China, the world’s largest energy consumer, has a tendency to make a splash when it enters global energy markets.

　　作為全球第一大能源消費(fèi)國，中國進(jìn)入全球能源市場時(shí)，總會弄出點(diǎn)動靜來。

　　In oil markets, crude prices rose along with China’s import volumes in the early 2000s, after the country became a net importer of oil in 1993.

　　在石油市場，中國1993年成為石油凈進(jìn)口國，到了本世紀(jì)初，原油價(jià)格已開始隨中國進(jìn)口量的增長而上漲。

　　In coal markets, its shift to being a net importer of thermal coal in 2009 pushed prices to their current record highs.

　　在煤炭市場，中國2009年成為熱煤凈進(jìn)口國，由此將熱煤價(jià)格推至目前的創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄新高。

　　The country may soon have the same effect on natural gas, say analysts.

　　分析人士表示，中國可能很快會給天然氣市場帶來同樣的影響。

　　The government plans to promote natural gas consumption because it is cleaner-burning than oil or coal.

　　由于天然氣燃燒所產(chǎn)生的污染低于燃油或燃煤，中國政府計(jì)劃推廣天然氣的使用。

　　Under Beijing’s blueprint, gas use will more than double during the next five years to reach 260bn cu m, making China the world’s third-largest gas market after Russia and the US.

　　根據(jù)中國政府描繪的藍(lán)圖，未來5年，中國天然氣消耗量將增加一倍以上，至2600億立方米，使中國成為全球第三大天然氣市場，僅次于俄羅斯和美國。

　　But where will this natural gas come from?

　　但從哪里能獲得這么多天然氣呢？

　　Currently, China produces most of its own gas, importing 4 per cent of supply from central Asia and a further 11 per cent from LNG shipments.

　　目前，中國絕大部分天然氣消耗都能自給，4%的供給從中亞進(jìn)口，另有11%來自液化天然氣(LNG)進(jìn)口。

　　A key question is, to what extent domestic supplies will be able to keep up with growing demand.

　　一個(gè)關(guān)鍵問題在于，面對不斷增長的需求，國內(nèi)供給能滿足到什么程度。

　　Ever since the US began producing “unconventional” gas on a large scale – from shale rock or locked in coal deposits – geologists have been looking for the next big unconventional discovery.

　　自從美國開始大規(guī)模（從頁巖或煤礦）開采“非常規(guī)”天然氣以來，地質(zhì)學(xué)家一直在尋找下一個(gè)非常規(guī)油氣領(lǐng)域的重大發(fā)現(xiàn)。

　　In addition to Europe, where some unconventional gas wells are being drilled, many eyes have lighted on China, which is geologically extremely diverse and not yet surveyed to the same extent as the US.

　　除了目前出產(chǎn)一定量非常規(guī)天然氣的歐洲，許多人都將目光盯上了中國。中國的地質(zhì)極其多樣化，而勘探程度遠(yuǎn)不及美國。

　　“Unconventional gas is a dream come true for China’s energy policymakers,” notes a recent report from Jefferies, an investment bank.

　　投資銀行Jefferies在最近的一份報(bào)告中指出：“對于中國能源行業(yè)的政策制定者而言，非常規(guī)天然氣讓夢想成真。”

　　However, it warns that unconventional gas in China is at least a decade away.

　　不過，報(bào)告警告稱，中國實(shí)現(xiàn)非常規(guī)天然氣大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)至少還需要10年時(shí)間。

　　“[China’s] conventional assets are still young, untapped, productive and capital-efficient. “

　?。ㄖ袊模┏Ｒ?guī)天然氣資源仍不成熟，尚未得到充分開發(fā)，生產(chǎn)和資金運(yùn)作的效率都很高。

　　“China does not need to invest in unconventional gas until the easy conventional gas is gone,” the report notes.

　　“在易開采的常規(guī)天然氣耗光之前，中國都不必投資非常規(guī)天然氣，”報(bào)告如此寫道。

　　Investment and drilling of conventional natural gas began in the country in earnest about 10 years ago, and reserves remain high.

　　大約10年前，中國開始認(rèn)真投資和開采常規(guī)天然氣，迄今儲量仍然豐富。

　　Although the government has offered some incentives for unconventional production, including a special tariff for coal-bed methane, it has yet to be produced on a large scale.

　　盡管中國政府采取了一些激勵(lì)措施，包括為煤層氣提供特別稅收優(yōu)惠，以鼓勵(lì)非常規(guī)天然氣生產(chǎn)，但目前尚未開始大規(guī)模開采。

　　Last year, unconventional gas accounted for only about 1 per cent of China’s total production.

　　去年，非常規(guī)天然氣僅占中國能源總產(chǎn)量的1%左右。

　　Because its oil and gas production is dominated by state-owned energy giants such as PetroChina, Sinopec and Cnooc, the success of unconventional gas will depend to a large extent on the appetite and profit incentives of these three companies.

　　由于中國的油氣生產(chǎn)都控制在中石油(PetroChina)、中石化(Sinopec)和中海油(Cnooc)等國有能源巨頭手中，非常規(guī)天然氣的成功推廣，在很大程度上將取決于這三家企業(yè)的生產(chǎn)欲望和逐利動機(jī)。

　　Crucially, PetroChina and Sinopec own all national pipeline infrastructure. Independent producers typically have difficulty accessing existing pipelines.

　　關(guān)鍵一點(diǎn)是，全國所有的油氣管道基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施都?xì)w中石油和中石化所有。獨(dú)立生產(chǎn)商通常很難使用現(xiàn)有管道。

　　As a result, some small producers choose to truck their gas to market to avoid tough pipeline negotiations.

　　因此，一些小型生產(chǎn)商選擇用卡車向市場運(yùn)送天然氣，以回避艱難的管道使用談判。

　　According to a report by Wood Mackenzie, the consultancy, last year, Chinese unconventional gas could supply as much as 340m cu m of gas a day by 2030, potentially cutting the need for imports.

　　根據(jù)咨詢公司W(wǎng)ood Mackenzie去年發(fā)布的一份報(bào)告，到2030年，中國非常規(guī)天然氣日產(chǎn)量有望達(dá)到3.4億立方米，有可能會降低對進(jìn)口的需求。

　　Imports of LNG will fall after 2020 as a result of unconventional gas development, the report says.

　　報(bào)告表示，由于非常規(guī)天然氣的發(fā)展，2020年以后，液化天然氣進(jìn)口將減少。

　　However, on the ground, industry executives paint a more mixed picture.

　　但業(yè)內(nèi)高管描繪了一種更為復(fù)雜的局面。

　　“Shale gas in China is really different from the US – it is not as promising,” says Steve Zou, chief executive of Asian American Gas, an energy company that has coal-bed methane concessions in Shanxi province in the north of the country.

　　在山西省擁有煤層氣開采特許權(quán)的亞美大陸煤層氣有限公司(Asian American Gas)總裁鄒向東(Steve Zou)表示：“中國的頁巖氣與美國截然不同，前景并不像美國那樣光明。”

　　In the area of coal-bed methane, he says government support will be crucial for the sector.

　　他表示，在煤層氣領(lǐng)域，政府的扶持對于整個(gè)行業(yè)至關(guān)重要。

　　“One complication for coal-bed methane is conflict with the coal miners,” he adds.

　　“煤層氣開采的一個(gè)難題是與煤礦商的沖突。”

　　One boost for the sector was an industry reshuffle in 2009, which ended the monopoly of China United Coalbed Methane.

　　煤層氣行業(yè)的一次進(jìn)步是2009年的行業(yè)大洗牌。這次行業(yè)洗牌終結(jié)了中聯(lián)煤層氣公司(China United Coalbed Methane)的壟斷局面。

　　While the domestic supply picture may be murky for unconventional gas, the government push in that direction has prompted large Chinese oil companies to boost investment in unconventional gas overseas, partly to perfect the technical expertise needed for its production.

　　也許非常規(guī)天然氣的國內(nèi)供應(yīng)前景仍不明朗，但在政府的大力推動下，中國一些大型石油企業(yè)已加大了對海外非常規(guī)天然氣的投資，部分動因是為了完善自身生產(chǎn)所需的專業(yè)技能。

　　Cnooc, the country’s largest offshore producer, inked two deals to develop shale oilfields in the US jointly with Chesapeake Energy late last year and early this year.

　　去年底和今年初，中國最大的離岸油氣生產(chǎn)商中海油簽署了兩項(xiàng)交易，與切薩皮克能源公司(Chesapeake Energy)聯(lián)手在美國開發(fā)頁巖氣田。

　　And PetroChina, the listed subsidiary of China’s largest oil and gas producer CNPC, jointly invested $3.2bn together with Shell in an Australian coal-bed methane company last year.

　　除此之外，去年，中國最大的油氣生產(chǎn)商——中國石油天然氣集團(tuán)公司(CNPC)的上市子公司中石油，與殼牌(Shell)共同投資32億美元，收購了一家澳大利亞煤層氣公司。