Enterprise Products Partners Sets Multiple Records in 2023
2024-02-02
Enterprise Products Partners, a leading midstream energy company, recently held its earnings conference call to discuss its fourth-quarter '23 earnings. The call featured co-chief executive officers Jim Teague and Randy Fowler as speakers. During the call, they covered a range of important business topics.
One of the highlights of the call was the company's strong financial performance. Enterprise Products Partners generated $7.6 billion of distributable cash flow in 2023, setting nine financial records and 13 operating records. They transported a record 12.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and exported a record 2.3 million barrels of liquid hydrocarbons per day.
The speakers also discussed the commodity price environments in 2023. Natural gas prices were down almost 60%, while crude, propane, ethane, and the NGL processing basket all experienced significant decreases. Despite these challenges, Enterprise Products Partners completed $3.5 billion worth of major projects, including two new natural gas processing plants in the Permian Basin and the 12th NGL fractionator in Chambers County.
The company also faced some issues with its PDH 2 facility, which did not meet earnings expectations due to start-up issues. However, they remained optimistic about the future and had a backlog of $6.8 billion worth of major organic projects under construction.
Enterprise Products Partners has a strong track record of returning capital to its investors. They have increased distributions for 25 consecutive years and have returned $52 billion of capital through distributions and buybacks. The company's focus on providing reliable value-added services to customers, returning capital to partners, and increasing the value of the partnership for the long term has contributed to its success.
During the call, the speakers also discussed the growth outlook for the United States in terms of oil barrels and NGLs. They highlighted the strong performance of the producer communities and the expected increase in gas pipelines' capacity. They also addressed the impact of LNG exports on the European market and the challenges and opportunities in the energy industry, including government and regulatory challenges.
The call also covered topics related to Tug Hanley, the company's Senior Vice President of Pipelines and Terminals. They discussed the healthy volumes going across the dock and the impact of freights coming off on the flat price of propane and butane. They also mentioned the expansion potential of the Bahia pipeline and the current organic projects backlog.
Another important topic covered in the call was the company's return of capital and distribution growth. They discussed the company's historical distribution growth, its expectation for future distribution growth, and its opportunistic approach to returning capital. They also mentioned recent acquisitions in natural gas storage and the potential for future acquisitions.
Overall, the Enterprise Products Partners earnings conference call covered a wide range of important business topics, providing valuable insights into the company's financial performance, growth outlook, and strategic initiatives.