翻译练习：Too Much Oil:How A Barrel Came To Nothing（结束）

Too Much Oil:How A Barrel Came To Be Worth Less Than Nothing（结束）

石油过剩：一桶油是如何变得一文不值的（结束）

石油公司破产

Such cuts should help stabilize the markets, but it might take months. The U.S. contract for oil delivered in May 2021 was trading on Monday at about $35 a barrel, hinting at how long it might take for prices to reach levels they were at just a few weeks ago.

如此的减产本应帮助稳定市场，不过需要数月才能见效。2021年五月交割的美国石油合约在周一的价格大概35美元一桶，暗示了石油价格要多久才能回到仅仅几周前的水平。

The oil industry's plight is forcing policymakers to consider intervening more forcefully.

石油行业的困境正在迫使决策者考虑更强力的干预。

And on Tuesday, the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas drilling, will take up a proposal for a 20 percent statewide production cut on Tuesday. The commission used to regularly manage oil production but hasn't done so since the early 1970s.

在周二，管理石油和天然气开采的德州铁路委员会将审议在周二提出的一项全州减产20%的方案。该委员会过去经常对石油产量进行管控，但是从20世纪70年代以来就再也没有这样做了。

Exxon Mobil and other large companies have opposed mandated cuts but some smaller companies want the commission to act.

艾克森美孚和其他大公司反对强制减产，而一些小公司则希望委员会有所行动。

Scott Sheffield, chief executive of Pioneer Natural Resources, told the commission at a hearing last week that if the oil price stayed around $20 a barrel for a while, 80 percent of the hundreds of independent oil companies in the state would be forced into bankruptcy and 250,000 workers would lose their jobs.

先锋自然资源公司首席执行官斯科特·谢菲尔德告诉委员会，如果石油价格在一段时间内维持在20美元左右，该州80%，也就是数百家独立石油公司将被迫破产，25万工人将会失去他们的工作。

At $30 a barrel, many companies would be "crippled," Mr. Sheffield said, "But at lest the industry will survive."

如果是维持在30美元一桶，许多公司将“残废”，谢菲尔德说，“不过至少这个行业还能活下来。”