VOA标准英语2008年-Russia May Profit from Private Energy Dispute

By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
02 June 2008

Russia's latest struggle over control of a private energy company appears linked to state politics and differing views among foreign and domestic investors¹ about profits and risk. At stake is the leadership and direction of the British-Russian energy company TNK-BP. VOA Moscow Correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports the winner could be Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom.
　

TNK-BP headquarters in Moscow, 30 May 2008

Exactly 50 percent of TNK-BP is owned by Britain's BP oil company. The other half is controlled by three Russian billionaires, Viktor Vekselberg, Mikhail Fridman and Len Blavatnik, owners of the Alfa-Access-Renova consortium. They are demanding the resignation of TNK-BP chairman Robert Dudley, accusing him of favoring shareholders² on the British side of the company. Russian investors are also at odds³ over company development strategy.

Natalia Milchakova, energy analyst⁴ with Russia's Otkrytia Investment Corporation, told VOA that ironically, the British side wants to focus on projects in Russia, but Russian investors prefer development abroad, first of all in Central Asia.

Milchakova says TNK-BP has excellent opportunities to increase production in Russia, which also has good processing capacity. The analyst adds that Russian investors want to tackle riskier⁵ projects. She also asks why, if reasonable profits can be made in Russia without inordinate⁶ risk.

Another observer, Yegeniy Volk, manager of Moscow's Heritage Foundation think tank, says the British and Russian attitudes toward profit and risk reflect two different business traditions.

Volk says Russians are interested in a quick profit and give little thought to strategic considerations, which -- he notes -- explains recent energy production declines in Russia. Western business, according to Volk, is more civilized⁷ and oriented toward future strategic concerns. Russian business, he says has little faith in the country's investment climate because there have been too many changes and redistributions, so the desire for short term profit often prevails over other considerations, such as infrastructure⁸ investment.

The TNK-BP dispute comes amid increasing pressure in recent months from the Russian government. In March, the Federal Security Service, or FSB, raided the company's Moscow headquarters and accused one of its employees of industrial espionage⁹. The company's foreign employees have also had problems getting Russian visas.

In an interview published Saturday in the French newspaper Le Monde, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he warned five years ago against TNK-BP's 50-50 ownership arrangement, noting that problems would emerge in the absence of clearly defined authority.

Konstantin Simonov, general director of Russia's National Energy Security Foundation, says the company's leadership drift is making the Kremlin nervous, because production and profits could suffer. Simonov is one of many analysts¹⁰ who say TNK-BP's problems make it a prime target for a government takeover.

Simonov says Mr. Putin's logic¹¹ is clear, noting the prime minister can see that nobody is in charge of the company and its affairs are a mess. The analyst says Mr. Putin can also see the infighting among investors and a new story appearing everyday, which makes it imperative¹² that a leader emerge quickly. Simonov says that leader could well be one of Russia's state owned energy companies.

The likely candidate is energy giant Gazprom, which dismantled¹³ Russia's largest private oil company, Yukos, and also seized control of the Sakhalin-2 gas project from Royal Dutch Shell. And last year, the Kremlin pressured British Petroleum¹⁴ to give up its stake in Siberia's Kovykta field, one of the world's largest gas deposits.

TNK-BP has nine billion barrels of proven reserves and accounts for about 16 percent of Russia's entire oil output.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

3 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 riskier   

冒险的，危险的( risky的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Now they are starting to demand higher returns on riskier assets. 而今他们开始在风险更高的资产上要求更高的回报。
• The problem with that: RIM's business is getting riskier every quarter. 不过问题也随之而来：RIM面临的业务风险正逐季增大。

6 inordinate   

adj.无节制的；过度的

参考例句：

• The idea of this gave me inordinate pleasure.我想到这一点感到非常高兴。
• James hints that his heroine's demands on life are inordinate.詹姆斯暗示他的女主人公对于人生过于苛求。

7 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

10 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。

11 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

12 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

13 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

14 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。