Magister Scientiae - MSc / Following successful discovery and production of hydrocarbons, Gabon is one of the key hydrocarbon target countries in Africa. Located in the Lower Congo Basin, the study area is based in Etame Marin Permit (EMP), which is licensed to VAALCO Energy Inc., and has been producing hydrocarbons since 2002. The currently explored and producing reservoirs are in the pre-salt sandstones of the Aptian Gamba Formation, charged with hydrocarbons sourced from the syn-rift lacustrine shale of the pre-Aptian Melania Formation. With the aim of finding potential petroleum plays in the post-salt successions and by using 3D prestack depth migration (PSDM) seismic sections and wireline logs, a detailed study of the post-Aptian stratigraphy and salt tectonics of the EMP was undertaken. Eight distinct reflectors were identified based on gamma ray signatures, stratal terminations and isopach trends. Sediment distribution patterns and the relative sea level history of the succession were determined by applying principles of sequence stratigraphy and salt tectonics. Furthermore, two potential plays have been outlined in the post-salt carbonates of the Albian Madiela Formation as well as in sandstones of the Turonian Azile Formation. These reservoirs might have been charged with hydrocarbons from the pre-salt shale of the Melania Formation and/or potentially also enriched from the Albian and Cenomanian shales. For these post-salt hydrocarbon reservoirs to be charged by the pre-salt source rocks, windows within the extensive evaporitic sealing of the Aptian Ezanga Formation were required. 3D PSDM seismic sections attest that diapirism of the Aptian salt unit generated ample hydrocarbon migration pathways from the pre-salt source rocks to post-salt reservoirs. Five well-developed potential salt windows have been identified, two of which have good probability to have facilitated the upward migration of hydrocarbons, because these salt windows are located up dip of oil producing wells. However, even if hydrocarbons are found in the post-salt reservoirs, similarly to the Yombo Field (located offshore Congo, south of the EMP), these shallow reservoirs in the EMP are likely to produce heavy oils due to biodegradation.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:08:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AndreLA_DISSERT.pdf: 1426214 bytes, checksum: 62fdf46525d28318b6138490219276ba (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-21 / In the operational context of industrial processes, alarm, by definition, is a warning to the operator that an action with limited time to run is required, while the event is a change of state information, which does not require action by the operator, therefore should not be advertised, and only stored for analysis of maintenance, incidents and used for signaling / monitoring (EEMUA, 2007). However, alarms and events are often confused and improperly configured similarly by developers of automation systems. This practice results in a high amount of pseudo-alarms during the operation of industrial processes. The high number of alarms is a major obstacle to improving operational efficiency, making it difficult to identify problems and increasing the time to respond to abnormalities. The main consequences of this scenario are the increased risk to personal safety, facilities, environment deterioration and loss of production. The aim of this paper is to present a philosophy for setting up a system of supervision and control, developed with the aim of reducing the amount of pseudo-alarms and increase reliability of the information that the system provides. A real case study was conducted in the automation system of the offshore production of hydrocarbons from Petrobras in Rio Grande do Norte, in order to validate the application of this new methodology. The work followed the premises of the tool presented in ISA SP18.2. 2009, called "life cycle alarm . After the implementation of methodology there was a significant reduction in the number of alarms / No contexto de opera??o de processos industriais, alarme, por defini??o, ? um aviso ao T?cnico de Opera??o que uma a??o com tempo restrito para ser executada ? necess?ria, enquanto que evento ? uma informa??o de mudan?a de estado e n?o demanda a??o por parte do T?cnico de Opera??o, consequentemente n?o deve ser anunciada, sendo apenas armazenada para fins de an?lise de manuten??o, incidentes e utilizadas para sinaliza??o/monitora??o (EEMUA, 2007). Por?m, alarmes e eventos s?o frequentemente confundidos e configurados inadequadamente de forma semelhante por programadores de sistemas de automa??o. Esta pr?tica resulta em uma elevada quantidade de pseudo-alarmes durante a opera??o de processos industriais. O elevado n?mero de alarmes configurados ? um dos principais entraves para a melhoria da efici?ncia operacional, dificultando a identifica??o de problemas e aumentando o tempo de resposta ?s anormalidades. As principais conseq??ncias desse quadro s?o o aumento do risco ? seguran?a das pessoas, instala??es, meio ambiente e o agravamento das perdas de produ??o. O objetivo principal deste trabalho ? apresentar uma filosofia de configura??o de um sistema de supervis?o e controle, desenvolvida com o intuito de diminuir a quantidade de pseudo-alarmes configurados e aumentar a confiabilidade das informa??es que o sistema fornece. Um estudo de caso foi realizado no sistema de automa??o das plataformas mar?timas de produ??o de Hidrocarbonetos da Petrobras no Rio Grande do Norte, de forma a validar a aplica??o dessa nova metodologia. O trabalho seguiu as premissas da ferramenta apresentada na norma ISA SP18.2. 2009, denominado ciclo de vida de alarme . Ap?s a implanta??o da metodologia verificou-se uma redu??o significativa no n?mero de alarmes

The authors bring us a general approximation of the regulatory model related to hydrocarbon exploration and production activities in Spain. In this sense, the analysis is focused in the increased use of the hydraulic fracturing technique, better known as «fracking». In particular, the authors analyze the case of the refusal of some Spanish Autonomous Communities regarding the implementation of this technique and how the Central Government has faced that opposition. / Los autores nos brindan una aproximación general al modelo regulatorio de las actividades de exploración y producción de hidrocarburos en España. En ese sentido, centran su análisis en el uso, cada vez más extendido, de la técnica de la fractura hidráulica, más conocida como fracking. En particular, analizan el caso de la negativa de algunas Comunidades Autónomas españolas respecto a la implementación de esta técnica y cómo ha afrontado el Gobierno Central dicha oposición.