Property, Plant, and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

8. PROPERTY, PLANT, AND EQUIPMENT

A summary of the historical cost of property, plant, and equipment is as follows:



		December 31,
thousands	Estimated Useful Life	2019		2018
Land	n/a	$	9,495	$	5,298
Gathering systems – pipelines	30 years	5,092,004		4,764,099
Gathering systems – compressors	15 years	1,929,377		1,712,939
Processing complexes and treating facilities	25 years	3,237,801		2,844,337
Transportation pipeline and equipment	6 to 45 years	173,572		172,558
Produced-water disposal systems	20 years	754,774		629,946
Assets under construction	n/a	486,584		604,265
Other	3 to 40 years	672,064		525,331
Total property, plant, and equipment		12,355,671		11,258,773
Less accumulated depreciation		3,290,740		2,848,420
Net property, plant, and equipment		$	9,064,931	$	8,410,353

The cost of property classified as “Assets under construction” is excluded from capitalized costs being depreciated. These amounts represent property that is not yet placed into productive service as of the respective balance sheet date.

Impairments. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Partnership recognized impairments of $6.3 million, primarily at the DJ Basin complex due to impairments of rights-of-way and cancellation of projects.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Partnership recognized impairments of $230.6 million, including impairments of $125.9 million at the Third Creek gathering system and $8.1 million at the Kitty Draw gathering system. These assets were impaired to estimated salvage values of $1.8 million and zero, respectively, using the market approach and Level-3 fair value inputs, due to the shutdown of these systems in May 2018. During 2018, the Partnership also recognized impairments of $38.7 million and $34.6 million at the Hilight and MIGC systems, respectively. These assets were impaired to estimated fair values of $4.9 million and $15.2 million, respectively, using the income approach and Level-3 fair value inputs, due to a reduction in estimated future cash flows. The remaining $23.3 million of impairments primarily was related to (i) a $10.9 million impairment at the GNB NGL pipeline, which was impaired to estimated fair value of $10.0 million using the income approach and Level-3 fair value inputs, and (ii) a $5.6 million impairment related to an idle facility at the Chipeta complex, which was impaired to estimated salvage value of $1.5 million using the market approach and Level-3 fair value inputs.

8. PROPERTY, PLANT, AND EQUIPMENT (CONTINUED)

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Partnership recognized impairments of $180.1 million, including an impairment of $158.8 million at the Granger complex, which was impaired to estimated fair value of $48.5 million using the income approach and Level-3 fair value inputs, due to a reduced throughput fee as a result of a producer’s bankruptcy. The remaining $21.3 million of impairments primarily was related to (i) an $8.2 million impairment due to the cancellation of a plant project at the Hilight system, (ii) a $3.7 million impairment at the Granger straddle plant, which was impaired to estimated salvage value of $0.6 million using the income approach and Level-3 fair value inputs, (iii) a $3.1 million impairment of the Fort Union equity investment, (iv) a $2.0 million impairment of an idle facility in northeast Wyoming, which was impaired to estimated salvage value of $0.4 million using the market approach and Level-3 fair value inputs, and (v) the cancellation of a pipeline project in West Texas.