November, 2001
Redemption of Salt and Oil Impacted Soils
The Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Hazardous Substance Research Center
led by Kansas State University is working on the remediation of salt- and oil-impacted soils.
The goals are to remove or utilize salts and decompose oil
into soil. General remediation alternatives include biotic (natural
forces or salt-tolerant plants), in-situ chemical amendments (ion
exchange, typically using gypsum, sulfur or calcium nitrate to
displace sodium, followed by water to leach salts), and mechanical
(excavation for burial/encapsulation, land treatment, or enhancement
or offsite disposal or bioremediation).
Factors considered when choosing the plant species are climate, available water, and salinity
tolerance, as well as regional experience. In choosing vegetation,
know the difference between halophytes or salt-tolerant plants (bermudagrass,
cotton, barley, tall wheatgrass) and euhalophytes or true salt-loving
plants (saltbush, saltgrass, saltwort) that require salinity. Basic
steps in re-vegetation include preparing the soil, adding fertilizer
and chemical amendments, and mulching.
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- For more information, contact Blasé Leven at Kansas
State University (phone 785-532-0780 or email baleven@ksu.edu).
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DOE Awards Four More PUMP Projects
The National Petroleum
Technology Office, part of DOE's National Energy Technology
Laboratory, recently made four awards under Phase II of its PUMP
(Preferred Upstream Management Practices) Program. The PUMP Program is
a high priority federal program to collect and distribute information
that domestic producers can use to increase production and recovery
from mature domestic reservoirs. PTTC was one of several organizations
winning a PUMP award during Phase I.
Winners during Phase II of the PUMP solicitation are:
University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG). The
geological surveys of Texas and New Mexico will team together to
develop a "play portfolio" of the major oil reservoirs in
the Permian Basin. The play portfolio will group into plays all
reservoirs having cumulative production above one million barrels
and summarize key reservoir characteristics and preferred management
practices.
Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS). The ISGS will develop an
enhanced database of Illinois Basin reservoirs using a Geographical
Information System (GIS) approach.
Utah Geological Survey (UGS). UGS will develop play portfolios
from the major oil producing provinces in Utah and adjacent areas.
The play portfolios will include geologic and reservoir description;
production and reservoir data, case study field evaluations;
summaries of effective stimulation and completion technologies;
location of transportation infrastructure; and identification and
discussion of land use constraints.
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, will focus on
acquiring and distributing data on the nature of waste water that
often accompanies the oil being pumped from geologic formations.
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49th
Annual Rig Census
As natural gas prices have increased over the past year, the
number of active rigs in the U.S. has risen 31%. This is the
largest number of active rigs since 1990. In the Permian basin,
the number of Rigs has decreased from 241 to 238 since 2000, however,
the utilization of the rigs has risen from 74% to 97%. The
Southern Rockies has seen an increase in both rig numbers and
utilization. In 2000, the number of rigs counted in the census
was 153 and utilization was at 79%. This year utilization is at
94% and the number of rigs has increased to 179.
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- Article summarized from World Oil Drilling Report Oct.
2001. Written by David Farmer, World marketing Mangager,
Slumberger, Drilling and Measurements, Houston. www.worldoil.com
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US gasoline- Marketing Margins
There are three main pricing points in a value chain. A value
chain is the process that gasoline goes through, from refinery
production and foreign imports, to the pump.
The Spot Price is the refinery gate price, marketing costs, and
transportation.
The Rack Price is the price available at loading racks within
terminals. This price is set by the Spot price,
transportation, terminal expenses, marketing costs, and profit.
The Retail Price is the price a available to gas stations, convenience
stores, and mass marketers.
When gross marketing margin statistics are graphed over time, these
are the three "pricing points" that are being evaluated for
the value chain. |
- Article summarized from Oil and Gas Journal, Oct. 15, 2001. Written by
Kathy G. Spletter and Susan L. Starr, Muse, Stancio & Co.
Dallas. www.ogjonline.com
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