美國石油日產量達44年來峯值

US production of liquid petroleum is surpassing its previous peak, reached in 1970, in the latest landmark for the country’s shale oil boom.

美國液化石油製品的日產量正在超過1970年達到的峯值，這對美國的頁岩油繁榮來說是又一個里程碑。

Four decades of decline in US oil output have been reversed in just five years of growth.

持續40年的美國石油日產量下跌勢頭已經被5年來的增長逆轉。

Petroleum production, including crude oil and related liquids, known as condensate, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) such as ethane, was 11.27m barrels per day in April, almost equalling the peak of 11.3m b/d reached as an average for 1970. Recent growth rates suggest that it has now exceeded that figure.

石油產品包括原油和被稱爲“冷凝物”的相關液體，以及乙烷這類天然氣凝析液(NGL)。今年4月，美國石油產品的日產量爲1127萬桶，這差不多與1970年平均每天1130萬桶的峯值相等。而近期的增長率則暗示這一數字如今已被超過。

The composition of US production today is not the same as in the early 1970s, in that it has a higher proportion of NGLs, which have a lower Energy content and value than crude oil. Crude production of 8.3m b/d in April was still well short of its record high of 10m b/d in November 1970.

如今，美國石油產品的構成和上世紀70年代初並不相同，其中天然氣凝析液所佔的比重較大。與原油相比，這種天然氣凝析液所含的能量較低，價值也不如原油。今年4月，美國每天的原油產量爲830萬桶，仍然大大低於1970年11月每天1000萬桶的創紀錄峯值。

Even so, the rebound in US output has refuted claims that it was in irreversible long-term decline. Forecasts from the US Energy Information Administration suggest that crude production will also come close to its 1970 peak in the next few years.

即便如此，美國石油產品日產量的反彈，仍駁斥了美國石油產量處於不可逆轉的長期下跌狀態的說法。此外，來自美國能源情報署(US Energy Information Administration)的預測暗示，美國原油日產量也將在今後幾年接近美國1970年的峯值。

The US is already the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, taken together, and is one of the top three in terms of oil alone, alongside Russia and Saudi Arabia.

美國目前已經是全球最大的油氣生產國。只看石油日產量，美國是全球三大石油生產國之一（另外兩大產油國是俄羅斯和沙特阿拉伯）。