Partners' Capital and Distributions (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Activity for Series A preferred units and common units

The following table presents the activity for our Series A preferred units and common units:



	Limited Partners
	Preferred Units	Common Units
Outstanding at December 31, 2013	—	359,133,200

Sale of common units	—	15,375,810
Issuance of common units under LTIP	—	598,783
Outstanding at December 31, 2014	—	375,107,793

Sale of common units	—	22,133,904
Issuance of common units under LTIP	—	485,927
Outstanding at December 31, 2015	—	397,727,624

Sale of Series A preferred units	61,030,127	—
Issuance of Series A preferred units in connection with in-kind distributions	3,358,726	—
Sale of common units	—	26,278,288
Issuance of common units under LTIP	—	480,581
Issuance of common units in connection with Simplification Transactions	—	244,707,926
Outstanding at December 31, 2016	64,388,853	669,194,419

Schedule of distributions paid, net of reductions in the general partner's incentive distributions

The following table details distributions paid during the year presented (in millions, except per unit data):



	Distributions Paid						Distributions per common unit
Year	Common Unitholders		General Partner ⁽¹⁾		Total		Distributions per common unit
2016	$	1,062	$	565	$	1,627	$	2.65
2015	$	1,081	$	590	$	1,671	$	2.76
2014	$	934	$	473	$	1,407	$	2.55


⁽¹⁾	During the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, our general partner’s incentive distributions were reduced by approximately $18 million, $22 million and $23 million, respectively, which were agreed to in connection with certain acquisitions.

Issuance of common units

The following table summarizes our issuance of common units in connection with our Continuous Offering Program and underwritten offerings (net proceeds in millions):



Year	Type of Offering	Units Issued	Net Proceeds ^{(1) (2)}
2016 Total	Continuous Offering Program	26,278,288	$	805	⁽³⁾

2015	Continuous Offering Program	1,133,904	$	59	⁽³⁾
2015	Underwritten Offering	21,000,000	1,062
2015 Total		22,133,904	$	1,121

2014 Total	Continuous Offering Program	15,375,810	$	866	⁽³⁾


⁽¹⁾	Amounts are net of costs associated with the offerings.


⁽²⁾	For periods prior to the closing of the Simplification Transactions, amounts include our general partner’s proportionate capital contributions of $9 million, $22 million and $18 million during 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.


⁽³⁾	We pay commissions to our sales agents in connection with common unit issuances under our Continuous Offering Program. We paid $8 million, $1 million and $9 million of such commissions during 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.