Riley Exploration Permian Inc (REPX) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and thank you for standing by. My name is Regina, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Riley Exploration Permian Inc fourth -quarter and full -year 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the conference over to Philip Riley, CFO. Please go ahead.

您好，感謝您的支持。我叫 Regina，今天我將擔任您的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加 Riley Exploration Permian Inc 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。（操作員指示）現在，我想將會議交給財務長 Philip Riley。請繼續。

Good morning. Welcome to our conference call covering fourth-quarter 2024 results. I'm Philip Riley, CFO. Joining me today are Bobby Riley, Chairman and CEO; and John Suter, COO.

早安.歡迎參加我們關於 2024 年第四季業績的電話會議。我是財務長 Philip Riley。今天與我一起出席的還有董事長兼執行長 Bobby Riley 和營運長 John Suter。

Yesterday, we published a variety of materials, which can be found on our website under the investors section. These materials in today's conference call contains certain projections and other forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements.

昨天，我們發布了各種資料，您可以在我們網站的投資者部分找到。今天電話會議中的這些資料包含聯邦證券法所定義的某些預測和其他前瞻性陳述。這些聲明受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與這些聲明中表達或暗示的結果有重大差異。

We'll also reference certain non-GAAP measures. The reconciliations to these appropriate GAAP measures can be found in our supplemental disclosure on our website. I'll now turn the call over to Bobby.

我們也將參考某些非公認會計準則指標。這些適當的 GAAP 指標的對帳可以在我們網站上的補充揭露中找到。我現在將電話轉給 Bobby。

Thank you, Philip. Good morning, and welcome to our Q4 2024 earnings call. We had an exceptional year by all measures, and I'm extremely proud of what our team has accomplished. At the start of 2024, we outlined a plan to grow oil production by 10% while reducing capital expenditures by 10%. Our actual results significantly exceeded these targets with oil production growing by 15% and total production increasing by 22%, while upstream cash capital expenditures declined by 27%.

謝謝你，菲利普。早上好，歡迎參加我們的 2024 年第四季財報電話會議。無論從哪方面來看，我們度過了非凡的一年，我為我們團隊所取得的成就感到無比自豪。2024 年初，我們制定了一項計劃，將石油產量提高 10%，同時將資本支出減少 10%。我們的實際結果大大超過了這些目標，石油產量增加了15％，總產量增加了22％，而上游現金資本支出下降了27％。

Our 2024 performance underscores the capital efficiency of our asset base and the result of past infrastructure investments. We achieved these results, while reinvesting less than half of our cash flow into our upstream business, which allowed for excess cash for debt paydown, dividends and investments into midstream and power.

我們 2024 年的業績凸顯了我們資產基礎的資本效率和過去基礎設施投資的成果。我們取得了這些成果，同時將不到一半的現金流再投資於上游業務，從而有多餘的現金用於償還債務、派發股息以及對中游和電力的投資。

In 2025, we will ship more development activity to New Mexico, where we see significant long-term growth potential. Thus, we are excited to advance our investment in the New Mexico midstream project. This strategic development will provide greater operational control over our gas gathering and regional transportation, enabling more robust development and access to multiple treating and processing plant networks to optimize our flow assurance. Additionally, we see commercial opportunities with third-party producers that could generate significant incremental revenue.

2025 年，我們將把更多的開發活動轉移到新墨西哥州，我們認為那裡具有巨大的長期成長潛力。因此，我們很高興推進對新墨西哥中游項目的投資。這項策略發展將為我們的天然氣收集和區域運輸提供更大的營運控制，實現更強勁的發展並進入多個處理和加工工廠網絡，以優化我們的流量保證。此外，我們還看到了與第三方生產商合作的商業機會，這些機會可以產生可觀的增量收入。

In early 2025 we announced a 15-year gas purchase agreement and plans for a high-pressure 20-inch natural gas pipeline capable of transporting up to 150 million cubic feet per day. This infrastructure will secure our takeaway needs, while accommodating future growth and third-party volumes, providing much-needed takeaway capacity for the region.

2025 年初，我們宣布了一項為期 15 年的天然氣購買協議，並計劃建造一條每天輸送量高達 1.5 億立方英尺的高壓 20 英寸天然氣管道。該基礎設施將確保我們的外賣需求，同時適應未來的增長和第三方數量，為該地區提供急需的外賣能力。

Finally, we continue to make progress on our power joint venture, which was initially designed in 2023 to reduce Riley Permian's reliance on an intermittent and less reliable grid. We expanded the project scope in 2024 to include new power generation for the sale of energy into ERCOT, capitalizing on attractive market fundamentals within the Texas power grid.

最後，我們繼續在電力合資企業方面取得進展，該合資企業最初於 2023 年設計，旨在減少 Riley Permian 對間歇性且可靠性較低的電網的依賴。我們在 2024 年擴大了專案範圍，包括將新發電量納入 ERCOT 能源銷售範圍，充分利用德州電網內具有吸引力的市場基本面。

As part of our future focused strategy, we will continue to invest strategically, while maintaining balance sheet flexibility and preserving access to capital markets should additional actionable opportunities arise. Now I'll turn the call over to John Suter, our COO, to discuss operational results for the quarter, followed by Philip Riley, our CFO, who will discuss forward guidance.

作為我們未來重點策略的一部分，我們將繼續進行策略性投資，同時保持資產負債表的靈活性，並在出現更多可行機會時保留進入資本市場的管道。現在，我將把電話轉給我們的營運長約翰·蘇特 (John Suter)，討論本季的營運業績，然後由我們的財務長菲利普·萊利 (Philip Riley) 討論前瞻性指引。

Thank you, Bobby, and good morning. Once again, Riley demonstrated excellence in operations through safe operating practices. The team achieved a total recordable incident rate of 0 for 2024. We achieved 90% safe days in the year, a metric requiring no recordable incidents, vehicle accidents or spills over 10 barrels.

謝謝你，鮑比，早安。萊利再次透過安全的操作實踐展示了其卓越的營運能力。該團隊在 2024 年實現了總可記錄事故率為 0。我們實現了全年 90% 的安全天數，這項指標要求沒有發生可記錄的事故、車輛事故或超過 10 桶的洩漏。

In 2024, we drilled 30, completed 20, and turned in line 22 gross operated wells. The additional wells turned in line are carried over from Q4 2023 completion activity. Our 2024 drilling and completion campaign achieved measurable success in both fiscal and operational metrics. We decreased our cost per foot across both Texas and New Mexico assets by 11% year over year in 2024.

2024 年，我們鑽探了 30 口井，完成了 20 口井，並投入了 22 口總作業井。新增的井是從 2023 年第四季完井活動中結轉的。我們的 2024 年鑽井和完井活動在財務和營運指標方面都取得了可衡量的成功。2024 年，我們在德州和新墨西哥州資產的每英尺成本比去年同期下降了 11%。

At the same time, we also increased our lateral feet drilled per day by 20% since 2023, setting records in Texas for both 1-mile and 1.5-mile laterals. Of note, all wells that were drilled and completed in 2024 were on multi-well pads that had zipper-style completions saving on rig moves and pump times. We continue to focus on driving drilling cost reductions through optimized bit selection, single BHA lateral runs, and minimize steering through better targeting resulting in shorter spud to TD times.

同時，自 2023 年以來，我們還將每天鑽探的水平井長度增加了 20%，創下了德州 1 英里和 1.5 英里水平井的記錄。值得注意的是，2024 年鑽探和完井的所有油井均位於多井平台上，並採用拉鍊式完井技術，從而節省了鑽機移動和泵送時間。我們繼續致力於透過優化鑽頭選擇、單 BHA 橫向運行來降低鑽井成本，並透過更好的定位來最大限度地減少轉向，從而縮短開鑽到鑽井的時間。

Other changes were made to optimize our completions such as increasing cluster spacing and decreasing sand loading. These strategies allowed us to achieve higher efficiency and cost savings, while maintaining or exceeding the production and reserve value, of which our assets have shown to be capable.

我們也做出了其他改變來優化完井效果，例如增加簇間距和減少砂負荷。這些策略使我們能夠實現更高的效率和成本節約，同時保持或超過我們的資產所證明的生產和儲備價值。

Net production grew from 4.8 million to 5.52 million barrels of oil year over year in 2024, an increase of 15%, while equivalent production is up 22%, from 6.79 billion to 8.25 million barrels of oil equivalent. Our average daily net production was 15.91 MBo per day and 25.03 MBoe per day for the fourth quarter of 2024.

2024年，淨產量年增15%，從480萬桶石油增加到552萬桶石油，而當量產量增加22%，從67.9億桶石油當量增加到825萬桶石油當量。我們的平均每日淨產量為 15.91 MBoe/天，2024 年第四季為 25.03 MBoe/天。

We continue to work with our midstream partners to maximize gas sales through strategic infrastructure projects and optimizations. Of note, we were able to capture and sell more of our produced gas in Texas resulting in the same oil production, but at a lower percentage of oil in the overall mix.

我們繼續與中游合作夥伴合作，透過策略基礎設施項目和優化來最大限度地提高天然氣銷售。值得注意的是，我們能夠在德克薩斯州捕獲和銷售更多的天然氣，從而實現相同的石油產量，但石油在整體結構中所佔的比例較低。

The strategy in Texas has allowed us to drive full field development at a pace controlled by us. Allowing us to be flexible to market conditions and other industry considerations. We will continue to utilize this approach as we develop our New Mexico assets. This value creation is the main basis for our added focus on infrastructure in 2025.

德州的策略使我們能夠以自己控制的速度推動油田的全面開發。使我們能夠靈活地適應市場條件和其他行業考慮。在開發新墨西哥資產時，我們將繼續採用這種方法。這種價值創造是我們在 2025 年更加關注基礎設施的主要基礎。

The production increase was achieved, while maintaining low operating costs. Our LOE per BOE for 2024 was $8.66 per equivalent barrel, roughly flat with the 2023 full year metric. Routine cleanout workovers have gotten more efficient in our Texas asset as we've continued to refine our operations. These efficiencies, including timing of work overs, optimization of chemical treatments, and tool selection.

在保持較低營運成本的同時實現了產量成長。我們 2024 年每桶油當量的 LOE 為每桶當量 8.66 美元，與 2023 年全年指標基本持平。隨著我們不斷改進運營，我們在德克薩斯州的資產的常規清理修井變得更加高效。這些效率包括修井時間安排、化學處理的最佳化和工具選擇。

As a result, our cleanouts cost 33% less than they did just two years ago, and we began doing them proactively resulting in higher production for longer before intervening. Overall, Texas workover expense is down 16% year over year on a per BOE basis in 2024.

結果，我們的清理成本比兩年前降低了 33%，而且我們開始主動進行清理，從而在幹預之前實現了更長時間的更高產量。總體而言，到 2024 年，德州的修井費用將以每桶油當量年減 16%。

Also in 2024, we completed our New Mexico plugging requirements that came as a part of the 2023 acquisition, on schedule and within budget. This will result in a substantially lower spend for ARO in 2025.

此外，我們在 2024 年按計劃並在預算之內完成了 2023 年收購中提出的新墨西哥州封堵要求。這將導致 2025 年 ARO 支出大幅降低。

Related to the midstream development that Bobby discussed, the fourth quarter of 2024 saw the initial construction phases of our New Mexico gathering and compression project. Commissioning of the compression portion of this project is currently underway, with the first high-pressure sales before the end of this month. We will begin the project with roughly 15 million a day compression capacity to our existing gatherers high-pressure system and in the process, leaving an additional low-pressure capacity to fill in the interim.

與 Bobby 討論的中游開發相關，2024 年第四季是我們新墨西哥州收集和壓縮專案的初始建設階段。該項目壓縮部分目前正在調試，首批高壓產品將於本月底前銷售。我們將以每天約 1500 萬的壓縮能力開始該項目，以補充我們現有的收集器高壓系統，並在此過程中留下額外的低壓能力以填補過渡期。

Further compression, gathering and transmission, infrastructure will continue to be built out over 2025, increasing our ability to deliver gas consistently and reliably. We continue to utilize our power generation station with a greater percentage of our existing Texas assets.

2025年，我們將繼續建造進一步的壓縮、收集和輸送基礎設施，以提高我們持續可靠地輸送天然氣的能力。我們將繼續利用現有德州資產的更大比例的發電站。

We're currently using roughly 20% more self-generated power than at the end of 2024. This lets us control our Texas development plan without relying on utilities to drive our development timing. We're evaluating the benefits of a similar installation in New Mexico.

我們目前使用的自發電量比 2024 年底增加約 20%。這使我們能夠控制我們的德州發展計劃，而無需依賴公用事業來推動我們的發展時間。我們正在評估在新墨西哥州進行類似安裝的好處。

In summary for the year, we produced 22% more equivalent production spend 13% more net wells, turned in line 28% more net wells, operated with flat LOE per equivalent barrel, and spent 19% less D&C capital dollars, all while delivering stellar safety metrics. It was an impressive year for safe, efficient, and technically driven development of our asset base. I want to congratulate the Riley development and operational team for a very successful 2024. Philip, I'll turn it over to you.

總結這一年，我們的等效產量增加了 22%，淨井支出增加了 13%，淨井上線增加了 28%，每桶當量油井的 LOE 保持不變，並且 D&C 資本支出減少了 19%，同時實現了出色的安全指標。這是我們資產基礎安全、高效、技術驅動發展的令人印象深刻的一年。我要祝賀 Riley 開發和營運團隊在 2024 年取得了巨大成功。菲利普，我把它交給你。

Thank you, John. I won't address the 2024 financial results as most are straightforward, but I'll add some color on new disclosures and metrics. Beginning with the most recent financials and in forward guidance, we've separately lifted midstream CapEx, which, in turn, allows us to show a pure upstream free cash flow metric separate from total free cash flow.

謝謝你，約翰。我不會討論 2024 年的財務結果，因為大多數都很簡單，但我會對新的揭露和指標進行一些說明。從最近的財務數據和前瞻性指引開始，我們單獨提高了中游資本支出，這反過來又使我們能夠顯示與總自由現金流分開的純上游自由現金流指標。

Upstream free cash flow is a residual cash flow after reinvesting CapEx and upstream assets for production volume maintenance or growth outside of acquisitions. We believe this transparency will be helpful to shareholders given the different stages of maturity of our upstream business, which is well established as compared to these newer midstream assets.

上游自由現金流是將資本支出和上游資產再投資於產量維持或收購之外的成長後的剩餘現金流。我們相信，考慮到我們的上游業務處於不同的成熟階段，這種透明度將對股東有所幫助，與這些較新的中游資產相比，我們的上游業務已經非常成熟。

For most capital-intensive businesses, the ability to generate positive free cash flow will be correlated with the maturity of the business with early-stage businesses often having growth capital investments exceeding operating cash flow.

對於大多數資本密集型企業而言，產生正自由現金流的能力與企業的成熟度有關，早期企業的成長資本投資通常超過經營現金流。

To apply the example, we allocated upstream free cash flow in 2024 as follows: 38% was allocated to additional growth initiatives, including 15% to an upstream acquisition; 14% to our power JV; and 9% to the new midstream project. 38% went to debt reduction, lowering debt by $90 million year over year to one-time leverage at year-end. With the final 24% of dividends.

為了應用此範例，我們在 2024 年分配上游自由現金流如下：38% 分配給額外的成長計劃，包括 15% 分配給上游收購；14% 分配給我們的電力合資企業；9% 分配給新的中游項目。 38% 用於減少債務，使債務年減 9,000 萬美元，年底達到一次性槓桿。加上最後24%的股利。

Moving on to our 2025 plan and guidance. If the primary objective in 2024 was to demonstrate the capital efficiency of our asset base and to generate annual free cash flow then the core objective of 2025 plan can be characterized as longer-term positioning, wider business building and option aggregation. Beginning with our upstream business, we're showing a range of total full year production growth of 9% to 14%, with oil up 5% to 8%.

繼續我們的 2025 年計劃和指導。如果 2024 年的主要目標是展示我們資產基礎的資本效率並產生年度自由現金流，那麼 2025 年計畫的核心目標則可以概括為長期定位、更廣泛的業務建設和選擇權聚合。從上游業務開始，我們預計全年總產量成長率為 9% 至 14%，其中石油產量成長率為 5% 至 8%。

The total production growth rate is higher than the oil rate as we should benefit from the full year impact of increased gas processing in Texas, which leads to the gassier mix that John referenced. We've got a fairly broad range of D&C CapEx partially to reflect some optionality and partially given uncertainty and non-op activity.

總產量成長率高於石油成長率，因為我們應該受益於德州天然氣加工量增加對全年的影響，這導致了約翰提到的天然氣組合。我們的 D&C 資本支出範圍相當廣泛，部分是為了反映一些可選性，部分是為了考慮不確定性和非操作活動。

Full-year operated D&C CapEx is forecast to increase by about 9%, while non-op spend could be $10 million up from essentially zero last year. We're currently seeing well costs maybe 2% to 3% higher than last year, but we're showing full year upstream CapEx increasing by a higher percentage basis, including higher relative to production volume growth rates, primarily due to development being back-end weighted. So for measurement purposes, the CapEx is fully captured in 2025, while a smaller percentage of production is captured within the year.

預計全年營運的 D&C 資本支出將增加約 9%，而非營運支出可能從去年的零增加 1,000 萬美元。我們目前看到的油井成本可能比去年高出 2% 到 3%，但全年上游資本支出的成長百分比更高，包括相對於產量成長率更高，這主要是由於開發是後端加權的。因此，出於測量目的，資本支出將在 2025 年全部實現，而當年內實現的產量百分比則較小。

Specifically, 45% of our net operated wells put online are scheduled for the fourth quarter, most of which are currently set for New Mexico. There's a scenario, where we might accelerate the midstream project. And if it's operational by late in the year, then this might allow us to flow into the new pipe and also collect some midstream revenue. Other aspects of upstream, including infrastructure outside of the gas midstream project, land and other smaller items, which are mostly in line with spending levels from 2024 on an accrual basis.

具體來說，我們計劃在第四季投產的淨營運油井中有 45% 是新墨西哥州的。有一種情況是，我們可能會加速中游項目。如果它在今年年底投入運營，那麼這可能會讓我們流入新的管道並獲得一些中游收入。上游的其他方面，包括天然氣中游項目以外的基礎設施、土地和其他較小項目，基本上與2024年起按應計制計算的支出水準一致。

Mid-stream spending ranges shown of $60 million to $80 million correspond to what we believe is a reasonable construction timing schedule though it could be slower or faster. We plan to fund this with cash flow, cash on hand, and borrowings from our credit facility as needed. We forecast staying approximately neutral for the year on debt at about $70 WTI.

中游支出範圍為 6,000 萬美元至 8,000 萬美元，我們認為這符合合理的建設時間表，儘管它可能更慢或更快。我們計劃利用現金流、庫存現金以及根據需要從我們的信貸機構借款來為此提供資金。我們預測今年債務水準將基本維持中性，WTI 價格約為 70 美元。

We're fortunate to have our balance sheet in good shape should we choose to increase debt modestly during the build-out phase. I'll note that we explored the possibility of alternative financing for the midstream project, but have currently chosen to keep it simple, on balance sheet with our low-cost revolver as well with full equity ownership, while we can reconsider options as the project develops, and as cash flow takes shape.

如果我們選擇在建設階段適度增加債務，那麼我們很幸運我們的資產負債表狀況良好。我要指出的是，我們探討了中游項目替代融資的可能性，但目前選擇保持簡單，在資產負債表上使用低成本循環信貸以及完全股權所有權，同時我們可以隨著項目的發展和現金流的形成重新考慮選擇。

For Power, we show a tighter investing range of $18 million to $22 million. Recall this is not CapEx at the Riley level, but rather a contribution to an equity method investment from Riley down to the joint venture after the benefit of project level financing at the JV level and the net to each 50% JV partner. This year's spend is for funding the ERCOT project, and the team is making good progress there. We listed several updates on page 11 of our investor presentation.

對於 Power，我們給出了更窄的投資範圍，即 1800 萬美元至 2200 萬美元。回想一下，這不是 Riley 層級的資本支出，而是在獲得合資企業層面的專案級融資收益以及對每個 50% 合資夥伴的淨收益後，Riley 對合資企業的權益法投資貢獻。今年的支出用於資助 ERCOT 項目，團隊在該項目中取得了良好的進展。我們在投資者簡報的第 11 頁列出了幾項更新。

To summarize, we're trying to build complementary assets across upstream, midstream and power that work well together and are trying to turn challenges into opportunities, aiming to create situations that allow for multiple ways to win. For example, if our working interest in operated wells in New Mexico is lower than 100%, and we have a midstream asset to benefit. Note, our average is about 60% working interest.

總而言之，我們正努力在上游、中游和電力領域建立互補的資產，使它們協同工作，並努力將挑戰轉化為機遇，旨在創造多種取勝方式的局面。例如，如果我們在新墨西哥州營運油井的工作權益低於 100%，而我們有一個中游資產可以從中受益。請注意，我們的平均工作權益約為 60%。

If GOR increase over time on our New Mexico oil wells, then we have a midstream asset to benefit. If gas basis in the Permian stays materially negative, then we have lower cost feedstock for power generation, leading to higher spark spreads for selling to ERCOT.

如果我們新墨西哥州油井的 GOR 隨著時間的推移而增加，那麼我們將從中游資產中受益。如果二疊紀盆地的天然氣基礎保持大幅負值，那麼我們的發電原料成本就會降低，從而導致向 ERCOT 銷售的電力火花價差更高。

And lastly, just for context, if gas index prices for the year stay somewhat elevated, yet basis remains tough, we still might realize an effective gas price of roughly $1 to $2, which could correspond to $10 million to $20 million of revenue compared to negative $1.4 million last year. I'll turn it back to Bobby for closing. Thank you.

最後，僅就背景而言，如果今年的天然氣指數價格保持一定高位，但基礎仍然堅挺，我們仍然可以實現大約 1 至 2 美元的有效天然氣價格，這可能相當於 1000 萬至 2000 萬美元的收入，而去年的收入為負 140 萬美元。我會將其交還給 Bobby 來結束。謝謝。

Thank you, Philip. Once again, we appreciate your time and interest in Riley Permian. While we're pleased with our strong 2024 results, our focus remains firmly on the future. We are committed to building long-term value through disciplined capital allocation, strategic infrastructure investments, and operational excellence.

謝謝你，菲利普。再次感謝您對 Riley Permian 所付出的時間和關注。雖然我們對 2024 年的強勁業績感到滿意，但我們的重點仍然放在未來。我們致力於透過嚴格的資本配置、策略性基礎設施投資和卓越的營運來創造長期價值。

Our recent initiatives position us for sustained growth and we believe our long-term strategy will continue to drive shareholder value well beyond this upcoming year. Thank you for your continued support. Operator, you may now turn the call over for questions.

我們最近的舉措使我們實現了持續成長，我們相信我們的長期策略將在未來一年後繼續推動股東價值的成長。感謝您一直以來的支持。接線員，您現在可以轉接電話詢問問題。

(Operator Instructions) Neal Dingmann, Truist Securities.

（操作員指示） Neal Dingmann，Truist Securities。

Phil, maybe first one, just on the power side. I'm wondering you continue to ramp-up, you've got ERCOT project coming quite soon. I'm just wondering, could you tell us maybe on the heels of that, what are the things you would consider? Maybe what type of upside? And then maybe just for my second, I love the potential for the midstream gas contract? And just wonder besides the one that you've agreed for, what other upside do we see there?

菲爾，也許是第一個，只是在權力方面。我很好奇您是否會繼續努力，您的 ERCOT 專案很快就會啟動。我只是想知道，您能否告訴我們，在此基礎上，您會考慮哪些事情？也許有什麼樣的好處？然後也許只是我的第二個，我喜歡中游天然氣合約的潛力？我只是想知道，除了您同意的那個之外，我們還看到了什麼其他好處？

Yeah. Thanks, Neal. Yes, power merchant project is going great. Really excited about it, put some updates there on our slide in the investor deck, we've got all the thermal generation. It's a tight market out there. So we're excited to have procured all of that.

是的。謝謝，尼爾。是的，電力商專案進展順利。對此感到非常興奮，我們在投資者簡報的幻燈片上放了一些更新，我們擁有所有的熱能發電。那裡的市場很緊張。因此我們很高興能夠獲得所有這些。

We've got our sites for thermal. We've got several interconnection agreements. Those take a while. There's both power and gas. We're excited to have done that.

我們已經找到了熱成像站點。我們已簽署多項互連協定。這些需要一段時間。有電，也有氣。我們很高興能夠做到這一點。

Next steps will be construction. That will start in the following quarter, maybe that last 90 days, gas infrastructure. Maybe that's a six- to nine-month build. And then we've got some power interconnect there, 30-day maybe ERCOT decommissioning.

下一步將進行施工。這將在下一季開始，也許是最後 90 天，天然氣基礎設施。這可能需要六到九個月的時間才能完成。然後我們在那裡有一些電力互連，可能需要 30 天的 ERCOT 退役時間。

So we still think that's kind of a fourth quarter deal. It might roll into the first part of next year depending on how much testing we want to do. So that's kind of the timing. As we noted, we are assessing batteries still. It's been a volatile market, both on economics and then with some latest tariff developments and such.

所以我們仍然認為這是一種第四季的交易。根據我們想要進行多少測試，它可能會持續到明年上半年。這就是時間安排。正如我們所指出的，我們仍在評估電池。這是一個動盪的市場，既有經濟因素，也有最新的關稅發展等。

Just a quick thought there, battery price. I guess, first battery generation that's been loaded to the grid has been very large. This is a bit like LED TVs, the pricing. You've got a ton of supply, price has been falling. The margin has been falling as well. And so we're just continuing to assess how much we want to do there.

我只是快速想了一下，電池價格。我猜，第一批裝入電網的電池發電量已經非常大了。這有點像LED電視的定價。你有大量供應，價格一直在下降。利潤率也一直在下降。因此，我們只是繼續評估我們想在那裡做多少事情。

Overall project though, excited about it. Prices are looking good. We think this could be a nice business for next year. On the whole, it's relatively small for our total company. We like to think of it as like a hedge for a natural gas basis As long as nat gas basis on the Permian is very poor and even at these higher Henry Hub gas prices, you still get some nice spark spread.

總體而言，我對這個項目感到很興奮。價格看起來不錯。我們認為這對明年來說可能是一筆不錯的生意。整體來說，對於我們整個公司來說這個數字相對較小。我們喜歡把它看作是對天然氣基礎的對沖，只要二疊紀的天然氣基礎非常差，即使在亨利中心天然氣價格較高的情況下，你仍然可以獲得一些不錯的火花價差。

We report this as an equity method investment. So the financials are down below at the JV. They just trickle up to us in the form of that equity method. We've also got a project financing down there, which limits our need to have to invest through capital other than the equity we're showing there.

我們將其報告為權益法投資。因此合資公司的財務狀況不佳。它們只是以權益法的形式流向我們。我們還在那裡獲得了專案融資，這限制了我們透過我們在那裡展示的股權之外的資本進行投資的需要。

So that's kind of an overview. Happy to answer some more, if helpful. But I know you asked about midstream, I might let Bobby talk about midstream just to give you some exciting outlook there.

這是一種概述。如果有幫助的話，很樂意回答更多問題。但我知道你問到中游，我可能會讓 Bobby 談論中游，只是為了給你一些令人興奮的展望。

Yes. Thanks, Philip. No, we're excited about as we develop our New Mexico assets to kind of gain control of our molecule as quickly as we can and make sure that we're not reliant on somebody else's takeaway capacity for us to develop.

是的。謝謝，菲利普。不，我們很高興能夠開發我們在新墨西哥州的資產，以便盡快控制我們的分子，並確保我們不會依賴別人的外賣能力來發展。

So I think we're putting in a long-term plan to solve for infrastructure in New Mexico that includes gas, water and power, which is what we did in Texas initially when we started there, and that led us to the efficiencies that we're able to operate in Texas with now we expect to -- after this year of getting all us up in place to be able to really see some benefits in the future in New Mexico. So that's just part of the business is getting the molecules to market, and we're staying on top of it.

因此，我認為我們正在製定一項長期計劃來解決新墨西哥州的基礎設施問題，包括天然氣、水和電力，這也是我們最初在德克薩斯州開展業務時所做的事情，這使我們能夠在德克薩斯州提高運營效率，現在我們預計——在今年一切就緒之後，我們能夠在未來在新墨西哥州真正看到一些好處。所以這只是業務的一部分，即將分子推向市場，我們會一直保持領先地位。

Derrick Whitfield, Texas Capital.

德瑞克·惠特菲爾德，德州首府。

With my first question, I wanted to focus on the New Mexico Gas midstream project. I certainly understand the need for the project, could you perhaps speak to your decision to build it versus seek a solution from a midstream operator?

我的第一個問題想集中在新墨西哥州天然氣中游項目。我當然理解該專案的必要性，您能否談談您決定自行建造該專案還是尋求中游運營商的解決方案？

Yeah, let me kind of dig into that because basically, when we looked at what our development potential would be with over 100 net locations and probably the upwards of close to 200 gross locations, the choices that we had in the area were somewhat limited. The whole region is suffering from a lack of takeaway capacity, not only us but some of the other operators in the area and basically building a one-off treating plant in New Mexico, a lot of difficult permitting regulations in the state right now.

是的，讓我深入研究這個問題，因為基本上，當我們考慮擁有超過 100 個淨網點和可能接近 200 個總網點的發展潛力時，我們在該領域的選擇有些有限。整個地區都面臨著缺乏外賣能力的問題，不僅是我們，還有該地區的一些其他運營商，他們基本上在新墨西哥州建造了一個一次性處理廠，而該州目前有很多困難的許可規定。

And a plant would have to be quite large to actually service what our long-term needs were. So the option we opted for is just to move the molecule through low-pressure gathering and compression into a high-pressure line that we're building roughly 56 miles, something along that neighborhood to tie into a midstream company for treating and processing that.

而且工廠必須相當大才能真正滿足我們的長期需求。因此，我們選擇的方案是將分子透過低壓收集和壓縮移動到我們正在建造的大約 56 英里長的高壓管道中，沿著該管道與中游公司連接以對其進行處理和加工。

We're looped into about 12 different processing plants. So it will really create more efficiency for us with limited or no downtime. So I think long term, it's kind of a big pill to swallow initially, but I think you're going to see a lot of upside in that, not only from our production, but from other operators in the area.

我們與大約 12 家不同的加工廠有聯繫。因此，它確實會在有限或沒有停機時間的情況下為我們創造更高的效率。因此我認為從長遠來看，這最初是一個難以接受的事實，但我認為你會看到很多好處，不僅來自我們的生產，還來自該地區的其他運營商。

Yeah. Let me add on one thing there, Derrick. Bobby gave you a little nugget for those paying attention. He said 100 net locations and 200 gross. So what that tells you is our working interest is less than 100%.

是的。讓我補充一點，德瑞克。鮑比為那些關注此事的人提供了一點提示。他說淨位置有 100 個，總位置有 200 個。所以這告訴你我們的工作興趣不到 100%。

I think it's probably closer to 60%, 55% and 50%. But inherently, what that means is you've got -- even for your produced -- for your operated molecule, you've got a fair amount of non-owned working interest in there.

我認為可能更接近 60%、55% 和 50%。但本質上，這意味著你擁有——甚至對於你生產——對於你操作的分子，你擁有相當數量的非自有工作權益。

And so while we're not talking about fees and revenue for this midstream project just yet know that we're going to charge a market rate and there are other parties than benefiting that. Even if zero third-party producer shows up, we've got a fair amount there of non-owned working interest that can represent true incremental revenue.

因此，雖然我們還沒有談論這個中游項目的費用和收入，但要知道我們將收取市場價格，而且還有其他方可以從中受益。即使沒有第三方生產商出現，我們仍然擁有相當數量的非自有工作權益，可以代表真正的增量收入。

Terrific. Great color. And then referencing slide 6, and then also thanks for the color on D&C optimization in your prepared remarks. But maybe referencing slide 6, could you speak to how D&C cost per foot progressed throughout 2024? And then what's baked into your 2025 plan from the perspective of location mix, lateral length and cost per foot?

了不起。顏色很棒。然後參考投影片 6，同時也感謝您在準備好的評論中對 D&C 優化的闡述。但也許參考投影片 6，您能否談談 2024 年每英尺 D&C 成本的變化？那麼從位置組合、橫向長度和每英尺成本的角度來看，您的 2025 年計畫有哪些內容？

Yeah. So 2024 was an excellent year. Again, we drilled predominantly in our Champions asset, worked our way into New Mexico completed a couple of those wells that we're really excited about. We're probably 20 wells in horizontal wells between us and our predecessor, and it really looks just as exciting as our Texas asset.

是的。所以 2024 年是極好的一年。再次，我們主要在 Champions 資產上進行鑽探，並進入新墨西哥州完成了幾口令我們非常興奮的井。我們和前任之間大概有 20 口水平井，它看起來確實和我們的德州資產一樣令人興奮。

But from a cost per foot, we did continue to improve. Like we said, I think we were down 11%, if I have that number right. You've seen the slide, it's around $520 a foot, I think, for fourth quarter for the 2024. But no, we've had to kind of strategically wait until we have our infrastructure fully figured out, which plan we were going to go with. That's why, again, we were kind of heavily in Champions upfront.

但從每英尺的成本來看，我們確實繼續改進。就像我們說的，如果我沒記錯的話，我們的銷售額下降了 11%。你已經看到了下滑趨勢，我認為，2024 年第四季的價格約為每英尺 520 美元。但不，我們必須從戰略上等到我們的基礎設施完全完善之後，再決定採用哪種計劃。這就是為什麼我們再次大力支持冠軍賽。

In 2025, I think you'll see kind of the same strategy where we're picking our rig back up very soon and starting in Champions, where we have the infrastructure. Again, we've put that money in, in prior years, which allows us the flexibility to spend our money there for development. And again, we'll be doing that same thing in '25 once we get the infrastructure in place.

到 2025 年，我想你會看到同樣的策略，我們很快就會恢復我們的裝備，並從我們擁有基礎設施的冠軍賽開始。再說了，我們在前幾年就投入了這筆資金，這使我們能夠靈活地將資金用於開發。再次強調，一旦基礎設施到位，我們將在 25 年內做同樣的事情。

So we're putting our New Mexico drilling in the back half of the year. We'll have all of our compression and some of our short-term upgrades to be able to go to our current gatherer in place by the time we complete those wells.

因此我們將在今年下半年開始在新墨西哥州鑽探。當我們完成這些井時，我們將完成所有的壓縮和一些短期升級，以便能夠進入我們目前的收集器。

We're also doing some testing as we speak on some completions that we drilled late last year there in New Mexico. We think that will give us some technical advantages as we start completing wells in the second half of '25. So that's kind of why we started in Champions and in New Mexico for this year.

我們也對去年年底在新墨西哥州鑽探的一些完井進行了測試。我們認為，當我們在 2025 年下半年開始完井時，這將為我們帶來一些技術優勢。這就是我們今年在冠軍賽和新墨西哥州開始比賽的原因。

And just to clarify on lateral length for 2025. You saw an improvement, I think, 20% longer in 2024. Would you project that to continue to lengthen?

只是想澄清一下 2025 年的橫向長度。我認為，到 2024 年，您會看到改進，持續時間將延長 20%。您預計這個時間會繼續延長嗎？

I think we are -- in Champions, we tend to have a setup, where 1.5-mile laterals are very feasible. In New Mexico, much of what we had of the Permian wise, when we purchased, they're set up on 1-mile units. But we still think there's other places to say there, where half of the extra cost of the Mexico versus Texas is in stimulation.

我認為我們是——在冠軍賽中，我們傾向於有一個設置，其中 1.5 英里的橫向路線非常可行。在新墨西哥州，當我們購買二疊紀盆地的大部分資源時，它們都是以 1 英里為單位建立的。但我們仍然認為還有其他地方可以這麼說，墨西哥與德克薩斯州相比，額外成本的一半用於刺激。

As I mentioned, we're already playing around with our recipe of increasing stage length. And also looking at -- we are fracking with slickwater in New Mexico and more of the gel frac in Texas. We're already sampling what a crosslink frac can do in New Mexico, which could provide for some upside later. As we see the results of those tests right now will -- that has potential, at least for savings in 2025. We'll see what the tests show. But we're excited about the opportunity that could be significant.

正如我所提到的，我們已經在嘗試增加舞台長度的方法。我們還看到——我們在新墨西哥州使用滑溜水進行水力壓裂，在德克薩斯州使用更多的凝膠壓裂。我們已經在新墨西哥州試用交聯壓裂技術，這可能會在以後帶來一些好處。正如我們現在所看到的，這些測試的結果具有潛力，至少在 2025 年可以實現節約。我們將看看測試結果如何。但我們對這個可能具有重大意義的機會感到興奮。

John White, ROTH Capital.

約翰懷特（John White），羅仕資本（ROTH Capital）。

And congratulations on very nice results all the way around, especially your reserve -- proved reserve report. Wondering if you could provide or talk about some more detail on your ERCOT effort. Maybe give us an idea of how many deals are being worked on? And what's the status of those deals and when do you think you might get something executed that you can announce?

恭喜您取得了非常好的成績，特別是您的儲量－已探明儲量報告。想知道您是否可以提供或談論有關 ERCOT 工作的更多細節。或許可以告訴我們有多少交易正在進行中？這些交易的狀態如何？您認為什麼時候可以完成並宣布這些交易？

Yeah, John, this is Philip. What I'd say right now, we've got our project that we're deep in the middle of the Phase 2, the first one of the ERCOT that we're doing. We like the market response so far. We appreciate people being supportive.

是的，約翰，這是菲利普。我現在要說的是，我們的專案正處於第二階段的中期，這是我們正在進行的 ERCOT 的第一個專案。到目前為止，我們對市場的反應感到滿意。我們感謝大家的支持。

We're intrigued about doing more. At the same time, you see the news and what's happening everybody's talking power for data centers and so forth. We're -- I'll tell you we're exploring different ways we can participate in that. We've got large amount of gas reserves. We're going to have increased control over some of our gas.

我們很有興趣做更多的事情。同時，你會看到新聞和正在發生的事情，每個人都在談論資料中心的電力等等。我們——我會告訴你，我們正在探索參與其中的不同方式。我們有大量的天然氣儲量。我們將加強對部分天然氣的控制。

So we're intrigued by the opportunity. We're grateful that we had a nice first-mover advantage. (inaudible) 75 inbound solicitations and they're working on all of these.

所以我們對這個機會很有興趣。我們很慶幸自己擁有良好的先發優勢。 （聽不清楚）75 個入站招標，他們正在處理所有這些。

So it's very topical. That's exciting. Glad our industry is being both responsive and forward thinking. I'd say, hang tight, and let's see how it goes. We'll be back here in two months reporting on first quarter.

所以它非常具有現實意義。這太令人興奮了。很高興我們的行業既反應敏捷又具有前瞻性。我想說，堅持住，讓我們看看情況如何。兩個月後我們將回來報告第一季的情況。

Noel Parks, Tuohy Brothers.

諾埃爾·帕克斯 (Noel Parks)、圖伊兄弟 (Tuohy Brothers)。

Good morning. Looking into the year, I'm assuming service availability or cost pressure are like not a big concern in terms of the scenarios you've been looking at? Is that fair to say?

早安.展望今年，我認為就您所考慮的情況而言，服務可用性或成本壓力並不是一個大問題？這樣說公平嗎？

Yeah. So I think we're doing really pretty well. The drilling side is neutral to slight improvement there's been actually a really nice reduction in -- through consolidation and more of the stimulation services. So I think what we're experiencing there in New Mexico has been a good availability, and we've had some nice savings from, say, 2023.

是的。所以我認為我們做得非常好。鑽井方面情況中性或略有改善，透過整合和更多的刺激服務，實際上已經有了很好的減少。所以我認為我們在新墨西哥州所經歷的供應情況很好，而且從 2023 年開始我們就節省了一些開支。

And just to add on to that, Noel, if there's any confusion, I've mentioned in my prepared remarks, we see well costs for the years slightly up. That's what we're modeling currently. Hopefully, that's conservative.

另外，諾埃爾，如果有任何疑問，我剛才在準備好的發言中提到過，我們發現這些年來的成本略有上升。這就是我們目前正在建模的。希望這是保守的。

Some of what that accounts for are some fixed cost facilities for some of these new areas that we're pushing into for our five well pads. So it's got that fixed facility cost that somewhat offsets the benefits that John is describing on drilling and completion.

其中一些是針對我們為五個井場推進的一些新區域的一些固定成本設施。因此，固定設施成本在一定程度上抵消了約翰所描述的鑽井和完井效益。

Great. And you did mention just the statistic that you're using 20% more self-generated power than a year ago. And is that a good sort of plateau for where you think you'll be? Or is there upside to have you anticipate for that?

偉大的。您確實提到了統計數據，即您使用的自發電量比一年前增加了 20%。您認為這會是您未來達到的一個良好穩定狀態嗎？或者說，這有什麼好處值得您期待嗎？

Yes, I think what we were doing is really taking our time to test this to ensure the high run rate and reliability we're continuing to transfer overload. We've got more to do there. We've got plenty of room. So we're excited to keep doing that. And I think, you'll see a little bit more there next time we're talking.

是的，我認為我們確實在花時間測試這一點，以確保高運行率和可靠性，以便繼續傳輸過載。我們還有很多事情要做。我們有足夠的空間。因此我們很高興繼續這樣做。我想，下次我們談話時你會看到更多內容。

All in all, that shouldn't translate to much change in our LOE. This is a small party overall company, but it's nice to say that we're doing that. And it's nice to have some ownership then in that joint venture.

總而言之，這不應該導致我們的 LOE 發生太大變化。這是一家小型派對綜合公司，但很高興地說我們正在做這件事。能夠在該合資企業中擁有一些所有權真是太好了。

(Operator Instructions) Jeff Robertson, Water Tower Research.

（操作員指示）傑夫·羅伯遜，水塔研究。

On the midstream projects, can you talk a little bit more about timing of when you think it might come into service? And also, Philip, on the benefits you outlined will those show up in the financial except for line items? Or would they show up, for example, if you're marketing third-party gas where you -- for nonoperators, would those be a reduction to your LOE?

關於中游項目，您能否再多談談您認為它何時可能投入使用？另外，菲利普，您概述的這些好處是否會在財務報表中顯示出來，除了明細項目之外？或者它們會出現嗎？例如，如果您正在行銷第三方天然氣，對於非營運商來說，這些會減少您的 LOE 嗎？

Yes, this is John. I'll take the timing of the midstream. I think as we see it, it's kind of as early as possibly the end of 2025. And then likely the longer case is somewhere in mid to end of first half, third quarter. It really comes down to about four different variables.

是的，這是約翰。我將選擇中游的時間。我認為，正如我們所見，最早可能在 2025 年底。而長期來看，這種情況很可能發生在上半年中期至末期，也就是第三季。它實際上歸結為四個不同的變數。

It's the right away, the regulatory approval of the route. Those are both kind of, I don't know, five to nine month type things. They run in parallel. And then afterwards, you have a decision to roll the pipe for, again, a long pipeline that Bobby described.

這是該路線的立即監管批准。我不知道，這些都是五到九個月的事。它們並行運行。然後，你再決定是否要將管道捲起來，就像 Bobby 所描述的一樣，形成一條長管道。

And then ultimately, it's the execution. The execution of it is the most obvious timing-wise, very little extra play there. It really is -- comes down to the right away and the regulatory approval. And we think we've got a good jump on those of getting a final route approved, being able to get that a little bit earlier order in on the pipe.

最後，就是執行。從時間角度來看，它的執行力是最明顯的，幾乎沒有額外的發揮。確實如此——這取決於立即性和監管部門的批准。我們認為，我們在獲得最終路線批准方面已經取得了很大進展，能夠更早獲得管道訂單。

We're excited about it. We would like to see this go as quick as possible. But right away in regulatory are the cheapest parts of the whole process. And so you can see what a dilemma that is for us to forecast exactly how that fits into '25 or '26 when the bigger expenses of the pipe and actually the manpower to get it laid. So those are kind of some of the key triggers of when that money will be spent.

我們對此感到很興奮。我們希望這件事能夠盡快完成。但監管是整個過程中最便宜的部分。因此，您可以看到，對於我們來說，預測 25 年或 26 年管道建設和鋪設所需的人力成本將會更高，這對我們來說是多麼困難的事情。所以這些是決定何時花掉這筆錢的一些關鍵因素。

And then, Jeff, on the income statement geography. We're still working through it, but I think at a high level, you'll see some midstream revenue. You may see midstream OpEx. And then you'll see an intercompany elimination to adjust out from the gross to the net for our owned working interest versus the gross that I described before.

然後，傑夫，談談損益表的地理位置。我們仍在努力解決這個問題，但我認為從高層次來看，你會看到一些中游收入。您可能會看到中游營運支出。然後，您將看到公司間抵消，以從總額調整為淨額，以反映我們擁有的工作權益與我之前描述的總額之間的差異。

But a reminder, you can think about it as the gross as it starts, you can jump on in Veris and look at how much gas we produce out there on a gross basis and probably do some simple math as to what some market rates could be and think about how that has the potential to grow into the future.

但提醒一下，您可以將其視為總量，您可以進入 Veris 並查看我們在總量基礎上生產了多少天然氣，並可能對一些市場價格進行一些簡單的計算，並思考它在未來如何增長的潛力。

Is the build -- Philip, I think you said that production in New Mexico would be fourth quarter weighted for 2025. Is some of that dependent on progression on the midstream system?

是建設——菲利普，我想你說過新墨西哥州的產量將在 2025 年第四季加權。這是否部分取決於中游系統的進展？

Yeah, absolutely, it is that really that -- it kind of depends when we get that done, whether it's in the I don't -- even if it's late fourth quarter, I think we'll be lucky to be getting much production through there, other than -- as it does turn on, there'll be some immediate impact that we'll be able to turn on of existing assets. But from newly drilled completions, that's what those -- the wells in the second half. They will either come on fourth quarter or probably first quarter of 2026.

是的，絕對如此，這真的取決於我們什麼時候完成，無論是在……即使是在第四季度末，我認為我們很幸運能夠在那裡獲得大量產量，除此之外——當它啟動時，我們將能夠立即啟動現有資產，這將產生一些直接的影響。但從新鑽完井的情況來看，這就是下半年的油井狀況。它們可能會在第四季或 2026 年第一季上市。

And just to add to that, I think there's two lenses you can consider as the physical constraint for the flow assurance is what John just addressed, gives us higher confidence to produce those, if we're going through our own system. But then there's also the opportunity, right, or opportunity cost if you don't put it through your own system. So all else equal, if we're going to be doing these we would rather put it through our own system and collect some of the fee revenue.

補充一點，我認為你可以考慮兩個鏡頭，因為流動保證的物理約束就是約翰剛才提到的，如果我們通過我們自己的系統，這給了我們更高的信心來生產它們。但如果你不將其納入自己的系統，那麼也會有機會、權利或機會成本。所以，在其他條件相同的情況下，如果我們要做這些，我們寧願透過我們自己的系統來收取部分費用收入。

And there are some other phases of the project where we are laying some gathering system into the Mexico asset, part of what we've already described. But that will bring on some other production that already exists, again, besides just what we'll be drilling.

在這個專案的其他一些階段中，我們正在為墨西哥資產鋪設一些收集系統，這是我們已經描述過的一部分。但除了我們正在鑽探的油田之外，這還將帶來一些已經存在的其他油田產量。

And lastly, on the midstream, does it -- does that footprint give you any advantages in the acquisition markets of assets that could further support the build-out?

最後，在中游，這種足跡是否會為您在資產收購市場上帶來任何優勢，從而進一步支持建設？

Well, that's pretty perceptive. Exactly what we're thinking.

嗯，這非常有洞察力。正是我們所想的。

And that will conclude the question-and-answer session and our call today. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

今天的問答環節和電話會議就到此結束。感謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開連線。