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Transcript
OP
Operator
Operator
Still Greetings, and welcome to Northern Oil and Gas, Inc.'s fourth quarter and year-end 2024 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. The question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. We encourage participants to limit yourselves to one question and one follow-up. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. Now my pleasure to introduce your host, Eric Grumslow, Chief Legal Officer. Thank you. You may begin. Good morning.
EG
Eric Grumslow
Management
Welcome to Northern Oil and Gas, Inc.'s fourth quarter and year-end 2024 earnings conference call. I'm standing in for Evelyn Infurna today, who could not be here but will be back soon. Yesterday, after the market closed, we released our financial results for the fourth quarter. You can access our earnings release and presentation on our Investor Relations website at noginc.com. We will be filing our 2024 10-K with the SEC within the next few days. I'm joined this morning by our Chief Executive Officer, Nick O'Grady, our President, Adam Dirlam, our Chief Financial Officer, Chad Allen, and our Chief Technical Officer, Jim Evans. Our agenda for today's call is as follows. First, Nick will provide his introductory remarks. Then, Adam will give you an overview of operations and business development activities. And finally, Chad will review our financial results and walk through the details of our 2025 guidance. After our prepared remarks, the team will be available to answer any questions. Before we begin, let me cover our Safe Harbor language. Please be advised that our remarks today, including the answers to your questions, may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from the expectations contemplated by our forward-looking statements. Those risks include, among others, matters that we have described in our earnings release as well as in our filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K, and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. During today's call, we may discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, and free cash flow. Reconciliations of these measures to the closest GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release. With that, I will turn the call over to Nick.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Thanks, Eric. Welcome and good morning everyone. I'm gonna deviate from my typical rundown of points. And my comments will be fairly brief this quarter. One of the hallmarks of the non-operated strategy is in its diversification. Our broad footprint of operators, basins, and well exposures typically means that we're well insulated for more acute disruptions that happen from time to time in the fields. It's something we purposely built here at Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. over the past seven years. In the past four months, we've been hit with forest fires, refinery outages, freeze-offs, shut-ins, delays of every kind, and material deferments, many of which have been a result of the aforementioned issues. All at the same time. This confluence of events, while beyond anyone's control, is extraordinary in nature and very rare for our business. With that said, it had a material effect not just on the fourth quarter, but started us out at a lower level of base oil volumes, primarily in the Williston and to a lesser extent in the Uinta coming into 2025, and our capital program will spend a portion of 2025 catching back up. As a result, we'll exit 2025 much stronger than we would have otherwise. Whatever. I think it's important that we put these events in perspective. Oftentimes, we have a tendency to compartmentalize results versus expectations, and forego looking at the actual trends at hand. The reality is that we grew volumes last year 25% year over year. And despite recent disruptions, oil volumes will grow again in the high single digits this year and will exit materially higher than that. These are huge numbers. The oil that was deferred in Q4 is still there in the ground and much of the capital for those wells has already been…
AD
Adam Dirlam
Management
Thank you, Nick. First, I'll expand on our operations, what we have observed in the fourth quarter and how that influences the business for 2025. From there, I'll touch on our acquisition efforts as of late, and what we are seeing across the landscape. As Nick alluded to, we had a confluence of events hit in the fourth quarter from weather to logistics, but as we look forward, we see operations returning to normal and our asset base setting itself up for additional growth in 2025 and continuing to ramp through 2026. During the fourth quarter, we turned 25.8 net wells to sales. The Permian accounted for 60% of the additions as our joint ventures accelerated activity from what was previously underwritten. Offsetting that acceleration were refrac start-up delays and deferrals in the Williston where 5.5 completed wells were delayed primarily due to a downtick in commodity pricing from one of our more price-sensitive operators. We expect almost all will be turned in line by the end of the first quarter. The Uinta also experienced some delays in expected completions in connection with third-party takeaway issues that have since been resolved. As of January, SM has taken the reins on operations and we're excited about the long-term partnership as we optimize spacing, extend laterals, realize cost savings from our newly operational sand mine, and find other ways to drive operational value. Despite some of the temporary headwinds, we saw outperformance across our portfolio's base assets, and most recently with our point assets. Vital hit the ground running and has outperformed unexpected volumes. Since taking the handoff on operations, they have been able to optimize completion techniques, as well as accelerate on the underwritten drill schedule. Turning to our D&C list, we finished the year with 50.4 net wells in process…
CA
Chad Allen
Management
Thanks, Adam. Jumping into our results. Our fourth quarter average daily production was 131,800 BOE per day. And 124,100 BOE per day for the year. Above the high end of our guided range. Oil production increased to 78,900 barrels per day up 11% from Q3 as we rolled in a full quarter of our point position. I closed our XCL acquisition on October first. The strength of our production was offset by the various events that Nick and Adam just earlier. Despite those disruptions, Permian Basin volumes remained strong and grew approximately 12% quarter over quarter and our point acquisition is materially ahead of schedule. Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was $407 million and free cash flow was $96 million which remains strong even with a lower oil price disruptions and a higher capital investment. Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow for 2024 were $1.6 billion and $461 million respectively both all-time highs for Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. Oil differentials came in at $3.86 per barrel for the quarter, better than our expectations as more of our production is weighted towards the Permian even with the inclusion of our XCL acquisition which carries a higher differential compared to our corporate average. Natural gas realizations were 81% of benchmark prices for the quarter, materially better than Q3 due to strong Williston realizations which were partially offset by the overhang of continued weakness in Waha Gas during the first half of the quarter. LOE was $9.62 per BOE. Slightly higher than Q3 as a result of higher fixed carrying costs related to the aforementioned disruptions primarily in the Williston, which was offset by lower lease operating expenses in the Uinta Basin which is about half of our corporate average. On the CapEx front, we invested $259 million inclusive of elective ground…
OP
Operator
Operator
At this time, I would like to remind everyone in order to ask a question, follow-up. We will pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Neal Dingmann with Truist Securities. Please go ahead.
ND
Neal Dingmann
Analyst
Morning, guys. Thanks for the details. Nick, my guys specifically you know, even Chad just sort of hit on anticipated sort of late 2025, 2026 guidance. And then knowing that, you know, I know it's a bit difficult to go that far out, be it a non-op at all. I'm just wondering if you could walk me through, you know, how you all come up with sort of such optimism the notable production growth linked this year and next year, and does that incorporate? I know you had a couple of one-off wildfires and, you know, deferments and force you to does this sort of incorporate some of that as well?
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Yeah. Neal, it's not terribly you know, we're spudding a significantly greater number of wells than we're completing this year. And so, therefore, that inherently drives additional growth in 2026. The second factor is that as Adam also talked about, is that the completion timing is relatively back half waiting, so you're really only getting effectively on a daily production basis, you know, sort of partial credit given the partial contribution this year. So an example would be, like, the Appalachian JV. We're capitalizing that throughout the year, but the first production really won't be until past midyear. So you're not getting really a meaningful per BOE contribution in effect this year. Obviously, you're going to exit really strong, but then in 2026, you're getting the full annual contribution from those volumes. So it's largely big, but much of the development that you're getting here, you will see the benefit, but, really, it's not until you get to mid and later in the year that you get that. So it gives us a lot of confidence as you get into 2026, and that translates on a 24-month average into significant growth, and it's fairly locked and loaded.
ND
Neal Dingmann
Analyst
I look forward to seeing that. And then second question just on Uinta specifically. Seemed last night that, SM's, you went to production. You know, I'd call maybe slightly light to start the year, but it seems like listening to them, their well expectations are you know, certainly have not changed. I just wondered it doesn't sound like you maybe just has your thoughts around the assets changed at all? And maybe could you discuss you know, sort of 2025 expectations there?
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Yeah. I mean, look, the Uinta has been the fastest-growing play in North America over the past several years. You know, with some of the largest EUR oil wells drilled in the country. Amongst oil industry players, it's been one of the most sought-after areas to get into. I can't tell you how much competition we face to get into the play. Not a week goes by. I don't have one of our peers, you know, lauding us and discussing the merits of our deal and, you know, the love of the geology and specifically the part of the play where we and our partner acquired. I'm not sure. Wall Street has yet warmed to it in the same way, and I'm fine with that taking time. You know, I think we've been doubted before. And to be fair, you know, we and our partner have to deliver results over time to prove it. But, you know, we bought this asset for a ten, fifteen-year development period. That being said, you know, if you look at what Oventiv just sold their asset for, it implies a material kinda thirty plus percent premium to what we just paid for our asset. Frankly, that was sold at a lower oil price than what we purchased ours, validating it even further. The reality is, you know, we've owned the asset for a couple of months. I mean, a couple of months. Are, you know, and look, you know, our point transaction as an example, you know, is absolutely and while we think that transactions going to be great, we do, it will still take several years in our minds to determine, you know, the validity of our acquisition strategy. That's how we do our lookbacks. When we look at our board, we judge…
ND
Neal Dingmann
Analyst
Great details. Thank you.
OP
Operator
Operator
Your next question comes from the line of Scott Hanold with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
SH
Scott Hanold
Analyst · RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. Good morning. Could you all talk a little bit about your Appalachian partnership, you know, and just your understanding and thoughts on you know, do you think that extends into 2026 and you know, if it doesn't, what is the production profile of that asset do?
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Well, it is a one-year transaction with an option to extend it for another two years is a mutual right to extend its Scott. Whether or not we do that is a mutual decision, so we'll come to that when we do. You know, if it does not, you know, we do these one at a time, and we'll take it one at a time. Production would theoretically peak in 2026, over that period of time if it does not I think we'll take it in stride over that period of time.
AD
Adam Dirlam
Management
And I guess just to add Scott, so the first part of that, there will be development activity kind of finishing up in 2026. Right? So as we're spudding wells in the back half Yes. Those will be completed in the first half of 2026.
SH
Scott Hanold
Analyst · RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Okay. Okay. So it doesn't seem like you were at this point, time you've got you know, there's not a lot of visibility on your partner's appetite to extend it at this point. So it seems like it's a conversation you know, throughout this year. Is that fair? I guess that was the point of the question.
AD
Adam Dirlam
Management
That's right. It's kicking off now, and we'll have those conversations as we move along.
SH
Scott Hanold
Analyst · RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Okay. And then, Adam, you had mentioned that you all are building out, you know, both technology and people to kinda prepare to, you know, further scale the business. Obviously, you guys have you know, done a pretty, you know, fantastic job of building the business over the last two to three years, you know, and you know, just can you give us a sense of, like, you know, the confidence level and, you know, how build are you or how are you setting this company up? Like, how big do you think he builds the business here over the next few years?
AD
Adam Dirlam
Management
Well, I think the focus on the infrastructure is to continue to scale the business now, you know, where we go with that in terms of stacking assets and continue to do what we've done over the past five years. We'll continue to stick to our knitting and focus on returns. The opportunity set is clearly out there with $8 billion of quality assets that we're underwriting now, it's with more to come. And, you know, last year was a big push in terms of really implementing all of the infrastructure and technology to glean those insights and analytics from the data that we're getting through the ten thousand wells that we have and the focus is as we scale to continue to stay nimble like we have in the past. And in order to do that, we need to, you know, pick up the velocity in terms of the overall analytics and, you know, we're there, but I don't think it's ever gonna be a you know, an ending process in terms of, you know, just overall process improvement. Nick, I don't know if you wanna add to that.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Yeah. I mean, the view is that we wanna be able to ring Mattel over tighter. Right? So for every process that we do, Scott, we wanna be able to do we wanna be able to take it a layer deeper. Right? So on our whether it's externally focused in terms of inorganic opportunities, it's also looking inwards the assets we own and finding ways to squeeze the lemon even harder.
SH
Scott Hanold
Analyst · RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Understood. Thanks.
OP
Operator
Operator
Next question comes from the line of Charles Meade with Johnson Rice. Please go ahead.
CM
Charles Meade
Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead.
Hey. Good morning, Nick and Adam and Chad. I wanna go back to some of your prepared comments talking about the shape of production over the course of 2025, and I wanna make sure I'm understanding. I think I heard you say that volumes are gonna be relatively flat over the course of 2025 quarter to quarter, but then ramp into year-end. And if I look at that, I look at that relative to your guidance, does that mean that you're gonna be that, like, one Q was gonna show a sequential decline versus four Q and then we're gonna hold that relatively flat maybe through the first half of the year and then ramp in the back half of the year. Is that what be thinking about?
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
That's generally been the pattern, Charles. I mean, I think look. The reality is that we are baking in a look, you've seen in the last several years where we have seen pull forwards of activity. Right? And so certainly a possibility. Now, we have designed our capital program this year to be able to absorb meaning our CapEx program is designed to absorb any potential pull forwards but it's certainly we could see a pull forward as we've seen in the past several years Oh, that cadence of development. So I think there's definitely room for that, but we have, on a schedule towards the back part of the year.
AD
Adam Dirlam
Management
That's right. I mean, I think if you're gonna see a pull forward, it likely comes from you know, the Permian And you know, with the Williston and the seasonality there, you're gonna obviously have that impact on the front.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Yeah. So if you remember last year, Charles, we, you know, we suggested the same thing in the first quarter, and then we obviously saw material pull forwards in the first quarter. That's a possibility, but I don't think we would wanna push you that direction because, frankly, that's just gonna be dependent on weather and other factors. And, obviously, last year, things wound up being more favorable, and we saw deferments being pulled forward and things like that. But we can't always depend on that. It's gonna be operator specific.
CM
Charles Meade
Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead.
Right. And it's still cold right here in the back half of February.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
That's right. I mean, we that's right. It's been it's minus it's minus thirty in North Dakota.
CM
Charles Meade
Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead.
Glad I'm not there. Nick, I wanna go back to you've touched on the 2025 and the 2026, Thomas. You touched on in your prepared comments, and I think the first question you elaborated a bit on it. But so I think I don't wanna flog that because I think I get that message. But I wanted to ask, it seems to me that it's different for you guys to give this kind of a, you know, next year outlook or, you know, year, you know, plus one year outlook on in your on your four Q call. And, you know, if that's the case, could you maybe talk about what's different this year that kinda gives you either the or gives you more confidence in the visibility that far around?
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
It's more just a function that it's the first year in several years where we've had a material build in the DNC list and we felt that it warranted an explanation. Right? So what we've had in the past two years either a drawdown of the DNC list or one that's been relatively match Right? So when you're spending capital that's building the DNC list, ultimately, the investors need to understand where that money is going, right, and where it's gonna drive. So ultimately, especially given where a lot of that capital is, you know, is driven towards the back half of the year. And again, as a non-operator, the timing is a little bit murky at times in the sense of that it's gonna be you know, whether or not it's, you know, November, December, and stuff like that, it can shift from time to time, but ultimately, you're gonna have a bit of a hockey stick type scenario because of where it's lying. We wanted to make sure the investors understood from a capital efficiency perspective that all of that capital when you stretch it out past that twelve-month window is really driven towards driving a longer-term growth profile.
AD
Adam Dirlam
Management
Got it. I think the only other thing I'd add is, you know, this year, right, we've got five or six. Different, you know, JVs of sorts. Right? And that governance lends itself to, you know, longer-dated conversations with our operators. Now does that change potentially? Right? And it also only makes up, call it, you know, thirty percent of the business give or take in terms of kind of overall activity on the year. But given the relationships, the size and scale of Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. and capital commitments that we have with our other operating partners, that tend to have those longer-dated conversations with us.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Yeah. And just as a, like, a frame of reference, and I'm probably getting these numbers off a little bit, Charles, but using the Appalachian JV as an example, you're talking about spending eighty percent of the capital and getting about ten percent of the production credit for it. Right? So your investors need to understand building.
CM
Charles Meade
Analyst · Johnson Rice. Please go ahead.
Got it. Thank you. That is a helpful elaboration. And, Adam, thank you for pointing out that dynamic with the JVs.
OP
Operator
Operator
Next question comes from the line of John Freeman with Raymond James. Please go ahead.
JF
John Freeman
Analyst · Raymond James. Please go ahead.
Good morning, guys. The first topic, Chad, you mentioned that you kinda had this we've had this steady kinda increase in kinda workover refrac activity, which is consistent with what we've been, you know, seeing and hearing from operators as well. Can you kinda quantify you know, how much in the budget this year is allocated to the workovers of refrac? This year relative to last year?
CA
Chad Allen
Management
Yeah. I think, you know, we expect relatively similar levels of workovers and refracs. I think we saw more of it towards the Williston last year versus I think this year, we expect it to be more spread out between the basins. I think we're expecting around ten percent to fifteen percent of our budget to be allocated towards the workovers and refracs that's pretty similar to last year.
JF
John Freeman
Analyst · Raymond James. Please go ahead.
But, obviously, a lot of the number in total.
CA
Chad Allen
Management
Yes. That's right. That's right.
JF
John Freeman
Analyst · Raymond James. Please go ahead.
Okay. And then just my follow-up question obviously, you know, there was a lot of discussions early last year about just sort of the way that y'all's kind of accrual process works with AFEs, etcetera. And I'm curious if now that you've been able to do kind of a look back, can you kinda, like, quantify kinda how AFEs ended up coming in relative to the initial was embedded in that initial 2024 budget?
CA
Chad Allen
Management
Yeah. I mean, I think year over year, if I was looking at the normalized costs, you know, with AFEs, we saw about a fifteen percent benefit in that regard, and then obviously that on net basis itself, you're gonna depend on, you know, what our working interests are. But as I alluded to, earlier in my prepared remarks, you know, we're seeing a lot of that meaningful downward pressure on AFE cost through a lot of the JVs, which obviously have super normal working interest.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
And not the two Adams Horn, but we also have an evergreen massive joint interest audit program ongoing where we routinely look over our shoulder and check the operators on a regular basis. To make sure we're being charged what we should be.
JF
John Freeman
Analyst · Raymond James. Please go ahead.
Got it. Thanks, guys.
OP
Operator
Operator
Next question comes from the line of Paul Diamond with Citigroup. Please go ahead.
PD
Paul Diamond
Analyst · Citigroup. Please go ahead.
Good morning. Thanks for taking my call. Just a quick one on the Appalachian Drilling Partnership. Can you talk a bit about the opportunity set to either you know, to mirror that elsewhere, or do you see any kind of opportunities to know, do similar structures in other basins?
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Yeah. So, I mean, you know, dovetail into Scott's question where he said, well, you know, we just signed this thing a month and a half ago and you know, well, you haven't renewed it yet. Well, we hadn't so I don't think the ink was dry when we had had about six phone calls of people asking in the immediate area, you know, well, that was cool. Would you be interested in doing another one? I think the answer is there is a lot of interest in structures such as these I mean, look, we do things on small scales like this all the time. You know, we obviously just signed a small-scale one in the Midland Basin. But the answer is I see multiple opportunities for structures such as these or structures like these embedded.
OP
Operator
Operator
Your next question comes from the line of Donald Clark.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Hello.
DC
Donald Clark
Analyst
Okay.
CA
Chad Allen
Management
Sorry about that. Sorry about that. I'm gonna get a call.
OP
Operator
Operator
Tuohy Brothers. Please go ahead.
NP
Noel Parks
Analyst
Hi. Noel Parks from Tuohy Brothers. You know, I was just interested in your thoughts on sort of the hedging environment as we've been hearing operators talk about their outlooks you know, we're going through earning season, it seems like with both gas and oil, you got some pretty variable drivers. And we also sort of have attitudes with different producers, some of them being acquisitive, and or looking to sort of try to bring value forward, others sort of be more in hanging back mode and looking to sort of sort of you know, piece out their inventory and maybe look for stronger price environments down the road. So are you just seeing anything that makes you think that there might be different patterns of hedging emerging from certain operators as we go forward?
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Well, I would just say this. You know, we obviously have taken advantage of hedging windows. So as an example, you know, you would have seen that we've had several spikes in oil prices and we've added judiciously to our oil hedges since our last report. At very favorable prices and largely completed our 2025 hedging program for oil, more or less. On gas, we have added modestly to hedges, albeit we have been very careful and, you know, the bulk of our gas hedges coming into this year were in the form of collars. You know, that's been the structure of the gas. The gas curve had been very favorable to that. So as gas prices have rallied even as we on a percentage basis, have been very hedged, we've been able to participate in the bulk of the gas rally. And so, therefore, you can both be hedged and participate in that upside. We have obviously added some hedges as you've seen the tremendous strength of weight. But, again, we wound up being, you know, being we've been able to think our hedge program around gas has been very very strong. Again, as we look out to the out years, you know, we tend to be much more careful. I think the backwardation in oil is relatively unfavorable. I think in the last several years, we have been much slower in hedging our oil volumes and just much more judicious because of that backwardation, and so we've just tended to take our time in doing so. So we've been doing it kinda quarter by quarter as opposed to just on a programmatic and blanket basis. It's proven to be, I think, a more profitable angle for us. Certainly, it's prevented us from doing stupid things. And I'd say on the gas front, Contango has is certainly helpful, but obviously the market been a lot stronger. I don't know if that answers your question.
NP
Noel Parks
Analyst
Sure. Yeah. I was just sort of getting in my sense that there might be a little bit of a divergence just in terms of how aggressive operators were as they try to sort of suss out the sort of medium-term pricing environment, but it sounds like from your perspective, you kinda are sort of following your own instincts and just sort of leaving the producers to for what they're gonna do. Is that fair?
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Yeah. I mean, we do our own hedging. No. We don't follow any of what the producers do. So, you know, we have our own volumes. We, you know, we're a real property owner. So we have to deal with our own stuff, not necessarily what our operators.
NP
Noel Parks
Analyst
Sure. Totally fair. And just one other thing. I just wonder if you have any thoughts on Permian Gas. There's been some speculation that with most part of the environment from Washington, that overall, it might see more infrastructure spending and, again, sorry to hear mixed things about people's attitudes towards embracing gas or sort of avoiding gas in the Permian.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Well, I mean, I'm not sure what I would say. This is that, you know, we've certainly seen of late an improvement in local prices in the Permian Basin. What I do here, you know, we you know, as part of a few industry groups is that it is a great resource, and it is constantly facing bottlenecks in the sense that the growth in the Permian Basin volumes has you know, it has outstripped its ability to build that infrastructure. And so there are thoughts about for example, building data centers directly in the Permian Basin and effectively building plants and things like that, could that could be direct use within the basin. Sure. So perhaps those are some things that you might be referring to. I'm not sure.
NP
Noel Parks
Analyst
No. No. I think you're right. We saw this in the Williston. I think it just takes time, and I think the newer new administration likely probably helps with the infrastructure build-out. So, certainly, we'll welcome that.
NP
Noel Parks
Analyst
Great. Thanks a lot.
OP
Operator
Operator
Your next question comes from the line of Paul Diamond with Citigroup. Please go ahead.
PD
Paul Diamond
Analyst · Citigroup. Please go ahead.
Sorry about that, Paul.
PD
Paul Diamond
Analyst · Citigroup. Please go ahead.
No. Good morning. I apologize for audio cutting out there. Appreciate you answering the first question. Just wanted to circle back on the kind of the opportunities that you're all seeing in inorganic growth by scale, is it more at the leasehold level, or is it you're seeing more opportunities kinda more conversations on those, you know, larger co-purchased deals?
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Yeah. So I would say this that at sort of at the ground game level, I would say definitely we've had a lot of success at the leasehold level at the package level, I would say, it's been more just true I would say, asset packages I actually I wouldn't say that, and so he's gonna mix.
AD
Adam Dirlam
Management
Yeah. I think it adds in close. So I guess going back to the ground game, I mean, you saw gonna do both in the fourth quarter and you know, we'll continue to screen it all, and I think that's where we've gotta be able to zig where everyone else is zagging and going back to some of the comments with you know, Scott's questions around the technology. Right? We've gotta be able to underwrite all of this stuff I mean, we're seeing at least two to three, even sometimes five of these things coming in the door. And, you know, the competition levels are going to wax and wane. When we think about some of the larger, you know, A&D process, out there, I think Nick you know, at this moment in time, Nick's spot on, you know, I think we've got a handful of know, regular way non-op packages. At least four of them, that are kinda out there and active now. You know, do some of the, you know, majors or larger independents rationalize their portfolio with non-op packages post M&A. That's certainly conversations that we've had. And then, you know, we've got a handful of drilling partnerships that we're looking at and probably another three to four, you know, co-buying types of exercises across our respective basins. As well as, you know, kind of this minority interest buy down or partial monetization. So you're seeing kind of the whole buffet of options out there, and really for us, it's a focus on quality and overall alignment.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Understood. Clarity.
OP
Operator
Operator
Next question comes from the line of Noah Hungness with Bank of America. Please go ahead.
NH
Noah Hungness
Analyst · Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Morning, everyone. For my first question, I wanted to ask on how you guys are seeing steel tariffs potentially impacting AFE cost especially for smaller operators who may not have OCGG pricing or service costs contracted out.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Yeah. So this was a topic we're a member base XBC. This is a topic that just was circulated as part of that. And the answer is it's unclear at this point in time, but it's likely gonna have some effect. So the answer is it's gonna have some upward impact that the magnitude of which I do not know at this point in time.
NH
Noah Hungness
Analyst · Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Gotcha. So then for a planning purpose, maybe just to jump on that a little bit further.
AD
Adam Dirlam
Management
I think from a planning purpose as a non-operator, we're generally conservative on well costs. We're gonna let that flow through from an actual standpoint. And so typically, we're building in some level of buffer to mitigate that to next point. We'll see what, you know, the true ramifications are.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Yeah. And the extent that there are. And what I would just say this is that we've seen in general, overall, AFE, like, we budgeted for zero reduction in costs when in reality, the overall, we have seen cost reductions, so we have plenty of wiggle room, I would say, in general within our overall budget.
NH
Noah Hungness
Analyst · Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Appreciate that color. And the next one is on buybacks. I mean, just given the stock's recent performance over this year, how are you thinking about buybacks right now?
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Yeah. I mean, I think everything's on the table, and, you know, obviously, we've been in quiet periods for some period of time, and these are board decisions. So we sit down with the board and discuss this every single quarter, and we basically take their guidance and we'll have that conversation in the next week or two as we go into the next quarter when.
NH
Noah Hungness
Analyst · Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Appreciate it, guys. Thanks.
OP
Operator
Operator
I will turn the call back over to Nick O'Grady for closing remarks.
NO
Nick O'Grady
Management
Thank you for joining us today. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to touching base with you in the coming weeks.
OP
Operator
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.