双语财经新闻 第28期:备战石油危机
Turmoil in Egypt spooked oil traders last month, threatening to close the Suez Canal. Now Libya, which accounts for about 2 percent of global production，seems on the brink of civil war, creating further disquiet. With prices above $100 a barrel, the world must prepare for further oil price volatility and the threat of a genuine crisis if production is disrupted in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere.
The situation has sent activists and politicians scrambling for their usual answers. Some call for more domestic production; others urge alternatives to oil. But neither will make much difference. Alternatives have potential, but will take decades to arrive at scale. Expanding domestic production is even less promising: new supplies don’t insulate consumers from big changes in world prices, and increase output only slowly. Both are worthy, but we need a plan plans for shortterm crisis management too.
这一形势促使政治活动家和政客们匆忙翻出自己的老一套说辞。一些人呼吁 扩大本土石油生产,还有人主张发展石油替代品，但两种办法都不会有太大效果。 替代品的确有潜力可挖,但需要数十年时间才能达到有意义的规模。扩大本土石油 生产更加没有指望:新增供应不会让消费者免受全球油价大辐波动的影响，而增加 产出也只会是一个缓慢的过程。两种办法都值得考虑,但我们还需要一个短期危机 管理计划。Such plans must begin with a coherent approach to strategic petroleum reserves. These can be used as a buffer against global disruptions, meaning that if supply drops, or transit routes are disrupted, stocks are released to calm world markets. The problem is, it is unclear which circumstances justify their use. The current situation does not merit it, the head of the International Energy Agency (!EA) reassured markets they could be used, if needed. If unrest spread to Saudi Arabia a release would make sense, but policy is muddled on more moderate disruptions.
此类计划的着眼点,必须是对战略石油储备采取协调做法。这些储备可以起到 抵御全球市场动荡的缓冲器的作用，这意味着，如果石油供应减少，或运输路线中 断,就动用储备以稳定全球市场。但问题在于，人们仍不清楚在哪些情况下可以动用这些储备。当前形势还没走到这一步，而国际能源机构负责人向市场保证，必要 时可以动用储备。如果动乱蔓延至沙特阿拉伯，释放储备无可非议，但对于影响不 那么严重的扰乱’政策就有些模糊。
Curtailing Saudi production, in particular, would be a huge shock to markets. The probability of such contagion is very small, but even these limited odds matter when the consequences are grave. With neighbouring Bahrain still roiling, the chances of unrest spreading to the desert kingdom have increased. But what if a production shut down in Libya was followed by Algeria, which produces about 2m barrels a day? The IEA must decide what its breaking point will be, to deter preemptive market panic.
沙特阿拉伯产量下降,对市场的冲击会尤其严重。该国被卷入动荡的可能性非 常低，但考虑到后果的严重性，即使概率很低也不应被忽视。由于邻国巴林仍处于 混乱,不安定局面蔓延至沙特阿拉伯的可能性有所增加。但如果日产量约200万桶 的阿尔及利亚继利比亚之后也停产怎么办？ IEA必须划定行动底线，以阻止市场先 行恐慌。New approaches to oil market speculation are also needed. The G20 is currently overhauling rules in response to the 2008 oil price spike, which saw prices rise to $147 a barrel. However this was driven by economic factors not a geopolitical shock. The response has, understandably, focused on how to deal most effectively with similar circumstances in the future.
还有必要对石油市场的投机活动采取新手段。2008年油价飙升至每桶147美 元,促使G20正彻底修改相关规则。不过，当时油价飙升是由经济因素推动的,而不 是地缘政治冲击。可以理解的是，回应也聚焦于如何最有效地应对未来的类似情The type of speculation that would follow disruptions in Saudi Arabia or Iran, however, could be different. In such cases speculators would be responding to hard-to-anticipate political changes, rather than steady economic developments. Their moves could therefore add to volatility, as panicked traders hoard oil as an insurance policy. It would be wise to consider and prepare for exceptional new restrictions on speculation during such moments of extraordinary geopolitical stress.
不过,一旦沙特阿拉伯或伊朗的石油供应中断，可能会引发不同类型的投机活 动。在这种情况下，投机者将对趣以预料的政治变化做出反应，而不是稳定的经济 发展。随着惊慌的交易员囤积石油，作为保险措施，波动可能会进一步加剧。在地缘 政治压力异常大的时期，考虑并准备投机活动出台新的特别限制，将是明智之举。None of these measures replaces the need for a long-term transformation in the global energy economy. But such broader thinking must not crowd-out shortterm measures to cope with present problems. We don’t know how our newly globalised economy will respond to a sharp geopolitical oil price shock. But we should prepare, before we find out the hard way.
这些措施都无法取代全球能源经济长期转型的必要性。但即便有这些更加全 局性的想法，也不应忽视应对当前问题的短期措施。我们不知道，刚刚全球化的经 济将如何应对一场猛烈的地理政治油价危机。但我们应该在付出沉重代价才找到 答案之前做好准备。
