WATER-COOKED FISH is a Sichuan preparation of poached white fish and wilted cabbage in a sweet-sour broth slicked with chili oil.

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It sells some and swaps the rest (mostly sour and heavy grades) with oil companies in exchange for better stuff shipped in from overseas.

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The majority new oil being developed are heavy, sour crude oils which have a high sulfur content, high viscosity, and high density.

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Oil refineries use hydrogen to strip sulfur from sour crude supplies, especially those from Mexico and Venezuela, and to meet stringent clean-fuel regulations.

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Lago Agrio was named for Sour Lake, the East Texas town where Texaco was established, and, as the oil camp grew into a boom town, pipeline spills became common.

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Rather than pitch the investors on the old sour business, they pitched them on new wells that were being tapped all over Texas as oil prices soared in 2008.

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World crude oil production has in some cases already peaked (sweet, light) while others (heavy, sour) it has yet to be will soon.

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Indeed, thanks to foreign investment and windfall profits from higher oil prices, a stabilisation fund set up by the government to cushion the country were the economy to sour has grown much more quickly than expected.

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