Background: Humanitarian health care organizations and health workers working in contexts of armed or violent conflict experience challenges in fulfilling ethical obligations and humanitarian principles. To better understand the types of challenges experienced in these contexts, we conducted a systematic literature review. Methods: A broad search strategy was developed for English language publications available in PubMed, Ovid/ EMBASE, and Scopus. The search relied upon three key concept blocks: conflict settings, humanitarian or relief organizations, and non-clinical or non-military ethics. To be included, publications had to (1) refer implicitly or explicitly to ethics and/or humanitarian principle(s), (2) relate to non-military relief work in active conflict or conflictaffected settings, (3) relate to organizational mission and/or delivery of services, and (4) relate to events after 1900. Records were qualitatively analyzed using an emergent thematic analysis approach that mapped challenges onto recognized ethical obligations and humanitarian principles. Results: A total of 66 out of a possible 2077 retrieved records met inclusion criteria. The most frequently noted ethical challenges for organizations working in conflict settings were (1) providing the highest attainable quality of care, (2) protecting workers, and (3) minimizing unintended harms. The humanitarian principle most frequently noted as challenging to uphold was neutrality (the duty that humanitarian actors must not take sides in a conflict). Ethical challenges and humanitarian principles were commonly co-coded. For example, the challenge of providing the highest attainable quality of care frequently intersected with the humanitarian principle of humanity. Conclusions: By categorizing the types of ethical challenges experienced by humanitarian care organizations, this review can help organizations anticipate issues that might arise in conflict settings. The identified relationships between ethical challenges and humanitarian principles suggests that frameworks and guidance for ethical decision-making, if adapted for conflict settings, could support organizational capacity to fulfill ethical and humanitarian commitments.

Active conflict settings constitute challenging operating environments for humanitarian health organisations and workers. An emerging feature of some conflicts is direct violence against health workers, facilities, and patients. Since the start of the war in 2011, Syria has endured extreme and deliberate violent attacks on health facilities and workers. This paper reports on the findings from a qualitative study that examined the lived experiences of Syrian humanitarian health workers facing extreme ethical challenges and coping with moral distress. In-depth interviews were carried out with 58 front-line health workers in north-western and southern Syria. Participants described a number of ethical and operational challenges experienced while providing services in extreme conditions, as well as strategies used to deal with them. The complex intersection of personal and organisational challenges is considered and findings are linked to key ethical and humanitarian principles. Both practical recommendations and action steps are provided to guide humanitarian health organisations.

This study addresses the chemical and toxicological questions due to the wide use of chemical treatment programmes for industrial cooling water. First, natural problems encountered in cooling tower systems were presented and grouped into three categories: (i) scaling; (ii) corrosion and (iii) biofouling. Chemical solutions adopted in industrial plants were outlined for each one in order to minimize damage and categorized as shut-down, production loss, heat transfer reduction, upsets, etc. Above all, the purpose of the work was to identify the most dangerous chemicals normally used, which means sources of chemical risk for safety workers and their environment; thus, symptoms of exposure, prevention measures and protection tools are also described.

Summary Dubai Petroleum Co. (DPC) performed two in-situ offshore separator retrofit projects during 1989-91. Significant cost savings were achieved over the alternatives of separator replacement, addition, or modification onshore. The retrofits were accomplished without production loss or compromised operating safety. DPC's experience demonstrates that in-situ offshore facility modifications can be done successfully and simultaneously with normal operations. Improved performance after the retrofits strongly supports the need for properly designed internals to realize the full potential of a separator. Although the two retrofits share a common objective, they differ significantly in design, planning, and execution. First, a three-phase separator critical for uninterrupted production was modified during a 6-day scheduled fieldwide shutdown using only "cold work." This was followed by the conversion of a two-phase, double-barrel separator to three-phase service without a field shutdown. The work took place during 6 months with the use of "hot work." The success of both field modifications was attributed to innovative engineering and careful planning. Introduction Production is gathered from 67 platforms offshore Dubai, through a network of subsea multiphase pipelines to the central facilities at Fateh and S.W. Fateh (Fig. 1). Gas is separated and compressed for gas lift and pipeline export. Water is removed, processed, and disposed overboard. Separated oil from the S.W. Fateh central facilities is pumped to Fateh for further stabilization, dehydration, storage, and tanker offtake in three "khazzans." Khazzans are large, openbottom, underwater storage containers that resemble inverted champagne glasses. The oil floats on top of the water within the khazzans and displaces seawater out the bottom as more oil is introduced. During the 6 or more hours that the oil resides in the khazzans, its basic sediment and water (BS&W) is reduced to less than 0.5% for tanker sale. Before 1987, all production separators in the system operated in the two-phase mode. They removed the gas from the produced fluid before it was sent to the khazzans. Oil and water separation took place entirely in the khazzans. This method of water separation and disposal was abandoned for three-phase separation when water production increased to levels that exceeded the capacity of the khazzans.

Over the past fifteen years, the oil industry has developed the use of curved conductors in the Gulf of Mexico as an effective means of increasing horizontal displacement when drilling from offshore platforms. This paper reviews the results of utilizing curved conductors on several platforms. A discussion of the concept is presented as a preview, followed by drift angle performance of actual field results compared to design expectations. Case histories from four Main Pass area platforms are described where curved conductors were successfully used. Bearing performance is illustrated on a per platform basis before and after driving by rig operations. Conclusions are based on a comparison of directional programs for both curved and vertical conductors to the same target. INTRODUCTION As oil companies have expanded their search for oil and gas farther offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, they have encountered increasing difficulty in economically removing hydrocarbons for use. One common problem which first surfaced nearly two decades ago was the drilling for shallow sands in the range of 3000 ft. to 6000 ft. from a platform in water depths to 450 ft. With conventional methods, the horizontal displacement of drilling operations imposed certain limits on the area covered by a single platform, prompting the creation of curved conductors in order to increase horizontal displacement of wells and reduce the number of platforms required to develop these shallow prospects. A curved conductor initiates the well angle deviation in the jacket typically above sea level instead of 200 ft. below the end of a driven conductor as is normally encountered with vertical conductors. A curved conductor allows a directional well to achieve a greater horizontal displacement when the well angle of deviation is built to its maximum. Angles greater than 55° have been found to cause mechanical problems for completion and workover operations because friction resistance exceeds the weight factor of tools, thereby making well work difficult. A curved conductor also allows a directional well to reach a target at a smaller average angle than would be encountered by a vertical conductor. Figure 1 illustrates a comparison of wells drilled through both type conductors and built to 55° average angle. As shown by Figure 1, horizontal displacement is significantly greater with a curved conductor. Also illustrated is a comparison of a straight versus curved conductor to the same target requiring a smaller average angle by using the curved conductor. DESIGN EXPECTATIONS Two variables are important to the successful use of curved conductors in a directional program. They are the bearing and rate of build angle. The ideal design expectations assume that the conductor's bearing and rate of build angle remain the same before and after driving. However, there is limited control over the drift angle and bearing during driving.