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By A. L. Hay

The Sydney coal field, the largest and most valuable in Nova Scotia, is situated on the northeastern coast of the Island of Cape Breton, extending from Mira Bay on the south to Cape Dauphin on the north, a distance of 30 miles, and has a general dip northeast under the sea. (Fig. 1. The field embraces the mining villages of Morien, Birchgrove and Reserve and the towns of Dominion, Glace Bay, Waterford and Sydney Mines. The city of Sydney is situated about midway between the northern and southern extremities of the field and on the western fringe of the productive coal measures. Sydney harbor crosses the coal field, cutting off direct rail connection between Sydney Mines and the greater part of the field to the southeast. (Fig. 2.) The coal measures are exposed in the cliffs on the coast line, which rise to an average height of 30 ft., and are almost continuous throughout the length of the field. The portion of the coal field under land forms a small segment of a circle, the greatest distance from the coast landwards is 9 miles, and it occupies an area of 200 sq. miles. The greatest distance developed seawards from the shore by mining operations is 2 miles. The strata maintain a regularity of dip at this distance, proving a submarine area of about 70 sq, miles. How much further the coal field extends seawards is unknown, but the indications are that it extends far beyond the present economical working limit and in all probability there is a vast submarine coal field. The productive coal measures are of Carboniferous age, these being underlain by beds of sandstone, locally classed as millstone grit, which define the southern limit of the field, while a spur of syenitic hills cuts off the coal-bearing strata on the north. Two main anticlinal folds having a general course easterly divide the field into three basins named from north to south: Sydney Mines-Lingan, Glace Bay and Morien. So far as the portion of the coal field already developed is concerned the general effect of these folds is to vary the direction and dip of the strata at different points of the several basins. The strata dip seawards at the average rate of 6 per cent. along the axes of the basins. On both sides of the several basins, the strata have a dip varying from 7 to 40

Jan 1, 1930

By E. L. Claridge, K. S. Lee

Areal sweep efficiency of oil displacement by enhanced-viscosity water exhibiting pseudoplastic behavior was measured in a Hele-Shaw model representing one-quarter of a five-spot pattern. The pseudoplasticity of polymer solutions and the velocity distribution in the five-spot pattern produced a condition under which the mobility ratio between the displacing and the displaced fluid could not be assigned a single value. Instead, the movement of the displacement front is governed by local mobility ratios which are also time dependent. The areal sweep at breakthrough with polymer solutions was poorer than the sweep obtained with Newtonian fluids of comparable viscosity. However, the areal sweep at 1 PV throughput was greatly improved as compared to flood water without polymer. It was also demonstrated that, even after the oil-cut had declined to a low value during a regular waterflood, switching to polymer flood efficiently swept out the oil remaining in the model. INTRODUCTION The behavior of fluid displacements in isotropic porous media for various patterns of injection and production wells has been extensively investigated.1-7 These investigations all concerned Newtonian fluids, i.e., the viscosity of each fluid was constant regardless of flow rate. The generally unfavorable influence on areal sweep efficiency of higher mobility of the displacing fluid as compared to the mobility of the displaced fluid has been established for both miscible and immiscible fluids. The principle was also established that a close correspondence exists between miscible and immiscible flood front behavior,2, 3 although oil recovery in a waterflood at unfavorable mobility ratio may be less than that observed in a miscible displacement at the same mobility ratio. This is true even when oil recovery is expressed on the basis of movable oil. The reason is that oil saturation only slowly achieves its final value behind the water-flood front in accordance with the Buckley-Leverett8 simultaneous flow relations. It is convenient to use miscible displacements for laboratory simulation of waterflood frontal advance since the interfacial tension forces which are negligible in proportion to viscous forces on a reservoir scale9 are thus made nonoperative in the laboratory model. For miscible displacements, the Hele-Shaw type of model adequately represents a porous medium so long as the appropriate scaling rules5-10 are observed in its design and operation. During simulation of waterflood front behavior in the laboratory by using miscible displacements, the behavior of connate water may ordinarily be disregarded since it is usually indistinguishable from flood water in this process. However, when the flood water is deliberately thickened to improve the mobility ratio between water and oil. the effect on the sweep efficiency due to generation of a connate water bank during the process must be considered. In a uniform porous medium, such a bank is generated11 and efficiently displaced by injection of thickened water.l2 The oil originally in-place at the start of the waterflood is then displaced by connate water followed by thickened water. If the flood water must be thickened to obtain a favorable mobility ratio, the mobility of the oil phase is appreciably less than that of the connate water. Hence, the oil phase is inefficiently displaced by the connate water bank, and a considerable proportion of the oil comes in contact with and is displaced by the thickened waterflood front' A recent study 12 of five-spot displacements using miscible Newtonian fluids in which connate water banks of various sizes were simulated shows that, for connate water banks as large as 40 percent of 1 PV, major improvements in sweep efficiency resulted from use of a thickened

Jan 1, 1969

By Lee Morris, Charles E. Lawall

This paper represents the results of a study to determine the source, mode of occurrence and conditions influencing the flow and liberation of large volumes of inflammable gas in the Pocahontas No. 4 coal bed in southern West Virginia. A study of this kind is of interest in connection with mine ventilation, because in the removal of gases from coal mines it is very important to know the origin, the occurrence and laws of gas flow. The study was started in April, 1931, and the data and observations were obtained throughout a period of 15 months of field work. Geology The country where this study was made is mountainous and rugged; great cliffs, precipitous slopes and deep narrow gorges are found throughout the area. The outcropping rocks consist of stratified layers of sandstone, shale, limestone and deposits of coal of Carboniferous age. The Pottsville series of the Pennsylvanian, lying at the base of this period, cover the greater portion of the area. A stratigraphic section of the Pocahontas group of the Pottsville series is shown in Fig. 3. The older rocks outcrop in the extreme southeastern part of the area, but are under drainage in the central and northern parts due to the gradual northwest dip of the strata. The structure has a general northeast-southwest trend (Fig. 1). North of Dry Fork anticline the strata have been only slightly disturbed by movements of the earth's crust; it is now a long monocline. Southeast1 of Dry Fork anticline the strata are warped into great arches and deep troughs and are broken by overthrust faults. All of this folding is probably the result of the intense folding associated with the formation of the Appalachian Mountains. Pocahontas No. 4 Coal Bed The Pocahontas No. 4 bed, lying approximately 550 ft. above the base of the Pottsville series, is one of the thickest and most gassy coal beds in

Jan 1, 1934

By Evans B. Mayo

As a result of studies distributed over the earth- including ocean basins as well as continents- some tectonists recognize four dominant structural trends: 1) northwest; 2) northeast; 3) nearly east- west, or equatorial; and 4) nearly north-south, or meridional. Baker' proposed a theory to account for these trends and Sonder5 called their world-wide arrangement the regmatic shear pattern. Moody and Hill6 proposed a much more complicated shear network which, although fascinating and perhaps ultimately useful, will not be followed here. In a recent review of deformation within the Cordillera, Wisser7 mentioned the four fundamental directions. The fact that many geologists deny the existence of the regmatic shear pattern implies that the fundamental structures are far from obvious. It may mean, also, that some geologists are not accustomed to examine regional and world maps analytically. The maps require much study, and certain features, should be isolated on overlays. Even so, with the present limited knowledge, uncertainties remain. The following analysis is a qualitative experiment, subject to change as information accumulates, and should be supplemented by the western sheet of the Tectonic Map of the United States.8

Jan 11, 1958

By G. C. Wallick, J. S. Aronofsky

This paper presents an experimental verification of numerical solutions of the differential equation describing the transient flow of an ideal gas through a porous material including gas slip effects. Several experiments previously proposed by one of the authors are described together with the correlation of the experimental results with the numerical solutions. Excellent agreement is shown between experiment and theory, thus demonstrating the validity of both the basic assumption made in the derivation of the differential equation and of the numerical solutions of the differential equation. INTRODUCTION In a recent paper,' one of the authors has discussed a numerical solution of the differential equation describing the unsteady flow of an ideal gas through a porous material. This paper was primarily concerned with the effect of gas slip on the flow behavior. In steady state measurements, Klinkenberg2 and others have observed that the apparent gas permeability Kn of a porous material may be expressed as a linear function of the reciprocal average pressure 1/P of the form, ka = b + m/P........(1) where the intercept b is a constant for a given porous material and the slope m is a constant for a given porous material-gas combination. Aronofsky1 assumed that Equation (1) could be used to describe transient flow if P was replaced by the average pressure in an infinitesimal volume element. A number of numerical solutions of the resultant differential equation were presented and specific flow experiments were proposed as a means of testing the numerical solutions. The purpose of the present paper is to describe the results of several of these experiments and the correlation of the experimental data with the results of the numerical analysis. Reference should be made to the previous paper' for details of the mathematical and numerical analysis. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE A simplified schematic drawing of the experimental apparatus is shown in Fig. 1. An 8.89 cm diameter limestone core of length L = 14.82 cm was mounted in a conventional rubber sleeve permeameter cell. The external sleeve pressure in this cell was maintained equal to 500 psig during all experimental tests, thus permitting only longitudinal flow through the core. One end of the core, X = L, was connected to an adjustable cavity of volume V as well as a pressure gauge or manometer. The other end of the core, X = 0, was connected to a Nullmatic pressure regulator which was in turn connected to a nitrogen cylinder or vacuum pump. In each experiment, the core and adjacent dead volume were charged with nitrogen to a uniform gas pressure P1. The pressure at X = 0 was then suddenly raised or lowered to a constant pressure P, and the resulting pressure buildup or pressure decline at X — L was recorded as a function of the time. The porosity + and the permeability constants m and b were determined using the transient method which was suggested by the results of the numerical analysis and which was described in the earlier paper.' The following average values for these constants were obtained as a result of 19 separate evaluations: 171 -0.259 2 0.005 md-atm; b = 0.374 5 0.008 md; and F = 0.098 ± 0.005*. It should be noted that in order that transient phenomena will be slow enough to be observed conveniently, it is desirable to use a porous material of very low permeability, e.g., less than I md. Moreover, it is in this low permeability range that the gas slip effects are most significant. Thus, such a low permeability sample is very suitable for use in an experimental verification of the numerical solutions previously described.

Jan 1, 1955

By J. G. Koenigsberger

The electrical specific resistance of rocks in the field is measured by sending a current through a medium of great volume, compared to the electrodes, whose resistivity should be measured. The whole resistance can be determined by the Wheatstone bridge and the specific resistance calculated by a well-known formula. The resistivity of some rocks in place in Germany and in Switzerland is given; first, of a rock near the surface, and especially near electrodes. Practical applications are made in the determination: (1) of the continuity of a conducting orebody; (2) of the surface ares of an orebody; (3) in the detection of a water-bearing fault in a salt mine. Preliminary 'observations are described: (1) on the influence of the depth of ground-water table; (2) on the detection of gas under high pressure in coal seams. The observations in this paper of the electrical resistivity of rocks and soil in place are along the lines of the very interesting method and results of the Messrs. Gish, Rooney, Hotchkiss and Fisher. 1,2 All the work described has been done since 1920. Method Used The very simple method consists in the application to the rock of two plane circular electrodes of iron or brass of a suitable diameter, with the aid of a contact substance, and in measuring the resistivity in a Wheatstone bridge with alternating current of 100 to 400 Hertz frequency per sec.). The general formula is known to be R= R0 +d/4(1/a+1/b-1.7/l+0.8(a+b)/l2) (1)

Jan 1, 1929

By E. M. Wise

PLATINUM and palladium are the most generally useful, most ductile and least rare members of the platinum family. They have many impor-tant applications in the pure state but for other applications it is fre-quently desirable to harden them and otherwise modify their properties by alloying small amounts of the other platinum group metals with them. These alloys are frequently required to withstand very drastic forming operations and to possess certain mechanical properties to fulfill specific requirements. For these reasons a knowledge of the tensile properties and annealing characteristics of pure platinum and palladium as well as their more useful commercial alloys is important to the user, and the fabricator. The present work was undertaken to fill this need. Rather brief (5 min.) annealing treatments were employed to render the data of maximum practical value and all tests were conducted upon 0.050-in. dia. wire, initially reduced 50 per cent in area by cold drawing, for the same reason. CONCLUSIONS 1. Pure (thermocouple grade) platinum reduced 50 per cent by cold drawing exhibits the following tensile properties: ultimate tensile strength, 36,000 lb. per sq. in.; proportional limit, 27,000 lb. per sq. in.; elongation, 2.5 per cent in 2 in.; reduction in area, 95 per cent. When fully annealed by treatment at 1100°C. its properties are: ultimate tensile strength, 20,700 lb. per sq. in.; elongation, 30 per cent in 2 in.; reduction in area, 93 per cent.

Jan 1, 1934

By Alexander N. Mitinsky

UP to a certain limit, the increase of pressure on the diamond-drill increases the rate of progress in drilling. That limit is set by the resistance of the diamonds to compression; and beyond it, the destruction of the stones will involve an. economic loss, both in time and in money. It is, therefore, important to all diamond-drillers to know what is the resistance mentioned. In Europe, operators usually follow an empirical rule, which directs the maintenance of a pressure, on the area-of the bottom of the drilling-tool, of 12 kg. per sq. 4m. For the tools in ordinary use, this is equivalent to 1 kg. per sq. mm. of the diamonds set in the tool So far as I know, American drillers are using pressures as high as 50 to 60 kg. per sq. cm. of the total area of the drill, and the consumption of diamonds (on Denny's authority, 0.2 carats per meter bored) is greater in America than in Europe. But the reason for this difference may be the comparatively larger size of the diamonds commonly used by American drillers. With the assistance of my friend, the late S. Woisslaw, who was the pioneer of diamond-drilling in Russia, I selected from his stock a number of black diamonds, which I subjected in my laboratory to compression-tests. To prepare regular cubes for such tests, as is generally done with other stones, would have been not only costly, but, what is more important, practically useless. I therefore determined, in order to assimilate as nearly as possible the conditions of actual use, to place each sample between a hard plate (corresponding to the rock) and a softer plate (corresponding to the bottom of the tool), into which it would be pressed during the test.

Jan 1, 1906

By Herbert Clark Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover

MANY persons hold the opinion that the metal industries are fortuitous and that the occupation is one of sordid toil, and altogether a kind of business requiring not so much skill as labour. But as for myself, when I reflect carefully upon its special points one by one, it appears to be far otherwise. For a miner must have the greatest skill in his work, that he may know first of all what mountain or hill, what valley or plain, can be prospected most profitably, or what he should leave alone ; moreover, he must understand the veins, stringers1 and seams in the rocks2. Then he must be thoroughly familiar with the many and varied species of earths, juices3, gems, stones, marbles, rocks, metals, and compounds4. He must also have a

Jan 1, 1950

The following is a report of the papers submitted to the Papers 'and Publications Committee during 1928: The Committee held nine regular meetings during the year 1928. During that period there were presented to the Institute 214 papers which were acted upon as follows: Accepted as Technical Pub1ications............................ 85 Declined for publication...................................... 16 Action pending, Dec. 31...................................... 25 Manuscripts held for annual volumes, Dec. 31................... 7 Withdrawn temporarily...................................... 1 Accepted as Preprints........................................ 20 Printed for first time in volumes.............................. 35 Published in Mining and Metallurgy........................ 12 Papers in Technical Publication No. 156 (Coal Classification) and not accounted for elsewhere in this table..................... 10 Mimeographed only*................................... 3 Total.................................................. 214 * A considerable number of papers were mimeographed for the annual meeting. Of the 85 papers accepted as Technical Publications 8 were reprinted in the Transactions, 7 in Proceedings of the Institute of Metals Division (1928), 7 in Iron and Steel Technology in 1928, 13 in Geophysical Prospecting, and 50 were in Technical Publication form on Dec. 31. Of the 20 papers accepted as Preprints 1 was reprinted in the Transactions, 13 in Petroleum Development and Technology in 1927, 2 in Geophysical Prospecting, and 4 were in Preprint form on Dec. 31. Of the 35 papers printed for the first time in the various volumes 8 were included in the Transactions, 2 in Proceedings of the Institute of Metals Division (1928), 1 in Iron and Steel Technology in 1928, and 24 in Petroleum Development and Technology in 1927. Of the 12 papers accepted for Mining and Metallurgy 1 was, accepted for Geophysical Prospecting and 1 for the Transactions. There were published in 1928 113 Technical Publications containing a total of 1928 pages, as against 88 in 1927, totaling 1528 pages. The Technical Publications published in 1928 were classified as follows: Group A, Metal Mining, 17 papers (361 pages); B, Milling and Concentration, 4 papers (39 pages); C, Iron and Steel, 15 papers (256 pages); D, Non-ferrous Metallurgy, 13 papers (191 pages); E, Institute of Metals, 36 papers (588 pages); F, Coal and Coke, 15 papers (392 pages); G, Petroleum and Gas, 10 papers (246 pages); H, Non-metallic Minerals, 3 papers (33 pages); I, Mining Geology, 18 papers (356 pages); K, Mining Administration, etc., 3 papers (47 pages); L, Geophysical Prospecting, 21 papers (430 pages).

Jan 1, 1929

By Ernest Gayford

This is a nontechnical paper on flotation, subdivided under three general headings: (I) Definition of flotation; (2) what flotation is now doing in Utah; and (3) what is the future of flotation? Definition T. A. Rickard defines flotation' as "the act or state of floating," from the French flottaison, water-line and flotter, to float. The dictionary defines flotation as "the science of floating bodies." The flotation process is a method of concentrating ores by frothing. Weinig and Palmer,2 define flotation as follows: What is the flotation process? Briefly, it consists in the agitation of finely divided ore in water containing bubbles of air or gas, a small amount of oil and, usually, other reagents, soluble and insoluble; under these conditions the small particles of native metals, sulfides, arsenides, antimonides, selenides and tellurides show a tendency to attach themselves to the films of the bubbles, and are thus carried to the surface of the water. The oxidized gangue minerals, such as quartz, feldspar, limestone, hematite, etc., show much less affinity for the bubbles, are easily wetted by the water, and either remain in suspension in the water, or sink to the bottom of the vessel. If the bubbles are sufficiently stable they can be removed, carrying their load of sulfide-mineral particles with them. Thus there can be effected a separation of the two classes of minerals from each other, assuming that the grinding has been sufficient to unlock all of the particles of different composition. The separation does not depend upon differences in specific gravity of the various minerals; in fact, the sulfides are usually heavier than the oxides, and some of the heaviest sulfide minerals are the easiest to float. A particle of mineral may be so large, however, that its weight will counteract its affinity for the film of the bubble. In most cases the ore must be fine enough to pass a screen having at least 48 meshes to the linear inch. Taggart3 defines flotation as follows: Flotation is a method of wet concentration of ores in which separation of mineral from gangue is effected by causing the mineral to float at or above the surface of a body of liquid pulp while the gangue becomes or remains submerged. The method

Jan 1, 1928

By ROBERT R. ABUOTT

(Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912.) THE practice of carbonizing steel for the purpose of case-hardening has assumed great commercial importance within the past, 10 years. Formerly, case-hardened steel was held in more or less contempt, since it. was considered a cheap substitute for tool-steel. This is no longer the case. The development of the motor-car industry, and coincidentally that of modern alloy-steels, has resulted in overcoming many difficulties formerly experienced in case-hardening. This result has been accomplished by increased knowledge regarding the analysis of the steel which would respond most readily to case-hardening, and by more careful methods of treatment of the carbonized steel. The ordinary method of carbonizing consists in packing the steel with the carbonizing-material in cast-iron boxes and placing them in a furnace at a temperature of from 1,500° to 1,900° F. for a time sufficient to give the required depth of cc case." The steel is then either quenched directly from the box, or is allowed to cool without unpacking, and finally given a single hardening-heat., or, for special work, two or three heats. During the year 1911, more than 100,000 tons of carbonizing-material was sold in the United States, at an average price of probably $55 per ton. More than 85 per cent. of this material consisted of granulated bone. Within the past four years, many manufactured compounds have been placed on the market, consisting largely of some form of carbon or carbonaceous material, with or without the addition of chemicals. Steel will absorb carbon placed in contact with it at the temperature of the atmosphere. The reaction is exceedingly slow, but. increases rapidly with increasing temperature. Below * Metallurgical Engineer, The Peerless Motor Car Co.

Dec 1, 1912

By S. R. Goodman, Hsun Hu

A study has hem made of the formation of annealing textures in an 18-8 austenitic stainless steel (Type 304L) from various deformation textures obtained by rolling at different temperatures. When the deformation texture is a mixture of the ferritic type and the brass type owing to the pres -ence of both martensitic ferrite and retained aus-tenite in the specimen, recrystallization takes place by the growth of the existing austenite phase. In a previous report,' it was shown that the rolling texture of austenitic stainless steel (Type 304L) changed gradually from the brass type to the copper type with increasing temperature of deformation above 200°C. These changes are similar to those in high-purity silver2,3 and electrolytic copper;4 a brass-type texture is favored at low rolling temperatures, whereas a copper-type texture is favored During the course of rolling -texture transition from the brass type to the copper type, the subsequent recrystallization textures change accordingly. The orientation relationship between the annealing textures and the various rolling textures, being consistent with previous observations on various fcc metals, can be described as [Ill] rotations of approximately 25 to 40 deg. Carhide precipitation may influence the annealing textures. at high rolling temperatures. Furthermore, the annealing textures in high-purity silver5 and electrolytic copper4 were found to depend entirely on the prior deformation texture. From a copper-type rolling texture a strong cube texture will form upon recrystallization, whereas from a brass-type rolling texture the annealing texture will be quite different from the cube orientation. In an earlier comm~nication,6 the formation of a strong cube texture in 18-8 austenite stainless steels (Types 304 and 304L) was reported briefly by the authors. The present paper constitutes the results of a complete study of the annealing textures obtained from a

Jan 1, 1965

By H. K. Shearer

North Louisiana (including all townships north of the Louisiana base line) had a year of normal development in 1940, marked by the discovery of two shallow oil fields producing from the Wilcox formation in La Salle Parish and a large increase in drilling in the old Caddo shallow field. This renewal of shallow drilling activity led to a somewhat unexpected increase in the number of wells drilled, although the total footage and average depth continued to decline, as in several preceding years. Well completions and depth statistics for 1940, with previous years for coinparison, are as follows: Wildcat producers in 1940 include the discovery oil wells in the Olla and Nebo fields; also three gas wells in the vicinity oi the Olla field and a shallow gas well, which opened a new field or extension in the Greenwood area of Caddo Parish. This table illustrates the lack of important deep discoveries since 1937, in which year the Rodessa, Lisbon and Cotton Valley fields were being actively developed. Operators have been forced to return to the old type of shallow drilling, which necessarily means smaller producing wells. Oil production in 1940 was 24,381,760 bbl., a decrease of 867,880 bbl. from 1939, or 3.44 per cent. The newly discovered fields of La Salle Parish produced over a million barrels, and other increases worthy of note were at Cotton Valley, Caddo, Sligo and Sugar Creek. The greatest decrease was again at Rodessa, although this remains the principal producing field. Geological Names Revised Deep drilling during 1940 did not provide a great deal of new geological information. However, by agreement of a majority of the members of the Shreveport Geolog- ical Society, the names of some of the Lower Cretaceous formations have been revised in the interest of greater clarity and in order to make the descriptions agree better with the facts discovered in recent years. The geological section is discussed in detail and reasons for changes in nomenclature are stated in a recent publication by Ralph W. Imlay. Although not yet in universal use among field men, the new names are employed in this report and accompanying tables, as

Jan 1, 1941

By H. K. Shearer

North Louisiana (including all townships north of the Louisiana base line) had a year of normal development in 1940, marked by the discovery of two shallow oil fields producing from the Wilcox formation in La Salle Parish and a large increase in drilling in the old Caddo shallow field. This renewal of shallow drilling activity led to a somewhat unexpected increase in the number of wells drilled, although the total footage and average depth continued to decline, as in several preceding years. Well completions and depth statistics for 1940, with previous years for coinparison, are as follows: Wildcat producers in 1940 include the discovery oil wells in the Olla and Nebo fields; also three gas wells in the vicinity oi the Olla field and a shallow gas well, which opened a new field or extension in the Greenwood area of Caddo Parish. This table illustrates the lack of important deep discoveries since 1937, in which year the Rodessa, Lisbon and Cotton Valley fields were being actively developed. Operators have been forced to return to the old type of shallow drilling, which necessarily means smaller producing wells. Oil production in 1940 was 24,381,760 bbl., a decrease of 867,880 bbl. from 1939, or 3.44 per cent. The newly discovered fields of La Salle Parish produced over a million barrels, and other increases worthy of note were at Cotton Valley, Caddo, Sligo and Sugar Creek. The greatest decrease was again at Rodessa, although this remains the principal producing field. Geological Names Revised Deep drilling during 1940 did not provide a great deal of new geological information. However, by agreement of a majority of the members of the Shreveport Geolog- ical Society, the names of some of the Lower Cretaceous formations have been revised in the interest of greater clarity and in order to make the descriptions agree better with the facts discovered in recent years. The geological section is discussed in detail and reasons for changes in nomenclature are stated in a recent publication by Ralph W. Imlay. Although not yet in universal use among field men, the new names are employed in this report and accompanying tables, as

Jan 1, 1941

By B. A. Eaton, R. H. Jacoby

This paper presents the depletion-performance correlations developed using data from PVT studies and well-completion tests of 27 rich gas-condensate and volatile-oil reservoir fluids. The PVT behavior for each fluid war determined experimentally in the laboratory, and the depletion performance of each fluid was then calculated. Well-completion test data consisting of reservoir pressure and temperature, initial total gas-oil ratio, and stock-tank oil gravity were used with the depletion-performance data to develop general performance correlations. Three correlations are presented. The first equation shows the empirical relation of gas in place per barrel of hydrocarbon pore space with reservoir pressure and temperature, and initial total gas-oil ratio. The second equation is the correlation of stock-tank oil in place per barrel of hydrocarbon pore space. The third equation relates stock-tank oil production (to 500-psia depletion pressure) with pressure, temperature and oil gravity. All three correlations are also presented in convenient graphical form. Gas production to 500-psia depletion pressure is approximately 92.6 per cent of the gas in place for each fluid, so no correlation was developed for gas production. INTRODUCTION The rate of discovery of shallow, low-pressure and low-temperature oil reservoirs in the United States has been declining in recent years. For this reason, the search for oil has gone to greater depths where high pressures and temperatures are encountered. A high-pressure and high-temperature reservoir is the environment in which many rich gas condensates and highly volatile oils are found. Because of this trend, the performance prediction of such reservoirs has become an important task of the reservoir engineer. The need and usefulness of a performance correlation based on field data that are available from the usual well-completion tests have previously been established. These earlier attempts have shown that the phase behavior of rich gas-condensate systems and volatile-oil systems can be correlated with fluid properties, pressure and temperature. However, very little information on gas-condensate depletion performance5 was available at the time of these earlier attempts. The availability of more recent data has made possible the development of an improved correlation. The data, as listed in Tables I and 2, are for 25 gas-condensate and two volatile-oil systems that were studied. The problem was to correlate the data for in-place fluids and the production data with the initial total gas-oil ratio, initial reservoir pressure and temperature, and stock-tank oil gravity. These correlations were obtained by multiple regression analysis, whereby the data were fitted to an equation by the method of least squared error. BASIS OF THE CORRELATIONS 1. The data used in the development of these correlations were obtained from depletion-performance calculations6 and well-test or production measurements. 2. All of the independent variables used in the correlations are available from the usual well-test completion data. 3. The reservoir volume considered is 1 bbl of hydrocarbon pore space (HCPS). 4. The gas-oil ratio used is the total standard cubic feet of gas (at 14.7 psia, 60F) coming off the entire separator train per barrel of stock-tank oil. This minimizes the effect of separator conditions which might vary from system to system. 5. The correlated pressures are the actual reservoir pressures which might or might not be the saturation pressure of the reservoir fluid.

Jan 1, 1966

By A. M. Sarem

For the performance prediction of multiphase oil recovery processes such as steam stimulation, there is an acute need for three-phase relative permeability data. No fast and simple experimental technique, such as the unsteady state method proposed by Welge for two-phase flow, is available for the three-phase flow. In this paper, an unsteady - state method is presented for obtaining three-phase relative permeability data; this method is as fast and easy as Welge's method for two - phase flow. Analytical expressions are derived by extension of the Buckley-Leverett theory to three-phase flow to express the saturation at the outflow face for all three phases in terms of the known parameters. It is assumed that the fractional flow and relative permeability of each phase are a function of the saturation of that phase. Other simplifying assumptions made include the neglect of capillary and gravity effects. The effect of saturation history upon relative permeability is acknowledged and attainment of similar saturation history in laboratory and field is recommended. The required experimental work and computations are simple to perform. The test core is presaturated with oil and water, then subjected to gas drive. During the test, required data are the rates of oil, water, and gas production, together with pressure drop and temperature. The ordinary gas-oil unsteady-state relative permeability apparatus can be readily modified to measure the required data. The proposed technique was applied to samples of a Berea and a reservoir core. The effect of saturation history upon relative permeability was studied on one Berea core. It was found that increase in initial water saturation has a similar effect upon three-pbase relative permeability as it does in two-phase flow. INTRODUCTION In the light of increasing demand for three-phase relative permeability data for predicting the performance of thermal and other multiphase-flow recovery processes, a simple and accurate method of experimental determination of such data is extremely desirable. Leverett and Lewis 1 described the simultaneous flow method of obtaining three-phase relative permeability data. However, Caudle et al.2 reported that this method is very time consuming and cumbersome. Corey3 proposed calculating the three-phase relative permeability from measured krg data. Corey's theory is based on simplified capillary pressure curves,4 assuming a straight line relationship between I/Pc2 and saturation. Also, Corey's method assumes a preferentially water-wet system. The simplest and quickest method of obtaining three-phase relative permeability data is the unsteady-state method where, for instance, oil and water are displaced by gas. However, in such a test the correlation of average saturation with relative permeability does not give a valid relationship because the rates of oil, water and gas flow in the sample change continuously from the upstream to downstream end. This difficulty in calculating valid relationships was solved by Welge for two-phase flow by deriving an expression for determining the outflow face saturation from Buckley and Leverett frontal advance equations.5,6 In this paper, relations are established to determine the outflow face saturation and relative permeability to all phases in a three-phase flow displacement experiment. PROPOSED METHOD The fundamentals established by Buckley and Leverett5 for two-phase flow were extended to three - phase flow and used as a basis for the derivation of saturation equations. This approach is comparable to Welge's6 use of Buckley and Leverett theory in arriving at expressions to determine the outflow face saturation of the displacing fluid in a two-phase flow system.

Jan 1, 1967

By R. F. Nielsen, D. E. Menzie

The object of this study was to determine if crude oil could be produced successfully by a process of crude oil vaporization using carbon dioxide repressuring. This process appears to have application to highly fractured formations where the major oil content of the reservoir is contained in the non-fractured porosity with little associated permeability. Crude oil was introduced into the windowed cell and carbon dioxide was charged to the cell at the desired pressure. A vapor space was formed above the oil, and the crude oil-carbon dioxide mixture was allowed to come to equilibrium. The vapor phase was removed and the vaporized oil collected as condensate. Samples of all produced and unproduced fluids were analyzed. Tests were also performed to evaluate the amount of vaporized oil that can he produced by rocking from a high to a lower pressure. The carbon dioxide repressuring process was applied to a sand-filled cell to investigate the performance in a porous medium. A test was performed to evaluate how the condensate recovery changes as the size of the gas cap in contact with the oil changes. INTRODUCTION This study has been directed toward a relatively new process of vaporization of crude oil designed to increase ultimate production of hydrocarbons through the application of carbon dioxide to an oil reservoir. Suggested advantages of carbon dioxide repressuring of a petroleum reservoir are: (1) reduction in viscosity of liquid hydrocarbons due to the solubility of carbon dioxide in crude oil, (2) swelling of the reservoir oil into a larger liquid-oil volume with a resulting increase in production and decrease in residual oil saturation due to an increase in the relative permeability to oil, (3) displacement of more stock-tank oil from the reservoir since the residual liquid is a swelled crude oil, and (4) gasification of some of the hydrocarbons into a carbon dioxide-hydrocarbon vapor mixture. Balanced against these advantages are several detrimental factors which must be evaluated; i.e., high compression costs and corrosion of well equipment and flow lines. Some of the more outstanding contributions to the study of carbon dioxide injection have been reviewed in order to furnish a basis for a continuation of research pertaining to this method. The literature reviewed1-8 has been limited to that dealing with carbon dioxide repressuring processes or with carbon dioxide-crude oil-natural gas phase behavior. Articles relating to carbonated water injection and literature published on the use of low pressure carbon dioxide gas injection in water flooding have not been included in this study. In 1941 Pirson5 suggested the high pressure injection of carbon dioxide into a partially depleted reservoir for the purpose of causing the reservoir oil to vaporize and thus produce the oil as a vapor along with the carbon dioxide gas. By reducing the pressure on this produced mixture of hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide at the surface, it was proposed to separate the hydrocarbons from the carrier gas. He theorized that essentially all the oil in a reservoir could be produced by simply injecting enough carbon dioxide to vaporize the residual oil. This present investigation deals with the vaporization of a crude oil by carbon dioxide, the molecular weight and gravity of the vaporized oil product and the characteristics of the residual oil after several repressuring cycles with carbon dioxide. An attempt is made to evaluate the merits of a vaporization process for the crude oil rather than a flow process where the oil recovery is determined by relative permeability considerations. Such a vaporization of crude oil by carbon dioxide repressuring appears to have possible use in a highly fractured formation where the major oil content of the reservoir is contained in the non-fractured porosity with little permeability. The carbon dioxide flows into the fractures, contacts the crude oil in the matrix and vaporizes part of the crude oil; this vaporized oil is produced and recovered and the carbon dioxide is reinjected again. The specific problem of this study is to attempt to answer this question; Can crude oil be produced successfully (technically, but without economic considerations) from a petroleum reservoir by a process of vaporization of the crude oil by carbon dioxide repressuring? DEFINITION OF TERMS AS APPLIED IN THIS STUDY Carbon Dioxide Contact: One cycle in which carbon dioxide was injected and bled off. Condensate: The hydrocarbon liquid which was condensed out of the mixture of hydrocarbon-carbon dioxide vapor upon reduction of the pressure of the vapor. Hydrocarbons Produced (HCP): All the hydrocarbon!, which were vaporized by the carbon dioxide repressuring process and were removed from the cell during any specific cycle or carbon dioxide contact. Hydrocarbons Unproduced (HCU): All the hydrocarbons which were not vaporized by the carbon dioxide

I do not think too much emphasis can be placed upon creation of favorable climate for development of foreign mineral resources to feed the hungry maw of our industrialized nation. We have become dependent, not only upon the ten raw products indicated in Mr. Bancroft's article, but upon 71 mineral substances listed by DMPA as in short supply. Forty-four of these are metals, 9 are chemical minerals and 18 are nonmetallic minerals. Of this list only 8 are produced in any large quantity in the United States, and all are vital in peace-time industry. Even more, they are absolutely essential for defense. This represents our present needs. But if our consumption and requirements are projected over the next 25 years as is done by the President's Materials Policy Commission-The Paley Report-our future outlook becomes appalling. The divergence of consumption over production, even allowing for substitution and conservation, will widen in the future. This means our dependence upon foreign raw materials, mainly minerals, will grow. What are the chief foreign sources of minerals for our future needs? They are chiefly Latin America and the dominions and colonies of the Western European nations. The British Commonwealth countries contain in abundance those minerals which the U. S. lacks. Of 32 of the most critical minerals the Commonwealth is deficient in 7 and lacks only 1; whereas the U. S. is deficient in 18. Strikingly, our deficient minerals are abundant in the Commonwealth and several of their deficiencies are in excess in the U. S. Resources of the two nations complement each other. If Europe should be overrun by an unfriendly power that could control the destinies and resources of the European dominions and colonies, our industrial life would be placed in severe jeopardy. Therefore, I heartily endorse Mr. Bancroft's statements regarding the Point IV program, provided the program is wisely administered and implemented. It is from the underdeveloped countries, as pointed out by Mr. Bancroft, that most of our future mineral supplies will have to come. Many of the underdeveloped source countries are African colonies and dominions of Western European nations. Our present aid to Europe, therefore, is not, as many infer, a purely one-sided affair; it safeguards our future industrial development and security. Development aid directly to the underdeveloped countries through a well administered Point IV program, can do much, I believe, to safeguard our prosperity. I regard it as a wise investment for future U. S. mineral needs. Dr. Alan M. Bateman Department of Geological Sciences Yale University Mr. Howland Bancroft's article, The Broadening Road to Foreign Investment, appeared on page 666 of the July MINING ENGINEERING.

Jan 1, 1952

By S. C. Sircar, D. R. Wiles

The rate has been studied of the hydrogen reduction of nickel ions in acetate -buffered solutions, using a nickel catalyst. At temperatures between 130°and 160°C, the rate is found to be proportional to the catalyst area, the nickel ion concentration, and the hydrogen pressure. The effect of hydrogen ions is to reduce the observed rate, likely by causing the reverse reaction (dissolution) to proceed. The experimental activation energy was found to be 25 kcal per mole. THE precipitation of metals and lower oxides from solution by hydrogen reduction has been quite actively investigated during the past few years.1 In the case of nickel, the kinetics of the precipitation have been studied in ammonia solution2 but extension of this study to acid solutions has not attracted much interest, largely because of the unfavorable thermodynamics at all but the lowest acidities. For example, Schaufelberger foundg that only 10 pct reduction of nickel could be effected in sulphate solutions. One kinetic study of the reduction of Ni++ has been reported by Knacke, Pawlek, and Sussmuth,4 in which the order of the reaction was found to be one in nickel ion and one-half in hydrogen pressure. No mention was made as to the part played by the nickel catalyst, or by the pH of the solution. Moreover, the activation energy reported (4 .12 kcal per mole) is so low as to lead to some question as to whether diffusion might be playing a major role in determining the kinetics. We have recently completed a study5 of the kinetics of the hydrogen precipitation of nickel from acetate-buffered acidic solutions whose results confirm and amplify those of Knacke et al. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES The work was done in a high-pressure autoclavee by the usual technique of removing small samples of the solution for analysis. Nickel analysis was done colorimetrically by the dimethylglyoxime method.' The catalyst used was carbonyl nickel powder (Standard A powder of the Mond Nickel Co., Ltd.) which was found to be composed of spheres of less than 350 mesh. The surface area of the powder was determined in this laboratory by the B. E. T. method to be 1.85 sq m (m2) per g. The catalyst was added to the solution only after the proper temperature and pressure had been reached. Agitation of the baffled system was by a turbine-type impeller, rotated at speeds between 400 and 750 rpm. The reduction rate was found to be independent of the stirring rate, so it was assumed that diffusion in the liquid does not limit the rate. In typical experiments, the nickel concentration was unchanged during an induction period of variable length. The concentration then decreased sharply, and gradually levelled off to approach the final equilibrium value. In some cases, notably at high stirring rates, the nickel concentration was found to increase considerably during the induction period, and then to decrease. In all cases, the rate was determined from the slope of the tangent to the rate curve as the concentration first decreased below the initial value. This is seen in Fig. 1. The rate measurements were found to be reproducible to within about 5 and to be quite independent of the nature or duration of the induction period. The range of conditions used is given in Table I.

Jan 1, 1961