雪佛龍 (CVX) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Katie, and I will be your conference facilitator today. Welcome to Chevron's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

早安.我叫凱蒂，今天我將擔任你們的會議主持人。歡迎參加雪佛龍 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）謹此提醒，本次電話會議正在錄音。

I will now turn the conference call over to the General Manager of Investor Relations of Chevron Corporation, Mr. Jake Spiering. Please go ahead.

我現在將電話會議轉交給雪佛龍公司投資人關係總經理傑克‧斯皮林先生。請繼續。

Thank you, Katie. Welcome to Chevron's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. I'm Jake Spiering, General Manager of Investor Relations. Our Chairman and CEO, Mike Wirth; and CFO, Eimear Bonner, are on the call with me today. We will refer to the slides and prepared remarks that are available on Chevron's website.

謝謝你，凱蒂。歡迎參加雪佛龍 2024 年第一季財報電話會議和網路廣播。我是投資人關係總經理傑克‧斯皮林。我們的董事長兼執行長 Mike Wirth；財務長 Eimear Bonner 今天與我通話。我們將參考雪佛龍網站上提供的幻燈片和準備好的評論。

Before we begin, please be reminded that this presentation contains estimates, projections and other forward-looking statements. Reconciliation of non-GAAP measures can be found in the appendix of this presentation. Please review the cautionary statement on Slide 2.

在開始之前，請注意，本簡報包含估計、預測和其他前瞻性陳述。非公認會計原則措施的調節可以在本簡報的附錄中找到。請查看投影片 2 上的警告聲明。

Now I'll turn it over to Mike.

現在我將把它交給麥克。

Thanks, Jake, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Chevron continues to deliver strong operational performance, maintain cost and capital discipline and consistently return cash to shareholders. First quarter marked 9 consecutive quarters with adjusted earnings over $5 billion and adjusted ROCE above 12%.

謝謝傑克，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。雪佛龍持續提供強勁的營運業績，維持成本和資本紀律，並持續向股東返還現金。第一季已連續 9 個季度調整後獲利超過 50 億美元，調整後 ROCE 超過 12%。

During the quarter, we also returned $6 billion in cash to shareholders, the eighth straight quarter over $5 billion. We also grew production more than 10% from the same quarter last year and announced final investment decisions to grow our renewable fuels and hydrogen businesses.

本季度，我們也向股東返還了 60 億美元現金，這是連續第八個季度超過 50 億美元。我們的產量也比去年同期成長了 10% 以上，並宣布了發展再生燃料和氫氣業務的最終投資決定。

Earlier this month, we announced our third Future Energy Fund focused on venture investments in lower-carbon technologies. The merger with Hess is advancing, and we intend to certify substantial compliance with the FTC second request in the coming weeks. We believe that a preemption right does not apply to this transaction and are confident this will be affirmed in arbitration. We expect the proxy for the Hess shareholder vote to be mailed in April with a special meeting date in late May. This strategic combination creates a premier energy company with world-class capabilities and assets to deliver superior shareholder value, and we look forward to bringing the 2 companies together.

本月早些時候，我們宣布了第三個未來能源基金，並專注於低碳技術的風險投資。與 Hess 的合併正在推進，我們打算在未來幾週內證明基本上符合聯邦貿易委員會的第二項要求。我們認為優先購買權不適用於本次交易，並有信心這一點將在仲裁中得到確認。我們預計 Hess 股東投票委託書將於 4 月郵寄，特別會議日期為 5 月底。這項策略合併創造了一家擁有世界一流能力和資產的一流能源公司，能夠提供卓越的股東價值，我們期待兩家公司的合併。

At TCO, we had achieved start-up of WPMP this month with the first inlet separator and pressure boost compressor in service and conversion of the first metering station to low pressure now complete. Later this quarter, we expect a second pressure boost compressor online and a third gas turbine generator to provide power to the Tengiz grid. Metering station conversions are planned through the remainder of the year as additional pressure boost compressors start up, keeping the existing plants full around planned SGI and KTL turnarounds.

在 TCO，我們於本月實現了 WPMP 的啟動，第一台入口分離器和增壓壓縮機投入使用，第一個計量站向低壓的轉換現已完成。本季晚些時候，我們預計第二台增壓壓縮機上線，第三台燃氣渦輪發電機將為田吉茲電網提供電力。隨著額外增壓壓縮機的啟動，計量站改造計劃在今年剩餘時間內進行，從而使現有工廠在計劃的 SGI 和 KTL 檢修期間保持滿載運轉。

We continue to make significant progress on FGP and expect to have additional major equipment ready for operations in the third quarter. Costs and scheduled guidance remain unchanged with FGP expected to start up in the first half of 2025.

我們繼續在 FGP 方面取得重大進展，預計第三季將有更多主要設備投入運作。成本和預定指引保持不變，FGP 預計將於 2025 年上半年啟動。

Now over to Eimear to discuss the financials.

現在請 Eimear 討論財務問題。

Thanks, Mike. We delivered another quarter of strong earnings, ROCE and cash returns to shareholders. We reported first quarter earnings of $5.5 billion or $2.97 per share. Adjusted earnings were $5.4 billion or $2.93 per share. Cash flow from operations was impacted by an approximate $300 million international upstream ARO settlement payment and $200 million for the expansion of the retail marketing network. We also had a working capital build during the quarter consistent with historical trends.

謝謝，麥克。我們又為股東帶來了一個季度強勁的獲利、ROCE 和現金回報。我們報告第一季收益為 55 億美元，即每股收益 2.97 美元。調整後收益為 54 億美元，即每股 2.93 美元。營運現金流受到約 3 億美元國際上游 ARO 結算付款和 2 億美元零售行銷網路擴張的影響。我們在本季也建立了與歷史趨勢一致的營運資金。

Chevron delivered on all of its financial priorities during the quarter, an 8% increase in dividend per share; organic CapEx aligned with ratable budget inclusive of progress payments for new LNG ships; sustained net debt in the single digits while issuing commercial paper to manage timing of affiliate dividends and working capital; and share repurchases of $3 billion.

雪佛龍在本季度實現了所有財務優先事項，每股股息增加 8%；有機資本支出與可評定預算一致，包括新液化天然氣船的進度付款；將淨債務維持在個位數，同時發行商業票據來管理附屬公司股利和營運資金的時間安排；以及30億美元的股票回購。

Adjusted earnings were lower by $1 billion versus last quarter. Adjusted upstream earnings were down due to lower realization and liquids liftings. Partly offsetting were favorable tax impacts. Adjusted downstream earnings were lower mainly due to timing effects associated with the rising commodity price environment. All other decreased on higher employee costs and an unfavorable swing in tax items.

調整後收益較上季減少 10 億美元。由於變現率下降和流動性提升，調整後的上游收益下降。有利的稅收影響部分抵消了這一影響。調整後的下游收益較低，主要是由於大宗商品價格上漲環境所帶來的時間效應。由於員工成本上升和稅項的不利波動，所有其他因素均有所下降。

Adjusted first quarter earnings were down $1.3 billion versus last year. Adjusted upstream earnings were down modestly. Higher liftings were more than offset by lower natural gas realizations. DD&A was higher due to the PDC acquisition and Permian growth. Adjusted downstream earnings were lower mainly due to lower refining margins and timing effects.

調整後第一季財報比去年減少 13 億美元。調整後的上游獲利小幅下降。較高的產量被較低的天然氣實現量所抵消。由於 PDC 收購和二疊紀盆地的成長，DD&A 較高。調整後的下游收益較低，主要是由於煉油利潤率較低和時機效應。

Worldwide oil equivalent production was the highest first quarter in our company's history. Production was up over 12% from last year, including an increase of 35% in the United States largely due to the PDC Energy acquisition and organic growth in the Permian Basin.

第一季全球石油當量產量是我們公司史上最高的。產量比去年增加了 12% 以上，其中美國產量增加了 35%，這主要歸功於 PDC Energy 的收購以及二疊紀盆地的有機成長。

Looking ahead to the second quarter, we have planned turnarounds at TCO and several Gulf of Mexico assets. Following another strong quarter in the Permian, production is trending better than our previous guidance, and we now expect first half production to be down less than 2% from the fourth quarter.

展望第二季度，我們計劃對 TCO 和墨西哥灣的幾項資產進行扭虧為盈。在二疊紀又一個強勁的季度之後，產量趨勢好於我們先前的指導，我們現在預計上半年產量將比第四季下降不到 2%。

Impacts from refinery turnarounds are mostly driven by El Segundo and Richmond. We anticipate higher affiliate dividends in the second quarter largely from TCO. With the start-up of WPMP, we expect TCO's DD&A to increase by approximately $400 million over the remainder of the year.

煉油廠扭虧為盈的影響主要是由埃爾塞貢多和里士滿推動的。我們預計第二季附屬公司股息將主要來自 TCO。隨著 WPMP 的啟動，我們預計 TCO 的 DD&A 將在今年剩餘時間內增加約 4 億美元。

Share repurchases are restricted under SEC regulations through the Hess shareholder vote, after which we intend to resume buybacks at the $17.5 billion annual rate. We've published a new document with our consolidated guidance and sensitivities that will be updated quarterly and posted to our website the month prior to our earnings call.

根據 SEC 規定，透過 Hess 股東投票，股票回購受到限制，之後我們打算以每年 175 億美元的速度恢復回購。我們發布了一份新文件，其中包含我們的綜合指導和敏感性，該文件將每季更新一次，並在財報電話會議前一個月發佈到我們的網站上。

Back to you, Jake.

回到你身邊，傑克。

That concludes our prepared remarks. We are now ready to take your questions. (Operator Instructions) We will do our best to get all of your questions answered. Katie, please open the line.

我們準備好的演講到此結束。我們現在準備好回答您的問題。 （操作員說明）我們將盡力回答您的所有問題。凱蒂，請接通電話。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Sam Margolin with Wolfe Research.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Sam Margolin。

Maybe we could start with Tengiz because there's movement there. And specifically, the effects of the WPMP start-up, if you don't mind going into some detail. I think the market understands that it's FGP phase that really rerates kind of TCO's distribution capacity. But if there's any incremental benefits from WPMP starting up, whether it's reliability or potential to produce over nameplate or even just the CapEx run rate and what it means for maybe an annualized TCO distribution at this stage, that would be very helpful.

也許我們可以從田吉茲開始，因為那裡正在改變。特別是 WPMP 啟動的影響（如果您不介意了解一些細節的話）。我認為市場明白 FGP 階段真正重新評估了 TCO 的分銷能力。但是，如果WPMP 啟動能帶來任何增量收益，無論是可靠性還是超出銘牌的生產潛力，甚至只是資本支出運行率，以及這對於現階段的年度化TCO 分配意味著什麼，那將非常有幫助。

Yes. Sam, let me talk a little bit to the project and operational dimensions of this, and then I'll let Eimear comment on the financial ramifications of that. So look, we're really pleased with the progress that's been making and pleased that we've begun the initial start-up of WPMP with the first PBF compressor online and processing crude through the plants after conversion of the first metering station.

是的。 Sam，讓我談談這個專案和營運層面，然後我會讓 Eimear 評論一下它的財務影響。因此，我們對所取得的進展感到非常滿意，並且很高興我們已經開始使用第一台 PBF 壓縮機在線啟動 WPMP，並在第一個計量站轉換後透過工廠加工原油。

It's an important milestone. I'm proud of the team and the work they've been doing. They've done this safely. We're seeing initial operation that is well aligned with our expectations. In fact, we've been encouraged by very strong production response from the wells that feed into this first metering station. We now have the second metering station planned for conversion as off-line, and that conversion is underway. And as we bring on more of the PBF compression capacity, we'll complete more metering stations over the balance of the year.

這是一個重要的里程碑。我為這個團隊和他們所做的工作感到自豪。他們已經安全地完成了這件事。我們看到初步營運與我們的預期非常一致。事實上，我們對第一個計量站的油井的強烈生產反應感到鼓舞。我們現在計劃將第二個計量站轉換為離線狀態，並且轉換正在進行中。隨著我們增加 PBF 壓縮能力，我們將在今年剩餘時間內完成更多計量站。

What happens here is we get higher production because the wells are now flowing against lower back pressure. And as I said, Sam, we've seen really strong response on this first set of wells. What that does is it gives us a high degree of confidence in keeping the plants full all year long with the fact being that we've got some turnarounds we have to do. We've got an SGI turnaround and a KTL turnaround, SGI this quarter, KTL next quarter, to do some tie-ins and some other normal maintenance. But in the periods in between those, it increases deliverability and the confidence of the plant will be full throughout that period of time.

這裡發生的情況是我們獲得了更高的產量，因為油井現在在較低的背壓下流動。正如我所說，薩姆，我們在第一組油井中看到了非常強烈的反應。這樣做的作用是讓我們對保持工廠全年滿載運轉充滿信心，因為我們必須進行一些週轉。我們有一個 SGI 週轉和一個 KTL 週轉，本季 SGI，下季度 KTL，進行一些搭配和其他一些正常維護。但在這段期間，它提高了產能，並且工廠在整個這段時間內充滿信心。

We've got a lot of project scope operational is the other thing that I just would remind you of. We're producing from new wells. We've got upgraded to new utilities now, gathering system, a new control center, power distribution system, 2 new, big-frame 9 gas turbine generators in service. So the reliability of the infrastructure and all of the control networks and everything is significantly improved as we got more modern equipment in place. So all of this reads through to higher degree of reliability, strong production performance.

我想提醒您的另一件事是，我們有很多專案範圍可操作。我們正在從新井生產。我們現在已經升級到新的公用設施、收集系統、新的控制中心、配電系統、2 台新的大型 9 燃氣渦輪發電機投入使用。因此，隨著我們配備更多現代化設備，基礎設施和所有控製網路以及一切的可靠性都得到了顯著提高。因此，所有這些都意味著更高的可靠性和強大的生產性能。

And last year was the second strongest year in the past several. So it gives us high confidence in delivering what we've said we'll deliver there. And then as we get into the third quarter, we'll start commissioning some of the process equipment as part of FGP, which, as you say, first half start-up next year is when you see the incremental production come online.

去年是過去幾年中第二強勁的一年。因此，這讓我們對實現我們承諾的目標充滿信心。然後，當我們進入第三季時，我們將開始調試一些製程設備，作為 FGP 的一部分，正如您所說，明年上半年啟動時您會看到增量生產上線。

So good progress all the way around. I'll reiterate that schedule and cost guidance are unchanged. And we'll continue to provide details each quarter on milestones and progress as we proceed.

一路上都取得了良好的進展。我要重申的是，時間表和成本指引沒有改變。隨著我們的進展，我們將繼續每個季度提供有關里程碑和進展的詳細資訊。

Eimear, maybe you can just talk about what that means financially.

Eimear，也許你可以談談這在經濟上意味著什麼。

Yes. Thanks, Mike. Yes, Sam, well, after years of investing, as the project starts up over the next couple of years, we do expect the CapEx profile to continue to decline, and that will enable free cash flow over the next couple of years to grow.

是的。謝謝，麥克。是的，薩姆，嗯，經過多年的投資，隨著項目在未來幾年啟動，我們確實預計資本支出狀況將繼續下降，這將使未來幾年的自由現金流量增長。

With WPMP, it will keep the plants full. So this will allow IBS business to generate significant cash, and that will be available for distribution. With the second phase of the project then next year in '25, TCOs free cash flow is going to grow even further because with that phase of the project, we get incremental production.

使用 WPMP，它將使植物保持飽滿。因此，這將使 IBS 業務產生大量現金，並且可供分配。隨著明年 25 年該專案的第二階段的實施，TCO 的自由現金流將進一步成長，因為在該專案的該階段，我們將獲得增量生產。

So what does this mean for Chevron? Well, we expect $4 billion of free cash flow in 2025 and $5 billion in 2026. This is a $60 Brent. This will flow to us through a combination of dividends, so you'll see this come through cash flow from operations and loan repayments, which will flow through cash for investing.

那麼這對雪佛龍意味著什麼呢？好吧，我們預計 2025 年自由現金流將達到 40 億美元，2026 年將達到 50 億美元。這將透過股息的組合流向我們，因此您會看到這來自營運和貸款償還的現金流，而這些現金流將透過投資現金流。

So we do expect dividends this year. We have guidance -- affiliate guidance to dividends for 2024. But we've also included in the deck today the outlook for affiliate dividends for the second quarter, $1 billion to $1.5 billion. And a significant portion of that is an assumption around TCO.

所以我們確實預計今年會派息。我們有指導 - 2024 年股息的附屬指南。其中很大一部分是圍繞 TCO 的假設。

We'll go next to Neil Mehta with Goldman Sachs.

接下來我們將討論高盛的尼爾·梅塔。

My question is really on the exploration program. Specifically, you have an interesting position in West Africa and Namibia. So maybe you can just give us some historical context of how you got involved here. Is this an asset that you see a lot of opportunity in, especially given some of the announcements from peers over the last couple of weeks? And how do you think about prosecuting it going forward?

我的問題實際上是關於探索計劃的。具體來說，您在西非和納米比亞的地位很有趣。所以也許你可以給我們一些你如何參與其中的歷史背景。您是否認為這是一項蘊含大量機會的資產，尤其是考慮到過去幾週同行發布的一些公告？您如何考慮繼續起訴它？

Yes. Thank you, Neil. We've got a nice portfolio of exploration opportunities around the world and including numerous prospects on Block 90 in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia, which lies just outshore -- outbound of where there was a recent discovery announced by another company. We're planning to spud the first exploration well in that block late this year or early next year based on rig availability. The rig will be completed in early '25.

是的。謝謝你，尼爾。我們在世界各地擁有一系列不錯的勘探機會，其中包括納米比亞近海奧蘭治盆地 90 號區塊的眾多勘探機會，該區塊就位於近海，即另一家公司最近宣布的發現地點的外側。我們計劃根據鑽機可用性，在今年年底或明年初在該區塊開鑽第一口勘探井。該鑽孔機將於 25 年初完工。

We farmed into another block, Block 82, which is further north in the Walvis space, and that was just announced earlier this week. And as you know, there have been a number of discoveries made by companies in the Orange Basin. Our block is on trend with those discoveries. We're encouraged by the success we see from others. And this is certainly an area where the industry has had a high -- a good batting average, a high degree of success. And we're pleased that we've got 2 blocks now offshore Namibia. And of course, we'll talk to you more as we get into the exploration program there.

我們種植了另一個區塊，即 82 號區塊，位於沃爾維斯區更北的地方，這是本週早些時候剛剛宣布的。如您所知，奧蘭治盆地的公司已經取得了許多發現。我們的區塊正因這些發現而流行。我們因看見他人的成功而受到鼓舞。這無疑是該行業取得較高成功率的領域——良好的成功率和高度的成功。我們很高興現在在納米比亞近海擁有兩個區塊。當然，當我們進入那裡的探索計劃時，我們會與您進行更多交談。

We'll go next to Paul Cheng with Scotiabank.

接下來我們將與豐業銀行聯絡 Paul Cheng。

You guys did a small deal look like on the retail marketing asset, adding over 200 stations in the Gulf Coast and West Coast. I actually don't remember. I think since you've become the head of downstream, say, call it, 20 years ago, you guys have been selling asset there. So is there a change of your view in terms of the overall strategy we made to that part of the business? And whether that -- this deal you are going to be owning the asset or that this is wholesale marketing [drop] network type of deal that you are acquiring?

你們在零售行銷資產上做了一筆小交易，在墨西哥灣沿岸和西海岸增加了 200 多個站點。我其實不記得了。我認為自從20年前你們成為下游的負責人以來，你們就一直在那裡出售資產。那麼，您對我們針對這部分業務所製定的整體策略的看法是否有改變？以及您是否將擁有該資產的這筆交易，或者您正在收購的批發行銷[下降]網路類型的交易？

Yes. Thank you, Paul. As you know, I come out of that part of the business. I love talking about retail. Look, we've got 3 really strong brands around the world. Caltex internationally; in Asia, primarily; in Middle East and Africa, a little bit. Chevron and Texaco here primarily in the Americas.

是的。謝謝你，保羅。如你所知，我是從這部分業務中出來的。我喜歡談論零售。看，我們在全球擁有 3 個非常強大的品牌。加德士國際；主要在亞洲；在中東和非洲，有一點。雪佛龍和德士古主要在美洲。

And you're right, we only own about 5% in the U.S., even less than 5% of our branded stations. So most of our business is done through large retailers and distributors. We enter into agreements of supply agreements and brand agreements with these marketers. And there are times, different mechanisms, we use to support their investments. We've done a couple of deals here in the last quarter that are substantial, that add a few hundred stations to our network. And as part of that, we advanced some cash to support their brand conversion efforts, their investment in the network and to solidify our relationship with really important customers of ours that ultimately sell on to consumers. And so you saw that consume some cash.

你是對的，我們在美國祇擁有大約 5% 的股份，甚至不到我們品牌電台的 5%。所以我們的業務大多是透過大型零售商和經銷商完成的。我們與這些行銷商簽訂了供應協議和品牌協議。有時，我們會使用不同的機制來支持他們的投資。上個季度我們在這裡完成了幾筆重大交易，為我們的網路增加了數百個電台。作為其中的一部分，我們預付了一些現金來支持他們的品牌轉換工作、他們對網路的投資，並鞏固我們與最終銷售給消費者的真正重要客戶的關係。所以你看到這消耗了一些現金。

It technically from an accounting standpoint doesn't get classified as capital, but we want to disclose it because it is cash. And it helps us grow our branded sales. And so it's an important part of our business. We're doing these kinds of deals all the time, Paul. They tend to be oftentimes smaller magnitude, so they don't necessarily get to a size where we would mention it the way that we did today. But we won't own these stations. They're owned by really strong independent retailers. Thanks for the question.

從技術角度來看，從會計角度來看，它並不被歸類為資本，但我們希望揭露它，因為它是現金。它有助於我們增加品牌銷售。因此，這是我們業務的重要組成部分。保羅，我們一直在做這類交易。它們的大小往往較小，因此它們不一定達到我們今天提到的大小。但我們不會擁有這些電台。它們由真正強大的獨立零售商擁有。謝謝你的提問。

We'll go next to Betty Jiang with Barclays.

接下來我們將與巴克萊銀行一起去貝蒂·江（Betty Jiang）。

Mike, just -- so we're seeing that the U.S. operations look pretty strong quarter, especially with Permian holding in better than expected relative to your expectations. Could you just talk about what drove the better performance in the Permian and how you think the rest of the year unfolds? And then just anything else within the U.S. that you want to highlight?

麥克，我們看到美國季度業務看起來相當強勁，特別是二疊紀盆地的表現比您的預期要好。您能否談談是什麼推動了二疊紀盆地的更好表現以及您認為今年剩餘時間的情況如何？那麼美國境內還有什麼想強調的嗎？

Sure. So yes, first quarter production in the Permian was good, 859,000 barrels a day, down about 1% from the fourth quarter of last year, stronger than what we had anticipated. Really good, strong performance in our company-operated business, building off the momentum from the fourth quarter of last year. We have seen reliability improvements that translate into a slightly less decline in our base production.

當然。所以，是的，二疊紀盆地第一季的產量不錯，為每天 859,000 桶，比去年第四季下降約 1%，強於我們的預期。我們公司經營的業務表現確實良好、強勁，延續了去年第四季的勢頭。我們已經看到可靠性的提高，這意味著我們的基礎產量下降幅度略有減少。

We saw a significantly shorter frac to POP cycle time, so between completed frac and when we put it on production. So that resulted in a few more wells being POP-ed in the first quarter, which you see in the production. Well performance itself was generally aligned with our expectations. And so we've been talking a lot about type curves the last few quarters. We're seeing strong performance that's aligned with or even a little bit stronger than what we expected.

我們發現壓裂到 POP 的週期時間顯著縮短，也就是從完成壓裂到投入生產之間的時間。因此，這導致第一季有更多的油井進行了 POP，您可以在生產中看到這一點。油井表現本身大致符合我們的預期。因此，過去幾個季度我們一直在談論類型曲線。我們看到強勁的表現與我們的預期相符，甚至略強於我們的預期。

And then we also saw some good contributions from our royalty acreage, which is the highest-return barrels we have because we really have no investment there and it's attractive acreage. Others are developing it. And we saw increased activity that resulted in increased royalty production.

然後我們也看到了我們的特許權使用費面積的一些良好貢獻，這是我們擁有的回報最高的桶，因為我們確實沒有在那裡投資，而且它的面積很有吸引力。其他人正在開發它。我們看到活動的增加導致了特許權使用費的增加。

NOJV, right on plan with what we expected and a lot of visibility into the non-operated joint venture portfolio for this year, more even than last year at this time, and confidence that, that will deliver. So all of that translated into a very strong first quarter.

NOJV 完全符合我們的預期，今年非經營合資企業投資組合的可見度比去年同期還要高，並且有信心實現這一目標。因此，所有這些都轉化為非常強勁的第一季。

Eimear mentioned that we now expect our first half to be better than we'd previously guided. We said 2% to 4% down versus fourth quarter of last year. We now think we'll be less than 2% down. And then, of course, the back half of the year, we had another frac spread. We've got more wells online and expect to exit the year around 900,000 barrels a day. So really strong performance there and consistent with the momentum that you've seen in prior quarters.

艾米爾提到，我們現在預計上半年會比我們之前指導的更好。我們說比去年第四季下降 2% 到 4%。我們現在認為下跌幅度將低於 2%。當然，在今年下半年，我們又出現了一次壓裂價差。我們已經投產了更多油井，預計今年產量約為每天 90 萬桶。因此，那裡的表現非常強勁，並且與您在前幾個季度看到的勢頭一致。

The -- I guess the other thing I would mention relative to the U.S. more broadly is the Anchor project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico is we've guided towards midyear start-up of that. It's right on track. The floating production unit is being commissioned. As we speak, we've got both buyback gas and back oil in the facilities. So that means the pipelines, the process units are now charged with live hydrocarbons. We're commissioning some of the subsea infrastructure, including flow lines.

我想我想更廣泛地提到的與美國相關的另一件事是墨西哥灣深水錨定項目，我們已指導該項目在年中啟動。一切都步入正軌了。浮式生產裝置正在調試。正如我們所說，我們的設施中已經回購了天然氣和石油。這意味著管道、加工裝置現在充滿了活性碳氫化合物。我們正在調試一些海底基礎設施，包括流線。

The completion of the first well is in progress. Second well is drilled and will be completed shortly. Third well is being drilled right now. So we'll talk more about this, but everything is right on track for start-up of Anchor midyear. And then, of course, we've got other Gulf of Mexico projects as well that are kind of stacked up right behind Anchor over subsequent quarters. So the outlook in the U.S. is especially strong.

第一口井的竣工工作正在進行中。第二口井已鑽探並將很快完成。第三口井目前正在鑽探中。所以我們會更多地討論這個問題，但 Anchor 年中啟動時一切都步入正軌。當然，我們還有其他墨西哥灣項目，這些項目在接下來的幾個季度中都堆積在 Anchor 之後。因此，美國的前景尤其強勁。

We'll go next to Josh Silverstein with UBS.

接下來我們將討論瑞銀集團的喬許‧西爾弗斯坦 (Josh Silverstein)。

You had around $1 billion of debt this quarter to manage some of the working capital and really distribution timing. Do you see the cash balance growing sequentially? Did you repay the commercial paper in 2Q? Just wanted to get a sense of where the cash outlook may go sequentially.

本季您有大約 10 億美元的債務來管理部分營運資金和真正的分配時間。您是否看到現金餘額連續成長？您在第二季還清了商業票據嗎？只是想了解現金前景可能會依序走向何方。

Eimear, why don't you take that?

艾米爾，你為什麼不接受這個？

Yes. Josh, yes, so we had some commercial paper issued in the first quarter, and it was just to manage short-term liquidity. Timing of affiliate dividends can be a bit lumpy, repatriation of cash can be a bit lumpy. So this was normal business for us in the first quarter.

是的。喬希，是的，所以我們在第一季發行了一些商業票據，這只是為了管理短期流動性。附屬公司股利的發放時間可能有點不穩定，現金匯回也可能有點不穩定。所以這對我們第一季來說是正常的業務。

I think in terms of what to expect in terms of cash on the balance sheet, I mean, we target to hold about $5 billion in cash, and that will bounce around as well. But I think $5 billion is a good number. We have access to lots of liquidity and commercial paper, bond investors, credit facilities. So while we've had higher cash in the balance sheet in the past, holding excess cash with low debt and lots of access to liquidity can be a drag in returns. So we're quite comfortable with the $5 billion cash, and that's a good number for you to focus on there.

我認為就資產負債表上的現金預期而言，我們的目標是持有約 50 億美元的現金，而且現金也會反彈。但我認為 50 億美元是一個不錯的數字。我們可以獲得大量的流動性和商業票據、債券投資者和信貸便利。因此，雖然我們過去的資產負債表中擁有較高的現金，但以低債務和大量流動性持有過剩現金可能會拖累回報。因此，我們對 50 億美元現金感到非常滿意，這是一個值得您關注的好數字。

We'll go next to Biraj Borkhataria with RBC.

接下來我們將與 RBC 一起前往 Biraj Borkhataria。

I wanted to ask a follow-up on the Permian. So you put out there the updated well productivity slide, which is very helpful. But a few quarters ago, Mike, you talked about some of the broader constraints in the Permian, whether it's CO2, water handling and so on. It doesn't look like it's impacted your volumes in the near term, which have performed very well. So could you just refresh us on if anything has changed in your views on that there?

我想問二疊紀的後續情況。因此，您發布了更新的油井產能幻燈片，非常有幫助。但麥克，幾個季度前，您談到了二疊紀的一些更廣泛的限制，無論是二氧化碳、水處理等等。看起來它在短期內並沒有影響你們的銷量，你們的銷售表現非常好。那麼您能否向我們介紹一下您對此的看法是否有任何改變？

Yes. Thanks, Biraj. Nothing's really changed. I mean this is a very large base business now with thousands of wells over a very large footprint. And it's important that we focus not only on productivity, efficiency and reliability and drilling and completions, but also in all aspects of operations. And that's midstream takeaway, it's gas processing, it's water handling.

是的。謝謝，比拉傑。一切都沒有真正改變。我的意思是，這是一個非常大的基礎業務，現在在非常大的佔地面積上擁有數千口井。重要的是，我們不僅關註生產率、效率、可靠性以及鑽井和完井，而且還關注營運的各個方面。這是中游外賣，它是天然氣處理，它是水處理。

And we've got more development underway this year in the New Mexico portion of the Delaware, which is going to require a build-out of some of this capability, which will be part of our capital program addresses. But you really have to stay on top of base business reliability on all these things. Seismic is another one we've seen some issues on.

今年，我們在特拉華州的新墨西哥州部分正在進行更多的開發，這將需要擴大一些這種能力，這將是我們資本計畫地址的一部分。但您確實必須在所有這些事情上保持基本業務可靠性。地震是我們看到的另一個問題。

And so they're all part of managing the business for safety and reliability each and every day. We had a quarter -- a couple of quarters back where a number of those things were a challenge. And the current quarter, we saw really good performance.

因此，他們每天都是管理業務安全性和可靠性的一部分。我們有一個季度——幾個季度前，其中許多事情都是一個挑戰。本季度，我們看到了非常好的表現。

Last thing I might mention, which might be implied in your question, you see some talk about the takeaway capacity out of the basin and are people constrained, is that impacting particularly gas prices within the other commodities. We're covered on takeaway capacity out of the basin on oil, NGL and gas well out into the future. And so we're not exposed to any in-basin discounted pricing as a result of that.

我要提到的最後一件事可能在你的問題中暗示，你看到一些關於盆地外運能力以及人員限制的討論，這對其他商品的天然氣價格影響尤其大。我們對未來盆地石油、液化天然氣和天然氣的外運能力進行了報告。因此，我們不會因此而受到任何流域內折扣定價的影響。

We'll go next to Nitin Kumar with Mizuho.

我們將和 Mizuho 一起去 Nitin Kumar 旁邊。

Mike, I just wanted to maybe get an update on Venezuela. There were some reports that Biden administration is reinstating some of the export bans on that country. Specifically said that Chevron was not included, but just your thoughts on sort of the future of oil production and exports from the country and how it would impact Chevron?

麥克，我只是想了解委內瑞拉的最新情況。有報道稱，拜登政府正在恢復對該國的部分出口禁令。具體來說，雪佛龍不包括在內，但您對該國石油生產和出口的未來有何看法，以及它將如何影響雪佛龍？

Yes. Thanks, Nitin. So you might recall that the Department of Treasury and OPEC, a division within treasury, has issued a couple of different, what are called general licenses for operations for companies in Venezuela. There's one called General License 41, which primarily pertains to our position in the country. There's some specific licenses as well that kind of go along with that. And then there had been a second one that was issued subsequently called General License 44, which applied more broadly. That's the one where the administration has announced some changes. And those don't really impact us. There have been no changes to GL 41. And so we're not really affected by the news you've read about recently.

是的。謝謝，尼廷。因此，您可能還記得，財政部和歐佩克（財政部內的一個部門）已經為委內瑞拉的公司頒發了幾種不同的所謂通用許可證。有一個名為 General License 41 的許可證，主要與我們在該國的地位有關。還有一些與之相關的特定許可證。隨後又發布了第二個許可證，稱為通用許可證 44，適用範圍更廣。這是政府宣布一些變化的地方。這些並沒有真正影響我們。 GL 41 沒有任何變化。

I'll just remind you, we're not putting new capital into Venezuela right now. All the spending is really self-funded from the cash from operations. We've been lifting oil and bringing it to the U.S., which has been helpful for the U.S. refining system, not just ours but others as well.

我只是提醒你，我們現在不會向委內瑞拉注入新的資本。所有支出其實都是來自營運現金的自籌資金。我們一直在開採石油並將其運往美國，這對美國的煉油系統很有幫助，不僅對我們的煉油系統也有幫助。

And since that license was issued now a little bit more than a year ago, we've seen production at the joint ventures that we're participating in increase from about 120,000 barrels a day at the time that, that license was issued to about 180,000 barrels a day now. So that's an update. There are some -- maybe it might be worth reminding just how the financial side of that works because it's a little bit different than some of the other parts of our production. So Eimear, do you want to touch on that?

自從一年多前頒發該許可證以來，我們看到我們參與的合資企業的產量從該許可證頒發時的每天約 120,000 桶增加到約 180,000 桶現在每天一桶。這是一個更新。有一些——也許值得提醒它的財務方面是如何運作的，因為它與我們製作的其他一些部分有點不同。 Eimear，你想談談這個嗎？

Yes. Nitin, just as a reminder, for Venezuela, we do cost accounting, not equity accounting. So Chevron is not recording the production here or the reserves. We record earnings when we receive cash, and that shows up under other income and income statement. Just to put this into context, in 2023, the cash was modest, probably less than 2% cash flow from operations.

是的。尼廷，提醒一下，對於委內瑞拉，我們進行成本會計，而不是權益會計。因此，雪佛龍沒有記錄此處的產量或儲量。當我們收到現金時，我們會記錄收入，並顯示在其他收入和損益表中。就具體而言，到 2023 年，現金金額不大，可能不到營運現金流的 2%。

We'll go next to Jason Gabelman with TD Cowen.

接下來我們將與 TD Cowen 一起討論 Jason Gabelman。

I wanted to ask about the divestment program. I know when the Hess deal was announced, you discussed $10 billion to $15 billion. But given that's in a bit of a holding pattern here, I'm just wondering what you expect the cadence or the target for divestments to be. I think historically, you've done about $2 billion a year. So that's not too far from what the guidance was with the Hess deal. Just trying to try and lay those 2 numbers and getting a sense of what the divestment program could look like while that deal is in a bit of a holding pattern. If you could just remind us the assets that have been discussed in the market, that would be great.

我想問撤資計劃。我知道赫斯交易宣佈時，你們討論了 100 億至 150 億美元。但考慮到這種情況有點停滯不前，我只是想知道您期望撤資的節奏或目標是什麼。我認為從歷史上看，你每年的收入約為 20 億美元。因此，這與赫斯交易的指導方針相差不遠。只是嘗試列出這兩個數字，並了解在該交易處於擱置狀態時撤資計劃可能會是什麼樣子。如果您能提醒我們市場上討論過的資產，那就太好了。

Yes. Yes, sure. Happy to do that, Jason. So the first thing is you're right. We're always high-grading our portfolio. And it's not because we need the cash. You already covered the strength of the balance sheet. But it's really to set value to optimize our portfolio. We find times there are things that don't compete for capital in our portfolio and they fit better with somebody else.

是的。是的，當然。很高興這樣做，傑森。所以首先你是對的。我們始終對我們的投資組合進行高評價。這並不是因為我們需要現金。您已經介紹了資產負債表的實力。但這其實是為了設定價值來優化我們的投資組合。我們發現有時有些東西不會與我們的投資組合中的資本競爭，而且它們更適合其他人。

They tend to be early-in-life assets. We were at Rosebank and divested that a few years ago or things that are much later in life and might fit better with somebody who works those kinds of assets.

它們往往是生命早期的資產。我們在羅斯班克，幾年前就剝離了這些資產，或者是在以後的生活中剝離的東西，這些東西可能更適合那些經營這些資產的人。

Over the last decade or so, 2012 through 2023, we divested about $35 billion worth. Our long-term history has been about $2 billion per year, maybe 1% of our capital employed, give or take. And our guidance for this year is 1% to 2%, so it's pretty consistent with history. We did say that upon the closure of the Hess transaction, we're going to add some assets that are going to be highly attractive for capital investment. And that means as you look through the rest of the portfolio, if we stay capital-disciplined, there are probably some things that we might otherwise have invested in that now we would choose not to. And so that's where the 10 to 15 guidance came from. That would still stand upon closure.

在過去十年左右的時間裡，從 2012 年到 2023 年，我們剝離了價值約 350 億美元的資產。我們的長期歷史是每年約 20 億美元，可能占我們所使用資本的 1%（無論給予或接受）。我們今年的指導是 1% 到 2%，所以這與歷史非常一致。我們確實說過，在赫斯交易結束後，我們將增加一些對資本投資極具吸引力的資產。這意味著當你查看投資組合的其餘部分時，如果我們保持資本紀律，可能會有一些我們本來可以投資的東西現在我們會選擇不投資。這就是 10 到 15 指導的來源。這在關閉後仍然有效。

The things we're doing now are things we would have done in the normal course. And so they're not really related to high-grading post the Hess addition. The things that are in the public domain, we talked about Myanmar, which we exited as of April 1. We've announced that we intend to exit the Congo, and we've got a deal there. We expect that to close before the end of the year.

我們現在所做的事情是我們在正常情況下會做的事情。因此，它們與赫斯添加後的高等級並沒有真正的關係。關於公共領域的事情，我們談到了緬甸，我們於 4 月 1 日退出了緬甸。我們預計該項目將在今年年底前完成。

We have talked about our position in unconventionals in Canada and in Kaybob, Duvernay, which is a nice asset, which has some growth opportunities, but it may be a better fit for others. So we're looking at alternatives there. And then also the Haynesville, we paused our development activity in the Haynesville last year, and that's another one that we think may fit better with others. So I think those are the ones that are out in the public right now, Jason.

我們已經討論了我們在加拿大和杜韋奈凱博布的非常規資產的地位，這是一項很好的資產，有一些成長機會，但可能更適合其他資產。所以我們正在尋找替代方案。然後還有海恩斯維爾，我們去年暫停了海恩斯維爾的開發活動，這是我們認為可能更適合其他項目的另一個項目。所以我認為這些是現在公開的，傑森。

We'll go next to Bob Brackett with Bernstein Research.

接下來我們將訪問伯恩斯坦研究公司的鮑伯‧布拉克特。

Given the launch of Future Energy Fund III, can you give us a thought of what you saw success cases coming out of I and II that caused you to move to III? And maybe compare and contrast how you do it yourself in-house solar to hydrogen, for example, versus where you might see third parties to try new technologies.

鑑於未來能源基金 III 的推出，您能否告訴我們您在 I 和 II 中看到的哪些成功案例促使您轉向 III？例如，也許可以比較和對比您自己在內部太陽能和氫方面的做法，以及您可能會看到第三方嘗試新技術的情況。

Yes. So I appreciate that. This is one that we probably haven't talked about with investors as much as some of the other parts of our business. Funds 1 and 2 were smaller, $100 million, $300 million. And they're not actually fully subscribed yet, but they're getting there, which is why we announced fund #3. We've been in the venture investing business for 1/4 of a century, so going back to the late '90s when we first set up our venture investing organization.

是的。所以我很欣賞這一點。我們可能沒有像我們業務的其他部分那樣與投資者討論這個問題。基金 1 和 2 規模較小，分別為 1 億美元、3 億美元。他們實際上還沒有完全認購，但他們正在實現這一目標，這就是我們宣布基金＃3的原因。我們從事創投業務已經有 1/4 個世紀了，所以可以追溯到 90 年代末，當我們第一次建立創投組織時。

And in the Future Energy Funds, which are those that are really need on energy transition themes, through Funds I and II, we've invested more than 30 companies already. We're collaborating with 250 or so other co-investors in these companies. We can serve as a pilot bed for their technology so we can help them bring things from the lab and kind of bench scale out into the real world.

在未來能源基金中，也就是那些真正需要能源轉型主題的基金，透過基金 I 和 II，我們已經投資了 30 多家公司。我們正在與這些公司的 250 家左右的其他共同投資者合作。我們可以作為他們的技術的試驗台，這樣我們就可以幫助他們將實驗室和桌上型規模的東西帶到現實世界。

And I've visited last year, one of our carbon capture pilots in the San Joaquin Valley with a company that's got some really interesting technology to help us improve the efficiency, reduce the cost for carbon capture. And so we're looking at things like industrial decarbonization, hydrogen, emerging mobility, energy decentralization, the circular carbon economy. And what we're really looking to do is support innovation in things that we probably aren't doing within the company, within our own R&D or scale up. As you mentioned, the projects in the Permian Basin or in the San Joaquin Valley, the solar to green hydrogen is using established technologies that are well proven.

去年我拜訪了聖華金河谷的一家碳捕獲試點公司，該公司擁有一些非常有趣的技術來幫助我們提高效率，並降低碳捕獲成本。因此，我們正在研究工業脫碳、氫能、新興流動性、能源分散化、循環碳經濟等議題。我們真正想做的是支持我們在公司內部、我們自己的研發或擴大規模中可能沒有做的事情的創新。正如您所提到的，二疊紀盆地或聖華金河谷的太陽能綠氫計畫正在使用經過充分驗證的成熟技術。

What we're doing in our venture investing is trying to develop these new technologies, new materials, new novel ways to integrate AI and other kinds of technology systems to help solve some of these problems. And hopefully, we find things that will help our business and help the world.

我們在創投中所做的就是嘗試開發這些新技術、新材料、新方法來整合人工智慧和其他類型的技術系統，以幫助解決其中一些問題。希望我們能找到對我們的業務和世界有幫助的東西。

Last thing I'll say is over the 25 years, we've more than earned our money back in our return on our investment. Not every one of these companies is successful, but we've seen a lot of technologies move into our business. We've seen a lot of the companies become successful. And there's a lot of innovation going on out there. This allows us to leverage ourselves into smaller start-up innovation that we might not otherwise see. So it's been a very, very positive for us, and we're excited to announce the new fund.

我要說的最後一件事是，25 年來，我們的投資報酬率遠遠超出了我們的投資報酬率。並非每一家公司都取得了成功，但我們已經看到很多技術融入了我們的業務。我們已經看到很多公司取得了成功。那裡正在發生很多創新。這使我們能夠利用自己的力量進行較小的新創創新，否則我們可能看不到。所以這對我們來說是非常非常積極的，我們很高興宣布成立新基金。

We'll go next to Roger Read with Wells Fargo.

我們將與富國銀行一起去羅傑·里德旁邊。

Can we talk a little bit about Eastern Med? I know at one point, operations shut down. It sounds like everything is back up and running. But also you would kind of tie that into Egypt a little bit, where there's been some exploration talk and in the government trying to do some things to improve the overall investment, I guess, environment there.

我們能談談東方醫學嗎？我知道在某一時刻，業務停止了。聽起來一切都已恢復並運行。但你也可以將其與埃及聯繫起來，那裡有一些勘探討論，政府試圖做一些事情來改善那裡的整體投資環境。

Yes, you bet. So first of all, we are back in full operations in the Eastern Med. We've -- Tamar was down for about a month at the very beginning of hostilities. But we're excited about the opportunities there. Just to remind you, we've got the 2 existing platforms, Tamar and Leviathan, in service. And we've really structured our development plans there to focus on capital efficiency, higher returns, to the earlier answer, things we've got to compete for capital in our portfolio.

是的，你敢打賭。首先，我們在東部地中海全面恢復營運。我們——塔馬艦在敵對行動一開始就陷落了大約一個月。但我們對那裡的機會感到興奮。只是提醒您，我們已經有 2 個現有平台 Tamar 和 Leviathan 投入使用。我們確實在那裡建立了我們的發展計劃，重點是資本效率、更高的回報，正如先前的答案，我們必須在我們的投資組合中爭奪資本。

Since we've closed on the Noble acquisition, we've increased production at Tamar and Leviathan by more than 10% just through debottlenecking and reliability. We've sanctioned projects at both of those that are currently in progress that will increase production by another 40% over the next couple of years. And we're looking at larger expansion, particularly for Leviathan, where we've got a number of concepts that are being evaluated. Obviously, in the current environment, we're moving carefully with development of those.

自從我們完成對 Noble 的收購以來，僅透過消除瓶頸並提高可靠性，我們就將 Tamar 和 Leviathan 的產量增加了 10% 以上。我們已經批准了這兩個目前正在進行的項目，這些項目將在未來幾年內將產量再增加 40%。我們正在考慮更大的擴展，特別是《利維坦》，我們正在評估許多概念。顯然，在當前環境下，我們正在謹慎地開發這些內容。

You mentioned Egypt. We've got a discovery at Argus. We expect another appraisal well there in late this year or early next year to better characterize the field and refine our development plan. We've got a number of other blocks that have not been drilled yet that we shot a seismic on. And we plan to spud a well in Block 4 there before the end of this year. And so it's an area that I think has got real prospectivity. As you look at growth in both the near term, with the projects I mentioned and then the longer expansion of existing and exploration prospectivity, it's a part of our portfolio that I expect us to see growth from over the coming decade.

你提到了埃及。我們在阿格斯有一個發現。我們預計今年年底或明年初將進行另一次評估，以更好地描述該領域的特徵並完善我們的開發計劃。我們還有許多尚未鑽探的區塊，我們對其進行了地震測試。我們計劃在今年年底前在第 4 區塊打一口井。所以我認為這是一個具有真正前景的領域。當你看到我提到的項目的近期成長以及現有和勘探前景的長期擴張時，我預計我們將在未來十年看到成長，這是我們投資組合的一部分。

We'll go next to Lloyd Byrne with Jefferies.

我們將和傑弗里斯一起去勞埃德·伯恩旁邊。

I know we've covered a lot of ground this morning. We talked about the Permian productivity, which looks really good. But could you just touch on the DJ? And that production looks stronger than we expected. And then also any political risk you might want to comment on that there?

我知道今天早上我們已經討論了很多內容。我們談到了二疊紀的生產力，看起來確實不錯。但你能談談 DJ 嗎？而且產量看起來比我們預期的還要強。您可能想對此發表評論嗎？

Sure. So yes, first quarter production in the DJ was above 400,000 barrels a day, kind of higher than what our long-term guidance is. We had timing -- a lot of fourth quarter '23 wells put on production there. You'd typically expect some weather-related downtime in Colorado over the first quarter. We saw some of that, but less than what we had planned for. So production was good.

當然。所以，是的，DJ 第一季的產量超過 40 萬桶/日，略高於我們的長期指引值。我們有時機——23 年第四季的許多油井都在那裡投產。您通常預計第一季科羅拉多州會出現一些與天氣相關的停機時間。我們看到了其中的一些情況，但比我們計劃的要少。所以製作效果很好。

Second quarter, there's maybe some minimal impacts that we expect from a third-party gas plant that's had an outage. But continued strong performance there thus far in the second quarter. These are high cash margin, low-breakeven barrels that we're really pleased to have in our portfolio. If you go back 3 years ago, we didn't have anything in DJ. We were not talking 400,000 barrels a day of production there.

第二季度，我們預期第三方天然氣工廠停電的影響可能很小。但第二季迄今仍表現強勁。這些是我們非常高興在我們的投資組合中擁有高現金利潤、低盈虧平衡的桶。如果你回到三年前，我們還沒有任何 DJ 東西。我們說的不是每天 40 萬桶的產量。

We plan to hold our plateau there around 400,000 barrels a day, and it will fluctuate a little bit based on the timing of bringing new pads on and completion of wells, et cetera. But it's a really strong asset for us.

我們計劃將產量穩定在每天 40 萬桶左右，並且會根據新油田投入使用和油井完井等的時間而略有波動。但這對我們來說是一筆非常強大的資產。

Let me talk about the politics and kind of the operating environment a little bit, and then maybe I'll have Eimear just touch on PDC and the benefits of that. But Colorado is a state where energy is an important part of the economy. And I grew up there. The environment is very important to the people and the state as well. And I think their goal has been to be a leader in responsible development and to recognize the important economic contribution that our industry makes to the states. I'm confident that, that will continue to be the case.

讓我稍微談談政治和營運環境，然後也許我會讓 Eimear 談談 PDC 及其好處。但科羅拉多州的能源是經濟的重要組成部分。我在那裡長大。環境對人民和國家都非常重要。我認為他們的目標是成為負責任發展的領導者，並認識到我們的行業對各州的重要經濟貢獻。我相信，情況將繼續如此。

We've got good relationships with members of the legislature, with the executive branch, with the governor. And as the largest oil and gas producer in the state with over 1,000 employees who live and work there and we were a significant investor there, we engage broadly within the community. And I think there's a recognition that responsible development in Colorado is what everybody wants and what we are committed to.

我們與立法機構成員、行政部門和州長都有良好的關係。作為該州最大的石油和天然氣生產商，我們擁有 1,000 多名員工在那裡生活和工作，我們是那裡的重要投資者，我們廣泛參與社區活動。我認為人們認識到科羅拉多州負責任的發展是每個人都想要的，也是我們致力於的。

And there's -- can be some noise around ballot proposals. There can be some noise around legislative proposals. But we're confident that the state is interested in working with us to be a responsible player and for this to be an important part of the economy. Eimear, maybe PDC, some of the benefits, just so people are reminded of that.

圍繞投票提案可能存在一些噪音。立法提案可能會出現一些噪音。但我們相信，國家有興趣與我們合作，成為負責任的參與者，並使其成為經濟的重要組成部分。 Eimear，也許是 PDC，有一些好處，只是為了提醒人們這一點。

Yes. It's been about 9 months since we closed with PDC Energy. We're really pleased with the progress that we're seeing, the synergies. On the CapEx side, to date, we've captured $500 million, which is $100 million more than what we had initially guided to. We're also seeing capture on the OpEx side as well. So we're nearing $100 million there.

是的。自從我們與 PDC Energy 關閉以來已經過去了大約 9 個月。我們對所看到的進展和協同效應感到非常滿意。在資本支出方面，迄今為止，我們已經獲得了 5 億美元，比我們最初指導的目標多了 1 億美元。我們也看到了營運支出方面的成長。所以我們的資金已經接近 1 億美元。

The teams are continuing to integrate. We're bringing the best of both companies together and building a development playbook focused on optimizing returns in the basin. We're realizing strong free cash flow from these assets. So we're ahead of pace for the incremental $1 billion in annual free cash flow that we guided to.

團隊正在繼續整合。我們將兩家公司的優勢結合在一起，制定一個專注於優化流域回報的開發策略。我們正在從這些資產中實現強勁的自由現金流。因此，我們已經領先我們指導的年度自由現金流增加 10 億美元的步伐。

We'll go next to Devin McDermott with Morgan Stanley.

接下來我們將採訪摩根士丹利的德文·麥克德莫特。

I wanted to bring it back to TCO. And Mike, I think you've talked in the past about how there is some similarity in the design between [WPMP] and FGP as a result of that. As you bring WPMP online, it helps derisk part of the FGP ramp as well. I was wondering if you could remind us what some of that commonality is. And as you look at the milestones you look out over the next few months at WPMP, which are the ones that you think about as being key to help derisk FGP as well?

我想把它帶回 TCO。 Mike，我想您過去曾討論過 [WPMP] 和 FGP 之間的設計有一些相似之處。當您將 WPMP 上線時，它也有助於消除部分 FGP 提升的風險。我想知道您能否提醒我們其中的一些共通點是什麼。當您審視 WPMP 未來幾個月的里程碑時，您認為哪些里程碑也是幫助消除 FGP 風險的關鍵？

Yes. So it's -- just to remind everybody, this is a massive field. Some of you have visited it. And FGP, the Future Growth Project, is taking things we did almost 20 years ago now with the second generation plant in sour gas injection, where we injected about half of the sour gas. And we're now injecting all the sour gas, increasing production. And at the same time, we're reducing back pressure on the field and using compression to push the production into the facilities so that we're not relying on field pressure to do that. And that increases the life and longevity of the production out of the field.

是的。所以，只是提醒大家，這是一個巨大的領域。你們有些人已經參觀過它。 FGP（未來成長項目）正在採用我們近 20 年前所做的事情，現在第二代工廠注入了酸性氣體，我們注入了大約一半的酸性氣體。我們現在正在註入所有酸性氣體，以增加產量。同時，我們正在減少現場的背壓，並使用壓縮將生產推入設施，這樣我們就不會依賴現場壓力來做到這一點。這增加了現場生產的壽命和壽命。

The other thing this project brings with it is what I've described sometimes as urban renewal. And it takes infrastructure that was built back even before Kazakhstan was independent. And it brings power and utility infrastructure, control infrastructure up to modern-day technology and modern-day standards. So the projects are quite integrated.

這個項目帶來的另一件事就是我有時所說的城市更新。而且它需要在哈薩克獨立之前就已經建立的基礎設施。它使電力和公用事業基礎設施、控制基礎設施達到現代技術和現代標準。所以這些項目是相當整合的。

The start-up sequencing in terms of what you do to walk down systems, ensure they're ready for operation, do all the testing and start-up is very similar, whether you're in one portion of the project or another. And the productivity of the field resources that we see on WPMP reads across to FGP as well. And so while they're fundamentally different project scopes and objectives, so much of the work is similar across equipment and the commissioning and start-up activities that I think the positive progress we're making, the success we're seeing in commissioning and start-up at FGP reads straight -- at WPMP, reads straight across to FGP as well.

無論您是在專案的一個部分還是另一部分，啟動順序（即您走下系統、確保它們準備好運行、進行所有測試和啟動）都非常相似。我們在 WPMP 上看到的現場資源生產力也反映在 FGP 上。因此，雖然它們的專案範圍和目標根本不同，但設備、調試和啟動活動的大部分工作都是相似的，我認為我們正在取得積極的進展，我們在調試和啟動方面看到了成功。 -up 直接讀取－WPMP 也直接讀到FGP。

We'll go next to Ryan Todd with Piper Sandler.

接下來我們將與派珀·桑德勒 (Piper Sandler) 一起前往瑞安·托德 (Ryan Todd)。

Maybe one on the renewable side of your portfolio. I mean you announced FIDs on a couple of different renewable projects, one in biofuels, one in solar to hydrogen. Can you provide some color on what underpins confidence in these specific projects, whether it's commercial or technical or regulatory support? And do you see further opportunities to develop similar projects in the portfolio going forward? Or are there specific things about these ones in particular that make them attractive?

也許是您投資組合中再生能源方面的一個。我的意思是，您宣布了幾個不同的再生能源項目的最終投資決定，其中一個是生物燃料項目，一個是太陽能氫氣計畫。您能否提供一些資訊來說明支撐這些特定項目的信心的因素，無論是商業支援、技術支援還是監管支援？您是否認為未來有更多機會在投資組合中開發類似項目？或者這些東西有什麼特別的東西讓它們有吸引力嗎？

Yes. So the 2 projects. One is an oilseed processing plant in our joint venture with Bunge. It's a project at Destrehan, Louisiana. And so FID was announced for a new oilseed processing plant there. This one will feature a very flexible design, and that's important because it gives you feedstock flexibility, which matters in any fuels manufacturing business. So in this case, we can process soybeans and softseeds, but we can also be able to process winter oilseed crops, things like winter canola, cover crest. And so it gives us a greater range of potential feedstocks that can then feed into our renewable fuels business, particularly the Geismar real diesel project, which will start up later this year. And it's really important that we have exposure across these value chains.

是的。所以這兩個項目。其中之一是我們與邦吉合資的油籽加工廠。這是路易斯安那州德斯特雷漢的一個計畫。因此，宣布對該地區新的油籽加工廠進行最終投資決定。該產品將採用非常靈活的設計，這一點很重要，因為它為您提供了原料靈活性，這對於任何燃料製造業務都很重要。因此，在這種情況下，我們可以加工大豆和軟籽，但我們也可以加工冬季油料作物，如冬季油菜籽、蓋頂作物。因此，它為我們提供了更廣泛的潛在原料，這些原料可以進入我們的可再生燃料業務，特別是將於今年稍後啟動的 Geismar 真實柴油項目。我們在這些價值鏈中擁有曝光非常重要。

The margins can move from the crush margin into the upgrading margin or what you consider the refining margin, into the marketing margin. And just like in our traditional business, being able to catch all margin across the value chain as it moves is important. Having flexibility, scale and reliability are important. So all of those underpin the investment decision there.

利潤可以從壓榨利潤轉移到升級利潤或您所認為的精煉利潤，再轉移到行銷利潤。就像我們的傳統業務一樣，能夠在價值鏈移動時獲得所有利潤非常重要。靈活性、規模和可靠性非常重要。因此，所有這些都支撐著那裡的投資決策。

The project in California on green hydrogen is smaller in scale. And it really uses existing solar production capacity. We've got a 5-megawatt production facility in our Lost Hills oilfield in Kern County. And we're going to produce about a metric ton per day of hydrogen for retail fuel stations. So we're using existing infrastructure. We're integrating into the value chain. We've got another venture that is building hydrogen refueling facilities in California. And so we're leveraging existing assets, existing value chains and capabilities to invest here. As I say, smaller scale, and I don't want to overplay it, but it's very consistent with our strategy. And these things have got to start small and then scale. And so we're pleased with both of these.

加州的綠氫計畫規模較小。而且它確實利用了現有的太陽能產能。我們在克恩縣的 Lost Hills 油田擁有一座 5 兆瓦的生產設施。我們將為零售加油站每天生產約一噸氫氣。所以我們正在使用現有的基礎設施。我們正在融入價值鏈。我們還有另一家企業正在加州建造加氫設施。因此，我們正在利用現有資產、現有價值鏈和能力在這裡進行投資。正如我所說，規模較小，我不想誇大其詞，但這與我們的策略非常一致。這些事情必須從小規模開始，然後規模化。所以我們對這兩者都很滿意。

There are markets, maybe to your point about economics that are, in some ways, heavily influenced by government policy, be it the renewable fuel standard and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which affect renewable fuels or some of the things in the investment or the inflation reduction act that affect hydrogen. And so it makes them a little bit different than our traditional business, which really works off market fundamentals. But we look at a lot of cases there, and we invest in projects where we believe there's confidence that over time, we can generate a good return.

也許就您對經濟學的觀點而言，有些市場在某種程度上受到政府政策的嚴重影響，無論是再生燃料標準和低碳燃料標準，這都會影響再生燃料或投資或專案中的某有些內容。因此，這使得它們與我們的傳統業務略有不同，後者確實脫離了市場基本面。但我們在那裡看了很多案例，我們投資於那些我們相信隨著時間的推移我們可以產生良好回報的項目。

We'll go next to John Royall with JPMorgan.

接下來我們將討論摩根大通的約翰‧羅亞爾 (John Royall)。

So my question is on West Coast refining. We now have one West asset producing gasoline on the West Coast, and TMX should be increasing the availability of heavy crudes once it's ramped. But it's a tough regulatory climate. And you're well positioned as one of the players that still has multiple assets in California. How are you thinking about that region today? And should we see structurally higher gasoline margins in California given we've had some capacity come out?

我的問題是關於西海岸煉油。我們現在在西海岸擁有一項生產汽油的西部資產，一旦產量增加，TMX 應該會增加重質原油的供應。但這是一個嚴格的監管環境。作為在加州仍擁有多種資產的參與者之一，您處於有利地位。您今天對該地區有何看法？鑑於我們已經釋放了一些產能，我們是否應該看到加州汽油利潤率出現結構性更高？

Well, look, we've been in California for our entire existence, 145 years. We've got an integrated value chain that allows us to serve 2 competitive refineries and advantaged logistics that take us out into a market where we've got a very strong brand and where the demand for all forms of energy continues to grow, be it power, be it transportation fuels. It's an economy that is large and demand continues to go up.

好吧，看，我們已經在加州度過了 145 年。我們擁有完整的價值鏈，使我們能夠為兩家具有競爭力的煉油廠和優勢物流提供服務，這使我們能夠進入一個市場，在這個市場中，我們擁有非常強大的品牌，並且對各種形式的能源的需求持續成長，無論是電力，無論是運輸燃料。這是一個龐大的經濟體，需求持續成長。

That said, the policy environment has been one that is geared towards reducing investment in traditional energy, encouraging investments in these lower-carbon energies. And you've seen assets go out of the system, fossil fuel-fired power plants. There's a lot of questions about the one remaining nuclear power plant in the state. And you've seen refineries close down, as you say, some permanently, some to convert to uses, including to renewable fuels. And what that does is it creates a tighter supply-demand balance, particularly as demand continues to be strong and you need to have strong operations out of that entire system or you need to bring in supplies from somewhere else if you've got planned or unplanned issues that the system is dealing with.

也就是說，政策環境旨在減少對傳統能源的投資，鼓勵對這些低碳能源的投資。您已經看到資產退出系統，即化石燃料發電廠。關於該州僅存的一座核電廠存在著許多疑問。正如您所說，您已經看到煉油廠關閉，有些是永久性的，有些是為了轉換用途，包括再生燃料。這樣做的作用是創造了更嚴格的供需平衡，特別是當需求持續強勁並且您需要在整個系統中進行強有力的運營，或者如果您有計劃或計劃的話，您需要從其他地方引入供應。正在處理的計劃外問題。

And so on an average, what does that mean? It means margins are probably under more pressure. It means reliable operations are very important. And it's a place where we've operated for a long time and expect to continue to do so. But putting new investment into the state is a different question. And I think we've been pretty clear that we've got a global portfolio and we'll invest where we see the best conditions, and I wouldn't describe California that way today.

那麼平均而言，這意味著什麼？這意味著利潤率可能面臨更大壓力。這意味著可靠的操作非常重要。我們已經在這個地方運作了很長時間，並希望繼續這樣做。但向國家投入新的投資則是另一個問題。我認為我們已經非常明確地表示，我們擁有全球投資組合，我們將在條件最好的地方進行投資，今天我不會這樣描述加州。

We'll go next to Alastair Syme with Citi.

接下來我們將與花旗銀行一起前往阿拉斯泰爾·賽姆 (Alastair Syme)。

Mike, can you help me understand a bit the sequencing of the base case on the Hess timetable? I've read all the documents, but just to get your sort of view. We've got a shareholder vote in May and we got limbo pending regulatory issues, but obviously, importantly, the arbitration. But maybe just talk about the arbitration timetable.

麥克，你能幫我理解一下赫斯時間表上基本情況的順序嗎？我已經閱讀了所有文件，但只是為了了解您的觀點。我們在五月進行了股東投票，監管問題懸而未決，但顯然，重要的是仲裁。但也許只是談談仲裁時間表。

Yes. So there are, I think, really 3 things, if you're looking at sequencing and timing here. One is the shareholder vote. And as I said, the proxy will be mailed out in April, and the shareholder vote will occur in May. You've got regulatory approval through the FTC, and we're making good progress on that. We're working closely with the FTC in respect to their role in the process and expect us to be substantially complete with that here by midyear.

是的。所以，我認為，如果你考慮這裡的順序和時間安排，實際上有三件事。一是股東投票。正如我所說，委託書將於四月寄出，股東投票將於五月進行。您已獲得聯邦貿易委員會 (FTC) 的監管批准，我們正在這方面取得良好進展。我們正在與聯邦貿易委員會密切合作，了解他們在過程中的作用，並希望我們能夠在年中之前基本上完成這項工作。

And then we have the arbitration, which is, I think, a little bit less well defined at this point. The specific scheduling and time line will be established by the arbitration tribunal. In our S-4, we indicated that Hess has asked the tribunal to hear the merits of the cases in the third quarter with an outcome in the fourth quarter, which would allow us to close the transaction shortly thereafter. We see no legitimate reason to delay that time line. It's consistent with what Exxon has outlined is what they would expect. But I can't say that's exactly how it unfolds because we haven't seen specific scheduling from the tribunal yet.

然後我們進行仲裁，我認為目前仲裁的定義有點不太明確。具體時間安排和時間由仲裁庭決定。在我們的 S-4 中，我們表示 Hess 已要求仲裁庭在第三季度審理案件的是非曲直，並在第四季度得出結果，這將使我們能夠在不久之後完成交易。我們認為沒有合理的理由推遲這項時間表。這與埃克森美孚概述的他們的預期一致。但我不能說事情確實是這樣展開的，因為我們還沒有看到法庭的具體安排。

We'll take our last question from Neal Dingmann with Truist.

我們將回答 Neal Dingmann 和 Truist 提出的最後一個問題。

My question is on broad capital spend question specifically. Could you just maybe speak to -- do you have sort of broad strokes what percent of total spend would be directed towards the New Energies and maybe the Chevron technology ventures? And I'm just wondering how you think about margins, even though it's still early for some, how the margins of these compare to your higher-return traditional margin business.

我的問題是關於廣泛的資本支出問題。您能否談談—您是否有大致的了解，總支出的百分比將用於新能源公司，也許還包括雪佛龍技術企業？我只是想知道您如何看待利潤率，儘管對某些人來說還為時過早，這些利潤率與您的高回報傳統利潤率業務相比如何。

Yes. So there's a couple of kind of broad framing points, I think, to bear in mind as you think about that. Number one is we've guided to a long-term capital spend at around $16 billion. This year, we've got $15.5 billion to $16.5 billion as a range. And we intend to be very disciplined with our capital investment and only invest in the most attractive opportunities.

是的。因此，我認為，當你思考這個問題時，你需要牢記一些廣泛的框架點。第一是我們指導長期資本支出約 160 億美元。今年，我們的預算範圍為 155 億至 165 億美元。我們打算嚴格控制我們的資本投資，只投資最具吸引力的機會。

We've also indicated that over a period of time, beginning in 2022 through 2028, I think it was when we announced our -- we had our energy transition spotlight, that we expected to spend about $10 billion in our New Energies business over that period of time, $8 billion in kind of the newer -- emerging business lines of carbon capture and storage, renewable fuels and hydrogen and then another couple of billion in decarbonizing our own operations and businesses.

我們也表示，在一段時間內，從 2022 年到 2028 年，我認為是在我們宣布能源轉型重點的時候，我們預計將在新能源業務上花費約 100 億美元在一段時間內，我們將投入80億美元用於碳捕獲和儲存、再生燃料和氫等新興業務領域，然後再投入數十億美元用於我們自己的營運和業務脫碳。

It's not completely ratable. And that is a guide that we may or may not achieve. We may be a little below that, we may be a little above that, depending upon how these opportunities mature in new businesses. And to the earlier question, we need to be sure we've got confidence when we're putting capital, particularly large capital, some of the smaller things to help accelerate technology, learning, et cetera, like our venture investments, which tend to be a few millions of dollars in any particular company.

它不完全可評級。這是我們可能實現也可能無法實現的指南。我們可能會低於這個水平，也可能會高於這個水平，這取決於這些機會在新業務中的成熟程度。對於前面的問題，我們需要確保我們在投入資本時有信心，特別是大筆資本，一些有助於加速技術、學習等的小事情，比如我們的風險投資，這些投資往往會在任何特定公司中可以是數百萬美元。

We recognize the risk-return equation there. But larger investments, we've got to have a belief that this is a business that's going to deliver a return over time, and we're on the path to building a portfolio of businesses that will do that. And so that $10 billion is a guide, but we'll invest in things that make sense, and we'll explain the numbers if they end up a little bit different than that.

我們認識到那裡的風險回報方程式。但對於更大的投資，我們必須相信這是一項能夠隨著時間的推移帶來回報的業務，而且我們正在建立能夠實現這一目標的業務組合。因此，100 億美元只是一個指導，但我們將投資有意義的事情，如果最終結果與此略有不同，我們將解釋這些數字。

And so what that can tell you is the majority of our spend is still going into our traditional business because the majority of the world's energy is still provided by our traditional business, and we've got an obligation to meet that demand as long as it's there. But we're going to be very disciplined in what we invest in and only invest in the highest-return opportunities. And so each year, we issue specific guidance that we can -- you can look at. But longer term, I think you have to stay within those broad parameters and expect us to remain disciplined.

因此，這可以告訴您的是，我們的大部分支出仍然投入到我們的傳統業務中，因為世界上大部分能源仍然由我們的傳統業務提供，只要它是，我們就有義務滿足這一需求。那裡。但我們將嚴格控制投資內容，只投資報酬率最高的機會。因此，我們每年都會發布具體的指導意見，您可以查看。但從長遠來看，我認為你必須保持在這些廣泛的範圍內，並期望我們保持紀律。

We would like to thank everyone for your time today. We appreciate your interest in Chevron and your participation on today's call. Please stay safe and healthy.

我們要感謝大家今天抽出寶貴的時間。我們感謝您對雪佛龍的關注並參與今天的電話會議。請保持安全和健康。

Katie, back to you.

凱蒂，回到你身邊。

Thank you. This concludes Chevron's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。雪佛龍 2024 年第一季財報電話會議至此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。