What could make Russia turn its energy sector into a weapon?

What could make Russia turn its energy sector¹ into a weapon?

Transcript²

Europe gets 40% of its natural gas from Russia. If Russia cuts supply as retaliation³ for possible future sanctions, it would be an immediate⁴ blow to the West - and also a long-term blow to Russia.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

How much power can Russia wield⁵ using its natural gas? Russia supplies gas to Western European countries, including Germany. The gas goes to some of the same nations now confronting Russia over Ukraine. NPR international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam asked how concerned NATO leaders need to be.

JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE⁶: Through many turbulent times over the years between Western Europe and the Soviet⁷ Union, one thing remained constant.

KRISTINE BERZINA: Even at the worst times of the Cold War and in high tensions, Russia continued to deliver gas.

NORTHAM: Kristine Berzina is head of geopolitics at the German Marshall Fund. She says Russia and Europe have an unspoken compact when it comes to natural gas.

BERZINA: Many argue that the gas dimension, the gas relationship, is not political. It is a commercial relationship that is important to both sides, and many don't believe that anything could fracture that.

NORTHAM: But that certainly is being tested during the current crisis over Ukraine. The flow of natural gas could be collateral⁸ damage if the U.S. further sanctions Russia.

David Goldwyn with the energy advisory⁹ firm Goldwyn Global Strategies says Russia's already been constraining¹⁰ gas supply to Europeans to prevent them from keeping their storage tanks full in the event of a crisis.

DAVID GOLDWYN: And in the typical Russian fashion, they did it in a way that they couldn't be accused of breaching¹¹ any of their commercial relations, but still managed to give a strong reminder¹² to Germany, in particular, and the rest of Europe just how dependent they were on Russian gas. They're no fools.

NORTHAM: Russia supplies about one-third of Europe's natural gas to run factories and heat homes during the winter. Europe's economy could get walloped if Putin turns off the tap. If Putin were to do it, now would be the time. Russia's sitting on $630 billion in reserves, and gas and oil prices are high. But Russia is also dependent on the European market, where it sells nearly three-quarters of its gas. Henning Gloystein, director of energy at the Eurasia Group, says there could be long-term implications for cutting Europe off.

HENNING GLOYSTEIN: There would be an immediate, concerted effort by the European Union to permanently¹³ reduce gas reliance on Russia, which obviously won't solve the problem this winter. But over the next two years, that would have pretty strong consequences.

NORTHAM: Gloystein says the opening of Nord Stream 2, the multibillion-dollar pipeline¹⁴ from Russia to Germany, could be canceled immediately, as well. And he says it's not like Russia can just redirect and sell that gas to energy-hungry countries like China.

GLOYSTEIN: The pipeline from Russia to China isn't big enough. So that would take many years to fully¹⁵ redirect - maybe even decades. And, of course, China will look at this as well, and say, well, you know, what if our political relationship with Russia breaks down and they stop sending us their gas?

NORTHAM: In the meantime, at sea, there's an armada carrying liquefied natural gas heading to Europe from Asia, North Africa and elsewhere. And there are just a couple cold winter months left this year where homes need to be heated. After that, Putin loses a lot of leverage¹⁶ if he wants to weaponize natural gas during the crisis over Ukraine.

Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE BEST PESSIMIST'S "FUTURE")

1 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

9 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

10 constraining   

强迫( constrain的现在分词 )； 强使； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• He was constraining his mind not to wander from the task. 他克制着不让思想在工作时开小差。
• The most constraining resource in all of these cases is venture capital. 在所有这些情况下最受限制的资源便是投入资本。

11 breaching   

攻破( breach的过去式 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。
• Third, an agency can abuse its discretion by breaching certain principles of judge-made law. 第三，行政机关会因违反某些法官制定的法律原则而构成滥用自由裁量权。

12 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

13 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

14 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

15 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

16 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。