstanding
16
at a redemption price equal to 106.5% of the principal amount of the notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date.
Upon the occurrence of a change of control event, as defined in the indenture, followed by a rating decline within 90 days, each holder of the Regency 2021 Notes will be entitled to require Regency to purchase all or a portion of its notes at a purchase price of 101% plus accrued interest and liquidated damages, if any. Regencys ability to purchase the notes upon a change of control will be limited by the terms of its debt agreements, including Regencys revolving credit facility.
The Regency 2021 Notes contain various covenants that limit, among other things, Regencys ability, and the ability of certain of its subsidiaries to:
| incur additional indebtedness; |
| pay distributions on, or repurchase or redeem equity interests; |
| make certain investments; |
| incur liens; |
| enter into certain types of transactions with affiliates; and |
| sell assets, consolidate or merge with or into other companies. |
Revolving Credit Facilities
Parent Company Credit Agreement
The Parent Company has a $200 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the Parent Company Credit Agreement) available through September 20, 2015. The Parent Company Credit Agreement is secured by all tangible or intangible assets of ETE and certain of its subsidiaries. As of June 30, 2011, there were no outstanding borrowings under the Parent Company Credit Agreement.
ETP Credit Facility
The ETP Credit Facility provides for $2.0 billion of revolving credit capacity that is expandable to $3.0 billion (subject to obtaining the approval of the administrative agent and securing lender commitments for the increased borrowing capacity). The ETP Credit Facility matures on July 20, 2012, unless ETP elects the option of one-year extensions (subject to the approval of each such extension by the lenders holding a majority of the aggregate lending commitments). As of June 30, 2011, ETP had a balance of $144.0 million outstanding under the ETP Credit Facility, and the amount available for future borrowings was $1.81 billion taking into account letters of credit of $42.9 million. The weighted average interest rate on the total amount outstanding as of June 30, 2011 was 0.76%.
Regency Credit Facility
The Regency Credit Facility has aggregate revolving commitments of $900 million that matures June 15, 2014. As of June 30, 2011, there was a balance outstanding under the Regency Credit Facility of $330.0 million in revolving credit loans and approximately $11.0 million in letters of credit. The total amount available under the Regency Credit Facility, as of June 30, 2011, which is reduced by any letters of credit, was approximately $559.0 million. The weighted average interest rate on the total amount outstanding as of June 30, 2011 was 3.25%.
17
Covenants Related to Our Credit Agreements
We, ETP and Regency are required to assess compliance quarterly and were in compliance with all requirements, tests, limitations, and covenants related to our respective credit agreements as of June 30, 2011.
10. | REDEEMABLE PREFERRED UNITS: |
ETE Preferred Units
In connection with the Regency Transactions completed in May 2010, ETE issued 3,000,000 Series A Convertible Preferred Units to an affiliate of GE Energy Financial Services, Inc. (GE EFS) having an aggregate liquidation preference of $300.0 million and were reflected as a non-current liability in our consolidated balance sheets as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010. The Series A Convertible Preferred Units are measured at fair value on a recurring basis. Changes in the estimated fair value of the ETE Preferred Units are recorded in other income (expense) on the consolidated statements of operations.
Regency Preferred Units
Regency has 4,371,586 Regency Preferred Units outstanding at June 30, 2011, which were convertible into 4,620,152 Regency Common Units. If outstanding on September 2, 2029, the Regency Preferred Units are mandatorily redeemable for $80.0 million plus all accrued but unpaid distributions thereon. Holders of the Regency Preferred Units receive fixed quarterly cash distributions of $0.445 per unit from Regency. Holders can elect to convert Regency Preferred Units to Regency Common Units at any time in accordance with Regencys Partnership Agreement.
The following table provides a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the Regency Preferred Units:
Regency Preferred Units |
Amount | |||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2010 |
4,371,586 | $ | 70,943 | |||||
Accretion to redemption value |
| 97 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Ending balance as of June 30, 2011 |
4,371,586 | $ | 71,040 | |||||
|
|
|
|
11. | EQUITY: |
Common Units Issued
The change in ETE Common Units during the six months ended June 30, 2011 was as follows:
Number of Units |
||||
Balance, December 31, 2010 |
222,941,172 | |||
Issuance of restricted common units under equity incentive plans |
31,536 | |||
|
|
|||
Balance, June 30, 2011 |
222,972,708 | |||
|
|
Sales of Common Units by Subsidiaries
The Parent Company accounts for the difference between the carrying amount of its investments in ETP and Regency and the underlying book value arising from the issuance or redemption of units by ETP or Regency (excluding transactions with the Parent Company) as capital transactions.
As a result of ETPs and Regencys issuances of Common Units during the six months ended June 30, 2011, we recognized increases in partners capital of $92.1 million.
18
Sale of Common Units by ETP
On April 1, 2011, ETP issued 14,202,500 Common Units through a public offering. The proceeds, net of commissions, of approximately $695.5 million were used to repay amounts outstanding under the ETP Credit Facility, to fund capital expenditures related to pipeline construction projects and for general partnership purposes.
ETP has an Equity Distribution Agreement with Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (Credit Suisse) under which ETP may offer and sell from time to time through Credit Suisse, as its sales agent, ETP Common Units having an aggregate offering price of up to $200.0 million. During the six months ended June 30, 2011, ETP received proceeds from units issued pursuant to this agreement of approximately $72.9 million, net of commissions, which were used for general partnership purposes. Approximately $101.2 million of ETP Common Units remain available to be issued under the Equity Distribution Agreement based on trades initiated through June 30, 2011.
In April 2011, ETP filed a registration statement with the SEC covering ETPs Distribution Reinvestment Plan (the DRIP). The DRIP provides Unitholders of record and beneficial owners of ETP Common Units a voluntary means by which they can increase the number of ETP Common Units they own by reinvesting the quarterly cash distributions they would otherwise receive in the purchase of additional ETP Common Units. Currently, the registration statement covers the issuance of up to 5,750,000 ETP Common Units under the DRIP.
In May 2011, in conjunction with the payment of ETPs distribution for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, distributions of approximately $1.9 million were reinvested under the DRIP resulting in the issuance of 41,139 ETP Common Units.
Sale of Common Units by Regency
In May 2011, Regency issued 8,500,001 Regency Common Units in a private placement. The net proceeds of $203.9 million from the from the private placement were used to fund a portion of Regencys 30% ownership interest in Lone Star, as discussed in Note 3.
Parent Company Quarterly Distributions of Available Cash
The Parent Companys only cash-generating assets currently consist of distributions from ETP and Regency related to limited and general partnership interests, including IDRs. We currently have no independent operations outside of our interests in ETP and Regency.
Following are distributions declared and/or paid by us subsequent to December 31, 2010:
Quarter Ended |
Record Date |
Payment Date |
Rate | |||
December 31, 2010 |
February 7, 2011 | February 18, 2011 | $0.540 | |||
March 31, 2011 |
May 6, 2011 | May 19, 2011 | 0.560 | |||
June 30, 2011 |
August 5, 2011 | August 19, 2011 |
0.625 |
The distribution for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 was announced on June 30, 2011 and was reflected as an accrued distribution to ETE partners on our consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2011.
ETPs Quarterly Distributions of Available Cash
Following are distributions declared and/or paid by ETP subsequent to December 31, 2010:
Quarter Ended |
Record Date |
Payment Date |
Rate | |||
December 31, 2010 |
February 7, 2011 | February 14, 2011 | $0.89375 | |||
March 31, 2011 |
May 6, 2011 | May 16, 2011 | 0.89375 | |||
June 30, 2011 |
August 5, 2011 | August 15, 2011 | 0.89375 |
19
Regencys Quarterly Distributions of Available Cash
Following are distributions declared and/or paid by Regency subsequent to December 31, 2010:
Quarter Ended |
Record Date |
Payment Date |
Rate | |||
December 31, 2010 |
February 7, 2011 | February 14, 2011 | $0.445 | |||
March 31, 2011 |
May 6, 2011 | May 13, 2011 | 0.445 | |||
June 30, 2011 |
August 5, 2011 | August 12, 2011 | 0.450 |
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
The following table presents the components of accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (AOCI), net of tax:
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
|||||||
Net gains on commodity related hedges |
$ | (6,279 | ) | $ | 14,146 | |||
Unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities |
883 | 918 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Subtotal |
(5,396 | ) | 15,064 | |||||
Amounts attributable to noncontrolling interest |
5,040 | (10,266 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total AOCI included in partners capital, net of tax |
$ | (356 | ) | $ | 4,798 | |||
|
|
|
|
12. | UNIT-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS: |
We, ETP, and Regency have equity incentive plans for employees, officers and directors, which provide for various types of awards, including options to purchase Common Units, restricted units, phantom units, distribution equivalent rights (DERs), Common Unit appreciation rights, and other unit-based awards.
ETE Long-Term Incentive Plan
During the six months ended June 30, 2011, ETE employees were granted a total of 30,000 unvested awards with five-year service vesting requirements. The weighted average grant-date fair value of these awards was $39.82 per unit. As of June 30, 2011 a total of 105,713 unit awards remain unvested, including the new awards granted during the period. We expect to recognize a total of $1.7 million in compensation expense over a weighted average period of 2.1 years related to unvested awards.
ETP Unit-Based Compensation Plans
During the six months ended June 30, 2011, ETP employees were granted a total of 518,700 unvested awards with five-year service vesting requirements, and directors were granted a total of 2,580 unvested awards with three-year service vesting requirements. The weighted average grant-date fair value of these awards was $53.60 per unit. As of June 30, 2011 a total of 2,450,698 unit awards remain unvested, including the new awards granted during the period. We expect to recognize a total of $69.2 million in compensation expense over a weighted average period of 1.7 years related to unvested awards.
Regency Unit-Based Compensation Plans
Common Unit Options
During the six months ended June 30, 2011, no Regency Common Unit options were granted. As of June 30, 2011, a total of 166,050 Regency Common Unit options remain vested and exercisable, with a weighted average exercise price of $22.13 per Regency Common Unit option.
Phantom Units
During the six months ended June 30, 2011, Regency employees and directors were granted 68,745 Regency phantom units with three-year service vesting requirements. As of June 30, 2011, a total of 718,172 Regency Phantom Units remain unvested, with a weighted average grant date fair value of $24.77. We expect to recognize a total of $13.0 million in compensation expense over a weighted average period of 4.2 years related to Regencys unvested phantom units.
20
13. | INCOME TAXES: |
The components of the federal and state income tax expense of our taxable subsidiaries are summarized as follows:
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||
Current expense: |
||||||||||||||||
Federal |
$ | 561 | $ | 1,739 | $ | 5,663 | $ | 3,057 | ||||||||
State |
5,439 | 4,344 | 9,435 | 7,502 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total current expense |
6,000 | 6,083 | 15,098 | 10,559 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Deferred expense (benefit): |
||||||||||||||||
Federal |
(747 | ) | (1,723 | ) | (559 | ) | (1,029 | ) | ||||||||
State |
(29 | ) | (307 | ) | 588 | (266 | ) | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total deferred expense (benefit) |
(776 | ) | (2,030 | ) | 29 | (1,295 | ) | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total income tax expense |
$ | 5,224 | $ | 4,053 | $ | 15,127 | $ | 9,264 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The effective tax rate differs from the statutory rate due primarily to Partnership earnings that are not subject to federal and state income taxes at the Partnership level.
14. | REGULATORY MATTERS, COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITIES: |
Guarantee Fayetteville Express Pipeline LLC
Fayetteville Express Pipeline LLC (FEP), a joint venture entity in which ETP owns a 50% interest, had a credit agreement that provided for a $1.1 billion senior revolving credit facility (the FEP Facility). ETP guaranteed 50% of the obligations of FEP under the FEP Facility, with the remainder of FEP Facility obligations guaranteed by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP). Amounts borrowed under the FEP Facility bear interest at a rate based on either a Eurodollar rate or Prime Rate.
As of June 30, 2011, FEP had $968.5 million of outstanding borrowings issued under the FEP Facility and ETPs contingent obligation with respect to its guaranteed portion of FEPs outstanding borrowings was $484.3 million, which was not reflected in our consolidated balance sheet. The weighted average interest rate on the total amount outstanding as of June 30, 2011 was 3.09%.
In July 2011, the FEP Facility was repaid with capital contributions from ETP and KMP totaling $390 million along with proceeds from a $600 million term loan credit facility maturing in July 2012 (which can be extended for one year at the option of FEP). Upon closing and funding of the term loan facility, the FEP Facility was terminated. FEP also entered into a $50 million revolving credit facility maturing in July 2015. ETP does not guarantee FEPs indebtedness under its term loan or new credit facility.
NGL Pipeline Regulation
ETP and Regency have interests in NGL pipelines located in Texas. ETP and Regency believe that these pipelines do not provide interstate service and that they are thus not subject to the jurisdiction of the FERC under the Interstate Commerce Act (ICA) and the Energy Policy of 1992. Under the ICA, tariffs must be just and reasonable and not unduly discriminatory or confer any undue preference. We cannot guarantee that the jurisdictional status of ETPs and Regencys NGL facilities will remain unchanged; however, should they be found jurisdictional, the FERCs rate-making methodologies may limit ETPs and Regencys ability to set rates based on their actual costs, may delay the use of rates that reflect increased costs and may subject ETP and Regency to potentially burdensome and expensive operational, reporting and other requirements. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, revenues and cash flow.
Commitments
In the normal course of our business, ETP and Regency purchase, process and sell natural gas pursuant to long-term contracts and enter into long-term transportation and storage agreements. Such contracts contain terms that are customary in the industry. ETP has also entered into several propane purchase and supply commitments, which are typically one year agreements with varying terms as to quantities, prices and expiration dates. ETP believes that the terms of these agreements are commercially reasonable and will not have a material adverse effect on its financial position or results of operations.
We have certain non-cancelable leases for property and equipment, which require fixed monthly rental payments and expire at various dates through 2034. Rental expense under these operating leases has been included in operating expenses in the accompanying statements of operations and totaled approximately $7.8 million and $5.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010. For the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, rental expense for operating leases totaled approximately $13.2 million and $11.7 million, respectively.
21
ETPs propane operations have an agreement with Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (together with its subsidiaries Enterprise) (see Note 16) to supply a portion of its propane requirements. The agreement will continue until March 2015 and includes an option to extend the agreement for an additional year.
In connection with the sale of ETPs investment in M-P Energy in October 2007, ETP executed a propane purchase agreement for approximately 90.0 million gallons per year through 2015 at market prices plus a nominal fee.
ETPs and Regencys joint venture agreements require that ETP and Regency fund their proportionate shares of capital contributions to their unconsolidated affiliates. ETP and Regency expect that such capital contributions will depend upon their unconsolidated affiliates capital requirements, such as for funding capital projects or repayment of long-term obligations.
Litigation and Contingencies
We may, from time to time, be involved in litigation and claims arising out of our operations in the normal course of business. Natural gas and propane are flammable, combustible gases. Serious personal injury and significant property damage can arise in connection with their transportation, storage or use. In the ordinary course of business, we are sometimes threatened with or named as a defendant in various lawsuits seeking actual and punitive damages for product liability, personal injury and property damage. We maintain liability insurance with insurers in amounts and with coverage and deductibles management believes are reasonable and prudent, and which are generally accepted in the industry. However, there can be no assurance that the levels of insurance protection currently in effect will continue to be available at reasonable prices or that such levels will remain adequate to protect us from material expenses related to product liability, personal injury or property damage in the future.
We or our subsidiaries are a party to various legal proceedings and/or regulatory proceedings incidental to our businesses. For each of these matters, we evaluate the merits of the case, our exposure to the matter, possible legal or settlement strategies, the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome and the availability of insurance coverage. If we determine that an unfavorable outcome of a particular matter is probable and can be estimated, we accrue the contingent obligation, as well as any expected insurance recoverable amounts related to the contingency. As of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, accruals of approximately $10.7 million and $10.2 million, respectively, were reflected on our balance sheets related to these contingent obligations. As new information becomes available, our estimates may change. The impact of these changes may have a significant effect on our results of operations in a single period.
The outcome of these matters cannot be predicted with certainty, and there can be no assurance that the outcome of a particular matter will not result in the payment of amounts that have not been accrued for the matter. Further, we may revise accrual amounts prior to the resolution of a particular contingency based on changes in facts and circumstances or in the expected outcome.
No amounts have been recorded in our June 30, 2011 or December 31, 2010 consolidated balance sheets for contingencies and current litigation, other than amounts disclosed herein.
Environmental Matters
Our operations are subject to extensive federal, state and local environmental and safety laws and regulations that can require expenditures to ensure compliance, including related to air emissions and wastewater discharges, at operating facilities and for remediation at current and former facilities as well as waste disposal sites. Although we believe our operations are in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations, risks of additional costs and liabilities are inherent in the business of transporting, storing, gathering, treating, compressing, blending and processing natural gas, natural gas liquids and other products. As a result, there can be no assurance that significant costs and liabilities will not be incurred. Costs of planning, designing, constructing and operating pipelines, plants and other facilities must incorporate compliance with environmental laws and regulations and safety standards. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in the assessment of administrative, civil and criminal penalties, the imposition of remedial obligations, the issuance of injunctions and the filing of federally authorized citizen suits. Moreover, there can be no assurance that other developments, such as increasingly stringent environmental laws, regulations and enforcement policies thereunder, and claims for damages to property or persons resulting from the operations, will not result in substantial costs and liabilities.
22
We are unable to estimate any losses or range of losses that could result from such developments. Furthermore, we may revise accrual amounts prior to resolution of a particular contingency based on changes in facts and circumstances or changes in the expected outcome.
Our operations are also subject to the requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and comparable state laws that regulate the protection of the health and safety of employees. In addition, OSHAs hazardous communication standard requires that information be maintained about hazardous materials used or produced in our operations and that this information be provided to employees, state and local government authorities and citizens. We believe that our operations are in substantial compliance with the OSHA requirements, including general industry standards, record keeping requirements, and monitoring of occupational exposure to regulated substances.
National Fire Protection Association Pamphlets No. 54 and No. 58, which establish rules and procedures governing the safe handling of propane, or comparable regulations, have been adopted as the industry standard in all of the states in which we operate. In some states, these laws are administered by state agencies, and in others, they are administered on a municipal level. With respect to the transportation of propane by truck, we are subject to regulations governing the transportation of hazardous materials under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act, administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). We conduct ongoing training programs to help ensure that our operations are in compliance with applicable regulations. We believe that the procedures currently in effect at all of our facilities for the handling, storage and distribution of propane are consistent with industry standards and are in substantial compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
ETP Environmental Matters
Environmental exposures and liabilities are difficult to assess and estimate due to unknown factors such as the magnitude of possible contamination, the timing and extent of remediation, the determination of ETPs liability in proportion to other parties, improvements in cleanup technologies and the extent to which environmental laws and regulations may change in the future. Although environmental costs may have a significant impact on the results of operations for any single period, ETP believes that such costs will not have a material adverse effect on its financial position.
As of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, accruals related to ETP on an undiscounted basis of $12.8 million and $13.8 million, respectively, were recorded in our consolidated balance sheets as accrued and other current liabilities and other non-current liabilities related to environmental matters.
Based on information available at this time and reviews undertaken to identify potential exposure, ETP believes the amount reserved for environmental matters is adequate to cover the potential exposure for cleanup costs.
Transwestern conducts soil and groundwater remediation at a number of its facilities. Some of the cleanup activities include remediation of several compressor sites on the Transwestern system for contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The costs of this work are not eligible for recovery in rates. ETPs total accrued future estimated cost of remediation activities expected to continue through 2025 is $8.1 million, which is included in the aggregate environmental accruals discussed above. Transwestern received approval from the FERC for rate recovery of projected soil and groundwater remediation costs not related to PCBs effective April 1, 2007.
Transwestern, as part of ongoing arrangements with customers, continues to incur costs associated with containing and removing potential PCBs. Future costs cannot be reasonably estimated because remediation activities are undertaken as claims are made by customers and former customers. However, such future costs are not expected to have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (the EPA) Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures program regulations were recently modified and impose additional requirements on many of ETPs facilities. ETP is currently reviewing the impact to its operations and expects to expend resources on tank integrity testing and any associated corrective actions as well as potential upgrades to containment structures. Costs associated with tank integrity testing and resulting corrective actions cannot be reasonably estimated at this time, but ETP believes such costs will not have a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
23
Petroleum-based contamination or environmental wastes are known to be located on or adjacent to six sites on which HOLP presently has, or formerly had, retail propane operations. These sites were evaluated at the time of their acquisition. In all cases, remediation operations have been or will be undertaken by others, and in all six cases, HOLP obtained indemnification rights for expenses associated with any remediation from the former owners or related entities. ETP has not been named as a potentially responsible party at any of these sites, nor has its operations contributed to the environmental issues at these sites. Accordingly, no amounts have been recorded in our June 30, 2011 consolidated balance sheets or our December 31, 2010 consolidated balance sheets. Based on information currently available to us, such projects are not expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
On August 20, 2010, the EPA published new regulations under the CAA to control emissions of hazardous air pollutants from existing stationary reciprocal internal combustion engines. The rule will require ETP to undertake certain expenditures and activities, likely including purchasing and installing emissions control equipment. On October 19, 2010, industry groups submitted a legal challenge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and a Petition for Administrative Reconsideration to EPA for some monitoring aspects of the rule. The legal challenge has been held in abeyance since December 3, 2010, pending EPAs consideration of the Petition for Administrative Reconsideration. On January 5, 2011, the EPA approved the request for reconsideration of the monitoring issues and on March 9, 2011, EPA issued a new proposed rule and a direct final rule effective on May 9, 2011 to clarify compliance requirements related to operation and maintenance procedures for continuous parametric monitoring systems. If significant adverse comments are filed on the direct final rule, EPA would address public comments in a subsequent final rule. At this point, we cannot predict how the direct final rule might be modified as a result of the comments received or a future court ruling and as a result we cannot currently accurately predict the cost to comply with the rules requirements. Compliance with the final rule is required by October 2013.
On June 29, 2011, the EPA finalized a rule under the CAA that revised the new source performance standards for manufacturers, owners and operators of new, modified and reconstructed stationary internal combustion engines. The rule will become effective on August 29, 2011. The rule modifications may require ETP to undertake significant expenditures, including expenditures for purchasing, installing, monitoring and maintaining emissions control equipment, if it replaces equipment or expands existing facilities in the future. At this point, ETP is not able to predict the cost to comply with the rules requirements, because the rule applies only to changes ETP might make in the future.
ETPs pipeline operations are subject to regulation by the DOT under the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), pursuant to which the PHMSA has established requirements relating to the design, installation, testing, construction, operation, replacement and management of pipeline facilities. Moreover, the PHMSA, through the Office of Pipeline Safety, has promulgated a rule requiring pipeline operators to develop integrity management programs to comprehensively evaluate their pipelines, and take measures to protect pipeline segments located in what the rule refers to as high consequence areas. Activities under these integrity management programs involve the performance of internal pipeline inspections, pressure testing or other effective means to assess the integrity of these regulated pipeline segments, and the regulations require prompt action to address integrity issues raised by the assessment and analysis. For the three months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, $3.9 million and $3.6 million, respectively, of capital costs and $3.9 million and $4.4 million, respectively, of operating and maintenance costs have been incurred for pipeline integrity testing. For the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, $5.6 million and $5.0 million, respectively, of capital costs and $6.0 million and $6.3 million, respectively, of operating and maintenance costs have been incurred for pipeline integrity testing. Integrity testing and assessment of all of these assets will continue, and the potential exists that results of such testing and assessment could cause ETP to incur even greater capital and operating expenditures for repairs or upgrades deemed necessary to ensure the continued safe and reliable operation of its pipelines; however, no estimate can be made at this time of the likely range of such expenditures.
15. | PRICE RISK MANAGEMENT ASSETS AND LIABILITIES: |
Commodity Price Risk
We are exposed to market risks related to the volatility of natural gas, NGL and propane prices. To manage the impact of volatility from these prices, our subsidiaries utilize various exchange-traded and OTC commodity financial instrument contracts. These contracts consist primarily of futures, swaps and options and are recorded at fair value in our consolidated balance sheets. Following is a description of price risk management activities by segment as well as tables detailing the outstanding commodity-related derivatives as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 by segment.
24
Investment in ETP
ETP injects and holds natural gas in its Bammel storage facility to take advantage of contango markets (i.e., when the price of natural gas is higher in the future than the current spot price. ETP uses financial derivatives to hedge the natural gas held in connection with these arbitrage opportunities.). At the inception of the hedge, ETP will lock in a margin by purchasing gas in the spot market or off peak season and entering into a financial contract to lock in the sale price. If ETP designates the related financial contract as a fair value hedge for accounting purposes, ETP will value the hedged natural gas inventory at current spot market prices along with the financial derivative it uses to hedge it. Changes in the spread between the forward natural gas prices designated as fair value hedges and the physical inventory spot price result in unrealized gains or losses until the underlying physical gas is withdrawn and the related designated derivatives are settled. Once the gas is withdrawn and the designated derivatives are settled, the previously unrealized gains or losses associated with these positions are realized. Unrealized margins represent the unrealized gains or losses from ETPs derivative instruments using mark-to-market accounting, with changes in the fair value of its derivatives being recorded directly in earnings. These margins fluctuate based upon changes in the spreads between the physical spot price and forward natural gas prices. If the spread narrows between the physical and financial prices, ETP will record unrealized gains or lower unrealized losses. If the spread widens, ETP will record unrealized losses or lower unrealized gains. Typically, as ETP enters the winter months, the spread converges so that it recognizes in earnings the original locked-in spread through either mark-to-market adjustments or the physical withdrawal of natural gas.
ETP is also exposed to market risk on natural gas it retains for fees in its intrastate transportation and storage operations and operational gas sales in its interstate transportation operations. ETP uses financial derivatives to hedge the sales price of this gas, including futures, swaps and options. Certain contracts that qualify for hedge accounting are designated as cash flow hedges of the forecasted sale of natural gas. The change in value, to the extent the contracts are effective, remains in AOCI until the forecasted transaction occurs. When the forecasted transaction occurs, any gain or loss associated with the derivative is recorded in cost of products sold in the consolidated statements of operations.
Derivatives are utilized in ETPs midstream operations in order to mitigate price volatility and manage fixed price exposure incurred from contractual obligations. ETP attempts to maintain balanced positions in its marketing activities to protect itself from the volatility in the energy commodities markets; however, net unbalanced positions can exist. Long-term physical contracts are tied to index prices. System gas, which is also tied to index prices, is expected to provide most of the gas required by its long-term physical contracts. When third-party gas is required to supply long-term contracts, a hedge is put in place to protect the margin on the contract. Financial contracts, which are not tied to physical delivery, are expected to be offset with financial contracts to balance ETPs positions. To the extent open commodity positions exist, fluctuating commodity prices can impact its financial position and results of operations, either favorably or unfavorably.
ETPs propane operations permit customers to guarantee the propane delivery price for the next heating season. As ETP executes fixed sales price contracts with its customers, it may enter into propane futures contracts to fix the purchase price related to these sales contracts, thereby locking in a gross profit margin. Additionally, ETP may use propane futures contracts to secure the purchase price of its propane inventory for a percentage of its anticipated propane sales.
25
The following table details ETPs outstanding commodity-related derivatives:
June 30, 2011 | December 31, 2010 | |||||||||||
Notional Volume |
Maturity | Notional Volume |
Maturity | |||||||||
Mark-to-Market Derivatives |
||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||
Basis Swaps IFERC/NYMEX (MMBtu) |
(26,145,000 | ) | 2011-2013 | (38,897,500 | ) | 2011 | ||||||
Swing Swaps IFERC (MMBtu) |
(144,420,000 | ) | 2011-2012 | (19,720,000 | ) | 2011 | ||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures (MMBtu) |
6,695,000 | 2011-2012 | (2,570,000 | ) | 2011 | |||||||
Options Calls (MMBtu) |
| | (3,000,000 | ) | 2011 | |||||||
Propane: |
||||||||||||
Forwards/Swaps (Gallons) |
| | 1,974,000 | 2011 | ||||||||
Fair Value Hedging Derivatives |
||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||
Basis Swaps IFERC/NYMEX (MMBtu) |
(26,040,000 | ) | 2011-2012 | (28,050,000 | ) | 2011 | ||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures (MMBtu) |
(38,285,000 | ) | 2011-2012 | (39,105,000 | ) | 2011 | ||||||
Hedged Item Inventory (MMBtu) |
38,285,000 | 2011 | 39,105,000 | 2011 | ||||||||
Cash Flow Hedging Derivatives |
||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures (MMBtu) |
920,000 | 2011 | (210,000 | ) | 2011 | |||||||
Options Puts (MMBtu) |
15,180,000 | 2011-2012 | 26,760,000 | 2011-2012 | ||||||||
Options Calls (MMBtu) |
(15,180,000 | ) | 2011-2012 | (26,760,000 | ) | 2011-2012 | ||||||
Propane: |
||||||||||||
Forwards/Swaps (Gallons) |
14,700,000 | 2011-2012 | 32,466,000 | 2011 |
We expect gains of $10.4 million related to ETPs commodity derivatives to be reclassified into earnings over the next 12 months related to amounts currently reported in AOCI. The amount ultimately realized, however, will differ as commodity prices change and the underlying physical transaction occurs.
Investment in Regency
Regency is a net seller of NGLs, condensate and natural gas as a result of its gathering and processing operations. The prices of these commodities are impacted by changes in the supply and demand, as well as market forces. Regencys profitability and cash flow are affected by the inherent volatility of these commodities, which could adversely affect its ability to make distributions to its unitholders. Regency manages this commodity price exposure through an integrated strategy that includes management of its contract portfolio, matching sales prices of commodities with purchases, optimization of its portfolio by monitoring basis and other price differentials in operating areas, and the use of derivative contracts. In some cases, Regency may not be able to match pricing terms or to cover its risk to price exposure with financial hedges, and it may be exposed to commodity price risk. Speculative positions are prohibited under Regencys policy.
Regency is exposed to market risks associated with commodity prices, counterparty credit, and interest rates. Regencys management and the board of directors of Regencys General Partner have established comprehensive risk management policies and procedures to monitor and manage these market risks. Regencys General Partner is responsible for delegation of transaction authority levels, and the Risk Management Committee of Regencys General Partner is responsible for the overall management of credit risk and commodity price risk, including monitoring exposure limits. Regencys Risk Management Committee receives regular briefings on positions and exposures, credit exposures, and overall risk management in the context of market activities.
Regencys Preferred Units (see Note 10) contain embedded derivatives which are required to be bifurcated and accounted for separately, such as the holders conversion option and Regencys call option. These embedded derivatives are accounted for using mark-to-market accounting. Regency does not expect the embedded derivatives to affect its cash flows.
26
The following table details Regencys outstanding commodity-related derivatives:
June 30, 2011 | December 31, 2010 | |||||||||||
Notional Volume |
Maturity | Notional Volume |
Maturity | |||||||||
Cash Flow Hedging Derivatives |
||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures (MMBtu) |
3,670,000 | 2011-2012 | 3,830,000 | 2011 | ||||||||
Propane: |
||||||||||||
Forwards/Swaps (Gallons) |
18,564,000 | 2011-2013 | 18,648,000 | 2011-2012 | ||||||||
Natural Gas Liquids: |
||||||||||||
Forwards/Swaps (Barrels) |
1,006,000 | 2011-2013 | 1,212,110 | 2011-2012 | ||||||||
WTI Crude Oil: |
||||||||||||
Forwards/Swaps (Barrels) |
483,000 | 2011-2014 | 373,655 | 2011-2012 |
We expect gains of $16.4 million related to Regencys commodity derivatives to be reclassified into earnings over the next 12 months related to amounts currently reported in AOCI. The amount ultimately realized, however, will differ as commodity prices change and the underlying physical transaction occurs.
Interest Rate Risk
We are exposed to market risk for changes in interest rates. In order to maintain a cost effective capital structure, we borrow funds using a mix of fixed rate debt and variable rate debt. We manage our current interest rate exposure by utilizing interest rate swaps to achieve a desired mix of fixed and variable rate debt. We also utilize forward starting interest rate swaps to lock in the rate on a portion of anticipated debt issuances. The following is a summary of interest rate swaps outstanding as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, none of which were designated as hedges for accounting purposes:
Notional Amount Outstanding |
||||||||||||
Entity |
Term | Type (1) |
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
||||||||
ETP |
August 2012 (2) | Forward starting to pay a fixed rate of 3.64% and receive a floating rate | $ | 400,000 | $ | 400,000 | ||||||
ETP |
July 2013 (3) | Forward starting to pay a fixed rate of 4.13% and receive a floating rate | 200,000 | | ||||||||
ETP |
July 2018 | Pay a floating rate plus a spread and receive a fixed rate of 6.70% | 500,000 | 500,000 | ||||||||
Regency |
April 2012 | Pay a fixed rate of 1.325% and receive a floating rate | 250,000 | 250,000 |
(1) | Floating rates are based on LIBOR. |
(2) | These forward starting swaps have an effective date of August 2012 and a term of 10 years; however, the swaps have a mandatory termination provision and will be settled in August 2012. |
(3) | These forward starting swaps have an effective date of July 2013 and a term of 10 years; however, the swaps have a mandatory termination provision and will be settled in July 2013. |
Credit Risk
We maintain credit policies with regard to our counterparties that we believe minimize our overall credit risk. These policies include an evaluation of potential counterparties financial condition (including credit ratings), collateral requirements under certain circumstances and the use of standardized agreements, which allow for netting of positive and negative exposures associated with a single counterparty.
Our counterparties consist primarily of petrochemical companies, other industrial, mid-size to major oil and gas companies and power companies. This concentration of counterparties may impact our overall exposure to credit risk, either positively or negatively in that the counterparties may be similarly affected by changes in economic, regulatory or other conditions. Currently, management does not anticipate a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations as a result of counterparty performance.
27
ETP utilizes master-netting agreements and has maintenance margin deposits with certain counterparties in the OTC market and with clearing brokers. Payments on margin deposits are required when the value of a derivative exceeds its pre-established credit limit with the counterparty. Margin deposits are returned to ETP on the settlement date for non-exchange traded derivatives. ETP exchanges margin calls on a daily basis for exchange traded transactions. Since the margin calls are made daily with the exchange brokers, the fair value of the financial derivative instruments are deemed current and netted in deposits paid to vendors within other current assets in our consolidated balance sheets. ETP had net deposits with counterparties of $60.9 million and $52.2 million as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively.
Regency is exposed to credit risk from its derivative counterparties. Although Regency does not require collateral from these counterparties, Regency deals primarily with financial institutions when entering into financial derivatives, and utilizes master netting agreements that allow for netting of swap contract receivables and payables in the event of default by either party.
For financial instruments, failure of a counterparty to perform on a contract could result in our inability to realize amounts that have been recorded on our consolidated balance sheets and recognized in net income or other comprehensive income.
Derivative Summary
The following table provides a balance sheet overview of consolidated derivative assets and liabilities as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010:
Fair Value of Derivative Instruments | ||||||||||||||||
Asset Derivatives | Liability Derivatives | |||||||||||||||
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments: |
||||||||||||||||
Commodity derivatives (margin deposits) |
$ | 23,729 | $ | 35,031 | $ | (2,136 | ) | $ | (6,631 | ) | ||||||
Commodity derivatives |
2,001 | 9,263 | (20,696 | ) | (14,692 | ) | ||||||||||
25,730 | 44,294 | (22,832 | ) | (21,323 | ) | |||||||||||
Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments: |
||||||||||||||||
Commodity derivatives (margin deposits) |
$ | 111,866 | $ | 64,940 | $ | (117,701 | ) | $ | (72,729 | ) | ||||||
Commodity derivatives |
| 275 | | | ||||||||||||
Interest rate derivatives |
18,854 | 20,790 | (9,753 | ) | (20,922 | ) | ||||||||||
Embedded derivatives in Regency Preferred Units |
| | (51,498 | ) | (57,023 | ) | ||||||||||
130,720 | 86,005 | (178,952 | ) | (150,674 | ) | |||||||||||
Total derivatives |
$ | 156,450 | $ | 130,299 | $ | (201,784 | ) | $ | (171,997 | ) | ||||||
The commodity derivatives (margin deposits) are recorded in Other current assets on our consolidated balance sheets. The remainder of the derivatives are recorded in Price risk management assets/liabilities.
We disclose the non-exchange traded financial derivative instruments as price risk management assets and liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets at fair value with amounts classified as either current or long-term depending on the anticipated settlement date.
28
The following tables summarize the amounts recognized with respect to consolidated derivative financial instruments for the periods presented:
Change in Value Recognized in OCI on Derivatives (Effective Portion) |
||||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||
Derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships: |
||||||||||||||||
Commodity derivatives |
$ | 3,769 | $ | (9,150 | ) | $ | (7,123 | ) | $ | 24,957 | ||||||
Interest rate derivatives |
| (9,955 | ) | | (20,155 | ) | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total |
$ | 3,769 | $ | (19,105 | ) | $ | (7,123 | ) | $ | 4,802 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Location of Gain/(Loss) Reclassified from AOCI into Income (Effective Portion) |
Amount of Gain/(Loss) Reclassified from AOCI into Income (Effective Portion) |
|||||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||||
Derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships: |
||||||||||||||||||
Commodity derivatives |
Cost of products sold | $ | (2,148 | ) | $ | 7,058 | $ | 12,954 | $ | 12,373 | ||||||||
Interest rate derivatives |
Interest expense | | (8,619 | ) | | (15,885 | ) | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Total |
$ | (2,148 | ) | $ | (1,561 | ) | $ | 12,954 | $ | (3,512 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Location of Gain/(Loss) Reclassified from AOCI into Income (Ineffective Portion) |
Amount of Gain/(Loss) Recognized in Income on Ineffective Portion |
|||||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||||
Derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships: |
||||||||||||||||||
Commodity derivatives |
Cost of products sold | $ | 96 | $ | (1,016 | ) | $ | 189 | $ | 105 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Total |
$ | 96 | $ | (1,016 | ) | $ | 189 | $ | 105 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Location of Gain/(Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivatives |
Amount of Gain/ (Loss) Recognized in Income Representing Hedge Ineffectiveness and Amount Excluded from the Assessment of Effectiveness |
|||||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||||
Derivatives in fair value hedging relationships (including hedged item): |
||||||||||||||||||
Commodity derivatives |
Cost of products sold | $ | 15,874 | $ | 6,417 | $ | 22,291 | $ | (967 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Total |
$ | 15,874 | $ | 6,417 | $ | 22,291 | $ | (967 | ) | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29
Location of Gain/(Loss) |
Amount of Gain/(Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivatives |
|||||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||||
Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments: |
||||||||||||||||||
Commodity derivatives |
Cost of products sold | $ | (11,427 | ) | $ | (22,119 | ) | $ | (4,989 | ) | $ | (152 | ) | |||||
Interest rate derivatives |
Gains (losses) on non-hedged interest rate derivatives |
1,883 | (22,468 | ) | 3,403 | (36,892 | ) | |||||||||||
Embedded Derivatives |
Other income (expenses) | 2,950 | (3,606 | ) | 5,525 | (3,606 | ) | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Total |
$ | (6,594 | ) | $ | (48,193 | ) | $ | 3,939 | $ | (40,650 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We recognized $15.7 million and $38.8 million of unrealized losses on commodity derivatives not in fair value hedging relationships (including the ineffective portion of commodity derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships) for the three months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively. We recognized $2.1 million and $47.5 million of unrealized losses on commodity derivatives not in fair value hedging relationships (including the ineffective portion of commodity derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively. In addition, for the three months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, we recognized unrealized gains of $16.7 million and unrealized losses of $8.2 million, respectively, on commodity derivatives and related hedged inventory accounted for as fair value hedges. For the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, we recognized unrealized gains of $7.8 million and $25.0 million, respectively, on commodity derivatives and related hedged inventory accounted for as fair value hedges.
16. | RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS: |
The Parent Company has agreements with subsidiaries to provide or receive various general and administrative services. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, the Parent Company received $4.2 million and $8.1 million in management fees from Regency related to these services. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, the Parent Company paid $3.4 million and $8.4 million in management fees, respectively, to ETP related to these services. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2010, the Parent Company paid $0.1 million and $0.3 million in management fees, respectively, to ETP related to these services. The management fees received from Regency for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 reflect the reimbursement of various general and administrative services of $0.8 million and $3.1 million, respectively, for expenses incurred by ETP on behalf of Regency.
Enterprise and its subsidiaries currently hold a portion of our limited partner interest. As a result, Enterprise and its affiliates are considered related parties for financial reporting purposes.
30
ETP and Enterprise transport natural gas on each others pipelines, share operating expenses on jointly-owned pipelines and ETP sells natural gas to Enterprise. ETPs propane operations purchase a portion of its propane requirements from Enterprise pursuant to an agreement that expires in March 2015 and includes an option to extend the agreement for an additional year. Regency sells natural gas and NGLs to, and incurs NGL processing fees with Enterprise. The following table presents sales to and purchases from Enterprise:
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||
ETPs Natural Gas Operations: |
||||||||||||||||
Sales |
$ | 162,107 | $ | 130,526 | $ | 298,020 | $ | 275,246 | ||||||||
Purchases |
9,736 | 6,936 | 17,960 | 13,533 | ||||||||||||
Regencys Natural Gas Operations: |
||||||||||||||||
Sales |
81,055 | 18,501 | 155,969 | 18,501 | ||||||||||||
Purchases |
3,319 | 422 | 2,998 | 422 | ||||||||||||
ETPs Propane Operations: |
||||||||||||||||
Sales |
1,441 | 481 | 10,218 | 10,966 | ||||||||||||
Purchases |
72,191 | 52,415 | 242,157 | 218,179 |
As of December 31, 2010, a subsidiary of ETP, had forward mark-to-market derivatives with Enterprise for approximately 1.7 million gallons of propane for a fair value asset of $0.2 million. These forward contracts were settled as of June 30, 2011. In addition, as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, a subsidiary of ETP had forward derivatives accounted for as cash flow hedges of 14.7 million and 32.5 million gallons of propane at fair value assets of $0.3 million and $6.6 million, respectively, with Enterprise.
Under a master services agreement with RIGS Haynesville Partnership Co. (HPC), Regency operates and provides all employees and services for the operation and management of HPC. The related party general administrative expenses reimbursed to Regency were $4.2 million and $8.4 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011. For the period from May 26, 2010 to June 30, 2010, the related party general administrative expenses reimbursed to Regency were $1.4 million.
Regencys contract compression operations provide contract compression services to HPC. HPC also provides transportation service to Regency. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, Regency had revenue of $6.5 million and $13.0 million, respectively, and cost of sales of $4.0 million and $8.1 million, respectively, with HPC.
31
The following table summarizes the related party balances on our consolidated balance sheets:
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
|||||||
Accounts receivable from related parties: |
||||||||
Enterprise: |
||||||||
ETPs Natural Gas Operations |
$ | 50,180 | $ | 36,736 | ||||
Regencys Natural Gas Operations |
18,649 | 25,539 | ||||||
ETPs Propane Operations |
226 | 2,327 | ||||||
Other |
13,455 | 11,729 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total accounts receivable from related parties: |
$ | 82,510 | $ | 76,331 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Accounts payable to related parties: |
||||||||
Enterprise: |
||||||||
ETPs Natural Gas Operations |
$ | 1,749 | $ | 2,687 | ||||
Regencys Natural Gas Operations |
754 | 1,323 | ||||||
ETPs Propane Operations |
10,830 | 22,985 | ||||||
Other |
1,552 | 356 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total accounts payable to related parties: |
$ | 14,885 | $ | 27,351 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
ETPs net imbalance receivable from Enterprise |
$ | 592 | $ | 1,360 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Regencys net imbalance (payable to) receivable from Enterprise |
$ | (774 | ) | $ | 753 | |||
|
|
|
|
17. | OTHER INFORMATION: |
The tables below present additional detail for certain balance sheet captions.
Other Current Assets
Other current assets consisted of the following:
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
|||||||
Deposits paid to vendors |
$ | 60,861 | $ | 52,192 | ||||
Prepaid expenses and other |
81,473 | 57,167 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total other current assets |
$ | 142,334 | $ | 109,359 | ||||
|
|
|
|
Accrued and Other Current Liabilities
Accrued and other current liabilities consisted of the following:
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
|||||||
Interest payable |
$ | 191,206 | $ | 191,466 | ||||
Customer advances and deposits |
63,111 | 111,448 | ||||||
Accrued capital expenditures |
97,702 | 87,260 | ||||||
Accrued wages and benefits |
59,812 | 76,592 | ||||||
Taxes payable other than income taxes |
78,271 | 36,204 | ||||||
Income taxes payable |
2,421 | 8,344 | ||||||
Other |
97,239 | 56,374 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total accrued and other current liabilities |
$ | 589,762 | $ | 567,688 | ||||
|
|
|
|
32
18. | REPORTABLE SEGMENTS: |
Our reportable segments reflect two reportable segments, both of which conduct their business exclusively in the United States of America, as follows:
| Investment in ETP Reflects the consolidated operations of ETP. |
| Investment in Regency Reflects the consolidated operations of Regency. |
Each of the respective general partners of ETP and Regency has separate operating management and boards of directors. We control ETP and Regency through our ownership of their respective general partners. See further discussion of ETP and Regencys operations in Note 1.
We evaluate the performance of our operating segments based on net income. The following tables present financial information by segment. The amounts reflected as Corporate and Other include the Parent Company activity and the goodwill and property, plant and equipment fair value adjustments recorded as a result of the 2004 reverse acquisition of Heritage Propane Partners, L.P.
Related party transactions between ETP and Regency are generally based on transactions made at market-related rates. Consolidated revenues and expenses reflect the elimination of all material intercompany transactions.
The following tables present the financial information by segment for the following periods:
Investment in ETP |
Investment in Regency |
Corporate and Other |
Adjustments and Eliminations |
Total | ||||||||||||||||
Three months ended June 30, 2011: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues from external customers |
$ | 1,616,748 | $ | 354,816 | $ | | $ | 3,342 | $ | 1,974,906 | ||||||||||
Intersegment revenues |
11,347 | 1,682 | | (13,029 | ) | | ||||||||||||||
Income tax expense (benefit) |
5,783 | 102 | (661 | ) | | 5,224 | ||||||||||||||
Net income (loss) |
156,616 | 14,837 | (56,413 | ) | (8,388 | ) | 106,652 | |||||||||||||
Three months ended June 30, 2010: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues from external customers |
$ | 1,267,706 | $ | 96,082 | $ | | $ | (1,260 | ) | $ | 1,362,528 | |||||||||
Intersegment revenues |
| 898 | | (898 | ) | | ||||||||||||||
Income tax expense (benefit) |
4,569 | 245 | (761 | ) | | 4,053 | ||||||||||||||
Net income (loss) |
42,843 | (4,895 | ) | (58,427 | ) | | (20,479 | ) | ||||||||||||
Six months ended June 30, 2011: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues from external customers |
$ | 3,292,795 | $ | 670,375 | $ | | $ | 856 | $ | 3,964,026 | ||||||||||
Intersegment revenues |
22,877 | 3,375 | | (26,252 | ) | | ||||||||||||||
Income tax expense (benefit) |
16,380 | 70 | (1,323 | ) | | 15,127 | ||||||||||||||
Net income (loss) |
403,818 | 29,142 | (118,828 | ) | (8,388 | ) | 305,744 | |||||||||||||
Six months ended June 30, 2010: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues from external customers |
$ | 3,139,687 | $ | 96,082 | $ | | $ | (1,260 | ) | $ | 3,234,509 | |||||||||
Intersegment revenues |
| 898 | | (898 | ) | | ||||||||||||||
Income tax expense (benefit) |
10,493 | 245 | (1,474 | ) | | 9,264 | ||||||||||||||
Net income (loss) |
282,954 | (4,895 | ) | (94,456 | ) | | 183,603 |
As of June 30, 2011 |
As of December 31, 2010 |
|||||||
Total assets: |
||||||||
Investment in ETP |
$ | 14,641,403 | $ | 12,149,992 | ||||
Investment in Regency |
5,428,129 | 4,770,204 | ||||||
Corporate and Other |
450,222 | 469,221 | ||||||
Adjustments and Eliminations |
(653,596 | ) | (10,687 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total |
$ | 19,866,158 | $ | 17,378,730 | ||||
|
|
|
|
33
The following tables provide revenues, grouped by similar products and services, for both ETP and Regency. These amounts include transactions between ETP and Regency.
Investment in ETP
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||
Intrastate Transportation and Storage |
$ | 643,653 | $ | 530,174 | $ | 1,232,331 | $ | 1,132,530 | ||||||||
Interstate Transportation |
104,850 | 70,079 | 209,951 | 138,348 | ||||||||||||
Midstream |
516,499 | 407,123 | 929,694 | 1,025,830 | ||||||||||||
NGL Transportation and Services |
90,771 | | 90,771 | | ||||||||||||
Retail Propane and Other Retail Propane Related |
243,973 | 220,126 | 801,188 | 781,281 | ||||||||||||
All Other |
28,349 | 40,204 | 51,737 | 61,698 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total revenues |
$ | 1,628,095 | $ | 1,267,706 | $ | 3,315,672 | $ | 3,139,687 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Investment in Regency
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||
Gathering and Processing |
$ | 303,203 | $ | 83,778 | $ | 569,175 | $ | 83,778 | ||||||||
Joint Ventures |
| | | | ||||||||||||
Contract Compression |
38,072 | 12,054 | 76,508 | 12,054 | ||||||||||||
Contract Treating |
10,842 | | 19,275 | | ||||||||||||
Corporate and Others |
4,381 | 1,148 | 8,792 | 1,148 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total revenues |
$ | 356,498 | $ | 96,980 | $ | 673,750 | $ | 96,980 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
34
19. | SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT INFORMATION: |
Following are the financial statements of the Parent Company, which are included to provide additional information with respect to the Parent Companys financial position, results of operations and cash flows on a stand-alone basis:
BALANCE SHEETS
(unaudited)
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
|||||||
ASSETS | ||||||||
CURRENT ASSETS: |
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 14,383 | $ | 27,247 | ||||
Accounts receivable from related companies |
447 | 171 | ||||||
Other current assets |
1,894 | 864 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total current assets |
16,724 | 28,282 | ||||||
ADVANCES TO AND INVESTMENTS IN AFFILIATES |
2,258,150 | 2,231,722 | ||||||
INTANGIBLES AND OTHER ASSETS, net |
27,838 | 29,118 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total assets |
$ | 2,302,712 | $ | 2,289,122 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
LIABILITIES AND PARTNERS CAPITAL | ||||||||
CURRENT LIABILITIES: |
||||||||
Accounts payable |
$ | 304 | $ | | ||||
Accounts payable to related companies |
9,414 | 6,654 | ||||||
Accrued distributions to ETE partners |
139,790 | | ||||||
Accrued and other current liabilities |
42,575 | 44,200 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total current liabilities |
192,083 | 50,854 | ||||||
LONG-TERM DEBT, less current maturities |
1,800,000 | 1,800,000 | ||||||
SERIES A CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED UNITS |
334,170 | 317,600 | ||||||
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
||||||||
EQUITY: |
||||||||
General Partner |
88 | 520 | ||||||
Limited Partners |
(23,273 | ) | 115,350 | |||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) |
(356 | ) | 4,798 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total partners capital (deficit) |
(23,541 | ) | 120,668 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total liabilities and partners equity |
$ | 2,302,712 | $ | 2,289,122 | ||||
|
|
|
|
35
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||||||||
SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES |
$ | (12,037 | ) | $ | (15,079 | ) | $ | (13,879 | ) | $ | (17,415 | ) | ||||
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE): |
||||||||||||||||
Interest expense |
(40,587 | ) | (20,210 | ) | (81,526 | ) | (36,916 | ) | ||||||||
Equity in earnings of affiliates |
120,626 | 75,362 | 267,268 | 221,740 | ||||||||||||
Losses on non-hedged interest rate derivatives |
| (20,753 | ) | | (35,177 | ) | ||||||||||
Other, net |
(1,653 | ) | (88 | ) | (16,812 | ) | (212 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES |
66,349 | 19,232 | 155,051 | 132,020 | ||||||||||||
Income tax expense (benefit) |
64 | (36 | ) | 126 | (25 | ) | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
NET INCOME |
66,285 | 19,268 | 154,925 | 132,045 | ||||||||||||
GENERAL PARTNERS INTEREST IN NET INCOME |
205 | 60 | 479 | 409 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
LIMITED PARTNERS INTEREST IN NET INCOME |
$ | 66,080 | $ | 19,208 | $ | 154,446 | $ | 131,636 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
36
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(unaudited)
Six Months Ended June 30, |
||||||||
2011 | 2010 | |||||||
NET CASH FLOWS PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES |
$ | 233,152 | $ | 233,100 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES |
||||||||
MEP Transaction |
| 3,016 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: |
||||||||
Proceeds from borrowings |
20,000 | 30,376 | ||||||
Principal payments on debt |
(20,000 | ) | (19,122 | ) | ||||
Distributions to partners |
(246,016 | ) | (241,524 | ) | ||||
Debt issuance costs |
| (5,846 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net cash used in financing activities |
(246,016 | ) | (236,116 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
DECREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS |
(12,864 | ) | | |||||
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period |
27,247 | 62 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period |
$ | 14,383 | $ | 62 | ||||
|
|
|
|
37
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
(Tabular dollar amounts are in thousands)
The following is a discussion of our historical consolidated financial condition and results of operations, and should be read in conjunction with our historical consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes thereto included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 filed with the SEC on February 28, 2011. Additionally, Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (ETP) and Regency Energy Partners LP (Regency) electronically file certain documents with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The SEC file number for each registrant and company website address is as follows:
| ETP SEC File No. 1-11727; website address: www.energytransfer.com |
| Regency SEC File No. 0-51757; website address: www.regencyenergy.com |
The information on these websites is not incorporated by reference into this report.
Our Managements Discussion and Analysis includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risk and uncertainties. Actual results may differ substantially from the statements we make in this section due to a number of factors that are discussed in Part II Other Information Item 1A. Risk Factors included in this report and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Unless the context requires otherwise, references to we, us, our, and ETE mean Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and its consolidated subsidiaries, which include Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (ETP), Energy Transfer Partners GP, L.P. (ETP GP), the General Partner of ETP, ETP GPs General Partner, Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C. (ETP LLC), Regency Energy Partners, L.P. (Regency), Regency GP LP (Regency GP), the General Partner of Regency, and Regency GPs General Partner, Regency GP LLC (Regency LLC). References to the Parent Company mean Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. on a stand-alone basis.
OVERVIEW
Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. is a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership that directly and indirectly owns equity interests in ETP and Regency, both publicly traded master limited partnerships engaged in diversified energy-related services.
At June 30, 2011, our equity interests consisted of:
General Partner Interest (as a % of total partnership interest) |
Incentive
Distribution Rights (IDRs) |
Common Units | ||||||||||
ETP |
1.6 | % | 100 | % | 50,226,967 | |||||||
Regency |
1.9 | % | 100 | % | 26,266,791 |
The principal sources of the Parent Companys cash flow are its direct and indirect investments in limited partner and general partner interests in ETP and Regency. The Parent Companys primary cash requirements are for general and administrative expenses, debt service requirements, distributions to its partners and holders of the Series A Convertible Preferred Units (the Preferred Units) and at ETEs election, capital contributions to ETP and Regency in respect of ETEs general partner interests in ETP and Regency. The Parent Company-only assets are not available to satisfy the debts and other obligations of ETEs subsidiaries.
The following is a brief description of our reportable segments:
| Investment in ETP ETP is a publicly traded partnership owning and operating a diversified portfolio of energy assets. ETP has pipeline operations in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Utah and West Virginia and owns the largest intrastate pipeline system in Texas. ETP currently has natural gas operations that include gathering and transportation pipelines, treating and processing assets, and three storage facilities located in Texas. ETP also holds a 70% interest in a joint venture that owns and operates natural gas liquids storage, fractionation and transportation assets in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. ETP is also one of the largest retail marketers of propane in the United States, serving more than one million customers across the country. |
38
| Investment in Regency Regency is a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership formed in 2005 engaged in the gathering, treating, processing, compressing and transportation of natural gas and NGLs. Regency focuses on providing midstream services in some of the most prolific natural gas production regions in the United States, including the Haynesville, Eagle Ford, Barnett, Fayetteville and Marcellus shales as well as the Permian Delaware basin. Its assets are primarily located in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Alabama and the mid-continent region of the United States, which includes Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma. Regency also holds a 30% interest in a joint venture that owns and operates natural gas liquids storage, fractionation and transportation assets in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. |
Recent Developments
Pending Acquisition
On July 19, 2011, we entered into a Second Amended and Restated Plan of Merger (the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement) with Sigma Acquisition Corporation, a Delaware corporation and our wholly-owned subsidiary (Merger Sub), and Southern Union Company (SUG), a Delaware corporation. The Second Amended Merger Agreement modifies certain terms of the Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger entered into by us, Merger Sub and SUG on July 4, 2011. Under the terms of the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement, Merger Sub will merge with and into SUG, with SUG continuing as the surviving entity and becoming our wholly-owned subsidiary (the SUG Merger) subject to certain conditions to close. Pursuant to the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement, we would acquire all of the outstanding shares of SUG in a transaction valued at $9.4 billion, including $5.7 billion in cash and ETE Common Units and $3.7 billion of existing SUG indebtedness. Stockholders of SUG may elect to exchange each share of SUG stock for either $44.25 in cash or 1.00 ETE Common Unit. The maximum cash component is 60% of the aggregate consideration and the common unit component can fluctuate between 40% and 50%. Elections in excess of either the cash or common unit limits will be subject to proration.
We have secured $3.7 billion in committed financing from Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (Credit Suisse) to fund a portion of the cash consideration. Closing of this business combination is contingent upon several conditions, including regulatory approvals and a vote of SUG shareholders. We expect the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2012.
On July 19, 2011, ETP entered into an Amended Citrus Merger Agreement pursuant to which it is anticipated that SUG will cause the contribution to ETP of SUGs 50% interest in Citrus Corp., which owns 100% of the Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) pipeline system, in exchange for approximately $1.895 billion in cash and $105 million of ETP Common Units, contemporaneous with the completion of the merger between SUG and us pursuant to the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement as described in Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements. Citrus Corp is currently jointly owned by SUG and El Paso Corporation. The FGT pipeline system has a capacity of 3.0 billion cubic feet per day and supplied approximately 63% of the natural gas consumed in Florida for 2010. FGTs primary customers are utilities with strong investment grade credit ratings. FGTs long-term contracts with these high credit quality customers are expected to increase ETPs fee-based revenue stream.
Lone Star
Lone Star NGL LLC (Lone Star), ETPs and Regencys recently acquired 70% and 30%, respectively, joint venture announced plans to construct a 100,000 Bbls/d fractionator in Mont Belvieu, Texas. Total cost of the fractionator is expected to be approximately $375 million and is expected to be in service by early 2013.
Lone Star also announced the construction of an approximate 530-mile NGL pipeline that extends from Winkler County in West Texas to a processing plant in Jackson County, Texas. In addition, Lone Star has secured capacity on ETPs recently-announced NGL pipeline from Jackson County to Mont Belvieu, Texas. The project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2013 for an estimated cost of $700 million, which will be funded by contributions from ETP and Regency that are reflective of their ownership interests.
39
Eagle Ford Expansion
In June 2011, Regency entered into agreements to provide gas and condensate gathering services for a producer in the Eagle Ford Shale and to construct facilities to perform these services, including a wellhead gathering system, at an expected cost to Regency of approximately $450 million. Capital expenditures are expected to be incurred primarily over the next three years and will initially be funded under Regencys revolving credit facility. The expansion is scheduled for completion by 2014.
Tiger Pipeline Expansion
ETP recently completed construction of the 400 MMcf/d expansion of its Tiger pipeline. The Tiger pipeline expansion was placed in service on August 1, 2011, bringing the total capacity of the Tiger pipeline to 2.4 Bcf/d.
Results of Operations
We accounted for our May 26, 2010 acquisition of Regency (the Regency Transactions) using the purchase method of accounting. As a result, we consolidated the results of Regency and its consolidated subsidiaries since May 26, 2010. Consequently, this Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations does not include the results of operations of Regency and its consolidated subsidiaries for periods prior to the Regency Transactions.
Consolidated Results
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | Change | 2011 | 2010 | Change | |||||||||||||||||||
Revenues |
$ | 1,974,906 | $ | 1,362,528 | $ | 612,378 | $ | 3,964,026 | $ | 3,234,509 | $ | 729,517 | ||||||||||||
Cost of products sold |
1,264,152 | 840,453 | 423,699 | 2,465,578 | 2,065,318 | 400,260 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Gross margin |
710,754 | 522,075 | 188,679 | 1,498,448 | 1,169,191 | 329,257 | ||||||||||||||||||
Operating expenses |
222,717 | 179,745 | 42,972 | 443,413 | 350,493 | 92,920 | ||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
148,530 | 98,035 | 50,495 | 287,786 | 184,366 | 103,420 | ||||||||||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative |
78,946 | 65,038 | 13,908 | 142,445 | 116,147 | 26,298 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Operating income |
260,561 | 179,257 | 81,304 | 624,804 | 518,185 | 106,619 | ||||||||||||||||||
Interest expense, net of interest capitalized |
(181,517 | ) | (129,036 | ) | (52,481 | ) | (349,446 | ) | (250,707 | ) | (98,739 | ) | ||||||||||||
Equity in earnings of affiliates |
28,819 | 12,193 | 16,626 | 54,260 | 18,374 | 35,886 | ||||||||||||||||||
Gains (losses) on disposal of assets |
(681 | ) | 1,375 | (2,056 | ) | (2,435 | ) | (489 | ) | (1,946 | ) | |||||||||||||
Gains (losses) on non-hedged interest rate derivatives |
1,883 | (22,468 | ) | 24,351 | 3,403 | (36,892 | ) | 40,295 | ||||||||||||||||
Impairment of investment in affiliate |
| (52,620 | ) | 52,620 | | (52,620 | ) | 52,620 | ||||||||||||||||
Other, net |
2,811 | (5,213 | ) | 8,024 | (9,715 | ) | (3,070 | ) | (6,645 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Income tax expense |
(5,224 | ) | (4,053 | ) | (1,171 | ) | (15,127 | ) | (9,264 | ) | (5,863 | ) | ||||||||||||
Income from discontinued operations |
| 86 | (86 | ) | | 86 | (86 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Net income (loss) |
$ | 106,652 | $ | (20,479 | ) | $ | 127,131 | $ | 305,744 | $ | 183,603 | $ | 122,141 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The discussion under Parent Company Results below analyzes the results of operations of the Parent Company for the periods presented, and the discussion under Segment Operating Results below analyzes the results of operations related to our reportable segments.
40
Parent Company Results
The Parent Company currently has no separate operating activities apart from those conducted by ETP, Regency and their respective subsidiaries and the principal sources of cash flow are distributions it receives from its direct and indirect investments in the limited partner and general partner interests of ETP and Regency.
The following summarizes the key components of the stand-alone results of operations of the Parent Company for the periods indicated:
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | Change | 2011 | 2010 | Change | |||||||||||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative |
$ | (12,037 | ) | $ | (15,079 | ) | $ | 3,042 | $ | (13,879 | ) | $ | (17,415 | ) | $ | 3,536 | ||||||||
Interest expense, net of interest capitalized |
(40,587 | ) | (20,210 | ) | (20,377 | ) | (81,526 | ) | (36,916 | ) | (44,610 | ) | ||||||||||||
Equity in earnings of affiliates |
120,626 | 75,362 | 45,264 | 267,268 | 221,740 | 45,528 | ||||||||||||||||||
Losses on non-hedged interest rate derivatives |
| (20,753 | ) | 20,753 | | (35,177 | ) | 35,177 | ||||||||||||||||
Other, net |
(1,653 | ) | (88 | ) | (1,565 | ) | (16,812 | ) | (212 | ) | (16,600 | ) |
Selling, general and administrative. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 compared to the same period in the prior year, selling, general and administrative expense decreased primarily due to a decrease in acquisition-related costs. The three and six months ended June 30, 2011 reflected approximately $9.0 million in expenses incurred related to our pending acquisition of SUG (see Recent Developments above), while the three and six months ended June 30, 2010 reflect approximately $12.8 million in expenses incurred related to our acquisition of a controlling interest in Regency in May 2010.
Interest Expense. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 compared to the same period in the prior year, interest expense increased primarily due to the issuance of $1.8 billion aggregate principal amount of 7.5% senior notes in September 2010 the proceeds from which were used to repay all of the outstanding indebtedness under our then existing revolving credit facility and term loan facility, to fund the cost to terminate interest rate swaps, and for general partnership purposes. In addition, interest expense for the periods presented reflected distributions on the ETE Preferred Units issued by ETE in connection with the acquisition of a controlling interest in Regency in May 2010. Distributions on ETE Preferred Units were $6.0 million and $12.0 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, respectively, compared to $2.4 million reflected in the three and six months ended June 30, 2010.
Equity in Earnings of Affiliates. Equity in earnings of affiliates represents earnings of the Parent Company related to its investment in ETP and Regency. The Parent Company recorded equity in earnings of ETP of $116.1 million and $75.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and $259.8 million and $222.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively. An analysis of ETPs results is included in Segment Operating Results below. The three and six months ended June 30, 2011 also reflect the equity in earnings from Regency of $4.5 million and $7.5 million; whereas, the three and six months ended June 30, 2010 include equity in losses of Regency of $0.5 million, which represents only the period subsequent to the Parent Companys acquisition of a controlling interest in Regency on May 26, 2010.
Losses on Non-Hedged Interest Rate Derivatives. The Parent Company terminated its interest rate swaps that were not accounted for as hedges in September 2010 in connection with the issuance of $1.8 billion of senior notes. Prior to that settlement, changes in the fair value of and cash payments related to these swaps were recorded directly in earnings. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, we recorded unrealized losses on our interest rate swaps as a result of decreases in the relevant floating index rates during the period.
Other, net. Other expenses increased between periods primarily due to non-cash charges recorded to increase the carrying value of the preferred units that were issued by the Parent Company in connection with the acquisition of a controlling interest in Regency in May 2010.
41
Segment Operating Results
Our reportable segments reflect two reportable segments, which conduct their business exclusively in the United States of America, as follows:
| Investment in ETP Reflects the consolidated operations of ETP. |
| Investment in Regency Reflects the consolidated operations of Regency. |
Each of the respective general partners of ETP and Regency has separate operating managements and boards of directors. We control ETP and Regency through our ownership of their respective general partners. See further discussion of ETP and Regencys operations in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements.
We evaluate the performance of our operating segments based on net income. The following tables present the financial information by segment. The amounts reflected as Corporate and Other include the Parent Company activity and the goodwill and property, plant and equipment fair value adjustments recorded as a result of the 2004 reverse acquisition of Heritage Propane Partners, L.P.
Net income (loss) by segment is as follows:
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | Change | 2011 | 2010 | Change | |||||||||||||||||||
Investment in ETP |
$ | 156,616 | $ | 42,843 | $ | 113,773 | $ | 403,818 | $ | 282,954 | $ | 120,864 | ||||||||||||
Investment in Regency |
14,837 | (4,895 | ) | 19,732 | 29,142 | (4,895 | ) | 34,037 | ||||||||||||||||
Corporate and Other |
(56,413 | ) | (58,427 | ) | 2,014 | (118,828 | ) | (94,456 | ) | (24,372 | ) | |||||||||||||
Adjustments and Eliminations |
(8,388 | ) | | (8,388 | ) | (8,388 | ) | | (8,388 | ) | ||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Net income (loss) |
$ | 106,652 | $ | (20,479 | ) | $ | 127,131 | $ | 305,744 | $ | 183,603 | $ | 122,141 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Investment in ETP
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | Change | 2011 | 2010 | Change | |||||||||||||||||||
Revenues |
$ | 1,628,095 | $ | 1,267,706 | $ | 360,389 | $ | 3,315,672 | $ | 3,139,687 | $ | 175,985 | ||||||||||||
Cost of products sold |
1,008,628 | 770,857 | 237,771 | 2,003,085 | 1,995,722 | 7,363 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Gross margin |
619,467 | 496,849 | 122,618 | 1,312,587 | 1,143,965 | 168,622 | ||||||||||||||||||
Operating expenses |
189,302 | 169,533 | 19,769 | 377,791 | 340,281 | 37,510 | ||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
104,972 | 83,877 | 21,095 | 200,936 | 167,153 | 33,783 | ||||||||||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative |
54,774 | 44,255 | 10,519 | 100,306 | 93,009 | 7,297 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Operating income |
270,419 | 199,184 | 71,235 | 633,554 | 543,522 | 90,032 | ||||||||||||||||||
Interest expense, net of interest capitalized |
(116,466 | ) | (103,014 | ) | (13,452 | ) | (223,706 | ) | (207,976 | ) | (15,730 | ) | ||||||||||||
Equity in earnings of affiliates |
5,040 | 4,072 | 968 | 6,673 | 10,253 | (3,580 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Gains (losses) on disposal of assets |
(528 | ) | 1,385 | (1,913 | ) | (2,254 | ) | (479 | ) | (1,775 | ) | |||||||||||||
Gains on non-hedged interest rate derivatives |
2,111 | | 2,111 | 3,890 | | 3,890 | ||||||||||||||||||
Impairment of investment in affiliate |
| (52,620 | ) | 52,620 | | (52,620 | ) | 52,620 | ||||||||||||||||
Other, net |
1,823 | (1,595 | ) | 3,418 | 2,041 | 747 | 1,294 | |||||||||||||||||
Income tax expense |
(5,783 | ) | (4,569 | ) | (1,214 | ) | (16,380 | ) | (10,493 | ) | (5,887 | ) | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Net income |
$ | 156,616 | $ | 42,843 | $ | 113,773 | $ | 403,818 | $ | 282,954 | $ | 120,864 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
42
Gross Margin. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 compared to the three and six months ended June 30, 2010, ETPs gross margin increased primarily due to the net impact of the following:
| Revenues generated by ETPs interstate transportation systems increased $34.8 million and $71.6 million, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 compared to the prior period primarily as a result of the Tiger pipeline being placed into service in December 2010. Increased revenue from the Tiger pipeline was partially offset by decreased revenue from the Transwestern pipeline. |
| Gross margin from ETPs midstream business increased by $32.7 million and $38.6 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, respectively. These increases were driven by higher volumes primarily from recent acquisitions and growth project, as well as the impacts of favorable NGL prices. |
| Gross margin from ETPs NGL transportation and services business was $45.6 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, which represented 100% of the results from Lone Star since it was acquired in May 2011. Accordingly, no comparative amounts were reflected in ETPs results prior to May 2, 2011. |
Operating Expenses. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 comparable period in the prior year, ETPs operating expenses increased primarily due to operating expenses from ETPs Tiger pipeline, which was placed into service in December and operating expenses of $6.3 million from Lone Star, which was acquired on May 2, 2011.
Depreciation and Amortization. ETPs depreciation and amortization expense increased primarily due to incremental depreciation associated with ETPs Tiger pipeline, which was placed in service in December 2010, and the continued expansion of ETPs Louisiana and South Texas midstream assets.
Selling, General and Administrative. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, ETPs selling, general and administrative expenses increased primarily due to increased employee-related costs, as well as additional selling, general and administrative costs related to Lone Star, which was acquired on May 2, 2011.
Interest Expense. Interest expense increased for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 compared to the same periods in the prior year principally due to ETPs issuance of $1.50 billion of senior notes in May 2011, the proceeds from which were used to repay borrowings on the ETPs revolving credit facility (the ETP Credit Facility), to fund growth projects and for general partnership purposes. Interest expense was presented net of capitalized interest and allowance for debt funds used during construction, which totaled $3.4 million and $2.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and $5.3 million and $3.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
Equity in Earnings of Affiliates. ETPs equity in earnings of affiliates decreased $3.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011 compared to the same period in the prior year primarily due to ETPs transfer of substantially all of its interest in Midcontinent Express Pipeline, LLC (MEP) to ETE on May 26, 2010 in connection with the Regency Transactions. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, equity in earnings of affiliates primarily consisted of ETPs proportionate share of the earnings of Fayetteville Express Pipeline LLC (FEP).
Gains on Non-Hedged Interest Rate Derivatives. Gains on non-hedged interest rate derivatives for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 reflected swap settlements and amounts recognized on ETPs outstanding swaps, which had a total notional amount of $1.10 billion as of June 30, 2011. No non-hedged interest rate swaps were outstanding during the same periods in the prior year.
Impairment of Investment in Affiliate. In conjunction with the transfer of its interest in MEP in May 2010, ETP recorded a non-cash charge of approximately $52.6 million during the three months ending June 30, 2010 to reduce the carrying value of its interest to its estimated fair value.
Income Tax Expense. The increase in ETPs income tax expense between the periods was primarily due to increases in taxable income within ETPs subsidiaries that are taxable corporations, and an increase in amounts recorded for the Texas margins tax resulting from increased operating income.
43
Investment in Regency
Three Months Ended June 30, |
Six Months Ended June 30, |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 | 2010 | Change | 2011 | 2010 | Change | |||||||||||||||||||
Revenues |
$ | 356,498 | $ | 96,980 | $ | 259,518 | $ | 673,750 | $ | 96,980 | $ | 576,770 | ||||||||||||
Cost of products sold |
259,475 | 70,174 | 189,301 | 475,736 | 70,174 | 405,562 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Gross margin |
97,023 | 26,806 | 70,217 | 198,014 | 26,806 | 171,208 | ||||||||||||||||||
Operating expenses |
33,996 | 10,402 | 23,594 | 67,556 | 10,402 | 57,154 | ||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
40,503 | 10,545 | 29,958 | 80,739 | 10,545 | 70,194 | ||||||||||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative |
17,551 | 7,104 | 10,447 | 36,660 | 7,104 | 29,556 | ||||||||||||||||||
Losses on disposal of assets |
153 | 10 | 143 | 181 | 10 | 171 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Operating income (loss) |
4,820 | (1,255 | ) | 6,075 | 12,878 | (1,255 | ) | 14,133 | ||||||||||||||||
Interest expense, net of interest capitalized |
(24,689 | ) | (8,081 | ) | (16,608 | ) | (44,696 | ) | (8,081 | ) | (36,615 | ) | ||||||||||||
Equity in earnings of affiliates |
32,167 | 8,121 | 24,046 | 55,975 | 8,121 | 47,854 | ||||||||||||||||||
Other, net |
2,641 | (3,521 | ) | 6,162 | 5,055 | (3,521 | ) | 8,576 | ||||||||||||||||
Income tax expense |
(102 | ) | (245 | ) | 143 | (70 | ) | (245 | ) | 175 | ||||||||||||||
Income from discontinued operations |
| 86 | (86 | ) | | 86 | (86 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Net income (loss) |
$ | 14,837 | $ | (4,895 | ) | $ | 19,732 | $ | 29,142 | $ | (4,895 | ) | $ | 34,037 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ETE obtained control of Regency on May 26, 2010. Changes between periods were due to the consolidation of Regency beginning May 26, 2010.
Regency adjusted its assets and liabilities to fair value as of May 26, 2010; therefore, the depreciation and amortization reflected above was based on Regencys post-acquisition basis of assets.
Regencys results include its equity in earnings related to its 49.9% interest in MEP subsequent to the Regency Transactions on May 26, 2010 and its 30% interest in Lone Star subsequent to ETP and Regencys acquisition of Lone Star on May 2, 2011.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Overview
Parent Company Only
The principal sources of the Parent Companys cash flow are its direct and indirect investments in the limited partner and general partner interests in ETP and Regency. The amount of cash that ETP and Regency distribute to their partners, including the Parent Company, each quarter is based on earnings from their respective business activities and the amount of available cash, as discussed below.
The Parent Companys primary cash requirements are for general and administrative expenses, debt service requirements and distributions to its partners and holders of the Preferred Units and at ETEs election, capital contributions to ETP and Regency in respect of ETEs general partner interests in ETP and Regency. The Parent Company currently expects to fund its short-term needs for such items with its distributions from ETP and Regency. The Parent Company distributes its available cash remaining after satisfaction of the aforementioned cash requirements to its Unitholders on a quarterly basis.
On July 19, 2011, ETE entered into the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement. Under the terms of the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement, ETE would acquire all of the outstanding shares of SUG in a transaction valued at $9.4 billion, including $5.7 billion in cash and ETE common units and $3.7 billion of existing SUG indebtedness. Pursuant to the Second Amended SUG Merger Agreement, stockholders of SUG may elect to exchange each share of SUG stock for either $44.25 in cash or 1.00 ETE Common Unit. The maximum cash component is 60% of the aggregate consideration and the common unit component can fluctuate between 40% and 50%. Elections in excess of either the cash or common unit limits will be subject to proration.
44
ETE intends to finance a portion of the cash component of the SUG Merger consideration with debt financing. Concurrently, and in connection with entering into the merger agreement, ETE entered into a debt commitment letter with the Credit Suisse Lenders, pursuant to which, subject to the conditions set forth therein, the Credit Suisse Lenders have committed to provide a 364-day Bridge Term Facility in an aggregate principal amount of $3.7 billion (or such lesser amount as is equal to the lesser of (i) the amount that is sufficient to fund the total amount of cash consideration paid in the SUG Merger and (ii) the amount that ETE may elect to borrow). The commitment is subject to various conditions, including (i) the absence of a material adverse effect on Southern Union having occurred subsequent to December 31, 2010, (ii) the Credit Suisse Lenders satisfaction that during the 60-day period after the date of the Commitment Letter, and subject to certain exceptions, there are no other issues of debt securities or commercial bank or other credit facilities by ETE, Southern Union or their respective wholly owned subsidiaries being announced, offered, placed or arranged, (iii) the execution of satisfactory definitive documentation and (iv) other customary closing conditions.
We expect ETP and Regency to utilize their resources, along with cash from their operations, to fund their announced growth capital expenditures and working capital needs; however, the Parent Company may issue debt or equity securities from time to time, as it deems prudent to provide liquidity for new capital projects of its subsidiaries or for other partnership purposes.
ETP
ETPs ability to satisfy its obligations and pay distributions to its Unitholders will depend on its future performance, which will be subject to prevailing economic, financial, business and weather conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond ETPs control.
ETP currently believes that its business has the following future capital requirements:
| growth capital expenditures for its midstream and intrastate transportation and storage operations, primarily for construction of new pipelines and compression, for which ETP expects to spend between $450 million and $500 million for the remainder of 2011; |
| growth capital expenditures for its interstate transportation operations, excluding capital contributions to its joint ventures as discussed below, for the construction of new pipelines for which ETP expects to spend between $70 million and $90 million for the remainder of 2011; |
| growth capital expenditures for ETPs NGL transportation and services operations of between $100 million and $150 million for the remainder of 2011; |
| growth capital expenditures for its retail propane operations of between $10 million and $20 million for the remainder of 2011; and |
| maintenance capital expenditures of between $60 million and $70 million for the remainder of 2011, which include (i) capital expenditures for its intrastate operations for pipeline integrity and for connecting additional wells to its intrastate natural gas systems in order to maintain or increase throughput on existing assets; (ii) capital expenditures for its interstate operations, primarily for pipeline integrity; and (iii) capital expenditures related to NGL transportation and services, which includes amounts ETP expects to be funded by Regency related to its 30% interest in Lone Star; and (iv) capital expenditures for its propane operations to extend the useful lives of its existing propane assets in order to sustain its operations, including vehicle replacements on its propane vehicle fleet. |
In addition to the capital expenditures noted above, ETP expects that capital contributions to its unconsolidated joint ventures that it currently has interests in will be between $190 million and $210 million for the remainder of 2011.
As discussed in Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements, we entered into the Amended Citrus Merger Agreement on July 18, 2011. ETP expects to fund substantially all of the cash portion of the purchase price ($1.895 billion) initially through the issuance of debt and borrowings from the ETP Credit Facility. ETP also intends to issue sufficient additional equity to maintain its investment grade credit rating and to use the proceeds from such equity issuances to repay other indebtedness and fund capital expenditures. In addition, ETP may enter into other acquisitions, including the potential acquisition of new pipeline systems and propane operations.
45
ETP generally funds its capital requirements with cash flows from operating activities and, to the extent that they exceed cash flows from operating activities, with proceeds of borrowings under existing credit facilities, long-term debt, the issuance of additional ETP Common Units or a combination thereof.
ETP raised $695.5 million in proceeds, net of commissions, from its Common Unit offering in April 2011 and $1.9 million in net proceeds from the issuance of 41,139 Common Units in connection with its distribution reinvestment plan (DRIP) in May 2011. In addition, ETP raised $72.9 million in net proceeds during the six months ended June 30, 2011 under ETPs equity distribution program, as described in Note 11 to our consolidated financial statements. As of June 30, 2011, in addition to $130.9 million of cash on hand, ETP had available capacity under the ETP Credit Facility of $1.81 billion. Based on current estimates, ETP expects to utilize capacity under the ETP Credit Facility, along with cash from its operations, to fund its announced growth capital expenditures and working capital needs through the end of 2011; however, ETP may issue debt or equity securities prior to that time as it deems prudent to provide liquidity for new capital projects, to maintain investment grade credit metrics or other partnership purposes.
Regency
Regency expects its sources of liquidity to include:
| cash generated from operations; |
| borrowings under its revolving credit facility (the Regency Credit Facility); |
| operating lease facilities; |
| asset sales; |
| debt offerings; and |
| issuance of additional partnership units. |
As of June 30, 2011, in addition to approximately $3.1 million of cash on hand, Regency had available capacity under the Regency Credit Facility of approximately $559.0 million.
Regency expects its growth capital expenditures to be approximately $345 million in 2011, which includes approximately $168 million for its Gathering and Processing operations, mostly in South Texas, $95 million for its Contract Compression operations, $65 million for its Joint Ventures operations, $12 million for its Contract Treating operations, and $5 million for its Corporate and Others operations. In addition, Regency expects its maintenance capital expenditures to be approximately $17 million in 2011. Regency may revise the timing of these expenditures as necessary to adapt to economic conditions. Regency expects to fund its growth capital expenditures with borrowings under its revolving credit facility and a combination of debt and equity issuances.
For the six months ended June 30, 2011, Regency incurred $123.7 million of growth capital expenditures, which primarily related to $45.1 million for the fabrication of new compressor packages for its contract compression operations, $73.2 million for organic growth projects for its gathering and processing operations and $5.4 million for the fabrication of new treating plants for its contract treating operations. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, Regency incurred $5.4 million of maintenance capital expenditures.
Regency does not anticipate contributing any amounts to RIGS Haynesville Partnership Co. (HPC) in 2011 to fund HPCs growth capital expenditures as these amounts are expected to be funded under HPCs revolving credit facility.
Cash Flows
Our internally generated cash flows may change in the future due to a number of factors, some of which we cannot control. These factors include regulatory changes, the price for ETPs and Regencys products and services, the demand for such products and services, margin requirements resulting from significant changes in commodity prices, operational risks, the successful integration of acquisitions and other factors.
Operating Activities
Changes in cash flows from operating activities between periods primarily result from changes in earnings (as discussed in Results of Operations above), excluding the impacts of non-cash items and changes in operating assets and liabilities. Non-cash items include recurring non-cash expenses, such as depreciation and amortization expense and
46
non-cash compensation expense. The increase in depreciation and amortization expense during the periods presented primarily resulted from construction and acquisitions of assets, while changes in non-cash unit-based compensation expense result from changes in the number of units granted and changes in the grant date fair value estimated for such grants. Cash flows from operating activities also differ from earnings as a result of non-cash charges that may not be recurring such as impairment charges and allowance for equity funds used during construction. The allowance for equity funds used during construction increases in periods when we have significant amount of interstate pipeline construction in progress. Changes in operating assets and liabilities between periods result from factors such as the changes in the value of price risk management assets and liabilities, timing of accounts receivable collection, payments on accounts payable, the timing of purchases and sales of natural gas and propane inventories, and the timing of advances and deposits received from customers.
Six months ended June 30, 2011 compared to six months ended June 30, 2010. Cash provided by operating activities during 2011 was $698.3 million as compared to $801.9 million for 2010. Net income was $305.7 million and $183.6 million for 2011 and 2010, respectively. The difference between net income and the net cash provided by operating activities consisted of non-cash items totaling $339.1 million and $253.9 million and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $21.2 million and $336.3 million for 2011 and 2010, respectively.
The non-cash activity in 2011 and 2010 consisted primarily of depreciation and amortization of $287.8 million and $184.4 million, respectively. In addition, non-cash compensation expense was $23.1 million and $15.8 million for 2011 and 2010, respectively.
Cash paid for interest, net of interest capitalized, was $349.3 million and $277.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
Investing Activities
Cash flows from investing activities primarily consist of cash amounts paid in acquisitions, capital expenditures, and cash contributions to ETPs and Regencys joint ventures. Changes in capital expenditures between periods primarily result from increases or decreases in ETPs and Regencys growth capital expenditures to fund their respective construction and expansion projects.
Six months ended June 30, 2011 compared to six months ended June 30, 2010. Cash used in investing activities during 2011 was $2.74 billion as compared to $786.2 million for 2010. In 2011, our subsidiaries paid cash for acquisitions of $1.95 billion, which primarily consisted of the acquisition of Lone Star and made advances to joint ventures of $22.7 million. In 2010, ETP paid cash for acquisitions of $153.4 million and we received $24.0 million in cash in the acquisition of Regency. Total capital expenditures (excluding the allowance for equity funds used during construction) for 2011 were $794.2 million, including changes in accruals of $10.6 million. This compares to total capital expenditures (excluding the allowance for equity funds used during construction) for 2010 of $629.4 million, including changes in accruals of $39.3 million.
Financing Activities
Changes in cash flows from financing activities between periods primarily result from changes in the levels of borrowings and equity issuances, which are primarily used to fund ETPs and Regencys acquisitions and growth capital expenditures. Distributions increase between the periods based on increases in the number of common units outstanding at our subsidiaries.
Six months ended June 30, 2011 compared to six months ended June 30, 2010. Cash provided by financing activities during 2011 was $2.11 billion as compared to $0.2 million for 2010. In 2011, ETP received $770.2 million in net proceeds from offerings of ETP Common Units, including $72.9 million under ETPs equity distribution program (see Note 11 to our consolidated financial statements), as compared to $574.5 million in 2010, which included $151.0 million under ETPs equity distribution program. During 2011, we had a consolidated net increase in our debt level of $1.78 billion as compared to a net decrease of $96.2 million for 2010, primarily due to ETPs issuance of $1.50 billion of principal amount of senior notes in May 2011 and Regencys issuance of $500.0 million of principal amount senior notes in May 2011. We paid distributions of $246.0 million and $241.5 million to our partners in 2011 and in 2010. In addition, during 2011 and 2010, ETP paid distributions of $273.4 million and $230.6 million, respectively, on limited partner interests other than those held by the Parent Company. During 2011, Regency paid distributions of $103.0 million on limited partner interests other than those held by the Parent Company. These distributions are reflected as distributions to noncontrolling interests on our consolidated statements of cash flows.
47
Description of Indebtedness
Our outstanding consolidated indebtedness was as follows:
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
|||||||
Parent Company Indebtedness: |
||||||||
ETE Senior Notes |
$ | 1,800,000 | $ | 1,800,000 | ||||
Subsidiary Indebtedness: |
||||||||
ETP Senior Notes |
6,550,000 | 5,050,000 | ||||||
Regency Senior Notes |
1,350,000 | 850,000 | ||||||
Transwestern Senior Unsecured Notes |
870,000 | 870,000 | ||||||
HOLP Senior Secured Notes |
90,400 | 103,127 | ||||||
ETP Revolving Credit Facility |
143,968 | 402,327 | ||||||
Regency Revolving Credit Facility |
330,000 | 285,000 | ||||||
Other long-term debt |
8,367 | 9,671 | ||||||
Unamortized discounts, net |
(10,371 | ) | (6,013 | ) | ||||
Fair value adjustments related to interest rate swaps |
14,454 | 17,260 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total debt |
$ | 11,146,818 | $ | 9,381,372 | ||||
|
|
|
|
The terms of our consolidated indebtedness are described in more detail in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2011 and in Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements.
Revolving Credit Facilities
ETP Credit Facility. The ETP Credit Facility provides for $2.0 billion of revolving credit capacity that is expandable to $3.0 billion (subject to obtaining the approval of the administrative agent and securing lender commitments for the increased borrowing capacity). The ETP Credit Facility matures on July 20, 2012, unless ETP elects the option of one-year extensions (subject to the approval of each such extension by the lenders holding a majority of the aggregate lending commitments). Amounts borrowed under the ETP Credit Facility bear interest, at ETPs option, at a Eurodollar rate plus an applicable margin or a base rate. The base rate used to calculate interest on base rate loans will be calculated using the greater of a prime rate or a federal funds effective rate plus 0.50%. The applicable margin for Eurodollar loans ranges from 0.30% to 0.70% based upon ETPs credit rating and is currently 0.55% (0.60% if facility usage exceeds 50%). The commitment fee payable on the unused portion of the ETP Credit Facility varies based on ETPs credit rating with a maximum fee of 0.125%. The fee is 0.11% based on ETPs current rating.
As of June 30, 2011, ETP had a balance of $144.0 million outstanding under the ETP Credit Facility, and the amount available under the ETP Credit Facility was $1.81 billion, taking into account letters of credit of $42.9 million. The weighted average interest rate on the total amount outstanding at June 30, 2011 was 0.76%.
Regency Credit Facility. The Regency Credit Facility has aggregate revolving commitments of $900 million, with $100 million of availability for letters of credit. Regency also has the option to request an additional $250 million in revolving commitments with ten business days written notice provided that no event of default has occurred or would result due to such increase, and all other additional conditions for the increase of the commitments set forth in the credit facility have been met. The maturity date of the Regency Credit Facility is June 15, 2014.
The outstanding balance of revolving loans under the Regency Credit Facility bears interest at LIBOR plus a margin or an alternate base rate. The alternate base rate used to calculate interest on base rate loans will be calculated based on the greatest to occur of a base rate, a federal funds effective rate plus 0.50% or an adjusted one-month LIBOR rate plus 1.00%. The applicable margin shall range from 1.50% to 2.25% for base rate loans, 2.50% to 3.25% for Eurodollar loans, and a commitment fee will range from 0.375% to 0.50%. Regency must also pay a participation fee for each revolving lender participating in letters of credit based upon the applicable margin and a fronting fee to the issuing bank of letters of credit equal to 0.125% per annum of the average daily amount of the letter of credit exposure.
As of June 30, 2011, there was a balance outstanding under the Regency Credit Facility of $330.0 million in revolving credit loans and approximately $11.0 million in letters of credit. The total amount available under the Regency Credit Facility, as of June 30, 2011, which is reduced by any letters of credit, was approximately $559.0 million. The weighted average interest rate on the total amount outstanding as of June 30, 2011 was 3.25%.
48
Senior Notes
ETP. In May 2011, ETP completed a public offering of $800 million aggregate principal amount of 4.65% Senior Notes due June 1, 2021 and $700 million aggregate principal amount of 6.05% Senior Notes due June 1, 2041. ETP used the proceeds, net of commissions, of approximately $1.48 billion to repay all of the borrowings outstanding under the ETP Credit Facility, to fund capital expenditures related to pipeline construction projects and for general partnership purposes.
ETPs $6.55 billion of aggregate principal amount of ETP Senior Notes includes $600 million 9.7% ETP Senior Notes due March 15, 2019. The holders of those notes will have the right to require ETP to repurchase all or a portion of the notes on March 15, 2012 at a purchase price of equal to 100% of the principal amount (par value) of the notes tendered. The current market value of the notes is significantly in excess of the principal amount, making a repurchase at par value uneconomic by the holder. However, if such a repurchase were to occur, we would intend to refinance any amounts paid on a long-term basis.
Regency. In May 2011, Regency issued $500.0 million in senior notes that mature on July 15, 2021. The senior notes bear interest at 6.5% payable semi-annually in arrears on January 15 and July 15, commencing January 15, 2012. Regency used the proceeds, net of commissions, of approximately $491.3 million to repay borrowings outstanding under the Regency Credit Facility. Regency capitalized $9.8 million in debt issuance costs that will be amortized to interest expense, net over the term of the notes. Interest will be paid semi-annually and mature on July 15, 2021.
FEP Guarantee
On November 13, 2009, FEP entered into a credit agreement that provided for a $1.1 billion senior revolving credit facility (the FEP Facility). ETP guaranteed 50% of the obligations of FEP under the FEP Facility, with the remainder of FEP Facility obligations guaranteed by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP). Amounts borrowed under the FEP Facility bear interest at a rate based on either a Eurodollar rate or Prime Rate.
As of June 30, 2011, FEP had $968.5 million of outstanding borrowings under the FEP Facility. ETPs contingent obligation with respect to its guaranteed portion of FEPs outstanding borrowings was $484.3 million, which is not reflected on our consolidated balance sheets as of June 30, 2011. The weighted average interest rate on the total amount outstanding as of June 30, 2011 was 3.09%.
In July 2011, the FEP Facility was repaid with capital contributions from ETP and KMP totaling $390 million along with proceeds from a $600 million term loan credit facility maturing in July 2012 (which can be extended for one year at the option of FEP). Upon closing and funding of the term loan facility, the FEP facility was terminated. FEP also entered into a $50 million revolving credit facility maturing in July 2015. ETP does not guarantee FEPs indebtedness under its term loan or new credit facility.
Covenants Related to Our Credit Agreements
We, ETP and Regency are required to assess compliance quarterly and were in compliance with all requirements, tests, limitations, and covenants related to our respective credit agreements as of June 30, 2011.
CASH DISTRIBUTIONS
Cash Distributions Paid by the Parent Company
Under the Parent Company Partnership Agreement, the Parent Company will distribute all of its Available Cash, as defined, within 50 days following the end of each fiscal quarter. Available Cash generally means, with respect to any quarter, all cash on hand at the end of such quarter less the amount of cash reserves that are necessary or appropriate in the reasonable discretion of the General Partner that is necessary or appropriate to provide for future cash requirements.
49
Following are distributions declared and/or paid by us subsequent to December 31, 2010:
Quarter Ended |
Record Date |
Payment Date |
Rate | |||
December 31, 2010 |
February 7, 2011 | February 18, 2011 | $ 0.540 | |||
March 31, 2011 |
May 6, 2011 | May 19, 2011 | 0.560 | |||
June 30, 2011 |
August 5, 2011 | August 19, 2011 | 0.625 |
The total amounts of distributions declared and/or paid during the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010 were as follows (all from Available Cash from operating surplus and are shown in the period with respect to which they relate):
Six Months Ended June 30, |
||||||||
2011 | 2010 | |||||||
Limited Partners |
$ | 264,206 | $ | 240,776 | ||||
General Partner interest |
821 | 748 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total ETE distributions |
$ | 265,027 | $ | 241,524 | ||||
|
|
|
|
Cash Distributions Received from Subsidiaries
The total amount of distributions the Parent Company received or will receive from ETP and Regency relating to its limited partner interests, general partner interest and IDRs (shown in the period to which they relate) for the periods ended as noted below is as follows:
Six Months Ended June 30, |
||||||||
2011 | 2010 | |||||||
Distributions from ETP: |
||||||||
Limited Partners |
$ | 89,780 | $ | 100,750 | ||||
General Partner interest |
9,792 | 9,754 | ||||||
Incentive Distribution Rights |
206,540 | 184,751 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total distributions from ETP |
306,112 | 295,255 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Distributions from Regency: |
||||||||
Limited Partners |
23,509 | 11,689 | ||||||
General Partner interest |
2,556 | 1,105 | ||||||
Incentive Distribution Rights |
2,452 | 915 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total distributions from Regency |
28,517 | 13,709 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total distributions received from subsidiaries |
$ | 334,629 | $ | 308,964 | ||||
|
|
|
|
Cash Distributions Paid by Subsidiaries
ETP and Regency are required by their respective partnership agreements to distribute all cash on hand at the end of each quarter, less appropriate reserves determined by the board of directors of their respective general partners.
Cash Distributions Paid by ETP
Following are distributions declared and/or paid by ETP subsequent to December 31, 2010:
Quarter Ended |
Record Date |
Payment Date |
Rate | |||
December 31, 2010 |
February 7, 2011 | February 14, 2011 | $ 0.89375 | |||
March 31, 2011 |
May 6, 2011 | May 16, 2011 | 0.89375 | |||
June 30, 2011 |
August 5, 2011 | August 15, 2011 | 0.89375 |
50
The total amounts of ETP distributions declared and/or paid during the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010 were as follows (all from Available Cash from ETPs operating surplus and are shown in the period with respect to which they relate):
Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
2011 | 2010 | |||||||
Limited Partners: |
||||||||
Common Units |
$ | 372,970 | $ | 332,371 | ||||
Class E Units |
6,242 | 6,242 | ||||||
General Partner interest |
9,792 | 9,754 | ||||||
Incentive Distribution Rights |
206,540 | 184,751 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total ETP distributions |
$ | 595,544 | $ | 533,118 | ||||
|
|
|
|
Cash Distributions Paid by Regency
Following are distributions declared and/or paid by Regency subsequent to December 31, 2010:
Quarter Ended |
Record Date | Payment Date | Rate | |||||
December 31, 2010 |
February 7, 2011 | February 14, 2011 | $ | 0.445 | ||||
March 31, 2011 |
May 6, 2011 | May 13, 2011 | 0.445 | |||||
June 30, 2011 |
August 5, 2011 | August 12, 2011 | 0.450 |
The total amounts of Regency distributions declared and/or paid during the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010 subsequent to our acquisition of Regency were as follows (all from Regencys operating surplus and are shown in the period with respect to which they relate):
Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||
2011 | 2010 | |||||||
Limited Partners |
$ | 131,523 | $ | 53,229 | ||||
General Partner interest |
2,556 | 1,105 | ||||||
Incentive Distribution Rights |
2,452 | 915 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total Regency distributions |
$ | 136,531 | $ | 55,249 | ||||
|
|
|
|
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Disclosure of our critical accounting policies is included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
51
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
The information contained in Item 3 updates, and should be read in conjunction with, information set forth in Part II, Item 7A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, in addition to the interim unaudited consolidated financial statements, accompanying notes and managements discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations presented in Items 1 and 2 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Our quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk are consistent with those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. Since December 31, 2010, there have been no material changes to our primary market risk exposures or how those exposures are managed.
The United States Congress recently adopted the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (HR 4173), which, among other provisions, establishes federal oversight and regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives market and entities that participate in that market. The new legislation was signed into law by the President on July 21, 2010 and requires the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (the CFTC) and the SEC to promulgate rules and regulations implementing the new legislation within 360 days from the date of enactment. The CFTC has also proposed regulations to set position limits for certain futures and option contracts in the major energy markets, although it is not possible at this time to predict whether or when the CFTC will adopt those rules or include comparable provisions in its rulemaking under the new legislation. The financial reform legislation may also require us to comply with margin requirements and with certain clearing and trade-execution requirements in connection with our derivative activities, although the application of those provisions to us is uncertain at this time. The financial reform legislation may also require the counterparties to our derivative instruments to spin off some of their derivatives activities to a separate entity, which may not be as creditworthy as the current counterparty. The new legislation and any new regulations could significantly increase the cost of derivative contracts (including through requirements to post collateral, which could adversely affect our available liquidity), materially alter the terms of derivative contracts, reduce the availability of derivatives to protect against risks we encounter, reduce our ability to monetize or restructure our existing derivative contracts, and increase our exposure to less creditworthy counterparties. If we reduce our use of derivatives as a result of legislation and regulations, our results of operations may become more volatile and our cash flows may be less predictable.
Commodity Price Risk
The tables below summarize by segment commodity-related financial derivative instruments, fair values and the effect of an assumed hypothetical 10% change in the underlying price of the commodity as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010.
The fair values of the commodity-related financial positions have been determined using independent third party prices, readily available market information and appropriate valuation techniques. Non-trading positions offset physical exposures to the cash market; none of these offsetting physical exposures are included in the above tables. Price-risk sensitivities were calculated by assuming a theoretical 10% change (increase or decrease) in price regardless of term or historical relationships between the contractual price of the instruments and the underlying commodity price. Results are presented in absolute terms and represent a potential gain or loss in our consolidated results of operations or other comprehensive income. In the event of an actual 10% change in prompt month natural gas prices, the fair value of ETPs and Regencys total derivative portfolios may not change by 10% due to factors such as when the financial instrument settles and the location to which the financial instrument is tied (i.e., basis swaps) and the relationship between prompt month and forward months.
Our consolidated balance sheets also reflect assets and liabilities related to commodity derivatives that have previously been de-designated as cash flow hedges or for which offsetting positions have been entered. Those amounts are not subject to change based on changes in prices.
52
Investment in ETP
Notional volumes are presented in MMBtu for natural gas and gallons for propane. Dollar amounts are presented in thousands.
June 30, 2011 | December 31, 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Notional Volume |
Fair Value Asset (Liability) |
Effect
of Hypothetical 10% Change |
Notional Volume |
Fair Value Asset (Liability) |
Effect
of Hypothetical 10% Change |
|||||||||||||||||||
Mark-to-Market Derivatives |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Basis Swaps |
(26,145,000 | ) | $ | 3,625 | $ | 93 | (38,897,500 | ) | $ | (2,334 | ) | $ | 304 | |||||||||||
Swing Swaps IFERC |
(144,420,000 | ) | (2,782 | ) | 30 | (19,720,000 | ) | (2,086 | ) | 2,228 | ||||||||||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures |
6,695,000 | (10,360 | ) | 3,394 | (2,570,000 | ) | (11,488 | ) | 1,176 | |||||||||||||||
Options Calls |
| | | (3,000,000 | ) | 62 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||
Propane: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Forwards/Swaps |
| | | 1,974,000 | 275 | 258 | ||||||||||||||||||
Fair Value Hedging Derivatives |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Basis Swaps |
(26,040,000 | ) | (1,045 | ) | 109 | (28,050,000 | ) | 722 | 322 | |||||||||||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures |
(38,285,000 | ) | 11,002 | 18,283 | (39,105,000 | ) | 8,599 | 16,837 | ||||||||||||||||
Cash Flow Hedging Derivatives |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures |
920,000 | (50 | ) | 413 | (210,000 | ) | 232 | 93 | ||||||||||||||||
Options Puts |
15,180,000 | 6,860 | 4,967 | 26,760,000 | 10,545 | 7,125 | ||||||||||||||||||
Options Calls |
(15,180,000 | ) | 3,545 | 515 | (26,760,000 | ) | 4,812 | 1,565 | ||||||||||||||||
Propane: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Forwards/Swaps |
14,700,000 | 276 | 2,181 | 32,466,000 | 6,589 | 4,196 |
Investment in Regency
Notional volumes are presented in MMBtu for natural gas, gallons for propane and barrels for natural gas liquids and WTI crude oil. Dollar amounts are presented in thousands.
June 30, 2011 | December 31, 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Notional Volume |
Fair Value Asset (Liability) |
Effect
of Hypothetical 10% Change |
Notional Volume |
Fair Value Asset (Liability) |
Effect
of Hypothetical 10% Change |
|||||||||||||||||||
Cash Flow Hedging Derivatives |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Natural Gas: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fixed Swaps/Futures |
3,670,000 | $ | 1,371 | $ | 1,724 | 3,830,000 | $ | 2,053 | $ | 1,684 | ||||||||||||||
Propane: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Forwards/Swaps |
18,564,000 | (6,157 | ) | 2,641 | 18,648,000 | (4,203 | ) | 2,277 | ||||||||||||||||
NGLs: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Forwards/Swaps |
1,006,000 | (10,484 | ) | 5,003 | 1,212,110 | (6,288 | ) | 4,910 | ||||||||||||||||
WTI Crude: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Forwards/Swaps |
483,000 | (3,651 | ) | 4,789 | 373,655 | (3,581 | ) | 3,501 |
Interest Rate Risk
As of June 30, 2011, ETP had $144.0 million of variable rate debt outstanding under its revolving credit facilities and Regency had $330.0 million of variable rate debt outstanding under its revolving credit facilities. ETE had no variable rate debt outstanding as of June 30, 2011. A hypothetical change of 100 basis points would result in a change to interest
53
expense of $4.7 million annually. We manage a portion of our interest rate exposure by utilizing interest rate swaps and similar arrangements. To the extent that we have debt with variable interest rates that is not hedged, our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be adversely affected by increases in interest rates. The following interest rate swaps were outstanding as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 (dollars in thousands), none of which are designated as hedges for accounting purposes:
Notional Amount Outstanding |
||||||||||||
Entity |
Term | Type (1) |
June 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2010 |
||||||||
ETP |
August 2012 (2) | Forward starting to pay a fixed rate of 3.64% and receive a floating rate | $ | 400,000 | $ | 400,000 | ||||||
ETP |
July 2013 (3) | Forward starting to pay a fixed rate of 4.13% and receive a floating rate | 200,000 | | ||||||||
ETP |
July 2018 | Pay a floating rate plus a spread and receive a fixed rate of 6.70% | 500,000 | 500,000 | ||||||||
Regency |
April 2012 | Pay a fixed rate of 1.325% and receive a floating rate | 250,000 | 250,000 |
(1) | Floating rates are based on LIBOR. |
(2) | These forward starting swaps have an effective date of August 2012 and a term of 10 years; however, the swaps have a mandatory termination provision and will be settled in August 2012. |
(3) | These forward starting swaps have an effective date of July 2013 and a term of 10 years; however, the swaps have a mandatory termination provision and will be settled in July 2013. |
A hypothetical change of 100 basis points in interest rates for these interest rate swaps would result in a change in the fair value of the interest rate derivatives and earnings of approximately $21.2 million as of June 30, 2011 and $1.3 million as of December 31, 2010. For ETPs $500.0 million of interest rate swaps whereby it pays a floating rate and receives a fixed rate, a hypothetical change of 100 basis points in interest rates would result in a net change in annual cash flow of $5.0 million annually. For ETPs forward-starting interest rate swaps, a hypothetical change of 100 basis points in interest rates would not affect cash flows until the swaps are settled.
Credit Risk
We maintain credit policies with regard to our counterparties that we believe minimize our overall credit risk. These policies include an evaluation of potential counterparties financial condition (including credit ratings), collateral requirements under certain circumstances and the use of standardized agreements, which allow for netting of positive and negative exposure associated with a single counterparty.
ETPs counterparties consist primarily of petrochemical companies and other industrial, mid-size to major oil and gas companies and power companies. This concentration of counterparties may impact its overall exposure to credit risk, either positively or negatively in that the counterparties may be similarly affected by changes in economic, regulatory or other conditions. Currently, management does not anticipate a material adverse effect on financial position or results of operations as a result of counterparty performance.
Regency is exposed to credit risk from its derivative counterparties. Although Regency does not require collateral from these counterparties, Regency deals primarily with financial institutions when entering into financial derivatives, and utilizes master netting agreements that allow for netting of swap contract receivables and payables in the event of default by either party.
For financial instruments, failure of a counterparty to perform on a contract could result in our inability to realize amounts that have been recorded on our consolidated balance sheet and recognized in net income or other comprehensive income.
54
ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We have established disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us, including our consolidated entities, in the reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SECs rules and forms.
Under the supervision and with the participation of senior management, including the President (Principal Executive Officer) and the Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer) of our General Partner, we evaluated our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined under Rule 13a15(e) promulgated under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, the Principal Executive Officer and the Principal Financial Officer of our General Partner concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of June 30, 2011 to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act (1) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SECs rules and forms, and (2) is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer of our General Partner, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Effective January 1, 2011, we began to integrate certain of Regencys business functions under a shared services agreement with ETE Services Company, LLC. In connection with this integration, certain of Regencys controls and procedures have been changed to conform to the existing controls of our other subsidiaries. During the three months ended June 30, 2011, Regencys accounting systems were transitioned to the accounting systems of the Parent Company and its other subsidiaries and accordingly certain related controls of Regency were changed at that time. None of these changes were in response to an identified deficiency or weakness in Regencys internal control over financial reporting.
The acquisition of LDH (the LDH Acquisition) was closed on May 2, 2011 and the evaluation of the internal control structure of LDH has begun. We expect the evaluation to continue during the remainder of 2011. In recording the LDH Acquisition, we followed our normal accounting procedures and internal controls. Our management also reviewed the operations of Lone Star that were included in our earnings for the three months ended June 30, 2011.
There have been no changes in our internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13(a)-15(f) or Rule 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the three months ended June 30, 2011 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial reporting.
For information regarding legal proceedings, see our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and Note 14 Regulatory Matters, Commitments, Contingencies and Environmental Liabilities of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and Subsidiaries included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.
55
Our recently announced proposed merger with Southern Union Company (the SUG Merger) presents several risks. Many of those risks are similar to the risks associated with our existing business, as we have previously disclosed. However, certain of those risks represent new risks related to our business or existing risks that have become more significant. The following risk factors should be read in conjunction with our risk factors described in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2011.
Risks Related to the SUG Merger
The failure to successfully combine the businesses of ETE and Southern Union in the expected time frame may adversely affect ETEs future results.
The success of the SUG Merger will depend, in part, on the ability of ETE to realize the anticipated benefits from combining the businesses of ETE and Southern Union. To realize these anticipated benefits, ETEs and Southern Unions businesses must be successfully combined. If the combined company is not able to achieve these objectives, the anticipated benefits of the SUG Merger may not be realized fully or at all or may take longer to realize than expected. In addition, the actual integration may result in additional and unforeseen expenses, which could reduce the anticipated benefits of the SUG Merger.
ETE and Southern Union, including their respective subsidiaries, have operated and, until the completion of the SUG Merger, will continue to operate independently. It is possible that the integration process could result in the loss of key employees, as well as the disruption of each companys ongoing businesses or inconsistencies in their standards, controls, procedures and policies. Any or all of those occurrences could adversely affect ETEs ability to maintain relationships with customers and employees after the SUG Merger or to achieve the anticipated benefits of the SUG Merger. Integration efforts between the two companies will also divert management attention and resources. These integration matters could have an adverse effect on each of ETE and Southern Union.
The completion of the SUG Merger is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions to closing, and the date that the SUG Merger would be consummated is uncertain.
The completion of the SUG Merger is subject to the approval of the SUG stockholders, the absence of a material adverse change to the business or results of operation of ETE and SUG, the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals and the satisfaction or waiver of other conditions specified in the merger agreement related to the SUG transaction. Another party has expressed public interest in completing a transaction with SUG similar to the SUG Merger and may be prepared to pay consideration to the stockholders of SUG in an amount greater than ETE is willing to pay, which could delay or prevent the stockholders of SUG from approving the SUG Merger. In the event those conditions to closing are not satisfied or waived, we would not complete the SUG Merger.
While we expect to complete the SUG Merger in the first quarter of 2012, the completion date of the SUG Merger might be later than expected due to delays in obtaining required regulatory approvals or other unforeseen events.
The pendency of the SUG Merger could materially adversely affect the future business and operations of ETE or Southern Union or result in a loss of Southern Union employees.
In connection with the pending SUG Merger, it is possible that some customers, suppliers and other persons with whom ETE, ETEs subsidiaries or Southern Union have a business relationship may delay or defer certain business decisions or might decide to seek to terminate, change or renegotiate their relationship with Southern Union as a result of the SUG Merger, which could negatively impact revenues, earnings and cash flows of ETE or Southern Union, as well as the market prices of ETE common units or shares of Southern Union common stock, regardless of whether the SUG Merger is completed. Similarly, current and prospective employees of Southern Union may experience uncertainty about their future roles with ETE and Southern Union following completion of the SUG Merger, which may materially adversely affect the ability of ETE and Southern Union to attract and retain key employees.
56
Failure to complete the SUG Merger could negatively impact the unit price of ETE and its respective future businesses and financial results.
If the SUG Merger is not completed, the ongoing business of ETE may be adversely affected and ETE will be subject to several risks and consequences, including the following:
| ETE will be required to pay certain costs relating to the SUG Merger, whether or not the SUG Merger is completed, such as legal, accounting, financial advisor and printing fees; |
| ETE would not realize the expected benefits of the SUG Merger; |
| under the merger agreement, ETE is subject to certain restrictions on the conduct of its business prior to completing the SUG Merger which may adversely affect its ability to execute certain of its business strategies; and |
| matters relating to the SUG Merger may require substantial commitments of time and resources by ETE management, which could otherwise have been devoted to other opportunities that may have been beneficial to ETE. |
In addition, if the SUG Merger is not completed, ETE may experience negative reactions from the financial markets and from their respective customers and employees. ETE also could be subject to litigation related to any failure to complete the SUG Merger or to enforcement proceedings commenced against ETE to attempt to force it to perform its obligations under the merger agreement.
The completion of the SUG Merger will require ETE to enter into a new financing arrangement. If ETEs financing for the SUG Merger becomes unavailable, the SUG Merger may not be completed.
ETE intends to finance a portion of the cash component of the SUG Merger consideration with debt financing. Concurrently, and in connection with entering into the merger agreement, ETE entered into a debt commitment letter with the Credit Suisse Lenders, pursuant to which, subject to the conditions set forth therein, the Credit Suisse Lenders have committed to provide a 364-day Bridge Term Facility in an aggregate principal amount of $3.7 billion (or such lesser amount as is equal to the lesser of (i) the amount that is sufficient to fund the total amount of cash consideration paid in the SUG Merger and (ii) the amount that ETE may elect to borrow). The commitment is subject to various conditions, including (i) the absence of a material adverse effect on Southern Union having occurred subsequent to December 31, 2010, (ii) the Credit Suisse Lenders satisfaction that during the 60-day period after the date of the Commitment Letter, and subject to certain exceptions, there are no other issues of debt securities or commercial bank or other credit facilities by ETE, Southern Union or their respective wholly owned subsidiaries being announced, offered, placed or arranged, (iii) the execution of satisfactory definitive documentation and (iv) other customary closing conditions.
In the event that the financing contemplated by the debt commitment letter is not available to ETE, other financing may not be available to ETE on acceptable terms, in a timely manner, or at all. If other financing becomes necessary and ETE is unable to secure such additional financing, the SUG Merger may not be completed. ETE does not have a right to terminate the merger agreement in the event it does not have adequate funds to complete the transaction at closing. In the merger agreement, ETE represented to Southern Union that it would have available, at the closing of the SUG Merger, all funds required to consummate the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement. Southern Union would have a right to terminate the merger agreement if ETE breached this representation in a manner such that ETE would not be able to satisfy this representation on or before June 30, 2012, or in the event some regulatory approvals have not been achieved, December 31, 2012.
Pending litigation against ETE and Southern Union could result in an injunction preventing completion of the SUG Merger, the payment of damages in the event the SUG Merger is completed and/or may adversely affect the combined companys business, financial condition or results of operations following the SUG Merger.
In connection with the SUG Merger, purported stockholders of Southern Union have filed several stockholder class action lawsuits against ETE, Southern Union, and the Southern Union Board in the District Courts of Harris County, Texas and in the Delaware Courts of Chancery. Among other remedies, the plaintiffs seek to enjoin the SUG Merger. If a final settlement is not reached, or if a dismissal is not obtained, these lawsuits could prevent or delay completion of the SUG Merger and result in substantial costs to ETE and Southern Union, including any costs associated with the indemnification of directors. Additional lawsuits may be filed against ETE and/or Southern Union related to the SUG Merger. The defense or settlement of any lawsuit or claim that remains unresolved at the time the SUG Merger is completed may adversely affect the combined companys business, financial condition or results of operations.
57
If the merger agreement is terminated, Southern Union may be obligated to reimburse ETE for costs incurred related to the SUG Merger and, under certain circumstances, pay a breakup fee to ETE. Southern Union may be unable to reimburse these costs or pay any potential breakup fee to ETE.
In certain circumstances, upon termination of the merger agreement, Southern Union would be responsible for reimbursing ETE for up to $54.0 million in expenses related to the transaction and may be obligated to pay a breakup fee to ETE of $181.3 million. If the merger agreement is terminated, the expense reimbursements and the breakup fee required to be paid by Southern Union under the merger agreement may require Southern Union to seek loans or borrow amounts to enable it to pay these amounts to ETE. In either case, Southern Union may not be able to fulfill such obligations.
Southern Union will be a corporate subsidiary of ETE after the SUG Merger and will remain subject to corporate-level income taxes.
After the SUG Merger, ETE will own and operate certain aspects of Southern Unions business through Southern Union as a wholly owned corporate subsidiary of ETE. Accordingly, Southern Union will continue to be subject to corporate-level tax, which may reduce the cash available for distribution to ETE and, in turn, to ETE unitholders. If the IRS were to successfully assert that Southern Union has more tax liability than ETE anticipated or legislation were enacted that increased the corporate tax rate, the cash available for distribution by ETE could be further reduced.
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
None.
ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
Not applicable.
None.
(a) Exhibits
The exhibits listed on the following Exhibit Index are filed as part of this Report. Exhibits required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K, but which are not listed below, are not applicable.
Previously Filed * |
||||||
Exhibit |
With File or Date) |
As |
||||
2.1 | 1-32740 (8-K/A) (5/13/10) |
2.1 | General Partner Purchase Agreement, dated May 10, 2010, by and among Regency GP Acquirer, L.P., Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and ETE GP Acquirer LLC. | |||
2.2 | 1-32740 (8-K/A) (5/13/10) |
2.2 | Redemption and Exchange Agreement, dated May 10, 2010, by and among Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. and Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. | |||
2.3 | 1-32740 (8-K/A) (5/13/10) |
2.3 | Contribution Agreement, dated May 10, 2010, by and among Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., Regency Energy Partners LP and Regency Midcontinent Express LLC. |
58
Previously Filed * |
||||||
Exhibit |
With File or Date) |
As |
||||
2.4 | 001-32740 (425) (6/17/11) |
2.1 | Agreement and Plan of Merger, by and among, Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., Sigma Acquisition Corporation, and Southern Union Company, dated as of June 15, 2011. | |||
3.1 | 333-128097 (S-1) (9/2/05) |
3.1 | Certificate of Conversion of Energy Transfer Company, L.P. | |||
3.2 | 333-128097 (S-1) (9/2/05) |
3.2 | Certificate of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. | |||
3.3 | 1-32740 (8-K) (2/14/06) |
3.1 | Third Amended Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. | |||
3.3.1 | 1-32740 (10-K) (8/31/06) |
3.3.1 | Amendment No. 1 to Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. | |||
3.3.2 | 1-32740 (8-K) (11/13/07) |
3.3.2 | Amendment No. 2 to Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. | |||
3.3.3 | 1-32740 (8-K) (6/2/10) |
3.1 | Amendment No. 3 to Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. | |||
3.4 | 333-128097 (S-1) (9/2/05) |
3.4 | Certificate of Conversion of LE GP, LLC. | |||
3.5 | 333-128097 (S-1) (9/2/05) |
3.5 | Certificate of Formation of LE GP, LLC. | |||
3.6 | 1-32740 (8-K) (5/8/07) |
3.6.1 | Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of LE GP, LLC. | |||
3.6.1 | 1-32740 (8-K) (12/23/09) |
3.1 | Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of LE GP, LLC. | |||
3.7 | 1-11727 (8-K) (7/28/09) |
3.1 | Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (formerly named Heritage Propane Partners, L.P.) | |||
3.8 | 333-04018 (S-1/A) (6/21/96) |
3.2 | Agreement of Limited Partnership of Heritage Operating, L.P. | |||
3.8.1 | 1-11727 (10-K) (8/31/00) |
3.2.1 | Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Heritage Operating, L.P. | |||
3.8.2 | 1-11727 (10-Q) (5/31/02) |
3.2.2 | Amendment No. 2 to Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Heritage Operating, L.P. | |||
3.8.3 | 1-11727 (10-Q) (2/29/04) |
3.2.3 | Amendment No. 3 to Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Heritage Operating, L.P. | |||
3.9 | 1-11727 (10-Q) (2/29/04) |
3.3 | Amended Certificate of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. | |||
3.10 | 1-11727 (10-Q) (2/28/02) |
3.4 | Amended Certificate of Limited Partnership of Heritage Operating, L.P. | |||
3.11 | 1-11727 (10-Q) (5/31/07) |
3.5 | Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer Partners GP, L.P. | |||
3.12 | 1-11727 (10-Q) (5/31/07) |
3.6 | Third Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C. |
59
Previously Filed * |
||||||
Exhibit |
With File or Date) |
As |
||||
3.12.1 | 1-11727 (8-K) (8/10/10) |
3.6 | Fourth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C. | |||
3.13 | 333-128097 (S-1/A) (12/20/05) |
3.13 | Certificate of Formation of Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C. | |||
3.13.1 | 333-128097 (S-1/A) (12/20/05) |
3.13.1 | Certificate of Amendment of Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C. | |||
3.14 | 333-128097 (S-1/A) (12/20/05) |
3.14 | Restated Certificate of Limited Partnership of Energy Transfer Partners GP, L.P. | |||
3.15 | 1-32740 (8-K) (8/10/10) |
3.2 | Second Amendment to Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Regency GP, L.L.C | |||
4.1 | 1-32740 (8-K) (6/2/10) |
4.1 | Registration Rights Agreement by and among Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and Regency GP Acquirer, L.P., dated as of May 26, 2010. | |||
4.2 | 1-32740 (8-K) (9/20/10) |
4.1 | Indenture dated September 20, 2010 between Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. | |||
4.3 | 1-32740 (8-K) (9/20/10) |
4.2 | First Supplemental Indenture dated September 20, 2010 between Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee (including form of the Notes). | |||
10.1 | 1-32740 (8-K) (9/20/10) |
10.1 | Credit Agreement dated as of September 20, 2010 among Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., Credit Suisse AG, as administrative agent and collateral agent, the other lenders party thereto and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, as sole lead arranger and sole bookrunner. | |||
10.1.1 | Amendment No. 1 to Credit Agreement among Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., Credit Suisse AG, as administrative agent and collateral agent, the other lenders party thereto and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, as sole lead arranger and sole bookrunner. | |||||
10.2 | 1-32740 (8-K) (9/20/10) |
10.2 | Pledge and Security Agreement dated September 20, 2010 among Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., the other grantors named therein and Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as collateral agent. | |||
10.3 | 1-32740 (425)(6/17/11) |
10.1 | Consulting Agreement dated June 15, 2011, by and among Southern Union, a Delaware corporation, Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., and George L. Lindemann. | |||
10.4 | 1-32740 (425)(6/17/11) |
10.2 | Consulting Agreement dated June 15, 2011, by and among Southern Union, a Delaware corporation, Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., and Eric D. Herschmann. | |||
10.5 | 1-32740 (425)(6/17/11) |
10.3 | Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation and Confidentiality Agreement dated June 15, 2011, by and between George L. Lindemann, Southern Union Company, a Delaware corporation and Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. | |||
10.6 | 1-32740 (425)(6/17/11) |
10.4 | Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation and Confidentiality Agreement dated June 15, 2011, by and between Eric D. Herschmann, Southern Union Company, a Delaware corporation and Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. | |||
31.1 | Certification of President and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |||||
32.1 | Certification of President and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
60
Previously Filed * |
||||||
Exhibit |
With File or Date) |
As |
||||
99.1 | Statement of Policies Relating to Potential Conflicts Among Energy Transfer Partners, L.P., Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and Regency Energy Partners LP, dated as of April 26, 2011. | |||||
101 | Interactive data files pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T: (i) our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010; (ii) our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010; (iii) our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010; (iv) our Consolidated Statement of Equity for the six months ended June 30, 2011; (v) our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010; and (vi) the notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements. |
* | Incorporated herein by reference. |
61
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P. | ||||
By: | LE GP, L.L.C., its General Partner | |||
Date: August 8, 2011 | By: | /s/ John W. McReynolds | ||
John W. McReynolds | ||||
President and Chief Financial Officer (duly authorized to sign on behalf of the registrant) |
62
Exhibit 10.1.1
AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO CREDIT AGREEMENT
THIS AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO CREDIT AGREEMENT (this Amendment) dated as of November 11, 2010, is among Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the Borrower), the several banks and other financial institutions signatories hereto, and Credit Suisse AG, as Administrative Agent for the Lenders (the Administrative Agent).
RECITALS
A. The Borrower, the Lenders and the Administrative Agent are parties to a Credit Agreement dated as of September 20, 2010 (as amended, modified or supplemented prior to the date hereof, the Credit Agreement).
B. The Borrower has requested that the Credit Agreement be amended in order to exclude from the calculation of the financial covenants in the Credit Agreement the effect of various charges incurred by the Borrower in connection with the prepayment its previous credit agreement and the termination of related interest rate protection agreements.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the mutual covenants set forth in this Amendment, the Borrower and the Majority Lenders agree as follows:
1. Defined Terms. Unless otherwise defined in this Amendment, capitalized terms used in this Amendment have the meanings assigned to those terms in the Credit Agreement.
2. Amendments to Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement is hereby amended as follows:
(a) Clause (c) of the definition of Consolidated EBITDA of the Borrower in Section 1.01 of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended to read as follows:
(c) Consolidated Net Income of the Borrower and its Restricted Subsidiaries for such four Fiscal Quarter period, plus (i) each of the following to the extent deducted in determining such Consolidated Net Income (A) all Consolidated Interest Expense, (B) all income taxes (including any franchise taxes to the extent based upon net income), (C) all depreciation and amortization (including amortization of good will and debt issue costs), (D) Prepayment Hedge Termination Expenses to the extent not included in Consolidated Interest Expense, and (E) any other non-cash charges or losses, minus (ii) each of the following (A) all non-cash items of income or gain which were included in determining such Consolidated Net Income, and (B) any cash payments made during such period in respect of items described in clause (i)(E) of this clause (c) subsequent to the Fiscal Quarter in which the relevant non-cash charges or losses were reflected as a charge in the statement of Consolidated Net Income; provided that the determinations in this clause (c) shall be made excluding each MLP and its subsidiaries. For the avoidance of doubt, the determinations in this clause (c) shall not include Consolidated Net Income attributable to distributions by an MLP.
(b) The definition of Consolidated Fixed Charges in Section 1.01 of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended to read as follows and the definition of Prepayment Hedge Termination Expenses is added:
Consolidated Fixed Charges means, for any period, without duplication, the sum of (i) the preferred distributions paid in cash during such period on the Restructuring Preferred Units plus (ii) Consolidated Interest Expense for such period; provided that the determinations in this definition shall be made excluding any cash payments made to terminate any Hedging Contract in connection with the repayment of the Existing Credit Agreement (the Prepayment Hedge Termination Expenses).
Prepayment Hedge Termination Expenses has the meaning given to such term in the definition of Consolidated Fixed Charges.
3. Conditions to Effectiveness. This Amendment will become effective on the date on which the Administrative Agent shall have received this Amendment, executed and delivered by the Borrower, the Guarantors, the Administrative Agent and the Majority Lenders.
4. Representations and Warranties. The Borrower hereby represents and warrants to the Administrative Agent and each of the Lenders as follows:
(a) This Amendment has been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and constitutes the binding obligation of the Borrower.
(b) Each of the representations and warranties made by the Borrower and the Guarantors in or pursuant to the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents is true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof, as if made (after giving effect to this Amendment) on and as of such date, except for any representations and warranties made as of a specified date, which were true and correct in all material respects as of such specified date.
(c) After giving effect to this Amendment, no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing as of the date of this Amendment.
(d) Since December 31, 2009, no Material Adverse Effect has occurred.
5. Continuing Effect of the Credit Agreement. This Amendment does not constitute a waiver of any provision of the Credit Agreement and is not to be construed as a consent to any action on the part of the Borrower that would require a waiver or consent of the Lenders or an amendment or modification to any term of the Loan Documents. The Borrower hereby confirms and ratifies the Credit Agreement as amended hereby and each of the other Loan Documents to which it is a party and acknowledges and agrees that the same continue in full force and effect as amended hereby (as applicable).
-2-
6. Reference to the Credit Agreement. Upon the effectiveness of this Amendment, each reference in the Credit Agreement to this Agreement, hereunder, herein or words of like import refer to the Credit Agreement, as amended by this Amendment.
7. Designation as Loan Document. This Amendment is a Loan Document.
8. Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed by all parties hereto in any number of separate counterparts each of which may be delivered in original, facsimile or other electronic (e.g., .pdf) form and all of such counterparts taken together constitute one instrument.
9. References. The words hereby, herein, hereinabove, hereinafter, hereinbelow, hereof, hereunder and words of similar import when used in this Amendment refer to this Amendment as a whole and not to any particular article, section or provision of this Amendment. References in this Amendment to a section number are to such sections of the Credit Agreement unless otherwise specified.
10. Headings Descriptive. The headings of the several sections of this Amendment are inserted for convenience only and do not in any way affect the meaning or construction of any provision of this Amendment.
11. Governing Law. This Amendment is governed by and will be construed in accordance with the law of the State of New York.
12. Payment of Expenses. The Borrower shall pay or reimburse the Administrative Agent for all of its out-of-pocket costs and reasonable expenses incurred in connection with this Amendment, any other documents prepared in connection herewith and the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Administrative Agent.
13. Final Agreement of the Parties. THIS AMENDMENT, THE CREDIT AGREEMENT AND THE OTHER LOAN DOCUMENTS REPRESENT THE FINAL AGREEMENT AMONG THE PARTIES AND MAY NOT BE CONTRADICTED BY EVIDENCE OF PRIOR, CONTEMPORANEOUS OR SUBSEQUENT ORAL AGREEMENTS OF THE PARTIES. THERE ARE NO UNWRITTEN ORAL AGREEMENTS AMONG THE PARTIES.
[Signature Pages Follow]
-3-
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties are signing this Amendment as of the date first above written.
ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P. | ||
By: LE GP, LLC, its general partner | ||
By: | /s/ John W. McReynolds | |
Name: | John W. McReynolds | |
Title: | President and Chief Financial Officer |
Signature Page to Amendment No. 1
CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH, as Administrative Agent, LC Issuer, Swingline Lender, and a Lender | ||
By: | /s/ Nupur Kumar | |
Name: Nupur Kumar | ||
Title: Vice President | ||
By: | /s/ Kevin Buddhew | |
Name: Kevin Buddhdew | ||
Title: Associate |
Signature Page to Amendment No. 1
MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC. | ||
By: | /s/ Scott Taylor | |
Name: | Scott Taylor | |
Title: | Vice President |
Signature Page to Amendment No. 1
WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | ||
By: | /s/ Paul V. Farrell | |
Name: | Paul V. Farrell | |
Title: | Director |
Signature Page to Amendment No. 1
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. | ||
By: | /s/ Christen A. Lacey | |
Name: | Christen A. Lacey | |
Title: | Senior Vice President |
Signature Page to Amendment No. 1
UBS LOAN FINANCE LLC | ||
By: | /s/ Irja R. Otsa | |
Name: | Irja R. Otsa | |
Title: | Associate Director | |
By: | /s/ Omar Musule | |
Name: | Omar Musule | |
Title: | Associate Director |
Signature Page to Amendment No. 1
BNP PARIBAS | ||
By: | /s/ Greg Smothers | |
Name: | Greg Smothers | |
Title: | Director | |
By: | /s/ Russell Otts | |
Name: | Russell Otts | |
Title: | Director |
Signature Page to Amendment No. 1
SUNTRUST BANK, N.A. | ||
By: | /s/ Carmen Malizia | |
Name: | Carmen Malizia | |
Title: | Vice President |
Signature Page to Amendment No. 1
DEUTSCHE BANK AG NEW YORK BRANCH | ||
By: | /s/ Philippe Sandmeier | |
Name: | Philippe Sandmeier | |
Title: | Managing Director | |
By: | /s/ Oliver Schwarz | |
Name: | Oliver Schwarz | |
Title: | Director |
Signature Page to Amendment No. 1
CITICORP NORTH AMERICA, INC. | ||
By: | /s/ John Miller | |
Name: | John Miller | |
Title: | Attorney-in-Fact |
Signature Page to Amendment No. 1
Exhibit 31.1
CERTIFICATION OF PRESIDENT (PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
PURSUANT TO
SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I, John W. McReynolds, certify that:
1. | I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P.; |
2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
4. | I am responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
a. | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under my supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to me by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
b. | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under my supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; |
c. | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report my conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
d. | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrants internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrants most recent fiscal quarter (the registrants fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrants internal control over financial reporting; and |
5. | I have disclosed, based on my most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrants auditors and the audit committee of the registrants board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
a. | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrants ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and |
b. | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrants internal control over financial reporting. |
Date: August 8, 2011
/s/ John W. McReynolds |
John W. McReynolds President and Chief Financial Officer |
Exhibit 32.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the quarterly report of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (the Partnership) on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the Report), I, John W. McReynolds, President and Chief Financial Officer, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to the best of my knowledge:
(1) | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and |
(2) | The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Partnership. |
Date: August 8, 2011
/s/ John W. McReynolds |
John W. McReynolds President and Chief Financial Officer |
* | A signed original of this written statement required by 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 has been provided to and will be retained by Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. |
Exhibit 99.1
STATEMENT OF POLICIES RELATING TO POTENTIAL
CONFLICTS AMONG ENERGY TRANSFER PARTNERS, L.P., ENERGY TRANSFER
EQUITY, L.P. AND REGENCY ENERGY PARTNERS LP
This Statement of Policies Related to Potential Conflicts among Energy Transfer Partners, L.P., Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and Regency Energy Partners LP (the Statement) specifies the policies and procedures that have been adopted by Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (ETE), Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (ETP) and Regency Energy Partners LP (Regency), as authorized and approved by their respective general partners as of April 26, 2011, to address potential conflicts among, and protect the confidential and proprietary information of, ETE, ETP and Regency. Other capitalized terms are defined in Section 10.
1. | Corporate Governance |
1.1 Independent Directors. Each of ETE GP, ETP GP and Regency GP will have at least three Independent Directors on its board of directors; provided, however, in the event of a resignation, death or removal of any such Independent Director, the applicable entity will endeavor to replace such Independent Director within the time period specified in the regulations of the applicable national securities market upon which the securities of ETE, ETP or Regency, as the case may be, are then listed for trading.
1.2 Directors and Invited Guests to Board Meetings.
(a) No director, officer, employee or other representative of any of the ETP Entities or any of the Enterprise Entities will serve on the board of directors of Regency GP, and no director, officer, employee or other representative of any of the Regency Entities will serve on the board of directors of ETP GP.
(b) ETE, as the direct or indirect owner of 100% of the member interests of Regency GP, may appoint one or more Regency Representatives to serve on the board of directors of Regency GP subject to (i) the restriction related to Commercially Sensitive Information set forth in this Statement, (ii) such individuals acknowledgement and agreement that, in the event that any of the relevant antitrust authorities require any such individual to terminate such individuals position as a director of Regency GP based on antitrust law, such individual will promptly resign from the board of directors of Regency GP, and (iii) such persons written acknowledgement of such restriction in the form provided in Appendix A to this Statement.
(c) In addition, the participation by any officer, director, employee or other representative of any of the ETE Entities or any of the ETP Entities as an invited guest at any meeting of the board of directors of Regency GP will also be subject to (i) the restrictions related to Commercially Sensitive Information set forth in this Statement (including those set forth in Section 4.2(a)(v)), (ii) such persons written acknowledgement of such restriction in the form provided in Appendix A to this Statement and (iii) the recusal of such guest from such meeting at the request of any director of Regency GP.
1
(d) ETE, as the direct or indirect owner of 100% of the member interests of ETP GP, may appoint one or more ETP Representatives to serve on the board of directors of ETP GP subject to (i) the restriction related to Commercially Sensitive Information set forth in this Statement, (ii) such individuals acknowledgement and agreement that, in the event that any of the relevant antitrust authorities require any such individual to terminate such individuals position as a director of ETP GP based on antitrust law, such individual will promptly resign from the board of directors of ETP GP, and (iii) such persons written acknowledgement of such restriction in the form provided in Appendix B to this Statement.
(e) In addition, the participation by any officer, director, employee or other representative of any of the ETE Entities or any of the Regency Entities as an invited guest at any meeting of the board of directors of ETP GP will also be subject to (i) the restrictions related to Commercially Sensitive Information set forth in this Statement (including those set forth in Section 4.1(a)(v)), (ii) such persons written acknowledgement of such restriction in the form provided in Appendix B to this Statement and (iii) the recusal of such guest from such meeting at the request of any director of ETP GP.
2. | Separate Employees |
None of the ETP Entities will employ any person who is, or was within the prior six months (or the prior 12 months in the case of a management level employee), an employee of any of the Regency Entities (other than any employee of the ETP Entities on the date hereof) without prior written approval of the ETP Screening Committee. None of the Regency Entities will employ any person who is, or was within the prior six months (or the prior 12 months in the case of a management level employee), an employee of any of the ETP Entities (other than any employee of the Regency Entities on the date hereof) without prior written approval of the Regency Screening Committee.
3. | Transactions Among the Parties |
3.1 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Statement, any material transaction between or among any of the ETE Entities, any of the ETP Entities, and/or any of the Regency Entities (excluding any transaction that was consummated prior to the date of the adoption of this Statement or any transaction that is effectuated subsequent to the date of the adoption of this Statement pursuant to any agreement between or among any of such parties that was entered into prior to the date of the adoption of this Statement) will require:
(a) if any of the ETE Entities is a party to such transaction, the prior approval of the ETE Conflicts Committee (unless the Board of Directors of ETE GP determines to resolve any conflict of interest related to the ETE Entities related to such transaction in accordance with Section 7.9(a) of the ETE Partnership Agreement without seeking Special Approval (as such term is defined in the ETE Partnership Agreement)),
2
(b) if any of the ETP Entities is a party to such transaction, the prior approval of the ETP Conflicts Committee (unless the Board of Directors of ETP GP determines to resolve any conflict of interest related to the ETP Entities related to such transaction in accordance with Section 7.9(a) of the ETP Partnership Agreement without seeking Special Approval (as such term is defined in the ETP Partnership Agreement)); or
(c) if any of the Regency Entities is a party to such transaction, the prior approval of the Regency Conflicts Committee (unless the Board of Directors of Regency GP determines to resolve any conflict of interest related to the Regency Entities related to such transaction in accordance with Section 7.9(a) of the Regency Partnership Agreement without seeking Special Approval (as such term is defined in the Regency Partnership Agreement)).
For the avoidance of doubt, when determining whether a transaction is or is not material for purposes of this Section 3.1, the relevant entity may consider both quantitative and qualitative aspects of such transaction.
3.2 Prior to providing any Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the ETE Entities, any of the ETP Entities or any of the Regency Entities, as the case may be, in connection with any such transaction, the applicable parties to such transaction will enter into a confidentiality agreement covering such information substantially in the form attached as Appendix C to this Statement.
3.3 In addition, the parties acknowledge that each of ETE, ETP and Regency will be subject to any obligations imposed under their respective credit agreements, indentures and other material agreements related to transactions with affiliates.
4. | Screening of Commercially Sensitive Information |
4.1 Provisions Related to ETP Entities
(a) The ETP Entities will take reasonable precautions to ensure that the ETP Entities do not provide any Commercially Sensitive Information to any of the ETE Entities or any of the Regency Entities, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or representatives, provided that the ETP Entities will be entitled to provide Commercially Sensitive Information pursuant to any one or more of the following provisions:
(i) the ETP Entities will be entitled to provide Commercially Sensitive Information related to the ETP Entities to any ETP Dedicated ETE Board Member or any ETP Dedicated ETE Employee; provided that none of the ETP Dedicated ETE Board Members or ETP Dedicated ETE Employees will provide such Commercially Sensitive Information to any officer, director, employee or representative of any of the ETE Entities or any of the Regency Entities who is not an ETP Dedicated ETE Board Member or an ETP Dedicated ETE Employee;
3
(ii) in the event that (A) the Commercially Sensitive Information relates to a Development Opportunity identified by, or made available to, any of the ETP Entities and (B) the ETP Screening Committee unanimously determines that such Development Opportunity is not an opportunity that the ETP Entities desire to pursue at such time due to the projected economics related to such Development Opportunity, the capital requirements related to such Development Opportunity, the strategic implications of such Development Opportunity or any other factors deemed relevant by the ETP Screening Committee, then such information will no longer be considered to be Commercially Sensitive Information and the ETP Entities will be permitted (but not required) to provide such information to any of the ETE Entities or any of the Regency Entities, and in the event the ETP Entities do present such information to any of the ETE Entities or any of the Regency Entities, the ETP Screening Committee will inform the ETP Conflicts Committee of such determination and the reasons therefor and the provision of such information no later than the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors of ETP GP;
(iii) in the event that (A) the Commercially Sensitive Information relates to a Development Opportunity identified by, or made available to, any of the ETP Entities, (B) either (I) the ETP Screening Committee does not unanimously make the determination specified in Section 4.1(a)(ii) or (II) one or more of the members of the ETP Screening Committee desires to involve the ETP Conflicts Committee in determining whether such Development Opportunity is an opportunity that the ETP Entities should retain, and (C) in either such case, the ETP Conflicts Committee determines that such Development Opportunity is not an opportunity that the ETP Entities desire to pursue at such time due to the projected economics related to such Development Opportunity, the capital requirements related to such Development Opportunity, the strategic implications of such Development Opportunity or any other factors deemed relevant by the ETP Conflicts Committee, then the ETP Entities will be permitted (but not required) to present such Development Opportunity to any of the ETE Entities or any of the Regency Entities;
(iv) in the event that the ETP Screening Committee reasonably determines it is in the best interests of the ETP Entities to pursue a Development Opportunity in conjunction with any of the Regency Entities due to (A) the gas gathering, gas processing and/or gas pipeline infrastructure of the Regency Entities that may be beneficial to the ETP Entities in pursuing such Development Opportunity, (B) relationships of the Regency Entities with natural gas producers that may be beneficial to the ETP Entities in pursuing such Development Opportunity, (C) the possibility of obtaining capital from the Regency Entities to fund all or a portion of the capital requirements for such Development Opportunity, or (D) any other business rationale in connection with pursuing such Development Opportunity that would cause the ETP Entities to desire to provide Commercially Sensitive Information regarding such Development Opportunity to an unaffiliated third party in a similar circumstance, then the ETP Entities may provide Commercially Sensitive Information related to such Development Opportunity to any of the Regency Entities for the purpose of jointly pursuing such Development Opportunity; provided that, prior to the provision of any such information, ETP and Regency will have entered into a confidentiality agreement
4
covering such information substantially in the form attached as Appendix C to this Statement, and provided further that the ETP Screening Committee will inform the ETP Conflicts Committee of such determination and the reasons therefor and the provision of such information no later than the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors of ETP GP; and
(v) the ETP Entities may provide Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the ETP Entities to any of the members of the Board of Directors of ETE GP, any of the ETP Dedicated ETE Employees or any of the Designated Regency Representatives in accordance with the following:
(A) before so providing any such information, the General Counsel of ETP GP will confer with the General Counsel of Regency GP, under an agreement of confidentiality, and confirm that no such information to be provided relates to a Development Opportunity currently being pursued or under consideration by any of the Regency Entities or is subject to third party confidentiality restrictions or antitrust restrictions; and
(B) if such confirmation is obtained, any such member of the Board of Directors of ETE, any such ETP Dedicated ETE Employee or any such Designated Regency Representative who receives such Commercially Sensitive Information from any of the ETP Entities (I) will not provide such Commercially Sensitive Information to any other Regency Representative, (II) will not use such Commercially Sensitive Information for any purpose other than to allow any such person to offer advice to the management personnel of the ETP Entities (it being recognized and acknowledged that the management and control of the ETP Entities remains subject to the direction and authority of ETP GP to the extent specified in the ETP Governance Agreements), and (III) will deliver to ETP GP a written acknowledgement of the restrictions on the use of such Commercially Sensitive Information in the form provided in Appendix B to this Statement.
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 4.1, the ETP Entities may provide Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the ETP Entities to any of the ETE Entities, any of the Regency Entities, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or representatives, upon the prior approval of the ETP Conflicts Committee.
(c) For the avoidance of doubt, if a Development Opportunity pursued jointly with one or more Regency Entities becomes a material transaction between or among any of the ETE Entities, the ETP Entities and/or the Regency Entities, the permitted provision of Commercially Sensitive Information under Section 4.1(a)(iv) does not alter the necessity of the application of Section 3.1 with respect to such transaction.
5
4.2 Provisions Related to Regency Entities
(a) The Regency Entities will take reasonable precautions to ensure that the Regency Entities do not provide any Commercially Sensitive Information to any of the ETE Entities or any of the ETP Entities, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or representatives, provided that the Regency Entities will be entitled to provide Commercially Sensitive Information pursuant to any one or more of the following provisions:
(i) The Regency Entities will be entitled to provide Commercially Sensitive Information related to the Regency Entities to any Regency Dedicated ETE Board Member or any Regency Dedicated ETE Employee; provided that none of the Regency Dedicated ETE Board Members or Regency Dedicated ETE Employees will provide such Commercially Sensitive Information to any officer, director, employee or representative of any of the ETP Entities or any of the ETE Entities who is not a Regency Dedicated ETE Board Members or a Regency Dedicated ETE Employee;
(ii) in the event that (A) the Commercially Sensitive Information relates to a Development Opportunity identified by, or made available to, any of the Regency Entities and (B) the Regency Screening Committee unanimously determines that such Development Opportunity is not an opportunity that the Regency Entities desire to pursue at such time due to the projected economics related to such Development Opportunity, the capital requirements related to such Development Opportunity, the strategic implications of such Development Opportunity or any other factors then deemed relevant by the Regency Screening Committee, then such information will no longer be considered to be Commercially Sensitive Information and the Regency Entities will be permitted (but not required) to provide such information to any of the ETE Entities or any of the ETP Entities, and in the event the Regency Entities do present such information to any of the ETE Entities or any of the ETP Entities, the Regency Screening Committee will inform the Regency Conflicts Committee of such determination and the reasons therefor and the provision of such information no later than the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors of Regency GP;
(iii) in the event that (A) the Commercially Sensitive Information relates to a Development Opportunity identified by, or made available to, any of the Regency Entities, (B) either (I) the Regency Screening Committee does not unanimously make the determination specified in Section 4.2(a)(ii) or (II) one or more of the members of the Regency Screening Committee desires to involve the Regency Conflicts Committee in determining whether such Development Opportunity is an opportunity that the Regency Entities should retain, and (C) in either such case, the Regency Conflicts Committee determines that such Development Opportunity is not an opportunity that the Regency Entities desire to pursue at such time due to the projected economics related to such Development Opportunity, the capital requirements related to such Development Opportunity, the strategic implications of such Development Opportunity or any other factors deemed relevant by the Regency Conflicts Committee, then the Regency Entities will be permitted (but not required) to present such Development Opportunity to any of the ETE Entities or any of the ETP Entities;
6
(iv) in the event that the Regency Screening Committee reasonably determines it is in the best interests of the Regency Entities to pursue a Development Opportunity in conjunction with ETE or any of the ETP Entities due to (A) the gas gathering, gas processing and/or gas pipeline infrastructure of ETE or the ETP Entities that may be beneficial to the Regency Entities in pursuing such Development Opportunity, (B) relationships of ETE or the ETP Entities with natural gas producers that may be beneficial to the Regency Entities in pursuing such Development Opportunity, (C) the possibility of obtaining capital from ETE or any of the ETP Entities to fund all or a portion of the capital requirements for such Development Opportunity, or (D) any other business rationale that would cause the Regency Entities to desire to provide Commercially Sensitive Information regarding such Development Opportunity to an unaffiliated third party in connection with pursuing such Development Opportunity, then the Regency Entities may provide Commercially Sensitive Information related to such Development Opportunity to any of the ETP Entities for the purpose of jointly pursuing such Development Opportunity; provided that, prior to the provision of any such information, ETP and Regency will have entered into a confidentiality agreement covering such information in the form attached as Appendix C to this Statement, and provided further that the Regency Screening Committee will inform the Regency Conflicts Committee of such determination and the reasons therefor and the provision of such information no later than the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors of Regency GP; and
(v) the Regency Entities may provide Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the Regency Entities to any of the members of the Board of Directors of ETE GP, any of the Regency Dedicated ETE Employees or any of the Designated ETP Representatives in accordance with the following:
(A) before so providing any such information, the General Counsel of Regency GP will confer with the General Counsel of ETP GP, under an agreement of confidentiality, and confirm that no such information to be provided relates to a Development Opportunity currently being pursued or under consideration by any of the ETP Entities or is subject to third party confidentiality restrictions or antitrust restrictions; and
(B) if such confirmation is obtained, any such member of the Board of Directors of ETE GP, any such Regency Dedicated ETE Employee or any such Designated ETP Representative who receives such Commercially Sensitive Information from any of the Regency Entities (I) will not provide such Commercially Sensitive Information to any other ETP Representative, (II) will not use such Commercially Sensitive Information for any purpose other than to allow any such person to offer advice to the management personnel of the Regency Entities (it being
7
recognized and acknowledged that the management and control of the Regency Entities remains subject to the direction and authority of Regency GP to the extent specified in the Regency Governance Agreements), and (III) will deliver to Regency GP a written acknowledgement of the restrictions on the use of such Commercially Sensitive Information in the form provided in Appendix A to this Statement.
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 4.2, the Regency Entities may provide Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the Regency Entities to any of the ETE Entities, any of the ETP Entities, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or representatives, upon the prior approval of the Regency Conflicts Committee.
(c) For the avoidance of doubt, if a Development Opportunity pursued jointly with one or more ETE Entities or ETP Entities becomes a material transaction between or among any of the ETE Entities, the ETP Entities and/or the Regency Entities, the permitted provision of Commercially Sensitive Information under Section 4.2(a)(iv) does not alter the necessity of the application of Section 3.1 with respect to such transaction.
4.3 Delegation of Authority of ETE GP Board. If there is a Development Opportunity that the ETP Entities, on the one hand, and the Regency Entities, on the other hand, are both pursuing or the Board of Directors of ETE GP is asked to take action on any matter relating to a Potentially Overlapping Business in respect of the ETP Entities and the Regency Entities, the Board of Directors of ETE GP will delegate full authority to take any actions that may be required or permitted to be taken by the Board of Directors of ETE GP in connection with such Development Opportunity or Potentially Overlapping Business to (i) in the case of any decisions required to be made in respect of the ETP Entities, the ETP Dedicated Committee, and (ii) in the case of any decisions required to be made in respect of the Regency Entities, the Regency Dedicated Committee.
4.4 Enterprise Related Provisions
(a) The ETE Entities and the ETP Entities will not provide to any of the Enterprise Entities or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or representatives any Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the Regency Entities.
(b) The Regency Entities will not provide to any of the Enterprise Entities or any of their respective directors, officers or employees or representatives any Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the ETE Entities or any of the ETP Entities.
5. | Approval Requirements for Boards of Directors and Conflicts Committee |
Any approvals by the Board of Directors or Conflicts Committee of any of ETE GP, ETP GP or Regency GP pursuant to this Statement will be subject to any notice requirements, quorum requirements or vote requirements specified in the ETE Governance Agreements, the ETP Governance Agreements or the Regency Governance Agreements, as the case may be, applicable to such entity.
8
6. | Audit Rights |
6.1 The Board of Directors of each of ETP GP and Regency GP (or an authorized committee thereof, including the Conflicts Committee of such Board of Directors) shall have, subject to compliance with applicable law, the right to request reasonable access to the offices, properties, books and records of the ETE Entities and the employees, officers and directors of the ETE Entities to determine whether the ETE Entities and their respective representatives, employees, officers and directors are complying with their obligations under this Statement.
6.2 Each Regency Dedicated ETE Employee, Regency Dedicated ETE Board Member, Designated ETP Representative and each other board member, officer, employee or other representative of any of the ETE Entities or any of the ETP Entities who has received Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the Regency Entities will deliver to the General Counsel of Regency GP, before December 31 of each year, a written affirmation that such person remains fully in compliance with this Statement with respect to all such Commercially Sensitive Information theretofore received by such person.
6.3 Each ETP Dedicated ETE Employee, ETP Dedicated ETE Board Member, Designated Regency Representative and each other board member, officer, employee or other representative of any of the ETE Entities or any of the Regency Entities who has received Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the ETP Entities will deliver to the General Counsel of ETP GP, before December 31 of each year, a written affirmation that such person remains fully in compliance with this policy with respect to all such Commercially Sensitive Information theretofore received by such person.
7. | Review of Policies by Conflicts Committees |
7.1 The ETE Board, the ETP Conflicts Committee and the Regency Conflicts Committee will evaluate the effectiveness of the policies set forth in this Statement not less frequently than every six months, and each such Board or Conflicts Committee will be entitled to propose changes to the policies set forth in this Statement in connection with such periodic evaluations. Any such proposed changes that are agreed to by the ETE Board, the ETP Conflicts Committee and the Regency Conflicts Committee will be reflected in an amendment or restatement of this Statement, and such amendment or restatement of this Statement will be disseminated or made available, by means of posting to a website, email or other form of communication, to the applicable personnel of the ETE Entities, the ETP Entities and the Regency Entities.
7.2 In the event that the ETE Board determines that the policies set forth in this Statement, as this Statement may be amended from time to time, are no longer in the best interests of the unitholders of ETE, the ETE Board will have the unilateral right to terminate this Statement, in which case the Initial Statement will be automatically reinstated with respect to the ETE Entities, the ETP Entities and the Regency Entities.
9
7.3 In the event that the ETP Conflicts Committee determines that the policies set forth in this Statement, as this Statement may be amended from time to time, are no longer in the best interests of the unitholders of ETP, the ETP Conflicts Committee will have the unilateral right to terminate this Statement, in which case the Initial Statement will be automatically reinstated with respect to the ETP Entities, the ETE Entities and the Regency Entities.
7.4 In the event that the Regency Conflicts Committee determines that the policies set forth in this Statement, as this Statement may be amended from time to time, are no longer in the best interests of the unitholders of Regency, the Regency Conflicts Committee will have the unilateral right to terminate this Statement, in which case the Initial Statement will be automatically reinstated with respect to the ETE Entities, the ETP Entities and the Regency Entities.
7.5 In addition, this Statement will automatically terminate on June 30 and December 31 of each calendar year unless, within 60 days prior to such termination date, the ETE Board, the ETP Conflicts Committee and the Regency Conflicts Committee approve the continuation of this Statement and, in the event of any such termination, the Initial Statement will be automatically reinstated with respect to the ETE Entities, the ETP Entities and the Regency Entities.
7.6 Notwithstanding whether this Statement or any portion hereof is terminated with respect to any or all of the ETE Entities, the ETP Entities and/or the Regency Entities, all confidentiality obligations in force prior to any such termination (including any obligations acknowledged by execution of any confidentiality agreement or acknowledgment in the forms attached as Appendices to this Statement) shall remain in force and shall not be released or terminated as a result of any such termination.
8. | Implementation |
The President of ETE GP, the General Counsel of ETP GP and the General Counsel of Regency GP shall, subject to the oversight of the respective ETE Conflicts Committee, the ETP Conflicts Committee and the Regency Conflicts Committee, be responsible for implementation of this Statement, which shall include but not be limited to preparation and distribution (including, in all cases, distribution to the applicable Conflicts Committee(s)) of a more detailed explanation of the purpose, intent and application of this Statement, and in this regard such persons will act jointly to the extent they deem appropriate. This Statement (and, specifically, this Section 8) does not increase any obligation of (nor does it alter the right to indemnity or exculpation of) any such President and General Counsel under the ETE Governance Agreements, ETP Governance Agreements or Regency Governance Agreements, as applicable.
9. | Approval of Statement by Conflicts Committees |
This Statement has been approved by each of the board of directors of each of ETE GP, ETP GP and Regency GP, as well as the ETP Conflicts Committee and the Regency Conflicts Committee, for purposes of resolving conflicts of interest, and potential conflicts of interest, between and among the ETE Entities, the ETP Entities and the Regency Entities in accordance with Section 7.9(a) of the ETE Partnership Agreement, Section 7.9(a) of the ETP Partnership Agreement and Section 7.9(a) of the Regency Partnership Agreement.
10
10. | Definitions |
For purposes of this statement, capitalized terms used but not defined above shall have the following meanings:
Commercially Sensitive Information shall mean, with respect to any Person, information about (1) Commercial Development Activities under consideration by such Person at the time or (2) other competitively sensitive information of such Person related to Potentially Overlapping Business including, without limitation, (i) information regarding the names of or prices, costs, margins, volumes and contractual terms for any current or potential customer, (ii) all plans or strategies used or adopted to negotiate, target or identify a current or potential customer or group of customers for any asset or service or to expand existing service offerings or offer a new service, (iii) all information regarding plans and prospective budgets to expand an existing facility or build a new facility, (iv) all information regarding a proposal to buy an existing facility, (v) information related to the capacity and capacity utilization of any facility, (vi) information regarding any opportunity to acquire a business, asset or entity or to develop or construct any new interstate or intrastate natural gas pipeline, interstate or intrastate natural gas liquids pipeline, natural gas gathering system, natural gas treating, processing or fractionating facilities, natural gas storage facility, or any other midstream natural gas assets or facilities; any natural gas compression services business or assets; any wholesale or retail propane facility or business; any other midstream or natural gas related assets, such as compression facilities, shipping facilities or marketing assets and (vii) any other confidential information regarding any Person that owns, operates or is an affiliate of any Person that is identified in clauses (i) through (vii) if the sharing of such information by such Person with another party to this Statement would reasonably be expected to constitute a violation of any fiduciary duty, law or any contract to which such Person is a party, provided, however, that Commercially Sensitive Information with respect to a Person shall not include (A) any information that is otherwise in the public domain, (B) with respect to any of the Regency Entities, (I) any information provided to any of the ETE Entities or any of the ETP Entities from a Person other than an ETE Entity or a Regency Entity on an unsolicited basis relating to a potential Development Opportunity that is not based on information that would otherwise constitute Commercially Sensitive Information relating to any of the Regency Entities or (II) any information otherwise independently developed by an ETE Entity or an ETP Entity without use of, or reliance on, any information that would otherwise constitute Commercially Sensitive Information relating to any of the Regency Entities and (C) with respect to any of the ETP Entities, (I) any information provided to any of the ETE Entities or any of the Regency Entities from a Person other than an ETE Entity or an ETP Entity on an unsolicited basis relating to a potential Development Opportunity that is not based on information that would otherwise constitute Commercially Sensitive Information relating to any of the ETP Entities or (II) any information otherwise independently developed by an ETE Entity or a Regency Entity without use of, or reliance on, any information that would otherwise constitute Commercially Sensitive Information relating to any of the ETP Entities. (For example, information provided by an investment bank, private equity firm or other financial services firm relating to a potential acquisition based on information in the public domain and not based on information obtained from such Person that would not otherwise constitute Commercially Sensitive Information.)
11
Commercial Development Activities shall mean information with respect to (i) proposed changes to or transactions involving any Potentially Overlapping Business, (ii) any plans and strategies dealing with Potentially Overlapping Business and (iii) any opportunities to construct or acquire, directly or indirectly (including, without limitation, by means of joint venture or by means of acquisition of assets, equity interest in an entity, contractual rights to capacity or use, or otherwise), any interstate or intrastate natural gas pipeline, interstate or intrastate natural gas liquids pipeline, natural gas gathering system, natural gas treating, processing or fractionating facilities, natural gas storage facility, or any other midstream natural gas assets or facilities; any natural gas compression services business or assets; any wholesale or retail propane facility or business; or any other midstream or natural gas related assets, such as compression facilities, shipping facilities or marketing assets.
Designated ETP Representative means any ETP Representative specified by the Regency Conflicts Committee to be eligible to receive Commercially Sensitive Information from any of the Regency Entities, subject to such representatives compliance with this Statement (including Section 6).
Designated Regency Representative means any Regency Representative specified by the ETP Conflicts Committee to be eligible to receive Commercially Sensitive Information from any of the ETP Entities, subject to such representatives compliance with this Statement (including Section 6).
Development Opportunity means any opportunity to participate in a transaction described in clause (iii) of Commercial Development Activities or any opportunity to offer to, or negotiate with, a current or potential customer or group of customers any tariff rates, capacities or other aspects of any gathering, treating, processing, transportation or other service related to any assets or systems described in such clause (iii).
Enterprise Entities shall mean EPE, EPE GP and their respective subsidiaries (excluding any of the ETE Entities, any of the ETP Entities and any of the Regency Entities).
EPE shall mean Enterprise GP Holdings L.P.
EPE GP shall mean EPE Holdings, LLC, the general partner of EPE.
ETE Entities shall mean ETE, ETE GP and their respective subsidiaries (excluding any of the ETP Entities and any of the Regency Entities).
ETE Board shall mean the Board of Directors of ETE GP.
ETE Governance Agreements shall mean the ETE Partnership Agreement and the Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of ETE GP, dated as of May 7, 2007, as amended or restated from time to time.
12
ETE GP shall mean LE GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company that serves as the general partner of ETE.
ETE Partnership Agreement means the Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of ETE, dated as of February 8, 2006, as amended or restated from time to time.
ETP Conflicts Committee means the Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of ETP GP.
ETP Dedicated Committee means a committee of the Board of Directors of ETE GP comprised solely of two or more ETP Dedicated ETE Board Members.
ETP Dedicated ETE Employees means officers or employees of any of the ETE Entities who (i) are not officers, directors or employees of any of the Regency Entities or a Regency Dedicated Employee and (ii) are specified by the Board of Directors of ETE GP to be involved in making decisions on behalf of any of the ETE Entities related to the ETP Entities; provided that any time an ETP Dedicated Employee is so specified, notice thereof will be promptly delivered to the ETP Conflicts Committee.
ETP Dedicated ETE Board Members means the members of the Board of Directors of ETE GP who (i) are not officers, directors or employees of any of the Regency Entities and (ii) are specified by the Board of Directors of ETE GP to be involved in making decisions on behalf of any of the ETE Entities related to the ETP Entities; provided that any time an ETP Dedicated ETE Board Member is so specified, notice thereof will be promptly delivered to the ETP Conflicts Committee.
ETP Governance Agreements means (i) the ETP Partnership Agreement, (ii) the Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of ETP GP LP, dated as of April 17, 2009, as amended or restated from time to time and (iii) the Third Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of ETP GP, dated as of April 17, 2007, as amended or restated from time to time.
ETP Entities shall mean ETP GP, ETP GP LP, ETP and their respective subsidiaries.
ETP GP shall mean Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company that serves as the general partner of ETP GP LP.
ETP GP LP shall mean Energy Transfer Partners GP, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership that serves as the general partner of ETP.
ETP Partnership Agreement means the Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of ETP, dated as of July 28, 2009, as amended or restated from time to time.
ETP Representative shall mean an individual who is an officer, director, employee or other representative of any of the ETP Entities and who is not an officer, director or employee of any of the Regency Entities.
13
ETP Screening Committee means a committee comprised of the Chief Executive Officer of ETP GP, Chief Financial Officer of ETP GP, the General Counsel of ETP GP and one member of the ETP Conflicts Committee appointed to the ETP Screening Committee by the ETP Conflicts Committee.
Independent Director shall mean, with respect to any of ETE GP, ETP GP or Regency GP, an individual director who meets the independence, qualification and experience requirements established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder, and by The New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq Global Select Market, as applicable, as applied to ETE GP, ETP GP or Regency GP, as the case may be.
Initial Statement means the Statement of Policies Related to Potential Conflicts Among Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., Energy Transfer Partners L.P. and Regency Energy Partners LP dated as of May 26, 2010 attached hereto as Appendix D to this Statement.
Person means any natural person or corporation, partnership or other entity.
Potentially Overlapping Business shall mean, with respect to the ETP Entities, such assets, business operations or business opportunities of the ETP Entities that are, or could potentially be, competitive with the assets, business operations or business opportunities of the Regency Entities and shall mean, with respect to the Regency Entities, such assets, business operations or business opportunities of the Regency Entities that are, or could potentially be, competitive with the assets, business operations or business opportunities of the ETP Entities.
Regency Conflicts Committee means the Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of Regency GP.
Regency Dedicated Committee means a committee of the Board of Directors of ETE GP comprised solely of two or more Regency Dedicated ETE Board Members.
Regency Dedicated ETE Employees means officers or employees of any of the ETE Entities who (i) are not officers, directors or employees of any of the ETP Entities or an ETP Dedicated Employee and (ii) are specified by the Board of Directors of ETE GP to be involved in making decisions on behalf of any of the ETE Entities related to the Regency Entities; provided that any time a Regency Dedicated Employee is so specified, notice thereof will be promptly delivered to the Regency Conflicts Committee.
Regency Dedicated ETE Board Members means the members of the Board of Directors of ETE GP who (i) are not officers, directors or employees of any of the ETP Entities or any of the Enterprise Entities and (ii) are specified by the Board of Directors of ETE GP to be involved in making decisions on behalf of ETE related to the Regency Entities; provided that any time a Regency Dedicated ETE Board Member is so specified, notice thereof will be promptly delivered to the Regency Conflicts Committee.
Regency Entities shall mean Regency, Regency GP LP, Regency GP and their respective subsidiaries.
14
Regency Governance Agreements means (i) the Regency Partnership Agreement, (ii) the Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Regency GP LP, dated as of February 3, 2006, as amended or restated from time to time and (iii) the Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Regency GP, dated as of February 3, 2006, as amended or restated from time to time.
Regency GP means Regency GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company that serves as the general partner of Regency GP LP.
Regency GP LP means Regency GP LP, a Delaware limited partnership that serves as the general partner of Regency.
Regency Partnership Agreement means the Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Regency, dated as of February 3, 2006, as amended or restated from time to time.
Regency Representative shall mean an individual who is an officer, director, employee or other representative of any of the Regency Entities and who is not an officer, director or employee of any of the ETP Entities or any of the Enterprise Entities.
Regency Screening Committee means a committee comprised of the Chief Executive Officer of Regency GP, the Chief Financial Officer of Regency GP, the General Counsel of Regency GP and one member of the Regency Conflicts Committee appointed to the Regency Screening Committee by the Regency Conflicts Committee.
Screening Officer shall mean, with respect to ETP, any of the members of the ETP Screening Committee and, with respect to Regency, any of the members of the Regency Screening Committee.
15
APPENDIX A
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PROVISIONS RELATED TO SCREENING OF COMMERCIALLY SENSITIVE INFORMATION
The undersigned hereby certifies as to the following:
1. | I acknowledge and accept the terms and conditions of, and agree to be bound by, the Statement of Policies Relating to Potential Conflicts Among Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. and Regency Energy Partners LP, dated August 10 , 2010 (hereinafter the Statement); |
2. | I understand that my access to Commercially Sensitive Information (as that term is defined in the Statement) of any of the Regency Entities is governed by, and subject to, the provisions relating to the Screening of Commercially Sensitive Information set forth in the Statement; |
3. | I agree not to provide to any of the directors, officers, employees or other representatives of any of the ETE Entities, the ETP Entities or the Enterprise Entities (in each case as defined in the Statement) any Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the Regency Entities, except as expressly permitted by the Statement. |
Printed Name |
Signature |
Position/Title |
Name of Company |
Executed this _____ day of ____________, ______.
As reconfirmed and acknowledged as of December 31, _____.
APPENDIX B
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PROVISIONS RELATED TO SCREENING OF COMMERCIALLY SENSITIVE INFORMATION
The undersigned hereby certifies as to the following:
1. | I acknowledge and accept the terms and conditions of, and agree to be bound by, the Statement of Policies Relating to Potential Conflicts Among Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. and Regency Energy Partners LP, dated August 10 , 2010 (hereinafter the Statement); |
2. | I understand that my access to Commercially Sensitive Information (as that term is defined in the Statement) of any of the ETP Entities is governed by, and subject to, the provisions relating to the Screening of Commercially Sensitive Information set forth in the Statement; |
3. | I agree not to provide to any of the directors, officers, employees or other representatives of any of the ETE Entities, the Regency Entities or the Enterprise Entities (in each case as defined in the Statement) any Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the ETP Entities, except as expressly permitted by the Statement. |
Printed Name |
Signature |
Executed this _____ day of ____________, ______.
As reconfirmed and acknowledged as of December 31, _____.
APPENDIX C
CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
CONFIDENTIALITY AND NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT
[Date]
Regency Energy Partners LP
2001 Bryan Street, Suite 3700
Dallas, Texas 75201
Gentlemen:
In connection with our mutual interest in a possible transaction (the Transaction) involving Energy Transfer Partners L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (ETP), and Regency Energy Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership (Regency), with respect to [description of project], each of ETP and Regency are providing the other party with certain information that is either non-public, confidential or proprietary in nature (Confidential Information). In consideration of the furnishing by each of ETP and Regency (collectively, the Parties) to the other Party of Confidential Information, each of the Parties hereby agree as follows:
4. | Confidential Information includes any non-public, confidential or proprietary information furnished by either ETP or Regency, as the case may be (each in such case a Disclosing Party) to the other (each in such case the Receiving Party), including, without limitation, (a) any such information transferred or transmitted in writing, orally, visually, electronically or by any other means, whether prior to, on, or after the date hereof, (b) information provided to the Receiving Party by a third party that Receiving Party knows has been provided at the direction of the Disclosing Party, and (c) any memoranda, reports, analyses, extracts or notes that the Receiving Party or its Representatives (as defined below) produce that are based on, reflect, or contain any of the Confidential Information (the items referred to in this clause (c) collectively referred to as Notes). Confidential Information does not include any information that (i) is or becomes generally available to the public other than as a result of a disclosure by the Receiving Party or any of its Representatives in violation of this Agreement, (ii) was in the Receiving Partys possession prior to the disclosure of the Confidential Information pursuant to this Agreement, (iii) becomes available to the Receiving Party or its Representatives on a non-confidential basis from a third party, provided that the Receiving Party did not know, after reasonable inquiry, that such source was subject to an obligation not to disclose such information; and/or (iv) was independently developed by the Receiving Party or its Representatives without reference to Confidential Information. |
5. | Nondisclosure of Confidential Information. The Receiving Party will keep the Confidential Information confidential and will not disclose the Confidential Information to anyone other than as permitted under the terms and conditions referred to in this letter agreement (the Agreement). |
1
6. | Use of Confidential Information. The Receiving Party recognizes and acknowledges the competitive value and confidential nature of the Confidential Information and the damage that could result to the Disclosing Party if any information contained therein is disclosed to a third party in violation of this Agreement. The Confidential Information will be used by the Receiving Party solely for the purpose of analyzing and evaluating the desirability of entering into the Transaction and the implementing and monitoring of the Transaction and for no other purpose (the Permitted Purpose). The Receiving Party will permit its affiliates and its and their respective employees, officers, directors, partners, members, managers, agents, advisors and representatives (collectively Representatives) access to the Confidential Information only to the extent necessary to allow such Representatives to assist the Receiving Party in the Permitted Purpose. Prior to granting such Representatives access to the Confidential Information, the Receiving Party will inform them of its confidential nature and of the confidentiality obligations of this Agreement. The Receiving Party agrees to be responsible for any breach of the confidentiality obligations of this Agreement by any of its Representatives, except in cases where a Representative enters into a direct confidentiality agreement with a Disclosing Party, in which case the Receiving Party in question shall have no liability hereunder for any purported breach by such Representatives. The Receiving Party further agrees to be responsible for any damage, loss or expense incurred as a result of the use of the Confidential Information by the Receiving Partys Representatives or other recipients contrary to the terms of this Agreement. |
7. | Information about Transaction. Unless required by applicable law, rule, regulation or governmental request (including oral questions, interrogatories, requests for information or documents, subpoenas, investigative demands, regulatory process, court decrees or similar legal process (all of the foregoing, Legal Process) (in which case the Party in question will promptly advise and consult with each other Party and its counsel prior to such disclosure, to the extent practicable and legally permissible) or as otherwise provided in Paragraph 5 of this Agreement, without the prior written consent of the other Parties and approval of the contents thereof, each Party will, and will cause its Representatives to, not disclose to any person (a) the fact that discussions or negotiations are taking place concerning a possible Transaction, (b) any of the terms, conditions or other facts with respect to such Transaction, including the status thereof, or (c) the existence of this Agreement, the terms hereof or that Confidential Information has been made available pursuant to this Agreement. |
2
8. | Required Disclosure. If a Receiving Party or its Representatives are requested to disclose any Confidential Information (including, but not limited to, any Notes) in connection with any Legal Process, such Receiving Party will, to the extent practicable and legally permissible, notify the Disclosing Party immediately in writing of the existence, terms and circumstances surrounding such a request, so that the Disclosing Party may, in its sole discretion, seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy and/or take steps to resist or narrow the scope of the disclosure sought by such request, in each case at its expense. The Receiving Party in such case agrees to assist the Disclosing Party, at the Disclosing Partys expense, in seeking a protective order or other remedy, if requested by the Disclosing Party. If a protective order or other remedy is not obtained and, upon the advice of the Receiving Partys counsel, disclosure is required or prudent, the Receiving Party may make such disclosure without liability under this Agreement, provided that the Receiving Party or its Representatives furnish only that portion of the Confidential Information which the Receiving Party or its Representatives reasonably believe is necessary in such circumstances to be disclosed, the Receiving Party gives, to the extent practicable and legally permissible, the Disclosing Party notice of the information to be disclosed as far in advance of its disclosure as practicable and the Receiving Party uses its commercially reasonable efforts, at the Disclosing Partys expense, to ensure that confidential treatment will be accorded to all such disclosed Confidential Information. |
9. | Completeness of Confidential Information. Each Receiving Party acknowledges and agrees that neither the Disclosing Party nor any of the Disclosing Partys Representatives nor any of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents or controlling persons (within the meaning of Section 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), (a) has made or makes any express or implied representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the Confidential Information provided by such Disclosing Party, or (b) will have any liability whatsoever to the Receiving Party or any of its Representatives resulting from or relating to any use of the Confidential Information or any errors therein or omissions therefrom. Each Receiving Party further agrees that it is not entitled to rely on the accuracy or completeness of the Confidential Information received by it, and that it will only be entitled to rely on such representations and warranties as may be included in any definitive agreement with respect to the Transaction, subject to such limitations and restrictions as may be contained therein. |
10. | Return of Confidential Information. Upon a decision by a Party not to pursue the Transaction, such Party shall promptly inform the other Party in writing of such decision. Upon the written request of the Disclosing Party in question, the Receiving Party in question and its Representatives will, at such Receiving Partys option, either destroy all Confidential Information and Notes in its possession, or turn them over to the Disclosing Party, and no copy thereof will be retained by the Receiving Party or its Representatives. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Receiving Party and |
3
its Representatives (a) shall be permitted to maintain one copy of Confidential Information and Notes for audit and enforcement purposes, (b) are not required to alter their normal record retention polices, (c) shall not be required to erase Confidential Information contained in an automatic computer back-up system recovery, (d) may retain Confidential Information to the extent required by law or regulation, and (e) may retain one copy of Confidential Information and Notes for the purposes of resolving any disputes that may arise hereunder or pursuant to a Transaction, but in each of the foregoing cases the Receiving Party in question and its Representatives shall retain all such materials subject to the confidentiality obligations contained herein and shall take reasonable precautions to ensure that retained information remains secure. The Receiving Party will deliver to the Disclosing Party a certificate that it, along with its Representatives, have complied with the requirements of this Paragraph 10. Notwithstanding the return, deletion or destruction of the Confidential Information, each Receiving Party and its Representatives will continue to be bound by all obligations of confidentiality and other obligations under this Agreement. |
11. | No Legal Obligation. None of the Parties will be under any legal obligation with respect to a Transaction unless and until a definitive agreement between the Parties is executed and delivered. |
12. | Equitable Relief and Other Remedies. Each Receiving Party acknowledges and agrees that the Disclosing Party in question may be damaged irreparably if any provision of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with its specific terms or were otherwise breached. Accordingly, each Disclosing Party will be entitled to equitable relief, including, without limitation, an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches of the provisions of this Agreement and to enforce specifically this Agreement and its provisions in any action or proceeding instituted in any state or federal court located the State of Delaware having jurisdiction over the Parties and the matter (the Designated Forum), in addition to any other remedy to which the Disclosing Party may be entitled, at law or in equity. Except as expressly provided herein, the rights, obligations and remedies created by this Agreement are cumulative and in addition to any other rights, obligations or remedies otherwise available at law or in equity. Except as expressly provided herein, nothing herein will be considered an election of remedies. |
13. | Submission to Jurisdiction. Any action, suit or proceeding seeking to enforce any provision of, or based on any matter arising out of or in connection with, this Agreement will only be brought in any state or federal court located in the Designated Forum, and each Party consents to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of such courts (and of the appropriate appellate courts therefrom) in any such action, suit or proceeding and irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objection |
4
that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of the venue of any such action, suit or proceeding in any such court or that any such action, suit or proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. Process in any such action, suit or proceeding may be served on either Party anywhere in the world, whether within or outside the jurisdiction of any such court. Without limiting the foregoing, service of process on either Party or its Representatives at the address specified in Paragraph 19 of this Agreement for such party will be deemed effective service of process. |
14. | Governing Law. This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to any choice of law principles. This Agreement may not be amended or modified except by a writing signed by both of the Parties. |
15. | Extension or Waiver. Either Party may (a) extend the time for the performance of any of the obligations of the other Parties under this Agreement, and/or (b) waive compliance with any of the agreements or conditions for such Partys benefit contained herein. Any such extension or waiver will be valid only if set forth in a writing signed by the Party granting such extension or waiver. No waiver by any Party of any default, misrepresentation or breach hereunder, whether intentional or not, may be deemed to extend to any prior or subsequent default, misrepresentation or breach hereunder or affect in any way any rights arising because of any prior or subsequent such occurrence. Neither the failure nor any delay by any Party to exercise any right or remedy under this Agreement will operate as a waiver thereof, nor will any single or partial exercise of any right or remedy preclude any other or further exercise of the same or of any other right or remedy. |
16. | Severability. The provisions of this Agreement will be deemed severable and the invalidity or unenforceability of any provision will not affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions hereof; provided that if any provision of this Agreement, as applied to any Party or to any circumstance, is judicially determined not to be enforceable in accordance with its terms, the Parties agree that the court judicially making such determination may modify the provision in a manner consistent with its objectives such that it is enforceable, and/or delete specific words or phrases, and in its modified form, such provision will then be enforceable and will be enforced. |
17. | Securities Laws. Each Party acknowledges that it is aware that the securities laws of the United States (as well as stock exchange regulations) prohibit any person who has material, non-public information concerning a Party or a possible transaction involving a Party from purchasing or selling that Partys securities when in possession of such information and from communicating such information to any other person or entity under circumstances in which it is reasonably foreseeable that such person or entity is likely to purchase or sell such securities in reliance upon such information. |
5
18. | Term. Except as otherwise expressly set forth herein, the obligations of the Parties under this Agreement will terminate on the second anniversary of the date of this Agreement. |
19. | Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the Parties in respect of the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior understandings, agreements or representations by or among the Parties, written or oral, to the extent they relate in any way to the subject matter hereof. |
20. | Assignment. No Party may assign either this Agreement or any of its rights, interests or obligations hereunder without the prior written approval of the other Party, and any such assignment by a Party without prior written approval of the other Parties will be deemed invalid and not binding on such other Party. |
21. | Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which will be deemed an original but all of which together will constitute one and the same instrument. This Agreement will become effective when one or more counterparts have been signed by each of the Parties and delivered to the other Parties, which delivery may be made by exchange of copies of the signature page by facsimile or electronic mail transmission. |
22. | Notices. All notices, requests and other communications provided for or permitted to be given under this Agreement must be in writing and must be given by personal delivery, by certified or registered United States mail (postage prepaid, return receipt requested), by a nationally recognized overnight delivery service for next day delivery, or by facsimile transmission, to the intended recipient at the address set forth for the recipient on the signature page (or to such other address as any Party may give in a notice given in accordance with the provisions hereof). All notices, requests or other communications will be effective and deemed given only as follows: (i) if given by personal delivery, upon such personal delivery, (ii) if sent by certified or registered mail, on the fifth business day after being deposited in the United States mail or (iii) if sent for next day delivery by overnight delivery service, on the date of delivery as confirmed by written confirmation of delivery. Notices, requests and other communications sent in any other manner, including by electronic mail, will not be effective. |
23. | Other. With respect to personal data contained in any Confidential Information, each Disclosing Party confirm that disclosure to and use by the Receiving Party and its Representatives pursuant to the terms of this Agreement will be in accordance with applicable data protection laws and regulations. For purposes of this paragraph, personal data means information that relates to a living individual who can be identified or who is identifiable. |
6
If you are in agreement with the foregoing, please sign and return the enclosed copy this letter which will constitute the Agreement with respect to the subject matter of this letter as of the date first above written.
Very truly yours, | ||
Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. | ||
By: | Energy Transfer Partners, GP, L.P., | |
Its general partner | ||
By: | Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C., | |
Its general partner | ||
By: | ||
Name: | Kelcy L. Warren | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
3738 Oak Lawn Avenue Dallas, Texas 75219 | ||
AGREED AND ACCEPTED: | ||||
Regency Energy Partners LP | ||||
By: | Regency GP LP, its general partner | |||
By: | Regency GP LLC, its general partner | |||
By: | ||||
Name: | ||||
Title: | ||||
2001 Bryan Street, Suite 3700 Dallas, Texas 75201 | ||||
7
APPENDIX D
INITIAL STATEMENT
STATEMENT OF POLICIES RELATING TO POTENTIAL
CONFLICTS AMONG ENERGY TRANSFER PARTNERS, L.P., ENERGY
TRANSFER EQUITY, L.P. AND REGENCY ENERGY PARTNERS, L.P.
This Statement of Policies Related to Potential Conflicts among Energy Transfer Partners, L.P., Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and Regency Energy Partners, L.P. (the Statement) specifies the policies and procedures that have been adopted by Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (ETE), Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (ETP) and Regency Energy Partners LP (Regency), as authorized and approved by their respective general partners as of May 26, 2010, to address potential conflicts among, and protect the confidential and proprietary information of, ETE, ETP and Regency.
Corporate Governance
Independent Directors. Each of ETE GP, ETP GP and Regency GP will have at least three Independent Directors (as defined below) on its board of directors.
Directors and Invited Guests to Board Meetings. No director, officer, employee or other representative of any of the Energy Transfer Entities or any of the Enterprise Entities will serve on the board of directors of Regency GP, and no director, officer, employee or other representative of Regency GP, Regency or their respective subsidiaries (collectively, the Regency Entities) will serve on the board of directors of ETE GP or ETP GP; provided, however, that ETE, as the direct or indirect owner of 100% of the member interests of Regency GP, may appoint one or more individuals who is not an officer, director or employee of ETP GP, ETP or any of their respective subsidiaries or any of the Enterprise Entities (each such individual, an ETE Representative) to serve on the board of directors of Regency GP subject to (i) the restriction related to Commercially Sensitive Information set forth in this Statement, (ii) such individuals acknowledgement and agreement that, in the event that any of the relevant antitrust authorities require any such individual to terminate such individuals position as a director of Regency GP based on antitrust law, such individual will promptly resign from the board of directors of Regency GP, and (iii) such persons written acknowledgement of such restriction in the form provided in Appendix A to this Statement. In addition, the participation by any officer, director, employee or other representative of the Energy Transfer Entities as an invited guest at any meeting of the board of directors of Regency GP will also be subject to (i) the restriction related to Commercially Sensitive Information set forth in this Statement and (ii) such persons written acknowledgement of such restriction in the form provided in Appendix A to this Statement.
Separate Employees
None of the Energy Transfer Entities will employ any person who is, or was within the prior six months (or the prior 12 months in the case of a management level employee), an employee of any of the Regency Entities (other than any employee of the Energy Transfer Entities on the date hereof) without prior approval of one of the Screening Officers of ETP. None of the Regency Entities will employ any person who is, or was within the prior six months (or the prior 12 months in the case of a management
level employee), an employee of any of the Energy Transfer Entities (other than any employee of the Regency Entities on the date hereof) without prior approval of one of the Screening Officers of Regency.
1
Transactions Between Energy Transfer Entities and Regency Entities
Any material transaction between any of the Energy Transfer Entities, on the one hand, and the Regency Entities, on the other hand, will require (a) if the transaction relates to ETE, the prior approval of any of (i) the Board of Directors of ETE GP, (ii) the Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of ETE GP or (iii) another duly authorized committee of the Board of Directors of ETE GP), (b) if the transaction relates to ETP, the prior approval of any of (i) the Board of Directors of ETP GP, (ii) the Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of ETP GP or (iii) another duly authorized committee of the Board of directors of ETP GP and (c) if the transaction relates to Regency, the prior approval of the Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of Regency GP. In addition, each of ETE, ETP and Regency will be subject to their obligations under their respective credit agreements related to transactions with affiliates.
Screening of Commercially Sensitive Information; Business Opportunities
The Energy Transfer Entities will take reasonable precautions to ensure that the Energy Transfer Entities do not provide information to any of the Regency Entities, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or representatives that the ETP Screening Committee reasonably determines in good faith to be Commercially Sensitive Information related to the Energy Transfer Entities; provided that, in the event that the Commercially Sensitive Information relates to an opportunity identified by any of the Energy Transfer Entities to acquire a business, asset or entity or to develop or construct any new pipeline, gathering system, storage facility or other facility and the ETP Screening Committee reasonably determines that such opportunity is not an opportunity that the Energy Transfer Entities desire to pursue due to the projected economics related to such opportunity, the capital requirements related to such opportunity, the strategic implications of such opportunity or other factors, then the ETP Screening Committee will seek approval of the Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of ETP GP (or another duly authorized committee of the Board of Directors of ETE GP) and, in the event such approval is obtained, the ETP Screening Committee will be permitted to present such opportunity to Regency.
The Regency Entities will take reasonable precautions to ensure that the Regency Entities do not provide information to any of the Energy Transfer Entities, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or representatives, that the Regency Screening Committee reasonably determines in good faith to be Commercially Sensitive Information related to the Regency Entities; provided that, in the event that the Commercially Sensitive Information relates to an opportunity identified by any of the Regency Entities to acquire a business, asset or entity or to develop or construct any new pipeline, gathering system, storage facility or other facility and the Regency Screening Committee reasonably determines that such opportunity is not an opportunity that the
2
Regency Entities desire to pursue due to the projected economics related to such opportunity, the capital requirements related to such opportunity, the strategic implications of such opportunity or other factors, then the Regency Screening Committee will seek approval of the Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of Regency GP and, in the event such approval is obtained, the Regency Screening Committee will be permitted to present such opportunity to ETP.
The Energy Transfer Entities will take reasonable precaution to ensure that the Energy Transfer Entities do not provide to any of the Enterprise Entities any Commercially Sensitive Information related to the Regency Entities.
Any officer, director, employee or other representative of the Energy Transfer Entities who attends a board meeting of Regency GP must take reasonable precautions not to provide at, in connection with, or arising out of such meeting or such attendance any Commercially Sensitive Information relating to any of the Energy Transfer Entities to any of the representatives, employees, officers or directors of any of the Regency Entities. The General Counsel of Regency or such other legal counsel designated by the General Counsel of Regency shall be present at all such meetings, to the extent reasonably practicable, in order to identify any Commercially Sensitive Information that is presented or discussed.
Definitions
For purposes of this statement, capitalized terms used but not defined above shall have the following meanings:
Commercially Sensitive Information shall mean, with respect to any Person, information about (1) Commercial Development Activities or (2) other competitively sensitive information of such Person related to Potentially Overlapping Business including, without limitation, (i) information regarding the names of or prices, costs, margins, volumes and contractual terms for any current or potential customer, (ii) any method, tool or computer program used to determine prices for any asset or service, (iii) all plans or strategies used or adopted to negotiate, target or identify a current or potential customer or group of customers for any asset or service or to expand existing service offerings or offer a new service, (iv) all information regarding plans and prospective budgets to expand an existing facility or build a new facility, (v) all information regarding a proposal to buy an existing facility, (vi) information related to the capacity and capacity utilization of any facility, (vii) information regarding any opportunity to acquire a business, asset or entity or to develop or construct any new interstate or intrastate natural gas pipeline, interstate or intrastate natural gas liquids pipeline, natural gas gathering system, natural gas treating, processing or fractionating facilities, natural gas storage facility, or any other midstream natural gas assets or facilities; any natural gas compression services business or assets; any wholesale or retail propane facility or business; any other midstream or natural gas related assets, such as compression facilities, shipping facilities or marketing assets and (viii) any other confidential information regarding any Person that owns, operates or is an affiliate of any Person that is identified in clauses (i) through (vi) if the sharing of such information by such Person with another
3
party to this Statement would reasonably be expected to constitute a violation of any fiduciary duty, law or any contract to which such Person is a party, provided, however, that Commercially Sensitive Information related to a Person shall not include any information that is otherwise in the public domain.
Commercial Development Activities shall mean information with respect to (i) proposed changes to or transactions involving any Potentially Overlapping Business, (ii) any plans and strategies dealing with Potentially Overlapping Business and (iii) any opportunities to construct or acquire, directly or indirectly (including, without limitation, by means of joint venture or by means of acquisition of assets, equity interest in an entity, contractual rights to capacity or use, or otherwise), any interstate or intrastate natural gas pipeline, interstate or intrastate natural gas liquids pipeline, natural gas gathering system, natural gas treating, processing or fractionating facilities, natural gas storage facility, or any other midstream natural gas assets or facilities; any natural gas compression services business or assets; any wholesale or retail propane facility or business; any other midstream or natural gas related assets, such as compression facilities, shipping facilities or marketing assets.
Energy Transfer Entities shall mean ETE GP, ETP GP, ETE, ETP or their respective subsidiaries (excluding Regency GP, Regency GP LP, Regency or any of their respective subsidiaries).
Enterprise Entities shall mean EPE, EPE GP and their respective subsidiaries (excluding any of the Energy Transfer Entities).
EPE shall mean Enterprise GP Holdings L.P.
EPE GP shall mean EPE Holdings, LLC, the general partner of EPE.
ETE GP shall mean LE GP, LLC, the general partner of ETE.
ETP GP shall mean Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C., the general partner of Energy Transfer Partners GP, L.P., the general partner of ETP.
ETP Screening Committee means a committee comprised of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and the General Counsel of ETP.
Independent Director shall mean, with respect to any of ETE GP, ETP GP or Regency GP, an individual director who meets the independence, qualification and experience requirements established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder, and by The New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq Global Select Market, as applicable, as applied to ETE GP, ETP GP or Regency GP, as the case may be.
Person means any corporation, partnership or other entity.
4
Potentially Overlapping Business shall mean, with respect to the Energy Transfer Entities, such assets, business operations or business opportunities of the Energy Transfer Entities that are, or could potentially be competitive with the assets, business operations or business opportunities of the Regency Entities and shall mean, with respect to the Regency Entities, such assets, business operations or business opportunities of the Regency Entities that are, or could potentially be competitive with the assets, business operations or business opportunities of the Energy Transfer Entities.
Regency GP means Regency GP, LLC, the general partner of Regency GP LP.
Regency GP LP means Regency GP LP, the general partner of Regency.
Regency Screening Committee means a committee comprised of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and the General Counsel of Regency.
Screening Officer shall mean, with respect to any of ETE, ETP or Regency, any of the respective Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel or Chief Compliance Officer of such entity.
5
APPENDIX A
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PROVISIONS RELATED TO SCREENING OF
COMMERCIALLY SENSITIVE INFORMATION
I, _______________________________, certify as to the following:
10.1 I acknowledge and accept the terms and conditions of the Statement of Policies Relating to Potential Conflicts Among Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. and Regency Energy Partners LP, dated May 26, 2010 (hereinafter the Statement);
10.2 I understand that my access to Commercially Sensitive Information (as that term is defined in the Statement) of any of the Regency Entities is governed by, and subject to, the provisions relating to the Screening of Commercially Sensitive Information set forth in the Statement;
10.3 I agree to be bound by the provisions relating to the Screening of Commercially Sensitive Information set forth in the Statement; and
10.4 I agree not to provide to any of the directors, officers, employees or other representatives of any of the Energy Transfer Entities (as defined in the Statement) any Commercially Sensitive Information related to any of the Regency Entities.
Printed Name |
Signature |
Position/Title |
Name of Company |
Executed this _____ day of ____________, ______.