西方石油 (OXY) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon and welcome to Occidental's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Jordan Tanner, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

下午好，歡迎參加西方石油 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，此事件正在被記錄。現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁喬丹坦納 (Jordan Tanner)。請繼續。

Thank you, Drew. Good afternoon, everyone and thank you for participating in Occidental's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. On the call with us today are Vicki Hollub, President and Chief Executive Officer; Sunil Mathew, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Richard Jackson, President Operations, U.S. Onshore Resources and Carbon Management, and Ken Dillon, Senior Vice President and President, International Oil and Gas Operations.

謝謝你，德魯。大家下午好，感謝您參加西方石油 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。今天與我們通話的有總裁兼執行長 Vicki Hollub； Sunil Mathew，資深副總裁兼財務長；美國陸上資源與碳管理營運總裁理查德·傑克遜 (Richard Jackson) 和高級副總裁兼國際石油和天然氣營運總裁肯·狄龍 (Ken Dillon)。

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. We'll also reference a few non-GAAP financial measures today. Reconciliations to the nearest corresponding GAAP measure can be found in the schedules to our earnings release and on our website.

今天下午，我們將參考我們網站投資者部分提供的幻燈片。簡報的第二張投影片中包含一份有關今天下午電話會議上將要發表的前瞻性陳述的警示聲明。今天我們也將參考一些非 GAAP 財務指標。您可以在我們的收益報告附表中以及我們的網站上找到與最接近的相應 GAAP 指標的對帳表。

I'll now turn the call over to Vicki.

現在我將電話轉給 Vicki。

Thank you, Jordan and good afternoon, everyone. I'm pleased to report on a strong start to 2024, driven by our persistent focus on operational execution. As we will detail in today's call, our Oil & Gas business delivered robust production results essentially offsetting an extended third-party outage, while our Midstream and OxyChem businesses outperformed our first quarter guidance.

謝謝你，喬丹，大家下午好。我很高興地向大家報告，在我們持續關注營運執行的推動下，2024 年取得了良好的開端。正如我們將在今天的電話會議上詳細介紹的那樣，我們的石油和天然氣業務實現了強勁的生產業績，基本上抵消了第三方停產的延長，而我們的中游和 OxyChem 業務表現超出了我們第一季度的預期。

Today, I'll start by discussing our first quarter performance, including highlighting our Delaware appraisal success and its contribution to Permian's development runway. Then I'll discuss what's on the horizon for Oxy and how these initiatives are expected to generate significant value for our shareholders.

今天，我首先要討論我們的第一季業績，包括強調我們在德拉瓦州的評估成功及其對二疊紀開發進程的貢獻。然後我將討論Oxy未來的發展前景以及這些舉措預計將如何為我們的股東創造重大價值。

Operational excellence is fundamental to everything we do at Oxy and our capabilities were evident during the first quarter as our teams generated over $2.4 billion in operating cash flow before working capital. Though the third-party outage in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico made it a challenging start to the year, our teams delivered excellent performance in all areas of our portfolio. We concluded the first quarter by approximating the midpoint of our production guidance and we restarted production from our Gulf of Mexico platforms affected by the outage in mid-April.

卓越營運是 Oxy 所做一切的基礎，我們的能力在第一季得到了充分證明，我們的團隊在營運資本前創造了超過 24 億美元的營運現金流。儘管墨西哥灣東部的第三方停產事件給今年帶來了挑戰，但我們的團隊在我們投資組合的所有領域都表現出色。我們在第一季結束時接近了生產預期的中點，並重啟了 4 月中旬受停產影響的墨西哥灣平台的生產。

Taking a closer look at our production results, the first quarter benefited from strong new well performance in the Permian Basin and the Rockies, overcoming the impact of winter weather early in the year. In the Permian, we exceeded the midpoint of our production guidance due in part to better-than-expected secondary bench performance in the Delaware Basin. Our Delaware teams are achieving impressive performance results by applying the same proprietary subsurface workflows that have generated remarkable success in our primary benches and applying that to secondary benches.

仔細觀察我們的生產結果，第一季受益於二疊紀盆地和落基山脈強勁的新井表現，克服了年初冬季天氣的影響。在二疊紀，我們的產量超出了預期，部分原因是特拉華盆地的二次台階表現優於預期。我們的特拉華州團隊透過應用相同的專有地下工作流程（這些工作流程在我們的主要台階上取得了顯著的成功）並將其應用於次要台階，取得了令人矚目的績效結果。

Through utilization of fit-for-purpose well design and reservoir characterization expertise, performance in our secondary benches is nearly matching Oxy's record-setting 2023 program average. Not only that, first year cumulative production from Oxy's 2023 secondary wells exceeds the Delaware industry average for all horizontal wells for the same period by more than 30%.

透過利用適合用途的井設計和油藏描述專業知識，我們二級台階的性能幾乎與 Oxy 創紀錄的 2023 年計劃平均水平相匹配。不僅如此，Oxy 2023 口二次採油井的第一年累計產量比特拉華州同期所有水平井的行業平均高出 30% 以上。

We are driving financial returns for our shareholders by improving our ability to high-grade our near-term inventory and by extending our runway of Tier 1 locations. Meanwhile, use of our existing infrastructure yields meaningful capital efficiencies. We expect these efficiency benefits to become more impactful as secondary benches become a more substantial part of our development program.

我們透過提高短期庫存的品質和延伸一級門市的覆蓋範圍，為股東帶來財務回報。同時，利用我們現有的基礎設施可以帶來顯著的資本效率。我們預計，隨著二級工作台成為我們開發計畫中更重要的組成部分，這些效率優勢將變得更具影響力。

Our Rockies assets outperformed the high-end of our first quarter production guidance, partly driven by strong new well performance in the DJ Basin, better production uptime, higher-than-expected outside operating volumes. And then internationally, we achieved record gross daily production in Oman North, driven by new well performance and production uptime.

我們的落基山脈資產表現超出了我們第一季生產預期的高位，部分原因是 DJ 盆地新井表現強勁、生產正常運行時間更長以及外部作業量高於預期。在國際上，由於新井性能和生產正常運行時間，我們在阿曼北部實現了創紀錄的日總產量。

Our teams continue to improve capital efficiency through a combination of innovative well design, exceptional execution, proactive supply chain, and management practices. In the DJ and Powder River Basins, our teams optimized casing and cementing plans, completion stage design, and proppant utilization. These fit-for-purpose well design enhancements resulted in tangible first quarter well cost reductions of between $700,000 and $1 million per well compared to the first half of last year.

我們的團隊透過結合創新的井設計、卓越的執行、積極主動的供應鏈和管理實踐不斷提高資本效率。在 DJ 和 Powder River 盆地，我們的團隊優化了套管和固井計劃、完井階段設計和支撐劑利用。這些適合用途的井設計改進使第一季的每口井成本與去年上半年相比顯著降低 70 萬至 100 萬美元。

We're also starting to see cost reduction progress in the Delaware Basin. Our continuous drive for improvement not only leads to innovations that increased operational efficiencies but in many instances, we're also able to reduce emissions and advanced progress toward our Net Zero goals. I'm proud of our teams' involvement in another oil and gas industry first - the deployment of a fully electric well service rig. Oxy and Axis Energy Services deployed the first of its kind rig into our Permian Basin operations. Expanding electrification is integral to Oxy's strategy because it increases operational efficiency, generates cost-savings, improves safety, and helps reduce our emissions.

我們也開始看到特拉華盆地的成本降低進展。我們不斷追求改進，不僅帶來了提高營運效率的創新，而且在許多情況下，我們還能夠減少排放並推動我們實現淨零目標。我為我們的團隊參與另一項石油和天然氣行業的首創——部署全電動井服務鑽機而感到自豪。 Oxy 和 Axis Energy Services 在我們的二疊紀盆地作業中部署了第一個此類鑽孔機。擴大電氣化是 Oxy 策略不可或缺的一部分，因為它可以提高營運效率、節省成本、提高安全性並有助於減少排放。

Our Midstream business significantly outperformed at the high end of our guidance for the first quarter. Outperformance was partly driven by gas marketing optimization across our portfolio where our teams captured value in regional pricing disparities. Warmer-than-expected weather, combined with various third-party midstream infrastructure maintenance resulted in disjointed prices in some regions. Midstream's first quarter performance demonstrates how our teams realized value from these pricing abnormalities by leveraging Oxy's rich market intelligence along with our product storage and transportation portfolio.

我們的中游業務第一季表現顯著超出預期。優異的表現部分得益於我們投資組合中的天然氣行銷優化，我們的團隊在區域價格差異中獲取了價值。天氣比預期溫暖，加上各種第三方中游基礎設施維護，導致部分地區價格混亂。 Midstream 第一季的業績表明，我們的團隊如何利用 Oxy 豐富的市場情報以及我們的產品儲存和運輸組合，從這些定價異常中實現價值。

Looking back over multiple quarters, our marketing teams have frequently demonstrated the ability to outperform, with our transportation optimization capabilities playing a major role. Over the longer term, we anticipate similar marketing opportunities, but we generally exclude those opportunities from our guidance because of the difficulty in predicting events occurrence. Not only does our Midstream business provide us with flow assurance for our marketed products, it also offers great diversification during periods of commodity price volatility as we saw in early 2024.

回顧過去多個季度，我們的行銷團隊經常表現出卓越的表現，其中我們的運輸優化能力發揮了重要作用。從長遠來看，我們預計會有類似的行銷機會，但由於難以預測事件的發生，我們通常會將這些機會排除在我們的指導之外。我們的中游業務不僅為我們所行銷的產品提供了流量保證，而且還在 2024 年初我們看到的商品價格波動期間提供了極大的多樣化。

Along with being one of the top performers for the products it manufactures, OxyChem is a consistent cash flow diversifier within our business, due in part to its renowned focus on operational efficiency. During the first quarter, OxyChem benefited from improved demand from our marketed products, including PVC and vinyl chloride as well as lower ethylene cost. This performance demonstrates how our diversified asset portfolio is well positioned to deliver financial results for our shareholders throughout the commodity cycle.

OxyChem 不僅是其所生產產品表現最優異的企業之一，也是業務範圍內持續的現金流多元化企業，部分原因在於其對營運效率的重視。第一季度，OxyChem 受益於我們市場產品（包括 PVC 和氯乙烯）需求的成長以及乙烯成本的下降。這一表現表明，我們的多元化資產組合能夠在整個商品週期內為股東帶來財務表現。

In prior calls, we have reiterated our drive to increase value for our investors on an absolute and per share basis through cash flow and earnings growth. Today, I'd like to provide an update on the specific projects that we mentioned in our last quarterly call. Some aspects of the OxyChem plant enhancement projects are complete but there is more to be done, including the Battleground project where the team held a groundbreaking ceremony on April 4, to kick off the site work. Employees, contractors, community partners, city leaders, and elected officials attended in support of the project. The completion of the OxyChem projects and reductions in crude oil and transportation rates from the Permian to the Gulf Coast are expected to deliver incremental cash flow of approximately $725 million per year.

在先前的電話會議中，我們重申了透過現金流和獲利成長為投資者增加絕對價值和每股價值的動力。今天，我想介紹一下我們在上次季度電話會議上提到的具體項目的最新進展。 OxyChem 工廠增強項目的部分工作已經完成，但還有更多工作要做，其中包括 Battleground 項目，團隊於 4 月 4 日舉行了奠基儀式，啟動現場工作。員工、承包商、社區合作夥伴、市領導和民選官員出席了會議，以支持該項目。 OxyChem 計畫的完成以及從二疊紀到墨西哥灣沿岸的原油和運輸費用的降低預計將帶來每年約 7.25 億美元的增量現金流。

In our Midstream business, we expect that our ownership stake in Western Midstream or WES, will also enhance our financial results. In February, WES announced an increase of over 50% to their distribution. Based on the current distribution, we anticipate that WES will contribute over $240 million of additional cash flow per year to Oxy. Additionally, we intend to increase free cash flow by repaying debt as it matures. Repayment of existing debt maturities through 2026 will result in approximately $180 million of annualized incremental cash flow from interest savings that can then be applied to further strengthen our balance sheet.

在我們的中游業務中，我們預計在西部中游（WES）的所有權股份也將提高我們的財務表現。今年 2 月，WES 宣布其分銷量增加了 50% 以上。根據目前的分佈，我們預計 WES 每年將為 Oxy 貢獻超過 2.4 億美元的額外現金流。此外，我們打算透過償還到期債務來增加自由現金流。到 2026 年償還現有債務將產生約 1.8 億美元的年度增量現金流，這些現金流來自利息節省，可以用來進一步加強我們的資產負債表。

Overall, we expect more than $1 billion of cash flow improvements that are independent of commodity cycles. That figure does not include our Oil & Gas business, which is also poised for continued financial success. As most of you know, at the end of last year, we entered into an agreement to strategically enhance our Midland Basin portfolio with the acquisition of CrownRock. The free cash flow accretion and portfolio high-grading to be enabled by the CrownRock acquisition are expected to provide the potential for equity appreciation and acceleration of our shareholder return priorities.

整體而言，我們預計現金流改善將超過 10 億美元，且不受商品週期的影響。該數字不包括我們的石油和天然氣業務，該業務也有望繼續財務成功。大家可能都知道，去年年底，我們達成了一項協議，透過收購 CrownRock 來策略性地增強我們的米德蘭盆地投資組合。 CrownRock 收購帶來的自由現金流成長和投資組合提升預計將為股權增值和加速我們的股東回報優先事項提供潛力。

In our Low Carbon Ventures businesses, we expect to generate cash flow detached from oil and gas price volatility and further strengthen Oxy's cash flow resiliency. Construction of our first direct air capture plant, STRATOS, is advancing on schedule, and during the first quarter, we were pleased to announce a multitude of carbon dioxide removal credit agreements with customers across a variety of sectors. Throughout Oxy's portfolio, we are focused on expanding resilient cash flow and enhancing shareholder value for decades to come.

在我們的低碳企業業務中，我們預期產生不受石油和天然氣價格波動影響的現金流，並進一步增強Oxy的現金流彈性。我們的第一座直接空氣捕獲工廠 STRATOS 的建設正在按計劃進行，在第一季度，我們很高興地宣布與各行業的客戶達成了多項二氧化碳去除信用協議。在Oxy的整個投資組合中，我們專注於擴大彈性現金流並提高未來幾十年的股東價值。

I will now hand the call over to Sunil, who will cover our financial results and guidance.

現在我將電話交給 Sunil，他將介紹我們的財務表現和指導。

Thank you, Vicki. In the first quarter of 2024, we generated an adjusted profit of $0.63 per diluted share and a reported profit of $0.75 per diluted share. The difference between adjusted and reported profit was primarily driven by our litigation settlement gain related to the Andes arbitration and gains on sales included in equity income, partially offset by derivative losses.

謝謝你，維姬。 2024 年第一季度，我們實現調整後每股攤薄利潤 0.63 美元，報告每股攤薄利潤 0.75 美元。調整後利潤與報告利潤之間的差異主要由於與安第斯仲裁相關的訴訟和解收益以及包含在股權收入中的銷售收益，部分被衍生性商品損失所抵銷。

We exited the first quarter with nearly $1.3 billion of unrestricted cash. We had a negative working capital change, which is typical for the first quarter and is largely due to semiannual interest payments on our debt, annual property tax payments, and payments under our compensation plans. During the first quarter, we delivered over $700 million of free cash flow before working capital despite third-party outage impacts to portions of our oily, high-margin production in the Gulf of Mexico. First quarter free cash flow was underpinned by outperformance in our onshore domestic portfolio and our Midstream and OxyChem segments.

第一季末，我們擁有近 13 億美元的非限制現金。我們的營運資本變動為負，這在第一季度很常見，主要是由於我們每半年支付一次債務利息、每年支付一次財產稅以及根據我們的薪資計劃支付的款項。第一季度，儘管第三方停產對我們在墨西哥灣的部分高利潤油品生產造成了影響，但我們仍實現了超過 7 億美元的營運資本前自由現金流。第一季的自由現金流得益於我們國內陸投資組合以及中游和 OxyChem 部門的優異表現。

Looking ahead to the second quarter, total company production is expected to increase to a range of 1.23 million to 1.27 million BOE per day compared to the first quarter annual low of 1.17 million BOE per day. The midpoint of second quarter production guidance will be the highest quarterly production in over three years. The production increase is mainly due to U.S. onshore activity levels, the completion of annual planned maintenance at Dolphin, and the return of production in mid-April from the Gulf of Mexico outage. Our second quarter Gulf of Mexico production guidance includes third-party outage impacts in April as well as planned maintenance in the Central Gulf of Mexico.

展望第二季度，預計公司總產量將從第一季的年度低點 117 萬桶油當量/天增至 123 萬至 127 萬桶油當量/天。第二季產量預期的中位數將是三年多來最高的季度產量。產量增加主要歸功於美國陸上活動水準、海豚油田年度計畫維護的完成以及 4 月中旬墨西哥灣停產後的生產恢復。我們對第二季墨西哥灣產量的預期包括四月份第三方停產的影響以及墨西哥灣中部的計畫維護。

Though we revised full year Gulf of Mexico production guidance down, as a result of the extended outage, it is fully offset by outperformance in the Rockies and we are maintaining our total company production guidance for the year. The modified production mix is expected to impact annual total company oil cut.

雖然我們下調了墨西哥灣全年產量預期，但由於停產時間延長，這完全被落基山脈的優異表現所抵消，我們仍維持全年公司總產量預期。修改後的生產結構預計將影響公司年度石油總產量。

We had a strong start to 2024 in our chemicals business and anticipate modest price improvements during the second quarter, combined with higher volumes as we exit the usual period of seasonal subdued demand. Though lower gas prices are unfavorable elsewhere in our portfolio, OxyChem benefits from reduced energy costs and our Midstream teams are well positioned to capitalize on the gas marketing opportunities that Vicki highlighted. Solid outperformance has enabled us to raise Midstream's full-year guidance range by $110 million.

我們的化學品業務在 2024 年取得了強勁開局，預計第二季度價格將適度上漲，同時隨著我們擺脫通常的季節性需求低迷期，銷量也將增加。儘管較低的天然氣價格對我們投資組合中的其他部分不利，但 OxyChem 受益於能源成本的降低，並且我們的中游團隊可以很好地利用 Vicki 強調的天然氣行銷機會。強勁的業績表現使我們能夠將 Midstream 的全年業績預期上調 1.1 億美元。

Oxy's first quarter performance demonstrates the benefits of our differentiated portfolio. Our diversified assets and distinguished operational capabilities offer our shareholders cash flow resiliency throughout the commodity cycle. In terms of capital spending, our first quarter results were in alignment with the 2024 business plan and the capital program that is weighted towards the first half of the year.

Oxy 第一季的表現證明了我們差異化投資組合的優勢。我們多元化的資產和卓越的營運能力為我們的股東在整個商品週期內提供了現金流彈性。在資本支出方面，我們的第一季業績與 2024 年業務計劃以及專注於上半年的資本計劃一致。

On the last earnings call, we stated that approximately 40% of Rockies capital for the year is associated with drilled and uncompleted wells, or DUCs, carried in from 2023. We intend to continue completing these wells and reduce DUC inventory through the first half of the year. Similarly, Permian capital is weighted towards the first half of the year due to working interest variability and the desire to high-grade rigs and increase utilization rates into the second half of the year. This U.S. onshore capital profile, combined with Battleground project ramp-up, is expected to result in second quarter being the highest quarterly capital for the year.

在上次財報電話會議上，我們表示，今年 Rockies 資本的約 40% 與 2023 年開始的鑽井和未完工井（DUC）有關。同樣，由於工作利益的變化以及對下半年鑽井平台升級和利用率提高的期望，二疊紀資本也集中在上半年。美國境內資本狀況加上 Battleground 專案的加速，預計將使第二季成為今年季度資本最高的季度。

I would like to close today by touching on the CrownRock acquisition. Our teams are working constructively with the FTC and we anticipate that the transaction will close in the third quarter of this year. As a reminder, Oxy will benefit from CrownRock's activity between the transaction's January 1, 2024, effective date and close, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.

今天最後，我想談談 CrownRock 收購案。我們的團隊正在與聯邦貿易委員會進行建設性合作，我們預計交易將於今年第三季完成。提醒一下，Oxy 將從 CrownRock 在交易 2024 年 1 月 1 日生效日至結束之間的活動中受益，但須遵守慣例購買價格調整。

Concurrent with the CrownRock acquisition, we announced a $4.5 billion to $6 billion divestiture program to be completed within 18 months of the transactions close. The high-quality assets within our portfolio have garnered much interest and our teams have commenced the early stages of the divestiture process. Sales proceeds will be applied to deleveraging until we reduce our principal debt to $15 billion or below.

在收購 CrownRock 的同時，我們宣布了一項 45 億至 60 億美元的資產剝離計劃，該計劃將在交易結束後 18 個月內完成。我們投資組合中的優質資產已引起廣泛關注，我們的團隊已開始資產剝離過程的早期階段。銷售收益將用於去槓桿，直到我們將本金債務減少到 150 億美元或以下。

The near-term cash flow enhancements that Vicki highlighted are expected to deliver significant free cash flow growth per diluted share for our common shareholders and to enable us to accelerate the achievement of our debt target. After our debt target is met, we intend to resume our share repurchase program and provide even greater value per common share. As we have discussed on today's call, we are well positioned to build on a strong first quarter of 2024 and deliver a differentiated long-term value proposition to our shareholders.

Vicki 強調的近期現金流增強預計將為我們的普通股股東帶來顯著的每股稀釋自由現金流成長，並使我們能夠加快實現債務目標。在達到我們的債務目標後，我們打算恢復我們的股票回購計劃，並為每股普通股提供更高的價值。正如我們在今天的電話會議上所討論的那樣，我們已做好準備，在 2024 年第一季度的基礎上再創佳績，並為我們的股東提供差異化的長期價值主張。

I will now turn the call back over to Vicki.

現在我將把電話轉回給 Vicki。

Thank you, Sunil. Before we move to Q&A, I want to tell you about a milestone our team celebrated last quarter. Oxy began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 3, 1964. On that day, our operations consisted of 252 oil and gas wells in 6 states. Today, we're an international energy, chemicals, and carbon management company with the best portfolio in our history. But I believe that Oxy's employees are a true differentiator. Their expertise and drive to outperform continue to stretch the limits of what is achievable in our industry. Our employees are hard at work executing our strategy through superior operations and best-in-class assets. Their efforts result in long-term shareholder value, and I look forward to showcasing more of their achievements on future calls.

謝謝你，蘇尼爾。在我們進入問答環節之前，我想告訴大家我們團隊上個季度慶祝的一個里程碑。 Oxy 公司於 1964 年 3 月 3 日在紐約證券交易所開始交易。今天，我們是一家國際能源、化學品和碳管理公司，擁有歷史上最好的投資組合。但我相信，Oxy 的員工才是真正的與眾不同之處。他們的專業知識和卓越的動力不斷突破我們產業所能達到的極限。我們的員工正努力透過卓越的營運和一流的資產來執行我們的策略。他們的努力為股東帶來了長期價值，我期待在未來的電話會議上展示更多他們的成就。

With that, we'll now open the call for questions.

現在，我們可以開始提問了。

And as a reminder, as Jordan mentioned, Richard Jackson and Ken Dillon are with us today for the Q&A session.

提醒一下，正如喬丹所提到的，理查傑克森和肯狄龍今天也與我們一起參加問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Roger Read with Wells Fargo.

（操作員指示）第一個問題來自富國銀行的羅傑‧里德 (Roger Read)。

Yes. Thank you and good afternoon. I'd like to -- if we could maybe just dig in a little bit more on the Permian outlook here, probably including the Rockies, maybe let's just call it the Lower 48. If we look at the CapEx and then we look at the forecast for the full year, I'm just a little curious why you didn't get a little more optimistic about total volumes? And I recognize that within the year-over-year changes, we're looking at a little more EOR, maybe a little less shale wells. And I was wondering if that's part of the difference we're seeing or maybe why we don't see production raised as well?

是的。謝謝您，下午好。我想——如果我們可以更深入地了解二疊紀盆地的前景，可能包括落基山脈，也許我們就把它稱為美國本土 48 個州。我認識到，在逐年的變化中，我們正在尋找更多的 EOR，也許更少的頁岩井。我想知道這是否是我們看到的差異的一部分，或者為什麼我們沒有看到產量增加？

Richard?

理查德？

Yes. Thanks, Roger. Appreciate the question. I mean clearly, very pleased with our first quarter results coming out of the -- both the Rockies and the Permian. Both had a beat on the quarter, with Permian looking good on several fronts. I'll focus there first. I guess, a couple of things just to kind of anchor the year on. As we think about going from first quarter to the second quarter, which Sunil mentioned, quite a big step up in terms of production but even looking at first half versus second half in the Permian, the implied increase is about 18,000 barrels a day first half to second half and we're doing that while reducing rigs 4 -- in the Permian.

是的。謝謝，羅傑。我很感謝你提出這個問題。我的意思顯然是，我們對落基山脈和二疊紀盆地第一季的業績感到非常滿意。兩家公司本季都取得了良好的業績，其中 Permian 公司在多個方面表現良好。我會先集中精力在那裡。我想，有幾件事可以作為這一年的定點。正如 Sunil 所提到的，從第一季到第二季度，產量有了很大的提高，但即使對比二疊紀盆地上半年和下半年，隱含的增幅也約為每天 18,000 桶，而我們這樣做的同時，還減少了二疊紀盆地的 4 個鑽井平台。

So we're getting more with less in terms of how we think about activity. Some of that plays through on the capital, as you mentioned, as we're a bit front-load heavy, both on rigs but also facilities as we're front-loading the facilities in the first half of the year to take on that production increase starting next quarter.

因此，從我們如何看待活動的角度來看，我們可以用更少的資源獲得更多的資源。正如您所說，其中一些因素會影響到資本，因為我們前期投入的資金有點太多，既包括鑽機，也包括設施，因為我們在上半年前期投入了設施，以應對下個季度開始的產量增長。

The good news is things are performing well. And so when you look at the year and you think about the trajectory we're going on with things that are meaningful to our business, we highlight the new well production, not only the primary zones, which we've highlighted over the last couple of years but now, especially this quarter, we really wanted to highlight the success of the secondary benches that play a meaningful role in our portfolio for the year.

好消息是事情進展順利。因此，當您回顧這一年並思考我們前進的軌跡時，我們會關注那些對我們的業務有意義的事情，我們會強調新​​井的產量，而不僅僅是過去幾年我們一直強調的主要區域，但現在，特別是本季度，我們真正想強調的次要層級的成功，這些層級在我們全年的投資組合中發揮著重要作用。

The other thing that we don't talk enough about is base decline. And so, if you look at our Permian resources this year, we're improving. Our base declined from last year about 4% to 5%. That's around 15,000 barrels a day. And so that's really come through not only better wells but a lot better operations. Our uptime is improving 1% to 2% in places like the Delaware. And so, I think, as we thought about full year guidance, we certainly appreciated the results in the first quarter, but we wanted to see how this plays out over this steep production increase over the next couple of quarters, but look forward to updating our milestones and progress through that.

另一件我們討論不夠多的事情是基數下降。所以，如果你看看我們今年的二疊紀資源，你會發現我們正在進步。我們的基數比去年下降了約 4% 至 5%。這相當於每天約 15,000 桶。因此，這不僅帶來了更好的油井，也帶來了更好的操作。在德拉瓦州等地，我們的正常運作時間提高了 1% 到 2%。因此，我認為，當我們考慮全年指引時，我們當然對第一季的業績表示讚賞，但我們希望看看這在未來幾季的大幅生產成長中如何發揮作用，但我們期待更新我們的里程碑和進展。

The last thing I would just say is, behind that, as you think about capital, we are seeing capital efficiency. So we highlighted some of the well cost improvements, both in the Rockies and the Permian. I'm very pleased with our team's progress there. That's being done through strong approaches with our service companies but also through well design changes, which we noted. And so as we put that together, we look at this total year production versus capital, our capital intensity this year has improved over last year, which is the goal. So what we're spending, dollars, millions of dollars per production added -- has improved year-on-year and we'll stay focused on that. So look forward to more updates as we go through this year to kind of help put that piece together for our total year outlook.

我最後要說的是，在這背後，當你考慮資本時，我們看到的是資本效率。因此，我們重點介紹了落基山脈和二疊紀盆地的一些油井成本改進。我對我們團隊在那裡取得的進展感到非常高興。我們注意到，這是我們透過與服務公司採取強有力的措施以及良好的設計變更來實現的。因此，當我們把這些放在一起時，我們會發現今年的總產量與資本相比，我們的資本密集度比去年有所提高，這是我們的目標。因此，我們為每部新增作品所花費的資金，以百萬美元計，逐年增加，我們將繼續專注於此。因此，我們期待在今年看到更多更新，以幫助我們總結全年展望。

Okay, appreciate that. I guess the other question I had just -- you talked about it on the intro there, Vicki but the performance of the Midstream. How much of that is something that we ought to think about as we're going to go forward over the next 1.5 years, 2 years? We'll have another period where we're probably constrained on being able to move oil and gas out of the basin just maybe a way to think about other opportunities coming forward for you all to capture a little bit better?

好的，非常感謝。我想我剛才還有另一個問題——Vicki，你在介紹中談到了這一點，但關於 Midstream 的表現。在未來的一年半到兩年裡，我們應該考慮多少這樣的問題？我們可能還會再經歷一個時期，在將石油和天然氣從盆地中運出方面受到限制，這或許只是一種思考未來其他機會的方式，讓大家能夠更好地把握？

Well, for us, it's not really -- we don't have an issue moving oil or gas out of the Permian Basin. And in fact, some of the things, the positive impacts for our Midstream performance are due to the fact that, from a gas perspective, we have capacity elsewhere so that we can move molecules around too and trade molecules. And we have ways to get gas to California and to other markets. So from a gas marketing perspective, we're in really good shape and take away capacity in good shape there.

嗯，對我們來說，事實並非如此——我們沒有遇到將石油或天然氣從二疊紀盆地運出的問題。事實上，一些事情對我們的中游表現產生了積極影響，這是因為從天然氣的角度來看，我們在其他地方擁有產能，因此我們也可以移動分子並進行分子貿易。我們有辦法將天然氣輸送到加州和其他市場。因此，從天然氣行銷的角度來看，我們的狀況非常好，並且在那裡的產能也很好。

Oil, we're also in good shape. We have overcapacity now to get barrels out of the Permian. So when we talk about fluctuations in the Midstream business with respect to crude marketing, normally that -- some of that's associated with picking up the third-party barrels that are associated with the capacity that we need to fill with incremental barrels above and beyond our current production. So that's the volatility mostly in the Midstream business, that, along with the gas marketing, does cause volatility.

石油方面，我們的狀況也很好。目前，我們從二疊紀盆地開採石油的產能過剩。因此，當我們談論中游業務在原油行銷方面的波動時，通常其中一些波動與收購第三方原油桶有關，而這些原油桶與我們需要在當前產量之外增加增量原油桶的產能有關。因此，波動主要出現在中游業務中，再加上天然氣行銷，確實會造成波動。

But normally, that volatility is to the upside for us because of the fact that, as I just mentioned, we have the capability to move things around and to take advantage of situations that -- where others are disadvantaged. So, while with Waha and the situation that it's in now, our upstream realizations are lower, but our Midstream business is able to capture opportunity to offset that.

但通常情況下，這種波動對我們來說是有利的，因為正如我剛才提到的，我們有能力改變事態，並利用別人處於不利地位的情況。因此，雖然對於 Waha 及其現在的情況而言，我們的上游實現金額較低，但我們的中游業務能夠抓住機會來彌補這一缺陷。

The next question comes from Paul Cheng with Scotiabank.

下一個問題來自豐業銀行的 Paul Cheng。

Vicki, or maybe, this is for Rich, in Delaware you were talking about the secondary benches - I think there's the Bone Spring. Is it -- why spread to for your entire operation or specifically in certain counties? Is there any kind of characteristic that you can see in terms of the pattern that will lead to these really strong performing wells from those benches for that -- those area? So, we're trying to understand that, I mean how important it is to your overall operation or your overall inventory level?

Vicki，或者也許，這是給 Rich 的，在特拉華州，你談論的是次要長凳 - 我認為那裡是 Bone Spring。是嗎——為什麼要擴展到整個行動或專門擴展到某些特定的縣？就模式而言，您是否能看出有什麼特徵，可以讓這些地區的這些油井表現出色？所以，我們試圖了解這一點，我的意思是它對您的整體營運或整體庫存水準有多重要？

And secondly, that your DJ has been performing really well, has been, I think, beating your own guidance for a number of quarters actually, I mean, at least for, say, seven or eight quarters already. So from that standpoint, is your current estimate maybe a little bit conservative that for the remaining of the year in the DJ? And also that, I mean, what are the primary reasons for the outperformance there?

其次，您的 DJ 表現確實非常好，我認為實際上已經在多個季度中超出了您自己的預期，我的意思是，至少已經有七八個季度了。那麼從這個角度來看，您目前對今年剩餘時間 DJ 的估計是否有些保守？而且，我的意思是，那裡表現優異的主要原因是什麼？

Yes. Thanks, Paul. I'll start in the Permian and get to the Rockies. I think what -- the way we describe sort of our approach to primary benches and then it's turned into our secondary benches is really unique by area. And so we spend a lot of time and we've talked about it in the past, really focused on the subsurface aspects, both from a geologic perspective and then as you think about it over time, from a reservoir perspective. And so, I think as we've continued to delineate and be more broad in terms of the zones that we put together in areas, we focus on how do we put these wells in space together in the subsurface to optimize that recovery.

是的。謝謝，保羅。我將從二疊紀開始，到達洛磯山脈。我認為——我們描述對主要長凳的處理方式以及將其轉變為我們的次要長凳的方式在各個地區確實是獨一無二的。因此，我們花了很多時間，我們過去也討論過這個問題，真正關注的是地下方面，既從地質角度，然後隨著時間的推移，從油藏角度進行思考。因此，我認為，隨著我們繼續劃分區域並使其更加廣泛，我們將重點關注如何將這些井在地下空間中組合在一起以優化採油效果。

And, of course, your stimulation design and these other factors play an important role. So, I don't think it's unique by area. I think it's the same approach that we've delivered in terms of the Midland Basin with the success we've had in the Barnett, what we're doing in the Delaware Basin, whether it's upper Bone Springs or deeper Wolfcamp, and I think, as we think about the Rockies - the same sort of approach there. In terms of the Rockies, they've had great performance over the last really year plus. And a lot of that started with the subsurface approach where we really spent time thinking about how do we approach lateral length spacing, stimulation intensity, and I think a lot of the early gains we were seeing there. I think what we're seeing today is a lot more operational. We talk about how do we draw these wells down. So early time flow back and then longer-term. And what we're seeing is really improvements in both.

當然，您的刺激設計和其他因素也發揮著重要作用。所以，我認為它並不是某個地區所獨有的。我認為我們在米德蘭盆地採取的方法與我們在巴奈特取得的成功是一樣的，我們在特拉華盆地的做法也是一樣的，無論是上游的博恩斯普林斯還是更深的沃爾夫坎普。就落磯隊而言，他們在過去一年多的時間裡表現出色。其中很多都是從地下方法開始的，我們花了很多時間思考如何處理橫向長度間隔、刺激強度，我認為我們在那裡看到的許多早期成果。我認為我們今天看到的更具操作性。我們討論如何將這些井挖下去。因此，早期的時間流回，然後是長期的時間流回。我們看到的是兩方面都有了真正的改善。

So in the early time performance, it's really having the facilities and the emissions handling to do that, not only at a correct rate but to handle the emissions. And then long term, we've talked about the base recovery with things like our plunger lift assist, kind of AI. And so these types of things are really what delivered the overperformance. I wish I could say it was conservative. I just think they've improved so much.

因此，在早期性能中，確實需要有設施和排放處理來實現這一點，不僅要以正確的速率，而且要處理排放。從長遠來看，我們討論了使用諸如柱塞升力輔助、人工智慧等技術進行基礎恢復的問題。所以這些事情才是真正帶來優異表現的原因。我希望我能說它是保守的。我只是認為他們已經進步很多了。

When you're improving better than 20% year-on-year, that's sometimes tough to outlook. But I think they've gotten more mature in terms of some of these advancements over the last year and I think we've done a lot better job sort of narrowing the uncertainty of those outlooks. But all the teams are still on the hook to outperform this year. We're optimistic, like I answered earlier, in terms of what we're doing in the Permian as well. So I appreciate the question and hopefully, that helps.

當你的年增長率超過 20% 時，有時很難預測未來。但我認為，在過去的一年裡，他們在一些進步方面已經變得更加成熟，我認為我們在縮小這些前景的不確定性方面做得更好了。但今年所有球隊仍需努力取得優異成績。正如我之前回答的那樣，我們對我們在二疊紀盆地所做的事情也持樂觀態度。我很感謝這個問題，希望它能有所幫助。

The next question comes from Neil Mehta with Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題來自高盛的 Neil Mehta。

My first question is just around noncore asset sales, recognizing we still have some time before the deal closes. But, I would imagine you continue to have conversations around the divestments. And so, just curious what your perspective is on the market right now and your confidence in the achievability of up to the $6 billion of non-core asset sales that many have anchored to?

我的第一個問題是關於非核心資產出售，我知道在交易完成之前我們還有一些時間。但我想你們會繼續討論撤資問題。所以，我只是好奇您對現在的市場有何看法，以及您對實現許多人所依賴的高達 60 億美元的非核心資產銷售的信心如何？

Yes. It's -- there's a lot of incoming interest. Once we announced that we were going to divest between $4.5 billion and $6 billion, Sunil started getting a lot of phone calls and letters. And so the interest is there and it's very high interest. And what we're hoping and expecting is that, that high level of interest translates into appropriate levels of offers for the things that we might consider selling. But it all comes down to valuation and that's going to make the difference for us because we do have options and as you know, lots of acreage. So we're going to make the best value decision that we can. But we don't see that there would be any impediments barring something that we haven't foreseen that would cause us to have issues with our divestitures.

是的。這是——有很多人對此感興趣。當我們宣布要撤資 45 億至 60 億美元時，蘇尼爾就開始接到大量電話和信件。所以人們對此感興趣，而且興趣非常大。我們希望並期待的是，這種高水準的興趣能夠轉化為對我們可能考慮出售的物品的適當水平的報價。但一切都歸結為估值，這對我們來說至關重要，因為我們確實有選擇，而且如你所知，還有很多土地。因此我們將盡我們所能做出最有價值的決策。但我們認為，除了一些我們未能預見的、會導致我們的資產剝離出現問題的障礙之外，不會有任何障礙。

And the follow-up is just your perspective on -- sorry, please Sunil.

後續只是你對——抱歉，請 Sunil 發表你的看法。

Yes. What we were going to do is just for those that haven't heard, Sunil is going to go through the kind of what we think about with respect to divestitures, just to give those who might be listening get an idea of what we're looking at.

是的。我們要做的只是，對於那些還沒有聽說過的人，蘇尼爾 (Sunil) 將介紹我們對資產剝離的看法，只是為了讓那些可能正在傾聽的人了解我們正在考慮的事情。

Yes. So as we have said previously, we are evaluating our portfolio, the high-graded portfolio and identifying what are the assets that do not fit in our development plan -- in our near-term development plan but that could be attractive to other companies. So what is the strategic fit of that asset in this high-graded portfolio? And like Vicki mentioned, what is the value that we can get? And can we potentially accelerate the value by monetizing this asset? So, like Vicki said, we're getting a lot of inbounds even before the announcement and a lot more after the announcement, but this is the criteria that we're using to evaluate, is this an asset that we want to potentially monetize?

是的。正如我們之前所說的，我們正在評估我們的投資組合，高評級投資組合，並確定哪些資產不符合我們的發展計劃——在我們的近期發展計劃中，但可能對其他公司具有吸引力。那麼該資產在這個高評級投資組合中的策略契合度是什麼？正如 Vicki 所提到的，我們能獲得什麼價值？我們能否透過將該資產貨幣化來加速其價值？所以，就像 Vicki 所說的那樣，我們在公告發布之前就已經收到了很多信息，在公告發布之後收到的信息則更多，但這是我們用來評估的標準，這是我們想要潛在貨幣化的資產嗎？

And going back to your question about $4.5 billion to $6 billion, yes, we are fully committed to achieving the target within 18 months of closing. And between the proceeds from asset sales and organic cash flow, we want to get to the $15 billion of principal debt that we have outlined.

回到你關於 45 億至 60 億美元的問題，是的，我們完全致力於在交易完成後的 18 個月內實現這一目標。透過資產出售所得和有機現金流，我們希望獲得我們已經列出的 150 億美元的本金債務。

That's great perspective. And then the follow-up is just on Battleground. I'd just love your perspective on both the chlorine and caustic soda markets. And how do you think about the outlook there? And once the expansion comes online, do you think that changes the supply-demand dynamics for any of these products?

這是非常棒的觀點。然後後續就是戰場。我很想聽聽您對氯和苛性鈉市場的看法。您認為那裡的前景如何？一旦擴張開始，您認為這會改變這些產品的供需動態嗎？

Just to go back and look at what OxyChem has been able to do in the last few years. When we think about pricing of PVC and caustic soda this year, we've just come out of an incredible super cycle where, in 2022, we achieved our highest annual earnings ever, our second best earnings in 2021, and our third best in 2023. Now that we're into 2024, prices don't seem to be quite at the bottom. And as we were going through the first quarter, we started to see some strengthening and -- of caustic soda and PVC a little bit. But the reality is that inflation in the United States, along with very weak demand out of China because they're basically overbuilt right now in both commercial and residential housing and buildings, so we don't see China demand getting better anytime soon. But we do believe that beyond this year, getting past our inflationary environment that once there's some certainty around some reduction in inflation.

回顧一下 OxyChem 在過去幾年中所取得的成就。當我們考慮今年 PVC 和燒鹼的定價時，我們剛剛走出了一個令人難以置信的超級週期，在 2022 年，我們實現了有史以來最高的年度收益，在 2021 年實現了第二好的收益，在 2023 年實現了第三好的收益。在第一季度，我們開始看到燒鹼和聚氯乙烯的價格有所走強。但現實情況是，美國存在通貨膨脹，加上中國需求疲軟（因為目前中國的商業和住宅建築基本上都過度建設），所以我們認為中國的需求不會很快好轉。但我們確實相信，今年以後，通膨環境一旦擺脫，通膨就會有一定的下降。

We think the housing market is already primed for growth again. And so if we could get to an inflation level that is conducive for that, we'll certainly see -- start seeing recovery in prices here in the United States. The international market, and we do export, so the international market impacts us. And so we'll continue to see some pricing challenges in that market. But ultimately, getting beyond this year and the next 18 months, I do believe that driven by India and other places that we'll see growth in demand again and that we'll start seeing prices going back up. So we're feeling like we're probably at a bottom right now.

我們認為房地產市場已經準備好再次成長。因此，如果我們能夠達到有利於實現這一目標的通膨水平，我們肯定會看到——美國的價格開始復甦。國際市場，我們確實出口，所以國際市場對我們有影響。因此，我們將繼續看到該市場面臨的一些定價挑戰。但最終，在今年和未來的 18 個月裡，我相信在印度和其他地方的推動下，我們將再次看到需求成長，價格也將開始回升。所以我們感覺現在可能已經處於谷底。

The next question comes from John Royall with JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的 John Royall。

So just thinking about the $400 million from midstream contract roll-offs. How much of the better terms baked into those numbers are you modeling that's locked in today versus what you're just kind of expecting? And to the extent (inaudible), what's your level of confidence in terms of going the other way as we get closer to the roll-offs?

所以只考慮來自中游合約延期的 4 億美元。與您預期的相比，您在模型中模擬的這些數字中包含了多少更好的條件？並且在某種程度上（聽不清楚），當我們越來越接近下線時，您對採取另一種方式的信心程度如何？

I'm sorry, could you repeat that question a little bit. We had some disturbance.

抱歉，您能再重複這個問題嗎？我們遇到了一些幹擾。

Mr. Royall, could you pick up, if you're on a speaker phone, pick up the handset by any chance?

羅亞爾先生，如果您使用的是免持電話，請拿起聽筒，好嗎？

Is this better? Can you hear me now?

這樣好些了嗎？現在你能聽到我的聲音嗎？

I think that is better. Go ahead Sir, please repeat your question.

我認為這樣更好。先生，請重複一下您的問題。

Okay, apologies for that, Vicki. So just thinking about the $400 million from midstream contract roll-offs. How much of the better terms baked into those numbers if locked in today versus kind of what you're expecting? And what's your level of confidence that, to the extent if not locked in, that it might not go the other way before you have to renegotiate?

好的，Vicki，我很抱歉。所以只考慮來自中游合約延期的 4 億美元。如果今天鎖定這些數字，那麼與您的預期相比，這些數字中包含的更好條款有多少？而且，如果沒有鎖定，在重新談判之前，事情可能不會朝著另一個方向發展，對此您有多大信心？

I have high confidence that we'll achieve the $400 million and some of that we're already seeing today. And I do believe that we wouldn't, trust me, we wouldn't say it if we weren't pretty confident that we'll get it.

我非常有信心我們將實現 4 億美元的目標，而我們今天已經看到了其中的一部分。我確實相信，如果我們對實現這一目標沒有足夠的信心，我們就不會這麼說。

And John, it's this confidence that actually helped us increase our cash flow -- incremental cash flow from $350 million to $400 million.

約翰，正是這種信心實際上幫助我們增加了現金流——增量現金流從 3.5 億美元增加到 4 億美元。

Yes.

是的。

Fair enough. And then apologies if I missed anything on this but I was hoping you could get into the 2Q OpEx guide a little bit, which is somewhat flattish with 1Q despite higher production with the GoM back up. So it looks like a numerator issue and not a denominator issue. Just maybe any color there on the OpEx guide.

很公平。如果我遺漏了任何內容，那麼我很抱歉，但我希望您能夠稍微了解一下第二季度的營運支出指南，儘管墨西哥政府的產量有所增加，但第二季度的營運支出指南與第一季相比略顯持平。因此，它看起來像是分子問題，而不是分母問題。也許是 OpEx 指南上的任何顏色。

I think the OpEx guide was driven mostly by the impact of the Gulf of Mexico production and the production coming back on. It's -- I don't see any differential there. Do you?

我認為營運支出指南主要受到墨西哥灣生產和生產恢復的影響。是的——我沒有發現那裡有任何差異。你？

No, I think that's right. That's -- yes, we're seeing improvement with Gulf of Mexico production coming back. But again, like I mentioned in my prepared remarks, the second quarter does include some impact from the pipeline outage and we also have a planned shutdown in Central Gulf of Mexico. So by the time you get to the third and fourth quarter, you should see an improvement in the operating cost.

不，我認為是這樣。是的，我們看到墨西哥灣產量正在回升。但是，就像我在準備好的發言中提到的那樣，第二季度確實受到了管道中斷的一些影響，我們還計劃關閉墨西哥灣中部的管道。因此，到第三季和第四季時，您應該會看到營運成本有所改善。

Yes, John, just to add to that trajectory. Q1 actuals were at $10.31 for U.S. LOE and we're outlooking $10.10 in the second quarter.

是的，約翰，只是為了補充這個軌跡。美國第一季的實際 LOE 為 10.31 美元，我們預計第二季為 10.10 美元。

The next question comes from Neal Dingmann with Truist.

下一個問題來自 Truist 的 Neal Dingmann。

I think my question is on the -- your Permian D&C plans, particularly around Slide 24. I like what you're showing there. You all suggest, I guess, running about 21 rigs this year on average. This is kind of something you talked about after running -- I think it shows what -- is it 24 in the first quarter? And I'm just wondering trying to get a sense of the cadence, would it just be a sort of typical ramp down. And I'm also wondering if your operational efficiencies continue to be as good as they've been, would you let some rigs go and continue kind of with that production plan? Or would you maybe just ultimately end up producing more?

我想我的問題是關於——您的 Permian D&C 計劃，特別是幻燈片 24 左右。我想，大家建議今年平均運行大約 21 個鑽孔機。這是你在跑步之後談到的事情——我認為它表明了什麼——第一節的比分是 24 嗎？我只是想知道這種節奏是否是典型的下降趨勢。而且我還想知道，如果您的營運效率繼續保持一如既往的好，您是否會放棄一些鑽孔機並繼續執行該生產計劃？或者你最終可能會生產更多？

Yes. Perfect. Yes, I appreciate the question. Like I mentioned earlier, the plan is to ramp down just sequentially kind of as we go into the second half of the year. And really, that's been the plan since we poured it and came out. So, we are seeing good operational efficiencies. I'd say time-to-market really in every area is slightly improved. So we'll consider that as we go into the year to just kind of understand how that may accelerate any capital and how we want to respond to that.

是的。完美的。是的，我很感謝你提出這個問題。正如我之前提到的，計劃是在進入下半年時逐步減少產量。事實上，自從我們推出這款產品以來，這一直都是計劃好的。因此，我們看到了良好的營運效率。我想說的是，每個領域的上市時間確實都略有改善。因此，我們將在進入新的一年時考慮這一點，以了解這將如何加速資本增長以及我們希望如何應對。

I would say one thing that has played out well, we noted these cost improvements, and a couple of things to note. Beyond just operational efficiencies, we are seeing some good outcomes as we work with our service providers like frac. And so we've been able to, kind of as we relook and hit that more levelized wise, let's say, balance in activity in the second half of the year, our utilization is going up about 10% on our frac core. So that's more pumping hours per year and that's both good for us but also good for our frac providers in terms of how they manage their business.

我想說的一件好事是，我們注意到了這些成本的改善，還有幾件事要注意。除了營運效率之外，我們在與 frac 等服務提供者合作時也看到了一些良好的成果。因此，當我們重新審視並達到更平衡的狀態時，比如說，在下半年實現活動平衡，我們的壓裂核心的利用率將上升約 10％。這樣每年的抽水時間就更多了，這不僅對我們有利，而且對我們的壓裂供應商的業務管理也有利。

And so those types of things are delivering these savings, which we think will pace well even with some acceleration in our operational efficiencies. So, as the cadence goes this year, we're heavy on D&C to start the year and facilities as well, like I mentioned. And really in that back half of the year, you'll see that capital drop, and you'll see the production increase. And so looking forward to that. And then that should set us up at a much more level-loaded and optimized pace going into 2025. And so obviously, we'll have options depending on where Vicki wants to take us with our capital program but that's sort of the thinking going into this year and into next.

因此，這些事情正在帶來這些節省，我們認為，即使我們的營運效率有所加快，這也會進展順利。因此，正如我所提到的，隨著今年節奏的加快，我們在年初將重點放在 D&C 以及設施上。實際上，在今年下半年，你會看到資本下降，而產量增加。我非常期待這一點。然後，這將使我們在進入 2025 年時處於更加平衡和優化的步伐。

That's what I was looking for, Richard. And then Richard, quick follow-up on the Permian for my second. How do you view the typical these days, you're doing great on both but your typical Delaware versus Midland well economics? Why I ask is, just looking at the curves you all show on Slides 25 and 29, which is again, I think you're towards the top. I think you're showing around 450,000 BOE in the Del after a year versus around 250,000 BOE in the Midland, which again, knowing that they're cheaper wells, just wondering maybe in broad strokes, how you think about the difference in the economics?

這正是我要找的，理查。然後是理查德，這是我第二次快速跟進二疊紀。您如何看待如今的典型情況，您在兩方面都做得很好，但是您典型的特拉華州與米德蘭的經濟狀況如何？我之所以問這個問題，是因為只要看一下你們在第 25 張和第 29 張幻燈片上展示的曲線，我就會發現你們已經處於頂部了。我認為一年後 Del 地區的產量約為 450,000 桶油當量，而 Midland 地區的產量約為 250,000 桶油當量，同樣，我們知道這些油井更便宜，我只是想知道，從廣義上講，您如何看待經濟方面的差異？

Yes. I mean, you're saying it right. I mean, I think -- and it's the same way we think about these primary and secondary benches, even in the Delaware, the cost matters. And it's not only the drilling and completion costs, you can look at a little bit shallower, a little bit different drilling in the Midland Basin leading to lower drilling and completion costs. Same for the secondary benches in the Delaware to get a little shallower into the Bone Springs, they're cheaper. And so it's certainly, you see it play through on the D&C. But the way the team's put together their development areas, they think about the impacts on facility costs. So one of the examples, I know we had reviewed here recently, we had some shallower Bone Spring wells that came on, I think, about 3 years after we drilled the Wolfcamp wells. And the returns for those secondary wells, even with lower production, was about double the primary. And that was because we were able to reutilize these production facilities.

是的。我的意思是，你說得對。我的意思是，我認為——我們對這些主要和次要席位的看法是一樣的，即使在特拉華州，成本也很重要。這不僅僅是鑽井和完井成本，你可以看到米德蘭盆地的鑽井稍微淺一點，有點不同，從而降低了鑽井和完井成本。德拉瓦州的次級階梯式水道也是一樣，可以稍微淺一點地進入 Bone Springs，而且更便宜。因此您當然可以在 D&C 上看到它的發揮。但是，團隊在整合其開發領域的方式時，會考慮對設施成本的影響。其中一個例子是，我知道我們最近在這裡回顧過，我們有一些較淺的 Bone Spring 井，我想，這些井是在我們鑽探 Wolfcamp 井大約三年後出現的。即使產量較低，這些二次採油井的收益也大約是一次採油井的兩倍。這是因為我們能夠重新利用這些生產設施。

And so that timing of how you put that production together can make a tremendous impact on the improvement of the economics. And so as you think about it in basins, we do the same thing. The advantages of being more balanced in the Midland Basin allows us to optimize all these facility costs, maintenance costs, all these things to make sure we're getting the most production per dollar spent, not just capital but even OpEx. So, appreciate the question and that's absolutely how we look at balancing the capital, looking for that full cycle return forward.

因此，生產時間的安排可以對經濟的改善產生巨大的影響。所以當你在盆地中思考時，我們會做同樣的事情。米德蘭盆地更平衡的優勢使我們能夠優化所有設施成本、維護成本等，以確保我們每花費一美元就能獲得最高的產量，不僅是資本，甚至是營運支出。因此，感謝您的提問，這絕對是我們如何看待平衡資本，尋求完整的週期回報。

The next question comes from Scott Gruber with Citigroup.

下一個問題來自花旗集團的史考特·格魯伯。

Staying on the topic of the Permian. Can you provide some color on what's included in the Permian unconventional inventory count when it comes to the secondary benches in the Bone Springs? And why does your success potentially push the inventory count higher?

繼續討論二疊紀的話題。當涉及 Bone Springs 的次級台階時，您能否提供一些關於二疊紀非常規庫存數量的詳細資訊？為什麼你的成功有可能推高庫存數量？

Yes. I'll just, maybe give you some perspective on how we're thinking about our inventory in general in terms of how that's going and I can address some of the Bone Spring. So the last couple of years, we've been able to more than replace the wells drilled with improvements in inventory, which come in two buckets. One is appraisal activity, which I'll give you a little color on in terms of Bone Spring to your question, but also production improvement and cost reduction. So both of those things, not only add inventory but they move it, we call it to the left, that gets us to less than $60, less than $50, and then ultimately what we're going for less than $40 breakeven inventory.

是的。我只是想給你一些關於我們對庫存整體看法的觀點，以及庫存的進展情況，然後我可以解決一些 Bone Spring 問題。因此，在過去的幾年裡，我們已經能夠透過庫存改進來替換已鑽井，這些庫存分為兩部分。一是評估活動，我將從 Bone Spring 的角度為您解答這個問題，同時也介紹生產改進和成本降低。因此，這兩件事不僅增加了庫存，而且還移動了庫存，我們稱之為向左移動，這使我們的庫存低於 60 美元，低於 50 美元，最終我們達到低於 40 美元的盈虧平衡庫存。

And so as we think about, this year in the unconventional, we had a target of around adding 450 wells in the unconventional less than $50 breakeven. A bulk of that will come from -- we highlighted, one of the highlights we had was this third Bone Spring target that we had on the slide highlighting the 4 wells with greater than [780 MBO] (corrected by company after the call). Those will add the bulk of our improvement this year in terms of that promotion of inventory. And so when I look at, even in the first quarter, just to give you some color, so we're aiming for this 450, in the first quarter we had 90 adds less than $50 breakeven. That came, about half of that, from the Bone Spring wells that I mentioned, but we're also getting things out of New Mexico and some of the shallower Bone Spring there.

因此，我們認為，今年在非常規油氣領域，我們的目標是在損益平衡點低於 50 美元的範圍內增加 450 口非常規油井。其中大部分將來自——我們強調過，我們的亮點之一是幻燈片上的第三個 Bone Spring 目標，其中重點介紹了 4 口油井，其利潤超過 [780 MBO]（電話會議後公司已對其進行更正）。這些將成為我們今年在庫存提升方面取得更大進展的主要因素。因此，當我看第一季度的情況時，只是為了給你一些訊息，所以我們的目標是 450，在第一季度，我們有 90 個增加，盈虧平衡點低於 50 美元。其中大約有一半來自我提到的 Bone Spring 油井，但我們也從新墨西哥州和那裡的一些較淺的 Bone Spring 油井獲取石油。

And so it's not only what we're drilling today, which is going up in terms of secondary benches as a percentage of our total drilled wells in the year but it's really adding that low-cost inventory in the future. And so a lot of times, we'll get the so what of this inventory and that's really it. It's being able to extend this low-cost capital intensity as we prosecute our plan over the next few years.

因此，這不僅僅是我們今天所鑽探的，其次級台階占我們全年鑽井總數的百分比正在上升，而且它實際上增加了未來的低成本庫存。很多時候，我們會得到關於庫存的“所以”，事實就是這樣。隨著我們在未來幾年實施我們的計劃，它能夠延長這種低成本的資本密集度。

Got it. And then how do you think about potentially codeveloping some of the Bone Springs, along with the core Wolfcamp? Or you're mainly looking at coming back and hitting those zones, leveraging the installed infrastructure as you mentioned?

知道了。那麼您如何看待與核心 Wolfcamp 共同開發部分 Bone Springs 的可能性？或者您主要想返回並進入那些區域，利用您提到的已安裝的基礎設施？

Yes. I think -- I mean that's a big part of, I'd say the next few years, is really optimizing how we put that together. Obviously, in the Midland, we do a lot more what we call co-development where you're doing these zones at the same time. One of the benefits in the Delaware is being able to sequence them, have a little bit more precision because of the frac barriers. So we don't have to think about more of the cube or co-development opportunities, which gives us a great opportunity to really maximize the savings we get from reusing these facilities, like I described.

是的。我認為——我的意思是，這是未來幾年的一個重要部分，真正優化我們如何將它們結合在一起。顯然，在米德蘭，我們做了更多所謂的共同開發，即同時建造這些區域。特拉華州的優勢之一是能夠對其進行排序，由於存在壓裂障礙，因此可以實現更高的精度。因此，我們不必考慮更多的立方體或共同開發機會，這為我們提供了一個很好的機會來真正最大限度地節省我們從重複使用這些設施中獲得的節省，就像我所描述的那樣。

So last year, I think we were around 20% secondary benches in the Delaware. This year, we're north of 30%. So you can see that sort of opportunity becoming more prominent in terms of our development plans.

所以，我認為去年特拉華州的二級法官席位大約是 20%。今年，這一比例已超過 30%。因此，您可以看到，就我們的發展計劃而言，這種機會變得更加突出。

The next question comes from Nitin Kumar with Mizuho.

下一個問題來自瑞穗的尼廷庫馬爾 (Nitin Kumar)。

I just want to start on CrownRock quickly. You mentioned that you're still on track to close the deal in the third quarter. When you announced the deal, you had talked about 170,000 BOE per day of production from CrownRock. Just wanted to see if you could revisit that and see how things are trending there as you are getting closer to the close?

我只是想快速開始使用 CrownRock。您提到您仍有望在第三季完成這筆交易。當您宣布這筆交易時，您談到了 CrownRock 每天的產量為 170,000 桶油當量。只是想看看您是否可以重新審視這一點，並看看在接近尾聲時事情的趨勢如何？

We don't really have any update on either the production or any of the other metrics from CrownRock, just what we've provided previously. We'll probably provide -- we'll definitely provide an update when we have our next quarterly meeting. Because by that time, I believe, we will have closed, maybe not but it's going to be certainly sometime in the third quarter.

我們實際上並沒有關於 CrownRock 的生產或任何其他指標的任何更新，只是我們之前提供過的資訊。我們可能會提供—我們一定會在下次季度會議時提供最新消息。因為到那時，我相信我們將會完成交易，也許不會，但肯定會是在第三季的某個時候。

Great. I thought I'd take a shot. And just -- there's been some movement in Colorado around SB24, which requires a production fee on producers. Want to see what that would look like for Oxy? You're a big producer in the state and sort of what your thoughts are around that initiative?

偉大的。我想我應該嘗試一下。而且——科羅拉多州已經就 SB24 採取了一些行動，該法案要求製作人支付製作費。想看看 Oxy 會是什麼樣子嗎？您是該州的大生產商，您對該計劃有何看法？

Yes. I think that the agreement that was reached in Colorado was a win-win for both the people of Colorado and the investments -- the investors in Colorado. So we feel that paying the fee and along with paying the fee to have taken away some bills and some potential ballot measures that would have severely restricted what the oil and gas industry could do that when you take that together, all together, it provides a scenario for the governor and the government of Colorado to do something positive with the fees that will be collected. So we view this to be not overly burdensome for our operations. We think it's actually going to be a doable scenario for us as we work towards doing some of the other things that will come along with this, which is working more on doing things that impact and help to reduce the impact on the ozone layer, as well as doing some things that will help from an environmental justice standpoint.

是的。我認為在科羅拉多州達成的協議對於科羅拉多州人民和投資人來說是雙贏的。因此，我們認為，支付費用並同時取消一些法案和一些潛在的投票措施，這些措施將嚴重限製石油和天然氣行業的活動。因此我們認為這不會對我們的營運造成過多的負擔。我們認為這對我們來說實際上是一個可行的方案，因為我們正在努力做一些隨之而來的其他事情，也就是更多地做一些有影響力和有助於減少對臭氧層影響的事情，以及從環境正義的角度做一些有幫助的事情。

So it's a full package deal. It's not just a fee. And putting all that together, it's a good deal.

所以這是一筆全套交易。這不僅僅是一筆費用。綜合考慮所有這些，這是一筆很好的交易。

The next question comes from David Deckelbaum with TD Cowen.

下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 David Deckelbaum。

I wanted to ask for a little bit more color just on the guide just so I'm clear on how numbers are progressing this year. The impact from the Gulf of Mexico, is that exclusively what's contributing to the 100-basis point reduction in oil cut this year? Are you seeing some contribution from some gassier zones in some other of your core assets or perhaps the impact of the PSC in areas like Algeria?

我想請求在指南上提供更多細節，以便我能夠清楚了解今年的數位進度。墨西哥灣的影響是導致今年油價下跌 100 個基點的唯一原因嗎？您是否看到其他核心資產中一些含氣區帶來的貢獻，或是看到阿爾及利亞等地區生產分成合約帶來的影響？

No, it was almost entirely due to the Gulf of Mexico shutdown. There's really nothing else trending differently that we have in our portfolio.

不，這幾乎完全是由於墨西哥灣關閉造成的。我們的投資組合中確實沒有其他不同的趨勢。

Appreciate that. And then maybe just a follow-up on the discussion around deleveraging and noncore asset sales. It sounds like on this call, you might be emphasizing more the cash flow returns that you would be otherwise receiving from some of these assets that maybe the market has flagged as divestiture candidates. Is that the intention here in signaling that you intend to delever more organically and that noncore asset sales either theoretically would be higher in dollar value to reflect that cash flow contribution or might take longer to materialize?

非常感謝。然後可能只是對去槓桿和非核心資產出售的討論進行後續討論。聽起來，在這次電話會議上，您可能會更加強調您從市場可能已標記為剝離候選資產的一些資產中獲得的現金流回報。這是不是表明您打算更有機地去槓桿，而非核心資產出售在理論上會以更高的美元價值來反映現金流貢獻，或者可能需要更長時間才能實現？

I don't think that's what we intended to say. That was not the message we intended to give. When we talk about the fact that we will evaluate everything from a value perspective, what we want to do is just ensure that we're making the right decisions and divestitures of non-core areas is something that we want to do. And we believe that based on the interest that we're seeing that we should be able to achieve.

我認為這不是我們想說的。這並不是我們想要傳達的訊息。當我們談到從價值角度評估一切時，我們想要做的只是確保我們做出正確的決定，而剝離非核心領域是我們想要做的事情。我們相信，基於我們所看到的興趣，我們應該能夠實現這一目標。

In the interest of time, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Vicki Hollub for any closing remarks.

為了節省時間，我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議交還給 Vicki Hollub 做結束語。

I'd just like to thank you all for your questions and for joining our call. Have a great rest of your day.

我只想感謝大家的提問和參加我們的電話會議。祝您剩餘的時光愉快。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。