据9月2日Gulf Times报道，按市值计算，雪佛龙公司（Chevron Corp）几乎取代荷兰皇家壳牌（Royal Dutch Shell Plc）成为全球市值第二大石油公司。

对大型石油公司来说，八月是特别糟糕的月份，国际贸易紧张局势令全球经济增长前景黯淡，也抑制了原油需求。斯托克欧洲600石油天然气指数(Stoxx Europe 600 Oil & Gas Index)下跌6.3%，创下近四年来的最大月度跌幅，反映了布伦特原油价格的下滑。

但壳牌公司的情况最糟。上个月，它在伦敦的B股暴跌超过12%，这是自2008年金融危机以来从未见过的下跌幅度，那次金融危机使其市值缩水近260亿英镑(320亿美元)。这让其首席执行官Ben van Beurden让该企业成为行业第一的梦想更加遥不可及。

在收购英国天然气集团(BG Group Plc)之后，壳牌确立了自己的第二大石油公司地位，缩小了与埃克森美孚的市值差距，但其美国竞争对手雪佛龙现在又赶上来了。

他们归因于收益。壳牌第二季度净利润下滑，远低于预期，与分析师平均预期相差近30%。这是该公司两年多来最大的亏损，迫使首席财务官Jessica Uhl承认，该公司可能需要找到更好地预期管理方法。

另一方面，雪佛龙第二季度的业绩比分析师预期高出21%。今年8月，该公司的股价仍与业内其它公司一样下跌，但跌幅仅为壳牌的三分之一。它以美元交易，这是相对于以英镑计价的壳牌B股的一个优势——英镑受到脱欧进程的冲击。

这两家公司仍然远远落后于埃克森美孚，其市值接近2900亿美元，而雪佛龙和壳牌的市值为2230亿美元。

洪伟立 摘译自 Gulf Times

原文如下：

Shell’s woeful August risks run as 2nd-largest oil major

Big Oil has a new contender for the No 2 spot. Chevron Corp has almost displaced Royal Dutch Shell Plc as the second-largest oil company by market capitalisation.

It’s been a particularly grim month for Big Oil, as trade war dimmed the picture for global economic growth, stymieing crude demand. The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil & Gas Index was headed for a 6.3% decline, among the largest monthly drops in nearly four years, which mirrors the slide in Brent prices.

But Shell had it worst. Its B shares in London have plunged more than 12% last month, a decline not seen since the 2008 financial crisis, which has knocked almost ￡26bn ($32bn) off its market value. That’s put chief executive officer Ben van Beurden’s dream of being No 1 in the industry by every measure even further out of reach.

Shell established itself as the No 2 oil company following its acquisition of BG Group Plc, narrowing its market cap gap with Exxon Mobil Corp. But its US competitor Chevron has now caught up with it again.

Blame earnings. Shell’s net income slid in the second quarter and was far weaker than expected, falling short of the average analyst estimate by almost 30%. That was its biggest miss in more than two years, and pushed chief financial officer Jessica Uhl to acknowledge the company should probably find a way to better manage expectations.

Chevron, on the other hand, surpassed second-quarter analyst estimates by 21%. Its shares still fell in August, along with the rest of the industry, but its dip was only a third of Shell’s. It’s also traded in dollars, an advantage over sterling-denominated Shell B shares. The British currency has been pummelled by the Brexit process.

Both companies still trail Exxon by a large margin. The Irving, Texas-based oil giant’s market cap is almost $290bn, compared to Chevron and Shell’s $223bn.