ITEM 1A.
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. If any of the following risks were actually to occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and our cash flows could be materially adversely affected. In that case, we might not be able to pay distributions on our common units, or the trading price of our common units could decline.
Risks Related to Our Business
PBF Energy accounts for the substantial majority of our revenues. Therefore, we are subject to its business risks. If PBF Energy changes its business strategy, fails to satisfy its obligations under our commercial agreements for any reason or significantly reduces the volumes throughput at our facilities, our revenues could decline, which would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make distributions to unitholders.
PBF Energy is our largest customer in our transportation and terminaling segment and our only customer in our storage segment. PBF Energy accounted for substantially all of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2017. We expect it will continue to provide a substantial majority of our revenues for the foreseeable future, and as a result, we are subject to the risk of nonpayment or nonperformance under our commercial agreements. If PBF Energy were to significantly decrease its use of our logistics assets, because of business or operational difficulties or strategic decisions by management, it is unlikely that we would be able to utilize any additional capacity as a result of this decreased use to service third-party customers without substantial capital outlays and delays, if at all, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Additionally, any event, whether in our areas of operation or otherwise, that materially and adversely affects PBF Energy’s 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 subject to the operational and business risks of PBF Energy, including:
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supply, demand, prices and other market conditions for PBF Energy’s products, including volatility in commodity prices;
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the effects of competition in PBF Energy’s markets;
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changes in currency exchange rates, interest rates and capital costs;
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adverse developments in PBF Energy’s relationship with both its key employees and unionized employees;
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PBF Energy’s ability to operate its business efficiently, manage capital expenditures and costs (including general and administrative expenses) and generate earnings and cash flow;
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PBF Energy’s substantial indebtedness;
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PBF Energy’s supply and inventory intermediation arrangements expose it to counterparty credit and performance risk;
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termination of PBF Energy’s inventory intermediation agreements, which could have a material adverse effect on its liquidity, as PBF Energy would be required to finance its intermediate and refined products inventory covered by the agreements. Additionally, PBF Energy is obligated to repurchase from the counterparty certain intermediates and finished products located at its Paulsboro and Delaware City refineries’ storage tanks upon termination of these agreements;
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restrictive covenants in PBF Energy’s indebtedness that may adversely affect its operational flexibility;
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PBF Energy’s obligations under its tax receivable agreement for certain tax benefits it may claim; and in particular that PBF Energy’s assumptions regarding such payments are subject to change due to various factors outside of its control;
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PBF Energy’s expectations and timing with respect to its acquisition activity and whether such acquisitions are accretive or dilutive to shareholders;
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PBF Energy’s expectations with respect to its capital improvement and turnaround projects;
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the status of an air permit to transfer crude through the Delaware City Refinery’s dock;
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the impact of disruptions to crude or feedstock supply to any of PBF Energy’s refineries, including disruptions due to problems with third-party logistics infrastructure or operations, including pipeline, marine and rail transportation;
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the possibility that PBF Energy might reduce or not make further dividend payments;
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the inability of PBF Energy’s subsidiaries to freely pay dividends or make distributions to PBF Energy;
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the impact of current and future laws, rulings and governmental regulations, including the implementation of rules and regulations regarding transportation of crude oil by rail;
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the effectiveness of PBF Energy’s crude oil sourcing strategies, including PBF Energy’s crude by rail strategy and related commitments;
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the impact of the newly enacted federal income tax legislation on PBF Energy;
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adverse impacts from changes in PBF Energy’s regulatory environment, such as the effects of compliance with the California Global Warming Solutions Act (also referred to as “AB32”), or from actions taken by environmental interest groups;
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market risks related to the volatility in the price of renewable identification numbers required to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standards and GHG emission credits required to comply with various GHG emission programs, such as AB32;
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PBF Energy’s ability to successfully integrate acquisitions into its business and realize the benefits from such acquisitions;
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liabilities arising from acquisitions that are unforeseen or exceed PBF Energy’s expectations;
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risk associated with our operations as a separate, publicly-traded entity;
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potential tax consequences related to PBF Energy’s investment in us; and
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any decisions PBF Energy continues to make with respect to its energy-related logistical assets that may be transferred to us.
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We may not have sufficient cash from operations following the establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses, including cost reimbursements to our general partner and its affiliates, to enable us to pay the minimum quarterly distribution to holders of our common units.
In order to pay the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.30 per unit, or $1.20 per unit on an annualized basis, we will require available cash of approximately
$12.8 million
per quarter, or
$51.2 million
per year, based on the number of common units and associated IDRs outstanding at December 31, 2017. We may not have sufficient available cash from operating surplus each quarter to enable us to pay the minimum quarterly distribution. 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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the volume of crude oil throughput;
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our entitlement to payments associated with MVCs;
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the fees we charge for the volumes throughput;
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the level of our operating, maintenance and general and administrative costs;
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prevailing economic conditions; and
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continued operation of our facilities.
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In addition, the actual amount of cash we will have available for distribution will depend on other factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:
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the level and timing of capital expenditures we make;
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the amount of our operating expenses and general and administrative expenses, including reimbursements to our general partner and its affiliates, including PBF Energy, in respect of those expenses and payment of the administrative fees under the Omnibus Agreement and Services Agreement for services provided to us by our general partner and its affiliates, including PBF Energy;
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the cost of acquisitions, if any;
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our debt service requirements and other liabilities;
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fluctuations in our working capital needs;
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our ability to borrow funds and access capital markets;
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restrictions contained in our 2023 Notes and our Revolving Credit Facility and other debt service requirements;
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the amount of cash reserves established by our general partner; and
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other business risks affecting our cash levels.
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Certain of our commercial agreements with PBF Energy and the Services Agreement contains provisions that allow our counterparty to such agreement to suspend, reduce or terminate its obligations under such agreement in certain circumstances, including events of force majeure, which would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make distributions to unitholders.
Certain of our commercial agreements with PBF Energy and the Services Agreement provide that our counterparty to such agreement may suspend, reduce or terminate its obligations to us, including the requirement to pay the fees associated with the applicable MVCs, if certain events occur, including (i) a material breach of the agreement by us, (ii) PBF Energy deciding to permanently or indefinitely suspend crude oil refining operations at certain of its refineries for which we provide services or (iii) the occurrence of certain force majeure events that would prevent us or PBF Energy from performing our or its obligations under the applicable agreement (in the case of PBF Energy, or with respect to the Services Agreement, us). In such circumstances, PBF Energy has the discretion to decide to suspend, reduce or terminate its obligations notwithstanding the fact that its decision may significantly and adversely affect us. For instance, under certain of our commercial agreements with PBF Energy, if PBF Energy decides to permanently or indefinitely suspend refining operations at the refinery served under the applicable agreement for a period that will continue for at least twelve consecutive months, then it may terminate the agreement on no less than twelve months’ prior written notice to us. Furthermore, under such agreements, PBF Energy has the right to suspend or reduce its obligations at the refinery served under the applicable agreement for the duration of a force majeure event affecting its assets with respect to any affected services, and may terminate the agreements with respect to such services if the force majeure event lasts in excess of twelve months. In addition, if the force majeure event occurs on our assets at any time, PBF Energy has the right to suspend or reduce its obligations for the duration of the force majeure event with respect to any affected services. As defined in our commercial agreements with PBF Energy, force majeure events include any acts or occurrences that prevent services from being performed either by us or PBF Energy under the applicable agreement, such as:
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strikes, lockouts or other industrial disturbances;
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acts of the public enemy, wars, terrorism, blockades, insurrections, riots or civil disturbances;
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storms, floods or washouts; or other interruptions caused by acts of nature or the environment;
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arrests or the order of any court or governmental authority claiming or having jurisdiction while the same is in force and effect;
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civil disturbances, explosions, fires, breakage leaks, releases, accidents to machinery, vessels, storage tanks, lines of pipe, rail lines and equipment;
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any inability to obtain or unavoidable delay in obtaining material or equipment;
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any inability to receive crude oil because of a failure of third-party logistics systems; and
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any other causes not reasonably within the control of the party claiming suspension and which by the exercise of commercially reasonable efforts such party is unable to prevent or overcome.
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Accordingly, under our commercial agreements with PBF Energy there exists a broad range of events that could result in our no longer being able to utilize our facilities and PBF Energy no longer having an obligation to meet its MVCs or pay the full amount of fees or other amounts otherwise owing under these agreements. Furthermore, a single event relating to one of PBF Energy’s refineries could have such an impact on a number of our commercial agreements with PBF Energy. Any reduction, suspension or termination of any of our commercial agreements would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make distributions to unitholders.
If we are unable to renew or extend the various commercial agreements we have with PBF Energy, our ability to make distributions to our unitholders may be reduced.
The term of PBF Energy’s obligations under each of our commercial agreements range from approximately seven to ten years. If we are unable to renew or extend such commercial agreements and if we are unable to generate additional revenues from third parties, our ability to make cash distributions to unitholders may be reduced. Additionally, even if we were to renew or extend our commercial agreements, PBF Energy is under no obligation to renew or extend such agreements on the same terms. The renewal or extension of such agreements with reduced MVCs could also have an impact on our ability to make cash distributions to unitholders. For example, throughput volumes at our Delaware City rail assets have been below MVCs in recent periods. As a result, PBF Energy may seek to renew or extend its commercial agreements with us for these assets with reduced MVCs, or may not seek to renew or extend these commercial agreements upon expiration. Any such change in these or our other commercial agreements that would reduce the MVCs or include other less favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and our ability to make distributions to unitholders.
A material decrease in the refining margins at PBF Energy’s refineries could materially reduce the volumes of crude oil that are throughput, which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make distributions to unitholders.
The volumes of crude oil that are throughput depend substantially on PBF Energy’s refining margins and the differentials for crude oils that are throughput at our facilities. Refining margins are dependent mostly upon the price of crude oil or other refinery feedstocks and the price of refined products. These prices are affected by numerous factors beyond our or PBF Energy’s control, including the global supply and demand for crude oil and gasoline and other refined products. Global economic weakness and high unemployment in the United States and/or globally could depress demand for refined products. The impact of low demand may be further compounded by excess global refining capacity and high inventory levels. Several refineries in North America and Europe have been temporarily or permanently shut down in response to falling demand and excess refining capacity in the recent past.
In addition to such market conditions, there are long-term factors that may impact the supply and demand of refined products in the United States, including:
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changes in capacity and utilization rates of refineries worldwide;
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increased fuel efficiency standards for vehicles, including greater acceptance of electric and alternative fuel vehicles;
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development and marketing of alternative and competing fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel;
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changes in fuel specifications required by environmental and other laws, particularly with respect to renewable fuel content requirements;
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potential and enacted climate change legislation;
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the EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions under the CAA; and
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other U.S. or state government regulations and policies.
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A significant portion of PBF Energy’s profitability is derived from the ability to purchase and process crude oil feedstocks that historically have been less expensive than benchmark crude oils, such as the heavy, sour crude oils processed at the Delaware City, Paulsboro, Chalmette and Torrance refineries. For the Toledo Refinery, purchased crude prices have historically been slightly above the WTI benchmark, however, such crude slate typically results in favorable refinery production yield. For all locations, these crude oil differentials can vary significantly from quarter to quarter depending on overall economic conditions and trends and conditions within the markets for crude oil and refined products. Any change in these crude oil differentials may have an impact on PBF Energy’s earnings. PBF Energy’s rail investment and strategy to acquire cost advantaged Mid-Continent and Canadian crude, which are priced based on WTI, could be adversely affected when the WTI/Dated Brent or related differentials narrow. A narrowing of the WTI/Dated Brent differential may result in PBF Energy’s Toledo Refinery losing a portion of its crude oil price advantage over certain of its competitors, which could negatively impact its profitability. In addition, the narrowing of the WTI/WCS differential, which is a proxy for the difference between light U.S. and heavy Canadian crude oil, may reduce PBF Energy’s refining margins and adversely affect its profitability and earnings. Divergent views have been expressed as to the expected magnitude of changes to these crude differentials in future periods. Any continued or further narrowing of these differentials could have a material adverse effect on PBF Energy’s and our business and profitability.
If the demand for refined products decreases significantly, if crude oil differentials for the crude run by PBF Energy narrow, or if there is a material increase in the price of crude oil supplied to PBF Energy’s refineries without an increase in the value of the refined products produced by those refineries, either temporary or permanent, which causes PBF Energy to reduce production of refined products at its refineries, there would likely be a reduction in the volumes of crude oil we handle for PBF Energy. Any such reduction could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make distributions to our unitholders.
A material decrease in the supply of attractively priced crude oil could materially reduce the volumes of crude oil that are throughput, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make distributions to our unitholders.
The volumes of crude oil that may be throughput in excess of PBF Energy’s MVCs will depend on the volumes of crude oil purchased by PBF Energy and transported by pipeline, rail or truck. This volume of crude oil purchased depends, in part, on the availability of attractively priced crude oil that can be transported to PBF Energy’s refineries by pipelines, rail or truck.
In order to maintain or increase production levels at PBF Energy’s refineries, PBF Energy must continually contract for new crude oil supplies or consider connecting to alternative sources of crude oil. Adverse developments in major oil producing regions around the world could have a significantly greater impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows because of our lack of industry and geographic diversity and substantial reliance on PBF Energy as a customer. Accordingly, in addition to risks related to accessing and transporting crude oil, we are disproportionately exposed to risks inherent in the broader oil and gas industry, including:
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the volatility and uncertainty of regional pricing differentials for crude oil and refined products;
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the ability of the members of the OPEC, and certain other oil exporting countries, to agree to and maintain production controls;
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the nature and extent of governmental regulation and taxation; and
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the anticipated future prices of crude oil and refined products in markets served by PBF Energy’s refineries.
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If, as a result of any of these or other factors, the volumes of attractively priced crude oil available to PBF Energy’s refineries are materially reduced for a prolonged period of time, the volumes of crude oil that we handle, and the related fees for those services, could be materially reduced, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make distributions to our unitholders as well as the trading price of our common units.
Any cyber-attacks, political instability, military strikes, sustained military campaigns, terrorist activity, or changes in foreign policy may negatively affect our and PBF Energy’s operations, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and our ability to make distributions to our unitholders.
We and PBF Energy are dependent on technology infrastructure and maintain and rely upon certain critical information systems for the effective operation of our respective businesses. These information systems include data network and telecommunications, internet access and our websites, and various computer hardware equipment and software applications, including those that are critical to the safe operation of our pipelines and terminals. These information systems are subject to damage or interruption from a number of potential sources including natural disasters, software viruses or other malware, power failures, cyber-attacks, and other events. To the extent that these information systems are under our control, we and PBF Energy have implemented measures such as virus protection software and emergency recovery processes to address the outlined risks. However, security measures for information systems cannot be guaranteed to be failsafe. Any compromise of our data security or our inability to use or access these information systems at critical points in time could unfavorably impact the timely and efficient operation of our business and subject us to additional costs and liabilities.
Any political instability, military strikes, sustained military campaigns, terrorist activity, or changes in foreign policy in areas or regions of the world where we operate or where PBF Energy acquires crude oil and other raw materials or sells its refined petroleum products may affect our business in unpredictable ways, including forcing us to increase security measures and causing disruptions of supplies and distribution markets. We may also be subject to United States trade and economic sanctions laws, which change frequently as a result of foreign policy developments, and which may necessitate changes to PBF Energy’s crude oil acquisition activities. Further, like other industrial companies, our facilities or PBF Energy’s facilities may be the target of terrorist activity. Any act of war or terrorism that results in damage to any of our logistics assets or PBF Energy’s refineries or third-party facilities upon which we or PBF Energy are dependent for our business operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are substantially dependent on PBF Energy’s refineries, particularly its Delaware City, Toledo and Torrance refineries.
Historically, all of our revenues have been derived from PBF Energy. In addition, despite limited third-party revenue from our East Coast Terminals, we expect the substantial majority of our revenue for the foreseeable future will be derived from operations supporting PBF Energy’s refineries, particularly its Delaware City, Toledo and Torrance refineries. PBF Energy’s refineries have similar throughput capacity; however, favorable market conditions due to, among other things, geographic location, crude oil and refined product slates and customer demand may cause an individual refinery to contribute more significantly to its earnings than others for a period of time. As a result, if there was a significant disruption to operations at such a refinery, PBF Energy’s earnings could be materially adversely affected (to the extent not recoverable through insurance) disproportionately to such refinery’s portion of its consolidated throughput. Any prolonged disruption to the operations of such a refinery, whether due to labor difficulties, destruction of or damage to such facilities, severe weather conditions, interruption
of utilities service or other reasons or decrease in demand for refined products from PBF Energy’s refineries, could have a material adverse effect on PBF Energy’s business, financial condition or results of operations. If this occurs, our revenue would likely decline, and we may not have sufficient available cash from operating surplus each quarter to enable us to pay the minimum quarterly distribution.
Our substantial dependence on PBF Energy’s Delaware City, Toledo and Torrance refineries as well as the lack of diversification of our assets and geographic locations could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make distributions to our unitholders.
We currently rely substantially on the revenues derived from operations supporting PBF Energy’s Delaware City, Toledo and Torrance refineries. Any event that renders any of these refineries temporarily or permanently unavailable or that temporarily or permanently reduces rates at these refineries could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make distributions to our unitholders.
We significantly rely on revenues generated from our transportation, terminaling and storage operations that are located in Toledo, Ohio, Torrance, California and Delaware City, Delaware. Due to our lack of diversification in assets and geographic location, an adverse development in our businesses or areas of operations, including adverse developments due to catastrophic events, weather, regulatory action and decreases in demand for crude oil and refined products, could have a significantly greater impact on our results of operations and cash available for distribution to our common unitholders than if we maintained more diverse assets and locations. Such events may constitute force majeure events under our commercial agreements, potentially resulting in the suspension, reduction or termination of one or more commercial agreements in the impacted geographic area. In addition, during a refinery turnaround, we expect that PBF Energy may only satisfy its MVCs with respect to our assets that serve such refinery.
Our ability to expand may be limited if PBF Energy’s business does not grow as expected.
Part of our growth strategy depends on the growth of PBF Energy’s business. We believe our growth will be driven in part by identifying and executing organic expansion projects that will result in increased throughput volumes from PBF Energy and third parties. Our prospects for organic growth currently include projects that we expect PBF Energy to undertake, and that we expect to have an opportunity to purchase from PBF Energy. In addition, our organic growth opportunities will be limited if PBF Energy is unable to successfully acquire new assets for which our execution of organic projects is needed. Additionally, if PBF Energy focuses on other growth areas or does not make capital expenditures to fund the organic growth of its logistics operations, we may not be able to fully execute our growth strategy.
We may not be able to significantly develop third-party revenue due to competition and other factors, which could limit our ability to grow and may extend our dependence on PBF Energy.
Our ability to develop third-party revenue is subject to numerous factors beyond our control, including competition from third parties and the extent to which we have available capacity when third-party customers require it.
In addition, with respect to our facilities collocated at a PBF Energy refinery, our ability to obtain third-party customers will be partially dependent on our ability to make connections to third-party facilities and pipelines. If we do not or are unable to make connections to third-party facilities and pipelines, the throughput at our facilities may be limited to the demand from PBF Energy’s refineries. Furthermore, to the extent that we have capacity at our products terminals available for third-party volumes, competition from other products terminals owned by our competitors may limit our ability to utilize this available capacity.
We can provide no assurance that we will be able to attract material third-party revenues to our existing or future assets. Our efforts to establish our reputation and attract new unaffiliated customers may be adversely affected
by our relationship with PBF Energy and our desire to provide services pursuant to fee-based contracts. Our existing and potential third-party customers may prefer to obtain services under contracts through which we could be required to assume direct commodity exposure.
If we are unable to obtain needed capital or financing on satisfactory terms to fund expansions of our asset base, our ability to make quarterly cash distributions may be diminished or our financial leverage could increase. We do not have any commitment with any of our affiliates to provide direct or indirect financial assistance to us.
In order to expand our asset base, we will need to make expansion capital expenditures. If we do not make sufficient or effective expansion capital expenditures, we will be unable to expand our business operations and may be unable to maintain or raise the level of our quarterly cash distributions. We will be required to use cash from our operations or incur borrowings or sell additional common units or other limited partner interests in order to fund our expansion capital expenditures. Using cash from operations will reduce cash available for distribution to our common unitholders. Our ability to obtain financing or 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 as well as the covenants in our debt agreements, general economic conditions and contingencies and uncertainties that are beyond our control. Even if we are successful in obtaining funds for expansion capital expenditures through equity or debt financing, the terms thereof could limit our ability to pay distributions to our common unitholders. Incurring additional debt may significantly increase our interest expense and financial leverage, and issuing additional limited partner interests may result in significant common unitholder dilution and 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-current distribution rate.
PBF Energy’s level of indebtedness, the terms of its borrowings and any future credit ratings could adversely affect our ability to grow our business, our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders and our credit ratings and profile. Our ability to obtain credit in the future and our future credit rating may also be affected by PBF Energy’s level of indebtedness.
PBF Energy has a significant amount of debt. As of December 31, 2017, PBF Energy had total debt of $2,226.1 million, excluding debt issuance costs. In addition to its outstanding debt, as of December 31, 2017, PBF Energy could have incurred an additional approximately $1,195.7 million of indebtedness based on the available capacity under existing debt agreements. PBF Energy’s significant level of debt could increase its and our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions and require PBF Energy to dedicate a substantial portion of its cash flow from operations to service its debt and lease obligations, thereby reducing the availability of its cash flow to fund its growth strategy, including capital expenditures, acquisitions and other business opportunities. Furthermore, a higher level of indebtedness at PBF Energy increases the risk that it may default on its obligations, including under its commercial agreements with us. The covenants contained in the agreements governing PBF Energy’s outstanding and future indebtedness may limit its ability to borrow additional funds for development and make certain investments and may directly or indirectly impact our operations in a similar manner. For example, PBF Energy’s indebtedness requires that any transactions PBF Energy enters into with us must be on terms no less favorable to PBF Energy than those that could have been obtained with an unrelated person.
PBF Energy’s senior notes are rated BB by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services and B1 by Moody’s Investors Service. Our credit rating may be adversely affected by the leverage or any change in the credit rating of PBF Energy, or its subsidiaries, or of the debt held by such entities, as credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. may consider the leverage and credit profile of PBF Energy and its affiliates because of their ownership interest in and control of us and because PBF Energy currently accounts for a substantial majority of our revenues. Any adverse effect on our credit rating would increase our cost of borrowing or hinder our ability to raise financing in the capital markets, which would impair our ability to grow our business and make cash distributions to our unitholders.
In the event PBF Energy were to default under certain of its debt obligations, we could be materially adversely affected. We have no control over whether PBF Energy remains in compliance with the provisions of its debt obligations, except as such provisions may otherwise directly pertain to us. Further, any debt instruments that PBF Energy or any of its affiliates enter into in the future, including any amendments to existing credit facilities, may include additional or more restrictive limitations on PBF Energy that may impact our ability to conduct our business. These additional restrictions could adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs or engage in, expand or pursue our business activities.
PBF LLC has obligations to make tax distributions to the members of PBF LLC and these amounts could be material. PBF Energy has obligations to make certain payments under its tax receivable agreement to the current and former members of PBF LLC other than PBF Energy, and the amounts PBF Energy has to pay could be significant and, in certain cases, may be accelerated and/or significantly exceed the actual benefits realized by PBF Energy.
PBF LLC is required to make periodic tax distributions to the members of PBF LLC, including PBF Energy, prorated in accordance with their respective percentage interests, subject to the terms and conditions of its limited liability company agreement. These amounts could be material to PBF LLC. PBF Energy is also party to a tax receivable agreement that provides for the payment from time to time by PBF Energy to the current and former members of PBF LLC other than PBF Energy of 85% of the benefits, if any, that PBF Energy is deemed to realize as a result of (i) the increases in tax basis resulting from its acquisitions of PBF LLC Series A Units, and (ii) certain other tax benefits related to its entering into the tax receivable agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the tax receivable agreement. The payments that PBF Energy may make under the tax receivable agreement will be substantial and there may be a material negative effect on PBF Energy’s liquidity if, as a result of timing discrepancies or otherwise, (i) the payments under the tax receivable agreement exceed the actual benefits it realizes in respect of the tax attributes subject to the tax receivable agreement, and/or (ii) distributions to PBF Energy by PBF LLC are not sufficient to permit PBF Energy, after it has paid its taxes and other obligations, to make payments under the tax receivable agreement. In addition, in certain cases, payments owed by PBF Energy under the tax receivable agreement may be accelerated and/or significantly exceed the actual benefits it realizes. PBF Energy’s payment obligations under the tax receivable agreement are PBF Energy’s obligation and not our obligation or any of the other subsidiaries of PBF Energy. However, PBF Energy may not be able to finance its obligations under the tax receivable agreement and its existing indebtedness may limit its subsidiaries’ ability to make distributions to it to pay these obligations. These provisions could materially adversely affect PBF Energy and its ability to meet its obligations to us.
Our logistics operations and PBF Energy’s refining operations are subject to many risks and operational hazards, some of which may result in business interruptions and shutdowns of our or PBF Energy’s facilities and liability for damages, particularly if not fully covered by insurance. If a significant accident or event occurs that results in business interruption or shutdown for which we are not adequately insured, our operations and financial results could be adversely affected.
Our logistics operations are subject to all of the risks and operational hazards inherent in receiving, handling, storing and transferring crude oil, natural gas and refined products, including:
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damages to our facilities, related equipment and surrounding properties caused by floods, fires, severe weather, explosions and other natural disasters and acts of terrorism;
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the inability of third-party facilities on which our operations are dependent, including PBF Energy’s facilities, to complete capital projects and to restart timely refining operations following a suspension or shutdown;
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mechanical or structural failures at our facilities or at third-party facilities on which our operations are dependent, including PBF Energy’s facilities;
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curtailments of operations relative to severe seasonal weather;
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inadvertent damage to our facilities from construction, farm and utility equipment; and
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These risks could result in substantial losses due to personal injury and/or loss of life, severe damage to and destruction of property and equipment and pollution or other environmental damage, as well as business interruptions or shutdowns of our facilities. Any such event or unplanned shutdown could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, PBF Energy’s refining operations, on which our operations are substantially dependent and over which we have no control, are subject to similar operational hazards and risks inherent in refining crude oil. A significant accident at our facilities or at PBF Energy’s facilities could result in serious injury or death to employees of PBF Energy or its affiliates or contractors, could expose us to significant liability for personal injury claims and reputational risk and could affect PBF Energy’s ability and/or requirement to satisfy the MVCs under our commercial agreements.
Our insurance policies do not cover all losses, costs or liabilities that we may experience, and insurance companies that currently insure companies in the energy industry may cease to do so or substantially increase premiums.
We maintain insurance or are covered by insurance policies maintained by PBF Energy or its affiliates. These insurance policies provide limited coverage for some, but not all, of the potential risks and liabilities associated with our business. To the extent we are covered by insurance policies maintained by PBF Energy or its affiliates, our coverage is subject to the deductibles and limits under those policies and to the extent PBF Energy or its affiliates experience losses under these insurance policies, the limits of our coverage may be decreased. In addition, we are not insured against all potential losses, costs or liabilities. We could suffer losses for uninsurable or uninsured risks or in amounts in excess of existing insurance coverage. We and PBF Energy may not be able to maintain or obtain insurance of the type and amount we desire at reasonable rates. As a result of market conditions, premiums and deductibles for certain of our or PBF Energy’s insurance policies may increase substantially. In some instances, certain insurance could become unavailable or available only for reduced amounts of coverage. For example, coverage for hurricane damage can be limited, and coverage for terrorism risks can include broad exclusions. If we were to incur a significant liability for which we were not fully insured, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial position.
The energy industry is highly capital intensive, and the entire or partial loss of individual facilities or multiple facilities can result in significant costs to both energy industry companies, such as us, and their insurance carriers. In recent years, several large energy industry claims have resulted in significant increases in the level of premium costs and deductible periods for participants in the energy industry. As a result of large energy industry claims, insurance companies that have historically participated in underwriting energy-related facilities may discontinue that practice, may reduce the insurance capacity they are willing to offer or demand significantly higher premiums or deductible periods to cover these facilities. If significant changes in the number or financial solvency of insurance underwriters for the energy industry occur, or if other adverse conditions over which we have no control prevail in the insurance market, we may be unable to obtain and maintain adequate insurance at a reasonable cost.
Our insurance program may include a number of insurance carriers. Significant disruptions in financial markets could lead to a deterioration in the financial condition of many financial institutions, including insurance companies and, therefore, we may not be able to obtain the full amount of our insurance coverage for insured events.
Our right of first offer to acquire the right of first offer assets and certain assets that PBF Energy may acquire or construct in the future is subject to risks and uncertainty, and ultimately we may not acquire any of those assets.
The Omnibus Agreement provides us with a right of first offer for a period of 10 years after the closing of the Offering on certain of PBF Energy’s existing logistics assets and certain assets that it may acquire or construct
in the future, subject to certain exceptions. The consummation and timing of any future acquisitions pursuant to this right will depend upon, among other things, PBF Energy’s willingness to offer subject assets for sale and obtain any necessary consents, our ability to negotiate acceptable purchase agreements and commercial agreements with respect to such assets and our ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms. We can offer no assurance that we will be able to successfully consummate any future acquisitions pursuant to our right of first offer, and PBF Energy is under no obligation to accept any offer that we may choose to make. In addition, certain of the right of first offer assets may require substantial capital expenditures in order to maintain compliance with applicable regulatory requirements or otherwise make them suitable for our commercial needs. For these or a variety of other reasons, we may decide not to exercise our right of first offer if and when any assets are offered for sale, and our decision will not be subject to unitholder approval. In addition, the Omnibus Agreement and our right of first offer may be terminated by PBF Energy at any time in the event that PBF LLC or its affiliates no longer controls our general partner. Please read “Item 1. Business—Agreements with PBF Energy—Omnibus Agreement.”
Our purchase option under certain circumstances to acquire and our right to use certain of PBF Energy’s existing assets is subject to risks and uncertainty, and ultimately we may not acquire or have a right to use any of those assets.
Our commercial agreements provide us with options to purchase and use certain assets at PBF Energy’s refineries related to our business in the event PBF Energy were to shut them down. In the event PBF Energy shuts down any of the refineries and our option becomes exercisable, the consummation and timing of any future acquisitions pursuant to our purchase option will depend upon, among other things, our ability to obtain any necessary consents, to negotiate acceptable purchase agreements and commercial agreements with respect to such assets and to obtain financing on acceptable terms. We can offer no assurance that we will be able to successfully consummate any future acquisitions pursuant to this purchase option. In addition, certain of the assets covered by this purchase option and our right of use may require substantial capital expenditures in order to maintain compliance with applicable regulatory requirements or otherwise make them suitable for our commercial needs. For these or a variety of other reasons, we may decide not to exercise this purchase option if PBF Energy permanently shuts down any of its refineries, or to exercise our right of use if and when we have capacity in excess of PBF Energy’s throughput volumes, as applicable, and our decision to exercise any purchase options or right of use will not be subject to unitholder approval. Please read “Item 1. Business—Agreements with PBF Energy—Commercial Agreements.”
If we are unable to make acquisitions on economically acceptable terms from PBF Energy or third parties, our future growth would be limited, and any acquisitions we undertake may reduce, rather than increase, our cash flows and ability to make distributions to unitholders.
A portion of our strategy to grow our business and increase distributions to unitholders is dependent on our ability to make acquisitions that result in an increase in cash flow. If we are unable to make acquisitions from PBF Energy or third parties for any reason, including if we are unable to identify attractive acquisition candidates or negotiate acceptable purchase contracts, we are unable to obtain financing for these acquisitions on economically acceptable terms, we are outbid by competitors or we or the seller are unable to obtain any necessary consents, our future growth and ability to increase distributions to unitholders will be limited. Furthermore, even if we do consummate acquisitions that we believe will be accretive, they may in fact result in a decrease in cash flow. Any acquisition involves potential risks, including, among other things:
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mistaken assumptions about revenues and costs, including synergies;
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the assumption of unknown liabilities;
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limitations on rights to indemnity from the seller;
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mistaken assumptions about the overall costs of equity or debt;
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the diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns;
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unforeseen difficulties operating in new product areas or new geographic areas; and
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customer or key employee losses at the acquired businesses.
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If we consummate any future acquisitions, our capitalization and results of operations may change significantly, and unitholders may not have the opportunity to evaluate the economic, financial and other relevant information that we will consider in determining the application of these funds and other resources.
We may be unsuccessful in integrating the operations of the assets we have acquired or of any future acquisitions with our existing operations, and in realizing all or any part of the anticipated benefits of any such acquisitions.
From time to time, we expect to evaluate and acquire assets and businesses that we believe complement our existing assets and businesses. Acquisitions, including drop-down transactions from PBF Energy, may require substantial capital or the incurrence of substantial indebtedness. Our capitalization and results of operations may change significantly as a result of future acquisitions. Acquisitions and business expansions involve numerous risks, including difficulties in the assimilation of the assets and operations of the acquired businesses, inefficiencies and difficulties that arise because of unfamiliarity with new assets and the businesses associated with them and new geographic areas and the diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns. Further, unexpected costs and challenges may arise whenever businesses with different operations or management are combined, and we may experience unanticipated delays in realizing the benefits of an acquisition. Also, following an acquisition, we may discover previously unknown liabilities associated with the acquired business or assets for which we have no recourse under applicable indemnification provisions.
Our expansion of existing assets and construction of new assets may not result in revenue increases and will be subject to regulatory, environmental, political, legal and economic risks, which could adversely affect our operations and financial condition.
A portion of our strategy to grow and increase distributions to unitholders is dependent on our ability to expand existing assets and to construct additional assets. We have no material commitments for expansion or construction projects as of December 31, 2017. The construction of a pipeline or terminal or the expansion of our existing terminals or pipelines involves numerous regulatory, environmental, political and legal uncertainties, most of which are beyond our control. If we undertake these types of projects, they may not be completed on schedule or at all or at the budgeted cost. Moreover, we may not receive sufficient long-term contractual commitments from customers to provide the revenue needed to support such projects. Even if we receive such commitments, we may not realize an increase in revenue for an extended period of time. For instance, if we build a pipeline, the construction will occur over an extended period of time, and we will not receive any material increases in revenues until after completion of the project. Moreover, we may construct facilities to capture anticipated future growth in production in a region or gain access to crude oil supplies at lower costs and such growth or access may not materialize. As a result, new facilities may not be able to attract enough throughput to achieve our expected investment return, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and our ability to make distributions to our unitholders.
We do not own all of the land on which our facilities are located, which could result in disruptions to our operations.
We do not own all of the land on which our facilities have been constructed, and we are therefore subject to the possibility of more onerous terms and/or increased costs to retain necessary land use if we do not have valid rights of way, if such rights of way lapse or terminate or if our facilities are not properly located within the boundaries of such rights of way. Although some of these rights are perpetual in nature, we occasionally obtain the rights to construct and operate our facilities on land owned by third parties and governmental agencies for a specific period of time. If we are unsuccessful in renegotiating rights of way, we may have to relocate our facilities. A loss of rights of way or a relocation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and our ability to make distributions to our unitholders.
Whether we have the power of eminent domain varies from state to state, depending upon the laws of the particular state. We must compensate landowners for the use of their property and, in eminent domain actions, such compensation may be determined by a court. Our inability to exercise the power of eminent domain could negatively affect our business if we were to lose the right to use or occupy the property on which our facilities are located.
We operate in a highly regulated industry and increased costs of compliance with, or liability for violation of, existing or future laws, regulations and other requirements could significantly increase our costs of doing business, thereby adversely affecting our profitability.
Our industry is subject to extensive laws, regulations and other requirements including, but not limited to, those relating to the environment, safety, employment, labor, immigration, minimum wages and overtime pay, health care and benefits, working conditions, public accessibility and other requirements. These laws and regulations are enforced by federal agencies including the EPA, the DOT, OSHA, the FRA, as well as numerous other state, local and federal agencies. Ongoing compliance with, or a violation of, these laws, regulations and other requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We believe that our operations are in substantial compliance with applicable laws and regulations. However, these laws and regulations, and the interpretation or enforcement thereof, are subject to frequent change and varying interpretation by regulatory authorities, and we are unable to predict the ongoing cost to us of complying with these laws and regulations or the future impact of these laws and regulations on our operations. Violation of environmental or other laws, regulations and permits can result in the imposition of significant administrative, civil and criminal penalties, injunctions and construction bans or delays.
Under various federal, state and local environmental requirements, as the owner or operator of terminals or other facilities, we may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of contamination at or from our existing locations, whether we knew of, or were responsible for, the presence of such contamination. The failure to timely report and properly remediate contamination may subject us to liability to third parties and may adversely affect our ability to sell or rent our property or to borrow money using our property as collateral. Additionally, we may be liable for the costs of remediating third-party sites where hazardous substances from our operations have been transported for treatment or disposal, regardless of whether we own or operate that site. In the future, we may incur substantial expenditures for investigation or remediation of contamination that has not yet been discovered at our current or former locations or locations that we may acquire.
A discharge of hydrocarbons or hazardous substances into the environment could subject us to substantial expense, including the cost to recover the materials spilled, restore the affected natural resources, pay fines and penalties, and natural resource damages and claims made by employees, neighboring landowners, government authorities and other third parties, including for personal injury and property damage. We may experience future catastrophic sudden or gradual releases into the environment from our facilities or discover historical releases that were previously unidentified or not assessed. Although our inspection and testing programs are designed to prevent, detect and address any such releases promptly, the liabilities incurred due to any future releases into the environment from our assets, have the potential to substantially affect our business. Such events could also subject us to media and public scrutiny that could have a negative effect on our operations and also on the value of our common units.
Changes in laws or standards affecting the transportation of North American crude oil by rail could significantly reduce volumes throughput at our facilities, and as a result our revenues could decline, which would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make distributions to unitholders.
Investigations into past rail accidents involving the transport of crude oil have prompted government agencies and other interested parties to call for increased regulation of the transport of crude oil by rail including in the areas
of crude oil constituents, rail car design, routing of trains and other matters. Recent regulation governing shipments of petroleum crude oil by rail requires shippers to properly test and classify petroleum crude oil and further requires shippers to treat Class 3 petroleum crude oil transported by rail in tank cars as a Packing Group I or II hazardous material only. To the extent that the regulations are applicable, we believe our operations are in compliance and such rules will not have a material impact on our cash flows. The DOT has issued additional rules and regulation that require rail carriers to provide certain notifications to State agencies along routes utilized by trains over a certain length carrying crude oil, enhance safety training standards under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, require each railroad or contractor to develop and submit a training program to perform regular oversight and annual written reviews and establish enhanced tank car standards and operational controls for high-hazard flammable trains. The new rules and any further changes in law, regulations or industry standards that require us to reduce the volatile or flammable constituents in crude oil that is transported by rail, alter the design or standards for rail cars we use, change the routing or scheduling of trains carrying crude oil, or any other changes that detrimentally affect the economics of delivering North American crude oil by rail to PBF Energy’s or subsequently to third-party refineries, could increase our costs, which would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and our ability to service our indebtedness.
We could incur substantial costs or disruptions in our business if we cannot obtain or maintain necessary permits and authorizations or otherwise comply with health, safety, environmental and other laws and regulations.
Our operations require numerous permits and authorizations under various laws and regulations. These authorizations and permits are subject to revocation, renewal or modification and can require operational changes to limit impacts or potential impacts on the environment and/or health and safety. A violation of authorization or permit conditions or other legal or regulatory requirements could result in substantial fines, criminal sanctions, permit revocations, injunctions, and/or facility shutdowns. In addition, major modifications of our operations could require modifications to our existing permits or upgrades to our existing pollution control equipment. Any or all of these matters could have a negative effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.
We may incur significant liability for costs and capital expenditures to comply with environmental and health and safety regulations, which are complex and change frequently.
Our operations are subject to federal, state and local laws regulating, among other things, the handling of petroleum, petroleum products and other regulated materials, the emission and discharge of materials into the environment, waste management, and remediation of discharges of petroleum and petroleum products, characteristics and composition of gasoline and distillates and other matters otherwise relating to the protection of the environment. Our operations are also subject to extensive laws and regulations relating to occupational health and safety.
We cannot predict what additional environmental, health and safety legislation or regulations may be adopted in the future, or how existing or future laws or regulations may be administered or interpreted with respect to our operations. Many of these laws and regulations are becoming increasingly stringent, and the cost of compliance with these requirements can be expected to increase over time.
Certain environmental laws impose strict, and in certain circumstances, joint and several, liability for costs of investigation and cleanup of such spills, discharges or releases on owners and operators of, as well as persons who arrange for treatment or disposal of regulated materials at contaminated sites. Under these laws, we may incur liability or be required to pay penalties for past contamination, and third parties may assert claims against us for damages allegedly arising out of any past or future contamination. The potential penalties and clean-up costs for past or future releases or spills, the failure of prior owners of our facilities to complete their clean-up obligations, the liability to third parties for damage to their property, or the need to address newly-discovered information or conditions that may require a response could be significant, and the payment of these amounts could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Furthermore, the DCR Rail Terminal and the DCR West Rack are collocated with PBF Energy’s Delaware City Refinery and are located in Delaware’s coastal zone where certain activities are regulated under the CZA. Therefore, determinations regarding the CZA that impact the Delaware City Refinery may potentially adversely impact our assets even if we are not directly involved. In 2013, the Delaware City Refinery obtained a permit to allow loading of crude oil onto barges (the “2013 Secretary’s Order”). The issuance of the permit was appealed by environmental interest groups and the DNREC’s issuance was ultimately upheld. The Delaware City Refinery is appealing a Notice of Penalty Assessment and Secretary’s Order issued in March 2017 (the “2017 Secretary’s Order”), including a $150,000 fine, alleging violations of the 2013 Secretary’s Order. DNREC determined that the Delaware City Refinery had violated the 2013 Secretary’s Order by failing to make timely and full disclosure to DNREC about the nature and extent of certain shipments and had misrepresented the number of shipments that went to other facilities. The penalty assessment and 2017 Secretary’s Order conclude that the 2013 Secretary’s Order was violated by the Paulsboro Refinery by shipping crude oil from the Delaware City Terminal to three locations other than the Paulsboro Refinery, on 15 days in 2014, making a total of 17 separate barge shipments containing approximately 35,700,000 gallons of crude oil in total. On April 28, 2017, the Delaware City Refinery appealed the Notice of Penalty Assessment and 2017 Secretary’s Order. The hearing of the appeal is scheduled for February 27, 2018. To the extent that the penalty and 2017 Secretary’s Order are upheld, there will not be a material adverse effect on the Partnership’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
On December 28, 2016, DNREC issued an Ethanol Permit to the Delaware City Refinery allowing the utilization of existing tanks and existing marine loading equipment at their existing facilities to enable denatured ethanol to be loaded from storage tanks to marine vessels and shipped to offsite facilities. On January 13, 2017, the issuance of the Ethanol Permit was appealed by two environmental groups. On February 27, 2017, the Coastal Zone Industrial Board (the “Coastal Zone Board”) held a public hearing and dismissed the appeal, determining that the appellants did not have standing. The appellants filed an appeal of the Coastal Zone Board’s decision with the Delaware Superior Court (the “Superior Court”) on March 30, 2017. On January 19, 2018, the Superior Court rendered an Opinion regarding the decision of the Coastal Zone Board to dismiss the appeal of the Ethanol Permit for the ethanol project. The Judge determined that the record created by the Coastal Zone Board was insufficient for the Superior Court to make a decision, and therefore remanded the case back to the Coastal Zone Board to address the deficiency in the record. Specifically, the Superior Court directed the Coastal Zone Board to address any evidence concerning whether the appellants’ claimed injuries would be affected by the increased quantity of ethanol shipments. During the hearing before the Coastal Zone Board on standing, one of the appellants’ witnesses made a reference to the flammability of ethanol, without any indication of the significance of flammability/explosivity to specific concerns. Moreover, the appellants did not introduce at hearing any evidence of the relative flammability of ethanol as compared to other materials shipped to and from the refinery. However, the sole dissenting opinion from the Coastal Zone Board focused on the flammability/explosivity issue, alleging that the appellants’ testimony raised the issue as a distinct basis for potential harms. Once the Coastal Zone Board responds to the remand, it will go back to the Superior Court to complete its analysis and issue a decision.
On October 19, 2017, the Delaware City Refinery received approval from DNREC for the construction and operation of the ethanol marketing project to allow for a combined total loading of up to 10,000 bpd, on an annual average basis, of ethanol on to marine vessels at the marine piers and the terminal truck loading rack, subject to certain operational and emissions limitations as well as other conditions. On the same date, Delaware City Logistics Company LLC received DNREC approval for the construction of (i) four additional loading arms for each of lanes 4, 10 and 11 for purposes of loading ethanol at its truck loading rack and (ii) a vapor vacuum control system for loading lanes connected to the existing vapor recovery unit located at its terminal in Delaware City. This approval is also subject to certain operational and emission limitations as well as other conditions.
Many of our assets have been in service for several years and could require significant expenditures to maintain them. As a result, our maintenance or repair costs may increase in the future.
Our pipelines, terminals and storage assets are generally long-lived assets, and many of them have been in service for many years. The age and condition of our assets could result in increased maintenance or repair expenditures in the future. Any significant increase in these expenditures could adversely affect our results of operations, financial position or cash flows, as well as our ability to service our indebtedness.
Regulation of emissions of greenhouse gases could force us to incur increased capital and operating costs and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
The EPA has taken steps to regulate GHGs under the CAA. The EPA has already adopted regulations limiting emissions of GHGs from motor vehicles, addressing the permitting of GHG emissions from stationary sources, and requiring the reporting of GHG emissions from specified large GHG emission sources, including refineries. These and similar regulations could require us to incur costs to monitor and report GHG emissions or reduce emissions of GHGs associated with our operations. In addition, various states, individually as well as in some cases on a regional basis, have taken steps to control GHG emissions, including adoption of GHG reporting requirements, cap and trade systems and renewable portfolio standards. Efforts have also been undertaken to delay, limit or prohibit EPA and possibly state action to regulate GHG emissions, and it is not possible at this time to predict the ultimate form, timing or extent of federal or state regulation. In the event we do incur increased costs as a result of increased efforts to control GHG emissions, we may not be able to pass on any of these costs to our customers. Such requirements also could adversely affect demand for commodities that we handle, transport and store. Any increased costs or reduced demand could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operation.
Climate change could have a material adverse impact on our operations and adversely affect our facilities.
Some scientists have concluded that increasing concentrations of GHGs in the Earth’s atmosphere may produce climate changes that have significant physical effects, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts, floods and other climatic events. We believe the issue of climate change will likely continue to receive scientific and political attention, with the potential for further laws and regulations that could materially adversely affect our ongoing operations.
In addition, as many of our facilities are located near coastal areas, rising sea levels may disrupt our ability to operate those facilities or transport crude oil and refined petroleum products. Extended periods of such disruption could have an adverse effect on our results of operation. We could also incur substantial costs to protect or repair these facilities.
Our business may suffer if any of our or PBF Energy’s senior executives or other key employees discontinues employment with us or PBF Energy. Furthermore, a shortage of skilled labor or disruptions in our labor force may make it difficult for us to maintain labor productivity.
Our future success depends to a large extent on the services of our, and our general partner’s, senior executives and other key employees and the same is true of PBF Energy and its senior executives and key employees. Our business depends on our continuing ability to recruit, train and retain highly qualified employees in all areas of our operations, including engineering, accounting, business operations, finance and other key back-office and mid-office personnel, or those of PBF Energy that we rely upon. Furthermore, our operations require skilled and experienced employees with proficiency in multiple tasks. The competition for these employees is intense, and the loss of these executives or employees could harm our business. If any of these executives or other key personnel resigns or becomes unable to continue in his or her present role and is not adequately replaced, either by us or PBF Energy, our business operations could be materially adversely affected.
A portion of our and PBF Energy’s workforce is unionized, and we may face labor disruptions that would interfere with our operations.
At the East Coast Terminals and at PBF Energy’s Delaware City, Toledo, Chalmette and Torrance refineries, most hourly employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement through the USW. The agreements with the USW covering the East Coast Terminals are scheduled to expire in May 2021, the agreement with the USW covering the Delaware City, the Chalmette and the Torrance refineries are scheduled to expire in January 2019 and the agreement with the USW covering the Toledo Refinery is scheduled to expire in February 2019. Similarly, at the Paulsboro Refinery, hourly employees are represented by the IOW under a contract scheduled to expire in March 2019. Future negotiations after 2019 may result in labor unrest for which a strike or work stoppage is possible. Strikes and/or work stoppages could negatively affect our operational and financial results and may increase operating expenses at the refineries.
Our operations could be disrupted if our or PBF Energy’s information systems are hacked or fail, causing increased expenses and loss of sales.
Our business is highly dependent on financial, accounting and other data processing systems and other communications and information systems, including such systems of PBF Energy that we utilize pursuant to the Omnibus Agreement. We process a large number of transactions on a daily basis and rely upon the proper functioning of computer systems. If a key system was hacked or otherwise interfered with by an unauthorized access, or was to fail or experience unscheduled downtime for any reason, even if only for a short period, our financial results could be affected adversely.
Additionally, we and PBF Energy rely on information systems across our and its operations, respectively, including the management of supply chain and various other processes and transactions. As a result, a disruption on any information systems at PBF Energy’s refineries, pipelines or terminals, or at our operating locations may cause disruptions to our collective operations.
These systems could be damaged or interrupted by a security breach, cyber-attack, fire, flood, power loss, telecommunications failure or similar event. We have a formal disaster recovery plan in place, but this plan may not prevent delays or other complications that could arise from an information systems failure. Further, our business interruption insurance may not compensate us adequately for losses that may occur. Finally, federal legislation relating to cyber-security threats could impose additional requirements on our operations.
PBF Energy’s operating results may be seasonal. PBF Energy depends on favorable weather conditions in the spring and summer months.
Demand for gasoline is generally higher during the summer months than during the winter months due to seasonal increases in highway traffic and construction work. Varying vapor pressure requirements between the summer and winter months also tighten summer gasoline supply. As a result, the operating results in the refining sector, which is PBF Energy’s sector, can fluctuate seasonally. Unfavorable weather conditions during the spring and summer months and a resulting lack of the expected seasonal upswings in traffic and sales could adversely affect PBF Energy’s business, financial condition and results of operations, which may adversely affect our business, financial conditions and results of operations.
Changes in accounting standards issued by the FASB could have a material effect on our balance sheet, revenue and result of operations, and could require a significant expenditure of time, attention and resources, especially by senior management.
Our accounting and financial reporting policies conform to GAAP, which are periodically revised and/or expanded. The application of accounting principles is also subject to varying interpretations over time. Accordingly, we are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards or comply with revised interpretations that are issued
from time to time by various parties, including accounting standard setters and those who interpret the standards, such as the FASB and the SEC and our independent registered public accounting firm. Such new financial accounting standards may result in significant changes that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which supersedes nearly all existing GAAP regarding revenue recognition. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases, which requires all operating leases with lease terms longer than twelve months be recorded as lease assets and lease liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. Implementing changes required by new standards, requirements or laws likely will require a significant expenditure of time, attention and resources. It is impossible to completely predict the impact, if any, on us of future changes to accounting standards and financial reporting and corporate governance requirements.
Refer to Note 2 “Summary of Accounting Policies - Recent Accounting Pronouncements” in our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Form 10-K for further discussion of these new accounting standards, including the implementation status and potential impact to our consolidated financial statements.
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness
The 2023 Notes and our Revolving Credit Facility contain restrictions which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and our ability to service our indebtedness.
We are dependent upon the earnings and cash flow generated by our operations in order to meet our debt service obligations. The indenture governing the 2023 Notes contains and our Revolving Credit Facility contain, and any future financing agreements may contain, operating and financial restrictions and covenants that could restrict our ability to finance future operations or capital needs, or to expand or pursue our business activities, which may, in turn, limit our ability to service our indebtedness. For example, our Revolving Credit Facility and the indenture that governs the 2023 Notes restrict our ability to, among other things:
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incur or guarantee additional indebtedness or issue preferred units;
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pay dividends or make distributions on units or redeem or repurchase our subordinated debt;
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incur dividend or other payment restrictions affecting subsidiaries;
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merge or consolidate with other entities; and
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enter into transactions with affiliates.
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Furthermore, our Revolving Credit Facility contains covenants requiring us to maintain certain financial ratios.
The provisions of our 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 existing debt could result in an event of default that could enable our lenders, subject to the terms and conditions of such debt, to declare the outstanding principal, together with accrued interest, to be immediately due and payable. If we were unable to repay the accelerated amounts, our lenders could proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure such debt. If the payment of our debt is accelerated, defaults under our other debt instruments, if any, may be triggered, and our assets may be insufficient to repay such debt in full and the holders of our units 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—Credit Facilities.”
Our current and future debt levels may limit our flexibility to obtain financing and to pursue other business opportunities.
As of December 31, 2017, we had $29.7 million of borrowings and $3.6 million of letters of credit outstanding under our Revolving Credit Facility, $525.0 million of unsecured indebtedness consisting of the 2023 Notes, and an additional $326.7 million of total unused borrowing capacity under the Revolving Credit Facility. Our level of indebtedness could have important consequences to us, including the following:
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our ability to obtain additional financing, if necessary, for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other purposes may be impaired or such financing may not be available on favorable terms;
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covenants contained in our existing and future credit and debt arrangements will require us to meet financial tests that may affect our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business, including possible acquisition opportunities;
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we will need a substantial portion of our cash flow to make principal and interest payments on our indebtedness, reducing the funds that would otherwise be available for operations, future business opportunities and payments of our debt obligations, including the 2023 Notes;
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our debt level will make us more vulnerable than our competitors with less debt to competitive pressures or a downturn in our business or the economy generally; and
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our flexibility in responding to changing business and economic conditions may be limited.
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Any of these factors could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, business prospects and ability to satisfy our obligations under the 2023 Notes.
Our ability to service our debt will depend upon, among other things, our future financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. If our operating results are not sufficient to service our current or future indebtedness, we will be forced to take actions such as reducing distributions, reducing or delaying our business activities, acquisitions, investments or capital expenditures, selling assets or seeking additional equity capital. We may not be able to effect any of these actions on satisfactory terms or at all. The amount of cash we have available for distribution to holders of our common units depends primarily on our cash flow rather than on our profitability, which may prevent us from making distributions, even during periods in which we record net income.
In addition, the amount of cash we have available for distribution does not depend solely on profitability, which may be affected by non-cash items. As a result, we may make cash distributions during periods when we record net losses for financial accounting purposes, and we may not make cash distributions during periods when we record net income for financial accounting purposes.
We have sold our U.S. Treasury securities over time to fund our capital expenditures. In March 2017, we fully repaid our three-year, $300.0 million term loan facility (the “Term Loan”) and, as a result, such securities were no longer used to secure our obligation. We may also rely on external sources including other borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility, and issuances of equity and debt securities to fund any significant future expansion.
Any borrowings and letters of credit issued under our Revolving Credit Facility will be secured, and as a result, effectively senior to the 2023 Notes and the guarantees of the 2023 Notes by the guarantors, to the extent of the value of the collateral securing that indebtedness. In addition, the holders of any future debt we may incur that ranks equally with the 2023 Notes will be entitled to share ratably with the holders of the 2023 Notes in any
proceeds distributed in connection with any insolvency, liquidation, reorganization, dissolution or other winding up of us. This may have the effect of reducing the amount of proceeds paid to holders of the 2023 Notes in such events.
Increases in interest rates could adversely impact the price of our common units, our ability to issue equity or incur debt for acquisitions or other purposes and our ability to make cash distributions at our intended levels.
Interest rates on future credit facilities and debt offerings could be higher than current levels, causing our financing costs to increase accordingly. As with other yield-oriented securities, our unit price is impacted by the level of our cash distributions and implied distribution yield. The distribution yield is often used by investors to compare and rank yield-oriented securities for investment decision-making purposes. Therefore, changes in interest rates, either positive or negative, may affect the yield requirements of investors who invest in our common units, and a rising interest rate environment could have an adverse impact on the price of our common units, our ability to issue equity or incur debt for acquisitions or other purposes and our ability to make cash distributions at our intended levels.
We do not have the same flexibility as other types of organizations to accumulate cash which may limit cash available to service the 2023 Notes or to repay them at maturity.
Subject to the limitations on restricted payments contained in the indenture governing the 2023 Notes and in our Revolving Credit Facility and any other indebtedness, we distribute all of our “available cash” each quarter to our unitholders of record on the applicable record date.
Available cash generally means, for any quarter, all cash on hand at the end of that quarter:
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, the amount of cash reserves established by our general partner to:
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provide for the proper conduct of our business (including cash reserves for our future capital expenditures and anticipated future debt service requirements subsequent to that quarter);
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comply with applicable law, any of our debt instruments or other agreements; or
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provide funds for distributions to our unitholders and to our general partner for any one or more of the next four quarters (provided that our general partner may not establish cash reserves for distributions if the effect of the establishment of such reserves will prevent us from distributing the minimum quarterly distribution on all common units and any cumulative arrearages on such common units for the current quarter);
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plus
, if our general partner so determines, all or any portion of the cash on hand on the date of determination of available cash for the quarter resulting from working capital borrowings made subsequent to the end of such quarter.
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The purpose and effect of the last bullet point above is to allow our general partner, if it so decides, to use cash from working capital borrowings made after the end of the quarter but on or before the date of determination of available cash for that quarter to pay distributions to unitholders. Under our partnership agreement, working capital borrowings are generally borrowings that are made under a credit facility, commercial paper facility or similar financing arrangement, and in all cases are used solely for working capital purposes or to pay distributions to unitholders, and with the intent of the borrower to repay such borrowings within twelve months with funds other than from additional working capital borrowings.
As a result, we do not accumulate significant amounts of cash and thus do not have the same flexibility as corporations or other entities that do not pay dividends or have complete flexibility regarding the amounts they will distribute to their equity holders. The timing and amount of our distributions could significantly reduce the cash available to pay the principal, premium (if any) and interest on the 2023 Notes. The board of directors of our
general partner will determine the amount and timing of such distributions and has broad discretion to establish and make additions to our reserves or the reserves of our operating subsidiaries as it determines are necessary or appropriate.
Although our payment obligations to our unitholders are subordinate to our payment obligations with respect to the 2023 Notes, the value of our units will decrease in correlation with decreases in the amount we distribute per unit. Accordingly, if we experience a liquidity problem in the future, we may not be able to issue equity to recapitalize.
Payment of principal and interest on the 2023 Notes is effectively subordinated to our senior secured debt to the extent of the value of the assets securing the debt and structurally subordinated as to the indebtedness of any of our subsidiaries that do not guarantee the 2023 Notes.
The 2023 Notes are our senior unsecured debt and rank equally in right of payment with all of our other existing and future unsubordinated debt. The 2023 Notes are effectively junior to all our existing and future secured debt, including our Revolving Credit Facility, to the extent of the value of the assets securing the debt, to any debt of our future subsidiaries that do not guarantee the 2023 Notes and to the existing and future secured debt of any subsidiaries that guarantee the 2023 Notes to the extent of the value of the assets securing the debt. Holders of our secured obligations, including obligations under our Revolving Credit Facility, will have claims that are prior to claims of holders of the 2023 Notes with respect to the assets securing those obligations. In the event of liquidation, dissolution, reorganization, bankruptcy or any similar proceeding, our assets and those of our subsidiaries will be available to pay obligations on the 2023 Notes and the guarantees only after holders of our senior secured debt have been paid the value of the assets securing such debt.
In addition, although all of our existing subsidiaries, other than PBF Logistics Finance Corporation, initially guarantee the 2023 Notes, in the future, under certain circumstances, the guarantees are subject to release and we may have subsidiaries that are not guarantors. In that case, the 2023 Notes would be structurally junior to the claims of all creditors, including trade creditors and tort claimants, of our subsidiaries that are not guarantors. In the event of the liquidation, dissolution, reorganization, bankruptcy or similar proceeding of the business of a subsidiary that is not a guarantor, creditors of that subsidiary would generally have the right to be paid in full before any distribution is made to us or the holders of the 2023 Notes. Accordingly, there may not be sufficient funds remaining to pay amounts due on all or any of the 2023 Notes.
Further, although PBF LLC provides a limited guarantee of collection of the principal amount of the 2023 Notes, under the terms of such guarantee, PBF LLC will generally not have any obligation to make principal payments with respect to the 2023 Notes unless and until all remedies, including in the context of bankruptcy proceedings, have first been fully exhausted against us with respect to such payment obligations, and holders of the 2023 Notes are still owed amounts in respect of the principal of the 2023 Notes. In addition, PBF LLC is not subject to any of the covenants under the indenture governing the 2023 Notes.
The subsidiary guarantees of the 2023 Notes could be deemed fraudulent conveyances under certain circumstances, and a court may try to subordinate or void the subsidiary guarantees.
Under U.S. bankruptcy law and comparable provisions of state fraudulent transfer laws, a guarantee can be voided, or claims under a guarantee may be subordinated to all other debts of that guarantor if, among other things, the guarantor, at the time it incurred the indebtedness evidenced by its guarantee:
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received less than reasonably equivalent value or fair consideration for the incurrence of the guarantee and was insolvent or rendered insolvent by reason of such incurrence;
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was engaged in a business or transaction for which the guarantor’s remaining assets constituted unreasonably small capital; or
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intended to incur, or believed that it would incur, debts beyond its ability to pay those debts as they mature.
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In addition, any payment by that guarantor under a guarantee could be voided and required to be returned to the guarantor or to a fund for the benefit of the creditors of the guarantor.
The measures of insolvency for purposes of these fraudulent transfer laws will vary depending upon the law applied in any proceeding to determine whether a fraudulent transfer has occurred. Generally, however, a subsidiary guarantor would be considered insolvent if:
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the sum of its debts, including contingent liabilities, was greater than the fair saleable value of all of its assets;
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the present fair saleable value of its assets was less than the amount that would be required to pay its probable liability, including contingent liabilities, on its existing debts as they become absolute and mature; or
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it could not pay its debts as they became due.
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We cannot assure you as to what standard for measuring insolvency a court would apply or that a court would agree with our conclusions.
We may not be able to repurchase the 2023 Notes upon a change of control triggering event, and a change of control triggering event could result in us facing substantial repayment obligations under our Revolving Credit Facility and the 2023 Notes.
Upon occurrence of a change of control triggering event, the indenture provides that holders will have the right to require us to repurchase all or any part of their 2023 Notes with a cash payment equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount of 2023 Notes repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest. Additionally, our ability to repurchase the 2023 Notes upon such a change of control triggering event would be limited by our access to funds at the time of the repurchase and the terms of our other debt agreements. In addition, our Revolving Credit Facility contains provisions relating to change of control of our general partner, our partnership and our operating subsidiaries. Upon a change of control triggering event, we may be required immediately to repay the outstanding principal, any accrued and unpaid interest on and any other amounts owed by us under our Revolving Credit Facility, the 2023 Notes and any other outstanding indebtedness. The source of funds for these repayments would be our available cash or cash generated from other sources. However, we cannot assure holders that we will have sufficient funds available or that we will be permitted by our other debt instruments to fulfill these obligations upon a change of control in the future, in which case the lenders under our Revolving Credit Facility would have the right to foreclose on our assets, which would have a material adverse effect on us. Furthermore, certain change of control events would constitute an event of default under the agreement governing our Revolving Credit Facility and we might not be able to obtain a waiver of such defaults. There is no restriction in our partnership agreement on the ability of our general partner to enter into a transaction which would trigger the change of control provisions of our Revolving Credit Facility or the indenture governing the 2023 Notes.
Many of the covenants in the 2023 Notes indenture will terminate if the 2023 Notes are rated investment grade by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.
Many of the covenants in the indenture governing the 2023 Notes will terminate if the 2023 Notes are rated investment grade by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, provided at such time no default under the indenture has occurred and is continuing. These covenants restrict, among other things, our ability to pay distributions, incur debt, and to enter into certain other transactions. There can be no assurance that the 2023 Notes will ever be rated investment grade or that if they are rated investment grade, that the 2023 Notes will maintain these ratings. However, termination of these covenants would allow us to engage in certain transactions that would not be permitted while these covenants were in force.
Risks Inherent in an Investment in Us
Our general partner and its affiliates, including PBF Energy, have conflicts of interest with us and limited fiduciary duties to us and our unitholders, and they may favor their own interests to the detriment of us and our other common unitholders.
PBF Energy owns and controls our general partner and appoints all of the officers and directors of our general partner. All of the officers and certain of the directors of our general partner are also officers of PBF Energy. Although our general partner has a duty to manage us in a manner that is beneficial to us and our unitholders, the directors and officers of our general partner have a fiduciary duty to manage our general partner in a manner that is beneficial to PBF Energy. Conflicts of interest will arise between PBF Energy and its affiliates, including our general partner, on the one hand, and us and our unitholders, on the other hand. In resolving these conflicts of interest, our general partner may favor its own interests and the interests of PBF Energy over our interests and the interests of our unitholders. These conflicts include the following situations, among others:
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Neither our partnership agreement nor any other agreement requires PBF Energy to pursue a business strategy that favors us or utilizes our assets, including whether to increase or decrease refinery production, whether to shut down or reconfigure a refinery or what markets to pursue or grow. The directors and officers of PBF Energy have a fiduciary duty to make these decisions in the best interests of the stockholders of PBF Energy, which may be contrary to our interests. PBF Energy may choose to shift the focus of its investment and growth to areas not served by our assets.
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PBF Energy, as our primary customer, has an economic incentive to cause us not to seek higher service fees, even if such higher rates or fees would reflect rates and fees that could be obtained in arm’s-length, third-party transactions.
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Our general partner is allowed to take into account the interests of parties other than us, such as PBF Energy, in resolving conflicts of interest.
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All of the officers and certain of the directors of our general partner are also officers of PBF Energy and will owe fiduciary duties to it. These officers will devote significant time to the business of PBF Energy and will be compensated by it accordingly.
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PBF Energy may be constrained by the terms of its debt instruments from taking actions, or refraining from taking actions, that may be in our best interests.
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Our partnership agreement replaces the fiduciary duties that would otherwise be owed by our general partner with contractual standards governing its duties, limits our general partner’s liabilities and restricts the remedies available to our unitholders for actions that, without such limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.
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Except in limited circumstances, our general partner has the power and authority to conduct our business without unitholder approval.
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Disputes may arise under our commercial agreements with PBF Energy.
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Our general partner determines the amount and timing of asset purchases and sales, borrowings, issuances of additional partnership units and the creation, reduction or increase of cash reserves, each of which can affect the amount of cash available for distribution to our unitholders.
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Our general partner determines the amount and timing of any capital expenditures and whether a capital expenditure is classified as a maintenance capital expenditure, which reduces operating surplus, or an expansion or investment capital expenditure, which does not reduce operating surplus. This determination can affect the amount of cash that is distributed to our unitholders.
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Our general partner determines which costs incurred by it are reimbursable by us.
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Our general partner may cause us to borrow funds in order to permit the payment of cash distributions, even if the purpose or effect of the borrowing is to make incentive distributions.
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Our partnership agreement permits us to classify up to $20.0 million as operating surplus, even if it is generated from asset sales, non-working capital borrowings or other sources that would otherwise constitute capital surplus. This cash may be used to fund distributions to PBF LLC as the holder of all of our IDRs.
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Our partnership agreement does not restrict our general partner from causing us to pay it or its affiliates for any services rendered to us or entering into additional contractual arrangements with any of these entities on our behalf.
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Our general partner intends to limit its liability regarding our contractual and other obligations.
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PBF Energy and its controlled affiliates may exercise their right to call and purchase all of the common units not owned by them if they own more than 80% of the common units.
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Our general partner controls the enforcement of the obligations that it and its affiliates owe to us, including PBF Energy’s obligations under the Omnibus Agreement and its commercial agreements with us.
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Our general partner decides whether to retain separate counsel, accountants or others to perform services for us.
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Our general partner may elect to cause us to issue common units to PBF Energy in connection with a resetting of the target distribution levels related to our IDRs without the approval of the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner or our unitholders. This election may result in lower distributions to our common unitholders in certain situations.
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PBF Energy may compete with us.
PBF Energy may compete with us. Under the Omnibus Agreement, PBF Energy and its affiliates agree not to engage in, whether by acquisition or otherwise, the business of owning or operating any crude oil, refined products or natural gas pipelines, terminals or storage facilities in the United States that are not within, directly connected to, substantially dedicated to, or otherwise an integral part of, any refinery owned, acquired or constructed by PBF Energy. This restriction, however, does not apply to:
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any assets owned by PBF Energy at the closing of the Offering (including replacements or expansions of those assets);
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any assets acquired or constructed by PBF Energy that are within, substantially dedicated to, or an integral part of any refinery owned, acquired or constructed by PBF Energy;
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any asset or business that PBF Energy acquires or constructs that has a fair market value of less than $25 million;
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any asset or business that PBF Energy acquires or constructs that has a fair market value of $25 million or more if the Partnership has been offered the opportunity and has elected not to purchase such asset, group of assets or business;
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any logistics asset that PBF Energy acquires or constructs that has a fair market value of $25 million or more but comprises less than half of the fair market value (as determined in good faith by PBF Energy) of the total asset package acquired or constructed by PBF Energy;
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the purchase and ownership of a non-controlling interest in any publicly traded entity; and
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the ownership of the equity interests in us, our general partner and our affiliates.
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As a result, PBF Energy has the ability to construct assets which directly compete with our assets. The limitations on the ability of PBF Energy to compete with us are terminable by either party if PBF Energy ceases to control our general partner.
Pursuant to the terms of our partnership agreement, the doctrine of corporate opportunity, or any analogous doctrine, does not apply to our general partner or any of its affiliates, including PBF Energy and its executive
officers and directors. Any such person or entity that becomes aware of a potential transaction, agreement, arrangement or other matter that may be an opportunity for us will not have any duty to communicate or offer such opportunity to us. Any such person or entity will not be liable to us or to any limited partner for breach of any fiduciary duty or other duty by reason of the fact that such person or entity pursues or acquires such opportunity for itself, directs such opportunity to another person or entity or does not communicate such opportunity or information to us. This may create actual and potential conflicts of interest between us and affiliates of our general partner and result in less than favorable treatment of us and our common unitholders.
If you are not an Eligible Holder, your common units may be subject to redemption.
We have adopted certain requirements regarding those investors who may own our common units. Eligible Holders are limited partners whose (i) federal income tax status is not reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the rates that can be charged by us on assets that are subject to regulation by the FERC or an analogous regulatory body and (ii) nationality, citizenship or other related status would not create a substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property in which we have an interest, in each case as determined by our general partner with the advice of counsel. If you are not an Eligible Holder, in certain circumstances as set forth in our partnership agreement, your units may be redeemed by us at the then current market price. The redemption price will be paid in cash or by delivery of a promissory note, as determined by our general partner.
It is our policy to distribute a significant portion of our cash available for distribution to our partners, which could limit our ability to grow and make acquisitions.
We distribute most of our cash available for distribution, which may cause our growth to proceed at a slower pace than that of businesses that reinvest their cash to expand ongoing operations. To the extent we issue additional units in connection with any acquisitions or expansion capital expenditures, the payment of distributions on those additional units may increase the risk that we will be unable to maintain or increase our per unit distribution level. There are no limitations in our partnership agreement on our ability to issue additional units, including units ranking senior to our common units. The incurrence of additional commercial borrowings or other debt to finance our growth strategy would result in increased interest expense, which, in turn, may impact the cash that we have available to distribute to our unitholders.
Our partnership agreement does not contain a requirement for us to pay distributions to our unitholders, and there is no guarantee that we will pay the minimum quarterly distribution, or any distribution, in any quarter.
The market price of our common units may fluctuate significantly, which could cause the value of your investment to decline.
The market price of our common units may decline and will likely continue to be influenced by many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:
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the level of our quarterly distributions;
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our quarterly or annual earnings or those of other companies in our industry;
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announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts or acquisitions;
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changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;
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changes in tax laws and regulations;
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general economic conditions, including interest rates and governmental policies impacting interest rates;
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the failure of securities analysts to cover our common units or changes in financial estimates by analysts; and
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future sales of our common units.
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These and other factors may cause the market price of our units to decrease significantly, which in turn would adversely affect the value of your investment.
In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, stockholders have often instituted class action securities litigation against those companies. Such litigation, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could significantly harm our profitability and reputation.
Our partnership agreement replaces our general partner’s fiduciary duties to holders of our common units with contractual standards governing its duties.
Our partnership agreement contains provisions that eliminate the fiduciary standards to which our general partner would otherwise be held by state fiduciary duty law and replaces those duties with several different contractual standards. For example, our partnership agreement permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner, free of any duties to us and our unitholders other than the implied contractual covenant of good faith and fair dealing, which means that a court will enforce the reasonable expectations of the partners where the language in our partnership agreement does not provide for a clear course of action. This provision entitles our general partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires and relieves it of any duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or our limited partners. Examples of decisions that our general partner may make in its individual capacity include:
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how to allocate business opportunities among us and its other affiliates;
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whether to exercise its limited call right;
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whether to seek approval of the resolution of a conflict of interest by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner; and
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whether or not to consent to any merger or consolidation of the partnership or amendment to the partnership agreement.
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Our partnership agreement restricts the remedies available to holders of our common units for actions taken by our general partner that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.
Our partnership agreement contains provisions that restrict the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken by our general partner that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty under state fiduciary duty law. For example, our partnership agreement provides that:
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whenever our general partner, the board of directors of our general partner or any committee thereof (including the conflicts committee) makes a determination or takes, or declines to take, any other action in their respective capacities, our general partner, the board of directors of our general partner and any committee thereof (including the conflicts committee), as applicable, is required to make such determination, or take or decline to take such other action, in good faith, meaning that it subjectively believed that the decision was in the best interests of our partnership, and, except as specifically provided by our partnership agreement, will not be subject to any other or different standard imposed by our partnership agreement, Delaware law, or any other law, rule or regulation, or at equity;
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our general partner will not have any liability to us or our unitholders for decisions made in its capacity as a general partner so long as such decisions are made in good faith;
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our general partner and its officers and directors will not be liable for monetary damages to us or our limited partners resulting from any act or omission unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that our general partner or its officers and directors, as the case may be, acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that the conduct was criminal; and
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our general partner will not be in breach of its obligations under our partnership agreement (including any duties to us or our unitholders) if a transaction with an affiliate or the resolution of a conflict of interest is:
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approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner, although our general partner is not obligated to seek such approval;
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approved by the vote of a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding any common units owned by our general partner and its affiliates;
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determined by the board of directors of our general partner to be on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties; or
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determined by the board of directors of our general partner to be fair and reasonable to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships among the parties involved, including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to us.
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In connection with a situation involving a transaction with an affiliate or a conflict of interest, any determination by our general partner or the conflicts committee must be made in good faith. If an affiliate transaction or the resolution of a conflict of interest is not approved by our common unitholders or the conflicts committee and the board of directors of our general partner determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the affiliate transaction or conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in the third and fourth subbullets above, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, the board of directors of our general partner acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the partnership challenging such determination, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption.
The administrative services fee and reimbursements due to our general partner and its affiliates for services provided to us or on our behalf will reduce our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders. The amount and timing of such reimbursements will be determined by our general partner.
Prior to making any distribution on our common units, we will reimburse our general partner and its affiliates, including PBF Energy, for costs and expenses they incur and payments they make on our behalf. Prior to making distributions, we will pay our general partner and its affiliates an annual fee for the provision of centralized administrative services and employees and reimburse our general partner and its affiliates for direct or allocated costs and expenses incurred on our behalf pursuant to the Omnibus Agreement, which we currently estimate will total approximately $6.9 million annually. In addition, prior to making distributions, we will pay an annual fee of $6.7 million to PBF Energy for the provision of certain utilities and other infrastructure-related services with respect to our business pursuant to the Services Agreement. Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner will determine in good faith the expenses that are allocable to us. The reimbursement of expenses and payment of fees, if any, to our general partner and its affiliates will reduce the amount of available cash to pay cash distributions to our common unitholders.
Holders of our common units have limited voting rights and are not entitled to elect our general partner or its directors.
Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, unitholders have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business and, therefore, limited ability to influence management’s decisions regarding our business. Unitholders will have no right on an annual or ongoing basis to elect our general partner or its board of directors. Rather, the board of directors of our general partner will be appointed by PBF Energy. Furthermore, if the unitholders are dissatisfied with the performance of our general partner, they will have little ability to remove our general partner. As a result of these limitations, the price at which our common units will trade could be diminished because of the absence or reduction of a takeover premium in the trading price. Our partnership agreement also contains provisions limiting the ability of unitholders to call meetings or to acquire information about our operations, as well as other provisions limiting the unitholders’ ability to influence the manner or direction of management.
Even if holders of our common units are dissatisfied, they cannot currently remove our general partner without its consent.
Unitholders currently are unable to remove our general partner without its consent because our general partner and its affiliates, including PBF Energy, own sufficient units to be able to prevent its removal. The vote of the holders of at least 66
2
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3
% of all outstanding common units voting together as a single class is required to remove our general partner. PBF Energy currently indirectly owns approximately
44.1%
of our outstanding common units.
Our partnership agreement restricts the voting rights of unitholders owning 20% or more of our common units.
Unitholders’ voting rights are further restricted by a provision of our partnership agreement providing that any units held by a person that owns 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, other than our general partner, its affiliates, their transferees and persons who acquired such units with the prior approval of the board of directors of our general partner, cannot vote on any matter.
Our general partner interest or the control of our general partner may be transferred to a third-party without unitholder consent.
Our general partner may transfer its general partner interest to a third party in a merger or in a sale of all or substantially all of any assets it may own without the consent of the unitholders. Furthermore, there is no restriction in our partnership agreement on the ability of PBF Energy to transfer its membership interest in our general partner to a third party. The new members of our general partner would then be in a position to replace the board of directors and officers of our general partner with their own choices and to control the decisions taken by the board of directors and officers.
The IDRs held by PBF LLC may be transferred without unitholder consent.
PBF LLC may transfer all or part of its IDRs, including to a third party, at any time without the consent of our unitholders. If PBF LLC transfers its IDRs to a third party but retains its ownership interest in our general partner, our general partner may not have the same incentive to grow our partnership and increase quarterly distributions to unitholders over time as it would if PBF LLC had retained ownership of the IDRs. For example, a transfer of IDRs by PBF LLC to an unaffiliated third party could reduce the likelihood of PBF LLC accepting offers made by us relating to assets owned by it or its subsidiaries, as PBF LLC would have less of an economic incentive to grow our business, which in turn would impact our ability to grow our asset base.
We may issue additional units without unitholder approval, which would dilute unitholder interests.
Our partnership agreement does not limit the number of additional limited partner interests, including limited partner interests that rank senior to the common units that we may issue at any time without the approval of our unitholders. The issuance by us of additional common units or other equity securities of equal or senior rank will have the following effects:
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our existing unitholders’ proportionate ownership interest in us will decrease;
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the amount of cash available for distribution on each unit may decrease;
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because the amount payable to holders of IDRs is based on a percentage of the total cash available for distribution, the distributions to holders of IDRs will increase even if the per unit distribution on common units remains the same;
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the ratio of taxable income to distributions may increase;
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the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding unit may be diminished; and
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the market price of the common units may decline.
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PBF Energy may sell units in the public or private markets, and such sales could have an adverse impact on the trading price of the common units.
PBF Energy holds
18,459,497
common units. All of the subordinated units were converted on a one-for-one basis into common units at the end of the subordination period on June 1, 2017. In addition, we have agreed to provide PBF Energy with certain registration rights. The sale of these units in the public or private markets could have an adverse impact on the price of the common units or on any trading market that may develop.
Our general partner intends to limit its liability regarding our obligations.
Our general partner intends to limit its liability under contractual arrangements so that the counterparties to such arrangements have recourse only against our assets and not against our general partner or its assets. Our general partner may therefore cause us to incur indebtedness or other obligations that are nonrecourse to our general partner. Our partnership agreement permits our general partner to limit its liability, even if we could have obtained more favorable terms without the limitation on liability. In addition, we are obligated to reimburse or indemnify our general partner to the extent that it incurs obligations on our behalf. Any such reimbursement or indemnification payments would reduce the amount of cash otherwise available for distribution to our unitholders.
PBF Energy has a limited call right that may require you to sell your units at an undesirable time or price.
If at any time PBF Energy and its controlled affiliates own more than 80% of our common units, PBF Energy will have the right, which it may assign to any of its affiliates or to us, but not the obligation, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the common units held by unaffiliated persons at a price that is not less than their then-current market price, as calculated pursuant to the terms of our partnership agreement. As a result, you may be required to sell your common units at an undesirable time or price and may not receive any return on your investment. You may also incur a tax liability upon a sale of your units. PBF Energy owns approximately
44.1%
of our outstanding common units.
PBF LLC has certain IDRs that reduce the amount of our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders.
PBF LLC currently holds IDRs that entitle it to receive 50% of the cash that we distribute to our common unitholders from available cash after the minimum quarterly distribution and certain target distribution levels have been achieved. This 50% maximum distribution right does not include any distributions that PBF LLC or its affiliates may receive on common units that they own. Because a higher percentage of our available cash is allocated to our general partner due to these IDRs, it will be more difficult for us to increase the amount of distributions to our unitholders and our cost of capital will be higher, making investments, capital expenditures and acquisitions, and therefore, future growth, by us more costly.
PBF Energy, or any transferee holding a majority of the incentive distribution rights, may elect to cause us to issue common units to it in connection with a resetting of the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels related to the incentive distribution rights, without the approval of the conflicts committee of our general partner or our unitholders. This election may result in lower distributions to our common unitholders in certain situations.
The holder or holders of a majority of the IDRs, which are currently all held by PBF LLC, have the right, at any time when there are no subordinated units outstanding and such holders have received incentive distributions at the highest level to which they are entitled (50.0%) for each of the prior four consecutive fiscal quarters (and the amount of each such distribution did not exceed adjusted operating surplus for each such quarter), to reset the minimum quarterly distribution and the initial target distribution levels at higher levels based on our cash distribution
at the time of the exercise of the reset election. Following a reset election, the minimum quarterly distribution will be reset to an amount equal to the average cash distribution per unit for the two fiscal quarters immediately preceding the reset election (such amount is referred to as the “reset minimum quarterly distribution”), and the target distribution levels will be reset to correspondingly higher levels based on percentage increases above the reset minimum quarterly distribution. PBF LLC has the right to transfer the IDRs at any time, in whole or in part, and any transferee holding a majority of the IDRs shall have the same rights as PBF LLC with respect to resetting target distributions.
In the event of a reset of the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels, the holders of the IDRs will be entitled to receive, in the aggregate, the number of common units equal to that number of common units which would have entitled the holders to an average aggregate quarterly cash distribution in the prior two quarters equal to the average of the distributions on the IDRs in the prior two quarters. We anticipate that PBF LLC would exercise this reset right in order to facilitate acquisitions or internal growth projects that would not otherwise be sufficiently accretive to cash distributions per common unit. It is possible, however, that PBF LLC or a transferee could exercise this reset election at a time when it is experiencing, or expects to experience, declines in the cash distributions it receives related to its IDRs and may therefore desire to be issued common units rather than retain the right to receive incentive distribution payments based on target distribution levels that are less certain to be achieved in the then-current business environment. This risk could be elevated if our IDRs have been transferred to a third party. As a result, a reset election may cause our common unitholders to experience dilution in the amount of cash distributions that they would have otherwise received had we not issued common units to the holders of the IDRs in connection with resetting the target distribution levels.
Your liability may not be limited if a court finds that unitholder action constitutes control of our business.
A general partner of a partnership generally has unlimited liability for the obligations of the partnership, except for those contractual obligations of the partnership that are expressly made without recourse to the general partner. Our partnership is organized under Delaware law, and we conduct business in and outside of Delaware. The limitations on the liability of holders of limited partner interests for the obligations of a limited partnership have not been clearly established in some of the other states in which we do business. You could be liable for any and all of our obligations as if you were a general partner if a court or government agency were to determine that:
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we were conducting business in a state but had not complied with that particular state’s partnership statute; or
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your rights to act with other unitholders to remove or replace our general partner, to approve some amendments to our partnership agreement or to take other actions under our partnership agreement constitute “control” of our business.
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Unitholders may have liability to repay distributions that were wrongfully distributed to them.
Under certain circumstances, unitholders may have to repay amounts wrongfully returned or distributed to them. Under Section 17-607 of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, we may not make a distribution to you if the distribution would cause our liabilities to exceed the fair value of our assets. Delaware law provides that for a period of three years from the date of an impermissible distribution, limited partners who received the distribution and who knew at the time of the distribution that it violated Delaware law will be liable to the limited partnership for the distribution amount. Transferees of common units are liable both for the obligations of the transferor to make contributions to the partnership that were known to the transferee at the time of transfer and for those obligations that were unknown if the liabilities could have been determined from our partnership agreement. Neither liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interest nor liabilities that are non-recourse to the partnership are counted for purposes of determining whether a distribution is permitted.
The NYSE does not require a publicly traded limited partnership like us to comply with certain of its corporate governance requirements.
We currently list our common units on the NYSE, under the symbol “PBFX.” Because we are a publicly traded limited partnership, the NYSE does not require us to have, and we do not intend to have, a majority of independent directors on our general partner’s board of directors or to establish a compensation committee or a nominating and corporate governance committee. Accordingly, unitholders do not have the same protections afforded to certain corporations that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.
We incur costs as a result of being a publicly traded partnership.
As a public traded partnership, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. These requirements may place a strain on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. We are implementing additional procedures and processes for the purpose of addressing the standards and requirements applicable to public traded partnerships. In addition, sustaining our growth also will require us to commit additional management, operational and financial resources to identify new professionals to join our firm and to maintain appropriate operational and financial systems to adequately support expansion. These activities may divert management’s attention from other business concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We expect to incur significant additional annual expenses related to these steps and other public company expenses.
Pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for so long as we are an emerging growth company.
In general, public companies are required to disclose changes made in their internal control over financial reporting on a quarterly basis and to assess the effectiveness of their system of internal control over financial reporting on an annual basis. However, for as long as we are an “emerging growth company” under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or
JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including not being required to provide an auditor’s attestation report on the effectiveness of our system of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports. We may remain an emerging growth company for up to five years. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable and timely financial reports, prevent fraud and to operate successfully as a publicly traded partnership. We prepare our Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, but our internal accounting controls may not meet all standards applicable to companies with publicly traded securities. Our efforts to develop and maintain our internal controls may not be successful, and we may be unable to maintain effective controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future or to comply with our obligations under Section 404. For example, Section 404 will require us, among other things, to annually review and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Since the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014, we have complied with Section 404 (except for the requirement for an auditor’s attestation report). Any failure to develop, implement or maintain effective internal controls or to improve our internal controls could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Even if we conclude that our internal controls over financial reporting are effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may still decline to attest to the operating effectiveness of our internal controls or may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us.
Given the difficulties inherent in the design and operation of internal controls over financial reporting, in addition to our limited accounting personnel and management resources, we can provide no assurance as to our, or our independent registered public accounting firms, future conclusions about the effectiveness of our internal controls, and we may incur significant costs in our efforts to comply with Section 404. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting will subject us to regulatory scrutiny and a loss of confidence in our reported financial information, which could have an adverse effect on our business and would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our common units.
We may take advantage of these exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” We cannot predict if investors will find our units less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our units less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our units and our trading price may be more volatile.
Tax Risks to Common Unitholders
Our tax treatment depends on our status as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as well as our not being subject to a material amount of entity-level taxation by individual states. If the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, were to treat us as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which would subject us to entity-level taxation, or if we were otherwise subjected to a material amount of entity-level taxation, then our distributable cash flow to our unitholders would be substantially reduced.
The anticipated after-tax benefit of an investment in our units depends largely on our being treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Despite the fact that we are organized as a limited partnership under Delaware law, we will be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes unless we satisfy a “qualifying income” requirement. Based upon our current operations, we believe we satisfy the qualifying income requirement. Failing to meet the qualifying income requirement or a change in current law could cause us to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or otherwise subject us to taxation as an entity.
If we were treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we would pay U.S. federal income tax on our income at the corporate tax rate and we would also likely be liable for additional state and local income taxes at varying rates. Distributions to our unitholders would generally be taxed again as corporate distributions, and no income, gains, losses, deductions or credits would flow through to our unitholders. Because taxes would be imposed upon us as a corporation, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders would be substantially reduced.
At the state level, several states have been evaluating ways to subject partnerships to entity-level taxation through the imposition of state income, franchise or other forms of taxation. Imposition of a material amount of any of these taxes in the jurisdictions in which we own assets or conduct business could substantially reduce the cash available for distribution to our unitholders.
If we were treated as a corporation or otherwise subjected to a material amount of entity-level taxation, there would be a material reduction in the anticipated cash flow and after-tax return to our unitholders, likely causing a substantial reduction in the value of our common units.
Our partnership agreement provides that if a law is enacted or existing law is modified or interpreted in a manner that subjects us to taxation as a corporation or otherwise subjects us to entity-level taxation for U.S. federal, state or local income tax purposes, the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution amounts may be adjusted to reflect the impact of that law on us.
The tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships or an investment in our common units could be subject to potential legislative, judicial or administrative changes or differing interpretations, possibly applied on a retroactive basis.
The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our common units may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial interpretation at any time. For example, from time to time members of the U.S. Congress have proposed and considered substantive changes to the existing federal income tax laws, including the most recent tax law change in December 2017, that would affect publicly traded partnerships, including elimination of partnership tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships.
We are unable to predict whether any of these changes or other proposals will ultimately be enacted. Any modification to the U.S. federal income tax laws and interpretations thereof may or may not be applied retroactively and could make it more difficult or impossible for us to meet the exception to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and could negatively impact the value of an investment in our common units.
Further, Treasury Regulations under Section 7704(d)(1)(E) of the Code that apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 19, 2017 interpret the scope of qualifying income requirements for publicly traded partnerships by providing industry-specific guidance. We believe the income that we treat as qualifying satisfies the requirements under these regulations. However, there are no assurances that the regulations will not be revised to take a position that is contrary to our interpretation of current law.
If the IRS were to contest the U.S. federal income tax positions we take, it may adversely impact the market for our common units and our cash available for distribution to our unitholders might be substantially reduced.
The IRS may adopt positions that differ from the positions that we take, even positions taken with the advice of counsel. It may be necessary to resort to administrative or court proceedings to sustain some or all of the positions we take. A court may not agree with some or all of the positions we take. Any contest with the IRS may materially and adversely impact the market for our common units and the prices at which they trade. Moreover, the costs of any contest between us and the IRS will result in a reduction in cash available for distribution to our unitholders and thus will be borne indirectly by our unitholders.
Legislation applicable to partnership tax years beginning after 2017 alters the procedures for auditing large partnerships and for assessing and collecting taxes due (including penalties and interest) as a result of a partnership-level federal income tax audit. If the IRS makes audit adjustments to our partnership tax returns, to the extent possible under the new rules our general partner may elect to either pay the taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) directly to the IRS in the year in which the audit is completed or, if we are eligible, issue a revised information statement to each unitholder and former unitholder with respect to an audited and adjusted partnership tax return. Although our general partner may elect to have our unitholders and former unitholders take such audit adjustment into account and pay any resulting taxes (including applicable penalties or interest) in accordance with their interests in us during the tax year under audit, there can be no assurance that such election will be practical, permissible or effective in all circumstances. If we make payments of taxes and any penalties and interest directly to the IRS in the year in which the audit is completed, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders might be substantially reduced, in which case our current unitholders may bear some or all of the tax liability resulting from such audit adjustment, even if the unitholders did not own units in us during the tax year under audit.
Our unitholders’ share of our income is taxable to them for federal income tax purposes even if they do not receive any cash distributions from us.
Each unitholder is treated as a partner to whom we will allocate taxable income even if the unitholder does not receive any cash distributions from us. Unitholders are required to pay U.S. federal income taxes and, in some cases, state and local income taxes, on their share of our taxable income, whether or not they receive cash
distributions from us. Our unitholders may not receive cash distributions from us equal to their share of our taxable income or even equal to the actual tax due from them with respect to that income.
Tax gain or loss on the disposition of our units could be more or less than expected.
If our unitholders sell units, they will recognize a gain or loss for federal income tax purposes equal to the difference between the amount realized and their tax basis in those units. Because distributions in excess of their allocable share of our net taxable income decrease their tax basis in their units, the amount, if any, of such prior excess distributions with respect to the units a unitholder sells will, in effect, become taxable income to the unitholder if it sells such units at a price greater than its tax basis in those units, even if the price received is less than its original cost. Furthermore, a substantial portion of the amount realized on any sale of units, whether or not representing gain, may be taxed as ordinary income due to potential recapture items, including depreciation recapture. Thus, a unitholder may recognize both ordinary income and capital loss from the sale of units if the amount realized on a sale of the units is less than the unitholder’s adjusted basis in units. In addition, because the amount realized includes a unitholder’s share of our non-recourse liabilities, a unitholder that sells units may incur a tax liability in excess of the amount of cash received from the sale.
Unitholders may be subject to limitations on their ability to deduct interest expense we incur.
Pursuant to recently enacted legislation, our ability to deduct business interest expense will be limited for U.S. federal income tax purposes to an amount equal to our business interest income and 30% of our “adjusted taxable income” during the taxable year computed without regard to any business interest income or expense, and in the case of taxable years beginning before 2022, any deduction allowable for depreciation, amortization, or depletion. Business interest expense that we are not entitled to fully deduct will be allocated to each unitholder as excess business interest and can be carried forward by the unitholder to successive taxable years and used to offset any excess taxable income allocated by us to the unitholder. Any excess business interest expense allocated to a unitholder will reduce the unitholder’s tax basis in its partnership interest in the year of the allocation even if the expense does not give rise to a deduction to the unitholder in that year.
Tax-exempt entities owning our units face unique tax issues that may result in substantially adverse tax consequences to them.
Investment in our units by tax-exempt entities, such as individual retirement accounts (known as “IRAs”), raises tax issues unique to them. For example, virtually all of our income allocated to entities exempt from U.S. federal income tax, including IRAs and other retirement plans, will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to them, despite their exempt status. Tax-exempt entities with multiple unrelated trades or businesses cannot aggregate losses from one unrelated trade or business to offset income from another to reduce total unrelated business taxable income. As a result, it may not be possible for tax-exempt entities to utilize losses from an investment in us to offset unrelated business taxable income from another unrelated trade or business and vice versa. Tax-exempt entities should consult a tax advisor before investing in our common units.
Non-U.S. unitholders will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes and withholding with respect to income and gain from owning our units.
Non-U.S. persons are generally taxed and subject to federal income tax filing requirements on income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. Income allocated to our unitholders and, under recently enacted legislation, any gain from the sale of our common units will generally be considered to be “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business. As a result, distributions to a non-U.S. unitholder will be subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate and a non-U.S. unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a common unit will also be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the gain realized from the sale or disposition of that common unit.
Recently enacted legislation also imposes a federal income tax withholding obligation of 10% of the amount realized upon a non-U.S. person’s sale or exchange of an interest in a partnership that is engaged in a U.S. trade or business. However, application of this withholding rule to dispositions of publicly traded partnership interests has been temporarily suspended by the IRS until regulations or other guidance have been issued. Non-U.S. persons should consult a tax advisor before investing in our common units.
We treat each purchaser of our common units as having the same tax benefits without regard to the common units actually purchased. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could adversely affect the value of our common units.
Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of common units, we will adopt depreciation and amortization positions that may not conform to all aspects of existing Treasury Regulations. A successful IRS challenge to those positions could adversely affect the amount of tax benefits available to unitholders. Our counsel is unable to opine as to the validity of such filing positions. It also could affect the timing of these tax benefits or the amount of gain from a unitholder’s sale of common units and could have a negative impact on the value of our common units or result in tax return audit adjustments.
We prorate our items of income, gain, loss and deduction between transferors and transferees of our common units each month based upon the ownership of our common units on the first day of each month, instead of on the basis of the date a particular unit is transferred. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could change the allocation of items of income, gain, loss and deduction among our unitholders.
We prorate our items of income, gain, loss and deduction between transferors and transferees of our units each month based upon the ownership of our units on the first day of each month, instead of on the basis of the date a particular unit is transferred. Although Treasury Regulations allow publicly traded partnerships to use a similar monthly simplifying convention to allocate tax items among transferor and transferee unitholders, these regulations do not specifically authorize all aspects of the proration method we have adopted. Accordingly, our counsel is unable to opine on the validity of our method of allocating income, gain, loss and deduction among transferor and transferee unitholders. If the IRS were to successfully challenge our proration method or new Treasury Regulations were issued, we may be required to change the allocation of items of income, gain, loss and deduction among our unitholders.
A unitholder whose units are the subject of a securities loan (e.g., a loan to a “short seller” to cover a short sale of units) may be considered to have disposed of those units. If so, such unitholders would no longer be treated for tax purposes as a partner with respect to those units during the period of the loan and could recognize gain or loss from the disposition.
Because there are no specific rules governing the U.S. federal income tax consequence of loaning a partnership interest, a unitholder whose units are the subject of a securities loan may be considered to have disposed of the loaned units. In that case, the unitholder may no longer be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a partner with respect to those units during the period of the loan to the short seller and the unitholder may recognize gain or loss from such disposition. Moreover, during the period of the loan, any of our income, gain, loss or deduction with respect to those units may not be reportable by the unitholder and any cash distributions received by the unitholder as to those units could be fully taxable as ordinary income. Unitholders desiring to assure their status as partners and avoid the risk of gain recognition from a securities loan are urged to consult a tax adviser to discuss whether it is advisable to modify any applicable brokerage account agreements to prohibit their brokers from borrowing their units.
We have adopted certain valuation methodologies in determining a unitholder’s allocations of income, gain, loss and deduction. The IRS may challenge these methodologies or the resulting allocations, and such a challenge could adversely affect the value of our common units.
In determining the items of income, gain, loss and deduction allocable to our unitholders, we must routinely determine the fair market value of our assets. Although we may from time to time consult with professional appraisers regarding valuation matters, we make many fair market value estimates ourselves using a methodology based on the market value of our common units as a means to determine the fair market value of our assets. The IRS may challenge these valuation methods and the resulting allocations of income, gain, loss and deduction.
A successful IRS challenge to these methods or allocations could adversely affect the timing or amount of taxable income or loss being allocated to our unitholders. It also could affect the amount of gain from our unitholders’ sale of common units and could have a negative impact on the value of the common units or result in audit adjustments to our unitholders’ tax returns without the benefit of additional deductions.
As a result of investing in our common units, our unitholders may become subject to state and local taxes and return filing requirements in jurisdictions where we operate or own or acquire properties.
In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, our unitholders will likely be subject to other taxes, including state and local income taxes, unincorporated business taxes and estate, inheritance or intangible taxes that are imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we conduct business or control property now or in the future, even if they do not live in those jurisdictions. Our unitholders will likely be required to file state and local income tax returns and pay state and local income taxes in some or all of these various jurisdictions. Further, our unitholders may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. As we make acquisitions or expand our business, we may control assets or conduct business in additional states that impose a personal income tax. It is our unitholders’ responsibility to file all federal, state and local tax returns. Our counsel has not rendered an opinion on the state or local tax consequences of an investment in our common units.