• Title/Summary/Keyword: Venezuela

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Analysis of Helical Pile Behavior in Sands Varying Helix Pitch Based on Numerical Analysis Results (사질토에 근입된 헬릭스 피치에 따른 헬리컬 파일의 수치해석적 거동분석)

  • Bak, Jongho;Lee, Kicheol;Choi, Byeong-Hyun;Kim, Dongwook
    • Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.29-40
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    • 2018
  • Oil sands, which are largely distributed in Canada and Venezuela, are a mixture of crude oil and sandy soils. In order to extract crude oil from oil sands, construction of massive oil sand plants is required. Generally, the typically-used foundation types of the oil sand plant are driven piles and cast-in-place piles. Most of the oil sand plants are located in cold and remote regions. Installation of driven piles in frozen or organic surface soils is difficult due to high resistance and installation equipment accessability, while the cast-in-place pile has concrete curing problem due to cold temperature. Helical pile can be installed quickly and easily using rotation with a little help of vertical load. As the installation of helical pile is available using a small and light-weight installation equipment, accessibility of installation equipment is improved. The helical pile has an advantage of easy removal by rotation in reverse direction compared with that of installation. Furthermore, reuse of removed helical piles is possible when the piles are structurally safe. In this study, the behavior of helical piles varying helix pitch was analyzed based on the numerical analysis results. Numerical model was calibrated based on the results of model helical pile tests in laboratory. The ultimate helical pile loads, the displacement of each helix attached to the shaft of the helical pile, and the load sharing ratio of each helix were analyzed.

Interpretation of the Umbrella Clause in Investment Treaties (국제투자조약상 포괄적 보호조항(Umbrella Clauses)의 해석에 관한 연구)

  • Jo, Hee-Moon
    • Journal of Arbitration Studies
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    • v.19 no.2
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    • pp.95-126
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    • 2009
  • One of the controversial issues in investor-state investment arbitration is the interpretation of "umbrella clause" that is found in most BIT and FTAs. This treaty clause requires on Contracting State of treaty to observe all investment obligations entered into with foreign investors from the other Contracting State. This clause did not receive in-depth attention until SGS v. Pakistan and SGS v. Philippines cases produced starkly different conclusions on the relations about treaty-based jurisdiction and contract-based jurisdiction. More recent decisions by other arbitral tribunals continue to show different approaches in their interpretation of umbrella clauses. Following the SGS v. Philippines decision, some recent decisions understand that all contracts are covered by umbrella clause, for example, in Siemens A.G. v. Argentina, LG&E Energy Corp. v. Argentina, Sempra Energy Int'l v. Argentina and Enron Corp. V. Argentina. However, other recent decisions have found a different approach that only certain kinds of public contracts are covered by umbrella clauses, for example, in El Paso Energy Int'l Co. v. Argentina, Pan American Energy LLC v. Argentina and CMS Gas Transmission Co. v. Argentina. With relation to the exhaustion of domestic remedies, most of tribunals have the position that the contractual remedy should not affect the jurisdiction of BIT tribunal. Even some tribunals considered that there is no need to exhaust contract remedies before bringing BIT arbitration, provoking suspicion of the validity of sanctity of contract in front of treaty obligation. The decision of the Annulment Committee In CMS case in 2007 was an extraordinarily surprising one and poured oil on the debate. The Committee composed of the three respected international lawyers, Gilbert Guillaume and Nabil Elaraby, both from the ICJ, and professor James Crawford, the Rapportuer of the International Law Commission on the Draft Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, observed that the arbitral tribunal made critical errors of law, however, noting that it has limited power to review and overturn the award. The position of the Committee was a direct attack on ICSID system showing as an internal recognition of ICSID itself that the current system of investor-state arbitration is problematic. States are coming to limit the scope of umbrella clauses. For example, the 2004 U.S. Model BIT detailed definition of the type of contracts for which breach of contract claims may be submitted to arbitration, to increase certainty and predictability. Latin American countries, in particular, Argentina, are feeling collectively victims of these pro-investor interpretations of the ICSID tribunals. In fact, BIT between developed and developing countries are negotiated to protect foreign investment from developing countries. This general characteristic of BIT reflects naturally on the provisions making them extremely protective for foreign investors. Naturally, developing countries seek to interpret restrictively BIT provisions, whereas developed countries try to interpret more expansively. As most of cases arising out of alleged violation of BIT are administered in the ICSID, a forum under the auspices of the World Bank, these Latin American countries have been raising the legitimacy deficit of the ICSID. The Argentine cases have been provoking many legal issues of international law, predicting crisis almost coming in actual investor-state arbitration system. Some Latin American countries, such as Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, already showed their dissatisfaction with the ICSID system considering withdrawing from it to minimize the eventual investor-state dispute. Thus the disagreement over umbrella clauses in their interpretation is becoming interpreted as an historical reflection on the continued tension between developing and developed countries on foreign investment. There is an academic and political discussion on the possible return of the Calvo Doctrine in Latin America. The paper will comment on these problems related to the interpretation of umbrella clause. The paper analyses ICSID cases involving principally Latin American countries to identify the critical legal issues arising between developing and developed countries. And the paper discusses alternatives in improving actual investor-State investment arbitration; inter alia, the introduction of an appellate system and treaty interpretation rules.

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The Development of Evaluation Chart for the Applicability of CO2 Flooding in Oil Reservoirs and Its Applications (생산유전의 CO2 공법 적용성 평가를 위한 평가차트 개발 및 응용)

  • Kwon, Sunil;Cho, Hyunjin;Ha, Sehun;Lee, Wonkyu;Yang, Sungoh;Sung, Wonmo
    • Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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    • v.45 no.6
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    • pp.638-647
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    • 2007
  • In this study, we present the evaluation chart for assessing the applicability of $CO_2$ flooding method to oil reservoirs. The evaluation chart consists of four categories as source availability, miscibility, applicability and injecting method of miscible flooding. The applicability of reservoir and oil in the chart has basic items of the properties such as oil gravity, viscosity, oil saturation, reservoir temperature and permeability, and these are quantitatively graded. Meanwhile, for additional items of $CO_2$ purity, reservoir thickness and formation dip, they are graded as "highmediumlow". In the case of evaluating the injection method of either continuous injection or WAG ($CO_2$), the qualitative decision will be made according to formation dip, vertical permeability, reservoir thickness, etc. The recommended score in the chart was assigned by utilizing 51 oil producing fields which $CO_2$ flooding is successfully being applied. The evaluation chart developed in this work has been applied to the Captain oil producing field located in Scotland as well as to the Onado oil field of Venezuela, which Korean oil companies have participated in. For the Captain field, the reservoir quality in terms of permeability and porosity is considered to be very excellent to flow the oil. The oil in captain field contains heavier component of $C_{21+}$ as 54%. Therefore, this heavy oil could be immiscibly displaced, hence the evaluating result with the basis of immiscible criteria shows that $CO_2$ immiscible flooding in this field could be properly applied. In the case of Onado oil producing field, since the estimated minimum miscibility pressure is lower than the reservoir pressure, it was assessed that the Onado field would be efficiently conducted for $CO_2$ miscible flooding.