National Fuel Gas Co (NFG) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to the National Fuel Gas Company Q2 fiscal 2025 earnings conference call. My name is Alex, and I'll be coordinating the call today. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加全國燃氣公司 2025 財年第二季財報電話會議。我叫亞歷克斯，今天我將負責協調這場電話會議。（操作員指示）

I'll now hand it over to your host, Natalie Fischer, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我將把發言權交給主持人、投資者關係總監娜塔莉·菲舍爾 (Natalie Fischer)。請繼續。

Thank you, Alex, and good morning. We appreciate you joining us on today's conference call for a discussion of last evening's earnings release. With us on the call from National Fuel Gas Company are Dave Bauer, President and Chief Executive Officer; Tim Silverstein, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer; and Justin Loweth, President of Seneca Resources and National Fuel Midstream.

謝謝你，亞歷克斯，早安。感謝您參加今天的電話會議，討論昨晚的收益報告。與我們一起參加電話會議的還有國家燃氣公司總裁兼首席執行官戴夫·鮑爾 (Dave Bauer)、財務主管兼首席財務官蒂姆·西爾弗斯坦 (Tim Silverstein) 以及塞內卡資源公司和國家燃料中游公司總裁賈斯汀·洛斯 (Justin Loweth)。

At the end of today's prepared remarks, we will open the discussion to questions. The second quarter fiscal 2025 earnings release and April investor presentation have been posted on our Investor Relations website. We may refer to these materials during today's call. We would like to remind you that today's teleconference will contain forward-looking statements.

在今天的準備好的發言結束時，我們將開始提問討論。2025 財年第二季財報和 4 月投資人報告已發佈在我們的投資人關係網站上。我們可能會在今天的電話會議中參考這些資料。我們想提醒您，今天的電話會議將包含前瞻性陳述。

While National Fuel's expectations, beliefs and projections are made in good faith and are believed to have a reasonable basis, actual results may differ materially. These statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and you may refer to last evening's earnings release for a listing of certain specific risk factors.

儘管 National Fuel 的預期、信念和預測是真誠做出的，並被認為具有合理的基礎，但實際結果可能存在重大差異。這些聲明僅代表發布之日的觀點，您可以參考昨晚的收益報告，以了解某些特定風險因素的清單。

With that, I'll turn it over to Dave Bauer.

說完這些，我會把話題交給戴夫鮑爾 (Dave Bauer)。

Thank you, Natalie, and good morning, everyone. National Fuel had a great second quarter with earnings increasing more than 30% compared to last year. We continue to build on our positive momentum across each of our businesses, which drove the strong results for the quarter. At Seneca, we continue to see outstanding well results from our Utica program in Tioga County.

謝謝你，娜塔莉，大家早安。National Fuel 公司第二季表現優異，獲利較去年同期成長 30% 以上。我們持續鞏固各項業務的正面勢頭，推動本季取得強勁業績。在塞內卡，我們繼續看到蒂奧加縣尤蒂卡計畫的出色成果。

Since the start of the fiscal year, we've brought online 12 wells across two pads. These wells are the best we've turned in line since the inception of our Utica program and were the main contributor to our 8% sequential growth in production. Also, as we mentioned last quarter, we recently brought online our best WDA Utica pad to date, and those wells continue to exceed our initial expectations.

自本財政年度開始以來，我們已經在兩個油田上線了 12 口油井。這些油井是我們自尤蒂卡計畫啟動以來產量最好的油井，也是我們產量連續 8% 成長的主要貢獻者。此外，正如我們在上個季度所提到的那樣，我們最近上線了迄今為止最好的 WDA Utica 平台，這些油井繼續超出了我們最初的預期。

Given the performance of these wells, we are increasingly confident in the long-term outlook of our Appalachian development program. We have great inventory across the EDA and WDA with two decades of development locations that are economic at NYMEX prices below $2.25 an MMBtu. As we continue to optimize our well design and facilities, we expect further enhancements in both productivity and inventory life.

鑑於這些油井的表現，我們對阿巴拉契亞開發計畫的長期前景越來越有信心。我們在 EDA 和 WDA 擁有大量庫存，並且擁有長達二十年的開發地點，這些地點在 NYMEX 價格低於每百萬英熱單位 2.25 美元時具有經濟效益。隨著我們不斷優化油井設計和設施，我們預計生產力和庫存壽命將進一步提高。

Add to that the benefits of owning and operating our gathering facilities, and we see the ability to deliver still further improvements in capital efficiency. Switching to our regulated businesses. Our utility had a particularly good quarter with earnings per share increasing by $0.22. The biggest driver behind the increase was the rate settlement approved by the New York PSC in December. This settlement will be a tailwind for the remainder of this year and given its multiyear nature, will drive additional earnings growth through fiscal 2027.

再加上擁有和營運我們的收集設施的好處，我們看到了進一步提高資本效率的能力。轉向我們受監管的業務。我們的公用事業部門本季業績尤為出色，每股收益成長了0.22美元。成長的最大推動力是紐約州電力服務委員會(PSC)12月批准的費率結算。此次和解將為今年剩餘時間帶來利好，並且鑑於其多年期性質，將推動到 2027 財年的額外盈利增長。

In Pennsylvania, we're starting to see the initial uplift from our modernization tracker. While the impact in the second quarter was small, we expect this to grow over the next two fiscal years until we hit the approximately $7 million annual cap on that program. In our FERC-regulated Pipeline and Storage business, Supply Corporation's 2024 rate settlement continues to benefit earnings.

在賓州，我們開始看到現代化追蹤器的初步提升。雖然第二季的影響很小，但我們預計未來兩個財年的影響將會擴大，直到達到該計畫約 700 萬美元的年度上限。在我們受聯邦能源管理委員會 (FERC) 監管的管道和儲存業務中，Supply Corporation 的 2024 年費率結算繼續有利於獲利。

Rates went into effect last February, so this quarter reflects the full benefit of that rate increase. At Empire Pipeline, in January, we reached an agreement with our shippers to amend our 2019 rate settlement. As you may recall, we had a mandatory comeback provision in that settlement that required us to file a rate case by May 1 of this year.

利率於去年二月生效，因此本季反映了此利率上調的全部好處。在 Empire Pipeline，我們於一月與托運人達成協議，修改 2019 年的費率結算。您可能還記得，在和解協議中我們有一個強制性回歸條款，要求我們在今年 5 月 1 日之前提起費率訴訟。

We began conversations with our shippers in the fall and we were able to reach an agreement, which FERC approved this quarter. This is a good outcome for both us and our shippers. We agreed to a modest roughly $500,000 rate decrease, which will go into effect in November. And in exchange, we were able to extend some key contracts with major shippers, which limits near-term recontracting risk.

我們在秋季開始與托運人進行對話，並達成了一項協議，該協議已於本季度獲得聯邦能源管理委員會的批准。對我們和我們的托運人來說這都是一個好的結果。我們同意將費率適度降低約 50 萬美元，該措施將於 11 月生效。作為交換，我們能夠與主要托運人延長一些關鍵合同，從而限制近期的續約風險。

The settlement also gives us the ability to stay out of a rate case for another six years, but we are allowed to file as early as 2027, should we need to. Separately, we continue to make progress on our Tioga Pathway project. As a reminder, this project will provide Seneca with an outlet for 190 million a day of Tioga County production and will add $15 million in annual expansion revenue for our pipeline business.

和解協議也使我們有權在未來六年內不介入利率案件，但如果需要，我們最早可以在 2027 年提起訴訟。另外，我們的 Tioga Pathway 計畫繼續取得進展。提醒一下，該項目將為塞內卡提供每天 1.9 億美元的蒂奧加縣產量的出口，並為我們的管道業務每年增加 1500 萬美元的擴張收入。

In February, FERC issued its environmental assessment of the project with no significant issues noted. The project's next milestone is the 7(c) certificate, which is still on track for later this summer.

今年 2 月，聯邦能源管理委員會發布了該計畫的環境評估報告，未發現任何重大問題。該項目的下一個里程碑是 7(c) 證書，預計將於今年夏天晚些時候完成。

Over the past three months, sentiment in Washington has clearly shifted towards more practical energy solutions. Many of the executive orders and early actions at agencies like EPA, DOE and others have certainly been encouraging. But at the end of the day, building significant energy infrastructure projects still takes far too long and carry substantial regulatory and litigation risk.

過去三個月來，華盛頓的情緒明顯轉向更實際的能源解決方案。美國環保署、能源部等機構的許多行政命令和早期行動確實令人鼓舞。但最終，建造重大能源基礎設施項目仍然需要太長時間，並且帶有巨大的監管和訴訟風險。

And it's not just natural gas facilities, wind, solar and electric transmission projects all face similar hurdles. I'm hopeful the new administration will work with Congress to achieve the permitting reform that's so desperately needed in this country.

不僅僅是天然氣設施，風能、太陽能和電力傳輸項目都面臨類似的障礙。我希望新政府能夠與國會合作，實現這個國家迫切需要的許可改革。

Moving to the broader pricing environment. The outlook for natural gas remains strong with demand increasing rapidly. The industry has line of sight on significant LNG export growth over the next few years and still further growth potential beyond that. The Woodside announcement earlier this week of reaching FID on their $17.5 billion Louisiana LNG project is a strong indication the LNG growth story is not over.

轉向更廣泛的定價環境。隨著需求的快速成長，天然氣前景依然強勁。業界預計未來幾年液化天然氣出口將大幅成長，並且未來仍有進一步的成長潛力。伍德賽德本週稍早宣布其價值 175 億美元的路易斯安那液化天然氣計畫已達成最終投資決定，這有力地表明液化天然氣的成長故事尚未結束。

In addition, domestic energy demand is robust with positive momentum from data centers, industrial growth and the ongoing electrification of certain parts of the economy. As it is becoming increasingly obvious, this demand growth can't be met with renewables alone.

此外，國內能源需求強勁，資料中心、工業成長和某些經濟領域持續電氣化帶來正面動能。越來越明顯的是，這種需求成長不能只靠再生能源來滿足。

Natural gas and its ability to provide reliable, cost-effective baseload generation is critical to meet the growing demand for energy. National Fuel, with our integrated mix of businesses is well positioned to play an important role in meeting this growing demand.

天然氣及其提供可靠、經濟高效的基載發電的能力對於滿足日益增長的能源需求至關重要。國家燃料公司憑藉其綜合的業務組合，能夠在滿足日益增長的需求方面發揮重要作用。

Seneca has clear visibility on incremental firm sales and additional pipeline takeaway capacity that should allow it to continue growing production. We are in the unique position of high-grading our development while other operators are moving down the inventory quality spectrum or focusing on other basins. This should naturally lead to a moderation of activity levels in Appalachia and allow Seneca to capture market share, particularly with capacity originating in the EDA.

塞內卡對增量公司銷售和額外的管道輸送能力有著清晰的認識，這應該使其能夠繼續提高產量。當其他業者正在降低庫存品質範圍或將重點放在其他盆地時，我們處於對開發進行高階評估的獨特地位。這自然會導致阿巴拉契亞地區的活動水平降低，並允許塞內卡佔領市場份額，特別是來自 EDA 的產能。

We also continue to see growing interest from data center developers and IPPs that seek reliable, cost-effective energy and timeliness to market. The depth of resource, cooler weather and the significant amount of existing pipeline infrastructure makes Appalachia an attractive place for the next wave of data center development.

我們也看到資料中心開發商和 IPP 的興趣日益濃厚，他們尋求可靠、經濟高效的能源和及時上市。豐富的資源、涼爽的氣候以及大量的現有管道基礎設施使阿巴拉契亞成為下一波資料中心發展的理想之地。

National Fuel is uniquely positioned to offer solutions to meet this growing demand, whether it's utilizing our existing pipeline infrastructure to provide transportation capacity, building a short lateral to bring gas to an IPP or contracting for a long-term gas supply agreement, we are seeing increased desires from counterparties to work with National Fuel to meet their needs.

National Fuel 具有獨特的優勢，能夠提供滿足這一日益增長的需求的解決方案，無論是利用我們現有的管道基礎設施來提供運輸能力，還是建造一條短支管道將天然氣輸送到 IPP，還是簽訂長期天然氣供應協議，我們都看到交易對手越來越希望與 National Fuel 合作以滿足他們的需求。

While a lot of these conversations are still in the early stages, they are ramping up, and we are optimistic they will lead to new opportunities for us in the coming years. Putting it all together, National Fuel's underlying fundamentals remain very strong and position us well to deliver continued value to shareholders.

雖然許多對話仍處於早期階段，但它們正在加速發展，我們樂觀地認為它們將在未來幾年為我們帶來新的機會。綜合起來，National Fuel 的基本面仍然非常強勁，使我們能夠持續為股東創造價值。

Our deep inventory of economic wells, low-cost operations and the strong outlook for natural gas prices should deliver continued growth at Seneca and NFG Midstream. At the same time, we expect the ongoing expansion and modernization of our pipeline and utility infrastructure to provide rate base and earnings growth in our regulated subsidiaries, all of which should drive significant free cash flow generation in fiscal 2025 and beyond.

我們豐富的經濟油井庫存、低成本營運以及強勁的天然氣價格前景將推動 Seneca 和 NFG Midstream 繼續成長。同時，我們預計管道和公用事業基礎設施的持續擴張和現代化將為受監管的子公司提供費率基礎和盈利增長，所有這些都將在 2025 財年及以後推動大量自由現金流的產生。

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

說完這些，我會把電話轉給提姆。

Thanks, Dave, and good morning, everyone. Across the company, we are continuing our track record of strong execution. Combine that with the tailwind of higher natural gas prices and adjusted operating results increased 32% for the quarter. Dave hit on the high points, so I'll focus on the outlook for the business. Starting with natural gas prices, we have seen a structural improvement since the beginning of the year.

謝謝，戴夫，大家早安。在整個公司範圍內，我們持續保持強勁的執行力。再加上天然氣價格上漲的推動，本季調整後的經營業績成長了 32%。戴夫談到了要點，因此我將重點討論業務前景。從天然氣價格開始，自今年年初以來我們已經看到了結構性改善。

With colder-than-normal weather, along with a faster-than-expected ramp in LNG export demand, we saw storage levels shift from a 5% surplus to a 10% deficit compared to the five-year average. With the evolving supply-demand fundamentals, we saw an opportunity to layer in a number of favorable hedges.

由於天氣比正常情況更冷，加上液化天然氣出口需求成長快於預期，我們看到與五年平均值相比，儲存水準從 5% 的盈餘轉變為 10% 的短缺。隨著供需基本面的變化，我們看到了一系列有利對沖的機會。

Specifically, for fiscal '26 and '27, we added 76 Bcf of swaps and collars. Our swaps were executed at an average price of over $4, while our collars had an average floor of $4 and an average cap of $5.50. These hedges are in the money today, and if prices were to run, we retain significant upside exposure to our portfolio of collars and unhedged production.

具體來說，在 26 和 27 財年，我們增加了 760 億立方英尺的掉期和領圈合約。我們的掉期合約平均執行價格超過4美元，而領圈選擇權的平均下限為4美元，平均上限為5.50美元。這些對沖策略目前處於價內，如果價格上漲，我們的領圈選擇權和非對沖產品組合仍將維持顯著的上行風險敞口。

Turning to earnings guidance. We continue to use a NYMEX price of $3.50 per MMBtu as our base case assumption for the remainder of the year. At this price level, our guidance for adjusted operating results is now in a range of $6.75 to $7.05 per share.

轉向盈利指引。我們繼續以 NYMEX 每百萬英熱單位 3.50 美元的價格作為今年剩餘時間的基準假設。在此價格水準下，我們對調整後經營業績的預期目前在每股 6.75 美元至 7.05 美元之間。

At the midpoint, this represents a $0.15 per share increase from our prior guidance. Higher natural gas prices during the second quarter, combined with the improved cost structure outlook are the main contributors to this increase.

從中間值來看，這比我們之前的預期每股增加了 0.15 美元。第二季天然氣價格上漲，加上成本結構前景改善，是推動這項成長的主要原因。

Partially offsetting these is an expectation for increasing basis differentials. While the forward markets are projecting this widening, we are optimistic that increased regional power gen demand and lower storage levels, particularly in the East region, which sit at 27% below last year's levels, will provide support and lead to tighter basis differentials as the summer cooling season arrives.

部分抵消這些影響的是對基礎差異增加的預期。雖然遠期市場預計這一差距將擴大，但我們樂觀地認為，隨著夏季製冷季節的到來，區域發電需求的增加和存儲水平的下降（尤其是東部地區，該地區的存儲水平比去年同期低 27%）將提供支撐，並導致基差收窄。

Given the potential for continued volatility, we've provided earnings per share guidance ranges at various NYMEX gas prices. Switching to capital. We are holding our guidance ranges the same as last quarter.

考慮到持續波動的可能性，我們提供了不同 NYMEX 汽油價格下的每股收益指引範圍。轉換為大本。我們的指導範圍與上一季相同。

We are seeing some tailwinds across the company, but given that we are just moving into the warmer weather months and increasing levels of capital spend activity, we will wait until next quarter to provide an update.

我們看到整個公司都出現了一些順風，但考慮到我們剛剛進入溫暖的月份並且資本支出活動水平不斷提高，我們將等到下個季度才提供最新消息。

One other item I wanted to address on the cost side relates to global tariffs. To date, we are seeing a minimal effect from both US tariffs on imports and related retaliatory tariffs. We've been proactive in procuring critical equipment to have certainty of supply and maintain a stable cost structure throughout the course of the year.

在成本方面我想討論的另一個問題與全球關稅有關。到目前為止，我們看到美國進口關稅和相關報復性關稅的影響微乎其微。我們一直積極採購關鍵設備，以確保供應的穩定性並在全年保持穩定的成本結構。

Further, almost all our steel products are produced domestically. While certain larger items such as engines used in our compressor packages are manufactured in Canada, those needed for near-term development in our gathering business are already safe side. We are seeing some indirect cost increases in certain other goods and materials that have components manufactured internationally.

此外，我們幾乎所有的鋼鐵產品都是國內生產的。雖然某些較大的零件（例如我們壓縮機組中使用的引擎）是在加拿大製造的，但我們收集業務近期發展所需的零件已經安全了。我們發現，某些其他商品和材料的零件在國際上製造，其間接成本增加。

But in aggregate, these increases have been very modest. On the revenue side of the equation, the recent tariff activity is not impacting us. All our gas is sold domestically, typically under firm sales agreements where title is transferred at the interconnect between our gathering system and the interstate pipelines.

但總體而言，這些成長非常溫和。從收入角度來看，最近的關稅活動並沒有對我們有影響。我們所有的天然氣都在國內銷售，通常根據固定銷售協議，所有權在我們的收集系統和州際管道之間的連接處轉移。

Where we could see a modest impact is if Canada were to impose retaliatory tariffs on energy, which has not yet occurred. Although Seneca does not have any contractual arrangements in place to physically transport gas into Canada, a limited portion of Seneca's production is sold through marketing counterparties, approximately 5%, which may be exposed to Canadian tariffs.

如果加拿大對能源徵收報復性關稅，我們可能會看到一定的影響，但這種情況尚未發生。儘管塞內卡公司尚未簽訂任何將天然氣實際運輸到加拿大的合約安排，但塞內卡公司生產的天然氣中只有一小部分（約 5%）透過行銷交易對手出售，這可能會受到加拿大關稅的影響。

Switching gears, you'll note that we pulled back the pace of repurchases during the quarter. While we remain highly confident in the outlook for the business, we deemed it prudent to reduce our buyback activity amid the broader macroeconomic uncertainty.

換個話題，你會注意到我們在本季放慢了回購的腳步。儘管我們對業務前景仍然充滿信心，但我們認為在更廣泛的宏觀經濟不確定性下減少回購活動是明智之舉。

As things stabilize, we plan to resume our prior cadence such that we are targeting to complete the original $200 million authorization by the end of calendar 2025. With our balance sheet on a path towards 2 times debt-to-EBITDA by the end of the year and the outlook for free cash flow remaining strong, we are in a great position to return to buying back shares and retain significant flexibility on our capital allocation strategy going forward.

隨著情況穩定，我們計劃恢復先前的節奏，目標是在 2025 年底前完成最初的 2 億美元授權。我們的資產負債表預計在年底前實現債務與 EBITDA 比率的 2 倍，且自由現金流前景依然強勁，因此我們完全有能力重新回購股票，並在未來的資本配置策略上保持相當大的靈活性。

We also took a big step to reduce near-term refinancing risk. Taking advantage of a strong execution window and with an eye toward removing the risk of increasing economic volatility, in February, we issued $1 billion in new notes split evenly across 5-and 10-year tranches. This was the largest bond issuance in the company's history and with strong demand, our issuance was nearly 7 times oversubscribed.

我們也採取了重大措施來降低近期再融資風險。利用強大的執行窗口，並著眼於消除經濟波動加劇的風險，我們在二月發行了 10 億美元的新票據，分為 5 年期和 10 年期。這是公司史上規模最大的債券發行，由於需求強勁，我們的發行量超額認購近7倍。

We achieved record low credit spreads for national fuel debt. More importantly, this managed all our fixed income liabilities through early next year. Also, ahead of this transaction, we discharged our legacy 1974 indenture and are no longer subject to those covenants. In summary, National Fuel's outlook is exceptionally strong. The supply and demand fundamentals are driving a constructive long-term outlook for natural gas prices.

我們實現了國家燃料債務信用利差創歷史新低。更重要的是，這將管理我們到明年年初的所有固定收益負債。此外，在此次交易之前，我們解除了 1974 年遺留的契約，不再受這些契約的約束。總而言之，National Fuel 的前景非常強勁。供需基本面正在推動天然氣價格長期向好的前景。

We are also seeing strong capital efficiency tailwinds in our nonregulated businesses and strong earnings growth potential in our regulated businesses. We expect both of those trends to continue for the foreseeable future, driving growing free cash flow. Our balance sheet is already in great shape and with key refinancings behind us, we are in a position to deploy this free cash flow in the most opportunistic way to create value for our shareholders.

我們也看到非監管業務的資本效率強勁成長，監管業務的獲利成長潛力強勁。我們預計這兩種趨勢在可預見的未來都將持續下去，並推動自由現金流的成長。我們的資產負債表已經處於良好狀態，隨著關鍵再融資的完成，我們能夠以最有利的方式部署這些自由現金流，為股東創造價值。

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

說完這些，我會把電話轉給賈斯汀。

Thanks, Tim, and good morning, everyone. Positive momentum at Seneca and NFG Midstream continued in the second quarter with record production and throughput. Production increased 8% from the prior quarter to almost 106 Bcf, which helped drive all-time high gathering volumes of nearly 130 Bcf.

謝謝，提姆，大家早安。塞內卡 (Seneca) 和 NFG Midstream 在第二季度繼續保持良好勢頭，產量和吞吐量均創歷史新高。產量較上一季成長 8%，達到近 1,060 億立方英尺，推動收集量達到近 1,300 億立方英尺的歷史新高。

Our EDA focused development program, strong operational planning and execution and enhanced well designs are driving significant capital efficiency gains. The performance of recent Utica pads incorporating our Gen 3 well design has been our best to date, both in terms of initial production rates and EURs.

我們以 EDA 為重點的開發計劃、強大的營運規劃和執行以及增強的井設計正在顯著提高資本效率。近期採用我們第三代井設計的尤蒂卡油田的性能是迄今為止最好的，無論是在初始生產率還是 EUR 方面。

In aggregate, these two pads are producing 300 million per day, which is the same rate I noted three months ago on our last earnings call. The most recent pad also incorporated facilities designed to increase managed production rates to 30 million per day per well. The wells on this pad are exhibiting excellent productivity trends and are forecast to remain flat for 9 to 12 months, bolstering expectations for our deep high-quality asset base.

整體而言，這兩個平台每天的產量為 3 億，這與我三個月前在上次財報電話會議上提到的產量相同。最新的平台還配備了旨在將每口井的產量提高到每天 3000 萬噸的設施。該平台的油井表現出極佳的生產力趨勢，預計未來 9 至 12 個月產量將保持平穩，這增強了對我們深厚優質資產基礎的預期。

Building on our strong second quarter results, we are making positive changes to Seneca's fiscal '25 guidance. First, we are raising the low end of production guidance by 5 Bcf, setting a new range of 415 to 425 Bcf.

基於我們第二季的強勁業績，我們正在對 Seneca 的 25 財年指導做出積極的調整。首先，我們將產量指引的低端提高 50 億立方英尺，設定新的範圍為 4,150 億立方英尺至 4,250 億立方英尺。

This increase, driven in part by our Gen 3 well design, reflects expected year-over-year production growth of 7% based on the midpoint of our updated guidance. Given the concentration of our TLL activity in the first half of the year, we anticipate production will rise to the third quarter, followed by a gradual tapering as we approach fiscal year-end.

這一增長部分得益於我們的 Gen 3 井設計，反映了根據我們更新後的指引中點預計的 7% 的同比產量增長。鑑於我們的 TLL 活動集中在上半年，我們預計產量將在第三季度上升，然後隨著財政年度結束時的臨近而逐漸減少。

Second, we are lowering the top end of our LOE guidance by $0.01 to a range of $0.68 to $0.69 per Mcf as our production team's successful cost-saving initiatives have driven LOE below initial projections for the first half of fiscal '25. Turning to capital. We are reaffirming our guidance of $495 million to $515 million.

其次，我們將 LOE 指引的最高值下調 0.01 美元至每 Mcf 0.68 美元至 0.69 美元的範圍，因為我們生產團隊成功的成本節約舉措已導致 LOE 低於 25 財年上半年的初步預測。轉向資本。我們重申 4.95 億美元至 5.15 億美元的指導價。

As planned, we recently picked up a second rig and commenced seasonal construction activities, building roads, pads and infrastructure projects, which will increase our level of spending in the second half of the year. Longer term, we intend to maintain a one to two rig development program and dedicated frac spread.

按照計劃，我們最近啟動了第二台鑽機並開始了季節性施工活動，建造道路、平台和基礎設施項目，這將增加我們下半年的支出水平。從長遠來看，我們打算維持一到兩個鑽機開發計畫和專用壓裂範圍。

Turning to the outlook for natural gas prices. We believe that supply and demand fundamentals remain firmly supportive of our development plans, particularly as we look out to 2026. Demand has been strong year-to-date with record natural gas-fired power generation and a faster-than-expected ramp-up in LNG feed gas volumes.

談到天然氣價格的前景。我們相信，供需基本面仍然堅定地支持我們的發展計劃，特別是展望2026年。今年迄今為止，需求一直強勁，天然氣發電量創歷史新高，液化天然氣原料氣產量成長速度也快於預期。

On the supply side, overall levels of gas production have moved up slightly, likely due to producers turning in line remaining DUCs and deferred TILs to capture strong winter demand and pricing. As this flush production rolls over, we anticipate flat or even declining production in the coming months. That trend, combined with the potential for decreased associated gas growth from the Permian Basin due to low oil prices, sets the stage for a bullish gas market as we approach next winter.

在供應方面，天然氣總產量略有上升，這可能是由於生產商上交剩餘的 DUC 和延期的 TIL，以滿足強勁的冬季需求和定價。隨著這種大量生產的結束，我們預計未來幾個月產量將持平甚至下降。這一趨勢，加上低油價可能導致二疊紀盆地伴生氣成長下降，為明年冬季來臨之際天然氣市場的看漲奠定了基礎。

Overall, we are well positioned both physically and financially for this backdrop. Financially, we have an excellent portfolio of swaps, fixed price deals and collars stretching out across the remainder of fiscal '25 and into fiscal '26 and beyond.

總體而言，我們在物質和財務上都已做好充分準備來應對這一背景。從財務角度來看，我們擁有優秀的掉期、固定價格交易和領圈選擇權組合，涵蓋 25 財年剩餘時間以及 26 財年及以後。

These instruments provide us with appropriate downside protection while allowing us to capture significant upside should our bullish gas thesis prove accurate. On the physical side, almost 90% of Seneca's remaining expected fiscal 2025 production is secured through firm sales and firm transportation.

這些工具為我們提供了適當的下行保護，同時如果我們的看漲天然氣論點被證明是準確的，則允許我們獲得顯著的上行空間。從實物方面來看，Seneca 預計 2025 財年剩餘產量的近 90% 是透過穩定的銷售和穩定的運輸來保證的。

These agreements provide access to premium markets as well as mitigate exposure to in-basin pricing fluctuations. Pivoting to NFG Midstream, we continue to grow Seneca gathered volumes and plan for new third-party production. As Seneca's EDA production ramps, NFG Midstream is expanding existing stations and building centralized facilities in multiple locations to enable future growth.

這些協議提供了進入高端市場的機會，並減輕了流域內價格波動的影響。轉向 NFG Midstream，我們繼續增加 Seneca 的收集量併計劃進行新的第三方生產。隨著 Seneca 的 EDA 產量不斷增長，NFG Midstream 正在擴大現有站點並在多個地點建造集中設施，以實現未來的成長。

For example, we recently began the installation of compression at our Keeneyville facility in Northwest Tioga County to support current producing wells, and we also commenced engineering design to accommodate Seneca's increasing well productivity and deliverability.

例如，我們最近開始在西北蒂奧加縣的 Keeneyville 工廠安裝壓縮機，以支援當前的生產井，我們也開始了工程設計，以適應 Seneca 不斷提高的井生產力和產能。

Turning to our third-party activity. I'm pleased to share we recently executed a new interconnect agreement with the Tioga County producer. While our primary focus in NFG Midstream is to serve Seneca's increasing production volumes, we remain engaged with third-party shippers to leverage and more fully utilize our significant gathering infrastructure and associated facilities.

轉向我們的第三方活動。我很高興地告訴大家，我們最近與蒂奧加縣生產商簽署了一項新的互連協議。雖然 NFG Midstream 的主要重點是滿足 Seneca 不斷增長的產量，但我們仍與第三方托運人合作，以更充分地利用我們重要的收集基礎設施和相關設施。

In closing, our focus on operational excellence and continued capital efficiency gains is yielding outstanding results. Amongst our peers, Seneca stands out as one of the few companies poised to achieve both increasing production and decreasing capital over the three-year period ended in 2025.

最後，我們對卓越營運和持續資本效率提升的關注正在產生出色的成果。在同業中，Seneca 是少數幾家準備在 2025 年結束的三年內同時實現產量增加和資本減少的公司之一。

We expect this positive capital efficiency trajectory, growing production while driving capital lower will continue beyond fiscal '25 as we develop our Gen 3 Tioga Utica wells and pursue operational efficiencies. This trend, combined with our unique integrated business model and more than two decades of inventory at PV-10 breakeven prices below $2.25 NYMEX positions Seneca and NFG Midstream extremely well to thrive in the years to come.

我們預計，隨著我們開發 Gen 3 Tioga Utica 油井並追求營運效率，這種積極的資本效率軌跡、增加產量同時降低資本的趨勢將在 25 財年後繼續保持。這一趨勢，加上我們獨特的綜合業務模式，以及二十多年來 PV-10 盈虧平衡價格低於 2.25 美元的 NYMEX 庫存，使 Seneca 和 NFG Midstream 在未來幾年中處於極其有利的地位。

With that, I'll ask the operator to open the line for questions.

這樣，我就請接線生開通熱線來回答問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Zach Parham, JP Morgan.

摩根大通的紮克·帕勒姆。

Thanks for taking my questions. First, could you talk a little bit more about how you're thinking about the buyback? The stock has been very strong year-to-date, both absolute and relative. It's hit new all-time highs. How does stock price factor in? How you're thinking about buying back shares?

感謝您回答我的問題。首先，您能否再談談您對回購的看法？今年迄今為止，該股表現非常強勁，無論是絕對還是相對而言。它創下了歷史新高。股票價格如何影響？您如何考慮回購股票？

And I know you moved back the target date by a quarter here. But if the stock remains strong, do you think about pushing out the buyback even further?

我知道你將目標日期延後了四分之一。但如果股價保持強勢，您是否考慮進一步延後回購？

Yeah, hi, Zach, I don't see any change in our thinking right now to our buyback program. I mean, certainly, price is a factor. But overall, when we look at capital allocation, once our balance sheet is in the place we want it to be, which it is, our first preference is going to be to grow the company either organically or through M&A. But absent that, our plan would be to return capital to shareholders. So we're still committed to this buyback program. As you point out, it can take a couple of months longer to get done, but we fully intend to.

是的，嗨，扎克，我認為我們現在對回購計劃的想法沒有任何改變。我的意思是，價格當然是一個因素。但總體而言，當我們考慮資本配置時，一旦我們的資產負債表達到我們想要的水平，我們的首選就是透過有機成長或併購來實現公司的成長。但除此之外，我們的計劃是向股東返還資本。所以我們仍然致力於這個回購計劃。正如您所指出的，這可能需要幾個月的時間才能完成，但我們完全打算這樣做。

Thanks for that color. My follow-up, I just wanted to ask about infrastructure build in general. I mean there's been some rumblings out there about the Constitution pipeline potentially coming back. Any thoughts on if that pipe could happen? And maybe just your broader thoughts on what the new administration could do to encourage more pipes to get built out of Appalachia to get more gas out of the basin.

謝謝你這個顏色。我的後續問題，我只是想問一下有關基礎設施建設的一般情況。我的意思是，有人抱怨憲法管道可能會恢復運作。對於該管道是否可能發生，您有何看法？也許您只是對新政府可以採取哪些措施來鼓勵在阿巴拉契亞山脈建造更多管道以從該盆地輸送更多天然氣有更廣泛的想法。

Yeah, well, with respect to Constitution, I think the biggest roadblock there is New York State, much more so than the market or FERC or anything. So we'll see where that goes. But I think it would change -- it would require a big change in thinking out of New York to get that one over the finish line. In terms of the -- what the new administration could do, I mean to me, the two biggies would be, tackling the Clean Water Act and sort of doing away with or preventing the states from using it in the ways that they have over the years, whether it's with respect to Constitution or what they tried to do with our Northern Access project. And then looking at the judicial review process to try to get it so that projects don't stretch out so long and have as much litigation and delays.

是的，就憲法而言，我認為最大的障礙是紐約州，比市場、聯邦能源管理委員會或其他任何東西都要大得多。我們將拭目以待。但我認為情況會改變——這需要紐約的思維方式發生巨大轉變才能實現這一目標。就新政府可以做什麼而言，對我來說，兩大重點是，解決《清潔水法案》並廢除或阻止各州以多年來的方式使用該法案，無論是關於憲法還是他們試圖對我們的北方通道項目所做的事情。然後研究司法審查程序，試圖避免專案拖延太久，並產生太多訴訟和延誤。

Thanks a lot.

多謝。

Noah Hungness, Bank of America.

諾亞·洪尼斯，美國銀行。

Morning everyone. Justin, I think I have two questions for you. The first one here is, could you maybe give us some additional color on what leading edge EUR per 1,000 foot is for the recent EDA TILs that you all have seen? And if the wells haven't been flowing long enough to give us -- to have an EUR in mind, maybe could you just talk about the pressure declines that you have seen?

大家早安。賈斯汀，我想我有兩個問題想問你。第一個問題是，您能否向我們提供一些額外的信息，說明大家最近看到的 EDA TIL 每 1,000 英尺的前沿 EUR 是多少？如果油井的流量時間還不夠長，不足以讓我們了解 EUR，那麼您是否可以談談您所看到的壓力下降？

Yeah, sure, Noah. Thanks. we've got now a number of Tioga Utica pads online, but only really the last one to two pads where we've kind of been employing fully and had a chance to see this Gen 3 design and what it can deliver. I mean the punchline is last quarter, I spoke about our EUR moving up to an expectation of 2.5 Bcf per 1,000 feet. Certainly, the productivity we're seeing out of these wells, and it is early.

是的，當然，諾亞。謝謝。我們現在在網路上有許多 Tioga Utica 墊子，但實際上只有最後 1 到 2 個墊子我們一直在充分利用，並有機會看到這個 Gen 3 的設計以及它能提供什麼。我的意思是，上個季度，我談到我們的 EUR 將上升至每 1,000 英尺 2.5 億立方英尺的預期。當然，我們看到這些油井的產量還處於早期階段。

We're kind of maybe five to six months on one of the pads and maybe closer to three to four on the other one. So we have data. We have good history. The pressure declines are exceeding our expectations. The pressure drop is low.

我們在一個發射台上待了大概五到六個月，在另一個發射台上待了大概三到四個月。所以我們有數據。我們有著良好的歷史。壓力下降超出了我們的預期。壓降較低。

I just spoke about the fact that we expect to see a number of these wells maintain sustained rates at 25 million to 30 million a day for 9 to 12 months. So that kind of informs what that means from a productivity perspective. So the bias right now is upside to the EUR, but we feel really good about what we put out to date, and we feel really good about what we're seeing out of these wells. And I'll have more color and more commentary in the coming quarters as we have more data.

我剛才談到，我們預計這些油井中的許多將在 9 到 12 個月內保持每天 2500 萬到 3000 萬的持續產量。所以這從生產力角度說明了這意味著什麼。因此，目前的傾向是歐元上漲，但我們對迄今為止推出的產品感到非常滿意，並且對我們從這些油井中看到的結果感到非常滿意。隨著我們獲得更多數據，我將在未來幾季提供更多細節和評論。

Sounds good. And then for my second question, the Gen 3 well design seems to be a success here. But could we see like a Gen 4 design? And if so, could you maybe talk a little bit on what that looks like?

聽起來不錯。然後對於我的第二個問題，第三代井設計在這裡似乎是成功的。但我們能看到類似第四代的設計嗎？如果是的話，您能否稍微談談它是什麼樣子的？

Sure. So definitely, we've made an evolution. I think where we've arrived at was probably with the Gen 3 design has been a big step forward for us. We've already begun the process of testing certain variables that would be an expansion, if you will, upon the Gen 3 design. So kind of leading to that Gen 4 or Gen 3+, whatever you want to call it for now.

當然。所以毫無疑問我們已經取得了進步。我認為我們所取得的進展可能是第三代設計對我們來說向前邁出的一大步。我們已經開始測試某些變量，如果你願意的話，這些變數將是 Gen 3 設計的擴展。因此，這將引領我們走向 Gen 4 或 Gen 3+，無論你現在想怎麼稱呼它。

The punchline is the places where I think we'll potentially find the most gains are going to be related to continued adjustments on the interwell spacing and then proppant loading, looking to test completions that are larger than the 2,200-pound design and whether that's stepping up to more like 3,000 or even 3,700, 3,800 pounds per foot, we think that there's an opportunity.

關鍵在於，我認為我們可能發現最大收益的地方將與持續調整井間距和支撐劑裝載有關，希望測試大於 2,200 磅設計的完井，無論是增加到每英尺 3,000 磅還是 3,700、3,800 磅，我們都認為有機會。

We're kind of in a spot where we've got a very prolific resource, a lot of gas in place, and we're looking for the right kind of mix of invested capital to drive productivity, but also balancing kind of the sweet spot between the returns you're getting as you deploy more capital into a more intensive design. So I think we're striving towards that. I think we're making great gains with the team looking at that. And I do think as time goes on, we will be talking about some additional tweaks to our overall well design.

我們目前擁有非常豐富的資源，大量的天然氣，我們正在尋找正確的投資資本組合來推動生產力，同時也在將更多資本投入到更密集的設計中時平衡所獲得的回報之間的最佳平衡點。所以我認為我們正在努力實現這一目標。我認為，我們的團隊正在取得巨大進步。我確實認為，隨著時間的推移，我們將討論對整體井設計進行一些額外的調整。

That's really helpful color. Thank you.

這顏色確實很有幫助。謝謝。

Greta Drefke, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的格雷塔·德雷夫克。

Good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. I was wondering if you could speak to your views on the current outlook for growing in-basin demand, where conversations currently sit on power-related agreements? And what components of your integrated business model have you found to be the most attractive for potential counterparties?

早上好，感謝您回答我的問題。我想知道您是否可以談談對當前盆地內需求成長前景的看法，目前的討論重點是電力相關協議？您認為綜合業務模式中的哪些部分對潛在交易對手最具吸引力？

Well, I'll hit the first one, and then Dave or Tim may hit on a little bit of the second there. But just as it relates to kind of the opportunity for more in-basin demand, I would talk about a couple of things. One that we've been speaking to and have seen success with is almost more about the opportunity for other producers may be investing less capital and that kind of frees up capacity for us to fill.

好吧，我先講第一個，然後戴夫或提姆可能會講一點第二個。但正如它與更多盆地內需求的機會有關一樣，我想談幾件事。我們一直在談論並且已經看到成功的一個案例是，其他生產商可能會投入較少的資本，從而為我們釋放產能。

And whether that's through taking new firm transport that's been released or restructured, whether that's through new firm sales with counterparties or just purely attrition. The backdrop to that, the positive against even that kind of attrition we've spoken to is the corollary to more in-basin demand. It's absolute that there are opportunities to see continued growth, more industrial development and frankly, just running the existing power gen assets that are in the basin today, they could run harder and increase the capacity or the throughput going into those plants and put more power out.

無論是透過採取已釋放或重組的新公司運輸，還是透過與交易對手的新公司銷售或純粹的自然減員。在這樣的背景下，即使我們談到的那種人員流失，其正面影響也是流域內需求增加的必然結果。絕對有機會看到持續的成長、更多的工業發展，坦白說，只要運行目前盆地中現有的發電資產，它們就可以更加努力地運行，增加這些工廠的產能或吞吐量，並輸出更多的電力。

So we see a lot of kind of, I'll call it, green shoots and tailwinds as it relates to how we're able to continue to grow our production. And we have a lot of different avenues on that and then see continued in-basin demand incrementally happening over the coming months and years.

因此，我們看到了很多，我稱之為綠芽和順風，因為這與我們如何能夠繼續增加產量有關。我們對此有許多不同的途徑，並預計未來幾個月和幾年內流域內的需求將持續逐步成長。

Yeah, and I'd add to the second part of your question. It's likely the pipeline business that's, call it, the lowest hanging fruit. A lot of these hyperscalers and developers really value speed to market. And so to the extent we can provide a pipeline solution in a timely way is likely the nearest-term type opportunities.

是的，我想補充你問題的第二部分。管道業務很可能是最容易實現的目標。許多超大規模企業和開發商確實非常重視上市速度。因此，只要我們能夠及時提供管道解決方案，這可能是近期的機會。

Appreciate it. That's all very helpful. And then for my second question, I'm just wondering how you would characterize the outlook for regulated M&A at this point in time? In the current macro environment, does your disposition towards or the opportunity set for acquisitions change meaningfully or if at all?

非常感謝。這一切都非常有幫助。然後對於我的第二個問題，我只是想知道您如何描述目前受監管的併購前景？在當前的宏觀環境下，您對收購的態度或機會是否發生了重大變化？或者根本沒有變化？

Yeah, it's something we're still focused on. I'd like to gain scale across the business. I think the regulated side of the business is the place to do it. That's not to rule out upstream M&A, but I think that would be more of a focus on bolt-on type acquisitions as we've done in the past.

是的，這是我們仍然關注的事情。我希望擴大整個業務的規模。我認為，受監管的業務領域才是進行此項工作的適當場所。這並不是排除上游併購，但我認為這將更專注於附加型收購，就像我們過去所做的那樣。

And I guess I won't comment on any specific assets that may or may not come to market, but we'll just leave with you that we're still interested in it and are optimistic things will come to market that will be a good fit for us.

我想我不會對任何可能或不可能進入市場的具體資產發表評論，但我們只想告訴你們，我們仍然對此感興趣，並且樂觀地認為，適合我們的東西將會進入市場。

Appreciate it. Thank you.

非常感謝。謝謝。

John Freeman, Raymond James.

約翰‧弗里曼、雷蒙‧詹姆斯。

Thank you. Good morning. You all had an active and consistent hedging program for years, and I realize that's just part of the DNA of the company. And I think, Justin, when you were sort of outlining your bullish outlook on gas, which we obviously share, I'm curious if that constructive outlook would potentially have you all move maybe directionally more toward collars versus swaps in the future to kind of give you the opportunity to realize maybe more upside?

謝謝。早安.多年來，你們一直實行積極且持續的對沖計劃，我意識到這只是公司 DNA 的一部分。賈斯汀，我認為，當您概述對天然氣的樂觀展望時（我們顯然也認同這一點），我很好奇，這種建設性展望是否有可能讓你們在未來更加傾向於領圈期權而非掉期期權，從而讓你們有機會實現更多的上行空間？

Hey John, it's Tim. Yes, I think you're absolutely right. We're constructive. But philosophically, we're still big believers in hedges. But given where our balance sheet sits today, we definitely would skew more towards collars as long as there is skew available on those collars where it makes sense.

嘿，約翰，我是提姆。是的，我認為你完全正確。我們很有建設性。但從哲學角度來說，我們仍然堅信對沖。但考慮到我們目前的資產負債表狀況，只要在合理的範圍內存在可用的傾斜，我們肯定會更傾向於採用領圈選擇權。

A great example is the collars we put on over the last few months here with $4 floors and $5.50 average caps. Those are sort of no-brainer hedges in our mind where we protect the downside at a really fantastic price, but retain meaningful upside in case the strip runs. So I don't see us changing our hedging philosophy, but definitely skewing more towards collars, especially once we have the baseload layer of hedges on that give us that downside protection.

一個很好的例子就是我們過去幾個月在這裡實施的項圈，其底價為 4 美元，平均上限為 5.50 美元。在我們看來，這些都是無需動腦筋的對沖，我們以非常優惠的價格保護下行風險，但在出現市場波動時保留有意義的上行風險。因此，我認為我們不會改變對沖理念，但肯定會更傾向於領子選擇權，特別是當我們擁有了基荷層對沖，可以給我們下行保護之後。

tAppreciate that. And then my follow-up question, you all slightly lowered the utility O&M expense guidance for the full year. And you've got a slide in the back of the presentation that kind of goes through kind of the moving parts. You got the higher personnel costs and then being offset by some of the rate case adjustments. And I did see that O&M expense went up during the quarter.

非常感謝。然後我的後續問題是，你們都略微下調了全年公用事業運營和維護費用指導。簡報後面有一張幻燈片，其中介紹了各個活動部分。您的人員成本較高，但可以透過一些費率調整來抵銷。我確實看到本季度的營運和維護費用有所增加。

So I'm just trying to understand maybe the moving parts involved, maybe the lag effect of some of the rate case adjustments on what sort of drove the full year guide lower.

因此，我只是想了解其中涉及的變動因素，也許是某些利率案例調整的滯後效應，從而導致全年指引走低。

Yeah. I think it's just as we go through the year, we're very good, and you've probably seen this historically in terms of keeping our cost structure down at the utility business and the pipeline business really, frankly, across the company. And so we moved the O&M guidance down a little bit. And while the slide references O&M increases, that's year-over-year increases. So some of those actually are tailwinds relative to our original guidance outlook for the business.

是的。我認為，就我們今年的情況而言，我們的表現非常好，而且您可能已經從歷史上看到過這種情況，即在整個公司範圍內，我們一直在降低公用事業業務和管道業務的成本結構。因此，我們將 O&M 指導稍微下調了一些。雖然幻燈片中提到了 O&M 的成長，但這是同比增長。因此，相對於我們最初的業務指導前景而言，其中一些實際上是順風。

But this is just something you should expect from us over time is the continued focus on maintaining costs, especially once we have set rates, it's really important for us to maintain that cost structure so that we can earn an acceptable return in that business.

但這只是您應該期望我們隨著時間的推移繼續專注於維持成本，特別是在我們設定費率之後，維持該成本結構對我們來說確實非常重要，這樣我們才能在該業務中獲得可接受的回報。

Appreciate it. Nice quarter.

非常感謝。不錯的季度。

Thanks John.

謝謝約翰。

Geoff Jay, Daniel Energy Partners.

傑夫·傑伊（Geoff Jay），丹尼爾能源合作夥伴。

Hey guys, just curious about sort of how you think about CapEx cadence beyond 2025. Obviously, your well productivity is improving as you move into the EDA more. But there's also some puts and takes, it seems to me with if you do sort of increase profit, maybe that adds to costs and not sure kind of where you think you are in terms of gaining even more efficiencies. Kind of just curious if you sort of a baseline expectation is to sort of say flattish from here 2026 and beyond, barring any changes.

嘿，夥計們，我只是好奇你們對 2025 年以後的資本支出節奏有何看法。顯然，隨著您更多地進入 EDA，您的油井生產力將會提高。但也存在一些得失，在我看來，如果你確實增加了利潤，那麼可能會增加成本，而且不確定你認為在提高效率方面你處於什麼位置。我只是好奇，如果你的基準預期是從現在到 2026 年及以後保持平穩，除非有任何變化。

Yeah, thanks, Geoff. The -- and I want to -- I had some information here in my prepared remarks also to kind of at least point toward the trend that we see. But look, from '23 to the midpoint of guidance at '25, we will have taken capital down from $588 million to $505 million. So we've made a dramatic decrease.

是的，謝謝，傑夫。我想——我在準備好的發言中也提供了一些信息，至少可以指出我們看到的趨勢。但是，從 23 年到 25 年指導中點，我們的資本將從 5.88 億美元降至 5.05 億美元。因此我們大幅減少了。

I anticipate -- fully anticipate that as we move forward into '26, '27, et cetera, we will find additional ways to drive that lower. The rate of change may shallow some, but we fully expect we will be able to move capital downward. The investments we would make related to, say, an enhanced well design would also lead to enhanced well productivity.

我預計——完全預計，隨著我們進入 26 年、27 年等等，我們將找到其他方法來降低這一數字。變化的速度可能會減緩，但我們完全有信心降低資本的變動速度。我們進行的投資，例如改進油井設計，也將提高油井的生產力。

And so we wouldn't be making those if we weren't seeing that. And we would expect that to show through with perhaps you need less wells or less activity to achieve the same level of production growth.

如果我們沒有看到這一點，我們就不會製造這些。我們預計，也許需要更少的油井或更少的活動才能實現相同程度的產量成長。

So we're very much -- this trend is not a two, three-year trend for us. This is a multiyear trend that should extend beyond '25 and '26 plus. And you should anticipate continued gains in terms of reductions of capital. And kind of that mid-single-digit production growth that we've been on over the last three years. We see that continuing over the next few years.

所以我們非常重視──對我們來說，這種趨勢並不是兩三年的趨勢。這是一個多年的趨勢，應該會延續到 25 年和 26 年以後。並且您應該預期資本減少方面將繼續獲得收益。過去三年來，我們的產量一直保持著中等個位數的成長。我們認為這種情況在未來幾年內還會持續下去。

Excellent. And then just as a follow-up on the LOE side, are those improvements largely a function of better-than-expected volumes? Or is there something else going on there?

出色的。然後作為 LOE 方面的後續行動，這些改進是否很大程度上是由於交易量優於預期？還是那裡還有其他事情發生？

I would say it's really cost -- just a detailed cost focus. The team kind of has done a pretty deep dive relook at all the areas where we're investing money across the, I'll call it, the controllable element of our LOE since so much of our LOE, we're just paying to our sister company NFG Midstream.

我想說這確實是成本問題——只是詳細的成本重點。團隊對我們投資的所有領域進行了相當深入的重新審視，我稱之為我們 LOE 的可控要素，因為我們的大部分 LOE 只是支付給我們的姊妹公司 NFG Midstream。

But of the controllable piece, they've done a great job at looking for areas where we can minimize those expenses. And so the beat we had here in kind of the first half of the year is translating to our ability to bring down the full year guidance. And then just overall, I mean, there is some seasonality to the work we do.

但在可控部分，他們在尋找可以最大限度減少這些開支的領域方面做得很好。因此，我們上半年所取得的業績表現意味著我們有能力下調全年業績預期。總的來說，我們所做的工作具有一定的季節性。

We certainly have -- we'll do more workover and well repair work and maintenance work during summer months when the weather is more favorable for some of those activities.

我們當然會這樣做——在夏季，當天氣更適合進行某些活動時，我們會進行更多的修井、修井和維護工作。

Great. Thanks appreciate it.

偉大的。謝謝讚賞。

Timothy Winter, Gabelli.

提摩西溫特，加貝利。

Thank you. Congratulations on another strong quarter. I have two questions. First, Dave, I was wondering if you could clarify that I heard you correctly that on the M&A focus, it's going to be more on regulated bolt-ons. Is that what you said? And does that mean pipes? Or does that mean regulated utilities?

謝謝。恭喜您又一個季度取得強勁業績。我有兩個問題。首先，戴夫，我想知道您是否可以澄清一下，我聽得是否正確，在併購重點上，它將更多地關注受監管的附加措施。你是這麼說的嗎？那是不是意味著管道？或者這是否意味著受監管的公用事業？

No, the bolt-on was in reference to the E&P side of the business. On the regulated side, I would be thinking bigger than just bolt-on. LDCs would be the most likely candidate.

不，附加部分指的是業務的 E&P 方面。在監管方面，我會考慮比僅僅採用螺栓固定更大的事情。最不發達國家是最有可能的候選人。

Okay. Okay. Great. And then just big picture, talking more, I guess, the state of Pennsylvania then nationally. I'm curious what the long-term infrastructure potential is of the state.

好的。好的。偉大的。然後就大局而言，我想多談的是賓州的情況，然後才是全國的情況。我很好奇該州的長期基礎設施潛力如何。

I'm listening to conference calls, PPL yesterday. Talking about 50 gigawatts of data centers in its service area and tremendous over in Ohio as well. What is the long-term infrastructure potential of the state to serve that kind of demand, both from a pipe network? And I forgot to mention Homer City gas plant, 3.5 gigawatts also being developed. Just is the infrastructure there to support all of this?

我正在聽昨天的 PPL 電話會議。談論其服務區域內的 50 千兆瓦資料中心以及俄亥俄州的資料中心。從管道網路來看，該州的長期基礎設施潛力如何，可以滿足這種需求嗎？我忘了提到荷馬城天然氣廠，其 3.5 千兆瓦的發電量也正在開發中。那裡的基礎設施是否能夠支援這一切？

Yeah, I think to an extent. But certainly, if the amount of generation that's being contemplated gets built, we're going to need more of it. I think Pennsylvania is obviously a pro-energy state. And so I don't think you'd see the hurdles to getting that built that you would in other states. But the potential is certainly there, and we'll just see how it plays out.

是的，我認為在某種程度上是如此。但可以肯定的是，如果要建造預計數量的發電設施，我們將需要更多的發電設施。我認為賓州顯然是一個支持能源的州。因此，我認為你不會像在其他州那樣遇到建設該設施的障礙。但潛力肯定是存在的，我們只需看看它如何發揮。

Okay great. Thank you, guys.

好的，太好了。謝謝你們。

At this time, we currently have no further questions. So I'll hand back to Natalie Fischer for any further remarks.

目前，我們沒有其他問題。因此，我將把進一步的評論交還給 Natalie Fischer。

Thank you, Alex. We'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to be with us today. A replay of this call will be available this afternoon on both our website and by telephone and will run through the close of business on Thursday, May 8. Please feel free to reach out if you have any follow-up questions. Otherwise, we look forward to speaking with you again next quarter. Thank you, and have a nice day.

謝謝你，亞歷克斯。我們感謝大家今天抽出時間來參加我們的會議。本次電話會議的重播將於今天下午在我們的網站和電話上提供，並將持續到 5 月 8 日星期四下班時間。如果您有任何後續問題，請隨時與我們聯繫。否則，我們期待下個季度再次與您交談。謝謝，祝您有愉快的一天。

Thank you all for joining today's call. You may now disconnect your lines.

感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。現在您可以斷開線路了。