在阿根廷一个风大、偏远的油田，雪佛龙（CVX.N）正引入美国工人、设备和专业技术，押注能在瓦卡穆尔塔地层复制二十年前改变美国石油行业的二叠纪盆地页岩油热潮，而此前在那里取得成功一直遥不可及。
In a windy, remote oilfield in Argentina, Chevron (CVX.N) is bringing in US workers, equipment and expertise, betting it can recreate the Permian Basin shale boom that transformed the US oil industry two decades ago, this time in the Vaca Muerta formation, where success has long been elusive.
一位公司高管告诉路透，这家美国石油生产商希望加快其将阿根廷产量增加两倍（即增至三倍）的目标，计划到2029年初将其埃尔特拉皮亚尔区块的钻机数量从一台增至三台。公司官员表示，从长远来看，公司正在争取政府批准其在30年内投资138亿美元的计划，以便提高该区块的产量，该区块是雪佛龙在该地层的三个项目之一。
The US oil producer hopes to accelerate its goal of tripling production from Argentina, with plans to go from one to three drilling rigs at its El Trapial block by early 2029, a company executive told Reuters. Longer term, the company is working to secure government approval for its plan to spend $13.8 billion over 30 years so it can increase production at the block, one of Chevron's three projects in the formation, company officials said.
瓦卡穆尔塔在西班牙语中意为“死牛”，是世界上最大的页岩盆地之一。由于阿根廷动荡的经济，那里的产量从未达到其全部潜力，该国经济历经保护主义、主权债务违约、恶性通胀和资本管制，导致企业难以获取美元支付进口费用。
Vaca Muerta, Spanish for dead cow, is one of the world’s largest shale basins. Output there has never reached its full potential due to Argentina's volatile economy, which has been marked by bouts of protectionism, sovereign debt defaults, hyperinflation and capital controls that made it difficult for companies to access US dollars to pay for imports.
“一直以来都有预期认为瓦卡穆尔塔的产出会超过实际水平，”能源咨询公司伍德麦肯兹首席分析师阿德里安·拉拉说。
"There's always been an expectation that Vaca Muerta would deliver more than it has," said Adrian Lara, a principal analyst at energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
伍德麦肯兹估计，在哈维尔·米莱总统领导下，这一局面正在改变，其全面改革加速了石油繁荣，使阿根廷有望在2028年超越圭亚那，成为南美第三大液体燃料生产国。
That is changing under President Javier Milei, whose sweeping reforms have accelerated an oil boom that has put Argentina on track to overtake Guyana to become the third-largest liquids producer in South America by 2028, Wood Mackenzie estimates.
根据伍德麦肯兹数据，预计今年阿根廷日均产量将达91万桶油当量，较米莱2023年上任时增长42%。
The country is expected to average 910,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day this year, a 42% increase from 2023 when Milei took office, according to Wood Mackenzie data.
即使有利好的政府政策，生产商仍须应对比二叠纪盆地更高的成本和不那么发达的供应链，雪佛龙单独在二叠纪盆地的日产量就约为100万桶油当量。
Even with favorable government policy, producers still must contend with higher costs and a less-developed supply chain than in the Permian, where Chevron alone produces about 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).
雪佛龙在阿根廷拥有25年以上的历史，并持有即将建成的瓦卡穆埃塔石油输出管道的股份，这表明雪佛龙对阿根廷石油行业能够保持上升趋势充满信心，雪佛龙国家经理安娜·西蒙纳托在布宜诺斯艾利斯接受采访时表示。
Chevron's 25-year-plus history in Argentina and its stake in the upcoming Vaca Muerta Oil Sur export pipeline demonstrate confidence that Argentina's oil sector can sustain its upward trajectory, country manager Ana Simonato said in an interview in Buenos Aires.
“区别在于我们合作和共同工作的方式。这对于推动瓦卡穆埃塔的发展非常重要，”她说。
"The difference is in the way that we're partnering and working together. That's something very important to enable Vaca Muerta's development," she said.
石油和天然气对阿根廷经济的重要性意味着，即使米莱在2027年没有连任，新政府也可能避免可能拖累能源行业的政策，拉拉表示。运营商在考虑长期投资时，仍面临米莱改革有多稳定的问题，他补充说。
The importance of oil and gas to Argentina's economy means that even if Milei is not reelected in 2027, a new administration may avoid policies that could slow the energy sector, Lara said. Operators are still confronting the question of how stable Milei's reforms will be as they consider long-term investments, he added.
雪佛龙6月披露，已为埃尔特拉皮亚尔提交了一项138亿美元的投资计划，但时间表以及其交付更多钻机并加速全国产量增长的计划此前未曾报道。
Chevron disclosed in June that it submitted a $13.8 billion investment plan for El Trapial, but the timeline and its plan to deliver additional rigs and accelerate production growth across the country have not been previously reported.
这家石油生产商去年表示，将把其在阿根廷的产量到2035年翻三倍，达到每天19.5万桶油当量。如果能在明年6月增加第二台钻机，并在2029年初左右在埃尔特拉皮亚尔增加第三台钻机，该时间表可能会提前，雪佛龙页岩和致密岩油总裁格尔伯特·斯库恩曼表示。“我希望我们能提前一两年，”他说。
The oil producer said last year it would triple its output across Argentina by 2035 to 195,000 boepd. That timeline could accelerate if it is able to add a second drilling rig in June next year and a third around early 2029 at El Trapial, Chevron's president of shale and tight, Gerbert Schoonman, said. "I'm hoping we can shave a year or two off," he said.
雪佛龙全资拥有并运营埃尔特拉皮亚尔，该油田目前每天生产4万桶油当量。它还持有洛坎帕纳和纳兰布埃纳各50%的股权，前者每天生产约11万桶油当量，后者尚未开始生产。能源公司YPF（YPFDm.BA）运营这两个油田，它们也位于瓦卡穆埃塔。
Chevron fully owns and operates El Trapial, which currently produces 40,000 boepd. It also holds a 50% interest in both Loma Campana, which produces about 110,000 boepd, and Narambuena, which has not yet started production. Energy firm YPF (YPFDm.BA) operates both, which are also located in Vaca Muerta.
埃尔特拉皮亚尔是雪佛龙瓦卡穆埃塔长期战略的核心。雪佛龙计划将该区块西部区块的合同期限延长至2032年到期之后，并建造油水分离罐等额外设施，以应对产量增加，西蒙纳托表示。
El Trapial is central to Chevron's long-term Vaca Muerta strategy. Chevron envisions extending its contract for the block's western section beyond its 2032 expiration and building additional facilities such as tanks to separate oil and water to handle increased production, Simonato said.
该地处偏远，需从内乌肯市乘坐45分钟包机抵达。雪佛龙正在更换营地中工作人员居住的旧房屋，改建为每栋设有八间卧室的新建筑。餐厅菜单上有牛排——对于一个以牛肉闻名的国家来说并不意外——而新建的足球场和普德尔球场（一项在全球迅速走红的球拍运动）步行即可抵达。
The remote location requires a 45-minute chartered flight from the city of Neuquen. Chevron is replacing older housing units on the campgrounds where crews stay with redesigned buildings with eight bedrooms each. The dining hall's menu features steak — not surprising for a country known for beef — while a new soccer field and courts for padel, a racket sport booming in popularity worldwide, are a short walk away.
开发该油田仍面临巨大障碍。雪佛龙阿根廷业务经理胡安·巴勃罗·罗马诺在9月对埃尔特拉皮亚尔的新闻参观团表示，在该地让一口油井投产的成本比在二叠纪盆地高出约30%，不过瓦卡穆埃塔更好的石油产量有助于缩小差距。
The hurdles to develop the field remain vast. Bringing a well online costs about 30% more than in the Permian, though better oil productivity in Vaca Muerta helps to close the gap, Chevron Argentina operations manager Juan Pablo Romano said during a September press tour of El Trapial.
用于水力压裂（即“压裂”）的砂子由卡车运送，行程近2000公里（1240英里），从布宜诺斯艾利斯以北运来，因为当地的砂源尚未为高压工艺产生令人满意的结果，斯库恩曼说。
Sand used for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is delivered on trucks that travel nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) from north of Buenos Aires, as local sources of sand have not yet produced satisfactory results for the high-pressure process, Schoonman said.
斯库恩曼表示，当第二套钻机于6月交付时，雪佛龙将能够积累足够的已钻井库存，使压裂队能够在现场连续作业，而非目前的间歇性作业计划。
Schoonman said that when the second rig is delivered in June, Chevron will be able to build enough inventory of drilled wells so a fracking crew can work continuously on-site, rather than their current intermittent schedule.
斯库恩曼补充说，能够连续钻井和压裂井是二叠纪盆地和其他美国页岩盆地的“游戏规则改变者”。“瓦卡穆埃塔也会如此。我对此深信不疑，”他说。
The ability to continuously drill and frack wells was a game changer for the Permian and other US shale basins, Schoonman added. "The same will happen in Vaca Muerta. I'm 100% convinced of that," he said.