In the offshore oil and gas industry in the UK, one of the most common forms of structure is the fixed steel jacket type of offshore platform. These are highly redundant structures subject to many random or uncertain factors. In particular, they are subject to uncertainties in the load distribution through the components, and to time-varying and cyclic loads leading to deterioration through fatigue. Operators are required to ensure the integrity of these structures by carrying out periodic inspections and repairing when necessary. Decisions on inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) actions on structures involves making use of various tools and can be a complex problem. Traditionally, engineering judgement is employed to schedule inspections and deterministic analyses are used to confirm decisions. The use of structural reliability methods may lead to more rational scheduling of IRM actions. Applying structural reliability analysis to the production of rational inspection strategies, however, requires understanding the inspection procedure and making use of the appropriate information on inspection techniques. There are difficulties in collecting input data and the interpreted results need to be combined to form a rational global solution for the structure which takes into account practical constraints. The development of a knowledge base system (KBS) for reliability based inspection scheduling (RISC) provides a way of making use of complex quantitative objective analyses for scheduling. This thesis describes the development of a demonstrator RISC KBS. The general problems of knowledge representation and scheduling are discussed and schemes from Artificial Intelligence are proposed. Additionally, a system for automated inspection is described and its role in IRM of platforms is considered. A RISC System integrating suitable databases with fatigue fracture mechanics based reliability analysis within a KBS framework will enable operators to develop rational IRM scheduling strategies.

Dissertation submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Biotechnology, Technikon Natal, 2001. / The vegetable oil industry produces effluent containing quantities of fat, oil, sodium, phosphates as well as other pollutants. Oils and greases tend to clog sewers and pumps, thus creating difficulties within the municipal wastewater treatment works. Physico-chemical treatment methods, such as (Dissolved Air Flotation) OAF, gravity separation and the use of coagulants have been attempted providing a considerable reduction in organic loading; however, discharge standards are still not met. Thus, biological treatment methods are being sought after. Aerobic treatment has been attempted however, shock loads cause problems while running such a process. The objective of this study was to assess the efficiency of anaerobic digestion to degrade Vegetable Oil Effluent (VOE) as well as the efficiency of the Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR). Anaerobic digestion involves the breakdown of organic matter by the action of microorganisms in the absence of oxygen, producing methane-rich biogas. The VOE was characterized, providing significant information on its chemical composition. It was found that the effluent had high sulphate content as well as a high COD content. High sulpahte content of wastewaters have known to promote growth of Sulphate Reducing Bacteria (SRB), which utilize the same energy source as Methane Producing Bacteria (MPB) and therefore compete for the same energy source. Sulphate and lipid reduction pretreatment experiments were carried out, using barium chloride and gravitational separation respectively. The results obtained, showed that the use of barium chloride to reduce sulphate content in VOE was successful, with significant sulphate reduction. The lipid reduction experiments however, did not show any significant lipid reduction. Batch tests were conducted in serum bottles to assess the extent of biodegradation of the VOE in its raw state as well as with reduced sulpahte content. Methanogenic toxicity tests on the raw and pretreated VOE provided a range of toxicity results. These assays are relatively simple and inexpensive. Gas production was monitored to determine the rate and extent of biodegradation. The efficiency of digestion was assessed by COD reduction. Results indicated potential inhibition of the methanogenic bacteria responsible for methane production by the / M

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 259-281). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 259-281). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Australian National University, 2006.

Thesis (M. A.), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1999. / Bibliography: p. 202-209.

Corporations are increasingly using social media as a tool for communicating Corporate Social Responsibility. Marketing researchers have conducted ample research on the topic, however, a communication perspective is missing. In order to fill this gap and gain a nuanced understanding of how corporations are communicating CSR and potentially enacting power relations, this thesis focuses on linguistic elements in CSR- related Facebook posts. A content analysis was performed on the Facebook pages of three oil corporations, covering a total of 120 posts. Results demonstrate that all three companies aim for engagement with the audience, using various semantic and sensory interactivity elements, and maintaining an informal writing style. Despite the latter seemingly contradicting the assumption that corporations are enacting power, there are elements that support this claim. The corporations implement a constraint of content in their posts through the use of abstract writing, and include a constraint on positions through the narrative styles of accounting and advertisement, which offer limited encouragement for participation. Regarding rhetoric, the ethos included in the posts carried significant interconnection with the CSR topics discussed, through which the companies seemed to enforce constraints of content. Shell and Total emphasize certain environmental issues, while not focusing on other impacts. BP does not not target environmental issues and mainly highlights positive social impact. Although the enactment of power is not present in each of the linguistic structures of the posts, there are elements that indicate the presence of power relations, which could offer groundwork for further research.

In the Gulf of Mexico offshore exploration and production (E&P) industry, oil company decision-makers desire to drill wells for exploration or development purposes. While a number of organizational arrangements are employed by firms in the E&P industry, most drilling arrangements can be categorized as one of two types of organizational structure based upon the allocation of planning and supervision responsibilities. Companies can employ internal drilling organizations (best-efforts) to plan and manage their drilling operations or choose to contract externally (turnkey) for these activities. The decision made by the exploration and production company as to which organizational form to employ can have significant impacts on the efficiency and profitability of any given well or drilling campaign. This research examines this choice of governance structure. This paper will examine the drivers of this decision using the theory of transaction cost economics. Regression models are specified and estimated for the turnkey drilling decision, and for the underlying cost functions of best-efforts and turnkey drilling. Results provide support for the transaction cost hypothesis as significant in the choice of governance. / text

Safety leadership is emerging as a key factor in determining organisational safety performance at all levels of management (Zohar, 2002; 2004). This PhD addresses the relevance and challenges of conducting safety interventions in the workplace. It started out as an evaluation of a safety leadership course in the oil and gas industry, and moved on to conceptualise the underlying difficulties inherent in those conversations and the success factors that help supervisors and managers overcome these challenges. Study One and Study Two focused on attitudes and attitude changes in course participants with increasing focus on attitudes towards safety interventions. Utilising questionnaires designed according to the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1985) and Bandura’s concept of selfefficacy and analysing qualitative data, the studies showed that participants’ general safety attitudes, attitudes towards rules and procedures, control beliefs, intentions to perform safety interventions, general self-efficacy and self-efficacy to perform safety interventions would increase from before to after the course. Study Three and Study Four aimed to evaluate participants’ behavioural changes with regard to performing safety interventions. A behavioural rating tool and statistical analysis were utilised in the third study. Results obtained showed a skill gap in managers’ and supervisors’ ability to perform safety interventions 6-12 months after they had attended the course. This skill gap indicated that – despite acknowledgement of the importance of safety interventions and participants’ intentions to frequently perform safety interventions – people did not perform these conversations at the worksite as often as they had intended. Results also indicated that two particular communication strategies, the use of open ended questions and the creation of ‘what-if’ scenarios, were crucial for a positive safety conversation outcome. In the fourth study, discourse analysis techniques and the application of a derived framework on social interaction allowed for a further understanding of the success factors and challenges of safety interventions. Results obtained emphasised particular face keeping strategies that were associated with the successful performance of safety interventions. However, strategies which, once applied, would lead to the failure of a conversation could also be extracted. It could also be shown that the conversation ‘scheme’ that had been taught during the training course was not fit for purpose as it did not enable participants to successfully conduct safety interventions without upsetting their conversation partner.

This study comprises an analysis of the development of oil and gas in the Scottish sector of the North Sea and its impact on the Scottish economy between 1967 and 1989. It first examines the creation and extension of the power of the multinational oil companies. It discusses the decline of that power as nationalism in the Middle East forced the multinationals to make concessions. The result was a weakening of multinational firms which culminated in the movement to explore for oil in more stable areas. Subsequent OPEC activity drove the price of oil up and created an oil boom in the North Sea, lasting until the end of 1985. The high oil prices that triggered the oil boom in the North Sea had a tremendous impact on the British economy. Increasing oil import prices seemed likely to drive Britain to the brink of bankruptcy, if not into bankruptcy. Consequently, successive British governments adopted a policy of developing Britain's North Sea assets as rapidly as possible, to avert economic disaster. These two factors combined to create a window of opportunity for industry that lasted about ten years. It was expected that Scottish industry would benefit greatly from this unprecedented development. That it did not can be attributed to several reasons including, among others: the lack of abiity to adapt to the specifications of the oil and gas industry; the lack of government action to force greater Scottish content; the well developed, interlocking infrastructure of the major international petroleum suppliers, service companies and operators; and the lack of time to respond before the boom was over. The result of these negative factors was a Scottish content in Scottish Sector North Sea oil and gas development of less than twenty-five percent.