【英语国际】中国涉足美国页岩气“误伤”俄罗斯？

When buying into a joint venture with Chesapeake Energy, Cnooc Ltd. must have been looking out for rabid U.S. regulators. But it is Moscow that should really be worried.

Cnooc's 2005 bid for Unocal triggered Washington's protectionist impulse. The joint venture just announced with Chesapeake is very different. Cnooc will take a one-third stake in a Texan shale-oil and gas prospect while agreeing to fund 75% of Chesapeake's own development spending on it.

In effect, for a minority share, Chinese money largely will fund the cost of developing reserves that will enhance U.S. energy security. Few congressmen can argue with that.

Russia has more reason to feel uncomfortable. Cnooc's joint venture is focused on oil, rather than natural gas. But it is the latest deal giving a Chinese firm access to unconventional North American reserves like shale gas and oil sands.

America's shale-gas revolution, based on methods developed by the likes of Chesapeake, has turned the global gas market on its head. In particular, it has freed up supply elsewhere to help loosen Russia's grip on Europe's gas consumers. Gazprom has seen its market share decline there and has been forced to adopt less favorable terms on some supply contracts. Developing Eastern gas-export markets like China would be one way for Russia to counter this.

But Chinese firms linking up with America's gas-rich, capital-poor exploration and production sector can take what they learn to develop China's shale-gas resources. These are potentially huge, perhaps more than 100 years' worth of demand, says Sanford C. Bernstein. This is one area where America's usual grumbling about China piggybacking on Western technology is unlikely to be heard.

中国海洋石油有限公司(Cnooc Ltd.)与Chesapeake Energy组建合资公司时，一定时刻提防着偏执狂般的美国监管层。但真正应该担忧的却是莫斯科。

中海油2005年竞购加州联合石油公司(Unocal)曾激起华盛顿的保护主义冲动。而刚刚宣布与Chesapeake组建的合资公司则非常不同。中海油将在得克萨斯州一处页岩油与天然气勘探区持股三分之一，同时同意为Chesapeake自己对这一勘探区的开发提供75%的资金。

事实上就是，中海油虽然只获得这一项目的少数股权，却将为开发一片即将增强美国能源安全的油气储备提供大部分资金。没几个国会议员可以驳倒这一点。

俄罗斯更有理由觉得不安。中海油的这家合资公司虽然侧重于开发石油而不是天然气，但这笔交易再一次让中国公司得以涉足页岩油和油砂等北美非传统能源储备。

以Chesapeake等公司开发的开采方法为基础而引发的美国页岩气革命，已经给全球天然气市场带来了翻天覆地的变化。特别是它缓解了美国以外地区的天然气供应形势，从而在一定程度上减轻了俄罗斯对欧洲天然气消费者的控制。俄罗斯天然气公司Gazprom在欧洲的市场份额已经下降，不得不在部分供应合同中采纳于己较为不利的条款。开发中国等东方天然气出口市场将是俄罗斯弥补这种局面的一个办法。

不过，中国公司在同美国资源储量丰富但资金缺乏的天然气勘探与生产行业联手之后，可能会把其从中学到的东西用于中国页岩气资源的开发。据研究公司Sanford C. Bernstein说，中国页岩气资源可能是相当巨大的，或许相当于100多年的需求量。这是美国经常抱怨中国抄袭西方技术时不太可能提及的方面之一。