S-3

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

Non-accelerated filer

¨ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

Smaller reporting company

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, 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. (Check one):

The Registrants hereby amend this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrants shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Up to 19,739,092 common units representing limited partner interests in us may be offered and sold from time to time by the selling unitholders named in this prospectus, who acquired the common units in connection with our merger with QR Energy LP, a Delaware limited partnership, or QRE, or in any supplement to this prospectus. The selling unitholders may sell the common units at various times and in various types of transactions, including sales in the open market, sales in negotiated transactions and sales by a combination of these methods. The common units covered by this prospectus may be sold at market prices prevailing at the time or at negotiated prices. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the common units by the selling unitholders.

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to a registration rights agreement dated July 23, 2014, between us and the selling unitholders.

Our common units are traded on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “BBEP.”

Investing in our common units involves risks. Limited partnerships are inherently different from corporations. You should carefully consider each of the factors described under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 7 of this prospectus, contained in any applicable prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein before you make an investment in our common units.

In order to comply with certain U.S. laws relating to the ownership of interests in oil and gas leases on federal lands, we require an owner of our units to be an “Eligible Holder.” If you are not an Eligible Holder, you will not be entitled to receive distributions or allocations of income or loss on your common units, and your common units will be subject to redemption. See “The Partnership Agreement — Non-Eligible Holders; Redemption.”

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

You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents we have incorporated by reference herein and therein. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are not an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of this prospectus, or that the information contained in any document incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of a security.

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. We have filed the registration statement for this shelf registration process pursuant to a registration rights agreement dated July 23, 2014, between us and the selling unitholders. Under this shelf registration process, the selling unitholders may, from time to time, offer and sell up to 19,739,092 common units.

This prospectus, including the documents incorporated herein by reference, provides you with a general description of us and the common units that may be offered by the selling unitholders. In connection with any offer or sale of common units by the selling unitholders under this prospectus, the selling unitholders will be required to provide this prospectus and, in certain cases, a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the selling unitholders, the terms of the applicable offering and the securities being offered. The prospectus supplement may also add to, update or change information in this prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in that prospectus supplement.

The information in this prospectus is accurate as of its date. Therefore, before you invest in our common units, you should carefully read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement and the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

The following information should help you understand some of the conventions used in this prospectus:

We are an independent oil and gas partnership focused on the acquisition, exploitation and development of oil and gas properties in the United States.

Our principal executive offices are located at 515 South Flower Street, Suite 4800, Los Angeles, California 90071, and our phone number is (213) 225-5900. Our website is located at http://www.breitburn.com. We make our periodic reports and other information filed with or furnished to the SEC available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable. Information on our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and does not constitute a part of this prospectus unless specifically so designated and filed with the SEC.

For additional information as to our business, properties and financial condition, please refer to the documents cited in “Where You Can Find More Information.”

We are required to file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any documents filed by us at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding us. The SEC’s website is located at http://www.sec.gov.

We also make available free of charge on our website located at http://www.breitburn.com all of the documents that we file with or furnish to the SEC as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with the SEC. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider information contained on our website as part of this prospectus unless specifically so designated and filed with the SEC.

We “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus, except for any information superseded by information contained expressly in this prospectus, and the information we file later with the SEC will automatically supersede this information. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is current as of any date other than the date on the front page of this prospectus.

We incorporate by reference in this prospectus the documents listed below that we have previously filed with the SEC:

In addition, we incorporate by reference into this prospectus any future filings made by Breitburn Energy Partners LP with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act (excluding any information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 on any Current Report on Form 8-K), after the date on which the registration statement that includes this prospectus was initially filed with the SEC and until all offerings under this shelf registration statement are terminated.

You may request a copy of any document incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any exhibit specifically incorporated by reference into those documents, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address or phone number:

Statements included in this prospectus that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “future,” “projected,” “goal,” “should,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “could,” “will,” “would,” “recommends” and words of similar meaning. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this prospectus. Examples of these types of statements include those regarding:

Although these statements are based upon our current expectations and beliefs, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those

described in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements. In that event, our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially adversely affected, and investors in our securities could lose part or all of their investment. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the following:

If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated, projected or expected. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements described under the heading “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this prospectus, in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, including any amendments thereto, and, to the extent applicable, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments thereto. The risk factors and other factors included in this prospectus could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

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

We undertake no obligation to publicly update the forward-looking statements in this prospectus to reflect future events or circumstances unless required by law. All such statements are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

The nature of our business activities subjects us to certain hazards and risks. Additionally, limited partner interests are inherently different from the capital stock of a corporation, although many of the business risks to which we are subject are similar to those that would be faced by a corporation engaged in similar businesses. You should carefully consider the risk factors and all of the other information included in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, including those included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, including any amendments thereto and, if applicable, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments thereto, in evaluating an investment in our securities. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. When we offer and sell any securities pursuant to a prospectus supplement, we may include additional risk factors relevant to such securities in the prospectus supplement. Also, please read “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

The common units to be offered and sold pursuant to this prospectus will be offered and sold by the selling unitholders. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of common units by the selling unitholders. We have agreed to pay all expenses of the registration of the common units offered by this prospectus.

Our common units represent limited partner interests in Breitburn Energy Partners LP. The holders of common units are entitled to participate in partnership distributions and exercise the rights or privileges available to common unitholders under our partnership agreement. For a description of the rights and privileges of common unitholders under our partnership agreement, including voting rights, please read “The Partnership Agreement.”

Our common units trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “BBEP.”

In order to comply with certain U.S. laws relating to the ownership of interests in oil and gas leases on federal lands, we have adopted requirements regarding our owners. Our partnership agreement requires that a transferee of common units properly complete and deliver to us a transfer application containing a certification as to a number of matters, including the status of the transferee, or all its owners, as being an Eligible Holder (as defined below under “— Transfer of Common Units”). If a transferee or a common unitholder, as the case may be, is not an Eligible Holder, the transferee or common unitholder may not have any right to receive any distributions or allocations of income or loss on its common units or to vote its common units on any matter, and we have the right to redeem such common units at a price that is equal to the then-current market price of such common units. The redemption price will be paid in cash or by delivery of a promissory note, as determined by our general partner. Please read “— Transfer of Common Units” below and “The Partnership Agreement — Non-Eligible Holders; Redemption.”

American Stock Transfer and Trust Company is the registrar and transfer agent for the common units. We will pay all fees charged by the transfer agent for transfers of common units except the following that must be paid by common unitholders:

There is no charge to common unitholders for disbursements of our cash distributions. We will indemnify the transfer agent, its agents and each of their stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.

By transfer of common units in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of common units shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer is recorded in our books and records. Each transferee:

As used in this prospectus, an Eligible Holder means a person or entity qualified to hold an interest in oil and gas leases on federal lands. As of the date hereof, an Eligible Holder means: (1) a citizen of the United States; (2) a corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof; or (3) an association of U.S. citizens, such as a partnership or limited liability company, organized under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof, but only if such association does not have any direct or indirect foreign ownership, other than foreign ownership of stock in a parent corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof. For the avoidance of doubt, onshore mineral leases or any direct or indirect interest therein may be acquired and held by aliens only through stock ownership, holding or control in a corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof and only for so long as the alien is not from a country that the U.S. federal government regards as denying similar privileges to citizens or corporations of the United States.

A transferee will become a substituted limited partner of our partnership for the transferred common units automatically upon the recording of the transfer on our books and records. Our general partner will cause any transfers to be recorded on our books and records no less frequently than quarterly.

We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of a common unit as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holder’s rights are limited solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the nominee holder.

Common units are securities and are transferable according to the laws governing transfers of securities. In addition to other rights acquired upon transfer, the transferor gives the transferee the right to seek to become a substituted limited partner in our partnership for the transferred common units subject to the conditions of, and in the manner provided under, our partnership agreement.

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

The following is a summary of the material provisions of the Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Breitburn Energy Partners LP, as amended, which is referred to in this prospectus as our partnership agreement. Our partnership agreement is available as described under “Where You Can Find More Information.” We will provide prospective investors with a copy of this agreement upon request at no charge.

We summarize the following provisions of our partnership agreement elsewhere in this prospectus:

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

Although our general partner has the ability to cause us to engage in activities other than the acquisition, exploitation, development and production of oil and gas reserves, our general partner has no current plans to do so and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or our limited partners. Our general partner is authorized in general to perform all acts it determines to be necessary or appropriate to carry out our purposes and to conduct our business.

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

Unitholders are not obligated to make additional capital contributions, except as described below under “— Limited Liability.”

Assuming that a limited partner does not participate in the control of our business within the meaning of the Delaware Act (as defined in our partnership agreement) and that he otherwise acts in conformity with the provisions of our partnership agreement, his liability under the Delaware Act will be limited, subject to possible exceptions, to the amount of capital he is obligated to contribute to us for his units plus his share of any undistributed profits and assets. If it were determined, however, that the right, or exercise of the right, by the limited partners as a group:

constituted “participation in the control” of our business for the purposes of the Delaware Act, then our limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the laws of Delaware, to the same extent as our general partner. This liability would extend to persons who transact business with us and reasonably believe that the limited partner is a general partner. Neither our partnership agreement nor the Delaware Act specifically provides for legal recourse against our general partner if a limited partner were to lose limited liability through any fault of our general partner. While this does not mean that a limited partner could not seek legal recourse, we know of no clear precedent for this type of a claim in Delaware case law.

Under the Delaware Act, a limited partnership may not make a distribution to a partner if, after the distribution, all liabilities of the limited partnership, other than liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interests and liabilities for which the recourse of creditors is limited to specific property of the partnership, would exceed the fair value of the assets of the limited partnership. For the purpose of determining the fair value of the assets of a limited partnership, the Delaware Act provides that the fair value of property subject to liability for which recourse of creditors is limited shall be included in the assets of the limited partnership only to the extent that the fair value of that property exceeds the nonrecourse liability. The Delaware Act provides that a limited partner who receives a distribution and knew at the time of the distribution that the distribution was in violation of the Delaware Act shall be liable to the limited partnership for the amount of the distribution for three years. Under the Delaware Act, unless otherwise provided in our partnership agreement, a substituted limited partner of a limited partnership is liable for the obligations of his assignor to make contributions to the partnership, except that such person is not obligated for liabilities unknown to him at the time he became a limited partner and that could not be ascertained from the partnership agreement.

Limitations on the liability of limited partners for the obligations of a limited partner have not been clearly established in many jurisdictions. If, by virtue of our partnership interest in our operating company or otherwise, it were determined that we were conducting business in any state without compliance with the applicable limited partnership or limited liability company statute, or that the right or exercise of the right by the limited partners as a group to vote in the election of directors to the board of directors of our general partner or to remove or replace our general partner, to approve some amendments to our partnership agreement or to take other action under our partnership agreement constituted “participation in the control” of our business for purposes of the statutes of any relevant jurisdiction, then our limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the law of that jurisdiction to the same extent as our general partner under the circumstances. We will operate in a manner that our general partner considers reasonable and necessary or appropriate to preserve the limited liability of the limited partners.

An annual meeting of our limited partners holding common units for the election of directors to the board of directors of our general partner will be held in June of each year or at such other date and time as may be fixed from time to time by our general partner. Please read “— Meetings; Voting.”

The following is a summary of the unitholder vote required for the matters specified below.

The number of directors constituting the whole board of directors of our general partner may not be less than five or more than nine as established from time to time by a resolution adopted by a majority of the directors. The board of directors has been divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III. Each director will serve for a three-year term as provided in our partnership agreement.

An annual meeting of the limited partners holding common units for the election of directors to the board of directors of our general partner will be held in June of each year or at such other date and time as may be fixed from time to time by our general partner. Notice of the annual meeting will be given not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days prior to the date of such meeting.

The limited partners holding common units will vote together as a single class for the election of directors. The limited partners entitled to vote will elect by a plurality of the votes cast at such meeting persons to serve as directors on the board of directors of our general partner who are nominated in accordance with the provisions of our partnership agreement. The exercise by a limited partner of the right to elect the directors and any other rights afforded to such limited partner under our partnership agreement will be in such limited partner’s capacity as a limited partner of the Partnership and are not intended to cause a limited partner to be deemed to be taking part in the management and control of the business and affairs of the Partnership.

Each record holder of a common unit has a vote according to his percentage interest in us. Holders of Series A Preferred Units only have voting rights with respect to amendments to our partnership agreement that would have a material adverse effect on the terms of the Series A Preferred Units and in other limited circumstances affecting the Series A Preferred Units, although additional limited partner interests having special voting rights could be issued. Please read “— Issuance of Additional Securities.”. Our partnership agreement contains specific provisions that are intended to discourage a person or group from attempting to change management without the support of the board of directors of our general partner. If at any time any person or group, other than (a) our general partner and its affiliates, (b) a direct or subsequently approved transferee of our general partner or its affiliates or (c) a person or group that acquires units with the prior approval of the board of directors of our general partner, acquires, in the aggregate, beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, that person or group will lose voting rights on all of its units, and the units may not be voted on any

matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders (unless otherwise required by law), calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes except such units may be considered to be outstanding for purposes of the voluntary withdrawal of our general partner, as contemplated in our partnership agreement.

In addition, solely with respect to the election of directors, our partnership agreement provides that (x) our general partner and the Partnership will not be entitled to vote their units, if any, and (y) if at any time any person or group beneficially owns 20% or more of the outstanding Partnership securities of any class then outstanding and otherwise entitled to vote, then all Partnership securities owned by such person or group in excess of 20% of the outstanding Partnership securities of the applicable class may not be voted, and in each case, the foregoing units will not be counted when calculating the required votes for such matter and will not be deemed to be outstanding for purposes of determining a quorum for such meeting. Such units will not be treated as a separate class of Partnership securities for purposes of our partnership agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the board of directors of our general partner may, by action specifically referencing votes for the election of directors, determine that the limitation set forth in clause (y) above will not apply to a specific person or group.

Except as described above, unitholders on the record date will be entitled to notice of, and to vote at, meetings of our limited partners and to act upon matters for which approvals may be solicited. Units held in nominee or street name account will be voted by the broker or other nominee in accordance with the instruction of the beneficial owner unless the arrangement between the beneficial owner and his nominee provides otherwise. Units that are owned by Non-Eligible Holders will be voted by our general partner, and our general partner will distribute the votes on those units in the same ratios as the votes of limited partners on other units are cast.

Any action that is required or permitted to be taken by our unitholders may be taken either at a meeting of the unitholders or, if authorized by our general partner, without a meeting if consents in writing describing the action so taken are signed by holders of the number of units as would be necessary to authorize or take that action at a meeting. Special meetings of the unitholders may be called by our general partner or by unitholders owning at least 20% of the outstanding units. Unitholders may vote either in person or by proxy at meetings. The holders of a majority of the outstanding units of the class, classes or series for which a meeting was called (including outstanding units deemed owned by the general partner), represented in person or by proxy, will constitute a quorum unless otherwise provided in our partnership agreement in connection with the election of directors to the board of directors of our general partner or unless any action by the unitholders requires approval by holders of a greater percentage of the units, in which case the quorum will be the greater percentage.

Any notice, demand, request, report or proxy material required or permitted to be given or made to record holders of units under our partnership agreement will be delivered to the record holder by us or by the transfer agent.

Nominations of persons for election to the board of directors of our general partner may be made at an annual meeting of the limited partners only (a) pursuant to our general partner’s notice of meeting (or any supplement thereto), (b) by or at the direction of the board of directors or any committee thereof or (c) by any limited partner who (1) was a record holder at the time the notice provided for in our partnership agreement is delivered to our general partner, (2) is entitled to vote at the meeting and (3) complies with the notice procedures set forth in our partnership agreement.

For any nominations brought before an annual meeting by a limited partner, the limited partner must give timely notice thereof in writing to our general partner. The notice must contain certain information as described in our partnership agreement. To be timely, a limited partner’s notice must be delivered to our general partner not later than the close of business on the 90th day, nor earlier than the close of business on the 120th day, prior to

the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting (provided, however, that in the event that the date of the annual meeting is more than 30 days before or more than 70 days after such anniversary date, notice by the limited partner must be so delivered not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the 90th day prior to such annual meeting or the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of such meeting is first made by the Partnership or our general partner). The public announcement of an adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting will not commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a limited partner’s notice as described above.

In the event that the number of directors to be elected to the board of directors of our general partner is increased effective at the annual meeting and there is no public announcement by the Partnership or our general partner naming the nominees for the additional directorships at least 100 days prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting, a limited partner’s notice will also be considered timely, but only with respect to nominees for the additional directorships, if it shall be delivered to our general partner not later than the close of business on the 10th day following the day on which such public announcement is first made by the Partnership or our general partner.

Nominations of persons for election to the board of directors also may be made at a special meeting of limited partners at which directors are to be elected in accordance with the provisions of our partnership agreement.

Only such persons who are nominated in accordance with the procedures set forth in our partnership agreement will be eligible to be elected at an annual or special meeting of limited partners to serve as directors. Notwithstanding the foregoing, unless otherwise required by law, if the limited partner (or a qualified representative of the limited partner) does not appear at the annual or special meeting of limited partners to present a nomination, such nomination shall be disregarded notwithstanding that proxies in respect of such vote may have been received by our general partner or the Partnership.

In addition to the provisions described above and in our partnership agreement, a limited partner must also comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder; provided, however, that any references in our partnership agreement to the Exchange Act or the rules promulgated thereunder are not intended to and do not limit any requirements applicable to nominations pursuant to our partnership agreement, and compliance with our partnership agreement is the exclusive means for a limited partner to make nominations.

Subject to certain approval rights of holders of Series A Preferred Units for issuances adversely affecting the Series A Preferred Units, our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional limited partner interests and other equity securities for the consideration and on the terms and conditions established by our general partner without the approval of our unitholders.

It is possible that we will fund acquisitions through the issuance of additional common units, preferred units or other equity securities. Holders of any additional common units, preferred units or other equity securities we issue will be entitled to share equally with the then-existing holders of such common units, preferred units or other equity securities in our cash distributions. In addition, the issuance of additional partnership interests may dilute the value of the interests of the then-existing holders of units in our net assets.

In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we may also issue additional partnership interests that, as determined by our general partner, may have special voting rights to which the common units are not entitled. In addition, our partnership agreement does not prohibit the issuance by our subsidiaries of equity securities that may effectively rank senior to our common units.

The holders of units will not have a preemptive right to acquire additional units or other partnership securities.

In connection with the closing of our offering of Series A Preferred Units, on May 21, 2014, we executed the Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Breitburn Energy Partners LP, for the purpose of defining the preferences, rights, powers and duties of holders of Series A Preferred Units. The Series A Preferred Units rank senior to our common units with respect to the payment of distributions and distribution of assets upon liquidation, dissolution and winding up. The Series A Preferred Units have no stated maturity and are not subject to mandatory redemption or any sinking fund and will remain outstanding indefinitely unless repurchased or redeemed by us or converted into common units in connection with a change of control. Holders of Series A Preferred Units will be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the board of directors of our general partner out of legally available funds for such purposes, cumulative cash monthly distributions. Distributions on the Series A Preferred Units will accrue at a rate of 8.25% per annum per $25.00 stated liquidation preference per Series A Preferred Unit.

At any time on or after May 15, 2019, subject to certain restrictions, we may redeem the Series A Preferred Units, in whole or in part, at a redemption price of $25.00 per unit plus an amount equal to all accumulated and unpaid distributions thereon to the date of redemption. In addition, subject to certain restrictions, we may redeem the Series A Preferred Units at the same redemption price following certain changes of control, as described in our partnership agreement; if we do not exercise this option, then the holders of the Series A Preferred Units have the option to convert the Series A Preferred Units into a number of common units per Series A Preferred Unit as set forth in our partnership agreement.

For more information about the terms of the Series A Preferred Units, please see our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 21, 2014 (including the copy of our Partnership Agreement filed as an exhibit thereto) and our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed on May 21, 2014, each of which is incorporated by reference herein.

Amendments to our partnership agreement may be proposed only by or with the consent of our general partner. However, to the fullest extent permitted by law, our general partner will have no duty or obligation to propose any amendment and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or the limited partners. To adopt a proposed amendment, other than the amendments discussed below under “— No Unitholder Approval,” our general partner is required to seek written approval of the holders of the number of units required to approve the amendment or call a meeting of the limited partners to consider and vote upon the proposed amendment. Except as described below, an amendment must be approved by our general partner and a majority of our outstanding common units.

The provision of our partnership agreement restricting the amendments having the effects described in clauses (a) to (c) above can be amended upon the approval of the holders of at least 90% of the outstanding units.

Our general partner generally may make amendments to our partnership agreement without the approval of any limited partner or assignee to reflect:

In addition, our general partner may, subject to the approval rights of the holders of Series A Preferred Units, make amendments to our partnership agreement without the approval of any limited partner or assignee if our general partner determines, at its option, that those amendments:

Our general partner will not be required to obtain an opinion of counsel that an amendment will not result in a loss of limited liability to the limited partners or result in our being treated as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes in connection with any of the amendments described under “— No Unitholder Approval.” No other amendments to our partnership agreement will become effective without the approval of holders of at least 90% of the outstanding units unless we first obtain an opinion of counsel to the effect that the amendment will not affect the limited liability under applicable law of any of our limited partners. Except for amendments that may be adopted by our general partner without unitholder approval and certain amendments adopted in connection with a merger, any amendment that would have a material adverse effect on the rights or preferences of any class of outstanding units in relation to other classes of units will require the approval of at least a majority of the class of units so affected. Any amendment that reduces the voting percentage required to take any action must be approved by the affirmative vote of limited partners constituting not less than the voting requirement sought to be reduced.

A merger or consolidation of us requires the prior consent of our general partner. However, to the fullest extent permitted by law, our general partner will have no duty or obligation to consent to any merger or consolidation and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or the limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or the limited partners.

In addition, our partnership agreement generally prohibits our general partner, without the prior approval of the holders of a majority of our outstanding common units, from causing us to, among other things, sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, including by way of merger, consolidation or other combination, or approving on our behalf the sale, exchange or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of our subsidiaries. Our general partner may, however, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of our assets and the assets of our subsidiaries without that approval. Our general partner may also sell all or substantially all of our assets and the assets of our subsidiaries under a foreclosure or other realization upon those encumbrances without that approval. Finally, our general partner may consummate any merger without the prior approval of our unitholders if we are the surviving entity in the transaction, our general partner has received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters, the transaction would not result in a material amendment to our partnership agreement, each of our units will be an identical unit of our partnership following the transaction and the units to be issued in such merger do not exceed 20% of our outstanding units immediately prior to the transaction.

If the conditions specified in our partnership agreement are satisfied, our general partner may convert us or any of our subsidiaries into a new limited liability entity or merge us or any of our subsidiaries into, or convey all of our assets to, a newly formed entity if the sole purpose of that merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in our legal form into another limited liability entity. Unless provided for the in the merger agreement, the unitholders are not entitled to dissenters’ rights of appraisal under our partnership agreement or the Delaware Act in the event of a conversion, merger or consolidation, a sale of substantially all of our assets or any other transaction or event.

We will continue as a limited partnership until terminated under our partnership agreement or the Delaware Act. We will dissolve upon:

Upon a dissolution under clause (d) above, the holders of a majority of our outstanding units may also elect, within specific time limitations, to continue our business on the same terms and conditions described in our partnership agreement by appointing as a successor general partner an entity approved by the holders of a majority of our outstanding common units subject to receipt by us of an opinion of counsel to the effect that:

Upon our dissolution, unless we are continued without dissolution, the liquidator authorized to wind up our affairs will, acting with all the powers of our general partner that are necessary or appropriate, liquidate our assets. The proceeds of the liquidation will be applied as follows:

Under some circumstances and subject to some limitations, the liquidator may defer liquidation or distribution of our assets for a reasonable period of time. If the liquidator determines that a sale would be impractical or would cause a loss to our partners, the liquidator may distribute assets in kind to our partners.

Our partnership agreement generally provides that affiliated transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest not involving a vote of unitholders and that are not approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner will be permitted and deemed approved by all of our partners if:

If at any time our general partner and its affiliates hold more than 80% of the outstanding limited partner interests of any class (other than the Series A Preferred Units), our general partner will have the right, but not the obligation, which it may assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates or us, to purchase all, but not less than all, of the remaining limited partner interests of the class held by unaffiliated persons as of a record date to be selected by our general partner, on at least 10 but not more than 60 days’ notice. The purchase price in the event of this purchase is the greater of:

As a result of our general partner’s right to purchase outstanding limited partner interests, a holder of limited partner interests may have his limited partner interests purchased at an undesirable time or price. The tax consequences to a unitholder of the exercise of this call right are the same as a sale by that unitholder of his units in the market. Please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations — Disposition of Units.”

By transfer of units in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of units shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the transferred units when such transfer is reflected in our books and records. Except as described under “— Limited Liability,” the units will be fully paid, and unitholders will not be required to make additional contributions.

To comply with certain U.S. laws relating to the ownership of interests in oil and gas leases on federal lands, transferees may be required to fill out a properly completed transfer application certifying, and our general partner, acting on our behalf, may at any time require each unitholder to re-certify, that the unitholder is an Eligible Holder. As used herein, an Eligible Holder means a person or entity qualified to hold an interest in oil and gas leases on federal lands. As of the date hereof, Eligible Holder means: (1) a citizen of the United States; (2) a corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof; or (3) an association of U.S. citizens, such as a partnership or limited liability company, organized under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof, but only if such association does not have any direct or indirect foreign ownership, other than foreign ownership of stock in a parent corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof. For the avoidance of doubt, onshore mineral leases or any direct or indirect interest therein may be acquired and held by aliens only through stock ownership, holding or control in a corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof and only for so long as the alien is not from a country that the U.S. federal government regards as denying similar privileges to citizens or corporations of the United States. This certification can be changed in any manner our general partner determines is necessary or appropriate to implement its original purpose.

then, as the case may be, such transfer will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be void, or we will have the right to redeem the units held by such unitholder. Further, the units held by such unitholder may not be entitled to any allocations of income or loss, distributions or voting rights.

The purchase price will be paid in cash or delivery of a promissory note, as determined by our general partner. Any such promissory note will bear interest at the rate of 10% annually and be payable in three equal annual installments of principal and accrued interest, commencing one year after the redemption date.

Under our partnership agreement, in most circumstances, we will indemnify the following persons, to the fullest extent permitted by law, from and against all losses, claims, damages or similar events:

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

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

Our general partner is required to keep appropriate books of our business at our principal offices. The books will be maintained for both tax and financial reporting purposes on an accrual basis. For tax and fiscal reporting purposes, our fiscal year is the calendar year.

We will furnish or make available to record holders of units, within 120 days after the close of each fiscal year, an annual report containing audited financial statements and a report on those financial statements by our independent public accountants. Except for our fourth quarter, we will also furnish or make available summary financial information within 90 days after the close of each quarter.

We will furnish each record holder of a unit with information reasonably required for tax reporting purposes within 90 days after the close of each calendar year. This information is expected to be furnished in summary form so that some complex calculations normally required of partners can be avoided. Our ability to furnish this summary information to unitholders will depend on the cooperation of unitholders in supplying us with specific information. Every unitholder will receive information to assist him in determining his U.S. federal and state tax liability and filing his U.S. federal and state income tax returns, regardless of whether he supplies us with information.

A limited partner can, for a purpose reasonably related to the limited partner’s interest as a limited partner, upon reasonable written demand stating the purpose of such demand and at his own expense, obtain:

Our general partner may, and intends to, keep confidential from the limited partners trade secrets and other information the disclosure of which our general partner believes in good faith is not in our best interests or which we are required by law or by agreements with third parties to keep confidential.

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

Legal conclusions contained in this section, unless otherwise noted, are the opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. insofar as they related to matters of U.S. federal income tax law and are based on the accuracy of representations made by us to them for this purpose. However, this section does not address all federal income tax matters that affect us or our common unitholders and does not describe the application of the alternative minimum tax that may be applicable to certain unitholders. Furthermore, this section focuses on common unitholders who are individual citizens or residents of the United States (for federal income tax purposes), who have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency, who use the calendar year as their taxable year, and who hold common units as capital assets (generally, property that is held for investment). This section has limited applicability to corporations, partnerships, entities treated as partnerships for federal income tax purposes, estates, trusts, non-resident aliens or other common unitholders subject to specialized tax treatment, such as tax-exempt institutions, non-U.S. persons, individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”), employee benefit plans, real estate investment trusts or mutual funds. Accordingly, we encourage each common unitholder to consult such unitholder’s own tax advisor in analyzing the federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences that are particular to that unitholder resulting from ownership or disposition of its units and potential changes in applicable tax laws.

No ruling has been or will be requested from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) regarding any matter affecting us. Instead, we are relying on opinions and advice of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. with respect to the matters described herein. Unlike a ruling, an opinion of counsel represents only that counsel’s best legal judgment and does not bind the IRS or a court. Accordingly, the opinions and statements made herein may not be sustained by a court if contested by the IRS. Any such contest of the matters described herein may materially and adversely impact the market for our units and the prices at which such units trade. In addition, our costs of any contest with the IRS will be borne indirectly by our common unitholders because the costs will reduce our cash available for distribution. Furthermore, the tax consequences of an investment in us may be significantly modified by future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions, which may be retroactively applied.

For the reasons described below, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion with respect to the following federal income tax issues: (1) the treatment of a common unitholder whose units are the subject of a securities loan (e.g., a loan to a short seller to cover a short sale of units) (please read “— Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership — Treatment of Securities Loans”); (2) whether our monthly convention for allocating taxable income and losses is permitted by existing Treasury Regulations (please read “— Disposition of Units — Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees”); (3) whether percentage depletion will be available to a unitholder or the extent of the percentage depletion deduction available to any unitholder (please read “— Tax Treatment of Operations — Oil and Natural Gas Taxation — Depletion Deductions”); (4) whether the deduction related to U.S. production activities will be available to a unitholder or the extent of any such deduction to any unitholder (please read “— Tax Treatment of Operations — Oil and Natural Gas Taxation — Deduction for U.S. Production Activities”); and (5) whether our method for taking into account Section 743 adjustments is sustainable in certain cases (please read “— Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership — Section 754 Election” and “— Uniformity of Units”).

We expect to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, generally will not be liable for entity-level federal income taxes. Instead, as described below, each of our common unitholders will take into account its respective share of our items of income, gain, loss and deduction in computing its federal income tax liability as if the common unitholder had earned such income directly, even if we make no cash distributions to the common unitholder.

Section 7704 of the Code generally provides that publicly traded partnerships will be treated as corporations for federal income tax purposes. However, if 90% or more of a partnership’s gross income for every taxable year it is publicly traded consists of “qualifying income,” the partnership may continue to be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes (the “Qualifying Income Exception”). Qualifying income includes income and gains derived from the exploration, development, mining or production, processing, transportation, and marketing of natural resources, including oil, gas, and products thereof. Other types of qualifying income include interest (other than from a financial business), dividends, gains from the sale of real property and gains from the sale or other disposition of capital assets held for the production of income that otherwise constitutes qualifying income. We estimate that less than 2% of our current gross income is not qualifying income; however, this estimate could change from time to time.

Based upon the factual representations made by us and our general partner, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that we will be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. The representations made by us and our general partner upon which Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has relied in rendering its opinion include, without limitation:

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

The present federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our common units may be modified by administrative or legislative action or judicial interpretation at any time. For example, from time to time, members of the U.S. Congress propose and consider substantive changes to the existing federal income tax laws that affect publicly traded partnerships. One such legislative proposal would have eliminated the Qualifying Income Exception upon which we rely for our treatment as a partnership for U.S.

federal income tax purposes. We are unable to predict whether any such changes will ultimately be enacted. However, it is possible that a change in law could affect us and may be applied retroactively. Any such changes could negatively impact the value of an investment in our units.

If for any reason we are taxable as a corporation in any taxable year, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction would be taken into account by us in determining the amount of our liability for federal income tax, rather than being passed through to our common unitholders. Our taxation as a corporation would materially reduce the cash available for distribution to unitholders and thus would likely substantially reduce the value of our units. Any distribution made to a unitholder at a time we are treated as a corporation would be (i) a taxable dividend to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, then (ii) a nontaxable return of capital to the extent of the unitholder’s tax basis in its units, and thereafter (iii) taxable capital gain.

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

Common unitholders who are admitted as limited partners of the partnership as well as common unitholders whose units are held in street name or by a nominee and who have the right to direct the nominee in the exercise of all substantive rights attendant to the ownership of units, will be treated as partners of the partnership for federal income tax purposes. For a discussion related to the risks of losing partner status as a result of securities loans, please read “— Treatment of Securities Loans.” Unitholders who are not treated as partners of the partnership as described above are urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences applicable to them under their particular circumstances.

Subject to the discussion below under “— Entity-Level Collections of Unitholder Taxes” with respect to payments we may be required to make on behalf of our common unitholders, we will not pay any federal income tax. Rather, each common unitholder will be required to report on its federal income tax return each year its share of our income, gains, losses and deductions for our taxable year or years ending with or within its taxable year. Consequently, we may allocate income to a common unitholder even if that unitholder has not received a cash distribution.

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

Distributions by us to a common unitholder generally will not be taxable to the common unitholder, unless such distributions exceed the unitholder’s tax basis in its common units, in which case the unitholder generally will recognize gain taxable in the manner described below under “— Disposition of Units.”

Any reduction in a unitholder’s share of our “liabilities” will be treated as a distribution by us of cash to that unitholder. A decrease in a unitholder’s percentage interest in us because of our issuance of additional units may

decrease the unitholder’s share of our liabilities. For purposes of the foregoing, a unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities (liabilities for which no partner bears the economic risk of loss) generally will be based upon that unitholder’s share of the unrealized appreciation (or depreciation) in our assets, to the extent thereof, with any excess liabilities allocated based on the unitholder’s share of our profits. Please read “— Disposition of Units.”

A non-pro rata distribution of money or property (including a deemed distribution as a result of the reallocation of our liabilities described above) may cause a unitholder to recognize ordinary income, if the distribution reduces the unitholder’s share of our “unrealized receivables,” including recapture of intangible drilling costs, depreciation and depletion recapture and substantially appreciated “inventory items,” both as defined in Section 751 of the Code (“Section 751 Assets”). To the extent of such reduction, the unitholder would be deemed to receive its proportionate share of the Section 751 Assets and exchange such assets with us in return for a portion of the non-pro rata distribution. This deemed exchange generally will result in the unitholder’s recognition of ordinary income in an amount equal to the excess of (1) the non-pro rata portion of that distribution over (2) the unitholder’s tax basis (generally zero) in the Section 751 Assets deemed to be relinquished in the exchange.

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

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

In addition to the basis and at risk limitations, a passive activity loss limitation generally limits the deductibility of losses incurred by individuals, estates, trusts, some closely-held corporations and personal service corporations from “passive activities” (generally, trade or business activities in which the taxpayer does not materially participate). The passive loss limitations are applied separately with respect to each publicly-traded partnership. Consequently, any passive losses we generate will be available to offset only passive income generated by us. Passive losses that exceed a unitholder’s share of passive income we generate may be deducted in full when the unitholder disposes of all of its units in a fully taxable transaction with an unrelated party. The passive loss rules generally are applied after other applicable limitations on deductions, including the at risk and basis limitations.

The deductibility of a non-corporate taxpayer’s “investment interest expense” generally is limited to the amount of that taxpayer’s “net investment income.” Investment interest expense includes:

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

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

Our items of income, gain, loss and deduction generally will be allocated among our common unitholders in accordance with their percentage interests in us.

Specified items of our income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated under Section 704(c) of the Code (or the principles of Section 704(c) of the Code) to account for any difference between the tax basis and fair market value of our assets at the time such assets are contributed to us and at the time of any subsequent offering of our units (a “Book-Tax Disparity”). As a result, the federal income tax burden associated with any Book-Tax Disparity immediately prior to an offering generally will be borne by our partners holding interests in us prior to such offering. In addition, items of recapture income will be specially allocated to the extent possible to the unitholder who was allocated the deduction giving rise to that recapture income in order to minimize the recognition of ordinary income by other unitholders.

An allocation of items of our income, gain, loss or deduction, other than an allocation required by the Code to eliminate a Book-Tax Disparity, will generally be given effect for federal income tax purposes in determining a partner’s share of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction only if the allocation has “substantial economic effect.” In any other case, a partner’s share of an item will be determined on the basis of the partner’s interest in us, which will be determined by taking into account all the facts and circumstances, including (i) the partner’s relative contributions to us, (ii) the interests of all the partners in profits and losses, (iii) the interest of all the

partners in cash flow and (iv) the rights of all the partners to distributions of capital upon liquidation. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is of the opinion that, with the exception of the issues described in “— Section 754 Election” and “— Disposition of Units — Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees,” allocations of income, gain, loss or deduction under our partnership agreement will be given effect for federal income tax purposes.

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

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

Under current law, the highest marginal federal income tax rates for individuals applicable to ordinary income and long-term capital gains (generally, gains from the sale or exchange of certain investment assets held for more than one year) are 39.6% and 20%, respectively. These rates are subject to change by new legislation at any time.

In addition, a 3.8% net investment income tax applies to certain net investment income earned by individuals, estates, and trusts. For these purposes, net investment income generally includes a common unitholder’s allocable share of our income and gain realized by a common unitholder from a sale of units. In the case of an individual, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) the common unitholder’s net investment income from all investments, or (ii) the amount by which the common unitholder’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 (if the common unitholder is married and filing jointly or a surviving spouse), $125,000 (if married filing separately) or $200,000 (if the unitholder is unmarried or in any other case). In the case of an estate or trust, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) undistributed net investment income, or (ii) the excess adjusted gross income over the dollar amount at which the highest income tax bracket applicable to an estate or trust begins.

We have made the election permitted by Section 754 of the Code that permits us to adjust the tax bases in our assets as to specific purchasers of our units under Section 743(b) of the Code. That election is irrevocable without the consent of the IRS. The Section 743(b) adjustment separately applies to each purchaser of common units based upon the values and bases of our assets at the time of the relevant purchase, and the adjustment will reflect the purchase price paid. The Section 743(b) adjustment does not apply to a person who purchases units directly from us.

Under our partnership agreement, we are authorized to take a position to preserve the uniformity of units even if that position is not consistent with applicable Treasury Regulations. A literal application of Treasury Regulations governing a Section 743(b) adjustment attributable to properties depreciable under Section 167 of the Code may give rise to differences in the taxation of unitholders purchasing units from us and unitholders purchasing from other unitholders. If we have any such properties, we intend to adopt methods employed by

other publicly traded partnerships to preserve the uniformity of units, even if inconsistent with existing Treasury Regulations, and Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not opined on the validity of this approach. Please read “— Uniformity of Units.”

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

The calculations involved in the Section 754 election are complex and are made on the basis of assumptions as to the value of our assets and other matters. The IRS could seek to reallocate some or all of any Section 743(b) adjustment we allocated to our assets subject to depreciation to goodwill or nondepreciable assets. Goodwill, as an intangible asset, is generally amortizable over a longer period of time or under a less accelerated method than our tangible assets. We cannot assure any unitholder that the determinations we make will not be successfully challenged by the IRS or that the resulting deductions will not be reduced or disallowed altogether. Should the IRS require a different tax basis adjustment to be made, and should, in our opinion, the expense of compliance exceed the benefit of the election, we may seek permission from the IRS to revoke our Section 754 election. If permission is granted, a subsequent purchaser of units may be allocated more income than it would have been allocated had the election not been revoked.

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

Depletion Deductions. Subject to the limitations on deductibility of losses discussed above (please read “— Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership — Limitations on Deductibility of Losses”), unitholders will be entitled to deductions for the greater of either cost depletion or (if otherwise allowable) percentage depletion with respect to our oil and natural gas interests. Although the Code requires each unitholder to compute his own depletion allowance and maintain records of his share of the adjusted tax basis of the underlying property for depletion and other purposes, we intend to furnish each of our unitholders with information relating to this computation for federal income tax purposes. Each unitholder, however, remains responsible for calculating his own depletion allowance and maintaining records of his share of the adjusted tax basis of the underlying property for depletion and other purposes.

Percentage depletion is generally available with respect to unitholders who qualify under the independent producer exemption contained in Section 613A(c) of the Code. For this purpose, an independent producer is a person not directly or indirectly involved in the retail sale of oil, natural gas, or derivative contracts or the operation of a major refinery. Percentage depletion is calculated as an amount generally equal to 15% (and, in the case of marginal production, potentially a higher percentage) of the unitholder’s gross income from the depletable property for the taxable year. The percentage depletion deduction with respect to any property is

limited to 100% of the taxable income of the unitholder from the property for each taxable year, computed without the depletion allowance. A unitholder that qualifies as an independent producer may deduct percentage depletion only to the extent the unitholder’s average net daily production of domestic crude oil, or the natural gas equivalent, does not exceed 1,000 barrels. This depletable amount may be allocated between oil and natural gas production, with 6,000 cubic feet of domestic natural gas production regarded as equivalent to one barrel of crude oil. The 1,000-barrel limitation must be allocated among the independent producer and controlled or related persons and family members in proportion to the respective production by such persons during the period in question.

In addition to the foregoing limitations, the percentage depletion deduction otherwise available is limited to 65% of a unitholder’s total taxable income from all sources for the year, computed without the depletion allowance, net operating loss carrybacks, or capital loss carrybacks. Any percentage depletion deduction disallowed because of the 65% limitation may be deducted in the following taxable year if the percentage depletion deduction for such year plus the deduction carryover does not exceed 65% of the unitholder’s total taxable income for that year. The carryover period resulting from the 65% net income limitation is unlimited.

Unitholders that do not qualify under the independent producer exemption are generally restricted to depletion deductions based on cost depletion. Cost depletion deductions are calculated by (1) dividing the unitholder’s share of the adjusted tax basis in the underlying mineral property by the number of mineral units (barrels of oil and thousand cubic feet, or Mcf, of natural gas) remaining as of the beginning of the taxable year and (2) multiplying the result by the number of mineral units sold within the taxable year. The total amount of deductions based on cost depletion cannot exceed the unitholder’s share of the total adjusted tax basis in the property.

All or a portion of any gain recognized by a unitholder as a result of either the disposition by us of some or all of our oil and natural gas interests or the disposition by the unitholder of some or all of his units may be taxed as ordinary income to the extent of recapture of depletion deductions, except for percentage depletion deductions in excess of the tax basis of the property. The amount of the recapture is generally limited to the amount of gain recognized on the disposition.

The foregoing discussion of depletion deductions does not purport to be a complete analysis of the complex legislation and Treasury Regulations relating to the availability and calculation of depletion deductions by the unitholders. Further, because depletion is required to be computed separately by each unitholder and not by our partnership, no assurance can be given, and counsel is unable to express any opinion, with respect to the availability or extent of percentage depletion deductions to the unitholders for any taxable year. Moreover, the availability of percentage depletion may be reduced or eliminated if recently proposed (or similar) tax legislation is enacted. For a discussion of such legislative proposals, please read “— Recent Legislative Developments.” We encourage each prospective unitholder to consult his tax advisor to determine whether percentage depletion would be available to him.

Deductions for Intangible Drilling and Development Costs. We elect to currently deduct intangible drilling and development costs (“IDCs”). IDCs generally include our expenses for wages, fuel, repairs, hauling, supplies and other items that are incidental to, and necessary for, the drilling and preparation of wells for the production of oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy. The option to currently deduct IDCs applies only to those items that do not have a salvage value.

Although we will elect to currently deduct IDCs, each unitholder will have the option of either currently deducting IDCs or capitalizing all or part of the IDCs and amortizing them on a straight-line basis over a 60-month period, beginning with the taxable month in which the expenditure is made. If a unitholder makes the election to amortize the IDCs over a 60-month period, no IDC preference amount in respect of those IDCs will result for alternative minimum tax purposes.

Integrated oil companies must capitalize 30% of all their IDCs (other than IDCs paid or incurred with respect to oil and natural gas wells located outside of the United States) and amortize these IDCs over 60 months

beginning in the month in which those costs are paid or incurred. If the taxpayer ceases to be an integrated oil company, it must continue to amortize those costs as long as it continues to own the property to which the IDCs relate. An “integrated oil company” is a taxpayer that has economic interests in oil or natural gas properties and also carries on substantial retailing or refining operations. An oil or natural gas producer is deemed to be a substantial retailer or refiner if it is subject to the rules disqualifying retailers and refiners from taking percentage depletion. To qualify as an “independent producer” that is not subject to these IDC deduction limits, a unitholder, either directly or indirectly through certain related parties, may not be involved in the refining of more than 75,000 barrels of oil (or the equivalent amount of natural gas) on average for any day during the taxable year or in the retail marketing of oil and natural gas products exceeding $5 million per year in the aggregate.

IDCs previously deducted that are allocable to property (directly or through ownership of an interest in a partnership) and that would have been included in the adjusted tax basis of the property had the IDC deduction not been taken are recaptured to the extent of any gain realized upon the disposition of the property or upon the disposition by a unitholder of interests in us. Recapture is generally determined at the unitholder level. Where only a portion of the recapture property is sold, any IDCs related to the entire property are recaptured to the extent of the gain realized on the portion of the property sold. In the case of a disposition of an undivided interest in a property, a proportionate amount of the IDCs with respect to the property is treated as allocable to the transferred undivided interest to the extent of any gain recognized. Please read “— Disposition of Units — Recognition of Gain or Loss.”

The election to currently deduct IDCs may be restricted or eliminated if recently proposed (or similar) tax legislation is enacted. For a discussion of such legislative proposals, please read “— Recent Legislative Developments.”

Deduction for U.S. Production Activities. Subject to the limitations on the deductibility of losses discussed above and the limitations discussed below, unitholders will be entitled to a deduction, herein referred to as the Section 199 deduction, equal to 9% of the lesser of (1) our qualified production activities income that is allocated to such unitholder or (2) the unitholder’s taxable income, but not to exceed 50% of such unitholder’s IRS Form W-2 wages for the taxable year allocable to domestic production gross receipts.

Qualified production activities income is generally equal to gross receipts from domestic production activities reduced by cost of goods sold allocable to those receipts, other expenses directly associated with those receipts, and a share of other deductions, expenses and losses that are not directly allocable to those receipts or another class of income. The products produced must be manufactured, produced, grown or extracted in whole or in significant part by the taxpayer in the United States.

For a partnership, the Section 199 deduction is determined at the partner level. To determine his Section 199 deduction, each unitholder will aggregate his share of the qualified production activities income allocated to him from us with the unitholder’s qualified production activities income from other sources. Each unitholder must take into account his distributive share of the expenses allocated to him from our qualified production activities regardless of whether we otherwise have taxable income. However, our expenses that otherwise would be taken into account for purposes of computing the Section 199 deduction are taken into account only if and to the extent the unitholder’s share of losses and deductions from all of our activities is not disallowed by the tax basis rules, the at-risk rules or the passive activity loss rules. Please read “Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership — Limitations on Deductibility of Losses.”

The amount of a unitholder’s Section 199 deduction for each year is limited to 50% of the IRS Form W-2 wages actually or deemed paid by the unitholder during the calendar year that are deducted in arriving at qualified production activities income. Each unitholder is treated as having been allocated IRS Form W-2 wages from us equal to the unitholder’s allocable share of our wages that are deducted in arriving at qualified production activities income for that taxable year. It is not anticipated that we or our subsidiaries will pay material wages that will be allocated to our unitholders, and thus a unitholder’s ability to claim the Section 199 deduction may be limited.

A unitholder’s otherwise allowable Section 199 deduction for each taxable year is reduced by 3% of the least of (1) the oil related qualified production activities income of the taxpayer for the taxable year, (2) the qualified production activities income of the taxpayer for the taxable year, or (3) the taxpayer’s taxable income for the taxable year (determined without regard to any Section 199 deduction). For this purpose, the term “oil related qualified production activities income” means the qualified production activities income attributable to the production, refining, processing, transportation, or distribution of oil, gas, or any primary production thereof. We expect that most or all of our qualified production activities income will consist of oil related qualified production activities income.

This discussion of the Section 199 deduction does not purport to be a complete analysis of the complex legislation and Treasury authority relating to the calculation of domestic production gross receipts, qualified production activities income, or IRS Form W-2 wages, or how such items are allocated by us to unitholders. Further, because the Section 199 deduction is required to be computed separately by each unitholder, no assurance can be given, and counsel is unable to express any opinion, as to the availability or extent of the Section 199 deduction to the unitholders. Moreover, the availability of Section 199 deductions may be reduced or eliminated if recently proposed (or similar) tax legislation is enacted. For a discussion of such legislative proposals, please read “— Recent Legislative Developments.” Each prospective unitholder is encouraged to consult his tax advisor to determine whether the Section 199 deduction would be available to him.

Lease Acquisition Costs. The cost of acquiring oil and natural gas lease or similar property interests is a capital expenditure that must be recovered through depletion deductions if the lease is productive. If a lease is proved worthless and abandoned, the cost of acquisition less any depletion claimed may be deducted as an ordinary loss in the year the lease becomes worthless. Please read “— Tax Treatment of Operations — Oil and Natural Gas Taxation — Depletion Deductions.”

Geophysical Costs. The cost of geophysical exploration incurred in connection with the exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in the United States are deducted ratably over a 24-month period beginning on the date that such expense is paid or incurred. This 24-month period is extended to 7 years in the case of major integrated oil companies.

Operating and Administrative Costs. Amounts paid for operating a producing well are deductible as ordinary business expenses, as are administrative costs to the extent they constitute ordinary and necessary business expenses that are reasonable in amount.

Recent Legislative Developments. The present federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our units, may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial interpretation at any time. For example, from time to time, members of the U.S. Congress propose and consider substantive changes to the existing federal income tax laws that affect publicly traded partnerships. One such legislative proposal would have eliminated the Qualifying Income Exception upon which we rely for our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Please read “— Taxation of the Partnership — Partnership Status.” Any modification to the federal income tax laws and interpretations thereof may or may not be applied retroactively. Although we are unable to predict whether any of these changes, or other proposals, will ultimately be enacted, any such changes could negatively impact the value of an investment in our units.

The Obama Administration’s budget proposals for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 include proposals that would, among other things, eliminate or reduce certain key U.S. federal income tax incentives currently available to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. These changes include, but are not limited to, (1) the repeal of the percentage depletion allowance for oil and natural gas properties, (2) the elimination of current deductions for intangible drilling and development costs and certain environmental clean-up costs, (3) the elimination of the deduction for certain domestic production activities, and (4) an extension of the amortization period for certain geological and geophysical expenditures. It is unclear whether these or similar changes will be enacted and, if enacted, how soon any such changes could become effective. The passage of any legislation as a result of these proposals or any other similar changes in U.S. federal income tax laws could eliminate or postpone

certain tax deductions that are currently available with respect to oil and natural gas exploration and development, and any such change could increase the taxable income allocable to our unitholders and negatively impact the value of an investment in our units.

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

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

The federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of units will depend in part on our estimates of the relative fair market values and the tax bases of our assets. Although we may from time to time consult with professional appraisers regarding valuation matters, we will make many of the relative fair market value estimates ourselves. These estimates and determinations of tax basis are subject to challenge and will not be binding on the IRS or the courts. If the estimates of fair market value or basis are later found to be incorrect, the character and amount of items of income, gain, loss or deduction previously reported by common unitholders could change, and common unitholders could be required to adjust their tax liability for prior years and incur interest and penalties with respect to those adjustments.

A common unitholder will be required to recognize gain or loss on a sale of units equal to the difference between the unitholder’s amount realized and tax basis in the units sold. A common unitholder’s amount realized generally will equal the sum of the cash and the fair market value of other property it receives plus its share of our liabilities with respect to the units sold. Because the amount realized includes a unitholder’s share of our liabilities, the gain recognized on the sale of units could result in a tax liability in excess of any cash received from the sale.

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

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

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

Specific provisions of the Code affect the taxation of some financial products and securities, including partnership interests, by treating a taxpayer as having sold an “appreciated” financial position, including a partnership interest with respect to which gain would be recognized if it were sold, assigned or terminated at its fair market value, in the event the taxpayer or a related person enters into:

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

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

Although simplifying conventions are contemplated by the Code and most publicly traded partnerships use similar simplifying conventions, the use of this method may not be permitted under existing Treasury Regulations. Recently, however, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS issued proposed Treasury Regulations that provide a safe harbor pursuant to which a publicly traded partnership may use a similar monthly simplifying convention to allocate tax items among transferor and transferee common unitholders, although such tax items must be prorated on a daily basis. Nonetheless, the proposed regulations do not specifically authorize the use of the proration method we have adopted. Accordingly, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. is unable to opine on the

validity of this method of allocating income and deductions between transferee and transferor common unitholders. If this method is not allowed under the final Treasury Regulations, or only applies to transfers of less than all of the common unitholder’s interest, our taxable income or losses might be reallocated among the common unitholders. We are authorized to revise our method of allocation between transferee and transferor common unitholders, as well as among common unitholders whose interests vary during a taxable year, to conform to a method permitted under future Treasury Regulations.

A common unitholder who disposes of units prior to the record date set for a cash distribution for that quarter will be allocated items of our income, gain, loss and deduction attributable to the month of disposition but will not be entitled to receive a cash distribution for that period.

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

We will be considered to have “constructively” terminated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes upon the sale or exchange of 50% or more of the total interests in our capital and profits within a twelve-month period. For such purposes, multiple sales of the same unit are counted only once. A constructive termination results in the closing of our taxable year for all unitholders. In the case of a unitholder reporting on a taxable year other than the calendar year, the closing of our taxable year may result in more than twelve months of our taxable income or loss being includable in such unitholder’s taxable income for the year of termination.

A constructive termination occurring on a date other than December 31 generally would require that we file two tax returns for one fiscal year thereby increasing our administration and tax preparation costs. However, pursuant to an IRS relief procedure the IRS may allow a constructively terminated partnership to provide a single Schedule K-1 for the calendar year in which a termination occurs. Following a constructive termination, we would be required to make new tax elections, including a new election under Section 754 of the Code, and the termination would result in a deferral of our deductions for depreciation. A termination could also result in penalties if we were unable to determine that the termination had occurred. Moreover, a termination may either accelerate the application of, or subject us to, any tax legislation enacted before the termination that would not otherwise have been applied to us as a continuing as opposed to a terminating partnership.

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

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

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

Ownership of units by employee benefit plans and other tax-exempt organizations as well as by non-resident alien individuals, non-U.S. corporations and other non-U.S. persons (collectively, “Non-U.S. unitholders”) raises issues unique to those investors and, as described below, may have substantially adverse tax consequences to them. Prospective unitholders that are tax-exempt entities or non-U.S. unitholders should consult their tax advisors before investing in our units. Employee benefit plans and most other tax-exempt organizations, including IRAs and other retirement plans, are subject to federal income tax on unrelated business taxable income. Virtually all of our income will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to a tax-exempt unitholder.

Non-U.S. unitholders are taxed by the United States on income effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business (“effectively connected income”) and on certain types of U.S.-source non-effectively connected income (such as dividends), unless exempted or further limited by an income tax treaty will be considered to be engaged in business in the United States because of their ownership of our units. Furthermore, is it probable that they will be deemed to conduct such activities through permanent establishments in the United States within the meaning of applicable tax treaties. Consequently, they will be required to file federal tax returns to report their share of our income, gain, loss or deduction and pay federal income tax on their share of our net income or gain in a manner similar to a taxable U.S. unitholder. Moreover, under rules applicable to publicly traded partnerships, distributions to non-U.S. unitholders are subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate. Each non-U.S. unitholder must obtain a taxpayer identification number from the IRS and submit that number to our transfer agent on a Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or applicable substitute form in order to obtain credit for these withholding taxes.

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

A non-U.S. unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a unit will be subject to federal income tax on gain realized from the sale or disposition of that unit to the extent the gain is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. unitholder. Under a ruling published by the IRS interpreting the scope of “effectively connected income,” gain recognized by a non-U.S. person from the sale of its interest in a partnership that is engaged in a trade or business in the United States will be considered to be effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. Thus, part or all of a non-U.S. unitholder’s gain from the sale or other disposition of its units may be treated as effectively connected with a unitholder’s indirect U.S. trade or business constituted by its investment in us. Moreover, under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, a non-U.S. unitholder generally will be subject to federal income tax upon the sale or disposition of a unit if (i) it owned (directly or indirectly constructively applying certain attribution rules) more than 5% of our units at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of such disposition and (ii) 50% or more of the fair market value of our worldwide real property interests and our other assets used or held for use in a trade or business consisted of U.S. real property interests (which include U.S. real estate (including land, improvements, and certain associated personal property) and

interests in certain entities holding U.S. real estate) at any time during the shorter of the period during which such unitholder held the units or the 5-year period ending on the date of disposition. Currently, more than 50% of our assets consist of U.S. real property interests and we do not expect that to change in the foreseeable future. Therefore, non-U.S. unitholders may be subject to federal income tax on gain from the sale or disposition of their units.

We intend to furnish to each common unitholder, within 90 days after the close of each taxable year, specific tax information, including a Schedule K-1, which describes its share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for our preceding taxable year. In preparing this information, which will not be reviewed by counsel, we will take various accounting and reporting positions, some of which have been mentioned earlier, to determine each common unitholder’s share of income, gain, loss and deduction. We cannot assure our common unitholders that those positions will yield a result that conforms to all of the requirements of the Code, Treasury Regulations or administrative interpretations of the IRS.

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

Publicly traded partnerships generally are treated as entities separate from their owners for purposes of federal income tax audits, judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS and tax settlement proceedings. The tax treatment of partnership items of income, gain, loss and deduction are determined in a partnership proceeding rather than in separate proceedings of the partners. The Code requires that one partner be designated as the “Tax Matters Partner” for these purposes, and our partnership agreement designates our general partner.

The Tax Matters Partner has made and will make some elections on our behalf and on behalf of common unitholders. The Tax Matters Partner can extend the statute of limitations for assessment of tax deficiencies against common unitholders for items in our returns. The Tax Matters Partner may bind a common unitholder with less than a 1% profits interest in us to a settlement with the IRS unless that common unitholder elects, by filing a statement with the IRS, not to give that authority to the Tax Matters Partner. The Tax Matters Partner may seek judicial review, by which all the common unitholders are bound, of a final partnership administrative adjustment and, if the Tax Matters Partner fails to seek judicial review, judicial review may be sought by any common unitholder having at least a 1% interest in profits or by any group of common unitholders having in the aggregate at least a 5% interest in profits. However, only one action for judicial review may go forward, and each common unitholder with an interest in the outcome may participate in that action.

A common unitholder must file a statement with the IRS identifying the treatment of any item on its federal income tax return that is not consistent with the treatment of the item on our return. Intentional or negligent disregard of this consistency requirement may subject a common unitholder to substantial penalties.

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

Brokers and financial institutions are required to furnish additional information, including whether they are U.S. persons and specific information on units they acquire, hold or transfer for their own account. A penalty of $100 per failure, up to a maximum of $1.5 million per calendar year, is imposed by the Code for failure to report that information to us. The nominee is required to supply the beneficial owner of the units with the information furnished to us.

Certain penalties may be imposed on taxpayers as a result of an underpayment of tax that is attributable to one or more specified causes, including negligence or disregard of rules or regulations, substantial understatements of income tax and substantial valuation misstatements. No penalty will be imposed, however, for any portion of any such underpayment if it is shown that there was a reasonable cause for the underpayment of that portion and that the taxpayer acted in good faith regarding the underpayment of that portion. Penalties may also be imposed for engaging in transactions without economic substance. We do not anticipate engaging in transactions without economic substance or otherwise participating in transactions that would subject our unitholders to accuracy-related penalties.

In addition to federal income taxes, common unitholders may be subject to other taxes, including state and local and non-U.S. income taxes, unincorporated business taxes, and estate, inheritance or intangibles taxes that may be imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we conduct business or own property or in which the common unitholder is a resident. Moreover, we may also own property or do business in other states in the future that impose income or similar taxes on nonresident individuals. Although an analysis of those various taxes is not presented here, each prospective common unitholder should consider their potential impact on its investment in us.

Although you may not be required to file a return and pay taxes in some jurisdictions because your income from that jurisdiction falls below the filing and payment requirement, you will be required to file income tax returns and to pay income taxes in many of these jurisdictions in which we do business or own property and may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. Some of the jurisdictions may require us, or we may elect, to withhold a percentage of income from amounts to be distributed to a unitholder who is not a resident of the jurisdiction. Withholding, the amount of which may be greater or less than a particular unitholder’s income tax liability to the jurisdiction, generally does not relieve a nonresident unitholder from the obligation to file an income tax return.

It is the responsibility of each common unitholder to investigate the legal and tax consequences, under the laws of pertinent jurisdictions, of its investment in us. We strongly recommend that each prospective common unitholder consult, and depend on, its own tax counsel or other advisor with regard to those matters. Further, it is the responsibility of each common unitholder to file all state, local, and non-U.S., as well as U.S. federal tax returns that may be required of it. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. has not rendered an opinion on the state, local, alternative minimum tax or non-U.S. tax consequences of an investment in us.

An investment in us by an employee benefit plan is subject to additional considerations because the investments of these plans are subject to the fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), restrictions imposed by Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code and/or provisions under federal, state, local, non-U.S. or other laws or regulations that are similar to such provisions of the Internal Revenue Code or ERISA (collectively, “Similar Laws”). For these purposes, the term “employee benefit plan” includes, but is not limited to, qualified pension, profit-sharing and stock bonus plans, Keogh plans, simplified employee pension plans and tax deferred annuities or individual retirement accounts or annuities (“IRAs”) and entities whose underlying assets are considered to include “plan assets” of such plans, accounts and arrangements. Among other things, consideration should be given to:

The person with investment discretion with respect to the assets of an employee benefit plan, often called a fiduciary, should determine whether an investment in us is authorized by the appropriate governing instrument and is a proper investment for the plan.

Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code prohibit employee benefit plans from engaging in specified transactions involving “plan assets” with parties that are “parties in interest” under ERISA or “disqualified persons” under the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the plan.

In addition to considering whether the purchase of common units is a prohibited transaction, a fiduciary of an employee benefit plan should consider whether the plan will, by investing in us, be deemed to own an undivided interest in our assets, with the result that our operations would be subject to the regulatory restrictions of ERISA, including its prohibited transaction rules, as well as the prohibited transaction rules of the Internal Revenue Code and any other applicable Similar Laws.

The Department of Labor regulations provide guidance with respect to whether the assets of an entity in which employee benefit plans acquire equity interests would be deemed “plan assets” under some circumstances. Under these regulations, an entity’s assets would not be considered to be “plan assets” if, among other things:

Plan fiduciaries contemplating a purchase of our common units should consult with their own counsel regarding the consequences under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code and any other applicable Similar Laws in light of the serious penalties imposed on persons who engage in prohibited transactions or other violations.

The following table sets forth information relating to the selling unitholders’ beneficial ownership of the common units as of January 7, 2015. This prospectus covers the offering for resale from time to time of up to 19,739,092 common units by the selling unitholders identified below. This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the SEC pursuant to a registration rights agreement dated July 23, 2014, between us and the selling unitholders, pursuant to which we have agreed to pay all expenses of the registration of the common units offered by this prospectus. On November 19, 2014, pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of July 23, 2014 between us, QRE and certain of its affiliates, we issued the common units offered by this prospectus to the selling unitholders in connection with and as partial consideration for our merger with QRE. The total amount of common units that may be sold hereunder will not exceed the number of units offered hereby. Please read “Plan of Distribution.”

The following table sets forth the names of the selling unitholders, the number of the common units beneficially owned by the selling unitholders prior to the offering, the number of common units being offered by the selling unitholders under this prospectus, the amount to be owned by the selling unitholders after completion of the offering (assuming the sale of all common units offered by this prospectus) and the percentage of the common units owned after completion of the offering. To our knowledge, the selling unitholders have not, nor have they had within the past three years, any position, office or other material relationship with us or any of our predecessors or affiliates, other than ownership of our common units acquired in connection with our merger with QRE.

We prepared the table based on information supplied to us by the selling unitholders. The selling unitholders have indicated to us that they have not had a material relationship with us (other than the transaction under which they acquired the common units from us) within the three-year period immediately preceding January 7, 2015.

The percentages of common units beneficially owned and being offered are based on the number of common units that were outstanding as of January 7, 2015, unless otherwise stated in the footnotes to the table below. In addition, the selling unitholders identified below may have sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of some or all of their common units in transactions exempt from or not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act since that date. Other information about the selling unitholders may also change over time.

As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been advised by the selling unitholders as to any plan of distribution. The selling unitholders may choose not to sell any of their common units. Distributions of the common units by the selling unitholders, or by their partners, pledgees, donees (including charitable organizations), transferees or other successors in interest, may from time to time be offered for sale either directly by the selling unitholders or other persons, or through underwriters, dealers or agents or on any exchange on which the units may from time to time be traded, in the over-the-counter market, or in independently negotiated transactions or otherwise. The methods by which the common units may be sold include:

The selling unitholders may effect such transactions by selling the common units to underwriters or to or through broker-dealers, and such underwriters or broker-dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts or commissions from the selling unitholders and may receive commissions from the purchasers of the common units for whom they may act as agents. Such transactions may be effected by the selling unitholders at fixed prices, which may be changed, prevailing market prices prevailing at the time of sale, varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. These prices will be determined by the holders of the securities or by agreement between the holders and any broker-dealers who may receive fees or commissions in connection with the sale. The aggregate proceeds to the selling unitholders from the sale of the common units offered hereby will be the purchase price of the common units less discounts and commissions, if any. The selling unitholders may agree to indemnify any underwriter, broker-dealer or agent who participates in transactions involving sales of the units against certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act. We have agreed to register the shares for sale under the Securities Act and to indemnify the selling unitholders and each person who participates as an underwriter in the offering of the units against certain liabilities, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act. The selling unitholders may indemnify any broker-dealer who participates in transactions involving the sale of the units against certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act. We have agreed to pay all expenses of the registration of the common units offered by this prospectus.

In connection with sales of the common units under this prospectus, the selling unitholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions who may in turn engage in sales or short sales of the common units in the course of hedging the positions they assume or other sales of common units.

The selling unitholders also may sell common units short and deliver them to close out the short positions, or loan or pledge the common units to broker-dealers or other financial institutions who may from time to time effect distributions of the common units or other interests in the common units.

The selling unitholders and any underwriters, broker-dealers or agents who participate in the distribution of the common units may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act. To the extent any of the selling unitholders are broker-dealers, they are, according to SEC interpretation, “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act. Underwriters are subject to the prospectus delivery requirements under the Securities Act. If the selling unitholders are deemed to be underwriters, the selling unitholders may be subject to certain statutory liabilities under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.

In connection with particular offerings of the common units in the future, and if stated in the applicable prospectus supplement, the validity of those common units may be passed upon by Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. If certain legal matters in connection with an offering of the common units made by this prospectus and a related prospectus supplement are passed upon by counsel for the underwriters of such offering, that counsel will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement related to that offering.

The consolidated financial statements and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting (which is included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting) incorporated in this prospectus by reference to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Breitburn Energy Partners LP for the year ended December 31, 2013 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report (which contains an explanatory paragraph on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting due to the exclusion from management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013 of the oil and natural gas properties acquired in the Oklahoma Panhandle and Permian Basin acquisitions) of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

The statements of revenues and direct operating expenses of certain oil and gas properties of CrownRock, L.P. and Lynden USA Inc., for the year ended December 31, 2012, incorporated in this prospectus by reference from Breitburn Energy Partners LP’s Current Report on Form 8-K/A dated February 27, 2014, have been audited by Johnson Miller & Co., CPA’s PC, independent auditors, as stated in their report incorporated herein by reference, and they are incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in auditing and accounting.

The statements of revenues and direct operating expenses of certain oil and gas producing properties and the related gathering and processing assets located in the Postle and Northeast Hardesty fields (the “Postle Properties”) in Texas County, Oklahoma of Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Whiting Petroleum Corporation, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012, incorporated in this prospectus by reference from Breitburn Energy Partners LP’s Current Report on Form 8-K/A dated August 29, 2013, have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent auditors, as stated in their report incorporated herein by reference (which report expresses an unmodified opinion and includes an emphasis-of-matter paragraph referring to the purpose of the statements), and are incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in auditing and accounting.

With respect to the unaudited interim financial information of the Postle Properties for the periods ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference, Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent auditors, have applied limited procedures in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America for a review of such information. However, as stated in their report included in Breitburn Energy Partners LP’s Current Report on Form 8-K/A dated August 29, 2013 and incorporated by reference herein (which report includes an emphasis-of-matter paragraph referring to the purpose of the statements), they did not audit and they do not express an opinion on that interim financial information. Accordingly, the degree of reliance on their report on such information should be restricted in light of the limited nature of the review procedures applied. Deloitte & Touche LLP is not subject to the liability provisions of Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 for their report on the unaudited interim financial information because that report is not a “report” or a “part” of the Registration Statement prepared or certified by an accountant within the meaning of Sections 7 and 11 of the Securities Act of 1933.

The audited historical consolidated financial statements of QR Energy, LP as of December 31, 2013 and 2012 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2013, included in Exhibit 99.2 of Breitburn Energy Partners LP’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated October 6, 2014 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

The information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, including the information included or incorporated by reference in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Breitburn Energy Partners LP for the year ended December 31, 2013, concerning estimates of our oil and gas reserves was prepared by Cawley, Gillespie & Associates, Inc., Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. and Schlumberger Technology Corporation, independent engineering firms, and has been included herein upon the authority of each such firm as experts.

Estimated quantities of QRE’s proved oil and natural gas reserves and the net present value of such reserves as of December 31, 2013, included in Breitburn Energy Partners LP’s Current Report on Form 8-K, dated October 6, 2014 and incorporated by reference herein, are based upon the reserve report prepared by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. Estimated quantities of QRE’s proved oil and natural gas reserves and the net present value of such reserves as of December 31, 2012, included in Breitburn Energy Partners LP’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated October 6, 2014 and incorporated by reference herein, are based upon reserve reports prepared by Miller and Lents, Ltd.

Set forth below are the expenses (other than underwriting discounts and commissions) expected to be incurred in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities registered hereby.

The section of the prospectus entitled “The Partnership Agreement — Indemnification” is incorporated herein by this reference. Subject to any terms, conditions or restrictions set forth in the partnership agreement, Section 17-108 of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act empowers a Delaware limited partnership to indemnify and hold harmless any partner or other person from and against all claims and demands whatsoever.

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

provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(a), (1)(b) and (1)(c) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of this registration statement;

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

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

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

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

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

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to supplement the prospectus, after the expiration of the subscription period, to set forth the results of the subscription offer, the transactions by the underwriters during the subscription period, the amount of unsubscribed securities to be purchased by the underwriters, and the terms of any subsequent reoffering thereof. If any public offering by the underwriters is to be made on terms differing from those set forth on the cover page of the prospectus, a post-effective amendment will be filed to set forth the terms of such offering.

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

(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

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

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Los Angeles, State of California, on January 8, 2015.


BREITBURN ENERGY PARTNERS LP

By:		BREITBURN GP LLC,
		its general partner

By:		/s/ James G. Jackson
		James G. Jackson
		Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Each person whose signature appears below appoints Halbert S. Washburn, James G. Jackson and Lawrence C. Smith, and each of them, any of whom may act without the joinder of the other, as his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement and any registration statement (including any amendment thereto) for this offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or would do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them of their or his substitute and substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

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



Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered	Amount to be Registered(1)	Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Unit(2)	Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(2)	Amount of Registration Fee
Common Units Representing Limited Partner Interests	19,739,092	$6.87	$135,607,562	$15,758


	Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS		1
ABOUT BREITBURN ENERGY PARTNERS LP		1
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION		2
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS		4
RISK FACTORS		7
USE OF PROCEEDS		8
DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMON UNITS		9
THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT		11
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS		23
INVESTMENT IN BREITBURN ENERGY PARTNERS LP BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS		39
THE SELLING UNITHOLDERS		40
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION		42
LEGAL MATTERS		44
EXPERTS		44


	Number of Common Units Beneficially Owned Prior to the Offering		Number of Common Units Being Offered Hereby		Number of Common Units Beneficially Owned After Completion of the Offering		Percentage of Common Units Owned After Completion of the Offering
QR Holdings (QRE), LLC(1)		7,284,767		7,284,767		—		—
QR Energy Holdings, LLC(2)		5,411,361		5,411,361		—		—
Quantum Resources B, LP(3)		116,128		116,128		—		—
Quantum Resources A1, LP(3)		6,439,116		6,439,116		—		—
Quantum Resources C, LP(3)		206,138		206,138		—		—
QAB Carried WI, LP(3)		2,370		2,370		—		—
QAC Carried WI, LP(3)		4,206		4,206		—		—
Black Diamond Resources, LLC(3)		275,006		275,006		—		—


Expenses	Amount
Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee	$	15,758
Legal fees and expenses		*
Accounting fees and expenses		*
Printing expenses		*
Miscellaneous		*

TOTAL		$ *


Exhibit Number		Description

1.1***		Form of Underwriting Agreement.

3.1*		Certificate of Limited Partnership of Breitburn Energy Partners LP (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to Amendment No. 1 to Form S-1 (File No. 333-134049) filed on July 13, 2006).

3.2*		Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Breitburn Energy Partners LP (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-33055) filed on May 21, 2014).

3.3*		Amendment No. 1 to the Second Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Breitburn Energy Partners LP dated July 1, 2014 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-33055) filed on July 2, 2014).

3.4*		Fourth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Breitburn GP LLC dated as of April 5, 2010 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-33055) filed on April 9, 2010).

3.5*		Amendment No. 1 to the Fourth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Breitburn GP LLC dated as of December 30, 2010 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-33055) filed on January 6, 2011).

3.6*		Amendment No. 2 to the Fourth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Breitburn GP LLC dated as of July 1, 2014 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-33055) filed on July 2, 2014).

5.1**		Opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. as to the legality of the securities being registered.


Exhibit Number		Description

8.1**		Opinion of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. as to tax matters.

15.1**		Letter of Deloitte & Touche LLP regarding Unaudited Interim Financial Information.

23.1**		Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (Breitburn Energy Partners LP).

23.2**		Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (QR Energy, LP).

23.3**		Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP.

23.4**		Consent of Johnson Miller & Co., CPA’s PC (CrownRock L.P.).

23.5**		Consent of Johnson Miller & Co., CPA’s PC. (Lynden USA Inc.).

23.6**		Consent of Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (QR Energy, LP).

23.7**		Consent of Miller and Lents.

23.8**		Consent of Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (Breitburn Energy Partners LP).

23.9**		Consent of Schlumberger Data & Consulting Services.

23.10**		Consent of Cawley, Gillespie & Associates, Inc.

23.11**		Consent of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. (contained in Exhibits 5.1 and 8.1).

24.1**		Powers of Attorney (included on the signature pages to this registration statement).


Signatures	Title	Date

/s/ Halbert S. Washburn Halbert S. Washburn	Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)	January 8, 2015

/s/ James G. Jackson James G. Jackson	Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)	January 8, 2015

/s/ Lawrence C. Smith Lawrence C. Smith	Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting Officer)	January 8, 2015

/s/ John R. Butler, Jr. John R. Butler, Jr.	Chairman of the Board of Directors	January 8, 2015

/s/ Randall H. Breitenbach Randall H. Breitenbach	Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors	January 8, 2015

/s/ David B. Kilpatrick David B. Kilpatrick	Director	January 8, 2015

/s/ Gregory J. Moroney Gregory J. Moroney	Director	January 8, 2015

/s/ Charles S. Weiss Charles S. Weiss	Director	January 8, 2015

/s/ Donald D. Wolf Donald D. Wolf	Director	January 8, 2015