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Partnership Distributions
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Distributions Made to Members or Limited Partners [Abstract]  
Partnership Distributions
3.  PARTNERSHIP DISTRIBUTIONS

WGP partnership distributions. WGP’s partnership agreement requires WGP to distribute all of its available cash (as defined in its partnership agreement) to WGP unitholders of record on the applicable record date within 55 days of the end of each quarter. The Board of Directors of WGP GP declared the following cash distributions to WGP unitholders for the periods presented:
thousands except per-unit amounts
Quarters Ended
 
Total Quarterly
Distribution
per Unit
 
Total Quarterly
Cash Distribution
 
Date of
Distribution
2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
March 31
 
$
0.17875

 
$
39,128

 
May 2013
June 30
 
0.19750

 
43,232

 
August 2013
September 30
 
0.21375

 
46,789

 
November 2013
December 31
 
0.23125

 
50,620

 
February 2014
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
March 31
 
$
0.25000

 
$
54,726

 
May 2014
June 30
 
0.27125

 
59,378

 
August 2014
September 30
 
0.29125

 
63,756

 
November 2014
December 31
 
0.31250

 
68,409

 
February 2015
2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
March 31
 
$
0.34250

 
$
74,977

 
May 2015
June 30
 
0.36375

 
79,630

 
August 2015
September 30
 
0.38125

 
83,461

 
November 2015
December 31 (1)
 
0.40375

 
88,389

 
February 2016
                                                                                                                                                                                    
(1) 
On January 21, 2016, the Board of Directors of WGP GP declared a cash distribution to WGP unitholders of $0.40375 per unit, or $88.4 million in aggregate. The cash distribution was paid on February 22, 2016, to WGP unitholders of record at the close of business on February 1, 2016.

3.  PARTNERSHIP DISTRIBUTIONS (CONTINUED)

WES partnership distributions. WES’s partnership agreement requires WES to distribute all of its available cash (as defined in WES’s partnership agreement) to WES unitholders of record on the applicable record date within 45 days of the end of each quarter. The Board of Directors of WES GP declared the following cash distributions to WES’s common and general partner unitholders for the periods presented:
thousands except per-unit amounts
Quarters Ended
 
Total Quarterly
Distribution
per Unit
 
Total Quarterly
Cash Distribution
 
Date of
Distribution
2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
March 31
 
$
0.540

 
$
70,143

 
May 2013
June 30
 
0.560

 
79,315

 
August 2013
September 30
 
0.580

 
83,986

 
November 2013
December 31
 
0.600

 
92,609

 
February 2014
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
March 31
 
$
0.625

 
$
98,749

 
May 2014
June 30
 
0.650

 
105,655

 
August 2014
September 30
 
0.675

 
111,608

 
November 2014
December 31
 
0.700

 
126,044

 
February 2015
2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
March 31
 
$
0.725

 
$
133,203

 
May 2015
June 30
 
0.750

 
139,736

 
August 2015
September 30
 
0.775

 
146,160

 
November 2015
December 31 (1)
 
0.800

 
152,588

 
February 2016
                                                                                                                                                                                    
(1) 
On January 21, 2016, the Board of Directors of WES GP declared a cash distribution to WES unitholders of $0.800 per unit, or $152.6 million in aggregate, including incentive distributions, but excluding distributions on WES Class C units (see WES Class C unit distributions below). The cash distribution was paid on February 11, 2016, to WES unitholders of record at the close of business on February 1, 2016.

WES’s available cash. The amount of available cash (as defined in WES’s partnership agreement) generally is all cash on hand at the end of the quarter, plus, at the discretion of WES GP, working capital borrowings made subsequent to the end of such quarter, less the amount of cash reserves established by WES GP to provide for the proper conduct of WES’s business, including reserves to fund future capital expenditures; to comply with applicable laws, debt instruments or other agreements; or to provide funds for distributions to WES unitholders, and to WES GP for any one or more of the next four quarters. Working capital borrowings generally include borrowings made under a credit facility or similar financing arrangement. It is intended that working capital borrowings, at the time of such borrowings, be repaid within 12 months. In all cases, working capital borrowings are used solely for working capital purposes or to fund distributions to partners.

3.  PARTNERSHIP DISTRIBUTIONS (CONTINUED)

WES Class C unit distributions. WES’s Class C units receive quarterly distributions at a rate equivalent to WES’s common units. The distributions are paid in the form of additional Class C units (“PIK Class C units”) until the scheduled conversion date on December 31, 2017 (unless earlier converted), and the Class C units are disregarded with respect to WES’s distribution of WES’s available cash until they are converted to common units. The number of additional PIK Class C units to be issued in connection with a distribution payable on the Class C units is determined by dividing the corresponding distribution attributable to the Class C units by the volume-weighted-average price of WES’s common units for the ten days immediately preceding the payment date for the WES common unit distribution, less a 6% discount. WES records the PIK Class C unit distributions at fair value at the time of issuance. This Level 2 fair value measurement uses WES’s unit price as a significant input in the determination of the fair value.
WES issued the following PIK Class C units to APC Midstream Holdings, LLC (“AMH”), the holder of the Class C units, for the periods presented:
thousands except unit amounts
For the Quarters Ended
 
PIK Class C
Units
 
Implied
Fair Value
 
Date of
Distribution
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
December 31 (1)
 
45,711

 
$
3,072

 
February 2015
2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
March 31
 
118,230

 
$
8,101

 
May 2015
June 30
 
153,020

 
8,721

 
August 2015
September 30
 
181,048

 
9,724

 
November 2015
December 31
 
323,584

 
10,070

 
February 2016
                                                                                                                                                                                    
(1) 
Prorated for the 37-day period the Class C units were outstanding during the fourth quarter of 2014.

WES’s general partner interest and incentive distribution rights. As of December 31, 2015, WES GP was entitled to 1.8% of all quarterly distributions that WES makes prior to its liquidation and, as the holder of the IDRs, was entitled to incentive distributions at the maximum distribution sharing percentage of 48.0% for all periods presented, after the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels had been achieved. The maximum distribution sharing percentage of 49.8% does not include any distributions that WES GP may receive on common units that it may acquire.