据油价网1月27日发布消息称，在过去三年里，在2020年石油危机之后，大多数美国能源公司都避免投入巨资扩大生产，而是优先考虑以股息和股票回购的形式向股东返还更多现金。大多数石油和天然气公司只宣布了本年度资本支出的小幅增长，并计划适度增长产量。

但这确实意味着，这些公司不会试图利用维持在多年高位的油价获利。Energy Intelligence在其2023年展望中指出，今年全球上游资本支出将达到4850亿美元，同比增长12%，从2020年的低谷回升近30%。

这位能源专家表示，在这个十年中，支出不太可能达到2013—2014年峰值时期的7000多亿美元水平，因为大多数公司更愿意专注于最有利的“桶”，即成本更低、碳排放更低、工期更快的项目。国家石油公司、大型独立石油公司和西方石油巨头正在重返具有优势的海上油田，包括圭亚那盆地、巴西、墨西哥湾、北海和西非，这些地区也有望在非欧佩克国家的增长中占据最大份额。

曹海斌 摘译自 油价网

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.