《The Economist》《经济学人》中文版

Natural gas in Wyoming怀俄明州的天然气
Boom and doom繁荣与没落

May 31st 2007 | PINEDALE, WYOMING
From The Economist print edition

Gas has brought riches, and trouble, to America's least-populated state
天然气给美国人口最稀少的州带来的不仅是财富也是麻烦。




A FEW years ago, Pinedale seemed destined to become a summer retreat for the rich. Impressed by its Wild-West Main Street, and its spectacular position between three mountain ranges, buyers were snapping up second homes in the area. An interior-design store and a micro-brewery opened. Then the drillers and roughnecks arrived and the fate of Pinedale, together with other oil- and gas-rich parts of Wyoming, abruptly changed.
几年前，怀俄明州的Pinedale（派恩代尔）就已经注定成为富人们的一个夏季避暑胜地。西部荒野地区的大街，以及它位于三列山脉之间壮观的地理位置吸引了众多的顾客纷纷来此抢购自己的第二家园。室内装潢公司以及小型酿酒厂建立起来了. 随着钻孔机和油井工人的到来，派恩代尔的命运和怀俄明州其他盛产石油和天然气的地区一起，在瞬间被改变了。

Pinedale is at the centre of a Rocky Mountain gas boom that began in 2000 and accelerated five years later after Hurricane Katrina knocked out Gulf supplies, forcing up prices. On a mesa south of Pinedale, Wyoming's busiest field is laced with dirt roads and pock-marked with well-heads and drilling rigs. Questar, one of several exploring companies, has 199 productive wells, says Kevin Williams, the district manager. It plans to drill about 1,000.
派恩代尔座落于落基山脉的中部，从2000年开始，那里开始盛产天然气。5年后的卡特里娜飓风破坏了加勒比海的输气管道设施，迫使油价上涨，加速巩固了派恩代尔作为油气田中心的地位。派恩代尔南面的一个台地是怀俄明州最繁忙的一块区域，四周散布着泥泞的道路，坑坑洼洼地分布着一些井眼和钻孔设备。区域经理凯文.威廉姆斯告诉我们， Questar作为一家勘探公司，拥有199个生产用井。他们计划开掘1000口井。

The boom has swelled the population of Sublette county, which grew by 24% between 2000 and 2006, faster than anywhere else in Wyoming. Count the “man camps”—trailer parks where itinerant gas workers collapse, exhausted, at the end of long shifts—and it has increased by about 40% since the boom began, according to Jeffrey Jacquet, an analyst. With barely 7,400 permanent residents, Sublette is still one of the least densely populated counties in America. But it already strikes locals as too crowded. “You don't live in Wyoming because you want to be sociable,” explains Freddie Botur, a rancher.
油气产业的兴盛使Sublette（索伯莱特）郡的人口激增，在2002到2006年之间增加了24%，比怀俄明州其他任何区域都要高。按照分析家Jeffrey Jacquet的说法， 数了一下所谓的“人造露营地”---- 停车场，而那就是油气工人在经历很长时间的工作后，虚脱后倒下休息的地方----而类似的区域自从油气产业开始兴盛后增加了至少40%。仅拥有7,400常住居民的Sublette（索伯莱特）依然是美国人口最为稀少的区域之一。但对于当地居民来说，他们已经开始抱怨拥挤了。一名叫Freddie Botur的农场主说到：“你居住在怀俄明州的目的并不是想要善于社交。”

Government budgets have inflated even more quickly. In 2001 Sublette county raised $16m in sales and other taxes. Last year it took in $53m. Property-tax revenue, all but 3% of which derives from mining companies, went up by 50% between 2005 and 2006. The torrent of money is likely to slow, thanks to a ballot initiative passed last year that will force resource-rich counties to share more of their loot with poorer parts of Wyoming. But plenty will be left over. Next year Pinedale's school district will pay newly qualified teachers a base salary of $43,000—about the same as in Chicago.
政府部门预算的膨胀要比预想中来得更快些。2001年，Sublette（索伯莱特）郡在销售和和其他税收方面的收入是1,600万美金。去年达到了5,300万美金。不动产税收的3%来自于采矿公司，在2005和2006年上升到了50%。资金流动的速度会减慢，多亏去年通过的一项无记民投票法案，该法案要求在怀俄明州资源丰富的公司要与资源紧缺的那些公司一起更多地分享成果。但大量的成果会被遗弃。明年，派恩代尔新的合格的教师将会得到最少43,000美金的收入---这几乎和芝加哥的水平一样。

Teachers nonetheless earn less than rig hands, most of whom have no more than a high-school education. They are paid at least $49,000 plus overtime, according to a survey last year. The ready availability of well-paid work, albeit hard and dangerous, means that unemployment has almost disappeared (see chart). So have seasonal fluctuations. Jobs used to disappear when the snow fell. But the gas rigs now keep going through the winter.
但教师要比那些钻井工人赚得少，他们中大部分人的学历不过是高中。根据去年的一项调查表明，算上加班在内，大概可以赚至少49,000美金。薪水不错的工作的出现，虽然很既艰苦又危险，却意味着失业现象几乎已经消失（参考图表）。因此有着季节性的波动。当雪天来临时，就业机会就会消失。但现在天然气钻探使得就业机会在冬季依然存在。



So tight is the labour market that the economy of western Wyoming is suffering a first-world version of the resource curse. High wages and property values mean it is difficult to start a business in the area, or even to maintain one. Mr Jacquet describes the parts of the economy not directly linked to the gas business as “in paralysis”. Indeed, between 2001 and 2006 the number of retail and entertainment outfits in Sublette county fell even as disposable income soared.
劳工市场十分紧张，西怀俄明州的经济正遭遇着世界上最盛行的资源诅咒风。高工资水平加上财产税，意味着在这里做生意很困难，甚至想维持都显得很困难。对于那些与天然气没有直接联系的产业，Jacquet先生描述成“处在瘫痪之中”。确实从2001年到2006年之间，在可支配收入上升的前提下，索伯莱特的零售和娱乐业数量却下降了。

Maggie Palmer, an estate agent, says that houses near the gas field have become much more expensive. But grander properties in prettier, more remote places have hardly increased in value. What really irks the locals, though, is the boom in crime. The shift pattern favoured by the gas industry (12 hours on, 12 hours off, for two weeks, followed by a fortnight's break) encourages the use of stimulants, including methamphetamine. It also leaves time for drinking and fighting in local bars. Jim Whinnery, the under-sheriff, says that gas workers are responsible for less crime than local rumour would suggest. Yet the number of arrests in Sublette county, which has almost quadrupled since 1995, closely tracks the rise in the number of rigs.
房地产经纪人玛吉.帕默说，靠近天然气区域附近的房价变得越来越高。但更宏伟，更漂亮，但所处位置较为偏僻的房子却几乎没有升值。犯罪率的上升使当地人苦恼不已。油气产业所习惯的工作模式（12小时工作，12小时休息，持续两周，然后是2周的休息），鼓励了包括麻黄碱在内的刺激性药物的使用。也给人们在当地酒吧喝酒和打斗留下了时间。当地的代理郡长杰姆.惠特尼说，和当地的谣传相比，油气工人的犯罪率实际要低得多。但从1995年起，索伯莱特郡逮捕的人数却几乎增加了4倍，几乎与当地钻探设备增加的数量相当。

For all the problems it has brought, the most serious threat posed by Wyoming's gas boom is that it will end. The Rocky Mountains are littered with ghost towns that were once thronged with men mining silver, lead or uranium. And if the price of gas falls so far that drilling becomes unaffordable, Pinedale will not just lose the backbone of its economy. It will have lost some of its natural beauty, too.
怀俄明州天然气的兴盛带来了很多的问题，最严重的一个威胁就是该状态总有一天会结束。落基山脉一度涌入大批的采矿者，进行银矿，铅矿以及铀矿的开采活动，而现在已经是遍布垃圾，沦为城市的废墟。如果将来天然气的价格不断下降以至于开采活动已经无法承受的时候，派恩代尔失去的不仅是经济的基础，同时也会丧失部分当地的美景。