据今日油价9月8日报道，美国页岩区正面临油价长期疲软的局面，钻井企业和油田服务公司正在裁员并削减预算，以应当前局势。

尽管美国页岩气产量正在蓬勃发展，二叠纪盆地的产量也在不断创造新的纪录，但由于许多公司最近下调了产量增长目标，而投资者和银行家对页岩气行业的回报仍持怀疑态度，因此，页岩气的增长速度正在放缓。

业内高管和分析师对路透表示，大型石油公司继续在二叠纪上押下重注，但许多独立石油公司已缩减预算和产量目标。

最大的油田服务提供商也看到页岩气活动放缓的趋势，并采取了削减成本和裁员的应对措施。

7月，哈里伯顿（Halliburton）警告称，北美市场活动落后于国际市场，而斯伦贝谢（schlumberger）报告称，第二季度北美市场收入下降12%。

现任斯伦贝谢新首席执行官奥利维尔?勒佩奇(Olivier Le Peuch)在7月份表示“北美仍然是一个充满挑战的环境。事实上，油气勘探和开发运营商对现金流的关注限制了开采活动，而持续的效率提升也减少了活跃的钻井平台和压裂作业平台的数量——到目前为止，这对石油生产还没有产生重大影响。”

哈里伯顿公司在北美市场形势严峻的情况下，裁减了8%的员工。

美国大陆资源公司(Continental Resources)首席执行长哈罗德?哈姆(Harold Hamm)上月表示，美国页岩气生产商需要放慢产量增长速度，并在供应过剩的市场上更加注重资本约束。

路透社上周的月度调查显示，由于国际经济贸易紧张局势、全球经济放缓以及石油需求增长放缓，分析师们将今年对西德克萨斯中质原油(WTI)和布伦特(Brent)原油价格的预期下调至2018年以来的最低水平。据51位分析师和经济学家预测，今年WTI原油均价将为每桶57.90美元，低于此前调查中预测的每桶59.29美元。

王佳晶 摘译自 今日油价

原文如下：

U.S. Drillers Reduce Staff And Budgets As Oil Prices Stay Low

The U.S. shale patch is bracing for an extended period of weak oil prices and drillers and oilfield services firms are cutting staff and reducing budgets to weather the slowdown in North America’s fracking growth.

While U.S. shale production is booming and the Permian continues to set new production records, the pace of growth is slowing as many companies have recently scaled back production growth targets while investors and bankers continue to be skeptical about the shale industry’s returns.

Big Oil continues to bet big on the Permian, but many independents have scaled back budgets and production targets, industry executives and analysts tell Reuters.

The biggest oilfield services providers are also seeing the slowdown in shale activity and respond with cost and staff cuts.

In July, Halliburton warned that North American activity is lagging behind international markets, while Schlumberger reported revenue decline of 12 percent in North America in Q2.

“North America land remains a challenging environment. Indeed, E&P operator focus on cash flow has capped activity and continued efficiency improvements have also reduced the number of active rigs and frac fleets—so far without major impact on oil production,” Olivier Le Peuch, who is now Schlumberger’s new CEO, said in July.

Halliburton has cut 8 percent of its workforce in North America amid the challenging market conditions.

U.S. shale producers need to slow down with production growth and focus more on capital discipline in an oversupplied market, Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm said last month.

The protracted U.S.-China trade dispute and slowing economies and oil demand growth caused analysts to slash their forecasts for WTI Crude and Brent Crude prices this year to the lowest outlook since 2018, the monthly Reuters poll showed last week. According to 51 analysts and economists, WTI Crude will average US$57.90 a barrel this year, down from the US$59.29 per barrel forecast in the previous survey.