ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Sheridan Swords: Spiro, this is Sheridan. So when we had the Medford incident, we went out right away and secured frac capacity that we thought we needed going into ’23. And we already took into account that MB-5 was going to come up in April. So our — what we contracted for frac capacity is obviously heavier in the first part of the year until MB-5 comes on and then drops off. And that was all accounted for in the settlement that we had with the insurance company. So we have that already baked in, and that’s why there’s not that much movement on the third-party frac that we have. Obviously, MB-5 will help us if volume exceeds our expectation, we will be able to use MB-5 for that in ’23.

Spiro Dounis: Got it. Second question, multipart one on the Sao pipeline. So to the extent that does reach FID in mid-’23. I guess, one, would you expect any impact on the ’23 CapEx budget? Or is that kind of more of a 2024 plus item? And then if you could just maybe give us any sense of cost of the pipeline, if you willing to take on JV partners? And then finally, just on the 2.8 Bcf a day of ultimate design capacity. Obviously, it’s a pretty big pipe. Should we imagine that, that maybe comes on in phases or just how to think about the cadence there?

Kevin Burdick: Spiro, this is Kevin. Still a lot of your questions were — that’s what we’re working through right now. We’re not going to provide a capital guide. There would be a little money that would be spent if we FID this year. But obviously, the bulk with it coming on, the anticipation had come on. And 2025 time frame, most of the capital is going to get pushed — is going to be pushed out.

Operator: The next question comes from Michael Blum with Wells Fargo.

Michael Blum: So I wanted to ask about ethane recovery. You gave some broad expectations for ethane recovery across your footprint. But gas prices are pretty weak. It seems like they’re going to stay there for a while. Can you just talk about opportunities for ethane recovery, specifically in the Bakken and what is actually reflected in guidance?

Sheridan Swords: Yes, Michael, this is Sheridan. We have a very modest amount of ethane incentivized ethane in our guidance, a little bit that we have already contracted and already locked down the spread. We have not done any more than that. As you said, we do see a lot of opportunity in ’23 with this low gas price which Kevin mentioned in his remarks, is making the United States pet chem very advantaged on using ethane as a feedstock going forward. And we think that we will continue to see more ethane recovery as we go through the year, especially as more demand comes on internationally, which we will pull the Mid-Continent up to be more in ethane recovery later in this year and will allow us to incentivize more ethane out of the Bakken at wider spreads than what we have done today.

Michael Blum: Okay. Great. And then I also just wanted to ask another question about the frac market. It seems like everyone is adding frac capacity. And so I’m wondering if you think that’s going to be pressuring rates over time at Mont Belvieu and within that context, how should we think about frac 6, how much of that is going to be contracted with third parties versus held-on account?