Maryann T. Mannen
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Marathon Petroleum
Thanks, Mike. Slide 6 provides a summary of our first quarter financial results. This morning, we've reported earnings per share of $1.49. Adjusted EBITDA was $2.6 billion for the quarter and cash flow from operations, excluding favorable working capital changes, was $1.9 billion, which is roughly in line with the prior quarter. During the quarter, we've returned $330 million to shareholders through dividend payments and repurchased approximately $2.8 billion in shares, which takes us to $2.5 billion repurchased since our last earnings call.
Slide 7 shows the reconciliation between net income and adjusted EBITDA, as well as the sequential change in adjusted EBITDA from fourth quarter 2021 to the first quarter of 2022. Adjusted EBITDA was lower sequentially, driven primarily by $175 million decrease from refining and marketing. The tax rate for the quarter was 19%, which reflects the benefit from the public portion of MPLX net income, which is not taxable to MPC.
Moving to our segment results. Slide 8 provides an overview of our Refining and Marketing segment. The business reported strong first quarter earnings with adjusted EBITDA of approximately $1.4 billion. Utilization was 91% for the quarter. The sequential decline was driven by lower production, which was primarily the result of unplanned downtime in the U.S. Gulf Coast, where we experienced two unplanned outages.
In the beginning of February, the Galveston Bay refinery experienced a citywide power loss, which resulted in a complete plant outage later in the month, as we were bringing our Garyville refinery back to service following turnaround activities. The fire occurred near a hydrocracker unit. The unit was repaired and returned to service after about three weeks. Both of these events resulted in approximately $200 million of lost profit opportunity.
Margin headwinds in the quarter were a result of the lower capture rate of 84% that we experienced this quarter and were primarily realized in the Gulf and West Coast.
Operating expenses were lower in the first quarter, primarily due to lower planned project expense, as well as the lower average natural gas price coupled with lower energy consumption compared to the fourth quarter. Natural gas prices strengthened during the quarter, averaging over $0.70 in MMBtu higher in March than in January. In April, natural gas prices averaged $6.70 in MMBtu or nearly 80% higher than the average price in 2021. The current forward strip for Henry Hub is around $8 for the rest of the year. So we would expect natural gas to be a headwind, as the year progresses.
Natural gas is an input cost for our refineries, which historically has represented approximately 15% of our operating cost. Our natural gas sensitivity is approximately $330 million of EBITDA for every $1 change per MMBtu. This equates to a sensitivity of approximately $0.30 per barrel of cost. Distribution costs were lower in the first quarter due to lower product volumes.
Turning to Slide 9, we want to directly address the Refining and Marketing capture this quarter. In the first quarter, our capture result was 84%. A few factors drove the majority of the headwinds; secondary and light product margins, impacts associated with inventory build and associated derivatives used to manage price volatility, and to a lesser extent, Gulf Coast refinery outages impacted our yields.
Slide 10 shows the change in our Midstream EBITDA versus the fourth quarter of 2021. Our Midstream segment continues to demonstrate earnings resiliency and stability with consistent results from the previous quarter.
Slide 11 presents the elements of change in our consolidated cash position for the quarter. Operating cash flow was approximately $1.9 billion in the quarter, which excludes changes in working capital. Working capital was an approximate $600 million source of cash this quarter, driven primarily by increases in crude oil prices partially offset by increases in crude and product inventory.
In March, MPLX issued $1.5 billion worth of long-term debt utilizing a large portion of the proceeds to repay the borrowings under the intercompany loan with MPC. During the quarter MPC returned $330 million to shareholders through our dividend and repurchased approximately $2.8 billion worth of shares. Now 80% complete with our initial $10 billion capital return commitment, we could begin using the $5 billion incremental authorization starting in the second quarter. At the end of the quarter, MPC had approximately $10.6 billion in cash and short-term investments.
Last week, we held our Annual General Meeting, which concluded our [Phonetic] proxy season. We appreciate the engagement from our investors, as we work to create shareholder value, focused on sustainability and position ourselves to deliver results in an energy diverse future.
Turning to guidance, on Slide 12, we provide our second quarter outlook. We expect total throughput volumes of roughly 2.9 million barrels per day, representing 95% utilization. Planned turnaround costs are projected to be approximately $155 million in the second quarter. Expected activity is relatively light and spread through all three regions.
As Mike mentioned, our optimized turnaround schedule in the second quarter is expected to allow us to run our assets safely and reliably at high utilization, as we remain focused on supplying the products and service -- services markets are demanding.
Total operating costs are projected to be $5.50 per barrel for the quarter. Earlier in the call, we shared our natural gas sensitivity. The increase we are currently seeing for natural gas costs are reflected in our second quarter guidance on top of our average baseline $5 per barrel of operating cost. Distribution costs are expected to be approximately $1.3 billion for the quarter. Corporate costs are expected to be $170 million.
As we look at the impact of inflation on full year results, the two areas of focus are wages and certain supply chain inputs. However, we have identified incremental sustainable cost reductions that we are executing against to offset these cost. Notwithstanding all of that, we will continue to identify the headwind from rising energy costs to our refining system throughout the year.
Slide 13 provides our capital investment plan for 2022. Once we have closed on the Martinez JV, MPC will receive $400 million, then be reimbursed for 50% of the capital spent to-date. After the JV is closed, MPC will be responsible for its 50% share of the capital spend going forward and Neste will be responsible for its 50% share. The total cost for the Martinez refinery conversion is still expected to be $1.2 billion and MPC's net cost will be reduced to approximately $200 million. We will provide a more detailed update once we have closed the JV.
As a reminder, ongoing growth projects in our Refining and Marketing segment will enhance the capability of our refining assets, particularly in the Gulf Coast and also support our focus on growing the value recognized from our Marathon and ARCO marketing brands.
With that, let me turn the call back over to Kristina.
