Stage fields

Inside the vacuum chamber a cooled first-stage field-effect-transistor (FET) preamplifier adjacent to the Ge(Li) detector ensures maximum resolution. 

The transmitter amplifier chain consists of a linear, three-stage transistor amplifier from Amplifier Research (10 W), a class C single-stage field effect transistor (FET) amplifier (120 W) custom-built by H. Bonn GmbH, Munich, and a final tube amplifier with two tetrodes 4CX 350A that deliver more than 1.5 kW of pulse power. A special effort was made to match the input and output impedances of this tube amplifier to the characteristic impedance (50 ( ) of the cables connecting it with the probe and the driver, respectively. This impedance matching resulted in the virtually complete disappearance of antisymmetric phase transients (for a discussion of the effects of such phase transients on m.p. spectra, see Haeberlen, 1976, Appendix D). 

High signal-to-noise ratios thus require the use of very low noise amplifiers and the limitation of bandwidth. The current technology offers differential amplifiers with voltage noise of less than 10 nV/VHz and current noise less than 1 pA/VHz. Both parameters are frequency dependent and decrease approximately with the square root of frequency. The exact relationship depends on the technology of the amplifier input stage. Field effect transistor (FET) preamplifiers exhibit about 5 times the voltage noise density compared to bipolar transistors but a current noise density that is about 100 times smaller. 

Taking a simplistic view in the early stages. Field, Koros and Noyes postulated the following mechanism (usually known os Oregonator) [27] based on the following sequence of reactions ... 

This mechanism is consistent with the hypothesis that in the second stage dissolution kinetics is dependent on diffusion within the concentration boundary layer. It is conceivable that in the first stage field assisted dissolution may be the controlling step. In this stage formation of Ti(OH)4 or of hydroxy-cations, e.g. Ti(OH)3, has different effects on titanium transport. While Ti(OH)4 does not react with organic molecules, Ti(OH)3 can form organometallic complexes which may be transported systemically. 

Izquierdo, N., Aguirrezabal, L., Andrade, F. and Pereyra, V. 2002. Night temperature affects fatty acid composition in sunflower oil depending on the hybrid and the phenological stage. Field Crops Research 77 115-126. 

This Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production is going to take you through all of the major stages In the life of an oil or gas field from exploration, through appraisal, development planning, production, and finally to decommissioning. 

Introduction and Commercial Application This section provides an overview of the activities carried out at the various stages of field development. Each activity is driven by a business need related to that particular phase. The later sections of this manual will focus in some more detail on individual elements of the field life cycle. 

The non-hydrocarbon components of crude oil may be small in volume percent, typically less than 1 %, but their influence on the product quality and the processing requirements can be considerable. It is therefore important to identify the presence of these components as early as possible, and certainly before the field development planning stage, to enable the appropriate choice of processing facilities and materials of construction to be made. 

Data gathering in the water column should not be overlooked at the appraisal stage of the field life. Assessing the size and flow properties of the aquifer are essential in predicting the pressure support which may be provided. Sampling of the formation water is necessary to assess the salinity of the water for use in the determination of hydrocarbon saturations. 

At each stage of a field life cycle raw data has to be converted into information, but for the information to have value it must influence decision making and profitability. 

Volumetric estimates are required at all stages of the field life cycle. In many instances a first estimate of how big an accumulation could be is requested. If only a back of the envelope estimate is needed or if the data available is very sparse a quick look estimation can be made using field wide averages. 

Seismic surveys are traditionally an exploration and appraisal tool. However, 3-D seismic is now being used more widely as a development tool, i.e. applied for assisting in selecting well locations, and even in identifying remaining oil in a mature field. This was discussed in Section 2.0. Seismic data acquired at the appraisal stage of the field life is therefore likely to find further use during the development period. 

A comfortable margin is maintained between the flowing tubing head pressure (downstream of compression) and the minimum pressure required for export, since the penalties for not meeting contract quantities can be severe. The decision not to install a fourth stage of compression in the above example is dictated by economics. During the final part of the pressure decline above, the field production is of course also declining. 

Another method of maintaining production potential from the field is to drill more wells, and it is common for wells to be drilled in batches, just as the compression is added in stages, to reduce early expenditure. 

The amount of detail input, and the type of simulation model depend upon the issues to be investigated, and the amount of data available. At the exploration and appraisal stage it would be unusual to create a simulation model, since the lack of data make simpler methods cheaper and as reliable. Simulation models are typically constructed at the field development planning stage of a field life, and are continually updated and increased in detail as more information becomes available. 

At the field development planning stage, reservoir simulation may be used to look at questions such as ... 

Field analogues should be based on reservoir rock type (e.g. tight sandstone, fractured carbonate), fluid type, and environment of deposition. This technique should not be overlooked, especially where little information is available, such as at the exploration stage. Summary charts such as the one shown in Figure 8.19 may be used in conjunction with estimates of macroscopic sweep efficiency (which will depend upon well density and positioning, reservoir homogeneity, offtake rate and fluid type) and microscopic displacement efficiency (which may be estimated if core measurements of residual oil saturation are available). 

Analytical models using classical reservoir engineering techniques such as material balance, aquifer modelling and displacement calculations can be used in combination with field and laboratory data to estimate recovery factors for specific situations. These methods are most applicable when there is limited data, time and resources, and would be sufficient for most exploration and early appraisal decisions. However, when the development planning stage is reached, it is becoming common practice to build a reservoir simulation model, which allows more sensitivities to be considered in a shorter time frame. The typical sorts of questions addressed by reservoir simulations are listed in Section 8.5. 

At the stage of field development planning, reservoir simulation would normally be used to generate production profiles and well requirements for a number of subsurface development options, for each of which different surface development options would be evaluated and costs estimated. 

In gas field development, the recovery factor is largely determined by how low a reservoir pressure can be achieved before finally reaching the abandonment pressure. As the reservoir pressure declines, it is therefore common to install compression facilities at the surface to pump the gas from the wellhead through the surface facilities to the delivery point. This compression may be installed in stages through the field lifetime. 

Over the lifetime of the field, the total undiscounted operating expenditure (opex) is likely to exceed the capital expenditure (capex). It is therefore important to control and reduce opex at the project design stage as well as during the production period. 

In the feasibility phase the project is tested as a concept. Is it technically feasible and is it economically viable There may be a number of ways to perform a particular task (such as develop an oil field) and these have to be judged against economic criteria, availability of resources, and risk. At this stage estimates of cost and income (production) profiles will carry a considerable uncertainty range, but are used to filter out unrealistic options. Several options may remain under consideration at the end of a feasibility study. 

Petroleum economics is used at exploration, appraisal and development stages of the field life, to help to make the following typical decisions ... 

At the development planning stage, a reservoir mode/will have been constructed and used to determine the optimum method of recovering the hydrocarbons from the reservoir. The criteria for the optimum solution will most likely have been based on profitability and safety. The model Is Initially based upon a limited data set (perhaps a seismic survey, and say five exploration and appraisal wells) and will therefore be an approximation of the true description of the field. As development drilling and production commence, further data is collected and used to update both the geological model (the description of the structure, environment of deposition, diagenesis and fluid distribution) and the reservoir model (the description of the reservoir under dynamic conditions). 

As introduced in Section 14.2, bottlenecks in the process facilities can occur at many stages in a producing field life cycle. A process facility bottleneck is caused when any piece of equipment becomes overloaded and restricts throughput. In the early years of a development, production will often be restricted by the capacity of the processing facility to treat hydrocarbons. If the reservoir is performing better than expected it may pay to increase plant capacity. If, however, it is just a temporary production peak such a modification may not be worthwhile. 

If a company has a number of projects at various stages of development, it has the option to pay for decommissioning with cash generated from younger fields. A company with only one project will not have this option and may choose to build up a... 

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