Oil and gas exploration, and production life cycle

Oil and gas exploration, and production life cycle

Cairn looks to create, add and realise value for stakeholders, but not at the expense of the safety and well-being of people and the environment. We manage the risks associated with our business responsibly for all our activities and wherever we operate. This means, we aim to behave professionally in our dealings with people and within the environment from the very start of any project or activity.

The oil and gas business is, by nature, long-term and our approach covers every stage of the oil and gas life-cycle and is outlined below.

1. Due diligence

Before making an acquisition or investment, applying for an exploration licence or farming-in to an existing project, Cairn carries out an extensive risk-screening process which includes assessing whether there are potential health and safety, social, human rights, political, corruption, security or environmental impacts. This is used in decision-making on whether or not to proceed and if investment goes ahead it informs approaches to risk management going forward.

In 2014 we conducted due diligence on farm-in opportunities including the Mesana blocks in Spain.  We farmed-in to the PL420 block and drilling project operated by Statoil in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. We also farmed out of UK sector blocks P2040 and P2086, reducing our interests south of Catcher.

2. Prequalification

When we apply for an exploration licence, the necessary documents are submitted to the relevant authorities. Typically this includes information about our legal status, financial capability, technical competence and plans to manage health, safety and environmental risks, and contributions to local economic development.

In 2014 Cairn participated in the 23^rd licensing round in the Barents Sea, Norway.

3. Exploration seismic

Once Cairn has been awarded the right to explore in a certain area, we may carry out seismic surveys to develop a picture of geological structures below the surface. This helps identify the likelihood of an area containing hydrocarbons. Seismic surveys are usually preceded by an assessment of environmental, social and human rights impacts, which are managed through the Project Delivery Process (PDP).

During 2014 Cairn successfully completed seismic surveys offshore the Republic of Ireland and Malta. As non-operator, we also participated in seismic operations offshore Western Sahara.  Application for seismic surveys is pending offshore the Gulf of Valencia.

4. Site survey

Before commencing any drilling activity, site surveys are carried out to gain more detailed information on the area where an exploration well may be drilled, and to confirm that the selected drilling location is safe and that any sensitive environments can be avoided.

The process normally involves taking geological samples from the seabed and carrying out shallow seismic surveys. These activities have low social and environmental impacts and therefore usually do not require a separate Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or Social Impact Assessment (SIA).

Pre- and post-drilling surveys were completed for wells offshore Senegal and following drilling offshore Morocco.

5. Exploration drilling

Exploration wells are drilled to determine whether oil or gas is present. This phase can be accompanied by a step-change in activity and visibility to local people as offshore exploration can involve a drilling rig, supply vessels and helicopters for transporting personnel.

Exploration drilling is preceded by an assessment to understand potential health, safety, environmental, social, security and human rights impacts. These assessments identify appropriate steps to reduce impacts, manage risks and assist in operating responsibly. Limited community development programmes may also be put into place at this time depending on the nature of the programme.

In 2014 we continued our exploration drilling campaign offshore Morocco, and initiated and completed an exploration drilling campaign offshore Senegal. We were also involved, as non-operator, in exploration drilling in the UK and Norwegian North Sea. Drilling in the Cap Boujdour block, offshore Western Sahara, commenced in December 2014.

6. Appraisal drilling

If promising amounts of oil and gas are confirmed during the exploration phase, field appraisal is used to establish the size and characteristics of the discovery and to provide technical information to determine the optimum method for recovery of the oil and gas. The potential social and environmental impacts associated with appraisal drilling are comparable to exploration drilling, and similar assessments are carried out in advance.

Due to the delay in refurbishment of the Blackford Dolphin rig, the proposed Spanish Point appraisal well, offshore Republic of Ireland, could not be drilled in 2014 during the safe weather window and was therefore postponed. Plans are well advanced to drill this well, subject to the necessary approvals.  Preparation for anticipated appraisal drilling in Senegal is also underway.

7. Development

If appraisal wells show technically and commercially viable quantities of oil and gas, a development plan is prepared and submitted to the relevant authorities for approval. This includes a rigorous assessment of all the potential risks and a long-term assessment of environmental and social impacts covering a timeframe of between 10 and 30 years. The plan will also detail projected benefits to local communities, for example employment and supplier opportunities, as well as proposing how to manage potential impacts such as an influx of workers from outside the local community. At this stage good design is important to remove and mitigate risks to an acceptable level as well as managing construction and installation in a manner to likewise minimise impacts.

We are participating as non-operator in two development projects, the Kraken and Catcher fields, in the UK North Sea.

8. Production

A variety of options are available for the production of oil and gas. During this phase, which can last many decades, regular reviews are made of social and environmental performance to ensure that impacts identified in the assessments are mitigated. Changes in the risks associated with activities are assessed throughout the production period. Safe operations remain an ongoing requirement at this stage, which means personnel are competent and good HSE behaviours are in place and equipment is properly maintained and operated.

We currently have no operated production, but historically had significant production through our Indian business, Cairn India Limited (CIL), which we subsequently exited. Our involvement in exploration, and latterly production in India, brought social and economic development to a number of regions.

We anticipate production from our non-operated Catcher and Kraken fields from 2016/2017.

9. Decommissioning

This phase occurs when hydrocarbons can no longer be extracted safely or economically at the end of any field life-cycle. Decommissioning consists of closing operations in a manner that protects people and the environment and to avoid unacceptable legacy issues for local stakeholders and the Company. We are not engaged in any decommissioning activities at this time.

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Working Progress of Wind Turbines

A wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity. View the wind turbine animation to see how a wind turbine works or take a look inside.

Wind is a form of solar energy and is a result of the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and the rotation of the earth. Wind flow patterns and speeds vary greatly across the United States and are modified by bodies of water, vegetation, and differences in terrain. Humans use this wind flow, or motion energy, for many purposes: sailing, flying a kite, and even generating electricity.

The terms wind energy or wind power describe the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity.

Types of Wind Turbines

Modern wind turbines fall into two basic groups: the horizontal-axis variety, as shown in the photo to the far right, and the vertical-axis design, like the eggbeater-style Darrieus model pictured to the immediate right, named after its French inventor. Horizontal-axis wind turbines typically either have two or three blades. These three-bladed wind turbines are operated "upwind," with the blades facing into the wind.

Wind turbines can be built on land or offshore in large bodies of water like oceans and lakes. Though the United States does not currently have any offshore wind turbines, the Department of Energy is funding efforts that will make this technology available in U.S. waters.

Sizes of Wind Turbines

Utility-scale turbines range in size from 100 kilowatts to as large as several megawatts. Larger wind turbines are more cost effective and are grouped together into wind farms, which provide bulk power to the electrical grid. In recent years, there has been an increase in large offshore wind installations in order to harness the huge potential that wind energy offers off the coasts of the U.S. 

Single small turbines, below 100 kilowatts, are used for homes, telecommunications dishes, or water pumping. Small turbines are sometimes used in connection with diesel generators, batteries, and photovoltaic systems. These systems are called hybrid wind systems and are typically used in remote, off-grid locations, where a connection to the utility grid is not available.

Learn more about what the Wind Program is doing to support the deployment of small and mid-sized turbines for homes, businesses, farms, and community wind projects.

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Oil Spill Assessment

 

Exponent scientists have more than 40 years of experience in assessing the impacts associated with oil spills, providing consulting services to most of the major international oil companies, as well as pipeline, oilfield engineering design and service companies. In addition, our scientists have supported U.S. and international governments in responding to and assessing spill impacts.

Our services include:

• Emergency environmental response - cleanup and monitoring chemistry 
  • Source characterization/fingerprinting 
  • Contamination assessment 
  • Background and baseline assessment 
• Monitoring and NRDA 
  • Exposure and bioavailability assessment 
  • Shoreline surveys and ecology studies - impact and recovery 
  • Restoration 
• Database development 
• Geospatial analyses 
• Training

Emergency Environmental Response – Cleanup Monitoring Chemistry

Rapid environmental response is critical to the effective oil spill management. Exponent scientists are on call for immediate response to oil spill incidents. Our response experience focuses on environmental monitoring, assistance to spill clean-up efforts, ephemeral sampling and hydrocarbon chemistry. In complex cases involving releases into urban estuaries or industrial settings a strong scientific approach is critical to reconstructing the release, assessing injury, establishing causation, and defining the baseline. Our scientists and engineers excel in the area of source characterization and petroleum fingerprinting, and our clients rely on our combined experience in petroleum fate in the environment to accurately assess impacts and allocate those impacts to various sources.

Monitoring and Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) 

One of Exponent’s core, signature business areas is that of NRDA. Exponent has been a pioneer and a trusted consultant on NRDA issues since the first regulations were developed. Our team has unparalleled experience and depth in supporting industry in the area of NRDAs under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), and under state claims. The fate of spilled oil in the environment must be understood in order to predict the potential for exposure of ecological receptors. Exponent’s team of petroleum chemists and toxicologists have extensive experience with determining exposures associated with oil spills, as well as issues related to the persistence and bioavailability of oil in the environment, and the use of biomarkers as measures of exposure. Our clients rely on our combined experience in contaminant assessment and biological injury assessment, along with our knowledge of transport pathways to help assess injury and allocate those injuries to various sources.

Geospatial Analysis

Exponent scientists have evaluated the geospatial implications of different oil spill response strategies on shoreline impacts. Our work has focused on the development of a GIS from base shoreline maps obtained from aerial photographs. The analysis of possible shoreline impacts from oil spills relies, in part, on the type of shoreline being affected. Our team of aerial imagery and GIS specialists evaluated the shoreline typing, and have determined that the usability of aerial photographs to populate a GIS system, and hence to assess oil spill impact and persistence, is highly dependent on the timing and quality of the aerial images. This finding is especially important when it comes to the timing of tides and image acquisition where significant offsets and errors in shoreline typing can occur without such recognition. 

 

Database Development

Exponent has developed a customizable database and interface to store, summarize, and display environmental data from a wide variety of sites and investigations, and has been customized for oil spills. Analytical data, photographs, chromatograms, and scanned documents can be linked to individual data points. The database has a web-tool protected interface that is setup for individual users and includes customized data selection tools which allow simplified searches, selection and download of data sets based on end-user needs. The data output(s) from the database can be Access or Excel format spreadsheets that can be downloaded by the user for further data analysis and interpretation. Thus no knowledge of Access will is required of the end-users.

Training

Exponent scientists have conducted oil spill training programs and seminars for clients worldwide. The training includes all of the environmental issues and response strategies and methods that are part of the short and long term response efforts. Our primary focus is on environmental sampling, NRDA, environmental monitoring and chemical fingerprinting, but also includes shoreline assessment, toxicity assessment and other oil spill related issues.

Exponent Oil Spill Experience

• Amoco Cadiz 
• Argo Merchant
• Bayway Refinery (Arthur Kill)
• Cosco Busan 
• Deepwater Horizon
• Ever Reach
• Exxon Valdez
• Haven
• Ixtoc I
• Katina
• Kure
• Kuroshima
• Martinez Refinery (Suisun Bay)
• New Carissa
• Newton Lake
• North Cape
• Perth Amboy (Arthur Kill)
• Prestige
• ROPME Sea
• Tsesis 

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Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust.

The aluminium-containing bauxite ores gibbsite, böhmite and diaspore are the basic raw material for primary aluminium production.

Proven, economically viable reserves of bauxite are sufficient to supply at least another 100 years at current demand. While demand for bauxite is expected to grow as demand for high quality aluminium products increases, new reserves will be discovered or become economically viable.

Gibbsite is an aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)₃), while böhmite and diaspore are both aluminium-oxide-hydroxides (AlO(OH)). The main difference between the latter two is that diaspore has a different crystalline structure to böhmite. Differences in ore composition and presence of iron, silicon and titanium impurities influence their subsequent processing.

90% of the world’s bauxite reserves are concentrated in tropical and sub tropical regions.

Large blanket deposits are found in West Africa, Australia, South America and India as flat layers lying near the surface, extending over an area that can cover many square kilometres. Layer thickness varies from less than a metre to 40 metres in exceptional cases, although 4 – 6 metres is average.

In the Caribbean, as well as in Southern Europe, bauxite is found in smaller pocket deposits, while interlayered deposits occur in the United States, Suriname, Brazil, Guyana, Russia, China, Hungary and the Mediterranean.

Bauxite is generally extracted by open cast mining, being almost always found near the surface, with processes that vary slightly depending on the location. Before mining can commence the land needs to be cleared of timber and vegetation. Alongside this process may be the collection of seeds and/or saplings, for inclusion in a seedbank, which will form the basis of post-mining revegetation of the site. Next the top soil is removed and is usually also stored for replacement during rehabilitation.

The layer under the top soil is known as the “overburden”. On some surface deposits there is no overburden, and on others, the bauxite may be covered by up to 20 metres of rock and clay. On average, overburden thickness is around 2 metres.

The bauxite layer beneath the overburden is broken up using methods such a blasting, drilling and ripping with very large bulldozers. Once the bauxite is loosened into manageable pieces it is generally loaded into trucks, railroad cars or conveyors and transported to crushing and washing plants or to stockpiles, before being shipped to alumina refineries, which are generally located close to bauxite mines.

Unlike the base metal ores, bauxite does not require complex processing because most of the bauxite mined is of an acceptable grade. Ore quality can be improved by relatively simple and inexpensive processes for removing clay, known as “beneficiation”, which include washing, wet screening and mechanical or manual sorting. Beneficiating ore also reduces the amount of material that needs to be transported and processed at the refinery. However, the benefits of beneficiating need to be weighed against the amount of energy and water used in the process and the management of the fine wastes produced.

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Cement Production Manufacturing Proccess

Cement is a fine powder which sets after a few hours when mixed with water, and then hardens in a few days into a solid, strong material. Cement is mainly used to bind fine sand and coarse aggregates together in concrete.  Cement is a hydraulic binder, i.e. it hardens when water is added.

There are 27 types of common cement which can be grouped into 5 general categories and 3 strength classes: ordinary, high and very high.  In addition, some special cements exist like sulphate resisting cement, low heat cement and calcium aluminate cement.

The quarry is the starting point

Cement plants are usually located closely either to hot spots in the market or to areas with sufficient quantities of raw materials. The aim is to keep transportation costs low. Basic constituents for cement (limestone and clay) are taken from quarries in these areas.

A two-step process

Basically, cement is produced in two steps: first, clinker is produced from raw materials. In the second step cement is produced from cement clinker. The first step can be a dry, wet, semi-dry or semi-wet process according to the state of the raw material.

Making clinker

The raw materials are delivered in bulk, crushed and homogenised into a mixture which is fed into a rotary kiln. This is an enormous rotating pipe of 60 to 90 m long and up to 6 m in diameter. This huge kiln is heated by a 2000°C flame inside of it. The kiln is slightly inclined to allow for the materials to slowly reach the other end, where it is quickly cooled to 100-200°C. 

Four basic oxides in the correct proportions make cement clinker: calcium oxide (65%), silicon oxide (20%), alumina oxide (10%) and iron oxide (5%). These elements mixed homogeneously (called “raw meal” or slurry) will combine when heated by the flame at a temperature of approximately 1450°C. New compounds are formed: silicates, aluminates and ferrites of calcium. Hydraulic hardening of cement is due to the hydration of these compounds. 

The final product of this phase is called “clinker”. These solid grains are then stored in huge silos. End of phase one.

From clinker to cement

The second phase is handled in a cement grinding mill, which may be located in a different place to the clinker plant. Gypsum (calcium sulphates) and possibly additional cementitious (such as blastfurnace slag, coal fly ash, natural pozzolanas, etc.) or inert materials (limestone) are added to the clinker. All constituents are ground leading to a fine and homogenous powder. End of phase two. The cement is then stored in silos before being dispatched either in bulk or bagged.

What is concrete?

Concrete is a solid material made of cement, water, aggregates and often with admixtures. When fresh, it has a certain workability and takes the form of the mould into which it is put. When set and hardened, it is as strong as natural stone and resists time, water, frost, mechanical constraints and fire. Typically, concrete is the essential material used in all types of construction [residential (housing), non-residential (offices) and civil engineering (roads, bridges, etc.)].

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Geothermal Powerplant Energy

Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.

Almost everywhere, the shallow ground or upper 10 feet of the Earth's surface maintains a nearly constant temperature between 50° and 60°F (10° and 16°C). Geothermal heat pumps can tap into this resource to heat and cool buildings. A geothermal heat pump system consists of a heat pump, an air delivery system (ductwork), and a heat exchanger-a system of pipes buried in the shallow ground near the building. In the winter, the heat pump removes heat from the heat exchanger and pumps it into the indoor air delivery system. In the summer, the process is reversed, and the heat pump moves heat from the indoor air into the heat exchanger. The heat removed from the indoor air during the summer can also be used to provide a free source of hot water.

In the United States, most geothermal reservoirs of hot water are located in the western states, Alaska, and Hawaii. Wells can be drilled into underground reservoirs for the generation of electricity. Some geothermal power plants use the steam from a reservoir to power a turbine/generator, while others use the hot water to boil a working fluid that vaporizes and then turns a turbine. Hot water near the surface of Earth can be used directly for heat. Direct-use applications include heating buildings, growing plants in greenhouses, drying crops, heating water at fish farms, and several industrial processes such as pasteurizing milk.

Hot dry rock resources occur at depths of 3 to 5 miles everywhere beneath the Earth's surface and at lesser depths in certain areas. Access to these resources involves injecting cold water down one well, circulating it through hot fractured rock, and drawing off the heated water from another well. Currently, there are no commercial applications of this technology. Existing technology also does not yet allow recovery of heat directly from magma, the very deep and most powerful resource of geothermal energy.

Many technologies have been developed to take advantage of geothermal energy - the heat from the earth. NREL performs research to develop and advance technologies for the following geothermal applications:

Geothermal Energy Technologies:

• Geothermal Electricity Production
  Generating electricity from the earth's heat.
• Geothermal Direct Use
  Producing heat directly from hot water within the earth.
• Geothermal Heat Pumps
  Using the shallow ground to heat and cool buildings.

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Biomass Energy

Biomass energy or bioenergy - the energy from organic matter - for thousands of years, ever since people started burning wood to cook food or to keep warm.
And today, wood is still our largest biomass energy resource. But many other sources of biomass can now be used, including plants, residues from agriculture or forestry, and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes. Even the fumes from landfills can be used as a biomass energy source.
The use of biomass energy has the potential to greatly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Biomass generates about the same amount of carbon dioxide as fossil fuels, but every time a new plant grows, carbon dioxide is actually removed from the atmosphere. The net emission of carbon dioxide will be zero as long as plants continue to be replenished for biomass energy purposes. These energy crops, such as fast-growing trees and grasses, are called biomass feedstocks. The use of biomass feedstocks can also help increase profits for the agricultural industry.

Biomass Energy technology applications:

• Biofuels
  Converting biomass into liquid fuels for transportation.
• Biopower
  Burning biomass directly, or converting it into a gaseous fuel or oil, to generate electricity.
• Bioproducts
  Converting biomass into chemicals for making products that typically are made from petroleum.

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