[en] Federally-funded research is cited on the structure, deformation, mechanical properties, fabrication, radiation effects, tests and thermodynamic properties. Studies on phase diagrams, diffusion, and electrical, high temperature and nuclear reactor applications are also presented. (Contains 154 abstracts)

[en] The potential danger of blowouts and oil spills is present in areas with high concentration of energy facilities and infrastructure. Ensuring that all possible measures have been taken to alert residents as early as possible is one way to alleviate fears of well blowouts, gas processing plant leaks, pipeline failures, or refinery or upgrader explosions. This article presented the GeoAlert, a high technology solution developed by Cell Bridge Communications Corporation to bring emergency response into the modern communications era. The features, benefits, and applications of GeoAlert were described. The program is a web-based emergency notification geographic information system application, that created a digital audit trail, and served as an internal communications and training platform, and had the potential to eliminate duplication among oil companies with overlapping jurisdictions. The system enabled companies to program emergency zones based on precise geographical co-ordinates and to use the system to proactively manage emergency response. It was concluded that the most visually striking feature of GeoAlert is its three-dimensional satellite mapping technology, which could display plumes as a purple-coloured initial isolation zone laid over designated emergency planning zones, moving in real-time while automatically identifying who should be notified and when. 1 fig.

[en] A new technology developed by a Louisiana-based company called Gardes Energy Services Inc. may be used to develop Canada's Manville coalbed methane (CBM) play. Two Canadian companies have recently agreed to test the patented technology in the Manville play, which has a permeability of only 3 to 4 millidarcies in shallower Manville targets and less than 1 millidarcy in deeper targets. The technology entails the drilling of multiple, radial wells with lateral branches. The 2-string dual injection drilling technique allows non-damaging underbalanced drilling of multiple lateral branches in each seam when combined with the patented Upstock process. The Upstock is then lowered to the lowest seam on a carrier string to redirect the drilling assembly into the first coal seam. Drilling fluid is pumped down the drillstring, activating the drilling assembly's mud motor and guidance system. Injection rates are adjusted according to downhole measurement-while drilling pressure sensors to maintain underbalanced drilling. Continuous circulation through the concentric casing system eliminates the potentially damaging surging that occurs in conventional drilling. By reorienting the bent housing on the drilling motor, branch laterals are added in each coal seam. Once completed, the drilling assembly is pulled, the Upstock is lifted on the carrier string to the next seam of interest, and the process is repeated. The dual annulus process lowers the equivalent circulating density below that of the formation pressure, preventing drilling fluid from invading and damaging the formation. Formation water is typically used as the drilling fluid. Once drilling is completed, an electric submersible pump (ESP) is lowered on tubing to the sump area and water is pumped to surface, allowing the methane to desorb and be produced through perforations into and up the inner annulus. The technique reduces the environmental impact of drilling, as 1 area can be used to drain an area the equivalent of 16 locations. It was concluded that the company is now looking to supply the technology and capital to develop CBM properties with other partners. 3 figs

[en] The public relations strategies of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the nuclear power industry reveal both public and official perceptions of nuclear power and the social uses of technology in general during the first 15 years after passage of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. The relation between nuclear promotion and regulation also helps explain the environmental crisis of the 1969-1984 years. Project Plowshare coincides roughly with the early promotional years, and provides a case study of the relation of regulatory standards to promotion in AEC policymaking. The author examines the environmentalists challenge to nuclear power that emerged in 1969 alongside government and industry response. He concludes with an assessment of the present state of federal nuclear power policy and of the nuclear power industry

[en] Measurements of single inclusive jet cross-sections are presented using deep inelastic scattering data from H1 in the kinematic region 0.65 < Q² < 50.0 GeV² and 0.3 < y < 0.6. The results are compared to a number of QCD based models. Good agreement is found with models which treat the virtual photon as having both a pointlike coupling to the quarks and antiquarks in the proton and a coupling where the photon first acquires a partonic structure before interacting strongly with the proton. The inclusive dijet cross-sections, measured in the kinematic region 1.6 < Q² < 100.0 GeV² and 0.1 < y < 0.7 are in agreement with the picture of the virtual photon having a partonic structure in the region where E_T^*2 >> Q². The ratio σ(res)/σ(dir) is also presented and shows the partonic structure of the photon to decrease with increasing photon virtuality. (author)

[en] An alternate well kill (AWK) system developed by Devon Canada and Cooper Cameron Corporation was reviewed. At a development cost of $2 million, it is hoped that the AWK system will offer an on-site, fail-safe means to kill a well, thereby negating the need for elaborate relief well drilling contingencies. An AWK unit has already been transported for testing at a well site in the Beaufort Sea. AWK systems are set for installation into blowout prevention stacks when drilling reaches the blowout risk threshold depth of 500 to 800 metres. The AWK system is ideal for use in the Arctic, where contingency planning for wells is vital due to the Arctic's slow regeneration rates, its short drilling season, and its remoteness. Consisting of a super shear and seal blowout prevention (BOP), the AWK provides the same capability of a BOP while also allowing any obstruction in the hole to be cut while simultaneously achieving a seal. Once activated, high density fluids are pumped down the hole to kill the well. The AWK is designed to be installed below the regular shear rams and BOP, and to operate entirely independently of all other systems in case of a severe power failure. Testing of the AWK is ongoing, even as final drilling preparations are underway. A worst-case scenario blowout and spill could ravage the environment and cost companies hundreds of millions of dollars in control and cleanup costs. Traditionally, relief wells can take up to 6 weeks to drill, during which time hydrocarbons are being released into the environment. The National Energy Board (NEB) has already gained a general acceptance of the AWK concept. 3 figs

[en] Stranded gas currently makes up between 30 and 80 per cent of proven and potential natural gas reserves. Stranded gas is too remote from markets to be transported via pipeline, and is too small to justify costly liquefied natural gas (LNG) or gas-to-liquids infrastructure. However, emerging gas-to-wire technology may monetize an oil and gas discovery owned by Canadian Imperial Venture Corporation that is secluded on the west side of Newfoundland. Gas-to-wire technology involves generating power at the point of extraction to eliminate transportation costs. The wellsite is located within half a kilometre of the electricity grid. The gas-to-wire solution was proposed by ENEGI, a company that has developed software capable of analyzing multiple development options for stranded gas fields; probabilisitically estimating the risks and returns of a potential investment; and selecting the development plan that maximizes the value of a project. Factors such as recoverable reserves, gas flow rate, price of electricity, the distance to the nearest grid entry-point and the type of generating technology are considered to assess whether a field or group of fields may be suitable for gas-to-wire technology. The software provides detailed analysis of the key economic decision-making criteria through cash-flow analysis and the effect of different financing strategies on future balance sheets. The ENEGI knowledge base has a number of associated models consisting of a collection of algorithms with associated sets of data. ENEGI intends to use its scoping capability to identify suitable stranded gas assets and to demonstrate the value that may be added through a gas-to-wire solution. A recent detailed study conducted by the company has suggested that gas-to-wire may be a profitable option for many stranded gas fields. 2 figs

[en] Like Duke Power, Virginia Power has been involved in spent fuel storage expansion studies for a long time - possibly a little longer than Duke Power. Virginia Power's initial studies date back to the late 70s and into the early 80s. Large variety of storage techniques are reviewed including reracking and transshipment. Virginia Power also considered construction a new spent fuel pool. This was one of the options that was considered early on since Virginia Power started this process before any dry storage techniques had been proven. Consolidation of spent fuel is something that was also studied. Finally, construction of dry storage facility was determined to be the technology of choice. They looked a large variety of dry storage technologies and eventually selected dry storage in metal casks at Surry. There are many of reasons why a utility may choose one technology over another. In Virginia Power's situation, additional storage was needed at Surry much earlier than at other utilities. Virginia Power was confronted with selecting a storage technique and having to be a leader in that it was the first U.S. utility to implement a dry storage system

[en] Chevron's Lona well has reached record depths in the Orphan Basin located about 430 kilometres northeast of St. John's. On May 9, 2010, in the largely unexplored Grand Banks' Orphan Basin, Chevron's Lona O-55 prospect was drilled from 2,600 metres below the sea surface. As a result of an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico around the same time, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador appointed an independent expert to conduct a review of drilling plans while allowing it to proceed. This article discussed the record-breaking drilling project and the challenges and costs it has encountered in drilling at such great depths. Contingency plans in the event of an uncontrolled blowout such as that in the Gulf of Mexico were also presented. Newfoundland's 3 producing offshore oilfields are Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose. They are located in the neighbouring Jeanne D'Arc Basin, where 2 significant oil spills have occurred in the past six years. 1 fig.

[en] The video gaming industry has been the driver for sophisticated new memory and computation capabilities when it comes to developing the latest in visualization technology used by the oil and gas sector. A broad commercial market drives the entire graphics revolution forward for the benefit of all, including petroleum exploration companies. This article presented new visualization systems that have been deployed worldwide by companies as Sun Valley, Landmark, Panoram, Halliburton and TouchTable Inc. Desktop visualization displays are getting larger, with better detail, resolution and less compressed data, making them easier on the user with less scrolling, less zooming and no switching from screen to screen. It was noted that with visualization technology, it is important to preserve resolution when viewing seismic data, particularly in the z-axis. However, the relatively small oil industry market is not big enough to provide the driver necessary to move projector technology forward very quickly. A changeover from analog to digital stereoscopic projection technology is one of the changes that has occurred. Digital light processing provides a brighter, clearer picture with better resolution, colour accuracy and stability. It was noted that the greatest advancement is the size of processing power which enables visualization in very large format, including tabletop interfaces and visualization rooms that provide wall-size high resolution or theatre-scale visualization. It was concluded that geologists, geophysicists, geocelluar modelers and petrophysicists can prove the value of visualization rooms when planning wells. 3 figs