2007年VOA标准英语-Oil Prices Rally Despite Storm's Limited Impact

By Mil Arcega
Washington, D.C.
08 June 2007
 

Oil producers in the Persian Gulf¹ are breathing a sigh of relief as Cyclone² "Gonu" weakened to a tropical storm.  Shipping³ and port officials say the storm caused very little damage to major oil fields in the region.  Despite the limited impact from the rare storm, continuing concerns about energy supplies caused oil prices to hit their highest levels since mid-May.  VOA's Mil Arcega reports.

Cyclone "Gonu" had winds of 145 kilometers per hour

The strongest storm to hit the Arabian Peninsula in 60 years unleashed⁴ powerful winds and sheets of rain as it battered⁵ Oman's coast.  Packing winds up to of up to 145 kilometers an hour, cyclone "Gonu" caused widespread flooding and damage to low-lying areas.  It also forced the evacuation of thousands of people and the closure of major oil installations along the Strait of Hormuz.  Nearly one-fifth of the world's oil passes through the narrow waterway that leads to the Persian Gulf.

"If the cyclone gets in there, you are going to see prices continue to rally,” explained New York energy trader Chris Motroni. “You know, you have to see what happens where exactly it hits.  If it comes into a region where all those refineries⁶ and all those oilfields are, you are going to see what happens, what damage it does.  Then you are going to have to see where the prices go."

Despite the fear of major shipping disruptions, the storm weakened as it headed for landfall in southeastern Iran.   Although the storm caused very little damage to the country's oil installations, crude prices climbed 35 cents Thursday to $67.40 per barrel.   The price hike came just as port officials were making assurances that oil shipments would resume quickly.  Motroni says that is because continuing high demand for oil was an overriding⁷ factor -- even before the storm.  Another concern is a recent federal government report showing a decline in the output from U.S. refineries.

"People have been talking higher gas prices for almost six, seven months now.  I mean, me, personally, I have been saying you are going to see $4 a gallon at the pump.  So, this is something that is a little bit of a surprise, a little bit of a curve ball but people have already expected higher gas prices, higher crude prices.  So, there is not that much impact here," says Motroni.

About 21 million barrels of oil are shipped through the Persian Gulf everyday.  Traders say even if the storm delays just a few tankers⁸, it could still reduce worldwide oil supplies which could lead to higher gasoline prices.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

3 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

4 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

6 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。

7 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

8 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。