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Summary The study of cratonic strike-slip fault is relatively weak. This paper takes Yueman20 fault as an example to discuss the geometry and kinematics characteristics of cratonic strike-slip fault. The Yueman20 fault spreads NW in the north, SN in the middle and NE in the south with stratified deformation in profile, which shows as vertical fault or flower structure in Cambrian –Ordovician and negative flower structure in Silurian- Carboniferous. The fault is dextral strike-slip fault with the maximum horizontal displacement of 1.6 km. The activity intensity is weak in the south, while strong in the middle and north. Yueman20 fault has obvious segmentation, and it can be divided into linear segment, compressional segment and transtensional segment alternately along the fault.

SiO2 is a kind of widely used dielectric material in ULSI and its chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) is one of the most difficult processes. In this paper, the CMP mechanism and the effect of abrasive on SiO2 dielectric were analyzed; the different factors of affecting the CMP were analyzed. A kind of organic alkali was chosen to act as the pH regulator and complexation agent to enhance the chemical effect. The silica sol was selected as abrasive to realize no contamination, low viscidity, proper hardness and easy to clean. The effect of different concentration of abrasive on the removal rate and surface performance were studied. Further more the influence of polishing slurry flow and surfactant on removal rate were analyzed. The final planarization was realized.

In a SAGD process, what are the benefits of changing formation wettability near and surrounding a production well from water-wet to oil-wet? Are these benefits, if any, strictly near-wellbore effects or are they reservoir scale? Based on our experimental experiences we investigated these issues numerically. The study indicated that: (1) changing wettability near the production well appeared to have more than near-well effect; (2) in a water-wet reservoir, an oil-wet zone near and surrounding the production well would noticeably shorten the fluid communication time; (3) it would increase oil production rate, at least during early stage of production; (4) water appeared to be partially blocked by the oil-wet zone and (5) the larger the oil-wet zone, the more apparent these effects were. INTRODUCTION The concept of enhancing oil production by changing the wettability surrounding the production well from water-wet to oil-wet in a water-wet reservoir is described in a recent US patent. Its applications were demonstrated in lab experiments conducted at Alberta Research Council. In order to examine whether this concept is applicable to field scale SAGD operation, we conduct this numerical study using CMG’s STARS. Our studies include: (1) History match the lab test results to validate the numerical model and to learn about possible key parameters; (2) Study the potential impacts of altering wettability near production well on SAGD operation using field scale numerical simulations. HISTORY MATCH OF EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS The lab experiments were done in a 2D visualization cell. A schematic diagram of the rectangular model, 60 cm wide, 21 cm high and 3 cm thick, is shown in Figure 1. The model was packed with sand having a permeability of 300 Darcy and a porosity of about 35%. It was saturated with water. The water was then displaced

This paper summarizes the recent development of the generalized matrix formulation and its incorporation into a reservoir simulator as collaborative efforts conducted at Alberta Research Council (ARC) and Computer Modelling Group (CMG). The focus of this paper is on how the matrix coefficients, which are the generalization of relative permeability curves, can be determined from experimental data, in two-phase and three-phase systems. We studied different types of experimental conditions available in the literature to obtain these matrix coefficients for two phase flow. These include experiments by Bentsen and Manai and Boubiaux and Kalaydjian. A more general description was derived, leading to the disclosure of intrinsic connections between the above two types, and all other possible types. This allows the choice of various independent pairs of relative permeability curves as input for a reservoir simulator (CMG's STARS model). Selected experiments were then re-simulated with this matrix formulation. The concept was, for the first time, further generalized systematically to three-phase flow. A scheme and detailed formulations have been developed, allowing a reservoir simulator to deal with a matrix formulation for three-phase flow. These relations were also implemented in CMG's simulator STARS.

The plugging of tubings and pipelines by scale, asphaltene, and wax is a common problem in the oil production, transportation and refinery systems. Hot oiling, chemical wash and mechanical scraping have been used for many years to restore flow. There may be economic benefit to implement preventive treatments. We propose to consider the application of ultrasound as a potential preventive treatment. As a physical treatment, it is expected to be independent of the details of the chemical nature of the problem, i.e., it should be equally applicable to particles such as salt crystals, asphaltene precipitates, or wax. We will present experimental results showing the effects of application of ultrasound during precipitation and crystallization. Three systems were tested in this study; crystallization of salt from saturated aqueous solutions, re-dispersion of asphaltene in heptane, and pour point depression of diesel with different wax contents. The results show that, under the influence of ultrasound during the phase transition, there was a reduction of the size of the salt crystals, precipitated asphaltene was re-dispersed, and the temperature at the pour point of diesel with different wax contents was substantially lowered.

Abstract The falling ball viscometer method was used to measure the viscosity of bitumen and sand mixtures. The viscosity of the slurry was measured over a range of concentrations, but with emphasis on higher concentrations, a regime which is believed to be representative of sand concentration in wormholes during cold production of heavy oil. Non-Newtonian behaviour was observed at very high sand concentration. Introduction In developing cold production technology, it is essential to understand the flow behaviour of slurries, suspensions of sand grains in bitumen and water, and their geomechanical behaviour near the transition towards sand. The objective of these experiments is to elucidate the subject by studying the slurry viscosity as a function of porosity. Shear viscosity of a fluid, as a measure of the rate of dissipative transverse momentum transfer due to shear (see, for example, Landau, et al.)(1), is known to be increased by increasing concentration of sand suspensions in the fluid. At very low concentration, the relative viscosity, defined as the ratio of the mixture to the fluid viscosity, increases linearly with concentration(2). At higher concentration, the relative viscosity increases further and non-linearly due to stronger hydrodynamic interactions between sand grains. At even higher concentrations, direct grain-grain contacts become much more frequent, and hence the transverse momentum transfer becomes much easier. In addition, collision induced grain rotations become more frequent, so that a larger amount of linear momentum is transferred to angular momentum of sand grains, leading to higher viscosity and non-Newtonian behaviour at high shear(3). In this regime the sand grains are in discontinuous contact with one another and we expect a sharper increase in relative viscosity for small decreases in porosity. The upper boundary to this regime corresponds to the transition from a slurry to a saturated sand. At the boundary between these two regimes, the contacts are continuous and a sand grain matrix exists. This concentration corresponds to the "maximum porosity" of the sand grains, which for many sands is typically about 0.45. For a saturated sand there exists a narrow range of concentrations (porosities) within which fluid behaviour may be observed. This can occur at porosities between the "maximum porosity" and the "critical porosity" when shear stresses are applied rapidly to the sand. As the matrix collapses, pore pressures are increased and effective stresses are decreased. If the mobility of the pore fluid is sufficiently low, the effective stresses can be reduced to zero and the sand loses all frictional strength and behaves as a fluid. This behaviour is often referred to as "liquefaction." Many experimental, theoretical and numerical works for hard sphere suspensions have been conducted at relatively high porosities(4–9). However, very few experimental and theoretical works have been done at lower porosities, especially near the "maximum porosity." Furthermore, in the low porosity regime, the relative viscosity could strongly depend on sand grain size distribution and their characteristic shapes. Experimental Techniques Treating the slurry mixture as a single phase fluid, we applied a falling sphere method(10) to determine the relative slurry viscosity.

Background Study results demonstrated that IFN augments BEV activity and improves median PFS in pts with mRCC. Thus, combination BEV + IFN is a standard first-line treatment option for mRCC. Combining BEV with the mTOR inhibitor EVE may be an efficacious and well-tolerated treatment option. The open-label, phase II RECORD-2 trial compared first-line EVE + BEV and IFN + BEV in mRCC. Patients and methods: Therapy-naive pts with clear cell mRCC and prior nephrectomy were randomized 1:1 to BEV 10 mg/kg IV every 2 weeks with either EVE 10 mg oral daily or IFN (9 MIU SC 3 times/week, if tolerated). Tumour assessments were every 12 weeks. Primary objective was treatment effect on progression-free survival (PFS) per central review based on an estimate of the chance of a subsequent phase III trial success (50% threshold for phase II success). Results In EVE + BEV (n = 182) and IFN + BEV (n = 183) arms, median age was 60/60 years, 76/72% of pts were men, MSKCC risk was favourable/intermediate/poor in 36/57/7% and 36/57/7% of pts, and 43/46% of pts had >2 organs involved, respectively. For EVE + BEV and IFN + BEV, median treatment duration was 8.5/8.3 months, respectively; 23/26% of pts discontinued due to AEs. In EVE + BEV and IFN + BEV arms, median PFS by central review was 9.3/10.0 months (HRIFN/EVE, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.69-1.19; P =0.485), respectively; probability of subsequent phase III success was 5.1%. Results of central and local PFS analysis were consistent. Objective response rate was 27/28% in EVE + BEV and IFN + BEV arms, respectively. Median overall survival (OS) was not reached in the EVE + BEV arm and was 25.9 months (95% CI: 21.1, 30.2) in the IFN + BEV arm. Most frequent AEs (%) were stomatitis (63), proteinuria (49), diarrhoea (39), hypertension (38), and epistaxis (35) in EVE + BEV arm and decreased appetite (45), fatigue (41), proteinuria (37), and pyrexia (35) in IFN + BEV arm. Conclusions In RECORD-2, PFS and tolerability were similar for first-line EVE + BEV and IFN + BEV. Final OS analysis will occur after 2-year follow-up. Disclosure A. Ravaud: Alain Ravaud is a member of global, European, and/or French boards on urological tumors for Pfizer, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer-Schering, and Dendreon, and has received institutional grant support from Pfizer, Novartis, and Roche. O. Anak: Ozlem Anak is an employee of Novartis Pharma AG. D. Pelov: Diana Pelov is an employee of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. A. Louveau: Anne-Laure Louveau is an employee of Novartis Pharma S.A.S. T. M-H: Tay M-H is a speaker for an advisory board for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. B. Melichar: Bohuslav Melichar has received honoraria from Novartis and Roche and served on an advisory board for Roche. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.