据彭博社12月17日报道称，埃克森美孚公司已经超越竞争对手，成为二叠纪盆地最活跃的钻井公司，显示出这家全球市值最大的石油公司开发美国页岩油的紧迫性。
据RigData公司提供给彭博社的数据显示，即使在西德克萨斯州和新墨西哥州地区起步缓慢，但埃克森美孚现在运营的钻井平台数量也超过了与RSP Permian 公司合并成立的Concho Resources 公司。今年早些时候，该公司成立的目的则是旨在成为最大的二叠纪勘探公司之一。
不难看出为什么二叠纪对埃克森来说变得如此重要。一系列战略错误导致该石油巨头的整体产量在今年年中达到10年来的最低水平。在全球首屈一指的二叠纪页岩油田钻探，只需数月就能生产处低成本油，而大型项目开始生产原油则需要数年时间。
“他们需要恢复产量和回报率，而二叠纪盆地是增产最快的地区。”彭博社驻纽约分的析师Fernando Valle表示。
在多年寻求海外资源后，埃克森美孚并不是唯一一家开发美国页岩油田的公司。其竞争对手雪佛龙公司的资本预算中，国内支出将达到至少10年来的最高水平。二叠纪目前占雪佛龙总产量的10％左右。而BP石油公司今年同意斥资105亿美元收购必和必拓的页岩资产，以获取开采二叠纪盆地的机会。
董飞 摘译自 彭博社
原文如下：
Exxon becomes Permian drill chief to combat falling oil output
Exxon Mobil Corp. has overtaken rivals to become the most active driller in the Permian Basin, showing the urgency with which the world’s biggest oil company by market value is pursuing U.S. shale.
Even after a slow start in the region of West Texas and New Mexico, Exxon is now operating more drilling rigs than Concho Resources Inc., which merged with RSP Permian Inc. earlier this year to create It’s not hard to see why the Permian has become so important to Exxon. A series of strategic mistakes sent the oil giant’s overall production careening to a 10-year low by the middle of this year. Drilling wells in the the Permian, the world’s premier shale field, yields low-cost oil in months rather than the years required for megaprojects to begin producing crude.
“They need to get the production and returns back up, and the Permian is where you can ramp up the fastest,” said Fernando Valle, a New York-based analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Exxon isn’t alone in tapping U.S. shale after years of pursuing overseas resources. Rival Chevron Corp. will spend the highest portion of its capital budget at home in at least a decade. The Permian now accounts for about 10% of Chevron’s overall production. BP Plc this year agreed to spend $10.5 billion
