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By L. W. Blau

PERHAPS the most important event f or exploration geophysics in 1940 was the publication of three textbooks : "Geophysical Prospecting for Oil," by L. L. Nettleton ; "Exploration Geophysics," by John J. Jakosky; and "Geophysical Exploration," by C. A. Heiland. The literature had grown so bulky, and such a long time had elapsed since the publication of the texts by Ambronn and Eve, that treatises covering exploration geophysics comprehensively in all its branches and giving literature and patent references were sorely needed. This need has been satisfied admirably in these textbooks, and geophysicists owe the authors a debt of gratitude. In 1940, geophysics came of age. A conference on applied nuclear physics was held at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2. Several papers on geophysical subjects were presented at this meeting. Geophysical activity has decreased in all parts of the world except perhaps in Canada where, under the stimulus of the war's increased demands, prospecting for oil has increased. However, even there the war has had a seriously adverse effect on prospecting for ores and upon the promotion of new properties, although activity in producing and near-producing mines has been stimulated.

Jan 1, 1941

By R. W. Smith

There are many inconsistencies and gaps in available information concerning the mechanism whereby dodecylamine acts as a collector for quartz. The author compares the studies which have been made in correlating the contact angle with adsorption density on quartz over all pH ranges, and attempts to resolve some of the inconsistencies. In recent years much information has been obtained concerning the mechanism whereby dodecylamine acts as a collector for quartz. Fuerstenau,1 for ex- ample, has shown that adsorption density and zeta potential under some conditions, at least, can be correlated with contact angle and flotation rate. There appear, however, to be several inconsistencies and gaps in information available. One inconsistency involves trying to correlate contact angle with adsorption density on quartz over all pH ranges. Fuerstenau's correlation at a collector concentration of 4x10-5 moles per liter dodecylamine acetate and about pH 10 shows a contact angle of about 80 degrees occurring at approximately monolayer coverage. If Gaudin and Morrow's2 and Morrow's3 contact angle data for near neutrality (pH 6 to 7) are now compared with deBruyn's4,5 adsorption data on quartz in a similar pH range, it will be noticed that a contact angle of 38 to 40 degrees corresponds to complete monolayer coverage (at an amine concentration of approximately 10"3 molar). In fact even at an amine

Jan 1, 1963

By Avnulf Muan, Egil Aukrust

The activity-composition curve for cobalt oxide in (Co,Fe)304 solid solutions with spinel-type stmcture has been determined experimentally by studying the equilibrium between the spinel phase and a coexisting cobaltowüstite phase, "(Co,Fe)O", at 1200°C. A large negative deviation from ideal behavior prevails in the spinel at low cobalt oxide concentrations and a positive deviation at high cobalt oxide concentrations. The activity-composition curve for iron oxide in the solid solution is determined from the above curve by integvation of the Gibbs-Duhem equation along the join Co3O4,-Fe3O4. The standard free energy of formation of cobalt ferrite, CoFe2O4, from the oxide components CoO and Fe2O3 is calculated to be -8.2 kcal. ThERMODYNAMIC properties of (CO,Mn)3O4 solid solutions with spinel-type structure have been presented recently.' The present paper deals with similar relations in another spinel solid-solution phase, that represented by the system Co3O4-Fe3O4. The principles involved in measurements and calculations of thermodynamic properties for the system Co3O4-Fe3O4 are analogous to those used and discussed in detail in the work on (CO,Mn)3O4. A (CO,Fe)3O4 solid solution coexists in equilibrium with a (Co.Fe)Ot solid solution over a considerable Here acOo1.33 and aao are the activities of cobalt oxide in the spinel and the oxide solid solutions, respectively, pO2, is the oxygen pressure of equilibration, and pb, is the oxygen pressure at which CoO and CosO4 coexist in equilibrium in the binary system Co-O at the same temperature. The activity-com position curve for cobalt oxide in the (Co,Fe)O solid solution in contact with metal has been determined in a previous investigation by the present authors.' The system shows a small positive deviation from linear behavior. Because of the large defect concentration in wiistite and in (Co,Fe)O solid solutions, one cannot assume that the activity-composition relations in the oxide phase coexisting with a spinel phase at relatively high oxygen pressures are the same as those prevailing in the oxide solid solution coexisting with metal. However, a Gibbs-Duhem integration over the ternary Co-Fe-0 solution can be used to determine activities of cobalt and iron, and hence of CoO and FeO, from a knowledge of the oxygen potentials. Several papers have dealt with the subject of application of the Gibbs-Duhem equation to multi-component systems. 3-6 In the present case, it was

Jan 1, 1964

By Noel S. Christensen

COBALT is a silvery white metal with a slight bluish cast, strongly resembling nickel in its appearance and properties, notably its resistance to corrosion, although its alloys with other metals differ quite decidedly in their properties from those of nickel. The name cobalt was derived from the German "Kobold" meaning goblin and this came to be applied to the cobalt minerals which, although they resembled ores, did not readily yield metal when smelted by the primitive processes available in the Middle Ages. Cobalt minerals were used as pigments by potters and glass workers before the Christian era. Cobalt blue glass was found in the tombs of the Egyptians and in the ruins of Troy, and many colors used by the ancient Greeks and Romans contained cobalt. The ancients were entirely unaware that the colors they used were caused by cobalt and the metal itself was only isolated about the middle of the eighteenth century by Brandt although the preparation of cobalt compounds had been carried on in a small way ever since the opening of the silver-cobalt deposits at Schneeberg, Germany, in 1470. The metal is fairly hard, with a density when pure of 8.81 in the cast state and 8.92 after working. The commercial grade of cobalt has a density of about 8.75 in the cast state. The atomic weight is 58.97. The Brinell hardness of the pure metal is 124; that of the commercial grade varies from as low as 100 to as high as 138, depend¬ing upon the impurities present. Pure cobalt has a sharp melting point at 1478°C. The tensile strength of the pure metal in the cast condition is said to be higher than that of any other pure metal. Kalmus gives it as 34,400 lb. per sq. in. for cast unannealed metal; the effect of annealing at 850 to 900°C. is to raise the strength slightly. The yield point is close to the ultimate strength and the reduction in area and elongation are both low. Mechanical working raises the tensile strength of pure cobalt rapidly and in the form of wire it will be over 100,000 lb. per sq. in. The presence of small quantities of carbon in the commercial metal raises the tensile strength to as high as 61,000 lb. per sq. in., the reduction in area and elongation being raised at the same time to approximately 20 per cent.

Jan 1, 1933

By W. K. Whiteford

Until the beginning of the year 1930, conditions in the oil industry were such that the production engineer was chiefly concerned with improving the efficiency of development and production technique. Good engineering practice had been adopted to devise and improve methods and materials better suited to drilling for and producing oil and gas. These efforts reduced the hazard and expense of deeper drilling, increased the ultimate recovery from reservoirs and lowered production costs. Equipment was of better design and materials were better suited for the work and were more permanent. These improvements naturally have contributed their share toward increasing the volume of crude oil produced each year. The industry is now faced with a need for preventing a waste of this natural resource; waste which came as a result of continued reckless drilling of new reservoirs. To make a careful study of this economic problem and to devise methods for correcting these conditions was a logical problem for the production engineer. Much time and study have been devoted to the question, and remedial plans have been suggested during the last year and a half. The principles of unit operation have attracted the engineer's attention, as they present ideal conditions for the most scientific and economical development of an oil field. Unitization During 1930 unitization of producing and potentially producing areas has made real progress, and as each new unitized development is agreed upon the objections that loomed so large at the inception of the idea fade into comparative insignificance. Undoubtedly the outstanding example of the efficacy of unitization is the Kettleman Hills project in California. Unitizing this structure, with its almost incredible reserve, is an important step forward in the industry's concerted effort toward conservation. With this partial acceptance of the principles of unit

Jan 1, 1931

By W. R. Barclay

IN MY general contact with industry I have become more and more impressed with the need for the closest possible co-operation between engineers and metallurgists, and particularly with the need for appreciation of the work that each group is doing to assist the other. Also, I am convinced that from time to time it. is vitally important to a true perspective of human progress in all its branches, and certainly a salutary corrective of undue optimism and pessimism to endeavor to carry the mind hack over certain periods in the advance of technical knowledge, and form some kind of broad estimate of what has been accomplished in the application of science to industry in the fields with which we, as individuals or groups, may for the time being be concerned. We cannot without some appreciable mental effort realize what our forerunners have dine For us. If the young engineer or metallurgist entering industry today could be suddenly transported to a quarter of a century ago, and be compelled to work with the materials then available and within the limitations of knowledge then attained, he would, on his return to present-day life, have a much greater appreciation of what has been accomplished before lie arrived on the scene, and, what is even more important, a far more acute sense of its inherent value to his profession. I propose here merely to indulge in a general summary of the subject of improved engineering metals and alloys rather than in details, and to deal exclusively with developments within my own experience.

Jan 1, 1938

By F. L. Robertson, C. H. Bacon, J. W. Till

A description is given of the development of a process for making low sulphur steel on furnaces fired with 2 1/2 pet sulphur oil. Slag and metal are analyzed at melt. Slag weight is estimated. A simple method for calculating necessary lime additions for making 0.025 and 0.035 pct sulphur steel is given. DURING the last 15 years John Summers & Sons have been confronted increasingly by the problem of producing a low sulphur steel from high sulphur materials. The principles adopted, the processes used, the data collected on a furnace specially set aside to study this problem, and speculation on future developments are dealt with in this paper. This study is limited to two melting shops which make sheet steel only, of the following analysis: C, 0.06 pct; Mn, 0.33; S, 0.04, 0.035, 0.03, and 0.025; and P, 0.02 and 0.015. All the processes described have reference to the manufacturing of this steel and are not necessarily applicable, without modification, to other steels. The raw materials used are given in Table I. Development of Process About 1934, Schenck's work on phosphorus was applied to frame quantitative rules for the removal of phosphorus, with great success. We could however, neither in our own work nor in the voluminous literature, find any assistance to frame quantitative furnace rules to remove sulphur. Perhaps, we should have persevered with Schenck's outstanding chapter on sulphur in The Physical Chemistry of Steelmaking, but we missed the importance of one (Ss) sentence on p. 478. "Evidently this ratio -------- is [S] the important quantity to be considered from the point of view of chemical reaction; it is clear that the sulphur content of the steel alone, as frequently given in the literature cannot suffice for judging the success of the reaction unless special details are given regarding the sulphur charge and the amount of slag."' We were not however very successful in getting values for Schenck's "n" that agreed with (S) arrived at by our direct analysis. [S] In addition to Schenck's work much attention was given to V value. The formula selected for V was: (SCaO) — 1.57 (2 P2O5) (S SiO2) After plotting many charges a curve was obtained, based upon the relationship between the percentage sulphur in the finished steel and V value, Fig. 1. For a long time this was used as standard with about a 60 to 70 pct success on producer-gas fired furnaces, if all uprising scrap was used and no bought scrap used. An inspection of this curve shows clearly that it is not a quantitative manufacturing process, and that it was not sure enough to go to the trouble and expense of doing stage analysis for P,O,,

Jan 1, 1952

By James A. Clem

Approximately 2000 years ago, the Lord admonished the scribes (lawyers) and pharisees (religious leaders of that time) that they had paid the tithe but had omitted the weightier matters of law, judgment, mercy, and faith. (Matt. 23:23) I want to talk about "The Weightier Matters of Law." In a situation where big government is trying to have an effect on even small details of a work activity, otherwise simple situations become complex. Regulations are written to such detail that constant compliance with strict interpretations can be a nightmare-not to mention off the target of the intended purpose for the regulation. One soon recognizes the onerous characteristics of federal statutes. Another admonition the Lord gave those lawyers and pharisees back then was that they tended to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel! He meant that the pharisees were given to devoting themselves to the strict interpretation of law by writing hundreds of subrules or interpretation to law. In doing so they eventually lost sight of the original purpose of the law. I think they were being told, keep the law-but don't neglect to humanize it Keep it simple Recognize the purpose of why the law. "Mix in" a common sense approach. Someone once said, "Common sense is instinct -enough of it is genius." Today, as 2000 years ago, we need more "genius" displayed by legislators in considering the weightier matters of law. First of all true legislature genius calls for a declarative statement about the purpose of the statute and a fair, objective analysis of the ground rules by which it will be implemented. In the Health & Safety Act of 1969, the "findings and purpose" as set forth in Section 2 do define its purpose. I believe most of us affected can be in accord with the reasons advanced for the legislation. However, beyond those well-intentioned few paragraphs, we very quickly run into trouble. Congress complicated the simplicity of the statement of purpose by mandating government intervention into areas that cannot be effectively legislated, nor even should be legislated. The Act provided for broad gaged regulation which is unnecessary, inappropriate, and tremendously costly. Frankly, it detracts from a constructive, cooperative effort by the parties involved. These are strong negatives which characterize inappropriate legislation. Appropriate legislation and subsequent regulation, which is realistically conceived and practically enforced must be born of an honest desire for improvement, based on a working knowledge of common problems which are thoughtfully analyzed. Then the legislation must be written in clear concise language so that there can be little or no doubt as to its literal meaning and intent. To be practically enforced, it must be understood by all who will enforce it and by all who are subject to it. That is to say, an effective law or standard cannot be fixed or inflexible so that it cannot be tempered in human judgment. There must be an elasticity in the statute to provide for consideration of all of the relevant facts of a given situation. Such elasticity makes the compliance effort as meaningful as it can be for the time and dollars invested. Meaningful compliance requires room for common sense. Today, we in business along with our associates in government and labor, urgently need to pause, and assess our current situation. The problems arising from the 1969 Act have been intensified through the Mine Safety & Health Act of 1977. After reading the "findings and purpose" of this legislation, and by process of elimination, we should all clearly see what is and is not the purpose of the Act. 1) It is not to turn the management of private industry over to government. 2) It is not to impair the efficient operation of business. 3) It is not to reduce productivity and profits. 4) It is not to reduce national unemployment. 5) It is not to perpetuate the bureaucracy. 6) It is not to increase the tax burden on an already overburdened people. 7) It is not to increase our balance of payments deficit. 9) It is not to replace management/labor relations in working together to solve problems.

Jan 1, 1981

A GREAT labor, surely, is that of the coppersmith, since his every work must be hewn from the mass of copper by force of the hammer. At the beginning, middle, and, end all his works are inconvenient pieces and unpleasant to handle. If the work is done on the forge with the fire, it is done in order to refine or compose it into masses again, for drawing these out while hot with the blows of some heavy hammer, or in order to put the works in a condition that allows them to be drawn out while cold and worked. In this he puts all his labor and industry. He who works at this art often makes use of large hammers, sometimes of small ones, and sometimes of those that have a long iron head and a short handle. With these he is obliged ever to proceed in one of these activities, either extending the work lengthwise, narrowing it, or widening it. This is achieved by the manner and direction of striking and therefore it is sometimes hammered on the inside, sometimes on the outside, sometimes with the peen, and sometimes with the flat head. For instance, when he wishes to close it up he strikes it on the outside with the peen, and if he wishes to widen it he strikes it on the inside with either the flat head or the peen. In this way he proceeds to shape it with constant patience, and to make all the vessels that he works graceful. This metal, as I have told you, is soft, flexible, and tenacious under the hammer. It yields with a certain toughness, provided, however, that it is fine and without admixture of a trace of tin or other metal. That craftsman is a good master of this art who best makes every desired work

Jan 1, 1942

By GEORGE W. HARHIS

IN the earlier period of anthracite-ruining, much coal was wasted, both underground and in the culm-banks on the surface. Such waste is common in the development of new mining districts, in which, as a rule, only the richest material can be profitably treated. In the anthracite-region, special causes operated to increase this evil. The mines were generally operated under 20-year leases, and royalties were paid upon such coal only as was actually marketed. The lessees consequently cared for immediate profit only. They were- not bound to win all the coal they exposed, or to leave it in such condition that their successors could win it. Nor was it their interest or duty to educate consumers in the use of their product. The market called for coal of large sizes ; and such coal they furnished, throwing away the rest. Any pains taken by them to bring about a more rational use of coal by their consumers would have borne fruit, after their leases had expired, to the benefit of somebody else. A full statement of the situation wits given in 1893, in the report of the State Commission, appointed in 1889 to investigate the subject.` That body included the names of Heber S. Thompson, William Griffith and the late Eckley B. Coxe.2 Its report gives special attention to the utilization of the old culm-banks.

Nov 1, 1905

By H. A. Schlesinger

Various studies have estimated that for the next few decades, about half of all new power plants will be nuclear. The other half will be fueled with coal. Pending legislation on air pollution control would require all new coal-fueled power plants to install stack gas scrubbers or other technology to reduce sulfur oxide (SO,) emissions. These regulations would require flue gas desulfurization (FGD) or other technology for SO, reduction even on lower sulfur western coals. Among the options for FGD are single or dual alkali throw away processes using lime or limestone as the major reagent. These processes are currently more economically attractive than recovery processes, such as magnesium oxide and Wellman- Lord, that produce a salable product such as sulfur or sulfuric acid. One of the major problem areas with the throw away processes is disposal of the thrown away solid wastes, primarily calcium sulfite (CaSO3) and calcium sulfate (CaS04). Coal ash also must be disposed of, even if SOx reduction is not required. This paper addresses the alternatives for handling and disposal of throw away lime, limestone, and dual alkali process solid wastes. Advantages, disadvantages, and the economics of various methods are discussed. Both large central station power plants (500-1000 MW capacity) and smaller industrial power plants (up to 100 MW capacity) are considered. High sulfur eastern coals (53% S) and lower sulfur (3 1% S) western coals are considered.

Jan 1, 1981

By Karl S. Hughes

ANY one of the mining engineers who spent three years under the benevolent and protective custody of the military forces of His Imperial Nipponese Majesty will admit that he has survived a most disagreeable experience, but our friends here in the States all demand that we tell them something about our thrilling adventure. Many of the younger men who were on Luzon in December 1941 joined up with the Army, either as civilian technical employees or through their reserve officer status. They served through the Bataan and Corregidor defense and had five months of thrills and hardship, if that is what constitutes adventure. Unfortunately, too many of them are not alive to tell their stories. But for most of us, our internment as alien civilians was just one long, drawn-out pain in the neck. Yes, we starved; yes, we contracted beriberi, dysentery, typhus, dengue, and for a while had no quinine to fight the ever-present malaria; but these things are not exciting, neither is the account of them interesting. Our contingent from Mindanao, 250 .in number including 25 mining men, went through one period of starvation at Davao. When the activity of the Allied fleet interfered with the importation of staple foodstuffs, and the natives stopped bringing fruit and vegetables into the market, the food situation became acute, and in December 1943, with stocks in sight and in prospect insufficient to provision their own soldiers, our custodians decided that we must be moved to Manila. The story of that ten-day voyage in an antiquated Jap freighter is too disgusting to tell, but hardly more adventurous than the account of a game of solitaire.

Jan 1, 1945

Data about production are very meager. In this county from the earliest days until after the Civil War, the amount of coal used locally greatly exceeded that shipped on account of the iron produced; for many years the furnaces used raw coal for melting the ore. In 1846 it was stated that in this county one ton of iron required three tons of iron ore and three tons of local coal used raw.1 In 1864, eleven furnaces in Pennsylvania using 102,230 tons of raw coal produced 44,671 tons of iron, or 2.3 tons raw coal per ton of pig iron .2 This was probably as good a record as was made, as nearly all furnaces changed to coke some years later. Neither of these figures include the coal used for steam and other purposes around an iron plant. The Beaver and Erie Canal was opened in 1845 and the shipments shown from then to 1865, inclusive, are of coal received by the canal at Erie, and do not include any used at local points along the canal. From the completion of the Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad in 1864 the tonnage shipped by canal decreased. rapidly, and, while the canal shipments after 1864 are supposed to be those received at Erie by canal only, they may include some rail tonnages. Tonnages on Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad may, and probably do, include some used locally; those on the Jamestown & Franklin Railroad do not. It is likely that both canal and Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad figures include some coal originating in Lawrence County, and possibly a little from Beaver County. These tonnages are not duplicated in the data for either of the other counties. Not all of the railroad reports can be found now.

Jan 1, 1942

By H. Stigzelius

FINLAND'S recent mining history is both dramatic and pitiful in its shifting fortunes, dominated as it has been, by the country's proximity to the border zone of opposing dictatorships and social traditions; Fascism to the south, Communism to the east, and Democracy to the west. After 108 years under Russia's more or less harsh rule, Finland gained its democratic independence during the 1917 revolutionary strife in Russia with the official help of Germany and spontaneous help of other neighbors. The young nation was attacked by Russia in 1939 and again in 1941. It is common knowledge how the Finns fought with everything they had and everything they could get against their overwhelming adversary, and how by force of circumstances they landed in the Axis camp in 1941. Finland has never been known as a mining country in the same way as near-by Sweden, whose abundant iron and copper smelters during long periods so greatly contributed to the nation's welfare. Its largely barren, Archaean-granite geology long seemed forbidding. Some mining was done, to be sure; copper and tin at Pitkaranta near the Russian border, and lead and copper at Orijarvi. But towards the end of the last century the absence of a single producing mine cast a pessimistic shadow of truth over the Finnish poet Runeberg's words, that

Jan 1, 1946

By C. J. Bauer

WHEN the pipe lines from the Middle East to the Mediterranean are completed, the Middle East supplies will relieve the strain on Western Hemisphere petroleum resources, part of which are now shipped for Eastern Hemisphere use. A sketch of the world petroleum situation as it appears today and in the immediate future will help in understanding the future place of Middle East oil supplies. Anticipated 1951 world demand is slightly under four billion barrels. To meet this requirement, crude output and refinery runs throughout the world (including Russia) must be increased about two million barrels per day above the average of 1947. This increment, together with pipe lines, tankers, and other facilities, will require in excess of ten billion dollars of new capital in the next four years. We are, therefore, looking forward to the greatest expansion program in the history of the industry.

Jan 1, 1948

By Robert Sisselman

Dramatic changes have been effected since 1955 in the mode of iron ore shipments within the U.S. In 1955, less than one percent of ore consumed in domestic blast furnaces-approximately 125 million long tons-consisted of pellets. Five years later, in 1960, some 94.8 million tons of ore were consumed, 14% in the form of pellets. Projections for 1980 reinforce confidence in this most economic of blast furnace feeds, and set U.S. pellet consumption at 151.2 million tons. In the last decade, pellets caught fire in other countries. By 1969, world production reached 96 million tons. This compares strikingly with present world output of 154 million tons.

Jan 9, 1973

By H. W. Hindry

This paper presents the ingredients com-~osing a type of oil-base mud that has been successfully used in drilling oil horizons in California, the effect of ingredient concentrations on physical properties, methods of handling at the well and possible advantages of a waterless drilling fluid with excellent plastering properties. Introduction An oil-base mud is a rotary drilling fluid in which oil has been substituted for water as the principal liquid ingredient. In recent years such a mud has been developed and used successfully for drilling the oil horizons of wells in various Calilornia fields. There are several types of oil-base mud, but only the type that is currently used to any appreciable extent will be considered at this time. The oil-base drilling-mud compositions used by Shell Oil Company, Incorporated have been covered by several patent applications on which patents are expected to issue at an early date. The purpose of this paper is to present data on the fundamental design of the mud; the ingredients used and their specifications; the effect of ingredient concentration on physical properties; the selection of the proper mud; the facilities needed for handling the mud; and a general discussion on drilling with oil-base mud. In view of the early stage of development of oil-base mud, the great number of vari- ables, and the almost unlimited possible combinations of these. variables, which in turn require extensive laboratory study, there are certain irregularities and omis. sions in the data presented here. However, it is believed that sufficient data are at hand to permit a fairly complete analysis of the characteristics of oil-base muds. In view of the excellent plastering properties of oil-base mud when properly proportioned, its use should: (I) minimize the possibility of impairing the natural flow potentialities of the producing horizon such as that resulting from infiltration of water from water-base muds; (2) permit smaller clearances for setting liners, since the mud sheath has no appreciable thickness; (3) eliminate the possibility of clogging the perforations of the liner with thick mud sheath; (4) facilitate the removal of the mud sheath from the walls of the hole, for its mud sheath has no appreciable strength; (5) assist in drilling through formations, such as "heaving shale," where water wetting appears to be a source of difficulty. (6) permit cores to be obtained without contamination from drilling water. Fundamental Design of an Oil-base Mud In the design of any rotary drilling mud it is necessary to select materials that will fulfill the following requirements: (I) act as the liquid medium and regulate the viscosity; (2) impart initial and final plastering properties; (3) give gel strength and structure in order to prevent settling; (4) serve as a weighting material. The

Jan 1, 1941

By H. W. Hindry

This paper presents the ingredients com-~osing a type of oil-base mud that has been successfully used in drilling oil horizons in California, the effect of ingredient concentrations on physical properties, methods of handling at the well and possible advantages of a waterless drilling fluid with excellent plastering properties. Introduction An oil-base mud is a rotary drilling fluid in which oil has been substituted for water as the principal liquid ingredient. In recent years such a mud has been developed and used successfully for drilling the oil horizons of wells in various Calilornia fields. There are several types of oil-base mud, but only the type that is currently used to any appreciable extent will be considered at this time. The oil-base drilling-mud compositions used by Shell Oil Company, Incorporated have been covered by several patent applications on which patents are expected to issue at an early date. The purpose of this paper is to present data on the fundamental design of the mud; the ingredients used and their specifications; the effect of ingredient concentration on physical properties; the selection of the proper mud; the facilities needed for handling the mud; and a general discussion on drilling with oil-base mud. In view of the early stage of development of oil-base mud, the great number of vari- ables, and the almost unlimited possible combinations of these. variables, which in turn require extensive laboratory study, there are certain irregularities and omis. sions in the data presented here. However, it is believed that sufficient data are at hand to permit a fairly complete analysis of the characteristics of oil-base muds. In view of the excellent plastering properties of oil-base mud when properly proportioned, its use should: (I) minimize the possibility of impairing the natural flow potentialities of the producing horizon such as that resulting from infiltration of water from water-base muds; (2) permit smaller clearances for setting liners, since the mud sheath has no appreciable thickness; (3) eliminate the possibility of clogging the perforations of the liner with thick mud sheath; (4) facilitate the removal of the mud sheath from the walls of the hole, for its mud sheath has no appreciable strength; (5) assist in drilling through formations, such as "heaving shale," where water wetting appears to be a source of difficulty. (6) permit cores to be obtained without contamination from drilling water. Fundamental Design of an Oil-base Mud In the design of any rotary drilling mud it is necessary to select materials that will fulfill the following requirements: (I) act as the liquid medium and regulate the viscosity; (2) impart initial and final plastering properties; (3) give gel strength and structure in order to prevent settling; (4) serve as a weighting material. The

Jan 1, 1941

PRESIDENTS DAVID THOMAS 1871 R W RAYMOND 1872-1874 A L HOLLEY1875 ABRAM S HEWITT 1876 T STERRY HUNT 1877 ECKLEY B COXE 1878 - 1879 WILLIAM P SHINN 1880 WILLIAM METCALF 1881 RICHARD P ROTHWELL 1882 ROBERY W HUNT 1883 JAMES C, BAYLES 1884-1885 ROBERT H RICHARDS 1886 THOMAS EGLESTON 1887 WILLIAM B POTTER 1888 RICHARD PEARCE 1889 ADAM S HEWITT 1890 JOHN BIRKINBINE 1891-1892 H M HOWE 1893 JOHN FRITZ 1894 J D WEEKS 1895 E G SPILSBURY 1896 THOMAS M. DROWN 1897 CHARLES KIRCHHOFF 1898 JAMES DOUGLAS 1899-1900

Jan 1, 1952

(Members are urged to send in for this column any notes of interest concerning themselves or their fellow-members.) The following members registered at Institute headquarters during the month of April: J. C. Ralston, Spokane, Wash. E. P. Ross, Johnson City, Tenn. C. H. James, London, Eng. F. L. Garrison, Philadelphia, Pa. E. H. Benjamin, Oakland, Cal. A. Radcliffe, Copiapo, Chile. W. H. Shockley, Palo Alto, Cal. S. S. Wyer, Columbus, Ohio. A. C. Mauney, Salisbury, N. C. W. B. Kunhardt, Reading, Pa. A. W. Newberry, Los Angeles, Cal. W. E. Saunders, Philadelphia, Pa.

Jan 5, 1913