MPLX LP

Welcome to the MPLX First Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. My name is Elan, and I will be your operator for today's call. And at this time, all participants are in our listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. Press star 1 on your touchtone phone to enter the queue. Please note that this conference is being recorded, and I would now like to turn the call over to Christina Kazarian. Christina, you may begin.

Good morning, and welcome to the MPLX First Quarter 2022 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 in our filings with the SEC. With that, I'll turn it over to Mike.

Thanks, Christina. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining our call. Earlier today, we reported first-quarter results, which continues to demonstrate the cash flow resiliency and stability of our business. We delivered adjusted EBITDA of $1.4 billion, which was up 3%, From the prior year, we've returned over $850 million of capital to unit holders through distributions and unit repurchases. Our logistics and storage business benefited from the recovery in consumer demand, and our gathering and processing business benefited from higher NGL prices. This quarter, we also advanced several organic growth projects. In L&S, we've progressed crude gathering projects in the Permian and Bakken, as well as a number of smaller expansion and to bottlenecking projects. We are investing in our Permian natural gas and NGL takeaway systems, including yesterday's announced expansion of the Whistler pipeline to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day, driven by growing demand from producers. In GMP, our growth capital focuses largely on projects in the Permian, Marcellus, and Bakken basins. In the Permian, our fourth processing plant is ramping up to full capacity, and we're progressing construction of a fifth processing plant, which will take our total capacity in the basin to 1 billion cubic feet per day. With higher commodity prices, we are seeing a pickup in producer activity across our focus basins. We will maintain strict capital discipline as we assess these inbounds. Let me also highlight several pipeline contracts that we have with MPC which are coming up for renewal. Because these pipeline systems are so critical to both MPLX's stable earnings and cash flows in MPC's operations, We're in the process of finalizing agreements to renew and extend them for 10 years, and we'll finish papering them up in the next several weeks, well ahead of their scheduled year-end expiration. We believe renewal of our contracts with MPC makes economic and financial sense for both entities. Our logistics assets under contract with MPC are fit for purpose and integral to its refining and marketing system. We also remain focused on maximizing the utilization of all of our logistics assets through business with MPC and third parties. Shifting to slide four, we remain focused on leading in sustainable energy by lowering the carbon intensity of our operations and products, improving energy efficiency, and conserving natural resources. Through last year end, MPLX achieved an approximate 45% reduction in its methane emissions intensity across our natural gas gathering and processing operations. As a result of our progress, in February, we expanded our goals with a new 2030 target to reduce methane emissions intensity by 75%. We are also participating in a project led by Chenier Energy to further the deployment of advanced monitoring technologies and protocols to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the midstream sector. As the energy industry evolves, we're working to continuously improve our environmental performance while meeting society's energy needs, focusing on sustainability and positioning ourselves to continue to deliver positive results in an energy-diverse future. Now let me turn the call over to John to discuss our operational and financial results for the quarter.