（彭博社）Kimmeridge 能源管理公司表示，美国页岩油行业需要进一步整合，以应对勘探和开采未开发石油储备的成本飙升。

金默里奇周一在一份白皮书中写道，所谓的勘探和开发成本在 2022 年翻了一番，去年飙升 70% 至每桶 17 美元。勘探和开发成本是管理团队产生的首批费用之一，通常涉及地震勘测和钻探测试井等以确认发现。

页岩革命颠覆了全球能源市场，十多年来，F&D 成本不断攀升，很大程度上是因为最富有的油气储量已经被开采。这迫使企业不得不勘探二流和三流油气储量，以确保未来的原油产量。

报道称，“该行业感到担忧是因为页岩气正在老化。当前的整合浪潮是出于对资本效率下降的真正担忧。”

研究机构 Enverus 表示，随着天然气钻探需求的回升，美国页岩油生产商的油田服务成本预计将在 2025 年反弹。Kimmeridge 此前曾推动改善环境管理，促进页岩油公司进行更多企业收购，并呼吁限制高管薪酬。该公司目前的页岩油投资包括 Civitas Resources Inc. 和 Expand Energy Corp.

(Bloomberg) — More consolidation in the U.S. shale sector is needed to cope with soaring costs to identify and exploit untapped oil reserves, according to Kimmeridge Energy Management Co.

So-called finding and development costs surged 70% to $17 a barrel last year after doubling in 2022, Kimmeridge wrote in a white paper on Monday. Finding and development costs are among the first expenses incurred by management teams and typically involve things such as seismic surveys and drilling test wells to confirm a discovery.

More than a decade into the shale revolution, which upended global energy markets, F&D costs are climbing in large part because the richest discoveries already have been drilled. That’s forcing companies to explore second- and third-rate prospects to ensure future crude production.

“The industry is worried because shale is getting old,” according to the report. “The current wave of consolidation is motivated by real concerns about declining capital efficiency.”

Oilfield-service costs for U.S. shale producers are expected to rebound in 2025 as demand for natural gas drilling returns, research house Enverus has said. Kimmeridge previously pushed for improved environmental stewardship and more corporate takeovers among shale companies and called for restraint on executive pay. The firm’s current shale investments include Civitas Resources Inc. and Expand Energy Corp.