Description

Western Midstream’s Brazos Acquisition Could Add $100 Million Of EBITDA Momentum; Is It Enough?

Western Midstream Partners reported a first quarter adjusted EBITDA of $683 million, marking a 15% year-over-year increase. This improvement was driven by three main factors: the full-quarter contribution of the Aris acquisition, throughput growth across its natural gas, crude oil and NGL, and produced water product lines, and ongoing cost reduction efforts. The quarter also benefitted from an increase in crude oil prices in March, notably capturing additional value through retained skim oil volumes associated with the Aris assets. Despite challenges such as WAHA-driven curtailments, natural gas throughput grew 3%, and record volumes were set for crude oil and NGL throughput at 272,000 barrels per day and produced water at 2.8 million barrels per day. Excluding Aris, operational and maintenance expenses decreased by 7% year-over-year, which, combined with volume growth, enhanced operating leverage.