據彭博新聞社2020年10月7日休斯敦報道，美國第2大石油公司雪佛龍公司的市場價值日前超過了美國最大的上市石油公司埃克森美孚公司，成為了美國市值最大的石油公司，這是這家總部位于得克薩斯州的美國石油巨頭的市值自一個多世紀前作為標準石油公司開始以來首次被雪佛龍公司取代。

10月7日美國交易收盤時，總部位于加州的雪佛龍公司的市值為1420億美元，而埃克森公司的市值為1416億美元。

疫情導致了今年能源價格暴跌，整個油氣行業都受到了影響。但在大型石油公司中，雪佛龍公司的資產負債表表現最為強勁，該公司日前完成了對諾布爾能源公司50億美元的收購。相比之下，埃克森美孚公司正在努力創造足夠的現金來支付資本支出，這使得它不得不依賴債務，并給每年150億美元的股息帶來巨大壓力。

一年多來，雪佛龍公司一直在逼近其長期競爭對手，甚至在疫情壓垮石油需求之前。雪佛龍一直專注于雪佛龍公司的頁巖業務，削減成本并嚴格控制新項目。埃克森公司推行了一系列耗資巨大的項目，有望在多年生產停滯后實現增長，但在疫情來時，這些項目拖累了埃克森美孚公司的現金流。

這兩家美國石油巨頭在歐洲的最大競爭對手英國石油公司和荷蘭皇家殼牌公司也面臨著自己的問題，它們的股價在今年早些時候削減了寶貴的股息以后大幅下挫。一些分析師認為，埃克森美孚公司可能是下一個削減派息的公司。高盛集團分析師日前在一份報告中說，在2025年前，這家美國石油巨頭如果不減少現金支出或出售資產，就無法為派息提供資金。

李峻 編譯自 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.