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Property, Plant and Equipment
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract] 
Property, Plant and Equipment
Note 7.  Property, Plant and Equipment

The historical costs of our property, plant and equipment and related accumulated depreciation balances were as follows at the dates indicated:

   
Estimated
Useful Life
in Years
  
September 30,
2011
  
December 31,
2010
 
Plants, pipelines and facilities (1)
 3-45 (6)  $19,747.3  $19,388.4 
Underground and other storage facilities (2)
 5-40 (7)   1,556.2   1,477.8 
Platforms and facilities (3)
 20-31   637.5   637.5 
Transportation equipment (4)
 3-10   136.1   119.1 
Marine vessels (5)
 15-30   603.7   560.0 
Land
      137.3   123.4 
Construction in progress
      3,590.0   1,607.2 
Total
      26,408.1   23,913.4 
Less accumulated depreciation
      5,020.0   4,580.5 
Property, plant and equipment, net
     $21,388.1  $19,332.9 
              
(1)   Plants and pipelines include processing plants; NGL, natural gas, crude oil and petrochemical and refined products pipelines; terminal loading and unloading facilities; office furniture and equipment; buildings; laboratory and shop equipment and related assets.
(2)   Underground and other storage facilities include underground product storage caverns; above ground storage tanks; water wells and related assets.
(3)   Platforms and facilities include offshore platforms and related facilities and other associated assets located in the Gulf of Mexico.
(4)   Transportation equipment includes tractor-trailer tank trucks and other vehicles and similar assets used in our operations.
(5)   Marine vessels include tow boats, barges and related equipment used in our marine transportation business.
(6)   In general, the estimated useful lives of major assets within this category are: processing plants, 20-35 years; pipelines and related equipment, 5-45 years; terminal facilities, 10-35 years; office furniture and equipment, 3-20 years; buildings, 20-40 years; and laboratory and shop equipment, 5-35 years.
(7)   In general, the estimated useful lives of assets within this category are: underground storage facilities, 5-35 years; storage tanks, 10-40 years; and water wells, 5-35 years.
 

The property, plant and equipment of Petal and Hattiesburg has been reclassified to assets held for sale as of September 30, 2011.  See Note 6 for additional information regarding Petal and Hattiesburg's assets held for sale.

Full commercial operations on the Haynesville Extension of our Acadian Gas System commenced November 1, 2011.  At September 30, 2011, the Haynesville Extension accounted for $1.37 billion of our construction in progress balance.

The following table summarizes our depreciation expense and capitalized interest amounts for the periods presented:

   
For the Three Months
Ended September 30,
  
For the Nine Months
Ended September 30,
 
   
2011
  
2010
  
2011
  
2010
 
Depreciation expense (1)
 $195.0  $184.9  $571.3  $552.9 
Capitalized interest (2)
  33.1   12.5   75.1   33.5 
(1)   Depreciation expense is a component of “Costs and expenses” as presented on our Unaudited Condensed Statements of Consolidated Operations.
(2)   Capitalized interest increases the carrying value of the associated asset and reduces interest expense during the period it is recorded.
 
 
Asset Retirement Obligations

We record asset retirement obligations (“AROs”) related to legal requirements to perform retirement activities as specified in contractual arrangements and/or governmental regulations.  In general, our contractual AROs primarily result from right-of-way agreements associated with our pipeline operations and leases of plant sites.  In addition, we have recorded AROs based on government regulations triggered by the abandonment or retirement of (i) certain underground storage facilities and related above-ground brine storage pits, (ii) offshore Gulf of Mexico assets and (iii) certain marine vessels.  Our AROs may also result from regulatory requirements associated with the renovation or demolition of certain assets containing hazardous substances such as asbestos.

The following table presents information regarding our AROs since December 31, 2010:

ARO liability balance, December 31, 2010
 $97.1 
Revisions in estimated cash flows
  4.7 
Accretion expense
  4.8 
Liabilities settled during period
  (3.2)
Liabilities incurred during period
  0.5 
ARO liability balance, September 30, 2011
 $103.9 

Property, plant and equipment at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 includes $38.0 million and $34.1 million, respectively, of asset retirement costs capitalized as an increase in the associated long-lived asset.  The following table presents our accretion expense forecasts for AROs for the periods presented:

Remainder of
2011
  
2012
  
2013
  
2014
  
2015
 
$1.7  $5.3  $5.7  $6.1  $5.8 

Certain of our unconsolidated affiliates have AROs recorded at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 relating to contractual agreements and regulatory requirements.  These amounts are immaterial to our consolidated financial statements.