新西兰英语 545 Oil and gas on East Coast

 　　TAG Oil and its partner Apache – both Canadian companies – have the rights to 500,000 hectares around Gisborne and South Hawkes Bay. TAG Oil says they have had some success in finding gas although they have not developed any wells yet. The company told shareholders¹ they believe there could be billions of barrels of oil in these two areas. On the other hand, the company told locals that usually there is only a 10% to 20% chance of finding a lot of oil when they drill a well.

　　It costs millions of dollars to drill for oil and gas. TAG Oil plans to raise that money through its shareholders. The company also has the technology to drill through soft shale² which is difficult rock. It is also drilling in Taranaki on the west coast of the North Island at the moment.

　　TAG has invited some of the Gisborne council staff to Canada for 10 days to see what they are doing there. One Gisborne councillor said a free trip to Canada could be a bribe³. He said the oil industry is not welcome in Gisborne. Instead the government should be spending money on clean technology and renewable energy: wind, hydro and geo-thermal energy.

　　Vocabulary

　　shale – soft rock from mud or clay

　　bribe – give money or something valuable to encourage someone to do something

　　renewable – can use it again and again; also called “sustainable energy”

　　Questions

　　What are the advantages for the local area if there is a lot of oil or gas in the wells? Are there any advantages for New Zealand? What are the disadvantages?

1 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

2 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。

3 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。