EQT Corp (EQT) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the EQT Q2 2023 Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Cameron Horwitz, Managing Director, Investor Relations and Strategy, you may begin your conference.

謝謝你的支持。此時，我謹歡迎大家參加殷拓 2023 年第二季度業績電話會議。 （操作員指示）Cameron Horwitz，投資者關係與戰略董事總經理，您可以開始會議了。

Good morning, and thank you for joining our second quarter 2023 results conference call. With me today are Toby Rice, President and Chief Executive Officer; Jeremy Knop, newly appointed Chief Financial Officer; and David Khani, outgoing Chief Financial Officer. In a moment, the team will present their prepared remarks with a question-and-answer session to follow. An updated investor presentation has been posted to the Investor Relations portion of our website and we will reference certain slides during today's discussion. A replay for today's call will be available on our website beginning this evening.

早上好，感謝您參加我們的 2023 年第二季度業績電話會議。今天與我在一起的有總裁兼首席執行官托比·賴斯 (Toby Rice)； Jeremy Knop，新任命的首席財務官；以及即將卸任的首席財務官戴維·卡尼 (David Khani)。稍後，團隊將發表準備好的發言，隨後進行問答環節。更新後的投資者演示文稿已發佈到我們網站的投資者關係部分，我們將在今天的討論中引用某些幻燈片。從今晚開始，我們的網站將提供今天電話會議的重播。

I'd like to remind you that today's call may contain forward-looking statements. Actual results and future events could materially differ from these forward-looking statements because of factors described in yesterday's earnings release and our investor presentation, the Risk Factors section of our Form 10-K and in subsequent filings we make with the SEC. We do not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements.

我想提醒您，今天的電話會議可能包含前瞻性陳述。由於昨天的收益發布和我們的投資者演示、我們的 10-K 表格的風險因素部分以及我們向 SEC 提交的後續文件中描述的因素，實際結果和未來事件可能與這些前瞻性陳述存在重大差異。我們不承擔任何更新前瞻性陳述的責任。

Today's call may also contain certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our most recent earnings release and investor presentation for important disclosures regarding such measures, including reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP financial measures.

今天的電話會議還可能包含某些非公認會計準則財務指標。請參閱我們最新的收益報告和投資者介紹，了解有關此類措施的重要披露，包括與最具可比性的公認會計原則財務措施的調節。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Toby.

這樣，我就把電話轉給托比。

Thanks, Cam, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝卡姆，大家早上好。

Before speaking to second quarter results, I want to say thank you again to Dave for being a great colleague and friend over the past 3 years. Your knowledge and experience during a unique time in EQT's history combined with a thoughtful approach and heart made you a favorite of all who had the pleasure of working alongside you. I want to thank you for your tremendous contribution to EQT, and we are excited to see your continued success into the next phase of your life.

在談論第二季度業績之前，我想再次向戴夫表示感謝，感謝他在過去三年中成為一位出色的同事和朋友。您在殷拓歷史上獨特時期所擁有的知識和經驗，再加上深思熟慮的方法和內心，使您成為所有有幸與您共事的人的最愛。我要感謝您對殷拓的巨大貢獻，我們很高興看到您在人生的下一階段繼續取得成功。

I also want to introduce Jeremy Knop, who is taking the reins from Dave as our new Chief Financial Officer. Jeremy joined EQT in 2021 as the EVP of Corporate Development and has extensive experience in strategic decision-making, investment management, capital allocation, M&A and transaction execution from his time at EQT in previous roles at Blackstone and as an investment banker.

我還想介紹傑里米·諾普 (Jeremy Knop)，他接替戴夫 (Dave) 擔任我們新任首席財務官。 Jeremy 於 2021 年加入 EQT，擔任企業發展執行副總裁，此前在 EQT 擔任 Blackstone 職務以及擔任投資銀行家，在戰略決策、投資管理、資本配置、併購和交易執行方面擁有豐富的經驗。

Jeremy's strategic value-oriented mindset and deep understanding of our business instills great confidence that he will continue to drive value creation, strengthen our balance sheet and ensure the realization of our long-term vision. His exceptional leadership skills and unwavering focus on value creation make him the ideal candidate to steer EQT toward continued success.

傑里米以戰略價值為導向的思維方式以及對我們業務的深刻理解使他對繼續推動價值創造、加強我們的資產負債表並確保實現我們的長期願景充滿信心。他卓越的領導才能和對價值創造的堅定關注使他成為帶領殷拓走向持續成功的理想人選。

Jeremy's proven track record and dedication to leading purpose-driven teams make him an invaluable asset to our executive group, and we look forward to the meaningful impact and contributions he will undoubtedly make in his new role.

傑里米（Jeremy）的良好業績記錄和對領導目標驅動團隊的奉獻精神使他成為我們執行團隊的寶貴資產，我們期待著他無疑將在新職位上做出有意義的影響和貢獻。

Now turning to Q2 results. Our operations teams built upon the momentum we achieved in the first quarter with notable execution on both drilling and completions. As shown on Slide 6 of our investor presentation, our drilling team recently set an EQT record by drilling 12,318 feet in 24 hours on our [SGL 8A12] and Green County and followed this up setting a new world record by drilling 18,200 feet in 48 hours on the same run. This is not just one-off execution. However, as we recently ran a benchmarking exercise that shows EQT is consistently achieving best-in-class drilling results.

現在轉向第二季度的結果。我們的運營團隊在第一季度取得的勢頭基礎上，在鑽井和完井方面均取得了顯著的執行力。如我們投資者演示文稿的幻燈片 6 所示，我們的鑽井團隊最近在我們的 [SGL 8A12] 和 Green County 上於 24 小時內鑽探了 12,318 英尺，創下了 EQT 記錄，隨後又在 48 小時內鑽探了 18,200 英尺，創造了新的世界紀錄在同一次跑步中。這不僅僅是一次性執行。然而，我們最近進行的基準測試表明 EQT 始終如一地實現一流的鑽井結果。

Specifically, we found that EQT's recent Southwest Appalachia wells were drilled at a rate of penetration greater than 60% faster than peers, which means that even with materially longer laterals, our average spud to TD days are 20% less than nearby operators. To further put this point in context, one horizontal EQT rig can drill roughly 300,000 more lateral feet per year relative to our peer average, which is why we can maintain greater than 5 Bcfe per day of net production running just 2 to 3 horizontal rigs. A few contributing factors to this performance include diligent landing zone targeting, best-in-class geo-steering and innovative use of rotary steerable tools. It's all about people, planning, the right equipment and execution.

具體來說，我們發現殷拓集團最近的西南阿巴拉契亞井的鑽探速度比同行快 60% 以上，這意味著即使支管明顯更長，我們的平均開鑽至鑽探天數也比附近運營商少 20%。為了進一步說明這一點，相對於我們同行的平均水平，一台水平 EQT 鑽機每年可以多鑽大約 300,000 橫向英尺，這就是為什麼我們每天僅運行 2 到 3 台水平鑽機就能保持超過 5 Bcfe 的淨產量。實現這一性能的幾個因素包括勤奮的著陸區瞄準、一流的地質導向和旋轉導向工具的創新使用。這一切都與人員、規劃、正確的設備和執行有關。

Turning to completions. Slide 7 shows our team replicated the solid efficiency gains achieved in Q1, with first half 2023 frac crew pumping hours up roughly 20% year-over-year and in line with peak levels experienced in early 2021. Not to be outdone by our drilling performance, our completions group set 2 records of their own in Q2. First, our team completed and drilled out 20,818 feet of lateral on our [Michael 4A12], which at nearly 4 miles is one of the longest completed laterals in the history of U.S. sales development and an internal EQT record.

轉向完成情況。幻燈片 7 顯示我們的團隊複製了第一季度實現的可靠效率提升，2023 年上半年壓裂人員的泵送時間同比增加了約 20%，與 2021 年初經歷的峰值水平一致。我們的鑽井表現也不甘示弱，我們的完成小組在第二季度創造了自己的 2 項記錄。首先，我們的團隊在 [Michael 4A12] 上完成並鑽出了 20,818 英尺的支管，該鑽探長度近 4 英里，是美國銷售發展史上完成的最長支管之一，也是內部 EQT 記錄。

Our completion team also beat our previously set world record during the quarter by drilling out 262 frac plugs with a single roller cone bit, which was 90% above the prior peer record. I want to give a big shout-out to both our drilling and completion teams for the excellent performance and continuing to push the envelope when it comes to achieving peak performance. This stellar execution allowed us to achieve the midpoint of second quarter production guidance even in the face of lower-than-expected liquids volumes from downtime at the Shell ethane cracker and fewer than expected non-operated TILs, which negatively impacted our production by a combined 12 Bcfe relative to our forecast.

我們的完井團隊在本季度還打破了之前創下的世界紀錄，用單個牙輪鑽頭鑽出了 262 個壓裂塞，比之前的同行記錄高出了 90%。我要對我們的鑽井和完井團隊的出色表現以及在實現峰值性能方面繼續挑戰極限表示大力讚揚。這種出色的執行使我們能夠實現第二季度生產指導的中值，即使是在殼牌乙烷裂解裝置停機導致液體量低於預期且未運行的 TIL 少於預期的情況下，這對我們的生產產生了負面影響相對於我們的預測為 12 Bcfe。

After a challenging 2022 environment where operations performance was plagued by third-party issues, our teams have resumed peak execution driving best-in-class performance. Another highlight of the quarter was LOE, which came in at just $0.08 per Mcfe and averaged $0.07 per Mcfe in the first half of the year. A contributing factor to EQT's peer-leading LOE is our ability to efficiently handle water, which speaks to the benefits from the West Virginia water system that we've invested capital into building over the past several years.

在經歷了充滿挑戰的 2022 年環境（運營績效受到第三方問題的困擾）之後，我們的團隊已恢復峰值執行力，推動一流的績效。本季度的另一個亮點是 LOE，每 Mcfe 的售價僅為 0.08 美元，上半年平均每 Mcfe 為 0.07 美元。殷拓在同行中領先的 LOE 的一個重要因素是我們高效處理水的能力，這說明了我們在過去幾年投資建設的西弗吉尼亞供水系統所帶來的好處。

As a reminder, our West Virginia water system currently comprises 28 miles of installed water pipe and 250,000 barrels of water storage. Alongside the LOE benefits, our percentage of produced water recycled continues to climb as we target 90% this year, up from roughly 70% in 2020.

提醒一下，我們的西弗吉尼亞州供水系統目前包括 28 英里的已安裝水管和 250,000 桶儲水。除了 LOE 效益之外，我們的采出水回收率繼續攀升，我們今年的目標是 90%，高於 2020 年的約 70%。

Our West Virginia water system is an example of our ability to invest capital into projects that have strong risk-adjusted rates of return and add structural resiliency into our free cash flow generation.

我們的西弗吉尼亞州供水系統是我們有能力將資金投資到具有強大風險調整回報率的項目的一個例子，並為我們的自由現金流生成增加了結構彈性。

Specifically, we have invested $80 million into our West Virginia water system to date and have realized $20 million of associated annualized cost savings, implying this investment is generating a highly attractive 25% free cash flow yield. We are currently finalizing plans for similar projects that will facilitate water connectivity between our West Virginia and Pennsylvania assets, which should provide further resiliency and LOE reduction opportunities moving forward.

具體來說，迄今為止，我們已向西弗吉尼亞州供水系統投資 8000 萬美元，並實現了 2000 萬美元的相關年化成本節省，這意味著這項投資正在產生極具吸引力的 25% 自由現金流收益率。我們目前正在敲定類似項目的計劃，這些項目將促進我們西弗吉尼亞州和賓夕法尼亞州資產之間的水連通，這將提供進一步的彈性和減少 LOE 的機會。

Lastly, we retired $800 million of incremental debt during the second quarter, taking another material step forward towards achieving our balance sheet objectives. We have now retired a total of $1.9 billion of debt since initiating our shareholder returns framework in late 2021, which has driven a meaningful reduction in our leverage and was a key enabler of achieving our investment-grade credit ratings.

最後，我們在第二季度償還了 8 億美元的增量債務，為實現我們的資產負債表目標又邁出了實質性一步。自 2021 年底啟動股東回報框架以來，我們現已償還了總計 19 億美元的債務，這推動了我們槓桿率的大幅降低，也是實現我們投資級信用評級的關鍵推動因素。

Moving forward, we will continue to prioritize debt paydown until achieving our leverage targets as a bulletproof balance sheet ensures that EQT can maximize value creation through all parts of the commodity cycle and to provide investors the best risk-adjusted exposure to natural gas.

展望未來，我們將繼續優先考慮債務償還，直到實現我們的槓桿目標，因為防彈資產負債表確保殷拓能夠在商品週期的各個部分最大限度地創造價值，並為投資者提供最佳的天然氣風險調整敞口。

Turning to LNG. As highlighted in our press release, we recently signed an HOA with Lake Charles LNG to supply 1 million-ton per annum or 135 million cubic feet per day under a 15-year tolling agreement. This deal aligns with our strategy of allocating a portion of the 1.2 Bcf per day we have covered via FT to the Gulf to international markets and gives us the flexibility to sell our gas directly to end users globally.

轉向液化天然氣。正如我們在新聞稿中強調的那樣，我們最近與 Lake Charles LNG 簽署了一項 HOA，根據一項為期 15 年的收費協議，每年供應 100 萬噸或每天 1.35 億立方英尺。該交易符合我們將通過 FT 向海灣供應的每天 1.2 Bcf 的一部分分配給國際市場的戰略，並使我們能夠靈活地將天然氣直接出售給全球最終用戶。

We have spent the last 1.5 years studying the nuances of LNG export opportunities and believe the strategy we are pursuing provides the best combination of upside exposure with downside risk mitigation.

過去 1.5 年裡，我們一直在研究液化天然氣出口機會的細微差別，並相信我們正在追求的戰略提供了上行風險與下行風險緩解的最佳組合。

Relative to the netback structures that are commonly being signed, EQT is pursuing a more integrated approach with direct connectivity to end users of our gas. This strategy allows us to creatively structure deals with downside price protection, obtain visibility into global downstream markets and interact with a wide array of potential customers. We plan to pursue signing one or more SPAs with prospective international buyers and have additional opportunities to increase our tolling exposure, though we will remain measured in our approach as we ensure the best risk-adjusted outcomes for EQT.

相對於通常簽署的淨回溯結構，EQT 正在尋求一種更加集成的方法，直接連接到我們的天然氣最終用戶。這一戰略使我們能夠創造性地構建具有下行價格保護的交易，獲得全球下游市場的可見性並與廣泛的潛在客戶互動。我們計劃與潛在的國際買家簽署一份或多份SPA，並有更多機會增加我們的來料加工業務，但我們將繼續謹慎對待我們的方法，以確保殷拓獲得最佳的風險調整結果。

As America's largest natural gas producer, we have played a critical role in providing energy security to the United States while driving significant emissions reductions via coal displacement. Our scale, peer-leading inventory depth and environmental attributes uniquely position us to facilitate these objectives, both domestically and abroad, and we are excited to begin unleashing EQT's reliable low emissions natural gas on the global stage.

作為美國最大的天然氣生產商，我們在為美國提供能源安全方面發揮著關鍵作用，同時通過煤炭替代推動大幅減排。我們的規模、同行領先的庫存深度和環境屬性使我們能夠在國內外實現這些目標，我們很高興開始在全球舞台上推出殷拓可靠的低排放天然氣。

Turning to our recently released ESG report. We received multiple accolades highlighting our ESG leadership over the past year and made continued material progress toward our goal of net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2025. Some of these accolades include being just 1 of 14 upstream companies globally to achieve the UN's OGMP 2.0 gold standard, receiving an A grade rating from MIQ for our peer-leading methane intensity, increasing our MSCI rating to AA reflecting our ESG risk mitigation actions and being named 1 of the top workplaces in the U.S. by Energage for the third consecutive year.

轉向我們最近發布的 ESG 報告。我們獲得了多項榮譽，突顯了我們在過去一年中的 ESG 領導力，並在實現 2025 年範圍 1 和範圍 2 淨零排放的目標方面取得了持續實質性進展。其中一些榮譽包括成為全球 14 家實現聯合國 OGMP 的上游公司之一2.0 黃金標準，因同行領先的甲烷強度而獲得 MIQ 的 A 級評級，將我們的 MSCI 評級提升至 AA，反映我們的 ESG 風險緩解行動，並連續第三年被 Energage 評為美國最佳工作場所之一。

Looking specifically at emissions, our 2022 Scope 1 and 2 production segment, GHG emissions totaled just 433,000 metric tons, which was 20% lower year-over-year and 50% below 2018 levels prior to new management taking over at EQT.

具體來看排放量，我們 2022 年範圍 1 和 2 生產部門的溫室氣體排放總量僅為 433,000 噸，同比減少 20%，比新管理層接手殷拓之前的 2018 年水平低 50%。

It's worth noting that the bulk of our pneumatic device replacement was completed in the second half of 2022. So 2023 emissions should see a further benefit from this initiative. We expect the completion of our pneumatics replacement to further lower our methane intensity from 0.038% in 2022 to near our 2025 target of 0.02% this year, which is 90% below the one future 2025 target and makes EQT one of the lowest methane intensity upstream producers on the planet.

值得注意的是，我們的大部分氣動裝置更換工作已於 2022 年下半年完成。因此，2023 年的排放量應該會從這一舉措中進一步受益。我們預計氣動系統更換的完成將進一步降低我們的甲烷強度，從 2022 年的 0.038% 降至今年接近 2025 年 0.02% 的目標，這比未來 2025 年目標低 90%，並使 EQT 成為上游甲烷強度最低的公司之一這個星球上的生產者。

Between increasing operational efficiencies and replacing our pneumatics, we have now reduced our absolute emissions to essentially as low as possible under current technologies. From here, we are preparing multiple nature-based projects to generate our own carbon offsets that will leverage cutting-edge soil probe technology to ensure the quantification of these offsets is accurate and transparent. These projects will help offset our remaining emissions and be a key enabling factor for EQT to become the first energy company in the world of meaningful scale to achieve a verifiable net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

在提高運營效率和更換氣動裝置之間，我們現在已將絕對排放量降至現有技術下盡可能低的水平。從這裡開始，我們正在準備多個基於自然的項目來產生我們自己的碳補償，這些補償將利用尖端的土壤探測技術來確保這些補償的量化是準確和透明的。這些項目將有助於抵消我們剩餘的排放量，並成為殷拓集團成為世界上第一家具有有意義規模、實現可驗證的範圍 1 和 2 淨零排放的能源公司的關鍵推動因素。

Turning to Slide 9 of our investor presentation. We commend the House and Senate for passing the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which included the approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and begins to address critical permitting reform components. We see the completion of MVP as imperative to addressing increasingly unaffordable and insufficient electricity in the Southeastern United States while simultaneously allowing the region to achieve its climate goals. Its inclusion in this bill shows that permitting reform is not a political bargaining chip but instead, a necessity recognized by a bipartisan government acting for the good of all Americans. While the recent stay from the Fourth Circuit Court creates some timing uncertainty, we still expect MVP to enter service by the first half of 2024.

轉向我們投資者演示的幻燈片 9。我們讚揚眾議院和參議院通過《財政責任法案》，其中包括批准山谷管道並開始解決關鍵的許可改革組成部分。我們認為 MVP 的完成對於解決美國東南部日益難以負擔和電力不足的問題至關重要，同時使該地區能夠實現其氣候目標。將其納入該法案表明，允許改革不是政治討價還價的籌碼，而是兩黨政府為了所有美國人的利益而認識到的必要性。雖然第四巡迴法院最近的停留造成了一些時間上的不確定性，但我們仍然預計 MVP 將於 2024 年上半年投入使用。

As it relates to EQT, our capacity on MVP has limited impact to our free cash flow in the near term, assuming current futures strip pricing. That said, the pipeline brings much needed breathing room to Appalachian infrastructure and should lower high line pressures in certain parts of the field that can in turn lessen the risk of system outages moving forward. Longer term, the completion of MVP should catalyze multiple southern expansion projects that will bring gas further into the Southeast demand centers where it is critically needed to replace coal-fired power generation and meet the region's climate goals.

由於與 EQT 相關，假設當前的期貨剝離定價，我們的 MVP 能力對我們短期內的自由現金流影響有限。也就是說，該管道為阿巴拉契亞基礎設施帶來了急需的喘息空間，並應降低油田某些地區的高壓，從而減少未來系統中斷的風險。從長遠來看，MVP的完成將促進多個南部擴張項目，將天然氣進一步帶入東南部需求中心，這些地區迫切需要天然氣來取代燃煤發電並實現該地區的氣候目標。

We believe this will in turn drive better price realizations and materially enhance the value that MVP brings to EQT over the coming years while simultaneously lowering energy prices for consumers in the Southeast.

我們相信，這將反過來推動更好的價格實現，並在未來幾年大幅提高 MVP 為 EQT 帶來的價值，同時降低東南部消費者的能源價格。

I'll conclude with a few comments on our pending Tug Hill acquisition. While the transaction has taken modestly longer than we anticipated to close, we continue to work constructively with the FTC and expect we will complete the transaction in Q3. As a reminder, Tug Hill and XcL Midstream bring low-risk, high-quality assets offsetting our existing acreage that should drive an additional $0.15 decline in our corporate free cash flow breakeven price providing even greater resiliency to our business moving forward.

最後我將對我們即將進行的 Tug Hill 收購發表一些評論。雖然交易完成時間比我們預期的要長一些，但我們將繼續與聯邦貿易委員會進行建設性合作，並預計將在第三季度完成交易。提醒一下，Tug Hill 和 XcL Midstream 帶來了低風險、高質量的資產，抵消了我們現有的面積，這應該會導致我們的企業自由現金流盈虧平衡價格再下降 0.15 美元，從而為我們的業務發展提供更大的彈性。

I'll now turn the call over to Dave.

我現在將把電話轉給戴夫。

Thanks, Toby. It's bitter sweet to be on my final conference call after 3.5 amazing years at EQT and over 30 years on Wall Street and in the corporate world. I'm honored to have left my mark on this company, and I feel a deep sense of pride in all that we have accomplished in a relatively short period of time. Since I joined in January of 2020, the stock has essentially quadrupled. We regained investment-grade credit status and EQT was added to the S&P 500 Index.

謝謝，托比。在 EQT 工作了 3.5 年，在華爾街和企業界工作了 30 多年後，參加最後一次電話會議真是苦樂參半。我很榮幸能夠在這家公司留下自己的印記，我對我們在相對較短的時間內所取得的成就感到深深的自豪。自從我 2020 年 1 月加入以來，該股基本上已經翻了兩番。我們重新獲得投資級信用地位，殷拓被納入標準普爾 500 指數。

Even with this, EQT is truly a unique organization on a trajectory that I believe will create tremendous value for years to come, which is why I'm excited to remain a long-term shareholder in this company.

即便如此，殷拓確實是一個獨特的組織，我相信它將在未來幾年創造巨大的價值，這就是為什麼我很高興繼續成為這家公司的長期股東。

I'm also thrilled to see Jeremy appointed as EQT's next CFO. I've seen his exceptional execution capabilities first hand, and I'm extremely confident he is the right person for the job.

我也很高興看到傑里米被任命為殷拓的下一任首席財務官。我親眼目睹了他卓越的執行能力，我非常有信心他是這份工作的合適人選。

Jeremy and I have worked closely together on many aspects of the business, including financial policy, capital allocation and hedging, which will ensure strategic continuity and a smooth transition of the role.

Jeremy 和我在業務的許多方面都密切合作，包括財務政策、資本配置和對沖，這將確保戰略連續性和角色的平穩過渡。

With that, I'd like to say one final thank you to all our stakeholders for your support. And I'll now turn the call over to Jeremy.

最後，我想對所有利益相關者的支持表示感謝。我現在將把電話轉給傑里米。

Thanks, Dave, and good morning, everyone. I'm extremely excited and grateful to take the reins from Dave as EQT's next Chief Financial Officer. Since joining the company in 2021, I've been continually impressed by the depth and quality of EQT's assets. The company's world-class execution capabilities and the heart, trust and teamwork that flows among our employees. I believe these attributes materially differentiate EQT in today's energy landscape and set the stage for us to drive meaningful value creation for our shareholders.

謝謝戴夫，大家早上好。我非常興奮和感激能夠接替戴夫（Dave）擔任殷拓集團（EQT）的下一任首席財務官。自 2021 年加入公司以來，殷拓資產的深度和質量一直給我留下了深刻的印象。公司世界一流的執行能力以及我們員工之間流動的心、信任和團隊精神。我相信這些屬性使殷拓在當今的能源格局中脫穎而出，並為我們為股東創造有意義的價值奠定了基礎。

Our high-level financial strategy will remain consistent with the execution you've come to expect from us over the past several years with a focus on ensuring we always maintain a bullet proof balance sheet, continued execution of our value-oriented shareholder return framework and thoughtfully investing capital in ways that structurally improve our business. I'm excited to make an even more impactful contribution to the organization and look forward to engaging in even more dialogue with our shareholders in my new role.

我們的高水平財務戰略將與您在過去幾年中對我們的期望保持一致，重點是確保我們始終保持防彈的資產負債表，持續執行我們以價值為導向的股東回報框架以及深思熟慮地以結構性改善我們業務的方式進行資本投資。我很高興能為組織做出更有影響力的貢獻，並期待在我的新角色中與股東進行更多對話。

Turning to second quarter results. Sales volumes were 471 Bcfe in line with the midpoint of our guidance range. As Toby highlighted, our drilling and completions team saw extremely strong field-level execution during the quarter, which allowed us to offset the negative impact of downtime at Shell's ethane cracker and lower non-operated TILs associated with the broader slowdown in gas-directed activity, which combined reduced quarterly net production by 12 Bcfe relative to our forecast.

轉向第二季度業績。銷量為 471 Bcfe，與我們指導範圍的中值一致。正如托比強調的那樣，我們的鑽井和完井團隊在本季度看到了極其強勁的現場執行力，這使我們能夠抵消殼牌乙烷裂解裝置停機的負面影響，並降低與天然氣導向活動更廣泛放緩相關的非運營 TIL。 ，相對於我們的預測，這使得季度淨產量減少了 12 Bcfe。

Note that we have applied a greater risking to our ethane production forecast going forward to better account for continued operational issues at the cracker as Shell works to bring it fully online.

請注意，我們對未來的乙烷產量預測應用了更大的風險，以便更好地考慮裂解裝置的持續運行問題，因為殼牌正在努力使其完全上線。

Our pre unit adjusted operating revenues were $2.11 per Mcfe and our total per unit operating costs were toward the low end of our guidance range at $1.37, resulting in an operating margin of $0.75 per Mcfe.

我們的單位調整前營業收入為每 Mcfe 2.11 美元，每單位總營業成本接近我們指導範圍的低端，即 1.37 美元，因此每 Mcfe 的營業利潤率為 0.75 美元。

Capital expenditures, excluding noncontrolling interests were $470 million in line with the midpoint of our guidance range. Adjusted operating cash flow and free cash flow were $341 million and negative $129 million, respectively. We also saw a $96 million working capital benefit driven by declining accounts receivable and lower margin postings, which offset much of the total cash impact from negative free cash flow during the quarter.

資本支出（不包括非控股權益）為 4.7 億美元，符合我們指導範圍的中值。調整後的運營現金流和自由現金流分別為 3.41 億美元和負 1.29 億美元。我們還看到，應收賬款下降和利潤率下降推動了 9600 萬美元的營運資本收益，這抵消了本季度負自由現金流對現金總額的大部分影響。

Turning to the balance sheet. A strong credit profile and ample liquidity remain core to our operating philosophy and will provide access to differentiated value creation opportunities for EQT shareholders moving forward. Our balance sheet remains very strong with trailing 12-month net leverage exiting the quarter at 1.1x, down from 1.6x a year ago. We exited the second quarter with $3.5 billion of net debt and $1.2 billion of cash on hand.

轉向資產負債表。強大的信用狀況和充裕的流動性仍然是我們經營理念的核心，並將為殷拓股東未來提供差異化的價值創造機會。我們的資產負債表仍然非常強勁，本季度過去 12 個月的淨槓桿率為 1.1 倍，低於一年前的 1.6 倍。第二季度結束時，我們的淨債務為 35 億美元，手頭現金為 12 億美元。

As shown on Slide 12 of our investor deck, we further built upon our track record of debt retiring with $800 million of incremental debt retired during the second quarter. This was comprised of the $300 million tender offer for our 6.125% 2025 senior notes and the full redemption of our 5.678% 2025 senior notes.

正如投資者幻燈片 12 所示，我們進一步鞏固了我們的債務償還記錄，第二季度償還了 8 億美元的增量債務。其中包括對我們 6.125% 2025 年優先票據的 3 億美元要約收購以及對我們 5.678% 2025 年優先票據的全額贖回。

Since rolling out our shareholder return framework in 2021, we've now retired over $1.9 billion of total debt, which has eliminated nearly $90 million of annual interest expense. Despite the challenging natural gas macro environment this year, we expect our leverage to remain well in check as we forecast exiting 2023 with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 1.3x at current strip, excluding the pending Tug Hill acquisition.

自 2021 年推出股東回報框架以來，我們現已償還了超過 19 億美元的總債務，從而消除了近 9000 萬美元的年度利息支出。儘管今年天然氣宏觀環境充滿挑戰，但我們預計我們的槓桿率仍將受到良好控制，因為我們預計到 2023 年，當前地帶的淨債務與 EBITDA 比率將為 1.3 倍（不包括即將進行的 Tug Hill 收購）。

At the end of the quarter, liquidity stood at $4.9 billion, comprised of $1.2 billion of cash, $2.5 billion of availability under our credit facility and a $1.25 billion term loan that we have in place for the pending Tug Hill acquisition.

截至本季度末，流動性為 49 億美元，其中包括 12 億美元現金、我們信貸安排下的 25 億美元可用資金以及我們為即將進行的 Tug Hill 收購準備的 12.5 億美元定期貸款。

Moving to hedging. Second quarter results highlighted the beneficial position of our 2023 hedge book as we realized $237 million of cash NYMEX hedge gains for the quarter, inclusive of deferred put premiums. The recent strip, we expect full year NYMEX cash hedge gains of approximately $440 million net of deferred put premiums.

轉向對沖。第二季度業績突顯了我們 2023 年對沖賬簿的有利地位，因為我們在本季度實現了 2.37 億美元的現金 NYMEX 對沖收益，其中包括遞延看跌期權溢價。最近的剝離，我們預計 NYMEX 全年現金對沖收益扣除遞延看跌期權溢價後約為 4.4 億美元。

Looking into 2024, we opportunistically added to our hedge position to de-risk a portion of our expected free cash flow and debt repayment goals. We currently have 30% of our 2024 production hedged with a weighted average floor price of $3.64 per MMBtu and a weighted average ceiling of $4.14 per MMBtu.

展望 2024 年，我們機會主義地增加了對沖頭寸，以降低部分預期自由現金流和債務償還目標的風險。目前，我們 2024 年產量的 30% 以每 MMBtu 3.64 美元的加權平均底價和每 MMBtu 4.14 美元的加權平均上限進行對沖。

Note, our hedge position is strategically tilted towards the first half of 2024, where we see the most potential downside risk should normal winter weather, again, not materialize. By protecting near-term free cash flow and prioritizing our debt repayment goals, we are intentionally creating flexibility to maintain maximum upside price exposure in late 2024, 2025 and beyond when the natural gas market looks increasingly tight, and we believe pricing is asymmetrically skewed to the upside, while at the same time, mitigating downside risk.

請注意，我們的對沖頭寸在戰略上傾向於 2024 年上半年，如果正常的冬季天氣再次沒有出現，我們認為最潛在的下行風險。通過保護近期自由現金流並優先考慮我們的債務償還目標，我們有意創造靈活性，以便在 2024 年末、2025 年及以後，當天然氣市場看起來日益緊張時，維持最大的價格上漲風險，並且我們認為定價不對稱地偏向於上行的同時，也降低了下行風險。

As it relates to basis, Appalachian differentials have widened for the balance of 2023, driven by elevated Eastern storage levels, a byproduct of the warm prior winter. The current MQ future strip implies more than $1.50 per MMBtu differential to NYMEX this fall, which is a price level below cash costs for many producers. EQT is well positioned here, however, as we have roughly 90% of balance 2023 local volumes covered with basis hedges that are solidly in the money relative to current strip.

就基差而言，阿巴拉契亞差異在 2023 年剩餘時間內擴大，這是由於東部存儲水平升高（這是前一冬季溫暖的副產品）所致。目前的 MQ 期貨帶意味著今年秋季每 MMBtu 與 NYMEX 的價差超過 1.50 美元，對於許多生產商來說，這個價格水平低於現金成本。然而，殷拓在這方面處於有利地位，因為我們 2023 年本地交易量的大約 90% 都覆蓋了基差對沖，相對於當前的條帶而言，這些基差對沖是穩定的。

On MVP, we modeled a first half of 2024 in service date to acknowledge there could be some risk to the timetable based on the recent activity from the Fourth Circuit Court. When MVP does come online, higher transmission expense associated with our capacity should be largely offset by a combination of the immediate material step down in our gathering rate and better price realizations, resulting in a negligible impact to EQT's free cash flow in the near term.

關於 MVP，我們模擬了 2024 年上半年的服務日期，以承認根據第四巡迴法院最近的活動，時間表可能存在一些風險。當 MVP 確實上線時，與我們的容量相關的更高的傳輸費用應該會在很大程度上被我們收集率的直接實質性下降和更好的價格實現所抵消，從而在短期內對殷拓自由現金流的影響可以忽略不計。

However, as Toby mentioned, we see significant opportunity to move production further into the Southeast U.S. over time as expansion projects were completed. This will occur at a time when Gulf Coast volumes supply in the area shift more towards satisfying LNG export demand, which will likely contribute to better price realizations and value for our MVP capacity over time.

然而，正如托比提到的，隨著擴建項目的完成，我們看到隨著時間的推移，將生產進一步轉移到美國東南部的重大機會。這將發生在墨西哥灣沿岸地區的供應量更多地轉向滿足液化天然氣出口需求的時候，隨著時間的推移，這可能有助於更好的價格實現和我們的 MVP 產能的價值。

Turning to the natural gas macro landscape. Fundamentals are largely playing out as we expected. As discussed on our last earnings call, we anticipated additional gas-directed activity cuts given prices fell well below many producers' breakeven across the U.S. Activity reductions have played out with 35 gas rigs laid down across the U.S. in the second quarter, 22 of which were in the high-cost Haynesville play, a nearly 40% fall from the peak in a very short amount of time. We expect incremental gas rig drops for the rest of 2023, albeit at a much slower pace relative to the last few months.

轉向天然氣宏觀景觀。基本面基本符合我們的預期。正如我們在上次財報電話會議上所討論的那樣，鑑於價格遠低於美國各地許多生產商的盈虧平衡點，我們預計天然氣導向的活動將進一步削減。第二季度，美國各地舖設了 35 個天然氣鑽井平台，其中 22 個是活動削減的結果。在高成本的海恩斯維爾比賽中，在很短的時間內就從峰值下跌了近 40%。我們預計 2023 年剩餘時間內天然氣鑽機數量將減少，儘管速度比過去幾個月要慢得多。

The large year-to-date reduction in drilling activity should moderate supply from current levels and help support prices for the balance of 2023 and as we head into 2024. We also note over 45 oil-directed rigs were laid down during the second quarter and oil activity is now roughly 15% below highs set late last year. Further declines in oil-directed activity will likely result in associated gas growth underperforming relative to consensus, blending additional structural support to natural gas prices in 2024 and 2025.

今年迄今為止鑽井活動的大幅減少應該會緩和當前水平的供應，並有助於支撐 2023 年剩餘時間以及進入 2024 年的價格。我們還注意到，第二季度鋪設了超過 45 個石油鑽井平台，目前石油活動比去年年底創下的高點低約 15%。石油主導的活動進一步下降可能會導致伴生天然氣增長低於共識，從而為 2024 年和 2025 年天然氣價格提供額外的結構性支持。

Another area of significant market support has come from strong gas-fired power demand. Lower spot natural gas prices and materially weaker-than-expected wind generation drove approximately 3 Bcf a day of higher natural gas power generation during the second quarter. Specifically, wind generation underperformed expectations by a staggering 20 million-megawatt hours. Most of this shortfall was met by natural gas generation, demonstrating the need and the value of reliable generation to compensate for inherent volatility of renewables.

另一個重要的市場支撐領域來自強勁的燃氣發電需求。第二季度，天然氣現貨價格下降和風力發電大幅弱於預期，導致天然氣發電量每天增加約 3 Bcf。具體而言，風力發電的表現低於預期，達 2000 萬兆瓦時。這一缺口大部分由天然氣發電來滿足，這表明可靠發電的必要性和價值，以彌補可再生能源固有的波動性。

LNG performance during the quarter remained strong as Europe and China listed U.S. cargoes to refill storage and meet demand from record-breaking heat realized in May and June. Some of this strength was offset by major maintenance at Sabine Pass LNG, but this has since been completed. Looking ahead, we anticipate 6 Bcf a day of incremental nameplate LNG capacity online by year-end 2025, which should create a significant tailwind for natural gas fundamentals over the next several years.

由於歐洲和中國將美國貨物列入清單以補充儲存並滿足 5 月和 6 月創紀錄的高溫需求，本季度液化天然氣表現依然強勁。薩賓帕斯液化天然氣廠的主要維護工作抵消了部分優勢，但此後已經完成。展望未來，我們預計到 2025 年底，每天新增 6 Bcf 的銘牌液化天然氣產能，這將為未來幾年的天然氣基本面帶來重大推動力。

Turning to oilfield service pricing. The rate of change in inflationary pressure has slowed meaningfully over the past several months, and we're starting to see leading indicators of potential softening in certain areas. Recent indications suggest steel casing prices have declined 15% to 20% relative to the recent peak, and we should start to see the benefits of this beginning in late Q3 as we deplete our current inventory. For reference, deal associated with casing and wellheads makes up around 10% of our total well costs.

轉向油田服務定價。過去幾個月，通脹壓力的變化速度明顯放緩，我們開始看到某些領域可能出現疲軟的先行指標。最近的跡象表明，鋼套管價格相對於最近的峰值已經下降了 15% 至 20%，隨著我們耗盡當前的庫存，我們應該在第三季度末開始看到這一點的好處。作為參考，與套管和井口相關的交易約占我們總油井成本的 10%。

In terms of drilling and completions, we are currently running 2 horizontal rigs and 2 to 3 frac spreads. Given our focus on consistent execution of our combo development strategy, we lock in the bulk of our rigs and frac spreads under long-term contracts. This strategy has paid dividends for us over the past several years as our rates have been consistently below the spot market. And the quantity needed is much lower than peers due to our higher efficiencies.

在鑽井和完井方面，我們目前正在運行 2 個水平鑽機和 2 至 3 個壓裂裝置。鑑於我們專注於持續執行我們的組合開發戰略，我們將大部分鑽機和壓裂價差鎖定在長期合同下。這一策略在過去幾年中為我們帶來了紅利，因為我們的費率一直低於現貨市場。由於我們的效率更高，所需的數量比同行低得多。

We do see the opportunity for some modest downward pressure on big ticket items. As our contracts roll off, we're exploring ways to improve our efficiencies that could translate into incremental downward pressure on well costs. While still too early to predict with precision, we preliminarily see the potential for our total well cost to decline by up to 5% year-over-year in 2024.

我們確實看到了大件商品面臨適度下行壓力的機會。隨著我們的合同到期，我們正在探索提高效率的方法，這可能會轉化為油井成本的增量下行壓力。雖然準確預測還為時過早，但我們初步預計 2024 年總油井成本可能同比下降 5%。

Turning to guidance. We are reiterating our 2023 production outlook of 1,900 to 2,000 Bcfe. Our 2023 capital budget of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion excluding the pending Tug Hill acquisition and our per unit operating expense in differential ranges.

轉向指導。我們重申 2023 年產量預期為 1,900 至 2,000 Bcfe。我們 2023 年的資本預算為 17 億至 19 億美元，不包括即將進行的 Tug Hill 收購和不同範圍的單位運營費用。

On Slide 33 of our investor deck, we provide adjusted EBITDA, operating cash flow and free cash flow outlook at various natural gas prices for the remainder of 2023.

在我們投資者平台的幻燈片 33 上，我們提供了 2023 年剩餘時間在各種天然氣價格下調整後的 EBITDA、運營現金流和自由現金流前景。

At recent strip pricing, 2023 adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately $2.8 billion, and 2023 free cash flow was anticipated to be roughly $900 million prior to the impact of our pending acquisition.

根據最近的剝離定價，2023 年調整後的 EBITDA 預計約為 28 億美元，在我們即將進行的收購產生影響之前，2023 年自由現金流預計約為 9 億美元。

As it relates to capital allocation, we are pleased with the execution of our shareholder return framework to date, and we'll continue with our opportunistic all of the above construct moving forward. As a reminder, since initiating our framework in late 2021, we have retired more than $1.9 billion of debt, repurchased more than $600 million of stock and pay an annual base dividend of $0.60 per share which we grew 20% last year relative to our initial dividend.

由於涉及資本配置，我們對迄今為止股東回報框架的執行感到滿意，我們將繼續推進上述所有機會主義結構。提醒一下，自 2021 年底啟動我們的框架以來，我們已經償還了超過 19 億美元的債務，回購了超過 6 億美元的股票，並支付了每股 0.60 美元的年度基本股息，去年相對於最初的股息增長了 20%股利。

As it relates to our buyback execution, we believe our opportunistic strategy is generating superior results as our current share price suggests we have generated a weighted average return of 31% for our shareholders versus a negative 5% on average for the peer group.

由於這與我們的回購執行有關，我們相信我們的機會主義策略正在產生卓越的成果，因為我們目前的股價表明我們已經為股東帶來了 31% 的加權平均回報，而同行的平均回報率為負 5%。

Looking ahead and consistent with our track record, investors should expect we will maintain a bias towards debt repayment until we achieve our target of 1x leverage at $2.75 per MMBtu natural gas prices, which will ensure a bulletproof balance sheet through all parts of the commodity cycle. This will, in turn, minimize the downside while allowing us to limit the need to defensively hedge and cap what we expect to be unpredictable, asymmetric price movement to the upside in the years ahead.

展望未來，與我們的往績記錄一致，投資者應該預期我們將繼續偏向債務償還，直到我們實現每 MMBtu 天然氣價格 2.75 美元的 1 倍槓桿目標，這將確保在大宗商品週期的所有部分擁有無懈可擊的資產負債表。反過來，這將最大限度地減少下行風險，同時允許我們限制防禦性對沖的需要，並限制我們預計未來幾年不可預測、不對稱的價格上漲趨勢。

We will also continue to rigorously assess investment opportunities with strong risk-adjusted returns that improve the quality of our business while compounding cash flow, which is the foundation of sustainable shareholder value creation in any business, similar to our West Virginia water system that Toby highlighted earlier.

我們還將繼續嚴格評估具有強大風險調整回報的投資機會，這些機會可以提高我們的業務質量，同時增加現金流，這是任何企業可持續股東價值創造的基礎，類似於托比強調的我們的西弗吉尼亞州供水系統早些時候。

Our buyback remains a key tool for opportunistic execution that points in the cycle where we see favorable risk reward potential for generating returns well in excess of our weighted average cost of capital. And finally, sustainable long-term base dividend growth will remain a key pillar of our shareholder return strategy moving forward.

我們的回購仍然是機會主義執行的關鍵工具，在這個週期中，我們看到有利的風險回報潛力，可以產生遠遠超過我們加權平均資本成本的回報。最後，可持續的長期基礎股息增長仍將是我們未來股東回報戰略的關鍵支柱。

I'll close by highlighting Slide 3 of our investor presentation, which I think elegantly summarizes the value proposition at EQT. We believe our modern data-driven operating model, significant scale, peer-leading inventory quality and depth, ESG leadership and low investment-grade cost of capital make EQT one of the most compelling investment opportunities in the market today.

最後，我將重點介紹我們投資者演示文稿的幻燈片 3，我認為該幻燈片很好地總結了 EQT 的價值主張。我們相信，我們現代的數據驅動運營模式、巨大的規模、同行領先的庫存質量和深度、ESG 領先地位以及較低的投資級資本成本，使殷拓成為當今市場上最引人注目的投資機會之一。

However, despite these characteristics and strong relative stock performance recently, EQT trades at the highest 5-year cumulative free cash flow yield as a percentage of enterprise value amongst the gas peers, meaning we could buy back more of our enterprise value with organically generated free cash flow at strip pricing.

然而，儘管有這些特徵以及最近強勁的相對股票表現，EQT 的 5 年累計自由現金流收益率在天然氣同行中佔企業價值的百分比最高，這意味著我們可以用有機產生的自由現金流回購更多的企業價值。剝離定價的現金流量。

Interestingly and as illustrated on the left side of Slide 11, thanks to our relentless focus on achieving the lowest free cash flow breakeven, at our current stock price, EQT shares simultaneously provide among the least downside in a long-term $3 gas price scenario and the most upside in a $5 gas price scenario, again, when measured by the next 5 years of cumulative free cash flow relative to enterprise value. Whether investors fully appreciate this or not, is this cash flow is realized, it should drive our equity value higher by definition. And we believe this will propel further share price outperformance. This signals to us the market is only scratching the surface of appreciating EQT's strategically advantaged position and high-quality assets, and I look forward to helping identify and capture significant value for shareholders in my new role moving forward.

有趣的是，如幻燈片 11 左側所示，由於我們堅持不懈地致力於實現最低的自由現金流盈虧平衡，以我們當前的股價計算，EQT 股票同時在 3 美元的長期汽油價格情景中提供了最小的下行空間之一，並且以未來 5 年相對於企業價值的累積自由現金流來衡量，這也是 5 美元汽油價格情景中的最大上漲空間。無論投資者是否充分意識到這一點，現金流是否得以實現，從定義上來說，它應該會推高我們的股權價值。我們相信這將推動股價進一步跑贏。這向我們表明，市場對殷拓的戰略優勢地位和優質資產的認可才剛剛開始，我期待著在今後的新角色中幫助股東識別和獲取重大價值。

I'll now turn the call back over to Toby for some concluding remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給托比，讓其做一些總結性發言。

Thanks, Jeremy. To conclude today's prepared remarks, I want to reiterate a few key points. Number one, EQT's operational execution has been on point in 2023 with our drilling and completion teams, setting multiple internal and world records during the quarter. Number two, we continue to successfully implement our value-oriented capital returns framework with an incremental $800 million of debt retired in Q2, taking our cumulative debt retirement to more than $1.9 billion since late 2021. Number three, our recent HOA for tolling capacity at Lake Charles represents an initial step in progressing our LNG strategy, which seeks to diversify a portion of our production into international markets and achieve the best combination of upside exposure with downside risk mitigation. And four, we strategically added to our 2024 hedge position which ensures the accelerated achievement of our debt retirement goals while simultaneously providing shareholders maximum upside exposure to gas prices in late 2024, 2025 and beyond.

謝謝，傑里米。作為今天準備好的發言的總結，我想重申幾個要點。第一，殷拓集團的鑽井和完井團隊在 2023 年的運營執行力表現出色，在本季度創下了多項內部和世界紀錄。第二，我們繼續成功實施以價值為導向的資本回報框架，第二季度增加了 8 億美元的債務清償，使我們自 2021 年底以來的累計債務清償超過 19 億美元。第三，我們最近對收費能力的 HOA查爾斯湖代表了我們推進液化天然氣戰略的第一步，該戰略旨在將我們的部分生產多元化到國際市場，並實現上行風險與下行風險緩解的最佳組合。第四，我們戰略性地增加了 2024 年的對沖頭寸，以確保加速實現我們的債務清償目標，同時為股東在 2024 年末、2025 年及以後提供天然氣價格的最大上行風險。

And lastly, number five, our 2022 ESG report underscores our peer-leading environmental performance with a 20% year-over-year decline in EQT's production segment Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, moving us yet another step closer toward the realization of our ambitious 2025 net zero emissions goal.

最後，第五點，我們的 2022 年 ESG 報告強調了我們在同行中領先的環境績效，殷拓生產部門的範圍 1 和範圍 2 溫室氣體排放量同比下降了 20%，使我們離實現我們的目標又近了一步。雄心勃勃的 2025 年淨零排放目標。

I'd now like to open the call to questions.

我現在想開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question is from Umang Chaudhry of Goldman Sachs.

（操作員指令）您的第一個問題來自高盛的 Umang Chaudhry。

Thank you. And best of luck, Dave, and hope to stay in touch. My first question was around your plans of around improving your free cash flow breakeven. I wanted to get your thoughts on capital efficiency improvement heading into 2024 given you recently -- given you highlighted drilling and completion efficiency gains and a 5% reduction from deflation. Also, if there's any update on the next-gen well design, which you talked about early in the year.

謝謝。祝戴夫好運，並希望保持聯繫。我的第一個問題是關於您改善自由現金流盈虧平衡的計劃。鑑於您最近強調了鑽井和完井效率的提高以及通貨緊縮降低 5%，我想了解您對 2024 年資本效率提高的看法。另外，您在今年早些時候談到的下一代油井設計是否有任何更新。

Sure. So a couple of things that will take place in '24. We'll see a little bit lower activity levels compared to 23%, and that's as a result of just the catch-up activity that we added in '23. So that would be helpful. On the operational efficiency side of things, that's great to see the progress that the teams have made there, but really the focus is going to be on service cost inflation reductions that we see. So we're being conservative with that low single digits, but we'll update that as the teams continue to procure bids. And obviously, that at a -- stepping back, bigger picture, we've got Tug Hill, which will lower our cost structure. And then also, as a reminder, we say it every quarter, the step down in gathering rates will be impactful as well. So pretty unique in the sense that EQT has some pretty big items that will lower our cost structure going forward. I think that's definitely unique and worth pointing out.

當然。 24 年將發生一些事情。與 23% 相比，我們會看到活動水平略低，這是我們在 23 年添加的追趕活動的結果。所以這會很有幫助。在運營效率方面，很高興看到團隊在這方面取得的進展，但實際上重點將放在我們看到的服務成本通貨膨脹的降低上。因此，我們對這個低個位數持保守態度，但隨著團隊繼續招標，我們會更新這一點。顯然，退一步看，從更大的角度來看，我們擁有 Tug Hill，這將降低我們的成本結構。然後，提醒一下，我們每個季度都會說，降低利率也會產生影響。從某種意義上說，EQT 擁有一些相當大的項目，可以降低我們未來的成本結構，因此非常獨特。我認為這絕對是獨一無二的，值得指出。

As it relates to the [Mark 3] science campaign that we run, we have completed all of the operational execution of that, and we are currently in monitoring mode for the impact there.

由於它與我們開展的 [Mark 3] 科學活動有關，我們已經完成了該活動的所有操作執行，並且我們目前正處於監測模式，以監測其影響。

We have taken some best practices and incorporated that into our well design program. And with the monitoring that we've done, we have tightened up the controls in our assessment to take these different parameters and make sure that we are applying the best for market conditions. So it's been some practice implemented, greater awareness on the knobs that we're turning and we'll continue to monitor that. As we mentioned in the past, biggest focus for us, determining factor is really going to be where the service cost environment shakes out. So we'll keep everybody updated on that front.

我們採取了一些最佳實踐並將其納入我們的良好設計計劃中。通過我們所做的監控，我們加強了評估中的控制，以採用這些不同的參數，並確保我們應用最適合市場條件的參數。因此，我們已經實施了一些實踐，對我們正在轉動的旋鈕有了更高的認識，我們將繼續監控這一點。正如我們過去提到的，我們最關注的焦點是，決定因素實際上是服務成本環境的變化。因此，我們將向大家通報這方面的最新情況。

Got you. That's very helpful. And my next question was on LNG strategy. You've obviously taken the first step towards executing our strategy by signing the HOA agreement with Lake Charles. Any update on what the end customers are looking for? Any color on the price exposure, which they're willing to take and their willingness to sign collar contracts?

明白你了。這非常有幫助。我的下一個問題是關於液化天然氣戰略。通過與 Lake Charles 簽署 HOA 協議，您顯然已經邁出了執行我們戰略的第一步。有關最終客戶正在尋找什麼的最新信息嗎？他們願意接受的價格暴露以及他們願意簽署領子合同的任何顏色嗎？

Yes. So at a very high level, what customers are looking for, they're looking for energy security. And while you've seen customers around the world build out the infrastructure to receive LNG that you've seen customers acquire supply to feed that infrastructure. But as long as this supply is tied to index pricing, it's hard to see that energy security which only comes with cost controls and guardrails on pricing.

是的。因此，在很高的層面上，客戶正在尋找什麼，他們正在尋找能源安全。雖然您看到世界各地的客戶建造了基礎設施來接收液化天然氣，但您也看到客戶獲得供應來滿足該基礎設施的需求。但只要這種供應與指數定價掛鉤，就很難看到僅通過成本控制和定價護欄來實現能源安全。

So this is something that we thought was incredibly important. We thought it was unique. And with this tolling structure that we put in place, we now have the flexibility to give that energy security to our customers with fixed price collared floors and ceilings-type price controls on the LNG and energy that they're buying.

所以我們認為這是非常重要的事情。我們認為它是獨一無二的。通過我們建立的收費結構，我們現在可以靈活地為客戶提供能源安全，對他們購買的液化天然氣和能源實行固定價格下限和上限類型的價格控制。

So we think there'll be tremendous interest. And now that we have this tolling capacity, we can really dial up the conversations ultimately leading to a sales and purchase agreement with some of these customers.

所以我們認為將會有巨大的興趣。現在，我們擁有了這種收費能力，我們可以真正進行對話，最終與其中一些客戶達成銷售和購買協議。

Your next question is from Devin McDermott of Morgan Stanley.

您的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的德文·麥克德莫特。

And Dave, congrats again on the retirement. So my first one is just on Tug Hill and Toby, I'm not sure how much more you can say, but I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about just the high-level dialogue with the FTC, the reason for the slight delay here and what gives you confidence in the ability to close this deal here in 3Q?

戴夫，再次祝賀他退休。所以我的第一個是關於塔格希爾和托比，我不確定你還能說多少，但我想知道你是否可以談談與聯邦貿易委員會的高層對話，以及原因這里略有延遲，是什麼讓您對第三季度完成這筆交易的能力充滿信心？

Well, conversations have been constructive with the FTC over the past 12 months, I'd say. But I think we said that -- by the middle of this year, we'd have better insight on where this deal stands. And I can tell you today that we have confidence that we will reach resolution within the next 30 days.

嗯，我想說，過去 12 個月與 FTC 的對話是建設性的。但我認為我們說過——到今年年中，我們會對這筆交易的進展有更好的了解。今天我可以告訴大家，我們有信心在未來 30 天內達成解決方案。

Okay. Great. And then separately on MVP that disclosure on it being roughly cash flow neutral is helpful. But I was wondering if you could elaborate a bit just on some of the moving pieces there. I know you've taken some cash payments upfront for the scheduled rate relief that comes along with that pipe entering service. What's the net remaining rate relief? And how should we think about the impact of that piece over the next few years?

好的。偉大的。然後分別就 MVP 而言，披​​露大致現金流中性是有幫助的。但我想知道你是否可以詳細說明一下那裡的一些令人感動的部分。我知道你們已經預先支付了一些現金，用於管道投入服務時的預定費率減免。淨剩餘利率減免是多少？我們應該如何看待這篇文章在未來幾年的影響？

Yes. There's a couple of pieces to that. So when that pipeline comes online and you think about the associated capacity that supports it like Hammerhead, you'll see our rates step up on the transportation side. But at the same time, that triggers a gathering rate reduction and we'll access more premium markets.

是的。這有幾個部分。因此，當該管道上線時，您會想到像 Hammerhead 一樣支持它的相關容量，您會看到我們在運輸方面的費率有所提高。但與此同時，這會引發聚集率下降，我們將進入更多優質市場。

And so net-net, as we've talked about before, that should really net the impact out. I think as you look through the end of the decade and you look at some of the expansion projects that are in play that Williams and others were talking about right now, our expectation is that, that market we deliver through MVP at Station 165 will start to trend -- to trade more like that Transco Zone 5 market.

因此，正如我們之前討論過的那樣，網絡應該能夠真正消除影響。我認為，當你回顧這個十年末，看看威廉姆斯和其他人現在正在談論的一些正在實施的擴張項目時，我們的期望是，我們通過 165 號站的 MVP 提供的市場將開始趨勢——更像 Transco Zone 5 市場那樣進行交易。

So if you look at what [Cal 25] looks like in the basis markets today, Station 165 trades about $0.40 back and that Zone 5 market trades at a better -- about $1 premium to NYMEX. And so it's going to be an evolution of that market as those downstream projects are built out, but that's what we're looking for to really in the years ahead. And I think that capacity -- the value of it will increase each year that goes by.

因此，如果您看看今天的基差市場中的 [Cal 25]，您會發現 165 站的交易價格約為 0.40 美元，而 5 區市場的交易價格更好，大約比 NYMEX 溢價 1 美元。因此，隨著下游項目的建成，該市場將發生演變，但這正是我們在未來幾年真正尋求的。我認為這種能力——它的價值將會逐年增加。

Your next question is from Bertrand Donnes of Truist.

您的下一個問題來自 Truist 的 Bertrand Donnes。

Just one of your peers have taken the approach that LNG exports will be about 15% to 20% of U.S. volumes, so they want to keep their contribution in that range. I just want to see if that matched kind of your internal strategy or does the tolling agreement if you have maybe let you pivot more easily and so you maybe could go above that percentage.

只有一個同行認為液化天然氣出口量將占美國出口量的 15% 至 20% 左右，因此他們希望將自己的貢獻保持在這一範圍內。我只是想看看這是否符合您的內部策略或收費協議，如果您可能讓您更輕鬆地進行調整，那麼您可能會超過該百分比。

The way we've talked about this historically is having that 1.2 Bcf a day of supply into that Gulf Coast market today. We will use a portion of that to sell into international markets, but we haven't necessarily set any sort of guidance range like you described around it. I think we'll be opportunistic depending on the facility depending on what the market provides us. Long term, I think we'd like to increase capacity to the extent it makes sense, but within a proper risk-adjusted framework.

我們歷史上討論這個問題的方式是每天向墨西哥灣沿岸市場供應 1.2 Bcf。我們將使用其中的一部分銷往國際市場，但我們不一定會像您所描述的那樣設定任何指導範圍。我認為我們會根據市場為我們提供的設施而機會主義。從長遠來看，我認為我們希望在合理的範圍內增加產能，但要在適當的風險調整框架內。

Got you. And then my follow-up on the same topic is just kind of 2 smaller points. Does your ability to increase your capacity to the Gulf Coast have any impact on maybe the pace of additional LNG deals? And then the second part of that is just with a 15-year term on your side, did you want to match the end users agreements to that duration? Or do you maybe want to do 5 years here and there and add up to that 15 years.

明白你了。然後我對同一主題的後續行動只是兩個較小的點。你們增加墨西哥灣沿岸產能的能力是否會對額外液化天然氣交易的步伐產生任何影響？第二部分是您的任期為 15 年，您是否希望將最終用戶協議與該期限相匹配？或者你想在這里或那裡做 5 年，加起來就是 15 年。

Yes. On the structure with the sales and purchase agreement, we would like to see parity with what we're doing on the tolling side. And I would say just what's going to govern the pace for us given the fact that we have ample exposure to the Gulf Coast and LNG, the pace is really going to be covered by the customers. And if we can execute attractive collar type pricing that locks in some pretty favorable returns for us, then I think we'll look at continuing the pace and doing more. So these are the conversations that we're going to be having over the next 12 months that we've already begun, and that will come back and determine pace, and we'll update you guys along the line.

是的。在銷售和購買協議的結構上，我們希望看到與我們在收費方面所做的工作保持一致。我想說的是，考慮到我們在墨西哥灣沿岸和液化天然氣領域擁有充足的業務，我們的步伐將由客戶來決定。如果我們能夠執行有吸引力的領式定價，為我們鎖定一些相當有利的回報，那麼我認為我們將考慮繼續步伐並採取更多行動。這些是我們在接下來的 12 個月內將要進行的對話，我們已經開始了，這些對話將回來並確定節奏，我們將向大家通報最新情況。

Your next question is from Arun Jayaram of JPMorgan Chase.

您的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Arun Jayaram。

Toby, I wanted to get a follow-up on your comments on your expectation that you could close the deal with Tug Hill in the next 30 days. I mean, do you contemplate any changes to the original agreement. And so I just wanted a sense is if you close in 30 days, do you expect it to be consistent with the original terms signed with Tug Hill?

Toby，我想了解您對在未來 30 天內完成與 Tug Hill 交易的預期的評論。我的意思是，您是否考慮對原始協議進行任何更改？所以我只是想知道如果你在 30 天內關閉，你是否期望它與與 Tug Hill 簽署的原始條款一致？

Yes. We expect to be closing within 30 days. And 1 of the guiding principles for us as we're going through this process is to make sure that we preserve the economics of the deal that we signed up and feel like we're going to be able to deliver that and also preserve the strategic flexibility going forward. So it's been a long process, but we see like the end of the tunnel, and we're going to achieve our original goals.

是的。我們預計將在 30 天內關閉。在我們經歷這一過程時，我們的指導原則之一是確保我們保持所簽署協議的經濟性，並感覺我們將能夠實現這一目標，並保持戰略性未來的靈活性。所以這是一個漫長的過程，但我們看到了隧道的盡頭，我們將實現最初的目標。

Great. My follow-up, Toby, you started the call talking about a lot of efficiency gains on the drilling and completion side. And then obviously, you have the [Mark 3] program, which is underway. Excluding any kind of impacts from service cost tailwinds next year, how should we be thinking about capital efficiency of next year's program, just given some of the benefits, efficiency gains that you highlighted this morning.

偉大的。我的跟進者托比，您在通話開始時談到了鑽井和完井方面的大量效率提升。顯然，[Mark 3] 計劃正在進行中。排除明年服務成本順風的任何影響，考慮到您今天早上強調的一些好處和效率提升，我們應該如何考慮明年計劃的資本效率。

Yes, Arun, Slide 22 for us really puts the spotlight on CapEx efficiency over time, and we do anticipate there to be a tick down on our CapEx intensity. And I think looking longer term, when you get the benefits of Tug Hill, you get the benefits of the lower gathering rates, overall corporate breakeven will continue to trend lower.

是的，Arun，幻燈片 22 對我們來說確實將焦點放在隨著時間的推移資本支出效率上，我們確實預計我們的資本支出強度會有所下降。我認為從長遠來看，當你從 Tug Hill 受益時，你從較低的聚集率中受益，整體企業盈虧平衡點將繼續走低。

Great. And I also want to pass on my regards to Dave, good luck in retirement, but great working with you all these years.

偉大的。我還想向戴夫轉達我的問候，祝你退休好運，這些年來與你一起工作真是太好了。

Your next question is from John Abbott of Bank of America.

你的下一個問題來自美國銀行的約翰·阿博特。

Dave, the BofA team wishes you also at the best of luck in your next adventures. Toby, just -- Toby, first question it's really on West Virginia. You've mentioned other opportunities here for like improvements like water infrastructure between West Virginia and PA. Could you characterize the number of opportunities that we're talking about, too, how do you see potential cost versus the $80 million that you spent previously, maybe there has been some sort of cost inflation? And just how quickly would you want to be -- go after these types of opportunities? Are we looking at 2024, do you want to see some deflation? How should we think about that?

戴夫，美國銀行團隊祝您在下一次冒險中一切順利。托比，只是 - 托比，第一個問題，這真的是在西弗吉尼亞州。您在這裡提到了其他類似改進的機會，例如西弗吉尼亞州和賓夕法尼亞州之間的供水基礎設施。您能否描述一下我們正在討論的機會數量？與您之前花費的 8000 萬美元相比，您如何看待潛在成本？也許存在某種成本膨脹？您希望以多快的速度抓住這些類型的機會？展望 2024 年，您希望看到一些通貨緊縮嗎？我們應該如何思考這個問題？

Well, I think what's special about West Virginia is the terrain and logistics become very important. And so to solve logistics constraints, investing in infrastructure is the solution. And so you've seen the benefit from the water infrastructure investment that we've done in West Virginia, that will continue, and we've identified a synergy with the Tug Hill acquisition to combine the Tug Hill water system with our system that not only is going to expand our produced water network, but also freshwater delivery.

嗯，我認為西弗吉尼亞州的特別之處在於地形和後勤變得非常重要。因此，要解決物流限制，投資基礎設施就是解決方案。因此，您已經看到了我們在西弗吉尼亞州進行的水基礎設施投資所帶來的好處，這種投資將繼續下去，並且我們已經確定了與 Tug Hill 收購的協同作用，將 Tug Hill 供水系統與我們的系統結合起來，不僅要擴大我們的采出水網絡，還要擴大淡水輸送。

So we're excited about continuing with the progress on the water side. And then we're also looking at sand infrastructure and really just getting some transloads closer to the well locations that should hopefully, not just alleviate bottlenecks, but also set the completions teams up to continue to knock it out of the park and removing sand as being a bottleneck. That will be a constraint on them, just given their enhanced operating efficiencies that they've been demonstrating down there.

因此，我們對繼續在水方面取得進展感到興奮。然後，我們還在研究沙子基礎設施，實際上只是讓一些轉運物更接近井位，這不僅有望緩解瓶頸，而且還能讓完井團隊繼續將其從公園中剔除並清除沙子，成為瓶頸。這將成為對他們的限制，因為他們已經在那裡展示了運營效率的提高。

John, I think just to add to that from more of a financial perspective too. If you look at that water system we built out, we spent about $80 million doing that. And today, that's generating savings of about $20 million a year. So think about that as like a 25% free cash flow yield. And that's something that -- it's not like a well that declines, it's durable. It's got longevity to it for the next 10 to 15 years.

約翰，我想也從財務角度補充這一點。如果你看看我們建造的供水系統，我們花費了大約 8000 萬美元。如今，每年可節省約 2000 萬美元。因此，可以將其視為 25% 的自由現金流收益率。這並不像一口會下降的井，它是耐用的。它的使用壽命可以持續 10 到 15 年。

Some of the other projects we've looked at recently, 1 of which we highlighted when we announced that Tug Hill acquisition, was additional pipeline connectivity throughout the basin. We're seeing similar sorts of returns on those projects at kind of a mid-20% free cash flow yield. The more projects like that we can find to reinvest capital into the more value we think we can create both through reinvesting and compounding but also just improving the base quality of the business. So it's something we're focused on. We've got the operational teams looking around trying to find more opportunities to reinvest cash flow like that. But I mean, those are 2 examples just to make it a little more tangible.

我們最近關注的其他一些項目，其中一個是我們在宣布收購 Tug Hill 時強調的，是整個盆地的額外管道連接。我們看到這些項目的回報率類似，自由現金流收益率在 20% 左右。我們發現的將資本再投資的項目越多，我們認為我們可以通過再投資和復利創造更多的價值，同時也可以提高業務的基礎質量。所以這是我們關注的事情。我們的運營團隊正在四處尋找，試圖尋找更多這樣的機會來對現金流進行再投資。但我的意思是，這兩個例子只是為了讓它更具體一些。

Appreciate it. And the second question is on MVP. Assuming it comes online, maybe you can't -- maybe if the basin can't necessarily grow into all at once. But when you sort of think about that capacity coming on, what are your thoughts about EQT growing into some of that capacity over time? Would you want to maintain market share? How do you think about that? You want to just stay flat? How do you think about that capacity?

欣賞它。第二個問題是關於MVP。假設它上線了，也許你不能——也許如果盆地不一定能一下子全部長出來的話。但是，當您考慮這種能力即將出現時，您對 EQT 隨著時間的推移逐漸發展出這種能力有何看法？您想保持市場份額嗎？您對此有何看法？你想保持平坦嗎？您如何看待這個能力？

Yes, certainly, out of the gate until some of the downstream expansion projects are completed that really create more of that demand pull at that delivered market. We just plan to reallocate volumes that are currently being sold in basin to that MVP capacity. Where the basin sits today, and I think 2023 is a good example where in-basin storage is about 100 Bcf a day above -- not per day, 100 Bcf above normal. There's not a lot of headroom. We think MVP coming online, we'll take some of that froth out of storage and balance the market a little bit more. If additional infrastructure is built, we would love the opportunity to grow into it. But where we sit today, it's hard to see that being in the next 1 to 2 years.

是的，當然，在一些下游擴張項目完成之前，這些項目確實會在交付的市場上產生更多的需求拉動。我們只是計劃將流域內當前銷售的數量重新分配給該 MVP 容量。今天盆地所在的位置，我認為 2023 年是一個很好的例子，盆地內存儲量每天比正常水平高出約 100 Bcf——不是每天，而是比正常水平高出 100 Bcf。沒有太多的淨空。我們認為 MVP 上線後，我們將消除一些泡沫並進一步平衡市場。如果建造了額外的基礎設施，我們將很高興有機會發展其中。但就我們今天的情況來看，很難看到未來一到兩年內會出現這種情況。

Your next question is from Scott Hanold of RBC Capital Markets.

您的下一個問題來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的斯科特·漢諾德。

Toby, you obviously have some confidence in seeing the Tug Hill closing. It sounds with a lot of the economics and kind of nonnegotiables that you wanted. Can you talk about more specifically though, your view on further consolidation within the basin beyond that? Because I know that was the strategy a few years ago to generate more shareholder value. Do you see any limitations based on your conversations with the FTC to do much beyond the Tug Hill deal?

托比，你顯然對看到塔格山關閉有信心。這聽起來有很多你想要的經濟學和不可談判的東西。您能否更具體地談談您對該盆地內進一步整合的看法？因為我知道這是幾年前創造更多股東價值的策略。根據您與聯邦貿易委員會的對話，您認為除了塔格山交易之外，還有什麼限制嗎？

Scott, at this time, I think we'd just like to stay focused on getting the deal done with the FTC, and we'll look forward to updating you guys on path forward after we get through this.

斯科特，目前，我認為我們只想專注於與聯邦貿易委員會完成交易，我們期待在完成此事後向你們通報前進道路的最新情況。

Okay. Understand. And then on the LNG tolling agreement, I think that you indicated some of the things that the buyers were interested in getting. Can you just give a high-level view on the way that you're structuring the agreements like what do you see as in terms of the benefit of reaching those international markets, what kind of bands are you looking at relative to what you could get in the U.S.? And does that also mitigate the need for you all to hedge those volumes when you do have some coloring on the pricing?

好的。理解。然後，關於液化天然氣收費協議，我認為您指出了買家有興趣獲得的一些內容。您能否就您構建協議的方式給出一個高層次的看法，例如您認為進入這些國際市場的好處是什麼，相對於您可以獲得的樂隊，您正在考慮什麼樣的樂隊在美國。？當你們確實對定價進行了一些調整時，這是否也減輕了你們所有人對沖這些交易量的需要？

Yes. So let me answer it this way. Getting these deals in place is a multi-step process. Signing the HOA is the first step in that. As we look forward to the next steps it comes down to getting a binding agreement in place based on those HLA terms. And then following up on that with that sales and purchase agreement. A collar structure is what comes into play as part of that sales and purchase agreement. So it's a little premature to give too much clarity around that at the time. But you're right that, that is still our intention.

是的。那麼讓我這樣回答吧。落實這些交易是一個多步驟的過程。簽署 HOA 是第一步。當我們期待接下來的步驟時，歸根結底是根據這些 HLA 條款達成具有約束力的協議。然後跟進銷售和購買協議。領式結構是銷售和購買協議的一部分。因此，現在對此做出過多澄清還為時過早。但你是對的，這仍然是我們的意圖。

Your next question is from Michael Scialla of Stephens.

您的下一個問題來自 Stephens 的 Michael Scialla。

Congratulations to both David and Jeremy. Jeremy, you talked about the 24 hedges you added during the quarter that were weighted to the first half, I guess, to take some winter risk off the table. But I want to see how you guys are viewing the market in the second half '24 and into '25. I guess it sounds like you would stay lightly hedged there given the incremental LNG capacity. Is that fair?

祝賀大衛和傑里米。傑里米（Jeremy），您談到了您在本季度添加的 24 項對沖，我猜這些對沖被加權到上半年，以消除一些冬季風險。但我想看看你們如何看待 24 年下半年和 25 年的市場。我想，考慮到液化天然氣產能的增加，你會在那裡保持輕微的對沖。這公平嗎？

Yes. So there's a couple of dynamics at play. And when we look at the market going forward, we try to get a sense for -- well, it's hard to predict price exactly. We try to get a sense of where the SKU is. And so when you look at where storage is today heading into this winter in the first half of 2024, we feel like there's pretty equal upside, downside SKU. And so that's why you've seen us lean a little bit more into swaps, even though it's something we're generally trying to deemphasize in the past.

是的。所以有一些動力在起作用。當我們展望未來的市場時，我們試圖了解——嗯，很難準確預測價格。我們嘗試了解 SKU 的位置。因此，當您查看 2024 年上半年的冬季存儲情況時，我們認為 SKU 的上行和下行相當相等。這就是為什麼你會看到我們更加傾向於掉期，儘管這是我們過去通常試圖淡化的事情。

Unless we see strong call SKU in the options market, it's hard to feel good about leaning into those. But really near term because that we would like to derisk our debt repayment goals. And so as we get towards the back half of '24 and into 2025, where that upside is just so much more asymmetrically skewed but is not yet reflected in the options market or in the future strip. We want to remain patient there and hedging more near term allows us to do that.

除非我們在期權市場上看到強勁的看漲期權 SKU，否則很難對這些產品感到滿意。但從短期來看，我們希望降低債務償還目標的風險。因此，當我們進入 24 世紀後半段並進入 2025 年時，這種上行空間更加不對稱，但尚未反映在期權市場或未來的地帶中。我們希望保持耐心，短期內進行更多對沖可以讓我們做到這一點。

So look, it doesn't mean we're not going to hedge 2025 at some point, but we think where the market sits today, it's far off from where really it should be. And as you think about how the market might trade as you get into 2024, I think most market participants and analysts see that [Cal 25, 26] market is getting especially tight as you see that demand ramp for at least -- ramp in nameplate capacity of LNG but the market obviously trades the season ahead.

因此，這並不意味著我們不會在某個時候對沖 2025 年，但我們認為目前的市場狀況與實際應有的狀況相去甚遠。當你思考進入 2024 年市場可能如何交易時，我認為大多數市場參與者和分析師都認為 [Cal 25, 26] 市場變得特別緊張，因為你看到需求至少在銘牌上有所增加液化天然氣產能，但市場明顯在未來季節進行交易。

And so I think as you get towards next summer, and the market starts looking at winter '24, '25 and a lot of that demand ramp, unless you have a step change really increase in production at the same time, I think the market will look increasingly tight, and that will probably start getting reflected next summer and probably a much more asymmetric way. And so I think we're trying to be patient at this point in time and not be in a position where we need to really defensively hedge and take away that upside, which is what I think a lot of our investors are looking for in the market today.

因此，我認為，隨著明年夏天的到來，市場開始關注 24 年、25 年的冬季，以及大量的需求增長，除非你同時實現產量的真正增加，否則我認為市場看起來會越來越緊，這可能會在明年夏天開始體現出來，而且可能會以一種更加不對稱的方式體現出來。因此，我認為我們目前正在努力保持耐心，而不是處於需要真正防禦性對沖並消除這種上行空間的境地，我認為這正是我們的許多投資者在尋找的。今天的市場。

That makes sense. And I wanted to ask on if Tug Hill does close within the next 30 days, is it fair to assume that your second half activity that you've laid out on your legacy properties doesn't change. And it looks like, I think they're running 2 rigs right now. Would you expect to just maintain those 2 rigs into the end of the year?

這就說得通了。我想問一下，Tug Hill 是否會在未來 30 天內關閉，假設您在遺產地產上安排的下半年活動不會改變是否公平。看起來，我認為他們現在正在運行 2 台鑽機。您是否希望將這 2 台鑽機維護到年底？

Yes. Operational cadence for EQT assets will remain the same. Our plan with Tug assets to continue to maintain activity levels. I think the high-grade opportunities would probably start seeing those hit the schedule maybe 12 months just take some time for us to put those -- set those wheels in motion. But pretty much in summary, similar plans for the first 12 months and then you could start seeing us optimize the asset base.

是的。殷拓資產的運營節奏將保持不變。我們的拖船資產計劃繼續維持活動水平。我認為高級機會可能會開始看到那些按計劃完成的項目，也許需要 12 個月的時間，我們只是需要一些時間來啟動這些項目。但總的來說，前 12 個月有類似的計劃，然後您就可以開始看到我們優化資產基礎。

Your next question is from Josh Silverstein of UBS.

您的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的喬什·西爾弗斯坦。

Congrats to Jeremy and David as well. Just on the LNG front, I know you're starting to sign some contracts here. Longer term do you think this leads to a potential stake in an LNG facility to help kind of have the kind of vertical change, so to speak, there?

也祝賀傑里米和大衛。就液化天然氣而言，我知道你們已經開始在這裡簽署一些合同。從長遠來看，您是否認為這會導致液化天然氣設施的潛在股份，以幫助實現某種垂直變革，可以這麼說嗎？

Yes, Josh, we've always looked at investing in LNG facilities. Does the world need EQT to do that right now? It seems like these projects are getting going. What the world needs is EQT supply, so we're participating in that front. So our price here is really getting exposure to international markets. If we can do anything on the East Coast, that would give us exposure to sustainable growth opportunities. That's the real value for us.

是的，喬什，我們一直在考慮投資液化天然氣設施。現在世界需要殷拓來做到這一點嗎？看來這些項目正在進展中。世界需要的是 EQT 供應，所以我們正在參與這方面的工作。所以我們這裡的價格確實是在接觸國際市場。如果我們能在東海岸做點什麼，那將使我們獲得可持續增長的機會。這對我們來說才是真正的價值。

So we're not looking to make investments in LNG, but there are -- there could be opportunities where from a risk mitigation perspective, it could make sense for us to make a small investment in LNG facility, but that's sort of how we're viewing it right now.

因此，我們不打算投資液化天然氣，但從風險緩解的角度來看，可能存在機會，對我們來說，對液化天然氣設施進行小額投資可能是有意義的，但這就是我們的方式。現在正在查看它。

Got you. Yes. I was just wondering if there's an investment to be made, maybe it pushes through the Lake Charles facility a little bit faster. So I was referring from that angle.

明白你了。是的。我只是想知道是否需要進行投資，也許它可以更快地推動查爾斯湖設施。所以我是從這個角度說的。

No. I think just when we looked at several facilities early on, we weren't sure if we needed to make an equity investment to get international pricing. And after a lot of discussions, we found that we really don't need to do that.

不。我認為，當我們早期考察幾家工廠時，我們不確定是否需要進行股權投資才能獲得國際定價。經過多次討論，我們發現我們確實不需要這樣做。

Got it. That's helpful. And then, Jeremy, you mentioned the free cash flow over the next 5 years and the ability to start returning capital to shareholders. You don't have a formal strategy in place right now. The share buybacks have gone up and down based on where the commodity prices has been. Once the Tug Hill transaction is closed, do you foresee you kind of getting towards, call it, a formal 50% kind of split between balance sheet reduction, shareholder returns? Do you want to hit a certain debt level before you kind of commit to that? So I'm curious how you're thinking about the shareholder return profile going forward?

知道了。這很有幫助。然後，傑里米，您提到了未來 5 年的自由現金流以及開始向股東返還資本的能力。您現在還沒有製定正式的策略。股票回購根據大宗商品價格的變化而上下波動。一旦 Tug Hill 交易完成，您是否預計會在資產負債表削減和股東回報之間正式分成 50%？在做出承諾之前，您是否想達到一定的債務水平？所以我很好奇您如何看待未來的股東回報狀況？

Yes. So you're right that really while this deal has been pending, our focus has been to be opportunistic tactically, but really accumulate cash ahead of closing. So until closing happens, I think you can expect us to continue doing the same thing. After the acquisition closes, I think you should really expect, until we meet our debt targets, to really pursue the same strategy, which is weighted towards debt repayment. And then tactically, when we see dislocations in the market lean into that buyback. But I think the concept of a formulaic programmatic buyback, it's just a long-term strategy. It's something you'll see us probably shy away from at least near term. I think we like to be more tactical in how we approach that, especially in an industry that is inherently always cyclical, both from a macro standpoint and even a weather-driven standpoint. We think there'll be continued opportunities to create outsized value [operation] just like we've done to date.

是的。所以你是對的，雖然這筆交易一直懸而未決，但我們的重點是在戰術上採取機會主義，但在成交前確實積累了現金。因此，在關閉之前，我認為您可以期待我們繼續做同樣的事情。收購完成後，我認為您應該真正期望，在我們實現債務目標之前，真正追求相同的戰略，即側重於債務償還。然後從戰術上講，當我們看到市場混亂時，就會傾向於回購。但我認為公式化的程序化回購的概念，這只是一個長期策略。你會發現我們至少在短期內可能會迴避這一點。我認為我們希望在處理這一問題時更具策略性，尤其是在一個本質上總是周期性的行業中，無論是從宏觀角度還是從天氣驅動的角度來看。我們認為，就像我們迄今為止所做的那樣，將會繼續有機會創造巨大的價值[運營]。

Your next question is from Paul Diamond of Citi.

您的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的保羅·戴蒙德（Paul Diamond）。

Just a quick one talking about the completion efficiency is up 20% year-on-year, and you also had some pretty strong drilling performance as of late substantially. It's kind of like breaking yourselves away from peers. I guess the first part of the question is how much more on the bone do you see there? Is that something we should think as like a step change in the future or more incremental. And also, as far as like others catching you, is that to keep running in place? Or is that a gap you think you can really maintain.

簡單說一下，完井效率同比提高了 20%，而且最近鑽井表現也相當強勁。這有點像讓自己脫離同齡人。我想問題的第一部分是你在骨頭上還看到了多少？我們應該將其視為未來的一步改變還是更加漸進的改變。還有，就別人追上你來說，那是原地踏步嗎？或者你認為你真的可以維持這個差距。

Yes. The goal for us is to raise the bar. These records show what could happen and the potential we have. And the goal for the operating teams is to move that average performance up to peak performance. So that's the game that we're playing and we're removing any bottlenecks to achieving that peak performance along the way.

是的。我們的目標是提高標準。這些記錄顯示了可能發生的事情以及我們擁有的潛力。運營團隊的目標是將平均性能提升到峰值性能。這就是我們正在玩的遊戲，我們正在消除任何瓶頸，以實現最佳性能。

Our attitude is that peers have the ability to keep up with us. And this is the fire that keeps us continuing to evolve and look for ways to continue raising the bar. So we're proud of where we're at, but we're always looking to get better. And that's really -- I'd say one of the defining characteristics of our culture is just our ability and the drive to continually evolve our business.

我們的態度是同行有能力跟上我們的步伐。這就是讓我們不斷發展並尋找繼續提高標準的方法的火焰。因此，我們對自己所處的位置感到自豪，但我們一直在尋求變得更好。我想說，我們文化的決定性特徵之一就是我們不斷發展業務的能力和動力。

Your next question is from Jeoffrey Lambujon of TPH.

您的下一個問題來自 TPH 的 Jeoffrey Lambujon。

Congrats to both Jeremy and Dave. My first one is just a follow-up to the water infrastructure commentary that you mentioned. I think that was part of the synergies that you highlighted with the deal, but just wanted to get a sense for if any of the savings here from these opportunities would be incremental to that $0.15 breakeven improvement that you all have highlighted in the past.

祝賀傑里米和戴夫。我的第一篇文章只是您提到的水基礎設施評論的後續內容。我認為這是您在交易中強調的協同效應的一部分，但只是想了解一下，這些機會帶來的任何節省是否會增加到你們過去強調的 0.15 美元的盈虧平衡改善。

Yes. So that $0.15 that we talked about associated with the deal, that's all pre-synergies. This kind of as a rule of thumb, we don't like to include synergies and just our base guidance. So I think when we announced Tug Hill, we were talking about $80 million a year of total synergies. We haven't been able to refine that just due to some gun jumping laws around just this FTC process. But that's all incremental upside to the guidance we've given, that $0.15 and even that rate of return that we talked about on that existing West Virginia water system we already built.

是的。因此，我們談到的與該交易相關的 0.15 美元，都是協同效應前的結果。根據經驗，我們不喜歡包含協同效應和僅包含我們的基本指導。因此，我認為當我們宣布 Tug Hill 項目時，我們談論的是每年 8000 萬美元的總協同效應。由於圍繞聯邦貿易委員會流程的一些跳躍法律，我們無法完善這一點。但這都是我們給出的指導的增量上行空間，即 0.15 美元，甚至是我們在已經建成的現有西弗吉尼亞供水系統上談到的回報率。

Okay. Great. And then maybe going back to MVP and potential infrastructure downstream. I imagine D&E in particular on that slide will be relatively important from a pricing standpoint. But be great to get any thoughts that you can share just on the projects that we show there and how you're thinking about the potential impacts to your marketing or regional mix as those get developed?

好的。偉大的。然後也許會回到 MVP 和下游潛在的基礎設施。我認為從定價的角度來看，特別是這張幻燈片上的 D&E 將相對重要。但很高興您能就我們在那裡展示的項目分享任何想法，以及您如何考慮這些項目開發後對您的營銷或區域組合的潛在影響？

Yes. We see most of those projects as more demand pull back rather than supply push. So we don't anticipate needing to take out contracted capacity, but those are important for just the long-term development of that station 165 market.

是的。我們認為這些項目中的大多數都是需求回落而不是供應推動。因此，我們預計不需要取消合同容量，但這些對於 165 站市場的長期發展非常重要。

Your next question is from Noel Parks of Tuohy Brothers.

您的下一個問題來自 Tuohy Brothers 的 Noel Parks。

I just wanted to go back to the project swapping out the pneumatics. I just wondered, could you give us a sense as to what sort of the scale of that overall cost was looking back?

我只是想回到項目中更換氣動裝置。我只是想知道，您能否讓我們了解一下回顧過去的總成本有多大？

It is about $28 million. And when you think about it, normalize on a dollar per ton, it's less than $10 per ton to achieve the emissions reductions.

大約是2800萬美元。如果您考慮一下，按每噸 1 美元進行標準化，實現減排量還不到每噸 10 美元。

Great. And I guess just one thing, and I apologize if this has been touched on already. But with the FTC review, is the fact that in the Tug Hill transaction, you're also doing the infrastructure purchase, is that a factor that has made the overall review process go on a little longer? Or is that sort of unrelated?

偉大的。我猜想只有一件事，如果已經涉及到這一點，我深表歉意。但隨著聯邦貿易委員會的審查，在Tug Hill交易中，你們也在進行基礎設施購買，這是否是導致整個審查過程持續時間更長的一個因素？或者說這是無關的？

I don't think there's any elements that are unique here that stand out. I think this is just part of the process to review the deal and concept. I mean, I'd just remind everybody when the FTC issued their second request to us that was back in November. And I think if you just remember what the gas market was like, there was a lot of concerns over a natural gas, what was happening with Europe and peak fear on gas shortages. So I think the FTC took the opportunity to take a closer look, and that's the process that we're going through and are happy that we're in a place where we're confident in getting this and close within the next 30 days.

我認為這裡沒有任何突出的獨特元素。我認為這只是審查交易和概念過程的一部分。我的意思是，當 FTC 在 11 月份向我們發出第二個請求時，我想提醒大家。我想，如果你還記得天然氣市場的情況，就會發現人們對天然氣有很多擔憂，歐洲正在發生的事情以及對天然氣短缺的極度擔憂。因此，我認為 FTC 藉此機會進行了更仔細的審查，這就是我們正在經歷的過程，我們很高興我們有信心在未來 30 天內完成這一任務。

Your next question is from John Daniel of Daniel Energy Partners.

您的下一個問題來自 Daniel Energy Partners 的 John Daniel。

Dave congrats. If you get bored, give me a call. Toby, you noted some of the drivers of the improved drilling performance. But how much of that improvement is due to an internal process versus third-party technology from one of the service providers?

戴夫恭喜。如果你覺得無聊，就給我打電話。托比，您提到了提高鑽井性能的一些驅動因素。但這種改進有多少是由於內部流程而不是來自服務提供商之一的第三方技術造成的？

Well, I think on the internal side, I mean look at the look at the setup we're delivering to the operations teams, I mean, large-scale, long lateral combo development certainly sets the teams up to knock it out of the park. And that definitely would be considered an internal improved thing that we do that is going to be hard to replicate with other asset bases. But you got to go out there and you got to execute and the teams are doing that. We have very close relationships with our service providers. I think on this run here, there's been a lot of improvements on bit design that the teams have worked with our service providers. So really close relationship. And our success is really going to be based on the success of our partnerships. And we've got some great partners on the drilling front and across the operational spectrum. So I'd say probably half of it is internal, and the other half is the great working relationship we have with our service providers.

好吧，我認為在內部方面，我的意思是看看我們向運營團隊提供的設置，我的意思是，大規模、長橫向組合開發肯定會讓團隊做好準備，將其從公園中淘汰出來。這肯定會被認為是我們所做的內部改進，而其他資產基礎很難復制。但你必須走出去，你必須執行，團隊正在這樣做。我們與我們的服務提供商有著非常密切的關係。我認為在這次運行中，團隊與我們的服務提供商合作，對鑽頭設計進行了很多改進。所以關係真的很親密。我們的成功實際上取決於我們合作夥伴的成功。我們在鑽井領域和整個運營領域擁有一些優秀的合作夥伴。所以我想說，可能一半是內部的，另一半是我們與服務提供商之間良好的工作關係。

Okay. And then the second one for me is when you look at this -- the drilling success and assuming a portion of it can be copied into other basins and just seeing the efficiencies that you've achieved. I mean, when you look at analysts such as myself, are we fooling ourselves when we prophecy a rising rig count in future years? Are we going to see these efficiencies render data not a reality?

好的。對我來說第二個是當你看到這一點時——鑽探成功並假設其中一部分可以復製到其他盆地，然後看看你所取得的效率。我的意思是，當你看看像我這樣的分析師時，當我們預測未來幾年鑽機數量會增加時，我們是否在自欺欺人？我們是否會看到這些效率使數據變得不現實？

Yes. I mean when I step back and you look at the -- I mean we've gone -- we've sort of gotten past the step change in operational efficiencies. It's more of a slow grind. And the factors that are ultimately going to be defining the success of the operation, we sort of pushed past just what specifically we're doing on site at that operation, and it's really external factors that are really influencing things like do we have long laterals ready to drill? What's the land situation look like? And on the completion side, what's the logistics on water and sand? So it's as much as the system that we're creating as it is the actual individual performance. And I think industry has already made the move to recognize that long laterals are the key and how much of that they have. And the quality of inventory, I think, is going to be defining characteristics on their efficiency going forward.

是的。我的意思是，當我退後一步，你會看到——我的意思是我們已經走了——我們已經超越了運營效率的階躍變化。這更像是一種緩慢的磨礪。最終決定行動成功的因素，我們有點超越了我們在該行動現場具體做的事情，真正影響事情的外部因素，比如我們是否有長支線準備好鑽了嗎？土地情況如何？那麼在竣工方面，水和沙的物流是怎樣的？因此，這既是我們正在創建的系統，也是實際的個人表現。我認為業界已經認識到長支線是關鍵以及他們擁有多少長支線。我認為，庫存質量將決定其未來效率的特徵。

Fair enough. But what you reported, it seems like a step change better to me. So maybe I haven't been paying attention, but that's pretty impressive.

很公平。但你所報告的內容對我來說似乎是一個更好的改變。也許我沒有註意到，但這確實令人印象深刻。

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call over to Toby Rice for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。現在我將把電話轉給托比·賴斯 (Toby Rice) 致閉幕詞。

Thanks, everybody, for your time today. We look forward to continuing our strategy to make the energy we produce cheaper, more reliable and cleaner and we'll look forward to keeping you updated on our progress. Thank you.

謝謝大家今天抽出時間。我們期待繼續實施我們的戰略，使我們生產的能源更便宜、更可靠和更清潔，我們也期待向您通報我們的最新進展。謝謝。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。