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Description of Business and Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Basis of presentation. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Partnership and entities in which it holds a controlling financial interest, including WES Operating and WES Operating GP. All significant intercompany transactions have been eliminated.

The following table outlines the ownership interests and the accounting method of consolidation used in the consolidated financial statements for entities not wholly owned:



	Percentage Interest
Full consolidation
Chipeta ⁽¹⁾	75.00	%
Proportionate consolidation ⁽²⁾
Springfield system	50.10	%
Marcellus Interest systems	33.75	%
Equity investments ⁽³⁾
Mi Vida	50.00	%
Ranch Westex	50.00	%
FRP	33.33	%
Red Bluff Express	30.00	%
Mont Belvieu JV	25.00	%
Rendezvous	22.00	%
TEP	20.00	%
TEG	20.00	%
Whitethorn LLC	20.00	%
Saddlehorn	20.00	%
Cactus II	15.00	%
Panola	15.00	%
Fort Union	14.81	%
White Cliffs	10.00	%


⁽¹⁾	The 25% third-party interest in Chipeta Processing LLC (“Chipeta”) is reflected within noncontrolling interests in the consolidated financial statements, in addition to the noncontrolling interests noted below.


⁽²⁾	The Partnership proportionately consolidates its associated share of the assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses attributable to these assets.


⁽³⁾	Investments in non-controlled entities over which the Partnership exercises significant influence are accounted for under the equity method. “Equity investment throughput” refers to the Partnership’s share of average throughput for these investments.

Certain information and note disclosures commonly included in annual financial statements have been condensed or omitted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Accordingly, the accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the Partnership and WES Operating’s 2018 Forms 10-K, as filed with the SEC on February 20, 2019, certain sections of which were recast to reflect the results attributable to AMA (as defined in Note 3) in the Partnership and WES Operating’s Current Reports on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on May 17, 2019.

1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION (CONTINUED)

The consolidated financial results of WES Operating are included in the Partnership’s consolidated financial statements. Throughout these notes to consolidated financial statements, and to the extent material, any differences between the consolidated financial results of the Partnership and WES Operating are discussed separately. The Partnership’s consolidated financial statements differ from those of WES Operating primarily as a result of (i) the presentation of noncontrolling interest ownership (see Noncontrolling interests below and Note 5), (ii) the elimination of WES Operating GP’s investment in WES Operating with WES Operating GP’s underlying capital account, (iii) the general and administrative expenses incurred by the Partnership, which are separate from, and in addition to, those incurred by WES Operating, (iv) the inclusion of the impact of Partnership equity balances and Partnership distributions, and (v) the senior secured revolving credit facility (“WGP RCF”) until its repayment in March 2019. See Note 10.

Noncontrolling interests. For periods subsequent to Merger completion, the Partnership’s noncontrolling interests in the consolidated financial statements consist of (i) the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta and (ii) the 2.0% Occidental subsidiary-owned limited partner interest in WES Operating. For periods prior to Merger completion, the Partnership’s noncontrolling interests in the consolidated financial statements consisted of (i) the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta, (ii) the publicly held limited partner interests in WES Operating, (iii) the common units issued by WES Operating to subsidiaries of Anadarko as part of the consideration paid for prior acquisitions from Anadarko, and (iv) the Class C units issued by WES Operating to a subsidiary of Anadarko as part of the funding for the acquisition of DBM. For all periods presented, WES Operating’s noncontrolling interest in the consolidated financial statements consisted of the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta. See Note 5.

When WES Operating issues equity, the carrying amount of the noncontrolling interest reported by the Partnership is adjusted to reflect the noncontrolling ownership interest in WES Operating. The resulting impact of such noncontrolling interest adjustment on the Partnership’s interest in WES Operating is reflected as an adjustment to the Partnership’s partners’ capital.

Business combinations policy

Presentation of the Partnership’s assets. The Partnership’s assets include assets owned and ownership interests accounted for under the equity method by the Partnership, through its partnership interests in WES Operating as of September 30, 2019 (see Note 8). The Partnership owns the entire non-economic general partner interest in and controls WES Operating GP, and the general partner is controlled by Occidental; therefore, the Partnership’s prior asset acquisitions from Anadarko have been classified as transfers of net assets between entities under common control. As such, assets acquired from Anadarko were initially recorded at Anadarko’s historic carrying value, which did not equate to the total acquisition price paid by the Partnership. Further, subsequent to asset acquisitions from Anadarko, the Partnership was required to recast its financial statements to include the activities of acquired assets from the date of common control.

For reporting periods requiring recast, the consolidated financial statements for periods prior to the acquisition of assets from Anadarko are prepared from Anadarko’s historical cost-basis accounts and may not be necessarily indicative of the actual results of operations that would have occurred if the Partnership had owned the assets during the periods reported. Net income (loss) attributable to the assets acquired from Anadarko for periods prior to the Partnership’s acquisition of such assets was not allocated to the limited partners.

Use of estimates policy

Use of estimates. In preparing financial statements in accordance with GAAP, management makes informed judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. Management evaluates its estimates and related assumptions regularly, using historical experience and other reasonable methods. Changes in facts and circumstances or additional information may result in revised estimates and actual results may differ from these estimates. Effects on the business, financial condition, and results of operations resulting from revisions to estimates are recognized when the facts that give rise to the revisions become known. The information included herein reflects all normal recurring adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements, and certain prior-period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current-year presentation.

Segments policy

Segments. The Partnership’s operations continue to be organized into a single operating segment, the assets of which gather, compress, treat, process, and transport natural gas; gather, stabilize, and transport condensate, NGLs, and crude oil; and gather and dispose of produced water in the United States.

New accounting standards policy

Recently adopted accounting standards. ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) requires lessee recognition of a lease liability and a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset for all leases, including operating leases, with a term greater than 12 months on the balance sheet. This ASU modifies the definition of a lease and outlines the recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of leasing arrangements by both lessees and lessors. The Partnership adopted this standard on January 1, 2019, using the modified retrospective method applied to all leases in existence on January 1, 2019, and prior-period financial statements were not adjusted. The Partnership elected not to reassess contracts that commenced prior to adoption, to continue applying its current accounting policy for existing or expired land easements, and not to recognize ROU assets or lease liabilities for short-term leases.

Leases policy

Leases. The Partnership determines if an arrangement is a lease based on the rights and obligations conveyed at contract inception. At the lease-commencement date, a lease is classified as either operating or finance, and ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of future lease payments over the lease term. As the rate implicit in the Partnership’s leases is generally not readily determinable, the Partnership discounts lease liabilities using the Partnership’s incremental borrowing rate at the commencement date. Non-lease components associated with leases that begin in 2019 or later are accounted for as part of the lease component, and prepaid lease payments are included as ROU assets. Options to extend or terminate a lease are included in the lease term when it is reasonably certain that the Partnership will exercise that option. Leases of 12 months or less are not recognized on the consolidated balance sheets.

Lease cost is generally recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. For finance leases, interest expense is recognized over the lease term using the effective interest method. Variable lease payments are recognized when the obligation for those payments is incurred.

Net income (loss) per common unit policy

Partnership’s net income (loss) per common unit. The Partnership’s net income (loss) per common unit is calculated by dividing the limited partners’ interest in net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of common units outstanding during the period. Net income (loss) attributable to assets acquired from Anadarko for periods prior to the acquisition of such assets was not allocated to the limited partners when calculating net income (loss) per common unit.

WES Operating’s net income (loss) per common unit. For periods subsequent to the closing of the Merger, net income (loss) per common unit for WES Operating is not calculated as it no longer has publicly traded units. For periods prior to the closing of the Merger, Net income (loss) attributable to Western Midstream Operating, LP earned on and subsequent to the date of acquisition of the Partnership’s assets was allocated as discussed below. Net income (loss) attributable to assets acquired from Anadarko for periods prior to the acquisition of such assets was not allocated to the unitholders for purposes of calculating net income (loss) per common unit.

General partner. The general partner’s allocation was equal to cash distributions plus its portion of undistributed earnings or losses. Specifically, net income equal to the amount of available cash (as defined by WES Operating’s partnership agreement) was allocated to the general partner consistent with actual cash distributions and capital account allocations, including incentive distributions. Undistributed earnings (net income in excess of distributions) or undistributed losses (available cash in excess of net income) were then allocated to the general partner in accordance with its weighted-average ownership percentage during each period.

Common and Class C unitholders. The Class C units were considered a participating security because they participated in distributions with common units according to a predetermined formula (see Note 4). The common and Class C unitholders’ allocation was equal to their cash distributions plus their respective allocations of undistributed earnings or losses. Specifically, net income equal to the amount of available cash (as defined by the WES Operating partnership agreement) was allocated to the common and Class C unitholders consistent with actual cash distributions and capital account allocations. Undistributed earnings or undistributed losses were then allocated to the common and Class C unitholders in accordance with their respective weighted-average ownership percentages during each period. The common unitholder allocation also included the impact of the amortization of the Class C units beneficial conversion feature. Similarly, the Class C unitholder allocation was impacted by the amortization of the Class C units beneficial conversion feature (see WES Operating Class C units above).

5. EQUITY AND PARTNERS’ CAPITAL (CONTINUED)

Calculation of net income (loss) per unit. Basic net income (loss) per common unit was calculated by dividing the net income (loss) attributable to common unitholders by the weighted-average number of common units outstanding during the period. The common units issued in connection with acquisitions and equity offerings were included on a weighted-average basis for the periods these units were outstanding. Diluted net income (loss) per common unit was calculated by dividing the sum of (i) the net income (loss) attributable to common units and (ii) the net income (loss) attributable to the Class C units as a participating security, by the sum of the weighted-average number of common units outstanding plus the dilutive effect of the weighted-average number of outstanding Class C units.

Derivatives policy

The Partnership does not apply hedge accounting and, therefore, gains and losses associated with currently outstanding interest-rate swaps are recognized currently in earnings. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, non-cash losses of $68.3 million and $162.9 million, respectively, were recognized, which are included in Other income (expense), net in the consolidated statements of operations.

Valuation of the interest-rate swaps is based on similar transactions observable in active markets and industry standard models that primarily rely on market-observable inputs. Inputs used to estimate fair value in industry standard models are categorized as Level-2 inputs because substantially all assumptions and inputs are observable in active markets throughout the full term of the instruments. Inputs used to estimate the fair value include market price curves, contract terms and prices, and credit risk adjustments. The fair value of the interest-rate swaps was a liability of $170.9 million and $8.0 million at September 30, 2019, and December 31, 2018, respectively, which is reported within Accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.