據(jù)石油和天然氣新聞休斯頓報道，由于紐約商品交易所輕質(zhì)低硫原油的交易價徘徊在35美元/桶左右，低油價環(huán)境正在給美國的石油和天然氣運營商帶來很大的困難。

為了應(yīng)對油價的急劇下跌，美國38家石油和天然氣公司日前把他們今年的資本支出向下修訂了36%，減少了410億美元，但這些修訂現(xiàn)在似乎終于塵埃落定。

支出削減的很大一部分是減少鉆井和完井活動：與3月中旬的水平相比，美國在用水平石油鉆機減少了67%，水力壓裂隊伍減少了82%。5月份，鉆井活動繼續(xù)其下滑，但下滑速度有所放緩，這是因為作業(yè)者每周環(huán)比平均退役了25部鉆機，與4月份每周環(huán)比平均退役65部鉆機相比有所改善。

這很可能是在用鉆機數(shù)接近它們底部的信號，預(yù)計到明年年初，在用鉆機數(shù)將保持在300部左右。在2022年年底之前，鉆機活動預(yù)計將不會大幅增加，這在很大程度上反映在運營商的最新指南報告中。

對許多油氣公司來說，削減資本支出將不足以在低油價環(huán)境下生存下來。已經(jīng)確認有29家油氣公司(其中17家勘探和生產(chǎn)公司，12家油田服務(wù)公司)出現(xiàn)債務(wù)違約，其中幾家公司因財務(wù)困難已申請破產(chǎn)。

第一批申請破產(chǎn)保護的規(guī)模最大的勘探和生產(chǎn)公司之一是惠廷石油公司，該公司在4月1日申請破產(chǎn)保護。惠廷石油公司一直專注于在北達科他州威利斯頓盆地的頁巖鉆探作業(yè)。該公司希望大幅減少債務(wù)，并建立一個更可持續(xù)的資本結(jié)構(gòu)。惠廷石油公司最近利用6.5億美元的信貸額度，計劃以最小的中斷繼續(xù)其日常運營。

李峻 編譯自 油氣新聞

原文如下：

US oil and gas companies file for bankruptcy amid depressed prices

The low oil price environment is causing hardship for US operators as NYMEX light, sweet crude trades around $35/b.

In reaction to the sharp decline in oil prices, 38 US operators have revised 2020 capital expenditures by 36%, a reduction of $41 billion, but it appears the revisions have finally stabilized.

A large part of the spending cut was reducing the amount of drilling and completion activity: US horizontal oil rigs are down 67% and fracking crews are down 82% from mid-March levels. In May, drilling activity continued its decline but at a slower pace, as operators decommissioned rigs at an average of 25 rigs week-over-week, an improvement compared with April's average decline of 65 rigs W/W.

This is likely a sign that rigs are approaching their floor and the expectation is that they will stay around the 300 rig level until early 2021. A significant increase in rig activity isn't expected until 2022, which is largely reflected in the latest operator guidance reports.

For many companies, a reduction in capex won't be enough to survive the low oil price environment. It hasbeenidentified that 29 companies (17 exploration and production companies and 12 oilfield services companies) that have defaulted on debt, with several of them filing for bankruptcy due to financial hardship.

One of the first, and largest, E&P companies to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was Whiting Petroleum on April 1. The company has been focused on drilling in North Dakota's Williston basin. The company hopes to reduce a significant amount of its debt and establish a more sustainable capital structure moving forward. With a recent draw on its credit facility of $650 million, the company plans to continue its daily operations with minimal interruptions.