Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

General

These consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Reclassifications

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the 2018 presentation. The changes were primarily due to our retrospective adoption on January 1, 2018 of Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2017-07, “Compensation—Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost.” This ASU requires employers to report the service cost component of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost in the same line item as other compensation costs arising from services rendered by the pertinent employees during the period. It also requires the other components of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost (non-service cost components) to be presented in the income statement separately from the service cost component and outside a subtotal of income from operations. The adoption of this ASU did not affect our financial position or results of operations, but resulted in the reclassification of the non-service components of pension and postretirement benefit costs from operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization expense) and general and administrative expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization expense) to other income, net. This resulted in an increase of $42 million and $44 million in operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization expense) and a decrease of $6 million and $6 million in general and administrative expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization expense) for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Principles of Consolidation

These financial statements include those of Valero, our wholly owned subsidiaries, and VIEs in which we have a controlling interest. Our VIEs are described in Note 12. The ownership interests held by others in the VIEs are recorded as noncontrolling interests. Intercompany items and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Investments in less than wholly owned entities where we have significant influence are accounted for using the equity method.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. On an ongoing basis, we review our estimates based on currently available information. Changes in facts and circumstances may result in revised estimates.

Cash Equivalents

Our cash equivalents are short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and have a maturity of three months or less when acquired.

Receivables

Trade receivables are carried at original invoice amount. We maintain an allowance for doubtful accounts, which is adjusted based on management’s assessment of our customers’ historical collection experience, known credit risks, and industry and economic conditions.

Inventories

The cost of refinery feedstocks, refined petroleum products, and grain and ethanol inventories is determined under the last-in, first-out (LIFO) method using the dollar-value LIFO approach, with any increments valued based on average purchase prices during the year. Our LIFO inventories are carried at the lower of cost or market. The cost of products purchased for resale and the cost of materials and supplies are determined principally under the weighted-average cost method. Our non-LIFO inventories are carried at the lower of cost or net realizable value. If the aggregate market value of our LIFO inventories or the aggregate net realizable value of our non-LIFO inventories is less than the related aggregate cost, we recognize a loss for the difference in our statements of income.

Property, Plant, and Equipment

The cost of property, plant, and equipment (property assets) purchased or constructed, including betterments of property assets, is capitalized. However, the cost of repairs to and normal maintenance of property assets is expensed as incurred. Betterments of property assets are those that extend the useful life, increase the capacity or improve the operating efficiency of the asset, or improve the safety of our operations. The cost of property assets constructed includes interest and certain overhead costs allocable to the construction activities.

Our operations, especially those of our refining segment, are highly capital intensive. Each of our refineries comprises a large base of property assets, consisting of a series of interconnected, highly integrated and interdependent crude oil processing facilities and supporting logistical infrastructure (Units), and these Units are continuously improved. Improvements consist of the addition of new Units and betterments of existing Units. We plan for these improvements by developing a multi-year capital program that is updated and revised based on changing internal and external factors.

Depreciation of property assets used in our refining segment is recorded on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of these assets primarily using the composite method of depreciation. We maintain a separate composite group of property assets for each of our refineries. We estimate the useful life of each group based on an evaluation of the property assets comprising the group, and such evaluations consist of, but are not limited to, the physical inspection of the assets to determine their condition, consideration of the manner in which the assets are maintained, assessment of the need to replace assets, and evaluation of the manner in which improvements impact the useful life of the group. The estimated useful lives of our composite groups range primarily from 25 to 30 years.

Under the composite method of depreciation, the cost of an improvement is added to the composite group to which it relates and is depreciated over that group’s estimated useful life. We design improvements to our refineries in accordance with engineering specifications, design standards, and practices accepted in our industry, and these improvements have design lives consistent with our estimated useful lives. Therefore, we believe the use of the group life to depreciate the cost of improvements made to the group is reasonable because the estimated useful life of each improvement is consistent with that of the group.

Also under the composite method of depreciation, the historical cost of a minor property asset (net of salvage value) that is retired or replaced is charged to accumulated depreciation and no gain or loss is recognized in income. However, a gain or loss is recognized in income for a major property asset that is retired, replaced, sold, or for an abnormal disposition of a property asset (primarily involuntary conversions). Gains and losses are reflected in depreciation and amortization expense, unless such amounts are reported separately due to materiality.

Depreciation of property assets used in our ethanol segment is recorded on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.

Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful life of the related asset. Assets acquired under capital leases are amortized on a straight-line basis over (i) the lease term if transfer of ownership does not occur at the end of the lease term or (ii) the estimated useful life of the asset if transfer of ownership does occur at the end of the lease term.

Deferred Charges and Other Assets

“Deferred charges and other assets, net” primarily include the following:


•	turnaround costs, which are incurred in connection with planned major maintenance activities at our refineries and ethanol plants and which are deferred when incurred and amortized on a straight-line basis over the period of time estimated to lapse until the next turnaround occurs;


•	fixed-bed catalyst costs, representing the cost of catalyst that is changed out at periodic intervals when the quality of the catalyst has deteriorated beyond its prescribed function, which are deferred when incurred and amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the specific catalyst;


•	income taxes receivable;


•	investments in joint ventures accounted for under the equity method;


•	intangible assets; and


•	goodwill.

Impairment of Assets

Long-lived assets are tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. A long-lived asset is not recoverable if its carrying amount exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from its use and eventual disposition. If a long-lived asset is not recoverable, an impairment loss is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount of the long-lived asset exceeds its fair value, with fair value determined based on discounted estimated net cash flows or other appropriate methods.

Investments

We evaluate our equity method investments for impairment when there is evidence that we may not be able to recover the carrying amount of our investments or the investee is unable to sustain an earnings capacity that justifies the carrying amount. A loss in the value of an investment that is other than a temporary decline is recognized currently in income, and is based on the difference between the estimated current fair value of the investment and its carrying amount.

Asset Retirement Obligations

We record a liability, which is referred to as an asset retirement obligation, at fair value for the estimated cost to retire a tangible long-lived asset at the time we incur that liability, which is generally when the asset is purchased, constructed, or leased. We record the liability when we have a legal obligation to incur costs to retire the asset and when a reasonable estimate of the fair value of the liability can be made. If a reasonable estimate cannot be made at the time the liability is incurred, we record the liability when sufficient information is available to estimate the liability’s fair value.

We have obligations with respect to certain of our assets related to our refining and ethanol segments to clean and/or dispose of various component parts of the assets at the time they are retired. However, these component parts can be used for extended and indeterminate periods of time as long as they are properly maintained and/or upgraded. It is our practice and current intent to maintain all our assets and continue making improvements to those assets based on technological advances. As a result, we believe that our assets related to our refining and ethanol segments have indeterminate lives for purposes of estimating asset retirement obligations because dates or ranges of dates upon which we would retire such assets cannot reasonably be estimated at this time. We will recognize a liability at such time when sufficient information exists to estimate a date or range of potential settlement dates that is needed to employ a present value technique to estimate fair value.

Environmental Matters

Liabilities for future remediation costs are recorded when environmental assessments and/or remedial efforts are probable and the costs can be reasonably estimated. Other than for assessments, the timing and magnitude of these accruals generally are based on the completion of investigations or other studies or a commitment to a formal plan of action. Amounts recorded for environmental liabilities have not been reduced by possible recoveries from third parties and have not been measured on a discounted basis.

Legal Contingencies

We are subject to legal proceedings, claims, and liabilities that arise in the ordinary course of business. We accrue losses associated with legal claims when such losses are probable and reasonably estimable. If we determine that a loss is probable and cannot estimate a specific amount for that loss but can estimate a range of loss, the best estimate within the range is accrued. If no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other, the minimum amount of the range is accrued. Estimates are adjusted as additional information becomes available or circumstances change. Legal defense costs associated with loss contingencies are expensed in the period incurred.

Foreign Currency Translation

Generally, our international subsidiaries use their local currency as their functional currency. Balance sheet amounts are translated into U.S. dollars using exchange rates in effect as of the balance sheet date. Income statement amounts are translated into U.S. dollars using the exchange rates in effect at the time the underlying transactions occur. Foreign currency translation adjustments are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss.

Revenue Recognition

Our revenues are primarily generated from contracts with customers. We generate revenue from contracts with customers from the sale of products by our refining and ethanol segments. Our VLP segment generates intersegment revenues from transportation and terminaling activities provided to our refining segment that are eliminated in consolidation. Revenues are recognized when we satisfy our performance obligation to transfer products to our customers, which typically occurs at a point in time upon shipment or delivery of the products, and for an amount that reflects the transaction price that is allocated to the performance obligation.

The customer is able to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the benefits from, the products at the point of shipment or delivery. As a result, we consider control to have transferred upon shipment or delivery because we have a present right to payment at that time, the customer has legal title to the asset, we have transferred physical possession of the asset, and the customer has significant risks and rewards of ownership of the asset.

Our contracts with customers state the final terms of the sale, including the description, quantity, and price for goods sold. Payment is typically due in full within two to ten days of delivery. In the normal course of business, we generally do not accept product returns.

The transaction price is the consideration that we expect to be entitled to in exchange for our products. The transaction price for substantially all of our contracts is generally based on commodity market pricing (i.e., variable consideration). As such, this market pricing may be constrained (i.e., not estimable) at the inception of the contract but will be recognized based on the applicable market pricing, which will be known upon transfer of the goods to the customer. Some of our contracts also contain variable consideration in the form of sales incentives to our customers, such as discounts and rebates. For contracts that include variable consideration, we estimate the factors that determine the variable consideration in order to establish the transaction price.

We have elected to exclude from the measurement of the transaction price all taxes assessed by governmental authorities that are both imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-producing transaction and collected by us from a customer (e.g., sales tax, use tax, value-added tax, etc.). We continue to include in the transaction price excise taxes that are imposed on certain inventories in our international operations. The amount of such taxes is provided in supplemental information in a footnote on the statements of income.

There are instances where we provide shipping services in relation to the goods sold to our customer. Shipping and handling costs that occur before the customer obtains control of the goods are deemed to be fulfillment activities and are included in cost of materials and other. We have elected to account for shipping and handling activities that occur after the customer has obtained control of a good as fulfillment activities rather than as a promised service and we have included these activities in cost of materials and other.

We enter into certain purchase and sale arrangements with the same counterparty that are deemed to be made in contemplation of one another. We combine these transactions and present the net effect in cost of materials and other. We also enter into refined petroleum product exchange transactions to fulfill sales contracts with our customers by accessing refined petroleum products in markets where we do not operate our own refineries. These refined petroleum product exchanges are accounted for as exchanges of nonmonetary assets, and no revenues are recorded on these transactions.

Cost Classifications

“Cost of materials and other” primarily includes the cost of materials that are a component of our products sold. These costs include (i) the direct cost of materials (such as crude oil and other refinery feedstocks, refined petroleum products and blendstocks, and ethanol feedstocks and products) that are a component of our products sold; (ii) costs related to the delivery (such as shipping and handling costs) of products sold; (iii) costs related to our environmental credit obligations to comply with various governmental and regulatory programs (such as the cost of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Renewable Fuel Standard and emission credits under various cap-and-trade systems, as defined in Note 19); (iv) gains and losses on our commodity derivative instruments; and (v) certain excise taxes.

“Operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization expense)” include costs to operate our refineries, ethanol plants, and logistics assets, except for depreciation and amortization expense. These costs primarily include employee-related expenses, energy and utility costs, catalysts and chemical costs, and repair and maintenance expenses.

“Depreciation and amortization expense” associated with our operations is separately presented in our statement of income as a component of cost of sales and general and administrative expenses and is disclosed by reportable segment in Note 17.

“Other operating expenses” include costs, if any, incurred by our reportable segments that are not associated with our cost of sales.

Environmental Compliance Program Costs

We purchase credits in the open market to meet our obligations under various environmental compliance programs. We purchase biofuel credits (primarily RINs in the U.S.) to comply with government regulations that require us to blend a certain percentage of biofuels into the products we produce. To the degree that we are unable to blend biofuels at the required percentage, we must purchase biofuel credits to meet our obligation. We purchase greenhouse gas (GHG) emission credits to comply with government regulations concerning various GHG emission programs, including cap-and-trade systems. These programs are described in Note 20 under “Environmental Compliance Program Price Risk.”

The costs of purchased biofuel credits and GHG emission credits are charged to cost of materials and other as such credits are needed to satisfy our obligation. To the extent we have not purchased enough credits to satisfy our obligation as of the balance sheet date, we charge cost of materials and other for such deficiency based on the market price of the credits as of the balance sheet date, and we record a liability for our obligation to purchase those credits. See Note 19 for disclosure of our fair value liability.

Stock-Based Compensation

Compensation expense for our share-based compensation plans is based on the fair value of the awards granted and is recognized in income on a straight-line basis over the shorter of (i) the requisite service period of each award or (ii) the period from the grant date to the date retirement eligibility is achieved if that date is expected to occur during the vesting period established in the award.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred amounts are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the year those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Deferred tax assets are reduced by unrecognized tax benefits, if such items may be available to offset the unrecognized tax benefit. Stranded income tax effects are released from accumulated other comprehensive loss to retained earnings on an individual item basis as those items are reclassified into income.

We have elected to classify any interest expense and penalties related to the underpayment of income taxes in income tax expense.

We have elected to treat the global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) tax as a period expense.

Earnings per Common Share

Earnings per common share is computed by dividing net income attributable to Valero stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the year. Participating securities are included in the computation of basic earnings per share using the two-class method. Earnings per common share – assuming dilution is computed by dividing net income attributable to Valero stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the year increased by the effect of dilutive securities. Potentially dilutive securities are excluded from the computation of earnings per common share – assuming dilution when the effect of including such shares would be antidilutive.

Financial Instruments

Our financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, receivables, payables, debt, capital lease obligations, commodity derivative contracts, and foreign currency derivative contracts. The estimated fair values of these financial instruments approximate their carrying amounts, except for certain debt as discussed in Note 19.

Derivatives and Hedging

All derivative instruments, not designated as normal purchases or sales, are recorded in the balance sheet as either assets or liabilities measured at their fair values with changes in fair value recognized currently in income. To manage commodity price risk, we use economic hedges, which are derivative instruments not designated as fair value or cash flow hedges, and we also use fair value and cash flow hedges from time to time. The cash flow effects of all of our derivative instruments are reflected in operating activities in the statements of cash flows.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Pronouncements Adopted During 2018

Topic 606

On January 1, 2018, we adopted the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” (Topic 606). This standard clarifies the principles for recognizing revenue and supersedes previous revenue recognition requirements under “Revenue Recognition (Topic 605).” We adopted the provisions of Topic 606 using the modified retrospective method of adoption as permitted by the standard. Under this method, the cumulative effect of initially applying the standard is recognized as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings, and revenues reported in the periods prior to the date of adoption are not changed. We elected to apply the transition guidance for Topic 606 only to contracts that were not completed as of the date of adoption. There was no material impact to our financial position as a result of adopting Topic 606; therefore, there was no cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of January 1, 2018, and there was no material impact to our financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2018. Our revenue recognition accounting policy described above has been updated in conjunction with our adoption of Topic 606, but our previous policy has been omitted because the adoption of Topic 606 had no material impact to us as previously described.

ASU No. 2016-01

On January 1, 2018, we adopted the provisions of ASU No. 2016-01, “Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities.” This ASU enhances the reporting model for financial instruments regarding certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure. We adopted the provisions of this ASU using the cumulative-effect method of adoption as required by the ASU. The adoption of this ASU did not affect our financial position or our results of operations as of or for the year ended December 31, 2018, but resulted in reduced disclosures as it eliminated the requirement to disclose the methods and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value of financial instruments.

ASU No. 2017-04

Effective October 1, 2018, we early adopted the provisions of ASU No. 2017-04, “Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment.” This ASU simplifies the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Under the provisions of this ASU, an entity should perform its annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill, and should recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. However, the impairment charge should not exceed the carrying amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. An entity still has the option to perform the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if the quantitative impairment test is necessary. The adoption of this ASU did not affect our financial position or results of operations and did not result in additional disclosures because it is applied prospectively to impairment tests performed after the date of adoption.

ASU No. 2017-09

On January 1, 2018, we adopted the provisions of ASU No. 2017-09, “Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting.” This ASU reduces diversity in practice, as well as reduces cost and complexity regarding a change to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award. The adoption of this ASU did not have an immediate effect on our financial position or results of operations as it is applied prospectively to an award modified on or after adoption.

ASU No. 2018-02

On January 1, 2018, we adopted the provisions of ASU No. 2018-02, “Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income,” (ASU No. 2018-02). This ASU allows for the stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (Tax Reform) to be reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings. We elected to reclassify the stranded income tax effects resulting from Tax Reform from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings as of the beginning of the interim period of adoption. The adoption of this ASU did not affect our financial position or results of operations but resulted in the reclassification of $91 million of income tax benefits related to Tax Reform from accumulated other comprehensive loss to retained earnings as of January 1, 2018 as presented in our statement of equity and in Note 11 under “Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss.”

ASU No. 2018-05

In March 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued ASU No. 2018-05, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118,” (ASU No. 2018-05) to amend certain SEC material in Topic 740 for the income tax accounting implications of the recently issued Tax Reform. This guidance clarifies the application of Topic 740 in situations where a registrant does not have the necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed in reasonable detail to complete the accounting under Topic 740 for certain income tax effects of Tax Reform for the reporting period in which Tax Reform was enacted. See Note 15 for a discussion of the impact of this ASU.

ASU No. 2018-13

Effective October 1, 2018, we adopted all of the provisions of ASU No. 2018-13, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” This ASU improves the effectiveness of disclosures in the notes to financial statements by removing, modifying, and adding certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. We are no longer required to disclose the amount of and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, but are required to disclose the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements. Certain provisions of this ASU, primarily related to disclosures, require the prospective method of adoption, with the remaining provisions applied retrospectively. The early adoption of this ASU did not affect our financial position or results of operations, but resulted in revised disclosures as discussed above.

ASU No. 2018-14

Effective December 31, 2018, we adopted the provisions of ASU No. 2018-14, “Compensation—Retirement Benefits—Defined Benefit Plans—General (Subtopic 715-20): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans.” This ASU improves the effectiveness of disclosures in the notes to financial statements by removing, modifying, and adding certain disclosure requirements for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension or other postretirement plans. We are no longer required to disclose the amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost over the next fiscal year, but we are required to (i) disclose the weighted-average interest crediting rates for cash balance plans and other plans with promised interest crediting rates and (ii) provide an explanation of the reasons for significant gains and losses related to changes in the benefit obligation for the period. The early adoption of this ASU did not affect our financial position or results of operations, but resulted in revised disclosures as discussed above.

Accounting Pronouncements Adopted on January 1, 2019

Topic 842

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASC Topic 842, “Leases,” (Topic 842) to increase the transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. This new standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods, with early adoption permitted. We adopted this new standard on January 1, 2019 using the optional transition method; however, we did not have a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings at the date of adoption as noted below, but we will apply the new disclosure requirements beginning in 2019.

The new standard provides a number of optional practical expedients and we elected the following:


•	Transition Elections. We elected the package of practical expedients that permits us to not reassess our prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs under the new standard, as well as the practical expedient that permits us to not assess existing land easements under the new standard.


•	Lessee Accounting Policy Elections. We elected the short-term lease recognition exemption whereby right-of-use (ROU) assets and lease liabilities are not recognized for leasing arrangements with terms less than one year, and the practical expedient to not separate lease and non-lease components for all classes of underlying assets other than the marine transportation asset class.

In preparation for the adoption of Topic 842, we enhanced our contracting and lease evaluation systems and related processes, and we developed a new lease accounting system to capture our leases and support the required disclosures. We have integrated our lease accounting system with our general ledger and modified our related procurement and payment processes.

Adoption of this standard resulted in (i) the recognition of ROU assets and lease liabilities for our operating leases of approximately $1.3 billion, (ii) the derecognition of existing assets under construction of approximately $539 million related to a build-to-suit lease arrangement (see Note 10 under “Other Commitments—MVP Terminal”), and (iii) the presentation of new disclosures about our leasing activities beginning in the first quarter of 2019. Adoption of this standard did not impact our results of operations or liquidity and our accounting for finance leases is substantially unchanged.

ASU No. 2017-12

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, “Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities,” (ASU No. 2017-12) to improve and simplify accounting guidance for hedge accounting. The provisions of this ASU are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods, with early adoption permitted. Certain provisions of this ASU, primarily related to disclosures, require the prospective method of adoption, with the remaining provisions applied through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the adoption date. The adoption of ASU No. 2017-12 effective January 1, 2019 did not affect our financial position or results of operations.

Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

ASU No. 2016-13

In June 2016, the FASB issued “Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” (ASU No. 2016-13) to improve financial reporting by requiring the immediate recognition of credit losses on financial instruments held by a reporting entity. This ASU requires the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. It also requires enhanced disclosures, including qualitative and quantitative requirements that provide additional information about the amounts recorded in the financial statements. In November 2018, the FASB issued “Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses,” (ASU 2018-19), which clarified that this guidance does not apply to receivables arising from operating leases. The provisions of this ASU are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those annual reporting periods, with early adoption permitted for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The provisions of this ASU should be applied through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which this ASU is effective (i.e., the modified-retrospective approach). We expect to adopt ASU No. 2016-13 effective January 1, 2020, and we do not expect such adoption to materially affect our financial position or our results of operations.

ASU No. 2018-17

In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-17, “Consolidation (Topic 810): Targeted Improvements to Related Party Guidance for Variable Interest Entities,” (ASU No. 2018-17) to reduce the cost and complexity of financial reporting associated with consolidation of VIEs. One of the provisions of this ASU amends how a decision maker or service provider determines whether its fee is a variable interest. This guidance requires reporting entities to consider indirect interests held through related parties under common control on a proportional basis rather than as the equivalent of a direct interest in its entirety (as currently required by U.S. GAAP). The provisions of this ASU are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods, with early adoption permitted. The provisions of this ASU should be applied on a retrospective basis with a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the earliest period presented. We expect to adopt ASU No. 2018-17 effective January 1, 2020, and we do not expect such adoption to materially affect our financial position or our results of operations.

Variable interest entities

We determined VLP was a VIE because the public limited partners of VLP (i.e., parties other than entities under common control with the general partner) lacked the power to direct the activities of VLP that most significantly impacted its economic performance because they did not have substantive kick-out rights over the general partner or substantive participating rights in VLP. Furthermore, we determined that we were the primary beneficiary of VLP because (i) we were the single decision maker and our general partner interest provides us with the sole power to direct the activities that most significantly impact VLP’s economic performance and (ii) our 66.2 percent limited partner interest and 2.0 percent general partner interest provides us with significant economic rights and obligations.

We also have financial interests in other entities that have been determined to be VIEs because the entities’ contractual arrangements transfer the power to us to direct the activities that most significantly impact their economic performance or reduce the exposure to operational variability and risk of loss created by the entity that otherwise would be held exclusively by the equity owners. Furthermore, we determined that we are the primary beneficiary of these VIEs because (i) certain contractual arrangements (exclusive of our ownership rights) provide us with the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of these entities and/or (ii) our 50 percent ownership interests provide us with significant economic rights and obligations.

As operator, we operate the plant and perform certain day-to-day operating and management functions for DGD as an independent contractor. The operations agreement provides us (as operator) with certain power to direct the activities that most significantly impact DGD’s economic performance. Because this agreement conveys such power to us and is separate from our ownership rights, we determined that DGD was a VIE. For this reason and because we hold a 50 percent ownership interest that provides us with significant economic rights and obligations, we determined that we are the primary beneficiary of DGD.

In the normal course of business, we have financial interests in certain entities that have been determined to be VIEs. We consolidate a VIE when we have a variable interest in an entity for which we are the primary beneficiary such that we have (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses of or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. In order to make this determination, we evaluated our contractual arrangements with the VIEs, including arrangements for the use of assets, purchases of products and services, debt, equity, or management of operating activities.

Offsetting fair value amounts of commodity derivative contracts

We have elected to offset the fair value amounts recognized for multiple similar derivative contracts executed with the same counterparty, including any related cash collateral assets or obligations as shown below; however, fair value amounts by hierarchy level are presented in the following tables on a gross basis. We have no derivative contracts that are subject to master netting arrangements that are reflected gross on the balance sheet.

Derivative instruments collateral requirements

We do not require any collateral or other security to support derivative instruments into which we enter.