Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xx, 159 p. : ill. (some col.), map. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-65).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-240). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 180-187). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

The sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are a diverse group of organisms which use sulphate as a terminal electron acceptor and produce the highly toxic gas, hydrogen sulphide. The deleterious effects of this include hydrocarbon reservoir souring, formation damage and microbial corrosion. The SRB are of major economic importance to the oil industry. However, knowledge of the microbial ecology of the deep subsurface remains limited. The aim of this project was to investigate whether organisms are indigenous to the hydrocarbon formation and/or are introduced during drilling operations. A range of molecular techniques such as 16S rDNA sequence analysis, probing with labelled oligonucleotides, and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) were employed to investigate the microbial diversity in oil field samples. A wide range of bacterial 16S rDNA sequences were identified using these molecular methods. An analysis of drilling mud samples revealed a diverse range of bacterial 16S rDNA sequences confirming that bacteria, including SRB, can be introduced to the reservoir during drilling operations. A number of bacterial 16S rDNA sequences were recovered from a geological core sample taken from a depth of 9,770 feet. The microbial diversity was remarkable in such a high temperature, high pressure environment. This lends credence to the theory that certain bacteria may be indigenous to the subsurface environment. Scanning electron micrographs of core which had been incubated in growth medium indicated the presence of 'nannobacteria'. These tiny coccoids, with a diameter of only 0.1 μm are far smaller than the generally accepted minimum size for cellular life forms. The nannobacteria grew in regular colony shaped structures and were seen only in sections taken from inside the rock. This study indicates that hydrocarbon reservoirs provide an environment in which bacteria, if introduced during drill operations, may become established. However, the subsurface also contains complex indigenous microbial populations that demonstrate considerable species diversity and may include unrecognised life forms.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 118 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-80).

Thesis (Professional Degree)--University of Missouri, School of Mines and Metallurgy, 1927. / The entire thesis text is included in file. Typescript. Illustrated by author. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed October 12, 2009)

Thesis (Professional Degree)--University of Missouri, School of Mines and Metallurgy, 1922. / The entire thesis text is included in file. Typescript. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed March 17, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 48).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 145 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-145).

Machined fragments of 10 core plugs from oshore reservoirs have been analysed using a high resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) facility. The facility includes a system capable of acquiring 3D images made up of 20003 voxels on core plugs up to 6 cm diameter with resolutions down to 2 um. The cores analysed include six cores from a gas reservoir and four cores from an oil reservoir. The cores exhibit a very broad range of pore and grain sizes, porosity, permeability and mineralogy. The petrological data, available only for gas reservoir cores, is compared with the data obtained from the tomographic images. Computational results made directly on the digitized tomographic images are presented for the permeability, formation factor, resistivity index and drainage capillary pressure across a range of . We show that data over a range of porosity can be computed from a single fragment. We compare the computations of petrophysical data on fragments to conventional laboratory measurements on the full plug. Permeability predictions from digital and conventional core analysis are consistent. It is shown that a characteristic length scale can be dened as a quality control parameter for the estimation of permeability. Results for formation factor, drainage capillary pressure and resistivity index are encouraging. The results demonstrate the potential to predict petrophysical properties from core material not suited for laboratory testing (e.g., sidewall or damaged core and drill cuttings) and the feasibility of combining digitized images with numerical calculations to predict properties and derive correlations for specic rock lithologies. The small sample size required for analysis makes it possible to produce multiple measurements on a single plug. This represents a potential multiplier on the quantity of core data allowing meaningful distributions or spreads in petrophysical properties to be estimated. We discuss the current limitations of the methodology and suggest improvements; in particular the need to calibrate the simulated data to parallel laboratory core measurements. We also describe the potential to extend the methodology to a wider range of petrophysical properties. This development could lead to a more systematic study of the assumptions, interpretations and analysis methods commonly applied within industry and lead to better correlations between petrophysical properties and log measurements.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 64 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-64).