The research undertaken in this study is designed to examine the reliability of management estimates of expected future net revenues from the production of proved oil and gas reserves determined in accordance with the requirements of the prediction model specified in ASR No. 253. The issue of the required disclosure of earnings forecasts has been a topic of considerable controversy for many years. Within that controversy, the most frequently encountered opposition questions the reliability and ultimate utility of earnings forecasts. Similar opposition to both past and present forecast disclosure requirements exists in the oil and gas industry. In order to examine the reliability of management estimates of expected future net revenues, a two-part analysis was conducted. In the first part of the analysis, error metrics comparing management forecasts to actual results were computed and examined. Included in the examination were various relationships among and within the computed metrics. In the second part of the analysis an attempt was made to establish the association between the error metrics and specific related variables. It was anticipated that the degree of association determined would provide evidence of the relative accuracy of management in predicting the timing and volume of future production within the framework of the prediction model.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Law, 2001. / Bibliography: leaves 651-699.

Supply chain leaders in the oil and gas industry face significant logistical challenges regarding the efficient and safe delivery of undamaged products to their customers. Within the conceptual framework of business process orientation theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that supply chain leaders used to ensure delivery of undamaged goods to their customers. Four supply chain leaders in the oil and gas industry in Texas were purposefully selected as participants because they had successfully implemented strategies to ensure the delivery of undamaged goods. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and review of publicly published documents from 4 companies. Data were analyzed using Yin's 5-step data analysis process of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, data interpretation, and conclusion. Four themes emerged from the analyzed data: process strategy, inspection strategy, information technology strategy, and employee training strategy. The findings of this study may provide knowledge to business leaders on how to reduce the cost of product delivery and increase profitability. The study's implications for positive social change include the potential for supply chain leaders to reduce material wastage and environmental pollution through the safe delivery of undamaged oil and gas products to customers.

Anthropogenic noise may interfere with avian acoustic communication, however some species alter the structure of vocalizations, to improve transmission in noise. Here, I conducted playback experiments to determine whether compressor stations, generator or grid-powered screw pump oil wells, and overall ambient noise levels affected responses of Savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) to conspecific alarm calls at their nests. I also measured the structure of alarm calls, to determine whether Savannah sparrows altered vocalizations in noise. On control sites, Savannah sparrows responded to alarm calls by delaying provisioning visits. At compressor station sites, the loudest infrastructure treatment, they showed less of a delay. Close to compressor stations, Savannah sparrows lowered the frequency and increased the bandwidth of alarm calls. These findings suggest the compressor stations may interfere with anti-predator communication, but that Savannah sparrows can alter the structure of alarm calls at these sites, perhaps mitigating some effects of noise. / October 2016

A presente pesquisa objetivou investigar a relevância das informações relacionadas às reservas provadas de petróleo e das informações contábeis (lucro e patrimônio líquido) divulgadas por empresas petrolíferas. Por meio de um estudo de value relevance aplicado ao setor petrolífero mundial, o problema de pesquisa desta tese foi traduzido na seguinte questão: qual a relevância das informações relacionadas às reservas provadas de petróleo e das informações contábeis (lucro e patrimônio líquido) divulgadas por petrolíferas integradas e listadas na Bolsa de Valores de Nova Iorque (New York Stock Exchange - NYSE), durante o período de 2001 a 2012? Para responder a essa questão e atingir o objetivo proposto, foram aplicadas regressões considerando a técnica de Dados em Painel em uma amostra composta por 15 petrolíferas, cada uma com observações para os 12 anos pesquisados, totalizando 180 empresas-ano. Foram testados 8 modelos, todos tendo como variável dependente o logaritmo neperiano ou natural (ln) do preço médio das ações, considerando os preços de fechamento dos meses de novembro, dezembro, janeiro e fevereiro. Como variáveis explicativas foram testadas o Patrimônio Líquido (PL), o Lucro Líquido (LL), os Custos Capitalizados (CC), o Volume de Reservas de Óleo e Gás (RPO&G), suas alterações e o Fluxo de Caixa Futuro Descontado (FCD) decorrente dessas reservas. Os resultados mostraram que as informações sobre o PL são mais relevantes do que as informações sobre os resultados (LL). As informações sobre os Custos Capitalizados são relevantes e com forte relação inversa (negativa) com os preços das ações. Fraca relevância das informações sobre o volume das Reservas Provadas de Petróleo e do Fluxo de Caixa Futuro Descontado relativo a essas reservas. Quando desagregados em seus componentes principais (revisões, melhorias de recuperação, descobertas, compras, vendas e produção) a informação sobre o volume das reservas ganharam relevância. Especificamente, observou-se considerável relevância das informações sobre descobertas, produção e compra de petróleo. Por fim, os resultados indicaram que o valor de mercado de uma petrolífera é função da variável contábil PL e de informações relacionadas às reservas provadas de petróleo e de gás. Esse achado reforça a ideia de que os dados contábeis são informações incompletas para a determinação do valor de uma petrolífera, sendo que as informações relacionadas às reservas provadas de petróleo e de gás contribuem incrementando a relevância das variáveis contábeis mensuradas a valores históricos. Em decorrência disso, informações adicionais em notas explicativas sobre as reservas de petróleo são relevantes e necessárias, além das tradicionais já divulgadas nas demonstrações financeiras. / This actual research investigated the relevance of information related to proven reserves of oil and accounting information (net income and book value) disclosed by oil companies. Thus, by means of a value relevance study applied to the global petroleum industry, the following question resulted from the research problem: What relevance does information related to proven reserves of oil and accounting information (net income and book value) disclosed by integrated oil companies that are listed on the stock exchange in New York (New York Stock Exchange - NYSE), during the period 2001-2012, have? To answer this question and achieve the proposed objective there were applied panel data regressions in a sample of 15 oil companies, each company with observations for 12 years, totaling 180 observations. There have been tested 8 models, each of them having as dependent variable the Naperian or natural logarithm (ln) of the average share price, considering the closing prices of November, December, January and February. As independent variables have been tested book value (PL), net income (LL), capitalized costs (CC), volume of gas and oil reserves (RPO&G), components of the change in reserve value, discounted future cash flow (FCD) of the reserves. The results revealed that the information about PL is more relevant than the information about LL. The information about the capitalized costs is relevant, with a strong inverse negative relationship with the share prices. Further, the results demonstrated a weak relevance of information on the volume of gas and oil reserves and the discounted future cash flow of the reserves. When broken down into its main components (reviews, recovery improvements, discoveries, purchases, sales and production), the information about volume of gas and oil reserves gained in relevance. Specifically, there has been observed a considerable relevance of information about discoveries, production and the purchases of oil and gas. Lastly, the results indicated that the market value of oil company is a function of PL variable and accounting information relating to proved oil and gas. These findings reinforce the idea that the accounting data are incomplete information for determining the value of an oil company, as the information related to proven reserves of oil and gas contribute to an increasing relevance of the measured accounting variables in historic values. As a result, additional information in the note about the reserves of oil is relevant and necessary, beyond the traditional remarks disclosed in the financial statements.

Polymers are among the most important of various oilfield chemicals and are used for a variety of applications in the oil and gas industry (OGI) including water and gas shutoff, drilling mud viscosity modification, filtration loss control (FLC), swellable packers, loss circulation material (LCM) pills, enhanced oil recovery (EOR), fracture treatment and cleanup, chemical placement, etc. The deposition and retention of polymer molecules in porous media and their interactions with rock and fluids present complex phenomena that can induce formation damage. Formation damage due to polymer retention can occur via mobility reduction in three possible mechanisms of polymer-induced formation damage: 1) pore-throat blocking, 2) wettability alteration (which can alter permeability), and 3) increase in reservoir fluid viscosity. Physical adsorption can also cause permanent permeability impairment (formation damage). This polymer-induced formation damage (causing a reduction in net oil recovery) continues to be a fundamental problem in the industry owing to the rather shallow understanding of the mechanics of polymer-brine-rock interactions and the polymer-aided formation damage mechanisms. Most models available for polymer risk assessments appear to be utilised for all scenarios with unsatisfying results. For example, only very little, if any, is known on how polymer type, particularly in the presence of brine type impact on formation damage. In order words, one of current industry challenges is finding effective polymers for high salinity environments. Also, the effect of polymer charge, as well as charges at the brine-rock interface are issues that require a deeper understanding in order to address the role polymer play in formation damage. Furthermore, no much recognition has been given to polymer rheological behaviour in complex porous media, etc. The OGI therefore still faces the challenge of the inability to correctly predict hydrolysed polyacrylamide (HPAM) viscosity under shear degradation; and consequently have not been able to meet the need of production predictions. The effect of the above mentioned factors, etc have not been fully integrated into the polymer formation damage modelling. In this PhD research work, theoretical, numerical, laboratory experiments and analytical methods were used to further investigate the mechanics of polymer-brine-rock interactions and establish the mechanisms for formation damage related to polymer application. Three different hydrolysed polyacrylamide (HPAM) products (SNF FP3630 S, 3330 S and FloComb C3525) were used in the experiments; while Xanthan gum was used in the simulation work. The following variables were considered: 1) polymer type, 2) effect of concentration, 3) effect of salinity/hardness, 4) effect of permeability and pore size distributions, 5) effect of inaccessible pore volume (IAPV) on retention, 6) effect of flow rate (where a special method was established to quantify the effect of flow rate on polymer retention). Laboratory rheological and adsorption experiments were designed and conducted. Experimental results indicate that higher concentration of calcium divalent ions in brine help promote polymer retention on rock surface. On the basis of the experimental results, empirical models were developed and validated to: 1) predict HPAM rheological behaviour over a wide range of shear rates, 2) predict salinity-dependent polymer-induced formation damage, 3) in addition, a modified screening model that can aid polymer selection for field application design is proposed. Overall, these models can therefore serve as useful tools, and be used for quick look-ahead prediction and evaluation of polymer related formation damage in oil and gas-bearing formations.

This study investigates accountability and transparency issues in the management of oil and gas (O&G) revenues in Ghana through public discourse. It establishes the factors that influence accountability and investigates how accountability is discharged amongst stakeholders in the O&G industry in Ghana, with respect to contemporary accountability theories. The thesis develops a contextualised analytical framework drawing on Dhanani and Connolly’s (2012), and Gray et al.’s (1996) conceptualisations of accountability, in addition to other contemporary accountability concepts, mirrored through the ethical variant of stakeholder theory to classify, analyse and interpret the issues of transparency and accountability in revenue management in the O&G industry in Ghana. It uses this framework to analyse and interpret questionnaires and interviews of stakeholders in the O&G industry in Ghana; these include the government, civil society groups and upstream oil companies. The thesis establishes that the accountability relationships (strategic, financial, fiduciary and procedural) between accountees and accountors in the O&G industry in Ghana are hierarchical, bureaucratic and fussy, making the discharge of accountability unintelligent, ineffective and vulgate and only routinely given for cosmetic purposes. Consequently, the accountors in the O&G industry in Ghana employ the positive variant of the stakeholder theory, motivated by legitimisation practices to regularise their activities, contrary to the expected ethical variant of the theory. The outcome reflects the practices of for-profit organisations such as upstream O&G companies, but conflicts with the government’s fiduciary responsibilities towards citizens and the espoused communal values of the legal and regulatory framework of the industry. Current perspectives on positive stakeholder and legitimacy theory therefore appear to explain existing stakeholder relationships and how accountability is discharged in the O&G industry in Ghana. The thesis contributes to the public accountability and transparency literature in a number of ways: First, the study presents an empirical basis to advance discourse about accountability and transparency in natural resource management in developing countries, by developing a contextualised theoretical and analytical framework drawing on Dhanani and Connolly’s (2012) and Gray et al’s (1996) accountability concepts, and using the ethical stakeholder theory as a lens for interpretation. Second, it provides an empirical basis for rethinking the hierarchical managerialist approach to accountability suggested by the positive variant of the stakeholder theory and its legitimisation mechanisms between accountees and the accountors in the O&G industry in Ghana, and suggests the adoption of the ethical variant of the stakeholder theory with its moral imperatives. Third, the study provides significant insight into governance issues in Sub-Saharan Africa that could inform policy formulation for the region by international bodies, including the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), by critically reviewing accountability and transparency issues in the oil sectors in Angola, Nigeria and the DRC and juxtaposing this evidence with empirical findings for Ghana. Finally, it advances understanding of the public accountability practices and transparency issues in the O&G industry in Ghana, while pointing out significant governance implications for policy-makers, civil society and advocacy groups, think-tanks, the O&G companies and academics.

The goal of oil and gas exploration using seismic methods is to accurately locate geological structures that could host such reserves. As the search for these resources tends towards more complex regions, it is necessary to develop methods to extract as much information as possible from the seismic data acquired. Prestack depth imaging is a seismic processing technique that has the capability to produce a realistic depth image of geological structures in complex situations. However, improvements to this technique are required to increase the accuracy of the final depth image and ensure that the targets are accurately located. Although prestack depth imaging possesses the ability to produce a depth image of the Earth, it does have its disadvantages. Three problematic areas in depth imaging are: the computer run times (and hence costs) are excessively high; the success of depth migration is highly dependent upon the accuracy of the interval velocity model; and seismic multiples often obscure the primary reflection events representative of the subsurface geology. Velocity model building accounts for most of the effort in prestack depth imaging and is also responsible for the likelihood of success. However, the more effort that is expended on this process, the greater the cost of producing the required depth section. In addition, multiples remain a problem in complex depth imaging since many attenuation techniques are based assumptions that may only be approximately correct and in addition require a priori information. The Kirchhoff method is considered to be the workhorse in industry for prestack depth imaging. It is a simple and flexible technique to implement, and usually produces acceptable images at a small fraction of the cost of the other depth migration methods. / However, it is highly dependent on a method for calculating the traveltimes that are required for mapping data from the prestack domain to the output depth section. In addition, it is highly dependent on the accuracy of the interval velocity model. Multiples can also be problematic in complex geological scenarios. To improve the quality of the depth section obtained from Kirchhoff depth imaging, these three issues are considered in this thesis. This thesis took on the challenge of developing new techniques for (a) improving the accuracy and efficiency of traveltimes calculated for use in Kirchhoff prestack depth imaging, (b) building the interval velocity model, and (c) multiple attenuation in complex geological areas. Three new techniques were developed and tested using a variety of numerical models. A new traveltime computation method for simulating seismic multiple reflections was tested and compared with a Promax© finite-difference traveltime solver. The same method was also used to improve the computational efficiency whilst retaining traveltime accuracy. This was demonstrated by application to the well-known Marmousi velocity model and a velocity model obtained from analysis of data from the North West Shelf of Western Australia. / A new interval velocity model building technique that utilises the information contained in multiple events was also implemented and tested successfully using a variety of numerical models. Finally, a new processing sequence for multiple attenuation in the prestack depth domain was designed and tested with promising results being observed. Improved accuracy in the depth image can be obtained by combining the three techniques I have developed. These techniques enable this to be achieved by firstly improving traveltime accuracy and computation efficiency. These benefits are then combined with a more accurate interval velocity model and data with a minimal problematic multiple content to produce an accurate depth image. These new techniques for Kirchhoff depth imaging are capable of producing a depth section with improved accuracy, and with increased efficiency, that will aid in the process of seismic interpretation.

Despite the need for accurate oil and gas reserves estimates which honor disclosure requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a number of exploration and production companies have allegedly overstated and subsequently written down their reserves during the last 20 years. Reserves write-downs are of great interest to numerous groups involved in the reserves estimation process and outcome, including estimators, managers, investors, creditors, and regulators. Considering the magnitude and nature of some alleged overstatement cases, it appears that some of these parties may benefit from a better understanding of reserves reporting, the relative risk of overstatements, the regulatory environment and enforcement procedures, and identifying questionable reserves data. After discussing the context and importance of reserves and write-downs, there is a detailed examination of the SEC, including the agency's reserves reporting requirements, and their enforcement methods. A number of alleged overstatement and write-down "case studies" are presented, with details on the specific Federal Laws alleged to have been violated by corporations or individuals and then cited by the SEC and shareholder lawsuits. We also conclude that there may be greater write-down potential due to the updated SEC reserves reporting guidelines. A comprehensive series of systematic questions have been compiled and quick-look graphical techniques have been developed that may be used to gain insight into -and potentially raise questions about- an operator's reserves data.

Padre Island National Seashore provides important habitat for wintering grassland birds, which are declining throughout their breeding range, yet oil and gas development is widespread in the park. My objective was to evaluate the effects of resource extraction on the park's grassland birds and make management recommendations based on my findings. In January-March 2007 and 2008, I surveyed 5 active, 4 abandoned, and 4 road sites to investigate the relationship between distance from disturbance (well pads, access roads) and bird abundance. I also compared abundance among the 3 site types. At each site I recorded bird numbers and species in 10-m distance bands along all transects (4 transects/well, 2 transects/road), each extending 300 m from the road or pad. At road sites bird abundance was positively correlated with increased distance from road edge, but I found no linear relationship at active or abandoned well sites. However, mean bird abundance in the first (0-30-m) distance interval of active well transects was less than half that at the second interval, and was the lowest value for all active intervals except the ninth. First-interval abundance at active wells was lower than abundance at any abandoned well interval. Road transects likewise showed low abundance in the initial interval, although unlike at active wells abundance increased steadily with distance from the center of disturbance. This trend of lower overall numbers at the first interval of active well transects was driven largely by 1 species, the meadowlark. A combination of high noise levels near active well pads (up to 80 dB) and lack of tall vegetation (on average 30% lower than the 60-90-m interval) from which to sing may have contributed to low numbers of meadowlarks, which were the only birds to sing regularly during my study period. While most birds appear to be minimally affected by resource extraction at Padre Island, to ensure minimal impacts on sensitive species I recommend: 1) reducing noise at active sites, 2) limiting disturbance to vegetation near pads and roads, 3) maintaining existing perch sites, 4) restoring all vegetation to its pre-extraction condition, 5) limiting road construction.