Harvest Oil & Gas Corp. - Annual Report: 2013 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10–K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013

OR

Commission File Number

001-33024

EV Energy Partners, L.P.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (713) 651-1144

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well–known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES þ   NO o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. YES ¨   NO þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES þ   NO ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). YES þ   NO ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S–K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III or any amendment to the Form 10–K. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b–2 of the Exchange Act. Check one:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b–2 of the Exchange Act).

YES o   NO þ

The aggregate market value of the common units held by non–affiliates at June 30, 2013 based on the closing price on the NASDAQ Global Market
on June 30, 2013 was $1,444,467,804.

As of February 14, 2014, the registrant had 48,572,019 common units outstanding.

Table of Contents 

GLOSSARY OF OIL AND NATURAL GAS TERMS

Bbl. One stock tank barrel or 42 U.S. gallons liquid volume of oil or other liquid hydrocarbons.

Bcf. One billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Bcfe. One billion cubic feet equivalent, determined using a ratio of six Mcf of natural gas to one Bbl of oil, condensate or natural gas liquids.

Btu. A British thermal unit is a measurement of the heat generating capacity of natural gas. One Btu is the heat required to raise the temperature of a one–pound mass of pure liquid water one degree Fahrenheit at the temperature at which water has its greatest density (39 degrees Fahrenheit).

Completion. Installation of permanent equipment for production of oil or gas, or, in the case of a dry well, reporting to the appropriate authority that the well has been abandoned.

Condensate. A mixture of hydrocarbons that exists in the gaseous phase at original reservoir temperature and pressure, but that, when produced, is in the liquid phase at surface pressure and temperature.

Developed oil and gas reserves. Reserves of any category that can be expected to be recovered:

Development costs. Costs incurred to obtain access to proved reserves and to provide facilities for extracting, treating, gathering and storing the oil and gas. More specifically, development costs, including depreciation and applicable operating costs of support equipment and facilities and other costs of development activities, are costs incurred to:

Development well. A well drilled within the proved area of an oil or natural gas reservoir to the depth of a stratigraphic horizon known to be productive.

Dry hole or well. An exploratory, development or extension well that proves to be incapable of producing either oil or gas in sufficient quantities to justify completion as an oil or gas well.

Field. An area consisting of a single reservoir or multiple reservoirs all grouped on or related to the same individual geological structural feature and/or stratigraphic condition.

Gross acres or gross wells. The total acres or wells, as the case may be, in which a working interest is owned.

MBbls. One thousand barrels of oil or other liquid hydrocarbons.

Mcf. One thousand cubic feet of natural gas.

Mcfe. One thousand cubic feet of natural gas equivalent, determined using the ratio of six Mcf of natural gas to one Bbl of oil, condensate or natural gas liquids. The ratio of six Mcf of natural gas to one Bbl of oil or natural gas liquids is commonly used in the oil and natural gas business and represents the approximate energy equivalency of six Mcf of natural gas to one Bbl of oil or natural gas liquids, and does not represent the sales price equivalency of natural gas to oil or natural gas liquids. Currently, the sales price of one Bbl of oil or natural gas liquids is significantly higher than the sales price of six Mcf of natural gas.

MMBbls. One million barrels of oil or other liquid hydrocarbons.

MMBtu. One million British thermal units.

MMcf. One million cubic feet of natural gas.

Natural gas liquids. The hydrocarbon liquids contained within natural gas.

Net acres or net wells. The sum of the fractional working interests owned in gross acres or gross wells, as the case may be.

NYMEX. The New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil. Crude oil and condensate.

Overriding royalty interest (“ORRI”). Fractional, undivided interests or rights of participation in the oil and natural gas, or in the proceeds from the sale of oil and natural gas, produced from a specified tract or tracts, which are limited in duration to the terms of an existing lease and which are not subject to any portion of the expense of development, operation or maintenance.

Production costs. Costs incurred to operate and maintain wells and related equipment and facilities, including depreciation and applicable operating costs of support equipment and facilities and other costs of operating and maintaining those wells and related equipment and facilities. They become part of the cost of oil and gas produced. Examples of production costs (sometimes called lifting costs) are:

Productive well. An exploratory, development or extension well that is not a dry well.

Proved reserves. Proved oil and gas reserves are those quantities of oil and gas, which, by analysis of geoscience and engineering data, can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be economically producible – from a given date forward from known reservoirs, and under existing economic conditions, operating methods and government regulations – prior to the time at which contracts providing the right to operate expire, unless evidence indicates that renewal is reasonably certain, regardless of whether deterministic or probabilistic methods are used for the estimation. The project to extract the hydrocarbons must have commenced or the operator must be reasonably certain that it will commence the project within a reasonable time.

Recompletion. The completion for production of an existing wellbore in another formation from that which the well has been previously completed.

Reserves. Estimated remaining quantities of oil and gas and related substances anticipated to be economically producible, as of a given date, by application of development projects to known accumulations. In addition, there must exist, or there must be a reasonable expectation that there will exist, the legal right to produce or a revenue interest in the production, installed means of delivering oil and gas or related substances to market, and all permits and financing required to implement the project.

Reservoir. A porous and permeable underground formation containing a natural accumulation of producible oil and/or natural gas that is confined by impermeable rock or water barriers and is individual and separate from other reserves.

Standardized measure. Standardized measure is the present value of estimated future net revenues to be generated from the production of proved reserves, determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), without giving effect to non–property related expenses such as certain general and administrative expenses, debt service and future federal income tax expenses or to depreciation, depletion and amortization and discounted using an annual discount rate of 10%. Our standardized measure includes future obligations under the Texas gross margin tax, but it does not include future federal income tax expenses because we are a partnership and are not subject to federal income taxes.

Undeveloped acreage. Lease acreage on which wells have not been drilled or completed to a point that would permit the production of commercial quantities of natural gas and oil regardless of whether such acreage contains proved reserves.

Undeveloped oil and gas reserves. Reserves of any category that are expected to be recovered from new wells on undrilled acreage, or from existing wells where a relatively major expenditure is required for recompletion.

Working interest. The operating interest that gives the owner the right to drill, produce and conduct operating activities on the property and a share of production.

Workover. Operations on a producing well to restore or increase production.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Overview

EV Energy Partners, L.P. (“we,” “our,” “us” or the “Partnership”) is a publicly held Delaware limited partnership. Our general partner is EV Energy GP, L.P. (“EV Energy GP”), a Delaware limited partnership, and the general partner of our general partner is EV Management, LLC (“EV Management”), a Delaware limited liability company. EV Management is a wholly owned subsidiary of EnerVest, Ltd. (“EnerVest”), a Texas limited partnership. EnerVest and its affiliates have a significant interest in us through their 71.25% ownership of EV Energy GP which, in turn, owns a 2% general partner interest in us and all of our incentive distribution rights (“IDRs”).

Our common units are traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “EVEP.” Our business activities are primarily conducted through wholly owned subsidiaries.

As a result of our decision to allocate resources to our midstream business, we now have two reportable segments: exploration and production and midstream. Our exploration and production segment is responsible for the acquisition, development and production of our oil and natural gas properties. Our midstream segment, which consists of our investments in Cardinal Gas Services, LLC (“Cardinal”) and Utica East Ohio Midstream LLC (“UEO”), is engaged in the construction and operation of natural gas processing, natural gas liquids fractionation, connecting pipeline infrastructure and gathering systems to serve production in the Utica Shale area in Ohio. We account for our investments in Cardinal and UEO using the equity method of accounting.

As of December 31, 2013, our oil and natural gas properties were located in the Barnett Shale, the Appalachian Basin (which includes the Utica Shale), the Mid–Continent areas in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Louisiana, the Monroe Field in Northern Louisiana, Central and East Texas (which includes the Austin Chalk area), the San Juan Basin, Michigan, and the Permian Basin. Our midstream assets are located in the Utica Shale area in Ohio.

Oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids reserve information is derived from our reserve report prepared by Cawley, Gillespie & Associates, Inc. (“Cawley Gillespie”), our independent reserve engineers. All of our proved reserves are located in the United States. The following table summarizes information about our proved reserves by geographic region as of December 31, 2013:

The table below provides a reconciliation of PV–10 to the standardized measure at December 31, 2013 (dollars in millions):

Developments in 2013

In 2013, we invested $221.1 million in Cardinal and UEO, which included $33.3 million to increase our ownership in UEO from 8% to 21%.

In 2013, we, along with certain institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest, signed agreements to divest a portion of our Utica Shale acreage in Ohio. Through December 2013, we have closed on sales with proceeds of $44.1 million for these acres, and we expect additional closings on these acres in 2014.

In October 2013, we closed a public offering of 5.75 million common units at an offering price of $36.86 per common unit. We received net proceeds of $208.5 million, including a contribution of $4.2 million by our general partner to maintain its 2% interest in us. We used the proceeds to repay indebtedness outstanding under our credit facility.

In November 2013, we, along with certain institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest, acquired natural gas properties in the Barnett Shale. We acquired a 31% proportional interest in these properties for an aggregate purchase price of $66.0 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.

Development in 2014

In January 2014, we closed on the sale of our assets held for sale and received proceeds of $5.8 million.

Business Strategy

Our primary business objective is to manage our oil and natural gas properties and midstream investments for the purpose of generating cash flows and providing stability and growth of distributions per unit for the long–term benefit of our unitholders. To meet this objective, we intend to execute the following business strategies:

Our acquisition program targets oil and natural gas properties that we believe will generate attractive risk-adjusted expected rates of return and that will be financially accretive. These acquisitions are characterized by long–lived production, relatively low decline rates and predictable production profiles, as well as low–risk development opportunities. As part of this strategy, we continually seek to optimize our asset portfolio, which may include the divestiture of noncore assets.

Our active acquisition efforts may involve our participation in auction processes, as well as situations in which we are the only party or one of a very limited number of potential buyers in negotiations with the potential seller. We finance acquisitions with a combination of cash flow from operations, borrowings under our senior secured credit facility and funds from equity and debt offerings. We also acquire interests in properties alongside the institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest, which has allowed us to participate in much larger acquisitions than would otherwise be available to us.

Changes in oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids prices may cause our revenues and cash flows to be volatile. We enter into various derivative contracts intended to achieve more predictable cash flow and to reduce our exposure to fluctuations in the prices of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. We currently maintain derivative contracts for a significant portion of our oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids production.

Our commodity derivatives are primarily in the form of swaps that are designed to provide a fixed price that we will receive. Without the use of these commodity derivatives, we would be exposed to the full range of price fluctuations. In addition, we enter into interest rate swaps to minimize the effects of fluctuations in interest rates.

We seek to maintain an inventory of drilling and development projects to maintain and grow our production from our capital development program. EnerVest operates properties representing approximately 93% of our estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2013. Our development program is focused on lower–risk, repeatable drilling opportunities to maintain and grow cash flow.

We focus on controlling the operating costs of our properties. We manage our operating costs by using advanced technologies and integrating the knowledge, expertise and experience of our management teams as well as the managerial and technical staff of EnerVest. Regarding our non–operated properties, we proactively engage with the operators to ensure disciplined and cost focused operations are being implemented.

Since our initial public offering in 2006, we have financed approximately 60% of our $2.0 billion of acquisitions with free cash flow and the issuance of common units in public and private offerings. We seek to maintain sufficient liquidity not only for our operating positions but also to maintain flexibility in financing our acquisitions.

We hold a significant position of over 170,000 net working interest acres in Ohio and Pennsylvania that we believe may be prospective for the Utica Shale. In mid–2012, we initiated the process for the monetization of a portion of our working interest acres related to the Utica Shale, and in 2013, we, along with certain institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest, signed agreements to divest a portion of our Utica shale acreage in Ohio. Through December 2013, we have closed on sales with proceeds of $44.1 million for these acres, and we expect additional closings on these acres in 2014. Additional monetizations could take many forms, and we cannot at this time predict the type of transaction or transactions we may enter into or the type or amount of consideration we may receive. We may not be successful in our efforts to monetize the Utica Shale properties, it may take longer to complete a transaction than we expect, or we may decide to delay the monetization of all or a portion of the Utica Shale properties.

We own a 9% interest in Cardinal and a 21% interest in UEO, both of which provide midstream services to natural gas producers in the Utica Shale area in Ohio.  As of December 31, 2013, we have invested $247.3 million in cash in Cardinal and UEO and plan to spend an additional $140.0 million to $160.0 million over the next two years.  Both Cardinal and UEO provide a relatively stable cash flow stream based on long–term, fixed fee contracts with dedicated acreage from Chesapeake, Total and other leading producers.  However, we remain focused on the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas properties and we will evaluate monetization alternatives for our interests in these assets as they arise.

Competitive Strengths

We believe that we are well positioned to achieve our primary business objective and to execute our strategies because of the following competitive strengths:

Our properties are located in eight producing basins with an average reserve life of 19 years as of December 31, 2013. The majority of our properties have been producing for many years, resulting in predictable decline rates.

We have a significant inventory of development projects in our core areas of operation. At December 31, 2013, we had 2,973 identified gross drilling locations, of which approximately 706 were proved undeveloped drilling locations and the remainder were unproved drilling locations. In 2013, we drilled a total of 174 gross (33.8 net) wells with a 98% gross success rate. Our development program is focused on lower risk drilling opportunities to maintain and increase production.

Our relationship with EnerVest provides us with a wide breadth of operational, financial, technical, risk management and other expertise across a broad geographical range, which assists us in evaluating acquisition and development opportunities. In addition, we believe that our relationship with EnerVest allows us to participate in much larger acquisitions than would otherwise be available to us.

Our executive officers and key employees have on average over 25 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry and over ten years of experience acquiring and managing oil and natural gas properties for EnerVest partnerships.

By removing the price volatility from a significant portion of our production, we have mitigated, but not eliminated, the potential effects of changing commodity prices on our cash flow from operations for the hedged periods.

At our midstream investments, producers are charged a fixed fee for gathering, processing, transporting, fractionating, and storage services.  The contracts are 15 to 20 years in duration with dedicated acreage and/or minimum volumes.  These investments may enhance the stability of our cash flows and mitigate our direct exposure to commodity price risk.

Our Relationship with EnerVest

Our general partner is EV Energy GP, and its general partner is EV Management, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of EnerVest. Through our omnibus agreement, EnerVest agrees to make available its personnel to permit us to carry on our business. We therefore benefit from the technical expertise of EnerVest, which we believe would generally not otherwise be available to a company of our size.

EnerVest’s principal business is to act as general partner or manager of EnerVest partnerships, formed to acquire, explore, develop and produce oil and natural gas properties. A primary investment objective of the EnerVest partnerships is to make periodic cash distributions. EnerVest was formed in 1992, and has acquired for its own account and for the EnerVest partnerships oil and natural gas properties for a total purchase price of more than $8.7 billion, which includes over $2.0 billion related to our acquisitions of oil and natural gas properties. EnerVest acts as an operator of over 21,800 oil and natural gas wells in 17 states.

While our relationship with EnerVest is a significant attribute, it is also a source of potential conflicts. For example, we have acquired oil and natural gas properties from partnerships formed by EnerVest and partnerships in which EnerVest has an interest, and we may do so in the future. We have also acquired interests in oil and natural gas properties in conjunction with institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest. In these acquisitions, we and the institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest each acquire an interest in all of the properties subject to the acquisition. The purchase is allocated among us and the institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest based on the interest acquired. In the future, it is possible that we would vary the manner in which we jointly acquire oil and natural gas properties with the institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest.

EnerVest currently operates oil and natural gas properties representing 93% of our proved oil and gas reserves as of December 31, 2013. The EnerVest partnerships own interests in oil and gas properties in which we own interests. The properties are primarily located in the Barnett Shale, Central and East Texas and the Appalachian Basin, and these properties represent approximately 74% of our net proved reserves at December 31, 2013. The investment strategy of the EnerVest partnerships is to typically divest their properties in three to five years, while our strategy contemplates holding such properties for a longer term. If the EnerVest partnerships were to sell their interests in these properties to a person not affiliated with EnerVest, we may not have a sufficient working interest to cause EnerVest to remain operator of the property. The EnerVest partnerships are under no obligation to us with respect to their sale of the properties they own.

EnerVest is not restricted from competing with us. It may acquire, develop or dispose of oil and natural gas properties or other assets in the future without any obligation to offer us the opportunity to purchase or participate in the development of those assets. In addition, the principal business of the EnerVest partnerships is to acquire and develop oil and natural gas properties. The agreements for certain of our EnerVest partnerships, however, provide that if EnerVest becomes aware, other than in its capacity as an owner of our general partner, of acquisition opportunities that are suitable for purchase by the EnerVest partnerships during their investment periods, EnerVest must first offer those opportunities to those EnerVest partnerships, in which case we would be offered the opportunities only if the EnerVest partnerships chose not to pursue the acquisition. EnerVest’s obligation to offer acquisition opportunities to its existing EnerVest partnership will not apply to acquisition opportunities which we generate internally, and EnerVest has agreed with us that for so long as it controls our general partner it will not enter into any agreements which would limit our ability to pursue acquisition opportunities that we generate internally.

Oil and Natural Gas Producing Activities

At December 31, 2013, our oil and natural gas properties were located in the Barnett Shale, the Appalachian Basin (which includes the Utica Shale), the Mid–Continent areas in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Louisiana, the Monroe Field in Northern Louisiana, Central and East Texas (which includes the Austin Chalk area), the San Juan Basin, Michigan, and the Permian Basin.

Barnett Shale

We, along with certain institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest, acquired our Barnett Shale properties in December 2010, June 2011, September 2011, December 2011, February 2012, March 2012 and November 2013. The properties are primarily located in Denton, Montague, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties in Northern Texas. Our portion of the estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2013 was 781.5 Bcfe, 68% of which is natural gas. During 2013, we drilled 79 gross wells, all of which were successfully completed. EnerVest operates wells representing 99% of our estimated net proved reserves in this area, and we own an average 27% working interest in 1,355 gross productive wells.

Appalachian Basin (including the Utica Shale)

We acquired our Appalachian Basin properties at our formation, and we acquired additional properties in the Appalachian Basin, primarily in West Virginia and Ohio, in December 2007, September 2008, November 2009, March 2010, June 2010, August 2011, October 2011 and August 2012. Our activities are concentrated in the Ohio and West Virginia areas of the Appalachian Basin. Our Ohio area properties are producing primarily from the Knox and Clinton formations and other Devonian age sands in 40 counties in Eastern Ohio and 8 counties in Western Pennsylvania. Our West Virginia area properties are producing primarily from the Balltown, Benson and Big Injun formations in 21 counties in North Central West Virginia. Our estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2013 were 111.1 Bcfe, 72% of which is natural gas. During 2013, we drilled 38 gross wells, 35 of which were successfully completed. EnerVest operates wells representing 86% of our estimated net proved reserves in this area, and we own an average 33% working interest in 8,473 gross productive wells.

Primarily through acquisitions completed in 2009 and 2010, we hold over 170,000 net working interest acres in Ohio and Pennsylvania and an approximate 2% average ORRI in approximately 880,000 gross acres in Ohio which we believe may be prospective for the Utica Shale. In addition, partnerships managed by EnerVest own acreage which may be prospective for the Utica Shale. The Utica Shale is an Ordovician-age shale that extends under much of the eastern United States. The most prospective area of the Utica Shale is in eastern Ohio, where it is located at depths ranging from 5,000 to 11,000 feet deep. The Point Pleasant carbonate member, located directly under the Utica Shale, is commonly included when referring to the Utica Shale. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are required to allow production of hydrocarbons at economic rates. The first commercial production from the Utica Shale in eastern Ohio was achieved in 2011, and industry drilling activity is increasing.

The Utica Shale area can be divided into wet natural gas, volatile oil, black oil and dry natural gas areas. We own over 40,000 net acres in the wet natural gas area and approximately 80,000 net acres in the volatile oil area, with the remaining acreage primarily in the black oil area. Most drilling activity in the Utica Shale area has been in the wet natural gas area, but drilling activity is increasing in the dry natural gas and volatile oil areas. The current focus in the volatile oil area is on hydraulic fracturing techniques necessary to economically drill and produce in this area. We are currently seeking joint venture partners to develop and design hydraulic fracturing techniques that will allow wells in the volatile oil window to produce at economic levels.

At December 31, 2013, our estimated net proved reserves in the Utica Shale were not material to us. Exploration and development activities targeting the Utica Shale are in the early stages, and it is possible that our estimates of the acreage in Ohio that we believe is prospective for the Utica Shale may change, perhaps materially, as additional exploration and development activities are conducted in the area.

Mid–Continent Area

We acquired our Mid–Continent area properties in December 2006, August 2008, September 2008, September 2010 and November 2011. The properties are primarily located in 43 counties in Oklahoma, 22 counties in Texas, four parishes in North Louisiana, two counties in Kansas and six counties in Arkansas. Our estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2013 were 65.4 Bcfe, 67% of which is natural gas. During 2013, we drilled 43 gross wells, all of which were successfully completed. EnerVest operates wells representing 24% of our estimated net proved reserves in this area, and we own an average 11% working interest in 1,837 gross productive wells.

Monroe Field

We acquired our Monroe Field properties at our formation, and we acquired additional properties in the Monroe Field in March 2007. The properties are primarily located in two parishes in Northeast Louisiana. Our estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2013 were 56.2 Bcfe, 100% of which is natural gas. During 2013, we did not drill any wells. EnerVest operates wells representing 100% of our estimated net proved reserves in this area, and we own an average 100% working interest in 3,920 gross productive wells.

Central and East Texas

We, along with certain institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest, acquired our Central and East Texas properties in June 2007, May 2008, August 2008, July 2009, September 2009 and October 2010. The properties produce primarily from the Austin Chalk formation and are located in 16 counties in Central and East Texas. Our portion of the estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2013 was 52.2 Bcfe, 47% of which is natural gas. During 2013, we drilled 14 gross wells, 13 of which were successfully completed. EnerVest operates wells representing 97% of our estimated net proved reserves in this area, and we own an average 13% working interest 1,686 gross productive wells.

San Juan Basin

We acquired our San Juan Basin properties in September 2008, July 2010 and December 2010. The properties are primarily located in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico and La Plata County in Colorado. Our estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2013 were 50.1 Bcfe, 63% of which is natural gas. During 2013, we did not drill any wells. EnerVest operates wells representing 94% of our estimated net proved reserves in this area, and we own an average 70% working interest in 225 gross productive wells.

 Michigan

We acquired our Michigan properties in January 2007, and we acquired additional properties in Michigan in August 2008. The properties are located in the Antrim Shale reservoir in Otsego and Montmorency counties in northern Michigan. Our estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2013 were 40.7 Bcfe, 100% of which is natural gas. During 2013, we did not drill any wells. EnerVest operates wells representing 99% of our estimated net proved reserves in this area, and we own an average 84% working interest in 376 gross productive wells.

Permian Basin

We acquired our Permian Basin properties in October 2007. The properties are primarily located in the Yates, Seven Rivers, Queen, Morrow, Clear Fork and Wichita Albany formations in four counties in New Mexico and Texas. Our estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2013 were 34.4 Bcfe, 37% of which is natural gas. During 2013, we did not drill any wells. EnerVest operates wells representing 100% of our estimated net proved reserves in this area, and we own an average 97% working interest in 172 gross productive wells.

Our Oil, Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids Data

Our Reserves

The following table presents our estimated net proved reserves at December 31, 2013:

Proved developed reserves are reserves that can be expected to be recovered through existing wells with existing equipment and operating methods. Proved undeveloped reserves are proved reserves that are expected to be recovered from new wells on undrilled acreage, or from existing wells where a relatively major expenditure is required for recompletion. See “Glossary of Oil and Natural Gas Terms.” All proved undeveloped locations conform to the SEC rules defining proved undeveloped locations. We do not have any reserves that would be classified as synthetic oil or synthetic natural gas.

Reserves for proved developed producing wells were estimated using production performance and material balance methods. Certain new producing properties with little production history were forecast using a combination of production performance and analogy to offset production, both of which provide accurate forecasts. Non–producing reserve estimates for both developed and undeveloped properties were forecast using either volumetric and/or analogy methods. These methods provide accurate forecasts due to the mature nature of the properties targeted for development and an abundance of subsurface control data.

The data in the above table represents estimates only. Oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids reserve engineering is inherently a subjective process of estimating underground accumulations of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids that cannot be measured exactly. The accuracy of any reserve estimate is a function of the quality of available data and engineering and geological interpretation and judgment. Accordingly, reserve estimates may vary from the quantities of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids that are ultimately recovered. Please read “Risk Factors” in Item 1A.

Future prices received for production and costs may vary, perhaps significantly, from the prices and costs assumed for purposes of these estimates. Standardized measure is the present value of estimated future net revenues to be generated from the production of proved reserves, determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC, without giving effect to non–property related expenses such as general and administrative expenses and debt service or to depreciation, depletion and amortization and discounted using an annual discount rate of 10%. Because we are a limited partnership which passes through our taxable income to our unitholders, we have made no provisions for federal income taxes in the calculation of standardized measure; however, we have made a provision for future obligations under the Texas gross margin tax. Standardized measure does not give effect to derivative transactions. The standardized measure shown should not be construed as the current market value of the reserves. The 10% discount factor, which is required by Financial Accounting Standards Board pronouncements, is not necessarily the most appropriate discount rate. The present value, no matter what discount rate is used, is materially affected by assumptions as to timing of future production, which may prove to be inaccurate.

Our Proved Undeveloped Reserves

At December 31, 2013, we had 376.3 Bcfe of proved undeveloped reserves (“PUDs”) compared with 215.5 Bcfe of PUDs at December 31, 2012. The following table describes the changes in our PUDs during 2013:

We annually review all PUDs to ensure an appropriate plan for development exists. None of our PUDs as of December 31, 2013 have remained undeveloped for more than five years, except for 0.2% of our PUDs that require sidetracks of existing producing wells, in which case the development will occur when existing production ceases. We expect to convert our PUDs to proved developed reserves within five years of the date they are first booked as PUDs, except for the sidetracks mentioned above.

Internal Controls Applicable to our Reserve Estimates

Our policies and procedures regarding internal controls over the recording of our reserves is structured to objectively and accurately estimate our reserves quantities and present values in compliance with both accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and the SEC’s regulations.  Compliance with these rules and regulations is the responsibility of Dr. Ronald J. Gajdica, our Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, who is also our principal engineer. Dr. Gajdica has over 30 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, with exposure to reserves and reserve related valuations and issues during most of this time, and is a qualified reserves estimator (“QRE”), as defined by the standards of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Further professional qualifications include a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering, extensive internal and external reserve training, asset evaluation and management, and he is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas. In addition, our principal engineer is an active participant in industry reserve seminars, professional industry groups, is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, spent 13 years as an SPE Technical Editor and has authored several technical papers.

Our controls over reserve estimates included retaining Cawley Gillespie as our independent petroleum engineers. We provided information about our oil and natural gas properties, including production profiles, prices and costs, to Cawley Gillespie and they prepared their own estimates of our reserves attributable to our properties. All of the information regarding reserves in this annual report on Form 10–K is derived from the report of Cawley Gillespie, which is included as an exhibit to this annual report on Form 10–K. The principal engineer at Cawley Gillespie responsible for preparing our reserve estimates is W. Todd Brooker, a Senior Vice President and Principal with Cawley Gillespie. Mr. Brooker is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Texas (license #83462) with over 20 years of experience in petroleum engineering.

We and EnerVest maintain an internal staff of petroleum engineers, geoscience professionals and petroleum landmen who work closely with Cawley Gillespie to ensure the integrity, accuracy and timeliness of data furnished to Cawley Gillespie in their reserves estimation process. Our Senior Vice President of Acquisitions reviews and approves the reserve information compiled by our internal staff. Our technical team meets regularly with representatives of Cawley Gillespie to review properties and discuss the methods and assumptions used by Cawley Gillespie in their preparation of the year end reserves estimates. Our technical team and Senior Vice President of Acquisitions also meet regularly to review the methods and assumptions used by Cawley Gillespie in their preparation of the year end reserves estimates.

The audit committee of our board of directors meets with management, including the Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, to discuss matters and policies related to our reserves.

Our Productive Wells

The following table sets forth information relating to the productive wells in which we owned a working interest as of December 31, 2013. Productive wells consist of producing wells and wells capable of production, including natural gas wells awaiting pipeline connections to commence deliveries and oil wells awaiting connection to production facilities. Gross wells are the total number of productive wells in which we have a working interest, regardless of our percentage interest. A net well is not a physical well, but is a concept that reflects the actual total working interest we hold in a given well. We compute the number of net wells we own by totaling the percentage interests we hold in all our gross wells. Operated wells are the wells operated by EnerVest in which we own an interest.

Our wells may produce both oil and natural gas. We classify a well as an oil well if the net equivalent production of oil was greater than natural gas for the well.

Our Developed and Undeveloped Acreage

The following table sets forth information relating to our leasehold acreage as of December 31, 2013:

Substantially all of our developed and undeveloped acreage is held by production, which means that as long as our wells on the acreage continue to produce, we will continue to hold the leases. The acreage in which we hold an interest that are not held by production are not material to us.

Title to Properties

As is customary in the oil and natural gas industry, we initially conduct only a cursory review of the title to our properties on which we do not have proved reserves. Prior to the commencement of drilling operations on those properties, we conduct a thorough title examination and perform curative work with respect to significant defects. To the extent title opinions or other investigations reflect title defects on those properties, we are typically responsible for curing any title defects at our expense. We generally will not commence drilling operations on a property until we have cured any material title defects on such property. Prior to completing an acquisition of producing leases, we perform title reviews on the most significant leases and, depending on the materiality of the properties, we may obtain a title opinion or review previously obtained title opinions. As a result, we have obtained title opinions on a significant portion of our properties and believe that we have satisfactory title to our producing properties in accordance with standards generally accepted in the oil and natural gas industry. Our properties are subject to customary royalty and other interests, liens for current taxes and other burdens that we believe do not materially interfere with the use of or affect our carrying value of the properties.

Production by Field

The following table sets forth our production for 2013, 2012 and 2011 from the Barnett Shale, which is the only field for which our estimated net proved reserves at December 31, 2013 attributable to the field represented 15% or more of our total estimated net proved reserves at December 31, 2013:

Our Drilling Activity

We intend to concentrate our drilling activity on low risk development drilling opportunities. The number and types of wells we drill will vary depending on the amount of funds we have available for drilling, the cost of each well, the size of the fractional working interests we acquire in each well, the estimated recoverable reserves attributable to each well and the accessibility to the well site.

The following table summarizes our approximate gross and net interest in development wells completed by us during 2013, 2012 and 2011, regardless of when drilling was initiated. The information should not be considered indicative of future performance, nor should it be assumed that there is necessarily any correlation between the number of productive wells drilled, quantities of reserves found or economic value.

As of December 31, 2013, we were participating in the drilling of 27 gross (5.9 net) development wells.

We drilled 10 gross (3.6 net) exploratory wells in 2013, six of which were successfully completed as producers. We drilled 13 gross (5.6 net) exploratory wells in 2012, five of which were successfully completed as producers. We drilled 21 gross (6.9 net) exploratory wells in 2011, 14 of which were successfully completed as producers.

Well Operations

We have entered into operating agreements with EnerVest. Under these operating agreements, EnerVest acts as contract operator of the oil and natural gas wells and related gathering systems and production facilities in which we own an interest, if our interest entitles us to control the appointment of the operator of the well, gathering system or production facilities. As contract operator, EnerVest designs and manages the drilling and completion of our wells and manages the day to day operating and maintenance activities for our wells.

Under these operating agreements, EnerVest has established a joint account for each well in which we have an interest. We are required to pay our working interest share of amounts charged to the joint account. The joint account is charged with all direct expenses incurred in the operation of our wells and related gathering systems and production facilities. The determination of which direct expenses can be charged to the joint account and the manner of charging direct expenses to the joint account for our wells is done in accordance with the Council of Petroleum Accountants Societies (“COPAS”) model form of accounting procedure.

Under the COPAS model form, direct expenses include the costs of third party services performed on our properties and wells, as well as gathering and other equipment used on our properties. In addition, direct expenses include the allocable share of the cost of services performed on our properties and wells by EnerVest employees. The allocation of the cost of EnerVest employees who perform services on our properties is based on time sheets maintained by EnerVest’s employees. Direct expenses charged to the joint account also include an amount determined by EnerVest to be the fair rental value of facilities owned by EnerVest and used in the operation of our properties.

Principal Customers, Marketing Arrangements and Delivery Commitments

The market for our oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids production depends on factors beyond our control, including the extent of domestic production and imports of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, the proximity and capacity of natural gas pipelines and other transportation facilities, the demand for oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, the marketing of competitive fuels and the effect of state and federal regulation. The oil and natural gas industry also competes with other industries in supplying the energy and fuel requirements of industrial, commercial and individual consumers.

Our oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids production is sold to a variety of purchasers. The terms of sale under the majority of existing contracts are short–term, usually one year or less in duration. The prices received for oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids sales are generally tied to monthly or daily indices as quoted in industry publications.

In 2013, 2012 and 2011, no customer accounted for greater than 10% of our consolidated oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids revenues. We believe that the loss of a major customer would have a temporary effect on our revenues but that over time, we would be able to replace our major customers.

Information regarding our delivery commitments is contained in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Contractual Obligations” contained herein.

Competition

The oil and natural gas industry is highly competitive. We encounter strong competition from other independent operators and from major oil and natural gas companies in acquiring properties, contracting for drilling equipment and securing trained personnel. Many of these competitors have financial and technical resources and staffs substantially larger than ours. As a result, our competitors may be able to pay more for desirable leases, or to evaluate, bid for and purchase a greater number of properties or prospects than our financial or personnel resources will permit.

We are also affected by competition for drilling rigs and the availability of related equipment. In the past, the oil and natural gas industry has experienced shortages of drilling rigs, equipment, pipe and personnel, which have delayed development drilling and other exploitation activities and have caused significant price increases. We are unable to predict when, or if, such shortages may occur or how they would affect our development and exploitation program.

Competition is also strong for attractive oil and natural gas producing properties, undeveloped leases and drilling rights, and there can be no assurances that we will be able to compete satisfactorily when attempting to make further acquisitions.

Seasonal Nature of Business

Seasonal weather conditions and lease stipulations can limit our drilling and producing activities and other operations primarily in certain areas of the Appalachian Basin, the San Juan Basin and Michigan. As a result, we generally perform the majority of our drilling in these areas during the summer and autumn months. In addition, the Monroe Field properties in Louisiana are subject to flooding. These seasonal anomalies can pose challenges for meeting our drilling objectives and increase competition for equipment, supplies and personnel during the drilling season, which could lead to shortages and increased costs or delay our operations. Generally demand for natural gas is higher in summer and winter months. In addition, certain natural gas users utilize natural gas storage facilities and purchase some of their anticipated winter natural gas requirements during off–peak months. This can also lessen seasonal demand fluctuations.

Our Midstream Investments

In 2012, we signed limited liability agreements to become members of the Cardinal and UEO limited liability companies. We own a 9% interest in Cardinal and, through December 31, 2013, we have contributed $43.3 million in cash to Cardinal for the construction of their natural gas gathering system. We originally owned 8% of UEO, but in January 2013, we increased our ownership in UEO to 21%. Through December 31, 2013, we have contributed $204.0 million in cash to UEO for the construction of processing, fractionation and related facilities. We do not operate Cardinal or UEO. Access Midstream Partners, L.P., operator of Cardinal, and M3 Midstream LLC, operator of UEO, are responsible for the day to day decisions regarding the construction and the facilities and their operations, including the terms of their contracts. We have only limited authority to influence the operations of Cardinal and UEO.

We use the equity method of accounting for these investments, and they are treated as a business segment for financial reporting purposes. For additional information about our midstream business segment, please see “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” contained herein.

Cardinal

The Cardinal natural gas gathering system is a low–pressure gathering system that gathers wet natural gas from our joint venture with certain EnerVest institutional partnerships, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (“Chesapeake”) and Total E&P USA, Inc. (“Total”). As of December 31, 2013, the system gathered production from over 290 wells, capable of producing over 400 MMcf per day, and we expect to have approximately 500 wells connected by the end of 2014, capable of producing approximately 700 MMcf per day.

Natural gas is gathered through fixed fee arrangements pursuant to which the fee income represents an agreed rate per unit of throughput. The revenues earned from these arrangements are directly related to the volume of natural gas that flows through the gathering system and are not directly dependent on commodity prices.

UEO

The UEO facilities gather, process and fractionate wet natural gas production from the Utica Shale area in Ohio. The joint venture between certain institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest, Chesapeake, Total and us has dedicated natural gas production from over one million net acres to the UEO plants.

The UEO facilities are composed of the Kensington processing plant located in Kensington, Ohio, the Leesville processing plant in Leesville, Ohio, the Harrison Hub facility in Scio, Ohio, a 36 mile high–pressure gathering flowline delivering wellhead natural gas to the Kensington plant, and a 37 mile natural gas liquids pipeline connecting the Harrison Hub and Kensington facilities. Natural gas processing involves the separation of raw natural gas into pipeline quality natural gas (mostly methane) and natural gas liquids. The Kensington plant currently operates two processing trains with capacity to process 400 MMcf per day. When completed, the UEO system is currently designed for four processing trains with total processing capacity of 800 MMcf per day.

The Harrison Hub facility currently operates a single fractionation train, which separates the processed natural gas liquids into their purity components (ethane, propane, normal butane isobutene and natural gasoline). Two additional fractionation trains are being constructed on the site. The Harrison Hub facility currently has fractionation capacity of 45 MBbls per day and, when completed, is expected to have 135 MBbls per day of fractionation capacity. The facility has storage capacity of approximately 870 MBbls of purity components, and is located adjacent to rail lines which provide access to all major U.S. markets for purity components.

UEO processes and fractionates wet natural gas on a fee basis under which the owners of the production are charged a fixed fee for gathering, compression, processing, transporting, fractionation and storage. Most of the contracts for processing and fractionation have a term of 15 years, and obligate the producer to deliver wet natural gas to the facilities. Title to the natural gas and purity components remains with the producer, who is responsible for arranging the purchase of the processed natural gas and purity components.

Environmental, Health and Safety Matters and Regulation

Our operations are subject to stringent and complex federal, state and local laws and regulations that govern the protection of the environment as well as the discharge of materials into the environment. These laws and regulations may, among other things:

These laws, rules and regulations may also restrict the rate of oil and natural gas production below the rate that would otherwise be possible. The regulatory burden on the oil and natural gas industry increases the cost of doing business in the industry and consequently affects profitability. Additionally, Congress and federal, state and local agencies frequently revise environmental laws and regulations, and such changes could result in increased costs for environmental compliance, such as waste handling, permitting, or cleanup for the oil and natural gas industry and could have a significant impact on our operating costs. In general, the oil and natural gas industry has recently been the subject of increased legislation and regulatory attention with respect to environmental matters. The US Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) has identified environmental compliance by the energy extraction sector as one of its enforcement initiatives for 2014 to 2016.

The following is a summary of some of the existing laws, rules and regulations to which our business operations are subject.

Solid and Hazardous Waste Handling

The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA, and comparable state statutes regulate the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, disposal and cleanup of hazardous solid waste. Although oil and natural gas waste generally is exempt from regulations as hazardous waste under RCRA, we generate waste as a routine part of our operations that may be subject to RCRA. Although a substantial amount of the waste generated in our operations are regulated as non–hazardous solid waste rather than hazardous waste, there is no guarantee that the EPA or individual states will not adopt more stringent requirements for the handling of non–hazardous or exempt waste or categorize some non–hazardous or exempt waste as hazardous in the future. Any such change could result in an increase in our costs to manage and dispose of waste, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or CERCLA, imposes joint and several liability for costs of investigation and remediation and for natural resource damages without regard to fault or legality of the original conduct, on certain classes of persons with respect to the release into the environment of substances designated under CERCLA as hazardous substances. These classes of persons, or so–called potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) include the current and past owners or operators of a site where the release occurred and anyone who disposed or arranged for the disposal of a hazardous substance found at the site. CERCLA also authorizes the EPA and, in some instances, third parties to take actions in response to threats to public health or the environment and to seek to recover from the PRPs the costs of such action. Many states have adopted comparable or more stringent state statutes.

Although CERCLA generally exempts “petroleum” from the definition of hazardous substance, in the course of our operations, we have generated and will generate wastes that may fall within CERCLA’s definition of hazardous substance and may have disposed of these wastes at disposal sites owned and operated by others. Comparable state statutes may not provide a comparable exemption for petroleum. We may also be the owner or operator of sites on which hazardous substances have been released. To our knowledge, neither we nor our predecessors have been designated as a PRP by the EPA under CERCLA; we also do not know of any prior owners or operators of our properties that are named as PRPs related to their ownership or operation of such properties. In the event contamination is discovered at a site on which we are or have been an owner or operator or to which we sent hazardous substances, we could be liable for the costs of investigation and remediation and natural resources damages.

We currently own, lease, or operate numerous properties that have been used for oil and natural gas exploration and production for many years. Although we believe we have utilized operating and waste disposal practices that were standard in the industry at the time, hazardous substances, wastes or hydrocarbons may have been released on or under the properties owned or leased by us, or on or under other locations, including offsite locations, where such substances have been taken for disposal. In addition, some of these properties have been operated by third parties or by previous owners or operators whose treatment and disposal of hazardous substances, wastes, or hydrocarbons were not under our control. These properties and the substances disposed or released on them may be subject to CERCLA, RCRA and analogous state laws. In the future, we could be required to remediate property, including groundwater, containing or impacted by previously disposed wastes (including wastes disposed or released by prior owners or operators, or property contamination, including groundwater contamination by prior owners or operators) or to perform remedial plugging operations to prevent future or mitigate existing contamination.

Clean Water Act

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the “Clean Water Act” and analogous state laws impose restrictions and strict controls with respect to the discharge of pollutants, including spills and leaks of produced water and other oil and natural gas wastes, into state waters and waters of the United States. The discharge of pollutants into regulated waters is prohibited, except in accordance with the terms of a permit issued by EPA or an analogous state agency. The Clean Water Act also prohibits the discharge of dredge and fill material in regulated waters, including wetlands, unless authorized by a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Federal and state regulatory agencies can impose administrative, civil and criminal penalties, as well as require remedial or mitigation measures, for non–compliance with discharge permits or other requirements of the Clean Water Act and analogous state laws and regulations. In the event of an unauthorized discharge of wastes, we may be liable for penalties and cleanup and response costs.

Safe Drinking Water Act and Hydraulic Fracturing

Hydraulic fracturing involves the injection of water, sand and chemicals under pressure into formations to fracture the surrounding rock and stimulate production. Hydraulic fracturing activities are typically regulated by state oil and gas commissions but not at the federal level, as the federal Safe Drinking Water Act expressly excludes regulation of these fracturing activities (except for fracturing activities involving the use of diesel). Due to public concerns raised regarding potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on groundwater quality, there have been recent developments at the federal, state, regional and local levels that could result in regulation of hydraulic fracturing becoming more stringent and costly. The EPA has commenced a study of the potential environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing activities. The EPA released a progress report in December 2012, and final results are anticipated in 2014.

Legislation was introduced in prior sessions of Congress to provide for federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing by eliminating the current exemption in the Safe Drinking Water Act, and, further, to require disclosure of the chemicals used in the fracturing process, and similar legislation could be introduced in future Congressional sessions. Also, some states and local or regional regulatory bodies have adopted, or are considering adopting, regulations that could restrict hydraulic fracturing in certain circumstances or that require disclosure of chemical in the fracturing fluids. For example, New York has imposed a de facto moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. Further, Pennsylvania has adopted a variety of regulations limiting how and where fracturing can be performed, and Wyoming has adopted legislation requiring drilling operators conducting hydraulic fracturing activities in that state to publicly disclose the chemicals used in the fracturing process. The Bureau of Land Management has proposed regulations for hydraulic fracturing on land it regulates. Further, the EPA has published draft guidance on hydraulic fracturing using diesel, has announced an initiative under the Toxic Substances Control Act to develop regulations governing the disclosure and evaluation of hydraulic fracturing chemicals and is working on regulations for wastewater created by hydraulic fracturing. If new laws or regulations imposing significant restrictions or conditions on hydraulic fracturing activities are adopted in areas where we conduct business, we could incur substantial compliance costs and such requirements could adversely delay or restrict our ability to conduct fracturing activities on our assets.

Oil Pollution Act

The primary federal law for oil spill liability is the Oil Pollution Act, or OPA, which amends and augments oil spill provisions of the Clean Water Act and imposes certain duties and liabilities on certain "responsible parties" related to the prevention of oil spills and damages resulting from such spills in or threatening United States waters or adjoining shorelines. A liable "responsible party" includes the owner or operator of a facility, vessel or pipeline that is a source of an oil discharge or that poses the substantial threat of discharge, or in the case of offshore facilities, the lessee or permittee of the area in which a discharging facility is located. OPA assigns joint and several liability, without regard to fault, to each liable party for oil removal costs and a variety of public and private damages. Although defenses exist to the liability imposed by OPA, they are limited. In the event of an oil discharge or substantial threat of discharge, we may be liable for costs and damages.

Air Emissions  

Our operations are subject to the federal Clean Air Act, or CAA, and analogous state laws and local ordinances governing the control of emissions from sources of air pollution. The CAA and analogous state laws require new and modified sources of air pollutants to obtain permits prior to commencing construction. Major sources of air pollutants are subject to more stringent, federally imposed requirements including additional permits. Federal and state laws designed to control hazardous (or toxic) air pollutants, might require installation of additional controls. Administrative enforcement actions for failure to comply strictly with air pollution regulations or permits are generally resolved by payment of monetary fines and correction of any identified deficiencies. Alternatively, regulatory agencies could bring lawsuits for civil penalties or seek injunctive relief, requiring us to forego construction, modification or operation of certain air emission sources.

On April 17, 2012, the EPA issued final rules to subject oil and natural gas operations to regulation under the New Source Performance Standards, or NSPS, and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, or NESHAPS, programs under the CAA, and to impose new and amended requirements under both programs. The EPA rules include NSPS standards for completions of hydraulically fractured natural gas wells. Before January 1, 2015, these standards require owners/operators to reduce VOC emissions from natural gas not sent to the gathering line during well completion either by flaring using a completion combustion device or by capturing the natural gas using green completions with a completion combustion device. Beginning January 1, 2015, operators must capture the natural gas and make it available for use or sale, which can be done through the use of green completions. The standards are applicable to new hydraulically fractured wells and also existing wells that are refractured. Further, the finalized regulations also establish specific new requirements, effective in 2012, for emissions from compressors, controllers, dehydrators, storage tanks, natural gas processing plants and certain other equipment. These rules may require changes to our operations, including the installation of new equipment to control emissions. We are currently evaluating the effect these rules will have on our business.

National Environmental Policy Act

Oil and natural gas exploration and production activities on federal lands may be subject to the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, which requires federal agencies, including the Department of Interior, to evaluate major agency actions having the potential to significantly impact the environment. In the course of such evaluations, an agency will prepare an Environmental Assessment that assesses the potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of a proposed project and, if necessary, will prepare a more detailed Environmental Impact Statement that may be made available for public review and comment. All of our current exploration and production activities, as well as proposed exploration and development plans, on federal lands require governmental permits that are subject to the requirements of NEPA. This process has the potential to delay or impose additional conditions upon the development of oil and natural gas projects.

Climate Change Legislation

More stringent laws and regulations relating to climate change and greenhouse gases (“GHGs”) may be adopted in the future and could cause us to incur material expenses in complying with them. The EPA has been moving forward to regulate GHGs as pollutants under the CAA and has already adopted rules establishing GHG emission limits from motor vehicles beginning with the 2012 model year. As a result, the EPA, as of January 2, 2011, requires the permitting of GHG emissions from stationary sources under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (“PSD”) and Title V permitting programs in a multi-step process, with the largest sources first subject to permitting. Some states, regions and localities have adopted or have considered programs to address GHG emissions. In addition, both houses of Congress previously considered legislation to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and many states have adopted or considered measures to establish GHG emissions reduction levels, often involving the planned development of GHG emission inventories and/or GHG cap and trade programs. Most of these cap and trade programs would work by requiring major sources of emissions or major producers of fuels to acquire and surrender emission allowances. Federal efforts at a cap and trade program appear to not be moving forward in Congress. Some members of Congress have publicly indicated an intention to introduce legislation to curb EPA’s regulatory authority over GHGs. Depending on the regulatory reach of new CAA legislation implementing regulations or new EPA and/or state, regional or local rules restricting the emission of GHGs, we could incur significant costs to control our emissions and comply with regulatory requirements. In addition, in October 2009, the EPA has adopted a mandatory GHG emissions reporting program which imposes reporting and monitoring requirements on various industries and in November 2010, expanded this GHG reporting rule to include onshore and offshore oil and natural gas production facilities and onshore oil and natural gas processing, transmission, storage and distribution facilities. Significant financial expenditures could be required to comply with the monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements under the EPA's GHG reporting program.  We do not believe, however, that our compliance with applicable monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements under GHG reporting program as recently amended will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial position. We have submitted our report for 2012 and are currently working on our report for 2013.

Because of the lack of any comprehensive legislative program addressing GHGs, there is a great deal of uncertainty as to how and when federal regulation of GHGs might take place. Moreover, the federal, regional, state and local regulatory initiatives also could adversely affect the marketability of the oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids we produce. The impact of such future programs cannot be predicted, but we do not expect our operations to be affected any differently than other similarly situated domestic competitors.

Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act was established to protect endangered and threatened species. Pursuant to that act, if a species is listed as threatened or endangered, restrictions may be imposed on activities that would harm the species or that would adversely affect that species’ habitat. Similar protections are offered to migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. We conduct operations on oil and natural gas leases that have species that are listed and species that could be listed as threatened or endangered under the act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designates the species’ protected habitat as part of the effort to protect the species. A protected habitat designation or the mere presence of threatened or endangered species could result in material restrictions to our use of the land and may materially delay or prohibit land access for oil and natural gas development. It also may adversely impact the value of the affected leases.

OSHA and Other Laws and Regulation 

To the extent not preempted by other applicable laws, we are subject to the requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, or OSHA, and comparable state statutes, where applicable. These laws and the implementing regulations strictly govern the protection of the health and safety of employees. The OSHA hazard communication standard, the EPA community right–to–know regulations under the Title III of CERCLA and similar state statutes, where applicable, require that we organize and/or disclose information about hazardous materials used or produced in our operations. We believe that we are in substantial compliance with these applicable requirements and with other OSHA and comparable state statute requirements.

We believe that we are in substantial compliance with all existing environmental laws and regulations applicable to our current operations and that our continued compliance with existing requirements will not have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. We did not incur any material capital expenditures for remediation or pollution control activities for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011. Additionally, we are not aware of any environmental issues or claims that will require material capital expenditures during 2014 or that will otherwise have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations in the future. However, we cannot assure you that the passage of more stringent laws and regulations in the future will not have a negative impact our business activities, financial condition, results of operations or ability to pay distributions to our unitholders.

Other Regulation of the Oil and Natural Gas Industry

The oil and natural gas industry is extensively regulated by numerous federal, state, local and tribal authorities. Rules and regulations affecting the oil and natural gas industry are under constant review for amendment or expansion, which could increase the regulatory burden and the potential for financial sanctions for noncompliance. Also, numerous departments and agencies, both federal and state, are authorized by statute to issue rules and regulations binding on the oil and natural gas industry and its individual members, some of which carry substantial penalties for failure to comply. Although the regulatory burden on the oil and natural gas industry increases our cost of doing business and, consequently, affects our profitability, these burdens generally do not affect us any differently or to any greater or lesser extent than they affect other companies in the industry with similar types, quantities and locations of production.

Drilling and Production

Statutes, rules and regulations affecting exploration and production undergo constant review and often are amended, expanded and reinterpreted, making difficult the prediction of future costs or the impact of regulatory compliance attributable to new laws and statutes. The regulatory burden on the oil and natural gas industry increases the cost of doing business and, consequently, affects its profitability. Our drilling and production operations are subject to various types of regulation at the federal, state and local levels. These types of regulation include requiring permits for the drilling of wells, drilling bonds and reports concerning operations. Most states and some counties and municipalities in which we operate also regulate one or more of the following:

State and federal regulations are generally intended to prevent waste of oil and natural gas, protect correlative rights to produce oil and natural gas between owners in a common reservoir or formation, control the amount of oil and natural gas produced by assigning allowable rates of production and control contamination of the environment. Pipelines and natural gas plants operated by other companies that provide midstream services to us are also subject to the jurisdiction of various federal, state and local authorities, which can affect our operations. State laws also regulate the size and shape of drilling and spacing units or proration units governing the pooling of oil and natural gas properties. Some states have taken up consideration of forced pooling. Other states rely on voluntary pooling of lands and leases.

States generally impose a production, ad valorem or severance tax with respect to the production and sale of oil and natural gas within their respective jurisdictions. States do not generally regulate wellhead prices or engage in other, similar direct economic regulation, but there can be no assurance they will not do so in the future.

In addition, a number of states and some tribal nations have enacted surface damage statutes (“SDAs”). These laws are designed to compensate for damage caused by oil and natural gas development operations. Most SDAs contain entry notification and negotiation requirements to facilitate contact between operators and surface owners/users. Most also contain bonding requirements and require specific payments to be made in connection with exploration and producing activities. Costs and delays associated with SDAs could impair operational effectiveness and increase development costs.

We do not control the availability of transportation and processing facilities used in the marketing of our production. For example, we may have to shut–in a productive natural gas well because of a lack of available natural gas gathering or transportation facilities.

If we conduct operations on federal, state or Indian oil and natural gas leases, these operations must comply with numerous regulatory restrictions, including various non–discrimination statutes, royalty and related valuation requirements, and certain of these operations must be conducted pursuant to certain on-site security regulations and other appropriate permits issued by the Bureau of Land Management (the “BLM”), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Bureau of Indian Affairs, tribal or other appropriate federal, state and/or Indian tribal agencies.

The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (the “Mineral Act”) prohibits ownership of any direct or indirect interest in federal onshore oil and natural gas leases by a foreign citizen or a foreign entity except through equity ownership in a corporation formed under the laws of the United States or of any U.S. State or territory, and only if the laws, customs, or regulations of their country of origin or domicile do not deny similar or like privileges to citizens or entities of the United States. If these restrictions are violated, the oil and natural gas lease can be canceled in a proceeding instituted by the United States Attorney General. We qualify as an entity formed under the laws of the United States or of any U.S. State or territory. Although the regulations promulgated and administered by the BLM pursuant to the Mineral Act provide for agency designations of non–reciprocal countries, there are presently no such designations in effect. It is possible that our unitholders may be citizens of foreign countries and do not own their units in a U.S corporation or even if such interest held through a U.S. corporation, their country of citizenship may be determined to be a non–reciprocal country under the Mineral Act. In such event, any federal onshore oil and natural gas leases held by us could be subject to cancellation based on such determination.

Federal Natural Gas Regulation

The availability, terms and cost of transportation significantly affect sales of natural gas. The interstate transportation and sale for resale of natural gas are subject to federal regulation, including regulation of the terms, conditions and rates for interstate transportation, storage and various other matters, primarily by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”). Federal and state regulations govern the price and terms for access to natural gas pipeline transportation. FERC’s regulations for interstate natural gas transmission in some circumstances may also affect the intrastate transportation of natural gas. FERC regulates the rates, terms and conditions applicable to the interstate transportation of natural gas by pipelines under the Natural Gas Act as well as under Section 311 of the Natural Gas Policy Act.

Since 1985, FERC has implemented regulations intended to increase competition within the natural gas industry by making natural gas transportation more accessible to natural gas buyers and sellers on an open-access, nondiscriminatory basis. FERC has announced several important transportation related policy statements and rule changes, including a statement of policy and final rule issued February 25, 2000, concerning alternatives to its traditional cost-of-service rate-making methodology to establish the rates interstate pipelines may charge for their services. The final rule revises FERC’s pricing policy and current regulatory framework to improve the efficiency of the market and further enhance competition in natural gas markets.

FERC has also issued several other generally pro–competitive policy statements and initiatives affecting rates and other aspects of pipeline transportation of natural gas. On May 31, 2005, FERC generally reaffirmed its policy of allowing interstate pipelines to selectively discount their rates in order to meet competition from other interstate pipelines. On June 15, 2006, the FERC issued an order in which it declined to establish uniform standards for natural gas quality and interchangeability, opting instead for a pipeline–by–pipeline approach. On June 19, 2006, in order to facilitate development of new storage capacity, FERC established criteria to allow providers to charge market–based (i.e. negotiated) rates for storage services. On June 19, 2008, the FERC removed the rate ceiling on short–term releases by shippers of interstate pipeline transportation capacity.

Although natural gas prices are currently unregulated, Congress historically has been active in the area of natural gas regulation. We cannot predict whether new legislation to regulate natural gas might be proposed, what proposals, if any, might actually be enacted by Congress or the various state legislatures, and what effect, if any, the proposals might have on the operations of the underlying properties. Sales of condensate and natural gas liquids are not currently regulated and are made at market prices.

Hydraulic Fracturing

Most of our oil and natural gas properties are subject to hydraulic fracturing to economically develop the properties. The hydraulic fracturing process is integral to our drilling and completion costs in these areas and typically represent up to 60% of the total drilling/completion costs per well.

We diligently review best practices and industry standards, and comply with all regulatory requirements in the protection of these potable water sources. Protective practices include, but are not limited to, setting multiple strings of protection pipe across the potable water sources and cementing these pipes from setting depth to surface, continuously monitoring the hydraulic fracturing process in real time, and disposing of all non–commercially produced fluids in certified disposal wells at depths below the potable water sources.

In compliance with laws enacted in various states, we will disclose hydraulic fracturing data to the appropriate chemical registry. These laws generally require disclosure for each chemical ingredient that is subject to the requirements of OSHA regulations, as well as the total volume of water used in the hydraulic fracturing treatment.

There have not been any material incidents, citations or suits related to our hydraulic fracturing activities involving violations of environmental laws and regulations.

Other Regulation

In addition to the regulation of oil and natural gas pipeline transportation rates, the oil and natural gas industry generally is subject to compliance with various other federal, state and local regulations and laws. Some of those laws relate to occupational safety, resource conservation and equal employment opportunity. We do not believe that compliance with these laws will have a material adverse effect upon our unitholders.

Insurance

In accordance with industry practice, we maintain insurance against some, but not all, of the operating risks to which our business is exposed. We currently have insurance policies that include coverage for control of well, general liability (includes sudden and accidental pollution), physical damage to our oil and gas natural properties, auto liability, worker's compensation and employer's liability, among other things.

Currently, we have general liability insurance coverage up to $1.0 million per occurrence, which includes sudden and accidental environmental liability coverage for the effects of pollution on third parties arising from our operations. Our insurance policies contain maximum policy limits and in most cases, deductibles that must be met prior to recovery. These insurance policies are subject to certain customary exclusions and limitations. In addition, we maintain $100.0 million in excess liability coverage, which is in addition to and triggered if the general liability per occurrence limit is reached.

We do not currently have any insurance policies in effect that are intended to provide coverage for losses solely related to hydraulic fracturing operations. However, we believe our general liability and excess liability insurance policies would cover third party claims related to hydraulic fracturing operations and associated legal expenses, in accordance with, and subject to, the terms of such policies.

We re–evaluate the purchase of insurance, coverage limits and deductibles annually. Future insurance coverage for the oil and natural gas industry could increase in cost and may include higher deductibles or retentions. In addition, some forms of insurance may become unavailable in the future or unavailable on terms that are economically acceptable. No assurance can be given that we will be able to maintain insurance in the future at rates that we consider reasonable and we may elect to self–insure or maintain only catastrophic coverage for certain risks in the future.

Employees

EV Management, the general partner of our general partner, has six full time employees and two executive officers who spend a significant amount of their time on our operations. At December 31, 2013, EnerVest, the sole member of EV Management, had approximately 930 full–time employees, including over 125 geologists, engineers and land professionals. To carry out our operations, EnerVest employs the people who will provide direct support to our operations. None of these employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider EV Management’s relationship with its employees to be good, and EnerVest considers its relationship with its employees to be good.

Offices

We do not have any material owned or leased property (other than our interests in oil and gas properties). Under our omnibus agreement, EnerVest provides us office space for our executive officers and other employees at EnerVest’s offices in Houston, Texas.

Available Information

Our annual reports on Form 10–K, quarterly reports on Form 10–Q, current reports on Form 8–K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are made available free of charge on our website at www.evenergypartners.com as soon as reasonably practicable after these reports have been electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. These documents are also available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or you may read and copy any materials that we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington DC 20549. Our website also includes our Code of Business Conduct and the charters of our audit committee and compensation committee. No information from either the SEC’s website or our website is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Limited partner interests 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. If any of the following risks were actually to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations or cash flows could be materially adversely affected.  

Risks Related to Our Business

We may not have sufficient cash from operations following the establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses, including cost reimbursements to our general partner, to enable us to make cash distributions to holders of our common units at the current distribution rate under our cash distribution policy.

In order to make our cash distributions at our current quarterly distribution rate of $0.771 per common unit, we will require available cash of approximately $38.7 million per quarter based on the common units and phantom units outstanding as of February 14, 2014. We may not have sufficient available cash from operating surplus each quarter to enable us to make cash distributions at this anticipated quarterly distribution rate under our cash distribution policy. The amount of cash we can distribute on our units principally depends upon the amount of cash we generate from our operations, which will fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on, among other things:

In addition, the actual amount of cash we will have available for distribution will depend on other factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

As a result of these factors, the amount of cash we distribute to our unitholders may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and may be less than the quarterly distribution amount that we expect to distribute.

If prices remain depressed for a prolonged period, our cash flows from operations will decline and we may have to lower our distributions or may not be able to pay distributions at all and may be unable to service our debt obligations.

Our revenue, profitability and cash flow depend upon the prices for oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The prices we receive for our production are volatile and a drop in prices can significantly affect our financial results and impede our growth, including our ability to maintain or increase our borrowing capacity, to repay current or future indebtedness and to obtain additional capital on attractive terms, all of which can affect our ability to pay distributions. Changes in prices have a significant impact on the value of our reserves and on our cash flows. Prices may fluctuate widely in response to relatively minor changes in supply and demand, market uncertainty and a variety of additional factors that are beyond our control, such as:

Low prices will decrease our revenues, but may also reduce the amount of oil, natural gas or natural gas liquids that we can economically produce. This may result in our having to make substantial downward adjustments to our estimated proved reserves. If this occurs, or if our estimates of development costs increase, production data factors change or drilling results deteriorate, accounting rules may require us to write down, as a non–cash charge to earnings, the carrying value of our oil and natural gas properties for impairments. We are required to perform impairment tests on our assets whenever events or changes in circumstances lead to a reduction of the estimated useful life or estimated future cash flows that would indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable or whenever management’s plans change with respect to those assets. We may incur impairment charges in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations in the period taken and our ability to borrow funds under our credit facility, which may adversely affect our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders and service our debt obligations.

We currently own interests in oil and natural gas properties in which partnerships managed by EnerVest also own an interest and we may acquire properties in which the EnerVest managed partnerships own an interest in the future. If the EnerVest partnerships elect to sell their interest in these properties, we would own a minority interest in the properties, and EnerVest may lose the ability to operate the properties.

We own interests in oil and natural gas properties in which partnerships managed by EnerVest also own interests, and we expect to make acquisitions of properties jointly with EverVest partnerships in the future. These properties are primarily in the Barnett Shale, Central and East Texas and the Appalachian Basin, and these properties represent approximately 74% of our estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2013. The EnerVest partnerships generally have an investment strategy to typically divest properties in three to five years, while our strategy is to hold properties for the longer term. We own less than a majority working interest in the properties in which the EnerVest partnerships also own an interest. If the EnerVest partnerships were to sell their interest in these properties to a person not affiliated with EnerVest, our working interest would not be large enough that we could control the selection of the operator and EnerVest may lose the ability to operate the properties on our behalf. Loss of operations would mean that EnerVest would no longer control decisions regarding the development and production of those properties, and any replacement operator could make decisions regarding development or production activities that make it difficult to implement our strategy.

We depend on EnerVest to provide us services necessary to operate our business. If EnerVest were unable or unwilling to provide these services, it would result in disruption in our business which could have an adverse effect on our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders and service our debt obligations.

Under an omnibus agreement, EnerVest provides services to us such as accounting, human resources, office space, and other administrative services, and under an operating agreement, EnerVest operates our properties for us. If EnerVest were to become unable or unwilling to provide such services, we would need to develop these services internally or arrange for the services from another service provider. Developing the capabilities internally or by retaining another service provider could have an adverse effect on our ability make cash distributions to our unitholders and our business, and the services, when developed or retained, may not be of the same quality as provided to us by EnerVest.

Our hedging transactions expose us to counterparty credit risk.

Our hedging transactions expose us to risk of financial loss if a counterparty fails to perform under a derivative contract.  To mitigate counterparty credit risk, we conduct our hedging activities with financial institutions who are lenders under our credit facility.  Disruptions in the financial markets could lead to sudden changes in a counterparty’s liquidity, which could impair their ability to perform under the terms of the derivative contract. We are unable to predict sudden changes in a counterparty’s creditworthiness or ability to perform. Even if we do accurately predict sudden changes, our ability to negate the risk may be limited depending upon market conditions.

During periods of falling commodity prices, such as in late 2008 and 2012, our hedge receivable positions increase, which increases our exposure. If the creditworthiness of our counterparties deteriorates and results in their nonperformance, we could incur a significant loss.

The adoption of derivatives legislation and regulations related to derivative contracts could have an adverse impact on our ability to hedge risks associated with our business.  

During 2010, the President signed into law the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”).  Among other things, the Act requires the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the SEC to enact regulations affecting derivative contracts, including the derivative contracts we use to hedge our exposure to price volatility through the over–the–counter market.  

In its rulemaking under the new legislation, the CFTC has issued a final rule on position limits for certain futures and option contracts in the major energy markets and for swaps that are their economic equivalents (with exemptions for certain bona fide hedging transactions); the CFTC’s final rule was set aside by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on September 28, 2012 and remanded to the CFTC to resolve ambiguity as to whether statutory requirements for such limits to be determined necessary and appropriate were satisfied. As a result, the rule has not yet taken effect, although the CFTC has indicated that it intends to appeal the court’s decision and that it believes the Dodd–Frank Act requires it to impose position limits. The impact of such regulations upon our business is not yet clear. Certain of our hedging and trading activities and those of our counterparties may be subject to the position limits, which may reduce our ability to enter into hedging transactions.

In addition, the Act does not explicitly exempt end users (such as us) from the requirement to use cleared exchanges, rather than hedging over–the–counter, and the requirements to post margin in connection with hedging activities. While it is not possible at this time to predict when the CFTC will finalize certain other related rules and regulations, the Act and related regulations may require us to comply with margin requirements and with certain clearing and trade–execution requirements in connection with our derivative activities, although whether these requirements will apply to our business is uncertain at this time. If the regulations ultimately adopted require that we post margin for our hedging activities or require our counterparties to hold margin or maintain capital levels, the cost of which could be passed through to us, or impose other requirements that are more burdensome than current regulations, our hedging would become more expensive and we may decide to alter our hedging strategy.

The financial reform legislation may also require the counterparties to derivative instruments to spin off some of their derivative activities to separate entities, which may not be as creditworthy as the current counterparties. The new legislation and any new regulations could significantly increase the cost of derivative contracts (including through requirements to post collateral which could adversely affect our available liquidity), materially alter the terms of derivative contracts reduce the availability of derivatives to protect against risks we encounter, restrict our flexibility in conducting trading and hedging activity and increase our exposure to less creditworthy counterparties.  If we reduce our use of derivative contracts as a result of the new requirements, our results of operations may become more volatile and cash flows less predictable, which could adversely affect our ability to plan for and fund capital expenditures. Finally, the legislation was intended, in part, to reduce the volatility of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids prices, which some legislators attributed to speculative trading in derivatives and commodity instruments related to oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.  Our revenues could therefore be adversely affected if a consequence of the legislation and regulations is to lower commodity prices. Any of these consequences could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

The distressed financial conditions of customers could have an adverse impact on us in the event these customers are unable to pay us for the products or services we provide.

Some of our customers may experience, in the future, severe financial problems that have had or may have a significant impact on their creditworthiness. We cannot provide assurance that one or more of our financially distressed customers will not default on their obligations to us or that such a default or defaults will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, future results of operations or future cash flows. Furthermore, the bankruptcy of one or more of our customers, or some other similar proceeding or liquidity constraint, might make it unlikely that we would be able to collect all or a significant portion of amounts owed by the distressed entity or entities. In addition, such events might force such customers to reduce or curtail their future use of our products and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We may be unable to integrate successfully the operations of our recent or future acquisitions with our operations and we may not realize all the anticipated benefits of the recent acquisitions or any future acquisition.

Integration of our recent acquisitions with our business and operations has been a complex, time consuming and costly process. Failure to successfully assimilate our past or future acquisitions could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our acquisitions involve numerous risks, including:

Further, unexpected costs and challenges may arise whenever businesses with different operations or management are combined, and we may experience unanticipated delays in realizing the benefits of an acquisition. If we consummate any future acquisition, our capitalization and results of operation may change significantly, and you may not have the opportunity to evaluate the economic, financial and other relevant information that we will consider in evaluating future acquisitions.

Unless we replace the reserves we produce, our revenues and production will decline, which would adversely affect our cash flows from operations and our ability to make distributions to our unitholders or service our debt obligations.

Producing reservoirs are characterized by declining production rates that vary depending upon reservoir characteristics and other factors. Our decline rate may change when we drill additional wells, make acquisitions or under other circumstances. Our future cash flows and income and our ability to maintain and to increase distributions to unitholders are highly dependent on our success in efficiently developing and exploiting our current reserves and economically finding or acquiring additional recoverable reserves. We may not be able to develop, find or acquire additional reserves to replace our current and future production at acceptable costs, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Factors that may hinder our ability to acquire additional reserves include competition, access to capital, prevailing oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids prices and the number and attractiveness of properties for sale.

Our estimated reserve quantities and future production rates are based on many assumptions that may prove to be inaccurate. Any material inaccuracies in these reserve estimates or the underlying assumptions will materially affect the quantities and present value of our reserves.

Numerous uncertainties are inherent in estimating quantities of our reserves. Our estimates of our net proved reserve quantities are based upon reports from Cawley Gillespie, an independent petroleum engineering firm used by us. The process of estimating oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids reserves is complex, requiring significant decisions and assumptions in the evaluation of available geological, engineering and economic data for each reservoir, and these reports rely upon various assumptions, including assumptions regarding future oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids prices, production levels, and operating and development costs. As a result, estimated quantities of proved reserves and projections of future production rates and the timing of development expenditures may prove to be inaccurate. Over time, we may make material changes to reserve estimates taking into account the results of actual drilling and production. Any significant variance in our assumptions and actual results could greatly affect our estimates of reserves, the economically recoverable quantities of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids attributable to any particular group of properties, the classifications of reserves based on risk of recovery, and estimates of the future net cash flows. In addition, our wells are characterized by low production rates per well. As a result, changes in future production costs assumptions could have a significant effect on our proved reserve quantities.

The standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows of our estimated net proved reserves is not necessarily the same as the current market value of our estimated net proved reserves. We base the discounted future net cash flows from our estimated net proved reserves on average prices for the 12 months preceding the date of the estimate. Actual prices received for production and actual costs of such production will be different than these assumptions, perhaps materially.

The timing of both our production and our incurrence of expenses in connection with the development and production of our properties will affect the timing of actual future net cash flows from proved reserves, and thus their actual present value. In addition, the 10% discount factor we use when calculating discounted future net cash flows may not be the most appropriate discount factor based on interest rates in effect from time to time and risks associated with us or the oil and natural gas industry in general. Any material inaccuracy in our reserve estimates or underlying assumptions will materially affect the quantities and present value of our reserves which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders.

Our acquisition, development and midstream expansion operations will require substantial capital expenditures, which will reduce our cash available for distribution. We may be unable to obtain needed capital or financing on satisfactory terms, which could lead to a decline in our production and reserves.

The oil and natural gas industry is capital intensive. We make and expect to continue to make substantial capital expenditures in our business for the development, production and acquisition of reserves. As part of our exploration and development operations, we have expanded, and expect to further expand, the application of horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracture stimulation techniques. The utilization of these techniques requires substantially greater capital expenditures as compared to the drilling of a vertical well, sometimes more than three times the cost. The incremental capital expenditures are the result of greater measured depths and additional hydraulic fracture stages in horizontal wellbores. The agreements governing our midstream investments require that we make capital calls when requested by the operator of these facilities. In 2014, we expect these capital calls to be between $115.0 million and $135.0 million. Should we not make these capital calls, our ownership could be diluted or future distributions from our midstream investments could be reduced by any unfunded capital contributions.

Our capital expenditures will be deducted from our revenues in determining our cash available for distribution. We intend to finance our future capital expenditures with cash flows from operations, borrowings under our credit facility and the issuance of debt and equity securities. The incurrence of debt will require that a portion of our cash flows from operations be used for the payment of interest and principal on our debt, thereby reducing our ability to use cash flows to fund working capital, capital expenditures and acquisitions. Our cash flows from operations and access to capital are subject to a number of variables, including:

 If our revenues or the borrowing base under our credit facility decrease as a result of lower commodity prices, operating difficulties, declines in reserves or for any other reason, we may have limited ability to obtain the capital necessary to sustain our operations at current levels. Our credit facility may restrict our ability to obtain new financing. If additional capital is needed, we may not be able to obtain debt or equity financing on terms favorable to us, or at all. If cash generated by operations or available under our credit facility is not sufficient to meet our capital requirements, the failure to obtain additional financing could result in a curtailment of our operations relating to development of our prospects, which in turn could lead to a possible decline in our reserves and production, and could adversely affect our business, results of operation, financial conditions and ability to make distributions to our unitholders. In addition, we may lose opportunities to acquire oil and natural gas properties and businesses.

We will rely on development drilling to assist in maintaining our levels of production. If our development drilling is unsuccessful, our cash available for distributions and for servicing our debt obligations and financial condition will be adversely affected.

Part of our business strategy will focus on maintaining production levels by drilling development wells. Although we were successful in development drilling in the past, we cannot assure you that we will continue to maintain production levels through development drilling. Our drilling involves numerous risks, including the risk that we will not encounter commercially productive oil or natural gas reservoirs. We must incur significant expenditures to drill and complete wells. Additionally, seismic technology does not allow us to know conclusively, prior to drilling a well, that oil or natural gas is present or economically producible. The costs of drilling and completing wells are often uncertain, and it is possible that we will make substantial expenditures on development drilling and not discover reserves in commercially viable quantities. These expenditures will reduce cash available for distribution to our unitholders and for servicing our debt obligations.

Our drilling operations may be curtailed, delayed or cancelled as a result of a variety of factors, including:

Properties that we buy may not produce as projected and we may be unable to determine reserve potential, identify liabilities associated with the properties or obtain protection from sellers against such liabilities, which could adversely affect our cash available for distribution and for servicing our debt obligations.

One of our growth strategies is to capitalize on opportunistic acquisitions of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids reserves. Any future acquisition will require an assessment of recoverable reserves, title, future oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids prices, operating costs, potential environmental hazards, potential tax and ERISA liabilities, and other liabilities and similar factors. Ordinarily, our review efforts are focused on the higher valued properties and are inherently incomplete because it generally is not feasible to review in depth every individual property involved in each acquisition. Even a detailed review of records and properties may not necessarily reveal existing or potential problems, nor will it permit a buyer to become sufficiently familiar with the properties to assess fully their deficiencies and potential. Inspections may not always be performed on every well, and potential problems, such as ground water contamination and other environmental conditions and deficiencies in the mechanical integrity of equipment are not necessarily observable even when an inspection is undertaken. Any unidentified problems could result in material liabilities and costs that negatively impact our financial conditions and results of operations and our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders and service our debt obligations.

Additional potential risks related to acquisitions include, among other things:

If we consummate any future acquisitions, our capitalization and results of operations may change significantly.

Our hedging activities could result in financial losses or could reduce our net income, which may adversely affect our ability to pay cash distributions to our unitholders and service our debt obligations.

To achieve more predictable cash flows and to reduce our exposure to fluctuations in the prices of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, we have and may continue to enter into hedging arrangements for a significant portion of our production. If we experience a sustained material interruption in our production, we might be forced to satisfy all or a portion of our hedging obligations without the benefit of the cash flows from our sale of the underlying physical commodity, resulting in a substantial diminution of our liquidity. Lastly, an attendant risk exists in hedging activities that the counterparty in any derivative transaction cannot or will not perform under the instrument and that we will not realize the benefit of the hedge.

Our ability to use hedging transactions to protect us from future price declines will be dependent upon oil and natural gas prices at the time we enter into future hedging transactions and our future levels of hedging, and as a result our future net cash flows may be more sensitive to commodity price changes.

Our policy has been to hedge a significant portion of our near–term estimated production. However, our price hedging strategy and future hedging transactions will be determined at the discretion of our general partner, which is not under an obligation to hedge a specific portion of our production. The prices at which we hedge our production in the future will be dependent upon commodity prices at the time we enter into these transactions, which may be substantially higher or lower than current oil and natural gas prices. Accordingly, our price hedging strategy may not protect us from significant declines in oil and natural gas prices received for our future production. Conversely, our hedging strategy may limit our ability to realize cash flows from commodity price increases. It is also possible that a substantially larger percentage of our future production will not be hedged as compared with the next few years, which would result in our oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids revenues becoming more sensitive to commodity price changes.

We may be unable to compete effectively with larger companies, which may adversely affect our ability to generate sufficient revenue and our ability to pay distributions to our unitholders and service our debt obligations.

The oil and natural gas industry is intensely competitive, and we compete with other companies that have greater resources than us. Our ability to acquire additional properties and to discover reserves in the future will be dependent upon our ability to evaluate and select suitable properties and to consummate transactions in a highly competitive environment. Many of our larger competitors not only drill for and produce oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, but also carry on refining operations and market petroleum and other products on a regional, national or worldwide basis. These companies may be able to pay more for oil and natural gas properties and evaluate, bid for and purchase a greater number of properties than our financial or human resources permit. In addition, these companies may have a greater ability to continue drilling activities during periods of low prices, to contract for drilling equipment, to secure trained personnel, and to absorb the burden of present and future federal, state, local and other laws and regulations. The oil and natural gas industry has periodically experienced shortages of drilling rigs, equipment, pipe and personnel, which has delayed development drilling and other exploitation activities and has caused significant price increases. Competition has been strong in hiring experienced personnel, particularly in the accounting and financial reporting, tax and land departments. In addition, competition is strong for attractive oil and natural gas producing properties, oil and natural gas companies, and undeveloped leases and drilling rights. We may be often outbid by competitors in our attempts to acquire properties or companies. Our inability to compete effectively with larger companies could have a material adverse impact on our business activities, financial condition and results of operations.  

Our business is subject to operational risks that will not be fully insured, which, if they were to occur, could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations and, as a result, our ability to pay distributions to our unitholders and service our debt obligations.

Our business activities are subject to operational risks, including:

In addition, a portion of our natural gas production is processed to extract natural gas liquids at processing plants that we own or that are owned by others. If these plants were to cease operations for any reason, we would need to arrange for alternative transportation and processing facilities. These alternative facilities may not be available, which could cause us to shut–in our natural gas production, or the alternative facilities could be more expensive than the facilities we currently use.

Our midstream activities are subject to all of the operating risks associated with constructing, operating and maintaining pipelines, processing and fractionation facilities, and related equipment, including the possibility of leaks, breaks and ruptures, damage due to natural hazards such as ground movement and weather, explosions, fires, personal injuries and death.

Any of these events could adversely affect our ability to conduct operations or cause substantial losses, including personal injury or loss of life, damage to or destruction of property, natural resources and equipment, pollution or other environmental contamination, loss of wells, regulatory penalties, suspension of operations, and attorneys’ fees and other expenses incurred in the prosecution or defense of litigation.

As is customary in the industry, we maintain insurance against some but not all of these risks. Additionally, we may elect not to obtain insurance if we believe that the cost of available insurance is excessive relative to the perceived risks presented. Losses could therefore occur for uninsurable or uninsured risks or in amounts in excess of existing insurance coverage. The occurrence of an event that is not fully covered by insurance could have a material adverse impact on our business activities, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay distributions to our unitholders and service our debt obligations.

Our financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected if we incur costs and liabilities due to a failure to comply with environmental regulations or a release of hazardous substances into the environment.

 We may incur significant costs and liabilities as a result of environmental requirements applicable to the operation of our wells, gathering systems and other facilities. These costs and liabilities could arise under a wide range of federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, including, for example:

Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may trigger a variety of administrative, civil and criminal enforcement measures, including the assessment of monetary penalties, the imposition of remedial requirements, and the issuance of orders enjoining future operations. Certain environmental statutes, including the RCRA, CERCLA, OPA and analogous state laws and regulations, impose strict joint and several liability for costs required to clean up and restore sites where hazardous substances or other waste products have been disposed of or otherwise released. More stringent laws and regulations, including any related to climate change and greenhouse gases, may be adopted in the future. Moreover, it is not uncommon for neighboring landowners and other third parties to file claims for personal injury and property damage allegedly caused by the release of hazardous substances or other waste products into the environment.

We are subject to complex federal, state, local and other laws and regulations that could adversely affect the cost, manner or feasibility of conducting our operations.

Our exploration, production and midstream operations are subject to complex and stringent laws and regulations. In order to conduct our operations in compliance with these laws and regulations, we must obtain and maintain numerous permits, approvals and certificates from various federal, state and local governmental authorities. Failure or delay in obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals or drilling permits could have a material adverse effect on our ability to develop our properties, and receipt of drilling permits with onerous conditions could increase our compliance costs. In addition, regulations regarding resource conservation practices and the protection of correlative rights affect our operations by limiting the quantity of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids we may produce and sell.

We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations as interpreted and enforced by governmental authorities possessing jurisdiction over various aspects of the exploration, production and transportation of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. While the cost of compliance with these laws has not been material to our operations in the past, the possibility exists that new laws, regulations or enforcement policies could be more stringent and significantly increase our compliance costs. If we are not able to recover the resulting costs through insurance or increased revenues, our ability to pay distributions to our unitholders and service our debt obligations could be adversely affected.

Climate change legislation or regulations restricting emissions of GHGs could result in increased operating costs and reduced demand for the oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids we produce.

On October 30, 2009, the EPA published a final rule requiring the reporting of GHG emissions from specified large GHG emission sources in the United States beginning in 2011 for emissions occurring in 2010. On November 30, 2010, the EPA published its amendments to the GHG reporting rule to include onshore and offshore oil and natural gas production facilities and onshore oil and natural gas processing, transmission, storage and distribution facilities, which may include facilities we operate. Reporting of GHG emissions from such facilities will be required on an annual basis beginning in 2012 for emissions occurring in 2011. We have submitted our report for 2012 and are currently working on our report for 2013.

On December 15, 2009, the EPA officially published its findings that emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other GHGs present an endangerment to public health and the environment because emissions of such gases are, according to the EPA, contributing to warming of the earth’s atmosphere and other climatic changes. These findings allow the EPA to adopt and implement regulations that would restrict emissions of GHGs under existing provisions of the federal CAA. On January 2, 2011, the EPA’s GHG emission standards for light–duty vehicles became effective. This triggers the requirement that permits issued under the CAA Title V and Prevention of Significant Deterioration programs must address GHGs. In June 2010, EPA finalized a GHG tailoring rule, applying GHG permitting initially to the largest stationary sources of GHGs above certain revised emission limits.

In addition, both houses of Congress previously considered legislation to reduce emissions of GHGs and many states have adopted or considered measures to reduce GHG emission reduction levels, often involving the planned development of GHG emission inventories and/or cap and trade programs. Most of these cap and trade programs work by requiring major sources of emissions or major producers of fuels to acquire and surrender emission allowances. The adoption and implementation of any legislation or regulatory programs imposing reporting obligations on, or limiting emissions of GHGs from, our equipment and operations could require us to incur costs to reduce emissions of GHGs associated with our operations or could adversely affect demand for the oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids that we produce. Federal efforts at a cap and trade program appear to not be moving forward in Congress. Some members of Congress have publicly indicated an intention to introduce legislation to curb EPA’s regulatory authority over GHGs.

Significant physical effects of climatic change have the potential to damage our facilities, disrupt our production activities and cause us to incur significant costs in preparing for or responding to those effects.

In an interpretative guidance on climate change disclosures, the SEC indicates that climate change could have an effect on the severity of weather (including hurricanes and floods), sea levels, the arability of farmland, and water availability and quality. If such effects were to occur, our exploration and production operations have the potential to be adversely affected. Potential adverse effects could include damages to our facilities from powerful winds or rising waters in low lying areas, disruption of our production activities either because of climate related damages to our facilities in our costs of operation potentially arising from such climatic effects, less efficient or non–routine operating practices necessitated by climate effects or increased costs for insurance coverages in the aftermath of such effects. Significant physical effects of climate change could also have an indirect effect on our financing and operations by disrupting the transportation or process related services provided by midstream companies, service companies or suppliers with whom we have a business relationship. We may not be able to recover through insurance some or any of the damages, losses or costs that may result from potential physical effects of climate change.

Federal legislation and state legislative and regulatory initiatives relating to hydraulic fracturing could result in increased costs and additional operating restrictions or delays.

Hydraulic fracturing is an important and common practice that is used to stimulate production of hydrocarbons, particularly natural gas, from dense rock formations. The hydraulic fracturing process involves the injection of water, sand and chemicals under pressure into the formation to fracture the surrounding rock and stimulate production. We routinely use hydraulic fracturing techniques in most of our drilling and completion programs. Hydraulic fracturing is typically regulated by state oil and natural gas commissions but the EPA has asserted federal regulatory authority pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act over certain hydraulic fracturing activities involving the use of diesel. In addition, in past sessions, legislation was introduced before Congress to provide for federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act and to require disclosure of the chemicals used in the fracturing process. At the state level, some states, including Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Texas, where we operate, have adopted, and other states are considering adopting, requirements that could impose more stringent permitting, public disclosure or well construction requirements on hydraulic fracturing activities. In the event that new or more stringent federal, state, or local legal restrictions relating to the hydraulic fracturing process are adopted in areas where we operate, we could incur potentially significant added costs to comply with such requirements, experience delays or curtailment in the pursuit of exploration, development, or production activities, and perhaps even be precluded from drilling wells.

In addition, certain governmental reviews are either underway or being proposed that focus on environmental aspects of hydraulic fracturing practices. The White House Council on Environmental Quality is coordinating an administration-wide review of hydraulic fracturing practices, and a committee of the United States House of Representatives has conducted an investigation of hydraulic fracturing practices. The EPA has commenced a study of the potential environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water and groundwater; the EPA released a progress report in December 2012 and final results are expected in 2014. Moreover, the EPA has announced that it will develop effluent limitations for the treatment and discharge of wastewater resulting from hydraulic fracturing activities by 2014. Other governmental agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of the Interior, are evaluating various other aspects of hydraulic fracturing. These ongoing or proposed studies, depending on their degree of pursuit and any meaningful results obtained, could spur initiatives to further regulate hydraulic fracturing under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act or other regulatory mechanisms.

We are now subject to regulation under NSPS and NESHAPS programs, which could result in increased operating costs.

On April 17, 2012, the EPA issued final rules that subject oil and natural gas production, processing, transmission and storage operations to regulation under the NSPS and the NESHAP programs. The EPA rules include NSPS standards for completions of hydraulically fractured natural gas wells. Before January 1, 2015, these standards require owners/operators to reduce VOC emissions from natural gas not sent to the gathering line during well completion either by flaring, using a completion combustion device, or by capturing the natural gas using green completions with a completion combustion device. Beginning January 1, 2015, operators must capture the natural gas and make it available for use or sale, which can be done through the use of green completions. The standards are applicable to newly fractured wells and also existing wells that are refractured. Further, the finalized regulations also establish specific new requirements, effective in 2012, for emissions from compressors, controllers, dehydrators, storage tanks, natural gas processing plants and certain other equipment. These rules may require changes to our operations, including the installation of new equipment to control emissions. We are currently evaluating the effect these rules will have on our business.

Changes in interest rates could adversely impact our unit price and our ability to issue additional equity and incur debt.

Interest rates on future credit facilities and debt offerings could be higher than current levels, causing our financing costs to increase accordingly. As with other yield oriented securities, our unit price is impacted by the level of our cash distributions and implied distribution yield. The distribution yield is often used by investors to compare and rank related yield oriented securities for investment decision-making purposes. Therefore, changes in interest rates, either positive or negative, may affect the yield requirements of investors who invest in our units, and a rising interest rate environment could have an adverse impact on our unit price and our ability to issue additional equity to make acquisitions, incur debt or for other purposes.

We may encounter obstacles to marketing our oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, which could adversely impact our revenues.

The marketability of our production will depend in part upon the availability and capacity of natural gas gathering systems, pipelines and other transportation facilities owned by third parties. Transportation space on the gathering systems and pipelines we utilize is occasionally limited or unavailable due to repairs or improvements to facilities or due to space being utilized by other companies that have priority transportation agreements. Our access to transportation options can also be affected by U.S. federal and state regulation of oil and natural gas production and transportation, general economic conditions and changes in supply and demand. The availability of markets is beyond our control. If market factors dramatically change, the impact on our revenues could be substantial and could adversely affect our ability to produce and market oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, the value of our units and our ability to pay distributions on our units and service our debt obligations.

We may experience a temporary decline in revenues and production if we lose one of our significant customers.

To the extent any significant customer reduces the volume of its oil or natural gas purchases from us, we could experience a temporary interruption in sales of, or a lower price for, our production and our revenues and cash available for distribution could decline which could adversely affect our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders and service our debt obligations.

Our ability to make cash distributions will depend on our ability to successfully drill and complete wells on our properties. Seasonal weather conditions and lease stipulations may adversely affect our ability to conduct drilling and production activities in some of the areas where we operate.

Drilling and producing operations in the Appalachian Basin, the San Juan Basin and Michigan are adversely affected by seasonal weather conditions, primarily in the spring. Many municipalities in Appalachia impose weight restrictions on the paved roads that lead to our jobsites due to the muddy conditions caused by spring thaws. In addition, our Monroe Field properties in Louisiana are subject to flooding. This limits our access to these jobsites and our ability to service wells in these areas on a year around basis.

The amount of cash we have available for distribution to holders of our common units depends on our cash flows.

The amount of cash that we have available for distribution depends primarily upon our cash flows, including financial reserves and cash flows from working capital borrowing, and not solely on profitability, which will be affected by noncash items. As a result, we may make cash distributions during periods when we record losses for financial accounting purposes and may not make cash distributions during periods when we record net income for financial accounting purposes.

We have significant indebtedness under our credit facility and our 8% senior notes due 2019. Restrictions in our credit facility and our 8% senior notes due 2019 may limit our ability to make distributions to you and may limit our ability to capitalize on acquisitions and other business opportunities.

Our credit facility and 8% senior notes due 2019 contain covenants limiting our ability to make distributions, incur indebtedness, grant liens, make acquisitions, investments or dispositions and engage in transactions with affiliates, as well as containing covenants requiring us to maintain certain financial ratios and tests. In addition, the borrowing base under our facility is subject to periodic review by our lenders. Difficulties in the credit markets may cause the banks to be more restrictive when redetermining our borrowing base.

We may incur substantial debt in the future to enable us to maintain or increase our production levels and to otherwise pursue our business plan. This debt may restrict our ability to make distributions to our unitholders and service our debt obligations.

 Our business requires a significant amount of capital expenditures to maintain and grow production levels. If prices were to decline for an extended period of time, if the costs of our acquisition and development operations were to increase substantially, or if other events were to occur which reduced our revenues or increased our costs, we may be required to borrow significant amounts in the future to enable us to finance the expenditures necessary to replace the reserves we produce. The cost of the borrowings and our obligations to repay the borrowings will reduce amounts otherwise available for distributions to our unitholders.

We have limited control over operations in our midstream business.

We do not operate our UEO processing and fractionation plants or the Cardinal natural gas gathering system. We have only minority interests in the entities that own these facilities. As such, we are unable to control, and have only limited ability to influence, these businesses. The operators of these facilities may conduct the business in ways that are not as beneficial to us or our unitholders as would be the case if we operated these businesses.

If producers for our midstream investment do not increase the volumes of natural gas they provide to Cardinal and UEO gathering systems and processing facilities, our ability to increase cash flow may be adversely affected.

The ability of Cardinal and UEO to increase the throughput on their gathering systems and processing facilities will be substantially dependent on receiving increased volumes from producers. Other than the scheduled increases in the minimum volume commitments provided for in the natural gas gathering agreements with certain producers in certain geographic areas, the producers are not obligated to provide additional volumes to the systems, and they may determine in the future that drilling activities in areas outside of the current areas of operation are strategically more attractive to them. A reduction in the natural gas volumes supplied by Chesapeake, Total or other producers could result in reduced throughput on the systems and adversely impact our realized cash flows from our midstream investments.

We do not obtain independent evaluations of natural gas and natural gas liquids reserves connected to the gathering systems of our midstream investments; therefore, in the future, volumes of natural gas and natural gas liquids on our systems could be less than we currently anticipate.

We do not obtain independent evaluations of natural gas and natural gas liquids reserves connected to Cardinal and UEO. Accordingly, we do not have independent estimates of total reserves dedicated to our systems or the anticipated life of such reserves. Notwithstanding the contractual protections in certain of Cardinal and UEO’s agreements, if the total reserves or estimated life of the reserves connected to our gathering systems are less than anticipated and Cardinal and UEO are unable to secure additional sources of natural gas and natural gas liquids, it could have a material adverse effect on the business of our midstream investments.

If third party pipelines or other facilities interconnected to Cardinal and UEO gathering systems or processing facilities become partially or fully unavailable, or if the volumes Cardinal and UEO gather or process do not meet the quality requirements of such pipelines or facilities, our cash flow could be adversely affected.

Cardinal and UEO natural gas gathering systems and processing facilities connect 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. These pipelines and other facilities may become unavailable because of testing, turnarounds, line repair, reduced operating pressure, lack of operating capacity, curtailments of receipt or deliveries due to insufficient capacity or for any other reason. If any of these pipelines or facilities become unable to transport natural gas, or if the volumes that Cardinal and UEO gather, transport or process do not meet the natural gas quality requirements of such pipelines or facilities, our cash flow could be adversely affected.

Risks Inherent in an Investment in Us

EnerVest controls our general partner, which has sole responsibility for conducting our business and managing our operations. EnerVest, EV Investors, L.P. (“EV Investors”) and EnCap Investments, L.P. (“EnCap”), which are limited partners of our general partner, will have conflicts of interest, which may permit them to favor their own interests to your detriment.

EnerVest owns and controls our general partner and EnCap owns a 23.75% limited partnership interest in our general partner. Conflicts of interest may arise between EnerVest, EnCap and their respective affiliates, including our general partner, on the one hand, and us, our unitholders and the holders of our debt obligations, on the other hand. In resolving these conflicts of interest, our general partner may favor its own interests and the interests of its owners over the interests of our unitholders and the holders of our debt obligations. These conflicts include, among others, the following situations:

Many of the directors and officers who have responsibility for our management have significant duties with, and will spend significant time serving, entities that compete with us in seeking out acquisitions and business opportunities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating time or pursuing business opportunities.

In order to maintain and increase our levels of production, we will need to acquire oil and natural gas properties. Several of the officers and directors of EV Management, the general partner of our general partner, who have responsibilities for managing our operations and activities hold similar positions with other entities that are in the business of identifying and acquiring oil and natural gas properties. For example, Mr. Walker is Executive Chairman of EV Management and Chief Executive Officer of EnerVest, which is in the business of acquiring oil and natural gas properties and managing the EnerVest partnerships that are in that business. Mr. Houser, President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of EV Management, is also Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of EnerVest. We cannot assure you that these conflicts will be resolved in our favor. Mr. Gary R. Petersen, a director of EV Management, is also a senior managing director of EnCap, which is in the business of investing in oil and natural gas companies with independent management which in turn is in the business of acquiring oil and natural gas properties. Mr. Petersen is also a director of several oil and natural gas producing entities that are in the business of acquiring oil and natural gas properties. The existing positions of these directors and officers may give rise to fiduciary obligations that are in conflict with fiduciary obligations owed to us. The EV Management officers and directors may become aware of business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are or may be affiliated. Due to these existing and potential future affiliations with these and other entities, they may have fiduciary obligations to present potential business opportunities to those entities prior to presenting them to us, which could cause additional conflicts of interest. They may also decide that the opportunities are more appropriate for other entities which they serve and elect not to present them to us.

Neither EnerVest nor EnCap is limited in its ability to compete with us for acquisition or drilling opportunities. This could cause conflicts of interest and limit our ability to acquire additional assets or businesses which in turn could adversely affect our ability to replace reserves, results of operations and cash available for distribution to our unitholders and for servicing our debt obligations.

Neither our partnership agreement nor the omnibus agreement between EnerVest and us prohibits EnerVest, EnCap and their affiliates from owning assets or engaging in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. For instance, EnerVest, EnCap and their respective affiliates may acquire, develop or dispose of additional oil or natural gas properties or other assets in the future, without any obligation to offer us the opportunity to purchase or develop any of those assets. Each of these entities is a large, established participant in the energy business, and each has significantly greater resources and experience than we have, which factors may make it more difficult for us to compete with these entities with respect to commercial activities as well as for acquisition candidates. As a result, competition from these entities could adversely impact our results of operations and accordingly cash available for distribution and for servicing our debt obligations.

Cost reimbursements due to our general partner and its affiliates for services provided may be substantial and will reduce our cash available for distribution to our unitholders and for servicing our debt obligations.

Pursuant to the omnibus agreement between EnerVest and us, EnerVest will receive reimbursement for the provision of various general and administrative services for our benefit. In addition, we entered into contract operating agreements with a subsidiary of EnerVest pursuant to which the subsidiary will be the contract operator of all of the wells for which we have the right to appoint an operator. Payments for these services will be substantial and will reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to unitholders. In addition, under Delaware partnership law, our general partner has unlimited liability for our obligations, such as our debts and environmental liabilities, except for our contractual obligations that are expressly made without recourse to our general partner. To the extent our general partner incurs obligations on our behalf, we are obligated to reimburse or indemnify it. If we are unable or unwilling to reimburse or indemnify our general partner, our general partner may take actions to cause us to make payments of these obligations and liabilities. Any such payments could 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.

Although our general partner has a fiduciary duty to manage us in a manner beneficial to us and our unitholders, the directors and officers of EV Management, the general partner of our general partner, have a fiduciary duty to manage our general partner in a manner beneficial to its owners. Our partnership agreement contains provisions that reduce the standards to which our general partner and its affiliates would otherwise be held by state fiduciary duty laws. For example, our partnership agreement permits our general partner and its affiliates to make a number of decisions either in their individual capacities, 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 and its affiliates to consider only the interests and factors that they desire, and they have no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or any limited partner. Examples include:

Our partnership agreement restricts the remedies available to holders of our common units for actions taken by our general partner that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.

Our partnership agreement contains provisions restricting the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken by our general partner or its affiliates that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty. For example, our partnership agreement:

Our general partner may elect to cause us to issue Class B units to it in connection with a resetting of the target distribution levels related to our general partner’s incentive distribution rights without the approval of the conflicts committee or holders of our common units. This may result in lower distributions to holders of our common units in certain situations.

In 2011, our general partner reset the target distribution levels and received Class B units as provided in our partnership agreement. In December 2012, the Class B units were converted into common units. Our general partner has the right to further reset the cash target distribution levels at higher levels based on the distribution at the time of the exercise of the reset election. Following a reset election by our general partner, the minimum quarterly distribution amount will be reset to an amount equal to the average cash distribution amount per common unit for the two fiscal quarters immediately preceding the reset election (such amount is referred to as the “reset minimum quarterly distribution”) and the target distribution levels will be reset to correspondingly higher levels based on percentage increases above the reset minimum quarterly distribution amount.

In connection with resetting these target distribution levels, our general partner will be entitled to receive a number of Class B units. The Class B units will be entitled to the same cash distributions per unit as our common units and will be convertible into an equal number of common units. The number of Class B units to be issued will be equal to that number of common units whose aggregate quarterly cash distributions equaled the average of the distributions to our general partner on the incentive distribution rights in the prior two quarters. We anticipate that our general partner would exercise this reset right in order to facilitate acquisitions or internal growth projects that would not be sufficiently accretive to cash distributions per common unit without such conversion; however, it is possible that our general partner could exercise this reset election at a time when it is experiencing, or may be expected to experience, declines in the cash distributions it receives related to its incentive distribution rights and may therefore desire to be issued our Class B units, which are entitled to receive cash distributions from us on the same priority as our common units, rather than retain the right to receive incentive distributions based on the initial target distribution levels. As a result, a reset election may cause our common unitholders to experience dilution in the amount of cash distributions that they would have otherwise received had we not issued new Class B units to our general partner in connection with resetting the target distribution levels related to our general partner’s incentive distribution rights.

Holders of our common units have limited voting rights and are not entitled to elect our general partner or the board of directors of its general partner.

Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, unitholders have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business and, therefore, limited ability to influence management’s decisions regarding our business. Unitholders will not elect our general partner, its general partner or the members of its board of directors, and will have no right to elect our general partner, its general partner or its board of directors on an annual or other continuing basis. The board of directors of EV Management is chosen by EnerVest, the sole member of EV Management. Furthermore, if the unitholders were dissatisfied with the performance of our general partner, they will have only a limited ability to remove our general partner. As a result of these limitations, the price at which the common units will trade could be diminished because of the absence or reduction of a takeover premium in the trading price.

Even if holders of our common units are dissatisfied, they will have difficulty removing our general partner without its consent.

The vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of all outstanding units voting together as a single class is required to remove the general partner. EnerVest owns and controls our general partner, and as of February 14, 2014, officers and directors of EV Management owned an aggregate of 8.6% of our outstanding common. Accordingly, it may be difficult for holders of our common units to remove our general partner.

Our partnership agreement restricts the voting rights of unitholders owning 20% or more of our common units.

Unitholders’ voting rights are further restricted by the partnership agreement provision providing that any units held by a person that owns 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, other than our general partner, its affiliates, their transferees and persons who acquired such units with the prior approval of the board of directors of our general partner, cannot vote on any matter. Our partnership agreement also contains provisions limiting the ability of unitholders to call meetings or to acquire information about our operations, as well as other provisions limiting the unitholders’ ability to influence the manner or direction of management.

Control of our general partner may be transferred to a third party without unitholder consent.

Our general partner may transfer its general partner interest to a third party in a merger or in a sale of all or substantially all of its assets without the consent of the unitholders. Furthermore, our partnership agreement does not restrict the ability of the owners of our general partner or EV Management, from transferring all or a portion of their respective ownership interest in our general partner or EV Management to a third party. The new owners of our general partner or EV Management would then be in a position to replace the board of directors and officers of EV Management with its own choices and thereby influence the decisions taken by the board of directors and officers.

We may issue additional units without your approval, which would dilute your 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 have the following effects:

We have the right to borrow to make distributions. Repayment of these borrowings will decrease cash available for future distributions, and covenants in our credit facility may restrict our ability to make distributions.

Our partnership agreement allows us to borrow to make distributions. We may make short term borrowings under our credit facility, which we refer to as working capital borrowings, to make distributions. The primary purpose of these borrowings would be to mitigate the effects of short term fluctuations in our working capital that would otherwise cause volatility in our quarter to quarter distributions.

The terms of our credit facility may restrict our ability to pay distributions if we do not satisfy the financial and other covenants in the facility.

Our partnership agreement requires that we distribute all of our available cash, which could limit our ability to grow our reserves and production and service our debt obligations.

Our partnership agreement provides that we will distribute all of our available cash to our unitholders each quarter. As a result, we will be dependent on the issuance of additional common units and other partnership securities and borrowings to finance our growth. A number of factors will affect our ability to issue securities and borrow money to finance growth, as well as the costs of such financings, including:

Our general partner has a limited call right that may require you to sell your units at an undesirable time or price.

If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of our common units, our general partner will have the right, but not the obligation, which it may assign to any of its affiliates or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the common units held by unaffiliated persons at a price not less than their then current market price. As a result, you may be required to sell your common units at an undesirable time or price and may not receive any return on your investment. You may also incur a tax liability upon a sale of your units.

Your liability may not be limited if a court finds that unitholder action constitutes control of our business.

A general partner of a partnership generally has unlimited liability for the obligations of the partnership, except for those contractual obligations of the partnership that are expressly made without recourse to the general partner. Our partnership is organized under Delaware law and we conduct business in 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. You could be liable for any and all of our obligations as if you were a general partner if:

Unitholders may have liability to repay distributions that were wrongfully distributed to them.

Under certain circumstances, unitholders may have to repay amounts wrongfully returned or distributed to them. Under Section 17–607 of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, we may not make a distribution to you if the distribution would cause our liabilities to exceed the fair value of our assets. Delaware law provides that for a period of three years from the date of the impermissible distribution, limited partners who received the distribution and who knew at the time of the distribution that it violated Delaware law will be liable to the limited partnership for the distribution amount. Substituted limited partners are liable for the obligations of the assignor to make contributions to the partnership that are known to the substituted limited partner at the time it became a limited partner and for unknown obligations if the liabilities could be determined from the partnership agreement. Liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interest and liabilities that are non–recourse to the partnership are not counted for purposes of determining whether a distribution is permitted.

If we distribute cash from capital surplus, which is analogous of a return of capital, our minimum quarterly distribution rate will be reduced proportionately, and the distribution thresholds after which the incentive distribution rights entitle our general partner to an increased percentage of distributions will be proportionately decreased.

Our cash distribution will be characterized as coming from either operating surplus or capital surplus. Operating surplus generally means amounts we receive from operating sources, such as sales of our production, less operating expenditures, such as production costs and taxes, and less estimated maintenance capital, which are generally amounts we estimate we will need to spend in the future to maintain our production levels over the long term. Capital surplus generally means amounts we receive from non–operating sources, such as sales of properties and issuances of debt and equity securities. Cash representing capital surplus, therefore, is analogous to a return of capital. Distributions of capital surplus are made to our unitholders and our general partner in proportion to their percentage interests in us, or 98 percent to our unitholders and two percent to our general partner, and will result in a decrease in our minimum quarterly distribution and a lower threshold for distributions on the incentive distribution rights held by our general partner.

Our partnership agreement allows us to add to operating surplus up to two times the amount of our most recent minimum quarterly distribution. As a result, a portion of this amount, which is analogous to a return of capital, may be distributed to the general partner and its affiliates, as holders of incentive distribution rights, rather than to holders of common units as a return of capital.

 If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, current and potential unitholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our units.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports, prevent fraud and operate successfully as a public company. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our reputation and operating results would be harmed. We cannot be certain that our efforts to maintain our internal controls will be successful, that we will be able to maintain adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future or that we will be able to continue to comply with our obligations under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Any failure to maintain effective internal controls, or difficulties encountered in implementing or improving our internal controls, could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our units.

Tax Risks to Common Unitholders

Our tax treatment depends on our status as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and not being subject to a material amount of entity–level taxation by individual states. If the Internal Revenue Service treats us as a corporation or we become subject to a material amount of entity-level taxation for state tax purposes, it would reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

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. We have not requested, and do not plan to request, a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, which we refer to as the IRS, on this or any other tax matter affecting us.

If we were treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we would pay federal income tax on our taxable income at the corporate tax rate, which is currently a maximum of 35%, and would likely pay state income tax at varying rates. Distributions to you would generally be taxed again as corporate distributions, and no income, gains, losses or deductions would flow through to you. Because a tax would be imposed upon us as a corporation, our cash available for distribution to you would be substantially reduced. Therefore, treatment of us as a corporation would result in a material reduction in the anticipated cash flows and after–tax return to the unitholders, likely causing a substantial reduction in the value of our common units.

Current law may change so as to cause us to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or otherwise subject us to entity–level taxation. In addition, because of widespread state budget deficits and other reasons, several states are evaluating ways to subject partnerships to entity–level taxation through the imposition of state income, franchise and other forms of taxation. For example, in Texas, we are now subject to an entity level tax at a maximum effective rate of 0.7% on the portion of our income that is apportioned to Texas. Imposition of such a tax on us by Texas, or any other state, will reduce the cash available for distribution to a unitholder.

The partnership agreement provides that if a law is enacted or existing law is modified or interpreted in a manner that subjects us to taxation as a corporation or otherwise subjects us to entity-level taxation for federal, state or local income tax purposes, the minimum quarterly distribution amount and the target distribution levels will be adjusted to reflect the impact of that law on us.

An IRS contest of our U.S. federal income tax positions may adversely affect the market for our common units, and the cost of any IRS contest will reduce our cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

We have not requested a ruling from the IRS with respect to our treatment as a partnership for federal income tax purposes or any other matter affecting us. It may be necessary to resort to administrative or court proceedings to sustain some or all of our counsel’s conclusions or the positions we take. A court may not agree with all of our counsel’s conclusions or positions we take. Any contest with the IRS may materially and adversely impact the market for our common units and the price at which they trade. In addition, costs incurred in any contest with the IRS will be borne indirectly by our unitholders and our general partner because the costs will reduce our cash available for distribution.

You may be required to pay taxes on income from us even if you do not receive any cash distributions from us.

Because our unitholders will be treated as partners to whom we will allocate taxable income which could be different in amount than the cash we distribute, you will be required to pay any federal income taxes and, in some cases, state and local income taxes on your share of our taxable income even if you receive no cash distributions from us. You may not receive cash distributions from us equal to your share of our taxable income or even equal to the tax liability that results from that income.

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

If you sell your common units, you will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and your tax basis in those common units. Prior distributions to you in excess of the total net taxable income you were allocated for a common unit, which decreased your tax basis in that common unit, will, in effect, become taxable income to you if the common unit is sold at a price greater than your tax basis in that common unit, even if the price is less than your original cost. A substantial portion of the amount realized, whether or not representing gain, may be ordinary income. In addition, if you sell your units, you may incur a tax liability in excess of the amount of cash you receive from the sale.

Tax–exempt entities and foreign persons face unique tax issues from owning common units that may result in adverse tax consequences to them.

Investment in common units by tax–exempt entities, such as individual retirement accounts (known as IRAs), other retirement plans and non–U.S. persons 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. Distributions to non–U.S. persons will be reduced by withholding taxes at the highest applicable effective tax rate, and non–U.S. persons will be required to file U.S. federal tax returns and pay tax on their share of our taxable income.

We will treat each purchaser of our common units as having the same tax benefits without regard to the actual common units purchased. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could adversely affect the value of the common units.

Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of common units and because of other reasons, we will take depreciation and amortization positions that may not conform to all aspects of existing Treasury regulations. A successful IRS challenge to those positions could adversely affect the amount of tax benefits available to you. It also could affect the timing of these tax benefits or the amount of gain from the sale of common units and could have a negative impact on the value of our common units or result in audit adjustments to your tax returns.

The sale or exchange of 50% or more of our capital and profits interests during any twelve–month period will result in the termination of our partnership for federal income tax purposes.

We will be considered to have terminated our partnership for federal income tax purposes if there is a sale or exchange of 50% or more of the total interests in our capital and profits within a twelve–month period. For example, an exchange of 50% of our capital and profits could occur if, in any twelve–month period, holders of our common units sell at least 50% of the interests in our capital and profits. Our termination would, among other things, result in the closing of our taxable year for all unitholders and could result in a deferral of depreciation deductions allowable in computing our taxable income.

Unitholders may be subject to state and local taxes and tax return filing requirements in states where they do not live as a result of investing in our common units.

In addition to federal income taxes, you will likely be subject to other taxes, including Medicare, state and local taxes, unincorporated business taxes and estate, inheritance or intangible taxes that are imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we do business or own property, even if you do not live in any of those jurisdictions. You will likely be required to file state and local income tax returns and pay state and local income taxes in some or all of these jurisdictions. Further, you may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. We own assets and do business in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Each of these states, other than Texas, currently imposes a personal income tax. As we make acquisitions or expand our business, we may own assets or do business in additional states that impose a personal income tax. It is your responsibility to file all U.S. federal, foreign, state and local tax returns.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Information regarding our properties is contained in “Item 1. Business — Oil and Natural Gas Producing Activities and — Our Oil and Natural Gas Data” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations” contained herein.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are involved in disputes or legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe the outcome of such disputes or legal actions will have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements, and no amounts have been accrued at December 31, 2013.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED UNITHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common units are traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “EVEP.” At the close of business on February 14, 2014, based upon information received from our transfer agent and brokers and nominees, we had 213 common unitholders of record. This number does not include owners for whom common units may be held in “street” names.

The following table sets forth the range of the daily high and low sales prices per common unit and cash distributions to common unitholders for 2013 and 2012:

Cash Distributions to Unitholders

We intend to continue to make cash distributions to unitholders on a quarterly basis, although there is no assurance as to the future cash distributions since they are dependent upon future earnings, cash flows, capital requirements, financial condition and other factors. Our credit agreement prohibits us from making cash distributions if any potential default or event of default, as defined in the credit agreement, occurs or would result from the cash distribution.

Our partnership agreement requires that, within 45 days after the end of each quarter, we distribute all of our available cash (as defined in our partnership agreement) to unitholders of record on the applicable record date. The amount of available cash generally is all cash on hand at the end of the quarter:

Working capital borrowings are borrowings used solely for working capital purposes or to pay distributions to unitholders.

Our general partner is entitled to 2% of all quarterly distributions that we make prior to our liquidation. Our general partner has the right, but not the obligation, to contribute a proportionate amount of capital to us to maintain its current general partner interest. The general partner’s initial 2% interest in these distributions will be reduced if we issue additional units in the future and our general partner does not contribute a proportionate share of capital to us to maintain its 2% general partnership interest. When we issued common units in the past, our general partner contributed to us an amount of cash necessary to maintain its 2% interest.

Our general partner also holds IDRs that entitle it to receive increasing percentages, up to a maximum of 25%, of the cash we distribute from operating surplus (as defined in our partnership agreement) in excess of the minimum quarterly distribution rate per unit per quarter. The maximum distribution percentage of 25% includes distributions paid to our general partner on its 2% general partner interest and assumes that our general partner maintains its general partner interest at 2%. The maximum distribution percentage of 25% does not include any distributions that our general partner may receive on common units that it owns. For additional information on our distributions, please see Note 12 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Our partnership agreement requires that we make distributions of available cash from operating surplus for any quarter in the following manner:

Our general partner is entitled to incentive distributions if the amount we distribute with respect to one quarter exceeds specified target levels shown below:

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.