Among the legacies of the Middle East’s decades of conflict is a network of pipelines that seeks to divert the region’s oil to safer harbours. In 1968, after the six-day war closed the Suez Canal, Egypt and the Gulf states hatched a plan(策划，密谋) to build a 320km (200 mile) pipeline that would connect the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. But it was not until 1974, after the oil embargo brought on by the Yom Kippur war, that construction began on the Suez-Mediterranean (Sumed) pipeline.(但直到1974年，在赎罪日战争引发的石油禁运之后，苏伊士-地中海管道才开始动工。) In 1977, the year Sumed came online, Mobil, an American oil giant, announced plans to build a 1,200km pipeline across Saudi Arabia, from the giant Ghawar oilfields near the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. Construction of the East-West pipeline, completed in 1981, was hastened(加速，催促) by the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war the year before.
中东数十年冲突留下的遗产之一，是一张旨在将该地区石油输送至更安全港口的管道网络。1968年，六日战争关闭苏伊士运河后，埃及和海湾国家策划修建一条320公里（200英里）的管道，连接红海与地中海。但直到1974年，在赎罪日战争引发的石油禁运之后，苏伊士-地中海（Sumed）管道才开始动工。1977年，Sumed管道投产的那一年，美国石油巨头美孚宣布计划修建一条横跨沙特阿拉伯、从波斯湾附近的加瓦尔巨型油田通往红海的1200公里管道。东西管道于1981年竣工，其建设因前一年两伊战争的爆发而加速。
Today, with the Strait of Hormuz choked off(阻塞，切断), the various pipelines criss-crossing the region are of vital importance. On August 4th Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s oil colossus(巨头，巨人), noted that “strategic infrastructure”, including the East-West pipeline, had cushioned the blow(缓冲冲击) from the Iran war. Its operating profit in the second quarter was up by 29%, year on year, as higher prices more than offset(抵消，弥补) reduced volumes.
如今，霍尔木兹海峡被封锁，该地区纵横交错的各类管道至关重要。8月4日，沙特石油巨头阿美公司指出，包括东西管道在内的“战略基础设施”缓冲了伊朗战争带来的冲击。其第二季度营业利润同比增长29%，因为价格上涨的幅度超过了销量下降的影响。
Now the region’s rulers are eager for(渴望，急于) more pipelines. The United Arab Emirates is looking to add one that will run alongside its Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, doubling(使加倍) its capacity. Last month America, Iraq and Qatar announced plans to upgrade(升级，提升) a pipeline from Iraq to Syria. Chevron, an American oil major, is considering a series of pipelines from Iraq to Syria and Turkey. Aramco is also exploring(探索，探讨) investments.
如今，该地区的统治者们渴望修建更多管道。阿联酋计划在其哈布山-富查伊拉管道旁增建一条，使运力翻倍。上个月，美国、伊拉克和卡塔尔宣布计划升级一条从伊拉克到叙利亚的管道。美国石油巨头雪佛龙正在考虑修建一系列从伊拉克通往叙利亚和土耳其的管道。阿美公司也在探索投资机会。
Fault lines
断层线