Offshore Jobs - Oil Gas Glossary

Abandoned
A dry hole in which no producible oil or gas was present, or a well that has stopped producing. Abandoned wells must be plugged to prevent seepage of oil, gas, or water from one formation to another.

Associated gas
Gas occurring in combination with crude oil, as distinct from gas occurring separately or manufactured from crude oil.

Barrel
A unit of measure for oil and petroleum products that is equivalent to 42 U.S. gallons.
1 barrel = 35 Imperial gallons (approx.), or 158.978 liters (approx.);
7.5 barrels = 1 tone (approx.);
6.29 barrels = 1 cubic meter.

BBL
Barrel

BCF
Billion cubic feet
1 bcf = 0.83 million tones of oil equivalent.

BOE
Barrels of oil equivalent

BOEPD
Barrels of oil equivalent per day

BOPD
Barrels of oil per day

"Black" oil
Crude oil or heavy fuel oil from the bottom of the refining process as opposed to "white" oil.

Blowout
the uncontrolled flow of gas, oil or other fluids from a well

British thermal unit
a measure of the heating value of a fuel

BTU
British thermal unit

Base Load
The demand for Gas on a suppliers system that remains fairly steady over a period of time.

Bcf
Billion cubic feet, a billion defined as 1,000,000,000. On average 1 bcf of sales gas = 1.055 petajoules.

Bcfg
Billion cubic feet of gas

Blowdown
Condensate and gas is produced simultaneously from the outset of production

Blowout
the uncontrolled flow of gas, oil or other fluids from a well

Btu
British Thermal Unit. Amount of heat that is necessary to raise the temperature of one pound of water by 1 degree, Fahrenheit.

Bundling
Combining or lumping the cost for more than one service into one charge.

Casinghead Gas
Gas found naturally in oil and produced with the oil

Christmas tree
The assembly of valves, pipes, and fittings used to control the flow of oil and gas from a well

Common Reservoir
A pool or accumulation of oil or gas that is produced in more than one well.

Condensate
A term used to describe light liquid hydrocarbons separated from crude oil after production and sold separately.

Crude oil
A mineral oil consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons of natural origin, yellow to black in colour, of variable specific gravity and viscosity

Casinghead gas
Gas produced from an oil well as distinguished from gas from a gas well. The casinghead gas is taken off at the top of the well or at the separator.

Catalytic Cracking
Refinery process using a catalyst whereby heavy heavy gas oil is converted to about 50% gasoline and 50% gases and gas oil for recycling.

Commodity Charge
The portion of natural Gas sales or transportation rate that is based upon the volume of natural Gas that is actually used or shipped.

Condensate
Hydrocarbons which are in the gaseous state under reservoir conditions and which become liquid when temperature or pressure is reduced. A mixture of pentanes and higher hydrocarbons.

Conservation
Means of reducing the energy resources required to do a task.

CF
Cubic foot. A measurement of Gas volume. One cubic foot is equal to the amount of Gas required to fill one cubic foot under standard temperature and pressure.
1 Cubic Foot is approximately 1,025 Btus
100 Cubic Feet = 1 CCF

Distillation
The first stage in the refining process in which crude oil is heated and unfinished petroleum products are initially separated.

Downstream
The oil industry term used to refer to all petroleum activities from the processing of refining crude oil into petroleum products to the distribution, marketing, and shipping of the products. The opposite of downstream is upstream .

Drill
Making a hole by means of whatever mechanism.

Decommissioning
Preferred term (rather than Abandonment) for the re-use, recycling and disposal of redundant oil and gas facilities

Dry Gas
Natural gas composed mainly of methane with only minor amounts of ethane, propane and butane and little or no heavier hydrocarbons in the gasoline range.

Exploration phase
The phase of operations which covers the search for oil or gas by carrying out detailed geological and geophysical surveys followed up where appropriate by exploratory drilling.

EOR
Enhanced oil recovery

E&P
Exploration and production

Exploration
The process of searching for minerals preliminary to development.

Fuel oils
Oil that is heavy-distilled in the refining process. Frequently used for supplying energy to power stations and factories.

Gas-Oil Ratio
Number of cubic feet of gas produced per barrel of oil.

Gas field
A field containing natural gas

Gas injection
The process whereby separated associated gas is pumped back into a reservoir for conservation purposes or to maintain the reservoir pressure.

Gas-Oil Ratio
Number of cubic feet of gas produced per barrel of oil.

Hydrocarbons
Solid, liquid or gas compounds of the elements hydrogen and carbon.

Load
The amount of Gas delivered or required at any specified point or points on a system.

LNG
Liquefied natural gas

LPG
Liquefied petroleum gas, the name given to propane and butane in their liquid state.

MMBOE
Million barrels of oil equivalent.

Natural Gas
Energy fuel that is usually found beneath the surface of the earth and is more often than not produced from Gas wells. It provides heat, can be stored, is often transported underground through pipelines, and is easily burned.

NGLs
Natural gas liquids.

Oil
A mixture of liquid hydrocarbons of different molecular weights.

Oil field
A geographic area under which an oil reservoir lies.

Petroleum
A generic name for hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas and their products.

Petrochemicals
Chemicals such as ethylene, propylene and benzene that are derived from petroleum

Produced water
The water extracted from the subsurface with oil and gas.

Polymerisation
Refining process which uses low temperature reforming to increase the octane value of gasoline.

Pour point
The ability of crude oil to flow at low temperatures.

Pipeline Fuel
Gas consumed in the operation of pipelines, primarily in compressors.

Reforming
Refinery process aimed at improving gasoline quality by changing chemical characteristics rather than breaking up molecules as in cracking.

Reserves
Volume of economically recoverable oil or gas contained in a geological formation

Sour crude oil
Crude oil with a high sulphur content.

Storage Tank
Tank for the accumulation of oil pending transferal to a pipeline company or other purchaser.

Sweet crude oil
Crude oil with a low sulphur content.

SNG
Synthetic Natural Gas

Synfuels
Synthetically petroleum products produced from coal, or natural gas.

Terminal
Plant and equipment designed to receive and process crude oil or gas to remove water and impurities.

Tubing
String of pipe set inside the well casing, through which the oil or gas is produced.

Terminal
Plant and equipment designed to receive and process crude oil or gas to remove water and impurities.

Tubing
String of pipe set inside the well casing, through which the oil or gas is produced.

Therm
A unit for measuring natural Gas usage. 1 therm is equivalent to 100,000 BTUs.

Vented Gas
Gas released into the air on the base site or at processing plants.

Wildcat well
A well drilled in an area where no current oil or gas production exists.

"White" oil
Lighter products from the top end of the refining process as distinct from "black" oil.

Well
A hole drilled or bored into the earth, usually cased with metal pipe, for the production of gas or oil. A hole for the injection under pressure of water or gas into a subsurface rock formation.