据美国彭博新闻社2022年8月3日报道，美国第2大天然气生产公司切萨皮克能源公司计划退出位于得克萨斯州南部的鹰福特页岩远景区，同时加大对其他两个天然气盆地的投资，切萨皮克能源公司今后将专注于天然气生产，而不是石油。

切萨皮克能源公司由Aubrey McClendon联合创立，是美国最知名的页岩运营商之一。切萨皮克能源公司计划在今年下半年至2023年期间增加路易斯安那州海恩斯维尔页岩远景区的钻井预算。切萨皮克能源公司表示，该公司还将专注于美国东北部的马塞勒斯页岩远景区。

这是切萨皮克能源公司最新的战略转变，该公司于去年2月摆脱破产，此后一直在利用飙升的天然气价格。这家总部位于俄克拉何马城的公司8月2日公布，第二季度净收入为12.4亿美元，而去年同期为亏损439美元。

切萨皮克能源公司首席执行官尼克?戴尔奥索对投资者表示，剥离鹰福特页岩远景区资产“不会是廉价出售”，可能包括多项交易。这些销售预计将产生数十亿美元的收入，这些收入将用于推动切萨皮克能源公司向投资者返还资本的计划。

8月3日，戴尔奥索在公司收益电话会议上表示：“尽管鹰福特页岩远景区是一项强大的资产，但展望未来，它根本无法与我们的天然气资产的卓越回报相竞争。鹰福特页岩远景区已经不是我们未来资本配置战略的核心，我们相信，如果我们把所有的资源，包括资本和人力，都集中在马塞勒斯和海恩斯维尔页岩远景区，我们会成为一家更好的公司。”

按照之前的管理团队，切萨皮克能源公司在破产前在石油资源丰富的鹰福特页岩远景区扩张了业务。但戴尔奥索的言论并不是该公司试图扭转这种扩张势头的第一个迹象。知情人士当时告诉彭博新闻社，切萨皮克能源公司正与顾问合作，在去年4月以高达20亿美元的价格出售鹰福特页岩远景区资产。

李峻 编译自 美国彭博新闻社

原文如下：

Chesapeake Energy to exit Eagle Ford Shale, focus on natural gas

Chesapeake Energy Corp. plans to exit the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas while doubling down on two other natural basins as the energy company focuses on natural gas production while retreating from oil.

The company, which was co-founded by Aubrey McClendon and became one of the best-know US shale operators, plans to increase its drilling budget for the Haynesville shale in Louisiana during the second half and into 2023. The company said it will also focus on the Marcellus shale in the northeastern US.

It’s the latest strategic shift for Chesapeake, which emerged from bankruptcy in February last year and has since ridden a wave of surging gas prices. The Oklahoma City-based company on Tuesday reported second-quarter net income of $1.24 billion compared with a $439 loss a year earlier.

Chief Executive Officer Nick Dell’Osso told investors the divestment of its Eagle Ford assets “will not be a fire sale” and may comprise multiple transactions. Those sales are expected to generate billions of dollars of proceeds that will be used to boost the company’s plans to return capital to investors.

“While the Eagle Ford is a strong asset, as we look to the future, it simply does not compete today with the exceptional returns, rock and runway of our gas assets,” Dell’Osso said Wednesday on the company’s earnings conference call. “The Eagle Ford has become non-core to our future capital allocation strategy and we believe that we will be a better company if we focus all of our resources, both capital and human, on the Marcellus and Haynesville.”

Chesapeake had bulked up in the oil-rich Eagle Ford under previous management teams and prior to bankruptcy. But the comments from Dell’Osso aren’t the first indication it was looking to reverse that expansion. Chesapeake was working with advisers to sell Eagle Ford assets for as much as $2 billion in April 2021, people familiar with the plan told Bloomberg News at the time.