Barrel – the American standard unit of measurement for oil. One barrel is 35 imperial gallons or 159 litres.

Bitumen – an extremely heavy semi-solid product of oil refining made up of heavy hydrocarbons. It is used for road-building and roofing.

Catalyst – a substance which alters the rate of a chemical reaction without being used up itself in the reaction.

Cracking – the process of breaking down larger molecules of hydrocarbons into smaller ones. When this is done by heating the oil it is known as ‘thermal cracking’. If a catalyst is used it is known as ‘catalytic cracking’.

Crude oil – oil which has not undergone any refining. Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons with small quantities of other chemicals such as sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen.

Cubic metre – one cubic metre is equal to 1000 litres.

Diesel – a light oil fuel used in diesel engines.

Distillates – the products obtained by condensation during the fractional distillation process.

Drill bit – a drilling tool coated with diamonds which cuts through rock.

Field – an area in which an oil and/or gas well or a group of wells is found.

Feedstock – a raw material for the manufacturing process.

Fossil fuel – the organic remains of plants, animals and bacteria which decayed and over millions of years formed crude oil, natural gas and coal.

Fractional distillation – a separation process which uses the difference in boiling points of liquids.

Fuel oil – a heavy distillate oil used for power stations, industry and ships boilers.

Gas oil – a medium distillate oil, used to produce diesel fuel and to burn in central heating systems.

Gasoline – the term used in the oil industry to refer to petrol.

Hydrocarbon – a compound containing hydrogen and carbon only. Hydrocarbons may exist as solids, liquids or gases (coal, crude oil and natural gas).

Kerosene – a medium-light oil used for lighting, heating and aircraft fuel.

Methane – the main component of natural gas. It also occurs in coal beds and is produced by animals and by the decay of vegetable matter. This is the smallest hydrocarbon molecule, with only one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms.

Metric tonne – one metric tonne is equal to 1000 kilogrammes.

Multinational company (MNC) – a company with operations and investments in many countries around the world. Also known as transnational corporations (TNCs).

Naptha – very light fractions of oil, used to produce petrol and as raw material for the petrochemical industry (e.g. to make plastics).

Natural gas – naturally occurring gases found either alone or together with oil in underground reservoirs. The main component is methane.

Octane rating – a measure of the performance of gasoline. A high octane rating gives efficient ignition.

Petrochemicals – chemicals made from crude oil.

Petrol – the light fuel used in cars and motor bikes.

Platform – a fixed structure resting on the sea bed from which wells are drilled.

Proven reserves – reserves which are technically and economically feasible.

Probable reserves – undeveloped oil and gas reserves from tested formations, but for which there is a lack of information.

Possible reserves – oil and gas reserves which have a chance of being developed.

Refinery – a plant where the components of crude oil are separated and converted into useful products.

Reserve – amount of crude oil or natural gas expected to be recovered from a reservoir.

Reservoir – a porous and permeable rock formation in which oil and/or gas is found.

Well – a hole drilled into rock by a drill bit.

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