VOA常速英语2007年-Experts Warn Russia Seeks Influence Over Vast C

By Brian Padden
Washington
24 December 2007

Rising oil prices, a resurgent Russia and continued turbulence¹ in the Middle East have intensified² competition for control of the vast oil and gas reserves in the Caspian Sea. The competition, involving big business and power politics, pits Russia against the West. At stake, some experts say, is world domination of the energy market. VOA's Brian Padden recently traveled to Azerbaijan and Germany, and has prepared a series of reports on the politics of oil. This story looks at transnational pipelines⁴, and how they have become battlegrounds for influence and power.

From an off-shore platform in the Caspian Sea, British Petroleum⁵ extracts oil from a reserve estimated to contain 5.4 billion barrels of oil. From there, it is piped directly to the Sangachal terminal, located just outside of Baku, the capital of the Central Asian country of Azerbaijan.

From there, it takes a circuitous⁶ route, avoiding Russia, to reach energy hungry countries in Europe and Asia. A pipeline³, with a capacity of one million barrels a day, transports the oil north to Tbilisi, Georgia, and then southwest to the Mediterranean⁷ port city of Ceyhan, Turkey. From there, tankers⁸ carry the oil around the world.

 

The Caspian region now supplies only a portion of the oil the world consumes, but its vast untapped reserves are believed to rival those of Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Alex Alexiev, an analyst⁹ with the Center for Security Policy in Washington, says the future development of this energy-rich region could change the balance of power in the world.

"Whoever controls the tap of gas and oil really has tremendous economic power, and that does change the equation," said Alexiev.

The West considered development of the Baku/Tbilisi/Ceyhan pipeline a victory. But, most of the Caspian region's oil and gas still travels through Russian pipelines, built before the collapse¹⁰ of the Soviet¹¹ Union, when the oil rich countries of central Asia were still ruled from Moscow. Turkmenistan recently signed an agreement to build a new pipeline to send its gas to Russia.

Alexiev warns that an autocratic Russia, if it ever gained a monopoly on the region's energy supplies, would be able to impose its political will upon the world.

"Russia does not want to operate on purely¹² capitalistic principles, where commodities are sold, etceteras, strictly¹³ on the basis of profit. They want to use hydrocarbon¹⁴ resources for political purposes," he added.

Construction of a planned Central Asia Oil Pipeline through Afghanistan and Pakistan, designed to bypass Russia, has been stalled because of continuing instability in the region.

In 2006, Russia's government-run gas monopoly temporarily cut its gas flow to Ukraine and Belarus in a dispute over a sharp price increase, a move that was seen by many as politically motivated. That also sharply reduced deliveries to Europe, unnerving European leaders. For supporters of the Baku/Tbilisi/Ceyhan pipeline, these moves reinforced their views that a pipeline bypassing Russia was necessary.

The Caspian region's oil reserves are key, as Russia and the West vie for influence in the region.

Vugar Bayramov with the Center for Economic and Social Development in Baku, says Azerbaijan, which has vast oil reserves, has aligned¹⁵ itself firmly with the West, and supports the building of a second pipeline, called Nabucco.

"West has real traditions, which I mean, big tradition, experience to make richer, to give more benefit, to neighbor or friend countries, but Russia doesn't have such experience," said Bayramov.

A consortium of Western oil companies built the Baku/Tbilisi/Ceyhan pipeline at a time when Russia was economically weak.

Alexander Rahr with the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, says high energy prices have made Russia richer and stronger, and anxious to re-establish its political standing¹⁶ in the world.

"Russia is trying to become an energy superpower again," said Rahr.

Rahr says Russia wants to monopolize¹⁷ the transport of oil and gas to Asian and European markets, in order to bolster¹⁸ its global ambitions. But, he says, the marketplace is too diverse to be controlled.

"Russia exactly needs the Western markets to sell its oil and gas. And, it knows that, if it tries to threaten the markets, if it tries to weaken the West by using energy and gas as a weapon to push others into a kind of corner, it will lose this market and the benefits," he added.

Rahr says developing direct European access to the Caspian Region oil and gas will help keep Russia's political ambitions in check.

1 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

2 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

5 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。

6 circuitous   

adj.迂回的路的，迂曲的，绕行的

参考例句：

• They took a circuitous route to avoid reporters.他们绕道避开了记者。
• The explanation was circuitous and puzzling.这个解释很迂曲，让人困惑不解。

7 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

8 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

9 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。

10 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

11 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。

12 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

13 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

14 hydrocarbon   

n.烃，碳氢化合物

参考例句：

• During incomplete combustion some of the hydrocarbon fuel is cracked.在不完全的燃烧中，一些烃燃料裂解。
• The hydrocarbon must be an alkene.这个碳氢化合物必定是烯烃。

15 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

16 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

17 monopolize   

v.垄断，独占，专营

参考例句：

• She tried to monopolize his time.她想独占他的时间。
• They are controlling so much cocoa that they are virtually monopolizing the market.他们控制了大量的可可粉，因此他们几乎垄断了整个市场。

18 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。