California Resources Corp (CRC) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the California Resources Corporation First Quarter 2025 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加加州資源公司 2025 年第一季電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，此事件正在被記錄。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Joanna Park, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁兼財務主管喬安娜·帕克 (Joanna Park)。請繼續。

Good morning, and welcome to California Resources Corporation's First Quarter 2025 Conference Call. Following our prepared remarks, members of our leadership team will be available for questions. By now, I hope you have had a chance to review our earnings release and supplemental slides. We have also provided information reconciling non-GAAP financial measures to comparable GAAP financial measures on our website and in our earnings release.

早安，歡迎參加加州資源公司 2025 年第一季電話會議。在我們準備好發言之後，我們的領導團隊成員將回答問題。到目前為止，我希望您已經有機會查看我們的收益報告和補充幻燈片。我們還在我們的網站和收益報告中提供了非 GAAP 財務指標與可比較 GAAP 財務指標的調整資訊。

Today, we will be making some forward-looking statements based on our current expectations. Actual results may differ due to factors described in our earnings release and in our periodic SEC filings. As a reminder, please limit your questions today to one primary and one follow-up as this allows us to get more of your questions today.

今天，我們將根據目前的預期做出一些前瞻性的陳述。由於我們的收益報告和定期提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中描述的因素，實際結果可能會有所不同。提醒一下，請將您今天的問題限制為一個主要問題和一個後續問題，因為這樣我們今天就可以收到更多您的問題。

And now I will turn the call over to Francisco.

現在我將把電話轉給弗朗西斯科。

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining our call and for your interest in our company. CRC is executing very well. We delivered a solid quarter and are reaffirming our full year 2025 outlook. Our business strategy is designed to mitigate commodity price volatility and generate cash flow to execute our operations, maintain a strong balance sheet and sustainably return cash to shareholders.

大家早安。感謝您參加我們的電話會議並對我們公司的關注。CRC 執行得非常好。我們本季業績穩健，並重申了我們對 2025 年全年的展望。我們的業務策略旨在減輕商品價格波動並產生現金流以開展我們的業務，保持強勁的資產負債表並持續向股東返還現金。

Before Clio covers our first quarter financial and operating highlights, let me open with some thoughts on how CRC is positioned to withstand the uncertainty in today's macroeconomic environment. First, the strategic steps we have taken to strengthen our business were timely. We have achieved critical scale. The Aera merger made us bigger and better, proving that assets are better in our hands. This combination provided new opportunities to streamline our business and achieve meaningful cost savings that strengthen our returns today and well into the future. We have now realized more than 70% of our total $235 million in announced annual synergies and expect to achieve the full target in early 2026.

在 Clio 介紹我們第一季的財務和營運亮點之前，我先談談 CRC 如何應對當今宏觀經濟環境中的不確定性。首先，我們為加強業務而採取的策略性措施是及時的。我們已經達到了臨界規模。Aera 合併使我們變得更大、更好，證明資產在我們手中更有價值。此次合併為我們簡化業務和實現有意義的成本節約提供了新的機會，從而增強了我們當前和未來的回報。我們目前已實現宣布的年度綜效總額 2.35 億美元的 70% 以上，並預計在 2026 年初實現全部目標。

Second, our cash flow is underpinned by a strong hedge portfolio and diversified revenue stream. For the remainder of the year, we have approximately 70% of our oil production and 70% of our natural gas consumption hedged at attractive levels relative to the current strip. In addition, our power and natural gas marketing strategy are delivering meaningful margins, further underscoring the strength of our business. This integrated strategy provides strong visibility into near-term cash generation, supports debt service and shareholder returns and allows us to generate free cash flow at Brent prices down to approximately $34 per barrel.

其次，強大的對沖投資組合和多元化的收入來源支撐了我們的現金流。在今年剩餘時間內，我們將對大約 70% 的石油產量和 70% 的天然氣消耗量進行對沖，使其處於相對於當前開採狀況具有吸引力的位置。此外，我們的電力和天然氣行銷策略正在帶來可觀的利潤，進一步凸顯了我們業務的實力。這項綜合策略為短期現金產生提供了強大的可視性，支持債務償還和股東回報，並使我們能夠在布蘭特原油價格低至約每桶 34 美元時產生自由現金流。

Third, we have high-quality conventional assets. They have low decline rates, high net revenue interest and high ultimate recovery rates. With modest development cost, we can manage our production largely through capital-efficient workovers and sidetracks. Low capital intensity provides an advantage over peers. We're also able to control the pace of activity due to our high ownership interest where we own both surface and mineral rights.

第三，我們擁有優質的常規資產。它們的下降率低、淨收益利息高、最終採收率高。由於開發成本適中，我們主要可以透過資本高效的修井和側鑽來管理生產。較低的資本密集度使其比同業更具優勢。由於我們擁有地表和礦產權，因此我們擁有較高的所有權，因此我們也能夠控制活動的節奏。

We have a solid inventory of development projects, and recent improvements in the state's oil and gas regulatory environment provide confidence that we will continue to build our permit inventory through several avenues later this year. We are returns focused and allocate capital to our highest return projects while effectively managing production and investing in our growth opportunities.

我們擁有大量的開發項目，而且該州石油和天然氣監管環境的最新改善使我們有信心在今年稍後繼續透過多種途徑建立我們的許可證庫存。我們注重回報，將資金分配給回報最高的項目，同時有效管理生產並投資於我們的成長機會。

Lastly, the strength of our business allows us to sustainably return meaningful cash to our shareholders. In the first quarter, we returned a record $258 million to stakeholders through dividends, share buybacks and debt redemption. We continue to show that CRC is a different kind of energy company.

最後，我們業務的實力使我們能夠持續地向股東返還可觀的現金。第一季度，我們透過股利、股票回購和債務贖迴向股東返還了創紀錄的 2.58 億美元。我們繼續表明 CRC 是一家與眾不同的能源公司。

I'll turn it over to Clio to summarize our first quarter results and some of the drivers behind our strong outlook.

我將交給 Clio 來總結我們的第一季業績以及我們強勁前景背後的一些驅動因素。

Thank you, Francisco. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. This quarter, our results exceeded the Street's expectations. We delivered flat net production quarter-over-quarter at 141,000 BOE per day and realized prices that were 98% of Brent. Adjusted EBITDAX was $328 million, net cash flow before changes in working capital was $252 million and free cash flow totaled $131 million, all of which came in above consensus. This performance was primarily driven by our continued cost discipline.

謝謝你，弗朗西斯科。大家早安，感謝大家的收看。本季，我們的業績超出了華爾街的預期。我們的淨產量與上一季持平，為每天 141,000 桶油當量，實現價格為布蘭特原油的 98%。調整後的 EBITDAX 為 3.28 億美元，營運資本變動前的淨現金流為 2.52 億美元，自由現金流總計 1.31 億美元，均高於預期。這項業績主要得益於我們持續的成本控制。

In Q1, our combined operating and G&A costs were $388 million, approximately 5% better than what we had guided. Looking ahead, we expect to reduce our operating costs in the first half of 2025 by nearly 10% compared to the second half of 2024. We remain focused on delivering value to shareholders. This quarter, we repurchased a record $100 million in shares, nearly double our historical average, and paid $35 million in dividends. Altogether, that's $135 million returned or about 103% of our Q1 free cash flow.

第一季度，我們的綜合營運及一般行政成本為 3.88 億美元，比我們預期的水平好出約 5%。展望未來，我們預計 2025 年上半年的營運成本將比 2024 年下半年降低近 10%。我們仍然專注於為股東創造價值。本季度，我們回購了創紀錄的 1 億美元股票，幾乎是歷史平均的兩倍，並支付了 3,500 萬美元的股息。總計返還 1.35 億美元，約占我們第一季自由現金流的 103%。

With a strong start to the year and despite nearly a 16% decline in oil prices, we are reaffirming our full year adjusted EBITDAX guidance of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion, driven mostly by our low-decline assets, focus on cost reduction and hedge book. We continue to target average annual production of 136,000 BOE per day with D&C capital investment between $165 million and $180 million.

今年開局強勁，儘管油價下跌近 16%，我們仍重申全年調整後 EBITDAX 指引為 11 億美元至 12 億美元，這主要得益於我們低跌幅資產、專注於降低成本和對沖賬簿。我們繼續將年平均產量定為每天 136,000 桶油當量，D&C 資本投資定為 1.65 億至 1.8 億美元。

Now I want to take a moment to talk about our financial resilience and highlight three core strengths. First, balance sheet strength. We have a strong financial foundation. Our leverage is below 1x. We have more than $1 billion in liquidity and nearly $200 million in available cash. Earlier this year, we redeemed $123 million of our outstanding 2026 notes at par, and we expect to address the remainder later this year. This balance sheet strength gives us the flexibility to reduce debt, return capital and invest in disciplined opportunities. We also have access to third-party capital from Brookfield to support the growth of our carbon management business.

現在我想花點時間談談我們的財務韌性並強調三個核心優勢。首先，資產負債表強勁。我們擁有雄厚的財務基礎。我們的槓桿低於 1 倍。我們擁有超過10億美元的流動資金和近2億美元的可用現金。今年早些時候，我們以票面價格贖回了 1.23 億美元的未償還 2026 年票據，預計今年稍後將解決剩餘部分。這種資產負債表實力使我們能夠靈活地減少債務、返還資本並投資於有紀律的機會。我們還可以獲得來自 Brookfield 的第三方資本來支持我們的碳管理業務的成長。

Second, our cost reduction progress. As Francisco mentioned, we realized $173 million in annual run rate Aera-related synergies based on our Q1 results. We expect those to be sustainable and enhance our future margins.

第二，我們的成本削減進度。正如弗朗西斯科所提到的，根據我們第一季的業績，我們實現了 1.73 億美元的 Aera 相關年運行率協同效應。我們預計這些將是可持續的並提高我們未來的利潤率。

Third, executing on our strategy. Our integrated approach is gaining traction. We're capturing value through resource adequacy payments for standby power capacity, natural gas marketing, commodity derivatives and emerging opportunities in carbon management. We're executing on our broader vision. Our gas to power and carbon capture strategies are not only actionable, but they're also scalable and position us to deliver long-term value while reducing risk.

第三，執行我們的策略。我們的綜合方法正在獲得青睞。我們透過備用電力容量、天然氣行銷、商品衍生性商品和碳管理新興機會的資源充足性支付來獲取價值。我們正在實現我們更廣闊的願景。我們的天然氣發電和碳捕獲策略不僅可行，而且可擴展，使我們能夠在降低風險的同時提供長期價值。

We are pleased with how we started 2025 and confident in our ability to execute for the rest of the year. We're executing today and building for tomorrow. Thank you. Back to you, Francisco.

我們對 2025 年的開局感到滿意，並對我們在今年剩餘時間的執行能力充滿信心。我們今天正在執行並為明天而建設。謝謝。回到你身邊，弗朗西斯科。

Thank you, Clio. Before we move to Q&A, let me quickly summarize today's call and offer a few things to watch for as the year unfolds. Through our carbon management business, we continue to build scale and expect new vaults and projects to be announced later this year. Industrial partners are turning to us for solutions to energy challenges and desire for clean, reliable power.

謝謝你，克萊奧。在我們進入問答環節之前，讓我快速總結一下今天的電話會議，並提出一些今年需要關注的事項。透過我們的碳管理業務，我們繼續擴大規模，並預計今年稍後將宣布新的碳庫和項目。工業合作夥伴正在向我們尋求解決能源挑戰和對清潔、可靠電力的需求的解決方案。

We have a leading CO2 storage reservoir business in various stages of permitting with multiple CCS projects under consideration. We're also excited to launch California's first CCS project at the Elk Hills cryogenic gas plant with construction breaking ground in the second quarter and with first injection expected later this year.

我們擁有領先的二氧化碳儲存庫業務，目前正處於不同的許可階段，並且有多個 CCS 專案正在考慮中。我們也很高興在 Elk Hills 低溫氣體工廠啟動加州首個 CCS 項目，該項目將於第二季度破土動工，預計今年晚些時候將進行首次注入。

In our power business, we're pursuing multiple new opportunities with AI data center companies and other large offtakers interested in our available power capacity. Our firm supply of gas, speed to market, access to land, proximity to CCS and scalable infrastructure are key attributes in our portfolio. The proximity of our assets to large industrial centers in the world's four largest economy creates multiple advantages as we progress these discussions. Stay tuned for more later this year.

在我們的電力業務中，我們正在與人工智慧資料中心公司和其他對我們的可用電力容量感興趣的大型承購商尋求多個新的機會。我們穩定的天然氣供應、快速的市場進入、土地使用權、靠近 CCS 以及可擴展的基礎設施是我們投資組合的關鍵屬性。我們的資產與世界四大經濟體的大型工業中心的接近性為我們推動這些討論創造了多重優勢。敬請關註今年稍後的更多內容。

CRC is executing, and we sit in an advantaged position. With a strong balance sheet, quality assets, a low and declining cost structure and well-priced hedges, our margins are well insulated from near- and medium-term reductions in commodity prices. We certainly recognize the challenges presented in today's markets, but CRC has a plan.

CRC 正在執行，我們處於有利地位。憑藉強勁的資產負債表、優質的資產、低且不斷下降的成本結構以及價格合理的對沖，我們的利潤率能夠很好地抵禦商品價格近期和中期下跌的影響。我們當然認識到當今市場面臨的挑戰，但 CRC 有一個計劃。

In closing, let me reiterate my opening comment. CRC is well-positioned. Our durable assets and integrated business strategy are yielding strong results today.

最後，請容許我重申我的開場白。CRC 處於有利地位。我們的耐用資產和綜合業務策略如今正在產生強勁的成果。

Operator, we're now ready for questions.

接線員，我們現在可以回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions) Scott Hanold, RBC Capital Markets.

（操作員指示）RBC 資本市場 Scott Hanold。

A nice quarter. I was wondering if you all could walk through how you're able to achieve the similar EBITDA using a much lower Brent assumption. I mean, obviously, you pointed to some things like lower costs being one thing. But is that -- is there things incrementally happening from the prior outlook that has been a tailwind? And can you give us some specifics on what really is driving some of those OpEx costs down?

一個美好的季度。我想知道你們是否可以解釋一下如何使用低得多的布倫特假設來實現類似的 EBITDA。我的意思是，顯然你指出了一些事情，例如降低成本就是一回事。但是，從先前的展望來看，是否有一些事情正在逐步發生並成為順風？您能否具體告訴我們真正推動營運支出成本下降的因素是什麼？

Yes, definitely, we're seeing a lot of tailwinds related to our synergy targets. We've -- the team is just -- what we like to talk about is how the story is good, but the execution is better. The team has just been outperforming every expectation in terms of getting the Aera assets integrated into CRC. So think about it as three stages. The first stage was around refinancing and the people aspect of a merger. The second one was around leaning in on our supply chain advantage and renegotiating good contracts to have long-term runway.

是的，我們確實看到了許多與我們的協同目標相關的順風。我們——團隊只是——我們喜歡談論的是故事如何精彩，但執行如何更好。在將 Aera 資產整合到 CRC 方面，該團隊的表現超出了所有人的預期。所以可以把它想像成三個階段。第一階段圍繞著再融資和合併的人員方面。第二個是利用我們的供應鏈優勢，重新談判良好的合同，以獲得長期的發展。

What we're doing right now is we're consolidating infrastructure, and that's where we're seeing tailwinds. We're moving cost savings earlier. And that in combination with our very strong hedge book is what positions the company to be able to not only reaffirm guidance, but continue to invest in this business. So excited with the progress and the results from the merger and we expect to continue getting every dollar from our target in the synergy bucket.

我們目前正在做的是整合基礎設施，而這正是我們所看到的順風之處。我們正在儘早節省成本。再加上我們非常強大的對沖帳簿，使得公司不僅能夠重申指導方針，而且能夠繼續投資這項業務。我們對合併的進展和結果感到非常興奮，我們希望繼續在協同效應中獲得我們目標的每一分錢。

Josh Silverstein, RBC Capital Markets.

加拿大皇家銀行資本市場 (RBC Capital Markets) 的 Josh Silverstein。

I had a question on the breakeven that you guys were highlighting. Obviously, they're very low. And Francisco, you just mentioned the hedge book. Can you give us a sense as to what it may look like on an unhedged basis? Is it closer to those other kind of workover and sidetrack costs that you guys were alluding to earlier in that slide as well?

我對你們強調的損益平衡有一個疑問。顯然，它們非常低。弗朗西斯科，你剛才提到了對沖書。您能否讓我們了解一下在未對沖的情況下它會是什麼樣子？它是否更接近你們之前在幻燈片中提到的其他類型的修井和側鑽成本？

Yes. So let me spend a couple of minutes talking through why -- how we got here. We have been, for years, working to position the company for -- to be able to manage the ups and downs in the cycle. We -- volatility is a given commodity prices in a commodity industry. So we have to be able to build a resilient business and deliver sustainable capital return to shareholders.

是的。所以請容許我花幾分鐘來解釋為什麼——我們如何走到這一步。多年來，我們一直致力於讓公司能夠應對週期中的起伏。我們－波動性是商品產業中給定的商品價格。因此，我們必須能夠建立一個有彈性的業務並為股東提供可持續的資本回報。

So when we look at our future, it's really underpinned by the quality of the assets. So we have very low decline, predictable assets. But the steps that we've taken are steps that we take to get ready for situations with increased volatility like we have right now. So we've done M&A with Aera. We put the hedges in place. We maintain an absolute pristine balance sheet, and we're taking a proactive view on cutting cost.

因此，當我們展望未來時，資產的品質才是真正的支柱。因此，我們的資產下降幅度非常低，而且可預測。但我們所採取的措施是為了因應目前這種波動性加劇的情況而採取的措施。因此我們與 Aera 進行了併購。我們設置了樹籬。我們保持著絕對完美的資產負債表，並且積極主動地削減成本。

The result of that is, as you pointed out, our corporate breakeven is around $34 Brent or about $30 per WTI. So that's how we run the business, and we took all these actions to get ready for this moment. So when we look at the go-forward basis, that's what you should expect. It's not a reactive nature or getting caught by surprise by any macro. It's about being ready so we can deliver that certainty to the investors so we can continue to return cash to shareholders predictably.

正如您所指出的，其結果是，我們公司的損益平衡點約為每桶布蘭特原油 34 美元或每桶西德州中質原油 30 美元。這就是我們經營業務的方式，我們採取了所有這些行動來為這一刻做好準備。因此，當我們展望未來時，這就是您應該期待的。這不是一種反應性質，也不會被任何宏所措手不及。這是為了做好準備，以便我們能夠向投資者提供確定性，以便我們能夠繼續可預測地向股東返還現金。

Got it. And then a follow-up question for me. I think I asked this a couple of quarters ago. But we've seen another refinery shutdown in California. Is there a growing concern about who you guys are able to sell to or the Brent premium that you guys receive?

知道了。然後還有一個後續問題。我想我在幾個季度前就問過這個問題。但我們看到加州的另一家煉油廠關閉。大家是否越來越擔心你們能夠把原油賣給誰，或是你們收到的布蘭特原油溢價是多少？

Yes. So no concern on the refinery shutdowns. We're able to place our crude with the existing refineries. And as a reminder, what we have is the refineries here were built for California crude. It's the Wright Nelson complexity. It has -- our production has low sulfur. So the answer to why do we have really high realizations on par with Brent is because of that preferential market to our crude.

是的。因此無需擔心煉油廠關閉。我們能夠將原油輸送到現有的煉油廠。提醒一下，我們這裡的煉油廠是為加州原油而建造的。這就是賴特·納爾遜複雜性。我們的產品含硫量低。所以，為什麼我們的原油實現率能與布蘭特原油相當，是因為市場對我們的原油有優惠。

California is in a tough spot. I mean we're the largest -- fourth largest economy in the world, big consumer of gasoline. I think we're second to Texas. We're the largest consumer of jet fuels in the US. And the state is in a difficult situation with reduced refining capacity. But what we talk to the government, what we talk to refineries is there are solutions. There are ways to improve cost structures, and that is to produce more locally. So I think the message has been received and we're seeing progress across all fronts. So it's -- the refining situation could be improved, but we're going to help solve that by producing more of our barrels. That is really what the refineries need.

加州處境艱難。我的意思是，我們是世界上最大的、第四大經濟體，也是汽油消費大國。我認為我們僅次於德克薩斯州。我們是美國最大的航空燃料消費國。由於煉油能力下降，該州處境十分困難。但我們與政府、煉油廠討論的是，有解決方案。有辦法改善成本結構，那就是增加本地生產。所以我認為資訊已經被接收，我們看到各方面都取得了進展。因此，煉油狀況可以得到改善，但我們將透過生產更多的桶子來幫助解決這個問題。這正是煉油廠所需要的。

Scott Hanold, RBC Capital Markets.

加拿大皇家銀行資本市場 (RBC Capital Markets) 的 Scott Hanold。

For my follow-up from my earlier start, Francisco, I was wondering if you could give us a sense of what you're seeing and hearing on the political landscape, both in California and Washington. I know you stay pretty active and close to that. And what kind of progress is occurring on things like CO2 pipeline regulation, carbon tax credits, oil and gas permitting specifically in the state. What kind of progress are you seeing at this point? And is it encouraging? Are you seeing some movement by some of the politicians to be more open to, I guess, oil companies in the state?

弗朗西斯科，關於我剛才開始的後續問題，我想知道您是否可以讓我們了解一下您所看到和聽到的加州和華盛頓州的政治情況。我知道你一直很活躍並且接近這個目標。該州在二氧化碳管道監管、碳稅抵免、石油和天然氣許可等方面取得了哪些進展？您目前看到了什麼樣的進展？這令人鼓舞嗎？您是否看到一些政客對該州的石油公司採取了更開放的態度？

Yes, Scott, I really appreciate that question. Definitely, we're seeing -- it's very encouraging how this is playing out. We -- and we're really trying to solve for two things. One is to cut emissions, which aligns very well with California's objectives, but also to produce -- California has a natural advantage by having some of the best oil and gas reserves -- remaining reserves in the US. So we can achieve both cutting emissions and improving affordability of energy and also deliver to energy security.

是的，斯科特，我非常感謝這個問題。毫無疑問，我們看到了──事情的進展非常令人鼓舞。我們——我們確實正在努力解決兩個問題。一是減少排放，這與加州的目標非常一致，二是生產——加州擁有天然優勢，擁有美國最好的石油和天然氣儲備——剩餘的儲備。這樣，我們既可以減少排放，又可以提高能源的可負擔性，同時也能實現能源安全。

So as we talk through messaging in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., we feel there's a lot of alignment and our projects are really the bridge between the two ideologies. There is a win-win, and part of it is what we're delivering. So we do see progress on CO2 pipelines. You mentioned -- we do see progress on cap-and-trade. We see progress on oil and gas permitting.

因此，當我們在薩克拉門托和華盛頓特區交流訊息時，我們感到雙方有很多共識，而我們的計畫實際上是兩種意識形態之間的橋樑。這是一個雙贏的結果，其中一部分就是我們所實現的。因此我們確實看到了二氧化碳管道的進展。您提到—我們確實看到了限額與交易的進展。我們看到石油和天然氣許可證方面取得了進展。

I would say across the board we're seeing indications of much more constructive engagement, progress -- tangible progress to be able to put capital to work, whether it's in the new energy space or in the legacy industry. So we have a very -- I would say, a very positive outlook in terms of engagement on both Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

我想說，我們看到了更建設性的參與和進步的跡象——無論是在新能源領域還是在傳統產業，都有切實的進展，能夠讓資本發揮作用。因此，我想說，我們對與薩克拉門托和華盛頓特區的合作抱持著非常積極的展望。

Kalei Akamine, Bank of America.

卡雷‧阿卡明 (Kalei Akamine)，美國銀行。

For my first question, I'm looking at slide number 16 here, which covers Huntington Beach. It looks like you've got visibility on the necessary permit for land use at the city level. Wondering if that opens up an opportunity to start marketing the real estate to potential buyers. And if you could give us an update on the [remit city] time line, that will be great.

對於我的第一個問題，我正在看這裡的第 16 張幻燈片，其中介紹了亨廷頓海灘。看起來您已經了解了城市層級所需的土地使用許可證。想知道這是否為向潛在買家推銷房地產提供了機會。如果您能向我們提供 [匯款城市] 時間表的最新情況，那就太好了。

Yes, Kale. So absolutely. So we -- as you mentioned, we submitted the proposal with the city of Huntington Beach. We're going through community reviews. But to be very clear in terms of marketing -- the asset is for sale. We would sell it for the right price right now. There's nothing holding us back other than making sure we get the best value. And we think we get the best value by abandoning the field, which we control our own pace, but it's really to get the land re-entitled for the best and optimal use, which, for this property, we've done a lot of work on preliminary development. And it's going to be a mixed-use community that has 800 homes, 350-plus hotel rooms.

是的，羽衣甘藍。絕對是如此。因此，正如您所說，我們向亨廷頓海灘市提交了提案。我們正在進行社區審查。但在行銷方面要非常明確——資產是用於出售的。我們現在會以合適的價格出售它。除了確保我們獲得最佳價值之外，沒有什麼可以阻礙我們。我們認為，放棄這片土地可以獲得最佳價值，我們可以按照自己的步調進行，但實際上，這是為了重新獲得土地的最佳用途，對於這片土地，我們在初步開發方面做了很多工作。它將成為一個擁有 800 套住宅和 350 多間酒店客房的多功能社區。

So it's going to be a very nice development. California and L.A., in particular, needs a lot of housing. So this will be a great project. And so we're launching those plans. We have had a continuous rig abandonment program since 2023. So we're making progress on that front. And really, it's about when can we get the right value to monetize in some form the property. So that's underway.

所以這將會是一個非常好的進展。加州，尤其是洛杉磯，需要大量的住房。所以這將是一個偉大的項目。因此我們啟動了這些計劃。自 2023 年以來，我們一直在實施鑽井廢棄計畫。所以我們在這方面正在取得進展。而實際上，關鍵在於我們何時才能獲得正確的價值，從而以某種形式將財產貨幣化。一切正在進行中。

If you look at kind of the local media, there's a lot of press and coverage on this asset. So we expect it to be roughly about a three-year time line to get all the approvals, and you have to go through CEQA, environmental impact reviews. I'm not sure yet if that can be fast tracked, but we're doing our part to get this asset ready to go and try to bring some incremental value for shareholders.

如果你看看當地媒體，你會發現有很多關於這項資產的報導。因此，我們預計獲得所有批准大約需要三年時間，並且必須通過 CEQA（環境影響評估）。我還不確定這是否可以快速推進，但我們正在盡自己的努力讓這項資產做好準備，並嘗試為股東帶來一些增量價值。

This is not my second question, but just a really quick follow-up on this. Can you share any color on how many interested bidders there are?

這不是我的第二個問題，而只是對此的一個快速跟進。您能否透露一下有多少感興趣的競標者？

So your 1-b question, Kale. Okay. So we're not -- we don't have a formal bidding process. We just have announced to interested developers to come talk to us. And these are big projects. If you recall, we sold a small property next to Huntington Beach for about $10 million an acre. So these are big dollars. It takes a developer with a great vision for the future. We see rates coming down, interest rates coming down. That helps the project development. So rather than talking about a universe of bidders, think about this as a very unique property that has a lot of interest, and we're marching forward to try to get the best value for it.

所以你的 1-b 問題是，Kale。好的。所以我們沒有——我們沒有正式的招標程序。我們剛剛向有興趣的開發人員宣布來與我們洽談。這些都是大項目。如果你還記得的話，我們以每英畝約 1000 萬美元的價格出售了亨廷頓海灘旁邊的一小塊地產。所以這些都是大筆錢。這需要一位對未來有遠大願景的開發人員。我們看到利率正在下降，利息正在下降。這有助於項目發展。因此，我們不要談論競標者的數量，而是將其視為一種非常獨特的財產，它具有很大的吸引力，我們正在努力爭取它的最大價值。

Got it. This is my follow-up question. I want to ask on the Elk Hills PPA. The way that we understand it is that the PPA could create demand for clean energy that you could supply from Elk Hills with carbon capture. Carbon capture is a more expensive project than the cryo that you're breaking ground on this quarter. So wondering if you could offer any latest thoughts on funding.

知道了。這是我的後續問題。我想問有關 Elk Hills PPA 的問題。我們的理解是，PPA 可以創造對清潔能源的需求，而這些清潔能源可以透過 Elk Hills 的碳捕獲來供應。碳捕獲是一個比本季破土動工的低溫項目更昂貴的項目。所以想知道您是否可以提供有關融資的最新想法。

Yes. The way to think about CalCapture, we see it -- the final investment decision very much connected to a PPA. So you have the clean energy incentives. We have 45Q. We have LCFS. We have avoidance of a carbon tax in California. So those are part of the revenue stack that we have. But at the end of the day, we're trying to unlock a completely new business model, which is baseload 24/7 natural gas-fired with carbon capture. And that's kind of the mission to be able to find the right partner, the right PPA for that.

是的。我們認為，思考 CalCapture 的方式是－最終的投資決策與 PPA 密切相關。所以你有清潔能源激勵措施。我們有 45Q。我們有低碳食品（LCFS）。我們避免了加州徵收碳稅。這些都是我們收入的一部分。但最終，我們試圖解鎖一種全新的商業模式，即全天候以天然氣為燃料並進行碳捕獲的基本負載模式。而這樣的使命就是找到合適的合作夥伴、合適的 PPA。

So we're advancing all fronts. CalCapture is the one we're doing a lot of the engineering, try to optimize on cost. But we're also looking at the funding behind it, and that comes with a view of, okay, is this power plant going to be a merchant power plant? Which it is today. Is it going to participate in the resource adequacy? Which also it is today. Or are we selling that power to a third-party? And that third party has the values, the clean baseload electrons? So we're getting a lot of inbounds, a lot of interest on the power. And we think there's going to be -- the hyperscalers are coming back to the table. We're also seeing other offtakers coming back to the picture.

因此，我們正在各方面推進。CalCapture 是我們正在進行大量工程的項目，旨在優化成本。但我們也在考慮背後的資金，並且會考慮，好吧，這個發電廠會成為商業發電廠嗎？今天也是如此。會參與資源充足化嗎？今天也是如此。還是我們將這種權力出售給第三方？第三方有價值觀，有乾淨的基載電子嗎？因此，我們收到了很多訊息，對電力產生了濃厚的興趣。我們認為超大規模企業將會重新回到談判桌前。我們也看到其他承購商也重返市場。

Maybe I'll turn it to Clio. So Clio joined, as everybody knows, at the beginning of the year. And in her prior job, she was kind of looking at the other side of PPAs working with technology companies. So maybe she wants to offer a few remarks.

也許我會把它轉向 Clio。眾所周知，Clio 於今年初加入。在她之前的工作中，她一直在研究與科技公司合作的 PPA 的另一面。所以也許她想發表一些評論。

Yes. So Kelly, as Francisco mentioned, prior to joining CRC, I was working on a number of things, but one that was keeping me very busy was brokering and structuring deals between the data center developers, so that's your hyperscalers, that your co-locators, and power asset owners. And that's where really I recognized the significant potential of CRC's power business and how that fit a clear market need and fit that very well.

是的。所以凱利，正如弗朗西斯科所提到的，在加入 CRC 之前，我從事了很多工作，但其中最讓我忙碌的就是在數據中心開發人員、超大規模數據中心、主機託管商和電力資產所有者之間進行交易的撮合和構建。正是在那時，我真正認識到了 CRC 電力業務的巨大潛力，以及它如何滿足明確的市場需求，並且非常好地滿足了市場需求。

So one of the most exciting opportunities I saw was related to the Elk Hills power plant and what is the behind-the-meter partnership model and opportunity that we have been progressing. Now I've got a more in-depth view of our operations of our assets and the market. And so I'm even more confident in the strength of our value proposition to data centers and to large offtakers. Our offering really is not only differentiated, but it's resonating strongly in ongoing discussions, and those are advancing constructively.

因此，我看到的最令人興奮的機會之一與 Elk Hills 發電廠有關，以及我們一直在推進的用戶側合作模式和機會。現在我對我們的資產和市場運營有了更深入的了解。因此，我對我們向資料中心和大型承購商提供的價值主張的力度更有信心。我們提供的產品確實不僅與眾不同，而且在正在進行的討論中引起了強烈共鳴，並且正在取得建設性的進展。

So just to kind of close out the question. Getting the right long-term partner, we won a 10-year-plus PPA with the right partner that not only recognizes how valuable this opportunity is. The hyperscalers want speed to market. We can deliver that. We have capacity today. We have land. So we won the right PPA structure in the right way. But we also are looking to solve for the northern CTV reservoirs, where we see a lot of demand, potential natural gas power generation. Big emitters need a solution. And if we can unlock this at Elk Hills, it should ultimately also scale to our northern reservoirs and create a further business opportunity there.

只是為了結束這個問題。在找到合適的長期合作夥伴後，我們與合適的合作夥伴贏得了超過 10 年的 PPA，這​​不僅認識到了這個機會的價值。超大規模企業希望加快產品上市速度。我們可以實現這一點。我們今天有能力。我們有土地。因此，我們以正確的方式贏得了正確的 PPA 結構。但我們也在尋求解決北部 CTV 水庫的問題，我們發現那裡有大量的需求和潛在的天然氣發電。排放大國需要解決方案。如果我們能夠在 Elk Hills 解鎖這一潛力，它最終也將擴展到我們的北部水庫並在那裡創造進一步的商機。

So a lot of things to solve for, but we are making progress. We're getting the land ready. We're getting our permits in good shape so that when we finalize the details of a contract with a third-party, it will be something that really can unlock value for us.

因此有很多問題需要解決，但我們正在取得進展。我們正在準備土地。我們正在順利獲得許可證，以便當我們與第三方敲定合約細節時，它將真正能為我們創造價值。

Daniel Deckelbaum, TD Cowen.

丹尼爾·德克爾鮑姆（Daniel Deckelbaum），TD Cowen。

I was just curious, just going back to the synergies. You've effectively almost achieved your '25 target. And I want to say that you all had left, call it, around $60 million of additional synergies in '26 as perhaps upside. Is there any reason why that should remain in '26 versus being pulled forward? Or is it the timing of certain projects that you're looking at? Or it seems like since you're already ahead of the game here, we might be able to see some of those elements perhaps showing up a bit earlier.

我只是好奇，只是想回顧一下綜效。您實際上已經幾乎實現了 25 年的目標。我想說的是，你們都認為 26 年大約有 6000 萬美元的額外協同效應可能是上行空間。有什麼理由認為應該保留在 26 年而不是提前？或者您正在考慮某些項目的時機？或者看起來你已經領先了，我們可能能夠更早看到其中的一些元素出現。

Yes, that -- I love the question. It really speaks to our ability to -- our team's ability really to deliver the targets ahead of schedule, and we keep doing that. So there's an element of that, that as we lay out the incremental targets and the synergies, the team has been able to identify a number of great projects. And those are going to be -- they have been activated. They've been already put in place. And now it's when you realize them is when it counts.

是的，我喜歡這個問題。這確實說明了我們的能力——我們的團隊確實有能力提前實現目標，而且我們會繼續這樣做。因此，當我們制定增量目標和協同效應時，團隊已經能夠確定一些偉大的專案。這些將會——它們已經被啟動了。它們已經到位了。現在，當您意識到這一點時，一切才真正重要。

But I'll turn it to Omar to give a perspective on the second part of the question, which is there is a timing component and there's some really interesting projects we're working on that are going to be ready later in the year and really in full force by the beginning of next year. So Omar, do you want to share some of that, please?

但我會請奧馬爾就問題的第二部分發表看法，即有一個時間部分，我們正在進行一些非常有趣的項目，這些項目將在今年晚些時候準備就緒，並在明年年初全面投入使用。那麼奧馬爾，你想分享一些嗎？

Yes, if you look at the rest of the 2025, David, and how we are thinking about synergies, we are really focused on delivering operational efficiencies tied to infrastructure consolidation. So we have excess capacity in our major fields around gas processing, produced fluid treatment and, in some cases, power.

是的，戴維，如果你看看 2025 年的剩餘時間，以及我們如何考慮協同效應，我們真正專注於實現與基礎設施整合相關的營運效率。因此，我們在天然氣處理、採出液處理以及某些情況下的電力等主要領域都存在產能過剩的情況。

And what we are working on is bringing production from our various fields in the basin to these central facilities to fill in the excess capacity. And it does two things for us. It eliminates the need to maintain and operate multiple facilities once you consolidate them and it also helps us monetize our produced oil, gas and natural gas liquids.

我們正在努力將盆地內各個油田的產量轉移到這些中央設施，以填補過剩產能。它為我們做了兩件事。一旦整合了多個設施，就無需維護和運營它們，而且還可以幫助我們將生產的石油、天然氣和天然氣液體貨幣化。

And I'll give you a couple of more concrete examples around the second point. So we acquired Ventura Avenue field as part of the Aera acquisition, a field that had associated gas, but doesn't have the facilities to fractionate natural gas liquids from that gas. So we were actually paying a third-party to take that production off our hand. What we are doing now is we are bringing that natural gas liquid production to Elk Hills, where we have capacity in our cryogenic gas plant and monetizing that production stream.

我將圍繞第二點給出幾個更具體的例子。因此，我們在收購 Aera 油田的過程中收購了 Ventura Avenue 油田，該油田含有伴生氣，但沒有從該氣體中分餾天然氣液體的設施。所以我們實際上是付錢給第三方來幫我們完成生產。我們現在正在做的是將天然氣液體生產帶到埃爾克山，我們的低溫氣體工廠在那裡擁有生產能力，並將生產流貨幣化。

Similarly, Belridge, which is a major field we acquired as part of the Aera acquisition, also has associated gas but do not have gas processing, and we have excess capacity in our cryogenic gas plant. So we are working on a project to connect that gas to CGP, the cryogenic gas plant, drop liquids and monetize the revenue around that. So some of these projects on that time scale need some initial capital investment, and we are progressing them forward. They will all be completed by the end of third quarter or end of '25, but some of the revenue stream we'll see in first quarter '26 and onwards. So hopefully, that was helpful.

同樣，我們在收購 Aera 時獲得的一個主要油田 Belridge 也含有伴生氣，但沒有天然氣處理設施，而且我們的低溫氣體工廠產能過剩。因此，我們正在進行一個項目，將天然氣連接到 CGP（低溫氣體工廠），滴入液體，並將收入貨幣化。因此，在這個時間範圍內的一些項目需要一些初始資本投資，我們正在推進這些項目。它們都將在第三季末或 25 年底完成，但部分收入流我們將在 26 年第一季及以後看到。希望以上內容對您有幫助。

So we're making the investment now. We see the benefit of incremental NGLs in 2026. And so we're going to count the synergies when they come in '26.

所以我們現在正在進行投資。我們看到了 2026 年增量 NGL 的好處。因此，我們將在 26 年計算協同效應。

I appreciate the color, Omar and Francisco. And maybe just as a follow-up -- I'll stay in the weeds here for a little bit. When you look at the first quarter, obviously, hit your numbers and beat CapEx significantly. It was maybe $10 million of savings relative to your initial plan or guide. You reiterated full year. So I'm curious if you see that as an element of just mix of activity that was just a coincident with the first quarter? Or if there's elements in your capital program that you're also ahead on this year?

我很欣賞奧馬爾和弗朗西斯科的色彩。也許只是作為後續——我會在這裡停留一會兒。當你看第一季時，顯然，你的數字達到了，並且大大超過了資本支出。與您最初的計劃或指南相比，這可能節省 1000 萬美元。您重申了全年。所以我很好奇，您是否認為這只是與第一季同時發生的一系列活動的元素？或者您的資本計劃中是否存在您今年也領先於其他方面的因素？

It is a mix. And we see there's efficiencies in the numbers, but we also planned the year where we expected a light capital first quarter, increase in the second quarter. And then we're also increasing potentially the activity as the second half of the year comes in with a second rig. So there will be a ramp-up in activity that ultimately leads to a higher D&C capital as the year progresses. But we are seeing efficiencies and savings through the supply chain discussions around capital as well. So it's a little bit of a mix. The story as a whole is very good.

這是一種混合。我們看到數字上存在效率，但我們也計劃在今年第一季資本較少，第二季資本增加。隨著下半年第二台鑽孔機的投入使用，我們也可能會增加活動量。因此，隨著時間的推移，活動將會增加，最終導致 D&C 資本的增加。但我們也看到了圍繞資本的供應鏈討論所帶來的效率和節約。所以它有點混合。整個故事非常精彩。

Nate Pendleton, Texas Capital.

內特·彭德爾頓 (Nate Pendleton)，德克薩斯州首府。

Congrats on another strong quarter. Taking a step back and looking at the value you can add with Aera and the ability to decarbonize production streams, can you talk about your willingness to pursue bolt-ons in California should assets become available in this market?

恭喜您又一個季度表現強勁。退一步來看，您可以利用 Aera 增加的價值以及脫碳生產流的能力，您能否談談如果這個市場上有資產可用，您是否願意在加利福尼亞州尋求附加價值？

Yes, Nate. So we're very focused on executing our business right now. As you saw, I think it was really important for us to get the transformational deal completed with Aera. As you can see by a lot of our messaging, the key is to have the infrastructure in place, the consolidation to be able to really extract value from any acquisitions. Acquisitions are an important part of our strategy going forward. We do feel that assets in California are going to be better in our hands from every standpoint.

是的，內特。因此我們現在非常專注於開展我們的業務。正如您所看到的，我認為與 Aera 完成轉型交易對我們來說非常重要。正如您從我們的許多資訊中看到的那樣，關鍵在於建立基礎設施，並透過整合真正從任何收購中提取價值。收購是我們未來策略的重要組成部分。我們確實覺得，從各個角度來看，加州的資產在我們手中都會變得更好。

So in terms of bolt-ons, when we see something that really makes sense and can be accretive and, I would say, significantly accretive to cash flow per share, this is something that we would consider. But we have a strong inventory. We have a lot of uses for capital in our portfolio. So it's a really high bar to think about bolt-ons, but it is part of the strategy as we finalize and think about all the achievements we've done with Aera and then what do we do next.

因此，就附加功能而言，當我們看到某些真正有意義並且可以增加收益並且我認為可以顯著增加每股現金流的東西時，我們就會考慮。但我們的庫存充足。我們的投資組合中有很多資本用途。因此，考慮附加功能的標準確實很高，但這是我們最終確定的策略的一部分，我們會思考我們透過 Aera 所取得的所有成就，然後決定下一步該做什麼。

Got it. And then I wanted to shift over to the CCS space. Understanding that your business is primarily focused downstream of the capture for third-party volumes, can you provide any update on recent carbon capture technology advancements and how maybe that's impacting discussions with emitters for CO2 offtake?

知道了。然後我想轉到 CCS 空間。據我了解，您的業務主要集中在第三方碳捕集的下游，您能否提供有關最近碳捕集技術進步的最新信息，以及這可能會如何影響與排放者就二氧化碳排放問題進行的討論？

Yes, Nate. So what we -- the approach we've taken from day 1 is to be agnostic on technologies, understanding there's a lot of capital and a lot of progress being made. But where others focus their time and effort in developing that technology, we're really -- our advantage comes from our land ownership, our mineral ownership. It's really --the pore space is where we see the value in California CCS. So that's where we put our efforts forward.

是的，內特。因此，我們從第一天起就採取的方法是對科技持不可知論態度，了解有大量的資本和正在取得的許多進展。但是，當其他人把時間和精力集中在開發該技術上時，我們的優勢實際上來自於我們的土地所有權和礦產所有權。確實，孔隙空間正是我們看到的加州 CCS 的價值所在。這就是我們努力的方向。

Now as we unlock the permitting pathway as we bring emitters both within Elk Hills and Belridge and outside, we do have much more of a sense of where the technologies are coming together. We want to see costs come down. We want to see efficiencies being achieved. But I think that's better done with third-party capital. We have our partners that are developing, like Brookfield is developing their own technology. We'll give them a sandbox to come in and compete for the best offering. And we do have the ability to customize the technology solution for the type of source.

現在，隨著我們開放許可途徑，將 Elk Hills 和 Belridge 內部以及外部的排放者納入其中，我們對技術融合的方向有了更深入的了解。我們希望看到成本下降。我們希望看到效率的提升。但我認為最好透過第三方資本來實現。我們的合作夥伴正在開發，例如 Brookfield 正在開發自己的技術。我們將為他們提供一個沙箱，讓他們參與競爭，爭取最好的產品。我們確實有能力針對不同的來源類型客製化技術解決方案。

And as we get further and further into post-combustion capture, we'll talk about what these technologies can do. In a lot of ways, it's not also a lot of innovation in the space. It's pretty simple aiming units. So it's really about the cost aspect of it and who can deliver a competitive price for capture on a go-forward basis.

隨著我們對燃燒後捕獲的研究不斷深入，我們將討論這些技術可以發揮什麼作用。從很多方面來看，這個領域也沒有太多的創新。這是非常簡單的瞄準單位。因此，這實際上與成本方面有關，以及誰能夠在未來提供具有競爭力的捕獲價格。

Betty Jiang, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的 Betty Jiang。

I want to ask about the base decline and the maintenance capital. What stuck out this quarter is that if I look at your 1Q production versus 3Q last year, your oil volumes is only down 2%. And then over that period, your capital was just around $200 million. And I know there's timing of the spend, but could we just get an update on where you think maintenance capital is going forward?

我想問一下基數下降和維護資本的情況。本季突出的一點是，如果我將你們第一季的產量與去年第三季的產量進行比較，你們的石油產量只下降了 2%。而在那段時間裡，你的資本只有 2 億美元左右。我知道支出有時間限制，但我們能否了解一下您認為維護資金未來的去向？

And then what I'm really trying to get to is in an unconstrained permitting environment, once you take into account all these cost savings and synergies, how much lower could maintenance CapEx go versus what we thought before?

然後我真正想要了解的是，在一個不受約束的許可環境中，一旦考慮到所有這些成本節約和協同效應，維護資本支出與我們之前想像的相比可以降低多少？

It really highlights one of the reasons -- one of the ways that we're different than the rest of the sector. We -- most companies lead by talking about drilling and type curves and how effective their fracs are. That's not CRC. At CRC, we do a lot of our works with base decline mitigation, surveillance and then -- so that's OpEx dollars. And then we move on to very efficient capital in workovers and sidetracks. So we're doing all of that in the normal course.

它確實凸顯了其中一個原因——我們與該行業其他公司不同的一個面向。我們—大多數公司都先談論鑽井和類型曲線以及壓裂的有效性。那不是 CRC。在 CRC，我們做了很多工作，包括緩解基礎衰退、監控等等——這就是營運支出。然後我們轉向修井和側鑽中非常有效率的資本。所以，我們都在按照正常程序進行這些工作。

So then the question comes, okay, with an unconstrained permitting scenario, what would you do? I would say we're not ready to guide into that unconstrained scenario even though we're seeing a lot of optimistic signs on the permits. Part of it is because now that we're bigger and we have all these new assets to work with, the team has continued to deliver, as you pointed out, the oil production, very little decline quarter-over-quarter with very little capital.

那麼問題來了，好吧，在沒有約束的許可情況下，你會怎麼做？我想說，儘管我們在許可證上看到了很多樂觀的跡象，但我們還沒有準備好進入這種不受約束的情況。部分原因是，現在我們規模更大了，並且擁有所有這些新資產可供使用，正如您所指出的，團隊繼續交付石油，在很少的資本下，石油產量環比下降幅度很小。

So what that means is that the blocking and tackling of surveillance, workovers and sidetracks is working extremely well. So to project that into the future, let's look at the inventory that comes in on a well-permitted basis, the well mix, and we'll be able to guide that on a go-forward basis. What we said before is it should take about six to eight rigs to keep production flat. But that -- we need to continue to evaluate it given the performance of the team. I'd like to come back when we're ready once we have the full inventory of permits ready to go for a little bit longer runway where we can start putting more capital to work.

這意味著，監視、修井和側鑽的阻止和解決措施效果非常好。因此，為了預測未來，讓我們看看在良好許可的基礎上獲得的庫存，良好的組合，我們將能夠在未來的基礎上對其進行指導。我們之前說過，大約需要六到八台鑽孔機才能保持產量穩定。但是——我們需要根據球隊的表現繼續評估。當我們準備好全部許可證後，我們將開始投入更多資金，以便為更長的跑道做好準備，屆時我們將回來。

Leo P. Mariani, Roth.

Leo P. Mariani，羅斯。

I wanted to follow up a little bit here on the production. So looking at the second quarter guidance, it looks like production is going to be down versus 1Q slightly over 4% using kind of the midpoint of your guidance. Obviously, that decline would be in excess of the annual decline that you guys have kind of spoken about. And clearly, not nearly as good as the performance that you've been achieving the last couple of quarters, which is shallower declines for less capital.

我想在這裡稍微跟進一下生產情況。因此，從第二季的預測來看，產量似乎將比第一季下降 4% 以上（這是預測的中點）。顯然，這種下降幅度將超過你們談到的年度下降幅度。顯然，這遠不及過去幾季的業績，即資本較少但下滑幅度較小。

So just wanted to see if there's anything specific about the second quarter or maybe there's some maintenance or shut-ins or whatnot. I did see that in your slides, you talked about 10 million a day of production, which sounds like that's going to be going offline to kind of replace some field use gas. So just any more color on that would be helpful.

所以只是想看看第二季是否有任何具體情況，或者是否有一些維護或關閉之類的事情。我確實在你的幻燈片中看到，你談到了每天 1000 萬的產量，這聽起來像是要下線以替代一些現場使用的天然氣。因此，只要對此有更多的了解，就會有所幫助。

I think it's a very important clarification to make. So yes, the production on a BOE basis steps down, but cash flow goes up at lower prices, right? So how do we do that? Well, the reason is -- and there's a slide, slide 13, on the deck that -- that's a new slide that we put to be able to highlight the dynamic that we have in place.

我認為這是一個非常重要的澄清。所以是的，以桶油當量計算的產量會下降，但價格降低時現金流會增加，對嗎？那我們該怎麼做呢？嗯，原因是——在簡報中有一張幻燈片，即第 13 張幻燈片——這是我們新放的幻燈片，用來強調我們現有的動態。

Really, the answer to the question, Leo, is it goes to our power plant. So we have this combined cycle gas power generation that is a very flexible power plant. It has a flexible configuration. So the way we run it, typically, it's called a 2x1. So that means it's two gas turbines for one steam turbine. That's in the normal course where we're sending the full capacity.

事實上，Leo，這個問題的答案是，它會進入我們的發電廠。因此，我們擁有這種聯合循環燃氣發電廠，它是一種非常靈活的發電廠。它具有靈活的配置。因此，我們運行它的方式通常稱為 2x1。這意味著一台蒸汽渦輪機對應兩台燃氣渦輪機。這是我們正常情況下發送全部容量的情況。

In periods during the year where -- in California, there's a big solar penetration with -- it displaces a lot of the baseload during parts of the day. So we have the ability, and that's at our discretion to bring the plant to a one-by-one mode. So what that does is, one, which is what you pointed out, it reduces the natural gas production. But the gas is actually still very, very useful. Instead of counting it as production, what we do is then, we historically have been injecting that gas back in the reservoir if it didn't make sense to produce it.

在一年中的某些時期——在加州，太陽能滲透率很高——它會在一天中的某些時段取代大量的基載。因此，我們有能力，由我們自行決定將工廠轉入逐一模式。所以這樣做的結果是，首先，正如您所指出的，它會減少天然氣產量。但這種氣體實際上仍然非常非常有用。我們不會將其算作產量，而是按照以往的做法，如果生產某種氣體沒有意義，我們就會將其重新註入儲層。

Now we have an alternative, another one of the benefits of the Aera merger, where we can send that gas to Belridge. So remember, these are fields that are next to each other. And by sending that gas to Belridge, we accomplish two things. One, that gas saves us OpEx, energy cost at Belridge. So we're buying less gas from third parties at Belridge and instead we're moving our non-spec gas north. And then also by going to a one-by-one configuration, we're able to save OpEx on the plant itself.

現在我們有了另一種選擇，這是 Aera 合併的另一個好處，我們可以將天然氣輸送到 Belridge。所以請記住，這些是彼此相鄰的欄位。透過將天然氣輸送到貝爾里奇，我們實現了兩件事。一是天然氣為我們節省了貝爾里奇的營運成本和能源成本。因此，我們從貝爾里奇的第三方購買的天然氣減少了，而是將非規格天然氣運往北方。而且透過逐一配置，我們能夠節省工廠本身的營運支出。

So what you have is a situation where, yes, optically, you're seeing net production BOEs, which is about 10 million a day of gas go down. But what you're seeing also at the same time is increased cash flows by reducing your cost. And because our view is we're here to maximize value and cash flow and not production, it's a very easy choice to make as we have this kind of redundant system where we can send the gas to the optimal use.

所以，你所面臨的情況是，從表面上看，你會看到淨產量桶油當量，也就是每天約 1,000 萬桶天然氣下降。但同時您也會看到透過降低成本來增加現金流。因為我們的觀點是，我們在這裡是為了最大化價值和現金流，而不是生產，所以這是一個非常容易的選擇，因為我們有這種冗餘系統，可以將天然氣用於最佳用途。

Okay. I appreciate that thorough answer. Now just jumping over to kind of oil and gas permitting side. You certainly talked about how things are improving of late. But can you get a little bit more specific in terms of where the EIR in kind of Kern County sort of stands today? My understanding was I think maybe the public comment period is maybe recently kind of wrapped up. And just can you give any kind of color on where we stand and what you think the time line is for a judge to be taking a harder look at that in the near term?

好的。我很欣賞這個詳盡的回答。現在直接轉到石油和天然氣許可證方面。您確實談到了最近情況如何有所改善。但是，您能否更具體地說明克恩縣目前的 EIR 狀況？我的理解是，我認為公眾評論期可能最近已經結束了。您能否說明一下我們的立場以及您認為法官在短期內更嚴格審查這一問題的時間表？

On permitting, it's really been a tremendous highlight. We're very encouraged by the progress being made on the permitting front. The focus has been on the EIR. But as we talked about before, we have multiple alternatives in motion, which we think all of them will work into the future. So we're very optimistic, first of all, because we have what we need in terms of sidetracks and workovers. We've reached, what I would say, is a regular way process and have all the permits that we need for 2025. We're building inventory into 2026 for our drilling program.

在許可方面，這確實是一個巨大的亮點。我們對許可方面的進展感到非常鼓舞。焦點一直集中在 EIR 上。但正如我們之前所討論的，我們正在實施多個替代方案，我們認為所有這些方案在未來都會發揮作用。因此我們非常樂觀，首先，因為我們在側鑽和修井方面擁有我們所需的一切。我想說的是，我們已經達到了常規流程，並擁有了 2025 年所需的所有許可證。我們正在為我們的鑽探計劃建立 2026 年的庫存。

Specifically, as it relates to the Kern County EIR, litigation process continues, but the county is expected to adopt a revised EIR later in the year to address the deficiencies identified by the court. So we expect some resolution and progress towards the second half of the year. But at the same time, we're doing what's called a conditional use permit, which is an alternative route with a different agency, where we have about 90% of our proved and developed reserves in four fields, and we're developing a field-specific permitting process around those.

具體而言，由於它與克恩縣 EIR 相關，訴訟程序仍在繼續，但該縣預計將在今年稍後採用修訂後的 EIR，以解決法院發現的缺陷。因此，我們預計今年下半年將會取得一些解決方案並取得一些進展。但同時，我們正在實施所謂的有條件使用許可證，這是與不同機構合作的替代途徑，我們在四個油田中擁有約 90% 的已探明和已開發儲量，我們正在圍繞這些儲量製定特定油田的許可流程。

So I would say, if you look at it as a whole, if you step back from the specifics on EIR and kind of what's out in the public domain, if you step back, we have a very constructive dialogue with multiple agencies. There's a need for more local production. I think there's a much better understanding than in the past that the solution to affordability and cutting emissions is local production, and we want that to be a CRC barrel.

所以我想說，如果你從整體上看，如果你不去關注 EIR 的具體細節以及公共領域的內容，如果你退一步來看，我們與多個機構進行了非常建設性的對話。需要更多的本地生產。我認為，與過去相比，人們更加理解，解決負擔能力和減少排放的辦法是本地生產，我們希望這是一個 CRC 桶。

So this year, we decided even if we get a lot more progress on permits to continue with a two-rig program. But what we're doing is we're really building that inventory of high-quality projects and gaining more and more confidence. We'll be ready to go.

因此今年，我們決定，即使在許可證方面取得了更多進展，也要繼續實施雙鑽機計畫。但我們正在做的是，我們確實在建立高品質項目庫存並獲得越來越多的信心。我們就準備出發了。

Phillips Johnston, Capital One.

菲利普斯·約翰斯頓，第一資本公司。

Just wanted to clarify the wording in the press release regarding the potential PPA. It read that you guys are engaged in discussions with multiple large-scale industrial customers for the PPA. Francisco, it sounds like from your comments on the call here, that doesn't imply that you're no longer negotiating with other types of potential counterparties. Am I hearing that right?

只是想澄清新聞稿中有關潛在 PPA 的措辭。據說你們正在與多個大型工業客戶就 PPA 進行討論。弗朗西斯科，從你在電話會議上的評論來看，這並不意味著你不再與其他類型的潛在交易對手進行談判。我聽得對嗎？

Philips, thanks for clarifying. So we're very much focused on data centers as the offtaker for Elk Hills power, the 200 megawatts plus. The implication around incremental industrial players really is more about new inbounds that are also looking for clean baseload power. We were -- California is short power -- in short baseload power. And I think we've seen a lot of examples globally what happens if you have an overdependence on renewables.

飛利浦，感謝您的澄清。因此，我們非常關注資料中心，作為 Elk Hills 電力（200 兆瓦以上）的承購商。增量工業參與者的意義實際上更多的是那些也在尋求清潔基載電力的新進入者。我們——加州電力短缺——基載電力短缺。我認為我們已經在全球範圍內看到了很多例子，如果過度依賴再生能源會發生什麼。

So we have similar dynamics here. And the interest level on what's one of the most efficient plants in the state of California that can be turned into -- with a carbon capture into a low carbon to no emission plant is a very interesting proposition that goes beyond data centers. So the signal is not about a shift. The signal is more about an expansion of interest beyond data centers, but we still are very much engaged with data centers, both hyperscalers and co-locators.

所以我們這裡有類似的動態。人們對加州最高效的工廠之一的興趣程度——透過碳捕獲，將其轉變為低碳甚至零排放的工廠，這是一個非常有趣的提議，其意義超越了數據中心。因此該訊號與轉變無關。這個訊號更多的是關於對資料中心以外的興趣的擴展，但我們仍然非常關注資料中心，包括超大規模資料中心和主機託管資料中心。

Okay. That sounds great. Clio, you noted the share buyback was really strong in the first quarter. It was basically 2x the pace as what you bought back in the prior two quarters. Can you maybe talk about what you're thinking about in terms of the pace of buybacks going forward?

好的。聽起來不錯。Clio，您注意到第一季的股票回購非常強勁。這基本上是前兩個季度回購速度的兩倍。能否談談您對未來回購步伐的看法？

Phillips, happy to give you a bit more context around our decision around in Q1. And obviously, that's going to give you color effectively on how we prioritize our buybacks and how we consider them versus our other capital opportunities. So we see great value in our equity, and we're committed to retaining and returning shareholder -- increasing those shareholder returns. So we saw a clear value dislocation in our stock in Q1, and we were in a strong position to act decisively.

菲利普斯，很高興為您提供有關我們在第一季度做出的決定的更多背景資訊。顯然，這將有效地向您展示我們如何優先考慮回購，以及我們如何將其與其他資本機會進行比較。因此，我們認為我們的股權具有巨大的價值，並且我們致力於留住和回報股東——增加股東回報。因此，我們在第一季看到了股票的明顯價值錯位，並且我們處於有利地位，可以採取果斷行動。

As a reminder, by the year-end 2024, we had rebuilt a cash balance that was over $350 million. We had done that in six months after the Aera merger close. And we took steps to de-lever in February. So we redeemed $123 million of our '26 notes. And that demonstrated our commitment to balance sheet strength and also our disciplined capital management. But with the excess cash, share repurchases were the most compelling use of capital at the time to really drive long-term shareholder value.

提醒一下，到 2024 年底，我們已經重建了超過 3.5 億美元的現金餘額。我們在 Aera 合併結束後的六個月內就做到了這一點。我們在二月採取了去槓桿措施。因此，我們贖回了 1.23 億美元的 26 年票據。這顯示了我們對資產負債表實力的承諾以及我們嚴格的資本管理。但由於現金過剩，股票回購是當時最引人注目的資本用途，真正推動長期股東價值。

And if you put this into perspective, since the Aera merger close in July last year, we've repurchased 20% of the shares issued at the merger close, and we did so at an average discount of about 9% versus issuance price. So this really further enhances what was already a highly accretive deal, and I'd say it underscores our disciplined value-focused approach to capital allocation.

如果你從這個角度來看，自去年 7 月 Aera 合併完成以來，我們已經回購了合併完成時發行的 20% 的股份，而且我們回購的價格平均比發行價低約 9%。因此，這實際上進一步增強了原本就具有高度增值性的交易，而且我認為這也凸顯了我們以價值為中心的嚴謹的資本配置方法。

Now if I look forward, Phillips, to your comment, well, yes, we remain opportunistic in our approach. We'll continue to evaluate our buybacks alongside the other capital priorities, but you can expect us to remain focused on maximizing returns and really delivering value to our shareholders.

菲利普斯，如果我現在期待你的評論，那麼，是的，我們仍然採取機會主義的方法。我們將繼續評估我們的回購以及其他資本優先事項，但您可以期待我們繼續專注於最大化回報並真正為股東創造價值。

Nitin Kumar, Mizuho.

瑞穗的尼廷‧庫馬爾 (Nitin Kumar)。

I want to -- you talked about the cost savings, but the electricity margin guidance for the year increased quite substantially. Just want to dig into that a little bit and see, is that better pricing or lower cost or a combination?

我想——您談到了成本節約，但今年的電力利潤率指導值卻大幅增加。只是想深入研究一下，看看這是更好的定價還是更低的成本，還是兩者的組合？

So as I was explaining that how we managed the power plant -- so the way to think about the margins is where merchant power prices fluctuate, and we're solving for that by going into -- from a 2x1 to a 1x1 operation. The resource adequacy, which is what we call in California the capacity program, that is fixed, that's contracted. And so that, as we've been talking about, is $150 million for 2025.

正如我所解釋的那樣，我們如何管理發電廠——思考利潤的方式是商業電價波動的地方，我們透過從 2x1 到 1x1 的運作來解決這個問題。資源充足性，也就是我們在加州所說的容量計劃，是固定的，是合約的。正如我們一直在談論的，到 2025 年這個數字是 1.5 億美元。

So when you see an expansion in the margins, that means that the steps that we also are taking on going to buying 1x1 increases that margin, right? So it's the combination of how we manage the merchant aspect of it plus the incremental value that we're seeing in the contracted aspect of Aera.

因此，當您看到利潤率擴大時，這意味著我們採取的購買 1x1 的措施也會增加利潤率，對嗎？因此，這是我們管理商家方面的方式與我們在 Aera 合約方面看到的增量價值的結合。

Noel Parks, Tuohy Brothers Investment.

諾埃爾·帕克斯（Noel Parks），Tuohy Brothers Investment。

Just a couple of things. So you mentioned earlier that we should be able to look for some new programs announced for Carbon TerraVault later this year. I'm just wondering, can you just maybe sort of characterize the agreements or the process to getting there? And just -- if you can just give us an idea of what does the home stretch look like in getting to some of these deals?

僅舉幾例。所以您之前提到我們應該能夠在今年稍後看到 Carbon TerraVault 宣布的一些新計劃。我只是想知道，您能否描述一下這些協議或達成這些協議的過程？您能否向我們介紹一下達成這些交易的最後階段是怎麼樣的？

So yes, the -- right now, the focus for Carbon TerraVault is executing on our first project. We're breaking ground in a few weeks. Really important that we get that first project underway. We're looking to have CO2 injected by the end of the year, this year, which means first cash flow for CCS in all of California. The team has been also progressing the conversations with the EPA around incremental permits. I think we have six or seven permits that have been in the queue for a couple of years that should be getting very close to final issuance, at least in draft form. So that will increase the pore space that's permitted and really expand the capacity that we have in the state.

是的，目前，Carbon TerraVault 的重點是執行我們的第一個專案。我們將在幾週後破土動工。啟動第一個專案確實非常重要。我們希望在今年年底前註入二氧化碳，這意味著整個加州的 CCS 將獲得第一筆現金流。該團隊也一直在與美國環保署就增量許可證進行談判。我認為我們有六到七張許可證已經排隊等待了幾年，應該已經非常接近最終頒發，至少是草案形式。這樣就可以增加允許的孔隙空間，並真正擴大我們州的容量。

What we've seen is, as we take -- if we get the first-of-a-kind permit in the state as we make progress, more and more interest comes from emitters. So what I would say is the focus right now is Elk Hills, its first project. But the way this should expand, it will be around a lot of our northern reservoirs close to the Bay Area, where we have a lot of potential customers where -- from existing power sources or new power sources, in particular. But there's other industrial customers that are going to look for solutions to bring their emissions to some of our fields.

我們看到的是，如果我們取得進展並獲得了該州首個此類許可證，排放者就會越來越感興趣。所以我想說，現在的重點是其第一個項目 Elk Hills。但其擴展方式將是圍繞我們靠近灣區的許多北部水庫，那裡我們有很多潛在客戶——特別是來自現有電源或新電源。但其他工業客戶也會尋找解決方案，將其排放物排放到我們的某些領域。

Remember, in California, we have a forcing mechanism beyond the incentives, which is a growing carbon tax. So from a financial perspective, it makes sense for these companies to be looking to store away that CO2, and we want to be ready for that market opportunity. So I would say the announcements or the progress that you'll see on both permits and emitters to start moving. We have had a lot of focus on the Central Valley in California. This should start moving up north. And that's where we're looking to expand and that's where the team is focused next.

請記住，在加州，除了激勵措施之外，我們還有一個強制機制，那就是不斷增加的碳稅。因此，從財務角度來看，這些公司尋求儲存二氧化碳是合理的，我們也希望為這個市場機會做好準備。所以我想說，你們會看到許可證和排放源的公告或進展開始改變。我們非常關注加州的中央谷地。這應該會開始向北移動。這就是我們希望擴展的地方，也是團隊下一步關注的重點。

Great. So is it fair to say that since carbon capture, carbon sequestration is going to be new in the state and is new generally at scale, is it just that there's a little bit of a standoff? On the one hand, there's a recognition of the importance and the benefits and there is interest out there, but there, I guess, isn't enough of a sense of urgency to make customers afraid that they're all going to have to crowd through the door at the same time and -- so I guess I'm saying -- so the awareness that the available pore space, the largest finite isn't enough to make people maybe be more aggressive about committing to taking up the capacity you have?

偉大的。那麼是否可以公平地說，由於碳捕獲和碳封存在該州都是新事物，而且總體上是大規模的新事物，因此是否只是存在一點僵局？一方面，人們認識到了其重要性和好處，並且對此感興趣，但是，我想，人們的緊迫感還不夠，不足以讓顧客擔心他們不得不同時擠進門——所以我想說——意識到可用的孔隙空間，即使是最大的有限空間，也不足以讓人們更積極地承諾佔用你現有的容量？

Yes. Maybe to reframe the question a little bit. I don't necessarily agree with the view that -- of how you framed the question around any sort of delays. It is a new business. It's a new opportunity. We're making tremendous progress. If you look at the progress that Carbon TerraVault has made compared to others nationally, we're right up there in terms of speed.

是的。也許需要稍微重新表達一下這個問題。我不一定同意你關於任何延遲問題的觀點。這是一項新業務。這是一個新的機會。我們正在取得巨大進步。如果你將 Carbon TerraVault 所取得的進步與全國其他機構進行比較，你會發現我們在速度方面處於領先地位。

Now there's a lot of aspects to cover. And we have both -- figuratively, we have a big pipeline of emitters. We also are working on physical pipelines, right? That's the part that our focus has been to really unlock. And the scale of the business is -- there's never been a need to transport CO2 in California. So now that there is a need and there's a market need and there's a government ambition, then we need to get those pipelines permitted. That takes time. That takes time here. That takes time in any -- basically in any state. But we're seeing a lot of progress. We're actually very optimistic about the momentum on CO2 pipelines.

現在有很多方面需要涉及。我們兩者皆有——形像地說，我們擁有龐大的排放管道。我們也在研究實體管道，對嗎？這正是我們真正要關注和解鎖的部分。而且業務規模是——加州從來沒有運輸二氧化碳的需要。所以，既然現在有需求，有市場需求，而且政府有雄心，那麼我們就需要取得這些管道的許可。這需要時間。這需要時間。基本上在任何情況下這都需要時間。但我們確實看到了很多進展。事實上，我們對二氧化碳管道的發展勢頭非常樂觀。

We had -- we're getting -- both the Senate and the assembly have bills in the California legislature, where they're proposing the framework by which we're going to be able to use retrofit CO2 pipelines in the state. So look for that. That's a big catalyst for the CTV business. We feel the momentum is there, and the moratorium should be lifted later this year. There's a lot of support and a lot of interest both from the market and from regulators to be able to flow CO2 soon.

我們已經——我們正在獲得——參議院和眾議院都在加州立法機構提出了法案，他們提出了一個框架，我們將能夠通過該框架在該州使用改造後的二氧化碳管道。所以尋找它。這對 CTV 業務來說是一個巨大的催化劑。我們感覺勢頭已經出現，禁令應該會在今年稍後解除。市場和監管機構都對盡快實現二氧化碳流通給予了大力支持和濃厚興趣。

So once that unlocks, then the ability to talk about emitters, to be able to talk about the business model is going to start crystallizing a lot more, but we need that physical connectivity that comes with CO2 pipelines being approved.

因此，一旦解鎖，那麼談論排放者、談論商業模式的能力就會開始更加具體，但我們需要獲得二氧化碳管道批准所帶來的實體連結。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Francisco Leon for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議交還給 Francisco Leon 做最後發言。

Great. Thank you so much. We're looking forward to seeing you. We're going to do several conferences throughout the summer. But thanks again for listening, and have a good day. Thanks.

偉大的。太感謝了。我們期待著您的到來。整個夏天我們將舉辦幾場會議。再次感謝您的聆聽，祝您有美好的一天。謝謝。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。