Gas, but not the useful sort
“西气东输”非权宜之计
Barren ground for a new pipeline 在贫瘠的土地上修建一条新天然气管道
Mar 16th 2013 | ISLAMABAD |From the print edition
IT WAS smiles and handshakes all round on Pakistan’s border with Iran, as the presidents of the two countries posed on March 11th to mark the start of the construction of the Pakistani part of a pipeline that is supposed to bring Iranian natural gas to a country starved of energy. Blackouts cripple industry and bring daily misery to Pakistani households. The new pipeline is supposed to be completed by the end of 2014.
3月11日，巴基斯坦和伊朗两国总统面带微笑，互相握手，在巴伊边境出席天然气管道项目巴方段（注释1）的奠基仪式，这条天然气管道计划将向巴提供伊朗天然气，以缓解能源不足危机。供电量不足（灯火管制）使巴基斯坦工业一蹶不振，人们每晚在黑暗中度日。该新管道预计在2014年底竣工。
Yet ending misery appears not to be among the chief political motives. Rather, Iran hopes that the project will lessen the country’s international isolation. Pakistan’s relations with its neighbour have usually been chilly. But under President Asif Ali Zardari, they have warmed. That is indicative of Pakistan’s tilt away from the United States, which lobbied the government in Islamabad against the deal and which has been pushing the idea of an alternative pipeline running from Turkmenistan, through war-ravaged Afghanistan, and then into Pakistan and India. Instead, Pakistan has also begun talks with Iran about an oil refinery at its Gulf port of Gwadar. Pakistan recently decided to hand control of the new deep-sea port there to the Chinese, another development that concerns the United States, not to mention India.
然而，结束巴基斯坦人民的这种困境并不是伊朗的主要政治目的，恰恰相反，伊朗希望这个项目能缓解本国的国际孤立状态。但巴总统扎尔达里加强与伊朗的关系，这也表明巴基斯坦与美国关系渐行渐远，美国反对巴基斯坦政府参与这一项目，并一直提出建设一条从土库曼斯坦出发，途径饱受战争蹂躏的阿富汗，最后到达巴基斯坦和印度的天然气管道。与此同时，巴基斯塔已开始与伊朗就在瓜达尔海湾港口建立一家炼油厂进行对话。巴基斯坦最近已决定把这个深海港口的控制权移交给中国，这一事态的发展是美国忧心忡忡，更不用说印度了。
The new pipeline comes from the giant South Pars gasfield and will snake into southern Pakistan. Iran has already built all but the final 320km (200 miles) of its bit of the pipeline, according to the deputy oil minister, Javad Owji. Now Pakistan has to build about 800km.
这条管道从（伊朗）南帕尔斯油气田进入巴基斯坦南部。伊朗石油部副部长贾瓦德•奥吉称，伊朗计划在伊方段铺设800公里管道，剩余320公里（200英里）已差不多完成。
That it has to pass through the insurgency-ridden province of Balochistan is only one cause for doubting its completion. It is also not clear how Pakistan, which is strapped for cash, will finance its part of the pipeline, especially if hit by international sanctions for dealing with Iran. What is more, this is the last week that the current government, led by Mr Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party, has in office. According to polls, the opposition party of Nawaz Sharif, who is close to Iran’s foe, Saudi Arabia, looks set to lead the next government after an election, likely in May.
这条管道必须经过暴乱频繁的巴基斯坦的俾路支省，这使得人们质疑管道能否顺利完成。由于资金缺乏，巴基斯坦能否提供巴方段管道建设的费用还是未知数，如果因与伊朗的合作而受到国际制裁，那就更不好说了。而且扎尔达里政府于上周完成（五年）任期。据民意调查显示，与伊朗宿敌沙特关系密切反对派纳瓦兹•谢里夫很可能在五月进行的总统大选后成为下一任政府领导人。
For five years, Mr Zardari’s administration has sat on the country’s energy crisis, with little action beyond get-rich-quick schemes for his cronies. The Iranian gas is not cheap. Exploiting Pakistan’s domestic reserves, which produce gas at about half the price, has been neglected. So, too, have imports of liquefied natural gas. Little has been done to deal with appalling inefficiencies in the country’s electricity system.
扎尔达里政府在这五年任期里对国家的能源危机坐视不理，没有付出什么行动，而是致力于为其亲信寻求一夜暴富的方法。伊朗石油价格不低，利用巴基斯坦的国内储备生产价格要低一半的石油并没有受到关注，所以进口液化天然气就更不用说了。该国的电力系统运作出奇的低效，政府也没有采取什么措施来解决这个问题。
But even though the announcement of the Iranian pipeline looks like a gimmick, the Americans’ idea of gas all the way from Turkmenistan is a pipe dream. Beleaguered Pakistanis have longer to wait before gas flows into homes, or blackouts are a thing of the past.
但是即便这次伊方管道项目的开工仪式看起来像一个小把戏，美国层想要建设一条从土库曼斯坦进入巴基斯坦的天然气管道，这想法已成白日梦了。在家家户户能够使用到天然气，或灯火管制成为过去式之前，困难重重的巴基斯坦还得需要等上一段很长的时间。
注释1：3月11日，巴基斯坦和伊朗两国在边境举行的输气管道铺设的奠基仪式。伊朗已经完成了在本国境内的管道铺设，现在开始铺设的巴基斯坦段的总长为785公里。
注释2：巴基斯坦国民议会于2013年3月16日完成5年任期，现期满解散。巴基斯坦内阁也于同日解散。临时政府预计在未来几天内组建完成，新一轮大选将于5月举行。