中石油誓在頁岩氣產量上追趕中石化

Chinese oil company PetroChina vowed to catch up with its arch-rival Sinopec in shale gas production next year, as the two race to meet a government mandate to increase output of the fuel that has revolutionised the US energy sector.

中國石油天然氣股份有限公司（PetroChina，簡稱：中石油）立志明年在頁岩氣產量方面趕上主要對手中國石油化工股份有限公司（Sinopec，簡稱：中石化）。這兩家公司都急於實現中國政府提高頁岩氣產量的要求。

Beijing’s planners have looked with envy on the flow of cheap gas that has lowered US energy prices and reduced that country’s dependence on imports. But similar success has so far eluded China, in part because of a more complicated geology and less developed legal and pipeline infrastructure, but also, critics say, because the dominant state owned oil companies were dragging their feet.

頁岩氣是一種非常規化石燃料，它已徹底改變美國能源業的格局。這種廉價的天然氣不但降低了美國的能源價格，還幫該國減少了對能源進口的依賴，令中國政府的經濟規劃者羨慕不已。但中國迄今在這方面卻沒有取得類似成就。一個原因在於，中國地質狀況更爲複雜、法律和管道基礎設施也不那麼發達；批評人士認爲，還有一個原因是，佔市場主導地位的國有油企“拖後腿”。

Sinopec has so far taken the lead, trumpeting its initial success at the Fuling field in southwestern Sichuan province. It plans to produce 5bn cubic metres (bcm) there by the end of 2015, accounting for the lion’s share of the national target of 6.5 bcm next year.

中石化目前在中國頁岩氣領域佔據領先位置，它對自己在四川涪陵區塊取得的初步成果作了高調宣傳。中石化擬到2015年底時在涪陵區塊建成50億立方米的產能，在明年全國65億立方米的目標產能中佔據最大份額。

“Our shale gas development is about a year and a half behind Sinopec,” Wang Dongjin, PetroChina vice-chairman, said on Thursday, adding that the company’s attention had been distracted by work at its Moxi natural gasfield in southwestern China.

中石油副董事長汪東進週四表示，公司的頁岩氣發展較中石化晚了約一年半時間。他補充說，位於西南地區的磨溪氣田的工作也分散了中石油的注意力。

PetroChina’s management has been decimated by a corruption investigation that has ensnared former energy and security tsar Zhou Yongkang; while both companies have been galvanised by reformers’ threats to shake up the energy sector that they dominate.

中國政府最近掀起一場反腐敗調查，給中石油管理層造成沉重打擊，前能源和安全“沙皇”周永康也因此倒臺。與此同時，改革派人士威脅要改造中石油和中石化主導的國內能源業，對這兩家公司也造成了震動。

Mr Wang said the company aimed to produce 2.6bcm of shale gas next year, up from 100m cubic metres this year and above its official 2015 target of 1.5bcm.

汪東進表示，中石油計劃明年生產26億立方米頁岩氣，這個數字遠高於今年1億立方米的產量，也高於官方爲該公司設定的2015年產量目標（即15億立方米）。

The two companies’ new enthusiasm for shale gas comes as China’s natural gas demand grew by almost 9 per cent in the first half. PetroChina said this compared with less than 4 per cent growth in refined products demand.

這兩家公司對頁岩氣煥發出新的熱情之際，今年上半年，中國天然氣需求增長近9%。中石油表示，這與成品油需求增長不足4%形成反差。

A dismal chemicals markets and the growing surplus of refined fuels in the world’s second-largest oil consumer dented the companies’ refining business in the first half. Overall, both saw profits growth in line with analysts’ expectations in the first six months of 2014.

中國是世界第二大石油消費國，這裏化工市場的低迷和成品油的日益過剩，拖累了上述兩家公司上半年的煉油業務。總體而言，今年上半年它們的利潤增長符合分析師的預期。

That reflects not only slowing economic growth – GDP grew by 7.5 per cent in the second quarter – but also a shift in the composition of the economy. Services account for about half of the Chinese economy now, while sputtering growth in energy-intensive sectors like construction, steel and coal hurt demand for transport fuels such as diesel.

這不僅反映出經濟增長放緩——二季度國內生產總值(GDP)增長7.5%——還反映出經濟結構的改變。服務業現佔中國經濟的一半左右，建築、鋼鐵和煤炭等高耗能產業則增長乏力，導致柴油等運輸用燃料需求減少。

In three months of the first seven months of this year, China has been a net exporter of refined products, reversing years of steady imports to feed its rapidly growing economy. In the first half of the year, national demand for diesel or gas oil contracted by 0.6 per cent.

今年頭7個月中，中國有3個月成爲成品油淨出口國，逆轉了爲滿足高速增長的經濟而多年持續進口的局面。今年上半年，中國全國柴油需求萎縮了0.6%。

As demand slows, refiners are also facing increased competition in wealthier coastal regions thanks to their own expansions, continuing production by the independent, “teapot” refineries and the commissioning of a large new refinery in Quanzhou built by state-owned chemicals trader Sinochem.

除了需求放緩，煉油企業在較富裕沿海地區面對的競爭也有所加劇，原因包括它們自身的擴張，“小作坊”式的獨立煉油廠的持續生產，以及國有化工貿易商中化集團(Sinochem)在泉州新建成的一家大型煉油廠的投產。

“Asian markets have already braced themselves” for an influx of Chinese diesel and gasoline, said Li Li, research director for energy consultancy ICIS China.

能源諮詢公司安迅思中國(ICIS China)研究總監李莉表示：“亞洲市場已（爲中國柴油和汽油出口）作好了準備。”