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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 22, 2019
Registration No. 333-            

 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

SUNOCO LP
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 
			
Delaware	 	30-0740483	
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)	 	(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)	
8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 400
Dallas, Texas 75225
(214) 981-0700
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Thomas R. Miller
Sunoco GP LLC
8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 400
Dallas, Texas 75225
(214) 981-0700
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copy to:
Jordan Hirsch
Philip M. Haines
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
600 Travis, Suite 4200
Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 220-4200

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.
If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box.  ☐
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box.  ☒
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	 	☒	  		 	Accelerated filer	 	☐	
					
Non-accelerated filer	 	☐	  		 	Smaller reporting company	 	☐	
					
	 		  		 	Emerging growth company	 	☐	
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of Securities Act.  ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 	
Title of Each Class of
Securities to Be Registered	 	Amount
to be
Registered	 	Proposed
Maximum
Offering Price
per Share	 	Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering Price	 	Amount of
Registration Fee	
Common Units Representing Limited Partner Interests	 	(1)	 	(2)	 	$300,000,000 (3)	 	$530.31 (4)(5)	

(1)	There is being registered hereunder a presently indeterminate number of common units.	
(2)	The proposed maximum offering price for each common unit to be registered is not specified pursuant to General Instruction II.D of Form S-3.	
(3)	Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act). In no event will the aggregate offering price of all common units offered from time to time pursuant to the prospectus included as a part of this Registration Statement exceed $300,000,000.	
(4)	Calculated in accordance with Rule 457(o) and paid herewith.	
(5)	This Registration Statement includes common units with an aggregate offering price of $295,624,531, the issuance of which was previously registered pursuant to Registration Statement No. 333-213057 and which remain unsold. Pursuant to Rule 415(a)(6) of the Securities Act, the filing fee previously paid in connection with such unsold common units will continue to be applied to such unsold common units. As a result, a filing fee of $530.31 is being paid herewith in connection with the registration of new common units with an aggregate offering price of $4,375,469.	
Pursuant to Rule 415(a)(6) of the Securities Act, the offering of unsold common units under Registration Statement No. 333-213057 will be deemed terminated as of the date of effectiveness of this Registration Statement. If the registrant sells any of such unsold common units pursuant to Registration Statement No. 333-213057 after the date of initial filing, and prior to the date of effectiveness, of this Registration Statement, the registrant will file a pre-effective amendment to this Registration Statement, which will reduce the number of such unsold common units included on this Registration Statement.

The registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale of these securities is not permitted.
 
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED AUGUST 22, 2019
PROSPECTUS

Common Units
Representing Limited Partner Interests

We may from time to time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell common units representing limited partner interests in us, or common units, in an amount up to $300,000,000 in aggregate initial offering price. Our common units are listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the symbol “SUN.”
We may offer and sell these common units to or through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers, on a continuous or delayed basis and in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions and other factors at the time of our offerings. This prospectus describes only the general terms of these common units and the general manner in which we will offer them. The specific terms of any common units that we offer will be included in a supplement to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement will describe the specific manner in which we will offer the common units, and also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus.
You should carefully read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement before you invest in our common units. You also should read the documents to which we have referred you in the “Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference” Section of this prospectus for additional information about us. This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of our common units unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

INVESTING IN OUR COMMON UNITS INVOLVES RISKS. LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS ARE INHERENTLY DIFFERENT FROM CORPORATIONS. YOU SHOULD CAREFULLY CONSIDER EACH OF THE RISK FACTORS REFERRED TO UNDER “RISK FACTORS” ON PAGE 6 OF THIS PROSPECTUS, CONTAINED IN THE APPLICABLE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT, OUR MOST RECENT ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K AND IN OUR OTHER REPORTS WE FILE WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION THAT ARE INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE HEREIN BEFORE YOU MAKE AN INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMON UNITS.
Our common units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SUN.” On August 21, 2019, the last reported sale price of our common units on the New York Stock Exchange was $31.08.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is                     , 2019

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS	  	 	1	 	
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION	  	 	2	 	
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE	  	 	2	 	
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	  	 	4	 	
ABOUT SUNOCO LP	  	 	5	 	
RISK FACTORS	  	 	6	 	
USE OF PROCEEDS	  	 	7	 	
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON UNITS	  	 	8	 	
OUR CASH DISTRIBUTION POLICY	  	 	10	 	
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND FIDUCIARY DUTIES	  	 	18	 	
OUR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT	  	 	26	 	
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES	  	 	40	 	
INVESTMENT IN SUNOCO LP BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS	  	 	57	 	
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION	  	 	58	 	
LEGAL MATTERS	  	 	61	 	
EXPERTS	  	 	61	 	
 
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. By using a shelf registration statement, we may sell our common units from time to time and in one or more offerings as described in this prospectus. Each time that we offer and sell our common units, we will provide a prospectus supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus with respect to that offering. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and the prospectus supplement relating to an offering, you should rely on the prospectus supplement. Before purchasing any common units, you should carefully read both this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, together with the additional information described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference.”
We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We will not make an offer to sell these common units in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement to this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on its cover and that any information incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, unless we indicate otherwise. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. This prospectus incorporates by reference, and any prospectus supplement may contain and incorporate by reference, market data and industry statistics and forecasts that are based on independent industry publications and other publicly available information. Although we believe these sources are reliable, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information and we have not independently verified this information. In addition, the market and industry data and forecasts that may be included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement may involve estimates, assumptions and other risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, and under similar headings in other documents that are or may be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on this information.
When we refer to “SUN,”“we,” “our,” “us,” and the “Partnership” in this prospectus, we mean Sunoco LP and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise specified. References in this prospectus to: (i) our “general partner” refer to Sunoco GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and the general partner of the Partnership; (ii) “ETO” refer to Energy Transfer Operating, L.P., a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership; (iii) “ET” refer to Energy Transfer LP, a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership that owns and controls the general partner of ETO and our general partner; and (iv) “PropCo” refer to Susser Petroleum Property Company LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and our wholly owned subsidiary, that is subject to federal and state income tax and pays income taxes related to the results of its operations.
 
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information about issuers, such as us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is http://www.sec.gov. Our website address is http://www.sunocolp.com. The information on our website or any other website, however, is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of this prospectus.
This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC and do not contain all of the information in the registration statement. The full registration statement may be obtained from the SEC or us, as provided below. Documents establishing the terms of the offered securities are or may be filed as exhibits to the registration statement or documents incorporated by reference in the registration statement. Statements in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement about these documents are summaries and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You should refer to the actual documents for a more complete description of the relevant matters. You may inspect a copy of the registration statement through the SEC’s website, as provided above.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC’s rules allow us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus, or subsequent information that we file with the SEC will automatically update or supersede that information. Any statement contained in this prospectus or a previously filed document incorporated by reference will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or a subsequently filed document incorporated by reference modifies or replaces that statement.
This prospectus incorporates by reference the documents set forth below that have previously been filed with the SEC (excluding information deemed to be furnished and not filed with the SEC):
 
 	•	 	our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed on February 22, 2019;	
 
 	•	 	our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2019, filed on May 9, 2019, and June 30, 2019, filed on August 8, 2019;	
 
 	•	 	our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on January 25, 2019, March 14, 2019, April  29, 2019 and July 26, 2019; and	
 
 	•	 	the description of our common units contained in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed on September 17, 2012, and any subsequently filed amendments and reports updating such description.	
All reports and other documents we subsequently file pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (as amended, the “Exchange Act”), prior to the termination of this offering but excluding any information furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, will also be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and deemed to be part of this prospectus from the date of the filing of such reports and documents.
 
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You may obtain any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus from the SEC through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. You also may request a copy of any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus (including exhibits to those documents specifically incorporated by reference in this document), at no cost, by visiting our internet website at http://www.sunocolp.com, or by writing or calling us at the address set forth below. Information on our website or on the SEC’s website is not incorporated into this prospectus or our other securities filings and is not a part of prospectus.
Sunoco LP
Attn: Investor Relations
8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 400
Dallas, Texas 75225
(214) 981-0700
IR@Sunocolp.com
Exhibits to the filings will not be sent, however, unless those exhibits have specifically been incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement.
You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with any information. We are not making an offer of our common units in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document containing the information.
 
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and certain information we incorporate by reference contain statements that are “forward-looking” statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this report are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by use of phrases such as “believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “forecast” or other similar words or phrases. Descriptions of our objectives, goals, targets, plans, strategies, costs, anticipated capital expenditures, expected cost savings and benefits are also forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current plans and expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to vary materially from the results and events anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements, including:
 
 	•	 	our ability to make, complete and integrate acquisitions from affiliates or third-parties;	
 
 	•	 	business strategy and operations of ETO and ET and their respective conflicts of interest with us;	
 
 	•	 	changes in the price of and demand for the motor fuel that we distribute and our ability to appropriately hedge any motor fuel we hold in inventory;	
 
 	•	 	our dependence on limited principal suppliers;	
 
 	•	 	competition in the wholesale motor fuel distribution and retail store industry;	
 
 	•	 	changing customer preferences for alternate fuel sources or improvement in fuel efficiency;	
 
 	•	 	changes in our credit rating, as assigned by rating agencies;	
 
 	•	 	a deterioration in the credit and/or capital markets;	
 
 	•	 	environmental, tax and other federal, state and local laws and regulations;	
 
 	•	 	the fact that we are not fully insured against all risk incidents to our business;	
 
 	•	 	dangers inherent in the storage and transportation of motor fuel;	
 
 	•	 	our ability to manage growth and/or control costs;	
 
 	•	 	our reliance on senior management, supplier trade credit and information technology; and	
 
 	•	 	our partnership structure, which may create conflicts of interest between us and our general partner, and its affiliates, and limits the fiduciary duties of our general partner and its affiliates.	
All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements.
Other factors described herein or incorporated by reference, or factors that are unknown or unpredictable, could also have a material adverse effect on future results. Please carefully read “Risk Factors” beginning on page 6 if this prospectus, the risk factors included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any risk factors included in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K and those that may be included in an applicable prospectus supplement, as well as risks described in all of the information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement and in the documents we incorporated by reference.
The list of factors that could affect future performance and the accuracy of forward-looking statements is illustrative but by no means exhaustive. Accordingly, all forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. The forward-looking statements included in this prospectus are based on, and include, our estimates as of the date hereof. We anticipate that subsequent events and market developments will cause our estimates to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so except as required by law, even if new information becomes available in the future.
 
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ABOUT SUNOCO LP
We are a Delaware master limited partnership primarily engaged in the distribution of motor fuels to independent dealers, distributors, and other customers and the distribution of motor fuels to end customers at retail sites operated by commission agents. In addition, we receive rental income through the leasing or subleasing of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels. We also operate 75 retail stores located in Hawaii and New Jersey.
We are managed by our general partner. As of June 30, 2019, ETO, a consolidated subsidiary of ET, owned 100% of the membership interests in our general partner, all of our incentive distribution rights and approximately 34.4% of our common units, which constitutes a 28.7% limited partner interest in us.
We believe we are one of the largest independent motor fuel distributors by gallons in the United States and one of the largest distributors of Chevron, Exxon, and Valero branded motor fuel in the United States. In addition to distributing motor fuel, we also distribute other petroleum products such as propane and lubricating oil.
We purchase motor fuel primarily from independent refiners and major oil companies and distribute it across more than 30 states throughout the East Coast, Midwest, South Central and Southeast regions of the United States, as well as Hawaii, to approximately:
 
 	•	 	75 company-owned and operated retail stores;	
 
 	•	 	551 independently operated commission agent locations where we sell motor fuel to retail customers under commission arrangements with such operators;	
 
 	•	 	6,726 retail stores operated by independent operators, which we refer to as “dealers” or “distributors,” pursuant to long-term distribution agreements; and	
 
 	•	 	2,441 other commercial customers, including unbranded retail stores, other fuel distributors, school districts, municipalities and other industrial customers.	
As of June 30, 2019, we operated 75 retail stores. Our retail stores operate under several brands, including our proprietary brands APlus and Aloha Island Mart, and offer a broad selection of food, beverages, snacks, grocery and non-food merchandise, motor fuels and other services.
Principal Executive Offices
Our principal executive offices are located at 8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 400, Dallas, Texas 75225, and our telephone number is (214) 981-0700.
For additional information as to our business, properties and financial condition, please read “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Documents By Reference.”
 
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RISK FACTORS
An investment in our common units involves risks. You should carefully consider all of the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and additional information which may be incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement in the future as provided under “Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference,” including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including the risk factors described under “Risk Factors” in such reports. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please read “Forward-Looking Statements.” Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks described elsewhere in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any prospectus supplement.
If any of these risks were to materialize, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. In that case, we may be unable to pay distributions to our unitholders. In that event, the trading price of our common units could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.
 
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USE OF PROCEEDS
Except as otherwise provided in any applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the common units offered by this prospectus for general partnership purposes, which may include repayment or repurchase of outstanding indebtedness, the acquisition of businesses, other capital expenditures and additions to working capital. Any specific allocation of the net proceeds of an offering of our common units to a specific purpose will be determined at the time of the offering and will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF COMMON UNITS
The Common Units
The common units represent limited partner interests in Sunoco LP. The holders of common units are entitled to participate in partnership distributions and exercise the rights and privileges available to limited partners under our partnership agreement. For a description of the relative rights and preferences of holders of common units in and to partnership distributions, please read this section and “Our Cash Distribution Policy.” For a description of the rights and privileges of limited partners under our partnership agreement, including voting rights, please read “Our Partnership Agreement.”
Our common units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SUN.”
Transfer Agent and Registrar
Duties
Computershare Trust Company, N.A. serves as registrar and transfer agent for our common units. We pay all fees charged by the transfer agent for transfers of common units except the following that must be paid by our unitholders:
 
 	•	 	surety bond premiums to replace lost or stolen certificates or to cover taxes and other governmental charges;	
 
 	•	 	special charges for services requested by a common unitholder; and	
 
 	•	 	other similar fees or charges.	
There is no charge to our unitholders for disbursements of our cash distributions. We indemnify the transfer agent, its agents and each of their respective stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for their activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.
Resignation or Removal
The transfer agent may resign by notice to us or be removed by us. The resignation or removal of the transfer agent will become effective upon our appointment of a successor transfer agent and registrar and its acceptance of the appointment. If no successor has been appointed and has accepted the appointment within 30 days after notice of the resignation or removal, our general partner may act as the transfer agent and registrar until a successor is appointed.
Transfer of Common Units
Common units are securities and are transferable according to the laws governing transfers of securities. In addition to other rights acquired upon transfer, the transferor gives the transferee the right to become a substituted limited partner in our partnership for the transferred common units.
Upon a transfer of common units in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of common units will be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer and admission is reflected in our books and records. Until a common unit has been transferred on our books, we and the transfer agent may treat the record holder of the common unit as the absolute owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange regulations. Our general partner will cause any transfers to be recorded on our books and records no less frequently than quarterly. Each transferee:
 
 	•	 	represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to become bound by our partnership agreement;	
 
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 	•	 	automatically agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of, and is deemed to have executed, our partnership agreement; and	
 
 	•	 	gives the consents, waivers and approvals contained in our partnership agreement.	
We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of a common unit as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holder’s rights are limited solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the nominee holder.
 
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OUR CASH DISTRIBUTION POLICY
Our partnership agreement requires that, within 60 days after the end of each quarter, we will distribute all of our available cash to unitholders of record on the applicable record date.
Definition of Available Cash
Available cash, for any quarter, generally consists of all cash and cash equivalents on hand at the end of that quarter:
 
 	•	 	less, the amount of cash reserves that our general partner establishes to:	
 
 	•	 	provide for the proper conduct of our business;	
 
 	•	 	comply with applicable law, any of our debt instruments or other agreements or any other obligation; or	
 
 	•	 	provide funds for distributions to our unitholders for any one or more of the next four quarters;	
 
 	•	 	plus, if our general partner so determines on the date of determination, all or any portion of the cash on hand immediately prior to the date of distribution of available cash for the quarter, including cash on hand resulting from working capital borrowings made after the end of the quarter.	
The purpose and effect of the last bullet point above is to allow our general partner, if it so decides, to use cash received by us after the end of the quarter but on or before the date of distribution of available cash for that quarter, including cash on hand resulting from working capital borrowings made after the end of the quarter, to pay distributions to unitholders. Under our partnership agreement, working capital borrowings are borrowings that are made under a credit agreement, commercial paper facility or similar financing arrangement with the intent to repay such borrowings within twelve months from sources other than additional working capital borrowings, and that are used solely for working capital purposes or to pay distributions to partners.
Intent to Distribute the Minimum Quarterly Distribution
We intend to distribute to the holders of common units at least the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.4375 per unit, or $1.75 on an annualized basis (the “minimum quarterly distribution”), to the extent we have sufficient cash from our operations after establishment of cash reserves and payment of fees and expenses, including payments to our general partner and its affiliates. However, there is no guarantee that we will pay the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units in any quarter. Even if our cash distribution policy is not modified or revoked, the amount of distributions paid under our policy and the decision to make any distribution is determined by our general partner, taking into consideration the terms of our partnership agreement.
Class C Units
Our partnership agreement provides that our Class C units are entitled to receive quarterly distributions at a rate of $0.868176 per Class C unit. The distributions on the Class C units will be paid out of our available cash, except that the Class C units will not share in distributions of cash to the extent such cash is derived from or attributable to any distribution received by us from PropCo, the proceeds of any sale of the membership interests in PropCo, or any interest or principal payments received by us with respect to indebtedness of PropCo or its subsidiaries (the “PropCo available cash”). The Class C units are entitled to receive distributions of our available cash (other than PropCo available cash) prior to distributions of such cash being made on our common units. Any unpaid distributions on the Class C units will accrue interest at a rate of 1.5% per annum until paid in full in cash. The Class C units are perpetual and do not have any rights of redemption or conversion.
 
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Series A Preferred Units
Our partnership agreement includes provisions with respect to Series A preferred units that were originally issued on March 30, 2017 and rank senior to our common units with respect to the payment of distributions and distribution of assets upon liquidation, dissolution and winding up. On January 25, 2018, the Partnership redeemed all outstanding Series A preferred units.
General Partner Interest and Incentive Distribution Rights
Our general partner owns a non-economic general partner interest. ETO holds all of our incentive distribution rights (“IDRs”), which entitle ETO to receive increasing percentages, up to a maximum of 50.0%, of the cash that we distribute from operating surplus (as defined below) in excess of $0.503125 per common unit per quarter. The maximum distribution of 50.0% does not include any distributions that ETO may receive on any limited partner units that it owns.
Operating Surplus and Capital Surplus
All cash distributed to our unitholders is characterized as being paid from either “operating surplus” or “capital surplus.” We distribute available cash from operating surplus differently than available cash from capital surplus. Operating surplus distributions will be made to our unitholders and, if we make quarterly distributions above the first target distribution level described below, to the holder of our IDRs. We do not anticipate that we will make any distributions from capital surplus. In such an event, however, any capital surplus distribution would generally be made first to the holders of Class C units, pro rata, of the amount of accrued and unpaid distributions, and then pro rata to all unitholders.
Definition of Operating Surplus
Operating surplus for any period generally means:
 
 	•	 	$25.0 million (as described below); plus	
 
 	•	 	all of our cash receipts, excluding cash from interim capital transactions (as defined below), provided that cash receipts from the termination of any hedge contract prior to its stipulated settlement or termination date will be included in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such hedge contract had it not been terminated; plus	
 
 	•	 	working capital borrowings made after the end of a period but on or before the date of distribution of operating surplus for that period; plus	
 
 	•	 	cash distributions paid on equity issued (including incremental distributions on IDRs), to finance all or a portion of expansion capital expenditures in respect of the period from the date that we enter into a binding obligation to commence the construction, acquisition or improvement of a capital asset until the earlier to occur of the date the capital asset commences commercial service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of; plus	
 
 	•	 	cash distributions paid on equity issued (including incremental distributions on IDRs), to pay the construction period interest on debt incurred, or to pay construction period distributions on equity issued, to finance the expansion capital expenditures referred to above, in each case, in respect of the period from the date that we enter into a binding obligation to commence the construction, acquisition or improvement of a capital asset until the earlier to occur of the date the capital asset is placed in service and the date that it is abandoned or disposed of; less	
 
 	•	 	all of our operating expenditures (as defined below); less	
 
 	•	 	the amount of cash reserves established by our general partner to provide funds for future operating expenditures; less	
 
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 	•	 	all working capital borrowings not repaid within twelve months after having been incurred, or repaid within such twelve-month period with the proceeds of additional working capital borrowings; less	
 
 	•	 	any cash loss realized on the disposition of an investment capital expenditure.	
As described above, operating surplus does not reflect actual cash on hand that is available for distribution to our unitholders and is not limited to cash generated by our operations. For example, it includes a basket of $25.0 million that enables us, if we choose, to distribute as operating surplus up to that amount of cash we receive from non-operating sources such as asset sales, issuances of securities and long-term borrowings that would otherwise be distributed as capital surplus. In addition, the effect of including certain cash distributions on equity interests in operating surplus, as described above, will be to increase operating surplus by the amount of any such cash distributions. As a result, we may also distribute as operating surplus up to that amount of cash that we receive from non-operating sources.
The proceeds of working capital borrowings increase operating surplus and repayments of working capital borrowings are generally operating expenditures, as described below, and thus reduce operating surplus when made. However, if a working capital borrowing is not repaid during the twelve-month period following the borrowing, it will be deemed repaid at the end of such period, thus decreasing operating surplus at such time. When such working capital borrowing is in fact repaid, it will be excluded from operating expenditures because operating surplus will have been previously reduced by the deemed repayment.
We define operating expenditures as all of its cash expenditures, including, but not limited to, taxes, reimbursement of expenses to our general partner or its affiliates, payments made in the ordinary course of business under interest rate hedge agreements or commodity hedge agreements (provided that (1) payments made in connection with the initial purchase of an interest rate hedge contract or a commodity hedge contract will be amortized over the life of the applicable interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract and (2) payments made in connection with the termination of any interest rate hedge contract or commodity hedge contract prior to its stipulated settlement or termination date will be included in operating expenditures in equal quarterly installments over the remaining scheduled life of such contract), compensation of officers, directors and employees of our general partner, repayment of working capital borrowings, debt service payments and maintenance capital expenditures (as discussed in further detail below), provided that operating expenditures do not include:
 
 	•	 	repayment of working capital borrowings deducted from operating surplus pursuant to the penultimate bullet point of the definition of operating surplus above when such repayment actually occurs;	
 
 	•	 	payments (including prepayments and prepayment penalties) of principal of and premium on indebtedness other than working capital borrowings;	
 
 	•	 	expansion capital expenditures;	
 
 	•	 	investment capital expenditures;	
 
 	•	 	payment of transaction expenses relating to interim capital transactions;	
 
 	•	 	distributions to our partners (including distributions in respect of our IDRs); or	
 
 	•	 	repurchases of equity interests (other than repurchases to satisfy obligations under employee benefit plans) or reimbursements of our general partner for such purchases.	
Interim Capital Transactions
We define cash from interim capital transactions to include proceeds from:
 
 	•	 	borrowings other than working capital borrowings;	
 
 	•	 	sales of equity and debt securities; and	
 
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 	•	 	sales or other dispositions of assets, other than inventory, accounts receivable and other assets sold in the ordinary course of business or assets sold or disposed of as part of normal retirement or replacement of assets.	
Capital Surplus
Capital surplus is defined as any distribution of available cash in excess of operating surplus. Although the cash proceeds from interim capital transactions do not increase operating surplus, all distributions of available cash from whatever source are deemed to be from operating surplus until cumulative distributions of available cash exceed cumulative operating surplus. Thereafter, all distributions of available cash are deemed to be from capital surplus to the extent they continue to exceed cumulative operating surplus.
Characterization of Cash Distributions
We will treat all available cash distributed as coming from operating surplus until the sum of all available cash distributed since the closing of our initial public offering equals the operating surplus as of the most recent date of determination of available cash. We will treat any amount distributed in excess of operating surplus, regardless of its source, as capital surplus. As reflected above, operating surplus includes $25.0 million in addition to our cash balance on the closing date of our initial public offering, cash receipts from our operations and cash from working capital borrowings. This amount does not reflect actual cash on hand that is available for distribution to our unitholders. Rather, it is a provision that will enable us, if we choose, to distribute as operating surplus up to $25.0 million of cash we receive in the future from interim capital transactions that would otherwise be distributed as capital surplus. We do not anticipate that we will make any distributions from capital surplus.
Capital Expenditures
Maintenance capital expenditures reduce operating surplus, but expansion capital expenditures and investment capital expenditures do not. Under our partnership agreement, maintenance capital expenditures are capital expenditures made to maintain our long-term operating income or operating capacity, while expansion capital expenditures are capital expenditures that we expect will increase its operating income or operating capacity over the long term. Examples of maintenance capital expenditures include those expenditures we make to maintain existing contract volumes or renew existing distribution contracts, maintain its real estate leased to third-party dealers in leaseable condition or maintain its company operated convenience stores. Maintenance capital expenditures also include interest (and related fees) on debt incurred and distributions in respect of equity issued (including incremental distributions on IDRs), other than equity issued in any offering, to finance all or any portion of the construction or development of a replacement asset that are paid in respect of the period that begins when we enter into a binding obligation to commence construction or development of a replacement asset and ending on the earlier to occur of the date that such replacement asset commences commercial service and the date that it is disposed of or abandoned. Capital expenditures made solely for investment purposes are not considered maintenance capital expenditures.
Expansion capital expenditures are capital expenditures made to increase our operating capacity over the long term. Examples of expansion capital expenditures include the acquisition of new properties or equipment, to the extent such capital expenditures are expected to expand our long-term operating capacity. Expansion capital expenditures also include interest (and related fees) on debt incurred and distributions in respect of equity issued (including incremental distributions on IDRs) to finance all or any portion of the construction of a capital improvement paid in respect of the period that commences when we enter into a binding obligation to commence construction of a capital improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of the date such capital improvement commences commercial service and the date that it is disposed of or abandoned. Capital expenditures made solely for investment purposes are not be considered expansion capital expenditures.
 
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Investment capital expenditures are those capital expenditures that are neither maintenance capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures. Investment capital expenditures largely consist of capital expenditures made for investment purposes. Examples of investment capital expenditures include traditional capital expenditures for investment purposes, such as purchases of securities, as well as other capital expenditures that might be made in lieu of such traditional investment capital expenditures, such as the acquisition of a capital asset for investment purposes or the development of assets that are in excess of those needed for the maintenance of our existing operating capacity, but which are not expected to expand, for more than the short term, its operating capacity.
As described above, neither investment capital expenditures nor expansion capital expenditures are included in operating expenditures, and thus do not reduce operating surplus. Because expansion capital expenditures include interest payments (and related fees) on debt incurred to finance all or a portion of the construction, acquisition or development of a capital improvement during the period that begins when we enter into a binding obligation to commence construction, acquisition or development of a capital improvement and ending on the earlier to occur of the date such capital improvement commences commercial service and the date that it is disposed of or abandoned, such interest payments also do not reduce operating surplus. Losses on the disposition of an investment capital expenditure will reduce operating surplus when realized and cash receipts from an investment capital expenditure will be treated as a cash receipt for purposes of calculating operating surplus only to the extent the cash receipt is a return on principal.
Capital expenditures that are made in part for maintenance capital purposes, investment capital purposes and/or expansion capital purposes are allocated as maintenance capital expenditures, investment capital expenditures or expansion capital expenditure by our general partner.
Distributions of Available Cash from Operating Surplus
We will make distributions of available cash from operating surplus for any quarter in the following manner:
 
 	•	 	first, to the holders of our Class C units to the extent of the distribution preference on the Class C units, as described above under “Our Cash Distribution Policy—Class C Units.”	
 
 	•	 	second, to all of our unitholders holding common units, pro rata, until we distribute for each outstanding common unit an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution for that quarter; and	
 
 	•	 	thereafter, in the manner as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “—Incentive Distribution Rights” below.	
The preceding discussion is based on the assumption that we do not issue additional classes of equity interests.
General Partner Interest
Our general partner owns a non-economic general partner interest in us, which does not entitle it to receive cash distributions. However, our general partner may in the future own common units or other equity interests in us, and will be entitled to receive distributions on such interests.
Incentive Distribution Rights
IDRs represent the right to receive an increasing percentage (15.0%, 25.0% and 50.0%) of quarterly distributions of available cash from operating surplus after the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels have been achieved. ETO currently holds all of our IDRs, but may transfer these rights, subject to restrictions in our partnership agreement.
 
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The following discussion assumes that ETO continues to own our IDRs.
If for any quarter we have distributed available cash from operating surplus to the holders of our Class C units to the extent of their distribution preference and to our common unitholders in an amount equal to the minimum quarterly distribution then we will make distributions of available cash from operating surplus for that quarter in the following manner:
 
 	•	 	first, to all unitholders holding common units, pro rata, until each unitholder receives a total of $0.503125 per common unit for that quarter (the “first target distribution”);	
 
 	•	 	second, 85.0% to all unitholders holding common units, pro rata, and 15.0% to ETO (in its capacity as the holder of our IDRs), until each unitholder receives a total of $0.546875 per common unit for that quarter (the “second target distribution”);	
 
 	•	 	third, 75.0% to all unitholders holding common units, pro rata, and 25.0% to ETO (in its capacity as the holder of our IDRs), until each unitholder receives a total of $0.65625 per common unit for that quarter (the “third target distribution”); and	
 
 	•	 	thereafter, 50.0% to all unitholders holding common units, pro rata, and 50.0% to ETO (in its capacity as the holder of our IDRs).	
Distributions from Capital Surplus
We will make distributions of available cash from capital surplus, if any, in the following manner once the required distributions of available cash (other than PropCo available cash) are made to the Class C unitholders:
 
 	•	 	first, to all unitholders holding common units, pro rata, until the minimum quarterly distribution level has been reduced to zero as described below; and	
 
 	•	 	thereafter, we will make all distributions of available cash from capital surplus as if they were from operating surplus.	
The preceding paragraph assumes that we do not issue additional classes of equity interests.
Our partnership agreement treats a distribution of capital surplus as the repayment of the initial unit price from our initial public offering, which is a return of capital. The initial public offering price less any distributions of capital surplus per unit is referred to as the “unrecovered initial unit price.” Each time a distribution of capital surplus is made, the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels will be reduced in the same proportion that the distribution had to the fair market value of our common units immediately prior to the announcement of the distribution (or the average of the closing prices for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately prior to the ex-dividend date). Because distributions of capital surplus will reduce our minimum quarterly distribution and target distribution levels after any of these distributions are made, it may be easier for ETO (in its capacity as the holder of our IDRs) to receive incentive distributions.
Once we distribute capital surplus on a unit in an amount equal to the initial unit price, we will reduce the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels to zero. We will then make all future distributions from operating surplus, first, to the holders of Class C units to the extent required, and then, 50% being paid to the holders of our common units and 50% to ETO (in its capacity as the holder of our IDRs), assuming that ETO has not transferred the IDRs.
Adjustment to the Minimum Quarterly Distribution and Target Distribution Levels
In addition to adjusting the minimum quarterly distribution and target distribution levels to reflect a distribution of capital surplus, if we combine our units into fewer units or subdivide units into a greater number of units, we will proportionately adjust:
 
 	•	 	the minimum quarterly distribution;	
 
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 	•	 	the target distribution levels; and	
 
 	•	 	the unrecovered initial unit price.	
For example, if a two-for-one split of common units should occur, the minimum quarterly distribution, the target distribution levels and the unrecovered initial unit price would each be reduced to 50% of its initial level. We will not make any adjustment by reason of the issuance of additional units for cash or property.
In addition, if legislation is enacted or if existing law is modified or interpreted by a governmental taxing authority, so that we become taxable as a corporation or otherwise subject to taxation as an entity for federal, state or local income tax purposes, it will reduce the minimum quarterly distribution and the target distribution levels for each quarter may, in the sole discretion of our general partner, be reduced by multiplying each distribution level by a fraction, the numerator of which is available cash for that quarter (reduced by the amount of the estimated tax liability for such quarter) and the denominator of which is the sum of available cash for that quarter before any adjustment for estimated taxes. To the extent that the actual tax liability differs from the estimated tax liability for any quarter, the difference will be accounted for in subsequent quarters.
Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation
General. If we dissolve in accordance with our partnership agreement, we will sell or otherwise dispose of our assets in a process called liquidation. We will first apply the proceeds of liquidation to the payment of its creditors. We will distribute any remaining proceeds to the unitholders and the holder of our IDRs, in accordance with their capital account balances, as adjusted to reflect any gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of its assets in liquidation.
The allocations of gain and loss upon liquidation are intended, to the extent possible, to permit holders of our common units to receive their unrecovered initial unit price plus the minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter during which liquidation occurs. However, there may not be sufficient gain upon our liquidation to enable our common unitholders to fully recover all of these amounts. Any further net gain recognized upon liquidation will be allocated in a manner that takes into account the IDRs.
Manner of Adjustments for Gain. The manner of the adjustment for gain is set forth in our partnership agreement. We will generally allocate any gain to its partners in the following manner:
 
 	•	 	first, to the holders of our Class C units, pro rata, until the capital account for each Class C unit is equal to the sum of: (1) the unrecovered initial unit price for that Class C unit; and (2) the unpaid amount of all accrued but unpaid distributions on that Class C unit;	
 
 	•	 	second, to all our common unitholders, pro rata, until the capital account for each common unit is equal to the sum of:	
 
 	•	 	the unrecovered initial unit price; and	
 
 	•	 	the unpaid amount of the minimum quarterly distribution for the quarter during which the liquidation occurs;	
 
 	•	 	third, to all our common unitholders, pro rata, until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to:	
 
 	•	 	the excess of the first target distribution per unit over the minimum quarterly distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less	
 
 	•	 	the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the minimum quarterly distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence that we distributed to the unitholders, pro rata;	
 
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 	•	 	fourth, 85.0% to all our common unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to ETO (in its capacity as the holder of our IDRs), until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to:	
 
 	•	 	the excess of the second target distribution per unit over the first target distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less	
 
 	•	 	the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the first target distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence that we distributed 85.0% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 15.0% to ETO (in its capacity as the holder of our IDRs);	
 
 	•	 	fifth, 75.0% to all our common unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to ETO (in its capacity as the holder of our IDRs), until we allocate under this paragraph an amount per unit equal to:	
 
 	•	 	the excess of the third target distribution per unit over the second target distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence; less	
 
 	•	 	the cumulative amount per unit of any distributions of available cash from operating surplus in excess of the second target distribution per unit for each quarter of our existence that we distributed 75.0% to the unitholders, pro rata, and 25.0% to ETO (in its capacity as the holder of our IDRs); and	
 
 	•	 	thereafter, 50.0% to all our common unitholders, pro rata, and 50.0% to ETO (in its capacity as the holder of our IDRs).	
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if immediately prior to making allocations pursuant to the fourth, fifth and sixth clauses above, the capital account of each common unit equals or exceeds the issue price of our Class C units ($38.5856), then we will allocate 1.0% of the remaining items of gain (other than gain attributable to PropCo) to the holders of Class C units, pro rata.
Manner of Adjustments for Losses
We will generally allocate any loss to our unitholders in the following manner:
 
 	•	 	first, to our common unitholders, pro rata, until the capital accounts of our common unitholders have been reduced to zero; and	
 
 	•	 	thereafter, to the holders of our Class C units, pro rata, until the capital accounts of the Class C units have been reduced to zero;	
provided, that Class C units will not be allocated any items of loss attributable to the ownership or sale of our membership interests in PropCo or any indebtedness of PropCo or its subsidiaries.
Adjustments to Capital Accounts
We will make adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units. In doing so, we generally will allocate any unrealized and, for tax purposes, unrecognized gain resulting from the adjustments to the unitholders and the holders of our IDRs in the same manner as we allocate gain upon liquidation. By contrast to the allocations of gain, and except as provided above, we generally will allocate any unrealized and unrecognized loss resulting from the adjustments to capital accounts upon the issuance of additional units to our common unitholders based on their percentage ownership in the Partnership. In the event we make negative adjustments to the capital accounts as a result of such loss, future positive adjustments resulting from the issuance of additional units will be allocated in a manner designed to reverse the prior negative adjustments, and special allocations will be made upon liquidation in a manner that results, to the extent possible, in our common unitholders’ capital account balances equaling the amounts they would have been if no earlier adjustments for loss had been made. The Class C units will not be allocated any items of gain or loss attributable to our ownership or sale of the membership interests in PropCo or any indebtedness of PropCo or its subsidiaries.
 
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CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND FIDUCIARY DUTIES
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest exist and may arise in the future as a result of the relationships between our general partner and its affiliates, including ET and ETO, on the one hand, and us and our public unitholders, on the other hand. Conflicts may arise as a result of the duties of our general partner to act for the benefit of its owners, which may conflict with our interests and the interests of our public unitholders. The directors and officers of our general partner, who are responsible for managing our business, have fiduciary duties to manage our general partner in a manner beneficial to its owners. At the same time, our general partner has a duty under our partnership agreement to manage us in good faith.
Whenever a conflict of interest arises between our general partner, on the one hand, and us or any other public unitholder, on the other hand, our general partner will resolve that conflict of interest. Our partnership agreement contains provisions that replace default fiduciary duties under applicable law with contractual corporate governance standards as set forth therein. Our partnership agreement also restricts the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken that, without such replacement, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.
Our general partner will not be in breach of its obligations under our partnership agreement or its duties to us or our unitholders if the resolution or course of action taken with respect to a conflict of interest is:
 
 	•	 	approved by a majority of the members of the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner, although our general partner is not obligated to seek such approval; or	
 
 	•	 	approved by the vote of a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding any units owned by our general partner or any of its affiliates, although our general partner is not obligated to seek such approval.	
Our general partner may, but is not required to, seek the approval of such resolution from the conflicts committee of its board of directors or from our common unitholders. Because our partnership agreement only requires that the conflicts committee have at least one member, during any time that the conflicts committee only has one member, that single member of the conflicts committee will be able to approve resolutions of conflicts of interest. It is possible that a single-member committee may not function as effectively as a multiple-member committee and, if we pursue a transaction with an affiliate while the conflicts committee has only one member, our limited partners will be deemed to have approved that transaction through the approval of that single-member conflicts committee, in the same manner as would have occurred had the conflicts committee consisted of more directors.
If our general partner does not seek approval from the conflicts committee or from a majority of the common units, as described above, and the board of directors of our general partner approves the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, the board of directors of our general partner acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the Partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. Unless the resolution of a conflict of interest is specifically provided for in our partnership agreement, the board of directors of our general partner or the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner may consider any factors they determine in good faith to consider when resolving a conflict. An independent third party is not required to evaluate the resolution. Under our partnership agreement, a determination, other action or failure to act by our general partner, the board of directors of our general partner or any committee thereof (including the conflicts committee) will be deemed to be “in good faith” unless our general partner, the board of directors of our general partner or any committee thereof (including the conflicts committee) believed such determination, other action or failure to act was adverse to the interests of the Partnership. For the avoidance of doubt, any potential conflict of interest that exists or arises between our general
 
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partner or its affiliates, on the one hand, and the Partnership or any other person who is bound by our partnership agreement, on the other hand, may be resolved by the conflicts committee or a vote of the common unitholders as described above or as directed by the board of directors of our general partner, provided that the board of directors of our general partner makes, takes or declines to take any action to resolve the conflict in accordance with the standard of care set forth in our partnership agreement.
Conflicts of interest could arise in the situations described below, among others.
Our general partner’s affiliates, including ET, ETO and their affiliates, are not prohibited from engaging in other business or activities, including those in direct competition with us.
Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner will be restricted from engaging in any business activities other than acting as our general partner or as the general partner or managing member of its affiliates, engaging in activities incidental to its ownership of interests in us and its affiliates, acquiring, owning or disposing of debt securities or equity interests in us or its affiliates and providing management, advisory and administrative services to its affiliates or to other persons. Certain members of our executive management team on whom we rely to manage important aspects of our business may, from time to time, face conflicts regarding the allocation of their time. In addition, except as provided in our partnership agreement, affiliates of our general partner, including ET and ETO, are not prohibited from engaging in other businesses or activities, including those that might be in direct competition with us.
Affiliates of our general partner, including ET, ETO and their affiliates, may offer business opportunities or sell assets to parties other than us.
Our partnership agreement provides that affiliates of our general partner, including ET and ETO, are permitted to engage in separate businesses which directly compete with us and are not required to share or communicate or offer any potential business opportunities to us even if the opportunity is one that we might reasonably have pursued. Our partnership agreement provides that affiliates of our general partner, including ET and ETO, will not be liable to us or any unitholder for breach of any duty or obligation by reason of the fact that such person or entity pursued or acquired for itself any business opportunity.
Our general partner is allowed to take into account the interests of parties other than us (such as ET or ETO) in exercising certain rights under our partnership agreement.
Our partnership agreement contains provisions that reduce the default standards to which our general partner would otherwise be held by state fiduciary duty law. For example, our partnership agreement permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner. This entitles our general partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires, and it has no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or any limited partner. Examples include the exercise of its call right, its voting rights with respect to the units it owns, its registration rights and the determination of whether to consent to any merger or consolidation of the Partnership or amendment of our partnership agreement.
Our partnership agreement limits the liability and duties of our general partner and restricts the remedies available to us and our common unitholders for actions taken by our general partner that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.
Our partnership agreement limits the liability and duties of our general partner, while also restricting the remedies available to our common unitholders for actions that, without these limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty. Delaware partnership law permits such contractual reductions of fiduciary duty. By purchasing common units, common unitholders consent to be bound by the partnership agreement, and pursuant to our partnership agreement, each common unitholder consents to various actions and conflicts of interest
 
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contemplated in our partnership agreement that might otherwise constitute a breach of fiduciary or other duties under Delaware law. For example:
 
 	•	 	Our partnership agreement permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to its capacity as general partner. This entitles our general partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires, with no duty or obligation to give consideration to the interests of, or factors affecting, our common unitholders. Decisions made by our general partner in its individual capacity will be made by ETO, as the owner of our general partner, and not by the board of directors of our general partner. Examples of such decisions include:	
 
 	•	 	whether to exercise limited call rights;	
 
 	•	 	how to exercise voting rights with respect to any units it owns;	
 
 	•	 	whether to exercise registration rights; and	
 
 	•	 	whether to consent to any merger or consolidation, or amendment to our partnership agreement.	
 
 	•	 	Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner will not have any liability to us or our unitholders for decisions made in its capacity as general partner so long as it acted in good faith, meaning it believed that the decisions were not adverse to the interests of our partnership.	
 
 	•	 	Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner and the officers and directors of our general partner will not be liable for monetary damages to us for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that our general partner or those persons acted in bad faith or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that such person’s conduct was criminal.	
 
 	•	 	Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner will not be in breach of its obligations under the partnership agreement or its duties to us or our limited partners with respect to any transaction involving an affiliate if:	
 
 	•	 	the transaction with an affiliate or the resolution of a conflict of interest is:	
 
 	•	 	approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of our general partner, although our general partner is not obligated to seek such approval; or	
 
 	•	 	approved by the vote of a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding any common units owned by our general partner and its affiliates; or	
 
 	•	 	the board of directors of our general partner acted in good faith in taking any action or failing to act.	
If an affiliate transaction or the resolution of a conflict of interest is not approved by our common unitholders or the conflicts committee then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, taking any action or failing to act, the board of directors acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the Partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. By purchasing a common unit, a common unitholder will agree to become bound by the provisions in our partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed above. Please read “—Fiduciary Duties.”
Except in limited circumstances, our general partner has the power and authority to conduct our business without unitholder approval.
Under our partnership agreement, our general partner has full power and authority to do all things, other than those items that require unitholder approval or with respect to which our general partner has sought conflicts
 
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committee approval, on such terms as it determines to be necessary or appropriate to conduct our business including, but not limited to, the following:
 
 	•	 	the making of any expenditures, the lending or borrowing of money, the assumption or guarantee of or other contracting for, indebtedness and other liabilities, the issuance of evidences of indebtedness, including indebtedness that is convertible into our securities, and the incurring of any other obligations;	
 
 	•	 	the purchase, sale or other acquisition or disposition of our securities, or the issuance of additional options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to our securities;	
 
 	•	 	the acquisition, disposition, mortgage, pledge, encumbrance, hypothecation or exchange of any or all of our assets;	
 
 	•	 	the negotiation, execution and performance of any contracts, conveyances or other instruments;	
 
 	•	 	the distribution of our cash;	
 
 	•	 	the selection and dismissal of employees and agents, outside attorneys, accountants, consultants and contractors and the determination of their compensation and other terms of employment or hiring;	
 
 	•	 	the maintenance of insurance for our benefit and the benefit of our partners;	
 
 	•	 	the formation of, or acquisition of an interest in, the contribution of property to, and the making of loans to, any limited or general partnership, joint venture, corporation, limited liability company or other entity;	
 
 	•	 	the control of any matters affecting our rights and obligations, including the bringing and defending of actions at law or in equity, otherwise engaging in the conduct of litigation, arbitration or mediation and the incurring of legal expense and the settlement of claims and litigation;	
 
 	•	 	the indemnification of any person against liabilities and contingencies to the extent permitted by law;	
 
 	•	 	the making of tax, regulatory and other filings, or the rendering of periodic or other reports to governmental or other agencies having jurisdiction over our business or assets; and	
 
 	•	 	the entering into of agreements with any of its affiliates to render services to us or to itself in the discharge of its duties as our general partner.	
Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner must act in “good faith” when making decisions on our behalf, and our partnership agreement further provides that in order for a determination to be made in “good faith,” our general partner must believe that the determination is in our best interests. Please read “Our Partnership Agreement—Voting Rights” for information regarding matters that require unitholder approval.
Our general partner determines the amount and timing of asset purchases and sales, borrowings, repayment of indebtedness and issuances of additional partnership securities and the level of reserves, each of which can affect the amount of cash that is distributed to our unitholders.
The amount of cash that is available for distribution to our unitholders is affected by decisions of our general partner regarding such matters as:
 
 	•	 	amount and timing of asset purchases and sales;	
 
 	•	 	cash expenditures;	
 
 	•	 	borrowings;	
 
 	•	 	issuance of additional units; and	
 
 	•	 	the creation, reduction, or increase of reserves in any quarter.	
Our general partner determines the amount and timing of any capital expenditures and whether a capital expenditure is classified as a maintenance capital expenditure, which reduces operating surplus, or an expansion
 
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capital expenditure, which does not reduce operating surplus. Please read “Our Cash Distribution Policy—Capital Expenditures” for a discussion on when a capital expenditure constitutes a maintenance capital expenditure or an expansion capital expenditure. This determination can affect the amount of cash that is distributed to our unitholders and to ETO (in its capacity as the holder of our incentive distribution rights).
In addition, our general partner may use an amount, initially equal to $25 million, which would not otherwise constitute available cash from operating surplus, in order to permit the payment of cash distributions on its units and ETO’s incentive distribution rights. All of these actions may affect the amount of cash distributed to our unitholders. Please read “Our Cash Distribution Policy.”
In addition, borrowings by us and our affiliates do not constitute a breach of any duty owed by our general partner to our unitholders, including borrowings that have the purpose or effect of enabling ETO or its affiliates to receive distributions with respect to the incentive distribution rights.
Our partnership agreement provides that we and our subsidiaries may borrow funds from our general partner and its affiliates. Our general partner and its affiliates may borrow funds from us, or our operating company and its operating subsidiaries.
Cost reimbursements due to our general partner and its affiliates for services provided to us or on our behalf will reduce cash available for distribution to our unitholders. The amount and timing of such reimbursements will be determined by our general partner.
Prior to making any distribution on the common units, we will reimburse our general partner and its affiliates for all expenses they incur and payments they make on our behalf pursuant to our partnership agreement. Our partnership agreement does not limit the amount of expenses for which our general partner and its affiliates may be reimbursed. Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner will determine in good faith the expenses that are allocable to us. Reimbursement of expenses and payment of fees to our general partner and its affiliates will reduce the amount of cash available to pay distributions to our unitholders.
Our partnership agreement does not restrict our general partner from causing us to pay it or its affiliates for any services rendered to us or from entering into additional contractual arrangements with its affiliates on our behalf. There is no limitation on the amounts our general partner can cause us to pay it or its affiliates.
Our partnership agreement allows our general partner to determine, in good faith, any amounts to pay itself or its affiliates for any services rendered to us. Our general partner may also enter into additional contractual arrangements with any of its affiliates on our behalf. Neither our partnership agreement nor any of the other agreements, contracts or arrangements between us, on the one hand, and our general partner and its affiliates, on the other hand, are the result of arm’s-length negotiations. Similarly, agreements, contracts or arrangements between us and our general partner and its affiliates that are entered into in the future may not be negotiated on an arm’s-length basis, although, in some circumstances, our general partner may determine that the conflicts committee of our general partner may make a determination on our behalf with respect to such arrangements.
Our general partner has limited its liability regarding our obligations.
Other than with respect to our revolving credit facility, our general partner has limited its liability under contractual arrangements so that the counterparties to such arrangements have recourse only against our assets, and not against our general partner or its assets. Our general partner may therefore cause us to incur indebtedness or other obligations that are nonrecourse to our general partner. Our partnership agreement provides that any action taken by our general partner to limit its liability is not a breach of our general partner’s fiduciary duties, even if we could have obtained more favorable terms without the limitation on liability. In addition, we are obligated to reimburse or indemnify our general partner to the extent that it incurs obligations on our behalf. Any such reimbursement or indemnification payments would reduce the amount of cash otherwise available for distribution to our unitholders.
 
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Our general partner has a limited call right that may require common unitholders to sell their common 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, which it may assign to any of its affiliates or to us, but not the obligation, to acquire all, but not less than all, of our common units held by unaffiliated persons at a price equal to the greater of (1) the average of the daily closing price of the common units over the 20 trading days preceding the date three days before notice of exercise of the call right is first mailed and (2) the highest per-unit price paid by our general partner or any of its affiliates for common units during the 90-day period preceding the date such notice is first mailed. As a result, unitholders may be required to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price and may not receive any return or a negative return on their investment. Unitholders may also incur a tax liability upon a sale of their units. Our general partner is not obligated to obtain a fairness opinion regarding the value of the common units to be repurchased by it upon exercise of the limited call right. There is no restriction in our partnership agreement that prevents our general partner from issuing additional common units and exercising its call right See “Our Partnership Agreement—Limited Call Right.”
Common unitholders will have no right to enforce obligations of our general partner and its affiliates under agreements with us.
Any agreements between us, on the one hand, and our general partner and its affiliates, on the other, will not grant to the unitholders, separate and apart from us, the right to enforce the obligations of our general partner and its affiliates in our favor. Common unitholders will have no right to enforce obligations of our general partner and its affiliates under agreements with us.
Our general partner decides whether to retain separate counsel, accountants or others to perform services for us.
The attorneys, independent accountants and others who have performed services for us regarding this offering have been retained by our general partner. Attorneys, independent accountants and others who perform services for us are selected by our general partner or the conflicts committee and may perform services for our general partner and its affiliates. We may retain separate counsel for ourselves or the common unitholders in the event of a conflict of interest between our general partner and its affiliates, on the one hand, and us or the common unitholders, on the other, depending on the nature of the conflict. We do not intend to do so in most cases.
ETO may elect to cause us to issue common units to it in connection with a resetting of the target distribution levels related to its incentive distribution rights, without the approval of the conflicts committee of our general partner’s board of directors or the holders of our common units. This could result in lower distributions to holders of our common units.
ETO has the right, at any time it has received incentive distributions at the highest level to which it is entitled (50%) for each of the prior four consecutive whole fiscal quarters (and the amount of each such did not exceed adjusted operating surplus for each such quarter), to reset the initial target distribution levels at higher levels based on our cash distributions at the time of the exercise of the reset election. Following a reset election by ETO, the minimum quarterly distribution will be adjusted to equal the reset minimum quarterly distribution, and the target distribution levels will be reset to correspondingly higher levels based on the same percentage increases above the reset minimum quarterly distribution reflected by the current target distribution levels.
We anticipate that ETO 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 ETO could exercise this reset election at a time when we are experiencing declines in our aggregate cash distributions or at a time when ETO expects that we will experience declines in our aggregate
 
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cash distributions in the foreseeable future. In such situations, ETO may be experiencing, or may expect to experience, declines in the cash distributions it receives related to its incentive distribution rights and may therefore desire to be issued our common units, which are entitled to specified priorities with respect to our distributions and which therefore may be more advantageous for ETO to own in lieu of the right to receive incentive distribution payments based on target distribution levels that are less certain to be achieved in the then current business environment. 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 common units to ETO in connection with resetting the target distribution levels related to ETO’s incentive distribution rights. Please read “Our Cash Distribution Policy—Incentive Distribution Rights.”
Fiduciary Duties
Our general partner is accountable to us and our unitholders as a fiduciary. Fiduciary duties owed to unitholders by our general partner are prescribed by law and our partnership agreement. The Delaware Act provides that Delaware limited partnerships may, in their partnership agreements, modify, restrict or expand the fiduciary duties otherwise owed by a general partner to limited partners and the Partnership.
Our partnership agreement contains various provisions modifying and restricting the fiduciary duties that might otherwise be owed by our general partner. We have adopted these restrictions to allow our general partner or its affiliates to engage in transactions with us that would otherwise be prohibited by state-law fiduciary duty standards and to take into account the interests of other parties in addition to our interests when resolving conflicts of interest. We believe this is appropriate and necessary because our general partner’s board of directors will have fiduciary duties to manage our general partner in a manner that is beneficial to its owners, as well as to our unitholders.
Without these modifications, our general partner’s ability to make decisions involving conflicts of interest would be restricted. The modifications to the fiduciary standards enable our general partner to take into consideration all parties involved in the proposed action. These modifications also enable our general partner to attract and retain experienced and capable directors. However, these modifications disadvantage our public common unitholders because they restrict the remedies available to unitholders for actions that, without those limitations, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty, as described below, and permit our general partner to take into account the interests of third parties in addition to our interests when resolving conflicts of interest. The following is a summary of the material restrictions of:
 
 	•	 	the default fiduciary duties under by the Delaware Act;	
 
 	•	 	material modifications of these duties contained in our partnership agreement that replace the default fiduciary duties;	
 
 	•	 	certain rights and remedies of limited partners contained in the Delaware Act; and	
 
 	•	 	the standards contained in our partnership agreement that restrict those rights and remedies.	

State law fiduciary duty standards	  	Fiduciary duties are generally considered to include an obligation to act in good faith and with due care and loyalty. The duty of care, in the absence of a provision in a partnership agreement providing otherwise, would generally require a general partner to act for the Partnership in the same manner as a prudent person would act on his own behalf. The duty of loyalty, in the absence of a provision in a partnership agreement providing otherwise, would generally require that any action taken or transaction engaged in be entirely fair to the Partnership.	
 
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Partnership agreement modified standards	  	Our partnership agreement contains provisions that waive or consent to conduct by our general partner and its affiliates that might otherwise raise issues about compliance with fiduciary duties or applicable law. For example, our partnership agreement provides that when our general partner is acting in its capacity as our general partner, as opposed to in its individual capacity, it must act in “good faith” and will not be subject to any other standard under applicable law. In addition, when our general partner is acting in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our general partner, it may act without any fiduciary obligation to us or the unitholders whatsoever. These standards reduce the obligations to which our general partner would otherwise be held.	
		
	  	If our general partner does not obtain approval from the conflicts committee or our common unitholders, excluding common units owned by our general partner or its affiliates, and the board of directors of our general partner approves the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the conflict of interest, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, the board of directors, which may include board members affected by the conflict of interest, acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any limited partner or the Partnership, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption. These standards reduce the obligations to which our general partner would otherwise be held.	
		
Partnership agreement modified standard	  	In addition to the other more specific provisions limiting the obligations of our general partner, our partnership agreement further provides that our general partner and its officers and directors will not be liable for monetary damages to us or our limited partners for errors of judgment or for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that our general partner or its officers and directors acted in bad faith or, in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that such person’s conduct was unlawful.	
By purchasing our common units, each common unitholder automatically agrees to be bound by the provisions in our partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed above. This is in accordance with the policy of the Delaware Act favoring the principle of freedom of contract and the enforceability of partnership agreements. The failure of a limited partner to sign a partnership agreement does not render our partnership agreement unenforceable against that person.
Under our partnership agreement, we must indemnify our general partner and its officers, directors, managers and certain other specified persons, to the fullest extent permitted by law, against liabilities, costs and expenses incurred by our general partner or these other persons. We must provide this indemnification unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that these persons acted in bad faith. We must also provide this indemnification for criminal proceedings unless our general partner or these other persons acted with knowledge that their conduct was unlawful. Thus, our general partner or these other persons could be indemnified for their negligent or grossly negligent acts if they meet the requirements set forth above. To the extent these provisions purport to include indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is contrary to public policy and, therefore, unenforceable. Please read “Our Partnership Agreement—Indemnification.”
 
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OUR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
The following is a summary of the material provisions of our partnership agreement. We will provide prospective investors with a copy of our partnership agreement upon request at no charge.
We summarize the following provisions of our partnership agreement elsewhere in this prospectus:
 
 	•	 	with regard to distributions of available cash, please read “Our Cash Distribution Policy”;	
 
 	•	 	with regard to fiduciary duties of our general partner, please read “Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties”;	
 
 	•	 	with regard to transfer of common units, please read “Description of Common Units—Transfer of Common Units”; and	
 
 	•	 	with regard to allocations of taxable income and taxable loss, please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences.”	
Organization and Duration
Our partnership was organized in June 2012 and will have a perpetual existence unless terminated pursuant to the terms of our partnership agreement.
Purpose
Our purpose, as set forth in our partnership agreement, is limited to any business activity that is approved by our general partner and that lawfully may be conducted by a limited partnership organized under Delaware law.
Although our general partner has the ability to cause us and our subsidiaries to engage in activities other than the business of the wholesale distribution of motor fuels and other petroleum products and the retail sale of motor fuel and the operation of convenience stores, our general partner has no plans to do so and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or our limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or our limited partners. Our general partner is generally authorized to perform all acts it determines to be necessary or appropriate to carry out our purposes and to conduct our business.
Cash Distributions
Our partnership agreement specifies the manner in which we make cash distributions to holders of our common units and other partnership securities, including our Class C units, as well as to ET in respect of our IDRs. For a description of these cash distribution provisions, please read “Our Cash Distribution Policy.”
Capital Contributions
Unitholders are not obligated to make additional capital contributions, except as described below under “—Limited Liability.”
Voting Rights
The following is a summary of the unitholder vote required for approval of the matters specified below. Matters that require the approval of a “unit majority” require the approval of a majority of the common units, voting as a single class.
 
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In voting their common units, ET, ETO and their affiliates have no fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or our limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or our limited partners.

Issuance of additional units	  	No approval right. Please read “—Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests.”	
		
Amendment of our partnership agreement	  	Certain amendments may be made by our general partner without the approval of our unitholders. Other amendments generally require the approval of a unit majority. Please read “—Amendment of the Partnership Agreement.”	
		
Merger of our partnership or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets	  	Unit majority in certain circumstances. Please read “—Merger, Consolidation, Conversion, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets.”	
		
Dissolution of our partnership	  	Unit majority in certain circumstances. Please read “—Dissolution.”	
		
Continuation of our business upon dissolution	  	Unit majority. Please read “—Dissolution.”	
		
Withdrawal of our general partner	  	Under most circumstances, the approval of the holders of a majority of our common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, is required for the withdrawal of our general partner prior to September 30, 2022, in a manner that would cause a dissolution of our partnership. Please read “—Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner.”	
		
Removal of our general partner	  	Not less than 66 2/3% of the outstanding units, voting as a single class, including units held by our general partner and its affiliates. Please read “—Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner.”	
		
Transfer of our general partner interest	  	No approval right. Please read “—Transfer of General Partner Interest.”	
		
Transfer of ownership interests in our general partner	  	No approval right. Please read “—Transfer of Ownership Interests in Our General Partner.”	
		
Transfer of incentive distribution rights	  	No approval right. Please read “—Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights.”	
If any person or group other than our general partner and its affiliates acquires beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, that person or group loses voting rights on all of its units. This loss of voting rights does not apply to any person or group that acquires the units from our general partner or its affiliates and any transferees of that person or group approved by our general partner or to any person or group who acquires the units with the specific approval of our general partner.
Voting Rights of Class C Units
The holders of Class C units do not have any voting, consent or approval rights with respect to such Class C units, except as otherwise required by any non-waivable provision of law. With respect to any matter on which the holders of Class C units are entitled to vote, each Class C unit will be entitled to one vote on such matter and will vote together with the common units as a single class.
 
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Voting Rights of Incentive Distribution Rights
If a majority of the IDRs are held by our general partner and its affiliates, the holders of IDRs will have no right to vote in respect of such rights on any matter, unless otherwise required by law, and the holders of our IDRs, in their capacity as such, shall be deemed to have approved any matter approved by our general partner.
If less than a majority of the IDRs are held by our general partner and its affiliates, the IDRs will be entitled to vote on all matters submitted to a vote of unitholders, other than amendments and other matters that our general partner determines do not adversely affect the holders of our IDRs in any material respect. On any matter in which the holders of our IDRs are entitled to vote, such holders will vote together with the common units as a single class (except in the case of any amendment to our partnership agreement that would have a material adverse effect on the rights of any class and require the separate approval of the class affected under the provisions of our partnership agreement), and such IDRs shall be treated in all respects as common units when sending notices of a meeting of our limited partners to vote on any matter (unless otherwise required by law), calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes under our partnership agreement. The relative voting power of the holders of our IDRs and the common units will be set in the same proportion that the cumulative cash distributions, if any, in respect of the IDRs for the four consecutive quarters prior to the record date for the vote bear to the cumulative cash distributions in respect of such class of units for such four quarters.
Applicable Law; Forum, Venue and Jurisdiction
Our partnership agreement is governed by Delaware law. Our partnership agreement requires that any claims, suits, actions or proceedings:
 
 	•	 	arising out of or relating in any way to our partnership agreement (including any claims, suits or actions to interpret, apply or enforce the provisions of our partnership agreement or the duties, obligations or liabilities among our limited partners or of our limited partners to us, or the rights or powers of, or restrictions on, our limited partners or us);	
 
 	•	 	brought in a derivative manner on our behalf;	
 
 	•	 	asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of us or our general partner, or owed by our general partner, to us or the limited partners;	
 
 	•	 	asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware Act; or	
 
 	•	 	asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine,	
will be exclusively brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, any other court located in the State of Delaware with subject matter jurisdiction). By purchasing a common unit, a limited partner is irrevocably consenting to these limitations and provisions regarding claims, suits, actions or proceedings and submitting to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware in connection with any such claims, suits, actions or proceedings.
Limited Liability
Assuming that a limited partner does not participate in the control of our business within the meaning of the Delaware Act and that the limited partner otherwise acts in conformity with the provisions of the partnership agreement, the limited partner’s liability under the Delaware Act will be limited, subject to possible exceptions, to the amount of capital the limited partner is obligated to contribute to us for its common units plus the limited partner’s share of any undistributed profits and assets. If it were determined, however, that the right, or exercise of the right, by the limited partners as a group:
 
 	•	 	to remove or replace our general partner;	
 
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 	•	 	to approve some amendments to our partnership agreement; or	
 
 	•	 	to take other action under our partnership agreement;	
constituted “participation in the control” of our business for the purposes of the Delaware Act, then the limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the laws of Delaware, to the same extent as the general partner. This liability would extend to persons who transact business with us who reasonably believe that the limited partner is a general partner. Neither our partnership agreement nor the Delaware Act specifically provides for legal recourse against our general partner if a limited partner were to lose limited liability through any fault of our general partner. While this does not mean that a limited partner could not seek legal recourse, we know of no precedent for this type of a claim in Delaware case law.
Under the Delaware Act, a limited partnership may not make a distribution to a partner if, after the distribution, all liabilities of the limited partnership, other than liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interests and liabilities for which the recourse of creditors is limited to specific property of the Partnership, would exceed the fair value of the assets of the limited partnership. For the purpose of determining the fair value of the assets of a limited partnership, the Delaware Act provides that the fair value of property subject to liability for which recourse of creditors is limited shall be included in the assets of the limited partnership only to the extent that the fair value of that property exceeds the nonrecourse liability. The Delaware Act provides that a limited partner who receives a distribution and knew at the time of the distribution that the distribution was in violation of the Delaware Act shall be liable to the limited partnership for the amount of the distribution for three years. Under the Delaware Act, a substituted limited partner of a limited partnership is liable for the obligations of its assignor to make contributions to the Partnership, except that such person is not obligated for liabilities unknown to such person at the time such person became a limited partner and that could not be ascertained from our partnership agreement.
Our subsidiaries currently conduct business in several states and we may have subsidiaries that conduct business in other states in the future. Maintenance of our limited liability as owner of our operating subsidiaries may require compliance with legal requirements in the jurisdictions in which the operating subsidiaries conduct business, including qualifying our subsidiaries to do business there.
Limitations on the liability of members or limited partners for the obligations of a limited liability company or limited partnership have not been clearly established in many jurisdictions. If, by virtue of our ownership interest in our subsidiaries or otherwise, it were to be determined that we were conducting business in any jurisdiction without compliance with the applicable limited partnership or limited liability company statute, or that the right, or exercise of the right, by the limited partners as a group to remove or replace our general partner, to approve some amendments to our partnership agreement, or to take other action under our partnership agreement constituted “participation in the control” of our business for purposes of the statutes of any relevant jurisdiction, then our limited partners could be held personally liable for our obligations under the law of that jurisdiction to the same extent as our general partner under the circumstances. We will operate in a manner that our general partner considers reasonable and necessary or appropriate to preserve the limited liability of our limited partners.
Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests
Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional partnership interests for the consideration and on the terms and conditions determined by our general partner without the approval of our unitholders.
It is possible that we will fund acquisitions through the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests. Holders of any additional common units we issue will be entitled to share equally with the then-existing common unitholders in our distributions of available cash. In addition, the issuance of additional common units or other partnership interests may dilute the value of the interests of the then-existing common unitholders in our net assets.
 
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In accordance with Delaware law and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we may also issue additional partnership interests that, as determined by our general partner, may have special voting rights to which the common units are not entitled or be senior in right of distribution to the common units. In addition, our partnership agreement does not prohibit our subsidiaries from issuing equity interests which effectively rank senior to the common units.
Our general partner has the right, which it may from time to time assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates, to purchase common units or other partnership interests whenever, and on the same terms that, we issue partnership interests to persons other than our general partner and its affiliates, to the extent necessary to maintain the percentage interest of itself and its affiliates, including such interest represented by common units, that existed immediately prior to each issuance. The common unitholders will not have preemptive rights under our partnership agreement to acquire additional common units or other partnership interests.
On January 1, 2016, we issued an aggregate of 16,410,780 Class C units consisting of (i) 5,242,113 Class C units that were issued to Aloha Petroleum, Ltd. (“Aloha”) as consideration for the contribution by Aloha to an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Partnership of all of Aloha’s assets relating to the wholesale supply of fuel and lubricants; and (ii) 11,168,667 Class C units that were issued to indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of the Partnership in exchange for all of the outstanding Class A units held by such subsidiaries. For a complete description of our Class C units, please read our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 5, 2016. As of August 21, 2019, there were 16,410,780 Class C units outstanding.
On March 30, 2017, we issued 12,000,000 Series A preferred units representing limited partnership interests in us to Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. that ranked senior to our common units with respect to the payment of distributions and distribution of assets upon liquidation, dissolution and winding up. On January 25, 2018, we redeemed all such Series A preferred units.
Amendment of the Partnership Agreement
General
Amendments to our partnership agreement may be proposed only by or with the consent of our general partner. Our general partner, however, will have no duty or obligation to propose any amendment and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or our limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interests of us or our limited partners. In order to adopt a proposed amendment, other than the amendments discussed under “—No Unitholder Approval” below, our general partner is required to seek written approval of the holders of the number of units required to approve the amendment or to call a meeting of the limited partners to consider and vote upon the proposed amendment. Except as described below, an amendment must be approved by a unit majority.
Prohibited Amendments
No amendment may be made that would:
 
 	•	 	enlarge the obligations of any limited partner without its consent, unless approved by at least a majority of the type or class of limited partner interests so affected; or	
 
 	•	 	enlarge the obligations of, restrict, change or modify in any way any action by or rights of, or reduce in any way the amounts distributable, reimbursable or otherwise payable by us to our general partner or any of its affiliates without the consent of our general partner, which consent may be given or withheld at its option.	
The provisions of our partnership agreement preventing the amendments having the effects described in any of the clauses above can only be amended upon the approval of the holders of at least 90% of the outstanding units voting together as a single class (including units owned by our general partner and its affiliates).
 
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No Unitholder Approval
Our general partner may generally make amendments to our partnership agreement without the approval of any limited partner or assignee to reflect:
 
 	•	 	a change in our name, the location of the principal place of our business, our registered agent or our registered office;	
 
 	•	 	the admission, substitution, withdrawal or removal of partners in accordance with our partnership agreement;	
 
 	•	 	a change that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate to qualify or continue our qualification as a limited partnership or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability under the laws of any state or to ensure that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries will be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxed as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes (to the extent not already treated as such);	
 
 	•	 	a change in our fiscal year or taxable year and related changes;	
 
 	•	 	an amendment that is necessary, in the opinion of our counsel, to prevent us or our general partner or its directors, officers, agents or trustees from in any manner being subjected to the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, or “plan asset” regulations adopted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, whether or not substantially similar to plan asset regulations currently applied or proposed;	
 
 	•	 	an amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate in connection with the creation, authorization or issuance of any class or series of partnership interests or rights to acquire partnership interests;	
 
 	•	 	any amendment expressly permitted in our partnership agreement to be made by our general partner acting alone;	
 
 	•	 	an amendment effected, necessitated or contemplated by a merger agreement that has been approved under the terms of our partnership agreement;	
 
 	•	 	any amendment that our general partner determines to be necessary or appropriate to reflect and account for the formation by us of, or our investment in, any corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company or other entity, as otherwise permitted by our partnership agreement;	
 
 	•	 	an amendment that is necessary to require the limited partners to provide a statement, certification or other proof to us regarding whether such limited partner is subject to U.S. federal income taxation on the income generated by us;	
 
 	•	 	conversions into, mergers with or conveyances to another limited liability entity that is newly formed and has no assets, liabilities or operations at the time of the conversion, merger or conveyance other than those it receives by way of the conversion, merger or conveyance; or	
 
 	•	 	any other amendments substantially similar to any of the matters described in the clauses above.	
In addition, our general partner may make amendments to our partnership agreement without the approval of any limited partner or transferee in connection with a merger or consolidation approved in connection with our partnership agreement, or if our general partner determines that those amendments:
 
 	•	 	do not adversely affect the limited partners (or any particular class of limited partners) in any material respect;	
 
 	•	 	are necessary or appropriate to satisfy any requirements, conditions or guidelines contained in any opinion, directive, order, ruling or regulation of any federal or state agency or judicial authority or contained in any federal or state statute;	
 
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 	•	 	are necessary or appropriate to facilitate the trading of limited partner interests or to comply with any rule, regulation, guideline or requirement of any securities exchange on which the limited partner interests are or will be listed for trading;	
 
 	•	 	are necessary or appropriate for any action taken by our general partner relating to splits or combinations of units under the provisions of our partnership agreement; or	
 
 	•	 	are required to effect the intent expressed in the prospectus used in our initial public offering or the intent of the provisions of our partnership agreement or are otherwise contemplated by our partnership agreement.	
Opinion of Counsel and Unitholder Approval
Any amendment that would have a material adverse effect on the rights or preferences of any type or class of outstanding units in relation to other classes of units will require the approval of at least a majority of the type or class of units so affected. Any amendment that would reduce or increase the voting percentage required to take any action other than to remove our general partner or call a meeting of unitholders is required to be approved by the affirmative vote of limited partners whose aggregate outstanding units constitute not less than the voting requirement sought to be reduced or increased.
For amendments of the type not requiring unitholder approval, our general partner will not be required to obtain an opinion of counsel that an amendment will neither result in a loss of limited liability to the limited partners nor result in our being treated as a taxable entity for federal income tax purposes in connection with any of the amendments. No other amendments to our partnership agreement will become effective without the approval of holders of at least 90% of the outstanding units, voting as a single class, unless we first obtain an opinion of counsel to the effect that the amendment will not affect the limited liability under applicable law of any of our limited partners.
Merger, Consolidation, Conversion, Sale or Other Disposition of Assets
A merger or consolidation of us requires the prior consent of our general partner. However, our general partner has no duty or obligation to consent to any merger or consolidation and may decline to do so free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to us or our limited partners, including any duty to act in good faith or in the best interest of us or our limited partners. Our general partner may, however, consummate any merger without the prior approval of our unitholders if we are the surviving entity in the transaction, our general partner has received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters, the transaction would not result in an amendment to our partnership agreement (other than an amendment that our general partner could adopt without the consent of other partners), each of our partnership interests will be an identical partnership interest following the transaction and the partnership interests to be issued do not exceed 20% of our outstanding partnership interests (other than IDRs) immediately prior to the transaction.
In addition, our partnership agreement generally prohibits our general partner, without the prior approval of the holders of a unit majority, from causing us to sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, including by way of merger, consolidation or other combination. Our general partner may, however, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of our assets without such approval. Our general partner may also sell all or substantially all of our assets under a foreclosure or other realization upon those encumbrances without such approval. If the conditions specified in our partnership agreement are satisfied, our general partner may also convert us or any of our subsidiaries into a new limited liability entity or merge us or any of our subsidiaries into, or convey all of our assets to, a newly formed limited liability entity that has no assets, liabilities or operations, if the sole purpose of that conversion, merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in our legal form into another limited liability entity, our general partner has received an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters and the governing instruments of the new entity provide the limited partners and our general partner with substantially
 
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the same rights and obligations as those contained in our partnership agreement. Our unitholders are not entitled to dissenters’ rights of appraisal under our partnership agreement or applicable Delaware law in the event of a conversion, merger or consolidation, a sale of substantially all of our assets or any other similar transaction or event.
Dissolution
We will continue as a limited partnership until dissolved under our partnership agreement. We will dissolve upon:
 
 	•	 	the election of our general partner to dissolve us, if approved by the holders of a unit majority;	
 
 	•	 	there being no limited partners, unless we are continued without dissolution in accordance with applicable Delaware law;	
 
 	•	 	the entry of a decree of judicial dissolution of our partnership pursuant to the provisions of the Delaware Act; or	
 
 	•	 	the withdrawal or removal of our general partner or any other event that results in its ceasing to be our general partner other than by reason of a transfer of its non-economic general partner interest in accordance with our partnership agreement or withdrawal or removal following approval and admission of a successor.	
Upon a dissolution under the last clause above, the holders of a unit majority, may also elect, within specific time limitations, to reconstitute us and continue our business on the same terms and conditions described in our partnership agreement by appointing as successor general partner an entity approved by the holders of units representing a unit majority, subject to our receipt of an opinion of counsel to the effect that:
 
 	•	 	the action would not result in the loss of limited liability under the Delaware Act of any limited partner; and	
 
 	•	 	neither our partnership, the reconstituted limited partnership, our operating company nor any of our other subsidiaries would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise be taxable as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes (to the extent not already so treated or taxed) upon the exercise of that right to continue.	
Liquidation and Distribution of Proceeds
Upon our dissolution, unless our business is continued, the liquidator authorized to wind up our affairs will, acting with all of the powers of our general partner that are necessary or appropriate to liquidate our assets and apply the proceeds of the liquidation as described in “Our Cash Distribution Policy—Distributions of Cash Upon Liquidation.” The liquidator may defer liquidation or distribution of our assets for a reasonable period of time or distribute assets to partners in kind if it determines that a sale would be impractical or would cause undue loss to our partners.
Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner
Except as described below, our general partner has agreed not to withdraw voluntarily as our general partner on or prior to September 30, 2022 without obtaining the approval of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding common units, excluding common units held by our general partner and its affiliates, and furnishing an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. After September 30, 2022, our general partner may withdraw as general partner without first obtaining approval of any unitholder by giving 90 days’ advance notice, and that withdrawal will not constitute a violation of our partnership agreement. Notwithstanding the information above, our general partner may withdraw without unitholder approval upon 90 days’ advance notice to the limited partners if at least 50% of the outstanding common units are held or controlled by one person and
 
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its affiliates other than our general partner and its affiliates. In addition, our partnership agreement permits our general partner in some instances to sell or otherwise transfer all of its non-economic general partner interest in us without the approval of the unitholders. Please read “—Transfer of General Partner Interest” and “—Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights.”
Upon withdrawal of our general partner under any circumstances, other than as a result of a transfer by our general partner of all or a part of its non-economic general partner interest in us, the holders of a unit majority may select a successor to that withdrawing general partner. If a successor is not elected, or is elected but an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters cannot be obtained, we will be dissolved, wound up and liquidated, unless within a specified period after that withdrawal, the holders of a unit majority agree in writing to continue our business and to appoint a successor general partner. Please read “—Dissolution.”
Our general partner may not be removed unless that removal is approved by the vote of the holders of not less than 66 2/3% of the outstanding units, voting together as a single class, including units held by our general partner and its affiliates, and we receive an opinion of counsel regarding limited liability and tax matters. Any removal of our general partner is also subject to the approval of a successor general partner by the vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding common units, voting as separate classes. The ownership of more than 331/3% of the outstanding units by our general partner and its affiliates would give them the practical ability to prevent our general partner’s removal.
In the event of the removal of our general partner under circumstances where cause exists or withdrawal of our general partner where that withdrawal violates our partnership agreement, a successor general partner will have the option to purchase the general partner interest of the departing general partner and the IDRs of its affiliates for a cash payment equal to the fair market value of those interests. Under all other circumstances where our general partner withdraws or is removed by the limited partners, the departing general partner will have the option to require the successor general partner to purchase the general partner interest of the departing general partner and the IDRs of its affiliates for fair market value. In each case, this fair market value will be determined by agreement between the departing general partner and the successor general partner. If no agreement is reached within 30 days after the effective date of the departing general partner’s withdrawal or removal, an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert selected by the departing general partner and the successor general partner will determine the fair market value. If the departing general partner and the successor general partner cannot agree upon an expert within 45 days after the withdrawal or removal, then an expert chosen by agreement of the experts selected by each of them will determine the fair market value.
If the option described above is not exercised by either the departing general partner or the successor general partner, the departing general partner’s general partner interest and its IDRs will automatically convert into common units with a value equal to the fair market value of those interests as determined by an investment banking firm or other independent expert selected in the manner described in the preceding paragraph.
In addition, we will be required to reimburse the departing general partner for all amounts due the departing general partner, including, without limitation, all employee-related liabilities, including severance liabilities, incurred for the termination of any employees employed by the departing general partner or its affiliates for our benefit.
Transfer of General Partner Interest
Our general partner may at its option transfer all or any part of its general partner interest without approval from the unitholders, so long as:
 
 	•	 	the transferee agrees to assume the rights and duties of our general partner under our partnership agreement and agrees to be bound by the provisions of our partnership agreement;	
 
 	•	 	we receive an opinion of counsel that such transfer would not result in the loss of limited liability under the Delaware Act of any unitholders or cause us to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation	
 
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 	or otherwise to be taxed as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes (to the extent not already so treated or taxed); and	
 
 	•	 	such transferee also agrees to purchase all (or the appropriate portion thereof, if applicable) of the partnership or membership interest held by our general partner as the general partner or managing member, if any, of any of our subsidiaries.	
In the case of a transfer of the general partner interest, the transferee or successor will be subject to compliance with the terms of our partnership agreement and will be admitted as our general partner effective immediately prior to the transfer of the general partner interest.
Our general partner and its affiliates, including ET and ETO, may, at any time, transfer common units or IDRs to one or more persons, without unitholder approval.
Transfer of Ownership Interests in Our General Partner
At any time, the owner of our general partner, may sell or transfer all or part of its ownership interest in our general partner to an affiliate or third party without the approval of our unitholders.
Transfer of Incentive Distribution Rights
At any time, our general partner and its affiliates may sell or transfer all or a portion of their IDRs to an affiliate or third party without the approval of our unitholders.
By transfer of IDRs in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of IDRs will be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the IDRs transferred when such transfer and admission is reflected in our books and records. Each transferee:
 
 	•	 	represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to become bound by our partnership agreement;	
 
 	•	 	automatically becomes bound by the terms and conditions of our partnership agreement; and	
 
 	•	 	gives the consents, waivers and approvals contained in our partnership agreement.	
Our general partner will cause any transfers to be recorded on our books and records.
We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of IDRs as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holder’s rights are limited solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the nominee holder.
IDRs are securities and any transfers are subject to the laws governing transfer of securities. In addition to other rights acquired upon transfer, the transferor gives the transferee the right to become a limited partner for the transferred IDRs.
Until an IDR has been transferred on our books, we and the transfer agent may treat the record holder of the unit or right as the absolute owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange regulations.
Change of Management Provisions
Our partnership agreement contains specific provisions that are intended to discourage a person or group from attempting to remove Sunoco GP LLC as our general partner or from otherwise changing our management. Please read “—Withdrawal or Removal of Our General Partner” for a discussion of certain consequences of the
 
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removal of our general partner. If any person or group, other than our general partner and its affiliates, acquires beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of partnership interests, that person or group loses voting rights on all of such person’s or group’s partnership interests. This loss of voting rights does not apply in certain circumstances. Please read “—Meetings; Voting.”
Limited Call Right
If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of the then-issued and outstanding limited partner interests of any class, our general partner will have the right, which it may assign in whole or in part to any of its affiliates or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the limited partner interests of such class held by unaffiliated persons as of a record date to be selected by our general partner, on at least 10 but not more than 60 days’ notice. The purchase price in the event of such a purchase is the greater of:
 
 	•	 	the highest cash price paid by either of our general partner or any of its affiliates for any limited partner interests of such class purchased within the 90 days preceding the date on which our general partner first mails notice of its election to purchase those limited partner interests; and	
 
 	•	 	the average of the daily closing prices per limited partner interest of such class for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately preceding the date three days before the date the notice is mailed.	
As a result of our general partner’s right to purchase outstanding limited partner interests, a holder of limited partner interests may have his limited partner interests purchased at an undesirable time or price. The tax consequences to a unitholder of the exercise of this call right are the same as a sale by that unitholder of his common units in the market. Please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences—Disposition of Common Units.”
Non-Taxpaying Holders; Redemption
To avoid any adverse effect on the maximum applicable rates chargeable to customers by us or any of our future subsidiaries, or in order to reverse an adverse determination that has occurred regarding such maximum rate, our partnership agreement provides our general partner the power to amend the agreement. If our general partner, with the advice of counsel, determines that our not being treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise taxable as an entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, coupled with the tax status (or lack of proof thereof) of one or more of our limited partners, has, or is reasonably likely to have, a material adverse effect on the maximum applicable rates chargeable to customers by our subsidiaries, then our general partner may adopt such amendments to our partnership agreement as it determines necessary or advisable to:
 
 	•	 	obtain proof of the U.S. federal income tax status of our limited partners (and their owners, to the extent relevant); and	
 
 	•	 	permit us to redeem the units held by any person whose tax status has or is reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the maximum applicable rates or who fails to comply with the procedures instituted by our general partner to obtain proof of the U.S. federal income tax status. The redemption price in the case of such a redemption will be the average of the daily closing prices per unit for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately prior to the date set for redemption.	
Non-Citizen Assignees; Redemption
If our general partner, with the advice of counsel, determines we are subject to U.S. federal, state or local laws or regulations that, in the reasonable determination of our general partner, create a substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property that we have an interest in because of the nationality, citizenship or other related status of any limited partner, then our general partner may adopt such amendments to our partnership agreement as it determines necessary or advisable to:
 
 	•	 	obtain proof of the nationality, citizenship or other related status of our limited partners (and their owners, to the extent relevant); and	
 
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 	•	 	permit us to redeem the units held by any person whose nationality, citizenship or other related status creates substantial risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any property or who fails to comply with the procedures instituted by our general partner to obtain proof of the nationality, citizenship or other related status. The redemption price in the case of such a redemption will be the average of the daily closing prices per unit for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately prior to the date set for redemption.	
Meetings; Voting
Except as described below regarding certain persons or groups owning 20% or more of any class of partnership interests then outstanding and, except for Class C units, record holders of limited partner interests on the record date are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, meetings of our limited partners and to act upon matters for which approvals may be solicited.
Our general partner does not anticipate that any meeting of our unitholders will be called in the foreseeable future. Any action that is required or permitted to be taken by the unitholders may be taken either at a meeting of the unitholders or without a meeting if consents in writing describing the action so taken are signed by holders of the number of units necessary to authorize or take that action at a meeting. Meetings of the unitholders may be called by our general partner or by unitholders owning at least 20% of the outstanding units of the class for which a meeting is proposed. Unitholders may vote either in person or by proxy at meetings. The holders of a majority of the outstanding units of the class or classes for which a meeting has been called, represented in person or by proxy, will constitute a quorum, unless any action by the unitholders requires approval by holders of a greater percentage of the units, in which case the quorum will be the greater percentage.
Each record holder of a unit has a vote according to his percentage interest in us (excluding Class C unitholders), although additional limited partner interests having special voting rights could be issued. Please read “—Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests.” However, if at any time any person or group, other than our general partner and its affiliates, a direct transferee of our general partner or its affiliates or a purchaser specifically approved by our general partner, acquires, in the aggregate, beneficial ownership of 20% or more of any class of partnership interests then outstanding, that person or group will lose voting rights on all of its partnership interests and the partnership interests may not be voted on any matter and will not be considered to be outstanding when sending notices of a meeting of unitholders, calculating required votes, determining the presence of a quorum or for other similar purposes. Common units held in nominee or street name account will be voted by the broker or other nominee in accordance with the instruction of the beneficial owner unless the arrangement between the beneficial owner and his nominee provides otherwise.
Any notice, demand, request, report or proxy material required or permitted to be given or made to record common unitholders under our partnership agreement will be delivered to the record holder by us or by the transfer agent.
Status as Limited Partner
By the transfer of common units in accordance with our partnership agreement, each transferee of common units shall be admitted as a limited partner with respect to the common units transferred when such transfer and admission is reflected in our books and records. Except as described under “— Limited Liability,” the common units will be fully paid, and unitholders will not be required to make additional contributions.
Indemnification
Under our partnership agreement, in most circumstances, we will indemnify the following persons, to the fullest extent permitted by law, from and against all losses, claims, damages or similar liabilities:
 
 	•	 	our general partner;	
 
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 	•	 	any departing general partner;	
 
 	•	 	any person who is or was an affiliate of our general partner or any departing general partner;	
 
 	•	 	any person who is or was a manager, managing member, general partner, director, officer, employee, agent, fiduciary or trustee of our partnership, our subsidiaries, our general partner, any departing general partner or any of their affiliates;	
 
 	•	 	any person who is or was serving at the request of our general partner, any departing general partner or any of their affiliates as an officer, director, manager, managing member, general partner, employee, agent, fiduciary or trustee of another person owing a fiduciary duty to us or our subsidiaries;	
 
 	•	 	any person who controls our general partner or any departing general partner; and	
 
 	•	 	any person designated by our general partner.	
Any indemnification under these provisions will only be out of our assets. Unless our general partner otherwise agrees, it will not be personally liable for, or have any obligation to contribute or lend funds or assets to us to enable us to effectuate, indemnification. We may purchase insurance against liabilities asserted against and expenses incurred by persons for our activities, regardless of whether we would have the power to indemnify the person against such liabilities under our partnership agreement.
Reimbursement of Expenses
Our partnership agreement requires us to reimburse our general partner for all direct and indirect expenses it incurs or payments it makes on our behalf and all other expenses allocable to us or otherwise incurred by our general partner in connection with operating our business. These expenses will include salary, bonus, incentive compensation and other amounts paid to persons who perform services for us or on our behalf and expenses allocated to our general partner by its affiliates. Our general partner is entitled to determine the expenses that are allocable to us. Our partnership agreement does not limit the amount of expenses for which our general partner and its affiliates may be reimbursed.
Books and Reports
Our general partner is required to keep appropriate books of our business at our principal offices. The books will be maintained for both tax and financial reporting purposes on an accrual basis. For tax and financial reporting purposes, our fiscal year is the calendar year.
We furnish or make available to record holders of our units or other partnership interests, within 105 days after the close of each fiscal year, an annual report containing audited financial statements and a report on those financial statements by our independent registered public accounting firm. Except for our fourth quarter, we also furnish or make available unaudited financial information within 50 days after the close of each quarter. We are deemed to have made any such report available if we file such report with the SEC on EDGAR or make the report available on a publicly available website which we maintain.
We furnish each record holder of a unit with information reasonably required for U.S. federal, state and local tax reporting purposes within 90 days after the close of each calendar year. This information is expected to be furnished in summary form so that some complex calculations normally required of partners can be avoided. Our ability to furnish this summary information to our unitholders depends on their cooperation in supplying us with specific information. Every unitholder will receive information to assist him in determining his U.S. federal and state tax liability and in filing his U.S. federal and state income tax returns, regardless of whether he supplies us with the necessary information.
 
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Right to Inspect Our Books and Records
Our partnership agreement provides that a limited partner can, for a purpose reasonably related to his interest as a limited partner, upon reasonable written demand stating the purpose of such demand and at his own expense, have furnished to him:
 
 	•	 	true and full information regarding the status of our business and financial condition (provided that obligation shall be satisfied to the extent the limited partner is furnished our most recent annual report and any subsequent quarterly or periodic reports required to be filed (or which would be required to be filed) with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act);	
 
 	•	 	a current list of the name and last known address of each record holder; and	
 
 	•	 	a copy of our partnership agreement, our certificate of limited partnership and all amendments thereto, together with copies of the executed copies of all powers of attorney under which they have been executed.	
Our general partner may, and intends to, keep confidential from the limited partners trade secrets or other information the disclosure of which our general partner believes is not in our best interests, could damage us or our business or that we are required by law or by agreements with third parties to keep confidential.
Registration Rights
Under our partnership agreement, we have agreed to register for resale under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws any common units or other limited partner interests proposed to be sold by our general partner or any of its affiliates, including ET and ETO or their assignees, if an exemption from the registration requirements is not otherwise available. These registration rights continue for two years following any withdrawal or removal of our general partner. We are obligated to pay all expenses incidental to the registration, excluding underwriting discounts.
 
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES
This section is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to prospective common unitholders who are individual citizens or residents of the United States and, unless otherwise noted in the following discussion, is the opinion of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP (“Hunton Andrews Kurth”), counsel to our general partner and us, insofar as it relates to legal conclusions with respect to matters of U.S. federal income tax law. A description of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the preferred units and the debt securities will be set forth in a prospectus supplement relating to the offering of such units or securities. This section is based upon current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”), existing and proposed Treasury regulations promulgated under the Internal Revenue Code (the “Treasury Regulations”) and current administrative rulings and court decisions, all of which are subject to change. Later changes in these authorities may cause the tax consequences to vary substantially from the consequences described below. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “us” or “we” are references to Sunoco LP and our operating subsidiaries.
The following discussion does not comment on all federal income tax matters affecting us or our unitholders and does not describe the application of the alternative minimum tax that may be applicable to certain unitholders. Moreover, the discussion focuses on unitholders who are individual citizens or residents of the United States and has only limited application to corporations, estates, entities treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, trusts, nonresident aliens, U.S. expatriates and former citizens or long-term residents of the United States or other unitholders subject to specialized tax treatment, such as banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions, tax-exempt institutions, foreign persons (including, without limitation, controlled foreign corporations, passive foreign investment companies and foreign persons eligible for the benefits of an applicable income tax treaty with the United States), individual retirement accounts (IRAs), real estate investment trusts (REITs) or mutual funds, dealers in securities or currencies, traders in securities, U.S. persons whose “functional currency” is not the U.S. dollar, persons holding their units as part of a “straddle,” “hedge,” “conversion transaction” or other risk reduction transaction, persons subject to special tax accounting rules as a result of any item of gross income with respect to our common units being taken into account in an applicable financial statement and persons deemed to sell their units under the constructive sale provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, the discussion only comments, to a limited extent, on state, local, and foreign tax consequences. Accordingly, we encourage each prospective common unitholder to consult his own tax advisor in analyzing the state, local and foreign tax consequences particular to him of the ownership or disposition of common units and potential changes in applicable laws, including the impact of the recently enacted U.S. tax reform legislation.
No ruling has been requested from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) regarding our characterization as a partnership for tax purposes. Instead, we will rely on opinions of Hunton Andrews Kurth. Unlike a ruling, an opinion of counsel represents only that counsel’s best legal judgment and does not bind the IRS or the courts. Accordingly, the opinions and statements made herein may not be sustained by a court if contested by the IRS. Any contest of this sort with the IRS may materially and adversely impact the market for our common units, including the prices at which our common units trade. In addition, the costs of any contest with the IRS, principally legal, accounting and related fees, will result in a reduction in cash available for distribution to our unitholders and our general partner and thus will be borne indirectly by our unitholders and our general partner. Furthermore, the tax treatment of us, or of an investment in us, may be significantly modified by future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions. Any modifications may or may not be retroactively applied.
All statements as to matters of U.S. federal income tax law and legal conclusions with respect thereto, but not as to factual matters, contained in this section, unless otherwise noted, are the opinion of Hunton Andrews Kurth and are based on the accuracy of the representations made by us.
 
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Notwithstanding the above, and for the reasons described below, Hunton Andrews Kurth has not rendered an opinion with respect to the following specific federal income tax issues: (i) the treatment of a unitholder whose common units are the subject of a securities loan (e.g., a loan to a short seller to cover a short sale of common units)(please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Treatment of Securities Loans”); (ii) whether all aspects of our method for allocating taxable income and losses is permitted by existing Treasury Regulations (please read “—Disposition of Common Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees”); and (iii) whether our method for taking into account Section 743 adjustments is sustainable in certain cases (please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Section 754 Election” and “—Uniformity of Units”).
Partnership Status
Subject to the discussion below under “—Administrative Matters—Information Returns and Audit Procedures”), a partnership is not a taxable entity and incurs no federal income tax liability. Instead, each partner of a partnership is required to take into account his share of items of income, gain, loss and deduction of the partnership in computing his federal income tax liability, regardless of whether cash distributions are made to him by the partnership. Distributions by a partnership to a partner are generally not taxable to the partnership or the partner unless the amount of cash distributed to him is in excess of the partner’s adjusted basis in his partnership interest. Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that publicly traded partnerships will, as a general rule, be taxed as corporations. However, an exception, referred to as the “Qualifying Income Exception,” exists with respect to publicly traded partnerships of which 90% or more of the gross income for every taxable year consists of “qualifying income.” Qualifying income includes income and gains derived from the processing, refining, transportation and marketing of certain minerals and natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas and other products of a type that are produced in a petroleum refinery or natural gas processing plant, the retail and wholesale marketing of propane, the transportation of propane and natural gas liquids, certain related hedging activities, certain activities that are intrinsic to other qualifying activities, and our allocable share of our subsidiaries’ income from these sources. Other types of qualifying income include interest (other than from a financial business), dividends, real property rents, gains from the sale of real property and gains from the sale or other disposition of capital assets held for the production of income that otherwise constitutes qualifying income. We estimate that less than 5% of our current gross income is not qualifying income; however, this estimate could change from time to time. Based upon and subject to this estimate, the factual representations made by us and our general partner and a review of the applicable legal authorities, Hunton Andrews Kurth is of the opinion that at least 90% of our current gross income constitutes qualifying income. The portion of our income that is qualifying income may change from time to time.
The IRS has made no determination as to our status or the status of our operating subsidiaries for federal income tax purposes or whether our operations generate “qualifying income” under Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code. Instead, we will rely on the opinion of Hunton Andrews Kurth on such matters. It is the opinion of Hunton Andrews Kurth that, based upon the Internal Revenue Code, its regulations, published revenue rulings and court decisions and the representations described below that
 
 	•	 	we will be classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.	
In rendering its opinion, Hunton Andrews Kurth has relied on factual representations made by us and our general partner. The representations made by us and our general partner upon which Hunton Andrews Kurth has relied include:
 
 	•	 	neither we nor any of our subsidiaries, other than those identified as such to Hunton Andrews Kurth, have elected or will elect to be treated, or is otherwise treated, as a corporation for federal income tax purposes; and	
 
 	•	 	for each taxable year since and including the year of our initial public offering, more than 90% of our gross income has been and will be income of the type that Hunton Andrews Kurth has opined or will opine is “qualifying income” within the meaning of Section 7704(d) of the Internal Revenue Code.	
 
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We believe that these representations have been true in the past, are true as of the date hereof and expect that these representations will continue to be true in the future.
If we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, other than a failure that is determined by the IRS to be inadvertent and that is cured within a reasonable time after discovery (in which case the IRS may also require us to make adjustments with respect to our unitholders or pay other amounts), we will be treated as if we had transferred all of our assets, subject to liabilities, to a newly formed corporation, on the first day of the year in which we fail to meet the Qualifying Income Exception, in return for stock in that corporation, and then distributed that stock to the unitholders in liquidation of their interests in us. This deemed contribution and liquidation should be tax-free to unitholders and us so long as we, at that time, do not have liabilities in excess of the tax basis of our assets. Thereafter, we would be treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes.
The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in common units may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial changes or differing interpretations at any time. Any modifications to the U.S. federal income tax laws may be applied retroactively and could make it more difficult or impossible for us to meet the Qualifying Income Exception. We are unable to predict whether any such changes or other proposals will ultimately be enacted. Any such changes could negatively impact the value of an investment in our common units.
If we were treated as an association taxable as a corporation in any taxable year, either as a result of a failure to meet the Qualifying Income Exception or otherwise, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction would be reflected only on our tax return rather than being passed through to our unitholders, and our net income would be taxed to us at corporate rates. In addition, any distribution made to a unitholder would be treated as taxable dividend income, to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, or, in the absence of earnings and profits, a nontaxable return of capital, to the extent of the unitholder’s tax basis in his common units, or taxable capital gain, after the unitholder’s tax basis in his common units is reduced to zero. Accordingly, taxation as a corporation would result in a material reduction in a unitholder’s cash flow and after-tax return and thus would likely result in a substantial reduction of the value of the units.
The discussion below is based on Hunton Andrews Kurth’s opinion that we will be classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.
Tax Treatment of Income Earned Through Certain Subsidiaries
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is unable to opine as to the qualifying nature of the income generated by certain portions of our operations. As a result, we currently conduct a portion of our business related to these operations in a separate subsidiary PropCo, and its subsidiaries including Aloha. Each of PropCo, and Aloha is classified, or has elected to be treated, as an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. These subsidiaries file a consolidated federal corporate income tax return and are subject to corporate-level federal income tax on their taxable income at the corporate tax rate, which is currently a maximum of 21%. These subsidiaries will also likely pay state income tax at varying rates on their taxable income. Any such entity level taxes will reduce the cash available for distribution to our unitholders. An individual unitholder’s share of interest and dividend income from PropCo and its subsidiaries will constitute portfolio income that cannot be offset by the unitholder’s share of our other losses or deductions. Interest income from PropCo will be taxed to unitholders at rates applicable to ordinary income. Distributions from PropCo will generally be taxed to unitholders as qualified dividend income to the extent of current and accumulated earnings and profits of PropCo.
Limited Partner Status
Common unitholders who are admitted as limited partners of Sunoco LP will be treated as partners of Sunoco LP for federal income tax purposes. Also, unitholders whose common units are held in street name or by
 
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a nominee and who have the right to direct the nominee in the exercise of all substantive rights attendant to the ownership of their common units will be treated as partners of Sunoco LP for federal income tax purposes. For a discussion related to the risks of losing partner status as a result of securities loans, please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Treatment of Securities Loans.” Unitholders who are not treated as partners of Sunoco LP are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences to them of holding common units in Sunoco LP. The references to “unitholders” in the discussion that follows are to persons who are treated as partners in Sunoco LP for federal income tax purposes.
Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership
Flow-Through of Taxable Income
Subject to the discussion below under “—Entity-Level Collections,” we will not pay any federal income tax. Instead, each unitholder will be required to report on his income tax return his share of our income, gains, losses and deductions without regard to whether we make cash distributions to him. Consequently, we may allocate income to a unitholder even if the unitholder has not received a cash distribution. Each unitholder will be required to include in income his allocable share of our income, gains, losses and deductions for our taxable year ending with or within his taxable year. Our taxable year ends on December 31.
Treatment of Distributions
Distributions by us to a unitholder generally will not be taxable to the unitholder for federal income tax purposes, except to the extent the amount of any such cash distribution exceeds his tax basis in his common units immediately before the distribution. Our cash distributions in excess of a unitholder’s tax basis generally will be considered to be gain from the sale or exchange of the common units, taxable in accordance with the rules described under “—Disposition of Common Units.” Any reduction in a unitholder’s share of our liabilities for which no partner, including the general partner, bears the economic risk of loss, known as “nonrecourse liabilities,” will be treated as a distribution by us of cash to that unitholder. To the extent our distributions cause a unitholder’s “at-risk” amount to be less than zero at the end of any taxable year, he must recapture any losses deducted in previous years. Please read “—Limitations on Deductibility of Losses.”
A decrease in a unitholder’s percentage interest in us because of our issuance of additional common units will decrease his share of our nonrecourse liabilities, and thus will result in a corresponding deemed distribution of cash. This deemed distribution may constitute a non-pro rata distribution. A non-pro rata distribution of money or property may result in ordinary income to a unitholder, regardless of his tax basis in his common units, if the distribution reduces the unitholder’s share of our “unrealized receivables,” including depreciation, recapture and/or substantially appreciated “inventory items,” each as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, and collectively, “Section 751 Assets.” To that extent, the unitholder will be treated as having been distributed his proportionate share of the Section 751 Assets and then having exchanged those assets with us in return for the non-pro rata portion of the actual distribution made to him. This latter deemed exchange will generally result in the unitholder’s realization of ordinary income, which will equal the excess of (i) the non-pro rata portion of that distribution over (ii) the unitholder’s tax basis (often zero) for the share of Section 751 Assets deemed relinquished in the exchange.
Basis of Common Units
A unitholder’s initial tax basis for his common units will be the amount the unitholder paid for the common units plus his share of our nonrecourse liabilities. That basis will be increased by his share of our income, by any increases in his share of our nonrecourse liabilities and, on the disposition of a common unit, by his share of certain items related to business interest not yet deductible by him due to applicable limitations. Please read “—Limitations on Interest Deductions.” That basis will be decreased, but not below zero, by distributions from us, by the unitholder’s share of our losses, by any decreases in his share of our nonrecourse liabilities, by his
 
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share of our excess business interest (generally, the excess of our business interest over the amount that is deductible) and by his share of our expenditures that are not deductible in computing taxable income and are not required to be capitalized. A unitholder will have no share of our debt that is recourse to our general partner to the extent of the general partner’s “net value” as defined in the Treasury Regulations promulgated under Section 752 of the Internal Revenue Code, but will have a share, generally based on his share of profits, of our nonrecourse liabilities. Please read “—Disposition of Common Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.”
Limitations on Deductibility of Losses
The deduction by a unitholder of his share of our losses will be limited to the tax basis in his units and, in the case of an individual unitholder, estate, trust, or corporate unitholder (if more than 50% of the value of the corporate unitholder’s stock is owned directly or indirectly by or for five or fewer individuals or some tax-exempt organizations), to the amount for which the unitholder is considered to be “at risk” with respect to our activities, if that is less than his tax basis. A common unitholder subject to these limitations must recapture losses deducted in previous years to the extent that distributions cause his at-risk amount to be less than zero at the end of any taxable year. Losses disallowed to a unitholder or recaptured as a result of these limitations will carry forward and will be allowable as a deduction to the extent that his at-risk amount is subsequently increased, provided such losses do not exceed such common unitholder’s tax basis in his common units. Upon the taxable disposition of a common unit, any gain recognized by a unitholder can be offset by losses that were previously suspended by the at-risk limitation but may not be offset by losses suspended by the basis limitation. Any loss previously suspended by the at-risk limitation in excess of that gain would no longer be utilizable.
In general, a unitholder will be at risk to the extent of the tax basis of his units, excluding any portion of that basis attributable to his share of our nonrecourse liabilities, reduced by (i) any portion of that basis representing amounts otherwise protected against loss because of a guarantee, stop loss agreement or other similar arrangement and (ii) any amount of money he borrows to acquire or hold his units, if the lender of those borrowed funds owns an interest in us, is related to the unitholder or can look only to the units for repayment. A unitholder’s at-risk amount will increase or decrease as the tax basis of the unitholder’s units increases or decreases, other than tax basis increases or decreases attributable to increases or decreases in his share of our nonrecourse liabilities.
In addition to the basis and at-risk limitations on the deductibility of losses, the passive loss limitations generally provide that individuals, estates, trusts and some closely-held corporations and personal service corporations can deduct losses from passive activities, which are generally trade or business activities in which the taxpayer does not materially participate, only to the extent of the taxpayer’s income from those passive activities. The passive loss limitations are applied separately with respect to each publicly traded partnership. Consequently, any passive losses we generate will only be available to offset our passive income generated in the future and will not be available to offset income from other passive activities or investments, including our investments or a unitholder’s investments in other publicly traded partnerships, or the unitholder’s salary, active business or other income. Passive losses that are not deductible because they exceed a unitholder’s share of income we generate may be deducted in full when the unitholder disposes of his entire investment in us in a fully taxable transaction with an unrelated party. The passive loss limitations are applied after other applicable limitations on deductions, including the at-risk rules and the basis limitation.
A unitholder’s share of our net income may be offset by any of our suspended passive losses, but may not be offset by any other current or carryover losses from other passive activities, including those attributable to other publicly traded partnerships.
An excess business loss limitation further limits the deductibility of losses by certain of our unitholders for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026. A non-corporate unitholder will not be allowed to take a deduction for certain excess business losses in such taxable years. An excess business loss is the excess (if any) of a taxpayer’s aggregate deductions for the taxable year that are attributable to the
 
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trades or businesses of such taxpayer (determined without regard to the excess business loss limitation) over the aggregate gross income or gain of such taxpayer for the taxable year that is attributable to such trades or businesses plus a threshold amount. The threshold amount is equal to $250,000, or $500,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return. Any losses disallowed in a taxable year due to the excess business loss limitation may be used by the applicable unitholder in the following taxable year if certain conditions are met. Unitholders to which this excess business loss limitation applies will take their allocable share of our items of income, gain, loss and deduction into account in determining this limitation. This excess business loss limitation will be applied to a non-corporate unitholder after the passive loss limitations and may limit such unitholders’ ability to utilize any losses we generate allocable to such unitholder that are not otherwise limited by the basis, at-risk and passive loss limitations described above.
Limitations on Interest Deductions
Our ability to deduct interest paid or accrued on indebtedness properly allocable to a trade or business, “business interest”, may be limited in certain circumstances. Should our ability to deduct business interest be limited, the amount of taxable income allocated to our unitholders in the taxable year in which the limitation is in effect may increase. However, in certain circumstances, a unitholder may be able to utilize a portion of a business interest deduction subject to this limitation in future taxable years. Prospective unitholders should consult their tax advisors regarding the impact of this business interest deduction limitation on an investment in our common units.
In addition, the deductibility of a non-corporate taxpayer’s “investment interest expense” is generally limited to the amount of that taxpayer’s “net investment income.” Investment interest expense includes:
 
 	•	 	interest on indebtedness properly allocable to property held for investment;	
 
 	•	 	our interest expense attributed to portfolio income; and	
 
 	•	 	the portion of interest expense incurred to purchase or carry an interest in a passive activity to the extent attributable to portfolio income.	
The computation of a unitholder’s investment interest expense will take into account interest on any margin account borrowing or other loan incurred to purchase or carry a unit. Net investment income includes gross income from property held for investment and amounts treated as portfolio income under the passive loss rules, less deductible expenses, other than interest, directly connected with the production of investment income, but generally does not include gains attributable to the disposition of property held for investment or (if applicable) qualified dividend income. The IRS has indicated that the net passive income earned by a publicly traded partnership will be treated as investment income to its unitholders. In addition, the unitholder’s share of our portfolio income will be treated as investment income.
Entity-Level Collections
If we are required or elect under applicable law to pay any federal, state, local or foreign income tax on behalf of any unitholder or our general partner or any former unitholder, we are authorized to pay those taxes from our funds. That payment, if made, will be treated as a distribution of cash to the unitholder on whose behalf the payment was made. If the payment is made on behalf of a person whose identity cannot be determined, we are authorized to treat the payment as a distribution to all current unitholders. We are authorized to amend our partnership agreement in the manner necessary to maintain uniformity of intrinsic tax characteristics of units and to adjust later distributions, so that after giving effect to these distributions, the priority and characterization of distributions otherwise applicable under our partnership agreement is maintained as nearly as is practicable. Payments by us as described above could give rise to an overpayment of tax on behalf of an individual unitholder in which event the unitholder would be required to file a claim in order to obtain a credit or refund.
 
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Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction
In general, if we have a net profit, our items of income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated among our unitholders, other than holders of our Class C Units, in accordance with their percentage interests in us. At any time that incentive distributions are made to our general partner, gross income will be allocated to the recipients to the extent of these distributions. If we have a net loss, that loss will be allocated to our unitholders, other than holders of our Class C Units, in accordance with their percentage interests in us subject to any limitations on the allocation of net loss as provided in the applicable Treasury Regulations.
Specified items of our income, gain, loss and deduction will be allocated under Section 704(c) of the Internal Revenue Code (or the principles of Section 704(c) of the Internal Revenue Code) to account for any difference between the tax basis and fair market value of our assets at the time such assets are contributed to us and at the time of any subsequent offering of our units (a “Book-Tax Disparity”). As a result, the U.S. federal income tax burden associated with any Book-Tax Disparity immediately prior to an offering generally will be borne by our partners holding interests in us prior to such offering. In addition, items of recapture income will be allocated to the extent possible to the unitholder who was allocated the deduction giving rise to the treatment of that gain as recapture income in order to minimize the recognition of ordinary income by some unitholders. Finally, although we do not expect that our operations will result in the creation of negative capital accounts (subject to certain adjustments), if negative capital accounts (subject to certain adjustments) nevertheless result, items of our income and gain will be allocated in an amount and manner sufficient to eliminate such negative balance as quickly as possible.
An allocation of items of our income, gain, loss or deduction, other than an allocation required by the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate a Book-Tax Disparity, will generally be given effect for federal income tax purposes in determining a partner’s share of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction only if the allocation has “substantial economic effect.” In any other case, a partner’s share of an item will be determined on the basis of his interest in us, which will be determined by taking into account all the facts and circumstances, including:
 
 	•	 	his relative contributions to us;	
 
 	•	 	the interests of all the partners in profits and losses;	
 
 	•	 	the interest of all the partners in cash flow; and	
 
 	•	 	the rights of all the partners to distributions of capital upon liquidation.	
Hunton Andrews Kurth is of the opinion that, with the exception of the issues described in “—Section 754 Election” and “—Disposition of Common Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees,” allocations under our partnership agreement will be given effect for federal income tax purposes in determining a partner’s share of an item of income, gain, loss or deduction.
Treatment of Securities Loans
A unitholder whose units are subject to a security loan (for example, a loan to a “short seller” to cover a short sale of units) may be treated as having disposed of those units. If so, he would no longer be treated for tax purposes as a partner with respect to those units during the period of the loan and may recognize gain or loss from the disposition. As a result, during this period:
 
 	•	 	any of our income, gain, loss or deduction with respect to those units would not be reportable by the unitholder;	
 
 	•	 	any cash distributions received by the unitholder as to those units would be fully taxable; and	
 
 	•	 	while not entirely free from doubt, all of these distributions would appear to be ordinary income.	
 
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Because there is no direct or indirect controlling authority on the issue relating to partnership interests, Hunton Andrews Kurth has not rendered an opinion regarding the tax treatment of a unitholder who enters into a securities loan with respect to its units.    Unitholders desiring to assure their status as partners and avoid the risk of income recognition from a securities loan are urged to consult a tax advisor to discuss whether it is advisable to modify any applicable brokerage account agreements to prohibit their brokers from borrowing and loaning their units. The IRS has previously announced that it is studying issues relating to the tax treatment of short sales of partnership interests. Please also read “—Disposition of Common Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.”
Tax Rates
Currently, the highest marginal U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to ordinary income of individuals is 37% and the highest marginal U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to long-term capital gains (generally, capital gains on certain assets held for more than twelve months) of individuals is 20%.
In addition, a 3.8% Medicare tax (NIIT) is imposed on certain net investment income earned by individuals, estates and trusts. For these purposes, net investment income generally includes a unitholder’s allocable share of our income and gain realized by a unitholder from a sale of units. In the case of an individual, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) the unitholder’s net investment income or (ii) the amount by which the unitholder’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 (if the unitholder is married and filing jointly or a surviving spouse), $125,000 (if the unitholder is married and filing separately) or $200,000 (in any other case). In the case of an estate or trust, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) undistributed net investment income, or (ii) the excess adjusted gross income over the dollar amount at which the highest income tax bracket applicable to an estate or trust begins for such taxable year. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS have issued Treasury Regulations that provide guidance regarding the NIIT. Prospective common unitholders are urged to consult with their tax advisors as to the impact of the NIIT on an investment in our common units.
For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, and ending on or before December 31, 2025, an individual unitholder is entitled to a deduction equal to 20% of his or her “qualified business income” attributable to us, subject to certain limitations. For purposes of this deduction, a unitholder’s “qualified business income” attributable to us is equal to the sum of:
 
 	•	 	the net amount of such unitholder’s allocable share of certain of our items of income, gain, deduction and loss (generally excluding certain items related to our investment activities, including capital gains and dividends, which are subject to a federal income tax rate of 20%); and	
 
 	•	 	any gain recognized by such unitholder on the disposition of its units to the extent such gain is attributable to certain Section 751 assets, including depreciation recapture and “inventory items” we own.	
Prospective unitholders should consult their tax advisors regarding the application of this deduction and its interaction with the overall deduction for qualified business income.
These rates, and the deduction, are subject to change by new legislation at any time.
Section 754 Election
We have made the election permitted by Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code. That election is irrevocable without the consent of the IRS. The election generally permits us to adjust a common unit purchaser’s tax basis in our assets (“inside basis”) under Section 743(b) of the Internal Revenue Code to reflect his purchase price. This election does not apply with respect to a person who purchases common units directly from us. The Section 743(b) adjustment belongs to the purchaser and not to other unitholders. For purposes of this discussion, the inside basis in our assets with respect to a unitholder will be considered to have two components: (i) his share of our tax basis in our assets (“common basis”) and (ii) his Section 743(b) adjustment to that basis.
 
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We have adopted the remedial allocation method as to all our properties. Where the remedial allocation method is adopted, the Treasury Regulations under Section 743 of the Internal Revenue Code require a portion of the Section 743(b) adjustment that is attributable to recovery property that is subject to depreciation under Section 168 of the Internal Revenue Code and whose book basis is in excess of its tax basis to be depreciated over the remaining cost recovery period for the property’s unamortized Book-Tax Disparity. Under Treasury Regulation Section 1.167(c)-1(a)(6), a Section 743(b) adjustment attributable to property subject to depreciation under Section 167 of the Internal Revenue Code, rather than cost recovery deductions under Section 168, is generally required to be depreciated using either the straight-line method or the 150% declining balance method. Under our partnership agreement, our general partner is authorized to take a position to preserve the uniformity of units even if that position is not consistent with these and any other Treasury Regulations. Please read “—Uniformity of Units.”
We depreciate the portion of a Section 743(b) adjustment attributable to unrealized appreciation in the value of Contributed Property, to the extent of any unamortized Book-Tax Disparity, using a rate of depreciation or amortization derived from the depreciation or amortization method and useful life applied to the property’s unamortized Book-Tax Disparity, or treat that portion as non-amortizable to the extent attributable to property that is not amortizable. This method is consistent with the methods employed by other publicly traded partnerships but is arguably inconsistent with Treasury Regulation Section 1.167(c)-1(a)(6), which is not expected to directly apply to a material portion of our assets. To the extent this Section 743(b) adjustment is attributable to appreciation in value in excess of the unamortized Book-Tax Disparity, we will apply the rules described in the Treasury Regulations and legislative history. If we determine that this position cannot reasonably be taken, we may take a depreciation or amortization position under which all purchasers acquiring units in the same month would receive depreciation or amortization, whether attributable to common basis or a Section 743(b) adjustment, based upon the same applicable rate as if they had purchased a direct interest in our assets. This kind of aggregate approach may result in lower annual depreciation or amortization deductions than would otherwise be allowable to some unitholders. Please read “—Uniformity of Units.” A unitholder’s tax basis for his common units is reduced by his share of our deductions (whether or not such deductions were claimed on an individual’s income tax return) so that any position we take that understates deductions will overstate such unitholder’s basis in his common units, which may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such units. Please read “—Disposition of Common Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.” Hunton Andrews Kurth is unable to opine as to whether our method for taking into account Section 743 adjustments is sustainable for property subject to depreciation under Section 167 of the Internal Revenue Code or if we use an aggregate approach as described above, as there is no direct or indirect controlling authority addressing the validity of these positions. Moreover, the IRS may challenge our position with respect to depreciating or amortizing the Section 743(b) adjustment we take to preserve the uniformity of the units. If such a challenge were sustained, the gain from the sale of units might be increased without the benefit of additional deductions.
Subject to certain limitations, a Section 743(b) adjustment may create additional depreciable basis that is eligible for bonus depreciation under Section 168(k) to the extent the adjustment is attributable to depreciable property and not to goodwill or real property. However, because we may not be able to determine whether transfers of our units satisfy all of the eligibility requirements and due to other limitations regarding administrability, we may elect out of the bonus depreciation provisions of Section 168(k) with respect to basis adjustments under Section 743(b).
The calculations involved in the Section 754 election are complex and will be made on the basis of assumptions as to the value of our assets and other matters. For example, the allocation of the Section 743(b) adjustment among our assets must be made in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code. The IRS could seek to reallocate some or all of any Section 743(b) adjustment allocated by us to our tangible assets to goodwill instead. Goodwill, as an intangible asset, is generally nonamortizable or amortizable over a longer period of time or under a less accelerated method than our tangible assets. We cannot assure you that the determinations we make will not be successfully challenged by the IRS and that the deductions resulting from them will not be reduced or disallowed altogether. Should the IRS require a different basis adjustment to be made, and should, in our opinion,
 
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the expense of compliance exceed the benefit of the election, we may seek permission from the IRS to revoke our Section 754 election. If permission is granted, a subsequent purchaser of units may be allocated more income than he would have been allocated had the election not been revoked.
Tax Treatment of Operations
Accounting Method and Taxable Year
We use the year ending December 31 as our taxable year and the accrual method of accounting for federal income tax purposes. Each unitholder will be required to include in income his share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for our taxable year ending within or with his taxable year. In addition, a unitholder who has a taxable year ending on a date other than December 31 and who disposes of all of his units following the close of our taxable year but before the close of his taxable year must include his share of our income, gain, loss and deduction in income for his taxable year, with the result that he will be required to include in income for his taxable year his share of more than twelve months of our income, gain, loss and deduction. Please read “—Disposition of Common Units—Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees.”
Tax Basis, Depreciation and Amortization
The tax basis of our assets will be used for purposes of computing depreciation and cost recovery deductions and, ultimately, gain or loss on the disposition of these assets. The federal income tax burden associated with the difference between the fair market value of our assets and their tax basis immediately prior to an offering will be borne by our unitholders holding interests in us prior to any such offering. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction.”
To the extent allowable, we may use the depreciation and cost recovery methods, including bonus depreciation to the extent available, that will result in the largest deductions being taken in the early years after assets subject to these allowances are placed in service. Please read “—Uniformity of Units.” Property we subsequently acquire or construct may be depreciated using accelerated methods permitted by the Internal Revenue Code.
If we dispose of depreciable property by sale, foreclosure or otherwise, all or a portion of any gain, determined by reference to the amount of depreciation previously deducted and the nature of the property, may be subject to the recapture rules and taxed as ordinary income rather than capital gain. Similarly, a unitholder who has taken cost recovery or depreciation deductions with respect to property we own will likely be required to recapture some or all of those deductions as ordinary income upon a sale of his interest in us. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Allocation of Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction” and “—Disposition of Common Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss.”
The costs we incur in selling our units (called “syndication expenses”) must be capitalized and cannot be deducted currently, ratably or upon our termination. There are uncertainties regarding the classification of costs as organization expenses, which may be amortized by us, and as syndication expenses, which may not be amortized by us. The underwriting discounts and commissions we incur will be treated as syndication expenses.
Valuation and Tax Basis of Our Properties
The U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of units will depend in part on our estimates of the relative fair market values, and the initial tax bases, of our assets. Although we may from time to time consult with professional appraisers regarding valuation matters, we will make many of the relative fair market value estimates ourselves. These estimates and determinations of basis are subject to challenge and will not be binding on the IRS or the courts. If the estimates of fair market value or determinations of basis are later found to be incorrect, the character and amount of items of income, gain, loss or deductions previously reported by unitholders might change, and unitholders might be required to adjust their tax liability for prior years and incur interest and penalties with respect to those adjustments.
 
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Disposition of Common Units
Recognition of Gain or Loss
A unitholder will be required to recognize gain or loss on a sale of units equal to the difference between the unitholder’s amount realized and the unitholder’s tax basis for the units sold. A unitholder’s amount realized will be measured by the sum of the cash or the fair market value of other property received by him plus his share of our nonrecourse liabilities. Because the amount realized includes a unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities, the gain recognized on the sale of units could result in a tax liability in excess of any cash received from the sale.
Prior distributions from us that in the aggregate were in excess of cumulative net taxable income for a common unit and, therefore, decreased a unitholder’s tax basis in that common unit will, in effect, become taxable income if the common unit is sold at a price greater than the unitholder’s tax basis in that common unit, even if the price received is less than his original cost.
Except as noted below, gain or loss recognized by a unitholder, other than a “dealer” in units, on the sale or exchange of a unit will generally be taxable as capital gain or loss. Capital gain recognized by an individual on the sale of units held for more than twelve months will generally be taxed at the U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to long-term capital gains. However, a portion of this gain or loss, which will likely be substantial, will be separately computed and taxed as ordinary income or loss under Section 751 of the Internal Revenue Code to the extent attributable to assets giving rise to “unrealized receivables,” including potential recapture items such as depreciation recapture, or to “inventory items” we own. Ordinary income attributable to unrealized receivables and inventory items may exceed net taxable gain realized upon the sale of a unit and may be recognized even if there is a net taxable loss realized on the sale of a unit. Thus, a unitholder may recognize both ordinary income and a capital loss upon a sale of units. Capital losses may offset capital gains and no more than $3,000 of ordinary income, in the case of individuals, and may only be used to offset capital gains in the case of corporations. Ordinary income recognized by a unitholder on disposition of our units may be reduced by such unitholder’s deduction for qualified business income. Both ordinary income and capital gain recognized on a sale of units may be subject to the NIIT in certain circumstances. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Tax Rates.”
The IRS has ruled that a partner who acquires interests in a partnership in separate transactions must combine those interests and maintain a single adjusted tax basis for all those interests. Upon a sale or other disposition of less than all of those interests, a portion of that tax basis must be allocated to the interests sold using an “equitable apportionment” method, which generally means that the tax basis allocated to the interest sold equals an amount that bears the same relation to the partner’s tax basis in his entire interest in the partnership as the value of the interest sold bears to the value of the partner’s entire interest in the partnership. Treasury Regulations under Section 1223 of the Internal Revenue Code allow a selling unitholder who can identify common units transferred with an ascertainable holding period to elect to use the actual holding period of the common units transferred. Thus, according to the ruling discussed above, a common unitholder will be unable to select high or low basis common units to sell as would be the case with corporate stock, but, according to the Treasury Regulations, may designate specific common units sold for purposes of determining the holding period of units transferred. A unitholder electing to use the actual holding period of common units transferred must consistently use that identification method for all subsequent sales or exchanges of common units. A unitholder considering the purchase of additional units or a sale of common units purchased in separate transactions is urged to consult his tax advisor as to the possible consequences of this ruling and application of the Treasury Regulations.
Specific provisions of the Internal Revenue Code affect the taxation of some financial products and securities, including partnership interests, by treating a taxpayer as having sold an “appreciated” partnership
 
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interest, one in which gain would be recognized if it were sold, assigned or terminated at its fair market value, if the taxpayer or related persons enter(s) into:
 
 	•	 	a short sale;	
 
 	•	 	an offsetting notional principal contract; or	
 
 	•	 	a futures or forward contract;	
in each case, with respect to the partnership interest or substantially identical property.
Moreover, if a taxpayer has previously entered into a short sale, an offsetting notional principal contract or a futures or forward contract with respect to the partnership interest, the taxpayer will be treated as having sold that position if the taxpayer or a related person then acquires the partnership interest or substantially identical property. The Secretary of the Treasury is also authorized to issue regulations that treat a taxpayer that enters into transactions or positions that have substantially the same effect as the preceding transactions as having constructively sold the financial position.
Allocations Between Transferors and Transferees
In general, our taxable income and losses will be determined annually, will be prorated on a monthly basis in proportion to the number of days in each month and will be subsequently apportioned among our unitholders in proportion to the number of units owned by each of them as of the opening of the applicable exchange on the first business day of the month, which we refer to in this prospectus as the “Allocation Date.” However, gain or loss realized on a sale or other disposition of our assets other than in the ordinary course of business will be allocated among our unitholders on the Allocation Date in the month in which that gain or loss is recognized. As a result, a unitholder transferring units may be allocated income, gain, loss and deduction realized after the date of transfer.
The U.S. Department of Treasury and the IRS have issued Treasury Regulations that permit publicly traded partnerships to use a monthly simplifying convention that is similar to ours, but they do not specifically authorize all aspects of the proration method we have adopted. Accordingly, Hunton Andrews Kurth is unable to opine on the validity of this method of allocating income and deductions between transferor and transferee unitholders. If this method is not allowed under the Treasury Regulations, our taxable income or losses might be reallocated among the unitholders. We are authorized to revise our method of allocation between transferor and transferee unitholders, as well as unitholders whose interests vary during a taxable year, to conform to a method permitted under the Treasury Regulations.
A unitholder who owns units at any time during a quarter and who disposes of them prior to the record date set for a cash distribution for that quarter will be allocated items of our income, gain, loss and deductions attributable to that quarter through the month of disposition but will not be entitled to receive that cash distribution.
Notification Requirements
A unitholder who sells any of his units is generally required to notify us in writing of that sale within 30 days after the sale (or, if earlier, January 15 of the year following the sale). A purchaser of units who purchases units from another unitholder is also generally required to notify us in writing of that purchase within 30 days after the purchase. Upon receiving such notifications, we are required to notify the IRS of that transaction and to furnish specified information to the transferor and transferee. Failure to notify us of a purchase may, in some cases, lead to the imposition of penalties. However, these reporting requirements do not apply to a sale by an individual who is a citizen of the United States and who effects the sale or exchange through a broker who will satisfy such requirements.
 
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Uniformity of Units
Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of units, we must maintain uniformity of the economic and tax characteristics of the units to a purchaser of these units. In the absence of uniformity, we may be unable to completely comply with a number of federal income tax requirements, both statutory and regulatory.
Our partnership agreement permits our general partner to take positions in filing our tax returns that preserve the uniformity of our units. These positions may include reducing the depreciation, amortization or loss deductions to which a unitholder would otherwise be entitled or reporting a slower amortization of Section 743(b) adjustments for some unitholders than that to which they would otherwise be entitled. Hunton Andrews Kurth is unable to opine as to the validity of such filing positions.
A unitholder’s tax basis in its units is reduced by its share of our deductions (whether or not such deductions were claimed on an individual income tax return) so that any position that we may take that understates deductions will overstate the unitholder’s basis in its units, and may cause the unitholder to understate gain or overstate loss on any sale of such units. Please read “ —Disposition of Units—Recognition of Gain or Loss” above and “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Section 754 Election” above. The IRS may challenge one or more of any positions we take to preserve the uniformity of units. If such a challenge were sustained, the uniformity of units might be affected, and, under some circumstances, the gain from the sale of units might be increased without the benefit of additional deductions.
Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors
Ownership of units by employee benefit plans, other tax-exempt organizations, non-resident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign persons raises issues unique to those investors and, as described below to a limited extent, may have substantially adverse tax consequences to them. If you are a tax-exempt entity or a foreign person, you should consult your tax advisor before investing in our common units.
Employee benefit plans and most other organizations exempt from federal income tax, including IRAs and other retirement plans, are subject to federal income tax on unrelated business taxable income. Virtually all of our income allocated to a unitholder that is a tax-exempt organization will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable to it. Further, a tax exempt organization with more than one unrelated trade or business (including by attribution from investments in a partnership, such as us, that is engaged in one or more unrelated trades or businesses) must compute its unrelated business taxable income separately for each such trade or business, including for purposes of determining any net operating loss deduction. As a result, it may not be possible for tax exempt organizations to use losses from an investment in us to offset taxable income from another unrelated trade or business.
Non-resident aliens and foreign corporations, trusts or estates that own units will be considered to be engaged in business in the United States because of the ownership of units. As a consequence, they will be required to file federal tax returns to report their share of our income, gain, loss or deduction and pay U.S. federal income tax at regular rates on their share of our net income or gain. Moreover, under rules applicable to publicly traded partnerships, our quarterly distribution to foreign unitholders will be subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate. Each foreign unitholder must obtain a taxpayer identification number from the IRS and submit that number to our transfer agent on a Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or applicable substitute form in order to obtain credit for these withholding taxes. A change in applicable law may require us to change these procedures.
In addition, because a foreign corporation that owns units will be treated as engaged in a U.S. trade or business, that corporation may be subject to the U.S. branch profits tax at a rate of 30%, in addition to regular U.S. federal income tax, on its share of our earnings and profits, as adjusted for changes in the foreign corporation’s “U.S. net equity,” that is effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business. That
 
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tax may be reduced or eliminated by an income tax treaty between the United States and the country in which the foreign corporate unitholder is a “qualified resident.” In addition, this type of unitholder is subject to special information reporting requirements under Section 6038C of the Internal Revenue Code.
A foreign unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a common unit will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on gain realized from the sale or disposition of that unit to the extent the gain is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the foreign unitholder. Gain on the sale or disposition of a common unit will be treated as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business to the extent that a foreign unitholder would recognize gain effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business upon the hypothetical sale of our assets at fair market value on the date of the sale or exchange of that unit. Such gain shall be reduced by certain amounts treated as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business attributable to certain real property interests, as set forth in the following paragraph.
Under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, a foreign common unitholder (other than certain “qualified foreign pension funds” (or an entity all of the interests of which are held by such a qualified foreign pension fund), which generally are entities or arrangements that are established and regulated by foreign law to provide retirement or other pension benefits to employees, do not have a single participant or beneficiary that is entitled to more than 5% of the assets or income of the entity or arrangement and are subject to certain preferential tax treatment under the laws of the applicable foreign country) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax upon the sale or disposition of a common unit if (i) he owned (directly or constructively applying certain attribution rules) more than 5% of our common units at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of such disposition and (ii) 50% or more of the fair market value of all of our assets consisted of U.S. real property interests at any time during the shorter of the period during which such unitholder held the common units or the five-year period ending on the date of disposition. Currently, more than 50% of our assets consist of U.S. real property interests and we do not expect that to change in the foreseeable future.
Therefore, foreign unitholders may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on gain from the sale or disposition of their units.
Upon the sale, exchange or other disposition of a common unit by a foreign unitholder, the transferee is generally required to withhold 10% of the amount realized on such sale, exchange or other disposition if any portion of the gain on such sale, exchange or other disposition would be treated as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. If the transferee fails to satisfy this withholding requirement, we will be required to deduct and withhold such amount (plus interest) from future distributions to the transferee. Because the “amount realized” would include a unitholder’s share of our nonrecourse liabilities, 10% of the amount realized could exceed the total cash purchase price for such disposed units. For this and other reasons, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS suspended these rules for transfers of certain publicly traded partnership interests, including transfers of our common units, until regulations or other guidance has been issued. In May 2019, the IRS issued proposed Treasury Regulations that would require withholding on open market transactions, effective 60 days after the issuance of final Treasury Regulations, but in the case of a transfer made through a broker, would exclude a partner’s share of liabilities from the amount realized. In addition, the obligation to withhold would be imposed on the broker instead of the transferee. It is not clear if or when the proposed Treasury Regulations will be finalized and in what form, or if other guidance will be issued.
Additional withholding requirements may also affect certain foreign unitholders. Please read “—Administrative Matters—Additional Withholding Requirements.”
Administrative Matters
Information Returns and Audit Procedures
We intend to furnish to each unitholder, within 90 days after the close of each calendar year, specific tax information, including a Schedule K-1, which describes his share of our income, gain, loss and deduction for our
 
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preceding taxable year. In preparing this information, which will not be reviewed by counsel, we will take various accounting and reporting positions, some of which have been mentioned earlier, to determine each unitholder’s share of income, gain, loss and deduction. We cannot assure you that those positions will yield a result that conforms to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations or administrative interpretations of the IRS. Neither we nor Hunton Andrews Kurth can assure prospective common unitholders that the IRS will not successfully contend in court that those positions are impermissible. Any challenge by the IRS could negatively affect the value of the units.
The IRS may audit our federal income tax information returns. Adjustments resulting from an IRS audit may require each unitholder to adjust a prior year’s tax liability, and possibly may result in an audit of his return. Any audit of a unitholder’s return could result in adjustments not related to our returns as well as those related to our returns.
Partnerships generally are treated as separate entities for purposes of federal tax audits, judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS and tax settlement proceedings. The tax treatment of partnership items of income, gain, loss and deduction are determined in a partnership proceeding rather than in separate proceedings with the partners.
Pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, if the IRS makes audit adjustments to our income tax returns, it may assess and collect any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from us. Similarly, for such taxable years, if the IRS makes audit adjustments to income tax returns filed by an entity in which we are a member or partner, it may assess and collect any taxes (including penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustment directly from such entity. Generally, we expect to elect to have our unitholders and former unitholders take such audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the tax year under audit, but there can be no assurance that such election will be effective in all circumstances. If we are unable to have our unitholders and former unitholders take such audit adjustment into account in accordance with their interests in us during the tax year under audit, our current unitholders may bear some or all of the tax liability resulting from such audit adjustment, even if such unitholders did not own our units during the tax year under audit. If, as a result of any such audit adjustment, we are required to make payments of taxes, penalties and interest, our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders might be substantially reduced.
Additionally, pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, the Internal Revenue Code requires that for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, we designate a partner, or other person, with a substantial presence in the United States as the partnership representative (“Partnership Representative”). The Partnership Representative will have the sole authority to act on our behalf for purposes of, among other things, U.S. federal income tax audits and judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS. If we do not make such a designation, the IRS can select any person as the Partnership Representative. We currently anticipate that we will designate our general partner as our Partnership Representative. Further, any actions taken by us or by the Partnership Representative on our behalf with respect to, among other things, U.S. federal income tax audits and judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS, will be binding on us and all of our unitholders.
Additional Withholding Requirements
Withholding taxes may apply to certain types of payments made to “foreign financial institutions” (as specially defined in the Internal Revenue Code) and certain other foreign entities. Specifically, a 30% withholding tax may be imposed on interest, dividends and other fixed or determinable annual or periodical gains, profits and income from sources within the United States (“FDAP Income”) paid to a foreign financial institution or to a “non-financial foreign entity” (as specially defined in the Internal Revenue Code), unless (i) the foreign financial institution undertakes certain diligence and reporting, (ii) the non-financial foreign entity either certifies it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial U.S. owner or (iii) the foreign financial institution or non-financial foreign entity otherwise qualifies
 
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for an exemption from these rules. If the payee is a foreign financial institution and is subject to the diligence and reporting requirements in clause (i) above, it must enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Treasury requiring, among other things, that it undertake to identify accounts held by certain U.S. persons or U.S.-owned foreign entities, annually report certain information about such accounts, and withhold 30% on payments to noncompliant foreign financial institutions and certain other account holders. Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the United States governing these requirements may be subject to different rules.
These rules generally apply to payments of FDAP Income currently. Thus, to the extent we have FDAP Income that is not treated as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (please read “—Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors”), unitholders who are foreign financial institutions or certain other foreign entities, or persons that hold their common units through such foreign entities, may be subject to withholding on distributions they receive from us, or their distributive share of our income, pursuant to the rules described above.
Prospective common unitholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the potential application of these withholding provisions to their investment in our common units.
Nominee Reporting
Persons who hold an interest in us as a nominee for another person are required to furnish to us:
 
 	•	 	the name, address and taxpayer identification number of the beneficial owner and the nominee;	
 
 	•	 	whether the beneficial owner is:	
 
 	•	 	a person that is not a U.S. person;	
 
 	•	 	a foreign government, an international organization or any wholly owned agency or instrumentality of either of the foregoing; or	
 
 	•	 	a tax-exempt entity;	
 
 	•	 	the amount and description of units held, acquired or transferred for the beneficial owner; and	
 
 	•	 	specific information including the dates of acquisitions and transfers, means of acquisitions and transfers, and acquisition cost for purchases, as well as the amount of net proceeds from dispositions.	
Brokers and financial institutions are required to furnish additional information, including whether they are U.S. persons and specific information on units they acquire, hold or transfer for their own account. A penalty per failure with a significant maximum per calendar year is imposed by the Internal Revenue Code for failure to report that information to us. The nominee is required to supply the beneficial owner of the units with the information furnished to us.
Accuracy-Related Penalties
Certain penalties may be imposed on taxpayers as a result of an underpayment of tax that is attributable to one or more specified causes, including: (i) negligence or disregard of rules or regulations, (ii) substantial understatements of income tax, (iii) substantial valuation misstatements and (iv) the disallowance of claimed tax benefits by reason of a transaction lacking economic substance or failing to meet the requirements of any similar rule of law. Except with respect to the disallowance of claimed tax benefits by reason of a transaction lacking economic substance or failing to meet the requirements of any similar rule of law, however, no penalty will be imposed for any portion of any such underpayment if it is shown that there was a reasonable cause for the underpayment of that portion and that the taxpayer acted in good faith regarding the underpayment of that portion.
 
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With respect to substantial understatements of income tax, the amount of any understatement subject to penalty generally is reduced by that portion of the understatement which is attributable to a position adopted on the return: (A) for which there is, or was, “substantial authority”; or (B) as to which there is a reasonable basis and the relevant facts of that position are adequately disclosed on the return. If any item of income, gain, loss or deduction included in the distributive shares of unitholders might result in that kind of an “understatement” of income for which no “substantial authority” exists, we must adequately disclose the relevant facts on our return. In addition, we will make a reasonable effort to furnish sufficient information for unitholders to make adequate disclosure on their returns and to take other actions as may be appropriate to permit unitholders to avoid liability for this penalty.
State, Local, Foreign and Other Tax Considerations
In addition to federal income taxes, you will likely be subject to other taxes, such as state, local and foreign income taxes, unincorporated business taxes, and estate, inheritance or intangible taxes that may be imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we do business or own property or in which you are a resident. Although an analysis of those various taxes is not presented here, each prospective common unitholder should consider their potential impact on his investment in us. We currently own property or do business in many states. Several of these states impose a personal income tax on individuals; certain of these states also impose an income tax on corporations and other entities. We may also own property or do business in other jurisdictions in the future. Although you may not be required to file a return and pay taxes in some jurisdictions because your income from that jurisdiction falls below the filing and payment requirement, you will be required to file income tax returns and to pay income taxes in many of these jurisdictions in which we do business or own property and may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. In some jurisdictions, tax losses may not produce a tax benefit in the year incurred and may not be available to offset income in subsequent taxable years. Some of the jurisdictions may require us, or we may elect, to withhold a percentage of income from amounts to be distributed to a unitholder who is not a resident of the jurisdiction. Withholding, the amount of which may be greater or less than a particular unitholder’s income tax liability to the jurisdiction, generally does not relieve a nonresident unitholder from the obligation to file an income tax return. Amounts withheld will be treated as if distributed to unitholders for purposes of determining the amounts distributed by us. Please read “—Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership—Entity-Level Collections.” Based on current law and our estimate of our future operations, our general partner anticipates that any amounts required to be withheld will not be material.
It is the responsibility of each unitholder to investigate the legal and tax consequences, under the laws of pertinent states, localities and foreign jurisdictions, of his investment in us. Accordingly, each prospective common unitholder is urged to consult his own tax counsel or other advisor with regard to those matters. Further, it is the responsibility of each unitholder to file all state, local and foreign, as well as U.S. federal tax returns that may be required of him. Hunton Andrews Kurth has not rendered an opinion on the state tax, local tax, alternative minimum tax or foreign tax consequences of an investment in us.
 
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INVESTMENT IN SUNOCO LP BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
An investment in us by an employee benefit plan is subject to additional considerations because the investments of these plans are subject to the fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction provisions of Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) and restrictions imposed by Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code. For these purposes the term “employee benefit plan” includes, but is not limited to, qualified pension, profit-sharing and stock bonus plans, Keogh plans, simplified employee pension plans and tax deferred annuities or IRAs established or maintained by an employer or employee organization. Among other things, consideration should be given to:
 
 	•	 	whether the investment is prudent under Section 404(a)(1)(B) of ERISA;	
 
 	•	 	whether in making the investment, that plan will satisfy the diversification requirements of Section 404(a)(1)(C) of ERISA; and	
 
 	•	 	whether the investment will result in recognition of unrelated business taxable income by the plan and, if so, the potential after-tax investment return. Please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences—Tax-Exempt Organizations and Other Investors.”	
The person with investment discretion with respect to the assets of an employee benefit plan, often called a fiduciary, should determine whether an investment in us is authorized by the appropriate governing instrument and is a proper investment for the plan or IRA.
Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code prohibit employee benefit plans, and also IRAs that are not considered part of an employee benefit plan, from engaging in specified transactions involving “plan assets” with parties that are “parties in interest” under ERISA or “disqualified persons” under the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the plan.
In addition to considering whether the purchase of securities is a prohibited transaction, a fiduciary of an employee benefit plan should consider whether the plan will, by investing in us, be deemed to own an undivided interest in our assets, with the result that our operations would be subject to the regulatory restrictions of ERISA, including its prohibited transaction rules, as well as the prohibited transaction rules of the Internal Revenue Code.
The Department of Labor regulations provide guidance with respect to whether the assets of an entity in which employee benefit plans acquire equity interests would be deemed “plan assets” under some circumstances. Under these regulations, an entity’s assets would not be considered to be “plan assets” if, among other things:
(1) the equity interests acquired by employee benefit plans are publicly offered securities—i.e., the equity interests are widely held by 100 or more investors independent of the issuer and each other, freely transferable and registered under some provisions of the federal securities laws;
(2) the entity is an “operating company”—i.e., it is primarily engaged in the production or sale of a product or service other than the investment of capital either directly or through a majority-owned subsidiary or subsidiaries; or
(3) there is no significant investment by benefit plan investors, which is defined to mean that less than 25% of the value of each class of equity interest is held by the employee benefit plans referred to above, and IRAs that are subject to ERISA or Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Our assets should not be considered “plan assets” under these regulations because it is expected that the investment will satisfy the requirements in (1) and (2) above.
Plan fiduciaries contemplating a purchase of common units should consult with their own counsel regarding the consequences under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code in light of the serious penalties imposed on persons who engage in prohibited transactions or other violations.
 
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
Under this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement, we may sell our common units in and outside the United States (1) through one or more broker-dealers, (2) through underwriters, (3) through agents, (4) directly to investors, (5) through a combination of any of these methods of sale or (6) through any other methods permitted by applicable law. The prospectus supplement will set forth the following information:
 
 	•	 	the terms of the offering;	
 
 	•	 	the names of any underwriters or agents;	
 
 	•	 	the name or names of any managing underwriter or underwriters;	
 
 	•	 	the purchase price of our common units;	
 
 	•	 	the net proceeds we will receive from the sale of the common units;	
 
 	•	 	any delayed delivery arrangements;	
 
 	•	 	any underwriting discounts, commissions and other items constituting underwriters’ compensation;	
 
 	•	 	any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and	
 
 	•	 	any commissions paid to agents.	
We will fix a price of our common units at:
 
 	•	 	market prices prevailing at the time of any sale under this registration statement;	
 
 	•	 	prices related to market prices; or	
 
 	•	 	negotiated prices.	
We may change the price of the common units offered from time to time.
We will pay or allow distributors’ or sellers’ commissions that will not exceed those customary in the types of transactions involved. Broker-dealers may act as agents or may purchase securities as principal and thereafter resell the common units from time to time:
 
 	•	 	in or through one or more transactions or distributions;	
 
 	•	 	on the New York Stock Exchange;	
 
 	•	 	in the over-the-counter market; or	
 
 	•	 	in private transactions.	
Sale Through Underwriters or Dealers
If we use underwriters in the sale of our common units, the underwriters will acquire the common units for their own account. The underwriters may resell the common units from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. Underwriters may offer securities to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters. Unless we inform you otherwise in the prospectus supplement, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the common units will be subject to certain conditions, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the offered common units if they purchase any of them. The underwriters may sell common units to or through dealers, and the dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agent. The underwriters may change from time to time the public offering price and any discounts, concessions or commissions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers.
 
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During and after an offering through underwriters, the underwriters may purchase and sell the common units in the open market. These transactions may include overallotment and stabilizing transactions and purchases to cover syndicate short positions created in connection with the offering. The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid, which means that selling concessions allowed to syndicate members or other broker-dealers for the common units sold for their account may be reclaimed by the syndicate if the offered common units are repurchased by the syndicate in stabilizing or covering transactions. These activities may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the offered common units, which may be higher than the price that might otherwise prevail in the open market. If commenced, these activities may be discontinued at any time.
If we use dealers in the sale of securities, we may sell the securities to them as principals. They may then resell those securities to the public at varying prices determined by the dealers at the time of resale. The dealers participating in any sale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any sale of these securities. We will include in the prospectus supplement the names of the dealers and the terms of the transaction.
Direct Sales and Sales Through Agents
We may sell the common units directly. In that event, no underwriters or agents would be involved. We may sell the common units directly to institutional investors or others who may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any sale of those common units. We may use electronic media, including the Internet, to sell the common units directly.
We may also sell the common units through agents we designate from time to time. We will describe the terms of any such sales in the prospectus supplement. In the prospectus supplement, we will name any agent involved in the offer or sale of the common units, and we will describe any commissions payable by us to the agent. Unless we inform you otherwise in the prospectus supplement, any agent will agree to use its reasonable best efforts to solicit purchases for the period of its appointment.
At-the-Market Offerings
To the extent that we make sales of the common units through one or more underwriters or agents in at-the-market offerings, we will do so pursuant to the terms of a sales agency financing agreement or other at-the-market offering arrangement between us and the underwriters or agents. If we engage in at-the-market sales of the common units pursuant to any such agreement, we will issue and sell our common units through one or more underwriters or agents, which may act on an agency basis or on a principal basis. During the term of any such agreement, we may sell our common units on a daily basis in exchange transactions or otherwise as we agree with the underwriters or agents. The agreement will provide that any common units sold will be sold at prices related to the then-prevailing market prices for our common units. Therefore, exact figures regarding proceeds that will be raised or commissions to be paid cannot be determined at this time. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, we also may agree to sell, and the relevant underwriters or agents may agree to solicit offers to purchase, blocks of our common units. The terms of each such agreement will be set forth in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Delayed Delivery Contracts or Forward Contracts
If we so indicate in the prospectus supplement, we may authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers from selected types of institutions to purchase the common units from us at the public offering price under delayed delivery contracts or forward contracts providing for payment or delivery on a specified date in the future at prices determined as described in the prospectus supplement. The contracts would be subject only to those conditions described in the prospectus supplement. The prospectus supplement will describe the commission payable for solicitation of such contracts.
 
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General Information
We may have agreements with firms, agents, dealers and underwriters to indemnify them against civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute with respect to payments that the firms, agents, dealers or underwriters may be required to make. Such firms, agents, dealers and underwriters may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of their businesses.
Because the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) views our common units as interests in a direct participation program, any offering of common units under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part will be made in compliance with Rule 2310 of the FINRA Conduct Rules. Any compensation to be received by underwriters in connection with an offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus will not exceed 8% of the gross proceeds of such offering.
 
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LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the common units offered by this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Houston, Texas. Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP will also render an opinion on the material federal income tax considerations regarding the common units. Legal counsel to any underwriters may pass upon legal matters for such underwriters and will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement.
EXPERTS
The audited consolidated financial statements of Sunoco LP and subsidiaries and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement have been so incorporated by reference in reliance upon the reports of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
The audited financial statements of ETC M-A Acquisition LLC incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement have been so incorporated by reference in reliance upon the report of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
 
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PART II.
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The following table sets forth the expenses in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities being registered, other than underwriting discounts and commissions. All of the amounts shown are estimated.

SEC registration fee	  	$	 530.31	 	
The New York Stock Exchange supplemental listing fee	  	 	*	 	
Printing expenses	  	 	*	 	
Legal fees and expenses	  	 	*	 	
Accounting fees and expenses	  	 	*	 	
Transfer agent fees and expenses	  	 	*	 	
Miscellaneous	  	 	*	 	
	  	 	 	 	
Total	  	$	*	 	

*	These fees are calculated based on the number of issuances and amount of securities offered and accordingly cannot be estimated at this time.	
Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
The Section of the prospectus entitled “Our Partnership Agreement—Indemnification” is incorporated herein by reference. Subject to any terms, conditions or restrictions set forth in our partnership agreement, Section 17-108 of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act empowers a Delaware limited partnership to indemnify and hold harmless any partner or other person from and against all claims and demands whatsoever.
Item 16. Exhibits.
(a)    Exhibits
A list of exhibits filed with this registration statement on Form S-3 is set forth on the Exhibit Index and is incorporated herein by reference.
(b) Financial Statement Schedules
Not applicable.
Item 17. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
 
 	(1)	To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:	
 
 	(i)	To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;	
 
 	(ii)	To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered	
 
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 	(if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and	
 
 	(iii)	To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this registration statement or any material change to such information in this registration statement;	
Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.
 
 	(2)	That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.	
 
 	(3)	To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.	
 
 	(4)	That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:	
 
 	(i)	Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and	
 
 	(ii)	Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5) or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a) (1)(i), (vii) or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of this registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.	
 
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 	(5)	That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities:	
The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
 
 	(i)	Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;	
 
 	(ii)	Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;	
 
 	(iii)	The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and	
 
 	(iv)	Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.	
 
 	(b)	The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s Annual Report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.	
 
 	(c)	Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.	
 
 	(d)	The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933:	
 
 	(1)	the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement at the time it was declared effective; and	
 
 	(2)	each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.	
 
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EXHIBIT INDEX

	Exhibit
Number	  		Description	
			
  1.1*	  	Form of Underwriting Agreement.		
			
  3.1	  	Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Limited Partnership of Sunoco LP, dated as of May  8, 2018 (Incorporated by reference to the quarterly report on Form 10-Q (Filed Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on May 10, 2018).		
			
  3.2	  	First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Susser Petroleum Partners LP, dated September  25, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on September 25, 2012).		
			
  3.3	  	Amendment No.  1 to the First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Susser Petroleum Partners LP (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on October 28, 2014).		
			
  3.4	  	Amendment No.  2 to the First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Sunoco LP (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on August 6, 2015).		
			
  3.5	  	Amendment No.  3 to the First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Sunoco LP (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on January 5, 2016).		
			
  3.6	  	Amendment No.  4 to the First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Sunoco LP (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on June 8, 2016).		
			
  3.7	  	Amendment No.  5 to the First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Sunoco LP (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on March 31, 2017).		
			
  3.8	  	Amendment No.  6 to the First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Sunoco LP (Incorporated by reference to the quarterly report on Form 10-Q (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on May 10, 2018).		
			
  3.9	  	Amendment No.  7 to the First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Sunoco LP (Incorporated by reference to the quarterly report on Form 10-Q (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on August 8, 2019).		
			
  3.10	  	Certificate of Formation of Susser Petroleum Partners GP LLC (Incorporated by reference to the registration statement on Form S-1 (File Number 333-182276), as amended, originally filed by the registrant on June 22, 2012).		
			
  3.11	  	Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Formation of Susser Petroleum Partners GP LLC (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on October 28, 2014).		
			
  3.12	  	Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Susser Petroleum Partners GP LLC, dated September 25, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on September 25, 2012).		
			
  3.13	  	Amendment No.  1 to the Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Susser Petroleum Partners GP LLC (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on October 28, 2014).		
 
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	Exhibit
Number	  		Description	
			
  3.14	  	Amendment No.  2 to the Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Sunoco GP LLC dated as of June 6, 2016 (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on June 8, 2016).		
			
  3.15	  	Amendment No.  3 to the Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Sunoco GP LLC dated as of May 8, 2018 (Incorporated by reference to the quarterly report on Form 10-Q (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on May 10, 2018).		
			
  4.1	  	Indenture, dated as of January  23, 2018, among Sunoco LP, Sunoco Finance Corp., the Guarantors party thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on January 29, 2018).		
			
  4.2	  	Indenture, dated as of March  14, 2019, among Sunoco LP, Sunoco Finance Corp., the Guarantors party thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on March 14, 2019).		
			
  4.3	  	Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of March 31, 2016, by and among Sunoco LP and Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on April 1, 2016).		
			
  4.4	  	Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of January  23, 2018, by and among Sunoco LP, Sunoco Finance Corp., the Guarantors party thereto, ETC M-A Acquisition LLC, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and RBC Capital Markets, LLC, as representatives of the Initial Purchasers named therein (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on January 29, 2018).		
			
  4.5	  	Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of March  14, 2019, by and among Sunoco LP, Sunoco Finance Corp., the Guarantors party thereto, Goldman Sachs  & Co. LLC and Mizuho Securities USA LLC, as representatives of the Initial Purchasers named therein (Incorporated by reference to the current report on Form 8-K (File Number 001-35653) filed by the registrant on March 14, 2019).		
			
  5.1+	  	Opinion of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as to the legality of the securities being registered.		
			
  8.1+	  	Opinion of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as to tax matters.		
			
23.1+	  	Consent of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).		
			
23.2+	  	Consent of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP (included in Exhibit 8.1).		
			
23.3+	  	Consent of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accounting firm.		
			
23.4+	  	Consent of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accounting firm.		
			
24.1+	  	Powers of Attorney (included in the signature pages to this registration statement).		

*	To be filed as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K.	
+	Filed herewith.	
 
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Dallas, State of Texas on August 22, 2019.

SUNOCO LP	
		
By:	 	Sunoco GP LLC, its general partner	

By:    	 	/s/ Thomas R. Miller	
	 	Thomas R. Miller	
	 	Chief Financial Officer	
 
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POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Joseph Kim and Thomas R. Miller, or either of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments, including pre- and post-effective amendments to this registration statement (including any registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, or the substitute or substitutes of any or all of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. This power of attorney shall be governed by and construed with the laws of the State of Delaware and applicable federal securities laws.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated, which are with Sunoco GP LLC, the general partner of Sunoco LP, and on the date indicated.

	Signature	  	Title	
(of Sunoco GP LLC)	 		Date	
				
/s/ Joseph Kim
Joseph Kim	  	Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
(Principal Executive Officer)	 	August 22, 2019		
				
/s/ Thomas R. Miller
Thomas R. Miller	  	Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial Officer)	 	August 22, 2019		
				
/s/ Camilla A. Harris
Camilla A. Harris	  	Vice President, Controller and
Principal Accounting Officer	 	August 22, 2019		
				
/s/ Matthew S. Ramsey
Matthew S. Ramsey	  	Chairman of the Board	 	August 22, 2019		
				
/s/ James W. Bryant
James W. Bryant	  	Director	 	August 22, 2019		
				
/s/ Christopher R. Curia
Christopher R. Curia	  	Director	 	August 22, 2019		
				
/s/ Thomas E. Long
Thomas E. Long	  	Director	 	August 22, 2019		
				
/s/ Imad K. Anbouba
Imad K. Anbouba	  	Director	 	August 22, 2019		
				
/s/ Oscar A. Alvarez
Oscar A. Alvarez	  	Director	 	August 22, 2019		
 
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	 		 		    	Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
600 Travis, Suite 4200
Houston, Texas 77002
+1.713.220.4200 Phone
+1.713.220.4285 Fax
HuntonAK.com	
Exhibit 5.1
August 22, 2019
Sunoco LP
8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 400
Dallas, Texas 75225
Re:    Common Units to be issued from time to time by Sunoco LP.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special counsel to Sunoco LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Partnership”), in connection with the preparation of a registration statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”), filed by the Partnership with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 22, 2019, pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Registration Statement relates to the offering, from time to time, as set forth in the Registration Statement, the form of prospectus contained therein (the “Prospectus”) and one or more supplements to the Prospectus, of common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (“Common Units”) on terms to be determined at the time of the offering thereof.
This opinion is being furnished in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act.
In rendering the opinions set forth herein, we have read and examined and relied on (i) the Registration Statement and the exhibits thereto, (ii) the Prospectus and (iii) originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Limited Partnership of the Partnership, dated as of June 6, 2016, the Partnership’s First Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership dated September 25, 2012 (as amended by Amendment No. 1 thereto dated October 27, 2014, Amendment No. 2 thereto dated July 31, 2015, Amendment No. 3 thereto dated January 1, 2016, Amendment No. 4 thereto dated June 6, 2016, Amendment No. 5 thereto dated March 30, 2017, Amendment No. 6 thereto dated May 8, 2018) and Amendment No. 7 thereto dated August 6, 2019 such other documents, certificates and records as we have deemed necessary or appropriate as a basis for the opinion expressed below. In our examination, we have assumed, without independent investigation (a) the genuineness of the signatures on all documents that we have examined, (b) the legal capacity of all natural persons, (c) the authenticity of all documents supplied to us as originals, (d) the conformity to the authentic originals of all documents supplied to us as certified, photostatic or faxed copies and (e) the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.

Sunoco LP
August 22, 2019
Page 2
 
Based upon the foregoing and subject to the limitations, qualifications, exceptions and assumptions set forth herein, we are of the opinion that, once (a) the general partner of the Partnership has duly taken all necessary action (pursuant to action by the board of directors of such general partner) to authorize and approve the issuance by the Partnership of Common Units pursuant to the Registration Statement and the terms of the offering of such Common Units, and (b) such Common Units have been paid for, issued and delivered in accordance with the terms of the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement so authorized and approved by the general partner of the Partnership (on behalf of the Partnership), such Common Units will be validly issued, and purchasers of such Common Units will have no obligation, solely by reason of their ownership of such Common Units, to make any contributions to the Partnership or any further payments for their purchase of such Common Units, and such purchasers will have no personal liability, solely by reason of their ownership of such Common Units, to creditors of the Partnership for any of its debts, liabilities or other obligations.
Our opinions expressed herein are limited to the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act and the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, and we express no opinion as to the laws of any other jurisdiction.
We consent to the filing by you of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, and we further consent to the use of our name under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are included in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act, or the rules and regulations of the SEC. This opinion is expressed as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any undertaking to advise you of any subsequent changes in the facts stated or assumed herein or of any subsequent changes in law.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

			
	 	Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
600 Travis, Suite 4200
Houston, Texas 77002
+1.713.220.4200 Phone
+1.713.220.4285 Fax
HuntonAK.com	
Exhibit 8.1
August 22, 2019
Sunoco LP
8111 Westchester Drive, Suite 400
Dallas, Texas 75225
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special counsel to Sunoco LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Partnership”), in connection with the preparation of a prospectus dated on or about the date hereof (the “Prospectus”) forming a part of the registration statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) relating to the offering and sale (the “Offering”) of common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (the “Units”) from time to time pursuant to Rule 415 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”). In connection therewith, we have participated in the preparation of the discussion set forth in the Registration Statement under the caption “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” (the “Discussion”).
This opinion is based on various facts and assumptions, and is conditioned upon certain representations made to us by the Partnership as to factual matters through an officer’s certificate (the “Officer’s Certificate”). In addition, this opinion is based upon the factual representations of the Partnership concerning its business, properties and governing documents as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Partnership’s responses to our examinations and inquiries.
In our capacity as counsel to the Partnership, we have made such legal and factual examinations and inquiries, including an examination of originals or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction of such documents, corporate records and other instruments, as we have deemed necessary or appropriate for purposes of this opinion. In our examination, we have assumed the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the genuineness of all signatures thereon, the legal capacity of natural persons executing such documents and the conformity to authentic original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies. For the purpose of our opinion, we have not made an independent investigation or audit of the facts set forth in the above-referenced documents or representations. In addition, in rendering this opinion we have assumed the truth and accuracy of all representations and statements made to us which are qualified as to knowledge or belief, without regard to such qualification.
 
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Page 2
 
We hereby confirm that all statements of legal conclusion contained in the Discussion, subject to the qualifications and assumptions stated in the Discussion and the limitations and qualifications set forth herein, constitute the opinion of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP with respect to the matters set forth therein. This opinion is based on various statutory provisions, regulations promulgated thereunder and interpretations thereof by the Internal Revenue Service and the courts having jurisdiction over such matters, all of which are subject to change either prospectively or retroactively. Also, any variation or difference in the facts from those set forth in the representations described above, including in the Registration Statement and the Officer’s Certificate, may affect the conclusions stated herein.
This opinion letter is limited to the matters set forth herein, and no opinions are intended to be implied or may be inferred beyond those expressly stated herein. Our opinion is rendered as of the effective date of the Registration Statement, and we assume no obligation to update or supplement this opinion or any matter related to this opinion to reflect any change of fact, circumstances, or law after the date hereof. In addition, our opinion is based on the assumption that the matter will be properly presented to the applicable court.
Furthermore, our opinion is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service or a court. In addition, we must note that our opinion represents merely our best legal judgment on the matters presented and that others may disagree with our conclusion. There can be no assurance that the Internal Revenue Service will not take a contrary position or that a court would agree with our opinion if litigated.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Prospectus and to the references to our firm and this opinion contained in the Discussion. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are included in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act, or under the rules and regulations of the SEC relating thereto, with respect to any part of the Prospectus forming a part of the Registration Statement, as amended, including this exhibit to the Registration Statement.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Exhibit 23.3
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We have issued our reports dated February 22, 2019 with respect to the consolidated financial statements and internal control over financial reporting of Sunoco LP included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement. We consent to the incorporation by reference of the aforementioned reports in this Registration Statement, and to the use of our name as it appears under the caption “Experts.”
/s/ GRANT THORNTON LLP
Dallas, Texas
August 22, 2019

Exhibit 23.4
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We have issued our report dated February 22, 2019 with respect to the financial statements of ETC M-A Acquisition LLC included in the Annual Report of Sunoco LP on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement. We consent to the incorporation by reference of the aforementioned report in this Registration Statement, and to the use of our name as it appears under the caption “Experts.”
/s/ GRANT THORNTON LLP
Dallas, Texas
August 22, 2019