Technical Thesaurus oil & gas
B
B.d.o.e.
Barrels/day oil equivalent.
A convenient measure in comparing different primary fuels. One b.d.o.e. is
equivalent to: 50 metric tonnes oil equivalent per annum or 76 metric tonnes of
hard coal per annum or 2.1 10 BTU/annum.
B.o.e.
Barrels oil equivalent. One
b.o.e. is equivalent to: 0.135 metric tonnes hard coal or 5.8 10 BTU.
Back off
To unscrew one threaded
piece (as a section of pipe) from another.
Back pressure
The pressure resulting from
restriction of full flow of liquids or gas.
Back pressure valve
A control valve which keeps
a pre-set pressure in a system.
Back-up
A term used to describe the
process whereby one section of drill pipe is held stationary using tongs while
another section is screwed out of or into it.
Back-up line
A wire rope used to hold
one set of tongs in place when two sections of drill pipe are being joined or
separated.
Back-up post
A fixed post, column or
stanchion to which the dead end of the back-up line is secured.
Baffle collar
A special casing collar
with a reduced bore which serves as a stop for the bottom cementing plug.
Usually installed 30 or
Baffles
Plates or obstructions
built into a tank or other vessel that change the direction of the flow of
fluids or gases.
Bail
A cylindrical steel bar
(similar to the handle or bail of a bucket, only much larger) that supports the
swivel and connects it to the hook. Sometimes. the two cylindrical bars that
support the elevators and attach them to the hook are called bails. To recover
bottomhole fluids, samples or drill cuttings by lowering a cylindrical vessel
called a bailer to the bottom of a well, filling it, and retrieving it. See
bailer.
Bailer
A long cylindrical
container, fitted with a valve at its lower end, used to remove water, sand.
mud or oil from a well.
Ball and seat
The main parts of the
valves in a plunger type oil well pump.
Ball joint
A connector in a subsea, marine
riser assembly whose ball and socket design permits an angular deflection of
the riser pipe caused by horizontal movement of the drillship or floating
platform of 10° or so in all directions.
Ball valve
A type of quick-opening
pipeline valve constructed with a bored-through rotating ball which seals
against the valve seats, placed perpendicular to the valve bore in the valve's
inlet and outlet ports. The valve can be opened or closed with a one-quarter
turn of the ball.
Ballast
Material (usually sea
water) used in place of, or in addition to, cargo to stabilise the ship.
Ballast may be kept in separate compartments to cargo or replace it in the same
compartments.
Ballast voyage
The voyage from the port
where the cargo is discharged to the loading port.
Balling of the bit
The fouling of a rotary
drilling bit in sticky, gumbo-like shale which causes a serious drag on the bit
and sometimes loss of circulation.
Bar
Unit of pressure. One bar
is equal to 987 etc.
Bar check
An echo sounder calibration
method involving a bar lowered below the sounder at a known depth; considered
old fashioned in some quarters.
Bar sweeping
A sweeping procedure using
a beam suspended horizontally under a vessel. The sweep passing over the bottom
may be equipped with rockers or other sensors to record contact with the
bottom.
Bare boat charter
Charterer hires a vessel
for a long period, appoints the master and crew, and pays all operating
expenses.
Barefoot completion:
A completion method in
which the casing is cemented down to a point immediately above the producing
formation and the productive layer is left unsupported. Also called open-hole
completion.
Barge
A non-self propelled vessel
used as a base for drilling equipment, to carry cranes, support facilities,
accommodation modules, etc., to lay underwater pipelines or to transport crude
oil or its products over short distances.
Barite
Another name for barytes.
Barium sulfate
Barometer
An instrument for
determining atmospheric pressure.
Barrel
The unit of volume
measurement used for petroleum and its products; 1 barrel = 42
Barrel wrench
A friction wrench used in
repairing oil well pumps.
Barytes
Barium sulphate -a heavy
mineral added to drilling mud in order to increase its specific gravity
(weight).
Base
A substance that reacts
with an acid to form a salt and water only.
Base sediment
Impurities and foreign
matter contained in oil produced from a well.
Baseline
Usually a line between two
fixed points.
Baseline extension
In radio location, the
extension of the baseline beyond the transmitters.
Basement rock
Igneous or metamorphic
rocks which underlie the sediment of a basin. Basement rock does not usually
contain petroleum deposits. (Hydrocarbons have been found in fractured basement
rocks in
Basic petrochemical
One of the primary raw
materials produced from crude oil by steam cracking or reforming. e.g.
ethylene. benzene.
Basin
A synclinal structure in
the subsurface. once the bed of a prehistoric sea. Basins. composed of
sedimentary rock, are regarded as good prospects for oil exploration.
Basket sub
A fishing accessory run
above a bit or mill to recover small pieces of metal or junk in a well.
Bastard
Any equipment of
non-standard shape or size.
Bathymetric chart
See chart.
Bathymetry
The determination of ocean
depths. The general configuration of sea floor as determined by profile
analysis of depth data.
Beacon
A device that repetitively
transmits a navigation signal (nowadays radio).
Beam
The walking beam of a
pumping jack or unit.
Beam pumping
A method of artificial lift
in which fluid is lifted by rods and pump actuated by the walking beam of a
beam pumping unit.
Beam well
A well whose fluid is being
lifted by rods and pump actuated by a walking beam.
Bearing
The horizontal direction of
one terrestrial point from another, ex- pressed as the angular distance from a
reference direction. It is usually measured from 0 degrees at the reference
direction clockwise through 360 degrees. The terms bearing and azimuth are sometimes
used inter- changeably, but in navigation the former customarily applies to
terrestrial objects and the latter to the direction of a point on the celestial
sphere from a point on the Earth. A bearing is designated as true, magnetic, or
compass as the reference direction is true, magnetic, or compass north.
Bearing (great circle)
The initial direction of a
great circle through two terrestrial points, ex- pressed as angular distance
from a reference direction. Bearing obtained by any form of radiant energy are
great-circle bearings.
Bearing (magnetic)
Bearing relative to
magnetic north. Compass bearing corrected for magnetic deviation.
Bearing (outboard)
A shaft-supporting bearing
outside the body or frame of a pump's gear box or engine's crankcase, a bearing
on a pump's pinion shaft outside the gear box, a line-shaft bearing.
Bearing (relative)
Bearing relative to the
heading of a craft.
Bearing (saddle)
A type of bearing for the
support of a heavy, slow-moving member, e.g. the wide bearing on the samson
post that supports the well's walking beam as it oscillates or rocks up and
down.
Bearing (stirrup)
A bearing and its frame in
the shape of a saddle stirrup, e.g. the bearing connecting the pitman and the
walking beam on an early-day cable tool drilling or pumping well.
Bearing (true)
See bearing.
Bed
A geological term
describing a stratum (layer of sediment or sedimentary rock) of considerable
thickness and uniform composition and texture.
Bedrock
The firm base rocks into which
a structure is anchored.
2. The flow conduit above
the BOP stack, which has a belled out top section to allow easy passage of the
bit.
Belt
A flexible band or cord
connecting and passing about each of two or more pulleys to transmit power or
impart motion.
Bench marks (benchmarks)
A permanent, stable object
containing a marked point of known elevation with respect to a datum used as a
reference level for tidal observations or as a control point for levelling.
Bends
A serious (or even fatal)
condition suffered by divers who are decompressed too quickly -caused by
nitrogen bubbles forming in the blood.
Bentonite
Clay added to drilling mud;
also called smectite or gel.
Benzene
An unsaturated ring
compound with delocalised electrons containing six carbon atoms (C6H6); one of
the most important petroleum-derived raw materials used in the chemical
industry.
Berth
The jetty, pier or wall at
which the ship moors for loading or discharging. Hence .'berthing'. and
.'inberthing" for reaching and leaving the berth.
Bevelled coupling
Coupling with (non
standard) bevelled ends used to avoid hanging up when running parallel strings.
Bill of lading
A document which is a
receipt for cargo received on board and is evidence of the contract between
shipper and shipowner. It is also evidence of title to the goods described on
it.
Biomass
With the word biomass we
mean the non-fossil materials of biological origin: agricultural and forest
residues, waste from the agricultural food and wood industry, livestock waste,
the organic part of urban waste and specific crops for producing energy. The
energy contained in the biomass is solar energy "fixed" by plants
through photosynthesis with the chlorophyll. The biomass, produced and used in
a cyclical way: is a renewable and environmentally-friendly energy resource.
The use of biomass produces valuable benefits on the environment and is part of
an energy and agricultural policy aiming at diversifying the sources of energy.
Biomass has no negative impact on the greenhouse effect since carbon dioxide,
released during the combustion, is reabsorbed by plants through the process of
photosynthesis with the chlorophyll.
Bird cage
Flattened and spread
strands in a wire rope.
BIS
Bank for International
Settlements
Bit
See drill bit.
Bit-breaker
A heavy metal plate which
fits in the drilling table and is used to hold the drill bit while it is being
unscrewed from the drill collar.
Bitmap
A Bitmap is an image
captured from the incoming video stream and stored on the hard disk as a windows
file.
Bit-record
A report on each bit used
in a drilling operation that lists the bit type, the amount of footage the bit
has drilled, and the nature of the formation penetrated.
Bitumen
A mixture of extremely
heavy hydrocarbons obtained from the residue refining process; used for road
surfacing, roofing, etc.
Black oils
A generic term for the
heavier and darker coloured petroleum products, particularly residual fuel oils
of particular significance in relation to transportation and storage since
black oils are viscous and may often require insulated or heated storage or
transfer facilities.
Blanketing
To replace the air in or
around process equipment with an inert gas, such as nitrogen, to reduce
oxidation, explosion or fire hazards.
Bleeding
To withdraw from a line or
vessel a small portion of the contained liquid at a slow rate.
Blind auction
See sealed bid auction.
Blind box
A solid steel bar, flat on
the bottom and hardened, used in wireline work when heavy downward blows have
to be given.
Blind flange
A flange without
centre-hole, used to seal off a section of pipe.
Blind ram
An integral part of a
blowout preventer that serves as the closing element. Its ends do not fit
around the drill pipe but seal against each other and shut off the space below
completely.
Block
See licence block
Block grease
A grease of high melting
point that can be handled in block or stick form. Block grease is used on
large, slow-moving machinery, on axles and crude bearings. In contact with a hot
journal bearing, the grease melts slowly, lubricating the bearing.
Block number
The number assigned to a
particular licence block or subdivision there of in a given national sector of
the continental shelf.
Block valve
A valve which allows
isolating a section of pipeline or part of an installa- tion, e.g. on a crude
oil or products trunk line placed on each side of a pipeline river crossing to
isolate possible leaks at the crossing.
Blocks
The block and tackle system
in a derrick that is used to raise and lower the drill string. See crown block
and travelling block.
Blocks
The blocks and tackle
system in a derrick that is used raise and lower the drill - see crown block
and travelling block.
Blooey line
The discharge pipe from a
well being drilled by air drilling. The blooey line is used to conduct the air
or gas used for circulation away from the rig to reduce the fire hazard as well
as to transport the cuttings a suitable distance from the well. See air
drilling.
Blow moulding
A plastic-forming process
that makes use of compressed air to shape the final product by expanding it to
fit the mould.
Blowing a well
Opening a well to let it
blow for a short period to free the well tubing or casing of accumulations of water,
sand, or other deposits.
Blowout
The situation that occurs
when gas, oil or salt water escapes in an uncontrolled manner from a well due
either to a release of pressure in the reservoir rock that the various
containment systems fail to check or to the failure of the containment systems
during production.
Blowout preventer (BOP)
A hydraulically operated
wellhead device designed to ensure that a blowout cannot occur.
Boiling point
The temperature of a liquid
at which its vapour pressure equals the external pressure. Boiling liquids are
normally quoted for standard atmospheric pressure. At a fixed pressure, a
liquid will not exceed its I boiling point and further heating merely converts
more liquid to vapour.
Boll-weevil
Slang for an inexperienced
rig or oil field worker, sometimes shortened to weevil. Also a bowl-type tubing
hanger.
Bomb
A thick-walled container,
usually steel, used to hold samples of oil or gas under pressure. See
bottomhole pressure.
Bond
A chemical bond is the link
by which atoms are joined together in a molecule.
Bonded goods
Imported goods deposited in
a Government warehouse until duty is paid.
Bonnet
The upper part of a valve
that encloses the packing gland.
Boom
A structure used to support
a pipeline during laying (see stinger) or to confine an oil slick (see
containment boom).
Boomer
A medium energy acoustic
profiling source; towed at surface or deep; data is recorded in analogue mode;
multiple of water depth: tens of metres. Seismic instrument for shallow penetration
work; the boomer transducer produces acoustic pulses by the motion of a metal
plate in the water.
Booster platform
A platform built part of
the way along an mould oil or gas underwater pipeline in order to boost the
pumping process.
Booster station
An intermediate pumping
station usually on a main line or trunk line, which receives crude from an
upstream section and discharges it into a downstream section of the line.
Booth
A tall section of large
diameter pipe inside or outside a (usually) dehydration tank which acts as a
surge vessel and atmospheric separator for the crude oil before it enters the
tank.
BOP stack
Blowout preventer stack. An
assembly of blowout preventers and associated equipment mounted on the
well-head for the purpose of controlling down hole pressure. A typical stack
would comprise riser connector, an annular blowout preventer, kill and choke
line connectors, drilling spool and well-head connector. These components may
be arranged in many different configurations and have pressure ratings to suit
particular requirements, depending on the drilling programme and whether
control is effected manually or remotely.
Borehole
The well bore; the hole
made by drilling or boring. See well bore.
Bottom profiler
An echo sounder for
precision surveys of the sea bottom surface.
Bottom sample
A portion of the sea bottom
material brought to the surface for examination.
Bottomhole
The lowest or deepest part
of a well, pertaining to the bottom of the well bore.
Bottomhole assembly (BHA)
The lower end of the drill
string comprising the drill bit, drill collars, heavyweight drill pipe and
ancillary equipment.
Bottomhole choke
A device with a restricted
opening placed in the lower end of the tubing to control the rate of flow. See choke.
Bottomhole pressure
1. The pressure at the
bottom of a borehole. It is caused by the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling
fluid in the hole and, sometimes, any back-pressure held at the surface as when
the well is shut in with blowout preventers. When mud is being circulated,
bottom hole pressure is the hydrostatic pressure plus the remaining circulating
pressure required to move the mud up the annulus.
2. The pressure in a well
at a point opposite the producing formation, as recorded by a bottomhole
pressure bomb.
Bottoms
A term used to describe the
heavy portion of the feed to a distillation operation. This is the part which
does not vapourise during the operation. Storage tank "bottoms"
refers to the accumulation of sediment, mud and water.
Bourdon gauge
An instrument for measuring
the pressure of steam or other gases.
Box
The female section of a
tool joint. See tool joint.
Brackish water
Water containing low
concentrations of any soluble salts.
Brake
A device for arresting the motion
of a mechanism, usually by means of friction, as in the drawworks brake.
Compare electrodynamic brake and hydromatic brake.
Break circulation
To start movement of the
drilling or workover fluid after it has been quiescent in the hole.
Breakout
The process whereby one
section of drill pipe is unscrewed from another; sometimes also used to refer
to promotions within the drilling team.
Breakout cathead
A device attached to the
shaft of the drawworks that is used as a power source for unscrewing drill
pipe; usually located opposite the driller's side of the drawworks. See
cathead.
Breakout tongs
Tongs that are used to
start unscrewing one section of pipe from another section, especially drill
pipe coming out of the hole. Also called lead tongs. See tongs.
Breathing apparatus
Devices which provide a
worker with a supply of air independent of the atmosphere around him.
Brent blend
The principle grade of U.K.
North Sea crude oil in international oil trading, originating from the Brent
and other fields of the
Bridge
An obstruction in a well
formed by intrusion of subsurface formations, or in tubing by formation sand.
Bridge plug
An expandable plug used in
a well's casing to isolate producing zones or to plug back to produce for a
shallower formation, also to isolate a section of the bore hole to be filled
with cement when a well is plugged.
Bridle
The cable sling between
.'horsehead" and polished rod on a pumping well.
Bring in a well
To complete a well and put
it in producing status.
British Thermal Unit (BTU)
The quantity of heat
required to raise the temperature of lib. of water through I degree Fahrenheit.
1000 BTU = 252 kcal
Broadcast ephemeris
Ephemeris transmitted by a
satellite which describes its position and orbital parameters.
Broker
An agent employed (at a
customary or an agreed rate of commission or remuneration) to buy or sell
goods, merchandise, or marketable securities, or to negotiate insurances,
freight rates, or other matters, for a principle; the sales or transactions
being negotiated not in his name but in that of the principal.
Bubble cap
A covered hole in a tray of
a fractionating column via which vapour bubbles travel upwards through the
liquid in the tray.
Buck up
To tighten up a threaded connection
(as two joints of drill pipe).
Bull plug
A short, closed pipe
fitting used to plug the open end of a pipe or throat of a valve.
Bullet perforator
A tubular device that, when
lowered to a selected depth within a well, fires bullets through the casing to
provide holes through which the well fluids may enter.
Bumper sub
A slip-joint that is part
of the string of drill pipe used in drilling from a drillship to absorb the
vertical motion of the ship caused by wave action. The slip joint is inserted
above the heavy drill collars in order to maintain the weight of the collars on
the drill bit as the drill pipe above the slip joint moves up and down with
motion of the ship.
Bumper sub (fishing)
A hydraulically actuated
tool installed in the fishing string above the fishing tool to produce a
jarring action. When the fishing tool has a firm hold on the lost drillpipe or
tubing. which may also be stuck fast in the hole, the bumper sub imparts a
jarring action to help free the fish.
Bundwall
Concrete or earth wall
surrounding crude oil or refined product storage tanks. These are designed to
hold the tank contents should the tank rupture or spring a major leak.
Bunker fuel
Residual fuel oil {i.e.
Bunker C grade) or middle distillates used for bunkering ships.
Bunter
The lowest series of
formations laid down during the Triassic Period of geological time; it includes
sandstones that sometimes contain hydrocarbon traps.
Buoy (radio beacon)
A buoy equipped with a
marker radio beacon.
Buoy (survey)
A buoy used by survey ships
to control hydrographic surveys. See also buoy-control method.
Buoy-control method
A system of accurately
located buoys on which three-point fixes could be observed. or to which
distances could be measured by radio acoustic methods for extending
hydrographic surveys beyond the visibility of shore control.
Burning pit
A sump made by excavation
or of built-up earthworks in which oil or gas from a well during flow tests may
be safely burnt.
Burning point
The lowest temperature at
which a liquid in an open vessel will continue to burn when ignited by a flame.
This temperature determines the degree of safety with which kerosene and other
illuminates may be used.
Bury barge
A barge used to dig a
trench for an underwater pipeline.
Butadiene
An unsaturated derivative
of butane; one of the most important raw materials used in the manufacture of
synthetic rubber.
Butadiene-styrene copolymer
A polymer manufactured from
butadiene and styrene; an important raw material in the plastics and rubber
industries.
Butane
The saturated hydrocarbon
{alkane) with four carbon atoms in its molecule {C4H 10); the fourth member of
the paraffin series; a gas at atmospheric pressure and normal temperature, but
easily liquefied by pressure for transportation and subsequent use.
Butterfly valve
A type of quick-opening
valve whose orifice is opened and closed by a disc that pivots on a shaft in
the throat of the valve.
Buy-back price
The purchase price that an
oil company pays to a State for oil that the company produces but which belongs
to the State.
By-pass
A pipe connected around a
valve or other control mechanism in a flow line in order to maintain flow
during adjustments or repair.
By-pass valve
A valve by which the flow
of liquid or gas in a system may be shunted past a part of the system through
which it normally flows; a valve that controls an alternate route for liquid or
gas.
By-product
A substance obtained
incidentally during the manufacture or production of some other substance