Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
An investment in our securities involves certain risks. Security holders and potential investors in our securities should carefully consider the risks described under “ Risk Factors ” set forth in Part I, Item 1A of our 2021 Form 10-K, in addition to other information in such annual report and this quarterly report (including the risk factors set forth below). The risk factors set forth in our 2021 Form 10-K and as set forth below are important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any written or oral forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf.
Changes in price levels could negatively impact our revenue, our expenses, or both, which could adversely affect our business.
The operation of our assets and the execution of capital projects require significant expenditures for labor, materials, property, equipment and services. As a result, such costs may increase during periods of general business inflation, including as a result of higher commodity prices, supply chain disruptions and tight labor markets. Recent inflationary pressures affecting the general economy and the energy industry have increased our expenses and capital costs, and those costs may continue to increase. While the majority of long-term contracts for our services contain index-based changes and inflation adjustments, we may not be able to pass all of these increased costs to our customers in the form of higher fees for our services. In addition, we use the FERC’s PPI-based price indexing methodology to establish tariff rates in certain markets served by our pipelines. As such, our revenues and operating margins are impacted by changes in price levels. Prior to adjustments to applicable rates, material cost increases may affect our operating margins, even if margins in subsequent periods may be normalized following applicable rate adjustments. Accordingly, increased costs during periods of general business inflation that are not passed through to customers or offset by other factors may have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Our construction of new assets is subject to operational, regulatory, environmental, political, geopolitical, legal and economic risks, which may result in delays, increased costs or decreased cash flows.
One of the ways we intend to grow our business is through the construction of new midstream energy infrastructure assets. The construction of new assets involves numerous operational, regulatory, environmental, political, geopolitical, legal and economic risks beyond our control and may require the expenditure of significant amounts of capital. These potential risks include, among other things, the following:
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we may be unable to complete construction projects on schedule or at the budgeted cost due to the unavailability of required construction personnel, the unavailability of or delays in obtaining necessary materials as a result of supply chain disruptions (including those caused by COVID-19 lockdowns or geopolitical events, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine), accidents, weather conditions, or an inability to obtain necessary permits;
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we will not receive any material increase in operating cash flows until the project is completed, even though we may have expended considerable funds during the construction phase, which may be prolonged;
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we may construct facilities to capture anticipated future production growth in a region in which such growth does not materialize;
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since we are not engaged in the exploration for and development of crude oil or natural gas reserves, we may not have access to third party estimates of reserves in an area prior to our constructing facilities in the area. As a result, we may construct facilities in an area where the reserves are materially lower than we anticipate;
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in those situations where we do rely on third party reserve estimates in making a decision to construct assets, these estimates may prove inaccurate;
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the completion or success of our construction project may depend on the completion of a third party construction project (e.g., a downstream crude oil refinery expansion or construction of a new petrochemical facility) that we do not control and that may be subject to numerous of its own potential risks, delays and complexities; and
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we may be unable to obtain rights-of-way to construct additional pipelines or the cost to do so may be uneconomical.
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A materialization of any of these risks could adversely affect our ability to achieve growth in the level of our cash flows or realize benefits from expansion opportunities or construction projects, which could impact the level of cash distributions we pay to partners.
Several of our assets have been in service for many years and require significant expenditures to maintain them. As a result, an increase in future maintenance or repair costs or delays in completing necessary maintenance or repair activities could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Our pipelines, terminals and storage assets are generally long-lived assets, and many of them have been in service for many years. The age and condition of our assets could result in increased maintenance or repair expenditures in the future. Additionally, we may be unable to complete maintenance or repairs due to the unavailability of necessary materials as a result of supply chain disruptions (including those caused by COVID-19 lockdowns or geopolitical events, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine), which may result in the suspension of operations of the impacted assets until such activities can be completed. Any significant increase in these expenditures or delays in completing necessary maintenance or repairs could adversely affect our results of operations, financial position or cash flows, as well as our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.
A cyber-attack on our IT systems could affect our business and assets, and have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
We rely on our IT systems to conduct our business, as well as systems of third-party vendors. These systems include information used to operate our assets, as well as cloud-based services. These systems are subject to possible security breaches and cyber-attacks.
Cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated, and U.S. government warnings have indicated that infrastructure assets, including pipelines, may be specifically targeted by certain groups. These attacks include, without limitation, malicious software, ransomware, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data, and other electronic security breaches. These attacks, which could increase as a result of geopolitical events (including the Russian invasion of Ukraine), may be perpetrated by state-sponsored groups, “hacktivists”, criminal organizations or private individuals (including employee malfeasance). These cybersecurity risks include cyber-attacks on both us and third parties who provide material services to us. In addition to disrupting operations, cyber security breaches could also affect our ability to operate or control our facilities, render data or systems unusable, or result in the theft of sensitive, confidential or customer information. These events could also damage our reputation, and result in losses from remedial actions, loss of business or potential liability to third parties.
We do not carry insurance specifically for cybersecurity events; however, certain of our insurance policies may allow for coverage of associated damages resulting from such events. If we were to incur a significant liability for which we were not fully insured, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, the proceeds of any such insurance may not be paid in a timely manner and may be insufficient if such an event were to occur.
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Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.