Sustainability Report

Continuing to Build a Sustainable Future

Governance

EPIC is committed to honest and ethical business practices. There are no exceptions to this. Doing the right thing is a part of our culture and is vital to the success of our employees and our Company.

EPIC incorporates accountability and oversight to enhance the quality of our services and operations and will maintain a reputation for honesty, fairness, respect, responsibility, integrity, trust, and sound business judgment.

Managing risk is the responsibility of the Company and its employees. It is essential to preserving the integrity of our assets, adhering to top level safety standards, minimizing our environmental footprint, and interacting within a community.

Governance Structure

Board of Directors

EPIC’s Board of Directors is responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of the Company’s performance, including assessment of potential business risks, attention to ethical business practices, and review of ESG initiatives. Along with executive leadership, the Board ensures appropriate policies and systems are in place to achieve desired results in these key areas.

EPIC’s Board of Directors oversees the management of our Company and is comprised of eight voting members. Two directors are officers of EPIC, Brian Freed and Harry Beaudry, two are representatives of Ares Management Corporation, Nate Walton and Robert Kimmel and four are outside, independent directors who are not affiliated with EPIC or Ares. Our independent directors have decades of experience in the oil and gas industry and bring fresh perspectives and diverse skills to our Board.

At EPIC, we recognize that strong corporate governance is necessary to maintain our social license to operate. Our Board provides valuable guidance on the Company’s commitment to governance and business ethics. Board members work with EPIC’s executive team towards achieving industry leading sustainable value by emphasizing the Company values of integrity, accountability, dedication, flexibility and teamwork in everything we do.

Committees

Audit Committee
Our Audit Committee was established to assist with Board oversight of the integrity of the Company's financial statements, compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, the independence and qualifications of the Partnership's independent auditors, and the performance of the Partnership's independent auditors. The committee is comprised of two independent Board members and an ARES representative.

Compensation Committee
Our Compensation Committee was established to provide recommendations to the EPIC Board on annual cash compensation plans and to review longer-term management incentive plans. The committee is comprised of two independent Board members and an ARES representative.

2022 Highlights

In April of 2022, EPIC announced the appointment of Marcia E. Backus to its Board of Directors as an additional independent director. Ms. Backus was the former Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Occidental Petroleum prior to her retirement in March 2023.

Before joining Oxy in 2013, Marcia was a partner at Vinson & Elkins in Houston, Texas, with responsibility for the firm’s Energy Transactions/Projects Practice Group. She represented industry and private equity companies in domestic and international corporate matters, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity investments, project development, and other energy transactions.

Ms. Backus joins the three other independent members of the EPIC Board: Karl Kurz (former COO of Anadarko Petroleum), Thomas Mitchell (former CFO of Midstates Petroleum, Noble Corporation and Devon Energy) and Todd Stevens (President and CEO of Black Knight Energy, LLC and former CEO of California Resources Corporation).

Board of Directors

Nate Walton

Ares

Todd Stevens

Independent

Karl Kurz

Independent

Thomas Mitchell

Independent

Brian Freed

EPIC

Harry Beaudry

EPIC

Marcia Backus

Independent

Robert Kimmel

Ares

Board Expertise

Our board is highly qualified and highly engaged

ESG Executive Board

The ESG Executive Board is comprised of the entire executive team to fully represent all departments within the Company that have a direct impact on ESG matters. The Executive Board lays out objectives aligned with the Company’s ESG business strategy while mindful of the risks and opportunities of the strategy. The Executive Board has general oversight over EPIC’s ESG committees to ensure ESG goals are met. The EPIC Board has oversight of sustainability-related efforts.

Managing Risk

The success of EPIC relies on its ability to respond to adverse situations during day-to-day operations. The ESG Executive Board is tasked with monitoring risk mitigation measures for the Company in the areas of financial integrity, cybersecurity, infrastructure technology, legislative issues, financial regulation, environmental regulations, and legal challenges. The EPIC Board of Directors has assigned management in each of these areas to create risk mitigation and implementation plans to respond to any situation that may harm the Company or its employees. Further, all levels of EPIC personnel are expected to assess and identify and prioritize mitigation of potential risks as they perform their daily activities.

Financial Integrity

Our senior management designs and implements internal controls to mitigate operational, regulatory, and financial risks. The control environment is tailored to the Company’s strategic goals, objectives, and direction. The effectiveness of many of these controls are subject to annual testing by our independent auditor in conjunction with our annual financial statement audit. Beginning with the 2021 fiscal year, our annual financial statement audit has been conducted under Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) standards.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity has been and continues to be a top priority to protect EPIC and its assets from unwanted cyber attacks.

As part of an annual exercise, EPIC has an outside party assess its cybersecurity policies and standards. The Company has also implemented simulated phishing attacks and instituted security awareness training.

EPIC is dedicated to managing our exposure to risk. By incorporating and embracing the NIST Risk Management Framework, and additionally the NST Cybersecurity Framework, EPIC has developed measurable controls to effectively mitigate cybersecurity threats. These frameworks will assist EPIC in aligning our infrastructure technology to our company’s strategic goals, objectives and mission.

2022 Highlights

In 2022, EPIC continued to execute on its cybersecurity strategy.The Company implemented the following system improvements: single sign on for all critical internal applications, partnership with third party to provide 24/7 monitoring of IT infrastructure, implementation of a viral private network (VPN) for firewall protection, restriction of external hard drives, and a third-party assessment of Company cybersecurity policies.

“Critical infrastructure provides the services that are the backbone of our national and economic security and the health and well-being of all Americans. Cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure are one of the most significant strategic risks for the United States, threatening our national security, economic prosperity, and public health and safety.”

- Department of Homeland Security
www.dhs.gov/secure-cyberspace-and-critical-infrastructure

Ethical Business Practices

EPIC will conduct business honestly and ethically. EPIC strives to improve the quality of its services and operations and will maintain a reputation for honesty, fairness, respect, responsibility, integrity, trust, and sound business judgment. Managers and employees are expected to adhere to high standards of business and personal integrity consistent with our business practices at all times as part of their duty of loyalty to the Company. Employees must deal fairly with customers, suppliers, and competitors. EPIC prohibits activities involving unfair competition or the use of confidential information of third parties.

EPIC employees are also expected to comply with policies that are set forth in our Employee Handbook and provide guidance on specific business practices. These include our Code of Ethics, Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy, Whistleblower Policy, Conflicts of Interest Policy, No-Harassment Policy and other policies and practices that help our employees understand and adhere to ethical standards, legal obligations and regulatory compliance requirements.

Political Contributions

EPIC does not have a Political Action Committee (PAC) nor does it use Company funds to make direct political contributions to political parties or political candidates.

Trade Group Involvement

EPIC does communicate and work with industry trade associations to allow the Company an opportunity to provide insight and expertise on legislative issues that may affect our business. EPIC is currently a member of the Texas Pipeline Association, GPA Midstream Association, and the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association. EPIC has been a member of the Texas Oil and Gas Association as well as the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.

San Antonio

18615 Tuscany Stone, Suite 300,
San Antonio, TX 78258

Houston

1000 Louisiana, Suite 6500
Houston, TX 77002

Corpus Christi

500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Suite 811
Corpus Christi, TX 78401

Midland

500 West Texas Avenue, Suite 1110
Midland, TX 79701