Oil & Gas Glossary : Back
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Choose
from the following oil and gas and related investment terms for
their definition.
A 3-D siesmic - A relatively
new exploration technique used in the search for oil and gas
underground structures. The basic premise behind seismic is the
same as ultra sound technology used in the medical field. Sound
from a shot hole is recorded from geophones and interpreted to
give a picture of the underlying structures within the earth.
3-D has now become a common practice to redefine and identify
known as well as unknown structures. Many times these structures
contain traps that hold oil and gas yet to be discovered. ^ top... 4-D
Seismic - The newest advances in seismic technology which
now takes into consideration a 4th dimension; which is time.
With 4-D seismic geologists are now able to monitor the movement
and the mobility of oil as it is extracted in the production
process. ^ top... Abstract
of title - A chronological history of the ownership
of a tract of land. ^ top... Acidizing
a well - Increasing the flow of oil from a well by
pumping hydrochloric acid into the well under high pressure.
This reopens and enlarges the pores in the oil-bearing limestone
formation. ^ top... Acre - The most common of land measure in the United States.
A square 210 feet on a side (44,100 sq. ft) would be a bit larger
than an acre (43,560 sq. ft). There are 640 acres in a square
mile. ^ top... Acre-foot - In the U.S., the thickness of a pay zone is measured
in feet, and the area of the reservoir is measured in acres.
An acre-foot is a volume of reservoir rock that is one acre in
area and one foot thick. ^ top... AFE
(Authorization For Expenditure) - An estimate of the costs
of drilling and completing a proposed well, which the operator
provides to each working interest owner before the well is commenced. ^ top... Annular
space - The space between a well's casing and the wall
of the borehole. ^ top... Annulus
of a well - The space between the surface casing and
the inner, producing well-bore casing. ^ top... Anticline - A geological term describing a fold in the earth's
surface with strata sloping downward on both sides from a common
crest. Anticlines frequently have surface manifestations like
hills, knobs, and ridges. At least 80 percent of the world's
oil and gas has been found in anticlines. ^ top... API - American Petroleum Institute, a petroleum industry association
that sets standards for oil field equipment and operations. ^ top... API
gravity - The gravity (weight per unit of volume) of crude
oil expressed in degrees according to an American Petroleum Institute
recommended system. The higher the API gravity, the higher the
crude. High-gravity crudes are generally considered more valuable. ^ top... Aquifer - An underground water reservoir contained between layers
of rock, sand or gravel. ^ top... Arab
oil embargo of 1973-74 - During the Arab-Israeli conflict
in October 1973, Arab oil producers cut off shipments to the
Unites States and the Netherlands in retaliation for their support
of Israel. At the same time, they cut down production. The shortage
was felt by all oil-importing nations, with world prices moving
sharply higher. Price and allocation controls suppressed some
of this increase in the United States, but gasoline lines were
still prevalent. ^ top... Asphalt - A solid hydrocarbon which may be deposited within
the reservoir rock, in well equipment, or in surface lines and
tanks. ^ top... Associate
gas - The gas that occurs with oil either as free
gas or in solution. When occurring alone, it is referred to as
unassociated gas. ^ top...
B Back-in - A type of interest
in a well or property that becomes effective at a specified
time in the future, or on the occurrence of a specified future
event. ^ top... Barrel
Standard - Unit of measurement in the petroleum industry.
One barrel of oil equals 42 U.S. gallons. ^ top... Basement
rock - Igneous or metamorphic rock lying below sedimentary
formations in the earth's crust. Basement rock does not contain
petroleum deposits. ^ top... Basin - A depression in the earth's crust in which sedimentary
materials have accumulated. Such a basin may contain oil or gas
fields. ^ top... BCF
(billion cubic feet) - The cubic foot is a standard unit
of measure for gas at atmospheric pressure. ^ top... Behind
pipe - If a well drills through several pay zones and
is completed in the deepest productive reservoir, casing is set
all the way down to the producing zone. Viewed from (a perspective)
inside the borehole, reserves in the shallower pay zones up the
hole are behind the casing. ^ top... Biomass - Any organic material, such as wood, plants, and organic
wastes, that can be turned into fuel. ^ top... Bleeding
core - A core sample of rock so highly permeable and
saturated that oil drips from it. ^ top... Blind
pool - Refers to an oil and gas limited partnership which
has not committed to specific prospects, leases, or properties
at the time of capital formation. ^ top... Blowout - A sudden escape of oil or gas from a well, caused
by uncontrolled high pressure. It usually occurs during drilling. ^ top... Blowout
insurance - An insurance policy that protects the insured
party (working interest owner) from liabilities which might arise
from a blowout during the drilling, completion, or production
of a well. ^ top... Blue
Sky Law - State regulations governing an offering to sell
securities within the state. ^ top... Bonus
Money - paid to a landowner or other holder of mineral
rights by the lessee for the execution of an oil and gas lease
in addition to any rental or royalty obligations specified in
the lease. ^ top... BOP
(blowout preventer) - An assembly of heavy-duty valves attached
to the top of a well casing to control pressure. ^ top... Bottom-hole
pressure - The pressure of the reservoir or formation
at the bottom of the hole. A decline in pressure indicates some
depletion of the reservoir. ^ top... Bottom-hole
pump - A compact, high-volume pump located in the
bottom of a well, not operated by sucker rods or a surface power
unit. ^ top... Bridle -
The cable link between the "horsehead" and
the pump rod on a pumping
unit. ^ top... BS&W - (basic sediment and water) Material pumped up with oil and
gas which
must be separated out. ^ top... Btu
(British thermal unit) - A standard measure of heat content
in a fuel. One Btu equals the amount of energy required to raise
the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at
or near 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit. ^ top... Butane - A hydrocarbon associated with petroleum. It is gaseous
at ordinary atmospheric conditions. ^ top...
C Cable drilling - A method
of well-drilling that employs a reciprocating, rather than
a rotary, motion to penetrate rock. In the nineteenth century,
until Drake's time, power was supplied by men. Drake used a
steam-powered cable rig. Today, cable rigs are powered by gasoline
or diesel engines. ^ top... CAOF (calculated absolute open flow) - A figure representing
a gas well's theoretical producing capability per day. ^ top... Capital
Funds - Monies invested in a business for use in conducting
the operations of the business. ^ top... Capital
asset - An asset acquired as an investment, for the
purpose of creating a product or service intended to be used
in the activities or operations of a business. ^ top... Capital
costs (Oil & Gas
Tax Usage) - For Federal
income tax purposes, the costs of capital expenditures which
may be
recovered by deduction against
income (through depreciation
and depletion). ^ top... Capital
expenditure - An expenditure intended to benefit the
future activities of a business, usually by adding to the assets
of a business, or by improving an existing asset. ^ top... Capitalize - To treat certain expenditures as capital expenditures
for Federal income tax computations. ^ top...
Carried
Interest - A fractional working interest in an oil and
gas lease that comes about through an arrangement between co-owners
of a working interest. ^ top... Casing
Pipe - used in oil wells to reinforce the borehole. Sometimes several
casings
are used, one inside the
other. The outer casing, called the "surface pipe,' shuts
out water and serves as a foundation for subsequent
drilling. ^ top... Casinghead - The portion of the casing that protrudes above
the surface and to which control valves and flow pipes are attached. ^ top... Casinghead
gas - Natural gas produced from an oil well, as opposed
to gas produced from a gas well. ^ top... Casinghead
gasoline - Highly volatile, water-white liquid hydrocarbons
separated from casinghead gas. ^ top... Cavings
Rock - Fagments that break off from the walls of a borehole
and fall into the borehole during drilling operations. ^ top... Cement - Fluid cement is mixed at the surface, pumped to the
bottom of a cased well, forced to flow around the lower end of
the casing and up into the space between the casing and the borehole.
When the cement solidifies (sets), it holds the casing in place,
and provides support. ^ top... Cement
squeeze - Forcing cement into the perforations, large
cracks, and fissures in the wall of a borehole to seal them off. ^ top... Choke - An orifice installed in a pipeline at the well surface
to control the rate of flow. ^ top... Christmas
tree - An assembly of valves, gauges, and chokes mounted
on a well casinghead to control production and the flow of oil
to the pipelines. ^ top... Circulate - To pump drilling fluid into the borehole through
the drillpipe and back up the annulus. ^ top... Clean
oil - Crude oil containing less than 1 percent sediment and water; "pipeline oil",
oil clean enough to send through
a pipeline. ^ top... CO2
injection - A secondary recovery technique in which carbon
dioxide (CO2) is injected into wells as part of a miscible recovery
program. ^ top... Coal
gasification - The chemical conversion of coal to synthetic
gaseous fuel. ^ top... Coal
liquefaction - The chemical conversion of coal to synthetic
liquid fuel. ^ top... Cogeneration - The combined production of electrical or mechanical
energy and usable heat energy. ^ top... Commissions - Payments to qualified agents of the sponsor of
a limited partnership, for selling interests in it to investors.
Commissions may take the form of a percent of partnership interests
sold, an oil and gas interest, or stock in the sponsor's company. ^ top... Common
carrier - A person or company in the business of transporting
the public or goods for a fee. In the industry, a person or company
engaged in the movement of petroleum products, like a public
utility. ^ top... Completed
well - A well made ready to produce oil or natural
gas. Completion involves cleaning out the well, running steel
casing and tubing into the hole, adding permanent surface control
equipment, and perforating the casing so oil or gas can flow
into the well and be brought to the surface. ^ top... Condensate - Liquid hydrocarbons separated from natural gas,
usually by cooling. ^ top... Confirmation
well - A well drilled to "prove" the
formation encountered by
an exploratory well. ^ top... Connate
water - The water present in a petroleum reservoir in
the same zone occupied by oil and gas considered by some to be
the residue of the primal sea, connate water occurs as a film
of water around each grain of sand in granular reservoir rock
and is held in place by capillary attraction. ^ top... Conventional
energy sources - Oil, gas, coal, and sometimes
nuclear energy, in contrast to alternative energy sources such
a solar, hydroelectric and geothermal power, synfuels, and biomass. ^ top... Conveyance - Legal term for transferring the title of a property
from one party to another, typically by deed. ^ top...
Core -
Samples of subsurface
rocks taken as a well is being drilled. The core allows
geologists to examine the strata
in
proper sequence and thickness. ^ top... Cracking - The process of breaking down the larger, heavier
and more complex hydrocarbon molecules into simpler and lighter
molecules, thus increasing the gasoline yield from crude oil.
Cracking is done by application of heat and pressure, and in
modern time the use of a catalytic agent. ^ top... Crude
oil - Liquid petroleum as it comes out of the ground.
Crude oils range from very light (high in gasoline) to very heavy
(high in residual oils). Sour crude is high in sulfur content.
Sweet crude is low in sulfur and therefore often more valuable. ^ top... Crude
oil equivalent - A measure of energy content that converts
units of different kinds of energy into the energy equivalent
of barrels of oil. ^ top... Cuttings - Chips and small rock fragments brought to the surface
by the flow of drilling mud as it is circulated and examined
by geologists for oil content. ^ top... |
