西方石油 (OXY) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to Occidental's Fourth Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this event is being recorded.

下午好，歡迎參加西方石油公司 2021 年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，此事件正在記錄中。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Jeff Alvarez, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議轉交給投資者關係副總裁 Jeff Alvarez。請繼續。

Thank you, Rocco. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for participating in Occidental's Fourth Quarter 2021 Conference Call. On the call with us today are Vicki Hollub, President and Chief Executive Officer; Rob Peterson, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Ken Dillon, President, International Oil and Gas Operations; and Richard Jackson, President, Operations, U.S. Onshore Resources and Carbon Management.

謝謝你，羅科。大家下午好，感謝您參加西方石油公司 2021 年第四季度電話會議。今天與我們通話的是總裁兼首席執行官 Vicki Hollub； Rob Peterson，高級副總裁兼首席財務官； Ken Dillon，國際石油和天然氣業務總裁； Richard Jackson，美國陸上資源和碳管理運營總裁。

This afternoon, we will refer to slides available on the Investors section of our website. The presentation includes a cautionary statement on Slide 2 regarding forward-looking statements that will be made on the call this afternoon.

今天下午，我們將參考我們網站投資者部分的幻燈片。該演示文稿包括幻燈片 2 上關於將在今天下午的電話會議上做出的前瞻性陳述的警示性聲明。

I'll now turn the call over to Vicki. Vicki, please go ahead.

我現在將把電話轉給 Vicki。維姬，請繼續。

Thank you, Jeff, and good afternoon, everyone. The fourth quarter of 2021 was a fitting way to end the year where Oxy's operational and financial performance advanced from strong to stronger.

謝謝你，傑夫，大家下午好。 2021 年第四季度是結束 Oxy 的運營和財務業績從強到強的一年的合適方式。

Our focus on consistently delivering outstanding operational results, combined with our steadfast dedication and patience in improving our balance sheet, has positioned us to begin increasing the amount of capital returned to shareholders. Our new shareholder return framework, which we will detail today, includes a dividend that is sustainable in a low-price environment. We are pleased to implement this new framework, beginning with an increase in the quarterly common dividend to $0.13 per share.

我們專注於持續提供出色的運營成果，加上我們在改善資產負債表方面的堅定奉獻和耐心，使我們開始增加返還給股東的資本金額。我們今天將詳細介紹的新股東回報框架包括在低價環境中可持續的股息。我們很高興實施這一新框架，首先將季度普通股息增加到每股 0.13 美元。

The position of strength that we are in today stems from our team's hard work and accomplishments last year. Throughout 2021, we strived tirelessly to improve our already exceptional operational performance. We capitalized on efficiency improvements by embedding innovative techniques across our operations. Our focus on learning, implementing change, where needed, and maximizing opportunities for improvement enabled us to accelerate time to market for our products while generating notable capital savings. We will continue to maximize operational efficiencies in 2022 by executing on the capital plan that invest in our highest-return assets to generate long-term sustainable free cash flow.

我們有今天的實力地位，源於我們團隊去年的努力和成績。整個 2021 年，我們孜孜不倦地努力改善我們已經非常出色的運營績效。我們通過在我們的運營中嵌入創新技術來提高效率。我們專注於學習、在需要時實施變革以及最大限度地提高改進機會，這使我們能夠加快產品上市時間，同時顯著節省資本。 2022 年，我們將繼續通過執行投資於我們回報率最高的資產以產生長期可持續的自由現金流的資本計劃，最大限度地提高運營效率。

This afternoon, I will begin by covering our fourth quarter and full year 2021 highlights and achievements, before detailing our 2022 capital budget. Rob and I will then discuss our shareholder return framework, and Rob will provide guidance for the first quarter and year ahead. Before turning to Q&A at the end, I will provide a preview of the Low Carbon Ventures Investor Update that we have planned for next month.

今天下午，我將首先介紹我們 2021 年第四季度和全年的亮點和成就，然後詳細介紹我們的 2022 年資本預算。然後，我和 Rob 將討論我們的股東回報框架，Rob 將為第一季度和未來一年提供指導。在最後轉向問答之前，我將提供我們計劃在下個月發布的低碳風險投資人更新的預覽。

Now to talk about delivering cash flow priorities. Those who have followed us, Oxy's journey, over the past several quarters know that our cash flow priorities have centered around de-risking our balance sheet and reducing debt. We diligently delivered on these cash flow priorities throughout 2021, including the repayment of approximately $6.7 billion of debt. We now expect that our net debt will be below $25 billion by the end of the first quarter of 2022, which will mark a change in how excess cash flow will be allocated going forward.

現在談談交付現金流優先級。過去幾個季度跟隨我們 Oxy 旅程的人都知道，我們的現金流優先事項集中在降低資產負債表風險和減少債務上。我們在整個 2021 年努力實現這些現金流優先事項，包括償還約 67 億美元的債務。我們現在預計，到 2022 年第一季度末，我們的淨債務將低於 250 億美元，這將標誌著未來超額現金流分配方式的變化。

Before I detail our updated cash flow priorities and shareholder return framework, I would like to first touch on a few of the many operational and financial successes that enabled us to reach this significant turning point.

在詳細介紹我們更新的現金流優先級和股東回報框架之前，我想先談談使我們能夠達到這一重大轉折點的眾多運營和財務成功中的一些。

2021 was a year of continuous operational improvements, which drove record free cash flow generation, rapid debt reduction, and a return to profitability. One of Oxy's core strengths is our ability to develop assets in a way that efficiently maximizes production and recovery while generating significant cash flow, and that is just what we did in 2021. Multiple drilling and completion records were set across our domestic and international businesses as our production for the year averaged 1.167 million BOE per day. That's 27,000 BOE per day higher than our initial guidance.

2021 年是運營持續改進的一年，推動了創紀錄的自由現金流產生、債務快速減少以及盈利能力的恢復。 Oxy 的核心優勢之一是我們能夠以有效地最大化生產和恢復同時產生大量現金流的方式開發資產，而這正是我們在 2021 年所做的。我們在國內和國際業務中創造了多項鑽井和完井記錄，如全年產量平均每天116.7萬桶油當量。這比我們最初的指導每天高出 27,000 BOE。

2021 was also a more conventional year in terms of commodity prices, operations, and planning, all of which was helpful in providing a reserve update that reflects a more normalized price environment. Our reserves for year-end 2021 increased to 3.5 billion BOE, representing a reserve replacement ratio of 241%. Our reserves position means that we have a vast supply of low-breakeven projects and inventory available. We have included updated inventory information for our U.S. onshore operations in the appendix to this presentation.

2021 年也是大宗商品價格、運營和規劃方面更為傳統的一年，所有這些都有助於提供反映更加正常化的價格環境的儲備更新。 2021年末儲備增加至35億桶油當量，儲備替代率為241%。我們的儲備狀況意味著我們有大量的低盈虧平衡項目和可用庫存。我們在本演示文稿的附錄中包含了我們美國陸上業務的更新庫存信息。

Over the last year, we significantly advanced our commitments toward a low-carbon future. We are proud to be one of only a few oil and gas companies with net-zero goals that are aligned with the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degree Celsius pathway. In December, Oxy became the first U.S. upstream oil and gas company to enter into a sustainability-linked revolving credit facility, which includes absolute reductions in our combined Scopes 1 and 2 CO2 equivalent emissions as the key performance indicator.

去年，我們顯著推進了對低碳未來的承諾。我們很自豪能成為少數幾家符合《巴黎協定》的 1.5 攝氏度路徑的淨零目標的石油和天然氣公司之一。去年 12 月，Oxy 成為第一家進入與可持續發展相關的循環信貸機制的美國上游石油和天然氣公司，其中包括絕對減少我們的範圍 1 和 2 的二氧化碳當量排放量作為關鍵績效指標。

We set additional interim emission targets to further refine our net-zero pathway, including a short-term target to reduce our CO2 equivalent emissions to approximately 3.7 million metric tons per year below our 2021 level and to accomplish that by 2024. We set a medium-term target to facilitate the geologic storage or use of 25 million metric tons per year of CO2 in Oxy's value chain by 2032.

我們設定了額外的中期排放目標，以進一步完善我們的淨零排放路徑，包括將我們的二氧化碳當量排放量減少到 2021 年水平以下約 370 萬噸/年並到 2024 年實現這一目標的短期目標。我們設定了一個中期目標到 2032 年，促進 Oxy 價值鏈中每年 2500 萬噸二氧化碳的地質儲存或使用的長期目標。

We also endorsed the Methane Guiding Principles and Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, a climate and clean air coalition initiative led by the United Nations Environment Programme. This is consistent with our commitment to enhance methane emissions reporting and reducing those emissions.

我們還批准了由聯合國環境規劃署牽頭的氣候和清潔空氣聯盟倡議“甲烷指導原則和油氣甲烷夥伴關係 2.0”。這與我們加強甲烷排放報告和減少排放的承諾相一致。

Our journey towards net zero is underway, and we look forward to discussing in greater detail at our Low Carbon Ventures Investor Day next month.

我們的淨零之旅正在進行中，我們期待在下個月的低碳風險投資投資者日上進行更詳細的討論。

Now the fourth quarter highlights. The strong operational and financial performance that we delivered throughout last year continued in the fourth quarter. We set a fourth consecutive record for quarterly free cash flow generation before working capital, which contributed to generating our highest-ever annual level of free cash flow in 2021. We continue to apply free cash flow towards reducing debt and strengthening our balance sheet, repaying an additional $2.2 billion of debt in the fourth quarter.

現在是第四節的亮點。我們去年全年交付的強勁運營和財務業績在第四季度繼續保持。我們連續第四次創造營運資本前的季度自由現金流量記錄，這有助於我們在 2021 年產生有史以來最高的年度自由現金流量。我們繼續將自由現金流用於減少債務和加強我們的資產負債表，償還第四季度增加了 22 億美元的債務。

Operationally, all 3 business segments excelled in driving our robust financial performance. OxyChem delivered record earnings for the second consecutive quarter as performance throughout the year culminated in 2021 being OxyChem's strongest in over 30 years. The fourth quarter, which is typically lower due to seasonality, even exceeded the record third quarter.

在運營方面，所有三個業務部門都在推動我們強勁的財務業績方面表現出色。 OxyChem 連續第二個季度實現創紀錄的收益，因為全年業績在 2021 年達到頂峰，成為 OxyChem 30 多年來最強勁的業績。由於季節性原因，通常較低的第四季度甚至超過了創紀錄的第三季度。

And in our oil and gas segment, our Permian, Rockies, and Oman teams set new operational records and efficiency benchmarks in the fourth quarter, further improving on their third quarter records.

在我們的石油和天然氣部門，我們的二疊紀、落基山脈和阿曼團隊在第四季度創造了新的運營記錄和效率基準，進一步改善了第三季度的記錄。

Our Midstream business outperformed by maximizing gas margins during the fourth quarter. While short-term opportunities in the commodity markets are difficult to predict, our Midstream team excels at finding and taking full advantage of such opportunities when they arise.

我們的中游業務在第四季度通過最大化天然氣利潤率而表現出色。雖然大宗商品市場的短期機會難以預測，但我們的中游團隊擅長在此類機會出現時發現並充分利用這些機會。

Now I'm pleased to say that our fourth quarter results continued to demonstrate the commitment of all of our employees, no matter their position or location, to find ways to further create value by lowering costs, improving efficiencies, and maximizing recoveries. They truly are driving our strong financial results and providing a solid foundation for free cash flow generation.

現在我很高興地說，我們第四季度的業績繼續表明我們所有員工的承諾，無論他們的職位或地點如何，都致力於尋找通過降低成本、提高效率和最大化回收率來進一步創造價值的方法。他們確實推動了我們強勁的財務業績，並為自由現金流的產生奠定了堅實的基礎。

Now on to 2021 oil and gas operational excellence. On each of our last several calls, I've enjoyed highlighting the many operational achievements our teams continuously deliver. The magnitude of these achievements is striking when viewed on a combined basis over the last year. We established record drilling cycle times in the Gulf of Mexico, the Permian, Rockies, and in Oman, and set new efficiency benchmarks across our portfolio in 2021. We intend to maintain our focus on continuous improvement in the year ahead as we work to maximize the value our portfolio can generate for shareholders.

現在到 2021 年的石油和天然氣卓越運營。在我們最近幾次電話會議中，我很高興強調我們的團隊不斷取得的許多運營成就。從過去一年的綜合來看，這些成就的規模是驚人的。我們在墨西哥灣、二疊紀、落基山脈和阿曼建立了創紀錄的鑽井週期時間，並在 2021 年為我們的投資組合設定了新的效率基準。我們打算在未來一年繼續專注於持續改進，同時努力最大限度地提高我們的投資組合可以為股東創造的價值。

Now our 2022 capital plan. Our 2022 capital plan invests in cash flow longevity while building on the capital intensity leadership we demonstrated in 2021. We have sized our capital plan to sustain production in 2022 at 1.155 million BOE per day while investing in high-return projects that will provide cash flow stability throughout the cycle. We have also incorporated an expectation for inflation and a capital range to reflect the potential for fluctuations in our third-party operated assets and our low carbon opportunities during the year.

現在是我們的 2022 年資本計劃。我們的 2022 年資本計劃投資於現金流壽命，同時建立我們在 2021 年展示的資本密集度領先地位。我們的資本計劃規模將在 2022 年維持每天 115.5 萬桶油當量的產量，同時投資於提供現金流的高回報項目整個週期的穩定性。我們還納入了對通貨膨脹的預期和資本範圍，以反映我們第三方運營資產的波動潛力和我們年內的低碳機會。

Our sustaining capital, which we define as the capital required to sustain production in the $40 WTI environment over a multi-year period, remains industry-leading. Our multi-year sustaining capital is expected to increase from our 2021 capital budget of $2.9 billion due to the reduced inventory of drilling uncompleted wells, and additional investment in our Gulf of Mexico and EOR assets to optimize the long-term productivity of our reservoirs and facilities. If the macro environment requires spending below our multi-year sustaining capital, we have the ability to reduce it further and hold production flat for shorter periods of time, as we've demonstrated.

我們的持續資本（我們將其定義為在 40 美元 WTI 環境中多年維持生產所需的資本）仍然處於行業領先地位。由於鑽探未完井的庫存減少，以及對墨西哥灣和 EOR 資產的額外投資，以優化我們油藏的長期生產力和設施。如果宏觀環境要求支出低於我們的多年維持資本，我們有能力進一步減少支出，並在更短的時間內保持生產平穩，正如我們已經證明的那樣。

We're also investing in attractive mid-cycle projects that will provide cash flow stability through the cycle in future years. For example, these projects include the Al Hosn expansion, which began last year. And OxyChem is in the process of completing a FEED study to modernize certain Gulf Coast chlor-alkali assets from diaphragm to membrane technology.

我們還投資於有吸引力的中期項目，這些項目將在未來幾年的周期內提供現金流穩定性。例如，這些項目包括去年開始的 Al Hosn 擴建項目。 OxyChem 正在完成一項 FEED 研究，以對墨西哥灣沿岸的某些氯鹼資產從隔膜技術到膜技術進行現代化改造。

Our capital plan also includes investments to advance our net zero pathway, including reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency, and developing our carbon sequestration initiative. We're allocating capital in the budget to 1PointFive to begin construction on the first direct air capture facility.

我們的資本計劃還包括投資以推進我們的淨零路徑，包括減少排放、提高能源效率和發展我們的碳封存計劃。我們將預算中的資金分配給 1PointFive，以開始建造第一個直接空氣捕獲設施。

We continue to make progress on both the engineering and commercial needs for direct air capture development. We're improving both of these aspects and believe Oxy's capital helps retain value for our shareholders. As the construction phase and technology of this new project advance, we will continue to consider strategic capital partnerships and structures to address financing. We'll provide more comprehensive update on 1PointFive and direct air capture at our March 23 LCV Investor Update.

我們繼續在直接空氣捕獲開發的工程和商業需求方面取得進展。我們正在改善這兩個方面，並相信 Oxy 的資本有助於為我們的股東保留價值。隨著這個新項目的建設階段和技術的進步，我們將繼續考慮戰略資本合作夥伴關係和結構來解決融資問題。我們將在 3 月 23 日的 LCV 投資者更新中提供有關 1PointFive 和直接空中捕獲的更全面更新。

We benefited greatly from commodity price rebound last year and appreciate how swiftly the price environment can change. The optionality that our scale and asset base provide enables us to retain a high degree of flexibility in our capital and spending plans. The majority of our capital program is comprised of short-cycle investments, meaning that we have the ability to quickly adapt to changes in the macro environment.

我們從去年的商品價格反彈中受益匪淺，並意識到價格環境變化的速度之快。我們的規模和資產基礎提供的可選性使我們能夠在我們的資本和支出計劃中保持高度的靈活性。我們的大部分資本計劃由短週期投資組成，這意味著我們有能力快速適應宏觀環境的變化。

Within 6 months or less, if necessary, we can reduce capital spending to sustaining levels. And if oil prices remain supportive this year, our intent is to follow our cash flow priorities and capital framework that we will share with you today. We have no need and no intent to invest in production growth this year.

如有必要，我們可以在 6 個月或更短的時間內將資本支出減少到維持水平。如果今年油價繼續支撐，我們的意圖是遵循我們今天將與您分享的現金流優先事項和資本框架。今年我們沒有必要也無意投資於產量增長。

Having a flexible capital budget that includes investment and cash flow longevity puts us in a strong position to implement shareholder return framework that will benefit shareholders over the long term. With respect to cash flow priorities, our priorities for 2022 remain largely unchanged, with a continuing emphasis on reducing debt while maintaining our asset base integrity and sustainability.

擁有包括投資和現金流壽命在內的靈活資本預算，使我們處於實施股東回報框架的有利位置，這將使股東長期受益。關於現金流優先事項，我們 2022 年的優先事項基本保持不變，繼續強調減少債務，同時保持我們的資產基礎完整性和可持續性。

The objective of strengthening our financial position remains the same; to enable us to confidently increase the amount of capital that we may sustainably return to shareholders throughout the cycle. As we expect net debt to fall below $25 billion by the end of the first quarter, our focus has expanded to returning capital to shareholders, beginning with the increase in our common dividend to $0.13 per share and the reactivation and expansion of our share repurchase program. The increase in the dividend to $0.13 per share is consistent with our intention to initially increase the dividend to a level that approximates the yield of the S&P 500.

加強我們財務狀況的目標保持不變；使我們能夠自信地增加我們可以在整個週期內可持續地返還給股東的資本金額。由於我們預計到第一季度末淨債務將降至 250 億美元以下，我們的重點已擴大到向股東返還資本，首先將普通股息增加到每股 0.13 美元，以及重新啟動和擴大我們的股票回購計劃.股息增加到每股 0.13 美元與我們最初將股息提高到接近標準普爾 500 指數收益率水平的意圖是一致的。

We believe establishing framework for returning capital to shareholders through a sustainable common dividend, combined with an active share repurchase program, and continued debt reduction, creates an attractive value proposition for shareholders while also improving the company's long-term financial position.

我們相信，通過可持續的普通股息、積極的股票回購計劃和持續的債務削減，建立向股東返還資本的框架，將為股東創造有吸引力的價值主張，同時也改善公司的長期財務狀況。

For the first phase of our shareholder return framework initiated, we have the option in future years to invest in cash flow growth. We have the ability to grow oil and gas cash flow through higher production, but also have multiple investment opportunities across our other businesses. As evidenced by our guidance for 2022, we do not intend to grow production in 2022. At the point where it is appropriate to invest in future cash flow growth, we will only do so if supported by long-term demand. Any future production growth will be limited to an average annual rate of approximately 5%.

對於我們啟動的股東回報框架的第一階段，我們可以選擇在未來幾年投資於現金流增長。我們有能力通過提高產量來增加石油和天然氣現金流，但我們的其他業務也有多種投資機會。正如我們對 2022 年的指導所證明的那樣，我們不打算在 2022 年增加產量。在適合投資未來現金流增長的時候，我們只會在長期需求的支持下這樣做。任何未來的產量增長都將限制在大約 5% 的平均年增長率。

I'll now turn the call over to Rob, who will walk you through our shareholder return framework.

我現在將電話轉給 Rob，他將帶您了解我們的股東回報框架。

Thank you, Vicki, and good afternoon. As Vicki mentioned, the first phase of our shareholder return framework consists of continued debt reduction, an increase in the common dividend to $0.13 per share, and the reactivation and expansion of our share repurchase program.

謝謝你，維姬，下午好。正如 Vicki 所提到的，我們股東回報框架的第一階段包括持續減少債務、將普通股息增加到每股 0.13 美元，以及重新啟動和擴大我們的股票回購計劃。

With net debt expected to be below $25 billion by the end of the first quarter, we are ready to begin returning more capital to shareholders, but we'll continue to prioritize debt reduction to focus on our medium-term goal of regaining our investment-grade credit ratings. We place high importance on debt reduction for the reasons I highlighted last quarter, mainly that as debt is reduced, our company's enterprise value will rebalance to the benefit of our shareholders.

預計到第一季度末淨債務將低於 250 億美元，我們準備開始向股東返還更多資本，但我們將繼續優先考慮減少債務，以專注於恢復投資的中期目標——等級信用評級。由於我在上個季度強調的原因，我們高度重視減少債務，主要是隨著債務的減少，我們公司的企業價值將重新平衡，從而使我們的股東受益。

We recognize that oil prices are uncertain and may remain volatile, particularly in the current environment. We intend to prioritize the retirement of an additional $5 billion of debt to drive our net debt towards our next milestone of $20 billion. When this milestone is achieved, our balance sheet will have improved significantly even from where we are today.

我們認識到油價存在不確定性並可能持續波動，尤其是在當前環境下。我們打算優先償還額外 50 億美元的債務，以推動我們的淨債務邁向 200 億美元的下一個里程碑。當實現這一里程碑時，我們的資產負債表將比我們今天的狀況顯著改善。

We intend to provide our shareholders with a competitive common dividend while maintaining a long-cycle cash flow breakeven at $40 WTI or less. The long-term sustainability of our dividend will be enhanced by continued deleveraging and share repurchases as well as our best-in-class capital efficiency and a deep low-cost portfolio of assets. As debt is retired, our cash interest payments will decrease, freeing up cash that can be used to support future common dividend growth.

我們打算為我們的股東提供具有競爭力的普通股息，同時將 WTI 的長周期現金流盈虧平衡保持在 40 美元或更低。持續去槓桿化和股票回購，以及我們一流的資本效率和深厚的低成本資產組合，將增強我們股息的長期可持續性。隨著債務的償還，我們的現金利息支付將減少，從而釋放出可用於支持未來共同股息增長的現金。

In addition to increasing the common dividend to $0.13 per share, we intend to purchase approximately $3 billion of outstanding shares of common stock. Maintaining an active share repurchase program with the benefit of a healthy balance sheet will potentially enable us to grow the dividend on a per share basis at a faster rate.

除了將普通股股息增加到每股 0.13 美元外，我們還打算購買約 30 億美元的已發行普通股。維持積極的股票回購計劃並受益於健康的資產負債表，這可能使我們能夠以更快的速度增加每股股息。

As evidenced by our progress reducing debt last year, debt retirement remains a higher cash flow priority than the share repurchase program. We intend to make substantial progress towards retiring an additional $5 billion of debt before initiating share repurchases.

正如我們去年在減少債務方面取得的進展所證明的那樣，債務退休仍然是比股票回購計劃更高的現金流優先級。在開始股票回購之前，我們打算在償還額外 50 億美元的債務方面取得實質性進展。

It is our goal to reward shareholders with the triple benefit of a sustainable common benefit, an active share repurchase program, and a continuously strengthening financial position. We believe the shareholder return framework we have detailed this afternoon delivers these benefits in a manner that is transparent for shareholders.

我們的目標是通過可持續的共同利益、積極的股票回購計劃和不斷加強的財務狀況來回報股東的三重利益。我們相信我們今天下午詳細介紹的股東回報框架以對股東透明的方式提供了這些好處。

I'll now turn to our fourth quarter results. In the fourth quarter, we announced an adjusted profit of $1.48 and a reported profit of $1.37 per diluted share. Our adjusted income improved significantly through 2021, with the fourth quarter being the strongest quarter of the year. The increase in earnings was primarily driven by higher commodity prices and volumes as well as OxyChem's excellent financial performance.

我現在將轉向我們的第四季度業績。第四季度，我們宣布調整後利潤為 1.48 美元，每股攤薄收益為 1.37 美元。到 2021 年，我們的調整後收入顯著提高，第四季度是今年最強勁的季度。收益的增長主要是由於商品價格和銷量的上漲以及 OxyChem 出色的財務業績。

Our domestic oil and gas expenses experienced a sizable reduction on a BOE basis from the previous quarter and reflected a more normalized environment absent any significant weather disruptions. The strong performance of our businesses, combined with the benefit of a healthy commodity price, enabled us to deliver another consecutive quarter of record free cash flow.

與上一季度相比，我們的國內石油和天然氣費用在京東方的基礎上大幅減少，反映出環境更加正常化，沒有任何重大天氣乾擾。我們業務的強勁表現，加上健康的商品價格帶來的好處，使我們能夠連續一個季度實現創紀錄的自由現金流。

On our third quarter call, we announced the completion of our large-scale divestiture program, but reiterated our intention to continue seeking opportunities to optimize our portfolio to create shareholder value. In November, we completed a bolt-on acquisition to increase our working interest in EOR assets that we operate. And in January 2022, we divested a small package of Permian acreage that we had no immediate plans to develop. The purchase and sale prices of these transactions largely offset each other, while the EOR acquisition added approximately 5,000 BOE per day of low-decline production as well as increasing our inventory of potential CCUS opportunity.

在我們第三季度的電話會議上，我們宣布完成了我們的大規模資產剝離計劃，但重申我們打算繼續尋找機會優化我們的投資組合以創造股東價值。 11 月，我們完成了一項補強收購，以增加我們對我們運營的 EOR 資產的工作興趣。 2022 年 1 月，我們剝離了一小塊二疊紀土地，我們沒有立即開發的計劃。這些交易的購買和銷售價格在很大程度上相互抵消，而 EOR 收購增加了每天約 5,000 桶油當量的低產量產量，並增加了我們對潛在 CCUS 機會的庫存。

We exited the fourth quarter with approximately $2.8 billion of unrestricted cash on the balance sheet after repaying approximately $2.2 billion of debt in the quarter. In total, last year, we paid approximately $6.7 billion of debt and retired $750 million of notional interest rate swaps. Our debt reduction continues to drive a pronounced improvement in our credit profile. Since our last call, both Fitch and S&P upgraded our credit ratings to BB+, 1 notch below investment grade, while Moody's assigned us a positive outlook on our debt.

在本季度償還了約 22 億美元的債務後，我們在資產負債表上以約 28 億美元的非限制性現金退出了第四季度。去年，我們總共支付了大約 67 億美元的債務，並收回了 7.5 億美元的名義利率掉期。我們的債務減免繼續推動我們的信用狀況顯著改善。自我們上次調用以來，惠譽和標準普爾都將我們的信用評級上調至 BB+，比投資級低 1 個等級，而穆迪則給予我們正面的債務展望。

Reducing the amount of cash that is committed to interest payments today places us in a stronger position for a sustainable return of capital in the future. We estimate that the balance sheet improvements executed in 2021 will reduce interest and financing costs by almost $250 million per year going forward, which will fund approximately half of the increase in our common dividend.

減少今天用於支付利息的現金數量，使我們在未來獲得可持續的資本回報時處於更有利的地位。我們估計，2021 年執行的資產負債表改進將在未來每年減少近 2.5 億美元的利息和融資成本，這將為我們共同股息增加的大約一半提供資金。

Our business incurred a negative working capital change in the fourth quarter. It was primarily driven by higher accounts receivable balance due to higher commodity prices and, to a lesser extent, an increase in inventories including a higher number of barrels on the water at year-end.

我們的業務在第四季度發生了負面的營運資金變化。這主要是由於商品價格上漲導致應收賬款餘額增加，以及在較小程度上庫存增加，包括年底水上桶數增加。

The oil and gas hedges we had in place rolled off at the end of the fourth quarter, and we are now positioned to take full advantage of the current commodity price environment. We recognize the possibility of a swift change in commodity prices always exists.

我們實施的石油和天然氣對沖在第四季度末結束，我們現在可以充分利用當前的大宗商品價格環境。我們認識到大宗商品價格快速變化的可能性始終存在。

The debt maturity profile we have today is far more manageable than it was two years ago, and our liquidity profile remains robust. In addition to cash on hand, we have $4.4 billion of committed unutilized bank facilities. We continue to believe that reducing debt and maintaining maximum flexibility in our capital plans is the most effective long-term solution to managing risk while providing shareholders with the benefits of commodity price gains.

我們今天的債務到期狀況比兩年前更易於管理，我們的流動性狀況仍然強勁。除了手頭現金外，我們還有 44 億美元的已承諾未使用銀行貸款。我們仍然相信，減少債務並在我們的資本計劃中保持最大的靈活性是管理風險的最有效的長期解決方案，同時為股東提供商品價格收益的好處。

We expect our full year production to average 1.155 million BOE per day in 2022. Production in the first quarter of 2022 is expected to be lower than the fourth quarter of 2021 due to the timing impact of wells that are brought online in 2021, severe winter weather in the Permian earlier this month, and the impact of significant planned international turnaround activities this quarter. Algeria, Al Hosn, and Dolphin are all undergoing scheduled maintenance in the first quarter, which is reflected in our international production guidance.

我們預計 2022 年全年平均產量為每天 115.5 萬桶油當量。由於 2021 年投產井的時間影響，嚴冬，2022 年第一季度的產量預計將低於 2021 年第四季度本月早些時候二疊紀的天氣，以及本季度計劃中的重大國際周轉活動的影響。阿爾及利亞、Al Hosn 和 Dolphin 都在第一季度進行定期維護，這反映在我們的國際生產指導中。

The downtime associated with Al Hosn is notably larger than typical years as the plant is undergoing the first full shut-down since its inception to substantially complete the tie-ins associated with the expansion project, and to enhance plant sustainability and reliability. Additionally, a portion of our international production is subject to production-sharing contracts, where we typically receive fewer barrels in a higher-price environment, the impact of which is captured in our full year and first quarter guidance.

與 Al Hosn 相關的停機時間明顯比往年要長，因為該工廠正在經歷自成立以來的第一次全面關閉，以基本完成與擴建項目相關的連接，並提高工廠的可持續性和可靠性。此外，我們的部分國際生產受生產分成合同的約束，在價格較高的環境中，我們通常會收到更少的桶，其影響反映在我們的全年和第一季度指導中。

The Permian activity we added late in the fourth quarter is expected to replace the production benefit we received in 2021 from completing our DJ Basin inventory of drilled, uncompleted wells in the early part of last year. Our 2022 Permian capital allocation is expected to provide benefits that will last into 2023.

我們在第四季度末增加的二疊紀活動預計將取代我們在 2021 年從去年年初完成 DJ 盆地已鑽探、未完井井庫存中獲得的生產收益。我們的 2022 二疊紀資本分配預計將提供將持續到 2023 年的收益。

We anticipate that our activity this year will provide us the flexibility to either hold Permian production flat at our 2022 exit rate for similar capital next year, or spend less capital in 2023 to hold production relatively flat to our 2022 average. We also expect that our production in 2022 will increase throughout the year to achieve our full year guidance as our international operations will resume their normal production levels and our activity in the Permian brings new production online.

我們預計，我們今年的活動將為我們提供靈活性，要么將二疊紀產量保持在 2022 年類似資本的退出率不變，要么在 2023 年花費更少的資金來保持產量與 2022 年的平均水平相對持平。我們還預計，我們在 2022 年的產量將全年增加，以實現我們的全年指導，因為我們的國際業務將恢復正常的生產水平，我們在二疊紀的活動使新的生產上線。

Additionally, the trajectory of our Permian production is anticipated to offset lower production in the Rockies this year as our activity in the DJ Basin is tapered, reflecting development planning timing to ensure efficient operations as new permits are obtained. Partially offsetting lower Rockies production with higher Permian production, combined with an increase in EOR activity, will result in a slightly higher domestic operating expense as the DJ Basin has one of the lowest operating costs on a BOE basis in our portfolio. The increase in Permian production is expected to result in domestic cash margins improving in 2022 as the company-wide oil cut increases to approximately 54.5%.

此外，隨著我們在 DJ 盆地的活動逐漸減少，我們二疊紀生產的軌跡預計將抵消今年落基山脈的產量下降，這反映了開發計劃的時間安排，以確保在獲得新許可證後高效運營。以較高的二疊紀產量部分抵消落基山脈的較低產量，再加上 EOR 活動的增加，將導致國內運營費用略高，因為 DJ 盆地在我們的投資組合中是基於京東方的最低運營成本之一。隨著公司範圍內的石油減產幅度增加到約 54.5%，預計二疊紀產量的增加將導致 2022 年國內現金利潤率提高。

The mid-cycle level of capital we intend to spend this year provides flexibility to sustain production in 2023 and beyond at our multi-year sustaining capital level of $3.2 billion in a $40 price environment.

我們今年打算使用的中期資本水平為在 2023 年及以後維持生產提供了靈活性，在 40 美元的價格環境下，我們的多年維持資本水平為 32 億美元。

We expect that OxyChem's 2022 earnings will exceed even 2021. OxyChem continues to benefit from continued demand improvement for caustic soda, while PVC pricing remains strong. Additionally, as I mentioned on our last call, we expect chlorine markets to remain tight as chlor-alkali producers seek the highest value for their products. OxyChem's integration across multiple chlorine derivatives enables us to optimize our production mix to supply the products the market requires, whether this is for chlorine for water treatment, vinyls, or PVC for example.

我們預計 OxyChem 2022 年的收益甚至將超過 2021 年。OxyChem 繼續受益於燒鹼需求的持續改善，而 PVC 價格依然強勁。此外，正如我在上次電話會議中提到的那樣，隨著氯鹼生產商尋求產品的最高價值，我們預計氯市場將保持緊張。 OxyChem 對多種氯衍生物的整合使我們能夠優化我們的生產組合，以供應市場所需的產品，例如用於水處理的氯、乙烯基或 PVC。

This year, we will make an incremental capital investment as we complete a FEED study for the modernization of certain Gulf Coast chlor-alkali assets from diaphragm to membrane technology. Modernizing these assets would result in a material energy efficiency improvement, which will also lower the carbon intensity per ton of the product produced and delivered. The project would also provide the opportunity for a significant expansion of our existing capacity to meet growing demand for our key products. We expect to reach final investment decision later this year, at which time, we will be prepared to share additional details.

今年，我們將完成一項 FEED 研究，以實現某些墨西哥灣沿岸氯鹼資產從隔膜到膜技術的現代化改造，從而增加資本投資。對這些資產進行現代化改造將提高材料能源效率，這也將降低每噸生產和交付產品的碳強度。該項目還將為我們現有產能的顯著擴展提供機會，以滿足對我們關鍵產品不斷增長的需求。我們預計將在今年晚些時候做出最終投資決定，屆時我們將準備分享更多細節。

To assist investors to reconcile our guidance with our segment earnings, we have made a change in how we guide Midstream going forward. Our Midstream guidance now includes income from WES, which is a change to how we've guided Midstream previously. Quarterly guidance now includes Oxy's portion of WES income using the average of the previous four publicly available quarters. Our annual guidance now includes Oxy's portion of WES income using the sum of the previous four publicly available quarters.

為了幫助投資者將我們的指導與我們的分部收益相協調，我們改變了指導 Midstream 前進的方式。我們的中游指導現在包括來自 WES 的收入，這是對我們之前指導中游的方式的改變。季度指導現在包括使用前四個公開可用季度的平均值的 Oxy 的 WES 收入部分。我們的年度指導現在包括使用前四個公開可用季度的總和的 Oxy 的 WES 收入部分。

As we look to the year ahead, we will work to continue to improve on the numerous operational and financial successes of 2021, including making additional inroads on reducing debt, implementing our shareholder return framework, and advancing our low-carbon aspirations.

展望未來一年，我們將努力繼續改進 2021 年的眾多運營和財務成功，包括在減少債務、實施我們的股東回報框架和推進我們的低碳願望方面取得更多進展。

I'll now turn the call back over to Vicki.

我現在將電話轉回給 Vicki。

Thank you, Rob. When we established Low Carbon Ventures in 2018, we knew we were ahead of the curve in recognizing the opportunity and necessity of building a carbon management business, both to help reduce global emissions and to enhance our business. At that time, we were focused on key technologies and projects that would reduce Oxy's emissions and provide a more sustainable future business.

謝謝你，羅布。當我們在 2018 年成立 Low Carbon Ventures 時，我們知道我們在認識到建立碳管理業務的機會和必要性方面處於領先地位，這既有助於減少全球排放，又能增強我們的業務。當時，我們專注於減少 Oxy 排放並提供更可持續的未來業務的關鍵技術和項目。

Today, we have advanced that vision and fully appreciate the vast scope of the carbon management opportunity as well as the cross-industry support and partnership in front of us. On past earnings calls, we had discussed several of the initiatives Low Carbon Ventures is developing and Oxy's ambition to achieve net zero before 2050. We've been working on key technology developments and important commercial needs to advance LCV's projects that are now in a position to more fully detail our low carbon business and how it positions us to realize our net-zero ambition and improve our long-term business.

今天，我們已經推進了這一願景，並充分認識到碳管理機會的廣闊範圍以及我們面前的跨行業支持和合作夥伴關係。在過去的財報電話會議上，我們討論了 Low Carbon Ventures 正在開發的幾項舉措以及 Oxy 在 2050 年之前實現淨零排放的雄心。我們一直致力於關鍵技術開發和重要的商業需求，以推進 LCV 的項目，這些項目現在已經到位更全面地詳細介紹我們的低碳業務以及它如何定位我們以實現我們的淨零目標並改善我們的長期業務。

On March 23, we will host a Low Carbon Ventures Investor Update, where we will provide a detailed update on our low-carbon strategy, with a focus on the technology and commercial development of carbon-capture projects, specifically direct air capture. The event, which we expect may last up to 2.5 hours, will be accessible through our website.

3 月 23 日，我們將舉辦低碳風險投資人更新，屆時我們將詳細介紹我們的低碳戰略，重點關注碳捕集項目的技術和商業發展，特別是直接空氣捕集。我們預計該活動可能持續長達 2.5 小時，可通過我們的網站訪問。

As I've said before, we are excited about our unique position and capabilities as a company. We value our broader low-carbon and business partnerships that are growing, and our workforce is energized to advance this immense opportunity before us.

正如我之前所說，我們對我們作為一家公司的獨特地位和能力感到興奮。我們重視我們不斷發展的更廣泛的低碳和商業合作夥伴關係，我們的員工充滿活力，可以推進我們面前的這一巨大機遇。

We'll now open the call for your questions.

我們現在將打開您的問題的電話。

(Operator Instructions) Today's first question comes from Jeanine Wai with Barclays.

（操作員說明）今天的第一個問題來自巴克萊的 Jeanine Wai。

Our first question is on the gross debt reduction. We're assuming that the $5 billion that you're planning on getting through, that can be executed through tenders. And so just any idea on what the timing of that could look like for you to complete that, given what you've seen in the market.

我們的第一個問題是關於債務總額的削減。我們假設您計劃獲得的 50 億美元可以通過招標來執行。因此，鑑於您在市場上看到的情況，您對完成該任務的時間可能有任何想法。

And do you need to get through the full $5 billion of tenders before you begin the buybacks? We were looking back at your prior tender, and you almost got the whole thing done, but that was only about $1.5 billion.

在開始回購之前，您是否需要通過全部 50 億美元的投標？我們回顧了你之前的招標，你幾乎完成了整個工作，但那隻是大約 15 億美元。

Yes. Good question, Jeanine. And so I guess, first, let me comment on the tender that we did at the end in December. We were pretty aggressive on the premiums we've put in that tender because we knew we had an additional $700 million of callable debt available to us at the time. And so we were pretty happy with the ultimate outcome that came out of that.

是的。好問題，珍妮。所以我想，首先，讓我評論一下我們在 12 月底進行的招標。我們對該投標的保費非常激進，因為我們知道當時我們還有 7 億美元的可贖回債務可供我們使用。所以我們對由此產生的最終結果非常滿意。

As we moved forward since then, we have a lot of opportunities to reduce the debt. Last year, we were able to reduce, of the $6.7 billion of debt we did last year, we only paid a 1.5% premium for that. And within that, $4.7 billion of that was actually concentrated in maturities that were 2024 or newer.

從那時起，隨著我們向前邁進，我們有很多機會減少債務。去年，我們能夠減少 67 億美元的債務，我們只為此支付了 1.5% 的溢價。其中，其中 47 億美元實際上集中在 2024 年或更晚的到期日。

And so when I look at the opportunities to retire debt this year, as we indicated, we already retired the remaining in January the last of our 2022 maturities, for $101 million, already this quarter.

因此，正如我們所指出的那樣，當我看到今年償還債務的機會時，我們已經在本季度以 1.01 億美元的價格在 2022 年最後一次到期的 1 月償還了剩餘的債務。

So we do have tenders, make-whole provisions. We have the ability to build cash on a net debt basis as maturities come forward. We do have the option to settle the February '23 notes, which is the bulk of our 2023 maturities, come callable in November. But overall, when I look at our debt, it is actually even cheaper than it was at the end of the year, largely because as interest rates have risen in the perspective of interest rates rising again.

所以我們確實有招標，整套規定。隨著到期日的到來，我們有能力在淨債務基礎上積累現金。我們確實可以選擇結算 23 年 2 月的票據，這是我們 2023 年到期的大部分票據，可在 11 月贖回。但總體而言，當我查看我們的債務時，它實際上比年底時還要便宜，主要是因為從利率再次上升的角度來看，利率上升了。

And so certainly, the next dollar we put forward will be towards debt reduction. And with the cash we ended the year at and the cash we're adding during the quarter, it's pretty safe to say that's probably not too far in the future that we initiate that process again. We don't need to have all of that completed before we initiate the share purchase program, but we need it to be substantially completed or have line-of-sight on it being completed before we begin repurchasing shares.

因此，可以肯定的是，我們提出的下一個美元將用於減少債務。有了我們年底的現金和我們在本季度添加的現金，可以肯定地說，我們再次啟動該流程的未來可能不會太遠。在我們啟動股票購買計劃之前，我們不需要完成所有這些，但我們需要在開始回購股票之前基本完成或在視線範圍內完成。

Okay. Great. That's really helpful information. Maybe just going forward a little bit beyond that on your future cash flow priorities. Oxy has got a real high-class problem. Assuming oil prices stay anywhere close to where they are today, you'll be building a significant amount of cash on the balance sheet over the next few years even after you do the $5 billion of debt reduction and the $3 billion of buybacks.

好的。偉大的。這是非常有用的信息。也許只是在你未來的現金流優先事項上向前推進一點點。氧有一個真正的高級問題。假設油價保持在今天的水平附近，即使在進行了 50 億美元的債務減免和 30 億美元的回購之後，未來幾年你仍將在資產負債表上積累大量現金。

So I guess, have you started to assess the next steps in capital allocation after hitting your debt goals and the buyback? And I guess specifically, do you have any thoughts on potentially trying to tackle the preferreds early and doing that versus either other debt reduction or production growth? And just how you're thinking about the preferreds.

所以我想，在達到債務目標和回購之後，您是否開始評估資本配置的下一步？我想具體來說，您是否有任何想法可能試圖及早解決優先事項並這樣做而不是其他債務減少或生產增長？以及您如何考慮偏好。

So we have discussed previously provisions with regards to the Berkshire agreement related to shareholder return, enabling us to begin redemption of the Berkshire to $4 per share common dividend to our shareholders. Assuming we repurchased $3 billion of shares in a 12-month period and then you combine that with $0.52 of dividend payments over 4 consecutive quarters, we still won't have distributed enough to reach a $4 per share distribution trigger. It would be about $3.72 at that point.

因此，我們之前討論了有關伯克希爾協議與股東回報相關的條款，使我們能夠開始將伯克希爾公司贖回至每股 4 美元的普通股股息給我們的股東。假設我們在 12 個月內回購了 30 億美元的股票，然後將其與連續 4 個季度支付的 0.52 美元的股息相結合，我們仍然不會分配足夠的資金來達到每股 4 美元的分配觸發條件。那時約為 3.72 美元。

But I want to say, the Berkshire common provision isn't a limit on our ability to return value to shareholders. It simply means, if the circumstance arrives and the macro puts us in a place where we have exceeded $4 per share on a trailing 12-month basis, we would just be in a position where we have to redeem an equal portion of Berkshire at a 10% premium as we return to shareholders above and beyond that.

但我想說，伯克希爾的共同條款並不限制我們向股東回報價值的能力。這只是意味著，如果情況到來並且宏觀使我們在過去 12 個月的基礎上超過每股 4 美元，我們將處於必須以超過 10% 的溢價，因為我們在此基礎上向股東回報。

And so as we sit here today in February, agreeing that, yes, there's a lot of potential for elevated oil prices over an extended period of time to create a constructive macro for going beyond our debt focus. But it's a little too early, I think, to speculate on what we would do at that point in time.

因此，當我們今天 2 月坐在這裡時，同意，是的，在很長一段時間內油價上漲有很大的潛力，可以為超越我們的債務焦點創造一個建設性的宏觀。但我認為，現在推測我們屆時會做什麼還為時過早。

Our next question today comes from Phil Gresh at JPMorgan.

我們今天的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Phil Gresh。

Yes, I guess just a follow up on that question around the net debt, the $20 billion next step, so to speak. What is the ultimate goal with the balance sheet? Is it $10 billion to $15 billion? I mean, how do you think about that today?

是的，我想這只是圍繞淨債務問題的後續行動，可以說是下一步的 200 億美元。資產負債表的最終目標是什麼？是 100 億到 150 億美元嗎？我的意思是，你今天如何看待這件事？

^ Yes, Bill. I think we've already seen in notes published from the various rating agencies that their expectations would be investment grade is somewhere in the mid- to high teens. And so I think getting to that point -- getting to a level at some point, that is, in that $15 billion or less net debt is an ultimate goal for the company.

^ 是的，比爾。我認為我們已經在各個評級機構發布的報告中看到，他們的預期投資級別在中高水平。所以我認為達到這一點 - 在某個時候達到一個水平，即 150 億美元或更少的淨債務是公司的最終目標。

That would put us in a place -- there -- it also depends sort of on their long-term price horizon. If you take their $60, getting down to a net of $20 billion puts us close to a 2 multiple at that point, depending on EBITDA going on a year in year out basis. So we know we've got to do a little further than that in order to get consideration for investment grade.

這將使我們處於一個位置 - 那裡 - 這也取決於他們的長期價格範圍。如果你拿他們的 60 美元計算，那麼淨值 200 億美元將使我們當時接近 2 倍，這取決於 EBITDA 年復一年的情況。所以我們知道，為了考慮投資等級，我們必須做的比這更進一步。

Okay. That makes a lot of sense. And then, Rob, you made a comment just about the Permian exit rate in '22 and into 2023. And I was just wondering, where do you stand in terms of the CapEx carry with the EcoPetrol JV? Is there any spending in 2022 that kind of moves into the full 50-50 split? Or is that a 2023 event? I'm just curious, based on your comments you're making, how you incorporated how that could flip to the 50-50 and when?

好的。這很有意義。然後，Rob，您就 22 年和 2023 年的二疊紀退出率發表了評論。我只是想知道，就 EcoPetrol JV 的資本支出而言，您的立場是什麼？ 2022 年是否有任何支出進入完整的 50-50 分裂？還是那是 2023 年的活動？我只是很好奇，根據您的評論，您是如何考慮如何將其轉變為 50-50 以及何時？

Based on the activity level we have planned for this year, we would probably consume the balance of the carry this year, but we don't anticipate really flipping in 2022.

根據我們今年計劃的活動水平，我們可能會消耗今年的餘額，但我們預計 2022 年不會真正翻轉。

And our next question today comes from Doug Leggate with Bank of America.

我們今天的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Doug Leggate。

Rob or Vicki, I wonder if I could follow-up first on the buyback just so I understand it correctly. So $3 billion, is that an annual number that, depending on when you start the buyback, would you still expect to execute the full $3 billion in 2022? Irrespective of when you hit, you get that line-of-sight, which I'm guessing is a matter of months.

Rob 或 Vicki，我想知道我是否可以先跟進回購，這樣我才能正確理解。那麼 30 億美元，根據你開始回購的時間，你是否仍然期望在 2022 年執行全部 30 億美元？不管你什麼時候擊球，你都會得到那個視線，我猜這需要幾個月的時間。

And I guess related, you're kind of front-running yourself a little bit. And one could argue, taking the stock is heavily discounted because of your capital structure, why not consider something like an ASR?

我想相關，你有點搶先一步。有人可能會爭辯說，由於您的資本結構，股票會大幅打折，為什麼不考慮像 ASR 之類的東西呢？

So Doug, I think the first way I'd answer part of your question is the -- once we begin to initiate the share repurchases, it will be done both in an open-market repurchase basis when the market is open; and when it's closed, through a 10b5 type programmatic program.

所以道格，我認為我回答你部分問題的第一種方式是——一旦我們開始啟動股票回購，將在市場開放時以公開市場回購的方式進行；當它關閉時，通過 10b5 類型的程序化程序。

The stock, as you know, is extremely liquid. I mean, we can easily purchase $1 billion of shares in less than 14 trading days without -- I mean, close to 15% of the average daily trading volume. So that's a pretty safe way that, over a fairly short period of time, if we wanted to, we could accomplish $3 billion goal.

如您所知，該股票具有極強的流動性。我的意思是，我們可以在不到 14 個交易日內輕鬆購買 10 億美元的股票，而無需——我的意思是，接近日均交易量的 15%。所以這是一種非常安全的方式，在相當短的時間內，如果我們願意，我們可以實現 30 億美元的目標。

But that goal, certainly be dictated by our free cash flow generation. That's largely related to the commodity prices. And it's -- we're in an environment right now where we've -- the hedges have rolled off, we're giving our shareholders full exposure to commodity prices, which we think over the cycle of the commodities, will deliver the most value to the company and ultimately the most value to shareholders.

但這個目標肯定是由我們產生的自由現金流決定的。這在很大程度上與商品價格有關。而且 - 我們現在處於一個環境中 - 對沖已經取消，我們讓我們的股東充分了解商品價格，我們認為在商品的周期中，這將帶來最大的收益對公司的價值，最終對股東的最大價值。

But along with that, we realized that the macro can change for a lot of different risk factors that can cause prices to go unconstructive for us in a rapid fashion also. And so we can't find ourselves in a position where maybe we'd tackled the stock ahead of time, and the price environment changed for whatever reason, and we haven't addressed the debt first.

但與此同時，我們意識到宏觀可能會因許多不同的風險因素而發生變化，這些風險因素也可能導致價格迅速對我們失去建設性。因此，我們無法發現自己處於可能提前處理股票的位置，並且無論出於何種原因，價格環境都發生了變化，而且我們還沒有首先解決債務問題。

And that's part of the reason why we understand that, over the long -- over the course of the year, we may end up paying more for the stock to retire it. But in aligning risks and opportunities for shareholders, we think the approach are taking the most prudent way to do it.

這就是我們理解這一點的部分原因，從長遠來看 - 在一年中，我們最終可能會為股票支付更多費用以使其退役。但在為股東調整風險和機遇時，我們認為這種方法正在採取最謹慎的方式。

Okay. So just to be clear, so if you started the buy back in May, you'd still expect to get $3 billion done this year? That's just for clarity, that's not my follow-up.

好的。所以要明確一點，如果你在 5 月開始回購，你仍然期望今年完成 30 億美元嗎？這只是為了清楚起見，這不是我的後續行動。

Well, the timeline is going to be dependent upon the availability of cash, Doug. That's what's going to be the driver of it. But in terms of ability to execute, with the liquidity of the stock, a timeframe of being we complete it in the second half of the year, even if we didn't initiate until the second half of the year, would not be a challenge.

嗯，時間表將取決於現金的可用性，道格。這就是它的驅動力。但就執行能力而言，以股票的流動性，下半年完成的時間框架，即使我們要到下半年才開始，也不會是一個挑戰.

Okay. My follow-up is a resource question. Vicki, I'm guessing this was deliberate, but you've given -- you've kind of laid out the inventory depth for the onshore portfolio, looks at the current rate, something around 15 years, assuming not a lot of growth. What about the Gulf of Mexico and the rest of the portfolio? Can you give us a kind of an update as to how you see the resource depth or sustainability that goes along with the sustaining capital number that you gave us?

好的。我的後續行動是一個資源問題。 Vicki，我猜這是故意的，但你已經給出了 - 你已經列出了在岸投資組合的庫存深度，看看目前的速度，大約 15 年，假設增長不多。墨西哥灣和其他投資組合呢？您能否向我們介紹一下您如何看待資源深度或可持續性以及您提供給我們的持續資本數量？

Yes. I'll let Ken answer that. He's got his team actually working on that in view of some of the challenges we've had with the recent lease sale. Actually, we have a great news story on that.

是的。我會讓肯回答這個問題。鑑於我們在最近的租賃銷售中遇到的一些挑戰，他讓他的團隊真正致力於此。實際上，我們有一個很好的新聞報導。

Doug, in terms of Gulf of Mexico, we recently completed our field architecture studies. As you know, we have a 179 blocks, wherein 90 of those are tagged as exploration. When we look at the risk portfolio and the opportunities we have, we have substantial work, hundreds of millions of risk barrels, opportunities going forward.

Doug，就墨西哥灣而言，我們最近完成了實地架構研究。如您所知，我們有 179 個區塊，其中 90 個被標記為探索。當我們審視風險組合和我們擁有的機會時，我們有大量的工作、數億桶風險和未來的機會。

We have a solid assembly line of projects. We've got 3 projects in flight at the moment. Caesar Tonga expansion, Horn Mountain expansion, K2 subsea pumping.

我們有一個堅實的項目流水線。目前我們有 3 個項目在進行中。凱撒湯加擴張、霍恩山擴張、K2 海底抽水。

And the recent -- as Vicki alluded to, our recent lease round attempt, our goal there was to try and obtain acreage close by our existing infrastructure to accelerate simple tiebacks. But that doesn't inhibit us. We have a large portfolio, and we feel comfortable going forward within the plans that have been presented in the slides.

最近 - 正如 Vicki 所暗示的，我們最近的租賃輪次嘗試，我們的目標是嘗試在我們現有的基礎設施附近獲得種植面積，以加速簡單的回接。但這並不妨礙我們。我們有一個龐大的投資組合，我們對在幻燈片中展示的計劃中繼續前進感到很自在。

Our next question today comes from Neil Mehta with Goldman Sachs.

我們今天的下一個問題來自高盛的 Neil Mehta。

So the first question is on the production profile. Vicki, you had made the comment, as you think about the long term, you want to see growth somewhere between 0% and 5%. Is that sort of -- why is -- how do you think about the long-term profile? And based on the way you've you view normal, that's a big range. Where do you see yourselves planning in the context of that range?

所以第一個問題是關於生產概況的。 Vicki，你發表了評論，當你考慮長期時，你希望看到增長在 0% 到 5% 之間。是那種 - 為什麼是 - 你如何看待長期形象？根據你看待正常的方式，這是一個很大的範圍。您如何看待自己在該範圍內的計劃？

Well, it really depends on the projects. And what we always do is we try to design our capital programs to deliver the best returns. And so it's always -- as we develop our areas, it's always with that in mind and to build the facilities that require a pace of development that delivers the maximum return.

嗯，這真的取決於項目。我們一直在做的是嘗試設計我們的資本計劃以提供最佳回報。因此，在我們開發我們的領域時，始終牢記這一點，並建立需要提供最大回報的開發速度的設施。

So we could have lumpy -- a little bit lumpy growth going out. The Gulf of Mexico is a little bit lumpy. In the shale play, depending on whether you're starting a new area or not, it would be a little bit lumpy. But certainly, our capital intensity, we believe, is going to continue over time to be the best in the industry. And the development that we'll have, and whether or not we're at 0% or 5%, will depend on how the program lays out to maximize returns.

所以我們可能會出現塊狀 - 有點塊狀的增長。墨西哥灣有點崎嶇不平。在頁岩區，取決於你是否開始一個新的區域，它會有點崎嶇不平。但可以肯定的是，我們相信，隨著時間的推移，我們的資本密集度將繼續成為行業中的佼佼者。我們將獲得的發展，以及我們是在 0% 還是 5%，將取決於該計劃如何佈局以最大化回報。

So we have, as you see, inventory onshore, inventory in the Gulf of Mexico. We have as well some international projects that could add value. And as I mentioned in my script, we do have in our chemicals business opportunities to grow there. And so the efficiencies and opportunities that we see really will depend on how we can piece it together to deliver the best possible return.

因此，如您所見，我們有陸上庫存和墨西哥灣的庫存。我們還有一些可以增加價值的國際項目。正如我在劇本中提到的那樣，我們的化學品業務確實有在那裡發展的機會。因此，我們真正看到的效率和機會將取決於我們如何將它們拼湊起來以提供盡可能好的回報。

Certainly an evolving situation. Let me ask you about chemicals, Vicki, because the '22 guide was stronger than what we anticipated. I think a lot of investors expected chemicals to be sequentially lower. Just talk about some of the moving pieces that allows for some profitability to improve year-over-year. And what are the biggest risks to actually achieving the guide?

當然是不斷變化的情況。 Vicki，讓我問你關於化學品的問題，因為 '22 指南比我們預期的要強。我認為很多投資者預計化學品會連續走低。只談一些能夠使盈利能力逐年提高的動人因素。實際實現該指南的最大風險是什麼？

Yes, Neil, I'll take the one on chemicals. And so what I'd point to first, I know you understand the business well, is obviously, if you look at Slide 39 in the deck, the 2 business profit drivers in the business are the PVC business or the vinyls business and the caustic soda business. And both of those did materially improve throughout 2021. And when we have favorable conditions in both, the impact to earnings is pretty significant.

是的，尼爾，我會選擇關於化學品的那個。所以我首先要指出的是，我知道你很了解這個業務，很明顯，如果你看一下幻燈片中的第 39 張幻燈片，業務中的兩個業務利潤驅動因素是 PVC 業務或乙烯基業務和苛性鹼汽水生意。在整個 2021 年，這兩者都確實有了實質性的改善。當我們在這兩個方面都有有利的條件時，對收益的影響是非常顯著的。

And so what you're seeing is -- first, let me just say that where the market is at right now, as the PVC business is still quite tight, very tight supply/demand balance. We think operating rates for the industry were in 80%, 81% in January. Demand was slightly higher in January of '22 relative to January '21, less than 1%, but a little bit better. Producers are attempting to build inventory in PVC right now in advance of outages that are scheduled, but you've got this situation where they're already at low inventories and the pull from the construction sector remains strong. And so you've got attempts to grow inventories while demand is still quite strong.

所以你看到的是——首先，讓我說一下市場目前的情況，因為 PVC 業務仍然非常緊張，供需平衡非常緊張。我們認為該行業的開工率為 80%，1 月份為 81%。相對於 21 年 1 月，22 年 1 月的需求略高，不到 1%，但好一點。生產商現在正試圖在預定的停電之前建立 PVC 的庫存，但你會遇到這種情況，他們的庫存已經很低，而建築業的拉動仍然強勁。因此，在需求仍然相當強勁的情況下，您已經嘗試增加庫存。

We expect demand to remain strong in the PVC business throughout 2022. There's a very favorable housing-starts outlook. Mortgage rates obviously remain pretty low, and the remodeling sector also remains very attractive.

我們預計整個 2022 年 PVC 業務的需求將保持強勁。房屋開工前景非常有利。抵押貸款利率顯然仍然很低，而改造行業也仍然非常有吸引力。

And so you can look at the export side of the business. So in January, there's only about 250 million pounds of export, which is about 30% less than '21. That's reflective of the lack of product available right now.

因此，您可以查看業務的出口方面。所以一月份，只有大約 2.5 億磅的出口，比 21 年減少了大約 30%。這反映了目前缺乏可用的產品。

And so we certainly see -- you're not going to have an opportunity for inventory to really replenish itself and exports to even return until probably the latter part of the second quarter when resin supply might be normalized in the wake of outages, assuming there's no unplanned outages over that period.

所以我們當然看到——假設有在此期間沒有計劃外中斷。

And then in case of the chlor-alkali side, we're seeing a very tight supply/demand market, largely because of production challenges. Operating rates, we think, in the industry are going to be somewhere in the low 80s for the first quarter. There's a lot of planned outages scheduled between now and May of '22, but there's been a significant number of unplanned outages still in the industry impacting product availability.

然後在氯鹼方面，我們看到供需市場非常緊張，主要是因為生產方面的挑戰。我們認為，第一季度該行業的開工率將處於 80 年代的低位。從現在到 22 年 5 月，有很多計劃中的停機，但行業中仍有大量計劃外停機影響產品的可用性。

And on the chlorine side, we think we'll see growth at least 3% to 4% this year. Again, all the sector markets are strong with the similar markets to the PVC that draw on the chlor-alkali side of the business. We think that will be also supplemented by there's improving travel and then business spending, return to office will drive pulp and paper usage for caustic soda, et cetera. So a lot of things that we think are going to be positive on that.

在氯方面，我們認為今年我們將看到至少 3% 到 4% 的增長。同樣，所有行業市場都表現強勁，與氯鹼業務相關的 PVC 市場相似。我們認為這也將得到旅行和商業支出改善的補充，重返辦公室將推動紙漿和紙張在燒鹼等方面的使用。因此，我們認為很多事情都會對此產生積極影響。

And on the international side of the caustic business, certainly rising natural gas prices and availability in Europe and Asia will have already impacted operating rates or chlor-vinyl producers overseas, which is driving up values to that.

在苛性鹼業務的國際方面，歐洲和亞洲天然氣價格和供應量的上漲肯定已經影響了海外的開工率或氯乙烯生產商，從而推高了價值。

And so the biggest change year-over-year and why I think there's maybe a surprise because conditions were so remarkable in 2021. And why would we be guiding to something higher than that?

所以每年最大的變化以及為什麼我認為可能會有一個驚喜，因為 2021 年的條件如此出色。為什麼我們要引導到更高的東西？

Is that if you go back and look at the beginning of the year, caustic soda at the beginning of 2021 was still coming out of the really low values at the post-COVID drop in 2020. PVC has recovered very quickly on the construction side, but caustic was dragging its way up a little by a little out of the lows experienced during 2020. And so caustic prices improved sequentially quarter after quarter throughout 2021, which is why you'll see the earnings for the segment in the fourth quarter was -- typically, the first and fourth are the shoulder quarters and the strong ones are the midyear, Q2, Q3. But you had almost doubled the earnings in the chemicals segment in the fourth quarter compared to the first quarter.

是不是如果你回頭看看年初，2021 年初的燒鹼仍然從 2020 年 COVID 後下跌的低值中走出來。PVC 在建築方面恢復得非常快，但苛性鹼從 2020 年的低點略微上漲。因此，苛性鹼價格在整個 2021 年一個季度一個季度地連續上漲，這就是為什麼您會看到該部門在第四季度的收益是 - - 通常，第一個和第四個季度是肩部季度，而強勁的季度是年中、Q2、Q3。但與第一季度相比，第四季度化學品部門的收益幾乎翻了一番。

And so we're coming in with so much more momentum, which is why our guide for Q1 is so strong for the chemical business. And so it's not that we're predicting those conditions persist all the way through the entire year, we're just going to start from a higher point. How long that these conditions persist will impact whether that guidance actually could increase over the balance of the year potentially, if it holds on longer than we're anticipating. We do anticipate that things, as I said, will start to normalize maybe the middle part of the year.

因此，我們的勢頭更加強勁，這就是為什麼我們的第一季度指南對化工業務如此強勁。因此，我們並不是在預測這些情況會持續一整年，我們只是要從更高的起點開始。如果這些情況持續的時間比我們預期的要長，那麼這些情況持續多久將影響該指導是否真的可能在今年餘下時間增加。正如我所說，我們確實預計事情可能會在今年年中開始正常化。

And our next question today comes from Matt Portillo with TPH.

我們今天的下一個問題來自 TPH 的 Matt Portillo。

Just the first question on the DJ Basin. You mentioned in the prepared remarks some timing around permits. Just curious if you could provide some context on the permitting process as it stands today. And is this a good level of development to think about for next year? Or should we expect a rebound in the DJ in 2023 as it relates to drilling?

只是關於 DJ 盆地的第一個問題。你在準備好的評論中提到了一些關於許可的時間安排。只是好奇您是否可以提供有關當前許可過程的一些背景信息。這是明年值得考慮的良好發展水平嗎？還是我們應該期待 2023 年與鑽井有關的 DJ 反彈？

Matt, this is Richard. I'll take that one for us. So with respect to the permits in the DJ, really have had good progress over the last years is how I would describe it. Just looking at some of the permits in hand, we've had about 46 wells permitted, which takes us through really past half the year.

馬特，這是理查德。我會為我們拿那個。因此，關於 DJ 的許可，在過去幾年中確實取得了不錯的進展，我將如何描述它。看看手頭的一些許可證，我們已經獲得了大約 46 口井的許可證，這讓我們度過了半年多的時間。

And so what we've really put in place is optionality in our program. So you dig into sort of our onshore plan for this year, we have plans to pick up a second rig in the year. And really, that's based on confidence with where we're going with our permits.

因此，我們真正實施的是我們程序中的可選性。因此，您可以深入了解我們今年的陸上計劃，我們計劃在今年購買第二個鑽井平台。真的，這是基於我們對我們的許可證要去哪裡的信心。

So as you know, last year, some changes in terms of the process happened. And so we've been meaningfully engaged over the last year, importantly, at the stakeholder level and communities and then now with the state. But we've seen in our own pads approved as well as other operators. And I think the feedback that we've received, and we continue to work on together, is continuing to improve technology and things that we know that can really place us in a good place for development.

如您所知，去年在流程方面發生了一些變化。因此，我們在過去一年中進行了有意義的參與，重要的是，在利益相關者層面和社區，然後是現在與州。但是我們已經看到我們自己的墊子以及其他運營商都獲得了批准。我認為我們收到的反饋，我們將繼續共同努力，繼續改進技術和我們所知道的東西，這些東西可以真正使我們處於一個良好的發展環境。

So I guess, in short, we're optimistic. We've got a rig plan to come in, in the second half of the year, but have optionality within the program to be able to adjust as needed.

所以我想，簡而言之，我們很樂觀。我們有一個鑽機計劃，在今年下半年推出，但在該計劃中可以選擇，以便能夠根據需要進行調整。

Perfect. And maybe a follow-up on the marketing side. I know as an organization, you guys have been very thoughtful about this process through the cycle. The basin, it looks like there's possibly some solutions on the horizon for incremental gas takeaway. And just curious how you all might be thinking about potentially adding to your takeaway portfolio from a gas marketing perspective.

完美的。也許是營銷方面的後續行動。我知道，作為一個組織，你們在整個週期中對這個過程非常深思熟慮。該盆地，看起來可能有一些解決方案可以增加天然氣外賣。只是好奇你們可能會如何考慮從天然氣營銷的角度潛在地增加你的外賣組合。

And then maybe dovetailing into that. On the crude oil side, could you just remind us when some of those contracts start to roll over? And if there's any tailwinds to the financials kind of moving forward over the next few years around crude oil marketing.

然後也許與之相吻合。在原油方面，您能否提醒我們其中一些合約何時開始展期？如果未來幾年圍繞原油營銷的金融股向前發展有任何順風的話。

Yes. Matt, we really have enough gas capacity, and as much as we feel like we need at this point and with respect to our growth profile. And for the oil side of it, the contracts start rolling off in 2025 for the oil part of the contracts. So we have plenty of capacity. At that time, I think it will take probably a couple of years to get us down to the point where all the contracts roll off.

是的。馬特，我們真的有足夠的天然氣容量，而且就我們的增長情況而言，我們認為我們目前需要的容量是多少。對於石油方面，合同中石油部分的合同將於 2025 年開始滾動。所以我們有足夠的能力。那時，我認為可能需要幾年時間才能讓我們達到所有合同都取消的地步。

Our next question today comes from Neal Dingmann at Truist Securities.

我們今天的下一個問題來自 Truist Securities 的 Neal Dingmann。

Vicki, my first question maybe for you. You mentioned just a couple of minutes ago here that you thought you maybe would ramp the chemicals. And obviously, as a finance guy, that just continues to be. I know when I saw Rob in December, and it just continues to get better and better.

Vicki，我的第一個問題可能是給你的。您幾分鐘前在這裡提到您認為您可能會增加化學品。顯然，作為一名財務人員，這種情況仍然存在。我知道當我在 12 月看到 Rob 時，它會繼續變得越來越好。

I guess my question is, as a financial guy, how much can you grow that? And would that grow in conjunction with your low carbon mission? I know you talked about that in the past. I'm just wondering how much could you push that business, given it just continues to hit the ball out of the part on that one?

我想我的問題是，作為一個金融人士，你能增長多少？這會隨著您的低碳使命而增長嗎？我知道你過去談過這個。我只是想知道你能在多大程度上推動這項業務，因為它只是繼續把球擊出那個部分？

I think we'll talk about that a little bit more as we talk about the project and the capital that we're executing to convert our diaphragm to membranes, because that's going to improve some efficiency in the areas where we're doing that conversion. So we'll actually be able to increase our capacity. And we'll outline that and detail that a little more in the next earnings call. Because right now, we're currently in the process of doing the FEED study on that.

我想我們會在談論項目和我們正在執行的將隔膜轉換為膜的資本時多談一點，因為這將提高我們正在進行轉換的領域的一些效率.所以我們實際上將能夠增加我們的容量。我們將在下一次財報電話會議中概述並詳細說明這一點。因為現在，我們正在對此進行 FEED 研究。

For today, with respect to other opportunities, we will continue to consider incoming calls about potential partnerships, where it makes sense, to do projects with either customers or more from the perspective of supporting Low Carbon Ventures.

今天，關於其他機會，我們將繼續考慮有關潛在合作夥伴的來電，在有意義的情況下，從支持低碳風險投資的角度與客戶或更多客戶開展項目。

We try to be opportunistic in chemicals and not build without certainly the demand for the product. And so on the Low Carbon Ventures side, we're, as we go through this, finding opportunities where there are synergies and growing synergies between the chemicals business and the low carbon business. So it will have some growth around that.

我們試圖在化學品方面投機取巧，並且在沒有確定對產品的需求的情況下不建造。在低碳風險投資方面，我們正在尋找機會，在化學品業務和低碳業務之間存在協同效應和不斷增長的協同效應。所以它會有一些增長。

No, that's great to hear. And then just the second. You talked just a minute also about the DJ. And my thought is it sounds like some of the Perm production is due to replace DJ this year. Is that going to be the case going forward? And is that because you're talking about -- I know Richard talked about permitting is all in shape. I'm just wondering, what's sort of the reason or rationale for why not just grow both of these? I mean, I'm looking at that...

不，很高興聽到。然後只是第二個。你也談到了 DJ。我的想法是聽起來 Perm 的一些作品將在今年取代 DJ。以後還會這樣嗎？是不是因為你在談論--我知道理查德談到允許一切就緒。我只是想知道，為什麼不同時種植這兩種產品的原因或理由是什麼？我的意思是，我正在看那個...

Yes. It just -- it really just depends on the permitting process because we do have really good inventory in the DJ Basin as well. And as we go forward and we work out the process, if we get ahead on the permitting, we would consider adding a rig or 2 to the DJ as well.

是的。它只是 - 它實際上僅取決於許可程序，因為我們在 DJ 盆地也確實有很好的庫存。隨著我們前進並製定流程，如果我們在許可方面取得進展，我們也會考慮為 DJ 添加一兩個裝備。

Our next question today comes from David Deckelbaum at Cowen.

我們今天的下一個問題來自 Cowen 的 David Deckelbaum。

Thanks for all the details today, Vicki and team, and congrats on the visibility to $20 billion of debt. I wanted to ask just on the sustaining capital. There were lots of in and out, particularly around the Gulf of Mexico and the EOR catch up, some normalization of Rockies DUCs.

感謝 Vicki 和團隊今天提供的所有細節，並祝賀 200 億美元債務的可見性。我想問的是維持資本。有很多進出，特別是在墨西哥灣和 EOR 追趕，落基山脈 DUC 的一些正常化。

I guess, when we think about that delta between the $2.8 billion or $2.9 billion that you guys had talked about last year, kind of in the $400 million increment this year, how do we think about that sustaining capital level progressing into the out years now? Does it have some upwards pressure on it because of catch ups? Or should we look at this as a catch-up year, and that should moderate, potentially decline, along with base declines moderating?

我想，當我們考慮到你們去年談到的 28 億美元或 29 億美元之間的差額，今年增加了 4 億美元時，我們如何看待現在持續的資本水平?由於追趕，它是否有一些向上的壓力？還是我們應該將其視為追趕年，並且應該會緩和，可能會下降，同時基數下降也會緩和？

Maybe we'll start with onshore and speak to that a little bit. I think you've got it right. I think if you look over the last couple of years and what's happened, certainly, 2020 had a significant reset for us in terms of activity levels. And so preserving cash investment at that point and really dropped activity levels almost completely.

也許我們會從陸上開始，稍微談談。我認為你做對了。我認為，如果您回顧過去幾年以及發生的事情，當然，就活動水平而言，2020 年對我們來說發生了重大變化。因此，當時保留了現金投資，實際上幾乎完全降低了活動水平。

And so coming on the back half and into 2021, we had things like the DUCs in the DJ that allowed us that ability to add production and maximize cash flow for 2021 with a lot less capital investment. And so what happened last year was really, as we think about the transition, it went from transitioning from DUCs as we restored activity, really to drilling and completion, which is a much more steady-state pipeline for our production delivery.

因此，在後半段進入 2021 年，我們有了 DJ 中的 DUC 之類的東西，這使我們能夠以更少的資本投資增加產量並最大化 2021 年的現金流。所以去年發生的事情真的是，當我們考慮過渡時，它從我們恢復活動時從 DUC 過渡到真正的鑽井和完井，這是我們生產交付的更加穩定的管道。

And so the way that played out was really, at the end of the fourth quarter, beginning of the first quarter, we were able to pick up our drilling in frac cores to sustain the production for this year, which did a couple of things.

所以結果是，在第四季度末，第一季度初，我們能夠開始在壓裂岩芯中鑽探以維持今年的生產，這做了幾件事。

One, it was good because as we head into inflationary period, we were able to gain activity and create that stability within our capital program. But what it does is it did create a bit of a lump that we have most of our wells online really starting late in the first quarter, and then you hit more steady state in the second and third quarter. And so as that projects into the end of the year and into 2023, you can tell from our first quarter guidance to total year, that we do have an increase of production.

一，這很好，因為當我們進入通貨膨脹時期時，我們能夠獲得活動並在我們的資本計劃中創造這種穩定性。但它的作用是它確實造成了一點麻煩，我們的大部分油井實際上是在第一季度末開始在線的，然後你在第二和第三季度達到了更穩定的狀態。因此，該項目將持續到年底和 2023 年，從我們的第一季度指導到全年，您可以看出我們的產量確實有所增加。

But those type events as well as restoring activity, really from a cash investment perspective and EOR, adding low-decline production barrels, really gives us a much more sustainable production level across the cycle. And so I think we're restoring, as you said, a much more normal steady-state activity level and a much more robust or sustainable free cash flow capability.

但從現金投資和 EOR 的角度來看，這些類型的事件以及恢復活動，增加了低下降的生產桶，確實為我們提供了整個週期內更加可持續的生產水平。所以我認為，正如你所說，我們正在恢復更正常的穩態活動水平和更強勁或可持續的自由現金流能力。

I think, considering the rest of the portfolio, we don't see a lot of upward pressure for the $3.2 billion as a whole.

我認為，考慮到投資組合的其餘部分，我們認為整體 32 億美元的上行壓力不大。

And David, just to add to your point, I mean, on top of what Richard and Vicki just went through, I mean, from a decline standpoint, as you know, we improved the base decline from 25% 2 years ago to 22% last year. And it's the same this year, it's at 22% as well. But given the things Richard said, that gives potential to flatten that out of it in the future.

大衛，為了補充你的觀點，我的意思是，除了理查德和維姬剛剛經歷的事情之外，我的意思是，從下降的角度來看，如你所知，我們將基數下降從 2 年前的 25% 提高到了 22%去年。今年也是一樣，也是22%。但鑑於理查德所說的，這有可能在未來將其平息。

I appreciate all the color on that. And if I could just ask a quick follow-up. Just the -- so I'm understanding, there was $400 million, I think, that was attributed to the difference to the low end versus the high end of capital guide, which I think you talked about Low Carbon Ventures spend that would be potential and OBO. I guess for the Low Carbon Ventures spend, would that just be accelerating some projects? Or is it the contingency for things that you're considering doing but aren't sure if you want to pursue at this point? I guess how do we think about that sort of allowance that's built in to the difference in the low and the high end?

我很欣賞它的所有顏色。如果我可以要求快速跟進。只是 - 所以我理解，有 4 億美元，我認為，這歸因於低端與高端資本指南的差異，我認為你談到了低碳風險投資的潛在支出和 OBO。我猜對於低碳風險投資的支出，這會加速一些項目嗎？或者是你正在考慮做的事情的偶然性，但不確定你是否想在這一點上追求？我想我們如何看待低端和高端差異中內置的那種津貼？

Yes. This is Richard again. I think you've got it right from the standpoint of really the LCV capital's certainly focused meaningfully on our direct air capture plant 1. So there is a project time line associated with that, where engineering is going great. The commercial aspects of the project continue to be supportive. And so there's a little bit of uncertainty there, but that component, we'll have more visibility and be able to talk more about even with you next month.

是的。這又是理查德。我認為你從 LCV 資本的角度來看是正確的，它肯定有意義地專注於我們的直接空氣捕獲工廠 1。所以有一個與之相關的項目時間表，工程進展順利。該項目的商業方面繼續提供支持。所以那裡有一點不確定性，但是那個部分，我們將有更多的可見性，甚至可以在下個月與你討論更多。

In addition to that, what's happened is really beyond strong engineering progress, we continue to have good commercial support, whether that's global policy recognition for carbon capture or even direct air capture in particular, or even with strategic net-zero businesses. And so these things support commerciality.

除此之外，所發生的事情確實超出了強大的工程進展，我們繼續獲得良好的商業支持，無論是對碳捕獲甚至直接空氣捕獲的全球政策認可，甚至是戰略性淨零業務。所以這些東西支持商業性。

And so what's happened is we do see additional opportunities for direct air capture. For example, we had an opportunity in Canada to look at, with a developer, direct air capture with air-to-fuels. And so a bit of that money is, as these projects become more opportunistic, we would allocate some feasibility capital to be able to look at these other type projects.

所以發生的事情是我們確實看到了直接空氣捕獲的更多機會。例如，我們在加拿大有機會與開發商一起研究使用空轉燃料進行直接空氣捕獲。所以有一點錢是，隨著這些項目變得更加機會主義，我們將分配一些可行性資金來研究這些其他類型的項目。

The final piece is really our CCUS. And you've probably seen some pieces around projects that we're involved with. And so those continue moving beyond into commercial development. And so we have some capital associated to continue those. But that, again, be able to share more in March around that, but look forward to these projects advancing meaningfully this year.

最後一塊真的是我們的CCUS。您可能已經看過我們參與的一些項目。因此，這些繼續超越商業發展。所以我們有一些相關的資本來繼續這些。但是，再次，能夠在 3 月份圍繞這一點分享更多信息，但期待這些項目在今年有意義地推進。

And ladies and gentlemen, our final question today comes from Raphaël DuBois with Societe General.

女士們先生們，我們今天的最後一個問題來自法國興業銀行的 Raphaël DuBois。

The first one is related to your EOR business. Could you maybe tell us a bit more how production in this division has trended since you stopped reporting it as a single entity? And also, I was wondering if the extra CapEx you will throw at this business is solely to stop decline, or whether you intend to restart growing this business as well.

第一個與您的 EOR 業務有關。您能否再告訴我們，自從您停止將其作為單一實體進行報告後，該部門的生產趨勢如何？而且，我想知道你將投入這項業務的額外資本支出是否僅僅是為了阻止衰退，或者你是否打算重新開始發展這項業務。

Maybe I'll start with the EOR just a little bit. As we think about the last couple of years, I'd say the opportunity in front of us really to address any decline that we've seen is really -- and this comes to our OpEx, when we talk about that, that's really restoration of maintenance and specifically downhole maintenance. And so the ability to allocate some of that cash investment to restore down production is some of the best cash investment we have. It's very high-return even at mid-cycle prices.

也許我會從 EOR 開始一點點。當我們考慮過去幾年時，我想說我們面前真正解決我們所看到的任何下降的機會真的是——這涉及到我們的運營支出，當我們談論這個時，這真的是恢復維護，特別是井下維護。因此，分配部分現金投資以恢復生產的能力是我們擁有的最佳現金投資之一。即使在周期中期的價格下，它的回報也非常高。

And so we expect to be able to -- and have added some well service rigs, to add up to 6,000 barrels a day by year-end. And that really restores the normal backlog and maintenance schedule that we had really going back to 2019. So that's the most meaningful change in terms of the EOR business that we're approaching this year.

因此，我們希望能夠 - 並且已經增加了一些鑽井平台，到年底每天增加 6,000 桶。這確實恢復了我們真正可以追溯到 2019 年的正常積壓和維護計劃。因此，就我們今年接近的 EOR 業務而言，這是最有意義的變化。

Excellent. And my follow-up will be actually on Algeria. I see that you're going to have some activity there in 2022. I was wondering if you could tell us a bit more what you have in store for the for this part of the world, knowing that we in Europe are going to need much more gas from other suppliers. And it will be great if you had some projects, some gas projects in Algeria, for instance.

優秀。我的後續行動實際上將是關於阿爾及利亞的。我知道您將在 2022 年在那裡進行一些活動。我想知道您是否可以告訴我們更多您為世界這個地區準備的東西，因為我們知道我們在歐洲將需要很多來自其他供應商的更多天然氣。如果你有一些項目，比如阿爾及利亞的一些天然氣項目，那就太好了。

It's Ken here. First of all, I'd say the operations team had a great year last year and achieved a 50,000 barrel a day milestone. On the contract side, we spent the time optimizing the future development plans that you're sort of alluding to. And we worked through the legal framework around the new hydrocarbon law, which is designed to encourage foreign investment in the country.

這裡是肯。首先，我想說運營團隊去年過得很好，達到了每天 50,000 桶的里程碑。在合同方面，我們花時間優化了您所暗示的未來發展計劃。我們圍繞新的碳氫化合物法制定了法律框架，該法旨在鼓勵外國投資。

This year, we'll drill 4 wells. There'll be 2 injectors, 2 producers. And we've now started negotiations with Sonatrach and we're in early stages. As a large American company with state-of-the-art shale capabilities. We think we have a lot to offer the country going forward. And hopefully, that helps in Europe also. And we'll keep you updated on our progress at the next call.

今年，我們將鑽4口井。將有 2 個注射器，2 個生產者。我們現在已經開始與 Sonatrach 進行談判，我們還處於早期階段。作為一家擁有最先進頁岩能力的大型美國公司。我們認為我們可以為這個國家提供很多未來。希望這對歐洲也有幫助。我們會在下一次電話會議上讓您了解我們的最新進展。

Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Vicki Hollub for any closing remarks.

謝謝你。女士們，先生們，我們的問答環節到此結束。我想把會議轉回給 Vicki Hollub 做任何閉幕詞。

Thank you all for your questions and for joining our call today.

感謝大家提出問題並今天加入我們的電話會議。

Thank you, ma'am. This concludes today's conference call. We thank you all for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines and have a wonderful day.

謝謝你，女士。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝大家出席今天的演講。您現在可以斷開線路並度過美好的一天。