中國石化新聞網訊 據彭博新聞社2021年1月7日休斯敦報導，美國著名頁巖生產商德文能源公司的新老闆裡克·蒙克裡伊夫近日表示，他不會讓本周油價的大幅上漲誘使自己不惜一切代價回到產量迅猛增長的日子，蒙克裡伊夫因此成為最新一位呼籲限制產量的美國頁巖公司高管。
蒙克裡伊夫在接受媒體記者採訪時表示，「我很難看到美國生產商在未來幾年恢復產量兩位數增長的需求。」「對於管理團隊來說，如果我們真正考慮到2021年，那麼讓我們保持產量平穩。」
蒙克裡伊夫的此番評論呼應了先鋒自然資源公司執行長斯科特· 謝菲爾德和美國西方石油公司執行長維吉·霍勒布的觀點。在此之前，沙烏地阿拉伯出人意料地計劃在未來兩個月減產，推動了油價飆升。這三位美國頁巖行業高管都呼籲保持謹慎，他們注意到，多年來的無節制產量增長造成了頁巖行業的巨大損失。這些增長消耗了大量現金，甚至在新冠肺炎疫情爆發之前，投資者就已經沒什麼可表現的了。
德文能源公司周四（1月7日）完成了對WPX能源公司的收購，據蒙克裡伊夫說，德文能源公司計劃保持與去年第四季度持平的產量。蒙克裡伊夫此前管理WPX能源公司長達六年。先鋒自然資源公司將堅持最初設定的僅5%的產量增長目標，而霍勒布說，她今後的主要關注點是削減債務。
1月7日，美國另一家鑽井公司Ovintiv公司的執行長道格·薩特爾斯在由高盛集團主持的投資者會議網絡直播中表示，「現在平穩才是新增長。」「我們需要看到全球市場復甦，我們的行業需要表現出自律，這就是我們將要做的。」
美國原油日產量目前徘徊在1100萬桶左右，約佔去年全球需求的12%，比2020年初的產量峰值低200萬桶左右。頁巖運營商的財務狀況疲軟，以及新近做出的承諾表明，產量損失(相當於美國墨西哥灣的全部產量)短期內不會恢復。
李峻 編譯自 彭博社
原文如下：
Shale CEOs Urge Production Restraint
The new boss of Devon Energy Corp. said he won’t let this week’s rally in oil prices tempt him to return to the days of rampant production growth at any cost, becoming the latest shale executive to call for restraint.
「I have a hard time seeing the need for U.S. producers over the next several years to get back to double-digit growth,」 Chief Executive Officer Rick Muncrief said in an interview. 「For this management team, if we really think about 2021, let’s keep it flat.」
Muncrief’s comments echo those of Scott Sheffield, who heads up Pioneer Natural Resources Co., and Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s Vicki Hollub, after Saudi Arabia’s surprise plan to cut production in the next two months sent oil prices surging. All three executives urged caution, mindful of the industry carnage caused by years of unchecked growth that burned through cash and left investors with little to show for even before the pandemic took its toll.
Devon, which closed its acquisition of WPX Energy Inc. on Thursday, is planning to keep output flat compared with fourth-quarter levels, according to Muncrief, who previously ran WPX for six years. Pioneer is sticking with its initial production growth target of just 5%, while Hollub said her main focus is debt reduction.
「Flat is the new growth right now,」 Doug Suttles, CEO of Ovintiv Inc., another driller, told an investor webcast hosted by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on Thursday. 「We need to see the global markets recover and our industry needs to show discipline and that’s what we’re going to do.」
U.S. crude production is currently hovering around 11 million barrels a day, about 12% of global demand last year, and some 2 million barrels below its peak at the beginning of 2020. Shale operators』 financial weakness and newfound pledges for discipline suggest that lost production, equivalent to the entire output of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, won’t come back anytime soon.