Foreign Oil Research Articles

Evaluation of the Selection of Casing and Tubing Size in a Foreign Oil Field

A procedure for determining the correspondence between production and completion engineering and casing and tubing sizes, and the related requirements of completion engineering for an oilfield in the Sahara desert is developed. Statistical analysis of the wellbore structure of a well cluster and an analysis of the current structure lead us to recommend appropriate wellbore structure systems for the oilfield. The study is of great significance for desert oilfields similar to the present oilfield, specifically in the selection of casing and tubing sizes and in the development of the wellbore structure.

A Critical Appraisal of Nigeria’s Proposed Oil Industry Governance and Regulatory Framework: Implications for Foreign Oil Companies Operating in Nigeria.

An evaluation of Nigeria’s proposed oil industry governance and regulatory framework, and its implications for foreign oil and gas investors. It begins with an Examination of the evolution of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill(PIGB) vis-a-vis an assessment of the proposed changes within the PIGB. This will be achieved by investigating how the re-structuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC) will affect the existing joint ventures and the production sharing contracts held by the foreign oil and gas investors. More so, an attempt will also be made to determine whether the issue of change of laws may be deemed ‘tantamount to expropriation.’ Several questions will be raised regarding the manner in which International Investment law restricts the Host States regulatory autonomy and how tribunals have attempted to strike a balance between the issue of investment protection and the preservation of the host State regulatory autonomy: an issue which has become so difficult to resolve. And through these issues, disputes may arise, thus, the settlement of investment disputes shall be considered. It is noteworthy that, this dissertation is examining the draft of the PIGB as at present, because it might change.

Fibre Reinforced Composites: a Promising Material for Artificial Limp

This paper outlines some of the recent reports published in literature on composites with special emphasis on mechanical properties of fibre reinforced composites for artificial limp/prostheses. As a result of the increasing demand for environmentally friendly materials and the desire to reduce the cost of traditional fibres reinforced petroleum-based composites, new bio-based composites have been developed. Researchers have begun to focus attention on natural fibre composites (i.e. biocomposites), which are composed of natural or synthetic resins, reinforced with natural fibres. Natural fibres exhibit many advantageous properties, they are a low-density material yielding relatively lightweight composites with high specific properties. These fibres also offer significant cost advantages and ease of processing along with being a highly renewable resource, in turn reducing the dependency on foreign and domestic petroleum oil. In the present scenario sustainable alternatives to conventional/traditional materials, specifically glass fibres, to be used within the lamination of prosthetic sockets. Natural fibres are known and compared to artificial fibres to see their viability through the subsequent measures: mechanical properties, environmental effects, health hazards, and overall feasibility.

Diesel imports dependence in Brazil: A demand decomposition analysis

Brazil became self-sufficient in volume of crude oil. However, this has not reduced the dependence of foreign oil products. Brazil imports finished diesel, since its refineries lack hydro-refining units to produce the low-sulfur diesel needed. This paper uses an index decomposition approach to investigate the Brazilian import dependence on petroleum products from the demand side, focusing on today's most relevant oil product in the country: diesel. The three major diesel end uses in the country are decomposed, showing that freight transport is the most vulnerable end use, given Brazil's reliance on cargo movement to drive economic activity. This is, in turn, related to the large economic dependence on the export of primary products, including agricultural products. The demand side drivers for diesel consumption in Brazil analyzed in this paper, help direct demand-side policies to reduce the country's vulnerability to diesel imports.

Hybrid 20/23-gauge vitrectomy in a patient with retained intraocular air-gun pellet

Eye injuries caused by air-gun pellets are some of the most severe ocular injuries and can lead to loss of vision. We present the case of a 16-year-old boy with a retained intraocular air-gun pellet who underwent hybrid 20/23-gauge phacovitrectomy with foreign body removal and silicone oil tamponade. The patient’s visual acuity before surgery was perception of light. Computer tomography scans detected the intraocular localization of a metal foreign body. Once removed, the air-gun pellet was revealed to be 7 mm long. Traumatic cataract, vitreous hemorrhage, and retinal detachment were present. During the 3‑month follow-up period there were no signs of inflammation. Best-corrected visual acuity reached 20/200.

Fracking Women: A Feminist Critical Analysis of Hydraulic Fracturing in Pennsylvania

Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), a method of accessing natural gas, is viewed by many as a way to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, stimulate the U.S. economy, and address climate change. However, opponents of fracking argue that it is linked to health problems because it releases specific toxins that contaminate the air and ground water. In this essay, I offer a focused analysis of twenty qualitative interviews with women who live in Pennsylvania near fracking sites. The findings indicate that exposure to fracking has negative impacts on women's health by increasing their exposure to contaminated water and provokes gendered attacks on activism.

Foreign Exchange Reserves and the Macro-economy in the GCC Countries

This research looks into the accumulation of foreign exchange reserves and the development of the macro-economy in the Gulf and Cooperation Council countries (GCC countries), namely, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Using yearly data covering the period from 1996 through 2015, the empirical results show positive and significant relationships between foreign exchange reserves accumulation on one hand, and oil prices, GDP, the ratio of current account to GDP, and the ratio of broad money to GDP on the other hand. Moreover, the results point to negative and significant relationships between foreign exchange reserves accumulation on one hand, and real effective exchange rate, the ratio of debt to GDP, and call money rates on the other hand. However, the results show that the stockpile of foreign exchange reserves in the GCC countries is not sensitive to nominal effective exchange rates, neither to the ratio of imports to GDP, and nor to interest rates on the US Dollar. Furthermore, the study shows a robust and positive link between foreign exchange reserves and oil prices on the one hand and economic growth in these countries on the other hand.

Revisiting the Oil Curse: Does Ownership Matter?

Summary A large body of literature finds a negative relationship between oil abundance and economic growth. The existing empirical evidence on the oil curse, however, does not account for variations in the ownership of oil. This article investigates whether the effect of oil abundance on growth varies with ownership structures. It also investigates whether pre-existing institutional conditions influence the effect of oil abundance across different ownership structures. Using a novel database on ownership structures and employing a panel fixed effects estimation method, it analyzes a sample of oil-exporting developing countries during the period 1984–2005. The results show that the effect of oil abundance on growth varies with ownership structures and is also influenced by the quality of pre-existing institutions. Under state ownership and control, oil abundance reduces growth when the institutional quality is poor, but increases growth when the institutional quality is good. Under private ownership, on the other hand, oil abundance increases growth when the institutional quality is poor, but reduces growth when the institutional quality is good. The results suggest that ownership matters and countries can avoid the oil curse by choosing an appropriate ownership structure given their pre-existing institutional circumstances. The policy advice in this article is: adopt state ownership and control if the institutions are strong, if the institutions are weak, transfer ownership to foreign oil companies.

Study on the Oil Import/Export Quota Allocation Mechanism in China by Using a Dynamic Game-Theoretic Model

With the rapid progress of oil market reform in China, independent refineries (small companies) get more and more oil import/export quotas, which will bring big impacts on the whole market and society. However, whether the impacts are positive or negative is highly dependent on the quota allocation mechanism and prices in global/domestic market markets. Therefore, in the present study, considering the game relationships among the six agents including state-owned companies, independent refineries, domestic and foreign oil product consumers, and domestic and foreign crude oil producers, in order to calculate the detailed impacts, a game-theoretic analysis model was developed. The impacts of different quota mechanism are analyzed and compared, and the optimal quota mechanism in different price scenarios is obtained based on the developed model.

Are Investor and Indigenous Protections Competing or Coordinating?: The Framing of Rights of Chevron, Ecuador and the <i>Lago Agrio</i> People

This paper utilises the Chevron/Ecuador dispute as a case study in order to examine the relationship between the 'rights' and obligations of three interested groups: indigenous (Lago Agrio) people, the nation-state (Ecuador) and the foreign investor (Chevron/Texaco). The case offers particular insight in that it demonstrates how investment arbitration frames the rights of these groups, arising from a foreign investor's oil operations on a local indigenous community. The focus of this paper is to analyse whether the international investment dispute was framed in such a way that attempts to reconcile legally embedded indigenous protections (both at the international and domestic level) and foreign investment protections and offers reasons, if not framed in such a manner, why this is may be the case.

Venezuela as a case study in limited (sovereign) liability

... Venezuela is in a severe economic crisis. An October 2016 debt swap bought some time for beleaguered state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), but there remains speculation about default by both PDVSA and the government.1 Default would invite comparisons to the case of Argentina. Like that country, Venezuela has issued bonds governed by New York law and accepted the jurisdiction of New York courts. Some Venezuelan bonds also include the same pari passu clause used by Argentina, which holdout creditors used to extract a preferential settlement.2 The Venezuelan economy, moreover, is largely dependent on oil exports. A default by either the government or PDVSA would prompt creditors to try to seize oil-related assets, such as rights to payment for oil shipments. In short, Venezuela, like Argentina, may prove a tempting target for litigation by holdout creditors. In this article, we explore some of the legal considerations that would govern such litigation. We do not address the pari passu clause, which has been covered at length elsewhere.3 Nor do we address prospects for a successful restructuring, although we concede that Venezuela has options not available to Argentina.4 Instead, our goal is to address speculation that, because the Venezuelan economy depends so heavily on oil revenues, the country is uniquely susceptible to litigation by holdout creditors, who could position themselves to seize oil-related assets. We emphasize barriers to such litigation, which will be familiar to corporate lawyers but are often overlooked in discussions of sovereign debt. For instance, PDVSA does not own its hydrocarbon reserves; these belong to Venezuela. To frustrate PDVSA’s creditors, the government might transfer exploitation rights to a new entity.5 Moreover, neither the government nor PDVSA directly own oil-related assets outside of Venezuela. Instead, they own shares in other entities, which directly or indirectly control foreign oil assets. To get at these assets, creditors of Venezuela and PDVSA will have to overcome the barrier posed by the corporate law doctrine of limited liability.

Mexico Awards Its First Deepwater Blocks; What Comes Next?

Mexico’s historic public tender for its deepwater real estate resulted in the awarding of eight out of 10 blocks on offer. Held last December in Mexico City, the event marked the fourth and final auction of the country’s Round One, which reopened doors to foreign oil and gas investment for the first time since the country’s energy sector was nationalized almost 80 years ago. The awarded blocks went to 13 companies whose exploration and production operations are expected to generate around USD 34 billion over the next 15 years. The winning bids also committed to drill at least eight deepwater wells. All four blocks offered in the deep-water Perdido area were awarded, including two to Chinese Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and one to a consortium of Chevron, Pemex, and Inpex—Japan’s largest oil company. An additional four blocks in the Salina Basin were contracted to three different consortiums, including one formed by Statoil, BP, and Total. Another block encompassing a deep-water discovery known as the Trion field was awarded as a farmout agreement between BHP Billiton and Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex. BHP will acquire 60% of the project’s interest under the terms of the contract, which it won through a tie-breaking offer of a USD 624 million cash bonus to Mexico’s petroleum fund. BP was the losing bidder. Including the three previous onshore and shallow-water auctions, Mexico has awarded 39 exploration and production contracts to companies from nine foreign countries. In a press conference following the auction, the government said it expects to receive close to 60% of the combined profits from the eight blocks and the lone farmout. Mexican officials also said they are hoping the deepwater contracts eventually will yield 900,000 B/D of crude, a volume that would help stem the country’s declining production from existing fields. Government officials added that first production from Trion might be reached within 6 years, while it is expected that the other areas will need up to a decade to be developed. What’s Next? According to many observers, the production potential that the deep water holds for Mexico was the chief driver behind the country’s sweeping energy reforms that became law in 2013. But now that a number of the prime blocks have been allocated, what comes next? For the companies that have already signed offshore contracts, their next steps are likely to include the expansion of Mexico’s port facilities to accommodate the arrival of larger deepwater vessels and rigs. Some expect the small port town of Dos Bocas to become a deepwater hub because of its proximity to the southern Salina Basin blocks.

Should the Ethanol Blender's Credit Be Eliminated?

In December 2010, one U.S. legislative action was largely overlooked in the popular press: the one-year extension of the 45-cent-per-gallon Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), commonly known as the “blender's credit.” Both proponents and opponents of the blender's credit liked to cite data to support their positions. Proponents pointed out the number of jobs created by new ethanol plants, while opponents cited unfavorable energy balances from the use of ethanol and the overall budgetary impact of the blender's credit. What was less clear—but potentially much more important than the selective data cited by advocates and critics of ethanol—was the overall impact of the blender's credit on the U.S. economy. In particular, to what extent did the ethanol subsidy—by influencing the allocation of resources to the ethanol market—act as a drag on efficiency in the U.S. economy? This case presents a history of ethanol in the U.S. and an overview of the market for ethanol-based motor fuel, including data on demand and supply fundamentals. It also discusses the broader U.S. energy market, as well as the U.S. market for corn. The case reviews other policy interventions besides the ethanol tax credit that have an impact on the market for ethanol-based motor fuel, such as tariffs and mandates. Finally, it surveys the ways other countries around the world, such as Brazil, have supported the use of ethanol-based fuel.Provides a vehicle for teaching the basic economic model of government subsidies using supply and demand curves. Enable students to determine the deadweight loss of the ethanol tax credit for the year 2006. Enables discussion of the possible benefits of the ethanol tax credit including reducing reliance on foreign oil and reducing carbon emissions. Careful interpretation of the economic evidence in the case is essential for students to develop a coherent point of view on these potential benefits.

Billion dollar boreal woodland caribou and the biodiversity impacts of the global oil and gas industry

Awareness of the impact of the global energy industry and associated landuse change on biodiversity conservation has been steadily growing amongst conservation biologists. Across Canada, 28 of 57 populations of boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are declining and 20 of 25 southern mountain populations are in decline with several recent high-profile extirpations. Declines stem from widespread landuse change from energy development and forestry that will take decades to recover, if ever. In Western Canada's Boreal forest, a globally significant oil and gas industry has emerged that is the biggest source of foreign oil to US markets. All woodland caribou populations overlapping oil and gas development in oil-rich Alberta are in rapid decline, shrinking by 50% every 8years. After a decade of delay, the Federal government released recovery plans under the Canadian Species-at-Risk Act (SARA) in 2012 and 2014 for these two caribou ecotypes, and will audit provincial compliance in 2017. Yet recovery actions have been inadequate, and have relied on wolf control as a short-term solution. Given the stark reality, conservation triage might be expected. Instead, the conservation objective at Federal and Provincial levels remains legally committed to recovery of all populations despite the paradox of continued declines. I suggest the reason for ineffective conservation planning is the staggering cost of effective habitat protection that far exceeds $150 billion (CDN) in Alberta alone. Declines of woodland caribou also allegedly violate Canadian Aboriginal treaty rights that have been challenged in court. This complex conservation case-study urgently illustrates the need for strategic conservation triage at provincial and national levels. And more generally, caribou conservation demonstrates the challenge of using national endangered species legislation to retroactively counteract the global energy industry without strategic conservation planning coordinated with energy and cultural policies.

The fiscal provisions on existing legal frameworks governing the oil sector in the Republic of South Sudan

The Republic of South Sudan (RSS) is endowed with vast oil resources that are being produced by foreign oil companies (FOCs). However, it has been observed that the existing PSC contains some provisions that are inconsistent with international best practices. This paper explores, extracts and analyses the fiscal provisions in the existing legal framework of the PSCs that governs the oil sector in the RSS. All the appropriate legal regimes governing post-petroleum sector in South Sudan have been revisited and their fiscal provisions have been analysed. After reviewing the legal texts of the Transitional Constitution, the Petroleum Act, the exploration and production sharing agreements (EPSAs), the transitional agreements (TAs) and other relevant documents attached to the petroleum sector, the paper identifies some shortcomings of the PSCs such as lack of royalty and taxes. Henceforth, the paper provides policy recommendations for the institutional management of the petroleum sector in the RSS.

A Survey on Mobility in High Speed Networks

High speed railway delivers accessibility to people’s activity and is concerning suggested united of adequate advancement for arena transportation. one in every of the necessary positions of HSR design is that the sign system, that is moreover alleged the “operation system,” space wireless communications play a vital role within the manual of alternation status information. National network of high-speed traveler rail lines geared toward reducing traffic jam, cutting national dependence on foreign oil and up rural and concrete environments. During this article, the contemporary arrival of high speed trains familiarize new quality arrangement in wireless environments. The Long Term Evolution-A networks have mostly tackled the propagation downside within the physical layer and are ready to carry wireless service with 100 Megabytes per second outturn inside a cell in accelerates to three fifty kilometer per hour. Nonetheless the way more persistent handovers beyond cells greatly will increase the likelihood of service interruptions, and also the downside is distinguished for transmission communications that appeal each high throughput and continuous connections. During this regards, we tend to gift a unique Long Term Evolution-based resolution to support high outturn and continuous transmission services for prime speed train passengers. Our simulation underneath numerous network and railway/ train conjurations exhibits that the projected resolution achieves abundant lower relinquishment latency and better information outturn, as contrasted to existing solutions. It additionally well immune to n/w and traffic dynamics, therefore permissive unbroken quality transmission services for passengers in high speed trains. We review, summarize and analyze the foremost necessary HSR comes administered so far round the globe, specifically those of Japan, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. we tend to focus our attention on the most problems concerned within the enterprise of HSR projects: their impact on quality, the surroundings, the economy and on urban centers. Keywords: Channel Modeling, Composite Transportation, Cuttings and Tunnels, High Speed Railway, Operation system, Train Management Information

The relationship between international crude oil prices and China\u2019s refined oil prices based on a structural VAR model

With the frequent fluctuations of international crude oil prices and China’s increasing dependence on foreign oil in recent years, the volatility of international oil prices has significantly influenced China domestic refined oil price. This paper aims to investigate the transmission and feedback mechanism between international crude oil prices and China’s refined oil prices for the time span from January 2011 to November 2015 by using the Granger causality test, vector autoregression model, impulse response function and variance decomposition methods. It is demonstrated that variation of international crude oil prices can cause China domestic refined oil price to change with a weak feedback effect. Moreover, international crude oil prices and China domestic refined oil prices are affected by their lag terms in positive and negative directions in different degrees. Besides, an international crude oil price shock has a significant positive impact on domestic refined oil prices while the impulse response of the international crude oil price variable to the domestic refined oil price shock is negatively insignificant. Furthermore, international crude oil prices and domestic refined oil prices have strong historical inheritance. According to the variance decomposition analysis, the international crude oil price is significantly affected by its own disturbance influence, and a domestic refined oil price shock has a slight impact on international crude oil price changes. The domestic refined oil price variance is mainly caused by international crude oil price disturbance, while the domestic refined oil price is slightly affected by its own disturbance. Generally, domestic refined oil prices do not immediately respond to an international crude oil price change, that is, there is a time lag.

The Outsourcing-Based Model of Organizing the Russian Oil and Gas Industry

The article analyzes the risks and benefits of international outsourcing for the Russian oil and gas industry. It is shown that the dependence on non-Russia oil field servicers may lead to the technological obsolescence of the Russian oil and oil service industries and enable foreign operators to implicitly influence the efficiency of the Russian economy. It is shown that the dependence of Russian oil companies on foreign oil field service providers in 2014 affected not only individual companies, but the entire oil and gas industry. Given the importance of the oil and gas industry for Russia’s economy, this poses a high risk to Russia’s economy as a whole. Finally, the article offers several prescriptions concerning Russian oil field servicing as it operates under sectoral sanctions.

PHARMACOGNOSTIC STANDARDIZATION OF CALOTROPIS GIGANTEA (L.) DRYAND R

Pharmacognostic standards of Calotropis gigantea roots have been established, so that authentic plant material can be selected for further investigations to validate scientifically for its traditional claims. Transverse section of root showed presence of four layers of cork, eight layers of cortex comprising parenchyma and medullary rays and vascular bundles comprising phloem parenchyma at upper side followed by xylem made up of parenchyma and vessels. Various physico-chemical parameters of the plant, such as foreign organic matter, moisture, volatile oil, tannin, total protein and carbohydrate contents, ash values, extractive values, swelling index, foaming index, bitterness value and haemolytic value were generated. The content of toxic residues in plant complies with the limits. Phytochemical screening showed presence of fats, triterpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, tannins, proteins and carbohydrates in plant. Thin layer chromatography of n-hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts showed eleven, eight and eleven spots, respectively, using suitable mobile phases.

Game Analysis of International Marine Petroleum Cooperation’s Environmental Governance: The Bohai Gulf Oil Spill

In this paper, we discuss the economic reasons for overexploitation that led to the Bohai Gulf oil spill, using game theory. Based on the Bohai Gulf incident, we present the causes of ocean international petroleum cooperation, reveal the connection between the interests of Chinese local oil companies and that of a foreign oil company, analyze both sides of the benefit equilibrium between ConocoPhillips China Inc. and the government, and examine the three sides of the dynamic asymmetric game equilibrium among ConocoPhillips China Inc., the government, and societal opinion. The study makes the following conclusions. First, Chinese offshore international petroleum cooperation is inevitable due to China’s limited development level in science and technology. Second, Chinese local oil companies and foreign oil companies have formed a community of interests. Third, the two-side dynamic game analysis shows that the punishment for offshore environment pollution is rather low in China. Fourth, the asymmetric evolutionary game model shows that public opinions enhance government supervision, improve punishment for offshore pollution, and significantly increase the cost of excessive development. In addition, our analytical framework can be applied beneficially to the development of other resources, which will provide strategic support for government legislation and international resource management.