Description of Business and Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

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 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.

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. “Anadarko” refers to Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiaries, excluding Western Midstream Holdings, LLC. Anadarko became a wholly owned subsidiary of Occidental as a result of Occidental’s acquisition by merger of Anadarko on August 8, 2019. “Related parties” refers to Occidental (see Note 6), the Partnership’s investments accounted for under the equity method of accounting (see Note 7), and the Partnership and WES Operating for transactions that eliminate upon consolidation (see Note 6).

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 its customers under certain contracts. As of September 30, 2023, 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	2	3	1
Treating facilities	37	3	—	—
Natural-gas processing plants/trains	25	3	—	3
NGLs pipelines	2	—	—	5
Natural-gas pipelines	6	—	—	1
Crude-oil pipelines	3	1	—	3

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(1)Includes the DBM water systems.

These assets and investments are located in Texas, New Mexico, the Rocky Mountains (Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming), and North-central Pennsylvania.

1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Basis of presentation. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) and include the accounts of the Partnership and entities in which it holds a controlling financial interest, including WES Operating, WES Operating GP, proportionately consolidated interests, and equity investments (see table below). 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 (see Note 7):


	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 JV LLC (“Mi Vida”)	50.00	%
Front Range Pipeline LLC (“FRP”)	33.33	%
Red Bluff Express Pipeline, LLC (“Red Bluff Express”)	30.00	%
Enterprise EF78 LLC (“Mont Belvieu JV”)	25.00	%
Rendezvous Gas Services, LLC (“Rendezvous”)	22.00	%
Texas Express Pipeline LLC (“TEP”)	20.00	%
Texas Express Gathering LLC (“TEG”)	20.00	%
Whitethorn Pipeline Company LLC (“Whitethorn LLC”)	20.00	%
Saddlehorn Pipeline Company, LLC (“Saddlehorn”)	20.00	%
Panola Pipeline Company, LLC (“Panola”)	15.00	%
White Cliffs Pipeline, LLC (“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.

Certain information and note disclosures commonly included in annual financial statements have been condensed or omitted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Accordingly, the accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the Partnership’s 2022 Form 10-K, as filed with the SEC on February 22, 2023. Management believes that the disclosures made are adequate to make the information not misleading.

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), (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) transactions between the Partnership and WES Operating that eliminate upon consolidation.

1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

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, 2023 (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.

Noncontrolling interests. 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% limited partner interest in WES Operating owned by an Occidental subsidiary. WES Operating’s noncontrolling interest in the consolidated financial statements consists of the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta. See Note 5.

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. During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, the Partnership issued 832,707 common units under its long-term incentive plans. Compensation expense was $7.2 million and $22.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, respectively, and $6.4 million and $19.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, respectively.