Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Tom Mireles: What was that last part of your question again? The first is CapEx is both up just a second. One more time, Leo, I’m sorry.

Leo Mariani: Yes. You mentioned $49 million of kind of acquisition related costs with some of these new areas where you’re entering. Just curious, have those already been incurred? Or are those kind of on the come into the fourth quarter?

Tom Mireles: So those have been behind us primarily. We do have some seismic work that’s covered in exploration expense in Cote d’Ivoire pretty much that’s over here. So you have the CapEx Eric?

Eric Hambly: CapEx for the fourth quarter ought to come in under $200 million.

Tom Mireles: It maintains our guidance. So we don’t have that number right handy with us. It adds up to midpoint of our guidance, and we’re in good shape on all that. Our CapEx is lower and we’re in really good shape on free cash flow for the fourth quarter.

Roger Jenkins: Yes. Just Leo, just restating, I mean, we’re comfortable with the range of CapEx that we’ve expressed. Obviously, we give a range because we have uncertainty of outcomes primarily in our non-operated business where we have major projects ongoing with fields we don’t operate. There’s a bit of uncertainty, and that’s why we give the CapEx range. But again, we feel really good about our full year CapEx range.

Leo Mariani: Okay. And can you provide a little bit more color in terms of the activity in the fourth quarter? Because I know that a handful of kind of non-op Eagle Ford wells, but it sounds like that’s de minimis spending. There’s nothing really onshore. So what kind of comprises the bulk of those expenditures here in 4Q?

Roger Jenkins: I have a fair account for you, Leo. Yes. As you pointed out, our onshore business, we’re essentially done with our program there. We have a little bit of activity from nonoperated to Eagle Ford. That doesn’t drive our CapEx too much. We do have a little bit of facility spending. We’re doing a number of projects to get ready for our drilling activity in the Eagle Ford and in the Montney in 2024. That’s kind of normal for our business. In offshore, we have quite a bit of activity picking up here in the fourth quarter with two rigs working in the St. Malo non-operated project. and our resumption of drilling OSO, as well as our ongoing development work that we highlighted at the Marmalard number three well.

Leo Mariani: Okay. That’s helpful, guys. And then just — yeah. No, I appreciate that. And just on the share buyback, obviously, you kicked it off this quarter. It was kind of great to see. Can you maybe just kind of talk a little bit about how you’re sort of balancing that with debt reduction as we go forward here?

Roger Jenkins: I’ll let Tom go through that, but it’s our formula, Leo. We’re trying to stay to the formula for the rest of the year, 75-25 split. I don’t see coming off that with a little more bias towards getting the debt down at year-end is how we’re working it.

Leo Mariani: Yeah, any further colour to that.

Tom Mireles: No. I think that — I think Roger covered it. We have a stated goal of debt reduction this year. And it fits with our priorities for the year of de-levering.

Roger Jenkins: Just to be clear though, Leo, we do anticipate stock repurchase in the fourth quarter.

Leo Mariani: Okay. Great.

Roger Jenkins: …along with the conduction

Leo Mariani: I appreciate it. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Your next question comes from the line of Charles Meade from Johnson Rice. Your line is open.