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Description of Business and Basis of Presentation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

General. Western Midstream Partners, LP is a Delaware master limited partnership formed in September 2012. Western Midstream Operating, LP (together with its subsidiaries, “WES Operating”) is a Delaware limited partnership formed by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in 2007 to acquire, own, develop, and operate midstream assets. Western Midstream Partners, LP owns, directly and indirectly, a 98.0% limited partner interest in WES Operating, and directly owns all of the outstanding equity interests of Western Midstream Operating GP, LLC, which holds the entire non-economic general partner interest in WES Operating. “Anadarko” refers to Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiaries, excluding Western Midstream Holdings, LLC. Anadarko became a wholly owned subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation as a result of Occidental Petroleum Corporation’s acquisition by merger of Anadarko on August 8, 2019.
For purposes of these consolidated financial statements, the “Partnership” refers to Western Midstream Partners, LP in its individual capacity or to Western Midstream Partners, LP and its subsidiaries, including Western Midstream Operating GP, LLC and WES Operating, as the context requires. “WES Operating GP” refers to Western Midstream Operating GP, LLC, individually as the general partner of WES Operating. The Partnership’s general partner, Western Midstream Holdings, LLC (the “general partner”), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation. “Occidental” refers to Occidental Petroleum Corporation, as the context requires, and its subsidiaries, excluding the general partner. “Related parties” refers to Occidental and the Partnership’s equity interests in Fort Union Gas Gathering, LLC (“Fort Union”), White Cliffs Pipeline, LLC (“White Cliffs”), Rendezvous Gas Services, LLC (“Rendezvous”), Enterprise EF78 LLC (“Mont Belvieu JV”), Texas Express Pipeline LLC (“TEP”), Texas Express Gathering LLC (“TEG”), Front Range Pipeline LLC (“FRP”), Whitethorn Pipeline Company LLC (“Whitethorn LLC”), Cactus II Pipeline LLC (“Cactus II”), Saddlehorn Pipeline Company, LLC (“Saddlehorn”), Panola Pipeline Company, LLC (“Panola”), Mi Vida JV LLC (“Mi Vida”), Ranch Westex JV LLC (“Ranch Westex”), and Red Bluff Express Pipeline, LLC (“Red Bluff Express”). The interests in TEP, TEG, and FRP are referred to collectively as the “TEFR Interests.” “MGR assets” refers to the Red Desert complex and the Granger straddle plant. The “West Texas complex” refers to the Delaware Basin Midstream, LLC (“DBM”) complex and DBJV and Haley systems.
The Partnership is engaged in the business of gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, natural-gas liquids (“NGLs”), and crude oil; and gathering and disposing of produced water. In its capacity as a natural-gas processor, the Partnership also buys and sells natural gas, NGLs, and condensate on behalf of itself and as an agent for its customers under certain contracts. As of September 30, 2020, the Partnership’s assets and investments consisted of the following:
Wholly
Owned and
Operated
Operated
Interests
Non-Operated
Interests
Equity
Interests
Gathering systems (1)
17 
Treating facilities39 — 
Natural-gas processing plants/trains25 — 
NGLs pipelines— — 
Natural-gas pipelines— — 
Crude-oil pipelines— 
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(1)Includes the DBM water systems.

These assets and investments are located in the Rocky Mountains (Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming), North-central Pennsylvania, Texas, and New Mexico. Latham Train II, a cryogenic train at the DJ Basin complex, commenced operations during the first quarter of 2020. Loving ROTF Trains III and IV, oil-stabilization trains at the DBM oil system, commenced operations during the first and third quarters of 2020, respectively.
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION (CONTINUED)

December 2019 Agreements. On December 31, 2019, (i) the Partnership and certain of its subsidiaries, including WES Operating and WES Operating GP, entered into the below-described agreements with Occidental and/or certain of its subsidiaries, including Anadarko, and (ii) WES Operating entered into the below-described amendments to its debt agreements (collectively, the “December 2019 Agreements”).

Exchange Agreement. Western Gas Resources, Inc. (“WGRI”), the general partner, and the Partnership entered into a partnership interests exchange agreement (the “Exchange Agreement”), pursuant to which the Partnership canceled the non-economic general partner interest in the Partnership and simultaneously issued a 2.0% general partner interest to the general partner in exchange for which WGRI transferred 9,060,641 common units to the Partnership, which immediately canceled such units on receipt.

Services, Secondment, and Employee Transfer Agreement. Occidental, Anadarko, and WES Operating GP entered into an amended and restated Services, Secondment, and Employee Transfer Agreement (the “Services Agreement”), pursuant to which Occidental, Anadarko, and their subsidiaries (i) seconded certain personnel employed by Occidental to WES Operating GP, in exchange for which WES Operating GP pays a monthly secondment and shared services fee to Occidental equivalent to the direct cost of the seconded employees until their transfer to the Partnership and (ii) agreed to continue to provide certain administrative and operational services to the Partnership for up to a two-year transition period. In January 2020, pursuant to the Services Agreement, Occidental made a one-time cash contribution of $20.0 million to WES Operating for anticipated transition costs required to establish stand-alone human resources and information technology functions. The Services Agreement also includes provisions governing the transfer of certain employees to the Partnership and the assumption by the Partnership of liabilities relating to those employees at the time of their transfer. In late March 2020, seconded employees’ employment was transferred to the Partnership.

RCF amendment. WES Operating entered into an amendment to its $2.0 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility (“RCF”) to, among other things, (i) effective on February 14, 2020, exercise the final one-year extension option to extend the maturity date of the RCF to February 14, 2025, for the extending lenders, and (ii) modify the change of control definition to provide, among other things, that, subject to certain conditions, if the limited partners of the Partnership elect to remove the general partner as the general partner of the Partnership in accordance with the terms of the partnership agreement, then such removal will not constitute a change of control under the RCF.

Term loan facility amendment. WES Operating entered into an amendment to its $3.0 billion senior unsecured credit facility (“Term loan facility”) to, among other things, modify the change of control definition to provide, among other things, that, subject to certain conditions, if the limited partners of the Partnership elect to remove the general partner as the general partner of the Partnership in accordance with the terms of the partnership agreement, then such removal will not constitute a change of control under the Term loan facility. See Note 11.

Termination of debt-indemnification agreements. WES Operating GP and certain wholly owned subsidiaries of Occidental mutually terminated the debt-indemnification agreements related to certain indebtedness incurred by WES Operating.

Termination of omnibus agreements. The Partnership and WES Operating entered into agreements with Occidental to terminate the WES and WES Operating omnibus agreements. See Note 6.
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION (CONTINUED)

Merger transactions. On February 28, 2019, the Partnership, WES Operating, Anadarko, and certain of their affiliates completed the transactions contemplated by the Contribution Agreement and Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), dated November 7, 2018, pursuant to which, among other things, (i) Clarity Merger Sub, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Partnership, merged with and into WES Operating, with WES Operating continuing as the surviving entity and as a subsidiary of the Partnership (the “Merger”), and (ii) WES Operating acquired the Anadarko Midstream Assets (“AMA”). See Note 3.

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 (4)
14.81 %
White Cliffs
10.00 %
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(1)The 25% third-party interest in Chipeta Processing LLC (“Chipeta”) is reflected within noncontrolling interests in the consolidated financial statements. See Noncontrolling interests 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 of accounting. “Equity-investment throughput” refers to the Partnership’s share of average throughput for these investments.
(4)See Note 3.
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 11.

Presentation of the Partnership’s assets. The Partnership’s assets include assets owned and ownership interests accounted for by the Partnership under the equity method of accounting, through its 98.0% partnership interest in WES Operating as of September 30, 2020 (see Note 7). The Partnership also owns and controls the entire non-economic general partner interest in WES Operating GP, and the Partnership’s general partner is owned by Occidental.

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.

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-period 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 consists 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.

Inventory. The cost of NGLs inventory is determined by the weighted-average cost method on a location-by-location basis. Inventory is stated at the lower of weighted-average cost or net realizable value. NGLs inventory is reported in Other current assets and NGLs line-fill inventory is reported in Other assets on the consolidated balance sheets. Materials and supplies inventory is valued at weighted-average cost and is reviewed periodically for obsolescence. Beginning with the second quarter of 2020, materials and supplies inventory, previously reported in Other current assets, is prospectively reported in Other assets on the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 10.
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION (CONTINUED)

Shutdown of gathering systems. In May 2018, after assessing a number of factors, and with the safety of the community and the protection of the environment as primary factors, the Partnership permanently ceased operations at the Kitty Draw gathering system in Wyoming (part of the Hilight system) and the Third Creek gathering system in Colorado (part of the DJ Basin complex). An accrual of $10.9 million for anticipated costs associated with system shutdowns was recorded in 2018 as a reduction in related-party Product sales in the consolidated statements of operations. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, $6.1 million of the accrual related to the Kitty Draw gathering system was reversed due to producer settlements being less than their initial estimates.

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.

Equity-based compensation. On February 10, 2020, the Board of Directors approved awards of phantom units (the “Awards”) to the Partnership’s executive officers under the Western Gas Equity Partners, LP 2012 Long-Term Incentive Plan (“WES LTIP”). The Awards include (i) an award of time-vested phantom units that vest ratably over a three-year period (“Time-Based Awards”), (ii) a market award that vests after a three-year performance period based on the Partnership’s relative total unitholder return as compared to a group of peer companies (“TUR Awards”), and (iii) a performance award that vests based on the Partnership’s average return on assets over a three-year performance period (“ROA Awards”). At vesting, the value of the TUR Awards and the ROA Awards will be determined in accordance with the terms of the respective Award Agreements that provide for payout percentages ranging from 0% to 200% based on results achieved over the applicable performance period. At vesting, the Awards generally will be settled in Partnership common units. Prior to vesting, the Awards pay in-kind distributions in the form of Partnership common units. During the nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Partnership issued 80,081 common units as in-kind distributions under such Awards.
In addition, phantom units are awarded under the WES LTIP to non-executive employees and independent directors of the Partnership from time to time, which vest ratably over a three-year period and one year from the grant date, respectively. Prior to vesting, the awards to non-executive employees and independent directors pay distribution equivalents in cash.
The equity-based compensation expense attributable to these awards is amortized over the vesting periods applicable to the awards using the straight-line method. Expense is recognized based on the grant-date fair value and recorded, net of any forfeitures, as General and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations. The fair value of the Time-based Awards, ROA Awards, and non-executive awards is based on the observable market price of the Partnership’s units on the grant date of the award. The fair value of the TUR Awards is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation at the grant date of the award. For ROA Awards, all performance-related fair-value changes are recognized in compensation expense during the performance period. Compensation expense for the WES LTIP was $2.1 million and $5.4 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively, and $0.6 million and $1.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively.

Defined-contribution plan. Beginning in the first quarter of 2020, employees of the Partnership are eligible to participate in the Western Midstream Savings Plan, a defined-contribution benefit plan maintained by the Partnership. All regular employees may participate in the plan by making elective contributions that are matched by the Partnership, subject to certain limitations. The Partnership also makes other contributions based on plan guidelines. The Partnership recognized expense related to the plan of $3.8 million and $8.2 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively, recorded as General and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations.
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION (CONTINUED)

Recently adopted accounting standards. Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326) significantly changes the accounting and disclosure requirements related to credit losses on financial assets. Under the new standard, entities are now required to estimate lifetime expected credit losses for trade receivables, loans, and other financial instruments as of the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts, resulting in earlier recognition of credit losses. There was no impact to the consolidated financial statements with the Partnership’s adoption of the standard on January 1, 2020. The Partnership has implemented the necessary changes to its processes and controls to support accounting and disclosure requirements under this ASU.

Accounts receivable and contract assets. Accounts receivable represent contractual rights for services performed, with, on average, 30-day payment terms from the date of invoice. Contract assets primarily relate to revenue accrued but not yet billed under cost-of-service contracts and accrued deficiency fees. As of September 30, 2020, there have been no negative indications regarding the collectability of significant receivables as it relates to impacts from the global outbreak of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) and the oil-market disruption resulting from significantly lower global demand and corresponding oversupply of crude oil. The Partnership will continue to monitor the credit quality of its customer base and assess collectability of these assets as appropriate.