RISK FACTORS

Limited partner interests are inherently different from the capital stock of a corporation, although many of the business risks to which we are subject are similar to those that would be faced by a corporation engaged in a similar business. You should carefully consider the following risk factors together with all of the other information included in this prospectus, including the matters addressed under “Forward-Looking Statements,” in evaluating an investment in our common units.

If any of the following risks were to occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions could be materially adversely affected. In that case, we may not be able to pay the minimum quarterly distribution on our common units, the trading price of our common units could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business

Our Sponsors account for all of our revenue. If our Sponsors change their business strategy, alter their current drilling and development plan on our dedicated acreage, or otherwise significantly reduce the volumes of natural gas and condensate transported through our gathering systems, our revenue would decline and our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make distributions to our unitholders would be materially and adversely affected.

As we expect to initially derive all of our revenue from our gathering agreements with our Sponsors, any event, whether in our dedicated acreage or elsewhere, that materially and adversely affects either or both of CONSOL’s or Noble’s business strategies with respect to drilling on and development of our dedicated acreage or their financial condition, results of operations or cash flows may adversely affect our ability to sustain or increase cash distributions to our unitholders. Accordingly, we are indirectly subject to the operational and business risks of our Sponsors, the most significant of which include the following:

In addition, we are indirectly subject to the business risks of our Sponsors generally and other factors, including, among others:

Further, we have no control over our Sponsors’ business decisions and operations, and our Sponsors are under no obligation to adopt a business strategy that is favorable to us. Thus, we are subject to the risk

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of non-payment or non-performance by our Sponsors, including with respect to our gathering agreements, which do not contain minimum volume commitments. We cannot predict the extent to which our Sponsors’ businesses would be impacted if conditions in the energy industry were to deteriorate nor can we estimate the impact such conditions would have on the ability of our Sponsors to execute their drilling and development plan on our dedicated acreage or to perform under our gathering agreements. Any material non-payment or non-performance by either CONSOL or Noble under our gathering agreements would have a significant adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and could therefore materially adversely affect our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders at the expected rate or at all. Each of our gathering agreements with our Sponsors has an initial term of 20 years, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to renew or replace those gathering agreements on equal or better terms upon their expiration. Our ability to renew or replace our gathering agreements with our Sponsors following their expiration at rates sufficient to maintain our current revenues and cash flows could be adversely affected by activities beyond our control, including the activities of our competitors and our Sponsors.

Under our Sponsors’ joint development agreement, our Sponsors’ drilling and development plan with respect to their upstream joint venture is subject to annual agreement of our Sponsors and is subject to each Sponsor’s non-consent rights. Accordingly, we can provide no assurance as to the number of wells, if any, that will be drilled by our Sponsors in any given year.

Each year, our Sponsors collaborate to create a detailed drilling and development plan for the following year, based upon a number of assumptions, such as expected drilling and completion costs, expected production and expected commodity prices, which includes the number of wells, if any, to be drilled on our dedicated acreage and our ROFO acreage. If our Sponsors mutually agree, the annual plan for a given year can provide for more or fewer wells to be drilled than the number of wells that was provided for in the multi-year drilling and development plan set forth in our Sponsors’ joint development agreement, which we refer to as the “default plan.” Historically, our Sponsors have been able to mutually agree on an annual plan for a given year, several of which provided for fewer wells to be drilled during the applicable year than the number of wells that was set forth in the default plan for such year. If our Sponsors agree on an annual plan for any year that provides for significantly fewer wells to be drilled than would have been drilled under the default plan, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions may be materially adversely affected.

If our Sponsors cannot agree on a drilling plan for a given year, then, unless a Sponsor exercises the non-consent right described below, our Sponsors will be obligated to drill the number of wells set forth in the default plan for such year. The current default plan provides for our Sponsors to drill 354 wells in 2015 and 377 wells in each of 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. If our Sponsors are to operate under the default plan for a given year, each Sponsor has a “non-consent right,” which is the right to elect not to participate in all (but not less than all) of the operations provided for in the default plan for the following year. If one of our Sponsors elects to exercise its non-consent right, then the other Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may determine the number of wells, if any, it will drill in such year, which may be significantly less than the number of wells that was provided for in the default plan, or none at all. Under our Sponsors’ joint development agreement, this non-consent right may be exercised by each Sponsor twice (in non-consecutive years) prior to the termination of the default plan at the end of 2020. Neither of our Sponsors has exercised its non-consent right , and thus, each Sponsor may still elect to exercise its non-consent right twice prior to the end of 2020. If a Sponsor exercises its non-consent right for any year, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions will be materially adversely affected.

The default plan ends at the end of 2020. Following the end of the default plan, all drilling operations on our dedicated acreage and our ROFO acreage will be governed by the applicable joint operating agreement. Under the joint operating agreements, either Sponsor may propose drilling operations; however, neither Sponsor is obligated to participate in any drilling operations and may elect not to participate in any or all of the operations proposed on our dedicated acreage or our ROFO acreage. If either or both of our Sponsors elect not to participate in any or all of the operations proposed on our dedicated

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acreage or our ROFO acreage, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions will be materially adversely affected.

On a pro forma basis, we would not have generated sufficient distributable cash flow to support the payment of the aggregate annualized minimum quarterly distribution on all of our units for the year ended December 31, 2013 or the twelve months ended June 30, 2014.

We must generate approximately $         million of distributable cash flow to support the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution for four quarters on all of our common units and subordinated units that will be outstanding immediately following this offering, as well as the corresponding distribution on our 2.0% general partner interest. The amount of pro forma distributable cash flow generated during each of the year ended December 31, 2013 and the twelve months ended June 30, 2014 would not have been sufficient to support the payment of the full minimum quarterly distribution on our common units and subordinated units, as well as the corresponding distribution on our 2.0% general partner interest, during those periods. Specifically, the amount of pro forma distributable cash flow generated during the year ended December 31, 2013 would have been sufficient to support a distribution of $         per common unit per quarter ($         per common unit on an annualized basis), or     % of the minimum quarterly distribution, and would not have supported any distributions on our subordinated units, and the amount of pro forma distributable cash flow generated during the twelve months ended June 30, 2014 would have been sufficient to support a distribution of $         per common unit per quarter ($         per common unit on an annualized basis), or         % of the minimum quarterly distribution, and would not have supported any distributions on our subordinated units. For a calculation of our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders based on our pro forma results for the year ended December 31, 2013 and the twelve months ended June 30, 2014, please read “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions.” If we are unable to generate sufficient distributable cash flow in future periods, we may not be able to support the payment of the full minimum quarterly distribution or any amount on our common units or subordinated units, in which event the market price of our common units may decline materially.

We may not generate sufficient distributable cash flow to support the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution to our unitholders.

In order to support the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution of $         per unit per quarter, or $         per unit on an annualized basis, we must generate distributable cash flow of approximately $         million per quarter, or approximately $         million per year, based on the number of common units and subordinated units and the general partner interest to be outstanding immediately after the completion of this offering. We may not generate sufficient distributable cash flow to support the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution to our unitholders.

The amount of cash we can distribute on our units principally depends upon the amount of cash we generate from our operations, which will fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on, among other things:

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In addition, the actual amount of distributable cash flow that we generate will also depend on other factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

The assumptions underlying the forecast of EBITDA and distributable cash flow that we include in “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions” are inherently uncertain and subject to significant business, economic, financial, regulatory and competitive risks that could cause our actual EBITDA and distributable cash flow to differ materially from our forecast.

The forecast of EBITDA and distributable cash flow set forth in “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions” includes our forecast of our EBITDA and distributable cash flow for the twelve months ending September 30, 2015. Our ability to pay the full minimum quarterly distribution in the forecast period is based on a number of assumptions that may not prove to be correct and that are discussed in “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions.” Our management has prepared the financial forecast and has neither requested nor received an opinion or report on it from our or any other independent auditor.

The assumptions and estimates underlying the forecast are substantially driven by our Sponsors’ anticipated drilling and development plan on our dedicated acreage during the forecast period and, although we consider our assumptions as to our Sponsors’ ability to maintain that schedule to be reasonable as of the date of this prospectus, those assumptions and estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to a wide variety of significant business, economic and competitive risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forecast. If we do not achieve the forecasted results, we may not be able to pay the full minimum quarterly distribution or any amount on our common units, in which event the market price of our common units may materially decline.

Because of the natural decline in production from existing wells, our success, in part, depends on our ability to maintain or increase natural gas and condensate throughput volumes on our midstream systems, which depends on our Sponsors’ levels of development and completion activity on acreage dedicated to us.

The level of natural gas and condensate volumes handled by our midstream systems depends on the level of production from natural gas wells dedicated to our midstream systems, which may be less than

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expected and which will naturally decline over time. In order to maintain or increase throughput levels on our midstream systems, we must obtain production from wells completed by our Sponsors and/or third parties on acreage dedicated to our midstream systems.

We have no control over our Sponsors’ or other producers’ levels of development and completion activity in our area of operation, the amount of reserves associated with wells connected to our systems or the rate at which production from a well declines. In addition, we have no control over our Sponsors or other producers or their exploration and development decisions, which may be affected by, among other things:

Due to these and other factors, even if reserves are known to exist in areas served by our midstream systems, producers may choose not to develop those reserves. If producers choose not to develop their reserves, or they choose to slow their development rate, in our areas of operation, they will have no need to dedicate such additional acreage and associated reserves to our midstream systems and the pace of such additional dedications will be below anticipated levels. Our inability to obtain additional dedications of acreage resulting from reductions in development activity, coupled with the natural decline in production from our current dedicated acreage, would result in our inability to maintain the then current levels of throughput on our midstream systems, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions.

Our gathering agreements with our Sponsors provide for the release of our Sponsors’ dedicated acreage in certain situations, provide our Sponsors the ability to transfer certain of the dedicated acreage free of the dedication to us and do not include minimum volume commitments.

Our gathering agreements provide that if we fail to timely complete the construction of the facilities necessary to provide midstream services to our Sponsors on our dedicated acreage or have an uncured default of any of our material obligations that has caused an interruption in our services for more than 90 days, the affected acreage will be permanently released from our dedication. Also, after the fifth anniversary of our gathering agreements, if our Sponsors drill a well that is located a certain distance from our current gathering system (and is not included in the detailed drilling plan provided by our Sponsors) and a third- party gatherer offers a lower cost of service, then the acreage associated with such well will be permanently released from our dedication. Any permanent releases of our Sponsors’ acreage from our dedication could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions.

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Our gathering agreements also provide that in certain situations, such as an uncured default of any of our material obligations that has caused an interruption in our services for less than 90 days, our dedicated acreage can be temporarily released from our dedication. Any temporary releases of acreage from our dedication could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions.

Our gathering agreements will run with the land and be binding on a transferee of any of our dedicated acreage; however, each of our Sponsors may transfer 25,000 net acres of the dedicated acreage free of the dedication to us. This amount of net acres that can be transferred free of the dedication will be increased by the amount, if any, of net acres acquired by our Sponsors in the dedication area that will become automatically dedicated to us. Any transfer of acreage free from the dedication to us could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions.

Our gathering agreements do not include minimum volumes commitments. Any decrease in the current levels of throughput on our gathering systems could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions.

Certain of our dedicated acreage is either not held by production by our Sponsors or has not yet been earned by our Sponsors.

Certain of our dedicated acreage is either not held by production or has yet to be earned by our Sponsors under farmout agreements to which they are parties. As of June 30, 2014, approximately 31% of our dedicated acreage was not held by production or was yet to be earned by our Sponsors. With respect to the dedicated acreage that is not held by production, if our Sponsors do not timely meet the drilling obligations specified in the underlying leases, then the leases will terminate and will no longer be subject to our dedication. With respect to the dedicated acreage that is yet to be earned by our Sponsors under certain farmout agreements, if our Sponsors do not meet their drilling obligations to earn the acreage subject to the farmout agreements prior to the termination of the farmout agreements, then they will have no further rights to earn any acreage that they have not previously earned under the farmout agreements. Also, if the counterparty to the farmout agreements becomes insolvent or bankrupt, then the farmout agreements may be deemed an executory contract that may be discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding. If our Sponsors do not timely meet the drilling obligations specified in the leases not held by production or do not earn all of the acreage subject to the farmout agreements prior to the termination of the farmout agreement or if our Sponsor’s farmout agreements are discharged, the affected acreage will no longer be dedicated to us, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions.

We may not be able to attract dedications of third-party volumes, in part because our industry is highly competitive, which could limit our ability to grow and increase our dependence on our Sponsors.

Part of our long-term growth strategy includes diversifying our customer base by identifying opportunities to offer services to third parties in our areas of operation. To date and over the near term, all of our revenues have been and will be earned from our Sponsors relating to production they own or control on our dedicated acreage. Our ability to increase throughput on our midstream systems and any related revenue from third parties is subject to numerous factors beyond our control, including competition from third parties and the extent to which we have available capacity when requested by third parties. Any lack of available capacity on our systems for third-party volumes will detrimentally affect our ability to compete effectively with third-party systems for natural gas and condensate produced from reserves associated with acreage other than our then current dedicated acreage in our area of operation. In addition, some of our competitors for third-party volumes have greater financial resources and access to larger supplies of natural gas than those available to us, which could allow those competitors to price their services more aggressively than we do.

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Our efforts to attract new third parties as customers may be adversely affected by (i) our relationship with our Sponsors and the fact that a substantial majority of the capacity of our midstream systems will be necessary to service their production on our dedicated acreage and that, under our gathering agreements with our Sponsors, our Sponsors will receive priority of service for the provision of our midstream services over third parties and (ii) our desire to provide services pursuant to fee-based agreements. As a result, we may not have the capacity to provide services to third parties and/or potential third-party customers may prefer to obtain services pursuant to other forms of contractual arrangements under which we would be required to assume direct commodity exposure. In addition, potential third-party customers who are significant producers of natural gas and condensate may develop their own midstream systems in lieu of using our systems. All of these competitive pressures could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

We may not be able to make an attractive offer to our Sponsors on our ROFO acreage.

Our Sponsors are required to allow us to make a first offer to provide midstream services on existing upstream acreage that is not currently dedicated to us or a third party, which, as of June 30, 2014, covered approximately 194,000 net acres, and any future acreage that our Sponsors jointly acquire in the ROFO area. Our Sponsors are under no obligation to accept any offer we make on this acreage, even if we submit the lowest bid they receive. In addition, another midstream service provider may be able to make a more attractive offer to our Sponsors, whether because they have existing infrastructure on or around this acreage or otherwise. Any rejection by our Sponsors of any offer on this acreage could adversely affect our organic growth strategy or our ability to maintain or increase our cash distribution level.

If our Sponsors elect not to jointly acquire acreage in their upstream AMI, they are under no obligation to dedicate or otherwise offer the acquired acreage to us for midstream services.

Pursuant to our Sponsors’ upstream joint venture agreement, if either of our Sponsors decides to acquire acreage in their upstream AMI, prior to 2036 they are required to offer the other Sponsor the right to participate in the joint acquisition of that acreage. Any acreage that is jointly acquired in the dedication area, and that is not subject to an existing third-party commitment, will automatically be dedicated to us. Any acreage that is jointly acquired in the ROFO area, and that is not subject to an existing third-party commitment, will be subject to our right of first offer for midstream services. However, if either of our Sponsors elects not to participate in an acquisition in their upstream AMI, the other Sponsor is under no obligation to dedicate such solely acquired acreage or allow us to make an offer to provide midstream services on that acreage, even if the acreage is not subject to any third-party commitment. A failure of one of our Sponsors to participate in an acquisition in their upstream AMI will limit the acreage that is either automatically dedicated to us (in the dedication area) or subject to our right of first offer (in the ROFO area) and could adversely affect our organic growth strategy or our ability to maintain or increase our cash distribution level.

Our only assets are controlling ownership interests in our operating subsidiaries. Because our interests in our operating subsidiaries represent our only cash-generating assets, our cash flow will depend entirely on the performance of our operating subsidiaries and their ability to distribute cash to us.

We have a holding company structure, meaning the sole source of our earnings and cash flow consists exclusively of the earnings of and cash distributions from our operating subsidiaries. Therefore, our ability to make quarterly distributions to our unitholders will be completely dependent upon the performance of our operating subsidiaries and their ability to distribute funds to us. We are the sole member of the general partner of each of our operating subsidiaries, and we control and manage our operating subsidiaries through our ownership of our operating subsidiaries’ respective general partners.

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The limited partnership agreement governing each operating company requires that the general partner of such operating company cause such operating company to distribute all of its available cash each quarter, less the amounts of cash reserves that such general partner determines are necessary or appropriate in its reasonable discretion to provide for the proper conduct of such operating company’s business.

The amount of cash each operating company generates from its operations will fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on events and circumstances and the actual amount of cash each operating company will have available for distribution to its partners, including us, also will depend on certain factors. For a description of the events, circumstances and factors that may affect the cash distributions from our operating subsidiaries please read “— We may not generate sufficient distributable cash flow to support the payment of the minimum quarterly distribution to our unitholders.”

We may be responsible for mine subsidence costs in the future.

Portions of our gathering systems pass over coal mines. Activities related to the use and expansion of our gathering systems have historically, and may continue to, be affected by mine subsidence. Under the terms of the omnibus agreement to be entered into between us, our general partner, CONE and our Sponsors, CONE has agreed to indemnify us for a period of four years against costs or losses arising out of mine subsidence. However, after the four year period, we may be liable for any costs or losses arising out of or attributable to mine subsidence. For the six months ended June 30, 2014, we incurred mine subsidence costs related to the expansion of our systems of approximately $2.2 million. We cannot predict the amount of any costs or losses associated with mine subsidence that may impact our assets after the term of the indemnification provided in the omnibus agreement. Mine subsidence costs and losses that we incur and for which we cannot seek indemnification could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions.

Our midstream systems are exclusively located in the Appalachian Basin, making us vulnerable to risks associated with operating in a single geographic area.

We rely exclusively on revenues generated from our midstream systems that are currently located exclusively in the Appalachian Basin. As a result of this concentration, we will be disproportionately exposed to the impact of regional supply and demand factors, delays or interruptions of production from wells in this area caused by governmental regulation, market limitations, water shortages or other drought related conditions or interruption of the processing or transportation of natural gas, NGLs or condensate. If any of these factors were to impact the Appalachian Basin more than other producing regions, our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions will be adversely affected relative to other midstream companies that have a more geographically diversified asset portfolio.

We may be unable to grow by acquiring the non-controlling interests in our operating subsidiaries owned by CONE, which could limit our ability to increase our distributable cash flow.

Part of our strategy for growing our business and increasing distributions to our unitholders is dependent upon our ability to make acquisitions that increase our distributable cash flow. Part of the acquisition component of our growth strategy is based upon our expectation of future divestitures by CONE to us of portions of its remaining, non-controlling interests in our operating subsidiaries. We have only a right of first offer pursuant to our omnibus agreement to purchase the non-controlling interests in our operating subsidiaries retained by CONE after the completion of this offering and that CONE subsequently elects to sell. CONE is under no obligation to offer to sell us additional assets (including our right of first offer assets, unless and until it otherwise intends to dispose of such assets), we are under no obligation to buy any additional assets from CONE and we do not know when or if CONE will make any offers to sell assets to us. We may never purchase all or a portion of the non-controlling interests in our operating subsidiaries for several reasons, including the following:

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We do not know when or if all or any portion of such non-controlling interests will be offered to us for purchase, and we can provide no assurance that we will be able to successfully consummate any future acquisition of all or any portion of such non-controlling interests in our operating subsidiaries. Furthermore, if CONE reduces its ownership interest in us, it may be less willing to sell to us its remaining non-controlling interests in our operating subsidiaries. In addition, except for our rights of first offer, there are no restrictions on CONE’s ability to transfer its non-controlling interests in our operating subsidiaries to a third party. If we do not acquire all or a significant portion of the non-controlling interests in our operating subsidiaries held by CONE, our ability to grow our business and increase our cash distributions to our unitholders may be significantly limited.

If third-party pipelines or other midstream facilities interconnected to our gathering systems become partially or fully unavailable, our operating margin, cash flow and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders could be adversely affected.

Our assets connect to other pipelines or facilities owned and operated by unaffiliated third parties. The continuing operation of third-party pipelines, processing and fractionation plants, compressor stations and other midstream facilities is not within our control. These third-party pipelines, processing and fractionation plants, compressor stations and other midstream facilities may become unavailable because of testing, turnarounds, line repair, maintenance, reduced operating pressure, lack of operating capacity, force majeure events, regulatory requirements and curtailments of receipt or deliveries due to insufficient capacity or because of damage from severe weather conditions or other operational issues. If any such increase in costs occurs or if any of these pipelines or other midstream facilities becomes unable to receive or transport natural gas, our operating margin, cash flow and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders could be adversely affected.

To maintain and grow our business, we will be required to make substantial capital expenditures. If we are unable to obtain needed capital or financing on satisfactory terms, our ability to make cash distributions may be diminished or our financial leverage could increase.

In order to maintain and grow our business, we will need to make substantial capital expenditures to fund our share of growth capital expenditures associated with our 75%, 5% and 5% controlling interests in our Anchor Systems, Growth Systems and Additional Systems, respectively, or to purchase or construct new midstream systems. If we do not make sufficient or effective capital expenditures, we will be unable to maintain and grow our business and, as a result, we may be unable to maintain or raise the level of our future cash distributions over the long term. To fund our capital expenditures, we will be required to use cash from our operations, incur debt or sell additional common units or other equity securities. Using cash from our operations will reduce cash available for distribution to our unitholders. Our ability to obtain bank financing or our ability to access the capital markets for future equity or debt offerings may be limited by our financial condition at the time of any such financing or offering and the covenants in our existing debt agreements, as well as by general economic conditions, contingencies and uncertainties that are beyond our control. Also, due to our relationships with our Sponsors, our ability to access the capital markets, or the pricing or other terms of any capital markets transactions, may be adversely affected by any impairment to

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the financial condition of our Sponsors or adverse changes in the credit ratings of our Sponsors. Any material limitation on our ability to access capital as a result of such adverse changes to a Sponsor could limit our ability to obtain future financing under favorable terms, or at all, or could result in increased financing costs in the future. Similarly, material adverse changes affecting one or both of our Sponsors could negatively impact our unit price, limiting our ability to raise capital through equity issuances or debt financing, or could negatively affect our ability to engage in, expand or pursue our business activities, or could also prevent us from engaging in certain transactions that might otherwise be considered beneficial to us.

Even if we are successful in obtaining the necessary funds to support our growth plan, the terms of such financings could limit our ability to pay distributions to our unitholders. In addition, incurring additional debt may significantly increase our interest expense and financial leverage, and issuing additional limited partner interests may result in significant unitholder dilution and would increase the aggregate amount of cash required to maintain the then current distribution rate, which could materially decrease our ability to pay distributions at the then prevailing distribution rate. While we have historically received funding from our Sponsors, none of our Sponsors, CONE, our general partner or any of their respective affiliates is committed to providing any direct or indirect financial support to fund our growth.

The amount of cash we have available for distribution to our unitholders depends primarily on our cash flow and not solely on our profitability, which may prevent us from making distributions, even during periods in which we record net income.

The amount of cash we have available for distribution depends primarily upon our cash flow and not solely on our profitability, which will be affected by non-cash items. As a result, we may make cash distributions during periods when we record a net loss for financial accounting purposes, and conversely, we might fail to make cash distributions during periods when we record net income for financial accounting purposes.

Our construction of new gathering, compression, dehydration, treating or other midstream assets may not result in revenue increases and may be subject to regulatory, environmental, political, legal and economic risks, which could adversely affect our cash flows, results of operations and financial condition and, as a result, our ability to distribute cash to our unitholders.

The construction of additions or modifications to our existing systems involves numerous regulatory, environmental, political and legal uncertainties beyond our control and may require the expenditure of significant amounts of capital. Financing may not be available on economically acceptable terms or at all. If we undertake these projects, we may not be able to complete them on schedule, at the budgeted cost or at all.

Our revenues may not increase immediately (or at all) upon the expenditure of funds on a particular project. For instance, if we build a processing facility, the construction may occur over an extended period of time, and we may not receive any material increases in revenues until the project is completed. Additionally, we may construct facilities to capture anticipated future production growth in an area in which such growth does not materialize. As a result, new gathering, compression, dehydration, treating or other midstream assets may not be able to attract enough throughput to achieve our expected investment return, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make cash distributions.

The construction of additions to our existing assets may require us to obtain new rights-of-way prior to constructing new pipelines or facilities. We may be unable to timely obtain such rights-of-way to connect new natural gas supplies to our existing gathering pipelines or capitalize on other attractive expansion opportunities. Additionally, it may become more expensive for us to obtain new rights-of-way or to expand or renew existing rights-of-way. If the cost of renewing or obtaining new rights-of-way increases, our cash flows could be adversely affected.

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The McQuay to Majorsville Pipeline experienced a slip at two stream crossings. Although construction of the pipeline has been completed, and remediation is ongoing, any additional delays in placing the pipeline into service may have a material impact on our operations and revenue.

We have completed construction of a 19-mile pipeline that connects the McQuay compressor station in Pennsylvania to the Majorsville compressor station in West Virginia. Construction of the pipeline was initially scheduled to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2014. However, in early 2014, adverse weather conditions both delayed construction of the pipeline and contributed to soil slippage on slide slopes at two stream crossings in West Virginia, which caused a release of sediment into the streams. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) has issued Notices of Violation in relation to those slips. We experienced another slip in August 2014, which resulted in an additional release of sediment. We have been and are continuing to work with WVDEP, the installation contractor and an external engineering firm to remedy the situation. Though we have not been contacted by the EPA or the Army Corps of Engineers with regard to the slips, both agencies have jurisdiction over activities related to the slips and either one or both agencies may bring enforcement actions at some time in the future. We still expect to be able to place the pipeline into service by the time our customer requires our services. However, any additional slips or delays could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. In addition, resolution of any enforcement actions may include monetary sanctions, and the WVDEP, the EPA or the Army Core of Engineers may seek to recover any economic benefit derived from non-compliance with the Clean Water Act. However, we presently do not have sufficient information to determine whether the potential liability with respect to these matters will have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Certain plant or animal species are or could be designated as endangered or threatened, which could have a material impact on our and our Sponsors’ operations.

The federal Endangered Species Act, or ESA, restricts activities that may affect endangered or threatened species or their habitats. Many states have analogous laws designed to protect endangered or threatened species. Such protections, and the designation of previously unidentified endangered or threatened species under such laws, may affect our and our Sponsors’ operations.

Our exposure to commodity price risk may change over time and we cannot guarantee the terms of any agreements for our midstream services with third parties or with our Sponsors.

We currently generate all of our revenues pursuant to fee-based gathering agreements under which we are paid based on the volumes that we gather and compress, rather than the underlying value of the commodity. Consequently, our existing operations and cash flows have little direct exposure to commodity price risk. However, the producers that are customers of our midstream services are exposed to commodity price risk, and extended reduction in commodity prices could adversely reduce the production volumes available for our midstream services in the future below expected levels. Although we intend to enter into fee-based gathering agreements with existing or new customers in the future, our efforts to negotiate such terms may not be successful.

Restrictions in our new revolving credit facility could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make quarterly cash distributions to our unitholders.

We expect to enter into a new revolving credit facility prior to or in connection with the closing of this offering. Our new revolving credit facility will limit our ability to, among other things:

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Our new revolving credit facility will also contain covenants requiring us to maintain certain financial ratios. For example, we may not permit the ratio of (i) consolidated total funded debt (as defined in the agreement governing our revolving credit facility) as of the last day of each fiscal quarter to (ii) consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the agreement governing our revolving credit facility) for the four consecutive fiscal quarters ending on the last day of such fiscal quarter to exceed (A) at any time other than during a qualified acquisition period (as defined in the agreement governing our revolving credit facility), 5.00 to 1.00 and (B) during a qualified acquisition period (as defined in the agreement governing our revolving credit facility), 5.50 to 1.00. In addition, we may not permit the ratio of (i) consolidated EBITDA for the four consecutive fiscal quarters ending on the last day of each fiscal quarter to (ii) consolidated interest expense (as defined in the agreement governing our revolving credit facility) for such four consecutive fiscal quarters to be less than 3.00 to 1.00. Our ability to meet those financial ratios and tests can be affected by events beyond our control, and we cannot assure you that we will meet any such ratios and tests.

The provisions of our new revolving credit facility may affect our ability to obtain future financing and pursue attractive business opportunities and our flexibility in planning for, and reacting to, changes in business conditions. In addition, a failure to comply with the provisions of our new revolving credit facility could result in a default or an event of default that could enable our lenders to declare the outstanding principal of that debt, together with accrued and unpaid interest, to be immediately due and payable. If the payment of our debt is accelerated, our assets may be insufficient to repay such debt in full, and our unitholders could experience a partial or total loss of their investment. Please read “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Capital Resources and Liquidity.”

A change in the jurisdictional characterization of some of our assets by federal, state or local regulatory agencies or a change in policy by those agencies may result in increased regulation of such assets, which may cause our revenues to decline and our operating expenses to increase.

Our gathering and transportation operations are exempt from regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, under the Natural Gas Act of 1938, or NGA, and the Interstate Commerce Act, or ICA. Section 1(b) of the NGA exempts natural gas gathering facilities from regulation by FERC under the NGA, and the ICA only governs liquids transportation service in interstate commerce. Although the FERC has not made any formal determinations with respect to any of our facilities we consider to be gathering facilities, we believe that the natural gas pipelines in our gathering systems meet the traditional tests FERC has used to establish that a natural gas pipeline is a gathering pipeline not subject to FERC or NGA jurisdiction. We believe that the condensate pipelines in our gathering systems meet the traditional tests FERC has used to determine that a condensate pipeline is not providing transportation service in interstate commerce subject to FERC ICA jurisdiction. The distinction between FERC-regulated transmission services and federally unregulated gathering services, however, has been the subject of substantial litigation, and the FERC determines whether facilities are gathering facilities on a case-by-case basis, so the classification and regulation of our gathering facilities may be subject to change based on future determinations by FERC, the courts, or Congress. If the FERC were to consider the status of an individual facility and determine that the facility or services provided by it are not exempt from FERC regulation under the NGA or under the ICA, the rates for, and terms and conditions of, services provided by such facility would be subject to regulation by the FERC under the NGA and/or the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978, or NGPA, or ICA. Such regulation could decrease revenue, increase operating costs, and, depending upon the facility in question, could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows.

Other FERC regulations may indirectly impact our businesses and the markets for products derived from these businesses. FERC’s policies and practices across the range of its natural gas regulatory activities, including, for example, its policies on open access transportation, market manipulation, ratemaking, gas quality, capacity release and market center promotion, may indirectly affect the intrastate

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Table of Contents

Index to Financial Statements

natural gas market. Should we fail to comply with any applicable FERC administered statutes, rules, regulations and orders, we could be subject to substantial penalties and fines, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the FERC has civil penalty authority under the NGA and the NGPA to impose penalties for current violations of up to $1,000,000 per day for each violation. Violations of the NGA or the NGPA could also result in administrative and criminal remedies and the disgorgement of any profits associated with the violation.

State regulation of natural gas gathering facilities and intrastate transportation pipelines generally includes various safety, environmental and, in some circumstances, nondiscriminatory take and common purchaser requirements, as well as complaint-based rate regulation. Other state regulations may not directly apply to our business, but may nonetheless affect the availability of natural gas for purchase, compression and sale.

For more information regarding federal and state regulation of our operations, please read “Business — Regulation of Operations.”

We may incur significant costs and liabilities as a result of pipeline and related facility integrity management program testing and any related pipeline repair or preventative or remedial measures.

The United States Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA, has adopted regulations requiring pipeline operators to develop integrity management programs for transportation pipelines and related facilities located where a leak or rupture could do the most harm, i.e., in “high consequence areas.” The regulations require operators to:

The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011, or the 2011 Pipeline Safety Act, among other things, increases the maximum civil penalty for pipeline safety violations and directs the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate rules or standards relating to expanded integrity management requirements, automatic or remote-controlled valve use, excess flow valve use, leak detection system installation and testing to confirm the material strength of pipe operating above 30% of specified minimum yield strength in high consequence areas. Effective October 25, 2013, PHMSA adopted new rules increasing the maximum administrative civil penalties for violation of the pipeline safety laws and regulations after January 3, 2012 to $200,000 per violation per day, with a maximum of $2,000,000 for a related series of violations. Should our operations fail to comply with PHMSA or comparable state regulations, we could be subject to substantial penalties and fines. PHMSA has also published advanced notices of proposed rulemaking to solicit comments on the need for changes to its safety regulations, including whether to extend the integrity management program requirements to additional types of facilities, such as gathering pipelines and related facilities. Additionally, in 2012, PHMSA issued an advisory bulletin providing guidance on the verification of records related to pipeline maximum allowable operating pressure, which could result in additional requirements for the pressure testing of pipelines or the reduction of maximum operating pressures to verifiable pressures. The adoption of these and other laws or regulations that apply more comprehensive or stringent safety standards could require us to install new or modified safety controls, pursue new capital projects, or conduct maintenance programs on an accelerated basis, all of which could require us to incur increased operational costs that could be significant. While we cannot predict the outcome of legislative or regulatory initiatives, such legislative and regulatory changes could have a material effect on our cash flow. Please read “Business — Regulation of Operations — Pipeline Safety Regulation.”

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