Oil-By-G.C.-Thornley.doc

OilBy G.C. ThornleyThere are three main groups of oils: animal, vegetable, and mineral. Great quantities of animal oil come from whales, those enormous creatures of the sea which are the largest remaining animals in the world. To protect the whale from the cold of the Arctic seas, nature has provided it with a thick covering of fat called blubber. When the whale is killed, the blubber is stripped off and boiled down, either on board ship or on shore. It produces a great quantity of oil which can be made into food for human consumption. A few other creatures yield oil, but none so much as the whale.The livers of the cod and the halibut, two kinds of fish, yield nourishing oil.Both cod liver oil and halibut liver oil are given to sick children and other invalids who need certain vitamins. These oils may be bought at any chemists.Vegetable oil has been known from antiquity. No household can get on without it, for it is used in cooking. Perfumes may be made from the oils of certain flowers. Soaps are made from vegetable and animal oils.To the ordinary man, one kind of oil may be as important as another. But when the politician or the engineer refers to oil, he almost always means mineral oil, the oil that drives tanks, aeroplanes and warship, motor-cars and diesel locomotives; the that is used to lubricate all kinds of machinery. This is the oil that has changed the life of the common man. When it is refined into petrol, it is used to drive the internal combustion engine. To it we owe the existence of the motor-car, which has replaced the private carriage drawn by the horse. To it we owe the possibility of flying. It has changed the methods of warfare on land and sea. This kind of oil comes out of the earth. Because it burns well, it is used as fuel and in some ways it is superior to coal in this respect. Many big ship now burn oil instead of coal. Because it burns brightly, it is used for illumination countless homes are still illuminated with oil-burning lamps. Because it is very slippery, it is used for lubrication. Two metal surfaces rubbing together cause friction and heat; but if they are separated by a thin film of oil, the friction and heat are reduced. No machine would work for long if it were not properly lubricated. The oil used for this purpose must be of the correct thickness; if it is too thin it will not give sufficient lubrication, and if it is too thick it will not reach all parts that must be lubricated.The existence of oil wells has been known for a long time. Some of the Indians of North America used to collect and sell the oil from the wells of Pennsylvania. No one, however, seems to have realized the importance of this oil until it was found that paraffin-oil could be made from it; this led to the development of the wells and to the making of enormous profits. When the internal combustion engine was invented, oil became of world-wide importance.What was the origin of the oil which now drives our motor-cars and aircraft? Scientists are confident about the formation of coal, but they do not seem so sure when asked about oil. They think that the oil under the surface of the earth originated in the distant past, and was formed from living things in the sea. Countless billion of minute sea creatures and plants lived and sank to the sea bed. They were covered with huge deposit of mud, and by process of chemistry, pressure and temperature were changed through long ages into what we know as oil. For these creatures to become oil, it was necessary that they should be imprisoned between layers of rock for an enormous length of time. The statement that oil originated in the sea is confirmed by a glance at a map showing the chief oilfields of the world; very few of them are far distant from the oceans of today. In some places gas and oil come up to the surface of the sea from its bed. The rocks in which oil is found are of marine origin too. They are sedimentary rocks, rocks which were laid down by the action of water on the bed of the ocean. Almost always the remains of shells, and other proofs of sea life, are found close to the oil. A very common sedimentary rock is called shale, which is a soft rock and was obviously formed by being deposited on the sea bed. And where there is shale there is likely to be oil.Geologists, scientists who study rocks, indicate the likely places to the oil drillers. In some cases oil comes out of the ground without drilling at all and has been used for hundreds of years. In the island of Trinidad the oil is in the form of asphalt, a substance used for making roads. Sir Walter Raleigh visited the famous pitch lake of Trinidad in 1595; it is said to contain nine thousand million tons of asphalt. There are probably huge quantities of crude oil beneath the surface.The king of the oilfield is the driller .He is a very skilled man. Sometimes he sends his drill more than a mile into the earth. During the process of drilling , gas and oil at great pressure may suddenly be met , and if this rushes out and catches fire the oil well may never be brought into operation at all .This danger is well known and steps are always taken to prevent it.There is a lot of luck in drilling for oil. The drill may just miss the oil although it is near; on the other hand, it may strike oil at a fairly high level. When the drill goes down, it brings up soil. The samples of soil from various depths are examined for traces of oil. If they are disappointed at one place, the drillers go to another. Great sums of money have been spent, for example in the deserts of Egypt, in prospecting for oil. Sometimes little is found. When we buy a few gallons of petrol for our cars, we pay not only the cost of the petrol, but also part of the cost of the search that is always going on.When the crude oil is obtained from the field ,it is taken to the refineries to be treated .the commonest form of treatment is heating .When the oil is heated ,the first vapours to rise are cooled and become the finest pertrol .Petrol has a low boiling point; if a little is poured into the hand ,it soon vaporizes . Gas that comes off the oil later is condensed into paraffin . Last of all the lubricating oils of various grades are produced.What remains is heavy oil that is used as fuel.There are four main areas of the world where deposits of oil appear .The first is that of the Middle East, and includes the regions near the Caspian Sea, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Another is the areas between North and South America, and the third ,between Asia and Australia ,includes the islands of Sumatra ,Borneo and Java .The fourth area is the part near the North Pole .When all the present oilfields are exhausted , it is possible that this cold region may become the scene of oil activity . Yet the difficulties will be great, and the costs may be so high that no company will undertake the work .If progress in using atomic power to drive machines is fast enough, it is possible that oil-driven engines may give place to the new kind of engine . In that case the demand for oil engine. In the case the demand for oil will fall, the oilfields will gradually disappear ,and the deposits at the North Pole may rest where they are for ever .Oil油Therearethreemaingroupsofoils:油主要分为三类：animal,vegetableandmineral.动物油、植物油和矿物油。Greatquantitiesofanimaloilcomefromwhales,大量的动物油来自于鲸鱼，thoseenormouscreaturesoftheseawhicharethelargestremaininganimalsintheworld.这些巨大的海洋生物是世界上现存的最大的动物。ToprotectthewhalefromthecoldoftheArcticseas,为保护鲸鱼免受北冰洋之寒冷，maturehasprovideditwithathickcoveringoffatcalledblubber.大自然为鲸鱼提供了一层厚厚的脂肪，称为鲸脂。Whenthewhaleiskilled,theblubberisstrippdeoffandboileddown,eitheronboardshiporonshore.Itproducesagreatquantityofoilwhichcanbemadeintofoodforhumanconsumption.把鲸脂剥下来，在船上或在岸上将其熬浓，就产出大量的油，这种油可用来制成供人们食用的食品。Afewothercreaturesyieldoil,还有其它几种动物也产油，butnonesomuchasthewhale.但是都有没有象鲸鱼产的这样多。Theliversofthegiventosickchildrenandotherinvalidswhoneedcertainvitamins.鲸鱼和比目鱼这两类鱼的肝能生产富于营养的油。对需要相应的维生素的病弱儿童或其它病人都可以吃鳕鱼肝油和比目鱼肝油。Theseoilsmaybeboughtatanychemists.这些油在任何药店里都能买到。Vegetableoilhasbeenknownfromantiquity.植物油早在古代就为人所知。Nohouseholdcangetonwithoutit,foritisusedincooking.植物油用来烹调，所以任何家庭离不开它。Perfumesmaybemadefromtheoilsofcertainflowers.有几种花的油可以用来制造香水。Soapsaremadefromvegetableandanimaloils.肥皂是由动物油和植物油制成的。Totheordinaryman,对于普通人来说，onekindofoilmaybeasimportantasanother.这种油和那种油可能是同样重要的。Butwhenthepoliticianortheengineerreferstooil,但是当政治家或工程师们一提到油，healmostalwaysneansmineraloil,几乎总是指矿物油。theoilthatdrivestanks,aeroplanesandwarships,motor-carsanddiesellocomotives;这种油被用来开坦克、飞机、军舰、汽车和柴油机车；theoilthatisusedtolubricateallkindsofmachinery.还可用来润滑各种机器。Thisistheoilthathaschangedthelifeofthecommonman.正是这种矿物油改变了一般人的生活。Whenitisrefinedintopetrolitisusedtodrivetheinternalcombustionengine.如果把它炼制成汽油，就可用于驱动内燃机。Toitweowetheexistenceofthemotor-car,whichhasreplacedtheprivatecarriagedrawnbythehorse.幸亏有了汽油，取代私人马车的汽车才得以存在；Toitweowethepossibilityofflying.幸亏有了汽油，我们才能可能乘飞机。Ithaschangedthemethodsofwarfareonlandandsea.它还改变了陆战和海战的方式。Thiskindofoilcomesoutoftheearth.这种油源出于地下。Becauseitburnswell,由于石油易于燃烧，itisusedasfuelandinsomewaysitissuperiortocoalinthisrespect.它被用来作为燃料，而且在某些方面，它比煤炭要优越。Manybigshipsnowburnoilinsteadofcoal.目前很多大型船只烧油而不烧煤。Becauseitburnsbrightly,由于石油燃烧起来发亮，itisusedforillumination;所以它可用于照明；countlesshomesarestillilluminatedwithoil-burninglamps.无数的家庭目前依然用燃油灯来照明；Becauseitisveryslippery,由于石油很滑溜，itisusedforlubrication.所以它又可用于润滑。Twometalsurfacesrubbingtogethercausefrictionandheat;两种金属的表面相摩擦就会产生摩擦力和热；butiftheyareseparatedbyathinfilmofoil,但是如果在两种金属表面上涂上一层薄薄的油，thefrictionandheatarereduced.阻力和热量就会养活任何机器，Nomachinewouldworkforlongifitwerenotproperlylubricated.如果不给它适当地加润滑油，都不能长时久地运转。Theoilusedforthispurposemustbeofthecorrectthicknessifitistoothinitwillnotgivesufficientlubrication,用于这种目的的油必须具有适当的稠度。如果油太稀，就不能产生充分的润滑作用，andifitistoothickitwillnotreachallpartsthatmustbelubricated.而如果油太稠，就不能渗漏到所有需要润滑的部件。Theexistenceofoilwellshasbeenknownforalongtime.Some人们在很久以前就知道油井的存在。lftheIndiansofNorthAmericausedtocollectandselltheoilfromthewellsofPennsylvania.北美洲的一些印第安人过去常常收集并出售宾夕法尼亚洲油井中的石油。Noone,however,seemstohaverealisedtheimportanceofthisoiluntilitwasfoundthatparaffin-oilcouldbemadefromit然而，直到发现能够从这种油中制造出石腊油，人们才认识到它的重要性。thisledtothedevelopmentofthewellsandtothemakingofenormousprofits.这一发现导致开发油井并获取巨额利润。Whentheinternalcombustionenginewasinvented,内燃机问世以后，oilbecameofworldwideimportance.石油在全世界范围内都变得很重要。Whatwastheoriginoftheoilwhichnowdrivesourmotor-carsandaircraft?用来开动我们汽车和飞机的石油起源于什么？Scientistsareconfidentabouttheformationofcoal,科学家们对于煤的成因是确信无疑的。buttheydonotseemsosurewhenaskedaboutoil.但是，当问到石油的起源时，他们似乎就不那么有把握了。Theythinkthattheoilunderthesurfaceoftheearthoriginatedinthedistantpast,他们认为埋在地下的石油起源于远古时代，andwasformedfromlivingthingsinthesea.它是由海洋生物形成的。Countlessbillionsofminuteseacreaturesandplantslivedandsanktotheseabed.亿万万无数的微小海洋生物和植物生长在海里并沉入海底。Theywerecoveredwithhugedepositsofmud;然后被大量沉积淤泥所覆盖，andbyprocessesofchemistry,pressureandtemperaturewerechangedthroughlongagesintowhatweknowasoil.经过很长时期的化学、压力和温度的作用，就变成了我们所熟悉的石油。Forthesecreaturestobecomeoil,这些生物要变成石油，itwasnecessarythattheyshouldbeimprisonedbetweenlayersofrockforanenormouslengthoftime.必须在岩层之间埋藏很久很久。Thestatementthatoiloriginatedintheseaisconfirmedbyaglanceatamapshowingthechiefoilfieldsoftheworld;只要看一看地图上表明的世界主要油田，就可以证实石油起源于海洋的论点。veryfewofthemarefardistantfromtheoceansoftoday.大的油田都离现今的海洋较近。Insomeplacesgasandoilcomeuptpthesurfaceoftheseafromitsbed.有些地方的天然气和石油从海底升到了海面。Therocksinwhichoilisfoundareofmarineorigintoo.人们发现含油的岩石也源出于海洋，Theyaresedimentaryrocks,它们是沉积岩。rockswhichwerelaiddownbytheactionofwateronthebedoftheocean.由于水作用于洋底，这些岩 石才沉积到海底。Almostalwaystheremainsofshells,andotherproofsofsealife,arefoundclosetotheoil.人们发现，贝壳残骸以及其它一些海洋生物的实证总是在离石油不远的地方。Averycommonsedimentaryfockiscalledshale,有一种很普通的沉积岩叫做页岩，whichisasoftrockandwasobviouslyformedbybeingdepositedontheseabed.这是一种软岩石，显然是由于沉积在海底而形成的。Andwherethereisshalethereislikelytobeoil.在有页岩的地方，就可能有石油。Geologists,scientistswhostudyrocks,indicatethelikelyplacestotheoildrillers.从事岩石研究工作的地质学家和科学家们向石油勘探者们指出可能有石油的地方。Insomecasesoilcomesoutofthegroundwithoutanydrillingatallandhasbeenusedforhundredsofyesrs.在有些情况下，石油根本不用钻探就从地下冒出来，并且被使用了好几百年。IntheislandofTrinidadtheoilisintheformofasphalt,在特立尼达岛，石油是以沥青的形式出现的。asubstanceusedformakingroads.沥青是用来铺路的材料。SirWalterRaleighvisitedthefamouspitchlakeofTrinidadin1595;沃尔特雷利爵士曾在1595年参观过著名的特立尼达沥青湖。itissaidtocontainninethousandmilliontonsofasphalt.据说湖中贮有九亿吨沥青，Thereareprobablyhugequantitiesofcrudeoilbeneaththesurface.地下可能还有大量的原油。Thekingoftheoilfieldisthedriller.油田的首领是钻探者。Heisaveryskilldeman.他是技术非常熟练的人。Sometimeshesendshisdrillmorethanamileintotheearth.有时他的钻探尺深达一英里多。Duringtheprocessofdrilling,在钻井过程中，gasandoilatgreatpressuremaysuddenlybemet,可能会突然碰到高压下的油气。andifthisrushesoutandcatchesfiretheoilwellmayneverbebroughtintooperationatall.如果油气喷出来并着了火。这台油井就可能永远不能投入生产。Thisdangeriswellknownandstepsarealwaystakentopreventit.这种危险是众所周知的，所以经常采取措施防止井喷。Thereisalotofluckindrillingforoil.钻探油井也要靠运气。Thedrillmayjustmisstheoilalthoughitisnear;尽管石油就在附近，钻头却有可能恰好找不到它；ontheotherhand,另一方面，itmaystrikeoilatafairlyhighlevel.钻头有可能在离地面不远的地方就碰到了油。Whenthedrillgoesdown,itbringsupsoil.下钻时，钻头把土壤提上来。Thesamplesofsoilfromvariousdepthsareexaminedfortracesofoil.要对各种不同深度的土壤样点进行检查来寻找石油的踪迹。Iftheyaredisappointedatoneplace,如果钻探者对一个地方失望了，thedrillersgotoanother.他们就转移到另一个地方去。Greatsumsofmoneyhavebeenspent,forexample,inthedesertsofEgypt,inprospectingforoil.在石油勘探中，在像动埃及沙漠这样的地方花了大量的钱，Sometimeslittleisfound.有时却找不到多少油。Whenwebuyafewgallonsofpetrolforourcars,所以当我们为汽车买几加仑汽油时，wepaynotonlythecostofthepetrol,我们付的不仅是汽油费用，butalsopartofthecostofthesearchthatisalwaysgoingon.而且还有一直在进行石油勘探的部分费用。Whenthecrudeoilisobtainedfromthefield,从油田获得