Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Daniel Harrison: Yes, this is Dan. So we have seen — we’ve made great strides in our cost structure in the Western Haynesville. Like you mentioned, it is early. We’re on the steep part of the learning curve still. We’ve probably cut off, I’d say, around 20 days on our drill times from when we drilled the first Circle M well to kind of where we’re at today. We do have some things in the pipeline, a line of sight to get the cost down further that will be coming up in the future. So we feel pretty confident about that. And then on the completion side, I think that’s probably doesn’t have a big potential for cost savings because it’s pretty much the same thing we do day in and day out. It’s a little bit higher horsepower cost to frac these wells down here. So really the efficiency gains on the completion side would be — would come from doing multi-well pads and just typical operational improvements.

Miles Allison: I would comment on looking at Dan and the group, things that were once really complex when we drilled the Circle M. Some of those things become a little simpler. If you drilled your seventh well and turn it to sales, now you’re drilling your eighth and ninth and tenth well, and now we started focusing on the Haynesville, not so much to Bossier. So I do see that. And some of the hand-wringing that would require us to drill the first Circle M well. I don’t think we have as much of that. We do have it going forward. But I do think that, that shows you where Quantum comes in and has seen the well results and performance and what the future looks like as far as our inventory, and that kind of answers your question. We think the cost can come down. We think our focus is on lasting worth, not near-term kind of wealth. It’s more of a lasting long-term goal, as we continuing to build this company. We’re building the company.

Operator: And our next question comes from Charles Meade from Johnson Rice.

Charles Meade: Good morning Jay, to you, Roland, Dan, Ron, and the whole crew there.

Miles Allison: It’s always good you to hear from you. You should be here with us with the 34-degree weather. You’d be happier.

Charles Meade: I would be happier. We were in the 50s down here this morning. I like it. But anyway, Jay, I want to ask a real question about your business decisions here. $300 million from — of outside capital. That’s great that you’ve got a high-quality partner like Quantum willing to put that kind of money into JV. I’m curious about what you can share about the way they looked at this, and I’m imagining that for them to put that much money to work, they have to have some kind of — maybe it’s not a firm commitment, but some kind of commitment to the amount of volumes that you’re going to put through the system? And maybe that’s a minimum volume commitment, maybe something else? And also, can you talk about the rate that you’re going to be paying per Mcf is usually the way that’s denominated, but just in general, how are you as the producer going to pay that midstream entity Pinnacle gas?

Roland Burns: Yes, Charles, that’s a good question. And I think that we’re going to continue to charge the same rate that we’ve been charging since the first wells went on to the system that we acquired last year. And we charge for all processing and transportation, about $0.54 per Mcf. So there’s really no change in the rate. It’s the same rate that we historically have had. And yes, we have a very small MVC that’s back to our own subsidiary here that is far less than half of what we project the production to be. So that kind of — just kind of supports the new midstream entity.

Charles Meade: Got it. So that’s — if I understood you right, Roland. So as far as midstream rates, it’s just consistent with what you guys are already paying and that there was some volume commitment, but it’s less than half of what you’re projecting from this asset?

Roland Burns: That’s correct.

Charles Meade: Okay. Got it.

Miles Allison: Just with the existing production that we have, Charles, so I think we start out with a big risk adjustment day 1.

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