physics

Hassi Messaoud

Hassi Messaoud is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hassi Messaoud rather than just read about it. In short: Hassi Messaoud (Arabic: حاسي مسعود) is a town in Ouargla Province, eastern Algeria, located 85 kilometres (53 mi) southeast of Ouargla. As of 2008 it had a population of 45,147 people, up from 40,360 in 1998, and an annual population growth rate of 1.1%, the lowest in the province.

Key takeaways

Hassi Messaoud belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hassi Messaoud to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hassi Messaoud from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hassi Messaoud (Arabic: حاسي مسعود) is a town in Ouargla Province, eastern Algeria, located 85 kilometres (53 mi) southeast of Ouargla. As of 2008 it had a population of 45,147 people, up from 40,360 in 1998, and an annual population growth rate of 1.1%, the lowest in the province. Oil was discovered there in 1956 and the town's prominence has grown rapidly since then; it is considered as the First Energy town in Algeria where all the big oil and gas companies have offices and bases. It is an oil refinery town named after the first oil well. A water well, dug in 1917, can be found on the airport side of town. Today there are over 800 wells within a 25 kilometres (16 mi) radius of the town.

History

The Name Hassi Messaoud means "the well of Messaoud" in Arabic, named after Messaoud Rouabeh, a well-digger in the region. Before the discovery of oil in the region, Hassi Messaoud was not very populated. After discovering oil in the region in the 1950s the French built two petroleum bases. After the nationalization of oil and gas in the early 70s, the bases became property of Sonatrach (the national oil and gas company). In 1984, and after a new administrative zoning, Hassi Messaoud became a municipality (a local district) with a local assembly. After that date people started populating the town independently. Sonatrach has imported ready-built houses, approximately 2000 units. Now Hassi Messaoud is a town with more than 60,000 inhabitants (non official source), without counting those living in the oil and gas company bases. The town contains several bases for the oil and gas companies, where Algerian and foreign people are working and living. As of 2008, Hassi Messaoud has an oil field with estimated reserves of 8 billion barrels, and the Hassi R ̓Mel gasfield has estimated reserves of 50 trillion cubic feet of gas and 2 billion barrels of crude oil.

Attacks against women

In 2010 Amnesty International reported that mob attacks against single women accused of being prostitutes were taking place in Hassi Messaoud. According to Amnesty International there are reports that "some women have been sexually abused" and were targeted "not just because they are women, but because they are living alone and are economically independent."

Climate Hassi Messaoud has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) with long, extremely hot summers and short, warm winters and little rainfall throughout the year. Average high temperatures are consistently over 40 °C (104 °F) during 4 months (June, July, August and September) to reach a maximum of over 45 °C (113 °F) in July but temperatures have been known to sometimes soar to 50 °C (122 °F) or even above. Temperatures in January range from 4.6 °C (40.3 °F) at night to 18.6 °C (65.5 °F). The annual average high temperature is 32.2 °C (90.0 °F) and the average low temperature is 18.1 °C (64.6 °F). Average annual rainfall is about 44 millimetres (1.7 in). The absolute highest temperature ever recorded is 54.2 °C (129.6 °F) (although dubious) but the absolute lowest temperature ever recorded is −2.2 °C (28.0 °F). Sand storms are common before summer time (from March to June), lasting from 6 hours to 4 days. These storms vary in their intensity but in general they prevent any outdoors activity and driving becomes very hazardous.

Transportation The town has a coach and taxi station which serves all major cities in the country. It is served by the Oued Irara Airport, located 8.5 km southeast of the city centre. It features domestic scheduled passenger service. Hassi Messaoud lies on the N3 national highway between Touggourt and Biskra to the north and Illizi and Djanet to the south. To the north of the town, the N49 branches off the N3 to the west, connecting to Ouargla.

Localities The commune is composed of seven localities:

Geology The Hassi Messaoud oil field is a Cambrian sandstone reservoir 270 m thick in a dome 3300 m deep and 1300 km2 in area of the Oued Mya structural basin. The top of the dome is marked by an unconformity at the base of the Triassic, Mesozoic sediments consisting of salt, anhydrite, shale, limestone, dolomite and marl, all overlain by Mio-Pliocene sandstone. A refraction seismic survey showed the structure and the Md No. 1 well discovered oil in 1956.

References

External links hassimessaoud.info - a website for oil industry operators in Hassi Messaoud

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hassi Messaoud

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hassi Messaoud claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hassi Messaoud before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hassi Messaoud ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hassi Messaoud

In research: Hassi Messaoud appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hassi Messaoud in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hassi Messaoud is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Communes of Ouargla Province, Energy in Algeria, Natural gas fields in Algeria, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hassi Messaoud outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hassi Messaoud in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hassi Messaoud means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hassi Messaoud out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hassi Messaoud in simple terms?

Why does Hassi Messaoud matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hassi Messaoud?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hassi Messaoud.