Earnings Labs

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX)

Q2 2015 Earnings Call· Thu, Jul 23, 2015

$56.72

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Freeport-McMoRan Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the conference over to Ms. Kathleen Quirk, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead, ma'am.

Kathleen Quirk

Analyst · Bank of America Merill Lynch. Please go ahead

Thank you and good morning everyone. Welcome to the Freeport-McMoRan second quarter 2015 earnings conference call. Our results were released earlier this morning and a copy of the press release and slides for today's call are available on our website at fcx.com. Our conference call is being broadcast live on the Internet, and anyone may listen to the call by accessing our website homepage and clicking on the webcast link for the call. In addition to analysts and investors the financial press has been invited to listen to today's call and a replay of the webcast will be available on our website later today. Before we begin our comments we'd like to remind everyone that today’s press release and certain of our comments on this call include forward-looking statements and actual results may differ materially. We’d like to refer everyone to the cautionary language included in our press release and presentation materials and to the risk factors described in our SEC filings. On the call today is Jim Bob Moffett, Chairman of the Board; Richard Adkerson, Vice-Chairman and CEO of FCX; Jim Flores, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas; and we also have several others from our senior operating and financial team in the room today. I’ll start by briefly summarizing the financial results and then turn the call over to Richard who will start with the presentation material included in our website presentation. As usual after our prepared remarks we’ll open up the call for questions. Today FCX reported a net loss attributable to common stock of $1.85 billion which was a $1.78 per share for the second quarter of 2015. The net loss attributable to common stock included net charges totaling $2 billion or $0.92 per share for the second quarter primarily for the reduction of…

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead

Thanks Kathleen and good morning everyone. Thank you for participating in our call. I want to report on the operating and cost performance highlight of our second quarter and the first half of the year, of course in the context of a weak commodity price environment. But we have positive things to report. Our Morenci project, which is an important project for us is operating at flow of rates. Our Cerro Verde project in Peru is progressing very well, it's now more than 87% complete inline to a start up later this year and we're very pleased with the progress there. We have had improved operations at Grasberg, our mining rate, our recoveries, we’re moving towards having access to higher grade ores in late 2015 and 2016, 2017 as we complete mining in the open pit. Our labor situation is stable during the second quarter. So from a mining standpoint, we are positioned near term growth and production and also to get the benefits financially of declining costs and declining capital expenditures as we complete our expansion projects. We had a good operating quarter in oil and gas business and Jim will be talking about in a few minutes. The Lucius production reached full capacity. We had positive drilling results with our Canyon projects for our hosting and horn mounting facilities. We now have seven top-ac wells available for completion that will provide incremental production volumes in future years. We previously reported that on June 23, we filed a registration statement on form S1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission for potential initial public offering of minority interest in oil and gas subsidiary. I’ll just point out we are in registration so we have some limitations on what we can say today, but we can report on our results in…

Jim Bob Moffett

Analyst · Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead

I will make some comments in Q&A but as you said as we’re making good progress and straight to good excellent guys and respect to duty timing certainly grew directionally continue as mentioned Joe, which we follow usually managing for. The primary term for 2021 and 2022 extension, so I’m here to make sure this rise since we are talking about 2041 been important time, because in that present time we’ll be finishing maybe now operating and you wanted to open to it now bring those mines going on production. It becomes the largest underground mine in the world and as you have seen we continue engineering which has been in problems. So as you’ve seen from the break actually things we measure the mines and then we made it actually I’ll be thinking on rep and we hope it’s included in next several areas. Thank you Rick and I’m further see in Q&A.

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead

All right thanks Jim Bob. Turning to Slide 13, operationally we've completed development of access to these underground ore bodies, which includes the deep MLZ zone, which is an extensions of our existing producing underground mine and the development of the Grasberg blockade, which lies underneath the pit and we expect the deep MLZ to start up late this year and so schedule that and Grasberg blockade to now begin production in 2018. The key development activities have been involved with overflow systems and Grasberg blockade shaft development capital to-date is total $3.3 billion, $2.6 billion net to PT Freeport Indonesia after Rio Tinto’s participation and our share of underground mine developments is expected to average $700 million a year over the next five years. And you can see in the chart below when the deep MLZ comes downstream and then the Grasberg Block Cave both these mines have very significant positive grades of copper and gold as does the Grasberg open pit and we expect after we move into the underground 1.5 year large volumes of copper and gold with copper being in the range of 1.1 billion, 1.2 billion and gold 1.4 million to 1.5 million ounces annually from 2019 to 2022, 2018 to 2022. And now to conclude the opening part of our presentation I would like to focus on our really significant inventory resources on Slide 14. Our company has proved reserves that are based on mine plans of $2 copper of over £100 billion. In addition to that, we have mineralized material that is based on 220 copper of an incremental £100 billion and beyond that we have identified additional resource potential at our existing mines. These are not greenfield projects but places where we already have infrastructure footprint operations of another £170 million. So, we have, as far as we can see in the future opportunities to invest in growth projects when the markets wants it, we’re going to be very prudent about doing that what we can do it in low risk basis and use our track record of successfully doing projects in a consistent way. When those opportunities warrant themselves and we are working diligently on looking at the next phase of growth projects as we look forward. With that, Jim Flores is here to talk about oil and gas business.

Jim Flores

Analyst · Brian Yu with Citi. Please go ahead

Thanks Richard and good morning everyone. I'm on Page 15 of second quarter 2015 oil and gas highlights. Couple of comments. We’ve had a excellent quarter operationally both on the operating side but also on the financial side getting the S1 filed for our potential IPO later this year and that will guide lot of the restrictions on the comments I’ll be able to make today. But from the operation standpoint, we focused on low risk drilling and Tieback opportunities. As stated here on Page 15, we’ve been 10 for 10 as very successful wells since 2014. This has help to tie in all of our seismic and all the resources that we capture over the last couple of years in the lease sales and also acquisitions. And now we are enjoying bearing the fruits of all that labor. We’ve placed three wells of production in 2014 and first half of '15 that really impacts production you see. Oil production increased in the second quarter over first quarter because of that activity. We also cash operating margin has increased mainly due to prices and also lower production cost and we see our production cost of 20.26 a barrel down to 19.04. That trend is going to continue as we continue to add volumes to our fixed infrastructure and our fixed cost structure out there. And when you look at the economics of our business, it’s worth noting here, that is one of the key metrics when you look at our cash operating margin which is one the industry leading cash operating margin from the standpoint because our cost structure is low but also kind of continue to trend lower. We’re forecasting $19 to $12 on our alloys over the next four to five years as we continue to ramp up…

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead

Thanks Jim. Just to update our 2015 outlook our copper sales outlook is the same as last quarter at 4.2 billion pounds, gold at 1.3 million ounces for the year and molybdenum down couple of million pounds. And with oil equivalents of 52.3 million barrels 67% crude oil. And our unit cost per copper is not changing a $1.53 a pound that will depend on any number of factors including byproduct pricing of which is built into here at 11.50 gold and $6 molybdenum for the rest of the year. And oil at $19 that would model out with operating cash flows at 250 copper or for $3.6 billion each $0.10 change in copper for the remainder of the year is a $190 million. Capital expenditures have been reduced by a couple of hundred million dollars as we got some capital in our mining business to $6.3 billion for the year. Our sales profile looking beyond the current year you can see the growth in 2016 and 2017 both from our expansion projects, but also from the high grade that we will be having with our mine plan Grasberg you can see that in the gold sales going to 1.9 million ounces and 2.4 million ounces in 2016 and 2017. On a quarterly basis on slide 25 as I mentioned earlier we’ll be having higher volumes of copper in the second half of the year strong gold quarters as we take advantage of the grace available to it’s Grasberg and you can see our outlook quarterly for our oil and gas business our molybdenum business. Slide 26, gives the details of our net unit production cost, which consolidates $1.53 but you can see the strong numbers in Indonesia and Africa and really strong numbers in the Americas as well. And…

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from the line of David Gagliano with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

David Gagliano

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead

Thank you for taking my questions. My first question given the decline across the board in pricing, I'm wondering are you considering additional asset sales in this environment in addition to the energy IPO?

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead

Well we are looking at all alternatives. Assets sales is potentially one, other alternatives will be dialing back some of our operations to reflect the economics of the current environment. For example we are doing that in our molybdenum business were prices are week. We benefit in that marketplace because of our really strong position. 80% of the market right might or the chemical business to focus on that were realization are higher but we may limit molybdenum production in some of our bio product operations in response to prices. In 2008 we curtailed production at high cost mines to reduce cost and we’re looking at that. Presently all of our mines are positive cash flow generators but if markets deteriorate further we’re prepared to take steps to be responsive to that. So Dave we’re looking across the board at opportunities, asset sales in the mining business are possibility the markets not great as you can see from recent transactions and with our long term positive view at marketplace that will be taken into account. But all things like that are on the table and under considerations.

David Gagliano

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead

That's helpful. On Indonesia, it's a two-part question. First of all, on the export permit, can you talk us through in the event that it's not renewed, what does happen there given what's happened previously? And then the second part of the question any other dates that we need to be thinking about for Indonesia? I thought that was a labor contract coming due at some point in 2015, that’s it.

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead

All right. Let me start with the labor contract. In Indonesia we have to negotiate new labor contracts every two years that's by law. And so we do have our existing contract expiring and the second half and third quarter and so we are engaged in negotiations with the union now and all reports of those negotiations are going well and we expect to get that contract renewed as we did with our last contract. And actually as I mentioned labor relations at our operations are really good right now are positive. With the export permit we expect that to be renewed. We met the requirements of the government and the - and then we’re going through the process of working with the government to get that done as we speak so we expect to get it renewed. It is important to us at the present time without the export permit, of course to be an export and right now the PT smelting, smelter at graphic has faced an operation less user requiring some repairs and is currently shut down. So it is important us to get this export permit. We believe we got a process going that allow us to do that. It’s not in anybody’s interests, government communities, workers, of course our shareholders but that's not to be renewed, expected to be renewed.

David Gagliano

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead

Okay, great. Thank you very much.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Tony Rizzuto with Cowen and Company. Please go ahead.

Tony Rizzuto

Analyst · Tony Rizzuto with Cowen and Company. Please go ahead

Thanks very much. Hi everyone. I wanted to also focus on the cash burn just to follow up on Dave's question a little bit. I was very pleased to hear you Richard mentioned about throttling back possibly in the production side and asset sales as well. Do you have any further flexibility in terms of capital spending and also what about the possible equity issuances beyond oil and gas IPO? How would you view those other options or are the options?

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · Tony Rizzuto with Cowen and Company. Please go ahead

Well, as I said all auctions were on the table, none of us, want to sell equity at this stock price, I mean you know that’s not something that any of us as shareholders and as you know we are all shareholders would want to do. Hopefully the board is going to protect the balance sheet so we are going to look at all options and see what we might need to do that. As we look forward in running our business, we are going to be prepared to be add to be consistent with what the market brings to us. So if in fact prices do deteriorate, we have flexibility in our business because certain costs both in the mining and in the oil and gas business and we will have contingency plans that allow us to do that. So we are optimistic about markets longer run prepared to deal with short runs uncertainty, prepared to bridge our business if we have to do it and operationally we have the capability to doing in it, and Tony I know I don’t need to remind you just how effective we were in doing that in 2008 and 2009.

Tony Rizzuto

Analyst · Tony Rizzuto with Cowen and Company. Please go ahead

I think that would be well received if that was possibly joined in terms of efforts to throttle back on output because the market surplus at least what the consultants are saying right now might not be that much out of whack and if there were some movement sooner rather than later it might help the market from getting too far out of whack. I think that would be well received. The other question I had was on Indonesia and there some reports have indicated recently that you guys have agreed to a transition from a COW to a special mining license and I guess first of these reports accurate? If you could help us understand what the main differences might be between the COW and the special mining license, what the new license arrangement wouldn't afford you similar levels of protection or might it be more subject to more frequent changes? Is there anything you can comment on at this point?

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · Tony Rizzuto with Cowen and Company. Please go ahead

There has been a wide range of options that been discussed with the government and different ideas have been raised for consideration at different times. There has not been a decision to convert from the contract to a mining license if that were to be done and I’m not suggesting that its likely but that were to be done we would have, it would be done on the basis of having an accompanying contract that would give us the kind of assurances on fiscal terms and legal terms that we would require. So that’s what we’re really focused on is how to we have a preservations of our rights to operate beyond the primary term by existing COW, it had a 20 year provision for continued operations and then to ensuring that the terms fiscally and legally that we have beyond the COW through an extension of the COW give us the degree of assurance. And we've indicated a degree of flexibility in working with government so long that's achievable. Achieving that within the framework of the existing laws and regulations in the country is complicated and probably the most straight forward way would be to find a way of reaching a mutual agreement on continuing the COW, but we've expressed that we would be flexible in dealing with that so long as we could achieve our fundamental objectives of assurance about operating rights, fiscal terms, legal enforceability for the long run.

Tony Rizzuto

Analyst · Tony Rizzuto with Cowen and Company. Please go ahead

Is an additional sell down of the stake in PTFI, is that also part and parcel part of this, these discussions as well?

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · Tony Rizzuto with Cowen and Company. Please go ahead

Absolutely, I mean, a year ago we signed a memorandum of understanding that covered six points that we indicated would be prepared to go forward with in conjunction, achieving the continued rights to operate with the assurance of terms that I just mentioned. And one of those is that we agreed that we would agree to sell an incremental interest in PTFI's equity to get up to a 30% Indonesian ownership. Right now the government owns 9.36%. We agreed to do that provided we had the extension of our contract and acceptable terms and that would be done at fair market value. But that was part of the memorandum of understanding that we've been had with the government now for roughly a year.

Tony Rizzuto

Analyst · Tony Rizzuto with Cowen and Company. Please go ahead

Right, understood. Thank you very much.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead.

Michael Gambardella

Analyst · Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead

Yes, good morning Richard. Just a follow up question on Tony's, on Grasberg and the contract. Is it your understanding that or the Company's understanding that you will not go forward without some type of whether it's the COW, hybrid between the COW and the licensing agreement. But that one provision that you need is some certainty of operations through 2041?

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead

Yes, that's right Mike. Because right now more than 75% of our reserves is going to be produced after 2021, and so these investments that we're making right now to develop the underground and we've agreed to develop smelting capacity, all of that is for the benefit of operations beyond 2021. So, we need to have that rights, those rights under acceptable terms to justify the investments that we've already made in the continued investments. And the government understands that and that's what we're are working to deal with. And the complication has been, how do you do that in the context of the current laws and regulations in Indonesia and how that interrelates to our contractual rights? But that's a necessary element.

Michael Gambardella

Analyst · Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead

I mean, what's the government's response when you tell them that your contract that you signed back in 1991, supersedes any changes in Indonesian government law?

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead

There is an issue with the public perception of how the contract interact with the laws. The legal situation is clear cut, and so we have opted and I really believe this is the right answer, and our Board, Jim Bob fully supported is that we will be much better suited if we can find the way of dealing with this in a cooperative fashion that is responsive to the public opinion and aspirations of the government rather than just digging our heels and saying the contracts, contract. Mike, we've been through this before in other countries and other places, and so that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to achieve our objectives in a way that's cooperative, that preserves the partnership, and that is sensitive to government officials, who are subject to elections and in a democratic process they have to be sensitive to public opinion.

Jim Bob Moffett

Analyst · Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead

Mike, this is Jim Bob. Let me just comment on a couple of thing. As you've seen in the press in the last couple of days, the government has indicated that they're going to extend our contract and they're going to use [indiscernible] because as a matter of fact when the MOU expires at July 27, two days from now, the new COW is what becomes the controlling document. [Indiscernible] as you've seen in some of the government announcements, it basically says that we have not changed anything. And the reason that we are offsetting our current is before we make any kind of concessions or the government makes any kind of concessions we're trying to end up with a win-win situation and that's where this thing is headed.

Michael Gambardella

Analyst · Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead

One last question on Grasberg. On Slide 29 of your presentation today, where you talked about the CapEx for the Company going through 2017. I'm assuming that does not include any assumptions for new smelter in Indonesia, is that correct?

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead

That's correct Mike. The new smelter would involve and aggregate investment of $2 billion to $2.5 billion, and we are working on a structure that would involve project financings for it, as we did with the smelter that we built in the mid 1990s and also the potential involvement of other partners in it, but that is not included in our CapEx numbers. The bulk of that CapEx will be spent beyond 2016, 2017, because we'll do substantial work between now and then, but a lot of that work would be done on site preparation, their substantial amount of reclamation of land and preparation of the building sites because this would be located in Eastern Java in the Gresik area, near our existing smelter and the fertilizer operations in Fertilizer Company.

Michael Gambardella

Analyst · Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead

From the estimated $2 billion to $2.5 billion cost, and then using as you said bringing in partners, project financing, how low can you get that down for report. Can you get it down to $0.5 billion?

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead

Let me do some calculations in my head. I was going to just answer, as low as we can get it. I mean, we're going do it as low as we can get it. If we say - yeah, that could be in that range -- to be in that range. Now also not included Mike, is also the proceeds that would come to us from these divestments that we talked about. I mean, we're talking about a substantial value for just over 20% interest in PTFI, and that would occur over time but those proceeds are also not included in our outlook numbers.

Michael Gambardella

Analyst · Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please go ahead

Okay, thank you very much.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Brian Yu with Citi. Please go ahead.

Brian Yu

Analyst · Brian Yu with Citi. Please go ahead

Thanks. Well, I also got a question on Indonesia. Richard, I think in the past you guys have laid out numbers about the financial benefits to Indonesia under the COW, and then under the new mining laws. And as you guys are going through the discussions, as we look at the possible financial impact, if you were switching to the new mining laws, is it still correct that financially there would not be material impact between royalties, tax rates, and other pieces to those?

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · Brian Yu with Citi. Please go ahead

Yes. Well, when they talk about going to the new mining law they are insisting that we continue with our current 35% income tax rate which is higher than the general income tax rate in Indonesia of 25%. Beginning last year we need to pay the higher royalties under the mining law to get the export ban out of the way, so the financial impact right now would be essentially the same that we've had under the COW. The issue for us is to fix these terms so that we would not be subject to imposing incremental taxes either by the duties, either by the central government or the provincial government. So, we now haven't been arguing about increasing fiscal terms for the government, we all kind of agree on that. The issue for us is okay, we agree to this, this is what we live with going forward and not be subject to potential imposition of new taxes roll over these duties and fees by the succeeding governments over a long-term. And when you look at our deal with Indonesia, where the government now gets 60% of the benefits, the financial benefits, that's stronger than kind of anywhere else in the world, by international standards this is a very positive deal for the government in Indonesia.

Brian Yu

Analyst · Brian Yu with Citi. Please go ahead

Okay. And second question maybe, switching topics, page 19, where you've outlined the potential growth on the energy aspects. So what's the incremental capital that would be required to get to 215,000 barrels per day? And then along those same lines I think, it was counted that you would do it only if the IPO is successful. Is there -- would you have to raise more the ones required to bridge the existing free cash flow short fall or is there some number that we can guide or you can guide us to, to figure out when you might go forward with more accelerated rate?

Jim Flores

Analyst · Brian Yu with Citi. Please go ahead

Brian, this is Jim. I think the question is one and the same, right? It's what the capital it's going to take to get to 215,000 [indiscernible] it's somewhere between $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion depending on what and how we time everything of additional proceeds to get there. So if we don't hit 2015, and if we only raise $500 million, and we want to face in the spending and we want to hit 215,000in 2018, we can time that as well. So we got a lot of flexibility as to how much we raise and how much and how fast we spend it, but to support this plan is between $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion.

Brian Yu

Analyst · Brian Yu with Citi. Please go ahead

Yes I think. So, if I understand correctly is the fund, let's say that the IPO order go through whatever funds that'll be raised would be targeted towards growing production not necessarily kind of bridging the existing free cash flow short fall, that correct?

Jim Flores

Analyst · Brian Yu with Citi. Please go ahead

Well, the aspects of that, it would allow us to spend that money earlier and get the production up and you would have a lot less free cash flow short fall with 215,000 to 225,000 barrels a day and therefore the free cash flow short fall be a lot smaller.

Brian Yu

Analyst · Brian Yu with Citi. Please go ahead

Okay, all right. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Your next question will come from the line of Oscar Cabrera with Bank of America Merill Lynch. Please go ahead.

Oscar Cabrera

Analyst · Bank of America Merill Lynch. Please go ahead

Thank you, operator. Good morning everyone. As you're saying, with oil and gas as we may, Jim you commented that you can get your operating cost in your oil and gas operations down for $12 BOE, what level of production would you need to get to those – that number?

Jim Flores

Analyst · Bank of America Merill Lynch. Please go ahead

About 250,000 barrels a day. And the key about that Oscar, is where that production comes from. Well, it comes up from our existing 100% oil platforms that has the highest or the most dramatic impact lowering the LOE cost. Obviously we’re just doing division there with higher volumes versus the same cost structure and that's where we've focused all our dollars.

Oscar Cabrera

Analyst · Bank of America Merill Lynch. Please go ahead

Okay. And then got to ask a question on Grasberg. There is a comment on the -- on your press release that says that you may reduce further for investment activity. Any negotiations on the amendment of the contract of work? Would you just put context from that, would these be if there's no resolution by the July 25th deadline how are you thinking about this?

Jim Flores

Analyst · Bank of America Merill Lynch. Please go ahead

The comment is just a statement of fact that without resolution of the long-term situation we would be faced with discontinuing spending money for that long-term production needs. And so that's what we've been trying to avoid, that's not in our interest, our workforce interest, the local community's interest or the government's interest. So that's just a consequence of what would happen if we have a failure in getting this resolved. We believe we'll get it resolved as Jim Bob said, the government is saying we're going to get it resolved, so that's -- we believe that's what will happen. And so far we continue to progress our development activities based on our confidence that we'll get it resolved.

Oscar Cabrera

Analyst · Bank of America Merill Lynch. Please go ahead

Thanks for leveraging. Just one more thing, if I may. In your development topic, $3.3 billion, that increased a little bit from the previous quarter and some of the projects -- the development projects around the world, CapEx has been coming down, is there any reason for the increase, anything to do with the metallurgy or the something that's happening in the underground that increased in the CapEx there?

Kathleen Quirk

Analyst · Bank of America Merill Lynch. Please go ahead

Oscar, are you referring to $3.3 billion that was incurred today, what number are you referring to?

Oscar Cabrera

Analyst · Bank of America Merill Lynch. Please go ahead

This is the slide where you quote the amount of money that you're spending per year, so $700 million now, was $600 million last quarter.

Kathleen Quirk

Analyst · Bank of America Merill Lynch. Please go ahead

Yeah, There was some timing changes in some of the underground spend and it worked out from a rounding standpoint to get from $600 million to $700 million, but there was no material change in any of the plans. And the progress on the underground development continues to go very well and that's achieving what we have set out to achieve in terms of the development. But there has been no significant changes from last quarter, just some timing things that came into the five years and some rounding changes.

Oscar Cabrera

Analyst · Bank of America Merill Lynch. Please go ahead

Okay, great. Thanks very much.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead.

John Tumazos

Analyst · John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead

Thank you very much for the generous call and the length of the call and accepting my question. Concerning the Grasberg contract negotiations, is there any guidance concerning the proceeds from the government stepping up to 20% or FCX get any cash to make it down on the debt, or would that be financed by an earn out or a loan from FCX to the government? And secondly, could you talk a little bit about the $1.2 mining CapEx budgeted for projects for 2017, does that equal $0.7 million for Grasberg underground, and then where would the other pieces of it be? And thirdly, could you tell us what are the bigger bites in $2.9 billion oil and gas CapEx, say in 2017?

Jim Flores

Analyst · John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead

Okay, let’s start with the questions in order that you raised. On divestiture, there is a process that is established in Indonesia, of where incremental interest would first be offered to the government as you suggested, it would not be all at onetime, but it would be done in steps. And any transaction John, with the government would be a cash transaction, where we will not be providing financing. If the government opts not to buy the shares itself and that may well occur, we have talked with the government about the possibility of having an IPO of PTFI shares on the Indonesian stock exchange. And that would be a standard IPO that would be syndicated and we would receive the cash proceeds from that. We've also talked about the possibility of having some interest not -- certainly not 20% interest, but some smaller piece of that perhaps going to the provincial government in some sort of trust form and we might drive some financing for that piece. Otherwise, other Indonesian investors might have an interest in doing and those would be on of cash business to business type basis.

Kathleen Quirk

Analyst · John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead

John it's Kathleen. The second part of your question regarding -

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead

John is that covered?

John Tumazos

Analyst · John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead

That's very helpful. Thanks you.

Kathleen Quirk

Analyst · John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead

I was going to say on the CapEx, in addition to those underground development spend we also have couple $100 million for the smelter expansion at Miami and then we’ve also got in our plans to commence the stripping for the Lone Star project which would extend the life of the Lone Star oxide which would extend the life of Stafford. So we’ve got some stripping costs reflected in 2017 as well and those are the three major components of that number.

John Tumazos

Analyst · John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead

Thank you.

Jim Flores

Analyst · John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead

All right, John on the oil and gas side, this is Jim, you’ve got to buy the 7 billion in Marlin and Horn Mountain, Holstein which is three key projects most of that’s but half of Marlin in the second half split between Marlin Holstein. They spend about $300 million in California and about $650 million in the Vito basin and then a couple $100 million, $100 million which is another $90 million in our gas business.

John Tumazos

Analyst · John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead

Thank you.

Jim Flores

Analyst · John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead

And then you got a corporate allocation of about $220 million on top of that get, up to the 2.9.

John Tumazos

Analyst · John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead

Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Your next question will come from the line of Brian MacArthur with UBS. Please go ahead.

Brian MacArthur

Analyst · UBS. Please go ahead

Hi good morning. Sorry to go back to Grasberg again. I have the same question John did. If you did understand if you did a provincial thing it might like to [indiscernible] was done in the past so that’s the only piece that you would actually potentially provide financing and then the rest would just be either sell down to whoever either the government or someone else were add that timing we get cash in and if that didn’t work, that’s when you go to the public markets and just take whatever the valuation was at the time.

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · UBS. Please go ahead

No, in this is still working progress Brian, but we and government officials for sometime have seen the benefit of the public market listing that would first of all Indonesia’s stock exchange has developed into a active traded fair marketplace and we all see mutual benefits of having PTFI listed as an Indonesian company on that exchange provided we get a fair market value which you could in that marketplace. So we think that would probably be something that we would pursue with the government following the government’s decision own its owned desires for investing in the shares itself.

Brian MacArthur

Analyst · UBS. Please go ahead

Okay. So really the concept of just giving money to the provincial come out like probably very low on it, so you are really thinking about anyway you do it would be cash in the door, right away at the time.

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · UBS. Please go ahead

For the bulk of what we’re talking about if our community relation situation and again to be response aspirations of the province, we can see some benefits of working on a structured deal with the province. From that standpoint for our portion of this interest and but that all has to remained to be worked out. The province has indicated to us they might to provide third party financing for that. We and the central government want to ensure that if we do a deal with province its benefits the people, the province itself and not any third party investor so all of that has to be factored into the process.

Brian MacArthur

Analyst · UBS. Please go ahead

Great, thanks very much.

Operator

Operator

Your next question will come from the line of Steve Bristo with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

Steve Bristo

Analyst · RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead

Thanks. Did I hear Jim Bob right that you guys expect to reach an agreement on a contractor work and also those permits to the next couple of days?

Jim Bob Moffett

Analyst · RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead

That's exactly right. Let me just read you can look it up. It talks about the investment that we're going to be making and extending the contract for another 20years. This is probably for the minister. The minister cited said earlier the government of Indonesia does not have any intention to terminate the contract after 2021. The government we both have tried to get the agreement outlined here and if you go down to the next 2015, the Indonesian financed today which is Bloomberg announcement it says the administer once again for a point has a valid contract until 2021. The President said prepare for an investment that could. The answer is the reason why I'm trying to measure my words in negotiations is really hard on a call like this to talk about negotiations. But the answer is public statements are using what the government has done and you can verify that they want us to continue and we obviously have every reason to continue under proper terms. The proper terms are going to be we need to get the terms continuously the contract whether you talk about a mining license or COW. We need to have that's why I'm staying here to make sure that we accomplish that.

Steve Bristo

Analyst · RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead

Okay. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Our next question will come from the line of Jeremy Sussman with Clarkson. Please go ahead.

Jeremy Sussman

Analyst · Clarkson. Please go ahead

Yes, just going back to Slide 19 and whether or not you go through with the incremental, I think you said $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion in CapEx to potentially accelerate drilling. Is this more about how much money you might raise an IPO or more about where oil prices are accommodation of both?

Jim Flores

Analyst · Clarkson. Please go ahead

Well, this would be - me and my team's third IPO. It's about to solicit funds and to attract investors they got to get return to that new capital coming in at door. So the aspect is going to have growth component but what we're basically able to do is accelerate putting this wells on and create more cash flow at the company warrant. I think the investors will have a positive look on the oil prices longer term with respective of whatever oil prices are at the time in the IPO. I mean its – sense lower – because higher feature and so the aspect of that is if you look at higher volumes and better prices, I mean by 2017 cash flow neutral is a reality. If you look at lower prices longer and higher volumes you’re going to push out of 2018. So this really going to be how you look at the business and your view point going forward as far as what the investor appetite is. When it comes to size, we can sell up to 19.9% of the business and still achieve our objectives here at Freeport. So if we sell 8% of the business, 10%, 12%, 15% based on price and that amount of capital will regulate how our business will be on going forward to make sure we get into a cash neutral situation.

Jeremy Sussman

Analyst · Clarkson. Please go ahead

Okay, that’s helpful. And just may be just fair potential update on timing of when you might look to do this?

Jim Flores

Analyst · Clarkson. Please go ahead

We're still hoping this fall. Like Richard said it's up to be SEC. They've been going back and forth on our document and we're making progress there. So everything looks like it's on track to be available. Obviously market conditions will be something that we'll be watching. We're looking at this fall, I guess this is an answer.

Jeremy Sussman

Analyst · Clarkson. Please go ahead

Great, thanks very much and good luck.

Operator

Operator

We will now turn the call over to management for any closing remarks.

Richard Adkerson

Analyst · BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead

Well, thanks everyone for joining us today and we look forward to making progress in all the issues we talked about today. If you have further questions please contact David and he will that you get your answers. Thanks for joining us.

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen that concludes our call for today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.