美国国家公共电台 NPR--Boom-bust cycles are normal for the U.S. oil industry, but that may be changing

Boom-bust¹ cycles are normal for the U.S. oil industry, but that may be changing

Transcript²

In the Permian Basin, America's busiest oil-producing region, business is good. It's not quite booming, though — and that's on purpose. Producers are aiming for steady growth.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A few years ago, I drove 500 miles across the flatland of Texas - mostly flat. We came over a ridge³, and what spread out in front of us was the Permian Basin, a vast region once covered by a sea. It's more recently been a center of the Texas oil industry, meaning it is a traditional scene of boom and bust as prices go up and down. Now companies are trying for discipline and a steadier approach. NPR's Camila Domonoske drills down on this story.

CAMILA DOMONOSKE, BYLINE⁴: The Permian Basin went bust a few years ago, and then boom times came back - but oddly quiet boom times. Not totally quiet.

(SOUNDBITE OF OIL RIG DRILLING)

DOMONOSKE: Unit Drilling BOSS rig No. 404 is looming⁵ over the scrubby flatlands of West Texas like a rocket launch pad minus the rocket. Long sections of pipe are added to the drill, pushing the bit deeper and deeper. It's currently about 1,800 feet underground. There are a lot more steps before this well will be producing any oil, but the smell of it is already potent⁶.

STEVE PRUETT: We're drilling with oil-based mud, which is a little stinkier. It's got diesel⁷ in it. But it doesn't...

DOMONOSKE: I was going to ask if the smell was from the generators⁸ or if it was coming out of the...

PRUETT: No, it's coming out of the mud.

DOMONOSKE: ...It's coming out of the mud.

PRUETT: The reason is water would react with the formations and come in on us. It's really the only way we can effectively drill this rock. Make sure you put a hand on the rail.

DOMONOSKE: Yep.

Steve Pruett is the CEO of Elevation⁹ Resources. This drilling rig - it's part of a mini boom for his company. The rig runs 24/7 for weeks, pulling up rocks from deep underground mixed in with that oily mud. Drilling rigs like this are always running in the Permian, putting new wells into the ground - a lot of them during booms...

(SOUNDBITE OF OIL RIG DRILLING)

DOMONOSKE: ...Just a few of them during busts¹⁰. But for the last year, as oil prices skyrocketed and then settled, the number of rigs has actually held pretty much steady, right around the middle of that range. Holding steady might sound like, OK, that's not a big deal, but these are U.S. shale¹¹ producers. Holding steady just isn't what they do. Angie Gildea is the head of U.S. energy at the accounting¹² firm KPMG. She says before the pandemic...

ANGIE GILDEA: When there was an increase in prices, the U.S. shale players would rush in and increase production to try to capture that price increase.

DOMONOSKE: Prices go up? More rigs, which meant more money and more oil and, eventually, too much oil, driving a bust.

GILDEA: Since COVID, what we're seeing is investors¹³ are actually demanding more discipline.

DOMONOSKE: Discipline for an oil producer means sending money back to investors instead of firing up every drilling rig you can. Overall, oil production in the Permian is still growing, but gradually, not like it used to. That's good for oil investors who get more cash. It's been good for oil companies. It's not so great for consumers. Keeping supply lower than it could be can be a recipe for higher prices. On the other hand, this steady growth approach has been pretty good for oil workers like Jason Rodriguez.

JASON RODRIGUEZ: We're pretty busy right now, actually.

DOMONOSKE: He works running explosives into new oil wells. In his spare time, he fixes up a '76 Chevy pickup¹⁴ truck with his 12-year-old son, Aaron. At a car show in Midland in West Texas, I asked what he thought about the future.

RODRIGUEZ: Well, eventually, I think the oil field will start dying down and go all electric and have hovering¹⁵ cars.

DOMONOSKE: But not for a while. And Rodriguez, who works 16-hour shifts for 14 days at a time - he plans to retire in 15 years.

RODRIGUEZ: By then, they can do whatever they want.

DOMONOSKE: Whether or not they think oil demand will go down eventually, pretty much everyone in the oil patch agrees there's a lot of money to be made right now.

Camila Domonoske, NPR News.

1 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。

2 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。

3 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

4 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。

5 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

6 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

7 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

8 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

10 busts   

半身雕塑像( bust的名词复数 )； 妇女的胸部； 胸围； 突击搜捕

参考例句：

• Dey bags swells up and busts. 那奶袋快胀破了。
• Marble busts all looked like a cemetery. 大理石的半身象，简直就象是坟山。

11 shale   

n.页岩，泥板岩

参考例句：

• We can extract oil from shale.我们可以从页岩中提取石油。
• Most of the rock in this mountain is shale.这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。

12 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

13 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

14 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

15 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。