成本下降促使美国页岩油产量将增加

据道琼斯维也纳6月4日消息，康菲石油公司首席执行长Ryan Lance表示，随着成本下降和效率提升，未来几年美国页岩油产量将增加。

康菲石油是最大的页岩油生产商之一，在过去的五年中页岩油已经成为全球石油市场的一个主要影响因素。页岩油已经导致全球石油供应大量增长。

但是自去年下半年以来油价的大幅下挫已经增加了市场对于美国页岩油生产商如何生存的疑问。页岩油生产商利用新的非常规技术从页岩中开采石油。与传统的钻井技术相比，这种技术成本更加昂贵。

Lance称，页岩油生产商成功将成本降至与收入减少后相匹配的水平。他表示，不到一年的时间，页岩油行业保本价已由每桶40-180美元平均下降15%。

Lance预计，随着时间推移，页岩油行业效率将进一步提升，每口油井将出产更多石油。他表示，有研究显示，到2020年每口油井将增产15%-20%。

Lance称，也就是说美国的非常规油气生产将持续下去。

庞晓华摘译自道琼斯

原文如下：

U.S. Oil Output From Shale to Rise as Costs Decline - ConocoPhillips CEO

By Bill Spindle

VIENNA--Ryan Lance, head of ConocoPhilips, said U.S. oil production from shale reserves will rise in the coming years, as costs decline and the industry becomes more efficient.

Conoco is one of the largest drillers of shale oil, which has become a major factor in global oil markets over the past five years. It has contributed to the bulk of global supply growth in that time.

But a sharp decline in oil prices since late last year has raised questions about how resilient the new U.S. producers can be. They use unconventional new techniques to extract oil by breaking apart the shale rock with water and sand to make the oil accessible. The process is more expensive than traditional drilling, though not as expensive as drilling in deep water or extracting oil from tar sands.

Mr. Lance said shale producers are successfully cutting costs to bring them in line with lower revenues. He said the industry has brought the break-even price at which it can turn a profit down an average of 15% from the $40-$180 per barrel range in less than a year.

He predicted the industry would also become more efficient at getting more oil from each well over time, saying that some studies say gains of 15%-20% are achievable by 2020.

"The message is that U.S. unconventional production is here to stay," he said.