Advancements in Techniques for Complex Plug and Abandonment Using Survey Management and Magnetic Ranging Methods

Complex plug and abandonments are required when it is not possible to permanently seal a wellbore utilizing conventional methods. This paper will provide an overview of advanced survey management techniques and their application to complex wellbore abandonment operations. The overview will include the utilization of technologies including active magnetic ranging, gyroscopic and magnetic surveys, and advanced survey correction algorithms. The economic benefits due to the successful outcomes will be shown as well as the mitigation of potential environmental hazards to groundwater aquifers. The described methods have been proven in real-world scenarios, where complex technical challenges necessitate the requirement of a complex abandonment. Two case studies will be presented; one operation where the target well suffered from a restriction in the casing that prevented access to the reservoir, and another where a wellbore was found during civil construction activities in an unexpected position and created a high-risk challenge due to the potential for reservoir gases and liquids leaking uncontrolled into the construction zone. The application of these techniques in abandoning complex wellbores that are unable to be plugged by conventional means provides the industry with solutions to the technically challenging problem of wellbore abandonments when physical access to the wellbore is not possible. These techniques provide economical and low-risk solutions to operators in both onshore and offshore decommissioning activities.

An Ethology of Adaptation: Dolphins Stop Feeding but Continue Socializing in Construction-Degraded Habitat

Adaptation is a biological mechanism by which organisms adjust physically or behaviorally to changes in their environment to become more suited to it. This is a report of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins’ behavioral adaptations to environmental changes from coastal construction in prime habitat. Construction was a 5-year bridge removal and replacement project in a tidal inlet along west central Florida’s Gulf of Mexico coastline. It occurred in two consecutive 2.5-year phases to replace the west and east lanes, respectively. Lane phases involved demolition/removal of above-water cement structures, below-water cement structures, and reinstallation of below + above water cement structures (N = 2,098 photos). Data were longitudinal (11 years: 2005–2016, N = 1,219 surveys 2–4 times/week/11 years, N = 4,753 dolphins, 591.95 h of observation in the construction zone, 126 before-construction surveys, 568 during-construction surveys, 525 after-construction surveys). The dependent variable was numbers of dolphins (count) in the immediate construction zone. Three analyses examined presence/absence, total numbers of dolphins, and numbers of dolphins engaged in five behavior states (forage-feeding, socializing, direct travel, meandering travel, and mixed states) across construction. Analyses were GLIMMIX generalized linear models for logistic and negative binomial regressions to account for observation time differences as an exposure (offset) variable. Results showed a higher probability of dolphin presence than absence before construction began, more total dolphins before construction, and significant decreases in the numbers of feeding but not socializing dolphins. Significant changes in temporal rhythms also revealed finer-grained adaptations. Conclusions were that the dolphins adapted to construction in two ways, by establishing feeding locations beyond the disturbed construction zone and shifting temporal rhythms of behaviors that they continued to exhibit in the construction zone to later in the day when construction activities were minimized. This is the first study to suggest that the dolphins learned to cope with coastal construction with variable adjustments.

Are highway constructions associated with increased transport incidents? A case study of NSW Pacific Highway construction zones 2011-16

Transport incidents are among the major causes of trauma and injury in Australia and worldwide. While improving infrastructure can decrease the rate of incidents, the required construction imposes challenges regarding simultaneous public use of the relevant road sections. This study focused on construction zones along the New South Wales (NSW) Pacific Highway. We aimed to investigate if the rate of people who had major trauma as a result of a transport incident in a construction zone was higher than the rate of people with similar incidents at other times. This was a retrospective study, conducted by screening the data of patients admitted to the trauma services, or who died due to traffic incidents on the NSW Pacific Highway 2011-2016. We identified 35 causalities who experienced a traffic incident within a construction zone, 19 of these incidents occurred during the construction dates and 16 before or after those dates. The rate of casualty in construction periods was 2.21 per 1000 days, which is significantly higher than the rate in non-construction periods (1.2 per 1000 days, p-value: 0.037). There was no significant difference between the age, injury severity score and mortality rate of casualties who had an incident during the construction dates and those who had an incident in non-construction periods. This study indicated that the rate of incidents increased at NSW Pacific Highway construction zones during construction periods. More investigation is needed to improve the safety of road users during highway road constructions.

IRON AGE BURIAL MOUND UST-BELOKURIKHA-3: EMERGENCY EXCAVATIONS IN CONSTRUCTION ZONE OF BIYSK-BELOKURIKHA HIGHWAY IN 1990

The article publishes materials from the Ust-Belokurikha 3 burial ground. The site is located in the Smolensk District of the Altai Territory. The burial ground was destroyed during construction work. There were five burial mounds on the site. One burial mound was excavated. Its artificial hill had been built of stone. There was one burial in the center of the mound. The deceased in the grave was laid on his back and his head was oriented to the southwest. His legs were bent. The specifics of the funeral rite allow dating the site to the Early Iron Age. Preliminary dating of the necropolis can be attributed to the Bystryanskaya culture. The absence of visually prominent mounds at the site is characteristic of most mound necropolises of this kind in the northern foothills of Altai. Those sites were destroyed during the intensive anthropogenic use of the area. Continuing plowing of the land containing archaeological sites in the foothill zone creates an additional threat to the deteriorating condition of the ancient burial mounds. Keywords: burial mound, early Iron Age, Scythian-Saka time, northern foothills of Altai, Bystryanskaya culture

SPECIFIC CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS IN CONFIDENTIAL CONDITIONS OF THE EXISTING DEVELOPMENT IN BISHKEK

Analysis of some of the problems that have developed during the construction of modern buildings in the existing planning structure of the city of Bishkek. The specifics of the organization of the construction site, construction and installation work in the existing development, as well as the choice of machines and mechanisms for a limited area of construction of the facility. The choice of constructive and technological methods for the construction of pits. Measures to organize the maintenance of the operational properties of the surrounding buildings. Methods for noise reduction, environmental protection of the construction zone.

Colors challenges in navigating autonomous vehicles

Will autonomous vehicles ever be able to drive around safely? In Germany lane markers on streets are white. In construction zones temporary markers are installed on top of the standard ones that are yellow and they direct the traffic e.g. into shifted lanes. So, the only differentiation is the color. But what about the white markers at times close to the sunset? Then we drive into Austria and the temporary markers are turning orange. Or driving in the US makes the whole country a construction zone because markers are always yellow. Automotive cameras are often times not RGB cameras. They have other color filters to maximize sensitivity, which often times does not help differentiating colors. So does the spectral reflectance matter? Which impact does the illumination have? And there are many different ones like daylight at different times of the day, different kinds of streetlights, different headlights of the cars etc. Traffic signs create another color problem. We drive from Switzerland to France. In Switzerland the freeway signs are green and the major road signs are blue. When you cross the French border, it is the other way around. How can these problems be solved?