Ukraine yesterday signed a deal worth up to $10bn with Chevron to exploit its shale gas reserves as it steps up efforts to break free from its reliance on Russian gas, write Mark Rachkevych in Kiev and Neil Buckley in London.

乌克兰与雪佛龙(Chevron)昨日签订了一项价值高达100亿美元的协议，由后者帮助开发乌克兰开发页岩气。乌克兰正加大努力摆脱对俄罗斯天然气的依赖。

In what is Ukraine’s second such deal this year, Chevron will gain the rights to explore and produce hydrocarbons in two western Ukrainian regions. They hold an estimated 2.98tn cubic metres of gas reserves, making them among the largest in Europe.

这是乌克兰今年敲定的第二项此类协议。根据该协议，雪佛龙将获得在乌克兰西部两个地区勘探和开采碳氢化合物的权利。这两个地区跻身于欧洲天然气储量最大的地点之列，估计储量达2.98万亿立方米。

Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine’s president, said the Chevron agreement, on top of a similar one with Royal Dutch Shell in January, “will allow us by 2020 to become self-sufficient in gas, and, under an optimistic scenario, to become an exporter”.

乌克兰总统维克多·亚努科维奇(Viktor Yanukovych)表示，加上今年1月与荷兰皇家壳牌(Royal Dutch Shell)达成的类似协议，这项与雪佛龙签订的协议“将使我们到2020年实现天然气自给自足，根据乐观估计，届时我们还将成为天然气出口国”。

The deal could increase tension with Russia, which has flared as Ukraine prepares to sign a trade and political association agreement with the EU this month. Russia has banned Ukrainian products from steel to chocolates and temporarily stepped up border customs controls ahead of the EU agreement.

这项协议可能会加剧乌克兰与俄罗斯之间的紧张局势。乌克兰准备本月与欧盟(EU)签署一项贸易与政治合作协定之际，乌俄两国关系突然紧张起来。在乌克兰与欧盟签署协定前夕，俄罗斯宣布禁止从乌克兰进口从钢铁到巧克力的各类产品，并已临时性加强了边境海关控制。

Ukraine is one of the few European countries to be pressing ahead with significant shale gas development. However, analysts cautioned its hopes of energy self-sufficiency could be over-optimistic. “These shale and offshore exploration projects take a long time,” said Edward Chow, a senior fellow at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies.

乌克兰是少数即将大力开发页岩气的欧洲国家之一。不过，分析人士告诫称，乌克兰实现能源自给自足的希望可能过于乐观了。华盛顿战略与国际研究中心(CSIS)高级研究院爱德华·周(Edward Chow)说：“这些页岩与海上勘探项目需要很长时间才能见效。”

Chevron is set to invest an initial $350m in exploratory work.

雪佛龙将先期投资3.5亿美元开展勘探工作。