Oil Production

A team of specialists on China’s energy sector reviews a series of major transitions that have transformed that country’s oil economy over the past two decades. These include, on the demand side, (a) the increasing role of oil in the economy as a whole vis-à-vis other major energy carriers (as incomes have risen and millions of households have purchased vehicles and have also traveled by air), and (b) an increasing emphasis on energy efficiency and carbon mitigation. On the supply side, several additional transitions are discussed, namely (1) the scaling up of output from the central and western regions as well as from offshore, as the major northeastern oil fields decline after several decades of very heavy production, (2) a shift from being a major oil exporter to the world’s second-largest oil importer, (3) expansion and diversification in the number of sources from which China imports oil, (4) changes in the way imported oil enters the country (increasingly via pipelines from neighboring countries), and (5) with such heavy dependence on imports, the building of strategic petroleum reserves and an immensely enlarged refining capacity, intended to enhance the nation’s oil security.

The activity patterns of; 226Ra, 228Ra, 232Th, 40K, 210Pb and 210Po and the interaction with
some hydrographic parameters; salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) were studied near
the oil production and exploration fields at Rasel Behar and near the phosphate mining,
milling and shipping at Hamrawin area. The average activities of 226Ra, 228Ra, 232Th, 40K,
210Pb and 210Po at Resel Behar were; 15.2
6.3, 15.8
8.6, 16.2
8.7, 330.7
107.1,
19.3
12.7 and 27.5
21.18 Bq/kg and at Hamrawin were; 103.9
141.6, 13.4
18.5,
14.1
18.8, 242.6
79.3, 92.3
128.5 and 133.0
184.5 Bq/Kg respectively. The distribution
patterns of 226Ra, 228Ra, 232Th and 210Pb at Rasel Baher to the brine water drainage from oil
tanks and petroleum production platforms at Jubal Strait. The highest activity values
recorded at Hamrawin marine area were concentrated inside the shipping zone and
decreasing abruptly seaward and southward indicate to the dropped phosphate raw materials
are the main radioactive source in the locality. The activity pattern of 40K indicates
to multiple sources of accumulations mostly from the terrestrial runoff.
The negative correlation with pH and salinity as well as the positive correlation with DO
indicate that the radionculides in sediments were less soluble with increasing pH and
salinity therefore; they tend to accumulate in sediments under more the oxidizing conditions.
The 40K variations in the sediments to the high solubility of potassium, the organic
matter content and the particle size which corresponds to the clay content.

In the last decades, the problem of perforation damage has been considered as the major factor for the reduction of oil productivity. Underbalance perforation is considered as one of the best means to minimize or overcome this problem. By maintaining wellbore pressure lower than formation pressure, perforation damage could be minimize or eliminated. This can be achieved by the use of nontraditional lightweight completion fluid. This paper presents the effect of natural clay in formulating nontraditional completion fluid to ensure successful perforation job and increase of production rate. Natural clay is used as homogenizing agent to create a stable and non-damaging low-density completion fluid. Results indicate that the addition of natural clay dramatically increase the stability of the final fluids. In addition, field test has shown that the application of nontraditional completion fluid increases oil production by three folds.

waset.org/journals/waset/v41/v41-98.pdf

This work analyzes oil production and oil trade during the Later Middle Ages, in towns and rural communities in southern interior region of the Ancient Kingdom of Valencia. This rural area, articulated by towns and small communities, developed a great oil activity and trade with a production for the local woolen industry and for the market, for neighboring regional markets. The article discovers and studies the role of a group of craftsmen in the specialization, development and consolidation of oil production in this area. In this region (Valld’Albaida, Alcoià and Comtat, and some towns such as Ontinyent, Alcoi and specifically Cocentaina), a small group of big craftsmen were able to centralize management of oil activities through direct participation in this production and market.

Increased interest in deepwater and ultra-deepwater field development is leading the industry to revisit the standard design and testing methods of production risers. The main challenges involved in a deepwater project are the riser sizing, management of external pressure at maximum water depth with acceptable weight to keep low stress at riser-vessel interface, the riser/vessel dynamic interaction and riser installation. The most critical areas on the riser system are the top section, where most of the damage occurs, and the touchdown zone. While the second area can be addressed by effective riser design, the connection to the production facility is always required and it must be sufficiently strong to provide an appropriate fluid containment. A connector failure can lead to highly flammable fluid leakage, putting in danger the entire production vessel and the surrounding environment. Technological advancements are leading to new equipment layouts with more efficient materials selection. The top section and connector can be subjected to different kinds of loads and environment induced degradation. Applying the actual standards is sometimes difficult due to the fact that they generally are too conservative. With the objective