bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mary Antin’s Progressive Science: Eugenics, Evolution, and the Environment
Authors: Jirousek Lori
Published: July 2012

While Mary Antin’s best-selling autobiography The Promised Land (1912) often has been considered an immigrant success story that celebrates assimilation, Antin’s texts reveal criticism of the America she observed and a desire to reshape rather than merely assimilate into it. This essay demonstrates that Antin wrote as a Progressive activist, who believed that scientific research and legislative reform could bring positive social change, including protecting and improving living conditions for immigrants. Examining Antin’s writing in the context of historical scientific debates surrounding immigration enables a more thorough understanding of her struggle to legitimize her position both racially and culturally in American society. This essay clarifies the ways in which the scientific theories concerning eugenics and the environment, along with evolution, became significant factors in her rhetorical design. Strategically incorporating the discourses of eugenics, evolution, and environmental reform, Antin became a Progressive champion for immigrants.
A Vanguard Projected in Motion: Early Kinetic Poetry in Portuguese
Authors: Funkhouser Chris
Published: July 2012

This essay serves to promote a broader awareness of the pioneering efforts in videographic poetry produced in Portuguese in the decades leading up to the formation of the WWW. At present, documentation of such works in books and journal articles in English is particularly weak; the only title that even partially introduces such works is a now out-of-print issue of Visible Language that focused on New Media Poetry (Vol. 30.2). Thus, these historical predecessors to contemporary animated poetry are barely known in the United States. Prior to the 1990s only a few poets used video; much of what occurred transpired outside the realm of English (and some even outside the realm of language, as illustrated in the essay).
"The German-Turk Miracle": Arnold Reisman's Turkey's Modernization
Authors: Bektas Yakup
Published: July 2012

In 1933 when Germany under Hitler dismissed all academics with Jewish ancestry and anti-Nazi leanings, Turkey, a young republic, was in the midst of a major modernization program, led by Ataturk, its founding father. Beginning that very year, its government invited a large number of them to take prestigious positions in its few existing colleges and other state establishments, in particular help with reforming its higher education and other public institutions. Continued through WWII, this effort not only saved the lives of many German Jewish professors and their knowledge and art but also benefited the host country immensely. This book brings to light the story of these émigré professors and tells about their contributions to science, medicine, engineering, art, literature, and music in Turkey.
"I'm Just a Pen": Travel, Performance, and Orientalism in David Hare's Via Dolorosa and Acting Up
Authors: Bar-Yosef Eitan
Published: July 2012

Eitan Bar-Yosef's essay explores the affinity between theatrical performance, travel, and textual production by juxtaposing David Hare's Via Dolorosa (his one-man show in which he described his experiences visiting Israel / Palestine in 1997) and Acting Up (a diary in which he described his experiences performing Via Dolorosa). Tracing the playwright's various journeys—from the West End to the West Bank, from behind the scenes to the limelight, from London to Broadway—the essay demonstrates that although Hare's work is indebted to the British Orientalist tradition, his monologue reflects an inability to face the legacy of British colonial rule in Palestine. Ironically, it is precisely Hare's new experiences as a performer, on and off the stage, that echo—very often to the point of parody—this repressed colonial narrative.
Performance, Transitional Justice, and the Law: South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Authors: Cole Catherine M
Published: July 2012

The word "performance" is often on the lips of scholars who write about truth commissions and international human rights law, yet performance and theatre studies scholars have not yet been central interlocutors in this discourse. The author charts a point of entry by examining a unique and defining feature of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC): its public, embodied, and performed dimensions. How did the TRC's performative conventions, modes of address, and expressive embodiment shape the experience for both participants and spectators? The author argues that the "completeness" of the vision of the apartheid past that the TRC was mandated to achieve can be discerned as vividly—if not more so—through detailed analyses of moments of performed testimony as it can through the macro-narratives and quantitative analyses that have so far dominated scholarship on the commission.
Corporate power, society and the environment: A case study of ArcelorMittal South Africa
Authors: Bezuidenhout Andries , Cock Jacklyn
Published: July 2012

An analysis of the privatised steel monopoly ArcelorMittal’s operations in South Africa is used to raise questions about the power of multinational corporations in relation to the state. The article focuses on the steel manufacturer’s externalisation of environmental, social and economic costs onto communities and upstream consumers of steel. The analysis is grounded in two places where steel production networks ‘touch down’: Vanderbijlpark in the south of Gauteng, where ArelorMittal manufactures steel, and Ezakheni in KwaZulu-Natal, where a household appliance manufacturer uses steel as a major input. The article points to the limitations of competition policy (directed at the prevention of ‘import-party pricing’) in the absence of an effective industrial policy. The classification of the post-apartheid South African state as a ‘developmental state’ is questioned in the context of this minimalist approach to economic and social transformation.
Friction Factor Correlation for Viscoplastic Fluid Flows through Eccentric Elliptical Annular Pipe
Authors: Alegría L. M. , Franco A. T. , Morales R. E. , Negrão C. O. , Martins A. L. , Waldmann A. T.
Published: July 2012

In the oil industry, there are many situations where fluid flow in annular spaces ta kes place. During the oil well rotary drilling for instance, the drill bit oscillations change the well cross-section from an expected circular to an elliptic shape. In these cases, the drilling fluid flow through the annular space that is molded between the drill string and the rock formation is a matter of concern s o that the correct eva luation of pressure drop a nd shear stress distribution along the borehole is qu ite important for an appropriate well design. Despite its importance, studies related to non-Newtonian fluid flow through eccentric or even concentric elliptical annuli are not reported in the open literature. Therefore this paper presents an analytical friction factor correlation for viscoplastic fluid flow through two types of elliptical cross-sectional ducts: a concentric elliptical annulus and an eccentric one. The solution is based on the slot flow model of variable height that is validated comparing the results with the literature and with numerical results obtaine d from computational fluid dynamics. Very good agreement for the eccentric annular pipe was obtained from the comparison between the current analytical results and the numerical solutions from the literature. A promising application of the present analytical solution for the eccentric elliptical annular duct flow was found when comparing the results with computational fluid dynamics ones.
Extreme Fast Track: Combined Subsea HPHT Horizontal Production and Exploration Well
Authors: Nelemans Adriaen , Hovland Stein , Haukland Bård , Røsbak André Ivarjord
Published: July 2012

The last well on the Morvin subsea High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) field, located offshore Norway, was a combined production and exploration well. This well had as objective to drill through two known producing reservoirs and then continue drilling whilst dropping into two deeper and unexplored reservoirs.

Drilling conditions on Morvin are very tough due to extremely hard and abrasive sandstone formations combined with long horizontal reservoir sections with temperatures of up to 167° C. Neighbouring wells had been on production for several months causing depletion in the upper formations. This depletion had to be carefully monitored and managed to prevent any losses/well control scenarios.

In order to prove the reservoir fluid system in the exploration part of the well several operations were conducted. These consisted of, amongst others: extensive logging, coring, pressure points and a newly developed formation sampling tool. The results were used to adjust the well path and to decide whether the new formations would be completed, or cemented back.

An HPHT oil and water tracer system was developed to be installed in the completion. The specially developed tracer technology enables the localisation of any possible water or oil producing formations. In addition, blank pipe combined with openhole swell packers were installed between the different formations for zonal isolation. Wireline conveyed bridge plugs give the possibility to plug water produsing zones back.

This paper describes the strategy which was followed, together with the technology that was used, to prove the reservoir fluid system in the exploration part of the well. After assessing all data it was decided to complete both exploration formations. The well was successfully put in production 5 weeks after the exploration part was finished making this an extreme fast track project.
Reactive and Weak Zone Drilling Solution: Non-retrievable Casing Drilling
Authors: Jusoh M Faizol , Wang Keith Won
Published: July 2012

Non-retrievable casing drilling technology has gained wide recognition from operators for drilling top hole sections in offshore Peninsular Malaysia waters in recent years. The high value realized in reduction of well construction costs and problem resolution in reactive formations has contributed to the high popularity of this innovative drilling technique in this region.

Reactive shale zones are the trouble zones commonly seen in the top hole section offshore Peninsular Malaysia. These zones are mainly comprised of soft sandstone and claystone which have caused losses of millions of dollars to operators using conventional drilling techniques. Extra wiper trips are frequently necessary across these trouble zones, and stuck casing can still be a problem.

A non-retrievable casing drilling bit, the Defyer, has been successful in avoiding lost time in penetrating these trouble zones, and previously set a casing drilling record of a 13-3/8" application in this area. This success for footage drilled achieved by the casing drilling bit provided encouragement for an attempt that would push the ultimate capability of this system in drilling a long interval through the reactive zones.

This paper briefly discusses the planning, implementation process of this long interval 13-3/8" casing drilling through reactive zone and subsequent savings for the operator in this project.
Drilling Performance Optimization on Malaysia's First Coiled Tubing Drilling Pilot Project: A Case Study
Authors: Abdul Rahman A. A. , Hamzah N. E. , Fauzi N. Ahmad , El-Hariry H. , Jenie J. R. , Chaari Y.
Published: July 2012

This paper presents a general discussion of the phases necessary to undertake coiled tubing drilling (CTD) project in a new area: conceptual design during the feasibility study, equipment planning and preparation, detailed engineering, and operational challenges during execution. The actual operations and performance results for these phases are given for the first CTD pilot project undertaken in Malaysia.

CTD can provide significant economic benefits when applied in the proper field setting. In addition to potential cost advantages, it can provide other benefits: safer and more efficient pressure control, faster tripping time, smaller footprint and weight, faster rig-up and rig-down, reduced environment impact, operations with fewer personnel, and high-speed telemetry. In the Malaysia project, where it was applied to the drilling of directional through-tubing reentry wells requiring casing exit methods and high dogleg capability, it provided the flexibility to access compartmentalized bypassed pockets in the reservoir. Drilling for the CTD project was started in February 2011 and completed in August 2011; three out of four wells were drilled and completed in the target formation. The challenges faced during the beginning of the execution phase were used as lessons learned and contributed to a fast learning curve, leading to delivery of the last three wells within budget.

The drilling campaign demonstrated the ability of CTD to reach small, bypassed pockets that are difficult to produce economically with conventional reentry drilling techniques. This success has opened the door for CTD of other numerous idle wells [in same field or just in Malaysia in general?], which can result in efficient recovery of the bypassed oil. This is especially important for the offshore environment of Malaysia because platforms require a significant investment that is usually not justified for such marginal reserves.
Exploration and Practice of Volume Fracturing in Shale Gas Reservoir of Sichuan Basin, China
Authors: Mingzhong Chen , Bin Qian , Zhilin Ou , Juncheng Zhang , Hai Jiang , Rui Chen
Published: July 2012

The commercial development of natural gas in shale formations has been realized in U.S. The exploration and production of gas in shale is closely related to the progress of fracturing technology, and fracturing stimulation is becoming the key technology for developing gas production in shale. The shale development history in the U.S shows that horizontal well technology has increased shale exploration greatly. Now horizontal wells account for 94% of production, and the production is 2–4 times that of vertical wells in developing the Barnett shale in the U.S. The newly developed volume fracturing technology, especially volume fracturing in horizontal wells improves the stimulation results of horizontal wells and is becoming the main method of increasing production in shale.

Compared with the shales in the North America, the shales in China exhibit a great difference in reservoir characteristics. The preliminary shale gas resource assessment in China shows that not only are the reserves in shale huge, but also the distribution is wide. There are two primary shale depositional environments in China, marine deposits and lacustrine deposits. The marine deposit shales are located in the south, north and northwest of China, with lacustrine deposit shales located in the northeast, north and northwest. From 2010, the exploration of shales in Weiyuan, Changning, Fushun and Zhaotong areas of the Sichuan basin started, with fracturing jobs in 7 vertical wells and 4 horizontal wells showing good results, which demonstrates the potential of shale gas exploration in China.

This paper describes the exploration and practice of volume fracturing and supporting technology in shale gas reservoirs in the Sichuan basin. The fracturing results show that some obvious complex fracture network is formed in most wells. The practice of volume fracturing in shale in Sichuan Basin shows that parameter optimization, wellsite control and application of supporting technology based on reservoir character and job objective are the keys to volume fracturing. This paper presents the summary of development of volume fracturing of shale in China and discusses the next step considerations on the basis of the shale reservoir characteristics in Sichuan Basin.
Probe on Anti-sloughing Film-forming Drilling Fluid Technologhy to Be Used When Drilling Medium Changed to Drilling Fluid During Gas Drilling
Authors: WANG Lan , MA Guangchang , LIU Bin , WU Zhengliang , WANG Canshu , CHEN Junbin , OU Yangwei , YUAN Zhiping , WU Qi , JIN Chengping , WANG Rui , HE Hai
Published: July 2012

After the gas drilling completed, free water in drilling fluid will influx into the formation rapidly in large volume after the drilling fluid pumped downhole. That will cause clay mineral to swell, which leads to open hole instability. In addition, it may create thick mud cakes on the open hole wall in short period, which results in borehole problems. Tight pull during tripping operation is a typical example. Whether open hole instability or the presence of thick mud cakes, it needs more time to solve problems for unrestricted borehole. Therefore, a new concept - anti-sloughing film-forming drilling fluid technology was raised in order to control open hole instability when the drilling fluid pumped downhole after the gas drilling. Essence of the technology is to film a dense waterproof diaphragm on the open hole wall to effectively prevent free water in the drilling fluid from influxing into the formation, which can avoid hydration swelling and eliminate the formation of thick mud cakes.

This technology is just under laboratory test. So far there is no on-site application.

Experimental tests show that a total fluid composed of macromolecular organics and inorganics (called film forming agent in this article) can quickly form a smooth and strong waterproof diaphragm on the surface of laboratory core within 10 secends to 30 secends. The mentioned diaphragm effectively prevents free water in the drilling fluid from influxing into the core internal. According to the laboratory appearance and results, it can be boldly deduced that if flim forming agent is used in the well after gas drilling, the waterproof diaphragm can effectively prevent free water in the drilling fluid from influxing into the formation once formed, which realizes open hole stabilization.

At present, many wells need 3 days to 4 days or more time to deal with restricted borehole problems cuased by open hole instability or thick mud cakes when drilling medium changed to drilling fuild during gas drilling. It has affected the overall effect of the gas drilling to some extent. Research on the anti-sloughing film-forming technology can help to solve such problem and recover to mud drilling normally in short period, which benefits to improve drilling efficiency and save drilling cost.
The Application of Polymer-sulfonated Saturated Salt Based Mud System on the Right Bank of the Amu Darya in Turkmenistan
Authors: Jin Chengping , Ma Guangchang , Wang Canshu , Ou Yangwei , Li Wei , He Hai , Wang Lan , Wang Xianbin
Published: July 2012

Due to the long section (between 700 and 1200 meters) of the anhydrite and salt in the upper Jurassic formation on the right bank of the Amu Darya in Turkmenistan, a polymer-sulfonated saturated salt (NaCl) based mud (PSSSM) system was prepared by using laboratory tests to prevent drilling fluid contamination from anhydrite and salt solids. Corresponding technical measures were determined after the laboratory testing and field application. This kind of mud system can effectively prevent down hole problems which will commonly occur in long sections of anhydrite and salt, such as plastic flow of salt and anhydrite, drilling fluids heavy contaminated by the salt and anhydrite, hole washout, pipe sticking, etc.

The PSSSM mud system can safely and effectively overcome the problems associated with these troublesome formations. More than 50 wells were drilled 100% successfully compared with other kind mud systems used in Turkmenistan. The drilling success ratio was only 40% before using this kind of mud system in this locality. A significant amount of experience was gained during the past 3 years which contributed to successful application of this fluid system.

Additionally, a lot of plant derivatives were used as fluids additives in the saturated salt water based mud system, which will satisfy the increasing of environmental concerns. All the plant derivative additives can easily be allowed to biodegrade after the completion of fluids services. Fluids recycling measures were also implemented to lower the cost and environmental impact. Sufficient mud weight (MW), amount of calcium and chloride ion needs to be maintained before and during drilling the anhydrite and salt section.

All the technical measures and conclusions have been retained for reference on future drilling in geologically similar areas. Considerations for improving the environmental impact and better reservoir protection can be made on the basis of these experiences.
Top Drive Casing Running: Improving Safety and Efficiency of the Operation
Authors: Zhang Hongying , He Tao , Wang Na , Liu Guanghua , Zou Lianyang , Huang Yanfu
Published: July 2012

Casing running operation is a crucial step in drilling a wellbore. With more and more horizontal wells and extended-reach wells are drilled, there is an increasing demand for a technology, which will be able to circulate the drilling fluid and rotate the casing while lowering it simultaneously to avoid pipe stuck occurs. This paper introduces the Top Drive Casing Running (TDCR) technology, which will greatly meet the challenges that are associated with casing running operations in the drilling activity.

In a seven (7) inch casing running operation of a horizontal gas well in southwest of China-Sichuan Basin, which is notorious for its complicated geological formation, the TDCR successfully set the casing to the target depth. The TDCR provided the ability to rotate, reciprocate and circulate when difficult hole conditions were encountered in the long horizontal section. The TDCR technology employed were considered as the key in the operation.

The TDCR technology extends the benefits of a top drive such as accurate torque control of makeup connections, which is especially important when making up premium connections. The ability to circulate while running casing through trouble zones will ensure wellbore integrity and avoid complicated downhole accident. Since no stabbing board operation is required, non-productive time is reduced, safety and efficiency are improved.

The TDCR technology has the potential to become a major player in casing running operation and will gain wider application in the future.
Successful Implementation of HT Geothermal Drilling Technology in Kenya
Authors: Zhang ZhaoFeng , Njee James M. , Han Min , Shan ZhengMing , Zhan Min , Sun FaSheng
Published: July 2012

The geothermal resources of Kenyan are located in East African Great Rift Valley. The sub surface formation has high matrix compressive strength, rapidly changing and complex lithology, abrasive, fractured and high temperatures about 350 degrees Celcius. As a result, there are many challenges encountered in drilling operations including total loss of circulation, low penetration rate, high temperature damage of directional drilling steering tools and mud motors, breakdown of drilling foam structure at high temperatures, high drill string torque, loss of cement slurry and others. By integrating conventional oil and gas drilling technology, implementation of air and foam drilling technology it has been possible to solve the loss of circulation problems, improve on hole cleaning and cuttings recovery and consequently improved the penetration rates. The application of directional drilling technology has produced wells that reach a greater portion of the reservoir by intersecting more fractures increasing geothermal wells productivity. Through proper bit selection, improved hole cleaning efficiency, reduced drill string torque, the penetration rate has been improved and also reduced the total days per well.

A total of fifty seven (57) geothermal wells have successfully been drilled between May 2007 and April 2012. The drilling operation has been 100% successful with the wells being 98% productive. The production has increased from 3 - 5Mwe per single well to 16 MW due to application of directional drilling and aerated drilling technology. This is an tremendous increase of over 100%.

This integrated high temperature geothermal drilling technology can be implemented in the entire East African Great Rift Valley system to develop the vast geothermal resources for economic development.
Successful Development of Changbei Marginal Tight Gas Field: Dual Lateral Horizontal Well and Significant Drilling Performance Improvement
Authors: Gao Erhu , Desai Harshit , Wee Si-Boon , Zhao Hongkai , Wang Xiongfei , Yang Jin
Published: July 2012

Changbei is a marginal tight gas field located in Yulin, China. Historically similar fields had been developed with fractured vertical wells. To improve well productivity and reserve recovery, a new concept of long dual horizontal wells (2 × 2,000m legs) has been developed to recover the gas reserves more cost effectively. The initial drilling campaign had proved to be challenging due to:

Bit balling while drilling the 12¼ hole section Difficulties in landing of the 9 5/8" production casing accurately, due to drilling of coals just above top of QA reservoir and geological uncertainties Unstable carbonaceous claystone or coal across the long horizontal reservoir sections High Non-Productive Time (NPT) due to failures of downhole equipment and drillpipe High drilling costs as a result of the above stated problems

To make the field development a success, the Changbei wells team had formed a performance improvement team, which turned around the wells performance with DTL, LEAN and Performance Improvement Staircases. As a result, the wells costs and drilling times have been halved. The team has since maintained their drive for continued drilling performance improvement and made drilling operations a successful story.

This paper will discuss the key successful factors for Changbei horizontal drilling. It will first of all introduce the dual lateral horizontal well design. This will be followed by a summary of the drilling problems encountered from the initial drilling campaign. The paper will then address how the various tools such as DTL, LEAN (a step-change performance improvement methodology) process, RTOC and Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) have been applied effectively to drive down the drilling times and wells costs, with the application of selected localized products and services.

It will also illustrate how to manage changes during horizontal wells drilling campaign with two case studies including change of the drilling strategy and the re-drill of one of the horizontal legs in well CB8-3.
Coiled Tubing Working Life Prediction Based on BP Algorithm of Artificial Neural Network
Authors: Peng Song , Xiao Jian-qiu , Tian Yi , Zhang Ye , Feng Jie , Hu Zhi-jian
Published: July 2012

The fatigue under bending and internal press is the main reason for coiled tubing (CT) failure. Because the conventional life prediction methods for estimating coiled tubing working life under multi-axial loading are not ideal, a new method was proposed to predict the coiled tubing working life by using its nonlinear approximation and generalization abilities based on the back propagation (BP) artificial neural network (ANN). The CT diameter, wall thickness and internal pressure were used as ANN training input vectors, while the experimental cycle times of the CT was used as training target vectors. A three-layer BP neutral network was built and trained by training samples. And the ANN model was verified by training samples and testing samples. The results showed that predicted values was comparatively consistent well with experimental data, moreover, the precision of this method was superior to that applied by the conventional life prediction model. The feasibility of predicting the coiled tubing working life by applying the BP ANN was proved. The above method provides a new route for developing the coiled tubing working life tracking and monitoring software and improving the application level of the coiled tubing for the field use.
Wavelet Packet Noise Reduction Algorithm Based Near-bit Resistivity Measurement Method and Device
Authors: Jia Hengtain , Sheng Limin , Dou Xiurong , Deng Le , Guan Kang , Fan Jinhui
Published: July 2012

Rock resistivity has a close relationship with lithology, reservoir properties and oil-bearing capacity. Resistivity measurement while drilling (MWD) device is designed to judge Lithology, divide oil/gas/water layer and analyze the oil-bearing capacity, permeability and porosity of reservoir according to measurements of rock resistivity. It is used for real-time evaluation of stratum. The porous stratum is commonly high in resistivity. Low resistivity measured often implies the existence of saturation water. However, the collected information that reflects the resistivity signal contains a lot of noise components. It is difficult to accurately reflect the formation resistivity. The near-bit RMWD device based on wavelet packet noise reduction algorithm can measure the resistivity of stratum at first time because of the method of measurement while drilling. It can also precisely denoise the measured data of lateral resistivity, bit resistivity and azimuthal resistivity by the algorithm of wavelet packet decomposition and the best wavelet tree of reconstruction signal based on information entropy, so as to improve the accuracy and reliability of resistivity measurement.
Design and Application of 735hp 4000m Plateau Mountain Rig
Authors: Yan Zengxuan , Xu Hongwei , Liu Guanghui , Li Qinghong , Wang Jianhong , Ma Xianping , Zhao Feng , Li Qingyu , Yang Shiquan , Sun Lin
Published: July 2012

Installation occupies a small area, the 735hp (4,000m) plateau mountain rig can meet the requirement of drilling operation in plateau mountain area with complex topographic conditions and is characterized by low operation cost, low oil consumption and good economical efficiency.
Application of Aluminum & Amino Drilling Fluid in Drilling Encountering Massive Coal
Authors: Xiong Kaijun , Ma Pingping , Yong Fuhua , Qian Feng , Yang Rongkui , Meng Youpeng
Published: July 2012

In Block Baka of Tuha Oilfield, China, because of coalseam, the borehole is unstable extremely, complex problems, accidents occured in downhole frequently, prolonged drilling period and reduced drilling rate. For the sake of safe operation with drilling in coalseam encountered, this study analyzed the primary reasons that weak anti-collapse ability and poor inhibitive ability resulted in complexities. Strong inhibitor and anti-caving agent were optimized by experiments. Finally, Aluminum & Amino Drilling Fluid formulation was developed. Aluminum & Amino Drilling Fluid provides many advantages with better rheological performance, less fluid lose and high temperature resistance, in particular, it has strong inhibitive ability and anticollapse ability.

Aluminum & Amino Drilling Fluid was applied from 2000–3527m in well Ke 21-Ping 1 while drilling. 64 layers of coalseam with 136m in total and 30 layers of carbonaceous shale with 49m in total were drilled. The thickness of single coalseam is up to 34m; 2 layers of coalseam with 11m and 58m thickness were encountered in directional interval in well Ke 33-Ping, and no borehole problems and accidents happened. Good results were obtained from the application of the drilling fluid in two wells on site.

In order to drill massive coalseam safely, and to improve the anti-collapse and inhibitors, the drilling fluid was applied to two wells in Block Baka successfully. The strong inhibitor and the efficient anti-caving agent played a positive role in stabilizing borehole in thick coal layers, and reduced complex circumstances effectively.

Therefore, Aluminum & Amino Drilling Fluid can ensure the stability of sidewall in the formation with thick coalseam, and reduce the complexities effectively; it played an important role in improving drilling rate and drilling efficiency, and accumulated a valuable experience for safety drilling in deep and complex formation.
Applying Integrated Fracturing Technology For Unit To Achieve Efficient Development Of Low Permeability And Complex Lithologic Reservoir
Authors: Liu Changyu , Xu Jianguo , Long Zengwei , Cong Lichun , Su Guo , Chen Kai , Li Biansheng , Li Zhanwei
Published: July 2012

Nearly a hundred million tons of reserve was found in Jilin Daqingzi oilfield, dominated in lithologic deposit of multiple fault blocks of delta front. Many layers were characterized with features as below, fractured reservoir, sensitive formation with high shale content, different main layers in different blocks, low permeability, thin layers and sheds which were less than 2 meters thick. Aiming at the characteristics of layers above, this paper presents Integrated Fracturing Technology for Unit(I.F.T.U) which has been researched, developed and proved to be effective during production.The thought of this technology was founded on the basis of adequately knowing about geologic tectonic situation and layers. The units were plotted out according to the layers characteristics, to achieve optimized fractures matching with the well patterns and reservoirs based on the injection wells, in order to build up maximum effective injection recovery relationship. A series of assorted technologies have been researched, such as Finite Element Method to optimize fracturing design, fracture azimuth measurement of the thin layers in complex fault blocks, researching how layers extend vertically, low damage fracturing fluids, and the method of enhancing the flow ability in fractured thin layers.

Integrated Fracturing Technology for Unit has been applied for more than 1000 layers in Daqingzi oilfield since 2006, 42.85 million tons of low permeability reserves were developed.0.99 million tons deliverability has been set up.Annual production has reached 1.0 million tons.

This novel technology realized that thin lithologic layers which were less than 2 meters were developed effectively.

Integrated Fracturing Technology for Unit presented in this paper provides reference for the development of such thin and low permeability layers as Daqingzi oilfield.
The Study and Application of SDC-I Formation Pressure and Temperature Tester While Drilling
Authors: Zhao Zhixue , Han Yu’an , Yang Juesuan , Yu Chenglong , Jiang Meizhi , Wang Hongying
Published: July 2012

SDC-I formation pressure and temperature tester while drilling can measure formation pressure, annulus pressure, and annulus temperature while drilling, and then transmit the measured data to the surface by drilling fluid pulse.

This tester has been applied in 14 wells in Daqing oil field and achieved good results.

The accurate data measured by this tester can calculate formation mobility, which provides an effective method for managed pressure drilling and geologic reservoir evaluation.

This paper analyzes the principles and structure of formation pressure and temperature tester while drilling, which can provide the first-hand information for similar tools.
A New Fracturing Fluid of Low Concentration
Authors: Jianshe Guo , Zhou Bo , Xia Ao , Lu Hongjie , Li Zijun
Published: July 2012

Polymer fracturing fluid gel after fracturing operation, residue remains in the fracture and side of fracture with causing reservoir damage, the decreased polymer concentration can reduce the damage, but will reduce viscoelastic behavior of the fracturing fluid gel as a result of proppant settlement problems. Therefore, to research on fracturing fluid of low concentration polymer with carrying sand has practical significance. We have synthesized thickening agent of fracturing fluid of low concentration polymer through chemical method, optimized cross-linking agent and gel breaker with experimental method, and evaluated general technical performance of the fracturing fluid of low concentration with resisted temperature and shearing and rheological property. The experimental results show that fracturing fluid of low concentration polymer of 0.24% can still meet the requirements of fracturing with carrying-sand, 50°C-120°C of reservoir temperature conditions of high temperature and shearing performance, and residue content of the gel broken is greatly reduced, less the reservoir damage, core permeability and damage rate of less than 18%, which is low damage fracturing fluid with environmental protection. Field application in 47wells show that the single well is average well fluid of 184m3, average gravel input of 33.3m3, average sand ratio of 28.7%, average maximum pump pressure of 36.6MPa, operation success ratio and technology effective rate of more than 90%.The application result indicates that the fracturing effect is 2.5 times that of guar gum fracturing fluid, and can effectively reduce the integrated water content of reservoir. Fracturing fluid of low concentration polymer with low damage characteristics is beneficial to reservoir protection, and provides reference for low damage fracturing of other types of reservoir.
Case History of the First TAML Level 5 Junction on a Rod-Pump Well
Authors: Ma Qingming , Zhonghua Wu , Rayne Lance , Fould Jeremie , O’Rourke Tim , Hai Long Wang , Lee Junn Shyong , Ritchie William
Published: July 2012

The oil industry uses multilaterals for many reasons; lower cost, smaller footprint, environmental issues, and an increase in reservoir contact to an increase reservoir production. This paper presents a case study of a TAML Level 5 multilateral junction installed in one of China's largest oil fields. What is unique about this installation is the mechanism and completion used to lift the oil to surface. This is the first time a TAML Level 5 junction and a pumpjack have been paired for lifting production. In the past, it was believed that multilateral junctions in this type of environment were not cost effective. The paper will discuss the TAML definitions, and in particular, the well conditions that led to the selection of the Level 5 junction. Installing a multilateral junction involves multiple processes that are addressed in the planning and implementation process, including reservoir selection, drilling, and completion of the well. These processes also led to the selection of the proper multilateral system to achieve the objectives for the well. This paper also covers some of the planned decisions that needed to be altered due to unpredicted well conditions. The successful installation and completion obtained from this well show that a Level 5 junction can be a successful option for a more diverse range of applications than previously thought; even on a well that uses a traditional rod pump for production.
Perforation Drilling and an Innovative Spudcan for Mitigating Punch- Through in Multilayered Soils
Authors: Hossain M. S. , S. Safinus
Published: July 2012

Spudcan foundations for mobile drilling rigs continue to exhibit a high failure rate in the offshore oil and gas industry. The more frequent use of larger jack-ups in highly stratified regions, such as the Sunda Shelf in Southeast Asia, contributes to this concerning increase in ‘punch-through’ incidents, which can lead to buckling of the leg or even toppling of the rig. This paper reports measures for mitigating spudcan punch-through in multilayered soils. Centrifuge model tests were carried out on spudcan foundations penetrating through multilayered soils with interbedded stronger layers.The model tests included half- spudcan tests against a transparent window, allowing visualization of the soil flow, and full-spudcan tests to measure penetration resistance. The soil conditions tested simulatedoffshore strength profilesthat have reported punch-through failures, such as on the Sunda Shelf in Southeast Asia, Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, offshore Australia and the Arabian Gulf. An experimental method for ‘drilling’ sites in the enhanced gravity environment was developed. An innovative spudcan was developed to integrate directly to a jack-up rig to be used where there is a potential for punch-through hazard. The experimental results show that for layered clay deposits, potential of severe punch-through failure can be eliminated by means of perforation drilling or using an innovative spudcan. For sand-over-clay sediments, using skirted foundations or the innovative spudcan allowed for eliminating the likelihood of failure. The results also show that spudcan-footprint interaction issues for reinstallation of a rig can also be mitigated through perforation around the spudcan periphery.
Crisp discharge forecasts and grey uncertainty bands using data-driven models
Authors: Alvisi S. , Creaco E. , Franchini M.
Published: July 2012

A data-driven artificial neural network (ANN) model and a data-driven evolutionary polynomial regression (EPR) model are here used to set up two real-time crisp discharge forecasting models whose crisp parameters are estimated through the least-square criterion. In order to represent the total uncertainty of each model in performing the forecast, their parameters are then considered as grey numbers. Comparison of the results obtained through the application of the two models to a real case study shows that the crisp models based on ANN and EPR provide similar accuracy for short forecasting lead times; for long forecasting lead times, the performance of the EPR model deteriorates with respect to that of the ANN model. As regards the uncertainty bands produced by the grey formulation of the two data-driven models, it is shown that, in the ANN case, these bands are on average narrower than those obtained by using a standard technique such as the Box–Cox transformation of the errors; in the EPR case, these bands are on average larger. These results therefore suggest that the performance of a grey data-driven model depends on its inner structure and that, for the specific models here considered, the ANN is to be preferred.
Public spending efficiency and political and economic factors: Evidence from selected East Asian countries
Authors: Chan Sok-Gee , Karim Mohd
Published: July 2012

This paper analyses public spending efficiency and the effect of political
and economic factors on public spending efficiency in East Asian countries
for the period 2000-2007. In the first stage, the non-parametric Data
Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach is used to estimate public spending
efficiency scores. In the second stage, the Tobit regression model is then
used to determine the effect of political and economic factors on public
spending efficiency. Results of the study show that China is relatively
efficient in public spending on education, health, and maintaining economic
performance and stability, Japan on infrastructure, and Singapore on
promoting public services. In addition, countries in East Asia are relatively
less efficient in public spending for promoting equal income distribution.
The results also indicate that political stability and financial freedom have
a positive effect on public spending efficiency. However, voice,
accountability, and civil liberties have a negative effect on public spending
efficiency.
The role of phenols in the influence of herbal extracts from Salvia officinalis L. and Matricaria chamomilla L. on two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch
Authors: Tomczyk Anna , Suszko Magdalena
Published: July 2012

The role of phenols in the influence of herbal extracts from Salvia officinalis L. and Matricaria chamomilla L. on two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch

Extracts prepared from 2 medicinal herbs (common sage Salvia officinalis L. and German chamomile Matricaria chamomilla L.) were used in this study for biological control of spider mites. Their effect on mortality, fecundity, and development of Tetranychus urticae Koch on English ivy (Hedera helix L.) was studied under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. The extracts were prepared by soaking fresh Salvia leaves or dry Matricaria flowers in ethanol for 24 h, followed by evaporation, and finally suspension of the pellets in water. Full extracts and extracts without phenols were tested. The Salvia extracts had a higher acaricidal activity than Matricaria extracts, but the toxicity of both extracts to spider mite eggs was low. The toxic effect of full Salvia extracts on larval stages and females of T. urticae was evident. More than 50% of larvae and females were killed by this treatment in 4 days. Besides, total fecundity of survived females was evidently lower. Mortality and low fecundity after full Salvia extract application decreased the spider mite population by 76%. The toxicity of Salvia extracts after removal of phenols strongly declined, so the negative effect of the full Salvia extract on spider mites was connected with a high concentration of phenolic compounds. The toxic effect of Matricaria extracts in all tests was much lower and no evident role of phenolic compounds in its extracts was observed.
Rate of corrosion of waterwalls in supercritical pulverised fuel boilers
Authors: Pronobis Marek , Litka Rafał
Published: July 2012

Rate of corrosion of waterwalls in supercritical pulverised fuel boilers

This paper presents an analysis of the corrosion hazard in the burner belt area of waterwalls in pulverised fuel (PF) boilers that results from low-NOx combustion. Temperature distributions along the waterwall tubes in subcritical (denoted as SUB) and supercritical (SUP) boilers were calculated and compared. Two hypothetical distributions of CO concentrations were assumed in the near-wall layer of the flue gas in the boiler furnace, and the kinetics of the waterwall corrosion were analysed as a function of the local temperature of the tubes. The predicted rate of corrosion of the boiler furnace waterwalls in the supercritical boilers was compared with that of in the subcritical boilers.
Food of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in the Eastern Mediterranean
Authors: Obuch Ján , Benda Petr
Published: July 2012

Food of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in the Eastern Mediterranean

The composition of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) diet analysed from pellets collected in several regions of the Eastern Mediterranean is presented. In total, 27 samples from 21 sites in S Italy, S Greece (incl. Crete), S Turkey, NW Syria, SW Lebanon, N Israel, and N Egypt were composed of 8842 prey individuals. Mammals represented the dominant part of the prey (90% of the identified prey individuals, comprising 44 species). Birds were less abundant (7%), however, their diversity was enormous (64 species). Amphibians and reptiles were rarely represented in the diet (0.9%), while invertebrates we found more often (2.2%). The relative abundance of particular prey items in the Barn Owl diet was analysed in four geographical regions: (a) SE Europe (Calabria, Peloponnese, Crete), (b) Levantine parts of Turkey and Syria, (c) Lebanon and N Israel, and (d) N Egypt. In complex evaluation of the sample set, endemic forms composed a special group of prey items: Microtus savii, Sorex samniticus, and Talpa romana in Calabria; Microtus thomasi in Peloponnese; Acomys minous in Crete; and Gerbillus amoenus in Egypt. Another group of prey is represented by typical Levantine species: Microtus guentheri, Meriones tristrami, Apodemus mystacinus, and Rana ridibunda. Apodemus flavicollis and Crocidura leucodon were more abundant in Calabria while less abundant in the Levant. Synanthropic mammals (Mus spp., Rattus rattus, Suncus etruscus, Crocidura suaveolens) and birds (Passer domesticus) represented a significant part of the diet in the majority of the studied area.
Bibliography on birds of prey and owls in Slovakia. Part 2. Order Accipitriformes, genera Pernis, Milvus, Neophron, Gyps, Aegypius, Circaetus, Circus, Accipiter, Buteo & Pandion
Authors: Uhrin Marcel , Danko Štefan , Latková Hana
Published: July 2012

Bibliography on birds of prey and owls in Slovakia. Part 2. Order Accipitriformes, genera Pernis, Milvus, Neophron, Gyps, Aegypius, Circaetus, Circus, Accipiter, Buteo & Pandion

The aim of the bibliography is to provide a list of publications on raptors and owls of Slovakia. The first part focused on genera Aquila, Hieraaetus and Haliaeetus, is followed now by second part focused on genera Pernis, Milvus, Neophron, Gyps, Aegypius, Circaetus, Circus, Accipiter, Buteo and Pandion. In total 219 citations are listed - 139 (63.5%) scientific and research articles, 56 (25.6%) popular articles, 5 (2.3%) qualification papers, 8 (3.7%) conference abstracts and 11 (5.0%) reports or other papers. The register of species, objective index and the author register enable better overview.
Announcement / Oznam
Authors: Deutschová Lucia
Published: July 2012

Announcement / Oznam