Matador Resources Company (MTDR) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the second-quarter 2026 Matador Resources Company earnings conference call. My name is Michelle, and I'll be serving as the operator for today.

各位女士、先生，早安。歡迎參加 Matador Resources Company 2026 年第二季財報電話會議。我叫 Michelle，今天將擔任會議主持人。

(Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded for replay purposes, and the replay will be available on the company's website for one year as discussed in the company's earnings press release issued yesterday.

(主持人指示) 提醒各位，本次會議將錄音以供重播，重播將如同公司昨日發布的財報新聞稿所述，在公司網站上提供一年。

I will now turn the call over to Mr. Mac Schmitz, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations for Matador. Mr. Schmitz, you may proceed.

現在我將把電話會議交給 Matador 投資人關係資深副總裁 Mac Schmitz 先生。Schmitz 先生，請開始。

Thank you, Michelle. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Matador's second-quarter 2026 earnings conference call.

謝謝你，Michelle。各位早安，感謝各位參加 Matador 2026 年第二季財報電話會議。

Some of the presenters this morning will reference certain non-GAAP financial measures regularly used by Matador Resources in measuring the company's financial performance. Reconciliations of such non-GAAP financial measures with the comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP are contained at the end of the company's earnings release issued yesterday.

今天上午部分簡報者將提及 Matador Resources 在衡量公司財務表現時經常使用的某些非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。此等非 GAAP 財務衡量指標與依 GAAP 計算之可比較財務衡量指標的調節表，已載於公司昨日發布之財報新聞稿末尾。

As a reminder, certain statements included in this morning's presentation may be forward-looking and reflect the company's current expectations or forecasts of future events based on the information that is now available. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

提醒各位，今天上午簡報中所包含的某些陳述可能屬於前瞻性陳述，並反映公司基於目前可得資訊，對未來事件的現行預期或預測。實際結果與未來事件可能與此等陳述所預期者存在重大差異。

Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially is contained in the company's earnings release and its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

有關可能導致實際結果出現重大差異之因素的更多資訊，載於公司的財報新聞稿、最近一期 Form 10-K 年度報告，以及其後提交的任何 Form 10-Q 季度報告中。

In addition to our earnings press release issued yesterday, I would also like to remind everyone that you can find a slide presentation in connection with our second-quarter 2026 earnings release under the Investor Relations tab on our corporate website.

除昨日發布的財報新聞稿外，也提醒各位：與我們 2026 年第二季財報發布相關的簡報投影片，可在公司官網「投資人關係」分頁下找到。

And with that, I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Joe Foran, our Chairman, Founder, and CEO. Joe?

接下來，我想把電話會議交給我們的董事長、創辦人兼執行長 Joe Foran 先生。Joe？

Thank you very much, Mac. It's a pleasure to be here with you all again, having to exchange your questions and our answers and your comments, we appreciate. We'd like to hear from you. We want to be sure that all of you know that you're welcome here to come visit.

非常感謝你，Mac。很高興再次與各位在此相聚，能夠交流各位的提問、我們的回答以及各位的意見，我們非常感謝。我們也希望聽到各位的想法。我們想確保各位都知道，歡迎各位前來拜訪。

And if you do, you'll be assured of meeting not only most of the senior staff, but also the opportunity to visit with some of our young staffers that have come in in geology and engineering and you hear directly from them. They're doing the work, how they feel about it, and what their views on the future and the strength and technology that they're using being state-of-the-art.

如果各位前來，除了能見到多數高階主管外，也有機會與我們一些年輕同仁交流，他們在地質與工程領域加入團隊，您可以直接聽他們分享。他們正在做的工作、他們對工作的感受，以及他們對未來的看法，還有他們所使用的先進技術與其最尖端的水準。

Second, I'd like to give you an overall picture. We've had near record adjusted free cash flow for this quarter of $303 million, $200 million of which has been used to pay down the bank debt that we had on the acquisition of the federal leases. So now we're under $1 billion on that debt and making progress to get it paid down further in these upcoming quarters.

第二，我想先給各位一個整體概況。本季我們的調整後自由現金流接近歷史新高，達 3.03 億美元，其中 2 億美元已用於償還我們在收購聯邦租賃權時所承擔的銀行債務。因此，目前該筆債務已降至 10 億美元以下，並且我們正持續在接下來幾季推進進一步償還。

And I think that's an important point to remember when people wonder about how we really stand. We have 19 banks in our bank group and they all scrubbed down our numbers pretty thoroughly and had some real good exchanges and they raised good questions. But all 19 have participated and have indicated more is available if we come across opportunities like that. So thank you, banks. We appreciate your backing us and working with us and our relationship with you.

我認為，當外界在思考我們實際狀況如何時，這是一個重要的重點。我們的銀行團共有 19 家銀行，他們非常徹底地檢視了我們的數據，並進行了良好的交流，也提出了很好的問題。但 19 家銀行全數參與，並表示若我們遇到類似的機會，還可提供更多資金。所以，謝謝各家銀行。我們感謝各位對我們的支持、與我們合作，以及我們與各位之間的關係。

Last, two things on this report. If you're asking us how we're doing, we just say the true answer is that we've exceeded the high end of our production guidance. So it's nice to be sitting in that spot when also mentioned we've had a 5% increase in our oil and natural gas reserves, up from 667 million barrels of oil or gas equivalent to 703 million barrels of oil or gas equivalent. So nice increase for a quarter and I want to say to all of our teams, our exploration and production teams that good work and keep it up.

最後，關於這份報告有兩點。如果各位問我們表現如何，我們的真實答案是：我們的產量已超越產量指引區間的上緣。因此，在此同時也很高興地提到，我們的石油與天然氣儲量增加了 5%，由 6.67 億桶油當量（BOE）提升至 7.03 億桶油當量。以單季而言是相當不錯的增幅；我也想對我們所有團隊、尤其是勘探與生產團隊說：做得很好，請繼續保持。

As I mentioned, these results and cash flow generation has enabled us to pay down $200 million in the borrowings we had for the May federal lease sale on our RBL. We expect to now generate approximately $900 million in free cash flow for the year. So we'll have this largely paid down, if not paid off by the end of the year.

如我所提到，這些成果與現金流的產生，使我們得以償還 2 億美元的借款，該借款係為 5 月聯邦租賃權拍賣而在我們的 RBL（以儲量為基礎的循環信貸）項下所借。我們預期今年將產生約 9 億美元的自由現金流。因此，到年底我們將大致償還完畢，甚至可能全部清償。

Second, in this area, we remain very focused on prioritizing continued debt reduction, but it's not very often that you have an opportunity to buy three properties like Cardinal, like Paloma, and like Range Rider of this quality to bring into your asset group and the upside Ridge Runner and on these properties to continue growing our base in New Mexico. And we've steadily risen in the ranks to where we're one of the, we're in the top 10 and top 5 in Lee County.

第二，在這方面，我們仍非常專注於優先持續降低負債；但並不常見能有機會收購像 Cardinal、Paloma、Range Rider 這樣高品質的三項資產，納入我們的資產組合，並且還有 Ridge Runner 的上行空間；透過這些資產，我們將持續在新墨西哥州擴大我們的基礎。我們在排名上也穩步上升，現在已是 Lee County 前 10、甚至前 5 的業者之一。

I'm also pleased and excited to provide update. We began the year deciding we had four strategic catalysts that we were planning to execute on. First is the closing and integrating of Cardinal. And on that score, that was a very professional work with the Cardinal team.

我也很高興並且期待向各位提供最新進展。今年年初我們決定，有四項策略性催化劑（strategic catalysts）要執行。第一項是完成 Cardinal 的交割並進行整合。在這方面，與 Cardinal 團隊的合作非常專業。

We had good relations with smoothly and to the point where we gained increasing confidence on the capability of their people who might be interested in Matador. And we made offers to 26 of their field people, their whole staff out there, basically, and all 26 accepted the offer. We thought that was a good sign of how professional the negotiations went. And the opportunities I feel are ahead of them being with a company committed to the Delaware as we are.

我們的關係良好、流程順暢，並且我們對他們人員的能力愈來愈有信心，其中一些人也可能有意加入 Matador。我們向他們 26 位現場人員（基本上是他們在當地的全體員工）提出聘用邀約，而 26 位全數接受。我們認為這顯示談判過程相當專業、結果良好。我也相信，加入一家如我們一般致力於 Delaware 盆地的公司，他們未來將有更多機會。

I also want to emphasize that midstream money was used to purchase Cardinal, and for midstream assets that's our policy midstream money for midstream assets. And on the E&P side, again, we're using Matador money for properties that will end up in Matador.

我也要強調，用於收購 Cardinal 的是中游資金；對於中游資產，我們的政策就是「中游資金用於中游資產」。而在上游勘探與生產（E&P）方面，同樣地，我們使用 Matador 的資金來收購最終將納入 Matador 的資產。

So first, we've closed and we're integrating Cardinal. And as I said, those are two separate companies, but we collaborate with each other, and we think we help each other to better performance. So that was the first strategic catalyst.

因此，第一，我們已完成 Cardinal 的交割並正在整合。如我所說，這是兩家不同的公司，但我們彼此協作，也認為能互相幫助以達到更好的表現。這就是第一項策略性催化劑。

The second one was BLM lease sale. We paid a lot of money for it. Would have been nervous about that. But if you remember back to 2018, we were criticized some for buying and paying what we did for lease sales. And look what that did for us. That boosted us into the best cash flow and the best properties that we had for a number of times.

第二項是 BLM（美國土地管理局）租賃權拍賣。我們為此支付了不少資金。對此本來可能會感到緊張。但如果各位回想 2018 年，我們曾因在租賃權拍賣中收購並支付那樣的價格而受到一些批評。而看看那為我們帶來了什麼成果。那讓我們在相當長一段時間內，擁有最好的現金流與最優質的資產。

And the Rodney Robinson wells that were drilled and the Nina Cortel were all making over 1 million barrels a piece. And that extra free cash flow has given us a lot of opportunities. We tried to take advantage of it. So when the opportunity came up again for BLM lease sale years later, we really prepared for it and we're excited by the leases that we were received and it extended our inventory life to over 15 years.

而所鑽的 Rodney Robinson 井以及 Nina Cortel 的井，每一口都產出超過 100 萬桶。而那額外的自由現金流給了我們很多機會。我們也試著把握。因此，當多年後 BLM 租賃拍賣的機會再次出現時，我們確實做足了準備，並且對我們所取得的租約感到振奮，這也把我們的庫存年限延長到 15 年以上。

And good properties like that with nine different zones are likely to have a lot more than just 10 to 15 years of extension. They also are enhanced by the fact we have a midstream system that should be able to increase their cash flow, picking up this gas and getting it to market. I think in the succeeding years, flow assurance is going to play a bigger and bigger role.

而像那樣擁有九個不同層位的優質資產，很可能帶來的不只是 10 到 15 年的延長。此外，我們擁有一套中游系統，能夠把這些天然氣收集並送到市場，進一步提升它們的現金流，這也強化了這些資產的價值。我認為在接下來的幾年，流動保障（flow assurance）將扮演愈來愈重要的角色。

On page, I think it's page 7 of the slides, we have a map showing how all these properties fit together and on Cardinal, it lays down to give us pipeline movement all around the basin and you couldn't have really have a better fit than the way it fits in with our other pipeline systems.

在簡報中我想是第 7 頁，我們有一張地圖顯示這些資產如何彼此銜接；而在 Cardinal，那個佈局讓我們能在整個盆地周邊進行管線輸送，你很難找到比它與我們其他管線系統整合得更好的配置。

But in that regard, you have 100 rigs approximately out there within 10 miles of our pipelines. So that's a great opportunity for our group to pick up some additional business and relationships. And our teams are out there trying to take advantage of it now and bring in new customers and take on the existing customers of Cardinal and build that up and weave it in to our existing pipeline systems.

就這點而言，在我們管線 10 英里範圍內，大約有 100 座鑽機在作業。因此，這對我們團隊而言是爭取更多業務與建立關係的絕佳機會。我們的團隊目前正在現場努力把握機會，導入新客戶、承接 Cardinal 既有客戶並擴大規模，並把它編織整合進我們既有的管線系統。

Finally, the future results of Cardinal and these BLM leases should -- we expect them to turn out to be better than expected given the quality of the acreage from not only our acquisitions but the E&P activities of other people in the area.

最後，Cardinal 與這些 BLM 租約的未來成果——我們預期會比原先預期更好，原因在於該區不僅我們收購到的地塊品質優異，其他業者在當地的勘探與生產（E&P）活動也證明了其潛力。

As I mentioned, it's 100 rigs out there working and so you can expect if you are not lining up how to get your gas out of the Delaware need to be doing so because I think it'll it'll be there'll be some tightness in the markets. We'll try to take care of you as best we can, but at this point, you might want to take some action to be sure that's lined up for any investment you make in new wells.

如我提到的，現場有 100 座鑽機在運作，所以你可以預期，如果你還沒有把如何把天然氣從 Delaware 送出去的方案排好，現在就需要著手，因為我認為市場會出現一些吃緊。我們會盡力照顧各位，但就目前而言，你可能需要採取一些行動，確保你在新井投資上的外運安排已經就緒。

All this, we believe, sets us up for a strong finish to 2026 and even stronger performance in 2027 as we're able to plan and coordinate our various activities. As a result, we've raised our production guidance from year-over-year oil growth of 4% to 7%, and all this is done with 1% less capital expenditures.

我們相信，這一切讓我們有望在 2026 年強勢收尾，並在 2027 年表現更為強勁，因為我們能夠規劃並協調各項活動。因此，我們把產量指引從年對年原油成長 4% 上調至 7%，而這一切是在資本支出還減少 1% 的情況下達成的。

One note about capital expenditures, of course, I started this company with some friends 43 years ago and with 270,000 and now we have over 12 billion in assets and on that we borrowed money the whole way, always paid it back and we'll need to borrow some as we finish development of these undeveloped acres and extend the coverage the midstream has in these more prolific areas.

關於資本支出補充一點：當然，我在 43 年前和幾位朋友以 27 萬美元創立了這家公司，如今我們的資產已超過 120 億美元；一路走來我們一直有借款，但也總是按時償還。

So we think that outlook looks good. The capital will be put to good use and appreciate the support that we've had and things look good going forward and if not I tell you so that we got to work through some things but it's very exciting to have the best acreage, the best team that you've had with the opportunities provided with a bank group that is as solid as we've been fortunate to have in the group and the shareholders that we have.

所以我們認為前景看起來不錯。資本會被有效運用，也感謝大家一路以來的支持；未來看起來很好——如果不是，我也會告訴你——我們確實還有一些事情要處理，但能擁有最好的地塊、最好的團隊，加上我們很幸運擁有同樣穩健的銀行團，以及我們的股東，這一切都令人非常振奮。

So we've been blessed with a lot of good things. We plan to be good stewards. That's always been our mark. We didn't come up through private equity, but friends and family and I can assure you, your friends and family are rooting for you, but they have a lot of questions and they're not afraid to ask the tough questions. So we tried to answer for them as this transaction unfolded, but now we're ready for yours.

所以我們確實受惠於很多好事。我們計畫做一個稱職的受託管理者（good stewards）。這一直是我們的標誌。我們不是靠私募股權一路走來，而是靠親友支持；我可以向各位保證，你的親友會為你加油，但他們也有很多問題，而且不怕問尖銳的問題。因此，隨著這筆交易推進，我們一直努力回答他們的問題，而現在我們也準備好回答各位的問題。

And with that, I turn you over for the first question.

接下來，我把時間交給第一個提問。

Back to you, Michelle. Thanks.

交回給你，Michelle。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Neal Dingman, William Blair.

（接線員指示）Neal Dingman，William Blair。

Good morning, all. Joe, nice update. I'd jump right to my question, Joe. My question is around your new asset economics that you all highlighted last night. Specifically, you all suggest the rates of return on these newer properties likely to be over 80%. So my question is, what's driving this outperformance, these new assets versus peers in your existing assets, which are already over 50%? And given these high returns, do you anticipate more activity in these new areas?

各位早安。Joe，更新得很好。我直接進入問題，Joe。我想問的是你們昨晚重點提到的新資產經濟性。具體來說，你們表示這些較新的資產報酬率可能超過 80%。所以我的問題是：是什麼在驅動這種超預期表現——這些新資產相較同業、以及相較你們既有資產（既有資產的報酬率已超過 50%）？另外，鑑於這麼高的報酬率，你們是否預期在這些新區域會有更多活動？

Hey, Neal. Thanks for the question. It's Tom Elsener. We're very excited for these new properties, and the 80% rate of return is really underpinned, first and foremost, just by the very high-quality rock. As you can see on the maps on slides 5 and 6, you can see that the acreage was bought is in the core of the Delaware Basin.

嗨，Neal。謝謝你的問題。我是 Tom Elsener。我們對這些新資產非常興奮，而 80% 的報酬率首先、也是最重要的支撐因素，就是非常高品質的地層（rock）。如你在第 5 與第 6 頁投影片的地圖上所見，我們買到的地塊位於 Delaware 盆地的核心區。

And we expect that there'll be 15% to 20% higher oil EURs on those properties, which will greatly enhance the returns on those wells, along with the fact that there's nine or more different benches. And that allows for batch development and longer laterals and will support getting our well costs down significantly down to the $600 per foot range.

我們預期這些資產的原油最終可採儲量（EUR）將高出 15% 到 20%，這會大幅提升這些井的報酬率；再加上有九個或更多不同的層段（benches）。這使得我們可以進行批次式開發、鑽更長的水平段（laterals），並支撐我們把單井成本顯著降低到每英尺約 600 美元的水準。

Also, the high net revenue interest, particularly on the federal leases with a one-eighth royalty, will also enhance those economics. Not included in the 80% is also the synergies at the midstream, which many of those properties are just a few miles away from our existing infrastructure.

此外，較高的淨收益權益（net revenue interest），特別是聯邦租約僅八分之一權利金（one-eighth royalty）的條件，也會改善這些經濟性。而 80% 的報酬率還未納入中游端的協同效益，因為其中許多資產距離我們既有基礎設施只有幾英里。

Gabe Dowd, Truist.

Gabe Dowd，Truist。

Thanks, operator. Morning, Joe and everyone. Thanks for all the comments and prepared remarks so far. Guys, just wondering if we could maybe get an updated view on how do you think about '27? At this point, I know profitable growth at a measured pace had always been the strategy here.

謝謝，接線員。Joe 以及各位早安。謝謝目前為止所有評論與事先準備的發言。各位，我想請教能否更新一下你們對 2027 年的看法？到目前為止，我知道以可衡量的步伐實現獲利成長一直是這裡的策略。

And so targeting a mid-single-digit oil growth for '27, is that fair? And would that require the same level of spending that you're guiding through for this year or would that require a step-up in CapEx? Thanks, guys.

所以，若以 2027 年原油產量中個位數成長為目標，這樣的理解合理嗎？而這是否需要維持你們今年指引的同等支出水準，還是需要提高資本支出（CapEx）？謝謝各位。

Gabe, I'll start and some of the others may chip in, but first, you got it right. That's our basic policy, profitable growth at a measured pace. So that's the way we plan to go. Now, for example, if prices were to collapse to $30 a barrel instead of $70, we wouldn't do the same program.

Gabe，我先開始，其他人可能也會補充，但首先，你說得沒錯。那是我們的基本政策：以審慎的步調追求獲利成長。所以我們計畫就照這個方向走。現在，舉例來說，如果油價不是每桶 70 美元而是崩跌到每桶 30 美元，我們就不會做同樣的計畫。

But we're expecting right now, despite the volatility in the Middle East that it's going to level out somewhere in this $70 to $80 range. It might be better and we will adjust accordingly. But I think we can count on making money even at $70 a barrel from these properties or that they're that good.

但我們目前的預期是，儘管中東局勢波動，油價會在每桶 70 到 80 美元這個區間附近趨於平穩。也可能更好，而我們會相應調整。但我認為，即使每桶 70 美元，我們也可以指望從這些資產賺錢，因為它們就是那麼好。

We will be careful about our debt and we will pay that down as reasonable as we can and make adjustments in the year. Since it's an elective repayment, we'll adjust it to the cash flow per month. But our target would be something in at present prices, some in that range of $100 a month. So it's paid off within 1 year to 15 months.

我們會謹慎管理負債，並在合理範圍內盡可能償還，並在年度中做出調整。由於這是可選擇的還款，我們會依每月現金流來調整。但以目前價格來看，我們的目標大概是每月 1 億美元左右的某個水準。因此可在 1 年到 15 個月內還清。

On the acquisition, now the money is used to acquire Cardinal. We've already brought it down from $1.25 billion to less than $1 billion, a little less than $1 billion. And we're pleased with that activity and we're going to keep that keep that up. And we've always had -- when you come not from private equity who has. More access to money but you're relying on friends and neighbors, you're always very careful.

至於收購方面，現在這筆資金是用來收購 Cardinal。我們已經把金額從 12.5 億美元降到低於 10 億美元，略低於 10 億美元。我們對這項進展感到滿意，並且會持續、持續推進。而且我們一直以來——當你不是來自私募股權、沒有那麼多資金管道、而是仰賴親友與鄰里時，你總是會非常謹慎。

They may be your friends and neighbors. But if the debt gets too high, you can be sure they'll be calling in and expressing concern. So we've always tried to be forward-looking on getting the debt paid down. It also gives insurance to our banks. So they're that much more agreeable to vacant loans if another acquisition opportunity, the quality of what we had at the federal lease sale or acquiring Cardinal.

他們可能是你的親友與鄰居。但如果負債太高，你可以確定他們會打電話來表達關切。所以我們一直努力以前瞻的方式把負債降下來。這也等於給我們的銀行一份保障。因此，若再有其他收購機會——不論是我們在聯邦租賃拍賣拿到的高品質資產，或是收購 Cardinal——他們也就更願意提供額度。

And then you couldn't line up two more companies that had a better fit on their undeveloped acreage or production than what we've had with Paloma and with Ridge Runner. And those are quality companies that had great success in developing some of these properties, selling them on and then getting back to putting together another quality group.

再來，你很難再找到兩家公司，在未開發土地儲備或產量方面，比 Paloma 和 Ridge Runner 與我們的契合度更高。而且那都是優質公司，在開發其中一些資產、再出售、然後回頭再組建另一個高品質團隊方面，都非常成功。

So that relationship's gone well. We have great respect and admiration for them as well as for [NCAT] as a sponsor of those companies. And that's what I foresee. I hope that answers your question. If not, I'll give it another try.

所以這段合作關係進展得很順利。我們對他們以及作為這些公司贊助方的 [NCAT] 都抱持高度尊重與欽佩。這就是我所預見的方向。希望有回答到你的問題。如果沒有，我再試著回答一次。

Scott Hanold, RBC.

Scott Hanold，RBC。

Yeah. Thanks. Obviously, the federal acreage is a big highlight for you all. And can you give us a sense on the path on activity for that? Like when do you expect permits? Like have you gotten some visibility? And what is the targeting strategy when you get to there? Are we looking at large pad development that's going to be a good part of your early 2027 activity? Or how do you see that unfolding, just the development of that asset?

是的。謝謝。顯然，聯邦土地是你們的一大亮點。你們能否讓我們了解一下那邊活動推進的路徑？例如你們預期何時取得許可？你們是否已經有一些能見度？以及到了那一步時的目標策略是什麼？我們是否會看到大型井場（pad）開發，成為你們 2027 年初期活動的重要部分？或者你們怎麼看這項資產的開發會如何展開？

Hey, Scott, this is Bryan Erman. Yeah, I'll tackle the first part of your question. I mean, I think the advantage of that acreage for us is it's something that we've been targeting for many months. And so the advantage of that is from the federal permitting process, we hit the ground running day one after the lease sale and are already making significant progress on those permits.

嗨，Scott，我是 Bryan Erman。是的，我先回答你問題的第一部分。我的意思是，我認為那塊土地對我們的優勢在於，我們已經鎖定它好幾個月了。因此在聯邦許可流程方面，我們在租賃拍賣結束後第一天就能立即展開作業，並且已經在這些許可上取得顯著進展。

So we talked about that we'd like to potentially get on those leases early as the end of this year, if not early part of next year. But I just want to highlight the fact that I do think we had a significant advantage on being able to hit the ground running on those because we have looked at those for so long. But I'll let Chris or Tom talk about the development plan.

所以我們提過，我們希望最早在今年年底就能進入那些租約區域作業，若不然就是明年年初。但我想強調的是，我確實認為我們能在這些租約上迅速啟動，具有相當大的優勢，因為我們已經研究它們很久了。不過我會讓 Chris 或 Tom 來談談開發計畫。

Well, yeah, and Scott, I would just, yeah, add to and love for Chris and Tom to add as well. But we highlighted in the release, too, that there are 12 operated wells that are close to this acreage that we're currently in the process of completing and will plan on turning online in Q3, which I think is important.

嗯，是的，Scott，我也想補充一下，也希望 Chris 和 Tom 也能補充。不過我們在新聞稿中也強調，這片土地附近有 12 口由我們操作的井，目前正在完井作業中，並計畫在第三季投產上線，我認為這點很重要。

And then also we highlighted the increase in the midstream spend to be able to build out both San Mateo and Matador to these federal properties, which I think is an indicator that we are that we're planning on spudding some well this year in that vicinity to what was acquired in May.

另外，我們也提到中游資本支出增加，以便把 San Mateo 和 Matador 的系統延伸到這些聯邦資產，我認為這顯示我們計畫在今年於該區域、也就是靠近 5 月取得的資產附近，開鑽一些井。

Derrick Whitfield, Texas Capital.

Derrick Whitfield，Texas Capital。

Good morning, guys. Great quarter and great update.

各位早安。本季表現很棒，更新也很棒。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Eric.

謝謝，Eric。

I wanted to focus on the recent acquisitions. The strategic fit is very clear as shown on slide 6 and 7. With that said, how do the acquisitions impact your view on the path forward with the midstream business?

我想聚焦在近期的收購。如投影片第 6 與第 7 頁所示，策略契合度非常清楚。在此之下，這些收購如何影響你們對中游業務未來發展路徑的看法？

I just think it shows the importance of having a midstream business of some sort or ties. And the way this came about, Derrrick, was when we were going public back in 2012, we were going around one investment house to the other.

我認為這只是顯示擁有某種形式的中游業務或相關連結的重要性。而這件事的起源是，Derrrick，當我們在 2012 年準備上市時，我們走訪了一家又一家投資機構。

And each time we weren't having any trouble getting our gas to market. But then each of those business, each of those investment houses, we would get a question on how are you going to get your gas to market? Which meant that we weren't having trouble necessarily, but others were.

每一次，我們其實都沒有遇到把天然氣送到市場的困難。但每一家機構、每一家投資機構都會問我們：你們要如何把天然氣送到市場？這表示不一定是我們有困難，但其他人可能有。

And so we got on the horn with one of our friends and colleagues that's worked with us in the past, and asked him if he'd help us start up a midstream company to alleviate some of that problem. And he did. He came. He built it up to what it is now, brought people in like Anton and and others, Ryan, that whole group [Sean Malloy], and we built a midstream business.

因此我們就打電話給一位過去曾與我們合作的朋友與同業，問他是否願意協助我們成立一家中游公司，以緩解其中一些問題。他答應了。他來了。他把公司建立到現在的規模，並引進像 Anton 以及其他人、Ryan、整個團隊 [Sean Malloy]，於是我們建立了一個中游事業。

And now we're starting to hear those same notes from people about there's a looming shortage because as I mentioned, if you draw a line with the Cardinal system down there to hook up so we're all around the basin, there's concern about flow assurance now. And so that was a a big mover for us was that we felt this really assured us continued flow assurance out of the basin. You have 100 rigs that are operating within 10 miles of the pipeline.

而現在我們開始聽到人們也在談同樣的事情：有迫在眉睫的短缺，因為如我提到的，如果你沿著那邊的 Cardinal 系統畫一條連接線，把我們都串在盆地周邊，現在大家就開始擔心輸送保障（flow assurance）了。因此，對我們來說這是一個很大的推動因素，因為我們覺得這確實讓我們對盆地持續的輸送保障更有把握。在距離該管線 10 英里範圍內就有 100 座鑽機在運作。

And so production is going to go up in this area with that many rigs and running that. So you better have some flow assurance lined up or that's our philosophy rather than blade. And this way we do it in a coordinated fashion that takes into account capital so you're not spending a lot of capital to catch up.

所以在這麼多鑽機運轉之下，這個區域的產量會上升。因此你最好先把輸送保障安排好——這是我們的理念，而不是臨時抱佛腳。而用這種方式，我們可以以協調一致的方式來做，把資本因素也納入考量，避免為了追趕進度而投入大量資本。

It can progress conservatively as needed. And so you know that the level of production is going to be up. And we want to be prepared to take care of it, not just for ourselves, but for some of our friendly competitors if we can help them. It's a win-win opportunity, I think, for the industry, just as it was back in 2012 when we built our first lines and started taking on third-party gas.

它可以在需要時以較保守的步調推進。所以你知道產量水準會提高。我們希望做好準備來處理這件事，不只是為了我們自己，如果能幫到一些友善的競爭對手，我們也願意。我認為這對產業而言是一個雙贏的機會，就像 2012 年我們建了第一批管線並開始接收第三方天然氣時一樣。

It's one of those businesses that's win-win. They need an outlet, they need flow assurance. We need the customers and it's helped us develop some some good relationships and we see this serving the same purpose. Now someone else may build a line. That's fine, but we hope that this will be sufficient that we take care of our own gas as well as help some of the others and make it win-win, as I said.

這是一種雙贏的生意。他們需要出口、需要輸送保障。我們需要客戶，而這也幫助我們建立了一些良好關係；我們認為這次也會達到同樣目的。當然也可能會有別人再建一條管線。那也沒問題，但我們希望這些將足以讓我們既能處理自家天然氣，也能幫到其他一些業者，並如我所說達成雙贏。

I'll turn that over to Bryan. Any further thoughts?

我把這個交給 Bryan。還有其他想法嗎？

Sure. No, I think similar to what you said, Joe, I mean, I think you can see you can see the fit in the map on page 7, and you can see it in the map of the acquisitions. I mean, the Paloma deal, we talked about the $50 million in midstream value that was ascribed to that.

當然。沒有，我想跟你說的類似，Joe，我的意思是，你可以在第 7 頁的地圖上看到這個契合度，也可以在收購案的地圖上看到。我的意思是，Paloma 這筆交易，我們談到其中有 5,000 萬美元的中游價值被歸因於此。

And then similarly in the federal lease sale, closer to $100 million of midstream value. So I think these assets stand on their own from the E&P side, but they also have the added benefit of fitting very nicely with our midstream infrastructure and bringing value to that business as well.

同樣地，在聯邦租賃拍賣中，中游價值更接近 1 億美元。所以我認為，從勘探與生產（E&P）角度看，這些資產本身就站得住腳，但它們也有額外好處：能與我們的中游基礎設施非常契合，並為該業務帶來價值。

I would just add this, we try to have a balanced approach to how we do the capital spend that some years it's been for enhancements, laying pipeline, doing whatever until now that San Mateo is independent.

我再補充一點：我們在資本支出上一直嘗試採取平衡的做法——有些年份用於強化、鋪設管線或做各種事情——直到現在 San Mateo 已經獨立。

And the second is, of course, they have an active drilling program. We've got an active ground game that has delivered a lot of growth. Last year, I think it was 17,000 acres. So we've got a program that's on those same lines this year.

第二點，當然，他們有一個積極的鑽井計畫。我們也有一個積極的地面作業（ground game），帶來了大量成長。去年我記得是 17,000 英畝。所以今年我們也有一個沿著同樣路線的計畫。

And then that finally is some bigger acquisitions like these if they come to the front. We hate to be tied down to a single strategy. We are supporting all three and see where the opportunities emerge.

最後，如果像這樣更大型的收購案浮上檯面，我們也會考慮。我們不希望被綁死在單一策略上。我們同時支持這三條路線，並觀察機會在哪裡出現。

Kevin MacCurdy, Pickering Energy Partners.

Kevin MacCurdy，Pickering Energy Partners。

Hey. Good morning, Joe and everybody there. Great to see the stock reacting well this morning. We noticed the marketing gain was pretty significant this quarter. Maybe you can talk a little bit about that and maybe if that's a result of the midstream strategy or other initiatives you've undergone?

嗨。早安，Joe，以及在場各位。很高興看到今天早上股價反應不錯。我們注意到本季的行銷收益（marketing gain）相當顯著。也許你可以談談這一點，以及這是否是中游策略或你們其他推動措施的結果？

Hi, Kevin. This is Michael Frenzel, EVP and Treasurer. I'm happy to comment on it. I think that gain is really a good reflection on our marketing team, Anton Langland and Ryan Bellinger and the efforts that they make to mitigate the weakness in Waha pricing.

嗨，Kevin。我是 Michael Frenzel，執行副總裁兼財務長（Treasurer）。我很樂意回應。我認為這項收益確實很好地反映了我們行銷團隊——Anton Langland 和 Ryan Bellinger——以及他們為了緩解 Waha 價格疲弱所做的努力。

That gain is not something that we expect to see necessarily going forward, but we do expect a very strong improvement in natural gas realizations, obviously from the Hugh Brinson pipeline that we expect to come on early and from the other deals that we've done with Energy Transfer.

這項收益不一定是我們預期未來會持續看到的，但我們確實預期天然氣實現價格（realizations）會有非常強勁的改善，顯然是來自我們預期將在較早時間投運的 Hugh Brinson 管線，以及我們與 Energy Transfer 達成的其他交易。

Tim Rezvan, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Tim Rezvan，KeyBanc Capital Markets。

Good morning, folks. Thank you for taking our question. This is more big picture strategy. We've seen this pattern from Matador in the past with Advance and Ameredev where you make a large acquisition, generally cash, and then there's a period of digesting and delevering after that.

各位早安。謝謝你們回答我們的問題。這是一個比較宏觀的策略問題。我們過去看到 Matador 有這樣的模式：像 Advance 和 Ameredev 一樣，你們會做一筆大型收購，通常以現金支付，之後會有一段消化整合並去槓桿（delevering）的期間。

So given where you are now, I'm sure there's still other opportunities out there, would you say you're in a digest and de-lever mode now or are you still if there's more opportunities that come out, are you still going to be active? Just trying to understand how is it all about the balance sheet right now or do you have to keep one eye open for other opportunities? Thank you.

所以以你們目前的狀況來看，我相信外面仍有其他機會；你會說你們現在是在消化與去槓桿模式，還是如果有更多機會出現，你們仍會積極出手？我只是想了解：現在重點完全在資產負債表上，還是你們也必須隨時留意其他機會？謝謝。

Well, Tim, I think you said it real well. As we're de-levering, that's the first priority, but we're also keeping our eye open if it. If an opportunity comes forward like Cardinal that just fit us as well as we could have designed it and or acreage like another federal lease sale, which isn't going to happen, but a quality we will keep that eye open. But our aim is to de-lever as we've done each time over 43 years. We acquire, we try to make them better. and then we de-lever and so that ee can be ready again.

Tim，我覺得你說得很好。在我們去槓桿的同時，這是第一優先，但我們也會保持關注。如果出現像 Cardinal 這樣的機會——契合度好到像是我們自己設計出來的一樣——或者像另一場聯邦租賃拍賣那樣的土地（雖然不會再發生），但若是高品質的，我們會持續留意。但我們的目標是去槓桿，就像過去 43 年每一次一樣。我們收購、努力把資產做得更好，然後去槓桿，這樣我們才能再次做好準備。

And on capital, I always, emphasize here, our policy is, look, if you, on capital, it isn't so much how much capital you spend, but how you spend it. And getting federal leases with a, royalty, 12.5% instead of 25% and that is within a few miles of our pipeline, that's an opportunity and it's rocked with nine different zones. That's one that we knew we were going to get involved in and we tried to be careful and did what we thought would work.

至於資本，我在這裡總是強調：你看，談資本，重點不在於你花了多少資本，而在於你怎麼花。以 12.5% 的權利金（royalty）而不是 25% 取得聯邦租約，而且距離我們的管線只有幾英里，這就是一個機會；而且那裡有九個不同的層位（zones）。這是我們知道一定會參與的案子，我們也盡量謹慎，做了我們認為可行的安排。

We were successful on the key tracks that we wanted, but we immediately started paying back on that. So that helped us get ready to have the funds available and the bank relationships where they saw that we did what we said we'd do and paid it down. So they ready to loan us more money for another acquisition.

我們在想要的關鍵地塊上取得成功，但我們也立刻開始償還（paying back）那部分支出。因此這幫助我們做好準備，讓資金到位，也讓銀行關係方看到我們說到做到並把負債降下來。所以他們也準備好在下一次收購時再借更多錢給我們。

And that's a pattern we want to maintain is having the support at 19 banks if we want to do something. And they have actually raised our RBL. So we have a couple of billion, whatever we need for opportunity that may came up. But until then, we're going to keep paying down our debt.

而且我們希望維持的一個模式是：如果我們想做某件事，就要有19家銀行的支持。而且他們實際上已經提高了我們的RBL（儲量基礎貸款）。所以我們有幾十億美元，無論出現什麼機會，我們都能按需動用。但在那之前，我們會持續償還我們的債務。

But we're also being very careful about our spend on these wells. And I got to give a lot of credit to our operations group for drilling the wells as they have. And it's an example of what they've done that saved us -- is saving us a lot of money. When we first drilled the three mile wells, they were about 20 days, if I'm right. Isn't that right? They were about 20 days. They've now reduced it to about 10 days.

但我們在這些井的支出上也非常謹慎。我必須高度肯定我們營運團隊在鑽井方面的表現。他們所做的事情就是一個例子，已經為我們省下——正在為我們省下——很多錢。我們最初鑽三英里水平井時，如果我沒記錯，大約要20天。對嗎？大約20天。現在他們已經把它縮短到大約10天。

Well, there's a lot of savings there. So the capital spend initially was maybe high, they brought it down to make those properties that much more economical. So when you buy something, you hope that you can improve it to the point where it's actually repaying some of it back. You spend less on each succeeding well because you're growing them faster and you have a better idea how to complete them.

這裡面節省非常可觀。所以一開始的資本支出可能偏高，但他們把它降下來，讓那些資產更具經濟性。所以當你買下一項資產時，你會希望能把它改善到某個程度，讓它實際上能回收部分成本。你在每一口後續井上的花費會更少，因為你們鑽得更快，而且對如何完井也更有把握。

And so what I'm trying to say is that we are trying to be prudent and we're not afraid to borrow money because over a 44-year deal, we paid every dollar back, even in COVID and even when the bust was in the early in the 80s and the 90s, every time and the banks are feeling more and more comfortable with us all the time.

所以我想說的是，我們正努力保持審慎；我們也不害怕借錢，因為在一個44年的合作關係中，我們把每一塊錢都還清了，即使在COVID期間、即使在80年代初與90年代初的景氣崩盤時也是如此——每一次都是；而銀行也一直對我們越來越放心。

They know that we'll be careful with it and really just spend it on properties that have a high percentage success rate and they're going to get paid. And that's a formula that's worked for us and we've made sure we've paid them all back. And it's a win-win -- another win-win situation.

他們知道我們會謹慎使用資金，真正只把錢花在成功率很高、而且他們能拿到回款的資產上。這是一套對我們有效的公式，而我們也確保把他們的錢全部還清。這是雙贏——又一個雙贏的局面。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this ends the Q&A portion of this morning's conference call. I'd like to turn the call over to management for any closing remarks.

謝謝。各位女士、先生，今天上午電話會議的問答環節到此結束。我想把電話交回管理層，請他們做任何結語。

Okay. I just have this and then I'm going to be quiet. I feel like I've talked enough, but I want to be sure you all know that you're -- if you're not getting all your questions answered, you're welcome to come here, have lunch with us or breakfast or whatever you want, and we'll have a longer session.

好的。我就說這些，然後我就安靜了。我覺得我已經講得夠多了，但我想確保各位知道——如果你們還有問題沒有得到完整解答，歡迎來這裡，跟我們一起吃午餐或早餐或你們想要的任何形式，我們可以有更長時間的交流。

And we appreciate your involvement with us and we like our shareholder group but want to know that everybody's welcome. We know we're a public company and we want to be sure that you feel you have access to the decision makers to answer whatever questions that you may have.

我們感謝各位對我們的參與，我們也很喜歡我們的股東群體，但也想讓大家知道，所有人都歡迎。我們知道我們是一家上市公司，我們希望確保你們覺得自己能接觸到決策者，來回答你們可能有的任何問題。

So thank you very much. We are available and we'd like to have you, in particular, to see some of the uses of capital that we have, like we call our MAXCOM room that we set up years ago at the suggestion of our Head of Drilling at that time, Billy Goodwin, that has worked out great. They keep the drill bit in the zone. So instead of just not being in zone 90% of the time, we're in zone 98%, 99%, which adds, again, a lot of return and spreads that capital spending over more production.

所以非常感謝。我們隨時可聯繫；我們也特別希望你們能來看看我們的一些資本運用方式，例如我們所稱的MAXCOM室——這是我們多年前在當時鑽井主管Billy Goodwin的建議下設立的，效果非常好。他們讓鑽頭保持在層位（zone）內。因此，不再是90%的時間不在層位內，而是有98%、99%的時間在層位內，這同樣能帶來很高的回報，並把資本支出分攤到更多產量上。

So I want to leave that with you and we're excited. I hope you can sense from the answers going around about the opportunities that these four acquisitions have done for us. Nobody's asked about Rae's Creek, so I'm just going to volunteer here as we drill the Rae's Creek. Well, we've got 50,000 acres here and the first test was, over 2,200 barrels. Tom or Andrew, you want to say anything to that?

所以我想把這點留給各位，我們也很振奮。我希望你們能從剛才圍繞問題的回答中感受到，這四項收購為我們帶來的機會。沒有人問到Rae's Creek，所以我就主動補充一下，關於我們在Rae's Creek的鑽探。我們在這裡有50,000英畝，而第一口測試井的產量超過2,200桶。Tom或Andrew，你們想補充幾句嗎？

Certainly, this is Tom. I'll start. I'll pass it to Andrew. But hats off to all of our teams for working so well together to put this prospect together from the geoscience side, the reservoir, the land team, everybody every did their part. And I think we're very excited for this very first Rae's Creek well to come online so strong and come online better than we expected. And we look forward to a bright future for that zone and excited to get that target into the mix. But I'll pass it over to Andrew Parker for any additional comments.

當然，我是Tom。我先說幾句。然後我會交給Andrew。首先要向我們所有團隊致敬，大家協作得非常好，從地球科學端、油藏端、土地團隊到每一位同仁都各司其職，把這個勘探前景（prospect）整合出來。我想我們對Rae's Creek第一口井能以如此強勁的表現投產感到非常興奮，而且投產表現比我們預期更好。我們期待那個層位有光明的未來，也很高興能把這個目標納入組合。不過我把時間交給Andrew Parker，請他做任何補充。

Thanks, Tom. Andrew Parker, just add that this. The reason we want you guys to come in and meet the team is because they are so talented and the Rae's Creek is a perfect example of how well we've executed from geoscience putting the concept together, land putting the position together, and operations, getting this well in the ground and really exceeding expectations and knocking it out of the park. And so we we're going to continue to do that and continue to bring these things forward and execute.

謝謝你，Tom。我是Andrew Parker，我再補充一點。我們希望各位來公司與團隊見面，是因為他們非常有才華；而Rae's Creek就是一個完美例子，展示我們如何從地球科學端把概念建立起來、土地端把部位（position）整合起來，以及營運端把這口井打下去，真正超出預期、表現非常亮眼。因此我們會持續這樣做，持續把這些項目往前推進並落實執行。

And Andrew is our Head of our Geological Group. He's the EVP for that group and thank you. But anyway, we appreciate it and we appreciate the people that are helping Matador be in positive territory this morning and hope you'll come see us.

而Andrew是我們地質團隊的負責人。他是該團隊的執行副總裁（EVP），謝謝你。總之，我們很感謝各位，也感謝今天早上幫助Matador維持正面表現的各位，並希望你們能來拜訪我們。

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation today. This concludes the program. You may now disconnect.

各位女士、先生，感謝您今天的參與。本次活動到此結束。您現在可以掛線。