双语新闻：页岩气革命将拉大美欧差距

2014-10-23 17:06:24来源：网络

　　This winter Jim Ratcliffe, the British billionairefounder of Ineos, the chemicals group, is trying tospark a local shale gas revolution. He has offeredto share 6 per cent of future revenues withcommunities or landowners if they work with Ineosto develop the energy source – far more thananything offered in the UK before.

　　今年冬季，英国亿万富翁、化工制造商英力士(Ineos)的创始人吉姆•拉特克里夫(Jim Ratcliffe)希望掀起一场本土的页岩气革命。他提出，如果社区或土地所有者与英力士合作开发页岩资源，就会给予他们6%的未来收益，这远远超过英国以前的分成比例。

　　“This will be a game changer,” he argues, explaining that he copied the idea of a 6 per centpledge from America, where similar handouts have helped start a dramatic expansion ofshale gas extraction since 2010.

　　他表示：“这将改变局面，”并解释称，6%分成的想法是从美国照搬过来的。自2010年以来，美国类似的分成计划帮助启动了页岩气的大规模开采。

　　In truth, the chances of this offer being widely accepted are not high: extracting shale gasremains so contentious in the UK that it has hitherto largely been blocked. But Mr Ratcliffedeserves a cheer for trying. To understand why, take a look at the latest World EconomicOutlook report from the International Monetary Fund, released this week.

　　实际上，这种分成承诺得到广泛认可的几率并不高：在英国，页岩气开采仍备受争议，迄今为止基本上遭到否决。但我们有必要为拉特克里夫的尝试欢呼。要明白这一点，先让我们看一看国际货币基金组织(IMF)上周公布的最新的《世界经济展望》(World Economic Outlook)报告吧。

　　Buried in the document is a sidebar which tries to calculate the impact of the shalerevolution on US industry. The results are sobering, not just for European industrial groups,but taxpayers and politicians too.

　　该报告中有一份不起眼的补充阅读，试图计算出页岩革命对美国行业的影响。无论对欧洲工业集团还是对纳税人和政界人士来说，其结果均发人深省。

　　As the IMF points out, the revolution in the US has caused natural gas prices to fall sharplythere, even as they have risen in Europe and Japan. This is because gas, unlike oil, cannot beeasily transported around the world, meaning that regional prices vary widely according to thelocation of the energy source.

　　正如IMF所指出的那样，美国的页岩革命导致国内天然气价格大幅下跌，即便欧洲和日本的价格却在上涨。这是因为，与石油不同，天然气不容易在全球运输，这意味着，区域天然气价格可能会因资源位置不同而有极大的差异。

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