山脈資源 (RRC) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello. Welcome to the Range Resources First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Statements made during this conference call that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Statements -- such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. (Operator Instructions)

你好。歡迎參加 Range Resources 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）本次電話會議期間所作的非歷史事實的陳述均為前瞻性陳述。聲明－此類聲明存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與前瞻性聲明中的結果有重大差異。 （操作員說明）

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Laith Sando, Vice President, Investor Relations at Range Resources. Please go ahead, sir.

現在，我想將電話轉給 Range Resources 投資者關係副總裁 Laith Sando 先生。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Range's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. The speakers on today's call are Dennis Degner, Chief Executive Officer; and Mark Scucchi, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，接線生。大家早安，感謝您參加 Range 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。今天電話會議的發言人是執行長丹尼斯·德格納 (Dennis Degner)；和財務長馬克‧斯庫奇 (Mark Scucchi)。

Hopefully, you've had a chance to review the press release and updated investor presentation that we posted on our website. We may reference certain slides on the call this morning. You'll also find our 10-Q on Range's website under the Investors tab, or you can access it using the SEC's EDGAR system.

希望您有機會閱讀我們在網站上發布的新聞稿和更新的投資者簡報。我們可能會在今天早上的電話會議上引用某些幻燈片。您也可以在 Range 網站的「投資者」標籤下找到我們的 10-Q，或者您也可以使用 SEC 的 EDGAR 系統存取它。

Please note, we'll be referencing certain non-GAAP measures on today's call. Our press release provides reconciliations of these to the most comparable GAAP figures. We've also posted supplemental tables on our website that include realized pricing details by product, along with calculation of EBITDAX, cash margins, and other non-GAAP measures.

請注意，我們將在今天的電話會議上參考某些非公認會計原則措施。我們的新聞稿提供了這些數據與最具可比性的公認會計原則數據的調節。我們還在網站上發布了補充表格，其中包括按產品列出的已實現定價詳細信息，以及 EBITDAX、現金利潤率和其他非 GAAP 指標的計算。

With that, let me turn the call over to Dennis.

現在，讓我把電話轉給丹尼斯。

Thanks, Laith, and thanks to all of you for joining the call today. Range's first quarter was executed successfully and consistent with our strategy communicated earlier this year. By operating safely while driving continued operational improvements, generating free cash flow with a peer-leading capital efficiency and prudent allocation of that free cash flow balancing returns of capital to shareholders with further debt reduction and the long-term development of our world-class asset base.

謝謝萊斯，也謝謝大家今天加入電話會議。 Range 的第一季執行順利，符合我們今年稍早傳達的策略。透過安全運營，同時推動持續營運改進，以同行領先的資本效率產生自由現金流，並審慎分配自由現金流，平衡股東資本回報與進一步削減債務和我們世界級資產的長期發展。

I believe our first quarter results reflect the ongoing advancement in line with these key objectives. And showcased the resilience of Range's business, while navigating the current commodity environment. Today's operational and financial updates should feel consistent, highlighting Range's high-quality low breakeven inventory and liquids optionality, which drove another successful quarter with meaningful free cash flow.

我相信我們第一季的業績反映了根據這些關鍵目標不斷取得的進展。並展示了 Range 業務在應對當前商品環境時的彈性。今天的營運和財務更新應該感覺一致，突顯了 Range 的高品質、低盈虧平衡庫存和液體選擇性，這推動了另一個成功的季度，並帶來了有意義的自由現金流。

Beyond a quarterly view, the long-term value proposition is underpinned by Range's, low sustaining capital requirements. This low capital intensity is the result of Range's class-leading drilling and completion costs, shallow base decline, large blocky core inventory and talented team. These key attributes result in a required reinvestment rate that is among the best in the industry, providing Range of solid foundation for consistently generating significant free cash flow and returns to shareholders, while positioning Range to help meet future energy demand.

除了季度觀點之外，長期價值主張還受到 Range 較低的持續資本要求的支持。這種低資本密集度是 Range 領先的鑽井和完井成本、淺基礎下降、大量塊狀岩心庫存和優秀團隊的結果。這些關鍵屬性導致所需的再投資率處於業內最佳水平，為 Range 持續產生大量自由現金流和股東回報提供了堅實的基礎，同時幫助 Range 滿足未來的能源需求。

Whether that is through exports to international markets, or serving our needs closer to home for further electrification of our economy related to power generation needed for AI and data centers or increased domestic manufacturing. Bolstering Range's profitability and durability is our Liquids contribution, which is over 30% of our total production volume.

無論是透過向國際市場出口，還是滿足我們離家較近的需求，以實現與人工智慧和資料中心所需的發電或增加國內製造業相關的經濟進一步電氣化。 Bolstering Range 的獲利能力和耐用性是我們液體產品的貢獻，占我們總產量的 30% 以上。

As seen in the first quarter results, Liquids revenue provided an uplift to natural gas prices, with NGL price realizations equating to a premium of over $2 relative to Henry Hub pricing. When we roll all of that together, our Liquids revenue uplift. Our low capital intensity and thoughtful hedging program, you get the lowest breakeven among natural gas producers and the most resilient organic free cash flow, as evidenced by our first quarter results and 2024 projections.

從第一季的業績來看，液體收入推高了天然氣價格，NGL 的價格實現相當於相對於 Henry Hub 定價溢價超過 2 美元。當我們將所有這些結合在一起時，我們的液體收入就會增加。我們的低資本密集度和深思熟慮的對沖計劃，您將獲得天然氣生產商中最低的盈虧平衡點和最具彈性的有機自由現金流，正如我們第一季業績和 2024 年預測所證明的那樣。

Importantly, with our vast inventory of derisked high-quality Marcellus wells, we have the ability to compound our per share growth in free cash flow for decades to come. Looking back on the quarter, all-in capital came in at $170 million, with production of 2.14 Bcf equivalent per day. This capital spend aligns with our operational cadence detailed on our previous call and places us squarely within our stated capital guidance for the year.

重要的是，憑藉我們大量的無風險高品質馬塞勒斯油井庫存，我們有能力在未來幾十年內實現每股自由現金流的複合成長。回顧本季度，總資本為 1.7 億美元，每天產量為 2.14 Bcf 當量。這筆資本支出與我們先前電話會議中詳述的營運節奏一致，使我們完全符合我們今年規定的資本指導範圍。

During the quarter, 9 wells returned to sales with an average laterally exceeding 10,000 feet per well. These wells were located in the liquids-rich portion of our operating footprint, supporting the highest Liquids production profile that Range has had in many years at 32% and providing the revenue uplift touched on just moments ago.

本季度，有 9 口井恢復銷售，平均每口井橫向超過 10,000 英尺。這些井位於我們營運足跡中液體豐富的部分，支持 Range 多年來達到的最高液體產量 32%，並提供了剛才提到的收入成長。

Additionally, all of these wells are located on pads with existing production, minimizing our operating surface footprint, supporting nimble operations and driving Range's cost-efficient development approach. Production during the quarter was aided by strong well performance and continued optimization of our dry and wet gas gathering systems.

此外，所有這些井都位於現有生產的平台上，最大限度地減少了我們的作業面積，支援靈活的營運並推動 Range 的經濟高效的開發方法。本季的生產得益於強勁的油井表現以及乾濕天然氣收集系統的持續優化。

These consistent quarter-over-quarter results demonstrate the repeatable nature of our large contiguous acreage position and the benefit of returning to pad sites for our ongoing development.

這些穩定的季度環比結果證明了我們大面積連續種植面積位置的可重複性，以及返回基地進行持續開發的好處。

Turning to operations. 2 super-spec horizontal rigs operated during the quarter, adding 13 laterals with an average lateral length of just under 16,000 feet per well. This was a new quarterly record for Range and is the type of performance that underpins the improved well cost Range expects for 2024. For completions, the team successfully onboarded our new build electric frac fleet that will be utilized throughout 2024.

轉向營運。本季營運了 2 個超規格水平鑽機，增加了 13 個支管，每口井的平均支管長度略低於 16,000 英尺。這是 Range 的新季度記錄，也是支撐 Range 預計 2024 年井成本改善的表現類型。

The new fleet provides a smaller operating footprint, which complements operations when moving back to pads with existing production. The fleet also includes state-of-the-art process control and power distribution technologies. And is coupled with a larger natural gas-fired turbine, which aids our continued efforts to electrify operations and reduce emissions.

新機隊的營運佔地面積更小，這對回到現有生產基地時的運作進行了補充。該機隊還包括最先進的製程控制和配電技術。並配備更大的天然氣渦輪機，這有助於我們繼續努力實現電氣化運作和減少排放。

Performance of the new fleet thus far has been excellent. As evidenced by the new program records set during the first quarter with a 15% increase in the number of stages per day completed versus the same time period just a year ago. Supporting the completions performance was efficient water operations and logistics, as the team recycled 100% of Range's produced water, while taking incremental third-party water to further support our operations.

迄今為止，新機隊的表現非常出色。第一季創下的新專案記錄就證明了這一點，與一年前同期相比，每天完成的階段增加了 15%。支援完井績效的是高效的水務營運和物流，團隊 100% 回收了 Range 的採出水，同時採用增量第三方水來進一步支援我們的營運。

Looking at activity levels for the remainder of 2024, we will continue to run 1 electric fleet on completions and 2 horizontal rigs, but we have further refined the timing of our turn-in-line activity and have pushed all of our TILs for the dry window deeper into the back half of the year.

考慮到 2024 年剩餘時間的活動水平，我們將繼續運行 1 個完井電動車隊和 2 個水平鑽機，但我們進一步完善了上線活動的時間安排，並將所有 TIL 推向乾地下半年的窗口更深入。

Despite pushing these productive dry gas wells later in the year, our annual production guidance remains unchanged with a slightly higher liquids cut expected in the first 9 months of the year, when NGLs are particularly advantaged relative to natural gas based on current forward prices.

儘管今年稍後推進這些高產乾氣井，但我們的年度產量指引保持不變，預計今年前9 個月的液體產量將略有增加，根據當前遠期價格，液化天然氣相對於天然氣尤其具有優勢。

Before moving on to marketing, I'll briefly touch on service costs. So far in 2024, we've seen full utilization of high-spec equipment in the region, such as high torque top drive drilling rigs and electric frac fleets with service costs remaining relatively in line with our prior call. There is potential for service cost to ease during the year as operators complete or curtail their programs in response to the current commodity environment, especially for higher cost dry gas basins.

在開始行銷之前，我將簡要介紹一下服務成本。到 2024 年到目前為止，我們已經看到該地區高規格設備的充分利用，例如高扭矩頂驅鑽機和電動壓裂機組，服務成本與我們先前的預測相對一致。隨著營運商根據當前的商品環境完成或縮減其計劃，特別是對於成本較高的乾氣盆地，服務成本有可能在年內降低。

In the event, service costs softened during the year, Range will be positioned to capture savings and further complement our Lean program and capital efficiency for the year. Shifting over to marketing. Similar to our messaging in February, Range utilized the flexibility built into our NGL transportation portfolio to capture some of the highest market premiums in company history during the quarter. This winter's market dynamic suggested that domestic butane prices offered the best returns, while international propane netbacks were set to exceed local values.

如果年內服務成本有所下降，Range 將致力於節省開支並進一步補充我們今年的精益計劃和資本效率。轉向行銷。與我們在 2 月發布的消息類似，Range 利用我們 NGL 運輸產品組合中內建的靈活性，在本季度獲得了公司歷史上最高的市場溢價。今年冬季的市場動態表明，國內丁烷價格提供了最佳回報，而國際丙烷淨值將超過當地價值。

As a result, Range directed more butane to U.S. Northeast markets, while exporting the vast majority of its propane production. This resulted in some of the highest premiums to the Mont Belvieu index that we've seen. In total, the realized NGL price for the quarter was $26.24 per barrel, $1.91 over the Mont Belvieu equivalent, which contributed to our overall corporate realizations of $3.54 per Mcfe, a significant premium to natural gas.

因此，Range 將更多丁烷輸送到美國東北部市場，同時出口其大部分丙烷產量。這導致 Mont Belvieu 指數出現了我們所見過的最高溢價。總的來說，本季實現的 NGL 價格為每桶 26.24 美元，比 Mont Belvieu 同等價格高出 1.91 美元，這使我們的整體企業實現了每 Mcfe 3.54 美元，比天然氣有顯著溢價。

Going forward, we expect continued growth in U.S. propane exports, as 18 new PDH units come online this year and next, adding the capacity to consume another 500,000 barrels per day of propane at full utilization rates. To the extent Gulf Coast NGL export capacity continues to tighten, Range's firm transport on Mariner East to the Marcus Hook export facility should continue to provide advantaged NGL price realizations.

展望未來，我們預計美國丙烷出口將持續成長，因為今明兩年將有 18 個新的 PDH 裝置上線，在充分利用率下將增加每天消耗 50 萬桶丙烷的能力。在墨西哥灣沿岸液化天然氣出口能力持續收緊的情況下，Range 在 Mariner East 至馬庫斯胡克出口設施的穩定運輸應繼續提供有利的液化天然氣價格實現。

As a result of this dynamic and the strong start we've had to the year, range is improving its full year guidance for NGLs to a differential to the Mont Belvieu index of $0.25 per barrel discount to $1.25 per barrel premium. Despite current natural gas storage levels and the current commodity backdrop, the resilience of Range's business is on full display in quarters like Q1. This is underpinned by our large contiguous high-quality acreage position, operational efficiencies, NGL uplift, diverse marketing portfolio and talented team.

由於這種動態以及我們今年的強勁開局，Range正在將液化天然氣液的全年指導提高到與Mont Belvieu指數的差異，即每桶折扣0.25美元，溢價1.25美元。儘管目前的天然氣儲存水準和當前的大宗商品背景，Range 業務的彈性在第一季等季度得到了充分展示。我們擁有大量連續的優質種植面積、營運效率、NGL 提升、多樣化的行銷組合和才華橫溢的團隊，為這一點奠定了基礎。

We believe the future of natural gas and NGLs is strong, and the Range team remains focused on generating free cash flow. While advancing our overall efficiencies and delivering repeatable well performance across our large contiguous inventory.

我們相信天然氣和液化天然氣的未來是光明的，Range 團隊仍專注於產生自由現金流。同時提高我們的整體效率並在我們大量的連續庫存中提供可重複的油井性能。

I'll now turn it over to Mark to discuss the financials.

我現在將把它交給馬克來討論財務問題。

Thanks, Dennis. In the first 3 months of 2024, Range has kicked off what we expect will be a disciplined and promising year. Range's most fundamental objective is to safely and consistently generate cash flow for its stakeholders.

謝謝，丹尼斯。 2024 年的前 3 個月，Range 開啟了我們預期的紀律嚴明、充滿希望的一年。 Range 最基本的目標是為其利害關係人安全、持續地產生現金流。

Despite commodity prices seen in early 2024, Range continues to generate healthy free cash flow, pay dividends, reduce debt, while maintaining the ability to thoughtfully reinvest in our operations. As mentioned during our last call, Range has an efficient plan to maintain steady production this year, adapt to near-term commodity prices and resulting economics, while also positioning our long-term business for eventual growth as demand increases from domestic and international customers.

儘管大宗商品價格出現在 2024 年初，Range 仍繼續產生健康的自由現金流、支付股息、減少債務，同時保持深思熟慮地再投資於我們業務的能力。正如我們在上次電話會議中提到的，Range 制定了一項有效的計劃，以保持今年的穩定生產，適應近期大宗商品價格和由此產生的經濟狀況，同時隨著國內和國際客戶需求的增加，我們的長期業務也將最終實現成長。

As incremental demand materializes in basin, near basin and farther downstream, Range has the cost structure, inventory and infrastructure to remain a reliable long-term energy supplier. Results of the first quarter highlight the strength of Range's production mix and transportation portfolio.

隨著盆地、盆地附近和更下游的需求增量實現，Range 擁有成本結構、庫存和基礎設施來保持其作為可靠的長期能源供應商的地位。第一季的業績凸顯了 Range 生產組合和運輸產品組合的實力。

Realized price per unit of production before NYMEX hedging was $0.70 above NYMEX Henry Hub prices, a byproduct of our diversified mix in production and sales outlooks. Including hedges, Range realized $3.54 per Mcfe. First quarter cash margins per unit of production were $1.59, a healthy 45% margin, resulting in cash flow before working capital of approximately $308 million.

在 NYMEX 對沖之前，每單位產量的實現價格比 NYMEX 亨利中心價格高出 0.70 美元，這是我們生產和銷售前景多元化組合的副產品。包括對沖在內，Range 每 Mcfe 實現 3.54 美元。第一季每單位產量現金利潤率為 1.59 美元，利潤率為 45%，營運資本前現金流約 3.08 億美元。

Cash flow funded capital investment for the quarter of $170 million, a reduction in debt net of cash of $150 million, along with roughly $19 million in dividends and $24 million paid for common shares withheld for taxes on equity compensation. Financial results rely on safe, efficient operations and the Range team executed another successful quarter, delivering planned production on budget.

本季現金流資助的資本投資為 1.7 億美元，扣除現金後的債務減少了 1.5 億美元，此外還包括約 1,900 萬美元的股息以及為股權補償稅預扣的普通股支付的 2,400 萬美元。財務表現依賴安全、高效的運營，Range 團隊又一個成功的季度，按預算交付了計劃生產。

As a reminder, the plan we announced for 2024 differs slightly from others in the industry and our capital efficiency, low full cycle costs, paired with advantaged marketing of our production generates meaningful margin at current commodity prices. Meaning Range has options, options on how we redeploy capital into the drill bit, infrastructure like water facilities that provide durable cost reductions or low-cost lateral extending land, among other attractive alternatives.

提醒一下，我們宣布的 2024 年計劃與業內其他計劃略有不同，我們的資本效率、較低的全週期成本，再加上我們產品的優勢營銷，在當前商品價格下產生了可觀的利潤。這意味著 Range 有多種選擇，包括如何將資本重新部署到鑽頭、基礎設施（如提供持久成本降低的供水設施或低成本橫向擴展土地）以及其他有吸引力的替代方案。

With a thoughtfully constructed hedging program, we seek to participate in improved long-term market dynamics, while increasing confidence in near-term forecasted cash flow that support consistent, efficient operations, while protecting the balance sheet and creating additional optionality around capital allocation.

透過精心建構的對沖計劃，我們尋求參與改善的長期市場動態，同時增強對支持一致、高效運營的近期預測現金流的信心，同時保護資產負債表並為資本配置創造更多選擇。

Range's hedging philosophy has produced successful results that have served the company well, and we expect will continue to do so in the future. Presently, Range has approximately 55% of 2024 natural gas hedged with an average floor price of $3.70. And in 2025, approximately 25% hedged with an average floor price of $4.11, providing Range a stable base to consistently generate free cash flow through market cycles.

Range的對沖理念已經取得了成功的成果，為公司帶來了良好的服務，我們預計未來將繼續這樣做。目前，Range 擁有約 55% 的 2024 年天然氣對沖，平均底價為 3.70 美元。到 2025 年，大約 25% 的公司以 4.11 美元的平均底價進行對沖，為 Range 提供了穩定的基礎，以便在整個市場週期中持續產生自由現金流。

Our comments this morning may sound familiar, and that is a good thing. We intend to share our corporate goals and to deliver on those plans. Range has transitioned over the years from a start-up in a manner of speaking. When we drilled the discovery well at the Marcellus to a rapid growth commissioning phase for a decade to a successful business generating value from a massive well-understood asset.

我們今天早上的評論可能聽起來很熟悉，這是一件好事。我們打算分享我們的企業目標並實現這些計劃。從某種程度上來說，Range 多年來已經從一家新創公司轉型。當我們在 Marcellus 鑽探發現井時，進入了長達十年的快速成長調試階段，最終成為一家成功的企業，從大量眾所周知的資產中創造了價值。

The options ahead for Range are attractive, particularly given the balance sheet within our targeted debt levels. LNG is a well-known evolution for the industry, linking the U.S. with international customers. What is perhaps less appreciated and still developing are domestic opportunities in the form of reindustrialization, be it semiconductor manufacturing, EV battery plants, data centers and electric generation.

Range 未來的選擇很有吸引力，特別是考慮到我們的目標債務水準內的資產負債表。液化天然氣是該行業眾所周知的演變，將美國與國際客戶聯繫起來。也許不太受重視但仍在發展中的是再工業化形式的國內機會，無論是半導體製造、電動車電池廠、資料中心或發電。

With modest investment in inventory this year, we believe Range is creating valuable future optionality to participate in that growing demand as it comes online. Range's business plan continues to be executed on what we believe is the largest per share exposure to core Appalachia inventory, paired with a transport and sales portfolio, delivering production across the U.S. and internationally. All underpinned by a strong financial foundation. We have the team, assets and balance sheet to succeed through price cycles and we believe the Range business can and will continue to deliver significant value to investors.

透過今年對庫存的適度投資，我們相信 Range 正在創造有價值的未來選擇，以參與線上時不斷增長的需求。 Range 的業務計劃繼續以我們認為每股最大的阿巴拉契亞核心庫存敞口執行，並結合運輸和銷售組合，在美國和國際範圍內提供生產。這一切都有強大的財務基礎支撐。我們擁有在價格週期中取得成功的團隊、資產和資產負債表，我們相信 Range 業務能夠並將繼續為投資者帶來巨大價值。

Dennis, back to you.

丹尼斯，回到你身邊。

Thanks, Mark. Our 2024 program is off to a solid start. And I believe the first quarter results communicated today showcase that Range's businesses in the best place in company history, having derisked a high-quality inventory measured in decades and translated that into a business capable of generating free cash flow through these types of cycles.

謝謝，馬克。我們的 2024 年計畫已經有了一個好的開始。我相信，今天公佈的第一季業績表明，Range 的業務處於公司歷史上最好的位置，消除了幾十年來衡量的高品質庫存的風險，並將其轉化為能夠通過這些類型的周期產生自由現金流的業務。

With that, let's open the line for questions.

接下來，讓我們打開提問熱線。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Michael Scialla with Stephens.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Michael Scialla 和 Stephens 的路線。

Dennis, you mentioned the strong domestic butane and international propane markets. So like the dynamics there are more than seasonal and caused you to raise your '24 realization guidance? Do you have any visibility on those markets longer term? I know everybody is bullish on gas longer term, but I haven't really heard views on those NGL markets for the '25 and beyond period.

丹尼斯，您提到了強勁的國內丁烷和國際丙烷市場。那麼，除了季節性因素之外，還有哪些因素導致您提高了 24 年的實現指導？您對這些市場有長期的了解嗎？我知道每個人都長期看好天然氣，但我還沒有真正聽到對 25 年及以後時期 NGL 市場的看法。

Yes. Good morning, Michael. I'll kind of take a step back and kind of starting at a high level, and then we have Alan Engberg here with us this morning, and so I'll look to hand off to him to maybe take a bit of a deeper dive on this topic.

是的。早上好，麥可。我會退後一步，從較高的水平開始，然後今天早上艾倫·恩伯格 (Alan Engberg) 和我們在一起，所以我會考慮將工作交給他，以便可能進行更深入的研究關於這個話題。

But I think, if you look back on the past several years, we tend to see some seasonal effects associated with both propane and butane and just the different components of the NGL stack itself. And that's one of the reasons why we've always had the flexibility that we've webbed into the way we look at our sales and also our transportation options where we can put barrels on waterboard, and export or leave them here on a domestic basis when we see those fluctuations.

但我認為，如果回顧過去幾年，我們往往會看到一些與丙烷和丁烷以及 NGL 堆疊本身的不同成分相關的季節性影響。這就是為什麼我們始終具有靈活性的原因之一，我們將靈活性融入我們看待銷售的方式以及我們的運輸選擇中，我們可以將桶放在水板上，然後出口或留在國內當我們看到這些波動時。

The gasoline blending season, no doubt played a role in how we looked at the different pricing for both of them. But as we take a step back and look at propane, a big driver was no doubt getting stock levels back to a place more renormalized in the back half of last year and then getting into what we felt like was more something normalized for this past Q1, and the presence of winter that we did have.

汽油混合季節無疑在我們如何看待兩者的不同定價方面發揮了作用。但當我們退一步看看丙烷時，一個重要的推動因素無疑是使庫存水平回到去年下半年更加正常化的水平，然後進入我們認為在過去的第一季度更加正常化的水平，以及我們確實擁有的冬天的存在。

I'm going to hand it over to Alan though, and he can add some additional color.

不過我要把它交給艾倫，他可以加一些額外的顏色。

Yes. Michael, this is Alan here. I guess, part of your question also was around what we see coming forward. And I guess, I could say right now where we're at on propane, we've got days of supply, as of the end of winter or the end of March at around 19 days. So that's about 10% under the 5-year average.

是的。邁克爾，這是艾倫。我想，你的部分問題也與我們所看到的未來​​有關。我想，我可以說，目前我們的丙烷供應情況，截至冬季末或三月底，我們的供應天數約為 19 天。因此，這比 5 年平均值低約 10%。

Pricing. We saw that improve during the first quarter, just market price went to $0.86 per gallon on average and 46% accrued, and that compares to the fourth quarter, which was at $0.67 per gallon and 36% accrued.

價錢。我們看到第一季的情況有所改善，市場價格平均升至每加侖 0.86 美元，累計上漲 46%，而第四季的市場價格為每加侖 0.67 美元，累計上漲 36%。

Going forward though, over the next 2 years, so this year through 2025, we still see tremendous new demand coming on stream internationally. That's LPG crackers, that's res/com growth and it's 18 new PDH units that are going to come on. In that 620 day of new demand, that's taking PDH utilizations down to 65% this year, 70% next year. So we think it's a pretty conservative estimate.

但展望未來，在未來 2 年，從今年到 2025 年，我們仍然看到國際上出現巨大的新需求。這就是 LPG 裂解裝置，這就是 res/com 的成長，還有 18 個新的 PDH 裝置即將投入使用。在這 620 天的新需求中，今年的 PDH 利用率將降至 65%，明年將降至 70%。所以我們認為這是一個相當保守的估計。

Overall, U.S. supply so far this year, if we look at the weekly EIA stance, it's up about 6%, and that matches the supply growth that we saw in 2023. So it's a relatively decent number to work with.

總體而言，如果我們查看每週的 EIA 立場，今年迄今為止的美國供應量增長了約 6%，這與我們在 2023 年看到的供應增長相符。

Internationally, though, they're kind of like we saw last year, there really isn't a whole lot of international supply growth. In fact, during the first quarter, OPEC Plus, if you look at them as a whole, their LPG exports relative to the first quarter, '23 were down 2%. And, so what that means is that there's going to be -- going forward, a continued strong call on U.S. supply to the international markets.

不過，在國際上，這有點像我們去年看到的那樣，國際供應確實沒有大幅成長。事實上，在第一季度，OPEC+，如果你把它們作為一個整體來看，他們的液化石油氣出口相對於第一季度，'23 下降了 2%。而且，這意味著未來將繼續強烈呼籲美國向國際市場供應。

During '23, the U.S. captured 90% of the international growth in LPG demand. And I'm going to just conservatively cut that to 80%, and it still means a call on U.S. supply of 500,000 barrels per day this year and next year. And that's going to -- it's more than what our supply is. So that means that we're probably going to be pulling from inventory. That means U.S. fundamentals are going to improve. That means dock premiums are going to get higher.

23 年期間，美國佔了國際液化石油氣需求成長的 90%。我將保守地將其削減至 80%，但這仍然意味著美國今明兩年的供應量為 50 萬桶/日。這將超出我們的供應量。因此，這意味著我們可能會從庫存中撤出。這意味著美國的基本面將會改善。這意味著碼頭溢價將會更高。

Range has dock capacity or export market capacity that's equivalent to roughly 80% of our LPG production. That exceeds any of our wet peers. And it's a good position to be in. So we're quite pleased with that. Dock capacity is getting tighter, particularly in the U.S. Gulf Coast. There's more capacity available on the East Coast. And I think we're in a very good position to continue to use our flexibility to place products to the markets that give us the best returns.

Range 的碼頭產能或出口市場產能約相當於我們液化石油氣產量的 80%。這超過了我們任何潮濕的同行。這是一個很好的位置。碼頭容量越來越緊張，特別是在美國墨西哥灣沿岸。東海岸有更多可用容量。我認為我們處於非常有利的位置，可以繼續利用我們的靈活性將產品推向為我們帶來最佳回報的市場。

Well, it sounds very promising. I appreciate all that detail. I want to ask Mark. Mark, your cash balance increased for the quarter above $300 million. Should we assume you want to maintain a higher cash balance now than you have in the past to take advantage of opportunities to purchase notes like you did in the quarter in the open market? Or do you expect that cash balance to come down over the year?

嗯，聽起來很有希望。我很欣賞所有這些細節。我想問馬克。馬克，本季您的現金餘額增加了 3 億美元以上。我們是否應該假設您現在希望保持比過去更高的現金餘額，以便像本季在公開市場上那樣利用購買票據的機會？或者您預計現金餘額今年會減少嗎？

I think you'll just see it fluctuate based on how we choose to allocate within a given quarter. The 2025 notes is clearly very high priority that we make sure we comfortably handle and very economically handle. So chipping away at those in the open market, being able to buy those in at a discount is certainly a compelling option. But our return to capital program, as well as just funding our working capital needs, intra month, it's most efficient to use that, especially since interest rates are where there are.

我認為你會看到它根據我們在給定季度內選擇分配的方式而波動。 2025 年紙幣顯然具有非常高的優先級，我們確保能夠輕鬆且經濟地處理它。因此，減少公開市場上的資金，以折扣價購買這些資金無疑是一個令人信服的選擇。但我們的資本回報計劃，以及僅僅為我們的營運資金需求提供資金，在一個月內，使用它是最有效的，特別是因為利率已經存在。

There's a decent return in holding that versus quickly redeploying and some other areas are moving too quickly on buying back, some bonds or paying a premium at the moment.

與快速重新部署相比，持有可以獲得不錯的回報，而其他一些領域目前回購某些債券或支付溢價的速度太快。

That said, we'll take a conservative and risk appropriate strategy to continue deleveraging and paying off that debt. But I guess the long and short of it is having some cash on the balance sheet, I think, is prudent at this time and an effective -- cost-effective way to manage our working capital.

也就是說，我們將採取保守且適當風險的策略來繼續去槓桿化並償還債務。但我想，無論長短，資產負債表上有一些現金，我認為，目前是謹慎的，也是管理我們營運資本的有效且具成本效益的方式。

And next question comes from the line of Bertrand Donnes with Truist.

下一個問題來自 Bertrand Donnes 與 Truist 的對話。

Just wanted to brush on the topic of shifting some of your dry gas wells to later in the year. Is this a moving target if gas prices remain depressed, would these move into 2025? Or would they be replaced with liquids locations? Or is there some motivation maybe lease lines or something like that where you need to get these wells turned in the next 12 months?

只是想談談將部分乾氣井移至今年稍後的話題。如果天然氣價格持續低迷，這個目標是否會變化，這些目標會延續到 2025 年嗎？或者它們會被液體場所取代嗎？或者是否有一些動機（可能是租賃線路或類似的東西）需要您在未來 12 個月內將這些油井轉向？

Yes. I'll tackle that from kind of a various set of angles. But I think what -- when you look at where prices are today, I mean, these are still profitable wells. We think we have the flexibility by pushing these turn-in lines deeper into the year. And there is the potential they could even go a little bit further, depending upon what signals that we see in the market. We ultimately feel like pushing them to a time that's more optimized makes a lot of sense for us.

是的。我將從不同的角度來解決這個問題。但我認為，當你看看今天的價格時，我的意思是，這些井仍然是有利可圖的。我們認為，將這些上交線推遲到今年，我們可以保持靈活性。他們甚至有可能走得更遠，這取決於我們在市場上看到的訊號。我們最終覺得將它們推向一個更優化的時代對我們來說很有意義。

And as you heard us touch on in the prepared remarks, this is all coming on the back of not changing our production guide for the year. Pricing will just be one really one component that we'll look at. I think we'll want to keep a close eye on when those wells turn in line.

正如您在準備好的演講中聽到我們談到的那樣，這一切都是因為我們今年的製作指南沒有改變。定價只是我們要考慮的一個真正的組成部分。我想我們會密切注意這些井何時輪流。

Well, considerations will involve, what kind of decline do we see in U.S. production. We're starting to see a dip below 100 Bcf a day now. We find that encouraging. Rig count seems to be stable and down in some basins. What kind of decline rate do we see further materialize in the Haynesville, as an example. So I think those are just some of the aspects we'll keep a close eye on, along with the commissioning for the next 2 facilities on the LNG side between Golden Pass and Plaquemines, certainly encouraging result -- encouraging information of late on the timing for those facilities.

嗯，要考慮的是，我們會看到美國的產量出現什麼樣的下降。現在我們開始看到每天的流量下降到 100 Bcf 以下。我們發現這令人鼓舞。一些盆地的鑽機數量似乎穩定且有所下降。以海恩斯維爾為例，我們會看到進一步實現什麼樣的下降率。因此，我認為這些只是我們將密切關注的一些方面，以及 Golden Pass 和 Plaquemines 之間液化天然氣方面接下來的兩個設施的調試，這當然是令人鼓舞的結果 - 令人鼓舞的最新時間安排信息對於那些設施。

But all of that will kind of come into play as we think about the timing at which we would bring those wells back into the mix. They'll be drilled, completed and ready to go. And so our timing to be nimble -- our ability to be nimble and timing to turn that production in the line should be relatively short and have the ability to put those wells to sales, when we see pricing improvement and stable pricing improvement, not just in a spot market type basis.

但當我們考慮將這些油井重新納入其中的時機時，所有這些都會發揮作用。它們將被鑽孔、完成並準備就緒。因此，當我們看到價格改善和穩定的價格改善時，我們的靈活時機和將生產線轉向生產的時機應該相對較短，並且有能力將這些油井投入銷售，而不僅僅是以現貨市場類型為基礎。

That's great color. And then I think I heard you mention some potential cost reductions on the service side. Are you seeing these reductions track more so with lower gas prices? Or is this a function of the activity cuts by the gas group? Or is this maybe a push by a market share grab by some of the service companies? Just anything -- any patterns you're seeing out there?

那顏色真棒。然後我想我聽到你提到了服務方面一些潛在的成本降低。您是否認為隨著汽油價格的下降，這些減少幅度會更大？還是這是氣體組活動減少的函數？或者這可能是一些服務公司爭奪市場份額的推動？任何東西——你看到了什麼模式嗎？

Yes. Good question. I think you've probably heard me touch on this in the past. But service cost adjustments feel a little different today, and they have even somewhat through the last 12 months than maybe prior peer cycles of commodity prices up, service costs up, commodity prices down, service cost out.

是的。好問題。我想你過去可能聽過我談過這個問題。但今天的服務成本調整感覺有點不同，在過去 12 個月裡，與之前的同業週期相比，它們甚至有所不同，商品價格上漲，服務成本上漲，商品價格下降，服務成本下降。

And what I mean by that is you're seeing, let's just say, electric frac fleets, at a still a relatively high level of utilization, super-spec rigs are at a high level of utilization. In our case, we have some of that under contract, and so there's optionality that we baked-in as a part of that. But ultimately, as you'd imagine, some of that is secured for the year.

我的意思是，你會看到，電動壓裂船隊的利用率仍然相對較高，超規格鑽機的利用率也很高。就我們而言，我們在合約中有一些內容，因此我們將選擇性作為其中的一部分。但最終，正如你想像的那樣，其中一些是在今年得到保證的。

We do see that they are starting to have -- we're starting to have some conversations around what will end of your activity levels look like, what will service costs then do in response to that. So we very well like we saw in the last year to see some relief associated with maybe some consumables and other respective items that start to see some relief, but it's early.

我們確實看到他們開始進行一些對話，討論活動水平結束時的情況，以及服務成本將如何應對。因此，我們很高興在去年看到一些與某些消耗品和其他相關物品相關的緩解，這些緩解開始出現一些緩解，但現在還為時過早。

And that's -- we would expect if there are some service cost relief type variables that most likely, they'll start to materialize in the back half of the year as you see programs start to reach their close or you see further activity get shuttered because of let's just say, poor returns for those other high-cost basins.

我們預計，如果存在一些服務成本減免類型的變量，它們很可能會在今年下半年開始實現，因為您會看到計劃開始接近尾聲，或者您會看到進一步的活動被關閉，因為這麼說吧，其他高成本盆地的報酬率很低。

So again, it's early, but we -- wherever the service cost equation lands for the industry this year, and particularly in Appalachia, we like our opportunity to be on the leading edge of capturing those costs if they further come down.

再說一次，現在還為時過早，但我們——無論今年服務成本方程式落在哪個行業，特別是在阿巴拉契亞，如果這些成本進一步下降，我們希望我們有機會處於捕獲這些成本的前沿。

Our next question comes from the line of Paul Diamond with Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的保羅‧戴蒙德 (Paul Diamond)。

I just wanted to touch base real quick on -- given current market conditions and expectations, how are you guys thinking about '25 hedging? You have 55% for this year, 25% hedged or locked up for next. If I were to thinking about where that right level should be? Or is that more of a function of next 6 months or so?

我只是想快速談談——考慮到當前的市場狀況和預期，你們如何看待 25 年的對沖？今年您有 55% 的資金，25% 的資金用於對沖或鎖定明年。如果我要考慮正確的水平應該在哪裡？或者這更多的是未來 6 個月左右的時間？

Paul, I think I'll start with our philosophical approach and how we think about hedging, particularly where the balance sheet is today within our targeted net debt levels. The basic principle that we use to back calculate and figure out where we're most comfortable as a starting point is just to cover the fixed cost.

保羅，我想我將從我們的哲學方法以及我們如何看待對沖開始，特別是今天的資產負債表處於我們的目標淨債務水平之內。我們用來回溯計算並找出我們最舒服的起點的基本原則是覆蓋固定成本。

While we're in the commodity business, this is not just a pure simple commodity, but they are fixed costs built into the business, be it the technical of the people, the safety and so forth to just prudently safely, efficiently, continue to run the company through a cycle. And to do that while preserving the balance sheet and being better able to maintain a steady cadence, to use and fully utilize -- effectively utilize equipment that we'd like to contract for that we know is productive and the most efficient the safety and the repeatability of that over time, having some stability in your maintenance capital spend or other, the ability to weather it shoulder season or a surprise poor winter weather, that sort of thing.

當我們從事大宗商品業務時，這不僅僅是一種純粹的簡單商品，而是業務中內置的固定成本，無論是人員的技術、安全性等等，還是要謹慎、安全、高效地繼續使公司經歷一個循環。為了做到這一點，同時保持資產負債表並能夠更好地保持穩定的節奏，使用和充分利用——有效地利用我們想要簽約的設備，我們知道這些設備是富有成效的、最高效的、安全和隨著時間的推移，這種情況的可重複性，維護資本支出或其他方面具有一定的穩定性，能夠應對平季或意外的惡劣冬季天氣，諸如此類的事情。

Having some financial foundation there support from a hedge book makes sense to us cover those fixed costs. So all of that as a backdrop, that 25% at $4.11 in 2025, we think gets us there. Stress it down to an extreme low $2 type pricing, of course, with our NGL uplift, that provides us with a high degree of comfort and confidence in where the company can land financially for 2025 and going forward.

擁有一定的財務基礎，來自對沖帳簿的支援對於我們支付這些固定成本是有意義的。因此，作為背景，2025 年 25% 的價格為 4.11 美元，我們認為可以幫助我們實現這一目標。當然，我們的 NGL 漲價將其壓低至 2 美元的極低定價，這讓我們對該公司 2025 年及未來的財務狀況感到高度安慰和信心。

The flip side of that is, we like the 25% hedge and the 75% or a significant portion unhedged in 2025, just because of the fundamentals. Significant demand coming online. As we look at production trends that Dennis just touched on, across the U.S. declining production levels, rig count deployed across various basins, basin-wide decline rates outside the Marcellus and even within the Marcellus are certain producers, we are set up for what we believe is a really compelling shift in the supply-demand equation, both for natural gas and natural gas liquids in 2025.

另一方面，我們喜歡 25% 的對沖，以及 2025 年 75% 或很大一部分未對沖，只是因為基本面。大量需求即將上線。當我們看到丹尼斯剛剛談到的生產趨勢時，整個美國的生產水準不斷下降，各個盆地部署的鑽機數量，馬塞勒斯以外甚至馬塞勒斯內部的整個流域的下降率都是某些生產商的，我們已經為我們的目標做好了準備。

So as we look at the fundamentals and compare that risk-reward scenario, we like having the downside production while having exposure to what we think is a positive setup for '25, '26 and beyond. So as you play that out in '26 and beyond, I think the basic philosophy continues. How do we continue to maintain that nice base of protection. So of course, the percentage hedged depends on what price we can hedge, but that 25% is a good example of what you may see going forward.

因此，當我們審視基本面並比較風險回報情境時，我們喜歡在生產下行的同時，接觸我們認為對 25 年、26 年及以後有利的環境。因此，當你在 26 年及以後實現這一目標時，我認為基本理念仍在繼續。我們如何繼續維持良好的保育基礎？當然，對沖的百分比取決於我們可以對沖的價格，但 25% 是您未來可能看到的一個很好的例子。

Understood. And just a quick follow-up to kind of portend into some of the stuff you said. So on Slide 17, you talk about a potential 16, the toll over the next few years and incremental call on gassy -- on gassy basins, from that number, does that shift your thought process on Slide 9, so the kind of the locational destination of where you want to see or where you want to end up in the product? Is there any shift there? Or is that still going to remain relatively consistent?

明白了。只是一個快速跟進，預示著你所說的一些內容。因此，在幻燈片17 上，您談論了潛在的16、未來幾年的死亡人數以及對含氣盆地的增量呼籲，從這個數字來看，這是否會改變您在幻燈片9 上的思維過程，因此位置類型的類型您想要看到的目的地或您想要在產品中最終到達的位置？那裡有什麼轉變嗎？或者說這仍然會保持相對一致嗎？

Yes, Paul, I think your -- to think that it's going to be consistent, I think, is a good starting point. The transportation portfolio and options that we have, have a lot of long-term optionality for us. And so there's the ability for us to continue us to say, stand in the exposure to those different markets that we've had a luxury being a part of and participating in for the past decade now.

是的，保羅，我認為你認為它會保持一致，我認為這是一個很好的起點。我們擁有的交通組合和選擇對我們來說有很多長期的選擇。因此，我們有能力繼續說，在過去十年中我們很榮幸地參與了這些不同的市場。

So, there is an opportunity in our opinion in the future for capacity to go underutilized by other producers as you start to see conversations like inventory exhaustion become more material, as you start to see capital allocation maybe look differently for different producers as they think about different basin exposure.

因此，我們認為，未來，當你開始看到庫存耗盡之類的對話變得更加實質時，當你開始看到不同生產商的資本配置可能會有所不同時，其他生產商的產能利用率可能會有所不同。

And I think all of that starts to point to a really good complement to our ability to put additional production, when the call on that is appropriate. And get more exposure to those same and similar respective markets. Clearly, on the NGL side, we've already got a lot of exposure to both the Gulf and also to water board export capacity, out of markets in Philadelphia and we would expect that to be consistent as well.

我認為所有這些都開始表明，當適當的時候，我們增加生產的能力會得到很好的補充。並且更多地接觸那些相同和相似的各自市場。顯然，在 NGL 方面，我們已經在費城市場之外的海灣地區和水板出口能力上獲得了大量的敞口，我們預計這種情況也將保持一致。

Our next question comes from the line of Nitin Kumar with Mizuho.

我們的下一個問題來自 Nitin Kumar 和 Mizuho 的對話。

Dennis, I want to start on Slide 17. Obviously, AI the demand growth for gas from AI adoption is a big topic out there. In your outlook, you only bake in about a Bcf a day of incremental demand growth. Obviously, you mentioned there are others that have higher expectations. I just want to see like, is there a difference in assumptions? Or are you seeing something on the ground that's making -- maybe making you more conservative than some of the expectations that are out there?

丹尼斯，我想從幻燈片 17 開始。在您看來，您每天只能吸收約 1 Bcf 的增量需求成長。顯然，你提到還有其他人有更高的期望。我只是想看看，假設是否有差異？或者你是否看到了一些正在發生的事情——也許會讓你比外界的一些期望更加保守？

Yes, good morning. The power demand piece has no doubt been more and more topical every time we get around the table with investors these days. And also internally, as we have these conversations about the future of our industry.

是的，早安。毫無疑問，最近每次我們與投資者討論時，電力需求問題都成為越來越熱門的話題。在內部，我們也進行了有關產業未來的對話。

I think we wanted to take a conservative view on the outlook from a standpoint of we know that -- it's going to require some conversations around further probably permit support, infrastructure development. But if you had to, I guess, pin us down on a respective range or a number, we think a Bcf a day is a very conservative outlook.

我認為我們想從我們知道的角度對前景採取保守的看法——這將需要圍繞進一步可能允許的支援、基礎設施開發進行一些對話。但我想，如果您必須將我們固定在相應的範圍或數字上，我們認為每天 Bcf 是一個非常保守的前景。

And we think there's a lot of opportunity when you look at gosh, if you just look at PJM alone, they came out with a forecast here recently that suggested that in a nutshell, 20 additional gigawatts is going to be required in that power market alone by 2030. That's going to represent somewhere between 2 and 3 Bcf a day at opportunity.

我們認為，天哪，如果你只看 PJM，他們最近發布了一項預測，表明簡而言之，僅電力市場就需要 20 吉瓦的額外電力到2030 年。的機會。

So that's kind of narrowing it down. We'll stay a little bit closer to home for us. And again, we even think that's conservative. When you start to think about the exposure to further coal retirements is another 2 Bcf a day approximately that's going to get retired in that similar time frame in the Northeast.

這樣就縮小了範圍。我們會待在離家近一點的地方。再說一次，我們甚至認為這是保守的。當您開始考慮進一步退役煤炭的風險時，大約每天還會有 2 Bcf 的煤炭在東北部的類似時間範圍內退役。

And clearly, you've got some other facilities that may be facing retirement conversations, either regulatory driven or economics-driven. So all that to be said, we really think there's a key opportunity here. Our diverse portfolio gets us to several of the markets that could have exposure to this AI and power demand equation.

顯然，還有一些其他設施可能面臨退休問題，無論是受監管驅動的還是經濟驅動的。綜上所述，我們確實認為這裡存在著一個關鍵機會。我們多樣化的產品組合使我們能夠進入幾個可能接觸到這種人工智慧和電力需求方程式的市場。

And you can start to even -- I'll just say, take a step back and say, even though the data center concentration is clearly in a place like Virginia, I think one of the questions that we're starting to raise is, does this now change -- because of the reliable and cost-effective clean part of our supply equation. Does that start to challenge and relocate some of the data center development, as Mark touched on, reshoring of industrialization and manufacturing expansion, all of that confined, let's just say, new concentration centers closer to that reliable supply, which aligns with us. It aligns with Range in the long-dated inventory that we have and that runway and the quality of it.

你可以開始甚至 - 我只是說，退後一步說，即使數據中心顯然集中在弗吉尼亞州這樣的地方，我認為我們開始提出的問題之一是，現在這種情況會改變嗎——因為我們的供應方程式中可靠且具有成本效益的清潔部分。正如馬克談到的那樣，這是否開始挑戰並重新定位一些資料中心的發展，工業化和製造業擴張的回流，所有這些都限制了新的集中中心更接近可靠的供應，這與我們一致。它與我們擁有的長期庫存中的範圍、跑道及其品質一致。

So Yes. I think a Bcf a day is a conservative estimate. But as you've probably seen from several of the research pieces today, that Range can be wide and a little bit all over the place. But I think it's clearly pointing to there's a really good opportunity here. And one that we could play a part of.

所以是的。我認為每天 Bcf 是保守估計。但正如您可能從今天的幾篇研究文章中看到的那樣，範圍可能很廣，而且有點到處都是。但我認為這清楚地表明這裡有一個非常好的機會。我們可以參與其中。

Great. My second question is perhaps related, but you started talking about the 200,000-odd acres you have in the Northwest Pennsylvania. Perhaps closer to the Midwest area and some of your peers have been testing it. Can you talk a little bit about this acreage? And is this -- does this asset play any part in your capital plans for the next 2, 3 years? Or is this just option value for you at this stage?

偉大的。我的第二個問題也許是相關的，但你開始談論賓州西北部擁有的 20 多萬英畝土地。也許靠近中西部地區，你的一些同行已經在測試它了。您能談談這個面積嗎？該資產是否會在您未來 2、3 年的資本計畫中發揮作用？或者說這對您來說只是現階段的選擇價值？

Yes, it's probably more the latter than the prior. That's -- the Northwest Pennsylvania footprint represents a part of our legacy activity from years and years ago. And it is a part of our asset base that is held by -- the deep prices are held by production. And so there's not an at-risk component associated with the land.

是的，可能更多的是後者而不是前者。那就是——賓州西北部的足跡代表了我們多年前的遺產活動的一部分。它是我們資產基礎的一部分，由生產持有。因此，不存在與土地相關的風險部分。

And so we feel like our focus for the next several years is going to be the bread and butter of what we've reported on in this quarter and the prior, and that's the Marcellus and continuing to harvest the value of that portion of our asset base.

因此，我們覺得未來幾年的重點將是我們在本季度和上一季報告的基礎上，這就是馬塞勒斯，並繼續收穫我們這部分資產的價值根據。

But the reason why we still retain Northwest PA is it's a stacked hydrocarbon charged column in that part of the basin, much like other parts of Appalachia. And so we're watching what's taking place in places like Ohio with others that our acreage is on trend for a portion of that, and we'll kind of sit back and watch. We have the luxury of doing so instead of needing to prospect on that part of our asset base while we continue to harvest the cash flow and the returns associated with the Marcellus.

但我們仍然保留賓夕法尼亞州西北部的原因是，該盆地的該部分是一個堆積的碳氫化合物充注柱，就像阿巴拉契亞的其他部分一樣。因此，我們正在與其他地區一起關注俄亥俄州等地正在發生的事情，我們的部分土地面積呈趨勢，我們會袖手旁觀。我們有幸這樣做，而無需在我們繼續收穫與 Marcellus 相關的現金流和回報的同時，對我們的那部分資產基礎進行勘探。

Our next question comes from the line of Jake Roberts with TPH & Company.

我們的下一個問題來自 TPH & Company 的 Jake Roberts。

Just wanted to circle back and topic of your AI here. But I think your view of Virginia, we tend to agree with. And we're just curious if you could frame ultimately what you think that back half of the decade growth or demand outlook looks like in basin or out of basin? And do you think there's a general perception that pipelines will be getting built out in the Northeast on a lot of these forecasts?

只是想在這裡回顧一下你的人工智慧主題。但我認為你對維吉尼亞的看法，我們傾向於同意。我們只是好奇您能否最終確定您對十年後半段盆地內或盆地外的增長或需求前景的看法？您是否認為人們普遍認為根據這些預測，東北部將建造管道？

So I'll jump in here. I think to start with, this is still very early in how both the power markets and the data centers and all of this has developed the cadence, the energy sources and so forth.

所以我會跳到這裡。我認為首先，電力市場和資料中心以及所有這些發展節奏、能源等方面還處於早期階段。

But again, looking at some recent third-party research and just -- if you think about in the U.S. gas market share being north of 40% or right at 40% and roll that forward, make that a simple assumption through 2030. And then even think closer to home for Range, where in the Northeast, think Virginia, Ohio, New York, just general Northeast type markets, that data center market share is about 35% of the U.S. market.

但同樣，看看最近的一些第三方研究，如果你考慮到美國天然氣市場份額超過 40% 或接近 40%，並將其向前推進，那麼就將其作為一個簡單的假設，直到 2030 年。 然後甚至想想離Range更近的地方，在東北部，想想維吉尼亞州、俄亥俄州、紐約州，只是一般的東北類型市場，資料中心市場佔有率約為美國市場的35%。

So if you back-sold for that, you get anywhere from 2.5 to 5.5 Bcfs equivalent of natural gas demand for power. So we just see this as an early but very compelling source of incremental demand over and above the demand that's already been baked in PJM, but Dennis mentioned earlier, is revised upward of their expectations.

因此，如果您進行回售，您將獲得相當於 2.5 至 5.5 Bcfs 的天然氣電力需求。因此，我們只是將其視為早期但非常引人注目的增量需求來源，超出了 PJM 中已經提出的需求，但丹尼斯之前提到的需求被向上修正了他們的預期。

Other grid operators have as well. We can just zoom back out to the general concept of reindustrialization and reshoring in the U.S., be it the Intel plant in Ohio, while EV sales and production are slowing down a little bit, there is incremental demand in form of multiple EV battery plants, be it in Indiana from the Stellantis Samsung plant or in Ohio from the GM LG plant. And these are just a couple of examples of a whole host of other industrial projects, which ultimately pull you back to power to the grid and how that gets built out, be it distribution networks and generation and pulling back to gas.

其他電網營運商也有同樣的做法。我們可以回到美國再工業化和回流的一般概念，無論是英特爾在俄亥俄州的工廠，雖然電動車的銷售和生產略有放緩，但多個電動車電池工廠的需求不斷增加，無論是在印第安納州的Stellantis 三星工廠，還是在俄亥俄州的通用汽車LG 工廠。這些只是許多其他工業項目的幾個例子，這些項目最終將你拉回電網，以及如何建造它，無論是配電網絡、發電還是拉回到天然氣。

So we think proximity to that is important. You need Appalachia, you need the Marcellus, that low decline, clean base foundation of supply and it's cost competitive. So while we can't give you a high degree of confidence on what those other industries, the speed and permitting and construction cadence will be, we do have a high degree of confidence that we can play a fundamental role in making that economic and reliable and continuing that build out now through the end of the decade.

所以我們認為接近這一點很重要。你需要阿巴拉契亞，你需要馬塞勒斯，這種低衰退、乾淨的供應基地基礎，而且具有成本競爭力。因此，雖然我們無法讓您對其他行業、速度、許可和建設節奏充滿信心，但我們確實有高度信心，我們可以在實現經濟和可靠方面發揮基礎性作用並在本世紀末繼續這一建設。

Yes. And I'll just tack on one quick thing, Jade, to maybe close this topic out. I think when you start to look at the supply-demand piece, really in-ground storage, as you probably well know, has really not changed in a material way over the past decade.

是的。傑德，我只想簡單地講一件事情來結束這個話題。我認為，當您開始關注供需部分時，您可能很清楚，真正的地下儲存在過去十年中實際上並沒有發生實質變化。

And so as you start to think about in-ground storage not really changing as you think about now, even if -- let's just say this wide range of variability is 2 to 3 Bcf or 5, as Mark points out, who knows where it fully lands, but it's hard to imagine us going forward in this -- in the Lower 48 without further electrifying what we do.

因此，當您開始考慮地下儲存並沒有像您現在所考慮的那樣真正發生變化時，即使——我們只是說這種大範圍的變化是2 到3 Bcf 或5，正如Mark 指出的那樣，誰知道它在哪裡完全落地，但很難想像我們在這方面取得進展——在下 48 州，而不進一步讓我們所做的事情變得激動人心。

And that's going to require infrastructure, pipes and wires to be able to get low-cost, reliable, clean, effective energy to basically power what we do. And so the equation starts to break down at that point, if you're going to meet the supply without additional pipeline infrastructure and wires to support that power getting to those underserved markets or critical markets. So infrastructure is going to play a real part of this, in our opinion.

這需要基礎設施、管道和電線才能獲得低成本、可靠、清潔、有效的能源，為我們的工作提供基本動力。因此，如果您要在沒有額外的管道基礎設施和電線來支援電力到達那些服務不足的市場或關鍵市場的情況下滿足供應，那麼從那時起，這個等式就開始崩潰。因此，我們認為基礎設施將在其中發揮真正的作用。

I appreciate the color. And as you -- I know you want to close the topic out, maybe just one more. As infrastructure does appear, the time lines are longer, permitting becomes more difficult. Is there a more compelling case to be a multi-basin operator in the back half of this decade to perhaps take advantage of where this onshoring or data center facilities ultimately come online?

我很欣賞它的顏色。至於你——我知道你想結束這個話題，也許只是再談一個話題。隨著基礎設施的出現，時間線更長，許可證也變得更加困難。在本世紀後半葉，是否有更令人信服的案例成為多流域營運商，以利用這些岸上或資料中心設施最終上線的優勢？

Yes. Really good question. I kind of think I would take a step back on this and say, look, when you look at where a lot of the power demand and some of the manufacturing that Mark touched on, it's going to be regional for our asset base.

是的。真是個好問題。我想我會退一步說，看，當你看看馬克提到的大量電力需求和一些製造業時，這將是我們資產基礎的區域性。

And so I think whereas maybe a year ago, the question may have revolved around multi-basin exposure advantages tied specifically to LNG. In our case, we don't really feel like that has to be a driver. We've got the inventory to basically deliver repeatable results on the transport we have 2 LNG type outlets.

因此，我認為，也許一年前，問題可能圍繞著與液化天然氣相關的多盆地暴露優勢。就我們而言，我們並不真的覺得那一定是一個驅動程式。我們的庫存基本上可以在運輸上提供可重複的結果，我們有 2 個液化天然氣類型出口。

And now is this data center demand opportunity further materializes, grows and develops we feel like it's going to be more regional to an Appalachian producer like Range. So we feel like this takes -- it further supports developing our Marcellus and then the decades to come or Utica and then later after that, the Upper Devonian. So I think it puts us in a great position to not need to have other basin exposure.

現在，隨著資料中心需求機會的進一步實現、成長和發展，我們認為對於像 Range 這樣的阿巴拉契亞生產商來說，它將變得更加區域化。所以我們覺得這需要──它進一步支持我們的馬塞勒斯的發展，然後是未來幾十年或尤蒂卡的發展，再後來是上泥盆統的發展。因此，我認為這使我們處於有利地位，無需進行其他盆地暴露。

Yes, I'll join in on that. I would say that Range effectively is economically is a multi-basin company. 90% of our revenue is outside the basin. The transportation portfolio moves north of 80% of the gas out of the basin and virtually all of the liquids.

是的，我會參與其中。我想說，Range 實際上在經濟上是一家跨業務盆地的公司。我們90%的收入來自盆地之外。運輸組合將 80% 的天然氣和幾乎所有液體運出盆地以北。

So we have the best marriage of the most efficient asset with the business overlay and the infrastructure to transport that production and connectivity to end markets. The proximity is actually an advantage, I would say, being concentrated in the Northeast for all the reasons we just touched on, in the form of incremental power and the sheer population density and data center and other sources of future demand that's going to manifest itself in the next few years.

因此，我們將最高效的資產與業務覆蓋和基礎設施完美結合，將生產和連接傳輸到終端市場。我想說，鄰近實際上是一個優勢，由於我們剛才提到的所有原因，集中在東北部，表現為增量電力、絕對的人口密度、數據中心以及未來需求的其他來源。年裡。

So from an operational standpoint, no, we don't feel that driving need or compelling need to have another operational footprint. And from an economic perspective, we think the overlay of the transport accomplishes the goals, the risk mitigation and the capture of opportunities in other basins, both domestically and internationally.

因此，從營運的角度來看，不，我們不認為有其他營運足跡的驅動需求或迫切需求。從經濟角度來看，我們認為運輸的疊加實現了國內和國際其他流域的目標、風險緩解和抓住機會。

Our next question comes from the line of Leo Mariani with ROTH MKM.

我們的下一個問題來自 Leo Mariani 和 ROTH MKM 的線路。

Wanted to just follow up a little bit on what you're thinking on production trajectory for the rest of the year. Obviously, a good start in the first quarter. You mentioned kind of moving some tills back. I mean normally Range sees kind of higher production in the second half. But maybe this is not happening, maybe 3Q dips a little bit and then 4Q stronger. Just trying to get a high-level sense of how you see production trending over the next handful of quarters?

我想稍微跟進一下您對今年剩餘時間生產軌蹟的看法。顯然，第一季取得了良好的開局。你提到了將一些收銀台往後移動。我的意思是，通常情況下，Range 會在下半年看到更高的產量。但也許這並沒有發生，也許第三季略有下降，然後第四季走強。只是想從高層次了解您如何看待未來幾季的生產趨勢？

You bet. Good question Leo. I think when you look at this year, it really should look and feel very similar to prior years under this maintenance type profile. The one -- a couple of differences maybe this year that you'll feel when you start to see the numbers quarter-over-quarter.

你打賭。利奧，問得好。我認為，當你回顧今年時，在這種維護類型的情況下，它的外觀和感覺確實應該與往年非常相似。今年，當你開始看到季度與季度的數據時，你可能會感覺到一些差異。

And we've somewhat touched on this in prior -- some, probably one-on-one conversations, but as long lateral development has -- long lateral development has continued to materialize for us. And clearly, we talked about that a lot last year. Our original plan was 10,000 feet for an average horizontal. By the end of the year, it was approaching 13,000 feet, took some of our TIL count down while we still had a similar, if not slightly up turn-in-line footage versus the original plan.

我們之前已經在某種程度上觸及了這一點——一些可能是一對一的對話，但隨著長期橫向發展——長期橫向發展繼續為我們實現。顯然，我們去年對此進行了很多討論。我們最初的計劃是平均水平高度為 10,000 英尺。到年底，高度已經接近 13,000 英尺，我們的 TIL 倒數計時已經過去了，但與原始計劃相比，我們仍然有類似的、甚至略有上升的轉線鏡頭。

All that starts to influence the production shape throughout and profile, throughout that following program year. So Q4, we saw some of our long laterals turned to sales. They're demonstrating not only really strong well performance, but they're also continuing to basically keep parts of the gathering system at a high level of utilization.

所有這些都開始影響整個下一個計劃年的生產形狀和概況。因此，第四季度，我們看到一些長期業務轉向了銷售。他們不僅展示了非常強大的油井性能，而且還繼續基本上保持部分收集系統的高利用率。

So all of that to say, maybe in prior years under maintenance where you've seen us have a Q1 to Q2 dip in production and then see a stronger ratable increase in the back half of the year, you could see that, that shallowing potentially this year, where maybe that Q1 to Q2 time frame is a little bit less, and you're actually going to see something a little flatter.

因此，綜上所述，也許在前幾年的維護過程中，您會看到我們的產量從第一季到第二季度有所下降，然後在今年下半年看到更強勁的可評級成長，您可以看到，潛在的產量下降今年，第一季到第二季的時間框架可能會稍微短一些，而且您實際上會看到一些更平坦的東西。

And that kind of makes sense when you look at 2 flat drilling rig programs for the year, very lean with the one completion crew supporting that. And on top of it, you're seeing some of this long strong well performance from our long laterals.

當您查看今年的 2 個平板鑽孔機專案時，這是有道理的，非常精簡，只有一個完井人員支持該專案。最重要的是，您可以從我們的長支管中看到一些長而強的油井性能。

Okay. No, that's helpful for sure. And then just wanted to touch base, on the share buyback. Obviously, you folks haven't done quite as much over the last few quarters despite pretty robust free cash flow here and a nice cash balance. I get you've got the debt maturity coming up in roughly 12 months, but it seems like you could easily refinance that. You're kind of at your net debt target under $1.5 billion. So maybe just talk about how you're kind of thinking about the buyback going forward in terms of kind of allocating between debt paydown as well?

好的。不，這肯定有幫助。然後我想談談股票回購的基礎。顯然，儘管這裡的自由現金流相當強勁並且現金餘額也不錯，但你們在過去幾個季度中並沒有做得那麼多。我知道您的債務到期日約為 12 個月，但您似乎可以輕鬆為其再融資。您的淨債務目標已接近 15 億美元。那麼，也許只是談談您對未來回購在債務償還之間的分配有何看法？

Yes, we work our way and have worked our way into the net debt target range. We certainly have a lot more latitude and flexibility. It has been an opportunistic program by design from the very beginning.

是的，我們按照自己的方式工作，並已努力進入淨債務目標範圍。我們當然有更多的自由度和彈性。它從一開始就是一個精心設計的機會主義計劃。

And 1 year, 2 years ago, we repurchased $400 million. The year after, it was something like $19 million. As I mentioned, some shares are repurchased in cash effectively related to equity compensation. So there's some decent purchases that way.

一年、兩年前，我們回購了 4 億美元。第二年，這個數字約為 1900 萬美元。正如我所提到的，有些股票是以現金回購的，這實際上與股權補償有關。所以透過這種方式可以買到一些不錯的東西。

So again, to your point, since we're in the debt target range, we certainly have a latitude. The debt refinancing. Again, there's a lot of choices. That's been kind of a repetitive theme today is us creating options and choices. We never want to be in a situation where we have to do something.

再說一次，就你的觀點而言，由於我們處於債務目標範圍內，所以我們當然有一個自由度。債務再融資。再說一遍，有很多選擇。今天重複的主題是我們創造選項和選擇。我們永遠不想處於必須做某件事的境地。

So with the ability to simply use undrawn revolver in addition to the cash we have on the balance sheet to deal with refinancing, again, that frees us up as we evaluate movements in the market. Certainly, the way I would put it is, if we see a pullback in the stock price, we would certainly be more apt to lean in and repurchase more aggressively.

因此，除了我們資產負債表上的現金之外，我們還能夠簡單地使用未提取的左輪手槍來處理再融資，這再次讓我們在評估市場變動時獲得了自由。當然，我想說的是，如果我們看到股價回調，我們肯定會更傾向於更積極地回購。

In the meantime, that certainly remains part of our plans going forward. We have ample capacity under the existing Board authorization greater than $1 billion right now. So it will be a part of the plan. But again, we're not locked in on a specific formula. The idea is to not simply execute a procyclical program, but to make this an efficient value-generating exercise to maximize returns for the shareholder.

同時，這肯定仍然是我們未來計劃的一部分。根據董事會現有授權，我們目前擁有超過 10 億美元的充足產能。所以這將是計劃的一部分。但同樣，我們並沒有鎖定特定的公式。我們的想法不是簡單地執行順週期計劃，而是使其成為一項有效的價值創造活動，以實現股東回報最大化。

We'll now go to Noel Parks with TUI Brothers investment research, for our final questions.

我們現在將前往諾埃爾·帕克斯 (Noel Parks) 與途易兄弟 (TUI Brothers) 進行投資研究，回答最後的問題。

Just a couple of things. I wondered, just in your broad thoughts about what you're seeing in the industry. With the lower prices, people probably being a little bit more conservative in spending overall. As far as what you're seeing from maybe your non-operator partners and other peers, what do you think as far as continue to work on emissions control? Just wondering if that's continuing as it has been or if you've seen any shifts in people's attention to that?

只是幾件事。我想知道您對行業中所看到的情況的廣泛想法。由於價格較低，人們在整體支出上可能會更加保守。就您從非營運商合作夥伴和其他同行那裡看到的情況而言，您對繼續致力於排放控制有何看法？ 只是想知道這種情況是否會像以前那樣繼續下去，或者您是否看到人們對此的注意力發生了任何轉變？

Yes. I appreciate you joining the call. Emissions management has not -- I'll just say, philosophically, has not changed for Range, and we've continued to maintain the same course that we charted a few years ago.

是的。感謝您加入通話。我只想說，從理念上講，Range 的排放管理並沒有改變，我們繼續維持我們幾年前製定的路線。

At this time, last year, we transitioned over to, as an example, a new facility installations we're getting -- we're moving away from traditional pneumatic conveyors in for controllers and using basically modern technology. So something that's more air conveyed and also using nitrogen. We've now also gone transitioned to a retrofit program, again, as an example where we're going back to other sites and making those upgrades as well. Coupling it with, looking at field run time, making sure that we've got the best design in the field that's supporting our overall both economic and operational approach.

去年的這個時候，我們過渡到，例如，我們正在安裝的新設施——我們正在從傳統的氣動輸送機轉向控制器，並使用基本的現代技術。因此，更多的是空氣輸送，也使用氮氣。我們現在也再次過渡到改造計劃，作為一個例子，我們將返回其他站點並進行這些升級。將其與現場運行時間結合起來，確保我們擁有該領域最好的設計，以支持我們的整體經濟和營運方法。

So just using those 2 examples, but nothing has changed on that front. We got MIQ certification last year. LDAR program still remains at 8 times a year, where our leak detection program is as robust as ever. And we've even looked at, we'll just say, a beta test of a top-down survey, and we're in the process of analyzing that data as well and how it complements our ground level inspection process. So certainly, from a Range perspective, we're still remaining focused on reducing missions tangibly further in an economic and responsible way.

因此，僅使用這兩個範例，但在這方面沒有任何改變。我們去年獲得了MIQ認證。 LDAR 計劃仍然保持每年 8 次，我們的洩漏檢測計劃一如既往地強大。我們甚至看過，我們只是說，自上而下調查的貝塔測試，我們也在分析這些數據以及它如何補充我們的地面檢查過程。因此，當然，從航程的角度來看，我們仍然專注於以經濟和負責任的方式進一步切實減少任務。

Great. I'll be interested to hear about the results of that survey. And just trying to cross for a second. The outlook, looking ahead for materials, thinking about steel, in particular, for the longer term. Is that still looking pretty constructive? Or are you seeing any issues on the horizon there?

偉大的。我有興趣了解該調查的結果。只是想穿越一秒鐘。前景，對材料的展望，特別是對鋼鐵的長期思考。這看起來仍然很有建設性嗎？或者您看到了即將出現的任何問題？

Noel, are you speaking specifically to service costs?

諾埃爾，您是專門談服務成本嗎？

I think it's specifically about steel, materials overall.

我認為這主要與鋼鐵和材料有關。

Sorry about that. I didn't quite hear that. So from a tubular goods perspective, we have seen some softening in that cost through the back half of last year. And a similar strategy, you've heard us talk about probably before, but we procured a significant portion of our tubular good needs for this year's program last year, when we saw a positive window for us to do so.

對於那個很抱歉。我沒聽清楚。因此，從管材的角度來看，我們看到去年下半年成本下降。您以前可能聽過我們談論過類似的策略，但我們去年為今年的計劃採購了很大一部分管材需求，當時我們看到了這樣做的積極窗口。

But we have seen some fluctuations this year. But I would expect, as you start to see inventories get to a place where they've renormalized based upon rig activity, you could see some further relief in tubular good prices.

但今年我們看到了一些波動。但我預計，當您開始看到庫存達到基於鑽機活動重新正常化的水平時，您可能會看到管材價格進一步緩解。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Degner for closing remarks.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，今天的問答環節到此結束。我現在想將電話轉回給德格納先生進行總結發言。

I'd just like to thank everyone for joining us this morning on our Q1 call. If you have any follow-up questions, don't hesitate to reach out to our Investor Relations team. We look forward to seeing you on the next call. Thank you.

我只想感謝大家今天早上加入我們的第一季電話會議。如果您有任何後續問題，請隨時聯絡我們的投資者關係團隊。我們期待下次通話中見到您。謝謝。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. You may now disconnect.

感謝您參加今天的會議。您現在可以斷開連線。