Targa Resources Partners LP | 2013 | FY |

Note 17 — Significant Risks and Uncertainties

Nature of Operations in Midstream Energy Industry

We operate in the midstream energy industry. Our business activities include gathering, processing, fractionating and storage of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil. Our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition may be affected by changes in the commodity prices of these hydrocarbon products and changes in the relative price levels among these hydrocarbon products. In general, the prices of natural gas, NGLs, condensate and other hydrocarbon products are subject to fluctuations in response to changes in supply, market uncertainty and a variety of additional factors that are beyond our control.

Our profitability could be impacted by a decline in the volume of natural gas, NGLs and condensate transported, gathered or processed at our facilities. A material decrease in natural gas or condensate production or condensate refining, as a result of depressed commodity prices, a decrease in exploration and development activities, or otherwise, could result in a decline in the volume of natural gas, NGLs and condensate handled by our facilities.

A reduction in demand for NGL products by the petrochemical, refining or heating industries, whether because of (i) general economic conditions, (ii) reduced demand by consumers for the end products made with NGL products, (iii) increased competition from petroleum-based products due to the pricing differences, (iv) adverse weather conditions, (v) government regulations affecting commodity prices and production levels of hydrocarbons or the content of motor gasoline or (vi) other reasons, could also adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

The principal market risks are exposure to changes in commodity prices, as well as changes in interest rates.

Commodity Price Risk

A majority of the revenues from the gathering and processing business are derived from percent-of-proceeds contracts under which we receive a portion of the natural gas and/or NGLs or equity volumes as payment for services. The prices of natural gas and NGLs are subject to market fluctuations in response to changes in supply, demand, market uncertainty and a variety of additional factors beyond our control.

In an effort to reduce the variability of our cash flows, we have hedged the commodity price associated with a significant portion of our expected natural gas equity volumes through 2016 and NGL and condensate equity volumes through 2014 by entering into derivative financial instruments including swaps and purchased puts (or floors). We hedge a higher percentage of our expected equity volumes in the current year as compared to future years where the volume forecasting risk is greater. With swaps, we typically receive an agreed upon fixed price for a specified notional quantity of natural gas or NGLs and pays the hedge counterparty a floating price for that same quantity based upon published index prices. Since we receive from our customers substantially the same floating index price from the sale of the underlying physical commodity, these transactions are designed to effectively lock-in the agreed fixed price in advance for the volumes hedged. In order to avoid having a greater volume hedged than actual equity volumes, we typically limit our use of swaps to hedge the prices of less than our expected natural gas and NGL equity volumes. We utilize purchased puts (or floors) to hedge additional expected equity commodity volumes without creating volumetric risk. Our commodity hedges may expose us to the risk of financial loss in certain circumstances.

The fair value of commodity derivative instruments, depending on the type of instrument, was determined by the use of present value methods or standard option valuation models with assumptions about commodity prices based on those observed in underlying markets. See Note 13.

Interest Rate Risk

We are exposed to changes in interest rates, primarily as a result of our variable rate borrowings under our credit facility.

Counterparty Risk – Credit and Concentration

Derivative Counterparty Risk

Where we are exposed to credit risk in our financial instrument transactions, management analyzes the counterparty’s financial condition prior to entering into an agreement, establishes credit and/or margin limits and monitors the appropriateness of these limits on an ongoing basis. Generally, management does not require collateral and does not anticipate nonperformance by our counterparties.

We have master netting provisions in the International Swap Dealers Association agreements with all of our derivative counterparties. These netting provisions allow us to net settle asset and liability positions with the same counterparties, and would reduce our maximum loss due to counterparty credit risk by $2.2 million as of December 31, 2013. The range of losses attributable to our individual counterparties would be between $1.0 million and $1.2 million, depending on the counterparty in default.

Our credit exposure related to commodity derivative instruments is represented by the fair value of contracts with a net positive fair value, representing expected future receipts, at the reporting date. At such times, these outstanding instruments expose us to losses in the event of nonperformance by the counterparties to the agreements. Should the creditworthiness of one or more of our counterparties decline, our ability to mitigate nonperformance risk is limited to a counterparty agreeing to either a voluntary termination and subsequent cash settlement or a novation of the derivative contract to a third party. In the event of a counterparty default, we may sustain a loss and our cash receipts could be negatively impacted.

As of December 31, 2013, affiliates of Bank of America Merrill Lynch (“BAML”), Securities Americas LLC (“Natixis”) and Barclays PLC (“Barclays”), accounted for 37%, 26% and 24%, of our counterparty credit exposure related to commodity derivative instruments. BAML, Natixis and Barclays are major financial institutions that possess investment grade credit ratings based upon minimum credit ratings assigned by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and Standard & Poor’s Corporation.

Customer Credit Risk

We extend credit to customers and other parties in the normal course of business. We have established various procedures to manage our credit exposure, including initial credit approvals, credit limits and terms, letters of credit, and rights of offset. We also use prepayments and guarantees to limit credit risk to ensure that our established credit criteria are met. The following table summarizes the activity affecting our allowance for bad debts:

Significant Commercial Relationships

No customer accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated revenues for 2013.

All transactions in the above table were associated with the Marketing and Distribution segment.

Casualty or Other Risks

Targa maintains coverage in various insurance programs on our behalf, which provides us with property damage, business interruption and other coverage which is customary for the nature and scope of our operations. A portion of the insurance costs described above is allocated to us by Targa through the Partnership Agreement described in Note 15.

Management believes that Targa has adequate insurance coverage, although insurance may not cover every type of interruption that might occur. As a result of insurance market conditions, premiums and deductibles for certain insurance policies have increased substantially, and in some instances, certain insurance may become unavailable, or available for only reduced amounts of coverage. As a result, Targa may not be able to renew existing insurance policies or procure other desirable insurance on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.

If we were to incur a significant liability for which we were not fully insured, it could have a material impact on our consolidated financial position and results of operations. In addition, the proceeds of any such insurance may not be paid in a timely manner and may be insufficient if such an event were to occur. Any event that interrupts the revenues generated by us, or which causes us to make significant expenditures not covered by insurance, could reduce our ability to meet our obligations. Furthermore, even when a business interruption event is covered, it could affect interperiod results as we would not recognize the contingent gain until realized in a period following the incident.