Fill the gaps with the words
from the box:
How
far underground are oil deposits?
The
U.S. Blank 1 Вопрос 2 consumes 19.1 million barrels of petroleum each day - almost half
of it in the form of gasoline, according to the U.S. Energy Information
Administration. Thanks to its Blank 2 Вопрос 2car culture , the U.S. is the top oil consuming country in the
world, but with the economic recession, dependence has significantly wound down
since peaking in 2005, the agency says. By 2035, U.S. total consumption per day
is estimated to total 21.9 billion barrels.
So
how far do we have to drill to get a hold of this Blank 3 Вопрос 2black gold ? Over the last six decades, it’s only gotten deeper.
In 1949, the earliest year with data available, the average depth of oil wells
drilled was 3,635 feet. By 2008, the most recent data available, we were
drilling an average of 5,964 feet, a slight decrease from the 2007 at 6,064
feet.
What
are the implications of drilling depth? Since Blank 4 Вопрос 2oil takes millions of years to form, for all intents and
purposes, it’s a Blank 5 Вопрос 2finite resource. We’re drilling deeper because we’re
literally running out of oil. But depth comes at a cost. Deep offshore drilling
requires more money and energy, not to mention hazards for both the environment
and workers. Let us explain some of the challenges:
Drilling
on land is an undertaking on its own. How do you drill in lightless ocean
depths and transport all that liquid, gas and solid Blank 6 Вопрос 2petroleum back to the surface? How do you keep from polluting the
ocean? And how do you do all of this, with tons of special equipment, in the
middle of rough seas?
The
process isn’t perfect, as demonstrated with the Deepwater Horizon oil Blank 7 Вопрос 2spill in 2010 that devastated communities and wildlife. Even today, scientists
say that oil in the Gulf of Mexico continues to poison wildlife and poses a
public risk.