Risks Related to Our Manufacturing and Operations
- Margins for the products we produce are cyclical and volatile due to changes in market conditions, which are largely dependent on factors beyond our control, and directly affect our earnings, financial condition and cash flows.
- The prices at which we buy our feedstocks are dependent on market conditions that are beyond our control, and changes in supply and demand for the feedstocks we process directly impact the results of our business.
- Changes to government policies relating to renewable feedstocks and renewable fuels that adversely affect programs like the renewable fuels standards program, low-carbon fuels standards and tax credits for processing certain renewable feedstocks impact our financial condition and results of operations.
- Our operations are subject to planned and unplanned downtime, business interruptions, and operational hazards, any of which could adversely impact our ability to operate and could adversely impact our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
- We are subject to interruptions of supply and offtake, as well as increased costs, as a result of our reliance on third-party transportation of crude oil or other feedstocks, NGL, refined petroleum and renewable fuels products.
- Our investments in joint ventures decrease our ability to manage risk.
- Public health crises, epidemics and pandemics have had and could in the future have a material adverse effect on our business. Any future widespread health crises could materially and adversely impact our business.
Competition Risks
- Refining, midstream and marketing competitors that produce their own feedstocks, have more extensive retail outlets, or have greater financial resources may have a competitive advantage.
- Our Midstream segment competes for natural gas supplies with other companies that provide midstream gathering and processing, transportation, fractionation and terminaling services, and a failure to grow or maintain throughput levels may negatively impact the results of operations of our business.
- Volatility in market demand for our petrochemical and plastics products and midstream transportation services and the risk of overbuild in these industries may negatively impact the results of operations of our businesses.
Strategic Performance and Future Growth Risks
- Large capital-intensive projects can take many years to complete, and the political and regulatory environments or market conditions could change significantly between the project approval date and the project startup date, negatively impacting expected project returns.
- Plans we or our joint ventures may have to expand or construct assets or develop new technologies, and plans for our future performance are subject to risks associated with societal and political pressures and other forms of opposition to the future development, transportation and use of petroleum-based and renewables-based fuels. Such risks could adversely impact our business and results of operations.
- Political and economic developments could affect our operations and materially reduce our profitability and cash flows.
- We may not be able to effectively identify, whether through acquisition, investment or development, lower-carbon opportunities on favorable terms, or at all, and failure to do so could limit our growth, our ability to participate in the energy transition, and our ability to meet our environmental goals and targets.
- Our business could be negatively impacted as a result of shareholder activism.
Legal, Regulatory, and Environmental, Climate and Weather Risks
- We are subject to a variety of legal proceedings and other claims arising out of our operations which may adversely impact our business and financial condition.
- Climate change and severe weather may adversely affect our and our joint ventures’ facilities and ongoing operations.
- There are certain environmental hazards and risks inherent in our operations that could adversely affect those operations and our financial results.
- We expect to continue to incur substantial capital expenditures and operating costs to comply with existing and future environmental laws and regulations.
- Factors associated with climate change legislation or regulation could result in increased operating costs, reduce demand for the refined petroleum products we produce and could otherwise have a material impact on our business.
- Increased regulation of the fossil fuel industry, particularly with respect to hydraulic fracturing, could result in reductions or delays in the production of crude oil and natural gas, which could adversely impact our results of operations.
- Compliance with the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) could adversely affect our financial results.
- Societal, technological, political and scientific developments around emissions and fuel efficiency may decrease demand for petroleum-based fuels.
- Continuing political and social concerns about climate change and other Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters may result in changes to our business and significant expenditures, including litigation-related expenses.
- Increased concerns regarding plastic waste in the environment, consumers selectively reducing their consumption of plastic products due to recycling concerns, or new or more restrictive regulations and rules related to plastic waste could reduce demand for CPChem’s plastic products and could negatively impact our equity interest.
Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Risks
- Cybersecurity incidents and other disruptions could compromise our information and expose us to liability, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.
- Increasing regulatory focus on privacy and cybersecurity issues and expanding laws could expose us to increased liability, subject us to lawsuits, investigations and other liabilities and restrictions on our operations that could significantly and adversely affect our business.
Indebtedness, Capital Markets and Financial Risks
- Uncertainty and illiquidity in credit and capital markets can impair our ability to obtain credit and financing on acceptable terms and can adversely affect the financial strength of our business partners.
- Negative sentiment towards fossil fuels and increased attention to environmental and social matters, including climate change, could adversely affect our business, the market price for our securities and our access to and cost of capital.
- Our published GHG emissions intensity reduction goals and other E&S targets we may set in the future could negatively impact our business.
- We do not fully insure against all potential losses, including those from extreme weather events or natural disasters, and, therefore, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected by unexpected or underinsured liabilities and increased costs.
- Deterioration in our credit profile could increase our costs of borrowing money, limit our access to the capital markets and commercial credit, and could trigger co-venturer rights under joint venture arrangements.
- The level of returns on pension and postretirement plan assets and the actuarial assumptions used for valuation purposes could affect our earnings and cash flows in future periods.
- We may incur losses as a result of our forward contracts and derivative transactions.
- We are subject to continuing contingent liabilities of ConocoPhillips following the separation. ConocoPhillips has indemnified us for certain matters, but may not be able to satisfy its obligations to us in the future.