VOA慢速英语2015 Oil Supply Swells Driving Prices Down

 

AS IT IS 2015-01-09 Oil Supply Swells² Driving Prices Down

The price of oil has continued to drop, reaching its lowest levels in more than five years. Many experts say one main reason is that oil supplies are high. Carl Larry is an oil and gas expert for the United States consulting company Frost & Sullivan. He noted³ the big increase in U.S. oil production in recent years. But, Mr. Larry added that many experts did not expect the increase in production.

“If you were talking to any oil analyst⁴, myself included, just three years ago, nobody would have predicted that we would practically double our production by next year.”

Today, the U.S. is the world’s top oil producer.

“We’re producing 8.6 million barrels a day in America that’s up nearly 4 million barrels a day from just three years ago.”

However, while the U.S. needs to import less, major exporters are not reducing their oil output. This has caused world supplies to swell¹. One example is Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter. This week, Saudi Prince Salman read a speech from King Abdullah. He said the kingdom would continue with its current policy of pumping oil instead of cutting production.

The effects of low prices have spread around the world. Reduced oil profit is blamed for the sharp drop in the exchange value of Russia’s money, the ruble. Venezuela is also a major oil exporter and a member of the Organization of Petroleum⁵ Exporting Countries. That nation’s president, Nicolas Maduro, visited China this week in an effort to get financial assistance in exchange for oil. Venezuela’s economy is in a recession and inflation remains⁶ high.

Since June, big exporters used to high oil prices have seen a sharp drop in earnings⁷ related to oil sales. Benchmark Brent crude oil is below $50 dollars a barrel. Futures⁸, financial instruments meant to protect buyers against price changes, are selling oil at about $47 a barrel. That is a drop of about 50 percent in the past three months.

Carl Larry says high demand in the U.S. has not affected⁹ prices because of the huge increase in domestic production.  At the same time, economic activity in places like Europe and China has been slow. Additionally, oil that, in the past, would have been imported by the U.S., now has no buyers. Carl Larry calls the situation a “perfect storm.”

“So you have this perfect storm outside of the U.S. that’s causing these prices to come down really hard.”

Not every country has a problem with lower oil prices. The Asian Development Bank says the oil price drop gives area governments a chance to make reforms. That means cutting costly¹⁰ government subsidies¹¹ or financial assistance. The Asian Development Bank says Asia’s developing economies could add half a percent to growth while limiting inflation this year.

Carl Larry believes that such high supply means some exporters will need to make adjustments, like cutting production. He says only the OPEC countries, or possibly Russia, are in a position to do that.

“Somebody has to make adjustments. And right now, it looks like it’s going to be on OPEC, unless we see some action from Russia.”

Words in This Story

consulting- n. the act of providing consultation¹² or advice  

practically- adv. almost, nearly all

swell- v. to increase, to become bigger

domestic- adj. in the home country, at home

adjustments- n. small changes to improve how something works or to get better results

1 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

2 swells   

增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The waters were heaving up in great swells. 河水正在急剧上升。
• A barrel swells in the middle. 水桶中部隆起。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 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。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

8 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。