H.R. 1977, passed by the House July 18, 1995, appropriated $87 million for FY1996 for the "orderly closure" of the Bureau of Mines within the Department of Interior. However, when the Senate passed H.R. 1977 on August 9, it approved continuation of the Bureau and appropriated $128 million for FY1996.

On November 2, 1995, U.S. banking authorities ordered the Daiwa Bank to close its banking operations in the United States, and a 24-count criminal indictment was issued against it. These actions stem from the bank's admission that Toshihide Iguchi, a rogue trader at its New York branch office, had incurred $1.1 billion in losses over eleven years from trading U.S. Treasury securities and that Daiwa managers had "directed that those losses be concealed" from U.S. regulators.

The United States and Japan are closely tied economically. Japan ranks second only to Canada as the largest U.S. export market. Japan is the leading market for American agricultural exports, such as corn and meat; for U.S. crude materials such as wood; and for U.S.-produced aircraft. Japan is also the second largest supplier of U.S. imports. These include cars, consumer electronics, telecommunications equipment, and computers. The United States ranks as Japan's number one export market and import supplier.

The Forest Service currently sells timber by (a) planning and preparing the sale, (b) offering the sale, usually at an oral auction, and (c) administering the timber harvest. Many of the concerns about the timber program have focused on harvest administration, because purchasers have incentives to minimize their costs and to remove only those logs whose value for products exceeds the price paid to the Forest Service. Some critics suggest that this, together with an alleged "timber bias" and other inappropriate incentives, has contributed to environmental damages (e.g., deteriorating forest health), poor fiscal performance (e.g., below-cost timber sales), and a lack of accountability (e.g., timber theft). Possible legislative changes to the timber sale system are being considered by various interest groups and Members of Congress.

Mongolia is undergoing a fragile political and economic transition from Communist rule to a post-1990 parliamentary democracy under new constitutional rules adopted in 1992. After decades of heavy dependency on the former Soviet Union, Mongolia is seeking to broaden its foreign contact and trade.

On Oct. 7, 1992, Hong Kong's new Governor Christopher Patten unveiled proposals to expand the voting franchise in Hong Kong and broaden the scope of democratic institutions. Patten's proposals reflected a growing desire on the part of the colonial government and the people of Hong Kong that, in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, Hong Kong should erect safeguards against capricious Chinese government action after 1997. The proposals were seen by the British authorities as consistent with the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration -- the agreement governing Hong Kong's transfer to Chinese rule, but Beijing disagreed.

The Clean Water Act, which was last amended in 1987, consists of two major parts: regulatory provisions that impose progressively more stringent requirements on industries and cities to abate pollution and meet the statutory goal of zero discharge of pollutants, and provisions that authorize Federal financial assistance for municipal wastewater treatment construction.

The objective of this project is to increase production from the Cretaceous ``D`` Sand in the Denver-Julesburg (D-J) Basin through geologically targeted infill drilling and improved reservoir management of waterflood operations. This project involves multi-disciplinary reservoir characterization using high-density 3-D seismic, detailed stratigraphy and reservoir simulation studies. Infill drilling, water-injection conversion and recompleting some wells to add short-radius laterals will be based on the results of the reservoir characterization studies. Production response will be evaluated using reservoir simulation and production tests. Technology transfer will utilize workshops, presentations and technical papers which will emphasize the economic advantages of implementing the demonstrated technologies. The success of this project and effective technology transfer should prompt-re-appraisal of older waterflood projects and implementation of new projects in oil provinces such as the D-J Basin. Three wells have been drilled by the project based on 3-D seismic and integrated reservoir characterization study. Oil production has increased in September to 54.0 m{sup 3}/D (340 bopd) after the completion of the SU 21-16-9. Combination-attribute maps from 3-D seismic data closely predicted the net-pay thickness of the new well. Inter-well tracer tests with sodium bromide indicate a high-permeability channel between two wells. An oral presentation was made at the …

The work on this project was initiated on September 1, 1991. The project consisted of two different tasks: (1) Development of a model to compute viscosities of coal derived liquids, and (2) Investigate new models for estimation of thermodynamic properties of solid and liquid compounds of the type that exist in coal, or are encountered during coal processing. As for task 1, a model for viscosity computation of coal model compound liquids and coal derived liquids has been developed. The detailed model is presented in this report. Two papers, the first describing the pure liquid model and the second one discussing the application to coal derived liquids, are expected to be published in Energy & Fuels shortly. Marginal progress is reported on task 2. Literature review for this work included compilation of a number of data sets, critical investigation of data measurement techniques available in the literature, investigation of models for liquid and solid phase thermodynamic computations. During the preliminary stages it was discovered that for development of a liquid or solid state equation of state, accurate predictive models for a number of saturation properties, such as, liquid and solid vapor pressures, saturated liquid and solid volumes, heat capacities of …

Research continued on the temperature effects on chemical structure and motion in coal. This report presents results on a new 2D spin diffusion experiment, an RF heating experiment, and some improvements in the software for NMR spectrometer control and data processing.

High temperature alkali corrosion has been known to cause premature failure of ceramic components used in advanced high temperature coal combustion systems such as coal gasification and clean-up, coal fired gas turbines, and high efficiency heat engines. Non-oxide ceramics, such as SiC and Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}, are applied in HITAF systems for their well-known and desirable high temperature thermal and mechanical properties. However, these materials are prone to rapid corrosion under some types of high temperature coal combustion conditions. The objective of this research is to apply CMZP and Mg-stabilized Al{sub 2}TiO{sub 5} as coatings to SiC and Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} to improve the corrosion resistance under coal combustion atmospheres as well as to improve high temperature mechanical properties. The research will not only develop and characterize CMZP and Mg-Al{sub 2}TiO{sub 5} coatings but will also strive to expand the existing knowledge of the mechanism of coal combustion corrosion of SiC and Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} in the temperature range of 1000-1400{degrees}C.

Advanced reservoir characterization techniques are being applied to selected reservoirs in the Frio Fluvial-Deltaic Sandstone (Vicksburg Fault Zone) trend of South Texas in order to maximize the economic producibility of resources in this mature oil play. More than half of the reservoirs in this depositionally complex play have already been abandoned, and large volumes of oil may remain unproduced unless advanced characterization techniques are applied to define untapped, incompletely drained, and new pool reservoirs as suitable targets for near-term recovery methods. This project is developing interwell-scale geological facies models and assessing engineering attributes of Frio fluvial-deltaic reservoirs in selected fields in order to characterize reservoir architecture, flow unit boundaries, and the controls that these characteristics exert on the location and volume of unrecovered mobile and residual oil. The results of these studies will lead directly to the identification of specific opportunities to exploit these heterogeneous reservoirs for incremental recovery by recompletion and strategic infill drilling. Project work during the second quarter of 1995 consisted of (1) documentation of Phase II tasks associated with the delineation of untapped and incompletely drained reservoir compartments and new pool reservoirs in selected Frio fluvial-deltaic sandstone intervals in Rincon and Tijerina-Canales-Blucher (T-C-B) fields, as well …

The objective of this project is to develop a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and quantitative characterization of a fluvial-deltaic reservoir which will allow realistic inter-well and reservoir-scale modeling to be constructed for improved oil-field development in similar reservoirs world-wide. The geological and petrophysical properties of the Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone in east-central Utah will be quantitatively determined. Both new and existing data will be integrated into a three-dimensional representation of spatial variations in porosity, storativity, and tensorial rock permeability at a scale appropriate for inter-well to regional-scale reservoir simulation. Results could improve reservoir management through proper infill and extension drilling strategies, reduction of economic risks, increased recovery from existing oil fields, and more reliable reserve calculations. Transfer of the project results to the petroleum industry is an integral component of the project. Technical progress this quarter is divided into regional stratigraphy, case studies, stochastic modeling and fluid-flow simulation, and technology transfer activities. The regional stratigraphy of the Ferron Sandstone outcrop belt is being described and interpreted. Detailed geological and petrophysical characterization of the primary reservoir lithofacies typically found in a fluvial-dominated deltaic reservoir, is continuing at selected case-study areas. Interpretations of lithofacies, bounding surfaces, and other geologic information are being combined with permeability …

The nucleosynthetic yield of isotopes lighter than A = 66 (zinc) is determined for a grid of stellar masses and metallicities including stars of 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 30, 35, and 40 M{sub {circle_dot}} and metallicities Z = 0, 10{sup {minus}4}, 0.01, 0.1, and 1 times solar (a slightly reduced mass grid is employed for non-solar metallicities). Altogether 78 different model supernova explosions are calculated. In each case nucleosynthesis has already been determined for 200 isotopes in each of 600 to 1200 zones of the presupernova star, including the effects of time dependent convection. Here each star is exploded using a piston to give a specified final kinetic energy at infinity (typically 1.2 {times} 10{sup 51} erg), and the explosive modifications to the nucleosynthesis, including the effects of neutrino irradiation, determined. A single value of the critical {sup 12}C({sub {alpha},{gamma}}){sup 16}O reaction rate corresponding to S(300 keV) = 170 keV barns is used in all calculations. The synthesis of each isotope is discussed along with its sensitivity to model parameters. In each case, the final mass of the collapsed remnant is also determined and often found not to correspond to the location of the piston …

The objectives of this quarterly report are to summarize the work conducted under each task during the reporting period July-September 1995, and to report all technical data and findings as specified in the {open_quotes}Federal Assistance Reporting Checklist{close_quotes}, The main objective of this project is the transfer of technologies, methodologies, and findings developed and applied in this project to other operators of Slope and Basin Clastic Reservoirs. This project will study methods to identify sands with high remaining oil saturation and to recomplete existing wells using advanced completion technology. The identification of the sands with high remaining oil saturation will be accomplished by developing a deterministic three dimensional (3-D) geologic model and by using a state of the art reservoir management computer software. The wells identified by the geologic and reservoir engineering work as having the best potential will be logged with a pulsed acoustic cased-hole logging tool. The application of the logging tools will be optimized in the lab by developing a rock-log model. The wells that are shown to have the best oil production potential will be recompleted. The recompletions will be optimized by evaluating short radius and ultra-short radius lateral recompletions.

The primary objective of this project is to enhance domestic petroleum production by demonstration and technology transfer of an advanced oil recovery technology in the Paradox basin, southeastern Utah. If this project can demonstrate technical and economic feasibility, the technique can be applied to approximately 100 additional small fields in the Paradox basin alone, and result in increased recovery of 150 to 200 million barrels of oil. This project is designed to characterize five shallow-shelf carbonate reservoirs in the Pennsylvanian Paradox Formation and choose the best candidate for a pilot demonstration project for either a waterflood or carbon dioxide-flood project. The field demonstration, monitoring of field performance, and associated validation activities will take place in the Paradox basin within the Navajo Nation. The results of this project will be transferred to industry and other researchers through a petroleum extension service, creation of digital databases for distribution, technical workshops and seminars, field trips, technical presentations at national and regional professional meetings, and publication in newsletters and various technical or trade journals.

The objective of this project is to develop a model for solid-liquid equilibria and a model for viscosities of the products of coal liquefaction processes. The same characterization procedure and representation by continuous distributions as used in previous work on vapor-liquid equilibria and excess enthalpies of coal liquids will be used. Models when fully developed win give the solid-liquid phase equilibrium properties and viscosities as factors of temperature and pressure for known molecular weight distribution and structural characterization of the coal liquid. To accomplish this well, the project requires three tasks: (1) Solid-Liquid phase equilibrium model development; (2) Experimental Viscosity Measurements; and (3) Viscosity Model Development. A model for viscosity computation of coal model compound liquids and coal derived liquids has been developed. Literature review for this work included compilation of a number of data sets, critical investigation of data measurement techniques available in the literature, and investigation of models for liquid and solid phase thermodynamic computations. During the preliminary stages it was discovered that for development of a liquid or solid state equation of state, accurate predictive models for a number of saturation properties, such as, liquid and solid vapor pressures, saturated liquid and solid volumes, heat capacities of …

High pressure mechanical seal plugs were hydraulically tested for material and size improvements.

The Gulf of Mexico Basin offers the greatest near-term potential for reducing the future decline in domestic oil and gas production. The Basin is less mature than productive on-shore areas, large unexplored areas remain, and there is great potential for reducing bypassed oil in known fields. Much of the remaining oil in the offshore is trapped in formations that are extremely complex due to intrusions Of salt domes. Recently, however, significant innovations have been made in seismic processing and reservoir simulation. In addition, significant advances have been made in deviated and horizontal drilling technologies. Effective application of these technologies along with improved integrated resource management methods offer opportunities to significantly increase Gulf of Mexico production, delay platform abandonments, and preserve access to a substantial remaining oil target for both exploratory drilling and advanced recovery processes. On February 18, 1992, Louisiana State University (the Prime Contractor) with two technical subcontractors, BDNL Inc. and ICF, Inc., began a research program to estimate the potential oil and gas reserve additions that could result from the application of advanced secondary and enhanced oil recovery technologies and the exploitation of undeveloped and attic oil zones in the Gulf of Mexico oil fields that are related …

Nonlinear self-focusing in laser glass imposes limits on the energy fluence that can be safely transmitted without risking damage. For this reason, it is desirable to strictly limit the peak to average spatial variations of fluence by smoothing schemes such as Smoothing by Spectral Dispersion (SSD). While spatial variations are problematic, the same is not necessarily true of temporal variations since normal group velocity dispersion tends to smooth out temporal peaks caused by spatial self-focusing. Earlier work indicated that increased bandwidth can delay the onset of self focusing. The present work re-examines the question of self focusing threshold increases due to high bandwidth by investigating another source of such increase in three dimensional beam breakup--the bending instability. For simplicity, the authors consider the behavior of a single space-time speckle. Normal dispersion can lead to splitting of the pulse and delay of self focusing for short enough pulses as noted above. In addition to the self focusing instability, the laser beam is also subject to the so-called bending (sausage like) instability which can spatially disperse the field maxima over time. Because the bending instability breaks an initial axial symmetry, a full three dimensional numerical simulation is required to study it accurately. …

In 1991, the DOE made a decision to close the FMPC located in Fernald, Ohio, and end its production mission. The site was renamed FEMP to reflect Fernald`s mission change from uranium production to environmental restoration. As a result of this change, the inventory of strategic uranium materials maintained at Fernald by DOE DP will need to be relocated to other DOE sites. Although considered a liability to the Fernald Plant due to its current D and D mission, the FEMP DU represents a potentially valuable DOE resource. Recognizing its value, it may be important for the DOE to consolidate the material at one site and place it in a safe long-term storage condition until a future DOE programmatic requirement materializes. In August 1995, the DOE Office of Nuclear Weapons Management requested, Lockheed Martin Energy Systems (LMES) to assess the feasibility of consolidating the FEMP DU materials at the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). This feasibility study examines various phases associated with the consolidation of the FEMP DU at the ORR. If useful short-term applications for the DU fail to materialize, then long-term storage (up to 50 years) would need to be provided. Phases examined in this report include DU material …

MOCUP is a system of external processors that allow for a limited treatment of the temporal composition of the user-selected MCNP cells in a time-dependent flux environment. The ORIGEN2 code computes the time-dependent compositions of these individually selected MCNP cells. All data communication between the two codes is accomplished through the MCNP and ORIGEN2 input/output files, the MOCUP Processor Output files, and two user supplied tables. MOCUP is either command line or interactively driven. The interactive interface is based on the portable XII window environment and the Motif tool kit. MOCUP was constructed so that no modifications to either MCNP or ORIGEN2 were necessary. Section 4 of the writeup contains the input instructions needed to set up the MOCUP run. MOCUP is extremely useful for analysts who perform isotope production, material transformation, and depletion and isotope analyses on complex, non-lattice geometries, and uniform and non-uniform lattices.

Objective is to assist the recovery of remaining noncontacted oil from known reservoirs/abandoned offshore wells on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. Progress continues for reducing the data to fit a simplified model and redescribing the resource to accommodate known production behavior and geologic assumptions. Final reports are currently being prepared.

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