US Energy Corp (USEG) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. Welcome to the U.S. Energy Corporation's second-quarter 2024 results conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this conference is being recorded.

問候。歡迎參加美國能源公司 2024 年第二季業績電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄製中。

At this time, I'll hand the conference over to Mason McGuire. Mason, you may now begin.

這次，我將把會議交給梅森·麥奎爾。梅森，你現在可以開始了。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to U.S. Energy Corp.'s second-quarter 2024 results conference call. Ryan Smith, our Chief Executive Officer, will provide an overview of our operating results and discuss the company's strategic outlook; and our Chief Financial Officer, Mark Zajac, will have a more detailed review of our financial results.

謝謝接線員，大家早安。歡迎參加美國能源公司 2024 年第二季業績電話會議。我們的執行長 Ryan Smith 將概述我們的營運業績並討論公司的策略前景；我們的財務長 Mark Zajac 將對我們的財務表現進行更詳細的審查。

After the market closed yesterday, U.S. Energy issued a press release summarizing operating and financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. This press release, together with the accompanying presentation materials, are available in the Investor Relations section of our website at www.usnrg.com.

昨天收盤後，美國能源公司發布了一份新聞稿，總結了截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日的季度的營運和財務表現。本新聞稿以及隨附的簡報資料可在我們網站 www.usnrg.com 的投資者關係部分取得。

Today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements about future business and financial expectations. Actual results may differ significantly from those projected in today's forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties included in the risks described in our periodic reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

今天的討論可能包含有關未來業務和財務預期的前瞻性陳述。由於我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的定期報告中描述的風險包含各種風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與今天的前瞻性聲明中預測的結果有顯著差異。

Such as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements. Further, please note that the non-GAAP financial measures may be disclosed during this call. A full reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measurements are available in our latest quarterly earnings release and the conference call presentation.

根據法律要求，我們不承擔更新前瞻性陳述的義務。此外，請注意，非公認會計準則財務指標可能會在本次電話會議期間揭露。我們最新的季度收益發布和電話會議演示中提供了 GAAP 與非 GAAP 衡量指標的全面對帳。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Ryan Smith.

說到這裡，我想把電話轉給瑞安史密斯。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'm pleased to share with you our results from this quarter as well as provide an update on our strategic outlook. Our quarter end results reflect the hard work and resiliency of our operational team as well as the results of the company's business development efforts.

大家早安，感謝您今天加入我們。我很高興與您分享我們本季的業績，並提供我們策略前景的最新資訊。我們的季末業績反映了我們營運團隊的辛勤工作和韌性，以及公司業務發展的成果。

To begin, we closed our initial transaction targeting helium and other industrial gases in late June, as well as entered into a letter of intent for a complementary and contiguous acreage position to the transaction that has already closed. The assets are located across the Kevin Dome structure in Montana, an area with an extensive presence of vast CO2, nitrogen and helium resources.

首先，我們在 6 月下旬完成了針對氦氣和其他工業氣體的初始交易，並簽署了一份意向書，對已完成的交易進行補充和連續的面積定位。這些資產位於蒙大拿州凱文圓頂結構的對面，該地區擁有大量二氧化碳、氮氣和氦氣資源。

These new assets, of which we have closed on one and expect to close on the other during the fourth quarter of 2024, represented tremendous development opportunity for U.S. Energy and immediately move to the front of our corporate line competing and ultimately demanding capital allocation.

這些新資產（我們已完成其中一項資產並預計在2024 年第四季完成另一項資產）為美國能源公司帶來了巨大的發展機遇，並立即成為我們公司競爭的前沿，並最終要求資本配置。

As we undertake our near-term drilling activity, of which we have two initial wells being drilled in September with potential further development in the late fall, we have many data points on productive zones while still believing the helium-dominant pay zones have largely virgin reservoir pressure, resulting in what we expect to be highly productive wells with minimal declines at modest capital costs of $1.2 million to $1.8 million due to the relative shallow and conventional nature.

當我們進行近期鑽探活動時，我們已於9 月鑽探了兩口初步井，並有可能在秋末進一步開發，我們擁有許多有關生產區的數據點，同時仍然相信以氦氣為主的產油區基本上是未開發的。

The expected size and minimal decline rates at the newly drilled wells are expected to support highly economic development of the asset base, both at the field and associated infrastructure level, without the need to undertake an unrealistic and unfundable capital spending plan. This is advantageous for numerous obvious reasons and the effects will ultimately show up in our realized economics.

新鑽探井的預期規模和最小遞減率預計將支持油田和相關基礎設施層面資產基礎的高度經濟發展，而無需實施不切實際且無法資助的資本支出計劃。基於許多明顯的原因，這是有利的，其影響最終將體現在我們已實現的經濟學中。

Additionally, our wells in the initial period will target our areas of high confidence, while also bringing additional clarity to the productive parameters of the asset base. We plan to have results from the first two wells during the fourth quarter and plan on sharing these results on our fourth quarter earnings release.

此外，我們在初期的油井將瞄準我們高度信任的區域，同時也使資產基礎的生產參數更加清晰。我們計劃在第四季度獲得前兩口井的結果，並計劃在第四季度的收益發布中分享這些結果。

My final point on our recent transactions and a very critical aspect on the background summary of the Kevin Dome Montana assets is the vast majority of helium production in the United States is hydrocarbon-based, driven by being a byproduct of natural gas.

關於我們最近的交易，我的最後一點以及蒙大拿州凱文圓頂資產背景摘要的一個非常關鍵的方面是，美國絕大多數氦氣生產都是基於碳氫化合物，由天然氣副產品驅動。

The helium and industrial gas sources across U.S. Energy's new assets are nonhydrocarbon-based and part of industrial gas streams, making this project as low of an environmental footprint as any of its type in the United States.

美國能源公司新資產中的氦氣和工業氣體來源是非碳氫化合物，並且是工業氣流的一部分，使得該項目的環境足跡與美國任何類型的項目一樣低。

Turning to our legacy oil and gas assets. We achieved net daily production of approximately 1,221 barrels of oil equivalent per day, an increase over the first quarter of 2024, with oil production representing approximately 62% of our total production, with the remainder consisting of an approximately even split of natural gas and NGLs.

轉向我們的遺留石油和天然氣資產。我們的日淨產量約為 1,221 桶石油當量，較 2024 年第一季增加，其中石油產量約占我們總產量的 62%，其餘部分則由天然氣和液化石油氣大致平分。

As explained in our release yesterday, our operations were heavily impacted by severe flooding that made national news throughout East Texas and the Gulf Coast during the quarter. While this is the second large weather system to hit the Gulf Coast this year and nearly identical effects were felt during the first quarter, primarily, all of the effective production is located on our lesser producing areas and has been brought back online.

正如我們在昨天的新聞稿中所解釋的，我們的業務受到嚴重洪水的嚴重影響，該季度的洪水成為整個德克薩斯州東部和墨西哥灣沿岸的全國性新聞。雖然這是今年襲擊墨西哥灣沿岸的第二個大型天氣系統，並且在第一季度感受到了幾乎相同的影響，但主要是，所有有效生產都位於我們較小的產區，並且已恢復生產。

There are no long-term issues expected by the weather and the company's core asset focus areas were unaffected and continue to perform to our expectations. I'm particularly proud to highlight our substantial achievements in cost management in the face of adverse weather conditions.

預計天氣不會出現長期問題，公司的核心資產重點領域沒有受到影響，並繼續符合我們的預期。我特別自豪地強調我們在面對惡劣天氣條件的成本管理方面所取得的巨大成就。

Our lease operating expense came in at $3.1 million, representing a decrease in total expense to the prior quarter. A majority of our LOE is fixed at this point and our per barrel metric is highly sensitive to any variations in production.

我們的租賃營運費用為 310 萬美元，總費用較上一季下降。此時我們的大部分 LOE 是固定的，我們的每桶指標對產量的任何變化都高度敏感。

Our per barrel cost for the second quarter was $27.69 per BOE, a 5% decrease from the first quarter. The weather-driven loss production, combined with additional expenses on the same areas, combined for the elevated metric. We believe our per barrel LOE will revert back to the low $20 per barrel range or significantly lower than what was realized.

我們第二季的每桶成本為每桶油 27.69 美元，比第一季下降 5%。天氣驅動的損失生產，加上同一地區的額外支出，綜合起來提高了指標。我們相信，我們的每桶 LOE 將恢復到每桶 20 美元的低位範圍，或顯著低於實現的水平。

As we continue moving through 2024, a majority of our capital will be spent efficiently on developing our recent transactions and highest return projects, combined with supporting the production profile of our legacy asset base, continuing the company's share repurchase plan, maintaining balance sheet integrity and being advantageous of organically generated M&A opportunities.

隨著我們繼續邁向2024 年，我們的大部分資本將有效地用於開發我們最近的交易和最高回報項目，同時支持我們遺留資產基礎的生產概況、繼續公司的股票回購計劃、保持資產負債表的完整性和充分利用有機產生的併購機會。

U.S. Energy has historically targeted being a growth platform in aggregated oil and gas assets. While oil prices have been more supportive over the last couple of years than were previously experienced, the challenges facing public small and mid-cap E&Ps are real, specifically when managing current cost of capital and executing on meaningful transactions that are truly accretive to existing shareholders.

美國能源公司歷來的目標是成為石油和天然氣總資產的成長平台。儘管油價在過去幾年中比以前更具支撐性，但上市中小型勘探和生產公司面臨的挑戰是真實的，特別是在管理當前資本成本和執行真正有利於現有股東的有意義的交易時。

We have grown the platform here at the company when applicable. We have also targeted asset sales when we felt the market was tilted in the seller's favor as shown by our last two asset sales, the most recent representing our exit from our South Texas properties.

如果適用的話，我們已經在公司發展了這個平台。當我們認為市場向有利於賣方的方向傾斜時，我們也會瞄準資產出售，正如我們最近兩次資產出售所示，最近一次代表我們退出南德克薩斯州的房產。

These transactions have left us with an ideal balance sheet, extremely low levels of simple bank debt and a clean cap structure that is able to support developments. While any development projects will, of course, need development capital, U.S. Energy sits in a highly enviable position relative to any perceived peer of having significant sources of internally generated nondilutive capital.

這些交易為我們留下了理想的資產負債表、極低水準的簡單銀行債務以及能夠支持發展的乾淨的上限結構。當然，任何開發項目都需要開發資本，但美國能源公司相對於任何擁有大量內部產生的非稀釋資本來源的被認為的同行而言，處於非常令人羨慕的地位。

Whether it's cash flow from existing operations, or more meaningfully, opportunistic asset sales, having that lever to pull forward significant cash value is a huge advantage, particularly with a highly desirable and immediate use of proceeds.

無論是來自現有業務的現金流，還是更有意義的機會主義資產出售，擁有這種槓桿來拉動大量現金價值都是一個巨大的優勢，特別是在非常理想且立即使用收益的情況下。

We believe that U.S. Energy stands out from other energy companies of our size in this backdrop of current energy industry dynamics. We now have a highly economic and scalable development project and our remaining E&P assets require minimal capital to maintain a steady production profile, leading to predictable cash flow and allowing us to effectively allocate dollars to maximize our returns on capital.

我們相信，在當前能源產業動態的背景下，美國能源公司在我們規模的其他能源公司中脫穎而出。我們現在擁有一個高度經濟且可擴展的開發項目，我們剩餘的勘探與生產資產需要最少的資本來維持穩定的生產狀況，從而產生可預測的現金流，並使我們能夠有效地分配美元以最大化我們的資本回報。

Our approach positions and allows us to weather market fluctuations and capitalize on opportunities, making us well prepared to navigate the always evolving energy landscape. Our focus at U.S. Energy remains on operational efficiency, balance sheet discipline, responsible resource management, underscoring our commitment to driving sustainable value creation.

我們的方法使我們能夠抵禦市場波動並抓住機遇，使我們做好充分準備，駕馭不斷變化的能源格局。我們在美國能源公司的重點仍然是營運效率、資產負債表紀律、負責任的資源管理，並強調我們致力於推動永續價值創造。

As we move forward, we remain dedicated to capitalizing on current market conditions and leveraging our strengths to deliver continued growth and shareholder returns.

在我們前進的過程中，我們仍然致力於利用當前的市場狀況並利用我們的優勢來實現持續成長和股東回報。

To that end, during the second quarter, we continued to accelerate our previously announced share repurchase program. During the quarter, the company repurchased approximately 200,000 shares, bringing our year-to-date repurchase total to approximately more and greater than 2% of the company's outstanding shares.

為此，在第二季度，我們繼續加快先前宣布的股票回購計畫。本季度，公司回購了約 20 萬股股票，使我們年初至今的回購總額達到約超過公司流通股的 2%。

We continue to believe that repurchasing our equity at current valuation levels is prudent and one of, if not the best, allocations of free cash flow along with this higher rate of return opportunity as we see in the marketplace. We expect to continue this activity going forward.

我們仍然認為，以當前估值水平回購我們的股權是謹慎的，也是自由現金流的配置之一（如果不是最好的）以及我們在市場上看到的更高回報率的機會。我們預計今後將繼續進行這項活動。

In conclusion, U.S. Energy sits at the beginning of what I believe is a true first-mover advantage in this space, which I define as a growth-focused nonhydrocarbon industrial gas-focused company in the United States.

總而言之，我認為美國能源公司處於該領域真正的先發優勢的開端，我將其定義為美國一家以成長為重點、以非碳氫化合物工業天然氣為重點的公司。

The existing small-scale companies in this space are hindered by burdensome and convoluted equity structures, ugly balance sheets and listed on exchanges that are avoided by most institutional investors. U.S. Energy faces none of these hurdles and we believe further corporate opportunities will present themselves as this becomes apparent in the marketplace.

這一領域現有的小規模公司受到繁重而複雜的股權結構、醜陋的資產負債表以及大多數機構投資者迴避的交易所上市的阻礙。美國能源公司不面臨這些障礙，我們相信，隨著這一點在市場上變得明顯，將會出現更多的企業機會。

Now I would like to introduce Mark Zajac, our CFO, who will provide a detailed update on the financial results for the second quarter.

現在我想介紹我們的財務長 Mark Zajac，他將提供第二季財務表現的詳細更新。

Thank you, Ryan. Hello, everyone. Let's delve into the financial details for the second quarter of 2024. Total oil and gas sales for the quarter amounted to approximately $6 million, reflecting a decrease from $8 million in the same period last year. This decline was attributed to a 38% reduction in volumes and partially offset by a 22% increase in realized prices.

謝謝你，瑞安。大家好。讓我們深入研究一下 2024 年第二季的財務細節。該季度石油和天然氣銷售總額約為 600 萬美元，較去年同期的 800 萬美元有所下降。這一下降歸因於銷量下降 38%，但實際價格上漲 22% 部分抵消了這一下降。

It is important to note that this quarter's production was significantly impacted by severe weather events in several of our key operating areas.

值得注意的是，本季的產量受到我們幾個關鍵營運區域的惡劣天氣事件的嚴重影響。

Sales from oil production contributed 91% of our total revenue for the quarter, demonstrating our continued focus on optimizing our oil assets. Our lease operating expense for the second quarter was approximately $3.1 million, equivalent to $27.69 per BOE, indicating an impressive 18% reduction in total lease operating expense compared to the second quarter of 2023. This reduction can be attributed to asset sales, fewer onetime workovers and our continued effort to increase operating efficiency.

石油生產銷售佔本季總收入的 91%，顯示我們持續致力於優化石油資產。我們第二季的租賃營運費用約為 310 萬美元，相當於每桶油當量 27.69 美元，這表明與 2023 年第二季相比，總租賃營運費用減少了 18%，令人印象深刻。這項減少可歸因於資產出售、一次性修井次數的減少以及我們不斷努力提高營運效率。

Severance and ad valorem taxes for the second quarter of 2024 totaled approximately $400,000, reflecting a decline from $500,000 in the same period last year as a percentage of total oil and gas sales revenue. These taxes account for approximately 6.1% during the quarter.

2024年第二季的遣散費和從價稅總額約為40萬美元，佔石油和天然氣銷售收入總額的百分比較去年同期的50萬美元下降。這些稅費在本季約佔 6.1%。

Cash, general and administrative expenses was $1.6 million for the same quarter of 2024, a reduction of 43% when compared to the same period of 2023. The second quarter saw a significant reduction in accounting and professional fees and compensation and benefits when compared to the same period a year ago.

2024 年同季的現金、一般及管理費用為 160 萬美元，較 2023 年同期減少 43%。與去年同期相比，第二季的會計和專業費用以及薪資和福利大幅減少。

Turning to our net financial performance. The company reported a net loss of $2 million in the second quarter of 2024, an improvement of $0.5 million when compared to the second quarter of 2023. Our adjusted EBITDA stood at $1.1 million in the second quarter of 2024 compared to $900,000 in the same period last year, influenced most notably by the reduction in total cash operating expenses from the prior period.

轉向我們的淨財務業績。該公司報告 2024 年第二季淨虧損 200 萬美元，較 2023 年第二季減少 50 萬美元。2024 年第二季度，我們的調整後 EBITDA 為 110 萬美元，而去年同期為 90 萬美元，主要是受到上一季現金營運支出總額減少的影響。

Let's briefly touch upon our balance sheet. As of June 30, 2024, the company held outstanding debt of $7 million on our $20 million revolving credit facility. Our cash position stood at $2.2 million. Subsequent to the quarter end, we paid down $5 million of our credit facility, leaving $2 million of debt outstanding as of today.

讓我們簡單地談談我們的資產負債表。截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日，該公司在我們的 2,000 萬美元循環信貸額度中持有 700 萬美元的未償債務。我們的現金部位為 220 萬美元。季度末後，我們償還了 500 萬美元的信貸額度，截至目前尚有 200 萬美元的未償債務。

In conclusion, we are pleased with our operating performance and financial results that we are able to support the company's initiatives in a way that maintain full balance integrity. My objective is to ensure that the company's reporting process maintains a high standard of excellence and we feel confident in our ability to support any growth initiatives we may entertain going forward.

總而言之，我們對我們的經營業績和財務表現感到滿意，我們能夠以保持全面平衡完整性的方式支持公司的舉措。我的目標是確保公司的報告流程保持高標準的卓越性，並且我們對支持我們未來可能考慮的任何成長計劃的能力充滿信心。

Thank you for your participation this morning. We are now ready to take your questions.

感謝您今天早上的參與。我們現在準備好回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Jesse Sobelson, EF Hutton.

（操作員說明）Jesse Sobelson，EF Hutton。

Hi, everyone. Thanks for taking my question today. I was just curious, I've heard the commentary on LOE per BOE moderating looking forward here as operations are more normalized. I'm curious, though, when it comes to the acquisition of these additional assets in Montana, and I noticed in the press release, the commentary on the wells being spud in the third quarter here, how should we look at G&A going forward? Thank you.

大家好。感謝您今天回答我的問題。我只是很好奇，我聽到了關於每個 BOE 的 LOE 的評論，隨著營運更加正常化，我期待在這裡。不過，我很好奇，當談到收購蒙大拿州的這些額外資產時，我在新聞稿中註意到，關於第三季開工的油井的評論，我們應該如何看待未來的一般行政費用？謝謝。

Hey, Jesse, it's Ryan. Good morning. Thanks for the question. Good question. So I guess, two parts on our legacy oil and gas assets. As we explained yesterday in the release, but just verbalizing, I think most people are aware, at least, heavy, heavy weather in the second quarter, Hurricane Beryl came through and took a lot of our Gulf Coast production offline, most of that being in Liberty, which is just east of Houston.

嘿，傑西，我是瑞安。早安.謝謝你的提問。好問題。所以我想，有兩個部分是關於我們遺留的石油和天然氣資產的。正如我們昨天在新聞稿中所解釋的那樣，但只是口頭上的解釋，我認為大多數人至少都知道第二季度的惡劣天氣，颶風貝裡爾來襲，導致我們墨西哥灣沿岸的許多生產停產，其中大部分是位於休士頓以東的自由城。

So obvious comment, but removing producing barrels and then adding the expenses to handle the weather-related events, et cetera, inflated that per barrel metric in the second quarter. It's the same -- even though it was a little bit less in the first quarter, it's the same reason going forward on an LOE basis in our oil and gas assets outside of another.

如此明顯的評論，但取消了生產桶，然後增加了處理與天氣相關事件的費用等，導致第二季的每桶指標誇大。這是一樣的——儘管第一季略有減少，但在我們的石油和天然氣資產的 LOE 基礎上，除其他資產外，這也是同樣的原因。

I would love to say we'll never expect the other weather event on the Gulf Coast, that's probably not accurate. But where we stand right here right now going forward over the next couple of quarters, we're confident that we'll get that per barrel metric back to the numbers that we saw late last year.

我想說的是，我們永遠不會想到墨西哥灣沿岸會發生其他天氣事件，這可能不準確。但就我們目前的情況而言，在接下來的幾個季度裡，我們有信心將每桶指標恢復到去年年底的水平。

From a what to expect on our upcoming drilling, we're not ready to give out specific guidance on those wells yet. I think that's coming in the intermediate term on our next quarterly earnings just because it's our first well to drill up there.

從我們即將進行的鑽探的預期來看，我們尚未準備好就這些井提供具體指導。我認為這將在我們下個季度收益的中期出現，因為這是我們在那裡鑽探的第一口井。

Of course, we have some thoughts. We believe these wells are going to come in around $1.5 million, $1.6 million, $1.4 million of capital costs. First well is probably going to be a little bit more than that, just while we really make sure that everything we want to do is going on. But on a metric basis, on the new development, I don't think we're ready to give those numbers out yet until we have our first well drilled and producing.

當然，我們也有一些想法。我們相信這些油井的資本成本將約為 150 萬美元、160 萬美元、140 萬美元。第一口井可能會比這個多一點，而我們確實要確保我們想做的一切都在進行。但在公制基礎上，在新的開發上，我認為在我們第一口井鑽探和生產之前，我們還沒有準備好給出這些數字。

From a G&A perspective, I do think our G&A is going to continue to trend down. As we look at our portfolio here of our legacy oil and gas assets, I think we have multiple opportunities in the current price environment, even lower prices than now to really pull forward some value with those assets. And pulling forward value on assets, obvious comment, isn't just the cash we receive now, it's that use of proceeds, what's the corporate overhead synergies we can realize with doing that.

從一般行政費用的角度來看，我確實認為我們的一般行政費用將繼續呈下降趨勢。當我們審視我們的傳統石油和天然氣資產的投資組合時，我認為在當前的價格環境下，我們有很多機會，甚至比現在更低的價格，可以真正利用這些資產來實現一些價值。顯而易見，推動資產價值成長的不僅是我們現在收到的現金，還有收益的使用，以及我們透過這樣做可以實現的企業管理費用綜效。

And ultimately, I believe that we can optimize our platform here to where the G&A and the professionals that we bring on with the new development is more than offset by the G&A optimization efficiently running our legacy assets. So I don't believe that we will see any inflated G&A numbers. And at the point, if there is an absolute G&A increase, I think it would be, on a per metric basis, significantly less than what we realized now.

最終，我相信我們可以在這裡優化我們的平台，使我們在新開發項目中引入的一般管理費用和專業人員能夠被有效運行我們的遺留資產的一般管理費用優化所抵消。所以我不相信我們會看到任何誇大的一般行政費用數字。目前，如果總費用和行政費用絕對增加，我認為按每個指標計算，這將大大低於我們現在意識到的水平。

Great. Thanks for the details on the financial operations on both those line items. And then I'll ask this last question, then I'll leave it to the rest of the call. But in terms of looking at legacy asset sales, are we still expecting to potentially line up some future sales of some of these assets to fund maybe this build-out? Or are we comfortable with our liquidity position today? And looking elsewhere more so focusing on the operations of the business? Thank you.

偉大的。感謝您提供這兩個項目的財務運營的詳細資訊。然後我會問最後一個問題，然後我會將其留給電話會議的其餘部分。但就遺留資產銷售而言，我們是否仍預期未來可能會出售其中一些資產來為這次擴建提供資金？或者我們對今天的流動性狀況感到滿意嗎？並在其他地方尋找更多關注業務運營的機會？謝謝。

Yeah. Of course. Great question. And I'll start at the end of the question and work my way through it. I'm perfectly comfortable with our liquidity position today to develop, call it, the first phase of our new project. With our asset sale that we completed in July, paid down another significant portion of our debt, I think we have $2 million outstanding today.

是的。當然。很好的問題。我將從問題的末尾開始，並逐步解決它。我對我們今天開發新專案第一階段的流動性狀況感到非常滿意。隨著我們 7 月完成的資產出售，還清了另一大部分債務，我認為我們今天還有 200 萬美元的未償債務。

A little more than $2 million cash on the balance sheet with the $18 million available on our revolver. So with all the normal premises of keeping our cash structure clean, keeping our leverage profile down, I'm very comfortable with where we are from a liquidity perspective.

資產負債表上的現金略多於 200 萬美元，而我們的左輪手槍上有 1800 萬美元的可用資金。因此，在保持現金結構清潔、降低槓桿等所有正常前提下，從流動性角度來看，我對我們的現狀感到非常滿意。

That being said, I'm just diving back into my previous answer, like the vast majority of companies, there is no doubt optimization we can do on our legacy assets. When U.S. Energy came together over the last couple of years, we had an asset base. We have an asset base that is geographically diverse. Not all of those assets are equal.

話雖這麼說，我只是回到我之前的答案，像絕大多數公司一樣，毫無疑問我們可以對我們的遺留資產進行優化。當美國能源公司在過去幾年合併時，我們擁有了資產基礎。我們擁有分佈廣泛的資產基礎。並非所有這些資產都是平等的。

And as I look at them going forward, if we can pull forward four or five years of projected cash flow at current commodity prices, opportunistically, in a process that gets four or five, six bids, that's always something that we're going to look at.

當我展望未來時，如果我們能夠以當前大宗商品價格，在獲得四、五、六次出價的過程中，機會主義地將預計現金流量提前四到五年，那麼我們總是會這樣做看看。

It's just where we trade at right now, the equity valuations, if we can monetize that cash at a very significant increase from where we trade and allocate that capital to what we believe is an extremely high rate of return project with our new acquisitions and development, it's a no-brainer.

這就是我們現在的交易位置，即股權估值，如果我們能夠以比我們交易位置顯著增加的方式將現金貨幣化，並將這些資本分配給我們認為透過新的收購和開發獲得極高回報率的項目，這是理所當然的。

So it's definitely on the radar. It's definitely something we're focused on. We'll be opportunistic about it. It's not something that's necessary to fund things going forward though.

所以它肯定在雷達上。這絕對是我們關注的事情。我們將對此採取機會主義態度。但這並不是為未來的發展提供資金所必需的。

Okay. Great. Thank you very much.

好的。偉大的。非常感謝。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Charles Meade, Johnson Rice.

查爾斯·米德，約翰遜·賴斯。

Yes. Good morning, Ryan. I want to say I appreciate the midyear oil and gas PDP update thereof I think it was just under $51 million. It really highlights your value. But I want to go back to I think you discussed this on the last -- on your last or really, the last call discussing the acquisition.

是的。早安，瑞安。我想說我很欣賞年中石油和天然氣 PDP 的更新，我認為它略低於 5,100 萬美元。它確實凸顯了你的價值。但我想回到我想你在最後一次討論這個問題——在你最後一次或實際上是最後一次討論收購的電話中。

What is the timing to get a similar PDP or third-party resource estimate on your helium assets? I know, or at least I believe, you said you're going to have one after you drill these two wells but are you going to have one before on the existing wells?

對您的氦氣資產進行類似的 PDP 或第三方資源估算的時機是什麼？我知道，或者至少我相信，您說過在鑽完這兩口井後您將擁有一口，但您之前會在現有井上擁有一口嗎？

Yeah. Great question, Charles, and good morning. So where we stand right now on the acreage that we've closed, we have our internal data. We have a large resource report from a very well-known third-party engineering firm. Again, in the world of SEC reporting and 1P reporting, resource reports aren't usually filed. They're investor presentation materials.

是的。很好的問題，查爾斯，早安。因此，我們現在已經關閉的土地上，我們有內部數據。我們有來自一家非常知名的第三方工程公司的大量資源報告。同樣，在 SEC 報告和 1P 報告領域，通常不會提交資源報告。它們是投資者的演示材料。

I think once we drill this first well coming up, I think we -- I believe we spudded on September 9. We'll have our data on that well, let's call it, by October 1. And then I think in the fourth quarter, we have both of those items.

我想，一旦我們鑽出第一口井，我想我們——我相信我們會在 9 月 9 日開鑽。我們將在 10 月 1 日之前獲得該井的數據，我們就這麼稱呼它吧。然後我認為在第四季度，我們擁有這兩個項目。

We have our larger resource overview reserve report. And then once we have a well drilled and operating under the assumption that we closed our transaction that we're under LOI on and the producing well that they have, I believe that we'll have our, let's call it, 1P reserves is processing, et cetera, makes PDP and PDNP very similar by the end of the year.

我們有更大的資源概覽儲量報告。然後，一旦我們鑽完井並在假設我們關閉了我們的意向書交易以及他們擁有的生產井的情況下進行運營，我相信我們將擁有我們的，讓我們稱之為，1P 儲備正在處理等等，使得到年底PDP 和PDNP 非常相似。

Hopefully, by fourth quarter earnings. I know that's a six-week window there, fourth quarter earnings and end of the year. But that's my expectation. We're working with two of the largest reserve engineering firms in the world right now on getting this done. So it's something on our plate and will be here by the end of the year.

希望能在第四季獲利之前實現。我知道有六週的時間窗口，即第四季度收益和年底。但這是我的期望。我們目前正在與世界上最大的兩家儲備工程公司合作來完成這項工作。所以這是我們的工作，並將在今年年底完成。

Got it. So if I'm understanding you correctly, Ryan, we're going to get two reports or two numbers: one, on the total resource; and then the second on here is what's proved developed with these wellbores, is that the right understanding?

知道了。所以，如果我沒理解錯的話，Ryan，我們將得到兩份報告或兩個數字：一是總資源；二是關於總資源的數據。然後這裡的第二個問題是這些井眼已證明已發展出什麼，這是正確的理解嗎？

Yeah. Absolutely. And I mean just another way to say it, just the -- a 1P, 2P, 3P resource report and then the SEC report that shows up on our 10-K.

是的。絕對地。我的意思是換個說法，就是 1P、2P、3P 資源報告，然後是 10-K 上顯示的 SEC 報告。

Got it. Got it. Okay. And then secondly, you've covered this, I think, a bit on your last call. You said that you'd be able to fund any development internally, whether it's asset sales or cash flow. But can you give us a sense -- you've given us an estimate for what these -- each of these first two wells costs, I think your number is $1.4 million. But what is the follow-on CapEx in the success case? And over what time frame does it play out?

知道了。知道了。好的。其次，我認為您在上次通話中已經對此進行了一些介紹。您說過您可以為任何內部開發提供資金，無論是資產出售還是現金流。但你能給我們一個大概的感覺嗎——你已經給了我們一個估算——前兩口井的成本是多少，我想你的數字是 140 萬美元。但成功案例中的後續資本支出是多少？它會在什麼時間範圍內播放？

Yeah. No. That's a great question. And I could go through this for an hour, but I'll try to keep it concise and not look like five years out. And I'll also preface this by saying, we look at this right now as phases, right? Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3. Phase 2 gets bigger as Phase 1 gets successful. And Phase 3 gets bigger as Phase 1 and 2 get successful, so I'm not going to sit here and say, from here to eternity, you don't ever need outside capital.

是的。不。這是一個很好的問題。我可以用一個小時來完成這個過程，但我會盡量保持簡潔，不要看起來像是五年後的事。我還將在序言中說，我們現在將其視為一個階段，對吧？第一階段、第二階段、第三階段。隨著第一階段的成功，第二階段的規模也會越來越大。隨著第一階段和第二階段的成功，第三階段會變得更大，所以我不會坐在這裡說，從現在到永遠，你永遠不需要外部資本。

But as we look at, I'll call it the next 12 to 18 months, what do we need to start, I'll call it, selling our industrial gases. We need to drill two or three wells and we need to put in a processing plant.

但正如我們所看到的，我將稱之為未來 12 到 18 個月，我們需要開始什麼，我將稱之為銷售我們的工業氣體。我們需要鑽兩到三口井，我們需要建立一個加工廠。

Right now, we think these wells, I'm going to call them 1.5. I think the first one comes in a little bit higher. I think the next one is coming a little bit lower just as we continue to learn what we're doing. It's very -- it's easy for me to say in my seat, but it's very simple drilling compared to, I think, what most folks are historically familiar with in terms of like horizontal shale drilling, shallow conventional wells.

現在，我們認為這些井，我將稱它們為 1.5。我認為第一個的得分要高一些。我認為隨著我們繼續了解我們正在做的事情，下一個會稍微低一些。這對我來說很容易在我的座位上說，但我認為，與大多數人歷史上熟悉的水平頁岩鑽井、淺層常規井相比，這是非常簡單的鑽井。

So we look at it at I thought two or three well number, $3 million to $4.5 million of drilling capital over the next -- we're drilling two now, we'll probably have one at some point in time before the next summer. And in the processing plant for these wells, we're forecasting at around $8 million to $9 million.

所以我們會考慮一下，我認為接下來會鑽兩到三口井，需要 300 萬到 450 萬美元的鑽探資金——我們現在正在鑽探兩口，我們可能會在明年夏天之前的某個時間點擁有一口。對於這些油井的加工廠，我們預計成本約為 800 萬至 900 萬美元。

I think from a perfect corporate finance perspective and a how do you come up with a cap structure on that type of infrastructure, it's very simple. I think it's half equity, half debt. And so you start looking at what are the equity needs for U.S. Energy over the next 12 months to where we are processing and selling meaningful amounts of industrial gases out of Montana. It's a $8 million to $10 million equity capital need from U.S. Energy.

我認為從完美的公司財務角度以及如何為此類基礎設施制定上限結構來看，這非常簡單。我認為一半是股權，一半是債務。因此，您開始考慮未來 12 個月美國能源公司在蒙大拿州加工和銷售大量工業氣體的股權需求。美國能源公司需要 800 萬至 1,000 萬美元的股本資本。

Another way to put equity capital need would just be a cash need. And whether that comes from cash on hand, cash from our operations, a bit of credit facility debt, asset sale, pull forwards, I think right now, at least from everything that we've seen and the processes that we've grown on the divestiture side.

滿足股本需求的另一種方式就是現金需求。我認為，無論是手頭現金、營運現金、一點信貸額度債務、資產出售還是遠期預付款，至少來自我們所看到的一切以及我們成長的流程剝離方面。

That's a number that I'm not overly concerned about right now being able to fund the legacy, just piggybacking on your comment a second ago, our legacy balance sheet, which still has $50 million-or-so of proved oil and gas reserves really gives us that flexibility to where we're not going out to the market hat-in-hand, willing to take any transaction. We don't need to do that. Again, for this initial get off the ground phase of proving our concept.

我現在並不太擔心這個數字是否能夠為遺產提供資金，只是藉用您剛才的評論，我們的遺產資產負債表仍然擁有大約 5000 萬美元的已探明石油和天然氣儲量為我們提供了靈活性，讓我們不必直接進入市場，願意進行任何交易。我們不需要這樣做。再次，在證明我們的概念的初始階段。

So I think it's a mixture of that. I mean I don't have the exact answer right now. It's -- we're in a flexible position to be opportunistic on these type of assets and these type of transactions. Our main assets remaining right now on the oil and gas side are in Montana and in East Texas. But if you look at our map, we have a lot of straggler stuff in between those two areas.

所以我認為這是一個混合體。我的意思是我現在還沒有確切的答案。我們處於靈活的位置，可以對這些類型的資產和這些類型的交易投機取巧。我們目前在石油和天然氣方面的主要資產位於蒙大拿州和東德克薩斯州。但如果你看一下我們的地圖，你會發現這兩個區域之間有很多散亂的東西。

And in situations where hypothetically, we can clear $2 million on a small asset sale, take off 2x out of ARO on our balance sheet and combine another $300,000 to $500,000 annually on, I'll call it, corporate overhead synergies, ranging from insurance, G&A, et cetera, those dollars go straight to our new project. And that's how I look at the funding. And so far, the deals we've done, the capital has been highly accessible.

假設我們可以透過一次小額資產出售清算 200 萬美元，在資產負債表上減少 2 倍的 ARO，並每年再結合另外 30 萬到 50 萬美元，我稱之為企業管理費用協同效應，包括保險、 G＆A，等等，這些錢直接進入我們的新專案。這就是我對資金的看法。到目前為止，我們所做的交易、資本都非常容易取得。

Got it. Thanks for all that elaboration of your thinking, Ryan. It's helpful.

知道了。感謝您對想法的所有闡述，瑞安。這很有幫助。

Absolutely. Thanks, Charles.

絕對地。謝謝，查爾斯。

Thank you. At this time, we have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. And I'll turn the call over to Ryan Smith for closing remarks.

謝謝。此時，我們的問答環節已經結束了。我將把電話轉給瑞安史密斯（Ryan Smith）做總結演講。

Yes. I thank everybody for calling in this morning. Thank you for your time. We're very excited about the transactions that we're undertaking and we're developing right now. And we look forward to rejoining you on our next call and giving market updates on the activity in the interim.

是的。我感謝大家今天早上打電話來。感謝您抽出時間。我們對我們正在進行和正在開發的交易感到非常興奮。我們期待在下一次電話會議中再次與您會面，並在此期間提供有關活動的市場最新資訊。

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time and thank you for your participation. Have a wonderful day.

今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路，感謝您的參與。祝你有美好的一天。