Viper Energy (VNOM) Risk Analysis

Project areas on our properties are in various stages of development, ranging from project areas with current drilling or production activity to project areas that have limited drilling or production history. If the wells in the process of being completed are on our property and do not produce sufficient revenues or if dry holes are drilled, our financial condition, results of operations and cash available for distribution may be materially affected.

A failure on the part of the operators to make royalty payments gives us the right to terminate the lease, repossess the property and enforce payment obligations under the lease. If we repossessed any of our properties, we would seek a replacement operator. However, we might not be able to find a replacement operator and, if we did, we might not be able to enter into a new lease on favorable terms within a reasonable period of time. In addition, the outgoing operator could be subject to bankruptcy proceedings that could prevent the execution of a new lease or the assignment of the existing lease to another operator. In addition, if we enter into a new lease, the replacement operator may not achieve the same levels of production or sell oil or natural gas at the same price as the operator it replaced.

We are a Delaware limited partnership that since May 10, 2018, has elected to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, we are subject to tax as a corporation at the corporate tax rate of 21%. While our taxable income may be reduced over the remaining period of our agreement with Diamondback to specially allocate to Diamondback priority allocations of the Operating Company's income and gains over losses and deductions (but before depletion), there is no guarantee that we will not have any taxable income as a result of our equity interests in the Operating Company. Because an entity-level tax is imposed on us due to our status as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our distributable cash flow may be substantially reduced by our tax liabilities.

After turning negative in April 2020, NYMEX WTI prices have recovered, closing at $85.43 per bbl as of January 18, 2022, as demand for oil and natural gas increased and many restrictions on conducting business implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have been lifted due to improved treatments and availability of vaccinations in the U.S. and globally. The emergence of the Delta COVID-19 variant in the latter part of 2021 and the subsequent surge of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, however, continued to contribute to economic and pricing volatility, as industry and market participants evaluated industry conditions and production outlook. Further, on January 4, 2022, OPEC and its non-OPEC allies, known collectively as OPEC+, agreed to continue their program (commenced in August 2021) of gradual monthly output increases in February 2022, raising its output target by 400,000 Bbl per day, which move is expected to further boost oil supply in response to rising demand. In its report issued on February 10, 2022, OPEC noted its expectation that world oil demand will rise by 4.15 million Bbls per day in 2022, as the global economy continues to post a strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Although this demand outlook is expected to underpin oil prices, already seen at a seven-year high in February 2022, we cannot predict any future volatility in commodity prices or demand for crude oil. Despite the recovery in commodity prices and rising demand, Diamondback and certain of our other operators have kept production on our acreage relatively flat during 2021, using excess cash flow for debt repayment and/or return to their stockholders rather than expanding their drilling programs. Diamondback also indicated that it intends to continue exercising capital discipline and maintaining its fourth quarter 2021 oil production flat in 2022. We cannot reasonably predict whether production levels will remain at current levels or the impact the full extent of the events above and subsequent recovery may have on our industry and our business. Due to the improvement in commodity pricing environment and industry conditions, we did not record any impairments in 2021. However, if commodity prices fall below current levels, we may be required to record impairments in future periods and such impairments could be material. Further, if commodity prices decrease, our production, proved reserves and cash flows will be adversely impacted. Lower oil and natural gas prices may also result in a reduction in the borrowing base under the Operating Company's revolving credit facility, which may be determined at the discretion of our lenders. Other significant factors that are likely to continue to affect commodity prices in future periods include, but are not limited to, actions by OPEC members and other oil exporting nations, the effect of U.S. energy, monetary and trade policies, U.S. and global economic conditions, U.S. and global political and economic developments, including the Biden Administration's energy and environmental policies, the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on conditions in the U.S. oil and natural gas industry and the potential impact of any Russian-Ukrainian conflict on the global energy markets, all of which are beyond our control. Our business may be also adversely impacted by any future government rule, regulation or order that may impose production limits, as well as pipeline capacity and storage constraints, in the Permian Basin or Eagle Ford Shale where we have mineral and royalty interests. We cannot predict the ultimate impact of these factors on our business, financial condition and cash available for distribution to our unitholders.