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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
(12) Commitments and Contingencies

Except as described below, there have been no material changes in the Company’s commitments and contingencies from those disclosed in the 2022 Form 10-K. In the ordinary course of business, the Company may become party to lawsuits, administrative proceedings, and governmental investigations, including environmental, regulatory, and other matters. The outcome of these matters cannot always be predicted accurately, but the Company accrues liabilities for these matters if the Company has determined that it is probable a loss has been incurred and the loss can be reasonably estimated. While it is not possible to predict the outcome of such proceedings, if one or more of them were decided against us, the Company believes there would be no material impact to its consolidated financial statements.

The Company continues to monitor its contractual arrangements and customer, vendor, and supplier relationships to determine whether and to what extent, if any, the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the current global and domestic economic environment, including increasing interest rates and inflation or a potential recession, or ongoing crude oil, refined product, or utility price volatility will impair or excuse the performance of the Company or its subsidiaries or their customers, vendors, or suppliers under existing agreements. As of March 31, 2023, the Company had not experienced a material financial impact from any actual or threatened impairment of or excuse in its or others’ performance under such agreements.

Crude Oil Supply Agreement

Effective on August 4, 2021, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of CVR Refining entered into the Second Amended and Restated Crude Oil Supply Agreement (the “Crude Oil Supply Agreement”) with Vitol Inc. (“Vitol”), which superseded, in its entirety, the August 31, 2012 Amended and Restated Crude Oil Supply Agreement between the parties. Under the Crude Oil Supply Agreement, Vitol supplies the Petroleum Segment with crude oil and intermediation logistics helping to reduce the amount of inventory held at certain locations and mitigate crude oil pricing risk. Volumes contracted under the Crude Oil Supply Agreement, as a percentage of the total crude oil purchases (in barrels), were approximately 31% and 39% for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Crude Oil Supply Agreement, which currently extends through December 31, 2023, automatically renews for successive one-year terms (each such term, a “Renewal Term”) unless either party provides the other with notice of non-renewal at least 180 days prior to expiration of the term or any Renewal Term.

45Q Transaction

Under the agreements entered in connection with the 45Q Transaction, the Company’s subsidiary CRNF is obligated to meet certain minimum quantities of carbon oxide supply each year during the term of the agreement and is subject to fees of up to $15 million per year (reduced pro rata for partial years) to the unaffiliated third-party investors, subject to an overall $45 million cap, if these minimum quantities are not delivered. CVR Partners issued a guarantee to the unaffiliated third-party investors and certain affiliates involved in the 45Q Transaction of the payment and performance obligations of CRNF and
CVRP JV, which include the aforementioned fees. This guarantee has no impacts on the accounting records of CVR Partners unless the parties fail to comply with the terms of the 45Q Transaction contracts.

Renewable Fuel Standards

The Petroleum Segment’s subsidiaries that are subject to the RFS (collectively, the “obligated-party subsidiaries”) implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”), which requires refiners to either blend renewable fuels into their transportation fuels or purchase renewable fuel credits, known as RINs, in lieu of blending. The Petroleum Segment’s obligated-party subsidiaries are not able to blend the majority of their transportation fuels and must either purchase RINs or obtain waiver credits for cellulosic biofuels, or other exemptions from the EPA, in order to comply with the RFS. Additionally, the Petroleum Segment’s obligated-party subsidiaries purchase RINs generated from our renewable diesel operations, whose operating results are not included in either of our reportable segments, to partially satisfy their RFS obligations.

The Company’s obligated-party subsidiaries recognized a benefit of approximately of $11 million and an expense of $107 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, for its compliance with the RFS (based on the 2020, 2021 and 2022 renewable volume obligation (“RVO”), for the respective periods, excluding the impacts of any exemptions or waivers to which the Company may be entitled). The recognized amounts are included within Cost of materials and other in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and represent costs to comply with the RFS obligation through purchasing of RINs not otherwise reduced by blending of ethanol, biodiesel, or renewable diesel. At each reporting period, to the extent RINs purchased and generated through blending are less than the RFS obligation (excluding the impact of exemptions or waivers to which the Company may be entitled), the remaining position is valued using RIN market prices at period end. As of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company’s obligated-party subsidiaries’ RFS positions were approximately $582 million and $692 million, respectively, and are recorded in Other current liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Litigation

Call Option Coverage Case – On November 28, 2022, the 434th Judicial District Court of Fort Bend County, Texas granted summary judgment in favor of the primary and excess insurers (the “Insurers”) of the Company and certain of its affiliates (the “Call Defendants”) in the Insurers’ declaratory judgment action seeking determination that the Insurers owe no indemnity coverage in relation to insurance policies that have coverage limits of $50 million for settlement of the lawsuits filed by purported former unitholders of CVR Refining on behalf of themselves and an alleged class of similarly situated unitholders against the Call Defendants relating to the Company’s exercise of the call option under the CVR Refining Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership assigned to it by CVR Refining’s general partner, which settlement was entered into by the parties in August 2022 and approved by the Delaware Court of Chancery in December 2022. The Company intends to appeal the grant of summary judgment while it concurrently pursues its claims against the Insurers it filed in October 2022 in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware (the “Superior Court”) alleging breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing against their primary and excess insurers relating to their denial of coverage of the Call Defendants’ defense expenses and indemnity, as well as other conduct of the Insurers relating to the Call Option Lawsuits. On January 3, 2023, the Superior Court granted the Call Defendants’ motion for leave to amend its complaint to seek recovery from the Insurers of all of the amounts paid in settlement of the Call Option Lawsuits. As our potential appeal of the Texas court decision and our Superior Court lawsuit are in their early stages, the Company cannot determine at this time the outcome of these lawsuits, including whether the outcome would have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

RFS Disputes – The Company has filed a number of petitions in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia Circuit challenging the EPA’s denial of small refinery exemptions sought by Wynnewood Refining Company, LLC (“WRC”) for the 2017 through 2021 compliance periods (the “SRE Denial”), the EPA’s April 2022 and June 2022 alternate compliance rulings and the EPA’s Final Rule filed in July 2022 establishing RVO, and also intervened in an action filed by certain biofuels producers relating to the RFS. In March 2023, the Fifth Circuit granted WRC’s motion to stay enforcement of the RFS against WRC pending resolution of its claims relating to the SRE Denial. As each of these proceedings is in its preliminary stages, the Company cannot determine at this time the outcomes of these matters. While we intend to prosecute these actions vigorously, if these matters are ultimately concluded in a manner adverse to the Company, they could have a material effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

Environmental, Health, and Safety (“EHS”) Matters

Clean Air Act Matter - In August 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (the “Tenth Circuit”) granted CRRM’s motion to stay its appeal of the March 30, 2022 decision of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas (“D. Kan.”) denying CRRM’s petition for judicial review of approximately $6.8 million in stipulated penalties (the “Stipulated Claims”) being sought by the United States (on behalf of the EPA) and the State of Kansas, acting by and through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (“KDHE”) (collectively, the “CAA Plaintiffs”) for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (the “CAA”) and a 2012 Consent Decree between CRRM, the United States (on behalf of the EPA) and KDHE at CRRM’s Coffeyville refinery, primarily relating to flares. In December 2022, the Tenth Circuit lifted the stay, but CRRM and the CAA Plaintiffs have since agreed to mediate the Stipulated Claims before the Tenth Circuit. CRRM previously deposited funds into a commercial escrow account relating to the Stipulated Claims, and such funds are legally restricted for use and are included within Prepaid expenses and other current assets on the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

The separate lawsuit filed by the CAA Plaintiffs in the D. Kan., alleging violations of the CAA, the Kansas State Implementation Plan, Kansas law, 40 C.F.R. Parts 60 and 63, and CRRM’s permits relating to flares, heaters, and related matters and seeking civil penalties, injunctive and related relief (collectively, the “Statutory Claims”), remains ongoing. In October 2022, the D. Kan. granted CRRM’s motion to dismiss KDHE’s demand for state law civil penalties but denied its motion to dismiss other Statutory Claims. In March 2023, the D. Kan. granted KDHE’s motion to file a second amended supplemental complaint to add claims for injunctive relief under state law. KDHE filed the second amended supplemental complaint in April 2023. CRRM and the CAA Plaintiffs have agreed to mediate the Statutory Claims together with the Stipulated Claims before the Tenth Circuit, which mediation is expected to commence in May 2023.

As negotiations and proceedings relating to the Stipulated Claims and the Statutory Claims are ongoing, the Company cannot determine at this time the outcome of these matters, including whether such outcome, or any subsequent enforcement or litigation relating thereto would have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.