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Conventional oil reserves in Colombia are depleted. The country´s reserve-to-production ratio is estimated as 5 years. Therefore, the search for new resources and their conversion into proven reserves are essential. In this case, the production of unconventional reservoirs is an option in Colombia. This work evaluates the technical and economic feasibility of the production of a Tight Oil source rock reservoir, considering parameters such as fracture shape factor, fracture propagation, fracture pressure, international oil price, petrophysical characteristics, fluid properties, drilling cost, completion, and fiscal regime. The methodological development of the work allowed concluding that this reservoir located in the middle Magdalena Valley basin has production potential and those factors such as the type of completion, drilling technique, and cost of lifting the resource have a significant impact on the viability of the project. Resumen Las reservas de petróleo proveniente de reservorios convenvionales en Colombia son escazas, la relación reserva/producción en el país es de 5 años. De esta manera, la búsqueda por nuevas reservas y producción de nuevos recursos son imprescindibles. Así, la producción de yacimientos no convencionales es una salida a la escasez de producción de crudo. Este trabajo evalúa la factibilidad técnica y económica de la producción de un yacimiento de roca generadora Tight Oil, fueron considerados parámetros como factor de forma de la fractura, propagación de la fractura, presión de fracturamiento, precio internacional del petróleo, características petrofísicas, propiedades de los fluidos, costo de perforación, completamiento y el régimen fiscal. El desarrollo metodológico del trabajo permitió concluir que este yacimiento ubicado en la cuenca del valle medio del magdalena tiene potencial de producción y que factores como el tipo de completamiento, técnica de perforación y costo del levantamiento del recurso tienen un impacto significativo en la viabilidad del proyecto.

Research on predicting the growth trend of natural gas reserves and production will help provide a scientific basis for natural gas exploration and development. The metabolically improved modified weight coefficient GM(1,n) method is applied to the multi-cycle Hubbert model to predict the trend of new proven natural gas reserves in the Sichuan Basin. The ultimate recoverable reserves (URR) is introduced as a boundary condition in the production-time series to predict the natural gas production growth. The research results show that: (1) The annual newly added proven natural gas reserves of the Sichuan Basin maintain a multi-cycle growth trend, which will reach the peak reserves in 2034, at which time the proven rate of natural gas will reach 36%. (2) Based on the predicted results of proven reserves, the final recoverable reserves of natural gas are estimated to be $$5.25-5.75\times {10}^{12}{m}^{3}$$ 5.25 - 5.75 × 10 12 m 3 . The production in 2035 will reach $$750-810\times {10}^{8}{\mathrm{m}}^{3}/\mathrm{a}$$ 750 - 810 × 10 8 m 3 / a , and production will grow rapidly. The exploration and development of natural gas in the basin will be prospective for a long time.

With the discovery of the Pre-Salt reserves, exploration of oil and gas is being strongly extended in Brazil, contributing to the recent increase of the demand for drilling capabilities. This paper discusses the impact of this oil discovery by assessing the relationship among the growth of proven reserves, the financial position of firms, and patent applications in the Brazilian upstream oil and gas industry. We provide empirical evidence indicating that firms with a lower financial performance prior to the pre-salt discovery were more aggressive in increasing the number of patent filings addressing technologies of the upstream oil and gas domain.

Natural gas exploration in SINOPEC's exploratory areas in the Sichuan Basin has achieved rapid development. Since discovering the Xinchang gas field, natural gas exploration has expanded gradually, with both reserves and production growing fast. The deepening understanding of geological theory and crucial technology's progress is the main driving force for the natural gas industry's significant development. Considering the rich natural gas resources, various types of promising targets, exploration degree of 16% of conventional natural gas, and the initial stage of shale gas exploration, the HCZ model predicted natural gas exploration. Additionally, it indicated that the shale gas in the SINOPEC exploratory areas in the Sichuan Basin would consistently have rapid development with proven reserves increasing by (160–200) × 109m3/a. In the future, the development strategy is to vigorously develop shale gas, steadily promote marine conventional natural gas, and continually research continental tight sandstone gas. The following tasks need to be strengthened for efficient exploration of the three resource types: prediction of deep and ultra-deep reef-shoal reservoirs, weathered crust reservoirs, and technological breakthrough of efficient drilling and fracturing test of ultra-deep wells; the technological breakthrough of geological-logging-seismic integrated sweets pot prediction of tight sandstones and low-cost multi-layer fracturing of vertical wells; the technological breakthrough of increasing-yield and reducing-cost drilling, completion, and fracturing of deep marine shale gas; resources potential evaluation and adaptive exploration and development technologies preparation of continental and transitional shale gas.

Territorial conditions for the integration of production activities for the extraction and processing of oil in the modern global world have became as a critical issue. The most striking feature of the placement of oil reserves is their high concentration in one relatively small region - the Persian Gulf basin. Here, in the Arab monarchies of Iran and Iraq,almost 2/3 of proven reserves are concentrated, and most of them (more than 2/5 of world reserves) are in three Arabian countries with a small indigenous population - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Even with the huge number of foreign workers who flooded these countries in the second half of the twentieth century, there are just over 20 million people, 0.3% of the world's population. Among the countries with very large reserves (more than 10 billion tons in each, or more than 6% of the world) are Iraq, Iran and Venezuela. These countries have long had a significant population and a more or less developed economy, and Iran and Iraq are the oldest centers of world civilization. Therefore, the high concentration of oil reserves in them does not look unfair, as in the three Arabianmonarchies, where yesterday’s illiterate and semi-wild nomads and herders are swimming in oil and petrodollars. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development includes 29 economically developed countries. It includes Australia, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Spain, Italy, Canada, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the United States, Turkey, Finland, France, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland, South Korea, Japan. The organization of the countries of oil exporters includes Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Venezuela. The aim of this work is to investigate present conditions particularly territorial conditions to production activities integration in order to the extraction and processing of oil which are the main factor in increasing the productivity of this sector of the economy.

Research background: This paper studies the impact of a new so-called green factor on the capitalization of petroleum companies, which is becoming highly relevant in view of the signing of the Paris agreements in 2015 and the support for clean energy. Although society, international organizations, and government authorities encourage companies to reduce their environmental impact, one of the main reasons for responsible behavior is still economic efficiency. The oil industry, on the one hand, faces one of the most volatile markets and, on the other hand, has one of the largest environmental impacts of any industry. That requires a detailed study of interconnections between market capitalization and the green factor. Purpose of the article: A comprehensive study of factors affecting the level of capitalization of oil and gas companies in Russia and identification of the most significant among them with a special focus on the green factor. Methods: Econometric analysis of panel data for Russian petroleum companies. The database includes indicators for six major Russian oil companies from 2011 to 2018. The following groups of factors are analyzed to explain the change in the companies’ capitalization: macroeconomic (GDP and inflation in Russia), microeconomic (companies’ revenue, net profit, tax payment, return on assets, return on equity, ratio of borrowed capital to equity), industrial (oil export, refining, production and proven reserves of the companies), and the green factor. Findings & Value added: The selection of factors showed that the size of capitalization has been influenced most significantly by the following: the volume of the company's proven reserves, net profit, tax burden, and the green factor based on the policy of minimizing environmental damage. This result shows that investors consider companies with high environmental performance to be more valuable than companies with similar financial results but lower environmental ratings.

This study presents the log analysis results of a log suite comprising gamma ray (GR), resistivity (LLD), neutron (PHIN), density (RHOB) logs and a 3D seismic interpretation of TIM field located in the southwestern offshore of Niger Delta, Nigeria. This study focuses essentially on reserves evaluation of hydrocarbon-bearing sands. Well data were used in the identification of reservoirs as well as hydrocarbon presence and determination of petrophysical parameters. Three horizons that corresponded to selected sands tops (sand D, sand E, and sand F) were mapped after well-to-seismic tie. The three horizons marked the tops of reservoir sands and provide the structures for hydrocarbon accumulation. Structural depth maps were created from the mapped horizons. The structural style is dominated by widely spaced simple rollover anticline bounded by growth faults, and this includes down-to-basin faults, antithetic faults and synthetic faults. The petrophysical values – the porosity, net-to-gross, water saturation, hydrocarbon saturation that were calculated yielded an average porosity value of 0.23, water saturation value of 0.32 and an average net-to-gross value of 0.62. Hydrocarbon in-place was evaluated. The total hydrocarbon proven reserves for the mapped horizons (sand D, sand E, and sand F) were evaluated to be 39.04MMBO of oil, and 166.13BCF of gas for sand E. Keywords: Niger Delta, Petrophysics, Reserve estimation, Hydrocarbon saturation

The global 2030 agenda for promoting clean energy development explicitly calls for the implementation of official policy related to sustainable development. China pledged to formulate an energy structure that focuses on non-fossil energy and natural gas towards 2030. Natural gas is therefore entering a new critical and potentially advantageous development stage. Optimizing the utilization structure in a scientific manner can be regarded as the significant means to increase natural gas consumption in order to achieve the targets upon 2020 and 2030. In this study, what ultimately matters from a sustainable lens is not whether the future natural gas consumption increases but rather whether the restricted and limited proven reserves should be arranged and utilized to reach the best effectiveness on economy-energy-environment system to further ensure sustainable development. Herein, with aims to offering operationally actionable-related insights on the optimal natural gas consumption pathways for policy governors, this paper examined the multiple effectiveness of a spectrum of representing indicators selected from the economy-energy-environment system in China under natural gas consumption structure constraint policy scenarios using a dynamic CGE approach and Markov Chains forecasting technique. Consequently, this study recommends one optimal natural gas consumption structure scenario to policy governors given its comprehensive effectiveness in promoting sustainable development in China according to horizontal and vertical comparative analyses.

Low-permeability oil reservoirs account for more than two-thirds of China’s proven reserves, and most of them are multilayered; the traditional sweet spots focus on single-layered reservoirs. The sweet spots of low-permeability reservoirs have two meanings: the geologically superior reservoir and the beneficial development of the reservoir. In this study, a concept of reservoir stratification coefficient is proposed to evaluate the characteristics of multilayered reservoirs, and three indicators are proposed, namely, reservoir stratification coefficient, energy storage coefficient, and stratigraphic coefficient, as the indicators of sweet spots of multilayered reservoirs. The three indicators are combined into a single indicator using a weighted approach, and the sweet spots can be identified based on the combined indicator. The Xiliu A area of the North China oilfield was selected for a case study. According to the structural, sedimentary, and reservoir characteristics of the block, combined with the development and production conditions, the Sha 3 Member I oil group was selected as the study object of sweet spots of the low-permeability reservoir. The results show that the reservoir stratification coefficient, energy storage coefficient, and stratigraphic coefficient proposed in this study are effective indicators for the preferential selection of sweet spots, which can reflect the longitudinal heterogeneity, energy storage size, and flow capacity of multilayered reservoirs. After a comparative analysis with actual blocks, it was found that the results obtained using the method are consistent with the actual capacity of the reservoir. The production capacity is high. The evaluation effect is ideal, and the applicability is good. Thus, this study provides a new technical method for the evaluation of similar multilayered reservoirs. The findings of this study can help for a better understanding of the development and production conditions and optimization basis of low-permeability reservoirs.

Density functional theory is used to study the adsorption of natural gas components in calcite (10.4) cylindrical nanopores with 1–4 nm diameters. The change of adsorption energy with the diameter of the nanopores is studied for CH4 and CO2 gases. The results of the simulation calculations showed that as the nanopore diameter decreases, the adsorption energy increases exponentially due to the geometry of the smallest pore that increases the affinity of the molecules to the surface. Compared to the flat surface, for both molecules, CH4 and CO2, the interaction energy of the molecule with the nanopore could increase to more than five times depending on pore radius and molecule type. Additionally, in all cases, CO2 has a greater affinity to the surface than CH4; thus, it is more affected by the surface curvature and energy. For methane, adsorption energy on the flat surface is 0.0025 eV/Å2, while on the smallest nanopore, it increases to 0.0139 eV/Å2. On the other hand, the adsorption energy of carbon dioxide has increased from 0.0046 eV/Å2 on the flat surface to 0.0263 eV/Å2 on the smallest nanopore. To estimate the nanopore saturation of the gas, the capacity of the gases’ adsorption was calculated. The nanopores absorbed up to 28 and 24 molecules of CH4 and CO2, respectively, and the adsorption energy decreased to −0.0062 and −0.0075 eV/Å2 for each. Although the nanopore was filled spatially by the molecules, its surface still has an affinity to absorb more gas molecules energetically. These findings could be useful for estimating the adsorbed gas on carbonate rocks. The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation) through Grant # NPRP11S-1228-170138. The findings achieved herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. Also, the authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the computational resources provided by Texas A&M University in Qatar. Open Access funding is provided by the Qatar National Library. Scopus

The determination of the control area of a single well is the prerequisite for the evaluation of the reserves of a single well. The current calculation methods of the control area of a single well are mainly divided into: experience formula, area balancing method, and the physical model, in order to solve the different limitations of the existing single-well control area splitting method and the problem of large error in use, this paper puts forward a kind of based on gas reservoir physical property and the growth of single well productivity difference algorithm for single well control area is split, according to the results of the split combining static reservoir parameters, using volumetric method for single well and the calculation of reserves of gas reservoir evaluation, further clarify the original and the remaining gas distribution of gas reservoir, for the subsequent reasonable development of the gas reservoir and enhance oil recovery. In this paper, block S of Sulige gas field is taken as an example, and the geological reserve of block is calculated as 354.75×108m3, compared with the basic proven reserves of Block S, 364.84×108m3, the error is 2.61% and the reliability is strong

Several cases of the need for continuous utilization of gas turbines for power production and why gas turbines will be relevant in the next 50 years in the Nigerian power sector are presented in this paper. Using 7 criteria; the cost of installation, operation and maintenance costs, levelized cost of electricity, capacity factor, the efficiency of energy conversion, power to size ratio/area coverage and environmental pollution, gas turbine operation was compared with wind and solar energy technologies. Gas turbine for power production appears to be more favourable in 5 out of the 7 criteria including lower installation cost which is a very important factor for poor and developing nations like Nigeria. The quantity of fuel for producing different quantities of power using gas turbines was estimated. Nigeria has huge proven reserves of natural gas which is the fuel for gas turbines. If we go for combined cycle power plants which have low specific fuel consumption (SFC), 50% of the natural gas reserves are enough to produce some 35 GW of electricity for over 50 years. The current rate of natural gas production can produce 27.06 GW of electricity at 0.06kg/s.MW sfc. It was also observed that the current installed power from gas turbines is too low compared to the power demand; hence, further installations are required. Pollution should not be an issue in installing more gas turbine plants because the gas turbine is a clean-burning engine and the present installed capacity is insignificant compared to what is obtainable in some advanced nations. The results in this work will guide gas turbine operators in planning for further installation of gas turbine power plants. The study does not rule out the need to exploit solar photovoltaic system and wind turbines in areas with high sunshine and high wind speeds respectively, for off-grid power production.

The Shuangjianzishan deposit in Inner Mongolia is a typical Ag-Pb-Zn deposit of the southern Great Xing’an Range. Proven reserves of Ag, Pb, and Zn in this deposit have reached the scale of super-large deposits, with favorable metallogenic conditions, strong prospecting signs, and high metallogenic potential. This paper reports a study involving integrated geophysical methods, including controlled-source audio-frequency magnetotelluric, gravity, magnetic, and shallow-seismic-reflection methods, to determine the spatial distribution of ore-controlling structures and subsurface intrusive rock for a depth range of

The main aspects of regional development of the mineral base of Ukraine are defined. The structure of regional development of the mineral base of Ukraine was investigated by grouping administrative and territorial units by the activity of subsoil work, by the degree of industrial development of available proven reserves of minerals, by quantity and type, by the presence of strategically important minerals. It is established that balanced development of the mineral base of individual regions is complicated by the uneven distribution of studied and forecast mineral resources within the limits of separate territories, as well as the peculiarities of distribution of consumers of mineral raw materials. The main disadvantages in the regional structure of the mineral base were identified and the main directions of their optimization were determined in order to achieve balanced development indicators. The state of national programs development of mineral base of Ukraine for period to 2010 and 2030 was adopted for the balanced development of Ukraine’s mineral base. But this program does not include the issue of the regional nature of the development of a mineral base in the conditions of decentralization, which is provided for by the Concept of reforming local self-government and territorial organization of power in Ukraine. The study of official sites of regions, cities and united communities showed a systematic absence of official regional development programs for the mineral resource base.

The Darlot-Centenary gold deposit is one of the larger known mineralised systems in the southern end of the West Australian Yandal Greenstone Belt, with an estimated 2.7 Moz having been extracted from the Darlot Centenary Mine since 1988. The area is well explored near surface but given the proven endowment there is potential for significant additional mineralisation at depth. With current proven reserves dwindling, Gold Fields recognised the need to identify a technology to fast-track target generation in order to more rapidly evaluate the nearby rock volume. In August 2016 Gold Fields began investigating the potential for 3D reflection seismic to accelerate evaluation of the rock volume accessible via existing workings. In November 2016 a seismic crew was on ground acquiring approximately 150km3 of 3D seismic data (25km2 surface area x 6km depth). The survey coverage was designed to image the local steeply dipping geology and structures. Processing of the seismic dataset was completed in Q1 2017 and Gold Fields has completed preliminary interpretation of the 3D cube. The seismic data has provided a rich 3D picture of the Darlot structural framework to depth, which could not be obtained by any other geophysical method. It has highlighted a number of features with similar characteristics to known mineralisation and has provided a better defined structural framework that has greatly assisted the fundamental geological understanding and further aided ranking of these targets in terms of prospectivity.

Although shale gas resources are abundant in China, commercial discoveries have not been made before the discovery of Fuling Shale Gas Field. SINOPEC has done lots of theoretical and technological studies on marine shale gas development in China. Research shows shale gas has dynamic accumulations with early preservation and late reconstruction and proposes high-quality shale developed in deep-water shelf as the base and good preservation conditions as the key factor for shale gas accumulation. Key technologies and facilities were developed for geophysical survey of shale gas, design and optimization of shale gas development, drilling and completion of horizontal wells, and fracturing stimulation. As the first and largest shale gas field in China, the discovery and successful development of Fuling Shale Gas Filed has made China the first country to achieve large-scale development of shale gas after North America. By August 2017, Fuling Shale Gas Field had declared 6008.14 × 108 m3 proven reserves, 76.8 × 108 m3 production capacity and 133.9 × 108 m3 cumulative production. The construction of Fuling Shale Gas Field with high level, high speed and high quality has been a good example of shale gas development in China. Its successful experiences can be used to other fields and play an important role in optimizing energy structure and improving environment. Keywords: Shale gas, Exploration, Well drilling and completion, Staged fracturing, Environmental protection, Commercial development, Fuling area

Since the “Tenth Five-Year Plan”, lithologic and stratigraphic reservoirs have been the main contribution of both the discovery as well as reserve and production increase in China; there were about 80% of proven reserves. The typical reservoirs in six major basins in the eastern, central, and western China were adopted as reservoir forming models. The reservoir forming models in three types of slopes, three types of depressions, and three types of lithologic reservoir assemblages have been built on the basis of application of new technologies, physical modeling of reservoir forming mechanism, and investigation to the formation and distribution of the reservoirs. The evaluation methods for large lithologic reservoirs provinces were established based on the forming mechanism and main controlling factors mentioned above. In addition, the study reveals the main controlling factors and the laws of enrichment of two types of stratigraphic reservoirs (pinch-out and weathered karst reservoirs) based on the evaluation methods for large stratigraphic reservoir provinces that have been established. By comprehensively understanding the laws of enrichment of lithologic-stratigraphic reservoirs in four types of basins, specific evaluation methods and fine exploration techniques have been developed. The findings led to an exploration direction in the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” period. The study supported the exploration and selection of oil and gas plays, as well as promoted the exploration of lithologic and stratigraphic reservoirs. Keywords: Lithologic trap, Stratigraphic trap, Lithostratigraphic reservoir, Large oil and gas field, Large oil and gas province, Formation and distribution, Exploration potential

Nicaragua is an underdeveloped Central American country of 130, 373 km2 with a population of 6.2 million inhabitants, 90% electricity access and 672 MW of peak demand. Currently, the electricity mix is nearly 50% renewable but the entire energy system is highly dependent on fossil fuels and biomass. This work aims to show potential for a renewable transformation of the Nicaraguan energy system. With a substantial renewable energy potential (geothermal, wind, solar, etc.) and no proven reserves of oil, coal and gas, neither in Nicaragua nor in Central America, an Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) for the electric sector was developed. The potential renewable transformation of the entire electric sector would create positive technical and economic conditions to the penetration of electric mobility. The results of this work indicate that optimal integrated renewable expansion mix will require prioritize the development of geothermal (high capacity factor to meet the base load with the lowest cost), wind, hydro and biomass sources and energy-efficiency programs. Although the potential use of electrical vehicles brings positive environmental impacts, from consumers' perspective electric vehicles are not cost-effective with current oil prices and relative high prices of electric vehicles. Thus, it will be necessary national and regional public policies in order to trigger the energy mix transformation and the introduction of electric mobility. This seminal work is the base for a further detailed research and proposing a regional energy transition initiative to be extended for Central American countries with similar characteristics and interconnected by a regional network; gaining scale for regional electric mobility.

The Russian Far East possesses significant reserves of minerals. Mineral resources are rich in species diversity. The development of resources is faced with several problems, such as the depletion of active proven reserves in the exploited fields; high costs of transporting raw materials and finished products to processing sites or end-user markets; lack of availability of deposits; significant financial investments in the construction of new transport routes, etc. This means a transition from the extraction of raw materials to obtaining a product with a high stage of processing and the construction of transport routes. In this article, the authors examined the structure of investments in fixed assets by type of economic activity in the subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District. The values of the volumes of reserves and production of major minerals (for 2018) are presented, and resources are allocated based on which it is necessary to develop processing industries in the region. A comparison is made of the transport accessibility of options for locating a metallurgical plant in the Far East. The conclusion about the need for state support of resource projects and the development of measures to improve the conditions for investment has been substantiated.

Remarkable proven reserves of approximately 1200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with an unprecedented growth in global demand, have led Iranian policymakers to look for optimal natural gas export programs. This paper attempts to provide a novel conceptual framework to evaluate the natural gas export portfolio. In this regard, the present study develops the concept of non-systematic risk based on both the natural gas dependency risk index and the geopolitical risk index. Furthermore, it presents an aggregated quantitative index using entropy-based index aggregate method by providing appropriate sub-indicators toward natural gas transmission via pipeline and LNG. By introducing the non-linear mathematical programming model of Iran's optimal gas export portfolio and proposing four export scenarios, the efficient frontier is obtained for each scenario. Finally, the results show that the minimum risk level can be attained when the gas export portfolio constitutes a significant share of LNG transmission method. Keywords: Optimal portfolio, Iran's gas exports, Non-systematic risk, Entropy-based aggregate method

Various types of deposits such as carbonate-replacement Pb-Zn-Ag-Au, porphyry Cu-Mo-Au, stratiform volcano-sedimentary, isolated magmatic-hydrothermal and skarns compose the Serbomacedonian-Rhodope Metallogenic Belt (SRMB), which intersects with a NNW-SSE trend the Balkan Peninsula. This arcuate belt is about 500 km long and 130-180 km wide. Sb-Bi alloys and Ag-Cu-Pb-Sb-Bi sulfosalts have been discovered in some metal assemblages in the SRMB. The European Union (EU) is highly dependent on critical and rare metals, such as Sb and Bi, which are very important for a sustainable development. Greece is one of the EU countries with the most potential for supplying the strategic metal Sb in the future, since it hosts a significant ore deposit at Rizana/Lachanas (central Macedonia). Here, the stibnite reserves are 5,000 t (proven) and 50,000-100,000 t (indicated). Both have average Sb=0.3 wt%. In addition, at the same district, there are 1000 t (proven) of wolframite. Another promising Sb-bearing mineral assemblage exists at Alshar (North Macedonia). Here, the stibnite reserves are >20,000 t (indicated) with average Sb=0.5 wt%. At both mineralization districts further investigations are needed to determine the grade and the proven reserves of the critical metal Sb. Until today none encouraging site has been located in the SRMB for remarkable Bi-bearing ore.

Several prominent institutional investors concerned about climate change have announced their intention or have divested from fossil fuel shares, to limit their exposure to the industry. The act of fossil fuel divestment may directly depress share prices or stigmatize the industry&rsquo, s reputation, resulting in lower share value. While there has been considerable research conducted on the performance of the fossil fuel industry, there is not yet any empirical evidence that divestment announcements influence share prices. Adopting an event study methodology, this study measures abnormal deviations in stock prices of the top 200 global oil, gas, and coal companies by proven reserves, on days of prominent divestment announcements. Events are analyzed independently and in aggregate. The results make several notable contributions. While many events experienced short-term negative abnormal returns around the event day, the effects of events were more pronounced over longer event windows following the New York Climate March, suggesting a shift in investor perception. The results also find that divestment announcements related to campaigns, pledges, and endorsements all have a significant effect over the short-term event window. Finally, the results control for the general underperformance of the industry over the estimation window, attesting that the price change is caused by divestment announcements. Several robustness tests using alternate expected returns models and statistical tests were conducted to ensure the accuracy of the result. Overall, this study finds that divestment announcements decrease the share price of the fossil fuel companies, and thus, we conclude that &lsquo, divestors&rsquo, can influence the share price of their target companies. Theoretically, the result adds new knowledge regarding the efficacy of the efficient market hypothesis in relation to divestment.

The use of fossil fuels as the main source of energy for most countries has caused several negative environmental impacts, such as global warming and air pollution. Air pollution causes many health problems, causing social and economic negative effects. Worldwide efforts are being made to avoid global warming consequences through the establishment of international agreements that then lead to local policies adapted to the development of each signing nation. In addition, there is a depletion of nonrenewable resources which may be scarce or nonexistent in future generations. The preservation of resources, which is a common goal of the Circular Economy strategy and of sustainable development, is not being accomplished nowadays. In this work, the calculation of indicators and mathematical and statistical analysis were applied to clarify and evidence the trends, provide information for the decision-making process, and increase public awareness. The fact that European countries do not possess abundant reserves of fossil fuels will not change, but the results of this analysis can evolve in the future. In this work, fossil fuel energy consumption, fossil fuel depletion, and their relationship with other variables, such as energy dependence and share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption, were analyzed for 29 European countries. Furthermore, it was possible to conclude that many European countries still depend heavily on fossil fuels. Significant differences were not found in what concerns gross inland consumption per capita when the Kruskal–Wallis test was applied. It was possible to estimate that by 2050 (considering Jazz scenario) it will only remain approximately 14% of oil proven reserves, 72% of coal proven reserves and 18% of gas proven reserves. Given the small reserves of European countries on fossil fuels, if they need to use them, they will fast disappear., This work was financially supported by project UID/EQU/00511/2019—Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy (LEPABE) funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), by project UID/EQU/00305/2013—Center for Innovation in Engineering and Industrial Technology (CIETI), and by European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT) through project UID/QUI/50006/2013.

Russia feels confident in the group of leading countries in the production and export of natural gas (natural and associated) due to the largest proven reserves. The unique ecological properties of natural gas in comparison with other types of fossil fuels, according to analysts of the largest international energy companies and leading world energy agencies, will allow it to maintain an ever-increasing demand in the future until 2040, despite the massive introduction of renewable energy sources (RES) around the world. There is no consensus among the forecasters about the levels achieved at the end of the forecast period and the growth rates. According to forecasts, the main drivers of gas demand growth will be the third world countries, which will be led by India and China. According to forecasts, the European gas market will stagnate due to the widespread introduction of energy-saving technologies, global climate change and the massive construction of renewable energy sources in the large and small electric power industry, due to significant legislative and significant economic preferences. The COVID 19 pandemic has significantly reduced the demand for gas, which, together with low prices in all world markets, calls into question the implementation of not only the most capital-intensive projects, but also projects with medium capital intensity. In this regard, the creation of a simplified model of the gas industry in Russia is becoming more urgent.

The main objectives of this research are to estimate the oil reserves and set a development plan for Hakim Field in Libya, using three methods for calculating OOIP which are Volumetric (Monte Carlo), Decline curve analysis (DCA), Material Balance Equation, and establish the optimum development plan for Hakim field. Results showed that the OOIP of Hakim Field, calculated by volumetric method done through Monte Carlo tool given 90.2 MM STBO for Proven Reserves (1P) , 115.5 MM STBO for Probable reserves (2P) and 147.0 MM STBO for Possible reserves (3P). While OOIP estimated by Decline curve analysis given 82.4MM STBO for Proven Reserves (1P) , 102.8MM STBO for Probable reserves (2P) and 114.9MM STBO for Possible reserves (3P), and 112.18 MM STBO for Probable reserves (2P) by Material Balance. In addition, 14 prediction scenarios have been applied on the Material Balance Model to establish the optimum Field development Plan, results showed that from simulation model the optimal scenario is 8 Producing Wells, 4 Water Injector Wells and 8000 BWPD.

The investment problem of oilfield development is to trade off the investment exploration investment and development investment. With low return on investment got by using the existing method to solve this problem, we construct an optimal model to improve it based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method and the relations about investment and proven reserves, investment and output as well as production cost. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method is used to present a method to determine the optimal scale of productivity construction investment in unit production. The relation between total cumulated proven reserves and cumulative exploration investment is denoted as an exponential model. The relation among productions and remaining recoverable reserves as well as production cost may be described as an exponential operational cost function. Based on above two relation models and investment effectiveness coefficients of every block, we establish an optimal model whose objective function is net present value (NPV) profit maximum, whose constrain conditions include investment, reserve/production ratio, production and some equality constraints under the mode of sustainable development. It can be solved by genetic algorithms. The result of case study shows that this optimal investment of oilfield development has multi-stage investment structure under given conditions; the model can provide scientific basic theory for oil companies to make a long-term strategic program and investment plan in oil exploration and development, may decrease the subjective blindness in the investment and bring about a reasonable and orderly exploration and development of oil resources.

Marine shale gas in South China is widely distributed and demonstrates an enriched resource. Compared with the North American commercial shale gas field, the shale formation in South China is featured by old age, multiple stages tectonic movements, and high thermal evolution degree and complex reservoir forming conditions. As a result, the existing theories and technical methods of exploration in North America cannot be simply applied to South China. Since 2007, based on the in-depth study on a large quantity of analytical test data, we have conducted the theory and technology research for the southern marine shale gas, found Wufeng-Longmaxi Group deep water shelf high-quality shale gas critical parameters coupling laws, proposed the “Binary Enrichment” theory for highly evolved marine shale gas in southern complex tectonic zone, and established a zone selection and evaluation criteria, which are based on the quality of shale, for the key of preservation condition, and for the purpose of economy. Taking this as a guide, we selected Longmaxi formation Lower Silurian of Fuling area in southeastern Sichuan Province as the preferred breakthrough field for the shale gas exploration. The Jiaoye 1 well has the daily gas production of 20.3 × 104 m3, which embarked the found of China’s first large-scale business development gas field, the Fuling shale gas field. And we submit the first domestic shale gas proven reserves of 1067.5 × 108 m3. The Fuling shale gas reservoirs are deep water shelf marine high-quality shale, with favorable thickness and even distribution, without dissection in the middle. They are typical self-generation and self-storage shale gas reservoirs. The gas fields have high production gas well; high pressure gas reservoir, good gas components and good exploit results, and there for the Fuling shale gas field is characterized by mid-depth, high pressure, high reservoir pressure, and high quality gas accumulation. Up to March 24, 2014, all of the 101 fracture-gas testing wells have obtained middle and upper shale airflow, with the average single well test production of 32.6 × 104 m3/d. In the exploration and development process, technology series in geological evaluation, horizontal well, drilling, well completion, piecewise fracturing techniques have been gradually formed. It is of great importance to commercially develop the domestic shale gas and promote the restructuring of China’s energy structure.

As the largest producer of gold in the world, China's gold reserves are spread across a number of orogenic belts that were constructed around ancient craton margins during various subduction–collision cycles, as well as within the cratonic interior along reactivated paleo-sutures. Among the major gold deposits in China is the unique class of world's richest gold mines in the Jiaodong Peninsula in the eastern part of the North China Craton with an overall endowment of > 3000 tons. Following the dawn of metal in the third millennium BC in western China, placer gold mining was soon in practice, particularly during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. During 1096 AD, mining techniques were developed to dig underground tunnels and the earliest mineral processing technology was in place to pan gold from crushed rock ores. However, ancient China did not witness any major breakthrough in gold exploitation and production, and the growth in the gold ownership was partly due to the ‘Silk Road’ that enabled the sale of silk products and exquisite artifacts to the west in exchange of gold products. In the modern times, the proven reserves of gold resources in China have steadily increased from 4614.7 tons in 2005 up to 6864.79 tons in 2010, with a growth rate of 48.76%. In the past ten years, the rate of production increased by 70%, launching China as the top producer of gold in the world in 2008 when the production reached 300 tons per year. The gross industrial output of gold industry in China increased sharply from 20.82 billion Yuan up to 229.29 billion Yuan between 2000 and 2010, registering 9 times growth, and breaking the world record. A simultaneous hike in the proportion of gross value in GDP from 0.21% in 2003 up to 0.58% in 2010 is also recorded.

The Chinese government has introduced numerous policies and development plans to boost its shale gas industry in recent years. However, China’s shale gas exploration and development is still in the initial stage and has been confronted with many challenges. This paper systematically analyzes the current status of China’s shale gas industry from five aspects for the first time—resource situation, exploration and development status, policy and planning situation, technology status and international cooperation—then respectively elaborates on the different obstacles of shale gas development in the short run and the medium and long term. We argue that short-term barriers to the Chinese shale gas industry mainly include objective factors, such as geological and surface conditions, shale gas proven reserves, technology innovation and environmental concerns, while some man-made obstacles (except for water scarcity) may restrict shale gas development in the medium and long term. In order to better tackle the short-term challenges, this paper proposes policy recommendations from five perspectives: strengthening the investigation and evaluation of China’s shale gas resources; perfecting shale gas industry policy; establishing a national shale gas comprehensive experimental zone; enhancing scientific and technological research; and establishing a shale gas regulatory system with an emphasis on environmental protection and supervision.

Main source of energy fuel in Bangladesh is natural gas and day by day it is trimming the proven reserves. There are provisions of potential renewable energy resources like the solar, wind, tidal etc.; but the initiatives are very slow. Coal reserves and their prospects could not assure the nation as there are proven coal reserves of about 4,750 Mt (equivalent to 975 GM 3 of gas, which is around 3 times greater than the present gas reserve in Bangladesh). Those coal reserves are discovered in the North-Western part of Bangladesh at the depth ranging 200-1100 m. The special feature of the coal seams are found in the same geological formation and thickness is high (on average 38-64 m).One of the major issues, is the minable amount of the resources in conventional mining method. Barapukuria coal mine is under operation since 2005 and running a 250 MW coal fired power plant. But the mining method is not yet proven as suitable one, due to jointed layer thick coal seam (51 m) with faulty overburden and wider aquifer zone. The underground mining environment is hazardous including high temperature, suffocative humidity and releasing of unpredictable carboneus gases from the coal faces which make the life expectancy of this mine questionable. The geographical position and climatic conditions of Bangladesh, especially the monsoon rain extends several weeks to months which are major setback for economic viability of the open striping mining. The policy makers still could not finalize the national coal policy. In this stage the government is stepping up for construction of coal fired power stations run by imported coal. A group of skilled and dedicated entrepreneur is seeking the pathways for exploiting unminable coals within a safe engineering framework and bringing the global Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) projects under the same umbrella. India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Japan even the Vietnam has already joined the cohort. But why not Bangladesh, though they have huge amount of coal reserves which are not minable in conventional methods. This paper presents a review on development of this technology, investigates the geology and formation of the deposits and seeks suitability of the gasification methods as a sustainable engineering model considering social, environmental & economic issues, which may be helpful for fore stepping towards unconventional coal extraction activity for combating energy crisis.

This paper investigates the conditions leading to the indefinite termination of production in four critical primary panels at an underground coal mining operation, the observed shortcomings in the mining approach, and the proposed strategy to mine through the affected panels. Initial assessment of the abandoned panel conditions indicated time-dependent strata failure, (i.e. bolted roof failure overrunning intersections), which occurred from mere minutes to up to four weeks post-production, with and without prior warning of failure. This prompted the constant re-supporting of back areas, which raised safety and productivity concerns. Investigation of the initial mining conditions revealed that the failures were due to a critical combination of factors, the chief of which was isolated horizontal stress. Other factors that were initially overlooked by the mine (i.e. influence of hydraulic stress, misinterpretation of borehole data), resulted in the conditions being described as abnormal. Remedial actions were determined, and in so doing, a new strategic approach was formulated to thoroughly address all failure concerns. The four panels were explicitly planned to serve as the main intake and return airways for the recently commissioned secondary ventilation shaft, as well as providing access to millions of tons in proven coal reserves. It is thus imperative to mine the panels. A feasibility study showed that the proposed strategy set for implementation would be financially viable.

We propose reforming the Brazilian regulatory safety framework (BRSF) for offshore oil and gas production and drilling operations. Brazil has emerged as a leading offshore producer with extensive proven reserves yet to be exploited. However, the BRSF has not been updated since 2007, and there are now major concerns about the industry׳s safety, particularly after the BP Deepwater Horizon accident, along with the technical challenges due to extreme conditions under which Brazil׳s resources are located. Drawing on experiences from three leading offshore oil and gas producers (Norway, the UK, and the US), we recommend the adoption of three best practices: the UK׳s ‘safety case’ approach (where operators are expected to provide convincing and valid arguments that a system is sufficiently safe for a given application in a specific environment), Norway׳s ‘barrier management’ (evidence that there are at least two tested and independent barriers to avoid accidents) and greater investment in safety research and development, as suggested by the US׳s National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. We discuss implications for policy reform and how best practices can be applied within the Brazilian context.

Peru׳s Camisea gas fields hold nearly 90% of the country׳s natural gas reserves. In the 1990s, the government had a policy to prioritize Camisea gas for domestic consumption. The revocation of this policy in the 2000s allowed private developers to export 40% of Camisea׳s proven reserves, equivalent to one third of Peru׳s total. This USD 3.9 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project boasts the largest single foreign direct investment in Peru׳s history. A major component of the financing was granted by international financial institutions on economic grounds. While the project was expected to yield a substantial return to private investors, the export of one third of Peru׳s total proven natural gas reserves is not in line with its long-term interests. We undertake cost–benefit analyses for a series of scenarios, starting with the project׳s formative stage in the mid-2000s, and then in 2012, two years after it began its commercial operation. In all cases, Peru does not have sufficient reserves to warrant export, and the economic costs far exceed the benefits. This policy of LNG exports should not have been approved by the government, nor should the loans have been granted by international financial institutions to make it possible.

We present two examples of describing low permeability Neogene clastic lithofacies to outline unconventional hydrocarbon lithofacies. Both examples were selected from the Drava Depression, the largest macrostructure of the Pannonian Basin System located in Croatia. The first example is the Beničanci Field, the largest Croatian hydrocarbon reservoir discovered in Badenian coarse-grained clastics that consists mostly of breccia. The definition of low permeability lithofacies is related to the margins of the existing reservoir, where the reservoir lithology changed into a transitional one, which is mainly depicted by the marlitic sandstones. However, calculation of the POS (probability of success of new hydrocarbons) shows critical geological categories where probabilities are lower than those in the viable reservoir with proven reserves. Potential new hydrocarbon volumes are located in the structural margins, along the oil-water contact, with a POS of 9.375%. These potential reserves in those areas can be classified as probable. A second example was the Cremušina Structure, where a hydrocarbon reservoir was not proven, but where the entire structure has been transferred onto regional migration pathways. The Lower Pontian lithology is described from well logs as fine-grained sandstones with large sections of silty or marly clastics. As a result, the average porosity is low for conventional reservoir classification (10.57%). However, it is still an interesting case for consideration as a potentially unconventional reservoir, such as the ”tight” sandstones.

Oil is a much sought after resource in the modern world economy. Until the previous decade, Middle East was thought to hold the maximum proven reserves of oil. This provided an incentive for western nations to maintain peace and stability in the region. However, discovery of new oil reserves in Brazil, Venezuela, Canada, Alaska and Russia, have challenged the status quo. Emerging Asian economies, namely India and China, will have to deal with an unstable supplier for one of the most important components in their energy portfolio.Given the situation, India is especially at risk as it imports almost 70% of its oil requirement, up to 65% of which originates from the Middle East. In a disruptive scenario of disturbance in the Middle East, India would find it difficult to meet its oil needs, jeopardizing its energy future. This paper analyzes India's energy consumption pattern, consumption of oil and oil products over the past four decades and the composition of India's oil import sources over the past five years. Finally, a model is proposed to secure India's energy future.

Based on a comprehensive analysis, the geological and geochemical characteristics of large gas fields in China were summarized in this paper. By the end of 2011, altogether 48 large gas fields had been discovered in China, with their proven reserves accounting for 81.5% of the total proven gas reserves in China. The main geological and geochemical characteristics of large gas fields in China are as follows: (1) Alkane gases are the main components of natural gas, with an average methane content of 88.22%, and the average contents of ethane, propane and butane of 3.31%, 0.97% and 0.49%, respectively; (2) The natural gases in 27 of the 48 large gas fields are coal-derived gases which indicate coal-derived gas is the major genetic type of natural gas in China; (3) Reservoirs are in multiple strata, but natural gas is mostly produced from the Permian and Triassic; Sandstones, carbonates and volcanics are the main reservoirs, of which the sandstones have the most reserves; (4) There are 16 tight gas fields in the 48 large gas fields, suggesting the crucial importance of this type of reservoirs in China; (5) Most of these large gas fields were formed at late or very late stages, suggesting late reservoir formation is favorable for gas preservation; (6) Multiple reservoir types are identified, including structural, lithologic and stratigraphic reservoirs. Key words: China, large gas field, geological characteristics, geochemical characteristics, coal-derived gas, oil-type gas

By the end of 2011, 20 giant gas fields with proven reserves over 1000×108m3 had been discovered in 7 sedimentary basins in China. Based on the molecular and the carbon isotopic compositions of the alkane gases in these gas fields, in combination with the δ13C1-δ13C2-δ13C3 and δ13C1-C1/C2+3 identification diagrams, the origin of the alkane gases in these 20 giant gas fields are discussed: the alkane gases in Sulige, Daniudi, Yulin, Zizhou, Wushenqi, Hechuan, Guang'an, Anyue, Yuanba, Xinchang, Kela2, Dina2, Dongfang1–1and Kelameili giant gas fields are mainly coal-derived; the alkane gases in Tazhong1 and Datianchi giant gas fields are oil-derived; the alkane gases in Tainan giant gas field are bacterial gases; the alkane gases in Jingbian giant gas field are mixed gases mainly composed of coal-derived gases supplemented with a small quantity of oil-derived gases; the alkane gases in Puguang giant gas field are mixed gases mainly composed of oil-derived gases supplemented with a small quantity of coal-derived gases; the alkane gases in Xushen giant gas field are mixed gases mainly composed of abiogenic gases supplemented with a small quantity of coal-derived gases. The study on the genetic types of the alkane gases in these fields is not only of great scientific importance to the gas correlation, gas accumulation research and the optimization of the exploration targets, but also to the acceleration of the Chinese natural gas industry.

This study aims to give information about the oil production of 42 Oil Fields and the wells of each field in Diyarbakir and the surrounding area where is geologically located at the boundary of Anatolian plate and Middle Eastern oil region in the Southeastern Anatolia of Turkey. The structure of oil reservoirs at this region, the interaction of oil and water at the reservoir, capping mechanism of reservoir oil and water are the given topics about the reservoir. Average drilling depth of oil wells at the surrounding area, chemical structure and physical properties of production formations, calculation of production rate, pump types and selecting the suitable type of pump for several production rates, advantages and disadvantages of the pump types are also the other given information about the region. Moreover, regional evaluation of the oil and water ratios, API gravity of produced oil, salinity and pH values of produced water are mentioned by using the analysis of samples taken from the wells in different regions of Diyarbakir province. The other purpose of the study is to inform about stocking of produced oil and water by using surface systems, seperation systems of oil from the water, injecting of seperated water to water injection wells, analysing the downhole and surface equipment failures for production wells and enviromental effects of oil production. Giving information about the economical aspect of the oil production for Turkey and Diyarbakir region is also one of the other goal. Solutions are offered for the encountered problems during the production, separation, transportation, and the refinery processes of the reserves in Diyarbakir city of Turkey, that imports most of its petroleum and natural gas use despite being very close to relatively large reserves.

Interest has rapidly grown in the use of unconventional resources to compensate for depletion of conventional hydrocarbon resources (“easy hydrocarbon”) that are produced at relatively low cost from oil and gas fields with large proven reserves. When one wants to ensure the prospects for development of unconventional resources that are potentially vast in terms of their energy potential, it is essential to determine the quality of that energy. Here we consider the development of shale gas, an unconventional energy resource of particularly strong interest of late, through analysis of its energy return on investment (EROI), a key indicator for qualitative assessment of energy resources. We used a Monte Carlo approach for the carbon footprint of U.S. operations in shale gas development to estimate expected ranges of EROI values by incorporating parameter variability. We obtained an EROI of between 13 and 23, with a mean of approximately 17 at the start of the pipeline. When we incorporated all the costs required to bring shale gas to the consumer, the mean value of EROI drops from about 17 at the start of the pipeline to 12 when delivered to the consumer. The shale gas EROI values estimated in the present study are in the initial stage of shale gas exploitation where the quality of that resource may be considerably higher than the mean and thus the careful and continuous investigation of change in EROI is needed, especially as production moves off the initial “sweet spots”.

Recent studies have evaluated the climate change implications of burning all of the world's proven reserves of carbon. To stay below the ambitious target of two degrees Celsius of warming above average pre-industrial temperatures, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that we would need to emit no more than 884 GtCO 2 globally between 2012 and 2050, equivalent to burning approximately one third of current global carbon reserves. This would require leaving large amounts of coal, oil and natural gas in the ground. These unutilized fossil reserves have been referred to as “stranded”. In this paper, we analyze CCS not as a cost, but as a potential enabler of utilizing otherwise stranded fossil fuels. We examine case studies at Boundary Dam and Gorgon, introduce a “CO 2 Normalized Price” as a useful metric for bottom-up assessments, and evaluate top-down model results to help value CCS as a way to rescue stranded fossil fuel assets.

In this paper we document two features that have made Saudi Arabia dierent from other oil producers. First, it has typically maintained ample spare capacity. Second, its production has been quite volatile even though it has witnessed few domestic shocks. These features can be rationalised in a general equilibrium model in which the oil market is modelled as a dominant producer with a competitive fringe. We show that the net welfare eect of oil taris on consumers is null. The reason is that Saudi Arabias's monopolistic rents fall entirely on fringe producers. Saudi Arabia is one of the largest players in the global oil market: it produces more than a tenth of the world's oil output and owns a quarter of the world's proven reserves. The Kingdom is also a key OPEC member, typically playing a central role in OPEC's decision-making. Indeed, authors such as Mabro (1975) have gone so far as to claim that 'OPEC is Saudi Arabia'. And according to Adelman (1995), 'the Saudis have acted as what they are: the leading …rm in the world oil market'. Are these claims exaggerations? In this paper we document two features that have made Saudi Arabia dierent from the rest of producers. First, it systematically restricts its production. In fact, its spare capacity is much larger than the aggregate spare capacity of the rest of world producers. Second, its production is quite volatile. The variance of Saudi oil output has been very high compared to that of the rest of producers, even though the Kingdom itself has witnessed few domestic shocks aecting oil production directly. We show that one can rationalise the behaviour of Saudi Arabia as that of a dominant producer with competitive fringe. In the spirit of Salant (1976), we build an industrial organization model into a general equilibrium framework, assuming that the dominant supplier internalises a la Stackelberg the behavioural � Anton Nakov thanks the European Central Bank for its hospitality during the …rst drafts of this paper. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily coincide with the views of the the Eurosystem or the Federal

This paper develops a novel approach by which to identify the price of oil at the time of depletion; the so-called ‘terminal price’ of oil. It is shown that while the terminal price is independent of both gross domestic product growth and the price elasticity of energy demand, it is dependent on the world real interest rate and the total lifetime stock of oil resources, as well as on the marginal extraction and scarcity cost parameters. The theoretical predictions of this model are evaluated using data on the cost of extraction, cumulative production and proven reserves. The predicted terminal prices seem sensible for a range of parameters and variables, as illustrated by the sensitivity analysis. Using the terminal price of oil, we calculate the time to depletion and determine the extraction and price profiles over the lifetime of the resource. The extraction profiles generated seem to be in line with the actual production and the predicted prices are generally in line with those currently observed.

A dataset of 25 metrics collected from the 10-Ks of 20 oil and gas operators was segregated into two panels: One with operators with a diversified business strategy (conventional group), and a second with operators focused on shale plays (unconventional group). Under the assumption that through exploration expenses (EXPEX) the cost of geoscientific information can be measured, fixed effects panel regressions with robust standard errors were constructed using proven reserves (P90), and the price per flowing barrel (PFB) as dependent variables, EXPEX as the variable of interest, and a series of controls accounting for other line items expensed in this account. Using the regression coefficients of these regressions the ceteris paribus effect of investments in geoscientific information on P90 and PFB is quantified. According to results, a million dollars invested in the geosciences increases P90 by 304 mboe after four years for operators in the conventional group. For operators in the unconventionals group, results indicate an increment of 935 mboe also after four years. Under an efficient market hypothesis the stock price of an operator should reflect all current available information. Therefore, these increments in proven reserves attributed to investments in geoscience should have a positive impact on the market capitalization of an operator. However, results from PFB models indicate that investments in exploration, even though having an impact on the amount of proven reserves, have a minimal impact on how the market values a barrel of crude from each operator regardless its business strategy.

World increasing population and use of energy for transportation and electricity are demanding more extensive and more efficient use of land for agriculture; aiming to both food and biofuel supplies. This communication assesses the possible improvements in soil fertility, capture of greenhouse gas, and rainfall, as a result of the large scale terrestrial application of pyrogenic carbon aiming for desert greening. Fossil hydrocarbon coke is taken into account for this proposal because of the exhaustion of light petroleum proven reserves that is leading to a scenario of abundant coke production from the processing of non-conventional reserves.

This report provides a review of the Armenian mining sector, and assesses its potential to contribute to sustainable economic growth and development. Based on the findings, it provides recommendations for initiatives and actions for the future development of the sector. The report was produced in the period October 2015 to April 2016. It was commissioned by the World Bank with the aim to assist the Armenian government to gain a better understanding of key social and environmental challenges and future opportunities for the Armenian Mining Sector; and to support the development of a minerals strategy which is line with international good practices and which contributes to sustainable development. The findings are based on: desktop reviews of existing documents; a large number of meetings and interviews with affected and interested stakeholders; field work performed in the main mining districts of Armenia; stakeholder workshops. Comments, suggestions and corrections on a draft version of this report has been provided by representatives of the GoA, and the World Bank. Further, oversight and feedback was continuously provided by representatives of the World Bank.

Today Greece produces and exports raw bauxite and alumina, concentrates of galena and sphalerite and ferronickel. The indicated reserves of bauxite, located in the Mt Helikon-Mt Parnassus-Mt Giona-Mt Iti zone, are estimated at approximately 100 mt and those of aluminum 2.5 mt. The probable and indicated reserves of lead and zinc from Chalkidiki are approximately 3.125 mt. The total production of concentrates of galena and sphalerite is approximately 220,000 tpa. The proven reserves of nickel are approximately 1.392 mt and the production of ferronickel is approximately 18,500 tpa. Production of copper, silver and gold is pending in 2015. The probable and indicated reserves of copper from Skouries Chalkidiki are approximately 1.943 mt. In the Prefecture Units of Chalkidiki and Evros the probable and indicated reserves of gold are approximately 19.37 million ounces and those of silver 131.6 million ounces. Chromium, manganese and molybdenum present good prospects of exploitation. Calculated at current prices, the total gross value of the probable and indicated reserves of the metallic minerals of Greece is €79.4 billion.