SM Energy Co (SM) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to SM Energy's third quarter 2024, financial operating results Q&A. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎來到 SM Energy 2024 年第三季財務營運績效問答。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It's now my pleasure to introduce your host, Jennifer Martin Samuels, Vice President, Investor Relations and ESG Stewardship. Please go ahead, Jennifer.

現在我很高興向您介紹主持人，投資者關係和 ESG 管理副總裁 Jennifer Martin Samuels。請繼續，珍妮佛。

Thank you, Kevin. Good morning, everyone. I hope you've recovered from a festive Halloween.

謝謝你，凱文。大家早安。我希望你已經從萬聖節的歡樂氣氛中恢復過來。

In today's call, we may reference the earnings release, IR presentation or prepared remarks, all of which are posted to our website.

在今天的電話會議中，我們可能會參考收益發布、IR 演示或準備好的評論，所有這些都發佈在我們的網站上。

Thank you for joining us this morning to answer your questions today. We have our President and CEO, Herb Vogel, our CFO, Wade Pursell; and we are also joined this morning by Beth McDonald, our new Chief Operating Officer.

感謝您今天早上加入我們並回答您的問題。我們的總裁兼執行長赫伯‧沃格爾 (Herb Vogel)、財務長韋德‧珀塞爾 (Wade Pursell)；今天早上我們的新任營運長貝絲·麥克唐納也加入了我們的行列。

Before we get started, I need to remind you that our discussion today may include forward-looking statements and discussion of non-GAAP measures. I direct you to the accompanying slide deck, earnings release and Risk Factors section of our most recently filed 10-K, which describe risks associated with forward-looking statements that could cause actual results to differ.

在我們開始之前，我需要提醒您，我們今天的討論可能包括前瞻性陳述和非公認會計原則措施的討論。我將引導您查看我們最近提交的 10-K 中隨附的幻燈片、收益發布和風險因素部分，其中描述了與可能導致實際結果不同的前瞻性陳述相關的風險。

Also, please see the slide deck appendix and earnings release for definitions and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures and discussion of forward-looking non-GAAP measures. Also, look for our third quarter 10-Q filed this morning.

此外，請參閱投影片附錄和收益發布，以了解非公認會計原則措施與最直接可比較的公認會計原則措施的定義和調節以及前瞻性非公認會計原則措施的討論。另外，請查看我們今天早上提交的第三季 10-Q 報告。

With that, I will turn it over to Herb for a brief opening commentary. Herb?

接下來，我將把它交給赫伯進行簡短的開場評論。草本植物？

Thank you, Jennifer. Good morning, and thank you for joining us. Again, we had an outstanding quarter underscored by excellent operational execution. The fourth quarter presents an exciting step change for SM Energy with the addition of the Uinta Basin. We welcome the Uinta team and community to SM.

謝謝你，詹妮弗。早安，感謝您加入我們。我們再次獲得了出色的季度業績，這得益於出色的營運執行力。隨著 Uinta Basin 的加入，第四季 SM Energy 出現了令人興奮的變化。我們歡迎 Uinta 團隊和社區加入 SM。

So with that, let's go ahead and get started with the Q&A. I'll turn it back to Kevin to start taking your questions. Kevin?

那麼，讓我們繼續開始問答。我會把它轉回給凱文，開始回答你的問題。凱文？

(Operator Instructions) Gabriel Daoud, TD Cowen.

（操作員說明）Gabriel Daoud，TD Cowen。

I was hoping we can maybe start in Utah. Maybe you can help us quantify a couple of things. First is just the delay in volumes you alluded to, given less [TILs] by the seller. Could you maybe quantify the impact of 4Q? And then maybe give us a leading edge number as far as what current Utah production might be at this point?

我希望我們可以從猶他州開始。也許你可以幫助我們量化一些事情。首先是您提到的數量延遲，因為賣方的 [TIL] 較少。您能否量化第四季的影響？然後也許可以給我們一個目前猶他州產量的領先數字？

Yeah, Dave, let me just step back a minute just on Utah, just so you guys all kind of level set this for you. So you know we got our basic FTC consent around August 22. And at that point, we were able to get full data from the operator. We were restricted before that. That allowed us to understand specific rig and completion plans, status of all the permits, where the facility construction stood, all those details.

是的，戴夫，讓我退一步談談猶他州，這樣你們就可以為你們設定一個水平。所以你知道，我們在 8 月 22 日左右獲得了 FTC 的基本同意。在此之前我們受到限制。這使我們能夠了解特定的鑽孔機和竣工計劃、所有許可證的狀態、設施建設的位置以及所有這些細節。

We've had about two months now to digest all that data, and really to figure out how to optimize the forward plan. And that means applying a lot of the tools that we've developed over the many years for the unconventionals. And then how those, that optimal would juxtapose with the existing permits and plans.

我們現在有大約兩個月的時間來消化所有這些數據，並真正弄清楚如何優化遠期計劃。這意味著要應用我們多年來為非常規開發的許多工具。然後，這些最佳方案如何與現有的許可證和計劃並列。

And then also, we are looking at how do we optimize with our existing two basin assets with Utah. So we're running a lot of alternate scenarios with different commodity price mixes, it's just our normal planning process and CapEx allocation. And so when we get to February, we'll have -- be able to lay that out fully.

此外，我們正在研究如何優化猶他州現有的兩個流域資產。因此，我們正在運行許多具有不同商品價格組合的替代方案，這只是我們正常的規劃流程和資本支出分配。因此，當我們到二月時，我們將能夠充分地闡述這一點。

And so I just want to just encourage people, you can understand, you guys are forecasting company performance. So definitely put less emphasis on the quarterly cadence, and I'll get to 4Q in a second. And we're really pleased with the new asset mix because we do see the ability to get even better capital efficiency, and we'll be able to generate more value with the three. So we're really excited about what we can do going forward.

所以我只是想鼓勵人們，你們可以理解，你們正在預測公司的表現。因此，絕對不要太強調季度節奏，我很快就會談到第四季。我們對新的資產組合非常滿意，因為我們確實看到了獲得更好資本效率的能力，並且我們將能夠利用這三者創造更多價值。因此，我們對未來能做的事情感到非常興奮。

As to 4Q in particular, the key thing is that the current operator, XCL, they delayed six wells, three of them are because of extending laterals from 10,000 to 15,000 feet. So not only does that mean they're turned in line a little bit later because it takes longer to execute, but there's also a longer shut-in of offset wells while you're fracking nearby. So that's really just how the 4Q is impacted.

特別是對於 4Q，關鍵是目前的運營商 XCL 推遲了 6 口井，其中 3 口是因為支管從 10,000 英尺延伸到 15,000 英尺。因此，這不僅意味著它們會延遲一點，因為執行時間更長，而且當您在附近進行水力壓裂時，偏移井的關閉時間也會更長。這就是第四季受到的影響。

And then I'll just go back to what I just said for 2025, it will be all of the above where we're really looking at optimizing the capital program for the year. That's a long-winded answer to your short question there, Gabriel.

然後我會回到我剛才所說的 2025 年，我們真正考慮的是優化今年的資本計畫。加布里埃爾，這是對你的簡短問題的冗長回答。

No. That's helpful. Appreciate the color there. And then I guess just as a follow-up, you noted quarterly cadence shouldn't really be looked at all that much as you're still kind of finalizing plans for '25. But if I look at 4Q CapEx of $330 million, that would imply about $1.3 billion annualized. And that's still on a higher rig count than what you guys hope to get to. So for '25 CapEx, is it fair to say directionally, you could be $1.3 billion or lower, just given the plans to go from nine to six rigs? And I'll keep it there.

不，這很有幫助。欣賞那裡的顏色。然後我想，作為後續行動，您指出季度節奏不應該被過多關注，因為您仍在敲定 25 年的計劃。但如果我看一下第四季 3.3 億美元的資本支出，這意味著年化約為 13 億美元。這仍然比你們希望達到的鑽孔機數量要多。因此，對於 25 年的資本支出，考慮到鑽機數量從 9 台增加到 6 台，可以公平地說，您的支出可能為 13 億美元或更低嗎？我會把它留在那裡。

Yeah. No, I would say, Gabriel, we're really looking at what the right capital level is. So I wouldn't use a multiple of the 4Q CapEx as a way to look at that. We'll be looking at what the rig program is throughout the year, how many at each asset. So we've said in that [1.3, 1.4] range for next year, and we'll see what that actually comes down to when we get to February. It will depend, again, on commodity prices, that's always the starting point for this, too.

是的。不，我想說，加布里埃爾，我們真正在研究什麼是合適的資本水準。因此，我不會使用第四季資本支出的倍數來看待這個問題。我們將關注全年的鑽機計劃以及每項資產的數量。所以我們已經說過明年的 [1.3, 1.4] 範圍，到了二月我們就會看到實際情況。這將再次取決於大宗商品價格，這也始終是起點。

Leo Mariani, ROTH MKM.

裡奧·馬裡亞尼，羅斯·MKM。

I just wanted to ask on the fourth quarter production guidance here. So I mean it looks to me like it's much wider than you guys normally have presented historically. I mean you guys present a quarter. So can you kind of provide some color in terms of why the wide range of production in 4Q, because the capital range is quite a bit (inaudible).

我只是想問一下第四季的生產指引。所以我的意思是，在我看來，它比你們通常在歷史上呈現的要廣泛得多。我的意思是你們送了四分之一。那麼您能否提供一些解釋為什麼第四季的生產範圍如此廣泛，因為資本範圍相當大（聽不清楚）。

Yeah. Sure, Leo. We just took on the Utah asset. So we're going to be careful about how we forecast for the quarter. We've got it down to -- in South Texas and Permian, it's like a fine-tuned piano. And then we've added in Utah, and we've obviously got a larger air band on that since we just took over the assets.

是的。當然，利奧。我們剛剛收購了猶他州的資產。因此，我們將謹慎對待本季的預測。我們已經把它歸結為——在德克薩斯州南部和二疊紀，它就像一架經過微調的鋼琴。然後我們又增加了猶他州的業務，自從我們剛剛接管這些資產以來，我們顯然已經擁有了更大的航空樂隊。

Okay. No, that makes sense. And then just with respect to the share buybacks. Obviously, you guys did not do any in the third quarter. You just had some kind of language there, I guess, in the release and the prepared comments, which maybe suggested like maybe these aren't all that likely kind of going forward to get to kind of 1 times net leverage, if I was sort of reading that right.

好的。不，這是有道理的。然後就是股票回購。顯然，你們在第三節沒有做任何事。我想，在發布和準備好的評論中，您只是有某種語言，這可能表明，如果我願意的話，這些可能不太可能達到 1 倍的淨槓桿率讀對了。

So could you just kind of provide a little bit more color? Is that generally right? Should we not expect many and maybe just in times of like material weakness, maybe you'll step in as really the free cash flow goes to debt [paydown]?

那麼你能提供更多一點的顏色嗎？一般來說是這樣的嗎？我們是否應該期待很多，也許只是在物質疲軟的時候，也許你會介入，因為自由現金流真的會變成債務[償還]？

I think that's actually a pretty good summary. We're clearly prioritizing debt reduction right now and getting back to that 1 times area. But I will acknowledge what you said as true. We very well may step in at different days and support the stock.

我認為這實際上是一個很好的總結。我們現在顯然優先考慮的是減少債務，並回到那個 1 倍的區域。但我會承認你說的是真的。我們很可能會在不同的日子介入並支持該股票。

We clearly like the stock price. I mean, that's certainly not part of the decision right now. It's just really more we think it's best for all stakeholders right now to get leverage back to that 1 times area where we have a strong balance sheet, a lot of dry powder, flexibility, all those things. But very well may step in periodically between now and then.

我們顯然喜歡股價。我的意思是，這當然不是現在決定的一部分。我們認為，現在對所有利害關係人來說，最好的方法是讓槓桿回到 1 倍的區域，我們擁有強大的資產負債表、大量的乾粉、靈活性等等。但從現在到那時，很可能會定期介入。

And Leo, I'll just remind you, we reloaded that buyback authorization with our Board to end of '27 for $500 million. So it's a healthy buyback that we can do over the three-year period.

Leo，我只想提醒您，我們在 27 年底之前向董事會重新授予了 5 億美元的回購授權。因此，這是我們在三年期間可以進行的健康回購。

Scott Hanold, RBC Capital Markets.

斯科特漢諾德，加拿大皇家銀行資本市場部。

If we could maybe touch on 2025, right now again. And I appreciate you're still in the planning phase, but could you give us some framework and context on how you think about this given some of the weakness we've seen in oil prices?

如果我們可以再談 2025 年的話。我很高興您仍處於規劃階段，但考慮到我們看到的油價疲軟，您能否給我們一些框架和背景，說明您如何看待這個問題？

How do you think about like when you look at your asset base, you obviously have three distinct basins. Which ones do you find most competitive as oil prices come down, so there's more incentives to invest there?

當您查看您的資產基礎時，您如何看待，您顯然擁有三個不同的盆地。隨著油價下跌，您認為哪些最具競爭力，因此有更多的投資動力？

Yeah, Scott, this is pretty much normal and routine for us and how we go about this. So at this stage, so now in November, we're looking at multiple scenarios, and that means different capital allocation between the assets. We are forecasting and using multiple price scenarios, meaning different gas price decks, different oil price decks.

是的，斯科特，這對我們來說非常正常和例行公事，以及我們如何解決這個問題。因此，在現階段，也就是 11 月份，我們正在考慮多種情況，這意味著資產之間的資本配置不同。我們正在預測和使用多種價格情景，這意味著不同的天然氣價格平台、不同的石油價格平台。

And then we look forward, that two- to three-year period, and we say, okay, with these scenarios, which optimizes free cash flow generation over that two- to three-year period? And then when we get to the end of January, we say, okay, what do we think the 2025 prices will be? And then we lock in on that scenario that optimize the free cash flow for that period of time.

然後我們展望兩到三年的時期，我們說，好吧，在這些情景下，這會優化兩到三年期間的自由現金流生成嗎？然後當我們到 1 月底時，我們會說，好吧，我們認為 2025 年的價格會是多少？然後我們鎖定優化該時段自由現金流的場景。

We have found this to be extremely effective. We've done it this way for, I think, four years now. So that's really how the process will run and then we'll -- when we report the full year '24 results in February, we'll share that full plan.

我們發現這非常有效。我想，我們這樣做已經四年了。這就是整個流程的運作方式，然後當我們在 2 月報告 24 年全年業績時，我們將分享完整的計劃。

Yeah. I would just add, you mentioned the pullback in commodity prices. Just a reminder, all three of our assets have significant amount of inventory at low breakevens. So we actually -- $70 oil is fantastic, I guess, is what I would say, from a standpoint of returns for our assets.

是的。我想補充一點，您提到了大宗商品價格的回檔。請注意，我們的所有三項資產都擁有大量庫存，而盈虧平衡點較低。所以我們實際上——從我們資產回報的角度來看，我想，70 美元的石油是太棒了。

Yeah, that's a great point Wade makes because we have driven the portfolio to be able to generate those returns even in below mid-cycle pricing. And that's -- we're getting the benefit of that now.

是的，這是韋德提出的一個很好的觀點，因為我們已經推動投資組合即使在低於週期中期的定價下也能夠產生這些回報。那就是——我們現在正在從中受益。

Understood. And then my next question is on the Klondike wells. Obviously, we've got some initial rates on those right now. And can you give us some color? You did comment in your prepared remarks that the productivity in the first 30 days seem to exceed your initial acquisition economic parameters.

明白了。我的下一個問題是關於克朗代克井。顯然，我們現在已經得到了一些初步價格。你能給我們一些顏色嗎？您確實在準備好的發言中評論道，前 30 天的生產力似乎超出了您最初的採購經濟參數。

Can you give us a little context? Like how do they look compared to some of your legacy Midland activity? Is it more in line with that overall, but -- just some color there.

您能為我們提供一些背景資訊嗎？與您在米德蘭的一些傳統活動相比，它們看起來怎麼樣？它是否更符合整體，但是——只是有一些顏色。

Yeah. Sure, Scott. So first of all, we're really pleased because the wells are kind of confirming our geologic model and that there's oil saturation in an area that's more a conventional play. So it's a sandstone. So these are really highly productive wells. And then there's variability in how much water is produced.

是的。當然，斯科特。首先，我們真的很高興，因為這些井在某種程度上證實了我們的地質模型，並且在一個更傳統的區域中存在石油飽和度。所以它是砂岩。所以這些井確實是高產井。然後產生的水量也存在變化。

But overall, the water oil ratios are coming in as what we thought. And we have the ability to predict, based on where all the vertical wells are, where the high water will be versus lower water. So that allows us to map and steer where we put the wells. So that's turned out quite positive.

但整體而言，水油比符合我們的預期。我們有能力根據所有垂直井的位置來預測高水位與低水位的位置。這樣我們就可以繪製井圖並引導其放置位置。所以結果是非常正面的。

In terms of productivity, if you compare to full co-development where you've got one really good well in two wells that are lesser on average, these are very economic wells for us, and so we're happy with the results. And with what we saw in the first two wells and really the first 8 wells, we said, well, let's put the rig back up there and drill six more.

就生產力而言，如果與完全共同開發相比，在兩口平均水平較低的井中獲得一口非常好的井，這些井對我們來說是非常經濟的井，因此我們對結果感到滿意。根據我們在前兩口井和前 8 口井中看到的情況，我們說，好吧，讓我們把鑽機放回原處，再鑽六口井。

And so we're back up there now drilling those. Because it's one interval that we're doing there, and there's no interference from others, there's less interaction with offset wells. So that's a positive as long as you space correctly, and we believe we spaced correctly.

所以我們現在回到那裡鑽探這些。因為我們在那裡進行的是一個井段，並且沒有其他井的干擾，所以與補償井的相互作用較少。因此，只要你的間距正確，這就是正面的，我們相信我們的間距正確。

(Operator Instructions) Neal Dingmann, Truist Securities.

（操作員指示）Neal Dingmann，Truist 證券公司。

My question, maybe just follow on a little bit on the other. I'm curious for your sort of future Midland plans, you've had a lot of success, Klondike and other areas, obviously, that Sweetie Peck continues to do super well.

我的問題，也許只是繼續關注另一個問題。我對你未來的米德蘭計劃很好奇，你在克朗代克和其他領域取得了很大的成功，顯然，甜佩克繼續做得非常好。

I'm just wondering, kind of looking regionally and formationally next year, could we assume -- and I know, obviously, you don't have detailed '25 guide out yet. But I'm just wondering, would you assume the Midland plan would be relatively similar to this year, just when you think about areas and formations you might tackle?

我只是想知道，明年我們是否可以從區域和形態上進行假設——而且我知道，顯然，你們還沒有詳細的 25 年指南。但我只是想知道，當你考慮你可能處理的區域和陣型時，你會認為米德蘭計劃與今年相對相似嗎？

Yeah, Neal, great question. I have not seen the specifics of what our Permian team is going to -- where they're going to locate specific wells. But you're right, we have a little broader mix of opportunities between Klondike, the Woodford, Permian, obviously, Sweetie Peck and the RockStar.

是的，尼爾，好問題。我還沒有看到我們二疊紀團隊將要做什麼的具體細節——他們將在哪裡找到特定的油井。但你是對的，我們在 Klondike、Woodford、Permian、顯然、Sweetie Peck 和 RockStar 之間有更廣泛的機會組合。

So we'll just know we'll be optimizing it. But what we keep in the back of our mind is the competitiveness with the other asset. So it has to be a good program and it has to be designed as a good program, and that means spacing selections, completion designs have to give us the good wells to compete with South Texas and Uinta.

所以我們只知道我們將對其進行最佳化。但我們牢記的是與其他資產的競爭力。因此，它必須是一個好的計劃，並且必須被設計成一個好的計劃，這意味著間距選擇、完井設計必須為我們提供良好的油井，以便與南德克薩斯和尤因塔競爭。

So it's kind of nice having three assets to compete against each other because it drives those returns. And people know when you get higher returns, you get more capital the following year.

因此，擁有三種資產相互競爭是件好事，因為它可以帶來回報。人們知道，當你獲得更高的回報時，你在下一年就能獲得更多的資本。

Great details. And then just second around the Uinta, and maybe specifically around the marketing there. Just wonder if you move forward, you already like the cube and you seem to be doing a lot of things to likely boost and improve production there. I'm just wondering, what type of options do you all have when it comes to takeaway in order to maximize pricing going forward?

很棒的細節。然後是尤因塔（Uinta），也許特別是那裡的營銷。只是想知道您是否繼續前進，您已經喜歡這個立方體，並且您似乎正在做很多事情來可能提高和提高那裡的產量。我只是想知道，在外賣方面，為了最大限度地提高未來的定價，你們都有什麼類型的選擇？

Yeah, Neal, so there's a lot bigger playground than I ever anticipated when we got into this and started looking at it back in April. There's a lot of competitive sensitivities around what you do specifically. So we can't get into the details there, but I would just say that know that we will be optimizing to get the best netback we can through all this.

是的，Neal，所以當我們進入這個領域並在四月開始研究它時，這裡的遊樂場比我預想的要大得多。您的具體工作存在著許多競爭敏感性。因此，我們無法詳細介紹那裡的細節，但我只想說，我們將進行最佳化，以透過這一切獲得最佳的淨回報。

The also surprising thing is just how much more attractive the waxy crude is to the refiners, given what their product slate -- what optimizes their product slate. So we'll just be working that over time, and I think we'll get better and better as time goes on.

同樣令人驚訝的是，考慮到煉油廠的產品結構（優化其產品結構），含蠟原油對煉油廠的吸引力要大得多。因此，隨著時間的推移，我們將繼續努力，我認為隨著時間的推移，我們會變得越來越好。

Michael Scialla, Stephens.

麥可夏拉，史蒂芬斯。

I want to go back to Klondike. You mentioned that some of the wells that are going to be coming on will be constrained due to the water infrastructure there. I guess what are the plans to expand that? And what might be the time frame there?

我想回到克朗代克。您提到，由於那裡的供水基礎設施，一些即將動工的水井將受到限制。我想擴大這範圍的計劃是什麼？那裡的時間範圍可能是多少？

Yeah. That's a great question, Mike. Yeah, we build facilities for optimizing over time rather than for peak rates. And what Wade always says is you basically don't build your church for the Easter. So it's not efficient to build water handling facilities at peak rates.

是的。這是一個很好的問題，麥克。是的，我們建立的設施是為了隨著時間的推移而優化，而不是為了峰值速率。韋德總是說，你基本上不會為復活節建造教堂。因此，以尖峰速度建設水處理設施效率不高。

So the way we do it is we just basically produce the wells off our ESPs at certain rates. And then you bring on a number of wells, and you're going to be constrained a little bit on the production rate and then you just wind up with a slower decline afterwards. So you don't get quite as high an IP, but you also get a slower decline. And value-wise, it's the right way to go because we spend less capital. So that's the story there.

因此，我們的做法是基本上以一定的速率透過 ESP 生產油井。然後你挖了很多口井，你的生產力就會受到一點限制，然後你會發現產量下降得更慢。因此，你不會獲得那麼高的 IP，但下降速度也會較慢。從價值角度來看，這是正確的方法，因為我們花費的資本更少。這就是那裡的故事。

Okay. So there really won't be any -- the infrastructure that you need is pretty much in place. We just should look for a little flatter declines, lower peak rates out of these newer wells as you go forward? Is that the bottom line?

好的。所以實際上不會有任何東西——您需要的基礎設施已經基本到位。隨著您的前進，我們只是應該從這些新井中尋找更平坦的下降和更低的峰值速率？這是底線嗎？

That's exactly right.

完全正確。

Okay. And on the Utah properties, you mentioned you're paying a transition service agreement in the fourth quarter. I guess, how do you expect that to change going forward? And is the fourth quarter run rate for your G&A, is that a good run rate to look forward to for 2025, at this point?

好的。關於猶他州的房產，您提到您將在第四季度支付過渡服務協議。我想，您預期這種情況未來會如何改變？您的 G&A 的第四季運行率是 2025 年的良好運行率嗎？

Yeah, Mike. So we -- the transition services agreement started with when we closed October 1. And this is really just an agreement where there's a period of time where the XCL team continues to operate and we get progressively more involved. We're in -- more in the day-to-day decisions than we would have been September 30. And there's a pre-agreed what we pay them during that period of time.

是的，麥克。因此，我們——過渡服務協議從 10 月 1 日關閉時開始。與 9 月 30 日相比，我們現在要做的日常決策更多。

And then on January 1, we take their employees who accepted our offers. And I'm pleased to say that 100% of their field employees did take our offers. So that's pretty smooth transition over there. So it's really just -- we're working together during this period of time. They are a really great team, so it works quite effectively.

然後在 1 月 1 日，我們帶走了接受我們錄用通知的員工。我很高興地說，他們 100% 的現場員工確實接受了我們的邀請。所以那裡的過渡非常順利。所以這確實是——我們在這段時間一起工作。他們是一支非常出色的團隊，所以工作起來非常有效。

And then in terms of G&A, it's just -- what we will be seeing is we'll be seeing increased G&A as we allocate more people's time of the SM people over to Utah. But the running change won't occur until January, when we have it fully staffed up with the people we've hired from XCL.

然後就 G&A 而言，我們將看到的是，隨著我們將更多 SM 人員的時間分配給猶他州，我們將看到 G&A 的增加。但持續的變化要到一月份才會發生，屆時我們已經配備了從 XCL 僱用的人員。

Yeah, Mike, this way -- we're working the details, obviously, and we'll share that with you in the guidance. But if I were modeling right now, I think that's a pretty good starting point, that fourth quarter number.

是的，邁克，這樣 - 顯然，我們正在研究細節，我們將在指南中與您分享。但如果我現在正在建模，我認為第四季的數字是一個非常好的起點。

Tim Rezvan, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Tim Rezvan，KeyBanc 資本市場。

Lots of potential questions here, but I'll start in the Uinta. I thought it was interesting, your first well results were from the Douglas Creek, which is not one of the three sort of standard derisked zones. So obviously, maybe it's not [17], but it looks like it's greater than three of the number of productive intervals.

這裡有很多潛在的問題，但我將從 Uinta 開始。我認為這很有趣，您的第一口井結果來自道格拉斯溪，它不是三個標準無風險區域之一。顯然，也許它不是 [17]，但看起來它大於有效間隔數量的三倍。

So as you go forward in 2025, how do you think about the allocation between sort of development drilling in defined areas and then sort of step outs to other areas?

那麼，當您展望 2025 年時，您如何考慮在特定區域進行開發鑽探和轉向其他區域之間的分配？

Yeah. Great question, Tim. And I really appreciate you recognizing the importance of that, because a lot of people have not counted inventory in the -- from all the intervals in the Uinta.

是的。很好的問題，提姆。我真的很感謝您認識到這一點的重要性，因為很多人沒有計算過 Uinta 的所有時間間隔的庫存。

So we haven't laid out the specific 2025, plan yet, but just know that just like we do in other places, we'll have a blend of known intervals, known spacings in known -- where everyone has done things, and then we'll have a mix in there of ones that have been partly delineated, and then we'll have some completely new tests.

因此，我們還沒有製定具體的 2025 年計劃，但只要知道，就像我們在其他地方所做的那樣，我們將混合已知的間隔、已知的間隔——每個人都做過事情，然後我們將混合一些已經部分描述的測試，然後我們將進行一些全新的測試。

I will give XCL credit for having done more than a typical PE in terms of looking at some of those intervals, and that gave us more confidence when we were putting our bid together in May and June.

我要讚揚 XCL 在查看其中一些時間間隔方面比典型的 PE 所做的更多，這讓我們在 5 月和 6 月進行投標時更有信心。

Okay. That's great. And then if I could follow up with Wade on the repurchase topic. You mentioned waiting on leverage back to kind of 1 times. But it's pretty easy to see that in the relatively near future, counting the legacy EBITDA you acquired.

好的。那太棒了。然後我能否就回購話題與韋德進行跟進。您提到等待槓桿回到 1 倍左右。但在不久的將來，計算您獲得的遺留 EBITDA 就很容易看出這一點。

So based on -- I know you haven't given 2025 guidance, but do you see that coming possibly by mid-2025 or sooner if oil holds at $70, your ability to hit the parameters to start repurchases again?

因此，我知道您尚未給出 2025 年的指導，但您是否認為，如果油價保持在 70 美元，您是否有能力在 2025 年中期或更早之前達到再次開始回購的參數？

Yeah, you could definitely see that if the commodity prices hang in there. I would agree with that.

是的，如果大宗商品價格保持不變，你肯定可以看到這一點。我同意這一點。

(Operator Instructions) Oliver Huang, Tudor, Pickering, Holt.

（操作員說明）Oliver Huang、Tudor、Pickering、Holt。

Herb, Wade, wanted to kind of try and get a better understanding around the moving pieces on the Q4 pro forma guide for LOE. Are there any one-offs that we should be aware of that's expected to kind of drive the legacy Texas side of things higher quarter-over-quarter for LOE? And then when we're kind of thinking about the Uinta, how are you all thinking about this line item trending for Q4?

Herb、Wade 想要嘗試更了解《LOE》第四季準備指南中的動態內容。是否有任何我們應該注意的一次性事件預計會推動 LOE 的傳統德克薩斯方面的季度環比增長？然後，當我們考慮 Uinta 時，你們都如何看待第四季度這個訂單項目的趨勢？

And just given how there's lower volumes from fewer completions and the offset frac shut-ins occurring, I do want to be careful about just extrapolating this forward given potential efficiencies as the operator and a rebound in volumes that might impact certain costs that are more fixed in nature. So just trying to think if there's a good proxy in terms of how to think about it for 2025?

考慮到完井數量減少和壓裂關閉導致產量下降，考慮到運營商的潛在效率以及可能影響某些更固定成本的產量反彈，我確實希望謹慎推斷這一遠期在大自然中。那麼，我們想一下，是否有一個好的指標可以幫助我們思考 2025 年的情況？

Okay. Yeah, let me start on this one, Oliver, that I think you pretty well understand on the oilier assets have higher LOE, the gassier assets have lower LOE. So as we transition over time to being an oilier company and getting over 50% oil, you expect LOE to go up somewhat, and the margins are obviously higher on the oil side.

好的。是的，讓我從這一點開始，奧利弗，我認為您很清楚含油資產具有較高的 LOE，含氣資產具有較低的 LOE。因此，隨著時間的推移，當我們轉型為石油含量更高的公司並獲得超過 50% 的石油時，您預計 LOE 會有所上升，而石油方面的利潤率顯然更高。

And we -- during the third quarter, we saw some optimization in Midland, and that brought LOE down. That's just basically the constructive environment from a deflationary perspective and the team optimizing things like chemicals and other things.

在第三季度，我們看到米德蘭進行了一些優化，這導致 LOE 下降。從通貨緊縮的角度來看，這基本上是建設性的環境，以及團隊優化化學物質和其他事物的方式。

Then you have another component when you look forward with Utah, that the vertical well LOE per BOE is relatively high just because the rates are lower in the vertical wells. And as we get a greater percentage of horizontal wells in the mix, those are lower LOE per BOE because of the higher rates coming out of the horizontals.

然後，當您展望猶他州時，您會看到另一個組成部分，即每個 BOE 的垂直井 LOE 相對較高，只是因為垂直井的速率較低。當我們在混合井中獲得更大比例的水平井時，每桶油當量的 LOE 較低，因為水平井的產率較高。

So if we think about a model for it, you expect the LOE to be dropping over time intrinsically because of that change in mix of verticals to horizontals. And then just overall, you expect Utah to run somewhat higher with that oil percentage, and just the operating environment there, you expect it to run higher.

因此，如果我們考慮一個模型，您會發現 LOE 本質上會隨著時間的推移而下降，因為垂直與水平混合的變化。總體而言，您預計猶他州的石油百分比會更高，就那裡的營運環境而言，您預計它會更高。

But, again, the margins are quite strong just because of the oily nature of it on a per BOE basis. So that's really the way I'd look at it. Does that get -- answer your question, Oliver?

但同樣，由於每桶油的油性質，利潤率相當高。所以這就是我的看法。奧利佛，這能回答你的問題嗎？

Yeah. That's helpful color for sure. And maybe for a second follow-up question, just on the Uinta. With keys now in hand, any sort of color you're able to speak to in terms of what your current DUC backlog might look like out of the basin exiting the year, and just kind of how that might compare to a normalized run rate in terms of how you all are thinking about it?

是的。這肯定是有用的顏色。也許還有第二個後續問題，就 Uinta 而言。現在有了鑰匙，您就可以根據當前 DUC 積壓的情況來了解今年退出盆地的情況，以及與標準化運行率相比的情況。

Just trying to take it through the possible efficiencies that you all might be able to capture on this front moving to the 2025, program.

只要試著了解你們所有人在邁向 2025 年計畫時可能能夠實現的效率。

That's a great question, Oliver. And just this is the observation is because of the stacked pay nature of the Uinta, which is even more than the Permian in some ways. The pads are larger, so we'll typically drill more wells on a pad at a time before completing, just -- and this is just conceptually, I would expect the DUC count to be higher than, say, the Permian -- than South Texas definitely, and in some cases, much of the Permian. So we don't have an official DUC forecast. We actually don't manage the DUCs. It's just knowing how we're running and how efficient it is.

這是一個很好的問題，奧利佛。而這個觀察結果是因為 Uinta 的疊加支付性質，在某些方面甚至比二疊紀還要多。平台更大，所以我們通常會在完成之前一次在一個平台上鑽更多的井，這只是概念上的，我預計 DUC 數量會比二疊紀盆地更高，比南盆地要高德克薩斯州肯定是，在某些情況下，是二疊紀的大部分地區。所以我們沒有官方的 DUC 預測。我們實際上不管理 DUC。它只是知道我們如何運作以及它的效率如何。

The impressive thing in Utah is the integrated nature of the sand mine next to an e-frac, which is run off a gas turbine for electric power. And then we -- XCL started fracking as far as 2.5, 3 miles from that site. So the frac spread doesn't need to move. This is highly, highly efficient, probably the most efficient operation I've ever seen. And by having a lot of wells on a pad, that helps on those efficiencies.

猶他州令人印象深刻的是沙礦旁的電子壓裂裝置的綜合性，該裝置透過燃氣渦輪機發電。然後我們——XCL 開始進行水力壓裂，最遠距離該地點 2.5、3 英里。因此壓裂價差不需要移動。這是非常非常有效率的，可能是我見過的最高效的操作。透過在墊上設置很多井，有助於提高效率。

So that's the way I look at it. So that's a long-winded answer to a DUC question, but it's -- just kind of gives you a picture of how effective it can be there. But it all starts with the stacked pay and contiguous acreage, which is the type of thing we like and drive us because that's what gives us higher capital efficiency and better returns.

這就是我的看法。這是對 DUC 問題的冗長回答，但它只是讓您了解它的有效性。但這一切都始於疊加的工資和連續的面積，這是我們喜歡並推動我們的事情類型，因為這給我們帶來了更高的資本效率和更好的回報。

We reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over for any further or closing comments.

我們的問答環節結束了。我想重新發言以徵求進一步的意見或結束意見。

Okay. Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us today, and Happy November. Take care.

好的。好的，謝謝大家今天加入我們，祝十一月快樂。小心。

Thank you. That does conclude today's teleconference webcast. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and have a wonderful day. We thank you for your participation today.

謝謝。今天的電話會議網路廣播到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路，度過美好的一天。我們感謝您今天的參與。