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By Joseph B. Umpleby

PROGRESS in the petroleum industry in 1929 has been characterized by outstanding accomplishments in the fields of new discovery of supply, economic control of production, increased efficiency and reduced costs of recovery, and lowered costs and greater flexibility in manufacture. Resources have been developed in an outstanding degree in the Kettleman Hills. California, the Oklahoma City field (which adds a large potential area in central Oklahoma), the discovery of Woodbine sand production in East Texas, and the discovery of Wilcox sand production in west-central Kansas. Engineering technique has progressed both along the lines of development and production, with a net result that costs have been reduced and extraction increased in notable degree, although it is impossible to give a close measure of either. In the field of re- fining crude oils variations to the end of promoting reduced cost and greater flexibility has been more important than genera! acceptance of innovations in practice.

Jan 1, 1930

By John M. Lovejoy

FEDERAL regulation of the petroleum resources of the nation has long been an interesting topic for discussion. A plan to accomplish Federal control has now taken definite form. At the request of the President of the United States, a bill to be known as the Petroleum Conservation Act of 1939 has been presented to Congress-H. R. 7372, offered by Representative Wm. P. Cole, Jr., and more usually known as the Cole bill. It is an act ostensibly designed to conserve our petroleum resources, through regulation of production practices. Hearings are being held currently by a subcommittee of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, in compliance with the request of the President to report the bill early in the next session of Congress.

Jan 1, 1939

By Evan Brinkerhoff, Steve Chorley

The largest hard rock TBM ever to bore in the USA, an 11.6 m diameter Robbins Main Beam TBM, recently underwent a planned in-tunnel diameter change to a more compact 9.9 meters. The first-of-itskind conversion process for the Main Beam TBM was undertaken 2.8 km into the bore and was not done inside a shaft or pre-excavated portal. This paper will detail the unique dual-diameter machine designed for the Mill Creek Drainage Relief Tunnel in Dallas, Texas, USA, machine performance, and successful size conversion process that took place in early 2021—a process that utilized the four C’s of construction to enormous benefit: Communication, Cooperation, Collaboration and Coordination.

Dec 1, 2022

By J. B. Urnfileb

THE function of gas in the development and production of oil has far reaching consequences that should be emphasized. The technical aspects of the subject have recently had a great deal of attention but less thought has been given to fundamental concepts underlying oil and gas law and the many customs and practices that have grown up in the industry. I shall re- view briefly the advance in knowledge of the subject and attempt to relate these concepts to legislative, judicial and operating problems. Early writers on oil and gas in Pennsylvania noted their close association in oil pools and their contemporaneous decline in output; also, that as gas pressure decreases so does production, that new offset wells reduce the output of existing wells, and even that tubing a well lengthens its flowing life. Expanding gas was deduced as the principal expulsive force. These fundamental observations had been made at least as early as 1880.l They were treated, however, as academic considerations and did not greatly influence law or practice for many years except to instil into all operators an urgent desire to hasten offset drilling to obtain as much of the flush as possible.

Jan 1, 1932

By C. V. Millikan

THE year 1930 in the petroleum industry has been characterized by the establishment of large potential production of crude oil. This has resulted in closer cooperation between companies by proration and unit operation agreements in order to afford an equitable outlet to all, and to prevent a flood of oil being forced on the market with attendant tremendous material and economic waste. Drilling wells in proved areas and wildcat wells are fewer than in the past several years. Restricted production and low prices have caused greater effort to increase producing and recovery efficiencies. Increased refinery efficiencies have amplified the effect of overproduction. Pipe line departments have been especially busy. New oil lines have reached more refineries by new and shorter routes. Establishing greater gas reserves by new fields has justified new gas lines to industrial centers, and has brought this fuel to thousands of new domestic consumers. Two long gasoline lines, a new venture in pipe lines, are being built to obtain a lower cost of transportation and less loss between the refineries and their distribution centers. The chairmen of the various divisions have discussed the developments of their respective branches more fully in the following reviews.

Jan 1, 1931

By Walter Miller

DURING the second year of America's active participation in the war the main objectives of the petroleum refining industry were again to provide the four most important product needs for war: 100-octane aviation gasoline, toluene for TNT production, high-quality lubricating oils for the needs of aviation and the armed forces, and petroleum chemicals for synthetic rubber manufacture. All other materials supplied by the petroleum industry took an inferior priority ranking, depending on the degree of essentiality. To accomplish the above objectives the industry initiated and carried on a building program during 1942 and 1943 which will put those two years down in petroleum refining history as the greatest construction years of all time, a record which will hold for decades to come. Led by an estimated total of $900,000,000 going into 100octane and contributory plant investment, it is easy to picture a total of two billion dollars and more going into additional refining-industry plant investment during 1942 and 1943, most of it privately paid for, but a substantial part covered by R.F.C. Government money financing.

Jan 1, 1944

By R. L. Minckler

PETROLEUM industry forecasts are constantly made and revised but are not in the nature of predictions. Particularly in the field of demand, many of the factors are far beyond control by the producing industry. Supply reacts on demand and demand reacts on supply. Competent economists in the oil business forecasted a year ago, on the basis of experience, that demand would now be at a much lower level than it is. This increased demand increased the price of crude oil and products, and in turn those increased prices have brought forth increased supply. A reduction in demand would lead to a reduction in supply. Shortages are now world-wide, and costs of secondary importance, so if there were extra supplies in California they would be moved into what are termed "unnatural markets." For example, Argentina is in the market today for California gasoline; that is an unnatural market because of the greater transportation distances from California to Argentina than from normal sources.

Jan 1, 1947

By Raymond W. Hiteshue, Henry H. Ginsberg, Paul S. Lewis

Coal was gasified in the presence of up to 3.57 million roentgens of gamma rays by the Bureau of Mines to determine whether the irradiation increased the gasification rate or yields of methane and hydrogen . High volatile A bituminous coal was gasified with steam at 500 and 1,500 psig and temperatures of 1,400 ° and 1,800 ° F ; five other coals ranging in rank from lignite to anthracite were gasified at 500 psig and 1,800 ° F. The average results of replicate experiments with and without radiation were compared for possible effects of radiation from 40,000 curies of radioactive cobalt . The irradiation had no gross effect on the gasification rate or on the yield and distribution of methane and hydrogen . It was concluded that gammaray irradiation produced no improvement in the technology or economics of coal gasification .

Jan 1, 1964

By Dan Mahrt

"In June of 2009, a slope failure occurred along River Road in Bismarck, North Dakota. The slope failure affected approximately 300 feet of River Road with vertical displacements up to 3 feet, resulting in closure of the road. River Road travels along the Missouri River in Bismarck in a geologic area riddled with historic slope failures of varying sizes. River Road is a city roadway which travels along the Missouri River. The toe of the failure extended into the Missouri River, therefore methods to repair the slope needed to be constructed within United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) requirements, and be acceptable to the City of Bismarck. As this is a scenic area along the river, the stakeholders desired to maintain the scenic landscape along the roadway as a part of the slope stabilization.Due to the magnitude movement of the failure mass, the geometry of the failure was relatively easy to evaluate. In evaluating remediation options and collaborating with the USACE, the team determined that the scarp was situated primarily within the navigable portion of the Missouri River. This required USACE approval for any repair or remedial work downslope of the roadway. The City of Bismarck wished to reopen the roadway as soon as possible, therefore stabilization options were limited to working within the road right-of-way to avoid permitting for working within the navigable waterway.The remediation solution for this project involved a combination of driven H-pile and placement of lightweight fill to re-construct the roadway at the original grades, and avoid impacting the navigable portions of the Missouri River. This paper discusses the unique project constraints and the innovative solution using multiple technologies to successfully stabilize the slope.BackgroundIn June 2009, Bismarck, North Dakota experienced two consecutive days of significant rain resulting in over 5 inches of precipitation in a 36-hour period. Shortly after these rain events, a slope failure was noted on River Road, a city street along the Missouri River in Bismarck. Initial findings noted the slope failure affected about a 300-foot long portion of the roadway, with vertical displacements of about 2 feet. The city of Bismarck closed the roadway and began evaluating repair solutions for the road."

Jan 1, 2016

By Ricky Chipka, Roshan Thapa, Richard Yovichin, Greg Rogoff, Patrick Niemuth

A 4.5-mile-long, 96-inch-diameter outfall pipeline was constructed between North Texas Municipal Water District’s proposed Sister Grove Regional Water Resource Recovery Facility and the Stiff Creek Discharge Structure. Two TBM-mined tunnel segments were excavated for the outfall pipeline through rock and mixed-face conditions within the Austin Chalk Formation. The TBM mining performance was tracked in detail and evaluated during mining. This paper discusses the TBM configuration, TBM utilization, advance rates, and challenges of both tunnel segments.

Jun 13, 2023

By Louis H. Meece

The romance of the River lives on in the tales of Mark Twain; and many Americans still think of the Mississippi River in terms of the steamboats loaded with passengers, gamblers and cotton. Yet for many years, coal has been a major cargo on the American waterways. Currently, about 100 million tons a year of coal is handled in some part of its journey from mine to destination by barge. The bulk of this traffic has been on the Ohio River System and the Upper Mississippi River System in years past. Now we have a new entry. Over the past 10 years various movements of coal have developed down the Mississippi River to power plants at Memphis and along the Gulf Coast, and a small amount of metallurgical coal has moved down the Mississippi River for export to Japan since 1970. But in 1980 a brand new player came on the scene. 1980 was a momentous year for the American coal business. Historically, we have exported about 50 million tons a year of metallurgical coal to the world's steel mills. Just before and after World War I, we also had a fairly healthy export trade in steam coal; and again in the late forties, we supplied large amounts of coal to Europe until domestic production could recover from the ravages of World War II. But since the early fifties, the name of the export game has been metallurgical coal. Starting in the mid seventies, something began that was almost totally missed by the American coal industry; and that was the growth in the use of coal first in Europe and now in the Far East as a steam product and as an alternative to petroleum products. As these world coal markets began increasing, the U.S. at first was thought to be noncompetitive because ocean rates were still very low. For example, as recently as 1977, Australian coal could be moved all the way from Australia to the Gulf Coast for $12.50 per metric ton. Coal exporting countries were Poland, Australia and South Africa, except for the continuing exports of U.S. high quality metallurgical coal. But then came the second oil shock, and all of the sudden that $12.50 rate from Australia to the U.S. Gulf became $25.00. And then suddenly and almost unrecognized by the American industry, American coal was in fact competitive at overseas destinations because of the drastic change in trade patterns brought on by the doubling and tripling and quadrupling of bunker fuel prices for ships.

Jan 1, 1982

By Ken MacLeod

A development at 83 Queens Road in Melbourne, Australia required construction of a three level basement. The normal geotechnical constraints of excavating adjacent to an existing relatively new building were challenging enough for the complicated soils profile occurring at the site. An additional significant challenge faced by the designers, was the requirement to excavate underneath the entire footprint of an existing heritage listed building, known locally as the Mansion, in the centre of the site. Maintaining the structural integrity of that building was afforded the highest priority during the 10m excavation. This paper describes geotechnical aspects of the analysis, design and construction of the secant retention system adjacent the new building and support of the Mansion enabling the 10m excavation to proceed without causing damage to the structure. The secant wall comprised hard-soft interlocking piles constructed using CFA methods. CFA piles along the length of the Mansion provided short term support, with the building load being transferred to the piles by large steel beams jacked under the building. Survey results confirmed that movements of the retaining wall and also the load bearing piles were minimal and well within design expectations.

Jan 1, 2006

By Gregory A. Stephan

A case history of design, prediction, instrumented static load tests on probe piles, installation monitoring, and integrity testing of production piles is presented. Based upon project-specific subsoil conditions, as obtained from several 60 to 80 ft (18.3 to 24.4 m) deep test borings, deep foundation system alternatives included driven concrete and steel pipe piles as well as augered cast-in-place (ACIP) piles. High structural loads, site-specific constraints, and the production time frame mandated by the project owner led to the selection of an ACIP pile foundation system that was designed for a pile capacity of 75 tons (667 kN) in compression and 35 tons (309 kN) in tension. Site-specific concerns were raised about the highly porous nature of fragmented and decomposed sandy limestone as well as the high grout intake during construction that could result in increased foundation cost as well as interconnecting of the piles in the rock layer. Consequentially, a multi-phase ACIP pile evaluation program consisting of instrumented compression pile load tests, in conjunction with single-hole ultrasonic pile testing, pile echo testing (sonic testing), as well as full-time production pile monitoring by an experienced geotechnician was specified. As a result of this testing and evaluation program, while grout usage was determined to be within an acceptable range, the instrumented compression load tests yielded data that allowed use of 55 ft (16.8 m) long ACIP piles in lieu of the original plans to use 70 ft (21.3 m) long precast concrete piles. This information was effectively utilized as part of the overall quality control program to install a total of 268, 14 in. (356 mm) diameter ACIP piles within the building footprint to depths of 55 ft (16.8 m) below the pile cut-off elevation as part of the foundation support system. Information recorded during installation included rate of insertion/extraction of the auger, grout pump strokes and pressure, total grout volume, and grout factors, as well as quality and strength of grout. Additionally, many pre-selected installed piles were tested for integrity with a Pile Integrity Sonic Analyzer (PISA) using both sonic and ultrasonic methods. This engineered, monitored, and tested foundation solution provided an effective and quality intensive basis for completion and approval of the foundation work for the building that resulted in cost savings over other foundation alternatives for the owner.

Jan 1, 1999

By E. H. Mohr

AT the McGill concentrator of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Co., all flotation operations have been carried out in Forrester cells since November, 1926. In respect to cost of operation, the new cell has proved to be superior to the Callow, which it supplanted, and its incorporation in the flow sheet has resulted in a marked improvement in the metallurgy. Before citing the advantages of the new machine over the old, it should be explained that the Forrester has not only replaced the Callow, but it has made possible the elimination of a number of tables as well. When Callow cells were in use, table concentration preceded flotation. The ball mill pulp was elevated, by means of air lifts, to roughing Wilfley tables situated two floors directly above the flotation floor. On an intermediate floor were additional tables which cleaned the concentrate from those above. The finished table concentrate constituted approximately 60 per cent. of the total mill production, and contained about 40 per cent. of the recovered copper. The table tailings were returned to the classifiers, the overflow from which went to the flotation cells and the oversize to the ball mills. As soon as the Forrester cells were installed, this tabling operation was discontinued. The ball mill pulp now discharges into the classifiers direct, without the intermediate tabling. It was impracticable to employ the present flow sheet when Callow cells were in use, for the reason that unless the greater part of the heavy mineral was first removed, it accumulated on the mats and adversely affected the flotation operation. By tabling ahead of flotation, it was practicable to maintain the concentrator at 10 to 20 per cent. greater capacity (depending up on the pyrite content of the ore) than was possible by flotation alone. This was due to the necessity for finer grinding in the latter case. Even though the table concentrates contained only 6 to 8 per cent. copper con- tent, the low smelting costs made it advantageous to operate at high mill capacity, at the cost of low grade of product. STANDARD SECTION EQUIPMENT With the old-flow sheet, a standard section consisted of four ball mills and classifiers, one air lift, 20 roughing tables, 10 cleaner tables, 12 primary

Jan 1, 1928

By James A. Bachmann, Christopher J. Gray

On December 26, 1994, at 1:00 am, Santa Fe Pacific Gold's Twin Creeks Mine experienced a major highwall failure involving over 2.5 million tons. The resulting effects of this slide were thousands of ounces of gold that were now deferred and an unstable wall above which made mining the slough material unsafe.

Jan 1, 1996

By Robert D. Brown, Robert B. Parsons

"The mining industry may have survived the October 28 federal budget relatively unscathed, but the same certainly cannot be said of the petroleum sector-and many mining men are left wondering if their industry will be the next one to be singled out for special attention, as federal and provincial governments seek additional revenues and pursue nationalistic or provincial policies.Higher taxes, higher prices, a potpourri of ""incentives"", and a -""Canadianization"" policy mark the principal features of the new National Energy Program released by the government along with Finance Minister MacEachen's budget address.This month, Tax Notes examines the federal budget. with appropriate emphasis on the National Energy Program and its possible future implications forthe Canadian resource industries.IntroductionMost of the Canadian mining industry (tar sands miners excepted) heaved a sigh of relief on the evening of October 28, 1980, as Finance Minister MacEachen confounded the prophets in his budget address by not raising personal or corporation taxes and by making only relatively modest changes in the general tax system. Instead, he concentrated on a sweeping new energy policy. Unfortunately for that important sector of Canada's mining industry which is involved in mining the country's vast tar sands reserves, either now or in the future, the National Energy Program that was introduced along with the budget 'has serious implications."

Jan 1, 1981

The lignites of Otago and Southland offer a potentially viable future feedstock for electricity production and possible conversion to petrochemicals or liquid fuels. The deposits, when combined, represent New ZealandÆs largest energy inventory; equivalent to about 74 000 petajoules û or approximately 35 times current natural gas reserves. Too often dismissed as irrelevant to New ZealandÆs energy future because of adverse perceptions of the value of low rank coals, the strategic value of this resource is in fact huge.   Investigations of the lignites extend back over more than 50 years (LFTB various, CRL Energy Ltd). Whilst it is not the intention of this paper to review this work, these investigations have confirmed the suitability of the resource as a feedstock for thermochemical conversion. Current estimates of South Island lignite mining costs are NZ$1.0 - 3.0/GJ (Natusch 2005), making these resources amongst the most competitively-priced energy sources available world-wide.   This value, however, will only be captured if we as a country begin to envisage a world-scale, long-life, integrated and multi-faceted development sized to supply world markets for chemicals or fuels. Recent CAE studies (Hooper and Riddolls, 2005) have emphasised the vital importance of ensuring that any exploitation of this resource maximises their value to New Zealand. The question that thus must be applied is how might large-scale utilisation of the resource fit with New ZealandÆs primary energy supply, and its potential for the export of high-value commodities.   From the broader perspective of New ZealandÆs total energy supply equation we need to examine other supply options beyond just the generation of electricity. We face in this country a situation wherein almost all our liquid fuels feedstock has to be imported with projections for an increasing dependence on imported oil. In addition NZ has a natural gas reserves-to-production ratio of less than ten years, and dwindling supply from local production. Without further natural gas discoveries, New Zealand has only a window of approximately five years before we will need to commit to imported LNG or some other thermal fuels option.   In other words, New Zealand is facing an uncertain future unless we can restore energy inventories to cover an adequate strategic reserve capacity as well as enable long-term investment in alternative sources. Within this context the South Island lignite resources are thus deserving of more attention. The extent of the resource is well known, its suitability for conversion reasonably assessed, and its magnitude such that there is little doubt that lignite conversion could adequately meet NZÆs future energy needs for many years out.   This paper reviews coal gasification technology, its application to lignite and the possibilities for future development of the lignite resources. It is argued that the strategic imperative for this country is to secure the lignite resources as a primary energy source for this country well into the latter half of this century.

Jan 1, 2005

By E. H. Mohr

At the McGill concentrator of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Co., all flotation operations have been carried out in Forrester cells since November, 1926. In respect to cost of operation, the new cell has proved to be superior to the Callow, which it supplanted, and its incorporation in the flow sheet has resulted in a marked improvement in the metallurgy. Before citing the advantages of the new machine over the old, it should be explained that the Forrester has not only replaced the Callow, but it has made possible the elimination of a number of tables as well. When Callow cells were in use, table concentration preceded flotation. The ball mill pulp was elevated, by means of air lifts, to roughing Wilfley tables situated two floors directly above the flotation floor. On an intermediate floor were additional tables which cleaned the concentrate from those above. The finished table concentrate constituted approximately 60 per cent. of the total mill production, and contained about 40 per cent, of the recovered copper. The table tailings were returned to the classifiers, the overflow from which went to the flotation cells and the oversize to the ball mills. As soon as the Forrester cells were installed, this tabling operation was discontinued. The ball mill pulp now discharges into the classifiers direct, without the intermediate tabling. It was impracticable to ernploy the present flow sheet when Callow cells were in use, for the reason that unless the great,er part of the heavy mineral was first removed, it accumulated on the mats and adversely affected the flotation operation. By tabling ahead of flotation, it was practicable to maintain the concentrator at 10 to 20 per cent. greater capacity (depending up on the pyrite contnt of the ore) than was possible by flotation alone. This was due to the necessity for finer grinding in the latter case. Even though the table conecntrates contained only 6 to 8 per cent'. copper content, the low smelting costs made it advantageous to operate at high mill capacity, at the cost of low grade of product. Standard Section equipment With the old flow sheet, a standard section consisted of four ball mills and classifiers, one air. lift, 20 roughing tables, 10 cleaner tables, 12 primary

Jan 1, 1928

By Lawrence S. O’Rourke

Pricing for tantalum raw materials experienced explosive increases in the period 1978-1979, and-similar declines over 1980-1982. The causes for this are examined. Negative effects on the industry are highlighted. Analysis is provided of subsequent structural changes within the industry which minimize probability of future pricing excursions. Data on markets, sources of material, and outlines of concentration and extractive processes are reviewed. The conclusion is reached that expanded sources, future flat demand, and a broader international base of industry participants are principal forces in this restructure. Flat demand is reviewed as a function of increasing application of tantalum, but in more cost effective forms. This is driven by technical advance, notably in electronics applications.

Jan 1, 1986

By C Fong

Compliance Planning is an active approach to ensure mining operations align more closely to their longer-term plans. Through Compliance Planning, operations can not only measure their performance on intervals as short as intra-shift, but they can then apply corrective measures to ensure they remain as close as possible to the plans. Compliance Planning targets short-term and execution level teams, as these are the shortest duration planning divisions commonly found in mining operations. Compliance Planning combines live information with intelligent planning capabilities to provide a framework that enables mining operations to realise a significant improvement in reconciliation of plan to actual movements.

Jun 22, 2022