中國大力開采頁巖氣，民眾質(zhì)疑其引發(fā)地震

GAOSHAN, China — The first earthquake struck this small farming village in Sichuan Province before dawn on Feb. 24. There were two more the next day.

中國四川高山鎮(zhèn)——2月24日天還沒亮，四川省的這個小村子就遭遇了第一次地震。第二天又發(fā)生了兩次。

Sichuan is naturally prone to earthquakes, including a major one in 2008 that killed nearly 70,000 people, but to the rattled villagers of Gaoshan, the cause of these tremors was human-made.

四川本來就容易地震，2008年發(fā)生的重大地震奪走了近7萬人的生命。但在高山鎮(zhèn)受了驚嚇的村民看來，最近這些地震的原因是人為的。

“The drilling,” Yu Zhenghua said as she tearfully surveyed her damaged home, still officially uninhabitable five days later.

“鉆井，”余正華說，同時正流著淚查看自己受損的家，地震發(fā)生五天后，她的家已被官方宣布為無法住人。

The drilling Ms. Yu referred to was hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The technology, which has revolutionized the production of natural gas and oil in the United States, has created a boom in China, too, and with it many of the controversies that have dogged the practice elsewhere.

余正華所說的鉆井指的是“水力壓裂法”。這項技術(shù)已在美國帶來了天然氣和石油生產(chǎn)革命，也在中國導致了頁巖氣開采的激增，以及許多隨之而來的、一直困擾著其他地方的爭議。

In the hours after the quakes, thousands of residents converged outside the main government building in Rong County to protest widespread fracking in the rolling hills and valleys here now yellowing with the flowering of rapeseed.

在地震發(fā)生后的幾小時里，數(shù)千居民聚集在榮縣政府大樓外，抗議在這個山巒起伏的河谷地帶大范圍開采頁巖氣。眼下這里正開滿了金色的油菜花。

The protesters jostled with security guards along a sliding metal gate and dispersed only after officials announced they had suspended fracking operations of a regional subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, the country’s largest oil and gas producer.

抗議人群與保安警衛(wèi)隔著一道金屬滑動大門相互推擠，直到官員宣布，他們已暫停了中國最大的石油天然氣生產(chǎn)商“中國石油天然氣集團公司”(簡稱“中國石油”)下屬的一個區(qū)域分公司的頁巖氣作業(yè)后才散去。

China, like the United States and other countries, has embraced the fracking revolution in hopes of weaning itself from its dependence on foreign energy sources. But the public fury that unexpectedly boiled over in Gaoshan underscores the social and environmental challenges the country must overcome — even in a tightly controlled political system.

與美國和其他國家一樣，中國已經(jīng)擁抱了頁巖氣革命，以期擺脫對進口能源的依賴。但公眾的怒火在高山鎮(zhèn)的意外爆發(fā)突顯了即使在中國嚴格控制的政治體制下，國家也有必須解決的社會和環(huán)境挑戰(zhàn)。

“Sichuan is a major earthquake zone, so there is clearly a risk,” said Philip Andrews-Speed, a geologist with the Energy Studies Institute of the National University of Singapore. He added that the government should conduct a thorough and transparent study of causes of the temblors in order to reassure those who live nearby.

“四川是一個主要的地震多發(fā)區(qū)，所以顯然地存在著風險，” 新加坡國立大學能源研究所(National University of Singapore Energy Studies Institute)地質(zhì)學家菲利普·安德魯斯-斯皮德(Philip Andrews-Speed)說。他補充說，為了讓住在附近的居民安心，政府應當進行一次徹底、透明的調(diào)查，查明這些地震發(fā)生的原因。

The three earthquakes killed two people and wounded 13. More than 20,000 homes in three villages suffered damage and nine collapsed completely, according to a statement by the county. About 1,600 people were displaced, forced to move in with relatives or to live temporarily in 470 blue tents distributed by the authorities.

三次地震共造成2人死亡，13人受傷。據(jù)榮縣政府發(fā)布的通報，三個村子里有逾2萬間房屋受損，9間房屋倒塌。近1400人被轉(zhuǎn)移安置，其中一些搬到了親戚家，還有一些臨時住進了當局分發(fā)的470頂藍色帳篷。

The suspension of operations — which remains in effect — stilled 15 sites in the area affected by the quakes, pending a survey by officials from Sichuan Province, according to an official for the Rong County government, Huang Jing.

暫停作業(yè)的宣布目前仍有效，受地震影響地區(qū)的15個頁巖氣水力壓裂平臺已停止作業(yè)，等待四川省官員的調(diào)查結(jié)果，榮縣政府官員黃靜說。

It has not affected fracking operations elsewhere in the region, a center of the fracking boom. China National Petroleum alone has invested $4 billion in fracking shale gas in the Sichuan Basin over the last decade, Xinhua, the state-run news agency, reported last November.

四川盆地是頁巖氣生產(chǎn)激增的一個主要地區(qū)，該地區(qū)其他地方的水力壓裂作業(yè)未受影響。據(jù)國家通訊社新華社去年11月報道，過去十年來，僅中國石油一家就已在四川盆地的頁巖氣勘探開發(fā)上投入了280億元。

China National Petroleum declined to comment on the issue. The nation’s other major oil and gas producer, Sinopec, which also operates in the province, also declined to comment.

中國石油拒絕對有關(guān)事宜置評。中國另一家在該省有開采作業(yè)的主要油氣生產(chǎn)商中國石化也拒絕置評。

The website for the regional subsidiary of China National Petroleum, however, later shared a blog post suggesting that the suspension in Rong County was unnecessary. Compared to the loss of economic development, the post said, seismic activity caused by drilling for shale gas was “the lesser of two evils.”

但中國石油的地區(qū)分公司網(wǎng)站上后來轉(zhuǎn)載過一篇博客文章，表示榮縣暫停作業(yè)的做法沒有必要。該博文稱，與不開采給經(jīng)濟發(fā)展造成的損失相比，頁巖氣開采引發(fā)的地震活動是“兩害相權(quán)取其輕”。

For many residents of the area, that choice is far from clear.

對許多該地區(qū)的居民來說，選擇遠不是這么清楚。

Wu Shirong was in the shower when the second quake struck on Feb. 25. “This was the scariest one,” he said, though by magnitude the one that followed four and a half hours later was the strongest of the three, measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale, according to China’s geological service.

2月25日發(fā)生兩天里的第二次地震時，吳拾榮正在洗澡。“這次是最嚇人的，”他說，雖然從震級上看，四個半小時之后的第三次地震是最強烈的，據(jù)中國地震臺網(wǎng)發(fā)布的信息，第三次地震的震級為4.9。

Cracks spread across the ceiling of his house, which was declared unsafe. He is now living in one of the tents with his in-laws in the driveway outside. “Where can I sleep if I don’t sleep here?” he said.

吳家房子的屋頂上出現(xiàn)了裂縫，后來被宣布為危房。他現(xiàn)在和親家一起住在房外車道上支起的政府分發(fā)帳篷里。“不在這兒睡在哪兒睡啊?”他問道。

Ms. Yu’s house appeared more badly damaged. The retaining wall that holds up her property along a steep hillside buckled and seemed on the verge of collapse. Deep cracks gouged the stuccoed brick walls of the two-story house her son built with his earnings. Her son and daughter-in-law, like many Chinese, moved to a city in the southern region of Guangxi for work.

余正華的房子看來受到的損失更嚴重。她的房子建在一個陡峭的山坡上，支撐山坡的擋土墻已經(jīng)變形，看上去處于倒塌的邊緣。她兩層樓的房子是用兒子掙來的錢蓋的，房子的灰泥磚墻上出現(xiàn)了深深的裂痕。她的兒子和兒媳和許多中國人一樣離開了農(nóng)村，在廣西省南部的一個城里打工。

“My house was built only 12 years ago,” she said, “and now it is like this.”

“我的房子才修12年，”她說，“現(xiàn)在就成這樣了。”

The local authorities have promised to repair the damage. They have not acknowledged any link between the tremors and fracking, which involves injecting chemicals and sand at high pressure into wells drilled in shale formations to break up the rock and release gas and oil.

當?shù)卣呀?jīng)承諾修復受損的房屋。政府還未承認地震與水力壓裂法之間有任何聯(lián)系。水力壓裂法指的是用高壓將化學物質(zhì)和沙子注入到頁巖層中，把巖石壓碎，將天然氣和石油釋放出來。

“The relationship between earthquakes and local industrial exploitation cannot be determined,” the county government wrote on its website.

“目前尚不能確定此次地震的發(fā)生與工業(yè)開采有關(guān)，”榮縣政府在其網(wǎng)站上寫道。

In China, as in other countries, the link remains the subject of debate.

在中國，與在其他國家一樣，這種聯(lián)系仍存在爭議。

Supporters of the technology claim there is no direct connection, though studies have shown otherwise. Fracking and related activity increases pressure underground, which can cause existing faults to slip.

雖然這項技術(shù)的支持者聲稱，水力壓裂與地震之間不存在直接的聯(lián)系，但已有研究顯示它們之間有聯(lián)系。水力壓裂以及相關(guān)活動增加了地下的壓力，這可能導致現(xiàn)有斷層的滑動。

Fracking has nonetheless vastly expanded the natural resources that can be recovered underground, making the technology irresistible to China, which is highly dependent on energy imports, as the United States once was.

然而，水力壓裂法已極大地增加了地下可開采的自然資源，因此，對高度依賴能源進口的中國來說，這是一項極為誘人的技術(shù)。美國也曾高度依賴能源進口。

China sits on top of the largest technically recoverable reserves of shale gas in the world, according to the United States Energy Information Administration, and the government has set ambitious goals for expanding production in the years ahead.

據(jù)美國能源情報署(United States Energy Information Administration)的數(shù)據(jù)，中國擁有全球最大的、可技術(shù)開采的頁巖氣儲量。中國政府已為在未來幾年里擴大開采制定了雄心勃勃的目標。

There are many reasons. In addition to energy independence, the increased use of natural gas could help China meet its international commitments to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change. The transition to gas has already helped reduce pollution — at least in the northeast, where the authorities have phased out the use of coal to heat homes.

這樣做有很多理由。除能源獨立外，增加天然氣的使用可以幫助中國履行其減少導致氣候變化的碳排放的國際承諾。向天然氣的過渡已經(jīng)幫助減少了空氣污染——至少在東北部地區(qū)，那里的政府已逐步停止使用煤炭為家庭供暖。

China’s hopes to replicate the American fracking boom, however, have hit significant stumbling blocks. Shale deposits tend to be deeper here — 3.5 kilometers in Rong County, or more than two miles down. That makes them more expensive to tap. The process also requires a lot of water, which is scarce in some regions.

然而，中國渴望重復美國的水力壓裂法開采熱潮的做法遇到了重大障礙。中國的頁巖礦藏往往比美國的要深——榮縣的位于3.5公里的深度。這使得開采它們的成本更高。開采過程也需要大量的水，而有些地區(qū)缺少水。

Perhaps most importantly, China is much more densely populated, and many of its best shale deposits are in crowded places. Those include Sichuan, which has a population of more than 80 million. Since reserves were discovered there in 2009, scores of fracking sites have appeared — with virtually no public input, given the authoritarian nature of the government.

也許最重要的是，中國的人口密度要高得多，許多最好的頁巖礦床都位于人口密集的地區(qū)，包括人口超過8000萬的四川省。自從2009年四川發(fā)現(xiàn)了頁巖氣儲量以來，當?shù)匾呀?jīng)建設(shè)了數(shù)十個水力壓裂平臺，由于中國政府的專制性質(zhì)，這些平臺的建設(shè)幾乎都沒有聽取公眾的意見。

The 15 platforms in Rong County have 39 separate wells being drilled or already in operation. They have appeared within a 10-kilometer circle around the county’s main town, surrounded by fencing and filled with trucks and equipment.

榮縣的15個頁巖氣平臺已有39口井開鉆或已經(jīng)投入生產(chǎn)。這些平臺位于縣城周圍10公里的范圍內(nèi)，平臺周圍有圍欄，里面到處都是卡車和設(shè)備。

Because of the heavy equipment involved, the roads to the sites are rutted and, when it rains, nearly impassable because of mud. Long black tubes extend across once scenic valleys and terraced fields. As in other places, Rong County residents say they noticed an increase in tremors and quakes after production began.

運輸建設(shè)所需的重型設(shè)備把通往平臺的道路壓得坑坑洼洼，下雨時，這些道路變得十分泥濘，幾乎無法通行。長長的黑色管道跨越在曾經(jīng)風景秀麗的山谷和梯田上。和其他地方的居民一樣，榮縣居民說，他們注意到，開采作業(yè)開始后，大小地震發(fā)生的次數(shù)有所增加。

The latest appeared to inflame discontent that had long been simmering.

最近的地震似乎點燃了長期以來一直在醞釀的不滿情緒。

A video of the protest outside the government building was first published by Radio Free Asia. Local residents also voiced complaints on Weibo, a social media site like Twitter. “What on earth do you want from us?” one woman wrote. “Will you take the matter seriously only when there’s loss of life?”

自由亞洲電臺(Radio Free Asia)首先發(fā)布了政府大樓外抗議活動的視頻。當?shù)鼐用褚苍谖⒉┥媳磉_了不滿。“你們究竟想從我們這里得到什么?”一位女士寫道。“你們只是在死了人的時候才會認真對待這件事嗎?”