中国独立炼油厂拟抱团采购原油

 　　A consortium of independent Chinese oil refineries¹ trying to get out from under the shadow of powerful state-owned rivals has laid out plans for co-ordinated international crude sourcing, and exports of diesel² and other oil products.

　　由中国独立炼油厂组成的一个联盟公布相关计划，拟协调采购国际原油，并出口柴油等成品油。这些炼油厂正试图走出强大国有对手的阴影。

　　Independent refineries, known as teapots, account for about a fifth of China’s refining capacity and have been gaining market share since Beijing granted them crude import licences.

　　被称为茶壶的独立炼油厂占中国炼油产能大约五分之一，自北京方面授予它们原油进口许可证以来，它们已扩大市场份额。

　　But their eagerness to capitalise on the new clearance³ resulted in chaotic⁴ buying in the spring that led to severe port congestion⁵ and high storage charges in China’s northern province of Shandong.

　　但它们利用新获得的进口许可的急切心理在今年春季带来一波混乱的购买，在中国北方省份山东导致港口拥堵和高昂存储费用。

　　The new consortium opens the door for more co-ordinated purchases and could help the teapots diversify⁶ their crude imports and lower their sourcing costs.

　　新的联盟为更加协调的采购打开了大门，可能帮助茶壶炼油厂分散原油进口来源，降低采购成本。

　　It is led by Pacific Commerce, the Singapore-registered trading arm of Dongming Petrochemical, one of the largest of the teapots and which will represent the 16-strong group in international crude sourcing and product sales.

　　该联盟由最大的茶壶之一太平洋商业控股有限公司（Pacific Commerce，东明石化(Dongming Petrochemical)在新加坡注册的交易部门）牵头，并将由其在国际原油采购和成品油销售中代表联盟中的逾16家集团。

　　On Tuesday, Pacific Commerce signed an agreement on behalf of the group to source 8m barrels a year of crude oil through Unipec, the trading arm of state-owned Sinopec.

　　周二，太平洋商业控股代表该联盟签署了通过国有的中石化(Sinopec)旗下交易部门联合石化(Unipec)每年进口800万桶原油的协议。

　　The deal follows a similar agreement with UK oil major BP.

　　此前该联盟与英国大型石油公司BP达成一个类似的协议。

　　The structure of the consortium means that Dongming is shouldering the risk for its Shandong-based partners.

　　该联盟的结构意味着东明为其山东合作伙伴肩负风险。

　　The refineries are discussing taking shares directly in Pacific Commerce and setting up a bank-backed fund in Shandong to absorb some of the risk, a step that would strengthen the group’s plans to trade oil as a unified⁷ block.

　　这些炼油厂正在讨论直接入股太平洋商业控股，并在山东设立一只银行支持的基金，以吸收一些风险，此举将加强该联盟作为一个统一实体交易石油的计划。

　　We are all brothers.

　　我们都是兄弟。

　　We know each other.

　　我们互相认识。

　　None of us would endanger the others, said Dongming vice-president Zhang Liuchang. We can’t ruin our credit because then the banks won’t lend to us.

　　我们中没有人会危害其他人，东明石化副总裁张留成表示，我们不能破坏自己的信用，因为那样银行就不会借钱给我们。

　　The independent refiners have for years scraped by on spare domestic crude and imported fuel oil while facing official hostility⁸.

　　这些独立炼油厂苦撑了多年，依靠国内富余原油和进口燃料油维持经营，还要面对官方的敌视。

　　Their fortunes turned when they were issued crude import licences, and were able to buy higher-quality crude due to the glut⁹ in international markets.

　　获得原油进口许可证让它们时来运转，利用国际市场的供应过剩买到更高品质的原油。

　　However, the reprieve¹⁰ was threatened when the National Development and Reform Commission warned in August that it could revoke¹¹ crude import licences for refiners that had not paid taxes.

　　然而，国家发展和改革委员会(NDRC)在8月警告称，尚未缴纳税款的炼油厂可能被吊销原油进口许可证，使这一局面受到威胁。

　　Various loopholes and complications in the Chinese tax code have in the past allowed teapots to avoid paying taxes on oil products refined from fuel oil.

　　以往，中国税法中的各种漏洞和复杂规定让茶壶得以规避为从燃料油提炼的成品油缴税。

　　That will raise our costs but sooner or later we need to regularise ourselves, Mr Zhang said.

　　那将提高我们的成本，但我们迟早需要让自己规范化，张留成表示。

　　The teapots’ resurgence¹² has had an impact beyond the domestic market, as they have contributed to a glut of diesel production in China that is pressuring middle distillate markets in Asia and as far away as the Middle East.

　　茶壶炼油厂复苏所产生的影响已经超越国内市场，它们加剧了中国的柴油产量过剩，给亚洲甚至中东的中质馏分油市场带来压力。

　　Their licences to export refined products expire at the end of this year, another disadvantage versus¹³ the big state-owned companies.

　　它们出口成品油的许可证将在今年底失效，这是它们相对于大型国有企业的另一个劣势。

　　To be truly a part of the international oil markets the independent refiners still need to convince global oil traders that they are creditworthy partners, especially after Baota Petrochemical, a teapot not part of the consortium, failed to get letters of credit last winter for $50m of crude purchased from traders Vitol and Mercuria.

　　要真正成为国际石油市场的一部分，这些独立炼油厂仍需要说服全球石油交易商相信，它们是守信用的合作伙伴，尤其是鉴于宝塔石化(Baota Petrochemical)——不属于这个联盟的一家茶壶炼油厂——去年冬天竟未能为其从维托尔(Vitol)和摩科瑞(Mercuria)两家交易商购买的5000万美元原油获得信用证。

1 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

2 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

3 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

4 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

5 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

6 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

7 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

8 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

9 glut   

n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.咖啡供过于求道致价格急剧下跌。
• There's a glut of agricultural products in Western Europe.西欧的农产品供过于求。

10 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

11 revoke   

v.废除，取消，撤回

参考例句：

• The university may revoke my diploma.大学可能吊销我的毕业证书。
• The government revoked her husband's license to operate migrant labor crews.政府撤销了她丈夫管理外来打工人群的许可证。

12 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

13 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。