Persian Gulf Oil Research Articles

Distribution and main sources of oil spills in the Persian Gulf based on satellite monitoring with synthetic aperture radar

ABSTRACT The Persian Gulf is characterized by a huge number of offshore oil and gas platforms, large number of many oil terminals, and busy shipping lines for supporting oil transportation. In this regard, developing various methods for assessing the oil pollution of the Gulf, including remote sensing, is extremely important. For the first time, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the European Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B satellites were used routinely to monitor the entire Gulf in 2017–2019. To effectively analyse the SAR images and their detected dark patches, a monitoring method based on manual detection and all contextual information available using web-GIS approach, was used. This involved the creation of a dedicated geoportal with oceanographic, physical – geographical, industrial and navigational information on the water basin, including the offshore oil and gas infrastructure. Using this approach, as well as data from automatic ship identification system, most oil spills were detected, recognized and mapped. The summary oil spill distribution maps and main statistical results of the monitoring are presented and discussed. It is shown that the main sources of oil pollution in the Persian Gulf (oil slicks/spills from 0.5 to about 700 km2) are (in decreasing order) oil production, oil transportation, and local shipping.

The Oil and Gas Province of the Persian Gulf, Vendian and Cambrian Oil with Underlying Deposit and Transition of Metals in Oil

The Oil and Gas Province of the Persian Gulf, Vendian and Cambrian Oil with Underlying Deposit and Transition of Metals in Oil

Monitoring Marine Oil Spills in Hyperspectral and Multispectral Remote Sensing Data by the Spectral Gene Extraction (SGE) Method

Oil spill incidents threaten the marine ecological environment. Detecting sea surface oil slicks by remote sensing images provides support for the efficient treatment of oil spills. This is important for sustainable marine development. However, traditional methods based on field analysis are time-consuming. Spectral indices lack applicability. In addition, traditional machine learning methods strictly rely on training and testing samples which are in short supply in oil spill images. Inspired by the spectral DNA encoding method, a spectral gene extraction (SGE) method was proposed to detect oil spills in hyperspectral images (HSI) and multispectral images (MSI). The SGE method contained a parameter and two strategies. The parameter of elimination was designed based on the population genetic frequency. It was used to control the number of spectral genes. The spectral gene extraction strategies, named largest in-class similarity (LIS) strategy and largest inter-class difference (LID) strategy, were proposed to mine the spectral genes by oil spill samples. The oil spills would be determined by calculating the similarity of the extracted spectral genes to the DNA encoded images. In this research, the SGE method was validated by two AVIRIS images of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, one MODIS image of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and one Landsat 8 image of a Persian Gulf oil spill. The oil spills in different remote sensing images could be detected accurately by the proposed method in a small set of samples. Experimental results indicated that the proposed method was suitable for detecting marine oil spills in AVIRIS, MODIS, and Landsat 8 images. In addition, the SGE method with the LIS strategy was more suitable for detecting oil spills in HSI. Its proper elimination rates were 0.8~1.0. The SGE method with the LID strategy was more suitable for detecting oil spills in MSI. Its proper elimination rates were 0.5~0.7.

Shift Work Disorder, Insomnia, and Depression among Offshore Oil Rig Workers.

Objective: Numerous offshore jobs require 24-hour tasks, such as in industrial workplaces (eg, oil rigs). The purpose of this study was to assess shift work disorder (SWD), insomnia, daytime sleepiness, and depression among Iranian offshore oil rig workers in different shift schedules. Method : This cross-sectional study was conducted on Iranian offshore oil workers at the Persian Gulf. A questionnaire package consisted of Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI- II), and SWD filled. The scores were calculated among different groups of shift schedules (fixed-day, fixed-night, swing and standby shift workers). ISI, BDI-II, and ESS scores were also compared between individuals with or without SWD. Results: A total of 188 participants were recruited in the study, and all were male. The mean age was 37.06 ± 9.2 years. Among different shift schedules, the highest and lowest ISI and ESS scores were related to fixed-night shifts workers and fixed-day shift workers, respectively. ISI, ESS, and BDI mean scores in different shift schedules were not significantly different (p values = 0.14, 0.57, and 0.93, respectively). SWD was diagnosed in 57 (30.3%) of studied shift workers. The difference between SWD prevalence was not significant between different shift schedules (P value =0.13). Workers with SWD had higher ISI, ESS, and BDI-II score (P values <0.0001, <0.0001, and <0.0001, respectively) and workers without SWD had higher job satisfaction (p value = 0.04). Conclusion: SWD is considered as a serious health-related issue in Persian Gulf oil rig shift workers. Insomnia, daytime sleepiness, and depression are associated with SWD.

Strategies of retrenchment: rethinking America’s commitments to the Middle East

Beginning with the post-2003 Iraq War and accelerating with the Great Recession of 2007, many scholars and pundits have concluded that the United States is in a state of relative material decline and it is necessary to abandon its long-standing grand strategy of “deep engagement” and replace it with one of retrenchment, “a policy of retracting grand strategic commitments in response to decline in relative power.” This is necessary in order to balance America’s commitments with its declining resources. However, retrenchment is not a one-size-fits-all grand strategy; there are degrees, ranging from internal retrenchment, redistribution and redeployment, and complete withdrawal. This essay analyzes what each of these degrees of retrenchment would mean for America’s traditional interests in the Middle East: maintaining the flow of Persian Gulf oil, stemming the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the containment of Iran.

American hegemony over the Persian Gulf oil After the 1991 Gulf War and the Gulf War III in 2003

Since the end of World War II, the United States of America began to look at the Gulf States and Iraq due to the possession of huge quantities of oil, after taking the American oil depletion in order to tighten control over the oil of these countries, has pursued various means, political and military, in the framework of its strategy So that it could achieve this control, which focused on control of production and prices, for the conviction that those who control oil impose control over the political decision of the countries of the world.

Depositional facies, diagenetic overprints and sequence stratigraphy of the upper Surmeh reservoir (Arab Formation) of offshore Iran

This study uses petrography, stable isotopes, petrophysics and wireline logs to constrain depositional facies, diagenesis, reservoir quality and sequence stratigraphy of the late Jurassic Upper Surmeh Formation (Arab Formation), in one of the northern Persian Gulf oil fields.Petrographic studies led to discrimination of nine microfacies which represented supratidal, intertidal, lagoon and shoal sub-environments of a carbonate ramp. In the un-cored wells five electro-facies were distinguished using Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) method. These electro-facies were correlated with the microfacies in a well which had both cores and logs data. Reservoir quality of the facies was determined by porosity and permeability data available from the cores.Among recognized diagenetic phenomena, fracturing, dissolution and dolomitization had an enhancing effect, but cementation, anhydritization and compaction had a deteriorating effect on reservoir quality. Stable isotope data were used to decipher the dolomitization process which is the most effective diagenetic process on the reservoir quality.For temporal and spatial reservoir quality prediction, the studied formation is investigated in the sequence stratigraphic framework. In this regard, four 3rd order sequences were determined which include a deepening-up transgressive systems tract (TST) in their lower part and a shallowing-up highstand systems tract (HST) in their upper part. Correlation of the identified sequences with those of equivalent formation in the Arabian plate is carried out to discuss the order of sequences and their major controls.

Comparison of machine learning methods for estimating permeability and porosity of oil reservoirs via petro-physical logs

Abstract This paper deals with the comparison of models for predicting porosity and permeability of oil reservoirs by coupling a machine learning concept and petrophysical logs. Different machine learning methods including conventional artificial neural network, genetic algorithm, fuzzy decision tree, the imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and a hybrid of those ones are employed to have a comprehensive comparison. The machine learning approach was constructed and tested via data samples recorded from northern Persian Gulf oil reservoirs. The results gained from the machine learning models used in this paper are compared to the relevant real petrophysical data and the outputs achieved by other methods employed in our previous studies. The average relative absolute deviation between the approach estimations and the relevant actual data is found to be less than 1% for the hybridized approaches. The results reported in this paper indicate that implication of hybridized machine learning methods in porosity and permeability estimations can lead to the construction of more reliable static reservoir models in simulation plans.

Improvement in thermo‐chemical stability of nanocomposite preformed particle gels for conformance control in harsh oil reservoir conditions

ABSTRACTGel treatment is one of the most promising technologies to improve conformance control in heterogeneous reservoirs. In this paper, new enhanced preformed particle gels (PPGs) are introduced for conformance control in high‐temperature and high‐salinity oil reservoirs. The thermo‐chemical stability of this product is due to the incorporation of a new monomer, N,N‐dimethyl acrylamide (DA), to the structure of the last well‐known nano‐composite PPGs. Four species, N,N‐dimethyl acrylamide, 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropane sulphonic sodium salt (AMPSNa), acrylamide (AM), and N‐vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) monomers, were used to synthesize these PPGs via free radical cross‐linking polymerization at room temperature using N,N‐methylenebis (acrylamide) as a cross‐linker. The mechanical properties of these new classes of PPGs were enhanced by adding the nano‐clay montmorillonite Na+. A temperature stability agent was also used to make these special PPGs compatible with high temperature and salinity reservoir conditions. A systematic study on PPGs preparation was conducted to improve PPGs stability for harsh reservoir conditions that exist in Persian Gulf oil reservoirs (a temperature of 145 °C and a water total dissolved solid of 225 000 mg/L). PPGs prepared with 0.30 g/g (30 wt%) of a 2:1:1:2 molar mass ratio of AM, DA, NVP, and AMPSNa could be completely stable for the mentioned conditions. Rheological behaviours of these PPGs were investigated and a mathematical model for prediction of storage modulus up to onset of elastic to viscous phase was presented. The results of this study reveal useful insights about the selection of appropriate material for successful conformance control in the heterogeneous reservoirs.

Confined fluids in clay interlayers: A simple method for density and abnormal pore pressure interpretation

A new experimental setup and model are introduced to investigate the trend of fluid (water/toluene) structuring within the clay interlayer spaces. We measured confined fluid density changes by investigating the buoyant force of a constant volume clay-system in a dynamic fluid uptake process. The results show that the first adsorbed layers of toluene on Bentonite and Kaolinite surfaces have considerably lower densities than the bulk toluene. This direction reverses at higher adsorption values and the density of interlayer toluene becomes even higher than the bulk density. However, water confined in the Bentonite interlayers has always higher density than the bulk water (from 1.48gr/cc to a plateau of 1.04gr/cc, depending on the water content), while such deviation is almost negligible in the case of kaolinite. Our results support the idea of liquid multilayer structuring at the clay surfaces. We implemented our proposed technique to explain and estimate the regime of pore pressure in one of Persian Gulf oil fields by testing and analyzing Aghajari and Gachsaran shales in this area. The estimated abnormal pressure values were found to be consistent with the observed field pressure data. The proposed approach is applicable in clay characterization, geomechanics, shale oil, and gas production.

Self-Accumulation of Uncharged Polyaromatic Surfactants at Crude Oil–Water Interface: A Mesoscopic DPD Study

The dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) technique was applied to study the behavior of several uncharged perylene bisimide-based polyaromatic surfactant (PAS) molecules, with the same polyaromatic core but with different terminal functional types (TP, C5Pe, PAP, and PCH) at the crude oil–water interface. We considered the SARA crude oil model with Persian Gulf oil field composition, which includes saturates, 59%; aromatics, 28.5%; resins, 9.7%; and asphaltenes, 2.8% at two temperatures 298 and 363 K. The DPD interaction parameters for the bead pairs needed in the DPD simulations were evaluated by using the well-known correlation equation, where the required Flory–Huggins interaction parameter in this equation was calculated by the blend methodology model. The results indicated that the C5Pe terminal functional type of PAS is absorbed more effectively on the water droplet interface in the crude oil system and can reduce the interfacial tension (IFT) to facilitate the oil–water separation. The results of th...

Outsourcing in the Persian Gulf petroleum supply chain

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identify the challenges, the benefits, the risks and the motives of petroleum companies in the Persian Gulf toward outsourcing strategy. While the petroleum companies are faced with massive costs of operation that stem from the aging infrastructure, human capital deficit, inefficient fragmented business processes and lack of access to new technologies, outsourcing strategy toward cost savings and the overt and covert resistance of management and employees are significant barriers for creation of continuous process. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the review of existing literature, the industry ' s archives and in-depth personal interviews with senior executives of the national oil and gas companies in five Gulf countries and seven global outsourcing companies and 87 survey responses, this study develops a methodological framework which substantiates or refutes the hypotheses based on the objectives: industry challenges are the driving forces behind outsourcing strategy; the potential risks of cost savings of outsourcing outweigh the consequential loss in control over the product or service, companies ' safety and security of the region. Findings – The findings indicate that the oil and gas exporters have mixed but broad positive view of outsourcing strategy. While outsourcing could provide savings across the entire supply chain, it also generates a distracting resistance due to the fear of unknown in a complex range of culture, infrastructures and sequential processes that requires resiliency for continuity of operations. Originality/value – This study is the first of its kind in the Persian Gulf oil and gas industry investigating the implementation of outsourcing strategy. The result of this investigation reveals the compromise between the potential benefits in cost reduction and the security of petroleum supply. This study contributes to all who are in the industry or who are involved with it to share a clear assessment of the future.

Economics Of Steam Generation For Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery

Summary The thermal-enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) steam-generation projects in Persian Gulf oil fields are on such a large scale that they affect an entire country's economic position. As such, the policies related to oilfield steam generation should be decided at the national level by use of the cost of the marginal fuel. This paper calculates the steam cost for three methods: once-through steam generator, once-through heat-recovery steam generator, and solar steam generator. Detailed performance and economic models of the steam-generation methods were created and used to calculate the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and the fuel break-even (FBE) price. The environmental and economic burdens on the cost of steam generation are explored. The effect of fuel price on the cost of steam is also analyzed, with a focus on the marginal fuel price. Finally, the limitation of cogeneration in an isolated oil field, where the energy demand necessitates electricity-matched cogeneration, was analyzed. This limitation, along with the steam cost at the marginal fuel price, provides the decision maker with a steam-supply curve. For the case analyzed in this paper, the cost of solar steam is lower than that of cogeneration or a simple boiler for fuel prices greater than USD 5/million Btu.

The Revenge Game: U.S Foreign Policy During Afghan-Soviet War and Afghan-Pakistan Falling Into Hell

&lt;p&gt;The U.S Foreign policy during the Soviets encroachment of Afghanistan at the height of Cold War has been evaluated, as well as its negative effects in Afghanistan-Pakistan (Af-Pak). During 1979, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R) landed on Afghanistan in order to secure Warm Water Ports and Persian Gulf Oil. (This was called as the “Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan”). By having this situation, The U.S government established a mission in Afghanistan which consisted on two main purposes. One of them was to stand against the invasion of Afghanistan provoked by U.S.S.R. and the second one was to provide Afghan Mujahedeen Movements with some help and be prepared for the coming situation. So, the provision of the most dangerous weapons and the need of billions of dollars were made to these fundamentalist Afghan mujahedeen. Thus, they could protect themselves and fight against the U.S.S.R invasion. As a matter of fact, the Taliban groups were founded due to U.S policy. Nevertheless, the establishment of them has become the biggest general threat to global peace, particularly for Afghanistan and Pakistan. This research consists of three parts which are going to be developed in the order as follows: The internal milieu of Afghanistan and the intervention by U.S.S.R, The U.S policy interests and the outcomes of these policies, The Afghan and Pakistan consequences which were gotten by these policies. This Research is going to be a new source of knowledge for understanding the U.S foreign policy during this War and their negative effects on Afghanistan and Pakistan such as refugee’s settlement and number of other problems. Although Americans just revenge from Soviets but this game also destroyed the Pakistan. Also as an explanation on the nowadays coming international terrorism and how the Afghan insurgents have become strong enough. &lt;/p&gt;

Technical and economic feasibility study of flue gas injection in an Iranian oil field

Nowadays, the non-hydrocarbon gases are the main sources for gas injection projects in different countries. The main advantages of the flue gas injection are low cost, readily available sources (which consists mainly of N2 and CO2) and low compressibility in comparison with other gases like CO2 or CH4 (for a given volume at the same conditions). In addition, it occupies more space in the reservoir and it is an appropriate way for CO2 sequestering and consequently reducing greenhouse gases. In the aforementioned method, N2 and/or CO2 is injected into the oil reservoir for miscible and/or immiscible displacement of remaining oil. Moreover, a key parameter in the designing of a gas injection project is the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) which is commonly calculated by running simulation case or implementing conventional correlations. From technical viewpoints, the lower MMP values are more flavor for miscible gas injection process due to lower injection pressure and consequently lower maintenance and lower injection costs. The main aim of this research is to investigate various gas injection methods (N2, CO2, produced reservoir gas, and flue gas) in one of the northern Persian gulf oil fields by a numerical simulation method. Moreover, for each scenario of gas injection technical and economical considerations are took into account. Finally, an economic analysis is implemented to compare the net present value (NPV) of the different gas injection scenarios in the aforementioned oil field.

A Geochemical Investigation of the CO2 Injection Effect on Oil Composition in One of the Eastern Persian Gulf Fields

In this article, by using geochemical methods, the effect of CO2 injection effect on the asphaltene precipitation and changing of other oil components was investigated. This study was performed in one of the eastern Persian Gulf oil fields with an API of 30.5. For this subject, gas injection was executed with a slim-tube instrument and minimum miscibility pressure was also measured. An asphaltene precipitation test and liquid column chromatography test were conducted on the oil samples retrieved from the slim-tube instrument. This study indicates that CO2 influences the oil reservoir properties so intensively that all oil components were changed by the injection.

Predicting Oil Flow Rate due to Multiphase Flow Meter by Using an Artificial Neural Network

Multiphase flow meters are being utilized to provide quick and accurate well test data in many oil production applications. These include applications in remote or unmanned locations, topside applications that minimize platform space, and subsea applications. Flow rates of phases (oil, gas, and water) are the most important parameters that are detected by multiphase flow meters. Conventional multiphase flow meter data collecting is done in long periods, because of radioactive sources usage as detector and unmanned location due far distance of wells. In this article, a new method for oil rate prediction of wells based on artificial neural networks due to a real case of multiphase flow meters is presented. Temperatures and pressures of lines have been set as input variable of network and oil flow rate as output. In this case a 600 data set of 31 wells in one of the northern Persian Gulf oil fields of Iran was used, which was collected in three-month periods for each well from December 2002 to November 2010. Alternatively, artificial neural networks can be used confidently without personnel and environmental problems.

Connectionist model predicts the porosity and permeability of petroleum reservoirs by means of petro-physical logs: Application of artificial intelligence

Abstract In this paper, a new approach based on artificial intelligence concept is evolved to monitor the permeability and porosity of petroleum reservoirs by means of petro-physical logs at various conditions. To address the referred issue, different artificial intelligence techniques including fuzzy logic (FL) and least square support vector machine (LSSVM) were carried out. Potential application of LSSVM and FL optimized by genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed to estimate the permeability and porosity of petroleum reservoirs. The developed intelligent approaches are examined by implementing extensive real field data from northern Persian Gulf oil fields. The results obtained from the developed intelligent approaches are compared with the corresponding real petro-physical data and gained outcomes of the other conventional models. The correlation coefficient between the model estimations and the relevant actual data is found to be greater than 0.96 for the GA–FL approach and 0.97 for GA–LSSVM. The results from this research indicate that implication of GA–LSSVM and GA–FL in prediction can lead to more reliable porosity/permeability predictions, which can lead to the design of more efficient reservoir simulation schemes.

Hegemony, Force Posture, and the Provision of Public Goods: The Once and Future Role of Outside Powers in Securing Persian Gulf Oil

International relations theories emphasize the stabilizing role hegemons play in world politics. But little scholarship has examined the link connecting hegemony to its potentially positive returns in the security realm: force posture. We correct this deficit by developing and testing an argument about the consequences of different hegemonic force postures under varying threat conditions. We present a typology of force posture options and probe their effects through over-time analysis of how major powers have worked to provide one particularly important public good since 1945: access to Persian Gulf oil. Drawing on field work, we also explore the implications of our framework for current and future US force posture in the region. We conclude that hegemonic stability is a very real phenomenon in the Gulf, but it does not require the massive forward deployment of US forces that has characterized the past twenty years of US presence there.

Rebalancing the Rebalance

Abstract: Since late 2011, United States has pursued a policy of toward Asia, taking steps to expand its already significant role in region. However, Washington has failed to check--and may have unwittingly provoked--new Chinese measures to erect multiple layers of security around contested areas in South and East China Seas. The United States should, therefore, consider new bilateral security initiatives with China and its neighbors to ensure security cooperation catches up with economic cooperation in dynamic Asia-Pacific rim. names be not correct, language is not in accordance with truth of things. If language be not in accordance with truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. ********** Confucius, Analects 13.3 Beginning in late 2011, Obama Administration unveiled its intention to rebalance US military, diplomatic, and economic efforts to Asia-Pacific region. Initially described as a pivot, this term was subsequency changed to rebalance, to describe more aptly repositioning of mainly military assets from a then 50-50 percent to a 60-40 percent split, favoring Asia-Pacific over Atlantic side of world by 2020. (1) In President Obama's November 2011 address to Australian parliament, he emphasized US policy goal is to ensure the United States will play a larger and long-term role in shaping [the Asia-Pacific] region and its future. (2) In practice, Asia-Pacific theater was slated to gain a rotational US Marine Corps detachment (already deployed to Australia) and an additional US carrier group: one aircraft carrier, seven destroyers, ten littoral combat ships, and two submarines, along with reconnaissance assets. (3) In contrast to limited permanent-base approach of 1980s, US military rebalance relies upon rotational deployments through several host-nation port facilities. (4) As Commandant of Marine Corps General James Amos explained, dispersing US forces beyond a few large bases makes them a harder target for ballistic missiles. (5) In addition, rotational deployments are more cost-effective by using air travel to rotate military personnel, while power of rebalance is augmented by US foreign military sales to region. (6) Scholars such as Christopher Layne have relabeled US rebalancing strategy as off-shore balancing--an attempt to contain rise of a potential hegemon, such as China, by relying on global and regional power balances to attain that goal. As Layne explains: * Economic limitations are pushing United States to reset priorities, withdrawing and downsizing its forces in Europe and Middle East and concentrating its military power in East Asia. * By reducing its military footprint in Middle East, United States may decrease incidence of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism directed against it. Safeguarding free flow of Persian Gulf oil can be ensured largely by naval and air power. * America's comparative strategic advantages rest on naval and air power, not land power, to manage security issues in Asia. * Off-shore balancing is a strategy of burden-sharing with Pacific Rim allies to protect freedom of navigation in East Asia. (7) Consistent with above interpretation, US Defense Strategic Guidance announced in January 2012 United States will no longer size its forces for long-term, prolonged stability operations (such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan) while projecting power in areas that are challenged by asymmetric means, notably, anti-access and area-denial environments in South and East China Seas. (8) Close on heels of President Obama's announcement, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton amplified importance of Asia-Pacific region, where half of world's population resides, indicating its development is vital to American strategic and economic interests. …