National Fuel Gas Co 2024年度报告

Dear Fellow Shareholders I am proud of what National Fuel and our 2,300 employees accomplished during the fiscal year. The commitmentof our talented workforce to safely and reliably produce, store, transport and deliver critical energy supplies drovestrong operational performance, and provides an excellent foundation for earnings and free cash flow growth in theyears ahead. As the outlook for both the natural gas industry and National Fuel continues to improve, we expect ourintegrated mix of assets will generate significant long-term value for our shareholders. Enhancing Upstream and Gathering Capital Efficiency Significant Pipeline & Storage and Utility Growth In fiscal 2024, our integrated upstream and gathering businessescompleted their multi-year transition to a development planfocused on the Company’s prolific Eastern Development Area(EDA). Driving this transition was the high grading of our natural gasacreage portfolio, which was enhanced through several strategicacquisitions over the past few years. The value proposition of ourbest-in-class EDA assets was evident in the past fiscal year, asSeneca experienced continued strong well results, and achievedrecord production while meaningfully reducing capital expenditures.With over a decade of remaining high-quality inventory in thisoperating area, we believe there is significant long-term valueembedded in this untapped resource, providing a substantialrunway to deliver increasing free cash flow in the years to come. Our outlook for growth remains strong within our regulatedbusinesses. In fiscal 2024, revenue increased 9% in our federallyregulated Pipeline & Storage segment, driven by a 2023 rate casesettlement at National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation. This settlementwill drive additional revenue growth in fiscal 2025 as we experiencethe full year benefit. As we look further ahead, our focus will remainon important system modernization efforts, as well as opportunitiesto expand our facilities, both of which will grow earnings and ratebase in this business. One great example of this growth is our TiogaPathway Project. This approximately $100 million project has alate 2026 target in-service date and will provide a critical outlet for190,000 dekatherms per day of Seneca’s EDA production. I’m excited for the future of the natural gas industry and for National Fuel. Our combinationof high-quality assets and strong operational execution continues to drive growthopportunities across our diversified natural gas businesses, while supporting increasedregional and national energy demand. Looking ahead, I strongly believe that naturalgas will remain a foundational element of the energy complex, and that an “all of theabove” energy approach, which appropriately focuses on critical affordability, reliabilityand sustainability considerations, will provide long-term benefits for our shareholders,consumers and the broader economy.”“ – David P. Bauer In our Utility segment, ongoing investments to enhance the safetyand reliability of our systems continue to deliver significant earningsgrowth. Looking at fiscal 2024, our August 2023 settlement of a rateproceeding in our Pennsylvania jurisdiction drove an 18% increase inearnings versus the prior year. As we look to 2025 and beyond, thebenefits from our recently approved Joint Proposal in our New Yorkjurisdiction will deliver additional growth. Beyond that, we expect tocontinue to invest in the safety and reliability of our pipeline systems,driving earnings growth at this business over the long term. Strong ShareholderReturns Greater than $250M Returnedto Shareholders in Fiscal 2024 Increasing Shareholder Returns In June, our Board of Directors authorized a 4% increase in ourlongstanding dividend. This was the Company’s 122ndconsecutiveyear of dividend payments and our 54thconsecutive increase.National Fuel is in elite company as one of only approximately50 public companies in the United States to increase their dividendfor more than half a century. In addition to our dividend, our Boardof Directors authorized a $200 million share repurchase program inMarch, which is our first since 2008. Underpinned by the strengthof our balance sheet and our outlook for free cash flow, we are ontarget to execute this program by the close of 2025. 54 Years of ConsecutiveDividend Growth Natural Gas is an Essential Part of an “All of theAbove” Future Despite the significant affordability and reliability benefits of naturalgas, over the past few years we’ve continued to see a push fromvarious policymakers to electrify everything, as quickly as possible.From its inception, this path was fraught with challenges, bothas to cost and feasibility. As these real-world challenges comefurther into focus, there is an increasing realization that large-scaleelectrification will take considerably longer and cost substantiallymore than initially envisioned. Additionally, we are seeing a shift inmindset to one that balances reliability, resiliency