| Associated gas - natural
gas produced with crude oil from the same reservoir
Barrel - a unit of measure for oil and petroleum products
that is equivalent to 42 U.S. gallons.
Blowout - the uncontrolled flow of gas, oil or other
fluids from a well
Blowout preventer - the equipment installed at the
wellhead to control pressures in the annular space between
the casing and drill pipe or tubing during drilling,
completion, and workover operations. See also Christmas
tree.
Brine - see produced water.
British thermal unit (BTU) - a measure of the heating
value of a fuel
Casing - metal pipe inserted into a well bore and cemented
in place to protect both subsurface formations (such
as ground water) and the wellbore. A surface casing
is set first to protect groundwater. The production
casing is the last one set. The production tubing (through
which hydrocarbons flow to the surface) will be suspended
inside the production casing.
Christmas tree - the assembly of valves, pipes, and
fittings used to control the flow of oil and gas from
a well.
Coiled tubing - a long, small diameter pipe flexible
enough to be stored on and deployed from a large, truck-mounted
roll. Used to replace jointed pipe in certain types
of drilling, completion, and workover operations.
Compressor - an engine used to increase the pressure
of natural gas so that it will flow more easily through
a pipeline
Development well - a well drilled within the proved
area of an oil or gas reservoir to the depth of a stratigraphic
horizon known to be productive; a well drilled in a
proven field for the purpose of completing the desired
spacing pattern of production.
Downhole - a term used to describe tools, equipment,
and instruments used in the wellbore, or conditions
or techniques applying to the wellbore.
Downstream - when referring to the oil and gas industry,
this term indicates the refining and marketing sectors
of the industry. More generically, the term can be used
to refer to any step further along in the process.
Drill cuttings - the small pieces of rock created as
a drill bit moves through underground formations while
drilling.
Dry gas - the volume of gas remaining after all water
and natural gas liquids have been removed.
Dry hole - any exploratory or development well that
does not find commercial quantities of hydrocarbons.
E&P - Exploration and production. The "upstream"
sector of the oil and gas industry.
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) - refers to a variety of
processes to increase the amount of oil removed from
a reservoir, typically by injecting a liquid (e.g.,
water, surfactant) or gas (e.g., nitrogen, carbon dioxide).
Exploratory well - a hole drilled: a) to find and produce
oil or gas in an area previously considered unproductive
area; b) to find a new reservoir in a known field, i.e.,
one previously producing oil and gas from another reservoir,
or c) to extend the limit of a known oil or gas reservoir.
Field - An area consisting of a single reservoir or
multiple reservoirs all grouped on, or related to, the
same individual geological structural feature or stratigraphic
condition. The field name refers to the surface area,
although it may refer to both the surface and the underground
productive formations.
Formation damage - the reduction in permeability in
reservoir rock due to the infiltration of drilling or
treating fluids into the area adjacent to the wellbore.
Fracturing - the application of hydraulic pressure
to the reservoir formation to create fractures through
which oil or gas may move to the wellbore.
Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) - the conversion of natural gas
to a liquid form so that it can be transported easily.
Typically, the liquid is converted back to natural gas
prior to consumption.
Gravity - a standard adopted by the American Petroleum
Institute for measuring the density of a liquid. Gravity
is expressed in degrees with lower numbers indicating
heavier liquids and higher numbers indicating lighter
liquids.
Integrated - when applied to an oil company, it indicates
a firm that operates in both the upstream and downstream
sectors (from exploration through refining and marketing)
Lease - a legal document conveying the right to drill
for oil and gas, or the tract of land on which a lease
has been obtained where the producing wells and production
equipment are located.
Lifting costs - the cost of producing oil from a well
or lease.
Log - to conduct a survey inside a borehole to gather
information about the subsurface formations; the results
of such a survey. Logs typically consist of several
curves on a long grid that describe properties within
the wellbore or surrounding formations that can be interpreted
to provide information about the location of oil, gas,
and water. Also called well logs, borehole logs, wireline
logs.
Meter - See http://www.flowmeterdirectory.com/meter.html
Midstream - a term sometimes used to refer to those
industry activities that fall between exploration and
production (upstream) and refining and marketing (downstream).
The term is most often applied to pipeline transportation
of crude oil and natural gas.
Natural gas liquids (NGL) - the portions of gas from
a reservoir that are liquified at the surface in separators,
field facilities, or gas processing plants. NGL from
gas processing plants is also called liquified petroleum
gas (LPG).
Non-associated gas - natural gas produced from a reservoir
that does not contain significant quantities of crude
oil.
OCS - Outer Continental Shelf, a term used primarily
in the U.S. for the offshore areas under federal jurisdiction.
P&A (plugged and abandoned) - a depleted well or
dry hole that has been (typically) filled with cement
and marked, with all surface equipment removed.
Permeability - a measure of the ability of a rock to
transmit fluid through pore spaces.
Porosity - a ratio between the volume of the pore space
in reservoir rock and the total bulk volume of the rock.
The pore space determines the amount of space available
for storage of fluids.
Produced water - the water extracted from the subsurface
with oil and gas. It may include water from the reservoir,
water that has been injected into the formation, and
any chemicals added during the production/treatment
process. Produced water is also called "brine" (and
may contain high mineral or salt content) or "formation
water." Some produced water is quite fresh and may be
used for livestock watering or irrigation (where allowed
by law).
Royalty - a percentage interest in the value of production
from a lease that is retained and paid to the mineral
rights owner.
Separation - the process of separating liquid and gas
hydrocarbons and water. This is typically accomplished
in a pressure vessel at the surface, but newer technologies
allow separation to occur in the wellbore under certain
conditions.
Shut in - to close valves on a well so that it stops
production, or a well on which the valves have been
closed.
Sour crude oil - oil containing free sulfur or other
sulfur compounds whose total sulfur content is in excess
of 1 percent.
Sour gas - natural gas containing hydrogen sulfide.
Spacing - the distance between wells producing from
the same reservoir. Spacing is often expressed in terms
of acres, e.g., 40-acre spacing, and is often established
by regulatory agencies.
Stimulation - the term used for several processes to
enlarge old channels, or create new ones, in the producing
formation of a well designed to enhance production.
Examples include acidizing and fracturing.
Underbalanced drilling - drilling under conditions
where the pressure being exerted inside the wellbore
(from the drilling fluids) is less than the pressure
of the oil or gas in the formation.
Underground injection - the placement of gases or fluids
into an underground reservoir through a wellbore. May
be used as part of enhanced oil recovery or waterflooding
processes or for disposal of produced water.
Upstream - the exploration and production portions
of the oil and gas industry.
Waterflooding - the injection of water into an oil
reservoir to "push" additional oil out of the reservoir
rock and into the wellbores of producing wells.
Wellhead - the equipment at the surface of a well used
to control the pressure; the point at which the hydrocarbons
and water exit the ground
Well servicing - maintenance work performed on an oil
or gas well to improve or maintain the production.
Wet gas - natural gas containing significant amounts
of liquifiable hydrocarbons.
Wildcat well - a well drilled in an area where no current
oil or gas production exists. Also called a "rank wildcat."
Workover - operations on a producing well to restore
or increase production. A workover may be performed
to stimulate the well, remove sand or wax from the wellbore,
to mechanically repair the well, or for other reasons.
WTI - West Texas Intermediate, a type of crude oil
commonly used as a price benchmark.
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