Inventory, Linefill and Base Gas and Long-term Inventory

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Inventory, Linefill and Base Gas and Long-term Inventory

Inventory, Linefill and Base Gas and Long-term Inventory

Inventory, Linefill and Base Gas and Long-term Inventory

Inventory, including long-term inventory, primarily consists of crude oil and NGL in pipelines, storage facilities and railcars that are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value, with cost determined using an average cost method within specific inventory pools. At the end of each reporting period, we assess the carrying value of our inventory and make any adjustments necessary to reduce the carrying value to the applicable net realizable value. Any resulting adjustments are a component of “Purchases and related costs” on our accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. During the year ended December 31, 2021, no adjustments were recorded. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we recorded charges of $233 million (of which $40 million was associated with our long-term inventory) and $11 million, respectively, related to the write down of our crude oil and NGL inventory due to declines in prices. A portion of these inventory valuation adjustments was offset by the recognition of gains on derivative instruments being utilized to hedge future sales of our crude oil and NGL inventory. Such gains were recorded to “Product sales revenues” in our accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. See Note 13 for discussion of our derivative and risk management activities.

Linefill and base gas in assets we own are recorded at historical cost and consist of crude oil, NGL and natural gas. We classify as linefill or base gas (i) our proportionate share of barrels used to fill a pipeline that we own such that when an incremental barrel is pumped into or enters a pipeline it forces product out at another location, (ii) barrels that represent the minimum working requirements in tanks and caverns that we own and (iii) natural gas required to maintain the minimum operating pressure of natural gas storage facilities we own. Following the sale of our Pine Prairie and Southern Pines natural gas storage facilities in August of 2021, we no longer own natural gas storage facilities. See Note 7 for additional information.

Linefill and base gas carrying amounts are reviewed for impairment in accordance with FASB guidance with respect to accounting for the impairment or disposal of long-lived assets. Carrying amounts that are not expected to be recoverable through future cash flows are written down to estimated fair value. See Note 6 for further discussion regarding impairment of long-lived assets. During 2021, 2020 and 2019, we did not recognize any material impairments of linefill and base gas.

Minimum working inventory requirements in third-party assets and other working inventory in our assets that are needed for our commercial operations are included within specific inventory pools in inventory (a current asset) in determining the average cost of operating inventory. At the end of each period, we reclassify the inventory not expected to be liquidated within the succeeding twelve months out of “Inventory,” at the average cost of the applicable inventory pools, and into “Long-term inventory,” which is reflected as a separate line item under “Other assets” on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Inventory, linefill and base gas and long-term inventory consisted of the following (barrels and natural gas volumes in thousands and carrying value in millions):

	December 31, 2021						December 31, 2020
	Volumes	Unit of Measure	Carrying Value		Price/ Unit (1)		Volumes	Unit of Measure	Carrying Value		Price/ Unit (1)
Inventory
Crude oil	8,041	barrels	$	544	$	67.65	13,450	barrels	$	441	$	32.79
NGL	6,982	barrels	234		$	33.51	12,302	barrels	199		$	16.18
Other	N/A		5		N/A		N/A		7		N/A
Inventory subtotal			783						647
Linefill and base gas
Crude oil	15,199	barrels	862		$	56.71	14,669	barrels	828		$	56.45
NGL	1,633	barrels	45		$	27.56	1,640	barrels	44		$	26.83
Natural gas (2)	—	Mcf	—		$	—	25,576	Mcf	110		$	4.30
Linefill and base gas subtotal			907						982
Long-term inventory
Crude oil	2,973	barrels	209		$	70.30	2,499	barrels	111		$	44.42
NGL	1,135	barrels	44		$	38.77	1,185	barrels	19		$	16.03
Long-term inventory subtotal			253						130
Total			$	1,943					$	1,759

(1)Price per unit of measure is comprised of a weighted average associated with various grades, qualities and locations. Accordingly, these prices may not coincide with any published benchmarks for such products.

(2)Base gas with a carrying value of $110 million was included in the sale of our natural gas storage facilities, which closed in August 2021. See Note 7 for additional information.