Property, Plant and Equipment

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Note 4. Property, Plant and Equipment

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

	Estimated Useful Life in Years			March 31, 2021		December 31, 2020
Plants, pipelines and facilities (1)		3-45	(5)	$	50,036.0	$	49,972.8
Underground and other storage facilities (2)		5-40	(6)		4,231.4		4,207.5
Transportation equipment (3)		3-10			199.2		204.9
Marine vessels (4)		15-30			929.6		932.7
Land					372.1		371.9
Construction in progress					2,055.3		1,807.7
Subtotal					57,823.6		57,497.5
Less accumulated depreciation					15,805.9		15,584.7
Subtotal property, plant and equipment, net					42,017.7		41,912.8
Capitalized major maintenance costs for reaction-based plants, net of accumulated amortization (7)					84.7		–
Property, plant and equipment, net				$	42,102.4	$	41,912.8

(1)	Plants, pipelines and facilities include processing plants; NGL, natural gas, crude oil and petrochemical and refined products pipelines; terminal loading and unloading facilities; buildings; office furniture and equipment; 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)	Transportation equipment includes tractor-trailer tank trucks and other vehicles and similar assets used in our operations.
(4)	Marine vessels include tow boats, barges and related equipment used in our marine transportation business.
(5)	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; buildings, 20-40 years; office furniture and equipment, 3-20 years; and laboratory and shop equipment, 5-35 years.
(6)	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.
(7)	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. On a weighted-average basis, the expected amortization period for these costs is 2.8 years.

Property, plant and equipment at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 includes $69.0 million and $69.7 million, respectively, of asset retirement costs capitalized as an increase in the associated long-lived asset. The following table presents information regarding our asset retirement obligations, or AROs, since December 31, 2020:

ARO liability balance, December 31, 2020	$	149.5
Liabilities incurred		–
Liabilities settled		–
Revisions in estimated cash flows		(1.1	)
Accretion expense		1.7
ARO liability balance, March 31, 2021	$	150.1

Of the $150.1 million total ARO liability recorded at March 31, 2021, $11.3 million was reflected as a current liability and $138.8 million as a long-term liability.

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

	For the Three Months Ended March 31,
	2021			2020
Depreciation expense (1)		$	423.7		$	412.2
Accretion expense (1)			1.7			1.8
Capitalized interest (2)			19.6			30.5

(1)

Depreciation and accretion expense is a component of “Costs and expenses” as presented on our Unaudited Condensed Statements of Consolidated Operations.

(2)

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.

Asset impairment charges

In March 2021, we entered into agreements to sell a coal bed natural gas gathering system and related Val Verde treating facility, both of which were components of our San Juan Gathering System, to a third party for $40.0 million in cash. The transaction closed and was effective on April 1, 2021. In total, we recognized an impairment charge of $43.4 million, which reflects the write down of $36.6 million of property, plant and equipment and $6.8 million of intangible assets (see Note 6). The impairment charge attributable to this transaction primarily reflects the reclassification of the underlying assets and liabilities (at their estimated fair values) to their respective held-for-sale accounts at March 31, 2021. The remainder of our impairment charges for the three month periods ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 are attributable to the complete write-off of assets that are no longer expected to be used or constructed.

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

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 non-cash impairment charges in the future.