Western Midstream Partners, LP: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2024

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

We have made in this Form 10-K, and may make in other public filings, press releases, and statements by management, forward-looking statements concerning our operations, economic performance, and financial condition. These forward-looking statements include statements preceded by, followed by, or that otherwise include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “projects,” “target,” “goal,” “plans,” “objective,” “should,” or similar expressions or variations on such expressions. These statements discuss future expectations, contain projections of results of operations or financial condition, or include other “forward-looking” information.

Although we and our general partner believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, neither we nor our general partner can provide any assurance that such expectations will prove correct. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, but are not limited to, the following:

• our ability to pay distributions to our unitholders and the amount of such distributions;
• our assumptions about the energy market;
• future throughput (including Occidental production) that is gathered or processed by, or transported through our assets;
• our operating results;
• competitive conditions;
• technology;
• the availability of capital resources to fund acquisitions, capital expenditures, and other contractual obligations, and our ability to access financing through the debt or equity capital markets;
• the supply of, demand for, and price of oil, natural gas, NGLs, and related products or services;
• commodity-price risks inherent in percent-of-proceeds, percent-of-product, keep-whole, and fixed-recovery processing contracts;
• weather and natural disasters;
• inflation;
• the availability of goods and services;
• general economic conditions, internationally, domestically, or in the jurisdictions in which we are doing business;
• federal, state, and local laws and state-approved voter ballot initiatives, including those laws or ballot initiatives that limit producers’ hydraulic-fracturing activities or other oil and natural-gas development or operations;
• environmental liabilities;
• legislative or regulatory changes, including changes affecting our status as a partnership for federal income tax purposes;
• changes in the financial or operational condition of Occidental;
• the creditworthiness of Occidental or our other counterparties, including financial institutions, operating partners, and other parties;
• changes in Occidental’s capital program, corporate strategy, or other desired areas of focus;
• our commitments to capital projects;
• our ability to access liquidity under the RCF and commercial paper program;
• our ability to repay debt;
• the resolution of litigation or other disputes;
• conflicts of interest among us and our general partner and its related parties, including Occidental, with respect to, among other things, the allocation of capital and operational and administrative costs, and our future business opportunities;
• our ability to maintain and/or obtain rights to operate our assets on land owned by third parties;
• our ability to acquire assets on acceptable terms from third parties;
• non-payment or non-performance of significant customers, including under gathering, processing, transportation, and disposal agreements;
• the timing, amount, and terms of future issuances of equity and debt securities;
• the outcome of pending and future regulatory, legislative, or other proceedings or investigations, and continued or additional disruptions in operations that may occur as we and our customers comply with any regulatory orders or other state or local changes in laws or regulations;
• cyber attacks or security breaches; and
• other factors discussed below and elsewhere in this Item 1A, under the caption Critical Accounting Estimates included under Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K, and in our other public filings and press releases.

Risk factors and other factors noted throughout this Form 10-K could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Common units are inherently different from 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 similar businesses. We urge you to carefully consider the following risk factors together with all of the other information included in this Form 10-K in evaluating an investment in our common units.

If any of the following risks were to occur, our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In such a case, the common units’ trading price could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.

RISKS INHERENT IN OUR BUSINESS

We are dependent on Occidental for over 50% of revenues related to the natural gas, crude oil, NGLs, and produced water that we gather, treat, process, transport, and/or dispose. A material reduction in Occidental’s production that is gathered, treated, processed, or transported by our assets would result in a material decline in our revenues and cash available for distribution.

We rely on Occidental for over 50% of revenues related to the natural gas, crude oil, NGLs, and produced water that we gather, treat, process, transport, and/or dispose. For the year ended December 31, 2024, 60% of Total revenues and other, 34% of our throughput for natural-gas assets (excluding equity-investment throughput), 91% of our throughput for crude-oil and NGLs assets (excluding equity-investment throughput), and 78% of our throughput for produced-water assets were attributable to production owned or controlled by Occidental. Occidental may decrease its production in the areas serviced by us and is under no contractual obligation to maintain its production volumes dedicated to us pursuant to the terms of our applicable gathering agreements. The loss of a significant portion of production volumes supplied by Occidental would result in a material decline in our revenues and our cash available for distribution. In addition, Occidental may determine that drilling activity in areas other than our areas of operation is strategically more attractive. A shift in Occidental’s focus away from our areas of operation could result in reduced throughput on our systems and a material decline in our revenues and cash available for distribution.

Because we are dependent on Occidental as our largest customer and the owner of our general partner, any development that materially and adversely affects Occidental’s operations, financial condition, or market reputation could have a material and adverse impact on us. Material adverse changes at Occidental could restrict our access to capital, make it more expensive to access the capital markets, or increase the costs of our borrowings.

We are dependent on Occidental as our largest customer and the owner of our general partner, and we expect to derive significant revenue from Occidental for the foreseeable future. As a result, any event, whether in our area of operations or otherwise, that adversely affects Occidental’s production, financial condition, leverage, market reputation, liquidity, results of operations, or cash flows may adversely affect our revenues, leverage, and cash available for distribution. Accordingly, we are indirectly subject to the business risks of Occidental, including, but not limited to, the volatility of oil and natural-gas prices, the availability of capital on favorable terms to fund Occidental’s exploration and development activities, the political and economic uncertainties associated with Occidental’s foreign operations, transportation-capacity constraints, and shareholder activism.

Further, we are subject to the risk of non-payment or non-performance by Occidental, including with respect to our gathering and transportation agreements. We cannot predict the extent to which Occidental’s business would be impacted if conditions in the energy industry were to deteriorate, nor can we estimate the impact such conditions would have on Occidental’s ability to perform under its commercial agreements with us. Accordingly, any material non-payment or non-performance by Occidental could reduce our ability to make distributions to our unitholders.

Any material limitations to our ability to access capital as a result of adverse changes at Occidental could limit our ability to obtain future financing on favorable terms, or at all, or could result in increased financing costs in the future. Similarly, material adverse changes at Occidental could adversely impact our unit price, thereby limiting our ability to raise capital through equity issuances or debt financing, or adversely affect our ability to engage in or expand or pursue our business activities and also prevent us from engaging in certain transactions that might otherwise be considered beneficial to us.

See Occidental’s reports filed under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with the SEC (which are not, and shall not be deemed to be, incorporated by reference herein), for a full discussion of the risks associated with Occidental’s business.

Occidental’s ownership of our general partner may result in conflicts of interest.

Occidental owns our general partner. Occidental’s ownership of our general partner may result in conflicts of interest. The directors and officers of our general partner and its affiliates have duties to manage our general partner in a manner that is beneficial to Occidental. At the same time, our general partner has duties to manage us in a manner that is beneficial to our unitholders. Therefore, our general partner’s duties to us may conflict with the duties of its officers and directors to Occidental. As a result of these conflicts of interest, our general partner may favor the interests of Occidental or its owners or affiliates over the interest of our unitholders.

Our future prospects depend, in part, on Occidental’s growth strategy, midstream operational philosophy, and drilling program, including the level of drilling and completion activity by Occidental on acreage dedicated to us. Additional conflicts also may arise in the future associated with future business opportunities that are pursued by Occidental and us. For example, Occidental is not prohibited from owning assets or engaging in businesses that directly or indirectly compete with us.

Any future credit-rating downgrade could negatively impact our cost of and ability to access capital.

Our costs of borrowing and ability to access the capital markets are affected by market conditions and the credit rating assigned to WES Operating’s debt by the major credit rating agencies. Any future downgrades in WES Operating’s credit ratings could adversely affect WES Operating’s ability to issue debt, including commercial paper, in the public debt markets and negatively impact our cost of capital, future interest costs, and ability to effectively execute aspects of our business strategy. For example, WES Operating currently has $2.7 billion of outstanding senior notes that provide for changes to the coupon rates following changes in WES Operating’s credit ratings. Future credit-rating downgrades also could trigger obligations to provide financial assurance of our performance under certain contractual arrangements. We may be required to post collateral in the form of letters of credit or cash as financial assurance of our performance under certain contractual arrangements, such as pipeline transportation contracts and NGLs and gas-sales contracts. At December 31, 2024, there were no letters of credit or cash-provided assurance of our performance under contractual arrangements with credit-risk-related contingent features.

Sustained low natural-gas, NGLs, or oil prices and volatility of such prices could adversely affect our business.

Sustained low natural-gas, NGLs, or oil prices impact natural-gas and oil exploration and production activity levels and can result in a decline in the production of hydrocarbons over the medium to long term, resulting in reduced throughput on our systems. Such declines also potentially affect the ability of our vendors, suppliers, and customers to continue operations. As a result, sustained lower natural-gas and crude-oil prices could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and our ability to pay cash distributions to our unitholders.

In general terms, the prices of natural gas, oil, condensate, NGLs, and other hydrocarbon products fluctuate in response to changes in supply and demand, market uncertainty, and a variety of additional factors that are beyond our control that could negatively impact our and our customers’ financial outlooks and activity levels.

Because of the natural decline in production from existing wells, our success depends on our ability to compete for new sources of oil and natural-gas throughput, which is dependent on certain factors beyond our control. Any decrease in the volumes that we gather, process, treat, and transport could affect our business and operating results adversely.

The volumes that support our business are dependent on, among other things, the level of production from natural-gas and oil wells connected to our gathering systems and processing and treating facilities. This production will naturally decline over time. As a result, our cash flows associated with production from these wells also will decline over time. To maintain or increase throughput levels on our systems, we must obtain new sources of oil and natural-gas throughput. The primary factors affecting our ability to obtain sources of oil and natural-gas throughput include (i) the level of successful drilling activity near our systems, (ii) our ability to compete for volumes from successful new wells to the extent such wells are not dedicated to our systems, and (iii) our ability to capture volumes currently gathered or processed by third parties. Our industry is highly competitive, and we compete with similar companies in our areas of operation. In addition, our customers, including Occidental, may develop their own midstream systems in lieu of using ours.

While Occidental and other third-party producers have dedicated production from certain of their properties to us, we have no control over the level of drilling activity in our areas of operation, the amount of reserves associated with wells connected to our systems, or the rate at which production declines. We also have no control over producers or their drilling or production decisions, which are affected by, among other things, the availability and cost of capital, prevailing and projected commodity prices, demand for hydrocarbons, levels of reserves, geological considerations, governmental regulations, the availability of drilling rigs, and other production and development costs. Sustained reductions in exploration or production activity in our areas of operation would lead to reduced utilization of our gathering, processing, and treating assets.

Because of these factors, producers (including Occidental) may be deterred from developing known oil and natural-gas reserves existing in areas served by our assets. Moreover, Occidental and other third-party producers may not develop the acreage they have dedicated to us. If competition or reductions in drilling activity result in our inability to maintain the current levels of throughput on our systems, it could reduce our revenue and impair our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Our profitability may be negatively impacted by inflation in the cost of labor, materials, and services.

Although inflation in the United States has declined since 2023, the prices of key inputs to the midstream industry have continued to be significantly impacted by inflation relative to historical levels. This continued inflation has raised our costs for steel products, automation components, power supply, labor materials, fuel, chemicals, and services, thereby increasing our operating costs and capital expenditures. Additionally, the Trump administration has recently implemented a 10% tariff on Chinese imports and announced a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminum. Plans by the Trump administration to impose additional import tariffs on Canada and Mexico are also currently under consideration, as are reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trading partners that currently impose tariffs on American goods. These and other import tariffs could substantially increase our operating and capital costs. Although we cannot predict any future inflation trends or the impact of current or future import tariffs, higher operating and capital costs would negatively impact our profitability and cash flows available for distribution to unitholders to the extent we are unable to recover such higher costs through our commercial agreements.

The amount of cash we have available for distribution to holders of our common units depends primarily on our cash flows rather than on our profitability, and we may not have sufficient cash from operations following the establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses to enable us to pay distributions at previously announced levels to holders of our common units, or at all, even during periods in which we record net income.

The amount of cash we have available for distribution primarily depends on our cash flows and not solely on profitability as determined by GAAP, which will be affected by non-cash items. As a result, we may make cash distributions for periods in which we record losses for financial accounting purposes and may not make cash distributions for periods in which we record net earnings for financial accounting purposes.

To pay the announced fourth-quarter 2024 distribution of $0.87500 per unit per quarter, or $3.50000 per unit per year, we require per-quarter available cash of $341.0 million, or $1,364.0 million per year, based on the number of common units outstanding at February 3, 2025. We may not have sufficient available cash from operating surplus each quarter to enable us to pay distributions at currently announced levels. The amount of cash we can distribute on our units principally depends on the amount of cash we generate from our operations, which will fluctuate from quarter to quarter.

Certain of our natural-gas processing agreements provide our producer customers with contractually specified NGL recoveries that, under expected operating conditions, may generate commodity price exposure and could, under certain circumstances, generate financial or physical-delivery obligations for us.

Under certain of our natural-gas processing agreements, we provide our producer customers with contractually specified NGL recoveries. To the extent actual recoveries exceed the contractually specified recoveries, we retain the excess NGL volumes and sell such volumes for our own account along with NGL and natural-gas volumes retained by us under our percent-of-proceeds and keep-whole processing agreements, bearing commodity-price risk on these volumes.

Conversely, if actual plant recoveries are below the contractually specified recoveries, we would still be obligated to deliver the contractually fixed amount of NGLs (or in some cases, the financial equivalent thereof) to such customers. For this reason, our inability to efficiently operate our natural-gas processing facilities could result in diminished NGL sale proceeds for our account, or could result in losses when we settle shortfalls between actual and contractually specified recoveries with our customers. Accordingly, the failure to achieve operational plant efficiency to support the contractually specified recoveries could negatively impact our profitability and cash flows available for distribution to unitholders.

We are exposed to the credit risk of third-party customers, and any material non-payment or non-performance by these parties, including with respect to our gathering, processing, transportation, and disposal agreements, could reduce our ability to make distributions to our unitholders.

Across our asset portfolio, we rely on third-party customers for a substantial amount of our revenues. The loss of a portion or all of these customers’ contracted volumes, as a result of competition, creditworthiness, inability to negotiate extensions, replacements of contracts, or otherwise, could reduce our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders. Further, to the extent any of our third-party customers is in financial distress or enters bankruptcy proceedings, the related customer contracts may be renegotiated at lower rates or altogether rejected.

Changes in laws or regulations regarding hydraulic fracturing could result in increased costs, operating restrictions, or delays in the completion of oil and natural-gas wells, which could decrease the need for our gathering and processing services.

While we do not conduct hydraulic fracturing, our oil and natural-gas exploration and production customers do conduct such activities. Hydraulic fracturing is an essential and common practice used by many of our customers to stimulate production of natural gas and oil from dense subsurface rock formations such as shales. Hydraulic fracturing is typically regulated by state oil and natural-gas commissions, but several federal agencies, including the EPA and the BLM, also have asserted regulatory authority over, proposed or promulgated regulations governing, and conducted investigations relating to certain aspects of the hydraulic-fracturing process.

At the state level, some states have adopted, and others are considering adopting, legal requirements that could impose more stringent disclosure, permitting, or well-construction requirements on hydraulic-fracturing operations, and states could elect to prohibit high-volume hydraulic fracturing altogether, following the approach taken by the State of New York. Local governments also may seek to adopt ordinances within their jurisdictions regulating the time, place, and manner of drilling activities in general or hydraulic-fracturing activities in particular. If new or more-stringent federal, state, or local legal restrictions, prohibitions or regulations, or ballot initiatives relating to the hydraulic-fracturing process are adopted in areas where our oil and natural-gas exploration and production customers operate, those customers could incur potentially significant added costs to comply with such requirements and experience delays or curtailment in the pursuit of exploration, development, or production activities, which could reduce demand for our gathering and processing services. Moreover, increased regulation of the hydraulic-fracturing process also could lead to greater opposition to, and litigation over, oil and natural-gas production activities using hydraulic-fracturing techniques. Any one or more of these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Physical injection constraints and the adoption of new or more stringent legal standards relating to induced seismic activity could affect our produced-water disposal operations.

We dispose of produced water generated from oil and natural-gas production operations. In some instances, operational constraints (e.g., increased wellbore pressures or poor reservoir quality) have limited water injectivity in our areas of operation that have resulted in available injection capacity being lower than our permitted capacity. Additionally, the legal requirements related to the disposal of produced water into producing or non-producing geologic formations by means of underground injection wells are subject to change based on concerns of the public or governmental authorities, including concerns relating to recent seismic events near injection wells used for the disposal of produced water. In response to such concerns, regulators in some states have imposed, or are considering imposing, additional requirements in the permitting of produced-water disposal wells or are otherwise investigating the existence of a relationship between seismicity and the use of such wells. These operational and regulatory developments could result in restrictions on our use of injection wells to dispose of produced water, including a possible shut down of wells, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Adverse developments in our geographic areas of operation could disproportionately impact our business, results of operations, financial condition, and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Our business and operations are concentrated in a limited number of producing areas. Due to our limited geographic diversification, adverse operational developments, regulatory or legislative changes, or other events in an area in which we have significant operations could have a greater impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders than if our operations were more diversified.

Our indebtedness may limit our ability to capitalize on acquisitions and other business opportunities or our flexibility to obtain financing.

The operating and financial restrictions and covenants in the indentures governing our publicly traded notes, (collectively, the “Notes”), the RCF, and any future financing arrangements could restrict our ability to finance future operations or capital needs or to expand or pursue business activities associated with our subsidiaries and equity investments. See Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K for a further discussion of the terms of the RCF, Notes, and the commercial paper program.

Furthermore, our indebtedness and related debt-service costs could impair our ability to obtain additional financing, reduce funds available for operations and business opportunities, make us more vulnerable to competitive pressures or market downturns, and limit our financial and operational flexibility.

Our ability to service our debt will depend on, 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 indebtedness in the future, 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 execute any of these actions on satisfactory terms or at all.

We may not be able to obtain funding on acceptable terms or at all. This may hinder or prevent us from meeting our future capital needs.

Global financial markets and economic conditions have been, and continue to be, volatile, especially for companies involved in the oil and gas industry. While the oil and gas industry has rebounded from the lows seen in 2020, the repricing of credit risk and the relatively weak industry conditions in recent years have made, and will likely continue to make, it difficult for some entities to obtain funding. Future downturns in our industry could increase our cost of obtaining financing from the credit markets as a result of increased rates of return required by many lenders and institutional investors. In such a situation, our lenders could tighten lending standards, refuse to provide funding on terms similar to our current debt, or reduce, or in some cases, refuse to provide funding. Further, we may be unable to obtain adequate funding under the RCF if our lending counterparties become unable to meet their funding obligations. Due to these factors, we cannot be certain that funding will be available if needed and to the extent required on acceptable terms. If funding is not available when needed, or is available only on unfavorable terms, we may be unable to execute our business plans, complete acquisitions or otherwise take advantage of business opportunities, or respond to competitive pressures, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Our failure to maintain an adequate system of internal control over financial reporting could adversely affect our ability to accurately report our results.

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in our internal controls that result in a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Effective internal control is necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and deter and detect any material fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent material fraud, our reputation and operating results will be harmed. Our efforts to develop and maintain our system of internal controls and to remediate material weaknesses in our controls may not be successful, and we may be unable to maintain adequate control over our financial processes and reporting in the future, including future compliance with the obligations under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation or other effective improvement of our internal controls, could harm our operating results. Ineffective internal control also could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information.

Our business could be negatively affected by security threats, including cyber-threats, and other disruptions.

We face various security threats, including cyber-threats to the security of our facilities and infrastructure, attempts to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information or to render data or systems unusable, and terrorist acts. Additionally, destructive forms of protests by activists and other disruptions, including acts of sabotage or eco-terrorism, against oil and natural-gas-related activities could potentially result in damage or injury to persons, property, or the environment, or lead to extended interruptions of our or our customers’ operations. Our implementation of procedures and controls to monitor and mitigate security threats and to increase security for our facilities, infrastructure, and information may result in increased costs. There can be no assurance that such procedures and controls will be sufficient to prevent security breaches from occurring.

Cyber-attacks, in particular, are becoming more sophisticated and include malicious software intended to gain unauthorized access to data and systems, electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in critical systems, unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information, and corruption of data. For example, the gathering, processing, treating, and transportation of natural gas from our gathering systems, processing facilities, and pipelines are dependent on communications among our facilities and with third-party systems that may be delivering natural gas into or receiving natural gas and other products from our facilities. Disruption of those communications, whether caused by cyber-attacks or otherwise, may disrupt our ability to deliver natural gas and control these assets.

There is no assurance that we will not suffer material losses from future cyber-attacks, and as such threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate or remediate any cyber vulnerabilities. Any terrorist or cyber-attack against, or other disruption of, our assets or computer systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

We typically do not obtain independent evaluations of hydrocarbon reserves connected to our systems. Therefore, in the future, throughput on our systems could be less than we anticipate.

We typically do not obtain independent evaluations of hydrocarbon reserves connected to our systems. Accordingly, we do not have independent estimates of total reserves connected to our systems or the anticipated life of such reserves. If the total reserves or estimated life of the reserves connected to our systems are less than we anticipate, or the timeline for the development of reserves is greater than we anticipate, and we are unable to secure additional sources of oil and natural gas, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by asset impairments.

If commodity prices decrease, and producer activity reduces accordingly, we may be required to write down the value of our midstream properties if the estimated future cash flows from these properties fall below their respective net book values. Because we are a related party of Occidental, the assets we previously acquired from Anadarko were recorded at Anadarko’s carrying value prior to the transaction. See the discussion of material impairments in Note 9—Property, Plant, and Equipment in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

If third-party pipelines or other facilities interconnected to our gathering, transportation, treating, or processing systems become partially or fully unavailable, or if the volumes we gather or transport do not meet the quality requirements of such pipelines or facilities, our revenues and cash available for distribution could be adversely affected.

Our gathering, transportation, treating, and processing systems are connected to other pipelines or facilities, the majority of which are owned by third parties. The continuing operation of such third-party pipelines or facilities is not within our control. If any of these pipelines or facilities becomes unable to transport, treat, store, or process crude oil, natural gas, or NGLs, or if the volumes we gather or transport do not meet the quality requirements of such pipelines or facilities, our revenues and cash available for distribution could be adversely affected. If production is shut-in for these or for other reasons, affected producers may become insolvent or seek to avoid their contractual obligations with us, in which case, our earnings, cash flows from operations, and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders could be materially and adversely impacted.

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

We believe that our gas-gathering systems meet the traditional tests FERC has used to determine if a pipeline is a gas-gathering pipeline and is, therefore, not subject to FERC jurisdiction. FERC, however, has not made any determinations with respect to the jurisdictional status of any of these gas-gathering systems. The distinction between FERC-regulated transmission services and federally unregulated gathering services has been the subject of ongoing litigation and, over time, FERC policy concerning which activities it regulates and which activities are excluded from its regulation has changed. State regulation of gathering facilities generally includes various safety, environmental and, in some circumstances, nondiscriminatory take requirements and complaint-based rate regulation. In recent years, FERC has regulated the gas-gathering activities of interstate pipeline transmission companies more lightly, which has resulted in a number of such companies transferring gathering facilities to unregulated affiliates. As a result of these activities, natural-gas gathering may begin to receive greater regulatory scrutiny at the state and federal levels.

FERC makes jurisdictional determinations for natural-gas gathering and liquids lines on a case-by-case basis. The classification and regulation of our pipelines are subject to change based on future determinations by FERC, the courts, or Congress. A change in the jurisdictional characterization of some of our assets by federal, state, or local regulatory agencies or a change in policy by those agencies could result in increased regulation of our assets, which could cause our revenues to decline and operating expenses to increase. For additional information, read Regulation of Operations–Natural-Gas Gathering Pipeline Regulation under Items 1 and 2 of this Form 10-K.

Adoption of new or more stringent climate-change or other air-emissions legislation or regulations restricting emissions of GHGs or other air pollutants could negatively impact us, our producer customers, or downstream customers by increasing operating costs and reducing volumetric throughput on our systems due to reduced demand for the gathering, processing, compressing, treating, and transporting services we provide.

The threat of climate change continues to attract considerable attention in the United States and foreign countries. Numerous proposals have been made and could continue to be made at the international, national, regional, and state levels of government to monitor and limit emissions of GHGs, as well as to restrict or eliminate such future emissions. Further, new legislation, policies, or regulations may inhibit development plans of our producer customers, which could result in lower volumes transported across our assets. Changes to climate-change or other air-emissions laws and regulations, or reinterpretations of enforcement or other guidance with respect thereto, that govern the areas in which we operate may impact our operations negatively by increasing our compliance costs and the compliance costs of our customers. In addition, in response to concerns related to climate change, companies in the fossil fuel sector may be exposed to increasing financial risks. Financial institutions, including investment advisors and certain sovereign wealth, pension and endowment funds, may elect in the future to shift some or all of their investment into non-fossil fuel related sectors. A material reduction in capital available to the energy industry could make it more difficult to secure funding for exploration, development, production, and transportation activities, which could result in decreased demand for our services, or difficulty in securing capital for new construction projects. For additional information read, “Environmental Matters” under Items 1 and 2 of this Form 10-K.

Federal and state legislative and regulatory initiatives relating to pipeline safety and integrity management that require the performance of ongoing assessments and implementation of preventive measures, the use of new or more-stringent safety controls or result in more-stringent enforcement of applicable legal requirements could subject us to increased capital costs, operational delays, and costs of operation.

Legislation adopted in recent years has resulted in more-stringent mandates for pipeline safety and has charged PHMSA with developing and adopting regulations that impose increased pipeline-safety requirements on pipeline operators. For instance, pursuant to its authority under federal law, PHMSA has promulgated regulations requiring pipeline operators to develop and implement integrity-management programs for certain gas and hazardous liquid pipelines that, in the event of a pipeline leak or rupture, could affect HCAs, which are areas where a release could have the most significant adverse consequences, including high-population areas, certain drinking water sources, and unusually sensitive ecological areas. These regulations require the operators of covered pipelines to, among other things, perform ongoing assessments of pipeline integrity and implement preventive and mitigating actions. The imposition of new pipeline safety or integrity management requirements pursuant to existing federal laws or any issuance or reinterpretation of guidance by PHMSA or any state agencies with respect thereto could require us to install new or modified safety controls, pursue additional capital projects, or conduct maintenance programs on an accelerated basis, any or all of which could result in our incurring increased capital expenditures and operating costs that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial position. For additional information regarding PHMSA regulations, read Regulation of Operations—Natural-Gas Gathering Pipeline Regulation under Items 1 and 2 of this Form 10-K.

Additionally, while states are largely preempted by federal law from regulating pipeline safety for interstate lines, most are certified by PHMSA to assume responsibility for enforcing federal intrastate pipeline regulations and inspection of intrastate pipelines. In practice, because states can adopt stricter standards for intrastate pipelines than those imposed by the federal government for interstate lines, states vary considerably in their authority and capacity to address pipeline safety. Moreover, PHMSA and one or more state regulators, including the Texas Railroad Commission, have expanded the scope of their regulatory inspections in recent years to include certain in-plant equipment and pipelines found within NGLs fractionation facilities and associated storage facilities, to assess compliance with hazardous liquids pipeline safety requirements. To the extent that PHMSA and/or state regulatory agencies are successful in asserting their jurisdiction in this manner, midstream operators of NGLs fractionation facilities and associated storage facilities may be required to make operational changes or modifications at their facilities to meet standards beyond current OSHA and EPA requirements, where such changes or modifications may result in additional capital costs, possible operational delays, and increased costs of operation that, in some instances, may be significant.

Some portions of our pipeline systems have been in service for several decades, and we have a limited ownership history with respect to certain of our assets. There also could be unknown events or conditions, or increased maintenance or repair expenses, and downtime associated with our pipelines that could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Some portions of the pipeline systems that we operate were in service for many decades, prior to our purchase of these systems. Consequently, there may be historical occurrences or latent issues regarding our pipeline systems that we may be unaware of and that may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. The age or condition of our pipeline systems also could result in increased maintenance or repair expenditures, and any downtime associated with increased maintenance and repair activities could materially reduce our revenue. In addition, we may be unable to complete maintenance or repairs due to the unavailability of necessary materials as a result of supply chain disruptions (including those caused by geopolitical events, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine), which may result in the suspension of operations of the impacted assets until such activities can be completed. Any significant increase in maintenance and repair expenditures, loss of revenue due to the age or condition of our pipeline systems, or delays in completing necessary maintenance or repairs could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We are subject to stringent and comprehensive environmental laws and regulations that may expose us to significant costs and liabilities.

Our operations are subject to stringent and comprehensive federal, tribal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations governing the discharge of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to environmental protection. These environmental laws and regulations may impose numerous obligations that are applicable to our operations, including: (i) the acquisition of permits to conduct regulated activities; (ii) restrictions on the types, quantities, and concentrations of materials that can be released into the environment; (iii) limitations on the generation, management, and disposal of wastes; (iv) limitations or prohibitions of construction and operating activities in environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands, urban areas, wilderness regions, and other protected areas; (v) requiring capital expenditures to limit or prevent releases of materials from our pipelines and facilities; and (vi) imposition of substantial restoration and remedial liabilities and obligations with respect to abandonment of facilities and for pollution resulting from our operations or existing at our owned or operated facilities. Numerous governmental authorities, such as the EPA and analogous state agencies, have the power to enforce compliance with these laws and regulations and the permits issued under them, oftentimes requiring difficult and costly remedial or corrective actions. Failure to comply with these laws, regulations, and permits or any newly adopted legal requirements may result in the assessment of sanctions, including administrative, civil, and criminal penalties, the imposition of investigatory, remedial or corrective action obligations, the incurrence of capital expenditures, the occurrence of delays or cancellations in the permitting, development or expansion of projects, and the issuance of injunctions limiting or preventing some or all of our operations in particular areas.

We may incur significant environmental costs and liabilities in connection with our operations due to our handling of natural gas, crude oil, NGLs, and other petroleum products, because of pollutants from our operations emitted into ambient air or discharged or released into surface water or groundwater, and as a result of historical industry operations and waste-disposal practices. For example, an accidental release as a result of our operations could subject us to substantial liabilities arising from environmental cleanup and restoration costs, claims made by owners of the properties through which our gathering or transportation systems pass, neighboring landowners, and other third parties for personal injury, natural-resource and property damages, and fines or penalties for related violations of environmental laws or regulations. Joint and several strict liabilities may be incurred, without regard to fault, under certain of these environmental laws and regulations. In addition, stricter laws, regulations, or enforcement policies could increase our operational or compliance costs and the costs of any restoration or remedial actions that may become necessary, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. The adoption of any laws, regulations, or other legally enforceable mandates could increase our oil and natural-gas exploration and production customers’ operating and compliance costs and reduce the rate of production of oil or natural gas by operators with whom we have a business relationship, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows.

Our construction of new assets is subject to regulatory, environmental, political, legal, and economic risks, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

One of the ways we intend to grow our business is through the construction of new midstream assets. The construction of additions or modifications to our existing systems and the construction of new midstream assets involve numerous regulatory, environmental, political, and legal uncertainties that are beyond our control. These uncertainties also could affect downstream assets, which we do not own or control, but which are critical to certain of our growth projects. Delays in the completion of new downstream assets, or the unavailability of existing downstream assets, due to environmental, regulatory, or political considerations, could have an adverse impact on the completion or utilization of our growth projects. In addition, construction activities could be subject to state, county, and local ordinances that restrict the time, place, or manner in which those activities may be conducted. If we undertake these projects, they may not be completed on schedule, at the budgeted cost, or at all. In addition, we could construct facilities to capture anticipated future growth in production in a region in which such growth does not materialize.

We are subject to increased scrutiny from institutional investors with respect to our governance structure and the social cost of our industry, which may adversely impact our ability to raise capital from such investors.

In recent years, certain institutional investors, including public pension funds, have placed increased importance on the implications and social cost of environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) matters. ESG initiatives generally seek to divert investment capital from companies involved in certain industries or with disfavored governance structures. The energy industry as a whole has received the attention of such activists, as have companies with our partnership governance model.

Investors’ increased focus and activism related to ESG and similar matters may constrain our ability to raise capital. Any material limitations on our ability to access capital as a result of such scrutiny could limit our ability to obtain future financing on favorable terms, or at all, or could result in increased financing costs in the future. Similarly, such activism could negatively impact our unit price, limiting our ability to raise capital through equity issuances or debt financing, or could negatively affect our ability to engage in, expand or pursue our business activities, and could also prevent us from engaging in certain transactions that might otherwise be considered beneficial to us.

We have partial ownership interests in several joint-venture legal entities that we do not operate or control. As a result, among other things, we may be unable to control the amount of cash we receive or retain from the operation of these entities, and we could be required to contribute significant cash to fund our share of joint-venture operations, which could affect our ability to distribute cash to our unitholders adversely.

Our inability, or limited ability, to control the operations and/or management of joint-venture legal entities in which we have a partial ownership interest may result in our receiving or retaining less cash than we expect. We also may be unable, or limited in our ability, to cause any such entity to effect significant transactions such as large expenditures or contractual commitments, the construction or acquisition of assets, or the borrowing of money.

In addition, for the equity investments in which we have a minority ownership interest, we are unable to control ongoing operational decisions, including the incurrence of capital expenditures or additional indebtedness that we may be required to fund. Further, the other owners of our equity investments may establish reserves for working capital, capital projects, environmental matters, and legal proceedings, that would similarly reduce the amount of cash available for distribution. Any of the above could adversely impact our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Further, in connection with the acquisition of our membership interest in Chipeta, we became party to the Chipeta LLC agreement. Among other things, the Chipeta LLC agreement provides that to the extent available, Chipeta will distribute available cash, as defined in the Chipeta LLC agreement, to its members quarterly in accordance with those members’ membership interests. Accordingly, we are required to distribute a portion of Chipeta’s cash balances, which are included in the cash balances in our consolidated balance sheets, to the other Chipeta member.

We do not own all of the land on which our pipelines and facilities are located, which could result in disruptions to our operations.

We do not own all of the land on which our pipelines and facilities have been constructed, and we therefore are, 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 or if such rights-of-way lapse or terminate. Any loss of rights with respect to our real property, through our inability to renew existing rights-of-way contracts or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial position, and ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Our business involves many hazards and operational risks, some of which may not be fully covered by insurance. If a significant accident or event occurs for which we are not fully insured, our operations and financial results could be adversely affected.

Our operations are subject to all of the risks and hazards inherent in gathering, processing, compressing, treating, and transporting natural gas, crude oil, NGLs, and produced water, including (i) damage to our assets and surrounding properties and disruption of our operations as a result of weather, natural disasters, or acts of terrorism; (ii) inadvertent damage from construction, farm, and utility equipment; (iii) leaks or losses of hydrocarbons or produced water; (iv) fires and explosions; and (v) other hazards that could also result in personal injury, loss of life, pollution, property or natural resource damages, and/or curtailment or suspension of operations.

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 or natural-resource damage. These risks also may result in curtailment or suspension of our operations. A natural disaster or other hazard affecting the areas in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our operations. We are not fully insured against all risks that may occur in our business. In addition, although we are insured for environmental pollution resulting from environmental accidents that occur on a sudden and accidental basis, we may not be insured against all environmental accidents that might occur, some of which may result in toxic tort claims. If a significant accident or event occurs for which we are not fully insured, it could adversely affect our operations and financial condition. Furthermore, we 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 insurance policies may substantially increase. In some instances, certain insurance could become unavailable or available only for reduced amounts of coverage. Additionally, we may be unable to recover from prior owners of our assets, pursuant to certain indemnification rights, for potential environmental liabilities.

RISKS INHERENT IN AN INVESTMENT IN US

Our general partner’s liability regarding our obligations is limited.

Our general partner has included provisions in its and our contractual arrangements that limit its liability 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 provides that any action taken by our general partner to limit its liability is not a breach of our general partner’s duties, 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.

Our partnership agreement limits our general partner’s fiduciary duties to holders of our common units and 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 modify and reduce the fiduciary standards to which our general partner otherwise would be held by state fiduciary duty law. For example, our partnership agreement permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner, or otherwise free of fiduciary duties to us and our unitholders. This entitles our general partner only to consider 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. By purchasing a common unit, a common unitholder agrees to become bound by the provisions in the partnership agreement, including the above-described provisions.

Furthermore, 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 whenever our general partner makes a determination or takes, or declines to take, any other action in its capacity as our general partner, our general partner is required to make such determination, or take or decline to take such other action, in good faith, and 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;
• provides that 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, meaning that it believed that the decision was in the best interest of the Partnership;
• provides that our general partner and its officers and directors will not be liable for monetary damages to us, our limited partners or their assignees 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
• provides that, in the absence of bad faith, our general partner will not be in breach of its obligations under the partnership agreement or its duties to us or our unitholders if a transaction with an affiliate or the resolution of a conflict of interest is approved in accordance with, or otherwise meets the standards set forth in, our partnership agreement.

The general partner interest in us 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 its assets without the consent of our unitholders. Furthermore, Occidental, the owner of our general partner, may transfer its ownership interest in our general partner to a third party, also without unitholder consent. Our new general partner or the new owner of our general partner would then be in a position to replace the Board and officers of our general partner and to control the decisions taken by the Board and officers.

We may issue additional units without unitholder approval, which would dilute existing ownership interests.

Our partnership agreement does not limit the number of additional limited partner interests 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 dilute our existing unitholders’ ownership interests and voting strength and may reduce the market price for our common units and cash available for distribution or increase the ratio of taxable income to distributions.

The market price of our common units could be affected adversely by sales of substantial amounts of our common units in the public or private markets, including sales by Occidental or other large holders.

We had 380,556,643 common units outstanding as of December 31, 2024. Occidental currently holds 165,681,578 common units, representing 43.5% of our outstanding common units. Occidental’s shelf registration statement currently allows for the offer and sale of approximately 10.8 million common units, or 2.8% of our common units as of December 31, 2024, from time to time. Sales by Occidental or other large holders of a substantial number of our common units in the public markets, or the perception that such sales might occur, could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common units or could impair our ability to obtain capital through an offering of equity securities. In addition, under our partnership agreement, our general partner and its affiliates, including Occidental, have registration rights relating to the offer and sale of any units that they hold, subject to certain limitations.

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 unitholders 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 impermissible distribution amount. Substituted limited partners are liable for the obligations of the assignor to make contributions to the partnership that were known to the substituted limited partner at the time it became a limited partner and for those obligations that were unknown if the liabilities could have been determined from the 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.

Unitholders’ 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 a number of other states. 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. A unitholder could be liable for any and all of our obligations as if that unitholder were a general partner if a court or government agency were to determine that we were conducting business in a state, but had not complied with that particular state’s partnership statute, or such unitholder’s right 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.

TAX RISKS TO COMMON UNITHOLDERS

Our taxation as a flow-through entity depends on our status as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and our not being subject to a material amount of entity-level taxation by individual states. If the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) were to treat us as a corporation for federal income tax purposes or if we were to become subject to material additional amounts of entity-level taxation for state tax purposes, then our cash available for distribution to our unitholders could be reduced substantially.

The anticipated after-tax economic benefit of an investment in our common units depends largely on our being treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Notwithstanding our status as a limited partnership under Delaware law, it is possible in certain circumstances for a partnership such as us to be treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes unless it satisfies a “qualifying income” requirement and is not treated as an investment company. Based on our current operations, we believe that we satisfy the qualifying income requirement and are not treated as an investment company. Failing to meet the qualifying income requirement, being treated as an investment company, a change in our business activities, or a change in current law could cause us to be treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes or otherwise subject us to entity-level taxation.

If we were treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes, we would pay federal income tax on our taxable income at the applicable corporate tax rate and likely would pay state income tax at varying rates. Distributions to our unitholders generally would be taxed as corporate distributions, and no income, gains, losses, deductions, or credits would flow through to our unitholders. If we are subject to corporate taxation, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders would be reduced substantially. Likewise, our treatment as a corporation would result in a material reduction in the anticipated cash flows and after-tax return to our unitholders, likely causing a substantial reduction in the value of our common units.

At the state level, several states have been evaluating ways to subject partnerships to entity-level taxation through the imposition of state income or franchise taxes or other forms of taxation. For example, we are required to pay Texas margin tax on our gross income apportioned to Texas. Imposition of similar taxes on us in other jurisdictions in which we operate, or to which we may expand our operations, could reduce the cash available for distribution to our unitholders substantially.

The tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships or an investment in our common units could be subject to potential legislative, judicial, or administrative changes and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.

The current 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. From time to time, members of Congress have proposed and considered substantive changes to the existing U.S. federal income tax laws that would affect publicly traded partnerships, including elimination of partnership tax treatment for publicly traded partnerships. Any modification to the U.S. federal income tax laws and interpretations thereof may or may not be retroactively applied and could make it more difficult or impossible to meet the exception for certain publicly traded partnerships to be treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes or increase the amount of taxes payable by unitholders in publicly traded partnerships. You are urged to consult with your own tax advisor with respect to the status of regulatory or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on your investment in our common units.

If the IRS were to contest the federal income tax positions we take, it may impact the market for our common units adversely, and the costs of any such contest would reduce the cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

We have not requested a ruling from the IRS with respect to the pricing of our related-party agreements with Occidental or our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The IRS may adopt positions that differ from the positions we take. It may be necessary to resort to administrative or court proceedings to sustain some or all of the positions we take, and a court may not agree with some or all of those positions. Any contest with the IRS may materially and adversely impact the market for our common units and the price at which they trade. Moreover, the costs of any contest with the IRS will result in a reduction in cash available for distribution to our unitholders and thus will be borne indirectly by our unitholders.

If the IRS makes audit adjustments to our income tax returns, it (and some states) may assess and collect any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from us, in which case our cash available for distribution to our unitholders might be substantially reduced.

If the IRS makes audit adjustments to our income tax returns, it (and some states) may assess and collect any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from us. To the extent possible under applicable rules, our general partner may pay such amounts directly to the IRS or, if we are eligible, elect to issue a revised Schedule K-1 to each unitholder with respect to an audited and adjusted return. No assurances can be made that such election will be practical, permissible, or effective in all circumstances. As a result, our current unitholders may bear some or all of the economic burden resulting from such audit adjustment, even if such unitholders did not own units in us during the tax year under audit. If, as a result of any such audit adjustment, we are required to make payments of taxes, penalties, and interest, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders might be substantially reduced.

Our unitholders are required to pay taxes on their share of our income even if they do not receive any cash distributions from us.

Our unitholders are required to pay any U.S. federal income taxes on their share of our taxable income irrespective of whether they receive cash distributions from us. Unitholders may not receive cash distributions from us equal to their share of our taxable income or even equal to the actual tax liability attributable to their share of our taxable income.

Tax gain or loss on the disposition of our common units could be more or less than expected.

If a unitholder sells common units, the unitholder will recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and that unitholder’s tax basis in those common units. Because distributions in excess of a unitholder’s allocable share of our net taxable income result in a decrease in that unitholder’s tax basis in its common units, the amount, if any, of such prior excess distributions with respect to the units sold will, in effect, become taxable income to that unitholder, if that unitholder sells such units at a price greater than that unitholder’s tax basis in those units, even if the price received is less than their original cost. A substantial portion of the amount realized, whether or not representing gain, may be taxed as ordinary income due to potential recapture items such as depreciation. In addition, because the amount realized includes a unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities, if they sell their units, unitholders may incur a tax liability in excess of the amount of cash they receive from the sale.

Tax-exempt entities face unique tax issues from owning our common units that may result in adverse tax consequences to them.

Investment in common units by tax-exempt entities, such as employee benefit plans, and individual retirement accounts (or “IRAs”) raises issues unique to them. For example, virtually all of our income allocated to organizations that are exempt from federal income tax, including IRAs and other retirement plans, will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to them. Tax-exempt entities should consult a tax advisor before investing in our units.

Non-U.S. unitholders will be subject to U.S. taxes and withholding with respect to their income and gain from owning our units.

Non-U.S. unitholders are subject to U.S. federal income tax on income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (“effectively connected income”). A unitholder’s share of our income, gain, loss and deduction, and any gain from the sale or disposition of our units will generally be considered to be effectively connected income and subject to U.S. federal income tax. As a result, distributions to non-U.S. unitholders will be reduced by withholding taxes at the highest applicable effective tax rate and a non-U.S. unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a unit will also be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the gain realized from the sale or disposition of that unit. Additionally, distributions to non-U.S. unitholders occurring on or after January 1, 2023, will be subject to an additional 10% withholding tax on the amount of any distribution in excess of our cumulative net income that has not been previously distributed. The determination of cumulative net income is complex and unclear in certain respects, and we intend to treat all of our distributions as being in excess of our cumulative net income for such purposes and subject to the additional 10% withholding tax. Accordingly, distributions to a non-U.S. unitholder will be subject to a combined withholding tax rate equal to the sum of the highest applicable effective tax rate and 10%.

Moreover, the transferee of an interest in a partnership that is engaged in a U.S. trade or business is generally required to withhold 10% of the amount realized by the transferor unless the transferor certifies that it is not a foreign person. Treasury regulations provide that the “amount realized” on a transfer of an interest in a publicly traded partnership will generally be the amount of gross proceeds paid to the broker effecting the applicable transfer on behalf of the transferor. Treasury regulations and recent Treasury guidance further provide that for transfers of interests in a publicly traded partnership occurring on or after January 1, 2023, the obligation to withhold is imposed on the transferor’s broker. Non-U.S. unitholders should consult their tax advisor before investing in our common units.

We generally prorate our items of income, gain, loss, and deduction between transferors and transferees of our common units each month based on the ownership of our common units on the first day of each month, instead of on the basis of the date a particular common 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 generally prorate our items of income, gain, loss, and deduction between transferors and transferees of our common units each month based on the ownership of our common units on the first day of each month (the “Allocation Date”), instead of on the basis of the date a particular common unit is transferred. Similarly, we generally allocate certain deductions for depreciation of capital additions, gain or loss realized on a sale or other disposition of our assets, and, in the discretion of the general partner, any other extraordinary item of income, gain, loss, or deduction based upon ownership on the Allocation Date. Treasury Regulations allow a similar monthly simplifying convention, but such regulations do not specifically authorize all aspects of our proration method. If the IRS were to challenge our proration method, we may be required to change the allocation of items of income, gain, loss, and deduction among our unitholders.

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, which could affect the value of our common units adversely.

In determining 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 using a methodology based on the market value of our common units as a means to measure 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 diminish the amount of tax benefits available to our unitholders, affect the timing for recognition of these tax benefits or the amount of gain from any sale of common units, impact the value of our common units negatively, or result in audit adjustments to unitholders’ tax returns.

Our unitholders are subject to state and local taxes and return-filing requirements in jurisdictions where they do not live as a result of investing in our common units.

In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, our unitholders are subject to other taxes, including foreign, state, and local taxes; unincorporated business taxes; and estate, inheritance, or intangible taxes that are imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we conduct business or own property now or in the future, even if they do not live in any of those jurisdictions. Our unitholders likely will be required to file tax returns and pay taxes in some or all of these various jurisdictions, or be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements.

Our cybersecurity program is designed to promote actions that protect our computer systems and networks, delivering safe, secure, and reliable operations. Our digital technology group is led by a dedicated Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”). Our CISO has 16 years of experience as a chief information security officer, over four decades of experience in the energy industry, a degree in computer science, and manages a team at WES that is responsible for leading enterprise-wide cybersecurity strategy, policy, standards, architecture, governance, and risk management. The CISO also leads WES’s Cybersecurity Council, which is a cross-functional internal team including members of WES senior management, that meets regularly to review current information-technology and cybersecurity issues and initiatives and to collaborate on key decisions. Additionally, the CISO provides quarterly reports to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. These reports include updates on WES’s cybersecurity risks and threats, the status of projects to strengthen our information security systems, assessments of the information security program, and the emerging threat landscape. Our cybersecurity program is regularly evaluated by internal and external experts with the results of those reviews reported to senior management and the Audit Committee. In addition, in our continuing commitment to cybersecurity education and preparedness, we also engage with industry peers, vendors, intelligence organizations, and law enforcement communities to evaluate and enhance the effectiveness of our information security policies and procedures.

Our business strategy, results of operations, and financial condition have not been materially affected by risks from cybersecurity threats, but we cannot provide assurance that they will not be materially affected in the future by such risks or any future material incidents. For more information on our cybersecurity related risks, see Risk Factors under Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.

We have elected to use a $1.0 million threshold for disclosing certain proceedings arising under federal, state, or local environmental laws when a government authority is a party and potential monetary sanctions are involved. We believe proceedings under this threshold are not material to our business and financial proceedings.

We are not a party to any legal, regulatory, or administrative proceedings other than proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. Management believes that there are no such proceedings for which a final disposition could have a material adverse effect on results of operations, cash flows, or financial condition, or for which disclosure is otherwise required by Item 103 of Regulation S-K.

The following discussion analyzes our financial condition and results of operations and should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, wherein WES Operating is fully consolidated, and which are included under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K, and the information set forth in Risk Factors under Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.

Discussion of 2022 items and comparison of the year ended December 31, 2023, to the year ended December 31, 2022, that are not included in this annual report on Form 10-K can be found under Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, which is included under Part II, Item 7 of our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as filed with the SEC on February 21, 2024, and is available via the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov (http://www.sec.gov) and our website at www.westernmidstream.com (http://www.westernmidstream.com).

The Partnership’s assets include assets owned and ownership interests accounted for by us under the equity method of accounting, through our 98.0% partnership interest in WES Operating, as of December 31, 2024 (see Note 7—Equity Investments in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K). We also own and control the entire non-economic general partner interest in WES Operating GP, and our general partner is owned by Occidental.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

We are a midstream energy company organized as a publicly traded partnership, engaged in the business of gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, NGLs, and crude oil; and gathering and disposing of produced water. In our capacity as a natural-gas processor, we also buy and sell natural gas, NGLs, and condensate on behalf of ourselves and our customers under certain contracts. To provide superior midstream service, we focus on ensuring the reliability and performance of our systems, creating sustainable cost efficiencies, enhancing our safety culture, and protecting the environment. We own or have investments in assets located in Texas, New Mexico, and the Rocky Mountains (Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming). As of December 31, 2024, our assets and investments consisted of the following:

(1) Includes the DBM water systems.

Significant financial and operational events during the year ended December 31, 2024, included the following:

• We closed on the sale of (i) our 33.75% interest in the Marcellus Interest systems for proceeds of $206.2 million and (ii) several equity investments to third parties for combined proceeds of $588.6 million, which included $5.9 million in pro-rata distributions through closing. See Acquisitions and Divestitures within this Item 7 for additional information.
• WES Operating completed the public offering of $800.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 5.450% Senior Notes due 2034. Net proceeds from the offering will be used to repay a portion of certain senior notes due in 2025 and for general partnership purposes, including the funding of capital expenditures. See Liquidity and Capital Resources within this Item 2 for additional information.
• WES Operating purchased and retired $150.0 million of certain of its senior notes via open-market repurchases.
• Our regular fourth-quarter 2024 per-unit distribution is unchanged from the third-quarter 2024 per-unit distribution of $0.875.
• Natural-gas throughput attributable to WES totaled 5,052 MMcf/d for the year ended December 31, 2024, representing a 14% increase compared to year ended December 31, 2023.
• Crude-oil and NGLs throughput attributable to WES totaled 530 MBbls/d for the year ended December 31, 2024, representing a 19% decrease compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
• Produced-water throughput attributable to WES totaled 1,124 MBbls/d for the year ended December 31, 2024, representing an 11% increase compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
• Gross margin was $2.8 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024, representing a 19% increase compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. See Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures within this Item 7.
• Adjusted Gross Margin for natural-gas assets (as defined under the caption Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures within this Item 7) averaged $1.30 per Mcf for the year ended December 31, 2024, representing a 2% increase compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
• Adjusted Gross Margin for crude-oil and NGLs assets (as defined under the caption Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures within this Item 7) averaged $2.94 per Bbl for the year ended December 31, 2024, representing a 19% increase compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
• Adjusted Gross Margin for produced-water assets (as defined under the caption Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures within this Item 7) averaged $0.96 per Bbl for the year ended December 31, 2024, representing a 16% increase compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.

The following table provides additional information on throughput for the periods presented below:

Throughput for natural-gas assets (MMcf/d)

NM—Not meaningful

OUR OPERATIONS

Our results primarily are driven by the volumes of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, and produced water we service through our systems. In our operations, we contract with customers to provide midstream services focused on natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, and produced water. We gather natural gas from individual wells or production facilities located near our gathering systems, and the natural gas may be compressed and delivered to a processing plant, treating facility, or downstream pipeline, and ultimately to end users. We treat and process a significant portion of the natural gas that we gather so that it will satisfy required specifications for pipeline transportation. We gather crude oil from individual wells or production facilities located near our gathering systems, and in some cases, treat or stabilize the crude oil to satisfy required specifications for pipeline transportation. We also gather and dispose of produced water.

We operate in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, with a substantial portion of our business concentrated in West Texas and the Rocky Mountains. For example, for the year ended December 31, 2024, our West Texas and DJ Basin assets provided (i) 53% and 32%, respectively, of Total revenues and other, (ii) 40% and 31%, respectively, of our throughput for natural-gas assets (excluding equity-investment throughput), (iii) 61% and 23%, respectively, of our throughput for crude-oil and NGLs assets (excluding equity-investment throughput), and (iv) all of our throughput for produced-water assets.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, 60% of Total revenues and other, 34% of our throughput for natural-gas assets (excluding equity-investment throughput), 91% of our throughput for crude-oil and NGLs assets (excluding equity-investment throughput), and 78% of our throughput for produced-water assets were attributable to production owned or controlled by Occidental. While Occidental is our contracting counterparty, these arrangements with Occidental include not just Occidental-produced volumes, but also, in some instances, the volumes of other working-interest owners of Occidental who rely on our facilities and infrastructure to bring their volumes to market. In addition, Occidental provides dedications, minimum-volume commitments with associated deficiency payments, and/or cost-of-service commitments under certain of our contracts.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, 95% of our wellhead natural-gas volume (excluding equity investments) and 100% of our crude-oil and produced-water throughput (excluding equity investments) were serviced under fee-based contracts under which fixed and variable fees are received based on the volume or thermal content of the natural gas and on the volume of NGLs, crude oil, and produced water we gather, process, treat, transport, or dispose. This type of contract provides us with a relatively stable revenue stream that is not subject to direct commodity-price risk, except to the extent that (i) actual recoveries differ from contractual recoveries under certain of our processing agreements or (ii) we retain and sell drip condensate that is recovered during the gathering of natural gas from the wellhead or production facilities and skim oil that is recovered during the produced-water gathering and disposal process.

We also have indirect exposure to commodity-price risk in that the relatively volatile commodity-price environment has caused and may continue to cause current or potential customers to alter drilling or production schedules in certain areas, which could cause variability in the volumes of hydrocarbons available to our systems. We also bear limited commodity-price risk through the settlement of imbalances. Read Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk under Part II of this Form 10-K.

HOW WE EVALUATE OUR OPERATIONS

Our management relies on certain metrics to analyze our financial and operational results, including (i) throughput, (ii) operating and maintenance expenses, (iii) general and administrative expenses, (iv) capital expenditures, and (v) the following non-GAAP financial measures: Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow (see Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures within this Item 7).

Throughput. Throughput is a significant operating variable that we use to assess our ability to generate revenues. To maintain or increase throughput on our systems, we must connect to additional wells or production facilities. Our success in maintaining or increasing throughput is impacted by the successful drilling of new wells by producers that are dedicated to our systems, recompletions of existing wells connected to our systems, our ability to secure volumes from new wells drilled on non-dedicated acreage, and our ability to attract natural-gas, crude-oil, NGLs, or produced-water volumes currently serviced by our competitors.

Operating and maintenance expenses. We monitor operating and maintenance expenses to assess the impact of these costs on asset profitability and to evaluate the overall efficiency of our operations. Operating and maintenance expenses include, among other things, field labor, chemical and treating services, maintenance and integrity management costs, utility costs, equipment rentals, regulatory compliance, environmental remediation, land-related costs, insurance, and contract services.

General and administrative expenses. To assess the appropriateness of our general and administrative expenses and maximize our cash available for distribution, we monitor such expenses by way of comparison to prior periods, the annual budget, and other companies in the midstream industry.

Capital expenditures. Our business is capital intensive, requiring significant investment to maintain and improve existing facilities or to develop new midstream infrastructure. Capital expenditures associated with growth and maintenance projects are closely monitored. Rates of return are analyzed before capital projects are approved, spending is closely monitored throughout the development of the project, and the subsequent operational performance is compared to the assumptions used in the economic analysis performed for the capital investment approved.

ITEMS AFFECTING THE COMPARABILITY OF OUR FINANCIAL RESULTS

Our historical results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented may not be comparable to future or historical results of operations or cash flows for the reasons described below. Refer to Operating Results within this Item 7 for a discussion of our results of operations as compared to the prior periods.

Gathering and processing agreements. Certain of the gathering agreements for the West Texas complex, Springfield system, DJ Basin oil system, and DBM oil and water systems allow for rate resets that target an agreed-upon rate of return over the life of the agreement. Annual adjustments are made to cost-of-service rates charged under these agreements, and for certain of them, a cumulative catch-up revenue adjustment related to services already provided may be recorded. See Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. In addition, certain of our natural-gas processing agreements provide our producer customers with the option to receive an actual or fixed amount of NGLs recoveries (or in some cases, the financial equivalent thereof). Our customers’ election, along with operational plant efficiency and commodity prices, could impact our profitability and cash flows. See Risk Factors under Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.

Acquisitions and divestitures. During the second quarter of 2024, we closed on the sale of our 33.75% interest in the Marcellus Interest systems for proceeds of $206.2 million, resulting in a net gain on sale of $63.9 million that was recorded as Gain (loss) on divestiture and other, net in the consolidated statement of operations.

During the first quarter of 2024, we closed on the sale of the following equity investments to third parties: (i) the 25.00% interest in Mont Belvieu JV, (ii) the 20.00% interest in Whitethorn LLC, (iii) the 15.00% interest in Panola, and (iv) the 20.00% interest in Saddlehorn. The combined proceeds received in the first quarter of 2024 of $588.6 million includes $5.9 million in pro-rata distributions through closing, resulting in a net gain on sale of $239.7 million that was recorded as Gain (loss) on divestiture and other, net in the consolidated statement of operations.

In October 2023, we closed on the acquisition of Meritage for $885.0 million (subject to certain customary post-closing adjustments) funded with cash, including proceeds from our $600.0 million senior note issuance in September 2023 and borrowings on the RCF. For purposes of the discussion included in Results of Operations, the Powder River Basin complex includes our previously owned Hilight system and the assets acquired from Meritage.

See Note 3—Acquisitions and Divestitures in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Impairments. We recognized long-lived asset and other impairments of $6.2 million and $52.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. For a description of impairments recorded, see Note 9—Property, Plant, and Equipment in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

OPERATING RESULTS

The following tables and discussion present a summary of our results of operations:

(1) Total revenues and other includes amounts earned from services provided to related parties and from the sale of natural gas, condensate, and NGLs to related parties. Total operating expenses includes amounts charged by related parties for services received. See Note 6—Related-Party Transactions in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

(2) For reconciliations to comparable consolidated results of WES Operating, see Items Affecting the Comparability of Financial Results with WES Operating within this Item 7.

For purposes of the following discussion, any increases or decreases “for the year ended December 31, 2024” refer to the comparison of the year ended December 31, 2024, to the year ended December 31, 2023.

Discussion of 2022 items and comparison of the year ended December 31, 2023, to the year ended December 31, 2022, that are not included in this annual report on Form 10-K can be found under Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, which is included under Part II, Item 7 of our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and is available via the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov (http://www.sec.gov) and our website at www.westernmidstream.com (http://www.westernmidstream.com).

Throughput

Throughput for natural-gas assets (MMcf/d)

(1) Represents our share of average throughput for investments accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

(2) Includes (i) the 2.0% limited partner interest in WES Operating owned by an Occidental subsidiary and (ii) for natural-gas assets, the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta, which collectively represent WES’s noncontrolling interests.

Natural-gas assets

Total throughput attributable to WES for natural-gas assets increased by 620 MMcf/d for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to (i) higher volumes at the Powder River Basin complex due to the Meritage acquisition, (ii) higher volumes at the West Texas and DJ Basin complexes due to increased production in the areas, (iii) higher volumes at the Red Bluff Express pipeline due to the addition of a new receipt point into the pipeline, and (iv) higher volumes at the Springfield gas-gathering system due to new third-party production. These increases were offset partially by (i) lower volumes at the Marcellus Interest systems due to the sale of the asset during the second quarter of 2024 and (ii) lower volumes at the Granger complex due to a contract expiration in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Crude-oil and NGLs assets

Total throughput attributable to WES for crude-oil and NGLs assets decreased by 122 MBbls/d for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to (i) the divestiture of Whitethorn LLC, Mont Belvieu JV, Saddlehorn, and Panola in the first quarter of 2024. These decreases were offset partially by (i) higher volumes at the DBM and DJ Basin oil systems due to increased production in the areas and (ii) higher volumes at the Thunder Creek NGL pipeline, which was acquired as part of the Meritage acquisition.

Produced-water assets

Total throughput attributable to WES for produced-water assets increased by 115 MBbls/d for the year ended December 31, 2024, due to higher production, partially offset by increased recycling activities in the upstream operations of our producers.

Service Revenues

thousands except percentages

Service revenues – fee based

Service revenues – fee based increased by $479.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases of (i) $184.0 million at the West Texas complex due to increased throughput, a higher average fee resulting from a cost-of-service rate redetermination effective January 1, 2024, and increased deficiency fees on certain contracts with increasing throughput minimums, (ii) $140.2 million at the Powder River Basin complex attributable to the acquisition of Meritage, (iii) $89.8 million at the DJ Basin complex primarily due to increased throughput and increased electricity-related rates billed to customers, partially offset by a decrease in deficiency fees, (iv) $87.5 million and $36.7 million at the DBM water and DBM oil systems, respectively, as a result of increased throughput and higher average fees resulting from cost-of-service rate redeterminations effective January 1, 2024, and (v) $6.7 million at the Chipeta complex primarily due to new and amended contracts effective July 2024. These increases were offset partially by decreases of (i) $23.7 million at the Marcellus Interest systems due to the sale of the asset during the second quarter of 2024, (ii) $16.8 million and $4.3 million at the Springfield and DJ Basin oil systems, respectively, primarily due to decreased revenues associated with demand volumes and lower cumulative catch-up adjustments for changes in estimated consideration in 2024 compared to 2023, partially offset by increased throughput and higher average fees resulting from cost-of-service rate redeterminations effective January 1, 2024, (iii) $11.8 million at the Granger complex due to a contract expiration in the fourth quarter of 2023, and (iv) $10.5 million at the Brasada complex due to a change in contract terms effective July 1, 2023, partially offset by increased throughput.

Service revenues – product based

Service revenues – product based increased by $24.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases of (i) $15.4 million at the West Texas complex due to increased volumes sold, (ii) $5.3 million at the DJ Basin complex due to a contract change effective during the second quarter of 2024, partially offset by decreased average prices, (iii) $4.7 million at the Powder River Basin complex attributable to the acquisition of Meritage, and (iv) $2.3 million at the DBM water systems due to increased skim-oil volumes sold. These increases were offset partially by a decrease of $3.4 million at the Chipeta complex due to decreased volumes sold.

Product Sales

thousands except percentages and per-unit amounts

Natural-gas sales

Natural-gas sales decreased by $27.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to a decrease of $33.6 million at the West Texas complex due to decreased average prices. This decrease was offset partially by increases of (i) $8.9 million at the Powder River Basin complex attributable to the acquisition of Meritage and (ii) $3.1 million at the DJ Basin complex as a result of changes in contract mix during the second quarter of 2023.

NGLs sales

NGLs sales increased by $22.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases of (i) $21.3 million at the Powder River Basin complex attributable to the acquisition of Meritage and (ii) $14.8 million at the DJ Basin complex due to increased volumes sold, partially offset by decreased average prices and the impact of a contract change effective during the second quarter of 2024. These increases were offset partially by decreases of (i) $7.8 million at the West Texas complex due to changes in contract mix and decreased average prices, partially offset by increased volumes sold and (ii) $4.7 million at the Chipeta complex due to a contract change effective during the third quarter of 2024.

Equity Income, Net – Related Parties

thousands except percentages

Equity income, net – related parties decreased by $40.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to decreases of (i) $37.6 million resulting from the sale of several equity investments to third parties in the first quarter of 2024 and (ii) $8.0 million at TEP. These decreases were offset partially by an increase of $4.6 million at Red Bluff. See Note 3—Acquisitions and Divestitures in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Cost of Product and Operation and Maintenance Expenses

thousands except percentages

Natural-gas purchases

Natural-gas purchases decreased by $21.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to decreases of (i) $15.3 million at the West Texas complex due to lower average prices and (ii) $6.2 million at the Granger complex attributable to a contract change effective during 2023 and decreased volumes purchased.

NGLs purchases

NGLs purchases increased by $41.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases of (i) $39.4 million at the West Texas complex primarily attributable to increased volumes purchased and average prices and (ii) $4.2 million at the DJ Basin complex due to a contract change effective during the second quarter of 2024. These increases were offset partially by a decrease of $5.6 million at the Chipeta complex due to a contract change effective during the third quarter of 2024.

Other items

Other items decreased by $11.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to decreases of $32.5 million and $2.3 million at the West Texas and Chipeta complexes, respectively, due to changes in imbalance positions. These decreases were offset partially by increases of (i) $14.9 million at the Powder River Basin complex primarily attributable to the acquisition of Meritage and (ii) $13.6 million at the DJ Basin complex primarily attributable to changes in imbalance positions.

Operation and maintenance expense

Including the impact of operating the assets acquired with Meritage, operation and maintenance expense increased by $118.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases of (i) $38.5 million in salaries and wages costs, (ii) $25.1 million in equipment, materials, maintenance, and repair costs, (iii) $16.7 million in chemical and treating services, (iv) $10.2 million in land-related costs, (v) $9.0 million in equipment rental costs, (vi) $7.1 million in water-disposal costs, and (vii) $5.4 million in utility expense.

Other Operating Expenses

thousands except percentages

General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses increased by $38.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases of (i) $27.5 million in personnel costs, (ii) $10.5 million in information technology costs, and (iii) $7.0 million in other corporate-related expenses. These increases were offset partially by a decrease of $6.1 million in contract labor and consulting costs.

Property and other taxes

Property and other taxes increased by $6.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases of (i) $2.4 million at the DJ Basin complex primarily due to a lower ad valorem property tax accrual recorded during 2023 related to the finalization of 2022 assessments, (ii) $2.3 million at the Powder River Basin complex due to the acquisition of Meritage, and (iii) $2.0 million due to higher property tax values from expansion in West Texas.

Depreciation and amortization expense

Depreciation and amortization expense increased by $49.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases of (i) $44.7 million at the Powder River Basin complex primarily attributable to the acquisition of Meritage and (ii) $22.5 million and $7.2 million at the West Texas complex and DBM water systems, respectively, primarily related to capital projects being placed into service. These increases were offset partially by decreases of (i) $13.3 million at the DJ Basin complex primarily due to acceleration of depreciation expense during 2023 and updated salvage values, (ii) $6.4 million due to the sale of the Marcellus Interest systems in the second quarter of 2024, and (iii) $4.3 million at the Brasada complex due to an update in the expected useful life.

Long-lived asset and other impairment expense

Long-lived asset and other impairment expense for the year ended December 31, 2024, was primarily due to a $4.2 million impairment of certain corporate office leases that are no longer being utilized.

Long-lived asset and other impairment expense for the year ended December 31, 2023, was primarily due to a $52.1 million impairment for assets located in the Rockies.

For further information on Long-lived asset and other impairment expense, see Note 9—Property, Plant, and Equipment in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Interest Expense

thousands except percentages

Interest expense increased by $30.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases of (i) $29.3 million of interest incurred on the 6.350% Senior Notes due 2029 that were issued during the third quarter of 2023, (ii) $16.1 million of interest incurred on the 5.450% Senior Notes due 2034 that were issued during the third quarter of 2024, (iii) $12.1 million of interest incurred on the 6.150% Senior Notes due 2033 that were issued during the second quarter of 2023, and (iv) $2.7 million due to borrowings in 2024 on the commercial paper program that was established during the fourth quarter of 2023. These increases were offset partially by decreases of (i) $14.8 million primarily due to no outstanding borrowings under the RCF during 2024 and (ii) $14.6 million due to credit-rating related interest-rate changes and lower outstanding balances on certain senior notes due to debt repurchases. See Liquidity and Capital Resources—Debt and credit facilities within this Item 7.

Other Income (Expense), Net

thousands except percentages

Other income (expense), net increased by $26.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to interest income earned resulting from higher cash and cash equivalent balances throughout 2024.

Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

thousands except percentages

We are not a taxable entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes; therefore, our federal statutory rate is zero percent. However, income apportionable to Texas is subject to Texas margin tax. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the variance from the federal statutory rate was primarily impacted by a state margin tax rate increase associated with no longer being included in Occidental’s affiliated group tax return beginning in September 2024 due to Occidental’s sale of 19.5 million WES common units in August 2024 and the resulting decrease in WES ownership, inclusive of its ownership in WES Operating.

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

Adjusted Gross Margin. We define Adjusted Gross Margin attributable to Western Midstream Partners, LP (“Adjusted Gross Margin”) as total revenues and other (less reimbursements for electricity-related expenses recorded as revenue), less cost of product, plus distributions from equity investments, and excluding the noncontrolling interest owners’ proportionate share of revenues and cost of product. We believe Adjusted Gross Margin is an important performance measure of our operations’ profitability and performance as compared to other companies in the midstream industry. Cost of product expenses include (i) costs associated with the purchase of natural gas and NGLs pursuant to our percent-of-proceeds, percent-of-product, and keep-whole contracts, (ii) costs associated with the valuation of gas and NGLs imbalances, (iii) costs associated with our obligations under certain contracts to redeliver a volume of natural gas to shippers, which is thermally equivalent to condensate retained by us and sold to third parties, and (iv) costs associated with our offload commitments with third parties providing firm-processing capacity. The electricity-related expenses included in our Adjusted Gross Margin definition relate to pass-through expenses that are recorded as Operation and maintenance expense with an offset recorded as revenue for the reimbursement by certain customers.

Adjusted EBITDA. We define Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Western Midstream Partners, LP (“Adjusted EBITDA”) as net income (loss), plus (i) distributions from equity investments, (ii) non-cash equity-based compensation expense, (iii) interest expense, (iv) income tax expense, (v) depreciation and amortization, (vi) impairments, and (vii) other expense (including lower of cost or market inventory adjustments recorded in cost of product), less (i) gain (loss) on divestiture and other, net, (ii) gain (loss) on early extinguishment of debt, (iii) income from equity investments, (iv) interest income, (v) income tax benefit, (vi) other income, and (vii) the noncontrolling interest owners’ proportionate share of revenues and expenses. We believe the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA provides information useful to investors in assessing our financial condition and results of operations and that Adjusted EBITDA is a widely accepted financial indicator of a company’s ability to incur and service debt, fund capital expenditures, and make distributions. Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental financial measure that management and external users of our consolidated financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, commercial banks, and rating agencies, use, among other measures, to assess the following:

• our operating performance as compared to other publicly traded partnerships in the midstream industry, without regard to financing methods, capital structure, or historical cost basis;
• the ability of our assets to generate cash flow to make distributions; and
• the viability of acquisitions and capital expenditures and the returns on investment of various investment opportunities.

Free Cash Flow. We define “Free Cash Flow” as net cash provided by operating activities less total capital expenditures and contributions to equity investments, plus distributions from equity investments in excess of cumulative earnings. Management considers Free Cash Flow an appropriate metric for assessing capital discipline, cost efficiency, and balance-sheet strength. Although Free Cash Flow is the metric used to assess our ability to make distributions to unitholders, this measure should not be viewed as indicative of the actual amount of cash that is available for distributions or planned for distributions for a given period. Instead, Free Cash Flow represents the amount of cash that is available in aggregate for distributions, debt repayments, and other general partnership purposes.

Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow are not defined in GAAP. The GAAP measure that is most directly comparable to Adjusted Gross Margin is gross margin. Net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities are the GAAP measures that are most directly comparable to Adjusted EBITDA. The GAAP measure that is most directly comparable to Free Cash Flow is net cash provided by operating activities. Our non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow should not be considered as alternatives to the GAAP measures of gross margin, net income (loss), net cash provided by operating activities, or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow have important limitations as analytical tools because they exclude some, but not all, items that affect gross margin, net income (loss), and net cash provided by operating activities. Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Our definitions of Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies in our industry, thereby diminishing their utility as comparative measures.

Management compensates for the limitations of Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free cash flow as analytical tools by reviewing the comparable GAAP measures, understanding the differences between Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow compared to (as applicable) gross margin, net income (loss), and net cash provided by operating activities, and incorporating this knowledge into its decision-making processes. We believe that investors benefit from having access to the same financial measures that our management considers in evaluating our operating results.

The following tables present (i) a reconciliation of the GAAP financial measure of gross margin to the non-GAAP financial measure of Adjusted Gross Margin, (ii) a reconciliation of the GAAP financial measures of net income (loss) and net cash provided by operating activities to the non-GAAP financial measure of Adjusted EBITDA, and (iii) a reconciliation of the GAAP financial measure of net cash provided by operating activities to the non-GAAP financial measure of Free Cash Flow:

Reconciliation of Gross margin to Adjusted Gross Margin

(1) Includes (i) the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta and (ii) the 2.0% limited partner interest in WES Operating owned by an Occidental subsidiary, which collectively represent WES’s noncontrolling interests.

To facilitate investor and industry analysis, we also disclose per-Mcf Adjusted Gross Margin for natural-gas assets, per-Bbl Adjusted Gross Margin for crude-oil and NGLs assets, and per-Bbl Adjusted Gross Margin for produced-water assets.

(1) Excludes corporate-level depreciation and amortization.

(2) Average for period. Calculated as Gross margin for natural-gas assets, crude-oil and NGLs assets, or produced-water assets, divided by the respective total throughput (MMcf or MBbls) for natural-gas assets, crude-oil and NGLs assets, or produced-water assets.

(3) Average for period. Calculated as Adjusted Gross Margin for natural-gas assets, crude-oil and NGLs assets, or produced-water assets, divided by the respective total throughput (MMcf or MBbls) attributable to WES for natural-gas assets, crude-oil and NGLs assets, or produced-water assets.

Reconciliation of Net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA

(1) Includes (i) the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta and (ii) the 2.0% limited partner interest in WES Operating owned by an Occidental subsidiary, which collectively represent WES’s noncontrolling interests.

Reconciliation of Net cash provided by operating activities to Free Cash Flow

Gross margin. Refer to Operating Results within this Item 7 for a discussion of the components of Gross margin as compared to the prior periods, including Service Revenues, Product Sales, Cost of Product (Natural-gas purchases, NGLs purchases, and Other items), and Other Operating Expenses (Depreciation and amortization expense).

Gross margin increased by $441.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to a $498.7 million increase in total revenues and other. This increase was offset partially by (i) a $49.8 million increase in depreciation and amortization and (ii) a $7.7 million increase in cost of product.

Net income (loss). Refer to Operating Results within this Item 7 for a discussion of the primary components of Net income (loss) as compared to the prior periods.

Net income (loss) increased by $563.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to (i) a $498.7 million increase in total revenues and other and (ii) a $306.9 million increase in gain (loss) on divestiture and other, net. These amounts were offset partially by (i) a $173.9 million increase in total operating expenses, (ii) a $40.6 million decrease in equity income, net – related parties, and (iii) a $30.3 million increase in interest expense.

Net cash provided by operating activities. Refer to Historical cash flow within this Item 7 for a discussion of the primary components of Net cash provided by operating activities as compared to the prior periods.

KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS

thousands except percentages and per-unit amounts

(1) Average for period. Calculated as Adjusted Gross Margin for natural-gas assets, crude-oil and NGLs assets, or produced-water assets, divided by the respective total throughput (MMcf or MBbls) attributable to WES for natural-gas assets, crude-oil and NGLs assets, or produced-water assets.

Adjusted Gross Margin. Adjusted Gross Margin increased by $412.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to (i) increased throughput and a higher average fee resulting from cost-of-service rate redeterminations effective January 1, 2024, at the West Texas complex, DBM water systems, and DBM oil system, (ii) increased throughput at the Powder River Basin complex attributable to the acquisition of Meritage, and (iii) increased throughput at the DJ Basin complex. These increases were offset partially by (i) the sale of our interests in the Marcellus Interest systems, Mont Belvieu JV, and Saddlehorn during 2024, (ii) decreased distributions from TEP, (iii) decreased revenues associated with demand volumes and a lower cumulative catch-up adjustment for changes in estimated consideration in 2024 compared to 2023 at the Springfield system, partially offset by increased throughput and higher average fees resulting from cost-of-service rate redeterminations effective January 1, 2024, and (iv) decreased processing fees at the Brasada complex resulting from a change in contract terms effective July 1, 2023, partially offset by increased throughput.

Per-Mcf Adjusted Gross Margin for natural-gas assets increased by $0.02 for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to (i) increased throughput at the West Texas complex, which has a higher-than-average per-Mcf margin as compared to our other natural-gas assets, in addition to a higher average fee resulting from a cost-of-service rate redetermination effective January 1, 2024, and increased deficiency fees on certain contracts with increasing throughput minimums, and (ii) increased throughput at the DJ Basin complex, which has a higher-than-average per-Mcf margin as compared to our other natural-gas assets.

Per-Bbl Adjusted Gross Margin for crude-oil and NGLs assets increased by $0.46 for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to (i) the sale of our interests in Whitethorn LLC, Mont Belvieu JV, and Saddlehorn in the first quarter of 2024, all of which had lower-than-average per-Bbl margins as compared to our other crude-oil and NGLs assets, and (ii) increased throughput at the DBM oil system, which has a higher-than-average per-Mcf margin as compared to our other crude-oil and NGLs assets, in addition to a higher average fee resulting from a cost-of-service rate redetermination effective January 1, 2024. These increases were offset partially by (i) decreased revenues associated with demand volumes and lower cumulative catch-up adjustments for changes in estimated consideration in 2024 compared to 2023 at the DJ Basin oil and Springfield systems, partially offset by higher average fees resulting from cost-of-service rate redeterminations effective January 1, 2024, and (ii) decreased distributions at TEP.

Per-Bbl Adjusted Gross Margin for produced-water assets increased by $0.13 for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to higher throughput and a higher average fee resulting from a cost-of-service rate redetermination effective January 1, 2024.

Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $275.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to a $498.7 million increase in total revenues and other. This was offset partially by (i) a $118.0 million increase in operation and maintenance expenses, (ii) a $52.0 million decrease in distributions from equity investments, (iii) a $32.9 million increase in general and administrative expenses excluding non-cash equity-based compensation expense, (iv) a $7.8 million increase in cost of product (net of lower of cost or market inventory adjustments), and (v) a $6.2 million increase in property and other taxes.

Free Cash Flow. Free Cash Flow increased by $360.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to a $475.5 million increase in net cash provided by operating activities, partially offset by (i) a $98.8 million increase in capital expenditures, (ii) an $8.5 million increase in contributions to equity investments, and (iii) an $8.3 million decrease in distributions from equity investments in excess of cumulative earnings.

See Capital Expenditures and Historical Cash Flow within this Item 7 for further information.

GENERAL TRENDS AND OUTLOOK

We expect our business to be affected by the below-described key trends and uncertainties. Our expectations are based on assumptions made by us and information currently available to us. To the extent our underlying assumptions about, or interpretations of, available information prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from expected results.

Impact of producer activity. Our business is primarily driven by the level of production of crude oil and natural gas by producers in our areas of operation. This activity, however, can be impacted negatively by, among other things, commodity-price fluctuations and operational challenges. Fluctuating crude-oil, natural-gas, and NGLs prices can reduce the level of our customers’ activities and change the allocation of capital within their own asset portfolios. Such fluctuations can also impact us directly to the extent we take ownership of and sell certain volumes at the tailgate of our plants for our own account. The New York Mercantile Exchange (“NYMEX”) West Texas Intermediate crude-oil daily settlement prices during 2023 ranged from a low of $66.74 per barrel in March 2023 to a high of $93.68 per barrel in September 2023, and prices during the year ended December 31, 2024, ranged from a low of $65.75 per barrel in September 2024 to a high of $86.91 per barrel in April 2024. The Waha Hub natural-gas price during 2023 ranged from a low of ($3.8400) per MMBtu in January 2023 to a high of $3.2750 per MMBtu in January 2023, and prices during the year ended December 31, 2024, ranged from a low of ($6.2250) per MMBtu in August 2024 to a high of $8.2650 per MMBtu in January 2024. The extent and duration of commodity-price volatility, and the associated direct and indirect impact on our business, cannot be predicted. To address the risks posed by fluctuating commodity prices, we intend to continue evaluating the relevant price environments and adjust our capital spending plans to reflect our customers’ anticipated activity levels, while maintaining appropriate liquidity and financial flexibility.

Additionally, even when the commodity-price environments are favorable, our customers must manage numerous operational challenges, including severe weather disruptions, oil and gas takeaway constraints, produced water recycling and disposal limitations, seismicity concerns, new regulatory requirements, and the ability to optimize the efficiency and results of large, complex drilling programs. Our producers’ ability to mitigate or manage such challenges can have a significant impact on the volumes available for us to service in the short term. For this reason, we strive to work proactively with our customers whenever possible to provide high levels of reliability on our systems and help them meet these operational challenges as they arise.

Liquidity and access to capital markets. In addition to cash and cash equivalents and cash flows generated from operations, we have historically accessed the debt and equity capital markets to raise money to fund capital expenditures, to refinance long-term debt, to fund unit repurchases, and to fund acquisitions. From time to time, capital market turbulence and investor sentiment towards MLPs, and the broader energy industry, have raised our cost of capital and, in some cases, temporarily made certain sources of capital unavailable. If we require funding beyond our sources of liquidity and are either unable to access the capital markets or find alternative sources of capital at reasonable costs, our strategy may become more challenging to execute.

Changes in regulations. Our operations and the operations of our customers have been, and will continue to be, affected by political developments and federal, state, tribal, local, and other laws and regulations that are becoming more numerous, more stringent, and more complex. These laws and regulations include, among other things, limitations on hydraulic fracturing and other oil and gas operations, pipeline safety and integrity requirements, permitting requirements, environmental protection measures such as limitations on methane and other GHG emissions, and restrictions on produced-water disposal wells. In addition, in certain areas in which we operate, public protests of oil and gas operations are not uncommon. The number and scope of the regulations with which we and our customers must comply has a meaningful impact on our and their businesses, and new or revised regulations, reinterpretations of existing regulations, and permitting delays or denials could adversely affect the throughput on and profitability of our assets. For examples of proposed regulations or other regulatory initiatives that could have a potentially material impact on us, see the Environmental Matters and Occupational Health and Safety Regulations section in Business and Properties under Part I, Items 1 and 2 of this Form 10-K.

Impact of inflation. Although somewhat abated during 2024, the U.S. economy has recently experienced significant inflation relative to historical precedent. Inflation has raised our costs for steel products, automation components, power supply, labor, materials, fuel, and services, which has increased our operating costs and capital expenditures. Additionally, the Trump administration has recently implemented a 10% tariff on Chinese imports and announced a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminum. Plans by the Trump administration to impose additional import tariffs on Canada and Mexico are also currently under consideration, as are reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trading partners that currently impose tariffs on American goods. These and other import tariffs could substantially increase our operating and capital costs. Although we cannot predict any future inflation trends or the impact of current or future import tariffs, higher operating and capital costs could materially and negatively impact our financial results. To the extent permitted by regulations and escalation provisions in certain of our existing agreements, we have the ability to recover a portion of increased costs in the form of higher fees.

Impact of interest rates. Short- and long-term interest rates can be volatile, resulting in immediate changes to interest expense on RCF borrowings and commercial paper borrowings. Any future increases in interest rates likely will result in additional increases in financing costs. As with other yield-oriented securities, our unit price could be impacted by our implied distribution yield relative to market interest rates. Therefore, changes in interest rates, either positive or negative, may affect the yield requirements of investors who invest in our units, and a rising interest-rate environment could have an adverse impact on our unit price and our ability to issue additional equity or increase the cost of issuing equity, to make acquisitions, to reduce debt, or for other purposes. However, we expect our cost of capital to remain competitive, as our peers face similar interest-rate dynamics.

Acquisition opportunities. We may pursue certain asset acquisitions where such acquisitions complement our existing asset base or allow us to capture operational efficiencies. However, if we do not make additional acquisitions on an economically accretive basis, our future growth could be limited.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Our primary cash uses include equity and debt service, operating expenses, acquisitions, and capital expenditures. Our sources of liquidity, as of December 31, 2024, included cash and cash equivalents, cash flows generated from operations, effective borrowing capacity under the RCF, our commercial paper program, and potential issuances of additional equity or debt securities. We believe that cash flows generated from these sources will be sufficient to satisfy our short-term working-capital requirements and long-term capital-expenditure and debt-service requirements.

The amount of future distributions to unitholders will be determined by the Board on a quarterly basis. Under our partnership agreement, we distribute all of our available cash (beyond proper reserves as defined in our partnership agreement) within 55 days following each quarter’s end. Our cash flow and resulting ability to make cash distributions are dependent on our ability to generate cash flow from operations. Generally, our available cash is our cash on hand at the end of a quarter after the payment of our expenses and the establishment of cash reserves, and cash on hand resulting from working capital borrowings made after the end of the quarter. The general partner establishes cash reserves to provide for the proper conduct of our business, including (i) to fund future capital expenditures, (ii) to comply with applicable laws, debt instruments, or other agreements, or (iii) to provide funds for unitholder distributions for any one or more of the next four quarters. The Board declared a cash distribution to unitholders for the fourth quarter of 2024 of $0.875 per unit, or $341.0 million in the aggregate. The cash distribution was paid on February 14, 2025, to our unitholders of record at the close of business on February 3, 2025.

In February 2025, the Board authorized a buyback program of up to $250.0 million of our common units through December 31, 2026 (the “2025 Purchase Program”). The common units may be purchased from time to time in the open market at prevailing market prices or in privately negotiated transactions. The timing and amount of purchases under the program will be determined based on ongoing assessments of capital needs, our financial performance, the market price of our common units, and other factors, including organic growth and acquisition opportunities and general market conditions. The program does not obligate us to acquire any particular amount of common units and the program may be suspended or discontinued at our discretion without prior notice.

For the year ended December 31, 2025, capital expenditures are expected to range between $625.0 million to $775.0 million (accrual-based, includes equity investments, excludes capitalized interest, and excludes capital expenditures associated with the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta).

Management continuously monitors our leverage position and other financial projections to manage the capital structure according to long-term objectives. We may, from time to time, seek to retire, rearrange, or amend some or all of our outstanding debt or financing agreements through cash purchases, exchanges, open-market repurchases, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, or otherwise. Such transactions, if any, will depend on prevailing market conditions, our liquidity position and requirements, contractual restrictions, and other factors, and the amounts involved may be material. Our ability to generate cash flows is subject to a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control. Read Risk Factors under Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.

Working capital. Working capital is an indication of liquidity and potential needs for short-term funding. Working capital requirements are driven by changes in accounts receivable and accounts payable and other factors such as credit extended to, and the timing of collections from, our customers, and the level and timing of our spending for acquisitions, maintenance, and other capital activities. As of December 31, 2024, we had a $155.5 million working capital surplus, which we define as the amount by which current assets exceed current liabilities. As of December 31, 2024, there was $2.0 billion in effective borrowing capacity under the RCF. Any outstanding commercial paper borrowings reduce the effective borrowing capacity under the RCF as WES Operating maintains availability under the RCF as support for its commercial paper program. See Note 11—Selected Components of Working Capital and Note 13—Debt and Interest Expense in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Capital expenditures. Our business is capital intensive, requiring significant investment to maintain and improve existing facilities or to develop new midstream infrastructure. Capital expenditures include maintenance capital expenditures, which include those expenditures required to maintain existing operating capacity and service capability of our assets, and expansion capital expenditures, which include expenditures to construct new midstream infrastructure and expenditures incurred to reduce costs, increase revenues, or increase system throughput or capacity from current levels.

Capital expenditures in the consolidated statements of cash flows reflect capital expenditures on a cash basis, when payments are made. Capital incurred is presented on an accrual basis. Acquisitions and capital expenditures as presented in the consolidated statements of cash flows and capital incurred were as follows:

(1) The years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, included $15.2 million and $13.6 million, respectively, of capitalized interest.

Acquisitions for the year ended December 31, 2023, included the acquisition of Meritage. See Items Affecting the Comparability of Our Financial Results within this Item 7.

Capital expenditures increased by $98.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases of (i) $88.3 million at the West Texas complex, primarily attributable to engineering, equipment, and construction milestone payments for the North Loving Plant, (ii) $28.2 million at the Powder River Basin complex primarily attributable to the acquisition of Meritage, (iii) $24.2 million at the DBM water systems due to increased construction of certain water-disposal wells, equipment, facilities, and well-connect projects, and (iv) $8.2 million at the Chipeta complex primarily related to expansion projects. These increases were offset partially by a decrease of $58.3 million at the DBM oil system related to a decrease in pipeline, oil treating, and oil pumping projects.

Historical cash flow. The following table and discussion present a summary of our net cash flows provided by (used in) operating, investing, and financing activities:

Operating activities. Net cash provided by operating activities increased for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to higher cash operating income and the impact of changes in assets and liabilities, including cash received on certain contracts for which revenue recognition is deferred (See Note 2—Revenue from Contracts with Customers in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K). These increases were offset partially by lower distributions from equity-investment earnings and higher interest expense. Refer to Operating Results within this Item 7 for a discussion of our results of operations as compared to the prior periods.

Investing activities. Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily included the following:

• $833.9 million of capital expenditures, primarily related to expansion, construction, and asset-integrity projects at the West Texas complex, DBM water systems, DJ Basin complex, Powder River Basin complex, and DBM oil system;
• $18.3 million of increases to materials and supplies inventory and other;
• $582.7 million of proceeds related to the sale of several equity investments to third parties;
• $206.2 million of proceeds related to the sale of our 33.75% interest in the Marcellus Interest systems to a third party; and
• $30.9 million of distributions received from equity investments in excess of cumulative earnings.

Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily included the following:

• $877.7 million of cash paid, net of cash received, for the acquisition of Meritage;
• $735.1 million of capital expenditures, primarily related to expansion, construction, and asset-integrity projects at the West Texas complex, DBM water systems, DJ Basin complex, and DBM oil system;
• $32.3 million of increases to materials and supplies inventory and other; and
• $39.1 million of distributions received from equity investments in excess of cumulative earnings.

Financing activities. Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily included the following:

• $1,275.9 million of distributions paid to WES unitholders and noncontrolling interest owners;
• $610.3 million of net repayments under the commercial paper program;
• $143.9 million to purchase and retire portions of certain of WES Operating’s senior notes via open-market repurchases; and
• $790.3 million of net proceeds from the 5.450% Senior Notes due 2034 issued in August 2024, which will be used to repay a portion of the maturing 3.100% Senior Notes due 2025 and 3.950% Senior Notes due 2025 and for general partnership purposes, including the funding of capital expenditures.

Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily included the following:

• $1,495.0 million of repayments of outstanding borrowings under the RCF;
• $1,008.9 million of distributions paid to WES unitholders and noncontrolling interest owners;
• $259.8 million to purchase and retire portions of certain of WES Operating’s senior notes via open-market repurchases;
• $213.1 million to redeem the total principal amount outstanding on the Floating-Rate Senior Notes due 2023 at par value;
• $134.6 million of unit repurchases;
• $1,120.0 million of borrowings under the RCF, which were used for general partnership purposes;
• $740.6 million of net proceeds from the 6.150% Senior Notes due 2033 issued in April 2023, which were used to repay borrowings under the RCF and for general partnership purposes;
• $609.9 million of net borrowings under the commercial paper program, which were used for general partnership purposes; and
• $592.8 million of net proceeds from the 6.350% Senior Notes due 2029 issued in September 2023, which were used to fund a portion of the aggregate purchase price for the Meritage acquisition, to pay related costs and expenses, and for general partnership purposes.

Debt and credit facilities. As of December 31, 2024, the carrying value of outstanding debt was $7.9 billion and we have estimated future interest and RCF fee payments totaling $385.1 million in 2025. In addition, we have $1.0 billion senior note borrowings due within the next year and, as of December 31, 2024, have $2.0 billion in effective borrowing capacity under WES Operating’s $2.0 billion RCF. Any outstanding commercial paper borrowings reduce the effective borrowing capacity under the RCF as WES Operating maintains availability under the RCF as support for its commercial paper program.

During the year ended December 31, 2024, WES Operating (i) completed the public offering of $800.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 5.450% Senior Notes due 2034, (ii) purchased and retired $150.0 million of certain of its senior notes via open-market repurchases with cash from operations, and (iii) entered into an amendment to the RCF to exercise an option to extend the maturity date of the RCF from April 2028 to April 2029, for each extending lender. As of December 31, 2024, the 3.100% Senior Notes due 2025 and 3.950% Senior Notes due 2025 were classified as short-term debt on the consolidated balance sheet. Subsequent to December 31, 2024, WES Operating retired the 3.100% Senior Notes due 2025 on the maturity date of February 3, 2025.

For additional information on our senior notes, RCF, and commercial paper program, see Note 13—Debt and Interest Expense in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Finance lease liabilities. We have finance leases with third parties for equipment, vehicles, and an NGLs pipeline in Wyoming. As of December 31, 2024, we have future finance-lease payments of $11.5 million in 2025 and a total of $27.4 million in years thereafter.

Asset retirement obligations. When assets are acquired or constructed, the initial estimated asset retirement obligation is recognized in an amount equal to the net present value of the settlement obligation, with an associated increase in property, plant, and equipment. Revisions in estimated asset retirement obligations may result from changes in estimated asset retirement costs, inflation rates, discount rates, and the estimated timing of settlement. As of December 31, 2024, we expect to incur asset retirement costs of $12.8 million in 2025 and a total of $370.2 million in years thereafter. For additional information, see Note 12—Asset Retirement Obligations in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Operating leases. We have operating leases for equipment supporting our operations, corporate offices, field offices, and easements, with both Occidental and third parties as lessors. As of December 31, 2024, we have future operating-lease payments of $60.5 million in 2025 and a total of $173.7 million in years thereafter. See Note 14—Leases in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Offload commitments. We have offload agreements with third parties providing firm-processing capacity through 2025. As of December 31, 2024, we have future minimum payments under offload agreements totaling $3.4 million for 2025.

Pipeline commitments. We have transportation contracts with volume commitments on multiple pipelines through 2035. As of December 31, 2024, we have estimated future minimum-volume-commitment fees totaling $15.0 million in 2025 and a total of $50.6 million in years thereafter.

Credit risk. We bear credit risk through exposure to non-payment or non-performance by our counterparties, including Occidental, financial institutions, customers, and other parties. Generally, non-payment or non-performance results from a customer’s inability to satisfy payables to us for services rendered, minimum-volume-commitment deficiency payments owed, or volumes owed pursuant to gas- or NGLs-imbalance agreements. We examine and monitor the creditworthiness of customers and may establish credit limits for customers. We are subject to the risk of non-payment or late payment by producers for gathering, processing, transportation, and disposal fees. Additionally, we continue to evaluate counterparty credit risk and, in certain circumstances, are exercising our contractual rights to request adequate assurance of performance.

We expect our exposure to the concentrated risk of non-payment or non-performance to continue for as long as our commercial relationships with Occidental generate a significant portion of our revenues. While Occidental is our contracting counterparty, gathering and processing arrangements with affiliates of Occidental on most of our systems include not just Occidental-produced volumes, but also, in some instances, the volumes of other working-interest owners of Occidental who rely on our facilities and infrastructure to bring their volumes to market. See Note 6—Related-Party Transactions in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders may be adversely impacted if Occidental becomes unable to perform under the terms of gathering, processing, transportation, and disposal agreements.

ITEMS AFFECTING THE COMPARABILITY OF FINANCIAL RESULTS WITH WES OPERATING

Our consolidated financial statements include the consolidated financial results of WES Operating. Our results of operations do not differ materially from the results of operations and cash flows of WES Operating, which are reconciled below.

Reconciliation of net income (loss). The differences between net income (loss) attributable to WES and WES Operating are reconciled as follows:

(1) Represents the portion of net income (loss) allocated to the limited partner interest in WES Operating not held by WES. A subsidiary of Occidental held a 2.0% limited partner interest in WES Operating for all periods presented.

(2) Represents general and administrative expenses incurred by WES separate from, and in addition to, those incurred by WES Operating.

Reconciliation of net cash provided by (used in) operating and financing activities. The differences between net cash provided by (used in) operating and financing activities for WES and WES Operating are reconciled as follows:

(1) Represents general and administrative expenses incurred by WES separate from, and in addition to, those incurred by WES Operating.

(2) Represents distributions to WES common unitholders paid under WES’s partnership agreement. See Note 4—Partnership Distributions and Note 5—Equity and Partners’ Capital in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

(3) Difference attributable to elimination in consolidation of WES Operating’s distributions on partnership interests owned by WES. See Note 4—Partnership Distributions and Note 5—Equity and Partners’ Capital in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Noncontrolling interest. WES Operating’s noncontrolling interest consists of the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta. See Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

WES Operating distributions. WES Operating distributes all of its available cash on a quarterly basis to WES Operating unitholders in proportion to their share of limited partner interests in WES Operating. See Note 4—Partnership Distributions in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make informed judgments and estimates that affect the amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the amounts of revenues and expenses recognized during the periods reported. On an ongoing basis, management reviews its estimates, including those related to property, plant, and equipment, other intangible assets, goodwill, equity investments, asset retirement obligations, litigation, environmental liabilities, income taxes, revenues, and fair values. Although these estimates are based on management’s best available knowledge of current and expected future events, changes in facts and circumstances, or discovery of new information may result in revised estimates, and actual results may differ from these estimates. Management considers the following to be its most critical accounting estimates that involve judgment and discusses the selection and development of these estimates with our general partner’s Audit Committee. For additional information concerning accounting policies, see Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Impairments of property, plant, and equipment and other intangible assets. Property, plant, and equipment and other intangible assets are stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation or amortization, or fair value if impaired. Prior long-lived asset acquisitions from Anadarko were transfers of net assets between entities under common control; therefore, the assets acquired were initially recorded at Anadarko’s historical carrying value. Assets acquired in a business combination or non-monetary exchange with a third party are initially recorded at fair value.

Management assesses property, plant, and equipment, together with any associated materials and supplies inventory and intangible assets, for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate their carrying values may not be recoverable. Changes in our business and economic conditions are evaluated for their implications on recoverability of the assets’ carrying values. Significant downward revisions in throughput forecasts or changes in future development plans by producers, to the extent they affect our operations, may trigger an impairment assessment.

Impairments exist when the carrying value of a long-lived asset exceeds the total estimated undiscounted net cash flows from the future use and eventual disposition of the asset. When alternative courses of action for future use of a long-lived asset are under consideration, estimates of future undiscounted net cash flows incorporate the possible outcomes and probabilities of their occurrence. The primary assumptions used to estimate undiscounted future net cash flows include long-range customer throughput forecasts and revenue, capital, and operating expense estimates. Management applies judgment in the grouping of assets for impairment assessment, determining whether there is an impairment indicator, and determinations about the future use of such assets.

If an impairment exists, an impairment loss is measured as the excess of the asset’s carrying value over its estimated fair value, such that the asset’s carrying value is adjusted down to its estimated fair value with an offsetting charge to impairment expense. Management’s estimate of the asset’s fair value may be determined based on the estimates of future discounted net cash flows or values at which similar assets were transferred in the market in recent transactions, if such data is available.

Impairments of equity investments. Investments in non-controlled entities over which the Partnership exercises significant influence are accounted for under the equity method of accounting. Management assesses its equity investments for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate their carrying amount may have experienced a decline in value that is other than temporary. When evidence of an other-than-temporary loss in value has occurred, management compares the estimated fair value of the investment to the carrying amount of the investment to determine whether the investment has been impaired. Management assesses the fair value of equity investments using commonly accepted techniques, and may use more than one method, including, but not limited to, recent third-party comparable sales and discounted cash flow models. If the carrying amount exceeds the estimated fair value, an impairment loss is measured as the excess of the carrying amount over its estimated fair value, such that the asset’s carrying amount is adjusted down to its estimated fair value with an offsetting charge to impairment expense.

We recognized long-lived asset and other impairments of $6.2 million and $52.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. See Note 9—Property, Plant, and Equipment and Note 7—Equity Investments in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for a description of impairments recorded during the periods presented.

Fair value. Impairment analyses for long-lived assets, goodwill, equity investments, and the initial recognition of asset retirement obligations use Level-3 inputs. Management also estimates the fair value of assets and liabilities acquired in a third-party business combination or exchanged in non-monetary transactions. See Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

RECENT ACCOUNTING DEVELOPMENTS

See Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Commodity-price risk. Certain of our processing services are provided under percent-of-proceeds and keep-whole agreements. Under percent-of-proceeds agreements, we receive a specified percentage of the net proceeds from the sale of residue and/or NGLs. Under keep-whole agreements, we keep 100% of the NGLs produced, and the processed natural gas, or value of the natural gas, is returned to the producer, and because some of the gas is used and removed during processing, we compensate the producer for the amount of gas used and removed in processing by supplying additional gas or by paying an agreed-upon value for the gas used.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, 95% of our wellhead natural-gas volume (excluding equity investments) and 100% of our crude-oil and produced-water throughput (excluding equity investments) were serviced under fee-based contracts. A 10% increase or decrease in commodity prices would not have a material impact on our operating income (loss), financial condition, or cash flows for the next 12 months, excluding the effect of imbalances.

We bear a limited degree of commodity-price risk with respect to settlement of natural-gas and NGLs imbalances that arise from differences in gas volumes received into our systems and gas volumes delivered by us to customers, and for instances where actual liquids recovery or fuel usage varies from contractually stipulated amounts. Natural-gas and NGLs volumes owed to or by us that are subject to monthly cash settlement are valued according to the terms of the contract as of the balance sheet dates and generally reflect market-index prices. Other natural-gas and NGLs volumes owed to or by us are valued at our weighted-average cost as of the balance sheet dates and are settled in-kind. Our exposure to the impact of changes in commodity prices on outstanding imbalances depends on the settlement timing of the imbalances. See General Trends and Outlook under Part II, Item 7 and Risk Factors under Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.

Interest-rate risk. The Federal Open Market Committee increased its target range four times for the federal funds rate in 2023 and decreased its target range three times during the year ended December 31, 2024. Any future increases in the federal funds rate likely will result in an increase in financing costs. As of December 31, 2024, WES Operating had (i) no outstanding borrowings under the RCF that bear interest at a rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) or an alternative base rate at WES Operating’s option and (ii) no outstanding commercial paper borrowings. While a 10% change in the applicable benchmark interest rate would not materially impact interest expense on our outstanding borrowings at December 31, 2024, it would impact the fair value of the senior notes.

Additional short-term or variable-rate debt may be issued in the future, either under the RCF or other financing sources, including commercial paper borrowings or debt issuances.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of WES’s general partner and WES Operating GP (for purposes of this Item 9A, “Management”) performed an evaluation of WES’s and WES Operating’s disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act. WES’s and WES Operating’s disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports that are filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC, and to ensure that the information required to be disclosed in the reports that are filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including the principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based on this evaluation, Management concluded that WES’s and WES Operating’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2024.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. See Management’s Assessment of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Attestation Report of the Registered Public Accounting Firm. See Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. There were no changes in WES’s or WES Operating’s internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2024, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, WES’s or WES Operating’s internal control over financial reporting.