中國超越美國成世界最大石油進口國

China overtook the US as the biggest importer of crude last month, the culmination of a big shift in energy flows during the past decade.

中國上月超越美國，成爲最大原油進口國，這標誌着過去10年能源流動的大轉變達到高潮。

Chinese customs data showed that oil purchases from overseas hit a high of 7.4m barrels a day in April, equivalent to one in every 13 barrels consumed and topping US imports of 7.2m barrels a day.

中國海關數據顯示，4月份石油進口達到每日740萬桶（相當於全球每日石油消費量的13分之一），超過美國每日720萬桶的進口量。

While China’s imports are not expected consistently to surpass those of the US until the second half of the year, the move shows how the US shale revolution has cut the country’s reliance on oil from overseas and how China’s demand has grown even as its economy slows.

預計中國的石油進口量要到今年下半年纔會持續超過美國。儘管如此，4月數據顯示，美國頁岩革命降低了該國對進口石油的依賴，而中國的石油需求在經濟放緩之際有增無減。

Colin Fenton, managing partner at Blacklight Research, said China’s imports increased as it stockpiled oil.

Blacklight Research管理合夥人科林•芬頓(Colin Fenton)表示，中國擴充石油庫存導致進口增加。

“It’s begun,” Mr Fenton said. “China’s crude imports have been above trend in four of the past five months.”

“這已經開始，”芬頓表示。“中國的原油進口在過去五個月中的四個月高出趨勢線。”

Last month’s jump was partly due to higher shipments from Iran, according to consultancy Energy Aspects.

據諮詢公司Energy Aspects介紹，上月中國石油進口躍升的部分原因是從伊朗進口的數量提高。

China Oil also bought a record number of Oman and Abu Dhabi crude cargoes in a public trading window that helps determine the region’s benchmark prices.

中國聯合石油有限責任公司（Chinaoil，簡稱中聯油）還利用一個幫助確定中東基準油價的公開交易窗口，購買了創紀錄數量的阿曼和阿布扎比原油船貨。

“Iran may be offering more discounts on its oil as part of an effort to increase ties with Chinese oil companies,” Amrita Sen at Energy Aspects said. “Iran is keen to secure more Chinese investment.”

“伊朗可能對它的石油提供更多折扣，作爲其增進與中國石油企業關係的努力的一部分，”Energy Aspects的阿姆裏塔•森(Amrita Sen)表示。“伊朗渴望獲得更多的中國投資。”

China’s state traders are taking a more visible role in the crude market. They have built up more sophisticated operations to compete directly with established desks at western companies such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell, banks like Goldman Sachs, and commodity dealers such as Vitol and Glencore.

中國的國營貿易商正在原油市場上扮演更爲顯著的角色。他們已經建立了更高水平的交易部門，以便與西方企業如英國石油(BP)和荷蘭皇家殼牌(Royal Dutch Shell)，銀行如高盛(Goldman Sachs)，以及大宗商品交易商如維多(Vitol)和嘉能可(Glencore)的老牌交易部門直接競爭。

In the US, higher prices and more efficient vehicles curbed consumption in the aftermath of the financial crisis, while the surge in shale output over the past three years has reduced imports.

在美國，金融危機過後較高的油價和能效更佳的汽車抑制了石油消費，而過去三年激增的頁岩油產量已減少了石油進口。

Producers are chafing at government restrictions on US crude exports that date back to the oil shocks of the 1970s.

產油企業不滿美國政府對原油出口的限制，這些限制是上世紀70年代石油危機期間出爐的。

US imports might rebound in the short term, traders say, with fuel demand boosted by the collapse of oil prices to $65 a barrel. The price fall has also sharply reduced drilling activity in US shale regions such as North Dakota.

交易商們表示，美國的石油進口短期內可能反彈，原因是油價崩盤至每桶65美元提振了燃料需求。油價暴跌也大幅減少了美國頁岩地區（如北達科他州）的鑽探活動。

But the long-term trend is towards rising Chinese imports. The country is adding refining capacity with its economy growing at more than 7 per cent a year. “The world has a lot of oil,” one trader at a China firm said. “And we need a lot of oil.”

但長期趨勢是中國的石油進口不斷增長。中國正在增加煉油產能，而其整體經濟每年增長7%以上。“世界有大量石油，”中國某公司的一名交易員表示。“而我們需要大量石油。”

For the US, reducing imports is a goal of politicians and foreign policy experts who see the country’s reliance on Middle Eastern crude as a national security risk. Before the financial crisis, the US imported as much as 10m barrels of oil a day — more than half the oil the country consumed.

就美國而言，減少進口是政界人士和外交政策專家的目標，他們將美國對中東原油的依賴視爲國家安全風險。在金融危機之前，美國石油進口曾高達每日1000萬桶，佔該國石油消費量的一半以上。