The U.S., a major oil producer, woos other countries to produce more oil

The U.S., a major oil producer, woos other countries to produce more oil

　　Transcript¹

　　The Biden administration is encouraging U.S. oil companies to increase their production to help curb² record high gasoline prices. But boosting output is easier said than done.

　　A MARTINEZ, HOST:

　　The U.S. is the world's top oil producer. So why is it trying to woo countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela to produce more oil when it could be pumping more oil at home? NPR's Brittany Cronin went to find out.

　　BRITTANY CRONIN, BYLINE³: Let's start at the White House. President Biden says despite his long-term climate ambitions, he's not standing⁴ in the way of U.S. oil producers.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: And the oil and gas industry has millions of acres leased. They have 9,000 permits to drill now. They could be drilling right now, yesterday, last week, last year.

　　CRONIN: Biden has a complicated history with oil companies. He campaigned on transitioning away from oil. But to get gas prices down, he wants oil companies to ramp⁵ up production fast.

　　Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental Petroleum⁶, says that's easier said than done. At the CERAWeek energy conference last week, she was asked about how quickly oil producers can boost output, and the outlook was not good.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　VICKI HOLLUB: I would say that we're in a really dire⁷ situation here.

　　CRONIN: Coming into this year, Hollub says oil producers weren't really planning on significant growth. The industry was recovering from a huge drop in demand early in the pandemic. It's still about a million and a half barrels per day short of pre-pandemic production. And now these companies are being asked to pump even more.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　HOLLUB: Nobody really prepared in advance for significant growth. And so now with the supply chain challenges, it makes any kind of attempt to grow at a rapid pace very, very difficult.

　　CRONIN: But start with the fact that more oil requires drilling more wells.

　　Farzin Mou, vice⁸ president of intelligence at Enverus, an energy analytics company, says it's not as simple as turning a spigot.

　　FARZIN MOU: The point from which you drill a rig to the point that you can turn it online - it takes about 6 to 8 months typically.

　　CRONIN: And these days are anything but typical. Mou says she doesn't expect to see more oil until next year. That's for a few reasons, starting with the supply chain. So first, there's materials. To drill an oil well, you need things like sand and steel, things that are expensive and in short supply right now. Then you have labor⁹. The number of workers producing oil and gas had been declining for years. Then at the beginning of the pandemic, a lot of workers got laid off.

　　STACEY MORRIS: And those people may not come back, right?

　　CRONIN: That's Stacey Morris, director of research at Alerian, an energy data provider.

　　MORRIS: They've probably had to go on and find something else to do because their job in the oil industry went away.

　　CRONIN: Last year, some of those jobs did come back, but not all of them. But the biggest factor for oil companies right now might actually be fear. Their investors¹⁰ have been telling them to focus on returns over growth. Don't go chasing the next oil boom.

　　MORRIS: I think energy companies were very afraid to ramp production because they were going to get punished by investors.

　　CRONIN: Now, maybe Russia's invasion into Ukraine will change that equation. But top oil executives are proceeding¹¹ with caution. Oil prices are volatile¹². And they're all too familiar with the bust¹³ at the other side of the boom.

　　Here's Vicki Hollub, Occidental Petroleum president and CEO.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　HOLLUB: I think there has to be growth in supply at some point when we can make it happen.

　　CRONIN: No promises when that will be - so if you're hoping that U.S. producers might relieve some of that pressure at the pump, you might be waiting for a while.

　　Brittany Cronin, NPR News.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF MOKHOV'S "AUSPICIOUS PATH")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

6 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

7 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

11 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

12 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

13 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。