
Who’s Protected from FERC’s Revised Income Tax Policy?
By Kurt GallonMar. 15 2018, Published 5:05 p.m. ET
No harm to C-corps
Midstream companies such as Kinder Morgan (KMI), Targa Resource (TRGP), and ONEOK (OKE) are taxed as C-corps, so the revised policy doesn’t apply to them. C-corps reacted negatively to the news, but they recovered by the end of the trading session. Williams Companies (WMB) and Enbridge Inc. (ENB), which are also C-corps, were an exception due to their GP-LP model and dependence on limited partnerships for their distribution income.
Non-regulated pipelines
Other midstream activities
Other midstream activities—such as natural gas processing, NGLs fractionation, and fuel terminaling and storage—shouldn’t have any impact on the revised policy, as prices in these cases aren’t regulated by FERC. They include MPLX LP (MPLX), Western Gas Partners (WES), and DCP Midstream (DCP).
However, most midstream MLPs have some exposure to interstate transportation and the sell-off across the sector.
Other value chain
MLPs that aren’t involved in midstream activities—such as upstream MLPs, downstream MLPs, frac-sand producers, catalytic conversion, and midstream services—should see no impact from the revised policy. They include Legacy Reserves (LGCY), Hi-Crush Partners (HCLP), CSI Compressco LP (CCLP), and CVR Refining (CVRR).