Lesson 13

The search for oil

The deepest holes of all are made for oil, and they go down to as much as 25,000 feet.
所有最深的洞都是为了石油而钻探的，它们向下延伸可达25,000英尺。
But we do not need to send men down to get the oil out, as we must with other mineral deposits.
但是我们不需要像对待其他矿藏那样，派人下去开采石油。
The holes are only borings, less than a foot in diameter.
这些洞仅仅是钻孔，直径小于一英尺。
My particular experience is largely in oil, and the search for oil has done more to improve deep drilling than any other mining activity.
我特定的经验主要是在石油领域，而寻找石油对改进深层钻探所做的贡献超过了任何其他采矿活动。
When it has been decided where we are going to drill, we put up at the surface an oil derrick.
当决定了我们在哪里钻探时，我们会在地面竖起一座石油钻塔。
It has to be tall because it is like a giant block and tackle, and we have to lower into the ground and haul out of the ground great lengths of drill pipe which are rotated by an engine at the top and are fitted with a cutting bit at the bottom.
它必须很高，因为它像一个巨大的滑轮组，我们必须将长段的钻杆放入地下并从地下拉出，这些钻杆在顶部由引擎旋转，并在底部装有切削钻头。
The geologist needs to know what rocks the drill has reached, so every so often a sample is obtained with a coring bit.
地质学家需要知道钻头已经到达了什么岩石，因此每隔一段时间就会用取芯钻头获取一个样本。
It cuts a clean cylinder of rock, from which can be seen the strata the drill has been cutting through.
它切割出一个干净的岩石圆柱，从中可以看到钻头一直在穿透的地层。
Once we get down to the oil, it usually flows to the surface because great pressure, either from gas or water, is pushing it.
一旦我们到达石油处，它通常会流向表面，因为来自气体或水的巨大压力正在推动它。
This pressure must be under control, and we control it by means of the mud which we circulate down the drill pipe.
这种压力必须处于控制之下，我们通过循环流经钻杆的泥浆来控制它。
We endeavour to avoid the old, romantic idea of a gusher, which wastes oil and gas.
我们致力于避免那种会浪费石油和天然气的、关于喷油井的旧式浪漫想法。
We want it to stay down the hole until we can lead it off in a controlled manner.
我们希望它留在洞里，直到我们能以受控的方式将其引导出来。