California Resources Corporation

Good day and welcome to the California Resources Corporation second quarter 2025 conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing star then zero on your telephone keypad. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Joanna Park, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer. Please go ahead.

Good morning and welcome to California Resources Corporation's second quarter 2025 conference call. Following prepared remarks, members of our leadership team will be available for questions. By now, I hope you've had a chance to review our earnings release and supplemental slides. We have also provided information reconciling non-GAAP financial measures to comparable GAAP financial measures on our website and in our earnings release. Today, we will be making forward-looking statements based on current expectations. Actual results may differ due to factors described in our earnings release and SEC filings. As a reminder, please limit your questions to one primary and one follow-up, as this allows us to get to more of your questions. I will now turn the call over to Francisco.

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. We're excited to share today's update with you. As you can see from our release last night, 2025 is shaping up to be a very solid year. Our teams are executing extremely well, driving strong operational performance, strategically advancing our carbon and power platforms, and returning meaningful capital to our shareholders. Let me walk through a few highlights before handing it over to Cleo to discuss quarterly results. First, we delivered record quarterly returns to shareholders. We returned nearly $290 million this quarter, more than 260% of our free cash flow. These record returns were largely related to a discounted share repurchase from ICAF, facilitating an orderly reduction in their ownership. Our actions reflect our strong conviction in the value and upside we see in our stock. Next, we've implemented era-related merger synergies ahead of schedule. About a year ago, we announced this transformative merger and committed to delivering meaningful synergies. We fulfilled that commitment three months ahead of schedule, fully implementing our $235 million target. Importantly, the net present value of these synergies over the next 10 years is estimated at approximately $1.4 billion. That's about two-thirds of the announced deal value, or more than 100% of the value of our equity issued at the time of the transaction. We've demonstrated our ability to identify value accretive combinations, execute seamless integrations, and unlock long-term value through scale and operational synergy. Third, strong operational performance has enhanced our full-year outlook. Year to date, operational execution and rest of our performance have exceeded expectations. By building on this momentum with the addition of a second rig, we strengthen our outlook, resulting in a roughly 7% increase in adjusted EVA tax. A few weeks ago, we were encouraged by the California Energy Commission's response to Governor Newsom's directive to ensure fuel reliability during the energy transition. we welcome the state's greater collaboration with refiners and our industry. The state is actively working to improve the oil and gas permitting process, and we expect additional details once the legislature reconvenes in mid-August. If approved, these reforms could give us greater flexibility to access our extensive inventory while being mindful of shareholder returns. We applaud the governor's leadership to advance solutions that address affordability, protect local jobs, and reduce foreign oil dependence. Cleo, over to you.