西方石油公司寻求出售中东资产以减少债务

据美国彭博新闻社2020年6月9日伦敦报道，据知情人士透露，美国第4大石油公司西方石油公司（Oxy）时下正在评估其出售中东资产的选择方案，以寻求减少债务的方法。

知情人士称，总部位于休斯顿的Oxy正在考虑减持其在阿曼石油和天然气田的股份。由于信息保密而要求不具名采访的知情人士说，Oxy在沙特的持股价值可能超过10亿美元。

知情人士说，Oxy也对剥离中东的其他资产持开放态度，不过Oxy迄今尚未正式征求各方的兴趣。除阿曼外，Oxy还在阿联酋和卡塔尔设有分公司。

在去年收购阿纳达科石油公司以后，Oxy背负了大约400亿美元的债务。Oxy已经从一家稳定的、多元化的生产商转变为一家专注于页岩的钻探商，其股价今年迄今已下跌了逾40%。能源需求的暴跌恶化了Oxy的财务状况，迫使Oxy在5月份把季度股息降至数十年来的最低水平。

Oxy的网站显示，Oxy迄今已经在阿曼生产了30多年。Oxy在阿曼北部的Safah油田和第62号区块以及南部的Mukhaizna油田拥有业务。

Oxy拥有阿布扎比国家石油公司的阿联酋Al Hosn项目的40%股权，以及卡塔尔北部油田24.5%的股权，这两个项目都是该地区最大的气田。Oxy还拥有Dolphin 能源公司的股份，后者对来自卡塔尔项目的天然气进行处理，然后通过管道将其输送到阿联酋。

李峻 编译自 彭博社

原文如下：

Oxy debates selling down Middle East assets to reduce debt

Occidental Petroleum Corp. is reviewing options for its Middle Eastern assets as it seeks ways to reduce its debt pile, people familiar with the matter said.

Houston-based Occidental is considering reducing its stakes in oil and natural gas fields in Oman, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Its holdings in the Gulf sultanate could be valued at more than $1 billion, the people said.

The company is also open to divesting other assets in the Middle East, though it isn’t formally soliciting interest, the people said. Outside of Oman, it has a presence in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Occidental was saddled with about $40 billion of debt after its purchase of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. last year. It has gone from being a steady, diversified producer to a shale-focused driller that has seen its shares fall more than 40% this year. A slump in energy demand worsened Occidental’s financial situation, forcing it in May to cut a quarterly dividend to the lowest level in decades.

The company has been producing in Oman for more than 30 years, according to Occidental’s website. It has operations at the Safah Field and Block 62 in the north of the country and at the Mukhaizna Field in the south.

Occidental has a 40% holding in Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s Al Hosn project in the United Arab Emirates and a 24.5% interest in Qatar’s North Field, which both rank among the region’s biggest gas reservoirs. It also owns a stake in Dolphin Energy Ltd., which processes gas from the Qatar project and transports it by pipeline to the UAE.