Energy Transfer 2015 Annual Report Download - page 25

Table of Contents
Company-operated sites, which are operated by Sunoco R&M, are sites at which fuel products are delivered directly to the site by company-operated trucks
or by contract carriers. Most of the company-operated sites include a convenience store under the Aplus® brand. The highest concentration of retail outlets
are located in Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, New Jersey, and South Carolina.
Brands
We manage a strong proprietary fuel and convenience store brand through our retail portfolio of outlets, including Sunoco® and Aplus®.
Of the total retail outlets that are company-operated, 438 operate under the Sunoco® fuel brand as of December 31, 2015. The Sunoco® brand is positioned
as a premium fuel brand. Brand improvements in recent years have focused on physical image, customer service and product offerings. In addition, Sunoco,
Inc. believes its brands and high performance gasoline business have benefited from its sponsorship agreements with NASCAR®, INDYCAR® and the
NHRA®. Under the sponsorship agreement with NASCAR®, which continues until 2022, Sunoco® is the Official Fuel of NASCAR® and APlus® is the
Official Convenience Store of NASCAR®. Sunoco, Inc. has exclusive rights to use certain NASCAR® trademarks to advertise and promote Sunoco, Inc.
products and is the exclusive fuel supplier for the three major NASCAR® racing series. The sponsorship agreements with INDYCAR® and NHRA® continue
through 2018 and 2024, respectively.
In addition to operating premium proprietary brands, our subsidiaries operate as a significant distributor to multiple top-tier fuel brands, including Exxon®,
Mobil®, Valero®, Shell® and Chevron®.
Convenience Store Operations
Our subsidiaries operate 384 convenience stores under our proprietary Aplus® convenience store brand as of December 31, 2015. These stores complement
sales of fuel products with a broad mix of merchandise, food service, and other services.
The following table sets forth information concerning the company-operated convenience stores during 2015:
Number of stores at December 31, 2015
384
Merchandise sales (thousands of dollars/store/month)
$ 119
Merchandise margin (% sales)
26.5%
All Other
Liquefaction Project
LCL, an entity owned 60% by ETE and 40% by ETP, is in the process of developing the liquefaction project in conjunction with BG pursuant to a project
development agreement entered into in September 2013. Pursuant to this agreement, each of LCL and BG are obligated to pay 50% of the development
expenses for the liquefaction project, subject to reimbursement by the other party if such party withdraws from the project prior to both parties making an
affirmative FID to become irrevocably obligated to fully develop the project, subject to certain exceptions. The liquefaction project is expected to consist of
three LNG trains with a combined design nameplate outlet capacity of 16.2 metric tonnes per annum. Once completed, the liquefaction project will enable
LCL to liquefy domestically produced natural gas and export it as LNG. By adding the new liquefaction facility and integrating with the existing LNG
regasification/import facility, the enhanced facility will become a bi-directional facility capable of exporting and importing LNG. BG is the sole customer for
the existing regasification facility and is obligated to pay reservation fees for 100% of the regasification capacity regardless of whether it actually utilizes
such capacity pursuant to a regasification services agreement that terminates in 2030. The liquefaction project will be constructed on 440 acres of land, of
which 80 acres are owned by Lake Charles LNG and the remaining acres are to be leased by LCL under a long-term lease from the Lake Charles Harbor and
Terminal District.
The construction of the liquefaction project is subject to each of LCL and BG making an affirmative FID to proceed with the project, which decision is in the
sole discretion of each party. In the event an affirmative FID is made by both parties, LCL and BG will enter into several agreements related to the project,
including a liquefaction services agreement pursuant to which BG will pay LCL for liquefaction services on a tolling basis for a minimum 25-year term with
evergreen extension options for 20 years. In addition, a subsidiary of BG, a highly experienced owner and operator of LNG facilities, would oversee
construction of the liquefaction facility and, upon completion of construction, manage the operations of the liquefaction facility on behalf of LCL. Subject to
receipt of regulatory approvals, we anticipate that each of LCL and BG will make an affirmative FID in 2016 and then commence construction of the
liquefaction project in order to place the first and second LNG trains in service in 2021 and the third train in service in early 2022.
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