US Energy Corp (USEG) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the US Energy Corporation's first-quarter 2025 results conference call. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加美國能源公司 2025 年第一季業績電話會議。（操作員指示）

As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Mason McGuire, Vice President of Finance and Strategy. Thank you, sir. You may begin.

提醒一下，本次會議正在錄製中。現在我很高興介紹您的主持人，財務和策略副總裁梅森麥奎爾。謝謝您，先生。你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to US Energy Corp's first quarter 2025 result 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 company's Chief Financial Officer, Mark Zajac will give a more detailed overview of our financial results.

謝謝接線員，大家早安。歡迎參加美國能源公司 2025 年第一季業績電話會議。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；我們公司的財務長 Mark Zajac 將更詳細地概述我們的財務業績。

Before this morning's market opening, US Energy issued a press release, summarizing the operating and financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. This press release, together with the accompanying presentation materials are available in the Investor Relations section of our website at www.usnrg.com.

在今天早上開市前，美國能源公司發布了一份新聞稿，總結了截至2025年3月31日的季度營運和財務表現。本新聞稿及其隨附的簡報資料可在我們網站 www.usnrg.com 的投資者關係部分找到。

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, including the risks described in our periodic reports 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陳述中預測的結果有很大差異。

Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements. 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. With that, I would like to turn the call over to Ryan Smith.

除法律要求外，我們不承擔更新前瞻性聲明的義務。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報告和電話會議報告中提供了 GAAP 與非 GAAP 衡量標準的完整對帳。說完這些，我想把電話轉給瑞安史密斯 (Ryan Smith)。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'm pleased to walk you through our first-quarter results, highlight key milestones, and provide a strategic and operational update as we continue executing our growth plan.

大家早安，感謝大家今天加入我們。我很高興向您介紹我們的第一季業績，強調關鍵里程碑，並在我們繼續執行成長計畫的同時提供策略和營運更新。

As we discussed previously, US Energy's primary focus is the development of our Montana Industrial Gas project. We believe this platform is ideally positioned to meet growing market demand, support attractive economics, and deliver the scale necessary to drive relevance in the public markets.

正如我們之前所討論的，美國能源公司的主要重點是開發蒙大拿州工業天然氣計畫。我們相信，該平台能夠滿足不斷增長的市場需求，支持有吸引力的經濟，並提供推動公開市場相關性所需的規模。

While Montana's winter limits certain field activity, we have now launched the most significant phase of our initial development program. This include workovers and flow testing of existing wells, drilling two new development wells, advancing our infrastructure planning to the point of final investment decision, and making substantial progress in our carbon management initiatives. I'll touch on each area individually.

雖然蒙大拿州的冬季限制了某些現場活動，但我們現在已經啟動了初步開發計劃中最重要的階段。這包括對現有油井進行修井和流量測試、鑽探兩口新的開發井、推進我們的基礎設施規劃直至最終投資決策，以及在我們的碳管理計劃方面取得實質進展。我將分別談及每個領域。

Starting with upstream development, in Q4 2024, we drilled our first industrial gas well. Since then, we've been analyzing the results to refine our development approach. In January, we acquired 24,000 net acres in what we believe is the core of the Kevin Dome structure along with an existing well showing significant concentrations of nonhydrocarbon helium.

從上游開發開始，2024 年第四季，我們鑽了第一口工業氣井。從那時起，我們一直在分析結果以改進我們的開發方法。今年 1 月，我們在我們認為的凱文穹頂結構核心區域獲得了 24,000 淨英畝的土地，同時也獲得了一口顯示非碳氫化合物氦濃度較高的現有油井。

We're currently drilling two back-to-back wells targeting the helium and CO2 rich formation with each well budgeted at approximately $1.2 million. We anticipate these wells will validate the scale and quality of our resource with one expected to be designated as a Class 2 injection well for permanent CO2 storage.

我們目前正在鑽探兩口背靠背的井，目標是富含氦和二氧化碳的地層，每口井的預算約為 120 萬美元。我們預計這些井將驗證我們資源的規模和質量，其中一口井預計將被指定為用於永久二氧化碳儲存的二級注入井。

It's important to emphasize the uniqueness of our upstream Kevin Dome position. Most US helium production today is tied to hydrocarbons. In contrast, our project is based on a non-hydrocarbon gas stream, giving it a significantly lower environmental footprint. That distinction represents a competitive advantage, especially as sustainability continues to be a differentiating market factor.

強調我們上游 Kevin Dome 位置的獨特性非常重要。目前，美國大部分氦氣生產都與碳氫化合物有關。相較之下，我們的計畫基於非碳氫化合物氣流，因此對環境的影響顯著降低。這種區別代表著一種競爭優勢，特別是當永續性繼續成為差異化市場因素時。

Turning to infrastructure, upon completing our initial development program in June, we will begin construction of our processing plant at Kevin Dome. This facility will separate upstream gas into helium and CO2 streams and is expected to process approximately 17 million cubic feet of raw gas per day, comprised of approximately 80% to 85% CO2 and 0.5% to 1% Helium. The estimated $15 million plant is expected to be completed in roughly 40 weeks and funded through our current balance sheet and modest strategic use of debt.

談到基礎設施，在六月完成我們的初步開發計劃後，我們將開始在 Kevin Dome 建造我們的加工廠。該設施將把上游氣體分離成氦氣和二氧化碳流，預計每天可處理約 1,700 萬立方英尺的原料氣，其中約 80% 至 85% 為二氧化碳，0.5% 至 1% 為氦氣。該工廠預計耗資 1500 萬美元，預計將在大約 40 週內完工，資金將透過我們目前的資產負債表和適度的戰略性債務使用來籌集。

Beyond our own needs, we've seen opportunities to provide infrastructure solutions to undercapitalize producers in the region. By controlling the majority of the basin's gashes helium supply, we believe we are well positioned to unlock multiple sources of value.

除了我們自己的需求之外，我們還看到了為該地區資本不足的生產商提供基礎設施解決方案的機會。透過控制盆地大部分的氦氣供應，我們相信我們有能力釋放多種價值來源。

Lastly, I would like to touch on US Energy's carbon management front. US Energy control is one of the largest known CO2 deposits in the United States. To monetize the helium within this gas stream, we must process it and permanently sequester the CO2.

最後，我想談談美國能源的碳管理面。美國能源控制是美國已知的最大的二氧化碳礦藏之一。為了將該氣流中的氦氣貨幣化，我們必須處理並永久封存二氧化碳。

Fortunately, the Kevin Dome's geology is exceptionally well suited for carbon storage. We already hold multiple Class 2 injection permits and expect to receive more in this upcoming June. Recently, we completed successful injection tests at two disposal wells, injecting around 17 million cubic feet per day. Once our processing plant is operational, we anticipate sequestering approximately 250,000 metric tons of CO2 annually.

幸運的是，凱文穹頂的地質條件非常適合碳儲存。我們已經擁有多張 2 級注入許可證，預計今年 6 月將獲得更多許可證。最近，我們在兩口處置井成功完成了注入試驗，每天注入約 1700 萬立方英尺。一旦我們的加工廠投入運營，我們預計每年將封存約 25 萬公噸二氧化碳。

We've begun drafting our monitoring, reporting and verification or MRV plan and expect to submit it to the EPA in July. Additionally and in the near term, we also plan to evaluate merchant CO2 sales, particularly given the coastal supply shortages.

我們已經開始起草監測、報告和核查或 MRV 計劃，預計將於 7​​ 月提交給 EPA。此外，在短期內，我們還計劃評估商家二氧化碳的銷售情況，特別是考慮到沿海地區的供應短缺。

We're highly optimistic about what lies ahead. This asset represents a transformational opportunity for US Energy and positions us as a first mover in the industrial gas sector with a resource and geographic location that cannot be replicated.

我們對未來充滿樂觀。這項資產代表著美國能源的轉型機遇，並使我們成為工業天然氣領域的先驅，擁有不可複製的資源和地理位置。

Our strategy is focused on building a full-cycle platform from production and processing to long-term carbon storage while maintaining a disciplined capital allocation approach. The data we've collected to date supports a highly economic development path both at the wellhead and infrastructure levels. Our capital plan remains measured and achievable with initial phases funded by our strong balance sheet and supported by a thoughtful capital strategy.

我們的策略重點是建構從生產加工到長期碳儲存的全週期平台，同時保持嚴謹的資本配置方式。我們迄今收集的數據支持井口和基礎設施層面的高度經濟發展路徑。我們的資本計畫仍然是可衡量且可實現的，初始階段由我們強大的資產負債表提供資金，並得到周到的資本策略的支持。

Turning briefly to our legacy oil and gas assets. As you know, commodity prices have pulled back materially this year, which has affected earnings across the sector, including ours. While these assets are no longer our core focus, they still carry meaningful value. Following our successful monetization program in 2024, which helped eliminate debt and build a substantial cash position, we remain opportunistic in pursuing value-maximizing divestitures of noncore oil and gas assets.

簡單介紹一下我們遺留的石油和天然氣資產。眾所周知，今年大宗商品價格大幅回落，影響了包括我們在內的整個產業的獲利。雖然這些資產不再是我們的核心關注點，但它們仍然具有重要的價值。繼 2024 年我們成功實施貨幣化計劃，消除債務並建立大量現金之後，我們仍將抓住機會，剝離非核心石油和天然氣資產，實現價值最大化。

As we move through 2025, we will continue to execute a disciplined strategy, investing in our core Montana project, while monetizing legacy hydrocarbon assets where appropriate. This approach will establish 2025 as a pivotable year in US Energy's transformation, underpinned by access to the nondilutive or low dilutive capital, a key differentiator in today's market.

到 2025 年，我們將繼續執行嚴謹的策略，投資我們的核心蒙大拿項目，同時在適當的情況下將遺留碳氫化合物資產貨幣化。這種方法將使 2025 年成為美國能源轉型的關鍵一年，其基礎是獲得非稀釋性或低稀釋性資本，這是當今市場的關鍵區別因素。

We believe US Energy stands apart as we have a scalable, economically attractive development platform backed by legacy assets that hold meaningful value with minimal reinvestment. This enables us to reinvest in the high return industrial gas opportunities while insulating the business from commodity price volatility.

我們相信，美國能源公司之所以脫穎而出，是因為我們擁有一個可擴展、經濟上有吸引力的開發平台，並以具有重大價值且只需極少再投資的遺留資產為後盾。這使我們能夠重新投資於高回報的工業氣體機會，同時使業務免受商品價格波動的影響。

On the capital return front, we remain committed to shareholder value creation. And so far, in 2025, we repurchased approximately 832,000 shares, representing roughly 2.5% of our outstanding float. In addition, management has continued to increase its ownership reflecting our strong conviction that our shares remain undervalued and represent a compelling use of our capital.

在資本回報方面，我們仍然致力於為股東創造價值。到目前為止，到 2025 年，我們已回購約 832,000 股，約占我們流通股的 2.5%。此外，管理層繼續增加其所有權，反映出我們堅信我們的股票仍然被低估並代表著我們資本的引人注目的用途。

In closing, US Energy is emerging as a differentiated, growth-oriented non-hydrocarbon industrial gas company with operational exposure across upstream production, infrastructure and carbon management. Our strong financial position, clean capital structure and access to internally generated cash flow provide a foundation that many of our peers lack. As we continue to execute on our strategy, we believe we are unlocking a scalable and high-margin growth platform that will create lasting shareholder value. With that, I'll now turn the call over to our CFO, Mark Zajac, who will provide an update on our financial results for the quarter.

最後，美國能源公司正成為一家差異化、成長型非碳氫化合物工業氣體公司，業務範圍涉及上游生產、基礎設施和碳管理。我們強大的財務狀況、清晰的資本結構以及內部產生的現金流為我們的許多同行所缺乏的基礎。隨著我們繼續執行我們的策略，我們相信我們正在開啟一個可擴展且高利潤的成長平台，這將創造持久的股東價值。現在，我將把電話轉給我們的財務長馬克‧札賈克 (Mark Zajac)，他將向我們介紹本季的財務表現。

Thank you, Ryan. Hello, everyone. Let's delve into the financial details for the first quarter of 2025. Our operating results reflect the cumulative impact of our divestitures since the fourth quarter of 2023. Revenue was approximately $2.2 million, down from $5.4 million in the same quarter last year, reflecting the impact of divestitures in the second half of 2024. Oil comprised over 80% of the revenue this quarter, reflecting our focus on optimizing our remaining oil assets.

謝謝你，瑞安。大家好。讓我們深入了解 2025 年第一季的財務細節。我們的經營業績反映了自 2023 年第四季以來資產剝離的累積影響。收入約 220 萬美元，低於去年同期的 540 萬美元，反映了 2024 年下半年資產剝離的影響。石油占本季收入的 80% 以上，這反映了我們對優化剩餘石油資產的關注。

Our lease operating expense for the quarter was $1.6 million or $34.23 a BOE compared to $3.2 million or $29.02 per BOE in the same quarter last year. The overall decrease reflects our divestitures since the first quarter of last year. And on a BOE basis, the increase is a function of our assets remaining in our portfolio.

本季我們的租賃營運費用為 160 萬美元或每桶油當量 34.23 美元，而去年同期為 320 萬美元或每桶油當量 29.02 美元。整體下降反映了我們自去年第一季以來的資產剝離。以英國央行計算，這一成長取決於我們投資組合中剩餘的資產。

Cash, general, and administrative expense was $1.9 million for the first quarter of 2025 and included approximately $0.3 million for discrete costs such as transaction costs and contractor utilization to integrate our acquired assets.

2025 年第一季的現金、一般和行政費用為 190 萬美元，其中包括約 30 萬美元的單獨成本，例如交易成本和承包商利用率，以整合我們收購的資產。

Normalized quarterly general and administrative costs are expected to be approximately $1.6 million or an 18% reduction from the same period last year. As for our balance sheet, as of March 31, 2025, there was no debt outstanding on our $20 million revolving credit facility and our cash position stood at over $10.5 million, reflecting the net cash proceeds of $10.3 million generated from our successful equity offering during the first quarter.

預計季度一般及行政開支約 160 萬美元，較去年同期減少 18%。至於我們的資產負債表，截至 2025 年 3 月 31 日，我們的 2,000 萬美元循環信貸額度中沒有未償還債務，我們的現金狀況超過 1,050 萬美元，反映了我們第一季成功發行股票所產生的 1,030 萬美元的淨現金收益。

We also are in talks to renew and extend our credit agreement, which we expect to be completed in the second quarter of 2025. In terms of a shift in CapEx during the first quarter, we closed on the Montana acquisition and spent $2.1 million acquiring acreage as well as an industrial gas well with production potential adjacent to our recently acquired WaveTec acreage.

我們也正在就續約和延長信貸協議進行談判，預計將於 2025 年第二季完成。就第一季資本支出的變化而言，我們完成了對蒙大拿州的收購，並花費 210 萬美元收購了土地以及毗鄰我們最近收購的 WaveTec 土地的具有生產潛力的工業氣井。

Overall, our operating performance and financial results reflect our recent divestitures as well as the company's new initiatives. We continue to maintain balance sheet discipline integrity, and my objective continues to be to ensure that the company's reporting process maintains a high standard of excellence and we feel confident in our ability to support the growth initiatives we currently have underway. Thank you for your participation this morning. We are now ready to take your questions.

總體而言，我們的經營業績和財務表現反映了我們最近的資產剝離以及公司的新舉措。我們將繼續保持資產負債表紀律的完整性，我的目標仍然是確保公司的報告流程保持高標準，並且我們對支持目前正在進行的成長計畫的能力充滿信心。感謝您今天上午的參與。我們現在準備好回答你們的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Tom Kerr, Zacks Small-Cap Research.

（操作員指示）Tom Kerr，Zacks Small-Cap Research。

The cost of the processing plant, I believe that was higher than expectations of -- was your complications or higher cost factors involved?

我認為加工廠的成本高於預期──是否涉及複雜因素或更高成本因素？

So no, there wasn't. I guess the whole time as we've looked at all the infrastructure build-out and then the wells that are going to supply that plant and what we think the production of those wells is going to be, it's always kind of been a moving target of size of the plant, what we think the production is going to be and kind of what is that key economic fulcrum of processing dollars, rate of return, CO2 that we process, and then CO2 that we believe that we can inject.

所以沒有。我想，當我們研究所有基礎設施建設、為該工廠供油的油井以及我們認為這些油井的產量時，我們始終在考慮工廠的規模、我們認為的產量以及加工成本、回報率、我們處理的二氧化碳以及我們認為可以注入的二氧化碳的關鍵經濟支點是什麼。

And I know you know this, but as many, many parts go into that plant, it's not like a one size fit all type of costs. There's different kind of compressors, different kind of horsepower requirements, different kind of power requirements, et cetera.

我知道您知道這一點，但是由於許多零件都進入該工廠，因此不可能採用適合所有類型成本的方法。有不同類型的壓縮機、不同類型的馬力需求、不同類型的功率需求等等。

And now that we've kind of moved forward, our project with a very high degree of confidence on what all of those inputs are going to be. That 17 million a day type of plant kind of checks all of those boxes for us.

現在我們已經取得了一些進展，我們的專案對於所有這些投入都具有很高的信心。每天 1700 萬株的植物可以滿足我們所有的要求。

There's some lead time on some of those parts. So I think that, that CapEx number is fair. I think it's conservative. I think that that is a full sticker price with what we know right here and now.

其中一些部件需要一定的準備時間。所以我認為，這個資本支出數字是公平的。我認為這是保守的。我認為根據我們目前所知，這是一個完整的標價。

Are there ways that price that can come down on some of these incremental parts that go into that plant? There is, and we'll work on that. So I think that there's some possibility for that number to come in a little bit lower than that 15%, but I think that's a number that we're comfortable with budgeting for right now.

有沒有辦法降低進入該工廠的部分增量零件的價格？有的，我們會努力的。因此我認為這個數字有可能略低於 15%，但我認為這是我們目前可以接受的預算數字。

All right. Sounds good. And then the completion, we're still looking at the first quarter of 2026, Could it be bleed into the second quarter of 2026?

好的。聽起來不錯。然後完成，我們仍然在關注 2026 年第一季度，它是否會延續到 2026 年第二季度？

I think it's a weather thing really when it gets on there. I mean when I was counting my weeks on my calendar from when we plan on starting, I think it came out to a March type of date. So it could be the end of the very first quarter it could be the very beginning of the second quarter. I think right now, just some in the air modeling, we're using April 1, just as a clean date, but there could be a two- or three-week slag there kind of either way.

我認為當它到達那裡時，這實際上是一種天氣現象。我的意思是，當我從我們計劃開始的時間開始計算日曆上的周數時，我認為結果是三月左右的日期。因此，這可能是第一季的結束，也可能是第二季的開始。我認為現在，只是一些空中建模，我們使用 4 月 1 日作為一個乾淨的日期，但無論如何，那裡可能會有兩週或三週的渣滓。

Got it. Okay. One last question. Can you kind of give us a big picture update on the helium markets or helium end markets pricing, demand, contract terms or anything significant change in that area?

知道了。好的。最後一個問題。您能否向我們詳細介紹氦氣市場或氦氣終端市場的價格、需求、合約條款或該領域的任何重大變化？

So I don't think a whole lot has changed in terms of a few parts to that question. I mean the end user base is the same. You have all types of different industries. I would say the largest and the biggest growth forecast industry is semiconductors and chips. And that's the one that's exponentially going forward. The more we move those over here as well, in a way, the helium markets are kind of a long-dated linked to semiconductors.

因此，我認為就這個問題的某些部分而言，整體上並沒有發生太大變化。我的意思是最終用戶群是相同的。您擁有各種不同類型的行業。我想說最大的和成長預測最大的產業是半導體和晶片。這是一個指數級增長的趨勢。從某種程度上來說，我們越多地將這些轉移到這裡，氦氣市場就越與半導體有長期的連結。

On pricing, it's remained steady. It's come down a little bit from the super peak of a couple of years ago. I think what we're seeing right now in the market for gas is helium is around, I think, on the low end, $400 per mcf in terms of offtake agreements that are currently out in the market.

就定價而言，它保持穩定。與幾年前的高峰相比，現在有所回落。我認為，就目前市場上的承購協議而言，我們目前在天然氣市場上看到的氦氣價格約為每千立方英尺 400 美元。

I think liquefied helium, it's a more specified use in the medical world, in the chip world goes for a much higher price, sometimes 2 to 3x that. We model, of course, that lower gases number. And then on the length of offtake, it ranges.

我認為液態氦在醫學領域有更具體的用途，在晶片領域價格要高得多，有時是醫學領域的 2 到 3 倍。當然，我們模擬的是較低的氣體數量。然後，根據承購的長度，它的範圍是多種多樣的。

The most typical that I see now is kind of a two- to a five-year number. Some people would be willing to go to like a 10-year type of number, which I don't think we're interested in just because if you look back at helium prices, the one thing that screams off the graph is that there's huge spikes in price. It seems like every 18 months or less.

我現在看到的最典型的數字是兩到五年。有些人願意採用 10 年期的數字，但我認為我們對此不感興趣，因為如果你回顧一下氦氣價格，圖表上唯一引人注目的就是價格大幅上漲。似乎每 18 個月或更短時間一次。

So as we start looking at these agreements. I think that baseline number per mcf is the number that we move through now. I think there's upside to that number. And then on an expected offtake, I would like to keep them shorter rather than longer for optionality. And the fact that these industries are not going to stop using this, it's only going to keep growing. So again, I think right now, we see about $400 per mcf and two- to five-year offtake agreements. That are ample out there in the market.

因此，當我們開始研究這些協議時。我認為每百萬立方英尺的基線數量就是我們現在所經歷的數量。我認為這個數字還有上升空間。然後，對於預期的承購，為了可選性，我希望保持它們更短而不是更長。事實上，這些產業不會停止使用這種技術，它只會繼續成長。因此，我認為現在我們看到的價格約為每千立方英尺 400 美元，承購協議為期兩到五年。市面上有很多這樣的產品。

Great. Thanks for that update. I'll get back in the queue.

偉大的。感謝您的更新。我會回到隊列中。

We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. I would now turn the floor back over to management for closing remarks.

問答環節已結束。現在我將把發言權交還給管理階層，請他們作最後發言。

Yeah. Thank you all for joining us this morning. We're excited about what we're working on. We've extremely derisked our project year-to-date. Our existing development program that we started a few weeks ago and are continuing today through early June is going in the expected direction that we plan for, that we hope for really setting the stage for us to launch and grow this initiative and reach scale within the next 12 months from where we are now. So we're very excited about what we're working on and look forward to giving more updates as we continue to progress forward.

是的。感謝大家今天上午參加我們的活動。我們對我們正在做的事情感到很興奮。今年迄今為止，我們已經大大降低了專案風險。我們現有的開發計劃於幾週前啟動，並將持續到 6 月初，目前正朝著我們計劃的預期方向發展，我們希望真正為我們啟動和發展這一計劃奠定基礎，並在未來 12 個月內從現在開始擴大規模。因此，我們對我們正在做的工作感到非常興奮，並期待在繼續前進的過程中提供更多更新。

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

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與並祝您有美好的一天。