据海湾新闻网2022年3月12日纽约报道，美国页岩勘探公司本周恢复了增长模式，一个月内增加了最多的钻机。 

根据贝克休斯公司3月11日发布的数据，在3月11日结束的那周里美国在用石油钻机数增加了8部，达到了527部，这是自2月11日以来的最大增幅。 继上周减少3部石油钻机后，此次增加的大部分来自世界上最忙的页岩盆地——位于西得克萨斯州和新墨西哥州的二叠纪盆地。  

由于油价每桶突破100美元，美国敦促美国石油公司增加原油产量。美国西得克萨斯中质原油自去年11月初以来迄今已上涨66%。

不过，增加产量的呼吁与主要页岩勘探公司将财务纪律置于增长之上的承诺相冲突，而且考虑到对化石燃料历来的敌意，以及新钻井活动无法带来长期回报的风险，许多页岩勘探公司对此持谨慎态度。  

随着时间的推移，钻井活动的效率提高了，因为勘探公司可以用更少的钻机和更少的支出做更多的事情。目前，美国钻井活动仍比疫情爆发前的高点低逾20%。 

在用钻机数量是一个受到密切关注的指标，因为它预示着未来的原油产量。 然而，这种关系并不完美，因为从钻一口井到开始生产之间存在时间差。 过去一年左右，在用钻机数量的增长主要来自于少数人持股的勘探公司，这些公司希望提高产量，以期寻求收购机会。  

李峻 编译自 海湾新闻网

原文如下：

Shale drilling climbs as oil prices surge

Shale explorers returned to growth mode this week, adding the most rigs in a month.

The number of rigs drilling for crude in the US rose by 8 to 527 this week, the biggest gain since February 11, according to Baker Hughes Co. data released Friday. Most of the expansion, which follows last week’s drop of 3 oil rigs, came in the world’s busiest shale patch, the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico.

President has urged US oil companies to step up production as oil prices above $100 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude, which was already rallying before the war, is now 66 per cent up since early November.

The plea for more production collides with commitments that major shale explorers have made to prioritize financial discipline over growth, though, and many are wary given  historic hostility toward fossil fuels and the risk that new drilling won’t pay off over the long term.

Drilling activity, which has become more efficient over time by allowing explorers to do more with fewer rigs and less spending, remains more than 20 per cent below pre-pandemic highs.

The rig count is a closely watched metric because it’s indicative of future crude production. The relationship is imperfect, however, because of the time lag between drilling a well and commencing production. Most of the growth in the rig count over the past year or so has been from the closely held explorers looking to boost output in order to seek offers to get bought out.