以色列巨型氣田或爲中東和平帶來新轉機

THE TAMAR PLATFORM, Israel — Alarms rang out across the Tamar natural gas platform off the southern coast of Israel.

以色列他瑪鑽井平臺——在以色列南部海岸附近的他瑪(Tamar)天然氣鑽井平臺上，警報聲大作。

The Israeli navy had detected smoky signs that a rocket might have been fired by Hamas from the shores of Gaza. As a voice over the loudspeaker warned to take cover, the crew raced up the metal stairs to a small gym that doubles as an air raid shelter.

以色列海軍探測到了煙霧跡象，或許是哈馬斯從加沙海岸發射了一枚火箭彈。揚聲器裏傳出警告衆人躲避起來的播報，平臺上的工作人員急忙沿着金屬階梯往上跑到一間小型健身房中——這裏也是躲避空襲的庇護所。

It turned out to be a false alarm.

事後發現，這次是虛驚一場。

Natural gas is both a geopolitical tool and a target in Israel, where a newfound bonanza of resources has the potential to improve ties with energy-hungry Egypt, Jordan and even the Palestinian Authority.

在以色列，天然氣既是地緣政治工具，也是會被攻擊的目標。不過，以色列新發現的豐富資源有望助其改善與亟需能源的埃及與約旦的關係，乃至巴勒斯坦民族權力機構。

But the linchpin of this diplomatic push is not an Israeli official, a Middle Eastern king, or an American ambassador. It is an oil company in Texas.

然而，這一外交努力背後的關鍵力量，並非哪位以色列官員、中東國王，或是美國大使，而是德克薩斯州的一家油企。

Noble Energy, the Houston-based company that runs the Tamar platform and is developing another field nearby, has struck a series of deals in recent months to sell gas from Israel to its neighbors, an export strategy encouraged by the Obama administration to help ease tensions in the region. Both Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have signed preliminary agreements in recent months, while Noble is in talks to supply larger amounts of gas to Egypt.

總部位於休斯敦的諾布爾能源(Noble Energy)不僅經營着他瑪平臺，還在開發附近的另一座氣田。在最近幾個月裏，公司達成了從以色列向其鄰國出售天然氣的一系列協議。這一出口策略得到了奧巴馬政府的鼓勵，有助於緩解地區的緊張局勢。約旦及巴勒斯坦已在近幾個月裏簽署了初步協議；諾布爾同時還在與埃及進行談判，以期向其供應更多的天然氣。

The corporate connection is crucial. As the main negotiator and broker, Noble is giving cover to leaders who could otherwise face political blowback for buying gas supplies in deals directly with the Israeli government.

這種商業紐帶至關重要。作爲主要的談判方和中間人，諾布爾給各方領導人提供了掩護。如若不然，他們可能會因直接向以色列政府購買天然氣的交易而面臨政治打擊。

“What these deals demonstrate is that gas can be a tool for partnerships that are commercial with strong, positive geopolitical benefits,” said Carlos Pascual, a former international energy coordinator at the State Department.

“這些協議證明，天然氣可以成爲促成夥伴關係的橋樑，而這一關係是對地緣政治有正面影響的穩固商業關係，”曾在美國國務院從事國際能源協調工作的卡洛斯·帕斯夸爾(Carlos Pascual)說。

Noble Energy, which has a taste for risky exploration in unlikely places like the Falkland Islands and Nicaragua, started exploring here in the late 1990s. The platform was built in Corpus Christi, Tex., and transported by boat to its present site.

諾布爾偏好在冷僻地區進行具有一定風險的勘探活動，比如在福克蘭羣島和尼加拉瓜。公司在以色列的勘探活動始於上世紀末。他瑪鑽井平臺在德克薩斯州的科珀斯克里斯蒂建造，然後由船隻運至目前的地點。

A slice of Gulf of Mexico oil culture came, too. The canteen serves fried shrimp and Dr Pepper. A handful of American industry veterans monitor the gas flows and train Israeli technicians.

隨之而來的，還有一絲墨西哥灣油氣文化的氣息。平臺的餐廳裏有炸蝦和“胡椒博士”飲料供應。幾名來自美國的業界老手負責監測氣流的狀況並培訓以色列的技術人員。

Noble, which completed the development of Tamar last year for $3.5 billion, says that it has found more than 800 billion cubic meters of gas off Israel. The finds would be enough to satisfy current Israeli demand for about a century, greatly easing the country’s need for imported fuels.

諾布爾去年完成了價值35億美元（約合220億元人民幣）的他瑪氣田開發工作。公司表示，已在以色列近海地區發現了逾8000億立方米的天然氣。按照當前需求計算，這一發現足以讓以色列在大約一個世紀裏不愁天然氣供應，能夠極大地緩解該國對進口燃料的需求。

Noble is acutely aware of its surroundings. Half of Israel’s electric power now comes from the natural gas that flows through Tamar, making the platform and an onshore processing plant a tempting focus for rockets from Hamas or more distant enemies. Security makes up about half the personnel on the Tamar platform.

諾布爾清晰地瞭解自己身處的環境。眼下，以色列一半的電力來自他瑪出產的天然氣，使得這座平臺及岸上的一座冶煉廠成爲了哈馬斯或更遠些的敵人眼中的誘人目標。他瑪平臺上的工作人員中，大約一半從事的是安保工作。

The platform “is a sitting duck,” said Amit Mor, an Israel energy consultant.

這座平臺“是相當脆弱的靶子，”以色列能源諮詢師阿米特·莫爾(Amit Mor)說。

While Israel’s gas consumption is growing fast, the domestic market isn’t large enough to fully tap Tamar’s potential, much less develop a much larger field called Leviathan. So Noble and its Israeli partners have focused on Egypt and Jordan as the nearest, cheapest-to-reach places to export.

儘管以色列的天然氣消費量正在快速增長，但其國內市場並不足以充分利用他瑪的潛在儲量，更別談要去開發一座大得多的名爲“利維坦”(Leviathan)的氣田。因此，諾布爾及其以色列合夥方把目光放到了埃及和約旦身上，認爲它們是距離最近、運輸成本最低的出口地。

While Jordan’s relations with Israel have been tense lately, the country has been a receptive customer because it badly needs gas for its growing energy needs. Since 2011, Jordan, like Israel, has had its gas supply disrupted, as militants in Sinai repeatedly attack a major gas pipeline from Egypt.

雖然約旦與以色列近期關係緊張，但是由於亟需天然氣來滿足不斷增長的能源需求，該國倒是樂於購買。2011年以來，因爲西奈半島的激進團體反覆攻擊來自埃及的一條主輸氣管，約旦與以色列一樣，面臨着天然氣供應不時中斷的局面。

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton talked to King Abdullah of Jordan about Israeli gas in 2011. Amos J. Hochstein, a top energy diplomat at the State Department, approached Noble Energy in early 2012 about making a deal with the Jordanians, according to American officials with knowledge of the meeting. Formal negotiations, involving company executives as well as Israeli, Jordanian and American officials, began that year at the Royal Court in Amman.

2011年，美國國務卿希拉里·羅德姆·克林頓(Hillary Rodham Clinton)向約旦國王阿卜杜拉(King Abdullah)談起了以色列的天然氣。知情人士透露，2012年初，國務院負責能源問題的高級特使阿莫斯·J·霍克斯坦 (Amos J. Hochstein)找到了諾布爾能源公司，討論與約旦做生意的事宜。當年晚些時候，諾布爾高管與以色列、約旦和美國三方的官員在安曼的王宮展開了正式協商。

But the talks dragged on for two years with negotiators shuttling between hotels on Jordan’s Dead Sea coast and the Hilton Hotel at London’s Paddington Station. In a volatile region, King Abdullah risked drawing the fire of domestic critics if he bought fuel from Israel.

不過，商談延續了兩年時間。談判人員在約旦死海邊的多家酒店與倫敦帕丁頓車站的希爾頓酒店之間跑來跑去。由於身處局勢動盪的地區，阿卜杜拉國王要是從以色列購買石油的話，得冒上在國內飽受抨擊的風險。

United States officials tried to smooth the process. They provided funding to train Jordanians in gas regulation. The American ambassador to Jordan, Stuart E. Jones, invited negotiatiors to continue talks in the relaxed atmosphere of his Amman residence when talks got tense elsewhere.

美國官員也努力爲這個進程提供便利。他們出資爲約旦提供了天然氣監管方面的培訓。在其他地點的談判形勢趨於緊張時，美國駐約旦大使斯圖爾特·E·瓊斯(Stuart E. Jones)會邀請談判各方到他位於安曼的寓所裏，在輕鬆的氛圍裏繼續對話。

Noble helped break the impasse by striking a separate deal with two Jordanian mineral companies, Arab Potash and Jordan Bromine. The companies will buy about $500 million of gas over 15 years from Tamar.

諾布爾另外與兩家約旦礦業企業，阿拉伯鉀鹽公司(Arab Potash)和約旦溴業公司(Jordan Bromine)達成了交易，這在一定程度上化解了僵局。這兩家公司將在未來15年裏，從他瑪平臺上購買大約5億美元的天然氣。

The private contract paved the way for the Jordanian government, which wanted a deal that would legally be with the American company, rather than Israel. Seven months later, Noble signed a preliminary agreement to sell gas from Leviathan to Jordan for electric power, worth an estimated $12 billion.

私營部門的合同爲約旦政府鋪平了道路，政府希望協議的另一方在法律上是這家美國公司，而不是以色列。七個月後，諾布爾簽署了一項初步協議，從利維坦平臺向約旦出售天然氣用於發電，合約價值約爲120億美元。

Despite the benefits, such deals will likely face criticism when tensions between neighbors rise. For instance, a large contingent of lawmakers in the Jordanian parliament last week moved to limit purchases of Israeli natural gas. So far, the government appears to be unshaken in its desire to buy the gas.

儘管有着諸多好處，但是這樣的交易在鄰國關係趨於緊張之時，卻可能會招致批評。例如，約旦國會裏有大批議員上週採取行動，對購買以色列天然氣做出了限制。到目前爲止，該國政府似乎並沒有改變購買天然氣的意願。

Jordan is one of the latest deals for Leviathan. In January, Noble and its Israeli partners reached an agreement to supply a power plant under construction in the West Bank by a Palestinian group.

約旦只是利維坦最近的交易中的一宗。今年1月，諾布爾及其以色列合作伙伴達成了一項協議，向一家巴勒斯坦集團位於約旦河西岸的一座在建電廠供氣。

Industry experts say that Noble will need more long-term commitments to support the expense of Leviathan. The project is expected to cost as much as $8 billion, and the Jordan deal accounts for only about 9 percent of the gas.

行業專家表示，諾布爾需要更多的長期承諾才能維持利維坦的花費。該項目預計耗資將會高達80億美元，約旦的合約只相當於總天然氣產能的9%。

The most likely anchor customer is Egypt, a huge and growing market. Today, two gas export facilities on the Mediterranean are sitting largely idle. The Egyptian government is blocking exports in order to meet high domestic demand and stave off power blackouts.

最有可能成爲支柱性顧客的是埃及，這是一個正在增長的巨大市場。今天，地中海上的兩座天然氣出口設施基本上處於閒置狀態，埃及政府爲了滿足巨大的國內需求、避免停電，阻止了出口。

Noble and its partners are also looking for alternatives. They have commissioned designs for a floating liquefied natural gas facility, which would allow them to move gas to the global markets.

諾布爾及其合作伙伴也在尋找其他途徑。它們已經聘請設計機構，設計一座浮動液化天然氣設施，這樣它們就可以將天然氣輸送到全球市場。

And domestic businesses are taking advantage of the new gas. One Israeli company, Dorad Energy, recently built a $1.3 billion gas-fired generating plant near Ashkelon. On a typical day, the plant meets about 10 percent of Israel’s power demand. The company is planning to add another next door.

國內企業也在利用新的天然氣來源。以色列企業多拉德能源公司(Dorad Energy)最近在亞實基倫(Ashkelon)附近建造了一座耗資13億美元的燃氣發電廠。在平時，這座電廠能滿足以色列電力需求的10%。這家公司還計劃在附近再修建一座電廠。

“My dream is to sell electricity to Egypt, Jordan and even Syria,” said Moshe Cohen, the plant manager, as he showed a visitor the site, including a hole in the street left by a rocket from Gaza. “Israel has the ability to provide a lot of energy.”

“我的夢想是向埃及、約旦，甚至敘利亞出售電力，”電廠經理摩西·科恩(Moshe Cohen)在帶領一名訪客參觀時表示，道路上還有加沙地帶發射來的火箭彈留下的彈坑。“以色列有能力供應很多電力。”