bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Oil-field Brines
Authors: Washburne Chester W. 
Published: June 2014

Recently, Messrs. Mills and Wells published a thorough chemical study of thewaters associated with oil in parts of the Pennsylvania, Ohio, and WestVirginia region. Many of their conclusions are of general application and thewriter wishes to discuss some of these.
Messrs. Mills and Wells show that the composition of the deep brines of theAppalachian fields is such as would be produced by the evaporation of sea waterand the precipitation of sodium chloride, combined with reactions withhydrocarbons and other substances. The brines are altered, also, byconsiderable mixing with meteoric water. They give good reasons for believingthat the concentration of the brines was produced by evaporation in the rockpores induced by migrating gas, much of which probably escaped to the surfaceof the ground.
This hypothesis was considered by the writer in a former paper, in which mainstress was laid on a second hypothesis, that the excess of chlorine in the deepbrines may have been due to the entrance of solutions rich in magnesium andcalcium chloride which ascended from a deep, possibly intratelluric, source.Messrs. Mills and Wells present good arguments for the first hypothesis.Underground evaporation by ascending gases probably will be accepted as thebest available explanation of the concentration and composition of deep wellwaters.
They have not considered the possibility that salt waters in deep sands may beconcentrated by the diffusion of water vapor through gas into shale. The writerhas given reasons for believing that capillary forces concentrate gas and oilin the larger openings of rock, such as the pores of sandstones embedded inshale. The gas underground must be nearly saturated with water vapor at alltimes, because it always is in contact with the interstitial water of enclosingshales and of the sandstone.
AIME 065–28
Secondary Intrusive Origin of Gulf Coastal Plain Salt Domes
Authors: Matteson W.G. 
Published: June 2014

The origin of the salt domes of the Gulf coastal plain has been investigatedby many of the most able geologists, but the problem cannot be said to havebeen satisfactorily solved. Since 1860, numerous theories have been presented, only to be discarded, at least in part, as more complete information revealedtheir fundamental weakness.
Real progress toward solution dates from 1902, when Hill advanced the theory ofsecondary deposition of the domal materials from saturated solutions of hotsaline waters ascending from great depths under hydrostatic head alongstructural lines of weakness. Shortly thereafter, Harris, using Hill'shypothesis as a basis, explained the doming and pronounced uplift associatedwith these salt cores as the result of forces exerted by growing salt crystals.This was a marked advance over the ideas of Coste and Hager, since no evidenceof igneous intrusives, as they assumed to explain the uplifts, had been foundassociated with the domes. Harris developed his theory until it offered suchapparently plausible explanations of so many details of dome phenomena that hishypothesis and conclusions received widespread acceptance, despite some seriousobjections, and today his theory, somewhat modified, is considered by many ableinvestigators to be the best explanation of the origin of these domes.
The immense production of oil per acre, the recognition of the high lubricatingquality of the oil, the development and recognition of the efficiency andadvantages of oil-burning vessels, with the subsequent exceptional demand forfuel oil, and the resultant advance in the price of coastal crude, have beenresponsible for a prospecting and development campaign throughout the coastcountry, during the last 5 years, that has seldom been equaled when the presentdepth of drilling is taken into consideration.
AIME 065–29
Determination of Pore Space of Oil and Gas Sands
Authors: Melcher A.F. 
Published: June 2014

The present paper is a progress report on an investigation of the physicalfactors of oil and gas and especially of their sands?, such as pore space, sizeof pores or permeability, retentivity, viscosity of the oil, temperature, pressure, thickness and area of the pay sand, water relations, and capillarity.The purpose is to determine as many of these physical factors as possible, andto ascertain the relations existing, directly or indirectly, between thesephysical factors and the production of oil and gas. As yet only pore space? andsize of grains of pay sands have been investigated, although an apparatus hasbeen designed to determine the permeability of a sand to oil, water, or gasunder definite drops of pressure between the entrance face and exit face of thesample.
Messrs. E. W. Shaw, R. Van A. Mills, D. Dale Condit, G. B. Richardson, G. C.Matson, and C. H. Wegemann collected the samples upon which the physicaldeterminations were made. Acknowledgment is made to my colleagues of the UnitedStates Geological Survey for many suggestions and criticisms; to Mr. Mills forthe production data given of the oil wells from which some of the samples werecollected; to Mr. A. W. McCoy of the Empire Gas and Fuel Co., Bartlesville, Okla., for many ideas.1 Sand is used in this paper with the meaning of oil and gas pay sands asthey exist in nature, either coherent or incoherent. The sand samples tested inthis paper were coherent.The pore space of a rock can be divided into two kinds, the total porespace and the effective pore space. The total pore space is the totalinterstitial space and includes not only the communicating pores, but anyisolated pores that may exist. The effective pore space, On the other hand, isrelative, depending on such factors as the constitution of the liquid, the sizeof the pores, the material of the rock, temperature, pressure, and otherconditions. It is apparent that the total pore space is a maximum limit for theeffective pore space. The method described in this paper determines the totalpore space.
AIME 065–43
Possible Petroleum Reserves of Philippine Islands
Authors: Pratt Wallace E. 
Published: June 2014

The Philippine Islands have produced no oil commercially; nevertheless, oilis known to be present at various places in the islands. Although all attemptsto produce oil commercially have failed, no intelligent, persistent explorationhas been carried out. The Richmond Petroleum Corpn. (a subsidiary of theStandard Oil Co. of California) and a syndicate headed by Ralph Arnold are atpresent engaged in exploring Bondoc Peninsula in Tayabas Province, one of thepromising Philippine areas, in a manner that promises to test the petroleumpossibilities adequately and intelligently.
How can the petroleum resources of an entirely undeveloped area like thePhilippines be estimated, where not even the areal extent of the variousgeologic formations is known? Obviously no calculated figure for assured futureproduction can be derived. Yet a study of the evidence of the occurrence ofpetroleum, the character of the possible reservoir beds, the probable sourcerocks, the character and size of favorable structures, and the area over whichpetroleum-bearing rocks are known to occur, will throw some light on thequestion. The fact that rocks of the same geologic age and similar compositionhave been explored and are producing in Borneo, Sumatra, and Java to the southand in Formosa and Japan to the north also affect the problem, so that one canobtain some idea of the quantity of petroleum that may reasonably be expectedfrom the Philippines. It is this measure of the possibilities rather than adefinite calculation of petroleum reserves that is presented herewith.
This paper will not attempt to describe, nor even to enumerate in detail, the occurrences of petroleum in the Philippines, as such data have already beenpublished.
AIME 068–78
Present Conditions in Mexican Oil Fields and an Outlook Into the Future
Authors: Garfias Valentin R. 
Published: June 2014

The various phases of the Mexican oil industry have received so muchpublicity that there is little to add to the discussion of present and futureproduction, extent and importance of prospective fields, and status ofpetroleum legislation, to mention but a few of the angles of the Mexican oilproblem. However, out of this wealth of information, which is generally ofcontradictory nature, the average petroleum man is at a loss to know somethingdefinite regarding the various questions involved; so, keeping the foregoing inmind, it has been the writer's aim to record in a concise form the mostreliable and up-to-date information regarding the salient features of theMexican oil situation.

Present Status of Mexican Oil Industry

Production During 1921
The Mexican oil fields, during 1921, produced in round numbers 203,000,000bbl. of which 176,000,000 bbl., or 86 per cent., were exported, the bulk ofthese exports, or about 73.3 per cent., going to the United States. The Mexicanexports were divided by grades as follows: Light crude, 47.0 per cent.; heavycrude, 22.0 per cent.; tops, 3.5 per cent.; fuel oil from light crude, 24.0 percent. The balance, or 3? per cent., includes the bunker fuel shipments and thecoastwise trade in Mexico, which is not classified as to grades. The figuresshow that, in importance, the light-oil fields form about 75 per cent. of theMexican petroleum industry.
The production of the Panuco field has followed the general history of theAmerican fields, and its gradual decline, which is at present foreshadowed, maybe estimated as well as its ultimate economic life. On the other hand, thebehavior of the light-oil fields to the south is unlike any in the world so fardiscovered, and as a result we have concentrated overproductions followed bysudden droughts, both sometimes equally unexpected. The coming in of two orthree gushers within adequate pipe-line facilities will flood the market with100,000 bbl. or more a day, while the flooding by water of a particular poolwill, in a few weeks, remove from the market one-half the total production ofthe Mexican fields.
AIME 068–68
Evaluation of Casinghead Gas
Authors: Bradley Oliver U. 
Published: June 2014

The conditions affecting the supply of casinghead gas, the different degreesof productivity, the difficulty of determining the quantities utilized, and theevaluation of the gas in casinghead-gasoline units and related data, having aneconomic bearing on the industry as a whole, are important questions and offeran interesting field for study.
Casinghead-gas data have been gathered in some of the oil fields of Oklahomawhere testing work has been done regularly and the volumes of casinghead gaswere available. The area covered embraces 219 scattered leases in 29 townships, with a total of 18,039 acres and 1921 wells. The accompanying table givesspecific locations of the areas under consideration, number of leases, rangedepth of wells, average age of production, sand depths and oil production data.The results of this investigation are set forth in the accompanying charts, showing volumes of casinghead gas in 6-month periods from Jan. 1, 1918, to June30, 1921, when full record was available, production of casinghead gasoline, average productivity of the gas in gallons per thousand cubic feet, averageprice of the gas and the market price of the casinghead gasoline. The casesenumerated in the table and the data shown in the graphs do not represent thegreater part of oil or casinghead gas production from anyone township, nor arethe leases contiguous. The properties in each township, however, may beconsidered as typical of general conditions, such as the date of completion ofwells, depth, character, and thickness of oil sand, time of pumping, presentoil production, vacuum carried on wells, and usual operating practices.
It was deemed advisable to subdivide the time into 6-mo. periods, as it wasimpracticable to make the tests more frequently, furthermore 6 mo. is probablythe minimum period within which there would occur a noticeable increase in theproductivity of the gas.
AIME 070–63
The Elliott Core Drills
Authors: Elliott J.E. 
Published: June 2014

In connection with a symposium on core drills, it may be of some value tooutline briefly the evolution of the double barrel core drill.
The single barrel core drill, or Texas barrel, has been described a numberof times and is undoubtedly merely an evolution of the fishing tool known as abasket. The single barrel drill has served its purpose, its use is decliningand it will not be further discussed in this paper.
Jan Koster appears to have been the inventor of the double barrel core drillfor use in loosely consolidated formations. So far as can be learned at thisdate his invention was necessitated by the desire of the Holland GeologicalSurvey to obtain cores in localities where the diamond drill was unsuccessfulby reason of the unconsolidated nature of the formations to be penetrated. Inthe "Memoirs of the Government Institute for the Geological Exploration ofthe Netherlands," W. A. J. M. van Waterschoot van der Gracht says,"this device (the Koster drill) works admirably well in the boring atBaarlo; we succeeded in obtaining a section of many hundred meters of cores, out of sandy clays and scarcely coherent sands."
No attempt to introduce the Koster drill into the oil fields of this countrywas made until 1919, when the Shell Co. of California obtained one and testedit in shallow exploration work in an area near what is now the Santa Fe Springsoil fields.
The Koster drill appeared to be a step in the right direction, although itsperformance was not satisfactory, due chiefly to inadequate surface equipment.The cores obtained with it were usually short, because the opening to the innerbarrel usually became plugged before the barrel was filled with core. The ShellCo. of California made several changes in the design of the barrel whileoperating in the area mentioned above, and later at Coalinga, but apparentlywithout obtaining complete satisfaction from the drill, as a punch core drillwas used by that company during the intensive drilling campaign at Long Beachin 1921.
The original Elliott core drill, as used by the Elliott Core Drilling Co.from 1921 to 1924, was somewhat similar in design to the Koster drill, butadapted to the taking of cores at considerable depth and with several changesmade necessary by California practice in rotary drilling and Californiaformations.
Use and Limitations of Vacuum in the Recovery of Oil
Authors: Lindsly Ben E. 
Published: June 2014

Figure 1 represents an idealized layout of a vacuum system, the letteredsections of the pipe line, a, b, c, d and e, varying in size according to thevolume of gas to be handled. Thus the section a carries the gas from 16 wells, b from 8 wells, c from 4 wells, d from 2 wells and e from 1 well. The vacuumplant is shown to discharge into a distributing line marked f, which usuallycarries the gas under a few pounds pressure to the various points on the leasewhere the gas is utilized for lease operations.
The term vacuum, as used in the oil and gas industry, is a relative termwhich has as its base the atmospheric pressure of the locality underconsideration.
Advantages of Unit Operation in New Pools
Authors: Dunn I.L. , Lewis James O. 
Published: June 2014

By unit operation is meant the developing and operating of oil pools underone management so as to make possible the application of the best principles ofbusiness, engineering, and science. The proposal is to do away with thedivision of ownership of the oil underground based upon property lines at thesurface and to recognize the fact that a pool of oil is a natural andindivisable unit that should be operated as such for the common good. But asunit operation upsets the customs of the industry and affects public policy, itis encumbent upon those of us who advocate it to show beyond reasonable doubtthat unit operation will result in worthwhile gains to both the property ownersand to the public. The purpose of the writers is to set out briefly theirconceptions of the benefits to be derived from unit operations in new poolswithout reference to any of the proposed means of consolidating the properties.Use is made of both their own experiences and of the proposals of the manyothers who have written or spoken on this subject.
Natural conditions vary widely in the different oil fields, and the exactmethods of unit development and operation must be varied accordingly. Also theeconomic value of unit operation will vary, being exceedingly large under someconditions and much less under others. It is not possible nor desirable in thispaper to cover more than the commoner conditions and to illustrate by someexamples, nor is this paper to be considered more than a preliminarypresentation on the subject for present methods of the industry are based uponcompetitive recovery, and it therefore is necessary for the industry to developby research and experience new concepts and methods for operating undernon-competitive conditions.
The most common type of oil pool is the one sand pool. The size may be froma few acres to several square miles. The oil is saturated with gas dissolvedunder pressure and the oil area is surrounded by water. When the pressure hasbeen taken off the pool, the production declines and leaves the largerproportion of the oil to be recovered by artificial means. Sometimes thesurrounding water encroaches and flushes much of the oil out of the sand, butmost commonly such encroachment is negligible. Less commonly there will be anexcess of gas not held in solution, which will be found as an area of free gasoverlying the oil or occupying the higher parts of the structure.
Increasing Recovery and Its Economic Effects
Authors: Clarke H.C.O. , Lowe H. J. 
Published: June 2014

The development of present methods has been a gradual outgrowth of extensiveobservation, both scientific and practical, of conditions surrounding theaccumulation and extraction of oilbodies. Until comparatively recently, ourknowledge of many of these factors had hardly gone beyond the experimentalstage. We are now well into the transitional period between the experimentaland practical, and it appears certain that the use of the gas, air, waterdrives, possibly the mining process and improvement of operating equipment havebeen developed to a point where their commercial application on a large scalewill bring satisfactory results, having a wide and lasting effect on the oilindustry throughout the world. Because of its comparative newness and itsappeal to the imagination, the restoration of rock pressures is more in thepublic eye than are many routine production processes and methods that may beof equal or greater aggregate importance and which must be extended and furtherimproved to keep pace with the times. Inasmuch as we are now concerned with thesalvaging of oil in developed pools, no consideration will be given to newproperties.
In many of the so-called "hydrostatic" or natural water-drive pools, the existing well spacing is such that it is highly probable that maximumrecoveries, under present methods, are not being obtained. Large quantities ofwater carrying comparatively small amounts of oil, handled with present liftingmethods, bring such limited returns that additional expenditures in new wellsand equipment apparently cannot now be justified from a ledger standpoint. Itis reasonable to suppose that coning has taken place in many wells of thischaracter and particularly so in wells, which may have bottom waterdifficulties. In many cases, the sands may be water-logged. This hasundoubtedly curtailed production in many instances but the measure of the wellsunder these conditions should not be necessarily accepted as a measure of theproductive possibilities of the sands. Many of us can cite specific instancesof profitable late close-drilling in water-flooded areas and also instancesthat might justify additional drilling.
Effect of the Gas-lift on the Physical Properties of Oil
Authors: Brandenthaler R.R. 
Published: June 2014

Petroleum producers in the Mid-Continent field, up to the present time, havebeen more concerned with the mechanical operation and efficiency of thegas-lift than with its possible effects on the physical properties of the oil.As a result few specific data are available on the subject and contradictoryopinions exist. Some operators are positive that the gravity of the oil isdecreased, while others present data which definitely show that the gravity ofthe oil is increased. In other localities, some operators have given carefulattention to the effect of the gas-lift on the gravity of the oil. When theemulsions formed have given much trouble, the problem has usually been dodgedby placing the well on the pump.

Certain Fundamentals
Certain fundamental results may be expected under ordinary conditions andwith all types of crude oil, when gas is the prime mover of oil in producingformations. For example, the gravity of oil will decrease as the rock pressurein the producing formation declines, the change being greater in the highergravity oils.
Furthermore, the character of emulsion formed is primarily dependent on thekind of oil, thus more refractory emulsions are formed from asphaltic-baseoils, less refractory from mixed-base oils, and the least refractory fromparaffin-base oils. However, refractory emulsions are sometimes formed fromparaffin or mixed-base oils that are difficult to treat by ordinary methods, especially by electrolytic processes. With oils having the same base, those oflighter gravity are less subject to the formation of emulsions, especially ofrefractory emulsions.
There are two types of emulsions formed; namely, water-in-oil emulsions andoil-in-water emulsions. The former are the more common; in fact, very fewexamples of oil-in-water emulsions have been noted in the oil fields. Theamount of water produced with the oil influences the percentage of emulsionformed. Agitation and velocity of flow play an important part in the forming ofemulsions.
Handling Recirculated Gas
Authors: Gibbs R.D. , Taylor C.C. 
Published: June 2014

The gas-lift, or circulation of gas for the production of crude oil, nowincludes the gas operator in field production activities to a greater extentthan ever before. It is the purpose of this paper to show the scope of hisactivities and to discuss the various means of handling and treating the largequantities of gas which are now of a somewhat different nature than formerly.The extent of the stripping action of circulating gas on oil must be discussed, as this can be governed somewhat by the method of treatment of the recirculatedgas.

Change in Gas-Decline Curve Under Circulation
Before the advent of the gas-lift, the gas-production curve of a fieldshowed a peak during the flush production with a rapid decline as the wellswere put on the pump and then a long steady decline curve of a relatively smallvolume of rich gas for the life of the field. Under the gas-lift method ofproduction, instead of having the sharp decline at the end of the flushproduction period, sufficient circulating gas to keep up the required totalgas-oil ratio would be turned to the wells. The gas-production curve thenassumes a long gradual decline, giving a large volume of gas for treatment forseveral years to come.
The gas-decline curve will not follow that of the oil, as the lowering ofthe rock pressure by the steady production of oil and gas from the sand willmake it necessary to continue using the large tubing and to circulate largevolumes of gas in order to keep the back-pressure against the sands as low aspossible.

A Complicated Distributing System
In tracing the flow of the gas from the time it leaves the well until itagain enters through the casinghead, under high pressure, we get a very goodidea of the complex distributing and regulating system that must be installedand the large treating and compression plants that are necessary (see Fig.1).