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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 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 and in the Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2023. 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 June 30, 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and Restated Crude Oil Supply Agreement (the “Vitol Crude Oil Supply Agreement”) with Vitol Inc. (“Vitol”), which superseded, in its entirety, the August 31, 2012 Amended and Restated Crude Oil Supply Agreement between the parties.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 Vitol 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 Vitol Crude Oil Supply Agreement, as a percentage of the total crude oil purchases (in barrels), were approximately 19% and 30% for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and approximately 25% and 34% for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. In June 2023, the Company’s subsidiary delivered a notice of termination to Vitol, which terminates the Vitol Crude Oil Supply Agreement according to previously disclosed terms, effective December 31, 2023. The foregoing description of the Vitol Crude Oil Supply Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to its full text which was filed with the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2021.

On June 28, 2023, the Company, through one of its indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, entered into a crude oil supply agreement (the “Gunvor Crude Oil Supply Agreement”) with Gunvor USA LLC (“Gunvor”), pursuant to which Gunvor will supply certain crude oil and intermediation logistics in connection with deliveries beginning on or about January 1, 2024. The Gunvor Crude Oil Supply Agreement has a term of 24 months, subject to automatic one-year renewals thereafter in the absence of either party providing 180 days notice of termination and will replace the Vitol Crude Oil Supply Agreement. The foregoing description of the Gunvor Crude Oil Supply Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Gunvor Crude Oil Supply Agreement, which is filed herewith.

45Q Transaction

Under the agreements entered into in connection with the 45Q Transaction, the Company’s indirect 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

Certain of the Petroleum Segment’s subsidiaries 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 expenses of approximately of $48 million and $135 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and expenses of $37 million and $241 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, for its compliance with the RFS (based on the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 renewable volume obligation (“RVO”), for the respective periods, excluding the impacts of any exemptions or waivers to which the Company’s obligated-party subsidiaries 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 using for each specific or closest vintage year. As of June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company’s obligated-party subsidiaries’ RFS positions were approximately $599 million and $692 million, respectively, and are recorded in Other current liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Litigation

Call Option Coverage Case – In July 2023, the Superior Court of the State of Delaware (the “Superior Court”) heard oral argument on the motion filed by the primary and excess insurers (the “Insurers”) of the Company and certain of its affiliates (the “Call Defendants”) seeking to stay the Call Defendants’ action against the Insurers alleging breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing relating to the Insurers’ denial of coverage of the Call Defendants’ defense expenses and indemnity, as well as other conduct of the Insurers, relating to the lawsuits filed by former unitholders of CVR Refining 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 action was settled by the parties on August 19, 2022 (the “Call Option Lawsuits"). 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 Call Option Lawsuits remains pending before the 434th Judicial District Court of Fort Bend County, Texas, which granted summary judgment in favor of the Insurers in November 2022, which the Company intends to appeal once final judgment is entered. 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 continues to pursue the petitions it has filed 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 Columbia Circuit (the “DC Circuit”) challenging the EPA’s April 2022 and June 2022 actions relating to the RFS including but not limited to its denial of small refinery exemptions (“SREs”) sought by Wynnewood Refining Company, LLC (“WRC”) for the 2017 through 2021 compliance periods (the “SRE Denial”) and the EPA’s Final Rule issued 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. Litigation in these cases continues. In July 2023, the EPA denied 26 petitions from small refineries seeking SREs for one or more of the compliance years between 2016 and 2023, including the SRE sought by WRC for 2022, which denials WRC intends to challenge in court. The Company cannot yet 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 - Coffeyville Resources Refining & Marketing, LLC (“CRRM”) is party to proceedings relating to claims brought by the United States, on behalf of the EPA, and the State of Kansas, on behalf of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (“KDHE”). One of these proceedings concerns claims arising under a 2012 Consent Decree (“CD”), which primarily relate to the CRRM refinery’s flares; the United States, on behalf of the EPA, and KDHE are seeking approximately $6.8 million in stipulated penalties under the CD (the “Stipulated Claims”), which amount CRRM previously deposited into a commercial escrow account and which escrowed funds are legally restricted for use and are included in Other assets in our condensed consolidated balance sheets. CRRM has filed an appeal of an order from the Federal District Court for the District of Kansas (“D. Kan.”) denying its petition for judicial review of the Stipulated Claims in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (the “Tenth Circuit”), which remains pending.

CRRM is also party to proceedings brought by the United States, on behalf of the EPA, and KDHE in the D. Kan, alleging violations of the Clean Air Act, the Kansas State Implementation Plan, Kansas law, and CRRM’s permits relating to flares, heaters, and related matters; the United States, on behalf of the EPA, and KDHE are seeking civil penalties, injunctive relief, and related relief in connection with these claims (collectively, the “Statutory Claims”). In May 2023, the parties mediated both the Statutory Claims and the Stipulated Claims before the Tenth Circuit mediation office and agreed to stay the proceedings before the D. Kan. for 90 days (i.e., until August 20, 2023) while the parties work to reach a final settlement agreement, including with respect to injunctive relief. As negotiations relating to the potential settlement of 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.