(Western Midstream, 6.Nov.2024) — Western Midstream Partners, LP announced third-quarter 2024 financial and operating results. Net income (loss) attributable to limited partners for the third quarter of 2024 totaled $281.8mn, or $0.74 per common unit (diluted), with third-quarter 2024 Adjusted EBITDA(1) totaling $566.9mn. Third-quarter 2024 Cash flows provided by operating activities totaled $551.3mn, and third-quarter 2024 Free cash flow(1) totaled $365.1 million.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
- Gathered record natural-gas and crude-oil and NGLs throughput in the Delaware Basin of 1.9 Bcf/d and 246 MBbls/d, respectively, each representing a 2-percent sequential-quarter increase.
- Gathered record natural-gas and crude-oil and NGLs throughput in the Powder River Basin of 505 MMcf/d and 26 MBbls/d, respectively, representing sequential-quarter increases of 19-percent and 4-percent, respectively.
- Achieved increased produced-water throughput in the Delaware Basin of 1,121 MBbls/d, representing a 2-percent sequential-quarter increase.
- Issued $800mn of 5.450% senior notes due 2034, the proceeds from which will be used to repay a portion of the Partnership’s senior notes due in 2025, and for general partnership purposes.
- Maintained strong operational performance and continued flow assurance for our customers, with system operability above 98-percent, despite multiple plant turnarounds in several of our core operating basins.
- Subsequent to quarter-end, executed agreements to realign the commercial structure of the Mi Vida joint venture, which will provide WES with 100 MMcf/d of dedicated natural-gas processing capacity in the Delaware Basin beginning in mid-2025.
On 14 Nov. 2024, WES will pay its third-quarter 2024 per-unit Base Distribution of $0.875, which is in-line with the prior quarter’s Base Distribution. Third-quarter 2024 Free cash flow(1) after distributions totaled $24.3mn. Third-quarter 2024 capital expenditures(2) totaled $198.1mn.
Third-quarter 2024 natural-gas throughput(3) averaged 5.0 Bcf/d, representing a 1-percent sequential quarter increase. Third-quarter 2024 throughput for crude-oil and NGLs assets(3) averaged 506 MBbls/d, representing a 2-percent sequential-quarter decrease. Third-quarter 2024 throughput for produced-water assets(3) averaged 1,099 MBbls/d, representing a 2-percent sequential-quarter increase.
“We achieved another quarter of record natural-gas and crude-oil and NGLs throughput in the Delaware Basin and experienced continued strong throughput growth in the Powder River Basin as the Meritage Midstream acquisition continues to exceed our expectations,” said Oscar Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer. “However, our profitability declined slightly quarter-over-quarter, primarily due to lower natural-gas liquids recoveries and lower commodity prices in the Delaware Basin, lower distributions from our equity investments, and higher operation and maintenance expense, which is typical in the third quarter.”
Mr. Brown continued, “Looking to the fourth quarter, we estimate increased Adjusted EBITDA primarily driven by continued steady throughput growth from our core operating basins and lower operation and maintenance expense. While we still expect Adjusted EBITDA to be towards the high end of our previously announced $2.2bn to $2.4bn guidance range for the year, we are reducing our average year-over-year crude-oil and NGLs and produced-water throughput growth expectations.”
“In August, we issued $800mn of new senior notes in a highly successful offering that resulted in the best 10-year credit spread in WES’s history. Our trailing-twelve-month net leverage ratio has comfortably reached our year-end 2024 threshold of 3.0 times, and we will continue to look for the most efficient ways to allocate capital to generate the best returns for our unitholders. Those options continue to include organic growth opportunities to prudently expand the business, accretive M&A similar to the Meritage Midstream acquisition, and increasing the Base Distribution in-line with the growth of the business. Our strong operating model, improved balance sheet, and transparent capital-return framework, all provide WES with a solid foundation that is well positioned for future success,” concluded Mr. Brown.
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(1) Please see the definitions of the Partnership’s non-GAAP measures at the end of this release and reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures.
(2) Accrual-based, includes equity investments, excludes capitalized interest, and excludes capital expenditures associated with the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta.
(3) Represents total throughput attributable to WES, which excludes (i) the 2.0% limited partner interest in WES Operating owned by an Occidental subsidiary and (ii) for natural-gas throughput, the 25% third-party interest in Chipeta, which collectively represent WES’s noncontrolling interests.
