Property, Plant, and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Plant, and Equipment

9. PROPERTY, PLANT, AND EQUIPMENT

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

		December 31,
thousands	Estimated Useful Life	2021		2020
Land	N/A	$	10,955	$	9,696
Gathering systems – pipelines	30 years	5,386,003		5,231,212
Gathering systems – compressors	15 years	2,172,953		2,096,905
Processing complexes and treating facilities	25 years	3,375,317		3,424,368
Transportation pipeline and equipment	6 to 45 years	169,356		168,205
Produced-water disposal systems	20 years	882,527		831,719
Assets under construction	N/A	98,473		176,834
Other	3 to 40 years	750,494		702,806
Total property, plant, and equipment		12,846,078		12,641,745
Less accumulated depreciation		4,333,171		3,931,800
Net property, plant, and equipment		$	8,512,907	$	8,709,945

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.

Long-lived asset and other impairments. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Partnership recognized impairments of $30.5 million, primarily attributable to (i) $14.2 million of impairments at the DJ Basin complex due to cancellation of projects and (ii) an $11.8 million other-than-temporary impairment of the Partnership’s investment in Ranch Westex (see Note 7).

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Partnership recognized impairments of $203.9 million, primarily due to $150.2 million of impairments for assets located in Wyoming and Utah. These assets were impaired to estimated fair values of $112.2 million. The Partnership assesses whether events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The fair value of assets with impairment triggers were measured using the income approach and Level-3 fair value inputs. The income approach was based on the Partnership’s projected future EBITDA and free cash flows, which requires significant assumptions including, among others, future throughput volumes based on current expectations of producer activity and operating costs. These impairments were primarily triggered by reductions in estimated future cash flows resulting from lower forecasted producer throughput and lower commodity prices. Long-lived asset and other impairments on the consolidated statements of operations also includes a $29.4 million other-than-temporary impairment for the year ended December 31, 2020, of the Partnership’s investment in Ranch Westex. The remaining impairments of $24.3 million were primarily at the DJ Basin complex and DBM oil system due to the cancellation of projects and impairments of rights-of-way.

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.

Potential future long-lived asset impairments. As of December 31, 2021, it is reasonably possible that future commodity-price declines, prolonged depression of commodity prices, changes to producers’ drilling plans in response to lower prices, and potential producer bankruptcies could result in future long-lived asset impairments.