CVR Energy Inc.

Greetings, and welcome to the CBR Energy First Quarter 2021 Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Richard Roberts, Senior Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis, Investor Relations. Thank you, sir. You may begin.

Thank you, Christine. Good afternoon, everyone. We very much appreciate you joining us this afternoon for our CBR Energy first quarter 2021 earnings call. With me today are Dave Lamp, our chief executive officer, Tracy Jackson, our chief financial officer, and other members of management. Prior to discussing our 2021 first quarter results, let me remind you that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements as that term is defined under federal securities laws. For this purpose, Any statements made during this call that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. You were cautioned that these statements may be affected by important factors set forth in our filings for the Securities and Exchange Commission and in our latest earnings release. As a result, actual operations or results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. Let me also remind you that CVR Partners completed a one for 10 reverse split of its common units on November 23rd, 2020. Any per unit references made on this call are on a split adjusted basis. This call also includes various non-GAAP financial measures. The disclosure of such non-GAAP measures, including reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, are included in our 2021 first quarter earnings release that we filed with the SEC and Form 10-Q for the period and will be discussed during the call. With that said, I'll turn the call over to Dave.

Thank you, Richard. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining our earnings call. Yesterday, we reported a first quarter consolidated net loss of $55 million and a loss per share of $0.39. Unplanned downtime and increased operating costs associated with the winter storm negatively impacted our first quarter results by approximately $41 million. Our earnings for the quarter were further impacted by a non-cash mark-to-market on our 2020 rent obligation of 98 million. Our board of directors did not approve a dividend for the first quarter of 2021. However, we recognize the absence of any major transactions, we have more cash on the balance sheet currently that we need to operate the business. We will continue our discussions with the board around the best uses of our cash and the appropriate level of cash to return to shareholders and in what form. For our petroleum segment, the combined throughput for the first quarter of 2021 was approximately 186,000 barrels per day as compared to 157,000 barrels per day for the first quarter of 2020, which was impacted by the planned turnaround at Coffeyville. We experienced unplanned downtime at both facilities in February as a result of the winter storm, which reduced total throughput for the quarter by approximately 34,000 barrels per day. Both plants resumed full operations in March and are currently running at max light crude rates. Benchmark cracks spreads have increased since the beginning of the year. However, elevated RIN prices continue to consume much of that increase in the cracks. The Group 3 2-1-1 crack averaged $16.33 per barrel in the first quarter as compared to $12.21 for the first quarter of 2020. On a 2020 RVO basis, RINs prices averaged approximately $5.57 per barrel in the first quarter, a 250% increase from the first quarter of 2020. The Brent WTI differential averaged $3.18 in the first quarter compared to $5.04 per barrel in the prior year period. The Midland Cushing differential was $0.87 per barrel over WTI in the quarter compared to $0.06 per barrel under WTI in the first quarter of 2020. And the WCS to WTI differential was $11.82 per barrel compared to $17.17 and 77 cents for the same period last year. Light product yield for the quarter was 100% on crude oil processed. Current economics dictate maximizing gasoline. In total, we gathered approximately 112,000 barrels per day of crude oil during the first quarter of 2021, compared to 136,000 barrels per day for the same period last year. Gathering volumes for the first quarter were negatively impacted by the severe winter weather in the Midwest in February. With the Oklahoma pipelines we recently acquired, our gathering volumes are trending higher. We currently forecast our gathering volumes for the second quarter to be in the 125,000 to 130,000 barrel day range. In our fertilizer segment, We experienced some unplanned downtime at Coffeyville due to an outage of the third party air separation unit in January. At East Dubuque, we elected to shut in for several days as a result of the severe winter weather in February. Ammonia utilization for the first quarter was 87% at Coffeyville and 89% at East Dubuque. Along with the rally in crop prices this year, fertilizer prices have increased significantly which should be more evident in the fertilizer segment's second quarter results. With the USDA estimating corn planting this year of 91 million acres, the 2020 inventory carryout could be at the lowest level since 2014. This should set up for continued strength in crop prices, which would be a positive for the fertilizer demand and pricing as well. Now let me turn the call over to Tracy to discuss some additional financial highlights.