UAN US Equity☆

cvi-20211231

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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

_____________________________________________________________

Form 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

OR

For the transition period from to

Commission file number: 001-35120

_____________________________________________________________

CVR Partners, LP

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

2277 Plaza Drive, Suite 500, Sugar Land, Texas77479

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(281) 207-3200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

_____________________________________________________________

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered

Common units representing limited partner interests UAN New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐No☑

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☑ No ☐.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☑ No ☐.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☑ Non-accelerated filer ☐

Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm prepared or issued its audit report. ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☑

At June 30, 2021, the aggregate market value of the voting common units held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $418.9 million based upon the closing price of its common units on the New York Stock Exchange Composite tape. As of February 18, 2022, there were 10,681,332 of the registrant’s common units outstanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CVR Partners, LP

Annual Report on Form 10-K

PART I PART III

Item 1A. Risk Factors 13 Item 11. Executive Compensation 81

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 26 Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 104

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 26

PART II PART IV

Item 6. [Reserved] 28 Item 16. Form 10-K Summary 109

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 44

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 46

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 72

Item 9B. Other Information 72

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 72

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GLOSSARY OF SELECTED TERMS

The following are definitions of certain terms used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (this “Report”).

Ammonia — Ammonia is a direct application fertilizer and is primarily used as a building block for other nitrogen products for industrial applications and finished fertilizer products.

Capacity — Capacity is defined as the throughput a process unit is capable of sustaining, either on a calendar or operating day basis. The throughput may be expressed in terms of maximum sustainable, nameplate or economic capacity. The maximum sustainable or nameplate capacities may not be the most economical. The economic capacity is the throughput that generally provides the greatest economic benefit based on considerations such as feedstock costs, product values, regulatory compliance costs and downstream unit constraints.

Corn belt — The primary corn producing region of the United States, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Ethanol — A clear, colorless, flammable oxygenated hydrocarbon. Ethanol is typically produced chemically from ethylene, or biologically from fermentation of various sugars from carbohydrates found in agricultural crops and cellulosic residues from crops or wood. It is used in the United States as a gasoline octane enhancer and oxygenate.

MMBtu — One million British thermal units, or Btu: a measure of energy. One Btu of heat is required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.

MSCF — One thousand standard cubic feet, a customary gas measurement.

Petroleum coke (pet coke) — A coal-like substance that is produced during the oil refining process.

Product pricing at gate — Product pricing at gate represents net sales less freight revenue divided by product sales volume in tons. Product pricing at gate is also referred to as netback.

Southern Plains — Primarily includes Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico.

Spot market — A market in which commodities are bought and sold for cash and delivered immediately.

Turnaround — A periodically performed standard procedure to inspect, refurbish, repair, and maintain the plant assets. This process involves the shutdown and inspection of major processing units and occurs every two to three years. A turnaround will typically extend the operating life of a facility and return performance desired operating levels.

UAN — An aqueous solution of urea and ammonium nitrate used as a fertilizer.

Utilization — Measurement of the annual production of UAN and Ammonia expressed as a percentage of the facilities’ nameplate production capacity.

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Important Information Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), including, but not limited to, those under Item 1. Business, Item 1A. Risk Factors and Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. These forward looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including without limitation, statements regarding future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, growth, capital projects, unit repurchases, impacts of legal proceedings, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward looking statements. The words “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “continue,” “predict,” “potential,” “project,” and similar terms and phrases are intended to identify forward looking statements.

Although we believe our assumptions concerning future events are reasonable, a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results and trends to differ materially from those projected or forward looking. Forward looking statements, as well as certain risks, contingencies, or uncertainties that may impact our forward looking statements, include, but are not limited to, the following:

•our ability to generate distributable cash or make cash distributions on our common units, including reserves and future uses of cash;

•the ability of our general partner to modify or revoke our distribution policy at any time;

•the volatile nature of our business and the variable nature of our distributions;

•the severity, magnitude, duration, and impact of the novel coronavirus 2019 and any variants thereof (collectively, “COVID-19”) pandemic and of businesses’ and governments’ responses to such pandemic on our operations, personnel, commercial activity, and supply and demand across our and our customers’ and suppliers’ businesses;

•changes in market conditions and market volatility arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, including fertilizer, natural gas, and other commodity prices and the impact of such changes on our operating results and financial position;

•the cyclical and seasonal nature of our business;

•the impact of weather on our business, including our ability to produce, market, sell, transport or deliver fertilizer products profitably or at all, and on commodity supply and/or pricing;

•the dependence of our operations on a few third-party suppliers, including providers of transportation services, and equipment;

•our reliance on, or our ability to procure economically or at all, pet coke we purchase from CVR Energy, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, but excluding the Partnership and its subsidiaries, “CVR Energy”) and other third-party suppliers;

•our reliance on the natural gas, electricity, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur processing, compressed dry air and other products that we purchase from third parties;

•the supply, availability, and prices of essential raw materials;

•our production levels, including the risk of a material decline in those levels, including our ability to upgrade ammonia to UAN;

•product pricing, including contracted sales and our ability to realize market prices, in full or at all;

•accidents or other unscheduled shutdowns or interruptions affecting our facilities, machinery, or equipment, or those of our suppliers or customers;

•potential operating hazards from accidents, fire, severe weather, tornadoes, floods or other natural disasters;

•our ability to obtain, retain, or renew permits, licenses and authorizations to operate our business;

•competition in the nitrogen fertilizer businesses, including potential impacts of domestic and global supply and demand; and/or domestic or international duties, tariffs, or similar costs;

•foreign wheat and coarse grain production, including increases thereto and farm planting acreage;

•capital expenditures;

•existing and future laws, rulings and regulations, including but not limited to those relating to the environment, climate change, and/or the transportation or production of hazardous chemicals like ammonia, including potential liabilities or capital requirements arising from such laws, rulings, or regulations;

•alternative energy or fuel sources and impacts on corn prices (ethanol), and the end-use and application of fertilizers;

•risks of terrorism, cybersecurity attacks, the security of chemical manufacturing facilities and other matters beyond our control;

•our lack of asset diversification;

•our dependence on significant customers and the creditworthiness and performance by counterparties;

•our potential loss of transportation cost advantage over our competitors;

•risks associated with third party operation of or control over important facilities necessary for operation of our nitrogen fertilizer facilities;

•the volatile nature of ammonia, potential liability for accidents involving ammonia including damage or injury to persons, property, the environment or human health and increased costs related to the transport or production of ammonia;

•our potential inability to successfully implement our business strategies, including the completion of significant capital programs or projects;

•our reliance on CVR Energy’s senior management team and conflicts of interest they may face operating each of CVR Partners and CVR Energy;

•control of our general partner by CVR Energy;

•our ability to continue to license the technology used in our operations;

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•restrictions in our debt agreements;

•asset impairments and impacts thereof;

•asset useful life;

•realizable inventory value;

•the number of investors willing to hold or acquire our common units;

•our ability to issue securities or obtain financing;

•changes in tax and other law, regulations and policies;

•ability to qualify for and receive the benefit of 45Q tax credits;

•changes in our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income or state tax purposes;

•rulings, judgments or settlements in litigation, tax or other legal or regulatory matters;

•instability and volatility in the capital and credit markets;

•competition with CVR Energy and its affiliates;

•transactions and/or conflicts with CVR Energy’s controlling shareholder;

•the value of payouts under our equity and non-equity incentive plans; and

•our ability to recover under our insurance policies for damages or losses in full or at all.

All forward looking statements contained in this Report only speak as of the date of this Report. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this Report, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except to the extent required by law.

Information About Us

Investors should note that we make available, free of charge on our website at cvrpartners.com, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. We also post announcements, updates, events, investor information and presentations on our website in addition to copies of all recent news releases. We may use the Investor Relations section of our website to communicate with investors. It is possible that the financial and other information posted there could be deemed to be material information. Documents and information on our website are not incorporated by reference herein.

The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, including us, that file electronically with the SEC.

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PART I

Part I should be read in conjunction with Management’s Discussion and Analysis in Item 7 and our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto in Item 8.

Item 1. Business

Overview

CVR Partners, LP (referred to as “CVR Partners” or the “Partnership”) is a Delaware limited partnership formed in 2011 by CVR Energy, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, but excluding the Partnership and its subsidiaries, “CVR Energy”) to own, operate and grow its nitrogen fertilizer business. The Partnership produces nitrogen fertilizer products at two manufacturing facilities, which are located in Coffeyville, Kansas (the “Coffeyville Facility”) and East Dubuque, Illinois (the “East Dubuque Facility”). Both facilities manufacture ammonia and are able to further upgrade to other nitrogen fertilizer products, principally urea ammonium nitrate (“UAN”). Nitrogen fertilizer is used by farmers to improve the yield and quality of their crops, primarily corn and wheat. The Partnership’s products are sold on a wholesale basis in the United States. As used in these financial statements, references to CVR Partners, the Partnership, “we”, “us”, and “our” may refer to consolidated subsidiaries of CVR Partners or one or both of the facilities, as the context may require.

Organizational Structure and Related Ownership

The following chart illustrates the organizational structure of the Partnership as of December 31, 2021.

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Facilities

Coffeyville Facility - We own and operate a nitrogen fertilizer production facility in Coffeyville, Kansas that includes a gasifier complex having a capacity of 89 million standard cubic feet per day of hydrogen, a 1,300 ton per day capacity ammonia unit and a 3,000 ton per day capacity UAN unit. The Coffeyville Facility is the only nitrogen fertilizer plant in North America that utilizes a pet coke gasification process to produce nitrogen fertilizer.The Coffeyville Facility’s largest raw material used in the production of ammonia is pet coke, which it purchases from CVR Energy and third parties. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, the Partnership purchased approximately $23.0 million, $18.4 million, and $20.0 million, respectively, of pet coke, which equaled an average cost per ton of $44.69, $35.25, and $37.47, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, we upgraded approximately 87%, 87%, and 90%, respectively, of our ammonia production into UAN, a product that generated greater profit per ton than ammonia for both 2021 and 2019 but, did not for 2020. When the economics are favorable, we expect to continue upgrading substantially all of our ammonia production into UAN.

East Dubuque Facility - We own and operate a nitrogen fertilizer production facility in East Dubuque, Illinois that includes a 1,075 ton per day capacity ammonia unit and a 1,100 ton per day capacity UAN unit. The East Dubuque Facility has the flexibility to vary its product mix enabling it to upgrade a portion of its ammonia production into varying amounts of UAN, nitric acid, and liquid and granulated urea, depending on market demand, pricing, and storage availability. The East Dubuque Facility’s largest raw material cost used in the production of ammonia is natural gas, which it purchases from third parties. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, the East Dubuque Facility incurred approximately $31.8 million, $19.9 million, and $19.7 million for feedstock natural gas used in production, respectively, which equaled an average cost of $3.95, $2.31, and $2.88 per MMBtu, respectively.

Commodities

The nitrogen products we produce are globally traded commodities and are subject to price competition. The customers for our products make their purchasing decisions principally on the basis of delivered price and, to a lesser extent, on customer service and product quality. The selling prices of our products fluctuate in response to global market conditions, feedstock costs, and changes in supply and demand.

Agriculture

The three primary forms of nitrogen fertilizer used in the United States are ammonia, urea, and UAN. Unlike ammonia and urea, UAN can be applied throughout the growing season and can be applied in tandem with pesticides and herbicides, providing farmers with flexibility and cost savings. As a result of these factors, UAN typically commands a premium price to urea and ammonia, on a nitrogen equivalent basis. However, during 2020, UAN commanded a discount price to urea and premium to ammonia, on a nitrogen equivalent basis.

Nutrients are depleted in soil over time and, therefore, must be replenished through fertilizer application. Nitrogen is the most quickly depleted nutrient and must be replenished every year, whereas phosphate and potassium can be retained in soil for up to three years. Plants require nitrogen in the largest amounts, and it accounts for approximately 59% of primary fertilizer consumption on a nutrient ton basis, per the International Fertilizer Industry Association (“IFIA”).

Demand

Global demand for fertilizers is driven primarily by grain demand and prices, which, in turn, are driven by population growth, farmland per capita, dietary changes in the developing world, and increased consumption of bio-fuels. According to the IFIA, from 1976 to 2019, global fertilizer demand grew 2% annually. Global fertilizer use, consisting of nitrogen, phosphate, and potash, is projected to increase by 1% through 2023 to meet global food demand according to a study funded by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Currently, the developed world uses fertilizer more intensively than the developing world, but sustained economic growth in emerging markets is increasing food demand and fertilizer use. In addition, populations in developing countries are shifting to more protein-rich diets as their incomes increase, with such consumption requiring more grain for animal feed. As an example, China’s wheat and coarse grains production is estimated to have increased 40% between 2011 and 2021, but still failed to keep pace with increases in demand, prompting China to grow its wheat and coarse grain imports by more than 1,452% over the same period, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”).

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The United States is the world’s largest exporter of coarse grains, accounting for 29% of world exports and 27% of world production for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, according to the USDA. A substantial amount of nitrogen is consumed in production of these crops to increase yield. Based on Fertecon Limited’s (“Fertecon”) 2021 estimates, the United States is the world’s third largest consumer of nitrogen fertilizer and the world’s largest importer of nitrogen fertilizer. Fertecon is a reputable agency which provides market information and analysis on fertilizers and fertilizer raw materials for fertilizer and related industries, as well as international agencies. Fertecon estimates indicate that the United States represented 12% of total global nitrogen fertilizer consumption for 2021, with China and India as the top consumers representing 22% and 15% of total global nitrogen fertilizer consumption, respectively.

North American nitrogen fertilizer producers predominantly use natural gas as their primary feedstock. Over the last five years, U.S. oil and natural gas reserves have increased significantly due to, among other factors, advances in extracting shale oil and gas, as well as relatively high oil and gas prices. More recently, European and Asian natural gas prices have increased significantly since 2020 due to reduced production volumes and higher global demand, as economies began to recover from the global COVID-19 pandemic. In Europe, the increase in natural gas prices as a feedstock has caused multiple fertilizer plant shut-ins, and certain European countries have curtailed industrial natural gas usage, resulting in deteriorated economics for producing fertilizers in the region. In addition, China and Russia have restricted exports of fertilizers in order to ensure domestic availability. In North America, natural gas prices also increased throughout 2021, but higher nitrogen fertilizer prices more than offset the rise in natural gas costs. As a result, North America continues to be the low-cost region for nitrogen fertilizer production.

Raw Material Supply

Coffeyville Facility - During the past five years, just under 48% of the Coffeyville Facility’s pet coke requirements on average were supplied by CVR Energy’s adjacent Coffeyville, Kansas refinery pursuant to a multi-year agreement. Historically, our Coffeyville Facility has obtained the remainder of its pet coke requirements through third-party contracts typically priced at a discount to the spot market. In 2021, 2020, and 2019, our supply of pet coke from the Coffeyville refinery declined to approximately 43%, 33%, and 40%, respectively, generally attributable to increased processing of shale crude oil, which reduced the amount of pet coke produced by the Coffeyville refinery and increased the amount of third-party purchases made at spot prices. With increased reliance on third-party pet coke, we have contracts with four vendors, which could be delivered by truck, railcar or barge.

Additionally, our Coffeyville Facility relies on a third-party air separation plant at its location that provides contract volumes of oxygen, nitrogen, and compressed dry air to the Coffeyville Facility gasifiers. The reliability of the air separation plant can have a significant impact on our Coffeyville Facility operations. In 2020, to mitigate future impacts, we executed a new product supply agreement that obligates the counterparty to invest funds to upgrade its facility to reduce downtime over the next several years. Should the oxygen volume fall below a specified level, the on-site vendor will provide excess oxygen through its own mechanism or through third-party purchases.

East Dubuque Facility - Our East Dubuque Facility uses natural gas to produce nitrogen fertilizer. Our East Dubuque Facility is generally able to purchase natural gas at competitive prices due to its connection to the Northern Natural Gas interstate pipeline system, which is within one mile of the facility, and a third-party owned and operated pipeline. The pipelines are connected to a third-party distribution system at the Chicago Citygate receipt point and at the Hampshire interconnect from which natural gas is transported to our East Dubuque Facility. As of December 31, 2021, we had commitments to purchase approximately 0.7 million MMBtus of natural gas supply for planned use in our East Dubuque Facility for each of January and February of 2022 at a weighted average rate per MMBtu of approximately $5.96 and $5.95, respectively, exclusive of transportation cost.

Marketing and Distribution

We primarily market UAN products to agricultural customers and ammonia products to agricultural and industrial customers. UAN and ammonia, including freight, accounted for approximately 65% and 28%, respectively, of total net sales for the year ended December 31, 2021.

UAN and ammonia are primarily distributed by truck or railcar. If delivered by truck, products are most commonly sold on a free-on-board (“FOB”) shipping point basis, and freight is normally arranged by the customer. We operate a fleet of railcars

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for use in product delivery. If delivered by railcar, products are most commonly sold on a FOB destination point basis, and we typically arrange the freight.

The nitrogen fertilizer products leave our Coffeyville Facility either in railcars for destinations located principally on the Union Pacific or Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads or in trucks for direct shipment to customers. Our East Dubuque Facility primarily sells product to customers located within 200 miles of the facility. In most instances, customers take delivery of nitrogen products at our East Dubuque Facility and arrange to transport them to their final destinations by truck. Additionally, our East Dubuque Facility has direct access to a barge dock on the Mississippi River, as well as a nearby rail spur serviced by the Canadian National Railway Company, both of which are used from time to time to sell and distribute its products.

Customers

Retailers and distributors are the main customers for UAN and, more broadly, the industrial and agricultural sectors are the primary recipients of our ammonia products. Given the nature of our business, and consistent with industry practice, we sell our products on a wholesale basis under a contract or by purchase order. Contracts with customers generally contain fixed pricing and most have terms of less than one year. Some of our industrial sales include long-term purchase contracts. For the year ended December 31, 2021, our top customer represented 13% of net sales.

Competition

Nitrogen fertilizer production is a global market with competitors in every region of the world. The industry is dominated by price considerations which are driven by raw material and transportation costs, currency fluctuations and trade barriers. Our business has experienced and expects to continue to experience significant levels of competition from domestic and foreign nitrogen fertilizer producers, many of whom have significantly greater financial and other resources. In the United States during the spring and fall fertilizer application periods, farming activities intensify and geographic proximity to these activities is also a significant competitive advantage for domestic producers. We manage our manufacturing and distribution operations to best serve our customers during these critical periods.

Subject to location and other considerations our major competitors generally include CF Industries Holdings, Inc., including its majority owned subsidiary Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P.; LSB Industries, Inc.; Koch Fertilizer Company, LLC; and Nutrien Ltd. Domestic competition is intense due to customers’ sophisticated buying tendencies and competitor strategies that focus on cost and service. We also encounter competition from producers of fertilizer products manufactured in foreign countries, including the threat of increased production capacity. In certain cases, foreign producers of fertilizer who export to the United States may be subsidized by their respective governments.

Seasonality

Because we primarily sell agricultural commodity products, our business is exposed to seasonal fluctuations in demand for nitrogen fertilizer products in the agricultural industry. In addition, the demand for fertilizers is affected by the aggregate crop planting decisions and fertilizer application rate decisions of individual farmers who make planting decisions based largely on the prospective profitability of a harvest. The specific varieties and amounts of fertilizer they apply depend on factors like crop prices, farmers’ current liquidity, soil conditions, weather patterns, and the types of crops planted. We typically experience higher net sales in the first half of the calendar year, which is referred to as the planting season, and net sales tend to be lower during the second half of each calendar year, which is referred to as the fill season.

Environmental Matters

Our business is subject to extensive and frequently changing federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations governing the emission and release of hazardous substances into the environment, the transportation, storage, and disposal of waste, the treatment and discharge of wastewater and stormwater, the storage, handling, use, and transportation of our nitrogen fertilizer products, and the characteristics and composition of UAN and ammonia. These laws and regulations and the enforcement thereof impact us by imposing:

•restrictions on operations or the need to install enhanced or additional control and monitoring equipment;

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•liability for the investigation and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater at current and former facilities (if any) and for off-site waste disposal locations; and

•specifications for the products we market, primarily UAN and ammonia.

Our operations require numerous permits, licenses, and authorizations. Failure to comply with these permits or environmental laws and regulations could result in fines, penalties, or other sanctions or a revocation of our permits, licenses, or authorizations. In addition, the laws and regulations to which we are subject are often evolving and many of them have or could become more stringent or become subject to more stringent interpretation or enforcement by federal or state agencies. These laws and regulations could result in increased capital, operating, and compliance costs.

The Federal Clean Air Act (“CAA”)

The CAA and its implementing regulations, as well as corresponding state laws and regulations governing air emissions, affect us both directly and indirectly. Direct impacts may occur through the CAA’s permitting requirements and/or emission control and monitoring requirements relating to specific air pollutants, as well as the requirement to maintain a risk management program to help prevent accidental releases of certain regulated substances. The CAA affects the Partnership by extensively regulating the air emissions of sulfur dioxide (“SO2”), volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, and other substances. Some or all of the regulations promulgated pursuant to the CAA, or any future promulgations of regulations, may require the installation of controls or changes to our nitrogen fertilizer facilities (collectively referred to as the “Facilities”) to maintain compliance. If new controls or changes to operations are needed, the costs could be material.

The regulation of air emissions under the CAA requires that we obtain various construction and operating permits and incur capital expenditures for the installation of certain air pollution control devices at our operations. Various standards and programs specific to our operations have been implemented, such as the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants, the New Source Performance Standards, and the New Source Review.

The EPA regulates greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions under the CAA. In October 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) finalized a rule requiring certain large emitters of GHGs to inventory and report their GHG emissions to the EPA. In accordance with the rule, our Facilities monitor and report our GHG emissions to the EPA. In May 2010, the EPA finalized the “Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule,” which established GHG emissions thresholds that determine when stationary sources, such as the nitrogen fertilizer plants, must obtain permits under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (“PSD”) and Title V programs of the CAA. Under the rule, facilities already subject to the PSD and Title V programs that increase their emissions of GHGs by a significant amount are required to undergo PSD review and to evaluate and implement air pollution control technology, known as “best available control technology,” to reduce GHG emissions.

The Biden Administration has signaled that it will take steps to address climate change.On January 20, 2021, the White House issued its Executive Order titled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,” as well as a formal notification re-accepting entry of the United States into the Paris Agreement. On January 27, 2021, the White house issued another climate-related Executive Order, titled “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” On April 22, 2021, the Biden Administration announced a new target for the United States to achieve a 50 to 52 percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net GHG emissions in 2030.

The EPA’s approach to regulating GHG emissions may change, including under future administrations. Therefore, the impact on our Facilities due to GHG regulation is unknown.

Recent Greenhouse Gas Footprint Reduction Efforts

In October 2020, the Partnership announced that it generated its first carbon offset credits from voluntary nitrous oxide abatement at its Coffeyville Facility. The Partnership has similar nitrous oxide abatement efforts at its East Dubuque Facility. According to the EPA, nitrous oxide represents approximately 7% of carbon dioxide-equivalent (“CO2e”) emissions in the United States.

The Partnership previously entered into a Joint Development Agreement with ClimeCo, a developer of emission-reduction projects for nitric acid plants, to jointly design, install and operate a tertiary abatement system at one of its nitric acid plants in Coffeyville. The system was designed to abate 94% of all N2O in the unit while preventing the release of approximately 450,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent on an annualized basis. The N2O abatement systems at the East Dubuque

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Facility’s two nitric acid plants have abated, on average, the annual release of approximately 265,000 metric tons of CO2e during the past five years.

CVR Partners’ N2O abatement projects are registered with the Climate Action Reserve (the “Reserve”), a carbon offset registry for the North American market. The Reserve employs high-quality standards and an independent third-party verification process to issue its carbon credits, known as Climate Reserve Tonnes.

The Partnership also sequesters carbon dioxide that is not utilized for urea production at its Coffeyville Facility by capturing and purifying the CO2 as part of its manufacturing process and then transfers it to its partner, CapturePoint LLC (formerly Perdure Petroleum LLC), that compresses and ships the CO2 for sequestration through Enhanced Oil Recovery (“EOR”). In January 2021, the Internal Revenue Service published final regulations under Section 45Q which provides tax credits to encourage CO2 sequestration. We believe that our process for CO2 sequestration would qualify for tax credits under Section 45Q and intend to pursue a claim of those credits starting in 2022.

Combining our nitrous oxide abatement and CO2 sequestration activities should reduce our CO2e footprint by over 1 million metric tons per year. In addition, our Coffeyville Facility is uniquely qualified to produce hydrogen and ammonia that could be certified ‘blue’ to a market that is increasingly demanding reduced carbon footprints. These greenhouse gas footprint reduction efforts support our core Values of Environment and Continuous Improvement, and our goal of continuing to produce nitrogen fertilizers that feed the world’s growing population in the most environmentally responsible way possible.

The Federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”)

The CWA and its implementing regulations, as well as the corresponding state laws and regulations that govern the discharge of pollutants into the water, affect the Partnership. The CWA’s permitting requirements establish discharge limitations that may be based on technology standards, water quality standards, and restrictions on the total maximum daily load of pollutants allowed to enter a particular water body based on its use. In addition, water resources are becoming more scarce. The Coffeyville Facility has contracts in place to receive water during certain water shortage conditions, but these conditions could change over time depending on the scarcity of water.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (“EPCRA”)

The release of hazardous substances or extremely hazardous substances into the environment is subject to release reporting requirements under federal and state environmental laws. Our Facilities also periodically experience releases of hazardous and extremely hazardous substances from their equipment. From time to time, the EPA has conducted inspections and issued information requests to us with respect to our compliance with reporting requirements under the CERCLA and EPCRA. If we fail to timely or properly report a release, or if a release violates the law or our permits, we could become the subject of a governmental enforcement action or third-party claims. Government enforcement or third-party claims relating to releases of hazardous or extremely hazardous substances could result in significant expenditures and liability.

Environmental Remediation

As is the case with all companies engaged in similar industries, we face potential exposure from claims and lawsuits involving environmental matters, including soil and water contamination and personal injury or property damage allegedly caused by hazardous substances that we manufactured, handled, used, stored, transported, spilled, disposed of, or released. The Coffeyville Facility has entered into an agreement with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (“KDHE”) to address certain historical releases of UAN located on our property and comingled with legacy groundwater contamination from the adjacent Coffeyville Resources Refining & Marketing, LLC (“CRRM”) refinery.The cleanup provisions of our agreement with KDHE are held in abeyance so long as CRRM conducts corrective action for these comingled historical releases in accordance with its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Permit.There is no assurance that CRRM will comply with its Permit conditions in the future, which may trigger enforcement of the cleanup provisions of our agreement with KDHE. There is no assurance that we will not become involved in future proceedings related to the release of hazardous or extremely hazardous substances for which we have potential liability or that, if we were held responsible for damages in any existing or future proceedings, such costs would be covered by insurance or would not be material.

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Environmental Insurance

We are covered by CVR Energy’s site pollution legal liability insurance policies, which include business interruption coverage. The policies insure any location owned, leased, rented, or operated by the Partnership, including our Facilities. The policies insure certain pollution conditions at, or migrating from, a covered location, certain waste transportation and disposal activities, and business interruption.

In addition to the site pollution legal liability insurance policy, we maintain umbrella and excess casualty insurance policies which include sudden and accidental pollution coverage policies maintained by CVR Energy. This insurance provides coverage due to named perils for claims involving pollutants where the discharge is sudden and accidental and first commences at a specific day and time during the policy period.

The site pollution legal liability policy and the pollution coverage provided in the casualty insurance policies are subject to retentions and deductibles and contain discovery requirements, reporting requirements, exclusions, definitions, conditions, and limitations that could apply to a particular pollution claim, and there can be no assurance such claim will be adequately insured for all potential damages.

Health, Safety, and Security Matters

We are subject to a number of federal and state laws and regulations related to safety, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), and comparable state statutes, the purposes of which are to protect the health and safety of workers. We are also subject to OSHA Process Safety Management regulations, which are designed to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive chemicals. We are committed to safe, reliable operations of our facilities to protect the health and safety of our employees, our contractors, and the communities in which we operate. Our health and safety management system provides a comprehensive approach to injury, illness and incident prevention, risk assessment and mitigation, and emergency management. Despite our efforts to achieve excellence in our health and safety performance, there can be no assurances that there will not be accidents resulting in injuries or even fatalities. We routinely audit our programs and seek to continually improve our management systems.

Our Facilities are subject to the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (“CFATS”), a regulatory program designed to ensure facilities have security measures in place to reduce the risk that certain hazardous chemicals are weaponized by terrorists. In addition, the East Dubuque Facility is regulated under the Maritime Transportation Security Act (the “MTSA”). We implement and maintain comprehensive security programs designed to comply with regulatory requirements and protect our assets and employees.

We routinely assess risk and conduct audits of our programs and seek to continually improve our health, safety, and security management systems.

Human Capital

Core Values

At CVR Partners, our core Values define the way we do business every day. We put Safety first, care for our Environment, require high business ethics and Integrity consistent with our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, and are proud members of and good neighbors to the communities where we operate, and are committed to Corporate Citizenship. We believe in Continuous Improvement for individuals to achieve their maximum potential through teamwork, diversity and personal development. Our employees provide the energy behind our core Values to achieve excellence for all our key stakeholders – employees, communities and unitholders. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis” in Part II, Item 7 of this Report for further discussion on our core Values.

Workforce & Benefits

As of December 31, 2021, we had 296 employees across both Facilities and related marketing and logistics operations, all of which are located in the United States. Of these, 93 employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements with various labor unions. We may engage independent contractors to provide flexibility for our business and operating needs. We also rely

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on the services of employees of CVR Energy and its subsidiaries pursuant to a services agreement between us, CVR Energy, and our general partner.

We believe that our future success largely depends upon our continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled employees. We are committed to providing wages and benefits that are competitive with a market-based, pay-for-performance compensation philosophy. We provide paid time off and paid holidays, a 401(k) Company match program, dependent care flexible spending accounts, and an employee assistance program. In furtherance of our core Value of continuous improvement, we also offer programs for tuition reimbursement and dependent scholarships. We also offer a remote work policy for eligible employees to provide our employees with the flexibility that is key to a work-life balance. We encourage all employees to live our core Value of corporate citizenship by making a positive impact in our communities by taking advantage of our volunteerism policy pursuant to which eligible employees are provided paid time off from work to volunteer at 501(c)(3) non-profit entities.

Diversity

We are an equal opportunity employer and strive to maintain a diverse and inclusive work environment free from harassment and discrimination regardless of race, religion, color, age, gender, disability, minority, sexual orientation or any other protected class. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion helps us attract and retain the best talent, enables employees to realize their full potential, and drives high performance through innovation and collaboration. We offer diversity training that focuses on unconscious bias where employees learn to recognize and address the effects thereof by encouraging diversity of experience and opinion. Also, our Diversity & Inclusion Committee fosters innovative actions and promotes inclusiveness throughout our organization.

Health & Safety

We have an unwavering commitment to providing as safe and healthy of a workplace as possible for all employees. We accomplish this through strict compliance with applicable laws and regulations regarding workplace safety, engaging employee input, and maintaining robust training and emergency response and disaster recovery plans. We monitor and assess our safety performance by measuring and evaluating injuries, process safety incidents, environmental events, and other events, as well as by performing compliance audits and risk assessments. We believe these efforts reinforce our safety culture; promote a safe workplace, accountability, and stronger community relations; and reduce impact to personal safety, process safety, and the environment.

Our commitment to workplace safety was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our leadership took immediate action aimed at maintaining a safe and healthy workplace for our employees and contractors, while continuing operations to meet the needs of our customers. Our cross-functional CVR Crisis Response Team was immediately activated, and we implemented a variety of policies and practices, including our enhanced entry requirements and return to the workplace clearance policy. We provided masks, barriers, additional sanitation, and supplies in all common areas and for employee personal use, implemented social distancing requirements and occupancy limits, and other protective measures. As the pandemic continues to evolve, our Crisis Response Team remains ready to respond quickly to protect our workforce.

Available Information

Our website address is www.CVRPartners.com. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge through our website under “Investor Relations,” as soon as reasonably practicable after the electronic filing or furnishing of these reports is made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) at www.sec.gov. In addition, our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Codes of Ethics and Business Conduct, and the charters of the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, and the Environmental, Health and Safety Committee of the Board of Directors of our general partner are available on our website. These guidelines, policies, and charters are also available in print without charge to any unitholder requesting them. Information on our website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this Report or any other report we may file with or furnish to the SEC, whether before or after the date of this Report and irrespective of any general incorporation language therein.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

The following risks should be considered together with the other information contained in this Report and all of the information set forth in our filings with the SEC. If any of the following risks or uncertainties develops into actual events, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. References to CVR Partners, the Partnership, “we”, “us”, and “our” may refer to consolidated subsidiaries of CVR Partners or one or both of the facilities, as the context may require.

Risks Related to Our Business

The COVID-19 pandemic, and actions taken in response thereto, could materially adversely affect our business, operations, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic and actions of governments and others in response thereto continues to negatively impact worldwide economic and commercial activity and financial markets. The COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in significant business and operational disruptions, including closures, supply chain disruptions, travel restrictions, stay-at-home orders, and limitations on the availability and effectiveness of the workforce. Further, if general economic conditions continue to remain uncertain for an extended period of time, our liquidity and ability to repay our outstanding debt may be harmed. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown and is continuously evolving. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacts our business and operations, including the availability and pricing of feedstocks, will depend on the severity, location, and duration of the effects and spread of COVID-19 and variants thereof, the actions undertaken by national, regional, and local governments and health officials to contain such virus or remedy its effects, and if, how quickly and to what extent economic conditions recover and normal business and operating conditions resume.

Our business is, and nitrogen fertilizer prices are, cyclical and highly volatile, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Demand for nitrogen fertilizer products is dependent on fluctuating demand for crop nutrients by the global agricultural industry. These fluctuations historically have had and could in the future have significant effects on prices across all nitrogen fertilizer products and, in turn, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.Nitrogen fertilizer products are commodities, the price of which can be highly volatile. The prices of nitrogen fertilizer products depend on a number of factors, including general economic conditions, cyclical trends in end-user markets, supply and demand imbalances, governmental policies, and weather conditions, which have a greater relevance because of the seasonal nature of fertilizer application. If seasonal demand exceeds the projections on which we base our production levels, customers may acquire nitrogen fertilizer products from competitors, and our profitability may be negatively impacted. If seasonal demand is less than expected, we may be left with excess inventory that will have to be stored or liquidated. The international market for nitrogen fertilizers is influenced by such factors as the relative value of the U.S. dollar and its impact upon the cost of importing nitrogen fertilizers, foreign agricultural policies, the existence of, or changes in, import or foreign currency exchange barriers in certain foreign markets, changes in the hard currency demands of certain countries and other regulatory policies of foreign governments, as well as the laws and policies of the U.S. affecting foreign trade and investment. Supply is affected by available capacity and operating rates, raw material costs, government policies and global trade. A decrease in nitrogen fertilizer prices would have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow and ability to make distributions.

Nitrogen fertilizer products and our business face intense competition.

Our business is subject to intense price competition from both U.S. and foreign sources. With little or no product differentiation, customers make their purchasing decisions principally on the basis of delivered price and availability of the product. Increased global supply or decreases in transportation costs for foreign sources of fertilizer may put downward pressure on fertilizer prices. We compete with a number of U.S. producers and producers in other countries, including state-owned and government-subsidized entities that may have greater total resources and are less dependent on earnings from fertilizer sales, which make them less vulnerable to industry downturns and better positioned to pursue new expansion and development opportunities. In addition, imports of fertilizer from other countries may be unfairly subsidized, as was found to be the case on November 30, 2021 by the U.S. Department of Commerce (the “USDOC”) with respect to UAN imports from Russia and Trinidad. An inability to compete successfully could result in a loss of customers, which could adversely affect our sales, profitability and cash flows and, therefore, have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

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The dynamic pricing environment for nitrogen fertilizer products, as well as any changes to government policy regarding fertilizer pricing in response thereto, could negatively affect our results of operations.

In light of the recent strong pricing environment, farmers may shift preference to other types of fertilizer products or shift crop rotation to minimize purchases of nitrogen fertilizer, both of which would negatively affect our sales volumes and revenue. Recent calls for governmental action related to fertilizer pricing conditions, including related to an investigation of market manipulation and proposals to limit price increases or place a maximum price ceiling or cap on fertilizer product pricing, would add complexity to the already dynamic global market for nitrogen fertilizer, and if such initiatives were adopted, our product sales, business and results of operations may be negatively impacted.

Our business is geographically concentrated and is therefore subject to regional economic downturns and seasonal variations, which may affect our production levels, transportation costs and inventory and working capital levels.

Our sales to agricultural customers are concentrated in the Great Plains and Midwest states, and nitrogen fertilizer demand is seasonal. Our quarterly results may vary significantly from one year to the next due to weather-related shifts in planting schedules and purchase patterns. Because we build inventory during low demand periods, the accumulation of inventory to be available for seasonal sales creates significant seasonal working capital and storage capacity requirements. The degree of seasonality can change significantly from year-to-year due to conditions in the agricultural industry and other factors. As a consequence of this seasonality, distributions of available cash, if any, may be volatile and may vary quarterly and annually.

Our sales volumes depend on significant customers, and the loss of several significant customers may have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

We have a significant concentration of customers. Our largest customer represented approximately 13% of net sales for the year ended December 31, 2021. Given the nature of our business, and consistent with industry practice, we do not have long-term minimum purchase contracts with our customers. The loss of several of these significant customers, or a significant reduction in purchase volume by several of them, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Any decline in U.S. agricultural production or limitations on the use of nitrogen fertilizer for agricultural purposes could have a material adverse effect on the sales of nitrogen fertilizer, and on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Conditions in the U.S. agricultural industry significantly impact our operating results. The U.S. agricultural industry can be affected by a number of factors, including weather patterns and field conditions, current and projected grain inventories and prices, domestic and international population changes, demand for U.S. agricultural products, U.S., state and foreign policies regarding trade in agricultural products, and changes in governmental regulations and incentives for corn-based ethanol production that could affect future ethanol demand and production.

State and federal governmental policies, including farm and biofuel subsidies and commodity support programs, as well as the prices of fertilizer products, may also directly or indirectly influence the number of acres planted, the mix of crops planted and the use of fertilizers for particular agricultural applications. Developments in crop technology could also reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and adversely affect the demand for nitrogen fertilizer. Unfavorable state and federal governmental policies could negatively affect nitrogen fertilizer prices and therefore have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

We are subject to cybersecurity risks and other cyber incidents resulting in disruption to our business.

We depend on internal and third-party information technology systems to manage and support our operations, and we collect, process, and retain sensitive and confidential customer information in the normal course of business. To protect our facilities and systems against and mitigate cyber risk, we have implemented several programs, including externally performed cyber risk monitoring, audits and penetration testing and an information security training program, and we are actively engaged in evaluating the implementation of applicable Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency security standard guidelines. On an as needed basis, but no less than quarterly, we brief the Audit Committee of the Board on information security matters. Despite these measures (or those we may implement in the future), our facilities and these systems could be vulnerable to

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security breaches, computer viruses, lost or misplaced data, programming errors, human errors, acts of vandalism, or other events. Any disruption of these systems or security breach or event resulting in the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, whether by us directly or our third-party service providers, could damage our reputation, expose us to the risks of litigation and liability, disrupt our business, or otherwise affect our results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Plant Operations

Failure by CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery to continue to supply us with pet coke could negatively impact our results of operations.

Unlike our competitors, whose primary costs are related to the purchase of natural gas and whose costs are therefore largely variable, our Coffeyville Facility uses a pet coke gasification process to produce nitrogen fertilizer. Our profitability is directly affected by the price and availability of pet coke obtained from CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery pursuant to a long-term agreement. Our Coffeyville Facility has historically obtained a majority of its pet coke from CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery over the past five years, although this percentage has decreased to 43% in 2021. However, should CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery fail to perform in accordance with the existing agreement or to the extent pet coke from CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery is insufficient, we would need to purchase pet coke from third parties on the open market, which could negatively impact our results of operations to the extent third-party pet coke is unavailable or available only at higher prices. Currently, we purchase 100% of the pet coke CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery produces. However, we are still required to procure additional pet coke from third parties to maintain our production rates. We are currently party to pet coke supply agreements with multiple third-party refineries to provide a significant amount of pet coke at fixed prices. The terms of these agreements currently end in December 2022.

The market for natural gas has been volatile, and fluctuations in natural gas prices could affect our competitive position.

Low natural gas prices benefit our competitors that rely on natural gas as their primary feedstock and disproportionately impact our operations at our Coffeyville Facility by making us less competitive with natural gas-based nitrogen fertilizer manufacturers. Low natural gas prices could result in nitrogen fertilizer pricing reductions and impair the ability of the Coffeyville Facility to compete with other nitrogen fertilizer producers who use natural gas as their primary feedstock, which, therefore, would have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.

The East Dubuque Facility uses natural gas as its primary feedstock, and as such, the profitability of operating the East Dubuque Facility is significantly dependent on the cost of natural gas. An increase in natural gas prices could make it less competitive with producers who do not use natural gas as their primary feedstock. In addition, an increase in natural gas prices in the United States relative to prices of natural gas paid by foreign nitrogen fertilizer producers may negatively affect our competitive position in the corn belt, and such changes could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

We expect to purchase a portion of our natural gas for use in the East Dubuque Facility on the spot market. As a result, we remain susceptible to fluctuations in the price of natural gas in general and in local markets in particular. We may use fixed supply, fixed price forward purchase contracts to lock in pricing for a portion of its natural gas requirements, but we may not be able to enter into such agreements on acceptable terms or at all. Without forward purchase contracts for the supply of natural gas, we would need to purchase natural gas on the spot market, which would impair its ability to hedge exposure to risk from fluctuations in natural gas prices. If we enter into forward purchase contracts for natural gas, and natural gas prices decrease, then its cost of sales could be higher than it would have been in the absence of the forward purchase contracts.

Any interruption in the supply of natural gas to our East Dubuque Facility could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our East Dubuque Facility depends on the availability of natural gas. We have two agreements for pipeline transportation of natural gas with expiration dates in 2022. We typically purchase natural gas from third parties on a spot basis and, from time to time, may enter into fixed-price forward purchase contracts.Upon expiration of the agreements, we may be unable to extend the service under the terms of the existing agreements or renew the agreements on satisfactory terms, or at all, necessitating construction of a new connection that could be costly and disruptive. Any disruption in the supply of natural gas to our East

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Dubuque Facility could restrict our ability to continue to make products at the facility and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

If licensed technology were no longer available, our business may be adversely affected.

We have licensed, and may in the future license, a combination of patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property rights of third parties for use in our plant operations. If our use of technology on which our operations rely were to be terminated or face infringement claims, licenses to alternative technology may not be available, or may only be available on terms that are not commercially reasonable or acceptable,or in the case of infringement, may result in substantial costs, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Compliance with and changes in environmental laws and regulations, including those related to climate change, could require us to make substantial capital expenditures and adversely affect our performance.

Our operations are subject to extensive federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing the emission or discharge of pollutants into the environment, product use and specifications and the generation, treatment, storage, transportation, disposal and remediation of solid and hazardous wastes. Violations of applicable environmental laws and regulations, or of the conditions of permits issued thereunder, can result in substantial penalties, injunctive orders compelling installation of additional controls, civil and criminal sanctions, operating restrictions, injunctive relief, permit revocations and/or facility shutdowns, which may have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate our facilities and accordingly our financial performance.

In addition, new environmental laws and regulations, new interpretations of existing laws and regulations, or increased governmental enforcement of laws and regulations could require us to make additional unforeseen expenditures. It is unclear the impact of the new federal administration will have on the laws and regulations applicable to us, however, measures to address climate change and reduce GHG emissions (including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides) are in various phases of discussion or implementation and could affect our operations by requiring increased operating and capital costs and/or increasing taxes on GHG emissions. If we are unable to maintain sales of our products at a price that reflects such increased costs or have to increase the prices of our products because of such increased costs, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

End user demand for our products may also be adversely impacted by climate change legislation and other changes to or new interpretations of environmental laws, due to increased costs or application restrictions. From time to time, various state legislatures have proposed bans or other limitations on fertilizer products. Decreased demand for our products may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Our operations are dependent on third-party suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Operations of our Coffeyville Facility depend in large part on the performance of third-party suppliers, including the adjacent third-party air separation plant and a third-party electric service provider under a contract through June 30, 2029. Our East Dubuque Facility operations also depend in large part on the performance of third-party suppliers, including for the purchase of electricity, which we purchase under a utility service agreement that terminates on June 1, 2022 and will continue year-to-year thereafter unless either party provides 12-month advance written notice of termination. Should these, or any of our other third-party suppliers fail to perform in accordance with existing contractual arrangements, or should we otherwise lose the service of any third-party suppliers, our operations (or a portion thereof) could be forced to halt. Alternative sources of supply could be difficult to obtain. Any shutdown of our operations (or a portion thereof), even for a limited period, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.

We rely on third-party providers of transportation services and equipment, which subjects us to risks and uncertainties beyond our control and that may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make distributions.

Our business also relies on third-party railroad, trucking, and barge companies to ship finished products to customers. These transportation services are subject to various hazards, including extreme weather conditions, work stoppages, delays, spills, derailments and other accidents, and other operating hazards. Further, the limited number of towing companies and

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barges available for ammonia transport may also impact the availability of transportation for our products. These transportation operations, equipment and services are also subject to environmental, safety and other regulatory oversight. Due to concerns related to terrorism or accidents, local, state and federal governments could implement new regulations affecting the transportation of our finished products. In addition, new regulations could be implemented affecting the equipment used to ship our finished products. Any delay in our ability to ship our finished products as a result of these transportation companies’ failure to operate properly, the implementation of new and more stringent regulatory requirements affecting transportation operations or equipment, or significant increases in the cost of these services or equipment could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.

Any liability for accidents involving ammonia or other products we produce or transport that cause severe damage to property or injury to the environment and human health could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.

Our business manufactures, processes, stores, handles, distributes and transports ammonia, which can be very volatile and extremely hazardous. Major accidents or releases involving ammonia could cause severe damage or injury to property, the environment and human health, as well as a possible disruption of supplies and markets. Such an event could result in civil lawsuits, fines, penalties and regulatory enforcement proceedings, all of which could lead to significant liabilities. Any damage or injury to persons, equipment, or property or other disruption of our ability to produce or distribute products could result in a significant decrease in operating revenues and significant additional costs to replace or repair and insure our assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions. Our facilities periodically experience minor releases of ammonia related to leaks from our facilities’ equipment. Similar events may occur in the future.

In addition, we may incur significant losses or increased costs relating to the operation of railcars used for the purpose of carrying various products, including ammonia. Due to the dangerous and potentially hazardous nature of the cargo, in particular ammonia, a railcar accident may result in fires, explosions, and releases of material which could lead to sudden, severe damage or injury to property, the environment, and human health. In the event of contamination, under environmental law, we may be held responsible even if we are not at fault, and we complied with the laws and regulations in effect at the time of the accident. Litigation arising from accidents involving ammonia and other products we produce or transport may result in us being named as a defendant in lawsuits asserting claims for substantial damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make cash distributions.

We could incur significant costs in cleaning up contamination.

We handle hazardous substances which may result in spills, discharges or other releases of hazardous substances into the environment. Past or future spills related to or migrating from any of our current or former operations and solid or hazardous waste disposal, may give rise to liability (including for personal injury, property damage, penalties, strict liability, and potential cleanup responsibility) to governmental entities or private parties under federal, state or local environmental laws, as well as under common law. For example, we could be held strictly liable under CERCLA, and similar state statutes, for past or future spills without regard to fault or whether our actions were in compliance with the law at the time of the spills, including in connection with contamination associated with our current and former facilities, and facilities to which we transported or arranged for the transportation of wastes or byproducts containing hazardous substances for treatment, storage, or disposal. Such liability could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and may not be covered by insurance.

The Coffeyville Facility has entered into an agreement with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (“KDHE”) to address certain historical releases of UAN located on our property and comingled with legacy groundwater contamination from CVR Energy’s adjacent Coffeyville refinery. The cleanup provisions of our agreement with KDHE are held in abeyance so long as the Coffeyville refinery conducts corrective action for these comingled historical releases in accordance with its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Permit. There is no assurance that the Coffeyville refinery will comply with its Permit conditions in the future, which may trigger enforcement of the cleanup provisions of our agreement with KDHE.

We may be unable to obtain or renew permits or approvals necessary for our operations, which could inhibit our ability to do business.

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Our business holds numerous environmental and other governmental permits and approvals authorizing operations at our facilities and future expansion of our operations is predicated upon the ability to secure approvals therefore. A decision by a government agency to deny or delay issuing a new or renewed material permit or approval, or to revoke or substantially modify an existing permit or approval, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue operations and on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Regulations concerning the transportation, storage and handling of hazardous chemicals, risks of terrorism, and the security of chemical manufacturing facilities could result in higher operating and/or capital costs.

Critical infrastructure such as chemical manufacturing facilities may be at greater risk of terrorist attacks than other businesses in the U.S. As a result, the chemical industry is subject to security regulations relating to physical and cyber security. The costs of compliance therewith may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

Our facilities face significant risks due to physical damage hazards, environmental liability risk exposure, and unplanned or emergency partial or total plant shutdowns which could cause property damage and a material decline in production which are not fully insured.

If any of our plants, logistics assets, or key suppliers sustain a catastrophic loss and operations are shutdown or significantly impaired, it would have a material adverse impact on our operations, financial condition and cash flows.Operations at our plant could be curtailed, limited or completely shut down for an extended period of time as the result of one or more unforeseen events and circumstances, which may not be within our control, including: major unplanned maintenance requirements; catastrophic events caused by mechanical breakdown, electrical injury, pressure vessel rupture, explosion, contamination, fire, or natural disasters, including floods, windstorms, and other similar events; labor supply shortages or labor difficulties that result in a work stoppage or slowdown; cessation or suspension of a plant or specific operations dictated by environmental authorities; acts of terrorism or other deliberate malicious acts; and an event or incident involving a large clean-up, decontamination, or the imposition of laws and ordinances regulating the cost and schedule of demolition or reconstruction, which can cause significant delays in restoring property to its pre-event condition.

We are insured under casualty, environmental, property and business interruption insurance policies. The property and business interruption policies insure our real and personal property. These policies are subject to limits, sub-limits, retention (financial and time-based), and deductibles. The application of these and other policy conditions could materially impact insurance recoveries and potentially cause us to assume losses which could impair earnings. There is potential for a common occurrence to impact both our Coffeyville Facility and CVR Energy’s Coffeyville refinery in which case the insurance limits and applicable sub-limits would apply to all damages combined.

There is finite capacity in the commercial insurance industry engaged in underwriting chemical industry risk, and factors impacting cost and availability include: (i) losses in our industries, (ii) natural disasters, (iii) specific losses incurred by us, and (iv) inadequate investment returns earned by the insurance industry. If the supply of commercial insurance is curtailed, we may not be able to continue our present limits of insurance coverage or obtain sufficient insurance capacity to adequately insure our risks.

We are subject to strict laws and regulations regarding employee and process safety, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and profitability.

We are subject to the requirements of OSHA and comparable state statutes that regulate the protection of the health and safety of workers, the proper design, operation, and maintenance of our equipment, and require us to provide information about hazardous materials used in our operations. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in significant fines or compliance costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

A significant portion of our workforce is unionized, and we are subject to the risk of labor disputes and adverse employee relations, which may disrupt our business and increase our costs.

As of December 31, 2021, approximately 31% of our employees were represented by labor unions under collective bargaining agreements. We may not be able to renegotiate our collective bargaining agreements when they expire on satisfactory terms or at all. A failure to do so may increase our costs. In addition, our existing labor agreements may not prevent

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a strike or work stoppage at any of our facilities in the future, and any work stoppage could negatively affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Risks Related to Our Capital Structure

Instability and volatility in the capital, credit, and commodity markets in the global economy could negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted by difficult conditions and volatility in the capital, credit, and commodities markets and in the global economy. For example: there can be no assurance that funds under our credit facilities will be available or sufficient, and in such a case, we may not be able to successfully obtain additional financing on favorable terms, or at all; market volatility could exert downward pressure on our common units, which may make it more difficult for us to raise additional capital and thereby limit our ability to grow, which could in turn cause our unit price to drop; or customers experiencing financial difficulties may fail to meet their financial obligations when due because of bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons could result in decreased sales and earnings for us.

Our level of indebtedness may affect our ability to operate our business and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We have incurred significant indebtedness, and we may be able to incur significant additional indebtedness in the future. If new indebtedness is added to our current indebtedness, the risks described below could increase. Our level of indebtedness could have important consequences, such as: (i) limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund our working capital needs, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisitions, or other purposes; (ii) requiring us to utilize a significant portion of our cash flows to service our indebtedness, thereby reducing available cash and our ability to make distributions on our common units; (iii) limiting our ability to use operating cash flow in other areas of the business because we must dedicate a substantial portion of additional funds to service debt; (iv) limiting our ability to compete with other companies who are not as highly leveraged, as we may be less capable of responding to adverse economic and industry conditions; (v) limiting our ability to make certain payments on debt that is subordinated or secured on a junior basis; (vi) restricting the way in which we conduct business because of financial and operating covenants, including regarding the ability of subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions; (vii) limiting our ability to enter into certain transactions with our affiliates; (viii) limiting our ability to designate our subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries; (ix) exposing us to potential events of default (if not cured or waived) under financial and operating covenants contained in our or our respective subsidiaries’ debt instruments; and (x) limiting our ability to react to changing market conditions.

Further, we are and will be subject to covenants contained in agreements governing present and future indebtedness. These covenants include, and will likely include, restrictions on certain payments (including restrictions on distributions to our unitholders), the granting of liens, the incurrence of additional indebtedness, asset sales, transactions with affiliates, and mergers and consolidations. Any failure to comply with these covenants could result in a default under our current credit agreements or debt instruments or future credit agreements.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our debt obligations that may not be successful.

Our ability to satisfy debt obligations will depend upon, among other things, our future financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory, and other factors, many of which are beyond our control; and our future ability to obtain other financing. We cannot offer any assurance that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that we will be able to draw funds under our ABL Credit Facility or from other sources of financing, in an amount sufficient to fund our liquidity needs. If cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to service our indebtedness, we could face substantial liquidity problems and may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital, restructure or refinance indebtedness, or seek bankruptcy protection. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet scheduled debt service and other obligations. Our ability to restructure or refinance debt will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. Any refinancing of debt could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict business operations, and the terms of existing or future debt agreements may restrict us from adopting some of these alternatives.

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Further, our ABL Credit Facility bears interest at variable rates and other debt we incur could likewise be variable-rate debt. If market interest rates increase, variable-rate debt will create higher debt service requirements, which could adversely affect our ability to fund our liquidity needs, capital investments, and distributions to our unitholders. We may enter into agreements limiting our exposure to higher interest rates, but any such agreements may not offer complete protection from this risk.

Mr. Carl C. Icahn exerts significant influence over the Partnership through his controlling ownership of CVR Energy, and his interests may conflict with the interests of the Partnership and our unitholders.

Mr. Carl C. Icahn indirectly controls approximately 71% of the voting power of CVR Energy’s common stock and, by virtue of such ownership, is able to control the Partnership through CVR Energy’s ownership of our general partner and its sole member, including: the election and appointment of directors; business strategy and policies; mergers or other business combinations; acquisition or disposition of assets; future issuances of common stock, common units, or other securities; incurrence of debt or obtaining other sources of financing; and the payment of distributions on our common units. The existence of a controlling stockholder may have the effect of making it difficult for, or may discourage or delay, a third-party from seeking to acquire a majority of our common units, which may adversely affect the market price of such common units.

Further, Mr. Icahn’s interests may not always be consistent with the Partnership’s interests or with the interests of our common unitholders. Mr. Icahn and entities controlled by him may also pursue acquisitions or business opportunities in industries in which we compete, and there is no requirement that any additional business opportunities be presented to us. We also have and may in the future enter into transactions to purchase goods or services with affiliates of Mr. Icahn. To the extent that conflicts of interest may arise between us and Mr. Icahn and his affiliates, those conflicts may be resolved in a manner adverse to us and our common unitholders.

Risks Related to Our Limited Partnership Structure

We may not have sufficient “available cash” to pay any quarterly distribution on common units or the Board may elect to distribute less than all of our available cash.

The current policy of the board of directors of our general partner (“Board”) is to distribute an amount equal to the available cash generated by our business each quarter to our common unitholders. As a result of its cash distribution policy, we will likely need to rely primarily upon external financing sources, including commercial bank borrowings and the issuance of debt and equity securities, to fund acquisitions and expansion capital expenditures, and our growth, if any, may not be as robust as that of businesses that reinvest available cash to expand ongoing operations. We may not have sufficient available cash each quarter to enable the payment of distributions to common unitholders. Furthermore, the partnership agreement does not require us to pay distributions on a quarterly basis or otherwise. As such, the Board may modify or revoke its cash distribution policy at any time at its discretion, including in such a manner that would result in an elimination of cash distributions regardless of the amount of available cash our business generates.

To the extent we issue additional units in connection with any acquisitions or expansion capital expenditures or as in-kind distributions, current unitholders would experience dilution and the payment of distributions on those additional units may decrease the amount we distribute in respect of its outstanding units. Under our partnership agreement, we are authorized to issue an unlimited number of additional interests without a vote of the common unitholders. The issuance by us of additional common units or other equity interests of equal or senior rank would reduce the proportionate ownership interest of common unitholders immediately prior to the issuance. As a result of the issuance of common units, the following may occur: the amount of cash distributions on each common unit may decrease; the ratio of our taxable income to distributions may increase; the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding common unit will be diminished; and the market price of the common units may decline. In addition, our partnership agreement does not prohibit the issuance by our subsidiaries of equity interests, which may effectively rank senior to the common units. The incurrence of additional commercial borrowings or other debt to finance its growth strategy would result in increased interest expense, which, in turn, would reduce the available cash we have to distribute to unitholders.

Our partnership agreement has limited our general partner’s liability, replaces default fiduciary duties, and restricts the remedies available to common unitholders for actions that, without these limitations and reductions, might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duty.

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As permitted under Delaware law, our partnership agreement, which applies to and binds common unitholders, limits the liability and replaces the fiduciary duties of our general partner, while also restricting the remedies available to our common unitholders for actions that, without these limitations and reductions, might constitute breaches of fiduciary duty. The partnership agreement contains provisions that replace the standards to which our general partner would otherwise be held by state fiduciary duty law. For example: (i) the partnership agreement permits our general partner to make a number of decisions in its individual capacity, as opposed to its capacity as general partner, which entitles our general partner to consider only the interests and factors that it desires and means that it has no duty or obligation to give any consideration to any interest of, or factors affecting, any limited partner; (ii) the partnership agreement provides that our general partner will not have any liability to unitholders for decisions made in its capacity as general partner so long as it acted in good faith, meaning it believed the decision was in our best interest; (iii) the partnership agreement provides that our general partner and the officers and directors of its general partner will not be liable for monetary damages to common unitholders, including us, for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that the general partner or its officers or directors acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct, or in the case of a criminal matter, acted with knowledge that the conduct was criminal; (iv) the partnership agreement generally provides that affiliated transactions and resolutions of conflicts of interest not approved by the conflicts committee of the board of directors of its general partner and not involving a vote of unitholders must be on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties or be “fair and reasonable” to us, as determined by its general partner in good faith, and that, in determining whether a transaction or resolution is “fair and reasonable,” the general partner may consider the totality of the relationships between the parties involved, including other transactions that may be particularly advantageous or beneficial to affiliated parties, including us; and (v) the partnership agreement provides that in resolving conflicts of interest, it will be presumed that in making its decision, the general partner or its conflicts committee acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by or on behalf of any holder of common units, the person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding will have the burden of overcoming such presumption.

Our general partner, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of CVR Energy, has fiduciary duties to CVR Energy and its stockholders, and the interests of CVR Energy and its stockholders may differ significantly from, or conflict with, the interests of our public common unitholders.

Our general partner is responsible for managing us. Although our general partner has fiduciary duties to manage us in a manner that is in our best interests, the fiduciary duties are specifically limited by the express terms of our partnership agreement, and the directors and officers of our general partner also have fiduciary duties to manage our general partner in a manner beneficial to CVR Energy and its stockholders. The interests of CVR Energy and its stockholders may conflict with, the interests of our public common unitholders. In resolving these conflicts, our general partner may favor its own interests, the interests of CVR Services, its sole member, or the interests of CVR Energy and holders of CVR Energy’s common stock, including its majority stockholder, an affiliate of Icahn Enterprises L.P., over our interests and those of our common unitholders..

The potential conflicts of interest include, among others, the following: (i) neither our partnership agreement nor any other agreement requires the owners of our general partner, including CVR Energy, to pursue a business strategy that favors us and the affiliates of our general partner, including CVR Energy, have fiduciary duties to make decisions in their own best interests and in the best interest of holders of CVR Energy’s common stock, which may be contrary to our interests (ii) our general partner is allowed to take into account the interests of parties other than us or our common unitholders, such as its owners or CVR Energy, in resolving conflicts of interest, which has the effect of limiting its fiduciary duty to our common unitholders; (iii) our general partner has limited its liability and reduced its fiduciary duties under our partnership agreement and has also restricted the remedies available to our common unitholders for actions that, without the limitations, mightconstitute breaches of fiduciary duty; (iv) the Board determines the amount and timing of asset purchases and sales, capital expenditures, borrowings, repayment of indebtedness, and issuances of additional partnership interests, each of which can affect the amount of cash that is available for distribution to our common unitholders; (v) our partnership agreement does not restrict our general partner from causing us to pay it or its affiliates for any services rendered to us or entering into additional contractual arrangements with any of these entities on our behalf and there is no limitation on the amounts that can be paid; (vi) our general partner controls the enforcement of obligations owed to us by it and its affiliates, and decides whether to retain separate counsel or others to perform services for us; (vii) our general partner determines which costs incurred by it and its affiliates are reimbursable by us; and (viii) certain of the executive officers of our general partner also serve as executive officers of CVR Energy, including our executive chairman, who will face conflicts of interest when making decisions which may benefit either us or CVR Energy. Additionally, the compensation of such executive officers is set by CVR Energy, and we have no control over the amount paid to such officers.

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CVR Energy has the power to elect all of the members of the Board. Our general partner has control over all decisions related to our operations. Our public common unitholders do not have an ability to influence any operating decisions and will not be able to prevent us from entering into any transactions. Certain subsidiaries of CVR Energy perform certain corporate services for us, including finance, accounting, legal, information technology, auditing, and cash management activities, and we could be impacted by any failure of those entities to adequately perform these services.

If at any time our general partner and its affiliates own more than 80% of the common units, our general partner will have the right, which it may assign to any of its affiliates or to us, but not the obligation, to acquire all, but not less than all, of the common units held by public common unitholders at a price not less than their then-current market price, as calculated pursuant to the terms of our partnership agreement. As a result, each holder of our common units may be required to sell such holder’s common units at an undesirable time or price and may not receive any return on investment, and may also incur a tax liability upon a sale of its common units. Our general partner is not obligated to obtain a fairness opinion regarding the value of the common units to be repurchased by it upon exercise of the call right. There is no restriction in our partnership agreement that prevents our general partner from issuing additional common units and then exercising its call right. Our general partner may use its own discretion, free of fiduciary duty restrictions, in determining whether to exercise this right.

Our general partner may transfer its general partner interest in us to a third-party, including in a merger or in a sale of all or substantially all of its assets without the consent of our common unitholders. The new equity owner of our general partner would then be in a position to replace the board of directors and the officers of our general partner with its own choices and to influence their decisions. If control of our general partner were transferred to an unrelated third-party, the new owner would have no interest in CVR Energy and CVR Energy could, upon 90 days’ notice, terminate the services agreement pursuant to which it provides us with the services of its senior management team.

As a publicly traded partnership we qualify for certain exemptions from many of the NYSE’s corporate governance requirements.

As a publicly traded partnership, we qualify for certain exemptions from the NYSE’s corporate governance requirements, which include the requirements that (i) a majority of the Board consist of independent directors and (ii) the Board have a nominating/corporate governance committee and compensation committee that are composed entirely of independent directors. Our general partner’s board of directors has not and does not currently intend to establish a nominating/corporate governance committee and we could avail ourselves of the additional exemptions available to publicly traded partnerships at any time in the future. Accordingly, common unitholders do not have the same protections afforded to equity holders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.

Our public common unitholders have limited voting rights and are not entitled to elect our general partner or our general partner’s directors and do not have sufficient voting power to remove our general partner without CVR Energy’s consent.

Unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, our common unitholders have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business and, therefore, limited ability to influence management’s decisions. Our common unit holders do not choose the Members of the Board do not elect directors or participate in other matters routinely conducted at annual meetings of stockholders, and have no practical ability to remove our general partner without the consent of CVR Energy. As a result of these limitations, the price at which the common units will trade could be diminished. Our partnership agreement restricts common unitholders’ voting rights by providing that any units held by a person that owns 20% or more of any class of units then outstanding, other than our general partner, its affiliates, their transferees, and persons who acquired such units with the prior approval of the Board, may not vote on any matter. Our partnership agreement also contains provisions limiting the ability of common unitholders to call meetings or to acquire information about our operations, and to influence the manner or direction of management.

Common unitholders may have liability to repay distributions.

In the event that: (i) we make distributions to our common unitholders when our nonrecourse liabilities exceed the sum of (a) the fair market value of our assets not subject to recourse liability and (b) the excess of the fair market value of our assets subject to recourse liability over such liability, or a distribution causes such a result, and (ii) a common unitholder knows at the time of the distribution of such circumstances, such common unitholder will be liable for a period of three years from the time of the impermissible distribution to repay the distribution under Section 17-607 of the Delaware Act. Likewise, upon the

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winding up of the partnership, in the event that (i) we do not distribute assets in the following order: (a) to creditors in satisfaction of their liabilities; (b) to partners and former partners in satisfaction of liabilities for distributions owed under our partnership agreement; (c) to partners for the return of their contribution; and finally (d) to the partners in the proportions in which the partners share in distributions; and (ii) a common unitholder knows at the time of such circumstances, then such common unitholder will be liable for a period of three years from the impermissible distribution to repay the distribution under Section 17-807 of the Delaware Act.

Tax Risks Related to Common Unitholders

If the IRS were to treat us as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or we become subject to entity-level taxation for state tax purposes, our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders would be substantially reduced, likely causing a substantial reduction in the value of our common units.

The anticipated after-tax economic benefit of an investment in our common units depends largely on our being treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Despite the fact that we are organized as a limited partnership under Delaware law, we would be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes unless we satisfy a “qualifying income” requirement. Based upon our current operations, we believe we satisfy the qualifying income requirement. Although we have received favorable private letter rulings from the IRS with respect to certain of our operations, no ruling has been or will be requested regarding our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Failing to meet the qualifying income requirement or a change in current law (which could be retroactive) could cause us to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or otherwise subject us to taxation at the corporate tax rate and distributions to our common unitholders would generally be taxed again as corporate distributions, and no income, gains, losses, or deductions would flow through to our common unitholders. Because a tax would be imposed upon us as a corporation, our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders would be substantially reduced and result in a material reduction in the anticipated cash flow and after-tax return to our common unitholders, likely causing a substantial reduction in the value of our common units. At the state level, several states have been evaluating ways to subject partnerships to entity-level taxation through the imposition of state income, franchise, or other forms of taxation. We currently own assets and conduct business in several states, many of which impose a margin or franchise tax. In the future, we may expand our operations. Imposition of a similar tax on us in other jurisdictions that we may expand could substantially reduce our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders.

If the IRS makes audit adjustments to our income tax returns for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, it may assess and collect any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustments directly from us, in which case our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders might be substantially reduced and our current and former common unitholders may be required to indemnify us for any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustments that were paid on such common unitholders’ behalf.

For tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, the IRS (and some states) may assess and collect from us taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from audit adjustments to our income tax returns. Our general partner may elect to either pay the taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) directly to the IRS or, if we are eligible, issue a revised information statement to each common unitholder and former common unitholder with respect to an audited and adjusted return. There can be no assurance that such an election to allocate the audit adjustment and tax payment obligation to our current and former common unitholders will be practical, permissible, or effective in all circumstances. As a result, our current common unitholders may bear some or all of the tax liability resulting from such audit adjustment, even if they did not own common units in us during the tax year under audit. If, as a result of any such audit adjustment, we are required to make payments of taxes, penalties, and interest, our cash available for distribution to our common unitholders might be substantially reduced and our current and former unitholders may be required to indemnify us for any taxes (including any applicable penalties and interest) resulting from such audit adjustments that were paid on such unitholders behalf.

Our unitholders are required to pay income taxes on their share of our taxable income even if they do not receive any cash distributions from us.

A unitholder’s allocable share of our taxable income will be taxable to it, which may require the unitholder to pay federal income taxes and, in some cases, state and local income taxes, even if the unitholder receives no cash distributions or cash distributions from us that are less than the actual tax liability that results from that income. For example, if we sell assets and use the proceeds to repay existing debt or fund capital expenditures, you may be allocated taxable income and gain resulting from the sale, and our cash available for distribution would not increase. Similarly, taking advantage of opportunities to reduce

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our existing debt, such as debt exchanges, debt repurchases, or modifications of our existing debt could result in “cancellation of indebtedness income” being allocated to our common unitholders as taxable income without any increase in our cash available for distribution.

Common unitholders may be subject to limitation on their ability to deduct interest expense incurred by us.

In general, we are entitled to a deduction for interest paid or accrued on indebtedness properly allocable to our trade or business during our taxable year. However, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, our deduction for “business interest” is limited to the sum of our business interest income and 30% of our “adjusted taxable income.” For the purposes of this limitation, our adjusted taxable income is computed without regard to any business interest expense or business interest income, and in the case of taxable years beginning before January 1, 2022, any deduction allowable for depreciation, amortization, or depletion.

Non-U.S. common unitholders will be subject to U.S. taxes and withholding with respect to their income and gain from owning our common units.

Non-U.S. common unitholders are generally taxed and subject to income tax filing requirements by the United States on income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (“effectively connected income”). Income allocated to our common unitholders and any gain from the sale of our common units will generally be considered to be “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business. As a result, distributions to a Non-U.S. common unitholder will be subject to withholding at the highest applicable effective tax rate, and a Non-U.S. common unitholder who sells or otherwise disposes of a common unit will also be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the gain realized from the sale or disposition of that common unit.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act imposes a withholding obligation of 10% of the amount realized upon a Non-U.S. common unitholder’s sale or exchange of an interest in a partnership that is engaged in a U.S. trade or business, effective January 1, 2022 per final Regulations. Non-U.S. common unitholders should consult a tax advisor before investing in our common units.

Tax-exempt entities face unique tax issues from owning our common units that may result in adverse tax consequences.

Investment in our common units by tax-exempt entities, such as employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts, raises unique issues. For example, virtually all of our income allocated to organizations that are exempt from U.S. federal income tax will be unrelated business taxable income and will be taxable. Further, with respect to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, a tax-exempt entity with more than one unrelated trade or business (including by attribution from investment in a partnership such as ours that is engaged in one or more unrelated trade or business) is required to compute the unrelated business taxable income of such tax-exempt entity separately with respect to each such trade or business (including for purposes of determining any net operating loss deduction). As a result, for years beginning after December 31, 2017, it may not be possible for tax-exempt entities to utilize losses from an investment in our partnership to offset unrelated business taxable income from another unrelated trade or business and vice versa.

The IRS may challenge our treatment of each purchaser of our common units as having the same tax benefits without regard to the common units actually purchased, which could adversely affect the value of our common units.

Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of common units, we have adopted certain methods for allocating depreciation and amortization deductions that may not conform to all aspects of existing Treasury Regulations. A successful IRS challenge to the use of these methods could adversely affect the amount of tax benefits available to our common unitholders. It also could affect the timing of these tax benefits or the amount of gain from any sale of common units and could have a negative impact on the value of our common units or result in audit adjustments to a common unitholder’s tax returns.

Our proration methods may be challenged by the IRS, which could change the allocation of items of income, gain, loss, and deduction among our common unitholders.

We generally (i) prorate our items of income, gain, loss, and deduction between transferors and transferees of our common units; and (ii) allocate certain deductions for depreciation of capital additions, gain or loss realized on a sale or other disposition of our assets, and, in the discretion of the general partner, any other extraordinary item of income, gain, loss, or deduction, each month based upon the ownership of our units on the first day of each month (the “Allocation Date”), instead of on the basis of the date a particular common unit is transferred. Treasury Regulations allow a similar monthly simplifying convention, but such

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regulations do not specifically authorize all aspects of our proration method. If the IRS were to challenge our proration method, we may be required to change the allocation of items of income, gain, loss, and deduction among our common unitholders.

IRS challenge of certain valuation methodologies we have adopted to determine a unitholder’s allocations of income, gain, loss, and deduction, could adversely affect the value of our common units.

In determining the items of income, gain, loss, and deduction allocable to our unitholders, we must routinely determine the fair market value of our assets and allocate any unrealized gain or loss attributable to our assets to the capital accounts of our unitholders. The IRS may challenge our valuation methods and allocations. A successful IRS challenge to these methods or allocations could adversely affect the amount of taxable income or loss being allocated to our unitholders, the amount of taxable gain from our unitholders’ sale of common units, and the value of the common units or result in audit adjustments to our unitholders’ tax returns without the benefit of additional deductions.

Our common unitholders will likely be subject to state and local taxes, as well as income tax return filing requirements, in jurisdictions where they do not live as a result of investing in our common units.

In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, our common unitholders may be subject to other taxes, including foreign, state, and local taxes, unincorporated business taxes, and estate, inheritance, or intangible taxes that are imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we conduct business or own property now or in the future, even if they do not live in any of those jurisdictions, will likely be required to file foreign, state, and local income tax returns and pay state and local income taxes in some or all of these various jurisdictions, and may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements.

General Risks Related to the Partnership

The acquisition and expansion strategy of our business involves significant risks that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

From time to time, we may consider pursuing acquisitions and expansion projects (“Expansion Projects”) to continue to grow and increase profitability. However, we may not be able to consummate such Expansion Projects due to intense competition for suitable acquisition targets; the potential unavailability of necessary financial resources; difficulties in identifying suitable Expansion Projects or in completing them on sufficiently favorable terms; and the failure to obtain requisite regulatory approvals. In addition, any Expansion Projects may entail significant transaction costs and risks associated with entry into new markets and lines of business, including but not limited to, new regulatory obligations and risks.

In the case of an acquisition, integration of acquired entities can involve significant difficulties, such as: disruption of the ongoing operations; failure to achieve cost savings or other financial or operating objectives contributing to the accretive nature of an acquisition; strain on operational and managerial controls, procedures and management; difficulties in the integration and retention of customers or personnel; assumption of unknown material liabilities or regulatory non-compliance issues; amortization of acquired assets, which would reduce future reported earnings; and possible adverse short-term effects on our cash flows or operating results.

When considering potential Expansion Projects, will also consider impact on our tax treatment as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. If we are unable to conclude that the activities of the Expansion Project would not affect our treatment as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, we may elect to seek a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). Seeking such a ruling could be costly or, in the case of competitive acquisitions, place the business in a competitive disadvantage compared to other potential acquirers who do not seek such a ruling. If we are unable to conclude that an activity would not affect our treatment as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and are unable or unwilling to obtain an IRS ruling, we may choose to acquire such business or develop such expansion project in a corporate subsidiary, which would subject the income related to such activity to entity-level taxation, which would reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our common unitholders and could likely cause a substantial reduction in the value of our common units.

Internally generated cash flows and other sources of liquidity may not be adequate for our capital needs.

Our business is capital intensive and working capital needs may vary significantly over relatively short periods of time. For instance, nitrogen fertilizer demand volatility can significantly impact working capital on a week-to-week and month-to-month basis. If we cannot generate adequate cash flow or otherwise secure sufficient liquidity to meet our working capital needs or

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support our short-term and long-term capital requirements, we may be unable to meet our debt obligations, pursue our business strategies, or comply with certain environmental standards, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

Refer to Part I, Item 1, “Facilities” of this Report for more information on our core business properties. CVR Energy also leases property for our executive and marketing offices in Sugar Land, Texas and Kansas City, Kansas, respectively.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

In the ordinary course of business, we may become party to lawsuits, administrative proceedings, and governmental investigations, including environmental, regulatory, and other matters. Large, and sometimes unspecified, damages or penalties may be sought from us in some matters and certain matters may require years to resolve. Refer to Part II, Item 8, Note 2 (“Summary of Significant Accounting Policies”), Loss Contingencies for further discussion on current litigation matters. Although we cannot provide assurance, we believe that an adverse resolution of the matters described therein would not have a material impact on our liquidity, consolidated financial position, or consolidated results of operations.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market For Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Unitholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Performance Graph

The performance graph below compares the cumulative total return of the Partnership’s common units to (a) the cumulative total return of the S&P 500 Composite Index and (b) a composite peer group (“Peer Group”) consisting of The Mosaic Company, CF Industries Holdings, Inc., Intrepid Potash, Inc., and Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. The graph assumes that the value of the investment in common units and each index was $100 on December 31, 2016 and that all distributions were reinvested. Investment is weighted on the basis of market capitalization.

The unit price performance shown on the graph is not necessarily indicative of future price performance. Information used in the graph was obtained from Yahoo! Finance (finance.yahoo.com). The performance graph above is furnished and not filed for purposes of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. The performance graph is not soliciting material subject to Regulation 14A.

Market Information

CVR Partners’ common units are listed under the symbol “UAN” on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). The Partnership has 27 holders of record of the outstanding units as of December 31, 2021.

Equity Compensation Plan

The CVR Partners Long-Term Incentive Plan (“CVR Partners LTIP”) provides for the grant of options, unit appreciation rights, distribution equivalent rights, restricted units, phantom units and other unit-based awards, each in respect of common units. Individuals who are eligible to receive awards under the CVR Partners LTIP include employees, officers, consultants and directors of CVR Partners and the general partner and their respective subsidiaries and parents. A maximum of 500,000 common units are issuable under the CVR Partners LTIP.

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The table below contains information about securities authorized for issuance under the CVR Partners LTIP as of December 31, 2021.

Equity compensation plans approved by security holders:

CVR Partners, LP Long-Term Incentive Plan — — 482,022 (1)

Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders:

None — — —

(1)Represents units that remain available for future issuance pursuant to the CVR Partners LTIP in connection with awards of options, unit appreciation rights, distribution equivalent rights, restricted units, and phantom units.

Item 6. [Reserved]

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes and with the statistical information and financial data included elsewhere in this Report. References to CVR Partners, the Partnership, “we”, “us”, and “our” may refer to consolidated subsidiaries of CVR Partners or one or both of the facilities, as the context may require.

This discussion and analysis covers the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 and discusses year-to-year comparisons between such periods. The discussions of the year ended December 31, 2019 and year-to-year comparisons between the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 that are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of the Partnership’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 filed on February 23, 2021, and such discussions are incorporated by reference into this Report.

Reflected in this discussion and analysis is how management views the Partnership’s current financial condition and results of operations along with key external variables and management actions that may impact the Partnership. Understanding significant external variables, such as market conditions, weather, and seasonal trends, among others, and management actions taken to manage the Partnership, address external variables, among others, which will increase users’ understanding of the Partnership, its financial condition and results of operations. This discussion may contain forward looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to those discussed below and elsewhere in this Report.

Strategy and Goals

Mission and Core Values

Our Mission is to be a top tier North American nitrogen-based fertilizer company as measured by safe and reliable operations, superior performance and profitable growth. The foundation of how we operate is built on five core Values:

•Safety - We always put safety first. The protection of our employees, contractors and communities is paramount. We have an unwavering commitment to safety above all else. If it’s not safe, then we don’t do it.

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•Environment - We care for our environment. Complying with all regulations and minimizing any environmental impact from our operations is essential. We understand our obligation to the environment and that it’s our duty to protect it.

•Integrity - We require high business ethics. We comply with the law and practice sound corporate governance. We only conduct business one way—the right way with integrity.

•Corporate Citizenship - We are proud members of the communities where we operate. We are good neighbors and know that it’s a privilege we can’t take for granted. We seek to make a positive economic and social impact through our financial donations and the contributions of time, knowledge and talent of our employees to the places where we live and work.

•Continuous Improvement - We believe in both individual and team success. We foster accountability under a performance-driven culture that supports creative thinking, teamwork, diversity and personal development so that employees can realize their maximum potential. We use defined work practices for consistency, efficiency and to create value across the organization.

Our core Values are driven by our people, inform the way we do business each and every day and enhance our ability to accomplish our mission and related strategic objectives.

Strategic Objectives

We have outlined the following strategic objectives to drive the accomplishment of our mission:

Safety - We aim to achieve continuous improvement in all environmental, health, and safety areas through ensuring our people’s commitment to environmental, health and safety comes first, the refinement of existing policies, continuous training, and enhanced monitoring procedures.

Reliability - Our goal is to achieve industry-leading utilization rates at both of our Facilities through safe and reliable operations. We are focusing on improvements in day-to-day plant operations, identifying alternative sources for plant inputs to reduce lost time due to third-party operational constraints, and optimizing our commercial and marketing functions to maintain plant operations at their highest level.

Market Capture - We continuously evaluate opportunities to improve the facilities’ realized pricing at the gate and reduce variable costs incurred in production to maximize our capture of market opportunities.

Financial Discipline - We strive to be efficient as possible by maintaining low operating costs and disciplined deployment of capital.

Achievements

We successfully executed a number of achievements in support of our strategic objectives shown below through the date of this filing despite the challenges experienced by the industry during 2021 as a result of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic:

Safety Reliability Market Capture Financial Discipline

Operated both facilities safely and reliably and at high utilization rates ü ü ü

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Safety Reliability Market Capture Financial Discipline

Declared total cash distributions of $9.89 per common unit related to 2021 ü

Environmental, Social & Governance (“ESG”) Highlights

In the past year, we achieved numerous milestones through our commitment to sustainability, including environmental and safety stewardship, diversity and inclusion, community outreach and sound corporate governance. We have also established our ESG priorities, which will serve as a guide to the development of our ESG strategy and our first ESG report, which we target for publication in 2022 based on the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board standards. The following highlights some key achievements of 2021:

We make modern life possible through the products we manufacture while contributing to the economic well-being of our employees and the communities where we operate.

Industry Factors and Market Conditions

Within the nitrogen fertilizer business, earnings and cash flows from operations are primarily affected by the relationship between nitrogen fertilizer product prices, utilization, and operating costs and expenses, including pet coke and natural gas feedstock costs.

The price at which nitrogen fertilizer products are ultimately sold depends on numerous factors, including the global supply and demand for nitrogen fertilizer products which, in turn, depends on, among other factors, world grain demand and

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production levels, changes in world population, the cost and availability of fertilizer transportation infrastructure, weather conditions, the availability of imports, and the extent of government intervention in agriculture markets.

Nitrogen fertilizer prices are also affected by local factors, including local market conditions and the operating levels of competing facilities. An expansion or upgrade of competitors’ facilities, new facility development, political and economic developments, and other factors are likely to continue to play an important role in nitrogen fertilizer industry economics. These factors can impact, among other things, the level of inventories in the market, resulting in price volatility and a reduction in product margins. Moreover, the industry typically experiences seasonal fluctuations in demand for nitrogen fertilizer products.

General Business Environment

Throughout 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken by governments and others in response thereto negatively impacted the worldwide economy, financial markets, and the agricultural industry, resulting in significant business and operational disruptions. Consequently, the U.S. demand for liquid transportation fuels, including ethanol (the production of which is a significant driver of demand for corn), declined, causing many refineries and plants to reduce production or idle. During 2021, government restrictions eased, vaccines became available, and demand for transportation fuels increased. Demand for ethanol for fuels blending has largely recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels, although an increase in outbreaks of any variant of COVID-19 could reverse this recovery. Concerns over the long-term negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic and business prospects across the world have contributed to increased market and grain price volatility and have diminished expectations for the global economy.

The Partnership believes the general business environment in which it operates will continue to remain volatile into 2022, driven by uncertainty around the availability and prices of its feedstocks, demand for its products, and global supply disruptions. As a result, future operating results and current and long-term financial conditions could be negatively impacted if economic conditions decline, remain volatile, and do not return to pre-pandemic levels. Due to the uncertainty of the global recovery, including its duration, timing, and strength, the Partnership is not able at this time to predict the extent to which these events may have a material, or any, effect on its financial or operational results in future periods.

Market Indicators

While there is risk of shorter-term volatility given the inherent nature of the commodity cycle, the Partnership believes the long-term fundamentals for the U.S. nitrogen fertilizer industry remain intact. The Partnership views the anticipated combination of (i) increasing global population, (ii) decreasing arable land per capita, (iii) continued evolution to more protein-based diets in developing countries, (iv) sustained use of corn and soybeans as feedstock for the domestic production of ethanol and other renewable fuels, and (v) positioning at the lower end of the global cost curve should provide a solid foundation for nitrogen fertilizer producers in the U.S. over the longer term.

Corn and soybeans are two major crops planted by farmers in North America. Corn crops result in the depletion of the amount of nitrogen within the soil in which it is grown, which in turn, results in the need for this nutrient to be replenished after each growing cycle. Unlike corn, soybeans are able to obtain most of their own nitrogen through a process known as “N fixation.” As such, upon harvesting of soybeans, the soil retains a certain amount of nitrogen which results in lower demand for nitrogen fertilizer for the following corn planting cycle. Due to these factors, nitrogen fertilizer consumers generally operate a balanced corn-soybean rotational planting cycle as evident through the chart presented below for 2021, 2020, and 2019.

The relationship between the total acres planted for both corn and soybean has a direct impact on the overall demand for nitrogen products, as the market and demand for nitrogen increases with increased corn acres and decreases with increased soybean acres. Additionally, an estimated 11 billion pounds of soybean oil is expected to be used in producing cleaner biodiesel in marketing year 2021/2022. Multiple refiners have announced renewable diesel expansion projects for 2022 and beyond, which will only increase the demand for soybeans and potentially for corn and canola. Due to the uncertainty of how these factors will truly affect the grain markets, it is not yet known how the nitrogen business will be impacted.

The 2021 United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) reports on corn and soybean acres planted indicated farmers planted 93.4 million acres of corn, representing an increase of 3.0% in corn acres planted as compared to 90.7 million corn acres in 2020. Planted soybean acres are estimated to be 87.2 million acres, representing a 4.6% increase in soybean acres planted as compared to 83.4 million soybean acres in 2020. The combined corn and soybean planted acres of 180.6 million is

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the highest in history. Based on current grain inventories and crop prices, farm economics are expected to continue to be very attractive in 2022.

Ethanol is blended with gasoline to meet renewable fuel standard requirements and for its octane value. Ethanol production has historically consumed approximately 35% of the U.S. corn crop, so demand for corn generally rises and falls with ethanol demand. There was a decline in ethanol demand that began in 2020 and continued through 2021 due to decreased demand for transportation fuels as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the lower ethanol demand did not alter the spring 2021 planting decisions by farmers as evidenced in the charts below.

(1)Information used within this chart was obtained from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”).

(2)Information used within this chart was obtained from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Services.

Weather continues to be a critical variable for crop production. Grain prices rose significantly from the summer of 2020 into the spring of 2021, leading to higher planted acreage for corn and soybeans. Even with higher planted acres and trendline yields per acre, inventory levels for corn and soybeans remain below historical levels and prices have remained elevated. The higher grain prices and historically low crop inventories are leading to strong farm economics in advance of spring 2022. These conditions are expected to drive strong demand for nitrogen fertilizer, as well as other crop inputs.

Fertilizer prices have risen significantly since January 1, 2021 due to strong grain prices, the strong spring 2021 planting season, and lower fertilizer supply due to nitrogen fertilizer production outages during Winter Storm Uri and Hurricane Ida and significant escalation in global feedstock costs for nitrogen fertilizer production. While natural gas prices were at historical lows across the world in 2020, they have escalated significantly since the summer of 2021, causing nitrogen fertilizer production to be reduced or shut-in in Europe. In addition to escalating coal and LNG prices in China, nitrogen fertilizer exports have been reduced significantly in the second half of 2021 and are expected to continue to be reduced through the first half of 2022.

On June 30, 2021, CF Industries Nitrogen, L.L.C., Terra Nitrogen, Limited Partnership, and Terra International (Oklahoma) LLC filed petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce (“USDOC”) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (the “ITC”) requesting the initiation of antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on imports of UAN from Russia and Trinidad and Tobago (“Trinidad”). In August 2021, USDOC decided to pursue an investigation to determine the extent of dumping and unfair subsidies associated with imports from Russia and Trinidad, and the ITC initiated a concurrent investigation to determine whether such imports materially injure the U.S. industry. On November 30, 2021, USDOC determined that UAN imports from Russia are unfairly subsidized at rates ranging from 9.66% to 9.84% and UAN imports from Trinidad are unfairly subsidized at a rate of 1.83%. On January 27, 2022, USDOC found that Russian UAN imports are sold at less than fair value into the U.S. market at rates ranging from 9.15% to 127.19% and that Trinidadian UAN imports at a rate of 63.08%. As a result of these determinations, USDOC will impose cash deposit requirements on imports of UAN from Russia and Trinidad based on the preliminary rates of antidumping duties. We believe that if the antidumping and countervailing duty preliminary determinations are confirmed by USDOC, there will likely be lower amounts of imported UAN from Russia and Trinidad.

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The tables below show relevant market indicators by month through December 31, 2021:

(1)Information used within these charts was obtained from various third-party sources including Green Markets (a Bloomberg Company), Pace Petroleum Coke Quarterly, and the EIA, amongst others.

Results of Operations

The following should be read in conjunction with the information outlined within the previous sections of this Part II, Item 7, and the financial statements and related notes thereto in Part II, Item 8 of this Report.

The chart presented below summarizes our ammonia utilization rates on a consolidated basis for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019. Utilization is an important measure used by management to assess operational output at each of the Partnership’s facilities. Utilization is calculated as actual tons of ammonia produced divided by capacity adjusted for planned maintenance and turnarounds.

Utilization is presented solely on ammonia production rather than each nitrogen product as it provides a comparative baseline against industry peers and eliminates the disparity of facility configurations for upgrade of ammonia into other nitrogen products. With efforts primarily focused on ammonia upgrade capabilities, we believe this measure provides a meaningful view of how well we operate.

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On a consolidated basis, utilization decreased 6% to 92% for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. This decrease was primarily due to downtime associated with the Messer air separation plant at the Coffeyville Facility in January, June, August, October, and November of 2021 (the “Messer Outages”), downtime at the East Dubuque Facility due to Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, downtime at the Coffeyville Facility and East Dubuque Facility in July and September 2021, respectively, due to externally driven power outages (the “Power Outages”), and downtime at the East Dubuque Facility in October 2021 for an R2 repair (the “R2 Outage”).

Sales and Pricing per Ton - Two of our key operating metrics are total sales volumes for ammonia and UAN, along with the product pricing per ton realized at the gate. Total product sales volumes were unfavorable, driven by lower production due to the Messer Outages, Winter Storm Uri, Power Outages, and the R2 Outage. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the lower sales volumes were more than offset by improved prices of 92% for ammonia and 74% for UAN. Ammonia and UAN sales prices were favorable primarily due to higher crop pricing coupled with lower fertilizer supply driven by production outages from Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 and Hurricane Ida in August and September 2021, as well as increased industry turnaround activity and lower global fertilizer production due to higher natural gas prices in Europe and Asia. Product pricing at the gate represents net sales less freight revenue divided by product sales volume in tons and is shown in order to provide a pricing measure comparable across the fertilizer industry.

Production Volumes - Gross tons produced for ammonia represent the total ammonia produced, including ammonia produced that was upgraded into other fertilizer products. Net tons available for sale represent the ammonia available for sale that was not upgraded into other fertilizer products. Production for the year ended December 31, 2021 was impacted by the Messer Outages, Winter Storm Uri, the Power Outages, and the R2 Outage. The table below presents these metrics for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019:

Year Ended December 31,

Feedstock - Our Coffeyville Facilityutilizes a pet coke gasification process to produce nitrogen fertilizer. Our East Dubuque Facility uses natural gas in its production of ammonia. The table below presents these feedstocks for both facilities for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019.

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Year Ended December 31,

Pet coke used in production (thousand tons) 514 523 535

Natural gas used in production (thousands of MMBtu) (1) 8,049 8,611 6,856

Natural gas used in production (dollars per MMBtu) (1) $ 3.95 $ 2.31 $ 2.88

(1)The feedstock natural gas shown above does not include natural gas used for fuel. The cost of natural gas used for fuel is included in Direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization).

Financial Highlights

Overview - For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Partnership’s operating income and net income were $134.5 million and $78.2 million, respectively, a $169.4 million increase from an operating loss and a $176.4 million increase from a net loss, respectively, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. Beyond the goodwill impairment of $41.0 million negatively impacting the 2020 period, these income improvements were driven primarily by higher ammonia and UAN sales prices in 2021, partially offset by higher feedstock costs and operating expenses.

(1)See “Non-GAAP Reconciliations” section below for reconciliations of the non-GAAP measure shown above.

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Net Sales - Net sales increased by $182.6 million to $532.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020.This increase wasprimarily due to favorable sales pricing contributing $205.1 million in higher revenue, offset by decreased sales volumes resulting in $35.4 million of lower revenue as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, net sales included $31.4 million and $33.3 million in freight revenue, respectively, and $10.3 million and $10.1 million in other revenue, respectively.

The following table demonstrates the impact of changes in sales volumes and pricing for the primary components of net sales, excluding urea products, freight, and other revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020.

(in thousands) Price Variance Volume Variance

For the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, ammonia and UAN sales prices were favorable primarily due to higher crop pricing coupled with lower fertilizer supply driven by production outages from Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 and Hurricane Ida in August and September 2021, as well as increased industry turnaround activity and lower global fertilizer production due to higher natural gas prices in Europe and Asia during 2021. Total product sales volumes were unfavorable driven by lower production due to the Messer Outages, Winter Storm Uri, the Power Outages, and the R2 Outage.

(1)Exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense.

Cost of Materials and Other - Cost of materials and other for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $98.3 million, compared to $91.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The $7.2 million increase was comprised primarily of a $12.0 million increase in natural gas costs at our East Dubuque Facility due to higher natural gas prices, $4.5 million increase in pet coke costs at our Coffeyville Facility related to higher third-party coke pricing caused by higher crude oil prices and higher related party pet coke pricing due to the UAN-indexed pricing formula, and $1.5 million increase in purchases of hydrogen. These increases were offset by a decrease in freight expenses and distribution costs of $4.0 million due to downtime in October and November 2021 and a discontinuation of the Gavilon Railcar Lease in April 2021, a decrease related to a build in our ammonia and UAN inventories contributing $3.5 million, and a decrease in ammonia purchases of $3.3 million.

Direct Operating Expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) - For the year ended December 31, 2021,direct operating expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) were $198.7 million as compared to $157.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The $40.8 million increase was primarily due to higher personnel costs for labor of $4.6 million and share-based compensation expenses of $15.6 million as a result of higher market prices for CVR Partners’ units, higher electrical provider pricing and usage of $13.7 million, higher natural gas prices of $9.9 million, higher insurance costs of $2.4 million, and increased turnaround expenses of $2.2 million. These costs were partially offset by a decrease related to a build in ammonia and UAN inventories of $7.8 million.

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Depreciation and Amortization Expense - Depreciation and amortization expense decreased $2.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, primarily as a result of inventory changes offset by increases in accelerated depreciation related to projects to be completed by 2025 that will retire assets earlier than their original expected useful life.

Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses, and Other - Selling, general and administrative expenses and other increased approximately $8.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily related to higher personnel costs in 2021 due to an increase in share-based compensation expenses resulting from the increase in CVR Partners’ unit price.

Other Income, Net - Other income, net for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $4.7 million, compared to $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was due to sales of natural gas volumes at the East Dubuque Facility in February 2021.

Non-GAAP Measures

Our management uses certain non-GAAP performance measures, and reconciliations to those measures, to evaluate current and past performance and prospects for the future to supplement our financial information presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures are important factors in assessing our operating results and profitability and include the performance and liquidity measures defined below.