MPLX LP

Welcome to the MPLX Third Quarter 2024 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.

Good morning, and welcome to MPLX's Third Quarter 2024 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 Marianne Manin, President and CEO, Chris Hagedorn, CFO, and other members of the executive team. We invite you to read the Safe Harbor statements and non-GAAP 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 are expected today. Factors that could cause actual results to differ are included there as well as in our filings with the SEC. And with that, I'll turn it over to Mary Ann. Thanks, Christina.

Good morning, and thank you for joining our call. We have grown MPLX adjusted EBITDA by over 7% through the first nine months of the year when compared to last year, which supported the decision to increase the distribution 12.5% this quarter. While delivering on our commitment to safely operate our assets, protect the health and safety of our employees, and support the communities in which we operate, in the third quarter, MPLX generated record adjusted EBITDA of $1.7 billion, a 7% increase compared to last year's third quarter. Distributable cash flow was $1.4 billion, which supported the return of nearly $950 million to unit holders. We are committed to returning capital to unit holders, primarily through a growing distribution, but also through unit buybacks. And our growing portfolio is expected to support this level of annual distribution increases in the future. Turning to the macro, the United States continues to be a low-cost producer of energy fuels needed across the globe, and the outlook for hydrocarbons remains robust. Grid electrification on-shoring, near-shoring, and data center development are driving natural gas demand growth forecast through the end of the decade. As demand increases for natural gas-powered electricity, we are well positioned to support the development plans of our producer customers. Globally, demand for transportation fuels is expected to grow, outpacing near-term capacity additions. The U.S. refining industry is expected to remain structurally advantaged over the rest of the world And we believe Marathon's refining assets are the most competitive in each region in which they operate. Our operations within these refining value chains will provide future growth opportunities. MPLX advanced its strategic growth objectives with capital spending expected at over a billion dollars for the year. Anchored in the Permian and Marcellus basins, our integrated footprint positions the partnership with opportunities to grow our natural gas and NGL assets. Within our gathering and processing businesses, producer activity remains robust across the Marcellus, Utica, and Permian basins. We are bringing new gas processing plants online to meet increasing customer demand in the Permian and Marcellus basins. In the Northeast, drilling efficiencies and longer laterals are allowing producers to hold costs steady while growing production volumes. In the Utica, producers are targeting economically advantaged liquids-rich acreage. Our year-to-date processing volumes have increased 50% versus the prior year. Producers' interest in working with MPLX remains strong. As new wells are placed online, we are positioned for throughputs to increase in the Utica with minimal capital spending. In the Marcellus, we are building the Harmon Creek III processing plant and adding fractionation capacity as we work with our customers to align capacity expansion with their drilling plans. This project further enhances MPLX's position as the largest processor of natural gas and fractionator of NGLs in the Northeast. Once online in the second half of 2026, MPLX is expected to have Northeast processing capacity of 8.1 billion cubic feet per day and fractionation capacity of 800,000 barrels a day. Demonstrating our commitment to operational excellence, our Bluestone plant recently became the first natural gas facility in the country to achieve the U.S. EPA's Energy Star. This requires reducing energy intensity by 10 percent within five years. and I am proud to share our team achieved an intensity reduction at Bluestone of approximately 12% in just 24 months. This accomplishment demonstrates our approach to continuous improvements and will reduce operating costs at the processing plant. Moving to the Permian, the Preakness II processing plant began operations in July, and we are constructing the Secretariat processing plant. MPLX processing capacity in the Delaware Basin in the Permian is expected to be 1.4 BCF per day once Secretariat is online in the second half of 2025. In the L&S segment, strong production in the Permian continues to create opportunities to execute on our wellhead-to-water strategy across crude, natural gas, and NGLs. In the third quarter, we closed the acquisition of additional interest in the Bangor Pipeline, bringing our ownership interest to 45%. The expansion of this pipeline to 250,000 barrels a day is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025 as we progress development of this strategic asset in our NGL value chain and wellhead to water strategy. Additionally, progress continues on the Blackcomb and Rio Bravo pipelines, which will connect Permian Basin supply to Gulf Coast domestic and export markets. Both pipelines are anticipated in service in the second half of 2026. The remainder of our capital plan is mostly comprised of smaller, higher return investments targeted at expansion or de-bottlenecking of existing assets. For example, we have increased the size of our inland marine fleet to enhance product placement flexibility, expanded pipelines to serve regional demand growth, and added storage to optimize crude blending for third parties. We have been able to execute our growth strategy using cash from operations, funding organic opportunities like the Preakness II, Secretariat, and Harmon Creek II and III processing plants, and inorganic growth opportunities like the Summit Utica acquisition and our acquisition of additional interest in the Bengal Pipeline. We are confident in the potential of these growth opportunities to generate durable cash flow for MPLX, supporting our commitment to return capital to unit holders. Now let me turn the call over to Chris to discuss our operational and financial results for the quarter.