美国国家公共电台 NPR Boom Time Again For U.S. Oil Industry, Thanks To OPEC

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

The U.S. oil industry is coming out of a slump¹ that's gone on for two years. Today, there are more than twice as many rigs drilling for oil compared to a year ago. One big factor is OPEC, the cartel of oil exporting states. Last year, OPEC cut oil production to prop² up the market. Tomorrow, it decides whether to keep that cut going. Amy Sisk of Prairie Public Broadcasting reports on the impact all of this is having in oil rich North Dakota.

AMY SISK, BYLINE³: It's busy again at this gas station in Williston, the hub of the Bakken oil patch.

ANGELA NEUMAN: What's up buddy⁴?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Not much. Pump one and two, please.

SISK: Manager Angela Neuman says, lately, cigarettes and chewing tobacco are flying off the shelves.

NEUMAN: But now there's so many new people, I cannot get a handle on that. It's been a little rough (laughter).

SISK: It wasn't like this a year ago. The price of oil was low, and that made drilling less profitable. Across town at the Winterton Suites⁵ hotel, sometimes there were only one or two guests. The price dropped to a bargain - $100 a night.

CHELSEY CROZIER: We almost actually thought we were going to lose it for a little bit.

SISK: Hotel manager Chelsey Crozier says occupancy ticked back up this spring.

CROZIER: Of course, not as crazy as it was, but it's doing better.

SISK: It was crazy busy a few years back when the price of oil was sky high. A room here cost $300 a night. No Vacancy⁶ signs were lit up across the oil patch. But that boom led to so much oil production that the market got flooded, and the price of oil tanked. That's when OPEC's stepped in to boost prices by cutting production. Russia followed suit. Eugene Graner is with Heartland Investor⁷ Capital Management in Bismarck.

EUGENE GRANER: Effectively, these cuts that were put into place last fall are being filled in by other countries for oil.

SISK: Countries like the United States. America ramped⁸ up production to 9.3 million barrels of oil per day, close to the level before prices plummeted⁹. When OPEC's meets tomorrow, it's expected to keep its cuts in place. Graner says that would help ensure this mini boom in America keeps going.

President Trump¹⁰ has promised to unleash¹¹ the energy industry by lifting all kinds of regulations. His full rollback hasn't happened yet, but energy analyst¹² Trisha Curtis with PetroNerds says his move to approve the Dakota Access Pipeline¹³ is helpful.

TRISHA CURTIS: That gives sort of a green light. If you were a little hesitant on the Bakken on activity or development, that certainly is a game changer there.

SISK: The pipeline is slated¹⁴ to come online next week. It will make transporting Bakken oil cheaper and allow it to reach the Gulf¹⁵ Coast. In North Dakota, jobs to produce that oil abound¹⁶.

CINDY SANFORD: When you're ready to apply let me know and we can do it together...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Well, let's do that. Well, see, I talked to the HR guy this morning.

SISK: Customer service reps with Job Service North Dakota in Williston are busy helping¹⁷ people find that work. Cindy Sanford oversees¹⁸ this regional office.

SANFORD: Over 150 jobs we posted this week.

SISK: More jobs than workers, and the openings keep coming. For NPR News, I'm Amy Sisk in Bismarck.

(SOUNDBITE OF BOOKER T & THE M.G.'S SONG, "BEHAVE YOURSELF")

CORNISH: That story comes to us from Inside Energy, a public media collaboration¹⁹ focused on America's energy issues.

1 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

2 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

3 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。

4 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

5 suites   

n.套( suite的名词复数 )；一套房间；一套家具；一套公寓

参考例句：

• First he called upon all the Foreign Ministers in their hotel suites. 他首先到所有外交部长住的旅馆套间去拜访。 来自辞典例句
• All four doors to the two reserved suites were open. 预定的两个套房的四扇门都敞开着。 来自辞典例句

6 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

7 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

8 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。

9 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。

12 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

13 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。

14 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

15 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。

16 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

19 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。