以色列巨型气田或为中东和平带来新转机

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

以色列他玛钻井平台——在以色列南部海岸附近的他玛(Tamar)天然气钻井平台上，警报声大作。

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.

以色列海军探测到了烟雾迹象，或许是哈马斯从加沙海岸发射了一枚火箭弹。扬声器里传出警告众人躲避起来的播报，平台上的工作人员急忙沿着金属阶梯往上跑到一间小型健身房中——这里也是躲避空袭的庇护所。

It turned out to be a false alarm.

事后发现，这次是虚惊一场。

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，天然气既是地缘政治工具，也是会被攻击的目标。不过，以色列新发现的丰富资源有望助其改善与亟需能源的埃及与约旦的关系，乃至巴勒斯坦民族权力机构。

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，这一外交努力背后的关键力量，并非哪位以色列官员、中东国王，或是美国大使，而是德克萨斯州的一家油企。

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.

总部位于休斯敦的诺布尔能源(Noble Energy)不仅经营着他玛平台，还在开发附近的另一座气田。在最近几个月里，公司达成了从以色列向其邻国出售天然气的一系列协议。这一出口策略得到了奥巴马政府的鼓励，有助于缓解地区的紧张局势。约旦及巴勒斯坦已在近几个月里签署了初步协议；诺布尔同时还在与埃及进行谈判，以期向其供应更多的天然气。

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.

这种商业纽带至关重要。作为主要的谈判方和中间人，诺布尔给各方领导人提供了掩护。如若不然，他们可能会因直接向以色列政府购买天然气的交易而面临政治打击。

“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.

“这些协议证明，天然气可以成为促成伙伴关系的桥梁，而这一关系是对地缘政治有正面影响的稳固商业关系，”曾在美国国务院从事国际能源协调工作的卡洛斯·帕斯夸尔(Carlos Pascual)说。

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.

诺布尔偏好在冷僻地区进行具有一定风险的勘探活动，比如在福克兰群岛和尼加拉瓜。公司在以色列的勘探活动始于上世纪末。他玛钻井平台在德克萨斯州的科珀斯克里斯蒂建造，然后由船只运至目前的地点。

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.

随之而来的，还有一丝墨西哥湾油气文化的气息。平台的餐厅里有炸虾和“胡椒博士”饮料供应。几名来自美国的业界老手负责监测气流的状况并培训以色列的技术人员。

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.

诺布尔去年完成了价值35亿美元（约合220亿元人民币）的他玛气田开发工作。公司表示，已在以色列近海地区发现了逾8000亿立方米的天然气。按照当前需求计算，这一发现足以让以色列在大约一个世纪里不愁天然气供应，能够极大地缓解该国对进口燃料的需求。

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.

诺布尔清晰地了解自己身处的环境。眼下，以色列一半的电力来自他玛出产的天然气，使得这座平台及岸上的一座冶炼厂成为了哈马斯或更远些的敌人眼中的诱人目标。他玛平台上的工作人员中，大约一半从事的是安保工作。

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

这座平台“是相当脆弱的靶子，”以色列能源咨询师阿米特·莫尔(Amit Mor)说。

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.

尽管以色列的天然气消费量正在快速增长，但其国内市场并不足以充分利用他玛的潜在储量，更别谈要去开发一座大得多的名为“利维坦”(Leviathan)的气田。因此，诺布尔及其以色列合伙方把目光放到了埃及和约旦身上，认为它们是距离最近、运输成本最低的出口地。

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.

虽然约旦与以色列近期关系紧张，但是由于亟需天然气来满足不断增长的能源需求，该国倒是乐于购买。2011年以来，因为西奈半岛的激进团体反复攻击来自埃及的一条主输气管，约旦与以色列一样，面临着天然气供应不时中断的局面。

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，美国国务卿希拉里·罗德姆·克林顿(Hillary Rodham Clinton)向约旦国王阿卜杜拉(King Abdullah)谈起了以色列的天然气。知情人士透露，2012年初，国务院负责能源问题的高级特使阿莫斯·J·霍克斯坦 (Amos J. Hochstein)找到了诺布尔能源公司，讨论与约旦做生意的事宜。当年晚些时候，诺布尔高管与以色列、约旦和美国三方的官员在安曼的王宫展开了正式协商。

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.

不过，商谈延续了两年时间。谈判人员在约旦死海边的多家酒店与伦敦帕丁顿车站的希尔顿酒店之间跑来跑去。由于身处局势动荡的地区，阿卜杜拉国王要是从以色列购买石油的话，得冒上在国内饱受抨击的风险。

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.

美国官员也努力为这个进程提供便利。他们出资为约旦提供了天然气监管方面的培训。在其他地点的谈判形势趋于紧张时，美国驻约旦大使斯图尔特·E·琼斯(Stuart E. Jones)会邀请谈判各方到他位于安曼的寓所里，在轻松的氛围里继续对话。

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.

诺布尔另外与两家约旦矿业企业，阿拉伯钾盐公司(Arab Potash)和约旦溴业公司(Jordan Bromine)达成了交易，这在一定程度上化解了僵局。这两家公司将在未来15年里，从他玛平台上购买大约5亿美元的天然气。

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.

私营部门的合同为约旦政府铺平了道路，政府希望协议的另一方在法律上是这家美国公司，而不是以色列。七个月后，诺布尔签署了一项初步协议，从利维坦平台向约旦出售天然气用于发电，合约价值约为120亿美元。

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.

尽管有着诸多好处，但是这样的交易在邻国关系趋于紧张之时，却可能会招致批评。例如，约旦国会里有大批议员上周采取行动，对购买以色列天然气做出了限制。到目前为止，该国政府似乎并没有改变购买天然气的意愿。

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.

约旦只是利维坦最近的交易中的一宗。今年1月，诺布尔及其以色列合作伙伴达成了一项协议，向一家巴勒斯坦集团位于约旦河西岸的一座在建电厂供气。

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.

行业专家表示，诺布尔需要更多的长期承诺才能维持利维坦的花费。该项目预计耗资将会高达80亿美元，约旦的合约只相当于总天然气产能的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.

最有可能成为支柱性顾客的是埃及，这是一个正在增长的巨大市场。今天，地中海上的两座天然气出口设施基本上处于闲置状态，埃及政府为了满足巨大的国内需求、避免停电，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.

诺布尔及其合作伙伴也在寻找其他途径。它们已经聘请设计机构，设计一座浮动液化天然气设施，这样它们就可以将天然气输送到全球市场。

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.

国内企业也在利用新的天然气来源。以色列企业多拉德能源公司(Dorad Energy)最近在亚实基伦(Ashkelon)附近建造了一座耗资13亿美元的燃气发电厂。在平时，这座电厂能满足以色列电力需求的10%。这家公司还计划在附近再修建一座电厂。

“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.”

“我的梦想是向埃及、约旦，甚至叙利亚出售电力，”电厂经理摩西·科恩(Moshe Cohen)在带领一名访客参观时表示，道路上还有加沙地带发射来的火箭弹留下的弹坑。“以色列有能力供应很多电力。”