The History of West Siberian Oil Development

Words to remember:

Blowout – выброс

Basin – бассейн

To drill – бурить

To exile –отправлять в ссылку

To expect – ожидать

Existence - существование

Exploration – разведка

Forecast – прогноз

To launch – запускать

Objective – цель

Petroleum – нефтяной

Plain – низменность

To presume- полагать

To prove – доказывать

Rig – установка

Text 1A

Read the text:

The history of Siberian oil discovery started long before the oil became a symbol of the region. During hundreds of years a number of researchers presumed existence of petroleum in Western Siberia. This in XVIII century Croatian scientist Yuri Krizhanich exiled to Tobolsk wrote about presence of bituminous shale in the basin of the Ob River. Swedish captain Stralenberg, a member of D.G. Messershmidt expedition, wrote about combustible bitumen on the Irtysh River in the book “Northern and eastern part of Europe and Asia” published in 1730.

Academician Ivan Mikhailovich Gubkin, the founder of Soviet petroleum geology, played an important part in discovery of rich natural resources in Western Siberia. In 1932 he set up a working hypothesis on existence of oil fields in West Siberian plain. I.M. Gubkin was working hard on launching integrated geological studies in the region. However for another twenty years exploration activities have not given expected results.

The critical moment, beginning the history of Western Siberia as of an oil and gas province, took place in 1953. There was a strong blowout of gas on a rig situated not far from Berezovo, an ancient outpost of Siberia development by Russians. This event gave a start to a large-scale geological prospecting in the northern territories of Tyumen region. In 1958 a geological exploration expedition headed by V.D. Bovanenko was created in Salekhard. Its objective was to prove Academician Gubkin’s forecast on oil and gas reserves of Yamal.

EXERCISES:

1.Find the forms of the following words from the text. Guess their meaning:

  To discover, to research, present, north, east, to develop, to prospect  

2.Match English and Russian word combinations:

ancient outpost	крупномасштабный
bituminous shale	нефтяные месторождения
combustible bitumen	битумные сланцы
large-scale	рабочая гипотеза
oil fields	горючий битуминозный материал
working hypothesis	геологические исследования
geological studies	старинный форпост

3.Fill in the gaps. Answer the questions:

a) What … a number of researchers say about the existence of petroleum in Western Siberia?

b) What part … Academician Gubkin play in the natural resources discovery?

c) Which event … (to give) a start to a large-scale geological prospecting in the northern territories of Tyumen region?

TEXT 1B

Words to remember:

Activity – деятельность

To adopt – принимать

To bear – нести

Deposit – залежь

Equal – равный

Further – дальнейший

Major – главный

Milestone – краеугольный камень

Pipeline - трубопровод

Polar – полярный

Preparation – подготовка

Rate – уровень

Settlement – поселение

Tremendous – огромный

Trunk – канал, ствол

EXERCISES:

1.Guess the meaning of the following word combinations:

- oil and gas bearing deposit

- gas condensate field

- trunk pipelines

2.Specify verb forms (Participles I, II) and translate them in proper way:

Discovered, added, drilled, provided, explored, launched Testing, prospecting, bearing, producing

3.Read the text:

Discovery of an oil and gas bearing deposit near Shaim settlement (district of present Urai) in 1959 producing more than one ton of oil per day became an important result of geological prospecting. Later such major oil and gas fields as Megionskoye, Ust-Balykskoye, Zapadno-Surgutskoye, Punginskoye and others were discovered. In 1962 a blowout of natural gas from a well drilled near Tazovsky settlement provided production rate of more than a million cubic meters of gas per day. Tazovskoye oil field became the first major gas field discovered in polar region.

In 1963 the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution “On organisation and preparation for industrial development of discovered oil and gas fields and on further development of geological prospecting activities in Tyumen region”. Production testing of explored reserves was under preparation. By 1964 explored reserves were equal to about 300 million tons of oil and 176 billion cubic meters of gas in 8 oil fields and 2 gas fields. At the same time construction of trunk pipelines Igrim-Serov for gas and Shaim-Tyumen and Ust-Balyk-Omsk for oil was launched.

The year of 1965 became a milestone in the history of West Siberian oil and gas province development. In 1965 Samotlor oil field was discovered. It was the biggest oil field in the Soviet Union by explored reserves and one of the 10 major oil fields in the world. In the same year Berezovo group of gas fields was discovered. It produced from 500 thousand to 1,5 million cubic meters of day per day. Zapolyarnoye gas condensate field with its tremendous reserves was also discovered at the same time. One year later the list of discoveries was added with the world biggest Urengoy oil and gas condensate field. In 1967 – Nadymskoye and Medvezhye gas fields, in 1969 – a new world giant – Yamburg gas condensate field.

4.Finish the tail-questions. Agree or disagree with them:

a) Samotlor oil field was discovered in 1960, …?

b) Megionskoye oil field became the first major gas field discovered in polar region, …?

c) Berezovo group produced from 500 thousand to 1,5 million cubic meters of day per day, …?

UNIT IV

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