Antero Resources Corporation (AR) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Antero Resources Corporation second-quarter 2026 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

各位好，歡迎參加 Antero Resources Corporation 2026 年第二季財報電話會議。(接線員指示) 提醒各位，本次會議將被錄音。

It is now my pleasure to introduce Dan Katzenberg, Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

現在我很榮幸介紹投資人關係副總裁 Dan Katzenberg。謝謝。您可以開始了。

Thank you for joining us for Antero's second-quarter 2026 investor conference call. We'll spend a few minutes going through the financial and operating highlights, and then we'll open it up for Q&A. I would also like to direct you to the homepage of our website at anteroresources.com, where we have provided a separate earnings call presentation that will be reviewed during today's call. Today's call may contain certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the earnings press release for important disclosures regarding such measures.

感謝各位加入 Antero 2026 年第二季投資人電話會議。我們將先用幾分鐘回顧財務與營運重點，接著開放問答。我也想請各位前往我們網站 anteroresources.com 的首頁，我們已提供一份獨立的財報電話會議簡報，將在今天的會議中一併檢視。今天的會議可能包含某些非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。關於此類指標的重要揭露，請參閱財報新聞稿。

Joining me on the call today are Michael Kennedy, CEO and President; Brendan Krueger, CFO; and David Cannelongo, Senior Vice President of Liquids Marketing and Transportation; Justin Fowler, Senior Vice President of Natural Gas Marketing.

今天與我一同參與電話會議的有：執行長兼總裁 Michael Kennedy；財務長 Brendan Krueger；液體行銷與運輸資深副總裁 David Cannelongo；以及天然氣行銷資深副總裁 Justin Fowler。

I will now turn the call over to Mike.

接下來我把電話交給 Mike。

Thank you, Dan, and good morning, everyone. I'll start on Slide number 3 titled Structural Margin improvement at Antero. This structural improvement has strengthened our financial performance and, importantly, reduced earnings volatility. The results of this strategy can be seen in the table on the right side of the slide, while Henry Hub natural gas prices were down 16% from a year ago, the impact of increased scale product diversity and lower cash operating expense led to our adjusted EBITDA increasing 57% over that period. The structural and sustainable improvements in our business will reduce volatility in our future cash flow.

謝謝你，Dan，各位早安。我先從第 3 張投影片開始，標題是「Antero 的結構性毛利改善」。這項結構性改善強化了我們的財務表現，更重要的是降低了獲利波動性。這項策略的成果可在投影片右側的表格中看到：儘管 Henry Hub 天然氣價格較去年同期下跌 16%，但受惠於規模擴大、產品多元化以及現金營運費用降低，我們的調整後 EBITDA 在同期反而成長 57%。我們業務中結構性且可持續的改善，將降低未來現金流的波動。

Staying on the topic of cost reductions, let's turn to Slide number 4 titled Significant reduction in cash costs. The cost reductions we realized during the second quarter was just the beginning of a lower cost at Antero. In June, we announced a cost reduction initiative that will significantly improve our margins. We are forecasting our cash cost to decline by over 25% in 2025 to year-end 2028 to $2 per Mcfe. This dramatic change in our cost structure will be achieved as our company evolves from being 100% liquids development and 100% out of basins product sales to a much more balanced, rich and dry gas development program as well as having sales in basin and out of basin.

延續成本降低的主題，請看第 4 張投影片，標題是「現金成本大幅下降」。我們在第二季實現的成本降低，只是 Antero 進入更低成本階段的開始。6 月我們宣布一項降本計畫，將顯著改善我們的利潤率。我們預估自 2025 年至 2028 年底，現金成本將下降逾 25%，降至每 Mcfe 2 美元。這項成本結構的劇烈變化，將隨著公司從「100% 液體開發」與「100% 盆地外產品銷售」演進為更均衡的濕氣與乾氣開發計畫，同時兼具盆地內與盆地外銷售而達成。

This shift in strategy that increases our exposure to dry gas and in-basin sales is supported by the surge in new regional demand. This higher regional demand is expected to occur at the same time that many of our firm transportation commitments come up for renewal. To be clear, much of our LNG fairway directed firm transport is attractive and will be retained. However, as we shift from the producer push era to the demand-pull era, we are uniquely positioned to review each flow path and choose the highest margin sales point and supply contract for our natural gas and NGLs.

這項策略轉變提高了我們對乾氣與盆地內銷售的曝險，並受到區域新增需求激增的支持。預期這波更高的區域需求，將與我們多項固定運輸承諾到期續約的時間點相近。需要說明的是，我們許多沿 LNG 走廊配置的固定運輸合約具吸引力，將會保留。然而，隨著市場從「生產者推動」時代轉向「需求拉動」時代，我們具備獨特優勢，可逐一檢視各條流向路徑，為天然氣與 NGL 選擇毛利最高的銷售點與供應合約。

Next, on Slide number 5, we provide details on our margin enhancement. The $0.70 improvement in our cash costs will be partially offset by $0.35 and lower price realizations as we sell more product in basin. This assumes strip pricing for in-basin differentials without any tightening of basis that could occur when regional demand starts to ramp up. In the chart on the right-hand side of the slide, we break out the $300 million of annual margin improvements in the three categories. First, we have two financial transactions that we entered into early this decade that come to an end. The overriding royalty interest transaction and the VPP.

接著在第 5 張投影片，我們提供利潤率提升的細節。現金成本改善 0.70 美元，將部分被 0.35 美元的影響所抵銷，原因是我們在盆地內銷售更多產品而導致實現價格較低。此處假設盆地內價差採用期貨曲線（strip）定價，且未納入當區域需求開始加速成長時可能出現的基差收斂。在投影片右側圖表中，我們將每年 3 億美元的利潤率改善拆分為三大類。第一類是我們在本十年初期進行的兩項金融交易即將到期結束。分別為超額權利金權益（overriding royalty interest）交易與 VPP。

The overriding royalty interest transaction return threshold to the counterparty was met in the second quarter, leading to the Martica entity being dissolved on June 30, resulting in an increase of $60 million of annualized cash flow beginning in the third quarter of 2026. The VPP will expire in July of '27 and result in a $30 million annualized cash flow uplift. Second, optimization of our liquids firm transport is forecast to improve margins by another $105 million. This includes limited needs for recontracting of ethane transport as well as the refinement of our LPG firm transport. The enhancements to our liquids margin structure are expected to be realized at the end of 2028.

超額權利金權益交易在第二季已達到對手方的回報門檻，導致 Martica 實體於 6 月 30 日解散，使得自 2026 年第三季起，年化現金流增加 6,000 萬美元。VPP 將於 2027 年 7 月到期，並帶來年化現金流增加 3,000 萬美元。第二類，液體固定運輸的最佳化，預估可再提升 1.05 億美元的利潤率。其中包括乙烷運輸僅需有限度的重新簽約，以及我們 LPG 固定運輸的精進調整。液體利潤結構的改善，預期將於 2028 年底實現。

And third, the remaining $105 million of margin improvements for '28 will primarily come to optimizing our natural gas firm transportation portfolio and increasing dry ad development. The increased demand for natural gas is shifting the market from a producer push market to a demand-pull market. This is expected to drive meaningful improvements in our overall natural gas netbacks. These are exciting times for Antero and the natural gas industry in Appalachia. We are encouraged by the power deals have been publicly announced to date as they further validate the significant regional demand growth that we are expecting.

第三類，2028 年剩餘的 1.05 億美元利潤率改善，主要將來自天然氣固定運輸組合的最佳化，以及提高乾氣開發。天然氣需求的增加正使市場從生產者推動市場轉為需求拉動市場。預期這將推動我們整體天然氣淨回收（netbacks）出現顯著改善。對 Antero 以及阿帕拉契亞地區的天然氣產業而言，這是令人振奮的時刻。我們對迄今已公開宣布的電力合作案感到鼓舞，因為它們進一步驗證了我們所預期的顯著區域需求成長。

We continue to be actively engaged in conversations with all of these projects. However, Antero approaches these negotiations from a uniquely advantaged position.

我們持續積極參與與所有這些專案的對話。不過，Antero 在這些談判中具備獨特的優勢地位。

We hold optionality as we already sell our volumes at premium prices along the LNG fairway and are the second largest NGL producer in the country, which provides margin uplift. This means that local power projects must compete with the broader energy markets on returns to attract our volumes. This compares with many of our peers who lack the firm transportation portfolio or lipids production and are looking for projects for nearly 100% of their production. These attributes allow us to be highly selective in which projects we ultimately partner with. The projects that we elect to participate in will have to be accretive on a risk-adjusted basis, which includes pricing, timing and certainty.

我們擁有選擇權，因為我們已沿 LNG 走廊以溢價價格銷售產量，且我們是全美第二大 NGL 生產商，能帶來利潤率上行。這表示在地電力專案若要吸引我們的供應量，必須在報酬上與更廣泛的能源市場競爭。相較之下，我們許多同業缺乏固定運輸組合或液體產量，幾乎需要為其接近 100% 的產量尋找專案去化。這些特質使我們能高度審慎地選擇最終要合作的專案。我們選擇參與的專案必須在風險調整後具增益性（accretive），其中包含價格、時程與確定性。

Now to touch on the current liquids and NGL fundamentals, I'm going to turn it over to our Senior Vice President of Liquids Marketing and Transportation, Dave Cannelongo for his comments.

接下來談談目前液體與 NGL 的基本面，我把時間交給我們液體行銷與運輸資深副總裁 Dave Cannelongo，請他發表看法。

Thanks, Mike. I would like to begin by highlighting the strong realized C3+ pricing Antero achieved during the second quarter of this year. Antero's realized C3+ price was $44.26 per barrel up $6.41 per barrel compared to the second quarter of last year and our highest quarterly realized price since 2022. Liquids prices continue to be influenced by geopolitical events as uncertainty remains over the flow of products through the Strait of Hormuz and other critical transit routes. US liquid supply has been called on by international buyers looking to replace Middle East cargoes.

謝謝，Mike。我想先強調 Antero 在今年第二季所達成的強勁 C3+ 實現價格。Antero 的 C3+ 實現價格為每桶 44.26 美元，較去年第二季每桶增加 6.41 美元，並創下自 2022 年以來最高的單季實現價格。液體價格仍持續受到地緣政治事件影響，因為對荷姆茲海峽及其他關鍵運輸航道的產品通行仍存在不確定性。美國液體供應已被國際買家動用，以替代中東貨載。

As shown on Slide number 6, US propane exports averaged 2.03 million barrels a day during the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 170,000 barrels a day compared to the same period last year. Additionally, propane exports hit a new weekly high of 2.63 million barrels a day this May with another weekly export number also above 2.6 million barrels a day reached in July, according to the EIA. These new highs surpassed the previous record by 300,000 barrels a day and demonstrate that the US can reach previously unseen export levels, driven in part by recently added terminal capacity.

如第 6 張投影片所示，2026 年第二季美國丙烷出口平均為每日 203 萬桶，較去年同期增加每日 17 萬桶。此外，根據 EIA 資料，今年 5 月丙烷出口創下新的單週高點，達每日 263 萬桶；7 月也出現另一個單週出口數據同樣高於每日 260 萬桶。這些新高較先前紀錄高出每日 30 萬桶，顯示美國在近期新增終端設施產能的部分帶動下，能達到前所未見的出口水準。

Additionally, exports of normal butane reached a new monthly record of 815,000 barrels a day in April, the most recent month of EIA data, surpassing the previous record of 661,000 barrels a day set in March.

此外，根據 EIA 最新月份（4 月）的數據，正丁烷出口量達到每日 815,000 桶，創下新的月度紀錄，超越 3 月創下的先前紀錄每日 661,000 桶。

The record levels achieved for both LPG products since the start of Epic Fury illustrate that propane and butane are fiercely competing for terminal space to backfill loss Middle East supply across demand markets worldwide. Going forward, additional LPG terminal expansions through 2027 will add another 1 million barrels a day capacity, allowing exports to continue to grow over the coming years. On the demand side, key global consumers such as China have been buying more LPG from the US as the Middle East supply remains curtailed and uncertain.

自 Epic Fury 開始以來，兩種 LPG 產品所達成的創紀錄水準顯示，丙烷與丁烷正激烈競爭終端儲運空間，以在全球各需求市場補足中東供應流失的缺口。展望未來，至 2027 年的額外 LPG 終端擴建將再增加每日 100 萬桶的產能，使出口在未來幾年得以持續成長。在需求端方面，隨著中東供應仍受限且不確定，中國等主要全球消費國正從美國採購更多 LPG。

China's LPG imports from the US declined last year following the initial imposition of the additional US tariffs but have rebounded recently due to disruption in Middle East supplies US LPG market share in China has risen from a low of 10% in June to 2025 to an average of 51% during the second quarter of this year according to third-party shipping data levels not seen since before liberation date.

中國自美國進口的 LPG 去年在加徵美國額外關稅初期實施後有所下滑，但近期因中東供應受擾而回升。根據第三方航運數據，美國 LPG 在中國的市占率已自 2025 年 6 月的低點 10% 上升至今年第二季平均 51%，達到自「解放日」之前未曾見過的水準。

Additionally, we are beginning to see a recovery in Chinese petrochemical demand for LPG as shown on Slide number 7, titled China PDH demand on the rise. China PDH demand has increased 40% from April to July. August demand is forecast to increase further, returning to all-time high levels not seen since before the disruptions in the Middle East. This higher demand should support more US imports into China in the near term.

此外，我們也開始看到中國石化端對 LPG 的需求正在復甦，如第 7 張投影片（標題為「中國 PDH 需求上升」）所示。中國 PDH 需求自 4 月至 7 月增加了 40%。預測 8 月需求將進一步增加，回到自中東供應中斷之前未曾見過的歷史高點水準。這樣較高的需求在短期內應可支撐美國對中國的進口量增加。

Next, let's turn to Slide number 8 to discuss shipping dynamics. VLGC freight rates have been elevated since Epic Fury due to the global resupplying of ships after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz creating some headwinds for US LPG exports. However, the order book for new VLGCs is robust and will provide relief to shipping costs in the coming quarters. We anticipate 84 vessels will be added to the fleet in the second half of 2026 and all of 2027.

接下來，請看第 8 張投影片以討論航運動態。自 Epic Fury 以來，由於荷姆茲海峽關閉後全球船舶補給調度，VLGC 運費一直維持在高檔，對美國 LPG 出口造成一些逆風。不過，新造 VLGC 的訂單量相當強勁，將在未來幾季緩解航運成本壓力。我們預期 2026 年下半年及 2027 年全年將有 84 艘船舶加入船隊。

From now through 2029, the -- fleet will increase by 31% or 138 ships. Given the imminent export expansions and new build terminals coming online, readership availability will facilitate more cargoes leaving the US and continue to support Mont Belvieu prices. As the nation's second largest NGL producer and the largest producer exporter, while also remaining unhedged on NGLs and [indiscernible] benefit from rising global demand for US energy and higher Mont Belvieu pricing.

從現在到 2029 年，該 -- 船隊將增加 31%，或新增 138 艘船。鑑於即將到來的出口擴張與新建終端陸續投運，運力可用性將促使更多貨物自美國出港，並持續支撐 Mont Belvieu 價格。作為全美第二大 NGL 生產商與最大生產出口商，同時在 NGL 上維持未避險狀態，我們將可受益於全球對美國能源需求上升以及 Mont Belvieu 價格走高。

With that, I'll now turn it over to our Senior Vice President of Gas Marketing, Justin Fowler for his comments.

接下來，我把時間交給我們天然氣行銷資深副總裁 Justin Fowler，請他發表評論。

Thanks, Dave. I'll start on Slide number 9 that highlights the strong fundamental outlook for natural gas that we see through 2030. The two charts on this slide illustrate total US demand growth. Based on data center and power projects that have been announced to date, natural gas demand is forecasted to increase 19 Bcf LNG and Mexico export growth adds another 23 Bcf per day of natural gas being growth by 2030.

謝謝，Dave。我將從第 9 張投影片開始，該投影片重點呈現我們看到至 2030 年天然氣強勁的基本面展望。本頁的兩張圖表說明美國總需求的成長。根據目前已公布的資料中心與電力專案，預測天然氣需求將增加 19 Bcf；LNG 與墨西哥出口成長則將在 2030 年前再增加每日 23 Bcf 的天然氣需求成長。

In combination, this represents 37% of total main growth for natural gas by the end of decade. While associated gas from the Permian will fill a portion of this demand growth through announced egress expansions, Higher prices will be required to incentivize growth from nontraditional gas basins and Tier 2 acreage with higher break evens to ultimately meet this demand.

合計而言，這代表到本十年末天然氣總需求成長的 37%。雖然二疊紀盆地的伴生氣將透過已宣布的外運擴張填補部分需求成長，但要最終滿足這些需求，仍需要更高的價格來激勵非傳統天然氣盆地以及損益兩平成本較高的第二級（Tier 2）區塊增產。

Now let's look at regional demand in our Appalachian Basin, which is highlighted on Slide number 10. The power projects highlighted on this slide represent the projects that have been publicly announced in our region to date and amount to over 9 Bcf per day of demand. This does not include additional projects that we've spoken to you to add an additional incremental 3 Bcf demand to our regional profile.

現在讓我們看看阿帕拉契亞盆地的區域需求，第 10 張投影片對此有重點說明。本頁所列的電力專案為目前在我們區域內已公開宣布的專案，合計需求超過每日 9 Bcf。這還不包含我們先前與各位提到、可為我們區域需求輪廓再額外增加每日 3 Bcf 的其他專案。

We've shown this slide in the past, and each time the number of projects and implied regional demand estimate has increased. But what is exciting to us today is that we now have 6 Bcf of projects that are either FID or under construction. This increases our visibility into which projects will come to fruition and allows us to prioritize our conversations.

我們過去曾展示過這張投影片，而每一次專案數量與隱含的區域需求估計都在增加。但今天令我們振奮的是，我們目前已有每日 6 Bcf 的專案已做出最終投資決定（FID）或正在建設中。這提高了我們對哪些專案將落地的能見度，並使我們能夠優先安排對話重點。

Next, let's turn to Slide number 11, titled Gas Demand Competition. As Mike detailed earlier, Antero is in an advantaged position through our long-haul firm transportation capacity. This fund transports significantly widens the footprint of demand-pull projects that we can select to participate in. Our firm transport portfolio opens up opportunities into the Midwest and further south where in total, another 7 Bcf per day of power projects are being forecasted. This optionality is unique to Antero and allows us to be highly selective with our project partners around the best opportunities on a risk-adjusted basis.

接下來請看第 11 張投影片，標題為「天然氣需求競爭」。如 Mike 先前所述，Antero 透過我們的長途固定運輸（firm transportation）產能處於有利位置。這些固定運輸大幅擴大了我們可選擇參與之「需求拉動」型專案的覆蓋範圍。我們的固定運輸組合也開啟了進入中西部及更南部地區的機會；在這些地區，合計另有每日 7 Bcf 的電力專案需求被預測。這種選擇權是 Antero 所獨有，使我們能以風險調整後的角度，在最佳機會上對專案夥伴保持高度選擇性。

With that, I will turn it over to Brendan Krueger, CFO of Antero Resources.

接下來，我把時間交給 Antero Resources 的財務長 Brendan Krueger。

Thanks, Justin. I will start on Slide 12, which highlights our second quarter operational and financial results. Our quarterly production was a company record and averaged above our guidance range coming in at over 4.1 Bcf a day. This represents an increase of 21% year-over-year. In late 2025, we spud our first dry gas pad in over 12 years.

謝謝，Justin。我將從第 12 張投影片開始，該投影片重點呈現我們第二季的營運與財務成果。我們的季度產量創公司紀錄，平均超過指引區間，達到每日 4.1 Bcf 以上。這代表年增 21%。在 2025 年底，我們在超過 12 年來首次鑽鑿乾氣井平台（pad）。

And today, we announced the results of that pad. This pad delivered a more than 67% improvement in EUR and a nearly 30% decrease in cost per foot. We also announced $315 million of acquisitions in our core West Virginia Marcellus footprint. In total, these transactions increased our net production by approximately 125 million cubic feet a day equivalent and add 15 net drilling locations. I'll discuss both of these updates in more detail momentarily.

而今天，我們公布了該平台的成果。該平台的 EUR 提升超過 67%，每英尺成本下降近 30%。我們也宣布在西維吉尼亞州 Marcellus 核心區塊完成 3.15 億美元的收購。整體而言，這些交易使我們的淨產量約增加每日 1.25 億立方英尺當量，並新增 15 個淨鑽井位置。我稍後將更詳細說明這兩項更新。

Turning to our financial results on the right-hand side of the slide, our adjusted EBITDAX increased 57% year-over-year, resulting in $220 million of free cash flow. We used a portion of this free cash flow to accelerate our share repurchase program, repurchasing 1.1 million shares for $38 million. Lastly, our total cash operating costs were at the low end of the guidance range, declining $0.29 per Mcfe or 11% from the year ago period. This first step in realizing lower costs is attributed to the second quarter being our first full quarter incorporating the HG Energy acquisition.

看向投影片右側的財務結果，我們的調整後 EBITDAX 年增 57%，帶來 2.20 億美元的自由現金流。我們將其中一部分自由現金流用於加速股票回購計畫，以 3,800 萬美元回購 110 萬股。最後，我們的現金營運成本總額位於指引區間低端，每 Mcfe 下降 0.29 美元（或 11%），較去年同期降低。這項降低成本的第一步，歸因於第二季是我們首次完整一季納入 HG Energy 收購案的影響。

Next, let's turn to Slide 13, titled strong performance and return to dry gas drilling. This slide compares our well design and production performance from when we last role on our dry gas acreage over 12 years ago. So the pad we turned to sales this year using modern drilling and completion methodologies. Our lateral lengths nearly doubled, and we increased our sand use from 800 pounds per foot to 2,000 pounds per foot. Despite these increases, our cost per foot declined 28% to just $900 per foot.

接下來請看第 13 張投影片，標題為「強勁表現與重返乾氣鑽井」。本頁比較我們在 12 年前上一次於乾氣區塊作業時的井設計與產量表現。因此，我們今年將該平台以現代化鑽井與完井方法投入銷售。我們的水平段長度幾乎加倍，並將每英尺用砂量從 800 磅提高至 2,000 磅。儘管有這些增加，我們的每英尺成本仍下降 28%，降至每英尺僅 900 美元。

Most impressively, our EUR increased 67% from 1.2 Bcf per 1,000 to over 2 Bcf per 1,000. On the right, you can see the 90-day cumulative production rates, which increased more than 3x. All of these results exceeded our internal expectations. With over 1,000 dry gas locations, we view this acreage footprint as the largest undrilled Tier 1 dry gas position left in the US.

最令人印象深刻的是，我們的 EUR 從每 1,000 英尺 1.2 Bcf 提升 67%，超過每 1,000 英尺 2 Bcf。右側您可以看到 90 天累計產量率，提升超過 3 倍。所有這些結果都超出我們的內部預期。在擁有超過 1,000 個乾氣井位的情況下，我們認為這塊面積是美國境內仍剩下的最大、尚未鑽探的 Tier 1 乾氣資產部位。

Next, Slide 14 looks more closely at the acquisitions we closed in July. We invested $315 million on assets in our core West Virginia Marcellus footprint. These transactions immediately add 125 million a day of net production and were acquired at a combined valuation of just 4x EBITDAX and a free cash flow yield over 20%. The chart on the right illustrates how we've been able to increase our net production, which has increased from 3.3 Bcfe a day at the beginning of 2025 to an expected 2026 exit rate of 4.5 Bcfe a day or 36% growth over that time period. Notably, we have been able to accomplish this net production growth without impacting the basin's gross production, which you can see has remained essentially flat at 35.5 Bcf a day over that time period.

接下來，第 14 頁投影片更仔細地檢視我們在 7 月完成交割的收購案。我們在西維吉尼亞州 Marcellus 核心區塊的資產上投資了 3.15 億美元。這些交易立即增加每日 1.25 億的淨產量，且合併估值僅為 4 倍 EBITDAX，並且自由現金流殖利率超過 20%。右側圖表說明我們如何提升淨產量：從 2025 年初的每日 3.3 Bcfe，增加到預期 2026 年退出水準（exit rate）的每日 4.5 Bcfe，期間成長 36%。值得注意的是，我們在達成淨產量成長的同時，並未影響盆地的總產量；如您所見，該期間總產量基本持平，約為每日 35.5 Bcf。

To emphasize a point that we've made in recent discussions, Antero is in its best position in company history through accretive transactions and organic growth our production has increased by 1/3. We have already achieved nearly half of our targeted 25% reduction in operating costs and the NGL outlook has significantly strengthened relative to the beginning of 2026. Further, our share count is down and our total debt will be back to pre HG Energy acquisition levels in the coming quarters.

為了強調我們在近期討論中提到的一點：透過具增厚效益（accretive）的交易與有機成長，Antero 正處於公司史上最佳位置，我們的產量已增加 1/3。我們已經達成目標中 25% 營運成本降低的近一半，而且相較於 2026 年初，NGL 展望已顯著轉強。此外，我們的流通股數已下降，而我們的總負債也將在未來幾季回到 HG Energy 收購前的水準。

With that, I will now turn the call over to the operator for questions.

接下來，我把電話會議交給接線員進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) Kevin MacCurdy, Pickering Energy Partners.

(接線員指示) Kevin MacCurdy，Pickering Energy Partners。

There's been some activity in your neck of the woods in recent power deals and talk of data centers. Obviously, you are in the dominant position or the dominant producer in West Virginia. And you touched a little bit on this on your prepared remarks, but maybe you can expand a little bit on how you view your gas marketing portfolio in total. And what would make you get more aggressive with long-term sales agreements?

最近你們那一帶在電力交易方面有一些動作，也有人在談資料中心。顯然你們在西維吉尼亞州處於主導地位，或說是主要的生產商。你在事先準備的發言中稍微提到了一點，但或許可以再多談一些你如何看待你們整體的天然氣行銷（gas marketing）組合。以及在什麼情況下會讓你們對長期銷售協議採取更積極的作法？

Yes. I think we touched on in remarks. I mean right now, we kind of think about how 10 to 15 years back, we signed up for all the firm transport arrangements just to get our gas out. Now we're at the end of that. And so we can select the best paths, and those pads are competing with the power deals comparing them.

是的。我想我們在發言中有提到。我的意思是，現在我們回想大約 10 到 15 年前，當時我們簽了所有的固定運輸（firm transport）安排，只是為了把天然氣運出去。現在我們已經走到那個階段的尾聲。因此我們可以選擇最佳的路徑，而這些路徑也在與電力交易競爭、相互比較。

So it has to compete with the broader energy markets. The one was recently in our backyard. I mean we've been in discussions with them for almost a decade. So we're well aware of that. They actually have a contract on some of our midstream. So in discussions with them, just the uncertainty around the pricing, the timing, the execution, all of that really didn't meet our return hurdles. So when we look at projects, it has to meet all of those three, and that one just wasn't attractive to us.

所以它必須能與更廣泛的能源市場競爭。其中一個案子最近就在我們附近。我們其實已經和他們討論了將近十年。所以我們非常清楚那個案子。他們實際上在我們部分中游資產上有一份合約。但在與他們的討論中，定價、時程、執行等方面的不確定性，整體而言都無法達到我們的報酬門檻。因此我們在評估專案時，必須同時符合這三點，而那個案子對我們來說就是不具吸引力。

Okay. I appreciate the details there. And as my follow-up, you were able to do some buybacks this quarter despite continuing to execute on the bolt-ons. We see a lot of free cash flow potential from Antero in the coming years. With the stock in the kind of mid-30s, are you ranking buybacks a little bit higher among your options for your cash flow?

了解。謝謝你提供這些細節。接著我的追問是：儘管你們持續執行加購（bolt-on）案，本季仍能進行一些庫藏股回購。我們看到 Antero 在未來幾年有很大的自由現金流潛力。在股價大約落在 30 多美元中段的情況下，你們是否把回購在現金流用途選項中的排序提高了一些？

Yes, definitely. You saw that in the quarter. We weren't planning on buying back shares in the quarter, but where the equity price went obviously very attractive to us, I think you heard in Brendan's summary comments, production up 20%, cash costs down 10%. Liquids pricing up significantly. EBITDA up 57% when you look at the share price, and it's the same as last year.

是的，絕對是。你在本季也看到了。我們原本沒有計畫在本季回購股票，但股價走勢顯然對我們非常有吸引力；我想你也在 Brendan 的總結評論中聽到：產量成長 20%、現金成本下降 10%。液體（liquids）價格大幅上升。EBITDA 成長 57%，但你看股價，卻和去年一樣。

So I would say that you could elevate the ranking of that and that is very attractive to us at these levels.

所以我會說，你可以把回購的排序提高一些，而在目前這些水準下，這對我們非常有吸引力。

Dave Daoud, Truist.

Dave Daoud，Truist。

It's Gabe from Truist. I was hoping we can maybe just touch on the growth CapEx and how we should be thinking about that impacting 2026. It looks like you're at 4 rigs currently, maybe already putting some of that growth capital to work. Could we maybe just get an update there?

我是 Truist 的 Gabe。我希望我們可以談一下成長性資本支出（growth CapEx），以及我們應該如何看待它對 2026 年的影響。看起來你們目前有 4 部鑽機，可能已經開始投入部分成長資本。能否請你更新一下這方面的狀況？

Yes. So it's 4 ones in transition. So it will be down to 3 here in the next month. But we are drilling those 3 pads that we talked about that are kind of on the difference between maintenance and growth capital. So you also have some capital.

好的。所以目前是 4 部處於轉換（transition）中的鑽機。因此在接下來一個月內會降到 3 部。但我們正在鑽我們提到的那 3 個井場（pads），它們介於維持性資本與成長性資本之間。所以你也會有一些資本投入。

So our maintenance case is to remind everyone what was $1 billion, our growth is $1.2 billion of capital this year. Right now, we're probably somewhere a bit north of $1 billion, but not to the $1.2 billion. A lot of that will be completion capital in the fourth quarter, and we still -- that's yet to be determined whether we deploy that. We said in the past, $3-plus gas. It's probably something that we would deploy, but we'll just have to determine that when we get there.

提醒大家，我們的維持性情境（maintenance case）是 10 億美元，而今年的成長資本是 12 億美元。目前我們大概略高於 10 億美元，但還沒到 12 億美元。其中很大一部分會是第四季的完井（completion）資本，而我們仍然——尚未決定是否要投入。我們過去說過，若天然氣價格在 3 美元以上。那可能就是我們會投入的情況，但我們得等到那時再做判斷。

Okay. And soif you complete those wells, and that takes '27, would imagine [ 4, 6 ]?

了解。那如果你們把那些井完井，而那會延伸到 2027 年的話，我想像會是[ 4, 6 ]？

Yes.

是的。

Yes. Okay. Okay. And then maybe just a follow-up. Curious on the cost optimization plan, the $0.35 reduction in realization is obviously being offset by the big move lower on the cost side.

是的。好。好。接著可能再追問一下。我對成本優化計畫很好奇，實現價格（realization）下降 0.35 美元顯然被成本端大幅下降所抵銷。

Just how dynamic is that plan? Just curious like how much flexibility will you have we progressed through '27 and maybe in basin pricing not really materialized to what you would expect. Would you just still keep some of that FTE or is that just simply the recontracting to lower market rates?

那個計畫的動態調整程度有多高？我想了解的是，當我們推進到 2027 年、而且盆地內定價可能沒有如你們預期般實現時，你們會有多少彈性？你們會仍然保留部分 FTE（全職人力），還是這基本上只是把合約重新議價到較低的市場費率？

Yes. So some of that's in-basin pricing around the dry gas, but the majority of it is just the optimization of our firm transport. I was trying to hit in the comments; it's definitely coming from the end users it's a demand pull. And so when we came out with this cost presentation and strategy a couple of months back, we received so many reverse inquiries along our firm transport paths and Justin hit on that slide, too, all of that 7 Bcf of demand that's along those FT pads, you can assume a lot of those are reaching out to us to try to optimize that transport, put it in their hands, not ours, but also get us a premium that's baked into this $300 million that we've been talking about, that would be incremental. But that's something we're looking at.

是的。其中一部分來自盆地內乾氣的定價，但大多數其實只是我們對固定運輸（firm transport）的優化。我在評論中想強調的是：這確實是來自終端用戶的需求拉動（demand pull）。因此，當我們在幾個月前提出這份成本簡報與策略時，我們在固定運輸路徑上收到了非常多反向詢問（reverse inquiries）；Justin 在那張投影片也提到，沿著那些 FT 井場（pads）有 7 Bcf 的需求，你可以假設其中很多人都主動聯繫我們，想要優化那段運輸，把它交到他們手上、而不是我們手上，同時也讓我們取得溢價，而這個溢價已經反映在我們一直在談的 3 億美元之中，且會是增量（incremental）。但這是我們正在評估的事情。

And you kind of saw the first sign of that with our guidance. We reduced our cash costs also reduced the realized price, but we're hopeful that we'll actually do better than that. Just getting premiums along that path instead of just having the end user to hold that transport.

而你們其實在我們的指引中已經看到第一個跡象。我們降低了現金成本，同時也降低了實現價格，但我們希望實際表現會優於此。沿著那條路徑拿到溢價，而不是只讓終端用戶去承擔那段運輸。

John Freeman, Raymond James.

John Freeman，Raymond James。

Just following up on the $300 million kind of margin enhancement that you all first unveiled in that presentation last month. Just to clarify if that was extended kind of a few years kind of beyond that 2028 target, is it safe to say that, that $300 million number would move materially higher, if you just extended the timeline?

我想追問一下你們上個月在那場簡報中首次揭露的、約3億美元的利潤率提升。想確認一下，如果把它延伸到2028年目標之後的幾年，是否可以說，只要把時間拉長，那3億美元的數字就會顯著提高？

Absolutely. We just focused on three years. We thought that was kind of the investment horizon. If you're looking past that for the five years, I think it grows about $600 million to $700 million.

絕對會。我們只是聚焦在三年。我們認為那是投資視野。如果你看的是五年期，我認為它會成長到大約6億到7億美元。

That's great. And then just follow up, Mike, as you sort of see this play out with the data centers, the power projects as they come online over the next several years? And you sort of start to move or have the opportunity to sell more gas in basin. Just like rough numbers, like how do you see that mix sort of changing versus if we call it kind of two-thirds kind of out of basin at the moment? Like just how do you see that evolving over the next several years?

太好了。接著再追問一下，Mike，當你看到未來幾年資料中心、電力專案陸續上線時會如何發展？而你也開始移動、或有機會在盆地內（in basin）銷售更多天然氣。用粗略的數字來說，你認為這個組合會怎麼變化？相較於我們現在大概是三分之二在盆地外（out of basin）。你覺得未來幾年會如何演進？

Yes. Right now, we're kind of thinking one-third was FT long haul, one-third liquids and one-third is generally local sales. So if you just put that in natural gas terms, it's about 50-50. The word we like to use, you're going to hear a lot of you hear at the balance. We want to be balanced natural gas liquids producer. We also want to be a balanced seller of the natural gas, about half on the long-haul transport and half local.

是的。目前我們大致的想法是：三分之一是FT長途運輸（long haul），三分之一是液體（liquids），另外三分之一通常是本地銷售。所以如果你把它換算成天然氣的角度，大概是50-50。我們喜歡用的詞，你們會常常聽到，就是「平衡」。我們希望成為一個平衡的天然氣液體（NGL）生產商。我們也希望天然氣銷售是平衡的：大約一半走長途運輸，一半在本地銷售。

Arun Jayaram, JPMorgan.

Arun Jayaram，JPMorgan。

Mike, I was wondering if you could talk us through the timing of further reaching your cost reduction target of $0.70 per Mcfe. It sounds like you're halfway or nearly halfway there to the integration of HG but give us a sense of how that will play out over the next couple of years. And again, I'm asking this question, largely trying to think about where your cash operating costs could be in calendar 2027 as you move towards that $2 end of year '28 target?

Mike，我想請你談談進一步達成每Mcfe降低0.70美元成本目標的時間點。聽起來你們在HG整合上已經完成一半或接近一半，但請讓我們了解未來兩年會如何推進。我之所以問這個問題，主要是想思考：當你們朝著2028年底2美元的目標前進時，2027曆年的現金營運成本可能會落在哪裡？

Yes. We put in the 3 buckets -- we put some timing around that. That first when we talked about the override that starts immediately that started in July, that's a $0.04 uplift or $0.04 improvement on the cost structure at $60 million. And we have the VPP in July of '27. That's an incremental $30 million.

是的。我們把它分成三個桶（三大項），並且對時間點做了一些安排。第一個是我們談到的override，它是立即開始的，7月就開始了，這對成本結構是0.04美元的提升（或0.04美元的改善），對應6,000萬美元。另外我們在2027年7月有VPP。那是額外增加3,000萬美元。

Throughout that time, you're going to see this optimization of our natural gas firm transport. It's harder to predict the exact timing of that, but we're in significant negotiations around those type of improvements. So think about that as more ratable and then the $105 million at [indiscernible] liquids at year-end '28.

在那段期間，你會看到我們對天然氣固定運輸（firm transport）的最佳化。這個確切時間點比較難預測，但我們正在就這類改善進行重大談判。所以把它視為較為平均、逐步發生；然後到2028年底，液體（liquids）那邊有1.05億美元在[聽不清]。

Got it. Got it. Great. And my follow-up, Mike, clearly, one of the themes from today's earnings is your commentary that the business for large scaling natural gas liquids producers will be more driven by kind of demand pull versus just being a traditional E&P price taker. I was wondering if you could comment on how you think Antero is positioned for this kind of, call it, shift in market dynamics.

了解。了解。很好。我的追問是，Mike，很明顯今天財報的一個主題是：你提到大型規模的天然氣液體生產商，其業務將更受「需求拉動」驅動，而不只是傳統E&P那種被動接受價格（price taker）。我想請你評論一下，你認為Antero在這種（可說是）市場動態轉變中，處於什麼樣的位置。

Yes, we're extremely well positioned. Go back 15 years, and we were trying to create markets. There was no local gas markets that had to sign up for all the firm transport that came our way. Those are expiring now. So now we get to pick the best ones.

是的，我們的定位非常好。回到15年前，我們是在努力創造市場。當時沒有本地天然氣市場，所以我們必須把所有到我們這裡的固定運輸（firm transport）都簽下來。那些合約現在正在到期。所以現在我們可以挑選最好的選項。

Some of it ended up in terrific markets. Some of it didn't end up as well as we had hoped. So we'll be able to compare those now to the local demand. So it's perfect timing for us. And that's why in the comments, those opportunities are going to have to compete with the broader energy markets because those LNG buyers are really in kind of international. There's an art there and our strategy has been to remain on the spot there. So we haven't entered any firm agreements with that price.

其中一部分最後進入了非常好的市場。也有一些結果沒有像我們希望的那麼好。所以我們現在可以把那些與本地需求做比較。對我們來說時機完美。這也是為什麼在評論中我提到，那些機會必須與更廣泛的能源市場競爭，因為那些LNG買家其實是在某種程度上面向國際市場。這裡面有技巧，而我們的策略是保持現貨（spot）曝險。所以我們沒有以那個價格簽任何固定協議（firm agreements）。

And then local is going to have to compete with that. That's why we're highly selective you're going to see a bunch of announcements that along the way; we are participating and then you can be assured that's because our opportunity sets greater than what those opportunities were. So highly selective. It's got to be more near term. It's got to be price certain, and it's got to compete with our firm transport and liquids production.

而本地市場也必須與之競爭。這就是為什麼我們非常挑剔；你們會一路看到一連串公告：我們會參與其中，但你可以確信那是因為我們的機會集合比那些機會更大。所以我們會高度選擇。必須更偏近期。必須價格確定，而且必須能與我們的固定運輸與液體產量相競爭。

Doug Leggate, Wolfe Research.

Doug Leggate，Wolfe Research。

So Brendan, this is maybe for you. But in your deck, you're walking through pretty clearly the planned reduction in cash costs. I think it's been beating pretty well this morning. My question is, why are you -- hold a second -- why are you offsetting that with price realizations? I'm trying to understand what this implies for your market view of gas going forward?

Brendan，這題可能是問你。但在你們的簡報裡，你很清楚地走過了現金成本的計畫性下降。我想今天早上大家已經談得很充分了。我的問題是，你們為什麼——等一下——要用實現價格（price realizations）來抵消它？我想了解，這對你們未來天然氣市場觀點意味著什麼？

Yes, sorry, I didn't hear that last part. Doug, do you repeat that?

是的，抱歉，我沒聽到最後那一段。Doug，你可以再說一次嗎？

Sorry, some dialing in my system. Why are you offsetting it with price realizations? I'm trying to understand what that signals for your view on the macro?

抱歉，我系統撥入有點問題。你們為什麼要用實現價格來抵消？我想了解這對你們的總體（macro）看法釋放了什麼訊號？

Yes. It just goes back to some of that same conversation Mike was having that the world is shifting from this producer push to demand pull. Sometimes what that means is they're willing to take your product in basin you'll, of course, have a lower realized price that they're buying in basin. But from a margin standpoint, you're picking up $0.35 of margin. So they're taking on the transport to move it, but they're giving you a premium on the price versus what you otherwise would have sold if you were just selling in basin.

是的。這其實回到Mike剛才談到的同一段對話：世界正在從「生產者推動」轉向「需求拉動」。有時這代表他們願意在盆地內（in basin）接你的產品；當然，你在盆地內賣，實現價格會比較低。但從利潤率（margin）的角度，你會多拿到0.35美元的利潤。所以他們承擔把它運走的運輸成本，但相較於你原本如果只是在盆地內銷售，他們會在價格上給你一個溢價。

So costs coming down $0.70 offset by realizations coming down by about half. So your margins still are getting picked up by $0.35 overall.

所以成本下降0.70美元，而實現價格下降大約一半來抵消。因此你的利潤率整體仍然提升0.35美元。

So we're quite enthused by what we're seeing on the demand fall, like Mike mentioned, this market where it used to be you have to find a place of your gas, it's now become, hey, can you deliver us 300 million a day in this area? Can you deliver us 200 million a day in this area that we need by this period of time. And we have to weigh that against our firm transport. What is the cost to get you there? You have to take on that cost, or you can pick this back up in basin and then you can take on that cost.

所以我們對需求端的變化感到非常振奮；就像Mike提到的，市場以前是你得替你的天然氣找到去處，現在變成「你能不能在這個區域每天交付3億（立方英尺）？」「你能不能在這個區域每天交付2億（立方英尺），而且要在這個時間點之前滿足我們的需求？」而我們必須把這些與我們的固定運輸（firm transport）做權衡。把你送到那裡的成本是多少？你要承擔那個成本；或者你可以在盆地內把它買回來（pick this back up in basin），然後你再承擔那個成本。

But all of these factor in to our decisions, but they're all -- should lead to margin improvement on our natural gas in a big, big way.

但所有這些因素都會納入我們的決策考量，而且它們都——應該會在很大、很大的程度上推動我們天然氣業務的利潤率改善。

I appreciate that color. My follow-up is a quick one, hopefully. So obviously, you've drilled your first dry gas pads in quite a while. You haven't completed them obviously, but whether we end up with a squishy winter or not, what's the kind of road map to whether you would go back to growth in 2027?

感謝你提供這些補充說明。我接下來的追問很簡短，希望如此。所以很明顯，你們在相當長一段時間後首次鑽了乾氣井的井台。你們顯然還沒有完井，但不論今年冬天是否偏暖，你們對於是否會在2027年回到成長軌道的路線圖大概是什麼？

Go back. We have two pads in there. Well, we put our first one in planning and that the Brendan review the results the next two are (inaudible) Walters right next to it. they'll be drilling, whether we complete them, like you mentioned, will be natural gas price dependent. But I fully anticipate completing them, if it's $3 gas plus, and we can hedge that and also hedge kind of local basis at very attractive levels.

回到成長。我們那邊有兩個井台。嗯，我們把第一個納入規劃，Brendan 會檢視結果；接下來兩個是（聽不清）Walters，就在旁邊。他們會進行鑽井；至於是否完井，如你提到的，將取決於天然氣價格。但我完全預期如果天然氣價格在3美元以上，而且我們能把它做避險，同時也能以非常有吸引力的水準對當地基差做避險，我們就會完井。

So right now, based on the markets that we're looking at, you would assume that those would be completed. But if you have a significant down or price movement on the '27 gas, and we won't complete them in the fourth quarter.

所以就目前我們看到的市場而言，你可以假設那些井會完井。但如果2027年的天然氣價格出現顯著下跌或價格波動，我們就不會在第四季把它們完井。

Betty Jiang, Barclays.

Betty Jiang，巴克萊。

I want to start with a follow-up to Arun's question about costs. This GP&T pieces, there's many drivers lowering that GP&T over time. Could you just impact like how much of the reduction is coming from a shift towards the HG dry gas assets like whether that's -- the wells are getting better and just shifting to HG? And how much of it is growth, further dry gas growth above and beyond the base level?

我想先接續 Arun 關於成本的問題追問。在 GP&T 這一塊，隨時間推移有很多驅動因素會讓 GP&T 降低。你能否說明一下，例如有多少降幅來自於轉向 HG 乾氣資產——像是井況變好、以及只是把比重轉到 HG？另外有多少是來自於成長，也就是在基礎水準之上進一步的乾氣成長？

No, 50% is HG. It's over $50 million this year, I should say, HG. HG has outperformed our expectations, definitely. 2 of the 3 rigs that we have running right now that force and transit, but 2 of the 3 are on HG pads. One of them, those liquids, one of them is a dry gas.

不，50% 來自 HG。我應該說，今年 HG 的貢獻超過5,000萬美元。HG 的表現確實超出我們的預期。目前我們有3座鑽機在運轉、在推進，但其中2座在 HG 井台上。其中一座是液體井，另一座是乾氣井。

So incrementally, HG is outperforming and will have more production than we assumed. So there's a little bit of that, but it's not terribly material. HG does sell -- we do sell the majority of those volumes in basin. So those will have lower transport costs associated with them. So that does impact it a bit. But the majority of it is just a shift, like we said to the demand pull and shift to just some dry gas development also with those transactions expiring.

所以就增量而言，HG 表現優於預期，產量也會高於我們原先假設。所以有一點這方面的影響，但並不是特別重大。HG 的銷售——我們確實把其中大部分量賣在盆地內。因此相關的運輸成本會比較低。所以這確實會有一些影響。但大部分原因只是轉變，如我們所說，轉向需求拉動，並轉向一些乾氣開發，同時那些交易到期。

Yes. If you look at that $300 million that we have laid out there to Betty, I think about $250 million of that. So all of the liquids, the VPP, the override and then about half of the gas is all just driven by pure kind of optimization, the $50 million Mike mentioned that $300 million is really just driven by that kind of shift to order, I guess, in HG.

是的。如果你看我們對 Betty 提到的那3億美元，我認為其中大約2.5億美元。所以所有的液體、VPP、override，然後大約一半的天然氣，都是由純粹的最佳化所驅動；Mike 提到的那5,000萬美元，在那3億美元裡，主要就是由那種轉變所驅動，我想是在 HG 的排序調整。

Got it. And then sorry for -- so on a per unit basis, if you grow the dry gas piece going forward, how much would that improve your GP&T?

了解。然後抱歉——所以以單位基礎來看，如果你們未來提高乾氣的比重，這會讓你們的 GP&T 改善多少？

Well, I think on the GP&T front, like we said, the $300 million, just to break it down. So we've got $0.35 of margin improvement. $300 million is about $0.20, the other $0.15 comes from HG. So $0.35 of margin improvement. The $0.20 within that $300 million we talked about, $0.15 is HG.

嗯，我想在 GP&T 方面，如我們所說，那3億美元，拆開來看。所以我們有0.35美元的利潤率改善。3億美元大約是0.20美元，另外0.15美元來自 HG。所以是0.35美元的利潤率改善。在我們談到的那3億美元裡面的0.20美元，其中0.15美元是 HG。

And then the other -- if you think about it from a cost standpoint, again, we're down $0.70 on cost. Almost all of that $0.70 reduction is going to come in the form of GP&T coming down. I mean that's the driver of that processing costs will be lower. Transport costs will be lower. Gathering I'll say the same to AM on that front, but everything else will be lower.

然後另外——如果你從成本角度來看，再次強調，我們的成本下降了0.70美元。這0.70美元的降幅幾乎全部都會以 GP&T 下降的形式呈現。我的意思是，這就是驅動因素：處理成本會更低。運輸成本會更低。集輸（Gathering）方面我也會對 AM 說同樣的話，但其他所有項目都會更低。

Got it. And if I could sneak in one quick one. In your scenario, how much do you -- does your in-basin exposure grow over the next few years from the '25 currently?

了解。如果我可以再塞一個很快的問題。在你們的情境下，從目前2025年的水準起算，未來幾年你們在盆地內（in-basin）的曝險會增加多少？

Yes. Mike talked about it. So you'll feel likely go from what today is two-thirds, call it, two-thirds, one-third in terms of two-thirds going to the LNG Fairway and 1/3 going elsewhere. You'll have that be more 50-50 on a go-forward basis. That will take some time to play out.

是的。Mike 談過了。所以你們很可能會從今天的大約三分之二——就叫它三分之二、三分之一——也就是三分之二流向 LNG Fairway、三分之一流向其他地方。往後會更接近 50-50。這需要一些時間才會逐步反映出來。

That will be over, cal it, a five-year period for that to play out.

這大概會在五年的期間內逐步實現。

Phillip Jungwirth, BMO.

Phillip Jungwirth，BMO。

I know in term mystery has a separate call, but I was hoping you could talk about the East Side Express Pipeline, which is the first interest state regional line. Just how does this benefit Antero and just confidence in executing a project like this? And then just separately, just what's the interest in difficulties in building and interstate pipeline team. Just thinking like shorter distances like West Virginia and Ohio, for instance, where there should be strong demand pull in the future.

我知道 In term mystery 有一場單獨的電話會議，但我希望你能談談 East Side Express Pipeline，這是第一條州際區域管線。這對 Antero 有什麼好處，以及你們對執行這類專案的信心如何？另外再分開問一下，建設州際管線團隊的興趣與困難是什麼？例如像西維吉尼亞州與俄亥俄州這種較短距離的路線，未來應該會有很強的需求拉動。

Yes. No, we're super excited about that. That goes hand in glove with these acquisitions that we just did, consolidating the dry gas area of our play 1,000 locations that Brendan talked about. This is our first regional pipeline East West that will cover approximately over 30 miles of our acreage position in the dry gas window, extend all the way across it. Antero Midstream is the industrial builder of Northern West Virginia.

是的。不，我們對此非常興奮。這與我們剛完成的這些收購相輔相成，整合我們在區塊乾氣區域的布局，也就是 Brendan 提到的1,000個井位。這是我們第一條東西向的區域管線，將覆蓋我們在乾氣窗口約30英里以上的租地位置，並一路橫跨整個區域。Antero Midstream 是北西維吉尼亞的基礎設施建設者。

And now has the balance sheet to credit, the strength, the expertise to build there over a decade. Maybe a decade ago, we formed this out everyone's kind of familiar with that Stonewall pipeline. That's when we farm that project out because we just didn't have the ability to execute on that. That's no longer the case.

而且現在擁有資產負債表與信用實力、以及在那裡建設十年以上的能力與專業。大概十年前，我們把這件事外包出去，大家都很熟悉 Stonewall 管線。那時我們把那個專案外包，因為我們當時沒有執行能力。現在情況已經不同了。

We are the builder of these regional pipelines now in West Virginia. And Antero Resources acreage position and strength in investment grade goes with that over 1 million acres, thousands of these dry gas locations, so they'll straight across it, and we hope to build more of those at Antero Midstream and for Antero Resources to benefit of that building, maybe the next one is probably north, south. We've got a couple on the drawing board to go to all the demand centers to go to all these projects all the interconnects with all these long-haul pipes, just interconnect this million-acre position in Tier 1 Marcellus with all the demand that's been publicized and Antero Midstream will be the pipeline to build it, and we will not farm those type of opportunities out anymore.

我們現在就是西維吉尼亞這些區域管線的建設者。而 Antero Resources 的租地規模與投資級的財務實力也與此相匹配——超過100萬英畝、數千個乾氣井位，所以它們會直接橫跨其上；我們也希望在 Antero Midstream 建更多這類管線，讓 Antero Resources 受益於這些建設。下一條可能會是南北向。我們有幾個正在規劃中，要通往所有需求中心、通往所有這些專案、以及與所有長途管線的各個互聯點，把這個位於一級 Marcellus 的百萬英畝租地與已公開的所有需求連結起來；Antero Midstream 將會是負責建設的管線公司，而我們不會再把這類機會外包出去。

Okay. Great. And then Antero has also always been a leader in realizations for your products, whether it's gas or C3+. We have seen peers increase their focus on the marketing side of late, one with a large acquisition. Just when you look at what they're doing, is that something that could make sense for Antero to pursue just as less of the dry gas volume in the future is committed?

好的。很好。另外，Antero 一直以來在你們產品的實現價格方面都是領先者，無論是天然氣還是 C3+。我們看到同業近期加大了對行銷端的投入，其中一家還做了一筆大型收購。就你們觀察他們在做的事情而言，隨著未來承諾的乾氣量變少，這是否會是 Antero 也可能考慮推進、且有意義的方向？

And if so, how do you go about that?

如果是的話，你們會如何著手？

We think we already have that. I mean we've been the top 10 gas marketer in the US for the past decade. We were ahead of the game on that with our firm transport portfolio. I think we have '28 paths that we market along.

我們認為我們其實已經具備了。我的意思是，過去十年我們一直是美國前十大天然氣行銷商。我們在這方面靠著自有的長約運輸（firm transport）組合早就領先。我想我們有 28 條路徑在做行銷。

And also with our liquids to Dave and his team has been a leader in that, first one sign up on ME2, pretty much signed up on every single project from an LPG and ethane standpoint, I've been marketing around that, really a market maker over on the Atlantic Beacon side of the liquids marketing. So we feel really good about our position there ahead of the game. And so now others are kind of getting into that monetization of the product being a very important part of the business. We were there over a decade ago.

另外在液體方面，Dave 和他的團隊一直是領先者；我們是第一個在 ME2 簽約的，從 LPG 與乙烷的角度來看，幾乎每一個專案我們都簽了；我也一直圍繞這些在做行銷，在大西洋 Beacon 那邊的液體行銷上，我們確實更像是市場造市者（market maker）。所以我們對自己在那裡的布局感到非常有信心，早就走在前面。而現在其他人也開始意識到，產品變現是業務中非常重要的一環。我們十多年前就已經在做了。

Jack Cavanagh, Goldman Sachs.

Jack Cavanagh，高盛。

I just wanted to ask on hedging simply in 2027, just curious how your team is approaching the right hedging levels for next year. I know there's anything you're seeing in the macro set for '27 that would change your hedging approach year-over-year based off the 60% levels we saw in 2026.

我想簡單問一下 2027 年的避險；想了解你們團隊如何拿捏明年的適當避險比例。我知道 2026 年我們看到大約 60% 的水位；想請教你們在 2027 年的總體環境（macro）上是否看到任何因素，會讓你們相較於往年調整避險作法？

No, we're in a good position. We're actually ahead of where we were this time last year for '27. We've got 34% hedged. I think it's a Bcf at 30.84 and then maybe 100 million a day of collars with the 350 by 450. We said before, we like the 25% swaps and 25% collars, but that's if the collars, if those are attractive levels with a lot of call skew.

沒有，我們目前位置很好。事實上，就 2027 年而言，我們比去年此時的進度更超前。我們已經避險了 34%。我想是 10 億立方英尺（Bcf）在 30.84，另外可能還有每天 1 億的領口（collars），區間是 350 到 450。我們之前說過，我們喜歡 25% 掉期（swaps）加 25% 領口，但前提是領口的水位要夠有吸引力、且有很大的買權偏斜（call skew）。

We've been faring more of the swaps of late I think you'll see us continue to increase that. We're in a great position. So we're not going to be rushing into down markets.

最近我們比較偏向做掉期，我想你們會看到我們持續提高那一塊。我們的位置非常好。所以我們不會在市場走弱時急著進場。

But if you see upticks in the gas price in '27, you may see us add a little bit. When we do acquisitions like this recent one, we do hedge it. So you saw an increase in our volumes there, hedge volumes by, I believe, around 100 million a day in '26 and 80 million in '27. So when we do acquisitions, we will hedge them just like we did this one -- these couple of acquisitions we did in July.

但如果 2027 年天然氣價格出現上行，你們可能會看到我們再加一些。當我們做像最近這筆一樣的收購時，我們會把它避險起來。所以你看到我們的避險量增加了，我相信在 2026 年大約每天增加 1 億，在 2027 年增加 8,000 萬。因此，只要我們做收購，我們就會像這次一樣把它避險起來——就像我們 7 月做的這幾筆收購。

I appreciate that. And then my follow-up -- maybe on the $315 million in the West Virginia property acquisitions for the quarter, curious how you and the team are seeing the near-term opportunity set for incremental bolt-ons in and around your core footprint and whether the current macro is having an impact on the number of opportunities you're seeing in the market?

了解，謝謝。接著追問——關於本季在西維吉尼亞州資產收購的 3.15 億美元，我想了解你和團隊如何看待在核心區域內及周邊、短期內進一步加購（bolt-on）的機會集合；以及目前的總體環境是否影響你們在市場上看到的機會數量？

Yes, it does. We have a lot of non-op working interest and fees out in our basin and when you have 1 million acres, you have a large opportunity set. A lot of non-op working interest. We're in discussions with them, and they tend to have acreage around their non-op position too, that they're not able to drill or operate. So as part of the transaction, we want to buy in as much working interest as we can.

會的，確實有影響。我們在盆地裡有很多非營運（non-op）的工作權益與費權（fees）；當你擁有 100 萬英畝時，你的機會集合就很大。有很多非營運的工作權益。我們正與他們洽談，而他們通常在其非營運部位周邊也有一些土地，但他們無法自行鑽井或營運。所以作為交易的一部分，我們希望能買進盡可能多的工作權益。

And get the acreage as well. Our goal -- one of our strategies is obviously to increase our production. It's really the interest of the production from the growth standpoint already on our acreage.

也把土地一併拿下。我們的目標——我們的策略之一顯然是提高產量。從成長角度來看，重點其實是在我們既有土地上、對產量的權益占比提升。

So gross being flat but enter owning more and more of that -- the interest in that production and then obviously consolidating the acreage around the East Side Express. That's where this acreage was, 15 locations, a couple of pads right on that East Side Express. So that was very attractive to us. We continue to see these type of opportunities, and we'll continue to look at them.

也就是總量（gross）持平，但 Antero 對那部分產量的權益占比持續提高；同時也會在 East Side Express 周邊進行土地整合。這次的土地就在那裡，有 15 個井位、幾個井場（pads）就在 East Side Express 旁邊。所以對我們非常有吸引力。我們仍持續看到這類機會，也會持續評估。

Generally, it's kind of in around when gas prices go lower, we feel more comfortable and we can hedge out and take advantage of the contango in the future and then know exactly when we'll develop the pads and take advantage of those type of valuations.

一般來說，當天然氣價格走低時，我們會覺得更安心；我們可以把未來的產量避險起來、利用遠期的正價差（contango），並且清楚掌握何時開發井場，從而利用這類估值水準。

Leo Mariani, ROTH Capital.

Leo Mariani，ROTH Capital。

I was hoping you could give a little bit more of an update on HG here. I know that kind of last quarter, you guys bumped up your synergy target there. Can you give us a sense of kind of how much of the synergies you've captured thus far in 2026? And do you think there could be more upside to that number over time?

我希望你能再多更新一下 HG 的情況。我知道上季你們把協同效益目標上調了。你能否讓我們了解一下，2026 年截至目前你們已經實現了多少協同效益？以及你認為隨著時間推進，這個數字是否還有上行空間？

There will be more upside. It's still up that $80 million level, but that's not capturing what I mentioned earlier in my remarks. We're -- we actually have 2 rigs of our 3 on the HG acreage. That's well ahead of schedule. We were contemplating when we underwrote the transaction just one rig.

會有更多上行空間。目前仍是 8,000 萬美元那個水準，但那還沒有反映我先前在談話中提到的內容。我們——事實上，我們 3 部鑽機裡有 2 部已經在 HG 的土地上作業。這比原先時程超前很多。我們在承作（underwrite）這筆交易時原本只規劃 1 部鑽機。

So that's going to accelerate the volumes on the HG, which is going to accelerate the transaction value to us. There's a lot of pad ready there. They've already got all the infrastructure, being able to put those pads on right into the local gas markets in the winter when we think there will be elevated pricing. That's all entered into the decision. And obviously, the well results are terrific.

因此這會加速 HG 的產量，進而加速這筆交易對我們的價值實現。那邊有很多井場已經準備就緒。他們的基礎設施也都已到位，能把這些井場直接接入當地天然氣市場，並在我們認為冬季價格會較高時投產。這些都已納入決策考量。而且很明顯，井的結果非常出色。

We're going to put on the second set of wells from the 1221 pad on August 17. Those continue to outperform the 1221 North. So we'll continue to update that number. But just for 26 million to $80 million is pretty much locked in, but that will go higher in '27 as we put these new pads on.

我們會在 8 月 17 日把 1221 井場的第二組井接上線。這些井持續優於 1221 North。所以我們會持續更新那個數字。但就 2026 年而言，8,000 萬美元基本上已經鎖定；不過到了 2027 年，隨著這些新井場上線，這個數字還會更高。

Yes. I appreciate that. And in terms of the gas price environment, clearly, it's relatively weak right now. And I guess we're not too far off from the shoulder season. Are you guys thinking about maybe pushing some of your turn in lines kind of over to the winter when pricing is better?

好的。謝謝。另外就天然氣價格環境而言，現在顯然相對疲弱。而且我想我們距離淡旺季交界的肩季（shoulder season）也不遠了。你們是否在考慮把部分投產接線（turn in lines）的時點往冬季挪一挪，因為冬季價格較好？

Just any thought is just trying to kind of manage production a bit to kind of match price here?

也就是說，有沒有任何想法是透過管理產量，讓產量更貼近價格表現？

Yes, I'm glad you brought that up. That's actually the curtailments that we outlined. That's a new feature for Antero. We talked about the cost structure coming down in the -- but we also have a slide out on our in our deck that showed the commitments coming down quite dramatically and some -- a lot of those commitments around the MVCs on the liquids. So we now have flexibility to look at our lean pads kind of at 1,150, 1160 Btu, and we don't have to produce them where in years past, we would have because there have been MVCs with them.

是的，我很高興你提到這點。那其實就是我們所概述的減產。這對 Antero 來說是一項新特點。我們談到成本結構在下降——但我們在簡報裡也有一張投影片，顯示承諾量大幅下降，其中有不少承諾與液體的 MVC（最低量承諾）相關。因此，我們現在有彈性，可以把我們的 lean pads（偏乾氣井區）大概放在 1,150、1,160 Btu 的範圍來看待，而且不必像過去幾年那樣一定要生產，因為過去它們有 MVC 綁著。

We now have ultimate flexibility. So that's a new feature that we're excited about. The ability just forecast, a, look, September could be weak. We mentioned it's under $2. Let's shut in or have curtailments on those wells and bring them on more into the November, December time frame when the prices are higher.

我們現在擁有完全的彈性。所以這是一個讓我們很興奮的新特點。也就是能夠去做預測：例如，9 月可能偏弱。我們提到價格在 2 美元以下。那我們就把那些井關井或減產，等到 11、12 月價格較高時再把產量拉回來。

We very much have to have flexibility now, and that's something positive for us. So we're excited about that.

我們現在非常需要具備彈性，而這對我們來說是正面的。所以我們對此感到很興奮。

Okay. And that's kind of basically baked into the guidance you've laid out here.

好的。而這基本上已經反映在你們這裡提出的指引之中了。

Yes. We're hopeful to continue to kind of that and ability to take advantage of those opportunities.

是的。我們希望能持續保持這種狀態，並且有能力把握那些機會。

John Annis, Texas Capital.

John Annis，Texas Capital。

For my first one, looking at Slide 13. Can you help us break down what drove the improvement in the dry gas well results? For example, how much came from the completion design, longer laterals, better targeting versus other factors? And then given this was your first dry gas pad in more than a decade, how much more room do you see for further improvement as you apply what you've learned to future pads?

我第一個問題是看第 13 張投影片。你們能否協助我們拆解一下，乾氣井成果改善是由哪些因素驅動的？例如，有多少來自完井設計、更長的水平段、更好的目標層位選擇，相較於其他因素？另外，鑑於這是你們十多年來第一個乾氣井 pad，你們認為在把學到的經驗應用到未來 pad 時，還有多少進一步改善的空間？

Yes. No, it's a terrific result for us. So this 2,000 pounds of sand and the 830-acre spacing is what we traditionally done in the liquids. That's what we've done kind of our go-to for the last 10 years in the liquid. So we can play with that spacing.

是的。不，這對我們來說是非常出色的成果。所以這個每英尺 2,000 磅砂量，以及 830 英畝的井距配置，是我們在液體區傳統上一直在做的。這基本上是我們過去 10 年在液體區的標準作法。所以我們可以在這個井距上做調整。

I know on the HG dry gas pads we're going to 1,000, 1,250 interlateral and going up to 2,500 to 3,500 pounds of sand. The water going in between 35 barrels per foot and 50 barrels per foot. So there's a lot of optimization to occur. But to have a 2,000 pound, 830 interlateral spacing and have it be over 2 Bcf per thousand was a terrific result for us. The lateral length just adds actually to the economics, brings that dollar per foot on the CapEx, that 13,500.

我知道在 HG 的乾氣 pad 上，我們把井間距（interlateral）拉到 1,000、1,250，並把砂量提高到每英尺 2,500 到 3,500 磅。注入水量介於每英尺 35 桶到 50 桶。所以還有很多可以優化的地方。但以每英尺 2,000 磅、830 的井間距，結果能超過每千英尺 2 Bcf，對我們來說是非常好的成果。水平段長度其實會提升經濟性，讓資本支出（CapEx）的每英尺成本下降，那個 13,500（英尺）。

I mean you're increasing proppant by and your well cost is down 30%. That's a lot of that lateral length as well, so -- and drilling times and completion times. So we feel really good about that. We have 1,000 locations greater than 2 Bcf, we probably would have had those in our database at 1.8 to 1.9. So above 2 Bcf is a terrific result for us.

我的意思是，你增加了支撐劑（proppant），但單井成本卻下降了 30%。其中很大一部分也來自水平段更長——以及鑽井時間與完井時間的改善。所以我們對此感覺非常好。我們有 1,000 個井位的產量可超過 2 Bcf；在我們的資料庫裡，原本可能會把它們估在 1.8 到 1.9。所以能高於 2 Bcf 對我們來說是非常好的成果。

I appreciate that color. For my follow-up, on the lateral of more than 24,000 feet, how do the economics compare with your current average lateral? And excluding lease geometry, are there any practical limits to extend laterals beyond that?

感謝你提供這些細節。我的追問是，對於超過 24,000 英尺的水平段，其經濟性與你們目前平均水平段相比如何？另外，撇除租約幾何形狀（lease geometry）的限制，把水平段再延伸得更長是否有任何實務上的上限？

No, we just drilled that, so we haven't put that on yet. That's actually on an HG pad. On our 1204 North pad, set 6 wells averaged about 19,000 per well. So those will be terrific for us. So we don't have the results on that yet.

沒有，我們才剛鑽完那口井，所以還沒投產。那其實是在 HG 的一個 pad 上。在我們的 1204 North pad，上了 6 口井，平均每口大約 19,000 英尺。所以那對我們來說會非常好。因此我們目前還沒有那個的結果。

But all these longer laterals that we've been drilling Obviously, a lot of them are now coming from HG because they did a really good job of planning along on high-pressure line with 6 wells going north, 6 wells going south as much as the acreage position would allow that really allows for terrific production profile being flat at 25 million a day for a long time. So that's something we're interested. We're going to try to replicate that with two different roads in our dry gas to the exact same thing. But we have no limitations right now. I think you'll see the lateral lengths continue to just go longer and longer.

但我們一直在鑽的這些更長水平段——很明顯，其中很多現在都來自 HG，因為他們在規劃上做得非常好：沿著高壓管線，6 口井往北、6 口井往南，在土地位置允許的範圍內，這確實能帶來很好的產量曲線，長時間維持在每日 2,500 萬（立方英尺）的平穩水準。所以這是我們感興趣的方向。我們會嘗試在乾氣區用兩條不同的道路複製同樣的作法。但目前我們沒有任何限制。我想你會看到水平段長度會持續越來越長。

Subash Chandra, StoneX.

Subash Chandra，StoneX。

Mike, I wanted to confirm a couple of things. So pro forma for everything, the acquisition, the cost reductions. Is maintenance CapEx still at that $1 billion? And is the growth price hurdle price for Henry Hub?

Mike，我想確認幾件事。所以把所有因素都按備考口徑（pro forma）來看：收購、成本降低。維持性資本支出（maintenance CapEx）仍然是 10 億美元嗎？另外，成長的價格門檻是以 Henry Hub 為基準嗎？

I don't know about the second part, but the first part is correct. It's still $1 billion. Subash, I didn't catch up the second part of your question.

第二部分我不確定，但第一部分是對的。仍然是 10 億美元。Subash，我沒有聽清楚你第二個問題。

Yes. So the second part of the question --

好的。所以第二個問題是——

That would have been at the beginning of now with where liquids prices are. I still think $3 generally in a mid-cycle case, but that's more in that $35 to $40 NGL realized price. NGLs are well above that. I think today, our NGL barrel is at $45, Dave's confirming that. So that's good.

那會是在一開始、以目前液體價格所處的位置來看。我仍然認為在中周期（mid-cycle）的情境下，一般是 3 美元，但那更多是對應到 NGL 實現價格每桶 35 到 40 美元。NGL 現在遠高於那個水準。我想今天我們的 NGL 每桶大約是 45 美元，Dave 也在確認。所以這很好。

But those currently this morning, we're at $45 a barrel. So that would put that a bit lower, but we -- our liquids development is really kind of more on a steady state than maintenance. So the true kind of growth capital is more around the dry gas. So $3 is probably a good number to think about.

但就目前今天早上來看，我們是每桶 45 美元。所以那會讓那個門檻稍微低一些，但我們——我們的液體開發其實比較偏向穩態，而不是維持性（maintenance）。所以真正意義上的成長資本，更多是在乾氣那邊。因此 3 美元大概是個不錯的參考數字。

Okay. Great. And a follow-up on HG, if you look at it this way, but with the second rig, are you still drilling the pads out? Have you gotten into some -- maybe the 2P that you thought you might have acquired in the acquisition?

好的。很好。再追問一個關於 HG：如果用這種方式來看，在第二台鑽機加入後，你們仍然是在把那些 pad 鑽完嗎？你們是否已經開始動用一些——也許是在這次收購中你們認為會取得的 2P（探明加概略儲量）？

So on the 1204 and 1217 pad, the 1217 has been elevated. All of them, I think, were in the approved 1203 though is on the schedule for '27, and that would have been in the 2P, but that's now been pushed up just with the performance of the results that we've seen. So right now, those have been improved, but '27 drilling will get some of the 2P into the portfolio.

所以在 1204 和 1217 這兩個 pad 上，1217 已經被提前。我想它們全部原本都在已核准的計畫裡；而 1203 原本排在 2027 年的時程，那會屬於 2P，但現在因為我們看到的成果表現，已經把它往前推了。所以目前這些都已經改善（提前）了，但 2027 年的鑽井會把部分 2P 納入投資組合。

Paul Diamond, Citi.

Paul Diamond，Citi。

Just a quick one, circling back on curtailments. You just talked about the coming quarter kind of already being baked in the guidance. I guess as we think about the kind of the contract optimization you talked about, how should we think about, I guess, your willingness or ability to do so or to a greater degree over time? Or is this kind of like the level you expect to stay at this level of modulation?

簡單問一個，回到減產的話題。你剛剛提到接下來一季基本上已經反映在指引裡了。我想，當我們思考你提到的合約最佳化時，隨著時間推移，我們應該如何看待你們進行這件事的意願或能力、或把程度做得更大？還是說這大概就是你們預期會維持的調節（modulation）水準？

Yes. We'll see. I mean, right now, we do have some legacy pads at 1150, 1160, 1170 Btu range that generally are uneconomic, if you're below -- if you're around that $1.50 to $1.75, but those are about the only pads where we have it kind of in that lean gas area right now. So that's about it. It's about 50 million a day, 50 million 100 million day right now of pad that were drilled in that kind of BT regime that in years past, we still had to produce because they would have had MVCs on it, but we no longer have those MVCs.

是的。我們再看看。我的意思是，就目前而言，我們確實有一些在 1150、1160、1170 Btu 區間的既有井場（pads），一般來說如果價格低於——如果大約在每單位 1.50 到 1.75 美元之間——這些通常不具經濟性；但這些大概是我們目前唯一仍處在那種偏乾氣（lean gas）區域的井場。所以大概就這些。目前大約是每天 5,000 萬，約 5,000 萬到 1 億/日的井場產量，這些井場是在那種 BT 條件下鑽的；過去幾年我們仍必須生產，因為上面會有 MVC（最低量承諾），但我們現在已經沒有那些 MVC 了。

So that's about all we have right now. The rest is either 1,200-plus Btu or sub 1100 Btu. So those really weren't qualified for this curtailment strategy.

所以這大概就是我們目前所有的情況。其餘的不是 1,200-plus Btu，就是低於 1100 Btu。所以那些其實不符合這次限產策略的條件。

Got it. Makes perfect sense. And then just talking a bit about -- you just talked about a shift in kind of your production cadence through time. I mean how we acted to us being in coming years, given, I guess, the demand pull scenario from a kind of variability from that kind of 50-50 split between dry gas or gas and liquids.

了解。完全合理。接著再談一下——你剛剛提到你們的生產節奏會隨時間有所轉變。我的意思是，展望未來幾年，考量我想是需求拉動情境下的變動性，以及乾氣與（氣+液體）大約 50/50 的分配，你們會怎麼看待我們的作法？

Yes. We generally have a growth maintenance program. So we want to own more percent of it, of it but keep the gross volumes. Obviously, if there's incremental projects to that, that come along in basin locally that doesn't really meet our transport. We could potentially grow into those.

是的。我們一般有一個維持成長的計畫（growth maintenance program）。所以我們希望在維持總量（gross volumes）的同時，提高我們對其中的持有比例。當然，如果盆地在地有一些增量專案出現，而那些專案不太符合我們既有的運輸配置，我們也可能會考慮把產量成長導入那些專案。

But generally, what we've planned this 3-rig program to completion crew and then continue to increase our percentage ownership of the gross, keeps volumes in the basin flat overall flat, but we just own more of it.

但整體而言，我們規劃的是把這個三部鑽機（3-rig）的計畫做完、把完井隊伍（completion crew）配置到位，然後持續提高我們在總量中的持有比例；這會讓盆地內的總量整體維持持平，但我們只是擁有其中更多的份額。

Sunil Suma, Seaport Global Securities.

Sunil Suma，Seaport Global Securities。

I just had a big picture question. When you think about your gas sales, obviously, you had this cross protection portfolio, which helped you sell gas in fairly liquid markets? And then as you think about the in-basin demand, how do you think about the counterparty risk as you shift more on the in-basin demand versus selling to more liquid --

我有一個比較宏觀的問題。談到你們的天然氣銷售，顯然你們有這個跨區保護（cross protection）組合，幫助你們在流動性相當好的市場銷售天然氣。那當你們思考盆地內需求時，當你們把更多比重轉向盆地內需求、而不是賣到更具流動性的市場時，你們如何看待交易對手風險（counterparty risk）？--

Yes, we think a lot about it, actually. That's one of the -- when I -- when we say risk-adjusted, probably two of the three parameters that we look at, obviously, price being one, but also timing and execution is really around the counterparty. So we think a lot about that. We do deals and the credit needs to be there; you'll see us get LCs or some sort of credit assurance. We're not credit agnostic.

是的，事實上我們非常重視這件事。這也是——當我——當我們說風險調整（risk-adjusted）時，我們看的三個參數裡面，大概有兩個；當然價格是一個，但時間點與執行其實很大一部分就是圍繞交易對手。所以我們確實花很多心力在這上面。我們做交易時，信用條件必須到位；你會看到我們會要求信用狀（LCs）或某種信用保證。我們不是對信用風險無感（not credit agnostic）。

We have a big credit actually a team just around already having significant firm transport for over a decade. So we're very cognizant of the credit and the credibility and the execution of the project really goes into whether or not we can participate.

我們其實有一個很大的信用團隊，因為我們已經有超過十年的大量固定運輸（firm transport）承諾。所以我們非常清楚信用、可信度，以及專案的執行力；這些都會納入我們是否能參與的判斷。

Understood. And then one clarification on your savings slide that you have. I think you talked about $105 million or so of savings from some of the contracts that are rolling over. And then you also talked about that number growing my understanding was that as far as the contract rollovers are concerned, that's essentially a 2028 kind of timeline. Is that correct?

了解。另外想釐清一下你們節省成本那張投影片。我記得你提到大約 1.05 億美元的節省，來自一些即將到期續約（rolling over）的合約。你也提到這個數字還會增加；我的理解是，就合約到期續約而言，基本上是到 2028 年左右的時間軸。這樣對嗎？

And I presume that is kind of split between a number of contracts. Could you talk about that a little bit?

我猜這應該是分散在多份合約之間。你能稍微談一下嗎？

Yes, that's correct. You have that correct. The main one you can think about it is apex. That's the one that we always cite That's, I think, $60 million of the $105 million. That's 20,000 barrels a day, that saying the price that it charges, I believe, is around $0.24, $0.25, Dave's not in [indiscernible].

是的，沒錯。你的理解正確。主要的一個你可以把它想成是 Apex。那是我們一直會引用的那一個。我想在 1.05 億美元裡面，Apex 大概占 6,000 萬美元。那是每天 20,000 桶，按它收取的價格來看，我相信大約是 0.24、0.25 美元，Dave 現在不在[聽不清]。

So it's good. That's ahead of the actual ethane price we receive. So obviously, we're not going to sign up for that. We had to do it a decade ago, just to get our gas in spec. But since that time, a lot of markets have been developed around the shell, ME2, Mariner East Utopia, a lot of different ethane markets have been developed over that time frame.

所以這很好理解。那個費率高於我們實際收到的乙烷價格。所以顯然我們不會再簽那種條件。十年前我們不得不這麼做，只是為了讓我們的天然氣符合規格（in spec）。但從那之後，圍繞 Shell、ME2、Mariner East、Utopia 等，市場在那段期間發展出了很多不同的乙烷去化市場。

So we no longer need that. We -- I think we recover 90,000 barrels of net ethane, over 100,000 barrels of gross ethane for our pipeline spec, we can be down in the low 70,000. So we can easily let that 20,000 ethane go and be within spec, and it's completely uneconomic. So that's $60 million of the $105 million, the rate is optimizing our already transport that expires at the end of '28.

所以我們不再需要那個了。我們——我想我們為了管線規格，回收（recover）約 90,000 桶/日的淨乙烷（net ethane），總乙烷（gross ethane）超過 100,000 桶/日；其實我們可以降到 70,000 多桶/日的低檔。所以我們很容易就能放掉那 20,000 桶/日的乙烷，仍然符合規格，而且那完全不具經濟性。因此在 1.05 億美元裡面，這部分是 6,000 萬美元；其餘則是把我們既有運輸做費率最佳化，而該合約在 2028 年底到期。

But then the other piece that Mike had mentioned earlier that to beyond 2028, which is not on that slide is where do you have a lot of the gas contracts that come up for renewal where we think you could add another few hundred million on top of the $300 million.

但另外一塊是 Mike 先前提到的、超過 2028 年之後的部分——那不在那張投影片上——也就是你們有很多天然氣合約會到期續約；我們認為在 3 億美元的基礎上，還可能再增加幾億美元。

And there are no further questions at this time. So I'll now hand the floor back to Dan Katzenberg for closing remarks.

目前沒有進一步的問題。接下來我把時間交回給 Dan Katzenberg 做結語。

Yes. I'd like to thank everybody for joining us on the conference call this morning. If you have any follow-up questions, please reach out. Have a great day. Thank you.

是的。感謝各位今天早上參加我們的電話會議。如果你有任何後續問題，請與我們聯繫。祝各位有美好的一天。謝謝。

Thank you. And with that, we conclude today's call. All parties may disconnect.

謝謝。至此，我們結束今天的電話會議。各方可掛線離開。