中联油大举购买中东原油
The trading arm of China National Petroleum Corporation has been on a huge buying spree in the past month, snapping up millions of barrels of Middle East crude as global oil prices slumped to the lowest level in almost four years.
随着国际油价暴跌至近4年来的最低水平，中国石油天然气集团公司（CNPC,简称中石油）旗下的贸易机构在过去一个月掀起一波购买潮，抢购了大量中东原油。
Price-reporting data show that Chinaoil has bought more than 20m barrels of Dubai, Oman and Upper Zakum grades in October, many of them from Unipec, a subsidiary of Chinese state oil company Sinopec.
价格报告机构的数据显示，中国联合石油有限责任公司（Chinaoil，以下简称中联油）在10月份购买了逾2000万桶迪拜、阿曼和上扎库姆油田(Upper Zakum)的原油，其中许多来自中国国有石油公司中石化(Sinopec)旗下的子公司联合石化(Unipec)。The purchases have fuelled speculation that China, the world’s largest Energy consumer, is taking advantage of the steep drop in crude prices to fill strategic reserves.
这波购买令人猜测，中国这个全球最大的能源消费国正利用油价大幅下跌的机会来充实其战略储备。
They also demonstrate the fact that state-owned Chinese companies are taking a more active role in procuring crude oil, rather than relying on trading houses to do it for them.
它也表明了如下事实，中国国有企业正在采购原油方面扮演更加积极的角色，而不是依赖交易机构为它们采购。Citing data from Platts, a leading price-reporting agency, traders and analysts said Chinaoil had bought a record 45 cargoes of the three Middle East crudes in the past month for delivery in December.
根据领先的能源价格报告机构——普氏能源资讯(Platts)提供的数据，交易员和分析师表示，中联油在过去一个月创纪录地购买了45船上述三种中东原油，将于今年12月交货。Concerns about a global supply glut drove benchmark oil prices to their lowest level in almost four years this month.
本月早些时候，对全球供应过剩的担忧推动基准原油价格下跌至近4年来的最低水平。Since reaching $115 in mid- June, Brent, the international oil marker, has fallen 25 per cent, while West Texas Intermediate, the US equivalent, is down a similar amount.
与今年6月中旬每桶115美元的价格相比，布伦特(Brent)国际原油基准价格下跌了25%，同时美国西德克萨斯中质原油(West Texas Intermediate)的跌幅也差不多。Yesterday the benchmarks were trading at $87.21 and $82.26 respectively. It is against that price backdrop that Chinaoil started its buying spree.
昨日，这两个基准价格分别为87.21美元和82.26美元。正是在这种背景下，中联油开始大肆购买。Analysts say there are several explanations for the high level of crude purchases. One is that China is buying for its strategic petroleum reserve. Energy Aspects, a London-based consultancy, estimates that China has bought 87m barrels of crude for its reserves this year. That figure could rise by a further 20m barrels before all the country’s existing facilities are filled.
分析师表示，中国大量购买原油可能有多个原因。一个是中国要充实其战略石油储备。伦敦咨询公司Energy Aspects估计，中国今年以来为其储备购买了8700万桶原油。如果要注满当前所有储备设施，中国可能还会再购买2000万桶原油。Some of the crude might also be earmarked for commercial storage or to meet higher domestic demand, however.
不过，其中一些原油也可能用于商业储备，或者满足国内需求的增长。
