U.S. Energy Corp.

To require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Mason McGuire, Vice President of Finance and Strategy. Thank you, sir. You may begin.

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to U.S. Energy Corps' first quarter 2025 results conference call. Ryan Smith, our Chief Executive Officer, will provide an overview of our operating results and discuss the company's strategic outlook. and our company's Chief Financial Officer, Mark Zajac, will give a more detailed overview of our financial results. Before this morning's market opening, US Energy issued a press release summarizing the operating and financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. This press release, together with the accompanying presentation materials, are available in the Investor Relations section of our website at www.usenergy.com. Today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements about future business and financial expectations. Actual results may differ significantly from those projected in today's forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties, including the risks described in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements. Please note that non-GAAP financial measures may be disclosed during this call. A full reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measurements are available in our latest quarterly earnings release and conference call presentation. With that, I would like to turn the call over to Ryan Smith.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'm pleased to walk you through our first quarter results, highlight key milestones, and provide a strategic and operational update as we continue executing our growth plan. As we've discussed previously, US Energy's primary focus is the development of our Montana industrial gas project. We believe this platform is ideally positioned to meet growing market demand, support attractive economics, and deliver the scale necessary to drive relevance in the public markets. While Montana's winter limits certain field activity, we have now launched the most significant phase of our initial development program. This includes workovers and flow testing of existing wells, drilling two new development wells, advancing our infrastructure planning to the point of final investment decision, and making substantial progress in our carbon management initiatives. I'll touch on each area individually. Starting with upstream development, in Q4 2024, we drilled our first industrial gas well. Since then, we've been analyzing the results to refine our development approach. In January, we acquired 24,000 net acres in what we believe is the core of the Keevan Dome structure, along with an existing well showing significant concentrations of non-hydrocarbon helium. We're currently drilling two back-to-back wells targeting the helium and CO2-rich Dupreau formation, with each well budgeted at approximately $1.2 million. We anticipate these wells will validate the scale and quality of our resource, with one expected to be designated as a Class II injection well for permanent CO2 storage. It's important to emphasize the uniqueness of our upstream Keven Dome position. Most US helium production today is tied to hydrocarbons. In contrast, our project is based on a non-hydrocarbon gas stream, giving it a significantly lower environmental footprint. That distinction represents a competitive advantage, especially as sustainability continues to be a differentiating market factor. Turning to infrastructure, upon completing our initial development program in June, we will begin construction of our processing plant at Keven Dome. This facility will separate upstream gas into helium and CO2 streams, and it's expected to process approximately 17 million cubic feet of raw gas per day, comprised of approximately 80 to 85% CO2 and half a percent to 1% helium. The estimated $15 million plant is expected to be completed in roughly 40 weeks and funded through our current balance sheet and modest strategic use of debt. Beyond our own needs, we've seen opportunities to provide infrastructure solutions to undercapitalized producers in the region. By controlling the majority of the basin's gaseous helium supply, we believe we are well positioned to unlock multiple sources of value. Lastly, I would like to touch on U.S. Energy's carbon management front. U.S. Energy controls one of the largest known CO2 deposits in the United States. To monetize the helium within this gas stream, we must process it and permanently sequester the CO2. Fortunately, the Keven Dome's geology is exceptionally well-suited for carbon storage. We already hold multiple Class II injection permits and expect to receive more this upcoming June. Recently, we completed successful injection tests at two disposal wells, injecting around 17 million cubic feet per day. Once our processing plant is operational, we anticipate sequestering approximately 250,000 metric tons of CO2 annually. We've begun drafting our Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification, or MRV, plan and expect to submit it to the EPA in July. Additionally, and in the near term, we also plan to evaluate merchant CO2 sales, particularly given the coastal supply shortages. We're highly optimistic about what lies ahead. This asset represents a transformational opportunity for U.S. energy and positions us as a first mover in the industrial gas sector with a resource and geographic location that cannot be replicated. Our strategy is focused on building a full cycle platform from production and processing to long-term carbon storage while maintaining a disciplined capital allocation approach. The data we've collected to date supports a highly economic development path, both at the wellhead and infrastructure levels. Our capital plan remains measured and achievable with initial phases funded by our strong balance sheet and supported by a thoughtful capital strategy. Turning briefly to our legacy oil and gas assets, As you know, commodity prices have pulled back materially this year, which has affected earnings across the sector, including ours. While these assets are no longer our core focus, they still carry meaningful value. Following our successful monetization program in 2024, which helped eliminate debt and build a substantial cash position, we remain opportunistic in pursuing value maximizing divestitures of non-core oil and gas assets. As we move through 2025, We will continue to execute a disciplined strategy, investing in our core Montana project while monetizing legacy hydrocarbon assets where appropriate. This approach will establish 2025 as a pivotal year in U.S. energy's transformation, underpinned by access to non-dilutive or low-dilutive capital, a key differentiator in today's markets. We believe U.S. Energy stands apart as we have a scalable, economically attractive development platform backed by legacy assets that hold meaningful value with minimal reinvestment. This enables us to reinvest in the high return industrial gas opportunities while insulating the business from commodity price volatility. On the capital return front, we remain committed to shareholder value creation, and so far in 2025, we've repurchased approximately 832,000 shares representing roughly 2.5% of our outstanding float. In addition, management has continued to increase its ownership, reflecting our strong conviction that our shares remain undervalued and represent a compelling use of our capital. In closing, U.S. Energy is emerging as a differentiated, growth-oriented, non-hydrocarbon industrial gas company with operational exposure across upstream production, infrastructure, and carbon management. Our strong financial position, clean capital structure, and access to internally generated cash flow provide a foundation that many of our peers lack. As we continue to execute on our strategy, we believe we are unlocking a scalable and high margin growth platform that will create lasting shareholder value. With that, I'll now turn the call over to our CFO, Mark Zajac, who will provide an update on our financial results for the quarter.