Diamondback Energy Inc (FANG) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Diamondback Energy Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加響尾蛇能源 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Adam Lawlis, VP of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給今天的第一位發言人，投資者關係副總裁 Adam Lawlis。請繼續。

Thank you, Stephen. Good morning, and welcome to Diamondback Energy's Third Quarter 2023 Conference Call. During our call today, we will reference an updated investor presentation and letter to stockholders, which can be found on Diamondback's website. Representing Diamondback today are Travis Stice, Chairman and CEO; Kaes Van't Hof, President and CFO; and Danny Wesson, COO.

謝謝你，史蒂芬。早安，歡迎參加響尾蛇能源 2023 年第三季電話會議。在今天的電話會議中，我們將參考更新的投資者介紹和致股東的信函，這些資訊可以在響尾蛇的網站上找到。今天代表 Diamondback 的是董事長兼執行長 Travis Stice； Kaes Van't Hof，總裁兼財務長；和首席營運長丹尼·韋森 (Danny Wesson)。

During this conference call, the participants may make certain forward-looking statements relating to the company's financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and businesses. We caution you that actual results could differ materially from those that are indicated in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors. Information concerning these factors can be found in the company's filings with the SEC. In addition, we will make reference to certain non-GAAP measures. The reconciliations with the appropriate GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release issued yesterday afternoon.

在本次電話會議期間，與會者可能會就本公司的財務狀況、營運績效、計畫、目標、未來績效和業務做出某些前瞻性陳述。我們提醒您，由於多種因素，實際結果可能與這些前瞻性聲明中所示的結果有重大差異。有關這些因素的資訊可以在該公司向 SEC 提交的文件中找到。此外，我們也將參考某些非公認會計準則措施。與適當的公認會計準則措施的對帳可以在我們昨天下午發布的收益報告中找到。

I'll now turn the call over to Travis Stice.

我現在將把電話轉給 Travis Stice。

Thank you, Adam, and good morning to everyone. As Adam mentioned, we released a shareholder letter last night that contains much of the narrative we hope to cover again this morning. So with that, we'll just open the lines up for question. Operator?

謝謝你，亞當，祝大家早安。正如亞當所提到的，我們昨晚發布了一封股東信，其中包含我們希望今天早上再次討論的大部分內容。那麼，我們就開始提問吧。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Neal Dingmann of Truist Securities.

（操作員指示）我們的第一個問題來自 Truist Securities 的 Neal Dingmann。

Travis, my first question is on capital allocation, specifically, several quarters ago, you suggested all would return to more production growth type model, I'd call it. And I think you mentioned when the macro fundamentals supported, I'm just wondering, do you believe we're close to that scenario and wondering why do you believe the continued high free cash flow payout is warranted?

特拉維斯，我的第一個問題是關於資本配置，具體來說，幾個季度前，您建議所有人都將回歸更多的生產成長型模型，我稱之為。我想你提到了宏觀基本面受到支撐時，我只是想知道，你是否認為我們已經接近這種情況，並想知道為什麼你認為持續的高自由現金流支出是有必要的？

Yes, Neal, that's a good question. Look, the world is certainly in the mass right now across any number of fronts, all of which could potentially move the markets, both positively and negatively, both with a supply disruption or even a demand destruction as well, too. So obviously, we can't control any of those items. Again, we simply respond to our shareholders that own our company that right now, return shareholder model versus a growth model, as we've intimated, our plans as we look forward into next year, again, look for real efficient capital allocation. And as an output of that capital allocation, we expect low single-digit type volume growth, again, not as an input, but what results from an efficient capital allocation program.

是的，尼爾，這是個好問題。瞧，世界現在肯定在各個方面都在發生大規模的變化，所有這些都可能對市場產生積極和消極的影響，無論是供應中斷還是需求破壞。顯然，我們無法控制這些項目中的任何一個。再次，我們只是對擁有我們公司的股東做出回應，即回報股東模式與成長模式，正如我們所暗示的那樣，我們展望明年的計劃，再次尋求真正有效的資本配置。作為資本配置的輸出，我們預期單位數數量的低​​成長，同樣，這不是輸入，而是有效資本配置計畫的結果。

Got it. That makes sense in this environment. And then secondly, on your development, I couldn't help but notice the new slides on Slides 10 and 11, highlighting the efficient execution and differentiated development. My question is, does most of your remaining Midland inventory went to the 24 average wells per project size that you mentioned? And then I'm just wondering, could you speak to where the largest cost of agencies continue to come from on these projects?

知道了。在這種環境下這是有道理的。其次，關於你們的發展，我不禁注意到投影片10和投影片11上的新投影片，突顯了高效執行和差異化開發。我的問題是，您提到的每個項目規模的平均 24 口井是否大部​​分剩餘的米德蘭庫存都流向了？然後我只是想知道，您能否談談這些項目中機構最大的成本仍然來自哪裡？

Sure. On the development strategy over time slide, which is Slide 11, for those of you that are looking at it online, we tried to demonstrate our evolution from 2015 to today. And we said average wells per project is about 24 wells. I think generally, that applies across our Midland Basin. However, not all deposits are equal in terms of the way the shales were laid down across the Midland Basin. So there will be areas where we can do slightly more than 24 wells and then areas also where we'll do slightly less than 24 wells, which usually translates to 1 or 2 wells less per shale interval.

當然。在隨著時間推移的發展策略幻燈片（即幻燈片 11）中，對於那些在網路上查看它的人，我們試圖展示我們從 2015 年到今天的演變。我們說每個項目的平均井數約為 24 口。我認為總的來說，這適用於我們的米德蘭盆地。然而，就米德蘭盆地頁岩沉積方式而言，並非所有礦床都是相同的。因此，有些地區我們可以打的井數量略多於 24 口，而有些地區我們可以打的井數量略少於 24 口，這通常意味著每個頁岩層段少 1 或 2 口井。

So again, it's a general representation showing the development over time but that's a good summary. And then what was your second question?

再說一遍，它是顯示隨時間推移的發展的一般表示，但這是一個很好的總結。那你的第二個問題是什麼？

Just on the cost, I know Kaes and I've talked about, I mean, is it just on I know you have lower casing and just different sort of raw material costs, but is there other areas in that larger projects that are causing these when you see that well productivity chart on the right, sort of what's driving the lower cost efficiencies there?

就成本而言，我知道凱斯和我已經討論過，我的意思是，這只是因為我知道你有較低的外殼和不同類型的原材料成本，但是在較大的項目中是否還有其他領域導致了這些當您看到右側的油井生產率圖表時，是什麼導致了那裡的成本效率較低？

Yes. Certainly, again, referencing back to Slide 10, we've laid out the biggest elements of cost savings, cost components and the reductions over time. And again, as you pointed out, it's casing which is down 20% or so. It's really -- as you look into next year, we feel more of a kind of a steady-state run rate on our costs. There'll be some puts and takes on both sides of the equation. Kaes, do you want to add anything?

是的。當然，再次參考投影片 10，我們已經列出了成本節約、成本組成以及隨著時間的推移而減少的最大要素。正如您所指出的，套管價格下跌了 20% 左右。事實上，當你展望明年時，我們感覺我們的成本更像是一種穩態運行率。等式兩邊都會有一些選擇和接受。凱斯，你想補充什麼嗎？

Yes. I think the biggest benefit to the large-scale development, Neal, is the consistency of running the rigs in the same spot for a long period of time. But on the frac sides where we save the most money from a capital efficiency perspective, because we're doing, in some cases, 2 simul-frac crews on the same site at the same time. So you're saving essentially $250,000, $300,000 a well from simul-frac and now we have 2 of those fleets or e-fleets that run off lean gas that save kind of another $200,000, $250,000 a well.

是的。尼爾，我認為大規模開發的最大好處是在同一地點長時間運行鑽機的一致性。但在壓裂方面，從資本效率的角度來看，我們節省了最多的錢，因為在某些情況下，我們會在同一地點同時進行 2 名壓裂人員的操作。因此，透過同步壓裂，每口井基本上可以節省 250,000 美元、300,000 美元，現在我們擁有 2 個使用貧氣的車隊或電子車隊，每口井又可以節省 200,000 美元、250,000 美元。

So this large-scale development kind of ties to the longer cycle nature of our business, and that also means we don't want to change the plan. Every move in oil price. And so we've had a consistent plan here for a few years now. And the output of that is consistent results on the well productivity per foot.

因此，這種大規模的開發與我們業務的較長週期性質有關，這也意味著我們不想改變計劃。油價的每一次變動。因此，幾年來我們在這裡制定了一致的計劃。其輸出與每英尺油井生產率的結果一致。

Our next question comes from the line of Neil Mehta of Goldman Sachs & Company.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛公司的尼爾梅塔。

Yes. And I appreciate the helpful letter and the time today. Travis, why don't we start on return of capital as a topic? You talk about this in the letter you wanting to err on the side of caution as it relates to buying back stock to avoid repurchasing procyclically and as a result, lead it to the variable dividend in the last quarter. Can you talk about the way that you're approaching this and how that should inform the way we think about the split between buybacks and dividends going forward?

是的。我很感謝這封有用的信和今天的時間。崔維斯，我們為什麼不從資本回報作為一個主題開始呢？您在信中談到了這一點，您希望謹慎行事，因為這涉及回購股票以避免順週期回購，從而導致上個季度的可變股息。您能否談談您處理此問題的方式以及我們如何考慮未來回購和股利之間的分配？

Neil, our main focus remains a sustainable and growing base dividend that we think represents the most efficient way for our shareholders to understand what our shareholder return program looks like. Following that is the share repurchase program, which we laid out what we've done in the third quarter and so far in the fourth quarter. And then we honor our commitment to return at least 75% of our free cash flow by making our shareholders hold in the form of variable, which we seen we did this year. I think the most important thing is when you talk about share repurchases, is that you need to have some discipline around that because in my experience, lack of discipline leads to chasing stock repurchases all the way to the top of the cycle.

尼爾，我們的主要關注點仍然是可持續且不斷增長的基本股息，我們認為這是股東了解股東回報計劃的最有效方式。接下來是股票回購計劃，我們列出了第三季和第四季迄今所做的工作。然後，我們兌現了承諾，透過讓股東以可變形式持有，返還至少 75% 的自由現金流，我們今年就這樣做了。我認為最重要的是，當你談論股票回購時，你需要有一些紀律，因為根據我的經驗，缺乏紀律會導致追逐股票回購一直到週期的頂峰。

So we, like most of our capital allocation decisions, actually, like all of our capital allocation decisions, we hold ourselves accountable to some form of rigorous analytics. And in this case, we continue to run NAV value at mid-cycle oil prices, which is $60 oil and calculate oil price or calculated stock price and depending on where our stock is trading relative to that calculation, we either buy more of and the further dislocation we get from that, we buy -- we increase or if not, then we pivot to share -- to a variable dividend like we did this time around.

因此，就像我們大多數資本配置決策一樣，實際上，就像我們所有資本配置決策一樣，我們要求自己對某種形式的嚴格分析負責。在這種情況下，我們繼續以中期油價（即60 美元的油價）計算資產淨值，併計算油價或計算出的股票價格，並根據我們的股票相對於該計算的交易位置，我們要么購買更多的股票，要么購買更多的股票我們從中得到的進一步混亂是，我們購買——我們增加，如果不增加，那麼我們轉向分享——就像我們這次所做的那樣。

So again, it just -- it's base dividend, it's share repurchases with a degree of caution in a procyclical environment. And then honoring our commitment to the form of a variable dividend.

再說一遍，這只是基本股息，是在順週期環境下謹慎進行的股票回購。然後兌現我們對可變股息形式的承諾。

Okay. That's really helpful. And the follow-up is just on noncore asset sales. You've done a good job of exceeding your target. Can you talk a little bit about the Deep Blue Midland Basin JV? And then not only in terms of the proceeds, but what does it mean for your go-forward cost structure as we think about modeling the impacts through 2024?

好的。這真的很有幫助。後續只是非核心資產出售。你做得很好，超出了你的目標。能談談深藍米德蘭盆地合資企業嗎？然後，不僅在收益方面，而且當我們考慮對 2024 年的影響進行建模時，這對您的未來成本結構意味著什麼？

Yes. Good question, Neil. The Deep Blue JV was a very big deal for us. It took a long time to pull together. We had built a significant amount of midstream infrastructure over the years and spent a lot of capital doing it. And we felt it was an opportune time to monetize that in the hands of who we see as operational experts in Deep Blue in the Five Point team. I think they have already proven to have commercial success with third parties where maybe if you have a Diamondback business card, you weren't going to have the same type of commercial success. I think that sector is certainly ripe for consolidation as well. And I think they're the experts that can get that done. So that's kind of why we retained the 30% equity interest in the business. We're very confident that they're going to be able to grow the business and generate a good return for our shareholders.

是的。好問題，尼爾。深藍合資企業對我們來說意義重大。花了很長時間才齊心協力。多年來，我們建造了大量的中游基礎設施，並花費了大量資金。我們認為現在是在五點團隊中深藍營運專家手中將其貨幣化的好時機。我認為他們已經證明在第三方方面取得了商業成功，也許如果你有響尾蛇名片，你就不會獲得同樣類型的商業成功。我認為該行業的整合時機也已經成熟。我認為他們是能夠做到這一點的專家。這就是我們保留該業務 30% 股權的原因。我們非常有信心他們將能夠發展業務並為我們的股東帶來良好的回報。

Outside of the $500 million of proceeds we got in, which is the big winner. There will be some impacts to our cost structure. I would say, generally, LOE is going to be up about 8% to 10% versus prior as a company. And then we'll have a lot less midstream CapEx is going to have very many operated midstream assets, and that will be kind of canceled out by slightly higher well costs, $10 to $20 a foot depending on the area as we buy water from the JV. So all in all, we sold the business for a much higher multiple than we trade and we're excited to see what they can do in terms of creating value for the 30% that we're retaining.

除了我們獲得的 5 億美元收益之外，這是最大的贏家。我們的成本結構將會受到一些影響。我想說，一般來說，作為一家公司，LOE 將比以前成長約 8% 到 10%。然後，我們的中游資本支出將大大減少，並將擁有大量營運的中游資產，這將被略高的井成本所抵消，每英尺 10 至 20 美元，具體取決於我們從水源購買水的地區。合資企業。總而言之，我們以遠高於交易價格的價格出售了該業務，我們很高興看到他們能為我們保留的 30% 創造價值。

Next question comes from the line of David Deckelbaum of TD Cowen.

下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 David Deckelbaum。

Travis, I was curious if you could talk a little bit more about the remarks and the shareholder letter on being an acquirer and exploiter. And just maybe putting in context sort of how robust do you think the opportunity set is right now, just given the cycles in the business and some of the PE cycles that have gone through the Permian right now?

崔維斯，我很好奇你是否能多談談關於成為收購者和剝削者的言論和股東信。考慮到目前已經經歷了二疊紀的商業週期和一些私募股權週期，您認為現在的機會集有多強勁？

Yes, David, and I appreciate you referencing the shareholder letter, I tried to address that head-on. I think just in a more macro sense, we'll always do what's right for our shareholders. I mean, we've got now over a decade of what I think is demonstrated in doing the right thing for our shareholders. But we remain laser-focused on delivering on our business plan. And you're right, we have built this company through an acquired export strategy. But I think as investors are really starting to understand, we have such a high-quality inventory right now that the bar is pretty high for additional opportunities to add to our inventory that meets those -- the criteria that we laid out in our shareholder letter with sound industrial logic, and being able or -- logic and being able to compete for capital right away and then being accretive on those financial measures that are so important to all of us.

是的，大衛，我很感謝你提到股東信，我試著正面解決這個問題。我認為從更宏觀的角度來看，我們將始終為股東做正確的事。我的意思是，我認為我們已經在十多年的時間裡為我們的股東做了正確的事情。但我們仍然專注於實現我們的業務計劃。你是對的，我們透過收購出口策略建立了這家公司。但我認為，隨著投資者真正開始理解，我們現在擁有如此高品質的庫存，因此增加額外機會添加到我們的庫存中以滿足這些條件的門檻相當高——我們在股東信中列出的標準具有健全的工業邏輯，並且能夠或--邏輯並且能夠立即競爭資本，然後在那些對我們所有人都如此重要的金融措施上增值。

So there has been a lot of private equity roll through. And I think based on lack of our name on those, it just tells you where we view those assets relative to our inventory. Like I said, I'm really pleased with the quality of our inventory, and I think we're executing on that in a flawless manner.

因此，私募股權投資已經大量進行。我認為，由於這些資產上沒有我們的名字，它只是告訴您我們如何看待這些資產相對於我們的庫存的情況。就像我說的，我對我們的庫存品質非常滿意，我認為我們正在以完美的方式執行這一點。

Appreciate that. And maybe just for Kaes, and just the DUC backlog is built, I guess, up to 150 by the end of the year. I think you guys talked about low single-digit organic oil growth for next year. One, I just wanted to confirm if that oil growth is reflecting the benefit of the increased royalty interest through the Venom acquisition or Viper acquisition rather or if that's how we should be thinking about that growth rate. And then just in concert with the DUC backlog, is it -- should we think about that flexibility, especially in this pricing environment just based on frac crew availability or is that really just like a capital allocation decision?

感謝。也許只是為了 Kaes，我猜，到今年年底，DUC 積壓工作就已經達到 150 個。我想你們談到了明年有機石油的低個位數成長。第一，我只是想確認石油成長是否反映了透過 Venom 收購或 Viper 收購而增加的特許權使用費的好處，或者我們是否應該這樣考慮成長率。然後，與 DUC 積壓工作一致，我們是否應該考慮這種靈活性，特別是在這種僅基於壓裂人員可用性的定價環境中，或者這真的就像資本分配決策一樣？

Yes. I'll hit the organic growth comment first. Certainly, we -- excluding the Viper deal, we expect it to grow organically and we expect to grow organically in 2024. I think the Viper deal provides a little bit of a jump start here in Q4. But I think the team is expecting to grow off that number to steady state throughout the next year just due to the quality of what we've got in front of us.

是的。我將首先評論有機增長。當然，我們——不包括 Viper 交易，我們預計它會有機增長，並且我們預計在 2024 年實現有機增長。我認為 Viper 交易在第四季度提供了一點跳躍。但我認為，由於我們面前的產品質量，團隊預計明年將從這個數字成長到穩定狀態。

On the DUC side, we were kind of operating pretty close to the rigs on the completion crews and really needed some flexibility here and that the drilling team has done a really good job this year getting ahead of plan, drilling more wells than expected sooner. With these large pads and large projects, you really want to have the flexibility to be able to go somewhere if something bad happens and that DUC backlog allows that.

在 DUC 方面，我們的作業距離完井人員的鑽機非常近，確實需要一些靈活性，而且鑽井團隊今年做得非常好，提前完成了計劃，比預期更快地鑽了更多井。有了這些大型基地和大型項目，您確實希望能夠靈活地在發生問題時能夠去某個地方，並且 DUC 積壓允許這樣做。

So I think 150 plus or minus 10 or 20 wells either way is a pretty good number for our run rate. And we kind of set the stage for a world where we run 4 of these simul-frac crews consistently throughout the year, they each do about 80 wells a year. And in our mind, that's kind of the most capital efficient development plan we can imagine here. So that DUC backlog just let Danny sleep a little better at night and allows for some flexibility heading into next year.

因此，我認為 150 個正負 10 或 20 口井對於我們的運行率來說是一個相當不錯的數字。我們為這樣一個世界奠定了基礎：我們全年持續運行 4 個同步壓裂團隊，每個團隊每年作業約 80 口井。在我們看來，這是我們可以想像的最資本效率最高的開發計畫。因此，DUC 積壓只是讓 Danny 晚上睡得更好一點，並為明年提供一些靈活性。

Next question comes from the line of Scott Hanold of RBC Capital Markets.

下一個問題來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的 Scott Hanold。

If I could go back to the M&A topic a little bit differently. When Kaes, Travis, when you step back and think about like where Diamondback's inventory depth is and to be a long-term successful large-scale play in the Midland, like do you think that more large-scale M&A is necessary over time? And just remind us like where you think your inventory life is and where ideally would you like it to be?

如果我能以稍微不同的方式回到併購主題就好了。當凱斯（Kaes）、特拉維斯（Travis）退後一步思考戴蒙德貝克（Diamondback）的庫存深度在哪里以及要在米德蘭成為一家長期成功的大型企業時，您認為隨著時間的推移，是否有必要進行更大規模的併購？請提醒我們您認為您的庫存壽命在哪裡以及您理想的庫存壽命在哪裡？

Yes. I mean I don't think it's necessary, Scott. I think we've positioned the business through both large scale and small scale M&A. It's just kind of been in our DNA for the last 10 years. I kind of go back to thinking about what positions in North American shale or in the Midland Basin would be Envy, and there are very few, particularly with where we sit today and the amount of deals we've done over the years. So I think it's a fortunate spot to be in with the inventory duration and depth that we have relative to what's out there. I just think Travis' comment is really about knowing who you are, and this company has been an acquirer and exploit company that's been able to execute on acquiring and exploiting assets through our low-cost structure. And generally, we haven't had a philosophy that the low-cost operator in a commodity-based business wins. And our cost structure is what has created this business to be as big as it is today. Travis, you want to add anything to that?

是的。我的意思是我認為沒有必要，斯科特。我認為我們透過大規模和小規模的併購來定位業務。過去 10 年，它已經融入了我們的 DNA。我回想起北美頁岩或米德蘭盆地的哪些位置會令人羨慕，而且很少，特別是考慮到我們今天所處的位置以及我們多年來所做的交易數量。因此，我認為，鑑於我們相對於現有庫存的持續時間和深度，這是一個幸運的位置。我只是認為特拉維斯的評論實際上是關於了解你是誰，這家公司一直是一家收購和利用公司，能夠透過我們的低成本結構執行收購和利用資產。一般來說，我們沒有這樣的理念：以商品為基礎的業務中的低成本營運商會獲勝。我們的成本結構造就了我們今天的業務規模。崔維斯，你想補充什麼嗎？

I think that makes sense. We've talked about the high bar for entry into the Diamondback portfolio. And it's just -- that's just how we view it, and we're very proud of the inventory we have. And I think what goes along with that durable inventory is how we convert that inventory into cash flow. And again, you see this quarter, flawless execution from our teams and converting rock into cash flow. And that's our cost structure is enviable. Our execution prowess is unmatched, and that makes a big difference when you talk about a profitable oil and gas company like Diamondback.

我認為這是有道理的。我們已經討論過進入響尾蛇投資組合的高門檻。這就是我們的看法，我們對我們擁有的庫存感到非常自豪。我認為與耐用庫存相關的是我們如何將庫存轉化為現金流。再一次，你會看到本季我們團隊完美的執行力並將岩石轉化為現金流。這就是我們令人羨慕的成本結構。我們的執行能力是無與倫比的，當您談論像響尾蛇這樣盈利的石油和天然氣公司時，這會產生很大的影響。

Yes. And then just as part of that was the inventory life kind of conversation more of like where you think you're at now? And what do you think is ideal?

是的。然後，作為其中的一部分，庫存生活的對話更像是你認為你現在所處的位置？您認為什麼是理想的？

Yes. I mean, I think I kind of said this that we put out our next 5 years up with anybody in North America, and I still stand by that. I think we have another solid 5 or 10 years beyond that. It's very logical that at some point, you're going to have to move down the quality of your inventory. We don't see that in the forward plan today. But if we retain our cost structure and our ability to drill wells $1 million or $1.5 million or $2 million cheaper, well as the shale cost curve goes up, we continue to stay at the low end of that cost curve. It's kind of been our mantra for 10 years now, and we started with 50,000 acres and now we're at 550. And that culture and mantra has not changed. And I think that sets us up well for a world where assets are getting more and more spars.

是的。我的意思是，我想我說過這樣的話，我們與北美的任何人一起制定了未來五年的計劃，我仍然堅持這一點。我認為我們還有另外五年或十年的時間。這是非常合乎邏輯的，在某個時候，你將不得不降低庫存的品質。我們在今天的遠期計劃中沒有看到這一點。但如果我們保持我們的成本結構和我們以便宜 100 萬美元、150 萬美元或 200 萬美元的價格鑽探井的能力，並且頁岩成本曲線上升，我們將繼續保持在成本曲線的低端。這已經成為我們 10 年來的座右銘，我們最初佔地 50,000 英畝，現在已達到 550 英畝。這種文化和座右銘並沒有改變。我認為這為我們進入一個資產越來越多的世界做好了準備。

Got it. Understood. And if I could follow up on our conversation we had last night, just on the shareholder returns. And stock buybacks. And I thought it was an interesting conversation we had on just where FANG's intrinsic value is now and the opportunity to grow that over time. And so like when you step back and think about the current oil market, obviously, we're in a little bit more heightened oil price versus your intrinsic point. But like as you see yourself progressing over the next years, I mean, does it seem to make sense that buying back stock at higher prices in this heightened market relative to what you did in the past still make sense from a value return standpoint?

知道了。明白了。如果我能繼續我們昨晚的談話，那就是股東回報。還有股票回購。我認為這是一次有趣的對話，討論了 FANG 目前的內在價值以及隨著時間的推移而不斷增長的機會。因此，就像當您退後一步思考當前的石油市場一樣，顯然，我們的油價比您的內在觀點要高一些。但是，正如您看到自己在未來幾年中取得的進步一樣，我的意思是，從價值回報的角度來看，在這個高漲的市場中以比您過去所做的更高的價格回購股票似乎仍然有意義嗎？

Yes. It's really all about value. And like we talked about last night, if you run your business conservatively from an oil price perspective and accrete value quarterly at $75 to $80, $85 crude, you're actually building equity value on a conservative basis, right? I kind of said last night to you that I think generally, if you run a quarter like last quarter, versus the $60 base case, you're basically building $3, $4 a share of extra intrinsic value. And I think that's what we've done here over the last couple of years in this up-cycle.

是的。這確實與價值有關。就像我們昨晚談到的那樣，如果你從油價角度保守地經營你的業務，並且每季度以75 至80 美元、85 美元的原油增值，那麼你實際上是在保守的基礎上建立股權價值，對嗎？我昨晚對你說過，我認為一般來說，如果你像上季度一樣運行一個季度，相對於 60 美元的基本情況，你基本上會創造每股 3 美元、4 美元的額外內在價值。我認為這就是我們過去幾年在這個上升週期中所做的事情。

And as Travis mentioned, we want to be conservative when buying back stock. We think capital is precious and capital discipline, not just applies in the field, but it applies to returning capital to shareholders. And that's why we've had this flexible return of capital program since we put it in place 2.5 years ago.

正如特拉維斯所提到的，我們在回購股票時希望保持保守。我們認為資本是寶貴的，資本紀律不僅適用於現場，更適用於向股東返還資本。這就是我們自 2.5 年前實施彈性資本回報計畫以來一直實施的原因。

Our next question comes from the line of Roger Read of Wells Fargo Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行證券公司的羅傑·里德。

I think I'll skip the obligatory share repo versus a variable dividend question for a moment and just go back to the operational aspect. So can you give us an idea, as you mentioned, the sort of accreting value into the shares through operations, what we should be looking at over the next, say, 24 to 36 months for what else you can do operationally that will accrete value and thinking that we're not going to have some of the asset sales that have been going on that have certainly helped on the sort of cash flow generation assets?

我想我會暫時跳過強制性股票回購與可變股息問題，然後回到營運方面。那麼，正如您所提到的，您能否給我們一個想法，即透過營運為股票增值，我們應該在接下來的24 到36 個月內關注什麼，以及您還可以在營運上採取哪些措施來增加價值並認為我們不會進行一些確實有助於現金流產生資產的資產出售？

Yes. That's a good question, Roger. I think it's interesting. We put a slide in Slide 10 about operational track record and process. And I think we sat in this room 2 or 3 years ago saying, "Hey, the drilling guys there, they're near the asentotic curve of drilling these wells." Well, if you look at the top left over that chart, they're still taking days out of the average well on a much bigger program, right? Because they are drilling 280 wells in the Midland Basin, 2, 3, 4 days faster than they were even 2 years ago. And the culture that we built creates that value to our shareholders. It's not something we model, but it certainly comes our way.

是的。這是個好問題，羅傑。我認為這很有趣。我們在投影片 10 中放了一張關於營運記錄和流程的幻燈片。我想我們兩三年前坐在這個房間裡說：“嘿，那裡的鑽井人員，他們已經接近鑽探這些井的無痛曲線了。”好吧，如果你看一下該圖表的左上方，你會發現他們在一個更大的項目上仍然比平均井花費了幾天的時間，對嗎？因為他們在米德蘭盆地鑽了 280 口井，比 2 年前快了 2、3、4 天。我們建立的文化為我們的股東創造了這種價值。這不是我們模仿的東西，但它確實是我們的方式。

So in the field, I think that's part of what is coming our way. I also think generally, we've tested some other zones in the Midland Basin that look very, very good. We've got a couple of Upper Spraberry tests in the Northern Midland Basin that looked very good relative to our Middle Spraberry, Jo Mill development. So we're excited about that. I think the Wolfcamp D in the Midland Basin is starting to become a primary development zone in some of the basins. And certainly, there's a lot of excitement about deeper zones in the Midland Basin as well, the Barnett, the Woodford that we're on to testing. So I think the Midland Basin, the stacked pay and the amount of oil in place just provides a lot of opportunity for future value to accrete to our shareholders that they don't know about today. Travis, do you want to add anything to that?

所以在這個領域，我認為這是我們即將發生的事情的一部分。我還認為總的來說，我們已經測試了米德蘭盆地的一些其他區域，看起來非常非常好。我們在北米德蘭盆地進行了幾次上斯普拉貝裡測試，相對於我們在喬米爾的中斯普拉貝裡開發項目來說，這些測試看起來非常好。所以我們對此感到興奮。我認為米德蘭盆地的 Wolfcamp D 正開始成為一些盆地的主要開發區。當然，米德蘭盆地的更深區域也令人興奮，我們正在測試的巴內特、伍德福德。因此，我認為米德蘭盆地、堆積的工資和石油儲量為我們的股東提供了許多未來價值增值的機會，而他們今天並不知道。崔維斯，你想補充什麼嗎？

Yes. Roger, if you backcast 10 years ago when we first started this, we're still drilling a few vertical wells. And I put in the letter that we released last night, just a couple of data points on a 7,500-foot lateral well, which has a total depth, total measure depth of about what we were drilling vertically when we started. But drilling -- we drilled those 75-foot lateral wells in under 4 days. And when we started, we were drilling it. Sometimes it takes us over 24, 25 days to get down to that same measured depth vertically. And so probably the most repeated question that we get is what is the secret sauce? What is the magic that Diamondback does that allows execution quarter-over-quarter to just far exceed the competition? It's essentially the same rock and the same tools, but the culture that we built here at this company with that laser focus on the conversion process of rock into cash flow is felt by every employee in the company.

是的。羅傑，如果你回想一下 10 年前我們剛開始這個計畫的時候，我們仍在鑽一些直井。我在昨晚發布的信中添加了一口 7,500 英尺長的側井的幾個數據點，該井的總深度、總測量深度與我們開始時垂直鑽探的深度相當。但鑽探——我們在 4 天內鑽探了那些 75 英尺的側井。當我們開始時，我們正在鑽探它。有時我們需要超過 24、25 天才能垂直到達相同的測量深度。因此，我們最常被問到的問題可能是秘訣是什麼？ Diamondback 有何魔力，可以讓季度季比的執行力遠超過競爭對手？本質上是相同的岩石和相同的工具，但是我們在這家公司建立的文化，即專注於將岩石轉化為現金流的過程，公司的每個員工都能感受到。

And when you have everyone leaning in the same direction on cost and efficiency, as long as we can continue to give them good rock, they're going to generate the outstanding results that we're known for. So I know that's a little bit of motherhood and apple pie, but it's -- I'm really proud of the organization for through all the cycles we've been through over the last 10 years, what hasn't changed is an unrelenting focus on delivering best-in-class execution, highest-margin barrels at the lowest cost.

當每個人都在成本和效率上朝著同一方向傾斜時，只要我們能夠繼續為他們提供良好的支持，他們就會產生我們所聞名的出色成果。所以我知道這有點母性和蘋果派的味道，但我真的為這個組織感到自豪，因為在過去 10 年我們經歷的所有周期中，沒有改變的是不懈的專注以最低的成本提供一流的執行力、最高的利潤。

I appreciate that. I'm not going to get in between motherhood and apple pie here in the U.S. So I'll turn it back.

我很感激。在美國，我不會在做母親和吃蘋果派之間介入，所以我會收回它。

Our next question comes from the line of Derrick Whitfield of Stifel.

我們的下一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Derrick Whitfield。

Thanks for all the incremental disclosures this quarter. Building on an earlier question, how should we think about '24 maintenance capital run rate, assuming the benefit of deflation and your current operational efficiencies?

感謝本季所有增量揭露。基於先前的問題，假設通貨緊縮的好處和您目前的營運效率，我們應該如何考慮「24」維持資本運作率？

That's a good question, Derrick. And I'd probably say that the maintenance CapEx would be $100 million to $200 million cheaper, 30 wells, maybe, Danny?

這是個好問題，德瑞克。我可能會說，維護資本支出會便宜 1 億到 2 億美元，也許是 30 口井，丹尼？

Yes, I think we're kind of looking at it like our maintenance -- our case for 2024 is kind of a maintenance activity case. So flat activity outputs a little bit of a growth. But if we were to try and maintain a flat production profile, you'd probably be in the line of 20 to 30 less wells in the year.

是的，我認為我們將其視為我們的維護——我們 2024 年的案例是一種維護活動案例。因此，平穩的活動會帶來一點成長。但如果我們嘗試保持穩定的生產狀況，那麼一年中可能會減少 20 到 30 口井。

Derrick, while you're on that topic of maintenance CapEx, I might just point you to Slide 7. We've had that slide in there a couple of times, but it shows maintenance CapEx, which, Danny just defined, is kind of holding the fourth quarter production flat for next year. And I just want to show you what our breakeven prices are on that slide, $32 a barrel to cover maintenance CapEx, $40 barrel to cover our base dividend. So that kind of goes back to my cost and execution comments that ultimately translate into a very protected business model even at low commodity prices.

Derrick，當您談論維護資本支出主題時，我可能會向您指出幻燈片 7。我們已經在該幻燈片中放過幾次，但它顯示了維護資本支出，丹尼剛剛定義，這是一種明年第四季產量持平。我只想向您展示該投影片上我們的損益平衡價格，每桶 32 美元用於支付維護資本支出，每桶 40 美元用於支付我們的基本股息。因此，這可以追溯到我的成本和執行評論，即使在商品價格低廉的情況下，這些評論最終也會轉化為非常受保護的商業模式。

That's great. And as my follow-up, with respect to noncore asset sales, how should we think about the market value of what's being retained by Diamondback and how that will be realized over time now that you've exceeded your disposal target?

那太棒了。作為我的後續行動，關於非核心資產出售，我們應該如何考慮響尾蛇保留的資產的市場價值，以及既然您已經超出了處置目標，那麼隨著時間的推移將如何實現這一價值？

Yes. Good question, Derrick. We did lay out some of our remaining JVs that we have on Slide 26. I think some of those logically are monetized at some point in the coming years. I don't think we're in a huge rush to do so. But in most cases, we're kind of a non-op partner to these JVs that do have a ton of value, just not something that we can commit to monetizing today.

是的。好問題，德瑞克。我們確實在幻燈片 26 上列出了我們剩餘的一些合資企業。我認為，從邏輯上講，其中一些合資企業將在未來幾年的某個時候貨幣化。我認為我們並不急於這樣做。但在大多數情況下，我們是這些合資企業的非營運合作夥伴，這些合資企業確實具有巨大的價值，只是我們今天無法承諾將其貨幣化。

Our next question comes from the line of Kevin MacCurdy of Pickering Energy Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自 Pickering Energy Partners 的 Kevin MacCurdy。

I appreciate the commentary on industry consolidation. Digging into your cost structure comments a little bit, now that you've had FireBird and Lario and [House] for almost a year. Can you comment on the level of cost synergies you've created in those transactions? Or maybe just share with us your analysis of Diamondback's cost versus peers. I'm just trying to get a sense of what kind of uplift assets get when they're incorporating to Diamondback in your cost structure.

我很欣賞對產業整合的評論。現在您已經使用 FireBird、Lario 和 [House] 近一年了，請深入研究您的成本結構評論。您能否評論一下您在這些交易中創造的成本協同效應的水平？或只是與我們分享您對 Diamondback 與同行成本的分析。我只是想了解當 Diamondback 納入您的成本結構時，資產會獲得什麼樣的提升。

Yes. I mean that's a good question, Kevin. I hate to say it, but we didn't win those deals because we were buddies and bid less than other people. So I think we did the most. But we did the most because we could underwrite it with the lowest cost, right? At the time I think some of the area well costs were near $8.5 million, $9.5 million for a 10,000-foot lateral, and we're drilling them at $6.5 million to $7 million.

是的。我的意思是這是一個好問題，凱文。我不想這麼說，但我們沒有贏得這些交易，因為我們是朋友，出價比其他人低。所以我認為我們做得最多。但我們做得最多是因為我們可以以最低的成本承保，對嗎？當時，我認為部分區域井的成本接近 850 萬美元，10,000 英尺水平井的成本為 950 萬美元，而我們的鑽探成本為 650 萬至 700 萬美元。

And so that's kind of our mantra for a long time. I would just say, generally, if you split the 2 deals out, Lario was an execution deal because we knew we could drill those units cheaper and execute on large-scale development. I would say FireBird is more of a technical deal. And we had a technical view of that particular area that the basin could move further west, particularly in the Northern Park portion. There'd be some multi-zone development that looks really good. I think we're conservative on the multi-zone potential of the central block and now feel a little more confident about the Wolfcamp A and the Lower Spraberry maybe being wine-racked in that area. And also with the benefit of that block being so contiguous, we're able to bring a 15,000-foot lateral manufacturing process to that area.

長期以來，這就是我們的座右銘。我只想說，一般來說，如果你把這兩筆交易分開，拉里奧是一項執行交易，因為我們知道我們可以更便宜地鑽探這些單位並執行大規模開發。我想說 FireBird 更多的是一個技術交易。我們對該特定區域有一個技術觀點，即該盆地可能會進一步向西移動，特別是在北部公園部分。會有一些看起來非常好的多區域開發。我認為我們對中央街區的多區域潛力持保守態度，現在對 Wolfcamp A 和 Lower Spraberry 可能在該地區的葡萄酒儲備更有信心了。而且由於區塊如此連續，我們能夠將 15,000 英尺的橫向製造流程引入該區域。

So we underwrite these deals at our cost structure which if you look at our cost structure versus others, that means we should get more of those properties at the same rate of return because of our ability to execute.

因此，我們按照我們的成本結構來承保這些交易，如果你看看我們的成本結構與其他公司的成本結構，這意味著我們應該以相同的回報率獲得更多的這些房產，因為我們的執行能力。

Next question comes from the line of Jeoffrey Lambujon of TPH & Company.

下一個問題來自 TPH & Company 的 Jeoffrey Lambujon。

My first one is on the ops and capital allocation side. If you can just speak to any more detail on next year's plan in terms of where you might focus within the Midland Basin, both in terms of geography but also maybe just less active zones in terms of industry activity that you may be testing more. And if you could speak maybe a bit more on to some of that lateral in the commentary in terms of how that might evolve over the near-term program, that would be helpful as well.

我的第一個是關於營運和資本配置方面的。如果您能詳細談談明年的計劃，您可能會關注米德蘭盆地的哪些地區，無論是在地理方面，還是在您可能會進行更多測試的行業活動方面，可能只是不太活躍的區域。如果您能在評論中更多地談論一下近期計劃可能如何發展的問題，那也會很有幫助。

Yes. Jeff, with these longer-cycle projects, we have a pretty good view of what the projects look like coming up here in 2024. I'd say, generally, we're going to be in the range of 11,000 feet average lateral length, probably maybe even a little bit more than that. I would say it's also a very heavy Martin County development year for us, which is great, large-scale, multi-zone development and some of the best developed resource remaining in the Midland Basin.

是的。 Jeff，透過這些週期較​​長的項目，我們對 2024 年的項目有一個很好的了解。我想說，一般來說，我們的平均橫向長度將在 11,000 英尺的範圍內，可能不止一點點。我想說，這對我們來說也是馬丁縣發展的一年，這是偉大的、大規模的、多區域的開發，也是米德蘭盆地剩餘的一些開發得最好的資源。

I'd say from a testing perspective, some more Wolfcamp B probably making it into the plan and a lot more Upper Spraberry making it into the plan. We kind of have a couple of really good tests and part of our culture is when something works, we implement it very, very quickly. And that's how we kind of see the shallower development picking up the pace in the Northern Midland Basin, particularly that Northwest Martin County area that we feel really good about for adding a new zone.

我想說，從測試的角度來看，更多的 Wolfcamp B 可能會納入計劃，還有更多的 Upper Spraberry 可能會納入計劃。我們進行了一些非常好的測試，我們文化的一部分是，當某件事有效時，我們會非常非常快速地實施它。這就是我們看到北米德蘭盆地淺層開發加快步伐的方式，特別是西北馬丁縣地區，我們對增加一個新區域感到非常滿意。

Okay. Great. And then maybe just a housekeeping type question on the noncore asset sales side, particularly on the upstream. I think a few people noted now, just how you're exceeding or you've already exceeded the target before year-end here and it makes sense, there's no need to go out and do more right away, but just wondering if you could speak to potential opportunities maybe in terms of longer-dated inventory that someone else might find more valuable today however you think about the opportunities in there?

好的。偉大的。然後可能只是非核心資產銷售方面的內務類型問題，特別是在上游。我想現在有些人注意到了，你是如何超越的，或者你在年底之前已經超過了目標，這是有道理的，沒有必要立即出去做更多的事情，但只是想知道你是否可以談論潛在的機會，也許是在較長期的庫存方面，其他人今天可能會發現這些庫存更有價值，但是您認為其中的機會是什麼？

Yes, good question. That ties to something I didn't answer your last question. The number of wells in the Midland Basin will be kind of 85%, 90% of total capital. So the Delaware Basin still be a small percentage of total capital. I think if I'm getting what your question is, where does the Delaware Basin sit in the portfolio? I think for us, certainly, we've started that area of capital a little bit here in the last few years. I think it provides a lot of cash flow and a lot of production, which is beneficial to us today. But as you've seen, over the course of the year, it certainly seems like inventory is coming at a premium. And there may come a time where someone really, really wants that Delaware position of ours or portions of it, but we're not going to sell it for a song in PV-15, right, PDP. So I think we're going to hold it for now. And if someone wants to pay for upside and a reasonable number versus where we trade, we'll take a look at it.

是的，好問題。這與我沒有回答你的上一個問題有關。米德蘭盆地的油井數量將佔總資本的85%至90%。所以特拉華盆地仍然只佔總資本的一小部分。我想如果我明白你的問題是什麼，特拉華盆地在投資組合中處於什麼位置？我認為對我們來說，當然，我們在過去幾年裡已經在這個領域開始了一些資本建設。我認為它提供了大量的現金流和大量的生產，這對我們今天是有利的。但正如您所看到的，在這一年中，庫存似乎確實溢價。也許有一天，有人真的非常想要我們在特拉華州的地位或其中的一部分，但我們不會為了 PV-15 中的一首歌而出售它，對吧，PDP。所以我認為我們現在會保留它。如果有人想要支付上漲的費用以及相對於我們交易的合理數字，我們會考慮一下。

Our next question comes from the line of Nitin Kumar of Mizuho.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞穗銀行的 Nitin Kumar。

Kaes, I want to start on Slide 11. You've been espousing the codevelopment approach for some time, and you show pretty solid results and consistent results since 2020. Just curious, one of your, I guess, peers in the basin talked about increasing recoveries by 20% through the use of technology. You guys are at the cutting edge yourself. So I'm curious, are you seeing anything out there that can improve recovery factors by that kind of magnitude?

Kaes，我想從幻燈片11 開始。您擁護共同開發方法已有一段時間了，自2020 年以來，您展示了相當可靠的結果和一致的結果。只是好奇，我猜，您盆地的一位同行談到了透過使用技術將回收率提高 20%。你們自己就處於最前沿。所以我很好奇，你是否看到任何可以將恢復因子提高到這種程度的東西？

We keep our figure on the pulse of a lot of emerging technologies. We focus our internal expertise on improving recovery. That's not something that's on our radar screen that we're aware of today. But that's not to say that the potential is not there as you look forward in the future. There's a lot of smart guys in our industry. We have a ton of smart guys inside Diamondback and whether that technology is developed internally or externally, it's widely communicated and quickly followed as particularly that kind of result. So we're focused on improving recovery, and I know our peers are doing the same. That's not a today number for sure, though.

我們緊跟許多新興科技的脈動。我們將內部專業知識集中在改善復原。我們今天還沒有意識到這一點。但這並不是說未來不存在潛力。我們這個行業有很多聰明人。我們 Diamondback 內部有很多聰明的人，無論該技術是內部開發的還是外部開發的，它都會被廣泛傳播並很快被遵循，特別是這種結果。因此，我們專注於改善康復，我知道我們的同行也在做同樣的事情。不過，這肯定不是今天的數字。

And I guess my follow-up would be if you are a fast follower, you've talked about how volume is an output of your program, your capital allocation framework. In an event that you could improve recoveries that way, would you allow -- would you keep activity flat? Or do you expect to reduce CapEx and just maintain that volume growth to be in the low single digits?

我想我的後續行動是，如果你是快速追隨者，你已經談論過交易量是你的程式的輸出，你的資本分配框架。如果你可以透過這種方式改善恢復，你會允許－你會保持活動平穩嗎？或者您希望減少資本支出並將銷售成長保持在較低的個位數？

Yes. I think generally, that would be a great problem to have. It really ties to this can you run a final frac program consistently on that position in those projects and those paths. Kind of all those back to this longer cycle nature of the shale business model and I think we feel really good about for simul-frac crews running consistently right now, and it have the infrastructure to do that. And if growth exceeded expectations, that will be a good problem to have.

是的。我認為一般來說，這將是一個很大的問題。這確實與此相關，您能否在這些項目和這些路徑中的該位置一致地運行最終的壓裂程序。所有這些都回到了頁岩商業模式的較長週期性質，我認為我們對目前持續運作的同步壓裂人員感到非常滿意，並且它擁有做到這一點的基礎設施。如果成長超出預期，這將是一個好問題。

One moment for our next question. Next question comes from the line of Charles Meade with Johnson Rice.

請稍等一下我們的下一個問題。下一個問題來自查爾斯·米德和約翰遜·賴斯。

I want to ask one more question, but maybe from a different angle on the A&D outlook. Kaes, I think it was -- I think I wrote down what you said that in your prepared comments or maybe earlier Q&A, that there's very few positions out there that you envy. And so that makes sense that you guys -- your bar is high. But from my seat, it also looks like, if you look at the other side of the question, it looks like there's not a lot of positions you want to buy, but there's also fewer possible -- fewer potential buyers out there, particularly for some of these large private position. So how does the -- I guess do you agree that there's fewer credible buyers for some of these big packages that may still be out there? And more broadly, how is the kind of the lineup shifting as you're active in data rooms and in processes, buyers versus sellers?

我想再問一個問題，但也許是從不同的角度來看 A&D 的前景。凱斯，我想我在你準備好的評論或之前的問答中寫下了你所說的話，你羨慕的職位很少。所以你們的標準很高，這是有道理的。但從我的角度來看，如果你看問題的另一面，看起來你想購買的頭寸並不多，但可能性也更少——潛在的買家更少，特別是對於其中一些大型私人持倉。那麼，我猜你是否同意，對於這些可能仍然存在的大包裹，可信買家越來越少？更廣泛地說，當您在資料室和流程中活躍時，買家與賣家的陣容類型如何變化？

Yes. That's an interesting observation, Charles. It's certainly not lost on us. You've got a couple of very large buyers do a couple of deals in the basin and out of the basin. Make it kind of do whatever they want, it seems like. But I would just say, generally, industry consolidation has happened. It's continuing to happen. I think a lot of the privates are gone, as you mentioned, to logical acquirers. I would just say that the -- there may be less buyers of assets, but they're all very well-funded, good operators, big balance sheets, and competitive. So I think we just have to stick to our guns in our underwriting philosophy, which is our cost structure, our rates of return internally, our hurdles for commodity price. And usually, that has resulted in more assets coming to Diamondback because we can underwrite wells drilled at $1 million or $2 million cheaper. We can run LOE above cheaper that's the kind of stuff that accretes to our shareholders.

是的。這是一個有趣的觀察，查爾斯。我們當然也沒有失去它。有幾個非常大的買家在盆地內外進行了幾筆交易。看起來就像是讓他們做任何他們想做的事。但我只想說，整體而言，產業整合已經發生。這種事還在繼續發生。我認為，正如您所提到的，許多私人企業都被合理的收購者收購了。我只想說，資產買家可能較少，但他們資金充足、營運良好、資產負債表龐大且具競爭力。因此，我認為我們必須堅持我們的承保理念，即我們的成本結構、我們的內部報酬率、我們的商品價格障礙。通常，這會導致更多資產流入 Diamondback，因為我們可以以便宜 100 萬美元或 200 萬美元的價格承保鑽探的油井。我們可以以更便宜的價格來運作 LOE，這就是為我們的股東帶來利益的東西。

One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of Arun Jayaram of JPMorgan Securities.

請稍等一下我們的下一個問題。我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通證券的 Arun Jayaram。

I wanted to keep on the A&D theme. When we are assessing the potential of a large private or one of these unicorns to potentially consolidate. Does it just come back to price? Or is there something -- do you think that they think about in terms of the independent versus major oil business model that could be advantageous to a company with like Diamondback, who's in Midland and again, both of those cost structures in the industry.

我想繼續 A&D 主題。當我們評估一家大型私人企業或其中一家獨角獸企業的潛在整合潛力時。難道只是回到價格嗎？或者，您認為他們是否會考慮獨立與主要石油業務模式之間的關係，這可能對像響尾蛇這樣位於米德蘭的公司有利，這兩種行業的成本結構都是如此。

Yes. Arun, we don't spend a lot of time thinking about what sellers think. We just think about what is the best opportunity available for our shareholders and creating shareholder value for our shareholders. And at the end of the day, I think Diamondback hand on heart as one of the best positions remaining in North America and the best cost structure. And that should be a very winning combination for our shareholders for a long time here.

是的。阿倫，我們不會花很多時間去思考賣家的想法。我們只是考慮什麼是為我們的股東提供的最佳機會，並為我們的股東創造股東價值。歸根結底，我認為響尾蛇是北美地區剩餘的最佳地點之一，也是最好的成本結構。對於我們的股東來說，長期以來這應該是一個非常成功的組合。

Understood. I want to maybe switch gears and just talk about the D&C efficiency gains, really surprised to see this year, the drilling efficiency gains -- seems like the drilling efficiency gains are outpacing maybe what we're seeing on the completion side. Are you guys recalibrating the -- call it, the rig-to-frac-crew ratio, but give us a sense of maybe what your what you're doing on the drilling side for these efficiency gains? And maybe help us recalibrate what that drilling to simul-frac crew ratio looks like today.

明白了。我想也許換個話題，談談 D&C 效率的提升，今年看到鑽井效率的提升真的很驚訝——似乎鑽井效率的提升可能超過了我們在完井方面看到的速度。你們是否正在重新調整鑽孔機與壓裂人員的比例，但讓我們了解一下為了提高效率，你們在鑽井方面正在做什麼？也許可以幫助我們重新調整今天的鑽井與同步壓裂人員比例。

Yes. It's interesting. We really haven't thought about the rig-to-crew ratio in a long time because it's just changed so much. I think we've moved to a world where we know how many wells we need to drill and how many wells we need to complete in a year to hit numbers. And the drilling side, maybe a year ago, that was 15 or 16 rigs for a full year. And now this year, and upcoming, it looks more like 14% to 15%. So the amount of work that our planning team does on the plan and how we're doing relative to plan is pretty astounding and how far ahead they are on these pads and then we need to pick up a rig and when we need to drop it. We're really kind of just targeting can we keep those simul-frac crews busy consistently. And I would guess, I guess the number is kind of in that high 3s, almost 4 rigs to one simul-fracs crew today.

是的。這真有趣。我們確實已經很久沒有考慮過鑽孔機與船員的比例了，因為它變化太大了。我認為我們已經進入了這樣一個世界：我們知道一年內需要鑽多少口井以及需要完成多少口井才能達到目標。鑽探方面，也許一年前，全年有 15 或 16 台鑽孔機。而今年，以及即將到來的，這個比例看起來更像是 14% 到 15%。因此，我們的規劃團隊在計劃上所做的工作量以及我們相對於計劃所做的工作是相當驚人的，他們在這些墊上領先了多遠，然後我們需要拿起鑽機以及何時需要放下它。我們的目標其實只是讓那些同時壓裂人員持續忙碌。我猜想，我想這個數字大概是 3 秒左右，今天，一名類比壓裂人員配備了幾乎 4 台鑽孔機。

Yes. Arun, I think. Like Kaes said, our goal is to keep the drilling program ahead of the simul-frac fleet and just keep the simul-frac fleets moving inefficient just like we want to keep rigs moving from pad to pad without waiting on pack instruction or whatever. So we kind of see them as 2 different programs altogether knowing that they're very dependent on each other. But I think the drilling and completion teams both this year have really done an excellent job of leaning in and pushing the machine to the limits and finding the little pieces of efficiency gains that can pick up and we continue, as we've always been to tinker and find better ways to execute our development strategy and build a better mousetrap. And we find different ways to design wells and execute that, we'll lean into it and continue to chase that efficiency line.

是的。阿倫，我想。正如凱斯所說，我們的目標是保持鑽井計劃領先於同步壓裂車隊，並保持同步壓裂車隊的低效率移動，就像我們希望讓鑽機在不等待包裝指令或其他任何情況下從一個平台移動到另一個平台一樣。因此，我們將它們視為兩個不同的程序，並且知道它們彼此非常依賴。但我認為今年的鑽井和完井團隊確實做得非常出色，他們將機器推向極限，並找到了可以提高效率的小部分，我們將繼續，就像我們一直以來所做的那樣修補並找到更好的方法來執行我們的發展策略並建立更好的捕鼠器。我們找到了不同的方法來設計油井並執行它，我們將深入研究並繼續追求效率線。

The next question comes from the line of Scott Gruber of Citigroup.

下一個問題來自花旗集團的史考特‧格魯伯。

Congrats on another good quarter. I want to follow up on the -- I want to follow up on Arun's question just on the activity set into next year. I get some more clarity on the plan for the DUCs. So it sounds like you can be running the 14 or 15 rigs. Will you end up drilling 330 or so wells by running 14 or 15 rigs? Or will the base plan for next year contemplate a drawdown of some of those excess DUCs?

恭喜又一個美好的季度。我想跟進——我想跟進阿倫關於明年活動的問題。我對 DUC 的計劃有了更多的了解。所以聽起來您可以運行 14 或 15 台鑽孔機。您最終會通過運行 14 或 15 台鑽機鑽 330 口左右的井嗎？或者明年的基本計劃是否會考慮提取部分超額 DUC？

I don't think we're planning on drawing any down absent any in-the-field issues. I think generally, we feel a lot better at this level of DUCs for the size of projects that we have ahead of us. Earlier this year, we were getting pretty close the rig or the frac crews were getting pretty close to the rig getting off location. And a 20-well pad or 24-well pad or however you want to break it up, you have to have all 24 wells done before you can bring on the drilling side, where you can bring the frac crew in or at least that's how we do it. And that's why that kind of 150 number we mentioned feels like a much more balanced number going forward.

我認為，如果沒有任何現場問題，我們不會計劃進行任何削減。我認為總的來說，對於我們面前的專案規模來說，我們在這個級別的 DUC 上感覺好多了。今年早些時候，我們已經非常接近鑽井平台，或者壓裂人員已經非常接近鑽井平台的離開位置。 20 口井或 24 口井，或者無論你想如何分解它，你必須先完成所有 24 口井，然後才能進入鑽井側，在那裡你可以帶上壓裂人員，或者至少就是這樣我們做到了。這就是為什麼我們提到的 150 個數字感覺像是一個更平衡的數字。

I got you. So the inventory count is under normal conditions is just going up. I got it.

我接到你了。因此，正常情況下庫存數量只會增加。我得到了它。

Yes. This feels like a good inventory number. Again, going back, we're not -- these aren't the days of 2-well pads where if something that happens, you can pull out the pad and go somewhere else. These are long-cycle mini, Danny likes to call them mini offshore projects given the amount of dollars that go into a project before first oil comes online.

是的。這感覺像是一個很好的庫存數字。再說一次，我們不是——現在不是 2 孔板的時代，如果發生什麼事情，你可以拉出板並去其他地方。這些是長週期的迷你項目，丹尼喜歡稱它們為迷你海上項目，因為在第一批石油上線之前就投入了項目的美元數量。

That makes sense. And then good detail on the cost trends across the various buckets on Slide 10. As you think about going through RFP season for various services? I know you have some longer-term contracts in place, but do you think you'll see any continued deflation across any of the major buckets as you go into '24? Or are those starting to stabilize now?

這就說得通了。然後投影片 10 上詳細介紹了各個類別的成本趨勢。您是否考慮過各種服務的 RFP 季節？我知道你們已經簽訂了一些長期合同，但你們認為進入 24 年後，你們是否會看到任何主要類別持續通貨緊縮？或是那些現在開始穩定下來了嗎？

Yes. I think we think it's kind of stabilizing right now. And for us, there really is no RFP season, right? RFP seasons every day coming back. If something cheaper and we can do something cheaper or replace something with something cheaper. It's going to happen right away. It's not going to wait for next season or for the summer, it's going to happen now. So it's a constant RFP season here. And these are all real time costs that the team has to present to Travis on a line-by-line basis every quarter. And this is a real-time look at where we are and where things are headed. You noticed we put a Q4 2023 number in there, just to show where even we've moved from Q3 to Q4.

是的。我認為我們認為現在情況已經趨於穩定。對我們來說，確實沒有 RFP 季節，對嗎？ RFP 季節每天都會回來。如果更便宜的話，我們可以做更便宜的東西，或者用更便宜的東西替換一些東西。它馬上就會發生。這不會等到下個賽季或夏天，而是現在才發生。所以這是一個持續的 RFP 季節。這些都是團隊每季必須逐行向 Travis 提交的即時成本。這是對我們所處位置以及事情發展方向的即時觀察。您注意到我們在其中放了 2023 年第 4 季的數字，只是為了顯示我們從第 3 季轉移到第 4 季的情況。

Our next question comes from the line of Leo Mariani of ROTH MKM.

我們的下一個問題來自 ROTH MKM 的 Leo Mariani。

I just wanted to follow a little bit on 2024. If I'm kind of reading this right, it looks like you guys are talking about a rough budget next year of just a hair over $2.5 billion, sounds like that's kind of flat activity. Just wanted to get a sense of kind of what's assumed in there for inflation or deflation? Are you just kind of assuming sort of current well costs in that number?

我只是想稍微關註一下 2024 年的情況。如果我沒理解錯的話，你們似乎正在談論明年的粗略預算，僅略高於 25 億美元，聽起來像是平淡的活動。只是想了解通貨膨脹或通貨緊縮的假設是什麼？您只是假設目前的油井成本是這個數字嗎？

Yes. I mean we're always kind of a little conservative here, Leo. So I would say we're kind of in the range of where we think we are today. Again, we think generally, service costs have kind of bottomed or flattened out. And absent a major change in rig count, this feels like a pretty good range for next year.

是的。我的意思是我們這裡總是有點保守，獅子座。所以我想說，我們現在的處境處於我們認為的範圍內。同樣，我們認為整體而言，服務成本已經觸底或趨於平穩。如果鑽機數量沒有重大變化，這對於明年來說是一個相當不錯的範圍。

Okay. And then just to follow up quickly on the M&A topic here. I think you guys have made it pretty clear that you want to continue to be a consolidator over time with your cost advantage. I guess at the same time, just kind of you guys talk about kind of a $60 type of budgeting case for oil, obviously, we've been above there. Is there any scenario where FANG thinks about potentially going the other way and actually selling at the end of the day?

好的。然後快速跟進此處的併購主題。我認為你們已經非常明確地表示，隨著時間的推移，你們希望憑藉成本優勢繼續成為整合者。我想與此同時，你們正在談論 60 美元類型的石油預算案，顯然，我們已經在上面了。 FANG 是否會考慮採取相反的方式並在一天結束時實際出售？

Leo, I've tried to address that a little bit in my opening comments is one of the first questions and also in my letter. Look, we'll always do the right thing for our shareholders. We've been -- I feel like we've done that for 12 years now. But again, what our focus is, is on delivering our business plan. And we believe in our business model, we believe that there's a meaningful spot in our investment community for a company like Diamondback, and we continue to execute flawlessly. And I think I'm really confident about what our forward plan looks like.

利奧，我試著在我的開場白中解決這個問題，這是我的第一個問題，也是在我的信中。看，我們將永遠為我們的股東做正確的事。我覺得我們已經這樣做了 12 年了。但同樣，我們的重點是交付我們的業務計劃。我們相信我們的商業模式，我們相信像 Diamondback 這樣的公司在我們的投資社群中具有有意義的地位，並且我們將繼續完美地執行。我想我對我們的未來計劃非常有信心。

Next question comes from the line of Paul Cheng of Scotiabank.

下一個問題來自豐業銀行的 Paul Cheng。

Two questions. One, one of the ways that you reduce cost, I think the industry is moving for electrification. I sharp of that -- wondering if you can give us some idea that how far along on your process in doing so? And secondly, that with the Deep Blue -- I think in the past that you guys are very proud of your water infrastructure and all that. So is that signaling that now you have a change of view of what kind of infrastructure need to be owned by or need to be controlled by Diamondback going forward? So should we just assume that this means that you really don't think that's necessary for you to have control or to own those infrastructures?

兩個問題。第一，降低成本的方法之一，我認為該行業正在轉向電氣化。我對此很敏感——想知道您是否可以告訴我們您在這樣做的過程中進展到了什麼程度？其次，對於深藍色——我認為過去你們對自己的水基礎設施和所有這些感到非常自豪。那麼，這是否表明您現在對 Diamondback 需要擁有或控制什麼樣的基礎設施的看法發生了變化？那麼我們是否應該假設這意味著您確實認為您沒有必要控製或擁有這些基礎設施？

Yes. Good question, Paul. I'll take the second one first on the Midstream infrastructure. We spent a lot of money building those systems to the specs that we needed. And so I think we're not turning over a blank canvas, right? This is a painting that's already been finishing touches. And so we feel confident, particularly with a lot of our field team members going over to Deep Blue to run the asset that will be well served as its largest customer and also a large equity holder.

是的。好問題，保羅。我將首先討論中游基礎設施的第二個。我們花了很多錢按照我們需要的規格來建立這些系統。所以我認為我們不會翻開一張空白的畫布，對嗎？這是一幅已經完成收尾工作的畫。因此，我們充滿信心，特別是我們的許多現場團隊成員都轉到深藍來運營該資產，該資產將作為其最大客戶和大股東而得到良好服務。

So I think if we are early in our development plan might be a different story. But in this case, it's a very well built out system that is kind of ready-made to turn over to them to, in our minds, do some more things commercially that we couldn't do as a stand-alone water enterprise. And then your other question on electrification. It's certainly a hot topic in the Permian. I think generally, electrification means both lower cost and lower environmental footprint. And that's a great thing for us in this basin. We've done a lot of work ourselves. I think the state of Texas and the utilities need to kind of do their part to get more power out to the Permian to connect to all of us so that we can run off of line power versus different forms of generation in the field.

所以我認為，如果我們儘早制定開發計劃，情況可能會有所不同。但在這種情況下，這是一個非常完善的系統，在我們看來，它是一種現成的系統，可以移交給他們，讓他們做更多我們作為獨立水務企業無法做的商業事情。然後是關於電氣化的另一個問題。這無疑是二疊紀的熱門話題。我認為總的來說，電氣化意味著更低的成本和更低的環境足跡。這對我們這個盆地來說是件好事。我們自己也做了很多工作。我認為德州和公用事業公司需要盡自己的一份力量，將更多的電力輸送到二疊紀盆地，連接到我們所有人，這樣我們就可以使用線路電力，而不是現場使用不同形式的發電。

So I think that's going to be a constant battle that we're intently focused on. And again, it saves us money and improves environmental performance that feels like we're in.

所以我認為這將是一場我們密切關注的持久戰。再說一次，它為我們節省了金錢，並改善了環境績效，讓我們感覺自己身處其中。

Just curious that, I mean, what percentage of your operation now has already been genetic buy-in, that where you think is the biggest opportunity over the next 1 or 2 years?

只是好奇，我的意思是，您現在的業務中有多少比例已經是基因買入，您認為這是未來 1 或 2 年內最大的機會？

Yes. We've got about 90% to 95% of our current production operations electrified. We've been -- the biggest opportunities we've been working on to date in the production operations world or been electrification of our compression fleet. And I think we're probably 70-ish percent electrified there. So we'll continue to work on getting rid of our gas reset compressors and putting electric packages in their place.

是的。我們目前約 90% 至 95% 的生產營運已實現電氣化。迄今為止，我們在生產營運領域一直在努力實現最大的機遇，或是我們的壓縮機組的電氣化。我認為我們那裡的電氣化率可能達到 70% 左右。因此，我們將繼續努力擺脫氣體重置壓縮機，並在其位置上安裝電氣套件。

And then on the D&C side, we've got 2 simul-frac fleets that are Halliburton, what they call their zoos fleets, which are their electric fleets and we've really enjoyed the benefits of those and look forward to continuing to try and electrify the completion world. And then on the drilling side, we've got, I think, 5 or 6 rigs running right now on line power, and we're continuing to put in the infrastructure that we need to, to run those rigs off-line power as the supply chain kind of frees up on the back of COVID, and we can get the electrical equipment we need to convert those rigs.

然後在D&C 方面，我們有2 個同步壓裂船隊，它們是哈里伯頓(Halliburton)，他們稱之為動物園船隊，這是他們的電動船隊，我們真的很享受這些船隊的好處，並期待繼續嘗試並使整個世界電氣化。然後在鑽井方面，我認為我們現在有 5 或 6 台鑽機在線路電源上運行，我們將繼續投入所需的基礎設施，以便在離線電源下運行這些鑽機在新冠疫情的影響下，供應鏈得到了釋放，我們可以獲得改造這些鑽孔機所需的電氣設備。

So it's kind of all over, but we're working on it as fast as we can. And I anticipate that over the next 4 or 5 years, there won't be much of the field that's not electrified.

所以一切都結束了，但我們正在盡快處理它。我預計在未來四、五年內，不會有太多領域是非電氣化的。

All right. This does conclude the question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn it back to Travis Stice, Chairman and CEO, for closing remarks.

好的。問答環節到此結束。現在我想請董事長兼執行長 Travis Stice 致閉幕詞。

I appreciate all the good questions this morning. I hope you find our shareholder letter constructive in the way that we can help communicate details about our business plan. The last comment I want to make before we sign off is that we have an opportunity this Saturday to recognize all of our veterans across this country on Veteran's Day, certainly, for all of the veterans that are employed by Diamondback, thank you for your service and then anyone that's on the phone that also dedicated a portion of their lives to our country, I want to tell you thank you for your service as well.

我感謝今天早上提出的所有好問題。我希望您認為我們的股東信函具有建設性，我們可以幫助您傳達有關我們業務計劃的詳細資訊。在我們結束之前我想說的最後一句話是，我們有機會在本週六的退伍軍人節表彰全國各地的所有退伍軍人，當然，對於響尾蛇僱用的所有退伍軍人，感謝你們的服務然後，對於那些在電話裡也將自己的部分生命奉獻給我們國家的人，我也想告訴你們，感謝你們的服務。

And then particularly for the Diamondback employees, hopefully, we'll see you at breakfast or lunch ceremonies that we have planned for this Friday. So thank you. You all have a great day. God bless.

特別是對於響尾蛇員工來說，希望我們能在我們計劃於本週五舉行的早餐或午餐儀式上見到你們。所以謝謝。你們都度過了美好的一天。上帝保佑。

All right. Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

好的。感謝您參加今天的會議。這確實結束了該程式。您現在可以斷開連線。