美国能源公司本周连续第二周增加了石油和天然气钻井平台，因为相对较高的油价鼓励公司进行更多钻探。

能源服务公司贝克休斯公司在 11 月 11 日备受关注的报告中表示，截至 11 月 11 日当周，石油和天然气钻井数量（未来产量的早期指标）增加了 9 座，达到 779 座，为 2020 年 3 月以来的最高水平。

本周，美国石油钻井平台数量增加 9 座，至 622 座，为 2020 年 3 月以来的最高水平，而天然气钻井平台则稳定在 155 座。

尽管过去两年中大多数月份钻井数量都有所增加，但自 2020 年 3 月大流行开始以来，每周的平均增幅为零。这有助于将石油产量保持在大流行之前的创纪录水平以下，因为许多公司更多地关注将资金返还给投资者并偿还债务，而不是提高产出。

就在石油生产商负责人就持续通胀和供应链限制发出警告几天后，美国能源信息署 (EIA) 将明年原油产量增长预测下调了 21%。

根据联邦能源数据，美国原油产量有望从 2021 年的 11.3 MMbbl/d 增至 2022 年的 11.8 MMbbl/d 和 2023 年的 12.3 MMbbl/d。相比之下，2019 年的记录为 12.3 MMbbl/d。

但由于油价在 2021 年飙升 55% 后，今年迄今仍上涨约 17%，加上政府要求增加产量的压力，一些能源公司表示，在削减开支后，他们计划在 2022 年连续第二年增加支出2019年和2020年的钻井和完井支出。

美国金融服务公司 Cowen & Co. 表示，其追踪的独立勘探与生产公司计划在 2021 年比 2020 年增加约 4% 的支出后，在 2022 年比 2021 年增加约 40% 的支出（高于上周的 38%）。

在此之前，2020 年资本支出下降约 48%，2019 年资本支出下降 12%。

然而，一些分析师指出，即使能源公司确实增加了资本支出，也不一定是为了增加产量，而是用于购买更昂贵的管道和其他设备，以及由于通胀飙升和供应中断而导致的劳动力成本上升。

U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row as relatively high oil prices encourage firms to drill more.

The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose nine to 779 in the week to Nov. 11, its highest since March 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co. said in its closely followed report on Nov. 11.

U.S. oil rigs rose nine to 622 this week, their highest since March 2020, while gas rigs held steady at 155.

Even though the rig count increased during most months over the past two years, weekly increases have averaged zero since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. This helped to keep oil production below record levels seen before the pandemic, as many companies focus more on returning money to investors and paying down debt rather than boosting output.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) cut its forecast for next year's crude output growth by 21%, days after heads of oil producers warned of persistent inflation and supply chain constraints.

U.S. crude production was on track to rise from 11.3 MMbbl/d in 2021 to 11.8 MMbbl/d in 2022 and 12.3 MMbbl/d in 2023, according to federal energy data. That compares with a record 12.3 MMbbl/d in 2019.

But with oil prices still up about 17% so far this year after soaring 55% in 2021 - and pressure from the government to produce more - several energy firms have said they plan to boost spending for a second year in a row in 2022 after cutting drilling and completion expenditures in 2019 and 2020.

U.S. financial services firm Cowen & Co. said the independent E&P companies it tracks plan to boost spending by about 40% in 2022 versus 2021 (up from 38% last week) after increasing spending about 4% in 2021 versus 2020.

That follows a drop in capital expenditures of roughly 48% in 2020 and 12% in 2019.

Some analysts, however, have noted that even when energy firms do boost their capital expenditures, it was not necessarily to increase production but was instead being spent on more expensive pipes and other equipment and rising labor costs due to soaring inflation and supply disruptions.