Viper Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:VNOM) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Derrick Whitfield: Good morning, all. Congrats again on a strong quarter.

Travis Stice: Thank you, Derek.

Derrick Whitfield: With regard to your six months and 2023 guidance the outlook appears to imply a step-up in growth in the second half to about the 22,000 barrel level for oil. Does that generally hit late Q2 early Q3 based on expected Diamondback activity?

Travis D. Stice: Yes. That’s right, Derrick. It’s just a lot of timing on some of these bigger Diamondback pads as they’ve kind of shifted to some of that large-scale development particularly in so and Robertson range where we’ve got a larger NRI on it will vary a little bit quarter-to-quarter as those wells or pass get turned to production. But the way that we’re looking at it right now the first quarter will be kind of flattish to where we were here. And then you’ll see volumes pick up in the second quarter kind of in the higher end of that first half range. But then, yes, your math is right as well that kind of the implied number in the back half of the year will still represent some pretty significant growth in that second quarter. And it’s really just going to be the cadence of the net wells being turned to production. .

Adam Lawlis: I think importantly Derrick you can see these wells coming, right? I mean like the zepco pad, which is going to be one of the larger pad in Robertson range coming on here midyear. So it’s not a growth on the comp. We know that that growth is coming and you can visibly see it hitting the business in Q2 and Q3.

Derrick Whitfield: Great. Makes sense. And perhaps more long-term in nature. I wanted to ask how you guys are thinking about the opportunity in your exposure resulting from the deeper Wolfcamp D Barnett and Woodford delineation test the industry is pursuing across the Midland Basin?

Travis Stice: Yes. I think that is one of the greatest benefits of the mineral business is that — we underwrite minerals based on what we know. And over the course of time particularly in the Permian you’ve seen more zones become economic. You’ve seen better recoveries. You’ve seen large multi-pad development. And a lot of that was not underwritten five, six, seven years ago. So you one look minerals versus — you own those minerals forever in perpetuity. And that creates opportunities like some of these deeper rights in places like Spanish Trail in the western side of the basin which is starting to get a lot of attention as it relates to deeper development. So more to come. We haven’t signed a lot of leases yet in those deep zones, but you can bet that that’s going to be a benefit to Viper and tangentially down and back.

Derrick Whitfield: Great. Thanks for your time.

Travis Stice: Thank you, Derrick.

Operator: Our next call is coming from the line of Paul Diamond with Citi. Please standby.

Paul Diamond: Hi, good morning. Just a quick follow-up here. Looking more to the macro, I know you guys have talked about the bid-ask being a bit wide for your taste in prior quarters. Have you seen any movement on that in the direction as far as you guys are looking at potential whether it’s bolt-on or larger M&A?