VOA常速英语2008年-Energy Industry Seeks Dialogue With US Candidat

By Greg Flakus
Houston
29 February 2008

Leaders of the US energy industry met in Houston Thursday for what was billed as a presidential summit on energy issues, but they drew only one candidate, Senator Hillary Clinton. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Houston, energy experts say more dialogue between politicians and the industry is crucial if the nation is to avoid a crisis in coming years.

The original idea of the Greater Houston Partnership¹ organizers was to hold a debate between presidential candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties about energy policy. But, in the end, only Senator Clinton stopped by, and there was no debate.

Clinton and Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama have suggested in their campaign speeches that big oil companies resist changes in energy policy because of the huge profits they are reaping from high crude prices. That view is also prevalent among Democrats² in the House of Representatives who supported a bill passed this week to rescind³ tax breaks for five big oil companies.

Speaking to VOA, the President of Shell Oil Company, John Hofmeister, said politicians need to learn more about the challenges facing this industry.

"All Americans, including our presidential candidates, should realize that, particularly in the short term, the high cost of energy is due to not enough supply trying to chase the demand. If we do not get more supply, that means more oil and gas, in the short term, then the price is going to go higher and the oil companies do not set the price of crude, it is set on the world market," he said.

The President and Chief Operating Officer of Marathon Oil, Clarence Cazalot, says people who blame the oil companies when prices go up need to understand that these companies, as big as they may be, have little control over supply and demand.

"We are engaged in a global competition for our energy. In fact, while we are referred to as Big Oil, the American oil companies only control six to eight percent of the world's oil. That is not big oil. The major oil resources in the world are controlled by other nations and their national oil companies," he said.

Cazalot says the International Energy Agency has estimated global demand for energy is going to increase by 50 percent in the next 30 years, driven in great part by an increase in the global population from the current six and a half billion people to over eight billion people. These new people, he says, will also want to use energy.

Energy experts and industry leaders agree that the price of oil reflects increased demand from India and China as well as the difficulty of increasing supply. Companies face the increased expense of finding and extracting crude oil from the ground and sometimes contentious⁴ dealings with the foreign governments who control the reserves.

Many participants in the Houston forum⁵ expressed disappointment that Democratic candidate Barack Obama and Republican candidates John McCain and Mike Huckabee did not attend, even though all three have been in the area campaigning in recent days.

Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, who represents one Houston's districts, told VOA this was a missed opportunity for political leaders and energy leaders to sit down and discuss this vital issue.

"Frankly⁶, I am disappointed that we did not have all four candidates here because there has not been, to my knowledge, a definitive⁷ discussion of energy and the direction the nation will take," she said.

But she defended the Congressional vote to end tax breaks for the largest oil companies and urged oil company executives to cooperate more with elected officials to form an energy policy.

"The policy makers⁸ must be engaged, not one time, not around a particular bill, but ongoing⁹. Out of that long-term engagement comes the kind of balanced legislation that can be responsible to the needs of this industry," she said.

Energy company executives say they are willing to work with Congress on developing a comprehensive energy policy. But they say votes in Congress that target specific companies and threaten to take away their subsidies¹⁰ do more harm than good. They say the only way to reduce energy prices and ensure a reliable supply of energy for the United States is for all parties to sit down together and develop a realistic policy that takes all factors into consideration.

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 rescind   

v.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan.他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。
• Trade Union leaders have demanded the government rescind the price rise.工会领导已经要求政府阻止价格上涨。

4 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

5 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

6 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

7 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

8 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》