Tom Creery
Analyst · Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead
Thanks Jim and good morning everyone. For the fourth quarter, we ran 4,600 barrels of crude oil composed of 40% Permian, and 17% WCS and black wax crude oil. Our laid-in crude cost was under WTI by $17.39 in the Rockies, $6.66 in the Mid-Con, and $6.67 in the Southwest. In the fourth quarter 2018, we ended the year with a year-on-year increase in vehicle miles driven and good demand for products in both domestic and export markets. Gasoline inventories in the Magellan system ended the quarter at 8.8 million barrels, roughly 3.2 million barrels higher than September 30 levels. Diesel inventories ended the quarter at 6.6 million barrels, equaling third quarter levels. Days’ supply of both gasoline and diesel in the group finished at 28 days and 36 days, respectively. Fourth quarter 3-2-1 cracks in the Mid-Con were $14.78, $27.16 in the Southwest, and $26.67 in the Rockies. Crude differentials widened across the heavy and sour slates during the fourth quarter. In the Canadian heavy oil market, fourth quarter differentials for WCS at Hardisty averaged $39.43 per barrel, but recently, we have seen this differential decrease to the $13 range as the Alberta Government [oil system] has reduced the volume of crude available and developments in the Venezuelan market has increased the demand for heavy crude in the Gulf Coast. Despite [corners] the levels of apportionment on the Enbridge system remain high. We continue to be able to purchase and deliver adequate volumes of price advantaged heavy crude from Canada to meet our refining needs. Canadian heavy and sour runs average 58,000 barrels per day at our plants in the Mid-Con and Rocky region. While our El Dorado plant was in turnaround in the fourth quarter, we were able to take advantage of favorable WCS Arbitrage economics by selling excess barrels into the Cushing market. We refined approximately 171,000 barrels per day of Permian crude in our refining system, composed of 110,000 barrels of the Navajo complex and 61,000 barrels per day by the Centurion pipeline at our El Dorado refinery. Midland differentials averaged fourth quarter at $8.88, and currently, we see the same differential trading at flat to Cushing through the new pipeline capacity coming on stream earlier than expected. We anticipate this differential to widen into the summer months and then revert to current levels in the third quarter this year as current pipeline capacity comes on stream. Fourth quarter consolidated gross margin was $22.17 per produced barrel sold, a 77% increase over the $12.54 recorded in the fourth quarter of last year. This increase was driven by improved laid-in crude cost in the Mid-Con and Rockies regions, as well as strong diesel cracks in all our markets. Rent expense in the quarter was $48 million. And with that, let me turn it over to Rich.