A Glossary of Selected Terms Used in the Oil Industry
Appraisal Well: Well drilled after the discovery of oil or gas to establish the limits of the reservoir, the productivity of wells in it and the properties of the oil or gas. See also development well.
Associated Gas: Natural gas found in association with oil, either dissolved in the oil or found as a cap of free gas above the oil in the reservoir. {Back to Top]
Bbl: Barrels. mmbbls: million barrels.
Block: Subdivision of sea area for the purpose of licensing to a company or companies for exploration/production rights. A UK block is 1\30 of a quadrant and is approximately 200-250 squ. km (a quadrant is one degree by one degree.)
Blow-out: Accidental escape of oil or gas from a well during the drilling stage.
Blow-out Preventer (BOP): High pressure valve fitted to the top of the casing to prevent blow-outs.
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Casing: Steel lining used to prevent caving of the sides of a well, to exclude unwanted fluids and to provide means of control of well pressures and oil and gas production.
Cement: Used to keep the casing stationary in the well and to prevent leakage between strata that have been drilled through.
Christmas Tree: Assembly of valves and fittings located at the head of a well to control flow of oil and gas.
Concession: The right to drill for oil or gas on a block obtained under licence from the state.
Condensate: Liquid hydrocarbons recovered from a condensate gas reservoir.
Cracker/Cat Cracker: A unit in an oil refinery in which heavy fractions from crude oil are broken down (cracked) using a catalyst, into lighter distillates such as motor spirit.
Crine: Cost Reduction Initiative for the New Era. An oil company initiative dating from the early 1990s.
CSWIP: Certification Scheme for Welding Inspection Personnel.
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Decommissioning/Abandonment: Removal of production equipment from depleted oil fields.
Derv: Diesel Engined Road Vehicles. As Derv Fuel usually referred to as Diesel.
Development Well: Well drilled in order to produce oil and gas after an appraisal well has proved the reserves sufficiently large for exploitation.
Directional Drilling: Also known as deviated drilling technique used in offshore production drilling whereby wells are drilled at an angle from a central point so that a number of development wells can be drilled from a single platform.
Dogleg: A deliberate or accidental sharp bend in a well.
Downstream: Usually refining and the marketing and distribution operations that occur after refining as opposed to Upstream.
Downtime: The time during which offshore operations cannot be continued owing to adverse weather conditions or other factors.
Drill-bit: The cutting head attached to the drill-pipe.
Drilling Muds or Fluid: Fluid, containing barytes, which is pumped through the drill-string to the bottom of the well, whence it rises to the surface through the space between drill-string and bore-hole wall. It acts as a lubricant and is used to control flow.
Drill-Ship: Free-floating, offshore drilling unit shaped like a ship, positioned by anchors of dynamic positioning.
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ERR: Economically Recoverable Reserves Field: area in which a well or a group of wells is found.
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Floater: An offshore drilling platform without a fixed base.
FPSO: Floating Production Storage and Offloading.
Futures: The sale and purchase of a commodity at a price, quantity and quality agreed in advance for delivery on a specified future date.
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GOR: Gas to oil ratio. The volume of gas at atmospheric pressure produced per unit volume of oil produced.
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Heavy Crude Oil: Crude oil of 20API or less. See also Light Crude Oil.
HT/HP: High Temperature/High Pressure.
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Jacket: Supporting structure for an offshore platform.
Jack-up: Mobile offshore drilling platform with retractable legs, on which the platform rests on the seabed when operational.
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Killing a Well: Overcoming the tendency of a well to flow by filling the bore with drilling mud of suitable density.
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Licence: An exploration licence permits only geological and geophysical surveying and the drilling of shallow wells; a production licence confers exclusive rights on the licensee to search and bore for and get petroleum.
Light Crude Oil: Flows freely at atmospheric temperatures and has an API gravity in the high 30s and 40s.
Liner: Small diameter casing extending into the producing layer from just inside the bottom of the final string of casing cemented in a well.
LNG: Liquefied Natural Gas. Gas, mainly methane, liquified under pressure and low temperature.
LPG: Liquefied Petroleum Gas. Propane and butane, liquified under pressure or refrigeration. Often known as bottled gas.
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mmcf: million cubic feet.
mmcfd: million cubic feet per day.
mmscfd: million standard cubic feet per day.
mmmcf: billion cubic feet.
Module: The box or package containing equipment for installation on a production platform. Each self-containing unit is constructed a shore and serves a specific purpose.
MON/RON: Motor Octane Number/Research Octane Number.
MToe/Toe: Million Tonnes of oil equivalent/Tonnes of oil equivalent.
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NGL: Natural Gas Liquids.
Nodding Donkey: Pumping unit.
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OIM: Offshore Installation Manager.
OPEC: Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries founded in 1960. Current members - Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Venezuela.
Orimulsion: A heavy oil and water mixture, originating in the Orinoco Basin, Venezuela, marketed as an industrial fuel.
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Pig: Device forced through pipelines by hydraulic pressure to scrape off rust and scale or to mark and interface between two different products.
Plateau Level: The level of peak production reached by an oil field.
Platform: A fixed structure resting on the seabed or piled into it from which development wells are drilled, using directional drilling, to exploit an oil or gas field. To date, these platforms are of two kinds, although several novel designs are in existence. Gravity structures, either concrete or hybrid with concrete base and steel legs and superstructure, which rest on the seabed by virtue of their own weight, or steel, which are piled into the seabed.
Pour Point: The temperature at which a crude oil solidifies.
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Refining Margin: The product value less the feedstock and refining costs and value of any loss in the refining process.
Reservoir: A subsurface, porous, permeable rock formation in which oil and gas are found.
RON/MON: Research Octane Number / Motor Octane Number.
Royalty: Payment of a percentage of gross income from the production of minerals, including hydrocarbons, by the company licensed to produce, to the State.
Roughneck: The floorman in a drilling crew who sets the slips to hold the drill pipe, handles the tongs or elevators and other equipment around the rig floor.
Also Roustabout: General labourer in the rig crew.
Roundtrip: The complete process of pulling out and running in the drill-string.
RVP: Reid Vapour Pressure (VP in PSI at 100F).
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SBM/SPM/ELSBM: Single buoy mooring; single point mooring; exposed location single buoy mooring: used for loading oil in to tankers in the open sea, the principle being that the vessel can moor to load oil whatever the direction of wind or current and swing at the mooring to present least resistance to the prevailing conditions.
Semi-submersible: Mobile offshore drilling platform with floats or pontoons submerged to give stability while operating, kept in position by anchors or dynamic positioning.
SIS: Swedish Standards Organisation.
Slug Catcher: Arrangement of piping designed to catch a slug of liquid in the gas pipeline to separate it from the gas.
SOLAS: International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea.
Spar: A single buoy mooring which includes oil storage capacity so that production can continue even if the weather is too severe for tanker loading.
Spot Price: A price for oil or oil products for immediate delivery. See also futures.
Spud, to: To commence drilling operations.
Sweet Crude Oil: Crude oil containing very little sulphur and having a good odour as opposed to Sour Crude Oil which has a high sulphur content and an unpleasant odour.
Sour Crudes: Iranian Light, Iranian Heavy, Saudi Light
Sweet Crudes: Beryl, Brega, Ekofisk, Forties
SWOPS: Single Well Oil Production System.
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TEMA: Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association (USA).
Toe/MToe: Tonnes of oil equivalent/Million tonnes of oil equivalent.
Toolpusher: Drilling supervisor or foreman in charge of the rig.
Topsides: The top part of a platform positioned on the jacket.
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UKCS: United Kingdom Continental Shelf.
ULCC: Ultra Large Crude Carrier - tanker of over 300000 tonnes.
Upstream: Upstream covers the exploration, production and transport prior to refining.
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Vapour Recovery: Collecting and condensing petroleum product vapours being loaded and unloaded at terminals, refineries and petrol stations. The vapours are then condensed to a liquid thereby significantly reducing air pollution.
VLCC: Very Large Crude Carrier. Oil tanker of over 200000 tonnes or which can carry over 1.5 mn barrels of crude. See also ULCC.
VOC: Volatile Organic Compounds.
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Weather Window: The part of the year when the weather is suitable for operations which cannot be carried out in adverse sea and wind states, e.g. pipeline or platform installation.
Wildcat: Speculative exploration well drilled in search of a new oil or gas accumulation.
Wireline: Wire or cable used for downhole operations. Usually either steel wire used to lower instruments into a well or electric for recording instruments.
Workover: Re-entry into a completed well for modification or repair work.
WOW: Waiting on weather.
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