Chord Energy Corp (CHRD) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Chord Energy first-quarter 2025 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) This call is being recorded on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

女士們、先生們，早安，歡迎參加 Chord Energy 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）此通話於 2025 年 5 月 7 日星期三錄製。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Bob Bakanauskas. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給 Bob Bakanauskas。請繼續。

Appreciate it, Vincent. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. This is Bob Bakanauskas, and today we're reporting our first-quarter 2025 financial and operational results. We're delighted to have you on the call. I am joined today by Danny Brown, our CEO; Michael Lou, our Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer; Darrin Henke, our COO; Richard Robuck, our CFO, as well as other members of the team.

非常感謝，文森。謝謝。大家早安。我是鮑勃·巴卡瑙斯卡斯 (Bob Bakanauskas)，今天我們將報告 2025 年第一季的財務和營運表現。我們很高興您能接聽電話。今天與我一起出席的還有我們的執行長丹尼·布朗 (Danny Brown)、我們的首席策略和商務官邁克爾·盧 (Michael Lou)、我們的首席營運官達林·亨克 (Darrin Henke)、我們的首席財務官理查德·羅巴克 (Richard Robuck) 以及團隊的其他成員。

Please be advised that our remarks, including the answers to your questions, include statements that we believe to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from those currently disclosed in our earnings releases and conference calls.

請注意，我們的評論（包括對您的問題的回答）包括我們認為符合《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義的前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與我們目前在收益報告和電話會議中揭露的結果有重大差異。

Those risks include, among others, matters that we have described in our earnings releases as well as in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

這些風險包括我們在收益報告以及提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中所述的事項，包括我們的 10-K 表年度報告和 10-Q 表季度報告。我們不承擔更新這些前瞻性聲明的任何義務。

During this conference call, we will make reference to non-GAAP measures and reconciliations to the applicable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings releases and on our website. We may also reference our current investor presentation, which you can find on our website.

在本次電話會議中，我們將參考非公認會計準則 (non-GAAP) 指標，並且適用的公認會計準則 (GAAP) 指標的對帳可在我們的收益報告和網站上找到。我們也可以參考我們目前的投資者介紹，您可以在我們的網站上找到。

So with that, I'll turn it over to our CEO, Danny Brown.

因此，我將把發言權交給我們的執行長丹尼布朗 (Danny Brown)。

Thanks, Bob. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining our call. Over the next few minutes, I plan to provide a brief overview of our first-quarter performance and resulting return of capital, discuss the current macro environment and Chord's positioning, and then briefly touch upon some of our current initiatives before passing it to Darrin, who will provide more color on our operations. Darrin will hand it over to Richard for more details on our financial results before we open it up for Q&A.

謝謝，鮑伯。大家早安，感謝大家參加我們的電話會議。在接下來的幾分鐘裡，我計劃簡要概述我們第一季的業績和由此產生的資本回報，討論當前的宏觀環境和 Chord 的定位，然後簡要介紹我們當前的一些舉措，然後將其交給 Darrin，他將為我們的運營提供更多細節。在我們開放問答環節之前，達林 (Darrin) 將把它交給理查德 (Richard)，以了解有關我們財務結果的更多詳細信息。

So turning to first-quarter results. Chord delivered another great quarter with solid operating results yielding free cash flow above expectations which supported robust shareholder returns. Specifically, first-quarter oil volumes were above the top end of guidance, reflecting strong execution and well performance, while capital was favorable to guidance, largely reflecting improved program efficiency.

現在來看看第一季的業績。Chord 本季再創佳績，經營業績穩健，自由現金流超出預期，為股東帶來豐厚回報。具體而言，第一季的石油產量高於預期上限，反映出強勁的執行力和油井表現，而資本狀況也符合預期，很大程度上反映了專案效率的提高。

Operating expenses also came in lower than our expectations as the team continues to drive improvements to our cost structure. My thanks to our entire organization for delivering favorable results once again and in particular to our folks in North Dakota who did an amazing job navigating extreme winter weather, positioning us to surpass expectations. Fantastic job by all.

由於團隊持續推動成本結構的改善，營運費用也低於我們的預期。我感謝我們整個組織再次取得良好成果，特別是感謝我們在北達科他州的員工，他們在極端冬季天氣中表現出色，使我們超出了預期。大家都做得非常好。

This strong performance led to adjusted free cash flow for the first quarter of approximately $291 million. We maintained shareholder returns at 100% of free cash flow for the second consecutive quarter, repurchasing $216.5 million or about 2 million shares during the quarter. And since April 1, we have already repurchased another $45 million or about 500,000 shares at approximately $91 per share. We will be paying our base dividend of $1.30 per share on the lower share count, which equates to approximately $75 million.

這一強勁表現導致第一季調整後的自由現金流達到約 2.91 億美元。我們連續第二季將股東回報維持在自由現金流的 100% 水平，本季回購了價值 2.165 億美元或約 200 萬股股票。自 4 月 1 日以來，我們以每股約 91 美元的價格回購了價值 4,500 萬美元或約 50 萬股股票。我們將根據較低的股份數量支付每股 1.30 美元的基本股息，相當於約 7,500 萬美元。

Since closing the Enerplus transaction, Chord has reduced its share count by approximately 9% through the end of April. To put that in perspective, Chord has repurchased over a quarter of the shares issued to purchase Enerplus in less than a year since the transaction closed, and we were able to do this while keeping leverage essentially unchanged at about 0.3 times. Given our view on the intrinsic value of our shares relative to how they currently trade in the market, we expect a continued focus on share repurchases in the current environment.

自完成 Enerplus 交易以來，截至 4 月底，Chord 已將其股份數量減少了約 9%。從這個角度來看，自交易結束以來不到一年的時間裡，Chord 已經回購了收購 Enerplus 所發行股票的四分之一以上，而且我們能夠做到這一點，同時將槓桿率基本保持在 0.3 倍左右不變。鑑於我們對股票內在價值相對於其當前市場交易情況的看法，我們預計在當前環境下將繼續專注於股票回購。

Turning to the macro. We are all keenly aware that the pricing outlook has deteriorated and volatility has increased since we entered the year, and Chord is in the enviable position to navigate this type of environment. In the event conditions remain unfavorable or weakened, Chord has substantial operational and financial flexibility to moderate activity and maintain an efficient returns focused program with strong free cash generation.

轉向宏觀。我們都敏銳地意識到，自今年以來，定價前景已經惡化，波動性已經增加，而 Chord 處於令人羨慕的地位，可以應對這種環境。如果情況仍然不利或減弱，Chord 擁有相當大的營運和財務靈活性，可以調節活動並維持高效的以回報為重點的計劃，並產生強大的自由現金。

As slide 7 illustrates, Chord has one of the lowest base decline rates amongst its peers, which supports our low reinvestment rate. Additionally, on the land side, Chord has no material drilling obligations, as our acreage is essentially all held by production.

如投影片 7 所示，Chord 的基準下降率是同業中最低的之一，這支持了我們的低再投資率。此外，在陸地方面，Chord 沒有實質的鑽探義務，因為我們的土地面積基本上全部用於生產。

On the midstream side, Chord is well covered with very limited volume commitments, and we have intentionally laddered and structured our service contracts to provide program optionality. And finally, at a leverage ratio of 0.3 times, our balance sheet strength stands out versus our peer group.

在中游方面，Chord 的覆蓋範圍很廣，但承諾的數量非常有限，而且我們有意對服務合約進行分級和結構化，以提供可選的計劃。最後，在 0.3 倍的槓桿率下，我們的資產負債表實力在同業中脫穎而出。

Our development plan also provides us with significant optionality. Chord started the year running five drilling rigs and two frac crews. In accordance with our original plan laid out in February, we have already reduced our frac crew count, and by early June we'll be running a program consisting of four rigs and one frac crew.

我們的發展計畫也為我們提供了很大的選擇性。Chord 今年年初經營五台鑽井平台和兩支壓裂隊。按照我們二月制定的原計劃，我們已經減少了壓裂隊伍的數量，到六月初，我們將運行一個由四座鑽機和一支壓裂隊伍組成的計劃。

Both our original and current guidance reflect the return of the second frac crew in the fourth quarter of this year. This allows us to monitor the macro environment at a lower activity pace and gives us the option to either bring back this second frac crew or just keep one frac spread through the end of '25 and end of 2026.

我們最初和目前的指導都反映了今年第四季第二支壓裂隊伍的回歸。這使我們能夠以較低的活動速度監控宏觀環境，並使我們能夠選擇是召回第二支壓裂隊伍，還是只保留一支壓裂隊伍，從 2025 年底到 2026 年底。

Let me be clear that at current strip prices we are inclined to maintain one frac crew instead of reinstating the second frac crew near year end. However, given the original plan already included a mid-year reduction in activity, we have several months to decide on this second frac spread with the final decision to be made in the third quarter.

我要明確指出的是，在目前的條帶價格下，我們傾向於保留一個壓裂隊，而不是在年底前恢復第二個壓裂隊。然而，考慮到最初的計劃已經包括了年中活動的減少，我們還有幾個月的時間來決定第二次壓裂擴散，最終決定將在第三季度做出。

If Chord makes the decision to stay with one frac crew and not bring back the second, the production impact at 2025 would be negligible. However, fourth quarter capital would be much lower than current expectations, and I should note that last night, Chord announced a $30 million reduction to its full year capital guidance. This $30 million reduction largely reflects program efficiencies and does not currently contemplate any reductions to activity, given we have until the third quarter to make the final call, and once again, Chord's full year volume expectations remain unchanged.

如果 Chord 決定保留一個壓裂團隊，不再啟用第二支團隊，那麼對 2025 年的生產影響將可以忽略不計。然而，第四季度的資本將遠低於目前的預期，我應該指出，昨晚，Chord 宣布將其全年資本指引減少 3,000 萬美元。這 3000 萬美元的削減主要反映了項目效率，目前不考慮任何活動削減，因為我們要在第三季度之前做出最終決定，而且 Chord 的全年銷售預期保持不變。

Next, I'd like to discuss some of our initiatives to increase free cash flow given our track record of innovation and continuous improvement. Slide 12 outlines approximately $3 billion of controllable cash -- of controllable costs across the business between operated D&C capital, lease operating expenses, marketing expenses, and G&A. There is a concerted effort across every part of the organization to improve our cost structure and drive efficiency.

接下來，我想根據我們創新和持續改進的記錄，討論一下我們為增加自由現金流而採取的一些措施。幻燈片 12 概述了約 30 億美元的可控現金 - 包括營運 D&C 資本、租賃營運費用、行銷費用和 G&A 等整個業務的可控成本。整個組織的各個部門都在齊心協力改善成本結構並提高效率。

We've already made progress this year in reducing our capital investment and LOE guidance with no impact to volumes. Our culture is built around continuous improvement and advancing efficiencies to improve our capital productivity and margins. A good example of this is our recent decision to lean into 4-mile laterals with seven spuds now planned versus our original expectations of two to three.

今年我們在減少資本投資和 LOE 指導方面已經取得了進展，而且對銷售沒有影響。我們的文化建立在持續改進和提高效率的基礎上，以提高我們的資本生產力和利潤率。一個很好的例子就是我們最近決定傾向於 4 英里長的水平井，現在計劃開鑽 7 個鑽井口，而我們最初預期的是 2 到 3 個。

This follows our first 4-mile lateral, which was successful on a variety of fronts, including being $1 million below budget and successfully cleaning the well out all the way to the toe. Production over the first couple of months for the well has been encouraging, but we really need to get past the flat period and initial decline to get a better sense of the ultimate productivity and recovery. Darrin will provide more details in his section, but it's fair to say we like what we're seeing.

這是我們首次進行 4 英里水平井作業，該作業在多個方面都取得了成功，包括節省了 100 萬美元的預算並成功將井筒清理至井底。該油井頭幾個月的產量令人鼓舞，但我們確實需要度過平穩期和最初的下降期，才能更好地了解最終的生產力和復甦情況。Darrin 將在他的部分提供更多細節，但公平地說，我們喜歡我們所看到的。

In light of the improved capital efficiency and lower breakeven cost that long lateral development provides, slide 11 illustrates an example of how Chord is reconfiguring acreage to optimize longer lateral development. You can see as Chord moves from the 2-mile scenario to the 4-mile scenario, it results in a 24% reduction in capital to develop the same amount of resource. This results in stronger rates of return and lower breakeven pricing. Our goal is to convert our inventory to over 80% long laterals in the coming years, which will enhance economic returns.

鑑於長橫向開發帶來的資本效率提高和損益平衡成本降低，投影片 11 展示了 Chord 如何重新配置​​土地面積以優化長橫向開發的範例。您可以看到，隨著 Chord 從 2 英里場景轉向 4 英里場景，開發相同數量資源所需的資本減少了 24%。這會帶來更高的報酬率和更低的損益平衡價格。我們的目標是在未來幾年內將庫存中的 80% 以上轉化為長水平井，這將提高經濟回報。

Since I arrived at the company over four years ago, we've had a successful track record of keeping our sub $60 inventory position strong. We've done this not just through disciplined M&A, but also organically through wider spacing, longer laterals, and program efficiencies. Going forward, we expect to further improve our inventory strength and returns by extending laterals and driving down costs. This will include straight 3 and 4 miles, as well as alternate shape well designs.

自從我四年多前來到公司以來，我們一直成功地保持著低於 60 美元的庫存水準。我們不僅透過嚴謹的併購實現了這一目標，還透過更寬的間距、更長的橫向輸送距離和更高的專案效率實現了這一目標。展望未來，我們期望透過擴大橫向產能和降低成本來進一步提高庫存實力和回報。這將包括直線 3 英里和 4 英里，以及其他形狀的井設計。

On the LOE side, we've leveraged our scale to get more efficient, systematize processes, and reduce downtime. Looking forward, we have multiple initiatives to drive further improvement, including artificial lift optimization, faster cycle times, logistics improvements, and potentially leveraging newer technologies such as predictive maintenance and remote well site monitoring.

在 LOE 方面，我們利用規模來提高效率、系統化流程並減少停機時間。展望未來，我們有多項措施來推動進一步的改進，包括人工舉升優化、縮短循環時間、改善物流，以及可能利用預測性維護和遠端井場監控等新技術。

On the marketing side, we're driving efficiency through consolidating contracts from predecessor companies and negotiating competitive rates when contracts mature. Also, on the gas and NGL side, we are adding more dual and split connections to our facilities, which provides midstream optionality when the gas plants are down. This has the dual benefit of higher gas capture rates and additional revenue.

在行銷方面，我們透過整合前任公司的合約並在合約到期時協商有競爭力的價格來提高效率。此外，在天然氣和天然氣液體方面，我們正在為我們的設施增加更多的雙重和分離連接，當天然氣工廠停工時，這提供了中游可選性。這具有雙重好處，即提高天然氣捕獲率並增加收入。

Lastly, a few words on sustainability before handing it to Darrin. I want to reemphasize that Chord is proud of our work providing reliable and affordable sources of energy, so critical to every aspect of modern living. And we do this while maintaining a commitment to operating in a sustainable and responsible manner.

最後，在將其交給 Darrin 之前，我想先談談永續性。我想再次強調，Chord 為我們提供可靠且價格合理的能源的工作感到自豪，這對現代生活的各個方面都至關重要。我們在實現這一目標的同時，始終致力於以永續和負責任的方式運作。

On this front, Chord continues to make progress on our already strong sustainability initiatives with a focus on putting safety first, minimizing our environmental impact, and being a good partner in our communities. We plan to publish an updated sustainability report in the second half of this year which will reflect the full integration of COD and Enerplus.

在這方面，Chord 繼續推動我們已經很強大的永續發展計劃，重點是把安全放在第一位，盡量減少對環境的影響，並成為我們社區的良好合作夥伴。我們計劃在今年下半年發布一份更新的永續發展報告，將反映 COD 和 Enerplus 的全面整合。

So to summarize, while markets have taken a turn for the worse in recent months, Chord has a strong foundation and significant flexibility to adjust if needed. Chord was built around modest mid-cycle oil price expectations with the recognition that we operate in a cyclical business and there will inevitably be downturns from time to time. The steps we've taken over the past four years have lowered our cost structure, strengthened our inventory position, and enhanced flexibility in our development program, all while keeping the balance sheet and liquidity in an enviable place, allowing us to better navigate times like these.

總而言之，儘管近幾個月市場情況惡化，但 Chord 擁有強大的基礎和相當大的靈活性，可以在必要時進行調整。Chord 的成立是基於對中期油價的適度預期，我們認識到我們經營的是周期性業務，不可避免地會不時出現經濟衰退。過去四年來，我們採取的措施降低了成本結構，加強了庫存狀況，提高了開發計劃的靈活性，同時保持了資產負債表和流動性處於令人羨慕的水平，使我們能夠更好地度過這樣的時期。

And with that, I'll turn it to Darrin.

現在，我將把話題轉向 Darrin。

Thanks, Danny. While the macro environment is challenging, the Chord team continues to execute with excellence, and we're off to a great start this year. We have tremendous confidence in our execution ability, and we have the flexibility and optionality to reduce activity if needed while still generating significant free cash flow at lower prices.

謝謝，丹尼。儘管宏觀環境充滿挑戰，Chord 團隊仍然表現優異，今年我們有了一個很好的開始。我們對我們的執行能力非常有信心，我們有靈活性和選擇性，可以在必要時減少活動，同時仍然以較低的價格產生大量的自由現金流。

As Danny mentioned, we are laser focused on driving continued efficiency throughout the program. As a result, we were able to lower our 2025 capital by $30 million without changing our production targets. This $30 million reduction is incremental to the $90 million reduction to the 2025 budget versus pro forma 2024 capital.

正如丹尼所提到的，我們專注於提高整個專案的持續效率。因此，我們能夠在不改變生產目標的情況下將 2025 年的資本降低 3,000 萬美元。這次 3,000 萬美元的削減是相對於 2024 年預計資本而言的 2025 年預算 9,000 萬美元削減的增量。

Furthermore, this $30 million reduction is also net of expected tariff pressure later in the year, which wasn't contemplated in our February guidance. We've certainly made a lot of progress improving capital productivity over the past year.

此外，這 3000 萬美元的削減還扣除了今年稍後預計的關稅壓力，這在我們 2 月的指導中並未考慮到。在過去的一年裡，我們在提高資本生產力方面確實取得了巨大進展。

Since we're on the topic of efficiency improvements, we wanted to give you an update on Chord's 4-mile program. As announced earlier in the year, Chord successfully drilled and completed our first 4-mile lateral and reached the TD exceeding 30,400 feet while cleaning out the frac plugs. The cleanout was executed in only one run and was much faster than we originally expected, leading to a total well cost approximately $1 million below the original budget.

既然我們討論了效率改進這個主題，我們想向您介紹 Chord 的 4 英里計劃的最新進展。正如今年早些時候宣布的那樣，Chord 成功鑽探並完成了我們的第一個 4 英里水平段，並在清理壓裂塞的同時達到了超過 30,400 英尺的 TD。清理工作僅用一次就完成了，比我們最初預期的要快得多，導致總井成本比原始預算低了約 100 萬美元。

Additionally, we ran tracers on this well and subsequently observed every stage of the lateral contributing to production. Initial volumes and pressure indications are encouraging, but we need to monitor the flat period and initial decline before drawing definitive conclusions.

此外，我們在這口井上運行了示踪劑，隨後觀察了水平井對產量做出貢獻的每個階段。初始交易量和壓力跡象令人鼓舞，但我們需要監測平穩期和初始下降趨勢，然後才能得出明確的結論。

Over the spring, cord successfully drilled two additional 4-mile wells, with drilling times again faster than expected. These wells are in the queue to be completed later this year. As we announced in April, we're planning to spud a total of seven 4-mile wells over the next eight to nine months, and with success, Chord is likely to implement many more in 2026 and beyond. As a reminder, our initial approach to 4-mile wells will be converting two 2-mile DSUs to one 4-mile DSU.

今年春季，Cord 成功鑽探了另外兩口 4 英里長的井，鑽探時間再次比預期的要快。這些油井預計將於今年稍後完工。正如我們在四月宣布的那樣，我們計劃在未來八到九個月內總共鑽探七口 4 英里長的井，如果成功的話，Chord 很可能在 2026 年及以後鑽探更多井。提醒一下，我們對 4 英里井的初步方法是將兩個 2 英里 DSU 轉換為一個 4 英里 DSU。

However, similar to Chord's evolution on the 3-mile program, as we make progress on execution and drive the risk adjusted returns higher, we could ultimately look to convert some of our existing 3-mile inventory into 4-mile wells. Relative to 2-mile wells, 4-mile wells are expected to recover 90% to 100% more ultimate recovery for only 40% to 60% more capital. On a break-even basis, 4-mile laterals are expected to be anywhere from $8 to $12 per barrel lower than 2-mile wells.

然而，與 Chord 在 3 英里計劃上的演變類似，隨著我們在執行上取得進展並提高風險調整後的回報，我們最終可能會考慮將部分現有的 3 英里庫存轉換為 4 英里油井。相對於 2 英里井，4 英里井預計最終採收率可提高 90% 至 100%，而資本投入僅需增加 40% 至 60%。在損益平衡的基礎上，預計 4 英里水平井的價格將比 2 英里井的價格每桶低 8 至 12 美元。

It's important to remember that all else equal, longer laterals will deliver slightly higher IPs versus 2-mile wells staying flatter longer and exhibit shallower declines. When comparing analog well performance on a per foot of lateral basis, initially longer lateral wells would typically be lower than 2-mile wells as the higher IP is more than offset by the longer lateral.

重要的是要記住，在其他條件相同的情況下，較長的水平井將產生略高的 IP，而 2 英里的井則能保持更長時間的平坦狀態並表現出更淺的下降。當以每英尺水平段為基礎比較模擬井性能時，最初較長的水平井通常會低於 2 英里的井，因為較高的 IP 被較長的水平段所抵消。

However, typically in a 6- to-12-month period, the longer flat period and shallower declines will lead longer laterals to catch up to the 2-mile well on a recovery per foot basis. Additionally, Chord's [Choke] methodology is more restrictive than most peers, which minimizes sand flow back and ultimately lengthens the life of our ESPs, saving costs, and delivering higher returns on average.

然而，通常在 6 到 12 個月的時間內，較長的平穩期和較淺的下降將導致較長的水平井在每英尺採收率上趕上 2 英里井。此外，Chord 的 [Choke] 方法比大多數同行更具限制性，可最大限度地減少砂回流並最終延長我們的 ESP 的使用壽命，從而節省成本並平均帶來更高的回報。

Given our focus on improved returns versus higher IP rates, we have been implementing this more restrictive choke program on the inter plus wells, which will impact the optics of initial IP rates per foot on a year-over-year basis. Again, perfect performance is an appropriate way to judge well productivity over the long term, but early data can and often is misleading.

鑑於我們專注於提高回報而不是提高 IP 速率，我們一直在對中間井實施這種更嚴格的節流計劃，這將對每英尺初始 IP 速率的光學性能產生逐年影響。再次強調，完美的性能是判斷長期生產力的適當方法，但早期數據可能會產生誤導。

Turning to LOE, Chord lowered its full year guidance, reflecting strong first-quarter execution in our current outlook. LOE has been a major focal point for the company in recent years, and Chord has been able to drive efficiency improvements through multiple avenues, including streamlining workover expenses and reducing downtime. Chord strives for additional improvements as we competently manage capital allocation, maximize returns, and efficiently generate free cash flow.

談到 LOE，Chord 下調了全年業績預期，反映出我們目前對第一季強勁表現的預期。近年來，LOE 一直是公司關注的重點，而 Chord 已經能夠透過多種途徑提高效率，包括精簡修井費用和減少停機時間。Chord 致力於進一步改進，因為我們能夠有效地管理資本配置、最大化回報並有效地產生自由現金流。

Lastly, I wanted to comment on Chord's operational efficiency. Our teams continued to perform with excellence and aim to drive cycle times lower for both drilling and completions. We are drilling 3-mile wells 13% faster than a year ago, and our full-time frac crew is using simulfrac operations on most pads, which has driven down non-productive time and materially increased the lateral footage completed on a daily basis.

最後，我想評論一下 Chord 的營運效率。我們的團隊繼續表現出色，致力於縮短鑽井和完井的周期時間。我們鑽探 3 英里井的速度比一年前快了 13%，我們的全職壓裂團隊在大多數井場上使用模擬壓裂作業，這減少了非生產時間並大幅增加了每天完成的橫向進尺。

Pumping hours per month are also well above basin peers. On the post frac cleanout outside, Chord continues to dry faster cycle times as we leave the basin in 3-mile laterals.

每月抽水小時數也遠高於流域同行。在壓裂後外部清理過程中，當我們離開盆地 3 英里的水平段時，Chord 繼續以更快的循環時間乾燥。

To sum it up, Chord's execution and delivery remain best in class. We're off to a great start in 2025 and look forward to additional progress as our teams relentlessly pursue continuous improvement and innovative solutions.

總而言之，Chord 的執行和交付仍然是同類產品中最好的。我們在 2025 年已經有了一個良好的開端，並期待隨著我們的團隊不懈地追求持續改進和創新解決方案，取得更大的進步。

I'll now turn it over to Richard.

現在我將把發言權交給理查。

Thanks, Darrin. I'll round out our conversation with some final thoughts that expand on comments made earlier and in our press release.

謝謝，達林。我將以一些最後的想法來結束我們的談話，這些想法將擴展我們之前和新聞稿中發表的評論。

I'll start with the strength of our balance sheet. In the first quarter, the team completed the issuance of a $750 million senior secured notes at 6.75% that are due in 2033 and by increasing our elected commitment amounts under our revolver to $2 billion. We continue to have pure leading leverage and strong liquidity as we navigate the current environment. We also layered on additional hedges during the first quarter and our derivative position can be found in our latest investor deck.

我先從我們的資產負債表實力說起。在第一季度，該團隊完成了 7.5 億美元優先擔保票據的發行，該票據的利率為 6.75%，將於 2033 年到期，同時還將循環信貸額度下的選定承諾金額增加至 20 億美元。在當前環境下，我們繼續擁有純粹的領先槓桿和強大的流動性。我們還在第一季增加了額外的對沖，我們的衍生性商品部位可以在我們最新的投資者資料中找到。

Next, I'll cover differentials. Oil differentials in the first quarter averaged $2.30 below WTI, which weakens slightly from our prior quarter, but were within our original guidance range. We expect oil differentials to improve modestly over the course of the year, which is reflected in our updated guidance.

接下來，我將介紹差異。第一季的油價差平均比 WTI 低 2.30 美元，較上一季略有下降，但仍在我們最初的指導範圍內。我們預計今年油價差異將略有改善，這反映在我們更新的指引中。

NGL realizations were 20% of WTI in the first quarter, just above the midpoint guidance. Natural gas realizations of 63% were above the top end of guidance and benefited from seasonally strong regional prices in both the Bakken and Marcellus.

第一季度，NGL 實現量為 WTI 的 20%，略高於中點指引值。天然氣實現率為 63%，高於指導上限，並受益於巴肯和馬塞勒斯地區季節性強勁的區域價格。

We anticipate realized natural gas prices to soften during the middle of the year before improving modestly toward the end of the year, reflecting normal seasonality. As a reminder, certain marketing fixed fees are deducted from our NGL and natural gas prices. This drives higher operating leverage Chord's realizations for both NGLs and natural gas in times of weaker prices and benefits realizations in times of higher prices.

我們預計天然氣實際價格將在年中走軟，然後在年底小幅回升，這反映了正常的季節性。提醒一下，某些行銷固定費用將從我們的 NGL 和天然氣價格中扣除。這使得 Chord 在價格較低時實現更高的 NGL 和天然氣經營槓桿，而在價格較高時實現更高的收益。

Separately, the team has done a great job managing costs, beating first-quarter guidance and with continued momentum for the balance of the year as LOE is down $0.30 per BOE and capital is down $30 million in our 2025 guidance.

此外，該團隊在成本管理方面做得非常出色，超出了第一季的預期，並且在今年剩餘時間裡繼續保持成長勢頭，因為在我們的 2025 年預期中，LOE 每桶油當量下降了 0.30 美元，資本減少了 3000 萬美元。

Production taxes averaged 6.8% of commodity sales in the first quarter, which was below our expectations. This primarily reflects the impact of non-recurring refund for stripper wells that received an adjusted tax rate during the quarter. The oil revenue from these low producing wells is taxed at a reduced rate.

第一季生產稅平均佔商品銷售額的6.8%，低於我們的預期。這主要反映了本季獲得調整稅率的抽油井非經常性退款的影響。這些低產油井的石油收入可享有較低稅率。

Additionally, the production tax rate was impacted by higher gas revenues as a percent of total sales as gas is taxed differently than oil. For the remainder of the year, we anticipate production taxes to average 8.5% of commodity sales.

此外，由於天然氣的徵稅方式與石油不同，生產稅率受到天然氣收入佔總銷售額百分比較高的影響。在今年剩餘時間內，我們預計生產稅平均佔商品銷售額的 8.5%。

First quarter cash taxes were in line with our expectations at $34 million and we expect full year cash taxes to approximate 4% to 9% of EBITDA at WTI prices ranging between $55 and $75 per barrel. There have been no changes to full year cash tax guidance issued in February other than the yearly range now reflects actual first-quarter results.

第一季的現金稅符合我們的預期，為 3,400 萬美元，我們預計全年現金稅將佔 EBITDA 的 4% 至 9%，WTI 價格在每桶 55 美元至 75 美元之間。除了年度範圍現在反映實際第一季業績外，二月發布的全年現金稅收指引沒有變化。

In closing, thanks again to the Chord team for all their hard work and intense focus on improving day to day operations during the period of market uncertainty. We are pleased with the company's first-quarter performance and believe that we're in a strong position to successfully deliver on our goals for the remainder of the year.

最後，再次感謝 Chord 團隊在市場不確定期間的辛勤工作和對改善日常營運的高度關注。我們對公司第一季的業績感到滿意，並相信我們有能力成功實現今年剩餘時間的目標。

With that, I'll hand the call over to Vincent for questions.

說完這些，我會把電話交給文森來回答問題。

(Operator Instructions) Oliver Huang, TPH.

（操作員指示）Oliver Huang，TPH。

Good morning, Danny and team, and thanks for taking the questions.

早安，丹尼和團隊，感謝你們回答問題。

Just wanted to start on activity levels and I know there are many variables that go into the decision-making process and understand the biases to not pick up the spot frac crew in Q4 at this time whether it is more returns driven or just not wanting to chew through precious inventory at these oil prices.

我只是想從活動水平開始，我知道決策過程中有很多變量，並且了解此時在第四季度不選擇現貨壓裂隊的偏見，無論是更多的回報驅動還是只是不想在這樣的油價下消耗寶貴的庫存。

But if we're talking about crude with a five handle on it once Q4 and even early 2026 comes around, would one full-time simulfrac fleet be the default optimal ballpark of activity levels for 2026 as well if you could just maybe walk through the thought process on what would need to happen to justify the bringing back of the spot crew for a portion of the year?

但是，如果我們談論的是第四季度甚至 2026 年初到來時原油產量將達到五倍，那麼，一支全職模擬壓裂船隊是否也是 2026 年默認的最佳活動水平？您是否可以簡單介紹一下需要採取哪些措施才能證明在一年中的部分時間重新啟用現場作業人員是合理的？

Yeah, thanks for the question, Oliver, and I think you framed it well. At the end of the day, it's really just a capital allocation decision for us, and it's going to depend on a variety of factors. So we'll be looking at service costs based on this. We'll be looking at our own share price candidly because again, it's just a capital allocation decision. But all else being equal, I think what we would want to see is oil, I would say firmly and what we would think would be durably in the 60s in order to bring that second frac crew back.

是的，謝謝你的提問，奧利佛，我認為你的問題提得很好。歸根結底，這對我們來說實際上只是一個資本配置決策，它將取決於多種因素。因此我們將以此為基礎來考慮服務成本。我們將坦誠地看待我們自己的股價，因為這只是一個資本配置決策。但在其他條件相同的情況下，我認為我們希望看到的是石油，我會堅定地說，我們認為石油價格將在 60 年代持續上漲，以便讓第二支壓裂隊伍回來。

So with oil at a [five] handle, again, all else equal, we probably would anticipate we'd have better capital allocation opportunities in an environment like that, and that's kind of how we're thinking about it. But again, we have not made that decision. We're in a really nice place just naturally through our program that we've reduced activity in this environment, and it gives us a chance to monitor.

因此，當油價處於[5]水平時，在其他條件相同的情況下，我們可能會預期在這樣的環境下我們會有更好的資本配置機會，這就是我們的想法。但再說一遍，我們還沒有做出這個決定。透過我們的計劃，我們自然而然地處於一個非常好的位置，我們減少了這種環境中的活動，這給了我們一個監控的機會。

And so we've gone down to the single frac crews that's doing simul fracs for us. It's a very efficient program and we'll maintain this, and we'll really make a final call on this in the third quarter. So no decisions have been made but wanted to be transparent about kind of how we're thinking about this environment, and I think you framed the situation well.

因此，我們已將工作重點轉向為我們進行同步壓裂的單一壓裂隊伍。這是一個非常有效的計劃，我們會繼續保持下去，並在第三季對此做出最終決定。因此，我們還沒有做出任何決定，但我們希望透明地了解我們對這種環境的看法，我認為你很好地描述了這種情況。

Thanks, Danny, that's helpful color. And maybe for a follow-up, I think slide 11 does a really good job in illustrating the magnitude of potential capital savings with a 4-mile lateral program and I know Darrin hit on it very briefly in the prepared remarks. But should we think about the potential move to incorporate a 4-mile development plan being more gradual or an immediate jump from that 40% to 50% to the 80% goal?

謝謝，丹尼，這很有幫助。也許作為後續，我認為幻燈片 11 很好地說明了 4 英里橫向計劃的潛在資本節省規模，我知道 Darrin 在準備好的發言中非常簡要地談到了這一點。但是，我們是否應該考慮逐步實施 4 英里發展計劃，還是立即從 40% 躍升至 50% 再到 80% 的目標？

Because it would seem that once you're able to confirm the success, there should be very minimal reason to do 2-mile laterals within the program. And any sort of color in terms of time frame we could see this progression on and if you could remind us how big of an undertaking this would be in terms of altering previously approved permits?

因為看起來一旦你能夠確認成功，那麼在程序中進行 2 英里橫向施工的理由就非常少了。我們可以以何種時間範圍來觀察這項進展？您能否提醒我們，就修改先前批准的許可證而言，這將是一項多大的任務？

Yeah, I think you again framed it pretty well. As we look at this, we've moved over from a 2-mile to a 3-mile program pretty quickly, and I would say we're probably poised to move to a 4-mile program about equally as quickly, maybe slightly more quickly, candidly, because we've sort of built up some courage and some operational ability as we progress through the 3-mile program. Gotten better at cleaning out our wells, have started to get 4 miles under our belt now.

是的，我認為你再次將它構思得非常好。從這個角度來看，我們已經很快地從 2 英里計劃轉向 3 英里計劃，而且我想說，我們可能準備以同樣的速度轉向 4 英里計劃，坦率地說，可能稍微快一點，因為在 3 英里計劃的進展過程中，我們已經積累了一些勇氣和一些操作能力。我們在清理水井方面做得更好了，現在已經開始取得 4 英里的成績。

And so I suspect that we could move over to that program pretty swiftly and maybe even a little more swiftly than we've moved over to a 3-mile program. It will require us re-permitting. It's going to require some work from the development team to sort of optimally lay out all of these different pads and because it's -- if you think about it, we have sticks laid out on a map for every single sort of spot and inventory location that we've got and so it's really a full recontemplation of our development plan which includes roads, midstream connections, everything that's associated with that as you work through this.

因此我認為我們可以很快地轉向該計劃，甚至可能比轉向 3 英里計劃更快一些。這需要我們重新獲得許可。這將需要開發團隊做一些工作來最佳地佈置所有這些不同的平台，因為——如果你想想的話，我們在地圖上為我們擁有的每一個地點和庫存位置都標出了標尺，所以這實際上需要對我們的開發計劃進行全面的重新考慮，其中包括道路、中游連接以及與之相關的一切。

So that does take a little time for us to work through. We got to go through the permit process, but I would suspect we'll be able to move to this more swiftly than we did a 3-mile program. Yeah. And so I'll kind of leave it there but we're encouraged with what we're seeing we think it's a great opportunity and I think we could move over to a program in a reasonably swift manner.

所以我們確實需要一點時間來解決。我們必須完成許可程序，但我認為我們能夠比 3 英里計劃更快地完成這一目標。是的。所以我就不多說了，但我們對所看到的情況感到鼓舞，我們認為這是一個很好的機會，我認為我們可以以相當迅速的方式轉向一個專案。

Awesome, thanks for the time, Danny.

太棒了，謝謝你的時間，丹尼。

Noah Hungness, Bank of America.

諾亞·洪尼斯，美國銀行。

Morning, everyone. For my first question here, first quarter looks like a really strong quarter with oil production higher than expected. 2Q also looks stronger than maybe what a lot of us had in our models. Could you maybe talk to us about how the oil cadence -- what the oil cadence looks like for 3Q and 4Q for this year?

大家早安。我的第一個問題是，第一季看起來是一個非常強勁的季度，石油產量高於預期。第二季的表現可能也比我們許多人的模型中預測的要強勁。您能否與我們談談石油節奏—今年第三季和第四季的石油節奏如何？

Yes, thanks for the question, Noah. I think if you look at kind of how we're guiding for the full year relative to what we just did for 1Q and 2Q, you can kind of -- it implies that oil will be drifting down, particularly in the fourth quarter. And if you think about what we've talked about, the fact that we're dropping to a one crew program right now and contemplating picking one up again in the fourth quarter that also ought to imply a little bit on the cadence of our oil production.

是的，謝謝你的提問，諾亞。我認為，如果你看我們對全年的預測與我們對第一季和第二季的預測相比如何，你就會發現——這意味著油價將會下跌，尤其是在第四季。如果你考慮一下我們所討論的內容，你會發現我們目前正在放棄單人作業計劃，並考慮在第四季度再次啟用單人作業計劃，這也應該會對我們的石油生產節奏產生一些影響。

And so we do anticipate oil production is going to fall as we move into the back end of the year. If we elect to pick up that second frac crew in the fourth quarter, that will obviously we'll start completing those wells, we'll tell them, maybe starting at the very end of the fourth quarter, but really into 2026, and you'll see that production cadence pick back up again.

因此，我們確實預計，隨著進入年底，石油產量將會下降。如果我們選擇在第四季度招募第二支壓裂隊伍，那麼我們顯然會開始完成這些油井，我們會告訴他們，也許從第四季末開始，但實際上要到 2026 年，你會看到生產節奏再次回升。

But yeah, we do anticipate seeing oil fall a little bit as we drop this frac through. We'll bring tills on through the third quarter. We won't bring as many tills on in the fourth quarter, and so you'll start to see our production volumes fall a little bit into 4Q and if we pick that frac crew up, they'll move back up again in 1Q.

但是的，我們確實預計，隨著壓裂的進行，油價會略有下降。我們將在第三季繼續收銀。我們在第四季度不會投入那麼多的收銀機，因此，您將開始看到我們的產量在第四季度略有下降，如果我們選擇壓裂隊，他們將在第一季再次回升。

And for the third quarter, last quarter results you mentioned that 3Q would be above 2Q. Should we kind of think maybe with 2Q rising that 3Q would be flat versus the prior quarter?

對於第三季度，您提到上個季度的業績將高於第二季度。我們是否應該認為，隨著第二季的成長，第三季可能會與上一季持平？

Yeah, I think flattish to 2Q is probably a good expectation.

是的，我認為與第二季度持平可能是一個很好的預期。

Great. And then for my second question, just could you maybe add a little more color on what's giving you guys the confidence to increase your original plan from spotting three 4-mile laterals to seven, and then will you be testing anything new with these additional wells, like a different cleanout technique or anything else?

偉大的。然後對於我的第二個問題，您能否稍微解釋一下是什麼讓你們有信心將最初的計劃從發現三個 4 英里長的水平井增加到七個，然後您會用這些額外的井測試任何新的東西嗎，比如不同的清理技術或其他什麼？

Yeah, I think we've just seen positive results, is the short answer, but I'm going to turn it over to Darrin to provide a little more color, but we like what we're seeing so far and that's giving us a little confidence, but I'll turn it to Darrin for more color.

是的，我認為我們剛剛看到了積極的結果，這是簡短的回答，但我將把它交給 Darrin 來提供更多顏色，但我們喜歡我們目前所看到的顏色，這給了我們一點信心，但我會把它交給 Darrin 來獲得更多顏色。

Yeah, so we have three wells drilled now and each wells drilled, better than we anticipated. We've seen more torque and drag just really operationally everything's gone as well or better than expected, so that's definitely given us confidence to move forward with additional testing, additional wells which will help us convert to ideally a more longer lateral program, 4 miles, et cetera.

是的，我們現在已經鑽了三口井，而且每口井的鑽探效果都比我們預期的要好。我們已經看到了更大的扭矩和阻力，實際上操作上一切都進展順利或比預期更好，所以這絕對給了我們信心繼續進行額外的測試，額外的井，這將幫助我們轉換為理想的更長的橫向計劃，4 英里等等。

Down the road, 4 miles and when I say et cetera, I'm talking about alternate well shaped as well. So really everything's going very well operationally in that regard, Noah, so that's just giving us confidence to press forward faster.

沿著這條路走 4 英里，當我說等等時，我指的是另一種形狀。所以，諾亞，從這方面來看，一切其實都進展得非常順利，這給了我們信心，讓我們能夠更快地向前邁進。

Good stuff, guys. Thanks.

好東西，夥計們。謝謝。

Derrick Whitfield, Texas Capital.

德瑞克·惠特菲爾德，德州首府。

Good morning, all, and congrats on a strong 1Q. Wanted to focus on your maintenance capital with my first question. If we were to assume the approximate 150,000 barrels per day rate implied by your second half guide, could the current rate of activity generate flattish growth in 2026? And if so, what would the maintenance capital be to sustain that at current cost and an optimal level of 3-mile or greater laterals?

大家早安，恭喜您第一季業績強勁。我的第一個問題想專注於您的維護資本。如果我們按照您下半年的指導方針中暗示的每天約 15 萬桶的速度來計算，那麼目前的活動速度能否在 2026 年產生持平的增長？如果是這樣，那麼在目前的成本和 3 英里或更大水平的水平上維持這種水平的維護資本是多少？

Yeah, I think if the question -- for us to maintain [150 to 5], is around a 1.5 crew program and so if we go down to something sub that I think we would -- that's probably unlikely to maintain, a 150 program, and so it would be something sub that if you're talking about a one crew simulfrac program.

是的，我認為如果我們要維持 [150 到 5] 的人數，那麼大約是 1.5 個船員的計劃，如果我們將人數減少到某個程度，我認為我們會 — — 這可能不太可能維持 150 個計劃，所以如果你談論的是單人模擬壓裂計劃，那將會是某個程度的減少。

Terrific, and then just any color on what that would be from a capital perspective as you guys see cost at current?

太棒了，那麼從資本角度來看，你們認為目前的成本是多少？

Yeah, so as we're looking into '26, I will say that as we think about -- one, I wouldn't normally give -- we don't really start getting soft guidance until the third quarter for the prompt year and so we're clearly ahead of that, and lots of in a very dynamic environment, but generally speaking, if we're looking into -- if we pull the -- go down to a one frac crew program, you're probably talking about around a third of our operated activity coming out of the program through '26.

是的，當我們展望 26 年時，我想說的是，當我們考慮——首先，我通常不會給出——我們直到今年第三季度才真正開始獲得軟指導，因此我們顯然領先於此，並且處於一個非常動態的環境中，但一般來說，如果我們研究——如果我們把——縮減為一個壓裂隊計劃，你可能談論的是我們運營活動的大約三分之一來自 26 年的計劃。

And so that's sort of the impact associated with this and so that 1.5 crews, you just think about it, delivering about a third of the tills over the course of the year. So that's the impact. Capital would be associated with that and clearly some wedge volume would be associated with that as well if we followed that path.

這就是與此相關的影響，想想看，1.5 個團隊在一年內完成了大約三分之一的收銀工作。這就是影響。如果我們遵循這條路徑，資本將與此相關，而且顯然一些楔形量也將與此相關。

Great. And then maybe just shifting over to your self-help slide on page 12, Danny, if you or Darrin could just speak to how material the LOE and market contract opportunities could be to lower your cash costs? I know several of your marketing contracts are set to renew over the next couple of years.

偉大的。然後也許只是轉到第 12 頁的自助幻燈片，丹尼，如果你或達林可以談談 LOE 和市場合約機會對降低現金成本有多重要？我知道你們的幾份行銷合約將在未來幾年內續約。

Yes, I think we've got a tremendous opportunity in this space, and clearly, we're focused on CapEx and CapEx gets a lot of the headline numbers, but these other pieces have just as big an impact on free cash flow. Any dollar saved regardless of the bucket it comes from just translates right into that incremental free cash flow column.

是的，我認為我們在這個領域有巨大的機會，顯然，我們專注於資本支出，資本支出佔據了許多頭條數字，但其他部分對自由現金流的影響也同樣大。無論從哪個桶子省下來的錢，都會直接轉換成增量自由現金流列。

To your point, we do have marketing contracts that are rolling off over the next few years. That gives us opportunities to renegotiate there. We've also seen tremendous benefit, I mentioned in my prepared comments we've consolidated some contracts. If you think about it, we've got three legacy organizations, all of which had contracts with different midstream providers.

正如您所說，我們確實有將在未來幾年內到期的行銷合約。這給了我們重新談判的機會。我們也看到了巨大的好處，我在準備好的評論中提到，我們已經合併了一些合約。如果你仔細想想，我們有三個傳統組織，它們都與不同的中游供應商簽訂了合約。

Some of those, it was a little unwieldy for both parties to manage those contracts and so we've been able to consolidate into a single contract that offered us better rates. So that's a good thing. And then from an LOE perspective, I just think we've got tremendous opportunity there as we continue to leverage the scale we built as an organization to improve and lower LOE, but maybe I'll give Darrin an opportunity to talk a little bit about some of the specifics we're looking at.

對於某些合同，雙方管理起來有點麻煩，因此我們能夠將其合併為一份合同，從而獲得更優惠的價格。這是一件好事。然後從 LOE 的角度來看，我認為我們在那裡擁有巨大的機會，因為我們繼續利用我們作為一個組織建立的規模來改善和降低 LOE，但也許我會給 Darrin 一個機會來談談我們正在研究的一些細節。

Yeah, we continue to work with our vendors to reduce our costs, particularly chemical costs, things of that nature, also spending a tremendous amount of time getting the Enerplus wells, the legacy Enerplus wells to have the same run times that we have on the legacy Chord wells. And so if we can reduce the downtime, improve run times, spread out the -- requiring fewer workovers into the future that obviously saves us a lot of money and improves cash flow with the additional production so just never ending looking at these type of opportunities there.

是的，我們繼續與我們的供應商合作以降低成本，特別是化學成本等諸如此類的成本，同時還花費大量時間使 Enerplus 井，即傳統的 Enerplus 井具有與傳統的 Chord 井相同的運行時間。因此，如果我們能夠減少停機時間，提高運行時間，減少未來需要的修井次數，這顯然可以為我們節省大量資金，並透過增加產量來改善現金流，因此我們永遠不會停止尋找這類機會。

Thanks, that's great. I'll turn it back to the operator.

謝謝，太好了。我會將其轉回給接線生。

Paul Diamond, Citi.

花旗銀行的保羅戴蒙德 (Paul Diamond)。

Good morning, thanks for taking the call. Just a quick one. Could you give a bit more detail on kind of the total addressable market, those 4-mile laterals versus locations? Talk about being 50% of the program, but should we think about that extrapolating out kind of the wider inventory numbers, or is there a different kind of decline rate in that over time?

早安，感謝您接聽電話。只是快速的。您能否更詳細地介紹一下整體可尋址市場、4 英里橫向管道與位置的情況？談論該計劃的 50%，但我們是否應該考慮推斷出更廣泛的庫存數字，或者隨著時間的推移是否存在不同類型的下降率？

Thanks for the question, Paul. So if as we think about our -- I'm going to frame it this around long lateral inventory. And so long lateral inventory, we're trying to shoot to sort of over 80% of our total inventory set. 4-mile laterals, if you think about the opportunities set there, that's probably under 50% of the program, but 80%, is what we're shooting for 3 miles, let's call it 3-mile plus, which just offers tremendous incremental efficiency gains relative to what we see from a 2-mile program.

謝謝你的提問，保羅。因此，如果我們考慮我們的——我將圍繞長橫向庫存來構建它。對於長橫向庫存，我們試圖將其占到總庫存的 80% 以上。對於 4 英里橫向庫存，如果您考慮那裡設置的機會，那可能只占到該計劃的 50% 以下，但對於 3 英里橫向庫存，我們稱之為 3 英里以上，我們的目標是 80%，與 2 英里計劃相比，它可以帶來巨大的效率提升。

And then what was the second part of your question?

那麼你的問題的第二部分是什麼？

Oh no, just to be -- can we extrapolate that over time to like total sticks like on the inventory perspective?

哦不，只是——我們能否推斷出隨著時間的推移，總體情況就像庫存角度一樣？

The nice thing about doing this is it just really does lower our breakeven economics here pretty significantly. And so as we do that, obviously inventory that might not have been compelling for us to go develop previously becomes -- starts to offer really attractive rates of return.

這樣做的好處是，它確實顯著降低了我們的損益平衡經濟效益。因此，當我們這樣做時，顯然以前可能沒有吸引力去開發的庫存開始提供真正有吸引力的回報率。

And so you do sort of suck some inventory into the system when you're able to lower your breakeven costs, which we're able to do with these 4-mile laterals. And so I do think it does have a dual benefit not only of improving our capital efficiency but also sort of giving us more runway to go continue to develop the field.

因此，當您能夠降低損益平衡成本時，您確實會將一些庫存吸入系統，我們可以使用這些 4 英里的橫向管道來做到這一點。因此，我確實認為它確實具有雙重好處，不僅可以提高我們的資本效率，還可以為我們繼續開發該領域提供更多空間。

Understood, makes perfect sense. Just a quick follow-up, given the current volatility, how should we be thinking about any shifting sentiment, the macro and as far as how that would kind of read through into your willingness to either expand or contract your existing hedge book?

明白了，非常有道理。簡單跟進一下，考慮到當前的波動性，我們應該如何看待任何情緒的變化、宏觀因素，以及這些因素將如何影響您擴大或收縮現有對沖帳簿的意願？

Yeah, lots of volatility clearly within the marketplace right now. We try to take a -- we take a reasonably conservative view on hedging, part of part of our opportunity here is we have a fantastic balance sheet. We have low reinvestment rate, we've got strong free cash generation even down to very low prices and so and what we found is over time, human nature seems to be that you hedge at the exact wrong times when oil is high, you think it's going to go higher and you won't hedge and when oil's low, you think it's going to stay low forever so you hedge and you've done just the exact wrong thing.

是的，目前市場顯然存在很大波動。我們試圖採取—我們對對沖持合理保守的看法，我們的機會部分在於我們擁有出色的資產負債表。我們的再投資率很低，即使在油價非常低的時候，我們也有強大的自由現金產生能力，所以我們發現，隨著時間的推移，人的本性似乎是在錯誤的時間進行對沖，當油價高的時候，你認為它會走高，所以你不會對沖，當油價低的時候，你認為它會永遠保持低位，所以你做錯了，而你做錯

So I think one of the great things is just the resiliency of the business and the organization we've created is a great hedge to us. Having said that, we think some predictability is helpful, so you've sort of seen our hedge book get created. We don't want to be more than about 40% hedged in the prompt quarter. We typically hedge less and lower prices, hedge more and higher prices.

因此，我認為最偉大的事情之一就是業務的彈性，而我們創建的企業組織對我們來說是一個很好的保護。話雖如此，我們認為一定的可預測性是有幫助的，所以你已經看到了我們的對沖帳簿是如何創建的。我們不希望本季的對沖額超過 40%。通常，當價格較低時，我們對沖較少；當價格較高時，我們對沖較多。

So that's kind of how we look at hedging and so I don't really see a change to that framework because our whole framework on how we think about hedging is in recognition of the fact that we're in a cyclical business and so not much change to our philosophy there.

這就是我們看待對沖的方式，所以我並沒有看到這個框架有什麼變化，因為我們對沖的整個思考框架都承認我們處於週期性業務中，因此我們的理念沒有太大變化。

Understood, appreciate the clarity. I'll leave it there.

明白了，感謝您的清晰度。我就把它留在那裡。

Thanks, Paul.

謝謝，保羅。

Josh Silverstein, UBS.

瑞銀集團的喬希·西爾弗斯坦（Josh Silverstein）。

Yeah, thanks. Good morning, guys. Just wanted to ask on a couple questions on the M&A side. First, just on the Marcellus, just wanted to see how your thinking is with that asset, obviously, stronger gas prices this year relative to last year. How are you thinking about that as kind of a core fit within the portfolio right now and potentially use the proceeds there?

是的，謝謝。大家早安。只是想問幾個有關併購的問題。首先，就馬塞勒斯而言，我只是想看看您對該資產的看法，顯然，今年的天然氣價格比去年更高。您如何看待它作為目前投資組合中的核心部分並可能利用其收益？

Yeah, as we said before, we like that asset. It's in the core of the basin. We've got a great operating partner associated with that. However, it's not core for our organization, and so we recognize that that's not a non-core position for us and we're going to look to maximize value on that over time. Clearly, gas price relative to oil price is more constructive now than it has been historically and so we're always looking at how we can maximize value.

是的，正如我們之前所說，我們喜歡這項資產。它位於盆地的核心。我們有一個非常出色的營運合作夥伴。然而，這不是我們組織的核心，因此我們認識到這對我們來說不是一個非核心職位，我們將尋求隨著時間的推移實現其價值最大化。顯然，現在天然氣價格相對於石油價格比歷史上任何時候都更具建設性，因此我們一直在尋找如何實現價值最大化。

Got it. And then just on Williston M&A, you guys are always active and looking to do some bolt-ons and other transactions. Have you seen any change in valuations or how people are thinking about transacting in the base and just given the lower oil prices right now?

知道了。然後就威利斯頓併購而言，你們一直很活躍，並希望進行一些附加交易和其他交易。您是否看到估值有任何變化，或者人們如何考慮在基準上進行交易，並考慮到目前較低的油價？

I'd say the moves been pretty swift and still fairly recent. As a general comment, I would say that significant and rapid movements in price aren't really helpful for M&A just in that it creates a bit as spread between buyers and sellers that's not really helpful to get deals done.

我想說這些措施非常迅速，而且還是最近才採取的。總的來說，我認為價格的大幅快速波動對併購並沒有什麼幫助，因為它會在買家和賣家之間造成一定的價差，這對達成交易並沒有什麼幫助。

So price stability is always a nice thing to have if you want to get deals done. So I haven't really seen any significant impact, but by the same token, I think it's our expectation that M&A may just be a little bit more challenged in this environment than it would be in an environment of more stability.

因此，如果您想達成交易，價格穩定總是一件好事。所以我實際上沒有看到任何重大影響，但同樣，我認為我們預計，在這種環境下，併購可能會比在更穩定的環境中面臨更多挑戰。

Thanks, guys.

謝謝大家。

Geoff Jay, Daniel Energy Partners.

傑夫·傑伊（Geoff Jay），丹尼爾能源合作夥伴。

Hi, guys. My question is really about sort of the increase in cycle times from sort of 2-mile to 3-mile to 4-mile and as you sort of migrate to a greater percentage of the longer laterals, how will that sort of change or I guess cadence of spending and production if you kind of look out to 2026 and 2027?

嗨，大家好。我的問題實際上是關於週期時間從 2 英里增加到 3 英里再到 4 英里，並且隨著您遷移到更大比例的較長的橫向管道，如果您展望 2026 年和 2027 年，這種變化將如何發生，或者我猜支出和生產的節奏將如何變化？

Yeah, my expectation is that as we -- the cycle time per well increases, but the cycle time per foot decreases. And so as you think about that, you can accomplish the same sort of lateral foot drilling with lower capital cost and fewer wells. And so it all depends on what you're solving for. If you're solving for delivering a particular well count, that's one issue. But what we're solving -- that's not necessarily what we're solving for.

是的，我的預期是，隨著我們——每口井的循環時間增加，但每英尺的循環時間減少。因此，當您考慮到這一點時，您可以使用更低的資本成本和更少的井來完成相同類型的側向鑽井。所以這完全取決於你要解決的問題。如果您要解決特定井數的問題，那就是一個問題。但我們正在解決的問題——不一定是我們要解決的問題。

And so I think what we're going to look at is what's the right capital allocation decision for us in the environment that we're in, and then the production will be an output of that, not necessarily an input to that. So anyway, the nice thing is that again the cycle times stretch out a little bit, but the delivery, the per foot delivery actually improves pretty significantly associated with this.

因此，我認為我們要考慮的是，在我們所處的環境中，什麼是正確的資本配置決策，然後生產將是其輸出，而不一定是輸入。所以無論如何，好消息是，週期時間再次延長了一點，但交付量，每英尺的交付量實際上與此相關地得到了顯著改善。

That's fair. And then just to follow up on Paul's question from earlier just to make sure I understand the answer, when I look at slide 6 with your inventory life, they're both sort of sub 50 and sub 60. As you migrate to the longer laterals, you're saying there won't be significant degradation and sort of the inventory life of the program?

這很公平。然後，為了跟進保羅之前提出的問題，以確保我理解答案，當我查看幻燈片 6 中的庫存壽命時，它們都在 50 以下和 60 以下。當您遷移到更長的水平段時，您是說不會出現明顯的效能下降以及程式的庫存壽命縮短嗎？

Yeah, because we're measuring inventory life not necessarily a stick count but on as sort of what we're -- relative to production capacity and reserves delivery relative to what we're currently producing.

是的，因為我們衡量庫存壽命不一定是衡量棒數，而是衡量相對於我們目前生產能力和儲備交付量而言的庫存壽命。

Very good, thank you, guys.

非常好，謝謝大家。

Noel Parks, Tuohy Brothers Investment Research.

諾埃爾·帕克斯（Noel Parks），Tuohy Brothers 投資研究公司。

Hi, good morning. I apologize if you touched on this already, but can you talk about sort of the potential footprint expansion that 4 miles could give you just making locations or parts of the play that were not quite economic feasible?

嗨，早安。如果您已經談到這一點，我很抱歉，但您能否談談 4 英里可能給您帶來的潛在足跡擴展，而不僅僅是製作那些在經濟上不太可行的地點或部分遊戲？

Yeah, I don't know how much specific I can provide around that. We've got some acreage maps that we've put out in the past and we're probably happy to visit with the -- on this sort of offline on areas where it was more at the very outskirts of the basin, areas where it was a little tougher for us to compete for capital.

是的，我不知道我能提供多少具體資訊。我們有一些過去發布過的土地面積地圖，我們很樂意以線下方式訪問這些區域，這些區域更靠近盆地的邊緣，對於我們來說，在這些區域爭奪資本會更加困難。

And so as we go for those opportunities to compete for capital as we move into 4 miles, I think some of those start to fall in to where they do offer very attractive rates of returns associated with development out there. And so there will be a small footprint expansion associated with going successfully moving to 4-mile laterals again just because of the breakeven cost improvement that we'll see due to the more efficient development design.

因此，當我們進入 4 英里範圍時，當我們尋求競爭資本的機會時，我認為其中一些機會開始提供與那裡的發展相關的非常有吸引力的回報率。因此，由於更有效率的開發設計將帶來損益平衡成本的改善，因此，再次成功遷移到 4 英里水平井將帶來小規模的擴張。

Well, the only thing I'll add to that -- this is Michael, the only thing I'll add to that is the team's done an incredible job over the last few years increasing capital efficiency through 3-mile laterals spacing, 4-mile laterals, all these things are continuing to help the program. You heard in Danny's prepared remarks. He talked about a 10-year inventory life that sub-60, and we've been able to hold that flat at 10 years for the last 4 years.

好吧，我唯一要補充的是——我是邁克爾，我唯一要補充的是，團隊在過去幾年中通過 3 英里水平井間距、4 英里水平井間距提高了資本效率，做了令人難以置信的工作，所有這些都在繼續幫助該計劃。你們聽到了丹尼準備好的發言。他談到了 10 年的庫存壽命，即低於 60 年，而我們在過去的 4 年裡已經能夠將其保持在 10 年的水平。

Some of that's through M&A, but a lot of that's through this continuous improvement and the team really improving economics and bringing, like you're saying, acreage that currently isn't sub 60 into that sub 60 category. We still have quite a bit of that acreage that's not in that sub 60 category today that 4-mile laterals and continued kind of improvements from the team will continue to bring that into that 10-year inventory life and push down our current inventory life to a lower breakeven, so the team's doing a great job on that front.

其中一些是透過併購實現的，但許多是透過持續改進和團隊真正改善經濟狀況，並將目前未低於 60 的土地納入 60 以下的類別。我們目前仍有相當一部分土地不屬於 60 英里以下的類別，4 英里水平段和團隊的持續改進將繼續使其進入 10 年的庫存壽命，並將我們目前的庫存壽命推低至更低的盈虧平衡點，所以團隊在這方面做得很好。

Great. And again, this is something that would just be incremental, but as I look ahead to the implications of the longer lateral sort of rippling through, would you have enough data, production data from your first or early 4 milers, to be able to get any bits of re-rating upward as far as reserve bookings? I don't know if you had two 2-mile pods on the books that we're going to go to 4 with the better economics and so forth, and would that needle get moved at all?

偉大的。再說一次，這只是一個漸進的過程，但當我展望更長距離橫向連鎖反應的影響時，您是否有足夠的數據，來自您的第一個或早期 4 英里賽跑者的生產數據，以便能夠獲得任何關於預訂量的重新評級？我不知道您是否計劃將兩個 2 英里的吊艙增加到 4 英里，以獲得更好的經濟效益等等，那麼這個指針是否會移動呢？

I think for our proven reserve base right now, as we move to 2s to a 4 we're really just capturing that entire resource. That's kind of already accounted for just in a more cost effective manner. As we're able to expand our opportunity to capture out because we have better breakeven economics, what'll happen is we'll have sort of more inventory associated with that that will move their way into the proven undeveloped category over time.

我認為，就我們目前已探明的儲量基礎而言，隨著我們從 2 轉向 4，我們實際上只是捕獲了整個資源。這已經以一種更具成本效益的方式被考慮。由於我們擁有更好的損益平衡經濟，因此我們能夠擴大捕獲機會，隨著時間的推移，我們將擁有更多與之相關的庫存，這些庫存將進入已探明的未開發類別。

I think the actual wells themselves probably were just capturing, what we hope will be 100% of the resource of those 2-mile wells. We still need to see that over time. We're seeing that on threes. We still need to make sure that that's the case on fours, but as we expand, as we lower breakevens and expand our ability to expand the base and we'll bring more wells in which will make their way, will migrate their way into proven under (inaudible) and so and have a positive reserve impact for us.

我認為實際的油井本身可能只是在捕獲我們希望捕獲的 2 英里油井 100% 的資源。我們仍需要隨著時間的推移來觀察這一點。我們在三分球上看到了這一點。我們仍然需要確保四個方面都是如此，但隨著我們的擴張，隨著我們降低盈虧平衡點並擴大我們擴大基礎的能力，我們將引入更多的油井，這些油井將進入已探明的（聽不清）範圍，從而對我們的儲量產生積極的影響。

So over time, there's a reserve impact biased upward and then capital biased downward so the PV should be biased upward.

因此，隨著時間的推移，儲備影響會向上偏出，而資本影響會向下偏出，因此 PV 也應該向上偏出。

Terrific. Thanks a lot.

了不起。多謝。

There are no further questions, I'll now turn the call back over to Danny.

沒有其他問題了，我現在將電話轉回給丹尼。

Thanks, Vincent. Well, to close out, I want to thank all of our employees for their continued hard work and dedication to our organization. Despite the macroeconomic headwinds, this is the best position the company has been since I arrived four years ago. Our strategic actions, coupled with our fantastic operations team, have created what we believe is a valuable and increasingly rare asset.

謝謝，文森特。最後，我要感謝我們所有的員工對我們組織的持續努力和奉獻。儘管面臨宏觀經濟逆風，但這是我四年前上任以來公司所處的最佳狀態。我們的策略行動，加上我們優秀的營運團隊，創造了我們認為寶貴且日益稀缺的資產。

Chord has substantial yet low decline and high oil cut production base which is paired with the deep portfolio of highly economic, lower risk, conservatively spaced, and oil-rich inventory. We feel great about what we've accomplished and have a lot of confidence in our ability to deliver going forward.

Chord 擁有大量但遞減率較低、含油量較高的生產基礎，並擁有高度經濟、低風險、保守間隔和富含石油的庫存的深度組合。我們對所取得的成就感到非常高興，並對我們未來的實現目標的能力充滿信心。

As you can imagine, we will be closely monitoring the oil price environment and have the organizational flexibility to optimize capital allocation to drive returns and continue to generate strong free cash flow.

正如您所想像的，我們將密切關注油價環境，並擁有組織靈活性來優化資本配置以推動回報並繼續產生強勁的自由現金流。

With that, I appreciate everyone's interest and thank you for joining our call.

我非常感謝大家的關注，也感謝大家參加我們的電話會議。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。