中文导读：
有人说石油是世界经济血管中流淌的血液。那么世界经济大出血，石油价格暴跌也就不足为奇了。
前段时间，沙特和俄罗斯开展的石油价格战于4月12日终于落下帷幕。但也为近日石油跌至负价格埋下伏笔。
疫情之下，数以亿计员工居家办公，出行大幅减少，石油就失去了用武之地。但这可能并非反常现象，而是一种未来环保经济的迹象。
（公众号：趣读经济学人）
双语阅读：
1
OIL, IT HAS been said, is the blood coursing through the veins of the world economy. In 2020 the economy is bleeding red. As covid-19 keeps workers at home and planes on the ground, demand for oil has fallen faster and further than at any point in its history. Amplifying the shock, a furious row between Saudi Arabia and Russia set off a price war in early March. Last month oil prices fell by more than half, leaving a giant industry reeling.
有人说石油是世界经济血管中流淌的血液。2020年世界经济大出血。疫情之下，工人居家隔离、航班停飞，于是石油需求的下降速度和幅度都创历史之最。沙特阿拉伯与俄罗斯在三月初展开的石油价格战更是火上浇油。上个月，石油价格下跌超5成，偌大的一个行业岌岌可危。
bleeding red 财政赤字
reeling 摇晃的
2
On April 12th the world’s energy superpowers broke bread and reached a new deal to try to prop up prices. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, said they would slash production by 9.7m barrels a day from May to the end of June, a record, and restrain output for two years. In the 20th century Uncle Sam was keen to undermine OPEC, but in 2018 America became the biggest oil producer, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Russia. President Donald Trump’s re-election depends on the shale states of Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio. He argued for the pact and said the industry would recover “far faster” than expected.
4月12日，世界能源大国打破僵局，达成一项新协议以支撑油价。石油输出国组织（欧佩克）及包含俄罗斯在内的盟友表示，从五月开始到六月结束，他们将历史性地每日减产970万桶油。20世纪，山姆大叔（美国）热衷于与欧佩克作斗争以逐渐削弱其实力。但是，在2018年，美国超越沙特和俄罗斯成为了世界上最大的石油生产国。因为美国总统特朗普是否能连任取决于富含页岩油的德克萨斯州、宾夕法尼亚州和俄亥俄州，所以他支持了这项协议并表示石油产业将会比预期恢复得更快。
broke bread 共进晚餐
prop up 支撑；支持
3
In fact private oil firms, state-controlled companies and countries that rely on energy exports should brace themselves for a long period of pain, and use the crisis to begin the restructuring that will have to take place if the planet is to deal with climate change.
事实上，私人石油公司、国有石油企业和依赖能源出口的国家应该要做好迎接长期痛苦的准备，并趁着这次危机开始进行重组，因为如果地球要应对气候变化，那么重组就是早晚的事。
4
This week’s grand bargain is unlikely to work. For a start the sums don’t add up. Global demand may fall by 29m barrels a day this month, three times the OPEC deal’s promised cuts. Private firms outside the alliance may reduce output, too, but by how much is uncertain. And no one knows when demand will pick up. Oil stockpiles are rising and storage capacity could be exhausted within weeks.
本周的大谈判估计不会有什么效果。首先，他们的数字算错了。本月全球石油日需求量可能下降2900万桶，是欧佩克减产承诺的三倍。虽然石油联盟以外的私人企业也会减产，但具体减多少就不得而知了。而且没有人能知道石油需求什么时候才会反弹。石油储备日渐上涨，几周之内可能就没地方存放石油了。
add up 讲得过去；
not add up 数字有误
pick up 好转；反弹
5
The alliance is shaky. Russia, the world’s second-biggest producer, has worked with OPEC since 2016 but routinely ignored the terms of deals. It is unlikely that America will permanently join OPEC in creating a new energy order. The new pact involves assurances that output will fall in America but Texan frackers respond to price signals and the profit motive, not government quotas. The deal almost fell apart when Mexico refused Saudi Arabia’s terms, illustrating how one country can prompt an unravelling. And Saudi Arabia continues to offer deep discounts on crude bound for Asia, a sign of its eagerness to defend its powerful position in oil’s most important market.
石油联盟摇摇欲坠。世界第二大石油生产国俄罗斯自2016年就跟欧佩克合作，但时不时的就会无视一些协议条款。美国也不太可能会一直跟欧佩克站统一战线去建立一个新的能源秩序。新的条约规定美国减产石油，但德州的页岩油公司只会看价格信号和利润动机行事，而不是国家的配额。在墨西哥与沙特唱反调时，协议几乎是已经落空了，这凸显了一个国家是如何促使协议瓦解的。与此同时，沙特阿拉伯继续大幅打折向亚洲出口原油，表明沙特迫切希望捍卫自己在这个石油最重要市场的强大地位。
profit motive利润动机
6
A last reason for scepticism is that the covid-19 crisis could further dampen long-term oil demand. Hundreds of millions of people are living through an experiment with home-working, fewer flights and less urban pollution. This could help change public opinion about the desirability of a faster shift from an economy built on fossil fuels.
为什么美国不太可能一直跟欧佩克站统一战线？最后一个原因就是新冠疫情会长期抑制石油需求。数以亿计的人民正在体验居家办公、航班减少、城市污染降低的生活。或许疫情之后人们会发现，可以试着加快转变经济，不那么依赖化石燃料。
desirability 期许；愿望
7
Rather than stability, then, oil producers face volatile demand and production. Iran and Venezuela, already squeezed by American sanctions, will see more unrest. Countries with high costs and poor governance, such as Nigeria and Angola, facecapital flight and balance-of-payments crises. Last year bankruptcies among American oil producers jumped by 50%. In 2020 that figure will soar.
因此，等待着石油生产国的并不是一个稳定的战线，而是不稳定的需求和产量。因美国制裁，伊朗和委内瑞拉已经在狭缝中求生存，这将会让他们经历更多的动荡。像尼日利亚和安哥拉等生活成本高还管理不善的国家还面临着资本外逃和国际收支危机。去年，美国申请破产的石油生产商猛增了50%。在2020年，这数字还会飞涨。
squeezed by 受剥削
capital flight 资本外逃 （国内挣的钱，却要借投资之名将资本转移国外，前几年的首富就有这种嫌疑，所以就受到了管控，资产一跌再跌）
8
Beyond this year a deeper adjustment awaits. Volatility will dampen investors’ appetite for new projects. Oil companies have already slashed capital spending by about 25% this year. Some pricey oil will be left underground for good. Shale’s frenetic growth will abate. Big oil exporters, including Saudi Arabia, will have to cut public spending and diversify.
今年之后，石油行业需要做出更深层次的调整。不稳定性将会抑制投资者对新项目的兴趣。今年，石油企业已经削减了约25%的资本开支。一些昂贵的石油将会永远留在地底；页岩气的疯狂增长将会减弱；包括沙特阿拉伯在内的大型石油出口国将不得不削减公共开支并实现业务多样化。
abate 减轻
9
For years the oil industry has faced the possibility that demand might fall, as governments moved to limit climate change. That threatened to heap chaos on oil producers, as capital dried up and companies battled for their share of a dwindling market. A peak in demand may still be years away. But oil producers should see covid-19’s turmoil for what it is: not an aberration, but a sign of what is to come.
多年来，各国政府采取措施限制气候变化，石油行业一直面临需求下降的可能性。由于资本枯竭，同时石油企业需要在不断萎缩的市场中争夺自己的一席之地，这势必会进一步扰乱石油生产。石油需求重返峰值可能还需要数年时间。但石油生产国应该认清新冠疫情带来的动荡:这不是一种反常现象，而是未来的一个迹象。
heap on 加上；推上
heap praise on 对..大加赞赏
heap blame on 加罪于
what is to come 未来；将要发生的事
