UNIT-BASED COMPENSATION

Overview

On January 28, 2016, our unitholders approved the Fifth Amended and Restated 2000 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the Amended 2000 LTIP) which, among other items, provides that we may use newly issued units from NuStar Energy to satisfy unit awards and extends the term of the Amended 2000 LTIP to January 28, 2026. Prior to the Employee Transfer, NuStar GP, LLC sponsored the Amended 2000 LTIP and we reimbursed NuStar GP, LLC for awards under this plan. The approval of the Amended 2000 LTIP, coupled with the Employee Transfer, resulted in the classification of most of our currently outstanding and subsequently issued awards as equity-classified awards.

Effective March 1, 2016, we assumed sponsorship of the Amended 2000 LTIP, which provides the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of NuStar GP, LLC (the Compensation Committee) with the right to issue and award up to 3,250,000 of our common units to employees and non-employee directors. Awards available under the Amended 2000 LTIP include restricted units, performance units, unit options, unit awards and distribution equivalent rights (DER). The Compensation Committee may also include a tandem grant of a DER that will entitle the participant to receive cash equal to cash distributions made on any award prior to its vesting. As of March 31, 2016, common units that remained available to be awarded under the Amended 2000 LTIP totaled 1,201,757.

On March 1, 2016, we assumed all outstanding awards under the Amended 2000 LTIP, which represented 688,647 units. The transfer of the outstanding awards qualifies as a plan modification. Therefore, we measured the fair value of the outstanding awards based on the unit price on the transfer date.

Our significant unit-based compensation awards are discussed below.

Restricted Units

We account for restricted units expected to result in the issuance of our common units upon vesting as equity-classified awards. These restricted units are mainly granted to domestic employees and non-employee directors and represented 604,153 units on the Employee Transfer date. The outstanding restricted units granted to domestic employees generally vest over five years beginning one year after the grant date. The fair value of a restricted unit award for domestic employees is measured at the transfer date or the grant date. Restricted units granted to non-employee directors generally vest over three years and the fair value of such award is measured at each reporting period. DERs paid with respect to outstanding, unvested restricted units reduce equity, similar to cash distributions to unitholders. We record compensation expense ratably over the vesting period based on the fair value of the units at the grant date (for domestic employees) or the fair value of the units measured at each reporting period (for non-employee directors).

The outstanding restricted units granted to international employees are cash-settled and accounted for as liability-classified awards. These restricted units represented 49,121 units on the Employee Transfer date and vest over three to five years. We record compensation expense over the requisite service or vesting period based on the fair value of the award measured at each reporting period. The liability for restricted units granted to international employees is included in “Accrued liabilities” on our consolidated balance sheets.

Performance Units

Performance units are issued to certain of our key employees and represent rights to receive our common units upon achieving an objective performance measure for the performance period. The objective performance measure for the outstanding performance unit awards is a specific distribution coverage ratio (DCR) determined each year by the NuStar GP, LLC Compensation Committee for the following year. Our DCR determines the rate at which the performance units convert into our common units which can range from zero to 200%.

The performance units represented 35,373 units on the Employee Transfer date. Performance units vest in three annual increments (tranches), based upon our DCR during the one-year performance periods that end on December 31 of each year following the date of grant. The performance units are not considered granted until the Compensation Committee has set the DCR for each tranche of awards. Therefore, performance units are equity-classified awards measured at the grant date fair value. In addition, since the performance units granted do not receive DERs, the estimated fair value of these awards does not include the per unit distributions expected to be paid to unitholders during the vesting period. We record compensation expense ratably for each vesting tranche over its requisite service period (one-year) if it is probable that the specified DCR will be achieved. Additionally, changes in the actual or estimated outcomes that affect the quantity of performance units expected to be converted are recognized as a cumulative adjustment.

We include compensation expense for the outstanding restricted units and performance units in “General and administrative expenses” on the condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income.