The Gulf itself is breaking down the oil at top speed, but past spills indicate the effects could linger for decades.

墨西哥湾在以最高速度自行分解原油，但是过去泄漏造成影响估计可能残留达数十年。

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It's clear the Gulf is doing what Louisiana State University biologist Ed Overton calls "Mother Nature's work" in breaking down the patchy oil.

很明显墨西哥湾正在进行着路易斯安那州立大学生物学家爱德华·欧威尔顿所说的“大自然母亲的工作”，在分解已经稀释分散的浮油。

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In 2004, Lankam joined 7 fellow elephants to create a record-breaking oil painting, which was sold for 1.5m baht.

2004年，兰坎与另外7头大象一起绘制了一幅油画，售得150万泰铢，打破纪录。

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Record-breaking world oil prices mean prospects are bright for Halliburton's oil field services business, which had profit margins of 14.2% in the three months to June 2004, up 1% on year-earlier.

BBC: NEWS | Business | Halliburton hopes for better days

Extracting the bitumen from the clay and sand and upgrading it into crude oil--by breaking its big hydrocarbon molecules into smaller, less viscous ones--is an expensive, energy-intensive process that consumes 650 cubic feet of natural gas for every barrel.

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"It is sort of like breaking a fish oil capsule over a hot fudge sundae and expecting the effect of the calories and saturated fat to go away, " she said.

NPR: Study: Fish Oil Doesn't Help Prevent Heart Attacks