Crescent Energy Company (NYSE:CRGY) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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Hanwen Chang: With the ongoing efficiency gain in D&C activities you highlighted on Slide 8 and 9, could you discuss the flexibility of your 2024 capital plan? Specifically, would you consider accelerating activity if targeted goals are achieved ahead of schedule?

David Rockecharlie: It’s David. Great question. I think maybe the best way I can answer that is just as a reminder, our view is that we want to manage the company based on returns on capital, first and foremost. When we deploy capital, we want to make sure we’re getting the returns we expect. And our business plan is to maintain or slightly grow production through the drill bit and then really drive our outsized growth opportunistically through M&A. So in that context, the way we think about rising prices and the opportunity in our asset base, we would not look to accelerate activity into that. I think our basic guidance of a 2 to 3 rig business today is going to remain intact, and that extra free cash flow will come to the benefit of investors in a rising price environment.

Hanwen Chang: Regarding the recent Eagle Ford mineral acquisition, could you elaborate on your appetite for investment in mineral or low-decline conventional assets?

John Rynd: This is Clay. So I think we’ve been consistent on this. We look at everything, in particular focused on our existing kind of footprint. So I think as we think about the mineral acquisition, that was opportunistic, value-driven, within our footprint, an area we know well and accretive. So it kind of checked all the boxes for us from an investment opportunity perspective, most importantly, kind of financially, a strong return opportunity. And then clearly, we’ve highlighted the low-decline kind of conventional business as something that we think of as a core strength. And so that’s an area where you would expect us to continue to kind of look for opportunity going forward. And if we can find opportunities that fit our framework, expect us to add those where they make sense.

Operator: Next question comes from the line of Tarek Hamid with JPMorgan.

Nevin Mathew: This is Nevin on for Tarek. I was wondering if you could touch a bit more on the current acquisition environment, both in the Uinta and the Western Eagle Ford. And which of the two is more active from what you’re seeing?

John Rynd: It’s Clay. As David mentioned in the opening remarks, this year has been a very active year, if you look at just M&A activity in the space, but it’s been very focused on some just very kind of large corporate transactions. We’ll certainly see, I think, a pickup in activity. We’ve had a very active year in looking at opportunities across our footprint. We’ve highlighted through this call the efficiencies and the excitement we’re having on the synergy side on the Eagle Ford assets that we acquired last year. So I would clearly expect us to lean into that opportunity from an acquisition perspective where we see value. And so certainly excited about that. But I’d also say across our asset base, we’re excited where we can add where we already operate at value. So I think we’re active across the board. But clearly, the efficiency that we’re seeing on the recent Eagle Ford side would give us the excitement to find opportunity there.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the floor over to David Rockecharlie for closing comments.

David Rockecharlie: Great. Thank you all again for joining the call and for supporting the company. And we appreciate the opportunity every quarter to catch up with all of you and look forward to speaking again next time.

Operator: Thank you. This concludes today’s teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

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