2019年经济学人 欧洲天然气供应 (1)（在线收听）

For years, western European countries have worried about their access to gas, almost two-fifths of which is supplied by Russian pipes.

多年来，西欧国家都对自己获取天然气的渠道表示担心，他们近五分之二的天然气都是由俄罗斯管道提供。

These fears have not receded since in 2014 Russia cut off gas to Ukraine, the main thoroughfare through which its gas arrives in EU countries.

自2014年俄罗斯切断乌克兰这条输往欧盟国家的主要天然气通道以来，他们的担忧就未曾消停。

Three times since 2006, rows with Russia have stopped gas flowing through Ukrainian pipelines, leaving customers down the line shivering.

自2006年起，与俄罗斯的三次争端导致流经乌克兰管道的天然气停运，这条线上的客户冷的发抖。

EU leaders have long pondered other sources, such as American LNG, but the latter is far more expensive.

欧盟领导人们一直在考虑其他来源，比如美国液化天然气（LNG），但后者要贵得多。

Such worries have flared again even as, in 2018, imports of Russian gas by EU countries reached a record high.

2018年这种担忧再次加剧，恰巧此时欧盟进口俄罗斯天然气量创新高。

On December 29th Russia rejected European demands to release 24 Ukrainian sailors detained after it seized three of its neighbour's ships in November.

12月29日，俄罗斯拒绝了欧洲要求释放24名乌克兰海员的要求，此前11月其夺取了邻国的三艘船只。

Ukraine is calling for fresh sanctions on Russia, raising the risk that it might once more cut off supplies.

乌克兰要求对俄罗斯实施新的制裁，增加了俄罗斯再次切断天然气供应的风险。

Meanwhile, European politicians are also fretting about Nord Stream 2 (NS2),

与此同时，欧洲政治家们也正在为北溪-2号（NS2）项目担忧，

a planned pipeline that would carry more Russian gas under the Baltic Sea directly to Germany.

这条拟议管道将沿波罗的海将更多俄罗斯天然气直接运送到德国。

On December 12th the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for the project to be cancelled, citing security reasons,

12月12日，欧洲议会通过一项决议，以安全因素为由要求取消该项目，

but with 370km of pipes already laid it looks hard to stop.

但是这条370千米长的管道已经铺排，似乎很难停止。

Another tack is to develop alternative conduits and supplies.

另一种方法是开发替代性的渠道和供应。

On December 7th Italian authorities gave the final approval for the construction of the last leg of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC),

12月7日，意大利当局最终批准建立南部天然气走廊 （SGC）的最一段，

an EU scheme to import natural gas from the Caspian region.

这是从里海地区进口天然气的一项欧盟计划。

The project is more than three-quarters complete and workers are beginning to extend the pipeline beneath the Adriatic Sea to Italy.

该项目完成了四分之三，工人们正开始将亚得里亚海下的管道延展至意大利。

If all goes according to plan, a $40bn jigsaw of pipes from Azerbaijan will start supplying western Europe from 2020.

如果一切按计划进行，那么从阿塞拜疆延伸出的一条价值400亿美元的拼接管道将从2020年开始为西欧供应天然气。

But instead of increasing energy security, the SGC may do more to emphasise how hard it is for Europe to reduce its dependence on Russia.

但是SGC不但没有提高能源安全，它可能还更多的强调了欧洲想要降低对俄罗斯的依赖有多么的困难。

Planners in the European Commission had initially proposed the construction of a pipeline from Iran or Turkmenistan.

欧洲委员会的规划人员最初建议从伊朗或土库曼斯坦修建一条管道。

But Iran is under sanctions and Turkmenistan sells most of its gas production to China, hence the shift to import from Azerbaijan.

但是伊朗正遭受制裁，土库曼斯坦将它大部分的产气量卖给了中国，因此，转而从阿塞拜疆进口。