The Making of a Petro-State

This book illustrates the ways in which Uganda is transforming into an oil producing country, framed here as a ‘petro-state’. In contrast to the term’s traditional usage, here ‘petro-state’ highlights the deliberate attempt to reorient the political economy of Uganda towards its future production of oil. The expectation of ‘petro-dollars’ has compelled the state to structurally change its institutional infrastructure and attempt to reconfigure the socio-economic and spatial orientation of the population. This book presents the power relations and the dynamic struggles entangling the key actors in the process of making oil production possible in Uganda. It takes a Foucauldian approach to the question of government and power to express how the oil-related projects of development in Uganda are meant to multi-dimensionally improve the population. The author is a political geographer and currently a postdoctoral researcher involved in the ‘Africa Multiple’ Cluster of Excellence based at the University of Bayreuth, who has a keen interest in the politics of resource extraction in Sub-Saharan Africa, resource-related mobility struggles and the power matrix that produces contextually specific resource complexes.

Numerical Investigation of Hydraulic Fracture Propagation Based on Cohesive Zone Model in Naturally Fractured Formations

Complex propagation patterns of hydraulic fractures often play important roles in naturally fractured formations due to complex mechanisms. Therefore, understanding propagation patterns and the geometry of fractures is essential for hydraulic fracturing design. In this work, a seepage–stress–damage coupled model based on the finite pore pressure cohesive zone (PPCZ) method was developed to investigate hydraulic fracture propagation behavior in a naturally fractured reservoir. Compared with the traditional finite element method, the coupled model with global insertion cohesive elements realizes arbitrary propagation of fluid-driven fractures. Numerical simulations of multiple-cluster hydraulic fracturing were carried out to investigate the sensitivities of a multitude of parameters. The results reveal that stress interference from multiple-clusters is responsible for serious suppression and diversion of the fracture network. A lower stress difference benefits the fracture network and helps open natural fractures. By comparing the mechanism of fluid injection, the maximal fracture network can be achieved with various injection rates and viscosities at different fracturing stages. Cluster parameters, including the number of clusters and their spacing, were optimal, satisfying the requirement of creating a large fracture network. These results offer new insights into the propagation pattern of fluid driven fractures and should act as a guide for multiple-cluster hydraulic fracturing, which can help increase the hydraulic fracture volume in naturally fractured reservoirs.

Correction: Multiple cluster CH activations and transformations of furan by triosmium carbonyl complexes

Correction for ‘Multiple cluster CH activations and transformations of furan by triosmium carbonyl complexes’ by Richard D. Adams et al., Chem. Commun., 2018, 54, 3464–3467.