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，歡迎參加西方石油公司 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）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公司 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。今天與我們通話的是總裁兼執行長 Vicki Hollub； Sunil Mathew，資深副總裁兼財務長；理查傑克森 (Richard Jackson)，美國陸上資源與碳管理營運總裁；肯狄龍 (Ken Dillon)，資深副總裁兼國際石油與天然氣營運總裁。

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. 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。該簡報在投影片 2 上包含了有關今天下午電話會議上將做出的前瞻性陳述的警告聲明。今天我們也將參考一些非公認會計準則財務指標。您可以在我們的收益發佈時間表和我們的網站上找到與最接近的相應 GAAP 衡量標準的調整表。

I'll now turn the call over to Vicki.

我現在將電話轉給 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 and gas business delivered robust production results essentially offsetting an extended third-party outage, while our Midstream and OxyChem businesses outperformed our first quarter guidance.

謝謝喬丹，大家下午好。我很高興地向大家報告，在我們對營運執行的持續關注的推動下，2024 年取得了良好的開局。正如我們將在今天的電話會議中詳細介紹的那樣，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長期停電的影響，而我們的中游和OxyChem 業務的表現超出了我們第一季的指導。

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，我將首先討論我們第一季的業績，包括強調我們在特拉華州評估的成功及其對二疊紀開發跑道的貢獻。然後我將討論 Oxy 的前景以及這些舉措預計如何為我們的股東創造巨大價值。

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.

卓越營運是我們在 Oxy 所做的一切的基礎，我們的能力在第一季就顯而易見，我們的團隊在營運資本前產生了超過 24 億美元的營運現金流。儘管墨西哥灣東部的第三方停電給今年的開局帶來了挑戰，但我們的團隊在我們產品組合的所有領域都取得了出色的表現。我們以接近生產指導值的中點結束了第一季度，並重新啟動了受 4 月中旬停電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 by results -- 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的強勁新井表現，克服了年初冬季天氣的影響。在二疊紀，我們超越了生產指引的中點，部分原因是特拉華盆地的二級台架表現優於預期。我們的特拉華州團隊正在透過結果實現令人印象深刻的績效- 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工作台中取得了顯著的成功）並將其應用於輔助工作台來實現績效結果。

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油井設計和油藏表徵專業知識，我們的二級工作台的性能幾乎與 Oxy 創紀錄的 2023 年項目平均值相當。不僅如此，Oxy 2023 個二級井的第一年累計產量比同期特拉華州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.

我們正在透過提高我們對近期庫存進行高評級的能力以及擴展我們的一級地點跑道來為股東帶來財務回報。同時，利用我們現有的基礎設施可以顯著提高資本效率。隨著輔助工作台成為我們開發計畫中更重要的一部分，我們預計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的表現超出了第一季生產指導的上限，部分原因是 DJ 盆地新井表現強勁、生產正常運行時間更長、外部作業量高於預期。然後在國際上，在新油井性能和生產正常運行時間的推動下，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 profit 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油井設計、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和粉河盆地，我們的團隊優化了套管和固井方案、完井階段設計和利潤利用。與去年上半年相比，這些針對性的油井設計改進使第一季的油井成本大幅降低，每口井成本減少了 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 team's 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成本降低的進展。我們不斷追求改善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實現淨零目標。我為我們的團隊首次參與另一個石油和天然氣行業而感到自豪，即部署全電動油井服務鑽機。 Oxy 和 Axis Energy Services 在我們的二疊紀盆地作業中部署了首個同類鑽孔機。擴大電氣化是 Oxy 策略的組成部分，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.

我們的中游業務的表現明顯優於我們第一季指引的上限。績效優異的部分原因是我們整個投資組合的天然氣行銷優化，我們的團隊在區域價格差異中抓住了價值。天氣比預期溫暖，加上各種第三方中游基礎設施維護，導致一些地區的價格脫節。 Midstream 第一季的業績展示了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.

回顧多個季度，我們的行銷團隊經常表現出出色的表現，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銷售的產品提供流量保證，還在 2024 年初看到的大宗商品價格波動期間提供了極大的多元化。

Along with being one of the top performers for the products is 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 不僅是產品製造商中表現最好的公司之一，也是我們業務中始終如一的現金流多元化者，部分原因在於其對營運效率的著名關注。第一季度，OxyChem 受益於我們銷售的產品（包括 PVC 和氯乙烯）需求的增加以及乙烯成本的降低。這一業績顯示我們的多元化資產組合如何能夠在整個商品週期中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 kickoff 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，我們重申了我們致力於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。今天，我想提供我們在上一季電話會議中提到的具體項目的最新情況。 OxyChem 工廠改造項目的某些方面已經完成，但還有更多工作要做，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、城市領導人和民選官員出席了該計畫的支援活動。 OxyChem 計畫的完成以及原油和從二疊紀到墨西哥灣沿岸運輸費率的降低預計每年將帶來約 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 West, will also enhance our financial results. In February, West announced an increase of over 50% to their distribution. Based on the current distribution, we anticipate that West 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，我們預計在西中游或西部的所有權也將提高我們的財務表現。 2 月份，West 宣布將其發行量增加了 50% 以上。根據目前的分配情況，我們預計 West 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 年償還現有債務到期將導致利息節省產生約 1.8 億美元的年度增量現金流，這些現金流可用於進一步強化我們的資產負債表。

Overall, we expect more than $1 billion of cash flow improvements that are independent of commodities' cycles. That figure does not include our oil and 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.

總體而言，我們預計獨立於大宗商品週期的現金流量改善將超過 10 億美元。這個數字不包括我們的石油和天然氣業務，該業務也有望持續財務成功。眾所周知，去年年底，我們簽訂了一項協議，透過收購 CrownRock 策略性地增強我們的米德蘭盆地投資組合。收購 CrownRock 將帶來自由現金流的增加和投資組合的高評級，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，我們預計將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。我們的第一個直接空氣捕獲工廠 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清除信貸協議。在 Oxy 的整個投資組合中，我們致力於在未來幾十年擴大彈性現金流並提高股東價值。

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

我現在將電話轉交給蘇尼爾，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，維基。 2024 年第一季度，我們的調整後每股攤薄利潤為 0.63 美元，報告利潤為每股攤薄利潤 0.75 美元。調整後利潤與報告利潤之間的差異主要是由與安第斯仲裁有關的訴訟和解收益以及包含在股本收入中的銷售收益（部分被衍生性商品損失抵銷）所造成的。

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.

第一季結束時，我們擁有近 13 億美元的非限制性現金。我們的營運資本出現負變化，這是第一季的典型現象，主要是由於半年一次的債務利息支付、年度財產稅支付和補償計劃下的支付所致。儘管第三方停電對我們在墨西哥灣的部分高利潤石油生產造成了影響，但在第一季度，我們仍交付了超過 7 億美元的不計營運資本的自由現金流。第一季自由現金流得益於我們在岸國內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 3 years. The production increase is mainly due to U.S. onshore activity levels, the completion of annual plant 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 plant maintenance in the Central Gulf of Mexico.

展望第二季度，公司總產量預計將增加至每天 123 萬桶至 127 萬桶油當量，而第一季的年度低點為每天 117 萬桶油當量。第二季產量指引的中點將是三年多來最高的季度產量。產量增加主要是由於美國陸上活動水準、Dolphin 工廠年度維護工作的完成以及墨西哥灣停電於 4 月中旬恢復生產。我們第二季墨西哥灣生產指引包括四月份的第三方停電影響以及墨西哥灣中部的工廠維護。

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.

儘管由於停電時間延長，我們下調了墨西哥灣全年產量指引，但落基山脈的出色表現完全抵消了這一影響，我們維持公司今年的總產量指引。調整後的生產組合預計將影響公司年度總石油削減量。

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 年取得了良好的開局，預計第二季價格將小幅上漲，隨著我們擺脫通常的季節性需求低迷時期，銷量將會增加。儘管較低的天然氣價格對我們產品組合的其他部分不利，但 OxyChem 受益於能源成本的降低，而且我們的中游團隊處於有利地位，可以充分利用 Vicki 強調的天然氣行銷機會。穩健的表現使我們能夠將 Midstream 的全年指引範圍提高 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 commodities 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 第一季的業績證明了我們差異化產品組合的優勢。我們多元化的資產和卓越的營運能力為股東在整個大宗商品週期中提供現金流彈性。在資本支出方面，我們第一季的業績與 2024 年業務計畫和上半年的資本計畫保持一致。

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 increased utilization rates into the second half of the year. This U.S. onshore capital profile, combined with Battleground 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，今年落基山脈資本的約40% 與從2023 年開始的已鑽探井和未完井(DUC) 有關。減少DUC 庫存。同樣，由於工作利息的變化以及對高等級鑽機的渴望以及下半年利用率的提高，二疊紀資本在今年上半年有所偏重。美國在岸資本狀況加上 Battleground 的成長，預計第二季將成為今年最高的季度資本。

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.

今天結束時我想談談 CrownRock 的收購。我們的團隊正在與聯邦貿易委員會進行建設性合作，我們預計交易將在今年第三季完成。需要提醒的是，Oxy 將從 2024 年 1 月 1 日交易生效日至交易結束期間的 CrownRock 活動中受益，但需根據慣例購買價格進行調整。

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引起了廣泛關注，我們的團隊已開始剝離過程的早期階段。銷售所得將用於去槓桿化，直到我們將本金債務減少至 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稀釋後每股自由現金流的顯著增長，並使我們能夠加速實現債務目標。在實現債務目標後，我們打算恢復股票回購計畫並提供更大的每股普通股價值。正如我們在今天的電話會議上討論的那樣，我們處於有利位置，可以在 2024 年第一季度的強勁表現基礎上再接再厲，為股東提供差異化的長期價值主張。

I will now turn the call back over to Vicki.

我現在將把電話轉回給 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。在我們進行問答之前，我想告訴您我們團隊上季度慶祝的一個里程碑。 Oxy 於 1964 年 3 月 3 日開始在紐約證券交易所上市交易。今天，我們是一家國際能源、化學品和碳管理公司，擁有我們歷史上最好的產品組合。但我相信 Oxy 的員工才是真正的差異化因素。他們的專業知識和追求卓越的動力繼續突破我們行業可實現的極限。我們的員工正在努力透過卓越的營運和一流的資產來執行我們的策略。他們的努力帶來了長期的股東價值，我期待在未來的電話會議上展示他們的更多成就。

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

至此，我們現在開始提問。

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.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自富國銀行的 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。謝謝你，下午好。我想——如果我們可以在這裡深入了解二疊紀的前景，可能包括落基山脈，也許我們就稱之為下 48 個地區。只是有點好奇為什麼你們沒有對總銷量更樂觀一點？我認識到，在逐年變化中，我們正在考慮增加一點 EOR，也許減少一點頁岩井。我想知道這是否是我們所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 (inaudible) 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 for -- in the Permian.

是的。謝謝，羅傑。感謝這個問題。我的意思是，顯然，我們對落基山脈和二疊紀第一季的業績非常滿意。兩者都在本季度（聽不清楚），二疊紀在幾個方面看起來都不錯。我先把注意力集中在那裡。我想，有幾件事只是為了奠定這一年的基礎。當我們考慮從第一季到第二季時，正如蘇尼爾所提到的，產量方面有相當大的進步，但即使看看二疊紀上半年與下半年的情況，上半年的隱含產量增幅約為每天18,000 桶到下半年，我們正在這樣做，同時減少二疊紀的鑽孔機。

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，就我們對活動的看法而言，我們正在以更少的投入獲得更多的成果。正如您所提到的，其中一些在首都發揮了作用，因為我們在鑽機和設施上都有點前期負荷重，因為我們在今年上半年提前加載了設施來承擔這一任務從下季度開始產量增加。

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，一切進展順利。因此，當你回顧這一年並思考我們正在進行的對我們業務有意義的事情時，我們會專注於新油井的生產，而不僅僅是主要區域，我們在過去的幾年中已經重點強調了這一點多年來，但現在，尤其是本季度，我們真的想強調二級替補席的成功，它們在我們今年的投資組合中發揮了有意義的作用。

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 the steep production increase over the next couple of quarters but look forward to updating our milestones and progress through that.

另一件我們談論得不夠多的事情是基數下降。因此，如果你看看今年我們的二疊紀資源，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%。每天大約生產 15,000 桶。因此，這不僅是透過更好的油井實現的，而且還透過更好的操作來實現。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，當我們考慮全年指導時，我們當然讚賞第一季的結果，但我們想看看這在接下來幾季的產量急劇增長中如何發揮作用，但期待更新我們的里程碑和從而取得進展。

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.

我要說的最後一件事是，在這背後，當你思考資本時，我們看到的是資本效率。因此，我們強調了落基山脈和二疊紀地區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滿意。我們注意到，這是透過與我們的服務公司採取強有力的方法以及透過良好的設計變更來實現的。因此，當我們把這些放在一起時，我們會看看今年的總產量與資本，我們今年的資本強度比去年有所改善，這就是我們的目標。因此，我們的支出，每增加一個產品就要花費數百萬美元，逐年有所改善，我們將繼續關注這一點。因此，在我們度過今年的過程中，期待更多的更新，以幫助我們將這些內容整合到我們的全年展望中。

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，謝謝。我想我剛才的另一個問題 - 你在介紹中談到了它，Vicki，但是中游的表現，其中有多少是我們應該考慮的，因為我們將在下一個階段繼續前進1.5年，2年？我們還會有另一個時期，我們可能會受到限制，無法將石油和天然氣移出盆地，這也許是一種思考未來的其他機會的方式，讓大家更好地抓住一點？

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，這並不是真的——我們不存在將石油或天然氣運出二疊紀盆地的問題。事實上，在某些方面，對我們中游績效的正面影響是由於這樣一個事實：從天然氣的角度來看，我們在其他地方也有能力，這樣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，而且那裡的產能也狀況良好。

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，我們的狀況也很好。我們現在的產能過剩，無法從二疊紀盆地開採石油。因此，當我們談論中游業務在原油行銷方面的波動時，通常情況下，其中一些與獲取第三方桶有關，這些第三方桶與我們需要用超出我們的增量桶來填充的產能相關。生產。因此，這主要是中游業務的波動，與天然氣行銷一起確實導致了波動。

But normally, that volatility is (inaudible) 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（聽不見的）好處，因為正如我剛才提到的，我們有能力扭轉局面，並利用其他人處於不利地位的情況。因此，雖然娃哈及其現在所處的情況，我們的上游實現較低，但我們的中游業務能夠抓住機會來抵消這一影響。

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 there you were -- you're talking about the secondary branches, I think there's the Bone Spring. Is it -- why spread too far your entire operation or specifically in certain countries? Is there any kind of characteristic that you can see in terms of the pattern that will lead to this very strong performance wells from those branches 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，你在那裡 - 你正在談論二級分支，我認為那裡是骨泉。為什麼您的整個業務分散得太遠，或者特別是在某些國家？您是否可以從模式中看到任何類型的特徵，這些特徵將導致這些分支在那些區域中表現出非常強的性能？所以我們試圖理解這一點，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, 7 or 8 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，你的 DJ 表現非常好，我認為實際上已經在幾個季度中超出了你自己的指導，我的意思是，至少已經有 7 個或 8 個季度了。那麼從這個角度來看，您目前對 DJ 今年剩餘時間的估計是否可能有點保守？我的意思是，那裡表現出色的主要原因是什麼？

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，我們描述主要板凳的方法，然後將其轉變為我們的輔助板凳的方式在各個領域確實是獨一無二的。所以我們花了很多時間，我們過去已經討論過這個問題，真正關注的是地下方面，無論是從地質角度，還是隨著時間的推移，從儲層角度思考它。因此，我認為，隨著我們繼續劃定並更廣泛地劃分區域，我們將重點放在如何將這些井放在地下空間中，以優化採收率。

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.

當然，您的刺激設計和其他因素也發揮著重要作用。所以我不認為它在地區上是獨一無二的。我認為這與我們在米德蘭盆地（Midland Basin）以及我們在巴尼特盆地（Barnett）取得的成功所採用的方法相同，我們在特拉華盆地（無論是上游的Bone Springs 還是更深的Wolfcamp ）正在做的事情。

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.

我認為，當我們考慮落基山脈時，也會採取同樣的方法。就落基山脈而言，他們在過去一年多中表現出色。其中許多都是從地下方法開始的，我們確實花了時間思考如何處理橫向長度間距、刺激強度以及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可操作性。我們討論如何抽取這些井。所以早期的時間會倒流，然後是更長期的時間。我們所看到的是兩者都得到了真正的改進。

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，在早期的表現中，它確實擁有設施和排放處理來做到這一點，不僅以正確的速率，而且能夠處理排放。然後從長遠來看，我們討論了諸如柱塞提升輔助之類的人工智慧的基礎恢復。因此，這些類型的事情確實帶來了超額表現。我希望我能說這是保守的。我只是覺得他們進步了很多。

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.

當您的同比進步超過 20% 時，有時會很難預測。但我認為，去年他們在一些進步方面變得更加成熟，我認為我們在縮小這些前景的不確定性方面做得更好。但今年所有球隊仍有望取得優異表現。正如我之前回答的那樣，我們對二疊紀的工作也持樂觀態度。所以我很欣賞這個問題，希望這能有所幫助。

The next question comes from Neil Mehta with Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題來自高盛的尼爾·梅塔。

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 noncore asset sales that many have anchored to?

我的第一個問題是關於非核心資產銷售，我認識到在交易完成之前我們還有一段時間。但我想你們會繼續圍繞撤資進行對話。那麼，只是想知道您對目前市場的看法是什麼，以及您對許多人所支持的高達 60 億美元的非核心資產出售的可實現性有信心嗎？

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——有很多興趣。當我們宣布將剝離 45 億至 60 億美元資金後，蘇尼爾開始接到大量電話和信件。所以人們的興趣是存在的，而且是非常高的興趣。我們希望和期待的是，高水準的興趣會轉化為對我們可能考慮出售的東西的適當水平的報價。但這一切都取決於估值，這將對我們產生影響，因為我們確實有選擇，而且如你所知，有很多面積。因此，我們將盡我們所能做出最有價值的決定。但我們認為不會有任何障礙，除非我們沒有預見到會導致我們的資產剝離出現問題。

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

後續內容只是您的觀點——抱歉，請蘇尼爾。

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。我們要做的只是為了那些還沒聽過的人，蘇尼爾將介紹我們對資產剝離的看法，只是為了讓那些可能正在聽的人了解我們的想法看著。

Yes. So as we have said previously, we are evaluating our portfolio, the high-graded portfolio and identifying what are the assets that does not fit in our development plan -- in our near-term development plan and -- 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。因此，正如我們之前所說，我們正在評估我們的投資組合，即高等級投資組合，並確定哪些資產不適合我們的發展計劃——我們的近期發展計劃——但這可能對其他公司。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？就像 Vicki 提到的，我們可以獲得什麼價值？我們是否可以透過將該資產貨幣化來加速其價值？因此，就像Vicki 所說，我們甚至在宣布之前就收到了很多入站資金，而在宣布之後也收到了更多入站資金，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結束後 18 個月內實現這一目標。在資產出售收益和有機現金流之間，我們希望獲得我們概述的 150 億美元本金債務。

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?

這是一個很棒的觀點。然後後續就只剩下《戰場》了。我只是喜歡你對氯和燒鹼市場的看法。您如何看待那裡的前景？一旦擴張上線，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 there was -- there's some certainty around some reduction in inflation.

只是回顧一下 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。當我們經歷第一季時，我們開始看到燒鹼和聚氯乙烯的價格走強。但現實情況是，美國的通貨膨脹以及中國的需求非常疲軟，因為目前商業和住宅住房和建築物基本上都過度建設，因此我們認為中國的需求不會很快好轉。但我們確實相信，今年之後，在擺脫通膨環境之後，通膨有所下降是有一定把握的。

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這一點的通膨水平，我們肯定會看到——開始看到美國價格的復甦。國際市場，我們做出口，所以國際市場影響我們。因此，我們將繼續看到該市場面臨一些定價挑戰。但最終，在今年和未來 18 個月之後，我確實相信，在印度和其他地方的推動下，我們將再次看到需求成長，我們將開始看到價格回升。所以我們感覺現在可能處於谷底。

The next question comes from John Royall with JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的約翰·羅亞爾。

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?

想想中游合約滾存的 4 億美元吧。您所建模的這些數字中有多少更好的術語是今天鎖定的，而不是您只是期望的？在某種程度上（聽不清楚），當我們接近淘汰時，您對採取其他方式的信心有多大？

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

抱歉，您能重複這個問題嗎？我們受到了一些幹擾。

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

羅約爾先生，如果您使用的是免持電話，您能否拿起聽筒？

Is this better? Can you hear me now?

這是否更好？你聽得到我嗎？

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?

好吧，很抱歉，維姬。想想中游合約滾存的 4 億美元吧。如果今天鎖定的話，這些數字中有多少更好的條款與您的預期相比？您的信心程度是多少，如果不鎖定的話，在您必須重新談判之前事情可能不會走向相反的方向？

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 億美元目標，其中一些目標我們今天已經看到了。我確實相信，相信我，如果我們對我們能得到它沒有足夠的信心，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。如果我錯過了這方面的任何內容，我深表歉意，但我希望您能稍微了解一下第二季度的營運支出指南，儘管在GoM 備份的情況下產量更高，但第二季的營運支出指南與第一季相比有些持平。所以它看起來像是一個分子問題而不是分母問題。也許只是運營支出指南上的任何顏色。

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是受到墨西哥灣生產和生產恢復的影響所推動的。我沒有看到任何區別。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，我認為這是對的。是的，我們看到墨西哥灣產量的恢復有所改善。但正如我在準備好的發言中提到的那樣，第二季確實包括管道中斷的一些影響，我們還計劃在墨西哥灣中部關閉。因此，到第三和第四季時，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，只是為了增加這個軌跡。美國 LOE 第一季實際值為 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——你的二疊紀 D&C 計劃，特別是圍繞幻燈片 24，我喜歡你在那裡展示的內容。我想，你們都建議今年平均運行大約 21 台鑽孔機。這是你在跑步後談到的一些事情——我認為這表明了——第一季是24嗎？我只是想知道嘗試了解節奏，這是否只是一種典型的下降。我還想知道你們的營運效率是否繼續像以前一樣好，你們會放棄一些鑽孔機並繼續執行該生產計劃嗎？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 boarded 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，我很欣賞這個問題。正如我之前提到的，計劃是在進入今年下半年時逐步減少。事實上，自從我們登機和出來以來，這就是我們的計劃。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都略有改善。因此，當我們進入這一年時，我們會考慮這一點，以了解這將如何加速任何資本的成長，以及我們希望如何對此做出反應。

I would say 1 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 (inaudible). And so we've been able to, kind of as we relook and hit that more level wise, let's say, balance and 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.

我想說一件事效果很好，我們注意到這些成本改進和一些需要注意的事情。除了營運效率之外，當我們與服務提供者合作時，我們還看到了一些很好的成果，例如（聽不清楚）。因此，當我們重新審視並達到更明智的水平時，比如說，今年下半年的平衡和活動，我們的壓裂核心利用率上升了約 10%。因此，每年的泵送時間會增加，這對我們來說既有好處，也有利於我們的壓裂供應商管理業務的方式。

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，這些類型的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提高，這些節省也會很好地實現。因此，隨著今年的節奏，我們在新年伊始就以 D&C 和設施為重，就像我提到的那樣。事實上，在今年下半年，你會看到資本下降，而產量增加。對此充滿期待。然後，這應該會讓我們在進入2025 年時以更高的水平加載和優化的步伐。的思考今年和明年。

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 bulk 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 (inaudible). 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?

這就是我一直在尋找的東西，理查德。然後是理查德，我的第二個關於二疊紀的快速跟進。您如何看待這些天的典型情況，您在散裝方面做得很好，但您典型的特拉華州與米德蘭油井經濟狀況如何？我問的原因是，只要看看投影片 25 和 29 上顯示的曲線，我認為這又是（聽不清楚）。我認為一年後你會在德爾顯示大約450,000 桶油當量，而在米德蘭則顯示大約250,000 桶油當量，同樣，知道它們的油井更便宜，只是想知道也許從廣義上講，你如何看待經濟學上的差異？

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 - 這與我們考慮這些主要和次要法官的方式相同，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，你可以看看米德蘭盆地稍微淺一點、稍微不同的鑽井，從而降低鑽井和完井成本。特拉華州的二級長椅也一樣，可以更淺地進入骨泉，它們更便宜。毫無疑問，你會看到它在《D&C》中得到體現。但團隊在整合開發領域的方式時，會考慮對設施成本的影響。我知道我們最近在這裡回顧過一個例子，我們有一些較淺的 Bone Spring 井，我想是在我們鑽 Wolfcamp 井大約三年後。即使產量較低，這些二級井的回報大約是一級井的兩倍。那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，如何安排生產的時機會對經濟的改善產生巨大的影響。因此，當您在盆地中思考時，我們也會做同樣的事情。米德蘭盆地更平衡的優勢使我們能夠優化所有這些設施成本、維護成本等所有這些因素，以確保我們每花費一美元就能獲得最大的產量，不僅是資本，甚至是營運支出。因此，請理解這個問題，這絕對是我們如何看待平衡資本、尋求全週期回報的方式。

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 how does your success potentially push the inventory count higher?

繼續討論二疊紀的話題。當涉及到 Bone Springs 的二級長凳時，您能否提供一些有關二疊紀非常規庫存計數中包含的內容的資訊？您的成功如何可能推高庫存數量？

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 2 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，也許可以給你一些關於我們如何考慮我們的庫存的一般觀點，以及我可以解決一些 Bone Spring 問題。因此，在過去的幾年裡，我們不僅能夠透過改善庫存來取代已鑽的井，庫存分為兩部分。其中之一是評估活動，我將就 Bone Spring 的問題向您提供一些說明，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，而且將其移動，我們稱之為左側，這使我們的庫存低於 60 美元，低於 50 美元，最終我們的盈虧平衡庫存低於 40 美元。

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 MBOE or MBO. Those will add a 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，正如我們所想，今年在非常規項目中，我們的目標是在非常規項目中增加約 450 口井，而盈虧平衡點低於 50 美元。其中大部分將來自——我們強調，我們的亮點之一是我們在幻燈片上突出顯示的第三個 Bone Spring 目標，突出顯示了 4 個具有超過 780 MBOE 或 MBO 的井。這些將使我們今年在庫存促銷方面取得很大的進展。因此，當我看時，即使在第一季度，只是為了給您一些顏色，所以我們的目標是 450，在第一季我們有 90 家公司的盈虧平衡點低於 50 美元。其中大約一半來自我提到的骨泉井，但我們也從新墨西哥州和那裡的一些較淺的骨泉井獲取東西。

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，這不僅是我們今天鑽探的內容，就二級台架占我們今年已鑽探井總數的百分比而言，它正在上升，而且它確實會增加未來的低成本庫存。很多時候，我們會得到這個庫存的情況，事實就是如此。當我們在未來幾年實施我們的計劃時，它能夠擴大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 一起共同開發一些 Bone Springs 的可能性？或者您主要考慮返回並訪問這些區域，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，我想說，在接下來的幾年裡，這很重要的一部分是真正優化我們如何將它們組合在一起。顯然，在米德蘭，我們做了更多所謂的共同開發，即同時進行這些區域的開發。特拉華州的好處之一是能夠對它們進行排序，由於壓裂障礙，精度更高。因此，我們不必考慮更多的[多維資料集]或共同開發機會，這為我們提供了一個很好的機會，可以真正最大限度地提高我們透過重複使用這些設施而節省的成本，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.

所以去年，我認為特拉華州大約有 20% 的二級替補席。今年，我們已經超過 30%了。所以你可以看到這種機會在我們的發展計畫中變得更加突出。

The next question comes from Nitin Kumar with Mizuho.

下一個問題來自 Mizuho 的 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 we 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?

我只想快速開始使用 CrownRock。您提到您仍有望在第三季完成交易。當我們宣布這筆交易時，您曾談到 CrownRock 每天的產量為 170,000 BOE。只是想看看您是否可以重新審視這一點，看看隨著接近結束，事情的趨勢如何？

We don't really have any update on the -- 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.

我們實際上沒有任何關於 CrownRock 的生產或任何其他指標的更新，只是我們之前提供的。當我們召開下一次季度會議時，我們可能會提供—我們肯定會提供更新。因為到那時，我相信，我們將會關閉，也許不會，但肯定會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。只是 - 科羅拉多州圍繞 SB24 採取了一些行動，要求生產者繳納製作費。想看看 Oxy 會是什麼樣子嗎？您是該州的大型生產商，您對此舉措有何想法？

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 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者——科羅拉多州的投資者來說是雙贏的。因此，我們認為，支付費用以及支付費用以取消一些法案和一些潛在的投票措施，這些法案和一些潛在的投票措施將嚴重限製石油和天然氣行業可以做的事情，當你把這些放在一起時，它提供了一個科羅拉多州州長和政府對將收取的費用採取積極行動的情況。因此，我們認為這對我們的營運來說並不算太大的負擔。我們認為這對我們來說實際上是一個可行的方案，因為我們正在努力解決隨之而來的其他一些事情，即更多地致力於做一些影響並有助於減少對臭氧層影響的事情。環境正義的角度來看，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.

所以這是一個完整的一攬子交易。這不僅僅是一筆費用。把所有這些放在一起，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 and some other of your core assets or perhaps the impact of the PSE in areas like Algeria?

我想在指南上添加更多顏色，這樣我就可以清楚今年的數位進展。墨西哥灣的影響是否是導致今年石油減產100個基點的唯一因素？您是否看到一些天然氣含量較高的地區和其他一些核心資產的貢獻，或者 PSE 對阿爾及利亞等地區的影響？

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趨勢不同的東西。

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 in that noncore asset sales either theoretically would be higher in dollar value to reflect that cash flow contribution or might take longer to materialize?

感謝。然後也許只是圍繞去槓桿化和非核心資產出售的討論的後續行動。聽起來，在這次電話會議上，您可能會更強調您將從這些可能被市場標記為剝離候選資產的資產中獲得的現金流回報。這是否意味著您打算更有機地減少非核心資產銷售的槓桿化，或者理論上美元價值會更高以反映現金流貢獻，或者可能需要更長的時間才能實現？

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 noncore 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。這不是我們想要傳達的訊息。當我們談論將從價值角度評估一切的事實時，我們想做的只是確保我們做出正確的決策，並且剝離非核心領域是我們想做的事情。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.

由於時間關係，我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回 Vicki Hollub 進行閉幕致詞。

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

我只想感謝大家提出問題並加入我們的電話會議。祝您有個愉快的一天。

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。