據ICIS-MRC網站9月8日莫斯科MRC報道， 如果下半年油價繼續低迷，低大宗商品價格和2020年上半年大幅削減支出，可能會導致美國超級巨頭埃克森美孚(Exxon Mobil)和雪佛龍(Chevron)大量減記已探明油氣儲量。

埃克森美孚(ExxonMobil)在8月5日提交的10-Q季度報表中表示，可能減記其已探明儲量最多20%，這意味著減記近45億桶油當量。截至2019年底，該公司已探明儲量總計224億桶油當量。

埃克森美孚稱，如果今年剩余時間內油價持續走低，到今年年底，某些原油、瀝青和天然氣的量將不會成為探明儲量。

另外，雪佛龍在8月5日提交的文件中表示，其可能將已探明儲量下調約10%，其中大部分位于美國二疊紀盆地和澳大利亞。

雪佛龍在10-Q文件中表示 ，如果當前的低商品價格持續下去，預計石油和天然氣的探明儲量將會減少，經濟極限將受到負面影響。”由于權益效應，較低的油價將對已探明儲量產生積極影響。

新冠肺炎疫情對經濟的影響以及前所未有的石油市場崩盤，促使大多數綜合性油氣巨頭在過去幾個月削減支出，但也大幅減記資產，因為它們都下調了較長期原油價格預期。

雪佛龍第二季度的上游業務支出為54億美元，主要涉及墨西哥灣的一個非運營油田、二疊紀盆地的常規作業以及亞洲和非洲的各種生產資產。這筆支出還包括在某南美油氣儲量大國的26億美元資產減值，這是由這個南美國家不確定的經營環境和前景引發的。

總部位于倫敦的英國石油公司公布了第二季度非經營性項目的稅后減記109億美元，以及上游勘探活動的稅后減記65億美元。殼牌公布第二季度稅后支出168億美元。

在提交最近文件之前，埃克森美孚并沒有就可能的資產減計提供指導意見。今年4月，該公司宣布將把今年的資本支出從330億美元削減至230億美元，削減30%，并將運營預算削減15%。由于削減了資本支出，埃克森美孚還在8月5日的文件中披露，它將把今年已探明儲量的估計下調10億桶油當量，其中大部分來自美國頁巖油。

埃克森美孚在文件中表示:“因此，上游資產的生產設施折舊和耗損率從第一季度開始上升。”

埃克森美孚在第二季度財報電話會議上表示，該公司將在2021年進一步削減運營和支出。

埃克森美孚高級副總裁尼爾·查普曼7月31日表示，展望2021年，基于確定進一步的長期結構效率，減少的活動水平以及對我們的勞動力需求進行評估（包括進一步削減管理費用和管理職位的潛力），我們看到進一步削減的巨大潛力。

埃克森美孚的進一步削減開支以及對資產價值的評估將于11月與公司董事會敲定，并將于2021年上半年公布。

正如MRC之前所告知的，雪佛龍公司的一部分雪佛龍菲利普斯化學公司在評估颶風勞拉對其墨西哥灣沿岸PE業務的影響后，宣布9月1日其聚乙烯(PE)產品受到不可抗力的影響。

埃克森美孚是能源行業最大的非政府所有公司，其石油產量約占全球的3%，能源產量約占全球的2%。

郝芬 譯自 ICIS-MRC

原文如下：

ExxonMobil, Chevron may write down big chunk of reserves if weak prices persist

Low commodity prices and deep spending cuts in the first half of 2020 could lead US supermajors ExxonMobil and Chevron to write down huge chunks of their proved oil and natural gas reserves if prices remain depressed in the second half.

In a 10-Q filing, ExxonMobil said Aug. 5 it could write down as much as 20% of its proved reserves, which totaled 22.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent at year-end 2019, thus implying a nearly 4.5 billion boe write-down.

If low prices persist for the rest of the year, "certain quantities of crude oil, bitumen, and natural gas will not qualify as proved reserves at year-end 2020," ExxonMobil said.

Separately, Chevron said in an Aug. 5 filing that it may revise downward its proved reserves by about 10%, mostly in the US Permian Basin and Australia.

"Should the current low commodity prices persist, it is expected that proved reserve quantities would decrease for oil and gas properties where economic limits are negatively impacted. Lower prices will positively impact proved reserves due to entitlement effects," Chevron said in the 10-Q filing.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and the unprecedented oil market crash prompted a wave of spending cuts but also hefty write-downs by most of the integrated oil and gas majors in the last several months, as they all shifted their longer-term crude price outlooks lower.

Chevron took a USD5.4 billion upstream charge in the second quarter, primarily related to a non-operating field in the Gulf of Mexico, conventional operations in the Permian, and various producing assets in Asia and Africa. The charge also included a USD2.6 billion impairment on assets in V******la, sparked by the uncertain operating environment and outlook in the South American country.

London-based BP booked a second-quarter post-tax write-down of USD10.9 billion for non-operating items and a post-tax impairment of USD6.5 billion on upstream exploration activities. Shell reported a post-tax charge of $16.8 billion in the second quarter.

Prior to the recent filing, ExxonMobil had not offered guidance regarding possible write-downs, after unveiling in April that it would trim this year's capital expenditures by 30%, from USD33 billion to USD23 billion, and slash its operating budget by 15%. As a result of the capex spending cuts, ExxonMobil also disclosed in the Aug. 5 filing it would cut its estimates of proved reserves by 1 billion boe for the year, most of it from US shale.

"Consequently, unit-of-production depreciation and depletion rates for upstream assets increased beginning in the first quarter," ExxonMobil said in the filing.

ExxonMobil will make deeper cuts to its operations and spending in 2021, the company said on its second quarter earnings call.

"Looking ahead to 2021, we see significant potential for additional reductions based on the identification of further long-term structural efficiencies, reduced activity levels, and an evaluation of our workforce requirements, including the potential for further reductions in overhead and management positions," ExxonMobil Senior Vice President Neil Chapman said July 31.

ExxonMobil's additional spending cuts as well as a review of the value of assets should be finalized with the company's board of directors in November and should be released in the first half of 2021.

As MRC informed previously, Chevron Phillips Chemical, part of Chevron Corporation, declared force majeure Sept. 1 on its polyethylene (PE) products after assessing the impact of Hurricane Laura to its Gulf Coast PE operations,

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.