【英语国际】俄中宣布对华输油管道竣工

Russia and China opened a historic oil pipeline in a move hailed by their leaders as the first step towards diversifying Russia’s energy exports away from Europe and towards its eastern neighbour.

The commercial logic of greater energy links between one of the largest producers of energy and the world’s largest consumer has outweighed political distrust between the two nations, which fought a brief war in 1969 and only two years ago finalised border delimitation.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao marked the completion of the Chinese branch by simultaneously pressing a button to open the pipeline during a ceremony in Beijing on Monday.

“Our co-operation has already reached the level of strategic partnership,” said Mr Medvedev. Negotiations over the pipeline, which began 14 years ago, have tracked the warming relations between the two countries, which now conduct military exercises together.

The pipeline represents a strategic shift for Russia’s energy industry. Currently, its maze of oil and gas pipelines head westward, supplying Europe, and Russian leaders have long said they wanted to diversify exports.

Julia Nanay, of PFC Energy in Washington, said such moves had “become an important strategic priority for Russia”.

The new EPSO pipeline snakes through east Siberian steppes from the Russian town of Skvordino to Daqing, an oil hub in China.

It is expected to start pumping 300,000 barrels a day on January 1. State- controlled Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil concern, will sell the crude to China’s top energy group, PetroChina.

Oil exports are to be followed by gas exports, as China is eager to burn less coal and more environmentally friendly gas. In 2006 Russia agreed to build two gas pipelines to China, carrying 68bn cu m of gas per year, though failure to agree on a pricing formula have delayed the progress of the gas lines.

Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said it had cemented terms for a supply deal to sell 30bn?cu?m to China National Petroleum Corp annually. The two countries have not managed to clinch a gas price deal, however.

俄罗斯和中国开通了一条具有历史意义的石油管道。两国领导人热情欢呼这一成就，称其是俄罗斯分散能源出口、从欧洲转向东方邻国的第一步。

全球最大能源生产国之一与最大消费国之间加强能源联系的商业逻辑，压过了两国在政治上的不信任——两国曾于1969年爆发过短暂的战争，直到两年前才划定边界线。

周一，在北京举行的一个仪式上，俄罗斯总统德米特里?梅德韦杰夫(Dmitry Medvedev)与中国国家主席胡锦涛同时按下了“竣工按钮”，开启石油管道。此举标志着管道中国部分的竣工。

梅德韦杰夫表示：“我们的合作已达到战略合作伙伴的高度。”围绕这条管道的谈判在14年前启动，其过程伴随着两国关系的回暖。如今两国还举行联合军演。

这条管道标志着俄罗斯能源行业的战略转移。目前，该国多条油气管道均通往西方，为欧洲提供油气，而俄罗斯领导人早就表示，希望分散出口范围。

华盛顿能源咨询公司PFC Energy的朱莉娅?纳内(Julia Nanay)表示，这些举动已“成为俄罗斯的一项重要战略优先任务”。

这条新的EPSO管道东起俄罗斯的斯科沃罗季诺镇，蜿蜒横贯东西伯利亚后，直抵中国的石油中心——大庆。

预计自明年1月1日起，该管道将开始每日输送30万桶石油。俄罗斯最大石油企业、国家控股的俄罗斯石油公司(Rosneft)，将向中国能源巨头中石油(PetroChina)出售原油。

继石油出口的将是天然气出口，因为中国渴望减少对煤的使用，而更多燃烧更环保的天然气。2006年，俄罗斯同意修建两条通往中国的天然气管道，每年输送680亿立方米的天然气。但双方未能就定价公式达成协议，导致天然气管道的进展有所拖延。

俄罗斯天然气出口垄断机构——俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司(Gazprom)表示，已敲定了一项供应协议的条款，每年向中国石油天然气集团公司(China National Petroleum Corp)出售300亿立方米的天然气。但两国仍未达成天然气价格协议。

译者/陈云飞