VOA慢速英语2015 土耳其欲取代乌克兰成能源中心

AS IT IS 2015-03-11 Turkey Seeks to Replace Ukraine as Energy Hub 土耳其欲取代乌克兰成能源中心

Russia says it will stop sending natural gas to Europe through Ukraine and will start sending it through Turkey. Turkey welcomes the decision. For ten years the country has aimed to be a major energy hub, or distribution center.

But some critics say Turkey is not prepared to play such a role.

Atilla Yesilada is a senior partner at Global Source Partners, a research group in Turkey. He says Russia’s decision is a major opportunity for his country.

“Turkey simply becomes the next Ukraine and Turkey could become a major energy hub that supplies Europe.”

But Mr. Yesilada says Turkey has a lot of work to do before that can happen. He says Turkey will need to understand the gas market, know the buyers, predict prices and build places to store natural gas. He says being an energy hub will require a big investment but it may also bring a lot of money and political power.

Volkan Ozdemir is an expert at the Institute for Energy Markets and Policies in Turkey. He agrees with Mr. Yesilada that much work must be done before his country is ready to become an energy hub. He also says Turkey should work to become a place where energy is bought and sold, not just a place through which energy is transported. He says economic sanctions¹ have weakened Russia. He says that means Turkey is in a good position to convince Russia that the two countries should become energy partners.

However, one expert says European countries are not happy that Turkey will be replacing Ukraine as the distribution center for Russia’s natural gas shipments².

Sinan Ulgen is a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Institute in Brussels. He says he is not sure that contracts Russia has signed to supply the natural gas through Ukraine can be legally changed.

“Because as things stand these terms stipulate³ that the gas will be supplied through Ukraine. And these are long-term contracts, so it’s an open question whether the terms can be negotiated⁴.”

A top official of the huge Russian energy company Gazprom dismissed such concerns in January. Alexei Miller⁵ warned that Europe will have to make changes in its energy centers within two years to accept natural gas from Turkey.

Last month, Mr. Miller and Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz spent four hours in a helicopter looking for possible places for a new natural gas supply route.

Turkey is in a strong negotiating⁶ position because Russia wants to make the change from Ukraine to Turkey quickly. Gazprom has already reduced the price of natural gas it is selling to Turkey two times. And a major pipeline⁷ is being built across Turkey from Azerbaijan to Europe. That pipeline will strengthen Turkey’s role as a major supplier of energy to Europe.

Words in This Story

hub – n. the central and most active part or place

as things stand – idiom as the situation is

stipulate – v. to demand or require (something) as part of an agreement

open question – idiom an unresolved issue, one that has not been finally determined                 

1 sanctions   

批准( sanction的名词复数 )； 认可； 制裁； 约束力

参考例句：

• There was general acquiescence in the UN sanctions. 普遍默认了联合国的制裁。
• Trade sanctions were imposed against any country that refused to sign the agreement. 凡拒签该协议的国家均受到贸易制裁。

2 shipments   

船运，水运( shipment的名词复数 )； （从海路、陆路或空运的）一批货物

参考例句：

• The shipments are being expedited as much as possible. 装货速度在尽量加快。
• We received two shipments from Chicago. 我们收到从芝加哥运来的两船货物。

3 stipulate   

vt.规定，（作为条件）讲定，保证

参考例句：

• International rules stipulate the number of foreign entrants.国际规则规定了外国参赛者的人数。
• Some manufacturers stipulate the price at which their goods are to be sold.有些制造商规定出售他们生产的商品的价格。

4 negotiated   

谈判，协商，议定( negotiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 兑现（支票等）； 通过，越过（险要路段）

参考例句：

• The government negotiated with the opposition party over the new law. 政府就新法与反对党进行了协商。
• By careful strategy she negotiated a substantial pay rise. 她精心策划后，谈妥了大幅增加工资的事。

5 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

6 negotiating   

n. 谈判 动词negotiate的现在分词

参考例句：

• They were coerced into negotiating a settlement. 他们被迫通过谈判解决。
• We want to get all the parties back to the negotiating table. 我们想把有关各方拉回到谈判桌上来。

7 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。