The forest ranger (and the legislator): How local congressional politics shape policy implementation in agency field offices

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory L Struthers ◽  
Tyler A Scott ◽  
Forrest Fleischman ◽  
Gwen Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Regulation ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Bayesian Regression ◽  
Funding Agency ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Stability Field ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Gas Drilling ◽  
Congressional Representatives

Abstract Research on political control over government bureaucracy has primarily focused on direct exercises of power such as appointments, funding, agency design, and procedural rules. In this analysis we extend this literature to consider politicians who leverage their institutional standing to influence the decisions of local field officials over whom they have no explicit authority. Using the case of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), we investigate whether field-level decisions are associated with the political preferences of individual congressional representatives. Our sample encompasses 7,681 resource extraction actions initiated and analyzed by 107 USFS field offices between 2005 and 2018. Using hierarchical Bayesian regression, we show that under periods of economic growth and stability, field offices situated in the districts of congressional representatives who oppose environmental regulation initiate more extractive actions (timber harvest, oil and gas drilling, grazing) and conduct less rigorous environmental reviews than field offices in the districts of representatives who favor environmental regulation. By extending existing theories about interactions between politicians and bureaucrats to consider informal means of influence, this work speaks to: (1) the role of local political interests in shaping agency-wide policy outcomes; and (2) the importance of considering informal and implicit means of influence that operate in concert with explicit control mechanisms to shape bureaucratic behavior.

Geology and age of the Precambrian basement in the Windsor, Chatham, and Sarnia area, southwestern Ontario

1982 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 1627-1634 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Turek ◽  
R. N. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Precambrian Basement ◽  
Grenville Province ◽  
Metasedimentary Rocks ◽  
Gas Drilling ◽  
Arch System ◽  
Grenvillian Orogeny ◽  
Anomaly Map ◽  
Paleozoic Rocks ◽  
Basement Surface

Precambrian basement in the Windsor–Chatham–Sarnia area is covered by Paleozoic rocks that are up to 1300 m thick. The basement surface is characterized by a northeast–southwest arch system with a relief of about 350 m. Extensive oil and gas drilling has penetrated and sampled this basement, and an examination of core and chip samples from 133 holes and an assessment of the magnetic anomaly map of the area have been used to produce a lithologic map of the Precambrian basement. The predominant rocks are granite gneisses and syenite gneisses but also significant are gabbros, granodiorite gneisses, and metasedimentary rocks. The average foliation dips 50° and is inferred to have a northeasterly trend. The Precambrian basement has been regarded as part of the Grenville Province. An apparent Rb–Sr whole rock isochron, for predominantly meta-igneous rocks, yields an age of 1560 ± 140 Ma. This we interpret as pre-Grenvillian, surviving the later imprint of the Grenvillian Orogeny. Points excluded from the isochron register ages of 1830, 915, and 670 Ma, and can be interpreted as geologically meaningful.

Finite Element Study of the Cutting Mechanics of the Three Dimensional Rock Turning Process

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demeng Che ◽  
Jacob Smith ◽  
Kornel F. Ehmann
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Polycrystalline Diamond ◽  
Close Correlation ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Failure Behavior ◽  
Fe Model ◽  
Gas Drilling ◽  
Cutting Mechanics

The unceasing improvements of polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) cutters have pushed the limits of tool life and cutting efficiency in the oil and gas drilling industry. However, the still limited understanding of the cutting mechanics involved in rock cutting/drilling processes leads to unsatisfactory performance in the drilling of hard/abrasive rock formations. The Finite Element Method (FEM) holds the promise to advance the in-depth understanding of the interactions between rock and cutters. This paper presents a finite element (FE) model of three-dimensional face turning of rock representing one of the most frequent testing methods in the PDC cutter industry. The pressure-dependent Drucker-Prager plastic model with a plastic damage law was utilized to describe the elastic-plastic failure behavior of rock. A newly developed face turning testbed was introduced and utilized to provide experimental results for the calibration and validation of the formulated FE model. Force responses were compared between simulations and experiments. The relationship between process parameters and force responses and the mechanics of the process were discussed and a close correlation between numerical and experimental results was shown.

Oil and Gas Drilling Optimization Technologies Applied Successfully to Unconventional Geothermal Well Drilling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junichi Sugiura ◽  
Ramon Lopez ◽  
Francisco Borjas ◽  
Steve Jones ◽  
John McLennan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Geothermal Energy ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Optimization Techniques ◽  
Geothermal System ◽  
Well Drilling ◽  
Geothermal Well ◽  
Gas Drilling ◽  
Drilling Tools ◽  
Drilling Optimization ◽  
Oil And Gas Drilling

Abstract Geothermal energy is used in more than 20 countries worldwide and is a clean, reliable, and relatively available energy source. Nevertheless, to make geothermal energy available anywhere in the world, technical and economic challenges need to be addressed. Drilling especially is a technical challenge and comprises a significant part of the geothermal development cost. An enhanced geothermal system (EGS) is a commercially viable thermal reservoir where two wells are interconnected by some form of hydraulic stimulation. In a commercial setting, fluid is injected into this hot rock and passes between wells through a network of natural and induced fractures to transport heat to the surface system for electricity generation. To construct EGS wells, vertical and directional drilling is necessary with purpose-built drilling and steering equipment. This is an application where oil-and-gas drilling tools and techniques can be applied. A recent well, 16A(78)-32, drilled as part of the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) program, highlights some of the technical challenges, which include drilling an accurate vertical section, a curve section, and a 5300-ft 65° tangent section in a hard granitic formation at temperatures up to 450°F (232°C). Extensive downhole temperature simulations were performed to select fit-for-purpose drilling equipment such as purely mechanical vertical drilling tools, instrumented steerable downhole motors, measurement-while-drilling (MWD) tools, and embedded high-frequency drilling dynamics recorders. Downhole and surface drilling dynamics data were used to fine- tune bit design and motor power section selection and continuously improve the durability of equipment, drilling efficiency, and footage drilled. Drilling optimization techniques used in oil and gas settings were successfully applied to this well, including analysis of data from drilling dynamics sensors embedded in the steerable motors and vertical drilling tools, surface surveillance of mechanical specific energy (MSE), and adopting a drilling parameter roadmap to improve drilling efficiency to minimize drilling dysfunctions and equipment damages. Through drilling optimization practices, the instrumented steerable motors with proper bit selections were able to drill more than 40 ft/hr on average, doubling the rate of penetration (ROP), footage, and run length experienced in previous granite wells. This paper presents a case study in which cutting-edge oil-and-gas drilling technologies were successfully applied to reduce the geothermal well drilling time by approximately half.

scholarly journals New Mexico

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon T. Shaheen
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Quality Control ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Produced Water ◽  
Recycled Water ◽  
Water Quality Control ◽  
Treated Water ◽  
Gas Drilling ◽  
Legislative Session

Under the Produced Water Act (“Act”) enacted in the 2019 regular legislative session, the New Mexico Legislature authorized the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division (“OCD”) and the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission (“WQCC”) to regulate produced water resulting from oil and gas drilling or production. The Act governs the transportation and sale of produced water, recycled water (also referred to as recycled produced water), and treated water (also referred to as treated produced water).

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