Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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GLOSSARY
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cat cracking a secondary refining process which uses heat and the presence
of a catalyst to crack apart the molecules of the various components of
crude oil obtained from the primary distillation process to form refined
petroleum products.
cement bond log a measurement of the strength and bonding of cement
to the casing in a well.
choke a valve or valves used to control the flow of hydrocarbons from a
well by changing the diameter of the orifice.
Christmas tree the system of valves and controls placed at the wellhead.
CIF cost including freight, where the seller of a cargo of petroleum or
petroleum product provides the transport to its destination.
city gate the point at which high pressure pipelines deliver natural gas to
low pressure pipelines for distribution to individual users.
closure a term used to indicate that a trap exists in the subsurface and
there are no avenues for hydrocarbons (if present) to escape.
completion the final preparations to ready a well for production.
concession an arrangement whereby an oil company is given exclusive
permission by a government to explore a large portion of a country over
a long period of time in return for an agreed percentage of any oil or gas
production that results.
condensate hydrocarbons which are gaseous in a reservoir, but which
condense to form a liquid as they rise to the surface where the pressure is
much less.
conductor the first casing string in a well.
coning this occurs when an oil well is produced at excessive rates.
The reduction in reservoir pressure may draw up water underlying the oil
and gas can be drawn down from an overlying gas cap.
coring an operation whereby a sample of rock being drilled is allowed
to pass through the centre of a special bit and be collected in a core barrel
mounted directly behind it.
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heavy crude crude oil with high viscosity and high specific gravity.
The API classifies heavy oil as crudes with a gravity below 22.3 API.
hedging forward selling of petroleum shipments at a price believed to be
competitive when the physical cargo is available.
heli-rig a land rig capable of being broken down into loads small enough
to be carried by a helicopter. Usually used in inaccessible terrain to replace
land transport.
horizontal drilling a technique for deviating wells through up to
90 degrees from the vertical, usually to produce thin reservoirs by exposing
more of the oil zone to the well perforations.
hydrocarbon kitchen the part of a sedimentary basin containing mature
petroleum source rocks. A general term for conditions deep in the subsurface
rich in organic sediments which, with the necessary burial history (heat
and pressure) generate significant amounts of hydrocarbons.
hydrophones the marine equivalent of geophones.
infill drilling production wells drilled between existing wells to increase
hydrocarbon recovery. Often the wells are drilled to reach oil or gas
stranded by the rising water drive in a reservoir and unable to flow to the
original wells.
injection well a well through which water or gas is injected to maintain
reservoir pressure.
in situ (in place) refers to total oil or gas reserves contained in a reservoir
in the ground as opposed to those reserves which may be recovered.
isogals contour lines drawn through points of equal gravity values and
referring to the gal which is the unit of gravity measurement.
jacket the leg section of an offshore production platform, so called because
it surrounds and protects the well conductors as well as supporting the
deck and its equipment.
jack-up a type of mobile drilling rig which jacks its legs down to the sea
bed and then hoists its deck and drill floor above the sea surface.
GLOSSARY
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jet bit a drilling bit with nozzles through which fluids like air, mud or water
are forced under pressure, thus breaking up the formation to be penetrated.
J-lay an offshore pipe laying technique in which the pipeline is lowered
vertically to the sea bed from the lay barge and then allowed to bend in a
J-curve shape as the vessel moves forward adding new sections of pipe.
joint venture a group of companies or individuals who share the cost
and rewards of exploring for and producing oil or gas from a permit.
kelly hexagonal or square pipe about 15 metres long attached to the top
of the drill string and turned by the rotary table. It is used to transmit the
twisting movement from the rotary machinery to the drill string and thus
the bit.
kelly bushing a piece of equipment which fits around the kelly at the
point where it passes through the rotary table. It is often used as a datum
from which to measure the depth of a well.
kerogen the organic matter which is the base for the formation of oil or
gas.
kick a sudden influx of high pressure into a well, usually experienced
while drilling.
kill the process of increasing drilling fluid weight to control a potential
blowout.
landmen generally only applicable in the USA where the rights to
subsurface minerals are often owned by private individuals. These
individuals are entitled to ask for a royalty on any oil or gas production
from their portion of the subsurface. These subsurface rights began by
being attached to the surface landholding of the original landholder.
However, they can be bequeathed or sold and onsold separately to the
surface rights, such that after a period of time it is difficult for an oil
explorer to trace who actually owns the rights in question and who to
deal with when negotiating royalties. Landmen are employed by the oil
explorers specifically to unravel the paper trail and find the royalty holders
in the lease they want to drill.
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lay barge a specially designed vessel used to lay a pipeline along the
sea bed.
lease a specific area of land or sea bed marked out by a government
and usually put up for tender. The successful bidder is given exclusive
right to explore for oil and gas for a specified length of time provided it
upholds the work program mentioned in the winning bid and obeys the
set conditions of the leasehold agreement.
light crude generally refers to crude oil with an API gravity of 30 degrees
or more.
liner steel tube of small diameter extending into a producing reservoir
from the bottom of the last string of casing in a well.
lithology a study of the rock types in a given region, including
descriptions of mineral content.
LNG liquefied natural gas.
LNG train the liquefaction of natural gas to form LNG is carried out in
a refrigeration unit that has four main elements in the cooling cycle a
compressor, a condenser, a pressure-expansion valve and an evaporator.
A single liquefaction unit is called a train. An LNG plant may comprise
just one train. Larger plants comprise a number of trains arranged side by
side each doing exactly that same liquefaction task.
logging tools devices lowered down a well to measure various parameters
and properties of the formations being drilled (electric loop).
LPG liquefied petroleum gas, usually refers to propane and butane.
marine riser the conductor pipe for offshore wells. It extends from the
drill floor to the sea bed.
marker crude a commonly traded crude oil in a particular region that is
used as a quality standard to price other crudes.
mercaptans compounds of carbon, hydrogen and sulphur found in sour
crude and natural gas which have a strong, repulsive odour. They are
re-introduced in small amounts as a safety measure so that the presence of
sales (retail) gas can be detected by smell.
GLOSSARY
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packer a device (often rubber) which seals off a section of the well during
testing.
paper crude crude oil which is sold on the futures market, but which will
not be physically produced for several months or longer.
pay zone a formation within a reservoir containing producible
hydrocarbons.
percussion drilling a system whereby the drill bit penetrates rock with a
hammer action. The drill can either be dropped using its own weight and
gravity or it can be pressure driven into a rock face.
perforations holes punched through the casing of a well at the pay zone
to allow oil and gas to enter the well.
permeability the degree to which fluids can move through a rock.
permit an area of specified size within a sedimentary basin which is
licensed or allocated to a company or companies by the government for the
purpose of exploring for and producing oil and gas. In Australia separate
licences are issued for exploration and production.
petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) a form of profit-based tax which
applies after a producing oil/gas project has reached a set rate of return.
The tax itself is levied at specified percentage. Usually exploration and
development costs can be deducted from cash flow so they are recouped
before tax trigger or threshold is reached.
pig a mechanical device sent through a pipeline to scour the inside walls
or to run internal checks on the integrity of the line.
plug a seal deliberately placed in a well to prevent escape of high pressure
material from the substance after it has been abandoned. Usually plugs are
of cement.
plugged and abandoned where all the reservoir and high pressure zones
in a well are sealed off with cement so that no fluids can escape after the
drilling rig leaves the location.
GLOSSARY
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rotary swivel the part of a rotary drilling rig which connects the travelling
block to the drill string.
rotary table a flat plate in the drill floor which is turned mechanically
at varying speeds and directions imparting the rotary action to the drill
string which passes through its centre.
roughneck a rig worker who handles the drill pipe and other equipment
on the drill floor.
round trip the complete operation of pulling out the drill string from a
well (for instance to change a bit) and then running it back into the well.
roustabout a general labourer on a rig.
safety case where government sets broad safety goals to be attained
at industrial facilities and the companies concerned develop the most
appropriate methods for achieving those goals. The basic tenet is that the
ongoing management of safety is the responsibility of the operator and
not the regulator.
sales gas natural gas that is sold into the distributor/retail market after
being treated to remove impurities.
sand lenses porous sandstone reservoirs that are completely surrounded
by fine-grained impervious rocks. The lenses are often buried river beds
or deltas.
sedimentary cycle the period encompassing an encroachment of the sea
over the land and then a subsequent withdrawal of the sea.
seep a point where migrating oil or gas, not already trapped, reaches the
earths surface.
seismic survey a method of determining the subsurface features by
sending sound waves into the various buried rock layers in the earth and
measuring the time they take to return to the surface.
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