As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 22, 2011

Registration No. 333-173199

 

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

 

Amendment No. 3 to

Form S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

 

 

Oiltanking Partners, L.P.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

15631 Jacintoport Blvd.

Houston, Texas 77015

(281) 457-7900

(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number,

Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

 

Carlin G. Conner

15631 Jacintoport Blvd.

Houston, Texas 77015

(281) 457-7900

(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number,

Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

 

Copies to:

 

 

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:  As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.

 

 

 

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, check the following box.  o

 

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) 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.  o

 

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.  o

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) 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.  o

 

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

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JUNE 22, 2011

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

 

10,000,000 Common Units

 

Representing Limited Partner Interests

Oiltanking Partners, L.P.

 

 

 

 

This is the initial public offering of our common units representing limited partner interests. We are offering 10,000,000 common units. Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common units. We currently expect the initial public offering price to be between $     and $     per common unit.

 

We have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to 1,500,000 additional common units to cover over-allotments.

 

We have been approved to list our common units on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to official notice of issuance, under the symbol “OILT.”

 

 

 

 

Investing in our common units involves risks.  See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 19.

 

These risks include the following:

 

 

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The underwriters expect to deliver the common units to purchasers on or about          , 2011 through the book-entry facilities of The Depository Trust Company.

 

 

 

 

Joint Book-Running Managers

 

 

 

 

Co-Managers

 

 

 

 

          , 2011

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or any other information to which we have referred you in connection with this offering. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

Until          , 2011 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our common units, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

 

SUMMARY

 

Oiltanking Partners, L.P.

 

Our Business and Properties

(1)		Weighted based upon 2010 fiscal year revenues.
(2)		Includes 1.0 million barrels of storage capacity supported by multi-year contracts with two customers that we are in the process of constructing and expect to place into service within the next 12 months. We expect these two contracts will generate approximately $5.7 million in revenue on an annual basis once placed into service.
(3)		Includes storage capacity that can be constructed on 63 acres we currently hold under a long-term lease expiring in 2035. We have an option to acquire this acreage prior to December 2020 for a price of $6.0 million to $6.7 million.
(4)		Does not include more than 20.0 million barrels of additional storage capacity which we have sufficient acreage to construct on the remote side of our terminal complex with pipeline connections to our waterfront, to the extent that we identify sufficient market demand to do so.

	•	TransCanada’s Keystone Pipeline, which is expected to transport crude oil from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the Bakken Shale formation to the Gulf Coast region at a rate of up to 900,000 barrels per day within the next two years;

	•	Enterprise Products Partners’ and Energy Transfer Partners’ joint venture Double E pipeline, which is expected to transport crude oil from the Cushing storage interchange in Oklahoma (“Cushing”) to Houston at a rate of up to 450,000 barrels per day within the next two years;

	•	Enbridge’s Monarch Pipeline, which is expected to transport crude oil from Cushing to Houston at a rate of up to 350,000 barrels per day within the next two years;
	•	Enterprise Products Partners’ proposed Eagle Ford Shale pipeline, which is expected to transport crude oil from the Eagle Ford Shale in south Texas to Houston at a rate of up to 350,000 barrels per day within the next 18 months;
	•	Kinder Morgan Energy Partners’ Eagle Ford Shale pipeline, which is expected to transport crude oil from the Eagle Ford Shale to Houston at a rate of up to 300,000 barrels per day within the next 18 months; and
	•	Magellan Midstream Partners’ reversal and conversion of its Longhorn pipeline, which is expected to transport crude oil from El Paso to Houston at a rate of up to 225,000 barrels per day within 18 to 24 months upon approval of the project.

	•	Storage Services Fees.  For the year ended December 31, 2010, we generated approximately 75% of our revenues from fixed monthly fees for storage services, which our customers pay to reserve storage space in our tanks and to compensate us for receiving an agreed upon average periodic amount of product volume, or throughput, on their behalf. These fees are owed to us regardless of the actual storage capacity utilized by our customers or the amount of throughput that we receive.
	•	Throughput Fees.  For the year ended December 31, 2010, we generated approximately 20% of our revenues from throughput fees, which our customers who do not store products at our facilities, who we refer to as our non-storage customers, pay us to receive or deliver volumes of products on their behalf to designated pipelines, third-party storage facilities or waterborne transportation. Our non-storage customers are typically not obligated to pay us any throughput fees unless we move volumes of products across our pipelines or docks on their behalf. In addition, our customers who store products at our facilities, who we refer to as our storage customers, pay us throughput fees when we receive volumes of products on their behalf that exceed the base throughput contemplated in their agreed upon monthly storage services fee. The revenues we generate from throughput fees vary based upon the volumes of products accepted at or withdrawn from our terminals.
	•	Ancillary Services Fees.  For the year ended December 31, 2010, we generated approximately 5% of our revenues from fees associated with ancillary services such as heating, mixing and blending our storage customers’ products that are stored in our tanks, transferring our storage customers’ products between our tanks and marine vapor recovery. The revenues we generate from ancillary services fees vary based upon the activity levels of our customers.

 

Our Business Strategies

	•	Capitalize on organic growth opportunities by expanding and developing the assets and properties that we already own.
	•	Pursue accretive strategic acquisitions of terminaling, storage, pipeline and other midstream assets that will expand or complement our existing asset portfolio and that are expected to increase our revenues and cash flows.
	•	Maintain and develop strong customer relationships based upon a high quality of service, reliability, the efficiency of our existing assets and operations and our global marketing and relationship network.
	•	Maintain sound financial practices to ensure our long-term viability.

 

Our Competitive Strengths

	•	Well-positioned and highly integrated terminal assets creating high barriers of entry for potential competitors.
	•	Established relationships with customers generating multi-year contracts and stable cash flows.
	•	Expansive waterfront and dock capacity, allowing for efficient receipt of cargoes.
	•	Flexible, efficient and well-maintained assets that can be expanded at competitive costs.
	•	Financial flexibility to fund growth.

	•	Our relationship with the Oiltanking Group.
	•	Experienced management team and operational expertise.

 

Risk Factors

	•	We may not have sufficient cash from operations following the establishment of cash reserves and payment of costs and expenses, including cost reimbursements to our general partner, to enable us to pay the minimum quarterly distribution to our unitholders.
	•	The assumptions underlying our forecast of cash available for distribution included in “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions” are inherently uncertain and subject to significant business, economic, financial, regulatory and competitive risks and uncertainties that could cause cash available for distribution to differ materially from our estimates.
	•	Our business would be adversely affected if the operations of our customers experienced significant interruptions. In certain circumstances, the obligations of many of our key customers under their terminal services agreements may be reduced or suspended, which would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
	•	Our financial results depend on the demand for the crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquified petroleum gas that we transport, store and distribute, among other factors, and the current economic downturn could result in lower demand for these products for a sustained period of time.
	•	Restrictions in our debt agreements could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
	•	Our operations are subject to operational hazards and unforeseen interruptions, including interruptions from hurricanes or floods, for which we may not be adequately insured.
	•	Reduced volatility in energy prices or new government regulations could discourage our storage customers from holding positions in crude oil or refined petroleum products, which could adversely affect the demand for our storage services.
	•	Some of our current terminal services agreements are automatically renewing on a short-term basis, and may be terminated at the end of the current renewal term upon requisite notice. If one or more of our current terminal services agreements is terminated and we are unable to secure comparable alternative arrangements, our financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.
	•	Competition from other terminals that are able to supply our customers with comparable storage capacity at a lower price could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
	•	The expected introduction of significant new crude oil supplies to the Gulf Coast region upon the completion of planned pipeline construction projects could decrease our customers’ dependence on waterborne crude oil imports and lead to a reduction in the demand for our marine terminal services.
	•	Our expansion of existing assets and construction of new assets may not result in revenue increases and will be subject to regulatory, environmental, political, legal and economic risks, which could adversely affect our operations and financial condition.
	•	If we are unable to make acquisitions on economically acceptable terms, our future growth would be limited, and any acquisitions we make may reduce, rather than increase, our cash generated from operations on a per unit basis.

	•	OTA owns and controls our general partner, which has sole responsibility for conducting our business and managing our operations. Our general partner and its affiliates, including OTA, have conflicts of interest with us and limited fiduciary duties, and they may favor their own interests to the detriment of us and our unitholders.
	•	OTA and other affiliates of our general partner may compete with us.
	•	Holders of our common units have limited voting rights and are not entitled to elect our general partner or its directors, which could reduce the price at which our common units will trade.

	•	Unitholders will experience immediate and substantial dilution of $13.49 per common unit.

	•	There is no existing market for our common units, and a trading market that will provide you with adequate liquidity may not develop. The price of our common units may fluctuate significantly, and unitholders could lose all or part of their investment.

	•	Our tax treatment depends on our status as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as well as our not being subject to a material amount of entity-level taxation by individual states. If the IRS were to treat us as a corporation for federal income tax purposes or we were to become subject to material additional amounts of entity-level taxation for state tax purposes, then our cash available for distribution to you could be substantially reduced.
	•	The tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships or an investment in our common units could be subject to potential legislative, judicial or administrative changes and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.
	•	You will be required to pay taxes on your share of our income even if you do not receive any cash distributions from us.
	•	Oiltanking Beaumont Specialty Products, LLC, one of our subsidiaries, conducts activities that may not generate qualifying income. If the income generated by this subsidiary disproportionately increases as a percentage of our total gross income, we may choose to have this subsidiary treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

Our Management

 

The Oiltanking Group

 

Summary of Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties

 

Principal Executive Offices

 

Formation Transactions and Partnership Structure

	•	OTA will contribute all of its equity interests in Oiltanking Houston, L.P. and Oiltanking Beaumont Partners, L.P. to us;
	•	OTLP GP, LLC will maintain its 2.0% general partner interest in us. We also will issue to our general partner the incentive distribution rights, which entitle the holder to increasing percentages, up to a maximum of 48.0%, of the cash we distribute in excess of our minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375 per unit per quarter, as described under “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions” beginning on page 42;
	•	we will issue 10,000,000 common units to the public (11,500,000 common units if the underwriters exercise their option in full) and will use the net proceeds from this offering as described under “Use of Proceeds” beginning on page 39;

	•	we will issue to OTA an aggregate of 9,449,901 common units and 19,449,901 subordinated units, assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase 1,500,000 additional common units and that we issue those common units to OTA;(1)

	•	we will enter into a new $50.0 million revolving line of credit with Oiltanking Finance B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Oiltanking GmbH; and
	•	we will also enter into agreements with OTA and certain of its affiliates, pursuant to which we will agree upon certain aspects of our relationship with them, including the provision by OTA or one of its subsidiaries to us of certain selling, general and administrative services and employees, our agreement to reimburse OTA or one of its subsidiaries for the cost of such services and employees, certain indemnification obligations, the use by us of the name “Oiltanking” and related marks, and other matters. Please read “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions — Agreements with Affiliates in Connection with the Transactions” beginning on page 120.

(1)		Of this amount, 7,949,901 common units will be issued to OTA at the closing of this offering and up to 1,500,000 common units will be issued to OTA within 30 days of this offering for no additional consideration other than OTA’s contribution of equity interests in Oiltanking Houston, L.P. and Oiltanking Beaumont Partners, L.P. to us in connection with the closing of this offering. However, if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase up to 1,500,000 additional common units, the number of common units purchased by the underwriters pursuant to such exercise will be issued to the public and the remainder, if any, will be issued to OTA. Please see “The Offering — Units Outstanding After This Offering”.

 

Organizational Structure

Public Common Units			25.2	%
Interests of OTA:
Common Units			23.8	%
Subordinated Units			49.0	%
General Partner Interest			2.0	%
			100.0	%

(1)		Of this amount, 7,949,901 common units will be issued to OTA at the closing of this offering and up to 1,500,000 common units will be issued to OTA within 30 days of this offering. However, if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase up to 1,500,000 additional common units, the number of common units purchased by the underwriters pursuant to such exercise will be issued to the public and the remainder, if any, will be issued to OTA. Please see “The Offering — Units Outstanding After This Offering.”

 

The Offering

Common units offered to the public		10,000,000 common units.
		11,500,000 common units if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase an additional 1,500,000 common units (the “option units”) in full.

Units outstanding after this offering		19,449,901 common units(1)( and 19,449,901 subordinated units for a total of 38,899,802 limited partner units regardless of whether or not the underwriters exercise their option to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 common units. Of this amount, 7,949,901 common units will be issued to OTA at the closing of this offering and, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 option units, all 1,500,000 option units will be issued to OTA 30 days following this offering, upon the expiration of the underwriters’ option exercise period. However, if the underwriters do exercise their option to purchase any portion of the option units, we will (i) issue to the public the number of option units purchased by the underwriters pursuant to such exercise and (ii) issue to OTA, upon the expiration of the option exercise period, all remaining option units that had not previously been issued to the public. Any such option units issued to OTA will be issued for no consideration other than OTA’s contribution of equity interests in Oiltanking Houston, L.P. and Oiltanking Beaumont Partners, L.P. to us in connection with the closing of this offering. Accordingly, the exercise of the underwriters’ option will not affect the total number of common units outstanding. In addition, our general partner will own a 2.0% general partner interest in us.

Use of proceeds		We intend to use the estimated net proceeds of approximately $183.0 million from this offering (based on an assumed initial offering price of $      per common unit, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), after deducting the estimated underwriting discount and offering expenses, to:
		• repay intercompany indebtedness owed to Oiltanking Finance B.V. in the amount of approximately $119.5 million;

		• reimburse Oiltanking Finance B.V. for approximately $7.1 million of fees incurred in connection with our repayment of such indebtedness;

		• make a distribution to OTA in the amount of $33.0 million; and

		• provide us working capital of $23.4 million.

		If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase 1,500,000 additional common units in full, the additional net proceeds would be approximately $28.1 million (based upon the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus). The net proceeds from any exercise of such option will be used to make a distribution to OTA. See “Use of Proceeds” beginning on page 39.
Cash distributions		Upon completion of this offering, our general partner will establish a minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375 per common unit and subordinated unit ($1.35 per common unit and subordinated unit on an annualized basis) to the extent we have sufficient cash after establishment of reserves and payment of fees and expenses, including payments to our general partner and its affiliates. We refer to this cash as “available cash,” and it is defined in our partnership

		agreement included in this prospectus as Appendix A and in the glossary included in this prospectus as Appendix B. Our ability to pay the minimum quarterly distribution is subject to various restrictions and other factors described in more detail under the caption “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions” beginning on page 42.

		For the first quarter that we are publicly traded, we will pay investors in this offering a prorated distribution covering the period from the completion of this offering through September 30, 2011, based on the actual length of that period.

		Our partnership agreement requires us to distribute all of our available cash each quarter in the following manner:
		• first, 98.0% to the holders of our common units and 2.0% to our general partner, until each common unit has received the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375 plus any arrearages from prior quarters; and
		• second, 98.0% to the holders of our subordinated units and 2.0% to our general partner, until each subordinated unit has received the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375.
		If cash distributions to our unitholders exceed $0.38813 per common unit and subordinated unit in any quarter, our unitholders and our general partner will receive distributions according to the following percentage allocations:

		The percentage interests shown for our general partner include its 2.0% general partner interest. We refer to the additional increasing distributions to our general partner in excess of 2.0% as “incentive distributions.” Please read “Provisions of Our Partnership Agreement Relating to Cash Distributions — General Partner Interest and Incentive Distribution Rights” beginning on page 59.
		We believe, based on our financial forecast and related assumptions included in “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions,” that we will have sufficient available cash to pay the minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375 on all of our common units and subordinated units and the corresponding distribution on our general partner’s 2.0% interest for each quarter in the twelve months ending June 30, 2012. However, we do not have a legal obligation to pay quarterly distributions at our minimum quarterly distribution rate or at any other rate except as provided in our partnership agreement. There is no guarantee that we will distribute quarterly cash distributions to our unitholders in any quarter. Please read “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions” beginning on page 42.
Subordinated units		OTA initially will own, directly or indirectly, all of our subordinated units. The principal difference between our common units and subordinated units is that in any quarter during the subordination period, holders of the subordinated units are not entitled to receive any distribution until the common units have received the minimum quarterly distribution plus any arrearages in the

		payment of the minimum quarterly distribution from prior quarters. Subordinated units will not accrue arrearages.

Conversion of subordinated units		The subordination period will end on the first business day after we have earned and paid at least (1) $1.35 (the minimum quarterly distribution on an annualized basis) on each outstanding common unit and subordinated unit and the corresponding distribution on our general partner’s 2.0% interest for each of three consecutive, non-overlapping four-quarter periods ending on or after September 30, 2014 or (2) $2.025 (150.0% of the annualized minimum quarterly distribution) on each outstanding common unit and subordinated unit and the corresponding distributions on our general partner’s 2.0% interest and the related distribution on the incentive distribution rights for the four-quarter period immediately preceding that date, in each case provided there are no arrearages on our common units at that time.

		The subordination period also will end upon the removal of our general partner other than for cause if no subordinated units or common units held by the holder(s) of subordinated units or their affiliates are voted in favor of that removal.
		When the subordination period ends, all subordinated units will convert into common units on a one-for-one basis, and thereafter no common units will be entitled to arrearages.
General partner’s right to reset the target distribution levels		Our general partner, as the initial holder of all of our incentive distribution rights, has the right, at any time when there are no subordinated units outstanding and it has received incentive distributions at the highest level to which it is entitled (48.0%, in addition to distributions paid on its 2.0% general partner interest) for each of the prior four consecutive whole fiscal quarters, 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. If our general partner transfers all or a portion of our incentive distribution rights in the future, then the holder or holders of a majority of our incentive distribution rights will be entitled to exercise this right. The following assumes that our general partner holds all of the incentive distribution rights at the time that a reset election is made. Following a reset election, 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 as the current target distribution levels.
		If our general partner elects to reset the target distribution levels, it will be entitled to receive a number of common units and a general partner interest necessary to maintain its general partner interest in us immediately prior to the reset election. The number of common units to be issued to our general partner will equal the number of common units that would have entitled the holder to an average aggregate quarterly cash distribution in the prior two quarters equal to the average of the distributions to our general partner on the incentive distribution rights in such prior two quarters. Please read “Provisions of Our Partnership Agreement Relating to Cash Distributions — General Partner’s Right to Reset Incentive Distribution Levels” beginning on page 60.
Issuance of additional units		Our partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional units without the approval of our unitholders. Please read “Units

		Eligible for Future Sale” beginning on page 149 and “The Partnership Agreement — Issuance of Additional Interests” beginning on page 139.

Limited voting rights		Our general partner will manage and operate us. Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, our unitholders will have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business. Our unitholders will have no right to elect our general partner or its directors on an annual or other continuing basis. Our general partner may not be removed except by a vote of the holders of at least 662/3% of the outstanding units, including any units owned by our general partner and its affiliates, voting together as a single class. Upon consummation of this offering, OTA will own an aggregate of 74.3% of our outstanding voting units (or 70.4% of our outstanding voting units, if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional common units in full). This will give OTA the ability to prevent the removal of our general partner. Please read “The Partnership Agreement — Voting Rights” beginning on page 138.

Limited call right		If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of the outstanding common units, our general partner has the right, but not the obligation, to purchase all of the remaining common units 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. Please read “The Partnership Agreement — Limited Call Right” beginning on page 144.
Estimated ratio of taxable income to distributions		We estimate that if you own the common units you purchase in this offering through the record date for distributions for the period ending December 31, 2014, you will be allocated, on a cumulative basis, an amount of federal taxable income for that period that will be less than 20% of the cash distributed to you with respect to that period. For example, if you receive an annual distribution of $1.35 per unit, we estimate that your average allocable federal taxable income per year will be no more than approximately $0.27 per unit. Thereafter, the ratio of allocable taxable income to cash distributions to you could substantially increase. Please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences — Tax Consequences of Unit Ownership” beginning on page 151 for the basis of this estimate.
Material federal income tax consequences		For a discussion of the material federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to prospective unitholders who are individual citizens or residents of the United States, please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” beginning on page 150.

Exchange listing		We have been approved to list our common units on the NYSE, subject to official notice of issuance, under the symbol “OILT.”

 

Summary Historical and Pro Forma Financial and Operating Data

	•	the contribution by OTA of its partnership interests in Oiltanking Houston, L.P. and Oiltanking Beaumont Partners, L.P. to us;

	•	the issuance by us to OTA of 9,449,901 common units and 19,449,901 subordinated units;

	•	the issuance by us to our general partner of a 2.0% general partner interest and the incentive distribution rights in us;
	•	the issuance by us to the public of 10,000,000 common units and the use of the net proceeds from this offering (assuming a price of $      per common unit, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus) as described under “Use of Proceeds” beginning on page 39;

	•	the change in sponsor of a postretirement benefit plan and a deferred compensation plan from Oiltanking Houston, L.P. to OTA;

	•	the elimination of certain assets not contributed to us;
	•	the change in tax status of Oiltanking Houston, L.P. to a non-taxable entity; and
	•	the elimination of historical interest expense associated with the repayment of intercompany indebtedness to Oiltanking Finance B.V. in the amount of approximately $119.5 million from the net proceeds of the offering.

		Predecessor Historical																				Pro Forma
														Three Months												Three Months
		Year Ended												Ended								Year Ended				Ended
		December 31,												March 31,								December 31,				March 31,
		2008				2009				2010				2010				2011				2010				2011
		(In thousands)
Statements of Income Data:
Revenues		$	79,112			$	100,840			$	116,450			$	27,742			$	29,955			$	116,450			$	29,955
Operating costs and expenses:
Operating			29,437				29,158				32,415				7,951				8,424				32,415				8,424
Depreciation and amortization			12,854				14,191				15,579				3,804				3,875				15,006				3,744
Selling, general and administrative			9,709				13,830				15,775				4,096				4,792				14,265				4,217
(Gain) loss on disposal of fixed assets			(4	)			96				(339	)			(13	)			544				(339	)			544
Gain on property casualty indemnification			—				—				(4,688	)			(3,701	)			(247	)			(4,688	)			(247	)
Loss on impairment of assets			213				155				46				—				—				46				—
Total Operating Costs and Expenses			52,209				57,430				58,788				12,137				17,388				56,705				16,682
Operating Income			26,903				43,410				57,662				15,605				12,567				59,745				13,273
Other income (expense):
Interest expense			(7,356	)			(8,401	)			(9,538	)			(2,479	)			(2,279	)			(2,235	)			(570	)
Interest income			116				98				74				3				15				74				15
Other income (expense)			(912	)			491				1,100				152				96				937				83
Total Other Expense, Net			(8,152	)			(7,812	)			(8,364	)			(2,324	)			(2,168	)			(1,224	)			(472	)
Income Before Income Tax Expense			18,751				35,598				49,298				13,281				10,399				58,521				12,801
Income tax expense:
Current			3,202				5,579				7,527				2,903				3,214				191				70
Deferred			2,964				4,903				3,956				(461	)			(435	)			—				—
Total Income Tax Expense			6,166				10,482				11,483				2,442				2,779				191				70
Net Income		$	12,585			$	25,116			$	37,815			$	10,839			$	7,620			$	58,330			$	12,731

		Predecessor Historical																				Pro Forma
														Three Months												Three Months
		Year Ended												Ended								Year Ended				Ended
		December 31,												March 31,								December 31,				March 31,
		2008				2009				2010				2010				2011				2010				2011
		(In thousands, except operating information)
Balance Sheet Data (at period end):
Property, plant and equipment, less accumulated depreciation		$	248,016			$	268,057			$	265,616							$	265,950							$	259,572
Total Assets			274,838				303,500				310,469								304,970								295,887
Total Liabilities			205,927				213,404				206,420								193,283								37,465
Total Partners’ Capital			68,911				90,096				104,049								111,687								258,422
Cash Flow Data:
Net cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities		$	27,022			$	32,253			$	60,678			$	15,921			$	7,614
Investing activities			(64,435	)			(34,469	)			(30,191	)			(13,624	)			(4,502	)
Financing activities			39,558				3,243				(27,597	)			(4,100	)			(4,975	)
Other Financial Data:
Adjusted EBITDA(1)		$	39,966			$	57,852			$	68,260			$	15,695			$	16,739			$	69,770			$	17,314
Capital Expenditures:
Maintenance(2)		$	3,534			$	1,414			$	3,536			$	607			$	377
Expansion(3)			60,934				33,065				7,631				2,052				3,828
Total		$	64,468			$	34,479			$	11,167			$	2,659			$	4,205
Operating Data:
Storage capacity, end of period (mmbbls)			15.2				16.4				16.8				16.8				16.8
Storage capacity, average (mmbbls)			14.2				15.7				16.8				16.6				16.8
Terminal throughput (mbpd)			695.2				700.6				784.9				740.8				822.1
Vessels per period			743				694				799				171				211
Barges per period			2,481				2,520				2,910				772				646

(1)		Adjusted EBITDA is defined in “— Non-GAAP Financial Measure” below.
(2)		Maintenance capital expenditures are those capital expenditures required to maintain our long-term operating capacity.
(3)		Expansion capital expenditures are capital expenditures made to increase the long-term operating capacity of our asset base whether through construction or acquisitions.

 

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

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

		Predecessor Historical																				Pro Forma
																						Year				Three
																						Ended				Months
														Three Months Ended								December				Ended
		Year Ended December 31,												March 31,								31,				March 31,
		2008				2009				2010				2010				2011				2010				2011
		(In thousands)
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income:
Net income		$	12,585			$	25,116			$	37,815			$	10,839			$	7,620			$	58,330			$	12,731
Depreciation and amortization expense			12,854				14,191				15,579				3,804				3,875				15,006				3,744
Income tax expense			6,166				10,482				11,483				2,442				2,779				191				70
Interest expense, net			7,240				8,303				9,464				2,476				2,264				2,161				555
(Gain) loss on disposal of fixed assets			(4	)			96				(339	)			(13	)			544				(339	)			544
Gain on property casualty indemnification			—				—				(4,688	)			(3,701	)			(247	)			(4,688	)			(247	)
Loss on impairment of assets			213				155				46				—				—				46				—
Other (income) expense			912				(491	)			(1,100	)			(152	)			(96	)			(937	)			(83	)
Adjusted EBITDA		$	39,966			$	57,852			$	68,260			$	15,695			$	16,739			$	69,770			$	17,314
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net cash provided by operating activities:
Net cash from operating activities		$	27,022			$	32,253			$	60,678			$	15,921			$	7,614
Changes in assets and liabilities			3,786				12,956				(7,207	)			(5,186	)			4,173
Deferred income taxes (non-cash)			(2,964	)			(4,903	)			(3,956	)			461				435
Postretirement net periodic benefit cost			(1,104	)			(1,219	)			(1,265	)			(335	)			(443	)
Income tax expense			6,166				10,482				11,483				2,442				2,779
Interest expense, net			7,240				8,303				9,464				2,476				2,264
Other income (excluding unrealized gain/loss on investments)			(180	)			(20	)			(937	)			(84	)			(83	)
Adjusted EBITDA		$	39,966			$	57,852			$	68,260			$	15,695			$	16,739

 

Limited partner interests are inherently different from the capital stock of a corporation, although many of the business risks to which we are subject are similar to those that would be faced by a corporation engaged in a similar business. You should carefully consider the following risk factors together with all of the other information included in this prospectus in evaluating an investment in our common units.

 

If any of the following risks were to occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution could be materially adversely affected. In that case, we might not be able to make distributions on our common units, the trading price of our common units could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

 

We may not have sufficient cash from operations following the establishment of cash reserves and payment of costs and expenses, including cost reimbursements to our general partner, to enable us to pay the minimum quarterly distribution to our unitholders.

 

We may not have sufficient cash each quarter to pay the full amount of our minimum quarterly distribution of $0.3375 per unit, or $1.35 per unit per year, which will require us to have available cash of approximately $13.4 million per quarter, or $53.6 million per year, based on the number of common and subordinated units and the general partner interest to be outstanding after the completion of this offering. The amount of cash we can distribute on our common and subordinated units principally depends upon the amount of cash we generate from our operations, which will fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on, among other things:

 

 

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

 

 

 

For a description of additional restrictions and factors that may affect our ability to pay cash distributions, please read “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions.”

 

The assumptions underlying our forecast of cash available for distribution included in “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions” are inherently uncertain and subject to significant business, economic, financial, regulatory and competitive risks and uncertainties that could cause cash available for distribution to differ materially from our estimates.

 

The forecast of cash available for distribution set forth in “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions” includes our forecast of our results of operations and cash available for distribution for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012. Our ability to pay the full minimum quarterly distribution in the forecast period is based on a number of assumptions that may not prove to be correct, which are discussed in “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions.”

 

Our forecast of cash available for distribution has been prepared by management, and we have not received an opinion or report on it from any independent registered public accountants. The assumptions underlying our forecast of cash available for distribution are inherently uncertain and are subject to significant business, economic, financial, regulatory and competitive risks and uncertainties that could cause cash available for distribution to differ materially from that which is forecasted. If we do not achieve our forecasted results, we may not be able to pay the minimum quarterly distribution or any amount on our common units or subordinated units, in which event the market price of our common units may decline materially. Please read “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions.”

 

Our business would be adversely affected if the operations of our customers experienced significant interruptions. In certain circumstances, the obligations of many of our key customers under their terminal services agreements may be reduced or suspended, which would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

We are dependent upon the uninterrupted operations of certain facilities owned or operated by our customers, such as the refineries and chemical production facilities we service. Any significant interruption at these facilities or inability to transport products to or from these facilities or to or from our customers for any reason would adversely affect our results of operations, cash flow and ability to make distributions to our unitholders. Operations at our facilities and at the facilities owned or operated by our suppliers and customers could be partially or completely shut down, temporarily or permanently, as the result of any number of circumstances that are not within our control, such as:

 

 

Additionally, terrorist attacks and acts of sabotage could target oil and gas production facilities, refineries, processing plants, terminals and other infrastructure facilities.

 

Our terminal services agreements with many of our key customers provide that, if any of a number of events occur, including certain of those events described above, which we refer to as events of force majeure, and the event significantly delays or renders performance impossible with respect to a facility, usually for a specified minimum period of days, our customer’s obligations would be temporarily suspended with respect to that facility. In that case, a significant customer’s fixed storage services fees may be reduced or suspended, even if we are contractually restricted from recontracting out the storage space in question during such force majeure period, or the contract may be subject to termination. There can be no assurance that we are adequately insured against such risks. As a result, our revenue and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Our financial results depend on the demand for the crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas that we transport, store and distribute, among other factors, and the current economic downturn could result in lower demand for these products for a sustained period of time.

 

Any sustained decrease in demand for crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas in the markets served by our terminals could result in a significant reduction in storage or throughput in our terminals, which would reduce our cash flow and our ability to make distributions to our unitholders. Our financial results may also be affected by uncertain or changing economic conditions within certain regions, including the challenges that are currently affecting economic conditions in the entire United States. If economic and market conditions remain uncertain or adverse conditions persist, spread or deteriorate further, we may experience material impacts on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Other factors that could lead to a decrease in market demand include:

 

 

Any decrease in supply and marketing activities may result in reduced throughput volumes at our terminal facilities, which would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Restrictions in our debt agreements could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

 

Under our loan agreements with Oiltanking Finance B.V., we are prohibited from incurring additional indebtedness from third parties without the approval of Oiltanking Finance B.V. In addition, these loan agreements contain covenants that require us to maintain certain debt, leverage, and equity ratios and prohibit us from pledging our assets to third parties. We expect that our new revolving line of credit with Oiltanking Finance B.V. will contain similar restrictions as well as covenants that could restrict our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders. As a result, we will be limited in the manner in which we conduct our business, and we may be unable to engage in favorable business activities or finance future operations or capital needs. Please read “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Liquidity.”

 

Our operations are subject to operational hazards and unforeseen interruptions, including interruptions from hurricanes or floods, for which we may not be adequately insured.

 

Our primary operations are currently all located in the upper Gulf Coast region, and are subject to operational hazards and unforeseen interruptions, including interruptions from hurricanes or floods, which have historically impacted the region with some regularity. Each of our Houston and Beaumont terminals, for example, has experienced damage and interruption of business due to hurricanes. We may also be affected by factors such as adverse weather, accidents, fires, explosions, hazardous materials releases, mechanical failures, disruptions in supply infrastructure or logistics and other

events beyond our control. In addition, our operations are exposed to other potential natural disasters, including tornadoes, storms, floods and/or earthquakes. If any of these events were to occur, we could incur substantial losses because of personal injury or loss of life, severe damage to and destruction of property and equipment, and pollution or other environmental damage resulting in curtailment or suspension of our related operations.

 

We are not fully insured against all risks incident to our business. Certain of the insurance policies covering entities and their operations that will be contributed to us also provide coverage to entities that will not be contributed to us as a part of our initial public offering. The coverage available under those insurance policies has historically been allocated among the entities that will be contributed to us and the entities that will not be contributed to us. This allocation may result in limiting the amount of recovery available to us for purposes of covered losses.

 

Furthermore, we may be unable to maintain or obtain insurance of the type and amount we desire at reasonable rates. As a result of market conditions, premiums and deductibles for certain of our insurance policies have increased and could escalate further. In addition sub-limits have been imposed for certain risks. In some instances, certain insurance could become unavailable or available only for reduced amounts of coverage. If we were to incur a significant liability for which we are not fully insured, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution to unitholders.

 

Reduced volatility in energy prices or new government regulations could discourage our storage customers from holding positions in crude oil or refined petroleum products, which could adversely affect the demand for our storage services.

 

We have constructed and continue to construct new storage facilities in response to increased customer demand for storage. Many of our competitors have also built new storage facilities. The demand for new storage has resulted in part from our customers’ desire to have the ability to take advantage of profit opportunities created by volatility in the prices of crude oil and petroleum products. If the prices of crude oil and petroleum products become relatively stable, or if federal and/or state regulations are passed that discourage our customers from storing those commodities, demand for our storage services could decrease, in which case we may be unable to renew contracts for our storage services or be forced to reduce the rates we charge for our storage services, either of which would reduce the amount of cash we generate.

 

Some of our current terminal services agreements are automatically renewing on a short-term basis, and may be terminated at the end of the current renewal term upon requisite notice. If one or more of our current terminal services agreements is terminated and we are unable to secure comparable alternative arrangements, our financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.

 

Some of our terminal services agreements currently in effect are operating in the automatic renewal phase of the contract that begins upon the expiration of the primary contract term. Our terminal services agreements generally have primary contract terms that range from one year up to 15 years. Upon expiration of the primary contract term, these agreements renew automatically for successive renewal terms that range from one to five years unless earlier terminated by either party upon the giving of the requisite notice, generally ranging from three to 18 months prior to the expiration of the applicable renewal term. Terminal services agreements that account for an aggregate of 18.1% of our expected revenues for the twelve month period ending March 31, 2012 could be terminated by our customers without penalty within the same period. If any one or more of our terminal services agreements is terminated and we are unable to secure comparable alternative arrangements, we may not be able to generate sufficient additional revenue from third parties to replace any shortfall in revenue or increase in costs. Additionally, we may incur substantial costs if modifications to our terminals are required by a new or renegotiated terminal services agreement. The occurrence of any one or more of these events could have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Competition from other terminals that are able to supply our customers with comparable storage capacity at a lower price could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

We face competition from other terminals that may be able to supply our customers with integrated terminaling services on a more competitive basis. We compete with national, regional and local terminal and storage companies,

including major integrated oil companies, of widely varying sizes, financial resources and experience. Our ability to compete could be harmed by factors we cannot control, including:

 

 

Any combination of these factors could result in our customers utilizing the assets and services of our competitors instead of our assets and services, or us being required to lower our prices or increase our costs to retain our customers, either of which could adversely affect our results of operations, financial position or cash flows, as well as our ability to pay cash distributions to our unitholders.

 

The expected introduction of significant new crude oil supplies to the Gulf Coast region upon the completion of planned pipeline construction projects could decrease our customers’ dependence on waterborne crude oil imports and lead to a reduction in the demand for our marine terminal services.

 

We believe that current and planned expansion projects of other companies will introduce significant new crude oil supplies to the upper Gulf Coast through six recently announced pipeline projects that, if completed as expected, would transport a total of approximately 2.5 million barrels of crude oil per day into the region within the next two years. For additional information about these pipeline projects, please see “Business — Our Business and Properties.”

 

These or other pipeline construction projects could result in pipeline delivered crude accounting for an increasing share of the crude oil supplies utilized by our customers. This could lead to a decrease in the utilization of waterborne foreign crude oil imports by our customers and a related decrease in demand for our marine terminal services.

 

Our expansion of existing assets and construction of new assets may not result in revenue increases and will be subject to regulatory, environmental, political, legal and economic risks, which could adversely affect our operations and financial condition.

 

A portion of our strategy to grow and increase distributions to unitholders is dependent on our ability to expand existing assets and to construct additional assets. The construction of a new terminal, or the expansion of an existing terminal, such as by increasing storage capacity or otherwise, involves numerous regulatory, environmental, political and legal uncertainties, most of which are beyond our control. Moreover, we may not receive sufficient long-term contractual commitments from customers to provide the revenue needed to support such projects. As a result, we may construct new facilities that are not able to attract enough storage customers or throughput to achieve our expected investment return, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and our ability to make distributions to our unitholders.

 

If we undertake these projects, they may not be completed on schedule or at all or at the budgeted cost. We may be unable to negotiate acceptable interconnection agreements with third-party pipelines to provide destinations for increased throughput. Even if we receive sufficient multi-year contractual commitments from customers to provide the revenue needed to support such projects and we complete our construction projects as planned, we may not realize an increase in revenue for an extended period of time. For instance, if we build a new terminal, the construction will occur over an extended period of time and we will not receive any material increases in revenues until after completion of the project. Any of these circumstances could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and our ability to make distributions to our unitholders.

 

If we are unable to make acquisitions on economically acceptable terms, our future growth would be limited, and any acquisitions we make may reduce, rather than increase, our cash generated from operations on a per unit basis.

 

A portion of our strategy to grow our business and increase distributions to unitholders is dependent on our ability to make acquisitions that result in an increase in our cash available for distribution per unit. If we are unable to make acquisitions from third parties, including from OTA and its affiliates, because we are unable to identify attractive acquisition candidates or negotiate acceptable purchase contracts, we are unable to obtain financing for these acquisitions

on economically acceptable terms or we are outbid by competitors, our future growth and ability to increase distributions will be limited. Furthermore, even if we do consummate acquisitions that we believe will be accretive, they may in fact result in a decrease in our cash available for distribution per unit. Any acquisition involves potential risks, some of which are beyond our control, including, among other things:

 

 

If we consummate any future acquisitions, our capitalization and results of operations may change significantly, and unitholders will not have the opportunity to evaluate the economic, financial and other relevant information that we will consider in determining the application of these funds and other resources.

 

Revenues we generate from throughput fees vary based upon the volumes of products handled at our terminals and the activity levels of our customers. Any short- or long-term decrease in the demand for the crude oil, refined petroleum products or liquefied petroleum gas we handle or any interruptions to the operations of certain of our customers, could reduce the amount of cash we generate and adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our unitholders.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2010, we generated approximately 20% of our revenues from throughput fees, which (i) our non-storage customers pay us to receive or deliver volumes of products on their behalf to designated pipelines, third-party storage facilities or waterborne transportation and (ii) our storage customers pay us to receive volumes of products on their behalf that exceed the base throughput contemplated in their agreed upon monthly storage services fee. In addition, approximately 12% of our revenues were generated from throughput fees charged to a single customer.

 

The revenues we generate from throughput fees vary based upon the volumes of products accepted at or withdrawn from our terminals, and our non-storage customers are not obligated to pay us any throughput fees unless we move volumes of products across our pipelines or docks on their behalf. If one or more of our non-storage customers were to slow or suspend its operations, or otherwise experience a decrease in demand for our services, our revenues under our agreements with such customers would be reduced or suspended, resulting in a decrease in the revenues we generate.

 

We are exposed to the credit risk of our customers, and any material nonpayment or nonperformance by our key customers could adversely affect our financial results and cash available for distribution.

 

We are subject to the risk of loss resulting from nonpayment or nonperformance by our customers. Approximately 61% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2010 were attributable to our five largest customers. Our credit procedures and policies may not be adequate to fully eliminate customer credit risk. If we fail to adequately assess the creditworthiness of existing or future customers or unanticipated deterioration in their creditworthiness, any resulting increase in nonpayment or nonperformance by them and our inability to re-market or otherwise use the capacity could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay distributions to our unitholders.

Any reduction in the capability of our customers to utilize third-party pipelines that interconnect with our terminals, or to continue utilizing them at current costs, could cause a reduction of volumes transported through our terminals.

 

Many users of our terminals are dependent upon connections to third-party pipelines, to receive and deliver crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas. Any interruptions or reduction in the capabilities of these interconnecting pipelines due to testing, line repair, reduced operating pressures, or other causes would result in reduced volumes transported through our terminals. Similarly, if additional shippers begin transporting volume over interconnecting pipelines, the allocations to our existing shippers on these interconnecting pipelines could be reduced, which also could reduce volumes transported through our terminals. Allocation reductions of this nature are not infrequent and are beyond our control. In addition, if the costs to us or our storage service customers to access and transport on these third-party pipelines significantly increase, our profitability could be reduced. Any such increases in cost, interruptions or allocation reductions that, individually or in the aggregate, are material or continue for a sustained period of time could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

If we are unable to diversify our assets and geographic locations, our ability to make distributions to our unitholders could be adversely affected.

 

We rely exclusively on sales generated from products distributed from the terminals we own, which are exclusively located in the Gulf Coast region. Due to our lack of diversification in asset type and location, an adverse development in these businesses or areas, including adverse developments due to catastrophic events or weather and decreases in demand for refined petroleum products, could have a significantly greater impact on our results of operations and cash available for distribution to our unitholders than if we maintained more diverse assets and locations.

 

Mergers among our customers and competitors could result in lower volumes being stored in or distributed through our terminals, thereby reducing the amount of cash we generate.

 

Mergers between our existing customers and our competitors could provide strong economic incentives for the combined entities to utilize their existing systems instead of ours in those markets where the systems compete. As a result, we could lose some or all of the volumes and associated revenues from these customers and we could experience difficulty in replacing those lost volumes and revenues. Because most of our operating costs are fixed, a reduction in volumes would result not only in less revenue, but also a decline in cash flow of a similar magnitude, which would adversely affect our results of operations, financial position or cash flows, as well as our ability to pay cash distributions.

 

We may incur significant costs and liabilities in complying with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, which are complex and frequently changing.

 

Our operations involve the transport and storage of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas and are subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations governing, among other things, the gathering, storage, handling and transportation of petroleum and hazardous substances, the emission and discharge of materials into the environment, the generation, management and disposal of wastes, and other matters otherwise relating to the protection of the environment. Our operations are also subject to various laws and regulations relating to occupational health and safety. Compliance with this complex array of federal, state, and local laws and implementing regulations is difficult and may require significant capital expenditures and operating costs to mitigate or prevent pollution. Moreover, our business is inherently subject to accidental spills, discharges or other releases of petroleum or hazardous substances into the environment and neighboring areas, for which we may incur substantial liabilities to investigate and remediate. Failure to comply with applicable environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations may result in the assessment of sanctions, including administrative, civil or criminal penalties, permit revocations, and injunctions limiting or prohibiting some or all of our operations.

 

We cannot predict what additional environmental, health, and safety legislation or regulations will be enacted or become effective in the future or how existing or future laws or regulations will be administered or interpreted with respect to our operations. Many of these laws and regulations are becoming increasingly stringent, and the cost of compliance with these requirements can be expected to increase over time. These expenditures or costs for environmental, health, and safety compliance could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and profitability.

We could incur significant costs and liabilities in responding to contamination that occurs at our facilities.

 

Our pipeline and terminal facilities have been used for transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas for many years. Although we have utilized operating and disposal practices that were standard in the industry at the time, hydrocarbons and wastes from time to time have been spilled or released on or under the terminal properties. In addition, the terminal properties were previously owned and operated by other parties and those parties from time to time also have spilled or released hydrocarbons or wastes. The terminal properties are subject to federal, state and local laws that impose investigatory and remedial obligations, some of which are joint and several or strict liability obligations without regard to fault, to address and prevent environmental contamination. We may incur significant costs and liabilities in responding to any soil and groundwater contamination that occurs on our properties, even if the contamination was caused by prior owners and operators of our facilities. Since we acquired full ownership of the Beaumont terminal in 2001, we have spent approximately $0.35 million to investigate and remediate soil and ground water impacts at that terminal.

 

Climate change legislation or regulations restricting emissions of greenhouse gases could result in increased operating and capital costs and reduced demand for our storage services.

 

In December 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) determined that emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases (“GHGs”) present an endangerment to public health and the environment because emissions of such gases are, according to the EPA, contributing to warming of the earth’s atmosphere and other climatic changes. Based on these findings, the EPA has begun adopting and implementing regulations to restrict emissions of GHGs under existing provisions of the federal Clean Air Act. The EPA recently adopted two sets of rules regulating GHG emissions under the Clean Air Act, one of which requires a reduction in emissions of GHGs from motor vehicles and the other of which regulates emissions of GHGs from certain large stationary sources, effective January 2, 2011, which could require greenhouse emission controls for those sources. The EPA’s rules relating to emissions of GHGs from large stationary sources of emissions are currently subject to a number of legal challenges, but the federal courts have thus far declined to issue any injunctions to prevent the EPA from implementing, or requiring state environmental agencies to implement, the rules. The EPA has also adopted rules requiring the reporting of GHG emissions from specified large GHG emission sources in the United States on an annual basis, beginning in 2011 for emissions occurring after January 1, 2010, as well as certain onshore oil and natural gas production, processing, transmission, storage and distribution facilities on an annual basis, beginning in 2012 for emissions occurring in 2011.

 

In addition, the U.S. Congress has from time to time considered adopting legislation to reduce emissions of GHGs and almost one-half of the states have already taken legal measures to reduce emissions of GHGs primarily through the planned development of GHG emission inventories and/or regional GHG cap and trade programs. Most of these cap and trade programs work by requiring major sources of emissions, such as electric power plants, or major producers of fuels, such as refineries and gas processing plants, to acquire and surrender emission allowances. The number of allowances available for purchase is reduced each year in an effort to achieve the overall GHG emission reduction goal.

 

The adoption of legislation or regulatory programs to reduce emissions of GHGs could require us to incur increased operating costs, such as costs to purchase and operate emissions control systems, to acquire emissions allowances or comply with new regulatory or reporting requirements. Any such legislation or regulatory programs could also increase the cost of consuming, and thereby reduce demand for, the oil and natural gas that is produced, which may decrease demand for our storage services. Consequently, legislation and regulatory programs to reduce emissions of GHGs could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Finally, it should be noted that some scientists have concluded that increasing concentrations of GHGs in the Earth’s atmosphere may produce climate changes that have significant physical effects, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts, and floods and other climatic events. If any such effects were to occur, they could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Terrorist attacks aimed at our facilities or surrounding areas could adversely affect our business.

 

The U.S. government has issued warnings that energy assets, specifically the nation’s pipeline and terminal infrastructure, may be the future targets of terrorist organizations. Any terrorist attack at our facilities, those of our

customers and, in some cases, those of other pipelines, refineries, or terminals could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

 

OTA owns and controls our general partner, which has sole responsibility for conducting our business and managing our operations. Our general partner and its affiliates, including OTA, have conflicts of interest with us and limited fiduciary duties, and they may favor their own interests to the detriment of us and our unitholders.

 

Following the offering, OTA will own and control our general partner and will appoint all of the directors of our general partner. Although our general partner has a fiduciary duty to manage us in a manner beneficial to us and our unitholders, the executive officers and directors of our general partner have a fiduciary duty to manage our general partner in a manner beneficial to OTA. Therefore, conflicts of interest may arise between OTA and its affiliates, including our general partner, on the one hand, and us and our unitholders, on the other hand. In resolving these conflicts of interest, our general partner may favor its own interests and the interests of its affiliates over the interests of our common unitholders. These conflicts include the following situations, among others:

 

 

 

In addition, we may compete directly with entities in which OTA has an interest for acquisition opportunities and potentially will compete with these entities for new business or extensions of the existing services provided by us. Please read “— OTA and other affiliates of our general partner may compete with us” and “Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties.”

 

Our general partner intends to limit its liability regarding our obligations.

 

Our general partner intends to limit 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.

 

Our partnership agreement requires that we distribute all of our available cash, which could limit our ability to grow and make acquisitions.

 

We expect that we will distribute all of our available cash to our unitholders and will rely primarily upon external financing sources, including commercial bank borrowings, borrowings from Oiltanking Finance B.V. and the issuance of debt and equity securities, to fund our acquisitions and expansion capital expenditures. As a result, to the extent we are unable to finance growth externally, our cash distribution policy will significantly impair our ability to grow.

 

In addition, because we distribute all of our available cash, our growth may not be as fast as that of businesses that reinvest their available cash to expand ongoing operations. To the extent we issue additional units in connection with any acquisitions or expansion capital expenditures, the payment of distributions on those additional units may increase the risk that we will be unable to maintain or increase our per unit distribution level. There are no limitations in our partnership agreement, and we do not anticipate limitations in our expected revolving line of credit, on our ability to issue additional units, including units ranking senior to the common units. The incurrence of additional commercial borrowings or other debt to finance our growth strategy would result in increased interest expense, which, in turn, may impact the available cash that we have to distribute to our unitholders.

 

Our partnership agreement limits our general partner’s fiduciary duties to holders of our common and subordinated units.

 

Our partnership agreement contains provisions that modify and reduce the fiduciary 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, or otherwise free of fiduciary duties to us and our unitholders. This entitles our general partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires and relieves it of any duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, us, our affiliates or our limited partners. Examples of decisions that our general partner may make in its individual capacity include:

 

 

 

By purchasing a common unit, a unitholder is treated as having consented to the provisions in the partnership agreement, including the provisions discussed above. Please read “Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties — Fiduciary Duties.”

 

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

 

Our partnership agreement contains provisions that restrict the remedies available to unitholders for actions taken by our general partner that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty under state fiduciary duty law. For example, our partnership agreement provides that:

 

 

 

In connection with a situation involving a transaction with an affiliate or a conflict of interest, any determination by our general partner must be made in good faith. If an affiliate transaction or the resolution of a conflict of interest is not approved by our common unitholders or the conflicts committee and the board of directors of our general partner determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to the affiliate transaction or conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in subclauses (3) and (4) above, then it will be presumed that, in making its decision, 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. Please read “Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties.”

OTA and other affiliates of our general partner may compete 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 and those activities incidental to its ownership interest in us. Affiliates of our general partner, including OTA and the Oiltanking Group, are not prohibited from engaging in other businesses or activities, including those that might be in direct competition with us. The Oiltanking Group and OTA currently hold substantial interests in other companies in the terminaling business. OTA and the Oiltanking Group make investments and purchase entities that acquire, own and operate terminaling businesses. These investments and acquisitions may include entities or assets that we would have been interested in acquiring. Therefore, OTA and the Oiltanking Group may compete with us for investment opportunities and OTA and the Oiltanking Group may own an interest in entities that compete with us.

 

Pursuant to the terms of our partnership agreement, the doctrine of corporate opportunity, or any analogous doctrine, does not apply to our general partner or any of its affiliates, including its executive officers and directors and OTA. Any such person or entity that becomes aware of a potential transaction, agreement, arrangement or other matter that may be an opportunity for us will not have any duty to communicate or offer such opportunity to us. Any such person or entity will not be liable to us or to any limited partner for breach of any fiduciary duty or other duty by reason of the fact that such person or entity pursues or acquires such opportunity for itself, directs such opportunity to another person or entity or does not communicate such opportunity or information to us. This may create actual and potential conflicts of interest between us and affiliates of our general partner and result in less than favorable treatment of us and our unitholders. Please read “Conflicts of Interest and Fiduciary Duties.”

 

Our general partner 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 its board of directors or the holders of our common units. This could result in lower distributions to holders of our common units.

 

Our general partner has the right, at any time when there are no subordinated units outstanding and it has received incentive distributions at the highest level to which it is entitled (48.0%, in addition to distributions paid on its 2.0% general partner interest) for each of the prior four consecutive whole fiscal quarters, 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 our general partner, 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 as the current target distribution levels.

 

If our general partner elects to reset the target distribution levels, it will be entitled to receive a number of common units and a general partner interest necessary to maintain its general partner interest in us immediately prior to the reset election. The number of common units to be issued to our general partner will equal the number of common units which would have entitled the holder to an average aggregate quarterly cash distribution in such prior two quarters equal to the average of the distributions to our general partner on the incentive distribution rights in the prior two quarters. We anticipate that our general partner would exercise this reset right in order to facilitate acquisitions or internal growth projects that would not be sufficiently accretive to cash distributions per common unit without such conversion. It is possible, however, that our general partner could exercise this reset election at a time when it is experiencing, or expects to experience, declines in the cash distributions it receives related to its incentive distribution rights and may, therefore, desire to be issued common units rather than retain the right to receive incentive distributions based on the initial target distribution levels. As a result, a reset election may cause our common unitholders to experience a reduction in the amount of cash distributions that our common unitholders would have otherwise received had we not issued new common units to our general partner in connection with resetting the target distribution levels. Please read “Provisions of Our Partnership Agreement Relating to Cash Distributions — General Partner’s Right to Reset Incentive Distribution Levels.”

 

Holders of our common units have limited voting rights and are not entitled to elect our general partner or its directors, which could reduce the price at which our common units will trade.

 

Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, our unitholders will have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business and, therefore, limited ability to influence management’s decisions regarding our business. Our

unitholders will have no right on an annual or ongoing basis to elect our general partner or its board of directors. The board of directors of our general partner, including the independent directors, is chosen entirely by OTA, as a result of it owning our general partner, and not by our unitholders. Please read “Management — Management of Oiltanking Partners, L.P.” and “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions.” Unlike publicly traded corporations, we will not conduct annual meetings of our unitholders to elect directors or conduct other matters routinely conducted at annual meetings of stockholders of corporations. As a result of these limitations, the price at which the common units will trade could be diminished because of the absence or reduction of a takeover premium in the trading price.

 

Even if holders of our common units are dissatisfied, they cannot initially remove our general partner without its consent.

 

If our unitholders are dissatisfied with the performance of our general partner, they will have limited ability to remove our general partner. Unitholders initially will be unable to remove our general partner without its consent because our general partner and its affiliates will own sufficient units upon the completion of this offering to be able to prevent its removal. The vote of the holders of at least 662/3% of all our outstanding common and subordinated units voting together as a single class is required to remove our general partner. Following the closing of this offering, OTA will own, directly or indirectly, an aggregate of 74.3% of our common and subordinated units (or 70.4% of our common and subordinated units, if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional common units in full). Also, if our general partner is removed without cause during the subordination period and no units held by the holders of our subordinated units or their affiliates are voted in favor of that removal, all remaining subordinated units will automatically be converted into common units and any existing arrearages on the common units will be extinguished. Cause is narrowly defined in our partnership agreement to mean that a court of competent jurisdiction has entered a final, non-appealable judgment finding our general partner liable for actual fraud or willful or wanton misconduct in its capacity as our general partner. Cause does not include most cases of charges of poor management of the business.

 

Unitholders will experience immediate and substantial dilution of $13.49 per common unit.

 

The assumed initial public offering price of $20.00 per common unit exceeds pro forma net tangible book value of $6.51 per common unit. Based on the assumed initial public offering price of $20.00 per common unit, unitholders will incur immediate and substantial dilution of $13.49 per common unit. This dilution results primarily because the assets contributed to us by affiliates of our general partner are recorded at their historical cost in accordance with GAAP, and not their fair value. Please read “Dilution.”

 

Our general partner interest or the control of our general partner may be transferred to a third party without unitholder consent.

 

Our general partner may transfer its general partner interest to a third party in a merger or in a sale of all or substantially all of its assets without the consent of our unitholders. Furthermore, our partnership agreement does not restrict the ability of the members of our general partner to transfer their respective membership interests in our general partner to a third party. The new members of our general partner would then be in a position to replace the board of directors and executive officers of our general partner with their own designees and thereby exert significant control over the decisions taken by the board of directors and executive officers of our general partner. This effectively permits a “change of control” without the vote or consent of the unitholders.

 

Our general partner has a limited call right that may require 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 the common units, our general partner will have the right, but not the obligation, which it may assign to any of its affiliates or to us, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the common units held by unaffiliated persons at a price 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. If our general partner exercised its limited call right, the effect would be to take us private and, if the units were subsequently deregistered, we would no longer be subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act. Upon consummation of this offering, and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional common units, OTA will own, directly or indirectly, an aggregate of 48.6% of our common units. At the end of the subordination period, assuming no additional issuances of units (other than upon the conversion of the subordinated units), OTA will own 74.3% of our common units. For additional information about the limited call right, please read “The Partnership Agreement — Limited Call Right.”

 

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

 

Our partnership agreement does not limit the number of additional limited partner interests we may issue at any time without the approval of our unitholders. The issuance of additional common units or other equity interests of equal or senior rank will have the following effects:

 

 

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

 

After this offering, we will have 19,449,901 common units and 19,449,901 subordinated units outstanding, which includes the 10,000,000 common units we are selling in this offering that may be resold in the public market immediately (11,500,000 if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional common units). All of the 19,449,901 subordinated units will convert into common units on a one-for-one basis at the end of the subordination period. All of the 9,449,901 common units (7,949,901 if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional common units) that are issued to OTA will be subject to resale restrictions under a 180-day lock-up agreement with the underwriters. Each of the lock-up agreements with the underwriters may be waived in the discretion of certain of the underwriters. Sales by OTA or other large holders of a substantial number of our common units in the public markets following this offering, or the perception that such sales might occur, could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common units or could impair our ability to obtain capital through an offering of equity securities. In addition, we have agreed to provide registration rights to OTA. Under our partnership agreement, our general partner and its affiliates have registration rights relating to the offer and sale of any units that they hold, subject to certain limitations. Please read “Units Eligible for Future Sale.”

 

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

 

Our partnership agreement restricts unitholders’ voting rights by providing that any units held by a person or group that owns 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, other than our general partner and its affiliates, their transferees and persons who acquired such units with the prior approval of the board of directors of our general partner, cannot vote on any matter.

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 a services agreement with OT Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OTA. Neither our partnership agreement nor the services agreement will limit the amount of expenses for which our general partner and its affiliates may be reimbursed, but the services agreement will provide for an agreed upon maximum annual reimbursement obligation for expenses associated with certain specified selling, general and administrative services necessary to run our business that will be provided to us by OT Services. These capped expenses include (i) expenses of non-executive employees, including general and administrative overhead costs, salary, bonus, incentive compensation and other compensation amounts, which we expect will be allocated to us based on weighted-average headcount and the ratio of time spent by those employees on our business and operations, and (ii) executive officer expenses, including general and administrative overhead costs, salary, bonus, incentive compensation and other compensation amounts, which we expect will be allocated to us based on the amount of time spent managing our business and operations. Our partnership agreement provides that our general partner will determine in good faith the expenses that are allocable to us. The reimbursement of expenses and payment of fees, if any, to our general partner and its affiliates will reduce the amount of available cash to pay cash distributions to our unitholders. Please read “Cash Distribution Policy and Restrictions on Distributions.”

 

The amount of cash we have available for distribution to holders of our units depends primarily on our cash flow and not solely on profitability, which may prevent us from making cash distributions during periods when we record net income.

 

The amount of cash we have available for distribution depends primarily upon our cash flow, including cash flow from reserves and working capital or other borrowings, and not solely on profitability, which will be affected by non-cash items. As a result, we may pay cash distributions during periods when we record net losses for financial accounting purposes and may not pay cash distributions during periods when we record net income.

 

While our partnership agreement requires us to distribute all of our available cash, our partnership agreement, including provisions requiring us to make cash distributions contained therein, may be amended.

 

While our partnership agreement requires us to distribute all of our available cash, our partnership agreement, including provisions requiring us to make cash distributions contained therein, may be amended. Our partnership agreement generally may not be amended during the subordination period without the approval of our public common unitholders. However, our partnership agreement can be amended with the consent of our general partner and the approval of a majority of the outstanding common units (including common units held by OTA) after the subordination period has ended. At the closing of this offering, OTA will own, directly or indirectly, approximately 48.6% of the outstanding common units and all of our outstanding subordinated units. Please read “The Partnership Agreement — Amendment of the Partnership Agreement.”

 

There is no existing market for our common units, and a trading market that will provide you with adequate liquidity may not develop. The price of our common units may fluctuate significantly, and unitholders could lose all or part of their investment.

 

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the common units. After this offering, there will be only 10,000,000 publicly traded common units held by our public unitholders (11,500,000 common units if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional common units in full). We do not know the extent to which investor interest will lead to the development of a trading market or how liquid that market might be. Unitholders may not be able to resell their common units at or above the initial public offering price. Additionally, the lack of liquidity may result in wide bid-ask spreads, contribute to significant fluctuations in the market price of the common units and limit the number of investors who are able to buy the common units.

 

The initial public offering price for our common units will be determined by negotiations between us and the representative of the underwriters and may not be indicative of the market price of the common units that will prevail in

the trading market. The market price of our common units may decline below the initial public offering price. The market price of our common units may also be influenced by many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

 

 

Unitholders may have liability to repay distributions and in certain circumstances may be personally liable for the obligations of the partnership.

 

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

 

It may be determined that the right, or the exercise of the right by the limited partners as a group, to (i) remove or replace our general partner, (ii) approve some amendments to our partnership agreement or (iii) take other action under our partnership agreement constitutes “participation in the control” of our business. A limited partner that participates in the control of our business within the meaning of the Delaware Act may be held personally liable for our obligations under the laws of Delaware, to the same extent as our general partner. This liability would extend to persons who transact business with us under the reasonable belief 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. Please read “The Partnership Agreement — Limited Liability.”

 

The NYSE does not require a publicly traded partnership like us to comply with certain of its corporate governance requirements.

 

We have been approved to list our common units on the NYSE, subject to official notice of issuance. Because we will be a publicly traded partnership, the NYSE does not require us to have a majority of independent directors on our general partner’s board of directors or to establish a compensation committee or a nominating and corporate governance committee. Accordingly, unitholders will not have the same protections afforded to certain corporations that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements. Please read “Management — Management of Oiltanking Partners, L.P.”

 

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a publicly traded partnership.

 

We have no history operating as a publicly traded partnership. As a publicly traded partnership, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur prior to this offering. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules implemented by the SEC and the NYSE, require publicly traded entities to adopt various corporate governance practices that will further increase our costs. Before we are able to make distributions to our

unitholders, we must first pay or reserve cash for our expenses, including the costs of being a publicly traded partnership. As a result, the amount of cash we have available for distribution to our unitholders will be affected by the costs associated with being a public company.

 

Prior to this offering, we have not filed reports with the SEC. Following this offering, we will become subject to the public reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. We expect these rules and regulations to increase certain of our legal and financial compliance costs and to make activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, as a result of becoming a publicly traded partnership, we are required to have at least three independent directors, create an audit committee and adopt policies regarding internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures, including the preparation of reports on internal controls over financial reporting. In addition, we will incur additional costs associated with our SEC reporting requirements.

 

We also expect to incur significant expense in order to obtain director and officer liability insurance. Because of the limitations in coverage for directors, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board or as executive officers.

 

We estimate that we will incur approximately $3 million of incremental external costs per year and additional internal costs associated with being a publicly traded partnership; however, it is possible that our actual incremental costs of being a publicly traded partnership will be higher than we currently estimate.

 

In addition to reading the following risk factors, please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” for a more complete discussion of the expected material federal income tax consequences of owning and disposing of common units.

 

Our tax treatment depends on our status as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as well as our not being subject to a material amount of entity-level taxation by individual states. If the IRS were to treat us as a corporation for federal income tax purposes or we were to become subject to material additional amounts of entity-level taxation for state tax purposes, then our cash available for distribution to you could be substantially reduced.

 

The anticipated after-tax economic benefit of an investment in our common units depends largely on our being treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We have not requested, and do not plan to request, a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, on this or any other tax matter affecting us.

 

Despite the fact that we are organized as a limited partnership under Delaware law, it is possible in certain circumstances for a partnership such as ours to be treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes. Although we do not believe, based upon our current operations, that we will be so treated, a change in our business (or a change in current law) could cause us to be treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes or otherwise subject us to taxation as an entity.

 

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

 

In Texas, we will be subject to an entity-level tax on any portion of our income that is generated in Texas in the prior year. Imposition of any such additional taxes on us or an increase in the existing tax rates would reduce the cash available for distribution to our unitholders.

 

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

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

 

The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including us, or an investment in our common units may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial interpretation at any time. For example, members of Congress have recently considered substantive changes to the existing federal income tax laws that affect publicly traded partnerships. Any modification to the U.S. federal income tax laws and interpretations thereof may be applied retroactively and could make it more difficult or impossible to meet the exception for certain publicly traded partnerships to be treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Although the considered legislation would not appear to have affected our treatment as a partnership, we are unable to predict whether any of these changes, or other proposals will be reintroduced or will ultimately be enacted. Any such changes could negatively impact the value of an investment in our common units.

 

You will be required to pay taxes on your share of our income even if you do not receive any cash distributions from us.

 

Because our unitholders will be treated as partners to whom we will allocate taxable income that could be different in amount than the cash we distribute, you will be required to pay any federal income taxes and, in some cases, state and local income taxes on your share of our taxable income whether or not you receive cash distributions from us. You may not receive cash distributions from us equal to your share of our taxable income or even equal to the actual tax liability that results from that income.

 

Oiltanking Beaumont Specialty Products, LLC, one of our subsidiaries, conducts activities that may not generate qualifying income. If the income generated by this subsidiary disproportionately increases as a percentage of our total gross income, we may choose to have this subsidiary treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

In order to maintain our status as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, 90% or more of our gross income in each tax year must be qualifying income under Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code. For a discussion of qualifying income, please read “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences — Taxation of the Partnership.”

 

A small portion of our current business relates to the transportation and storage of specialty products that may not generate qualifying income. In an attempt to ensure that 90% or more of our gross income in each tax year is qualifying income, we will conduct the portion of our business related to these specialty products in Oiltanking Beaumont Specialty Products, LLC. Currently, this subsidiary represents less than 8% of our total gross income. If the income generated by this subsidiary disproportionately increases as a percentage of our total gross income, we may choose to have this subsidiary treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In such case, this subsidiary would be subject to corporate-level tax on its taxable income at the applicable federal corporate income tax rate (currently, 35%). Imposition of a corporate level tax would reduce the anticipated cash available for distribution to us from the specialty products assets and operations of the subsidiary and, in turn, would reduce our cash available for distribution to our unitholders. Moreover, if the IRS were to successfully assert that this subsidiary had more tax liability than we would currently anticipate or legislation was enacted that increased the corporate tax rate, our cash available for distribution to our unitholders would be further reduced.

 

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