Washington, D.C. 20549
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large“large accelerated filer," "accelerated” “accelerated filer," "smaller” “smaller reporting company"company” and "emerging“emerging growth company"company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
The following are definitions of certain terms used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20172019 (this "Report"“Report”).
UAN and ammonia are primarily distributed by truck or by railcar. If delivered by truck, products are most commonly sold on a FOBfree-on-board (“FOB”) shipping point basis, and freight is normally arranged by the customer. We lease and ownoperate a fleet of railcars for use in product delivery, and, ifdelivery. If delivered by railcar, our products are most commonly sold on a FOB destination point basis, and we typically arrange the freight. Our
Customers
We sell UAN products to retailers and distributors. In addition, we sell ammonia to agricultural and industrial customers. Given the nature of our business, and consistent with industry practice, we do not have long-term minimum purchase contracts with most of our agricultural customers.contracts with customers are for a term of 12-months or less. Some of our industrial sales include long-term purchase contracts.
For the year ended December 31, 2017,2019, the top fivetwo customers in the aggregate represented 31%28% of our net sales. Our top customer on a consolidated basis accounted for approximately 11% of our net sales. While we do have high concentration of customers, we do not believe that the loss of any single customer would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions. Refer to Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, Our business depends on significant customers, and the loss of significant customers may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions, of this Report for further discussion.
Competition
We have
Our business has experienced and expectexpects to continue to meet significant levels of competition from current and potential competitors, many of whom have significantly greater financial and other resources. Refer to Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, Nitrogen fertilizer products are global commodities, and we face intense competition from otherCompetition in the nitrogen fertilizer producers, of this Report for further discussion.
Competition in our industry is dominated by price considerations. However, during the spring and fall application seasons, farming activities intensify and delivery capacity is a significant competitive factor. We maintain a large fleet of leased and owned railcars and seasonally adjust inventory to enhance our manufacturing and distribution operations.
Our major competitors include CF Industries Holdings, Inc., including its majority owned subsidiary Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P.; LSB Industries, Inc.; Koch Fertilizer Company, LLC; and Nutrien Ltd. (formerly known as Agrium, Inc. and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Inc.). Domestic competition is intense due to customers'customers’ sophisticated buying tendencies and competitor strategies that focus on cost and service. We also encounter competition from producers of fertilizer products manufactured in foreign countries.countries, including the threat of increased production capacity. In certain cases, foreign producers of fertilizer who export to the United States may be subsidized by their respective governments.
Seasonality
Because we primarily sell agricultural commodity products, our business is exposed to seasonal fluctuations in demand for nitrogen fertilizer products in the agricultural industry. In addition, the demand for fertilizers is affected by the aggregate crop planting decisions and fertilizer application rate decisions of individual farmers who make planting decisions based largely on the prospective profitability of a harvest. The specific varieties and amounts of fertilizer they apply depend on factors like crop prices, farmers'farmers’ current liquidity, soil conditions, weather patterns, and the types of crops planted. We typically experience higher pricingnet sales in the first half of the calendar year, which we referis referred to as the planting season, and our pricing tendsnet sales tend to be lower during the second half of each calendar year, which we referis referred to as the fill season.
Environmental Matters
Our business is subject to extensive and frequently changing federal, state, and local environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations governing the emission and release of hazardous substances into the environment, the treatment and discharge of waste water, and the storage, handling, use, and transportation of our nitrogen fertilizer products. These laws and regulations their underlying regulatory requirements and the enforcement thereof impact us by imposing:
•restrictions on operations or the need to install enhanced or additional controls;
the need to obtain and comply with permits and authorizations;
•liability for the investigation and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater at current and former facilities (if any) and off-site waste disposal locations; and
•specifications for the products we market, primarily UAN and ammonia.
Our operations require numerous permits, licenses, and authorizations. Failure to comply with these permits or environmental laws and regulations generally could result in fines, penalties, or other sanctions or a revocation of our permits. In addition, the laws and regulations to which we are subject are often evolving and many of them have become more stringent or have become subject to more stringent interpretation or enforcement by federal or state agencies. These laws and regulations could result in increased capital, operating, and compliance costs or result in delays or limits to our operations or growth while attempting to obtain required permits.costs.
The principal environmental risks associated with our business are outlined below, with additional details included in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors and Note 13 ("Commitments and Contingencies") to Part II, Item 8 of this Report.
The Federal Clean Air Act (“CAA”)
The federal Clean Air ActCAA and its implementing regulations, as well as the corresponding state laws and regulations that regulategoverning air emissions, of pollutants into the air, affect us both directly and indirectly. Direct impacts may occur through the federal Clean Air Act'sCAA’s permitting requirements and emission control requirements relating to specific air pollutants, as well as the requirement to maintain a risk management program to help prevent accidental releases of certain substances. Some or all of the standardsregulations promulgated pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act,CAA, or any
future promulgations of standards,regulations, may require the installation of controls or changes to our nitrogen fertilizer facilities in order(collectively referred to comply.as the “Facilities”) to maintain compliance. If new controls or changes to operations are needed, the costs could be material. These new requirements, other requirements of the federal Clean Air Act, or other presently existing or future environmental regulations could cause us to expend substantial resources to comply and/or permit our facilities to produce products that meet applicable requirements.
The regulation of air emissions under the federal Clean Air ActCAA requires that we obtain various construction and operating permits and incur capital expenditures for the installation of certain air pollution control devices at our operations. Various regulationsstandards and programs specific to our operations have been implemented, such as the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants, the New Source Performance Standards, and the New Source Review.
The Federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”)
The CWA and its implementing regulations, as well as the corresponding state and municipal laws and regulations that govern the discharge of pollutants into the water, affect our business. In addition, water resources are becoming and in the future may become more scarce. The Coffeyville Fertilizer Facility has contracts in place to receive water during certain water shortage conditions, but these conditions could change over time depending on the scarcity of water.
Release Reporting
The release of hazardous substances or extremely hazardous substances into the environment is subject to release reporting requirements under federal and state environmental laws. WeOur Facilities periodically experience releases of hazardous orand extremely hazardous substances from ourtheir equipment. Our facilities periodically have excess emission events from flaring and other planned and unplanned startup, shutdown and malfunction events. Such releases are reportedFrom time to time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA"“EPA”) and relevant state and local agencies. From time to time, the EPA has conducted inspections and issued information requests to us with respect to our compliance with release reporting requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA"(“CERCLA”) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. If we fail to timely or properly report a release, or if thea release violates the law or our permits, itwe could cause us to become the subject of a governmental enforcement action or third-party claims. Government enforcement or third-party claims relating to releases of hazardous or extremely hazardous substances could result in significant expenditures and liability.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions (“GHG”)
Refer
The EPA regulates GHG emissions under the Clean Air Act. In October 2009, the EPA finalized a rule requiring certain large emitters of GHGs to Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, Climate change lawsinventory and regulations could have a material adverse effect onreport their GHG emissions to the EPA. In accordance with the rule, our resultsfacilities monitor and report our GHG emissions to the EPA. In May 2010, the EPA finalized the “Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule,” which established GHG emissions thresholds that determine when stationary sources, such as the nitrogen fertilizer plants, must obtain permits under Prevention of operations, financial conditionSignificant Deterioration (“PSD”) and ability to make cash distributions, of this Report for further discussionTitle V programs of the Greenhouse Gas ("GHG") Emissions regulations.CAA. Under the rule, facilities already subject to the PSD and Title V programs that increase their emissions of GHGs by a significant amount are required to undergo PSD review and to evaluate and implement air pollution control technology, known as “best available control technology,” to reduce GHG emissions.
Environmental Remediation
As is the case with all companies engaged in similar industries, we face potential exposure from future claims and lawsuits involving environmental matters, including soil and water contamination and personal injury or property damage allegedly caused by hazardous substances that we manufactured, handled, used, stored, transported, spilled, disposed of, or released. We cannot assure youThere is no assurance that we will not become involved in future proceedings related to ourthe release of hazardous or extremely hazardous substances for which we have potential liability or that, if we were held responsible for damages in any existing or future proceedings, such costs would be covered by insurance or would not be material.
Environmental Insurance
We are covered by CVR Energy'sEnergy’s site pollution legal liability insurance policy. The policy, which includes business interruption coverage. The policy insures any location owned, leased, rented, or operated by the Partnership, including our nitrogen fertilizer facilities.Facilities. The policy insures certain pollution conditions at, or migrating from, a covered location, certain waste transportation and disposal activities, and business interruption.
In addition to the site pollution legal liability insurance policy, we benefit from umbrella and excess casualty insurance policies maintained by CVR Energy. This insurance provides coverage due to named perils for claims involving pollutants where the discharge is sudden and accidental and first commences at a specific day and time during the policy period.
The site pollution legal liability policy and the pollution coverage provided in the casualty insurance policies are subject to retentions and deductibles and contain discovery requirements, reporting requirements, exclusions, definitions, conditions, and limitations that could apply to a particular pollution claim, and there can be no assurance such claim will be adequately insured for all potential damages.
Health, Safety, Health and Security Matters
We are subject to a number of federal and state laws and regulations related to safety, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act ("OSHA"(“OSHA”), and comparable state statutes, the purposepurposes of which are to protect the health and safety of workers. We also are subject to OSHA Process Safety Management regulations, which are designed to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive chemicals.
We operate a comprehensive safety, health, and security program, with participation by employees, consultants, and advisors at all levels of the organization. We have developed comprehensive safety programs aimed at preventing OSHA recordable incidents. Despite our efforts to achieve excellence in our safety and health performance, there can be no assurances that there will not be accidents resulting in injuries or even fatalities. We routinely audit our programs and consider improvements inseek to continually improve our management systems.
Employees
As of December 31, 2017, we2019, the Partnership had 304 direct employees. Asapproximately 286 employees across both of December 31, 2017, theseits facilities and its marketing and logistics operations, including approximately 90 employees are covered by health insurance, disability and retirement plans established by CVR Energy. We believe that our relationship with our employees is good.
As of December 31, 2017, the Coffeyville Facility employed 151 of our employees, of whom none were unionized. As of December 31, 2017, the East Dubuque Facility employed 148 of our employees, about 64% of whom were represented by the International Union of United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers under a collective bargaining agreementagreements that expiresexpire in October 2019.
2023. We also rely on the services of employees of CVR Energy and its subsidiaries pursuant to a services agreement between us, CVR Energy, and our general partner. Additionally, the Partnership's general partner manages the Partnership's operations and activities as specified in the partnership agreement and had 4 employees as of December 31, 2017. For more information on these agreements, see Note 14 ("Related Party Transactions") to Part II. Item 8 of this Report.
Available Information
Our website address is www.cvrpartners.com.www.CVRPartners.com. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge through our website under "Investor“Investor Relations,"” as soon as reasonably practicable after the electronic filing or furnishing of these reports is made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"“SEC”). at www.sec.gov. In addition, our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Codes of Ethics and Business Conduct, and the Charter of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of our general partner are available on our website. These guidelines, policies, and charters are also available in print without charge to any unitholder requesting them. We do not intend for information contained in our website to be part of this Report.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully consider each of the
The following risks should be considered together with the other information contained in this Report and all of the information set forth in our filings with the SEC. If any of the following risks andor uncertainties develops into actual events, our business, financial condition cash flows or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In that case, we might not be ableReferences to pay distributions on our common units,CVR Partners, the trading pricePartnership, “we”, “us”, and “our” may refer to consolidated subsidiaries of our common units could decline, and you could lose allCVR Partners or partone or both of your investment. Although many of our business risks are comparable to those faced by a corporation engaged in a similar business, limited partner interests are inherently different from the capital stock of a corporation and involve additional risks described below.facilities, as the context may require.
Risks Related to Our Business
We may not have sufficient cash available to pay any quarterly distribution on our common units. Furthermore, we are not required to make distributions to holders of our common units on a quarterly basis or otherwise, and may elect to distribute less than all of our available cash.
We may not have sufficient cash available each quarter to enable us to pay any distributions to our common unitholders. Furthermore, our partnership agreement does not require us to pay distributions on a quarterly basis or otherwise. Although our general partner's current policy is to distribute all of our available cash on a quarterly basis. Available cash is defined as Adjusted EBITDA reduced for cash needed for (i) net cash interest expense (excluding capitalized interest) and debt service and other contractual obligations; (ii) maintenance capital expenditures; and (iii) to the extent applicable, major scheduled turnaround expenses, reserves for future operating or capital needs that the board of directors of the general partner deems necessary or appropriate, and expenses associated with the East Dubuque Merger, if any. Available cash for distribution may be increased by the release of previously established cash reserves, if any, at the discretion of the board of directors of our general partner and available cash is increased by the business interruption insurance proceeds. The board of directors of our general partner may at any time, for any reason, change this policy or decide not to pay cash distributions on a quarterly basis or other basis. The amount of cash we will be able to distribute on our common units principally depends on the amount of cash we generate from our operations, which is directly dependent upon the operating margins we generate, which have been volatile historically. Our operating margins are significantly affected by the market-driven UAN and ammonia prices we are able to charge our customers and our production costs, as well as seasonality, weather conditions, governmental regulation, unscheduled maintenance or downtime at our facilities and global and domestic demand for nitrogen fertilizer products, among other factors. In addition:
The amount of distributions we pay, if any, and the decision to make any distribution at all will be determined by the board of directors of our general partner, whose interests may differ from those of our common unitholders. Our general partner has limited fiduciary and contractual duties, which may permit it to favor its own interests or the interests of CVR Energy to the detriment of our common unitholders.
Our current debt instruments, and debt instruments that we enter into in the future, may limit the distributions that we can make.
The actual amount of available cash depends on numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control, including UAN and ammonia prices, our operating costs, global and domestic demand for nitrogen fertilizer products, fluctuations in our working capital needs, and the amount of fees and expenses incurred by us.
The amount of our quarterly cash distributions, if any, will vary significantly both quarterly and annually and will be directly dependent on the performance of our business.
We expect our business performance will be more seasonal and volatile, and our cash flows will be less stable, than the business performance and cash flows of most publicly traded partnerships. As a result, our quarterly cash distributions will be volatile and are expected to vary quarterly and annually. Unlike most publicly traded partnerships, we do not have a minimum quarterly distribution or employ structures intended to consistently maintain or increase distributions over time. The amount of our quarterly cash distributions will be directly dependent on the performance of our business, which has been volatile historically as a result of volatile nitrogen fertilizer and natural gas prices, and seasonal and global fluctuations in demand for nitrogen fertilizer products. Because our quarterly distributions will be subject to significant fluctuations, future quarterly distributions paid to our common unitholders will vary significantly from quarter to quarter and may be zero.
The board of directors of our general partner may modify or revoke our cash distribution policy at any time at its discretion, including in such a manner that would result in an elimination of cash distributions regardless of the amount of available cash we generate. Our partnership agreement does not require us to make any distributions at all.
Our general partner's current policy is to distribute all of the available cash we generate each quarter to common unitholders of record on a pro rata basis. However, the board of directors of our general partner may change such policy at any time at its discretion and could elect not to make distributions for one or more quarters regardless of the amount of available cash we generate. Our partnership agreement does not require us to make any distributions at all. Any modification or revocation of our cash distribution policy could substantially reduce or eliminate the amounts of distributions to our common unitholders.
The nitrogen fertilizer business is, and nitrogen fertilizer prices are, cyclical and highly volatile, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and have experienced substantial downturns in the past. Cycles in demand and pricing could potentially expose us to significant fluctuations in our operating and financial results, and expose you to substantial volatility in our quarterly cash distributions and material reductions in the trading price of our common units.flows.
We are
Our business is exposed to fluctuations in nitrogen fertilizer demand in the agricultural industry. These fluctuations historically have had and could in the future have significant effects on prices across all nitrogen fertilizer products and, in turn, our financial condition, cash flows and results of operations, which could result in significant volatility or material reductions in the price of our common units or an inability to make quarterlyfinancial condition and cash distributions on our common units.flows.
Nitrogen fertilizer products are commodities, the price of which can be highly volatile. The priceprices of nitrogen fertilizer products depend on a number of factors, including general economic conditions, cyclical trends in end-user markets, supply and demand imbalances, governmental policies and weather conditions, which have a greater relevance because of the seasonal nature of fertilizer application. If seasonal demand exceeds the projections on which we base our production ourlevels, customers may acquire nitrogen fertilizer products from our competitors, and our profitability willmay be negatively impacted. If seasonal demand is less than expected, we expect, we willmay be left with excess inventory that will have to be stored or liquidated.
Demand for nitrogen fertilizer products is dependent on demand for crop nutrients by the global agricultural industry. The international market for nitrogen fertilizers is influenced by such factors as the relative value of the U.S. dollar and its impact upon the cost of importing nitrogen fertilizers, foreign agricultural policies, the existence of, or changes in, import or foreign currency exchange barriers in certain foreign markets, changes in the hard currency demands of certain countries and other regulatory policies of foreign governments, as well as the laws and policies of the United States affecting foreign trade and investment. Nitrogen-based fertilizers remain solidly in demand, driven by a growing world population, changes in dietary habits and an expanded use of corn for the production of ethanol. Supply is affected by available capacity and operating rates, raw material costs, government policies and global trade. A decrease in nitrogen fertilizer prices would have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow and ability to make distributions.
Our internally generated cash flows and other sources of liquidity may not be adequate for our capital needs. As a result, we may not be able to pay any cash distributions to our common unitholders and the trading price of our common units may be adversely impacted.
If we cannot generate adequate cash flow or otherwise secure sufficient liquidity to meet our working capital needs or support our short-term and long-term capital requirements, we may be unable to meet our debt obligations, pursue our business strategies or comply with certain environmental standards, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. As of December 31, 2017, we had cash and cash equivalents of $49.2 million and had availability under the ABL Credit Facility of $43.8 million.
The costs associated with operating our nitrogen fertilizer plants include significant fixed costs. If nitrogen fertilizer prices fall below a certain level, we may not generate sufficient revenue to operate profitably or cover our costs and our ability to make distributions will be adversely impacted.
Unlike our competitors, whose primary costs are related to the purchase of natural gas and whose costs are therefore largely variable, our Coffeyville Facility has largely fixed costs. In addition, while less than our Coffeyville Facility, our East Dubuque Facility has a significant amount of fixed costs. As a result of the fixed cost nature of our operations, downtime, interruptions or low productivity due to reduced demand, adverse weather conditions, equipment failure, a decrease in nitrogen fertilizer prices or other causes can result in significant operating losses, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
Continued low natural gas prices could impact our Coffeyville Facility's relative competitive position when compared to other nitrogen fertilizer producers.
Most nitrogen fertilizer manufacturers rely on natural gas as their primary feedstock, and the cost of natural gas is a large component of the total production cost for natural gas-based nitrogen fertilizer manufacturers. Low natural gas prices benefit our competitors and disproportionately impact our operations by making us less competitive with natural gas-based nitrogen fertilizer manufacturers. Continued low natural gas prices could impair the ability of our Coffeyville Facility to compete with other nitrogen fertilizer producers who utilize natural gas as their primary feedstock if nitrogen fertilizer pricing drops as a result of low natural gas prices, and therefore have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
The market for natural gas has been volatile. Natural gas prices are currently at a relative low point. An increase in natural gas prices could impact our East Dubuque Facility's relative competitive position when compared to other foreign and domestic nitrogen fertilizer producers, and if prices for natural gas increase significantly, we may not be able to economically operate our East Dubuque Facility.
The operation of our East Dubuque Facility with natural gas as the primary feedstock exposes us to market risk due to increases in natural gas prices, particularly if the price of natural gas in the United States were to become higher than the price of natural gas outside the United States. An increase in natural gas prices would impact our East Dubuque Facility's operations by making us less competitive with competitors who do not use natural gas as their primary feedstock, and could therefore have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, if natural gas prices in the United States were to increase relative to prices of natural gas paid by foreign nitrogen fertilizer producers, this may negatively affect our competitive position in the corn belt and thus have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
The profitability of operating our East Dubuque Facility is significantly dependent on the cost of natural gas, and our East Dubuque Facility operated at certain times, and could operate in the future, at a net loss. Local factors may affect the price of natural gas available to us, in addition to factors that determine the benchmark prices of natural gas. We expect to purchase natural gas on the spot market and to enter into forward purchase contracts. Since we expect to purchase a portion of our natural gas for use in our East Dubuque Facility on the spot market, we remain susceptible to fluctuations in the price of natural gas in general and in local markets in particular. We also expect to use short-term, fixed supply, fixed price forward purchase contracts to lock in pricing for a portion of our natural gas requirements. Our ability to enter into forward purchase contracts is dependent upon our creditworthiness and, in the event of a deterioration in our credit, counterparties could refuse to enter into forward purchase contracts on acceptable terms. If we are unable to enter into forward purchase contracts for the supply of natural gas, we would need to purchase natural gas on the spot market, which would impair our ability to hedge our exposure to risk from fluctuations in natural gas prices. If we enter into forward purchase contracts for natural gas, and natural gas prices decrease, then our cost of sales could be higher than it would have been in the absence of the forward purchase contracts.
Any interruption in the supply of natural gas to our East Dubuque Facility through Nicor Inc. ("Nicor") could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Our East Dubuque operations depend on the availability of natural gas. We have an agreement with Nicor pursuant to which we access natural gas from the ANR Pipeline Company and Northern Natural Gas pipelines. Our access to satisfactory supplies of natural gas through Nicor could be disrupted due to a number of causes, including volume limitations under the agreement, pipeline malfunctions, service interruptions, mechanical failures or other reasons. The agreement extends through October 31, 2019. Upon expiration of the agreement, we may be unable to extend the service under the terms of the existing agreement or renew the agreement on satisfactory terms, or at all. Any disruption in the supply of natural gas to our East Dubuque Facility could restrict our ability to continue to make products at the facility. In the event we need to obtain natural gas from another source, we would need to build a new connection from that source to our East Dubuque Facility and negotiate related easement rights, which would be costly, disruptive and/or may be unfeasible. As a result, any interruption in the supply of natural gas through Nicor could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Any decline in U.S. agricultural production or limitations on the use of nitrogen fertilizer for agricultural purposes could have a material adverse effect on the sales of nitrogen fertilizer, and on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
Conditions in the U.S. agricultural industry significantly impact our operating results. The U.S. agricultural industry can be affected by a number of factors, including weather patterns and field conditions, current and projected grain inventories and prices, domestic and international population changes, demand for U.S. agricultural products and U.S. and foreign policies regarding trade in agricultural products.
State and federal governmental policies, including farm and biofuel subsidies and commodity support programs, as well as the prices of fertilizer products, may also directly or indirectly influence the number of acres planted, the mix of crops planted and the use of fertilizers for particular agricultural applications. Developments in crop technology, such as nitrogen fixation (the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into compounds that plants can assimilate), could also reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and adversely affect the demand for nitrogen fertilizer. In addition, from time to time various state legislatures have considered limitations on the use and application of chemical fertilizers due to concerns about the impact of these products on the environment. Unfavorable state and federal governmental policies could negatively affect nitrogen fertilizer prices and therefore have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition ability to make cash distributions.
A major factor underlying the current high level of demand for nitrogen-based fertilizer products is the production of ethanol. A decrease in ethanol production, an increase in ethanol imports or a shift away from corn as a principal raw material used to produce ethanol could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
A major factor underlying the solid level of demand for nitrogen-based fertilizer products is the production of ethanol in the United States and the use of corn in ethanol production. Ethanol production in the United States is highly dependent upon a myriad of federal statutes and regulations, and is made significantly more competitive by various federal and state incentives and mandated usage of renewable fuels pursuant to the federal Renewable Fuel Standards ("RFS"). To date, the RFS has been satisfied primarily with fuel ethanol blended into gasoline. However, a number of factors, including the continuing "food versus fuel" debate and studies showing that expanded ethanol usage may increase the level of greenhouse gases in the environment as well as be unsuitable for small engine use, have resulted in calls to reduce subsidies for ethanol, allow increased ethanol imports and to repeal or waive (in whole or in part) the current RFS, any of which could have an adverse effect on corn-based ethanol production, planted corn acreage and fertilizer demand. Therefore, ethanol incentive programs may not be renewed, or if renewed, they may be renewed on terms significantly less favorable to ethanol producers than current incentive programs.
In late 2013, the EPA recognized that the transportation fuels market had reached the “blend wall” for ethanol. The blend wall refers to the aggregate limit to which ethanol can be blended into gasoline, and is generally considered to be reached when a gallon of transportation fuel contains 10% ethanol by volume. As a result, since 2013, the EPA has used its waiver authorities to set lower renewable volume obligations than those mandated by the RFS, though those volumes still generally increase year-over-year as demand for transportation fuel also increases. Even so, the most recent volume mandates have resulted in or are expected to result in renewable fuel being blended in volumes that exceed the ethanol blend wall, forcing the use of higher ethanol fuel blends or non-ethanol renewable fuel. The EPA continues to articulate a policy to incentivize additional investments in renewable fuel blending and distribution infrastructure. Any substantial decrease in future renewable volume obligations under the RFS could have a material adverse effect on ethanol production in the United States, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
Further, while most ethanol is currently produced from corn and other raw grains, such as milo or sorghum, the RFS requires that a portion of the overall RFS renewable fuel mandate comes from advanced biofuels, including cellulose-based biomass, such as agricultural waste, forest residue, municipal solid waste, energy crops (plants grown for use to make biofuels or directly exploited for their energy content) and biomass-based diesel. In addition, there is a continuing trend to encourage the use of products other than corn and raw grains for ethanol production. If this trend is successful, the demand for corn may decrease significantly, which could reduce demand for our nitrogen fertilizer products and have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions. This potential impact on the demand for nitrogen fertilizer products; however, could be slightly offset by the potential market for nitrogen fertilizer product usage in connection with the production of cellulosic biofuels.
Nitrogen fertilizer products are global commodities, and we faceour business faces intense competition from other nitrogen fertilizer producers.producers, which may have more resources and scale.
Our business is subject to intense price competition from both U.S. and foreign sources, including competitors operating in the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region, the Caribbean, Russia and the Ukraine.sources. Fertilizers are global commodities, with little or no product differentiation, and customers make their purchasing decisions principally on the basis of delivered price and availability of the product. Increased global supply or decreases in transportation costs for foreign sources of fertilizer may put downward pressure on fertilizer prices. Furthermore, in recent years the price of nitrogen fertilizer in the United States has been substantially driven by pricing in the global fertilizer market. We compete with a number of U.S. producers and producers in other countries, including state-owned and government-subsidized entities. Some competitors have greater total resources and are less dependent on earnings from fertilizer sales, which make them less vulnerable to industry downturns and better positioned to pursue new expansion and development opportunities. Increased domestic supply may put downward pressure on fertilizer prices. CompetitorsAdditionally, our competitors utilizing different corporate structures may be better able to withstand lower cash flows than we can as a limited partnership. Our competitive
position could suffer to the extent we are not ableunable to expand our own resources either through investments in new or existing operations or through acquisitions, joint ventures or partnerships. An inability to compete successfully could result in thea loss of customers, which could adversely affect our sales, and profitability and our ability to make cash distributions.
Adverse weather conditions during peak fertilizer application periods mayflows and, therefore, have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and abilitycash flows.
Our business is geographically concentrated and is therefore subject to make cash distributions, becauseregional economic downturns and seasonal variations, which may affect our agricultural customers are geographically concentrated.production levels, transportation costs and inventory and working capital levels.
Our sales of nitrogen fertilizer products to agricultural customers are concentrated in the Great Plains and Midwest states, and are seasonal in nature. Accordingly, an adverse weather pattern affecting agriculture in these regions or during the planting season could have a negative effect onnitrogen fertilizer demand which could, in turn, result in a material decline in our net sales and margins and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.is seasonal. Our quarterly results may vary significantly from one year to the next due largely to weather-related shifts in
planting schedules and purchase patterns. In addition, given the seasonal nature of our business, we expect that our distributions will be volatile and will vary quarterly and annually.
Our business is seasonal, which may result in our carrying significant amounts of inventory and seasonal variations in working capital. Our inability to predict future seasonal nitrogen fertilizer demand accurately may result in excess inventory or product shortages.
Our business is seasonal. Farmers tend to apply nitrogen fertilizer during two short application periods, one in the spring and the other in the fall. In contrast, we, andalong with other nitrogen fertilizer producers, generally produce our products throughout the year. As a result, we and our customers generally build inventories during the low demand periods of the year in order to ensure timely product availability during the peak sales seasons. Variations in the proportion of product sold through prepaid sales contracts and variations in the terms of such contracts can increase the seasonal volatility of our cash flows and cause changes in the patterns of seasonal volatility from year-to-year.
In most instances, our East Dubuque customers take delivery of our nitrogen products at our East Dubuque Facility. Customers arrange and pay to transport our nitrogen products to their final destinations. At our East Dubuque Facility, inventories are accumulated to allow for customer to take delivery to meet Additionally, the seasonal demand, which require significant storage capacity. The accumulation of inventory to be available for seasonal sales creates significant seasonal working capital requirements.
Most of our Coffeyville Facility nitrogen products are delivered by railcar to our customer's storage facilities. Therefore, we are less dependent onand storage capacity at the Coffeyville Facility and, as a result, experience lower seasonal fluctuations as compared to our East Dubuque Facility. The seasonality of nitrogen fertilizer demand results in our sales volumes and net sales being highest during the North American spring season and our working capital requirements typically being highest just prior to the start of the spring season.
If seasonal demand exceeds our projections, we may not have enough product and our customers may acquire products from our competitors, which would negatively impact our profitability. If seasonal demand is less than we expect, we may be left with excess inventory and higher working capital and liquidity requirements.
The degree of seasonality of our business can change significantly from year to yearyear-to-year due to conditions in the agricultural industry and other factors. As a consequence of ourthis seasonality, we expect that our distributions willof available cash, if any, may be volatile and willmay vary quarterly and annually.
Our operations are dependentsales volumes depend on third-party suppliers, includingsignificant customers, and the following: Linde, which owns an air separation plant that provides oxygen, nitrogen and compressed dry air to our Coffeyville Facility; the Cityloss of Coffeyville, which supplies the Coffeyville Facility with electricity; and Jo-Carroll Energy, Inc. ("Jo-Carroll Energy"), which supplies our East Dubuque Facility with electricity. A deterioration in the financial condition of a third-party supplier, a mechanical problem with the air separation plant, or the inability of a third-party supplier to perform in accordance with its contractual obligations couldseveral significant customers may have a material adverse effectimpact on our results of operations, financial condition and on our ability to make cash distributions.flows.
Our Coffeyville Facility operations depend in large part on the performance of third-party suppliers, including Linde for the supply of oxygen, nitrogen and compressed dry air, and the City of Coffeyville for the supply of electricity. With respect to Linde, the operations of our Coffeyville Facility could be adversely affected if there were a deterioration in Linde's financial condition such that the operation of the air separation plant located adjacent to our Coffeyville Facility was disrupted. Additionally, this air separation plant in the past has experienced numerous short-term interruptions, causing interruptions in our gasifier operations. With respect to electricity, we are party to an electric services agreement with the City of Coffeyville, Kansas which gives us an option to extend the term of such agreement through June 30, 2024.
Our East Dubuque Facility operations also depend in large part on the performance of third-party suppliers, including, Jo-Carroll Energy for the purchase of electricity. We entered into a utility service agreement with Jo-Carroll Energy, which terminates on May 31, 2019 and will continue year-to-year thereafter unless either party provides 12-month advance written notice of termination.
Should Linde, the City of Coffeyville, Jo-Carroll Energy or any of our other third-party suppliers fail to perform in accordance with existing contractual arrangements, or should we otherwise lose the service of any third-party suppliers, our operations (or a portion of our operations) could be forced to halt. Alternative sources of supply could be difficult to obtain. Any shutdown of our operations, (or a portion of our operations), even for a limited period, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
Our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions may be adversely affected by the supply and price levels of pet coke. Failure by CVR Refining to continue to supply our Coffeyville Facility with pet coke (to the extent third-party pet coke is unavailable or available only at higher prices), or CVR Refining's imposition of an obligation to provide it with security for our payment obligations, could negatively impact our results of operations.
Our Coffeyville Facility's profitability is directly affected by the price and availability of pet coke obtained from CVR Refining's Coffeyville, Kansas crude oil refinery pursuant to a long-term agreement and pet coke purchased from third parties, both of which vary based on market prices. Pet coke is a key raw material used by our Coffeyville Facility in the manufacture of nitrogen fertilizer products. If pet coke costs increase, we may not be able to increase our prices to recover these increased costs, because market prices for our nitrogen fertilizer products are not correlated with pet coke prices.
Based on our current output, we obtain most (over 70% on average during the last five years) of the pet coke we need for our Coffeyville Facility from CVR Refining's adjacent crude oil refinery, and procure the remainder on the open market. The price that we pay CVR Refining for pet coke is based on the lesser of a pet coke price derived from the price we receive for UAN (subject to a UAN-based price ceiling and floor) and a pet coke index price. In most cases, the price we pay CVR Refining will be lower than the price which we would otherwise pay to third parties. Pet coke prices could significantly increase in the future. Should CVR Refining fail to perform in accordance with our existing agreement, we would need to purchase pet coke from third parties on the open market, which could negatively impact our results of operations to the extent third-party pet coke is unavailable or available only at higher prices.
We may not be able to maintain an adequate supply of pet coke. In addition, we could experience production delays or cost increases if alternative sources of supply prove to be more expensive or difficult to obtain. We currently purchase 100% of the pet coke produced by CVR Refining's Coffeyville refinery. Accordingly, if we increase our production, we will be more dependent on pet coke purchases from third-party suppliers at open market prices. We are party to a pet coke supply agreement with HollyFrontier Corporation. The term of this agreement ends in December 2018. There is no assurance that we would be able to purchase pet coke on comparable terms from third parties or at all.
We rely on third-party providers of transportation services and equipment, which subjects us to risks and uncertainties beyond our control that may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make distributions.
We rely on railroad and trucking companies to ship finished products to customers of our Coffeyville Facility. We also lease railcars from railcar owners in order to ship our finished products. Additionally, although our customers generally pick up our products at our East Dubuque Facility, we occasionally rely on barge, truck and railroad companies to ship products to our customers. These transportation operations, equipment and services are subject to various hazards, including extreme weather conditions, work stoppages, delays, spills, derailments and other accidents and other operating hazards. For example, barge transport can be impacted by lock closures resulting from inclement weather or surface conditions, including fog, rain, snow, wind, ice, strong currents, floods, droughts and other unplanned natural phenomena, lock malfunction, tow conditions and other conditions. Further, the limited number of towing companies and of barges available for finished product transport may also impact the availability of transportation for our products.
These transportation operations, equipment and services are also subject to environmental, safety and other regulatory oversight. Due to concerns related to terrorism or accidents, local, state and federal governments could implement new regulations affecting the transportation of our finished products. In addition, new regulations could be implemented affecting the equipment used to ship our finished products.
Any delay in our ability to ship our finished products as a result of these transportation companies' failure to operate properly, the implementation of new and more stringent regulatory requirements affecting transportation operations or equipment, or significant increases in the cost of these services or equipment could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
Our facilities face significant risks due to physical damage hazards, environmental liability risk exposure, and unplanned or emergency partial or total plant shutdowns resulting in business interruptions. We could incur potentially significant costs to the extent there are unforeseen events which cause property damage and a material decline in production which are not fully insured. Insurance companies that currently insure companies in our industry may limit or curtail coverage, may modify the coverage provided or may substantially increase premiums in the future.
Our operations are subject to significant operating hazards and interruptions. If our production plants or individual units within our plants, logistics assets, or key suppliers sustain a catastrophic loss and operations are shut down or significantly impaired, it would have a material adverse impact on our operations, financial condition and cash flows and adversely impact our ability to make cash distributions. Moreover, our Coffeyville Facility is located adjacent to CVR Refining's Coffeyville refinery, and a major accident or disaster at the refinery could adversely affect our operations at the Coffeyville Facility. Operations at our nitrogen fertilizer plants could be curtailed or partially or completely shut down, for an extended period of time as a result of unexpected circumstances, which may not be within our control, such as:
major unplanned maintenance requirements;
catastrophic events caused by mechanical breakdown, electrical injury, pressure vessel rupture, explosion, contamination, fire, or natural disasters, including flood, windstorm, etc.;
labor supply shortages, or labor difficulties that result in a work stoppage or slowdown;
cessation of all or a portion of the operations at one or both of our nitrogen fertilizer plants dictated by environmental authorities;
a disruption in the supply of pet coke to our Coffeyville Facility or natural gas to our East Dubuque Facility;
a governmental ban or other limitation on the use of nitrogen fertilizer products, either generally or specifically those manufactured at our nitrogen fertilizer plants; and
an event or incident involving a large clean-up, decontamination, or the imposition of laws and ordinances regulating the cost and schedule of demolition or reconstruction. Such regulatory oversight can cause significant delays in restoring property to its pre-loss condition.
We have sustained losses over the past ten-year period at our facilities, which are illustrative of the types of risks and hazards that exist. These losses or events resulted in costs assumed by us that were not fully insured due to policy retentions or applicable exclusions.
The magnitude of the effect on us of any shutdown will depend on the length of the shutdown and the extent of the plant operations affected by the shutdown. Our plants require scheduled maintenance turnarounds approximately every two to three years, which generally lasts two to four weeks.
Currently, we are insured under CVR Energy's casualty, environmental, property and business interruption insurance policies. The property and business interruption policies insure real and personal property, including property located at our facilities. There is a potential for a common occurrence to impact both the Coffeyville Facility and CVR Refining's Coffeyville refinery, in which case the insurance limitations would apply to all damages combined. These policies are subject to limits, sub-limits, retentions (financial and time-based) and deductibles. The application of these and other policy conditions could materially impact insurance recoveries, and potentially cause us to assume losses which could impair earnings.
The nitrogen fertilizer industry is highly capital intensive, and the entire or partial loss of facilities can result in significant costs to participants, such as us, and their insurance carriers. There are risks associated with the commercial insurance industry, reducing capacity, changing the scope of insurance coverage offered and substantially increasing premiums resulting from highly adverse loss experience or other financial circumstances. Factors that impact insurance cost and availability include, but are not limited to: industry wide losses, natural disasters, specific losses incurred by us, and low or inadequate investment returns earned by the insurance industry. If the supply of commercial insurance is curtailed due to highly adverse financial results, CVR Energy or we may not be able to continue our present limits of insurance coverage or obtain sufficient insurance capacity to adequately insure our risks for property damage or business interruption.
Deliberate, malicious acts, including terrorism, could damage our facilities, disrupt our operations or injure employees, contractors, customers or the public and result in liability to us.
Intentional acts of destruction could hinder our sales or production and disrupt our supply chain. Our facilities could be damaged or destroyed, reducing our operational production capacity and requiring us to repair or replace our facilities at substantial cost. Employees, contractors and the public could suffer substantial physical injury for which we could be liable. Governmental authorities may impose security or other requirements that could make our operations more difficult or costly. The consequences of any such actions could adversely affect our operating results, financial condition and ability to make distributions.
Ammonia can be very volatile and extremely hazardous. Any liability for accidents involving ammonia or other products we produce or transport that cause severe damage to property or injury to the environment and human health could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions. In addition, the costs of transporting ammonia could increase significantly in the future.
We manufacture, process, store, handle, distribute and transport ammonia, which can be very volatile and extremely hazardous. Major accidents or releases involving ammonia could cause severe damage or injury to property, the environment and human health, as well as a possible disruption of supplies and markets. Such an event could result in civil lawsuits, fines, penalties and regulatory enforcement proceedings, all of which could lead to significant liabilities. Any damage or injury to persons, equipment or property or other disruption of our ability to produce or distribute our products could result in a significant decrease in operating revenues and significant additional cost to replace or repair and insure our assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions. We periodically experience minor releases of ammonia related to leaks from our equipment. Similar events may occur in the future.
In addition, we may incur significant losses or costs relating to the operation of our railcars used for the purpose of carrying various products, including ammonia. Due to the dangerous and potentially hazardous nature of the cargo, in particular ammonia, on board railcars, a railcar accident may result in fires, explosions and pollution. These circumstances may result in sudden, severe damage or injury to property, the environment and human health. In the event of pollution, we may be held responsible even if we are not at fault and we complied with the laws and regulations in effect at the time of the accident. Litigation arising from accidents involving ammonia and other products we produce or transport may result in our being named as a defendant in lawsuits asserting claims for large amounts of damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
Given the risks inherent in transporting ammonia, the costs of transporting ammonia could increase significantly in the future. Ammonia is most typically transported by pipeline and railcar. A number of initiatives are underway in the railroad and chemical industries that may result in changes to railcar design in order to minimize railway accidents involving hazardous materials. In addition, in the future, laws may more severely restrict or eliminate our ability to transport ammonia via railcar. If any railcar design changes are implemented, or if accidents involving hazardous freight increase the insurance and other costs of railcars, our freight costs could significantly increase.
Environmental laws and regulations could require us to make substantial capital expenditures to remain in compliance or to remediate current or future contamination that could give rise to material liabilities.
Our operations are subject to a variety of federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing the emission or discharge of pollutants into the environment, product specifications and the generation, treatment, storage, transportation, disposal and remediation of solid and hazardous waste and materials. Violations of these laws and regulations or permit conditions can result in substantial penalties, injunctive orders compelling installation of additional controls, civil and criminal sanctions, permit revocations or facility shutdowns.
In addition, new environmental laws and regulations, new interpretations of existing laws and regulations, increased governmental enforcement of laws and regulations or other developments could require us to make additional unforeseen expenditures. Many of these laws and regulations are becoming increasingly stringent, and the cost of compliance with these requirements can be expected to increase over time. The requirements to be met, as well as the technology and length of time available to meet those requirements, continue to develop and change. These expenditures or costs for environmental compliance could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
Our facilities operate under a number of federal and state permits, licenses and approvals with terms and conditions containing a significant number of prescriptive limits and performance standards in order to operate. Our facilities are also required to comply with prescriptive limits and meet performance standards specific to chemical facilities as well as to general manufacturing facilities. All of these permits, licenses, approvals, limits and standards require a significant amount of monitoring, record keeping and reporting in order to demonstrate compliance with the underlying permit, license, approval,
limit or standard. Incomplete documentation of compliance status may result in the imposition of fines, penalties and injunctive relief. Additionally, due to the nature of our manufacturing processes, there may be times when we are unable to meet the standards and terms and conditions of these permits and licenses due to operational upsets or malfunctions, which may lead to the imposition of fines and penalties or operating restrictions that may have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate our facilities and accordingly our financial performance.
We could incur significant cost in cleaning up contamination at our nitrogen fertilizer plants and off-site locations.
Our business is subject to the occurrence of accidental spills, discharges or other releases of hazardous substances into the environment. Past or future spills related to our nitrogen fertilizer plants or transportation of products or hazardous substances from our facilities may give rise to liability (including strict liability, or liability without fault, and potential cleanup responsibility) to governmental entities or private parties under federal, state or local environmental laws, as well as under common law. For example, we could be held strictly liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA") for past or future spills without regard to fault or whether our actions were in compliance with the law at the time of the spills. Pursuant to CERCLA and similar state statutes, we could be held liable for contamination associated with the facilities we currently own and operate (whether or not such contamination occurred prior to our acquisition thereof), facilities we formerly owned or operated (if any) and facilities to which we transported or arranged for the transportation of wastes or byproducts containing hazardous substances for treatment, storage, or disposal.
The potential penalties and cleanup costs for past or future releases or spills, liability to third parties for damage to their property or exposure to hazardous substances, or the need to address newly discovered information or conditions that may require response actions could be significant and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
In addition, we may incur liability for alleged personal injury or property damage due to exposure to chemicals or other hazardous substances located at or released from our facilities. We may also face liability for personal injury, property damage, natural resource damage or for cleanup costs for the alleged migration of contamination or other hazardous substances from our facilities to adjacent and other nearby properties. We may also face legal actions or sanctions or incur costs related to contamination or noncompliance with environmental laws at our facilities. In addition, limited subsurface investigation indicates the presence of certain contamination at the East Dubuque Facility and Coffeyville Facility. In the future, state or federal authorities may require additional investigation or remediation or we may determine that there are conditions at these facilities that require remediation or other response.
We may incur future costs relating to the off-site disposal of hazardous wastes. Companies that dispose of, or arrange for the transportation or disposal of, hazardous substances at off-site locations may be held jointly and severally liable for the costs of investigation and remediation of contamination at those off-site locations, regardless of fault. We could become involved in litigation or other proceedings involving off-site waste disposal and the damages or costs in any such proceedings could be material.
We may be unable to obtain or renew permits necessary for our operations, which could inhibit our ability to do business.
We hold numerous environmental and other governmental permits and approvals authorizing operations at our nitrogen fertilizer facilities. Expansion of our operations is also predicated upon securing the necessary environmental or other permits or approvals. A decision by a government agency to deny or delay issuing a new or renewed material permit or approval, or to revoke or substantially modify an existing permit or approval, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue operations and on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions.
Environmental laws and regulations on fertilizer end-use and application and numeric nutrient water quality criteria could have a material adverse impact on fertilizer demand in the future.
Future environmental laws and regulations on the end-use and application of fertilizers could cause changes in demand for our products. In addition, future environmental laws and regulations, or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations, could limit our ability to market and sell our products to end users. From time to time, various state legislatures have proposed bans or other limitations on fertilizer products. The EPA is encouraging states to adopt state-wide numeric water quality criteria for total nitrogen and total phosphorus, which are present in our fertilizer products. A number of states have adopted or proposed numeric nutrient water quality criteria for nitrogen and phosphorus. The adoption of stringent state criteria for nitrogen and phosphorus could reduce the demand for nitrogen fertilizer products in those states. If such laws, rules, regulations or interpretations to significantly curb the end-use or application of fertilizers were promulgated in our marketing area, it could result in decreased demand for our products and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
Climate change laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and ability to make cash distributions.
The EPA regulates GHG emissions (including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides) under the authority granted to it under the Clean Air Act.
We monitor and report our annual GHG emissions from our nitrogen fertilizer plants. If our nitrogen fertilizer plants meet GHG emissions thresholds, they must obtain permits under the New Source Review/Prevention of Significant Deterioration ("PSD") and Title V programs of the federal Clean Air Act, then evaluate and implement "best available control technology" if they increase their GHG emissions by a significant amount.
The EPA has not yet proposed New Source Performance Standards ("NSPS") to regulate GHG emissions for the nitrogen fertilizer plants. Sources subject to NSPS are required to comply with emissions limits that reflect the best system of emissions reduction that the EPA has determined has been adequately demonstrated for that type of source. In 2015, the EPA promulgated NSPS for carbon dioxide emissions from electric utilities, although the EPA announced in April 2017 that those NSPS were under review and may be suspended, revised, or rescinded. Still, it is possible that the EPA will propose NSPS for our fertilizer plants, the timing of which is not known.
The current administration has sought to implement a new or modified policy with respect to climate change. For example, the administration announced its intention to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, though the earliest possible effective date of withdrawal for the United States is November 2020. If efforts to address climate change resume at the federal legislative level, this could mean Congressional passage of legislation adopting some form of federal mandatory GHG emission reduction, such as a nationwide cap-and-trade program. It is also possible that Congress may pass alternative climate change bills that do not mandate a nationwide cap-and-trade program and instead focus on promoting renewable energy and efficiency.
In addition to potential federal legislation, a number of states have adopted regional GHG initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide and other GHG emissions. In 2007, a group of Midwest states, including Kansas (where our Coffeyville Facility is located) and Illinois (where our East Dubuque Facility is located), formed the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord, which calls for the development of a cap-and-trade system to control GHG emissions and for the inventory of such emissions. However, the individual states that have signed on to the accord must adopt laws or regulations implementing the trading scheme before it becomes effective. To date, neither Kansas nor Illinois has taken meaningful action to implement the accord, and it is unclear whether either state intends to do so in the future.
Alternatively, the EPA may take further steps to regulate GHG emissions, although it is unclear to what extent the EPA will pursue climate change regulation. The implementation of EPA regulations and/or the passage of federal or state climate change legislation may result in increased costs to (i) operate and maintain our facilities, (ii) install new emission controls on our facilities and (iii) administer and manage any GHG emissions program. Increased costs associated with compliance with any future legislation or regulation of GHG emissions, if it occurs, may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
In addition, climate change legislation and regulations may result in increased costs not only for our business but also for users of our fertilizer products, thereby potentially decreasing demand for our fertilizer products. Decreased demand for our fertilizer products may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
New regulations concerning the transportation, storage and handling of hazardous chemicals, risks of terrorism and the security of chemical manufacturing facilities could result in higher operating costs.
The costs of complying with future regulations relating to the transportation, storage and handling of hazardous chemicals and security associated with our nitrogen fertilizer facilities may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions. Targets such as chemical manufacturing facilities may be at greater risk of future terrorist attacks than other targets in the United States. The chemical industry has responded to the issues that arose in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 by starting new initiatives relating to the security of chemical industry facilities and the transportation of hazardous chemicals in the United States. Future terrorist attacks could lead to even stronger, more costly initiatives that could result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions. The 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas has generated consideration of more restrictive measures in the storage, handling and transportation of crop production materials, including fertilizers.
Due to our lack of asset diversification, adverse developments in the nitrogen fertilizer industry could adversely affect our results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our common unitholders.
We rely exclusively on the revenues generated from our nitrogen fertilizer business. An adverse development in the nitrogen fertilizer industry would have a significantly greater impact on our operations and cash available for distribution to holders of common units than it would on other companies with a more diverse asset and product base. The largest publicly traded companies with which we compete sell a more varied range of fertilizer products.
Our business depends on significant customers, and the loss of significant customers may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
Our business has a high concentration of customers. In the aggregate, the top fiveOur two largest customers represented 31% ourapproximately 28% of net sales for the year ended December 31, 2017. Our top customer on a consolidated basis accounted for approximately 11% of our net sales for the year ended December 31, 2017.2019. Given the nature of our business, and consistent with industry practice, we do not have long-term minimum purchase contracts with most of our agricultural customers. The loss of several of these significant customers, or a significant reduction in purchase volume by these customers, could have a material adverse effect on our resultsseveral of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
There can be no assurance that the transportation costs of our competitors will not decline.
Our nitrogen fertilizer plants are located within the U.S. farm belt, where the majority of the end users of our nitrogen fertilizers grow their crops. Many of our competitors produce fertilizer outside this region and incur greater costs in transporting their products over longer distances via rail, ships and pipelines. There can be no assurance that our competitors' transportation costs will not decline or that additional pipelines will not be built, lowering the price at which our competitors can sell their products, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
We are largely dependent on our customers to transport purchased goods from our East Dubuque Facility.
Historically, the customers of the East Dubuque Facility generally were located close to our East Dubuque Facility and have been willing and able to transport purchased goods from the East Dubuque Facility. In most instances, those customers have purchased products for delivery at the East Dubuque Facility and then arranged and paid for the transport of them, to their final destinations by truck. However, in the future, the transportation needs of those customers as well as their preferences may change, and those customers may no longer be willing or able to transport purchased goods from the East Dubuque Facility. In the event that our competitors are able to transport their products more efficiently or cost effectively than those customers, and we are unable to reallocate or provide alternative transportation resources that service our other facilities, those customers may reduce or cease purchases of our products. If this were to occur, we could be forced to make a substantial investment in a fleet of trucks and/or railcars to meet the delivery needs of those customers, which could be expensive and time consuming. We may not be able to obtain transportation capabilities on a timely basis or at all, and our inability to provide transportation for products could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We are subject
Any decline in U.S. agricultural production or limitations on the use of nitrogen fertilizer for agricultural purposes could have a material adverse effect on the sales of nitrogen fertilizer, and on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Conditions in the U.S. agricultural industry significantly impact our operating results. The U.S. agricultural industry can be affected by a number of factors, including weather patterns and field conditions, current and projected grain inventories and prices, domestic and international population changes, demand for U.S. agricultural products and U.S. and foreign policies regarding trade in agricultural products. For example, a major factor underlying the solid level of demand for nitrogen-based fertilizer products we produce is the use of corn for the production of ethanol in the U.S. Changes in governmental incentives for ethanol production could affect future ethanol demand and production.
State and federal governmental policies, including farm and biofuel subsidies and commodity support programs, as well as the prices of fertilizer products, may also directly or indirectly influence the number of acres planted, the mix of crops planted and the use of fertilizers for particular agricultural applications. Developments in crop technology could also reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and adversely affect the demand for nitrogen fertilizer. In addition, from time to strict lawstime various state legislatures have considered limitations on the use and regulations regarding employeeapplication of chemical fertilizers due to concerns about the impact of these products on the environment. Unfavorable state and process safety,federal governmental policies could negatively affect nitrogen fertilizer prices and failure to comply with these laws and regulations couldtherefore have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.flows.
Our facilities are subject
Ethanol production in the United States is highly dependent upon a myriad of federal statutes and regulations, and is made significantly more competitive by various federal and state incentives and mandated usage of renewable fuels pursuant to the requirementsEPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”). To date, the RFS has been satisfied primarily with corn-based fuel ethanol blended into gasoline. However, a number of factors, including the continuing “food versus fuel” debate and studies showing that expanded ethanol usage may increase the level of greenhouse gases in the environment, cause harmful conversion of uncultivated land for biofuel crop production, and be unsuitable for small engine use, have resulted in calls to reduce subsidies for ethanol, allow increased ethanol imports and to repeal or waive (in whole or in part) the current RFS. Changes within the RFS program also could affect future ethanol demand and production. Further, while most ethanol is currently produced from corn and other raw grains, such as milo or sorghum, the RFS requires that a portion of the federal Occupational Safetyoverall RFS renewable fuel mandate come from advanced biofuels, including cellulose-based biomass, such as agricultural waste, forest residue, and Health Act ("OSHA") and comparable state statutes that regulate the protection of the health and safety of workers.municipal solid waste. In addition, OSHAthere is a continuing trend to encourage the use of products other than corn and certain environmental regulations require that we maintain information about hazardous materials usedraw grains for ethanol production. The repeal of, or producedreduction in our operationsthe benefits to ethanol producers under, ethanol incentive programs, an increase in ethanol imports, a substantial decrease in future renewable volume obligations under the RFS program, or a significant increase in the use of products other than corn and that we provide this information to employeesraw grains for ethanol production could affect the demand for corn-based ethanol and stateresult in a decrease in planted corn acreage and local governmental authorities. Failure to comply with OSHA requirements, including general industry standards, record keeping requirementsin the demand for nitrogen fertilizer products and monitoring and control of occupational exposure to regulated substances, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions if we are subjected to significant fines or compliance costs.flows.
Instability
The acquisition and volatility in the global capital, credit and commodity markets could negatively impactexpansion strategy of our business financial condition, results of operationsinvolves significant risks.
From time to time, we may consider pursuing acquisitions and abilityexpansion projects to make cash distributions.
Our business, results of operations, financial conditioncontinue to grow and ability to make cash distributions could be negatively impacted by difficult conditions and extreme volatility in the capital, credit and commodities markets and in the global economy. For example:
Although we believe we will have sufficient liquidity under our debt facilities and instruments to run our business, under extreme market conditions there can be no assurance that such funds would be available or
sufficient, and in such a case,increase profitability. However, we may not be able to successfully obtain additional financing on favorable terms,consummate such acquisitions or at all.
Market volatility could exert downward pressure on the price of our common units, which may make it more difficult for usexpansions, due to raise additional capital and thereby limit our ability to grow.
Our debt facilities and instruments contain various covenants that must be complied with, and if we are not in compliance, there can be no assurance that we would be able to successfully amend the facilities or instruments in the future. Further, any such amendment may be expensive.
Market conditions could result in our significant customers experiencing financial difficulties. We are exposed to the credit risk of our customers, and their failure to meet their financial obligations when due because of bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons could result in decreased sales and earnings for us.
Our acquisition and expansion strategy involves significant risks.
One of our business strategies is to pursue acquisitions and expansion projects. However, acquisitions and expansions involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including intense competition for suitable acquisition targets, the potential unavailability of financial resources necessary to consummate acquisitions and expansions, difficulties in identifying suitable acquisition targets and expansion projects or in completing any transactions identified on sufficiently favorable terms, and the needfailure to obtain requisite regulatory or other governmental approvals that may be necessary to complete acquisitions and expansions.approvals. In addition, any future acquisitions and expansions may entail significant transaction costs tax consequences and risks associated with entry into new markets and lines of business.business, including but not limited to, new regulatory obligations and risks.
In addition to the risks involved in identifying and completing acquisitions described above, even
Even when acquisitions are completed, integration of acquired entities can involve significant difficulties, such as:
unforeseen•Unforeseen difficulties in the integration of the acquired operations and disruption of the ongoing operations of our business;
failure•Failure to achieve cost savings or other financial or operating objectives with respectcontributing to the accretive nature of an acquisition;
strain•Strain on the operational and managerial controls and procedures of our business, and the need to modify systems or to add management resources;
difficulties•Difficulties in the integration and retention of customers or personnel and the integration and effective deployment of operations or technologies;
assumption•Assumption of unknown material liabilities or regulatory non-compliance issues;
amortization•Amortization of acquired assets, which would reduce future reported earnings;
possible•Possible adverse short-term effects on our cash flows or operating results; and
diversion•Diversion of management'smanagement’s attention from the ongoing operations of our business.
In addition, in connection with any potential acquisition or expansion project, we will need to consider whether thea business we intend to acquire or expansion project we intend to pursue could affect our tax treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If we are otherwise unable to conclude that the activities of the business being acquired or the expansion project would not affect our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we couldmay elect to seek a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"(“IRS”). Seeking such a ruling could be costly or, in the case of competitive acquisitions, place usthe business in a competitive disadvantage compared to other potential acquirers who do not seek such a ruling. If we are unable to conclude that an activity would not affect our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and are unable or unwilling to obtain an IRS ruling, we couldmay choose to acquire such business or develop such expansion project in a corporate subsidiary, which would subject the income related to such activity to entity-level taxation. See "— Tax Risks to Common Unitholders — Our tax treatment depends on our status as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and not being subject to a materialtaxation, which would reduce the amount of entity-level taxation. If the IRS were to treat us as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or we become subject to entity-level taxation for state tax purposes, our cash available for distribution to ourits common unitholders would be substantially reduced,and could likely causingcause a substantial reduction in the value of ourits common units."
Failure to manage these acquisition and expansion growth risks could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.flows. Our joint ventures involve similar risks. There can be no assurance that we will be able to consummate any acquisitions or expansions, successfully integrate acquired entities, or generate positive cash flow at any acquired company or expansion project.
A shortageWe are subject to cybersecurity risks and other cyber incidents resulting in disruption to our business.
We depend on internal and third-party information technology systems to manage and support our operations. In addition, we collect, process, and retain sensitive and confidential customer information in the normal course of skilled labor, together with rising labor costs,business. Despite the security measures we have in place and any additional measures we may implement in the future, our facilities and these systems could adverselybe vulnerable to security breaches, computer viruses, lost or misplaced data, programming errors, human errors, acts of vandalism, or other events. Any disruption of these systems or security breach or event resulting in the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, whether by us directly or our third-party service providers, could damage our reputation, expose us to the risks of litigation and liability, disrupt our business, or otherwise affect our results of operationsoperations. In addition, new laws and cash available for distributionregulations governing data privacy and the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information pose increasingly complex compliance challenges and potentially elevate our costs. Any failure to our common unitholders.
Efficient production of nitrogen fertilizer using modern techniquescomply with these laws and equipment requires skilled employees. Our facilities require special expertise to operate efficiently and effectively. To the extent that the services of our key technical personnel and skilled labor become unavailable to us for any reason,regulations, including as a result of a security or privacy breach, could result in significant penalties and liabilities for us.
Risks Related to Our Plant Operations
Our Coffeyville Facility may be adversely affected by the retirementsupply and price levels of experienced employeespet coke. Failure by CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery to continue to supply us with pet coke and the availability of third-party pet coke at higher prices could negatively impact our results of operations.
Unlike our competitors, whose primary costs are related to the purchase of natural gas and whose costs are therefore largely variable, our Coffeyville Facility uses a pet coke gasification process to produce nitrogen fertilizer. Our profitability is directly affected by the price and availability of pet coke obtained from our aging work force,CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery pursuant to a long-term agreement. Our Coffeyville Facility has obtained the majority of its pet coke from CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery over the past five years, although this percentage has decreased to 40% in 2019. However, should CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery fail to perform in accordance with the existing agreement or to the extent pet coke from CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery is insufficient, we would be requiredneed to hire other personnel. We may not be able to locate or employ such qualified personnelpurchase pet coke from third parties on acceptable terms or at all. We face competition for these professionals from our competitors, our customers and other companies operating in our industry. If we are unable to find qualified employees, or if the cost to find qualified employees increases materially,open market, which could negatively impact our results of operations to the extent third-party pet coke is unavailable or available only at higher prices. Currently, we purchase 100% of the pet coke CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery produces. However, we are still required to procure additional pet coke from third parties to maintain our production rates. We are currently party to pet coke supply agreements with multiple third-party refineries to provide a significant amount of pet coke at fixed prices. The terms of these agreements currently end in December 2020.
The market for natural gas has been volatile, and fluctuations in natural gas prices could affect our competitive position.
Low natural gas prices benefit our competitors that rely on natural gas as their primary feedstock and disproportionately impact our operations at our Coffeyville Fertilizer Facility by making us less competitive with natural gas-based nitrogen fertilizer manufacturers. Continued low natural gas prices could result in nitrogen fertilizer pricing drops and impair the ability of the Coffeyville Facility to compete with other nitrogen fertilizer producers who use natural gas as their primary feedstock, which, therefore, would have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash available for distribution to our common unitholders could be adversely affected.distributions.
A substantial portion of our
The East Dubuque workforce is unionizedFacility uses natural gas as its primary feedstock, and we are subject toas such, the riskprofitability of labor disputes and adverse employee relations, which may disrupt our business and increase our costs.
As of December 31, 2017, approximately 64% of the employees atoperating the East Dubuque Facility were represented byis significantly dependent on the International Unioncost of United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers under a collective bargaining agreement that expiresnatural gas. An increase in October 2019. We maynatural gas prices could make it less competitive with producers who do not be able to renegotiate our collective bargaining agreement when it expires on satisfactory terms or at all. A failure to do so may increase our costs.use natural gas as their primary feedstock. In addition, our existing labor agreement or future agreements may not prevent a strike or work stoppagean increase in natural gas prices in the future,United States relative to prices of natural gas paid by foreign nitrogen fertilizer producers may negatively affect our competitive position in the corn belt, and any work stoppagesuch changes could negatively affecthave a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We expect to purchase a portion of our natural gas for use in the East Dubuque Facility on the spot market. As a result, we remain susceptible to fluctuations in the price of natural gas in general and in local markets in particular. We may use fixed supply, fixed price forward purchase contracts to lock in pricing for a portion of its natural gas requirements, but we may not be able to enter into such agreements on acceptable terms or at all. Without forward purchase contracts for the supply of natural gas, we would need to purchase natural gas on the spot market, which would impair its ability to hedge exposure to risk from fluctuations in natural gas prices. If we enter into forward purchase contracts for natural gas, and natural gas prices decrease, then its cost of sales could be higher than it would have been in the absence of the forward purchase contracts.
Any interruption in the supply of natural gas to our East Dubuque Facility could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Our East Dubuque Facility depends on the availability of natural gas. We have an agreement with Nicor Gas (“Nicor”) pursuant to which we access natural gas from the ANR Pipeline Company and Northern Natural Gas pipelines. Our access to satisfactory supplies of natural gas through Nicor could be disrupted due to a number of causes, including volume limitations under the agreement, pipeline malfunctions, service interruptions, mechanical failures or other reasons. The agreement currently extends through February 29, 2020. Upon expiration of the agreement, we may be unable to extend the service under the terms of the existing agreement or renew the agreement on satisfactory terms, or at all. Any disruption in the supply of natural gas to our East Dubuque Facility could restrict our ability to continue to make products at the facility. In the event we need to obtain natural gas from another source, we may need to build a new connection from that source to the East Dubuque Facility and negotiate related easement rights, which would be costly, disruptive and/or may be unfeasible. As a result, any interruption in the supply of natural gas through Nicor could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
If licensed technology were no longer available, our business may be adversely affected.
We have licensed, and may in the future license, a combination of patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property rights of third parties for use in our business. In particular, the gasification process we use at the Coffeyville Facility to convert pet coke to high purity hydrogen for subsequent conversion to ammonia is licensed from an affiliate of General Electric Company. Theplant operations. If any license which is fully paid, grants us perpetual rights to use the pet coke gasification process on specified terms and conditions and is integral to the operations of our Coffeyville Facility. If this license, or any other license agreementsagreement on which our operations rely were to be terminated, licenses to alternative technology may not be available, or may only be available on terms that are not commercially reasonable or acceptable. In addition, any substitution of new technology for currently-licensed technology may require substantial changes to manufacturing processes or equipment and may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.flows.
We are subject to cybersecurity risks and other cyber incidents resulting in disruption.
Threats to information technology systems associated with cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents or attacks continue to grow. We depend on information technology systems. In addition,Additionally, we collect, process and retain sensitive and confidential customer information in the normal course of business. Despite the security measures we have in place and any additional measures we may implement in the future, our facilities and systems, and those of our third-party service providers, could be vulnerable to security breaches, computer viruses, lost or misplaced data, programming errors, human errors, acts of vandalism or other events. Any disruption of our systems or security breach or event resulting in the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, whether by us directly or our third-party service providers, could damage our reputation, expose us to the risks of litigation and liability, disrupt our business or otherwise affect our results of operations.
We may face third-party claims of intellectual property infringement, which if successful could result in significant costs for our business.
We may face claims of infringement that could interfere with our ability to use technology that is material to our businessplant operations. Any litigation of this type related to third-party intellectual property rights could result in substantial costs to us and diversions of our resources, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.flows. In the event a claim of infringement against us is successful, we may be required to pay royalties or license fees for past or continued use of the infringing technology, or we may be prohibited from using the infringing technology altogether. If we are prohibited from using any technology as a result of such a claim, we may not be able to obtain licenses to alternative technology adequate to substitute for the technology we can no longer use, or licenses for such alternative technology may only be available on terms that are not commercially reasonable or acceptable to us.acceptable. In addition, any substitution of new technology for currently licensedcurrently-licensed technology may require us to make substantial changes to our manufacturing processes or equipment or to our products, and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Compliance with and changes in environmental laws and regulations, including those related to climate change, could require us to make substantial capital expenditures and adversely affect our performance.
Our operations are subject to extensive federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing the emission or discharge of pollutants into the environment, product use and specifications and the generation, treatment, storage, transportation, disposal and remediation of solid and hazardous wastes. Violations of applicable environmental laws and regulations, or of the conditions of permits issued thereunder, can result in substantial penalties, injunctive orders compelling installation of additional controls, civil and criminal sanctions, operating restrictions, injunctive relief, permit revocations and/or facility shutdowns, which may have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate our facilities and accordingly our financial performance. Capital expenditures and operating costs for current and future environmental compliance may be substantial and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and profitability.
In addition, new environmental laws and regulations, new interpretations of existing laws and regulations, increased governmental enforcement of laws and regulations or other developments could require us to make additional unforeseen expenditures. These laws and regulations are generally expected to impose increasingly stringent and costly requirements over time. Various legislative and regulatory measures to address climate change and GHG emissions (including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides) are in various phases of discussion or implementation and could affect our operations. They include proposed and enacted federal regulation and state actions to develop statewide, regional or nationwide programs designed to control and reduce GHG emissions from fixed sources, such as our plants. Many states and regions have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, measures to reduce emissions of GHGs, but other than Kansas, we do not currently operate in states that have their own GHG reduction programs.
Although it is not possible to predict the requirements of any GHG legislation that may be enacted, any laws or regulations that have been or may be adopted to restrict or reduce GHG emissions will likely require us to incur increased operating and capital costs and/or increased taxes on GHG emissions, and result in reduced demand for our fertilizer products. If we are unable to maintain sales of our products at a price that reflects such increased costs, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, any increase in the prices of our products resulting from such increased costs could have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial condition and cash flows.
In addition, climate change legislation and regulations may result in increased costs not only for our business but also users of our fertilizer products, thereby potentially decreasing demand for our products. Further, changes in environmental laws and regulations or their interpretation relating to the end-use and application of fertilizers could cause changes in demand for our products or limit our ability to market and sell products to end users. From time to time, various state legislatures have proposed bans or other limitations on fertilizer products. Decreased demand for our products may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Our operations are dependent on third-party suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Operations of our Coffeyville Facility depend in large part on the performance of third-party suppliers, and the operations of the Coffeyville Facility could be adversely affected if the operation of the third-party air separation plant located adjacent to it were disrupted. Additionally, this air separation plant has experienced numerous short-term interruptions in the past, causing interruptions in our gasifier operations. With respect to electricity, we are party to an electric services agreement with a third-party supplier through June 30, 2029.
Our East Dubuque Facility operations also depend in large part on the performance of third-party suppliers, including for the purchase of electricity. We entered into a utility service agreement, which terminates on June 1, 2022 and will continue year-to-year thereafter unless either party provides 12-month advance written notice of termination.
Should any of our other third-party suppliers fail to perform in accordance with existing contractual arrangements, or should we otherwise lose the service of any third-party suppliers, our operations (or a portion thereof) could be forced to halt. Alternative sources of supply could be difficult to obtain. Any shutdown of our operations (or a portion thereof), even for a limited period, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
We rely on third-party providers of transportation services and equipment, which subjects us to risks and uncertainties beyond our control that may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make distributions.
Our business relies on railroad and trucking companies to ship finished products to customers of the Coffeyville Facility. We also lease railcars from railcar owners to ship its finished products. Additionally, although customers of the East Dubuque Facility generally pick up products at the facility, the facility occasionally relies on barge, truck and railroad companies to ship products to customers. These transportation operations, equipment and services are subject to various hazards, including extreme weather conditions, work stoppages, delays, spills, derailments and other accidents, and other operating hazards. Further, the limited number of towing companies and barges available for ammonia transport may also impact the availability of transportation for our products. These transportation operations, equipment and services are also subject to environmental, safety and other regulatory oversight. Due to concerns related to terrorism or accidents, local, state and federal governments could implement new regulations affecting the transportation of our finished products. In addition, new regulations could be implemented affecting the equipment used to ship our finished products.
Any delay in our ability to ship our finished products as a result of these transportation companies’ failure to operate properly, the implementation of new and more stringent regulatory requirements affecting transportation operations or equipment, or significant increases in the cost of these services or equipment could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
Ammonia can be very volatile and extremely hazardous. Any liability for accidents involving ammonia or other products we produce or transport that cause severe damage to property or injury to the environment and human health could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions. In addition, the costs of transporting ammonia could increase significantly in the future.
Our business manufactures, processes, stores, handles, distributes and transports ammonia, which can be very volatile and extremely hazardous. Major accidents or releases involving ammonia could cause severe damage or injury to property, the environment and human health, as well as a possible disruption of supplies and markets. Such an event could result in civil lawsuits, fines, penalties and regulatory enforcement proceedings, all of which could lead to significant liabilities. Any damage or injury to persons, equipment, or property or other disruption of our ability to produce or distribute products could result in a significant decrease in operating revenues and significant additional costs to replace or repair and insure our assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions. Our facilities periodically experience minor releases of ammonia related to leaks from our facilities’ equipment. Similar events may occur in the future.
In addition, we may incur significant losses or costs relating to the operation of railcars used for the purpose of carrying various products, including ammonia. Due to the dangerous and potentially hazardous nature of the cargo, in particular
ammonia, a railcar accident may result in fires, explosions, and releases of material which could lead to sudden, severe damage or injury to property, the environment, and human health. In the event of contamination, under environmental law, we may be held responsible even if we are not at fault, and we complied with the laws and regulations in effect at the time of the accident. Litigation arising from accidents involving ammonia and other products we produce or transport may result in us being named as a defendant in lawsuits asserting claims for substantial damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.
We could incur significant costs in cleaning up contamination at our fertilizer plants and off-site locations.
Our businesses handle hazardous substances which may result in spills, discharges or other releases of hazardous substances into the environment. Past or future spills related to any of our current or former operations, including fertilizer plants, or transportation of products or hazardous substances from those facilities, may give rise to liability (including strict liability, or liability without fault, and potential cleanup responsibility) to governmental entities or private parties under federal, state or local environmental laws, as well as under common law. For example, we could be held strictly liable under CERCLA, and similar state statutes, for past or future spills without regard to fault or whether our actions were in compliance with the law at the time of the spills. Pursuant to CERCLA and similar state statutes, we could be held liable for contamination associated with facilities we currently own or operate (whether such contamination occurred prior to or during our ownership), facilities we formerly owned or operated, and facilities to which we transported or arranged for the transportation of wastes or byproducts containing hazardous substances for treatment, storage, or disposal. If significant unknown contamination is identified at or migrating from any of our facilities, the associated liability could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and may not be covered by insurance.
The potential penalties and cleanup costs for past or future releases or spills, liability to third parties for damage to their property or exposure to hazardous substances, or the need to address newly discovered information or conditions that may require response actions could be significant and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, we may incur liability for alleged personal injury or property damage due to exposure to chemicals or other hazardous substances located at or released from our facilities. We may also face liability for personal injury, property damage, natural resource damage, or cleanup costs for the alleged migration of contamination or other hazardous substances from our facilities to adjacent and other nearby properties.
We have assumed the previous owner’s responsibilities under certain administrative orders under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) related to contamination that migrated from CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery onto the nitrogen fertilizer plant property while the previous owner owned and operated the properties. We continue to work with the applicable governmental authorities to implement remediation of these sites on a timely basis.
We may incur future liability relating to the off-site disposal of hazardous waste from our facilities. Companies that dispose of, or arrange for the treatment, transportation or disposal of, hazardous substances at off-site locations may be held jointly and severally liable for the costs of investigation and remediation of contamination at those off-site locations, regardless of fault. We could become involved in litigation or other proceedings involving off-site waste disposal and the damages or costs in any such proceedings could be material.
We may be unable to obtain or renew permits or approvals necessary for our operations, which could inhibit our ability to do business.
Our business holds numerous environmental and other governmental permits and approvals authorizing operations at our facilities. Future expansion of our operations is predicated upon securing the necessary environmental or other permits or approvals. A decision by a government agency to deny or delay issuing a new or renewed material permit or approval, or to revoke or substantially modify an existing permit or approval, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue operations and on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
New regulations concerning the transportation, storage and handling of hazardous chemicals, risks of terrorism, and the security of chemical manufacturing facilities could result in higher operating and/or capital costs.
The costs of complying with future regulations relating to the transportation, storage, and handling of hazardous chemicals and security associated with our facilities may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Targets such as chemical manufacturing facilities may be at greater risk of future terrorist attacks than other
targets in the United States. As a result, the chemical industry has initiatives relating to the security of chemical industry facilities and the transportation of hazardous chemicals in the United States. Future terrorist attacks could lead to even stronger, more costly initiatives that could result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Changes to regulations or requirements for the transportation, storage, and handling of hazardous chemicals could also require additional capital investments, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
Our facilities face significant risks due to physical damage hazards, environmental liability risk exposure, and unplanned or emergency partial or total plant shutdowns resulting in business interruptions. We could incur potentially significant costs to the extent there are unforeseen events which cause property damage and a material decline in production which are not fully insured. The commercial insurance industry engaged in underwriting energy industry risk is specialized and there is finite capacity; therefore, the industry may limit or curtail coverage, may modify the coverage provided, or may substantially increase premiums in the future.
If any of our plants, logistics assets, or key suppliers sustains a catastrophic loss and operations are shutdown or significantly impaired, it would have a material adverse impact on our operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, the risk exposures we have at the Coffeyville, Kansas plant complex are greater due to production facilities for CVR Energy’s refinery and our fertilizer production, distribution, and storage being in relatively close proximity and potentially exposed to damage from one incident. Operations at our plant could be curtailed, limited or completely shut down for an extended period of time as the result of one or more unforeseen events and circumstances, which may not be within our control, including:
•major unplanned maintenance requirements;
•catastrophic events caused by mechanical breakdown, electrical injury, pressure vessel rupture, explosion, contamination, fire, or natural disasters, including floods, windstorms, and other similar events;
•labor supply shortages or labor difficulties that result in a work stoppage or slowdown;
•cessation or suspension of a plant or specific operations dictated by environmental authorities;
•acts of terrorism or other deliberate malicious acts; and
•an event or incident involving a large clean-up, decontamination, or the imposition of laws and ordinances regulating the cost and schedule of demolition or reconstruction, which can cause significant delays in restoring property to its pre-event condition.
We have sustained losses over the past ten-year period at our facilities, which are illustrative of the types of risks and hazards that exist. These losses or events resulted in costs assumed by us that were not fully insured due to policy retention or applicable exclusions. We are insured under casualty, environmental, property and business interruption insurance policies. The property and business interruption policies insure real and personal property, including property located at our plants. There is potential for a common occurrence to impact both our Coffeyville Facility and CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery in which case the insurance limits and applicable sub-limits would apply to all damages combined. These policies are subject to limits, sub-limits, retention (financial and time-based), and deductibles. The application of these and other policy conditions could materially impact insurance recoveries and potentially cause us to assume losses which could impair earnings.
There is finite capacity in the commercial insurance industry engaged in underwriting energy industry risk, and there are risks associated with the commercial insurance industry reducing capacity, changing the scope of insurance coverage offered, and substantially increasing premiums, deductibles, or retainers, and/or waiting periods, resulting from highly adverse loss experience or other financial circumstances. Factors that impact insurance cost and availability include, but are not limited to: losses in our industry and other industries, such as chemical and petroleum refining, natural disasters, specific losses incurred by us, and low or inadequate investment returns earned by the insurance industry. If the supply of commercial insurance is curtailed due to highly adverse financial results, we may not be able to continue our present limits of insurance coverage or obtain sufficient insurance capacity to adequately insure our risks for property damage or business interruption.
We are subject to strict laws and regulations regarding employee and process safety, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and profitability.
We are subject to the requirements of OSHA and comparable state statutes that regulate the protection of the health and safety of workers, the proper design, operation, and maintenance of our equipment, and require us to provide information about hazardous materials used in our operations. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in significant fines or compliance costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
A significant portion of our workforce is unionized, and we are subject to the risk of labor disputes and adverse employee relations, which may disrupt our business and increase our costs.
As of December 31, 2019, approximately 31% of our employees were represented by labor unions under collective bargaining agreements. We may not be able to renegotiate our collective bargaining agreements when they expire on satisfactory terms or at all. A failure to do so may increase our costs. In addition, our existing labor agreements may not prevent a strike or work stoppage at any of our facilities in the future, and any work stoppage could negatively affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Risks Related to Our Capital Structure
Internally generated cash flows and other sources of liquidity may not be adequate for the capital needs of our business.
Our business is capital intensive, and working capital needs may vary significantly over relatively short periods of time. For instance, nitrogen fertilizer demand volatility can significantly impact working capital on a week-to-week and month-to-month basis. If we cannot generate adequate cash flow or otherwise secure sufficient liquidity to meet our working capital needs or support our short-term and long-term capital requirements, we may be unable to meet our debt obligations, pursue our business strategies, or comply with certain environmental standards, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Instability and volatility in the capital, credit, and commodity markets in the global economy could negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted by difficult conditions and volatility in the capital, credit, and commodities markets and in the global economy. For example:
•Although we believe we have sufficient liquidity under our AB credit facility to run the business, there can be no assurance that such funds would be available or sufficient, and in such a case, we may not be able to successfully obtain additional financing on favorable terms, or at all.
•Market volatility could exert downward pressure on our common units, which may make it more difficult for us to raise additional capital and thereby limit our ability to grow, which could in turn cause our unit price to drop.
•Market conditions could result in significant customers experiencing financial difficulties. We are exposed to the credit risk of our customers, and their failure to meet their financial obligations when due because of bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons could result in decreased sales and earnings for us.
Our level of indebtedness, including the restrictive covenants therein, may affect our ability to operate our business, and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We have incurred significant indebtedness, and we may be able to incur significant additional indebtedness in the future. If new indebtedness is added to our current indebtedness, the risks described below could increase. Our level of indebtedness could have important consequences, such as:
•limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund our working capital needs, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisitions, or other purposes;
•requiring us to utilize a significant portion of our cash flows to service our indebtedness, thereby reducing available cash and our ability to make distributions on our common units;
•limiting our ability to use operating cash flow in other areas of ourthe business because we must dedicate a substantial portion of theseadditional funds to service debt;
•limiting our ability to compete with other companies who are not as highly leveraged, as we may be less capable of responding to adverse economic and industry conditions;
•limiting our ability to make certain payments on debt that is subordinated or secured on a junior basis;
•restricting us from making strategic acquisitions or investments, introducing new technologies, or exploiting business opportunities;
•restricting the way in which we conduct our business because of financial and operating covenants in the agreements governing our and our subsidiaries'respective subsidiaries’ existing and future indebtedness, including, in the case of certain indebtedness of subsidiaries, certain covenants that restrict the ability of subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributionsdistributions;
•limiting our ability to us;enter into certain transactions with our affiliates;
•limiting our ability to designate our subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries;
•exposing us to potential events of default (if not cured or waived) under financial and operating covenants contained in our or our subsidiaries'respective subsidiaries’ debt instruments that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results;
•increasing our vulnerability to a downturn in general economic conditions or in pricing of our products; and
•limiting our ability to react to changing market conditions in our industryrespective industries and in our customers'respective customers’ industries.
In addition to our debt service obligations, our operations require substantial investments on a continuing basis. Our ability to make scheduled debt payments, to refinance our obligations with respect to our indebtedness and to fund capital and non-capital expenditures necessary to maintain the condition of our operating assets, properties and systems software, as well as to provide capacity for the growth of our business, depends on our financial and operating performance, which, in turn, is subject to prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, competitive, legal and other factors.
In addition,Further, we are and will be subject to covenants contained in agreements governing our present and future indebtedness. These covenants include, and will likely include, restrictions on certain payments (including restrictions on distributions to our common unitholders), the granting of liens, the incurrence of additional indebtedness, dividend restrictions affecting subsidiaries, asset sales, transactions with affiliates, and mergers and consolidations. Any failure to comply with these covenants could result in a default under our current credit agreements or debt instruments or future credit agreements.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our debt obligations under our indebtedness that may not be successful.
Our ability to satisfy our debt obligations will depend upon, among other things:
•our future financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory, and other factors, many of which are beyond our control; and
•our future ability to obtain other financing.
We cannot offer any assurance that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that we will be able to draw funds under the ABL Credit Facilityour AB credit facility or otherwise, or from other sources of financing, in an amount sufficient to fund our respective liquidity needs. In addition, our general partner's current policy is to distribute all available cash we generate on a quarterly basis, and the board of directors of our general partner may in the future elect to pay a special distribution, engage in unit repurchases or pursue other strategic options including acquisitions of other business or asset purchases, which would reduce cash available to service our debt obligations.
If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to service our indebtedness, we could face substantial liquidity problems and may be forced to reduce or suspend distributions, reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital, or restructure or refinance our
indebtedness, or seek bankruptcy protection. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service and other obligations. Our ability to restructure or refinance our debt will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. Any refinancing of our debt could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations. In addition,operations, and the terms of existing or future debt agreements may restrict us from adopting some of these alternatives. In the absence of such operating results
Further, our AB credit facility bears interest at variable rates and resources,other debt we incur could face substantial liquidity problems and mightlikewise be required to dispose of material assets or operations, sell equity, and/or negotiate with our lenders to restructure the applicablevariable-rate debt. If market interest rates increase, variable-rate debt in order to meet ourwill create higher debt service and other obligations. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions for fair market value or at all. Market or business conditions may limitrequirements, which could adversely affect our ability to avail ourselves of some or all of these options. Furthermore, any proceeds that we could realize from any such dispositions may not be adequate to meetfund our debt service obligations then due.
Increases in interest rates could adversely impact our unit priceliquidity needs, capital investments, and our ability to issue additional equity to make acquisitions, incur debt or for other purposes.
We cannot predict how interest rates will react to changing market conditions. Interest rates on our credit facilities, future credit facilities and debt securities we may issue in debt offerings could be higher than current levels, causing our financing costs to increase accordingly. Additionally, as with other yield-oriented securities, we expect that our unit price will be impacted by the level of our quarterly cash distributions and implied distribution yield. The distribution yield is often used by investors to compare and rank related yield-oriented securities for investment decision-making purposes. Therefore, changes in interest rates may affect the yield requirements of investors who invest in our common units, and a rising interest rate environment could have a material adverse impact on our unit price and our ability to issue additional equity to make acquisitions or to incur debt and could increase our interest costs.
Our debt agreements contain restrictions that will limit our flexibility in operating our business and our ability to make distributions to our common unitholders.
Our debt facilities and instruments contain, and any instruments governing future indebtedness of ours would likely contain, a number of covenants that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us, including restrictions on our and our subsidiaries' ability to, among other things:
incur additional indebtedness or issue certain preferred units;
pay distributions in respect of our units or make other restricted payments;
make certain payments on debt that is subordinated or secured on a junior basis;
make certain investments;
sell certain assets;
create liens on certain assets;
consolidate, merge, sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets;
We may enter into certain transactions withagreements limiting our affiliates; and
designate our subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries.
Any of these restrictions could limit our abilityexposure to plan for or react to market conditions and could otherwise restrict partnership activities. Any failure to comply with these covenants could result in a default under our debt facilities and instruments. Upon a default, unless waived, the lenders under our debt facilities and instruments would have all remedies available to a secured lender, and could elect to terminate their commitments, cease making further loans, institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, and force us into bankruptcy or liquidation, subject tohigher interest rates, but any applicable intercreditor agreements. In addition, a default under our debt facilities and instruments would trigger a cross default under our othersuch agreements and could trigger a cross default under the agreements governing our future indebtedness. Our operating results may not be sufficient to service our indebtedness or to fund our other expenditures and we may not be able to obtain financing to meet these requirements.offer complete protection from this risk.
Despite our indebtedness, we may still be able to incur significantly more debt, including secured indebtedness. This could intensify
Mr. Carl C. Icahn exerts significant influence over the risks described above.
We may be able to incur substantially more debt in the future, including secured indebtedness. Although our debt facilities and instruments contain restrictions on our incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions and, under certain circumstances, indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions
could be substantial. Also, these restrictions may not prevent us from incurring obligations that do not constitute indebtedness. To the extent such new debt or new obligations are added to our existing indebtedness, the risks described above could substantially increase.
We are a holding company and depend upon our subsidiaries for our cash flow.
We are a holding company. All of our operations are conducted and all of our assets are owned by our subsidiaries. Consequently, our cash flow and our ability to meet our obligations or to make cash distributions in the future will depend upon the cash flow of our subsidiaries and the payment of funds by our subsidiaries to us in the form of dividends or otherwise. The ability of our subsidiaries to make any payments to us will depend on its earnings, the terms of its indebtedness, including the terms of any debt facilities and instruments, and legal restrictions. In particular, future debt facilities and instruments incurred at our subsidiaries may impose significant limitations on the ability of our subsidiaries to make distributions to us and consequently our ability to make distributions to our common unitholders.
Our relationship with CVR Energy and CVR Refining and their financial condition subjects us to potential risks that are beyond our control.
Due to our relationship with CVR Energy and CVR Refining, adverse developments or announcements concerning CVR Energy or CVR Refining could materially adversely affect our financial condition, even if we have not suffered any similar development. The ratings assigned to CVR Refining's indebtedness are below investment grade. Downgrades of the credit ratings of CVR Refining could increase our cost of capital and collateral requirements, and could impede our access to the capital markets.
The credit and business risk profilesPartnership through his controlling ownership of CVR Energy, and his interests may conflict with the interests of the Partnership and our unitholders.
Mr. Carl C. Icahn indirectly controls approximately 71% of the voting power of CVR RefiningEnergy’s common stock and, by virtue of such ownership, is able to control or exert substantial influence over the Partnership through CVR Energy’s ownership of our general partner and its sole member, including:
•the election and appointment of directors;
•business strategy and policies;
•mergers or other business combinations;
•acquisition or disposition of assets;
•future issuances of common stock, common units, or other securities;
•incurrence of debt or obtaining other sources of financing; and
•the payment of distributions on our common units.
The existence of a controlling stockholder may have the effect of making it difficult for, or may discourage or delay, a third-party from seeking to acquire a majority of our common units, which may adversely affect the market price of such common units.
Further, Mr. Icahn’s interests may not always be consistent with the Partnership’s interests or with the interests of our common unitholders. Mr. Icahn and entities controlled by him may also pursue acquisitions or business opportunities in industries in which we compete, and there is no requirement that any additional business opportunities be presented to us. We also have and may in the future enter into transactions to purchase goods or services with affiliates of Mr. Icahn. To the extent that conflicts of interest may arise between us and Mr. Icahn and his affiliates, those conflicts may be factors consideredresolved in credit evaluations of us. This is because we rely on CVR Energy and CVR Refining for various services, including management services and the supply of pet coke. The credit and risk profile of CVR Energy and CVR Refining could adversely affect our credit ratings and risk profile, which could increase our borrowing costs or hinder our abilitya manner adverse to raise capital.
Our credit rating may be adversely affected by the leverage of CVR Refining, as credit rating agencies may consider the leverage and credit profile of CVR Energy and its affiliates because of their ownership interest in and joint control of us and the strong operational links between CVR Refining's refining business and us. Any adverse effect on our credit rating would increase our cost of borrowing or hinder our ability to raise financing in the capital markets, which would impair our ability to grow our business and make cash distributions to common unitholders.
Risks Inherent inRelated to Our Limited Partnership Structure and Our Common Units
The board of directors of our general partner has in place
We have a policy to distribute an amount equal to the available cash“available cash” we generate each quarter, which could limit our ability to grow and make acquisitions.acquisitions. However, we may not have sufficient available cash to pay any quarterly distribution on common units or the board of directors of our general partner may elect to distribute less than all of our available cash.
Our general partner's
The current policy of the board of directors of our general partner is to distribute an amount equal to the available cash we generategenerated by our business each quarter to our common unitholders. As a result of its cash distribution policy, we will likely need to rely primarily upon external financing sources, including commercial bank borrowings and the issuance of debt and equity securities, to fund our acquisitions and expansion capital expenditures. We may not have sufficient available cash each quarter to enable the payment of distributions to common unitholders. Furthermore, the partnership agreement does not require us to pay distributions on a quarterly basis or otherwise. As such, to the extent we are unable to finance growth externally, our cash distribution policy will significantly impair our ability to grow. The board of directors of theour general partner may modify or revoke ourits cash distribution policy at any time at its discretion, including in such a manner that would result in an elimination of cash distributions regardless of the amount of available cash we generate. Our Partnership Agreement does not require us to make any distributions.our business generates.
In addition, because of ourits distribution policy, our growth, if any, may not be as robust as that of businesses that reinvest their available cash to expand ongoing operations. To the extent we issue additional units in connection with any acquisitions or expansion capital expenditures or as in-kind distributions, current common unitholders willwould experience dilution and the payment of distributions on those additional units willmay decrease the amount we distribute on eachin respect of its outstanding unit. There are no limitations inunits. Under our partnership agreement, on our abilitywe are authorized to issue an unlimited number of additional interests without a vote of the common unitholders. The issuance by us of additional common units includingor other equity interests of equal or senior rank would reduce the proportionate ownership interest of common unitholders immediately prior to the issuance. As a result of the issuance of common units, rankingthe following may occur:
•the amount of cash distributions on each common unit may decrease;
•the ratio of our taxable income to distributions may increase;
•the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding common unit will be diminished; and
•the market price of the common units may decline.
In addition, our partnership agreement does not prohibit the issuance by our subsidiaries of equity interests, which may effectively rank senior to the outstanding common units. The incurrence of additional commercial borrowings or other debt to finance ourits growth strategy would result in increased interest expense, which, in turn, would reduce the available cash that we have to distribute to unitholders.
Our partnership agreement has limited our general partner’s liability, replaces default fiduciary duties, and restricts the remedies available to common unitholders for actions that, without these limitations and reductions, might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.
Our partnership agreement limits the liability and replaces the fiduciary duties of our general partner, while also restricting the remedies available to our common unitholders.unitholders for actions that, without these limitations and reductions, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty. Delaware partnership law permits such contractual reductions of fiduciary duty. The partnership agreement contains provisions that replace the standards to which our general partner would otherwise be held by state fiduciary duty law. For example:
We rely on•The partnership agreement permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to its capacity as general partner. This entitles our general partner to consider only the executive officersinterests and factors that it desires and means that it has no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, CVR Energyor factors affecting, any limited partner.
•The partnership agreement provides that our general partner will not have any liability to manage certain aspects ofunitholders for decisions made in its capacity as general partner so long as it acted in good faith, meaning it believed the decision was in our business and affairs pursuant to a servicesbest interest.
•The partnership agreement which CVR Energy can terminate at any time.
Our future performance depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of CVR Energy's senior management team. We have entered into a services agreement withprovides that our general partner and CVR Energy whereby CVR Energy has agreed to provide us with the servicesofficers and directors of its senior management team as well as accounting, legal, financegeneral partner will not be liable for monetary damages to common unitholders, including us, for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and other key
back-office and mid-office personnel. CVR Energy can terminate this agreement at any time, subject tonon-appealable judgment entered by a 180-day notice period. The losscourt of competent jurisdiction determining that the general partner or unavailability to usits officers or directors acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct, or in the case of any member of CVR Energy's senior management team could negatively affect our ability to operate our business and pursue our business strategies. We do not have employment agreementsa criminal matter, acted with any of CVR Energy's officers and we do not maintain any key person insurance. In addition, CVR Energy may not continue to provide us the officersknowledge that are necessary for the conduct was criminal.
•The partnership agreement generally provides that affiliated transactions and resolutions of our business or such provision mayconflicts of interest not approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of its general partner and not involving a vote of unitholders must be on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties or be “fair and reasonable” to us, as determined by its general partner in good faith, and that, are acceptable. If CVR Energy elected to terminatein determining whether a transaction or resolution is “fair and reasonable,” the service agreement on 180 days' notice, we might not be able to find qualified individuals to serve as our executive officers within such 180-day period.
In addition, pursuant togeneral partner may consider the services agreement we are responsible for a portiontotality of the compensation expense of such executive officers according torelationships between the percentage of time such executive officers spend working for us. However, the compensation of such executive officers is set by CVR Energy, and we have no control over the amount paid to such officers. The services agreement does not contain any cap on the amounts weparties involved, including other transactions that may be requiredparticularly advantageous or beneficial to pay CVR Energy pursuantaffiliated parties, including us.
•The partnership agreement provides that in resolving conflicts of interest, it will be presumed that in making its decision, the general partner or its conflicts committee acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any holder of common units, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption.
By purchasing a common unit, a common unitholder agrees to this agreement.be bound by the provisions set forth in the partnership agreement, including the provisions described above.
Our general partner, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of CVR Energy, has fiduciary duties to CVR Energy and its stockholders, and the interests of CVR Energy and its stockholders may differ significantly from, or conflict with, the interests of our public common unitholders.
Our general partner is responsible for managing us. Although our general partner has fiduciary duties to manage us in a manner that is in our best interests, the fiduciary duties are specifically limited by the express terms of our partnership agreement, and the directors and officers of our general partner also have fiduciary duties to manage our general partner in a manner beneficial to CVR Energy and its stockholders. The interests of CVR Energy and its stockholders may differ from, or conflict with, the interests of our public common unitholders. In resolving these conflicts, our general partner may favor its own interests, the interests of CRLLC, its sole member, or the interests of CVR Energy and holders of CVR Energy'sEnergy’s common stock, including its majority stockholder, an affiliate of Icahn Enterprises L.P., over our interests and those of our common unitholders.
The potential conflicts of interest include, among others, the following:
•Neither our partnership agreement nor any other agreement requires the owners of our general partner, including CVR Energy, to pursue a business strategy that favors us. The affiliates of our general partner, including CVR Energy, have fiduciary duties to make decisions in their own best interests and in the best interest of holders of CVR Energy'sEnergy’s common stock, which may be contrary to our interests. In addition, our general partner is allowed to take into account the interests of parties other than us or our common unitholders, such as its owners or CVR Energy, in resolving conflicts of interest, which has the effect of limiting its fiduciary duty to our common unitholders.
•Our general partner has limited its liability and reduced its fiduciary duties under our partnership agreement and has also restricted the remedies available to our common unitholders for actions that, without the limitations, might
constitute breaches of fiduciary duty. As a result of purchasing common units, common unitholders consent to some actions and conflicts of interest that might otherwise constitute a breach of fiduciary or other duties under applicable state law.
•The board of directors of our general partner determines the amount and timing of asset purchases and sales, capital expenditures, borrowings, repayment of indebtedness, and issuances of additional partnership interests, each of which can affect the amount of cash that is available for distribution to our common unitholders.
•Our partnership agreement does not restrict our general partner from causing us to pay it or its affiliates for any services rendered to us or entering into additional contractual arrangements with any of these entities on our behalf. There is no limitation on the amounts our general partner can cause us to pay it or its affiliates.
•Our general partner controls the enforcement of obligations owed to us by it and its affiliates. In addition, our general partner decides whether to retain separate counsel or others to perform services for us.
•Our general partner determines which costs incurred by it and its affiliates are reimbursable by us.
•Certain of the executive officers of our general partner also serve as executive officers of CVR Energy, and our executive chairman is the chief executive officer of CVR Energy. The executive officers who work for both CVR Energy and our general partner, including our chief financial officer, chief accounting officer, and general counsel, divide their time between our business and the business of CVR Energy. These executive officers will face conflicts of interest from time to time in making decisions which may benefit either us or CVR Energy.
Our partnership agreement limits Additionally, the liability and replaces the fiduciary dutiescompensation of our general partner and restricts the remedies available to us and our common unitholders for actions takensuch executive officers is set by our general partner that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.
Our partnership agreement limits the liability and replaces the fiduciary duties of our general partner, while also restricting the remedies available to our common unitholders for actions that, without these limitations and reductions, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty. Delaware partnership law permits such contractual reductions of fiduciary duty. By purchasing common units, common unitholders consent to some actions that might otherwise constitute a breach of fiduciary or other duties applicable under state law. Our partnership agreement contains provisions that replace the standards to which our general partner would otherwise be held by state fiduciary duty law. For example:
Our partnership agreement permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to its capacity as general partner. This entitles our general partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires, and it has no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us or our common unitholders. Decisions made by our general partner in its individual capacity are made by CRLLC as the sole member of our general partner, and not by the board of directors of our general partner. Examples include the exercise of the general partner's call right, its voting rights with respect to any common units it may own, its registration rights and its determination whether or not to consent to any merger or consolidation or amendment to our partnership agreement.
Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner will not have any liability to us or our common unitholders for decisions made in its capacity as general partner so long as it acted in good faith, meaning it believed that the decisions were in our best interests.
Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner and the officers and directors of our general partner will not be liable for monetary damages to us for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that our general partner or those persons acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that such person's conduct was criminal.
Our partnership agreement generally provides that affiliate transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest not approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner and not involving a vote of common unitholders must be on terms no less favorable to us than those generally provided to or available from unrelated third parties or be "fair and reasonable." In determining whether a transaction or resolution is "fair and reasonable," our general partner may consider the totality of the relationship between the parties involved, including other transactions that may be particularly advantageous or beneficial to us.
By purchasing a common unit, a common unitholder becomes bound by the provisions of our partnership agreement, including the provisions described above.
CVR Energy, hasand we have no control over the poweramount paid to appoint and remove our general partner's directors.such officers.
CVR Energy has the power to elect all of the members of the board of directors of our general partner. Our general partner has control over all decisions related to our operations. Our public common unitholders do not have an ability to influence any operating decisions and will not be able to prevent us from entering into any transactions. Furthermore, the goals and objectives of CVR Energy, as the indirect owner of our general partner, may not be consistent with those of our public common unitholders. Certain subsidiaries of CVR Energy perform certain corporate services for us, including finance, accounting, legal, information technology, auditing, and cash management activities, and we could be impacted by any failure of those entities to adequately perform these services.
Common units are subject to our general partner's call right.
If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of the common units, our general partner will have the right, which it may assign to any of its affiliates or to us, but not the obligation, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the common units held by public common unitholders at a price not less than their then-current market price, as calculated pursuant to the terms of our partnership agreement. As a result, each holder of our common units may be required to sell such holder'sholder’s common units at an undesirable time or price and may not receive any return on investment. A common unitholder may also incur a tax liability upon a sale of its common units. Our general partner is not obligated to obtain a fairness opinion regarding the value of the common units to be repurchased by it upon exercise of the call right. There is no restriction in our partnership agreement that prevents our general partner from issuing additional common units and then exercising its call right. Our general partner may use its own discretion, free of fiduciary duty restrictions, in determining whether to exercise this right.
Our general partner may transfer its general partner interest in us to a third-party in a merger or in a sale of all or substantially all of its assets without the consent of our common unitholders. Furthermore, there is no restriction in our partnership agreement on the ability of CVR Energy to transfer its equity interest in our general partner to a third-party. The new equity owner of our general partner would then be in a position to replace the board of directors and the officers of our general partner with its own choices and to influence the decisions taken by the board of directors and officers of our general partner. If control of our general partner were transferred to an unrelated third-party, the new owner of the general partner would have no interest in CVR Energy. We rely on the senior management team of CVR Energy and are party to a services agreement pursuant to which CVR Energy provides us with the services of its senior management team. If our general partner were no longer controlled by CVR Energy, CVR Energy could be more likely to terminate the services agreement, which it may do upon 180 days’ notice.
As a publicly traded partnership we qualify for certain exemptions from many of the NYSE’s corporate governance requirements.
As a publicly traded partnership, we qualify for certain exemptions from the NYSE’s corporate governance requirements, which include the requirements that (i) a majority of the board of directors of our general partner consist of independent
directors and (ii) the requirement that the board of directors of our general partner have a nominating/corporate governance committee and compensation committee that are composed entirely of independent directors.
Our general partner’s board of directors has not and does not currently intend to establish a nominating/corporate governance committee. Additionally, we could avail ourselves of the additional exemptions available to publicly traded partnerships listed above at any time in the future. Accordingly, common unitholders do not have the same protections afforded to equity holders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.
Our public common unitholders have limited voting rights and are not entitled to elect our general partner or our general partner'spartner’s directors and do not have sufficient voting power to remove our general partner without CVR Energy'sEnergy’s consent.
Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, our common unitholders have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business and, therefore, limited ability to influence management'smanagement’s decisions regarding our business. Common unitholders have no right to elect our general partner or our general partner's board of directors on an annual or other continuing basis. The board of directors of our general partner, including the independent directors, is chosen entirely by CVR Energy as the indirect owner of the general partner and not by our common unitholders. Unlike publicly traded corporations, we do not hold annual meetings of our common unitholders to elect directors or conduct other matters routinely conducted at annual meetings of stockholders. Furthermore, even if our common unitholders are dissatisfied with the performance of our general partner, they have no practical ability to remove our general partner. As a result of these limitations, the price at which the common units will trade could be diminished.
As of the date of this Report, CVR Energy indirectly owns approximately 34% of our common units, which means holders of common units other than CVR Energy will not be able to remove the general partner, under any circumstances, unless CVR Energy sells somewithout its consent. As a result of these limitations, the price at which the common units that it owns or we sell additional units to the public, in either case, such that CVR Energy owns less than 33 1/3% of our common units.will trade could be diminished.
Our partnership agreement restricts the voting rights of commonunitholders owning 20% or more of our common units (other than our general partner and its affiliates and permitted transferees).
Our partnership agreement restricts common unitholders'unitholders’ voting rights by providing that any units held by a person that owns 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, other than our general partner, its affiliates, their transferees, and persons who acquired such units with the prior approval of the board of directors of our general partner, may not vote on any matter. Our partnership agreement also contains provisions limiting the ability of common unitholders to call meetings or to acquire information about our operations, as well as other provisions limiting the ability of our common unitholders to influence the manner or direction of management.
Cost reimbursements due to our general partner and its affiliates will reduce cash available for distribution to our commonunitholders.
Prior to making any distribution on our outstanding units, we will reimburse our general partner for all expenses it incurs on our behalf including, without limitation, our pro rata portion of management compensation and overhead charged by CVR Energy in accordance with our services agreement. The services agreement does not contain any cap on the amount we may be required to pay pursuant to this agreement. The payment of these amounts, including allocated overhead, to our general partner and its affiliates could adversely affect our ability to make distributions to the holders of our common units.
Common unitholders may have liability to repay distributions.
In the event that: (i) we make distributions to our common unitholders when our nonrecourse liabilities exceed the sum of (a) the fair market value of our assets not subject to recourse liability and (b) the excess of the fair market value of our assets subject to recourse liability over such liability, or a distribution causes such a result, and (ii) a common unitholder knows at the time of the distribution of such circumstances, such common unitholder will be liable for a period of three years from the time of the impermissible distribution to repay the distribution under Section 17-607 of the Delaware Act.
Likewise, upon the winding up of the partnership, in the event that (a)(i) we do not distribute assets in the following order: (i)(a) to creditors in satisfaction of their liabilities; (ii)(b) to partners and former partners in satisfaction of liabilities for distributions owed under our partnership agreement; (iii)(c) to partners for the return of their contribution; and finally (iv)(d) to the partners in the proportions in which the partners share in distributionsdistributions; and (b)(ii) a common unitholder knows at the time of such circumstances, then such common unitholder will be liable for a period of three years from the impermissible distribution to repay the distribution under Section 17-807 of the Delaware Act.
Our general partner's interest in us and the control of our general partner may be transferred to a third party without commonunitholder consent.
Our general partner may transfer its general partner interest in us to a third party in a merger or in a sale of all or substantially all of its assets without the consent of our common unitholders. Furthermore, there is no restriction in our partnership agreement on the ability of CVR Energy to transfer its equity interest in our general partner to a third party. The new equity owner of our general partner would then be in a position to replace the board of directors and the officers of our general partner with its own choices and to influence the decisions taken by the board of directors and officers of our general partner.
If control of our general partner were transferred to an unrelated third party, the new owner of the general partner would have no interest in CVR Energy. We rely on the senior management team of CVR Energy and are party to a services agreement pursuant to which CVR Energy provides us with the services of its senior management team. If our general partner were no longer controlled by CVR Energy, CVR Energy could be more likely to terminate the services agreement, which it may do upon 180 days' notice.
Mr. Carl C. Icahn exerts significant influence over the Partnership and his interests may conflict with the interests of the Partnership's public commonunitholders.
CVR Energy indirectly owns our general partner and approximately 34% of our common units. Subject to any contractual commitments that may exist from time to time, CVR Energy has the right to appoint and replace all of the members of the board of directors of our general partner at any time.
Mr. Carl C. Icahn indirectly controls approximately 82% of the voting power of CVR Energy's capital stock and, by virtue of such stock ownership in CVR Energy, is able to elect and appoint all of the directors of CVR Energy. This gives Mr. Icahn the ability to control and exert substantial influence over CVR Energy. As a result of such control of CVR Energy, he is able to control several aspects of the Partnership, including (subject to the limitations set forth in the partnership agreement):
business strategy and policies;
mergers or other business combinations;
the acquisition or disposition of assets;
future issuances of common units or other securities;
incurrence of debt or obtaining other sources of financing; and
the Partnership's distribution policy and the payment of distributions on the Partnership's common units.
CVR Energy provides us with the services of its senior management team as well as accounting, legal, finance and other key back-office and mid-office personnel pursuant to a services agreement which it can terminate at any time subject to a 180-day notice period. We cannot predict whether CVR Energy will terminate the services agreement and, if so, what the economic effect of termination would be. CVR Energy also has the right under our partnership agreement to sell our general partner at any time to a third party, who would be able to replace our entire board of directors. Finally, CVR Energy's current owners are under no obligation to maintain their ownership interest in us, which could have a material adverse effect on us.
Mr. Icahn's interests may not always be consistent with the Partnership's interests or with the interests of the Partnership's public common unitholders. Mr. Icahn and entities controlled by him may also pursue acquisitions or business opportunities in industries in which we compete, and there is no requirement that any additional business opportunities be presented to us. We also have and may in the future enter into transactions to purchase goods or services with affiliates of Mr. Icahn. To the extent that conflicts of interest may arise between the Partnership and Mr. Icahn and his affiliates, those conflicts may be resolved in a manner adverse to the Partnership or its public common unitholders.
We may issue additional common units and other equity interests without the approval of our common unitholders, which would dilute the existing ownership interests of our commonunitholders.
Under our partnership agreement, we are authorized to issue an unlimited number of additional interests without a vote of the common unitholders. The issuance by us of additional common units or other equity interests of equal or senior rank will have the following effects:
the proportionate ownership interest of common unitholders immediately prior to the issuance will decrease;
the amount of cash distributions on each common unit will decrease;
the ratio of our taxable income to distributions may increase;
the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding common unit will be diminished; and
the market price of the common units may decline.
In addition, our partnership agreement does not prohibit the issuance by our subsidiaries of equity interests, which may effectively rank senior to the common units.
Units eligible for future sale may cause the price of our common units to decline.
Sales of substantial amounts of our common units in the public market, or the perception that these sales may occur, could cause the market price of our common units to decline. This could also impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of our equity interests.
As of February 20, 2018, there were 113,282,973 common units outstanding. Of this amount: (i) CVR Energy, through CRLLC, owns approximately 34% of the common units, which may be sold pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-211044) described below or an exemption from registration such as Rule 144; (ii) affiliates of GSO Capital Partners LP ("GSO") own a number of common units, and certain of those common units may be sold pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-211044) described below or an exemption from registration such as Rule 144; and (iii) the remaining common units are held by the public and are freely transferable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), to the extent held by persons other than "affiliates," as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act.
Under our partnership agreement, our general partner and its affiliates (including CRLLC) have the right to cause us to register their units under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. We are also party to registration rights agreements pursuant to which we may be required to register the sale of certain common units held by CRLLC and GSO.
The Partnership's registration statement on Form S-3, declared effective by the SEC on May 13, 2016, enables CRLLC and GSO to sell, from time to time, in one or more public offerings or direct placements, certain common units each currently owns.
As a publicly traded partnership we qualify for certain exemptions from the NYSE's corporate governance requirements.
As a publicly traded partnership, we qualify for certain exemptions from the NYSE's corporate governance requirements, including:
the requirement that a majority of the board of directors of our general partner consist of independent directors;
the requirement that the board of directors of our general partner have a nominating/corporate governance committee that is composed entirely of independent directors; and
the requirement that the board of directors of our general partner have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors.
Our general partner's board of directors has not and does not currently intend to establish a nominating/corporate governance committee. Additionally, we could avail ourselves of the additional exemptions available to publicly traded partnerships listed above at any time in the future. Accordingly, common unitholders do not have the same protections afforded to equityholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.
CVR Energy and its affiliates may compete with us.
CVR Energy and its affiliates are permitted to compete with us, including by developing or acquiring additional fertilizer assets both directly and through its controlled affiliates. In keeping with the terms of our partnership agreement, the doctrine of corporate opportunity or any analogous doctrine, does not apply to our general partner or any of its affiliates, including CVR Energy and its executive officers and directors. Therefore, any such person or entity that becomes aware of a potential transaction, agreement, arrangement or other matter that may be an opportunity for us will not have any duty to communicate or offer such opportunity to us. For example, this could permit CVR Energy to elect to develop new fertilizer assets or acquire third-party fertilizer assets itself or through its controlled affiliates. Any such person or entity will not be liable to us or any of our limited partners for breach of any fiduciary duty or other duty (other than the implied contractual covenant of good faith and fair dealing) by reason of the fact that such person or entity pursues or acquired such opportunity for itself, directs such opportunity to another person or entity or does not communicate such opportunity or information to us. This may create actual and potential conflicts of interest between us and affiliates of our general partner and result in less than favorable treatment of us and our common unitholders.
In addition, we are party to an omnibus agreement with CVR Energy and our general partner. We and CVR Energy have agreed that CVR Energy will have a preferential right to acquire any assets or group of assets that do not constitute assets used in a fertilizer restricted business. In determining whether to exercise any preferential right under the omnibus agreement, CVR Energy will be permitted to act in its sole discretion, without any fiduciary obligation to us or our common unitholders whatsoever. These obligations will continue so long as CVR Energy directly or indirectly owns at least 50% of our general partner.
Tax Risks Related to Common Unitholders
Our tax treatment depends on our status as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and not being subject to a material amount of entity-level taxation. If the IRS were to treat us as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or we become subject to entity-level taxation for state tax purposes, our cash available for distribution to our commonunitholders would be substantially reduced, likely causing a substantial reduction in the value of our common units.
The anticipated after-tax economic benefit of an investment in our common units depends largely on our being treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Despite the fact that we are organized as a limited partnership under Delaware law, we would be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes unless we satisfy a “qualifying income” requirement. Based upon our current operations,
we believe we satisfy the qualifying income requirement. Although we have received favorable private letter rulings from the IRS with respect to certain of our operations, no ruling has been or will be requested regarding our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Failing to meet the qualifying income requirement or a change in current law could cause us to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or otherwise subject us to taxation as an entity.
If we were to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we would pay U.S. federal income tax on all of our taxable income at the corporate tax rate. Distributions to our common unitholders would generally be taxed again as corporate distributions, and no income, gains, losses, or deductions would flow through to our common unitholders. Because a tax would be imposed upon us as a corporation, our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders would be substantially reduced. Therefore, treatment of us as a corporation would result in a material reduction in the anticipated cash flow and after-tax return to our common unitholders, likely causing a substantial reduction in the value of our common units.
At the state level, several states have been evaluating ways to subject partnerships to entity-level taxation through the imposition of state income, franchise, or other forms of taxation. We currently own assets and conduct business in several states, many of which impose a margin or franchise tax. In the future, we may expand our operations. Imposition of a similar tax on us in other jurisdictions that we may expand to could substantially reduce our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders.
The tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships or an investment in our common units could be subject to potential legislative, judicial or administrative changes or differing interpretations, possibly applied on a retroactive basis.
The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our common units may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial changes or differing interpretations at any time. From time to time, members of Congress propose and consider substantive changes to the existing U.S. federal income tax laws that affect publicly traded partnerships. Although there is no current legislative proposal, a prior legislative proposal would have eliminatedSuch change could eliminate the qualifying income exception to the treatment of all publicly traded partnerships as corporations upon which we rely for our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
In addition, on January 24, 2017, final regulations regarding which activities give rise to qualifying income within the meaning of Section 7704 of the Code (the "Final Regulations") were published in the Federal Register. The Final Regulations are effective as of January 19, 2017, and apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 19, 2017. We do not believe the Final Regulations affect our ability to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, there are no assurances that the Final Regulations will not be revised to take a position that is contrary to our interpretation of the current law.
Any modification to the U.S. federal income tax laws may be applied retroactively and could make it more difficult or impossible for us to meet the exception for certain publicly traded partnerships to be treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We are unable to predict whether any of these changes or other proposals will ultimately be adopted or enacted. Any similar or future legislative or administrative changes could negatively impact the value of an investment in our common units. You are urged to consult with your own tax advisor with respect to the status of regulatory or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on your investment in our common units.
If the IRS were to contest the U.S. federal income tax positions we take, it may adversely impact the market for our common units, and the costs of any such contest would reduce our cash available for distribution to our commonunitholders.
We have not requested a ruling from the IRS with respect to our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The IRS may adopt positions that differ from the positions we take. It may be necessary to resort to administrative or
court proceedings to sustain some or all of the positions we take. A court may not agree with some or all of the positions we take. Any contest with the IRS may materially and adversely impact the market for our common units and the price at which they trade. Moreover, the costs of any contest between us and the IRS will result in a reduction in our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders and thus will be borne indirectly by our common unitholders.
If the IRS makes audit adjustments to our income tax returns for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, it (and some states) may assess and collect any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustments directly from us, in which case our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders might be substantially reduced and our current and former common unitholders may be required to indemnify us for any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustments that were paid on such common unitholders'unitholders’ behalf.
Pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, for
For tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, if the IRS makes audit adjustments to our income tax returns, it (and some states) may assess and collect anyfrom us taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustments directly from us.to our income tax returns. To the extent possible, under the new rules, our general partner may elect to either pay the taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) directly to the IRS or, if we are eligible, issue a revised information statement to each common unitholder and former common unitholder with respect to an audited and adjusted return. Although our general partner may elect to have our common unitholders and former common unitholders take such audit adjustment into account and pay any resulting taxes (including applicable penalties or interest) in accordance with their interests in us during the tax year under audit, there can be no assurance that such election will be practical, permissible, or effective in all circumstances. As a result, our current common unitholders may bear some or all of the tax liability resulting from such audit adjustment, even if such common unitholders did not own common units in us during the tax year under audit. If, as a result of any such audit adjustment, we are required to make payments of taxes, penalties, and interest, our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders might be substantially reduced and our current and former unitholders may be required to indemnify us for any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustments that were paid on such unitholders behalf. These rules
Our unitholders are not applicable for tax years beginning on or prior to December 31, 2017.
Even if commonunitholders do not receive any cash distributions from us, unitholders will be required to pay income taxes on their share of our taxable income including theireven if they do not receive any cash distributions from us.
A unitholder’s allocable share of our taxable income fromwill be taxable to it, which may require the cancellation of debt.
Our common unitholders are requiredunitholder to pay any U.S. federal income taxes and, in some cases, state and local income taxes, on their share of our taxable income, whethereven if the unitholder receives no cash distributions or not they receive cash distributions from us.us that are less than the actual tax liability that results from that income. For example, if we sell assets and use the proceeds to repay existing debt or fund capital expenditures, you may be allocated taxable income and gain resulting from the sale, and our cash available for distribution would not increase. Similarly, taking advantage of opportunities to reduce our existing debt, such as debt exchanges, debt repurchases, or modifications of our existing debt could result in “cancellation of indebtedness income” being allocated to our common unitholders as taxable income without any increase in our cash available for distribution. Our common unitholders may not receive cash distributions from us equal to their share of our taxable income or even equal to the actual tax liability that results from that income.
Tax gain or loss on the disposition of our common units could be more or less than expected.
If a common unitholder sells common units, the common unitholder will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and that common unitholder'sunitholder’s tax basis in those common units. Because distributions in excess of a common unitholder'sunitholder’s allocable share of our net taxable income decrease such common unitholder'sunitholder’s tax basis in its common units, the amount, if any, of such prior excess distributions with respect to the common units a common unitholder sells will, in effect, become taxable income to a common unitholder if it sells such common units at a price greater than its tax basis in those common units, even if the price such common unitholder receives is less than its original cost for such common units. In addition, because the amount realized includes a common unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities, if a common unitholder sells its common units, a common unitholder may incur a tax liability in excess of the amount of cash received from the sale.
A substantial portion of the amount realized from a common unitholder'sunitholder’s sale of our common units, whether or not representing gain, may be taxed as ordinary income to such common unitholder due to potential recapture items, including depreciation recapture. Thus, a common unitholder may recognize both ordinary income and capital loss from the sale of common units if the amount realized on a sale of such common units is less than such common unitholder’s adjusted basis in the common units. Net capital loss may only offset capital gains and, in the case of individuals, up to $3,000 of ordinary income per year. In the taxable period in which a common unitholder sells its common units, such common unitholder may recognize ordinary income from our allocations of income and gain to such common unitholder prior to the sale and from recapture items that generally cannot be offset by any capital loss recognized upon the sale of common units.
Commonunitholders may be subject to limitation on their ability to deduct interest expense incurred by us.
In general, we are entitled to a deduction for interest paid or accrued on indebtedness properly allocable to our trade or business during our taxable year. However, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, our deduction for “business interest” is limited to the sum of our business interest income and 30% of our “adjusted taxable income.” For the purposes of this limitation, our adjusted taxable income is computed without regard to any business interest expense or business interest income, and in the case of taxable years beginning before January 1, 2022, any deduction allowable for depreciation, amortization, or depletion.
Tax-exempt entities face unique tax issues from owning our common units that may result in adverse tax consequences to them.
Investment in our common units by tax-exempt entities, such as employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts (known as IRAs), raises issues unique to them. For example, virtually all of our income allocated to organizations that are exempt from U.S. federal income tax, including IRAs and other retirement plans, will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to them. Further, with respect to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, a tax-exempt entity with more than one unrelated trade or business (including by attribution from investment in a partnership such as ours that is engaged in one or more unrelated trade or business) is required to compute the unrelated business taxable income of such tax-exempt entity separately with respect to each such trade or business (including for purposes of determining any net operating loss deduction). As a result, for years beginning after December 31, 2017, it may not be possible for tax-exempt entities to utilize losses from an investment in our partnership to offset unrelated business taxable income from another unrelated trade or business and vice versa. Tax-exempt entities should consult a tax advisor before investing in our common units.
Non-U.S. Common Unitholderscommon unitholders will be subject to U.S. taxes and withholding with respect to their income and gain from owning our common units.
Non-U.S. common unitholders are generally taxed and subject to income tax filing requirements by the United States on income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (“effectively connected income”). Income allocated to our common unitholders and any gain from the sale of our common units will generally be considered to be “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business. As a result, distributions to a Non-U.S. common unitholder will be subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate, and a Non-U.S. common unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a common unit will also be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the gain realized from the sale or disposition of that common unit.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act imposes a withholding obligation of 10% of the amount realized upon a Non-U.S. common unitholder’s sale or exchange of an interest in a partnership that is engaged in a U.S. trade or business. However, due to challenges of administering a withholding obligation applicable to open market trading and other complications, the IRS has temporarily suspended the application of this withholding rule to open market transfers of interest in publicly traded partnerships pending promulgation of regulations or other guidance that resolves the challenges. It is not clear if or when such regulations or other guidance will be issued. Non-U.S. common unitholders should consult a tax advisor before investing in our common units.
We treat each purchaser of our common units as having the same tax benefits without regard to the common units actually purchased. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could adversely affect the value of our common units.
Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of common units, we have adopted certain methods for allocating depreciation and amortization deductions that may not conform to all aspects of existing Treasury Regulations. A successful IRS challenge to the use of these methods could adversely affect the amount of tax benefits available to our common unitholders. It also could affect the timing of these tax benefits or the amount of gain from any sale of common units and could have a negative impact on the value of our common units or result in audit adjustments to a common unitholder'sunitholder’s tax returns.
We generally prorate our items of income, gain, loss, and deduction between transferors and transferees of our common units each month based upon the ownership of our common units on the first day of each month, instead of on the basis of the date a particular unit is transferred. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could change the allocation of items of income, gain, loss, and deduction among our commonunitholders.
We generally prorate our items of income, gain, loss, and deduction between transferors and transferees of our common units each month based upon the ownership of our units on the first day of each month (the "Allocation Date"“Allocation Date”), instead of on the basis of the date a particular common unit is transferred. Similarly, we generally allocate certain deductions for depreciation of capital additions, gain or loss realized on a sale or other disposition of our assets, and, in the discretion of the general partner, any other extraordinary item of income, gain, loss, or deduction based upon ownership on the Allocation Date. Treasury Regulations allow a similar monthly simplifying convention, but such regulations do not specifically authorize all aspects of
our proration method. If the IRS were to challenge our proration method, we may be required to change the allocation of items of income, gain, loss, and deduction among our common unitholders.
A common unitholder whose common units are the subject of a securities loan (e.g., a loan to a "short seller"“short seller” to cover a short sale of common units) may be considered to have disposed of those common units. If so, such common unitholder would no longer be treated for tax purposes as a partner with respect to those common units during the period of the loan and may recognize gain or loss from the disposition.
Because there are no specific rules governing the U.S. federal income tax consequence of loaning a partnership interest, a common unitholder whose common units are the subject of a securities loan may be considered to have disposed of the loaned common units. In that case, the common unitholder may no longer be treated for tax purposes as a partner with respect to those common units during the period of the loan to the short seller and the common unitholder may recognize gain or loss from such disposition. Moreover, during the period of the loan, any of our income, gain, loss, or deduction with respect to those common units may not be reportable by the common unitholder, and any cash distributions received by the common unitholder as to those common units could be fully taxable as ordinary income. Common unitholders desiring to assure their status as partners and avoid the risk of gain recognition from a securities loan are urged to consult a tax advisor to determine whether it is advisable to modify any applicable brokerage account agreements to prohibit their brokers from borrowing their common units.
We have adopted certain valuation methodologies in determining a unitholder’s allocations of income, gain, loss, and deduction. The IRS may challenge these methodologies, which could adversely affect the value of the common units.
In determining the items of income, gain, loss, and deduction allocable to our unitholders, we must routinely determine the fair market value of our assets and allocate any unrealized gain or loss attributable to our assets to the capital accounts of our unitholders. The IRS may challenge our valuation methods and allocations of taxable income, gain, loss and deduction between our general partner and certain of our unitholders.
A successful IRS challenge to these methods or allocations could adversely affect the amount of taxable income or loss being allocated to our unitholders. It also could affect the amount of taxable gain from our unitholders’ sale of common units and could have a negative impact on the value of the common units or result in audit adjustments to our unitholders’ tax returns without the benefit of additional deductions.
Our common unitholders will likely be subject to state and local taxes, andas well as income tax return filing requirements, in jurisdictions where they do not live as a result of investing in our common units.
In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, our common unitholders may be subject to other taxes, including foreign, state, and local taxes, unincorporated business taxes, and estate, inheritance, or intangible taxes that are imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we conduct business or own property now or in the future, even if they do not live in any of those jurisdictions. Our common unitholders will likely be required to file foreign, state, and local income tax returns and pay state and local income taxes in some or all of these various jurisdictions. Further, our common unitholders may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements.
We currently own assets and/or conduct business in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma currently impose a personal income tax on individuals. Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma also impose an income tax on corporations and other entities. Illinois imposes a replacement tax on corporations and other entities, and Texas imposes a franchise tax on corporations and other entities. Common unitholders are likely required to file state and local income tax returns and pay state and local income taxes in some or all of these various jurisdictions. Further, common unitholders may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. As we make acquisitions or expand our business, we may own or control assets or conduct business in additional states or foreign jurisdictions that impose a personal income tax. It is our common unitholders'unitholders’ responsibility to file all United States federal, foreign, state, and local income tax returns.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
Our Coffeyville Facility is
Refer to Item 1, “Facilities” for more information on a 60-acre site located in Coffeyville, Kansas. Our East Dubuque Facility is on a 210-acre site in East Dubuque, Illinois adjacent to the Mississippi River.
Ourour core business properties. CVR Energy also leases property for our executive offices are located at 2277 Plaza Driveoffice in Sugar Land, Texas, and our administrative office is located in Kansas City, Kansas. The offices in Sugar Land and Kansas City are leased by a subsidiary of CVR Energy and we pay a pro rata share of the rent on those offices. We believe that our owned facilities, together with CVR Energy's leased facilities, will be sufficient for our needs over the next twelve months.Texas.
We are party to a cross-easement agreement with CVR Refining so that both we and CVR Refining are able to access and utilize each other's land in Coffeyville, Kansas in certain circumstances in order to operate our respective businesses in a manner to provide flexibility for both parties to develop their respective properties, without depriving either party of the benefits associated with the continuous reasonable use of the other party's property. For more information on this cross-easement agreement, see Part III, Item 13 of this Report "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence — Agreements with CVR Energy and CVR Refining — Real Estate Transactions."
We also utilize two separate UAN storage tanks and related truck and railcar load-out facilities. Each of these storage facilities, located in Phillipsburg and Dartmouth, Kansas, has a UAN storage tank that has a capacity of approximately
10,000 tons. The Phillipsburg property that the terminal was constructed on is owned by a subsidiary of CVR Refining, which operates the terminal. The Dartmouth terminal is located on leased property owned by the Pawnee County Cooperative Association, which operates the terminal.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
We are, and will continue to be, subject to litigation from time to time in
In the ordinary course of our business, we may become party to lawsuits, administrative proceedings, and governmental investigations, including matters such as those described under "Business — Environmental Matters." We also incorporate by reference into this Part I, Item 3 of this Report, the information regarding the lawsuits and proceedings described and referenced in Note 13 ("Commitments and Contingencies") to our Consolidated Financial Statements as set forth in Part II, Item 8 of this Report. In accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), we record a liability when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These provisions are reviewed at least quarterly and adjusted to reflect the impacts of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel,environmental, regulatory, and other informationmatters. Large, and events pertainingsometimes unspecified, damages or penalties may be sought from us in some matters and certain matters may require years to a particular case.resolve. Although we cannot predict with certainty the ultimateprovide assurance, we believe that an adverse resolution of lawsuits, investigations or claims asserted against us, we dothe matters described below would not believe that any currently pending legal proceeding or proceedings to which we are a party will have a material adverse effectimpact on our business,liquidity, consolidated financial conditionposition, or consolidated results of operations. Refer to Note 8 (“Commitments and Contingencies”) for further discussion on the matters outlined below.
Resolved Matters
In September 2018, the Kansas Court of Appeals upheld property tax determinations by the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals in connection with Partnership’s dispute with Montgomery County, Kansas (the “County”) over prior year property tax payments. On October 29, 2018, the County petitioned the Kansas Supreme Court to review the Court of Appeals’ determination. Subsequent briefs were filed by the Partnership and the County. In April 2019, Coffeyville Resources Nitrogen Fertilizers, LLC (“CRNF”) and the County executed an agreement which the County agrees to withdraw its petitionto the Kansas Supreme Court and CRNF is expected to recover $7.9 million through favorable property tax assessments from 2019 through 2028, subject to the terms of the settlement agreement.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant'sRegistrant’s Common Equity, Related Unitholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Performance Graph
The performance graph below compares the cumulative total return of the Partnership’s common units to (a) the cumulative total return of the S&P 500 Composite Index and (b) a composite peer group (“Peer Group”) consisting of The Mosaic Company, CF Industries Holdings, Inc., Intrepid Potash, Inc., and Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. The graph assumes that the value of the investment in common unit and each index was $100 on December 31, 2014 and that all distributions were reinvested. Investment is weighted on the basis of market capitalization.
The unit price performance shown on the graph is not necessarily indicative of future price performance. Information used in the graph was obtained from Yahoo! Finance (finance.yahoo.com). The performance graph above is furnished and not filed for purposes of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. The performance graph is not soliciting material subject to Regulation 14A.
Market Information
Our
CVR Partners’ common units are listed on the NYSE under the symbol "UAN". The table below sets forth, for“UAN” on the quarter indicated, the high and low sales prices per unit of our common units for our two most recent fiscal years:New York Stock Exchange.
|
| | | | | | | |
| 2017: | High | | Low |
| First Quarter | $ | 6.95 |
| | $ | 4.30 |
|
| Second Quarter | 5.08 |
| | 3.38 |
|
| Third Quarter | 4.08 |
| | 2.58 |
|
| Fourth Quarter | 4.01 |
| | 2.94 |
|
|
| | | | | | | |
| 2016: | High | | Low |
| First Quarter | $ | 8.84 |
| | $ | 4.77 |
|
| Second Quarter | 9.75 |
| | 7.03 |
|
| Third Quarter | 8.41 |
| | 4.99 |
|
| Fourth Quarter | 6.37 |
| | 4.05 |
|
There were 42 holders of record of our common units as of February 20, 2018. Because many of our common units are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of holders, we are unable to estimate the total number of beneficial owners represented by these record holders.
Cash Distribution Policy
For a discussion of the Partnership's cash distribution policy and for a summary of cash distributions paid to unitholders, refer to Note 7 ("Partners’ Capital and Partnership Distributions") of Part II, Item 8 of this Report.
Because our policy is to distribute all available cash we generate each quarter, our unitholders have direct exposure to fluctuations in the amount of earnings generated by our business. We expect that the amount of our quarterly distributions, if any, will vary based on our earnings during each quarter. Our quarterly cash distributions, if any, will not be stable and will vary from quarter to quarter as a direct result of variations in our operating performance and earnings caused by fluctuations in the price of nitrogen fertilizers, among other factors. See Part I, Item 1 of this Report "Business — Distribution, Sales and Marketing" and "— Seasonality." Such variations may be significant. The board of directors of our general partner may change the foregoing distribution policy at any time and from time to time. The partnership agreement does not require us to pay cash distributions on a quarterly or other basis.
The ABL Credit Facility and the indenture governing the 2023 Notes may limit our ability to pay distributions to unitholders. See Note 10 ("Debt") of Part II, Item 8 of this Report for a discussion of these limitations.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer
There were no repurchases of our
The Partnership did not repurchase any common units by the issuer during the fiscal quarteryear ended December 31, 2017.2019.
Equity Compensation Plan
The CVR Partners Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) provides for the grant of options, unit appreciation rights, distribution equivalent rights, restricted units, phantom units and other unit-based awards, each in respect of common units. Individuals who are eligible to receive awards under the CVR Partners LTIP include employees, officers, consultants and directors of CVR Partners and the general partner and their respective subsidiaries and parents. A maximum of 5,000,000 common units are issuable under the CVR Partners LTIP.
The table below contains information about securities authorized for issuance under the CVR Partners LTIP as of December 31, 2019.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Plan Category | | Number of Securities to be Issued Upon Exercise of Outstanding Options, Warrants, and Rights | | Weighted-Average Exercise Price of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Rights | | Number of Securities Remaining Available for Future Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans | |
| Equity compensation plans approved by security holders: | | | | | | | |
| CVR Partners, LP Long-Term Incentive Plan | | — | | | — | | | 4,820,215 | | (1) | |
| Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders: | | | | | | | | | |
| None | | — | | | — | | | | |
| Total | | — | | | — | | | 4,820,215 | | |
(1)Represents units that remain available for future issuance pursuant to the CVR Partners LTIP in connection with awards of options, unit appreciation rights, distribution equivalent rights, restricted units, and phantom units.
Item 6. Selected Financial Data
This
The following table sets forth certain selected consolidated financial data as of and for each year in the five-year period ended December 31, 2019. The selected consolidated financial information presented below has been derived from the Partnership’s historical consolidated financial statements. The following table should be read in conjunction with management’s discussion and is qualifiedanalysis in its entirety by reference to, Item 7 "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and the consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewherethereto in this Report.Item 8.
The selected consolidated financial information presented below under the captions "Consolidated Statements of Operations Data" and "Cash Flow Data" for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 and the selected consolidated financial information presented below under the caption "Balance Sheet Data" as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 has been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Report, which financial statements have been audited by Grant Thornton LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm. The selected consolidated financial information presented below under the captions "Consolidated Statements of Operations Data" and "Cash Flow Data" for the | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, | | | | | | | | |
| (in thousands) | 2019 | | 2018 | | 2017 | | 2016 | | 2015 |
| Statements of Operations | | | | | | | | | |
| Net sales | $ | 404,177 | | | 351,082 | | | 330,802 | | | 356,284 | | | 289,194 | |
| Net (loss) income | | (34,969) | | | (50,027) | | | (72,788) | | | (26,938) | | | 62,042 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Net (loss) income per common unit – basic and diluted | | $ | (0.31) | | | $ | (0.44) | | | $ | (0.64) | | | $ | (0.26) | | | $ | 0.85 | |
| Distribution declared, per common unit | 0.40 | | | — | | | 0.02 | | 0.44 | | 1.11 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Weighted-average common units outstanding: | | | | | | | | | |
| Basic | 113,283 | | | 113,283 | | | 113,283 | | | 103,299 | | | 73,123 | |
| Diluted | 113,283 | | | 113,283 | | | 113,283 | | | 103,299 | | | 73,131 | |
years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 and the selected consolidated financial information at December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 presented below under the caption "Balance Sheet Data" is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements that are not included in this Report. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | December 31, | | | | | | | | |
| (in thousands) | 2019 | | 2018 | | 2017 | | 2016 | | 2015 |
| Balance Sheet | | | | | | | | | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 36,994 | | | $ | 61,776 | | | $ | 49,173 | | | $ | 55,595 | | | $ | 49,967 | |
| Total assets | 1,137,955 | | | 1,254,388 | | | 1,234,276 | | | 1,312,217 | | | 536,482 | |
| Long-term debt, net of current portion | 632,406 | | | 628,989 | | | 625,904 | | | 623,107 | | | 124,773 | |
| Total liabilities | 718,411 | | | | 754,562 | | | 684,423 | | | 687,311 | | | 150,930 | |
| Total partners’ capital | 419,544 | | | 499,826 | | | 549,853 | | | 624,907 | | | 385,552 | |
The following schedules show our selected financial and operating data for the periods indicated, which are derived from our consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial information presented below includes the East Dubuque Facility for the post-acquisition period beginning April 1, 2016. For a discussion of the East Dubuque Merger, refer to Note 3 ("East Dubuque Merger") of Part II, Item 8 of this Report.
Our consolidated financial statements include certain costs of CVR Energy that were incurred on our behalf. These costs, which are reflected in selling, general and administrative expenses and direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization), are billed to us pursuant to a services agreement that is a related party transaction. The amounts charged or allocated to us are not necessarily indicative of the costs that we would have incurred had we operated as a stand-alone entity for all periods presented.
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2017 | | 2016 | | 2015 | | 2014 | | 2013 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | (in millions, except per unit data and as otherwise indicated) |
| Consolidated Statements of Operations Data: | | | | | | | | | |
| Net sales | $ | 330.8 |
| | $ | 356.3 |
| | $ | 289.2 |
| | $ | 298.7 |
| | $ | 323.7 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Cost of materials and other – Affiliates | 7.5 |
| | 2.6 |
| | 6.7 |
| | 9.4 |
| | 10.8 |
|
| Cost of materials and other – Third parties | 77.4 |
| | 91.1 |
| | 58.5 |
| | 62.6 |
| | 47.3 |
|
| | 84.9 |
| | 93.7 |
| | 65.2 |
| | 72.0 |
| | 58.1 |
|
| Direct operating expenses – Affiliates (1) | 3.9 |
| | 4.2 |
| | 4.1 |
| | 3.0 |
| | 4.1 |
|
| Direct operating expenses – Third parties (1) | 151.6 |
| | 144.1 |
| | 102.0 |
| | 95.9 |
| | 90.0 |
|
| | 155.5 |
| | 148.3 |
| | 106.1 |
| | 98.9 |
| | 94.1 |
|
| Depreciation and amortization | 74.0 |
| | 58.2 |
| | 28.4 |
| | 27.3 |
| | 25.6 |
|
| Cost of sales | 314.4 |
| | 300.2 |
| | 199.7 |
| | 198.2 |
| | 177.8 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Selling, general and administrative expenses – Affiliates (2) | 15.6 |
| | 15.0 |
| | 14.0 |
| | 13.4 |
| | 16.0 |
|
| Selling, general and administrative expenses – Third parties (2) | 10.0 |
| | 14.3 |
| | 6.8 |
| | 4.3 |
| | 5.0 |
|
| | 25.6 |
| | 29.3 |
| | 20.8 |
| | 17.7 |
| | 21.0 |
|
| Operating income (loss) | (9.2 | ) | | 26.8 |
| | 68.7 |
| | 82.8 |
| | 124.9 |
|
| Interest expense and other financing costs | (62.9 | ) | | (48.6 | ) | | (7.0 | ) | | (6.7 | ) | | (6.3 | ) |
| Loss on extinguishment of debt | — |
| | (4.9 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
| Other income (expense), net | (0.5 | ) | | 0.1 |
| | 0.3 |
| | — |
| | 0.1 |
|
| Income (loss) before income tax expense | (72.6 | ) | | (26.6 | ) | | 62.0 |
| | 76.1 |
| | 118.7 |
|
| Income tax expense | 0.2 |
| | 0.3 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 0.1 |
|
| Net income (loss) | $ | (72.8 | ) | | $ | (26.9 | ) | | $ | 62.0 |
| | $ | 76.1 |
| | $ | 118.6 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Net income (loss) per common unit – basic | $ | (0.64 | ) | | $ | (0.26 | ) | | $ | 0.85 |
| | $ | 1.04 |
| | $ | 1.62 |
|
| Net income (loss) per common unit – diluted | $ | (0.64 | ) | | $ | (0.26 | ) | | $ | 0.85 |
| | $ | 1.04 |
| | $ | 1.62 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Available cash for distribution (3)* | $ | (9.7 | ) | | $ | 48.6 |
| | $ | 81.0 |
| | $ | 102.0 |
| | $ | 145.2 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Weighted-average common units outstanding (in thousands): |
| Basic | 113,283 |
| | 103,299 |
| | 73,123 |
| | 73,115 |
| | 73,072 |
|
| Diluted | 113,283 |
| | 103,299 |
| | 73,131 |
| | 73,139 |
| | 73,228 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2017 | | 2016 | | 2015 | | 2014 | | 2013 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | (in millions) |
| Reconciliation to net sales: | | | | | | | | | |
| Fertilizer sales net at gate | $ | 290.0 |
| | $ | 309.0 |
| | $ | 248.8 |
| | $ | 259.3 |
| | $ | 281.5 |
|
| Freight in revenue | 32.8 |
| | 33.0 |
| | 27.2 |
| | 27.5 |
| | 30.2 |
|
| Hydrogen revenue | 0.4 |
| | 3.2 |
| | 11.8 |
| | 10.1 |
| | 11.4 |
|
| Other, including the impact of purchase accounting | 7.6 |
| | 11.1 |
| | 1.4 |
| | 1.8 |
| | 0.6 |
|
| Total net sales | $ | 330.8 |
| | $ | 356.3 |
| | $ | 289.2 |
| | $ | 298.7 |
| | $ | 323.7 |
|
* See footnote (3) below for discussion of non-GAAP financial measures.
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | As of December 31, |
| | 2017 | | 2016 | | 2015 | | 2014 | | 2013 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | (in millions) |
| Balance Sheet Data: | | | | | | | | | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 49.2 |
| | $ | 55.6 |
| | $ | 50.0 |
| | $ | 79.9 |
| | $ | 85.1 |
|
| Working capital (4) | 62.8 |
| | 71.5 |
| | 72.7 |
| | 89.1 |
| | 107.6 |
|
| Total assets (4) | 1,234.3 |
| | 1,312.2 |
| | 536.3 |
| | 577.8 |
| | 591.7 |
|
| Total debt, net of current portion (4) | 625.9 |
| | 623.1 |
| | 124.8 |
| | 124.0 |
| | 123.2 |
|
| Total partners' capital | 549.9 |
| | 624.9 |
| | 385.6 |
| | 413.9 |
| | 439.9 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2017 | | 2016 | | 2015 | | 2014 | | 2013 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | (in millions) |
| Cash Flow Data: | | | | | | | | | |
| Net cash flow provided by (used in): | | | | | | | | | |
| Operating activities | $ | 10.4 |
| | $ | 45.0 |
| | $ | 78.4 |
| | $ | 118.9 |
| | $ | 129.0 |
|
| Investing activities | (14.5 | ) | | (87.1 | ) | | (16.9 | ) | | (21.0 | ) | | (43.7 | ) |
| Financing activities | (2.3 | ) | | 47.7 |
| | (91.4 | ) | | (103.1 | ) | | (128.0 | ) |
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | $ | (6.4 | ) | | $ | 5.6 |
| | $ | (29.9 | ) | | $ | (5.2 | ) | | $ | (42.7 | ) |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment | $ | 14.5 |
| | $ | 23.2 |
| | $ | 17.0 |
| | $ | 21.1 |
| | $ | 43.8 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2017 | | 2016 | | 2015 | | 2014 | | 2013 |
| Key Operating Statistics: | | | | | | | | | |
| Consolidated sales (thousand tons): | | | | | | | | | |
| Ammonia | 286.1 |
| | 201.4 |
| | 32.3 |
| | 24.4 |
| | 40.5 |
|
| UAN | 1,254.5 |
| | 1,237.5 |
| | 939.5 |
| | 951.0 |
| | 904.6 |
|
| Consolidated product pricing at gate (dollars per ton) (5): | | | | | | | | | |
| Ammonia | $ | 280 |
| | $ | 376 |
| | $ | 521 |
| | $ | 518 |
| | $ | 643 |
|
| UAN | $ | 152 |
| | $ | 177 |
| | $ | 247 |
| | $ | 259 |
| | $ | 282 |
|
| Consolidated production volume (thousand tons): | | | | | | | | | |
| Ammonia (gross produced) (6) | 814.7 |
| | 693.5 |
| | 385.4 |
| | 388.9 |
| | 402.0 |
|
| Ammonia (net available for sale) (6) | 267.8 |
| | 183.6 |
| | 37.3 |
| | 28.3 |
| | 37.9 |
|
| UAN | 1,268.4 |
| | 1,192.6 |
| | 928.6 |
| | 963.7 |
| | 930.6 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Feedstock: | | | | | | | | | |
| Petroleum coke used in production (thousand tons) | 487.5 |
| | 513.7 |
| | 469.9 |
| | 489.7 |
| | 487.0 |
|
| Petroleum coke used in production (dollars per ton) | $ | 17 |
| | $ | 15 |
| | $ | 25 |
| | $ | 28 |
| | $ | 30 |
|
| Natural gas used in production (thousands of MMBtu) (7) | 7,619.5 |
| | 5,596.0 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
| Natural gas used in production (dollars per MMBtu) (7) (8) | $ | 3.24 |
| | $ | 2.96 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
|
| Natural gas in cost of materials and other (thousands of MMBtu) (7) | 8,051.5 |
| | 4,618.7 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
| Natural gas in cost of materials and other (dollars per MMBtu) (7) (8) | $ | 3.26 |
| | $ | 2.87 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Coffeyville Facility on-stream factors (9): | | | | | | | | | |
| Gasification | 98.5 | % | | 96.9 | % | | 90.2 | % | | 96.8 | % | | 95.6 | % |
| Ammonia | 97.4 | % | | 94.9 | % | | 87.5 | % | | 92.6 | % | | 94.4 | % |
| UAN | 91.7 | % | | 93.1 | % | | 87.3 | % | | 92.0 | % | | 91.9 | % |
| East Dubuque Facility on-stream factors (9): | | | | | | | | | |
| Ammonia | 90.4 | % | | 87.7 | % | | — | % | | — | % | | — | % |
| UAN | 90.3 | % | | 87.3 | % | | — | % | | — | % | | — | % |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Market Indicators: | | | | | | | | | |
| Ammonia – Southern plains (dollars per ton) | $ | 314 |
| | $ | 356 |
| | $ | 510 |
| | $ | 539 |
| | $ | 581 |
|
| Ammonia – Corn belt (dollars per ton) | $ | 358 |
| | $ | 416 |
| | $ | 566 |
| | $ | 601 |
| | $ | 641 |
|
| UAN – Corn belt (dollars per ton) | $ | 192 |
| | $ | 208 |
| | $ | 284 |
| | $ | 314 |
| | $ | 337 |
|
| Natural gas NYMEX (dollars per MMbtu) | $ | 3.02 |
| | $ | 2.55 |
| | $ | 2.63 |
| | $ | 4.26 |
| | $ | 3.73 |
|
| | |
(1) | Direct operating expenses are shown exclusive of depreciation and amortization. |
| |
(2) | The Partnership incurred approximately $3.1 million and $2.3 million, respectively, of legal and other professional fees and other merger-related expenses, which are included in selling, general and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015. Refer to Note 3 ("East Dubuque Merger") of Part II, Item 8 of this Report for further discussion of the East Dubuque Merger. |
| |
(3) | The board of directors of our general partner has a policy to calculate available cash for distribution starting with Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA (net income before interest expense, net, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization) further adjusted for the impact of non-cash share-based compensation, and, when applicable, major scheduled turnaround expenses, gain or loss on extinguishment of debt, loss on disposition of assets, expenses associated with the East Dubuque Merger and business interruption insurance recovery. Available cash for distribution equaled our Adjusted EBITDA reduced for cash needed for (i) net cash interest expense (excluding capitalized interest) and debt service and other contractual obligations; (ii) maintenance capital expenditures; and (iii) to the extent applicable, major scheduled turnaround expenses, reserves for future operating or capital needs that the board of directors of the general partner deems necessary or appropriate, and expenses associated with the East Dubuque Merger, if any. Available cash for distribution may be increased by the release of previously established cash reserves, if any, at the discretion of the board of directors of our general partner, and available cash is increased by the business interruption insurance proceeds and the impact of purchase accounting. Actual distributions are set by the board of directors of our general partner. The board of directors of our general partner may modify our cash distribution policy at any time, and our partnership agreement does not require us to make distributions at all. |
Available cash for distribution is not a recognized term under GAAP. Available cash for distribution should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income (loss) or operating income, or any other measure of financial performance or operating performance. In addition, available cash for distribution is not presented as, and should not be considered, an alternative to cash flows from operations or as a measure of liquidity. Available cash for distribution as reported by the Partnership may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other entities, thereby limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.
| |
(4) | Balances as of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 have been retrospectively adjusted for Accounting Standard Update No. 2015-03, "Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs," which requires that costs incurred to issue debt be presented in the balance sheet as a direct reduction from the carrying value of the debt.
|
| |
(5) | Product pricing at gate represents net sales less freight revenue divided by product sales volume in tons, and is shown in order to provide a pricing measure that is comparable across the fertilizer industry. |
| |
(6) | Gross tons produced for ammonia represent the total ammonia produced, including ammonia produced that was upgraded into other fertilizer products. Net tons available for sale represent the ammonia available for sale that was not upgraded into other fertilizer products. |
| |
(7) | The feedstock natural gas shown above does not include natural gas used for fuel. The cost of fuel natural gas is included in direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization). |
| |
(8) | The cost per MMBtu excludes derivative activity, when applicable. The impact of natural gas derivative activity during the periods presented was not material. |
| |
(9) | On-stream factor is the total number of hours operated divided by the total number of hours in the reporting period and is included as a measure of operating efficiency. |
Coffeyville Facility
The Linde air separation unit experienced a shut down and following the Linde outage, the Coffeyville Facility UAN unit experienced a number of operational challenges, resulting in approximately 11 days of UAN downtime during the year ended December 31, 2017. Excluding the impact2019 | 29
Excluding the impact of the full facility turnaround and the Linde air separation unit outages at the Coffeyville Facility, the on-stream factors for the year ended December 31, 2015 would have been 99.9% for gasifier, 97.7% for ammonia and 97.6% for UAN.
Excluding the impact of the downtime associated with the installation of the waste heat boiler, the pressure swing adsorption unit upgrade and the Linde air separation unit maintenance at the Coffeyville Facility, the on-stream factors for the year ended December 31, 2014 would have been 98.2% for gasifier, 94.3% for ammonia and 93.7% for UAN.
Excluding the impact of the planned downtime associated with the replacement of the damaged catalyst, the unplanned Linde air separation unit outages, the UAN expansion coming online and the unplanned downtime associated with weather issues at the Coffeyville Facility, the on-stream factors for the year ended December 31, 2013 would have been 99.5% for gasifier, 98.9% for ammonia and 98.0% for UAN.
East Dubuque Facility
Excluding the impact of the full facility turnaround at the East Dubuque Facility, the on-stream factors at the East Dubuque Facility would have been 94.2% for ammonia and 94.0% for UAN for the year ended December 31, 2017.
Excluding the impact of the full facility turnaround at the East Dubuque Facility, the on-stream factors at the East Dubuque Facility would have been 97.8% for ammonia and 97.1% for UAN for the post-acquisition period ended December 31, 2016.
Item 7. Management'sManagement’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
You should read the
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition, and results of operations and cash flow should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes and with the statistical information and financial data included elsewhere in this Report. References to CVR Partners, the Partnership, “we”, “us”, and “our” may refer to consolidated subsidiaries of CVR Partners or one or both of the facilities, as the context may require.
Forward-Looking Statements
This discussion and analysis generally discusses the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 and year-to-year comparisons between such periods. The discussions of the year ended December 31, 2017 and year-to-year comparisons between the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 that are not included in this Annual Report including this Management'son Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, contains "forward-looking statements"Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of the Partnership’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 filed on February 21, 2019, and such discussions are incorporated by reference into this Report.
Strategy and Goals
Mission and Core Values
Our mission is to be a top tier North American nitrogen-based fertilizer company as measured by safe and reliable operations, superior performance and profitable growth. The foundation of how we operate is built on five core values:
•Safety - We always put safety first. The protection of our employees, contractors, and communities is paramount. We have an unwavering commitment to safety above all else. If it’s not safe, then we don’t do it.
•Environment - We care for our environment. Complying with all regulations and minimizing any environmental impact from our operations is essential. We understand our obligation to the environment and that it’s our duty to protect it.
•Integrity - We require high business ethics. We comply with the law and practice sound corporate governance. We only conduct business one way—the right way with integrity.
•Corporate Citizenship - We are proud members of the communities where we operate. We are good neighbors and know that it’s a privilege we can’t take for granted. We seek to make a positive economic and social impact through our financial donations and the contributions of time, knowledge, and talent of our employees to the places where we live and work.
•Continuous Improvement - We believe in both individual and team success. We foster accountability under a performance-driven culture that supports creative thinking, teamwork, and personal development so that employees can realize their maximum potential. We use defined work practices for consistency, efficiency, and to create value across the organization.
Our core values are driven by our people, inform the SEC, including statements concerning contemplated transactionsway we do business each and every day, and enhance our ability to accomplish our mission and related strategic plans, expectationsobjectives.
Strategic Objectives
We have outlined the following strategic objectives to drive the accomplishment of our mission:
Safety - We aim to achieve continuous improvement in all environmental, health, and objectivessafety areas through ensuring our people’s commitment to environmental, health, and safety comes first, the refinement of existing policies, continuous training, and enhanced monitoring procedures.
Reliability - Our goal is to achieve industry-leading utilization rates at both of our facilities through safe and reliable operations. We are focusing on improvements in day-to-day plant operations, identifying alternative sources for future operations. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation:plant inputs to reduce lost time due to third-party operational constraints, and optimizing our commercial and marketing functions to maintain plant operations at their highest level.
statements, other than statements
Market Capture - We continuously evaluate opportunities to improve the facilities’ realized pricing at the gate and reduce variable costs incurred in the future;production to maximize our capture of market opportunities.
statements relating
Financial Discipline - We strive to future financial or operational performance, future distributions, future capital sourcesbe as efficient as possible by maintaining low operating costs and capital expenditures; anddisciplined deployment of capital.
any other statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "plans," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "could," "should," "may" or similar expressions.
Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements we make in this Report, including this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved. These statements are based on assumptions made by us based on our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors that we believe are appropriate in the circumstances. Such statements are subject toAchievements
We successfully executed a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. You are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projectedachievements in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including but not limited to those set forth under the section captioned "Risk Factors" and contained elsewhere in this Report. Such factors include, among others:
our ability to make cash distributions on the common units;
the volatile naturesupport of our business and the variable nature of our distributions;
the ability of our general partner to modify or revoke our distribution policy at any time;
the cyclical nature of our business;
the seasonal nature of our business;
the dependence of our operations on a few third-party suppliers, including providers of transportation services and equipment;
our reliance on pet coke that we purchase from CVR Refining;
our reliance on the natural gas and electricity that we purchase from third parties;
the supply and price levels of essential raw materials;
the risk of a material decline in production at our nitrogen fertilizer plants;
potential operating hazards from accidents, fire, severe weather, floods or other natural disasters;
competition in the nitrogen fertilizer businesses;
capital expenditures and potential liabilities arising from environmental laws and regulations;
existing and proposed environmental laws and regulations, including those relating to climate change, alternative energy or fuel sources, and the end-use and application of fertilizers;
new regulations concerning the transportation of hazardous chemicals, risks of terrorism and the security of chemical manufacturing facilities;
the risk of security breaches;
our lack of asset diversification;
our dependence on significant customers;
the potential loss of our transportation cost advantage over our competitors;
our partial dependence on customer and distributor transportation of purchased goods;
our potential inability to successfully implement our business strategies, including the completion of significant capital programs;
our reliance on CVR Energy's senior management team and conflicts of interest they face operating each of CVR Partners, CVR Refining and CVR Energy;
the risk of labor disputes and adverse employee relations;
risks relating to our relationships with CVR Energy and CVR Refining;
control of our general partner by CVR Energy;
our ability to continue to license the technology used in our operations;
restrictions in our debt agreements;
changes in our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income or state tax purposes;
instability and volatility in the capital and credit markets; and
CVR Energy and its affiliates may compete with us.
All forward-looking statements contained in this Report speak only as ofstrategic objectives shown above through the date of this Report. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this Report, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except to the extent required by law.filing:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Safety | | Reliability | | Market Capture | | Financial Discipline |
| Achieved year over year decreases in process safety and environmental events of 75% and 64%, respectively. | ü | | | | | | |
| Safely completed the East Dubuque turnaround. | ü | | ü | | | | |
| Maintained high asset reliability and utilization at both facilities through the fourth quarter of 2019 (adjusted for turnaround at East Dubuque). | ü | | ü | | | | ü |
| Achieved monthly record ammonia production volumes at the East Dubuque nitrogen fertilizer facility for December 2019. | | | | | ü | | |
| | | | | | | |
| Paid cash distributions of 40 cents per unit in 2019. | | | | | | | ü |
| Approved Urea reliability/expansion project at Coffeyville. | | | ü | | | | |
Overview
Industry Factors and Executive SummaryMarket Conditions
We are a Delaware limited partnership originally formed by CVR Energy to own, operate and grow
Within our nitrogen fertilizer business. We produce and distribute nitrogen fertilizer products, which are used primarily by farmers to improve the yield and quality of their crops. Our principal products are UAN and ammonia, and all of our products are sold on a wholesale basis. We produce our nitrogen fertilizer products at two manufacturing facilities, which are located in Coffeyville, Kansas and East Dubuque, Illinois. We acquired the East Dubuque Facility on April 1, 2016. For a discussion of the East Dubuque Merger, refer to Note 3 ("East Dubuque Merger") of Part II, Item 8 of this Report. Refer to Part 1, Item 1 "Business" of this Report for detailed information on our business.
Major Influences on Results of Operations
Ourbusiness, earnings and cash flows from operations are primarily affected by the relationship between nitrogen fertilizer product prices, on-stream factorsutilization rates, and operating costs and expenses.expenses, including pet coke and natural gas feedstock costs.
The price at which ournitrogen fertilizer products are ultimately sold depends on numerous factors, including the global supply and demand for nitrogen fertilizer products which, in turn, depends on, among other factors, world grain demand and production levels, changes in world population, the cost and availability of fertilizer transportation infrastructure, weather conditions, the availability of imports, and the extent of government intervention in agriculture markets.
Nitrogen fertilizer prices are also affected by local factors, including local market conditions and the operating levels of competing facilities. An expansion or upgrade of competitors'competitors’ facilities, new facility development, political and economic developments, and other factors are likely to continue to play an important role in nitrogen fertilizer industry economics. These factors can impact, among other things, the level of inventories in the market, resulting in price volatility and a reduction in product margins. Moreover, the industry typically experiences seasonal fluctuations in demand for nitrogen fertilizer products.
As a result of a favorable global demand environment for grains, nitrogen fertilizer prices rose to near historic levels beginning in 2011. In addition, North American producers began to benefit from lower natural gas prices due to the significant increase in shale basin and other non-conventional production in the region. The combination of higher nitrogen fertilizer prices globally and a feedstock cost advantage led to high margins for North American nitrogen fertilizer producers. This resulted in numerous announcements for expansion plans for existing plants as well as new facility development in the corn belt and the gulf coast. The substantial majority of the additional supply from this expansion phase in North America came online in 2017. We expect product pricing may experience volatility as the new supply displaces imports into the U.S. However, over the longer-term the U.S. is expected to remain a net importer of nitrogen fertilizer with domestic prices influenced by the higher cost of imported tons into the U.S.2019 Market Conditions
Since mid-2013, global nitrogen fertilizer prices have trended down as global grain supply increased and growth in grain demand slowed due to more challenging worldwide economic considerations.
While there is risk of shorter-termshort-term volatility given the inherent nature of the commodity cycle, the longer-termPartnership believes the long-term fundamentals for the U.S. nitrogen fertilizer industry remain intact. We viewThe Partnership views the anticipated combination of (i) increasing global population, (ii) decreasing arable land per capita, (iii) continued evolution to more protein-based diets in developing countries, (iv) sustained use of corn as feedstock for the domestic production of ethanol, and (v) positioning at the lower end of the global cost curve willshould continue to provide a solid foundation for nitrogen fertilizer producers in the U.S. over the longer term.
In order
During 2019, weather significantly impacted the demand for UAN and ammonia due to lack of extended dry conditions required for planting, caused by excessive rain delaying planting of corn and soybean crops. However, as a result of this delay, there was additional demand for UAN and ammonia due to the catch up from the late start to the 2019 application season, but the fall season also had excessive moisture, which limited the ability to apply nitrogen. Consistent with the past 18 months, customers have been purchasing fertilizers more ratably and the expectations that harvest will be later than normal has led customers to stage their buying. Weather (i.e., heavy rains, flooding, etc.) is going to dictate the timing of harvest and the available window for ammonia application.
Corn and soybean are two major crops planted by farmers in North America. Corn crops result in the depletion of the amount of nitrogen and ammonia within the soil in which it is grown, which in turn, results in the need for these nutrients to be replenished after each growing cycle. Unlike corn, soybean is able to obtain its own nitrogen through a process known as “N fixation”. As such, upon the harvesting of soybean, the soil retains a certain amount of nitrogen which results in lower demand for nitrogen for the following corn planting cycle. Due to these factors, nitrogen fertilizer consumers generally operate a balanced corn-soybean rotational planting cycle as, evident through the chart presented below for 2018 and 2017. Due to the significant weather conditions discussed above, the 2019 planting cycle relied more heavily on corn planting to obtain sufficient crop harvests, which slightly adjusted this balance.
The relationship between the total acres planted for both corn and soybean has a direct impact on the overall demand for UAN and ammonia products. As the number of “corn” acres increases, the market and demand for UAN and ammonia also increases. Correspondingly, as the number of “soybean” acres increases, the market and demand for UAN and ammonia decreases.
The tables below show relevant market indicators by month through December 31, 2019:
(1)Information used within this chart was obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.
(2)Information used within these charts was obtained from various third-party sources including Green Markets (a Bloomberg Company), Pace Petroleum Coke Quarterly, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”), amongst others.
Results of Operations
The following should be read in conjunction with the information outlined in the previous sections of this Part II, Item 7, the financial statements, and related notes thereto in Part II, Item 8 of this Report.
The tables presented summarize our ammonia utilization rates on a consolidated basis and at each of our facilities. Utilization is an important measure used by management to assess operational output at each of the Partnership’s facilities. Utilization is calculated as actual tons produced divided by capacity adjusted for planned maintenance and turnarounds.
The presentation of our utilization is on a two-year rolling average which takes into account the impact of our planned and unplanned outages on any specific period. We believe the two-year rolling average is a more useful presentation of the long-term utilization performance of our facilities.
Utilization is presented solely on ammonia production rather than each nitrogen product as it provides a comparative baseline against industry peers and eliminates the disparity of facility configurations for upgrade of ammonia into other nitrogen products. With efforts primarily focused on ammonia upgrade capabilities, we believe this measure provides a meaningful view of how well we operate.
On a consolidated basis, utilization decreased 2% to 93% for the two years ended December 31, 2019 compared to the two years ended December 31, 2018. This decrease was primarily a result of ammonia storage capacity constraints at the East Dubuque Facility in the first quarter of 2019 due to inclement weather impacting customers’ ability to apply ammonia and the turnaround at the East Dubuque Facility in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Sales and Pricing per Ton - Two of our key operating performance, we calculatemetrics are total sales for ammonia and UAN along with the product pricing per ton realized at gate as an input to determine our operating margin.the gate. Product pricing at the gate represents net sales less freight revenue divided by product sales volume in tons. We believe producttons and is shown in order to provide a pricing at gate is a meaningful measure because we sell products at our plant gates and terminal locations' gates ("sold gate") and delivered to the customer's designated delivery site ("sold delivered"). The relative percentage of sold gate versus sold delivered can change period to period. The product pricing at gate provides a measure that is consistently comparable period to period.across the fertilizer industry.
We
Production Volumes - Gross tons produced for ammonia represent the total ammonia produced, including ammonia produced, that was upgraded into other fertilizer products. Net tons available for sale represent the ammonia available for sale that was not upgraded into other fertilizer products. The table below presents these metrics for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and other competitors in the U.S. farm belt share a significant transportation cost advantage when compared to our out-of-region competitors in serving the U.S. farm belt agricultural market. 2017:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Year Ended December 31, | | | | |
| (in thousands of tons) | 2019 | | 2018 | | 2017 |
| Ammonia (gross produced) | 766 | | | 794 | | | 815 | |
| Ammonia (net available for sale) | 223 | | | 246 | | | 268 | |
| UAN | 1,255 | | | 1,276 | | | 1,268 | |
Feedstock - Our products leave our Coffeyville Facility either in railcars for destinations located principally on the Union Pacific Railroad or in trucks for direct shipmentutilizes a pet coke gasification process to customers. We do not currently incur significant intermediate transfer, storage, barge freight or pipeline freight charges; however, we do incur costs to maintain and repair our railcar fleet including expenses related to regulatory inspections and repairs. For example, many of our railcars require specific regulatory inspections and repairs due on ten-year intervals. The extent and frequency of railcar fleet maintenance and repair costs are generally expected to change based partially on when regulatory inspections and repairs are due for our railcars under the relevant regulations.
Theproduce nitrogen fertilizer. Our East Dubuque Facility uses natural gas in its production of ammonia. The table below presents these feedstocks for both facilities for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Year Ended December 31, | | | | |
| 2019 | | 2018 | | 2017 |
| Petroleum coke used in production (thousand tons) | 535 | | | 463 | | | 488 | |
| Petroleum coke (dollars per ton) | $ | 37.47 | | | $ | 28.41 | | | $ | 16.56 | |
| Natural gas used in production (thousands of MMBtu) (1) | 6,856 | | | 7,933 | | | 7,620 | |
| Natural gas used in production (dollars per MMBtu) (1) | $ | 2.88 | | | $ | 3.28 | | | $ | 3.24 | |
| Natural gas cost of materials and other (thousands of MMBtu) (1) | 6,961 | | | 7,122 | | | 8,052 | |
| Natural gas cost of materials and other (dollars per MMBtu) (1) | $ | 3.08 | | | $ | 3.15 | | | $ | 3.26 | |
(1)The feedstock natural gas shown above does not include natural gas used for fuel. The cost of fuel natural gas is locatedincluded in northwest Illinois, inDirect operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization).
Financial Highlights
Overview - For the corn belt. The East Dubuque Facilityyear ended December 31, 2019, the Partnership's operating income and net loss were $27.4 million and $35.0 million, a $21.1 million increase and $15.0 million decrease, respectively, over the year ended December 31, 2018 driven primarily sells its product to customers located within 200 milesby increased sales volumes and pricing.
(1)See “Non-GAAP Reconciliations” section below for reconciliations of the facility. In most instances, customers take delivery of nitrogen products atnon-GAAP measures shown below.
Net Sales - Net sales increased by $53.1 million to $404.2 million for the plant and arrange and payyear ended December 31, 2019 compared to transport themthe year ended December 31, 2018.This increase wasprimarily due to their final destinationsfavorable pricing conditions which contributed $49.1 million in higher revenues coupled with increased sales volumes contributing $7.8 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase in net sales was partially offset by truck. The East Dubuque Facility has direct access to a barge dock on the Mississippi River as well as a nearby rail spur serviced by the Canadian National Railway Company.
We upgrade substantially all of our ammonia production at our Coffeyville Facility into UAN and will continue to do so for as long as it makes economic sense.$3.2 million decrease in Urea sales. For the years ended December 31, 2017, 20162019 and 2015, we upgraded approximately 88%, 93%2018, net sales included $33.4 million and 96%$33.6 million in freight revenue, respectively, and $7.6 million and $8.3 million in other revenue, respectively.
The following table demonstrates the impact of our Coffeyville Facility ammonia production into UAN, a product that presently generates greater profit than ammonia. The East Dubuque Facility haschanges in sales volumes and pricing for the flexibility to significantly vary its product mix. This enables us to upgrade our ammonia production into varying amountsprimary components of UAN, nitric acid and liquid and granulated urea each season, depending on market demand, pricing and storage availability. Productnet sales, at our East Dubuque Facility are heavily weighted toward sales of ammonia and UAN. For bothexcluding freight, for the year ended December 31, 2017 and post-acquisition period2019 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2016, approximately 44%2018:
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| (in thousands) | Price Variance | | Volume Variance |
| UAN | $ | 33,602 | | | $ | (4,867) | |
| Ammonia | 15,498 | | | 12,714 | |
The increase in UAN and ammonia sales pricing for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily attributable to a shift in the timing of demand from the fourth quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2019, as customers delayed receipt of nitrogen products due to continued inclement weather. As a result, customer demand for ammonia increased in the second quarter of 2019 as customers attempted to make up for the missed application. In addition, the aforementioned ammonia application coupled with freezing temperatures and flooding throughout the Midwest and Southern Plains in 2019 shifted the demand for ammonia, resulting in increased sales volumes for the year ended December
31, 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2018. A decrease in Urea sales of $3.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2018 was a result of the turnaround at our East Dubuque Facility produced ammonia tons were upgradedFacility.
(1)Exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense.
Cost of Materials and Other - Cost of materials and other for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $94.1 million, compared to other products.
$88.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. The high fixed cost$5.6 million increase was comprised primarily of the Coffeyville Facility's direct operating expense structure also directly affects our profitability. Our Coffeyville Facility'sa $4.9 million increase in pet coke gasification process results in a significantly higher percentage of fixed costs than a natural gas-based fertilizer plant, such as our East Dubuque Facility. In addition, while less than our Coffeyville Facility, our East Dubuque Facility has a significant amount of fixed costs. Major fixed operating expenses include a large portion of electrical energy, employee labor, and maintenance, including contract labor, and outside services.
Our largest raw material expense used in the production of ammonia at our Coffeyville Facility is pet coke, which we purchase from CVR Refining and third parties. For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016a $5.6 million increase related to a draw in our ammonia and 2015, we expensed approximately $8.1 million, $7.8 million and $11.9 million, respectively, for pet coke, which equaled an average cost per ton of $17, $15 and $25, respectively.
Our largest raw material expense used in the production of ammoniaUAN inventories, partially offset by decreased natural gas costs at our East Dubuque Facility is natural gas, which we purchase from third parties. Our East Dubuque Facility's natural gas process results in a higher percentagefacility contributing $5.4 million.
Direct Operating Expenses (exclusive of variable costs as
compared to the Coffeyville Facility.depreciation and amortization) - For the year ended December 31, 20172019,direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and 2016, we incurred approximately $26.3amortization) were $173.6 million as compared to $159.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. The $14.3 million increase was primarily due to increased turnaround costs of $3.4 million, increased repairs and maintenance costs of $0.9 million, and $13.3an inventory draw contributing $9.6 million.
Depreciation and Amortization Expense - Depreciation and amortization expense increased $8.2 million for feedstock natural gas, which equaled an average costthe year ended December 31, 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2018, as a result of $3.26accelerated depreciation of certain assets, coupled with additions to property, plant, and $2.87 per MMBtu.equipment during the current year.
Consistent, safe
Selling, General, and reliable operations at our nitrogen fertilizer plants are criticalAdministrative Expenses, and Other - Selling, general and administrative expenses and other increased approximately $3.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to our financialthe year ended December 31, 2018. The increase was primarily related to asset write offs in the period contributing $3.0 million, coupled with increased personnel costs contributing $1.0 million.
Non-GAAP Measures
Our management uses certain non-GAAP performance measures, and reconciliations to those measures, to evaluate current and past performance and prospects for the future to supplement our GAAP financial information presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures are important factors in assessing our operating results of operations. In addition, consistent, safe and reliable operations atprofitability and include the Linde air separation unit, which supplies oxygen, nitrogen and compressed dry air to our Coffeyville Facility, is critical to our financial performance and resultsliquidity measures defined below.
The following are non-GAAP measures presented for the period ended December 31, 2019.
EBITDA - Net income (loss) before (i) interest expense, net, (ii) income tax expense (benefit) and (iii) depreciation and amortization expense.
Adjusted EBITDA - EBITDA adjusted to exclude turnaround expense which management believes is material to an investor’s understanding of operations. Unplanned downtime at eitherthe Partnership’s underlying operating results.
Reconciliation of our facilities or at the Linde air separation unit may result in lost margin opportunity, increased maintenanceNet Cash Provided By Operating Activities to EBITDA - Net cash provided by operating activities reduced by (i) interest expenses, net, (ii) income tax expense and a temporary increase(benefit), (iii) change in working capital, investment and related inventory position. The financial impact(iv) other non-cash adjustments.
Available Cash for Distribution - Adjusted EBITDA reduced for cash reserves established by the board of planned downtime, such as majordirectors of our general partner for (i) debt service, (ii) maintenance capital expenditures, (iii) turnaround maintenance, is mitigated through a diligent planning processexpenses and, to the extent applicable, (iv) reserves for future operating or capital needs that takes into account margin environment, the availabilityboard of resources to performdirectors of our general partner deems necessary or appropriate, if any, in its sole discretion. Available cash for distribution may be increased by the needed maintenance, feedstock logisticsrelease of previously established cash reserves, if any, and other factors.
Historically,excess cash, at the Coffeyville Facility has undergone a full facility turnaround approximately every two to three years. The Coffeyville Facility underwent a full facility turnaround in the third quarter of 2015 and the gasifier, ammonia and UAN units were down for between 17 to 20 days each at a cost of approximately $7.0 million, exclusivediscretion of the impacts due to the lost production during the downtime. The Coffeyville Facility is planning to undergo the next scheduled full facility turnaround in the second quarterboard of 2018, which is expected to last approximately 15 days at an estimated costdirectors of $7 million, exclusive of the impact of the lost production during the downtime.
Historically, the East Dubuque Facility has also undergone a full facility turnaround approximately every two to three years. The East Dubuque Facility underwent a full facility turnaround in the second quarter of 2016 and the ammonia and UAN units were down for approximately 28 days at a cost of approximately $6.6 million, exclusive of the impacts due to the lost production during the downtime. We determined that there were more pressing preventative maintenance issues at the East Dubuque Facility, so we completed a scheduled turnaround at the East Dubuque Facility in the third quarter of 2017 and the ammonia and UAN units were down for approximately 14 days at a cost of approximately $2.6 million, exclusive of the impacts of the lost production during the downtime.
Subsequent to the fourth quarter of 2017, the East Dubuque Facility experienced an additional outage caused by a boiler feed water leak resulting in 12 days of downtime, and the associated repair costs were not material.
Agreements with CVR Energy and CVR Refining
We are party to several agreements with CVR Energy and its affiliates that govern the business relations among us, CVR Energy and its subsidiaries (including CVR Refining, and our general partner). These include the pet coke supply agreement under whichpartner.
We present these measures because we buy the pet coke we usebelieve they may help investors, analysts, lenders, and ratings agencies analyze our results of operations and liquidity in conjunction with our nitrogen fertilizer plant; a services agreement, under which CVR Energy and its affiliates provide us with management services including the services of its senior management team; a feedstock and shared services agreement, which governs the provision of feedstocks,U.S. GAAP results, including, but not limited to, high-pressure steam, nitrogen, instrument air, oxygenour operating performance as compared to other publicly traded companies in the fertilizer industry, without regard to historical cost basis or financing methods, and natural gas; a hydrogen purchaseour ability to incur and sale agreement, which governsservice debt and fund capital expenditures. Non-GAAP measures have important limitations as analytical tools, because they exclude some, but not all, items that affect net earnings and operating income. These measures should not be considered substitutes for their most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures. Refer to the purchase of hydrogen“Non-GAAP Reconciliations” included herein for our Coffeyville Facility; a raw water and facilities sharing agreement, which allocates raw water resources between the two facilities in Coffeyville; an easement agreement; an environmental agreement; a lease agreement pursuant to which we lease office space and laboratory space; and certain financing agreements we entered into in connection with the East Dubuque Merger. These agreements were not the result of arm's length negotiations and the termsreconciliation of these agreements areamounts. Due to rounding, numbers presented within this section may not necessarily as favorableadd or equal to the parties to these agreements as terms which could have been obtained from unaffiliated third parties. See Note 14 ("Related Party Transactions") to Part II, Item 8 ofnumbers or totals presented elsewhere within this Report for additional discussion of the agreements.document.
Factors Affecting Comparability of Our Financial Results
Our historical results of operations for the periods presented may not be comparable with prior periods or to our results of operations in the future for the reasons discussed below.
East Dubuque Merger
On April 1, 2016, the Partnership completed the East Dubuque Merger, whereby the Partnership acquired the East Dubuque Facility. The consolidated financial statements and key operating metrics include the results of the East Dubuque Facility beginning on April 1, 2016, the date of the closing of the acquisition. During the year ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Partnership incurred $3.1 million and $2.3 million, respectively, of legal and other professional fees and other merger-related expenses, which were included in selling, general and administrative expenses. See Note 3 ("East Dubuque Merger") of Part II, Item 8 of this Report for further discussion.
Major Scheduled Turnaround Activities
Scheduled full facility turnarounds occurred at the East Dubuque Facility during the third quarter of 2017 and during the second quarter of 2016. A scheduled full facility turnaround occurred at the Coffeyville Facility during the third quarter of 2015.
Overall, results were negatively impacted by the cost of turnaround, as well as the lost margin due to the lost production during the downtime. See "Major Influences on Results of Operations" above for further discussion of turnaround activities.
Unplanned Downtime
Linde owns, operates and maintains the air separation plant that provides contract volumes of oxygen, nitrogen, and compressed dry air to our Coffeyville Facility. During the third quarter of 2015, the Linde air separation unit experienced downtime, in excess of the downtime associated with the scheduled full facility turnaround discussed above, that resulted in the gasification, ammonia and UAN units at our Coffeyville Facility being down for between 16 to 19 days each. Overall results wereare negatively impacted due to the lost production during the downtime that resultedresult in reducedlost sales and certain reduced variable expenses included in costCost of materials and other and directDirect operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) for the year ended December 31, 2015.
Production levels in the third quarter of 2017 were impacted by eight days of unplanned downtime due to an exchanger outage at our East Dubuque Facility. Production levels in the fourth quarter of 2017 were negatively impacted by approximately 12 days of unplanned downtime due to a refractory failing in the piping at our East Dubuque Facility. Repair costs for these unplanned outages were not material.
Indebtedness
On April 1, 2016, as a result. The effects of the East Dubuque Merger, the Partnership acquired CVR Nitrogen, including its debt. During the second quarter of 2016, the Partnership used $300.0 million of funds from the senior term loan creditplanned, full facility with Coffeyville Resources, LLC, a related party, to finance the payoff of CVR Partners' $125.0 million term loan, payoff CVR Nitrogen's credit facility outstanding balance of $49.1 million, and to fund the cash merger consideration and certain merger-related expenses. In June 2016, the Partnership issued $645.0 million aggregate principal of 9.250% Senior Secured Notes due 2023 to refinance the substantial majority of its existing debt. Also as a result of the financing transactions, the Partnership recognized a loss on debt extinguishment of approximately $5.1 millionturnarounds completed during the year ended December 31, 2016. As a result of the financing transactions, the Partnership's interest expense increased for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, and 2016 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2015.
Industry Factors
A broad range of factors, including those outlined below, primarily affects our operating results.
Commodities
Our products are globally traded commodities and are subject to price competition. The customers for our products make their purchasing decisions principally on the basis of delivered price and, to a lesser extent, on customer service and product quality. The selling prices of our products fluctuate in response to global market conditions and changes in supply and demand.
Agricultural
The three primary forms of nitrogen fertilizer used in the United States of America are ammonia, urea and UAN. Unlike ammonia and urea, UAN can be applied throughout the growing season and can be applied in tandem with pesticides and herbicides, providing farmers with flexibility and cost savings. As a result of these factors, UAN typically commands a premium price to urea and ammonia, on a nitrogen equivalent basis.
Nutrients are depleted in soil over time and therefore must be replenished through fertilizer use. Nitrogen is the most quickly depleted nutrient and must be replenished every year, whereas phosphate and potassium can be retained in soil for up to three years. Plants require nitrogen in the largest amounts and it accounts for approximately 57% of primary fertilizer consumption on a nutrient ton basis, per the International Fertilizer Industry Association.
Supply and Demand Factors
Global demand for fertilizers is driven primarily by grain demand and prices, which, in turn, are driven by population growth, farmland per capita, dietary changes in the developing world and increased consumption of bio-fuels. According to the International Fertilizer Industry Association, from 1974 to 2015, global fertilizer demand grew 2.0% annually. Global fertilizer use, consisting of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, is projected to increase by 34% between 2010 and 2030 to meet global food demand according to a study funded by the Food and Agricultural Organizationexclusive of the United Nations. Currently, the developed world uses fertilizer more intensively than the developing world, but sustained economic growth in emerging markets is increasing food demand and fertilizer use. In addition, populations in developing countries are shifting to more protein-rich diets as their incomes increase, with such consumption requiring more grain for animal feed. As an example, China's wheat and coarse grains production is estimated to have increased 33% between 2007 and 2017, but still failed to keep pace with increases in demand, prompting China to grow its wheat and coarse grain imports by more than 1,200% over the same period, according to the United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA").
The United States is the world's largest exporter of coarse grains, accounting for 34% of world exports and 30% of world production for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, according to the USDA. A substantial amount of nitrogen is consumed in production of these crops to increase yield. Based on Fertecon’s 2017 estimates, the United States is the world’s third largest consumer of nitrogen fertilizer and the world's largest importer of nitrogen fertilizer. Fertecon estimates indicate that the United States represented 11% of total global nitrogen fertilizer consumption for 2017, with China and India as the top consumers representing 27% and 14% of total global nitrogen fertilizer consumption, respectively.
North American nitrogen fertilizer producers predominantly use natural gas as their primary feedstocks. Over the last five years, U.S. oil and natural gas reserves have increased significantlyimpacts due to among other factors, advances in extracting shale oil and gas as well as relatively high oil and gas prices. More recently, global demand has slowed withlost production staying steady even as oil and gas prices have declined substantially over the past two years. This has led to significantly reduced natural gas and oil prices as compared to historical prices. As a result, North America has become a low-cost region for nitrogen fertilizer production.
The decline of natural gas prices have led to existing and new producers considering construction of new or expanding existing nitrogen fertilizer production facilities in the United States. The substantial majority of the incremental nitrogen fertilizer supply associated with the construction of confirmed new production facilities is expected to be substantially completed in 2018. Once the increased production comes on-stream, we expect the United States will still require net imports into the United States to meet domestic demand for nitrogen fertilizers.
2017 Market Conditions
Our 2017 results were impacted by new U.S. domestic nitrogen production and the resulting low nitrogen fertilizer selling prices. Through most of 2017, pricing for U.S. nitrogen fertilizer often traded below parity with international pricing due to the new U.S. supply. Seasonal decreases in agricultural demand combined with delayed customer purchasing activity resulted in multi-year lows in nitrogen fertilizer selling prices during the second halfturnaround downtime, are shown below:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Facility | | Related Period | | Turnaround Downtime | | | | Turnaround Expense (in thousands) | | Estimated Lost Production (in tons of Ammonia) |
| East Dubuque | | 2019 - 3rd/4th Quarter | | 32 days | | | | $ | 9,842 | | | | 33,706 | |
| Coffeyville | | 2018 - 2nd Quarter | | 15 days | | | | 6,399 | | | | 21,450 | |
| East Dubuque | | 2017 - 3rd Quarter | | 14 days | | | | 2,585 | | | | 15,050 | |
Insurance Recovery
During the fourth quarter of the year. Our average selling price for UAN for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $152 per ton compared to $177 per ton in 2016, a decrease of 14%, and the average selling price for ammonia for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $280 per ton compared to $376 per ton in 2016.
Results of Operations
The period to period comparisons of our results of operations have been prepared using the historical periods included in our consolidated financial statements. In order to effectively review and assess our historical financial information below, we have also included supplemental operating measures and industry measures that we believe are material to understanding our business.
To supplement our actual results calculated in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") for the applicable periods,2018, the Partnership also uses certain non-GAAP financial measures, which are reconciled to our GAAP based results below. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as an alternative to GAAP results.
The following tables summarize the financial data and key operating statistics for CVR Partners and our subsidiaries for fiscal years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015. The results of operations for our East Dubuque Facility are included for the post-acquisition period beginning April 1, 2016. The following data should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Report.
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2017 | | 2016 | | 2015 |
| | | | | | |
| | (in millions) |
| Consolidated Statements of Operations Data: | | | | | |
| Net sales | $ | 330.8 |
| | $ | 356.3 |
| | $ | 289.2 |
|
| | | | | | |
| Cost of materials and other – Affiliates | 7.5 |
| | 2.6 |
| | 6.7 |
|
| Cost of materials and other – Third parties | 77.4 |
| | 91.1 |
| | 58.5 |
|
| | 84.9 |
| | 93.7 |
| | 65.2 |
|
| Direct operating expenses – Affiliates (1) (2) | 3.9 |
| | 4.2 |
| | 4.1 |
|
| Direct operating expenses – Third parties (1) (2) | 149.0 |
| | 137.5 |
| | 95.0 |
|
| Major scheduled turnaround expenses | 2.6 |
| | 6.6 |
| | 7.0 |
|
| | 155.5 |
| | 148.3 |
| | 106.1 |
|
| Depreciation and amortization | 74.0 |
| | 58.2 |
| | 28.4 |
|
| Cost of sales | 314.4 |
| | 300.2 |
| | 199.7 |
|
| | | | | | |
| Selling, general and administrative expenses – Affiliates (3) | 15.6 |
| | 15.0 |
| | 14.0 |
|
| Selling, general and administrative expenses – Third parties (3) | 10.0 |
| | 14.3 |
| | 6.8 |
|
| | 25.6 |
| | 29.3 |
| | 20.8 |
|
| Operating income (loss) | (9.2 | ) | | 26.8 |
| | 68.7 |
|
| Interest expense and other financing costs | (62.9 | ) | | (48.6 | ) | | (7.0 | ) |
| Loss on extinguishment of debt | — |
| | (4.9 | ) | | — |
|
| Other income (expense), net | (0.5 | ) | | 0.1 |
| | 0.3 |
|
| Total other expense | (63.4 | ) | | (53.4 | ) | | (6.7 | ) |
| Income (loss) before income tax expense | (72.6 | ) | | (26.6 | ) | | 62.0 |
|
| Income tax expense | 0.2 |
| | 0.3 |
| | — |
|
| Net income (loss) | $ | (72.8 | ) | | $ | (26.9 | ) | | $ | 62.0 |
|
| | | | | | |
| EBITDA (4)* | $ | 64.3 |
| | $ | 80.2 |
| | $ | 97.4 |
|
| Adjusted EBITDA (4)* | $ | 65.8 |
| | $ | 92.7 |
| | $ | 106.8 |
|
| Available cash for distribution (5)* | $ | (9.7 | ) | | $ | 48.6 |
| | $ | 81.0 |
|
| | | | | | |
| Reconciliation to net sales: | | | | | |
| Fertilizer sales net at gate | $ | 290.0 |
| | $ | 309.0 |
| | $ | 248.8 |
|
| Freight in revenue | 32.8 |
| | 33.0 |
| | 27.2 |
|
| Hydrogen revenue | 0.4 |
| | 3.2 |
| | 11.8 |
|
| Other, including the impact of purchase accounting | 7.6 |
| | 11.1 |
| | 1.4 |
|
| Total net sales | $ | 330.8 |
| | $ | 356.3 |
| | $ | 289.2 |
|
* See footnote (4) and (5) below for discussion of non-GAAP financial measures.
| |
(1) | Direct operating expenses are shown exclusive of depreciation and amortization. |
| |
(2) | Amounts are shown exclusive of major scheduled turnaround expenses that are separately disclosed. |
| |
(3) | The Partnership incurred approximately $3.1recognized a $6.1 million and $2.3 million of legal and other professional fees and other merger-related expense, as discussed in Note 3 ("East Dubuque Merger") to Part II, Item 8 of this Report, which are included in selling, general and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. |
| |
(4) | EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) before (i) interest (income) expense, (ii) income tax expense and (iii) depreciation and amortization expense. |
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA further adjusted for the impact of non-cash share-based compensation, and, when applicable, major scheduled turnaround expense, gain or loss on extinguishment of debt, loss on disposition of assets, expenses associated with the East Dubuque Merger and business interruption insurance recovery when applicable.
We present EBITDA because we believe it allows users of our financial statements, such as investors and analysts, to assess our financial performance without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis. We present Adjusted EBITDA because we have found it helpful to consider an operating measure that excludes amounts, such as major scheduled turnaround expenses, gain or loss on extinguishment of debt, loss on disposition of assets, expenses associated with an outage at the East Dubuque Merger and business interruption insuranceCoffeyville Facility during 2017. The recovery relating to transactions not reflective of our core operations. When applicable, each of these amounts is discussed herein, so that investors have complete information about these amounts. We also present Adjusted EBITDA because it is the starting point used by the board of directors of our general partner when calculating our available cash for distribution.recorded in Other income, net.
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not recognized terms under GAAP and should not be substituted for net income (loss) or cash flows from operations. Management believes that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA enable investors and analysts to better understand our ability to make distributions to common unitholders, help investors and analysts evaluate our ongoing operating results and allow for greater transparency in reviewing our overall financial, operational and economic performance by allowing investors to evaluate the same information used by management. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA presented by other companies may not be comparable to our presentation, since each company may define these terms differently.
A reconciliation of consolidated Net income (loss) to consolidated EBITDA and consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Three Months Ended December 31, | | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2017 | | 2017 | | 2016 | | 2015 |
| | | | | | | | |
| | (in millions) |
| Net income (loss) | $ | (27.4 | ) | | $ | (72.8 | ) | | $ | (26.9 | ) | | $ | 62.0 |
|
| Add: | | | | | | | |
| Interest expense and other financing costs, net | 15.8 |
| | 62.9 |
| | 48.6 |
| | 7.0 |
|
| Income tax expense | 0.2 |
| | 0.2 |
| | 0.3 |
| | — |
|
| Depreciation and amortization | 19.1 |
| | 74.0 |
| | 58.2 |
| | 28.4 |
|
| EBITDA | $ | 7.7 |
| | $ | 64.3 |
| | $ | 80.2 |
| | $ | 97.4 |
|
| Add: | | | | | | | |
| Major scheduled turnaround expenses | — |
| | 2.6 |
| | 6.6 |
| | 7.0 |
|
| Share-based compensation, non-cash | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 0.1 |
|
| Loss on extinguishment of debt | — |
| | — |
| | 4.9 |
| | — |
|
| Expenses associated with the East Dubuque Merger | — |
| | — |
| | 3.1 |
| | 2.3 |
|
| Less: | | | | | | | |
| Insurance recovery - business interruption | — |
| | (1.1 | ) | | (2.1 | ) | | — |
|
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 7.7 |
| | $ | 65.8 |
| | $ | 92.7 |
| | $ | 106.8 |
|
| | |
(5) | The board of directors of our general partner has a policy to calculate available cash for distribution starting with Adjusted EBITDA. For the periods presented, available cash for distribution equaled our Adjusted EBITDA reduced for cash needed for (i) net cash interest expense (excluding capitalized interest) and debt service and other contractual obligations; (ii) maintenance capital expenditures; and (iii) to the extent applicable, major scheduled turnaround expenses, reserves for future operating or capital needs that the board of directors of the general partner deems necessary or appropriate, and expenses associated with the East Dubuque Merger, if any. Available cash for distribution may be increased by the release of previously established cash reserves, if any, at the discretion of the board of directors of our general partner, and available cash is increased by the business interruption insurance proceeds and the impact of purchase accounting. Actual distributions are set by the board of directors of our general |
partner. The boardDecember 31, 2019 | 37
