Upstream MLPs are more likely than midstream MLPs to be abandoned by their upstream parent should they face financial difficulty, according to Standard & Poor's energy-credit analyst David Lundberg. Why? Strategic importance to the parent, he said recently at an S&P energy conference in Houston. "Do we believe the C-Corp will have strong incentive to support their MLPs in a time of distress?" For MLPs with upstream assets, the answer is likely no, he said.