EOG Resources, Inc.

Good day, everyone, and welcome to EOG Resources' fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings results conference call. As a reminder, this call is being recorded. At this time, for opening remarks and introductions, I would like to turn the call over to the Investor Relations Vice President of EOG Resources, Mr. Pierce Hammond. Please go ahead, sir.

Yeah, good morning, and thank you for joining us for the EOG Resources' fourth quarter 2024 earnings conference call. An updated investor presentation has been posted to the investor relations section of our website, and we will reference certain slides during today's discussion. A replay of this call will be available on our website beginning later today. As a reminder, this conference call includes forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements have been outlined in the earnings release and EOG's SEC filings. This conference call may also contain certain historical and forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures. Definitions and reconciliation schedules for these non-GAAP measures and related discussion can be found on the investor relations section of EOG's website. In addition, some of the reserve estimates on this conference call may include estimated potential reserves as well as estimated resource potential not necessarily calculated in accordance with the SEC's reserve reporting guidelines. Participating on the call this morning are Ezra Jacob, Chairman and CEO, Jeff Leitzel, Chief Operating Officer, Ann Jansen, Chief Financial Officer, Keith Trasko, Senior Vice President, Exploration and Production, and Lance Treveen, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Midstream. Here's Ezra.

Thanks, Pierce. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. EOG's consistent execution of our value proposition delivered another year of outstanding performance. Oil and total company production exceeded our original 2024 forecast, while capital expenditures were on target. We also reduced cash operating costs year over year and increased our regular dividend 7%. We earned $6.6 billion of adjusted net income for a 25% return on capital employed. And in the four years since COVID, we have earned an average 28% return on capital employed and are outpacing the average of our peers. And finally, we returned 98% of free cash flow through a combination of our regular dividend and share repurchases. Looking forward to 2025, EOG has never been better positioned to deliver long-term shareholder value. Jeff will review our 2025 capital plan in more detail in a moment. However, at a high level, our plan builds on last year's success and is grounded in our commitment to, first, capital discipline, returns-focused investments at a pace that supports continuous improvement across each of our assets. Second, operational excellence, integrating organic exploration with best-in-class operational expertise, proprietary information technology, and self-sourced materials and marketing agreements to expand margins. Third, sustainability, a commitment to safe operations and leading environmental performance. And fourth, our culture, fostering a decentralized organization and recognizing that value is created in the field at the asset level by collaborative, multidisciplinary teams utilizing technology to drive real-time decisions and innovation. The depth and quality of EOG's diverse portfolio of unconventional resources is unmatched. EOG holds more than 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent and resource potential that earns among the highest returns in our industry, averaging more than a 55% average direct after-tax rate of return using our updated view on the bottom cycle pricing of $45 oil and $2.50 natural gas. We continue to evaluate returns. margins and payback period under several price scenarios remaining focused on optimizing half and full cycle returns with net present value to create shareholder value. The result of this comprehensive evaluation of investment across our portfolio is realized in the strong free cash flow generation and return on capital employed that we have delivered over the past few years and that we are positioned to deliver through the cycle. Our portfolio includes our core assets in the Delaware Basin and Eagleford, which remain the largest areas of activity in the company. After more than a decade of high-return drilling, both assets deliver exceptional returns and top-tier results while operating at a steady pace. Our emerging South Texas Dorado dry natural gas play and the Powder River Basin and Utica combo plays are not only contributing to EOG's success today, but laying the groundwork for years of future free cash flow generation and high returns. Another area contributing to the foundation for future high return investment is on the international front. In Trinidad, where we've been operating for over 30 years, we continue to identify high return projects due to our extensive knowledge of the regional subsurface, while also applying our cost-conscious culture to remain capitally disciplined and deliver projects that compete with our domestic portfolio. In 2024, we successfully constructed and set one new offshore platform, sanctioned a new platform to be constructed, and were awarded two new offshore blocks in the shallow water bid round hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Energy. Also on the international front, we are excited to begin working on a new joint venture in Bahrain. We expect this to be the beginning of a long-term partnership with BAPCO Energies to explore and develop an onshore unconventional tight gas prospect in Bahrain. The formation has previously been tested using horizontal technology delivering positive results. We are optimistic that applying our expertise in horizontal drilling and completions technology will enhance results and drive economics competitive with our domestic portfolio. Our partnership with BAPCO Energies is a great example of stakeholder alignment and what we look for in international opportunities. Exceptional partners, geopolitical stability, scale and economics to compete with our domestic portfolio, areas with existing oil field services, and ultimately reservoirs that can realize significant uplift through the application of horizontal drilling and completions. Shifting to our outlook on the macro, for more than two years, oil prices have been remarkably range bound at a fairly robust $65 to $85 per barrel WTI. Looking forward, we expect increased demand and low global inventories to offset the pending return of global spare capacity. Barring unexpected supply and demand shocks, we expect oil prices to continue to be similarly range-bound this year. And on the natural gas side, incremental reductions to gas inventories throughout the year were exacerbated this January when cold weather dramatically reduced inventories by approximately one TCF and drove inventories below the five-year average for the first time in more than two years. Prices have strengthened accordingly despite the modest return of shut-in volumes. For 2025, we expect additional support for prices from ongoing demand increases from natural gas power generation and the startup of several LNG facilities. And the addition of our strategic marketing agreements over the past few years have positioned us to grow into these markets as they develop. Our cash flow priorities continue to focus on sustainable value creation. Disciplined capital investment and a pristine balance sheet support a growing regular dividend, counter-cyclic investments, and additional cash returns all underpinned by a large resource base, providing long-term visibility for high returns and strong free cash flow generation through the cycle. Now here's Anne with details on our financial performance.