VOA标准英语2014--国际制裁对俄罗斯石油业的影响

 

Sanctions Threat Weighs on Russian Oil Industry 国际制裁对俄罗斯石油业的影响

MOSCOW — Russia’s economy runs on oil and gas, but with Russia’s economy on the edge of recession, a new threat has emerged: possible sanctions against energy technology sales from the West.  

The World Petroleum¹ Congress was supposed to bring together Russia, the world’s largest energy producer, and the United States, the world’s largest producer of cutting-edge energy technology.

But oil expert Pat Szymczak says the United States was practically a no-show.

 “There are very few American companies here," Szymczak said. "Of the 3,000 delegates, I noticed only 250 that really appeared to be coming from the United States.”

Clouding the party were sanctions against Russia for its role in fueling the separatist war in southeastern Ukraine.

After targeting powerful Russians with sanctions, European Union leaders are to meet Thursday in Brussels to discuss escalating² sanctions to companies or to sectors³ such as energy technology.  It is unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin’s qualified⁴ support for Ukraine’s new cease-fire will blunt the momentum⁵ for sanctions.

Last week, with Russian troops massing again at Ukraine’s border, U.S. Treasury⁶ Secretary Jacob Lew warned in Berlin that Russia has what he called "a fundamental choice to make.”

"If Russia is unwilling⁷ to reverse the course, the United States and the international community are prepared to impose additional cost," Lew said.

In Moscow, Western energy executives with big Russia investments tried to project a business as usual image.  Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil, and Bob Dudley, CEO of BP spoke⁸ on panels at the meeting.

But in the halls, there was unease.

“I heard a lot of questions about sanctions from our customers," said Vitaly Cho, who works in Russia for Baker⁹ Hughes, the Houston-based international oilfield service company. "They are worried. Baker Hughes is a technology provider. We have high-tech¹⁰, and our customers need these technologies to develop their fields.”

Russia needs American and European drilling and platform technology to unlock, what Bloomberg reports, is an estimated $8 trillion worth of oil.

Wilhelm Sicking, a German marketer for PennWell, the Oklahoma group of energy publications, believes business will come back.

 “The Western companies need to sell their technology to the Russians, and the Russians need the technology," Sicking said. "This will not last long.”

Szymczak says uncertainty¹¹ over sanctions is causing many American companies to cut investments in Russia.

 “It is shooting ourselves in the foot ... because, if we do not sell to the Russians, somebody else will sell to the Russians,” he said.

Coming days will tell if Russia’s support for the cease-fire is enough for Western powers to put sanctions on the shelf.

1 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。

2 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

3 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

5 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

10 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。