Performance measurement systems and metrics: a framework for monitoring oil operations

Oil operations involve high levels of capital equipment and high capacity production processes for which performance measures can assist with monitoring production throughout the oil industry stages. The approach taken in this paper is to utilise the lifecycle approach of asset management as well as organisational resource factors in an integrative manner. This research will examine the use of performance measurement in both private and public oil companies with a focus on Developing Countries. National Oil companies are of national economic importance in Developing Countries. Thus purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for performance measures of current and future oil operations and the associated asset management for field operations. The approach taken is to recognise the national context and strategic drivers and then to examine within this context the three areas of: Asset Management; Oil Operations (including Technology and Development; Management approaches; Partnerships) and Performance Outcomes

Report of the SNOMS Project 2006 to 2012, SNOMS SWIRE NOCS Ocean Monitoring System. Part 1: Narrative description

The ocean plays a major role in controlling the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are a threat to the stability of the earth’s climate. A better understanding of the controlling role of the ocean will improve predictions of likely future changes in climate and the impact of the uptake of CO2 itself on marine eco-systems caused by the associated acidification of the ocean waters. The SNOMS Project (SWIRE NOCS Ocean Monitoring System) is a ground breaking joint research project supported by the Swire Group Trust, the Swire Educational Trust, the China Navigation Company (CNCo) and the Natural Environment Research Council. It collects high quality data on concentrations of CO2 in the surface layer of the ocean. It contributes to the international effort to better quantify (and understand the driving processes controlling) the exchanges of CO2 between the ocean and the atmosphere. In 2006 and 2007 a system that could be used on a commercial ship to provide data over periods of several months with only limited maintenance by the ships crew was designed and assembled by NOCS. The system was fitted to the CNCo ship the MV Pacific Celebes in May 2007. The onboard system was supported by web pages that monitored the progress of the ship and the functioning of the data collection system. To support the flow of data from the ship to the archiving of the data at the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC in the USA) data processing procedures were developed for the quality control and systematic handling of the data. Data from samples of seawater collected by the ships crew and analysed in NOC (730 samples) have been used to confirm the consistency of the data from the automated measurement system on the ship. To examine the data collected between 2007 and 2012 the movements of the ship are divided into 16 voyages. Initially The Celebes traded on a route circum-navigating the globe via the Panama and Suez Canals. In 2009 the route shifted to one between Australia and New Zealand to USA and Canada. Analysis of the data is an on going process. It has demonstrated that the system produces reliable data. Data are capable of improving existing estimates of seasonal variability. The work has improved knowledge of gas exchange processes. Data from the crew-collected-samples are helping improve our ability to estimate alkalinity in different areas. This helps with the study of ocean acidification. Data from the 9 round trips in the Pacific are currently being examined along with data made available by the NOAA-PMEL laboratory forming time series from 2004 to 2012. The data from the Pacific route are of considerable interest. One reason is that the data monitors variations in the fluxes of CO2 associated with the current that flows westwards along the equator. This is one of the major natural sources of CO2 from the ocean into the atmosphere

The impact of deep-sea fisheries and implementation of the UNGA Resolutions 61/105 and 64/72. Report of an international scientific workshop

The scientific workshop to review fisheries management, held in Lisbon in May 2011, brought together 22 scientists and fisheries experts from around the world to consider the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions on high seas bottom fisheries: what progress has been made and what the outstanding issues are. This report summarises the workshop conclusions, identifying examples of good practice and making recommendations in areas where it was agreed that the current management measures fall short of their target

RRS Discovery Cruise 365, 11 May-02 Jun 2011. The Extended Ellett Line 2011

The Extended Ellett Line is a full-depth hydrographic section between Iceland, 60°N 20°W, Rockall and Scotland. The original Ellett Line across the Rockall Trough was first occupied in 1975 when measurements were attempted four times a year. In 1996 the line was extended to Iceland and since then has been occupied approximately annually. The data form a 35 year time series of the oceanic conditions west of the British Isles.The section monitors the characteristics of the warm water inflow into the Nordic Seas and thence to the Arctic, and observes part of the returning cold water outflow with easurements of the Iceland-Scotland Overflow and the overflow of the Wyville-Thomson Ridge into the Rockall Trough.The 2011 occupation, RRS Discovery cruise 365, was curtailed by both technical problems and bad weather. 45 of the 48 CTD stations were worked between the Iceland and Scotland shelf edges. Line G, part of the SAMS observation network of the Scottish continental shelf was partially completed, with 4 stations at the western end not worked. Samples were taken for CFC and SF6 analysis, DIC and alkalinity, inorganic nutrients, aluminium, POC, bacterial abundance and biomass, and for phytoplankton community structure. Plans to repeat stations, to collect validation data for the SAMS glider and to investigate eddies in the Rockall Trough had to be abandoned

Security of Electrical, Optical and Wireless On-Chip Interconnects: A Survey

The advancement of manufacturing technologies has enabled the integration of more intellectual property (IP) cores on the same system-on-chip (SoC). Scalable and high throughput on-chip communication architecture has become a vital component in today's SoCs. Diverse technologies such as electrical, wireless, optical, and hybrid are available for on-chip communication with different architectures supporting them. Security of the on-chip communication is crucial because exploiting any vulnerability would be a goldmine for an attacker. In this survey, we provide a comprehensive review of threat models, attacks, and countermeasures over diverse on-chip communication technologies as well as sophisticated architectures.Comment: 41 pages, 24 figures, 4 table