Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Note 2.  Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

We estimate our allowance for doubtful accounts at each reporting date using a current expected credit loss model, which requires the measurement of expected credit losses for financial assets (e.g., accounts receivable) based on historical experience with customers, current economic conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts.  We may also increase the allowance for doubtful accounts in response to the specific identification of customers involved in bankruptcy proceedings and similar financial difficulties.  

The following table presents our allowance for doubtful accounts activity for the years indicated:

	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019			2018
Balance at beginning of period	$	12.4		$	11.5		$	12.1
Charged to costs and expenses		8.4			1.2			0.7
Charged to other accounts (1)		28.7			–			–
Deductions		(3.0	)		(0.3	)		(1.3	)
Balance at end of period	$	46.5		$	12.4		$	11.5

(1) Amount presented for 2020 primarily relates to the reclassification of deferred revenue balances to allowance for doubtful accounts in connection with customer bankruptcies and contractual disputes.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

Cash and cash equivalents represent unrestricted cash on hand and highly liquid investments with original maturities of less than three months from the date of purchase.

Restricted cash primarily represents amounts held in segregated bank accounts by our clearing brokers as margin in support of our commodity derivative instruments portfolio and related physical purchases and sales of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and power.  Additional cash may be restricted to maintain our commodity derivative instruments portfolio as prices fluctuate or margin requirements change. See Note 14 for information regarding our derivative instruments and hedging activities.

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within the Consolidated Balance Sheets that sum to the total of the amounts shown in the Statements of Consolidated Cash Flows.

	December 31,
	2020		2019
Cash and cash equivalents	$	1,059.9	$	334.7
Restricted cash		98.2		75.3
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the    Statements of Consolidated Cash Flows	$	1,158.1	$	410.0

Consolidation Policy

Our consolidated financial statements include our accounts and those of our majority-owned subsidiaries in which we have a controlling interest, after the elimination of all intercompany accounts and transactions.  We also consolidate other entities and ventures in which we possess a controlling financial interest as well as partnership interests where we are the sole general partner of the partnership.  We evaluate our financial interests in business enterprises to determine if they represent variable interest entities where we are the primary beneficiary.  If such criteria are met, we consolidate the financial statements of such businesses with those of our own.  Third party or affiliate ownership interests in our controlled subsidiaries are presented as noncontrolling interests.  See Note 8 for information regarding noncontrolling interests.

If the entity is organized as a limited partnership or limited liability company and maintains separate ownership accounts, we account for our investment using the equity method if our ownership interest is between 3% and 50%, unless our interest is so minor that we have virtually no influence over the investee’s operating and financial policies.  For all other types of investments, we apply the equity method of accounting if our ownership interest is between 20% and 50% and we exercise significant influence over the investee’s operating and financial policies.  In consolidation, we eliminate our proportionate share of profits and losses from transactions with equity method unconsolidated affiliates to the extent such amounts remain on our Consolidated Balance Sheets (or those of our equity method investments) in inventory or similar accounts.

Contingencies

Certain conditions may exist as of the date our consolidated financial statements are issued, which may result in a loss to us but which will only be resolved when one or more future events occur or fail to occur.  Management has regular quarterly litigation reviews, including updates from legal counsel, to assess the need for accounting recognition or disclosure of these contingencies, and such assessment inherently involves an exercise in judgment.  In assessing loss contingencies related to legal proceedings that are pending against us or unasserted claims that may result in such proceedings, our management and legal counsel evaluate the perceived merits of any legal proceedings or unasserted claims as well as the perceived merits of the amount of relief sought or expected to be sought therein.

We accrue an undiscounted liability for those contingencies where the incurrence of a loss is probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated.  If a range of amounts can be reasonably estimated and no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount, then the minimum of the range is accrued.  We do not record a contingent liability when the likelihood of loss is probable but the amount cannot be reasonably estimated or when the likelihood of loss is believed to be only reasonably possible or remote.  For contingencies where an unfavorable outcome is reasonably possible and the impact would be material to our consolidated financial statements, we disclose the nature of the contingency and, where feasible, an estimate of the possible loss or range of loss.

Loss contingencies considered remote are generally not disclosed unless they involve guarantees, in which case the guarantees would be disclosed.  See Note 17 for additional information regarding our contingencies.

Current Assets and Current Liabilities

We present, as individual captions in our Consolidated Balance Sheets, all components of current assets and current liabilities that exceed 5% of total current assets and current liabilities, respectively.

Derivative Instruments

We use derivative instruments such as futures, swaps, forward contracts and other arrangements to manage price risks associated with inventories, firm commitments, interest rates and certain anticipated future commodity transactions.  To qualify for hedge accounting, the hedged item must expose us to risk and the related derivative instrument must reduce the exposure to that risk and meet specific hedge documentation requirements related to designation dates, expectations for hedge effectiveness and the probability that hedged future transactions will occur as forecasted.  We formally designate derivative instruments as hedges and document and assess their effectiveness at inception of the hedge and on a monthly basis thereafter.  Forecasted transactions are evaluated for the probability of occurrence and are periodically back-tested once the forecasted period has passed to determine whether forecasted transactions are probable of occurring in the future.

We are required to recognize derivative instruments at fair value as either assets or liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets unless such instruments meet certain normal purchase/normal sale criteria.  While all derivatives are required to be reported at fair value on the balance sheet, changes in fair value of derivative instruments are reported in different ways, depending on the nature and effectiveness of the hedging activities to which they relate.  After meeting specified conditions, a qualified derivative may be designated as a total or partial hedge of:

• Changes in the fair value of a recognized asset or liability, or an unrecognized firm commitment – In a fair value hedge, gains and losses for both the derivative instrument and the hedged item are recognized in income during the period of change.

• Variable cash flows of a forecasted transaction – In a cash flow hedge, the change in the fair value of the hedge is reported in other comprehensive income (loss) and is reclassified to earnings when the forecasted transaction affects earnings.

An effective hedge relationship is one in which the change in fair value of a derivative instrument can be expected to offset 80% to 125% of the changes in fair value of a hedged item at inception and throughout the life of the hedging relationship.  The effective portion of a hedge relationship is the amount by which the derivative instrument exactly offsets the change in fair value of the hedged item during the reporting period.

A contract designated as a cash flow hedge of an anticipated transaction that is not probable of occurring is immediately recognized in earnings.

Certain of our derivative instruments do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment; therefore, these instruments are accounted for using mark-to-market accounting.

For certain physical forward commodity derivative contracts, we apply the normal purchase/normal sale exception, whereby changes in the mark-to-market values of such contracts are not recognized in income.  As a result, the revenues and expenses associated with such physical transactions are recognized during the period when volumes are physically delivered or received.  Physical forward commodity contracts subject to this exception are evaluated for the probability of future delivery and are periodically back-tested once the forecasted period has passed to determine whether similar forward contracts are probable of physical delivery in the future.  See Note 14 for additional information regarding our derivative instruments.

Environmental Costs

Environmental costs for remediation are accrued based on estimates of known remediation requirements.  Such accruals are based on management’s best estimate of the ultimate cost to remediate a site and are adjusted as further information and circumstances develop.  Those estimates may change substantially depending on information about the nature and extent of contamination, appropriate remediation technologies and regulatory approvals.  Expenditures to mitigate or prevent future environmental contamination are capitalized.  Ongoing environmental compliance costs are charged to expense as incurred.  In accruing for environmental remediation liabilities, costs of future expenditures for environmental remediation are not discounted to their present value, unless the amount and timing of the expenditures are fixed or reliably determinable.  At December 31, 2020, none of our estimated environmental remediation liabilities were discounted to present value since the ultimate amount and timing of cash payments for such liabilities were not readily determinable.

The following table presents the activity of our environmental reserves for the years indicated:

	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019			2018
Balance at beginning of period	$	7.2		$	6.9		$	11.6
Charged to costs and expenses		6.2			12.3			8.2
Acquisition-related additions and other		2.6			2.5			1.7
Deductions		(11.5	)		(14.5	)		(14.6	)
Balance at end of period	$	4.5		$	7.2		$	6.9

At December 31, 2020 and 2019, $3.8 million and $5.8 million, respectively, of our environmental reserves were classified as current liabilities.

Estimates

Preparing our consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates that affect amounts presented in the financial statements.  Our most significant estimates relate to (i) the useful lives and depreciation/amortization methods used for fixed and identifiable intangible assets; (ii) measurement of fair value and projections used in impairment testing of fixed and intangible assets (including goodwill); (iii) contingencies; and (iv) revenue and expense accruals.

Actual results could differ materially from our estimates.  On an ongoing basis, we review our estimates based on currently available information.  Any changes in the facts and circumstances underlying our estimates may require us to update such estimates, which could have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Fair Value Measurements

Our recurring and nonrecurring fair value estimates are based on either (i) actual market data or (ii) assumptions that other market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability, including estimates of risk, in the principal market of the asset or liability at a specified measurement date.  Recognized valuation techniques (such as the income or market approaches) employ inputs such as contractual prices, quoted market prices or rates, operating costs, discount factors and business growth rates.  These inputs may be either readily observable, corroborated by market data or generally unobservable.  In developing our estimates of fair value, we endeavor to utilize the best information available and apply market-based data to the extent possible.  

A three-tier hierarchy has been established that classifies fair value amounts recognized in the financial statements based on the observability of inputs used to estimate such fair values.  The hierarchy considers fair value amounts based on observable inputs (Levels 1 and 2 fair value measures) to be more reliable and predictable than those based primarily on unobservable inputs (Level 3 fair value measures).  At each balance sheet reporting date, we categorize our financial assets and liabilities using this hierarchy.  The characteristics of fair value amounts classified within each level of the hierarchy are described as follows:

• Level 1 fair value measures.  Level 1 fair values are based on quoted prices, which are available in active markets for identical assets or liabilities as of the measurement date.  Active markets are defined as those in which transactions for identical assets or liabilities occur with sufficient frequency so as to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis (e.g., transactions on the New York Mercantile Exchange (“NYMEX”)).  Our Level 1 fair values consist of financial assets and liabilities such as exchange-traded commodity derivative instruments.

• Level 2 fair value measures.  Level 2 fair values are based on pricing inputs other than quoted prices in active markets (a Level 1 fair value measure) and are either directly or indirectly observable as of the measurement date.  Level 2 fair values include instruments that are valued using financial models or other appropriate valuation methodologies.  Such financial models are primarily industry-standard models that consider various assumptions, including quoted forward prices for commodities, the time value of money, volatility factors, current market and contractual prices for the underlying instruments and other relevant economic measures.  Substantially all of these assumptions (i) are observable in the marketplace throughout the full term of the instrument; (ii) can be derived from observable data; or (iii) are validated by inputs other than quoted prices (e.g., interest rate and yield curves at commonly quoted intervals).  Our Level 2 fair values primarily consist of commodity derivative instruments such as forwards, swaps and other instruments transacted on an exchange or over-the-counter and interest rate derivative instruments.  The fair values of these derivative instruments are based on observable price quotes for similar products and locations.  The fair value of our interest rate derivatives are determined using financial models that incorporate third-party yield curves for the same period as the future interest rate swap settlements.

• Level 3 fair value measures.  Level 3 fair values are based on unobservable inputs.  Unobservable inputs are used to measure fair value to the extent that observable inputs are not available, thereby allowing for situations in which there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability at the measurement date.  Unobservable inputs reflect management’s ideas about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability (including assumptions about risk).  Unobservable inputs are based on the best information available to us in the circumstances, which might include our internally developed forecasts.  Level 3 inputs are typically used in connection with internally developed valuation methodologies where we make our best estimate of fair value.  Valuations using Level 3 inputs are reviewed and approved by members of senior management.

With regards to commodity derivatives, our Level 3 fair values primarily consist of the following commodity derivative instruments used to hedge various inventories and transportation capacities: (i) NGL-based contracts with terms greater than one year; (ii) crude, natural gas and refined products-based contracts with terms greater than 36 months; (iii) over-the-counter options; and (iv) exchange traded options with terms greater than one year.  In addition, we often rely on price quotes from reputable brokers who publish price quotes on certain products and compare these prices to other reputable brokers for the same products in the same markets whenever possible.  These prices, when combined with data from our commodity derivative instruments, are used in our models to determine the fair value of such instruments.

Our nonrecurring fair value estimates are generally based on the income approach to fair value and reflect various Level 3 inputs.  In many cases, there are no active markets (a Level 1 fair value measure) to rely on or other similar recent transactions (a Level 2 fair value measure) to compare to. Our nonrecurring fair value estimates often include management’s expectations of the residual market values for the underlying assets based on their knowledge and experience in the industry (a Level 3 fair value measure). Other examples of Level 3 inputs used in the valuation models include anticipated gross operating margins, throughput or processing volumes, utilization factors, sustaining capital expenditures, discount rates and business growth rates.  When probability weights are used in cash flow modeling, the weights are generally obtained from management personnel having oversight responsibilities for the assets being tested.  

Impairment Testing

The following table summarizes our asset impairment charges by type as presented on our Statements of Consolidated Cash Flows for the years indicated:

	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Impairment charges reflected in operating costs and expenses:
Property, plant and equipment (see Note 4)	$	589.8	$	51.0	$	46.8
Investment in unconsolidated affiliate (see Note 5)		–		76.4		–
Goodwill (see Note 6)		296.3		–		–
Other (1)		4.5		5.3		3.7
Total asset impairment charges in operating costs and expenses		890.6		132.7		50.5
Other property, plant and equipment impairment charges (2)		–		0.1		–
Total asset impairment charges	$	890.6	$	132.8	$	50.5

(1)	Primarily represents the write-down of surplus materials classified as current assets and intangible assets other than goodwill.
(2)	Amounts presented are reflected in general and administrative costs.

Asset impairment charges related to operations are a component of “Third party and other costs” within the “Operating costs and expenses” section of our Statements of Consolidated Operations.

The following information describes our accounting policies regarding impairment testing for major asset categories:

• Impairment Testing for Long-Lived Assets.  Long-lived assets, which consist of intangible assets with finite lives and property, plant and equipment, are reviewed for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable.  Long-lived assets with carrying values that are not expected to be recovered through future cash flows are written-down to their estimated fair values.  The carrying value of a long-lived asset is deemed not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of undiscounted estimated cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset.  If the asset’s carrying value exceeds the sum of its undiscounted cash flows, a non-cash asset impairment charge equal to the excess of the asset’s carrying value over its estimated fair value is recorded.  Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or be paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at a specified measurement date.  We measure fair value using market price indicators or, in the absence of such data, appropriate valuation techniques.  See Note 4 for information regarding impairment charges attributable to property, plant and equipment.

• Impairment Testing for Investments in Unconsolidated Affiliates. We evaluate our equity method investments for impairment when there are events or changes in circumstances that indicate there is a potential loss in value of the investment attributable to an other than temporary decline.  Examples of such events or changes in circumstances include continuing operating losses of the entity and/or long-term negative changes in the entity’s industry.  In the event we determine that the value of an investment is not recoverable due to an other than temporary decline, we record a non-cash impairment charge to adjust the carrying value of the investment to its estimated fair value.  See Note 5 for information regarding an impairment charge attributable to our investments in unconsolidated affiliates in 2019.

• Impairment Testing for Goodwill.  Goodwill, which represents the cost of an acquired business in excess of the fair value of its net assets at the acquisition date, is subject to annual impairment testing in the fourth quarter of each year or when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the goodwill may not be recoverable.  We test goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit (or operating segment) level following guidance in ASU 2017-04, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment,” the provisions of which we adopted on January 1, 2020. Goodwill impairment charges represent the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value (including its respective goodwill) exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of the reporting unit’s goodwill.

We determine the fair value of each reporting unit using accepted valuation techniques, primarily through the use of discounted cash flows (i.e., an income approach to fair value) supplemented by market-based assessments, if available.  The estimated fair values of our reporting units incorporate assumptions regarding the future economic prospects of the assets and operations that comprise each reporting unit including: (i) discrete financial forecasts for the assets comprising the reporting unit, which, in turn, rely on management’s estimates of long-term operating margins, throughput volumes, capital investments and similar factors; (ii) long-term growth rates for the reporting unit’s cash flows beyond the discrete forecast period; and (iii) appropriate discount rates.  The fair value estimates are based on Level 3 inputs of the fair value hierarchy.  We believe that the assumptions we use in estimating reporting unit fair values are consistent with those that market participants would use in their fair value estimation process.  However, due to uncertainties in the estimation process and volatility in the supply and demand for hydrocarbons and similar risk factors, actual results could differ significantly from our estimates. See Note 6 for information regarding an impairment charge attributable to goodwill in 2020.

We are closely monitoring the recoverability of our long-lived assets, investments in unconsolidated affiliates and goodwill in light of the adverse economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) pandemic.  If the adverse economic impacts of the pandemic persist for longer periods than currently expected, these developments could result in the recognition of additional non-cash impairment charges in the future. 

Inventories

Inventories primarily consist of NGLs, petrochemicals, refined products, crude oil and natural gas volumes that are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value.  We capitalize, as a cost of inventory, shipping and handling charges (e.g., pipeline transportation and storage fees) and other related costs associated with purchased volumes.  As volumes are sold and delivered out of inventory, the cost of these volumes (including freight-in charges that have been capitalized as part of inventory cost) are charged to operating costs and expenses.  Shipping and handling fees associated with products we sell and deliver to customers are charged to operating costs and expenses as incurred.  See Note 3 for additional information regarding our inventories.

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 842, Leases, which requires substantially all leases be recorded on the balance sheet. We adopted the new standard on January 1, 2019 and applied it to (i) all new leases entered into after January 1, 2019 and (ii) all existing lease contracts as of January 1, 2019. ASC 842 supersedes existing lease accounting guidance found under ASC 840, Leases.

The new standard introduces two lessee accounting models, which results in a lease being classified as either a “finance” or “operating” lease based on whether the lessee effectively obtains control of the underlying asset during the lease term.  A lease would be classified as a finance lease if it meets one of five classification criteria, four of which are generally consistent with ASC 840 lease accounting guidance.  By default, a lease that does not meet the criteria to be classified as a finance lease will be deemed an operating lease.  Regardless of classification, the initial measurement of both lease types will result in the balance sheet recognition of a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset (representing a company’s right to use the underlying asset for a specified period of time) and a corresponding lease liability.  The lease liability will be recognized at the present value of the future lease payments, and the ROU asset will equal the lease liability adjusted for any prepaid rent, lease incentives provided by the lessor, and any indirect costs.

The subsequent measurement of each type of lease varies. For finance leases, a lessee will amortize the ROU asset (generally on a straight-line basis in a manner similar to depreciation) and accrete the lease liability (as a component of interest expense) using the effective interest method.  Operating leases will result in the recognition of a single lease expense amount that is recorded on a straight-line basis.

ASC 842 resulted in changes to the way our operating leases are recorded, presented and disclosed in our consolidated financial statements. Upon adoption of ASC 842 on January 1, 2019, we recognized a $246.1 million ROU asset and a corresponding lease liability based on the present value of then existing long-term operating lease obligations. In addition, we elected to apply several practical expedients and made accounting policy elections upon adoption of ASC 842 including:

• We do not recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases and instead record them in a manner similar to operating leases under legacy lease accounting guidelines.  A short term lease is one with a maximum lease term of 12 months or less and does not include a purchase option the lessee is reasonably certain to exercise.

• We did not reassess whether any expired or existing contracts as of January 1, 2019 contained leases or the lease classification for any such existing or expired leases.

• The impact of adopting ASC 842 was prospective beginning January 1, 2019.  We did not recast prior periods presented in our consolidated financial statements to reflect the new lease accounting guidance.

• We combine lease and nonlease components relating to our office and warehouse leases, as applicable.

See Note 17 for our disclosures regarding operating lease obligations.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment is recorded at cost.  Expenditures for additions, improvements and other enhancements to property, plant and equipment are capitalized, and minor replacements, maintenance, and repairs that do not extend asset life or add value are charged to expense as incurred.  When property, plant and equipment assets are retired or otherwise disposed of, the related cost and accumulated depreciation is removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is included in results of operations for the respective period.

We capitalize interest costs incurred on funds used to construct property, plant and equipment while the asset is in its construction phase.  The capitalized interest is recorded as part of the asset to which it relates and is amortized over the asset’s estimated useful life as a component of depreciation expense.  When capitalized interest is recorded, it reduces interest expense from what it would be otherwise.

In general, depreciation is the systematic and rational allocation of an asset’s cost, less its residual value (if any), to the periods it benefits.  The majority of our property, plant and equipment is depreciated using the straight-line method, which results in depreciation expense being incurred evenly over the life of an asset.  Our estimate of depreciation expense incorporates management assumptions regarding the useful economic lives and residual values of our assets.  With respect to midstream energy assets such as natural gas gathering systems that are reliant upon a specific natural resource basin for throughput volumes, the anticipated useful economic life of such assets may be limited by the estimated life of the associated natural resource basin from which the assets derive benefit.  Our forecast of the remaining life for the applicable resource basins is based on several factors, including information published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  Where appropriate, we use other depreciation methods (generally accelerated) for tax purposes.

Leasehold improvements are recorded as a component of property, plant and equipment.  The cost of leasehold improvements is charged to earnings using the straight-line method over the shorter of (i) the remaining lease term or (ii) the estimated useful lives of the improvements.  We consider renewal terms that are deemed reasonably assured when estimating remaining lease terms.

Our assumptions regarding the useful economic lives and residual values of our assets may change in response to new facts and circumstances, which would prospectively impact our depreciation expense amounts.  Examples of such circumstances include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in laws and regulations that limit the estimated economic life of an asset; (ii) changes in technology that render an asset obsolete; (iii) changes in expected salvage values or (iv) significant changes in the forecast life of the applicable resource basins, if any.  

Certain of our plant facilities undergo periodic planned outages for major maintenance activities. The method of accounting for these activities depends on whether the plant utilizes either a distillation-based or reaction-based process.  Our natural gas processing plants, NGL fractionators, deisobutanizers, propylene splitters and similar facilities utilize thermal distillation processes to separate hydrocarbons into more useful components. Our reaction-based plants, which primarily include our PDH, isomerization and octane enhancement facilities, utilize catalysts to facilitate chemical reactions that convert lower value hydrocarbons into higher value products. We use the expense-as-incurred method to account for the planned major maintenance activities of distillation-based plants.  For reaction-based plants, we use the deferral method when accounting for major maintenance activities.  Under the deferral method, major maintenance costs are capitalized and amortized over the period until the next major overhaul project. We adopted the deferral method for our reaction-based plants in November 2020.  Historically, the costs of major maintenance activities attributable to our reaction-based facilities, principally our octane enhancement assets, were not material to our consolidated financial statements.

With regard to the planned major maintenance activities of our marine transportation assets and underground storage caverns, we continue to use the deferral method to account for such costs.

Asset retirement obligations (“AROs”) are legal obligations associated with the retirement of tangible long-lived assets that result from their acquisition, construction, development and/or normal operation.  When an ARO is incurred, we record a liability for the ARO and capitalize an equal amount as an increase in the carrying value of the related long-lived asset.  ARO amounts are measured at their estimated fair value using expected present value techniques.  Over time, the ARO liability is accreted to its present value (through accretion expense) and the capitalized amount is depreciated over the remaining useful life of the related long-lived asset.  We will incur a gain or loss to the extent that our ARO liabilities are not settled at their recorded amounts.

See Note 4 for additional information regarding our property, plant and equipment and AROs.

Revenues

Substantially all of our revenues are accounted for under ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, however, to a limited extent, some revenues are accounted for under other guidance such as ASC 842, Leases, ASC 845, Nonmonetary Transactions, or ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging Activities.

The core principle of ASC 606 is that a company should recognize revenue in a manner that fairly depicts the transfer of goods or services to customers in amounts that reflect the consideration the company expects to receive for those goods or services.  We apply this core principle by following five key steps outlined in ASC 606: (i) identify the contract; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied. Each of these steps involves management judgment and an analysis of the contract’s material terms and conditions.

Under ASC 606, we recognize revenue when or as we satisfy our performance obligation to the customer.  In situations where we have recognized revenue, but have a conditional right to consideration (based on something other than the passage of time) from the customer, we recognize unbilled revenue (a contract asset) on our consolidated balance sheet.  Unbilled revenue is reclassified to accounts receivable when we have an unconditional right of payment from the customer. Payments received from customers in advance of the period in which we satisfy a performance obligation are recorded as deferred revenue (a contract liability) on our consolidated balance sheet.

Our revenue streams are derived from the sale of products and providing midstream services.  Revenues from the sale of products are recognized at a point in time, which represents the transfer of control (and the satisfaction of our performance obligation under the contract) to the customer.  From that point forward, the customer is able to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all the benefits from its use of, the products.  With respect to midstream services (e.g., interruptible transportation), we satisfy our performance obligations over time and recognize revenues when the services are provided and the customer receives the benefits based on an output measure of volumes redelivered.  We believe this measure is a faithful depiction of the transfer of control for midstream services since there is (i) an insignificant period of time between the receipt of customers’ volumes and their subsequent redelivery, and (ii) it is not possible to individually track and differentiate customers’ inventories as they traverse our facilities.  For stand-ready performance obligations (e.g., a storage capacity reservation contract), we recognize revenues over time on a straight-line basis as time elapses over the term of the contract. We believe that these approaches accurately depict the transfer of benefits to the customer.

Customers are invoiced for products purchased or services rendered when we have an unconditional right to consideration under the associated contract. The consideration we are entitled to invoice may be either fixed, variable or a combination of both.  Examples of fixed consideration would be fixed payments from customers under take-or-pay arrangements, storage capacity reservation agreements and firm transportation contracts. Variable consideration represents payments from customers that are based on factors that fluctuate (or vary) based on volumes, prices or both. Examples of variable consideration include interruptible transportation agreements, market-indexed product sales contracts and the value of NGLs we retain under natural gas processing agreements.  The terms of our billings are typical of the industry for the products we sell.

Under certain midstream service agreements, customers are required to provide a minimum volume over an agreed-upon period with a provision that allows the customer to make-up any volume shortfalls over an agreed-upon period (referred to as “make-up rights”).  Revenue pursuant to such agreements is initially deferred and subsequently recognized when either the make-up rights are exercised, the likelihood of the customer exercising the rights becomes remote, or we are otherwise released from the performance obligation.

Customers may contribute funds to us to help offset the construction costs related to pipeline construction activities and production well tie-ins.   These receipts are recognized as additional service revenues over the term of the associated midstream services provided to the customer.

For those contracts under which we have the ability to invoice the customer in an amount that corresponds directly with the value of the performance obligation completed to date, we recognize revenue as we have the right to invoice.

See Note 9 regarding our revenue disclosures.