纽约时报 拜登为降低油价--只剩最糟的选择(3)

 

 

    Mr. Biden and his aides have been jawboning U.S. oil executives to pump more oil with little success.

    拜登和他的助手一直在向美国石油业高管施压，要求他们增加石油产量，但收效甚微。

    Most oil companies are reluctant to expand production because they fear that drilling more now will lead to a glut¹ that will send prices tumbling.

    大多数石油公司不愿扩大产量，因为他们担心现在开采过多会导致供过于求，从而导致油价暴跌。

    They remember when oil prices fell below zero at the start of the pandemic.

    他们还记得，在疫情爆发之初，油价曾跌至零以下。

    Big companies like Exxon Mobil, Chevron², BP and Shell have largely stuck to the investment budgets they set last year before Russia invaded Ukraine.

    埃克森美孚、雪佛龙、英国石油公司和壳牌等大公司在很大程度上坚持去年俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之前设定的投资预算。

    Energy traders have become so convinced that the supply will remain limited that the prices of the U.S. and global oil benchmarks climbed after news broke that Mr. Biden was planning to travel to Saudi Arabia.

    能源交易商非常确信，石油供应仍将是有限的，在拜登计划访问沙特阿拉伯的消息传出后，美国和全球基准石油的价格都出现了攀升。

    Oil prices rose to about $120 a barrel on Friday, and the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.85 on Sunday, according to AAA, more than 20 cents higher than a week earlier and $1.80 above a year ago.

    美国汽车协会的数据显示，周五油价涨至每桶120美元左右，周日全国普通汽油均价为每加仑4.85美元，比一周前高出逾20美分，比一年前高出1.8美元。

    Another Biden administration effort that has appeared to fall flat is a decision to release a million barrels of oil daily from the Strategic Petroleum³ Reserve.

    拜登政府的另一项努力似乎没有取得成效，那就是决定每天从战略石油储备中释放100万桶石油。

    Analysts⁴ said it was hard to discern any impact from those releases.

    分析人士表示，很难看出这些释放有任何影响。

    The Biden team has also been in talks with Venezuela and Iran, but progress has been halting.

    拜登团队也一直在与委内瑞拉和伊朗进行谈判，但进展一直停滞不前。

    The administration recently renewed a license⁵ that partly exempts⁶ Chevron from U.S. sanctions aimed at crippling the oil industry in Venezuela.

    美国政府最近更新了一份许可证，使雪佛龙在一定程度上免受美国制裁，该制裁旨在打击委内瑞拉的石油业。

    In March, three administration officials traveled to Caracas to draw President Nicolás Maduro into negotiations⁷ with the political opposition⁸.

    今年3月，三名政府官员前往加拉加斯，劝说总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗与政治反对派进行谈判。

    In another softening⁹ of sanctions, Repsol of Spain and Eni of Italy could begin shipping¹⁰ small amounts of oil from Venezuela to Europe in a few weeks, Reuters reported on Sunday.

    路透社周日报道，在另一项放宽制裁的措施中，西班牙的雷普索尔和意大利的埃尼集团可能在几周内开始从委内瑞拉向欧洲运送少量石油。

    Venezuela, once a major exporter to the United States, has the world’s largest petroleum reserves.

    委内瑞拉曾经是美国的主要出口国，现在拥有世界上最大的石油储量。

    But its oil industry has been so crippled that it could take months or even years for the country to substantially increase exports.

    但该国的石油业严重受挫，该国可能需要几个月甚至几年的时间才能大幅增加出口。

    With Iran, Mr. Biden is seeking to revive a 2015 nuclear accord that President Donald J. Trump¹¹ pulled out of.

    在伊朗问题上，拜登正在寻求恢复唐纳德·特朗普总统退出的2015年核协议。

    A deal could free Iran to export more than 500,000 barrels of oil a day, easing the global supply crunch¹² and making up for some of the barrels that Russia is not selling.

    如果达成协议，伊朗可以每天出口50多万桶石油，缓解全球供应紧张的局面，弥补俄罗斯没有出售的部分石油。

    Iran also has roughly 100 million barrels in storage, which could potentially be released quickly.

    伊朗还有大约1亿桶的石油储备，可能很快就会被释放出来。

1 glut   

n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.咖啡供过于求道致价格急剧下跌。
• There's a glut of agricultural products in Western Europe.西欧的农产品供过于求。

2 chevron   

n.V形臂章；V形图案

参考例句：

• He wore shoulderstrap rank slides with sergeant's chevrons.他佩戴标示级别的肩章，上面有中士的V形标志。
• The chevron or arrow road sign indicates a sharp bend to the left or right.V形或箭头路标表示有向左或向右的急转弯。

3 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。

4 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。

5 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

6 exempts   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This privilege, however, exempts only predecisional documents. 然而，此特权只免除那些文件在作出决定之前的披露责任。
• Function effectiveness: After then special-purpose, exempts the flushing formula. 功能效用：便后专用，免冲洗配方。

7 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。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

10 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。

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。