US Energy Corp (USEG) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the US Energy Corporation third quarter 2024 Results Conference Call.

美好的一天，歡迎參加美國能源公司 2024 年第三季業績電話會議。

(Operator Instructions) Please note, today's event is being recorded.

（操作員說明）請注意，今天的活動正在錄製中。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mason McGuire, Vice President of Finance. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議轉交給財務副總裁梅森麥奎爾 (Mason McGuire)。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to US Energy Corp.'s third 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 give 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 年第三季業績電話會議。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, US Energy issued a press release summarizing operating and financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. The press release, together with accompanying presentation materials are available in our 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 9 月 30 日的季度的營運和財務表現。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 the future business and financial expectations. Actual results may differ significantly from those projected in today's forward-looking statements due to the various risks and uncertainties, including the risks described in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements.

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。由於各種風險和不確定性，包括我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的定期報告中所述的風險，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。除法律要求外，我們不承擔更新前瞻性聲明的義務。

Further, please note that 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 conference call presentation.

此外，請注意，本次電話會議期間可能會揭露非公認會計準則財務指標。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 would like to turn the conference call over to Ryan Smith.

說到這裡，我想將電話會議轉給瑞安史密斯。

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.

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。

Turning to our quarterly results. These reflect the dedication and resilience of our operational team, as well as the positive momentum from our recent business development efforts. Focusing on our recently acquired Montana project, we made significant progress this quarter with the completion of our first industrial gas well in late October. We're currently evaluating the results and finalizing plans to target what we believe are economically promising production zones, which have been independently tested to show non-hydrocarbon helium concentrations of up to 1.5%.

轉向我們的季度業績。這些反映了我們營運團隊的奉獻精神和韌性，以及我們近期業務發展努力的積極勢頭。重點關注我們最近收購的蒙大拿州項目，本季度我們取得了重大進展，第一口工業氣井於 10 月底竣工。我們目前正在評估結果並最終確定計劃，以我們認為具有經濟前景的生產區為目標，這些生產區已經過獨立測試，顯示非碳氫化合物氦濃度高達 1.5%。

Looking ahead, we plan to commence drilling a second well in early 2025 with additional developments throughout the year, aimed at similar zones where we anticipate similar helium concentrations. Importantly, our initial well came in below our projected drilling costs and we expect these costs to decrease as we move forward with our drilling program next year.

展望未來，我們計劃在 2025 年初開始鑽第二口井，並在全年進行更多開發，目標是我們預期氦氣濃度相似的類似區域。重要的是，我們的第一口井的成本低於我們預計的鑽井成本，我們預計隨著明年鑽井計畫的推進，這些成本將會下降。

We remain highly enthusiastic about this opportunity, confident that the Montana project not only stands as a substantial value driver for US Energy on its own, but also serves as a foundational step towards building a robust industrial gas platform. This initiative represents an efficient and economically compelling use of our existing capital, while positioning US Energy with heightened relevance in the capital markets.

我們仍然對這個機會充滿熱情，相信蒙大拿州計畫不僅本身是美國能源公司的重要價值驅動因素，也是建立強大的工業天然氣平台的基礎步驟。這項舉措代表了對我們現有資本的高效且經濟的利用，同時使美國能源公司在資本市場上具有更高的相關性。

Based on the data gathered so far, we continue to anticipate that these wells will drive highly economic development of our asset base both in the field and at the infrastructure level, supported by a realistic and achievable capital spending plan that can be funded from US Energy's existing balance sheet. This is advantageous for several clear reasons with positive impacts expected to flow directly into our realized economics.

根據迄今為止收集到的數據，我們繼續預計這些油井將在油田和基礎設施層面推動我們資產基礎的高度經濟發展，並得到美國能源公司資助的現實且可實現的資本支出計劃的支持。資產負債表。出於幾個明顯的原因，這是有利的，並且積極影響預計將直接流入我們已實現的經濟中。

Looking ahead, our 2025 wells will not only further define the productive parameters of the asset base, but will also enable us to confidently forecast our planned development and strategically execute on our production time line.

展望未來，我們的 2025 口井不僅將進一步確定資產基礎的生產參數，而且還將使我們能夠自信地預測我們的計劃開發並在我們的生產時間表上戰略性地執行。

Lastly, I want to highlight an essential aspect of our recent transaction and the strategic background of our Kevin Dome assets in Montana. It's important to note that the vast majority of helium production in the United States is hydrocarbon-based largely as a byproduct of natural gas extraction.

最後，我想強調我們最近交易的一個重要方面以及我們蒙大拿州 Kevin Dome 資產的戰略背景。值得注意的是，美國絕大多數氦氣生產都是基於碳氫化合物，主要是天然氣開採的副產品。

In contrast, the helium and industrial gas streams from US Energy's new assets are non-hydrocarbon-based positioning this project as one of the lowest environmental footprint initiatives of its kind in the country. We are extremely encouraged by the initial results from our first well and we'll continue to provide regular updates on our drilling and completion progress as we advance.

相較之下，美國能源公司新資產產生的氦氣和工業氣流不含碳氫化合物，使該項目成為美國同類項目中環境足跡最低的項目之一。我們對第一口井的初步結果感到非常鼓舞，隨著我們的進展，我們將繼續定期更新鑽井和完井進度。

Turning to our legacy oil and gas assets, we completed the sale of our South Texas properties at the end of July, for a purchase price of approximately $6.5 million.

談到我們的遺留石油和天然氣資產，我們於 7 月底完成了南德州資產的出售，購買價格約為 650 萬美元。

Adjusting for this divestiture, which included roughly 100 barrels of oil equivalent per day, our third quarter net daily production reached 1,149 barrels of oil equivalent per day, a sequential improvement over both the first and second quarters of 2024.

在對這項剝離（包括每天約 100 桶石油當量）進行調整後，我們第三季的日淨產量達到每天 1,149 桶石油當量，比 2024 年第一季和第二季連續改善。

This progress underscores the dedication and effectiveness of our operations team, who successfully managed to remediate the effects of significant flooding across East Texas and the Gulf Coast earlier in the year. For the third quarter, oil accounted for 58% of our total production, with the remainder consisting of a balanced mix of natural gas and NGLs.

這項進展凸顯了我們營運團隊的奉獻精神和有效性，他們成功地補救了今年稍早德州東部和墨西哥灣沿岸嚴重洪水的影響。第三季度，石油占我們總產量的 58%，其餘則由天然氣和液化天然氣（NGL）組成。

As we close out 2024, the majority of our capital will be allocated efficiently towards completing our recently drilled industrial gas well, supporting the production profile of our legacy asset base, advancing the company's share repurchase plan and maintaining strong balance sheet integrity.

到2024 年結束時，我們的大部分資本將有效地分配用於完成我們最近鑽探的工業氣井、支持我們遺留資產基礎的生產狀況、推進公司的股票回購計劃並保持強勁的資產負債表完整性。

Additionally, we remain poised to capitalize on organically generated M&A opportunities that align with our industrial gas growth strategy. As we head into 2025, we will continue to strategically monetize our legacy assets, while deploying that capital into our Montana project and maintaining disciplined balance sheet management.

此外，我們仍準備好利用與我們的工業天然氣成長策略一致的有機產生的併購機會。進入 2025 年，我們將繼續策略性地將我們的遺留資產貨幣化，同時將這些資本部署到我們的蒙大拿州專案中，並保持嚴格的資產負債表管理。

We believe the execution of these efforts will make 2025, a truly transformative year for US Energy. While any development project of course requires development capital, we are in an exceptionally strong position compared to our peers with significant access to internally generated non-dilutive capital, derived from both operational cash flow and asset sales.

我們相信，這些努力的執行將使 2025 年成為美國能源公司真正改變的一年。雖然任何開發項目當然都需要開發資本，但與同行相比，我們處於異常有利的地位，可以大量獲得來自營運現金流和資產銷售的內部產生的非稀釋資本。

We firmly believe that US Energy stands apart from other energy companies of similar scale in today's evolving energy landscape. With a highly economic and scalable development project alongside legacy E&P assets that require minimal capital to maintain steady production, we're generating and deploying predictable cash flow that allows us to strategically allocate capital for maximum returns.

我們堅信，在當今不斷變化的能源格局中，美國能源公司在其他類似規模的能源公司中脫穎而出。憑藉高度經濟且可擴展的開發項目以及需要最少資本來維持穩定生產的傳統勘探與生產資產，我們正在產生和部署可預測的現金流，使我們能夠戰略性地分配資本以獲得最大回報。

Our approach positions us to withstand market fluctuations and seize emerging opportunities, ensuring that we are well prepared to navigate the complex and ever-evolving dynamics of the energy industry.

我們的方法使我們能夠抵禦市場波動並抓住新興機遇，確保我們做好充分準備，以應對能源產業複雜且不斷變化的動態。

At US Energy, our focus remains steadfast on operational efficiency, balance sheet discipline and responsible resource management, underscoring our commitment to sustainable value creation.

在美國能源公司，我們的重點仍然是營運效率、資產負債表紀律和負責任的資源管理，強調了我們對永續價值創造的承諾。

As we look ahead, we are dedicated to capitalizing on favorable market conditions and leveraging our core strengths to drive continued growth and deliver meaningful returns to our shareholders.

展望未來，我們致力於利用有利的市場條件並利用我們的核心優勢來推動持續成長並為股東帶來有意義的回報。

In the third quarter, we intensified our previously announced share repurchase program. To-date the company has repurchased approximately 886,000 shares, at an average price of $1.17 per share representing 3% of our outstanding shares.

第三季度，我們加強了先前宣布的股票回購計畫。迄今為止，該公司已回購約 886,000 股股票，平均價格為每股 1.17 美元，占我們已發行股票的 3%。

This share repurchase activity, alongside meaningful and consistent insider buying by executive management, underscores our conviction that repurchasing our stock at current valuations is both prudent and one of the highest return opportunities available for our free cash flow. We plan to continue this activity as we move forward.

這次股票回購活動，加上執行管理層有意義且持續的內部購買，突顯了我們的信念，即以當前估值回購我們的股票既是謹慎的，也是我們自由現金流可獲得的最高回報機會之一。我們計劃繼續進行這項活動。

A strong balance sheet is always a top priority for US Energy and I'm pleased to report we ended the quarter with zero debt outstanding on our credit facility. Importantly, despite recent asset sales, our borrowing capacity remains unchanged, a testament to the solid value foundation of our company's platform and underlying asset base.

強大的資產負債表始終是美國能源公司的首要任務，我很高興地報告，本季結束時，我們的信貸安排的未償債務為零。重要的是，儘管最近進行了資產出售，但我們的借貸能力保持不變，這證明了我們公司平台和基礎資產基礎的堅實價值基礎。

In closing, US Energy is uniquely positioned at the forefront of a true, first-mover advantage, as a growth-oriented non-hydrocarbon industrial gas-focused public company in the United States.

最後，作為美國一家以成長為導向的非碳氫化合物工業天然氣上市公司，美國能源公司處於獨特的地位，具有真正的先發優勢。

The majorities of competitors in this space are constrained by complex equity structures, stressed balance sheets, limited capital access and exchange listings that deter institutional investors.

這一領域的大多數競爭對手都受到複雜的股權結構、緊張的資產負債表、有限的資本准入和阻礙機構投資者的交易所上市的限制。

US Energy is free from these hurdles. And we are confident that as our distinctive position gains recognition in the marketplace further actionable, scalable, and highly accretive growth opportunities will emerge.

美國能源公司沒有這些障礙。我們相信，隨著我們獨特的地位在市場上獲得認可，更多可操作的、可擴展的和高度增值的成長機會將會出現。

Now, I would like to introduce Mark Zajac, our Chief Financial Officer, who will provide a detailed update on the financial results of the third quarter.

現在，我想介紹一下我們的財務長 Mark Zajac，他將提供第三季財務業績的詳細更新。

Thank you, Ryan. Hello, everyone. Let's delve into the financial details for the third quarter of 2024. Total oil and gas sales for the quarter amounted to approximately $5 million, reflecting a decrease from $8.7 million in the same period last year.

謝謝你，瑞安。大家好。讓我們深入研究一下 2024 年第三季的財務細節。該季度石油和天然氣銷售總額約為 500 萬美元，較去年同期的 870 萬美元有所下降。

This decline was attributed to a 30% reduction in volumes, partially offset by 18% increase in realized prices. It's important to recall that prior quarter's production was impacted by severe weather events in several of our key operating areas.

這一下降歸因於銷量減少 30%，但實際價格上漲 18% 部分抵消了這一影響。重要的是要記住，上一季的生產受到我們幾個關鍵營運區域的惡劣天氣事件的影響。

This quarter's production demonstrates our ability to bring weather-related production issues back online, offset by our South Texas divestiture which closed early in the third quarter. Sales from oil production contributed 88% of our total revenue for the quarter, demonstrating our continuing focus on optimizing our oil assets.

本季的生產顯示我們有能力解決與天氣相關的生產問題，這一點被第三季初結束的南德克薩斯剝離所抵消。石油生產銷售佔本季總收入的 88%，這表明我們持續專注於優化石油資產。

Our lease operating expense for the third quarter was approximately $3 million consistent with prior quarter, equivalent to $28.95 per BOE versus $27.69 per BOE in the second quarter. The increase in the LOE per BOE quarter-to-quarter is due to repair costs associated with prior weather events and reduction in daily production volumes from divestitures.

我們第三季的租賃營運費用約為 300 萬美元，與上一季一致，相當於每桶油當量 28.95 美元，而第二季每桶油當量為 27.69 美元。每季 BOE 的 LOE 增加是由於與先前的天氣事件相關的維修成本以及資產剝離導致的日產量減少。

Severance and ad valorem taxes for the third quarter of 2024, totaled approximately $0.3 million, reflecting a decline from $0.6 million in the same period last year. As a percentage of total oil and gas, sale revenue these taxes accounted for approximately 6% during the quarter.

2024 年第三季的遣散費和從價稅總額約為 30 萬美元，較去年同期的 60 萬美元下降。本季這些稅收佔石油和天然氣銷售收入總額的百分比約為 6%。

Cash, general and administrative expenses was $1.6 million for the third quarter of 2024 and a reduction of 27% when compared to the same period of 2023. Year-to-date, cash general and administrative expenses have decreased $1.8 million when compared to the same period from a year ago. This decrease reflects lower compensation and a variety of overhead costs as we divest properties and focus on our helium project.

2024 年第三季的現金、一般和管理費用為 160 萬美元，比 2023 年同期減少 27%。年初至今，現金管理費用與去年同期相比減少了 180 萬美元。這一下降反映了我們剝離財產並專注於我們的氦氣項目時薪酬的降低和各種間接費用。

Turning to our net financial performance, the company reported a net loss of $2.2 million in the third quarter of 2024, an improvement of $6.6 million when compared to the third quarter of 2023 due to a significant reduction in operating costs partially offset by reduced revenue.

談到我們的淨財務業績，該公司報告 2024 年第三季淨虧損 220 萬美元，比 2023 年第三季減少 660 萬美元，原因是營運成本大幅下降，部分被收入減少所抵銷。

Our adjusted EBITDA stood at $1.1 million in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $1.7 million in the same period last year, influenced most notably by a reduction in total cash general and administrative expense and receipt of hedge proceeds from the prior period.

2024 年第三季度，我們調整後的 EBITDA 為 110 萬美元，而去年同期為 170 萬美元，這主要受到現金一般和管理費用總額以及上一期間對沖收益收入減少的影響。

Let's briefly touch on our balance sheet. As of September 30, 2024 there was no debt outstanding on our $20 million credit facility and our cash position stood at $1.2 million. In conclusion, we are pleased with our operating performance and financial results that are able to support the company's initiatives in a way that demonstrate our balance sheet discipline and maintains a full balance sheet integrity.

讓我們簡單地談談我們的資產負債表。截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，我們的 2,000 萬美元信貸額度沒有未償債務，我們的現金部位為 120 萬美元。總而言之，我們對我們的經營業績和財務業績感到滿意，這些業績和財務業績能夠以展示我們資產負債表紀律並保持資產負債表完整性的方式支持公司的舉措。

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.

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)

（操作員說明）

Jesse Sobelson with D. Boral Capital.

傑西·索貝爾森 (Jesse Sobelson) 與 D. Boral Capital。

Hello, everyone. Good to hear the great progress on the balance sheet. I'm just curious, can you remind investors of what is anticipated that you'll be able to bring these helium assets online and what needs to happen between now and then? Thanks.

大家好。很高興聽到資產負債表取得巨大進展。我只是很好奇，您能否提醒投資者，您預計將能夠將這些氦資產上線，以及從現在到那時需要發生什麼？謝謝。

Yeah. Good morning. Good question. So as you know, the ultimate goal is to get a processing plant in place to process the streams and then you'll ultimately start selling helium, et cetera. So walking through a time line, we think at this point that's somewhere between three and five wells drilled, some light gathering lines laid for the gas streams, ultimately feeding to a plant there's a pretty wide range of expectations on how long it's going to take the plant to get built. It's looking like it will probably be sooner than what we originally thought.

是的。早安.好問題。如您所知，最終目標是建立一個加工廠來處理流，然後您最終將開始銷售氦氣等。因此，沿著時間線，我們認為此時已鑽了三到五口井，為氣流鋪設了一些光收集線，最終輸送到工廠，對於需要多長時間有相當廣泛的預期待建工廠。看起來可能會比我們原先想像的還要早。

So right now we're still sticking to that very early fourth quarter of next year to have full cycle production to sales. I do think there's a little a significant chance that that time line can get moved up based on the plant being delivered and commissioned sooner. But right now we're looking at an over-under on October 1 of next year.

因此，現在我們仍然堅持明年第四季初進行完整的生產到銷售週期。我確實認為，隨著工廠交付和調試的提前，該時間線有可能提前。但現在我們正在考慮明年 10 月 1 日的勝負。

Awesome. It sounds like things are going pretty well there. I think just another additional follow-up question here on the M&A side of things. In your prepared comments, you did mention a continued focus on M&A with what appears to be the open consideration of both acquiring new assets and selling legacy ones. Is the angle here to be a pure-play industrial gas company? Or are you guys still expecting to hold on to specific oil and gas assets over the longer term? Thanks. And that's it for me.

驚人的。聽起來那裡的事情進展得很順利。我認為這是關於併購方面的另一個附加後續問題。在您準備好的評論中，您確實提到了繼續關注併購，似乎公開考慮收購新資產和出售遺留資產。這裡的角度是成為純粹的工業氣體公司嗎？還是你們仍然希望長期持有特定的石油和天然氣資產？謝謝。對我來說就是這樣。

Yeah. So the goal for it is to ultimately create and run this industrial gas platform, kind of, full stop. On the legacy E&P asset side, no secret, small mid-cap E&Ps trade at pretty ugly valuations. The M&A market, at least the public M&A market on bigger deals is very tough to get done with equity valuations and the public-private disconnect.

是的。因此，它的目標是最終創建並運行這個工業氣體平台，完全結束。在傳統勘探與生產資產方面，眾所周知，小型中型勘探與生產資產的估值相當醜陋。由於股權估值和公私脫節，併購市場，至少是大型交易的公開併購市場很難完成。

That being said, what I'll call the smaller I mean and I'll define smaller sub-20 type of million dollar range on these assets, whether it's funded by small private family offices, et cetera is still very active. I view, if we can pull forward value on assets on again give or take a future four year cash flow type of number and redeploy that into industrial gas assets in the near-term Montana, it's a very good trade-off for us.

話雖這麼說，我所說的較小資產的意思是，我將在這些資產上定義較小的20 美元以下類型的百萬美元範圍，無論它是由小型私人家族理財辦公室等資助的，還是非常活躍的。我認為，如果我們能夠再次將資產價值推向給定或採用未來四年現金流類型的數字，並將其重新部署到蒙大拿州近期的工業天然氣資產中，這對我們來說是一個非常好的權衡。

So, I think that you continue to see us you will continue to see us kind of pick off our noncore E&P advantageously to sellers. I expect that to continue, ultimately leaving us with our industrial gas project in Montana and our E&P assets in Montana.

因此，我認為，如果您繼續看到我們，您將繼續看到我們為賣家提供有利的非核心勘探與生產。我預計這種情況會持續下去，最終讓我們留下蒙大拿州的工業天然氣項目和蒙大拿州的勘探與生產資產。

We like those now because, it's all oil. It's close by to where all of our operations are -- it has strong margins, it covers overhead et cetera. Eventually, I think all of the E&P assets go just to streamline the message and the platform that we have.

我們現在喜歡這些，因為它們都是石油。它靠近我們所有的營運地點——它有很高的利潤率，它涵蓋了管理費用等等。最終，我認為所有勘探與生產資產都只是為了簡化我們擁有的資訊和平台。

In terms of the acquisition side, I probably should have been more specific. I don't think you see us acquire E&P assets going forward anymore. That's just not what we're looking at the type of assets that you acquire at this level, usually aren't what I'll call fitting the public company model more smaller-scale stuff, where I do think you see us make strides on the M&A front is expanding the industrial gas platform, whether it be on the producer side or on the infrastructure side, because they kind of go hand in hand. So, we're definitely active in looking at further like-kind acquisitions to the ones that we made this summer and then just repeating myself a little bit, opportunistically divesting our legacy E&P.

在收購方面，我可能應該更具體一些。我認為您不會再看到我們繼續收購勘探與生產資產。這不是我們所關注的在這個級別獲得的資產類型，通常不是我所說的適合上市公司模型的更小規模的東西，我確實認為你看到我們在這方面取得了長足進步併購前沿正在擴大工業氣體平台，無論是在生產商方面還是在基礎設施方面，因為它們是齊頭並進的。因此，我們肯定會積極尋求與今年夏天進行的收購類似的收購，然後再重複一遍，機會主義地剝離我們的傳統勘探與生產。

Great. Thanks for the detail there. Its exciting to watch the transformation network. I'll jump back in queue.

偉大的。感謝那裡的詳細資訊。觀看轉型網絡令人興奮。我會插回隊列。

John Davenport of Johnson Rice.

約翰遜·賴斯的約翰·達文波特。

Hi. Good morning guys. Thanks for taking my question. I was curious, if you would be able to give us either a time line on when some additional data points on helium concentrations might be available or at the time line on a helium reserve report might be? Thank you.

你好。早安，夥計們。感謝您提出我的問題。我很好奇，您能否給我們一個時間表，說明何時可以獲得有關氦氣濃度的一些額外數據點，或者提供氦氣儲量報告的時間表？謝謝。

Yes, good morning, John. So in terms of data points, we kind of gave our first one here a couple of weeks back. Right now, we're setting up operations up in Montana to complete this well, will flow back from the targets that we have analyzed and deemed the most economic. Ultimately, we're going with this first phase that we think is going to be able to feed a plant as soon as possible.

是的，早上好，約翰。因此，就數據點而言，幾週前我們在這裡給出了第一個數據點。目前，我們正在蒙大拿州開展業務以完成這口井，將從我們分析並認為最經濟的目標中回流。最終，我們將進行第一階段，我們認為這將能夠盡快為植物提供營養。

So, I think the next data point, we always put out a pretty big ops update at the very first part of the year, just post Christmas time. I think that's going to be when we do it again. I kind of against multiple incremental data points every couple of weeks just whenever you can get something more fulsome out there.

因此，我認為下一個數據點，我們總是在今年年初（聖誕節後）發布相當大的營運更新。我想當我們再次這樣做時就會如此。我有點反對每隔幾週就會出現多個增量數據點，只要你能得到更豐富的東西。

So, I think that sometimes whether it's early December or early January, we have more public data release from the completion of this well that goes everything from helium content to further data on the respective zones to flow rate, et cetera.

因此，我認為有時無論是 12 月初還是 1 月初，這口井竣工後我們都會發布更多公共數據，其中包括氦氣含量、各區域的進一步數據、流量等。

And then on the reserve report side, they kind of run hand in hand just as we get more data, Ryder Scott is our third-party group that is doing the reserves for this asset. I think they probably come in around the same time, whether it's very early, very mid-January on the reserve side. But we're working with them on a daily basis now and I expect that to be forthcoming in relatively short order.

然後在儲備報告方面，當我們獲得更多數據時，它們會齊頭並進，Ryder Scott 是我們的第三方小組，正在為該資產做儲備。我認為他們可能會在大約同一時間到來，無論是在一月很早還是一月中旬（對於預備隊來說）。但我們現在每天都在與他們合作，我預計這將在相對較短的時間內完成。

Okay. Got it. Thanks, guys. That’s all from me.

好的。知道了。謝謝，夥計們。這就是我的全部。

Tom Kerr from Zacks Investment Research.

Zacks 投資研究公司的湯姆·克爾 (Tom Kerr)。

Good morning, guys. Can you follow-up on the helium full cycle, like you mentioned, everything goes to plan, you have three or five wells, processing plant finished in October. Looking for the next 12 months and without giving guidance, can you tell us what that may mean for revenues or EBITDA just from the helium program?

早安，夥計們。您能否跟進氦氣全循環，就像您提到的那樣，一切都按計劃進行，您有三到五口井，加工廠於 10 月竣工。展望未來 12 個月，在沒有給予指引的情況下，您能否告訴我們這對氦計畫的收入或 EBITDA 意味著什麼？

Yes. Good morning, Tom. So I think on that time line, we have a fairly good feel for where that is going to shake out at. We're still working on an offtake agreement. I personally want to see where we get to on that, right before we get it.

是的。早上好，湯姆。所以我認為，在那個時間線上，我們對將會發生的變化有相當好的感覺。我們仍在製定承購協議。我個人想在我們得到它之前看看我們能做到什麼程度。

Okay. So you don't want to

好的。所以你不想

I think yes I mean I think a full cycle plan for this first one and I'm stalling a little bit on you just because there's ranges of the plant size that we haven't determined yet. And that's based on flow rates, that's based on helium content, that's based on the zones we go after. And all that requires the capital allocation to get that, right?

我想是的，我的意思是我認為第一個專案的完整週期計劃，我對你有點拖延，因為我們還沒有確定工廠規模的範圍。這是基於流速，基於氦含量，基於我們所追求的區域。所有這些都需要資本配置才能實現，對嗎？

I think a fair number to use, and this isn't a formal guidance number, but we kind of see this first plant, assuming it's a nitrogen-based plant coming in at the $5 million $6 million, give or take EBITDA type of number range. And again, once we tightened that number down, we'll give a formal guidance and time line on that. But right now I think that's a fairly accurate and conservative number to give on an annual run rate that begins next year.

我認為這是一個公平的數字，這不是一個正式的指導數字，但我們看到了第一家工廠，假設它是一家氮基工廠，售價為500 萬美元，600 萬美元，給出或採用EBITDA類型的數字範圍。再說一遍，一旦我們收緊了這個數字，我們將就此給出正式的指導和時間表。但現在我認為對於明年開始的年度運行率來說，這是一個相當準確和保守的數字。

Got it. And on the well cost, you said it keeps going down. Is that still about $1 million per helium well drilled?

知道了。關於油井成本，你說它一直在下降。每鑽一個氦氣井仍然需要 100 萬美元左右嗎？

That's probably about right. This first one we had an AFE for I think it was right around $1.8 million. Undoubtedly, this first well we knew going in was going to be the most expensive well, just setting up operations up there, getting our first well drilled, the internal mandate was to literally Cadillac this process to make sure that there wasn't a corner cut saving dollars just to make sure that we got a very good lay of the land, drilled the three zones and drilled I think it was a 22-day drill.

這大概是對的。第一個我們有 AFE，我認為大約是 180 萬美元。毫無疑問，我們知道這第一口井將是最昂貴的井，只是在那裡開展業務，鑽出我們的第一口井，內部任務是真正凱迪拉克這個過程，以確保沒有角落削減節省資金只是為了確保我們獲得良好的土地佈局，對三個區域進行了鑽探，我認為這是為期22 天的鑽探。

Going forward, once we start going after singular zones probably upgrading our rig a little bit, now that we know we need one with a little more power, we see that number coming down significantly, 1, 1.1. There's always a little swag in that number but I think it's going to come down 30-plus percent from the realized cost on this first one.

展望未來，一旦我們開始追求單一區域，可能會稍微升級我們的裝備，現在我們知道我們需要一個具有更多功率的裝備，我們看到這個數字顯著下降，1, 1.1。這個數字總是有點誇張，但我認為它會比第一個的實際成本下降 30% 以上。

Got it. And can you kind of give us a primer on helium pricing? I know a lot of it is contract based but where does that look now? Can you look into 2025 and see how that looks? What's sort of outlook for that or how you guys look at the helium pricing?

知道了。您能為我們介紹一下氦氣定價嗎？我知道其中很多都是基於合約的，但現在看起來怎麼樣？你能展望 2025 年，看看情況如何嗎？對此有何看法，或是你們如何看待氦氣的定價？

Yes. No, great question, right? So the numbers we have modeled and kind of the number that I gave you is based on what we see on the low end, which and I apologize I don't know the exact number, but call it in the $400 to $450 range.

是的。不，很好的問題，對吧？因此，我們建模的數字以及我給您的數字是基於我們在低端看到的數字，我很抱歉我不知道確切的數字，但將其稱為 400 美元到 450 美元的範圍。

Spot helium isn't necessarily the best way to look at it because so much of this is based on offtake agreements. Historically, the producer has contracted with a broker and the broker has middle manned a deal with the larger end user.

現貨氦不一定是看待它的最佳方式，因為其中很大一部分是基於承購協議。從歷史上看，生產商與經紀人簽訂合同，經紀人作為中間人與較大的最終用戶達成交易。

You've seen a couple of groups I'll say, kind of, get smart on that process and cut out the broker because there's only so many end users here which significantly improves the price that you're realizing because you're not paying the middleman.

你已經看到了幾個團體，我會說，在這個過程中變得聰明並切斷經紀人，因為這裡只有這麼多的最終用戶，這顯著提高了你意識到的價格，因為你沒有支付中間人。

So $450 to $600 type of number is what we see in the market. We model to the low end of that we forecast into the low end of that. I think there's significant upside to that number at least varying towards the high end of the range going directly to an end user which is what we're going to try to do. But that's kind of the range we're seeing now.

因此，我們在市場上看到的價格是 450 至 600 美元。我們對我們預測的低端進行建模。我認為這個數字有很大的上升空間，至少會朝著直接面向最終用戶的範圍的高端變化，這就是我們要嘗試做的事情。但這就是我們現在看到的範圍。

There is some depending on who you ask there's forecast out there that have it going higher, have it going a little bit lower. But we're comfortable in that range especially keeping our forecasting number in that low to mid-$400 type.

根據你詢問的人，有一些預測可能會更高，也有可能會更低。但我們對這個範圍感到滿意，特別是將我們的預測數字保持在 400 美元中低端。

It sounds good. Thanks. One more for me quick one. The oil and gas PV10 has that changed much from the July numbers? Or will it be in the 10-Q a new number?

聽起來不錯。謝謝。快給我再來一張。石油和天然氣PV10與7月的數據相比有很大變化嗎？或者它會在 10-Q 中出現一個新的數字嗎？

It will be in the materials. I don't think we filed our actual reserve number in the SEC filing. It's around $35 million now give or take a little bit with where pricing is post -- I'm sorry that's a wrong number. It's right around $51 million. I just got corrected.

它將在材料中。我認為我們沒有在美國證券交易委員會的文件中提交實際的儲備編號。現在大約是 3500 萬美元，與公佈的定價略有不同——我很抱歉這是一個錯誤的數字。大約是 5100 萬美元。我剛剛得到糾正。

Okay. Thanks. I was going to say that's a big drop. I will just get back in the queue.

好的。謝謝。我想說這是一個很大的下降。我會回到隊列中。

I appreciate it.

我很感激。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to the management team for any closing remarks.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回給管理團隊進行總結發言。

This is Ryan Smith. We thank you for joining us. We're excited about what we're doing here. We think we have a very big year coming in 2025 with the project and the new projects we have on deck and that we're working on and we look forward to updating the market on our results and speaking on our next call. Thank you.

這是瑞安史密斯。我們感謝您加入我們。我們對在這裡所做的事情感到很興奮。我們認為 2025 年將是非常重要的一年，該項目以及我們正在進行的項目和新項目，我們期待向市場通報我們的最新結果，並在下一次電話會議上發言。謝謝。

Thank you, sir. This concludes today's conference call. We thank you all for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines and have a wonderful day.

謝謝您，先生。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝大家參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開線路並度過美好的一天。