北极的国际石油争夺战

AS IT IS 2015-09-04 Countries Compete for Oil in the Arctic 北极的国际石油争夺战

Russia, the United States and other countries are hurrying to control Earth’s northernmost territory: the Arctic. It is rich in oil and natural gas. The countries want to use these and other natural resources for their citizens and to sell overseas.

Russia has claimed a large part of the Arctic to develop natural resources, including oil. President Barack Obama recently approved proposed drilling in an area under U.S. control. The project was the idea of the Shell Oil Company.

Bill Arnold once worked for the Shell Oil Company. But he now teaches at Rice University in Texas. He just returned home from a fishing trip to Alaska.

“There is no other place that I’ve ever been that is like this. So I am very interested in the preservation¹ of the beauty of Alaska.”

Mr. Arnold said he believes that new energy resources can be developed without harming nature.

But many environmentalists disagree. They denounce U.S. oil company projects in the Arctic, and they are not satisfied with President Obama’s decision.

The Arctic has become more accessible because polar ice is melting much faster now than in centuries past. Many scientists point to climate change as the reason behind the melting ice. Climate change, they say, results from the use of fossil fuels, like petroleum² oil for cars and other vehicles.

Professor Arnold says studies have shown the Arctic has plenty of oil.

“Probably something like 25 percent of the undiscovered oil and (natural) gas in the world is in the Arctic.”

Half of the Arctic lies next to Russian territory. Russia sees the Arctic as important for its own energy production.

“I think their view is that as the traditional resources are dwindling³, they need to find new resources and some of the greatest resources in the world are in that area.”

Russian development of the Arctic slowed after Western nations ordered sanctions against Russia. The sanctions were meant to punish Russia for taking the Crimea from neighboring Ukraine. Western-based companies were forced to withdraw from partnerships⁴ with Russia.

But Mr. Arnold says the opening of the Arctic raises other concerns. He says Russia has a major military presence in the area. The United States, he points out, has a much smaller presence in the Arctic.

He also says many countries are developing shipping⁵ projects through Arctic waters once the ice is unblocked.

“The potential of it is really untested and unknown at this point. But to be able to have that kind of circumnavigation in a relatively⁶ tight range in that area could be profoundly important.”

Mr. Arnold says it could be some time before Shell’s explorations affect U.S. energy production. He says it will be seven to 10 years before those efforts begin to pay off with large-scale production.

Words in This Story

resources – n. natural assets in a country, like oil, minerals or timber, that can be sold to increase its wealth

drilling – adj. cutting a hole into a solid, such as a deep holes to drill for oil under the earth’s surface

preservation – n. protection over time

accessible – adj. able to be reached or used

fossil – n. remains⁷ of ancient plant life or bone

dwindling – adj. to become smaller

potential – n. ability to become real; possibility

profoundly – adj. having or showing great understanding or knowledge

1 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

2 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。

3 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

4 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

5 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。