中海油董事長扮演的雙重角色
When China launched its first deep-water oil rig in May, Cnooc Ltd. Chairman Wang Yilin delivered a message to employees and his Communist Party superiors about what it meant to Beijing's ambitions abroad.
今年5月份中國推出首個深水鑽井平臺時，中國海洋石油有限公司(Cnooc Ltd., 簡稱: 中海油)董事長王宜林向公司員工和他在黨內的上級傳遞了一個信息，說明這一平臺對於北京的海外雄心意味着什麼。'Large-scale deep-water rigs are our mobile national territory and a strategic weapon,' he told a crowd gathered at Cnooc's glittering headquarters in central Beijing as well as rig workers by videoconference.
他說，大型深水裝備是我們流動的國土，是戰略利器。當時他的聽衆除了通過電視會議系統連線的平臺工人以外，還有一羣聚集在北京市中心富麗堂皇的中海油總部的人士。State-controlled Cnooc is using the rig to drill three wells this year in the South China Sea - an area with overlapping claims by China and other surrounding nations and an increasingly sore friction point between Beijing and Washington.
國有企業中海油今年要利用這個平臺在南中國海(South China Sea, 中國稱南海)鑽出三個油井。中國和幾個周邊國家在南中國海的領土主張存在重合，北京與華盛頓之間也因這一地區的問題出現了越來越劇烈的摩擦。
Mr. Wang now is spearheading Cnooc's $15.1 billion offer to acquire Canada's Nexen Inc., a blockbuster deal that needs U.S. regulatory approval because of Nexen's energy assets in the Gulf of Mexico.
王宜林目前正率領中海油以151億美元的價格收購加拿大油企Nexen Inc.。由於Nexen在墨西哥灣擁有能源資產，這樁大手筆交易需要得到美國監管機構的批准。It is the latest deal in a dual role that Mr. Wang has assumed since taking Cnooc's reins last year: running his company as a profit-driven multinational enterprise overseas, and promoting it as a political and strategic asset at home.
這是王宜林去年執掌中海油以來的最新一筆收購。從那時候起，王宜林就充當了一種雙重角色，一方面他要在國外把中海油當一家逐利性的跨國公司來經營，另一方面又要在國內把它當一筆政治資產和戰略資產來進行宣傳。Tension between those two roles has sparked worries in China, where some people even inside his company fear that Cnooc's politically charged moves in the South China Sea could be viewed as too aggressive. Mr. Wang has led Cnooc to defend China's sovereignty claims there, despite competing claims by Vietnam, the Philippines and others.
這兩個角色之間的矛盾在中國引發了擔憂，就連中海油內部的一些人都在擔心，中海油在南中國海地區充滿政治動機的行動有可能被認爲過於咄咄逼人。王宜林曾率領中海油維護中國在南中國海的領土主張，而同時越南、菲律賓等國也聲稱擁有南中國海部分海域的主權。That adds to other concerns in China's oil industry, including worries that Cnooc moved to announce the Nexen deal before the U.S. presidential election, in which China has become a heated political issue.
除此以外，中國石油行業還存在其他一些擔心，比如中海油在美國總統大選之前宣佈收購Nexen。在這次大選裏面，中國已經成爲一個引起熱議的政治話題。'The timing just doesn't look good,' said a person with close ties to China's major oil companies. 'If it doesn't go through, the danger is really severe' for other Chinese companies with ambitions in North America.
一位與中國幾大石油公司關係密切的人士說，這個時機顯得不是很好，如果通不過，那麼其他在北美地區有打算的中國企業真的就非常危險了。Mr. Wang wasn't available for an interview.
本報未能採訪到王宜林本人。'We are respectful of the regulatory requirements across all the respective jurisdictions,' the company said. 'We aim to comply with all of the regulatory and government processes and procedures and to cooperate with all regulatory authorities.'
中海油說，我們尊重所有司法管轄地的監管要求；我們致力於配合所有監管機構和政府的流程與手續，並與所有監管部門合作。Cnooc's recent moves underscore how oil executives including Mr. Wang are using overseas deals to boost political credentials. They come as China has ordered state-controlled enterprises to seek business beyond its shores and as the Communist Party seeks younger leaders who are internationally savvy and competent in business.
從中海油的近期舉動可見，王宜林等石油業經理人正在如何利用海外併購提升自己的政治資本。中海油這些舉動的背景是，中國一直要求國有企業到海外尋找業務，而共產黨也在尋找國際經驗豐富、業務能力強的年輕領導人。'It's going to be a feather in [his] political cap' if Mr. Wang is able to successfully complete the Nexen deal, said Erica Downs, who has written about China's oil executives for the Brookings Institution in Washington.
曾爲華盛頓布魯金斯學會(Brookings Institution)撰文介紹中國石油業經理人的鄧麗嘉(Erica Downs)說，如果王宜林能夠成功完成收購Nexen的交易，這將成爲他官帽上的一枝花翎。Mr. Wang, 55 years old, appears to be vying for higher office, said analysts and people with direct knowledge of Cnooc's operations, adding that he appears to have high-level political backing.
分析人士以及對中海油運營有直接瞭解的人士說，55歲的王宜林似乎正在競爭更高的職位，似乎也擁有高層政治人物的支持。As China's main offshore-oil company, Cnooc has been the Chinese company most involved with the South China Sea.
作爲中國主要的離岸油氣生產商，中海油一直是涉入南中國海最深的中國企業。Cnooc in June said it was offering a new round of oil-and-gas blocks to foreign partners within what Vietnam says is its exclusive economic zone under the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea.
中海油在6月份說，它將在越南認爲按照聯合國海洋法公約(United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea)屬於其專屬經濟區的地區拿出新一批油氣區塊面向外國夥伴招標。Vietnam had already begun exploring the area and had signed deals with Italy's Eni SpA and Exxon Mobil Corp. to explore there. China says its claims in the South China Sea and its islands have belonged to the country for hundreds of years.
越南已經開始在這一區域進行勘探，並與意大利能源公司Eni SpA和美國埃克森美孚(Exxon Mobil Corp.)簽署了該地區的勘探協議。中國聲稱，南海及其中島嶼的主權數百年來一直屬於中國。While Cnooc regularly offers blocks for foreign investment in the sea, the move marked its most significant offer in disputed waters. Inside Cnooc, the decision to auction blocks near Vietnam was a controversial one partly because it was seen as too aggressive, said one of the people with direct knowledge of Cnooc's operations.
雖然中海油經常拿出南中國海區塊供外商投資，但上述舉動是它在爭議海域最重要的招標活動。一位對中海油運營有直接瞭解的人士說，拿越南附近區塊招標在中海油內部是有爭議的，原因之一是有人認爲此舉過於激進。Ultimately, the decision was driven more by the company itself than party or government higher-ups, the person said, adding that Cnooc felt pressured to act in part by intense public nationalism over sovereignty in the South China Sea.
這位人士說，歸根到底，這一決定更多地是基於公司的利益做出的，而不都是黨或政府高層的意思。這位人士還說，中海油覺得有必要這樣做的部分原因，是民衆對南中國海主權問題的民族主義情緒越來越強烈。With the Nexen deal, Cnooc would acquire the Canadian company's deep-water operations in the Gulf of Mexico. That would provide Cnooc, which mostly operates in shallow waters, with deep-water expertise that could be applied to the South China Sea.
若完成對Nexen的收購，中海油將取得這家加拿大公司在墨西哥灣的深水業務。主要經營淺水業務的中海油將由此獲得有可能用於南中國海的深水經驗。Mr. Wang began his career at China's Petroleum Ministry in 1982 after receiving a bachelor's degree in petroleum geology and exploration from China University of Petroleum in 1982.
王宜林1982年在中國石油大學取得石油地質勘探專業的學士學位，同年進入石油工業部，從此開始他的職業生涯。After the ministry was dissolved and replaced by China National Petroleum Corp., Mr. Wang spent the 1990s and early 2000s as a CNPC executive in China's ethnically restive yet resource-rich Xinjiang region, according to an official Cnooc biography.
中海油提供的官方履歷顯示，在石油工業部撤銷、被中國石油天然氣集團公司(China National Petroleum Corp., 簡稱：中國石油集團)取代之後，王宜林從20世紀90年代到21世紀最初幾年，一直在資源豐富的新疆擔任中國石油集團的高管。A CNPC official said Mr. Wang kept a low-profile inside the company but was viewed as highly competent.
中國石油集團的一位高管說，王宜林在該公司內部行事低調，但其業務能力得到了高度認可。After rising to the No. 3 spot in CNPC in 2003, Mr. Wang landed the top job at Cnooc last year during a reorganization of the oil industry.
王宜林在2003年成爲中國石油集團的第三號人物，去年在石油行業的一次調整過程中當上中海油的一把手。The government routinely shuffles the heads of China's major oil companies and other state-owned enterprises, serving to alleviate competition as well as to promote successful executives higher into the party or government.
中國政府經常調整主要石油企業和其他國有企業的負責人，以緩和競爭，並在黨或政府內給做得不錯的企業高管以更高的職位。Analysts said the move partly was designed to help bring Mr. Wang's decades of expertise in China's onshore oil fields to Cnooc.
分析人士說，讓王宜林當上中海油一把手的部分目的，是要把他在中國陸上油田數十年的經驗引入中海油。Mr. Wang is believed to have political backing as well. Zhou Yongkang, a member of China's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee and former CNPC executive, is believed to be among those helping Mr. Wang's career.
據信，王宜林是有高層政治人物支持的。中央政治局常委、前中國石油集團高管周永康，據信就是助力王宜林職業生涯的人之一。One person said Mr. Wang's work on the South China Sea appeared to be an effort to brandish his political credentials, showing political higher-ups he could defend Beijing's interests in one of the region's most volatile disputes.
一位人士說，王宜林在南中國海的舉動似乎是爲了展示他的政治資本，向高層證明他可以在地區內最變幻不定的一場爭端之中維護北京的利益。
