挪威石油公司重启石油项目

    中国石化新闻网讯 据路透社8月20日报道，周四，挪威统计局(SSB)发布的一项行业调查显示，与几个月前的预测相比，西欧最大石油生产国挪威今年的油气投资增长相对较多，2021年的下降幅度相对较少。

    今年6月，在冠状肺炎疫情爆发导致油价暴跌后，挪威议会通过了税收优惠政策，以刺激投资和保障就业，此后包括挪国油Equinor在内的石油公司已经重启了几个项目。

    挪威统计局表示，目前该国主要经济部门的投资预计为1846亿挪威克朗(207亿美元)，高于5月份预测的1803亿挪威克朗，也高于2019年的1776亿挪威克朗。不过SSB补充称，明年投资将降至1486亿瑞典克朗，而此前预估为1456亿瑞典克朗。

    Handelsbanken分析师表示，2021年油价下跌将抑制挪威整体经济复苏，而DNB Markets表示，这反映出未来几年挪威缺乏可开发的大型油田项目。

    SSB称，明年的数据仍可能被上调，石油公司计划开发数个规模较小的油田，包括挪国油的Breidablikk和Aker BP的Frosk。

    到2022年底批准的项目有资格享受税收减免，这保护了更大一部分收入。挪威石油天然气行业协会最新的预测证明，该计划正在产生积极影响。

    但SSB称，尽管石油公司将加大对油田开发的总体投入，但对新储量的钻探似乎正在减少。对2021年勘探估值下调的一个可能解释是，相对而言，税收支持计划为其它投资类别提供了一个更有利的框架。这可能表明，石油公司正在修改一些最初的计划，将一些租用的钻井平台从勘探平台改为生产平台。

    王佳晶 摘译自 路透社

    原文如下：

    Norway oil firms revive some investment plans after tax cut

    Oil and gas investment in Norway, Western Europe’s top producer, will rise more this year and decline less in 2021 than predicted a few months ago, an industry survey by the statistics office (SSB) showed on Thursday.

    Petroleum companies, including Equinor (EQNR.OL), have revived several projects after the Norwegian parliament in June granted tax incentives to spur investment and safeguard jobs after a crash in oil prices sparked by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Investments in the country’s main economic sector are now projected at 184.6 billion Norwegian crowns ($20.7 billion), up from the 180.3 billion crowns forecast in May, SSB said, and up from 177.6 billion crowns in 2019.

    Next year, however, investment is expected to decline to 148.6 billion crowns, compared with the previous view of 145.6 billion crowns, SSB added.

    Analysts at Handelsbanken said the expected drop next year will dampen Norway’s overall economic recovery, while DNB Markets said it reflected a lack of large oilfield projects to develop in the years ahead.

    The figures for the next year could still be revised up, with oil companies planning several smaller developments, including Equinor’s (EQNR.OL) Breidablikk and Aker BP’s (AKERBP.OL) Frosk, SSB said.

    Projects approved by the end of 2022 are eligible for tax breaks that shield a greater portion of income.

    Norwegian Oil and Gas, an industry association that lobbied for the tax cuts, said the updated forecasts were proof that the package was having a positive impact.

    But while oil firms will spend more overall on field development, drilling for new reserves appeared to be declining, SSB said.

    “A possible explanation for the downward revision to exploration estimates for 2021 might be that the tax support package ... has, in relative terms, provided a more favourable framework for the other investment categories,” SSB said.

    “This may indicate that the oil companies are revising some of their initial plans, by moving some of their leased rigs from exploration drilling to production drilling.”