沙特力争提高欧佩克石油产量上限

Saudi Arabia is on course for a showdown with its fellow Opec members at this week’s meeting of the global oil cartel, after it called for a higher output target despite the recent drop in crude prices.

在本周将举行的石油输出国组织欧佩克(Opec)会议上，沙特阿拉伯看来将与欧佩克其他成员国摊牌。此前沙特呼吁提高石油产量指标，尽管原油价格近来已有所下降。

“Our analysis suggests that we will need a higher ceiling than currently exists, Ali Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, said in an interview with the Gulf Oil Review.

沙特石油部长阿里·纳伊米(Ali Naimi)在接受《海湾石油评论》(Gulf Oil Review)采访时表示，“我们的分析似乎表明，我们将需要提高目前的产量上限。

Oil prices have fallen sharply over recent months, from a four-year high of $128 a barrel in March to about $100 amid concern about the eurozone debt crisis and the slowdown in the global economy.

在各方担忧欧债危机和全球经济放缓的大背景下，油价在过去几个月已大幅下跌，从3月每桶128美元的4年高位，跌至每桶约100美元。

Fellow Opec member Iran has blamed Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates for the price drop, accusing them of producing too much oil.

欧佩克成员国伊朗指责沙特、科威特和阿联酋的石油产量过高，导致油价下跌。

Opec, which supplies 40 per cent of the world’s crude oil, normally responds to a sharp drop in prices by curbing production. However, Saudi Arabia’s current policy objective is to prevent crude rising much higher than $100 a barrel, in order to mitigate the risks that high oil prices pose to the global economy.

欧佩克的石油产量占到全球原油供应的40%，在油价大幅下跌时通常的对策是减产。然而，沙特目前的政策目标是阻止原油大幅高于每桶100美元，以减轻高油价对全球经济构成的风险。

Opec has an official daily production ceiling of 30m barrels. But it has been producing much more than that in recent months, in part to cushion the impact of US and EU efforts to impose sanctions on Iranian oil exports because of the latter’s nuclear programme.

欧佩克目前的官方日产量上限是3000万桶。但近几个月来，欧佩克的产量显著高于上限，在一定程度上是为了缓解美国和欧盟(EU)因伊朗核项目而对该国石油出口实施禁运所带来的冲击。

According to Opec’s oil market reports, the group’s monthly crude output has exceeded 31m barrels per day for much of this year.

欧佩克的石油市场报告显示，在今年迄今的大部分时间里，该集团的原油月产量都超过了每天3100万桶的水平。

Some Gulf producers now want to raise the official ceiling closer to current production levels. Saudi Arabia is driving the increase. It supplied the market with 9.9m b/d in May – the highest level this year, according to the Gulf Oil Review.

现在，部分海湾产油国希望提高官方产量上限，使其更接近当前的实际产量。沙特正在推动提高产量上限。《海湾石油评论》表示，沙特5月每天对市场的供应量达到990万桶，达到今年的最高水平。

The ramp up appears to be part of a Saudi strategy to bring prices down, after they surged earlier this year. In a column in the Financial Times in March, Mr Naimi said Saudi Arabia would like to see a lower price “that will not hurt the global economic recovery.

今年早些时候油价曾大幅上扬，增产似乎是沙特压低油价的战略的一部分。纳伊米3月在英国《金融时报》撰文表示，沙特希望将油价降到“不致损害全球经济复苏的水平上。

In early May, he told reporters it was vital “to get prices around $100 [per barrel]. The statements were unusual in that Saudi Arabia is often reluctant to divulge a preferred price level.

5月初，纳伊米曾对记者表示，“使油价稳定在（每桶）100美元左右，是至关重要的。他的表态不同寻常，因为沙特往往不愿透露其理想的油价水平。

Mr Naimi added then that Saudi production had “acted as a type of stimulus to the European and world economy.

当时纳伊米补充道，沙特石油产量“对欧洲乃至全球经济产生了某种形式的刺激作用。