Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

INTRODUCTION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

v3.23.1
INTRODUCTION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
INTRODUCTION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION INTRODUCTION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Introduction

CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust, Inc. (referred to as "CorEnergy" or "the Company"), was organized as a Maryland corporation and commenced operations on December 8, 2005. The Company's common stock, par value $0.001 per share ("Common Stock") is listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") under the symbol "CORR" and its depositary shares representing the Company's 7.375% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share (Series A Preferred Stock") is listed on the NYSE under the symbol "CORR PrA". The Company's Class B Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share ("Class B Common Stock"), is not listed on an exchange.
The Company owns and operates critical energy midstream infrastructure connecting the upstream and downstream sectors within the industry. The Company currently generates revenue from the transportation, via pipeline systems, of crude oil and natural gas for its customers in California and Missouri, respectively. The pipelines are located in areas where it would be difficult to replicate rights-of-way or transport natural gas or crude oil via non-pipeline alternatives, resulting in the Company's assets providing utility-like criticality in the midstream supply chain for its customers. Prior to 2021, the Company focused primarily on entering into long-term triple-net participating leases with energy companies. Over the last 24 months, the Company's asset portfolio has undergone significant changes. The Company divested all of its leased assets, including the Grand Isle Gathering System ("GIGS") and Pinedale Liquids Gathering System ("Pinedale LGS"), which are described in these notes to consolidated financial statements.
CorEnergy's Private Letter Rulings ("PLRs") enable the Company to invest in a broader set of revenue contracts within its real estate investment trust ("REIT") structure, including the opportunity to not only own, but also operate infrastructure assets. CorEnergy considers its investments in these energy infrastructure assets to be a single reportable business segment and reports them accordingly in its consolidated financial statements.
The principal executive office of the Company is located at 1100 Walnut, Suite 3350, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.
Basis of Presentation and Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include CorEnergy accounts and the accounts of its wholly owned subsidiaries and variable interest entities ("VIE's") for which CorEnergy is the primary beneficiary. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") set forth in the Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC"), as published by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB"), and with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") instructions to Form 10-K and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. The accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the Company's financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. There were no adjustments that, in the opinion of management, were not of a normal and recurring nature. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation, and the Company's net earnings have been reduced by the portion of net earnings attributable to non-controlling interests, when applicable. Prior reporting period amounts have been recast to conform with the current presentation. In preparing the consolidated financial statements, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the balance sheet and revenues and expenses for the period. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
The Company consolidates a VIE when it is the primary beneficiary, which is the party that has both (i) the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance and (ii) through its interests in the VIE, the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. In order to determine whether it has a variable interest in a VIE, the Company performs a qualitative analysis of the entity's design, primary decision makers, key agreements governing the VIE, voting interests and significant activities impacting the VIE's economic performance. The Company continually monitors VIEs to determine if any events have occurred that could cause the primary beneficiary to change.
In February 2021, the Company acquired a 49.50% voting interest in Crimson Midstream Holdings, LLC ("Crimson"), which is a legal entity that meets the VIE criteria. As a result of its consolidation analysis more fully described in Note 18 ("Variable Interest Entity"), the Company determined it is the primary beneficiary of Crimson due to its related-party relationship with Crimson's
50.50% voting interest holder. Therefore, beginning February 1, 2021 (the effective date of the acquisition), Crimson is consolidated in the Company's consolidated financial statements and the non-controlling interest is presented as a component of equity. Net income from Crimson is allocated to the non-controlling interest based on Crimson's contractual rights to earnings and distributions associated with the Crimson Class A-1, A-2 and A-3 Units. Refer to Note 16 ("Stockholders' Equity") for further discussion of the non-controlling interest in Crimson. The consolidated financial statements also include the accounts of any limited partnerships where the Company represents the general partner and, based on all facts and circumstances, controls such limited partnerships, unless the limited partner has substantive participating rights or substantive kick-out rights. Refer to Note 18 ("Variable Interest Entity"), for further discussion of the Company's consolidated VIEs.
The FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2015-02 Consolidations (Topic 810) - Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis ("ASU 2015-02"), which amended previous consolidation guidance and introduced a separate consolidation analysis specific to limited partnerships and other similar entities. Under this analysis, limited partnerships and other similar entities are considered a VIE unless the limited partners hold substantive kick-out rights or participating rights. Management determined that Crimson, Pinedale Corridor, LP, ("Pinedale LP") and Grand Isle Corridor LP are VIEs under the amended guidance because the limited partners of both partnerships lack both substantive kick-out rights and participating rights. As such, management evaluated the qualitative criteria under FASB ASC Topic 810 in conjunction with ASU 2015-02 to make a determination whether these partnerships should be consolidated in the Company's financial statements. ASC Topic 810-10 requires the primary beneficiary of a VIE's activities to consolidate the VIE. The primary beneficiary is identified as the enterprise that has (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the entity's economic performance and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses of the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The standard requires an ongoing analysis to determine whether the variable interest gives rise to a controlling financial interest in the VIE. Based on the general partners' roles and rights under the partnership agreements and its exposure to losses and benefits of each of the partnerships through its significant limited partner interests, management determined that CorEnergy is the primary beneficiary of Crimson, Pinedale LP, and Grand Isle Corridor LP. Based upon this evaluation, and the Company's 100% ownership interest in Pinedale LP, and Grand Isle Corridor LP, the consolidated financial statements presented include full consolidation with respect to these partnerships.
Crimson is managed by a board of managers (the "Crimson Board"), which is made up of four managers of which the Company and the Grier Members (as defined below) are each represented by two managers. The Crimson Board is responsible for governing the significant activities that impact Crimson's economic performance, including a number of activities that are managed by an approved budget requiring super-majority approval or joint approval. In assessing the primary beneficiary, the Company determined that power is shared; however, the Company and the Grier Members as a related-party group have characteristics of a primary beneficiary. The Company performed the "most closely associated" test and determined that CorEnergy is the entity in the related-party group most closely associated with the VIE. In performing this assessment, the Company considered, among other factors, that (i) its influence over the tax structure of Crimson so its operations could be included in the Company's REIT structure under its PLR, which allows fees received for the usage of storage and pipeline capacity to qualify as rents from real property; (ii) the activities of the Company are substantially similar in nature to the activities of Crimson because the Company owns existing transportation and distribution assets in MoGas Pipeline LLC ("MoGas") and Omega Pipeline Company, LLC ("Omega"); (iii) Crimson's assets represent a substantial portion of the Company's total assets; and (iv) the Grier Members' interest in Crimson in Class A-1, Class A-2, and Class A-3 Units of Crimson will earn distributions if the CorEnergy Board of Directors declares a common or preferred dividend for Series A Preferred, and Class B Common Stock. Therefore, CorEnergy was determined as the primary beneficiary of Crimson and, therefore, consolidates the Crimson VIE. The Grier Members' ownership interest in Crimson is reflected as a non-controlling interest in the consolidated financial statements.
Restatement of Prior PeriodAs discussed in Note 20 ("Restatement Of Prior Period"), on March 3, 2023, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company concluded, after discussion with the Company’s management, that the Company’s consolidated audited financial statements as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the Company’s consolidated unaudited financial statements as of and for the periods ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021, September 30, 2021, March 31, 2022, June 30, 2022, and September 30, 2022 (collectively, the “Non-Reliance Periods”) included in the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC for the Non-Reliance Periods, should no longer be relied upon.