NAVIGATOR (volume 3, March, 2011)

Inside This Volume Editor’s Article

Pg.3

Leadership Skills

Pg.4

What About This

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Impacts in Science Main Facts

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Hall off Fame

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Made in Egypt

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Drilling Time

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Critical Thinking

Pg.13

Association Update

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Job Hunter

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Inside ALXUSC

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World Wide From Oil Side

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Geologic Time

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AAPG News

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Scholarships

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Technical Conferences

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Internal News

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Environmental Geology

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Graduation Researches

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Magazine Staff Magazine Designs: 

Mariam El-Said

Magazine Presentation: 

Walaa Hesham



Yassin Mohamed

Magazine Coordinator: Mohamed El-Araby

Editor’s Article Mr. Gihad Hamdy

The idea of ALXUSC-AAPG student chapter cant’ be summarized in technical sessions or even soft skills attained, it is inevitable to state the advantages of being an active member in a student chapter, starting from the developing the spirit of a bounded team work and ending by the magnificent improvement in your personal skills.

Moreover; time management skill is the main advantage gained from being an active member, as you will be facing a lot of tasks to be done within a specific timeline beside your own sacred job as a student.

Also, the student chapter adds to your social personality for example communication skills with your colleagues, lecturers and even your professors, which will definitely have a positive effect on your practical life. On the other hand ALXUSC-AAPG gives you the key to problem management in a diplomatic way.

A year has passed on ALXUSC-AAPG, hard work of its active members to rise up the name of yours’ and ours’ chapter, this wouldn’t happen unless all of us in a love story with this chapter since it was just a dream, passing by being to fastest growing AAPG chapter in the whole world till the time being from an achievement to achievement.

Gihad HamdyAbass ALXUSC President

3

By: Walaa Hesham Head of Publicity

At the most basic level, a leader is someone who leads other. But what makes someone a leader? What is it about being a leader that some people understand and use to their advantage? What can you do to be a leader? Here's what you need to know and do.

A leader is a person who has a vision, a drive and a commitment to achieve that vision, and the skills to make it happen. Let's look at each of those in detail.

The Leader's Vision A leader has a vision. Leaders see a problem that needs to be fixed or a goal that needs to be achieved. It may be something that no one else sees or simply something that no one else wants to tackle. Whatever it is, it is the focus of the leader’s attention and they attack it with a single-minded determination.

Trait and Skills a Leader Must Have There are things that set leaders apart from other people. Some people are born with these characteristics. Others develop them as they improve as leaders. These are not magic bullets. They are things you can do and be if you want to be a leader.

Traits of a Leader

Leadership

There are as many traits of a leader as there are lists of what makes a leader. Here are the fundamental traits of a leader from my perspective:

So what was it about this ordinary man that made him such a great leader? Was he born with it? Did he learn it? Why would people, literally, follow him into war? How did he earn the respect and loyalty of sailors to admirals; from secretary to president; from golf buddy to school board president? You only had to work with him once to know he was special. Even those who disagreed with him recognized that, but what was it about him?

To this day, I don't know. However, I do know some of the things he did. These are the things that can help all of us be a little more of a leader.

Has integrity. People have to believe that you are pursuing your dream because it's the right thing to do, not just because you are ego driven.

Is a people person. Understands the differences that make people unique and is able to use those individual skills to achieve the goal.

Is positive. A leader encourages and rewards people and makes you want to do it and do it right. A leader is not a negative person and doesn't waste time and effort telling everyone what they're doing wrong.

Leadership Skills Beyond the personal traits of a leader, there are specific skills someone must master if they want to be a leader.

Effective communication - it's more than just being able to speak and write. A leader's communication must move people to work toward the goal the leader has chosen.

Motivation - a leader has to be able to motivate everyone to contribute. Each of us has different "buttons". A leader knows how to push the right buttons on everyone to make them really want to do their best to achieve the leader's goal.

Planning - the leader has a plan to achieve the goal. He/she doesn't get too bogged down in the detail, that’s what managers are for, but rather uses a high level plan to keep everyone moving together toward the goal.

Bottom Line Leaders dream dreams. They refuse to let anyone or anything get in the way of achieving those dreams. They are realistic, but unrelenting. They are polite, but insistent. The constantly and consistently drive forward toward their goal. You can be a leader. You will be - when it matters enough to you.

He knew what he wanted to do: It is awfully hard to get others to do what you want if you don't know what you want. If you manage a customer service center, is your goal to have the lowest cost operation or to answer all calls within 90 seconds. The goal isn't as important as knowing what it is.

He told people what to do: not how to do it. He was a very smart, well-educated man, but he knew he wasn't smarter than everyone. He encouraged people to think, to innovate, to be creative. He didn't blindly accept what you came up with, but he expected you to come up with something appropriate.

He did his homework: Before starting a new challenge, he always tried to find out what others had tried that had succeeded or failed. He researched the obstacles and opponents. He tried to give himself the best chance of winning by learning as much as could at the beginning. He was always learning and always thinking.

He led by example: He pushed his people hard. He demanded a lot of them. But no one ever worked harder than he did. He was the first one in and the last one to leave. And he worked hard the whole time he was there. He knew how to play, but he knew how to separate that from the job.

He demanded excellence: not perfection. He expected you to work as hard as he did and to be as committed to the goal as he was. He didn't expect you to do as much or as well as he did, he insisted, however, that you do as much and as well as you could.

He took care of his people: He knew everyone who worked for him as an individual. He knew their strengths and weaknesses, their aspirations, their fears. He always took the criticism from outside the group, but let each of them take the praise for what they contributed.

He was humble: I never understood why. With all he had done and had accomplished in his life, he was always modest. There was one time, about ten years ago, when he made a little boast. That one probably doesn't count though .

He had character: He was honest and truthful. He was dependable. When he gave you his word, you always knew you could count on it. He didn't cheat. He didn't try to find the easy way out of a tough situation: He didn't waffle on his principles. He was not inflexible, but there simply were limits that he wouldn't cross

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First Step

From Manager to Leader Ask anyone and they'll tell you. There's a difference between managers and leaders.

Ask them what that difference is and they may have a bit more difficulty. Suddenly the words become amorphous and undefined. Somehow leadership is an intangible - a charismatic component that some people have and others simply don't. That's why, according to the ubiquitous "they", it is such a rarity.

The difference between being a manager and being a leader is simple. Management is a career. Leadership is a calling.

Where to start? Begin by discovering exactly what your convictions are. Clarify and codify for yourself what you believe in. Then, take a nice step back and see how those beliefs are playing out in the organization as it stands today.

Don't start with an organizational assessment based on the numbers or your opinions about others. This is not about "them." This is all about you.

Ask yourself: What is important to me? What are my values, beliefs, ethics?

How am I demonstrating those values, beliefs and ethics every day?

Is the larger organization designed to support my values, beliefs and ethics?

Where are the disconnects within my immediate organization and for myself with the larger enterprise?

What can I do to change how I behave with my immediate organization to demonstrate my belief in them?

What additional assistance do my employees need to succeed and how can I ensure that they get everything they need and more to create personal and organizational success?

Realistically, you'll go through this process not once, but many, many times. This is a periodic reality and cross-check to see how you're doing in your own context and, as you begin making changes, in the larger context.

Because, while you can and should expect yourself and your immediate organization to make changes, you cannot - and should not - expect the larger organization to immediately respond or follow suit. This is a personal journey designed to assist you in being more - and helping those whose lives you touch to be more. Give the organization time. It'll get there. It's just a little bit slow.

What's Next?

You don't have to be tall, well-spoken and good looking to be a successful leader. You don't have to have that "special something" to fulfill the leadership role.

What you have to have is clearly defined convictions - and, more importantly, the courage of your convictions to see them manifest into reality. Only when you understand your role as guide and steward based on your own most deeply held truths can you move from manager to leader.

Whether the group you oversee is called employees, associates, co-workers, teammates or anything else, what they are looking for is someone in whom they can place their trust. Someone they know is working for the greater good - for them and for the organization. They're looking for someone not only that they can - but that they want to - follow.

Because it is only when you have followers -people who have placed their trust in you that you know you have moved into that leadership role. And the way you see it is that your organization is transcending all previous quality, productivity, innovation and revenue achievements. You're operating at such a high level of efficiency that you're giving budget back to the corporation - and you're still beating your goals.

As you identify your convictions and begin aligning your behaviors with those convictions, you are going to need to take steps to build a collaborative culture based on where you're going.

To do that, seek input from your employees about what they need and what their dreams are for their jobs and the larger organization. (They have them, you know). Talk to internal and external customers and suppliers about their needs.

Find out what more and what else you can be and do to create success.

Enroll and engage in conversation and communication. Sit back. Listen. Take in as much as you can. Look for trends and themes. Find out where the possibilities are -the connects and disconnects that you can effect.

Be more. Be all those things you always believed about yourself - and usually bring to the rest of your life. Leaders aren't made or born. Leadership is a choice - a belief in and commitment to everything that is good and noble within you.

You're achieving what you always dreamed could be achieved. And not only that, but it's actually easier than you thought.

Because you're a leader. Because the classic command and control management model which, contrary to popular belief still applies even in our most progressive 21st century companies - is no longer in play. Sure, controls are in place. Sure, you're solving problems that arise.

But it's not just you alone. You have the people in whom you've put your trust - and who have happily and safely reciprocated - to help you create organizational success.

5

By: Mohamed EL-Araby Magazine Coordinator

Oman Mountains and rocks will save the world from global warming!

In the environment, experts said that the Sultanate of Oman offers a solution to protect the Earth from global warming, and that there are a kind of rock is able to absorb carbon dioxide in large quantities and converts it into a solid.

In this regard, said geologist Peter Keleman and chemist Joerg Geological Observatory of Mater, "the Lamont-Doherty Earth" in New York that this type of rock called "peridotite", a volcanic rock trays. and noted that this process occurs naturally when contact occurs between carbon dioxide and these rocks, the gas is converted To the solid material, such as "calcite" means the calcium carbonate, and can increase the capacity of a million times to develop minerals under the land may be stored permanently two billion tonnes or more than thirty billion tons of carbon dioxide emitted by human activity each year.

They say that between 4 billion and 5 billion tons per year of this gas can be stored near the Sultanate of Oman using the peridotite in parallel with other emerging technology developed by Klaus Lackner at Columbia used artificial trees to absorb carbon dioxide from the air.

Process The scientists, who are both at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York, say they could kick-start peridotite's carbon storage process by boring down and injecting it with heated water containing pressurized carbon dioxide. They have a preliminary patent filing for the technique. peridotite A peridotite is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock, consisting mostly of the minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica. It is high in magnesium, reflecting the high proportions of magnesium-rich olivine, with appreciable iron.

Peridotite is derived from the Earth's mantle, either as solid blocks and fragments, or as crystals accumulated from magmas that formed in the mantle. The compositions of peridotites from these layered igneous complexes vary widely, reflecting the relative proportions of pyroxenes, For more information: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SN7TON1D

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By: Kerolos Edwar

Hologram Holography is often referred to as 3D photography, this is a misconception. A better analogy is sound recording where the sound field is encoded in such a way that it can later be reproduced. In holography, some of the light scattered from an object or a set of objects falls on the recording medium. A second light beam, known as the reference beam, also illuminates the recording medium, so that interference occurs between the two beams. The resulting light field generates a seemingly random pattern of varying intensity, which is recorded in the hologram. It can be shown that if the hologram is illuminated by the original reference beam, the reference beam is diffracted by the hologram to produce a diffracted light field which is identical to the light field which was scattered by the object or objects. Thus, someone looking into the hologram "sees" the objects even though they are no longer present. There are a variety of recording materials which can be used, including photographic film.

Interference and diffraction: Interference occurs when one or more wave fronts are superimposed. Diffraction occurs whenever a wave front encounters an object. The process of producing a holographic reconstruction is explained below purely in terms of interference and diffraction. It is somewhat simplified but is accurate enough to provide an understanding of how the holographic process works.

Plane wave fronts: A diffraction grating is a structure with a repeating pattern. A simple example is a metal plate with slits cut at regular intervals. Light rays travelling through it are bent at an angle determined by 位, the wavelength, and d, the distance between the slits, and is given by sin 胃 = 位/d

Point sources: A slightly more complicated hologram can be made using a point source of light as object beam and a plane wave as reference beam to illuminate the photographic plate. An interference pattern is formed, which, in this case, is in the form of curves of decreasing separation with increasing distance from the center (basically a sinusoidal zone plate).

The photographic plate is developed, giving a complicated pattern that can be considered to be made up of a diffraction pattern of varying spacing. When the plate is illuminated by the reference beam alone, it is diffracted by the grating into different angles, which depend on the local spacing of the pattern on the plate. It can be shown that the net effect of this is to reconstruct the object beam, so that it appears that light is coming from a point source behind the plate, even when the source has been removed. The light emerging from the photographic plate is identical to the light that emerged from the point source that used to be there. An observer looking into the plate from the other side will "see" a point source of light whether the original source of light is there or not.

This sort of hologram is effectively a concave lens, since it "converts" a plane wavefront into a divergent wavefront. It will also increase the divergence of any wave that is incident on it in exactly the same way as a normal lens does. Its focal length is the distance between the point source and the plate.

Holography in fiction: Holograms are often used as plot devices in science fiction: 1- In the Yu-Gi-Oh! Manga, a significant part of the story revolves around a game Duel Monsters played on a holographic image system.

2- The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest (2002 film) Computer geeks develop a $99 computer using a holographic projector as both the display and user interface.

3- Avatar (2009 film), holographic displays are used extensively on terminals and HUD 4- iron Man and Iron Man 2, the 2008 and 2010 films 5- Enthiran (2010 film), Chitti, the robot, can be telecommunicated with using a "virtual calling" where each caller can be seen as a holographic projection in front of the robot during the call

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By Amr abd el rehem

Victor Moritz Goldschmidt was born in Zürich (January 27, 1888 – March 20, 1947) in Oslo. Was a mineralogist considered to be the founder of modern geochemistry and crystal, developer of the chemistry Goldschmidt Classification of elements. His parents, Heinrich Jacob Goldschmidt and Amelie Koehne named their son after a colleague of Heinrich, Victor Meyer. There was a history of great scientists and philosophers in both families. The Goldschmidt family came to Norway 1901 when Heinrich Goldschmidt took over a chair as Professor of Chemistry in Kristiania (Oslo).

His contribution & Achievements Goldschmidt’s first important contribution was within the field of geology and mineralogy. His two first larger works were his The doctor thesis of contact metamorphism in the Kristianiagebiet and Geological-petrographic studies in the high mountains of southern Norway.A series of publications under the title Geochemische Verteilungsgesetze der Elemente (geochemical laws of distribution of the elements) is usually referred to as the start of geochemistry, the science that describes the distribution of the chemical elements in nature. The geochemistry has not only greatly inspired the field of mineralogy and geology but also theoretical chemistry and crystallography. Goldschmidt’s work on atom and ion radii has been of enormous importance for crystallography. His work in this area has no doubt inspired the introduction of the Pauling covalent, ionic, and the Van der Waals radius.

Goldschmidt took great interest in the technical application of his science; the utilization of olivine for industrial refractory goes back to him. He was for many years the head of the Norwegian Committee for Raw Material (Statens Råstoffkomité).

There has hardly ever been a person in the Norwegian university world that made such an early and rapid career as Goldschmidt. Without even taking the usual exams or degrees he got a post-doctoral fellowship from the university already at the age of 21 (1909). He obtained his Norwegian doctor’s degree when he was 23 years old (1911). This kind of degree is usually obtained at an age of 30 to 40 years, and even 50 years and more is not unusual.

Honors: Victor Goldschmidt was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal of The Franklin Institute in 1903.

In 1912 Goldschmidt got the most distinguished Norwegian scientific award (the Fridtjof Nansen belonning) for his work Die Kontaktmetamorphose im Kristianiagebie (contact metamorphism in Kristianiagebie). The same year he was made Docent (Associate Professor) of Mineralogy and Petrography at the University of Oslo (known at that time as "Det Kongelige Frederiks Universitet").

In 1914 he applied for a professorship in Stockholm. The selecting committee unanimously chose Goldschmidt for the chair. But before the Swedish king had made the final official approbation, the University of Kristiania was able to secure him a similar chair. This was quite an unusual procedure and speed for appointing a professor. Usually it would take at

least two years to obtain a new chair at a Norwegian university and one or two years to have the professor appointed. In Goldschmidt’s case it seems that all tradition of slowness was abolished, a fact that the University of Oslo shall always be grateful for. In 1929 Goldschmidt was called to the chair of mineralogy in Göttingen, but he had to leave this position after the Nazis came to power, and he returned to Oslo in 1935. From 1930 to 1933, Reinhold Mannkopff was an assistant to Goldschmidt at Göttingen.

On October 26, 1942, Goldschmidt was arrested at the orders of the German occuping powers as part of the persecution of Jews in Norway during World War II. Initially sent to Berg concentration camp, he was released after a month and promptly rearrested. However, as he was on the pier and about to be deported to Auschwitz, when he was held back in Norway on the condition that he lend his scientific expertise to help German authorities. Goldschmidt later fled to Sweden and went on to England (where some of the Koehne family lived, and still reside today).

His activities in England were described on the 60th anniversary of his death, by the Geological Society in "Goldschmidt in England".

The account states that he was flown to England on March 3 1943 by a British intelligence unit, and provided information about technical developments in Norway. After a short period of uncertainty about his future status, he was assigned to the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research (in Aberdeen) of the Agricultural Research Council. He was participated in discussions about the German use of raw materials and production of heavy water. He attended open meetings in Cambridge, Manchester, Sheffield, Edinburgh and Aberdeen and lectured at the British Coal Utilisation Research Association on the presence of rare elements in coal ash.

His British professional associates and contacts included Leonard Hawkes, C E Tilley and W H Bragg, J D Bernal, Dr W G (later Sir William) Ogg While at the Macaulay Institute, Goldschmidt was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society, awarded the Wollaston Medal, and an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) by the University of Aberdeen.

He moved from Aberdeen to Rothamsted, where he was popular and nicknamed ‘Goldie’. However, he wanted to go back to Oslo - not welcomed by all Norwegians, and returned there on 26 June 1946, but died soon after, at age 59.

A larger work, Geochemistry, was edited and published posthumously in England in 1954.

He was created a Knight of the Order of St. Olav in 1929.

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By: Radwa Abdeen Belal

The Red Sea Basin Province includes offshore and adjacent onshore areas, from the northern Gulf of Suez (350 km by 70 km) and Gulf of Aqaba (185 km by 25 km) southeastward along the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean. The province is a Tertiary cratonic rift south of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula between northeastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Northwest-southeast length of the province is 2300 km, with a width to 400 km. The Gulf of Suez is an abandoned rift basin with less than 100-meter water depths. The Gulf of Aqaba is a younger, rapidly subsiding wrench basin with maximum water depth of 1850 meters. The remaining Red Sea Basin Province is an active rift where sea-floor spreading has occurred for the last 5 million years. and where water depths locally exceed 2300 meters in the axial region.

Near the coast, a high mountain range of ancient volcanic rock runs the length of the Red Sea. These mountains were formed about three billion years ago. The desert also has wide, high plateaus with accumulations of rubble from eroded sandstone and limestone. This topography is the result of faults and elevating shifts that took place during the formation of the Red Sea basin, some twenty to thirty million years ago. The climate of the area is much the same as it was during pharaonic times. Prior to about 3500 BC, the region was wetter than it is today, but began to dry out during the same period that civilization took hold in the Nile Valley. The northern section of the Eastern Desert is nearly devoid of vegetation today, as a result of the arid climate. However, higher humidity in the south, where trees and shrubs are found in some of the desert valleys, creates somewhat more precipitation. http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/easterndeserta.htm

The Red Sea Basin Province originated as an Oligocene continental rift impacted by left-lateral wrenching. Rift location and borders are defined by crustal weaknesses created more than 500 Ma – including the late Proterozoic to early Paleozoic cratonization of the Arabian-Nubian shield, its suturing to the African continent, and subsequent supercontinent breakup. Those events resulted in the juxtaposition of structurally and compositionally different basement terranes and the establishment of major fault systems. Periodic Paleozoic and Mesozoic subsidence focused around the present-day southern Mediterranean (Tethyan) margin was complemented by local and regional uplifts (e.g., late Paleozoic Hercynian orogeny, late Cretaceous to early Tertiary Tethyan closure and Syrian arc formation).

Parts of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic rock record were either eroded or not deposited, particularly in the central Red Sea area, and various structural fabrics were imparted to the region. When present and preserved, pre-rift stratigraphy is more marine in character northward through the northern part of the province, and only Cretaceous seas ever transgressed south of the Aqaba-Suez-Red Sea triple junction. Tethys shorelines to the east failed to completely transgress the Arabian Peninsula westward except in late Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous time, when marine environments covered the southern quarter of the Red Sea, south from the Farasan and Dahlak islands.

Oligocene continental rifting began with subsidence, extension and normal faulting, associated with the episodic and segmented movement of the Arabian peninsula away from Africa. Magmatic expansion resulted in igneous emplacements, and isostatic compensation caused the rift shoulders to undergo uplift and local erosion into the rapidly subsiding and tilting block-faulted basins . Synrift depositional conditions (thus, facies and lithologies) varied laterally. Later thermal re-equilibration resulted in reduction of subsidence, regional basin uplift and further rotation of faulted blocks. Post-rift evaporite deposition was extensive until Pliocene when open marine conditions were established.

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About Oil seepage Active hydrocarbon seepage in Gebel El-Zeit area, southern Gulf of Suez province is associated with the Quaternary outcrop sediments. The oil seepage occurs in faulted zones on the western flank of the East Zeit Basin.

The seepage oils resemble Miocene crude oils in the East Zeit Basin which are believed to be generated from the Lower Miocene Rudeis Shale. Trap is get thinner from East to West .

This implies extensive lateral and vertical migration has taken place for the generated oil to reach the surface. Alternatively, the seepage oils may be sourced by leakage from preexisting accumulations.

Red Sea province has several cities and towns. Their positions are: * Hurghada, a provincial capital * Ras Gharib *El Qusir * Marsa Alam: the village of Abu al-Hassan El Shazly. * Safaga * Shalateen: includes Halaib.

Hurghada The city was founded in the early 20th century, and since the 1980s has been continually enlarged by Egyptian and foreign investors to become the leading seashore resort on the Red Sea. Holiday villages and hotels provide aquatic sport facilities for sailboarders, yachtsmen, scuba divers and snorkelers. Hurghada stretches for about 36 kilometres (22 mi) along the seashore, and it does not reach far into the surrounding desert. The resort is a destination for Egyptian tourists from Cairo , Until a few years ago it was a small fishing village. Today Hurghada counts 248,000 inhabitants and is divided into three parts: Downtown (El Dahar) is the old part; Sekalla is the city center, and El Memsha (Village road) is the modern part.

Ras Gharib Located to the north Hurghada with 160 ,the city gives 75% of the petroleum production in Egypt.

El Qusir: El Quseir the old city with a long important past from Queen Hatchepsut's army to the Sultan's pilgrims bound to Mecca, and the Roman centuries to the Renaissance Arab merchants.

Marsa Alam : was a small fishing village in Egypt, on the west coast of the Red Sea. However, it is rapidly increasing in popularity, and since the opening of its International Airport back in 2001, it has started to become yet another favorite holiday destination on the Red Sea Riviera.

Oil seepage Safaga is a sizeable Egyptian town that has built up around its port. The port is there because of Safaga's proximity to the ancient gateway through the Red Sea Hills to the Nile, used as far back as during the Roman Empire. Here there are archaeological excavations by the roadside which have exposed a large amount of pottery, as well as the remains of buildings. The Red Sea Hills make a stunning backdrop to Safaga, looming out of the Eastern Desert and cut by wadis that are filled with sand dunes and oases. Up into the hills there are abandoned phosphate and granite mines that used to be quarried in order to trade along the coast with India.

Shalateen is located 520 km south of Hurghada . From a small human settlement, this outpost has evolved outside the usual tourist circuit into one of the most vibrant trading towns in southern Egypt The Camel Market, one of Shalateen’s most memorable attractions, lies in the vast backyard of this small town and has thousands of camels on display.

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By: Mohamed Abo Ali ALXUSC Treasurer

My dear friends once more we meet again in the her in the art of drilling court in the previous issue we discussed the drilling fluids and the rig systems In this issue we will identify the surface operations of Casing and Cementing.

Casing Casing has several important functions during the drilling and completing of a well. It is used to prevent the borehole from caving in during the drilling of the well, to provide a means of controlling fluids encountered while drilling, to prevent contamination of fluids to be produced, and to protect or isolate certain formations during the course of a well. Casing is also one of the most expensive parts of a well, around 20% of the cost of a completed well.

Casing is usually divided into five basic types.

Conductor Casing Conductor pipe or drive pipe if it is hammer-driven to depth, is the first string of casing to be used. The setting depth can vary from 10 ft to around 300 ft. The normal size range for conductor pipe is from 16 to 36 inches (outside diameter). The conductor pipe must be large enough to allow the other casing strings to be run through it. Purposes of conductor pipe are to: - raise the level of circulating fluid so that fluid returns are possible - prevent washouts in the near surface, normally unconsolidated formations

Surface Casing The amount of surface casing used will depend on the depth of the unconsolidated formations. Surface casing is usually set in the first competent formation.

Normal size for surface casing is between 20 inch and 13-3/8 inch (outside diameter). Since temperature, pressure and corrosive fluids tend to increase with depth, different grades of casing will be required to handle the different well conditions. Purposes of surface casing are to: - protect fresh water formations 

seal off unconsolidated formations and lost circulation zones



provide a place to install the B.O.P.'s



protect “build” sections on deviated wells

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provide for a sufficient “leak-off” test to be conducted

Intermediate Casing Intermediate casing is set after surface casing, normally to seal off a problem formation. The size of intermediate casing, will depend on the size of the surface casing and the grade required to withstand the subsurface conditions. Normal sizes are between 9 5/8 and 13 3/8 inch (outside diameter).

Production Casing Production casing is usually the last full string of pipe set in a well. These strings are run to isolate producing formations and provide for selective production in multizone production areas. The size of production casing will depend on the expected production rate, the higher the barrel per day production rate, the larger the inside diameter of the pipe. Common sizes are between 3 and 7 inch (outside diameter).

Liner A liner is a string of casing that does not reach the surface. They are usually “hung” (attached to the intermediate casing using an arrangement of packers and slips) from the base of the intermediate casing and reach to the bottom of the hole.

The major advantage of a liner is the cost of the string is reduced, as are running and cementing times. During the course of the well, if the liner has to be extended to the surface (making it another string of casing), the string attaching the liner to the surface is known as a “tie-back” string.

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Casing Standards The American Petroleum Institute (API) has developed certain standards and specifications for oil-field related casing and tubing. One of the more common standards is weight per unit length. There are three “weights” used: 

Nominal Weight: Based on the theoretical calculated weight per foot for a 20 ft length of threaded and coupled casing joint.



Plain End Weight: The weight of the joint of casing without the threads and couplings.

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Threaded and Coupled Weight: The weight of a casing joint with threads on both ends and a coupling at one end.

The Plain End Weight, and the Threaded and Coupled Weight are calculated using API formulas.

These can be found in API Bulletin 5C3.

API standards include three length ranges, which are: • R-1: Joint length must be within the range of 16 to 25 feet, and 95% must have lengths greater than 18 feet • R-2: Joint length must be within the range of 25 to 34 feet, and 95% must have lengths greater than 28 feet • R-3: Joint length must be over 34 feet, and 95% must have lengths greater than 36 feet.

Cementing Introduction Oil well cementing is the process of mixing and displacing a slurry down the casing and up the annulus, behind the casing, where is allowed to “set”, thus bonding the casing to the formation. Some additional functions of cementing include: • Protecting producing formations • Providing support for the casing • Protecting the casing from corrosion • Sealing off troublesome zones • Protecting the borehole in the event of problems

The main ingredient in most cements is “Portland” cement, a mixture of limestone and clay.

This name comes from the solid mixture resembling the rocks quarried on the Isle of Portland, off the coast of England.

All cement is manufactured in essentially the same way. Calcareous and argillaceous materials (containing iron and aluminum oxides) are finely ground and mixed in correct proportions, either in a dry condition (dry processing) or with water (water processing). The mixture is then fed into the upper end of a sloping kiln at a uniform rate. The kiln is heated to temperatures from 2600o to 3000oF. As the mixture falls to the lower end, the mixture melts and chemical reactions occur between the raw materials. When the mixture cools, it is called “clinker”. The clinker is then ground with a controlled amount of gypsum (1.5 to 3.0% by weight), to form portland cement.

The principle compounds resulting from the burning process are Tricalcium Silicate (C3S), Dicalcium Silicate (C2S), Tricalcium Aluminate(C3A), and Tetracalcium Aluminoferrite(C4AF).

Table 2-2 contains more information on the properties of these compounds. These materials are in an anhydrous form. When water is added, they convert to their hydrous form, which is then called a “cement slurry”.

This is all for now for more information, contact us through our navigator email. magazine.alxusc@yahoo.com

12

John C. Lorenz, AAPG President (2009-10), is president of Geoflight LLC, Edgewood, N.M. Before forming his consultancy in 2007, Lorenz was Distinguished Member of Technical Staff for Sandia Laboratories, a geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey and a teacher in Morocco for the Peace Corps.

Students increasingly are learning via computers, and scientists are increasingly dependent on them. Computers allow us to work numerous problems quickly and accurately. However, Liz, my wife of many happy years, tells me the cautionary tale of her 10-year-old students who have discovered that they “solve” classroom problems on a computer by cycling quickly through all the answers until they stumble onto the correct one. Give them credit for superficial smarts, but they are obtaining answers without understanding, and circumventing valuable learning. Unfortunately, some teachers let the students get away with this because it’s easier and, after all, the answers are correct. And before we get irate about the school systems, the same problem exists with most of today’s mandatory corporate training.

One worries that scientists have also discovered this trick, using computers to obtain answers instead of understanding. Although there is plenty of room for critical thinking when using a computer, that step is sometimes omitted and no one seems to notice. Computers can provide strong support for both learning and scientific processes, but they can also be used to replace them. I stumbled into eminent AAPG member J. Nolan Wesson on the exhibit floor of NAPE recently, and amid the amazing array of booths selling answers we agreed that modelers still need to know which numbers to crunch and how to carefully assess the meaning of those numbers.

Larry Nation, AAPG communications director, found the accompanying chart that seems to show a strong correlation between rock music and oil production. Technically one could conclude from this that the way to reverse the production decline in the United States is to write more good rock ‘n’ roll music, a solution to the world’s energy problems with appeal at many levels. However, a critical assessment of the graph should suggest that there is probably no relationship between factual production data and subjective opinions on songs. If the correlation itself is merely serendipitous, then conclusions derived from it are spurious. Similar scenarios occur in real science, but they tend to be more subtle.

Critical thinking is difficult to teach and probably more difficult to learn, especially when answers that don’t require it are easily available. Once learned, critical thinking takes constant effort. David Starr Jordan, writing well before gender-neutral styles were in fashion, noted that, “The world stands aside to let anyone pass who knows where he is going.” Jordan should have added the unfortunate corollary that the world also often stands aside for someone who merely acts that way. People who talk loudly and frequently often achieve notoriety, which is easy to mistake for expertise. They can appear even more credible if they have the platform of a prestigious institution behind them, and a false aura of expertise becomes almost invincible as they gain public recognition.

The ability to make the distinction between expertise and loud talk is especially important for geologists given our realm of incomplete data sets and non-unique solutions, and because we often have our own money riding on a decision. So what makes an expert? Word of mouth and professional reputation count for a lot in our industry, and the AAPG Division of Professional Affairs works hard to maintain ethical standards that define professionalism. Professionals with established reputations in other fields have exploited their reputations in order to push less than professional geologic theories: consider Immanuel Velikovsky, a respected psychiatrist, who wrote the pseudo-scientific yet popular apocalyptic geological reinterpretations “Worlds in Collision” and “Earth in Upheaval”. These works had a veneer of authenticity and were accepted by many when they were originally written half a century ago, but the scientific community critically assessed them as lacking and they have been largely forgotten.

On the other hand, using more scientific processes, some non-geologists have made significant contributions to geology and their theories have withstood critical scientific assessment to become part of our scientific foundation. Consider Alfred Wegener, the meteorologist, and his ideas of continental drift, or Luis Alvarez, an experimental physicist, whose theories of planetary impacts revolutionized not only the geological record but also many concepts of evolution.

One of the differences between Alvarez and Velikovsky is that the first used defensible data synthesized into a plausible and testable theory whereas the other picked isolated facts out of context to spin a story. The more scientific approach of Alvarez is not immediately apparent to the non-critical thinker who looks only at an author’s conclusions. Critical thinking requires listening to and assessing, but not necessarily accepting, opposing views. It requires the give and take of discussion, not just stonewall contradiction. The difference between discussion and contradiction is humorously illustrated in Monty Python’s “Argument” sketch . There is much truth in humor. If someone believes too much in their side of an argument to laugh about it, be cautious. Likewise, learn to ask questions and beware of someone who doesn’t consider them seriously. AAPG member and Piceance basin expert Steve Cumella notes that science would be stagnant if we all agreed on the issues and answers.

Other rules of thumb for the critical thinker include instant caution flags whenever someone throws the term “obviously” into a discussion. A critical thinker gets information from multiple and diverse sources before taking sides in an issue. One should consider not only someone’s conclusions but also the logic and data that were used to come to those conclusions. Does the expert have personal experience in the area or is the argument theoretical? Calibrate your sources: Peer-reviewed literature is not infallible but it tends to be more reliable than not. Websites can be anyone’s guess. Recognize that just because a person has a Ph.D. doesn’t make them experts in all fields, or even in their own. Consider also whether a person drawing specific conclusions might have another, less apparent agenda that would be served by those conclusions.

Many pressing issues in today’s world would benefit from thoughtful reflection by geologists. We have a wide range of opportunity for exercising critical thinking in our science, and the numerous AAPG venues provide a wealth of data to assist critical thought.

13

By: Mahmoud Emad

Associations Updates

Let's start by the freshest news of SEG association which states that the SEG Adds about 32 courses to its Online Learning offerings available on the SEG website. This addition, made possible through a partnership with the International Human Resources Development Corporation (IHRDC) For more details: http://www.seg.org/seg/media/news/press_releases/ ihrdcpressrelease081010 And we want to let you know that an event will be held in a cooperation between AAPG/SPE/SEG. which will be in a frame of a research conference which aims to enhance Geothermal Systems. starts in Monday, March 14, 2011 and ,ends in Friday, March 18, 2011, and it'll be in Napa, CA, USA. For more details: http://member.seg.org/Calendar/tabid/319/ModuleID/944/mctl/ EventDetails/Default.aspx?itemID=35 Another event it's about Subsalt Imaging Symposium starts in Tuesday, February 22, 2011, Ends in Tuesday, February 22, 2011, and it aims to to share new imaging technology in subsalt imaging and recognize Uzi Egozi's achievement in subsalt imaging.

For more details: http://member.seg.org/Calendar/tabid/319/ModuleID/944/mctl/ EventDetails/Default.aspx?itemID=79 SEG will also make the SEG continuing education courses (Monday, February28,2011 to Tuesday,March01,2011) In Houston TX USA. (3D Seismic Data Acquisition: An Update on Modern Technologies and Usage Methodologies by Malcolm Lansley, Seismic Imaging of Subsurface Geology by Michael Schoenberger) For more information: http://member.seg.org/Calendar/tabid/319/ModuleID/944/ItemID/27/ mctl/EventDetails/Default.aspx Our last news about SEG is that Shale Gas Technology Forum will start in 30 March and ends in 1 April 2011 and the registration is open.

For more information: http://www.seg.org/events/upcoming-seg-meetings/ shalegaschina2011

let's go to the SPE association which delayed the Offshore Installations & Facilities event which was must be in cairo,8-9 march 2011 due to the political situation in Egypt. for more details: http://www.spe.org/events/10aale/ Another event held in Abu Dhabi, UAE (21 - 23 Feb 2011) entitle of Gas for the Future: Development of Highly Sour Gas from Reservoir to Market AS an event will be held also in Manama, Bahrain, 20 Mar 2011, entitle of Unlocking Talent Potential in the Region: Building Your Future by Collaboration and Knowledge Transfer.

For more details and for more events of SPE association you can use this link: http://www.spe.org/events/calendar/

AND about the PETRO EDGE association, the most important news states that the PETRO EDGE is proud to be the official media partner of petroleum geology conference& Exhibition (pgce) 2011. for more details: http://www.petroedgeasia.net/pgce/ there's also upcoming courses and here the details 1-deep water drilling operations (28 feb-3 mars,kuala lumpur) 2-osv chartering and contract management (28 feb-4 mars, kuala lumpur) 3- fundamentals of upstream oil&gas contracts (28 feb-2 mars, kuala lumpur) 4- fractured reservoir characterisation (28 feb-2 mars ,Kuala lumpur ). for more events you can visit the official site: http://www.petroedgeasia.net/

AND our last news is about the USGS which announced that Nearly 60 Small to Moderate Earthquakes Strike Arkansas and Are Widely Felt since Feb. 15, 2011, the most recent a magnitude 4.3 earthquakes this morning 37 miles away from Little Rock.

For more details: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2706&from=rss_home

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By: Osama Hazem Sara moustafa Ahmed Nashat

Geoscience

for more information

Company: Total Gabon

https://www.devonenergy.apply2jobs.com/ProfExt/index.cfm?

--Job description :Search on Petrolium matiers for more information http://careers.total.com/front/en_US/web/guest/fiche-offre? fuseaction=mExternal.showJob&RID=1647&CurrentPage=3 p_p_id=Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=norm al&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column1&p_p_col_count=1&_Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_offreId=10016103 &_Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_curTypeContrat=Permanent+position& _Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_struts.portlet.action=%2Fview%2Fview% 2Fdetail&_Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_struts.portlet.mode=view

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Geologist Company: Total Sa; France - Paris Or Pau

Geologist Company: Devon; Canada-Alberta for more information https://www.devonenergy.apply2jobs.com/ProfExt/index.cfm? fuseaction=mExternal.showJob&RID=1996&CurrentPage=3

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Geophysicist Company: BP ;USA-Texas Job description

for more information http://careers.total.com/front/en_US/web/guest/fiche-offre? p_p_id=Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=norm al&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column1&p_p_col_count=1&_Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_offreId=10007946 &_Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_curTypeContrat=Permanent+position& _Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_struts.portlet.action=%2Fview%2Fview% 2Fdetail&_Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_struts.portlet.mode=view

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PRINCIPAL GEOPHYSICIST

ensure the appropriate geophysical methodology and best practices are employed in all phases of New Well Delivery.

Removal Date: 29-Apr-2011 for more information https://careers.bpglobal.com/2057/ASP/TG/cim_jobdetail.asp?

SID=^pWPAbkeXNrtinO/ooYZ4tcDEszRCAetQ7YPJRRZh23Dya/

Company: Total E&P-United Kingdom - Aberdeen Job description Provide geophysical interpretation of operated/non-operated acreage in the Company exploration domain and operated fields. for more information http://careers.total.com/front/en_US/web/guest/fiche-offre? p_p_id=Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=norm al&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column1&p_p_col_count=1&_Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_offreId=10002530 &_Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_curTypeContrat=Permanent+position& _Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_struts.portlet.action=%2Fview%2Fview% 2Fdetail&_Offres_WAR_careersoffresportlet_struts.portlet.mode=view

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Geologist Company: Devon; USA-Oklahoma-Oklahoma city

aIzgTiYmX8_slp_rhc_WhqNxaW&jobId=29786&type=search&JobReqLang=1 40&recordstart=1&JobSiteId=5012&JobSiteInfo=29786_5012&GQId=538

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Geologist Company: BP ;USA-Texas Removal Date: 24-Mar-2011 for more information https://careers.bpglobal.com/2057/ASP/TG/cim_jobdetail.asp?

SID=^pWPAbkeXNrtinO/ooYZ4tcDEszRCAetQ7YPJRRZh23Dya/ aIzgTiYmX8_slp_rhc_WhqNxaW&jobId=27535&type=search&JobReqLang=1 40&recordstart=1&JobSiteId=5012&JobSiteInfo=27535_5012&GQId=538

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Geology Graduate Programme Company: BG; Australia,Brazil

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Description designed to build on the knowledge you have gained at university, enhance your technical and practical skills and give you the best possible start to your career as a Geologist .

Closing date for applications: 16 April 2011 for more information http://careers.bg-group.com/fe/ tpl_BGgroup05.asp?

Company: Baker Hughes; Abu Dhabi-AE for more information https://bakerhughes73.recruitmax.com/main/ careerportal/Job_Profile.cfm? szOrderID=41713&szReturnToSearch=1&szWordsToHighlight=

--—————————————————————————————— Sr. Staff Geologist Company: Shell; Houston

s=DClNkQVsFdUGlIiUda&jobid=57429,6083871502&key=58470215&c=5212 86525212&pagestamp=seqcsooytsnbwpikwp

Job Description-Technical evaluation of existing subsalt exploration portfolio, including maturing prospects for drilling

Geophysics Graduate Programme Company: BG; Australia, Egypt, Brazil

Application Deadline: Friday 25 March 2011

Description enhance your technical and practical skills and give you the best possible start to your career as a Geophysicist

for more information

Closing date for applications: 31 May 2011

http://impact-gs.jobstreet.com/templates/shell_my/jobdesc_global.aspx? eid=A2hrGt04Whb4vsg35fX8gUvBTc0% 3d&uid=469|23361||&did=0&its=0&src=8&ref=&cc=&agn=

for more information

-———————————————————————————————

http://careers.bg-group.com/fe/ tpl_BGgroup05.asp? s=hqSpVAxKiZLqNnZif&jobid=57425,6576872369&key=58470215&c=521286 525212&pagestamp=seqcsooytsnbwpikwp

-——————————————————————————————— Structural Geologist Company: Schlumberger

--Job Description

Remote Sensing Consultant Company: Shell;Rijswijk, Netherlands

--Job Description You will offer leadership, expert technical advice and practical skills in all aspects of remote sensing, Application Deadline: Thursday 17 March 2011

To strengthen the company's capabilities in the field of structural restoration, we are seeking highly motivated structural geologists to join our research & engineering teams.

for more information:

for more information

———————————————————————————————

https://careers.slb.com/experiencedprofessionals/ geoscience/structural_geol.aspx

RESERVOIR GEOLOGIST

-——————————————————————————————— Petrophysicist Company: Baker Hughes; Abu Dhabi-AE

--Job Description Support a broad range of Cased Hole Formation Evaluation, Production Logging and Well Integrity services

.Maintain the company expected level of log and data quality control

http://impact-gs.jobstreet.com/templates/shell_my/jobdesc_global.aspx? eid=s0Unwr5Aba8LxjnkFAQB1vWw50E% 3d&uid=469|22928||&did=0&its=0&src=8&ref=&cc=&agn=

Company: IPR

--Job Description Focus will be on continental and shallow marine reservoir systems in both data-poor and data rich areas. Accountable for delivering the knowledge and workflows needed for world-class reservoir interpretations. for more information-: http://www.iprgoc.com/reservoirgeo.html

for more information: https://bakerhughes73.recruitmax.com/main/ careerportal/Job_Profile.cfm? szOrderID=41712&szReturnToSearch=1&szWordsToHighlight= Geoscientist SR II

16

Red Sea Mou ntain s & Ea stern Dese rt Fi eld Trip 1/12 /201 0

RTON U B I L t HAL th, 2010 s o h nor to cember 16 o h e ad th rsday, De h C S e: ALXU ny on Thu ers ar k a e p a uest s Comp our g d r ns an s Manage o i s s e on 3s uded k –Operati ader l c n i Le ay ader ale This d Abdulkh perations rations Le O ed pe • Say Saad—DD er - SDL O b ss • Dia lla Monta a • Abd

GIS Workshop By: Dr. Mohame d Awad

17

New Horizons in cooperation with Alexandria University student chapter of the American Association of petroleum Geologists requests the pleasure of your company to attend:

Communication & presentation skills seminar

Read Body Language

Getting What You Need from Others

Identify Elements of Effective Presentations

English business workshop - Email writing: Job Application letter - Business English (Expressions used in Handling a meeting)

Wait For You Monday 28-3-2011, 4-4-2011

Come & Invite Your Friends

18

19

By: Mohamed Arafa Osama Hazem Mohamed Abd El Aziz

Inside Shell: Shell receives offer for Stanlow refinery in the UK: 18/02/2011 **Shell today confirmed it has received an offer from Essar Energy to buy its 272,000 barrel-per-day Stanlow refinery and associated local marketing businesses in the UK for a total expected consideration of some $1.3 billion. **In light of Essar’s offer, the two companies today signed an exclusivity agreement until 1st April 2011, under which break fees would be payable if either company fails to sign an asset sales agreement.

Pursuing this deal is aligned with Shell’s strategy to concentrate its global manufacturing portfolio on larger and more sophisticated assets. **In addition to the proposed sale of the assets, which would be expected to close by mid 2011, the two companies would enter into an exclusive five year crude supply contract by Shell to Essar and into long-term agreements for the supply of products in the UK by Essar to Shell. http://www.shell.com/home/content/investor/ news_and_library/2011_media_releases/ offer_essar_stanlow_refinery_18022011.html

Shell, Vitol and Helios reach agreement on African downstream businesses: 19/02/2011 **Shell today announced it has agreed to divest the majority of its shareholding in most of its downstream businesses in Africa to Vitol and Helios Investment Partners for a total consideration of some $1 billion. Under the agreements, Shell will retain equity in two new joint venture companies, which will assure continued availability of Shell fuels and lubricants in 14 African countries under the Shell brand. **Shell, Vitol and Helios will now concentrate on securing necessary regulatory approvals and integration planning, ahead of a phased completion of the proposed deal during 2011 and the first half of 2012.

Chevron and USAID Partner to Improve Living Standards in the Niger Delta Through $50 Million Alliance: SAN RAMON, Calif February 17, 2011 ** Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative (NDPI) Foundation, established by Chevron to help address socio economic challenges in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Under the MoU, the NDPI Foundation and USAID will each contribute $25 million over four years to support a portfolio of programs designed to promote economic development, improve the capacity of government and civil society institutions, and help reduce conflict in the region. http://www.chevron.com/chevron/pressreleases/ article/02172011_chevronandusaidpartnertoimprovestandardsinthenigerdelta.news

Corporation Announces Completion of Atlas Energy Acquisition **SAN RAMON, Calif., February 18, 2011 - Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today announced that its acquisition of Atlas Energy has been completed following approval by Atlas stockholders. ** The company explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and other energy products; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuel http://www.chevron.com/chevron/pressreleases/ article/02182011_chevroncorporationannouncescompletionofatlasenergyacquisition.n ews

Inside Total : http://www.shell.com/home/content/investor/ news_and_library/2011_media_releases/ shell_vitol_helios_agreement_19022011.html

Inside Chevron: Chevron Announces Further Natural Gas Find in Australia: SAN RAMON, Calif: February 9, 2011 - Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today announced a further drilling success in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia, Australia's premier hydrocarbon basin.

The Orthrus-2 well is located in the WA-24-R permit area approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Barrow Island. The well was drilled to a total depth of 14,098 feet (4,297 meters).

Combining both appraisal and exploration objectives, the well encountered 243 feet (74 meters) of net gas pay, of which 102 feet (31 meters) of net gas pay was encountered in a deeper, previously unexplored target interval in the Orthrus field. http://www.chevron.com/chevron/pressreleases/ article/02092011_chevronannouncesfurthernaturalgasfindinaustralia.news

Total Agrees to Sell its 48.83% Stake of Spanish Company CEPSA to IPIC and Initiates a Co-Operation with IPIC in Oil and Gas: February 16, 2011 Total and IPIC have signed an agreement whereby Total will sell its 48.83% share in the capital of CEPSA. This sale will take place pursuant to a public takeover bid over the entire share capital of CEPSA that IPIC has undertaken to file with the Spanish Securities Commission CNMV. IPIC will offer 28 Euros per share of CEPSA and a dividend of 0.50 Euro per share shall be paid to existing shareholders. Total has undertaken irrevocably to tender its shares into the offer and will receive an amount of approximately 3.7 billion Euros. The transaction is conditioned on obtaining all requisite government approvals. http://www.total.com/en/about-total/news/news-940500.html&idActu=2529

20

Inside Total: Bolivia: Production start-up of the Itaú field: February 15, 2011 Total announces the start-up of the Itaú gas and condensate field located on Block XX (Tarija Oeste) 400 kilometers south of the city of Santa Cruz in the Andean Cordilleras foothills. The first phase of the development came on stream on February 2nd and is designed to produce 1.5 million cubic meters of gas per day (10,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d)), which will be processed in the facilities of the neighboring San Alberto field. Itaú gas production will mainly be exported. The Block XX joint venture has also submitted for approval to YPFB a development plan which aims at increasing Itaú’s production from 1.5 to 5 million cubic meters per day by mid-2013 (about 35,000 boe/d). http://www.total.com/en/about-total/news/news-940500.html&idActu=2526

Inside Baker Hughes: Baker Hughes Opens Saudi Arabia Drill Bit Manufacturing Plant Plant moves supply chain closer to Eastern Hemisphere client-base HOUSTON, TEXAS – February 2, 2011 – Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) announced today that its new drill bit manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia is fully operational and delivering industry-leading polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits to the Saudi Arabian and Middle East markets. This modern drill bit plant consolidates all the manufacturing processes for PDC bits in Saudi Arabia. At full capacity, the facility, an integral part of the Baker Hughes super base in Dhahran, will employ approximately 80 people. http://www.bakerhughes.com/news-and-media/media-center/press-releases/ houston-texas-february-2-2011

Inside Oil & Gas Egypt: An Operational Update on NW Gemsa Concession: 2/15/2011 **Sea Dragon Energy Inc. (“Sea Dragon”) wishes to provide the following update on its Operations in Egypt. The Corporation is pleased to report that throughout the past two weeks while demonstrations were taking place in

Inside Schlumberger : Smith Bits Introduces New Drill Bit for Shale Drilling

Egypt, field operations were relatively unaffected. Production from the Al Amir SE and Geyad fields continued without any interruptions. Drilling and Service rigs are back in operation in the NW Gemsa concession. **We are continuing to focus on increasing our production in Kom Ombo through the ongoing fracture stimulation program and the completion and placement of new wells on production. As well with water injection in NW Gemsa scheduled to begin soon, production levels are expected to increase substantially by the end of the year”

Spear Drill Bit Increases ROP in Shale Applications AMSTERDAM, February 28, 2011—Smith Bits announced today the release of its Spear* shale-optimized steel body polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit. The Spear drill bit is specifically designed for shale plays to efficiently drill a curve and a long lateral hole section for faster penetration rates in low hydraulic energy environments. http://www.slb.com/news/ press_releases/2011/2011_0228_smithbits_spear_pr.aspx

http://www.oilegypt.com/webpro1/MAIN/Mainnews.asp?id=14214

21

By: Mohamed Ahmed Gaber Mo’men Mohamed

Noble Energy's largest exploration discovery in its history Israel Leviathan (December 2010)

Noble Energy's largest exploration discovery in its history, Leviathan, with 16 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gross natural gas mean resources, represents the largest deepwater natural gas discovery in the world over the past decade. It is the Company's third significant offshore natural gas discovery in the Levantine basin, with total gross mean resources identified at Leviathan, Tamar, and Dalit of approximately 25 Tcf (nearly 8.5 Tcf net to Noble Energy). Over 220 feet of net natural gas pay was encountered in several susalt Miocene intervals at Leviathan. We anticipate initiating appraisal drilling in early 2011, with two appraisal wells planned in the 125 square mile structure. Noble Energy and partners are currently evaluating the monetization options at Leviathan, including various LNG and pipeline export opportunities. We have a near 40 percent operated working interest.

This field is located on the border There are international disputes by http://www.nobleenergyinc.com/Exploration/Recent-Discoveries-130.html

improving working conditions in the near future.

In the current phase the petroleum sector will focus on core activities related to exploration & production, refining, and marketing in order to maximize production rates to secure petroleum products and natural gas for the domestic market and to provide the energy required for all development projects http://www.oilegypt.com/webpro1/MAIN/Mainnews.asp?id=14430

RWE Dea Gas Discovery in North El Amriya Concession RWE Dea Egypt announced that it made a gas discovery in its own operated North El Amriya concession. The successful testing of the reservoir opens chances of further future discoveries in the licence.

The NEA 3x discovery is located in the offshore North El Amriya concession, some 40 kilometers North of Alexandria. The well was drilled to a total depth of 3,055 meters and encountered gas in a lower Plicene sand in the Kafr El Sheik formation. The well was sidetracked to a total depth of 2,642 meters where a conventional gas filled sand channel was encountered with an additional unconventional reservoir above.

A drill stem test was carried out successfully on the unconventional reservoir with flow rates of up to 14 mmscf/d with the objective to prove the productivity in this kind of reservoir. “The successful testing of the unconventional reservoir gives RWE Dea the opportunity to expand its activities in this concession on a new play with chances for future discoveries.” said Ralf to Baben, Chief Operating Officer of RWE Dea AG. The North El Amriya concession is operated by RWE Dea with a 100% working interest. http://www.oilegypt.com/WEBPRO1/Main/NewsHome.aspad

Oil Price Jumps Due to Middle East Protest Worries The price of certain grades of oil - including the UK's Brent crude - has jumped amid political protests in the Middle East.

Brent rose by $3.36 (£2.09) a barrel to $104.30 (£65.07) for April delivery, its highest since September 2008.

The US benchmark oil, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose by a far smaller 25 cents to $85.84 a barrel.

The gap between the two prices has been at record levels recently, partly because stocks of WTI are high.

Seasonal maintenance of some refineries is also causing spikes in certain grades of crude oil.

There is concern that the recent toppling of regimes in Tunisia and Egypt is prompting further instability in the Middle East and North Africa, which together account for more than a third of the world's oil.

Protests have also taken place in Yemen, Algeria and Iran.

Christopher Bellew, a broker at London's Bache Commodities said: "We're staying up because of the continued risk of further unrest in the Middle East." http://www.oilegypt.com/webpro1/MAIN/Mainnews.asp?id=14233

Strategy of the new Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Eng Mahmoud Latif, the new Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, declared a strategy for the coming period in which he stressed on the importance of stability in order to increase production rates, attract more investment to the petroleum sector and increase the national income.

In the beginning Mahmoud addressed his message to the employees of the oil sector urging them to create stable conditions in order to increase production rates through these difficult circumstances, specially that the petroleum sector has significant contribution to the national economy of Egypt. He expressed his confidence in the employees of the oil sector and their ability to overcome the current situation. Mahmoud, who spent 37 years in the petroleum sector, has plans to arrange meetings with workers to get to know their views and assured them that he will focus on

Dana Gas Exceeds 2010 Production Targets in Egypt Dana Gas PJSC, the Middle East's first and largest regional private sector natural gas company, has announced that its annual production rate for 2010 from its Nile Delta Concessions in Egypt is an estimated 42,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (“boepd”), an increase of 20% on 2009, with production commencing from seven new fields.

In addition, the Company has continued its exploration success during 2010 with seven new field discoveries in the Nile Delta from eleven exploration wells drilled which has led to a 20% increase in reserves, after allowing for 2010 production, compared to 31 December 2009.

Considering these continued operational successes particularly the discovery of the South Abu El Naga and Salma Delta North fields in September, the Board of Dana Gas has decided to retain its 100% interest in its Nile Delta Concessions and to continue operating them to maximize ultimate benefit for its shareholders rather than proceeding with the proposed farmout.

Dana Gas has now embarked on a new phase of production growth, upgrading existing plants and building new capacity to bring these new fields online as quickly as possible.

The planned new gas processing plant to the East of the Nile River will be designed to process 120 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfpd), a considerable increase compared to the original planned design of 50 mmscfpd, which will contribute significant value as the South Abu El Naga and Salma North discoveries have high liquid content. This, along with an ongoing increase in capacity at its El Wastani Plant, will bring Dana Gas’ total production to some 400 mmscfpd (67,000 boepd excluding liquids) in mid 2012.

The company is also continuing its aggressive exploration campaign with a 14 well programme for 2011; the drilling of first well, Sanabel-1, has commenced targeting the deeper high potential Sidi Salim formation.

On the Komombo Concession in Upper Egypt, Dana Gas along with 50% joint operator Sea Dragon Energy Inc, has produced oil during the year at an average gross production rate of 620 barrels of oil per day (“bopd”) and is currently producing at approximately 800 bopd. Work is ongoing to increase the productivity of the Abu Ballas formation by fracturing with two fractured wells due to be placed on production during January 2011. During 2010, 480 kilometres of 2D seismic was acquired and processed, and the first exploration well, Memphis-1, commenced drilling in December. http://www.oilegypt.com/webpro1/MAIN/Mainnews.asp?id=14070

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By: Esraa Kassem Mo’men Mohamed

We also have individual biomarkers that may or may not present on the gas chromatograph, and their presence is an indication of the depositional environments, such as:

Biomarkers

JGammacerane: indicates hypersaline environments.

JOleanane: indiacates higher plants origin from cretaceous age or younger.

JBotryococcane: indicates lacustrine or brackish environments.

- Biological markers, or biomarkers, are one of the most important hydrocarbon groups in petroleum used for chemical fingerprinting.

- They are complex molecules derived from formerly living organisms. Biomarkers found in crude oils, rocks, and sediments, have little or no changes in structures from their parent biochemical, or so-called biogenic precursors (e.g: terpanoids and steroids), found in living organisms.

Biomarker fingerprinting has historically been used by petroleum geochemists in characterization of oils in terms of: • Oil-to-oil and oil-to-source rock correlation, • The type(s) of precursor organic matter present in the source rock, • Effective ranking of the relative thermal maturity of petroleum, • Evaluation of migration and the degree of in-reservoir biodegradation based on the loss of n-alkanes, isoprenoids, aromatics, terpanes and steranes during biodegradation.

• Determination of depositional environmental conditions and • Providing information on the age of source rock for petroleum.

Biomarkers can be detected in low quantities (ppm and sub-ppm level) in the presence of a wide variety of other types of petroleum hydrocarbons by the use of the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

A gas chromatogram recorded in the presence of chains of n-alkanes with an odd carbon number predominance, indicates higher plant input.

As we mentioned before that the source rock sample or oil sample are analyzed using the (GC-MS) producing a gas chromatogram.

Using this chromatogram we can predict the origin of the source rock or the oil sample (terrestrial,marine,lacustrine,….environments).

In the previous example we can conclude that the predominance of an odd carbon number in the n-alkane gas chromatogram is an indication of a terrestrial environment and so on….

In case of steranes biomarkers chromatograph: .High C27 : indicates algal origin of oil sample. .High C29 : indicates terrestrial origin of oil sample.

Generally speaking more than one biomarker record should be used to define the depositional environment of the source rock of an oil sample.

Other research areas: JEnvironments and Ecology.

JEvolution of biosphere,origin of life.

JClimate changes.

JPlanetary studies.

Schlumberger Introduces New Multipole Sonic-While-Drilling Service SonicScope 475 delivers robust compressional and shear data for advanced drilling optimization, formation evaluation and completion design HOUSTON, February 3, 2011—Schlumberger announced today the release of the SonicScope* 475 multipole sonic-while-drilling service. This new logging-whiledrilling (LWD) service provides multipole measurements to consistently and reliably deliver compressional and shear data in all environments.

SonicScope 475 is the only service in the industry with a dedicated mode for acquiring Stoneley waveforms while drilling to ensure high-quality data before washouts can develop. SonicScope compressional and shear data, with the Stoneley wave acquisition, enable the assessment of rock mechanics and characterization of fractures. This is crucial especially in the North American shale plays for designing complex completions to optimize future production. In addition, a while-tripping mode provides multipass analysis and top-of-cement evaluation.

In Romania, offshore Black Sea, SonicScope was successfully used on two horizontal wells to deliver measurements for geomechanical model interpretation. "The service’s complete and complex investigation enabled us to isolate faults, select fracturing stages and identify the position of packers to plan the multistage hydraulic fracturing completion," said Rodica Cataraiani, head of reservoir management, Petrom S.A. "Production increased from 110 boe/d in 2008 to the record stable 900 boe/d, bringing enormous value in this high cost offshore environment and securing long-term success for OMV Petrom."

Andy Hendricks, president, Schlumberger Drilling & Measurements, added, "Nonproductive time remains unacceptably high in the industry today, and wellbore stability and hole cleaning are areas where new technology can have a significant impact. Advanced multipole sonic-while-drilling data help to significantly reduce drilling uncertainties providing critical inputs for real-time drilling geomechanics evaluation, particularly in deepwater operations."

In a 100-well field test campaign, the new service sup¬plied high-quality multipole data comparable to wireline sonic reference logs, even in highly damaged and unstable formations. SonicScope 475 was run in shale plays for horizontal well evaluation for enhanced completion design and optimization. In deepwater wells, SonicScope has been run successfully to enhance real-time pore pressure monitoring, wellbore stability and seismic tie-in. http://www.slb.com/news/press_releases/2011/2011_slb_sonicscope_pr.aspx

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By: Marwan Awad

In this article we will discuss the geologic time scale . And we will talk every time in one geologic period beginning with Cambrian period ignoring the Precambrian super eon .

Cambrian period cThe Cambrian period, part of the Paleozoic era, produced the most intense burst of evolution ever known. The Cambrian Explosion saw an incredible diversity of life emerge, including many major animal groups alive today. Among them were the chordates, to which vertebrates (animals with backbones) such as humans belong.

Time: 570–510 million years ago.

Type locality: Champagne, Charente-Maritime, France.

Evolutionary Update: Cambrian sediments found in Canada, Greenland, and China have yielded rarely fossilized soft-bodied creatures such as marine worms buried during undersea mud avalanches. Among the most surprising discoveries, announced in 1999, came from the 530-million-year-old Chengjiang fossil bed in China, where scientists found the remains of two different types of tiny, jawless fish. Representing the oldest known backboned animals with living relatives, the fossils showed that our vertebrate ancestors entered the evolutionary story some 50 million years earlier than previously thought.

Palaeoenvironment: Fossils from the Cambrian Period are rare, indicating that the environment was cold and hostile. The land and shallow seas were inhabited by hardy brachiopods, benthonic sponges, floating jelly fishes , trilobites and graptolites, which survived for millions of years after this time period. This was a very unsettled time, geologically, with plenty of volcanic activity.

Sea level: During most of Cambrian, global sea levels were at relatively high elevations as compared with most of the balance of Earth's history. The world's continents were mainly low-lying deserts and alluvial plains, and the rising Cambrian sea—in what is known as the Sauk transgression—encroached upon these areas, thus forming vast epicontinental seas.

Extinction event : The end of the Cambrian saw a series of mass extinctions during which many shell-dwelling brachiopods and other animals went extinct. The trilobites also suffered heavy losses.

End of Cambrian: The end of Cambrian came gradually with falling sea levels and the onset of slightly cooler global temperatures. During Late Cambrian, trilobite species became the first organisms known to experience widespread mass extinction. In several events during Late Cambrian, trilobite faunas were wiped out over vast areas for causes that are not completely understood. Reasons proposed for the mass extinctions include competition with other organisms and rapid shifts in global temperature and/ or sea-level changes. Trilobites persisted into Late Paleozoic, but not as prominently as they did in Cambrian seas. Ordovician succeeded Cambrian life and conditions. During Ordovician, plant and animal life continued to diversify, tectonic activity began to be more extensive, and global climate hange became more intensive.

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By: Bassam Ataia

Eastern Mixed Carbonate/Evaporite Sytems & Analogues: Processes, Controls & Applications From:" 28 February 2011" to "2 March 2011"in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E Workshop (GTW) will focus on mixed carbonate/evaporite successions with case studies from the Middle East. While Middle Eastern Fields are known for hosting the largest oil and gas accumulations...

For more detail: http://middleeast.aapg.org

APPEX London From " 1March 2011" to "4 March2011" For ten years APPEX, the Prospect and Property Expo, has brought together principals, senior managers, business developers and new venture managers for an unmatched opportunity to network and do business with NOCs, governments, and global E&P deal-makers and decision-makers. for more detail / http://www.appexlondon.com

Petroleum Geology for Financial Professionals "4 March 2011" A short course to help financial professionals more effectively evaluate oil and gas investments, and understand the role geology plays in production and investment risk for more detail: http://www.appexlondon.com/2011/shortcourse.cfm

Proposed AAPG Bylaws Amendment for Consideration This proposal will be an agenda item at the House of Delegates meeting April 10, 2011 at the AAPG Annual Meeting in Houston. Please contact your delegate with your comments or questions. http://www.aapg.org/bylawschanges.cfm

Field Seminars Complex Carbonates Reservoirs: Sedimentation and Tectonic Processes. The Impact of Facies and Fractures on Reservoir Performance INSTRUCTOR S: Raffaele Di Cuia, G.E.Plan Consulting, Ferrara, Italy; Davide Casabianca, Marathon Oil Int'l., Aberdeen, UK; Claudio Turrini, Consultant, Paris, France http://www.aapg.org/education/fieldseminars/details.cfm?ID=79 Don't miss your last chance to save up to $120 — register through Monday, 21 March Register now for the AAPG 2011 Annual Convention & Exhibition in Houston, 10-13 April, at the George R. Brown Convention Center, where an international mix of professionals will be Making the Next Giant Leap in Geosciences. In addition to a dynamic exhibition hall and networking opportunities, you'll experience a highly regarded technical program. http://www.aapg.org/houston2011/

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By: Ahmed El-Refi

Petroleum Engineering Scholarship: SPE Evangeline Section ULL & LSU Petroleum Engineering Scholarship Program The Evangeline Section awards $20,000 in scholarships each year to students majoring in petroleum engineering at Louisiana State University (LSU) or the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) http://www.spe-laf.org/site38.php SPWP provides scholarships SPWP provides scholarships to Houston area high school seniors entering a Texas university.

This scholarship promotes young women in need of financial aid. Our scholarship fund is a direct result of our members' dedication to promoting education. http://www.spwp.org/scholarships.htm Gus Archie Memorial Scholarship in Petroleum Engineering The Gus Archie Memorial Scholarship is supported by the Archie Fund of the Foundation of the SPE. Each year the SPE Foundation, through the Fellowship Program Support Section SPE, as well as working with candidates, Archie Scholarship awards highlight the student preparing to attend college for the first time. The curriculum must lead to a degree in petroleum engineering. http://scholarshiponline.info/gus-archie-memorial-scholarship-inpetroleum-engineering/ Erasmus Mundus Master Scholarships 2011 in Advanced Clay Science The Erasmus Mundus Masters Course “International Master in Advanced Clay Science” plans to form high level graduates in the field of clay science by providing them the competence, fundamental knowledge and skill necessary to perfectly assimilate the more recent developments in clay science and their applied perspectives

BP/Dundee/Chevening British Petroleum (BP) is sponsoring the BP Chevening Award in conjunction with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Dundee University’s Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) to study Master of Science (MSc) in Energy Studies. For more information about the scholarship and how to apply, please visit this website. http://www.dundee.ac.uk/cepmlp/academic/funding_bp_chevening.php

Melbourne International Research Scholarships (MIRS) The Melbourne International Research Scholarships (MIRS) is awarded to international students wishing to undertake graduate research degree studies at the University of Melbourne. MIRSs are funded by the University with each faculty having a limited number to award. http://cms.services.unimelb.edu.au/scholarships/pgrad/international/ available/mirs BP/Dundee/Chevening British Petroleum (BP) is sponsoring the BP Chevening Award in conjunction with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Dundee University’s Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) to study Master of Science (MSc) in Energy Studies. For more information about the scholarship and how to apply, please visit this website. http://www.dundee.ac.uk/cepmlp/academic/funding_bp_chevening.php Melbourne International Research Scholarships (MIRS) The Melbourne International Research Scholarships (MIRS) is awarded to international students wishing to undertake graduate research degree studies at the University of Melbourne. MIRSs are funded by the University with each faculty having a limited number to award. http://cms.services.unimelb.edu.au/scholarships/pgrad/international/ available/mirs

http://scholarshiponline.info/erasmus-mundus-master-scholarships2011-in-advanced-clay-science/

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By: Mahmoud Farag Mahmoud El Khatib

MEOS 2011 20 - 24 March 2011, Bahrain The 17th Society of Petroleum Engineers Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference Bahrain's premier petroleum event for 2009, MEOS 2011 will bring together leading oil and gas professionals to the Bahrain International Exhibition from 20-24 March 2011.

The MEOS 2011 conference is unrivalled in creating a platform for companies and individuals to explore and discuss the major issues faced in the oil and gas industry, including human resources, demand and technological advancements. The exhibition provides a preeminent opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their respective upstream applications and technologies.

Oil & Gas Indonesia 2011 21 - 24 September 2011, Indonesia The 8th International Oil and Gas Exploration, Production and Refining Exhibition Oil and Gas Indonesia is one of the most heavily attended events in Asia and for over a decade it has provided an excellent gateway to the vast opportunities offered by Southeast Asia's largest economy.

OGI runs alongside the larger Energy series of events in Jakarta which take place in the same venue, during the same dates. The Energy Series features 11 specialised exhibitions including Marine, Electric, Mining, Power and Renewable Energy Indonesia. In the past this combination of events has been extremely successful due to the high amount of cross-over between industries within the energy sector.

GEO 2012 Oil & Gas Asia 2011 1 - 3 June 2011, Malaysia The 13th Asian Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Engineering Exhibition Running for over two decades, OGA has established itself as the premier event for buyers and vendors in the Asia-Pacific region. Taking place once every two years, OGA provides the region's oil industry professionals with an opportunity to network, share knowledge and most importantly, to close deals.

4 - 7 March 2012, Bahrain 10th Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition The world's leading geoscience associations are once again joining forces with the Gulf's leading geoscience associations to put together the Middle East's premier geoscience event. Taking place every second year, GEO in Bahrain is 'the' conference and exhibition for the region's geoscientists; it is their opportunity to review and discuss the latest geoscience research and technology.

GEO features the largest geosciences technical program in the Middle East, supported and developed by AAPG, EAGE, SEG, BGS, GDS, ESG and GSO. All of the region's National Oil Companies contribute to the delivery and selection of abstracts as well as taking centerpiece stands at the exhibition.

3P Arctic 2011 30 August - 2 September 2011, Canada Following on from the success of 3P Arctic 2009 in Moscow, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) are pleased to announce the 3P Arctic 2011 will provide Arctic explorers with another unique event focused on the circum-Arctic basins that are within the Canadian, Alaskan, Russian, Norwegian and Greenlandic (Danish) onshore and offshore basins.

Middle East Petrotech 2012 20 - 23 May 2012, Bahrain The 8th Middle East Refining & Petrochemicals Conference and Exhibition.

The 7th Middle East Petrotech 2010 concluded having attracted a total of 3,150 trade visitors and conference delegates.

all from: http://www.allworldexhibitions.com/industry.asp?id=12

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By: Marwan Ibrahim Bassam Ataia

Alexandria University General Directorate of Public Relations and Media Alexandria University Council for University Hospitals Council received the University of Alexandria , held Saturday morning under the chairmanship of a corresponding 12.2.2011. Dr.India Hanafi, President of the University staff University Hospitals, where welcomed to listen to their demands ———————————————————————–————————————————————

Council of Community Service and Environmental Development at the University of Alexandria for the month of February 2011 Alexandria University General Directorate of Public Relations and Media The Council approved the Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Alexandria in its meeting chaired by Dr. Issam Thurs Vice President of the University on the proposal to establish the Institute of Comparative Law, Faculty of Law in preparation for submission to the Council of the League under the chairmanship of Dr. India Hanafi, the university president for approval, which means the Institute to study comparative law at the level of the world and allows the student access to other laws to see trends Legislative Assembly in the various States.

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Alexandria University Council for University Hospitals Alexandria University General Directorate of Public Relations and Media Council approved community service and development environment in its meeting held the morning of Sunday, 20.2.2011 under the chairmanship of a. Dr. Mahmoud coarse Vice President for community service and development environment to develop an action plan to connect with college students and the development of thought within the sector strategy in line with new events and activating the role of students with regard to community service

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Alexandria University Statement in support of the Egyptian Revolution Alexandria University Council, under the chairmanship of Prof. Hind Hanafy, issued in its meeting on 12/2/2011 a statement of support to the revolution of the Egyptian people, paying tribute to the souls of the martyrs and expressing appreciation for the Egyptian Armed Forces.

The statement calls for investing the spirit of the revolution in building the future of Egypt.

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Resignation of members of the Student Union of the University of Alexandria After reaching us breeze of freedom, we have proved our ability to change, we decided to start our own, and liberate the Union of Students to be configured according to the standards of security or restrictive criteria for a class of students, to give to the resignation of the souls of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to undermine this country, freedom, and our resignation that is less than nothing could be offered to the souls of the martyrs who sacrificed their precious lives for this country, to prove to them that we are on strike freedom, which ordained for us and we have learned of them prefer the national interest for any personal interest has no value.

Bridgewater State University at Faculty of Science Alexandria University had the pleasure to receive 20 American students from Bridgewater State University, United States of America On Monday, 10/01/2011.

They were met by Prof. Dr. / Mohamed Ismail Ibrahim, Dean of the Faculty of Science and a group of faculty professors.

Student Union Elections Student Union Elections will be held during the period from 19/3/2011 to 14/4/2011

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By: Zakria Ahmed Mohamed

4- Foraminifera as tools in deep water Oceanography

RESPONSE OF FORAMINIFERA TO POLLUTION Foraminifera are found in all marine environments, they may be planktic or benthic in mode of life. The generally accepted classification of the foraminifera is based on that of Loeblich and Tappan (1964). The Order Foraminiferida (informally foraminifera) belongs to the Kingdom Protista, Subkingdom Protozoa, Phylum Sarcomastigophora, Subphylum Sarcodina, Superclass Rhizopoda, and Class Granuloreticulosea. Unpicking this nomenclature tells us that foraminifera are testate (that is possessing a shell), protozoa, (single celled organisms characterised by the absence of tissues and organs), which possess granuloreticulose pseudopodia (these are thread-like extensions of the ectoplasm often including grains or tiny particles of various materials). Bidirectional cytoplasmic flow along these pseudopodia carries granules which may consist of symbiotic dinoflagellates, digestive vacuoles, mitochondria and vacuoles containing waste products; these processes are still not fully understood. In the planktic foraminifera Globigerinoides sacculiferdinoflagellate symbionts are transported out to the distal parts of rhizopodia in the morning and are returned back into the test at

Life History and Ecology Foraminifera are found in all marine environments, from the intertidal to the deepest ocean trenches, and from the tropics to the poles, but species of foraminifera can be very particular about the environment where they live. Some are abundant only in the deep ocean, others are found only in brackish estuaries or salt marshes along the shore, and most live at certain depths and water temperatures in between.

Foraminifera are an important part of the marine food chain. On the continental shelf there can be tens of thousands of living individuals per square meter of ocean bottom. Many larger animals (including snails, sand dollars, and fish) eat forams, and some are very selective about which species they eat.

Because different species of foraminifera are found in different environments, paleontologists can use their fossils to determine past environments. If a sample of fossil foraminifera contains many living species, the present-day distribution of those species can be used to infer the environment there when the fossils were alive. Even when samples contain all or mostly extinct species, data such as species diversity, the relative numbers of planktonic and benthic species (planktic:benthic ratio), and the ratios of different shell types are used to infer past environments.

In addition to using species distributions (whether directly or through diversity and other ratios) to study past environments, the chemistry of the shell can tell us about the chemistry of the water in which it grew. Most importantly, the ratio of stable oxygen isotopes depends on the water temperature, because warmer water tends to evaporate off more of the lighter isotopes. Studies of stable oxygen isotopes in planktonic and benthic foram shells from hundreds of deep-sea cores worldwide have been used to map past water temperatures. These data help us understand how climate has changed in the past and thus how it may change in the future.

Applications 1- Biostratigraphy

2- Paleoecology and paleobiogeography 3- Foraminifera are very important in petroleum

5- Recent foraminifera are widely used in pollution studies

Foraminifera as bio-indicator for pollution monitoring They are ubiquitous in marine environmental and they live on and in the sediment which receive and stores much of the pollutants . Have a wide range of taxonomic diversity –small enough- have very short reproductive cycle for modern forams are relatively short (6 months to 1 year. Possess hard-shelled tests. Sensitive to environmental change. Inexpensive technique. Has strongest data base, existed for more than 500 million years.

Response of foraminifera to pollution The use of benthic foraminifera as indicators to monitor pollution require analysis of morphological Abnormalities:- Deformed Foraminifera tests > irregular chamber shape, stunting of the tests, undeveloped chambers, irregular coiling,additional chambers, lack of sculpture, protuberances, multiple apertures ,irregular keel, and twinning

Causes of abnormal tests: Pollution (anthropogenic origin), Environmental stresses (hypersalinity,unfavourable trophic conditions), Mechanical trauma (strong hydrodynamics) Test size, Ornamentation, Prolocular Morphology, Assemblage Structure, and Foraminiferal Diversity, Dominance and Population Density: Background percentages of deformed tests, and relatively high number of species exhibiting deformities, are features of foramanifera population inhabiting intensely contaminated environmental (see Boltovskoy et al.,1991) Percentages of Megalospheric Morphotypes, test Ultrastructure, and Chemistry of Deformed Tests: Increase levels of heavy metals as Cr.Ni.Cu.Zn,Pb have a marked effect upon Foraminifera distribution and morphological abnormalities.

Test Pyritization: A high percentage of live and dead foraminifera have iron sulphides in their tests.

The iron sulphides are represented by fromboidal aggregates of pyrite and greigite.

The main reason for sulphidization of foraminifera tests is not clear. It can be related to metabolizing of organic matter under anaerobic conditions by sulphate-reducing bacteria, diffusion of sulphate into sediments, concentration and reactivity of the iron minerals and production of elementary sulphur.

Conclusions:- the study confirms and supports the feasibility of studying benthic foraminifera as a technique for the in-situ monitoring of trace metal pollution.

For more information: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WAPOVEFQ

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Youssif El-sherif search summarized by Osama Hazem

Oil journey to the reservoir : Hydrocarbon generation: Petroleum: is a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules and lesser quantities of organic molecules containing sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen, and some metals.

Hydrocarbons: are generated when large volumes of microscopic plant and animal material are deposited in marine, deltaic, or lacustrine (lake) environments.

Source rock: Organically rich, black-colored shales deposited in a quiet marine, oxygen depleted environment is considered to be the best source rocks.

Migration: Primary migration Secondary migration

Petrophysical characters of reservoirs: Porosity: Primary Porosity.

Secondary Porosity.

Effective Porosity vs. Total Porosity.

Types of pores: Factors affecting Porosity How to measure rock porosity:

Sealing & Trapping: Seals tend to be fine-grained or crystalline, low-permeability rocks.



Well logging tools



Core analysis tools

Traps must also exist to trap, or seal, the hydrocarbon in place forming a hydrocarbon reservoir.

Permeability:

Reservoir:

Factors affecting permeability:

- Reservoir’s characteristic features: The term “reservoir” implies storage.

How to measure rock permeability

Types of permeability: Absolute and Effective Permeability

- Reservoir lithological classification: Sandstones, limestones, and dolomites of any age can make fine reservoirs.

Clastic Reservoirs (Sandstone): Clastics are the most common sedimentary rocks that are drilled in the oil field.

Carbonates Reservoirs (Limestone & Dolostone): The initial process in the formation of a carbonate reservoir is sedimentation.

Fractured Reservoirs:

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- Relationships between Porosity and permeabililty - Petrophysical Characters of different Sedimentary Rocks reservoirs

Case Study: Alamein Dolomite Reservoir In the Western Desert, Egypt - Petroleum system in the Western Desert: - Depositional Basins

Reservoirs evaluation report – Africa

Alamein Dolomite formation: Formation of dolomite Development of dolomite fabric Alamein dolomite in El-Razzak field Alamein dolomite petrography and texture

For more details about this research: http://www.mediafire.com/? cweosho75uiob07

Abu Gharadig Basin: (The Most Productive Over Africa)

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