Time Critical Removal Action, The Former Camp Wolters, Mineral Wells, Texas, Final Report (open access)

Time Critical Removal Action, The Former Camp Wolters, Mineral Wells, Texas, Final Report

Report containing information regarding the cleanup activities at the Camp Wolters area in Texas. Includes forms with daily activities and weekly reports.
Date: January 30, 2002
Creator: SCI UXO/OE Services
Object Type: Report
System: The Portal to Texas History
North Texas Star (Mineral Wells, Tex.), January 2009 (open access)

North Texas Star (Mineral Wells, Tex.), January 2009

Monthly newspaper from Mineral Wells, Texas that includes history and travel stories along with advertising.
Date: January 1, 2009
Creator: May, David
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
A method for permanent CO2 mineral carbonation (open access)

A method for permanent CO2 mineral carbonation

The Albany Research Center (ARC) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been conducting research to investigate the feasibility of mineral carbonation as a method for carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration. The research is part of a Mineral Carbonation Study Program within the Office of Fossil Energy in DOE. Other participants in this Program include DOE?s Los Alamos National Laboratory and National Energy Technology Laboratory, Arizona State University, and Science Applications International Corporation. The research has focused on ex-situ mineral carbonation in an aqueous system. The process developed at ARC reacts a slurry of magnesium silicate mineral with supercritical CO2 to produce a solid magnesium carbonate product. To date, olivine and serpentine have been used as the mineral reactant, but other magnesium silicates could be used as well. The process is designed to simulate the natural serpentinization reaction of ultramafic minerals, and consequently, these results may also be applicable to strategies for in-situ geological sequestration. Baseline tests were begun in distilled water on ground products of foundry-grade olivine. Tests conducted at 150 C and subcritical CO2 pressures (50 atm) resulted in very slow conversion to carbonate. Increasing the partial pressure of CO2 to supercritical (>73 atm) conditions, coupled with agitation …
Date: January 1, 2000
Creator: Dahlin, David C.; O'Connor, William K.; Nilsen, David N.; Rush, G.E.; Walters, Richard P. & Turner, Paul C.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
ADVANCED CEMENTS FOR GEOTHERMAL WELLS (open access)

ADVANCED CEMENTS FOR GEOTHERMAL WELLS

Using the conventional well cements consisting of the calcium silicate hydrates (CaO-SiO{sub 2}-H{sub 2}O system) and calcium aluminum silicate hydrates (CaO-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-SiO{sub 2}-H{sub 2}O system) for the integrity of geothermal wells, the serious concern confronting the cementing industries was their poor performance in mechanically supporting the metallic well casing pipes and in mitigating the pipe's corrosion in very harsh geothermal reservoirs. These difficulties are particularly acute in two geological regions: One is the deep hot downhole area ({approx} 1700 m depth at temperatures of {approx} 320 C) that contains hyper saline water with high concentrations of CO{sub 2} (> 40,000 ppm) in conjunction with {approx} 100 ppm H{sub 2}S at a mild acid of pH {approx} 5.0; the other is the upper well region between the well's surface and {approx} 1000 m depth at temperatures up to 200 C. The specific environment of the latter region is characterized by highly concentrated H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} (pH < 1.5) brine containing at least 5000 ppm CO{sub 2}. When these conventional cements are emplaced in these harsh environments, their major shortcoming is their susceptibility to reactions with hot CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}SO4, thereby causing their deterioration brought about by CO{sub 2}-catalyzed …
Date: January 1, 2007
Creator: SUGAMA,T.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pumpernickel Valley Geothermal Project Thermal Gradient Wells (open access)

Pumpernickel Valley Geothermal Project Thermal Gradient Wells

The Pumpernickel Valley geothermal project area is located near the eastern edge of the Sonoma Range and is positioned within the structurally complex Winnemucca fold and thrust belt of north-central Nevada. A series of approximately north-northeast-striking faults related to the Basin and Range tectonics are superimposed on the earlier structures within the project area, and are responsible for the final overall geometry and distribution of the pre-existing structural features on the property. Two of these faults, the Pumpernickel Valley fault and Edna Mountain fault, are range-bounding and display numerous characteristics typical of strike-slip fault systems. These characteristics, when combined with geophysical data from Shore (2005), indicate the presence of a pull-apart basin, formed within the releasing bend of the Pumpernickel Valley – Edna Mountain fault system. A substantial body of evidence exists, in the form of available geothermal, geological and geophysical information, to suggest that the property and the pull-apart basin host a structurally controlled, extensive geothermal field. The most evident manifestations of the geothermal activity in the valley are two areas with hot springs, seepages, and wet ground/vegetation anomalies near the Pumpernickel Valley fault, which indicate that the fault focuses the fluid up-flow. There has not been any geothermal …
Date: January 1, 2006
Creator: Szybinski, Z. Adam
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Applications of mineral carbonation to geological sequestration of CO2 (open access)

Applications of mineral carbonation to geological sequestration of CO2

Geological sequestration of CO2 is a promising near-term sequestration methodology. However, migration of the CO2 beyond the natural reservoir seals could become problematic, thus the identification of means to enhance the natural seals could prove beneficial. Injection of a mineral reactant slurry could provide a means to enhance the natural reservoir seals by supplying the necessary cations for precipitation of mineral carbonates. The subject study evaluates the merit of several mineral slurry injection strategies by conduct of a series of laboratory-scale CO2 flood tests on whole core samples of the Mt. Simon sandstone from the Illinois Basin.
Date: January 1, 2005
Creator: O'Connor, William K. & Rush, G.E.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mineral Revenues: A More Systematic Evaluation of the Royalty-in-Kind Pilots Is Needed (open access)

Mineral Revenues: A More Systematic Evaluation of the Royalty-in-Kind Pilots Is Needed

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."
Date: January 9, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mountaintop Mining: Background on Current Controversies (open access)

Mountaintop Mining: Background on Current Controversies

This report provides background on regulatory requirements, controversies, and legal challenges to Clean Water Act regulation of mountaintop mining. Congressional attention to these issues also is discussed.
Date: January 24, 2007
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 219: Septic Systems and Injection Wells, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Rev. No.: 0 (open access)

Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 219: Septic Systems and Injection Wells, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Rev. No.: 0

The Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 219, Septic Systems and Injection Wells, has been developed in accordance with the ''Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order'' (1996) that was agreed to by the State of Nevada, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Defense. The purpose of the investigation is to ensure that adequate data are collected to provide sufficient and reliable information to identify, evaluate, and select technically viable corrective actions. Corrective Action Unit 219 is located in Areas 3, 16, and 23 of the Nevada Test Site, which is 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. Corrective Action Unit 219 is comprised of the six Corrective Action Sites (CASs) listed below: (1) 03-11-01, Steam Pipes and Asbestos Tiles; (2) 16-04-01, Septic Tanks (3); (3) 16-04-02, Distribution Box; (4) 16-04-03, Sewer Pipes; (5) 23-20-01, DNA Motor Pool Sewage and Waste System; and (6) 23-20-02, Injection Well. These sites are being investigated because existing information on the nature and extent of potential contamination is insufficient to evaluate and recommend corrective action alternatives. Additional information will be obtained by conducting a corrective action investigation prior to evaluating corrective action alternatives and selecting the appropriate corrective action …
Date: January 1, 2005
Creator: Strand, David A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Deep Production Well for Geothermal Direct-Use Heating of A Large Commercial Greenhouse, Radium Springs, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico (open access)

Deep Production Well for Geothermal Direct-Use Heating of A Large Commercial Greenhouse, Radium Springs, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico

Expansion of a large commercial geothermally-heated greenhouse is underway and requires additional geothermal fluid production. This report discusses the results of a cost-shared U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and A.R. Masson, Inc. drilling project designed to construct a highly productive geothermal production well for expansion of the large commercial greenhouse at Radium Springs. The well should eliminate the potential for future thermal breakthrough from existing injection wells and the inducement of inflow from shallow cold water aquifers by geothermal production drawdown in the shallow reservoir. An 800 feet deep production well, Masson 36, was drilled on a US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Geothermal Lease NM-3479 at Radium Springs adjacent to the A. R. Masson Radium Springs Farm commercial greenhouse 15 miles north of Las Cruces in Dona Ana County, New Mexico just west of Interstate 25 near the east bank of the Rio Grande. The area is in the Rio Grande rift, a tectonically-active region with high heat flow, and is one of the major geothermal provinces in the western United State.
Date: January 2, 2002
Creator: Witcher, James C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 552: Area 12 Muckpile and Ponds, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Rev. 1 (open access)

Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 552: Area 12 Muckpile and Ponds, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Rev. 1

Corrective Action Unit 552 is being investigated because man-made radionuclides and chemical contaminants may be present in concentrations that could potentially pose an unacceptable risk to human health and/or the environment. The CAI will be conducted following the data quality objectives (DQOs) developed by representatives of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) and the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO). The DQOs are used to identify the type, amount, and quality of data needed to define the nature and extent of contamination and identify and evaluate the most appropriate corrective action alternatives for CAU 552. The primary problem statement for the investigation is: ''Existing information on the nature and extent of potential contamination is insufficient to evaluate and recommend corrective action alternatives for CAS 12-23-05.'' To address this problem statement, the resolution of the following two decision statements is required: (1) The Decision I statement is: ''Is a contaminant present within the CAU at a concentration that could pose an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment?'' Any site-related contaminant detected at a concentration exceeding the corresponding preliminary action level (PAL), as defined in Section A.1.4.2, will be considered a contaminant of concern (COC). A …
Date: January 1, 2005
Creator: Boehlecke, Robert F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Final Report : Phase III Targeted Investigation, Everest, Kansas. (open access)

Final Report : Phase III Targeted Investigation, Everest, Kansas.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), formerly operated grain storage facilities at two different locations at Everest, Kansas (Figure 1.1). One facility (referred to in this report as the Everest facility) was at the western edge of the city. The second facility (referred to in this report as Everest East) was about 0.5 mi northeast of the town. The CCC/USDA operated these facilities from the early 1950s until the early 1970s, at a time when commercial fumigants containing carbon tetrachloride were in common use by the CCC/USDA and private industry for the preservation of grain in storage. In 1997 the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) sampled several domestic drinking water and non-drinking water wells in the Everest area as part of the CCC/USDA Private Well Sampling Program. All of the sampled wells were outside the Everest city limits. Carbon tetrachloride contamination was identified at a single domestic drinking water well (the Nigh well, DW06; Figure 1.1) approximately 3/8 mi northwest of the former Everest CCC/USDA grain storage facility. Subsequent KDHE investigations suggested that the contamination in DW06 could be linked to the former use of grain fumigants at the CCC/USDA …
Date: January 31, 2006
Creator: LaFreniere, L. M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 552: Area 12 Muckpile and Ponds, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Rev. No.: 1 with ROTC 1 and 2 (open access)

Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 552: Area 12 Muckpile and Ponds, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Rev. No.: 1 with ROTC 1 and 2

This Corrective Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) contains project-specific information including facility descriptions, environmental sample collection objectives, and criteria for conducting site investigation activities at Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 552: Area 12 Muckpile and Ponds, Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nevada. This CAIP has been developed in accordance with the ''Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order'' (FFACO) (1996) that was agreed to by the State of Nevada, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. Department of Defense. The NTS is approximately 65 miles (mi) northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada (Figure 1-1). Corrective Action Unit 552 is comprised of the one Corrective Action Site which is 12-23-05, Ponds. One additional CAS, 12-06-04, Muckpile (G-Tunnel Muckpile), was removed from this CAU when it was determined that the muckpile is an active site. A modification to the FFACO to remove CAS 12-06-04 was approved by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) on December 16, 2004. The G-Tunnel ponds were first identified in the 1991 Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Co., Inc. document entitled, ''Nevada Test Site Inventory of Inactive and Abandoned Facilities and Waste Sites'' (REECo, 1991). Corrective Action Unit 552 is being investigated because existing information on the nature and extent of …
Date: January 1, 2005
Creator: Strand, David A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Application of Chemically Accelerated Biotreatment to Reduce Riskin Oil-Impacted Soils: Final Report (open access)

Application of Chemically Accelerated Biotreatment to Reduce Riskin Oil-Impacted Soils: Final Report

The drilling and operation of gas/petroleum exploratory wells and the operations of natural gas and petroleum production wells generate a number of waste materials that are usually stored and/or processed at the drilling/operations site. Contaminated soils result from drilling operations, production operations, and pipeline breaks or leaks where crude oil and petroleum products are released into the surrounding soil or sediments. In many cases, intrinsic biochemical remediation of these contaminated soils is either not effective or is too slow to be an acceptable approach. This project targeted petroleum-impacted soil and other wastes, such as soil contaminated by: accidental release of petroleum and natural gas-associated organic wastes from pipelines or during transport of crude oil or natural gas; production wastes (such as produced waters, and/or fuels or product gas). Our research evaluated the process designated Chemically-Accelerated Biotreatment (CAB) that can be applied to remediate contaminated matrices, either on-site or in situ. The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) had previously developed a form of CAB for the remediation of hydrocarbons and metals at Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) sites and this research project expanded its application into Exploration and Production (E&P) sites. The CAB treatment was developed in this project using risk-based endpoints, a.k.a. …
Date: January 7, 2003
Creator: Paterek, J.R.; W.W.Bogan; Trbovic, V. & Sullivan, W.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Final Technical Resource Confirmation Testing at the Raft River Geothermal Project, Cassia County, Idaho (open access)

Final Technical Resource Confirmation Testing at the Raft River Geothermal Project, Cassia County, Idaho

Incorporates the results of flow tests for geothermal production and injection wells in the Raft River geothermal field in southern Idaho. Interference testing was also accomplished across the wellfield.
Date: January 30, 2008
Creator: Glaspey, Douglas J.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Advanced Stripper Gas Produced Water Remediation, Quarterly Technical Report: October-December 2001 (open access)

Advanced Stripper Gas Produced Water Remediation, Quarterly Technical Report: October-December 2001

Natural gas and oil production from stripper wells also produces water contaminated with hydrocarbons, and in most locations, salts and trace elements. The hydrocarbons are not generally present in concentrations that allow the operator to economically recover these liquids. Produced liquids, (Stripper Gas Water) which are predominantly water, present the operator with two options; purify the water to acceptable levels of contaminates, or pay for the disposal of the water. The project scope involves testing SynCoal as a sorbent to reduce the levels of contamination in stripper gas well produced water to a level that the water can be put to a productive use. Produced water is to be filtered with SynCoal, a processed sub-bituminous coal. It is expected that the surface area of and in the SynCoal would sorb the hydrocarbons and other contaminates and the effluent would be usable for agricultural purposes. Test plan anticipates using two well locations described as being disparate in the level and type of contaminates present. The loading capacity and the rate of loading for the sorbent should be quantified in field testing situations which include unregulated and widely varying liquid flow rates. This will require significant flexibility in the initial stages of …
Date: January 2002
Creator: Bonner, Harry & Malmquist, Roger
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Advanced Stripper Gas Produced Water Remediation, Quarterly Technical Report: October-December 2002 (open access)

Advanced Stripper Gas Produced Water Remediation, Quarterly Technical Report: October-December 2002

Natural gas and oil production from stripper wells also produces water contaminated with hydrocarbons, and in most locations, salts and trace elements. The hydrocarbons are not generally present in concentrations that allow the operator to economically recover these liquids. Produced liquids, (Stripper Gas Water) which are predominately water, present the operator with two options; purify the water to acceptable levels of contaminates, or pay for the disposal of the water. The project scope involves testing SynCoal as a sorbent to reduce the levels of contamination in stripper gas well produced water to a level that the water can be put to a productive use. Produced water is to be filtered with SynCoal, a processed sub-bituminous coal. It is expected that the surface area of and in the SynCoal would sorb the hydrocarbons and other contaminates and the effluent would be usable for agricultural purposes. Test plan anticipates using two well locations described as being disparate in the level and type of contaminates present. The loading capacity and the rate of loading for the sorbent should be quantified in field testing situations which include unregulated and widely varying liquid flow rates. This will require significant flexibility in the initial stages of …
Date: January 2003
Creator: Bonner, Harry & Malmquist, Roger
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Self-Agitating Soap Stick: Inventions and Innovation Petroleum Project Fact Sheet (open access)

Self-Agitating Soap Stick: Inventions and Innovation Petroleum Project Fact Sheet

Project fact sheet written for the Inventions and Innovation Program about a self-agitating soap stick that removes accumulated water from water logged natural gas wells.
Date: January 25, 2001
Creator: Wogsland, J.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Basic Data Report for Drillhole SNL-2 (C-2948) (open access)

Basic Data Report for Drillhole SNL-2 (C-2948)

SNL-2 was drilled in the northwest quarter of Section 12, T22S, R30E, in eastern Eddy County, New Mexico (Figure 2-1). It is located 574 ft from the north line (fnl) and 859 ft from the west line (fwl) of the section (Figure 2-2). This location places the drillhole east of the Livingston Ridge escarpment among oil wells of the Cabin Lake field. SNL-2 will be used to test hydraulic properties and to monitor ground water levels of the Culebra Dolomite Member of the Permian Rustler Formation. SNL-2 was permitted by the New Mexico State Engineer as C-2948. [Official correspondence regarding permitting and regulatory information must reference this permit number.] In the plan describing the integrated groundwater hydrology program (Sandia National Laboratories, 2003), SNL-2 is also codesignated WTS-1 because the location also satisfies needs for long-term monitoring of water quality and movement in the Culebra Dolomite for RCRA permitting; this program is under the management of Washington TRU Solutions LLC (WTS). In the event that additional wells are established on the SNL-2 drillpad to monitor other hydrological units (e.g., the Magenta Dolomite Member of the Permian Rustler Formation), the current drillhole will likely be referred to as SNL-2C because it is …
Date: January 19, 2005
Creator: Powers, Dennis W. & Services, Washington Regultory and Environmental
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wairakite: A Potential Indicator of Fluid Mixing (open access)

Wairakite: A Potential Indicator of Fluid Mixing

Wairakite is a common geothermal mineral. Detailed paragenetic studies indicate that wairakite typically forms after the deposition of epidote {plus_minus} prehnite and later anhydrite + calcite. Epidote and prehnite are interpreted as products of early, high temperature alteration associated with upswelling reservoir fluids whereas calcite and anhydrite are related to descending acidic condensates. Calculated stability relationships among the calc silicate minerals indicates that cooling and/or decreasing pH will lead to the deposition of wairakite instead of epidote, whereas decreasing pH favors wairakite over prehnite. We infer, from the petrographic relationships, that these changes occur when descending condensate mixes with the in-situ reservoir fluids during the waning stages of geothermal activity. Fluid inclusion measurements indicate wairakite is commonly deposited between temperatures of {approx}235 and 300 C.
Date: January 28, 2005
Creator: Moore, J; Bruton, C & Powell, T
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Retrieval and Pipeline Transfer Assessment of Hanford Tank 241-AN-105 Waste (open access)

Retrieval and Pipeline Transfer Assessment of Hanford Tank 241-AN-105 Waste

This study assesses five steps for Tank 241-AN-105 waste retrieval and subsequent pipeline transfer: 1. Remove supernatant liquid waste from AN-105 and transfer it through a pipeline with inline dilution with water (1st liquid waste transfer). 2. Add water (as a diluent) to Tank AN-105. 3. Mix the saltcake waste and water with mixer pumps to dissolve soluble solids. 4. Let undissolved solids settle to the tank bottom. 5. Remove the resulting supernatant liquid waste from Tank AN-105 (2nd liquid waste transfer). To assess these five steps for waste retrieval and pipeline transfer, AN-105 waste rheology was measured and solids identified with bright field image, select area diffraction, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. By combining available in situ and laboratory data, an AN-105 specific viscosity model was developed that can change from several centiPoise of viscosity to tens of millions of centiPoise as a function of strain rate and solid concentration. This viscosity mo del was implemented into the AN-105 computer model to simulate pump jet mixing. The report also evaluates AN-105 slurry waste transfer to AP-102 and AP-104 through a 3-inch (0.07-m) pipeline.
Date: January 15, 2003
Creator: Onishi, Yasuo; Tingey, Joel M.; Recknagle, Kurtis P.; Liu, Jun; Terrones, Guillermo; Yokuda, Satoru T. et al.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Water injection as a means for reducing non-condensible andcorrosive gases in steam produced from vapor-dominated reservoirs (open access)

Water injection as a means for reducing non-condensible andcorrosive gases in steam produced from vapor-dominated reservoirs

Large-scale water injection at The Geysers, California, hasgenerated substantial benefits in terms of sustaining reservoir pressuresand production rates, as well as improving steam composition by reducingthe content of non-condensible gases (NCGs). Two effects have beenrecognized and discussed in the literature as contributing to improvedsteam composition, (1) boiling of injectate provides a source of "clean"steam to production wells, and (2) pressurization effects induced byboiling of injected water reduce upflow of native steam with large NCGconcentrations from depth. In this paper we focus on a possibleadditional effect that could reduce NCGs in produced steam by dissolutionin a condensed aqueous phase.Boiling of injectate causes pressurizationeffects that will fairly rapidly migrate outward, away from the injectionpoint. Pressure increases will cause an increase in the saturation ofcondensed phase due to vapor adsorption on mineral surfaces, andcapillary condensation in small pores. NCGs will dissolve in theadditional condensed phase which, depending upon their solubility, mayreduce NCG concentrations in residual steam.We have analyzed thepartitioning of HCl between vapor and aqueous phases, and have performednumerical simulations of injection into superheated vapor zones. Oursimulations provide evidence that dissolution in the condensed phase canindeed reduce NCG concentrations in produced steam.
Date: January 8, 2007
Creator: Pruess, Karsten; Spycher, Nicolas & Kneafsey, Timothy J.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Systematic evaluation of satellite remote sensing for identifying uranium mines and mills. (open access)

Systematic evaluation of satellite remote sensing for identifying uranium mines and mills.

In this report, we systematically evaluate the ability of current-generation, satellite-based spectroscopic sensors to distinguish uranium mines and mills from other mineral mining and milling operations. We perform this systematic evaluation by (1) outlining the remote, spectroscopic signal generation process, (2) documenting the capabilities of current commercial satellite systems, (3) systematically comparing the uranium mining and milling process to other mineral mining and milling operations, and (4) identifying the most promising observables associated with uranium mining and milling that can be identified using satellite remote sensing. The Ranger uranium mine and mill in Australia serves as a case study where we apply and test the techniques developed in this systematic analysis. Based on literature research of mineral mining and milling practices, we develop a decision tree which utilizes the information contained in one or more observables to determine whether uranium is possibly being mined and/or milled at a given site. Promising observables associated with uranium mining and milling at the Ranger site included in the decision tree are uranium ore, sulfur, the uranium pregnant leach liquor, ammonia, and uranyl compounds and sulfate ion disposed of in the tailings pond. Based on the size, concentration, and spectral characteristics of these promising …
Date: January 1, 2006
Creator: Blair, Dianna Sue; Stork, Christopher Lyle; Smartt, Heidi Anne & Smith, Jody Lynn
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Advancing New 3D Seismic Interpretation Methods for Exploration and Development of Fractured Tight Gas Reservoirs (open access)

Advancing New 3D Seismic Interpretation Methods for Exploration and Development of Fractured Tight Gas Reservoirs

In a study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and GeoSpectrum, Inc., new P-wave 3D seismic interpretation methods to characterize fractured gas reservoirs are developed. A data driven exploratory approach is used to determine empirical relationships for reservoir properties. Fractures are predicted using seismic lineament mapping through a series of horizon and time slices in the reservoir zone. A seismic lineament is a linear feature seen in a slice through the seismic volume that has negligible vertical offset. We interpret that in regions of high seismic lineament density there is a greater likelihood of fractured reservoir. Seismic AVO attributes are developed to map brittle reservoir rock (low clay) and gas content. Brittle rocks are interpreted to be more fractured when seismic lineaments are present. The most important attribute developed in this study is the gas sensitive phase gradient (a new AVO attribute), as reservoir fractures may provide a plumbing system for both water and gas. Success is obtained when economic gas and oil discoveries are found. In a gas field previously plagued with poor drilling results, four new wells were spotted using the new methodology and recently drilled. The wells have estimated best of 12-months production indicators of 2106, …
Date: January 31, 2005
Creator: Reeves, James
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library