Marathon Petroleum Corporation

Welcome to the MPLX Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. My name is Sheila and I will be your operator for today's call. At this time all participants are in a listen only mode. Later we will conduct a question and answer session. Press Star 1 on your touch tone phone to enter the queue. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the call over to Christina Kazarian. Christina you may begin.

Good morning and welcome to the MPLX second quarter 2023 earnings conference call. The slides that accompany this call can be found on our website at MPLX.com under the investor tab. Joining me on the call today are Mike Hennigan, chairman and CEO, John Quaid, CFO, and other members of the executive team. We invite you to read the safe harbor statements and non-gap disclaimer on slide two. It's a reminder that we will be making forward-looking statements during the call and during the question and answer session that follows. actual results may differ materially from what we expect today. Factors that could cause actual results to differ are included there as well as our filings with the SEC. With that, I'll turn the call over to Mike.

Thanks, Christina. Good morning, and thank you for joining our call. Earlier today, we reported second quarter results. Our business delivered adjusted EBITDA of $1.5 billion, an increase of 5% year over year, and a new quarterly record. Distributable cash flow of $1.3 billion was up 6% versus the second quarter of last year and was also a new record. We continue to see strength in our base business and contributions from our growth capital investments, driving DCF for the first half of the year up 6% as compared to last year. We also remain focused on return of capital. We continue to expect our distribution to be the primary return of capital tool supplement it with opportunistic repurchases. Based on the strength of the business and our balance sheet, we're well positioned to continue to optimize return of capital. While natural gas and NGL prices are lower than last year, our long-term production outlook for our GMP producer customers in our key basins remains largely unchanged. In our largest basin, the Marcellus, the cost to develop remains at a low end of the cost curve and still below current commodity prices, and we expect to see maintenance level drilling activity continue. The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow the MVP pipeline construction to continue is supportive for natural gas development in the region. In the Permian, our production outlook is unchanged as crude prices remain strong and prices for associated gas do not significantly impact producer activity. Our integrated footprints in these resilient basins position the partnership with a steady source of earnings and growth opportunities. This quarter, we advanced our natural gas and NGL value change strategies with the announcement of new projects in the Permian. We remain confident in our ability to grow and are focused on executing the strategic priorities of strict capital discipline, fostering a low-cost culture, and optimizing our asset portfolio all of which are foundational to the continued growth of MPLX's cash flows. We continue to enhance our ESG commitments and disclosures with the publication of both our annual sustainability and perspectives on climate-related scenario reports. We continue to make progress on our 2030 target to reduce midstream methane emissions intensity 75 percent from 2016 levels. Through our focus on methane program, we have implemented measures that have achieved approximately 10,000 tons per year of methane emissions reduction. We also continue progressing our biodiversity target to apply sustainable landscapes to 10,000 acres of pipeline right-of-ways by the end of 2025. Through last year, we've achieved over 10 percent of this target. NPLX is also participating in alliances focused on CCUS and hydrogen hubs. we will continue to evaluate low-carbon opportunities where we can leverage technologies that are complementary with our asset footprint and expertise. We continue to challenge ourselves to lead in sustainable energy by meeting the needs of today while investing in an energy-diverse future that creates shared value for all our stakeholders. Now let me turn the call over to John to discuss our growth as well as our operational and financial results for the quarter.