VOA标准英语2010年-BP Studies Static Kill Option on Damag

Capping Stack deploys¹ from on board the Transocean Discoverer Inspiration on the MC 252 location 11 July 2010

Oil company BP is considering a so-called "static kill" to seal off its damaged Macondo well in the Gulf² of Mexico, even as plans go forward to complete a relief well nearby. The plan would have to be approved by U.S. government officials who are working closely with BP engineers at the site.

 

The static kill would consist of an operation to pump mud into the damaged well through the cap that was successfully placed over it last week. The mud would overcome the flow of oil and gradually reduce the pressure so that the well could be sealed from above.

In a conference call with reporters, BP Senior Vice³ President Kent Wells explained.

"On the static kill we will actually start pumping at very low rates and just marginal pressure above what it is currently at," said Wells. "After we get some mud in the hole, assuming everything goes according to plan, the pressure at the well head actually starts to go down, so you very quickly start to see benefits."

The advantage of the static kill is that it would push the flow of oil back down into the reservoir below the ocean floor and then seal it with cement. The procedure would effectively choke off the lines and openings of the old blowout preventer that failed to shut off the flow of oil after the explosion on the drilling rig in April. The static kill is similar to the unsuccessful top kill that BP tried in May. Company engineers think that a reduction in oil flow pressure now favors this approach.

Kent Wells says BP is continuing with its plan to intersect with the underground well shaft⁴ by next week and that one of two relief wells being drilled is now within a few meters of that intersection⁵ 4,200 meters below the seabed.  Mud and cement would also be used in this procedure to seel the well below the seabed.  Wells said the tandem⁶ approach of the static kill and relief well should permanently⁷ seal the well by the middle of August, assuming U.S. officials approve the plan. But, he said, company engineers are moving very slowly with what he called an abundance of caution so as not to have any unintended consequences.

Wells said BP is continuing to test the pressure of the well daily and is using seismic⁸ tests to make sure there are no leaks from the seabed.

"We are looking to see if we see any signs of oil and gas leaking out and, to this point, of all the lines we have run and all the analysis we have done, we have yet to see any anomalies that would indicate we have oil or gas leaking out of the Macondo well, i.e. that we do not have integrity of the well," he said.

Over the weekend, scientists monitoring the seabed near the damaged well found seepage⁹ in an area around three kilometers away, but the U.S. government's point man on the disaster, former Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, says the leaks are not consequential¹⁰ and probably are associated with another abandoned well in the same area. There are also natural seepages of oil from the Gulf seabed that are totally unrelated to oil and gas exploration and production activity.

Even if all goes according to plan and the well is permanently sealed off sometime next month, clean-up operations will continue for some time to come. Skimmers are being used on ships at the site of the oil slick in an attempt to clean oil off the water surface, while crews in some coastal¹¹ areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are trying to clean befouled beaches and marshes¹². The ecological¹³ damage from the spill could take years to overcome and environmental experts say some sensitive areas may never completely recover.

1 deploys   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的第三人称单数 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• It then deploys "decoy" programs designed to attract the virus. 然后，它释放“诱饵”去吸引病毒。
• But when that doesn't work, he deploys his secret defense mechanism. 但没有效果，它要施展绝密自卫武器了。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 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。

4 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

5 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

6 tandem   

n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的

参考例句：

• Malcolm's contract will run in tandem with his existing one.马尔科姆的合同将与他手头的合同同时生效。
• He is working in tandem with officials of the Serious Fraud Office.他正配合欺诈重案办公室的官员工作。

7 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

8 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

9 seepage   

n.泄漏

参考例句：

• Chemical seepage has caused untold damage.化学品泄漏已造成不可估量的损失。
• Water gradually escapes by seepage through the ground.水逐渐从地面渗走了。

10 consequential   

adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的

参考例句：

• She was injured and suffered a consequential loss of earnings.她受了伤因而收入受损。
• This new transformation is at least as consequential as that one was.这一新的转变至少和那次一样重要。

11 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

12 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.