Impairment of Long-lived Assets and Goodwill

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Impairment of Long-lived Assets and Goodwill [Abstract]

Impairment of Long-lived Assets and Goodwill [Text Block]

(7) Impairments of Long-lived Assets and Goodwill

Impairment of Long-lived Assets

The Partnership periodically evaluates long-lived assets, including property, plant and equipment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of these assets may not be recoverable. The determination of whether an impairment has occurred is based on an estimate of undiscounted cash flows attributable to the assets, as compared to the carrying value of the assets. Due to decreases in natural gas and NGL market prices during 2020 as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the economic effects of the pandemic, together with the dispute over crude oil production levels between Russia and members of OPEC led by Saudi Arabia, as of March 31, 2020, management reassessed the carrying value of the Atoka assets, in which the Partnership owns a 50% interest in the consolidated joint venture, which is a component of the gathering and processing segment. Based on forecasted future undiscounted cash flows, management determined that the carrying value of the Atoka assets were not fully recoverable. The Partnership utilized the income approach (generally accepted valuation approach) to estimate the fair value of these assets. The primary inputs are forecasted cash flows and the discount rate. The fair value measurement is based on inputs that are not observable in the market and thus represent Level 3 inputs. Applying a discounted cash flow model to the property, plant and equipment, the Partnership recognized a $16 million impairment, which is included in Impairments on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income during the six months ended June 30, 2020.

Impairment of Goodwill

In the fourth quarter of 2017, as a result of the acquisition of ETGP, the Partnership recorded $12 million of goodwill associated with the Ark-La-Tex Basin reporting unit, included in the gathering and processing reportable segment.

The Partnership tests its goodwill for impairment annually on October 1st, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of goodwill may not be recoverable. Goodwill is assessed for impairment by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit with its book value, including goodwill. During 2020, the commodity price declines due to the existing oversupply of crude oil, NGLs and natural gas were exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the economic effects of the pandemic, in addition to the dispute over crude oil production levels between Russia and members of OPEC led by Saudi Arabia in the first quarter. Despite the subsequent agreement in April 2020 by a coalition of nations including Russia and Saudi Arabia to reduce production of crude oil, the price of NGLs and crude oil have remained significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels. Amid such crude oil, NGL and natural gas price declines, producers have been cutting back spending and shifting their focus from emphasizing reserves growth, to increasing net cash flows and reducing outstanding debt, which consequently resulted in a decrease in rig count and in forecasted producer activity in the Ark-La-Tex Basin reporting unit during the first quarter of 2020. At the same time, unit prices and market multiples for midstream companies with gathering and processing operations have dropped to their lowest levels in the last three years. Due to the continuing decrease in forward commodity prices, the reduction in forecasted producer activities, the resulting decrease in our

forecasted cash flows and the increase in the weighted average cost of capital, the Partnership determined that the fair value of the goodwill associated with our Ark-La-Tex Basin reporting unit would more likely than not be impaired. As a result, the Partnership performed a quantitative test for our goodwill and determined that the carrying value of the Ark-La-Tex Basin reporting unit exceeded its fair value and that goodwill associated with the Ark-La-Tex Basin was completely impaired in the amount of $12 million. The impairment is included in Impairments on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for the six months ended June 30, 2020.

The following table presents the change in carrying amount of goodwill in each of our reportable segments.

	Gathering and Processing		Transportation and Storage		Total
	(In millions)
Balance as of December 31, 2019	$	12	$	—	$	12
Goodwill impairment	(12)		—		(12)
Balance as of June 30, 2020	$	—	$	—	$	—