Joint Operating Agreements (JOA) are well accepted standard agreements in the oil and gas industry. The basic aim of any JOA is to regulate the relationship of the parties in the Joint Venture: Operator and Non-Operators. The former is responsible to perform the operations on the behalf of the consortium and the latter is responsible to contribute with regards to the financial commitments and expenses of the Joint Venture. However, Joint Operation Agreements typically do not reflect the Non-Operator's perspective, as they traditionally focus on the strong position retained by the Operator. This reality is very clear as the most critical clauses (namely management of operations, limitation of liabilities and removal of the Operator) strengthen the Operator's position, often to the detriment of the Non-Operators. In consequence, such an unbalanced agreement can cause uncertainly, raises the potential for litigation and might even jeopardize the very existence of the consortium. It is important to note that some parties might still sign such an imbalanced agreement in order to secure investment into a project but they will be subject to these risks, and even ultimately termination of the agreement. However, the decline of production and the lack of new reserves (which together reflect the maturity of an oil and gas area) will lead major companies to leave such region in search for a province with greater rewards. As a matter of consequence, the strongest party of the JOA shall be replaced by smaller companies so as there will be a shift on the JOA context from a dominant position for another in equitable terms. Consequently, there is a need for a new and more balanced approach to the negotiation of Joint Operating Agreements, to apply to new, current operations and mature operations, where the Non-Operator's perspectives are fully considered and properly addressed.

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Thesis (M.S.)--University of Oklahoma, 2005 / Title from title screen (viewed on Dec. 10, 2007). Title from document title page. Includes bibliographical references. Available in PDF format via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1975. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-167).

This study attempts to analyze the deregulation process of downstream oil industry in Turkey and to develop policies concerning Turkish downstream oil industry. Privatization of Petrol Ofisi and T&Uuml / PRAS and the enactment of the Petroleum Market Law in 2003 were the main implementations of radical deregulation process of downstream oil industry. The main goal of deregulation process has been to create a competitive market. However, establishment of a competitive downstream oil industry has not been achieved, yet. Despite the price liberalization, price competition between distribution companies has not been realized, so far. T&Uuml / PRAS was transformed to a private monopoly through the privatization. Moreover, price liberalization has increased both the refining margins of T&Uuml / PRAS and distribution margins of distribution companies at the expense of consumers. A comprehensive competition policy about downstream oil industry should be developed immediately. Furthermore, due to its poor performance since 2003, Energy Market Regulatory Authority&rsquo / s (EMRA) responsibilities in downstream oil industry should be removed and a new regulatory authority which will solely interest with petroleum sector should be established.

Nigeria and the United Kingdom are leading oil producers within their region. Both countries are linked by their exploration and production maturity within their regions and the fact that they produce similar oil grades. Their institutional similarities and their economic status as developed and developing economies provide the platform upon which this study basis its comparative investigation. On account of the oil price phenomenon and oil supply concerns by way of reserves, this study investigates the effect of the Hotelling theory, the Hubbert theory and Engineering decline curve theory on actual production rates within Nigeria and the United Kingdom. It develops individual models for both countries, applying each theory to each country to analyse the individual effect and the effect in comparison to one another. The level of adherence of each country to these production theories is measured, following which a combination of all three theories is applied to both country cases to quantify the level of significance and relationship to actual production behaviour. The results leave us with the understanding that the Hubbert theory does indeed capture the behaviour of production in both countries even where it was not expected in the case of Nigeria. The reserve constraint remains a key factor in future production plans for both countries. The results of the empirical analysis provide evidence of strong support in the United Kingdom for the Hotelling theory and weak support in the case of Nigeria. Oil price also remains a key factor in production modelling, though less so in the case of Nigeria. The engineering modelling approach on the other hand failed to explain Nigeria’s production profile, while it captured that of the UK; indicating that production in Nigeria is yet to decline. This result is corroborated by the projected peak production date seen in the Hubbert forecast model for Nigeria, and the weaker support Nigeria shows for the Hubbert theory. The study concludes by developing a combined model using all three theories to quantitatively analyse which of them best explains the country oil production profile. The results lead us to conclude that despite the fact that there is weak support for a production theory; an empirical analysis of the data does show that the relationship may not be insignificant. The augmentation along with the combination of the production models sheds more light on actual behaviour as it provides a more in-depth understanding on actual oil production behaviour.

This report recommends a strategy for the introduction of aviation style Crew Resource Management (CRM) to the offshore drilling industry. The purpose of this study was to investigate ways CRM could be applied to the offshore drilling industry as a means of mitigating the risks of human error, and in particular risks to health and safety. Research has been conducted in accordance with accepted social science research methodologies. Key processes involved a formal literature review plus the formation of a Nominal Reference Group and application of the Delphi Technique as the primary data gathering method. Case studies have been used throughout this report to provide examples of key points and to illustrate the need for effective management of human error in both the aviation and drilling industries. Results from this study provided the basis for the development of a preferred implementation plan as a practical means for adopting the principles of CRM to the offshore drilling industry. Recommendations for furthering this work include the need to benchmark training as a means of providing better evidence that CRM leads to improved safety and operational performance, the need to develop a business plan to justify the cost and effort, the need to further involve key stakeholders in the process, and they need to solicit endorsement for this project from influential industry bodies.

Erdöl und Erdgas liegen als flüssige Kohlenwasserstoffe in porösen Sedimentgesteinen im geologischen Untergrund vor. Um diese Kohlenwasserstoffe zu gewinnen, wird der Untergrund durch Tiefbohrungen zur Förderung erschlossen. Anschließend erfolgt die Förderung des Erdöls in drei Phasen: der Primär-, Sekundär- und Tertiärförderung. In der primären Phase wird Erdöl durch den Druck in der Lagerstätte gewonnen, in der sekundären Phase durch künstliche Aufrechterhaltung des Drucks und in der tertiären Phase durch technische Beeinflussung der strömungsmechanischen und thermodynamischen Eigenschaften des Erdöls. Dennoch verbleibt insbesondere bei Schweröllagerstätten ein Anteil von 45 bis 90 % des ursprünglich in der Lagerstätte vorhandenen Erdöls in der Lagerstätte. Aufgrund strömungsmechanischer und thermodynamischer Einschränkungen ist eine Gewinnung dieses Anteils technisch und/oder wirtschaftlich nicht möglich. Meist wird die Lagerstätte nach Abschluss der Förderung verfüllt und die übertägigen Anlagen zurückgebaut. Zugleich steigt weltweit der Bedarf an Energiequellen, insbesondere an solchen, die für die Dekarbonisierung und Umstellung auf umweltschonende Energien benötigt werden. Wasserstoff wird voraussichtlich als chemischer Energieträger der zukünftige Schlüsselrohstoff für die Energiewende sein. Diese Forschungsarbeit untersucht die Weiternutzung bzw. Erschließung ausgeförderter Erdöllagerstätten zur Wasserstoffgewinnungmittels thermischer Verfahren. Diese Verfahren orientieren sich an bereits etablierten Methoden für die übertägige Verfahrenstechnik. Durch das Verfahren wird die Lagerstätte mithilfe der Verbrennung des in dieser vorhandenen Restöls erhitzt und das entstehende Koks durch eine Wasserinjektion in Synthesegas umzuwandeln. Durch die hohen Temperaturen entsteht in der Lagerstätte eine Atmosphäre aus Wasserdampf, die zur Vergasung des Kokses führt. Das Gas wird durch die Wasserfront aus der Lagerstätte in die Produktionsbohrungen verdrängt und kann anschließend an der Oberfläche aufbereitet werden. Im Kontext der Lagerstättenprozesse entsteht nicht nur Wasserstoff, sondern auch weitere Verbrennungsprodukte wie Kohlenstoffmonoxid, Kohlenstoffdioxid, Sauergase und Kohlenwasserstoffgase. Diese werden verfahrenstechnisch aufbereitet und dampfreformiert in den obertägigen Anlagen. Zur Erfüllung der Anforderungen an blauen Wasserstoff ist die Reinjektion von Kohlenstoffdioxid erforderlich. In der Dissertation wird ein numerisches Berechnungsschema eingeführt und ausführlich getestet, um die lagerstättentechnische Simulation der thermischen Wasserstoffgewinnung durchzuführen. Anhand von Modelllagerstätten werden mithilfe dieses Schemas relevante Prozessparameter ermittelt und für die Übertragung auf die konkrete Lagerstättensimulation aufbereitet. Das Verfahren zur Wasserstoffförderung wird an einer antiklinalen Lagerstätte mit geostatistischer Heterogenität simuliert. Die Ergebnisse werden zur weiteren Auswertung bezüglich Integritätsfragen, Übertageanlagen sowie wirtschaftlicher und strategischer Aspekte herangezogen.