中國獨立煉油廠擬抱團採購原油
A consortium of independent Chinese oil refineries trying to get out from under the shadow of powerful state-owned rivals has laid out plans for co-ordinated international crude sourcing, and exports of diesel and other oil products.
由中國獨立煉油廠組成的一個聯盟公佈相關計劃，擬協調採購國際原油，並出口柴油等成品油。這些煉油廠正試圖走出強大國有對手的陰影。
Independent refineries, known as teapots, account for about a fifth of China’s refining capacity and have been gaining market share since Beijing granted them crude import licences.
被稱爲茶壺的獨立煉油廠佔中國煉油產能大約五分之一，自北京方面授予它們原油進口許可證以來，它們已擴大市場份額。
But their eagerness to capitalise on the new clearance resulted in chaotic buying in the spring that led to severe port congestion and high storage charges in China’s northern province of Shandong.
但它們利用新獲得的進口許可的急切心理在今年春季帶來一波混亂的購買，在中國北方省份山東導致港口擁堵和高昂存儲費用。
The new consortium opens the door for more co-ordinated purchases and could help the teapots diversify their crude imports and lower their sourcing costs.
新的聯盟爲更加協調的採購打開了大門，可能幫助茶壺煉油廠分散原油進口來源，降低採購成本。
It is led by Pacific Commerce, the Singapore-registered trading arm of Dongming Petrochemical, one of the largest of the teapots and which will represent the 16-strong group in international crude sourcing and product sales.
該聯盟由最大的茶壺之一太平洋商業控股有限公司（Pacific Commerce，東明石化(Dongming Petrochemical)在新加坡註冊的交易部門）牽頭，並將由其在國際原油採購和成品油銷售中代表聯盟中的逾16家集團。
On Tuesday, Pacific Commerce signed an agreement on behalf of the group to source 8m barrels a year of crude oil through Unipec, the trading arm of state-owned Sinopec.
週二，太平洋商業控股代表該聯盟簽署了通過國有的中石化(Sinopec)旗下交易部門聯合石化(Unipec)每年進口800萬桶原油的協議。
The deal follows a similar agreement with UK oil major BP.
此前該聯盟與英國大型石油公司BP達成一個類似的協議。
The structure of the consortium means that Dongming is shouldering the risk for its Shandong-based partners.
該聯盟的結構意味着東明爲其山東合作伙伴肩負風險。
The refineries are discussing taking shares directly in Pacific Commerce and setting up a bank-backed fund in Shandong to absorb some of the risk, a step that would strengthen the group’s plans to trade oil as a unified block.
這些煉油廠正在討論直接入股太平洋商業控股，並在山東設立一隻銀行支持的基金，以吸收一些風險，此舉將加強該聯盟作爲一個統一實體交易石油的計劃。
We are all brothers.
我們都是兄弟。
We know each other.
我們互相認識。
None of us would endanger the others, said Dongming vice-president Zhang Liuchang. We can’t ruin our credit because then the banks won’t lend to us.
我們中沒有人會危害其他人，東明石化副總裁張留成表示，我們不能破壞自己的信用，因爲那樣銀行就不會借錢給我們。
The independent refiners have for years scraped by on spare domestic crude and imported fuel oil while facing official hostility.
這些獨立煉油廠苦撐了多年，依靠國內富餘原油和進口燃料油維持經營，還要面對官方的敵視。
Their fortunes turned when they were issued crude import licences, and were able to buy higher-quality crude due to the glut in international markets.
獲得原油進口許可證讓它們時來運轉，利用國際市場的供應過剩買到更高品質的原油。
However, the reprieve was threatened when the National Development and Reform Commission warned in August that it could revoke crude import licences for refiners that had not paid taxes.
然而，國家發展和改革委員會(NDRC)在8月警告稱，尚未繳納稅款的煉油廠可能被吊銷原油進口許可證，使這一局面受到威脅。
Various loopholes and complications in the Chinese tax code have in the past allowed teapots to avoid paying taxes on oil products refined from fuel oil.
以往，中國稅法中的各種漏洞和複雜規定讓茶壺得以規避爲從燃料油提煉的成品油繳稅。
That will raise our costs but sooner or later we need to regularise ourselves, Mr Zhang said.
那將提高我們的成本，但我們遲早需要讓自己規範化，張留成表示。
The teapots’ resurgence has had an impact beyond the domestic market, as they have contributed to a glut of diesel production in China that is pressuring middle distillate markets in Asia and as far away as the Middle East.
茶壺煉油廠復甦所產生的影響已經超越國內市場，它們加劇了中國的柴油產量過剩，給亞洲甚至中東的中質餾分油市場帶來壓力。
Their licences to export refined products expire at the end of this year, another disadvantage versus the big state-owned companies.
它們出口成品油的許可證將在今年底失效，這是它們相對於大型國有企業的另一個劣勢。
To be truly a part of the international oil markets the independent refiners still need to convince global oil traders that they are creditworthy partners, especially after Baota Petrochemical, a teapot not part of the consortium, failed to get letters of credit last winter for $50m of crude purchased from traders Vitol and Mercuria.
要真正成爲國際石油市場的一部分，這些獨立煉油廠仍需要說服全球石油交易商相信，它們是守信用的合作伙伴，尤其是鑑於寶塔石化(Baota Petrochemical)——不屬於這個聯盟的一家茶壺煉油廠——去年冬天竟未能爲其從維托爾(Vitol)和摩科瑞(Mercuria)兩家交易商購買的5000萬美元原油獲得信用證。
