據美國彭博新聞社4月5日巴格達報道，埃克森美孚公司時下正在考慮出售其在伊拉克西古爾納-1油田持有的股份，這表明這家美國超級石油巨頭愿意出售其在中東的一個大油田的股份，以減少其去年積累的巨額債務。

　　伊拉克石油部采取了不同尋常的舉措，表示正在與美國公司就購買埃克森美孚公司在位于伊拉克南部巴士拉附近的西古爾納-1油田32.7%股份的可能性進行談判。

　　在第二次海灣戰爭后的伊拉克重建過程中，西古爾納-1油田被認為是伊拉克石油工業的一項閃閃發光的大獎，埃克森美孚公司在2010年成為這個油田的主要承包商。但近幾年來，苛刻的合同條款、延期付款、歐佩克減產以及政治局勢不穩定削弱了西古爾納-1油田的吸引力。與此同時，疫情對埃克森美孚公司的財務造成了毀滅性的影響，導致其債務總額激增至700多億美元，并導致穆迪投資者服務公司在不到一年的時間里兩次下調其評級。

　　出售資產是埃克森美孚公司削減債務和維護其每年150億美元股息戰略的關鍵部分。鑒于布倫特原油價格已反彈至每桶66美元以上，今年以來油價已累計上漲了29%，上述目標有望實現。彭博社去年11月曾援引知情人士的話報道稱，埃克森美孚公司在西古爾納-1油田持有的股份可能至少能賣到5億美元。

　　李峻 編譯自 彭博社

　　原文如下：

　　Exxon mulls sale of West Qurna-1 stake, says Iraq’s oil ministry

　　Exxon Mobil is considering selling its stake in Iraq’s West Qurna-1 oil field in a sign that the supermajor is willing to part with one its marquee oil fields in the Middle East to reduce the mountain of debt accumulated last year.

　　Iraq’s oil ministry took the unusual step of saying it’s in talks with U.S. companies about the possibility of them buying Exxon’s 32.7% stake in the field in southern Iraq, near the city of Basra.

　　West Qurna-1 was considered one of the oil industry’s glittering prizes in the reconstruction of Iraq following the Second Gulf War, with Exxon becoming lead contractor in 2010. But tough contractual terms, payment delays, OPEC production cuts and political instability have dulled its appeal in recent years. Meanwhile, Covid-19 had a crushing impact on Exxon’s finances, causing its debt to balloon to more than $70 billion and prompting two downgrades in less than a year from Moody’s Investors Service.

　　Asset sales are a key part of Exxon’s strategy to reduce that debt, as well as defend its $15 billion-a-year dividend. Those goals are within easier reach now that Brent crude has rebounded to more than $66 a barrel, up 29% this year. Exxon’s stake in West Qurna-1 could fetch at least $500 million, Bloomberg reported in November, citing people familiar with the matter.