The research during the first year of the project was focused on developing the foundations of a new geophysical technique for mineral exploration and mineral discrimination, based on electromagnetic (EM) methods. The proposed new technique is based on examining the spectral induced polarization effects in electromagnetic data using modern distributed acquisition systems and advanced methods of 3-D inversion. The analysis of IP phenomena is usually based on models with frequency dependent complex conductivity distribution. One of the most popular is the Cole-Cole relaxation model. In this progress report we have constructed and analyzed a different physical and mathematical model of the IP effect based on the effective-medium theory. We have developed a rigorous mathematical model of multi-phase conductive media, which can provide a quantitative tool for evaluation of the type of mineralization, using the conductivity relaxation model parameters. The parameters of the new conductivity relaxation model can be used for discrimination of the different types of rock formations, which is an important goal in mineral exploration. The solution of this problem requires development of an effective numerical method for EM forward modeling in 3-D inhomogeneous media. During the first year of the project we have developed a prototype 3-D IP …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2001, the federal government collected $7.5 billion in royalties from the sale of oil and gas produced on federal lands. Although most oil and gas companies pay royalties in cash, the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) has the option to take a percentage of the oil and gas produced and either transfer this percentage to other federal agencies or to sell this percentage itself--known as "taking royalties in kind." GAO reviewed the extent to which MMS has taken royalties in kind since 1995, the reasons for taking royalties in kind, and MMS's progress in implementing management control over its Royalty-in-Kind Program."

The purpose of this report is to present this Consultant`s findings regarding the nature and extent of the mineral estate of the United States at National Petroleum Reserve No. 2 (NPR-2), Buena Vista Hills Field, Kern County, California. Determination of the mineral estate is a necessary prerequisite to this Consultant`s calculation of estimated future cash flows attributable to said estate, which calculations are presented in the accompanying report entitled ``Phase II Final Report, Study of Alternatives for Future Operations of the Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves, NPR-2, California.`` This Report contains a discussion of the leases in effect at NPR-2 and subsequent contracts affecting such leases. This Report also summarizes discrepancies found between the current royalty calculation procedures utilized at NPR-2 and those procedures required under applicable agreements and regulations. Recommendations for maximizing the government`s income stream at NPR-2 are discussed in the concluding section of this Report.

The database provides bibliographic citations and abstracts for publications that may be useful in research and design of air- conditioning and refrigeration equipment. The database identifies sources of specific information on R-32, R-123, R-124, R-125, R-134, R-134a, R-141b, R-142b, R-143a, R-152a, R-245ca, R-290 (propane), R- 717 (ammonia), ethers, and others as well as azeotropic and zeotropic and zeotropic blends of these fluids. It addresses lubricants including alkylbenzene, polyalkylene glycol, ester, and other synthetics as well as mineral oils. It also references documents on compatibility of refrigerants and lubricants with metals, plastics, elastomers, motor insulation, and other materials used in refrigerant circuits. A computerized version is available that includes retrieval software.

This report provides a status of the progress made in Fiscal Year 2006 on tasks identified in the Waste Area Group 10, Operable Unit 10-08, Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Work Plan. Major accomplishments include: (1) groundwater sampling and review of the groundwater monitoring data, (2) installation of a Sitewide groundwater-level monitoring network, (3) update of the Groundwater Monitoring and Field Sampling Plan of Operable Unit 10-08, (4) re-evaluation of the risk at Site TSF-08, (5) progress on the Operable Unit 10-08 Sitewide Groundwater Model.

In the Santa Maria Basin, Santa Barbara County, California, four wells were processed and examined to determine the age and environment parameters in the oil producing sections. From west to east, we examined Cabot No. 1 Ferrero-Hopkins,from 3917.7 m (12850 ft) to 4032 m (13225 ft); Sun No. 5 Blair, from 3412 m (11190 ft) to 3722.5 m (12210 ft); Triton No. 10 Blair, from 1552 m (5090 ft) to 1863 m (6110 ft); and OTEC No. 1 Boyne, from 2058 m (6750 ft) to 2528 m (8293 ft). Lithic reports with lithic charts were prepared and submitted on each well. These tested for Sisquoc Fm lithology to be found in the Santa Maria area. This was noted in the OTEC No. 1 Boyne interval studied. The wells also tested for Monterey Fm. lithology, which was noted in all four wells examined. Composite samples of those intervals [combined into 9.15 m (30 foot) intervals] were processed for paleontology. Although the samples were very refractory and siliceous, all but one (Sun 5 Blair) yielded index fossil specimens, and as Sun 5 Blair samples below 3686 m (12090 ft) were processed previously, we were able to make identifications that would aid this …

Calculations performed as part of this study indicate that injection of treated groundwater containing treated regenerant solution has a high potential for precipitate formation that could lead to plugging of formation porosity surrounding the injection well. In the worst case scenario, substantial plugging could occur within a year of the initiation of injection. Some uncertainty is associated with respect to this conclusion. The uncertainty results from the fact that equilibrium with the most stable mineral assemblage cannot always be assumed and that slow precipitation rates could occur and reliable estimates of precipitation kinetics under Hanford aquifer conditions are not available. It is recommended that the potential of calcium phosphate precipitation be investigated further using a combination of laboratory and field investigations.

The principal goal of this study was to provide analysis of and recommendations on the need for and feasibility of a geothermal reservoir insurance program. Five major tasks are reported: perception of risk by major market sectors, status of private sector insurance programs, analysis of reservoir risks, alternative government roles, and recommendations.

The amounts of CO2 that would need to be injected intogeologic storage reservoirs to achieve a significant reduction ofatmospheric emissions are very large. A 1000 MWe coal-fired power plantemits approximately 30,000 tonnes of CO2 per day, 10 Mt per year(Hitchon, 1996). When injected underground over a typical lifetime of 30years of such a plant, the CO2 plume may occupy a large area of order 100km2 or more, and fluid pressure increase in excess of 1 bar(corresponding to 10 m water head) may extend over an area of more than2,500 km2 (Pruess, et al., 2003). The large areal extent expected for CO2plumes makes it likely that caprock imperfections will be encountered,such as fault zones or fractures, which may allow some CO2 to escape fromthe primary storage reservoir. Under most subsurface conditions oftemperature and pressure, CO2 is buoyant relative to groundwaters. If(sub-)vertical pathways are available, CO2 will tend to flow upward and,depending on geologic conditions, may eventually reach potablegroundwater aquifers or even the land surface. Leakage of CO2 could alsooccur along wellbores, including pre-existing and improperly abandonedwells, or wells drilled in connection with the CO2 storage operations.The pressure increases accompanying CO2 injection will give rise tochanges in effective stress that could cause …

There is an estimated 10 billion barrels of original oil in place (OOIP) in diatomaceous reservoirs in Kern County, California. These reservoirs have low permeability ranging from 0.1 to 10 mD. Injection pressure controlled steam drive has been found to be an effective way to recover oil from these reservoir. However, steam drive in these reservoirs has its own complications. The rock matrix is primarily silica (SiO2). It is a known fact that silica is soluble in hot water and its solubility varies with temperature and pH. Due to this fact, the rock matrix in diatomite may dissolve into the aqueous phase as the temperature at a location increases or it may precipitate from the aqueous phase onto the rock grains as the temperature decreases. Thus, during steam drive silica redistribution will occur in the reservoir along with oil recovery. This silica redistribution causes the permeability and porosity of the reservoir to change. Understanding and quantifying these silica redistribution effects on the reservoir permeability might prove to be a key aspect of designing a steam drive project in these formations.

The work performed on this program was to develop wear resistant, tough FM composite materials with efforts focused on WC-Co based FM systems. The materials were developed for use in mining industry wear applications. Components of interest were drill bit inserts for drilling blast holes. Other component applications investigated included wear plates for a variety of equipment such as pit shovels, wear surfaces for conveyors, milling media for ball milling operations, hydrocyclone cones, grader blades and dozer teeth. Cross-cutting technologies investigated included hot metal extrusion dies, drill bits for circuit board fabrication, cutting tools for cast iron and aluminum machining. An important part of the work was identification of the standard materials used in drilling applications. A materials trade study to determine those metals and ceramics used for mining applications provided guidance for the most important materials to be investigated. WC-Co and diamond combinations were shown to have the most desirable properties. Other considerations such as fabrication technique and the ability to consolidate shifted the focus away from diamond materials and toward WC-Co. Cooperating partners such as Kennametal and Kyocera assisted with supplies, evaluations of material systems, fabricated parts and suggestions for cross-cutting technology applications for FM architectures. Kennametal provided …

To increase our knowledge of gaseous species in geothermal systems by fluid inclusion analysis in order to facilitate the use of gas analysis in geothermal exploration. The knowledge of gained by this program can be applied to geothermal exploration, which may expand geothermal production. Knowledge of the gas contents in reservoir fluids can be applied to fluid inclusion gas analysis of drill chip cuttings in a similar fashion as used in the petroleum industry. Thus the results of this project may lower exploration costs both in the initial phase and lower drill hole completion costs. Commercial costs for fluid inclusion analysis done on at 20 feet intervals on chip samples for 10,000 ft oil wells is about $6,000, and the turn around time is a few weeks.

The results of the analyses as well as a plan for geothermal development are described. The major findings and specific barriers to development that would have to be addressed are identified. Characteristics of the site significant to the prospect for geothermal development are described. These characteristics include physiography, demography, economy, and the goals and objectives of the citizens as they would relate to geothermal development. The geothermal resource evaluation is described. Based on available information, the reservoir is generally described, defining the depth to the reservoir, production rates of the existing water wells, water quality, and the resource temperature. Uses of the energy that seem appropriate to the situation both now and in the foreseeable future at Gabbs are described. The amounts and types of energy currently consumed, by end-user, are estimated. From this information, a conceptual engineering design and cost estimates are presented. Finally, the results of a life cycle analysis of the economic feasibility are discussed. A time-line chart shows the tasks, the time estimated to be required for each and the interrelatioships among the activities. The essential institutional requirements for geothermal energy development are discussed. These include the financial, environmental, legal and regulatory requirements. The main resource, …

This document outlines the groundwater monitoring plan, under RCRA regulations in 40 CFR 265 Subpart F and WAC173-300-400, for the 216-B-63 Trench. This interim status facility is being sampled under detection monitoring criteria and this plan provides current program conditions and requirements.

The database provides bibliographic citations and abstracts for publications that may be useful in research and design of air- conditioning and refrigeration equipment. The database identifies sources of specific information on R-32, R-123, R-124, R-125, R-134, R-134a, R-141b, R-142b, R-143a, R-152a, R-245ca, R-290 (propane), R- 717 (ammonia), ethers, and others as well as azeotropic and zeotropic and zeotropic blends of these fluids. It addresses lubricants including alkylbenzene, polyalkylene glycol, ester, and other synthetics as well as mineral oils. It also references documents on compatibility of refrigerants and lubricants with metals, plastics, elastomers, motor insulation, and other materials used in refrigerant circuits. A computerized version is available that includes retrieval software.

This report evaluates how two 300-hp mixer pumps would mix solid and liquid radioactive wastes stored in Hanford double-shell Tank 241-AZ-102. It also assesses and confirms the adequacy of a 3-inch pipeline to transfer the resulting mixed waste slurry to the AP Tank Farm and ultimately to a planned waste treatment/vitrification plant on the Hanford Site.

The authors evaluated how well two 300-hp mixer pumps would mix solid and liquid radioactive wastes stored in Hanford double-shell Tank 241-AZ-102 (AZ-102) and confirmed the adequacy of a three-inch (7.6-cm) pipeline system to transfer the resulting mixed waste slurry to the AP Tank Farm and a planned waste treatment (vitrification) plant on the Hanford Site. Tank AZ-102 contains 854,000 gallons (3,230 m{sup 3}) of supernatant liquid and 95,000 gallons (360 m{sup 3}) of sludge made up of aging waste (or neutralized current acid waste). The study comprises three assessments: waste chemistry, pump jet mixing, and pipeline transfer. The waste chemical modeling assessment indicates that the sludge, consisting of the solids and interstitial solution, and the supernatant liquid are basically in an equilibrium condition. Thus, pump jet mixing would not cause much solids precipitation and dissolution, only 1.5% or less of the total AZ-102 sludge. The pump jet mixing modeling indicates that two 300-hp mixer pumps would mobilize up to about 23 ft (7.0 m) of the sludge nearest the pump but would not erode the waste within seven inches (0.18 m) of the tank bottom. This results in about half of the sludge being uniformly mixed in the tank …

The present status of the formation temperature gauge feasibility study is reported. It also demonstrates the feasibility of the technique in the simplified situations examined to date both analytically and experimentally. The first section deals with the theory underlying the technique. The next three sections describe the temperature gauge, the simplified model calculations of the gauge response, and the preliminary experimental measurements performed to verify the results of the computational study. The final section describes the formation temperature test stand designed to demonstrate the feasibility of the technique in the geothermal well geometry. This test stand has been assembled and measurements of the gauge response will begin shortly. These are outlined at the end of this report.

This report contains sections on recent developments related to oil and gas wells in the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) and related issues for Congress. The report presents information on the number and location of oil and gas wells, compatibility of oil and gas activities with NWRS purposes, and regulatory mechanisms for the administration of oil and gas activities.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A significant amount of water is produced daily as a byproduct from drilling of oil and gas. A 2009 Argonne National Laboratory study estimated that 56 million barrels of water are produced onshore every day, but this study may underestimate the current total volume because it is based on limited, and in some cases, incomplete data generated by the states. In general, the volume of produced water generated by a given well varies widely according to three key factors: the hydrocarbon being produced, the geographic location of the well, and the method of production used. For example, some gas wells typically generate large volumes of water early in production, whereas oil wells typically generate less. Generally, the quality of produced water from oil and gas production is poor, and it cannot be readily used for another purpose without prior treatment. The specific quality of water produced by a given well, however, can vary widely according to the same three factors that impact volume—hydrocarbon, geography, and production method."

Seven holes were drilled and wells (H-19b0, H-19b2, H-19b3, H-19b4, H-19b5, H-19b6, and H-19b7) were constructed on the H-19 hydropad to conduct field activities in support of the Culebra Transport Program. These wells were drilled and completed on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site during February to September 1995. An eighth hole, H-19b1, was drilled but had to be abandoned before the target depth was reached because of adverse hole conditions. The geologic units penetrated at the H-19 location include surficial deposits of Holocene age, rocks from the Dockum Group of Upper Triassic age, the Dewey Lake Redbeds, and Rustler Formation of the Permian age. The Rustler Formation has been further divided into five informal members which include the Forty-niner Member, Magenta Member, Tamarisk Member, Culebra Dolomite Member, and an unnamed lower member. The Rustler Formation, particularly the Culebra Dolomite Member, is considered critical for hydrologic site characterization. The Culebra is the most transmissive saturated unit above the WIPP repository and, as such, is considered to be the most likely pathway for radionuclide transport to the accessible environment in the unlikely event the repository is breached. Seven cores from the Culebra were recovered during drilling activities at the H-19 …

Characteristics of the site significant to the prospect for geothermal development are described, including: physiography, demography, economy, and the goals and objectives of the citizens as they relate to geothermal development. The geothermal resource evaluation is described, including the depth to reservoir, production rates of existing water wells, water quality, and the resource temperature. Uses of the energy that seem appropriate to the situation both now and in the foreseeable future at Gabbs are described. The essential institutional requirements for geothermal energy development are discussed, including the financial, environmental, legal, and regulatory requirements. The main resource, engineering and institutional considerations involved in a geothermal district heating system for Gabbs are summarized.

The purpose of this Model Report is to document the development of the Mountain-Scale Thermal-Hydrological (TH), Thermal-Hydrological-Chemical (THC), and Thermal-Hydrological-Mechanical (THM) Models and evaluate the effects of coupled TH/THC/THM processes on mountain-scale UZ flow at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This Model Report was planned in ''Technical Work Plan (TWP) for: Performance Assessment Unsaturated Zone'' (BSC 2002 [160819], Section 1.12.7), and was developed in accordance with AP-SIII.10Q, Models. In this Model Report, any reference to ''repository'' means the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, and any reference to ''drifts'' means the emplacement drifts at the repository horizon. This Model Report provides the necessary framework to test conceptual hypotheses for analyzing mountain-scale hydrological/chemical/mechanical changes and predict flow behavior in response to heat release by radioactive decay from the nuclear waste repository at the Yucca Mountain site. The mountain-scale coupled TH/THC/THM processes models numerically simulate the impact of nuclear waste heat release on the natural hydrogeological system, including a representation of heat-driven processes occurring in the far field. The TH simulations provide predictions for thermally affected liquid saturation, gas- and liquid-phase fluxes, and water and rock temperature (together called the flow fields). The main focus of the TH Model is to predict the changes …

The generation of a stable colloidal suspension in geologic materials has a number of environmental implications. Mobile colloids may act as vectors for the transport of adsorbed contaminants through soils and within aquifers and can cause serious problems related to well monitoring and formation permeability in an injections well system. Colloid-facilitated transport has been implicated in the migration of contaminants from seepage basins on the Department of Energy`s Savannah River Site (SRS) at a rate greater than was predicted in two- phase transport models. From 1955 to 1988, seepage basins overlying the water-table aquifer received acidic wastes containing high levels of Na+ and nitric acid, as well as trace radionuclides and metals from the nuclear materials processing facilities. Numerical simulations predicted that metal contaminants would not reach the water table, but measurable quantities of these contaminants have been detected in monitoring wells down gradient from the basins. Lack of agreement between predicted and observed contaminant migration in this and other studies has been attributed to both local non equilibrium situation, preferential flow paths within the geologic material, and to transport of the contaminant in association with a mobile solid phase, i.e. dispersed colloids. Additionally, the association of contaminants with a …