雪佛龍 (CVX) 2026 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Katie, and I will be your conference facilitator today. Welcome to Chevron's third-quarter 2026 earnings conference call.

早安。我叫 Katie，今天將擔任本次會議的主持人。歡迎參加雪佛龍 2026 年第三季財報電話會議。

(Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

（接線員指示）提醒各位，本次電話會議正在錄音。

I will now turn the conference call over to the Head of Investor Relations of Chevron Corporation, Jeanine Wai. Please go ahead.

現在我將把電話會議交給雪佛龍公司投資人關係主管 Jeanine Wai。請開始。

Thank you, Katie. Welcome to Chevron's third-quarter 2026 earnings conference call and webcast. I'm Jeanine Wai, Head of Investor Relations. Our Chairman and CEO, Mike Wirth; Vice Chairman, Mark Nelson; and CFO, Eimear Bonner, are all on the call with me today.

謝謝你，Katie。歡迎參加雪佛龍 2026 年第三季財報電話會議與網路直播。我是投資人關係主管 Jeanine Wai。我們的董事長兼執行長 Mike Wirth、副董事長 Mark Nelson，以及財務長 Eimear Bonner 今天都與我一同在線上。

We'll refer to the slides and prepared remarks that are available on Chevron's website.

我們將參考雪佛龍網站上提供的簡報投影片與事先準備的講稿。

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

在開始之前，提醒各位，本簡報包含估計、預測及其他前瞻性陳述。非 GAAP 指標的調節表可在本簡報附錄中找到。請查閱第 2 頁投影片所載之警示聲明與其他補充資訊。

I'll now turn it over to Mike.

現在我把時間交給 Mike。

Thanks, Jeanine. Chevron delivered another quarter of outstanding operational performance and disciplined execution, reliably supplying the energy the world needs.

謝謝，Jeanine。雪佛龍本季再次展現卓越的營運表現與紀律執行，可靠地供應世界所需的能源。

In the US, upstream production was more than 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day for the fifth consecutive quarter. We achieved record crude throughput in our refining system, helping meet demand in supply-constrained markets.

在美國，上游產量連續第五季超過每日 200 萬桶油當量。我們在煉油系統創下原油處理量新高，有助於在供應受限的市場中滿足需求。

We also continued investing to develop future energy supply. We announced a discovery in Angola within the tieback range of Chevron-operated facilities, providing an opportunity for short-cycle, capital-efficient development.

我們也持續投資以開發未來的能源供應。我們宣布在安哥拉、位於雪佛龍營運設施可回接（tieback）範圍內的發現，為短週期、資本效率高的開發提供機會。

Our joint venture with Bunge completed commissioning of a Louisiana oilseed processing plant on schedule, providing additional feedstock for Chevron's leading US biofuels business. We expanded our acreage and established new fiscal terms in Venezuela, and we recently announced an expected 50% reduction in Bakken midstream tariffs that expands economic inventory and competitiveness.

我們與邦吉（Bunge）的合資企業按期完成路易斯安那州油籽加工廠的試車投產，為雪佛龍領先的美國生質燃料業務提供更多原料。我們擴大了在委內瑞拉的租地面積並建立新的財政條款；此外，我們近期宣布巴肯（Bakken）中游運輸費率預計下調 50%，可擴大具經濟性的可開發庫存並提升競爭力。

Chevron is well positioned to deliver more energy today and well into the future. Venezuela will be part of that story, where we have deep on-the-ground expertise built over our 100-year history there. With new fiscal terms, Venezuela is now more competitive within our portfolio and immediately accretive and free cash flow positive.

雪佛龍具備良好條件，能在今天以及未來很長一段時間提供更多能源。委內瑞拉將是其中的一部分；我們在當地深耕逾 100 年，累積了深厚的在地專業能力。在新的財政條款下，委內瑞拉在我們的投資組合中更具競爭力，並且立即增厚（accretive）且自由現金流為正。

Last month, we announced plans to double production for our three joint ventures to roughly 600,000 barrels of oil per day, all on primary recovery by 2031. This development program will be self-funding and could extend further into the 2030s, underpinned by billions of barrels of resource.

上個月，我們宣布計畫在 2031 年前，將三個合資企業的產量加倍至約每日 60 萬桶原油，且全部採一次採收（primary recovery）。此開發計畫將可自給自足（self-funding），並可能延伸至 2030 年代後期，背後支撐為數十億桶的資源量。

Total costs are expected to be under $20 per barrel with competitive investment returns and no major upgrades are needed as infrastructure has been well maintained. Chevron markets won 100% of the crude from the three ventures, with the majority going to US refineries, including Pascagoula and El Segundo, adding to domestic product supply.

預期總成本將低於每桶 20 美元，投資報酬具競爭力，且由於基礎設施維護良好，不需要重大升級。雪佛龍行銷部門取得三個合資案 100% 的原油銷售權，其中大部分將供應美國煉油廠，包括 Pascagoula 與 El Segundo，增加國內成品油供給。

We will look to capture additional value as we optimize product flows across our system. And we're on track to reach around 300,000 barrels of oil per day of gross production by year-end, up 20% over the last 12 months.

我們將透過在整個系統中最佳化產品流向，來擷取更多價值。我們也正按計畫在年底前達到約每日 30 萬桶的總產量（gross production），較過去 12 個月提升 20%。

Now I'll turn it over to Mark to discuss our operational achievements.

現在我把時間交給 Mark，請他說明我們的營運成果。

Thanks, Mike. Our strong operational performance is driven by a relentless focus on safe execution, reliability, cost, and technology.

謝謝，Mike。我們強勁的營運表現來自於對安全執行、可靠度、成本與技術的持續專注。

At around 4 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, improvements in our base business create meaningful value. In shale and tight, we achieved first quartile reliability in the DJ Basin during the third quarter by applying AI to anticipate and minimize downtime and scaling learnings from the Permian, reducing lost production events by 50%. And advanced chemicals continued to deliver strong results in the Permian, increasing cumulative oil equivalent production by up to 23% in the first 12 months.

在每日約 400 萬桶油當量的規模下，我們基礎業務的改善能創造顯著價值。在頁岩與緻密油氣方面，我們於第三季在 DJ 盆地透過運用 AI 預測並降低停機時間，並將二疊紀盆地（Permian）的經驗擴大導入，使停產事件減少 50%，達成第一四分位（first quartile）的可靠度表現。此外，先進化學品在二疊紀盆地持續交出亮眼成果，使前 12 個月的累計油當量產量最高提升 23%。

We also delivered strong performance in other parts of upstream, including record quarterly production in the Eastern Mediterranean as the Tamar Optimization Project and Leviathan Third Gathering Line ramped quickly. And reliability in Australia continues to be strong, where predictive maintenance, centralized data-driven decision-making, and AI help to maximize LNG supply into a tight market.

我們在上游其他區域也交出強勁表現，包括東地中海創下單季產量新高，因 Tamar 最佳化專案與 Leviathan 第三條集輸管線快速爬坡。澳洲的可靠度也持續維持強勁；在那裡，預測性維護、集中式資料驅動決策與 AI 有助於在供應吃緊的市場中最大化 LNG 供應。

In downstream, efficient turnarounds and the flexibility to respond to market conditions are essential to meet customer needs. More than 80% of Chevron's US refinery turnarounds over the last two years were completed with first quartile duration. We have peer-leading complexity, and we're deploying the proprietary catalyst, increasing distillate yields by more than 10% at our largest US refineries.

在下游方面，高效率的大修（turnaround）以及因應市場狀況的彈性，對於滿足客戶需求至關重要。過去兩年，雪佛龍在美國煉油廠的大修中，超過 80% 以第一四分位的工期完成。我們擁有同業領先的複雜度，並部署自有專利觸媒，使我們最大型的美國煉油廠中間餾分（distillate）收率提高超過 10%。

We're also adding supply by increasing capacity at existing production facilities and refineries through highly capital-efficient expansion. In upstream, debottlenecking projects have recently added capacity of more than 85,000 barrels of oil per day. We announced a 20% capacity increase in TCO's Third Generation Plant, taking total processing capacity to slightly over 1 million barrels of oil per day.

我們也透過以高度資本效率的擴建方式，在既有生產設施與煉油廠提升產能以增加供給。在上游方面，近期的去瓶頸專案已新增超過每日 85,000 桶原油產能。我們宣布 TCO 第三代工廠產能提升 20%，使總處理能力提高至略高於每日 100 萬桶原油。

At Ballymore, a 7% increase in capacity contributed to record deepwater production in the Gulf of America.

在 Ballymore，產能提升 7% 促成墨西哥灣（Gulf of America）深水產量創下新高。

And at Anchor, facility capacity has increased 33% or 25,000 barrels of oil per day, which should benefit new wells coming online over the next year. We've done the same thing in refining, contributing to record quarterly US crude throughput at a time when the market needs it.

在 Anchor，設施產能提高 33%，亦即每日增加 25,000 桶，預期將有利於未來一年內陸續投產的新井。我們在煉油端也採取相同作法，使美國單季原油處理量創下新高，正值市場需要之際。

At Pasadena, we accelerated debottlenecking to increase refinery capacity by approximately 15% at nominal cost. We'll continue to pursue additional low-cost debottlenecking projects where practical, including at Pascagoula, where we expect to increase refining capacity by another 7% by 2030.

在 Pasadena，我們加速去瓶頸作業，以名目成本（nominal cost）將煉油廠產能提高約 15%。我們將在可行之處持續推動更多低成本去瓶頸專案，包括在 Pascagoula；我們預期到 2030 年可再將煉油產能提高 7%。

In exploration, our new operating model centralizes expertise, applies one global standard to rank and select opportunities, and drives faster decisions. Together with new technology and leadership, this is reshaping our portfolio and changing outcomes. We've added 22 million acres over the last two years, doubling our footprint. This includes 12 new basins with a focus on both sides of the South Atlantic margin and the Eastern Mediterranean.

在勘探方面，我們新的營運模式將專業能力集中化，採用單一全球標準來排序並選擇機會，並推動更快速的決策。結合新技術與領導團隊，這正在重塑我們的投資組合並改變成果。過去兩年我們新增 2,200 萬英畝，使我們的版圖加倍。其中包括 12 個新盆地，重點聚焦南大西洋邊緣兩側以及東地中海。

AI is changing what we see subsurface and how quickly we see it. One of our proprietary AI solutions, ApEX, draws on 4 petabytes of data and 100 years of company knowledge now pulling together basin information in hours, not months.

AI 正在改變我們對地下地層的觀測內容，以及我們看到它的速度。我們其中一項自有 AI 解決方案 ApEX，運用 4PB 的資料與公司 100 年的知識，如今可在數小時內整合盆地資訊，而非以月計。

Scout AI, now deployed in 10 new basins, builds basin assessments in hours, not weeks. And our latest technologies, combined with AI-assisted interpretation, provide sharper subsurface imaging to identify and high-grade new prospects with greater conviction.

Scout AI 目前已部署於 10 個新盆地，可在數小時內完成盆地評估，而非以週計。而我們最新的技術結合 AI 輔助解釋，提供更清晰的地下成像，以更高把握度辨識並篩選（high-grade）新的勘探目標。

AI pattern recognition has identified more than 150 leads in our Gulf of America portfolio alone, with 16 prospects moving into evaluation. All of this is leading to better outcomes. We've made 15 infrastructure-led discoveries in two years at a success rate of 40%, above the industry average.

僅在我們的墨西哥灣（Gulf of America）投資組合中，AI 模式辨識就已找出超過 150 個線索（leads），其中 16 個目標已進入評估階段。所有這些都帶來更好的成果。過去兩年我們以 40% 的成功率完成 15 項以基礎設施帶動的發現，高於產業平均。

Real-time optimization using AI continuously monitors drilling conditions, recommends actions to reduce non-productive time, and maximizes performance. With 30 net new prospects identified, we're increasing exploration spend by 50% relative to 2025 and are focused on executing with capital and cost discipline.

運用 AI 進行即時最佳化會持續監測鑽井條件，建議可降低非生產時間的行動，並將績效最大化。在辨識出 30 個淨新增潛在標的後，我們相較於 2025 年將勘探支出提高 50%，並專注於以資本與成本紀律來落實執行。

I'll now turn it over to Eimear to discuss the financial results.

我現在把時間交給 Eimear，請她說明財務結果。

Thanks, Mark. For the third quarter, Chevron reported earnings of $9.9 billion or $5.06 per share. Adjusted earnings were $10.4 billion or $5.28 per share. Cash flow from operations excluding working capital was $16.6 billion.

謝謝，Mark。第三季，雪佛龍公布盈餘為 99 億美元，或每股 5.06 美元。調整後盈餘為 104 億美元，或每股 5.28 美元。扣除營運資金後的營運現金流為 166 億美元。

Organic CapEx was $3.9 billion in the quarter. In line with historical trends, we expect fourth-quarter CapEx to increase while still finishing the year at the low end of our annual CapEx guidance.

本季有機資本支出（CapEx）為 39 億美元。依循歷史趨勢，我們預期第四季資本支出將增加，但全年仍將落在我們年度資本支出指引區間的低端。

Chevron's net debt coverage ratio improved in the quarter as a result of the strong cash generation.

受惠於強勁的現金創造能力，雪佛龍本季的淨負債覆蓋比率有所改善。

Adjusted third quarter earnings were $1.6 billion lower versus last quarter. Adjusted upstream earnings decreased due to lower realizations, lower liftings, and unfavorable timing effects were partly offset by lower DD&A and tax effects. Adjusted downstream earnings increased primarily due to higher refining margins and volumes, more than offsetting unfavorable timing effects.

第三季調整後盈餘較上季減少 16 億美元。調整後上游盈餘因實現價格較低、提運量較低，以及不利的時點效應而下降，部分被較低的折舊、耗竭與攤銷（DD&A）及稅務影響所抵銷。調整後下游盈餘主要因煉油利差與銷量提高而增加，且足以抵銷不利的時點效應。

Chevron generated $16.6 billion of cash flow from operations excluding working capital and $14.2 billion of adjusted free cash flow in the quarter.

本季雪佛龍扣除營運資金後的營運現金流為 166 億美元，調整後自由現金流為 142 億美元。

We reduced debt by more than $3 billion and grew cash by more than $4 billion, further strengthening our balance sheet, enhancing our ability to fund the long-term investments needed to reliably deliver energy long into the future.

我們將負債降低超過 30 億美元，並將現金增加超過 40 億美元，進一步強化資產負債表，提升我們為長期投資提供資金的能力，以在未來很長一段時間內可靠地供應能源。

Net debt to CFFO at the end of the quarter was 0.4 times. Working capital was negatively impacted by sharp commodity price increases late in the quarter. Looking forward, consistent with historical trends, we anticipate additional timing effects when prices are rising and unwinds when prices are falling.

季末淨負債對 CFFO 的比率為 0.4 倍。本季末大宗商品價格大幅上漲，對營運資金造成負面影響。展望未來，與歷史趨勢一致，我們預期在價格上漲時會出現額外的時點效應，而在價格下跌時則會回轉。

Third quarter production was nearly 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day despite anticipated entitlement impacts and planned turnarounds, highlighting sustained operating performance across the portfolio. This includes one month of production from our Venezuela joint ventures following the change to equity accounting.

第三季產量接近每日 400 萬桶油當量，儘管受到預期的權益影響與計畫性歲修影響，仍凸顯整體投資組合的持續營運表現。其中包含在改採權益法會計處理後，我們委內瑞拉合資企業一個月的產量。

We delivered a new quarterly natural gas production record, producing more than 9 billion cubic feet per day, led by strong performance in Australia and the Eastern Mediterranean.

我們創下新的季度天然氣產量紀錄，日產量超過 90 億立方英尺，主要由澳洲與東地中海的強勁表現帶動。

In addition, other core assets achieved new performance levels. In the US Gulf of America, they set a new quarterly deepwater production record. The Permian recorded six consecutive quarters above 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. And TCO has been operating near full rates over the last several months.

此外，其他核心資產也達到新的績效水準。在美國美洲灣（Gulf of America），創下新的季度深水產量紀錄。二疊紀（Permian）連續六個季度維持在每日 100 萬桶油當量以上。而 TCO 在過去幾個月幾乎以滿載產能運轉。

In closing, Chevron delivered another quarter of strong performance and yet we're never satisfied. Execution is excellent across the base business and projects and we're relentlessly pursuing opportunities to safely improve further. Technology is an important part of that. Our proprietary capabilities are helping increase reservoir recoveries and get more from every barrel we process.

最後，雪佛龍再度交出一季強勁表現，但我們永不自滿。在基礎業務與各項專案上，執行表現都非常出色，我們也持續不懈地尋找機會，在確保安全的前提下進一步改善。科技是其中的重要一環。我們的專有能力正協助提高油藏採收率，並從我們處理的每一桶油中取得更多價值。

2026 is also proving to be an inflection year for AI with more than $100 million in value capture to date with much more building quickly. At the same time, the strength of our partnerships is creating opportunities for the next decade. We see that in Venezuela, in our efforts to expand our concession in Kazakhstan, and as we pursue growth opportunities in Iraq.

2026 年也正成為 AI 的轉折年，迄今已實現超過 1 億美元的價值擷取，且還有更多價值正在快速累積。同時，我們夥伴關係的強度正在為未來十年創造機會。我們在委內瑞拉、在擴大哈薩克斯坦特許權的努力，以及在伊拉克追求成長機會的過程中，都看到了這一點。

Underpinning all of this is an unwavering commitment to consistent financial priorities and capital and cost discipline. We're delivering strong performance today while stacking competitive growth options to reliably deliver the energy the world demands for decades to come.

支撐這一切的是對一致的財務優先事項，以及資本與成本紀律的堅定承諾。我們在今天交付強勁表現，同時堆疊具競爭力的成長選項，以在未來數十年可靠地提供世界所需的能源。

And I hand it back to Jeanine.

我把時間交還給 Jeanine。

Okay. Thank you, Eimear. That concludes our prepared remarks. Additional guidance can be found in the appendix of this presentation, as well as on the slides and other information posted on chevron.com.

好的。謝謝你，Eimear。以上是我們事先準備的發言。更多指引可在本簡報的附錄中找到，也可參考投影片以及張貼於 chevron.com 的其他資訊。

We're now ready to take questions. We ask that you please limit yourself to one question, and we'll do our best to get all of your questions answered. Katie, please open the lines.

我們現在準備開始提問。請各位每次僅提一個問題，我們會盡力回答大家所有的問題。Katie，請開放線路。

(Operator Instructions) Arun Jayaram, JPMorgan.

（接線員指示）Arun Jayaram，摩根大通。

Yeah. Good morning. Appreciate the color on your opportunity set in Venezuela as an early mover advantage. I was wondering if you could maybe touch a little bit on the cost structure. I know that when you put that out in September, it was probably $10 a barrel lower than we're thinking.

是的，早安。感謝你們就委內瑞拉的機會組合提供的補充說明，作為先行者優勢。我想請教你們是否能稍微談一下成本結構。我知道你們在 9 月公布時，可能比我們目前的想法低了約每桶 10 美元。

And maybe you could also elaborate on how you're managing some of the above-ground risks as we think about restarting activity in Venezuela.

另外，當我們思考在委內瑞拉重啟活動時，你們也能否進一步說明如何管理一些地面（above-ground）風險？

Yeah. So let me comment on the risk question, and then maybe I'll ask Eimear to make some comments on the cost structure.

好的。我先回應風險的問題，接著我可能請 Eimear 就成本結構補充一些看法。

Arun, we manage risk around the world as part of our everyday business. One of the ways we do that is by having strong terms and that gives us the ability to generate strong financial returns. And certainly we've seen the terms on offer in Venezuela become much more competitive.

Arun，我們在全球各地都把風險管理視為日常業務的一部分。我們採取的方法之一是確保條款有利，這讓我們能夠創造強勁的財務報酬。而且我們確實看到委內瑞拉所提供的條款已變得更具競爭力。

We also have provisions in this contract relative to stability clauses, international arbitration, et cetera, which are as good as we see anywhere in the world.

我們在這份合約中也納入與穩定條款、國際仲裁等相關的規定，其完善程度不亞於我們在全球任何地方所見。

Now, one of the most important ways to address risk is not by relying on contracts, but it is by doing what you say you're going to do. That means you contribute to the economy, you meet your obligations, you treat people right, and you're a positive force in society and in the country.

現在，因應風險最重要的方法之一不是依賴合約，而是做到你所承諾要做的事。這意味著你要對經濟做出貢獻、履行義務、善待人民，並在社會與國家中成為正向力量。

And in our 100-year history in Venezuela, I'm very proud of the way our company has contributed through jobs, investments in communities, generating a lot of tax revenue, bringing our values and focus on safety and reliability. So to me, the best way to manage those risks is to have support of the people in the country and that leads to an environment where you can resolve any differences that may emerge.

在我們於委內瑞拉 100 年的歷史中，我對公司透過就業、社區投資、創造大量稅收，以及帶入我們的價值觀並聚焦安全與可靠性所做出的貢獻感到非常自豪。因此對我而言，管理這些風險的最佳方式，是獲得當地人民的支持，進而形成一個能夠解決任何可能出現分歧的環境。

The last thing that I'll say, maybe two last things that are different today than they have been historically is: number one, we are lifting all of the oil.

最後我想說，也許有兩點與過去歷史相比，今天有所不同：第一，我們提運所有的原油。

And so it's not going -- it's not being marketed by PDVSA, it's being marketed by us. We then control the flow of the revenue back into the country and the disbursement of taxes and royalties that are legally obligated, the payment of costs, et cetera.

因此不會——不會由 PDVSA 來行銷，而是由我們來行銷。接著我們掌控收入回流國內的資金流向，以及依法應支付的稅金與權利金的撥付、成本的支付等等。

The second thing is we're recovering the last bit of debt that has accrued through loans that were made long ago. And as we go forward, this will all be self-funding. And so the capital will be generated through the revenues in the venture and we won't be exposing additional capital investments.

第二點是，我們正在收回很久以前所提供貸款累積下來的最後一部分債務。而往後，這一切都將自給自足。也就是說，資本將由合資事業的收入所產生，我們不會再投入額外的資本投資、承擔曝險。

So it will be recovered quickly. It's a factory-type drilling program that has analogs to other things we do elsewhere in the world and we can manage the pace of activity up or down as market conditions call for it. So it's a very different set of dynamics than we've historically had in Venezuela.

因此回收會很快。這是一個工廠式的鑽井計畫，與我們在世界其他地方所做的事情有相似之處，我們也可以依市場狀況需要，將活動節奏上調或下調。所以這與我們過去在委內瑞拉所面對的動態非常不同。

We're also very pleased with the cost structure and I'll let Eimear talk a little bit about the $20 number we put out there today.

我們也對成本結構非常滿意，我會請 Eimear 談一下我們今天提出的每桶 20 美元這個數字。

Yeah. Thanks, Mike. The cost structure is really competitive. So total cost less than $20 a barrel. So think of that as CapEx and OpEx. And as Mike said, this is a factory-like operation, so we'll continue to learn, continue to become more efficient over time. So this is low cost, this is a high return, very competitive within our portfolio.

好的。謝謝你，Mike。成本結構確實很有競爭力。因此總成本低於每桶 20 美元。你可以把它理解為資本支出（CapEx）和營運支出（OpEx）。正如 Mike 所說，這是一種工廠式的營運，因此我們會持續學習、持續提升效率，隨著時間推移變得更有效率。所以這是低成本、高回報，在我們的投資組合中非常具競爭力。

Another thing I would mention is we're not anticipating that we'll need any major additional infrastructure spend as we double production between 300,000 barrels and 600,000 barrels through the end of the decade. So we have the infrastructure we need. And as we build out and as we grow, it will be more small capital versus anything major. Those are the key things. Thanks.

另外我想提到的是，我們不預期在本十年末之前，將產量在 30 萬桶與 60 萬桶之間翻倍的過程中，還需要任何重大的額外基礎設施支出。因此我們已具備所需的基礎設施。隨著我們擴建與成長，將會是較小規模的資本投入，而不是任何重大投資。以上是關鍵重點。謝謝。

Devin McDermott, Morgan Stanley.

Devin McDermott，摩根士丹利。

Hey. Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. So I wanted to check in --

嗨，早安。謝謝讓我提問。我想先確認一下——

Good morning. Devin.

早安。Devin。

Hey. Good morning, Mike.I wanted to check in on the TCO concession extension progress. There have been some media reports recently making statements around some of the government asks, includes things like one-time payments or working interest adjustments.

嗨，早安，Mike。我想了解一下 TCO 特許權展延的進展。最近有一些媒體報導提到政府方面的一些要求，包括一次性付款或工作權益（working interest）調整之類的內容。

And I understand you might not be able to talk specifics or comment on that media speculation, but I was hoping you could talk at a higher level on progress, and then you can share how the dialogue has been going, any thoughts on timelines. And then, I guess the key question is, based on your learnings in the process so far, what is an ideal win-win outcome look like in your view?

我理解你可能無法談具體內容或評論這些媒體揣測，但我希望你能從較高層次談談進展，並分享對話進行得如何、以及對時程的任何看法。另外，我想關鍵問題是：根據你目前在流程中的學習，你認為理想的雙贏結果應該長什麼樣子？

Yeah. Thanks, Devin. You're right. I'm not going to comment on media reports or specifics, but I can talk about the process. We continue to make good progress, and I continue to be very encouraged.

好的。謝謝你，Devin。你說得對。我不會評論媒體報導或具體細節，但我可以談談流程。我們持續取得良好進展，我也一直感到非常受鼓舞。

The discussions began a little bit over a year ago. We've had technical, commercial, and legal teams meeting on a regular cycle. I've been in contact with the President multiple times during this period of time to be sure that we stay aligned.

相關討論在一年多前開始。我們的技術、商務與法務團隊一直以固定週期定期會面。在這段期間我也多次與總統聯繫，以確保我們保持一致。

All the TCO partners have been at the table and have been actively participating. All the relevant government officials have been in all these meetings and has ensured good alignment.

所有 TCO 合作夥伴都在談判桌上並積極參與。所有相關政府官員也都出席這些會議，並確保良好的一致性。

The list of issues has narrowed really to what I'd call the fundamental core issues and we're focused on working those. I think they're very reasonable issues to be on the table. They're the things you would expect here 35 or so years after the initial deal was put together and we're working our way through those.

議題清單已收斂到我所稱的根本核心議題，我們正專注於處理這些問題。我認為把這些議題放到桌面上是非常合理的。畢竟距離最初協議達成已約 35 年左右，這些都是你在此時點會預期出現的事項，而我們正逐一推進。

So this is a large, complex contract and obviously a very important asset to the republic, I don't see any red flags and so we continue to be pleased. I'll give you more meaningful updates as we have milestones to report.

這是一份大型且複雜的合約，顯然也是對該共和國非常重要的資產；我沒有看到任何警訊，因此我們持續感到滿意。當我們有里程碑可報告時，我會提供更有意義的更新。

In terms of what good looks like, we need to have something that is, in today's world, I think competitive for the republic. And they want to see their large resource assets stewarded responsibly, which is something we're very proud to have done for our years there and the work on the technical side of this is to have a development plan that we're very aligned around going forward as we continue to steward this massive resource position for decades into the future.

至於什麼才算好的結果，我們需要一個在當今世界中、我認為對該共和國具競爭力的方案。他們希望其龐大的資源資產能被負責任地管理；這也是我們多年來在當地所做工作引以為傲之處。而在技術層面，目標是制定一個未來發展計畫，讓我們能高度一致，並在未來數十年持續妥善管理這個龐大的資源部位。

For the partners, we need something that's a competitive value proposition and that means that for the capital we've already invested and the capital we would invest going forward that we can get a competitive return.

對合作夥伴而言，我們需要一個具競爭力的價值主張；也就是說，對於我們已投入的資本以及未來將投入的資本，我們必須能取得具競爭力的回報。

Everybody, every one of the partners has alternatives in their portfolios and this needs to be competitive as we've discussed with Venezuela and other assets. And I think each side understands what the other side is looking to accomplish and we're working together to land this in a place that all the parties feel that this is an agreement that meets their needs. So more to follow as we reach significant milestones.

每一位合作夥伴在其投資組合中都有其他選擇，因此這個案子必須具競爭力，正如我們在委內瑞拉及其他資產上所討論的。我認為雙方都理解對方想要達成的目標，我們正共同努力，讓結果落在所有當事方都覺得能滿足其需求的協議位置。隨著我們達成重要里程碑，後續會再更新。

Neil Mehta, Goldman Sachs.

Neil Mehta，高盛。

Hey. Good morning, Mike and team. I just want your perspective on the Bakken since the last time we connected. You did restructure some of the Hess Midstream contracts, so just trying to think about the financial impact, but maybe just stepping back big picture now that you've had some time with the Bakken, do you view that asset as core or not?

嗨，早安，Mike 和團隊。我想請教自上次交流以來，你們對 Bakken 的看法。你們確實重整了一些 Hess Midstream 的合約，所以我想了解其財務影響；但更宏觀地退一步看，在你們接手 Bakken 一段時間後，你們是否把這項資產視為核心資產？

Hey. Thanks, Neil. This is Mark. I'll give the front end of this and then we'll have Eimear comment on some of the economics. But our operational activities that we've been working on and we're going to do improvements day-to-day and this action with Hess Midstream are all about enhancing value and increasing flexibility.

嗨，謝謝你，Neil。我是 Mark。我先回答前半段，接著請 Eimear 補充一些經濟性。我們一直在推進的營運活動、日常改善，以及這次與 Hess Midstream 的行動，都是為了提升價值並增加彈性。

As Mike mentioned in his comments, the 50% reduction in tariff, quite frankly, makes the Bakken stronger. It improves upstream returns. It expands economic inventory and it maybe, most importantly, increases operational flexibility and this is what excites me the most because it will allow us to evaluate the full potential of the basin. We've already begun to put in place more optimized development plans that build on the ongoing operational improvements that we have been building in over time.

如 Mike 在評論中提到的，運輸費率（tariff）降低 50%，坦白說，讓 Bakken 更強。它提升了上游回報。它擴大了具經濟性的可開發庫存（economic inventory），而且也許最重要的是，它提高了營運彈性；這是最讓我興奮的，因為它將使我們能評估該盆地的全部潛力。我們已開始制定更優化的開發計畫，建立在我們隨時間持續導入的營運改善之上。

We'll move from three rigs to two rigs at year-end while sustaining 180,000 barrels a day of oil equivalent production, again, building on the operational improvements that we've made, and you should expect to see more long laterals with these changes. We'll go from 60% long laterals this year to over 85% in 2027, and we'll begin to lean into our advanced chemicals opportunities. So I'm encouraged by what I'm seeing today and the future potential.

我們將在年底把鑽機數從三座降至兩座，同時維持每日 18 萬桶油當量的產量，再次強調，這是建立在我們已完成的營運改善之上；而且在這些變更下，你應該會看到更多長水平段（long laterals）。我們將把長水平段占比從今年的 60% 提升到 2027 年的 85% 以上，並開始加大投入我們先進化學品（advanced chemicals）的機會。因此，我對目前看到的情況以及未來潛力感到鼓舞。

And Eimear, maybe you can help on the economics.

Eimear，也許你可以補充一下經濟性。

Yeah. Thanks, Mark. Hi, Neil. So we expect to realize several financial benefits with this in addition to simplifying the reporting structure, as you mentioned. So overall, it increases our corporate ROCE by 0.5%, deconsolidates $3.7 billion to debt, and delivers incremental recurring earnings.

好的，謝謝你，Mark。嗨，Neil。除了如你所提到的簡化申報架構之外，我們預期還能從中實現數項財務效益。整體而言，它將使我們的公司 ROCE（資本報酬率）提高 0.5%，將 37 億美元的債務去合併（deconsolidate），並帶來額外的經常性盈餘。

So it will close at the end of the fourth quarter. We're still on track and when it closes, we'll report a one-time, non-cash after-tax loss of $3 billion to $4 billion. We will treat that as a special item and it just reflects the accounting treatment on deconsolidation, not any deal economics.

該交易將在第四季末完成交割。我們仍按計畫推進；交割完成時，我們將認列一次性、非現金、稅後損失 30 億至 40 億美元。我們會將其視為特殊項目（special item），它僅反映去合併的會計處理，而非任何交易經濟性。

As we look to 2027, we'll see an immediate improvement in Bakken upstream earnings and cash flow. It will be partly offset by some cash outflows primarily related to taxes, but we're really excited about this, proud of how the operational teams are working together in our centralized shale and tight organization, of which Bakken is now a part of that. And this transaction just takes it a step further and helps us unlock more financial upside. Thanks for the question.

展望 2027 年，我們將看到 Bakken 上游盈餘與現金流的立即改善。這將部分被一些現金流出所抵銷，主要與稅務相關；但我們對此非常興奮，也為營運團隊在我們集中化的頁岩與緻密油氣組織中協同合作感到自豪，而 Bakken 現在也是其中一部分。這筆交易只是更進一步，幫助我們解鎖更多財務上行空間。謝謝你的提問。

Neal Dingmann, William Blair.

Neal Dingmann，William Blair。

Good morning. Thanks for the time. My question is on capital allocation. Mike, specifically, obviously, the balance sheet now is even what I call beyond pristine.

早安。感謝撥冗。我的問題是關於資本配置。Mike，特別是，很明顯，目前資產負債表甚至可說是我所稱的「超乎潔淨」。

When you look forward, do you tend to have numerous exploration opportunities? And I just think the opportunities both organically and externally are just broad. So given the, I guess my question is, given how much -- how low the balance sheet is now, is your thoughts about next year if you could change in the way of allocation?

展望未來，你們是否傾向於有許多勘探機會？我只是認為，無論是內生成長或外部機會，機會面都非常廣。所以在這樣的情況下，我想我的問題是，鑑於——我想說，鑑於目前資產負債表槓桿如此之低，你們對明年在配置方式上是否可能有所調整，有什麼想法？

Neal, I'll take this one. Yeah, the balance sheet has strengthened over the course of the year as a function of the outstanding operational performance that we've seen across the organization. Given the fact that the market dynamics are still very volatile, I mean, in third quarter alone, a $64 intra-quarter spread. I mean, we saw prices as low as $68, as high as $132 a barrel..

Neal，這題我來回答。是的，資產負債表在今年期間持續強化，這主要是我們在整個組織所見到的卓越營運表現所致。考量到市場動態仍然非常波動，我是說，光是第三季單季內價差就有 64 美元。我們看到價格低至每桶 68 美元，高至每桶 132 美元。

So we're not changing anything in the short-term given that volatility. I mean, our capital allocation framework and our financial priorities are longstanding and they've been in place for decades and over high prices and low price environments, they've really stood as well. So no change to capital allocation.

因此，鑑於這種波動性，我們短期內不會改變任何作法。我的意思是，我們的資本配置框架與財務優先順序是長期以來一貫如此，已經施行數十年，無論在高油價或低油價環境下，都證明相當有效。所以資本配置不會改變。

Maybe just recap the first priority within that is to grow the dividend consistently. We've done that for 39 consecutive years. We'll continue to do that. That is a commitment we have to shareholders.

也許先簡要回顧一下，其中第一個優先事項是持續穩定地提高股利。我們已連續 39 年做到這點。我們會繼續這麼做。這是我們對股東的承諾。

The second is to invest capital efficiently. We have a capital program that's underway and we are trending toward the low end of the guidance this year. We're investing in the business today and that's also enabling us to invest in the future. So no change there. In fact, we're seeing in places like the Permian that we can deliver on the goals there with less capital.

第二是有效率地投資資本。我們正在推進一項資本計畫，今年的支出趨勢正朝向指引區間的低端。我們今天投資於業務，同時也讓我們能投資於未來。所以這方面沒有改變。事實上，我們在二疊紀等地看到，我們可以用更少的資本達成那裡的目標。

The third is to maintain a strong balance sheet so that the cash generation and the coverage ratios that you saw in the materials today really show how strong that is.

第三是維持強健的資產負債表，因此你今天在資料中看到的現金創造能力與覆蓋比率，確實顯示其強度。

And the fourth is repurchase shares through the cycle and we have maintained our rate of $2.5 billion to $3 billion of buybacks and we intend to be buying back shares within that range.

第四是穿越景氣循環回購股票；我們維持每年 25 億至 30 億美元的回購速度，並打算在該區間內持續回購。

And overall, our track record of using this framework, whether it be dividend growth consistency or buybacks through the cycle, 19 of the last 23 years, it's held up very well. So we're on track with our 2020-'30 plan that we guided in the Investor Day, and we don't see any major challenges there.

整體而言，我們運用這套框架的紀錄——不論是股利成長的一致性，或是穿越循環的回購，在過去 23 年中有 19 年都持續執行——表現一直非常穩健。因此，我們正按部就班推進在投資人日所提出並給出指引的 2020-’30 計畫，我們不認為會有任何重大挑戰。

Neal, welcome back, and we will give you some additional color on the 2027 capital program in December after we meet with our Board.

Neal，歡迎回來；我們在 12 月與董事會會面後，會就 2027 年資本計畫提供更多補充說明。

John Royall, Piper Sandler.

John Royall，Piper Sandler。

Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. I wanted to see if I could dig in a little on the comment Mark made about increasing distillate yields at the refineries. If you could just provide a little detail around what you've been doing with your catalyst to boost your output on the diesel side.

早安。感謝讓我提問。我想更深入了解一下 Mark 提到的、在煉油廠提高中間餾分收率的評論。你能否提供一些細節，說明你們如何透過催化劑的調整來提升柴油端的產出？

And maybe just if you could talk more broadly about any other initiatives you're looking at in refining and just other levers that maybe you could pull that are similar to this lever with the catalyst and distillate yields.

另外，也想請你更廣泛談談，在煉油方面你們還在看哪些其他措施，以及是否還有其他可能拉動、且類似於「催化劑與中間餾分收率」這種槓桿的手段。

Yeah. Thanks, John. Maybe stepping back, I couldn't be more proud of our manufacturing team with another record crude throughput, strong reliability, something we've been working on for a while, our top quartile duration of turnarounds. And then these capital efficiency bottlenecking actions, there's a lot of strong momentum.

好的。謝謝你，John。也許先退一步來看，我對我們製造團隊感到無比自豪：又創下原油處理量新高、可靠度表現強勁；這些都是我們努力了一段時間的成果，包括我們停工檢修（turnarounds）工期位居同業前四分位。再加上這些資本效率的瓶頸排除行動，動能非常強。

And what's interesting in the manufacturing business is that sometimes repeatability is the best equation and so we want more of that going forward. Specifically to the change that we made with our catalyst, I think you know we've got peer leading complexity and that means we've got a high proportion of hydrocracking.

而製造業務有趣之處在於，有時「可重複性」就是最好的方程式，因此我們希望未來能有更多這樣的成果。就我們在催化劑上所做的變更而言，我想你也知道，我們擁有同業領先的複雜度，這代表我們的加氫裂化（hydrocracking）占比很高。

So we were able to, after a little bit of an adjustment, deploy this proprietary catalyst into our largest refineries and it immediately, with some adjustments to cut points, allowed us to increase distillate production by 10%.

因此，在做了一點調整之後，我們得以把這款自有專有催化劑部署到我們最大的幾座煉油廠，並且立刻在配合一些切割點（cut points）的調整後，使我們的中間餾分產量提高了 10%。

For our large refineries, our third quarter distillate yield in the United States was 46% and across our global portfolio was even higher than that. In fact, Pascagoula hit a diesel production record at least over the last three or four years this quarter as well. And so, I think what we need going forward to meet customer needs is more of the same.

就我們的大型煉油廠而言，第三季我們在美國的中間餾分收率為 46%，而在全球資產組合的表現甚至更高。事實上，Pascagoula 本季也創下至少過去三到四年來的柴油產量紀錄。因此，我認為未來為了滿足客戶需求，我們需要的是更多同樣的作法。

In some cases, that might be viewed as boring. I view that as exciting. We're bringing AI into our reliability equation where we're helping to predict where risks occur using 100 years of data that's helping us continue our reliability string. We're also bringing AI into our yield equation where we're looking more quickly at how we can produce more of what customers need today.

在某些人看來，這可能有點無聊。但我覺得這很令人振奮。我們正把 AI 納入可靠度的方程式，利用 100 年的資料來協助預測風險發生的位置，這也幫助我們延續可靠度的良好表現。我們也把 AI 納入收率的方程式，讓我們能更快速地找出如何生產更多客戶當下所需要的產品。

And then, I think we mentioned this in our prepared remarks, for Pascagoula, over the next two turnaround cycles, we'll increase capacity there by another 7%. So more of the same to come and couldn't be more proud of the team. Thanks for the question, John.

另外，我想我們在事先準備的發言中也提到，Pascagoula 在接下來兩個停工檢修週期內，將再把產能提高 7%。所以未來還會有更多同樣的成果，我對團隊感到無比自豪。謝謝你的提問，John。

James West, Melius Research.

James West，Melius Research。

Hey. Good morning, everyone. So I wanted to touch on AI a little bit further. I don't know if Mark's had a couple of comments on it, but Chevron was really early in the adoption and implementation of AI, not just amongst the super majors, but the oil industry broadly, oil and gas industry broadly.

嗨，大家早安。我想再多談一點 AI。我不確定 Mark 是否已經提過幾點，但 Chevron 在 AI 的採用與落地實施上非常早，不僅在超級石油公司之中領先，在整個石油產業、廣義的油氣產業中也是如此。

So I'd love to hear how you're using this at both the enterprise level and then maybe some further context in your exploration programs.

所以我很想聽聽你們如何在企業層級運用這項技術，以及在你們的勘探計畫中，能否再提供一些背景脈絡。

Okay. I'll get us started across the enterprise. We are sitting on both sides of the AI equation. So on one side, leveraging AI to lead and drive performance, and on the other side, delivering the energy that will power AI. We've got our focus on three main things, so the business, using AI to make better decisions, operate more efficiently to helping meet that growing energy needs, and then the third area is really equipping everyone in the organization with the capabilities that they need.

好的。我先從企業層級開始。我們同時站在 AI 方程式的兩端。一方面，運用 AI 來引領並推動績效；另一方面，提供能驅動 AI 的能源。我們聚焦在三個主要面向：第一是業務面，運用 AI 做出更好的決策、以更高效率營運，以協助滿足不斷成長的能源需求；第三個面向則是讓組織中的每個人都具備他們所需要的能力。

Let me give you a couple of examples because we have captured real value this year, more than $100 million year to date and we expect obviously that to increase significantly as we scale.

我舉幾個例子，因為我們今年已經取得實質價值：年初至今超過 1 億美元，而且隨著規模化推進，我們預期這個數字顯然會大幅增加。

Maybe shale and tight is the one that mentioned before I hand over to Mark to cover exploration, but we're using an AI production engineering, an agentic assistant to help us optimize production on an ongoing basis as we've got this deployed in the Permian, in the Bakken, and in our PZ assets. So this is something that we have built in-house that is 24/7 optimizing the production from our wells.

也許頁岩與緻密油（shale and tight）是我在交給 Mark 談勘探之前先提的一個例子：我們正在使用 AI 生產工程的一個代理式助理（agentic assistant），協助我們持續優化產量；我們已在二疊紀、巴肯，以及我們的 PZ 資產中部署。這是我們內部自行建置的系統，能 24/7 持續優化我們油井的產量。

Another example would be how we're using AI to help us with designing wells and scoping capital projects. So there we've got some proprietary tools that are in development and we're testing them at a really early stage.

另一個例子是我們如何運用 AI 來協助井位設計以及資本專案的範疇界定。因此，我們有一些正在開發中的專有工具，並且在非常早期的階段進行測試。

And then on the operations and commercial side, human agent teams helping us with turnaround and refinery planning. So Mark, maybe on the exploration side, you can cover it.

接著在營運與商業端，人類代理團隊協助我們進行停工檢修（turnaround）與煉油廠規劃。所以 Mark，也許在勘探端你可以補充說明。

Yeah. Thanks, Eimear. James, quite frankly, I think it's reshaping our portfolio and exploration at a large scale and it's delivering higher confidence prospects at pace. And the way I think about it is our goal is to have rapid access to data, reduced cycle time, and then increased success rates.

好的。謝謝你，Eimear。James，坦白說，我認為這正在大規模重塑我們的投資組合與勘探工作，並且以更快速度交付更高信心度的勘探標的。我看待這件事的方式是：我們的目標是快速取得資料、縮短週期時間，並提高成功率。

And back in our Investor Day, we shared one of the first things we did, which was the system called ApEX, which allows us to get our hands on data more quickly for better and faster decisions. This is that 100 years of data at our fingertips.

在我們的投資人日（Investor Day）上，我們分享了最早做的其中一件事，也就是名為 ApEX 的系統，它讓我們能更快取得資料，以做出更好、更快的決策。這就像把 100 年的資料放在我們指尖。

The next thing that we did was create something called Scout AI, which allows us to essentially do a deep basin assessment in hours. And we're applying that in 10 new basins as we speak. When you combine those tools, along with our spatial high-grading, elastic waveform inversion, and ocean bottom node data that we have available, we are coming up with new prospects.

接下來我們打造了名為 Scout AI 的工具，基本上可讓我們在數小時內完成深層盆地評估。而且我們正在把它應用到 10 個新的盆地。當你把這些工具與我們的空間高分級（spatial high-grading）、彈性波形反演（elastic waveform inversion），以及我們可用的海底節點（ocean bottom node）資料結合起來，我們就能提出新的勘探標的。

I mentioned in my prepared remarks about the Gulf of America where we created over 150 leads and then essentially added 16 to our list to evaluate. So we're incorporating this throughout the exploration process, including real-time drilling optimization. So it's touching every part of the exploration value chain, and I expect the impact just to continue to grow. Thanks for your question.

我在事先準備的發言中提到美洲灣（Gulf of America），我們在那裡建立了超過 150 個線索（leads），然後基本上把其中 16 個加入我們的評估清單。因此，我們正把這套方法融入整個勘探流程，包括即時鑽井最佳化。所以它正在觸及勘探價值鏈的每一個環節，我預期其影響只會持續擴大。謝謝你的提問。

Biraj Borkhataria, RBC.

Biraj Borkhataria，RBC。

Hi, there. Thanks for the presentation and taking my question. I wanted to go to slide 6, which I thought was very interesting. You obviously spend a lot of time looking at major projects, but these barrels are some of the highest value-add barrels that you have. So I was wondering if you could talk about the potential to do something like this in your LNG portfolio, and particularly in Australia.

你好。謝謝簡報並回答我的問題。我想談一下第 6 張投影片，我覺得非常有意思。你們顯然花了很多時間檢視大型專案，但這些桶數（barrels）是你們擁有的附加價值最高的一些桶數。所以我想請你談談，在你們的 LNG 投資組合中、特別是在澳洲，是否有機會做類似的事情。

Are there any active debottlenecking projects ongoing and where are we now relative to nameplate and what's the potential there? Thank you.

目前是否有任何正在進行的去瓶頸（debottlenecking）專案？相較於名目產能（nameplate），我們現在處於什麼位置？那裡的潛力又有多大？謝謝。

Yeah. Thanks, Biraj. I would view debottlenecking as a mindset and it just builds on our mindset of capital discipline. I would say, historically, manufacturing facilities like refineries we're somewhat accustomed to this, but given some of the operating model changes that we've made in centralizing project activity, major capital projects as well as small projects is creating this opportunity to see across the portfolio where we have these opportunities.

好的。謝謝你，Biraj。我會把去瓶頸視為一種思維方式，而這也建立在我們資本紀律的思維之上。我會說，歷史上像煉油廠這類製造設施，我們多少已經習慣這樣做；但鑑於我們在集中化專案活動方面所做的一些營運模式調整，無論是大型資本專案或小型專案，都創造了機會，讓我們能從整個投資組合的角度看見哪些地方存在這些機會。

And we've mentioned some of the examples in the upstream from the 20% increase at FGP to the 7% increase at Ballymore and the 33% increase at Anchor, we are already above nameplate at Gorgon and Wheatstone today, and I see more potential for that.

我們也提過一些上游的例子：FGP 產能提升 20%、Ballymore 提升 7%、Anchor 提升 33%。目前在 Gorgon 與 Wheatstone，我們的產量已經高於名目產能（nameplate），而我認為還有更多潛力。

But what excites me even more than just that potential debottlenecking that can exist there, it's the reliability with the world-class reliability we have in Gorgon and Wheatstone allows the customers to get what they need and having backfill projects, highly competitive backfill projects for decades into the future allows us to continue to leverage that.

但比起僅僅是那種可能存在的去瓶頸潛力，更讓我興奮的是可靠性：我們在 Gorgon 與 Wheatstone 擁有世界級的可靠性，能讓客戶取得他們所需；而且未來數十年都有高度具競爭力的回填（backfill）專案，讓我們能持續發揮這些優勢。

So I see both things working together, continued reliability, potential for capital-efficient, expanded capacity and backfill projects will help us do what we need to do. And I think part of that led to our record production in the third quarter for the combined asset, so more to come. Thanks, Biraj.

所以我看到兩者可以相輔相成：持續的可靠性、以資本效率為導向的擴充產能潛力，以及回填專案，都將幫助我們完成需要做的事。我想這也是我們第三季該合併資產創下產量新高的部分原因，所以後續還會有更多進展。謝謝你，Biraj。

Yeah. And Biraj, maybe offline, Jeanine can follow-up with you. We've done a lot of debottlenecking already at both Gorgon and Wheatstone, and I think we've talked about that on prior calls. But we can share that information with you so you can see what's already been done there, which is a really good story that Mark's just building on.

是的。而且 Biraj，或許我們可以線下由 Jeanine 跟你後續聯繫。我們在 Gorgon 和 Wheatstone 兩個項目都已經做了很多去瓶頸工作，我想我們在之前的電話會議也談過。但我們可以把相關資訊分享給你，讓你看到那邊已經完成了哪些工作；這是一個很好的故事，而 Mark 剛才也在此基礎上進一步延伸。

Jean Ann Salisbury, Bank of America.

Jean Ann Salisbury，美國銀行（Bank of America）。

Hi. Good morning. If permits for behind-the-meter projects in the US become harder to get, is there more value in already permitted sites like Project Kilby? And I guess as a related question, how large could Project Kilby get and what are the gating factors to grow them in your mind?

嗨，早安。如果美國的表後（behind-the-meter）專案許可變得更難取得，那麼像 Kilby 專案這種已取得許可的場址是否更具價值？另外作為相關問題，你認為 Kilby 專案規模最大可以做到多大？在你看來，推動其擴張的關鍵限制因素（gating factors）是什麼？

Hey, Jean Ann. Yeah, we're really excited about Kilby. It's a great project, 2.67 gigawatts of power in West Texas. Strong partners. We signed a 20-year PPA with Microsoft AAA quality customer, as you know that really leverages our strength. So from the very beginning, we designed our solution to consider some of the concerns that are being expressed in terms of the grid. And so this is a behind-the-meter power project.

嗨，Jean Ann。是的，我們對 Kilby 感到非常興奮。這是一個很棒的專案，在德州西部提供 2.67 吉瓦的電力。合作夥伴也很強。我們與微軟簽署了 20 年期的購電協議（PPA），對方是 AAA 等級的優質客戶；如你所知，這確實能發揮我們的優勢。因此從一開始，我們在設計解決方案時就把外界對電網的部分疑慮納入考量。所以這是一個表後供電（behind-the-meter）電力專案。

It won't put any pressure on the grid in the short-term. Won't raise prices, it's using non-potable water. And so that's why Governor Abbott on August 6 had announced that it complies with the standards.

短期內它不會對電網造成任何壓力。不會推升價格，而且使用的是非飲用水（non-potable water）。因此，Abbott 州長在 8 月 6 日宣布該專案符合相關標準。

So right now, we do have a room to expand. We could expand this from single cycle to combined cycle. It will all depend on additional permits beyond the permit, obviously, that we're working through the system for Kilby as part of our FID decision. So it's going to come down to subject to permitting.

所以目前我們確實有擴張空間。我們可以把它從單循環（single cycle）擴充到複循環（combined cycle）。這將取決於除 Kilby 目前許可之外的額外許可；當然，這些我們正依照系統流程推進，作為我們最終投資決策（FID）的一部分。所以歸根結底會取決於許可核發情況。

Overall, I would just say we're working towards our FID. We have our EPC contract that we're finalizing. We're working through the permit process. We have to secure our financing, but we're on track with Kilby to have first power in 2028 and full energization in 2031.

整體而言，我只想說我們正朝最終投資決策（FID）推進。我們正在敲定 EPC 合約。我們也在走完許可流程。我們必須確保融資到位，但 Kilby 的進度符合規劃：預計 2028 年首次供電（first power），並在 2031 年完成全面送電（full energization）。

Sam Margolin, Wells Fargo.

Sam Margolin，富國銀行（Wells Fargo）。

Hello. Thanks for taking the question. Maybe just circling back to Venezuela and the broader resource opportunity, I think one of the things that stands out about Venezuela is just the pace with which the business plan came together. You were able to, in a matter of months, commit a significant development to the resource owner.

你好。謝謝讓我提問。我想回到委內瑞拉以及更廣泛的資源機會。我認為委內瑞拉最突出的其中一點，是商業計畫成形的速度。你們能在短短幾個月內，就向資源所有方承諾一項具規模的開發計畫。

And globally, it does seem like there's a lot of mega resources or resource whales that are more willing to accept foreign investment and partnership than in the past. And so the question is if the process with Venezuela is representative of maybe what your capabilities are globally and if other resource owners are paying attention and if you think there's a transferable opportunity with the process.

而在全球範圍內，似乎有許多超大型資源或「資源巨鯨」（resource whales）比過去更願意接受外資投資與合作夥伴關係。所以我的問題是：與委內瑞拉合作的流程，是否能代表你們在全球的能力？其他資源所有方是否也在關注？以及你是否認為這套流程存在可移轉、可複製的機會？

Yeah. it's an interesting question, Sam. I appreciate your comments about how quickly we were able to reach a development plan and alignment with the government of Venezuela. As an incumbent on the ground -- as the only incumbent on the ground, we definitely have an advantage in terms of our understanding of the geology, the infrastructure. We've got a very talented workforce. We've got the service providers that are prepared to ramp up with us, et cetera.

是的。這是一個很有意思的問題，Sam。感謝你對我們能夠如此迅速地就開發計畫並與委內瑞拉政府達成一致所做的評論。作為當地的既有業者——而且是唯一在地的既有業者——我們在對地質與基礎設施的理解方面確實具備優勢。我們擁有非常有才華的員工隊伍。我們也有準備好與我們一起加速擴張的服務供應商，等等。

And it does have, as I mentioned, parallels with other factory development campaigns that we prosecute around the world. I'll go to Iraq as the maybe an analog as you talk about large resource holders and willingness and interest in bringing in new investments.

而且正如我提到的，這確實與我們在全球各地推進的其他工廠式開發行動有相似之處。我可以以伊拉克作為一個類比，因為你談到的是大型資源持有者，以及其引入新投資的意願與興趣。

I mentioned already that the terms in Iraq are more attractive than what we've historically seen there and right now at least as we're working through the negotiation, they look very competitive. We are working on a development plan there in concert with the ministry and have a good line on that and I think it will have things in common with Venezuela in terms of it will be primarily drilling.

我先前已提到，伊拉克的條款比我們過去在那裡歷史上看到的更具吸引力，至少就目前我們推進談判的情況來看，條件看起來非常有競爭力。我們正與該部會協同制定那裡的開發計畫，進展良好；我認為它在某些方面會與委內瑞拉相似，主要將以鑽井為主。

There may be some infrastructure work, but I think that that will be modest and manageable as opposed to a major capital project. And the resource depth there is significant and there's good exploration prospects that would come along with this deal. I've mentioned on prior calls that we are in discussions with other governments, a number of them in the Middle East that are also interested in that proposition.

可能會有一些基礎設施工程，但我認為相較於大型資本專案，那將是相對溫和且可控的。那裡的資源厚度相當可觀，並且伴隨這筆交易也會有良好的勘探前景。我在先前的電話會議中提過，我們也正與其他政府進行討論，其中包括中東的多個政府，他們也對這個主張感興趣。

And so we have been, I think Eimear mentioned today, stacking growth options, very active in business development, very active in exploration with some success there and addressing the longer-term growth outlook post 2030 with a very deep set of resource opportunities that have longevity, that have attractive breakeven costs, attractive financial returns.

因此我們一直在——我想Eimear今天也提到——堆疊成長選項；在業務開發上非常積極，在勘探上也非常積極且取得一些成果；並且透過一套非常深厚、具長期性、具吸引人的損益兩平成本與財務報酬的資源機會，來因應2030年後的長期成長展望。

And working to line those up so that we can pick and choose amongst the best of those and allocate capital to continue to supply this energy that the world is going to need well into the future. So stay tuned. As we bring things to a point where we can be more specific as we were today about Venezuela, we will lay that out for you.

並努力把這些機會排好順序，讓我們能在其中挑選最好的，並配置資本，以持續供應世界在未來很長一段時間仍將需要的能源。所以請持續關注。當我們把事情推進到可以更具體說明的階段——就像今天我們對委內瑞拉所做的一樣——我們會向各位說明。

Doug Leggate, Wolfe Research.

Doug Leggate，Wolfe Research。

Hi, everyone. Mike, thanks for having me on. I wonder if I could, I mean, there's obviously been a lot of chatter by the government, the US government about incentives for drilling and so on. I'm wondering if we look back to when you had your long-term growth trajectory in the Permian, you slowed that down after the Hess deal and free cash flow was a priority and so on. I guess my question is whether organically or given what your share price is inorganically, what would it take for you to go back to growth in the Permian beyond your current plan?

各位好。Mike，謝謝讓我加入。我想問一下，顯然政府——美國政府——一直有很多關於鑽井激勵措施等等的討論。我在想，如果回頭看你們在二疊紀盆地（Permian）的長期成長軌跡，在Hess交易之後你們放慢了成長速度，並把自由現金流放在優先位置等等。我想問的是，無論是有機成長，或是考量到你們目前的股價而採取非有機方式，要讓你們回到超出目前計畫的二疊紀盆地成長，需要具備哪些條件？

Well, we had signaled the intent to bring the Permian to a plateau in the middle of the last decade, to be honest, when we were at pretty modest production levels. And as we reached and surpassed 1 million barrels a day, we turned to managing that plateau, which will last not only the end of this decade but the end of the next, and I expect well beyond that as we apply more technology to this enormous resource space.

坦白說，我們在上個十年中期就已經釋出意圖，要把二疊紀盆地的產量帶到一個平台期，當時我們的產量水準其實相當溫和。當我們達到並超過每日100萬桶後，我們轉而管理這個平台期；這個平台期不僅會持續到本十年末，也會延續到下個十年末，而且我預期在我們把更多技術應用到這個龐大的資源空間後，還會遠遠超過那個時間點。

Mark mentioned in his comments today the progress we're seeing with some advanced chemicals that are helping us improve recoveries. We actually continue to have -- we've got a next generation of that chemistry that's moving out into field pilots, which we are optimistic may prove even more successful in terms of improving production outcomes and adding value.

Mark今天在他的評論中提到，我們在一些先進化學品方面看到的進展，正幫助我們提升採收率。事實上我們仍在持續推進——我們有下一代的化學配方正在進入現場試點，我們樂觀地認為，它在改善產量成果與創造價值方面可能會更成功。

And we continue to look at other technologies related to drilling, stimulation of the reservoir and different types of fracturing technologies, all of which will provide optionality into the future. And what they can do is they can extend the economic life of the plateau. They can make it economic to grow to a higher level. They can take benches that are currently sub-economic and they can make them economic.

同時我們也持續關注其他與鑽井、油藏增產（stimulation）以及不同類型壓裂技術相關的技術，這些都將在未來提供更多選擇性。而它們能做到的是延長平台期的經濟壽命。它們也能讓成長到更高水準在經濟上變得可行。它們還能把目前在經濟上不可行的層段（benches）變得可行。

And so we're certainly working on all of those. But in the near term, as we've just turned now for just a few short quarters from growth to managing at the plateau, we've seen a 25% reduction in CapEx per barrel. We're seeing reductions in operating costs.

因此我們當然正在推進所有這些工作。但在短期內，因為我們才剛在過去幾個季度從成長轉向平台期管理，我們看到每桶資本支出（CapEx）下降了25%。我們也看到營運成本下降。

We're seeing reductions in downtime events. We're seeing a tremendous amount of innovation and application of new tools and technology to get more value out of this million-barrel-a-day business. And it's one of the things I've learned coming up through the refining side of the business is sweating the assets, challenging people to innovate, and find more value every year in the way we operate can deliver significant improvement and that's the key focus right now.

我們看到停機事件減少。我們看到大量創新，以及新工具與新技術的應用，來從這個每日100萬桶的業務中榨取更多價值。而我在煉油業務一路走來學到的一件事就是：把資產用到極致、挑戰團隊創新，並在我們的營運方式中每年找出更多價值，能帶來顯著改善——這正是目前的關鍵重點。

Going forward, like I said, we've got a long resource life, we've got the advantaged royalty position, which is very attractive, and it creates optionality. So I don't want to speculate about what might take us back into a growth mode there, but we're building the capability to do that economically if and when within our overall set of opportunities and cognizant of global demand and other things within our portfolio, we may choose to do that.

展望未來，如我所說，我們擁有很長的資源壽命，也擁有具優勢的權利金（royalty）部位，這非常有吸引力，並且帶來選擇性。因此我不想臆測什麼因素會讓我們在那裡回到成長模式，但我們正在建立能力，讓我們在必要時能以具經濟性的方式做到；如果在我們整體機會集合之內，並且考量全球需求以及投資組合中的其他因素，我們也可能選擇那麼做。

Thanks for the question, Doug.

謝謝你的提問，Doug。

Manav Gupta, UBS.

Manav Gupta，瑞銀（UBS）。

Good morning. I was wondering if I can pick your brain a little bit on the ethylene chain margins. We started the year at record lows, saw a massive bounce in 2Q. We are moderating a little, but we're still above mid-cycle, and I think your own project is probably going to start up sometime next year.

早安。我想請教一下乙烯產業鏈的利差（margins）。我們年初處於歷史低點，第二季出現大幅反彈。現在雖然稍微降溫，但仍高於中週期水準；而且我想你們自己的專案大概會在明年某個時候投產。

So just trying to understand global supply dynamics, how much capacity is offline, and also I'm trying to understand between refining margins and ethylene chain margins, where do you see normalization happening first? Thank you.

所以我只是想了解全球供給動態，有多少產能目前停擺；另外我也想了解，在煉油利差與乙烯產業鏈利差之間，你們認為哪一個會先出現常態化？謝謝。

Well, thanks, Manav. You picked a couple of topics, very difficult to predict. I'll start with the refining maybe and then go to pet chem margins. On the refining side, I would expect margins to stay elevated in the short-term and the world has 10% of its refining capacity offline today, exports are reduced due to the conflicts, and quite frankly, the products, businesses have less shock absorbers.

好的，謝謝你，Manav。你挑了幾個非常難以預測的主題。我先從煉油談起，然後再談石化利差。在煉油方面，我預期短期內利差仍會維持在高檔；目前全球約有10%的煉油產能處於停擺狀態，且因衝突導致出口減少；坦白說，成品油市場的緩衝機制也變少了。

So I would expect margins to eventually moderate as refinery runs recover and export flows increase, but that will take some time. And so on the refining side of the business, what we can do is what we can control and that's help consumers get as much as they possibly can out of our systems. I think we've demonstrated in the third quarter that we're doing that.

因此我預期，隨著煉廠開工率回升、出口流向增加，利差最終會趨於溫和，但這需要一些時間。所以在煉油業務這一端，我們能做的是專注於我們可控的部分，也就是幫助消費者盡可能從我們的系統中獲得最多的供應。我認為我們在第三季已經證明我們正在這麼做。

On the chemicals side, it's debatable today, but somewhere between 5% and 10% of pet chem capacity seems to be offline today and that makes markets tighter, especially from Middle East volumes not flowing and that likely means at least through the end of the year, margins will stay a bit elevated maybe into next year.

在化學品方面，目前仍有爭議，但看起來大約有5%到10%的石化產能今天處於停擺狀態，這使得市場更為吃緊，尤其是中東的供應量未能流出；這很可能意味著至少到今年年底，利差會維持在略偏高的水準，甚至可能延續到明年。

But I'd make two observations. First, without rationalization and some project deferrals, markets may very well return to oversupply as flow normalizes; and then maybe second, ethane, especially in the United States, remains the feedstock of choice. And to your comments, both of those things play to CPChem's strength.

但我會提出兩點觀察。第一，若沒有進行合理化與部分專案遞延，隨著物流流量回歸常態，市場很可能再度回到供給過剩；第二，乙烷（尤其在美國）仍然是首選的裂解原料。而就你剛才的評論而言，這兩點都正好發揮了 CPChem 的優勢。

It's an ethane-advantaged portfolio, and they are working as we speak to bring on two large crackers, one in the Gulf Coast, one in Qatar, full production, both will be next year, but we want those to come online safely and reliably, and they're working hard at that. Thanks for the question, Manav.

他們的資產組合具備乙烷優勢，而且他們此刻正努力推進兩座大型裂解裝置投產，一座在墨西哥灣沿岸，一座在卡達；兩者都將在明年達到滿產，但我們希望它們能以安全且可靠的方式上線，他們也正為此全力以赴。謝謝你的提問，Manav。

Lucas Herrmann, BNP Paribas.

Lucas Herrmann，法國巴黎銀行。

Mike, thank you very much to have the opportunity. Question on freight and freight rates and the elevation that we've seen. It's been a central topic on a number of the calls over here. But just to get some idea, if possible, on the extent to which elevated freight rates are likely to impact upon the refining business, refining profitability, the profitability probably of the organization overall, the extent to which you are long short, both own shipping and long-term charter shipping at this point and how it plays to the business.

Mike，非常感謝給我這個提問的機會。我想問關於運費與運價，以及我們看到的那波上升。這一直是這邊多場電話會議的核心話題。不過如果可以的話，想請你談談高運價在多大程度上可能影響煉油業務、煉油獲利能力、以及整體組織的獲利能力；另外，目前你們在自有船舶與長期租船方面的多空曝險（long/short）大概如何，以及這對業務的影響。

We should be thinking about it. What we should be thinking about it, but whether it's relevant to you on a costly basis in any way?

我們應該怎麼看待這件事。我們應該如何思考它，但它是否會在成本層面以任何方式與你相關？

Yeah. I think it's been the big mover here this last quarter, Lucas, and it's got a lot of attention. The crude oil prices historically on two basic things, quality and location. And right now, location really matters.

是的。我認為這是上個季度最大的驅動因素之一，Lucas，也引起了很多關注。歷史上，原油價格主要由兩個基本因素決定：品質與地點。而現在，地點真的非常重要。

If you are very close to the crude oil that you're going to run in your refinery, you don't have to move it very far. Hopefully, you got it on a pipe and not in a ship. And on the other hand, if you're very distant, if you've got to source your crude from a conflict region, the logistics are expensive, the insurance is expensive, time is much longer, and all that works its way from the refinery right back into the netback for your production.

如果你離煉廠要加工的原油很近，就不需要把它運很遠。希望你是走管線，而不是用船運。反過來，如果你距離很遠、必須從衝突地區採購原油，物流成本很高、保險費很高、運輸時間也長得多，而這些都會一路反映到煉廠端，最終回到你產品的淨回收（netback）。

It's an advantage to have a controlled fleet and we have a significant portion of our fleet that are either ships that we own or ships that we have on long-term time charter where we charter both the boat and the crew or a bare boat charter where we put our crew on that vessel.

擁有可控的船隊是一項優勢；我們船隊中有相當一部分，要嘛是我們自有船舶，要嘛是我們以長期期租（time charter）方式租用的船舶（我們同時租船與船員），或是以光船租賃（bareboat charter）方式租用、由我們把自家船員派上該船。

These are contracts we entered into before the conflict began. They reflect charter rates before pre-conflict, which are significantly different than they are today. And so we capture that transportation margin in our economics.

這些合約是在衝突爆發之前就簽訂的。它們反映的是衝突前的租船費率，與今天的水準有顯著差異。因此，我們能在經濟效益中捕捉到這段運輸利差。

And so the other thing that's been interesting is because our upstream portfolio has evolved, we've moved from when I was running downstream, we ran maybe 15% of our crudes were out of our own equity system.

另外一個有趣的點是，隨著我們上游資產組合的演進，我們已經從我當年負責下游時的狀態轉變過來；當時我們煉廠加工的原油，可能只有約 15% 來自我們自有權益體系（equity system）。

Today, we've been up in the 50% range, sometimes higher at certain refineries, and we've got the ability to ensure reliable supply from the wellhead all the way through to the loading rack with transportation that we control and make sure that our refineries are as advantaged as they can be, make sure that our uplift and capture on our crude production is as great as it can be.

今天，我們已經提升到約 50% 的區間，在某些煉廠甚至更高；而且我們有能力確保從井口一路到裝車台（loading rack）的可靠供應，並透過我們可控的運輸來做到這點，確保我們的煉廠能盡可能具備優勢，也確保我們在原油產量上的增值（uplift）與捕捉到的價值能盡可能大。

And so we're seeing significant value in optimization globally of our asset base. And so it is a material contributor to the results you're seeing this quarter, absolutely. And I think, going forward, until these conflicts are resolved, this is likely to be a part of the story in the future.

因此，我們看到在全球範圍內對資產基礎進行最佳化所帶來的顯著價值。所以這確實是你們本季看到的業績的重要貢獻來源，毫無疑問。而我認為，往前看，在這些衝突解決之前，這很可能仍會是未來敘事的一部分。

Thanks for the question, Lucas.

謝謝你的提問，Lucas。

Betty Jiang, Barclays.

Betty Jiang，巴克萊。

Hi. Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. If I take a step back and actually ask about M&A, just wondering, given the ongoing disruptions around the world, does that change your views around where within the energy value chain perhaps for you to have more or less exposure, how do you think about the inorganic opportunities in general?

嗨，早安。謝謝你回答我的問題。如果我退一步從併購（M&A）來問：鑑於全球持續的擾動，這是否改變你們對能源價值鏈中哪些環節應該增加或減少曝險的看法？你們整體上如何看待外生成長（inorganic）的機會？

Yeah. I'll start, Betty, by saying our portfolio today is the best that it's ever been, both in the near term, in terms of providing energy the world needs, and doing it in a way that creates value for shareholders, and then in the longer-term, in the growth opportunities in both our traditional business and this emerging power sector that we've been talking about today.

是的，Betty，我先說，我們今天的資產組合是有史以來最好的：短期而言，能提供世界所需的能源，並以能為股東創造價值的方式來做到；長期而言，無論是在我們的傳統業務，或是我們今天談到的新興電力領域，都有成長機會。

And so there's no gaps or weaknesses that we see that need to be addressed. That said, you're always looking to get better. And you've seen, over the last several years, we have engaged in transactions that have made our portfolio better, that have added assets that have scale, have durability, have strong financial contribution.

因此，我們沒有看到需要補強的缺口或弱點。但話說回來，你永遠都在尋求變得更好。而你也看到，過去幾年我們進行了一些交易，讓資產組合變得更好，新增了具規模、具耐久性、且財務貢獻強的資產。

And we have at the other end of the portfolio, we've moved some things out that no longer compete for capital within our portfolio (technical difficulty) for owners. And so we'll always look to be doing that. I think M&A is a core competency of our company. I think we've got a track record of staying very disciplined through market cycles of being value-focused, not deal-focused, and executing with really good integration.

同時在資產組合的另一端，我們也把一些在我們組合內不再具備資本競爭力的項目移出（技術困難）給其他所有者。因此我們會一直持續做這件事。我認為併購是我們公司的核心能力。我認為我們有一個紀錄：在市場循環中始終保持高度紀律，以價值為導向而非以成交為導向，並且能以非常好的整合來落地執行。

I don't want to speculate about what parts of the value chain, what parts of the world the conflict may present opportunities in. We're always evaluating these things, but we generally don't talk about them until we've got a deal that we've actually secured, and at which time, we'll lay it all out to you.

我不想去臆測衝突可能在哪些價值鏈環節、哪些地區帶來機會。我們一直在評估這些事情，但一般而言，在我們真正拿下交易之前，我們不會談；等到那時，我們會把所有細節向你們完整說明。

Maybe last thing is you talk about the conflict. The history books aren't full of great deals that were done at $100 oil or $10 gas or high commodity prices. And so I think those lessons are important to always bear in mind. Thanks, Betty.

最後也許補充一點，你提到衝突。歷史書裡並沒有太多在每桶 100 美元油價、或每百萬英熱單位 10 美元天然氣、或高商品價格時做成的「好交易」。所以我認為，這些教訓永遠值得放在心上。謝謝，Betty。

Philip Jungwirth, BMO.

Philip Jungwirth，BMO。

Thanks for taking the question. It's been a year since you hired a new head of global exploration and we hit on AI earlier and you have a lot of good technology details in the deck, but just more broadly, would love to hear your observations on the progress you've made in the exploration portfolio over the last 12 months.

謝謝讓我提問。你們聘任新的全球勘探負責人已經一年了；我們先前也提到 AI，而且簡報裡有很多很好的技術細節。不過更宏觀地說，我很想聽聽你對過去 12 個月在勘探資產組合方面所取得進展的觀察。

What you're most excited about going forward? And just while it's not maybe deepwater, do you see much exploration potential in Kazakhstan where the government is making a larger push?

接下來你最感到興奮的是什麼？另外，雖然可能不是深水領域，但在哈薩克，政府正在加大推動力道，你們是否看到很多勘探潛力？

Well, thanks, Philip. A lot to be excited about, but let's see where to start. I think I'll start with a high-graded inventory, better technology, and faster decisions, which I expect to lead to improving outcomes. I mean, our opportunity set is the largest and highest quality I have seen in years. We talked about doubling our acreage since 2024 in the 12 new basins.

好的，謝謝你，Philip。有很多值得期待的事情，但讓我想想從哪裡開始。我想先從更高品質的庫存、更好的技術，以及更快的決策談起；我預期這會帶來更好的成果。我的意思是，我們的機會集合是我多年來見過最大、品質最高的。我們談到自 2024 年以來，在 12 個新盆地把我們的租區面積加倍。

In the third quarter alone, we added six blocks in the Gulf of America and blocks in Angola, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, and Egypt. And when I combine an expanded portfolio with the new technology, we are getting better imaging and higher confidence, prospects.

僅在第三季，我們就在美洲灣新增了六個區塊，並在安哥拉、奈及利亞、幾內亞比索與埃及取得區塊。當我把擴大的資產組合與新技術結合起來，我們正在獲得更好的成像，以及信心更高的勘探目標（prospects）。

And so I would expect here over the next few years to have high-impact exploration in the areas like Namibia, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, and Suriname, just to name a few. And quite frankly, this is the highest confidence outlook I have seen in years. We mentioned in our comments about the discoveries that we've had, the 15 discoveries.

因此，我預期未來幾年在納米比亞、赤道幾內亞、埃及與蘇利南等地區（僅舉幾例）將有高影響力的勘探成果。坦白說，這是我多年來見過信心最高的展望。我們在談到已取得的發現時提到過，我們有15項發現。

I would expect at least half of those to be turned into tieback positions. The one I just want to emphasize in case you haven't seen it would be our Angola 105-4X well. This is in the prolific Lower Congo Basin. The materials that have been made public indicate an oil and gas condensate column over 2,000 feet and net pay of 300 feet with excellent reservoir quality.

我預期其中至少一半會轉化為回接（tieback）開發位置。我想特別強調一項，以防你們尚未看到，那就是我們在安哥拉的105-4X井。這口井位於高產的下剛果盆地。已公開的資料顯示，油氣凝析柱高度超過2,000英尺，淨油氣層厚度（net pay）為300英尺，且儲層品質優異。

I suspect it will be better than that as we look closer and closer at the data. It has outperformed our pre-drill expectation and we're working the project definition right now for a tie back to our Sanha facility in Angola. So a lot more to come, but we are definitely building momentum in our exploration business.

我懷疑隨著我們對資料愈看愈深入，結果會比這更好。它的表現超出我們鑽前預期，我們目前正就回接至我們在安哥拉的Sanha設施進行專案定義工作。後續還有很多進展，但我們的勘探業務確實正在累積動能。

And what I might add onto that is that the -- Mark, Eimear, and I were in a review, I guess, earlier this week on our exploration portfolio and some particular opportunities and your question about talent, we have brought in new talent, I think that brings in different perspectives, different experiences, which we're seeing value from.

我還想補充的是——Mark、Eimear和我本週稍早參加了一場對我們勘探投資組合及一些特定機會的檢視會議；針對你關於人才的問題，我們引進了新的人才，我認為這帶來不同觀點與不同經驗，而我們也正從中看到價值。

And Mark mentioned it earlier in his comments, but we've got a very different model for making decisions now and prioritizing this work. And I think all of that stuff comes together to yield the optimism that you heard from Mark.

Mark在先前的發言中也提到過，但我們現在在做決策與工作優先排序方面採用了非常不同的模式。我認為這些因素綜合起來，促成了你從Mark那裡聽到的樂觀情緒。

Bob Brackett, Bernstein Research.

Bob Brackett，Bernstein Research。

Good morning, and let's continue on the theme of improved exploration outcomes. How does the improved speed, the improved outcome, how does that inform your strategy? Does it allow you to take more risk? Does it drive you to increase your exploration budget? Or does it actually reduce your exploration budget because your chance of successes are improving? How do you frame that?

早安，我們延續勘探成果改善這個主題。速度提升、成果改善，如何影響你們的策略？這是否讓你們可以承擔更多風險？是否會促使你們提高勘探預算？或者因為成功機率提高，反而降低勘探預算？你們如何看待這件事？

Yeah. At this stage of the game, and I made some of these comments in my prepared remarks, given the growth in the opportunity set and have a new team and new approach we brought forward and given from where we come, I would expect us to increase our capital spend next year 50% from our previous baseline last year because the opportunity set is so strong.

是的。在目前這個階段——我在事先準備的發言中也提到一些——鑑於機會集合的成長、我們引入的新團隊與新方法，以及我們的起點，我預期明年我們的資本支出將較去年先前的基準提高50%，因為機會集合非常強勁。

Over time, you would expect to see us maybe drilling around 20 wells a year and think about that as half infrastructure, half frontier, and we'll continue to do that over time until we see a reason to adjust, but it's nice to have an opportunity queue that gives us those choices. Thanks for the question.

隨著時間推進，你會預期我們可能每年鑽探約20口井，並將其視為一半為基礎設施型（infrastructure），一半為前緣（frontier）；我們會持續這麼做，直到看到需要調整的理由。不過，能有一個機會佇列讓我們做出這些選擇，確實很好。謝謝你的提問。

Jason Gabelman, TD Cowen.

Jason Gabelman，TD Cowen。

Yeah. Hey. Thanks for taking my questions. I just wanted to go back to the Permian, if I could, and a couple there. One, production was off a little bit, still above 1 million barrel a day target, I wonder if that's just normal quarter-to-quarter volatility or something else was going on there. We saw a comment from your peer that there was non-op disruption.

是的，嗨，謝謝回答我的問題。如果可以的話，我想回到二疊紀盆地（Permian）再問幾點。第一，產量略有下降，但仍高於每日100萬桶的目標；我想知道這只是正常的季度間波動，還是有其他因素。我們看到你們同業提到有非作業者（non-op）的干擾。

And then, the other part on the Permian, if I could, do you see maintaining this stable production helping to mitigate some of the rising gas-to-oil ratios we're seeing in the basin from peers? Thanks.

另外，關於二疊紀盆地，如果可以的話，你們是否認為維持穩定產量有助於緩解我們從同業看到的、盆地內氣油比（gas-to-oil ratios）上升的情況？謝謝。

Yeah. Thanks for the question. I would think about this logic, maybe we continue to focus on maximizing free cash flow there. We do have the inventory depth to grow above 1 million barrels a day, as Mike mentioned earlier.

是的，謝謝你的提問。我會用這樣的邏輯來看：我們可能會繼續把重點放在那裡的自由現金流最大化。如同Mike先前提到的，我們確實有足夠的庫存深度（inventory depth），可以把產量成長到高於每日100萬桶。

But now six quarters at this million barrels of oil equivalent, we are driving significant efficiencies. You can expect to see this number go up 3%, down 3%, but we're going to sustain this above 1 million barrels of oil equivalent concept going forward because it is leading to the numbers that Mike mentioned. I'm just going to reinforce one thing that greater than 25% improvement in CapEx per barrel of oil, that's pretty significant.

但現在連續六個季度維持在每日100萬桶油當量（barrels of oil equivalent），我們正在推動顯著的效率提升。你可以預期這個數字會上上下下3%，但我們未來會維持「高於每日100萬桶油當量」這個概念，因為它帶來了Mike提到的那些成果。我再強調一點：每桶油的資本支出（CapEx）改善超過25%，這相當顯著。

Our drilling and completion spend is down 40%, our facility spend is down 50%. That's all because we're staying in that band. Our gas-to-oil ratio is relatively stable through the end of this decade, and so we can maybe take advantage of some other parties' challenges in this regard.

我們的鑽井與完井支出下降40%，設施支出下降50%。這些都是因為我們維持在那個區間內。我們的氣油比在本十年末之前相對穩定，因此我們或許能在這方面利用其他方所面臨的一些挑戰。

But I think you should expect us to continue to use the factory model, and our NOJV activities have remained fairly stable through the course of this year. There might have been a little bit of an uptick on workover rigs from our NOJVs, but it is not material to our capital or production. Thanks for the question.

但我認為你應該預期我們會持續採用工廠化模式（factory model），而我們的非作業合資（NOJV）活動在今年整體過程中也維持相當穩定。NOJV方面的修井機（workover rigs）作業可能略有增加，但對我們的資本或產量並不具重大影響。謝謝你的提問。

Okay. I think that was our last question. Great. Sorry about that.

好的。我想那是我們最後一個問題。很好。抱歉。

We'd like to thank everyone today for your time on being on the call. We appreciate your interest in Chevron and your participation. Again, please be safe and stay healthy. Katie, back to you.

我們想感謝今天各位撥冗參與電話會議。感謝各位對雪佛龍（Chevron）的關注與參與。再次提醒，請注意安全並保持健康。Katie，交回給你。

Thank you. This concludes Chevron's third-quarter 2026 earnings conference call. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。雪佛龍2026年第三季財報電話會議到此結束。您現在可以掛線。