2021年经济学人 阿联酋闹“分手”,OPEC$#$会散伙吗?(1)

Finance & economics

财经板块

Oil markets

石油市场

Division over the spoils

瓜分战利品

The latest rift¹ within OPEC is a sign of things to come

石油输出国组织内部的最新裂痕是事态发展的一个信号

It is rare for spats² about oil supply to break out between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The countries' views on output usually align³.

沙特阿拉伯和阿拉伯联合酋长国(UAE)之间很少发生关于石油供应的争吵。这些国家对产出的看法通常是一致的。

Traders and analysts⁴ regard them, along with Kuwait, as the core of the Organisation⁵ of the Petroleum⁶ Exporting Countries (OPEC).

交易员和分析师认为他们和科威特一样是石油输出国组织(OPEC)的核心。

So eyebrows⁷ were raised in early July when Suhail Al Mazrouei, the UAE's energy minister, told reporters that OPEC's quotas⁸ were "totally unfair".

因此，当阿联酋能源部长Suhail Al Mazrouei于7月初告诉记者欧佩克的配额“非常不公平”时，人们扬起了眉毛。

A further surprise came on July 5th when meetings between the cartel and its allies (notably Russia), together known as OPEC+, were abandoned because of the row.

7月5日，更令人惊讶的是，该组织与其盟国(尤其是俄罗斯)的会议因为争吵而被放弃。

The price of the benchmark Brent crude rose above $77 a barrel for the first time in more than two years, before dropping back below $75; that of American crude briefly⁹ hit a six-year high.

基准布伦特原油价格两年多来首次升至每桶77美元以上，之后又回落至每桶75美元以下。美国原油价格一度创下六年新高。

OPEC+ introduced swingeing production cuts last spring as covid-19 began to spread, the demand for fuel tanked and the oil price collapsed¹⁰ to below $30 per barrel.

去年春天，随着新冠疫情开始蔓延，燃油需求急剧增加，油价跌至每桶30美元以下，欧佩克+开始大幅减产。

More recently the cartel has been carefully increasing supply as demand has revived and oil prices have recovered.

最近，随着需求复苏和油价回升，欧佩克一直在谨慎地增加供应。

The cancelled meeting had been convened¹¹ with the goal of agreeing on further increases to output after July.

这次被取消的会议的目的是就7月以后进一步增产达成一致。

At the same time the Saudis and others were also seeking to extend the current regime for assigning cuts to members' production.

与此同时，沙特和其他国家也在寻求延长现有的削减成员国石油产量的机制。

But the UAE wants the quotas, which are based on countries' oil-producing potential in October 2018, to be revised.

但阿联酋希望修改配额，该配额是基于2018年10月各国的石油生产潜力。

Its supply capacity has grown by almost a fifth since then, thanks to heavy investment.

自那以来，由于大量投资，其供应能力增长了近五分之一。

A third of its production is now sitting idle—a greater share than in any other OPEC+ country.

三分之一的石油产量目前处于闲置状态，这一比例比任何其他欧佩克+国家都要高。

Other members, in particular Saudi Arabia, are reluctant to see production rise too much, however.

然而，其他成员国，尤其是沙特阿拉伯，不愿看到产量增长太多。

That is partly because giving way on quotas could mean that countries such as Russia startto make similar demands.

这在一定程度上是因为，在配额方面做出让步可能意味着俄罗斯等国开始提出类似的要求。

But it could also reflect the Saudis' desire to avoid overproduction at a time when non-OPEC producers may expand supply, too.

但这也可能反映出在非欧佩克产油国可能扩大供应之际沙特希望避免生产过剩。

The usual suspects would have been America's shale¹² producers, who in the past have often increased output when oil prices rise.

通常的怀疑对象是美国的页岩气生产商，他们过去经常在油价上涨时增加产量。

This time may be different, though. The industry is trying to change its ways, promising¹³ to keep a tight rein¹⁴ on oil output,restrain investment and return cash to shareholders¹⁵.

不过这一次可能有所不同。石油行业正试图改变现状，承诺严格控制石油产量，限制投资，并向股东返还现金。

1 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

2 spats   

n.口角( spat的名词复数 )；小争吵；鞋罩；鞋套v.spit的过去式和过去分词( spat的第三人称单数 )；口角；小争吵；鞋罩

参考例句：

• Gasoline is a solvent liquid that removes grease spats. 汽油是一种能脱去油迹的有溶解能力的液体。 来自辞典例句
• Then spats took a catnap, and the bird looked out for dogs. 然后斯派茨小睡了一会儿。小鸟为它站岗放哨，防止狗跑过来。 来自互联网

3 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

6 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

7 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

8 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

9 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

10 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

11 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

12 shale   

n.页岩，泥板岩

参考例句：

• We can extract oil from shale.我们可以从页岩中提取石油。
• Most of the rock in this mountain is shale.这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。

13 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

14 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

15 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任