2006年VOA标准英语-Large Oil and Gas Project Under Pressure in Rus

By Bill Gasperini
Sakhalin, Russia
20 October 2006

A giant energy project on Russia's remote Sakhalin Island has recently come under scrutiny¹ because of environmental concerns. A foreign run consortium has long been building parallel gas and oil pipelines³ on the Pacific coast island, but government critics say the Kremlin may be trying to assert control over the multi-billion dollar project.

A large boat makes its way through fog enshrouded Aniva Bay at the southern tip of Sakhalin Island.

Soon a huge industrial facility comes into view.

A picture from a helicopter shows a section of the 800 km of underground pipelines under construction for Sakhalin Energy on the island of Sakhalin (File photo)

This is the end of the line for two new pipelines that will soon bring millions of tons of oil and gas from offshore⁴ energy fields for export to nearby Japan and beyond.

But for years environmentalists have argued that the huge project has taken a heavy toll⁵ on the environment.

 

The director of Russia's World Wildlife Fund office, Igor Chestin, sought to demonstrate this when he surfaced from a dive under the bay. He says soil dug up for the undersea portion of the pipeline² was dumped too close to shore and that it is now killing⁶ the sea life.

 

"Here you can see the effects of that ground taken by currents all around the bay, it covers the bottom, there is more sludge than there used to be and some organisms disappear," he said.

Chestin and other experts say Sakhalin Energy and the Russian government have long ignored their complaints.

 

But suddenly last month, Russia's Ministry⁷ of Natural Resources seemed to turn green when it threatened to revoke⁸ the environmental permit granted to the pipeline builders. Critics say this unexpected move has little to do with the environment and plenty to do with politics.

 

The decade-old pipeline deal was signed long before President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia's energy reserves are "strategic resources" that should come under state control.

 

This makes Sakhalin Energy the only energy firm in Russia owned entirely⁹ by foreigners. Shell Oil has 55 percent, while Japanese firms Matsui and Mitsubishi hold the rest.

 

Roland Nash of the Renaissance¹⁰ Capital investment firm in Moscow says he suspects that Russia's newfound ecological¹¹ concern is part of an ongoing¹² process of bringing energy projects under Kremlin control.

 

"I think the environment is an excuse to be able to look at and re-examine the relationship that the Kremlin has with international oil companies playing in the Russian energy sphere," he said.

Yet the Natural Resources ministry insists there really are environmental issues at stake, and sent a group of inspectors¹⁴ to gather information for a report that could affect the future of the project.

 

The group flew along the pipeline route, which runs like a long scar through the heavily forested hills of Sakhalin.

At one stop they found sections of pipe lying close to giant ditches full of water. Nearby a sea of dried mud had flowed through a cut in a hillside and blocked a small river.

 

Oleg Mitvol is the chief environmental inspector¹³. He says the site proves the oil company has broken rules and that the pipeline could easily rupture¹⁵ and send oil into the nearby sea.

 

Sakhalin Energy officials admit there have been environmental problems, but argue these are inevitable¹⁶ in a project as large and complex as Sakhalin. The dual¹⁷ pipelines will run for more than 800 kilometers, and have to cross 1,000 rivers and streams along the way.

At one of those crossings, Sakhalin Energy engineer Marina Makarova explains the goal is to bury the pipeline by cutting a trench¹⁸ in winter when the river is frozen and the salmon¹⁹ spawning²⁰ run will not be affected²¹.

"When the winter crossing was done and the pipe put there you do destroy the nature, you do," she said. "But then you try to fix it: you bring these rocks and put them on the banks, and it fixes the soil and does not allow it into the river."

Tense negotiations²² have been under way with the Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom, which is seeking a 25 percent stake in the Sakhalin project.

 

Some Kremlin officials also want to renegotiate the agreement under which Sakhalin Energy will recover its $10 billion to $20 billion investment before sharing profits with the government.

 

Senior Sakhalin Energy executive Igor Ignatiev says he is confident all will turn out well.

 

"I am absolutely sure that after some period of hard debate and discussions, we will come to a solution that will help the company move full speed ahead," he said.

Whatever the final agreement on ownership of the giant project, Russia appears certain to continue trying to extract as much oil and gas as it can - but on its terms.

1 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

2 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

3 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

4 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 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。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

11 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

12 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

13 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

14 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

16 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

17 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

18 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

19 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

20 spawning   

产卵

参考例句：

• Encounter sites have a small chance of spawning a "Commander" NPC. 遭遇战地区有很小的几率遇到NPC指挥官。
• Instantly revives your Champion at your Spawning Pool, 9 minute cooldown. 立即在出生地复活你的英雄，冷却时间9分钟。

21 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。

22 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。