埃克森美孚 (XOM) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Exxon Mobil Corporation's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Webcast. Today's call is being recorded.

大家早安，歡迎收看埃克森美孚 2023 年第三季財報網路廣播。今天的通話正在錄音。

I'll now turn it over to Mrs. Jennifer Driscoll. Please proceed, ma'am.

我現在把它交給詹妮弗·德里斯科爾夫人。請繼續，女士。

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to ExxonMobil's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. We appreciate you joining the call today. I'm Jennifer Driscoll, Vice President, Investor Relations. I'm joined by Darren Woods, Chairman and CEO; Kathy Mikells, Senior Vice President and CFO; and Neil Chapman, Senior Vice President.

大家，早安。歡迎參加埃克森美孚 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。我們感謝您今天加入電話會議。我是投資者關係副總裁珍妮佛‧德里斯科爾。董事長兼執行長達倫伍茲 (Darren Woods) 也出席了會議。凱西‧米克爾斯 (Kathy Mikells)，資深副總裁兼財務長；和高級副總裁尼爾·查普曼。

This presentation and prerecorded remarks are available on the Investors section of our website. They are meant to accompany the third quarter earnings release, which is posted in the same location. Shortly, Darren will provide brief opening comments and reference a few slides from this presentation. Then we'll take your questions.

本簡報和預先錄製的評論可在我們網站的投資者部分取得。它們旨在與發佈在同一位置的第三季收益發布一起發布。很快，達倫將提供簡短的開場評論並引用本次演示中的幾張幻燈片。然後我們將回答您的問題。

In conjunction with our recent announcements regarding Pioneer Natural Resources and Denbury, we've included additional information on Slide 2 related to comments or information included in today's presentation. Please be aware that this presentation is not intended to be a solicitation of any vote or approval.

結合我們最近關於 Pioneer Natural Resources 和 Denbury 的公告，我們在幻燈片 2 上添加了與今天簡報中的評論或資訊相關的其他資訊。請注意，本簡報無意徵求任何投票或批准。

During today's presentation, we'll make forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Please read our cautionary statement on Slide 3. You can find more information on the risks and uncertainties that apply to any forward-looking statements in our SEC filings on our website. Please note that we also provided supplemental information at the end of our earnings slides, which are posted on the website.

在今天的演示中，我們將做出前瞻性陳述，這些陳述存在風險和不確定性。請閱讀投影片 3 上的警示聲明。您可以在我們網站上的 SEC 文件中找到有關適用於任何前瞻性聲明的風險和不確定性的更多資訊。請注意，我們也在網站上發布的收益幻燈片末尾提供了補充資訊。

And now please turn to Slide 4 for Darren's opening remarks.

現在請翻到投影片 4，了解 Darren 的開場白。

Good morning. Thanks for joining us today. We delivered another robust quarter of earnings, cash flow and shareholder returns, reflecting our ongoing efforts to structurally improve our company and drive sustained industry-leading performance.

早安.感謝您今天加入我們。我們又實現了強勁的季度獲利、現金流和股東回報，反映出我們不斷努力從結構上改善公司並推動持續產業領先的業績。

We reported $9.1 billion of earnings, an increase of $1.2 billion compared to the last quarter. While the market provided a bit of tailwind, our success was enabled by the continued strength of our operational performance, which reflects the hard work of our people across the company. Whether it's continuing to drive efficiency in maintenance and turnarounds, running at high throughputs and utilization rates, we're delivering big projects at first-quintile cost and schedule.

我們報告了 91 億美元的收益，比上一季增加了 12 億美元。雖然市場提供了一些順風車，但我們的成功得益於我們持續強勁的營運業績，這反映了我們整個公司員工的辛勤工作。無論是繼續提高維護和周轉效率，還是以高吞吐量和利用率運行，我們都以五分之一的成本和進度交付大型專案。

The excellent work of our people underpins our results and sustains our drive to deliver industry-leading performance in everything we do. The work is fundamentally strengthening the underlying earnings power of the company, establishing a strong foundation to deliver industry-leading results in any price environment.

我們員工的出色工作支撐著我們的業績，並維持著我們在所做的一切事情中提供行業領先績效的動力。這項工作從根本上增強了公司的潛在盈利能力，為在任何價格環境下提供行業領先的業績奠定了堅實的基礎。

Consistent with our capital allocation strategy, we continue to share the success of the company with our shareholders. This morning, we were pleased to announce a 4% increase to the quarterly dividend to $0.95 per share. This year is our 41st consecutive year of annual dividend increases, a record that we're proud of and that we know our investors value highly.

根據我們的資本配置策略，我們持續與股東分享公司的成功。今天早上，我們很高興地宣布將季度股息增加 4% 至每股 0.95 美元。今年是我們連續 41 年增加年度股息，我們對此感到自豪，我們知道投資者高度重視這項紀錄。

We continue to strengthen our portfolio of businesses by investing in advantaged, high-return opportunities while divesting businesses that are no longer a strategic fit. During the quarter, we closed on the sale of our Thailand refinery, bringing our year-to-date cash proceeds from asset sales to more than $3 billion. We followed this in October with the close of the refinery sale in Italy.

我們透過投資優勢的高回報機會，同時剝離不再具有策略意義的業務，繼續加強我們的業務組合。本季度，我們完成了泰國煉油廠的出售，使我們年初至今的資產出售現金收益超過 30 億美元。隨後，我們在 10 月完成了義大利煉油廠的出售。

Recently announced acquisitions are great examples of the "and" equation: Meeting the world's needs for energy and essential products and reducing emissions. Acquiring Denbury strengthens our position to economically reduce emissions in hard-to-decarbonize industries, which today have limited practical options. We see the potential to drive strong returns with the capacity to reduce the nation's carbon emissions by 100 million tons per year. That's 20x our current CO2 offtake agreements with CF Industries, Linde and Nucor, which by themselves could reduce CO2 emissions by an amount equivalent to replacing 2 million cars with EVs, roughly the same number of electric vehicles currently on U.S. roads. We expect to close the transaction in early November with Denbury shareholders scheduled to vote next week.

最近宣布的收購是「與」方程式的一個很好的例子：滿足世界對能源和必需產品的需求並減少排放。收購 Denbury 增強了我們在經濟上減少難以脫碳產業排放的地位，而目前這些產業的實際選擇有限。我們看到了每年減少國家碳排放 1 億噸的潛力，帶來強勁回報。這是我們目前與CF Industries、林德和紐柯簽訂的二氧化碳減排協議的20 倍，這些協議本身就可以減少二氧化碳排放量，相當於用電動車取代200 萬輛汽車，大致相當於美國道路上目前電動車的數量。我們預計將於 11 月初完成交易，Denbury 股東定於下週投票。

Earlier this month, we signed an agreement to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources in another all-stock transaction. This combination will further strengthen our already advantaged Upstream portfolio and create significant value for the shareholders of both companies. Together, we will recover more resource more efficiently and with a lower environmental impact.

本月早些時候，我們簽署了一項協議，以另一筆全股票交易收購先鋒自然資源公司。此次合併將進一步加強我們已有優勢的上游產品組合，並為兩家公司的股東創造巨大價值。我們將共同努力，更有效地回收更多資源，並減少對環境的影響。

We plan to accelerate Pioneer's Permian net zero ambition by 15 years and fully leverage their advances in water recycling. This deal is a win any way you look at it: Good for our shareholders, good for the environment, good for the economy and good for U.S. energy security. Neil will say more about the benefits of the transaction in a few moments.

我們計劃將先鋒公司的二疊紀淨零目標提前 15 年，並​​充分利用他們在水循環利用方面的進步。無論從哪個角度來看，這筆交易都是一場勝利：對我們的股東有利，對環境有利，對經濟有利，對美國能源安全有利。尼爾稍後會詳細介紹這筆交易的好處。

We're also continuing to drive profitable growth organically. In Energy Products, we achieved the highest third quarter refinery throughput on record driven by our Beaumont refinery expansion. At a time of strong demand and low inventories, this project is providing 250,000 barrels per day of much needed new capacity to the market.

我們也將繼續有機地推動獲利成長。在能源產品領域，在博蒙特煉油廠擴建的推動下，我們第三季煉油廠吞吐量創歷史新高。在需求強勁、庫存較低的情況下，該項目每天可為市場提供急需的 25 萬桶新產能。

In addition, we recently started up our Baytown chemical expansion, which grows volume and improves mix. It provides 750,000 tons per year of new performance chemical capacity, including 350,000 tons of linear alpha olefins, marking our entry into this growing market.

此外，我們最近開始了貝敦化學擴建，這增加了產量並改善了產品組合。它每年提供 75 萬噸新型高性能化學品產能，其中包括 35 萬噸線性 α 烯烴，標誌著我們進入了這個不斷成長的市場。

We delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance with earnings of $9.1 billion and cash flow from operations of $16 billion. These results reflect the structural earnings improvements we've delivered over the past several years as we've improved our mix of assets and driven significant structural cost reductions while maintaining our focus on industry-leading safety and reliability.

我們又一個季度實現了強勁的營運和財務業績，獲利達 91 億美元，營運現金流達 160 億美元。這些結果反映了我們在過去幾年中實現的結構性盈利改善，因為我們改善了資產組合併推動了結構性成本的顯著降低，同時保持了對行業領先的安全性和可靠性的關注。

We lowered our structural cost by $9 billion since 2019, beating our plan, and expect to deliver additional savings in the fourth quarter. We continue to identify opportunities to improve our base operations, including enhancing our maintenance and turnaround processes, strengthening our digital capabilities and optimizing our supply chain.

自 2019 年以來，我們將結構成本降低了 90 億美元，超出了我們的計劃，並預計在第四季度實現更多節省。我們繼續尋找改善基地營運的機會，包括加強我們的維護和周轉流程、增強我們的數位化能力以及優化我們的供應鏈。

Our year-to-date production of 3.7 million oil equivalent barrels per day is on track with our full year guidance. CapEx investments of $18.6 billion year-to-date are on plan. We expect 2023 CapEx to finish the year at the top end of our guidance range as we continue to invest in high-return advantaged projects, our top priority for creating long-term shareholder value.

年初至今，我們的日產量為 370 萬油當量桶，符合全年指導目標。今年迄今 186 億美元的資本支出投資正在計畫中。我們預計 2023 年資本支出將在我們指導範圍的上限結束，因為我們將繼續投資於高回報優勢項目，這是我們創造長期股東價值的首要任務。

As always, we remain focused on sharing the company's success with our shareholders. We delivered $8.1 billion in shareholder distributions in the third quarter, $3.7 billion in dividends and $4.4 billion in share repurchases.

一如既往，我們仍然專注於與股東分享公司的成功。第三季我們交付了 81 億美元的股東分配、37 億美元的股利和 44 億美元的股票回購。

With that, I'll turn it over to Neil.

有了這個，我會把它交給尼爾。

Thanks, Darren. Good morning, everyone. As we shared with you recently, Pioneer is arguably the best Permian pure-play company with the largest undeveloped Tier 1 inventory in the Midland Basin. Pioneer's premier asset base is matched by the quality of its workforce. Its employees are innovative and hardworking and possess a deep knowledge of unconventional operations in the Permian.

謝謝，達倫。大家，早安。正如我們最近與您分享的那樣，先鋒公司可以說是最好的二疊紀純業務公司，擁有米德蘭盆地最大的未開發一級庫存。先鋒公司一流的資產基礎與其員工素質相符。其員工具有創新精神和勤奮精神，對二疊紀非常規作業有著深入的了解。

When you combine these attributes with our technology and industry-leading operational capabilities, we're confident we can unlock far more value together than either of us could do alone. We expect synergies of approximately $1 billion before tax annually beginning in the second year post closing and an average of about $2 billion per year over the next decade, driving double-digit returns.

當您將這些屬性與我們的技術和行業領先的營運能力相結合時，我們相信我們可以共同釋放比我們單獨一人所能實現的更多的價值。我們預計從交易完成後的第二年開始每年稅前協同效應約為 10 億美元，未來十年平均每年約為 20 億美元，從而推動兩位數的回報。

This transaction not only strengthens our current position, but it also transforms our portfolio, increasing our exposure to short cycle, low cost to supply liquids in the United States. Based on our initial assessment, we expect our combined Permian production to increase to approximately 2 million oil equivalent barrels per day by the end of 2027. Downstream, this merger also increases the integration between high-value light Permian crude and our premier refinery and chemical footprint on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

這項交易不僅加強了我們目前的地位，而且還改變了我們的投資組合，增加了我們在美國短週期、低成本供應液體的機會。根據我們的初步評估，我們預計到2027 年底，我們的二疊紀綜合產量將增加到約200 萬油當量桶/日。在下游，此次合併也增強了高價值二疊紀輕質原油與我們主要煉油廠和化學品之間的整合足跡遍布美國墨西哥灣沿岸。

Finally, we've said many times that we're working to solve the "and" equation: Providing the energy and product society needs and reducing emissions, both ours and others. This transaction reflects both parts of our commitment. We will increase our Permian production with plans to accelerate Pioneer's net zero plan to 2035 from 2050 and decrease our combined Permian emissions.

最後，我們多次說過，我們正在努力解決「與」方程式：提供社會所需的能源和產品，並減少我們和其他人的排放。這項交易反映了我們的兩部分承諾。我們將增加二疊紀產量，並計劃將先鋒公司的淨零排放計畫從 2050 年加速到 2035 年，並​​減少二疊紀綜合排放量。

With that, I'll pass it to Jennifer.

這樣，我會將其傳遞給詹妮弗。

Thank you, Neil. We have 2 quick announcements to share with you. First, please mark your calendars for our annual corporate plan update scheduled for Wednesday, December 6, at 9 a.m. Central Time. Darren and Kathy are going to provide formal remarks and take live questions from our sell-side analysts via Zoom.

謝謝你，尼爾。我們有 2 個快速公告要與您分享。首先，請在您的日曆上標記我們定於中部時間 12 月 6 日星期三上午 9 點更新的年度企業計劃。達倫 (Darren) 和凱西 (Kathy) 將發表正式評論，並透過 Zoom 回答我們的賣方分析師的現場提問。

Second, please keep an eye out for our 2024 Advancing Climate Solutions report. We expect to publish it online in mid-December.

其次，請關注我們的《2024 年推進氣候解決方案》報告。我們預計在 12 月中旬在線上發布。

And with that, we're going to begin our Q&A session. (Operator Instructions) Operator, please bring us the first call.

接下來，我們將開始問答環節。 （接線生說明）接線員，請第一時間打電話給我們。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Neil Mehta with Goldman Sachs.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自高盛的 Neil Mehta。

The first question for me is on the Permian here. And Slide 17 to 19 are interesting and incremental. I was wondering, Neil, if you could take a moment to walk us through it. And this is in the context of some of the investor feedback we've gotten around the transaction as folks are looking for a little more clarity on the top line synergies that are going to come from better productivity.

我的第一個問題是關於二疊紀的。投影片 17 至 19 很有趣，而且是漸進式的。尼爾，我想知道您是否能花點時間向我們介紹一下。這是在我們圍繞交易獲得的一些投資者回饋的背景下進行的，因為人們希望更清楚地了解生產力提高所帶來的營收協同效應。

Yes, and what we outlined in the slides with the earnings release is really the basis of what I always describe as real, quantifiable synergies that have created the deal space for this transaction. These synergies are already demonstrated in our existing operations, either in the Delaware or the Midland. It does not include a pipeline of new technologies that are either in the early stages of deployment or close to deployment. So by applying what we've already demonstrated, we're confident we can recover an additional 1 billion oil equivalent barrels, more than either Pioneer or industry could have demonstrated with their existing performance.

是的，我們在收益發布的幻燈片中概述的內容實際上是我一直所說的真實的、可量化的協同效應的基礎，這些協同效應為本次交易創造了交易空間。這些協同效應已經在我們現有的特拉華州或米德蘭營運中得到了體現。它不包括處於部署早期或接近部署階段的新技術管道。因此，透過應用我們已經展示的內容，我們有信心能夠額外回收 10 億油當量桶，這比先鋒公司或工業界以其現有性能展示的數量還要多。

And in the charts, we highlight 2 areas. One, industry's move to cube development, the move to cube development to get the higher net present value. We were the pioneer in that. And that's obviously to avoid the parent-child impact.

在圖表中，我們突出顯示了 2 個領域。一、產業轉向立方體發展，轉向立方體發展以獲得更高的淨現值。我們是這方面的先驅。這顯然是為了避免親子影響。

The top chart on there shows that we've been drilling cubes since 2020 100% in the Midland. And you can see that, over the period, Pioneer has moved to 100% cubes as well. But in 2022, when we're both developing 100% cubes, you can see we've got equivalent recovery rates, but we're at notably lower-quality acreage, lower-quality resource. So equivalent recovery at lower-quality resource.

上面的圖表顯示，自 2020 年以來，我們 100% 在米德蘭鑽探立方體。您可以看到，在此期間，Pioneer 也已轉向 100% 立方體。但到 2022 年，當我們都開發 100% 立方體時，您可以看到我們擁有相同的回收率，但我們的面積和資源品質明顯較低。因此，較低品質資源的回收率相當。

And when we looked at truly comparable acreage, and that's really, really important because generalizations can lead to misleading results. In the bottom, we talk about adjacent Martin County, where us and Pioneer and one of our other peers are drilling the same 10,000 lateral cubes, you can see we get a 20% higher recovery.

當我們研究真正可比較的面積時，這真的非常重要，因為一概而論可能會導致誤導的結果。在底部，我們談論鄰近的馬丁縣，我們和 Pioneer 以及我們的其他同行之一正在那裡鑽探相同的 10,000 個橫向立方體，您可以看到我們的採收率提高了 20%。

And that's why we're targeting -- all targeting the same interval. These are Middle Spraberry to Wolfcamp C in similar proportions. And what varies and what's the difference is the stacking and landing zones. And what varies is the optimal well spacing that we are delivering, which includes things like vertical orientation.

這就是我們瞄準的原因——所有目標都瞄準相同的時間間隔。這些是中斯普拉貝裡 (Middle Spraberry) 到沃爾夫坎普 C (Wolfcamp C)，比例相似。不同之處在於堆疊和著陸區域。不同的是我們提供的最佳井距，其中包括垂直方向等。

And just one final point on that, Neil, in terms of recovery. It's not just about how you deliver cubes. When you've got better recovery, when you've got better capital efficiency, it gives access to economically developing what we would describe as secondary benches. As you recall, like the Wolfcamp C and like Jo Mill extension. And in addition, obviously, we have other techniques that we attempt to keep confidential, which gives us this higher level of recovery.

尼爾，最後一點是關於恢復方面的。這不僅僅是關於如何交付立方體。當你獲得更好的復甦，當你獲得更好的資本效率時，它提供了經濟發展的機會，我們稱之為二級替代品。正如您所記得的，就像 Wolfcamp C 和 Jo Mill 擴展一樣。此外，顯然，我們還有其他技術試圖保密，這為我們提供了更高水準的恢復。

The next question comes from Bob Brackett with Bernstein Research.

下一個問題來自伯恩斯坦研究公司的鮑伯‧布拉克特。

When you talk about your 2 million-barrel a day initial sort of view of where production from the combined entity can get to in 2027, how do I think about the gating factor? Is that a fixed rig or activity or CapEx program and the volume is an outcome? Or is that a volume target, and you'll adjust activity down as most synergies come through?

當您談到您對 2027 年合併後實體的產量達到每天 200 萬桶的初步看法時，我如何看待限制因素？這是一個固定的裝備、活動或資本支出計劃，而且數量是結果嗎？或者這是一個數量目標，隨著大多數協同效應的實現，您將調整活動？

Yes, Bob, it's Neil, again. I want to be clear. We don't have a volume target. We have a value target, we have a volume outcome, and that's really, really important.

是的，鮑勃，又是尼爾。我想澄清一下。我們沒有數量目標。我們有一個價值目標，我們有一個數量結果，這真的非常重要。

And for our basins, we've talked about an outcome being 1 million barrels a day by the end of 2027, based on our Delaware and Midland Basin. Based on our initial assessment of Pioneer's plans, obviously, we've had access to that through the due diligence process, we see that with similar capital spending as Pioneer have today when you can equate that to a similar number of rigs, we would anticipate that Pioneer's production under ExxonMobil and Pioneer's combined operations would also get to 1 million barrels a day by the end of 2027. If you add current production in the Midland Basin for both Pioneer and ExxonMobil today, it's already at 1 million barrels today.

對於我們的盆地，我們已經討論過到 2027 年底，基於特拉華州和米德蘭盆地的產量達到每天 100 萬桶。根據我們對先鋒公司計劃的初步評估，顯然，我們已經通過盡職調查過程了解了這一點，我們發現，與先鋒公司今天的資本支出類似，當你可以將其等同於類似數量的鑽機時，我們預計到2027 年底，先鋒公司在埃克森美孚和先鋒公司聯合運營下的產量也將達到每天100 萬桶。如果加上先鋒公司和埃克森美孚目前在米德蘭盆地的產量，今天的產量已經達到100 萬桶。

It's really important, though, volume is an outcome which is driving from the value. That's why we focus on the cube development. But I would say the basis is consistent with existing capital spending that Pioneer are making today. We do anticipate, I've just outlined, improvements in recovery. We do anticipate improvements in capital efficiency basing on the synergies that we outlined in the earnings release. But that's not really built into that outlook of 1 million barrels a day from the Pioneer operations.

不過，非常重要的是，數量是由價值驅動的結果。這就是我們專注於立方體開發的原因。但我想說，這個基礎與先鋒公司目前的現有資本支出是一致的。我剛才概述了，我們確實預計復甦會有所改善。根據我們在收益發布中概述的協同效應，我們確實預期資本效率會有所提高。但這並沒有真正納入先鋒公司每天生產 100 萬桶石油的前景。

The next question is from Devin McDermott with Morgan Stanley.

下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的德文·麥克德莫特。

Great. So wanted to stick with Upstream and take advantage of having you on the call here, Neil, and ask about Guyana. The slides noted that production is now coming in ahead of plan for the full year, a little bit better on your full year target. And part of that is the Payara startup, part of that seems to be debottlenecking.

偉大的。因此，我想繼續與上游合作，並利用你在這裡打電話的機會，尼爾，詢問有關圭亞那的情況。幻燈片指出，目前的產量比全年計劃提前，比全年目標稍好。其中一部分是 Payara 新創公司，一部分似乎在消除瓶頸。

I wanted to just focus on the debottlenecking opportunity. Could you walk us through how much uplift you realized so far versus nameplate? How much is left? And then the repeatability of this outperformance as we look at the additional FPSOs that are set to start up over the next few years.

我只想專注於消除瓶頸的機會。您能否向我們介紹一下您迄今為止與銘牌相比實現了多少提升？還剩多少？當我們觀察未來幾年將啟動的額外 FPSO 時，這種優異表現的可重複性。

Yes. Thank you. I mean, we're really encouraged by what we're seeing in Guyana. I mean, let's just start with the 2 boats that are in operation today. Liza-1 or Destiny had a nameplate capacity of 120,000 barrels a day. We're consistently running that at about 150,000 barrels a day. Liza-2, Unity, was a 220,000 capacity, and we've been running that consistently above 240,000 barrels a day.

是的。謝謝。我的意思是，我們對圭亞那所看到的一切感到非常鼓舞。我的意思是，讓我們從今天投入使用的兩艘船開始。 Liza-1 或命運號銘牌容量為每天 12 萬桶。我們一直以每天約 15 萬桶的速度運行。 Liza-2、Unity 的產能為 220,000 桶，我們一直在每天運行超過 240,000 桶。

So those 2 combined are getting close to 400,000 barrels a day, which is quite a bit above. And this comes from, I would just say, good operational performance. You look at every aspect of the operations, you tweak them, you push them, and you can get more and more out.

因此，這兩者加起來每天接近 40 萬桶，這遠高於每天的產量。我只想說，這來自於良好的營運績效。你審視營運的各個層面，調整它們，推動它們，然後你就能獲得越來越多的成果。

Now we're starting up Payara, which is 220,000 barrels a day nameplate capacity. We would hope, we would expect, to have a similar type of uplift. There is no reason to think that we wouldn't, but we have to start that up. The plan is to start that up in the middle of November. That would give us a combined nameplate capacity of 560,000 barrels a day. But obviously, with the first 2 boats running more like 400,000 barrels, we'll be -- we expect to be in excess of 600,000 barrels a day of production.

現在我們正在啟動 Payara，其銘牌產能為每天 22 萬桶。我們希望，我們期待，有類似的提升。沒有理由認為我們不會，但我們必須開始這樣做。計劃於 11 月中旬啟動。這將使我們的總銘牌產能達到每天 56 萬桶。但顯然，隨著前 2 艘船的產量約為 40 萬桶，我們預計每天的產量將超過 60 萬桶。

Just to add to that, we got 3 more boats in the pipeline, as you're aware. All 3 of the boats in the pipeline, that's the Yellowtail, Uaru and then Whiptall, these are all larger boats. They're all 250,000 barrels a day. Yellowtail and Uaru in construction. Whiptail, we've submitted the development plan to the government. And we would hope and expect to reach FID in 2024 for that.

除此之外，如您所知，我們還有 3 艘船正在籌備中。正在籌備中的所有 3 艘船，即 Yellowtail、Uaru 和 Whiptall，這些都是較大的船。他們每天的產量都是 25 萬桶。 Yellowtail 和 Uaru 正在建設中。 Whiptail，我們已經向政府提交了開發計劃。我們希望並期望在 2024 年達成最終投資決定。

And that will give us a combined nameplate capacity of 1.2 million barrels a day at the end of 2027. But that doesn't include the uplift in performance, the production performance, that we've got out of the first 2 boats.

到 2027 年底，我們的總銘牌產能將達到每天 120 萬桶。但這不包括我們從前兩艘船中獲得的性能和生產性能的提升。

And I mean, we certainly -- our message to the organization, start it up safely, start it up on time, each boat. That's what we'll do on Payara. And once we get settled, we'll try and follow the same protocols that we've done on the first 2 boats and then strive to get maximum production out of the boats. And that's obviously good for the shareholders, it's good for the co-venturers, and it's even better for the country.

我的意思是，我們當然——我們向組織傳達的訊息是，每艘船都安全、按時啟動。這就是我們將在 Payara 上做的事情。一旦我們安頓下來，我們將嘗試遵循我們在前兩艘船上所做的相同協議，然後努力使船的產量最大化。這顯然對股東有利，對合資者有利，對國家更有利。

Yes. I would add to Neil's comment. If you recall, we brought all our projects organization together to make sure that we were leveraging the best capability in terms of development and designing these projects. We've also brought together our technology organizations. And the big benefit we have there is we're now leveraging not only the capacity that was in the Upstream in terms of optimization to run these facilities, but we've got decades and decades of experience of people optimizing and running our chemical plants and our refinery facilities to squeeze out and optimize every piece of the production pipeline and make sure that we are at the design limits of the different equipment.

是的。我想補充尼爾的評論。如果您還記得的話，我們將所有專案組織整合在一起，以確保我們在開發和設計這些專案方面發揮最佳能力。我們也整合了我們的技術組織。我們在那裡擁有的最大好處是，我們現在不僅利用上游在優化運行這些設施方面的能力，而且我們擁有數十年的人們優化和運行我們的化工廠的經驗，我們的煉油廠設施可以擠出並優化生產管道的每一部分，並確保我們處於不同設備的設計極限。

That optimization, which has been kind of the lifeblood of the refining business, given the very narrow margins, has big payoffs when we apply it to the Upstream facilities. And so there's an additional benefit just in terms of leveraging the broader organizational capability, which again, has been part of our strategy from the very beginning, is to make sure that we're bringing to bear the best thinking across all of the corporation on the most important facilities and projects, and this is certainly one of those.

鑑於利潤非常微薄，這種優化一直是煉油業務的命脈，但當我們將其應用於上游設施時，會帶來巨大的回報。因此，在利用更廣泛的組織能力方面還有一個額外的好處，這也是我們從一開始就策略的一部分，即確保我們在整個公司範圍內發揮最好的思維最重要的設施和項目，這肯定是其中之一。

The next question is from Doug Leggate with Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Doug Leggate。

Darren, also forgive me, I'd like also to take advantage of Neil being on the call and follow on with a Guyana question, if I may. But Neil, if you don't mind, I'd like to frame this question a little bit because a couple of years ago, you talked about, if the deeper resource potential proved to be as prolific as the original targets that you had in the area, you could look to double your resource potential from 10 at that time you had announced, potentially significantly larger. You haven't updated that resource number in a while. Now you've had Lancetfish. It looks like Fangtooth in the Q, based on your EIS submissions to Guyana, but yet you still talk about production capacity and not production.

達倫，請原諒我，如果可以的話，我還想利用尼爾正在通話的機會繼續提出圭亞那問題。但是尼爾，如果你不介意的話，我想稍微闡述一下這個問題，因為幾年前，你談到，如果更深層次的資源潛力被證明與你最初的目標一樣多產，在該地區，您可以將您宣布的資源潛力從10 倍增加一倍，可能會大得多。您已經有一段時間沒有更新該資源編號了。現在你已經吃到 Lancetfish了。根據你們向圭亞那提交的環境影響報告(EIS)，它看起來像Q中的Fangtooth，但你們仍然談論產能而不是產量。

So my question to you is, with capability of obviously keeping these boats full for an extended period of time, what do you ultimately see as the production capacity -- or sorry, actual production as opposed to capacity trajectory through the end of the decade at this point?

所以我問你的問題是，顯然有能力讓這些船在很長一段時間內保持滿載，你最終認為產能是多少——或者抱歉，實際產量與十年末的產能軌跡相反這一點？

Yes. Thanks, Doug. I mean, there's probably 2 parts to that question. One is exploration, and then one is production and capacity. Let me just handle exploration first. We've had, as you're aware, 3 discoveries this year, including Lancetfish-2 which is the most recent one. We continue to integrate those results, both of exploration and appraisal drilling, and we're going to update that resource base when we see it as a significant change.

是的。謝謝，道格。我的意思是，這個問題可能有兩個部分。一是勘探，二是生產和產能。讓我先處理探索。如您所知，今年我們有 3 項發現，其中包括最新的 Lancetfish-2。我們將繼續整合這些勘探和評估鑽探的結果，當我們認為這是一個重大變化時，我們將更新該資源庫。

Our program of exploration and appraisal continues. And the way I like to frame it is, in the southeast corner of the Stabroek block, we're continuing to appraise around our discoveries. And that will take a lot of work and a lot of activity. We have 6 drill ships in the basin, and they're both -- they're in development, appraisal and exploration drilling.

我們的勘探和評估計劃仍在繼續。我喜歡的框架方式是，在斯塔布魯克區塊的東南角，我們正在繼續評估我們的發現。這需要大量的工作和活動。我們在盆地有 6 艘鑽井船，它們都在進行開發、評估和勘探鑽井。

In addition to all that appraisal drilling that we're doing in the Southeast part of the block, we're looking for what I would describe as anchor prospects further to the North and further to the West. We continue to look, and we probably got, order of magnitude 3, what I call true wildcats or exploration targets looking for anchors, wells, in the next 10 to 12 months, something like that. That can change based on results of either the appraisal or the exploration drilling.

除了我們在該區塊東南部進行的所有評估鑽探之外，我們還在尋找我所描述的更遠的北部和西部的錨定前景。我們繼續尋找，我們可能會得到 3 個數量級，我稱之為真正的野貓或勘探目標，在未來 10 到 12 個月內尋找錨點、油井，類似的東西。這可能會根據評估或勘探鑽探的結果而改變。

So we're going to update when we see something meaningful and when we see something significant. We've been very clear that we have 6 FPSOs in the pipeline, they are firm. And I've just, in one of the previous questions, outlined all of those.

因此，當我們看到有意義的事情和重要的事情時，我們就會進行更新。我們非常清楚，我們有 6 艘 FPSO 正在籌備中，它們很堅固。我剛剛在之前的問題中概述了所有這些。

Indeed, they will have a capacity, and you strive to keep them full all the time. As you know, Doug, that one of the beauties about the Stabroek block is the density of the resource and the proximity of these boats, which gives that potential for tiebacks well into the future. But the water cut will increase, as everybody knows, in deepwater.

事實上，它們會有容量，而你努力讓它們始終保持飽滿。道格，如您所知，斯塔布魯克區塊的優點之一是資源的密度和這些船隻的鄰近性，這為未來的回接提供了潛力。但眾所周知，深水區的含水率將會增加。

So we constantly look. We like to talk about capacity, and we optimize as we go. And we will increase the production versus the nameplate capacity as we go. And so that's why I think what we can be firm on is we will have 6 boats by the end of 2027. They will have a nameplate capacity of 1.2. And obviously, we will strive to keep them as full of liquids or of oil as we can over that period.

所以我們不斷地尋找。我們喜歡談論容量，並且我們會不斷優化。我們將根據銘牌產能不斷增加產量。因此，我認為我們可以堅定的是，到 2027 年底我們將擁有 6 艘船。它們的銘牌容量將為 1.2。顯然，我們將努力在這段時間內盡可能讓它們充滿液體或石油。

I mean, I think as we get closer to the 2027, obviously, we'll update those numbers, Doug.

我的意思是，我認為隨著 2027 年的臨近，顯然我們會更新這些數字，道格。

The next question is from Stephen Richardson with Evercore ISI.

下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Stephen Richardson。

Great. We'll keep Neil busy this morning. Another one on the Pioneer disclosure. Appreciate the incrementals. I guess it sounds like, from your previous comments, the 1 million-barrel a day target and output is still there for the legacy Exxon position, and you're thinking about the additive from Pioneer.

偉大的。今天早上我們會讓尼爾忙起來。另一篇關於先鋒公司的披露。欣賞增量。我想，從您先前的評論來看，埃克森美孚的傳統地位仍然是每天 100 萬桶的目標和產量，而您正在考慮先鋒公司的添加劑。

Can you talk a little bit about, as you integrate the 2 assets, are you assuming some high-grading around some of the higher-quality acreage? Does anything -- do you envision prioritizing more activity on one asset versus the other? Or are you still kind of thinking about them as 2 separates?

您能否談一下，當您整合這兩項資產時，您是否假設一些較高品質的土地周圍有一些高等級？有什麼影響嗎—您是否設想優先考慮一項資產而不是另一項資產的更多活動？還是你仍然認為他們是兩個分開的人？

And then also, maybe you could just talk a little bit about assumptions around acreage bolt-ons or any positions as well. Is there a lot of work to do in terms of extending some of this lateral length that you're talking about?

然後，也許您可以談談有關面積螺栓或任何位置的假設。在延長你所說的橫向長度方面是否還有很多工作要做？

Yes. Yes. I mean, first of all, I would say it's very early in the process. Of course, we've done the due diligence. We're into transition now.

是的。是的。我的意思是，首先，我想說這個過程還處於早期階段。當然，我們已經做了盡職調查。我們現在正處於轉型期。

I think it's very important to make the point. Pioneer are a very, very capable organization. They've demonstrated that. What we're really excited about is the combination of these 2 organizations. Pioneer have a deep, deep understanding of the Midland Basin. As we've talked about it, this is absolutely in the fairway of Tier 1-quality resource, and Pioneer have done an exceptional job of developing that resource.

我認為闡明這一點非常重要。先鋒是一個非常非常有能力的組織。他們已經證明了這一點。我們真正感到興奮的是這兩個組織的合併。先鋒公司對米德蘭盆地有著非常非常深刻的了解。正如我們所討論的，這絕對是一級優質資源的範圍，而先鋒公司在開發該資源方面做得非常出色。

From our side, we've got a whole range of different operating techniques, development plans and technologies. And it's the integration of those that we're most excited about. And everything we've seen in the initial transition work would suggest all of that is correct.

從我們這邊來看，我們擁有一系列不同的操作技術、開發計劃和技術。我們最興奮的是這些的整合。我們在最初的過渡工作中看到的一切都表明所有這些都是正確的。

If you just look at the acreage position, and you look at where Exxon are and -- ExxonMobil are and Pioneer are, obviously, it gives an opportunity for both high-grading the inventory, and that includes bolt-ons.

如果你只看面積位置，看看埃克森美孚和先鋒的情況，顯然，這為高等級庫存提供了機會，其中包括補充。

And I have to say that Scott Sheffield and his organization have done an extraordinary job bolting on and increasing their acreage in the basin, and they have a very, very capable land organization, and we look forward to working with those folks.

我必須說，斯科特·謝菲爾德和他的組織在鞏固和增加盆地面積方面做得非常出色，他們擁有非常非常有能力的土地組織，我們期待與這些人合作。

So I think it's a combination that's going to be most powerful in developing that resource.

因此，我認為這種組合對於開發該資源將是最強大的。

Yes. I'll just add to what Neil said. You look at what we've been doing over the last 6 years, it's really been around integrating our organizations, consolidating them and making sure that we're concentrating like capabilities into the same organization, and that is paying huge dividends.

是的。我將補充尼爾所說的內容。你看看我們過去 6 年所做的事情，它實際上是圍繞著整合我們的組織、鞏固它們並確保我們將類似的能力集中到同一個組織中，這會帶來巨大的紅利。

And this is no different. The intent is to fully integrate the Pioneer organization and people into our business. My expectation is we'll bring a lot of advantages to their acreage. But at the same time, we expect their people to bring a lot of advantages to other parts of our business, including what we're doing in the Delaware.

這也不例外。目的是將先鋒組織和人員完全融入我們的業務中。我的期望是我們將為他們的面積帶來很多優勢。但同時，我們希望他們的員工能為我們業務的其他部分帶來許多優勢，包括我們在德拉瓦州所做的事情。

And so our whole strategy is really around the value you create by taking experts in areas and getting the collaboration and the innovation that comes from that. So there won't be a separate approach here. It will be one. And I think what you're seeing today, to Neil's point, the fact that we're at a very early stage. But as we get together and work through the plans and the development, it will be one seamless integrated organization and plan.

因此，我們的整個策略實際上是圍繞著您創造的價值，透過聘請各領域的專家並獲得由此產生的協作和創新。所以這裡不會有單獨的方法。這將是一個。我想你今天看到的，就尼爾的觀點而言，我們正處於非常早期的階段。但當我們聚集在一起並完成計劃和開發時，這將是一個無縫整合的組織和計劃。

And Steve, just one small addition to illustrate that. I talked before that we have a basin-wide remote operations center in Houston, where we control all our operations in Houston. That's drilling, that's tracking, that's field operations -- that's methane tracking, methane emissions tracking as well, from one central control center in Houston.

史蒂夫，只是補充一點來說明這一點。我之前說過，我們在休士頓有一個全流域的遠端營運中心，我們在那裡控制休士頓的所有營運。這就是鑽探，這就是跟踪，這就是現場作業——這就是甲烷跟踪，還有甲烷排放跟踪，這些都是由休斯敦的一個中央控制中心進行的。

Obviously, our plan would be to bring in the whole Pioneer operations in time to have one central organization. What that gives you is it gives you all of that competency, all that expertise, applied to the whole of the Midland and Delaware basins from one central control center.

顯然，我們的計劃是及時整合整個先鋒公司的業務，建立一個中央組織。它為您提供的是從一個中央控制中心應用於整個米德蘭和特拉華盆地的所有能力和專業知識。

The next question is from Roger Read of Wells Fargo.

下一個問題來自富國銀行的羅傑·里德。

Yes. Keeping with the Upstream theme here, I'd like to dig into the, I guess, call it, slight transition here, the high value-added or high-margin liquid barrels. So specifically, kind of coming in 100,000 barrels a day higher versus 2022 as gas has declined and/or been sold, and the liquids have grown.

是的。與這裡的上游主題保持一致，我想深入探討一下，我想，稱之為這裡的輕微轉變，即高附加價值或高利潤的液體桶。具體而言，由於天然氣產量下降和/或出售，而液體產量增加，因此與 2022 年相比，每天產量將增加 10 萬桶。

But as you think about the change out to 2027, the growth in Guyana, the growth in the Permian, and we compare that to where you were, say, in 2019, how do you think about the sort of total value-added liquid barrels, the impact on margins, the impact on returns? Like what's the right way for us to think about the transition of the company over roughly that 8-year period?

但是，當您考慮 2027 年的變化、圭亞那的增長、二疊紀的增長時，我們將其與 2019 年的情況進行比較，您如何看待液體桶的總增值，對利潤率的影響，對回報的影響？就像我們思考公司在大約 8 年期間的轉型的正確方法是什麼？

Well, Roger, it's Neil again. Let's just park the Pioneer acquisition for the start, for a moment, and just talk about our existing plans as ExxonMobil. Back in 2018 and 2019, I talked about the strength of our developments that we had in the pipeline. And obviously, they were headlined by Guyana and by the Permian.

好吧，羅傑，又是尼爾。我們先暫時擱置對先鋒公司的收購，然後談談我們作為埃克森美孚公司現有的計劃。早在 2018 年和 2019 年，我就談到了我們正在開發的產品的實力。顯然，它們的頭條新聞是圭亞那和二疊紀。

And what I said at the time is what you will see is an increase in the percent of liquids in our portfolio and a reduction in the percent of dry gas of the total. And if you look -- if I outlook to 2027, we will go from something sub-65% liquids to something around 70% liquids in our portfolio in 2027 and 15% or thereabouts of liquefied natural gas.

我當時所說的是，您將看到我們的投資組合中液體的百分比增加，而乾燥氣體佔總量的百分比減少。如果你看一下——如果我展望 2027 年，我們的投資組合中的液體將在 2027 年從低於 65% 增加到 70% 左右，液化天然氣則佔 15% 左右。

So that takes us up to 85%, I would call liquids-indexed. Obviously, 80% of our LNG sales are indexed to Brent or to crude oil. And that's a big transition, but it's driven by the quality of those resources, primarily in the Permian and Guyana. And we're going to be adding on to that, of course, the programs we have developed, we have an LNG in Papua New Guinea and then in Mozambique at the end of the decade.

因此，這使我們達到 85%，我將其稱為液體指數。顯然，我們 80% 的液化天然氣銷量與​​布蘭特原油或原油掛鉤。這是一個巨大的轉變，但它是由這些資源的品質所驅動的，主要是在二疊紀和圭亞那。當然，我們將補充我們已經開發的計劃，我們在巴布亞新幾內亞擁有液化天然氣，然後在本世紀末在莫三比克。

I'd just add one other comment. If you take the liquids and the LNG, which should take us to 85% liquids-indexed in 2027. Of the gas that remains, 7% of that is associated gas. So now it's gas associated with liquids production. So you can see that we'll be in the order of magnitude of 7% or 8% of dry gas in our portfolio at that time, and that's pre the Pioneer acquisition.

我只想添加另一個評論。如果考慮液體和液化天然氣，到 2027 年，液體指數將達到 85%。在剩餘的氣體中，其中 7% 是伴隨生氣。現在是與液體生產相關的氣體。所以你可以看到，當時我們的投資組合中乾氣的比例將達到 7% 或 8%，而且這是在 Pioneer 收購之前。

Yes. I'd just add to that, Roger, if you just step back and think more conceptually around the strategy and what we're trying to do. Every one of our business is focused on moving to the left-hand side of the cost of supply curve. So that we remain robust to any period in the commodity cycle and making sure that we're positioned competitively versus those -- everyone else in the industry.

是的。羅傑，如果你退後一步，從概念上更深入地思考我們的策略和我們正在嘗試做的事情，我想補充一點。我們的每一項業務都致力於向供應成本曲線的左側移動。這樣我們就可以在商品週期的任何時期保持穩健，並確保我們相對於行業中的其他人具有競爭力。

And so that drive over time to reshape the portfolio continues to move our collective production to the left and to lower cost, which at the same -- and at the same time, adding higher-value barrels, we're lowering cost and increasing revenue. And so that's where the -- kind of the value game is getting played out. And that's the work that we've been doing, and that's the high-grading that you've seen in the portfolio and the improvements in structural costs.

因此，隨著時間的推移，重塑投資組合的動力繼續將我們的集體生產向左移動並降低成本，同時，同時增加更高價值的桶，我們正在降低成本並增加收入。這就是價值遊戲正在上演的地方。這就是我們一直在做的工作，這就是您在產品組合中看到的高評級以及結構成本的改善。

We mentioned in the top of the meeting that we've actually achieved the $9 billion in structural costs this quarter, third quarter. So a quarter ahead of what our initial plans were. We expect to see more in the fourth quarter. And as we go forward with the changes that we've been making in the organization continuing, we're going to continue to deliver more structural cost savings.

我們在會議頂部提到，本季第三季我們實際上已經實現了 90 億美元的結構成本。所以比我們最初的計畫提早了四分之一。我們預計第四季會看到更多。隨著我們繼續在組織中進行變革，我們將繼續實現更多的結構性成本節約。

So the whole strategy is around making sure that we have the best portfolio and the most resilient portfolio so that we can basically be successful irrespective of the commodity price environment that we're in, and that we're well positioned versus others in the industry. That is the strategy, and you see that playing out certainly in the Upstream. But you also see it playing out in the Downstream, where we've been high-grading our assets there and playing out in our Chemical business, where we continue to bring on units that produce high-performance products. So that strategy is manifesting itself in each of our businesses.

因此，整個策略是確保我們擁有最好的投資組合和最具彈性的投資組合，這樣無論我們所處的大宗商品價格環境如何，我們基本上都能取得成功，並且與業內其他公司相比，我們處於有利地位。這就是策略，你會看到這種策略在上游確實發揮了作用。但你也可以看到它在下游發揮作用，我們一直在對我們的資產進行高評級，並在我們的化學業務中發揮作用，我們繼續引進生產高性能產品的單位。因此，這項策略正在我們的每一項業務中得到體現。

And then I'll just add on that same philosophy underpins what we're doing in Low Carbon Solutions. As we build out that business and position ourselves for the long term, it's making sure that every investment that we're making, every value chain that we're creating, Dan and his team have a clear view about where that will sit in the cost of supply curve, or you can think of it as the cost of abatement curve, and making sure that we're going to be advantaged versus the rest of the industry.

然後我會補充說，同樣的理念支撐著我們在低碳解決方案中所做的事情。當我們建立該業務並為自己進行長期定位時，丹和他的團隊將確保我們所做的每一項投資、我們正在創建的每一條價值鏈都清楚地了解它們將在市場中的位置供應成本曲線，或者你可以將其視為減排成本曲線，並確保我們相對於行業其他公司具有優勢。

The next question is from John Royall of JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的約翰·羅亞爾。

So my question is on the CapEx. Could you maybe help us bridge the top end that you're guiding to now for this year versus maybe the midpoint? It's a tight range, so not super material. But just any color there would be helpful.

所以我的問題是關於資本支出的。您能否幫助我們在今年您所指導的高端與中點之間建立橋樑？這是一個很窄的範圍，所以不是超級材料。但任何顏色都會有幫助。

And then I know you'll give your update in December, but is there any color you can give us directionally on what you're thinking of for next year on the legacy business prior to layering in Pioneer? Just anything on the moving pieces for CapEx next year would be great.

然後我知道您將在 12 月提供最新情況，但是您是否可以向我們明確說明您在加入 Pioneer 之前對明年遺留業務的想法？明年資本支出的任何活動都會很棒。

Sure. So I would say nothing really unusual going on in CapEx. As you stated, it was a pretty tight range to start with, obviously, with a focus on us looking to ensure that we're investing in advantaged, high-return projects. That's exactly what we're delivering. So I would characterize it as updated guidance that's pretty consistent with our plans. And we can give you a further update when we get to that corporate plan discussion later on in December.

當然。所以我想說資本支出沒有什麼異常的情況。正如您所說，顯然，一開始的範圍相當狹窄，我們的重點是確保我們投資於優勢、高回報的項目。這正是我們所提供的。因此，我將其描述為與我們的計劃非常一致的更新指南。當我們在 12 月稍後討論公司計劃時，我們可以為您提供進一步的更新。

But we feel very good about our overall execution. As Darren mentioned earlier, we're bringing projects online at a cost kind of schedule that's typically within the top quintile. So we feel really good about our capabilities and our execution and our ongoing focus with our highest priority, ensuring that we're executing great projects with high returns for our shareholders.

但我們對整體執行力感覺非常好。正如達倫之前提到的，我們將專案上線的成本時間表通常在前五分之一之內。因此，我們對我們的能力、執行力以及我們持續關注的最高優先事項感到非常滿意，確保我們正在執行偉大的項目，為股東帶來高回報。

Yes, I might just add to that. As we think about the CapEx, we provide that range because we recognize going into the year that things move around a bit. And as we prosecute a -- with a plan -- prosecute the plan, that with time, we find additional opportunities. And so things move around.

是的，我可能會補充一點。當我們考慮資本支出時，我們提供了這個範圍，因為我們認識到進入這一年，情況會發生一些變化。當我們執行計劃時，隨著時間的推移，我們會發現更多的機會。事情就這樣發生了變化。

If you look at where we're at through the third quarter, we are right on our plan. And so as we move forward, we're going to continue to do the things that we had planned to do last year. But I would say we're always looking for opportunities to build on the value proposition. If we see it, we're going to go after it. We're not going to constrain ourselves artificially to the guidance range if we find an opportunity set. But to date, things are moving pretty consistent with where we thought we were going to be. And frankly, as we look out going forward, continue to see a very consistent set of opportunity sets that we're going to prosecute.

如果你看看我們第三季的情況，你會發現我們的計畫是正確的。因此，隨著我們前進，我們將繼續做我們去年計劃要做的事情。但我想說，我們一直在尋找機會來建立價值主張。如果我們看到它，我們就會去追趕它。如果我們找到機會集，我們不會人為地將自己限制在指導範圍內。但迄今為止，事情的發展與我們的預期非常一致。坦白說，當我們展望未來時，我們將繼續看到一系列非常一致的機會集。

I think the one change that we'll spend more time talking about in Low Carbon Solutions is, as that business matures and we establish, I'd say, an advantaged position, there are a lot of opportunities coming our way. So we're working our way through those opportunities, making sure that we focus on the highest priority ones, the ones that generate the most value and are competitive in our portfolio. And we'll talk more about that as we get into the plan release.

我認為我們將花更多時間討論低碳解決方案的一個變化是，隨著業務的成熟，並且我們建立了優勢地位，我想說，我們將面臨很多機會。因此，我們正在努力利用這些機會，確保我們專注於最優先的機會，即那些能產生最大價值並在我們的投資組合中具有競爭力的機會。當我們進入計劃發佈時，我們將更多地討論這一點。

Next question is from Jason Gabelman of TD Cowen.

下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Jason Gabelman。

A lot has happened in the past few months, but about 3 months ago, there was a handful of news articles about Exxon's lithium endeavors, and I just wanted to get an update on that. Are you still drilling in the Smackover for lithium? Are you exploring potential processing unit there? And how have things trended the past few months? And do you kind of expect to figure into your growth plans here over the next 5 years?

過去幾個月發生了很多事情，但大約三個月前，有一些關於埃克森美孚鋰業務的新聞文章，我只是想了解最新情況。您還在 Smackover 開採鋰嗎？您正在那裡探索潛在的處理單元嗎？過去幾個月事情的趨勢如何？您是否希望將未來 5 年的成長計畫納入其中？

Yes, sure. I'll take that. I think just stepping back and maybe setting the context of what we're trying to do, I'll call it, in the transition space. And frankly, more broadly is go back to the fundamental of what are our key technology competencies and capabilities. And that's -- and then what businesses lend themselves to those capabilities where we can carve out an advantage and produce the products that society needs.

是的，當然。我會接受的。我認為只是退後一步，也許可以在過渡空間中設定我們正在嘗試做的事情的背景，我稱之為過渡空間。坦白說，更廣泛的是回到我們的關鍵技術能力和能力的根本。這就是企業可以利用哪些能力來開拓優勢並生產社會需要的產品。

And so rather than chase what I would say is the current narrative or the current conventional wisdom as to what the world is going to need, is focus first on our -- what we can fundamentally contribute and bring an advantage to and therefore generate returns higher than the rest of the industry, and then figure out how those advantages apply themselves to what the world needs.

因此，與其追逐我所說的關於世界將需要什麼的當前敘述或當前傳統智慧，不如首先關注我們可以從根本上做出貢獻並帶來優勢並因此產生更高回報的東西比行業中的其他公司更好，然後弄清楚這些優勢如何應用於世界的需求。

Obviously, lithium is an important part of transition going forward in the electrification and the need for batteries and storage of power and energy. And so we've looked at that space. And clearly, with the opportunity in Smackover and the ability to drill -- extract the lithium from the brine water and reinject that, it's got a much, much lower environmental impact than the current production process for lithium. It fits very well with our capabilities. And the cost of supply curve, it's very competitive. So it looks attractive.

顯然，鋰是未來電氣化轉型以及對電池和電力和能源儲存的需求的重要組成部分。所以我們已經研究了這個空間。顯然，憑藉 Smackover 的機會和鑽探能力（從鹽水中提取鋰並重新註入），它對環境的影響比目前的鋰生產過程要低得多。它非常適合我們的能力。而且供應曲線的成本非常有競爭力。所以看起來很有吸引力。

And the challenge that we've been given to Dan and his team is develop a business plan where that becomes the material with respect to what ExxonMobil and ExxonMobil's portfolio and effectively competes for capital. That's looking -- as Dan and his team develop that concept in that potential business, that's looking more and more promising. And we see an opportunity to really leverage the things that we're pretty good at in the base case, and it's very synergistic with our traditional businesses.

我們為丹和他的團隊帶來的挑戰是製定一個商業計劃，該計劃成為埃克森美孚和埃克森美孚投資組合的材料，並有效地爭取資本。看起來，隨著​​丹和他的團隊在潛在業務中開發這一概念，它看起來越來越有前途。我們看到了一個機會，可以真正利用我們在基本情況下非常擅長的事情，並且它與我們的傳統業務非常具有協同作用。

So I think when we come out and talk about the plan, we'll talk more about where we see the lithium business going. But it looks fairly promising at this stage. And I would just say the aperture is wide open. I think for a long time, we've been characterized as an energy company, and that almost discounts what is one of the world's largest chemical businesses, which we feel pretty good about.

因此，我認為當我們出來討論該計劃時，我們會更多地討論鋰業務的發展方向。但現階段看起來相當有希望。我只想說光圈是全開的。我認為很長一段時間以來，我們一直被定位為一家能源公司，幾乎低估了世界上最大的化學企業之一，我們對此感覺非常好。

And it comes back to this fundamental capability of managing and transforming hydrogen and carbon molecules to products that the world needs and leveraging our capabilities. And lithium fits into that, along with our other businesses in biofuels, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage. And so we'll continue to develop those.

這又回到了管理氫和碳分子並將其轉化為世界所需的產品並利用我們的能力的基本能力。鋰以及我們在生物燃料、氫氣、碳捕獲和儲存方面的其他業務都適合這一點。所以我們將繼續開發這些。

And again, as I said earlier, seeing that opportunity space and the opportunity to generate high-return projects looking more and more promising. So I would expect that to be part of the portfolio going forward.

正如我之前所說，機會空間和產生高回報項目的機會看起來越來越有前途。因此，我希望這將成為未來投資組合的一部分。

The next question is from Ryan Todd of Piper Sandler.

下一個問題來自 Piper Sandler 的 Ryan Todd。

Maybe one follow-up on some of the earlier Permian conversation. On the -- I mean, you were always known as developing your side of the Permian on a very long-term plan. You've built out a lot of infrastructure early on.

也許是早期二疊紀談話的後續。關於——我的意思是，你們一直以製定一個非常長期的計劃來開發二疊紀盆地一側而聞名。您很早就建立了很多基礎設施。

On the infrastructure side, as you think about this post-Pioneer transaction on infrastructure, do you have the combined infrastructure in place that you need to arrive at the 2 million barrels a day of combined production? Will this require any additional infrastructure spend or any shift around on how you think about things versus previously anticipated? And maybe just any comments on whether you see any potential bottlenecks in the basin over the next few years.

在基礎設施方面，當您考慮這項後先鋒基礎設施交易時，您是否擁有實現每天 200 萬桶綜合生產所需的綜合基礎設施？這是否需要任何額外的基礎設施支出，或者您對事物的看法與先前的預期有何不同？也許只是關於您是否在未來幾年內看到該盆地任何潛在瓶頸的任何評論。

Yes. Ryan, it's Neil. I'll take that question. I think as you're aware, there is a big difference between the Delaware and the Midland Basin. Midland Basin has got far more mature infrastructure. And I would say that Pioneer has done an exceptional job in both developing and acquiring and contracting both infrastructure to exit product and for water. It's quite a difference versus the Delaware.

是的。瑞安，我是尼爾。我來回答這個問題。我認為正如您所知，特拉華盆地和米德蘭盆地之間存在很大差異。米德蘭盆地擁有更成熟的基礎設施。我想說，先鋒公司在開發、收購和承包出口產品和水的基礎設施方面都做得非常出色。與特拉華州相比，這有很大不同。

Of course, in the Delaware, we had to put that infrastructure in place. We did it at scale. We've built this large central processing facility called Cowboy. We currently have a capacity there of about 250,000 barrels a day of crude and about 400 Mcfd of gas. We plan to expand that.

當然，在德拉瓦州，我們必須將基礎設施落實到位。我們大規模地做到了。我們建造了這個名為「Cowboy」的大型中央處理設施。目前我們的原油產能約為每天 25 萬桶，天然氣產能約為 400 Mcfd。我們計劃擴大這一範圍。

In Midland, most of that infrastructure already exists. So it's always going to be incremental investment, but nothing like the scale, Ryan, that we've seen in the Delaware. I feel very good about the infrastructure we put in place in the Delaware. We made that investment upfront. We talked about it in 2018 and 2019. And we're clearly benefiting from that investment that we made now. Quite a contrast in the Midland.

在米德蘭，大部分基礎設施已經存在。所以它總是會是增量投資，但規模不會像我們在特拉華州看到的那樣，瑞安。我對我們在特拉華州建立的基礎設施感覺非常好。我們預先進行了這項投資。我們在 2018 年和 2019 年討論過這個問題。我們顯然從現在的投資中受益。中部地區形成鮮明對比。

Yes. I would add to that, if you go back in time, as we were looking at the integrated value chain, we are certainly focused on the molecules that we are producing in the Permian, but we also recognize there's an opportunity for us to take advantage of the geographic locale and the proximity to our facilities in the Gulf Coast to optimize broader Permian production. And so we built logistic systems, the pipeline systems, the capability within our facility to manage that.

是的。我想補充一點，如果你回到過去，當我們審視綜合價值鏈時，我們當然專注於我們在二疊紀生產的分子，但我們也認識到我們有機會利用這一優勢地理位置以及靠近我們在墨西哥灣沿岸的設施，以優化更廣泛的二疊紀生產。因此，我們在我們的設施內建立了物流系統、管道系統和管理能力。

And so what we're now going to be bringing into the portfolio in the Midland fits very well with this broader play of an integrated value chain and making sure that we're maximizing the value of those molecules for own facilities.

因此，我們現在要在米德蘭的產品組合中引入的產品非常適合綜合價值鏈的更廣泛作用，並確保我們為自己的設施最大化這些分子的價值。

And as we've said earlier on when we first introduced this deal, that piece of the equation, which we believe there is a value opportunity on in terms of better managing the molecules through the whole -- from end to end, from the crude clear through to the finished products, we believe there's additional opportunity there. We got to get in and work through the details of that.

正如我們早些時候所說的，當我們第一次推出這項交易時，我們相信，在更好地管理整個分子方面——從頭到尾，從原油到整個過程，存在著一個有價值的機會.明確到成品，我們相信那裡還有更多的機會。我們必須介入並解決其中的細節。

My view is that's additional upside to what we've been talking about. It's one I feel really good about and one that, frankly, we anticipated early on by making sure that we built the capacity ahead of actually needing for our own molecules. So we're in a very good position there.

我的觀點是，這比我們一直在談論的內容有更多的好處。這是我感覺非常好的一件事，坦白說，我們很早就預料到了這一點，確保我們在實際需要我們自己的分子之前就已經建立了能力。所以我們在那裡處於非常有利的位置。

And Ryan, I didn't answer your question, do we anticipate any bottlenecks? I mean, the answer to that is, based on what we have seen so far during the transition work and the due diligence, the answer is no, we don't see any bottlenecks in getting to the production levels that we anticipate.

Ryan，我沒有回答你的問題，我們預計會出現任何瓶頸嗎？我的意思是，答案是，根據我們迄今為止在過渡工作和盡職調查中所看到的情況，答案是否定的，我們沒有看到達到我們預期的生產水平的任何瓶頸。

The next question is from Neal Dingmann of Truist Securities.

下一個問題來自 Truist Securities 的 Neal Dingmann。

Darren, maybe for you and Kathy, just my question is on shareholder return. It looks like you paid out a bit over 100% of free cash flow, following -- the prior quarter, I think you were closer to even higher than that, maybe about 118%.

達倫，也許對你和凱西來說，我的問題是股東回報。看起來你支付了略高於 100% 的自由現金流，繼上一季之後，我認為你接近甚至更高，可能約為 118%。

I'm just wondering, when you think about shareholder return, will you continue to lean into the buybacks as you look in the out years? Or maybe just if you could give a little bit of color, I think I understand kind of your role or your thoughts on the dividend side. So maybe I'm asking a bit more on shareholder -- on the share buybacks going forward.

我只是想知道，當您考慮股東回報時，您會在未來幾年繼續傾向於回購嗎？或者也許您可以提供一點顏色，我想我理解您的角色或您對股息方面的想法。因此，也許我對股東的要求更多——關於未來的股票回購。

Sure. I'm happy to take that. So if you look at our overall free cash flow results for the quarter, it was just under $12 billion at $11.7 billion. And we paid out $8.1 billion to shareholders. And that was split between $3.7 billion in dividends and $4.4 billion in the share repurchase program. In fact, in the quarter, our cash balance actually went up $3.4 billion, and we ended the quarter at $33 billion. So I think you can see that in the quarter, we were, in fact, well under 100% in terms of what we paid out, which is what enables us to grow our cash balance and strengthen our balance sheet even further.

當然。我很樂意接受。因此，如果你看看我們本季的整體自由現金流結果，你會發現它略低於 120 億美元，為 117 億美元。我們向股東支付了 81 億美元。其中 37 億美元用於股息，44 億美元用於股票回購計畫。事實上，在本季度，我們的現金餘額實際上增加了 34 億美元，季度結束時為 330 億美元。因此，我認為您可以看到，在本季度，我們的支出實際上遠低於 100%，這使我們能夠增加現金餘額並進一步加強我們的資產負債表。

When you look overall at our approach to capital allocation, our priorities continue to be the same. First and foremost, let's make sure we're investing in advantaged projects, right, that are differentiated, going to drive high returns for our shareholders. We do that both organically, and as you've seen recently, inorganically as well, making sure we're maintaining a really strong balance sheet. We need that. Ultimately, at some point, the cycle will turn against us. And that balance sheet will be there for us to lean into.

當你整體審視我們的資本配置方法時，我們的優先事項仍然是相同的。首先也是最重要的，讓我們確保我們投資的是優勢項目，對吧，這些項目是差異化的，將為我們的股東帶來高回報。我們既以有機方式做到這一點，正如您最近所看到的，也以無機方式做到這一點，以確保我們保持真正強大的資產負債表。我們需要那個。最終，在某個時候，這個循環將會對我們不利。該資產負債表將供我們參考。

And being balanced in our approach as to how we share the success of the company and those rewards with our shareholders. And I think you can continue to see that balance coming through between dividends and share repurchases. We're looking to be more consistent in our share repurchase program. Again, I think you're seeing that. We continue to say we're on track to execute $17.5 billion of share repurchases this year. We'll complete that before the end of the year, and we already have a program in place, a similar program in place for 2024.

我們在如何與股東分享公司的成功和回報方面保持平衡。我認為你可以繼續看到股息和股票回購之間的平衡。我們希望股票回購計畫更加一致。再說一次，我想你已經看到了這一點。我們仍然表示，今年我們預計將執行 175 億美元的股票回購。我們將在今年年底前完成該任務，我們已經制定了一個計劃，即 2024 年的類似計劃。

So we're trying to get that balance right, and it's important that we continue to maintain a strong balance sheet that can carry us through the cycles.

因此，我們正在努力實現這種平衡，重要的是我們繼續保持強大的資產負債表，以幫助我們度過各個週期。

Our next question is from Paul Cheng with Scotiabank.

我們的下一個問題來自豐業銀行的 Paul Cheng。

Neil, the industry in the Permian, whether it's for emission reason or for cost efficiency, seems to move and turn to electricity the operation as much as we could. Can you share with us, where is Exxon in that journey? How far are you in terms of electrify your operation in the Permian?

尼爾，二疊紀的工業，無論是出於排放原因還是成本效率，似乎都在盡可能地轉向電力運作。您能否與我們分享一下，埃克森美孚在這段旅程中處於什麼位置？您在二疊紀盆地的作業電氣化方面進展如何？

And when you're comparing to Pioneer, I don't know whether you have the information that you can share and whether that you guys are ahead of them or that this will be part of the 2 billion of the synergy benefit, or that if you're going to do more aggressively on that, this is going to be on top.

當你與先鋒進行比較時，我不知道你是否有可以分享的信息，以及你們是否領先於他們，或者這將是20億協同效益的一部分，或者如果你會在這方面做得更積極，這將是最重要的。

Yes. Thanks, Paul. From our perspective, we have, I think, 17 rigs running right now in the Permian. All of those rigs are electrified. So we're 100% on rigs, and we're working on fracs.

是的。謝謝，保羅。從我們的角度來看，我認為我們目前在二疊紀有 17 個鑽井平台正在運作。所有這些鑽孔機都是電氣化的。所以我們 100% 都在鑽孔機上，並且正在研究壓裂。

Right now, I think we have one electric frac out of 6 frac crews running in the Permian. This is all part of our drive to get to Permian net zero that we've said we will get to by 2030. Our plans are in place for that, and we're on schedule for it.

目前，我認為在二疊紀盆地運作的 6 名壓裂人員中有 1 名是電動壓裂人員。這是我們實現二疊紀淨零排放目標的一部分，我們說過我們將在 2030 年實現這一目標。我們的計劃已經到位，並且正在按計劃進行。

I mean, that program goes as simple as this, is you have to reduce methane emissions. We're well on track with reducing methane emissions. We have no routine flaring in the Permian. Now we've replaced over 6,400 pneumatic devices. So you eliminate and you reduce methane emissions. Then you electrify your operations. And as I've just described, we're a long way down the road in terms of electrification. And then we have to secure renewable electricity for those rigs and frac crews. And we're -- that's the program we're working on.

我的意思是，這個計畫就這麼簡單，就是你必須減少甲烷排放。我們在減少甲烷排放方面進展順利。我們在二疊紀沒有常規的燃燒。現在我們已經更換了 6,400 多個氣動裝置。因此，您可以消除並減少甲烷排放。然後您可以實現營運電氣化。正如我剛才所描述的，我們在電氣化方面還有很長的路要走。然後我們必須為這些鑽井平台和壓裂人員提供再生電力。這就是我們正在進行的計劃。

In terms of Pioneer, I don't have those numbers of Pioneer in terms of where they are on electrification. But what we have said is that we're going to advance Pioneer's target to go to net zero from 2050 to 2035, so 15 years sooner than anticipated. And that will follow that same protocol, that same process of reducing methane, electrification and then securing renewable electricity.

就先鋒而言，我沒有掌握先鋒在電氣化方面的數據。但我們所說的是，我們將把先鋒公司的淨零排放目標從 2050 年推進到 2035 年，比預期提早了 15 年。這將遵循同樣的協議，同樣的減少甲烷、電氣化，然後確保再生電力的過程。

Yes. I would add to that. I think Scott and the team at Pioneer have been -- this has been an area of focus for them. And I know they've worked hard to drive those down. The advantage that we bring is we've got a large organization, more resources. We've got a technical organization that has been leaning into the space and working broadly with the industry and other organizations to develop the technology to better measure, better manage methane.

是的。我想補充一點。我認為史考特和先鋒團隊一直——這一直是他們關注的領域。我知道他們一直在努力降低這些問題。我們帶來的優勢是我們擁有龐大的組織和更多的資源。我們有一個技術組織，一直致力於該領域，並與行業和其他組織廣泛合作，開發更好地測量和管理甲烷的技術。

Neil talked about the central organization that we've put in place to kind of monitor everything that's happening out in the unconventional space to make sure that we're responding in real time to things that we're seeing through the centralized operating center. Bringing the Pioneer portfolio into that center and then allowing us to apply a lot of the work that, frankly, our scale and size has allowed us to advance, I think it's going to make a big improvement in what we're doing with Pioneer just by bringing additional capability there. I think the culture and the mindset is already in place. We're now going to bring some additional resources and tools to apply.

尼爾談到了我們建立的中央組織，它可以監控非常規空間中發生的所有事情，以確保我們能夠即時回應透過集中營運中心看到的事情。將先鋒公司的產品組合引入該中心，然後允許我們應用大量工作，坦率地說，我們的規模和規模使我們能夠取得進步，我認為這將大大改善我們與先鋒公司所做的事情通過在那裡帶來額外的能力。我認為文化和心態已經就位。我們現在將帶來一些額外的資源和工具來應用。

And so my expectation is that we're going to see -- we're going to raise the game here just because we're bringing some additional capability to support what was already, I think, a very important focus for the Pioneer organization.

所以我的期望是，我們將會看到——我們將在這裡提高比賽水平，因為我們帶來了一些額外的能力來支持我認為對於先鋒組織來說已經非常重要的焦點。

And Neil, just the saving from your -- the electrification is already built in into that $2 billion synergy benefit?

尼爾，電氣化帶來的節省已經納入了 20 億美元的協同效益嗎？

Yes. I mean, in terms of the synergy benefits, I mean, as you know and we've talked about many, many times, it's not just about the cost of the rig, it's about the quality of the rig and the performance of the rig. But electrification of those rigs doesn't really impact that. The electrification of all of those facilities is built into our plans going forward.

是的。我的意思是，就協同效益而言，正如您所知，我們已經討論過很多次了，這不僅僅是鑽機的成本，還涉及鑽機的品質和鑽機的性能。但這些鑽孔機的電氣化並沒有真正影響這一點。所有這些設施的電氣化都已納入我們未來的計劃中。

Yes. I would say the -- our drive to bring their net zero commitment forward by 15 years, we've also built that into our thinking around -- and get net synergies there. So we've comprehended the additional effort required to improve the emissions profile and bring their net zero ambitions forward. So all that's netted with our synergy numbers.

是的。我想說的是，我們努力將淨零承諾提前 15 年，我們也將這一點融入我們的思考中，並在那裡獲得淨協同效應。因此，我們已經了解改善排放狀況並實現淨零目標所需的額外努力。所以這一切都是透過我們的協同效應數字來實現的。

The next question is from John -- excuse me, Josh Silverstein with UBS.

下一個問題是來自瑞銀集團 (UBS) 的約翰 (John)，對不起，喬許‧西爾弗斯坦 (Josh Silverstein)。

On the Pioneer acquisition call, you had mentioned that the inventory of the combined companies in the Permian was around 15, 20 years. I was just curious how that may be split between the Pioneer asset and your Delaware asset. And does it contemplate the accelerated growth rate you previously outlined, longer laterals or potential plateau? So I'm just curious to get some more details there because there was a view of Pioneer having over 20 years of inventory. So any more details there would be helpful.

在先鋒收購電話會議上，您提到合併後的公司在二疊紀盆地的庫存約為 15、20 年。我只是好奇如何在先鋒資產和特拉華州資產之間分配。它是否考慮了您之前概述的加速成長率、更長的橫向或潛在的平台期？因此，我只是想了解更多詳細信息，因為有人認為先鋒公司擁有 20 多年的庫存。因此，任何更多細節都會有幫助。

Yes. I think, Josh, it's early stages. I mean, the numbers that we gave, and you just referenced in our initial release is based on our understanding. We'd certainly say that the combined resources of the 2 companies is order of magnitude 16 billion oil equivalent barrels. That's 15 to 20 years life.

是的。我認為，喬什，現在還處於早期階段。我的意思是，我們給出的數字以及您剛剛在我們的初始版本中引用的數字都是基於我們的理解。我們當然可以說，兩家公司的總資源量達到 160 億油當量桶的數量級。那是15到20年的壽命。

Most of our resources, as you're aware, is in the Delaware side. Obviously, Pioneer is exclusive in the Midland side. Yes. So I mean, that's where it is. It's based on our early assessments.

如您所知，我們的大部分資源都位於特拉華州一側。顯然，先鋒隊在米德蘭方面是排他的。是的。所以我的意思是，那就是它所在的地方。這是基於我們的早期評估。

Yes. Got it. Well, if there was just any more details just on -- as far as like what your split may be of that 16 billion versus what theirs may be.

是的。知道了。好吧，如果有更多的細節——比如你對這 160 億美元的分配與他們的分配可能是多少。

Yes. I mean, that close -- I would say in total Exxon is closer to 9, Pioneer is closer to 7, is what I would say in total. But that's based on our initial understanding.

是的。我的意思是，我想說的是，總體而言，埃克森美孚接近 9，先鋒接近 7，這就是我想說的。但這是基於我們最初的理解。

For the resource.

為了資源。

For the resource, yes.

對於資源來說，是的。

Our final question is from Sam Margolin of Wolfe Research.

我們的最後一個問題來自沃爾夫研究中心的薩姆·馬戈林。

The -- I wanted to follow up on the capital allocation question and the dividend increase specifically. We've talked a lot about this in the past, but this dividend increase looks like it's roughly the same as the amount of the share repurchase in terms of percentage. And I know you're issuing shares for Pioneer, but you've also got a pathway to a lot of Upstream growth. And then Downstream is growing, too, as we learned about in the product solutions spotlights. And you're running with sort of a significant operational cash surplus on a recurring basis even before this growth.

我想具體跟進資本配置問題和股利增加問題。我們過去已經討論過很多這個問題，但這次股利增加看起來與股票回購的百分比大致相同。我知道你們正在為先鋒公司發行股票，但你們也有一條通往上游大量成長的途徑。正如我們在產品解決方案聚焦中所了解的那樣，下游也在成長。即使在這種增長之前，您就經常性地擁有大量營運現金盈餘。

And so I'm just wondering about your thoughts on dividend growth going forward, and if we are sort of through this period where you were tending to the balance sheet and the portfolio and now some of this growth will translate to sort of a dividend CAGR that is in line with the operations.

因此，我只是想知道您對未來股息成長的想法，以及我們是否正在經歷這個時期，您一直在關注資產負債表和投資組合，現在這種增長的一部分將轉化為股息複合年增長率這符合操作。

Sure. So we have always said we're looking to ensure we have a dividend that's sustainable, competitive and growing. I think the increase of $0.04 to the quarterly dividend is very reflective of that, right? I think it also reflects the overall confidence that we have in the business and the underlying improvement in earnings power that we've seen over the last couple of years.

當然。因此，我們一直表示，我們希望確保我們的股息是可持續的、有競爭力的和不斷增長的。我認為季度股息增加 0.04 美元很能反映這一點，對嗎？我認為這也反映了我們對業務的整體信心以及過去幾年我們看到的盈利能力的根本改善。

I mean, by any metric, this is a really strong quarter. Whether you look at earnings, cash, shareholder returns, it was a very strong quarter. And we have a great degree of confidence in the business. So we increased the dividend a bit more than we did about a year ago. Obviously, we have a cadence now of looking at the dividend in the fourth quarter of the year. And that increase is very reflective of our confidence in the business and our underlying performance.

我的意思是，無論以何種標準衡量，這都是一個非常強勁的季度。無論從獲利、現金或股東回報來看，這都是一個非常強勁的季度。我們對這項業務充滿信心。因此，我們比大約一年前增加了股息。顯然，我們現在有節奏地關註今年第四季的股息。這種成長很大程度上反映了我們對業務和基本績效的信心。

Yes. I'll just add to that, Sam. Obviously, we view the dividend as a commitment. And as we saw through the pandemic, even when things get tough, we work hard to make sure that we're continuing to deliver on that commitment to our shareholders.

是的。我要補充一點，山姆。顯然，我們將股利視為一種承諾。正如我們在疫情期間看到的那樣，即使情況變得艱難，我們也會努力確保我們繼續履行對股東的承諾。

And so as we think about going forward and the volatility in the markets and the commodity cycle, we need to make sure that, as we think about growth in the dividend, that we also think about sustainability and the ability to deliver on that commitment, irrespective of what the market throws at us. So that goes into the equation as we think about that going forward.

因此，當我們考慮未來以及市場和大宗商品週期的波動時，我們需要確保，當我們考慮股息成長時，我們也考慮永續性和兌現承諾的能力，無論市場向我們拋出什麼。因此，當我們考慮未來時，這就會進入等式。

And when we've got additional cash that we want to distribute, we've always got the buyback, which obviously, as Kathy said, we're looking to have a more consistent level of that as well. So that's kind of how we're thinking about it. Thanks for the question.

當我們獲得想要分配的額外現金時，我們總是會得到回購，顯然，正如凱西所說，我們也希望擁有更一致的回購水準。這就是我們的想法。謝謝你的提問。

Thanks, everyone, for joining the call and for your questions today. We will post a transcript of our Q&A session on the Investor website next week. We look forward to connecting with you again on December 6 for our corporate plan update. With that, have a nice weekend, everyone, and I'll turn it back to the operator to conclude our call.

感謝大家今天加入電話會議並提出問題。下週我們將在投資者網站上發布問答環節的文字記錄。我們期待 12 月 6 日再次與您聯繫，以了解我們的公司計劃更新。就這樣，祝大家週末愉快，我會將其轉回給接線員以結束我們的通話。

Thank you. This concludes today's call. We thank everyone again for their participation.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們再次感謝大家的參與。