With extraction out of depleted wells more important than ever, this new and developing technology is literally changing drilling engineering for future generations. Never before published in book form, these cutting-edge technologies and the processes that surround them are explained in easy-tounderstand language, complete with worked examples, problems and solutions. This volume is invaluable as a textbook for both the engineering student and the veteran engineer who needs to keep up with changing technology.

The present crude oil and natural gas reservoirs around the world have depleted conventional production levels. To continue enhancing productivity for the remaining mature reservoirs, drilling decision-makers could no longer rely on traditional balanced or overbalanced methods of drilling. Derived from conventional air drilling, underbalanced drilling is increasingly necessary to meet today s energy and drilling needs. While more costly and extreme, underbalanced drilling can minimize pressure within the formation, increase drilling rate of penetration, reduce formation damage and lost circulation, making mature reservoirs once again viable and more productive. To further explain this essential drilling procedure, Bill Rehm, an experienced legend in drilling along with his co-editors, has compiled a handbook perfect for the drilling supervisor.

"Underbalanced Drilling: Limits and Extremes," written under the auspices of the IADC Technical Publications Committee, contain many great features and contributions including: Real case studies shared by major service companies to give the reader guidelines on what might happen in actual operationsQuestions and answers at the end of the chapters for upcoming engineers to test their knowledgeCommon procedures, typical and special equipment involved, and most importantly, the limits and challenges that still surround this technology"

Have you ever dreamed of owning a mountain hideaway without any neighbors and traffic to disturb you? Have you ever thought you could live in almost total silence outside except for the occasional tweeting of a bird's call or the sound of a jet engine? Have you seen the brilliant sun set over a rugged mountain terrain casting a colorful spectacle in the sky rivaling any Georgia O'Keefe painting? Author James Hughes does; "Living in Custer County" is the story of his new life in his mountain home. Hughes, now a retired university professor, spent many years of his life travelling to exotic locations with USAID to work on educational projects. From Pakistan to Kenya, he experienced many cultures and was fortunate to work in many different environments. Through all of his rich experiences, he knew that he wanted to spend his retirement years in a quieter place. That place is Custer County, Colorado. His new challenge became one of adjusting to a rural mountain town, in the USA. In "Living in Custer County, " he has included charming vignettes that introduce you to his friends and the places that make Custer County his senior citizen dividend.

Have you ever dreamed of owning a mountain hideaway without any neighbors and traffic to disturb you? Have you ever thought you could live in almost total silence outside except for the occasional tweeting of a bird's call or the sound of a jet engine? Have you seen the brilliant sun set over a rugged mountain terrain casting a colorful spectacle in the sky rivaling any Georgia O'Keefe painting? Author James Hughes does; "Living in Custer County" is the story of his new life in his mountain home. Hughes, now a retired university professor, spent many years of his life travelling to exotic locations with USAID to work on educational projects. From Pakistan to Kenya, he experienced many cultures and was fortunate to work in many different environments. Through all of his rich experiences, he knew that he wanted to spend his retirement years in a quieter place. That place is Custer County, Colorado. His new challenge became one of adjusting to a rural mountain town, in the USA. In "Living in Custer County, " he has included charming vignettes that introduce you to his friends and the places that make Custer County his senior citizen dividend.

Stranded in the Everglades. That's what happens to Professor Brenda Johnson when adversaries from the Middle East decide to stop her research into seawater desalination. In his second novel, Hughes keeps you on the edge of your seat with student infiltrators from Saudi Arabia; a U.S. Senate manchurian candidate from Cuba; and subplots jumping from the White House to Guantanamo. The action is fast paced. The time is today.

To turn lead into gold. For centuries men have tried, but Professor Henry David Conan finally succeeds in his secret laboratory at the edge of the Florida Everglades.When the gold he has created is detected in the marketplace, all hell breaks loose. Goldmaker intertwines fast action, violence, and romance in a page-turner made timely by today's surging value of gold. This is Hughes' third novel. Previous books, The Baja Project and The Cuban Affair, were designated finalists in the Indie Book Awards. In his newest work, Hughes again combines historical facts with current affairs and international intrigue. Here, Israel, Cuba, and United States officials go to extraordinary lengths to find the new goldmaker and control his work. They all realize that the health of the world economy is threatened by the possibility of unlimited gold. The action is fast-paced. The time is toda

Jim Hughes has had 85 years to reflect with unique perspective on the adventures of his life. These autobiographical sketches start with childhood: his parents' gold-seeking misadventures, his time in a Preventorium for pretubercular boys. After being sunk twice in Merchant Marine ships trying to avoid the WWII draft (Devout Coward), getting blacklisted by the school district and working with LA gang members, he winds up part of a Berkeley fellowship aimed at scientifically exploring LSD. With ribald humor and candor, Jim's stories will provoke thought, laughter, and possibly even offense.

Leading political scientists address the challenges faced by democracy in the 21st century. The contributors tackle the changing nature of democratic ideas, in particular equality in society and the satisfaction of citizens. They examine changing patterns of political involvement, from voting to new forms of participation and protest using the Internet and new technologies. Finally, they look at the challenge to democracy posed by the changing nature of state institutions: party systems, bureaucracy and e-government, regulation and the processes of institutional development.