雪佛龙公司市值首次超过埃克森美孚

据彭博新闻社2020年10月7日休斯敦报道，美国第2大石油公司雪佛龙公司的市场价值日前超过了美国最大的上市石油公司埃克森美孚公司，成为了美国市值最大的石油公司，这是这家总部位于得克萨斯州的美国石油巨头的市值自一个多世纪前作为标准石油公司开始以来首次被雪佛龙公司取代。

10月7日美国交易收盘时，总部位于加州的雪佛龙公司的市值为1420亿美元，而埃克森公司的市值为1416亿美元。

疫情导致了今年能源价格暴跌，整个油气行业都受到了影响。但在大型石油公司中，雪佛龙公司的资产负债表表现最为强劲，该公司日前完成了对诺布尔能源公司50亿美元的收购。相比之下，埃克森美孚公司正在努力创造足够的现金来支付资本支出，这使得它不得不依赖债务，并给每年150亿美元的股息带来巨大压力。

一年多来，雪佛龙公司一直在逼近其长期竞争对手，甚至在疫情压垮石油需求之前。雪佛龙一直专注于雪佛龙公司的页岩业务，削减成本并严格控制新项目。埃克森公司推行了一系列耗资巨大的项目，有望在多年生产停滞后实现增长，但在疫情来时，这些项目拖累了埃克森美孚公司的现金流。

这两家美国石油巨头在欧洲的最大竞争对手英国石油公司和荷兰皇家壳牌公司也面临着自己的问题，它们的股价在今年早些时候削减了宝贵的股息以后大幅下挫。一些分析师认为，埃克森美孚公司可能是下一个削减派息的公司。高盛集团分析师日前在一份报告中说，在2025年前，这家美国石油巨头如果不减少现金支出或出售资产，就无法为派息提供资金。

李峻 编译自 彭博社

原文如下：

Chevron Bypasses ExxonMobil in Market Value

Chevron Corp. overtook Exxon Mobil Corp. as the largest oil company in America by market value, the first time the Texas-based giant has been dethroned since it began as Standard Oil more than a century ago.

California-based Chevron had a market capitalization of $142 billion at the close of U.S. trading on Wednesday, compared with Exxon’s $141.6 billion.

The entire oil and gas sector is suffering from the plunge in energy prices this year caused by Covid-19. But Chevron has emerged with the strongest balance sheet among its Big Oil peers -- it was able to complete its $5 billion acquisition of Noble Energy Inc. last week. Exxon, by contrast, is struggling to generate enough cash to pay for capital expenditures, leaving it reliant on debt and putting pressure on its $15 billion-a-year dividend.

Chevron had been closing in on its long-time rival for more than a year, even before the pandemic crushed oil demand. Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth has focused on Chevron’s shale operations, cutting costs and keeping a tight rein on new projects. Exxon pursued a series of expensive projects that promised growth after years of stagnating production, but which became a drag on its cash flow when the pandemic hit.

The American giants’ biggest European rivals, BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, face problems of their own -- their shares slumped after cutting their prized dividends earlier this year. Some analysts believe Exxon may be next in line to cut its payout. The U.S. company will be unable to fund its dividend without drawing down cash or selling assets before 2025, analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a note Tuesday.