Findning Synonymous Vocabulary

Find the words from the article that are close in meaning to the italicized-words. The words are given in order of their appearance.

1. Sometimes oil cannot flow through the porous rock because the
pores are filled with drilling sludge.

2. Torpedoes filled with nitroglycerin are caused to explode by a special
time bomb.

3. Sometimes when the drill strikes an oil pool, the oil and gas, under
heavy pressure, escape with a great noise out of the pipe.

4. Without a control head the derrick could be destroyed.

5. A great deal of oil was spent for nothing and lost when a well gushed.

6. Oilmen used to greet gushers as a sign of oil, but were afraid of them.

7. At the top of the head is a strange object called a Christmas tree.
This is a labyrinth of pipes and valves.

8. Each pipe of a Christmas tree is provided with a control valve.

Oil Recovery 95

9. If the flow is light, only a few valves are opened; with more pressure,
more valves are switched on.

10. The oil is allowed to flow to every tank on the plot.

11. The Christmas tree keeps the pressure constant in the oil reservoir.

12. When even pumping cannot bring the oil up, the well is given up.

Talking It Over

1. What does the term " an oil pool" or " an oil reservoir" suggest?

2. What should be done if reservoir pressure is not high enough?

3. An oil gusher is a sign of oil presence. Why are oilmen afraid of it?

4. How is the system of valves at the head of a well called? What is its main
function?

96 Chapter Four

SELECTION tWO Methods to Keep Oil Deposits Producing