A new study of state-owned oil companies
says these so-called National Oil
Companies, or NOCs, control most of the
world's known energy reserves and hold
the key to any increased energy
production in the years ahead. The study
was released in Houston, Texas at a
conference held at James A Baker III
Institute for Public Policy at Rice
University. VOA's Greg Flakus has more
in this report from Houston.
Energy experts attending the conference
agreed that National Oil Companies,
mostly in the developing world, will be
called upon to meet the rapidly rising
world demand for energy.
Conference organizer Amy Myers Jaffe
says global planning must take place
now. "As we look out over the next
30-year period, 90 percent of what we
are going to need, the rise we are going
to need in oil capacity, is going to be
coming from developing countries."
Seventy-seven percent of the world's oil
is now controlled by state-owned oil
companies, with less than ten percent
under the direct control of large
international companies.
James Mulva, Chairman and CEO of
ConocoPhillips represented the big oil
companies at the conference comment,
"Energy consumers, particularly the
American public, have failed to grasp
the transformation that is taking place
on the international energy scene. Many
consumers as well as elected officials
and policy-makers cling to the
misconception that future energy supply
is solely in the hands of the publicly
held western oil companies, the
so-called 'Big Oil.' In comparison to
most of the NOCs, big oil is not so
big."
Mulva says he recognizes the need for
private companies like his to find ways
of using their investment money and
advanced technology to work with
state-owned entities. "National oil
companies certainly have the access and
ownership of the resources, they have
tremendous capability and expertise.
What we need to be doing as
international oil companies, like
ConocoPhillips, is (see) how can we
collaboratively work together in a way
that is different from the past."
But David Asmus, Senior Partner at Baker
Botts L.L.P., an energy industry law
firm, says needed investment in oil
production is often diverted for other
government projects. "NOCs can find that
their political masters are more
interested in providing jobs or
pork-barrel projects or social programs
than in finding oil."
While some national oil companies are
competitive and technologically
advanced, others remain partially or
completely closed to outside investment.
Mexico, for example, allows no foreign
company profit-sharing contracts and
many other nations place heavy taxes on
the international operations in their
territory.
The priority in some countries -- such
as Venezuela and Iran -- is to use the
oil revenues from the state-run
companies to alleviate poverty. The
Baker Institute report makes no judgment
about this, but professor Amy Myers
Jaffe says the world's future oil
production will depend on how much these
NOCs are willing to reinvest in
production.
"Because so many of the national oil
companies are spending a huge part of
their revenue stream on these non-core
business elements, on providing social
welfare services, in the case of
Venezuela even something like subsidized
food, or, in the case of Iran,
practically free fuel for consumers,
that siphons off the kind of capital
that might have been used to develop
their oil sector." |
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一项关于国有石油公司的研究显示，这些所谓的“国家石油公司”(N-O-Cs)控制着世界上多数已知的能源储量，同时也是今后能源增产的关键所在。这个研究报告是在得克萨斯州休斯顿的莱斯大学“詹姆斯.贝克公共政策研究所”举行的一次会议上发布的。
参加会议的能源专家们认为，应该呼吁这些多数在发展中国家的国家石油公司满足急速增长的世界能源需求。
会议组织人艾米.迈尔斯.贾菲说：“展望今后30年时间，我们90%的需求，我们对石油产能增长的需求，都将来自发展中国家。”
国有石油公司当前掌控着全球77%的石油，只有不到10%是由大型国际公司直接控制的。
康菲石油公司(ConocoPhillips)执行长詹姆斯.穆维说：“能源消费者，尤其是美国公众，并不了解国际能源环境的变化。许多消费者，以及民选官员和议员死守着错误的观念，也就是未来的能源供应完全掌握在公开上市的西方石油公司，也就是所谓的‘石油巨头’手里。和多数‘国家石油公司’相比，石油巨头其实并不巨大。”
穆维说，他认识到像他管理的这样的私营石油公司必须设法利用他们的资本和先进技术来跟国有石油公司合作。穆维说：“国家石油公司当然掌握和拥有资源。他们有巨大的能力和专长。象康菲这样的国际石油公司需要做的是，我们怎么样才能找到与以往不同的合作方式。”
能源产业律师事务所“贝克-薄茨”的高级合伙人戴维.阿斯穆斯说，石油生产需要的投资常常被转移到其他的政府项目上。他说：“那些国家石油公司的主人是政治人物，他们更感兴趣的是提供就业机会、满足地方特殊利益或者从事社会项目，而不是去找石油。”
一些国家石油公司具有竞争力和先进的技术，而其他一些则部份或者完全将外来投资拒之门外。例如，墨西哥不允许外国公司获得利润分享合同，而其他许多国家则对在其境内经营的国际公司征收重税。
一些国家，例如委内瑞拉和伊朗，首先是将国营公司的石油收入用于减少贫困。贝克研究所的报告没有对此发表看法。但是艾米.迈尔斯.贾菲教授说，未来世界石油生产将有赖于这些国家石油公司对石油生产进行多少再投资的意愿。
贾菲说：“因为有相当多的国家石油公司把大笔收入投向非核心业务，用于提供社会福利服务，而在委内瑞拉甚至用于食物补贴，或者象伊朗，乾脆免费为消费者提供燃料。这实际上吸干了应当用在发展其石油行业方面的资金。” |
