Oil bearing seasonal crops in India:energy and phytoremediation potential

Purpose: A variety of biomass plantations are being raised for energy production. This case study is on energy production potential of seasonal oil bearing crops in India. These crops have the advantage of producing oil (liquid fuel) as well as biomass as agro residue (solid fuel). The purpose of the study is to estimate total energy yields of oil bearing crops and compare with other types of energy plantations. Also oil bearing crops bioaccumulate metals and thus phytoremediate soil. This provides scope for waste water irrigation. Design/methodology/approach: Relevant published papers on energy production by raising oil bearing crops have been analyzed. The effect of waste water irrigation and agronomic practices on increasing productivity is given special attention. Findings: It is shown that the seasonal oil bearing crops such as castor have a high potential to generate energy and this is comparable to energy produced by many perennial grasses. The energy yields of castor under irrigated condition was 196×103 MJ/ha and this is comparable to the reed canary grass which yields 195×103 MJ/ha. Some of the oil bearing crops are also super accumulators of certain toxic metals. Research limitations/implications: In this study, only all the accessible papers on the topic could be analyzed. Practical implications: This case study indicates that raising oil bearing crops such as castor using waste water has many advantages which include high energy yields, utilization of waste water for productive purpose and phytoremediation of soil. Originality/value: The comparison made between various types of energy crops for their energy generation is an original contribution. Findings of economic and environmental benefits by waste water irrigation are also of value. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Density forecasts of crude-oil prices using option-implied and ARCH-type models

The predictive accuracy of competing crude-oil price forecast densities is investigated for the 1994–2006 period. Moving beyond standard ARCH type models that rely exclusively on past returns, we examine the benefits of utilizing the forward-looking information that is embedded in the prices of derivative contracts. Risk-neutral densities, obtained from panels of crude-oil option prices, are adjusted to reflect real-world risks using either a parametric or a non-parametric calibration approach. The relative performance of the models is evaluated for the entire support of the density, as well as for regions and intervals that are of special interest for the economic agent. We find that non-parametric adjustments of risk-neutral density forecasts perform significantly better than their parametric counterparts. Goodness-of-fit tests and out-of-sample likelihood comparisons favor forecast densities obtained by option prices and non-parametric calibration methods over those constructed using historical returns and simulated ARCH processes. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 31:727–754, 2011

Resource enclavity and corporate social responsibility in Sub-Saharan Africa:the case of oil production in Ghana

Why has Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) yielded such disappointing outcomes in oil-rich sub-Saharan Africa? Over the past decades, a sizable body of literature has emerged which draws attention to the shortcomings of oil-related development and complementary CSR exercises in the region. Most critiques on the topic, however, assess specific interventions and/or policies but fail to evaluate the complex decision-making processes, dictated heavily by setting, which produce such actions altogether. This thesis attributes CSR outcomes in oil-rich sub-Saharan Africa to the unique context in which the decisions underpinning actions take place. In doing so, the analysis borrows ideas from a diverse body of literature spanning the international development, accounting, management and political science disciplines. To explore these ideas further, the thesis focuses on the case of Ghana. The most recent “addition” to sub-Saharan Africa’s oil club, Ghana provides a rare glimpse of how decisions underpinning CSR have been identified, evolved and reshaped from the outset. To provide a comprehensive picture of CSR in the sector and its impacts at the local level, interviews and focus groups were conducted with a range of stakeholder groups. As is the case throughout sub-Saharan Africa, in Ghana, oil production occurs in offshore “enclaves”, which are disconnected geographically from local communities. This thesis argues that these dynamics have important implications for CSR. Findings point to companies also being disconnected ideologically from local development needs, which, in part explains the questionable CSR that has become such a contentious issue in the debate on oil and development in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years. The enclave-type setting in which oil production occurs appears to have stifled creativity and innovation in the area of CSR. This, along with institutional weaknesses, regulatory deficiencies and the Government of Ghana’s failure to adequately respond to local-level concerns, has produced these outcomes.

The Current State of Argentina's Oil Industry

An oil wealthy country, Argentina has repeatedly tried and failed to capitalize on its potential. The unfortunate energy policies of subsequent Argentinean government and a lack of investment capital have been two of the main reasons that have significantly limited the production of export oil in the recent past. Yet, with recent discoveries and changes to the country’s hydrocarbon laws, there may be a new dawn for Argentina’s oil industry. Since 1999 when Argentina’s oil production peaked at approximately 800,000 barrels per day, there has been a 24 percent decrease in its oil output. The country’s oil reserves have also been in steady decline. Yet, the recently enacted reforms by Argentina’s government to incentivize foreign investment in the oil industry seem to be working, allowing investors to negotiate the terms of exploration directly with local governments. As a result, foreign investment is increasing, as well as new willingness to finance exploration of untapped reserves. Also, the discovery of shale oil in Argentina may provide the potential to become a key exporter in the region. Nonetheless, there are challenges that need to be overcome and it may be years before the various oil projects underway become profitable. The success of current oil projects, coupled with the potential of shale oil, new discoveries and the sustainability of the current energy policy reforms will likely determine if Argentina is finally able to fulfill its potential and exert itself as an oil exporter country in Latin America.

Water temperature reconstructions based on paired Uk'37 and Tex86 records, and paired surface and subsurface Mg/Ca records

This dataset contains the collection of available published paired Uk'37 and Tex86 records spanning multi-millennial to multi-million year time scales, as well as a collection of Mg/Ca-derived temperatures measured in parallel on surface and subsurface dwelling foraminifera, both used in the analyses of Ho and Laepple, Nature Geoscience 2016. As the signal-to-noise ratios of proxy-derived Holocene temperatures are relatively low, we selected records that contain at least the last deglaciation (oldest sample >18kyr BP).

Beryllium, neodymium and metal composition of ODP Leg 194 sites and survey sites crusts

Be and Nd isotope compositions and metal concentrations (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) of surface and subsurface ferromanganese hardground crusts from Ocean Drilling Program Leg 194 Marion Plateau Sites 1194 and 1196 provide new insights into the crusts' genesis, growth rates, and ages. Metal compositions indicate that the hardgrounds, which have grown on erosional surfaces in water depths of <400 m because of strong bottom currents, are not pure hydrogenetic precipitates. Nevertheless, the ratios between cosmogenic 10Be and stable 9Be in hardgrounds from the present-day seafloor at Site 1196 between 1 x 10**-7 and 1.5 x 10**-7 are within the range of values expected for Pacific seawater, which shows that the hardgrounds recorded the isotope composition of ambient seawater. This is also confirmed by their Nd isotope composition (epsilon Nd between -3 and 0). The 10Be/9Be ratios in the up to 30-mm-thick and partly laminated hardgrounds do not show a decrease with depth, which suggests high growth rates on the present-day seafloor. The subsurface crust at Site 1194 (117 m below the seafloor) grew during a sedimentation hiatus, when bottom currents in the late Miocene prevented sediment accumulation on the carbonate platform during a sea level lowstand. The age of 8.65 ± 0.50 Ma for this crust obtained from 10Be-based dating agrees well with the combined seismostratigraphic and biostratigraphic evidence, which suggests an age for the hiatus between 7.7 and 11.8 Ma.

Estudo da incorporação de resíduos de perfuração para aplicação em cimentação de poços de petróleo

During the drilling of oil and natural gas are generated solid waste, liquid and gaseous. These solid fragments, which are known as cuttings, are carried to the surface through the drilling fluid. Furthermore, this fluid serves to cool the bit, keeping the internal pressure of the well, and others. This solid residue is very polluting, because it has incorporated beyond the drilling fluid, which has several chemical additives harmful to the environment, some heavy metals that are harmful to the environment, such as lead. To minimize the residue generated, are currently being studied numerous techniques to mitigate the problems that such waste can cause to the environment, like addition of cuttings in the composition of soil cement brick masonry construction, addition of cuttings on the clay matrix for the manufacture of solid masonry bricks and ceramic blocks and coprocessing of the cuttings in cement. So, the main objective of this work is the incorporation of cuttings drilling of oil wells, the cement slurry used in the cementing operation of the well. This cuttings used in this study, arising from the formation Pendências, was milled and separated in a sieve of 100 mesh. After grinding had a mean particle sike in order of 86 mm and crystal structure containing phases of quartz and calcite type, characteristic of the Portland cement. Were formulated and prepared slurries of cement with density 13 lb / gal, containing different concentrations of gravel, and realized characterization tests API SPEC 10A and RP 10B. Free water tests showed values lower than 5.9% and the rheological model that best described the behavior of the mixtures was the power. The results of compressive strength (10.3 MPa) and stability (Dr <0.5 lb / gal) had values within the set of operational procedures. Thus, the gravel from the drilling operation, may be used as binders in addition to Portland cement oil wells, in order to reuse this waste and reduce the cost of the cement paste.

Uso de água produzida na formulação de fluidos de perfuração

Drilling fluids have fundamental importance in the petroleum activities, since they are responsible for remove the cuttings, maintain pressure and well stability, preventing collapse and inflow of fluid into the rock formation and maintain lubrication and cooling the drill. There are basically three types of drilling fluids: water-based, non-aqueous and aerated based. The water-based drilling fluid is widely used because it is less aggressive to the environment and provide excellent stability and inhibition (when the water based drilling fluid is a inhibition fluid), among other qualities. Produced water is generated simultaneously with oil during production and has high concentrations of metals and contaminants, so it’s necessary to treat for disposal this water. The produced water from the fields of Urucu-AM and Riacho da forquilha-RN have high concentrations of contaminants, metals and salts such as calcium and magnesium, complicating their treatment and disposal. Thus, the objective was to analyze the use of synthetic produced water with similar characteristics of produced water from Urucu-AM and Riacho da Forquilha-RN for formulate a water-based drilling mud, noting the influence of varying the concentration of calcium and magnesium into filtered and rheology tests. We conducted a simple 32 factorial experimental design for statistical modeling of data. The results showed that the varying concentrations of calcium and magnesium did not influence the rheology of the fluid, where in the plastic viscosity, apparent viscosity and the initial and final gels does not varied significantly. For the filtrate tests, calcium concentration in a linear fashion influenced chloride concentration, where when we have a higher concentration of calcium we have a higher the concentration of chloride in the filtrate. For the Urucu’s produced water based fluids, volume of filtrate was observed that the calcium concentration influences quadratically, this means that high calcium concentrations interfere with the power of the inhibitors used in the formulation of the filtered fluid. For Riacho’s produced water based fluid, Calcium’s influences is linear for volume of filtrate. The magnesium concentration was significant only for chloride concentration in a quadratic way just for Urucu’s produced water based fluids. The mud with maximum concentration of magnesium (9,411g/L), but minimal concentration of calcium (0,733g/L) showed good results. Therefore, a maximum water produced by magnesium concentration of 9,411g/L and the maximum calcium concentration of 0,733g/L can be used for formulating water-based drilling fluids, providing appropriate properties for this kind of fluid.

Caracterização morfológica-sedimentar do vale inciso Apodi-Mossoró e plataforma continental adjacente - Bacia Potiguar Offshore

Systems of incised valleys have been studied in different continental shelves, including the Brazilian continental margin. The interest to characterize this feature is given by the information that it can provide variations on sea level, as well as the ability to host economically significant quantities of hydrocarbons in reservoirs located in deposits filling of the incised valleys. This thesis has the overall objective to characterize the morphology and sedimentary cover of the incised valley Apodi-Mossoró, located in the Northern Continental shelf of Rio Grande do Norte state, adjacent to Areia Branca city. The methodology included the integration of satellite imagery, bathymetric data, sedimentological data, shallow seismic, and the identification of foraminifera. The results indicate that the ApodiMossró incised valley is currently formed by two channels, shallow channel and deep channel, which have distinct morphological and sedimentological characteristics. The deep channel has connection with one of the heads of the Apodi Canyon, located in the slope area. The acquisition, processing and interpretation of shallow seismic data allowed the recognition of the depositional surface, erosional surface, discordance, and sismofaceis. The erosional surface mapped from shallow seismic sections is possibly a indicative of an ancient surface of valley incision, where it would probably be associated with the limit Pleistocene/Holocene. Different sismofaceis were identified and reflect the rise in sea level with standards sometimes agradacional, sometimes progradational. The thickness of sediments on this surface was estimated at a maximum of 22m thick in the central portion of the incised valley. Statistically, there are differences between the adjacent continental shelf and channels, and between these channels, for the content of calcium carbonate, organic matter, sand and mud perceptual, except for the gravel grain size. The analysis of living and dead foraminifera showed the presence of fifty species distributed in regards to morphology, depth and type of sediment. Four type of seismic echocharacteres were identified and mapped, as well as their bedforms, indicating different sedimentary processes along the incised valley. The integration of results suggests an activation of the Apodi-Mossoró incised valley in the Late Pleistocene.

Tensoativo derivado do ácido cítrico: síntese e aplicação em fluidos de perfuração de emulsão inversa

This work describes the synthesis and study of the application of a new surfactant (Triester Lipophilic – TEL) obtained by citric acid with octanol. It is reaction was followed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and after purification the product was characterized by proton and 13 – carbon nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( H and 13C NMR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and surface tension analysis of oil-in-water emulsions. The TEL performance as surfactant in ester, n-paraffin and biodiesel based drilling fluids on the 70/30 and 60/40 water- oil rations (WOR) was evaluated by comparative tests of two commercial products used in the fields. These drilling fluids were aged in roller oven at 200 0 F during 16 h. The rheological and electric stability measurements were carried out at 135 ºF, the phase separation was evaluated after seven days at rest and the filtrate volume of drilling fluids was determined at high temperature and high pressure. The rheological behavior of the drilling fluids was evaluated by the flow curves. The results showed that the drilling fluids studied here presented Binghamian behavior as well as the used in the oil fields. The laboratory tests showed that the TEL reduced the filtrate volume and promoted the enhance of the thermal and mechanical stabilities.

Estudo de simulação de reservatórios para o desenvolvimento de um campo do nordeste brasileiro

In the last 16 years emerged in Brazil a segment of independent producers with focus on onshore basins and shallow waters. Among the challenges of these companies is the development of fields with projects with a low net present value (NPV). The objective of this work was to study the technical-economical best option to develop an oil field in the Brazilian Northeast using reservoir simulation. Real geology, reservoir and production data was used to build the geological and simulation model. Due to not having PVT analysis, distillation method test data known as the true boiling points (TBP) were used to create a fluids model generating the PVT data. After execution of the history match, four development scenarios were simulated: the extrapolation of production without new investments, the conversion of a producing well for immiscible gas injection, the drilling of a vertical well and the drilling of a horizontal well. As a result, from the financial point of view, the gas injection is the alternative with lower added value, but it may be viable if there are environmental or regulatory restrictions to flaring or venting the produced gas into the atmosphere from this field or neighboring accumulations. The recovery factor achieved with the drilling of vertical and horizontal wells is similar, but the horizontal well is a project of production acceleration; therefore, the present incremental cumulative production with a minimum rate of company's attractiveness is higher. Depending on the crude oil Brent price and the drilling cost, this option can be technically and financially viable.

Análise comparativa de diferentes configurações de poços no processo de combustão in-situ

With an increasing number of mature fields, heavy oil recovery has performed one of the great challenges of the oil industry. The Brazilian Northeast, for example, has numerous heavy oil reservoirs are explored with the use of thermal methods. Among the types of methods used for heavy oil, there is the method of in-situ combustion, a technique in which heat is produced within the container, unlike the injection of heated fluid when the heat is generated at the surface and transported to the reservoir. In this type of process, it is common to use vertical wells as injectors and producers. However, methods which use horizontal wells like oil producers are increasingly studied because of greater contact area between the formation and combustion front. Thus, the main objective of this work was to study the different configurations of wells (CIS THAITM and CAGD) in the process of in-situ combustion in oil recovery using a semi-synthetic tank with Brazilian Northeast features. The method "toe-to-heel air injection" (THAITM) is a process of enhanced oil recovery, which is the integration of in-situ combustion with technological advances in drilling horizontal wells. This method uses horizontal wells such as oil producers, keeping vertical injection wells for injecting air. The oil drain process by differential gravitational assisted with combustion (CAGD) is an integrated, in this configuration the horizontal injector well is drilled at the top formation with a horizontal production well in the lower section. The simulations were performed in a commercial program of thermal processes, called "STARS" (Steam, Thermal, and Advanced Processes Reservoir Simulator), the company CMG (Computer Modelling Group). An analysis of the air flow injection was performed and it was found that each method had a maximum injection to the base model, a show that through this air injection limit was reduced cumulative production of oil. Analyses of operating parameters were used: injection flow, configuration and completion of wells. In the sensitivity analysis we found that the air injection flow showed greater influence on THAI method, since the CIS method the completion of the wells was the most influential parameter and CAGD configuration wells showed the greatest influence in the recovered fraction. The economic results have shown that the best case obtained in CAGD method because, despite having higher initial cost showed the best financial return compared to the best cases the CIS and THAI.

Análise comparativa de diferentes configurações de poços no processo de combustão in-situ

With an increasing number of mature fields, heavy oil recovery has performed one of the great challenges of the oil industry. The Brazilian Northeast, for example, has numerous heavy oil reservoirs are explored with the use of thermal methods. Among the types of methods used for heavy oil, there is the method of in-situ combustion, a technique in which heat is produced within the container, unlike the injection of heated fluid when the heat is generated at the surface and transported to the reservoir. In this type of process, it is common to use vertical wells as injectors and producers. However, methods which use horizontal wells like oil producers are increasingly studied because of greater contact area between the formation and combustion front. Thus, the main objective of this work was to study the different configurations of wells (CIS THAITM and CAGD) in the process of in-situ combustion in oil recovery using a semi-synthetic tank with Brazilian Northeast features. The method "toe-to-heel air injection" (THAITM) is a process of enhanced oil recovery, which is the integration of in-situ combustion with technological advances in drilling horizontal wells. This method uses horizontal wells such as oil producers, keeping vertical injection wells for injecting air. The oil drain process by differential gravitational assisted with combustion (CAGD) is an integrated, in this configuration the horizontal injector well is drilled at the top formation with a horizontal production well in the lower section. The simulations were performed in a commercial program of thermal processes, called "STARS" (Steam, Thermal, and Advanced Processes Reservoir Simulator), the company CMG (Computer Modelling Group). An analysis of the air flow injection was performed and it was found that each method had a maximum injection to the base model, a show that through this air injection limit was reduced cumulative production of oil. Analyses of operating parameters were used: injection flow, configuration and completion of wells. In the sensitivity analysis we found that the air injection flow showed greater influence on THAI method, since the CIS method the completion of the wells was the most influential parameter and CAGD configuration wells showed the greatest influence in the recovered fraction. The economic results have shown that the best case obtained in CAGD method because, despite having higher initial cost showed the best financial return compared to the best cases the CIS and THAI.

Vernacular perceptions of masculinity and fatherhood among Newfoundland offshore workers and their families

My thesis is an ethnographic study of how offshore workers of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as their families, express and reflect upon traditional Newfoundland constructs of fatherhood and masculinity through narrative and ritual. With a schedule that often involves a constant shift between home and away, offshore workers in the province take part in high-risk professions in order to provide for their families back home. These professions, and their associated lifestyles, involve the incorporation of routine strategies that allows family culture to maintain itself. At the same time, these professions largely carry on a tradition of hegemonically masculine practices, albeit in a newer context. Drawing on a blend of literary and ethnographic research based on the Avalon Peninsula, I utilize examples of current Newfoundland culture to describe how nostalgic memoirs of outport Newfoundland create models of hegemonically masculine fatherhood in the province. I go on to explain how those models manifest themselves in the experiences of current offshore workers, and how they affect their spouses and children. Furthermore, through examining how young adults with offshore-working parents describe their experiences of their fathers, it is possible to see how the effects of local hegemonic masculinities are manifested through narratives about fathers who worked away from home.