Showing papers by "Sonatrach published in 2003"

A Cleaner Development: The in Salah Gas Project, Algeria

Abstract: Publisher Summary Algeria currently produces in excess of 50 billion cubic meters per year of gas, much of which is exported to Central and Southern Europe, making it one of the main regional gas suppliers. This volume is predicted to increase to over 60 billion cubic meters per year, as opportunities are taken to place additional volumes into the expanding European gas market. The In Salah Gas Project, which is a joint venture project between BP and Sonatrach, will be contributing a large part to this additional gas volume, placing 9 billion cubic meters per year into the Algerian gas supply chain. A key challenge faced by the jointly staffed In Salah Gas project team was meeting the high environmental commitments, which had been outlined by BP and Sonatrach. One of the most important of these was the commitment to non-atmospheric disposal of the produced gas CO2 stream, which reaches a concentration of 10% from some reservoirs. This chapter outlines the options and solution that have been identified for managing this environmental issue, providing a case study of one of the first major petroleum development projects where an integrated emissions mitigation plan was constructed at an early stage of project design.

A comparative study of the electrochemical behaviour of Algerian zinc and a zinc from a commercial sacrificial anode

Abstract: Zinc is used in the oil industry as a sacrificial anode for protecting steel storage tanks from corrosion. The behaviour of a sample of zinc from the Algerian metallurgy industry (zinc A) and a commercially available zinc (zinc B) was compared in an electrolyte from storage tank drainage water. The corrosion potential measurements for zinc A confirmed that this material could be used as a sacrificial anode. The polarization curves of the two materials (zinc A and zinc B) were different, zinc A being the least polarized. Thus, the same corrosion protection could be obtained with a lower surface ratio (S Zn/S Fe) for Zinc A. Cyclic voltammetry curves provided evidence of a surface layer formed by dissolution products. To provide protection over extended periods of time, the zinc anode must be oversized. The two types of zinc tested were comparable. The results of the impedance spectroscopy study confirmed the previous results. The corrosion layer formed on zinc A was not prejudicial to dissolution. Hence, the properties of this zinc were found to be satisfactory for its use as a sacrificial anode.

The efficiency of natural gas futures markets

Abstract: Recent experience with the emergence of futures markets for natural gas has led to many questions about the drivers and functioning of these markets. Most often, however, studies lack strong statistical support. The objective of this article is to use some classical statistical tests to check whether futures markets for natural gas (NG) are efficient or not. The problem of NG market efficiency is closely linked to the debate on the value of NG. More precisely, if futures markets were really efficient, then: 1) spot prices would reflect the existence of a market assessment, which is proof that speculation and the manipulation of prices are absent; 2) as a consequence, spot prices could give clear signals about the value of NG; and 3) historical series on spot prices could serve as “clean” benchmarks in the pricing of NG in long-term contracts. On the whole, since the major share of NG is sold to power producers, the efficiency of futures markets implies that spot prices for NG are driven increasingly by power prices. On the other hand, if futures markets for natural gas fail the efficiency tests, this will reflect: 1) a lack of liquidity in futures markets and/or possibilities of an excess return in the short term; 2) a pass-through of the seasonality of power demand in the gas market; 3) the existence of a transitory process, before spot markets become efficient and give clear signals about the value of NG. Using monthly data on three segments of the futures markets, our findings show that efficiency is almost completely rejected on both the International Petroleum Exchange in London (UK market) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (US market). On the NYMEX, the principle of “co-movement” between spot and forward prices seems to be respected. However, the autocorrelation functions of the first differences in the price changes show no randomness of price fluctuations for three segments out of four. Further, both the NYMEX and the IPE fail, with regard to the hypothesis that the forward price is an optimal predictor of the spot price. Consequently, unless we have an increase in the liquidity of spot markets and an increase in the relative share of NG spot trading, futures markets cannot be considered as efficient.

Optimizing 3-D seismic technologies to accelerate field development in the Berkine Basin, Algeria

Abstract: Abstract A radical approach to 3-D acquisition in country with large sand dunes was developed to improve seismic data quality. A methodology was devised which allowed accurate removal of near-surface statics and transmission effects giving enhanced depth prognosis. An adaptive noise-attenuation technique, based upon an image-processing procedure, was developed to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of 3-D data that were contaminated with ‘acquisition footprint’. Finally, parallel survey geometries were devised that reduced the noise contamination of the next generation of 3-D surveys in the Berkine Basin. Most of the 3-D surveys acquired in the Berkine Basin are now designed with parallel templates rather than cross-spreads. This survey technique has been shown to provide better spatially sampled data, despite the interference caused by the huge sand dunes, which, in turn, respond more positively to standard pre-stack noise-attenuation processing. Attribute and coherency analysis, as well as stratigraphic interpretation, is now possible on these datasets with a much greater degree of confidence.