2007年VOA标准英语-Technology Draws Oil Companies to Houston
时间:2019-02-05 作者:英语课 分类:2007年VOA标准英语(五月)
Houston, Texas
17 May 2007
High energy prices, coupled with rising demand, are putting pressure on the oil and gas industry worldwide. Many companies are finding and developing new, underwater fields. More than 67,000 representatives of the industry from 110 countries gathered recently in Houston, Texas for the annual Offshore 1 Technology Conference. VOA's Greg Flakus was there and has this report.
This is where experts on offshore drilling and resource development gathered to find new ideas and new technology. Companies that provide that technology, as well as oil production services, were also here, ready to show what they have, and what they can do.
Canrig, a company based in Magnolia, Texas, had several tons of drilling equipment on hand. Canrig's vice 2 president of marketing 3, Gregory Kostiuk, said communicating with visitors is a primary challenge. "There are people here from every corner of the globe and our three primary languages that we run into here are Russian, Chinese and Spanish."
To answer that challenge, Canrig had personnel on hand who could speak Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese, French, Spanish and Arabic. Foreign participants, like their North American counterparts, are looking for every possible piece of equipment that can improve their efficiency and the quality of the oil they produce.
Steve Dale, of the Brookfield Engineering Company, came to show off his viscometers. They measure the viscosity 4, or thickness, of oil as it comes out of the ground. "We measure the viscosity of crude oil real time because just a tenth of a percent variation in viscosity can mean millions of dollars a year in extra money for the oil companies," he explained.
One of the challenges of offshore oil drilling is making repairs to the rigs underwater
With so many competing booths in the exhibit hall, some companies resorted to enticements outside the oil industry. Others offered video displays to demonstrate what they can do. One such company is U.S. Underwater Services of Burleson, Texas. It sends divers 5 around the world to make underwater repairs on oil rigs.
Demand for these services has been especially high in the Gulf 6 of Mexico, following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita nearly two years ago. Company president Michael Erinakes says some platforms are still in need of repair.
"The hurricane, when it came through, it damaged a lot of platform structures, causing bending of the braces 7 and what we have done is go in underwater, at a variety of depths, re-engineer or repair, and put the rig back to a permanent status," said Erinakes.
He says U.S. Underwater Services has a method of isolating 8 sections of an underwater structure to allow divers to weld deep underwater, on site. "It allows us to install a habitat over an effected area, where we seal into that area. We first pump air into it to diffuse 9 the air and get all the water out and then we send in heated argon or helium down and what this does is prepare the seal, heat the seal to about 120 degrees and then we effectively weld it through a series of boots that are installed on it."
By doing such work on site, companies avoid the expense of dismantling 10 rigs and bringing them ashore 11 for repairs. Experts say that by the year 2030, the world will consume 50 percent more oil than it is consuming today. That increasing demand fuels the growth of energy technology and services companies and keeps people coming back to the Offshore Technology Conference every year.
- A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
- A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。
- He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
- They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
- They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
- He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。
- The viscosity shows a rather pronounced variation with temperature.温度对粘度的影响十分明显。
- The reciprocal of viscosity is known as fluidity.粘度的反意就是流动性。
- He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人,要他们和他作伴。
- Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作,同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。
- The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
- There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。
- The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃,因为支架全松了。
- You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带,就用不着吊带了。
- Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
- This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句
- Direct light is better for reading than diffuse light.直射光比漫射光更有利于阅读。
- His talk was so diffuse that I missed his point.他的谈话漫无边际,我抓不住他的要点。
- The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
- The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。