bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Platform and Field Life Assessment and Extension
Authors: Hudson Brian G. 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
Improved extraction technology combined with high energy prices has resulted in requirements to extend the operating life of offshore installations well beyond the ‘retirement’ dates anticipated at the time of installation.
A typical design life for an offshore installation would be 25 years. Many installations around the world are approaching or have already exceeded this figure but are now required to remain in productive operations for a further 20 or 25 years. Operating the installations beyond their design life does not mean that they are no longer fit for service, but the owner operators of such facilities face a common challenge namely, "how to maintain production capability against changing operational demands in a cost effective way whilst preserving integrity?"
A significant element of this desire is the need to develop an effective asset integrity management approach. Implementing asset integrity management requires that all aspects of operations essential to safety and integrity are properly designed, constructed, tested, operated, inspected and maintained in a sustainable, holistic and systematic way, thus allowing continued beneficial operation.
In certain regions, such as the North Sea, there is a requirement to gain consent from the regulator to continue to operate an asset beyond its original design life. A structured asset life review, as described in the paper is one means of developing a case to support ongoing operation. A structured asset life review also delivers potential financial benefits through protecting or improving Overall Equipment Effectiveness as well as facilitating effective management of OPEX and CAPEX expenditure.
The chosen approach must apply not just to the traditional interpretation of asset integrity management focusing only on mechanical equipment, but also be extended to cover all factors with an impact on ongoing operation, including safety critical protective systems, electrical, instrumentation, control systems, maintenance practices, operations, engineering and human factors. This paper will highlight the key relevant issues, principally with regard to topside equipment and provide a practical approach or insight into a suitable methodology to achieve this with optimal use of time and resources.
Effective Recruitment Strategy in a Short Skills Market
Authors: Strathdee Donald 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
A tightening of resources within the Oil & Gas industry has in the past, been attributed to the volatile nature of the pricing structure for a barrel of oil - the boom and bust business model can put many people off. However, this explanation is not applicable to the past 5 years where prices have been stable and demand continues to increase.
Studies carried out in Europe conclude that the number of students entering engineering and science in the last 10 years is in decline. Many students are instead choosing to follow careers within Finance or the Media because they are perceived to be dynamic and "clean" with fast track career potential. This problem will soon come to a head as much of the current workforce reaches retirement age - this having been termed "The Big Crew Change".
The current situation must be addressed in order to avoid future delays to projects through a lack of human resources. Now more than ever before, the industry must adopt a robust and effective recruitment strategy which will counteract the predicted deficit in talent.
Benchmarking Safety Through Safety Perception Surveys
Authors: Griffioen Govert 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
Safety practitioners know only too well that simply implementing appropriate procedures and training is not enough to ensure a successful safety program. But why is it that some programs are not effectively executed or simply not followed by employees? Is there a way to identify the hidden pitfalls in a safety process? How does a company establish a benchmark by which to measure future safety performance?
Eight years ago DuPont safety and consulting professionals set out to find a way to answer these questions, and the result was the Safety Culture Improvement Process (SCIP) Survey. The goal of the survey is to evaluate organizations' perceptions of their safety process and identify behaviors, attitudes and other factors that can derail a safety program. Since its inception, the SCIP survey has been given to more than 200,000 employees in 61 countries across a range of industries.
This paper will review nearly ten years' worth of data from the SCIP Survey, sharing insights, trends and analysis related to safety perceptions and safety culture. The goal is to help executives, management and safety professionals better understand and overcome the obstacles to world-class performance.
One of the unique aspects of the survey is that it queries all levels of an organization, collecting responses not only from company leaders but also from the workers who will eventually adopt the new behaviors and attitudes. Once the information is gathered, the results are benchmarked against world class safety programs.
The resulting insights get right to the heart of what employees think about safety and help companies understand the hidden issues that can negatively impact the implementation of a safety culture program. An all too common example includes inconsistent communication from the company leadership, such as conflicting messages about safety and costs.
Behavioral Safety at RasGas Company Limited Doha Qatar, Success Factors
Authors: Arunachalam Ramasamy 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
Among the causative factors for accidents, unsafe acts account for almost 88%; followed by unsafe conditions 10%; and acts of providence 2%. Unsafe acts result from unsafe behavior. In an analysis of Management System faults that trigger accidents, unsafe behavior is seen as the most common one. (M W Heinrich 1931)
Most traditional safety systems focus on tracking injury-related incidents (e.g. OSHA Occupational Health and Safety Administration-recordable, lost-time accidents) as means of evaluating safety success. Although it is important to track these events, the incidents themselves are most likely the result of actions taken by one or more people. Thus, the incidents are outcomes of behavior, or lagging indicators of safety. (Center for Behavioral Safety)
Optimizing Fracturing Fluids From Flowback Water
Authors: Rimassa S. M. , Howard P. R. , Blow K. A. 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
As mature fields produce larger quantities of water, operators and service companies find themselves challenged with disposing flowback and produced water to reduce costs, handling the logistics of getting enough water to hydraulically fracture the well, as well as complying with stricter governmental regulations. As produced water is recycled and used in fracturing applications, each cycle of re-used water returns with a more complex chemical make up than before. Therefore, the usable lifetime of the recycled water is shortened or requires expensive cleaning or dilution with fresh water to make it a viable solvent base for fracturing fluids.
This paper describes the process to properly design fracturing fluids using flowback and produced water. The importance of flowback water analysis is highlighted for optimizing fluid performance downhole. Recent developments in proper selection of fluid additives and viscosifiers for slickwater and crosslinked fluids are discussed. We will describe in detail how the salinity, biological activity, and scaling tendency of these waters can impact fluid performance. Other factors, including organics and suspended solids will be included in the discussion. Laboratory examples will be shown to demonstrate the importance of following a systematic approach. Ultimately, this paper focuses on how to optimize well performance using recycled waters in stimulation applications.
Selective Stimulation in Sand Control Completions Using Inflatable Straddle Packers
Authors: De Landro W. , Holder G. M. , Attong D. J. , Crow W. P. , Stewart W. A. 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
Selective acid stimulation has been performed effectively to treatcompletion damage, scale buildup and remove calcium-based drilling fluidfiltrate with the use of inflatable straddle packers run on coiled tubing, inboth horizontal and deviated sand control completions. Production resultsindicate that mechanical method of treatment diversion is extremely effectiveand provides information of formation response in discrete intervals. Two casehistories are discussed which resulted in a 100% production gain and acorresponding injectivity increase from 0 to -16 bbls/day/psi for somesections. A horizontal completion had 980 ft treated in 20 ft sections and a 70degrees deviated wellbore had over 300 ft of interval stimulated using the sametechnique. Stimulation pressure limitations are discussed with respect to theinflation ratio of the packer elements and the deformation, after use.
Downhole Gas Separation and Injection Powered by a Downhole Turbo Expander
Authors: Brady J. L. , Klein J. M. , Stevenson M. D. , Petullo S. P. , D’Orsi N. C. , Skinner R. C. , Eager K. D. , Perry R. A. 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
A downhole gas compressor and turbine expander are being developed to inject excess gas into North Slope fields. North Slope oil fields and some oil and condensate fields elsewhere in the world are limited in liquid hydrocarbon production because of surface gas processing facility limitations. These fields usually require costly surface facilities to process, compress and reinject the produced gas.
The Subsurface Process And Reinjection Compressor (SPARC) concept uses the excess production pressure (energy) that is usually wasted across a choke to generate power through a downhole turbo expander that runs a downhole gas compressor to reinject a portion of the gas stream. The system consists of a downhole separator, compressor, turbo-expander and other standard downhole equipment for the necessary plumbing.
Two basic machines are being developed: one operates in parallel flow and the second operates in series flow. The parallel flow machine maintains the highest pressure possible throughout in order to inject the maximum amount of gas. A separator divides the production into two streams. The first stream, which consists of liquids and a portion of the gas, is used for power generation. The second stream, dry gas at separator conditions, is compressed and injected into another reservoir or isolated zone that the wellbore penetrates. The amount of gas injection depends upon the amount of excess energy that is available. Typically, North Slope wells can reinject from 30% to 60% of the gas downhole without the gas being produced to the surface.
The second machine operates in series flow. The entire liquid and gas stream is passed through a turbo expander and then a portion of the gas is separated for reinjection. The series machine allows for the maximum cooling and pressure reduction to recover a significant fraction of the condensate from the gas stream prior to gas separation and reinjection. The series machine reinjects less gas than the parallel machine but it will recover a higher percentage of the condensate in the produced gas. Therefore the series machine may be the more economical machine to use in a condensate reservoir.
The development of the SPARC is requiring significant advances in compressor, turbo-expander, separator and packer technology. Current designs show that the SPARC can be made small enough to be placed through 3-1/2" tubing into liners as large as 7" via wireline. The primary advantage of the SPARC is that it can provide additional gas injection capacities at a fraction of the capital cost of traditional surface equipment.
Well Completions are Especially Important in Permian Basin Limestone and Dolomite Wells
Authors: Brown D.C. 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
Completion procedures in the Permian Basin, especially in limestone, dolomite, and reef formations, can be tremendously important in determining a well's producing rate and economic return. Every well should be considered as a separate problem, with due thought given to the need for control. Among the controls which should be provided by the completion procedure are control of gas, control of water, control for completion treatments, control for secondary recovery, control of work over costs, and control of expense during completion and subsequent production.
Engineering analysis and mature thought should be used in order to obtain the best possible completions.

Background
Oil was first found in West Texas approximately 30 years ago when almost all drilling was done with cable tools. Most of the early drilling was done on surface-indicated structures, and the pays found were shallow. The wells were drilled without fluid in the hole and, on many of the more prolific wells, the first indication of the pay zone was the sight of the tools blowing out of the hole.
Extensions to these fields were completed by setting pipe above the pay zone, and then drilling in with cable tools. Because many of the fields discovered early in the development of West Texas have very effective vertical and horizontal permeability, a well completed in them did not have to do much more than scratch the top of the pay in order to get at least fair drainage to the well bore. If the pay had a rather high pressure, it was often impossible to do much more than scratch the top of the pay before the well started producing. If the field had a natural gas cap, it was common practice to allow the well to blow gas to the air until the gas cap was dissipated and the well started making oil.
Logging on these wells was of the most elementary type and drillers' logs were often the only information that was available to show the productive zones. This caused many people to feel that there might not be drainage of any zones not left in open hole since they could not be certain of the location of these productive zones.
Secondary Recovery Operations in the Fullerton Clearfork Unit
Authors: Nolan W.E. , Locker G.R. 
Published: June 2009

Introduction
Fullerton Field is located in northwestern Andrews County, Tex., and produces primarily from the lower Clearfork zone, an early Permian dolomite formation. The anticlinal structure has closure on two domes with the major axis of the structure extending in a general north-south direction. The commercial extent of the reservoir is determined by porosity pinch outs which do not follow the structural contours. The developed area of the North Dome covers 21,400 acres and is drilled on 40-acre spacing. The South Dome has a developed area of 3,700 acres and is also drilled on 40-acre spacing.
The field had an original static BHP of 2,980 psi, and the crude oil bubble point was 2,370 psi with 1,160 cu ft of gas per bbl being in solution. Early in the producing life of the field it was obvious that the solution gas drive mechanism would be relatively inefficient and the operators began to study the various means of unitizing and entering into a secondary recovery program.

Gas Injection Operations
In February. 1954, 24,040 surface acres of the field were unitized in order to instigate secondary recovery operations. Four months after unitization 16wells were converted to gas injection[See Fig. 1], and gas injection operations were initiated with a volume of approximately 21 MMcf/day or 30 per cent of the total gas production being returned to the reservoir. In September, 1956, four additional wells were converted to gas injection, and the injection volume was increased to 25 MMcf/day.
Fullerton Field operates under a limiting 2,000 cu ft/bbl gas-oil ratio. Gas which is returned to the reservoir is utilized in removing production penalties to the maximum of 66 bbl of oil per producing day per well. One of the immediate benefits of gas injection is to increase current allowable by production penalty removals.
Insulin Granule Recruitment and Exocytosis Is Dependent on p110γ in Insulinoma and Human β-Cells
Authors: Pigeau Gary M. , Kolic Jelena , Ball Brandon J. , Hoppa Michael B. , Wang Ying W. , Rückle Thomas , Woo Minna , Manning Fox Jocelyn E. , MacDonald Patrick E. 
Published: June 2009

OBJECTIVE
Phosphatidylinositol 3-OH kinase (PI3K) has a long-recognized role in β-cell mass regulation and gene transcription and is implicated in the modulation of insulin secretion. The role of nontyrosine kinase receptor–activated PI3K isoforms is largely unexplored. We therefore investigated the role of the G-protein–coupled PI3Kγ and its catalytic subunit p110γ in the regulation of insulin granule recruitment and exocytosis.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
The expression of p110γ was knocked down by small-interfering RNA, and p110γ activity was selectively inhibited with AS605240 (40 nmol/l). Exocytosis and granule recruitment was monitored by islet perifusion, whole-cell capacitance, total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, and electron microscopy in INS-1 and human β-cells. Cortical F-actin was examined in INS-1 cells and human islets and in mouse β-cells lacking the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN).

RESULTS
Knockdown or inhibition of p110γ markedly blunted depolarization-induced insulin secretion and exocytosis and ablated the exocytotic response to direct Ca2+ infusion. This resulted from reduced granule localization to the plasma membrane and was associated with increased cortical F-actin. Inhibition of p110γ had no effect on F-actin in β-cells lacking PTEN. Finally, the effect of p110γ inhibition on granule localization and exocytosis could be rapidly reversed by agents that promote actin depolymerization.

CONCLUSIONS
The G-protein–coupled PI3Kγ is an important determinant of secretory granule trafficking to the plasma membrane, at least in part through the negative regulation of cortical F-actin. Thus, p110γ activity plays an important role in maintaining a membrane-docked, readily releasable pool of secretory granules in insulinoma and human β-cells.
Effects of Salt Supplementation on the Albuminuric Response to Telmisartan With or Without Hydrochlorothiazide Therapy in Hypertensive Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Are Modulated by Habitual Dietary Salt Intake
Authors: Ekinci Elif I. , Thomas Georgina , Thomas David , Johnson Cameron , MacIsaac Richard J. , Houlihan Christine A. , Finch Sue , Panagiotopoulos Sianna , O'Callaghan Chris , Jerums George 
Published: June 2009

OBJECTIVE
This prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study examined the effects of sodium chloride (NaCl) supplementation on the antialbuminuric action of telmisartan with or without hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes, increased albumin excretion rate (AER), and habitual low dietary salt intake (LDS; &lt;100 mmol sodium/24 h on two of three consecutive occasions) or high dietary salt intake (HDS; &gt;200 mmol sodium/24 h on two of three consecutive occasions).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Following a washout period, subjects (n = 32) received 40 mg/day telmisartan for 4 weeks followed by 40 mg telmisartan plus 12.5 mg/day HCT for 4 weeks. For the last 2 weeks of each treatment period, patients received either 100 mmol/day NaCl or placebo capsules. After a second washout, the regimen was repeated with supplements in reverse order. AER and ambulatory blood pressure were measured at weeks 0, 4, 8, 14, 18, and 22.

RESULTS
In LDS, NaCl supplementation reduced the anti-albuminuric effect of telmisartan with or without HCT from 42.3% (placebo) to 9.5% (P = 0.004). By contrast, in HDS, NaCl supplementation did not reduce the AER response to telmisartan with or without HCT (placebo 30.9%, NaCl 28.1%, P = 0.7). Changes in AER were independent of changes in blood pressure.

CONCLUSIONS
The AER response to telmisartan with or without HCT under habitual low salt intake can be blunted by NaCl supplementation. By contrast, when there is already a suppressed renin angiotensin aldosterone system under habitual high dietary salt intake, the additional NaCl does not alter the AER response.
Effect of Glucose Variability on the Long-Term Risk of Microvascular Complications in Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Kilpatrick Eric S. , Rigby Alan S. , Atkin Stephen L. 
Published: June 2009

OBJECTIVEThis study analyzed data from the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study to see whether longer-term follow-up of Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) patients reveals a role for glycemic instability in the development of microvascular complications.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSThe mean area under the curve glucose and the within-day glucose variability (SD and mean amplitude of glycemic excursions [MAGE]) during the DCCT were assessed to see whether they contributed to the risk of retinopathy and nephropathy by year 4 of the EDIC.RESULTSLogistic regression analysis showed that mean glucose during the DCCT and mean A1C during EDIC were independently predictive of retinopathy (each P &lt; 0.001) as well as A1C during EDIC of nephropathy (P = 0.001) development by EDIC year 4. Glucose variability did not add to this (all P &gt; 0.25 using SD or MAGE).CONCLUSIONSGlucose variability in the DCCT did not predict the development of retinopathy or nephropathy by EDIC year 4.
First-Trimester Fasting Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes
Authors: Riskin-Mashiah Shlomit , Younes Grace , Damti Amit , Auslender Ron 
Published: June 2009

OBJECTIVE
The Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) study found strong associations between higher levels of maternal glucose at 24–32 weeks, within what is currently considered normoglycemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Our aim was to evaluate the associations between first-trimester fasting plasma glucose level and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Charts of all patients who delivered at our hospital between June 2001 and June 2006 were reviewed. Only subjects with singleton pregnancy and a recorded first-trimester fasting glucose level were included. Women with pregestational diabetes, fasting glucose level &gt;105 mg/dl, or delivery &lt;24 weeks were excluded. Fasting glucose levels were analyzed in seven categories, similar to the HAPO study. The main outcomes were development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), large-for-gestational-age (LGA) neonates and/or macrosomia, and primary cesarean section. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used; significance was &lt;0.05.

RESULTS
A total of 6,129 women had a fasting glucose test at median of 9.5 weeks. There were strong, graded associations between fasting glucose level and primary outcomes. The frequency of GDM development increased from 1.0% in the lowest glucose category to 11.7% in the highest (adjusted odds ratio 11.92 [95% CI 5.39–26.37]). The frequency of LGA neonates and/or macrosomia increased from 7.9 to 19.4% (2.82 [1.67–4.76]). Primary cesarean section rate increased from 12.7 to 20.0% (1.94 [1.11–3.41]).

CONCLUSIONS
Higher first-trimester fasting glucose levels, within what is currently considered a nondiabetic range, increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Early detection and treatment of women at high risk for these complications might improve pregnancy outcome.