A Master Limited Partnership, or MLP, is a limited partnership the interests in which (known as units) are traded on public stock exchanges. An MLP has one or more general partners that manage the partnership, and many limited partners, which provide capital to the partnership but have no role in its management. When an investor buys a unit in an MLP, he or she becomes a limited partner. PVR's general partner is Penn Virginia Resource GP, LLC.

A corporation is a legal entity, separate from its owners (“shareholders") and employees. The entity has liability for all obligations of the corporation. The shareholders contribute capital, but have no liability to creditors, taxing authorities, or other parties that may have a claim against the corporation. The corporation is also treated as a separate entity for tax purposes and must pay taxes on its income. If there is any income left after corporate taxes, capital investment and other uses, it may be passed on to the shareholders in the form of dividends. Shareholders then pay taxes on the dividends they receive. Since the dividends passed on to shareholders have been taxed once at the corporate level and once at the shareholder level, it is said that corporate income is "double taxed."

A partnership is not considered a separate entity, but rather is an aggregation of all of the partners. For tax purposes, a partnership is treated as a "pass through" entity, meaning that there is no income taxation at the partnership level. The partnership's income is treated as having been earned by all of the partners and is therefore allocated among all the partners in proportion to their ownership interests in the partnership. All other items that figure into the income calculation, such as gains and losses, depreciation, etc., are also allocated to the partners. Each partner is then responsible for paying tax on his or her share of the income. Thus, partnership income is said to be "single taxed."

MLPs make cash distributions to their partners, usually on a quarterly basis. Each MLP is governed by its partnership agreement that specifies the manner in which cash distributions will be made to its general partner and limited partners. MLP partnership agreements often mandate that it distribute 100% of its available cash flow (defined in the partnership agreements, and often referred to as distributable cash flow) to its unitholders. Distributable cash flow generally means the amount of cash flow that is available to be distributed to partners after expenses, such as interest payments and maintenance capital expenditures, have been paid. The general partner typically has the discretion to retain a portion of the distributable cash flow in the partnership in order to meet its needs by making reserves for operating and capital investment requirements. PVR's fiscal year ends in December and our cash distributions are typically paid in mid-February, May, August and November.

No, an MLP's cash distributions are not guaranteed and are contingent on its ability to generate distributable cash flow.

The reason is rooted the way that depletion and depreciation expenses are treated in the calculation of net income. Depletion and depreciation expenses are a means of allocating the cost of a long-term asset, such as a coal property or a pipeline, over its useful life. They are often referred to as "noncash" expenses because cash is not actually being paid out for the depletion or depreciation of the long-term asset. MLP assets, such as coal reserves and pipelines are generally long-lived; typically require very little maintenance; and are not subject to major technological changes or physical deterioration. As a result, the cash flow generated from the operation of the business is higher than the net income recognized by the business after recording the “noncash” depletion and depreciation expenses. MLPs with long-life assets can typically pay out a very high level of its cash flow to unitholders without hurting the long-term basic earnings power of the business.

Penn Virginia Resource Partners, L.P. is a Master Limited Partnership traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "PVR." As a publicly traded security, the units are available through retail brokerage services.

PVR has two business segments:

• (i) coal land management and
• (ii) natural gas midstream.

The principal drivers of the coal land management segment are volumes of coal mined by its lessees on its properties and the royalty rate per ton of coal sold, which is heavily impacted by coal market prices. The principal drivers of the natural gas midstream segment are the volume of natural gas supply connected to its gathering/processing systems and market prices of natural gas and natural gas liquids.

As a publicly traded partnership, PVR is required to file financial statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Past prospectuses are available for viewing by accessing the SEC Filings section of this website. Please be aware that any information contained in a prospectus is current only as of the date of its publication. For the most current information on PVR, access the Partnership's most recent Form 10-Q and Form 10-K, both of which are available in the SEC Filings section of this website. In addition, PVR holds quarterly conference calls with the investment community.

The calls coincide with PVR's quarterly earnings releases and are accessible via webcast through this website. PVR may from time to time hold conference calls to discuss majorcorporate events such as acquisitions.

Upon approval by the Board of Directors of the General Partner, cash distributions are paid quarterly, no later than 45 days following the end of a calendar quarter. Distributions are typically paid mid-month in February, May, August and November.

PVR does not currently offer limited partnership units for purchase under either a DPP or a DRIP.

Yes. As a partner in a limited partnership, you will be allocated your share of the partnership's income on an annual basis. PVR intends to furnish each individual that owned units during the year with a customized tax package called a Schedule K-1 that will show the unitholder's respective share of PVR's net income, gains, losses and deductions for the year. You must then utilize that information when filing your tax returns. Unitholders can usually expect to receive their Schedule K-1 by the middle of March. By the end of February, unitholders can also access online copies of their Schedule K-1 by accessing the Tax Information section of this website.

Yes, you can hold MLP units in an IRA, however, only the first $1,000 of UBTI from all sources is excluded from current taxation. In other words, to the extent that you are allocated more than $1,000 in aggregate UBTI, the excess would become currently taxable even though the units are held in a tax-deferred account. Since PVR is prohibited from offering tax advice, we strongly recommend that you consult a tax advisor regarding the tax ramifications of MLP ownership.

Tax laws vary among states and ownership of our units may require you to file a return in a given state even though you do not reside in that state. Please consult your tax advisor for assistance in this area.

Please contact K-1 Support toll-free at (877)-266-2391, or email the corrections to pennvirginiak1help@deloitte.com.

Questions and document requests can be handled in a variety of ways:

1. use our Information Request Form;
2. email us at invest@pvrpartners.com,
3. call Investor Relations at 610-975-8204,
4. by mail to Penn Virginia Resource Partners, L.P., Attn: Investor Relations Department, 5 Radnor Corporate Center, Suite 500 100 Matsonford Road, Radnor, PA 19087.

You may request annual reports, news releases, SEC-filed documents, or any public documents that the Company distributes in the same manner.