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By D. M. James, J. C. Martin

The results are presented of a study of the application of analytical methods to the solution of two-phase flow into single wells. Approximate analytical expressions for the pressure distribution in two-phase flow are found ;;; a number of conditions. The results obtained from the analytical solutions me found to be in good agreement with results obtained by finite difference techniques using a high speed digital computer. Mathematical solutions for four sets of boundary conditions are presented. All of these solutions are composed of a short-term transient plus a steady or quasi-steady state. The rates of decay of the short-lived transients are analyzed. It is found that the durations of the short-term transients may be characterized by a parameter defined as the time constant which can be determined from simple relations. It is shown also that if the outer radius is much greater than the radius of the well. the short term transients decay at rates which are proportional to the square of the exterior radius, and the rates of decay are only slightly dependent upon the radius ratio. Numerical solutions based on finite difference techniques are presented for a number of conditions. The numerical solutions are in good agreement with the predictions based on the theoretical analysis for small and moderate drawdowns. Examples involving large drawdowns indicate that the nonlinearities in the equations of flow do not appreciably alter the longevity of the short-term transients. In all cases the time required for the short-tern transients to disappear is predicted satisfactorily. INTRODUCTION The mechanism by which oil and gas flow into a single well is of vital interest to the petroleum industry. The fundamental equations of two-phase flow which describe this mechanism are nonlinear partial differential equations. Numerical solutions of these equations describing pressure transients have been obtained with the aid of electronic computers. Although solutions obtained in this manner take into account a large number of effects, the reduction of this information to useful generalities is difficult. One method of obtaining generalities is the use of linearized approximations of the nonlinear equations. Since it is possible to obtain explicit solutions of the linearized equation, general properties of the role of pressure in the flow mechanism may be ascertained. Results obtained from this approach are limited to some extent by the linearizing assumptions. The severity of these limitations may be evaluated by comparing solutions of the linear equation with numerical solutions of the more exact nonlinear equations of two-phase flow. In the past considerable amount of work has been devoted to studying pressure build-up using the single-phase flow theory. Unfortunate1y, most prep sure build-up tests involve multiphase flow. A small amount of work has been done studying pressure build-up where the flow is two-phase. The encouraging results of these studies suggest that useful results may be found from additional studies of not only pressure build-up, but also the rapid transients associated with placing a well on production. This paper presents the basic theory of the pressure transients associated with placing a well on production and with closing it in. The paper is concerned chiefly with two-phase compressible flow; however, the results also apply to single-phase flow. The results are based on analytical solutions of the flow equations, and they are verified by numerical solutions using finite difference techniques. Much of the previous work on compressible flow into wells has been confined to single-phase flow. Some work has been done on compressible two-phase steady state flow, and solutions of the equations of flow have been found by finite difference techniques using high-speed computers. Muskat1 presents some rather general solutions to the equations of single-phase compressible flow into wells. Much work has been done on pressure build-up in wells (see, for example, Refs. 2-6). Almost all of the work on pressure build-up concerns single-phase flow with the exception of Ref. 5 and part of Ref. 2. Some work has been done on pressure fall-off in injection wells.718 Muskat9 presents the solution of the equations for radial steady state two-phase compressible flow. Handyl0 extends Muskat's solution to obtain

By W. F. Boericke, T. H. Garnett

The Wisconsin zinc district, or the Upper Mississippi lead and zinc district as it is also termed, lies in the southwestern corner of Wisconsin, and embraces adjacent portions of Illinois and Iowa. It includes Iowa, Grant, and Lafayette counties in Wisconsin, and Jo Davies country in Illinois. In Iowa, Dubuque formerly produced considerable lead, but there has been little mining there in recent years. The map, Fig. 1, shows the entire district, withroads, railways, streams, and the various towns, or "camps," around which the mines are clustered. The hatchwork indicates the areas in which lead and zinc have been mined. The district is about 60 mi. (96 km.) north and south and about 40 mi. (64 km.) east and west. Not all of the territory is mineral bearing, and there are considerable areas that are believed to be barren. The grouping of the mines is patchy and irregular, though certain broad zoncs of mineralization extend almost the full width of the district, as from Mineral Point west through Mifflin and Livingston, and from Shullsburg west through New Diggings and Hazel Green. It is worth noting that the best mines of the district have, to date, been found within 10 mi. ease or west of the fourth principal meridian line, thus lying within a long, narrow, north-and-south belt extending the length of the district. In a field as large as the Wisconsin, which has only within comparatively recent time been worked intensively for zinc, the chances are good for opening new and important orebodies in parts of the district not yet, or insufficiently, prospected. However; the prospecting has been most successful around, or adjacent to, the old lead diggings of nearly a century ago, and the camps that were well known then are still centers of activity. In their order of importance they are: New Diggings, Ben-ton, Mifflin-Livingston, Galena, Linden, Hazel Green, Shullsburg, and Highland. The district is one of the best farming districts in Wisconsin, with deep fertile soil. The farms are large and well improved, and the towns are modern and prosperous. Railroad facilities are good and proximity to Chicago is an asset. Mining is usually done on a leasing system of 10

Jan 1, 1920

By M. A. Grossmann

THE hardenability of most steels can be predicted within 10 to 15 per cent provided the complete chemical composition is known, including "incidental" elements; and provided the as-quenched grain size is known; and provided, finally, that the composition and heating temperatures for hardening are such as to result in austenite free from carbide particles. In method proposed herein, the steel is considered as having a base hardenability due to its carbon content alone (the hardenability of a ''pure steel" of the given carbon content, without any other elements), and this base hardenability is multiplied by a multiplying factor for each chemical element present. After multiplying all these together, the final product is the hardenability. Grain sue may be taken into account either in the base hardenability or after the multiplication. Hardenability is stated in terms of "ideal critical diameter"; namely, the diameter of bar, in inches, that will just harden all the way through (absence of un- hardened core) in an "ideal" quench, and the calculation may also be related to the Jominy test. The data bring out certain features rather clearly. For example: I. It is quite useless to attempt to predict hardenability unless all elements, including "incidentals," are known; thus an "incidental" chromium content of 0.20 per cent increases the hardenability by about 50 per cent. 2. The relative effectiveness of different alloys is sometimes unexpected; thus molybde- num when calculated in this way appears to be of the same order of effectiveness as manganese, rather than much more powerful as wouldappear to be common experience; observe that an increase from no manganese to 0.20 per cent Mn provides a multiplying factor of 1.67, and an increase from no molybdenum to 0.20 per cent Mo provides a factor of 1.63, an increase of over 60 per cent in each case. However, if to a steel containing 0.50 per cent Mn there is added " 20 points of manganese," the factor is raised from 2.65 (for 0.50 per cent Mn) to 3.35 (for 0.70 per cent Mn), or an increase of only 26 per cent. Thus the first small addition of an element has a much more powerful percentage effect than an equal further addition when some is already present, and in most cases the effect of molybdenum is considered in relation to a steel in which molybdenum is absent. 3. If two elements are equally effective, a greater hardenability will be obtained by using, for example, 0.5 per cent of each than by using 1.0 per cent of either of them alone. 4. A knowledge of the as-quenched grain size is essential for precise work, since a difference of only one grain size number (say No. 7 instead of No. 6) makes a difference of almost lo per cent in hardenability (in these units); this, however, does not apply to certain steels of high hardenability. It should be emphasized that in chromium steels (over 0.30 per cent Cr) and chrome- molybdenum and chrome-vanadium steels, undissolved carbides are likely to be present in the steel as quenched, and that in such cases the charts can indicate only a maximum possible hardenability, whereas the extent of hardening actually obtained may be much less. Thus tests on a number of chrome-molybdenum steels have indicated a degree of hardening amounting to only 50 to 65 per cent of the maximum possible, and in chromium steels from full hardening (100 per cent) down to as low as 70 per cent. On the other hand, when the amount of such elements is small (Cr under 0.30 per cent, Mo up to 0.25 per cent in the absence of Cr, and V up to 0.04 per cent), the charts provide reasonable approximations. The precise figures on the charts are suggested as tentative, subject to some modification as more data accumulate, but the fundamental concept appears to be supported by tests made on a wide variety of steels, a few of the correlations being shown in Fig. I.

Jan 1, 1942

By P. H. Mell

THE little village, from which this formation receives its name, is situated on a bluff of the Alabama River, 175 feet above water level. This bluff is a portion of high table land that begins in the western portion of Choctaw and extends through Clarke and Monroe counties. We find points on this ridge more than 100 feet higher than Tuscaloosa, and nearly as high as the Tennessee River at Tuscumbia. Through this the Alabama River cuts its way, exposing a beautiful cross-section of the strata, of which the accompanying sketch may give some idea. The fossils are found about 75 feet below the surface and 100 feet above the level of the river. There are seven distinct strata. 1. The lowest, extending from the water's edge up the bluff 80 feet, is a soft calcareous rock containing about 15 per cent. of carbonate of lime, with occasional specks of mica. In this a few Ostrea, Turritellce, and Flustrce were found, but so friable as to fall to pieces when handled. 2. Next comes a stratum varying from 2 to 8 feet, consisting of

Jan 1, 1880

By Raymond B. Ladoo

Wollastonite is a calcium metasilicate, with the formula CaSiO3; containing theoretically 48.3 pct CaO and 51.7 pct Si02. It is one of many natural and synthetic silicates with varying CaO/SiO2 ratios, with and without water of crystallization. While it is a very common mineral, deposits of sufficient size and purity to be of commercial interest are unusual. There is only one producer (1958) of wollastonite for industrial use in the United States, Godfrey L. Cabot, Inc. at Willsboro, New York. There has been a small production of surface material for ornamental use from near Blythe, California. Carload tests have been made on California wollastonite for making mineral wool and a commercial plant for this purpose was projected in 1957. Properties Wollastonite is monoclinic and commonly occurs in masses or aggregates of bladed or needle-like crystals. It has a perfect cleavage parallel to the long prismatic axis. It is rather brittle and some types grind easily to a very finely fibrous product, but other types, due to interlacing of fibers, are tough and difficult to grind. Mobs hardness is 4.5 to 5; specific gravity 2.8-2.9; index of refraction 1.616 to 1.631; melting point 1,512°C. Color when pure is a brilliant white, but when less pure it may be gray or brown. Luster is vitreous, transparent to translucent. Common mineral associates are garnet (several varieties), diopside, calcite and quartz. The nature of the mineral impurities determines to a large degree the commercial value of a deposit. At Willsboro, New York, the impurities consist chiefly of iron garnet and iron diopside which are both magnetic and so are easily removable by magnetic separation, yielding a nearly theoretically pure product. Some deposits in California contain calcite and quartz which cannot be removed cheaply, thus limiting market possibilities. Occurrence Wollastonite is a contact metamorphic mineral occurring in most places within or associated with impure limestones. The deposits at Willsboro, New York1,2,3,5 consist of two or more beds dipping 15-50°E and striking NW-SE. The main bed, 30 to 70 ft thick, may be traced on the surface for at least 2 ½ miles. In this belt, the Pre-Cambrian Grenville limestone has been injected and partially replaced by the more liquid portions of an anorthositic magma. Buddington and Whitcomb3 have described the rock as "Mixed gneisses, pyroxenite and garnetiferous gneisses and skarns." Prospecting revealed the wollastonite at ten different places in the belt, overlain in most places by a garnet rock. Diamond drilling has proven several million tons with probable reserves around 15 million tons. Interbedded with the wollastonite are beds of garnet from a few inches to several feet in thickness. In the wollastonite ore itself the chief and almost only associated minerals are garnet (mostly almandite but some andradite and grossularite) with small amounts of green hedenbergite. Inasmuch as the almandite and diopside are magnetic they are easily separated from the wollastonite in high intensity magnetic separators. If grossularite should occur in quantity other means of separation would be needed. Wollastonite has been reported at 35 localities in California12 but only those in the Big Maria and Little Maria Mountains, 16 to 20 miles north of Blythe, Riverside County, are

Jan 1, 1960

By Clyde Evarts Weed

SOME one once affirmed his great belief in luck, adding that he had found that the harder he worked the more luck he had. Clyde Weed is a firm believer in this method of courting the fugitive lady. He is at work early and late, often leaving his staff at Anaconda's offices at 25 Broadway breathless trying to keep up with the ideas teeming from a fertile brain and the actions those ideas entail. Miles ahead of his assistants much of the time, he still manages to be an agreeable fellow to work with, no small accomplishment as many can testify. Mr. Weed arrived in the world at Moorestown, Mich., on Aug. 8, 1890. Sixteen years later he entered Michigan Agricultural College, a lowly freshman. The following year, with the experience and wisdom expected of a sophomore, he transferred his studies from the reaping of a harvest on the surface of the earth to delving into the deeper, unpredictable bowels of the earth, his studies now shifted to the Michigan College of Mines. Last June his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Engineering.

Jan 1, 1947

By E. A. Holbrook

AS A whole, engineering schools have not awakened A to the fact that the workmen compensation laws passed in most of our states between 1914 and 1917 effected a quiet but none the less real revolution in. the relations between labor and management; no longer are industrial accidents unfortunate or careless happenings over which we feel a humanitarian interest and sorrow, they are a cost of the process and the finished product, as vital as improved design and increased efficiency. Last year the writer and others made a committee report to. the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers on the cost of accidents in the coal industry of Pennsylvania. Comparatively the accident record in Pennsylvania coal industry is not high, yet the direct compensation cost plus the interference with operation cost of accidents was over 5 per cent. of the total cost of producing the coal. This stands out more vividly -if you realize that about 70 per cent. of the' cost of producing the coal is for payment of labor, wages that are fixed and over which engineering efficiency and management skill have little or no direct effect. This leaves 30 per cent. of the cost chargeable .to hoisting, haulage, overhead 'and other items subject to engineering control. One sixth of this is due to cost of accidents. Surely a direct place 'for an engineering attack.

Jan 1, 1925

By M. W. BERNEWITZ

ALTHOUGH many persons know that a lot of type metal and etchings are used in the U. S. Government Printing Office few would expect to find anything on metals in the annual report of the Public Printer, George H. Carter. Yet the report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1931, contains many interesting items. For example: Among the 57,500,000 lb. of materials and supplies delivered to the printing office was little new metal, but the metal in circulation is 6,000,000 to 7,000,000 lb. In the cost of production $31,523 is charged against metal, nearly one-third for salaries and wages. In miscellaneous sales were $4,696 from waste metal and $1,147 from waste gold (from books). Electrotype and stereotype covered 11,438,314 sq. in. The vaults and storage rooms contain 1,700,000 plates and 130,000 pages of type containing 4,600,000 lb. of metal valued at $275,000. In what was known as the Congressional Globe vault were 46,000 stereotype plates; these were salvaged by remelting for other platemaking service. The Congressional Record superseded the Congressional Globe in 1873.)

Jan 1, 1932

By L. T. Leyson, U. C. Tainton

Some time ago, at ameeting of the Institute Prof. J. W. Richards1 said, "I take exception to the statement that all the factors in the production of electrolytic zinc were known long ago.... There is possible in my opinion an improvement of perhaps 50 per cent. in the new electrolytic processes." An examination of the literature of the subject will show the justness of Professor Richards' contention. The work of the earlier investigators was carried on in the shadow of difficulties that, today, are hardly more than memories. We seldom hear now of zinc sponge, that bête noir of the electrolytic-zinc pioneers. Zinc sponge was the name given to a peculiar, soft, black, non-adherent form of zinc deposit that was utterly useless for melting into ingot form. At the big plant at Cockle Creek, New South Wales, in 1897, Edgar Ashcroft2 said that the solution in the plant would suddenly, and without ascertainable cause, go' "bad" and begin to deposit spongy zinc. The most delicate, even spectroscopic, methods of analysis were unable to detect any difference between "good" solution and "bad" solution; either form might change to the other on being kept for a while. When it is added that an outbreak of this insidious disease (which appeared to be infectious, or at least contagious) could be dealt with only by discarding the solution and washing out all tanks and pipe lines, some idea may be gathered of the troubles of the zinc electrometallurgist in what may be spoken of as the "sponge age" of electrolytic zinc. Thanks to the efforts of a number of investigators, we are today able to diagnose with considerable certitude the nature of the malady that puzzled Ashcroft and his co-workers. The researches of Mylius and

Jan 1, 1924

By Alfred H. Brooks

The developments of the past five years have shown that Alaska, as a field for mining, stands in the first rank among the possessions of the United States. Its annual gold output is now about $8,000,000. It produces silver, copper and coal in commercial quantities and its recently discovered tin and petroleum promise to become important products. Concurrent with the gradual development of this wealth, the mining public has ceased to regard the territory simply as an arctic province where a few placer-miners struggle with adverse conditions to secure a grub-stake or a modest fortune. Of late years there has been a large influx of capital to investigate its mineral resources, but in its area of nearly 600,000 sq. miles there still remain large, unexploited and little-known fields. This work of investigation has been carried on under adverse conditions, and reflects credit on all who have shared in it, whether prospectors, mining engineers, or geologists. It is the purpose of this paper to outline briefly what has been, and is being, accomplished toward furthering the knowledge of Alaska's mineral wealth, and in this connection to present a brief history of the operations of the United States Geological Survey in the territory. A list of the publications of the Geological Survey, which pertain to Alaska, is presented as an appendix, in the hope that it may prove useful to those who are interested in the mining of this northern province. During the Russian occupation of Alaska, from 1783 to 1866, but little attempt was made to delineate its geographic features or to study its geology and mineral resources. The Russian-American Co., which long held control of the territory, was entirely absorbed in the exploitation of its fur trade,

Jan 1, 1905

By J. N. Sicking, F. H. Brinkman

A new method for obtaining equilibrium vaporization ratios (K-values) for reservoir fluids has been developed and tested. By application of the method, complex experimental measurements of liquid and vapor phase compositions are eliminated. This simplified technique reduces the cost of experimental equilibrium-ratio data for reservoir studies of condensates and volatile crude-oil systems. The method is designed for systems of constant composition and, therefore, is best suited for depletion studies where compositional changes at high pressures are minor. The basic data required, in addition to the composition of the initial reservoir fluid, are the relative vapor-liquid volumes and densities at reservoir temperature and variom reservoir pressures. Tests demonstrated that the method predicts equilibrium ratios accurately for condensates. A single test on a crude oil was not conclusive; further testing will be necessary before the accuracy of the method can be determined for crude-oil systems. In addition to determining equilibrium ratios, the calculation method provides information on the physical properties of the "plus" component in the vapor and liquid phases. The "plus" component is that mixture of components heavier than the least volatile fraction analyzed. This information is useful in studies of both natural depletion and cycling operations for condensate reservoirs where the heptanes-plus component in the gas phase is produced from the reservoir. INTRODUCTION As more volatile oil and condensate reservoirs are found, the use of phase behavior techniques to predict their performance is increasing in importance. These techniques have long been used for condensate fields and have more recently been applied to crude-oil fields containing oils of medium-to-high volatility. In these phase behavior methods, equilibrium ratios (K-values) are used to predict compositional changes in the reservoir fluids—thereby accounting for the recoverable oil that exists in the gas phase. The reliability of the predictions depends to a large extent on the equilibrium ratios used. These values must be obtained for each component for the entire pressure range being investigated. Unfortunately, because of the complex nature of hydrocarbon mixtures, accurate K-values are hard to obtain. The equilibrium ratios for a particular component will vary not only with the temperature and pressure, but also with over-all composition of the system. The importance of composition is quite critical at elevated pressures, but becomes negligible at pressures below about 300 psia. Therefore, because most phase behavior problems involve the high-pressure region, each fluid system becomes a special case. Experimental programs to determine characteristic K-values are quite difficult and time-consuming. Thus, it is often necessary to resort to approximations of the K-value data. Charts giving K-values for various mixtures and classes of mixtures are available in the literature. However, there are two major difficulties in using them: (1) the K-values of the "plus" component (that mixture of components heavier than the last one analyzed) must be obtained by extrapolation from the K-values of the other components; and (2) the K-values obtained must finally be adjusted by trial and error to agree with observed volumetric data. To eliminate these difficulties, a new method of determining equilibrium ratios was developed. Briefly, after the composition of the system as a whole has been analyzed, the method uses empirical correlations and the gross fluid properties of the system (relative vapor-liquid volumes and densities) to calculate K-values. Because the calculative procedure is long, it is best solved on a digital computer. About one hour of machine time on an IBM 650 computer is required to develop a K-chart for the fluid being examined. DEVELOPMENT OF THE METHOD OF OBTAINING K-VALUES Equilibrium ratios are defined as the ratio of the mole fraction of a component in the vapor phase to its mole fraction in the liquid phase. This statement is expressed in Eq. 1. A typical plot of equilibrium ratios for a particular system is shown in Fig. 1. It should be noted that, at pressures near the saturation pressure, the K-values appear to converge to a common point. This apparent convergence point is called the convergence pressure and is a characteristic of the system involved. Various empirical correlations of K-values have been noted. It has been observed that an isothermal plot of

By S. Fróes Abreu

The importation of liquid fuels in Brazil amounts to about 1,300,000 tons; 30 per cent of this total being gasoline for automobiles and airplanes. Statistics show an increasing consumption of gasoline notwithstanding the use, daily greater, of fuel alcohol, a domestic fuel of low cost in the producing areas. The Brazilian market for petroleum products has shown a tendency to grow as the country has steadily developed— expansion of the industries in the areas already developed, and also the recent occupation and population of new zones. The war has brought many difficulties to Brazil. It has limited the importation of petroleum products, which came mostly from the United States, Venezuela and Mexico. During the first days of the present crisis automobile and truck traffic was vastly curtailed; but the national activity in the production of more fuel alcohol, and principally in the development of producer gas, has done much to provide a solution for the transportation crisis threatened at the beginning of the gasoline shortage. Many thousands of cars and trucks in Brazil are now burning producer gas made from charcoal. Producer gas for automobiles has been improved by Brazilian engineers and many new types have appeared. - Production There is only one producing oil field in Brazil—the one in the State of Baia, near the Baia de Todos os Santos. The first producing oil well was drilled in Lobato in 1939 by the Federal Government following studies carried on in that area by Oscar Cordeiro, S. Froes Abreu, G. Paiva and J. Amarai. The field and laboratory work done by these men was published in 1936 in a paper entitled " ContribuicBes para a Geologiado Petroleo no Reconcavo (Baia)," which indicated the potentialities of the area as an oil producer. After the discovery of the first producing well, the Brazilian Government issued a decree establishing an area, 60 km. in radius, as a National Reservation. This first well was drilled in Lobato. In no other locality in Brazil is any petroleum produced. Although many wells have been drilled in the southern part of Brazil, on the northeastern coast and in the Amazon Basin, they yield nothing. Actual production is below 1000 bbl. daily. The producing area covers Itaparica Island, Candeias and Arath, Joanes Island and Lobato. Since very little geological information was available, especially about subsurface structure, it was necessary to drill several wildcats in order to collect the data essential in the choosing of good locations. The United Geophysical Co. was contracted to perform a geophysical survey to clear up the major problems concerning the oil deposits in the Reconcavo beds. The best wells in Reconcavo are on Itaparica Island, where the daily flow amounts to about zoo bbl.; in other sectors production is considerably lower and most of the wells are pumping. In the Aratfi sector, near an area of very light oil, there is an important gas field, with wells producing about I0,000,000 cu. ft. daily.

Jan 1, 1944

By S. Fróes Abreu

The importation of liquid fuels in Brazil amounts to about 1,300,000 tons; 30 per cent of this total being gasoline for automobiles and airplanes. Statistics show an increasing consumption of gasoline notwithstanding the use, daily greater, of fuel alcohol, a domestic fuel of low cost in the producing areas. The Brazilian market for petroleum products has shown a tendency to grow as the country has steadily developed— expansion of the industries in the areas already developed, and also the recent occupation and population of new zones. The war has brought many difficulties to Brazil. It has limited the importation of petroleum products, which came mostly from the United States, Venezuela and Mexico. During the first days of the present crisis automobile and truck traffic was vastly curtailed; but the national activity in the production of more fuel alcohol, and principally in the development of producer gas, has done much to provide a solution for the transportation crisis threatened at the beginning of the gasoline shortage. Many thousands of cars and trucks in Brazil are now burning producer gas made from charcoal. Producer gas for automobiles has been improved by Brazilian engineers and many new types have appeared. - Production There is only one producing oil field in Brazil—the one in the State of Baia, near the Baia de Todos os Santos. The first producing oil well was drilled in Lobato in 1939 by the Federal Government following studies carried on in that area by Oscar Cordeiro, S. Froes Abreu, G. Paiva and J. Amarai. The field and laboratory work done by these men was published in 1936 in a paper entitled " ContribuicBes para a Geologiado Petroleo no Reconcavo (Baia)," which indicated the potentialities of the area as an oil producer. After the discovery of the first producing well, the Brazilian Government issued a decree establishing an area, 60 km. in radius, as a National Reservation. This first well was drilled in Lobato. In no other locality in Brazil is any petroleum produced. Although many wells have been drilled in the southern part of Brazil, on the northeastern coast and in the Amazon Basin, they yield nothing. Actual production is below 1000 bbl. daily. The producing area covers Itaparica Island, Candeias and Arath, Joanes Island and Lobato. Since very little geological information was available, especially about subsurface structure, it was necessary to drill several wildcats in order to collect the data essential in the choosing of good locations. The United Geophysical Co. was contracted to perform a geophysical survey to clear up the major problems concerning the oil deposits in the Reconcavo beds. The best wells in Reconcavo are on Itaparica Island, where the daily flow amounts to about zoo bbl.; in other sectors production is considerably lower and most of the wells are pumping. In the Aratfi sector, near an area of very light oil, there is an important gas field, with wells producing about I0,000,000 cu. ft. daily.

Jan 1, 1944

By Henning Nielsen

SIX weeks ahead of schedule, the International Nickel Co. of Canada Ltd. has brought a 30-mile rail line into the newly born town of Thompson, Manitoba. Its construction spurs the development of a rich new mining region slated to become the world's second largest nickel-producing area-exceeded only by Inco's Sudbury, Ont., workings. Two mines, the Thompson and the Moak Lake, will be opened to meet International Nickel's scheduled annual production goal of 385 million lb of refined nickel by 1961. Accomplishment of this aim will mean an additional 75 million lb of the metal available to consumers. In addition, stepped-up out- put of Inco's Sudbury holdings may increase this figure by another 25 million lb. (For an earlier report on these developments see MINING ENGINEERING News, January 1957).

Jan 12, 1957

For the year ending February, 1919 PRESIDENT SIDNEY J. JENNINGS NEW YORK, N. Y. PAST PRESIDENTS L. D. RICKETTS NEW YORK, N. Y. PHILIP N. MOORE ST. Louis, MO. FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT C. W. GOODALE BUTTE, MONT. TREASURER GEORGE C. STONE, NEW YORK, N. Y. SECRETARY EMERITUS ROSSITER W. RAYMOND, NEW YORK, N. Y. SECRETARY BRADLEY STOUGHTON NEW YORK, N. Y.

Jan 4, 1918

By H. M. Hobart

This paper deals principally with investigations undertaken by the Welding Research Sub-committee of the Welding Committee of the Emergency Fleet Corporation. The general object of the investigations has been to extend the use of welding in the construction of merchant ships and, specifically, to provide a definite basis for obtaining the greatest economy and efficiency in employing welding in place of riveting in the construction of the hulls of such ships. Composition of_ Ship-plate Steel The chemical composition of the steel employed in such hull construction varies with the thickness of the plates. Through the courtesy of Mr. H. Jasper Cox, of Lloyd's Register of Shipping, the following information may be given concerning the kind of steel plate employed in American shipyards in 1918 for the hull construction of merchant ships. Lloyd's requirements do not relate to the chemical composition. They require a tensile strength of 58,000 lb. per sq. in. (40.75 kg. per sq. mm.) for their lower limit and 72,000 lb. per sq. in. (50.59 kg. per sq. mm.) for their upper limit. For the information of the Committee, Lloyd's obtained from their surveyors at various works data of the carbon content, which is as follows: Works Carbon Content for Plates 1/4 In. Thick 1 In. Thick A..................... 0.14 0.23 B..................... 0.14 0.25 C2.................. 0.19 0.25 D................. 0.20 0.30 E Upper limit..... 0.35 Lower limit..... 0 24 0.29 Upper limit,.... 0.25 0.30 Lower limit..... 0.21 0.27 Upper limit..... 0.25 0.35 Lower limit..... 0.22 0.28

Jan 1, 1920

By Grover R. Castle

INTRODUCTION "Project Financing" or "Project Loans" have become increasingly popular in recent years, and commercial banks are being asked to consider more and more of such financing. However, the analysis of this type of loan is quite different from the analysis of a loan to a financially sound corporation based on the company's balance sheet. For this reason Chemical Bank did a study of project loans in an attempt to be more sophisticated in our approach to them. As part of this study, we examined 29 project financings for which information was available. In this article I shall describe project loans and set forth the guidelines we developed, as an aid to credit officers who might have occasion to analyse this type of financing. DEFINITION OF "PROJECT FINANCING" OR "PROJECT LOAN" The terms "project financing" and "project loan" commonly describe the various methods that banks and institutional lenders use to finance the construction of new projects on a basis whereby payout is anticipated from the revenue stream generated by the project. A project financing often involves a loan to a new entity formed specifically to own the project. The analysis of a project loan proposal is quite different from the analysis of other term-loan proposals since it involves a credit decision based on the review of a projection or forecast rather than of historical earnings and/or it involves the reliance on contractual obligations of third parties. Lenders are asked to assume the added risks associated with project loans because: 1. Project financing may permit a company to obtain additional leverage. It is possible for companies to arrange financing on a project basis that could not be arranged as a direct borrowing. For example, a company may not be permitted to borrow more money directly, due to a limitation in a bond indenture. However, a project financing can sometimes be negotiated on a basis not prohibited by the indenture. 2. Often the sponsors of, or the stockholders in, the project are seeking an off-balance-sheet financing. For example, 11 of the 29 projects in our study were arranged on an off-balance-sheet basis and one showed on the balance sheet as a deferred income item. An off-balance-sheet financing, for the purpose of this article, is a financing which does not show as a direct liability on the balance sheet of the sponsors of or stockholders in a project. 3. Projects are often located in a foreign country. The financing is arranged so that the lenders assume the political risk on the loan because many companies rightly believe that this arrangement affords a degree of insulation from political risk not otherwise obtainable. 4. Many projects are jointly owned by several sponsors. This form of financing lends itself well to a situation where a new entity is formed to own a project and do the borrowing. Project loans can be used to finance a variety of activities including development of iron-ore deposits and associated pelletizing plants; development of coal reserves; construction of pipelines, alumina plants, fertilizer plants and refineries; etc. The specific areas of analysis can be quite different, depending upon the type of project being financed. It is important, therefore, to classify the proposal according to the type of project, and also by the nature of the financing - nonrecourse financing, financing covered by a guarantee of completion and financing supported by an undertaking lasting for the life of the financing. I will discuss each of these types in more detail later, but first, I should like to make some

Jan 1, 1985

By A. W. Hesse

Twelve years ago, some coal-mine operators, mining engineers, oil and gas operators, Bureau of Mines engineers, geologists and state mine inspectors met in Pittsburgh, Pa. to discuss and solve if possible, the problems in connection with the drilling of oil and gas wells through or near coal mines and through the future coal reserves. Regulations were drafted and presented by O. P. Hood and A. G. Heggem of the Bureau of Mines.' . There was considerable discussion of the various articles, practically all of which appear in Bulletin 65, but the interest aroused at that meeting was short lived. Practically none of the important coal-producing states gave the matter the consideration it should have received. Notwithstanding the marked progress in safety work, coal mines still have an unenviable reputation for mine explosions. Our mining laws have become stricter and the enforcement, especially in Pennsylvania, more rigid, but what good will come from a rigid enforcement of the mining laws if some source of danger exists all around the mines, over which the operators have no control ? It is hardly necessary to recite all the cases of natural-gas explosions published in Bulletin 65, but with some of them I am especially familiar. In 1912, while visiting the Miners' Hospital, at Fairmont, W. Va., my attention was called to a patient swathed in in bandages so that no part of his face and hands were visible. He had not been told that his two sons, mere boys, had died of the burns they had received in the same accident—explosion due to natural gas leaking into a country mine at Peora, Harrison Co., W. Va.

Jan 1, 1925

By C. C. Griggs

From its inception, a limestone quarry or mine should be under the direction of a capable engineer. Before it becomes a reality, he should outlinc the future results, plan the most economical methods for moving the materials and the most efficient equipment, and pilot the undertaking along the narrow pathway of success, avoiding the pitfalls of uneconomical production and the precipitous walls of scanty profits. Inspection of successful limestone properties shows that all have had difficult engineering problems, the solution of which have required keen engineering ability. In approaching a subject of this nature, it is logical to follow the progress of the limestone operation from its inception to the end, as reflecting the engineering required. There are four major divisions: Investigation, equipment, development, and operation. Investigation On the reliability of the engineer's estimates and the soundness of his judgment depend the success or failure of the enterprise. When one visits a prosperous concern, realizes that the limestone is of a constant chemical composition, sees the mechanical devices installed, and watches the output leave the plant in trains of railroad cars or fleets of vessels, he may overlook the fact that in the remote past this great creation was born in some man's brain and evolved through competent engineering. Many factors must be considered before a promoter could procure the money necessary to launch such an enterprise, for a conservative banker will only recommend a successful producer while the promoter must provide funds on his own and his engineer's judgment. An engineering investigation must be made preliminary to expenditure for actual operation, which, for a limestone deposit, would' naturally embrace such subjects as : ' Readily available. 1. Tonnage available........ Possibly available. Chemical analysis.

Jan 1, 1925

By J. C. Bayles

Jan 1, 1886