Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

So, let us get through the close on Friday and we’re going to be very excited to be able to talk about what the ’24 numbers should look like, but yes what a great place to be able to earnings numbers this size so —

Spiro Dounis: Yes. No, fair enough and do your best to stay patient. One quick follow-up once again going back to capital return, just as we think about the distribution wrote here on the Cadence now that’s become predictable when you talk about the 3% to 5% range. I guess I’m just curious, what would you need to see the flex toward the higher end of that range? Is that a function of getting leverage lowered or is it something else you really focused on?

Tom Long: Well, the leverage is within our targets. So, I wouldn’t want to necessarily guide you toward that 4% to 4.5%. You can already see that we’ve got the one upgrade from S&P like we’ve mentioned. And the other two, have us on the positive outlook, and we’re going to continue to work with them to get those up to that triple the levels. So, I think the other components we always look at is we’re always looking out at the coverage ratio, making sure that we’re staying in a good solid range there but as much as any we’re also looking a lot at the growth opportunities. So, the usual capital allocation debates that you have, any company has here and that’s what we’re going to evaluate. But it’s not a matter of looking any one single point in time it is a matter of looking out with the best crystal ball we have over the next three, four, or five years. So, we try to make decisions here that we stick with without kind of jumping up and down or moving around with.

Spiro Dounis: Got it. I’ll leave it there, Tom. Thanks for your time.

Tom Long: All right. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Next question will be from Michael Blum of Wells Fargo. Please go ahead.

Michael Blum: Hey, thanks. Good afternoon, everyone. I wanted to ask on CapEx close in terms of this year just what exactly is driving the reduction there, slight reduction. And then, for next year, if I recall correctly your last update, I know you see your long term run rate I think is to 2 to 3 billion but I think at least as of last update you said, you don’t even have to go in community projects for ’24 or so. Just want to get the latest update on where that stands as well.

Tom Long: Yes, Michael. Good afternoon. You know as far as the first part of your question, I would say that we continue to work on some very, very good projects. Some of that it’s going to be never set a timing, but even with that, I want to be careful using that word because it doesn’t mean that 2024 is necessarily going to go up. That blends straight in to the second part of your question. If you really kind of look at that 2 to 3 billion, you could use $750 million a year that are just kind of those growth capital projects that well connects all the other great projects we have that are good high returning projects that help with the utilization, optimization of our system overall, especially with the M&A that we’ve been so successful on a lot of this projects fall in that category of that $750 million.

I will say that well, some of the stuff that we’ve talked about and I know Mackie’s talked about here is that those who have the other projects that aren’t necessarily the FID, so we can’t say that we’ve got all of that fill in right now by any means the other 2 billion or so from that standpoint we’re continuing to work on them. I think we feel good about a lot of the projects, so once again it’s probably 750 million and then we’ll be talking more about the other projects as we get them to FID the one that we get highlighted and prepare remarks, of course was Flexport, so —

Michael Blum: Got it. Okay, that helps. Thank you. And then, it sounds like a pretty encouraging update on Lake Charles. So, I guess, what I’m wondering is what would be the earliest timeframe from your perspective where you think Lake Charles could actually get the FID and then in service?