Item 1. Business

(a) General Development of Business

Unless indicated otherwise, the terms “our,” “we,” “us” and similar language refer to Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. together with its subsidiaries. Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. is a Delaware limited partnership formed in August 2000 and its limited partner units are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “MMP.” Magellan GP, LLC, a wholly-owned Delaware limited liability company, serves as its general partner.

Sale of Interest in BridgeTex.  In September 2018, we sold a 20% interest in BridgeTex Pipeline Company, LLC (“BridgeTex”) to an affiliate of OMERS Infrastructure Management Inc., which reduced our ongoing ownership in BridgeTex to a 30% interest. We continue to serve as the operator of BridgeTex.

(b) Financial Information About Segments

See Part II – Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 15 – Segment Disclosures .

(c) Narrative Description of Business

We are principally engaged in the transportation, storage and distribution of refined petroleum products and crude oil. As of December 31, 2018 , our asset portfolio consisted of:

Industry Background

The United States (“U.S.”) petroleum products transportation and distribution system links sources of crude oil supply with refineries and ultimately with end users of petroleum products. This system is comprised of a network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities, waterborne vessels, railcars and trucks. For transportation of petroleum products, pipelines are generally the most reliable, lowest cost and safest alternative for intermediate and long-haul movements between different markets. Throughout the distribution system, terminals play a key role in facilitating product movements by providing storage, distribution, blending and other ancillary services.

Terminology common in our industry includes the following terms, which describe products that we transport, store and distribute through our petroleum pipelines and terminals:

We use the term petroleum products to describe any, or a combination, of the above-noted products.

Description of Our Businesses

REFINED PRODUCTS

Our refined products segment consists of our refined products pipeline system, independent terminals and ammonia pipeline system. Our refined products pipeline system is the longest common carrier pipeline system for refined products and LPGs in the U.S., extending approximately 9,700 miles from the Texas Gulf Coast and covering a 15-state area across the central U.S. The system includes approximately 45 million barrels of aggregate usable storage capacity at 53 connected terminals. Our network of independent terminals includes 25 refined products terminals with 6 million barrels of storage located primarily in the southeastern U.S. and connected to third-party common carrier interstate pipelines, including the Colonial and Plantation pipelines. Our 1,100 -mile common carrier ammonia pipeline system extends from production facilities in Texas and Oklahoma to terminals in agricultural demand centers in the Midwest.

Our refined products segment accounted for the following percentages of our consolidated revenue, operating margin and total assets:

See Note 15— Segment Disclosures in the accompanying consolidated financial statements in Item 8 for a description of the non-generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) measure of operating margin and additional financial information about our refined products segment.

Operations. Transportation, Terminalling and Ancillary Services. During 2018, approximately 70% of the refined products segment’s revenue (excluding product sales revenue) was generated from transportation tariffs on volumes shipped on our refined products pipeline system. These transportation tariffs vary depending upon where the product originates, where ultimate delivery occurs and any applicable discounts. All transportation rates and discounts are in published tariffs filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) or appropriate

state agency. Included as part of these tariffs are charges for terminalling and storage of products at 31 of our pipeline system’s 53 connected terminals. Revenue from terminalling and storage at the other 22 terminals on our refined products pipeline system is derived from privately negotiated rates. Under our tariffs, we are allowed to deduct prescribed quantities of the products our shippers transport on our pipelines, which are commonly referred to as “tender deductions,” to compensate us for lost product during shipment due to metering inaccuracies, intermingling of products between batches (transmix), evaporation or other events that result in volume shortages during the shipment process. In return for these tender deductions, our customers receive a guaranteed delivery of the gross volume of products they ship with us, less the amount of our tender deductions, irrespective of the actual amount of product shortages we incur during the shipment process.

In 2018, the products transported on our refined products pipeline system were comprised of 56% gasoline, 36% distillates and 8% aviation fuel and LPGs. The operating statistics below reflect our refined products pipeline system’s operations for the periods indicated:

Our refined products pipeline system generates additional revenue from providing pipeline capacity and tank storage services, as well as providing services such as terminalling, ethanol and biodiesel unloading and loading, additive injection, custom blending, laboratory testing and data services to shippers, which are performed under a mix of “as needed,” monthly and long-term agreements.

Our independent terminals generate revenue primarily by charging fees based on the amount of product delivered through our facilities and from ancillary services such as additive injections and ethanol blending. Our ammonia pipeline system generates revenue primarily through transportation tariffs on volumes shipped.

Commodity-Related Activities. Substantially all of the transportation and throughput services we provide are for third parties, and we do not take title to their products. We do take title of products related to tender deductions, product overages and our butane blending and fractionation activities on our refined products pipeline system. The sales of these products generate product sales revenue.

Our butane blending activity primarily involves purchasing butane and blending it into gasoline, which creates additional gasoline available for us to sell. This activity is limited by seasonal changes in gasoline vapor pressure specification requirements and by the varying quality of the gasoline products delivered to us. When the differential between the cost of butane and the price of gasoline fluctuates, the product margin we earn from these activities is impacted. We hedge the economic margin from this blending activity by entering into forward physical or exchange-traded gasoline futures contracts at the time we purchase the related butane. These blending activities accounted for approximately 87% of the total product margin for the refined products segment during 2018.

We also operate three fractionators along our pipeline system that separate transmix, which is an unusable mixture of various refined products, into usable refined products. In addition to fractionating the transmix that results from our pipeline operations, we also purchase and fractionate transmix from third parties and sell the resulting products.

Product margin from commodity-related activities in our refined products segment was $101.8 million, $130.4 million and $222.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2016 , 2017 and 2018 , respectively. The amount of margin we earn from these activities and related hedges fluctuates with changes in petroleum prices (see Note 12–

Derivative Financial Instruments to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this report for further information regarding our hedging activities). Product margin is a non-GAAP financial measure, but its components are determined in accordance with GAAP. Product margin, which is calculated as product sales revenue less cost of product sales, is used by management to evaluate the profitability of our commodity-related activities. The components of product margin included in operating profit, the nearest GAAP measurement, is provided in Note 15— Segment Disclosures to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this report.

Joint Venture Activities. We own a 50% interest in Powder Springs Logistics, LLC (“Powder Springs”), which was formed to construct and develop a butane blending system near Atlanta, Georgia. Powder Springs began operations in 2017.

Markets and Competition . Shipments originate on our refined products pipeline system from direct connections to refineries or through interconnections with other pipelines or terminals for transportation and ultimate distribution to retail gasoline stations, truck stops, railroads, airports and other end users. Through direct refinery connections and interconnections with other interstate pipelines, our refined products system can access approximately 45% of U.S. refining capacity, and in particular is well-connected to Texas Gulf Coast and Mid-Continent refineries. Our system is dependent on the ability of refiners and marketers to meet the demand for those products in the markets they serve through their shipments on our pipeline system. According to January 2019 projections provided by the Energy Information Administration, the demand for refined products in the market areas served by our pipeline system, primarily the West North Central and West South Central census districts, is expected to remain relatively stable over the next 10 years. As a result of its extensive connections to multiple refining regions, our pipeline system is well positioned to accommodate demand or supply shifts that may occur.

In 2018, approximately 63% of the products transported on our refined products pipeline system originated from 19 direct refinery connections and 37% originated from connections with other pipelines or terminals.

Our system is directly connected to and receives product from the following refineries:

Our system is also supplied by connections to multiple pipelines and terminals, including those shown in the table below:

Major Origins—Pipelines and Terminals (Listed Alphabetically)

In certain markets, barge, truck or rail provide an alternative source for transporting refined products; however, pipelines are generally the most reliable, lowest cost and safest alternative for refined products movements between different markets. As a result, our pipeline system’s most significant competitors are other pipelines that serve the same markets.

 

Competition with other pipeline systems is based primarily on transportation charges, quality of customer service, proximity to end users and longstanding customer relationships. However, given the different supply sources on each pipeline, commodity prices at either the origin or terminal point on a pipeline may outweigh transportation costs when customers choose which pipeline to use.

 

Another form of competition for pipelines is the use of exchange agreements among shippers. Under these agreements, a shipper agrees to supply a market near its refinery or terminal in exchange for receiving supply from another refinery or terminal in a different market. These agreements allow the two parties to reduce the volumes transported and, therefore, the transportation fees paid to us. We compete with these alternatives through price incentives and through long-term commercial arrangements with potential exchange partners.

Government mandates increasingly require the use of renewable fuels, particularly ethanol. Due to technical and operational concerns, pipelines have generally not shipped ethanol, and most ethanol is transported by railroad, truck or barge.  The increased use of ethanol has and will continue to compete with shipments on our pipeline system.  However, our terminals have the necessary infrastructure to blend ethanol with refined products, and we earn revenue for these services.

Our independent terminals receive product primarily from the interstate pipelines to which they are connected and serve the retail, industrial and commercial sales markets along those pipelines. Demand for our services is driven primarily by end user demand for refined products in those markets. Our terminals compete with other

independent terminal operators as well as integrated oil companies on the basis of terminal location and versatility, services provided and price.

Our ammonia pipeline system receives product from ammonia production facilities in Texas and Oklahoma and delivers to agricultural markets in the Midwest, where the ammonia is used by farmers as a nitrogen fertilizer. During 2018, we made the decision to discontinue commercial operations of our ammonia pipeline beginning in late 2019 due to the system’s low profitability and challenging economic outlook.

Customers and Contracts. Our refined products pipeline system provides services to several different types of customers, including refiners, wholesalers, retailers, traders, railroads, airlines and regional farm cooperatives. End markets for refined products deliveries are primarily retail gasoline stations, truck stops, farm cooperatives, railroad fueling depots, military bases and commercial airports. LPG shippers include wholesalers and retailers that, in turn, sell to commercial, industrial, agricultural and residential heating customers. Published tariffs serve as contracts, and shippers nominate the volume to be shipped up to a month in advance. In addition, we enter into agreements with shippers that commonly result in payment, volume or term commitments in exchange for reduced tariff rates or capital expansion commitments on our part. For 2018, approximately 40% of the shipments on our pipeline system were subject to these supplemental agreements. The average remaining life of these agreements was approximately three years as of December 31, 2018. While many of these supplemental agreements do not represent guaranteed volumes, they do reflect a significant level of shipper commitment to our refined products pipeline system.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2018, our refined products pipeline system had approximately 65 transportation customers. The top 10 shippers included independent refining companies, integrated oil companies, farm cooperatives and traders. Revenue attributable to these top 10 shippers for the year ended December 31, 2018 represented 32% of total revenue for our refined products segment and 55% of revenue excluding product sales.

 

Customers of our independent terminals include refiners, retailers, wholesalers and traders. Contracts vary in term and commitment and typically renew automatically, at the customer’s option, at the end of each contract period.

Product sales are primarily to trading and marketing companies active in the markets we serve. These sales agreements are generally short-term in nature.

CRUDE OIL

Our crude oil segment is comprised of approximately 2,200 miles of crude oil pipelines, a condensate splitter and storage facilities with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 33 million barrels, of which 21 million barrels are used for contract storage. Approximately 1,000 miles of these pipelines, the condensate splitter and 28 million barrels of this storage capacity (including 19 million barrels used for contract storage) are wholly-owned, and the remainder is owned through joint ventures.

The joint ventures in our crude oil segment are BridgeTex, Double Eagle Pipeline LLC (“Double Eagle”), HoustonLink Pipeline Company, LLC (“HoustonLink”), Saddlehorn Pipeline Company, LLC (“Saddlehorn”) and Seabrook Logistics, LLC (“Seabrook”).

Our crude oil segment accounted for the following percentages of our consolidated revenue, operating margin and total assets:

See Note 15– Segment Disclosures in the accompanying consolidated financial statements in Item 8 for additional financial information about our crude oil segment.

Operations. Our crude oil assets are strategically located to serve crude oil supply, trading and demand centers. Revenue is generated primarily through transportation tariffs on our crude oil pipelines, storage fees from our crude oil terminals and tolling fees from our condensate splitter. In addition, we earn revenue for ancillary services including terminal throughput fees. We generally do not take title to the products we ship or store for our crude oil customers. Our tariffs provide for tender deductions to compensate us for lost product during shipment due to metering inaccuracies, evaporation or other events that result in volume losses during the shipment process, and we take title to these products.

The approximately 450-mile Longhorn pipeline has the capacity to transport up to 275,000 barrels per day (“bpd”) of crude oil from the Permian Basin in West Texas to Houston, Texas. Shipments originate on the Longhorn pipeline in Crane, Barnhart or Midland, Texas via trucks or interconnections with crude oil gathering systems owned by third parties and are delivered to our terminal at East Houston or to various points on the Houston Ship Channel, including multiple refineries connected to our Houston distribution system.

Our East Houston terminal includes approximately nine million barrels of crude oil storage, with approximately five million barrels used for contract storage and four million barrels dedicated to the operation of the Longhorn and BridgeTex pipelines. (See discussion of our BridgeTex joint venture under Joint Venture Activities below.) Our East Houston terminal is also connected to our Houston distribution system and to third-party pipelines, including the Zydeco pipeline. Argus’ West Texas Intermediate (“WTI”) Houston price assessment is based on trades at the terminal, and the terminal is one of the delivery points for the Permian WTI Crude Oil futures contract traded on the Intercontinental Exchange.

Our Houston distribution system consists of more than 100 miles of pipeline that connect our East Houston terminal through several interchanges to various points, including multiple refineries throughout the Houston area and crude oil import and export facilities, including through the facility owned by Seabrook discussed below. In addition, it is directly connected to other third-party crude oil pipelines providing us access to crude oil from the Permian and Eagle Ford basins, the strategic crude oil trading hub in Cushing, Oklahoma and crude oil imports.

Our Cushing terminal consists of approximately 13 million barrels of crude oil storage, all of which is used for contract storage. The facility primarily receives and distributes crude oil via the multiple common carrier pipelines that terminate in and originate from the Cushing crude oil trading hub, including our Saddlehorn joint venture discussed below, as well as short-haul pipeline connections with neighboring crude oil terminals.

We own approximately 400 miles of pipeline in Kansas and Oklahoma used for crude oil service. A portion of these pipelines are leased to third parties, and we earn revenue from these pipeline segments for capacity reserved even if not used by the customers.

Our Corpus Christi terminal includes approximately two million barrels of condensate storage, with a portion used for contract storage and a portion used in conjunction with our Double Eagle joint venture discussed below. These assets receive product primarily from trucks, barges and pipelines that connect to our terminal for further distribution to end users by pipeline or waterborne vessels. Our 50,000 bpd condensate splitter with approximately two million barrels of related storage is also located at our terminal in Corpus Christi.

Joint Venture Activities. We own a 30% interest in BridgeTex, a joint venture with an affiliate of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (“Plains”) and an affiliate of OMERS Infrastructure Management Inc. BridgeTex owns an approximately 400-mile pipeline currently capable of transporting up to 440,000 bpd of Permian Basin crude oil from Midland and Colorado City, Texas to our East Houston terminal. We receive management fees to operate BridgeTex. We have a long-term lease agreement with BridgeTex to provide it with capacity on our Houston distribution system, and we receive capacity lease revenue from this agreement.

We own a 50% interest in Double Eagle, a joint venture with an affiliate of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (“Kinder”) that transports condensate from the Eagle Ford basin in South Texas via an approximately 200-mile pipeline to our terminal in Corpus Christi or to an inter-connecting pipeline that transports product to the Houston area. An affiliate of Kinder serves as the operator of Double Eagle. We receive throughput revenue from Double Eagle.

We own a 50% interest in HoustonLink, a joint venture with an affiliate of TransCanada Corporation (“TransCanada”). HoustonLink owns a crude oil pipeline connecting TransCanada’s Houston tank terminal, which is a termination point for TransCanada’s Marketlink Pipeline, to our nearby East Houston terminal. We operate the HoustonLink pipeline and receive management fees.

We own a 40% interest in Saddlehorn, a joint venture with an affiliate of Plains and an affiliate of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. Saddlehorn owns an undivided joint interest in an approximately 600-mile pipeline, which delivers various grades of crude oil from the DJ Basin as well as other Rocky Mountain production regions to storage facilities in Cushing, including our Cushing terminal. Saddlehorn has the capacity to deliver up to 190,000 bpd of crude oil. We receive management fees to operate Saddlehorn, and we also receive storage revenue from Saddlehorn.

We own a 50% interest in Seabrook, a joint venture with an affiliate of LBC Tank Terminals, LLC (“LBC”). Seabrook owns approximately two million barrels of crude oil storage located in Seabrook, Texas, a pipeline that connects Seabrook’s storage facilities to an existing third-party pipeline that transports crude oil to a Houston-area refinery and a pipeline connecting its facility to our Houston distribution system. We receive management fees for operating the pipeline activities of Seabrook. In addition, we have a long-term lease agreement with Seabrook that is utilized to provide our customers with crude oil storage capacity and dock access for crude oil imports and exports on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Markets and Competition. Market conditions experienced by our crude oil pipelines vary significantly by location. The Longhorn and BridgeTex pipelines deliver Permian Basin production to trading and demand centers in the Houston area, and consequently depend on the level of production in the Permian Basin for supply. Demand for shipments to the Houston area is driven primarily by the utilization of West Texas crude oil by Gulf Coast refineries and the price for crude oil on the Gulf Coast relative to its price in alternative markets, including export markets. Permian Basin production may vary based on numerous factors including overall crude oil prices and changes in costs of production, while Gulf Coast demand for Permian Basin production may change based on relative prices for competing crude oil or changes by refineries to their crude oil processing slates, as well as by overall domestic and international demand for petroleum products. The Longhorn and BridgeTex pipelines compete with alternative outlets for Permian Basin production, including pipelines that transport crude oil to the Cushing crude oil trading hub as well as other pipelines that currently transport or new pipelines that may transport Permian Basin crude to the Gulf Coast. These pipelines also compete with truck and rail alternatives for Permian Basin barrels. Further, these pipelines indirectly compete with other alternatives for delivering similar quality crude oil to the Gulf Coast, including pipelines from other producing regions such as the Mid-Continent, Bakken, Eagle Ford or Gulf of Mexico, as well as waterborne imports. Competition is based primarily on tariff rates, proximity to both supply sources and demand centers, connectivity, service offerings, crude quality and customer relationships.

Volumes on our Houston distribution system are driven by our customers’ demand for distribution of crude oil between our system’s various connections and as a result are affected in part by changes in origins and destinations of crude oil processed in or distributed through the Gulf Coast region. Our HoustonLink and Seabrook joint ventures offer our customers additional pipeline connectivity and crude oil storage in the Houston area. Our Houston distribution system competes with other distribution facilities in the Houston area based primarily on tariff rates, connectivity to supply sources and demand centers, customer service and customer relationships.

Our crude oil storage facilities in Cushing serve customers who value Cushing’s location as an interchange point for numerous interstate pipelines, including Saddlehorn, and its status as a crude oil trading hub. Demand for crude oil storage in Cushing could be affected by changes in crude oil pipeline flows that change the volume of crude oil that flows through or is stored in Cushing, as well as by developments of alternative trading hubs that reduce Cushing’s relative importance. In addition, demand for our storage services in Cushing could be affected by

crude oil price volatility or price structures or by regulatory or financial conditions that affect the ability of our customers to store or trade crude oil. We compete in Cushing with numerous other storage providers, with competition based on a combination of connectivity, storage rates and other terms, customer service and customer relationships.

The Double Eagle pipeline depends on condensate production from the Eagle Ford basin for its supply and competes primarily with other pipelines and supply alternatives that are capable of transporting condensate from the Eagle Ford production area. Competition is based primarily on tariff rates, connectivity, customer service and customer relationships. The demand for Double Eagle’s services could be affected by changes in Eagle Ford condensate production or changes in demand for different grades of condensate. Demand for our condensate storage at Corpus Christi is subject to similar market conditions and competitive forces.

Our condensate splitter at our Corpus Christi terminal depends on condensate production primarily from the Permian and Eagle Ford basins and overall demand for products derived from condensate. Our splitter competes with other facilities in the Gulf Coast region including other splitters and refineries, as well as export alternatives.

The Saddlehorn pipeline depends on crude oil production primarily from the DJ Basin and broader Rocky Mountain region for its supply and competes primarily with other pipelines and supply alternatives that are capable of transporting crude oil from the DJ Basin and Rocky Mountain production area. Competition is based primarily on tariff rates, connectivity, customer service and customer relationships. The demand for Saddlehorn’s services could be affected by changes in DJ Basin crude oil production and additional investment in competing transportation alternatives out of the basin, as well as the status of Cushing as a crude oil trading hub. DJ Basin production may vary based on numerous factors including overall crude oil prices and changes in costs of production.

Customers and Contracts. We ship crude oil as a common carrier for several different types of customers, including crude oil producers, end users such as refiners, and marketing and trading companies. Published transportation tariffs filed with the FERC or the appropriate state agency serve as contracts to ship on our crude oil pipelines, and shippers nominate volumes to be transported up to a month in advance, with rates varying by origin, destination and product grade. We typically reserve at least 10% of the shipping capacity of our pipelines for spot shippers. Spot barrel movements on our pipelines generally ship at higher rates than those charged to committed shippers. Generally, we secure long-term commitments to support our long-haul crude oil pipeline assets. Specifically, with regard to our Longhorn pipeline, the vast majority of the volumes shipped on that system are supported by take-or-pay agreements. For 2018, approximately 40% of the shipments on our wholly-owned crude oil pipelines were subject to such commitments. The average remaining life of these contracts was approximately five years as of December 31, 2018. As of December 31, 2018, approximately 80% of our crude oil storage available for contract was under agreements with terms in excess of one year or that renew on an annual basis at our customers’ option . The average remaining life of our storage contracts was approximately two years as of December 31, 2018. These agreements obligate the customer to pay for storage capacity reserved even if not used by the customer. BridgeTex, Double Eagle, Saddlehorn and Seabrook also have long-term contracts which support our capital investments in these joint ventures. Additionally, we have a tolling agreement with one customer for the exclusive use of our condensate splitter in Corpus Christi with a remaining life of approximately four years.

MARINE STORAGE

We own and operate six marine storage terminals located along coastal waterways with approximately 27 million barrels of aggregate storage capacity. Our joint venture assets include two million barrels of storage capacity with expansions currently underway for an additional four million barrels of storage. Our marine terminals provide distribution, storage, blending, inventory management and additive injection services for refiners, marketers, traders and other end users of petroleum products.

The joint ventures in our marine storage segment are MVP Terminalling, LLC (“MVP”) and Texas Frontera, LLC (“Texas Frontera”).

Our marine storage segment accounted for the following percentages of our consolidated revenue, operating margin and total assets:

See Note 15– Segment Disclosures in the accompanying consolidated financial statements in Item 8 for additional financial information about our marine storage segment.

Operations. Our marine storage terminals generate revenue primarily through providing storage services for a variety of customers. Refiners and chemical companies typically use our storage terminals due to tankage constraints at their facilities or the specialized handling requirements of the stored product. We also provide storage services to marketers and traders that require access to significant storage capacity. Because the rates charged at these terminals are unregulated, the marketplace determines the prices we charge for our services. In general, we do not take title to the products that are stored in or distributed from our marine terminals.

 

Our Galena Park, Texas marine terminal is located along the Houston Ship Channel and is our largest marine facility with 13 million barrels of wholly-owned usable storage capacity. This facility stores a mix of refined products, blendstocks, heavy oils and crude oil, and receives and distributes products by pipeline, truck, rail, barge and ship. An advantage of our Galena Park facility is that it provides our customers with access to multiple common carrier pipelines, including our Houston distribution system, as well as deep-water port facilities that accommodate both ship and barge traffic and loading and unloading facilities for trucks and rail cars.

Our New Haven, Connecticut marine terminal is located on the Long Island Sound near the New York Harbor and has approximately four million barrels of usable storage capacity and handles heating oil, refined products, asphalt, ethanol and biodiesel. This facility receives and distributes products by pipeline, ship, barge and truck.

Our Marrero, Louisiana marine terminal is located on the Mississippi River and has approximately three million barrels of usable storage capacity. This facility handles heavy oils, distillates and asphalt. We receive products at our Marrero terminal by rail, ship and barge and deliver products from Marrero by rail, ship, barge and truck.

Our Wilmington, Delaware marine terminal is located at the Port of Wilmington along the Delaware River. The facility includes almost three million barrels of usable storage and handles refined products, ethanol, heavy oils and crude oil. We receive products at our Wilmington terminal by pipeline, ship and barge and deliver products from this facility by pipeline, truck, ship and barge.

Our Corpus Christi, Texas marine terminal is located near local refineries and petrochemical plants and includes almost two million barrels of usable storage capacity utilized for heavy oils and feedstocks. We receive and deliver products at our Corpus Christi facility primarily by ship, barge, truck and pipeline.

Joint Venture Activities . We own a 50% interest in Texas Frontera, which owns approximately one million barrels of storage at our Galena Park terminal. In addition to equity earnings, we receive a fee for operating Texas Frontera. 

We own a 50% interest in MVP, which owns a refined products marine storage terminal along the Houston Ship Channel in Pasadena, Texas. The facility began operations in January 2019 with one million barrels of storage and a proprietary ship dock. An additional four million barrels of storage, truck loading facilities and a second ship dock are expected to be operational by the end of 2019. We serve as construction manager and operator of MVP and receive management fees for our services.

Markets and Competition. Our marine storage terminals compete with other terminals with respect to location, price, versatility and services provided. The competition primarily comes from integrated petroleum companies, refining and marketing companies, independent terminal companies and distribution companies with marketing and trading operations.

We believe the continued demand for storage and ancillary services at our marine terminals results from our cost-effective distribution services and key transportation links. The ancillary services we provide at our marine terminals, such as product heating, blending, mixing and additive injection, attract additional demand for our storage services and result in additional revenue opportunities. Demand can be influenced by projected changes in and volatility of petroleum product prices.

Customers and Contracts. We have long-standing relationships with refineries, suppliers and traders at our marine terminals. During 2018, approximately 87% of our storage terminal capacity was utilized with the remaining not utilized primarily due to tank integrity work throughout the year. As of December 31, 2018, approximately 93% of our usable storage capacity was under contract with an average remaining life of approximately two years. These contracts obligate the customer to pay for terminal capacity reserved even if not used by the customer.

 

GENERAL BUSINESS INFORMATION

Major Customers

No customer accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated revenues during 2016, 2017 or 2018.

   

Commodity Positions and Hedges

Our policy is generally to purchase only those products necessary to conduct our normal business activities. We do not acquire physical inventory, futures contracts or other derivative instruments for the purpose of speculating on commodity price changes. Our butane blending and fractionation activities result in our carrying significant levels of petroleum product inventories. In addition, we hold positions related to tender deductions and product overages. We use derivative instruments to hedge against commodity price changes and manage risks associated with our various commodity purchase and sale activities. Our risk management policies and procedures are designed to monitor our derivative instrument positions, as well as physical volumes, grades, locations, delivery schedules and storage capacity to help ensure that our hedging activities address the risks inherent in our commodity positions.

Regulation

Tariff Regulation. Our interstate common carrier petroleum products pipeline operations are subject to rate regulation by the FERC under the Interstate Commerce Act, the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and rules and orders promulgated pursuant thereto. FERC regulation requires that interstate liquids pipeline rates be filed with the FERC, be posted publicly and be nondiscriminatory and “just and reasonable.” Rate changes and the overall level of our rates may be subject to challenge by the FERC or shippers. If the FERC determines that our rates are not just and reasonable, we may be required to reduce our rates and pay refunds for up to two years of over-earning. The rates on approximately 40% of the shipments on our refined products pipeline system are regulated by the FERC primarily through an index methodology, which for the five-year period beginning July 1, 2016 is set at the annual change in the producer price index for finished goods (“PPI-FG”) plus 1.23%. As an alternative to cost-of-service or index-based rates, interstate liquids pipeline companies may establish rates by obtaining authority to charge market-based rates in competitive markets or by negotiation with unaffiliated shippers. Approximately 60% of our refined products pipeline system’s markets are either subject to regulations by the states in which we operate or are approved for market-based rates by the FERC, and in both cases these rates can generally be adjusted at our discretion based on market factors. Most of the tariffs on our crude oil pipelines are established by negotiated rates

that generally provide for annual adjustments in line with changes in the FERC index, subject to certain modifications.

 

The Surface Transportation Board, a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has jurisdiction over interstate pipeline transportation and rate regulations of ammonia. Transportation rates must be reasonable, and a pipeline carrier may not unreasonably discriminate among its shippers.

 

In addition, some shipments on our pipeline systems move within a single state and thus are considered to be intrastate commerce. The rates, terms and conditions of service offered by our intrastate pipelines are subject to certain regulations with respect to such intrastate transportation by state regulatory authorities in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. Such state regulatory authorities could limit our ability to increase our rates or to set rates based on our costs, or could order us to reduce our rates and require the payment of refunds to shippers if our rates are found to have been unjust.

 

Commodity Market Regulation. Our conduct in petroleum markets and in hedging our exposure to commodity price fluctuations must comply with laws and regulations that prohibit market manipulation.

Wholesale sales of petroleum are subject to provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (“EISA”) and regulations by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). Under the EISA, the FTC issued a rule that prohibits fraudulent or deceptive conduct (including false or misleading statements of material fact) in connection with wholesale purchases or sales of crude oil or refined products. The FTC rule also bans intentional failures to state a material fact when the omission makes a statement misleading and distorts, or is likely to distort, market conditions for any product covered by the rule. The FTC holds substantial enforcement authority under the EISA, including authority to request that a court impose fines of up to approximately $1.2 million per day per violation.

 

Under the Commodity Exchange Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) is directed to prevent price manipulations for the commodities markets, including the physical energy, futures and swaps markets. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFTC has adopted additional anti-market manipulation regulations that prohibit, among other things, fraud and price manipulation in the physical energy, futures and swaps markets. The CFTC also has statutory authority to assess fines of up to the greater of approximately $1 million or triple the monetary gain for violations of its anti-market manipulation regulations.

The CFTC has re-proposed rules that would place federal limits on positions in certain futures and equivalent swaps contracts for or linked to certain physical commodities, subject to exceptions for certain bona fide hedging transactions. The CFTC has also finalized a companion rule on aggregation of positions among entities under common ownership or control, which is currently effective, but subject to certain no-action relief. If finalized, the position limits rule together with the final aggregation rule may have an impact on our ability to hedge our exposure to certain enumerated commodities. If we reduce our use of derivatives as a result of these regulations, our results of operations may become more volatile and our cash flows may be less predictable.

Renewable Fuel Standard.   We are an obligated party under the Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”) promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and are required to satisfy our Renewable Volume Obligation (“RVO”) on an annual basis. To meet the RVO, the gasoline products we produce in our butane blending activities must either contain the mandated renewable fuel components, or credits must be purchased to cover any shortfall. We met our RVO requirements for 2018 and expect to satisfy the requirements for 2019 mainly through the purchase of credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers (“RINs”).  As the RFS program is currently structured, the RVO of all obligated parties will increase over time unless adjusted by the EPA. The ability to incorporate increasing volumes of renewable fuel components into fuel products may be limited, which could increase our costs to comply with the RFS standards or limit our ability to blend.

Income Taxes. We are a partnership for income tax purposes and, therefore, are not subject to federal or state income taxes for most of the states in which we operate. The tax on our net income is borne by our limited partners through allocation to them of their share of our taxable income. Net income for financial statement purposes may differ significantly from taxable income allocated to unitholders because of differences between the tax basis and financial reporting basis of assets and liabilities and the taxable income allocation requirements under our

partnership agreement. The aggregate difference in the basis of our net assets for financial and tax reporting purposes cannot be readily determined because information regarding each partner’s tax attributes is not available to us.

As a publicly traded limited partnership, we are subject to a statutory requirement that our “qualifying income” (as defined by the Internal Revenue Code, related Treasury Regulations and Internal Revenue Service pronouncements) exceed 90% of our total gross income, determined on a calendar year basis. If our qualifying income does not meet this statutory requirement, we could be taxed as a corporation for federal and state income tax purposes. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2017 and 2018, our qualifying income met the statutory requirement.

Environmental, Maintenance, Safety & Security

General. The operation of our pipeline systems, terminals and associated facilities is subject to strict and complex laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment and workplace safety. These bodies of laws and regulations govern many aspects of our business including the work environment, the generation and disposal of waste, discharge of process and storm water, air emissions, remediation requirements and facility design requirements to protect against releases into the environment. We believe our assets are designed, operated and maintained in material compliance with these laws and regulations and in accordance with other generally accepted industry standards and practices.

Environmental. Our estimates for remediation liabilities assume that we will be able to use traditionally acceptable remediation and monitoring methods, as well as associated engineering or institutional controls, to comply with applicable regulatory requirements. These estimates include the cost of performing environmental assessments, remediation and monitoring of the impacted environment such as soils, groundwater and surface water conditions. Our recorded environmental liabilities are estimates and total remediation costs may differ from current estimated amounts.

We may experience future releases of regulated materials into the environment or discover historical releases that were previously unidentified or not assessed. While an asset integrity and maintenance program designed to prevent, promptly detect and address releases is an integral part of our operations, damages and liabilities arising out of any environmental release from our assets identified in the future could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position or cash flow.

Liabilities recognized for estimated environmental costs were $19.3 million and $20.5 million at December 31, 2017 and 2018 , respectively. Environmental liabilities have been classified as current or noncurrent based on management’s estimates regarding the timing of actual payments. We have insurance policies that provide coverage for remediation costs and liabilities arising from sudden and accidental releases of products applicable to all of our assets. Receivables from insurance carriers related to environmental matters were $7.2 million and $4.1 million at December 31, 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Hazardous Substances and Wastes. Our operations are subject to various laws and regulations that relate to the release of hazardous substances and solid wastes into water or soils. For instance, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, as amended (“CERCLA”), also known as the Superfund law, and comparable state laws impose liability, without regard to fault or the legality of the original conduct, on certain classes of persons who are considered to be responsible for the release of a hazardous substance into the environment.

Our operations generate wastes, including hazardous wastes that are subject to the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) and comparable state statutes. We are not currently required to comply with a substantial portion of the RCRA requirements as our operations routinely generate only small quantities of hazardous wastes, and we are not a hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facility operator that is required to obtain a RCRA hazardous waste permit. While RCRA currently exempts a number of wastes from being subject to hazardous waste requirements, including many oil and gas exploration and production wastes, the

EPA could consider the adoption of stricter disposal standards for non-hazardous wastes. Moreover, it is possible that additional wastes, which could include non-hazardous wastes currently generated during operations, may be designated as hazardous wastes. Hazardous wastes are subject to more rigorous and costly storage and disposal requirements than non-hazardous wastes. Changes in the regulations could materially increase our expenses.

We own or lease properties where hydrocarbons have been handled for many years. Although we have utilized operating and disposal practices that were standard in the industry at the time, hydrocarbons or other wastes may have been disposed of or released on, under or from the properties owned or leased by us or on or under other locations where these wastes have been taken for disposal. In addition, many of these properties were previously operated by third parties whose treatment and disposal or release of hydrocarbons or other wastes was not under our control. These properties and wastes disposed thereon may be subject to CERCLA, RCRA and analogous state laws. Under these laws, we could be required to remove or remediate previously disposed wastes, including wastes disposed of or released by prior owners or operators, to remediate contaminated property, including groundwater contaminated by prior owners or operators, or to make capital improvements to prevent future contamination.

Water Discharges. Our operations can result in the discharge of pollutants, including crude oil and refined products, and are subject to the Oil Pollution Act (“OPA”) and Clean Water Act (“CWA”). The OPA and CWA subject owners of facilities to strict, joint and potentially significant liability for removal costs and certain other consequences of a product spill such as natural resource damages, where the product spills into regulated waters, along federal shorelines or in the exclusive economic zone of the U.S. In the event of a product spill from one of our facilities into regulated waters, substantial liabilities could be imposed. States in which we operate have also enacted similar laws. The CWA imposes restrictions and strict controls regarding the discharge of pollutants into regulated waters. This law and comparable state laws require that permits be obtained to discharge pollutants into regulated waters and impose substantial potential liability for non-compliance. Compliance with these laws is not expected to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Air Emissions. Our operations are subject to the federal Clean Air Act (“CAA”) and comparable state and local laws and regulations, which regulate emissions of air pollutants from various industrial sources, including certain of our facilities, and impose various monitoring and reporting requirements. Such laws and regulations may require that we obtain pre-approval for the construction or modification of certain projects or facilities expected to produce or significantly increase air emissions, obtain and strictly comply with air permits containing various emissions and operational limitations and utilize specific emission control technologies to limit emissions. Failure to comply with these requirements could subject us to monetary penalties, injunctions, conditions or restrictions on operations and, potentially, criminal enforcement actions. We may be required to incur certain capital expenditures in the future for air pollution control equipment in connection with obtaining and maintaining operating permits and approvals for air emissions. We believe, however, that our operations will not be materially adversely affected by such requirements.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions . The EPA has adopted regulations under existing provisions of the CAA that require certain large stationary sources to obtain pre-construction permits and operating permits for greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, in September 2009, the EPA issued a final rule requiring the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from certain large greenhouse gas emissions sources. This reporting rule was expanded in November 2010 to include petroleum facilities.

Federal and state legislative and regulatory initiatives, as well as those in other countries, may attempt to further address climate change or control or limit greenhouse gas emissions. Although it is not possible at this time to predict how they would impact our business, any such future laws or regulations could adversely affect demand for the products that we transport, store and distribute. Depending on the particular programs adopted, they could also increase our costs to operate and maintain our facilities by requiring that we measure and report our emissions, install new emission controls on our facilities, acquire allowances to authorize our emissions, pay any taxes related to our emissions and administer and manage an emissions program, among other things. We may be unable to include some or all of such increased costs in the rates charged to our customers and any such recovery may depend on events beyond our control, including the outcome of future rate proceedings before the FERC or state regulatory agencies and the provisions of any final legislation or implementing regulations.

Finally, certain scientific studies conclude that increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere may affect climate changes, which could result in the increased frequency and severity of storms, floods and other climatic events. If any such effects were to occur, there may be an increased potential for adverse effects on our assets and operations.

Maintenance. Our pipeline systems are subject to regulation by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) under the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979, as amended (“HLPSA”), and comparable state statutes relating to the design, installation, testing, construction, operation, replacement and management of our pipeline facilities. PHMSA develops, prescribes and enforces minimum federal safety standards for the transportation of hazardous liquids by pipeline. Congress also enacted the Pipeline Safety Act of 1992, which added the environment to the list of statutory factors that must be considered in establishing safety standards for hazardous liquid pipelines and mandated that regulations be issued to establish criteria for operators to use in identifying and inspecting pipelines located in “high consequence areas” or “HCAs,” defined as those areas that are unusually sensitive to environmental damage, cross a navigable waterway or have a high population density. As an operator of hazardous liquid pipelines, we are required to and have developed and follow an integrity management program that provides for assessment of the integrity of all of the portions of our pipelines that could affect designated HCAs. In 1996, Congress enacted the Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act, which limited the operator identification requirement mandate to pipelines that cross a waterway where a substantial likelihood of commercial navigation exists, required that certain areas where a pipeline release would likely cause permanent or long-term environmental damage be considered in determining whether an area is unusually sensitive to environmental damage and mandated that regulations be issued for the qualification and testing of certain pipeline personnel. In the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement and Safety Act of 2006, Congress required mandatory inspections for certain U.S. crude oil transmission pipelines in HCAs and mandated that regulations be issued for low-stress hazardous liquid pipelines and pipeline control room management. Our assets are also subject to various federal security regulations, and we believe we are in substantial compliance with all applicable federal regulations.

 

In addition to regulations applicable to all of our pipelines, we have undertaken additional obligations to mitigate potential risks to health, safety and the environment on our Longhorn pipeline.  Our compliance with these incremental obligations is subject to the oversight of the U.S. Department of Transportation through PHMSA.

States are largely preempted by federal law from regulating pipeline safety for interstate lines, but most states are certified by the U.S. Department of Transportation to assume responsibility for enforcing federal intrastate pipeline regulations and inspection of intrastate pipelines. States may adopt stricter standards for intrastate pipelines than those imposed by the federal government for interstate lines; however, states vary considerably in their authority and capacity to address pipeline safety. State standards may include requirements for facility design and management in addition to requirements for pipelines. We believe we are in substantial compliance with all applicable state regulations.

Our marine terminals along coastal waterways are subject to U.S. Coast Guard regulations and comparable state statutes relating to the design, installation, construction, testing, operation, replacement and management of these assets.

Breakout Storage Tank Integrity Regulations.  In January 2015, amended regulations were published by PHMSA which require more frequent out-of-service inspections for breakout storage tanks.  PHMSA approved our request for phased adoption of the amended regulations in May 2018. We do not anticipate that compliance with the amended regulations will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Safety. Our assets are subject to the requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSHA”) and comparable state statutes, which, among other things, require us to organize and disclose information about the hazardous materials used in our operations. Certain parts of this information must be reported to employees, state and local governmental authorities and local citizens upon request. We are subject to OSHA process safety

management regulations and EPA risk management plan rules that are designed to identify and establish procedures to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, reactive, flammable or explosive chemicals. Compliance with these laws is not expected to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011 increased penalties for safety violations, established additional safety requirements for newly-constructed pipelines and required studies of certain safety issues that could result in the adoption of new regulatory requirements for existing pipelines. PHMSA has also published notices and advanced notices of proposed rulemaking to solicit comments on the need for changes to its safety regulations, including whether to revise the integrity management requirements, and finalized revisions to its hazardous liquid pipeline regulations in early 2019. Compliance with such legislative and regulatory changes could increase our regulatory compliance costs and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Security. Our assets can be subject to both physical and cyber security regulations depending on the nature of the facility. Some of our assets are regulated by the Department of Transportation, the EPA, the United States Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). Compliance with these regulations is achieved by creating physical security plans, minimal physical security standards, marine terminal security drills and annual security audits of both marine and DHS regulated facilities. Compliance with these laws is not expected to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Title to Properties

Substantially all of our pipelines are constructed on rights-of-way granted by the apparent record owners of the property, and in some instances, these rights-of-way have limited terms that may require periodic renegotiation or, if such negotiations are unsuccessful, may require us to seek to exercise the power of eminent domain where such remedy is available. Several rights-of-way for our pipelines and other real property assets are shared with other pipelines and by third parties. In many instances, lands over which rights-of-way have been obtained are subject to prior liens, which have not been subordinated to the rights-of-way grants. We have obtained permits from public authorities to cross over or under, or to lay facilities in or along, water courses, county roads, municipal streets and state highways, and in some instances, these permits are revocable at the election of the grantor. We have also obtained permits from railroad companies to cross over or under lands or rights-of-way, many of which are also revocable at the grantor’s election. In some cases, property for pipeline purposes was purchased in fee. In some states and under some circumstances, we have the right of eminent domain to acquire rights-of-way and land necessary for our pipelines.

Some of the leases, easements, rights-of-way, permits and licenses that have been transferred to us are only transferable with the consent of the grantor of these rights, which in some instances is a governmental entity. We believe that we have obtained or will obtain sufficient third-party consents, permits and authorizations to operate our business in all material respects.

We believe that we have satisfactory title to all of our assets. Although title to our properties is subject to encumbrances in some cases, such as customary interests generally retained in connection with the acquisition of real property, liens that can be imposed in some jurisdictions for government-initiated action to clean up environmental contamination, liens for current taxes and other burdens, and easements, restrictions and other encumbrances to which the underlying properties were subject at the time of acquisition, we believe that none of these burdens should materially detract from the value of our properties or from our interest in them or should materially interfere with their use in the operation of our business.

Employees

As of December 31, 2018 , we had 1,868 employees, 948 of which were assigned to our refined products segment and concentrated in the central U.S.  Approximately 24% of the 948 employees are represented by the United Steel Workers (“USW”) and were covered by a collective bargaining agreement that expired in January 2019. We are operating under a 24-hour rolling extension of this agreement while negotiations for a new agreement continue. Management expects that we will be able to successfully negotiate a new long-term agreement with the USW; however, a prolonged work stoppage by these employees could have a material adverse effect on our business activities, results of operations and cash flows. At December 31, 2018 , 160 of our employees were assigned to our crude oil segment and were concentrated in the central U.S., and none of these employees were covered by a collective bargaining agreement.  There were 201 employees assigned to our marine storage segment at December 31, 2018 , primarily in the Gulf and East Coast regions of the U.S., with approximately 14% of these employees represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers and covered by a collective bargaining agreement that expires in October 2020.

 

(d) Financial Information About Geographical Areas

We have no international activities. For all periods included in this report, all of our revenue was derived from operations conducted in, and all of our assets were located in, the U.S. See Note 15– Segment Disclosures in the notes to consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this report for information regarding our revenue and total assets.

(e) Available Information

Our internet address is www.magellanlp.com. We make available free of charge on or through our website our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.