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BAI GIANG TIENG ANH CHUYEN NGANH Bién soan: DAO NGUYEN LUONG B6 mon Khoan - Khai théc dau khi LOI NOI DAU Tai ligu nay 1a sy Iya chon nham luyén ting Anh, str dung trong cong nghiép dau mo voi cde k¥ nang doc, ndi va viet. Tai ligu cng hudng tGi muc tiéu truyén dat kigh thic vé tiéng Anh kg thuat cting nhu ting Anh sir dung trong nginh déu khi Doi twong cia ti ligu Ia hoe sinh, sinh vien, ngu’i tap su vA nhiing ngudt cn 66 kign thie tigng Anh, ngudi c6 nhu cau cdi thien khé nang lam vige bing tiéng Anh trong nganh di Khi, Do dae diém cia d6i twgng nen chuong trink nay khong qua di sau viw tiny chuyen nginh cu thé. Noi dung tdi Tigu duge sip xép dya tren cae yéu 16 cia edu trie Ligne Anh vi miu cau, cic vain dé trong. ngttcinh vi pham vi efia cong vige dw khi Tai ligu duge edtu thdnh 20 dia v6i thd lugng khoiing. 180 phiit vé hoi thoai, phan: 8 cde vin dé khvic nhaw trong ngianh: kim theo ft bang i 4p. MOI bai hoc dye chia ra think 5 Section A: Reading Comprehension. Phan A thé hign chi dé cita bai hoc, c6 giai thfch cae khii nigm chuyén nganh; déng thd chia dung cae cau tric ngit php, tir vung c6 trong bai. Céc hinh minh hoa & phiin nay déu 66 méi lien hé véi bai doc: gidp sinh vién hiéu vain dé theo he thong, tao kha nang dién giti tren co s6 mot s6/hinh vé va biéu dé. n B: Listening Comprehension mot trong hai phan nghe higu c6 trong m6i bai hge. Phin nay tam trong phdn A, nhdin manh cde yeu t6 ng hdc fai eae trong ng, vi du trong am, tir vung. ngt digu. the - Section C: Structure Practice G phan nay, ciic mau cit d& gidi thigu trong phiin A va B sé duoe luyén tap vei net inh efia nginh. Céc bi tip duce xay dung nhiim to Khit nang néi va Lap ni - Section D: Listening Comprehension Il Phin nay c6 muc dich ciing 6 kign thife di hee. Cic tir méi trong phin gia thich du6i dang bai tap. $e duve ~ Section E: Writing Practice. Sinh vien ¢6 co hor str dung ec kitin thie 4 hoc de Lam bii tap viel. Bai tap nay nhim xy dung k¥ nang viét cic bio cio ngin bing tiéng Anh cho ngudi hoc Phin cudi cha ti Higu 12 danh sich cée ti vung 66 quan hé véi cae tir duge si: dung trong nginh iu khé; va phiin ti-vung - nga php. Vige bién soan (ai liéu chit yéu dya theo cuén “The Petroleum Programme” cia P-L Sandler, The British Broadcasting Corporation, 1980, sao cho phi hup hon voi thue curt Vict nam vé co s6 vA chai, phucng php dign gidi, théi quen... dng thd efing 6 wane eid thiew ce tir vung qua tigng Viet véi nd Tue cao nhat. Tuy nhién, chae chan com nhieu ser suit, vat mong duge str déng g6p ca ngudi doc. Trong qu cia ee nh’ chuyén mon va dae bgt la PSG. TS. Le Xuan Lan, tap the Bo 26 thé {rink bién soan, nguisl the hién di nhan duoe sw ginp dé va tuo didu kign) Khoun + Khai MUC LUC Loi n6i déw Muc luc Unit £ The Rig Unit 2. Fishing Jobs Unit 3 Traps and Geology Unit 4 Reservoir Fluids Unit 5 Natural Flow Unit 6 Blowout Control Unit 7 Drives and Stimulation Unit § Directional Wells Unit 9 Jobs on the Rig Unit 10 Gathering Centres Unit 11 Downstream of Production Unit 12 Primary and Secondary Refining Unit 13 Finishing Processes Unit 14 Refinery Products ¥ Unit 15 Safety Unit 16 Ways of Improving Recovery Unit 17 Unconventional Sources of Oil x Unit 18 Oil and the Environment x Unit 19 Oil Conservation Unit 20 Into the Future Index of Special Words and Expressions Vocabulary ‘Trang 3 i 7 23 29 35, 4 48 54 60 66 2 19 84 1 97 103 109 4s 121 127 132 oak Sl * pat Unit 1 The Rig Section A: READING COMPREHENSION Read the following passage. If there are any words or expressions that you don't understand, look under Special Word and Expressions. The diagrams will also help you, Oil is contained in rocks under the ground and in rocks under the sea, To find it, oilmen have to drill horehole, ‘The equipment for drilling these holes is the drilling tig. Most rigs work on the rotary system. A bit rotates at the end of a pipe As the bit rotates, it cuts and crushes the rock at th are carried to the suifice by a special fluid. This fluid is called ‘mud, Mud is a mixture of clay, water and chemicals. ovary Deiting Rig bottom of the hole. The curtings Look at the diagram of the rotary ig. Notice the string. This iv made up of joints’ or ‘singles’. Each joint or singles is @ hollow section of pipe, 30 ft. long. The strings is made up of a number of these singles, all joined together. The bit is connected to the bottom of string. At the tops of the sting {$7 : es WP DST = CD vg nyond eo gn sion i | Com pore : Lawn ~3EYD there is a special pipe called the ‘kelly’. The kelly isw't round, but hexagonal. It fits into a hexagonal hole in the rotary table. The rotary table tums the kelly. the kelly tum: the string, and the string tums the rotary bit, ‘The Mud System a pry Mud is not only used for carrying. the cuttings up to the surface. It iy also used for keeping the bit cool, The mud is pumped down through the sting. It comes back up again through the annulus, ‘The mud engineer or ‘mud man’ is in charge of mud For example, he tells the flocrmien how to mix the mud at the mud tanks. 11 is often necessary to pall the string out of the hole, There are different reasons for this. Perhaps, for example, the drill bit is dull Uf the bit is dull, it must be changed. To do this. the driller and the foormen must trip the pipe. They must pull the string ‘out (a), change the bit (b). and then run the stra back imto the hole ¢c). Tripping the pipe is also called ‘making a round trip! BUG KS-HFAY ER ~PDSBZ-EDIG@K KG VEE Round trips are expensive. Oilmen make them only if they must fe Special Words and Expressions boreholes In the petroleum industry, the words ‘borehole’, ‘hole’, ‘well’ and ‘oil well’ usually mean the same thing rotary turning like @ wheel. rotates turn around and round like a wheel crushes breaks up into small pi teat power. cuttings the pieves of rock drilled by the bit. fluid anything that flows. Liquids, gases and melted substances are all fluids clay an earthy material, plastic when it is es, using. wet. The most common clay in drilling fluid is bentonite. Bentonite consists of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and aluminium (Al). iy made up of consist of, Bentonite is made up of Ca, Ma and Al hollow having an empty space on the inside Drill pipe is hollow. so that mud can pass through it. hexagonal having six angles and six sides. Kelly Kelly \ Hexagon Cross-section OO loormen workers on a tig. Floormen are also called ‘roughnecks’. A mud man or deiller can tell a floorman what to do. dull not sharp: worn out: gone. IF the bit is gone, it must be changed. driller the person in charge of the drilling. Comprehension Answer the following questions. ‘The information can be either in the reading grams or in Special Words and Expressions. a, What is the driller's job? (He is ..) b. How Jong is a single? How long is a joint? (They are both ..) c. As the bit rotates, what two things does it do? In the petroleum industry, what is mud? ce. What is the string made up of? £. What is the name of the space between passage and the drill pipe and the sides of the borehole? (The space is called ... ) g. Who mixes the mud? Where is the mud mixed? h. Oilmen make round trips only if they must, Why? (Because...) i, What is bentonite? What does it consist off J. Why is the drill pipe hollow? (So that ..) Now choose from these word and expressions 10 complete the paragraph below: cuttitgs, Mid, shale shaker, rotary. mud tanks, annulils. crushes, ‘The .. bil cuts and. the rock at the bottom of the hole, Drilling .. carries the from the bottom of the hole, up the .... © the surface. The cuttings are separated from the mud at the . and the clean mud then relurn to the Section Bz LISTENING COMPREHENSION I @ I. Listen to the conversation between Bob and George. Bob: Hey, George! Over here! George: Yeah? Bob: We'll have to trip the pipe. George: What? Bob: I said we'll have to trip the pipe George: What's wrong, Bob? Bob: ['ymot sure. We'll have to bring it up and find out George: Any ideas? Bob: I think the bit’s gone. George: The bit? Bob: Aye, the bit George: I6 was changed last shift, Bob. Bob: I know, but I think it's gone. Let's bring up the string and find out. (The crew wip the pipe owt of the hole) Bob: Well, look at that George: You were right. It is wor out We'll have to change it Bob: Thanks for telling me, 2. Now see if you understood the tape Answer the following questions. If you have difficulty, listen to the tape again. a. Who is in charge, Bob or George? Who's the driller? Who's the roughneck? What gives you the answer to these questions? b. Bob uses another word for ‘yes’. What word does hie use’? c. Any ideas? is a short way of saying Have you got any ideas? Now make complete sentences for these expressions: Any cigaretes?, Any answers?. Any tools for the job? d. What does Bob want to find out? (He wants to find out if...) €. Offshore, in the North Sea, drilling crews usually work 12-hour shifts. Onshore, they usually work 8-hour shifts. Do you ‘work 12-hour or 8-hour shifis? Section C: STRUCTURE PRACTICE @1. See if you remember these sentences from the tape. "We'll have to trip the pipe.’ "Weill have to bring it up and find out. "We'll have to change it. ‘Those sentences all mean that i will be necessary to do something, Example: It will be neces: the pipe. (We'll...) = Weill have to trip the pipe ry for us to trip Now say the following. a. It will be necessary for us to check the mud tanks, (We'll. b. It will be necessary for us to run the pipe back in, (We'll...) c. It will be necessary for me to as the driller for permission to do that, (We'll...) 4. It will be necessary for you to come to work on time. (You'll ..) €. It will be necessary for him to work two shifts tomorrow. (He'll...) 92. To explain the function of something, we can use for followed by a verb with -ing (the gerund). ‘The equipment jor drilling these holes is the drilling rig. Mud is not only used for carrying the cuttings up to the surface. Study this example: Mud is also used... the bit ts-enlled cool (keep) => Mud is also usedfor keeping the bit ealled cool. Now complete the following in the same way, a. The fluid .. the bit is calied mud. (cool) b. The drawworks are used ... the drill pipe. (raise and lower) c. The bit is used ... the rock at the bottom of the hole, (cut and crush) d. The equipment .. boreholes is the rig. (arill) ¢. The drill pipe is hollow. This is drilling fluid. (carry) . the 93. Passive Voice ‘The cuttings (cary) to the surface by a special fluid => The cuttings are carried to the surface by a special fluiel This fluid (call) mud => This fluid is called ‘mud’. In the sentences, put the verbs in brackets imto the same passive form. a. The string ... a number of joints or singles. (make up of) b. Hf the bit is worn out it. (change) only if they are necessary ©. Round trips (make) 4. The drilling fluid .. by the mud engineer. (control) ec. Cullings ... to the surface in the drilling fluid. (carry) 4, Tenses and Questions: Present Simple What does a roughneck do? He/ work/ rig floor => He works on the rig floor Answer the questions below in the same way, a, What do the drawworks do? They/ raise and lower/ pipe b. Where does a floorman mix the mud? He/ mix it/ mud tanks cc. When is the bit changed? When/ driller/ think it is worn out |. What is a fluid? A fluid/ anything/ that! flow c. At what temperature does water boil? Water/ boil/ 100°C @5, Now look at this example Ask what the driller does. (What/ driller? do) (in charge of drilling operation) => What does the driller do? He's in charge of the drilling operation. In. the answers for these. a. Ask whete the floormen work, (Where/ floormen/ work) (tig floor) b, Ask what the mud does. (What/ mud/ doy (keep bit cool) c. Ask how the mud reaches the bit. (How/ mud/ reach/ bit) (pass through hollow string) d. Ask what bentonite consists of, (What/ bentonite/ of) (calcium, magnesium and aluminium) €. Ask why oilmen make round trips only if they must. (Why/ oilmen/ make round same way. make question and consists tipsy only if they must) (because expensive) 6. Present Continuous In the picture below, some thing is happening now Look at the first picture. => What is the driller doing? He's examining the bit Now make two sentences for each of the other pictures Be Drilling crew/ trip/ pipe out of hole Supply boat/ deliver/ bentonite Roughneck/ move back/ single Section Dz LISTENING COMPREHENSION I! @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Bob and Peter Bob: Hey, George. Over here. George: What's up, bob? Bob: Get me the mud man. George: Who? Bob: The mud man, George. The mud man. George: Anything wrong? Bob: Later. Now go and get Peter. Get a move on. George: Right, I'm going (Peter comes tu talk to Bob) Bob: Oh. good. there you are, Peter Peter: What can I do for you, Bob? Bob: The hole’s getting tight? Peter: Tight? Bob: Yup. How's the mud? Peter: The mud's OK. Bob: What's bottoms up? Peter: About an hour. Bob: All right then. Well give it an hour and see. Peter: Right. (An hour passes) Peter: How's the hole now, Bob? Bob: Better. I don't think we have to worry Peter: Good. Bob: How's mud? Peter: No problems. Bob: Then let's make hole. rant sot soonsve eee: ‘Surtace, for nd | su prs tng ts a) Ue Soot & amy bore 2. Read this explanation Bob is worried because the hole is becoming tight’, When the hole is tight. it's difficult to turn the string and to move the pipe up and down in the hole. There can be different reasons for this. Pethaps rock or Perhaps sand is falling back into the hole. the mud isn't supporting the open side of the hole. Perhaps the mud isn't moving. the cuttings away from bit. To find out, Bob wants Peter to check the mud from the bottom of the hole, How can Peter check the mud from the bottom of the hole? He must wail for the mud to travel from the bottom, up through the annulus to the surface. In a deep hole this can take @ long time. The time that is takes is called ‘bottoms up’. Bottoms up is the time that it takes for the mud to travel from the bottom of the hole to the surface. Some oilmen also use the expression ‘lag time’, 3. Listen to Bob and Peter again. Then do the exercises below. a, Choose the rig expression: What's up? What is that up there? (ii) What can 1 do for you? (ii) That's the matter? . Choose the rig expression: Get a move on means (i) Move that for me. (ii) Out something on. (iii) Hurry up, c. Why doesn't Bob explain to George what the trouble is? 4, Bob can say Get me the mud man to George, but George cannot say Ger me the mud man to Bob. Why not? . What's another expression for ‘bottoms up means Section E: WRITING PRACTICE Sentences Looks at these examples: Drill pipe is hotlow. The reason for this to make it possible for the mud to pass through it => Drill pipe is hollow, so kar mud can pass through it. The kelly hose is made of rubber. The reason for this is to make it possible for the kelly hose to bend without breaking => The kelly hose is made of rubber, so that it can bend without breaking. Now join the sentences below, using so that +can : a, Mud is heavy. The season for this*to make it possible for the mud to support the open sides of the borehole. b. Peter is going to the mud tanks. The reason for this is to make it possible for Peter to check the drilling fluid. c. The driller is making a round trip. The reason for this is to make it possible for the driller to examine the bit, d. Rotary bits are made of very hard steel. ‘The reason for this is to make it possible for the rotary bits to drill through many feet of rock without getting dull too quickly. e. The kelly is hexagonal. The reason for this is to make it possible for the rotary table to turn the kelly without slipping. Unit 2 Fishing jobs Section Az READING COMPREHENSION Read the following passage. Remember to look under Special Word and Expressions if you have difficulties. The diagrams will also help you with unknown words and expressions. Sometimes, items of drilling equipment get lost in the borehole. When un item of equipment is lost in the hole, its called a ‘fish’. A lost item is also call ‘junk’. Drilling cannot con the fish or junk is recovered from the hole. To recover the lost item, a fishing job is necessary. Special nue until fishing tools are used for latching on to the fish and hoisting it up to the surface. There fishing tools. For example, there is a type of fishing tool called a ‘junk basket’, and there is another type called a ‘spear’. Look diagram below As you can see, these fishing tools are are many types of very different. The spear is used the bore of n the lost pipe. The diameter of the spear. therefore, must be smaller than the diameter of the pipe in the hole. When the spear enter the pipe, its teeth push out and grip the inner sides of the tightly. Then it is usually possible to hvisr the fist out of the borehole. Tot tin bor etow ~ Serngoated fevers res) ‘The junk basket is used for latching on to smaller pieces of junk. It's used for recovering lost bit cutters, for example. The bottom part of the basket is a shoe with hard-faced teeth. The shoe has a hole in its centre, The fish is forced through the hole and enter the barrel of the basket. Spring- Jouded fingers prevent the fish from dropping out of the barrel and falling back into the well. Before a fishing job can begin, the string must be tripped out of the hole. First, the kelly is broken ow and is set in the rathote. ‘Then the string is broken out in standy and the stands are stood buck on the rig floor. When all of the stands are stood back, the fishing can begin. The toolpu takes charge of the fishing operation, her usually Special Words and Expressions item each thing in a group or list of things. latching on to getting hold of. hoisting raising into position using rope wire bore the inside diameter of pipe or tube. diameter the length of @ straight line through the center of an object. A-D= Diameter B-C= Bore therefore for this reason: because of this. grip hold with force. inner situated farther in. The opposite of inner’ is ‘outer bit cutters The teeth of the bit are set in the bit cutters, The cutters hold the teeth of the drill bit hard-faced having the outer surfaces made of very hard metal. spring-loaded closing quickly, powered by - Springs 12 is broken out is unscrewed and separated rathole The rathole is & shallow hole near a ‘comer of the rig floor. The kelly stands in the rathole when it isn't needed, stands Stands are 90 fi. section of drill pipe. A stand is made up of three joints or singles, all joined together. are stood back ate placed on en back toolpusher the person in charge of all re stood operations on the rig. A toolpusher can tell a driller what to do. Some oilmen also use the word 'toolpusht Comprehension Answer the following questions, Remember that the information can be either in the reading passage and diagrams or in Special Words and Expressions a. Why is a junk basket hollow? b. Why are there many types of fishing tools? c. What is the toolpush's job? 4. Where is rathole? What is it used for? ©. What is a spear for? What’s a junk basket for? £, How does a spear hold a lost piece of pipe? . Before a fishing job can begin, the string must be tripped out of the hole. Why? h. A string is 3,960 feet long. How many stunds is it made up of? How many singles is it made up of? i, What is the difference between ‘diameter’ and ‘bore’? i. The string is tripped out of the hole in stands, not in singles. What is the reason for this? Now choose from these words and expressions to complete the paragraph below: in charge of, junk, toolpitsher, itm, run back in, fished, tools, 106t, tripped. When an ... of drilling equipment is .. in the hole, it must be ... out. The person usually . the fishing operation is the The string is... out of the borehole and fishing ... are run in. After the ... is covered, the string is .. and drilling can begin again. Section B: LISTENING COMPREHENSION I @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Keith, Barry and Peter. Keith is from the Petroleum Programme, a BBC radio series about the language of the oil industry. Keith: How do you do, Burry. My name's Keith. I'm from the — Petroleum Programme. Barry: How do you do. Can I help you? Keith: Would you mind explaining what the driller and the foormen are doing? 1 notice they're not drilling today. The rotary table isn’t turning. And where has the kelly gone? Barry: Well, first of all, the kelly's over there. In that hole over there, in the corner of the derrick floor. See? Keith: Oh, yes, 1 see it, And is that the rathole it's standing in? Peter: That's what we call it. How did you know that? Bary: Yes. you're certainly right. When we're not using the kelly. we set it in the rathole, in the derrick floor. Keith: Why is the Kelly in the rathole now? Barry: Because we'tgs“pulied out. We're hoisted the pipe out of the hole. We're stacked the pipe and we can't do any drilling because thete's a fish in the hole. 13 Peter: We'te going to fish for it now. We're getting the fishing tools ready. Keith: But what is a ‘fish’? What does that word mean? Would you mind explaining it, please? Peter: Barry? how Barry: Sure. A fish is something we'gé lost in the hole. Sometimes it's a tool or another piece of equipment. Sometimes have Peter: Today it's one of the cutters. We're lost one of the cutters from bit. I's in the hole. Barry: So, we're going to fish for it Keith: When do you think you catch it? Peter: Oilmen don't say ‘catch’ a fish, Keith. Barry: We say ‘latch on to’ a fish. We're going to try latch on to cutter now, We're going to use special fishing tools. Peter: And 1 sure hope we latch on to that fish soon. : Bary: So do 1. Then we can run the drilling string in again - Peter: -and hoist the kelly out of the rathole it's a part of the drilling string, Banry: - and start making hole again, Keith: Good luck. then. I hope you latch on to that fish soon. Peter: Thanks a fot, Keith. 2. To see if you understood the tape, answer the following questions. a. From your listening practice in Unit 1. you know that Peter is mud engineer. ‘What job do you think Barry does? Why do you think so? b. Why is the kelly in the rathole now? c. In the oil business, what is fish? 4. What are the crew going to do about the junk in the hole? e. Keith politely asks Barry to explain what the driller and the floormen are doing? What expression does he use? Section C: STRUCTURE PRACTICE, @ 1. Do you remember these sentences from the tape? “We're going try to latch on to the cutter now! "We're going to use special fishing tools. "We're going to fish for it now. Those sentences all mean that the crew plan to do something soon. Look at this example about somebody planing to do something, ‘There's a cutter in the hole. (toolpusty try to latch on to it) => The toolpush is going to ty to latch on to it Now make similar sentences for the following, a. There's something wrong with the bit (crew/ trip the string out) b. The mud's light. (peter/ add bentonite to the tanks) cc, Fm not sure what to do. (I/ ask the driller) d. The fish is small. (Barry/ use the junk basket) e. I don't know what the trouble is. (I/ find ‘oul now) @ 2. Passive Voice Notice the verb in these sentences: Before « fishing job can begin, the string must be tripped out of the hole. (Section Al) If the bit is dull (tmust change) = If the bit is dull. it must be changed. (Unit | Section A1) Put the verbs in brackets below into the same passive form. a, Safety instructions (must obey). b. Safety boots (must wear) on the rig oor atall times). . Fire doors (must keep) closed 4. Smoking (must not permit) on or near the vig. . The string (must trip out) in stands, not in singles. @ 3. Past Simple and Present Perfect Tenses Examine these pairs of sentences, We've pulled out We're pulled out an hour ago. We've leamed about the word ‘annulus’. ‘We leamned about the word ‘annulus’ in Unit 1 Those actions all happened in the past. The first sentence in each pair, however. does not give us any information about when the actions happened Examples: We stopped drilling when we lost the cutter => We've stopped drilling. J completed the job last shi. = I've completed the job, Re-form the sentences below without using the words in italics. a. The drilling stopped whem he cutter was lost b. As soon us they got the junk out of the role, they ran in again c. We tried the junk basket at five o'clock and we tried the spear forty-five minutes Jater but that fish is stitl down there. d. While he was on the rig, Keith learned some interesting things about fishing operations. ©. The kelly's in the rathole because we hoisted the pipe out a couple of hours ago. @ 4. Past Simple Question Ask when the drilling stopped. (When/ drilling/ stop) (when the cutter was lost) => When did the drilling stop? It stopped when the cutter was lost. In the some way. make questions and give answers for the following. a. Ask when Barry arrived. (When/ Barry/ arrive) (an hour ago) b. Ask when the bit broke down. (When/ bil/ break down) (very soon after it was run in) ¢. Ask when the supply boat left. (When/ supply boal/ leave) (early yesterday afternoon) d. Ask what time he came on shift. (What time/ he/ come on shift) (at 9.30 am) c. Ask when he shut down the pumps. (When/ he / shut down the pumps) (when the toolpush told him to do soy @ 5. Look at this example: Junk is (lose/ lost/ losing) equipment hole = Junk is lost equipment in the hole. Do the following in the same way. Choose the right words. a. A stand is made up of three singles, all (joint/ joining/ joined) together. b. Would you mind (to repeat/ repeating/ repeat) that, please? ¢. Spears are smaller in diameter (from/ than/ to) the bore of the drill pipe. d. The rathole is (in/ on / at) a comer (tof from/ of) the rig floor €. Most deiticks are (between / tof of) 100 and 136 fl, (deep/ long/ high) Section Dz LISTENING COMPREHENSION II 15 @ 1. Listen to the conversation between wel and Barry. While you are listening, look at the diagram below. any tary tbe Ma Ry Fe Michael: Hello, Barry. Barry: Welcome to the rig, Michael. Michael: Well then, Barry, where's the BOP stack? Barry: Not here on the rig floor. It’s under neath us. Follow me and I'll show you (They climb down some steel steps) Barry: Here it is, right in the middle, under the rig floor. The rotary table is just above it - and us. Michael: So this is the BOP stack. It’s quite a big piece of machinery. Barry: It has to be big, and strong. If there's a kick or a blowout, the BOP stack will shut in the well and contro! it Michael: And what's this? What's this that the stack is standing on? Barry: That's the well-head, Michael. That's where the casing are connected here at the top of the hole Michael: 1 see. And what’s the working pressure of the stack? Barry: That depends. of course, on the depth of the well and the pre expect. The working pressure of ‘this BOP system is ten thousand pounds per square inch Michael: ‘Ten thousand ps.i, You must be planning to drill down a very long way. Bary: We are. Or at least, that’s our programme Michael: Do you mean that you may be lucky, and bit an oil zone soon? Barry: In this business, Michael, you never know. It's full of surprises. re that we Answer these questions about the tape. BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corporation. BOP stands for blowout presenter. What does p.s./ stand for? . Is Barry's rig onshore or offshore? How do you know? A ‘kick’ is a sudden push upwards, against the drilling fluid. if the there's kick, what will the BOP stack do? What's the working pressure of the BOP system on Barry's rig? ‘The working pressure of BOP stacks are Hak Segre aticeien 16 not all the same, What does the working pressure of a BOP stack depend on? Section E: WRITING PRACTICE, Sentences and Numbers Notice how casy it is to make sentences from the information on the chart below. Examples: In the Middle East in 1976, oil consumption was seventy-three tonnes and production was one thousand, million ‘one hundred million tonnes. Consumption was Jess than production by one thousand, twenty-seven million tonnes. In Western Europe 1976, oil consumption was seven hundred and six in million tonnes and production was forty- five million Consumption greater than production by six hundred and tonnes. was sixty-one million tonnes. Now write similar sentences for the other areas on the chart. Begin with the U.S.A., North Africa and Australasi In the U.S.A. in 1976, In North Africa in 1976, In Australasia,!976, mw W turooe fee f: i) eel nadie Cet A i =I . Unit 3 Trap & Geology Section Az READING COMPREHENSION Read the following passage. Petroleum was formed by nature in very ancient times. Most of the petroleum that ilmen drill for was formed between 30 and 500 million years ago. Outside of the many people believe that oil and gas are contained in large petroleum indust underground lakes or caves. This belief is, ‘of course, false. Petroleum is contained in the pores of reservoir rocks, rather in the same way that water is contained in the pores of sponge. ‘The most common reservoir rocks are sandstone, limestone and dolomite. These are sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks may be porous and permeable to oil, gas, and water. They can therefore act as reservoir rocks. Places where oil has reached the surface are called ‘seep’ or ‘shows’. In Trinidad in the West Indies theze are a number of active seeps. The fits! well in Trinidad was drilled in 1866, The method of drilling that first well was not the rotary method. In. 1866, cabte-tool drilling was used. Today very few cable-tool rigs exist Antic Trap Hon-perous Bimparrneatie cap rock Sync tap « ed surtace Most underground oil is contained in traps stich as those in the diagram above. A trap is an_underground formation which prevents the escape of oil contained in it. Notice the cap rock at the top of each trap. Cap rock is non-porous and impermeable to the fluids below. Therefore, underground pressure cannot force the reservoir fluids through the cap rock and up to the surface. Arvial Survey Seismic Survey Geophones cater Recording ruck Expleson Rettecled sock wives How do oilmen know where to drill? That's the job, generally, of the petroleum geologist. He can use ther and seismic surveys to get i about rock features beneath the surface Rocks at the supply information, and fossils can help him to calculate the age of the rocks. sults of aerial formation surface also Special Words and Expressions ancient belonging to the distant past. false The opposite of “false! is ‘true’ pores very small holes of spaces. Anything which contains pores is porous. Porosity describes the fluid-holding property of a substance. reservoir rocks rocks which store petroleum and allow it to be recovered sponge a porous product used for washing and cleaning. Sponges sandstone @ rock Which consists of sand cemented together. usually by silica {SiO,) or calcium carbonate (CaCO) limestone & rock which was formed from deposity of CaCOy 18 dolomite a type if limestone which consists of calcium — magnesium — carbonate (CaMg(CO,),), sedimentary rocks. Sediments is solid material which sinks to the bottom of a liquid. Sedimentary rocks were formed from sediments on the bottom of lakes, rivers, oceans, ete permeable allowing fluids to pass through. Permeability describes the fluid: transmitting property of a substance. cable-tool drilling In this method, the bit breaks the rock by pounding up and down. geologist a scientist who studies rocks. how they are atanged and how they were formed. fossils the remains of animals or plants, preserved in rocks. Foss Rock piece Comprehension Answer the following questions a, What are the three most reservoir rocks? 6. When was most of our oil formed? In what year was the first well in Trinidad drilled? 4. What three things does a geologist study? c. Ifa porous sandstone is impermeable to common. oil, it can’t be a reservoir rock. Why not? f. Ifa tock is porous and permeable to oil, it can't he a cap rock. Why not? 2. What's the differem between rotary drilling and the cable-toot method? h, How is.a seep different from trap? i, One type of sedimentary rock was formed from deposits of calcium carbonate. Which one? J. What can fossils do for the petroleum geologist?” True or Palse Example: Petroleum is contained in underground lakes or caves. = False. Petroleum is contained in the pore of reservoir rocks. Say whether the following are true or false. Ifa statement a. The chemical symbol for silica is SiO, b. The chemical symbol for calcium carbonate is CaMg(CO,), c. Most oil was formed between 50 and false, correct it 300 million years ago. d. In a seismic-reflection survey, shot points pick up the reflected shock waves. e. Porosity describes the fluid-transmitting. property of a substance. Section B: LISTENING COMPREHENSION 1 @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Michael and Tom, Tom: Here we are, Michael. Up here. May I help you? Michael: No. No thank you, Tom. I'm quite all right. Tom: Good. Michael: Well. is this the outcrop you were telling me about? ‘Tom: This isi. 1 I ehjp a piece off for you. ‘There you are. (Tom chips off a piece of rock) Michael: So this is sedimentary rock Tom: That's right. We're standing on a sandstone oulerop. It's just the sort of edimentary rock we're looking for. Sandstone formation Michael: Most sandstones are porous. aren't they? Tom: Yes, they are, but they don't all contain oil. This outcrop, for instance, doesn't. Still, there may be oil in at depth. Not here, but some miles away, where this rock goes underground. Michael: When you find an outcrop like : Par from it, Michael. Welfe got to know @ great dea} more. We need much more information. We can see what the rock is like here, where is has come to the surface. But we've got to get some idea about what it's like at depth, where there may be a trap. Michael: How do you do that, Tom? How do you get information about what's under the ground? Tom: In a number of ways, By aerial survey, for example, and by seismic survey, (00. Then of course there’ Michael: Excuse me, Tom. Aerial survey? Seismic survey? May I ask you to tell me a little about them first? fargo it = Certointy not 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a, Tom is carrying @ tool. What sort of tool is it? How do you know? Rammer b. What job do you think Tom does? What makes you think so? qeobempy ¢. Choose the right expression: Far from it means (i) Move away (ii) At a distance from here (iii) Cevtainly nos d. When an outcrop like this is found, why doesn't drilling begin immediately? fe. Which word indicates that Tom and Michael ate being polite when they ask certain questions? Secti STRUCTURE PRACTICE @ 1. Do you remember these sentences from the tape? "Welle got to know a great deal more? "We're got to get some ides about what it's like at depth." The expression htave/has got to indicates that there is a need or a necessity to do something. Example: He's hurt badly. (We / get doctor) => Weie got to get a doctor. Do the following in the same way. a. This just isn't enough information. (You / find out mote) b. Before you can stait to fish, .. (youl tip string out). c. Possibly you're right but ... (1/be sure). 4. He can't do it without permission. (He / ask driller first) @ 2. Passive Voice Notice the verbs in these sentences, Petroleum was formed by nature in very ancient times. (Section Al) The first well in Trinidad was drilled in 1866. (Section Al) 20 Put’ the verbs in brackets below into the same passive form, a, The Amposia field in Spain (discover) in 1971. b. The bit (change) last shift ¢. During the 1960s, exploration (increase) in the Java Sea d, Oil exploration in Albania (begin) by the Italians. e. The first wells at Masjid-i-Sulaiman, Iran, (drill) using the cable-tool metho! ® 3. Questions in the Passive Ask offshore discovery was made in Tunisia. (1947) => When was the first offshore discovery made in Tunisia? It was made in 1947, Example: when the first Now make questions and give answers for the following, a. Ask when most of the petroleum that ilmen drill for was formed. (hetween 30 and 500 million years ago) b. Ask when the first well in Trinidad was drilled, (1866) ©. Ask why the pumps weren't inspected earlier, (because no instructions were received) d. Ask how the junk in the hole was recovered. (by using a spear) e. Ask when oil exploration and development were started in Venezu (gio) @ 4, Definitions with whieh Study the definition of limestone, Notice that it is made up of three parts: (i) Su Cimestone). (ii) General (sedimentary rock). (iti) Description (way formed from deposits of Category Specific calcium carbonate). => Limestone iy a sedimentary rock which was formed from defposits of calcium carbonate. Use the table on the following page to write five more definitions like that Set |_| Gaentaneey [eee Capek sg ot ecoot suck Rivea mai rage once Rise] iv roirnoc and" | gy [se roc When by Gator. are | iopamestle rock Mee! i em of remus cag ad [sss J nt pase ee] reese | ee 5, Definitions with who Example: What's geologist? (scientist/ study/ rocks) = A geologist rocks. is a scientist who studies Now give definitions in answer to the following a. What's a toolpush? (oilman/ be/ in charge of rig operations) b. What's a roughneck? (rig worker! help around the rig floor) ©. What's seismologist? (scientist) study/ underground shock waves) d. What's a derrickman? (oilman/ work/ high up in the derrick) e. What's a switcher? (oilfield worker/ dircet/ oil from wells into pipelines) Section D: LISTENING COMPREHENSION II o1 of the conversation between Michael and Tom. Listen now to the rest Michael: Thanks, Tom. that's much clearer now. I think I've go! @ good idea about aerial and seismic surveys. Now that are some of the other ways of getting information about rocks that may contai oil”? a4 caret Hoe eet for sore cores Tom: Well, i's very important to check the drill cuttings and cores from other wells in the area. Michaei: Drill cuttings, yes. But how does an oil geologist get the cuttings? Tom: One of the floormen brings them. He gets them at the shale shaker Michael: I see. And what do you do with them? Tom: I wash the cuttings. I dry them, and then Texamine them under a microscope. Michael: A microscope? Why do you have tose a microscope? Tom: Because some of things I'm looking for are very small pieces of rock from formations at depth. Michael: What kind of information do you get? Tom: | find out what type of rock is in the cutting. If it can be a reservoir rock, I look to see if it's porous. I Look for signs of oil. And if there are fossils in the cutting, they help me find out the age of the rock Michael: When you said that you had to check the drill cuttings, you also said that you had to che ‘o0- k something else ‘Tom: That's right. Cores. I have to check the cores. From a core, a geologist can learn a lot more ubout the rock. But coring is expensive. It costs a lot of money and it takes a lot of time. Most of a hole is drilled and not cored. A geologist gets his information from the cuttings. Michael: And, as we've already leamed, from aerial and seismic surveys Tom: Right. And from field surveys, too. We can learn a great deal by coming out to places like this. By looking, by ‘examining rocks at outcrop. Michael: And I'm sure there are many other ways of getting information about rocks at the surface and rocks at depth, ‘Tom: There certainly are, Michael. Lots of other ways. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. Why does Tom have microscope? b. How does Tom get the cuttings? Where do they come from? to use a c. Most of a hole is drilled and not cored. Why? d. Tom is doing a type of survey now, Which type? fe. What does the expression ‘at depth’ mean? desp Section Ez WRITING PRACTICE Sentences from Table Look at the table below, then study the Re tLe Feld Ditsovery yest 1967 1953 Rumailactrag -] 4952 ahimadie 1968 Kuvat 1968 TutePakinion “171986 MejieRigeria Provost Canad im) ~~ Procduetion, oe pace 22 Example: The Providencia field in Peru was discovered in 1967. By 1976. the field was producing, an average of one thousand, fifty barrels per day, Now write similar sentences for the other field in the table. Begin with Rumaila ‘The Ruimaila field in Iraq ... Coew (ere Caade (ba Unit 4 Reservoir Fluids Section A: READING COMPREHENSION ap rock Dissolved gas eae Upper zone caer KS (Wale zone Lower zone Read the following passage. In a reservoir rock, the distribution of fluids depends on their densities and on the eee a ie lela speaking, if a reservoir rock contains uniform pores, and if the pores are evenly * “ A - =A) eo {, ye Magnified view of sample 2 distributed, there will be three zones of fluids in the tap: an upper zone, middle zone, and @ lower zone. ‘The rock pores in the upper zone in the diagram have been filled mainly by gas This part of the tap is the gas cap. In the middle zone, the pores have been filled imiainly by oil with in solution. Inthe lower zone, the sock pores have been filled by water. A certain amount of water always occurs ‘gester ih the off in the middle zone, The Proportion of water to oil is usually about 10 to 30 percent. Water also occuts in the gas cap, but the proportion of water to gas is frequently lower than the proportion of yyater Jo oil. The section of rock in the “Sagan has been greatly magnified to show the distribution of water and hydrocarbons: ‘The water which is found in the oil and gas zones is called ‘interstitial water’ of ‘connate water’ Hinewaconty erate Lovevtsoaty erate see she < ; aeriecet Does not pour ea Pour easty Reservoir evades differ. Some crudes are very heavy and viscous: othegs are light and thin. A crude of high viscosity contains litte or no dissolved gas, and is usually found under conditions of low pressure. A crude of low viscosity contains a large amount of dissolved gas, and is usually, found under conditions of considerable pressure. North Sea oil is an example of ‘oi dove low-viscosity crude. Venezuelan crude are of high viscosity. Special Words and Expressions distribution the arrangement or position. (e.g. of fluids in a reservoir) over an area. densities This is the plural of ‘density’ Density is the relation of mass to volume: e.g.. grams per cubic centimeter (g/em’), pounds per cubic foot (Ibs/It"). capillary having avery bore resembling a hair-like tube. small uniform always having the same form and size, evenly without variation; to the same extent solution a liquid containing a. dissolved substance of substances. Seawater is a solution, Salts and other substances are dissolved in it proportion the relation of a part to the whole, or of one part to another has been greatly magnified has been greatly enlarged in appearance. Telescopes magnify object: microscopes magnify small objects. distant hydrocarbons compounds which contain only carbon and hydrogen, Petroleum consists of hydrocarbons. The lightest of all the hydrocarbons is methane (CH,) gas crudes Crudes are petroleum before it has, been refined differ ave not ail the same; are different. viscous having a resistance to flow: not Mowing easily. Viscosity describes the resistance of a fluid to flow dissolved ‘solution’ Look at the definition for 24 Comprehension Answer the following questions. a, What is the usual proportion of water to oil in the oil zone? (Generally speaking, the proportion of ...) b. How is gas contained in crude? reservoir c. What does the distribution of fluids in reservoir rocks depend on? (It depend oon the ... and on the ..) d. What is a hydrocarbon? Give a definition. . Why has the rock section ” been magnified? (In order to ...) f, Under what conditions is low-viscosity crude usually found? g. In Section A there is means ‘the relation of a part to the whole’. What's the word? h. Viscous tiquids don't pour easily. Why don't they? i. How much dissolved gas does a high- viscosity crude contain? a word which J. Which parts of the trap does the oil zone lie between? True or False’ Say whether the following are trie oF false. Ifa statement is false, correct it a, The lightest of all the hydrocarbons is heptane (CH). b. A crude of low viscosity is difficult to pou erty ¢. ‘The proportion of water to gus in the gas ptt egeendy oer tat ine proportion of water to oil in the oi zone. 4d. Seawater is a solution. c. Water isa solution Section B: LISTENING COMPREHENSION I F @ J. Listen to the conversation between Leila and Ahmed. Leila: Coffee, Ahmed? Ahmed: Ab, yes. Thank you, Leila. Leila: What are you listening to? Ahmed: the BBC. Leila: News? Ahmed: No. English by Radio. Leila: Is it the Petroleum Programme? 1 think you said it was quite i Ahmed: [ did. And yes, it is interesting. Now, may I? jeresting. Leila: Sonry. (Ahmed listens for moment more) Voice 1: But here's a problem. Voice 2: If a trap contained only crude oil and water Voice 1: -only an oil zone and a water zone- Voice 2: - where would the gas come from? Voice 1: Or - Voice 2: - to put the problem another way- Voice 1: - how can an oil well also produce a lot of gas? Ahmed: Because the crude contains gas in solution, That's how. Leila; What were you saying? Ahmed: They'te asking how crude oil can produce natural gas. Leila: And? What's the answer then’? Ahined: See this coffee? Leila: I vee it, Ahmed. Ahmed: It contains sugar in solution, The sugar is dissolved in the coffee. Leila: Thank you. But how can natural gas come from crude oil? Ahmed: Because gas can be dissolved in crude oil under pressure, Dissolved. something like sugar dissolves in coffee. Deep in the reservoir, pressure and temperature keep the gas in solution vith the oil. Leila; Ise. Go on. Ahmed: It's quite simple. When the crude rises to the surface, the pressure drops ~ Leila: - and when the pressure has dropped enough, the gas comes out of solution Ahmed: Yes. That is. um, about the way it happens. Leila: Ah ... more coffee? Abmed: Just half a cup, thank you. Leila: With or without a little sugar in solution? ‘Ahmed: Leila, Leila 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a, Deep in the conditions keep the gas in solution with reservoir, what two the oil? b. When the crude rises, what happe the pressure? c. When the pressure has dropped enough, what happens to the dissolved gas? d. Was Ahmed's difficult for Leila? How do you know? fe. Ahmned says ‘May I?! to Leila. What is he asking for? Is he annoyed a little? Why? sto explanation easy or Section STRUCTURE PRACTICE @ 1. Conditionals Do you remember this sentence from the tape? ‘If a trap contained only crude oil and water, where would the gas come from?” We can answer that question like this: If the trap contained only oil and water. the gas would come from solution. Examples: Suppose that you didn't know exactly what to do. Who would you ask? (I/ go/ person in charge) = If I didn’t know exactly what (0 do, 1 would go to the person in charge. ‘Suppose that a cutter were lost in the hole. How could the crew get it out? (they / try / junk basket) = If a cutter were lost in the hole, they could try the junk basket. Answer the following in the same way. a, Suppose that the mud pumps broke down. What would happen? (we / lose / returns from the hole) b. Suppose that a fire broke out on the rig. What would you do? (1 / shout ‘Fire’ and sound the alarm) c. Suppose that Peter had to examine a very small rock sample. How could he do it? (he / use / microscope) 4d. Suppose that you weren't sure about your instructions. How could you make sure? (L/ ask for an explanation) €. Suppose that the BOP system failed. What might happen? (the well / blow out of control) 2. Passive Voice Notice the verbs in these sentences, In the lower zone, the rock pores have been Jfilled mainly by oil with gas in solution. (Section A) The section of rock in the diagram has been greatly magnified to show the distribution of water and hydrocarbons. (Section A) Now compare the two pictures of the geologist’s laboratory. In the second picture. notice how many things have been done Examnple: microscope (put into its case) 26 => The microscope has been pur into its case. Now make similar sentences 10 say what hhas been done to the following: 4. cores (lake away) b. Hight (switch off) c. bunsen bumer (move from shelf to workbench) d. rock samples (tag). ©. window (shut) F. safety helmet and goggles (remove from workbench) 8. fap (leave running) @ 3. Adverbs of Frequency In these sentences, notice particularly the positions of the adverbs. A certain amount of water always occurs together with the oil in the middle zone. (Section A) ‘The proportion of water to gas is frequently lower than the proportion of water to oil, (Section A) Example: The toolpush. takes charge of fishing operations. (usually ot seldom?) => The toolpush usually takes charge of ing operations. Do the following in the same way. a. Cap rock acts as a reservoir rock. (always or never?) b. Non-porous rock contains petroleum. (often or rarely?) ¢. The proportion of water to oil is 10 to 30%. (seldom or usually?) d. Water occurs together with reservoir crude, (frequently or always?) e. High-viscosity crude contains a large amount of dissolved gas. (never or rarely?) 4, Choose the right words a. It has been magnified (for showing / for to show / to show) the distribution of water and (compounds /solutions/ hydrocarbons). b. In the (upper / lower / middle) (area / section / zone) the pores have been filled mainly (from / with / by) gas c. Density is the (relative / relation) of {weight / miss) to (space / volume); (cle. Jeg. / psi), grams per (cubic / square) centimeter 4. A solution is & liquid (who / it / which) contains a (dissolves {dissolving / dissolved) substance (and for / bul) substances. 2 €. A crude of low viscosity contains a large amount of dissolved (oil / water / gas), and is (seldom / sometimes / usually) (finding / found / finds) under conditions of (low / high / considerable) pressure. Section D: LISTENING COMPREHENSION II @ 1. Listen to the conversation, between Michael and Ahmed. MICHAEL: heard = Ahmed's explanation did you guess, that he's an oilman? Well he is, and he's here with me now. You're from Kuwait, Ahmed, aren't you? AHMED: I am, yes. I work as a petroleum: ‘engineer there MicHAeL: Is this your first trip abroad? AHMED: Not at all. I've come to England many times. And I've travelled to the States, as well. In fact 1 worked there, in ‘Texas, for two years. MICHAEL: And may I ask the purpose of your visit here to Britain this time? AviweD: I'm very interested in North Sea gas. MICHAEL: You haven't come here to buy, When you have you, Ahmed? AHMED: No, not to buy. To learn a little, perhaps, but not to buy. In Kuwait we hhave been more concemned with oil than with gas. see aet MICHAEL: I see. But, seriously, Ahmed, could you tell us a little more about the production of natural gas from crude oil? AHMED: What would you like to know? MICHAEL: Well, we've already heard that an oil well can produce millions of cubic feet of gas. millions and Twas wondering if you could give us some idea So muck 4 ov, S \ our Cove af AD fan 2 hd of how much gas a certain volume of crude can contain, AHMED: Yes. But first of all, I must say that it's difficult to give a simple answer. You will understand, of course, that crude oils differ to well and from reservoir to Permeabilities differ, pressures differ, and so on. MICHAEL: Certainly. AHMED: But perhaps I can give you a particular example. Web's ® MICHAEL: Fine, Ahmed. AHMED: In my country, at a place called Burgan, we have a very large reservoir from well reservoir. with a great many oil wells. The pressure of the crude when it reaches the surface is about 500 to 600 p.s.i. MICHAEL: P.s.i.? AHMED: Oh, yes, p.s.i. That means ‘pounds pex,squaresinch!, Michael. It's a pressure measurement, MucHAEL: Then it's a number of pounds of force over a number of square inches of area, A force in pounds, over an area in square inches. AHMED: That's it. So, just to give you this example from Burgan, the crude reaches the surface at five to six hundred p.s.i. In the reservoir, Burgan crude about eighty times its own volume of dissolved gas. MICHAEL: Eighty times its own volume. Well, that means that one cubic foot of Burgan crude can produce about 80 cubic fect of gas at the surface, AHMED: True. About 80 cubic feet of dissolved gas in every cubic foot of crude in the reservoir. MICHAEL: And when you lower the pressure on the crude, the gas comes out of solution, contains ana Koco etc, teq or $0 tia Gobet darts vey (Bs Se boy Chao Aaboe tf AHMED: There are other’ ways, but that's one way of separating the gas from the crude, yes. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. Why has Ahmed come to Britain? How long did he work in Texas? b. Why is it difficult for Ahmed to give a simple answer to Michael's question? ‘What exactly is Michael's question? cc. What's the pressure of Burgan crude at the wellhead? d. How much gas does Burgan crude contain? e. What information is given by a psi. measurement? Section E: WRITING PRACTICE Numbers and Proportions Example: In the Burgan field, four hundred and one wells have been drilled. Twenty- seven of these have been dusters. The roportign of dry holes te producible wells is boul seven per cent. Using the table below, write similar sentences about the other fields in Kuwai FIELD WELLS | PRODUCIBLE DRILLED | WELLS [Burgan 401 374 Minagish 2B 4 Bahrah 8 2 Umm Gudair 35 31 Magwa 108 99 Raudhatain 58 49 Sabiriyah 51 45 Ahmadi 83 B ts Les Unit 5 Natural Flow these zones offer the lowest resistance into the well. For this reason, Section A fractured reservoirs have the highest READING COMPREHENSION ae permeabilities of all. In such reservoirs, most of the flow is carried by the cracks and - syeluofissur sim the fractured rock. . sr ‘The flow rate of reservoir gas depends on the same four factors as the flow rate of reservoir crude, Natural gas consisis—oft.) 91> hydrocarbons of the methane series, which are sometimes known as ‘paraffinic’ hydrocarbons. These are the lighter hydrocarbons such as ethane (C,H,), propane (C\H,), butane (CH), and, of course, methane itsel& At normal temperatures and pressures, these compounds are always gases. Natural gas consists, mainly of methane, If a natural gas contains a relatively large {quantity of the other lighter hydrocarbons, it is called a ‘wet’ gas. A natural gas is called a ‘dry’ gas if the quantity of the other lighter hydrocarbons is relatively small. Some natural gases are absolutely. dry: that is, they consist only of methane. Read the following passage. Well bore All gas wells and most oil wells are initially flowing wells. Flowing wells can Production cosh produce hydrocarbons at the surface by natural. means. The basic production Hydrocarbon ‘mechanism in naturally flowing wells isthe Suspension result of pressure differences. If the bottom- hiole pressure is lower than the reservoir pressure, the oil will move through the pores of the reservoir rock and out into the bottom of the well bore. The flow rare of reservoir crude depends Methan gas Entrained water particles, on bottom-hole pressure, reservoir pressure, tock permeability, and the viscosity of the oil. The greatest flow takes place through the zones of highest permeability, since A relatively wet gas rises in the well asa mist. This consists of methane gas with wv droplets of other lighter hydrocarbons held in suspension, Tt may also carry connate water in the form of entrained water particles. Solution gas from oil usually wel, and is known as ‘associated’ gas. wells is Special Words and Expressions initially at first; first of all. mechanism a process or technique which achieves a result. bottom-hole occuring at the bottom of a well flow rate the quar certain time, eg., bartels per day (bpd). ‘fractured containing cracks and/or fissures, ty, which flows in a Fracture fissures Sce the diagram above. relatively comparatively; not absolutely; not purely or completely. absolutely purely or completely. In this passage, ‘relatively’ and ‘absolutely’ are opposites. droplets tiny. drops; very small liquid Particles. in suspension hanging in a fluid or a solid, but not dissolved in it, Comprehension Answer the following questions, 30 a. The flow rate of « reservoir fluid depends on four factors. What are these factors? b. Why do high flow rates occur in zones of high permeability? = c. What is the difference between a wet gas and a dry gas? (A wet gas contains whereas.a dry gas ...) 4. What is the difference between a solution and a suspensiog? (In a solution whereas in a suspension ...) €. How is most of the flow carried in a fractured seservoir? f. In what state is butane at normal temperatures and pressures? g. How may interstitial water from a gas reservoir reach the surface? h. To which hydrocarbon series does natural gas belong? i. What is solution gas from oil wells known as? j. In naturally flowing wells, what is the production mechanism. the result of? Now choose from these words to complete the paragraph below: oil, high, higher, relatively, considerably, mainly, paraffinic, light, proportions, ‘The gas in many fields is methane. members of the ... hydrocarbons occur in it when ... is present. The ... of these and other hydrocarbons rise... when the reservoir is under... pressure and at a. high temperature. Small quantities of the next Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION I @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Mr. ‘Smith and Mr. Jones smiti: Good morning. My name's - JONES: - Mr. Mason, of course. How do you do. My name's Jones. Please sit down. simi: Excuse me, Mr. Jones, but I - JONES: Take a chair, Mr. Mason. That's better. Now- ‘SMITH: - um, | beg your pardon, Mr. Jones, L JONES: -just a few simple questions, Mr Mason. I'm sure you won't have any difficulty. Tell me, Mr. Mason, which is heavier: oil or water? SMITH: Uh, water is heavier than oil. I think. JONES: Quite right, Mr. Mason. So, which is lighter: water or oil? SMITH: Oil is, um, lighter than water. Isn't in? JONES: It is indeed, Very good. Now which is the heaviest; oil, water, or gas? swim: Water is the heaviest. Jones: Excellent. And which is the lightest: water, gas, or oil? SMITH: Gas is the lightest. JONES: Right again, Mr. Mason ~ SMITH: -look, Mr. Jones, I really must- JONES: -now. now, Mr. Mason, we've almost finished. Where was 17 Oh yes. Is it correct to say that oil is light? I mean, it isn't usually heavier than water, is it? SMITH: Well, I suppose it isn't. It's usually lighter than water. JONes: But gas is lighter than oil and it's also lighter than water, correct? Smit: Correct. JONES: But oil is still lighter than water, do you agree? swoTit: Yes, agree. JONES: So, if we put some water, gas and oil together, which would be on the bottom, which would be in the middle, and which would be on the top? SMITH: The water would be on the bottom, the oil would be in the middie, and the 31 ‘gas would be on the top. JONES: That's fine, Mr. Mason. Now, can you tell me the difference between porosity and permeability? SMITH: Porosity and permeability? Sorry. JONES: Sorry? Do you mean that you are not able to explain the difference between porosity and permeability? SMITH: I'm afraid'¥in not, Mr. Jones. JONES: Then I'm afraid that T must tell you, Mr. Mason, that I am not able to give you the job. smith: Job? What job? Jones: What job? Why, working with Liz, Michael and Keith on the Petroleum Programme, of course. sMrmt: Mr. Jones, I really must tell you, my name is Smith, not Mason JonEs: You're not Mr, Mason? swim: No, I'm not. And I, um, haven't come about a job on the Petroleum Programme, either. JONES: Then what have you come about? swim: Actually, I've come about your daughter. JONES: My daughter? simu: Yes. You see, we're thinking of getting married JONES: What? Married? But 1 don’t even know you. I've never seen you before in my life. SMITH: That's, um, what T've come to see you about. My name is George Smith, and I- 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. , What mistake has Mr. Jones made? . What isn't Mr. Smith able to do? Why? c. Who is Mr. Jones waiting for? 4. What has Mr. Smith come about? What does Mr. Jones think he has come about? ¢. Does Mr. Smith know very much about petroleum? How can you tell? £, All but one of Mr. Jones's questions are simple. Why, then, does Mr. Smith reply so slowly? Why does he hesitate? Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE @ 1. Conditionals This answer is from the tape you've just listened to: ‘The water would be on the bottom, the oil would be in the middle, and the gas would be on the top This was the question, also from the tape: ‘If we put some water, gas and oil together, which would be on the bottom, which would be in the middle, and which would be on the top?” Example: The well might blow out of control. (BOP system fail/ what happen?) => If the BOP system failed, what might happen? ‘The well might bloy out of contzol Here are the answers to certain conditional questions. Use the words in brackets to make suitable questions. a. The well couldn't flow. (bottom-hole section block up with sand/ what resulL, be?) b. Td operate the manual controls. (BOP's, ‘automatic system break down/ how you close the rams?) c. He'd probably be the assistant, driller, (which person be in charge/ driller leave tig floor?) 4.11 multiply its mass by its volume, (you wish find out the density of a substance/ what operation you perform?) ¢. L could ask for an explanation, (you not bare ke 32 understand your instructions how you make sure of them?) © 2. Passive Voice Examples: People drilled the Spindletgp well in 1901 => Thé famous Spindletop well was drilled in 1901 famous People have obtained gas from 21,465 ft. at Lake Washington, Louisiana, => Gas has been obtained from 21,465 ft. at Lake Washington, Louisiana: Express the ideas below without using the word ‘people’ a. People designed the first known blowout preventer in 1882. b, People have manufactured these new drill collars using a special heat-treatment process. c. People introduced the roller cone bit in 1909. if a 4, People have greatly magnified the rock section in the diagram. © People needed a well-dsilling process- control yeat/...(f). system in Indonesia last so people constructed a system using a small but powerful computer. 3. Comparison of Adjectives "The greatest flow takes place through the zones of highest permeability, since these zones offer the path of fowest resistance into the well.’ (Section A) ‘Oil is lighter than water. (from the tape) Example: Which is (heavy): oil or water? => Which is heavier: oil or water? Put the adjectives in brackets below into suitable forms a, For reservoir crude to flow naturally, the bottom-hole pressure must be (low) the pressure , The (difficult) drilling conditions in the ‘world at present are in the North Sea, c. The oil-bearing rocks in Nigeria are (young) most others. 4d. Ethane is (light) propane. €. The (deep) well is now over 30,000 feet reserv 4. Choose the right words. a, In a (solution SuspensiBAy the (parts/ pieces/ particles) are dissolved in the fluid, (so/ therefore /whereas) in a (solution/ suspension) they hang in it. b, A relatively (dry/ wet) gas (rises/ raises) in the well (so/ like/ as ¢. (Dissalved/ Suspension/: Solution) gas is (never/ always/ usually) wet, and (is knowing as/ knows as/ is known as) “associated! gas. d. Flow rate (tells/ describes/ explains) the (quality/ quantity) (whof which/ i) flows ina certain time, (ie./ eg.}. (BOP/ bpd). ¢, (Relatively/ Absolutely) dry gas consists. only (from/ off about) (propane/ methaney butane). 33 Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION I @ L. Listen to the conversation between Mr. Jones and Mr. Mason, JONES: Come in. MASON: Mr. Jones? sones: Yes? MASON: My name is Mason, Mr. Jones. I've come about that job on the Petroleum Programme JONES: You're late, Mr. Mason. Very late indeed. 1 expected you to come on time MASON: T'm very sorry, Mr. Jones. I don't know London very well, you see, and I, um sones: Never mind. Take a chair. And let's just hope you know something about petroleum. MASON: Thank you. JONES: You may not thank me after you've heard my questions. MASON: Oh. Jones: Now then, What comes to the top of a well together with natural gas? MASON: Um, lighter liquid hydrocarbons. And water. JONES: How? MASON: AS very tiny drops. They're carried along in the gas, JONES: Carried along in the gas? That's not what an oilman would say. What would an oilman say, Mr. Mason? MASON: In suspension, Mr. Jones. JONES: Himmmt And what, exactly, are usually catried in suspension? MASON: The lighter liquid hydrocarbons. JONES: And the water? What about the water? MASON: Um ... erm ... i's entrained, The water is usually entrained with the hydrocarbon gas. JONES: Is that good or bad? ‘MASON: Bad. JONES: Why? MASON: Because the water has to be separated from the gas. JONES: And the lighter liquid hydrocarbons? MASON: They have 10 be separated too. Jones: H'mmm. Very well. Thank you, Mr. Mason. MASON: Is that all, Mr. Jones? JONES: That's all for today. I'll send you a letter. MASON: Do you think I'll get the job? JONES: That depends. MASON: On what? JONES: It depends on the other people who come to see me. Lots of people come t0 nd most of them come on time, JONES: But, um, tell me. Do you know a man by the name of George Smith? MASON: George Smith? No. I'm afraid I don't. JONES: Well, that's one good thing anyway. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. What has Mason come about? b. Jones expected Mason to come on time. Did he? Why not? How late was he? c. Why doesn't Jones think that an oilman would say ‘carried along in the gas"? d. What about the water? What has to be done with it at the surface? e. What does Mason's getting the job depend on? Section E WRITING PRACTICE Comparisons & Connectives 34 Look back at the descriptions of the petroleum gases in Section A, then study the paragraph below. The chemical symbol for propane is (C,H,, which means that one molecule of this compound contains three carbon atoms, and eight hydrogen atoms. Propane is lighter than butane but heavier than both ethane and methane ‘Now write similar paragraphs for ethane, butane, and methane phy Unit 6 Blowout control Section A READING COMPREHENSION Read the following passage. Hydrocarbon becoming more and mote difficult to find, and oilmen are drilling deeper and deeper in their search for them. In Louisiana, for example, there is a gas-producing formation called the Tuscaloosa Sand, in which the pay zones are about four miles deep on At that depth, pressures are accumulations, are average. extremely high, so there is always the risk of a blowout. A well which blows out of control is known as a ‘gusher' ot a ‘wild well’ To prevent a well from blowing out, the mud weight is carefully controlled. By itself, bentonite will not make a mud which is heavier than about 823 grams per liter. eo Ta — mup cross ig H.008 xu une BUND RAMS \ sro auo ‘The most common material for weighting a drilling fluid is ground barite (BagSO,). Ifthe bit suddenly enters a high-pressure formation, the weight of the mud column 35 may not be great enough to hold back the pressure of the gas, oil or water in the borehole. Then, there will be a kick; and if the BOP rams cannot be closed quickly enough, the well will blow out. The flow ‘must then be brought under control, so that heavy mud can be pumped to the well through the Kill line. In_the case of a gas- well blowout, it may be necessary first to divert the gas into a flare pit. The gas is set cabjaze in the flare pit in order to prevent an explosion. Logging the well can provide infor which may help to avoid dangerous situations down hole. Before the logging tools can be run in, the hole must be clean If there are any tight spots, for example, it may be necessary to make a dummy trip before the drill string is pulled out. In a dummy trip, the string is hoisted only a quarter or a third of the way up; then it is un back to bottom again. In this way the nation bottom-hole assembly can be used to clean up the well and prepare it for logging, we bes” pLaRer Special Words and Expressions accumulations quantities which have gathered together in a certain area, A reservoir is. an_—_ underground accumulation of natural hydrocarbons, pay zones which formations contain producible ot and/or gas accumulations. risk dangerous possibility ot factor. weighting adding weight to; increasing the specific gravity of. Specific gravity is the relation between the density of a certain volume of one substance (cg. a crude) and the density of the same volume of another substance (eg. pure water), ground.crushed to a powder column the vertical shape of any fluid accumulation in a well. For ‘vertical’ see the diagram below. to divert to turn from one course or path to another. When a gas well blows out, the escaping gas_jet is vertical. To get the gas into a flare pit, the gas must be diverted from the vertical to the horizontal at ground level. is ser ablaze is set on fire; is ignited, VERTICAL 0° HoRMZONTAL DIVERTER LINE < + 10 FLARE \ oadunp LeveL Jogging getting information about rock density, permeability, angle of the hole, etc., by special downhole instruments or tools. To make a borehole survey, the hole is logged botton-hole assembly the instuments, etc. which are connected to the end of the string using tools, Comprehension Answer the following questions 36 a, What must be done to barite before it can be used in the mud? b. The bottom-hole pressure of the mud column is usually controlled at 150 psi more than the formation pressure. For what purpose? c. Is the specific gravity of the drilling fluid programmed to be higher or lower than the specific gravity of the cuttings? Why? 4. If for any reason the mud circulation stops, the cuttings will be held in suspension. How? Why? €. Which particalar danger increases with depth? f, What is the driller’s first protection against a blowout? What's his second protection? 8 One mile is approximately equal to 1.61 kilometers. What is the average depth, én ‘meters, of the Tuscaloosa Sand? h, What is the difference between a kick and a blowout? i. What is the difference between a dummy trip and a round tip? j. For what reason may gas be ignited in a flare pit? Choose from these words to complete the paragraph below: added, controlled, related, weighting, tilling, Ahcreasing, particle, column, ground. Pressures ... 10 subsurface gas, oil or water can be ... by ... the specific gravity of the ... fluid. This will therefore increase, the hydrostatic head of the drilling Quid ... A... material, usually batite, is to the drilling fluid at the mud to a certain .. Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION 4 report @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Anthony Parsons and David Slothrop. PARSONS: This is Anthony Parsons, ladies and gentlemep, reporting to you from Louisiana where the great gas gushegof 1977 blew out two months ago. Everything's under control now, but perhaps you can hear the work on the well that's going on behind me. Now, with me today, I'm very pleased to have Mr. David Slothrop of the Canpan Oil Company. How do you do, Mr. Slothrop. SLOTHROP: How do you do. PARSONS: Tell us in your own words, Mr. Slothrop, just what happened here on that night two months ago, and what's been happening since then SLOTHROP: Well, on that night back in August, we drilled into a zone of very great pressure at 21,345 feet. The gas and steam blew the BOP stack off, and the well blew out of control PARSONS: What did you do then? SLOTHROP: For six weeks we had a crew of blowout experts here, trying to cap the well. PARSONS: And how did they make out? SLOTHROP: They didn't succeed in capping it. The gas jes, was just too strong, They managed,to divert the gas to that open pit over there, and, um, they set it ablaze. PARSONS: What was the reason for setting it ablaze? SLOTHROP: To prevent an explosion, until We could divert the gas into a pipeline. If that gas had exploded, a lot of people ‘might have been killed. That's one reason why blowouts are so dangerous. PARSONS: And what happened after that? What happened then? 37 SLOTHROP: We managed to get the gas into 4 pipeline, but it was flowing at 140 million cubic feet a day. Then we had to control the rate of flow. PARSONS: Why didn't your company just shut it off? SLOTHROP: Because of the pressure. If we had tried to shut the gas off, it would have blown the control equipment out of the hole. PARSONS: So what did you do? SLOTHROP: We killed the well with drilling fluid. And when the flow of gas had been Stopped, we were able to fix, the propeg control equipment to the wellhead. PARSONS: And what have you been doing since you brought the well under control? : SLOTHROP: We've been getting ready to go on stream. PARSONS: And when do you think that will be? SLOTHROP; Around four months from now, maybe. PARSONS: And how much gas will the well Produce when it goes on stream? SLOTHROP: Oh, about 20 million cubic feet a day. 2. Answer these questions based on the tape, a. Why didn’t Mr. Slothrop’s company just shut the well off? b. What blew off? What blew out? ¢. What was the flow rate during the time that the well was wild? What will the flow ratc be when the well goes on stream? d. What are Mr. Slothrop’s men doing now? How long have they been doing When exactly did they start? ? af + past peek ¢. How did the blowout experts make out? How long did they try? Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE, © 1. Conditionals & Past Perfect Tense Notice this sentence from the tape. “If we had tried to shut the gas off, it would have blown the control equipment out of the hole. Example: (iff mud/ be heavier), the well mightn’t have blown out. => If the mud had been heavier, the well mighta’t have blown out. Do the following in the same way. a. (If/ George/ ask for permission, to smoke), Barry wouldn't have been so angry. b. (iff the crew/ make up the tools sooner), the company mightn't have lost so much rig time. c. They could have avoided the problem, (iff they follow the drilling superintendent's instructions). 4. The gas might easily have exploded (if/ they not divert it and set it ablaze). e. The well would not have blown out like that (iff they set up the BOP system Properly). Now answer these questions about the exercise you've just done. a. From the first sentence above, do you think that George did ot did not actually ask for permission to smoke? b. From the second sentence, did the company actually lose rig time? Did the crew make up the tools sooiter? ©. From third superintendent's instructions followed? the sentence, were the Was the problem actually avoided? Wwoulel » partet perpect 38 4. Did they divert the gas and set it ablaze? Did the gas explode? €. Did they set up the preventer system properly? Did the well blow out? 2. Too + adjective/ adverb In the examples, notice that the structure 100 + adjl adv always carries a negative meaning or idea, Examples: The gas jet was so strong that we ‘couldn't shut it off. => The gas jet was s00 strong for us to tum it of. ‘The fluid was so viscous that it wouldn't pour. => The fluid was f00 viscous to pour Re-write the following too + adjective I adverb. a. The reservoir pressure was so low that the oil wouldn't flow naturally. b. The fish was stuck,in the hole so tightly that we couldn't get it out c. He speaks so quickly that I can't understand a word, d. The mud is so light that it won't hold the cuttings in suspension. . The flare pit is so close to the rig that it isn't safe. using 3. Adjective/ adverb + enough ‘The weight of the mud column may not be (Section A) If the BOP rams cannot be closed quickly enough ... (Section A) Example: That tool is too hot to handle. (not cool enough) => That tool isn’t cool enough to handle. great enough Reewrite the following in the same way. a. The table's tuming 100 slowly. (not fast enough) b. The work wasn't too difficult. (easy enough) . The hole's too tight. (not loose enough) d. You're not too short for the job. (tall enough) ©. The mud’s too light to hold the cuttings. (not heavy enough) 4, Passive Voice & Past Perfect Do you remember this sentence from the tape? "When the flow of gas had been stopped, we were able to fix the propgr control equipment to the wellhead.’ Explanation: First, the flow of gas was stopped. When that had been done, we were able to fix the proper control equipment to the weithead. Example: First, somebody started up the mud circulation. After that had been done, the table was tumed again, => After the mud circulation fad been started up, the table was tured again Now join the fotlowing paits of sentences. a. First, somebody took the pressure, volume and temperatiire readings. When that had been done, the pumps were switched on. b. First, people prepared the well for production, When that had been done, it was brought on stream, ¢. First, people made up the connection. After that had been done, the string was run in again, d. First, somebody surveyed the borehole. When that had been done, drilling was continued normally. €. First, people carried out aerial and veys of the whole area. After that had been done, a suitable wellsite seismic was chosen. 5. Choose the right words. a. When a gas well blows (off/ out), the escaping gas (column/ jet) is (vertical/ horizontal). b. Specific gravity is the (related relatively/ relation) between the (weight/ density/ mass) of a (special/ certain) volume of fone substance and the (weight/ density/ mass) of (one/ other/ another) sul ¢ ©. (Weighting? Ground) materials are (weighted/ ground) to a certain particle size and are (adding/ added/ in addition) to the mud at the tanks. d. Bentonite (with/ from/ by) (itself/ himself) will not make a mud which is heavier than (803/ 823/ 832) grams per liter. ©, They (golf had got/ have been getting) ready to go on stream since the well (brought/ was brought/ is brought) under control. Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION II © 1, Listen to the conversation between Barry, Bob and Peter. BARRY: Okay, Bob. I think we can start now. Bos: Everything set, Barry? BARRY: We're ready to go. We're at logging depth, and Peter here says the mud’s in shape. PETER: Yup. The mud’s in real good shape. BoB: Great. Bul what about those tight spots wwe saw on the last trip? BARRY: Um, make a dummy tip through them, Bob. PETER: I think that would be a good idea. And when you get back to bottom, Bob, I'd like to see you circulate a couple of hours to clean the hole, BARRY: All right then, Bob? Dummy trip, and circulate a couple of hours. Then pull out. Okay, Barry. Tell the logging crew we'll be ready about three o'clock BARRY: Three o'clock. Right. I'l let them know. PETER: See you when the hole's clean. Bob. BOB: See you later. Peter, Bo) 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. Who is the mud engineer? Who's the toolpush. Who's the driller? In cach case, how can you tell? b. What about those tight spots? What does Barry want Bob todo about them? c. Peter would like to see Bob circulate a couple of hours. How can this help to clean the hole? d. Choose the right expression: The mud's in real good shape means (i) The vertical shape of the mud column is correct (ii) ‘The condition of the mud is very satisfactory (iii) The drilling fluid is in its proper position. e. Choose the right expression: We're ready to go. means (i) Everything is set for logging (ii) It’s time for us to leave (iii) ‘We're preparing to go off shift Section E WRITING PRACTICE Notice how this short paragraph about the Wilson Number Four well has been built up from the information in the table. ‘The producing zone of the Wilson Number Four well is at a depth of five thousand, five hundied and fifteen feet Fifteen days of rig time were required to 40 reach the well's total depth of five thousand, three hundred and thirty-two feet. For future wells, it has been estimated that fourteen ays of rig time will be required, wen | moovENG |g, | bays | roruKe Wilma Noa | S518 ome [is | Kayne? | 3359 es Bemie not | ac107 wow | 22 | pons Parr fas | a2 | ou tinetw# riaine | rare} an | a7 whiewot | or fur | an | 2a Write similar paragraphs for the other wells in the table. Unit 7 | Drives & Stimulation Section A READING COMPREHENSION Christmas wee Monval Controls ‘ Read the following passage. The only visible, part of a flowing well is the Christmas tree, which is the assembly, of valves and chokes at the production wellhead. The tree controls the rate of flow to the surface and directs the oil into flow lines. Yig these flow lines, the oil is directed into storage, tanks or into gatheriny Some Christmas trees have separate valves bolted together, some have all the valves let into one, block of steel (called ‘solid block’ trees), and others have a combination of the lines. two. The forces that push reservoir fluids upwards (o the tree are called “drives. These natural production mechanisms are relative to the three sources of potential energy in 4 ‘Solion gus deve a Gaep die A Water ve the reservoir. As we have already seen, these sources of energy are the three pressurized reservoir fluids: gas, oil, and water. When the well has been opened to the surface, there is a pressure drop in the vicinity of the well bore. This means, in the case of solution-gas drive, that gas which is dissolved in the oil begins to come out of solution and to expand. As the gas does so, it displaces the surrounding oil horizontally into the well. In the case of gas-cap drive, the expansion of the free gas displaces the oil downwards into the well. In water drive, the expansion of the aquifer water sweeps the oil out of the rock pores and upwards into the well After a well has come on stream, the production rate may not be high enough, A common cause of this is low permeability of the reservoir. To mais the production rate, the well will have to be stimulated, ‘There are many ways of stimulating a well, but the main ones are hydraulic fracturigg and acidization, Hydraulic fracturing is a method of breaking open cracks and fissures.in the pay zone around the borehole. The fracturing fluid, usually a gel, ix squeezed to the formation under a pressure which is high enough to break the formation down, When the pressure is released, however, the cracks must be kept open. For this reason propping agents are carried in the gel and are left behind to hold open the cracks and fissures. The most common propping agents are rounded sand grains, glass. beads, and walnut shells. Tubing — Mu casing ———_] Annus Pay ZONE Propping agents hol fissures open 42 Acidization can be used to stimulate reservoir rock which is soluble in acid. By dissolving the formation, the acid opens up and enlarges fissures in the rock around the borehole. In order to stimulate reservoirs consisting of hydrochloric acid (HCI) is generally used. Hydrofluoric acid (HF) is used to stimulate certain kinds of sandstone reservoirs. It is limestone and dolomite, also used to clean up pore spaces which have been blocked by drilling-fluid clay. Special Words and Expressions visible capable of being seen. valves A valve is a device which stops, starts, or regulates flow. chokes A choke is a device which controls flow pressure via along the path of; by way of. bolted together fastened together by means of bolts. potential energy the energy that a body has because of its position or the arrangement of its parts Fracturing thi freeing gens Packer Vi Bolts in the vicinity of in the area or region of; near to. 1 expand to increase in volume. Metals expand when they are heated. The ‘opposite of ‘expand’ is ‘contract’ displaces takes the place of; pushes out of place. stimulated To stimulate, something is to make its activity greater. hydraulic operated or effected by means of a liquid. gel a very heavy liquid suspension is squeezed to is forced into; is compressed into. propping agents materials which keep open, oF prop up, cracks and fis reservoir rock. iv soluble in can be dissolved in. acid a water-soluble compound which can es in react with a base to form a. salt containing hydrogen. Acids tum litmus paper red; bases tum litmus paper blue. ‘Comprehension a, By what route is oil directed into storage tanks? b. Define a solid-block tree. c. How can x liquid be tested to find out whether it's an acid or a base? (By...) d. Name three substances that are water- soluble, If the drive mechanism in a reservoir comes from the water zone, what is the water zone called? How does it Gperatg? * What is a €ombination tree made up of? (Some valves and others...) 43 &. As the gas does so..." (Section A) As the gas does war? hh, What is the difference between hydraulic fracturing and acidization? i, What are the two uses of hydrofluoric acid in well stimulation? i If propping agents aren't used in the fracturing gel, what will happen to the fissures in the vicinity of the borehole? True or False? Say whether the following are true or false. Correct the fase ones. a. The chemical symbol for hydrochloric acid is H,SO,. b. Natural drive mechanisms depend on reservoir fluids. ¢. In @ common garden hose, the device at the business end is valve. ¢ 4d, HCl is rarely used to. stimulate dolomite reservoirs. jy 4 ©. Archimedes’ Principle states that the upward force on a body in a liquid is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced. Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION I 9 J. Listen to the conversation between Fred, Dave and Steve. FRED: Right, then, Let's just go over the three diagrams again - and be sure we're clear about what these different traps indicate, DAVE: In relation to drive, Fred? FRED: Yeah, but, um, tie them in-a fittle with recovery, too. Dave: Okay. Go ahead, Fred PRED: Welll ake this one first. Steve? steve: Water drive. Good recovery, but the usual problems with entrained water. FREI DAVE: Dissolved-gas drive. Fairly slow recovery. FRED: Thanks Dave. Now what about this third one. Steve? STEVE: Just a second, It's a bit difficult to see. Sure. Gas-cap drive. FRED: And recovery? Dave? DAVE: The free gas cap here is a large one, so recovery would probably be very high. FRED: Good. Tomorrow we can have : Right. And this one. Dave? another look at - ‘STEVE: - Christmas trees, Fred? FRED: Right again, Steve. DAVE: Subsea or surface? FRED: Both. Dave. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a, What are the three men studying? What is Fred asking for? What job do you think Fred does? b. Choose the right expression; Tie stem in with recovery means (i) Join them to recovery (ii) Relate them to recovery (iii) Point to the diagrams about recovery. c. Which two types of trees does Dave mention? Where is each type used? d. What expression is used instead of ‘solution-gas drive"? e. Why does Steve hesitate over the third diagram? Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE @ 1. Adjectives from the Passive Example: Sand grains which have been rounded are a common propping agent. = Rounded sand’ grains are a common propping agent Do the following in the same way qasguci jae 44 Barite which has been ground is commonly used to weight drilling muds. b. Pore spaces that are blocked can be cleaned up by acidization. c. Gas which is dissolved in reservoir crude can be an important production mechanism. 4. tems of equipment that have been lost in the hole must be fished out, , Reservoirs which are fractured have the highest permeabilities. 2. Nouns from Verbs stimulate — stimulation recover — recovery displace — displacement Now put the verbs in brackets into their noun forms. a. (Produce) rates can be increased by (stimulate). b. Gases can be converted to liquids by (pressurize) c. The (expand) of free gas displaces the oil downwards. d. Some trees are a (combine) of valves bolted together and ones let into a solid block of steel. €. (Acidize) is used to enlarge the fissures in the rock around the borehole. f. The diagram shows the (distribute) of water and hydrocarbons in a typical trap. g. The (magnify) of the sample in this picture is x20. h, Viscosity describes the (resist) of a fluid to flow. is On page 42 there is a (describe) of hydraulic fracturing, Pin j. Hydrocarbon (accumulate) are found only in porous or fractured (form). 3. Phrasal Verbs Com binathiny, a Partin, stand back blow out make up of Stands are stood back on the tig floor. (Unit 2) The well blew cut on that night back in August. (Unit 6) The string is made up of number of singles. (Unit 1) Choose from these phrasal verbs to complete the sentences below: latch on to, go over, find out, wear out, clean up, run back in. a. The bottom-hole assembly can be used ... the well b. The bit ... so it was changed c. Afier they had changed the bit, they ... gain. d. Quick, .. those collars! €. If you want ... what goes where, ask the superintendent, f. Let's just... the three diagrams once more. 4. By + Gerund Notice that this structure can be used to describe how or by war method something ccan be done ‘By dissolving the formation, the acid opens up and enlarges fissures in the rock around the borehole.’ (Section A1) Example: How can a liquid be tested to find out whether it's an acid or a base? (wet) = By wetting a piece of litmus paper in it. Answer these questions using the structure by + gerund. a. How can a dolomite stimulated? (pump) ». By what method would you try to recover lost roller cone? (latch on to) ¢. How do walnut shells help to stimulate reservoir be 45 flow? (prop up) d. By what method are borehole surveys made? (log) ¢. How is solution gas first treated? (separate) f. How can the specific gravity of a drilling fluid be increased? (weight) & In the case of a gas-well blowout, how can an explosion be prevented? (divert/ and set ablaze) h. How is square measurement calculated? (multiply) |. By what method are cores taken? (run) j. How do the drawworks rotate the bit? (wm) 5. Adverbs of Degree “AL that depth, pressures are extremely high | (Unit 6) “The section (Unit 4) has been greatly magnified. Look back at Exercise 3, page 27; then do the exercise below. a. Reservoir permeabilities (considerably or slightly?) b. Hydraulic-fracturing pressures are high. {not very or extremely?) cc, Some natural gases are dry: that is. they consist only of methane, (relatively or absolutely?) . The rams must be closed to prevent the well from blowing out. (too quickly or quickly enough?) e. In dissolved-gas dri slow. (extremely or faitly?) differ. , tecovery is 6. Choose the right words. a. (In case aff In the case of) solution-gas drive, gas which is dissolved in the oil (contracts? expands) and so (brushes/ sweeps) the oil towards the well. b. Trees which have all (there/ theit/ they're) valves let (in/ tof into) a single block of steel are called (block solid trees/ solid block trees/ trees solid block). ¢. Potential energy is the energy that a (body/ mass) has because of (it's/ its) (place/ position) or the arrangement of (it's its) (parts/ pieces/ items). dA fracturing fluid is a (glue/ gel) which is squeezed to a formation (under/ with/ by) a pressure (low enough high enough 100 high) to break the formation (down/ up/ oud). e. When a well (came/ has come) on (stream/ —flow/ production), the production rate (will not be/ may not be/ cannot be) high enough, and it will (sof therefore) (must be/ have to be) stimulated by fracturing or acidization. Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION IL @ I. Listen to the discussion between Mr. Armstrong and his students. ovwden 46 ARMSTRONG: And that, gentlemen, is all I have to say today on hydraulic fracturing. Any questions? Yes? voice 1: What is the hydrofraccing pressure in relation to overburden pressure? ARMSTRONG: It varies from field to field, of course, as I've indicated. But it's usually, ‘oh, between 65 and 85 per cent of the overburden pressure. VOICE |: Thank you, Mr. Armstrong. ARMSTRONG: Any other questions? One cover there? voice 2: Yes. You've, um, mentioned propping agents such as sand, glass beads and walnut shells. 1_was just ‘wondering which are used where ARMSTRONG: That depends entirely on the nature of the formation. T'll be discussing that in a later lecture. Okay? VOICE 2; Sure, fine. Thanks. ARMSTRONG: Now, then. Anything else? VOICE 3: Yes. Next week's lecture? ARMSTRONG: T was just coming to that Acidization, gentlemen. And on that exciting thought, thank you for your attention 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. Where is this discussion taking place? How can you tell?” b. What answer does Mr. Armstrong give to the question 'Which are used where?"? ¢. Which other word is used for ‘hydraulic fracturing’? How do you think the word is written? 4. What is meant by ‘overburden pressure’? What is the relation of fracturing pressure to overburden pressure? ©. To what degree does the choice of propping agent depend on the nature of the formation? £, When does Armstrong intend to discuss acidization? g. When will he be discussing propping agents? Section E WRITING PRACTICE Study this description of the fireboat Forties Kiwi; then write similar paragraphs for the other fireboats in the table. ‘The fireboat Forties Kiwi, operated by BP, has been assigned to the Forties field. The boat will be working routinely on maintenance, storage, and accommodation. In case of fire, the Forties Kiwi will be capable of delivering fifteen thousand gallons of water per minute. evar [rwcesrvew [ave] ven [ONO fa Roses Ri [T7O Pories linac orgs! fer |rigcrier Jioam erie |sandoysuppty het! [Capstongs —f20.K |Beert ——_jsintenances on ising Pris |seavny fang fekotise —fraimenence ea iacpecton! work snot Jconnss |r Regus fon |Viking —frsitenance option tur tyhlving appoct 47 19 Avtol defile 48 Unit 8 Directional Wells Section A READING COMPREHENSION Production sfatform Oleetionat welt ee Flow ‘A well may also have to be deviated if its direct vertical progress is blocked; eg.. by fish which cannot be recovered. In_a case such as this, the fish will first be cemented Yn atare CH o> ey? exemple gata, Read the following passage. It is often undesirable or impossible to drill all of a hole vertically to TD. For environmental reasons, for example, it may be necessary fo spud in a well some distance away from the target, as in the diagram above. A borehole such as this drilled straight down to a certain depth and is then deviated away from the vertical in the direction of the target. over. Then, by directional drilling, the fish will be sidetracked and the new section of hole will be continued parallel to the original. At the kick-off point, the hole which is drilled through the casing is referred to asthe ‘window, Directional drilling is essential in deep offshore operations such as those in the Notth Sea. If each well in an offshore field had its own production platform, the oil and/or gas would be much too expensive to produce commercially. In 1979, the total cost of one production platform was about two hundred million pounds sterling. The cost of draining a whole offshore field can tun into billions of pounds. By means of Mud stream Bent sub ——/ ‘Turbodrill _Top sub Rotors Bit sub- wv Annutus f Diamond <> drill bit 49 directional drilling, twenty-five or thirty wells can be sunk from a single location. Offshore rigs are of two general types: fixed and floating. On fixed rigs, in fairly shallow water, the tig floor i the hole by a rigid conductor pipe. On floating rigs, in relatively deep water, the rig floor and the hole are connected by a flexible riser pipe. When kicking off, the ‘sembly usually consists of a turbodrill and a bgpt-sub. The angle is carefully built up by about 1" to 2" for every 100 metres of hole. During build-up, to make sure that the angle and direction are correct, the hole is egulatly surveyed. An inclinometer and a camera are run in, through the drill pipe, to take the required measurements and recordings. For this reason, the collars above the bent sub are non-magnetic. The connected to bottom-hole survey fools are run on a wire line. Special Words and Expressions undesirable not what is desirable. environmental wanted; not conceming all of the surroundings (land, se animals that live in environment, generally speaking, is the World we live in. to spud in to drill the first few feet of a new hole, is then deviated is then moved from the original course or path. directional drilling controlled drilling at an angle from the vertical. will be sidetracked will be by-passed; will be drilled around instead of through. parallel Parallel lines extend in the same direction, are always the same distance from each other. and do not meet. Become ordineny dil collars coum kick-off point the point at directional well is started or, as oilmen say, is ‘kicked off. is referred to us is known as; is called. essential absolutely necessary. commercially so that it can be sold at a profit draining recovering as much as possible of the oil. billions Oilmen have agreed that ‘billion’ will have the American meaning; ie., 10°. rigid not being able 10 bend easily. The opposite of ‘rigid’ is ‘flexible’. inctinometer A drillers inclinometer tells him the angle of the hole and the direction in which the hole is heading non-magnetic not behaving like a magnet. which a \ wharrod Bar magnet Fiala of magneui force Comprehension a, Why are risers flexible? b. A hole is built up at {'/, degrees for every 100 meters of hole. What is the angle of the hole at 1200 meters from kick-off? ¢. Give three environmental reasons for deviating a hole. 4. 10° is read as fen to the fifth or ten to the power of five. Read the following and say what number each refers to: 10%, 10°, 10", 10°, 10". 10", , When downhole instruments are run, why affect inCdrumiet acodtiry 8 tha Wh is aotwted by duvboda tt, nat bg the shop a must the drill collars be non-magnetic? £, Why doesn't each deep offshore well have its own production platform? &: Drilling crews have to know how to take compass readings. Why? hh, What is the difference between a sleeve joint and a ball joint? i. During turbodrilling, the string doesa't usually turn. Why not? j. Explain why it is essential for oilmen to agree on the meaning of the word ‘billion’. Choose from these words to complete the paragraph below: horizontally, vertically, busy, technique, location, depth, offshore, develop, copdlitions, relatively, required, desirable, target, varjous. For ... reasons, it is not always possible to drill... into an oil or a gas reservoir. The ~» bottom of the hole may be directly under a town, just off a popular beach, or under a - lake or river. In order to drill wells under these ... ditectional drilling is needed. Using this. itis possible to direct the hole into a oo small ... up to 7000 ft. away :.. at a %. of 10.000 fi, This method is also used to 2. a field from an *. multi elt platform, where itis ... fo drill several wells from one’. Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION I © 1, Listen to the conversation between Keith Washington and Mr. Williams. GIRL: Good Information Service. KEITH: Good afiernoon. My name's Keith Washington. 'm- GiRL: Would you mind spelling that, please? kertH: Certainly. (Spells) W- GIRL: Can I help you, Mr. Washington? afternoon, Petroleum h-in-g-ton KEITH: Thank you, yes. I'm calling from the BBC. We're preparing a broadcast on offshore drilling - GIRL: -offshore drilling? I'l put you through to Mr. Williams. I'm sure he'll be able to help you. Kerri: Thank you. GIRL: One moment, please. WILLIAMS: Williams here, GIRL: T have a call for you, Mr. Williams, from a Mr. Keith Washington, from the BBC. He'd like some information about offshore drilling WILLIAMS: Thank you. Put Mr. Washington through, please. GIRL: You're through to Mr. Williams now. Go ahead, please. eITH: Mr. Williams? WILLIAMS: Hello, Mr. Washington. Can T help you? T understand you're preparing something on offshore drilling KEITH: We are, yes. In fact we're almost ready. I'd just like to make sure that our information is correct. WILLIAMS: What would you like to know? KEITH: First of all, Mr. Williams, um, about conductor pipes and riser pipes with offshore rigs. WILLIAMS: Yes? KEITH: Would we be right in’saying that a conductor pipe connects a borehole to a fixed rig, and that a riser pipe connects a borehole to 2 floating rig? WILLIAMS: That's right. Mr. Washington. Conductor pipes to fixed rigs, pipes to floating rigs KEITH: And would we be right in saying that the wellhead and BOP stack are connected to the top of the conductor pipe? That they're above the water, and just below the platform? and riser 31 WILLIAMS: That's the idea, Mr. Washington. KEITH: But when a hole is drilled from a floating platform, the wellhead and BOP ‘stack are down on the sea bed. Is that it? WILLIAMS: Correct, Mr. Washington. KEITH: And so basically, then, the only difference between drilling a hole onshore and drilling a hole offshore um, the method of connecting the well to the tig. WILLIAMS: Basically. yes. The difference is in the way that the well and the rig are connected. KelTH: Thank you very much, Mr. Williams, you've been a great help. WILLIAMS: My pleasure, Mr. Washington. Please call anytime. kerma: Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Williams. WILLIAMS: Good afternoon. w Now do this exercise based on the tape. . Would we be right in saying that a conductor pipe connects a borehole to a floating rig, whereas a riser connects a borehole to a fixed rig? If not, why not? b, Would we be right in saying that the wellhead and BOP stack are connected to the top of the riser? If not, why not? c. What's the basic difference between drilling a well onshore and drilling one offshore? d. Choose the right expression: Put Mr Washington through means (i) Show him how to get here (ii) Connect his call to my phone (iii) Tell him to come through . What is the BBC preparing? What Keith sure about? n't Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE 1. Passive Voice ‘athe fish will first be cemented over.’ (Section A) "Then, by directional drilling, the fish will be sidetracked and the new section of hole will be continued parallel to the original. (Section A) In the paragraph below, put the verbs in brackets into the same passive form Spudding in Usually the hole (spud in) with a 24-inch diameter rock bit, First, the mud pumps (star up) and the table (rotate). Next, the bit (lower) by the driller to the bottom of the conductor pipe and drilling (stan). Downward progress (make) until the top of the kelly has reached the table. Then the pumps (stop) and the bit (pull out). When that has been done, a drill collar (connect) into the bottom of the kelly and the tool-box joint of the bit 2. Prefixes submersible —~ semi-submersible write — rewrite So far in this book, we have also used these prefixes: fm-, non, multi-, dis-, pps Eee ea haces wider-, un-, hydro" Add suitable prefixes 10 the following words to complete the sentences below: possible, electric, magnetic, porous, well, place, permeable, serew, ground. a It is ... to take clear pictures ... without using ... drill collars. b. After the bit has been ..., the first drill collar can be connected, c. Cap rock must be ... and fluids, 4. Offshore deepwater fields commercial. to reservoir platforms can make 52 e. ... power is energy which is generated from the movement of water. f, The expansion of dissolved gas, in solution-gas drive, the well bore. into What two meanings can the prefix hydro have? Explain what the following mean: mictofossil, ‘microporous rock, multidirectional joint, subsea tree, non- return valve. 3. Choose the right words. a. Deviated wells are (desirable / essential) in (deep / shallow) offshore operations, b. (Iva case /In case / In case of) such (50 / like / as) this, the fish will (first / then / next) be cemented over. ¢. Oilmen have agreed that (‘million’ / ‘villion’) will have the (American / British) meaning; (eg. / ete. /ie.), 10°. 4. A borehole such as this is (drilled / directed / deviated) straight down to a (certain / special) (deep / depth) and is first / next / then) (diverted / deviated) away from the (horizontal / vertical) in the direction of the (aim / goal / target). €. The (necessary / desirable / required) bottom of the hole (will / can / may) be directed under a busy or protected area Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION II 9 1. Listen to the conversation between Alec and Jim, voice: . Tour change. Tour change. ALEC: Tour change. Thank God for that. aim: Yeah, I'm tired. Really tired. ALEC: Me too. iM: Come on, Alec. Let's get something to eat ALEC: Aye, good idea, Jim. I could at a horse. JIM: Right. And then a nice hot shower, and bed, and sleep. ALEC: Great, Eat, wash, and sweet dreams. (They leave the derrick) JIM: That chicken was great ALEC: And I thought 1 was hungry. You ate ‘two chickens 41M: Shut up. Alec. I want to get some sleep. ALEC: Do you think that this tour will kick off? Jim: No way. They're not even ready to wireline yet. ALEC: So it will be kick-off on our tour, then, JIM: Yeah, Now let me get some sleep. ALEC: Sweet dreams, fim siM: Shut up. Alec. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a, What job do you think Alec and Jim do? What makes you think so? b. Drilling crews often use another word for ‘shift. What's the word they use? c. What did Alec say he could eat? What 53 id he actually eat? d. What does Jim want to do before he goes to bed? ¢. How will the survey instruments be run + in? £, Choose the right expression; No way means (i) Certainly not (ii) In any direction (iii) Be quiet. . Ate Alec and Jim good friends? How can you tell? h. Jim twice tells Alec to shut up. What's the reason the first time? The second time? Section E WRITING PRACTICE When you have studied the following paragraph, use the table to write similar paragraphs about the other offshore rigs. The jack-up rig Scarabeo 2, operated by Agip and located off Italy, is presently drilling the Nada | well. The hole, which lies at a depth of forty metres, was spudded in on September 7th, 1978. ‘OPERATOR RIG yee | Location | Howe | spuppate | perm Agip Scarabeo2 [JU Italy Nada 79.18 40m NAM Britannia | JU North Sea | L2/6 12.11.78 43m Shell Penrod 70 | SS Tunisia Hopeful 3.12.78 | 360m Elf Petrel Ds North Sea} Brest 8.10.78 | 115m Mobit Discoverer} DS Egypt Timsah 1.1.79 | 206m Chevron [Dolphin | SS Spain Blanco 204.78 | 133m Unit 9 Jobs on the Rig Section A READING COMPREHENSION Read the following passage. Drilling is one of those jobs where a man has to work his way up. Even if aman has a university or a polytechnic education, most oil companies will want him to get rig experience by working on the floor with the rotary ctew for a certain period. A boll weevil, even if he is well-educated, can be a highly dangerous person around the rotary table, He may be a danger to himself (by breaking a leg in the mousehole, for example), and he may be a huzard to the other members of the crew. What might happen, for instance, if he opened the wrong valve ot misunderstood an urgent instruc tion? ‘On some rigs, the first step up the ladder is the job of roustabout. A roustabout does semi-skilled labour such as scraping rust, hosing down, painting, carrying cans of dope, unloading materials and supplies, ete Hingse Jaw ‘Surpenion un -| Teeth Sips hod pipe or casing in rsa "abs nen comeing of” ‘Secogmectng fm! Miged ton. BZ nee Tongs te mating uo Oesing 0 Having worked for a time as @ roustabout, a man might be ready for the job of roughneck. Among a roughneck's 34 duties are such things 2s operating the cathead, handling the slips and tongs, standing pipe back in the derrick, assisting in mixing the slusit, and so on. Like a roustabout, a roughneck may have to be told what to do. In general, though, roughnecks know their job well enough to get on with it for the minimum number of spoken instructions. It’s noisy around the kelly bushing, and events frequently take place to0 fast for verbal orders to be given. Much of the time, roughnecks are expected to know automatically what must be done ox cies Givatee oot ‘bbe Fourie He Next, between the positions of, roughneck and driller, is the job of derrickman. The derrickman works from about 60 ft. to 90 ft. above the rig floor, near the top of the derrick, where he at- taches or detaches the elevators when pipe or casing is run into or pulled out of the hole. The height at which he works depends on the length of the sections of pipe, casing or tubing that have to be handled. These may be in doubles, thribbles, or fourbles. ‘The derrickman also cleans, oils, greases, inspects and repairs the pulley blocks and cables which are used to raise and lower sections of pipe and casing. When he isn't busy on his platform up in the derrick, the detrickman usually has special responsibility for the slush pumps and 11, syonsabi ori Aalhn Vaan i. Why must dope be viscous? j.'s the first step up the ladder..." (Section A) What ladder? ‘True or False? a, Macaroni is tubing of OD less than about 2h in. b. A fourble is a section of casing, pipe or tubing, screwed, together. ¢. The central hole in the kelly bushing is squat. 4. If pipe threads aren't properly doped the connections will stick. e. If a crew is working an 8-hour tour and for some reason they have to work 10'/, hours, they will later be paid 2'/, hours’ overtime. consisting of four singles Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION I @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Mac and Tan. ac: I'm going, Ian. I've decided, and that's that. JAN: Ach, Mac, you're crazy. The rigs are no good, not for a roustabout. Don't go. Change your mind, man. MAC: The money's good, Ian. You must admit the money's good. IAN: Och aye, the money's all right, with overtime and all that. But you don't know what its like to be a roustabout out there. ‘You just don't know, Mae. MAC: Okay, [an, you tell me what it’s like to be a roustabout, and I'l still tell you the money's bloody good IAN: Sure, you'll come back from a spell offshore with 500 quid in the bank, But what's 500 quid if you slip on a greasy 56 deck and land in the drink? You'll not swim in 40-foot waves in winter, I'l tell ‘you that, Mac: Well, if that’s all. Ill wear a bloody lifejacket, Tan lan: Lifejacket. Look, Mac, how would you like 10 hose down the rig sides and equipment for six hours at a stretch? MAC: Six hours? TAN: Aye. And scraping rust. You'll scrape rust all day long. And day after day, at that. And that's no joke MAC: H'mm. Aye. I suppose not. TAN: And you'll paint all tour tong, too. And if there's no real work, you'll make work. You'll paint a pipe white one day, and if there's no work the next day you'll paint the same bloody pipe blue. MAC: Now, you're not serious, Tan. lan: Oh I'm serious, Mac. I'm serious, all right. Why do you think I quit? Mac: Why did you quit? tan: Am I not telling you? Because it's monotonous, Mac, that's why. MAC: Routine? IAN: Aye, routine. That's the word, Scrape and paint and hose down, Hose down and scrape and paint Mac: I thought it might be a bit more resting than that. IAN: Well, it isn’t. Change your mind, Mac MAC: I'l think about it, Lan. Fl think about it. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape a, Choose the right expression: Land in she drink means (i) Drink too much (ii) Fall into the water (iii) Jump into the water. b, Choose the right expression: For sir hows ata siretch means (i) For six hours every tour (ii) For six hours out of twelve (ili) For six hours without stopping c. How much is one pound sterling in your ‘own currency? In your own currency, how much is 500 quid? d. Tan doesn't work as a roustabout anymore. He quit. Why? ¢. Mac says that 'the money's bloody good’ for offshore workers. Later, he says that hell ‘wear a bloody lifejacket. What's the function of ‘bloody’ in these expressions? A word of similar meaning is‘damn’. Do you know any others? f. Why might a roustabout paint a pipe blue today if he painted it white yesterday? g. Offshore crews generally work two weeks on and then take two weeks off. How many days are there in a spell offshore? Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE @ 1. Passive Voice "a roughneck may have to be told what to do.’ (Section A) ‘A well may also have to be deviated .. (Unit 8, Section A) Put the verbs in brackets into the same passive form. a. The hole (may have to abandon) if these problems aren't solved soon, b. Before kick-off, the abandoned section (will have to plug off). . If the junk can't be recovered or pushed into the side of the hole, it (will have to by-pass). 4. This job's urgent. It (wi immediately. ©. Gas for which there is no convenient market (may have to flare) have to do) 37 © 2. Having + past participle ‘Having worked for a time as a roustabout, a man might be ready for the job of roughneck.’ (Section A) The same idea can be expressed in this longer way: After he has worked for a time as a roustabout, a man might be ready for the job of roughneck. Now use having + past participle to express the following ina shorter way. a. Now that they have moved their engine outside of the hazardous area, the ne crew is ready to start. (Having moved ...) b. After they had corrected the angle, they kicked the hole off. c. When he had made sure that the tools were properly assembled, the toolpush gave the order to run in. 4. When he had listened to Ian's story, Mae changed his mind. e, Because of the fact that he has actually worked on an offshore sig, fan knows very well what it's like to be a roustabout in the North Sea. © 3. Measurements The petroleum industry in the UK changed to the metric (S1)* system of measurement in 1975. This change, however, has not been a complete one. In most countries of the world, pipes. bits, threaded connections etc. are manufactured to Petroleum Institute (API) standards. For this reason and others (eg. API gravity), workers in the oil business have to be familiar with American systems of, measurement. American ‘ST = Systtmns Intemational dUnités. There is ao agreement yet on ihe English spelling of the basic units, and So in this book Bor forms are used. i., gram/gramme, meter/mewe, liter fitre, inch or inches foot or feet Write figures for the following. a, Seven and three-quarter inch bit. b. Two and seven-cighths inch OD pipe. ¢. Three thirty-foot sections of drill pipe. 4. Eight and 2 half inch diameter hole, ©. Twelve hundred foot length of half inch wire £, Hundred and forty-five foot derrick. B. Thirty-seven and a half inch rotary table hole. hh, One and three-quarter inch wire rope. i. Eighteen and five-eighths inch OD surface casing, j. Ten and three-quarter inch casing, k. Nine and five- ceasing string. I. One sixteenth inch OD tube. m. Two and a half inch square drive tool. n. Sixteen and three-quarter inch flexible joint ©. Thirteen and three-eighths inch casing shoe. ths inch intermediate 4. Choose the right words. a. A tongman is a (roughneck/ roustabout) who (attaches/ handles/ detaches) the tongs (above/ in/ below) the rotary table. b. Slips are (iron/ steel) wedges fitted with (teeth/ points). The slips are dropped into the (master/ mister) bushings in the rotary table to (join/ secure) drill pipe or casing in the table when making up or breaking (in/ off/ out) ¢. Dope is a (lubricate/ lubricant), It's a medium thick (oil/ grease/ greasy oily) which is used on pipe and casing threads when (making/ breaking) (in/ off/ upf ow). 4. The (toolpusher/ driller) is responsible 58 (for/ to) the drilling superintendent (For/ to) all rig operations and (for/ to) (making/ make) sure that all (necessary/ essential) tools, equipment, services and materials are available as required. ¢. The job of a reservoir engineer is to get (mninimum/ recovery at (minimum/ maximum) cost to the company. maximum) Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION 11 @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Martin and Paul, MARTIN: I say, Paul. PAUL: Yes? MARTIN: Let's have a look at stand 34. PAUL: What's over here, Martin? MARTIN: Subsca Christmas trees. Want to see? PAUL: Why not. They'll be worth looking at MARTIN: Let's go over then. PAUL: Right, Stand 34, Come on, there itis. (They go over to stand 34) MARTIN: Interesting, Paul? Paul: Yes, very, MARTIN: Diverless, too. PAUL: That's an important feature. MARTIN: I'll be happier, though, when we all Bo solid block PAUL: Me too. MARTIN: Well then, seen enough? PAUL: Enough for one day. MARTIN: How about a cup of coffee? PAUL: Lead the way, Martin, 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. What do you think Martin and Paul are doing? Where are they? What makes you think so? What's stand 347 b, The subsea trees on stand 34 don't requite divers to install them. Why is this an important feature? «c. Choose the right expression: When we all go solid block means ()) When we all have a look at trees such as these (ii) When we all start using trees such as these (iii) When we all build solid block trees such as these d. Seen enough? means Have you seen enough? Make complete sentences for these short expressions: Broken it out? Decided yet?, Got it ready?, Finished so soon?, Understood? e, Who will arrive at the coffee bar first? Why? Section E WRITING PRACTICE Notice how the following paragraph has been built up from information contained in this Unit. The toolpush is responsible to. the drilling superintendent. He is in charge of the day-to-day running of rig operations, and must make sure that all necessary tools, equipment cic. are available as required. ‘The toolpush is a highly-skilled person with considerable rig experience. Now write similar paragraphs to describe the jobs of driller, derrickman, roustabout, tongman. 59 4.4 Unit 10 Gathering Centres Section A READING COMPREHENSION Read the following passage. After the crude has been brought to the surface, the next step is to process it into the form in which it will be sent on to the refinery. Through the flowlines, production from the various wellheads in the field is directed to the gathering centre. Offshore, for reasons of space and cost, the gathering centre is the production platform itself. At the gathering centre, the oil is tgaied to bring it up to pipeline and refinery specification. Water and dissolved salts can pcSidiaysly couzade chokes, valves and pipe walls, and must therefore be removed from the crude before it is transported. Dehydration and desalination can be lished by electrical precipluatianf heating, and washing with fresh water. Reservoir crude also has to be treated to separate associated gas. Separation of the gas may be a single-stage or a multi-stage operation, depending on the gasfoif ratio. In single-stage paration, only one oil-gas separator is used, Separators can be vertical, inclined, or horizontal. Natural gas may also require treatment at ly if it the gathering centre, par lacned olga separator onentat 7 Inet Ppe set yon ange” (gv er Ihe alla soring in Core ede 60, contains water vapour, When a high- pressure gas is expanded to a lower temperature, considerable cooling takes place. Ifthe gas contains water vapour, this formation of Iydrates, and these may plug chokes, valves and pipelines. The gas is dehydrated in a large steel v8S9/ known as a ‘scrubber’, in which the water is removed by the anbithiig action of glycol, Natural gas frequently contains considerable amounts of the cggrosive and highly roxic acid gas 1,8 (hydrogen sulphide), and treatment must be cooling can cause the Ge-ted ercarections! PRovucr Pcie O18 dated gas free ‘ead or previous saper itr available for this ay well as for water vapour. ‘Trunk Fines connect the gathering centre to the refinery or tanker teeming), Many kilometres of large-diameter pipeline (eg., 26" or 32" OD) may be reffiised. Problems inside the lines must be prevented, or quickly corrected when they gccut. The devices which test, log, clean and unblock oil pipelines are known as 'pigs'. Each type of pig is usually referred to by a special name. One type of pig. for example, is known as a ‘rabbit’. In product pipelines, pigs can be used to separate two or more different oil products which are being sent at the same time through a single line. Special Words and Expressions refinery the buildings and equipment for making crude oil into pure products. Crude is refined into gasoline, diese! cil, ete, specifications Before a crude can be piped from the gathering centre, it must meet certain requirements concerning water content, salt content, etc. These are the specifications. corrode wear away or eat away by chemical action ‘ dehydration process of removing water from. desalination process. of removing salts from. precipitation separation of a substance from solution or suspension by falling out. gas/oil ratio Also written GOR, this is the proportion of dissolved gas to ende. The ratio 10:1 = ten parts of one to one part of another inclined a an angle from the vertical or horizontal. Do you remember the word 61 “inclinometer, from Unit 82 vapour A vapour is a gas which can be liquefied (tured into a liquid) by pressure alone. If a gas is above a certain temperature, it cannot be liquefied by pressure alone. ‘The temperature above which a gas cannot be liquefied by pressure alone is referred to as that gas's ‘critical temperature’. hydrates To oilmen, hydrates are snow-like compounds of methane and water. Chemically speaking, however, a hydrate is any compound formed by the union of water with some other substance. may plug may block up. vessel an object designed to contain something. Barrels, separators, storage tanks etc. are all vessels, absorbing A sponge absorbs water ghcol a thick liquid alcohol; eg., ethylene glycol. HOCH,CH,OH. oN 2 \ toxic poisonous. The international warming for toxic substances und other dangers to skull and crossbones. as well as and also, life is Comprehension a, What is the reason for the similarity between the ‘inclined’ and ‘inclinometer'? words b. Look at the drawings of pipeline pigs and say which one would be most suitable for scrapi ions. Give your reasons. c. What powers a pig through a pipe? d. How can water vapour in natural gas be rch Fesponsible for plugged chokes and valves? €. How dees glycol dehydrate gas? £, Why is it necessary to desalt crude? . The critical temperature of a gas is -4°C (minus four degrees Centigrade). At - 6°C, what must be done to the gas vapour in order to liquefy it? h. Suppose you were responsible for several vessels full of toxic chemicals. How could you warm others to treat them carefully and safely? i, Express these ratios us fractions: 3:4, 1:7, 7:28, 5:14. J. What's the simplest way of separating associated gas? Choose from the following to complete the paragraph below: content, corrosion, processes, gathering Scentre, produced, formatica, jhaving, “specifications, epeparation, relttion, minimum, treated reached the surface, the ... fluids must .. to separate the oil, gas, and water. The processes at the ... are similar in many ways to those which are used in the refinery. In .. to water in crude oil, pipeline ‘and refinery ... are particularly concerned with the salt... so that .. can be kept to a. It is therefore frequently necessary to use expensive and complicated water. be to remove « Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION 1 © 1. Listen to the conversation between Frank and Jack. FRANK: Hi, Jack. JACK: Hello Frank. FRANK: Is that the changeover report you've got there? 62 Jack: Yup. Here. I's all yours. FRANK: Thanks. How's she going? JACK: Piece of cake. FRANK: I sce you were an operator short. JACK: Yes. McDougall. Nothing serious. Headache or something. He'll be fine for next shift FRANK: Right. Now then, Separators? JACK: One and two on line. Number three on standby. Everything's A-OK, Frank, it's all on the report FRANK: What about the chopper? JACK: We're still W.O.W FRANK: We need those scrubber spares. JACK: Can't do anything until the weather clears. FRANK: No, but I'l be glad to see those spares soon. Anyway, thanks, Jack. I'l take over now. You get some rest JACK: See you later. FRANK: See you. Hey, Chris! Can I see you a moment? Curis: Coming right over. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. Are Frank and Jack operators or supervisors? How can you tell? And what about Chris's job? How do you know? b. Choose the right expression: How's she going? means (i) How's the job going? ) How's your wife? (iii) How's the girl going? c. Choose the right expression: Piece of cake refers to (i) Something to eat (ii) A sweet gitl (ili) An easy job. 4. Choose the right expression: On fine means (i) In a row Gi) Operating (iti) In the pipe. €. Separator No. 3 is on standby. What's it on standby for? £. Did Jack have a complete crew? If not, why not? 8. W.O.W. stands for 'waiting on weather. What is the weather preventing from getting out to the platform? What will it be carrying when it comes? Why? Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE 1, Preposition + which Examples: The next step is to process the crude into a certain form. fr this form, it will be sent on to the refinery. = The next step is to process the crude into the form in which it will be sent on to the refinery. (Section A) A certain temperature is referred to as a 88's ‘critical temperature’. Above this, a gas cannot be liquefied by pressure alone. => The temperature above which a gas cannot be Liquefied by pressure alone is, referred to as that gas's temperature’. (See explanation of, ‘vapour') ‘critical Now use the structure preposition + which to join the following pairs of sentences. a. The scrubber is a certain vessel, In this vessel, gas is dehydrated by the absorbing action of glycol b. Pigging is a certain operation. By this operation, pipelines are tested, logged, cleaned and unblocked c. The derrickman works at a certain height. ‘The height depends on the length of the pipe sections that have to be handled. 4. Dope is a certain medium-thick grease. With this grease, pipe and casing threads are lubricated ©. A product pipeline is a certain pipeline Through it refined oit products are sent © 2. Passive Voice pigs can be used to separate two or more different oil products which are being sent .~! (Section A) Example: Separator No. 2 is off line at the moment because it (repair) = Separator No. 2 because it is being repaired. off line at the moment Put the verbs in brackets into the same passive form, a. The hole (build up) at three degrees per hundred metres. b. Two new wells (drill) at present by Chevron on the Ninian field of the North Sea c. The test results (exam will soon be available. 4. All gas to the St. Fergus. processing terminal (handle) by pipeline No. 2 while maintenance work (carry out) on pipeline No. L ©. The fisst of two parallel 42-inch, 320-km pipelines (instal) in Egypt for the Sucz- Mediterranean oil pipeline of the Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company. ) and a report 3. Prefixes Compare these prefixes to those in Exercise 2, Unit 8: de-, mono-, multi-, un, re-, semi-, poly-, mini-, none Now add suitable prefixes to the following words to complete the sentences. belo stage, subs, sulphide, solids, corroding, manned. a. A crude must be... in order to protect chokes. and pipelines from corrosion. It, directional, set, valves b. Separation can be single-stage or... . © A. contains two or more atoms of sulphur in the molecule. 4d... are small undersea craft, essential for offshore operations. Many are the enter the pipe in one position only. f. Stainless steel is ... in salt water. g. When the pumps are started up again, don't forget to ... the safety switches. h. Crudes range from extremely light, straw-coloured liquids to very heavy Explain what the following mean: mini-bit, refaced teeth, a redrill, multi-purpose tool, nonrotating valve, mud degasser, rewiring, insufficient pressure, sub-base support, automatic shutdown, autolocking connector, multifunction support vessel (m.s.v.), non- slip safety surface, well bore re-entry, onsite service, discontinuous flow, non-destructive testing, Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION IL Temperature Preseure Contra etches = teh Pig Receiver @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Frank and Chris. FRANK: Chris. Come in, Chris. Over. ‘CHRIS: Chris here, Frank. Over FRANK: We've got a pig approaching. Over. Chis: I know. I can hear it. Over: FRANK: Everything ready at the rec Over. CHRIS: Ready, Frank. FRANK: Who's at the control panel, Chris? CHRIS: Andy is. MutfiEar defenders FRANK: Tell him to watch those P.V.T. readings, right? curus: Right. FRANK: And make sure everybody's wearing their muffs. Over. cari: I make sure. FRANK: And stay away from the hatch until 1 get there. Over. ‘Curis: Okay, Frank, FRANK: Over and out, Chris. CHRIS: Over and out. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. Frank and his operator are communicating by walkie-talkie. Why do they say ‘over’? b. Where is Chris? Where is his supervisor? ¢. Why does Frank want Chris to make sure hat all the crew near the receiver are wearing their muffs? d. Why does Frank tell Chris to stay away from the hatch? €. How does Chris know that a pig is approaching? f. What are ‘PVT: readings? Why must they be watched? Section FE WRITING PRACTICE, Descriptions from Diagrams ‘This paragraph has been built up from the diagram on page 60, Inclined Oil-Gas Separator From the wellhead or a previous separator, the crude enters the separator via an inlet pipe which is set at an angle against the inside wall of the vessel. The oil is given a swirling motion by the angled pipe to assist, the separation process. The separated gas rises in the separator and leaves the vessel via an outlet pipe at the top of one end. As the gas rises, the oil falls. It then leaves the separator via an outlet pipe at the bottom of, the other end. Deflector Bate lates ‘ oN ae a (O08 aesoived gut from wetheas ravious separator Now use the diagram above to describe briefly how a horizontal oil-gas. separator operates. Mit extractor Gvire mesh) 65 Ges oytet Unit 11 Downstream of Production Section A READING COMPREHENSION Read the following passage. The preferred method of sending crude from the gathering centre to the refinery is transport by pipeline. Offshore, however, seabed conditions and water depth may make Mooring fines Mooring hain 66 freely at the buoy with the wind and the sea current, ‘The disadvantage of ordinary SBMs is that they have no storage capacity. The Spar buoy, developed by Shell, is a type of SBM with the capacity to store up to 300,000 bartels of crude in six storage compartments, So if, due to weather conditions, tanker loading from Spar is prevented, production from the platform does not have to be shut off. underwater pipe-laying to an onshore terminal undesirable or even impossible. In recent years, SBM (single buoy mooring) systems have been developed to solve this problem. In this type of open-sea loading, the tanker (nowadays usually a VLCC) moors at the SBM and loads from a pipeline about a mile long which connects the SBM to the production platform. The length of the pipeline is a safety factor necessitated by the great length of VLCCs, their very long stopping and turning distances, anc! the space required (0 enable such huge ships to swing Downstream of production, the first stage in the refining of crude oil is usually the separation of BS é& W at the tank farm, From here, the oil is pumped; via the crude train to the first column in the refinery system. Crude oil is combustible, of course, and it is sometimes asked why crude isn’t burned as fuel without the expense of refining it. There are two basic reasons. ist, moder engines will not run on crude oil, Secondly, most crudes contain the lighter hydrocarbons, and as a result they ate so highly inflammable that they must be handled by very experienced men. Only fuel oils with a flashpoint above 65°C are safe enough for ordinary use. To ensure @ high flashpoint, therefore, the more volatile parts of the crude must be removed by refining. Spar buoy Anchor ae Posine tom resucion Crude oils are complex mixtures of hydrocarbons containing only one carbon atom in the (methane, containing 60 or more. Such mixtures do not which range from those molecule CH) up to those have a single boiling point, since some com- ponents will vapourise at relatively low tem- peratures (ie., the lighter hydrocarbons) while others will require relatively high temperatures (the heavier hydrocarbons). On the basis of boiling ranges, therefore, the many different hydrocarbons in crude can be divided into a small number of groups (called ‘cuts’ or ‘fractions’) which will separate from the crude at different temperatures. The distillation process by which fractions are separated from a mixture is known as 67 ‘fractionation’. In most modem refineries, the crude is processed through several CDUs, so that the various cuts can be produced to very precise specifications. Multi-stage distillation also ensures that straight-run fractions are free of impurities: Fracionaing tower Sidesipner Facton D3 Sidesvope: frcton © sebeer _— Bubble cans Fracion 8 +1 gui fo a0 ce Furnace feos) fpveheater eof Special Words and Expressions buoy fixed-position float. ‘mooring place at which a ship ties up: ie.. place at which a ship moors. VECCs very large crude carriers. VLCCs are tankers between 160,000 and 319,999 dwt (deadweight fons). ULCCs (ultra large crude carriers) are tankers over 320,000 dwt necessitated by made necessary by downstream This word describes a stage in the industry which follows other stages. The word ‘upstream’ refers to a stage which precedes others. Drilling is upstream of refining: refining is downstream of drilling. BS & W bottom settlings (or hase se and water ments) tank farm area containing tanks. crude train the pumps, valves, pipes and various vessels leading from the tank farm into the first refinery unit. column tall vertical separation vessel. ‘Compare this meaning to the one you learned in Unit 6. combustible capable of being burned. Cars are powered by internal combustion engines. inflammable capable of catching fire easily and of buming very rapidly. Native English speakers use the word ‘flammable’ to mean the same thing. Therefore, both FLAMMABLE and INFLAMMABLE indicate the need for safe handling due to the risk of fire. ‘flashpoint the lowest temperature at which vapours above a combustible substance will ignite (catch fire) in air when exposed toa flame. volatile vapourisable at a relatively low temperature distillation process. of fi st driving gas or vapour from a liquid by heating, then collecting the gas or vapour by condensation (ie., reduction to a denser form by cooling; eg., condensation of steam to water) CDUs crude distillation units. straight no further treatment after they have been distilled from the crude. impurities Notice how the word is built up: ‘pure’ ‘impure’, ‘impurity’, ‘impurities’ run fractions fractions which require opposite Comprehension a Why must the pipeline from the production platform to the SBM be relatively long? b. What seabed conditions might make pipe- laying impossible? 68 c. Why is it a disadvantage of ordinary SBMs that they have no storage capacity? 4. What are some of the advantages of pipelines over SBMs? e. Why does their lighter-hydrocarbons content make crudes highly flammable? £, What's the difference between ‘flammable’ and ‘inflammable’? g. What is the relation of high flashpoint to safety? What is the relation of low flashpoint to danger? h. How might a liquid's low flashpoint and high volatility combine to cause a risk situation? In such a situation, what would be the minimum required to cause an explosion? i. Name three impurities in wellhead crude J. Suppose you were given a bottle containing 4 20% solution of alcohol in water. In what two ways could you separate the alcohol? Which of the two methods would require closer temperature control? Why? k. How does the internal combustion engine get its name? True or False? Say whether these are true or false. Correct the false ones. a. Temperatures in the lower part of the fractionating tower are lower than those near the top. b. The higher the flashpoint of a fuel, the safer itis to handle. c. Volatility describes the capacity of a liquid to condense al a relatively low temperature. 4. If two different hydrocarbons boil in the same temperature range. they're part of the same cut e. There are fewer different hydrocarbons in the highest section of the column than there are in the middle. Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION I @ 1. Listen to the walkie-talkie conversation between Brian and Jeff. BRIAN: Distillation control to Alpha 18. JEFF: Alpha 18 to distillation control. BRIAN; Jeff, how's the crude train? Over. JEFF: Seems in good shape. J can't spot any leakage, Brian. BRIAN: Great. We've got a level in C101. Can you start up P103? Distillation control to Alpha 18. Jeff? JEFF: Alpha 18 to distillation control. Sorry, Brian, it's the bloody noise. What was that again? Over. we've got a level in C101. Can you start up PL03? Right. Just a second ... P1O3 started up. We're getting a flow. BRIAN: That's great, Jeff. Start getting some burners in now. Jerr: Burners, Right. BRIAN: Call in when you've started. ‘JEFF: I'll call in in a few minutes, Brian. BRIAN: Ji 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a, What does the 'P" in P103 stand for? What about the ‘© in C1017 b. Choose the right expression: Seems in good shape means (i) It seems to be fine Gi) The shape seems right (iii) I think everything's okay but I may be wrong. ¢. For a moment, Brian loses contact with Jeff. Why? Oo. d, What can't Jeff spot? Is that good or bad? Why? 69 e. Brian says that they've got a level in C101 A level of what? Why must there be a level in C101 before P103 can be started up? £. After he has started up P103, Jeff reports that they're getting a flow. A flow of what? From where to where? 2. Which comes first, getting a flow or getting some burners in? Why? hh, When is Jeff going to call in? What will he use (0 call in? Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE @ 1. Comparison of Adjectives ‘The higher the flashpoint of a fuel, the safer itis to handle. (Section A "True or False?’ b) The idea above could also be expressed c this: As the flashpoint of a fuel increases, its safety increases. Example: As the specific gravity of a crude increases, its lighter-hydrocarbons content decreases, (the greater/the lower) = The greater the specific gravity of a crude, the lower its lighter-hydrocarbons content Notice particularly that in the example sentence no verb is required. Now rewrite the followis brackets. a. As the molecular weight of a hydrocarbon decreases, its boiling point decreases. (the lower / the lower) b. As the water depth increascs, the difficulty of pipe-laying increases, (the deeper / the more difficult) c. As height increases in the column, the temperature decreases, (the higher / the lower) using the words in 2. Abbreviations PCV = pressure control valve ESD = emergency shutdown Most technical English abbreviations can be written with full stops (p.s.i.), without full stops (psi), and either with or without capital letters (PSI/psi). Write out what each of these abbreviations stands for: BOP, W.O.W., V.L.C.C., sbm, APL, RKB, TD, dwt. UL.CC., bbl, CDU, SI. msv, PVT, ds, ss. ju, BS & W. od, GOR. in, fi, bpd. 3. Passive Voice Example: People sometimes ask why crude isn't bumed as fuel without the expense of refining it => It ix sometimes asked why crude isn’t burned as fuel without the expense of refining it. (Section A) Look back at Exercise 2, page 32: then do the exercise below. a. People sometimes say that oil is black gold. b. People no longer believe that oil will last forever. c. People feel that an ordinary SBM would be unsuitable because of the lack of storage capacity. . People think that North Sea oil will begin to run out by the mid-1990s, €. In the oil business people accept that practical important than formal education. experience is often more @ 4, Reported Speech: Imperatives In the first example, notice the change from ‘said’ (0 ‘told’. In the second, notice the change from 'your' to 'my' Examples: ‘Get some burners in.’ Brian said toleff. = Brian told Jeff to get some burners in ‘Get your hands out of your pockets.’ he told me. => He told me to get my hands out of my pockets, ‘Don't be late again’ Bay told the 70 roughneck, = Barry told the roughneck not to be late again. Change the following to reported speech, a. Take this report to the super.’ he ordered the roustabout b. ‘Don't take your eyes off the panel,’ he warned me. c. ‘Stand by the ESD panel,’ Brian told Jeff. d. ‘Hand that core to me,’ Tom said to George. ¢, ‘Don't touch that valve without my permission,’ Brian said to the new ‘operator. Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION I] @ 1. Listen to the conversation between ‘Tony and Neil. TONY: Are we agreed, then, Neil”? ei: I don't think there's any question about it, Tony. TONY: We'll scratch Stephens $.B.M. - NEIL: -and go for Spar. TONY: Tl] put it to the board tomorrow. NEIL: The sooner the better, Tony. And if anyone asks, you tell them I'm behind you 100%. TONY: I will, Neil, thanks. NEIL: What about the basic specifications? Have you got notes? TONY: I know them by heart NEIL: Little test? TONY: Go ahead, NeIL: Tanker load rate? ‘TONY: 5000 tons an hour, NEIL: Spar storage capacity? TONY: 300,000 barrels BIL: Spar receiving rate? TONY: 100,000 barrels a day. NBIL: And what about, say, the tanker loading, hoses? TONY: Two twelve inchers. NEIL: Great, Tony. Go in there tomorrow and convince them TONY: I won't have to, Neil. The facts and figures speak for themselves. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. The Board are the directors of the company that Tony and Neil work for. Why doesn't Tony think that he personally will have to convince them about Spar? b. Why hasn't Tony got notes on S specifications? : €. Choose the right expression: Go for Spar means (i) Choose Spar (ii) Walk towards Spar (iii) See about Spar d. What is the diameter of each of the tanker loading hoses? , What does Neil mean when he says that he's ‘behind’ Tony? £ Explain ‘the sooner the better’ g. Which type of SBM does Stephen want? Do Tony and Neil agree with Stephen's plan? What do they want, to do with it? Why? 's basic Section E WRITING PRACTICE Flow Descriptions from Diagrams a. The sentences making up the paragraph below are out of order. Write them out correctly by referring to the diagram of the tower on page 67. b. When you have finished, cover up your work and rewrite the description by heart. Fractionation The most volatile of all may leave the column as gas, without condensing out. Here, all the hydrocarbons except the heaviest form a mixture of vapours. By being pumped through a preheater, the crude feed is first heated to about 300°C. As these rise in the n column, they separate out by condensing at different temperatures in the various trays. Because these processes in the CDU are continuous, the liquid cuts from the various trays are piped out via the sidestrippers as the crude feed is being pumped in. So, going up in the column, the least volatile vapours condense back into liquids first. From the preheater, the hot feed is pumped into a section of the fractionating tower about a quarter or a third of the way up from the bottom Unit 12 Primary & Secondary Refining Section A READING COMPREHENSION concer a us cou | Read the following passage ‘The primary refining processes are the distillation of the feedstock into its basic fractions, and then the redistillation of most of these, in separate towers, into highly - concentrated In a. simple refinery, the split would probably consist of these six basic cuts: petroleum gas (refinery gas and LPG), gasoline, naphtha, kerosine gas oil, residue, The secondary processes are designed intermediates (1) to remove any impurities from the distilled fractions, and (2) 10 convert some 2 of the distilled hydrocarbons into different molecular forms. Conversion processes can produce hydrocarbons which do not exist in reservoir crude. (1) All crudes contain organic sulphur compounds (cg, H,S, mercaptans) which will be carried over from the column into the resulting gases, distiffares and residue. ‘The higher the density of a crude, the greater its sulphur content. This can vary from about 0.05% by weight, as in some Pennsylvanian crudes, to abgut 2% wt in an average Middle East ae to 5% or more in heavy Nigerian or Mexican crudes. Sour cuts are corrosive and possess an odour. The secondary refining process for the treatment extremely objectionable of toxic, corrosive and evil-smelling sulphur-compound impurities is known as ‘sweetening’. (2) In conversion processes, the structures of natural hydrocarbon molecules are changed. In one such process, known as ‘cracking’, large hydrocarbon molecules are cracked or broken to form two or more smaller molecules. This can be done by the action of heat and pressure alone (thermal cracking) ot by heat in the presence of a suitable catalyst (catalytic cracking). ‘The oldest of all the conversion proc thermal cracking, which has been in use since the 1880s. 8 is ‘The main purpose of cracking is 10 increase the yield of lighter, more valuable fractions from medium and residual cuts, When a particular feedstock has been cracked, the various products resulting from the process can be separated out in a fractionaling tower The illustration above shows how a single heavy paraffinic molecule may be cracked to form hexane, which occurs naturally in some cuts, and butylene, which is entirely synthetic. Blended with gasoline, butylene greatly improves engine perfor- mance. Heavy Paaltloic Moacute (C\.Mial (© Hydrogen atom crackina © carvan stom | $EEEEE ad $s Hexane (CH) ‘Butylene (Cah) Special Words and Expressions primary first in a series or in importance. Note: primary (Ist), secondary (2nd), tertiary Grd). feedstock petroleum-based substance used in the production of other substances. intermediates oil feedstocks. split the way a crude is divided into cuts. refinery gas methane and cthane produced from crude and re-circulated’ in the products used as refinery for use as fuel LPG liquefied petroleum gas (butane and propane), LPG can be bottled and used as camping gas, in cigarette lighters, for industrial fuel supplies, etc, volatile flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture used as a fuel, especially for internal combustion engines. In the UK, outside of the petroleum industry. the same fuel is gasoline tefetred to as ‘petrol’ kerosine flammable hydrocarbon oil used as a fuel, especially in oil lamps, space BB heatets, etc. In the UK, outside of the petroleum industry, Kerosine is referred to as ‘paraffin’ gas oil This is the fraction which is generally refined into diesel oil and other heavy fuels. to convert to change the chemical and/or physical properties of. organic consisting of compounds formed from organisms, ie., from plant and/or animal life. ‘mercaptans group of sulphur compounds, highly corrosive, and bad-smelling. distillates liquid products condensed from vapour during distillation. sour containing sulphur compounds; eg., sour gas, sour crude, etc. The opposite (ie., containing little of no sulphur) is ‘sweet’; eg., sweet gas, sweet fraction, ete. objectionable odour bad evil smell. catalyst substance which assists or speeds up a chemical change but is not changed chemically itself yield quantity produced. synthetic made by man, synthetic petroleum-based compounds. blended combined to form a mixture so Fine that the components scem to disappear. Acrylics are materials made from Comprehension a. Why isn't residue from the CDU referred to as a distillate? b. Is fractionation a conversion process? If not, why not? ¢. API barrel = 42 U.S. gallons. One U.S gal = 3.785 litres. What is the approximate weight of the sulphur content in a barrel of average Middle East crude? BRIAN: -and I'l tell you when to start flow to the cracker. s8FF: Got it. Im on my way now. BRIAN: Distillation control to thermal cracker. vorce: Thermal cracker to distillation control. BRIAN: Are you ready to receive res voice: Ready whenever you are, Br BRIAN: It won't be long now. Keep your eye ‘on the panel. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. ‘Bang on spec’ means ‘Exactly according to specification’. Why does Jeff think that's ‘beautiful? b. How are things going? ¢. What will Jeff be looking for when he ‘checks out the rundown to the header? d. If the IVs from the header into the straight-run lines aren't shut off, what will happen to the flow to the thermal cracker? e. Why does Brian want the operator at the thermal cracking unit to keep his eye on the panel? £. When will Jeff start flow to the cracker? g. Choose the right expression: Got it means (i) Understand (ii) Understood (iii) 1 possess it, Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE 1. Compound Adjectives Expressions such as the one below are common in technical English: evil-smelling sulphur-componnd impuri- ties ...." (Section A} ‘The expression can be re-phrased like this: These are impurities which smell evil and contain sulphur compounds. 18 Re-phrase the following in the same way: a. large-diameter pipeline. b. high-pressure subsea BOP system. ¢. stainless steel non-return valve. d. low-pressure catalytic cracking unit. . snow-like methane-water compounds. f, man-made petroleum-based chemical intermediates, 8, low-boiling-point hydrocarbon components h. volatile flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture, i, low hydrogen-to-carbon ratio. j. bwo-carbon-atom molecules. k, fluid-transmitting capacity. 1. horizontal gas-oil separator m. high-wax-content crudes. @ 2. Reported Speech: Questions "Why is that valve open?’ Brian asked Jeff, = Brian asked Jeff why that valve was open Notice, first, the change from ‘is’ to ‘was’, Secondly, notice that the converted verb has moved from the question-position to the statement-position, so the reported form does not end in a question mark. Look for these and other changes in the following examples Examples: "Where is your helmet” he asked me. => He asked me where my helmet was. "Can you manage by yourself? Barry asked Tom. = Barry asked Tom if he could manage by himself. Convert the following to reported speech. a. 'How long is it going to take you to do it? he wanted to know, b. How are things going, Jeff? Brian asked. cc. "Will you check out the rundown to the header?’ Brian asked Jeff. d. ‘Are you ready to receive residue?’ he asked the panel man. ¢. ‘Why don't you follow my instructions? the super angrily asked Tom. f. "What time is it?” he wanted to know. Now consider how the following might change in reported speech: here, this, today, tomorrow, yesterday, these, now. 3. Choose the right words. Thermal Cracking Thermal cracking is the (destruction/ decomposition), under conditions of heat and pressure, of large hydrocarbon (molecules/ atoms) to form smaller ones. In this way, (heavier/ lighter/ denser), (less/ more) valuable hydrocarbons (must be/ can be) obtained from such (relatively/ absolutely) (high-value/ low-value) (stocks/ feeds) as heavy gas oils and (residuals residues). I (believes/ is believed/ believed) thatthe (discovered) was discovered] is discovered) in 1861 in New Jersey, USA. It did not become commercial, however, until the (expanding/ contracting) demand for (LPG/ kerosine/ gasoline) in the years just before 1914. The (quality/ quantity) of (thermal-/ thermally-) cracked (car-motor / motor-cat) fuels is no longer (too high /high enough/ low enough) for modern internal (combustible/ combustion) engines, so this function is now covered by other processes. A (much-used/ used-much) process (hermally-cracked/ —_thermal-cracking) process is the process known as ‘visbreaking’. which is the (thermal cracking/ thermal-cracking) of (thin/ volatile/ viscous) (crude-oil/ _oil-gas) residues 10 (inerease/ reduce) their (Wolatility/ viscosity) by breaking (up/down 16 J out) the large (complex/ complicated) (atoms/ molecules) to smaller ones. Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION II @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Michael and Mr. Godfrey. GoprREY: Michael. MICHAEL: My word, Mr. Godfrey, it's a great deal bigger and more complicated than Td imagined. It must be all of 50 metres high GODFREY: Seventy, to be exact. And I guess it must look prety complicated from here. MICHAEL: It seems like absolutely miles and miles of pipework. And which pipes go where? GopFReY: It’s really quite simple to understand if you just think of the six basic fractions we were talking about in my office. And their order in the column, don't forget. MICHAEL: You mean from petroleum gas at the top to residue at the botlom? GODFREY: ‘That's the idea, Michael. Basically we're getting refinery gas and Here's the main column, LPG up there at the top, residue down here at the bottom, and four main cuts in between. MICHAEL: Gasoline and naphtha, 1 believe you said - GODFREY: -coming down the column, right - MICHAEL: - then kerosine and gas oil - GODFREY: -and back to residue here at the bottom MICHAEL: Petroleum gas up there, then gasoline. then naphtha, kerosine next, then comes gas oif, and finally residue down here. GODFREY: Those are what I'd call the six basic fractions, yes. MICHAEL: And most of them leave the refinery as fuels, GODFREY: They do. As a matter of fact, I can put a figure on it for you. On average, 88 out of every 100 barrels of crude end up as fuel of one kind or another. MICHAEL: Eighty-cight hundred? GODFREY: That's what I'd call the average, Michael MICHAEL: And what about the remaining 12 barrels? out of every 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape a. How high is this particular CDU? What's, that in feet? ‘To aumospnere ee | catayst Isoens steht ‘Regenerstar ‘Reactor Carbon Cracking in burnt off takes pace n b. Name the fractions in order from the top. ¢. How do most of the cuts leave the refinery? What figure does Godfrey put ‘on it? What do you think happens to the remaining quantity? 4. Define ‘pipework’. ©. Choose the right expression: My word in this conversation means (i) I'm surprised, ii) Tpromise, (ii) I guess. What might it ‘mean in other conversations? f. Before visiting the refinery, how had Michael imagined crude distillation units? 8, Which pipes go where? Section E WRITING PRACTICE Flow Descriptions from Diagrams a. The sentences making up the paragraph below are out of order. Write them out Fut Gos ve f—+ — Grsolne t——* Light Gas o8 generated Catalyst, Meiom Gas on corrcetly by referring to the diagram, b. When you have finished, cover up your work and rewrite the description by heart Fluid-bed Catalytic Cracking It is mixed with hot air to bum off the carbon which was deposited on it in the cracking process. Typical products are fuel gas, LPG, gasoline, and light and medium gas oils. The feedstock is then preheated and pumped to the reactor. As the catalyst te-circulates from the reactor to the tegenerator and back, the cracked mixture flows to a fractionation column. Here, spent catalyst flows continuously to the regenerator while cracking is taking place. At the same time, via the furnace-reactor line, regenerated catalyst is mixed with it and both-are carried to the reactor. From a unit upstream a suitable cut is selected and pumped to the catalytic cracking unit B Unit 13 Finishing Processes Section A READING COMPREHENSION mw0cr a BPbton| ny ee ton otee Read the following passage. The diagram above illustrates ‘knock’, which is the noise produced by the abnormal, ignition of motor spirit, vapour in the combustion chamber of an engine. For smooth, engine performance, ignition, shguld occur throughout the chamber instYaneously, but it sometimes ZeeHR in two stages and knock then results. The antiknock properties of a fuel are measured by octane number (or ‘octane rating’), from a system developed by Graham Edgar in 1926. The higher the octangraljng of a gasoline, the better its antiknack-praperties. There are basically two methods for the upgrading of low-octane-number gasoline: (1) reforming. a conversion process by which hydrocarbons are actually re-formed into di ferent molecular shapes, and (2) the use of anger bee ther 79 antiknock additives, such as tetraethyl lead (TEL) or tetramethyl lead (TML), Straight-run naphtha, for example, has a very low octane rating of about 40. By catalytic, reforming, this can be increasedto 95 or more, and the reformate can then be blended with a light gasoline-cut to give a fue] of just the right volatility, and octane number. Besides being used 10 improve gasolineyyjelgs, naphtha is important as a feedstock, in the production of petrochemical intermediates. Two of the most valuable of these are the gases ethylene (Hi,) and propylene (C,H,), essential in the manufactur of a wide range of syntheticyan'®? materials. Ethylene and propylene can also be cracked from wide-ci light distillate - feedstock (LD fe ee et: : ty tw0-Dutmne ——o-Butvore | ALKYLATION © Carbon atom 2 teoOetane © Hydrogen atom Alkylation and isomerization are specific reforming processes for the production of high-grade gasoline components. Alkylation ‘can be thought of as the opposite of cracking; ie., causing two dissimilar hydrocarbons to combine, instead of splitting them apart, The catalysis used in alkylation are sulphuric acid or hydrogen fluoride; in isomerization, the catalysts are platinum (Pt) or aluminium chloride (AIC), Caustic washing and. fydrodesulphurica- tion are finishing processes designed to remove H,S and mercaptan imputities Scrubbing with caustic soda (sodium, hydroxide, NaOH) is the most widely-used process for H,S removal, mainly because it simultaneously removes other impurities such as carbon dioxide (CO,) and fatty acids. Special Words and Expressions motor spirit gasoline. ‘throughout in every part of. instantaneously in the same instant. upgrading improving the quality of. additives chemicals added to other substances. TEL PCH). TML PU(CH), reformate product of a reforming process Compare this word with ‘distillate’ besides in addition to. wide-cut relatively wide boiling range. isomerization process to form isomers. An isomer of a compound contains the same number of atoms of the same elements, but differs in structural arrangement and chemical properties. e ie ath Butane "so-Dutane lamer of butane) hydrodesulphurization Notice how the word is built up: sulphur —» sulphurize (add sulphur to) > desulphurize (remove sulphur from) > desulphurization (removal of sulphur) > hydrodesulphurization (removal of sulphur, in the presence of hydrogen). simultaneously at the same time. fany acids Fatty-acid molecules are long- chain CH, groups. ending in COOH. Comprehension a, How might a refiner use butane in the production of iso-octane? b. What are colour additives? Why are they Used in gasolines? c. What is the difference between cracking and reforming? 80 d. Define (i) crackates. e. Why might ethylene and propylene be cracked from LDF rather than from naphtha? f, What is the difference between caustic washing and hydrodesulphurization? g. Explain what happens when ignition doesn't take place instantaneously throughout the combustion chamber. h, What's the chemical difference between 2- id 3-star petrol? i, Explain what is meant by (i) a catalytic desulphurization process, and (ii) a deisobutanizer. j. Describe briefly the reforming process that takes place in a platformer’ (plat- = Pt), ates, reformates, (iii) star, Choose from these words to complete the paragraph , below: Widely-sed, maximum? spitit, ratio, catalytic, distillate, primary,” gasolin€, rating, feed, straight-run, raised, it vies * boilings One of the most important processes nowadays for the production of motor ... is cracking. The ... is a... cut... from about 70°C toa... of 190% the cracking process from 40 to 95 -100. Since the mid-1940s, this has been the most .. process for the production of ... from heavy ... It is also, therefore, the ... method for increasing the .... of light to heavy products from crude oil. the octane ... of which is ... in Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION | @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Dick, Jeff and Ralph, DICK: Hey, Jeff. Can I have a quick word with you? JEFF: Sure. What's up. Dick? DICK: We've got a bit of a problem on the high vac unit - JEP: - $0? - DICK: - so I was wondering if you could look after my tainee for the rest of the shift. JEFF: OF course. Ralph, isn't it? Dick: Yes, Ralph. And keep an eye on him, will you? He's preity green. Here he comes See you later. JEFF: Hi, Ralph, My name's Jeff. RALPH: Hello, Jeff. JEFF: Look, Dick's got a bit of bother on the high vac unit, so, um, you stick with me, okay? RALPH: Okay by me. Where are we off to? sBFF: Hydrodesulphurization unit. RALPH: Hydro what? JEFF: Hydrodesulphurization unit. Tell you what, though, Ralph - you just call it the sweetener for now, right? RALPH: Right. Which way is it? JEFF: That way. Past the cat cracking plant. RALPH: F'Il be right behind you, Jeff. JEFF: Let's go then. What's his name. again? 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. ‘a. Who's responsible for Ralph's training? Why is Ralph being trained? What's he being trained for? . High vac unit = high vacuum unit. What is the meaning of ‘cat cracking plant’ ¢. Why is the hydrodesulphurization unit also referred to as the ‘sweetener’? Which of the two expressions will Ralph be using? Why? d. Why doesn't Dick want Ralph to be with him during work on the high vac unit e. Why does Dick want Jeff to keep his eye on. Ralph? £ Which way is the sweetener? Who will arrive at the sweetening unit first? Why? Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE. @ 1, Reported Speech Examples: Dick asked Jeff if he could have a 81 quick work with him. = ‘Can T have a quick word with you? Dick asked Jeff. Dick told Jeff to keep an eye on Ralph for him. = ‘Keep an eye on Ralph for me, Jeff.’ Dick said. Convert the following from reported speech to direct speech. a. Ralph asked Jeff which way the sweetener was. tb. Ralph told Jeff that he would be right behind him. ¢. Jeff asked Dick what was up then, d. Brian told the panel man to let him know what the PVT readings were then. ¢. Tom asked the floorman why he wasn't wearing his safety boots and helmet, £. Tom asked the floorman if he knew who the boss was. g. Mason asked Smith if he could tell him the difference between ‘porosity! and permeability’. hh. Smith told Mason that he was sorry but that he didn't know what the difference was. i, Jack told Frank-that he knew they needed the scrubber spares but that they couldn't do anything until the weather cleared j. Frank told Chris to stay away from the hatch until he got there and to make sure the crew were wearing muffs. 2. Chemical Syinbots AICI, = aluminium chioride NaOH = sodium hydroxide The list below contains some of the other chemical symbols used up to now in this book. Write them out in words and say what elements each is composed of. HS Ch, HO Feo, CO, PIG. POUCH, HP GH, Ch Gite GH, CH, #80, SiO” Hr CAC, CaMgiCO) BS, HOCH, CHOW 3. Sentences with should "For smooth engine performance, ignition should occur throughout the chamber instantaneously ....” (Section A) Example: Why should ignition occur throughout the chamber instantaneously? = Ignition should occur throughout the chamber instantancously to give smooth engine performance. Answer the following in the same way. a, Why should a trainee work with an experienced operator? b. Why should operators wear muffs at the pig receiver? c. Why should nobody smoke on the refinery floor? 4. Why should toxie-chemicals containers carry warnings? . Why should you study API measurements? Now consider what may happen if someone doesn't do what he should do. Example: A trainee should work with an experienced operator. If he doesn't, he may cause a serious accident. In the same way, write two sentences for cach of the other four questions in the exercise above. 4. Passive Voice "By catalytic cracking, this can be increased to 95 or more, and the reformate can then be blended ... (Section A) Put the verbs in brackets into the same passive form. a! Ethylene and propylene (also crack) from wide-cut LDP. b. Alkylation (think of as the opposite of cracking. c. Low-octane-number gasoline (upgrade) by reforming, 4. Naphtha (use) asa petrochemical intermediates. feedstock for 82 €. Methane (produce) from other sources besides oil. Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION I © 1. Refer to the illustration below while you are listening to the description of the cracking. of naphtha. ceases tpn ec cohne on od ree kane 4) Peery) VOICE 1: The cut between gasoline and kerosine is naphtha. Voice 2: Naphtha is a straw-coloured liquid. Like the other crude-oil fractions, it's a group of hydrocarbons. VOICE 1: Each hydrocarbon molecule in the naphtha group contains between 6 and 10 carbon atoms, and a number of hydrogen atoms. Voice 2: One of these naphtha-cut_ hydro- carbons is called heptane. VOICE I: The chemical symbol for heptane is GH In other words, 7 carbon atoms combine with 16 hydrogen atoms to form one molecule of heptane. VOICE 2: C)Hy. That's heptane, a liquid hydrocarbon in the naphtha cut. VvoicE 1: When naphtha is cracked, the heptane in it is also cracked. It's cracked into gaseous fragments. ‘VOICE 2: The fragments which result from the cracking of heptane are the gases ethylene and propylene. VOICE 1: But ethylene and propylene gas are only two of the fragments produced from naphtha - VoIcé 2: - because, of course, there are other hydrocarbons in naphtha in addition to heptane voice 1: - and when these are cracked, other fragments result. Some are gases, others are liquids voce 2: For the petrochemicals industry, however, ethylene and propylene gas are the most important fragments which result from the cracking of heptane molecules in naphtha. Voice 1: Naphtha contains a group of hydrocarbons. these is the hydrocarbon known as heptane. Voice 2: When naphtha is cracked, the heptane in it is also cracked - Voice 1: - and gaseous ethylene and propylene result. One of 2, Now do this exercise based on the tape. a, Deseribe naphtha b. Define heptane. cc. What are ‘gaseous fragments’? 4. What are C,-C, hydrocarbons? , Name three naphtha-cut hydrocarbons. Section E WRITING PRACTICE Put ome Washtower oe raee out fresh cause rmake-w. Spent cauie Caustic Washing of Sour Gases Sour gas is pumped to the bottom of the shtower. As the gas rises in the tower. it mixes with a caustic solution flowing in the 83 opposite ditection. The purified gas separates from the caustic by rising out, and is piped away via a line from the top of the tower. The caustic recirculates from the bottom of the washing vessel to a pump which charges it again to the top. An isolating valve in the recirculation tine makes it possible to remove spent caustic. At the same time, through a make-up line, fresh caustic can be charged to the pump. couse receiaing Ensoon cunt Lt Freeh courte make-up Now use the diagram above to write a similar paragraph about the caustic washing of sour liquids Unit 14 Refinery Products Section A READING COMPREHENSION Read the following passage ‘The fuels refined from crude oil can be divided into two general types: (1) fuels that are exploded when vapousised with ait, to provide primary moving power, and (2) those fuels that are either burned directly for heat and light or are converted into secondary energy such as electricity. The former type includes the aviation fuels {(Avgas, Avtag, Avtur), industrial and domestic gases (LPG), motor spirits, DERV, and refinery gases). Fuels of sources the farrer type include the ordinary Kerosines and the various grades of fuel oils. In the 1860s. when moder refinery practices began, the main products from raw petroleum were lamp kerosine and residue for use a5 a lubricant. Nowadays f } | 7 Ou powesed Generators M i however, as we 84 already seen, about 88% of all crude oil\ends up as fuel of one kind or another. Considering only the finite nature of fossil fuels, many people feel that far too much oil is being burned needlessly. Some of the other reasons why oil should be conserved will be discussed in Unit 19. i Vin Creve ec on en Of the remaining 12%, just over half is refined petroleum-chemicals. intermediates. These are used as feedstocks in the manufacture of synthetic materials (fibres, rubbers, plastics, etc.), fertilizers, insecticides, and even, protein for animal feeds. The diagram tic’ a molecule of vinyl chloride, produced by cracking ethylene dichloride, which is a compound made by reacting ethylene and chlorine. In the catalytic conversion process known as into ‘polymerization’, vinyl chloride becomes the Seconaary Energy Source te oh well-known oil-based plastic, PVC (polyvinyl chloride). About 5% of the average barrel of crude is used in the production of a wide range of lubricating oils and greases, waxes, solvents, and asphalt for roads and weatherproofing. Finally, there are commercial markets for the by-products of many refinery processes. Examples of these are pure sulphur, important in other areas of industry, and the platinum in some spent catalysts Special Words and Expressions former first in a preceding group of two. aviation concerning aeroplanes and flying. Avgas aviation gasoline, used in piston- engined aeroplanes. Aviag aviation turbine gasoline. In the USA, this is referred to as ‘JP 4’. Aviur aviation turbine kerosine. In the UK, this is also referred to as ‘ATK’. domestic for use in the home. DERY diesel engine road vehicle (fuel). latter last in a preceding group of two. raw unprocessed; in the natural state. finite having a definite end: limited should be conserved should’ be protected from being wasted: should be saved. {fibres Cotton and wool are natural fibres. fertilizers chemicals which are added to the soil to help plants grow better. insecticides poisons to kill insects. protein basic chemical substance of all living things. Fish, meat and soya beans are foods which are rich in protein. polymerization In this process, single molecules combine to form much larger molecules. PVC is the polymer of vinyl chloride. solvents compounds which dissolve other 85 substances. asphalt ie., bitumen, the heaviest cut of all In the UK, ‘asphalt’ generally refers 10 the mixture of crushed rock and bitumen used in the construction of, €.g., roads weatherproofing protection against the weather, eg., weatherproofing of roof tiles so that the rain is kept out by-products products in addition to the main product. Comprehension a. Describe the five general types of products refined from crude oil. b. Why should oil be conserved? c. Explain the difference between (i) Avgas and Avr, (ii) PCV and PVC, (ii) asphalt and bitumen. 4, Oil as a fuel indirectly helps the world's food supply when it is used, for example, to power farm tractors. Discuss the ways in which at least three non-fuel uses of oil can do the same. e. Define ‘fossil fuels. Why are they desctibed as being ‘finite’? f. Use the following to describe briefly how polyvinyl chloride is produced: crude > distillation > naphtha cracking > ethylene > ethylene + chlorine —» ethylene dichloride > cracking > vinyl chloride -> polymerization > PVC. g. Which process is the source of commercial sulphur in oil refineries h. How are alkylation and polymerization similar? How do they differ? i, From 1500 tonnes of crude feed at the average large refinery, about how many tonnes end up as fuel? j. Has the number of refinery products increased or decreased over the years? Why? How do you think the product nator split may change in, say, ten years from now? Give reasons for your answer. True or False? Say whether these are true or false. Correct the false ones. a, The product of a polymerization process has a higher molecular weight than the feed. b. The first refinery products were in the lower-boiling-point range. c. Aviation fuels are in the lower-boiling- point range. €, &“5 Gatwramy, Source d. DERV is a Secondary source of energy. e. Insecticides improve farm yields by protecting plants from destruction during their growing period. Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION 1 @ L. Listen to the conversation between Michael and Mr. Miller, a process Michael said to Miller that those were the only other products he had ever heard about. ‘Is it actually possible that the chicken I ate on Tuesday had been raised on an oil-based product?’ Michael asked Miller. => Michael asked Miller if it was actually possible that the chicken he had eaten on Tuesday had been raised on an oil-based product. Convert the following to reported speech. a. ‘We've got a level in C101, Jeff. Can you start up PL03?" Brian wanted to know. b, ‘Call in when you've started,’ Brian told Jeff. .'Has the operator phoned in to say why he didn't show up?’ Frank asked Jack, d. "Bob, if you haven't finished the job by the end of this tour, I'll ask Paul's crew to do it Barry said. e. ‘I read in the changeover report that Bob's crew hadn't finished the job,’ Paul said. @ 2. Passive Voice "Some of the other reasons why oil should be conserved will be discussed in Unit 19.' (Section A) Example: Safety instructions (should obey). = Safety instructions should be obeyed. Put the verbs in brackets into the same passive form. a. Toxie-chemicals containers (should mark and lock away), b. Before kickoff, the angle and the compass heading of the bottom-hole assembly (should check), ¢. Trainees (should accompany) at all times by experienced personnel. 4. Fire extinguishers (should place) at locations which are easy to reach and clearly marked by signs and notices. e. Muffs (should wear) by all personnel involved in pigging operations and other high-noise work. Now consider what may happen if action which should be taken isn’t taken, Example: Oil should be conserved. If it isn't conserved, the world may run into serious energy problems in a few years time. Write a mini-paragraph like that for each of the five sentences you wrote in the exercise above. 3, British and American Forms (British) aluminium == (American) aluminum ‘These differences are not very great, and there is only a small number of them. but both forms should be learned in order to avoid confusion. Say whether each of the following is mainly British or mainly American, then 88 give the alternate form. When you have finished, discuss any other differences you may be familiar with, a. petrol b.ATK c. litre 4. gramme e. meter f£.JP4 g. bottoms up 1. vapor i, paraffin (for space heaters) j. asphalt (for weatherproofing) . gas (fora car) 1 DERV. 1m. bloody (eg., bloody bad job) n, inflammable 0. boll weevil p. hard hat q. helicopter 1. motor spirit s. polymerisation 1. hydrodesulfurization Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION II @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Doug and Tim. 7 Generator Rig SiTe Doghouse Shack (oriter's office) DOUG: Look, Tim, let's continue this in the dog house TIM: Good idea, Doug. It! be alittle quieter there. (They leave the rig floor for the dog house) DOUG: Well, then. To start with, Tim, I think I ought to say that you run a pretty clean and tidy ship here. TIM: Thanks, Doug. I'm glad you noticed, DOUG: I'm a little unhappy, though, about the fire-fighting equipment. ‘TIM: Whal seems to be wrong? DOUG: The only fire extinguisher I've seen is this onc here in the dog house. Where are the others? iM: I put one behind the door in the storeroom and there's one behind the door DOUG: Don't you think they should be placed at outside locations? You get a fire in the shack, and that extingui had it. ‘Tim: Yes, [ see your point. the generator shack. 89 the buildings, right? TIM: Right. They'll be moved by the end of the day. DoUG: Right. And how about putting some signs up? ‘iM: That'll be done, too. DOUG: And fire drill? Do all the hands know the drill? Tim: Backwards and forwards, Doug, ous: I'm glad to hear it. Now, how's the hole shaping up? ‘TIM: Shall we have a look at the logs DOUG: That'l do for a start, Tim, 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. The expression ‘a pretty clean and tidy ship’ refers to the neatness of Tim's rig. What is the relation between neatness and safety? b. Why does Doug want Tim to put some signs up? ¢. Why does Doug think that the positions Dous: Better have them somewhere handy. of the other fire extinguishers should be TIM: | agree with you, Doug. changed? DouG: Better have them on the outside of ——* tarot Naphia Condenser Ly Woter Cracker Exytone Phosphoric (P) Acid Cat me . What would happen to the extinguisher in the generator shack if a fire broke out there? ¢. How well do the crew members know the fire drill? What word does Doug use for ‘crew members’? f. How are ‘ought’ and ‘should’ similar in meaning? How do they differ in structured? g. Is Doug the Drilling Superintendent or the Safety Officer? How do you know? Section E WRITING PRACTICE Synthetic Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) Ethanol is a widely-used solvent, particularly for substances which are not water-soluble. Natural ethanol is produced by fermentation, ie., the chemical process which yields CO, gas as a by-product when carbohydrates, yeast and water are left to react. Using the flow diagram above, write a description of the production of synthetic ethanol. 90 Unit 15 Safety Section A READING COMPREHENSION [NO NAKED LIGHTS| ie. Elements used to produce light must not be open to the surrounding air Read the following passage. ‘The winning, production, transport and refining of oil can be hazardous. The first thing which consideration is the terrible flammability of petroleum and petroleum products. All hydrocarbons that boil at less than 250°C are volatile; ie., at normal temperatures they will produce, or exist as, vapour. Together with air, this vapour can easily form a mixture which is explosive within the limits of proportion: just one spark, in the wrong place at the wrong time, and lives may be lost. For this reason, oil companies provide detailed safety regulations conceming the se of lights, smoking materials, welding equipment, etc., and employees who do not obey these regulations run the added risk of being dismissed. should be taken into Petroleum is frequently won under physical conditions which can endanger the workers involved. The workers who are most vulnerable are those who are inexperienced or untrained, but even old hands may be seriously injured in a moment of carelessness. Oily and muddy fast-moving items of equipment, high-powered tools and sudden oveshead hazards all demand especially in the extreme conditions of such places as Siberia or the North Sea, Extremes must also be considered relative to the upper working limits of machinery such as ° floors, constam alertness, o power units, pumps and compressors. A few years ago, in an oil-producing country in the Middle East, eight members of a workover crew were Killed instantly when the gas-compression unit they preparing fo overhaul suddently blew up. were Accidents such as this are very rare, however, and in general the petroleum industry has an excellent safety record. This is due entirely to careful training and to the most companies insist on. BELTS ON Safety belts must be worn psp ic., This equi ther use SMOKE ie. tn this direction there is an area where smoking is per KEEP OUT ie, Donor enter HAND NDS OFF] ie, Disaster itd ot fouch ‘Three out of every four injuries suffered in the oil industry are caused by falling, eg., on wet or greasy walkways, from masts, ladders, scaffolding, ete. Many other accidents involve burns, most frequently from non-oil-product sources. Temperatures higher than 100°C (in some conversion processes) and lower than -160°C (in the of natural gas) are not uncommon. In addition to these hazards there are chemicals and gases, caustics, strong acids, and in some cases even radioactive materials. There should be signs and notices to give warming of these dangers, to liquefaction toxic instuct workers in safe gadenye procedure, and to give information about what should be done in case of emergency. Special Words and Expressions regulations rules which must be obeyed. welding joining metallic parts by heating; eg., oxyacetylene welding, elect welding, etc dismissed discharged from his job or position; fired. In many oil companies, disobey safety regulations can be fired without notice, ie., given one or two weeks pay and told to leave. vulnerable capable of being injured easily. old hands experienced personnel. are employees who constant continuous; unchanging; not decreasing aleriness being aware of possible dinger and being ready to meet it. extremes extreme conditions. compressors machines designed to apply pressure to gases in order to reduce their volume. Gases are highly compressible; liquids are not. workover repairs to a production unit. A workover rig is a special rig for repairing wells after a period of production. {0 overhaul to replace or repair damaged or ‘worn-out parts of existing machinery. blew up exploded. discipline system of punishment (eg., dismissal) to ensure that regulations are obeyed. masts A ‘mas s the tower-like part of a rig, scaffolding temporary platforms at height for workers to stand or sit on while doing a job. liquefaction Yiquid> liquefy > liquefaction. Liquefied natural gas consists mainly of methane and is 92 commonly referred to as LNG, which should not be confused with NGL (natural gas liquids, ie., ethane and heavier cuts). radioactive sending out alpha, beta or gamma rays. Uranium (U) is a radioactive element. Gamma-ray and neutron-gamma ray equipment is used to log boreholes. Fadoacive Source aman ettens, et Sena Comprehension a. Explain the relation between accidents and the following: (i) oily floors. (ii) fast-moving items of equipment, (ii) sudden overhead hazards. b. Which added risk is run by employees who disobey safely regulations? What is the primary risk? c. Why is a boll weevil more vulnerable than an old hand? d. When floormen aren't very busy (eg., when the rig is WOC, waiting on cement) certain safety regulations are more likely 10 be broken than at other times. How? fe. Why must workers be more alert in such places as (i) Alaska, (ii) the North Sea? £. Define ‘limits of proportion’ g. What is the relation between safety and {i) discipline, (ii) signs, notices and warnings, (il) protective clothing? h. What is the difference between NGL and LNG? i, Safety procedures are designed to protect not only you, bul the crew members you work with as well. How? jj. Discuss this statement: "The basis of safe procedure is clear communication.’ Choose from these words to complete the paragraph below: flammable, dismissal, non-sparking, discipline, movements, disobey, fighting, hazards, permitted, handy, safe, masks, intoxication, vessel, authorised, forbidden, regulations Safety on the Refinery Floor. Fire, explosion and refinery .... and ... is therefore important in ensuring that safety ... are obeyed. Refinery workers who ... may be subject to ... or loss of pay. In most areas of the refinery floor, are the main cigarettes, matches, lighters and tobacco are . and before any special work is done the supervisor may insist on the use of ... tools. No worker is if the in-lines. have not been isolated or blocked off. Entry to operating units is limited to ... personnel, and for this reason a record is kept of the .. of all operators. In areas where there is toxic or ... gas, gas when the area has been declared ... by a chemist. Fire-... equipment should always be ..., and wherever possible no operator should be allowed to work alone. to enter a must be worn even Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION | @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Gibson and his Safety Officer, Mr. Keller Voice: Hey. Gibson. GIBSON: What's up? VOICE: Sufety Officer wants to see you. 93 ‘GIBSON: Where? VOICE: Over by the LPG compres GIBSON: Okay, I'm going, ion unit. (He goes over to the LPG unit) GIBSON: Mr. Keller. KELLER: I'll be brief. Gibson. Can you read that sign? tsson: Yes. KELLER: Then read it for me, please. GIBSON: ‘No entry except to authorised personnel’. KELLER: Do you understand what it means? GIBSON: I can read English, Mr. Keller. KELLER: Then what were you doing in there con the back shift yesterday? There's a report here in the log about it GIBSON: Oh, that. Well, we were going to vent gas, you see KELLER: -and? GIBSON: There was some welding going on over by the new crude tanks. | think they were setting up some grounding equipment. KELLER: So? GIBSON: The superintendent told me to get over there fast and stop the welding, KELLER: And you took a shorteut through this restricted area, GiBsoN: Well, you know, I was told to be quick about it. KELLER: The super would have waited until you reported back, wouldn't he? GIBSON: He would have, yes. KELLER: Then you should have gone around this area instead of through it, shouldn't you? GIBSON: J suppose I should have, Mr. Keller KELLER: You should have, but you didn’t, In future, Gibson, do so, will you? There shortcuts where safety is are 0 concemed. Understood? GIBSON: Understood. KELLER: Right, then. Back to your job, Gibson. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. Grounding equipment (also called ‘earthing’ equipment) is designed to carry electric charges safely away. Why is it necessary to ground crude storage tanks? b. Why was Gibson told to stop the welding? cc, How did Gibson get to the area where the welding was going on? How should he have got there? Why? 4d. What does Gibson say he understands? Why is it necessary to restrict some refinery areas to authorised personnel? £, How does Keller know that Gibson went through this area? g. Who put Gibson's name into the log? Why? h. What sort of discipline does Gibson receive? i, What does Keller mean by saying that ‘there are no shortcuts where safety is concerned’? J Why does Keller ask Gibson to read the sign? Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE © L. Do you remember this sentence from the tape? Then you should have gone around this area instead of through it, shouldn't you?" Examples: You (wear) your gloves. = You should have worn your gloves. He (work) with someone experienced. = He should have worked with someone experienced. 94 Do the following in the same way. a. You (close) that valve as soon as the order came through. b. Before he started to climb the scaffolding, he (put on) his safety belt. c. You (mark) the container toxic’. 4. You (clean up) that spilled can of dope. €. You (check) the compass heading before you kicked off. Now consider what might! could! would not have happened if someone had actually done what he should have done. Example: You should have wor your gloves. If you had worn them, you wouldn't have burned your hands so badly. Write a mini-paragraph like that for each of the other five sentences in the exercise above. 2. Passive Voice Examples: Nobody (conserve) = Oil should be conserved. Nobody should give instructions that are not clear. (clearly) = Instructions should be given clearly. should waste oil. Use the words in brackets to rewrite the following. a. Nobody should disobey safety regulations. (obey) b. Nobody should position fire extinguishers where they can't be reached quickly and easily. (handy) c. Nobody should confuse LNG with NGL. (not confuse) d. Nobody should permit welding when gas is being vented. (forbid) €. Nobody should allow trainees to work alone. (accompany) f. Nobody should leave fire doors open, (keep closed) ae + First Aid g. Nobody should keep first-aid equipment locked away. (open and clearly-marked cupboard) h. Nobody should ignore safety notices (not ignore) i. Nobody should leave work areas messy or dirty. (tidy and clean) j. Nobody shoutd leave tools lying around where others may tip over them. (not leave) Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION II @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Jackson and Mr. Sharp. SHARP: Jackson. JACKSON: Yeah, Mr. Sharp? SHARP: "Yeah"? What do you mean, ‘yeah’? Get rid of that cigarette. Now. JACKSON: Anything you say, Mr. Sharp. SHARP: Let's have you in the dog house Come on, VOICE 1: He's for it now. voice 2: Well, he should have known better, shouldn't he? (Sharp and Jackson leave the rig floor) suaRP: Jackson, This is the second time I've caught you smoking. I wamed you last time - JACKSON: -aw, we're only W.0.C.. Mr, Sharp. SHARP: Forget it, Last time I said there wouldn't be a second warning, didn’t I? JACKSON: But there are gas sniffers all over the place. 95 SHARP: So what? You're no boll weevit, Jackson. JACKSON: I'm not all that green, no, sare; Then you should know better, shouldn't you? W.O.C.? Gas sniffers? What kind of crazy excuses are those? No smoking, Jackson, means no smoking, Full stop. JACKSON: Look, I'm sorry, Mr. Sharp. It won't happen again. SHARP: I know it won't. You're fired. JACKSON: What? SHARP: You heard me, You're fired. Tm noi risking the lives of my whole crew just because you can't obey the no-smoking rule. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a, Choose the right expression: He's for it now means (i) He approves of it (ii) He's in serious trouble (jii) He should have known better. b. Why does Sharp get angry when Jackson says ‘yeah? c. Why should Jackson have known better? d. How did Jackson find the time to smoke? €. A ‘gas sniffer’ is an instrument which detects dangerous gases and sounds an alarm. Why does Sharp think that the presence of gas sniffers is a crazy excuse for smoking? £ Why does Sharp fire Jackson? Would a toolpusher or a supervisor do the same in your company? Section E WRITING PRACTICE, Signs & Warnings KEEP AWAY A sign which says ‘Keep Aw: that a certain area should not be approached indicates by unauthorised personnel. A notice stich as this might be found, for example, near equipment which is faulty and has become hazardous, or in front of scaffolding where there is a danger of objects falling from a height. Now write similar paragraphs for the safety notices below. [MIND YOUR HEAD RADIOACTIVE SOURCE [PIG APPROACHING [HANDS OFF! [HOT WORK [CORROSIVE 96 Unit 16 Ways of Improving Recovery Section A READING COMPREHENSION Read the following passage. 25,00 milion Tonnes ao 1 97 ‘The average efficiency of recovery is in fact only about 30-50% of the OIP as a and for this reason both governments and private industries are hard maximum, at work on R & D programmes to improve these figures. na World Energy Demand (Foss Fuca) Per Your 5% population growth 2% population grow, developing novons ndustiaize = ne grow in world energy demand It is now generally believed that there could be a serious worldwide oil shortage by the mid-1980s, Even if, in a more favourable situation, the Middle East oil- producing countries doubled their output, there would still be an oil-supply crisis by the mid-1990s. The graph may at first seem {o indicate that our present oil rescrves will probably last for at least another seventy ‘years: but the graph is based on a recovery factor of 100%, and it also includes coal = 2% population growth, no charge in anergy demand Watertooding Omtakewe! Injection wet | Sonn / AQUIFER tl wacer contact (owe ‘The term ‘primary recovery’ refers to the oil which is producible under natural-drive conditions. In the carly days of the industry, production was limited entirely to the oil which could be recovered by allowing primary drive mechanisms to operate. Later, systems of artificial lift were developed for recovering oil from reservoirs in which the natural-drive energy had been depleted, as well as for recovering oil which, from the beginning, did not have sufficient energy to flow to the surface. Gas injection Otttake wel! Injection well WATER \ ow.c Techniques were next developed to force more oil out of the pore spaces of reservoir rock by direct displacement with other fluids. Oil which is recovered by these methods is referred to as ‘secondary recovery’, The most widely-used secondary recovery methods are waterflooding and gas which imitate the primary production mechanisms of water drive and Bas-cap drive. Duc to a number of complicated factors (eg, reservoir pressure, Permeability, oil__viscosity, —_ete.), waterflooding and gas. injection cannot increase primary recovery by much more injection, porosity, 98. Anttiont ite Pumping jack Gas under. bressure than an average 10-20% of the OJP. Since the 1950s, petroleum physicists have been working on ways to improve the displacement efficiency of injection Muids. The advanced recovery processes which use these improved fluids are referred to by many oilmen as EOR (enhanced cil recovery), although some prefer to call them ‘tertiary recovery’ techniques. A few examples are the injection of carbonated water (CO, in H,O), chemists and and caustic/ alkaline and polymer! caustic floods. Although EOR methods give better sweep efficiency and mobility ratio, mose than half of the OIP may still be left behind in the ground. Special Words and Expressions crisis difficult situation of emergency requiring immediate decisions about the future recovery factor percentage of oil which can be won. efficiency An efficient provess yields the maximum result for the minimum effort. In physics, efficiency is the relation between total energy input and useful energy output. OIP oil in place in the reservoir. The adjective ‘original’ is often used with this term to indicate that the oil referred to is, the volume in the reservoir before the start of production. hard at work working hard. R & D research and development. depleted lessened in quantity or in force. waterflooding process in which water is pumped to a formation in order to increase recovery. injection forcing fluid into a formation in order to improve the drive mechanism. imitate reproduce; produce a copy of enhanced improved; made greater. alkaline An alkali is a water-soluble salt containing a high proportion of potassium (K) or sodium carbonate (Na,CO)). sweep forcing oil through reservoir-tock pores towards offiake (production) wells. mobility ratio relation between the Nowrate of the injection fluid and the flowrate of the reservoir crude wre Factor, 99 Comprehension a, What information does the graph give about the years 2099, 2130 and 3000? . Which is more likely, an oil shortage by the mid-1980s or an oil-supply crisis by the mid-1990s? How does the reading passage give this information? ¢. Gold the Middie East oil-producing countries double their output? Should they do so? If not, why not? d. Define (i) primary recovery, (ii) secondary recovery, (iii) tertiary recovery, (iv) enhanced recovery. ‘c. What is the difference between ‘drive’ and ‘lift? f. What is the 'more favourable situation’ referred to in the passage? Is it likely that fossil fuels will last until the year 30007 If not, why not? Relate your answer to the graph. h, OIP =10" barrels. Recovery factor = 30%. About how many barrels will. probably be recovered? i, Jn addition to the OIP and the recovery what other factors would a reservoir engineer have to take into consideration in order to calculate the recoverable oil reserves of a particular reservoir? j. The cost of an injection programme at present musy,be considerably lower than the vaid¥Of ‘the oil produced.’ Why? Could this present economic fact ever change? If you think it could, explain how. Choose from these words to complete the paragraph below: considefable, aquifers sifficiently, break * through, — trapped: original, mobjlise, prodicing, displaced, driven, zones, If a trap consists ofa relatively large gas cap in addition to the oif and water... gas may .. to the .. wells before the pressure has dropped .. to... a high proportion of the ve Water, Then, if any .. volume of gas is produced, some of the oil which is later . by water may be .. into the gas cap area where it will be... even if the water front tater passes through it Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION | @ 1. Listen to the conversation between Gordon and Don. * lojecton wes 8 oftake wer j Peoharsinecton sane GORDON: Gordon here. DON: Gordon, this is Don. Ate you busy? GORDON: Busy? Well no, Don, not exactly busy. What I'm trying to do is work out the recoverable reserves, that’s all, DON: How's it going? GORDON: Oh, just fine. Fine. Wonderful, in fact. DON: It doesn't sound so wonderful. GoRDON: I'l tell you what, Don. You give me some figures for the OIP and the recovery factor, and I'll tell you in five minutes what the recoverable reserves are. Don: I wish I could, mate GORDON: So do I. Anyway, what's on your mind? DON: It's about the waterflood and the 100 injection wells, Gordon. GORDON: Problem? DON: Not really. I's just that, in order to get an input of 500,000 barrels a day from this peripheral pattern, we think we'll have to increase the number of injection wells from 21 to 25, GoRDON: Then you have got a problem there, Don. DON: Well, just a tiny one. GORDON: Where do you want to discuss it? My office, or yours? DON: Here, if that's okay with you. GORDON: I'll be along in a moment, Don. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a, What's Gordon trying to do? Is he finding it easy? If not, why not?. b. What does Don wish he could do? Why? ¢. What does Gordon wish Don could do? Why? 4. Choose the right expression: I'l go along with that means (i) I want to go along, Gi) Lagree, (iii) 1M go where that goes. ¢. What is a ‘peripheral injection pattern? f. What is the volume of water that the company plans to inject? What will have to be done in order to meet this target? & Why will it be necessary to treat the water before it is injected? Where will the water be treated? h. Is this reservoir onshore or offshore? What makes you think so? Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE 1. Abbreviations OIM = Offshore Installation Manager Write out what each of these abbreviations stands for: EOR, PVC. PCV, WoC, OWC, WOW. ATK, AVTAG. AVTUR, AVGAS, LNG, NGL, LPG, R & D, TEL, TML, LDF, IV, DERV, OIP, DSD. 2. In the paragraph below, replace the expressions in italics with suitable passive forms and make any other changes that are necessary. ‘An important application of secondary recovery techniques is in reservoirs in which production has depleted natural forces. These may be reservoirs which developed before oilmen used modem techniques, and oilmen are in fact developing number of old fields in just this way. Offshore, however, the terms oilmen ‘primary’, 'secondary' and ‘tertiary’ no longer have a clear meaning when offmen apply them to recovery methods. Oilmen must iaintain reservoir pressure from the start of production, and all mechanisms of recovery and displacement are now very advanced. Soon, perhaps, oilmen will use only the term ‘enhanced recovery’. 3. Choose the tight words, If con ions are_—_(favourable/ unfavourable) a carefully-planned water (flooding/ flood) can considerable (increase/ decrease) in (recovery/ producible/ recoverable) “as compared to the volume of oil which could be produced by, (ie. / eg.). a (simple / complicated) (solution-gas / gas-solution / gas-soluble) — (sweep/—drive/_fift), Waterflooding alone, however, may be (efficient/ efficiency/ inefficient) due to « number of (facts / factors), the most important (from/ off to) which is viscosity. When the oil viscosity is very (high/ low) and the (mobilise/ mobile/ mobility) ratio is therefore (favourable unfavourable), the (efficients result in a sweep 101 efficiency/ inefficient) of a (flooding/ flood) can be very low, as in the case of highly (waxy/ greasy) oils. The result of this is that {producible/ produced/ recoverable) water (cuts/ fractions) rise to (economic/ commercial/ uneconomic) values before (sufficient/ sufficiently) additional recovery has been obtained. One technique for (dissolving/ solving) this problem is the application of heat to the (upper/ middle/ lower) part of the (offtake/ injection) well, so that the formation temperature in the vicinity of the well is (increased/ decreased). This results in (a/ an) (reduction/ increase) in oil viscosity and (also/ as well as) greater efficiency of (enhancement/ displacement) Processes such as this are known as (temperatuse/ thermal/ thermometer) recovery processes. by water, Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION II @ L. Listen to Gordon and Don again as they discuss some of the disadvantages of CO, injection. GORDON: ... right, we don’t disagree on the advantages of CO, injection, but what about the disadvantages? DON: Okay. Let's hear your views, then. GORDON: Well, let's start off with the cost of CO, We've got transportation, plus compression to the pressures we'll need. DON: By far the biggest cost there is transportation GORDON: And transportation costs are going up all the time. DON: Yes, that’s a point. GORDON: In addition, CO, alone isn't going base price, plus Unit 17 Unconventional Sources of Oil Section A READING COMPREHENSION Wt Dc en Cosette = : ] pase. / iw 1000 mon Byer e i i Se | a a a tip minioglOpen cast mining 103 Read the following passage. Oil-discovery rates are declining, and with them so too are oil reserves. The cause of this, as the graph indicates, is simply that oil is being consumed faster than it is being discovered. At an energy growth-rate of 5% ‘a year, world oil consumption doubles every fifteen years. At 6-8%, it doubles every ten years. Stated another way, the problem is this: on historic growth-rates, the world will use up as much oil in the next 10-15 years as it has used up in the last hundred years. Realising this, the -—_oil-exporting organisations such as OPEC have put up their prices and restricted production in an attempt, among other things, to reduce consumption so that reserves can be made to last longer. The immediate results of this have been the familiar oil crisey of the 1970s, but it has also forced most oil- importing countries to take action on oil conservation. There is good reason to believe, however, that ultimate world oil reserves. are healthier than many people imagine. ‘The graph above and the data in the table ‘on page 102 do not include the oil which, it has been estimated, can be recovered from the world's abundant deposits of oil shale, tar sand and coal. The technology for the production of synthetic oil from these wiconventional sources is already well- known and is continually being improved. Synthetic oil production costs were uneconomic until quite recently; but as the price of conventional oil has risen, so the relative production costs of synthetic oil have become more competitive. The Athabasca tar sands in the province of Alberta, Canada, are the richest source of synthetic oit yet discovered. These deposits underlie an area of 12,000 square miles at ‘an average depth of about 53 feet. Huge excavators are used to stip off the ‘overburden and dig the tar sand out, in rather the same way that a shallow deposit of coal might be mined. This is an extremely unsatisfactory method, however, and the Canadians are therefore developing in-situ extraction methods which will be cheaper, more efficient, and far less polluting. If all synthetic-oil sources are taken into consideration in addition to conventional sources, world oil reserves rise to the equivalem of about 3 trillion tons of wellhead crude. At a worldwide energy growth-rate of 5% a year, this would be ‘enough to last more than two hundred years al present levels of technology. Special Words and Expressions historic based on a study of history. oil-exporting selling oil to other countries. 104 OPEC Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC was formed in 1960, and by 1979 the member counties wer Abu Dhabi, Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Tran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, restricted placed within certain limits crises This is the plural of ‘crisis’. vil-importing opposite of 'oil-exporting’. ultimate absolute known maximum, data items of factual information. The singular form ‘datum’ is rarely used. abundant relatively plentiful; in good supply. oil shale type of sedimentary rock containing hydrocarbons locked into its structure. tar sand a naturally-occurring semi-solid mixture of sand, bitumen and water. unconventional differing from the usual ot the expected. competitive capable of favourably, eg., in price, performance, comparing etc. in-situ in the original place or position; in the place where itis found. polluting causing the environment to become dirty or poisonous. If a river is badly polluted, the fish in it may equivalent equal in quantity, value, ete. Comprehension a, What is wrong with present tar-sand extraction methods in Alberta? Are they likely to be better anywhere else? b. About how many tonnes are there in 10 tons? ¢. Describe the relation between rising conventional-oil prices. and the increasing competitiveness of synthetic oil 4. How does the strip mining of Canadian tar sands pollute Would similar operations be permitted in your own country? Why? e. What ‘other things’ (Section A) may be achieved by raising the price of crude on the world market? f. If the price of a particular product is uncompetitive and has to be lowered, the environment? what might have to be done about its costs? How might this be achieved? What would have to happen to cause ultimate world oil reserves to rise? h, Reserves can never be known for certain; they can only be estimated. Why? i. At present, where is Canadian synthetic crude extracted? How is it refined? j. What is the difference between the way in which oil is contained in reservoir rock and the way in which it is contained in oil shale? Choose from these words to complete the paragraph below: uneconomic, factors, small, pay out, dusters, accumulation, accumulations, required, nearest, minimum, exploratory, profit, regarded, recoverable, equivalent. Natural hydrocarbon .... may contain anything from a few thousand barrels of .. oil to thousands of millions of barrels. One million barrels, or an ... volume of gas, is generally ... as the smatlest ... which can be produced at a .... In the United States in recent years, nine out of ten been ..., and only one in forty has found as much as the .. .. wells have million barrels. The ... size of a reservoir which is worth developing depends on a number of ... such as the distance to the nearest pipeline, drilling and Production costs, the market value of oil, 105 etc. A field which could not possibly .. if it were located in the North Sea might be highly profitable of it were located, for example, in the Middle East. Of course, fields which are .. at today’s costs and prices may be worth developing in the future Section B : LISTENING COMPREHENSION | @ 1. Now listen to the Canadian oilmen, Blain and Harry, as they describe the Athabasca operations. BLAIN: As you scan hear from the "@ise behind ug this is a very big operation we're running, HARRY: Those machines behind us are excavators. They'te stripping off the overburden and digging out the tar sand. BLAIN: From here, the tar sand is tuansported to our synthetic-crude plant Ws treated with hot water to release the bitumen locked up in the sand HARRY: After that, the bitumen can be cracked into kerosine, naphtha, light gases and gas oil, BLAIN: Now, at present, we're producing, only 60,000 barrels a day, but we've got plans to boost that to half a mil barrels a day by the early 1980s. HARRY: That may sound like a lot, but it isn't so very much when you consider that the sands contain about 900 billion barrels of oil in the form of bitumen. BLAIN: Nine hundred billion barrels are really tremendous reserves. You might like to compare our 900 billion barrels with Saudi Arabia's proven reserves of only 132 billion barrels. HARRY: The problem that we have, though, that Saudi Arabia doesn't, is this open- cast mining. BLAIN: In the first place, open-cast mining is costly and polluting. But in addition to that, it only lets us recover 10 or 12% of the bitumen in the ground. HARRY: That's why we're trying to get away from it. We're working on in-situ extraction methods like, um, thermal recovery and steam stimulation. BLAIN: In-situ extraction would just about double our production rate, It would boost it to about million barrels a day. HARRY: ACa million barrels a day, these tar- sand reserves would last for over 300 years. BLAIN: So you can easily understand why we've got such a big R & D programme going, HARRY: With a possible recovery rate of a million barrels a day, the energy future of all of North America could depend on the tar sands of Alberta 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a, What's another expression for ‘open-cas mining’? For what three reasons do Blain and Harry think that open-cast mining is, unsatisfactory? b. How do the Athabasca reserves compare with Saudi Arabia's proven reserves? c. Why are the Canadians running such a big programme of development? 4. Which in-situ extraction methods are being worked on? What's the difference between them? €. Describe briefly how the Canadians are making gasoline from their tar-sand deposits. f, Suppose that a recovery rate of 100% is research and 106 achieved. At half a million bpd, how long will the Athabasca reserves last? Section C STRUCTURE PRACTICE 1. Phrasal Verbs a field which could not possibly pay out (Section B1) Refer to Exercise 3, page 44, then choose from the following phrasal verbs to complete the sentences below: wear away, go on, kick off, shape up, build up, hose down, stand back, blow up, tie up, look after, make up of, end up. 1. SBMS allow tankers .. and load in the open sea ght men were killed when the gas- compression unit they were working on suddenly... c. There was some welding ... over by the new crude tanks, so an operator was sent to stop it. d. About 88% of all crude oil ... as fuel of one kind or another. ©. A thribble ... three singles joined together, f, Trainees should .. by experienced personnel. . How's the hole ...? |. When the inclinometer readings had been checked, the hole... i, At the moment, the angle ... at 1'/," 100m, j. When the pipe is being tripped, stands in a comer of the rig floor. k. Parts of the valve assembly ... by sand particles, so spares were immediately ordered. 1. Roustabouts sometimes do nothing more interesting than .. the rig sides and equipment for'hours at a stretch. ae 2. Passive Voice “The cause of this, as the graph indicates, is simply that oi! is being consumed faster than it is being discovered.’ (Section A) Rewrite the following in passive voice. a, Petroleum research developing in-situ extraction techniques for the recovery of synthetic crude from tar sands. b. Oilmen are continually improving the technology for the production of oil from ‘unconventional sources. c. The present oil-reserves problem is simply that consumers are consuming oil faster than the oil companies are discovering and developing new oil accumulations, d. As technologists are improving oil- recovery technology, reservoir engineers workers are are continually upgrading recoverable reserve estimates. ¢. Oil-exporting countries are restricting oil exports in an attempt to conserve stocks. @ 3. Reported Speech "Those machines behind us are excavators, Harry explained. => Hary explained that the machines behind them were excavators. "They're stripping off the overburden and digging out the tar sand, he said = He said they were stripping off the overburden and digging out the tar sand Convert the following to reported speech. a. ‘The tar sand is transported to our synthetic-crude plant,’ Blain said b. "It’s treated with hot water to release the bitumen locked up in the sand,’ he said . After that.’ Harry explained, ‘the bitumen can be cracked into kerosine, naphtha, light gases and gas oil.’ 107 d. Blain said, ‘At present, we're producing ‘only 60,000 barrels a day, but we've got plans to boost that to half a million barrels a day by the eatly 1980s.” ¢. ‘Although it sounds a lot.’ Harry added, "It isn't so much when you consider that the sands contain about 900 billion barrels of oil in the form of bitumen.” Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION It @ 1. Listen to Keith and Liz as they discuss the report given by Harry and Blain KEITH: One of the oilmen said that the energy future of all North America could depend on the tar sands of Alberta. Liz: It was said that the Alberta tar sands could provide a million’ barrels of oil a day for over 300 years. KEITH: Now, that sounds like wonderful news, but just exactly what do a million of barrels of oil a day mean? How far do a million barrels of crude oil go? Liz: Not very far at all, the way some people are burning it up. Did you know, for example, that in the single month of May, 1978, California alone used up over a billion gallons of gasoline? KEITH: At that rate of use, a million barrels of crude a day is no more than a drop in the ocean. Liz: Some day in the future, the Alberta tar sands may very well be providing a million bartels of crude a day - KEITH: -and these supplies may indeed last for over three hundred years - Liz: - but that doesn’t mean that the auto- mobile is going to be with us that long automobile owners in 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. If, on average, a barrel of crude yields 35 US gallons of gasoline, what was the equivalent in crude that the Californians used up in May, 19787 b. About how many gallons of gasoline could be produced from the daily production of the Alberta tar sands? ¢. What's the first thing that Californians should do to conserve oil? 4. Do Keith and Liz believe that cars will continue to be used as long as the tar- sand reserves last? IF not, why not? ce. What's the meaning of the expression ‘a drop in the ocean’? Why does Keith use in? Section E WRITING PRACTICE Notice how the paragraph below has been built up from the data in the graph on page 103. Between 1920 and 1925, the world oil discovery rate was about seven thousand million barrels a year. This rose to just over ten thousand million barrels between 1925 and 1930, but it dropped by approximately seven thousand million barrels a year between 1930 and 1935. In the period hetween 1920 and 1930, oil consumption was relatively steady at about two thousand million barrels a year, but it went up by an annual rate of about five hundred million barrels a year between 1930 and 1935. Now write about the 1935-75 period. 108, Unit 18 Oil & The Environment Section A READING COMPREHENSION Read the following passage. Environmental pollution by oil takes many different forms, but the ones we read about in our newspapers are not the primary cause of the damage. Disasters such as the ‘Amoco Cadiz, accident, or the terrible spill near Santa Barbara, California, are very are, and the evidence indicates that the resulting harm to the environment is relatively short-term. The most damaging source of pollution is simply the combustion of oil products for fuel, and most of this could be governments were prepared to legislate the necessary controls. Needless to say, the avoided if privately-owned automobile is the main factor in the oil-pollution problems of most ‘western’ countries. Combustion of Fuel Oi ‘The perfect combustion of pure hydrocarbons produces only carbon dioxide and water as by-products, but fuel impurities, additives and general engine inefficiency will usually combine to form pollutants. The sulphur component in fuel oil, for example, is converted by 109 combustion into sulphur dioxide (SO,), which, as it rises in the atmosphere, combines with water particles to form sulphuric acid. Later, dilute H,SO, actually falls as rain. Some oilmen jokingly point out that this is bad for fish, but good for farmers who have soil which is acid-poor. A refinery which burns 4x 10° tons/yr of fuel containing 2%/wt sulphur will emir about 8,000 tonnes of SO, per year, which is an average of 1,000 kg/hr. Load on Tep mon tanks washed wih seoaaier | ae on Tenn rete af cme amped At wooingt purend fe ak owes ‘The primary cause of the pollution of the oceans by oil is neither blowouts (such as the one on Ekofisk Bravo) nor tanker spills, but the deliberate discharge of tank washings on the open sea. By insisting on the use of the Load on Top system, tanker operators could easily prevent this sort of pollution, and some countries have recently introduced special laws and heavy fines to force them to do so. Low-toxicity dispersamty and relatively effective mop-up gear are now available for the treatment of accidental spills at sea. A year after the Amoco Cadiz had broken up off the Britany coast, the nearby beaches were back to normal, basically because most of the 223,000 tons of spilled crude were either cleaned up at sea or dispersed naturally and harmlessly by evaporation, sedimentation, biodegradation, etc. Natural dispersion, which can get tid of 80-90% of a major spill at sea, is discussed in Listening Comprehension II, Unit 20 Mapp ear 0 el ak om com Special Words and Expressions disasters events which cause destruction. something that gives clear indication proof of something else. short-term not lasting a long time. to legislate to make laws about. dilute made weaker by mixing with another substance. jokingly in # manner intended to he funny will emit witl give off in chimney smoke. evidence deliberate on purpose; not accidental. tank washings dirty mixture or water and oil from tank-cleaning operations. fines A fine isa sum of money which must be paid as punishment for breaking a 110 law. dispersants chemicals which break up spilled oil into tiny droplets so that it spreads out widely and disappears ‘mop-up gear gear (equipment) for cleaning up oil spills mechanically. In the UK, mop-up gear and dispersants are tested at the Warren Spring Laboratory (WSL). biodegradation breaking down of substances by the action of single-celled organisms. Some bacteria eat oil Comprehension a. How might refinery emissions destroy flower in a park? b. Why have most governments not legislated the necessary controls over pollution resulting from the combustion of oil products for fuel? c. Why have some countries introduced fines for the deliberate discharge of tank washings at sea? 4. In the Load on Top system, where are the washings discharged? e. Why does the writer use the expression ‘needless to say’ when pointing out the relation between oil-pollution and privately owned cars? f. Why does the combustion of hydrocarbons for fuel produce pollutants? How could this be prevented? 8. Do you think that constant unnecessary noise is a form of pollution? What other forms of pollution would you expect from a refinery built before, say, 1965? Why are newer refineries generally cleaner? h, Which is worse, VLCC spills or the practice of discharging washings directly into the sea? Why? Which of the two gets more space in newspapers? Why? i. Which components in a crude spill do you think would be dispersed by (i) evaporation, (ii) sedimentation, (iii) biodegradation? j. Why do containment booms and skimmers work best when the sea is calm? ‘True or False? Say whether these are true or false. Correct the false ones. a, Natural dispersion is good when the weather is bad. 'b. Many operators will not use the Load on Top system unless they are forced to. c. One country’s pollution problems are the concern of all countries d. Some farmers are glad when dilute ‘sulphuric acid falls as rain. e. The greater the efficiency of an engine, the fewer the unburned hydrocarbons in the engine's exhausts, Section B LISTENING COMPREHENSION I © 1. Listen to the conversation between Liz and Mr. Goss, an expert in oil-pollution control methods. Goss: So you see. the equipment we've developed for cleaning up cil spills can really be pretty effective. LIZ: Pretty effective, but still not perfect, Mr. Goss. Goss: Well, no, I admit there are a few technical difficulties we've got to get over. Liz: Such as those you mentioned in connection with containment booms and skimmers, for example. Goss: Those, and the development of better chemical dispersants. But we're working M1 on them. Liz: But just how far are you succeeding? Everywhere one looks, the oil on the beaches seems to be getting worse all the time. And there must be a great many blowouts and tanker spills that we don't even hear about. Goss: Now that's an interesting point. Because, you see, much of this pollution doesn't come from accidents such as blowouts and tanker spills. LIZ: Doesn't it? Goss: No, and mechanical cleanup can't do much about it, either. uz: Then where does the pollution come from? Goss: From the deliberate discharge of tank washings on the open sea. 12: Then oil companies should stop it. Goss: Certainly we should, And some of us have. My own company stopped it years ago. Liz; How? Goss: With the Load on Top system. iz: The Load on Top system? Is that effective? Goss: Yes, very effective. Liz: Then why hasn't Load on Top put an end to this kind of pollution? Goss: Because some oil carriers just will not use it. Liz: But they should be forced to. Goss: Well, yes, but how are you going to do that operation? Liz: International co-operation. That would solve so many of our problems, wouldn't in? without international co- 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a. Should operators use Load on Top? Why? Do they use it? Why? Does Goss's company use it? Why? bb. What is the relation between intemational co-operation and pollution problems? c. What is Goss's company working on? Why? d. Why isn't mechanical cleanup effective against the open-sea discharge of tank washings? e. What are the ‘certs difficulties’ that Goss refers to? technical Section C © 1, Reported Speech ‘Is the Load on Top system effective?’ Liz asked. Liz asked if the Load on Top system was effective. Convert the following to reported speech. a. Very effective,’ Mr. Goss answered. (Mr. Goss answered that it was ... ). b. "Then why hasn't Load on Top put an end to this kind of pollution?’ Liz. then wanted to know. . ‘Because some oil carriers just will not use it,’ Mr. Goss explained. (Mr. Goss explained that it was because ..) 4. They should be forced to, Liz replied. ¢. "Yes, but how are you going to do that without international co-operation?’ Mr. Goss asked Liz. @ 2, Passive Voice Most of this could (avoid). => '.. most of this could be avoided (Section A) But they should (force) to use it. => ‘But they should be forced 10 use it! (from the tape) Put the verbs in brackets into. similar passive forms. M2 . Pollution problems (could solve) if there ‘were better international co-operation. Refineries (should design) to be clean and quiet. ©. Unburned-hydrocarbons b, emissions (would reduce) if engine efficiencies ‘were increased. 4d, Tank washings (should discharge) only into special holding vessels at tanker terminals. e. The toxicity of chemical dispersants (should carefully test) 3. Choose the right words. The Load on Top system is a (process/ procedure) in which the washings from all (departments/ compartments) in the ship are (hold/ held/ holding) in one tank instead of (to be/ being/ been) pumped overside. The ‘washings in this tank are allowed to settle, leaving (dirty/ clean) water in the (top/ bottom) and a layer of oil at the (top/ bottom). When the (contains/ contents) have settled, the (dirty/ clean) discharged to the sea, leaving only (oil/ water/ oil and water) in the (top/ bottom). The (incoming/ outgoing) crude is then oaded into the tanker in the usual way. water is Section D LISTENING COMPREHENSION Tl @ L, Listen to the conversation between Michael and the man be talks to in Los Angeles. MAN: Welcome to Los Angeles. friend MicHAgL: Good grief, I cant breathe. ‘What's wrong with the air around here? MAN: That's our famous Los Angeles smog. MICHAEL: Smog? It's more like - it's more like soup. MAN: Yeah, well, i's not ordinary smog, see, it's photochemical smog. Our atmosphere's got a lot more in it than just air and plain old smoke. Tate eangeston| otras in exust enisint MICHAEL: Like what? MAN: Oh, unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, sulphates, lead compounds, and, um, some other chemicals I can’t remember. MICHAEL: Is it always as bad as this? MAN: Only when there's no wind, and the sum is shining. MICHABL: The sun is shining? Now? Man: Yeah. And there's no wind. You can tell, see, from the smog. If there was any wind, it would blow away. Probably. MICHAEL: Where does it - where does it ‘come from? MAN: From our traffic congestion here, mostly. We've got 4'/, million cars in this part of California. MICHABL: And when the smog gets like this, what do you do? MAN: We tell the children and the old people to stay at home. Indoors, you know. They're warned not to go out MICHAEL: You're joking MAN: No, I'm - not. And this is only first- stage pollution. At stage pollution we shut down some of our factory production, too. second. 113 MICHAEL: Good grief, this is terrible. My eyes ate starting to bum, MAN: So are mine, a little, But live here, see, $0 I don't notice it so much. MICHAEL: What are you Los Angeles people going to do about this pollution? MAN: The car-pool system, friend. That will - solve the problem. MICHAEL: When? MAN: When? Good question. When - when, tum, everybody agrees to start using the ccar-pool system, I guess. 2. Now do this exercise based on the tape. a, Why does Michael say that the smog is ‘more like soup"? b. What is the difference between ordinary smog (smoke + fog) and photochemical smog? ¢.[s the sun shining? How can the man tell? 4. In the car-pool system, three or four people get together and agree to drive to work each day in one car, thus leaving } sour en 7 (Z cen as Otepereant tae two or three cars at home. What is the relation between this system and air pollution? e. Why are children and old people told to stay at home during first-stage pollution? £. Why is there such a big traffic-congestion problem in LA? g. Which pollutants does LA smog contain? How is each of them formed. Section E WRITING PRACTICE Use the diagram above to write a paragraph describing how clean-up boats apply chemicals to disperse oil slicks. 4 Unit 19 Oil Conservation Section A READING COMPREHENSION (1 Natura Gas Consummation Tonnes Ot Eaten Perperce 975 AFRICA USAW. EUROPE JAPAN Read the following passage. ‘The world's oil supplies will one day run out. To postpone that day, several countries have alteady introduced oil-conservation policies and legislation. It would be unfair, as the graph indicates, to expect every nation in the world to cut down on oil consumption, but certainly no nation should allow oil to be wasted. Until recently, the unnecessary burning of oil was worst in the USA. There, between 1976 and 1978, an average of 56% of all crude oil was refined for sale as motor-car gasoline, but only about 20% of that was for essential transportation. A 55 mph speed limit, weekend closing of petrol stations, controls on the temperatures in public buildings, compulsory insulation of new public buildings, and restricted outdoor public lighting are just a few of the steps that Americans have taken or are now seriously considering in order to solve their short-term oil-supply problems. Parallel to 115 these indirect measures, a great deal of work is being done on improving the efficiency of automobile engines (so as 10 boost average mpg) and on utilizing the products of combustion which are usually lost to the atmosphere. An example of the latter is the system known as ‘co-generation’ of power; ie., using the waste heat from factories, hospitals, apartment buildings, etc. to generate electricity at power plants built on site, Co-generation is already providing about a third of West Germany's electricity. Additional oil could be conserved if electricity supplies were increased by the improvement of existing power stations. As costs to oil-importing countries are pushed up by the energy crisis, old oil becomes more profitable to the countries that export it. In some cases this has led to overproduction, which can cause severe reservoir-engineering problems and even a reduction in recoverable _ reserves. Excessively high production rates in reservoirs operating under water drive can expansion and hydroelectric result in coning and the loss of a considerable volume of oil left behind in the less permeable parts of the reservoir. Special Words and Expressions 10 postpone to put off; to put farther into the future. policies special methods of action designed to help in decision-making. unfair not properly considering the rights of others. 10 cut down on to reduce. mph miles per hour. compulsory demanded according to law. insulation Insulation keeps buildings warmer in winter and cooler in summer by reducing the exchange of heat between inside and outside. ‘measures steps which are taken to ensure the desired result. so as (0 in order to, ‘mpg miles per gallon. utilizing discovering a new use for old oil producible oil which was discovered a relatively long time ago. excessively to an unacceptable amount or degree. Comprehension a, What does the graph fell us about oil- consumption habits in the USA, Wester Europe, Japan and Africa? b. Re-draw the graph as you would like it to be for 1995 and give reasons for the changes that you make. c. Explain 'world energy crisi d. Why would it be unfair to expect every nation in the world to cut down on oil consumption? Does your country have an oil-conservation policy? If not, why not? €. Do you agree that ‘no nation should allow 116 oil to be wasted’? Give reasons for your answer. Describe the relation between oil conservation and each of the following: (i) a 55 mph speed limit, (ii) weekend closing of petrol stations, (iii) better average mpg, (iv) a maximum indoor heating temperature of 65°F, (v) turning off unneeded lights. Why does it say in the passage that these are ‘indirect’ measures? 8, Is the car-pool system of any help in the conservation of oil? Why? Would the system make much difference if it were introduced in your country? Why? h, Should the insulation of all private buildings in the USA be compulsory? If not, why not? If you think it should be, say how poor people might be helped to pay for it, i. How can rising world oil prices result in the loss of recoverable reserves? i, How could oil be conserved if “ hydroelectric power stations were bigger f and more efficient? ‘True or False? Say whether these are true or false. Correct the false ones. a. People are generally more unwilling to conserve oil when its price is high than when its price is low, b. The more electricity that can be produced by hydroelectric power stations, the more oil will be needed for fuel-burning power stations. c. Engines of increased efficiency help to conserve oil by delivering moze useful ‘output for the same fuel input 4. If coal replaces electricity-generating fuel oils, lower clean-air standards will have

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