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.

　　中国已同意投入至多230亿美元，在尼日利亚建设炼油厂及其它石油基础设施。此举可能在中国寻求从尼日利亚获得60亿桶原油储量之际，增强中国在尼日利亚的地位。

　　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.

　　尼日利亚总统石油事务特别顾问爱玛尼尔•埃格博加(Emmanuel Egbogah)向英国《金融时报》表示，中国建筑工程总公司(CSCEC)上周四签署了有关谅解备忘录。

　　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.

　　按照计划，这些炼油厂将在5年内建成，日炼油产能共计75万桶，而埃格博加预计，届时尼日利亚国内燃油需求约为45万桶。

　　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.

　　剩余部分将可用于出口。而尼日利亚政府也可兑现长期以来的一个承诺：取消对石油下游行业的管制。尼日利亚政府向燃油进口企业提供补贴，使燃油零售价保持在低水平。去年尼日利亚政府为此花费了40亿美元资金。这种做法也阻碍了对炼油设施的投资。

　　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.

　　炼油厂将分别建在尼日利亚商业首都拉各斯、东北偏远地区科吉州(Kogi)以及巴耶尔萨州(Bayelsa)。巴耶尔萨州是尼日利亚新任总统古德勒克•乔纳森(Goodluck Jonathan)的家乡，地处局势动荡、富含石油的尼日尔三角洲的中心。另外一座石化厂尚未确定地点。

　　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，根据协议，中建总公司将向中国进出口银行(Export-Import Bank of China)及其它为非洲基础设施项目提供资助的国有银行筹集资金。

　　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.

　　此举也可能有利于中国三大能源集团之一中海油(Cnooc)旨在获得尼日利亚六分之一原油储量的有关谈判。尼日利亚的原油总储量为360亿桶。埃格博加表示，从去年10月以来，相关谈判几乎毫无进展，但中方在初步提议中提到了建设炼油厂。

　　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.

　　过去十年间，中国与非洲许多国家达成了“基础设施换资源”的交易，此举是为了获得原油、矿产和金属，以支持其高速的经济扩张。

　　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年间，在争取石油区块的谈判中，中国屡次提议在尼日利亚建造或改建炼油设施，却总是受阻。在尼日利亚凶险的政坛上，中国的使者远不如在安哥拉和苏丹成功，后两个国家均已成为中国的石油供应国。