Text 2 Offshore Platform Decommissioning
decommissioning вывод из эксплуатации
mudline уровень дна моря
For offshore, the structure itself must be decommissioned in addition to plugging the well. Several options exist:
- Complete removal of the structure and disposing of the structure onshore
- Removing the structure and placing it in an approved location in the ocean
- Reuse of the structure elsewhere.
The method used will vary with the type of structure and water depth, but the most common approach is the complete removal of the structure, with removal at a minimum of 15 feet below the mudline (seafloor). Other approaches are less expensive and less intrusive to the existing environment, but can be more dangerous for commercial ships, military submarines, fishing trawlers, and recreational boaters.
When removing the structure, the most common approach is to sever the leg piles with explosives. Explosives must be placed at least five feet below the mud line (sea floor). Explosives are less expensive and are less risky to divers than alternatives such as manual or mechanical cutting, but concern has been raised about the use of explosives and their effect on marine life.
UNIT 5
Major oil and gas companies
Text 1
LUKOIL
Ex.1 Read and translate the text, define its main idea.
Ex.2 Write out or underline the main thought in each paragraph.
Ex.3 Retell the text.
bcf - billion cubic feet – миллиардов кубических футов
boe – barrel of oil equivalent – баррель нефтяного эквивалента
production assets – производственные фонды
encompass – охватывать
tank farm facilities – оборудование и сооружения нефтебазы
franchises – монопольные права и привилегии
LUKOIL is one of the world’s leading vertically integrated oil & gas companies. Main activities of the Company are exploration and production of oil & gas, production of petroleum products and petrochemicals, and marketing of these outputs. Most of the Company's exploration and production activity is located in Russia, and its main resource base is in Western Siberia. LUKOIL owns modern refineries, gas processing and petrochemical plants located in Russia, Eastern Europe and near-abroad countries. Most of the Company's production is sold on the international market. LUKOIL petroleum products are sold in Russia, Eastern and Western Europe, near-abroad countries and the USA.
LUKOIL is the second largest private oil Company worldwide by proven hydrocarbon reserves. The Company has around 1.3% of global oil reserves and 2.3% of global oil production. LUKOIL dominates the Russian energy sector, with almost 19% of total Russian oil production and 18% of total Russian oil refining.
LUKOIL proven reserves at the beginning of 2007 were 15,927 mln barrels of crude oil and 26,597 bcf of natural gas, totaling 20,360 mln boe.
LUKOIL has an outstanding portfolio of production assets. The main production region for LUKOIL Group is Western Siberia. LUKOIL is carrying out international exploration and production projects in Kazakhstan, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Colombia, Venezuela, Cote d’Ivoire and Iraq.
With putting into operation the Nakhodkinskoye gas field in 2005 the Company started its gas program which targets at a rapid growth of gas production. The key regions for development of LUKOIL gas production are the Bolshekhetskaya Depression, the Northern Caspian and Tsentralno-Astrakhanskoye field in Russia as well as the Kandym – Khauzak – Shady project in Uzbekistan and the Shakh Deniz project in Azerbaijan.
LUKOIL owns significant oil refining capacity both in Russia and abroad. In Russia the company owns four large refineries at Perm, Volgograd, Ukhta and Nizhny Novgorod. Total capacity of LUKOIL facilities in Russia is 44.1 mln tons of oil per year. LUKOIL also has refineries in Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania, with total capacity of 14.0 mln tons per year. In 2006 LUKOIL refined 48.9 mln tons of oil at its own refineries, including 39.5 mln tons at its Russian refineries.
At the beginning of 2007 the Company's marketing network encompassed 19 countries, including Russia, near-abroad and European countries (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hungary, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Romania, Macedonia, Cyprus and Turkey), and the United States. The network consists of 200 tank farm facilities and 5,793 filling stations (including franchises).