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Oil&GasTerminology
BarrelThebasicunitformeasuringoil.Abarrelisequalto42U.S.gallons.
BitAdrillingtoolthatcutsthehole.Bitsaredesignedontwobasicanddifferentprinciples.Thecabletoolbit
movesupanddowntopulverize.Therotarybitrevolvestogrind.
BlowOutPreventerAheavycasingheadcontrol,filledwithspecialgatesorrams,whichcanbeclosed
aroundthedrillpipe,orwhichcompletelyclosesthetopofthecasing.
Boyle'sLawAlawofphysicsstatingthatwhengasissubjecttocompressionandkeptataconstant
temperature,theproductofthepressureandvolumeisaconstantquantity,i.e.,thevolumeisinversely
proportionaltothepressure.
BTUBritishThermalUnit,ageneralizedmeasureofheatingvalue,alsousedtocompareenergypotentialin
differenttypesoffuels.
CasingHeavysteelpipeusedtosealofffluidsfromtheholeortokeeptheholefromcavingin.
CasingheadGasGasproducedwithoilinoilwells.Thegasistakenfromthewellthroughthecasingheadat
thetopofthewell.
CatalyticCrackingArefiningprocessforbreakingdownlarge,complexhydrocarbonmoleculesintosmaller
ones.Acatalystisusedtoacceleratethechemicalreactionsinthecrackingprocess.
ChristmasTreeTheassemblyofvalves,pipesandfittingsusedtocontroltheflowofoilandgasfromthe
casinghead.
CondensateLiquidhydrocarbonsrecoveredbysurfaceseparatorsfromnaturalgas.Itisalsoreferredtoas
naturalgasolineanddistillate.
CorrelativeRightsTheoryThetheoryadoptedbythecourtsinseveralstatesthatalllandownerswhosetracts
overlayaproducingformationhavecorrelativerightsintheformation.Thistheoryistermedthe"qualified
ownership"theory.
CrudeOilLiquidpetroleumasitcomesoutoftheground.Crudeoilvariesradicallyinitsproperties,suchas
specificgravityandviscosity.
DerrickAtaperingtower,usuallyofopensteelframework,usedinthedrillingofoilandgaswellsassupport
fortheequipmentloweredintothewell.
DistillateFuelOilsFueloilswhichareproductsofdistillation.Theyincludefuelsusedfordieselfueland
spaceheating.
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DirectionalDrillingThedrillingofawellthatdepartsmateriallyfromtheverticaldirection.
DownstreamThoseactivitiesintheoilandgasindustrywhichtakeplaceawayfromthesourceofthesupply.
Downstreamoperationscommonlyincluderefiningandmarketingendeavors.
DrillingFluidsSpecialchemicalfluids,usuallycalledmud,introducedintotheholetolubricatetheactionof
arotarybit,toremovethecuttingsandtopreventblowouts.
DryGasNaturalgaswhichdoesnotcontaindissolvedliquidhydrocarbons.
DryHoleAcompletedwellwhichisnotproductiveofoiland/orgasorwhichisnotproductiveofoilorgas
inpayingquantities.
EnhancedRecoveryTheincreasedrecoveryfromanoilpoolachievedbyartificialmeansorbythe
applicationofoutsideenergysourcestothepool.
EquivalentBarrelsQuantitiesofnaturalgasandnaturalgasliquidstranslatedintobarrelsofoilbasedon
equalenergycontent.Theenergycontentofsixthousandcubicfeetofgas(6MCF)istheroughequivalentof
onebarrelofoil.
ExplorationThesearchforoilandgas.Explorationoperationsincludeaerialsurveys,geophysicalsurveys,
geologicalstudies,coretestingandthedrillingoftest(wildcat)wells.
FaultTrapAstructuraltrapintheearth,favorablefortheretentionofpetroleum,formedbythecrackingand
breakingofarockplane.
GusherAnoilwellthatcomesinwithsuchgreatpressurethatoilflowsoutofthewellheadintotheair.Such
wellsusedtobecommonplace,butwithimproveddrillingmethods,notablytheuseofdrillingmud,gushersare
araritytoday.
HorizontalDrillingAmethodofdrillingwherethedrillbitisturnedinahorizontaldirectioninaneffortto
producehydrocarbonsfromanumberofareaslocatedatthesameapproximatedepth.
IndependentAcompanyinvolvedonlyintheexplorationandproductionofoilandgasandpossiblyinthe
transportation.Anindependentwillnotbeinvolvedintherefiningofoil.
InjectionwellAwellemployedfortheintroductionintoanundergroundstratumofwaterorgasunder
pressure.Injectionwellsareemployedforthedisposalofproducedwaterfromoilandgaswells.
IntegratedCompanyAcompanyinvolvedinvirtuallyallaspectsoftheoilandgasindustryincluding
exploration,production,transportation,refiningandmarketing.Thesecompaniesarealsoreferredtoasmajor
oilcompanies.
LeaseTheinstrumentbywhichaleaseholderorworkinginterestiscreatedinminerals.
LNGLiquefiednaturalgas.Naturalgasbecomesaliquidatatemperatureofminus258degreesFandmaybe
storedandtransportedintheliquidstate.
MCFThousandCubicFeet.Thestandardunitformeasuringthevolumeofnaturalgas.
NaturalGasHydrocarbons,whichatatmosphericconditionsoftemperaturesandpressure,areinagaseous
phase.
NaturalGasLiquidsHydrocarbonsfoundinnaturalgaswhichmaybeextractedorisolatedasliquefied
petroleumgasandnaturalgasoline.
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OCSTheOuterContinentalShelf.Generallytheareaoutsidetheterritorialboundariesofthecoastalstate
overwhichthefederalgovernmentexercisescontrol.
OilFieldAnareawhichisunderlainbyoneormorereservoirscontainingoil.
OilPoolAnundergroundreservoirortrapcontainingoil.
OverboardWaterAnothernameforproducedwaterorbrineproducedfromoilandgaswells.
PlatformStructureusedinoffshoredrillingonwhichthedrillingrig,crewquartersandotherrelateditemsare
located.
PluggingofWellThesealingoffofthefluidsinthestratumpenetratedbyawellsothatthefluidfromone
stratumwillnotescapeintoanotherortothesurface.
ProbableReservesAnestimateofreservestakingintoconsiderationknowngeology,previousexperience
withsimilartypesofreservoirsandseismicdata,ifavailable.
ProcessingPlantAplanttoremoveliquefiablehydrocarbonsfromwetgasorcasingheadgas.Thisprocess
yieldsthepropanes,butanesandotherproductstakenfromnaturalgas.
ProducedWaterWaterthatcomesupawellwiththeoilandgas.Producedwaterisusuallyhighinsalinity.It
isoftentheforcethatdrivestheoilandgastothesurface.Afterleavingthewell,theproducedwateris
separatedfromtheoilandgas.Alsoreferredtoasoverboardwater,formationwater,saltwaterandoilfield
brine.
ProrationTherestrictionofproductionbyastateregulatorycommission,usuallyonthebasisofmarket
demand.InLouisianatheprorationofnaturalgasisallowedtopreventphysicalandeconomicwasteandto
protectcorrelativerights.
ProvenReservesOilwhichisstillintheground,butwhichhasbeenlocatedanddeterminedtobe
recoverable.
QuadAquadrillionofBTU's.Thisunitofmeasurementisusedinconnectionwithenergyconsumption.A
barrelofcrudeoilcontains5.8millionBTU's.NaturalgascontainsaboutonemillionBTU'sperMCF.
RecompleteTomovetheprimarycompletionfromonezonetoanother.Mayinvolvereperforating,running
othertubularsorsettinganewpacker.
RedrillfootageOccasionally,aholeislostorjunkedandasecondholemaybedrilledfromthesurfacein
closeproximitytothefirst.Footagedrilledforthesecondholeisdefinedas"redrillfootage."Underthese
circumstances,thefirstholeisreportedasadryhole(explanatoryordevelopmental)andthetotalfootageis
reportedasdryholefootage.Thesecondholeisreportedasanoilwell,gaswell,ordryholeaccordingtothe
result.Theredrillfootageisincludedintheappropriateclassificationoftotalfootage,butisnotreportedasa
separateclassification.
RefineryThefacilitywherethecharacteristicsofpetroleumorpetroleumproductsarechanged.
ReservoirAporousandpermeablesedimentaryrockcontainingcommercialquantitiesofoilandgas.Three
typesofreservoirsareencounteredincludingstructuraltraps,stratigraphictrapsandcombinationtraps.
RigThestructuresandequipmentusedindrillinganoilandgaswellincludingthederrick,engine,engine
houseandotherequipment.
RoughneckAdriller'shelperandgeneralworkeronadrillingrig.
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RoustaboutAcommonlaboreraroundadrillingoraproducingwell.
RoyaltyThelandowner'sshareofproduction,beforetheexpensesofproduction.
SeveranceTaxAtaxontheremovalofmineralsfromtheground.Thetaxcanbeleviedeitherasataxon
volumeorataxonvalue.InLouisianaoilistaxedat12.5percentofvalue.Naturalgasistaxedat7centsper
MCFwiththerateadjustedannuallytoreflectthechangesinthespotmarketpriceofgassoldinLouisiana.
ShutInToclosedownaproducingwelltemporarilyforrepairs,cleaningout,buildingupreservoirpressure,
lackofmarket,etc.
SourGasNaturalgascontaminatedwithchemicalimpurities,notablyhydrogensulfideorothersulfur
compounds,whichcauseafoulodor.
SpecificGravityInthecaseofliquids,theratiobetweentheweightofequalvolumesofwaterandanother
substance,measuredatstandardtemperatureandwheretheweightofthewaterisassignedavalueof1.
However,thespecificgravityofoilisnormallyexpressedintheindustryindegreesofAPIgravity.
SpuddingInThefirstboringoftheholeinthedrillingofanoilwell.
StripperProductionThefinalstageofproductioninthelifeofanoilwelloroilfield.Thisstageis
characterizedbylowratesofproduction,sometimesnomorethanabarrelofoilperday.
TensionLegPlatformAtypeofplatformgenerallyusedindeepwaters.Insteadofastationaryplatform
attachedtotheoceanfloor,thesurfaceplatformistetheredtoatempletontheoceanfloorbyflexiblesteel
tendons.
UpstreamActivitiesintheoilandgasindustrywhichtakeplaceclosetothesupply.Thisnormallyincludes
explorationandproductionactivities.
WellAholedrilledintheearthforthepurposeoffindingorproducingcrudeoilornaturalgasorproviding
servicesrelatedtotheproductionofcrudeoilornaturalgas.
WellheadAtermusuallydefinedasbeingattheChristmasTreebut,whichunderexceptionalcircumstances,
maybedefinedaslocatedatsomeotherplace.
WellheadRevenuesThetotaldollarvalueofcrudeoilandnaturalgasatthewellhead.Wellheadrevenuesare
calculated,basedontheproductionvolumesofcrudeoilandnaturalgas,multipliedbytheirrespectiveaverage
wellheadprice.
WetGasNaturalgascontainingliquidhydrocarbonsinsolution,whichmayberemovedbyareductionof
temperatureandpressureorbyarelativelysimpleextractionprocess.
WildcatWellAnexploratorywellbeingdrilledinunproventerritory,thatis,inahorizonfromwhichthereis
noproductioninthegeneralarea.
WorkOversOperationsonaproducingwelltorestoreorincreaseproduction.Atypicalworkoveriscleaning
outawellthathassandedup.
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