Oil and Gas Production Methods in Montana

Montana's oil and gas industries aggregate a gross income of over 12,000,000 annually to the state. Oil and gas fields have been thoroughly discussed in liter­ature as to geology, location, production and future possibilities. The specific object of this report has been to compile a comprehensive study of the production methods as they occur.

LUNG CANCER AMONG TEXAS MALE OIL REFINERY WORKERS, 1976 - 1980 (CASE-CONTROL STUDY)

The apparent excess in the rate of lung cancer among the population of Texas coastal counties has prompted this study. The main objective was to assess the risk of lung cancer among employees of oil refining industries. Data collected by UTSPH and NCI were used for this research. A non significant overall low risk of lung cancer was observed among workers ever employed in oil refining (COR = 0.84). A lower but not significant risk of lung cancer was detected among the same workers when classified by their usual industry of employment (COR = 0.77). An overall non significant crosstime decline in the risk of lung cancer was observed among most of the occupational groups within the oil refining industry, with the exception of professional/technical and clerical/sales occupations where a non significant crosstime increase in the risk was observed. ^

Political limits on the world oil trade : firm-level evidence from US firms

International politics affect trade patterns, especially for firms in extractive industries. We construct the firm-level dataset for the U.S. oil-importing companies over 1986-2010 to test whether the state of international relations with the trading partners of the U.S. affect importing behavior of the U.S. firms. To measure "political distance" between the U.S. and her trading partners we use voting records for the UN General Assembly. We find that the U.S. firms, in fact, import significantly less oil from the political opponents of the U.S. Our conjecture is that the decrease in oil imports is mainly driven by large, vertically-integrated U.S. firms that engage in foreign direct investment (FDI) overseas.

The Impacts of National Culture on Safety Culture in the Global Oil and Gas Industry

Safety culture is one of the most-studied subjects in the safety literature today, although no agreement exists on exactly what it means. Most safety culture research has been conducted in high-hazard industries such as nuclear power, aviation, and offshore oil and gas production. Only limited research has investigated links between safety culture and the prevailing national culture. This paper proposes that efforts to build safety culture and improve safety performance in the global oil and gas industry will be enhanced if the safety culture maturity and the prevailing national culture are assessed and a location-specific plan is developed based on these factors. A model plan to improve safety performance for one multinational oil and gas company is presented.

Ethnobotanical study of the sages used in traditional Valencian medicine and as essential oil: characterization of an endemic Salvia and its contribution to local development

Seven wild and cultivated Salvia species and two Phlomis species, used traditionally in Valencian medicine to treat a variety of external and internal ailments, were studied. New ethnobotanical data are provided, obtained from semistructured interviews with 34 people in the Valencian area. A seasonal characterization of the essential oil of a wild sage, Salvia blancoana Webb & Heldr. subsp. mariolensis Figuerola, by GC-FID and GC-MS was carried out as a means to ensure quality control of endemic traditional species such as this one, which has been commercialized by local industries. A comparison with the essential oil of Salvia lavandulifolia Vahl subsp.lavandulifolia allowed inclusion of the wild sage within the commercial 'Spanish sage' oil.

Oil bulletin.

Mode of access: Internet.

Directory and hand-book of the meat and provision trades and their allied industries for the United States and Canada.

Advertising matter interspersed.

Immigrants in industries. (In twenty-five parts).

--pt. 17-20 (v. 16) Copper mining and smelting. Iron ore mining. Anthracite coal mining. Oil refining.--pt. 21-22 (v. 17-18) Diversified industries; pt. 21, General tables; pt. 22, The floating immigrant labor supply.--pt. 23 (v. 19-20) Summary report on immigrants in manufacturing and mining.--pt. 24 (v. 21-22) Recent immigrants in agriculture.--pt. 25 (v.23-25) Japanese and other immigrant races in the Pacific coast and Rocky mountain states: v. 1, Japanese and East Indians; v. 2, Agriculture; v. 3, Diversified industries.

Essential oil composition of diploid and tetraploid clones of ginger (Zingiber officinale roscoe) grown in Australia

Ginger oil, obtained by steam distillation of the rhizome of Zingiber officinale Roscoe, is used in the beverage and fragrance industries. Ginger oil displays considerable compositional diversity, but is typically characterized by a high content of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, including zingiberene, arcurcumene, beta-bisabolene, and beta-sesquiphellandrene. Australian ginger oil has a reputation for possessing a particular lemony aroma, due to its high content of the isomers neral and geranial, often collectively referred to as citral. Fresh rhizomes of 17 clones of Australian ginger, including commercial cultivars and experimental tetraploid clones, were steam distilled 7 weeks post-harvest, and the resulting oils were analyzed by GC-MS. The essential oils of 16 of the 17 clones, including the tetraploid clones and their parent cultivar, were found to be of substantially similar composition. These oils were characterized by very high citral levels (51-71%) and relatively low levels of the sesquiterpene hydrocarbons typical of ginger oil. The citral levels of most of these oils exceeded those previously reported for ginger oils. The neral-to-geranial ratio was shown to be remarkably constant (0.61 +/- 0.01) across all 17 clones. One clone, the cultivar Jamaican, yielded oil with a substantially different composition, lower citral content and higher levels of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. Because this cultivar also contains significantly higher concentrations of pungent gingerols, it possesses unique aroma and flavor characteristics, which should be of commercial interest.

Quality management (QM) implementation in the Kuwaiti Oil Industry:An empirical study and a proposed generic framework

In an Arab oil producing country in the Middle East such as Kuwait, Oil industry is considered as the main and most important industry of the country. This industry’s importance emerged from the significant role it plays in both country’s national economy and also global economy. Moreover, Oil industry’s criticality comes from its interconnectivity with national security and power in the Middle East region. Hence, conducting this research in this crucial industry had certainly added values to companies in this industry as it investigated thoroughly the main components of the TQM implementation process and identified which components affects significantly TQM’s implementation and its gained business results. In addition, as the Oil sector is a large sector that is known for its richness of employees with different national cultures and backgrounds. Thus, this culture-heterogeneous industry seems to be the most appropriate environment to address and satisfy a need in the literature to investigate the national culture values’ effects on TQM implementation process. Furthermore, this research has developed a new conceptual model of TQM implementation process in the Kuwaiti Oil industry that applies in general to operations and productions organizations at the Kuwaiti business environment and in specific to organizations in the Oil industry, as well it serves as a good theoretical model for improving operations and production level of the oil industry in other developing and developed countries. Thus, such research findings minimized the literature’s gap found the limited amount of empirical research of TQM implementation in well-developed industries existing in an Arab, developing countries and specifically in Kuwait, where there was no coherent national model for a universal TQM implementation in the Kuwaiti Oil industry in specific and Kuwaiti business environment in general. Finally, this newly developed research framework, which emerged from the literature search, was validated by rigorous quantitative analysis tools including SPSS and Structural Equation Modeling. The quantitative findings of questionnaires collected were supported by the qualitative findings of interviews conducted.

The effects of material variations in high value manufacturing industries

It has never been easy for manufacturing companies to understand their confidence level in terms of how accurate and to what degree of flexibility parts can be made. This brings uncertainty in finding the most suitable manufacturing method as well as in controlling their product and process verification systems. The aim of this research is to develop a system for capturing the company’s knowledge and expertise and then reflect it into an MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) system. A key activity here is measuring manufacturing and machining capabilities to a reasonable confidence level. For this purpose an in-line control measurement system is introduced to the company. Using SPC (Statistical Process Control) not only helps to predict the trend in manufacturing of parts but also minimises the human error in measurement. Gauge R&R (Repeatability and Reproducibility) study identifies problems in measurement systems. Measurement is like any other process in terms of variability. Reducing this variation via an automated machine probing system helps to avoid defects in future products.Developments in aerospace, nuclear, oil and gas industries demand materials with high performance and high temperature resistance under corrosive and oxidising environments. Superalloys were developed in the latter half of the 20th century as high strength materials for such purposes. For the same characteristics superalloys are considered as difficult-to-cut alloys when it comes to formation and machining. Furthermore due to the sensitivity of superalloy applications, in many cases they should be manufactured with tight tolerances. In addition superalloys, specifically Nickel based, have unique features such as low thermal conductivity due to having a high amount of Nickel in their material composition. This causes a high surface temperature on the work-piece at the machining stage which leads to deformation in the final product.Like every process, the material variations have a significant impact on machining quality. The main cause of variations can originate from chemical composition and mechanical hardness. The non-uniform distribution of metal elements is a major source of variation in metallurgical structures. Different heat treatment standards are designed for processing the material to the desired hardness levels based on application. In order to take corrective actions, a study on the material aspects of superalloys has been conducted. In this study samples from different batches of material have been analysed. This involved material preparation for microscopy analysis, and the effect of chemical compositions on hardness (before and after heat treatment). Some of the results are discussed and presented in this paper.

Independent Monitoring the Cuban Economic Zone Oil Development

The extensive impact and consequences of the 2010 Deep Water Horizon oil drilling rig failure in the Gulf of Mexico, together with expanding drilling activities in the Cuban Exclusive Economic zone, have cast a spotlight on Cuban oil development. The threat of a drilling rig failure has evolved from being only hypothetical to a potential reality with the commencement of active drilling in Cuban waters. The disastrous consequences of a drilling rig failure in Cuban waters will spread over a number of vital interests of the US and of nations in the Caribbean in the general environs of Cuba. The US fishing and tourist industries will take major blows from a significant oil spill in Cuban waters. Substantial ecological damage and damage to beaches could occur for the US, Mexico, Haiti and other countries as well. The need exists for the US to have the ability to independently monitor the reality of Cuban oceanic oil development. The advantages of having an independent US early warning system providing essential real-time data on the possible failure of a drilling rig in Cuban waters are numerous. An ideal early warning system would timely inform the US that an event has occurred or is likely to occur in, essentially, real-time. Presently operating monitoring systems that could provide early warning information are satellite-based. Such systems can indicate the locations of both drilling rigs and operational drilling platforms. The system discussed/proposed in this paper relies upon low-frequency underwater sound. The proposed system can complement existing monitoring systems, which offer ocean-surface information, by providing sub-ocean surface, near-real time, information. This “integrated system” utilizes and combines (integrates) many different forms of information, some gathered through sub-ocean surface systems, and some through electromagnetic-based remote sensing (satellites, aircraft, unmanned arial vehicles), and other methods as well. Although the proposed integrated system is in the developmental stage, it is based upon well-established technologies.

The quality of financial information in the extractive industries: a value relevance analysis

The extractive industry is characterized by high levels of risk and uncertainty. These attributes create challenges when applying traditional accounting concepts (such as the revenue recognition and matching concepts) to the preparation of financial statements in the industry. The International Accounting Standards Board (2010) states that the objective of general purpose financial statements is to provide useful financial information to assist the capital allocation decisions of existing and potential providers of capital. The usefulness of information is defined as being relevant and faithfully represented so as to best aid in the investment decisions of capital providers. Value relevance research utilizes adaptations of the Ohlson (1995) to assess the attribute of value relevance which is one part of the attributes resulting in useful information. This study firstly examines the value relevance of the financial information disclosed in the financial reports of extractive firms. The findings reveal that the value relevance of information disclosed in the financial reports depends on the circumstances of the firm including sector, size and profitability. Traditional accounting concepts such as the matching concept can be ineffective when applied to small firms who are primarily engaged in nonproduction activities that involve significant levels of uncertainty such as exploration activities or the development of sites. Standard setting bodies such as the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board have addressed the financial reporting challenges in the extractive industry by allowing a significant amount of accounting flexibility in industryspecific accounting standards, particularly in relation to the accounting treatment of exploration and evaluation expenditure. Therefore, secondly this study examines whether the choice of exploration accounting policy has an effect on the value relevance of information disclosed in the financial reports. The findings show that, in general, the Successful Efforts method produces value relevant information in the financial reports of profitable extractive firms. However, specifically in the oil & gas sector, the Full Cost method produces value relevant asset disclosures if the firm is lossmaking. This indicates that investors in production and non-production orientated firms have different information needs and these needs cannot be simultaneously fulfilled by a single accounting policy. In the mining sector, a preference by large profitable mining companies towards a more conservative policy than either the Full Cost or Successful Efforts methods does not result in more value relevant information being disclosed in the financial reports. This finding supports the fact that the qualitative characteristic of prudence is a form of bias which has a downward effect on asset values. The third aspect of this study is an examination of the effect of corporate governance on the value relevance of disclosures made in the financial reports of extractive firms. The findings show that the key factor influencing the value relevance of financial information is the ability of the directors to select accounting policies which reflect the economic substance of the particular circumstances facing the firms in an effective way. Corporate governance is found to have an effect on value relevance, particularly in the oil & gas sector. However, there is no significant difference between the exploration accounting policy choices made by directors of firms with good systems of corporate governance and those with weak systems of corporate governance.

A Study of Environmental Disclosures in the European Oil and Gas Industry : With Reference to the Global Reporting Initiative

Background and Problem: Sustainability reporting is a growing trend in the society. One of the most exposed industries to environmental matters is the oil and gas industry, which commit to sustainability reporting in order to deal with the industry’s destructive operations. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) provides voluntary guidelines in sustainability reporting, which increase transparency for the company’s stakeholders. However, it is controversial that the oil and gas industry put a great effort into sustainability reporting even though the industry is environmentally destructive. This gap is interesting to investigate and will contribute to the academic discussion. Therefore, this thesis will focus on the sustainability reporting in the oil and gas industry and to what extent the industry actually discloses material environmental information about their operations. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the sustainability reporting has changed in the oil and gas industry in Europe. This is performed from a stakeholder perspective. Further, it aims to investigate how oil and gas companies have followed the GRI guidelines and how the reporting has changed over time. Method: A quantitative method is used in order to answer the research questions. The data sample is based on oil and gas companies reporting according to the GRI framework during year 2012 to year 2014. The empirical data is gathered from the studied companies’ environmental category in their sustainability reports. Further, a content analysis technique, with a coding scheme, was set up to interpret and analyse the information. To enable an easy overview of the findings, the relevant data is presented in tables and diagrams. Empirical Findings and Conclusion: The majority of the studied companies have increased their level of compliance in the environmental category. Although, the majority of the companies have increased their reporting, the compliance level differs between the companies. The most reported sectors are the; “Water”, “Biodiversity”, “Emissions”, “Effluents and Waste”, “Compliance”, and “Overall”. Further, the empirical findings show that there is an overall increase in the amount of disclosed information per indicator. The conclusion of this thesis is that the environmental disclosures have increased in the oil and gas industry from year 2012 to 2014.

Oil spill environmental risk assessment of stationary sources in offshore zones (Innovating a mathematical model)

Nowadays, risks arising from the rapid development of oil and gas industries are significantly increasing. As a result, one of the main concerns of either industrial or environmental managers is the identification and assessment of such risks in order to develop and maintain appropriate proactive measures. Oil spill from stationary sources in offshore zones is one of the accidents resulting in several adverse impacts on marine ecosystems. Considering a site's current situation and relevant requirements and standards, risk assessment process is not only capable of recognizing the probable causes of accidents but also of estimating the probability of occurrence and the severity of consequences. In this way, results of risk assessment would help managers and decision makers create and employ proper control methods. Most of the represented models for risk assessment of oil spills are achieved on the basis of accurate data bases and analysis of historical data, but unfortunately such data bases are not accessible in most of the zones, especially in developing countries, or else they are newly established and not applicable yet. This issue reveals the necessity of using Expert Systems and Fuzzy Set Theory. By using such systems it will be possible to formulize the specialty and experience of several experts and specialists who have been working in petroliferous areas for several years. On the other hand, in developing countries often the damages to environment and environmental resources are not considered as risk assessment priorities and they are approximately under-estimated. For this reason, the proposed model in this research is specially addressing the environmental risk of oil spills from stationary sources in offshore zones.