VOA慢速英语20060811a

ECONOMICS REPORT - Oil Company Shuts Down a Pipeline¹ at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the Largest Oil Field in the United StatesBy Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, August 11, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.


Oil pipelines² in Alaska

The oil company British Petroleum³ has shut down a pipeline connecting the Prudhoe Bay oil fields in Alaska to the Trans-Alaska pipeline. The Prudhoe Bay field, north of the Arctic Circle, provides eight percent of America's oil production. It is the largest oil field in the United States.

On August seventh, B.P. said it had discovered a leak and a small oil spill of four or five barrels in the frozen arctic area. The company said thinning of the wall of the pipeline had taken place. At the time, B.P. said it was testing the thirty-five kilometer oil transit⁴ pipeline.

Last Sunday, B.P. cut the flow of two hundred thousand barrels of oil a day. B.P. plans to shut down the rest of the line soon. The company says the four hundred thousand barrels of oil a day represent half of all the oil produced in Alaska's North Slope area.

On news of the shutdown, the price of oil increased three percent to about seventy-seven dollars a barrel.

The Department of Energy remains⁵ hopeful that the reduction in oil production will be limited. On Wednesday, Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman said he believed other supplies could be found to take the place of the Alaskan oil. But, experts say it would probably be months before the flow of oil from Prudhoe Bay returns to normal.

B.P. said it deeply regretted the action it had to take. It said it is using all necessary resources to complete the work. BP is not the only company affected⁶ by the shutdown. The Wall Street Journal reports that oil companies Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips own even larger shares in Prudhoe Bay than B.P.

The shutdown is expected to affect the economy of the state of Alaska the most. Almost ninety percent of Alaska's money comes from taxes on oil. The state does not have a sales tax or income tax. The Associated Press reports that Alaska is losing more than six million dollars in oil taxes every day. Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski has temporarily stopped all hiring of new state employees. He has called for an investigation⁷ of the shutdown.

The affected pipelines are not part of the Trans Alaska pipeline, but feed into it. B.P. owns forty-seven percent of the Trans-Alaska pipeline system.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. Transcripts⁸ and archives are at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

2 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

3 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。

4 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句