MPLX LP

Welcome to the MPLX Third 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 touchtone 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.

Thank you, Sheila. Good morning and welcome to the MPLX third quarter 2023 earnings conference call. The slides that accompany this call can be found on our website at MPLX.com under the investors 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'll 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 the call over to Mike.

Thanks, Christina. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our call. Earlier today, we reported third quarter adjusted EBITDA of $1.6 billion and distributable cash flow of $1.4 billion. Each set a new quarterly record for MPLX, with both increasing over 8% year-over-year. Our L&S business set a new record for crude pipeline throughput and saw strong terminal throughputs, demonstrating the value of our relationship with MPC. In our G&P business, we saw record throughput in our processing and fractionation operations, driven mainly by our assets in the Permian and Marcellus basins. 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 the low end of the cost curve and still below current commodity prices. We expect to see maintenance-level drilling activity continue. While in the Permian, crew prices remain strong and prices for associated gas do not significantly impact producer activity. Our integrated footprints in these basins position the partnership with a steady source of growth opportunities. For the second year in a row, based on the strength and continued growth of our cash flows, last week we announced a 10% increase in the partnership's distribution, which now stands at $3.40 per unit on an annualized basis. We're committed to returning capital to unit holders and expect our distribution to be the primary return of capital tool supplemented with opportunistic repurchases. We are well positioned to optimize return of capital, given the strength of the business and our balance sheet. Our position on MPLX and its structure is unchanged. MPLX is a strategic investment for MPC, which now expects to receive $2.2 billion in annual cash flows via the distribution. MPC believes that its current capital allocation priorities are optimal for its shareholders and MPC does not plan to roll up MPLX. We remain confident in our ability to grow the partnership and our focus 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. Now let me turn the call over to John to discuss our growth as well as our operational and financial results for the quarter.