PetroChina, the oil company largely owned by the Chinese government, has overtaken ExxonMobil of the US to regain its position as the world's largest listed energy group by market capitalisation.

　　中国国有石油公司中石油(PetroChina)超过美国的埃克森美孚(ExxonMobil)，重新成为全球市值最大的上市能源公司。

　　It took less a year for the Chinese group to reclaim the top slot it lost during the financial crisis of 2008 when oil prices collapsed and investors fled to the perceived safety of international oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron Texaco of the US and Royal Dutch Shell and BP, both based in Europe.

　　这家中国企业重回榜首仅花了不到一年的时间，在2008年金融危机期间，随着油价暴跌，投资者纷纷选择看似安全的国际石油公司避险（如美国的埃克森美孚和雪佛龙德士古(Chevron Texaco)、欧洲的荷兰皇家壳牌(Royal Dutch Shell)和英国石油(BP)），中石油曾一度失去领先地位。

　　Other national oil companies also largely made up the distance they had lost to their larger international peers.

　　其它国家石油公司也基本上消除了它们与大型国际石油公司之间一度拉开的差距。

　　Brazil's Petrobras is the fourth-largest oil company and Russia's Rosneft stands at number 13. Both saw their market capitalisation more than double in 2009, according to data compiled by PFC Energy, the Washington-based industry consultancy. The annual ranking of the world's 50 largest energy groups will be published today.

　　巴西国家石油公司(Petrobras)是全球第四大石油公司，俄罗斯石油公司(Rosneft)位列13名。华盛顿能源咨询公司PFC Energy编纂的数据显示，2009年这两家公司的市值都增长了一倍以上。全球能源企业50强的年度排名将于明天公布。

　　The study finds that national oil companies gained an average 66 per cent in market value in 2009.

　　研究发现，2009年国家石油公司的市值平均增长了66%。

　　In comparison, the six biggest international oil companies grew in market capitalisation less than 1 per cent.

　　相比之下，6大国际石油公司的市值增幅还不到1%。

　　The combined market value of the 50 largest energy groups jumped 35 per cent to $3,900bn as oil prices made an even more dramatic recovery, climbing back from the lows of about $30 a barrel they hit at the start of 2009 to $80 by the end of the year.

　　能源企业50强的总市值跃增35%，达3.9万亿美元，与此同时油价的复苏更为惊人，从2009年初每桶约30美元的低点攀升至年终的每桶80美元。

　　The findings underscore the momentum of a nascent but increasingly marked shift away from the western international oil companies that have dominated the sector and towards their state-owned counterparts in China, Brazil and Russia.

　　上述发现突显出一种新兴但日益显著的演变趋势，即西方国际石油公司在行业中的主导地位逐渐让位于中国、巴西和俄罗斯的国有石油企业。

　　PetroChina first took the top ranking in 2007 but lost it the following year.

　　中石油于2007年首度登顶，但第二年便失去了第一名的位置。

　　Robin West, chairman of PFC Energy, said the findings showed a fundamental shift towards growing energy markets, such as China, and the regions that can supply them, such as Russia and Brazil.

　　PFC Energy董事长罗宾•韦斯特(Robin West)表示，研究发现表明，能源行业开始发生根本性转变，中国这样不断增长的能源市场以及俄罗斯和巴西这样的能源供应国日益重要。

　　“For investors the shift is measured in trillions of dollars,” he said. “This is a big deal.

　　“对投资者来说，这种转变是以数万亿美元来衡量的，”他表示。“这意义重大。”

　　“There is a lot of money involved here. An asset class is changing. These new companies are becoming global blue chip companies.”

　　“其中牵涉了大笔资金。整个资产类别在发生变化。这些新兴公司正在成为全球的蓝筹股。”

　　But Mr West warned that some of the national oil companies were not held to the same standards as their western counterparts and were still viewed as more speculative vehicles whose value rises and falls with the oil price.

　　但韦斯特提醒道，其中一些国家石油企业遵循的运营标准与西方企业不同，它们仍被视为投机性更高的工具，其市值随着油价起落。

　　National oil companies often appeal to investors because they have a number of important advantages over international oil companies.

　　国家石油公司吸引投资者，往往是因为相对于国际石油公司，它们拥有一些重要优势。

　　They either own or control much higher oil and gas reserves, as is the case with Petrobras and Rosneft, or they have access to a huge consumer market and benefit from the deep pockets and ambitions of their governments, as is the case with PetroChina.

　　它们或是拥有或掌控着更充沛的油气储备，例如巴西国家石油公司和俄罗斯石油公司，或是坐拥庞大的消费市场，并受益于政府的雄厚财力与勃勃野心，例如中石油。