美国油气行业正在经历一场巨变，受一波并购浪潮的推动，顶级上市勘探和生产公司的数量从50家缩减至40家。安永（EY）最新发布的《美国油气储量、产量及ESG基准研究》详细阐述了这一变化。尽管样本规模较小，但这40家被分析的公司仍占2024年美国油气产量的约41%，这一比例与前几年持平。

安永基准研究分析了美国证券交易委员会 (SEC) 公布的 40 家最大上市石油和天然气公司的 ESG 数据和披露情况，这些公司是根据其 2024 年末美国石油和天然气储量确定的。该研究特别关注这些公司在美国的业务，涵盖 2020 年至 2024 年期间。这些公司约占美国石油和天然气总产量的 41%，是行业趋势的风向标。

“这是美国上游行业的一个决定性时刻，”安永美洲石油天然气和化学品主管帕特·杰利内克（Pat Jelinek）表示。“更少、更强大的企业正在涌现，它们资本更雄厚，效率更高，并且专注于实现韧性增长。新上榜的40强企业并非只是幸存者；它们已准备好塑造美国能源的未来。”

2024年的并购活动总额达2066亿美元，较2023年增长331%，这主要得益于五笔价值超过100亿美元的大型交易。2024年，42%的收购资产价值分配给了未探明油田，而2023年这一比例仅为18%，这表明油气企业有意构建未来钻井库存，并确保长期生产潜力。

尽管有两个因素通常有助于降低生产成本——大宗商品价格下跌和并购活动预期产生的协同效应——但 2024 年每桶油当量成本仍上涨了 1%。这一意外增长凸显了并购交易后初期经常出现的一些运营挑战。

由于企业将资本转向收购，勘探和开发成本同比下降7%。然而，产量替代率依然强劲，发现和开发（不包括修正）的产量替代率超过100%，展现出该行业即使在减少传统勘探支出的情况下仍具有增加储量的能力。

“虽然我们研究中的公司业绩强劲，执行了并购和先进的钻探项目，但重心正在转移，”该研究的主要作者、安永石油和天然气审计合伙人赫伯·利斯特 (Herb Listen) 表示。“鉴于供需、定价、关税和地缘政治方面持续存在的不确定性，运营效率和资本纪律将至关重要。那些能够快速适应、进行战略性投资并有效整合的公司将定义美国能源的新篇章。”

The US oil and gas industry is experiencing a seismic transformation, driven by a wave of mergers and acquisitions that has narrowed the field of top publicly traded exploration and production companies from 50 to 40. This shift is detailed in the newly released US Oil and Gas Reserves, Production and ESG Benchmarking Study by Ernst & Young (EY). Despite the smaller set, the 40 companies analyzed still account for approximately 41% of US oil and gas production in 2024 — a proportion consistent with previous years.

The EY Benchmarking Study analyzes SEC-reported data and ESG disclosures from the 40 largest publicly traded oil and gas companies, as determined by their 2024 year-end US oil and gas reserves. The study focuses specifically on the companies’ US operations and covers the period from 2020 to 2024. These companies represent approximately 41% of total US oil and gas production and serve as a bellwether of industry trends.

“This is a defining moment for the US upstream sector,” said Pat Jelinek, EY Americas Oil & Gas and Chemicals Leader. “Fewer, stronger players are emerging, and they are better capitalized, more efficient and laser-focused on resilient growth. The new top 40 companies aren’t just survivors; they’re poised to shape the future of American energy.”

The $206.6 billion in M&A activity in 2024 — up 331% from 2023 — was driven by five megadeals of more than $10 billion in value. In 2024, 42% of the acquired assets’ value was allocated to unproved properties, up from just 18% in 2023, signaling a clear intent to build future drilling inventory and secure long-term production potential.

Despite two factors that typically help reduce production costs — falling commodity prices and expected synergies from M&A activity — costs per BOE rose by 1% in 2024. This unexpected increase highlights some of the operational challenges often seen in the early years post-M&A transaction.

Exploration and development costs declined 7% year-over-year, as companies shifted capital toward acquisitions. Yet production replacement rates remained strong, exceeding 100% from finding and development (excluding revisions), and demonstrating the sector’s ability to grow reserves even while spending less on traditional exploration.

“While the companies in our study delivered strong results, executed M&A and advanced drilling programs, the focus is shifting,” said Herb Listen, lead author of the study and Oil & Gas Assurance Partner at EY. “With ongoing uncertainty around supply and demand, pricing, tariffs and geopolitics, operational efficiency and capital discipline will be critical. The companies that adapt quickly, invest strategically and integrate effectively will define the next chapter of US energy.”