Organization, Description of Business and Basis of Presentation

Organization

Unless indicated otherwise, the terms “our,” “we,” “us” and similar language refer to Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. together with its subsidiaries. We are a Delaware limited partnership and our limited partner units are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “MMP.” Magellan GP, LLC, a wholly-owned Delaware limited liability company, serves as our general partner.

Description of Business

We are principally engaged in the transportation, storage and distribution of refined petroleum products and crude oil. As of September 30, 2015, our asset portfolio, including the assets of our joint ventures, consisted of:


•	our refined products segment, comprised of our 9,500-mile refined products pipeline system with 52 terminals as well as 28 independent terminals not connected to our pipeline system and our 1,100-mile ammonia pipeline system;


•	our crude oil segment, comprised of approximately 1,600 miles of crude oil pipelines and storage facilities with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 21 million barrels, of which 13 million barrels are used for leased storage; and


•	our marine storage segment, consisting of five marine terminals located along coastal waterways with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 26 million barrels.

Products transported, stored or distributed through our pipelines and terminals include:


•	refined products are the output from refineries and are primarily used as fuels by consumers. Refined products include gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, kerosene and heating oil. Collectively, diesel fuel and heating oil are referred to as distillates;


•	liquefied petroleum gases, or LPGs, are produced as by-products of the crude oil refining process and in connection with natural gas production. LPGs include butane and propane;


•	blendstocks are blended with refined products to change or enhance their characteristics such as increasing a gasoline's octane or oxygen content. Blendstocks include alkylates, oxygenates and natural gasoline;


•	heavy oils and feedstocks are used as burner fuels or feedstocks for further processing by refineries and petrochemical facilities. Heavy oils and feedstocks include No. 6 fuel oil and vacuum gas oil;


•	crude oil and condensate are used as feedstocks by refineries and petrochemical facilities;


•	biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, are increasingly required by government mandates; and


•	ammonia is primarily used as a nitrogen fertilizer.

Except for ammonia, we use the term petroleum products to describe any, or a combination, of the above-noted products.

Basis of Presentation

In the opinion of management, our accompanying consolidated financial statements which are unaudited, except for the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2014 which is derived from our audited financial statements, include all normal and recurring adjustments necessary to present fairly our financial position as of September 30, 2015, the results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2015 and cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2015. The results of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2015 as profits from our blending activities are realized largely during the first and fourth quarters of each year. Additionally, gasoline demand, which drives transportation volumes and revenues on our pipeline systems, generally trends higher during the summer driving months. Further, the volatility of commodity prices impact the profits from our commodity activities and, to a lesser extent, the volume of petroleum products we ship on our pipelines.

Pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the financial statements in this report do not include all of the information and notes normally included with financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. ("GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities that exist at the date of our consolidated financial statements, as well as their impact on the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates.