Partnership Operations, Organization and Basis of Presentation	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Partnership Operations, Organization and Basis of Presentation [Abstract]
Partnership Operations, Organization and Basis of Presentation	Note 1. Partnership Operations, Organization and Basis of Presentation General We are a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership, the common units of which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “EPD.” We were formed in April 1998 to own and operate certain natural gas liquids (“NGLs”) related businesses of EPCO and are now a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and certain petrochemicals. Our midstream energy asset network links producers of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil from some of the largest supply basins in the United States (“U.S.”), Canada and the Gulf of Mexico with domestic consumers and international markets. Our assets include approximately 50,600 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines; 190 MMBbls of storage capacity for NGLs, refined products and crude oil; and 14 Bcf of natural gas storage capacity. Our midstream energy operations include: natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage, and import and export terminaling; crude oil and refined products transportation, storage, and terminaling; offshore production platforms; petrochemical transportation and services; and a marine transportation business that operates primarily on the U.S. inland and Intracoastal Waterway systems and in the Gulf of Mexico. We have six reportable business segments: (i) NGL Pipelines & Services; (ii) Onshore Natural Gas Pipelines & Services; (iii) Onshore Crude Oil Pipelines & Services; (iv) Offshore Pipelines & Services; (v) Petrochemical & Refined Products Services; and (vi) Other Investments. We are 100% owned by our limited partners from an economic perspective. We are managed and controlled by Enterprise GP, which has a non-economic general partner interest in us. We, Enterprise GP, EPCO and Dan Duncan LLC are affiliates and under the collective common control of the DD LLC Trustees and the EPCO Trustees. We have no employees. All of our operating functions and general and administrative support services are provided by employees of EPCO pursuant to an administrative services agreement (the “ASA”) or by other service providers. See Note 15 for information regarding the ASA and other related party matters. Completion of Duncan Merger On September 7, 2011, the Duncan Merger Agreement was approved by the unitholders of Duncan Energy Partners and the merger of Duncan MergerCo and Duncan Energy Partners and related transactions were completed, with Duncan Energy Partners surviving such merger as our wholly owned subsidiary. Each issued and outstanding common unit of Duncan Energy Partners was cancelled and converted into the right to receive common units representing limited partner interests in Enterprise based on an exchange ratio of 1.01 Enterprise common units for each Duncan Energy Partners common unit. Enterprise issued 24,277,310 of its common units (net of fractional common units cashed out) as consideration in the Duncan Merger. No Enterprise common units were issued to Enterprise or its subsidiaries as merger consideration. Since we historically consolidated Duncan Energy Partners for financial reporting purposes, the Duncan Merger did not change the basis of presentation of our historical financial statements. Impact of the Holdings Merger on the Basis of Presentation of Our Consolidated Financial Statements On November 22, 2010, the Holdings Merger Agreement was approved by the unitholders of Holdings and the merger of Holdings with Holdings MergerCo and related transactions were completed, with Holdings MergerCo surviving such merger. At the effective time of the Holdings Merger, Enterprise GP succeeded as Enterprise's general partner, and each issued and outstanding unit representing limited partner interests in Holdings was cancelled and converted into the right to receive Enterprise common units based on an exchange ratio of 1.5 Enterprise common units for each Holdings unit. Enterprise issued an aggregate of 208,813,454 of its common units (net of fractional common units cashed out) as consideration in the Holdings Merger and, immediately after the merger, cancelled 21,563,177 of its common units previously owned by Holdings. In connection with the Holdings Merger, Enterprise's partnership agreement was amended and restated to provide for the cancellation of its general partner's 2% economic interest and incentive distribution rights in Enterprise. In addition, a privately held affiliate of EPCO agreed to temporarily waive the regular quarterly cash distributions it would otherwise receive from us with respect to a certain number of our common units (the “Designated Units”) it owned over a five-year period after the merger closing date of November 22, 2010. The number of Designated Units to which the temporary distribution waiver applies is as follows for distributions paid or to be paid, if any, during the following calendar years: 30,610,000 during 2011; 26,130,000 during 2012; 23,700,000 during 2013; 22,560,000 during 2014; and 17,690,000 during 2015. Distributions paid to partners during calendar year 2011 excluded the initial 30,610,000 Designated Units; however, distributions to be paid, as applicable, to partners in calendar year 2012 (beginning with the February 2012 distribution) will exclude 26,130,000 Designated Units. As a result, the number of our distribution-bearing units increased by 4,480,000 units beginning with the February 2012 distribution and will increase in subsequent years as the number of Designated Units declines. Prior to the Holdings Merger, Enterprise was a consolidated subsidiary of Holdings, which was Enterprise's parent. Upon completion of the Holdings Merger, Holdings merged with and into a wholly owned subsidiary of Enterprise. The Holdings Merger resulted in Holdings being considered the surviving consolidated entity for accounting purposes, while Enterprise is the surviving consolidated entity for legal and reporting purposes. For accounting purposes, Holdings is deemed the acquirer of the noncontrolling interests in Enterprise that were previously recognized in Holdings' consolidated financial statements (i.e., the acquisition of Enterprise's limited partner interests that were owned by parties other than Holdings). While it was a publicly traded partnership, Holdings (NYSE, ticker symbol “EPE”) electronically filed its annual and quarterly consolidated financial statements with the SEC. You can access this information at www.sec.gov. As a result of the Holdings Merger, Enterprise's consolidated financial and operating results prior to November 22, 2010 have been presented as if it were Holdings from an accounting perspective (i.e., the financial statements of Holdings became the historical financial statements of Enterprise). The primary differences between Holdings' and Enterprise's consolidated results of operations were: (i) general and administrative costs incurred by Holdings and EPGP (Enterprise's former general partner); (ii) equity in income of Holdings' noncontrolling ownership interests in Energy Transfer Equity; and (iii) interest expense associated with Holdings' debt. In addition, for periods prior to November 22, 2010, the net assets, income, cash distributions and contributions and other amounts attributable to Enterprise's limited partner interests that were owned by third parties and related parties other than Holdings are presented as a component of noncontrolling interests. See Note 13 for additional information regarding noncontrolling interests. Limited partner units outstanding and earnings per unit amounts presented in these consolidated financial statements for periods prior to the Holdings Merger have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the 1.5 to one unit-for-unit exchange that occurred in connection with the Holdings Merger. See Note 17 for additional information regarding our earnings per unit amounts. Impact of the TEPPCO Merger on the Basis of Presentation of Our Consolidated Financial Statements On October 26, 2009, the related mergers of Enterprise and its wholly owned subsidiaries with TEPPCO and TEPPCO GP were completed. Under terms of the merger agreements, TEPPCO and TEPPCO GP became wholly owned subsidiaries of Enterprise, and each of TEPPCO's unitholders, except for a privately held affiliate of EPCO, received 1.24 of our common units for each TEPPCO unit they owned. In total, we issued an aggregate of 126,932,318 common units and 4,520,431 Class B units (described below) as consideration in the TEPPCO Merger for both TEPPCO units and the TEPPCO GP membership interests. On October 27, 2009, our TEPPCO and TEPPCO GP equity interests were contributed to EPO, and TEPPCO and TEPPCO GP became wholly owned subsidiaries of EPO. A privately held affiliate of EPCO exchanged a portion of its TEPPCO units, based on the 1.24 exchange ratio, for 4,520,431 of our Class B units in lieu of common units. The Class B units are not entitled to receive regular quarterly cash distributions for the first sixteen quarters following the closing date of the merger. The Class B units automatically convert into the same number of common units on the date immediately following the payment date for the sixteenth regular quarterly distribution following the closing date of the merger. The Class B units are entitled to vote together with the common units as a single class on partnership matters and, except for the payment of distributions, have the same rights and privileges as our common units. Under the terms of the TEPPCO Merger agreements, Holdings received 1,331,681 of our common units and an increase in the capital account of EPGP to maintain its 2% general partner interest in us as consideration for 100% of the membership interests of TEPPCO GP. For periods prior to the TEPPCO Merger, the former owners' share of the income of TEPPCO and TEPPCO GP is a component of net income attributable to noncontrolling interests as reflected on our Statements of Consolidated Operations. Additionally, cash distributions paid to and cash contributions received from the limited partners of TEPPCO are reflected as a component of cash distributions paid to and cash contributions received from noncontrolling interests. Impact of the Deconsolidation of Texas Offshore Port System on Our Consolidated Financial Statements In August 2008, we, including TEPPCO, together with Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc. (“Oiltanking”) formed the Texas Offshore Port System partnership (“TOPS”). In April 2009, we and TEPPCO dissociated from TOPS. As a result, our operating costs and expenses and net income for the year ended December 31, 2009 include a non-cash charge of $68.4 million. This loss represents the forfeiture of our cumulative investment, including that of TEPPCO, in TOPS through the date of dissociation. Additionally, Oiltanking's noncontrolling interests of $33.4 million were removed from our consolidated books and records. The impact on net income attributable to partners was approximately $8.7 million, as nearly all of this loss was absorbed by noncontrolling interests in consolidation. In September 2009, we entered into a settlement agreement with certain affiliates of Oiltanking that resolved all disputes between the parties related to the business and affairs of the TOPS project. Our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 include approximately $66.9 million of expense in connection with the payment of this cash settlement.

Note 1. Partnership Operations, Organization and Basis of Presentation

General

We are a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership, the common units of which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “EPD.” We were formed in April 1998 to own and operate certain natural gas liquids (“NGLs”) related businesses of EPCO and are now a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and certain petrochemicals. Our midstream energy asset network links producers of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil from some of the largest supply basins in the United States (“U.S.”), Canada and the Gulf of Mexico with domestic consumers and international markets. Our assets include approximately 50,600 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines; 190 MMBbls of storage capacity for NGLs, refined products and crude oil; and 14 Bcf of natural gas storage capacity.

Our midstream energy operations include: natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage, and import and export terminaling; crude oil and refined products transportation, storage, and terminaling; offshore production platforms; petrochemical transportation and services; and a marine transportation business that operates primarily on the U.S. inland and Intracoastal Waterway systems and in the Gulf of Mexico. We have six reportable business segments: (i) NGL Pipelines & Services; (ii) Onshore Natural Gas Pipelines & Services; (iii) Onshore Crude Oil Pipelines & Services; (iv) Offshore Pipelines & Services; (v) Petrochemical & Refined Products Services; and (vi) Other Investments.

We are 100% owned by our limited partners from an economic perspective. We are managed and controlled by Enterprise GP, which has a non-economic general partner interest in us. We, Enterprise GP, EPCO and Dan Duncan LLC are affiliates and under the collective common control of the DD LLC Trustees and the EPCO Trustees. We have no employees. All of our operating functions and general and administrative support services are provided by employees of EPCO pursuant to an administrative services agreement (the “ASA”) or by other service providers. See Note 15 for information regarding the ASA and other related party matters.

Completion of Duncan Merger

On September 7, 2011, the Duncan Merger Agreement was approved by the unitholders of Duncan Energy Partners and the merger of Duncan MergerCo and Duncan Energy Partners and related transactions were completed, with Duncan Energy Partners surviving such merger as our wholly owned subsidiary. Each issued and outstanding common unit of Duncan Energy Partners was cancelled and converted into the right to receive common units representing limited partner interests in Enterprise based on an exchange ratio of 1.01 Enterprise common units for each Duncan Energy Partners common unit. Enterprise issued 24,277,310 of its common units (net of fractional common units cashed out) as consideration in the Duncan Merger. No Enterprise common units were issued to Enterprise or its subsidiaries as merger consideration. Since we historically consolidated Duncan Energy Partners for financial reporting purposes, the Duncan Merger did not change the basis of presentation of our historical financial statements.

Impact of the Holdings Merger on the Basis of Presentation of Our

Consolidated Financial Statements

On November 22, 2010, the Holdings Merger Agreement was approved by the unitholders of Holdings and the merger of Holdings with Holdings MergerCo and related transactions were completed, with Holdings MergerCo surviving such merger. At the effective time of the Holdings Merger, Enterprise GP succeeded as Enterprise's general partner, and each issued and outstanding unit representing limited partner interests in Holdings was cancelled and converted into the right to receive Enterprise common units based on an exchange ratio of 1.5 Enterprise common units for each Holdings unit. Enterprise issued an aggregate of 208,813,454 of its common units (net of fractional common units cashed out) as consideration in the Holdings Merger and, immediately after the merger, cancelled 21,563,177 of its common units previously owned by Holdings.

In connection with the Holdings Merger, Enterprise's partnership agreement was amended and restated to provide for the cancellation of its general partner's 2% economic interest and incentive distribution rights in Enterprise. In addition, a privately held affiliate of EPCO agreed to temporarily waive the regular quarterly cash distributions it would otherwise receive from us with respect to a certain number of our common units (the “Designated Units”) it owned over a five-year period after the merger closing date of November 22, 2010. The number of Designated Units to which the temporary distribution waiver applies is as follows for distributions paid or to be paid, if any, during the following calendar years: 30,610,000 during 2011; 26,130,000 during 2012; 23,700,000 during 2013; 22,560,000 during 2014; and 17,690,000 during 2015. Distributions paid to partners during calendar year 2011 excluded the initial 30,610,000 Designated Units; however, distributions to be paid, as applicable, to partners in calendar year 2012 (beginning with the February 2012 distribution) will exclude 26,130,000 Designated Units. As a result, the number of our distribution-bearing units increased by 4,480,000 units beginning with the February 2012 distribution and will increase in subsequent years as the number of Designated Units declines.

Prior to the Holdings Merger, Enterprise was a consolidated subsidiary of Holdings, which was Enterprise's parent. Upon completion of the Holdings Merger, Holdings merged with and into a wholly owned subsidiary of Enterprise. The Holdings Merger resulted in Holdings being considered the surviving consolidated entity for accounting purposes, while Enterprise is the surviving consolidated entity for legal and reporting purposes. For accounting purposes, Holdings is deemed the acquirer of the noncontrolling interests in Enterprise that were previously recognized in Holdings' consolidated financial statements (i.e., the acquisition of Enterprise's limited partner interests that were owned by parties other than Holdings). While it was a publicly traded partnership, Holdings (NYSE, ticker symbol “EPE”) electronically filed its annual and quarterly consolidated financial statements with the SEC. You can access this information at www.sec.gov.

As a result of the Holdings Merger, Enterprise's consolidated financial and operating results prior to November 22, 2010 have been presented as if it were Holdings from an accounting perspective (i.e., the financial statements of Holdings became the historical financial statements of Enterprise). The primary differences between Holdings' and Enterprise's consolidated results of operations were: (i) general and administrative costs incurred by Holdings and EPGP (Enterprise's former general partner); (ii) equity in income of Holdings' noncontrolling ownership interests in Energy Transfer Equity; and (iii) interest expense associated with Holdings' debt. In addition, for periods prior to November 22, 2010, the net assets, income, cash distributions and contributions and other amounts attributable to Enterprise's limited partner interests that were owned by third parties and related parties other than Holdings are presented as a component of noncontrolling interests. See Note 13 for additional information regarding noncontrolling interests.

Limited partner units outstanding and earnings per unit amounts presented in these consolidated financial statements for periods prior to the Holdings Merger have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the 1.5 to one unit-for-unit exchange that occurred in connection with the Holdings Merger. See Note 17 for additional information regarding our earnings per unit amounts.

Impact of the TEPPCO Merger on the Basis of Presentation of Our

Consolidated Financial Statements

On October 26, 2009, the related mergers of Enterprise and its wholly owned subsidiaries with TEPPCO and TEPPCO GP were completed. Under terms of the merger agreements, TEPPCO and TEPPCO GP became wholly owned subsidiaries of Enterprise, and each of TEPPCO's unitholders, except for a privately held affiliate of EPCO, received 1.24 of our common units for each TEPPCO unit they owned. In total, we issued an aggregate of 126,932,318 common units and 4,520,431 Class B units (described below) as consideration in the TEPPCO Merger for both TEPPCO units and the TEPPCO GP membership interests. On October 27, 2009, our TEPPCO and TEPPCO GP equity interests were contributed to EPO, and TEPPCO and TEPPCO GP became wholly owned subsidiaries of EPO.

A privately held affiliate of EPCO exchanged a portion of its TEPPCO units, based on the 1.24 exchange ratio, for 4,520,431 of our Class B units in lieu of common units. The Class B units are not entitled to receive regular quarterly cash distributions for the first sixteen quarters following the closing date of the merger. The Class B units automatically convert into the same number of common units on the date immediately following the payment date for the sixteenth regular quarterly distribution following the closing date of the merger. The Class B units are entitled to vote together with the common units as a single class on partnership matters and, except for the payment of distributions, have the same rights and privileges as our common units.

Under the terms of the TEPPCO Merger agreements, Holdings received 1,331,681 of our common units and an increase in the capital account of EPGP to maintain its 2% general partner interest in us as consideration for 100% of the membership interests of TEPPCO GP.

For periods prior to the TEPPCO Merger, the former owners' share of the income of TEPPCO and TEPPCO GP is a component of net income attributable to noncontrolling interests as reflected on our Statements of Consolidated Operations. Additionally, cash distributions paid to and cash contributions received from the limited partners of TEPPCO are reflected as a component of cash distributions paid to and cash contributions received from noncontrolling interests.

Impact of the Deconsolidation of Texas Offshore Port System on Our

Consolidated Financial Statements

In August 2008, we, including TEPPCO, together with Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc. (“Oiltanking”) formed the Texas Offshore Port System partnership (“TOPS”). In April 2009, we and TEPPCO dissociated from TOPS. As a result, our operating costs and expenses and net income for the year ended December 31, 2009 include a non-cash charge of $68.4 million. This loss represents the forfeiture of our cumulative investment, including that of TEPPCO, in TOPS through the date of dissociation. Additionally, Oiltanking's noncontrolling interests of $33.4 million were removed from our consolidated books and records. The impact on net income attributable to partners was approximately $8.7 million, as nearly all of this loss was absorbed by noncontrolling interests in consolidation.

In September 2009, we entered into a settlement agreement with certain affiliates of Oiltanking that resolved all disputes between the parties related to the business and affairs of the TOPS project. Our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 include approximately $66.9 million of expense in connection with the payment of this cash settlement.