Oilfield Glossary of Terms The complexities of the oil and gas industry can make keeping up with all the terms and definitions related to drilling difficult. To simplify things, we’ve compiled a glossary of the most important terms related to drilling and to the oil and gas industry. A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W A Abandon: To pause or stop drilling operations or production from a well. Reasons for abandoning are if a well is a dry hole or if it's not producing enough to be kept active. Absentee Bid: This process allows a bidder to participate in an auction without being present. An absentee bidder will usually submit their offer before the auction and they need to follow the guidelines set in place by the auctioneer. Absolute Auction: Also known as an auction without reserve, absolute auctions don't have any limiting conditions or amounts. The property under auction will be sold to the highest qualified bidder. Abstract of Title: The historical ownership records for a property. These records include surface rights and mineral rights among other details. Accredited Investor: When a person or institution is considered capable of understanding and affording the financial risks of unregistered securities, they are known as an accredited investor. The federal securities laws have more specific guidelines for who qualifies as an accredited investor in Rule 501 of Regulation D: 1. The institution is a bank, insurance company, registered investment company, business development company, or small business investment company. 2. An accredited investor can be an employee benefit plan if a qualified individual or organization (as identified above) makes the decision or the plan has assets over $5 million. 3. The institution is a charitable organization, corporation, or other partnership with assets over $5 million. 4. The person is an executive or partner of the company selling the unregistered securities. 5. The institution has equity owners that are accredited investors. 6. The individual has a personal, or joint net worth of over $1 million. 7. The individual has had a personal income of at least $200,000 for the past two years, or a joint income of at least $300,000. The income expectation for the next year must also be the same. 8. A trust with over $5 million in assets managed by a person capable of understanding the risks of unregistered securities is qualified. The trust's original intent must not have been to purchase the securities offered. Adsorption: A surface-based process where a substance's atoms, ions, or molecules adhere to the adsorbent. Adsorption Oil: Also known as wash oil, this light liquid hydrocarbon is used in wet gas streams to absorb or remove heavier liquid hydrocarbons. Acidizing: To increase the flow of oil or gas in drilling, hydrochloric acid can be pumped into the well. The acid works to break down limestone, reducing the restrictions the oil or gas was previously facing to increase flow. AESC Association of Energy Service Companies: This association provides training materials and represents the interests of energy service employees within the oil and gas industry. Alkaline Flooding: Also known as caustic flooding, the alkaline flooding process involves injecting alkaline chemicals during polymer flooding or waterflooding. Sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, or other alkaline chemicals react with specific types of oils, and this reaction results in surfactants. These surfactants then increase oil production by reducing interfacial tension between oil and water. Alkaline flooding shouldn't be used in carbonate reservoirs. Aluminum Stearate: A salt mixture of aluminum hydroxide and stearic acid typically mixed with oil. The resulting solution is sprayed on foamy water mud to release gas bubbles from the mud. Aniline Point Test: A test of oil mud to determine if the aniline point temperature (aninline point) of the oil will damage elastomers (rubber compounds). The aniline point corresponds to the amount and type of hydrocarbons found in an oil sample, so a low aniline point indicates higher aromatics, and vice versa. Annular Velocity: Speed of drilling fluid or cement movement in a well column (typically measured in feet/minute or meters/minute) Annulus: An area between two concentric objects where fluid can flow. An example is the space between the wellbore and casing or the space between casing and tubing. Anticlines: Anticlines are folds in the earth's surface where at least 80% of the world's oil and gas has be found. An anticline has strata that slope downward on both sides and usually has surface formations like hills, knobs, and ridges. API American Petroleum Institute: This oil and gas industry trade organization publishes standards and best practices related to the industry. API - Monogram: The logo of the American Petroleum Institute (API) is added to equipment that meets their minimum standards. API also provides industry-related publications about recommended practices and standards. Aromatic Content Test: A quantitative test for measuring aromatic content of base oils used in oil mud. Artificial Lift: Used to describe any method for retrieving oil from a well and bringing it to the surface after the well ceases to produce. Asphaltic Mud Additive: Solid or high-viscosity hydrocarbons found in natural deposits or in petroleum refining residue that are used as additives of oil- and water-based muds (drilling fluids). "As Is": Also known as "As Is, Where Is" and "In Its Present Condition", "As Is" states there are no guarantees about the condition or usage of the property. The buyer is responsible for determining its condition and use cases. Assignee: The person who a property's interests, like a working interest, royalty, or net profits interest, are assigned to. Assignor: The person who expresses interest in a particular assignment. Associated Gas: Natural gas that's created with crude oil from the same resevoir. Auction With Reserve: The opposite of an absolute auction, auctions with reserves have minimum buying prices that may not be disclosed to the bidders. The seller also has the ability to deny a bid for any reason. Authorization for Expenditure: Abbreviated as an AFE, this is a proposal given to each stakeholder that estimates the cost of drilling and completing a proposed well. The proposal will contain dry hole costs, completion costs, and the total cost. Dry hole costs are the spend needed to drill to the casing point, while completion costs are the funds needed to complete the well. B Back In: Typically used to describe the payout to investors for their initial well investment, a back in is a type of interest in a well or property that becomes effective at a future time or after a future event. Baffle: The part of a separation vessel used to temporarily slow the flow of fluids; needed when attempting to separate oil and water. Bail: A steel bar that supports the swivel and connects it to the hook; resembles the handle of a bucket.  Bailer: A cylindrical container with a valve used in cable-tool drilling; used to remove oil, water, sand, and mud from a well. Barrel of Oil Equivalent (BOE): The amount of oil barrels produced from a site each day. Base Oil: Simply put, base oil is the continuous phase in oil-based drilling fluids (water-in-oil emulsions where water is in the dispersed phase and oil is in the continuous phase). BBL: BBL is simply the abbreviation for barrel. For context, a barrel of oil is 42 US gallons. Bit: A steel bar that supports the swivel and connects it to the hook. Resembles the handle of a bucket. Bitumen: An extremely viscous form of crude oil that contains sulfur and other metals; to be produced, bitumen must be heated or combined with lighter hydrocarbons. Blind Pool: An oil and gas limited partnership that has not committed to a single lease or property yet. Blowout: Occurs when down-hole pressure gas is not properly balanced with the weight of the drilling mud; the uncontrolled flow of gas, oil, or other fluids. Bore: As a noun, a bore is the inside diameter of a pipe or drilled hole. As a verb, bore means to penetrate a surface with a rotary tool. Borehole: Also known as the wellbore, a borehole typically refers to the openhole or uncased portion that is created in well drilling. Bottomhole: As the name suggests, the bottomhole is the deepest part (the bottom) of the well. Broker Participation: In this situation, brokers will register potential bidders for properties being sold at an auction. The brokers are paid through commission by the property owner or auction firm. BTU: An acronym for British Thermal Unit, BTU is a measurement to describe the amount of heat generated from burning oil or gas. Burner Valve: There are two instances where burner valves are used. The first is in a dehy unit or line heater where it maintains a constant temperature in the process bath by controlling the flow of gas to the fire tube. The second is on a heater treater where constant temperatures are maintained in the vessel by the burner valve. C Cable: A rope, wire or braid of strong fibers. Cased Hole: A well that has the casing already inserted. The opposite of a cased hole is an open hole. Casing: A steel pipe that's placed in an oil or gas well after drilling is completed to prevent the well hole from caving in. Casing also prevents fluids from moving from one formation (like groundwater) to another and helps in well control. Casing Tongs: A large wrench used for turning casing tubulurs when making up or breaking out casing. Cavitation: Describes the continous pumping of mud from surface-level mud tanks, down the drill pipe, out the drill bit nozzles, and through the gap between the drill pipe and the borehole to the surface. This movement carries rock cuttings via the shale shaker to the mud system. Check Stub: The stub attached to a check that includes relevant … [Read more...]