Answer: Rules of "Extra" error report preparation
From time to time the program will indicate this or that error. To optimize error correction by our software developing team the error must be described in accordance with a number of rules.
All error reports should contain the following information:
1. A name, a date of the latest update and a version of a module where an error occurred (E.g., Eklektika module, version 1.0.2 of December 2003).
2. Circumstances under which an error occurred (E.g, when editing the hydraulic data of the OGPD-2 (Oil and Gas Production Department) or right after installing the latest update).
3. Screenshots (press Alt-PrintScreen to copy to a clipboard) of a correspondent window before and after the error occured (in *.tiff or *.bmp format, rar- or zip-archived).
4. A detailed textual description of how this error may be reproduced (E.g., open the "Extra" program, select "Analysis-Filters-Structure" in the main menu, press the "open object" button on the right of the data table, a window with an indication "the object is not found" appears ).
5. If the error is "floating", point out how often it occurs.
6. If the error is not followed by an error message yielded by the program, but is a logic error or a mismatch, please indicate additionally how you think the program should behave in this particular case (E.g., the filtration table data is not sorted out, though it should have been sorted in the order of inputting by user in the main window).
7. If the error does not apply to all data (for example, not to all shops, but to only one of them), please send us a dump at which we can reproduce this error.
8. Please also indicate an expected time of debugging (E.g., we can wait a week, or we can wait a day, or it should be debugged immediately because the work is stopped).
9. If an error requires an immediate debugging, please add as more details as possible in the description and send to us along with an empty dump of a current version of the program (if you send us a complete dump, there's no need in the empty one then).
10. Dumps should be made by an Oracle 8.1.7 client regardless of the version of your server. The fact is that we do not have servers of other versions and we won't be able to restore dumps of newer versions.

 Answer: Send us the text of messages for the last calculation: select it with �trl-A, copy to a clipboard with �trl-� and paste to Word with �trl-V. Before that please check for any messages concerning cluster 44. Also check if any calculations were completed successfully.

 Answer: Try to calculate once again if there is no calculation in the Calculation form - there is a possibility that you or somebody else have deleted your calculation results (if you login under your own user name and not under one user name for all users, other users will not be able to delete your results). There is also an opportunity that no pipe part has been calculated - it is possible when a RPM feature in an oil-gathering shop is "=Yes" in the general calculation data.
General recommendations: it is recommended to read the user's manual for the instructions on how to do the calculation, what fields are required and what is a RPM feature in the General shop data. Your RPM for the oil-gathering shop was set to "=Yes". In this case it is impossible to calculate an oil-gathering shop.

 Answer: It should be correct, but you have to check with the passport - if such a pipeline exists as an independent unit and consists of one object, then it's ok.

 Answer: Select object "cluster 44 - tie-in point 11" with a cursor in the main window, press a blue arrowed button on the right of the list of objects, second from the top - a "move" prompt will appear. A list of pipelines will open up. Start typing "cluster 44" in the "filter" window - pipelines with such substring will be filtered out. Select a required one, press OK. Do the same with object "tie-in point 11 - tie-in point 13".

 Answer: That's right, deletion leads to an irreparable loss of information. It is hardly avoidable. You can set the program to make dumps automatically, say, once a day. You can address this question to the program administrator.

 Answer: It can in case you provide us with such procedures or suggest where we can find them.

 Answer: There is. Please see the interface manual for a description of the process.

 Answer: The rheology is specified by the viscosity of pure oil, water and gas and the program calculates their mixtures. We are planning to expand the program with a possibility of inputting dependences of viscosity from water concentration (for example, research data) for an object or a shop and to use these dependences when necessary (optionally) instead of using empirical values defined in the program. It is not a very difficult task. Chemical composition of water is taken into account in the calculation of a corrosion prediction.

 Answer: We have detected an error on our part that occurs when calculating rings, if a ring does not have any adjacent parts with sources of liquid (as it happened in the example with a pipe part "well #4r - point 200" sent to us. We have developed a handler for such situations. If problem situations with calculation of rings occur please consider the following information. The program interrupts calculation when expenses are rearranged during an additional re-calculation of rings (originally, the data is divided equally between all objects outgoing from one node - tie-in point). If a defined discrepancy in general data is intentionally set to a bigger value (for example, 100 atm.), the program will skip the additional calculation of rings.

 Answer: The common system is used: pressure in atm., density in kg/m3, viscosity in mPa/s. Well, mostly all of them, excluding pressure in SI.

 Answer: The calculations are done for each pipe part taking into consideration temperature variations by the Shukhov's formula. Density, viscosity and gas content are re-calculated.

 Answer: When calculating single-phase flows complicated formulas used for three-phase flows are converted into typical ones. Individual calculations for water and gas can be introduced - calculation procedures for them are not too complicated compared to multiphase ones.

 Answer: No.

 Answer: No.

 Answer: Most likely, there are no restrictions on water cut. In the course of elaboration of this procedure a very wide range of water cut was tested (from 0 to 100).

 Answer: A value of a gas-oil ratio is specified in the initial data of each liquid source. If it is not given in the source, then it is set equal to a "shop's gross gas-oil ratio". We didn't check the accuracy of calculations for different ranges.
For the oils with a high gas-oil ratio we will introduce in the program the 2nd Kornilov's procedure for such cases. Examination of hydraulic calculations for gas-oil ratio around 800 (Krasnodarneftegaz) showed high precision of the Kornilov's procedure. In the range of typical gas-oil ratios between 50 and 150 we give preference to the Medvedev's procedure as it gives more precise results.

 Answer: This possibility has been embodied since the April 2004 version of the program.

 Answer: A table. Any table can be exported to Excel.

 Answer: Any table can be exported to Excel and from Excel you can convert it to any format.

 Answer: The program only gives the results. Never saw recommendations based on which it would be possible to do it for the entire system, not for one object only.

 Answer: The program shows the current state of a calculation. It is possible to switch a pipeline to a different mode by changing diameters. The table shows critical speeds of switching from one mode to another.

 Answer: This is embodied as a calculation of a pipe diameter screening based on strength characteristics of the material used and a pressure rating. Strength calculation formulas are from GD 39-132-94. Besides, strength calculation is a feature of the "Extra-Calc" engineering calculator built in every window of the "Extra" program.

 Answer: Diameters are not calculated - losses are calculated. Since it is a system of pipelines which is being calculated, combinations of diameters can vary. Such calculation can be done for one object, but I'm not sure if it can be done for a system, and if there is any point in it. It could be done if there were well-grounded recommendations of taking any parameter as a basis (for example, specific losses <0.5 atm/km or velocity 0.8:1.0 m/sec), but I haven't seen any so far.

 Answer: All calculations are taken from GD. It's another matter that most of them are not valid anymore. Anyway, there are no other calculations. The Kornilov's procedure (one of the hydraulic procedures) is used in GD 39-3-1034-84 "Guiding manual for designing and maintenance of single-pipe gathering systems". There is a reference to it in GD 39-132-94 as to one of the oilfield pipeline calculation procedures.

 Answer: Usually it takes one day (one lecture and practice) to grasp the basics.

 Answer: PechorNIPIneft bought "Extra 4.4" from us. Sibneft is about to switch its design institute to "Extra".

 Answer: Sure. User instructions are available on open access at this website.

 Answer: We met these wishes and added "object indexes" for calculation to our program structure. But we strongly recommend not to use them. If we give up on the rule "not to designate identical points with different names" it will cause the following inconveniences:
1. When looking up a diagram one node will have two (or more) footnotes with its names, which will cause cluttering the diagram. Errors in name interpretation can arise if a point has two names. Having a look at the diagram, one user will say that the accident took place at object "tie-in point, cluster 2 - tie-in point, cluster 1", while another user will designate this object as "tie-in point, cluster 2 - oil-gathering pipeline tie-in point, cluster 40".
2. A lot of errors will arise when forming a diagram because pipe parts with the same coordinates have different names and it will be almost impossible to determine which of the errors are actually caused by an incorrect input (e.g. "point1" and "point 1"), and which are intentional.
3. Names (not indexes) will be outputted in the results of hydraulic calculation. Therefore it will cause inconvenience for those who are not familiar with a network structure while analyzing calculations of flow directions, as identical denominations of points in object names do not mean that it is the same point. And, vice versa, the same point does not necessarily have the same name.
4. It is necessary to maintain an additional system of denomination of the same points, supplementary to a general one. Why do double work when it is better to confine to one name as it was initially provided in "Extra" and hasn't invited any questions up till now.

 Answer: Indeed, but it is related to a multivariety of situations:
Geometrical dimensions for an object route are inputted at three locations in the program: In "Profile", "Materials" and "Accidents" tables. In the "Profile" table geometrical dimensions are inputted for the hydraulic calculation. In the general case they can disagree with the real dimensions as they are particularly but not exclusively intended for check-up calculations aimed at the selection of diameters. In the "Materials" table the real current dimensions are inputted for certification. They are also used when forming "Sorting" menu tables. In the "Accidents" table accident location data collected at the time of accident are inputted. These data, in their turn, can disagree with the materials inputted in the table due to an incorrect representation of information or an input error. But for calculating the corrosion rate only the real pipe wall thickness is important. Maybe it happens rarely, but it happens anyway, and that's why automatism is unreasonable here. In all such cases there is a possibility of transferring the data from the "Materials" table by using the "=" button.
The table for materials in the Pipeline coincides with the table for materials in the object, as it is the same table. It is possible to see and edit through the Pipeline the summary table for Materials for all Pipeline objects.

 Answer: It can happen if pressure values are not inputted for objects of a "Booster pump station : - :" type. In this case the program takes them from the General shop data (not specified). You will have to send us a screenshot of an Object-Hydraulics form of any booster pump station where the Pressure data are inputted; a screenshot of a Shop data from an Analysis-Calculation form; an Excel table of Calculation settings (right mouse button - export to Excel).

 Answer: It does, but for the entire object - as a sum of coefficients at the object. We will add such an option for separate pipe parts later.

 Answer: Based on a calculated "shop". There is an option of selecting either all or one of the shop's pipelines.

 Answer: Try removing a default gas-oil ratio from the general calculation data for this shop. The density value will most likely come to a showing you are talking about.

 Answer: It has been done already. This feature will become available with the next update by the end of the year.

 Answer: The calculation in the program is direct. Therefore, if a pressure insufficient for pumping of the piping system is specified on liquid and pressure sources, the program accepts it as equal to the "average pressure" from the "Shop data" in order not to interrupt calculation in case of negative initial pressure (IP) at some pipe part, and finds pressure losses (PL) at an object. Final pressure (FP) at an object is accepted as equal to FP=IP-PL. It is done in order not to interrupt the calculation of an object tree. Then, a reverse calculation should be done after specifying "final pressure is set" for the terminal objects. Eventually, we get pressures at liquid sources required by a calculation for pumping of this system (with pipeline geometrical parameters specified).
The Kornilov's and the Medvedev's procedures are different, and you have to choose the one that is in your case closer to the real data. Both of them are semiempirical. We prefer the Medvedev's procedure as it provides more precise results in the general case. The last version of the program (you must have installed it already) also contains the Kornilov's calculation procedure for liquid-gas mixtures with high gas content (a corresponding box is ticked off and the margins of gas content for this calculation are set).

 Answer: Download the "Extra" administrator's instruction from www.monicor.ru, section "Add-ons for installation of an Oracle 8i server on a PC with a Pentium-4 processor". Standard installation version will not install on a computer with a Pentium-4 processor and some Celeron models. A serial of steps is the following:
1) Download and install JRE1.2 from http://java.sun.com/products/ jdk/1.2/jre/download-windows.html
2) Find a symcjit.dll file.
3) Copy all info from an "Oracle" installation CD to your hard drive. You will need about 3 Gb of drive space because there are a lot of files and a fragmentation will be done.
4) Replace the file d:\OraServ816\stage\Components\oracle.swd.jre\1.1.7.xx\1\DataFiles\Expanded\jre\win32\bin\symcjit.dll with a new one.
5) Add to the path (control panel - system - variables - PATH) the value of C:\ProgramFiles\JavaSoft\JRE\1.2\bin\classic, or to the path to which JRE was installed.
6) Launch an Oracle installer from your hard drive.

 Answer: It doesn't contain program documentation and help files anymore.

 Answer: It will be updated, if you place a shortcut on the desktop instead of the client itself.

 Answer: On the contrary, it is case-sensitive, and we take it into account. In order to register a user with a username u10401 you have to execute 'create user "u10401"'. If you execute it the following way: 'create user u10401', then user U10401 will be created instead of u10401.

 Answer: According to GD 39-132-94 this form is not included in the list of required for Passport. Data on pipe leaks can be obtained in alternative forms: Non-Classified Failure Report, Accident-Caused Failure Report (Addendum 17 to GD 39-132-94), Non-Classified Failure Log (Addendum 16 to GD 39-132-94), from a process flowsheet and elsewhere.

 Answer: We are planning to add this feature. Solutions for now: 1. The program calculates all possible objects assembled in one "Shop" - the time loss seems insignificant, comparing the time spent on calculation of an individual object and an entire shop; 2. Using object "cloning and copying" you can create a special "shop" for test calculations where you can calculate separate objects.

 Answer: Variants:
a) Export the data from the existing GIS - were about to finish exporting from MAPinfo for Nyagan;
b) Input the coordinates manually (not convenient);
c) beginning from April 2004 lines and other map layers can be inputted directly from "Extra".

 Answer: Division is by shops because it is an administrative division and the program is aimed at administrative accounting of pipelines as well. For hydraulic calculations there are forms for inputting information which is common for all pipes of a deposit. Calculation results for deposits can be outputted separately. Also, it is possible to create Summary tables for one or several deposits using filter settings, and to query several filter tables. Filter options can be broadened.

 Answer: It is a division by zero. You'll have to send us the results, messages, check if the data is inputted in the "Shop data". Must be this, but needs checking.

 Answer: Variants:
a) Wait until the surveyors input the data, then export and divide by objects - export of vector layers from mif-files is available since April;
b) input manually after drawing a diagram and specifying the coordinates;
c) since April 2004 start inputting the data by yourself to GIS-Extra. However, it would be more convenient if the surveyors have already inputted the topographic base in MAPinfo - there will be no trouble with transferring it to "Extra".

 Answer: We have taken note of your request and will implement it. However, in the general case the data is different and it is impossible to do one "Responsible personnel" table for one shop. For the time being, if there is too much information, ask your DB administrators to try doing it by means of Oracle. The following should be mentioned: what data and to what shop it should be inputted in the "Responsible personnel" table.

 Answer: Not important.

 Answer: We've developed the "Extra" program introduction regulations - apparently it has not reached you yet. I will discuss this question with the curators and send it to you by email. Approval procedure is recommended before editing a dictionary (having taken into consideration the importance of the problem and the uniqueness of the vocabulary for creation of a corporative DB we've created a module for DB unification into a corporative one).
General provisions:
1) Only 7 dictionaries out of 64 can be non-corporative.
2) If a necessity of replenishing a corporative dictionary arises at some enterprise, the proponent of this replenishment has to undergo a certain procedure in order to get approval of specialists and to introduce it absolutely identically into all dictionaries of subsidiary enterprises:
- The proponent addresses a head of a senior department, which is in charge of pipeline maintenance (PMD), by email with a request to add to a dictionary (name of the dictionary) an additional meaning (new for this dictionary) in view of the fact that such meaning is missing in the list of reference meanings;
- The head of the PMD, which is the proponent of amendments, makes changes and informs the heads of all PMD of subsidiary enterprises about the amendments, indicating the name of the dictionary and the additional meaning (new reference meaning);
- The PMD heads of subsidiary enterprises must introduce alterations in the "Extra" database dictionaries. The alterations must be absolutely identical.

 Answer: Enter this dimension-type for this material and its cost in the Economy settings.

 Answer: Cost of disassembling has not been inputted.

 Answer: I double checked it - I can see different materials. Only those materials are not displayed, for which the program couldn't do the calculation, because their data was missing in the settings.

 Answer: It is, but we recommend to use version 8.1.7 (8i) because, firstly, we have replication for Oracle-8i; secondly, you'll need at least one 8i client to make dumps (empty, for preparation of a patch for re-conversion) for updates. We can't restore dumps for Oracle-9 because we all work with version 8.1.7; thirdly, the program is tested on Oracle 8i.

 Answer: For three-phase flows the accuracy of 30 per cent is considered acceptable under the stipulation that the initial data was inputted correctly.

 Answer: Through Filters with inquiries; then export the received tables to Excel where it is possible to calculate all data. There are also security reports (also through Filters). E.g.: "Accidents at a linear pipeline portion by months", "Inventory information by shop", "Pipeline length by diameters", "State of process pipelines", "Pipeline network structure", "Technical state of pipeline system".

 Answer: Seemingly, cluster numbers (Group Metering Station), which the wells belong to, are not entered in OIS and that's why they are all linked up to one pipeline "wells - cluster 0". Try entering several values. What concerns naming as "GMS-XXX" instead of "cluster-XXX" when "Enterprise=1 - we will check it and correct.
Variants of export when "Enterprise=0 and 1" should be different. In case of (0) all well discharge lines working for one cluster (GMS) should go to one pipeline. In case of Orenburgneft each discharge line should go to a separate correspondent pipeline.

 Answer: The user can input the object status directly through "object-common-status change", (and to transfer this status to Route - Materials - it is ticked by default), without entering Route - Materials.

 Answer: Objects with uninputted statuses are equated with active ones during calculation, and a query should be done in the Filter to select active pipes (wherever status is not inputted, it is an active pipe); the query should contain two conditions: object - status "=" "active", object - status "empty" (i.e. not specified).