British foreign policy and the Ruhr Occupation crisis 1922-1924.
This thesis provides a comprehensive examination of British policy during the Ruhr occupation crisis of 1922-1924. It addresses central questions raised in the historiography of the 1920s, shedding light both on Britain's policy and that of other powers, particularly France. Based on a thorough examination of the British archives, analysis also focuses on the process of policy-formation, revealing the significance for this of administrative and personal relationships and of domestic political constraints. The thesis begins with an analysis of Britain's role at the onset of the crisis. It evaluates the influence on Britain's policy both of the international situation and of internal factors after the collapse of the Lloyd George coalition. Britain's ambiguous position of benevolent neutrality from January to April 1923 is then analysed and its inadequacy demonstrated by revealing the contradictions involved when implementing it on the spot in the Rhineland and Ruhr. The thesis explores the search for alternatives during the summer of 1923, when policy-makers tentatively tried to encourage negotiations, but in fact simply compounded Britain's difficulties. Discussion then moves to events in the autumn of 1923. Once German passive resistance ceased the European situation became more fluid. Britain was at last able to pursue an effective policy. She distanced herself from events on the spot and played an important role both in establishing international enquiries to investigate reparations, and in ensuring that the experts' reports (particularly those of the Dawes Committee) were adopted at the London Conference in 1924. This thesis explores Britain's attitude to reparations and to broader questions of post-war European reconstruction and stability, revealing the dilemmas caused by Britain's underlying strategic and economic weakness after the war. It highlights the difficulties Britain encountered when dealing with her European neighbours and provides a valuable insight into the complexity of British foreign policy during this brief but crucial period.
Great Britain and the Ruhr Crisis, 1923–1924
When French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr in January 1923, ostensibly as a result of Germany falling behind schedule in the reparation deliveries of timber and telegraph poles, “something as far reaching in its effects as the declaration of war in 1914 or the conclusion of the armistice in 1918” had occurred. The often acrimonious Anglo-French debate over the interpretation of the Treaty of Versailles and the role of Germany in post-war Europe had reached a decisive stage. The British government, by not participating in the occupation, at last acted on its belief that an economic restoration of Germany was of paramount importance to the revival of the European and indeed world economies, while France grimly persisted in implementing the Treaty of Versailles by securing the Ruhr as a productive pledge. The ultimate French failure to enforce her will on Germany marked the end of French hegemony in Europe and the reemergence of Germany as a great power and a “central support” of the European economic system.
Prevention of Barite Sag in Oil-Based Drilling Fluids Using a Mixture of Barite and Ilmenite as Weighting Material
Drilling high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) wells requires a special fluid formulation that is capable of controlling the high pressure and is stable under the high downhole temperature. Barite-weighted fluids are common for such purpose because of the good properties of barite, its low cost, and its availability. However, solids settlement is a major problem encountered with this type of fluids, especially at elevated downhole temperatures. This phenomenon is known as barite sag, and it is encountered in vertical and directional wells under static or dynamic conditions leading to serious well control issues. This study aims to evaluate the use of barite-ilmenite mixture as a weighting agent to prevent solids sag in oil-based muds at elevated temperatures. Sag test was conducted under static conditions (vertical and inclined) at 350 °F and under dynamic conditions at 120 °F to determine the optimum ilmenite concentration. Afterward, a complete evaluation of the drilling fluid was performed by monitoring density, electrical stability, rheological and viscoelastic properties, and filtration performance to study the impact of adding ilmenite on drilling fluid performance. The results of this study showed that adding ilmenite reduces sag tendency, and only 40 wt.% ilmenite (from the total weighting material) was adequate to eliminate barite sag under both static and dynamic conditions with a sag factor of around 0.51. Adding ilmenite enhanced the rheological and viscoelastic properties and the suspension of solid particles in the drilling fluid, which confirmed sag test results. Adding ilmenite slightly increased the density of the drilling fluid, with a slight decrease in the electrical stability within the acceptable range of field applications. Moreover, a minor improvement in the filtration performance of the drilling fluid and filter cake sealing properties was observed with the combined weighting agent. The findings of this study provide a practical solution to the barite sag issue in oil-based fluids using a combination of barite and ilmenite powder as a weighting agent to drill HPHT oil and gas wells safely and efficiently with such type of fluids.