美国国家公共电台 NPR--A price cap on Russian oil exports agreed to by the G-7 goes into effect today

A price cap on Russian oil exports agreed to by the G-7 goes into effect today

Transcript¹

The restrictions² come a day after the members of OPEC Plus — which includes Russia — met and agreed to maintain current oil production targets while they wait and see the effect of the sanctions.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

This is the day much of the world says it will get serious about blocking Russian oil profits.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The European Union bans Russian oil as of today. Russia will continue selling oil elsewhere in the world. But as we've reported, Europe has a plan to cut the oil profits that power Russia's war in Ukraine. Europe dominates the insurance industry and won't insure oil tankers⁴ unless the oil price is very low.

INSKEEP: All of this could affect global oil markets depending on what the world's other producers do. And NPR's international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam is following that. Jackie, good morning.

JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: OK. OPEC+, these major oil producers, Saudi Arabia and so forth⁶, met and decided⁷ they're not going to do anything yet having to do with their production amounts, which can affect the price of oil around the world. Why?

NORTHAM: Well, largely because OPEC+ is uncertain what's going to happen now that the Western bans are taking effect. As you said, all seaborne imports of Russian oil to EU countries is banned as of today. And remember, before the Ukraine war, Europe was Russia's largest oil customer. And then there's the G7 price caps on Russian crude sold throughout the rest of the world. And that's set at $60 a barrel.

So you're talking about the potential of a million, 2 million barrels coming off the market. You can imagine the impact on prices. But, you know, it's uncertain if that will happen. We could see some major shifts in the global oil market. We just don't know. It seems OPEC+ wants to wait and see how this is going to play out. And, you know, it has said that it is ready to meet again at any time to make changes if necessary.

INSKEEP: As you have told us, Europe has the power since they control the insurance industry. But is Russia really going to allow its profits to be cut this way?

NORTHAM: Well, oil is Russia's main moneymaker, so obviously it wants to keep selling it. President Vladimir Putin has long warned Russia will not sell any to countries taking part in this price cap. And that was repeated yesterday by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. You know, Russia has options, frankly⁸. The way the cap is supposed to be enforced is that no tanker³ will be insured if it's selling at a price higher than the cap.

But analysts⁹ I've spoken to say Russia has amassed¹⁰ about a hundred oil tankers, you know, a lot of refurbished ships that they're putting back on the water. And they're described as a shadow fleet of vessels¹¹. And these will help move some of Russia's oil, circumventing¹² the cap, even if it's not the same amount that they traditionally have produced and exported, you know, which means you could be looking at Russia having to shut down wells if they can't get all the oil out and something that Russians say they're prepared to do if they have to.

INSKEEP: Some people will be asking, because they drive cars or whatever, what about me? What's this mean for me? So how could Europe and the United States keep all of these efforts from raising global oil prices and wrecking¹³ Western economies?

NORTHAM: Well, there's certainly no guarantees. And you could see, you know, some effects immediately. But, you know, the EU ban on seaborne imports of Russian oil is set in stone, Steve. There's no going back on that. And Russia has been slowly weaning itself on oil and trying to set up new countries to get its oil. The G7 plan for the price cap, you know, that's never been tried before. So we're going to have to see how that works. But there's a lot of weak points and loopholes in the plan, particularly some of its major - Russia's major customers, such as China, India and Turkey. You know, they've been on a buying spree of heavily discounted Russian oil. They've not signed on to the plan at all. So we're going to have to see how this shakes out.

INSKEEP: NPR's Jackie Northam. Thanks so much.

NORTHAM: Thanks so much, Steve.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

4 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

9 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。

10 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 circumventing   

v.设法克服或避免（某事物），回避( circumvent的现在分词 )；绕过，绕行，绕道旅行

参考例句：

• They found a way of circumventing the law. 他们找到了规避法律的途径。
• This viewpoint sees the Multinational Corporation as capable of circumventing or subverting national objectives and policies. 这种观点认为，跨国公司能够遏制和破坏国家的目标和政策。 来自辞典例句

13 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句