General context. In accordance with Regulation (EC) n° 714/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity, this Intraday Capacity Access Rules set out the terms and conditions agreed between ELES and APG acting as transmission system operators in their control areas, for the allocation and usage of the Available Intraday Capacity in both directions on the Austria-Slovenia Interconnection. This Intraday Capacity Access Rules govern the allocation and usage of Available Intraday Capacities beginning with July 5th 2011. The operation of the Intraday Procedure described in this Intraday Capacity Access Rules is in accordance with the current rules of transmission system security and does not affect the volume and usage of the capacity already allocated in yearly, monthly and daily auctions.
General context. In accordance with Regulation (EC) n° 1228/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which is dated 26th of June 2003 and concerns the conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity, this Auction Rules set out the terms and conditions governing the Allocation via Auctions of Available Interconnection Capacity in both directions on the Austria-Slovenia Interconnection.
General context. The expertise, development and motivation of its workforce are essential for the AXA Group in its quest to become a global industry benchmark. Because it is striving to help all employees develop their full potential, AXA intends to establish a strong corporate culture and a set of ethics both of which spring naturally from its values – professionalism, innovation, pragmatism, team spirit and integrity. The Group also intends to maintain constructive labour-management relations in every country in which it does business, and to do so with due respect for different national approaches to social dialogue. AXA has detailed its pledges to employees in a document entitled “AXA’s commitments”, which has been circulated throughout the workforce. Through these pledges it endeavours to xxxxxx a working environment in which AXA employees are treated with respect and in compliance with local regulations, as well as with codes and standards that apply outside purely national borders (among them the UN Declaration of Human Rights and ILO standards). These commitments apply to the AXA Group as a whole and it is up to each business unit to implement them in accordance with local customs and regulations. The principles reflect AXA’s determination to become “an employer of choice”.
General context. In accordance with Regulation (EC) n° 714/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council which concerns the conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in elec- tricity, this Auction Rules set out the terms and conditions governing the Allocation via Auctions and Intraday Allocation of Available Interconnection Capacity in both directions on the Slovenia- Croatia Interconnection. Present Auction Rules, henceforth stipulate the provisions concerning the Yearly, Monthly,Daily Auctions and procedures related to Intraday Allocation, beginning with 1January 2012 till 31December 2012, in the direction from Slovenia to Croatia and from Croatia to Slovenia.
General context. Over the last 20 years, Cambodia has attained impressive economic growth. With an average GDP growth of 7 per cent, Cambodia has been among the fastest growing economies in Asia. These economic changes have brought significant economic benefits to the Cambodian nation and people, increasing national revenues and providing employment opportunities for many Cambodians. Moving forward, Cambodia now faces a new set of developmental challenges, which relate to sustaining its economic growth in a manner that fully integrates Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among them, a range of environmental challenges are becoming increasingly important, including:
General context. Is globalisation associated with efficiency and welfare gains, not least due to the ‘disciplining’ effects of intensified competition?
General context. The company AptarGroup SAS is a subsidiary of AptarGroup, Inc. (“AptarGroup”).
General context. Shale gas attracts large attention and creates strong divisions. In North America it triggered an economical renaissance. In countries such as China and Argentina, where enormous shale gas potentials could help achieve energy independence, the industry is pouring large investments. In Europe, the debate quickly escalates and the landscape is fragmented. France, e.g., banned shale gas, Poland would like to produce it but technical problems are in the way, the UK is experimenting with it and the public is divided. When the ShaleXenvironmenT project was announced, one UCL colleague found molasses on his office door, and we were unceremoniously invited to ‘stop doing public relations for big oil’. Why is the debate so fierce? Although modern society seeks alternatives to oil and gas, the path is not clear. The February issue of The Chemical Engineer reported that ‘France’s parliament has passed a law banning the production of oil and gas in the country’s territories from 2040’; that ‘Xxxxx proposes opening most US waters to drilling’; and that ‘Shell will redevelop the Penguins oil and gas field’, in the North Sea. Shale gas could provide energy for the years to come, but it is a fossil fuel and as such it is not renewable. Producing shale gas has inherent risks, which include, but are not limited to induced seismicity, increased heavy-duty surface traffic, chemicals and hydrocarbons spills, use of large amounts of fresh water, methane migration in the sub-surface and groundwater water contamination. Drilling the xxxxx is complex; hydrocarbons are flammable and explosive. Most oil and gas operations face similar risks, and in some tragic circumstances fatalities have occurred in the sector. Engineers should continue to design preventive, mitigating and remediation procedures to contain such risks. The highest standards of safety must be implemented in any industrial operation, including the production of shale gas. Yet, the risks exist. But let us step back, and consider whether shale gas could be an opportunity for a technological renaissance. Below, some possible future developments in fundamental and applied research and in education are briefly proposed. Do we need shale gas in the fist place? The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that oil and gas demand, worldwide, will continue to rise at least for 20 more years. While the society pursues the development of renewable energy sources, one notices that shale formations are ubiquitous. The IEA esti...
General context. The productivity of a well drilled in unconventional hydrocarbon formations like shale gas plays often declines strongly after few years operation time. The reduction is likely caused by chemical and stress – induced fracture healing of natural and artificially generated cracks, in particular due to proppant embedment into the adjacent host rock. Here, we focus on mechanical effects on fracture healing that depend on physical boundary conditions (differential stress (𝜎), pressure (p), temperature (T)) and on mineral composition of a specific shale. Deliverable D3.4 reports the results of deformations experiments, which were performed to investigate the influence of these parameters on the mechanical behavior of shale rocks. The results form the basis for subsequent fracture permeability measurements.
General context. The recent developments of upstream sector technology has rendered possible the extraction of oil and gas from unconventional sources. The term “unconventional sources” refers to natural formations of low permeability that hold substantial quantities of oil and/or gas. Hydraulic fracturing and extended horizontal drilling are two such new technologies developed over the past couple of decades, that allow industry to access oil/and gas that was otherwise inaccessible. Shale gas is one of the most promising unconventional sources of energy. It is natural gas, which is found in shale formations, an unconventional energy source. Currently it is only being commercially exploited by a handful of countries, with USA being the major producer. Although shale gas is advantageous over other fossil fuels such as coal, there are a number of issues associated with both its environmental impact. During the hydraulic fracturing technique, fracturing fluid – which is essentially a water solution – is injected to the shale formation in order to fracture it. This is necessary in order to access the gas of the practically impermeable source rock. This process has been related to increased seismic activity in regions neighboring the shale gas extraction sites. The subject of other investigations has been the possibility of contamination of potable water with CH4. Lastly and more importantly, there is great concern about the possible migration of radioactive materials that are naturally trapped in the shale, the so-called NORMs. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation technique has been proven extremely useful in acquiring quantitative and qualitative (i.e. physical properties) information about phenomena happening in length and time scales inaccessible to experimental techniques. The phenomena occurring at the atomistic scale may have a determining effect on the macroscopically observed behavior of the systems of interest. In the context of shale gas technology, MD simulations can provide substantial information of the relevant fluid systems at subsurface conditions that can be used to optimize the extraction process with reduced environmental hazard. A prime example of use of MD in this context is the study of the transport properties of fracturing fluid in the shale rock, which can provide essential information that will allow the assessment of possible risks associated with the migration of unrecovered fracturing fluid and NORMs from the shale rock to nearby regions (that are no...
