西非海域发现巨大石油储量

Anadarko, the US oil group, and its partners Woodside of Australia, Repsol of Spain and Tullow Oil of the UK, yesterday confirmed they had found a new offshore oil region from Sierra Leone to Ghana in which they expect to discover more huge oil fields in the next five years.

美国石油集团阿纳达科(Anadarko)及其合作伙伴澳大利亚伍德赛德(Woodside)、西班牙雷普索尔(Repsol)和英国图洛石油公司(Tullow Oil)昨天证实，它们在从塞拉利昂到加纳一带的海上发现了一处新的产油区，预计未来五年将在这片产油区找到更多大型油田。

The announcement was made based on positive drilling results from the Venus well off the coast of Sierra Leone, 1,100km from Ghana's Jubilee field, Africa's largest deep-water field.

这一声明的根据，是上述公司在塞拉利昂近海维纳斯勘探井(Venus)获得的积极钻探结果。该井距离非洲最大深水油田——加纳的朱比利(Jubilee)油田约1100公里。

“The chance of there being at least one more Jubilee-sized field along the coast between Ghana and Sierra Leone has greatly increased,” said Aidan Heavey, Tullow chief executive.

“在加纳到塞拉利昂之间的近海至少再发现一个朱比利级油田的概率大大增加，”图洛石油公司首席执行官艾丹·希维(Aidan Heavey)说。

The Jubilee field, discovered in 2007, holds up to 2bn barrels of oil. It will propel Ghana into the world's top 50 producers after it begins to produce next year and has helped to more than triple Tullow's market capitalisation.

朱比利油田发现于2007年，其储量高达20亿桶。明年开始产油后，它将使加纳进入全球前50大产油国行列，并已使图洛石油的市值增加到原来的三倍以上。

Shares in Anadarko, which has 40 per cent of Venus, Tullow, with 10 per cent, and Woodside and Repsol, each with 25 per cent, all rose in response to the Venus discovery.

阿纳达科拥有维纳斯井40%的股份，图洛持股10%，伍德赛德和雷普索尔各占25%。钻探结果公布后，上述公司股票均应声而涨。

The results of drilling, which has been one of the most closely watched in the industry, itself suggests a large field. But much more important is the area it opens up.

维纳斯油井的钻探一直备受业内关注，其结果本身已经表明存在一个大油田。但更重要的是它开启了一块新的勘探区域。

Bob Daniels, head of Anadarko exploration, said: “The Venus discovery confirms the existence of an active petroleum system in the basin and enhances the prospectivity of our vast West Africa acreage.”

阿纳达科勘探部门负责人鲍勃·丹尼尔斯(Bob Daniels)表示：“维纳斯井的发现，证实了该盆地存在一个活跃的油气系统，令我们在广大西非地区的开发前景更加乐观。”

Bob MacKnight, analyst at consultant PFC Energy, said the area was the first “truly new” deep water oil region to open up in more than a decade.

PFC能源顾问公司分析师鲍勃·麦克奈特(Bob MacKnight)说，该地区是10多年来发现的第一个“真正新的”深水油区。

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