China has agreed to spend up to $23bn (€19bn, £16bn) to build oil refineries and other petroleum infrastructure in Nigeria, potentially strengthening its hand in the country as it seeks to secure 6bn barrels of crude reserves.

　　中國已同意投入至多230億美元，在尼日利亞建設煉油廠及其它石油基礎設施。此舉可能在中國尋求從尼日利亞獲得60億桶原油儲量之際，增強中國在尼日利亞的地位。

　　Emmanuel Egbogah, special adviser to the president of Nigeria on petroleum matters, told the Financial Times that China State Construction Engineering Corporation signed the memorandum of understanding on Thursday.

　　尼日利亞總統(tǒng)石油事務特別顧問愛瑪尼爾•埃格博加(Emmanuel Egbogah)向英國《金融時報》表示，中國建筑工程總公司(CSCEC)上周四簽署了有關(guān)諒解備忘錄。

　　The refineries would have a combined capacity of 750,000 barrels a day, well in excess of what Mr Egbogah forecast would be domestic demand of some 450,000 b/d by the time they are finished in a scheduled five years.

　　按照計劃，這些煉油廠將在5年內(nèi)建成，日煉油產(chǎn)能共計75萬桶，而埃格博加預計，屆時尼日利亞國內(nèi)燃油需求約為45萬桶。

　　That would allow for export and might see the government make good on a long-held pledge to deregulate the downstream sector, where the subsidy paid to fuel importers keeps pump prices low, deters investment in refineries and drained $4bn from government coffers last year.

　　剩余部分將可用于出口。而尼日利亞政府也可兌現(xiàn)長期以來的一個承諾：取消對石油下游行業(yè)的管制。尼日利亞政府向燃油進口企業(yè)提供補貼，使燃油零售價保持在低水平。去年尼日利亞政府為此花費了40億美元資金。這種做法也阻礙了對煉油設施的投資。

　　The refineries would be constructed in Lagos, the commercial capital, Kebbi state in the remote northeast, and Bayelsa, the home state of Goodluck Jonathan, the newly appointed president, at the heart of the restive Niger delta oil province. The location of a petro-chemical plant has not been decided.

　　煉油廠將分別建在尼日利亞商業(yè)首都拉各斯、東北偏遠地區(qū)科吉州(Kogi)以及巴耶爾薩州(Bayelsa)。巴耶爾薩州是尼日利亞新任總統(tǒng)古德勒克•喬納森(Goodluck Jonathan)的家鄉(xiāng)，地處局勢動蕩、富含石油的尼日爾三角洲的中心。另外一座石化廠尚未確定地點。

　　Mr Egbogah said that as a result of the agreement, the Chinese construction group will raise finance from Export-Import Bank of China and other state-backed lenders that have underwritten infrastructure ventures across Africa.

　　埃格博加表示，根據(jù)協(xié)議，中建總公司將向中國進出口銀行(Export-Import Bank of China)及其它為非洲基礎設施項目提供資助的國有銀行籌集資金。

　　It could also strengthen China's hand in separate negotiations by Cnooc, one of China's three big energy groups, to secure one-sixth of Nigeria's 36bn barrels of oil reserves. Mr Egbogah said that there had been little movement on that front since October but that the Chinese groups had mentioned building refineries as part of its initial proposals.

　　此舉也可能有利于中國三大能源集團之一中海油(Cnooc)旨在獲得尼日利亞六分之一原油儲量的有關(guān)談判。尼日利亞的原油總儲量為360億桶。埃格博加表示，從去年10月以來，相關(guān)談判幾乎毫無進展，但中方在初步提議中提到了建設煉油廠。

　　China has struck infrastructure-for-resources bargains across Africa over the past decade as it seeks crude, minerals and metals to fuel its breakneck economic expansion.

　　過去十年間，中國與非洲許多國家達成了“基礎設施換資源”的交易，此舉是為了獲得原油、礦產(chǎn)和金屬，以支持其高速的經(jīng)濟擴張。

　　But previous Chinese offers to build or renovate Nigerian refineries as part of haggling over oil blocks between 2005 and 2007 have run aground. Beijing's emissaries have had far less success navigating Nigeria's perilous political terrain than they have in Angola or Sudan, both of which have emerged as crude suppliers to China.

　　但在2005年至2007年間，在爭取石油區(qū)塊的談判中，中國屢次提議在尼日利亞建造或改建煉油設施，卻總是受阻。在尼日利亞兇險的政壇上，中國的使者遠不如在安哥拉和蘇丹成功，后兩個國家均已成為中國的石油供應國。