據油價網1月27日發布消息稱，在過去三年里，在2020年石油危機之后，大多數美國能源公司都避免投入巨資擴大生產，而是優先考慮以股息和股票回購的形式向股東返還更多現金。大多數石油和天然氣公司只宣布了本年度資本支出的小幅增長，并計劃適度增長產量。

但這確實意味著，這些公司不會試圖利用維持在多年高位的油價獲利。Energy Intelligence在其2023年展望中指出，今年全球上游資本支出將達到4850億美元，同比增長12%，從2020年的低谷回升近30%。

這位能源專家表示，在這個十年中，支出不太可能達到2013—2014年峰值時期的7000多億美元水平，因為大多數公司更愿意專注于最有利的“桶”，即成本更低、碳排放更低、工期更快的項目。國家石油公司、大型獨立石油公司和西方石油巨頭正在重返具有優勢的海上油田，包括圭亞那盆地、巴西、墨西哥灣、北海和西非，這些地區也有望在非歐佩克國家的增長中占據最大份額。

曹海斌 摘譯自 油價網

原文如下：

Upstream Spending To Rise To $485 Billion In 2023

Over the past three years, the majority of U.S. energy companies have avoided spending big to expand production in the aftermath of the 2020 oil crisis, prioritizing returning more cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks. Most oil and gas companies have only announced small increases in their capital spending for the current year, and also plan to grow production modestly.

But this does mean that these companies won’t try to capitalize on oil prices that remain at multi-year highs. In its 2023 outlook, Energy Intelligence notes that global upstream capex will hit $485B in the current year, good for 12% Y/Y increase and a near 30% recovery from the 2020 trough.

The energy expert says that spending is unlikely to hit the $700 billion-plus level seen during the 2013-2014 peak in this decade, with most companies preferring to focus on the most advantaged “barrels’’ i.e. lower cost, lower carbon projects with faster timelines. NOCs, large independents and western majors are returning to advantaged offshore plays including the Guyana Basin, Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, North Sea and West Africa–the regions also expected to drive the lion’s share of non-OPEC growth.