Related Party Transactions | 13. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Sanchez-Related Agreements We are controlled by our general partner. The sole member of our general partner is Manager, which has no officers. In May 2014, we entered into the Services Agreement with Manager pursuant to which Manager provides services that we require to operate our business, including overhead, technical, administrative, marketing, accounting, operational, information systems, financial, compliance, insurance, acquisition, disposition and financing services and professionals. In connection with providing services under the Services Agreement, Manager receives compensation consisting of: (i) a quarterly fee equal to 0.375% of the value of our properties other than our assets located in the Mid-Continent region, (ii) reimbursement for all allocated overhead costs as well as any direct third-party costs incurred and (iii) for each asset acquisition, asset disposition and financing, a fee not to exceed 2% of the value of such transaction. Each of these fees, not including the reimbursement of costs, is paid in cash unless Manager elects for such fee to be paid in our equity. Manager or the Partnership may terminate the Services Agreement at any time with at least 180 days’ notice. Unless terminated pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence, t he Services Agreement has an initial ten-year term and will be automatically renewed for an additional ten years unless either Manager or the Partnership provides notice of termination to the other at least 180 days’ prior to the expiration of the initial ten-year term. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, we incurred costs of approximately $2.6 million and $4.9 million, respectively, to Manager under the Services Agreement. Manager utilizes SOG to provide the services under the Services Agreement. In May 2014, we entered into a Contract Operating Agreement with SOG pursuant to which SOG either provides services to operate, develop and produce our oil and natural gas properties or engages a third-party operator to do so. We also have entered into the Geophysical Seismic Data Use License Agreement with SOG pursuant to which SOG provides us a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use seismic, geophysical and geological information relating to our oil and natural gas properties that is proprietary to SOG and not restricted by agreements that SOG has with landowners or seismic data vendors. SOG, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a private full-service oil and natural gas company engaged in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas primarily in the South Texas and onshore Gulf Coast areas on behalf of its affiliates. Antonio R. Sanchez, III (the Chairman of the board of directors of our general partner), Patricio D. Sanchez (the President and Chief Operating Officer of our general partner and a member on the board of directors of our general partner), and Eduardo A. Sanchez (a member on the board of directors of our general partner), along with their immediate family members, Ana Lee Sanchez Jacobs and Antonio R. Sanchez, Jr., collectively, either directly or indirectly, own a majority of the equity interests of SOG. In addition, Antonio R. Sanchez, Jr. is a member of the board of directors of SOG, and such other individuals, as well as Ana Lee Sanchez Jacobs, are officers of SOG. Sanchez-Related Transactions We have entered into several transactions with Sanchez Energy since January 1, 2016. Antonio R. Sanchez, Jr. is a director and Executive Chairman of the Board of Sanchez Energy, and Antonio R. Sanchez, III is a director and Chief Executive Officer of Sanchez Energy. In addition, Eduardo A. Sanchez is the former President of Sanchez Energy and Patricio D. Sanchez is an Executive Vice President of Sanchez Energy. The employees of SOG, including Kirsten A. Hink, our Chief Accounting Officer, provide common services to both us and Sanchez Energy. In conjunction with the acquisition of Western Catarina Midstream, we entered into a 15-year gas gathering agreement with Sanchez Energy pursuant to which Sanchez Energy agreed to tender all of its crude petroleum, natural gas and other hydrocarbon-based product volumes on approximately 35,000 dedicated acres in the Western Catarina area of the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas for processing and transportation through Western Catarina Midstream, with the potential to tender additional volumes outside of the dedicated acreage (the “Gathering Agreement”). During the first five years of the term of the Gathering Agreement, Sanchez Energy is required to meet a minimum quarterly volume delivery commitment of 10,200 barrels per day of oil and condensate and 142,000 Mcf per day of natural gas, subject to certain adjustments. Sanchez Energy is required to pay gathering and processing fees of $0.96 per barrel for crude oil and condensate and $0.74 per Mcf for natural gas that are tendered through Western Catarina Midstream, in each case, subject to an annual escalation for a positive increase in the consumer price index. For the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, Sanchez Energy paid us approximately $30.5 million and $24.1 million, respectively, pursuant to the terms of the Gathering Agreement. Under Topic 606, this amount is being presented under gathering and transportation lease revenue on the condensed consolidated statements of operations. On June 30, 2017, the Gathering Agreement was amended to add an incremental infrastructure fee to be paid by a subsidiary of Sanchez Energy based on water that is delivered through the gathering system through March 31, 2018. The parties have agreed to continue the incremental infrastructure fee on a month-to-month basis. In July 2016, we completed the Carnero Gathering Transaction pursuant to which we acquired from Sanchez Energy a 50% interest in Carnero Gathering, a joint venture that was 50% owned and operated by Targa for an initial payment of approximately $37.0 million and the assumption of remaining capital commitments to Carnero Gathering, estimated at approximately $7.4 million as of the acquisition date. As part of the Carnero Gathering Transaction, we are required to pay Sanchez Energy an earnout based on natural gas received above a threshold volume and tariff at designated delivery points from Sanchez Energy and other producers. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, natural gas received did not exceed the threshold. However, we made an earnout payment to Sanchez Energy for $0.1 million in the first quarter of 2018 related to the year ended December 31, 2017. The earnout is being accounted for as a derivative in the condensed consolidated financial statements. Refer to Note 5 “Fair Value Measurements” for additional discussion. In November 2016, we completed the Carnero Processing Transaction pursuant to which we acquired from Sanchez Energy a 50% interest in Carnero Processing, a joint venture that was 50% owned and operated by Targa, for aggregate cash consideration of approximately $55.5 million and the assumption of remaining capital contribution commitments to Carnero Processing, estimated at approximately $24.5 million as of the date of acquisition. Also in November 2016, the Partnership consummated a Purchase and Sale Agreement with SN Cotulla Assets, LLC and SN Palmetto, LLC, each a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sanchez Energy, to purchase working interests in 23 producing Eagle Ford Shale wellbores located in Dimmit and Zavala counties in South Texas as well as escalating working interests in an additional 11 producing wellbores in the Palmetto Field in Gonzales, Texas for approximately $24.2 million. In October 2016, we entered into an agreement with Sanchez Energy providing us an option to acquire a ground lease, which the parties mutually terminated in September 2017. In November 2016, in conjunction with our public offering of common units, the Partnership entered into a Common Unit Purchase Agreement with SN UR Holdings, LLC (the “Purchaser”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Sanchez Energy, whereby we issued to the Purchaser 2,272,727 common units for proceeds of approximately $25.0 million. In September 2017, we entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Sanchez Energy to transport certain quantities of the subsidiary’s natural gas on a firm basis through a 30 mile natural gas pipeline with 400 MMcf/d capacity designed and used to transport dry gas from the Raptor Gas Processing Facility to multiple markets in South Texas, that is 100% owned and operated by the Partnership (the “Seco Pipeline”), for $0.22 per MMBtu delivered on or after September 1, 2017 (the “Seco Pipeline Transportation Agreement”). The Seco Pipeline Transportation Agreement continues month-to-month until terminated by either party. For the six months ended June 30, 2018, SN Catarina paid us approximately $3.8 million pursuant to the terms of that agreement. In May 2018, we executed the Carnero JV Transaction with Targa. In connection with the Carnero JV Transaction, effective April 1, 2018, a subsidiary of Sanchez Energy and Carnero JV entered into a Firm Gas Gathering, Processing and Purchase Agreement (the “Carnero Gas Gathering Agreement”) and other related documentation providing for certain gas gathering, treating and processing services in exchange for an approximately 315,000 gross acreage dedication from the subsidiary of Sanchez Energy and its working interest partners. Additionally, effective April 1, 2018, and in connection with the Carnero JV Transaction, another subsidiary of Sanchez Energy and an affiliate of Targa also amended their Firm Gas Gathering Agreement (the “Amended Gathering Agreement”) and Firm Gas Processing Agreement (the “Amended Processing Agreement”) which were subsequently assigned by the Targa counterparty to Carnero JV. As of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Partnership had a net receivable from related parties of approximately $6.6 million, and $13.1 million, respectively, which are included in “Accounts receivable – related entities” on the consolidated balance sheets. As of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Partnership also had a net payable to related parties of approximately $ 7.1 million, and $10.4 million, respectively. The net receivable/payable as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 consist primarily of revenues receivable from oil and natural gas production and transportation, offset by costs associated with that production and transportation and obligations for general and administrative costs. Sanchez Energy is an independent exploration and production company focused on the acquisition and development of U.S. onshore unconventional oil and natural gas resources, with a current focus on the horizontal development of significant resource potential from the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas where it has assembled approximately 485,000 gross leasehold acres (283,000 net acres). The Chairman of the board of directors of our general partner, Antonio R. Sanchez, III, is Sanchez Energy’s Chief Executive Officer and a member of its board of directors. A member of the board of directors of our general partner, Eduardo A. Sanchez, is the former President of Sanchez Energy. The President and Chief Operating Officer of our general partner, Patricio D. Sanchez, who is also a member of the board of directors of our general partner, is an Executive Vice President of Sanchez Energy. Antonio R. Sanchez, Jr., the father of Antonio R. Sanchez, III, Eduardo A. Sanchez, and Patricio D. Sanchez, is the Executive Chairman of the board of directors of Sanchez Energy. Antonio R. Sanchez, Jr., Antonio R. Sanchez, III and Patricio D. Sanchez beneficially own approximately 7.1%, 3.5%, and 1.5%, respectively, of Sanchez Energy’s shares of common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2018. Sanchez Energy indirectly, through one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, beneficially owned approximately 14.2% of the outstanding common units of SNMP as of June 30, 2018. |