西方石油公司首席执行官维姬霍卢布 11 月 21 日在德克萨斯州米德兰举行的哈特能源 执行石油会议暨博览会上表示，能源公司将继续整合，以追逐维持生产所需的资源。

霍卢布表示，“毫无疑问，不仅在二叠纪盆地、不仅在美国，而且在世界各地都会出现整合。”

全球现有石油储量约 2 吨，其中大部分由各个国家和国家石油公司控制，剩余的石油则被独立石油公司瓜分。

“大型公司将很难找到替代其产品，”她说道。“这导致大型石油公司必须进行并购，否则就会陷入衰退。”

霍卢布的建议直接出自 Oxy 的策略。霍卢布表示，该公司于 2019 年完成以 550 亿美元收购阿纳达科石油公司 (Anadarko Petroleum Corp.)，这对 Oxy 而言具有“变革性”，该公司击败雪佛龙公司 (Chevron Corp.)成功达成这笔交易。

“当我在 2016 年接任时，我们没有足够的现金流来支付股息和资本计划，”她说道。“我们不仅想进一步改善现金流，还想增加投资组合，并希望更加专注于美国的发展。收购阿纳达科一举实现了这三点。”

然后，就在阿纳达科即将还清债务时，CrownRock LP于 2023 年 9 月出现了。

“起初我们并不想收购它，”她说道，但“它是那种非常罕见的资产和人才，以及我们认为我们需要的未来发展机会。它让 Permian Basin 真正成为了 Oxy 的基础。”

投资者尚未对这一组合产生兴趣。Oxy 股价目前约为 51 美元，接近 52 周低点 48.42 美元。52 周高点为 71.19 美元。

霍卢布说：“鉴于全球局势动荡，人们希望我们进一步加强资产负债表。”她表示，公司正在努力在未来几年内将净债务减少至 150 亿美元。

霍卢布表示，除了整合油田面积的目标外，Oxy 和其他 Permian 油田运营商还必须注重减少排放和水资源管理。

正是出于这种考虑，Oxy 发展了直接空气捕获项目。

Oxy 的 CCUS 子公司1PointFive捕获二氧化碳以回收更多石油并支持其化学品业务。

她表示：“这里的协同效应非常广泛，对我们来说非常契合。”

Energy companies are going to keep consolidating as they chase the resources needed to sustain production, Occidental Petroleum Corp. CEO Vicki Hollub said Nov. 21 at Hart Energy’s Executive Oil Conference & Expo in Midland, Texas.

“Without a doubt, there’s going to be consolidation, not just in the Permian, not just in the U.S., but around the world,” Hollub said.

Countries and national oil companies control most of the 2 Tbbl of oil available in the world, leaving independents scrambling for the remainder.

“Large companies are going to have a very hard time replacing what they produce,” she said. “That’s created a lot of need for the largest oil companies to do M&A—or they become a declining business.”

Hollub’s advice is straight out of Oxy’s playbook. The company’s $55 billion purchase of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., completed in 2019, was “transformational” for Oxy, which famously beat out Chevron Corp. to make the deal, Hollub said.

“When I took over in 2016, we didn’t have the cash flow to cover our dividends and our capital programs,” she said. “We wanted to further improve not only our cash flow, we also wanted to increase our portfolio and we wanted to become more focused on U.S. development. The Anadarko acquisition did all three of those in one swoop.”

Then CrownRock LP showed up in September 2023 just as Anadarko was almost paid off.

“Initially we didn’t want to go after it,” she said, but “it was one of those that comes along very rarely where you can find the assets and the people that were so superior and the future development that we felt like we needed. It makes the Permian Basin really the foundation of Oxy.”

Investors haven’t warmed to the combination yet. Oxy shares are trading at about $51, near the 52-week low of $48.42. The 52-week high is $71.19.

“With all the volatility around the world, people would like us to further strengthen our balance sheet,” Hollub said. She said the company is working to reduce its net debt to $15 billion over the next few years.

On top of consolidation targets for acreage, Oxy and other Permian operators also have to focus on reducing emissions and managing water, Hollub said.

Oxy grew its direct air capture program with this in mind.

Oxy’s CCUS subsidiary 1PointFive captures CO2 to recover more oil and support its chemicals business.

“The synergies are broad there, and it was a perfect fit for us,” she said.