VOA慢速英语: 石油价格下降对德州工人的利弊

Oil Price Drop Both Good and Bad for Texas Workers

石油价格下降对德克萨斯州工人的利弊

The sharp drop in world oil prices has led oil companies in the United States to dismiss thousands of workers. Some companies have also suspended new oil drilling and exploration projects. The drop in oil prices has also affected small service companies and even stores that do business with oil companies in big producer states like Texas. But the drop in oil prices has not been bad for everyone.

世界油价的急剧下降导致美国一些石油公司裁剪数千名工人。一些石油公司甚至暂停新油田的钻井和勘探项目。石油价格下降同样影响到一些小型服务公司和一些商店，这些商店跟大规模石油生产的州，比如德克萨斯州的石油公司有生意关系。然而，石油价格的下降并不是对所有人来说都是个坏消息。

Oil platform workers are often called roughnecks. In Texas, many roughnecks have lost their jobs because of the drop in oil prices. The effect of falling prices has been worse in states like Alaska and North Dakota. That is because production costs are higher there than they are in the Eagle Ford area of south-central Texas.

石油平台的工人被称为钻工。在德克萨斯州，因为石油价格的下降，很多钻工失去了自己的工作。在一些州诸如阿拉斯加州和北达科他州，石油价格下降的负面影响更大。因为这些州的石油生产成本比德克萨斯州鹰滩地区的成本要高。

Some oil drilling projects are working to keep their costs low. If the price of oil stays above $40 a barrel, they can still make a profit.

一些石油钻井项目致力于保持低成本。如果石油价格保持在每桶40美元，那么他们仍然可以获利。

Adam Perdue is an economist at the University of Houston's Institute for Regional Forecasting. He has been studying the effect of falling oil prices in Texas.

亚当·普度是休斯顿大学地区预测分析学院的经济学家。他在研究德州石油价格下降带来的影响。

Mr. Perdue says oil company exploration and production budgets are being cut between 10 and 50 percent, with most of them being cut by a third. He says the city of Houston experienced five percent growth rates in recent years. He thinks the lower spending will affect the local economy.

普度称石油公司的勘探和生产成本削减了10%到50%，其中大部分公司削减了三分之一。近些年，休斯顿经历了5%的增长。他认为更低的开支会影响当地的经济。

"We're predicting that there's gonna be 20,000 fewer jobs than there would have been otherwise. So, we're still predicting growth in the Houston area; it's just gonna slow down to a more reasonable rate of about, or just under two percent."

“我们预测估计会减少2万个工作岗位。但是我们预测在休斯敦地区会继续增加。这一比例会放慢增幅到一个更合理的比例，或者说低于2%。”

The economic slowdown will affect companies that manufacture pipes and other equipment for oil exploration and production. It will also have an effect on trucking companies that supply sand and chemicals, and other small businesses that serve the energy industry.

经济增长放缓会影响一些制造管道和其他用来勘探石油和生产石油设备的公司。也会影响一些提供沙土和化学制品的运输公司和其它一些服务于能源行业的小型公司。

But low oil prices are good for chemical companies. They use hydrocarbons found in oil to makefertilizer,plastic and other products. Adam Perdue says a new chemical plant project near Houston will provide jobs for many skilled workers.

但是石油价格降低对一些化工公司有利。他们使用石油中提炼出来的碳化氢生产肥料、塑料和其它产品。亚当·普度表示休斯顿附近的新建化工厂会为很多技术工人提供一些工作岗位。

"A lot of these roughnecks that are gonna lose their jobs out there in the field are gonna be able to come home and, and, and get a welding job or a construction job."

“很多钻工会失去工作，他们可以回家，找一份焊接工作或者建筑工作。”

He says oil industry experts believe prices will rise again in about six months when the oversupply of oil is reduced. Experts say the oversupply resulted from expanded production. But he says if those predictions are wrong and oil prices continue to fall, the economy of Houston and Texas will be hurt much more.

亚当·普度说石油行业的专家相信再过六个月左右石油供应过剩减少后，石油价格还会上升。但是他认为这些预测都是错误的，石油价格会继续下降，休斯顿和德克萨斯州的经济会遭受更多损失。

I'm Christopher Cruise.

我是克里斯托弗·格鲁斯。

This report was based on a story from VOA Correspondent Greg Flakus in Houston. Christopher Cruise wrote the story in VOA Learning English. The editor was George Grow.

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Words in this Story

roughneck – n. someone who works on an oil rig or at an oil well

fertilizer – n. a substance (such as manure or a special chemical) that is added to soil to help the growth of plants

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