道达尔希望在世界上最快的洋流中开采石油

据彭博社3月26日消息称，道达尔公司发现南非首个深水油田，对一个自身缺乏原油储备的国家来说，可能是一个巨大的财富，并引发其他石油巨头的抢购。前提是他们能够解决在世界上最快的洋流中运行的工程挑战。

布鲁帕达油田位于距南非海岸线175公里(109英里)的深水区，储量估计约为10亿桶石油。这可能足以为南非的炼油厂供应近四年的原油，并对该国陷入困境的经济起到重大提振作用。

但这一前景被阿古拉斯洋流(Agulhas current)所包围，这是一股快速流动的暖流，大西洋和印度洋在这里交汇，流经该国东海岸，可能引发相当于多层建筑高度的海浪。道达尔表示，他们已经找到了解决问题的办法，但并不是每个勘探商都有这家法国石油巨头那样的财力或恶劣环境的经验。

去年12月，道达尔再次尝试使用深海斯塔万格钻井平台完成钻井，当时它使用了之前从未使用过的工程技术。虽然钻井平台通常在钻井过程中由推进器小心地稳定在水中，但道达尔用拖船进一步固定了平台以提供支持。

曹海斌    摘译自    彭博社

原文如下：

Total Wants to Drill for Oil in the World's Fastest Ocean Current

Total SA’s discovery of South Africa’s first oil in deep water could prove to be a bonanza for a country lacking crude reserves of its own and prompt a rush from other majors. That’s if they’re able to solve the engineering challenges of operating in one of the fastest ocean currents in the world.

The Brulpadda find, with reserves estimated at about 1 billion barrels of oil, is located in deep waters around 175 kilometers (109 miles) from South Africa’s coastline. It could be enough to supply South Africa’s refineries for almost four years and be a major boost for the country’s struggling economy.

But the prospect is surrounded by the Agulhas current, a fast-moving flow of warm water where the Atlantic and Indian oceans converge, which travels the country’s east coast and can cause waves the height of a multistory building. Total says it’s found solutions to the problems, but not every explorer has the financial resources or harsh-environment experience of the French oil major.

When Total returned for a second attempt in December, with the Deepsea Stavanger rig to finish a well, it employed previously unused engineering techniques. While rigs are usually carefully stabilized in the water by thrusters as drilling takes place, Total further secured the platform with a tug boat to provide support.