德国表示将设法遏制炼油产能的流失，称关闭炼油厂不仅损害燃料供应商和消费者，也损害该国庞大的化工制造业。
Germany said it will seek to stem the loss of oil refining capacity, arguing that closures are hurting not only fuel suppliers and consumers but the country’s vast chemicals manufacturing sector too.
经济部长卡塔琳娜·赖歇周五在柏林与石油行业官员会面后表示：“谁失去炼油厂，失去的不仅是加油站的供应，更重要的是化工综合体的供应。”
“Whoever loses the refinery loses not only the supply for the gas station, but above all for the chemical complex,” Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said Friday after meeting with oil industry officials in Berlin.
多年来，随着向更清洁的交通和工业转型侵蚀需求，欧洲一直在缩减老化且高成本的炼油行业。但这使该地区日益依赖进口柴油和航空燃油等产品——这一脆弱性如今因地缘政治供应冲击和价格飙升而暴露无遗。
Europe has spent years scaling back an aging, high-cost refining sector as the shift to cleaner transport and industry erodes demand. But that’s left the region increasingly dependent on imports for products such as diesel and jet fuel — a vulnerability now exposed by geopolitical supply shocks and soaring prices.
赖歇说，炼油厂关闭时，“更多产品被进口，支付更高的价格，并且存在与供应安全相关的风险溢价”。政府正寻求在明年初之前制定一项新的炼油战略。
When refineries shut, “more products are imported, higher prices are paid and there are risk premiums associated with supply security,” Reiche said. The government is seeking to develop a new refining strategy by early next year.
对石化制造商而言，德国的炼油厂关闭通过消除原料来源而掏空了国内供应链，迫使它们更多地从国外采购，并可能使工厂竞争力下降。
For petrochemical manufacturers, Germany’s refinery closures hollow out the domestic supply chain by removing sources of feedstock, necessitating more purchases from abroad and potentially making plants less competitive.
但对许多石油巨头来说，保留部分炼油厂已不再具有财务意义。英国石油公司、壳牌公司和埃克森美孚控股公司等企业都曾考虑剥离资产或削减其部分欧洲工厂的运营。英国石油公司今年出售了位于德国西部的盖尔森基兴炼油厂。
But holding onto some refineries no longer makes financial sense for many oil majors. Companies such as BP Plc, Shell Plc and ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. have all considered shedding assets or paring back operations at some of their European facilities. BP this year sold its Gelsenkirchen refinery in western Germany.
欧盟的环境法规也提高了该地区炼油商的成本，使它们更难与亚洲及其他地区合规成本可能更低的工厂竞争。赖歇表示，她正推动从欧盟甲烷法规中获得豁免，以帮助减轻该行业的压力。
European Union environmental rules also raise costs for refiners in the region, making it harder for them to compete with plants in Asia and elsewhere that may face lower costs for compliance. Reiche said she’s pushing for carve-outs from EU methane regulations to help relieve pressure on the industry.