The net debts of the largest Western oil companies have surged by a third over the past year, increasing their vulnerability to another fall in oil prices.

西方大型石油企业的净债务在过去一年中飙升了三分之一，加剧了它们在油价再度下跌情况下的脆弱性。

The aggregate¹ net debt of the 15 largest North American and European oil groups rose to $383bn at the end of March, up $97bn from 12 months ago, according to company reports compiled by Bloomberg.

根据彭博(Bloomberg)汇编的公司报告，北美和欧洲15家最大石油集团的净债务总额截至今年3月底增至3830亿美元，比12个月前高出970亿美元。

Oil companies’ revenues have slumped² as a result of the crash in crude prices that began in the summer of 2014. Although they have cut capital and operating costs sharply, most of them have had to borrow to finance their investment programmes and dividend³ payments.

石油公司营收下滑的原因是原油价格自2014年夏天起大跌。尽管这些企业已大幅削减资本支出和营运成本，但它们当中的大多数不得不借款以开展投资计划和派息。

The debt surge was particularly sharp in the first quarter of this year, when oil prices dropped to a low of about $27 per barrel.

债务升势在今年第一季度尤为剧烈，该季度油价一度跌至每桶约27美元的低谷。

Although interest rates are near record lows and oil prices have since recovered, ending last week at about $49, the increased indebtedness of the industry means it will face greater difficulties should oil prices slip back again.

虽然利率接近历史低点，油价也已从谷底回升（上周结束时达到每桶约49美元），但石油行业负债增加意味着，若油价再度回落，该行业将面临更大困难。

That would be likely to mean more job losses and investment cuts, as well as possibly dividend cuts and more defensive⁴ mergers⁵ and acquisitions.

那很可能会意味着更多裁员和投资削减，以及可能的股息削减和更多的防御性并购。

Part of the increase in oil debt over the past year is accounted for by the $19bn cash component⁶ of Royal Dutch Shell’s acquisition of BG Group. But all the large companies have reported sharp increases in their borrowings.

过去一年期间石油业债务增加，有一部分可归因于荷兰皇家壳牌(Royal Dutch Shell)以现金加股票方式收购BG集团(BG Group)的190亿美元现金部分。但是所有大公司都报告借款急剧增加。

ExxonMobil’s net debts rose to $38.3bn at the end of March from $27.6bn a year earlier, while BP’s rose to $30.6bn from $24.6bn over the same period.

埃克森美孚(ExxonMobil)的净负债在3月底升至383亿美元，而一年前为276亿美元；同期英国石油(BP)的净负债从246亿美元升至306亿美元。

The rising debts and lowered expectations for future oil prices have prompted many credit rating agencies to downgrade oil companies, with Exxon last month losing its triple A grade from Standard & Poor’s.

债务不断上升，而对未来油价水平的预期有所降低，这种局面促使很多信用评级机构调降石油企业的评级，上月埃克森失去了标准普尔(Standard & Poor’s)的AAA评级。

Although the rebound⁷ in oil prices is improving companies’ cash flows, and they are continuing to bear down on costs, they are still under financial strain with crude at present levels.

尽管油价反弹正在改善各企业的现金流，同时它们仍在继续压缩成本，但在目前油价水平上，它们的财务状况仍然紧张。

Jason Bloom, director of commodity research at Invesco PowerShares, said: “Prices at these levels are a big problem, not just for the smaller exploration and production companies, but also for the majors.”

Invesco PowerShares的大宗商品研究主管贾森•布鲁姆(Jason Bloom)表示：“目前的油价水平是一个很大的问题，不仅对较小的勘探和生产企业是如此，对大公司同样如此。”