Handbook of Oil Industry Terms and Phrases,6th ed

8/19/2019 Handbook of Oil Industry Terms and Phrases,6th ed

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6thEDITION

Handbook of Oil Industry

Terms Phrases

R. D. L


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R. D. L

Revised and updated by

R. Dobie Langenkamp

6thEDITION

Handbook of Oil Industry

TermsPhrases


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Disclaimer

Te recommendations, advice, descriptions, and the methods in this book arepresented solely or educational purposes. Te author and publisher assume no

liability whatsoever or any loss or damage that results rom the use o any o thematerial in this book. Use o the material in this book is solely at the risk o the user.

Copyright© 2014 by PennWell Corporation1421 South Sheridan Roadulsa, Oklahoma 74112-6600 USA800.752.9764

+1.918.831.9421sales@pennwell.comwww.pennwellbooks.comwww.pennwell.com

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Production Manager: Sheila Brock Production Editor: ony QuinnBook Designer: Susan E. Ormston

Library o Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Langenkamp, R. Dobie, 1936- Handbook o oil industry terms and phrases / R. Dobie Langenkamp. -- Sixthedition. pages cm Revised editon o: Handbook o oil industry terms and phrases / Robert D.

Langenkamp. Includes bibliographical reerences. ISBN 978-1-59370-334-91. Petroleum engineering--Dictionaries. 2. Petroleum industry and trade--Dictionaries. I. Langenkamp, Robert D., 1913-2003. Handbook o oil industryterms and phrases. II. itle. N865.L36 2014 622’.338203--dc23 2013049378

All rights reserved. No part o this book may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, or transcribed in any orm or by any means, electronic or

mechanical, including photocopying and recording,without the prior written permission o the publisher.

Printed in the United States o America

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PREFACE

Tis is the sixth edition o a book first compiled in 1974 by my ather, alietime oilman who started in the Oklahoma oilfields and ended in the GulOil headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, thirty years later. Editionsollowed in 1977, 1981, 1984, and 1994. In those first five editions my athercaptured not only the technical complexity o the oil field but its history andcolor. Te result was a mélange o technical inormation and oil field historyand mystique. An example o the history and color he sought to capture is thedefinition o “powder monkeys,” which can still be ound among the termssuch as “riser severance tool,” “racturing pressure,” and “turbo drilling.”

Powder Monkeys: Workers who handle dynamite on pipelineconstruction jobs. Tey ollow the rock-drill crew that havedrilled spaced holes . . . Te powder monkey inserts sticks odynamite into the holes, cutting the sticks in hal, i neces-sary, to fill the hole including the detonating cap. Breathingthe umes, the vapor that arises rom working with the explo-

sive, produces severe headaches. o circumvent this hazard,experienced workers put small amounts o dynamite on theirtongues that will fill the tip o a knie blade, and eat it. It is notan unpleasant taste, similar to crème o tartar. (Te author inhis younger days was a powder monkey and ingested his shareo 40 percent dynamite; it works.)

My ather wrote rom experience. He was the son o one o Oklahoma’sfirst pipeliners working to connect new Oklahoma oil fields to markets east

and south. In addition to being a “powder monkey,” he had been a “linewalker,” a “telegrapher,” a “pipeliner,” a “pumper,” a “roustabout,” a “rough-neck,” a “gauger,” and probably at some time someone’s “dog robber.” Hehad lived in an “oil camp” along with his inant son—this author—he had“bird-dogged” a job, he had fled into a “doghouse” to get out o the rain,and he had handled “pipe tongs” as well as an “idiot stick” and a “thie.” Yetdespite this oil encrusted experience he knew the chemical composition o“ethylene” and the meaning o “isomerization.”

My lietime petroleum career has been less colorul but equally varied:

college boy roustabout and refinery employee, oil and gas lawyer, govern-ment energy official, small exploration company owner, oil and gas lawproessor, international law lecturer, and State Department energy consul-tant. I have financed and drilled a hundred wells o my own and have served,while Deputy Assistant Secretary o the U.S. Energy Department, as themanager o both the Naval Petroleum Reserves and the Strategic PetroleumReserves. I have also lectured and consulted in numerous oreign countries


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vi Handbook of Oil Industry Terms and Phrases, Sixth Edition

on oil and gas. Tis career may have given me less time in the field but moretime watching the kudzu-like expansion o petroleum development all overthe world and in all o the oceans.

Tis sixth edition has sought to preserve most o the history and color,even though some o the terms are ading rom use, and has added morethan 500 new terms to capture the rapid movement o this industry intoits new era in which wells are deeper and more likely to be offshore, theequipment more complex, and the drilling ollowed by new completiontechnology. Despite the greater depths drilled and the gigantic offshoreplatorms involved, despite the horizontal drilling and massive racs, thebasic production techniques remain surprisingly similar to those employed

in the 1930s when rotary drilling was first perected. Tis new edition alsoreflects the growth o oil exploration overseas, the emergence o national oilcompanies, and the increased complexity o deal making.

Between the two authors there are more than 80 exciting years o experi-ence in the oil business stretching rom Wol Camp, Oklahoma, whereRobert was a field mechanic in 1936 (and where his son grew up), to Luanda,Angola, where his son lectured on international petroleum contracts in2013. We hope this volume is as interesting and useul as its predecessors.

—Robert D. Langenkamp (1913–2003)

—R. Dobie Langenkamp (1936– )


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PREFACE TO THE

FIRST EDITION

Te oil industry in America was born in the wooded hills o westernPennsylvania and grew up in greasy clothes with a plug o tobacco in its jaw.

It all started when “Colonel” Edwin L. Drake struck oil with his 69½oot well near itusville in 1859. When news o the discovery reached town,

a gold-rush ever spread through the countryside. Hardworking men—coal miners, armers, lumbermen, blacksmiths—lef their jobs or the hardwork o digging or oil. Beore long, adventurers, gamblers, and ast-talkingpromoters, attracted by the prospects o quick ortunes, joined the action.

From this mixed band, laboring like sourdoughs over their diggings,evolved a salty and expressive vocabulary. Familiar words took on newmeanings; new phrases were invented to describe tools and equipment, thework being done, and those who were doing it.

Te first 50 years o oil were the years o the steam drilling rigs, cabletools, pot stills, and kerosene. Among those speaking or this era, in a vernac-ular ew non-oil people understood, were the tool dressers, mule skinners,well shooters, tankies, and pipeliners—hardy men who inhabited the roughand proane world o boom town.

In the ollowing hal century, the search or oil widened and grewmore sophisticated. Te vocabulary was enlarged to include the activitieso the petroleum geologist, the geophysical crews, electric loggers, and theoffshore men.

During the last 20 years or so, new terms have been added relating to oilin a global context, reflecting the industry’s multi-national character. Wordssuch as participation, concession, fixer’s ee, buy-back oil, and the acronymOPEC are all part o the dynamic vocabulary o oil.

Tis handbook was compiled in order to bring together all that is oldand historic and what is new in the lexicon o the industry, and to provideunderstandable, non-technical definitions and explanations.

Te author, with 28 years in the oil patch and 10 years as editor o a

major oil company magazine, has exercised the greatest care in compilingthis work. All entries were checked against authoritative reerences and withoperating oil men in the field to assure that definitions and explanationswere correct.


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viii Handbook of Oil Industry Terms and Phrases, Sixth Edition

Although certain words may have different meanings in different partso the country, the conditions or procedures described are the same every-where. A “kick” by any other name is still a potentially dangerous occur-rence caused by encountering a pocket o high-pressure gas down hole; and“flanged up” anywhere in oil country means the job is finished.

Te author hopes that this handbook will prove useul as well as inter-esting to those in the oil industry, to writers, students, lawyers, and investorsas well as to members o the public who would like to learn more about anindustry that, alongside the automobile, has affected their lives prooundly.

—R.D.L.

(1974)


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A.A.D.E. | ABSORPION PLAN 1

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A

A.A.D.E.

American Association o Drilling Engineers.

A.A.O.D.C.

American Association o Oilwell Drilling Contractors.

A.A.P.G.

American Association o Petroleum Geologists.

ABANDONED OIL

Oil permitted to escape rom storage tanks or pipeline by an operator.I the operator makes no effort to recover the oil, the landowner onwhose property the oil has run may trap the oil or his/her own use. Te

operator would also be responsible or damages rom the oil.

ABANDONED WELL

A well no longer in use; a dry hole that in most states must be properlyplugged.

ABSOLUTE ALCOHOL

One hundred percent ethyl alcohol.

ABSOLUTE PERMEABILITYTe ability o a rock or a ormation to conduct a fluid (oil, gas, or waterat 100 percent saturation).

ABSORPTION

Te taking in or assimilation o a gas by a liquid; the soaking up o asubstance by another. See Absorption Plant.

ABSORPTION OIL

An oil used to remove heavier hydrocarbons rom natural gas in anabsorption tower.

ABSORPTION PLANT

An oilfield acility that removes liquid hydrocarbons rom naturalgas, especially casinghead gas. Te gas is run through oil o a proper


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2 ABSORPION OWER | ACCUMULAION OF OIL AND GAS

character that absorbs the liquid components o the gas. Te liquids arethen recovered rom the oil by distillation.

ABSORPTION TOWER

A tower or column in which contact is made between a rising gas anda alling liquid so that part o the gas is taken up, or absorbed, by theliquid.

ABSTRACT OF TITLE

A collection o all recorded instruments affecting the title to a tract oland. Some abstracts contain complete copies o instruments on record,but others are summaries o the various instruments. In most states,title examination is made using an abstract o title, rather than reer-ring to the actually recorded documents in the Registry o Deeds in theCourthouse.

ACCELERATED AGING TEST

A procedure whereby an oil product may be subjected to intensified,but controlled, conditions o heat, pressure, radiation, or other variablesto produce in a short time the effects o long-time storage or use under

normal conditions.ACCOMMODATION MODULE

Offshore crews’ quarters: dormitories, dining, and recreation acilities.

ACCOMMODATION RIG

See Rig, Accommodation.

ACCREDITED INVESTOR

Under Regulation D o the Security and Exchange Commission, aprivate offering can be made to only 35 non-accredited investors, butto an unlimited number o accredited investors, usually investors withlarger net worths. Investor is defined in Rule 501, 17C.F.R. Sec 230.501(a).Many private offerings under Reg. D have traditionally been used tofinance oil and gas exploration.

ACCUMULATION OF OIL AND GAS

Hydrocarbons accumulate in porous and permeable ormations and

stratiy or orm in layers: gas at the highest level, oil in the second levelbeneath the gas, and water (i there is any) on the bottom level. Oil andgas accumulate in the highest parts o a reservoir, which makes the topand upper flanks o an anticline a good place to drill or oil. Petroleumaccumulations require a great deal o time (a million years or so) to ormas the oil and gas percolate upward rom their source beds throughmore-or-less permeable rock to the reservoir rock where, with luck, it isdiscovered by a wildcatter.


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ACCUMULAOR | ACID OIL 3

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ACCUMULATOR

A small tank or vessel to hold air or liquid under pressure or use in a

hydraulic or air-actuated system. Accumulators, in effect, store a sourceo pressure or use at a regulated rate in mechanisms or equipment in aplant or in drilling or production operations.

ACCUMULATOR SYSTEM

A hydraulic system designed to provide power to all closure elementso the rig’s blowout-preventer stack. Hydraulic oil is orced into one ormore vessels by a high-pressure, small-volume pump and its charge oinert gas, usually nitrogen. Te gas is compressed and stores potential

energy. When the system is actuated, the oil under high pressure isreleased and opens or closes the valves on the B.O.P. stack.

ACETONE

A volatile, ragrant, flammable, liquid compound used as a solvent andinorganic synthesis. (C3H6O)

ACETYLENE

A colorless, highly flammable gas with a sweetish odor used with oxygen

in oxyacetylene welding. It is produced synthetically by incompletecombustion o coal gas and by the action o water on calcium carbide. Italso can be made rom natural gas.

ACID BOTTLE INCLINOMETER

A device used in a well to determine the degree o deviation rom the vertical o the well bore. Te acid is used to etch a horizontal line on thecontainer. From the angle the line makes with the wall o the container,the angle o the well’s course can be determined. See Inclinometer.

ACID GAS

Sour gas; gas including hydrogen sulfide (H2S); a gas with a strongrotten-egg odor, sometimes produced with natural gas. Even in smallamounts, sour gas can be lethal.

ACIDIZING A WELL

A technique or increasing the flow o oil rom a well. Hydrochloric orother acids are pumped into the well under high pressure to reopen and

enlarge the pores in the oil-bearing limestone ormations.

ACID OIL

Sour oil, i.e., oil with a high concentration o hydrogen sulfide (H2S).Antonym: sweet crude, as in Oklahoma sweet crude.


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4 ACID-RECOVERY PLAN | ACREAGE

ACID-RECOVERY PLANT

An auxiliary acility at some refineries where acid sludge is separated

into acid oil, tar, and weak suluric acid. Te suluric acid is thenre-concentrated or sale.

ACID SLUDGE

Te residue lef afer treating petroleum oil with suluric acid orthe removal o impurities. Te sludge is a black, viscous substancecontaining the spent acid and the impurities that the acid has removedrom the oil.

ACID TREATMENT

A refining process in which unfinished petroleum products, such asgasoline, kerosene, diesel uels, and lubricating stocks, are treated withsuluric acid to improve color, odor, and other properties.

ACOUSTIC LOG

A generic term or a well log that displays any o several measurementso acoustic waves in rocks exposed in a borehole, e.g., compressional-wave transit time over an interval (sonic log) or relative amplitude

(cement bond log).

ACOUSTIC PLENUM

A soundproo room; an office or “sanctuary” aboard an offshore drillingplatorm protected rom the noise o drilling engines and pipe handling.

ACOUSTIC REENTRY

A method used in deepwater operations offshore to reposition a drillshipover a borehole previously drilled and cased. Te technique employs

acoustic signals to locate the pipe and guide the ship into position.

ACOUSTIC WAVE

A sound wave; sonic wave.

ACQUIRED RIGHTS CLAUSE

A clause in a joint venture, armout, or other agreement designed toafford parties to the agreement the right to share in specified utureacquisitions by another party to the agreement. See AMI.

ACREAGE

Reers to acres owned in ee, subject to an oil and gas lease, or onwhich mineral rights are owned that can be developed or oil produc-tion. Acreage constitutes the inventory o an exploration company. Netacreage is the figure which adjusts or the ractional interests, e.g., a 25%interest in 100 acres equals 25 net acres.


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ACREAGE CONRIBUION AGREEMEN | ADDIIVE 5

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ACREAGE CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

In this type o support agreement, the contributing party agrees to

contribute a lease or interest in leases in the immediate vicinity o thewell being drilled. Part o the agreement requires that the test well bedrilled to a certain depth and that certain inormation be made avail-able to the contributing partner. See Bottom-Hole Letter.

ACRE-FOOT

A unit o measurement applied to petroleum reserves; an acre oproducing ormation one oot thick. Also reers to fluid on the surace.An acre-oot equals a oot o fluid covering an acre.

A.C.S.

American Chemical Society.

ACT OF GOD CLAUSE

See Force Majeure Clause.

A.C.T. SYSTEM

Automatic Custody ranser System. See LAC—Lease Automatic

Custody ranser.

ACTUATOR

See Operator.

A.C.V.

Air-cushion vehicle. See Air-Cushion ransport.

ADAMANTINE LUSTER

A brilliant mineral luster characteristic o minerals with a high indexo reraction (deflects a ray o light with little change in the light ray’s velocity). Diamonds have such a luster, as does cerussite.

ADA MUD

A material that may be added to drilling mud to condition it in order toobtain satisactory core samples.

ADAPTER

A device to provide a connection between two dissimilar parts orbetween similar parts o different sizes. See Swage.

ADDITIVE

A chemical added to oil, gasoline, or other products to enhance certaincharacteristics or to give them other desirable properties.


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6 ADMINISRAIVE OVERHEAD | A.F.E.

ADMINISTRATIVE OVERHEAD

Te ee charged by the operator under the terms o a Joint Operating

Agreement or administrative and office work. Usually calculated orestimated differently than field operating costs. Sometimes this is afixed per month or per well charge and is reerred to as “overhead.”

ADOLESCENT ROCK

See Immature Rock.

ADSORPTION

Te attraction exhibited by the surace o a solid or a liquid or a gas

when they are in contact. Compare with Absorption.

ADVANCE PAYMENT AGREEMENT

A transaction in which one operator advances a sum o money or creditto another operator to assist in developing an oil or gas field. Te agree-ment provides an option to the “lender” to buy a portion or all o theproduction resulting rom the development work.

ADVANCE PAYMENT FINANCING

See Production Payment.

A.E.C.

Atomic Energy Commission. A U.S. government agency responsible oratomic weapons and nuclear power development. It was changed intoERDA (Energy Research and Development Agency) and then becamepart o the Department o Energy in 1977.

AEOLIAN

See Eolian.

AERATED DRILLING FLUIDS

Aerated or oamed drilling fluids are created by introducing air,nitrogen or other inert gases into the circulating system and pumpingthe mixture downhole. o maintain an underbalanced system, oamedwater-based or oil-based drilling fluid is used. Tis is particularly useulin drilling with coiled tubing. See Underbalanced Drilling.

AERIFYo change into a gaseous orm; to inuse with or orce air into; gasiy.

A.F.E.

Authority For Expenditure. A detailed statement o the estimated costo a well signed by working interest owner. Te A.F.E. is an estimateonly and a well participant must pay actual costs. In corporate admin-


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A.F.R.A. | A.I.P.N.

istration, there are several A.F.E. levels: the field office, district office,division office, and headquarters, with expenditure authorizationsranging rom a ew thousand dollars at the field level to perhaps millionsat the headquarters.

A.F.R.A.

Average Freight Rate Assessment (or tankers).

A-FRAME

A two-legged metal or wooden support in the orm o the letter “A” orhoisting or exerting a vertical pull with block and tackle or winch lineattached to the apex o the A-rame.

AFTER MARKET FACILITY

A large, under-roo area or the repair and resale o offshore drilling andproduction components.

AGENDA 21

A plan o action or the 21st century to be taken globally in the interesto “sustainable development.” Agreed to at the Earth Summit at Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.A.G.A.

American Gas Association.

A.G.R.U.

Acid Gas Removal Unit.

A.H.D.

Along Hole Depth. Tis measurement, unlike normal depth measure-ments, excludes the distance rom the ground to the derrick floor.

A.I.Ch.E.

American Institute o Chemical Engineers.

A.I.M.M.E.

American Institute o Mining and Metallurgical Engineers.

A.I.P.N.Association o International Petroleum Negotiators. An organiza-tion, principally o lawyers, who specialize in international petroleumcontracting, negotiations and arbitration. Te A.I.P.N. prepares modelcontracts and conducts seminars.


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AIRED UP | ALEXANDER L. KIELLAND DISASER 9

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AIRED UP

Reers to a condition in a plunger pump when the suction chamber is

ull o air, or gas, blocking the intake o oil into the chamber. Beorethe pump will operate efficiently, the air must be bled off, vented to theatmosphere through a bleeder line or by loosening the suction valvecovers to permit the escape o the air.

AIR-FILLED BOREHOLE

An empty borehole; no water, no drilling fluids, just air; a dry hole.

AIRGUN

A device used in geophysical or seismic surveys in a water environmentthat creates seismic signals (sound waves) with bursts o compressed air.Air bursts rom air guns trailed behind a geophysical ship are as effec-tive as explosive detonations but do not damage marine lie. See SeismicSea Streamer.

AIR HOIST

A hoist; a mechanism or lifing that is operated by a compressed airmotor; pneumatic hoist.

AIR-INJECTION METHOD

A type o secondary recovery to increase production by orcing the oilrom the reservoir into the well bore. Because o the dangers inherent inthe use o air, which can become combustible when mixed with gas, thismethod is not a common practice except in areas where there is insu-ficient gas or repressuring.

AIR LIFT

See Gas Lif.

AIR WEIGHT OF CASING

Te weight o a string o casing without the buoyant effect o the drillingfluid. For example, i the maximum hook load o a derrick is 1,900,000 lband the air weight o the casing string is 2,100,000 (200,000 lb more),with the borehole ull o drilling mud, it is possible to handle saely the2,100,000 lb string.

AIR WRENCHSee Impact Wrench.

ALEXANDER L. KIELLAND DISASTER

Tis Norwegian rig, named afer one o the country’s great writers,overturned March 27, 1980, with 212 people aboard. A total o 123persons were drowned.


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10 ALGAL LIMESONE | ALLUVIAL FAN

ALGAL LIMESTONE

(1) A limestone made up largely o the remains o calcium carbonate-

producing algae.(2) A limestone in which algae bind together the ragments o othercalcium carbonate-producing organisms.

ALGAL REEF

An organic ree in which algae were the principal organisms, secretingcalcium carbonate to build the ree.

ALIEN TORT CLAIMS ACT

A U.S. law establishing the right o an alien to sue a deendant in a U.S.court or a “violation o the law o nations.” It has been the basis orecent lawsuits against U.S. oil companies or alleged human rights andenvironmental errors or transgressions.

ALIPHATICS

One o the two classes o organic petrochemicals; the other is thearomatics. Te most important aliphatics are the gases ethylene,butylene, acetylene, and propylene.

ALKYLATION

A refining process that, simply stated, is the reverse o cracking. Tealkylation process starts with small molecules and ends up with largerones. o a refining engineer, alkylation is the reaction o butylene orpropylene with isobutane to orm an isoparaffin, alkylate; a superiorgasoline blending component.

ALLOWABLE

Te amount o oil or gas a well or a leasehold is permitted to produceunder proration orders o a state regulatory body. Such orders wereenorced to prop up oil prices in periods o glut and are now a thing othe past.

ALL-THREAD NIPPLE

A short piece o small-diameter pipe with threads over its entire length;a close nipple.

ALLUVIAL FAN(1) A an-shaped area o soil and small rock sediment deposited bymountain or highland streams as their flow meets the relatively flatdesert floor.(2) Te silt, clay, sand, and other sediment deposited by a stream or riveras it spreads out on a plain or continental shel. Alluvial ans are usuallycut by numerous distributary channels that divide the main stream


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ALLUVlAL ALUS | AMMONIA (FERILIZER) 11

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to orm the common an shapes similar to those occurring in deltas.Large alluvial ans are a eature o the southwest United States, whereast-flowing mountain streams meet the flat land, slow down to a crawl,and drop their suspended bed load o sediment.

ALLUVlAL TALUS

An accumulation o pebbles and rock ragments deposited by rainwashafer a storm or by melting snow.

ALTERNATE ENERGY

Any energy system other than traditional ossil, nuclear, or hydropowerenergy sources. See also Renewable Energy.

ALTERNATE FUELS

Fuels—gas, gasoline, heating oil—made rom coal, oil shale, or tarsands by various methods. Also included is ethanol added to gasoline(gasohol) or biodiesel made rom organic materials or animal at.Alternate uels may also include steam rom geothermal wells wheresuperheated water deep in the earth is used to generate steam or electricpower generation.

ALUMINUM CHLORIDE

A chemical used as a catalytic agent in oil refining and or the removalo odor and color rom cracked gasoline.

AMERIPOL

Te trade name or products made rom a type o synthetic rubber.

AMINE

Organic base used in refining operations to absorb acidic gases (H2S,COS, CO2) occurring in process streams. wo common amines aremonoethanolamine (MEA) and diethanolamine (DEA).

AMINE UNIT

A natural gas treatment unit or removing contaminants by the use oamines. Amine units are ofen skid-mounted so they can be moved tothe site o new gas production. Gas containing H2S and other impuritiesmust be cleaned up beore it is acceptable to gas transmission pipelines.

AMMONIA (FERTILIZER)

An extremely pungent, colorless, gaseous alkaline compound onitrogen and hydrogen (NH3) that is soluble in water and used as ertil-izer. Te gas can be condensed to a liquid by severe cooling and pressure.Ammonia is one o the valuable products made principally rom naturalgas (CH4).


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12 AMMONIUM SULFAE | ANCHOR BOL

AMMONIUM SULFATE

A salt having commercial value, which is obtained in the distillation o

shale oils.AMOCO CADIZ

A supertanker that ran aground just off the coast o Brittany in March,1975, spilling 69 million gallons o crude oil.

AMORPHOUS

A mineral or other substance that lacks a crystalline structure, or whoseinternal arrangement is so irregular that there is no characteristic

external orm. A term once used to describe a mass o rock with noapparent divisions.

AMPERE

Te undamental unit o electricity. Ofen shortened to amp. Symbol: A.

AMPHIBOLE

A group o dark, erromagnesian silicate minerals widely distributed inigneous and metamorphic rocks. Hornblende is a member o this group.

AMPLITUDE

Te extent o a vibratory movement o an oscillation; the maximumnumerical value o a periodically varying quantity; in seismic applica-tion, the reflection coefficient.

AMYL HYDRIDE

Tis raction in the distillation o petroleum was used as an anestheticby J. Bigelow and B. Richardson in 1865.

ANADARKO BASIN

A deep geological basin in western Oklahoma that has substantial oiland gas reserves. Some o the deepest gas wells in the U.S. (27,000 f.+)are located in this basin.

ANAEROBIC DECOMPOSITION

Decomposition in absence o oxygen; decomposition o organicmaterials will yield CO2 and CH4.

ANCHOR, PIPELINE

See Pipeline Anchor.

ANCHOR BOLT

A stud bolt; a large bolt or securing an engine or other item o equip-ment to its oundation.


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ANCHOR SRING | ANGULAR DISCORDANCE 13

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ANCHOR STRING

A short string o casing run in the hole in offshore wells that serves as

an anchor or base or the installation o wellhead equipment. On land,an anchor string is called surace pipe, or surace casing which may berom 200 to 2,000 eet long. It isolates the borehole rom the shallowreshwater zones. It also serves as the oundation or anchor or all subse-quent drilling activity. Te anchor string is cemented securely beorethe borehole is taken down to guard against a blowout should highdownhole pressure be encountered. A blowout around the anchor stringis a near disaster because there is no way, short o heroic measures, tocontrol the escaping pressure. See Killer Well.

ANEMOMETER

An instrument or measuring and indicating the orce or speed othe wind.

ANGLE BUILDING

Te technique o drilling slanted or directional boreholes. Tis is accom-plished by special bottom-hole assemblies, i.e., drilling, stabilizing, andreaming tools attached to the drillstring in a certain sequence. Tis

permits the hole to be drilled at a predetermined angle rom the vertical.See Angle-Building Assemblies.

ANGLE-BUILDING ASSEMBLIES

Special bottom-hole assemblies used in the field or directional, or slant-hole, drilling and or drilling near-horizontal drain holes. Tree assem-blies in general use are the turbo drill or positive displacement mudmotor with a bent sub; a drill bit, a near-bit reamer or stabilizer, anda drill collar o reduced diameter; and a bit, a reamer, and a knuckle-

joint assembly.

ANGLO-PERSIAN OIL CO (A.P.O.C.)

Te predecessor to British Petroleum. Founded in 1909.

A.N.G.T.A.

Alaska Natural Gas ransportation Act. A 1976 measure calling or apipeline to transport gas rom northern Alaska to the lower US states.Despite this act the pipeline has not been built to date.

ANGULAR

Having sharp angles or edges. Reers to sedimentary particles showinglittle or no evidence o abrasion, their corners and edges still sharp.

ANGULAR DISCORDANCE

See Nonconormity.


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14 ANGULAR UNCONFORMIY | ANODE

ANGULAR UNCONFORMITY

See Unconormity, Angular.

ANHYDRITE

A mineral (CaSO4) closely related to gypsum that occurs in thick layerscomparable to beds o limestone. Geologists assume that anhydrite wascrystallized rom solution when a shallow sea or arm o the sea evapo-rated during ages past.

ANHYDROUS

Reers to a mineral that is without water. Anhydrous minerals contain

no water in their chemical makeup.

ANNULAR BLOWOUT PREVENTER

See Spherical Blowout Preventer.

ANNULAR CHANNELING

Fluid breakthrough in the cement between the casing and the wallo the borehole as the result o imperect cementing or the extremepressures that develop operations such as during the racing operation.

See Cement Squeeze.

ANNULAR GAS LEAKAGE

Gas leakage or gas flow between the casing and the wall o the borehole.Sometimes this type o leakage is difficult to stop or shut off. Being adistinct danger to personnel and equipment, there are a number oremedial techniques employed to seal off the annular space to blockthe percolating gas. Beore the casing is run, the wall o the boreholeis scraped and washed down; to center the casing in the hole, spacers

are run. Ten a high-density cement is pumped downhole; thixotropiccement or compressible cement and two-stage cementing are alsosometimes used.

ANNULAR SPACE

Te space between the well’s casing and the wall o the borehole.

ANNUNCIATOR

An electronically controlled device that signals or sounds an alarm

when conditions deviate rom normal or predetermined levels opressure, heat, or speed in a process or in operating equipment.

ANODE

A block o nonerrous metal buried near a pipeline, storage tank, orother acility and connected to the structure to be protected. Te anodesets up a weak electric current that flows to the structure, thus reversing


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ANODE, BUOYAN | ANICLINAL FOLD 15

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the flow o current that is associated with the corrosion o iron and steel.See Rectifier Bed.

ANODE, BUOYANT

A source o electric current (D.C.) or protecting offshore platorms andother steel structures, resting on the sea floor, against corrosion. Teanode is anchored to the seafloor a ew hundred eet away rom a struc-ture, but is held off the bottom by its buoyancy. Te anode is connectedto a source o D.C. current on the platorm by an insulated cable. Teweak current is supplied by a transormer-rectifier, the negative terminalo which is grounded to the steel structure. Tus, the completion o thecircuit rom rectifier to anode to structure is through the seawater. Teweak current moving rom anode to the structure reverses the flow ocurrent associated with the corrosion o metal. See Rectifier Bed.

ANODE, SACRIFICIAL

An anode made o material that is expendable and is sacrificed to thegood o the installation: tank, building, or pipeline. Te anode, wired tothe structure being protected, is gradually corroded away by the weakchemoelectric current that causes certain types o corrosion.

ANOMALY

Something that is different rom the normal or the expected; a geolog-ical eature, especially in the subsurace, that is identified by geological,geochemical, or geophysical methods to be different rom the generalsurroundings. Tis quite ofen indicates the presence o a salt pillar,igneous rock intrusion, salt dome, or anticline, which could mean anaccumulation o oil and gas or increased drilling difficulty.

ANOMALY, NEGATIVE-GRAVITY

With the use o a gravity meter (gravimeter), the differences in theearth’s gravity can be measured over areas o the surace. When there isa significant difference in the gravitational pull (as over a salt dome, orexample) compared to the surrounding area, the lower reading identi-fies the area over the salt dome as a negative-gravity anomaly.

ANOMOLY, RADIOACTIVE

A deviation rom expected results when making a radioactivity survey.

Such anomalies are important signs or markers in mineral exploration.A.N.S.I.

American National Standards Institute.

ANTICLINAL FOLD

A subsurace ormation resembling an anticline.


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16 ANICLINAL HEORY | A.P.&A. WELL

ANTICLINAL THEORY

Te theory first set orth by I. C. White in 1885 that oil and gas tend to

accumulate in anticlines or anticlinal structures.ANTICLINE

A subsurace geological structure in the orm o a sine curve or anelongated dome. Te ormation is avorable to the accumulation o oiland/or gas.

ANTICLINE, BALD-HEADED

An anticline whose crest has been eroded beore the deposit o sedimen-

tary layers above it, which results in an overlying unconormity. SeeUnconormity.

ANTICLINE, BREACHED

An anticline whose top or crust has been so deeply eroded that all thatremains o the structure are the inward-leaning flanks or sides.

ANTIKNOCK COMPOUNDS

Certain chemicals that are added to automotive gasoline to improve

their perormance—to reduce “ping” or knock—in high-compres-sion internal-combustion engines. etraethyl lead is one well-knownantiknock compound.

ANTI-TWO-BLOCK WARNING SYSTEM

An electronic device that sounds a warning i two blocks in a block andtackle or other hoisting rig-up are in danger o coming together, or ia block is about to pull up to the end o a boom. Tis could cause losso the load and other serious damage as the cable breaks. Tere is no

simple name or this system.

A.N.W.R.

Alaska National Wildlie Reuge. An area o controversy betweenconservationists and oil and gas exploration companies. Oil companieshave sought leases on this area, which is thought to contain substantialreserves, but so ar the U.S. government has not given its permission orleasing.

A.O.F.Absolute Open Flow.

A.P.&A. WELL

A plugged and abandoned well.


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17

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A.P.I. | AQUAGEL

A.P.I.

(1) Te American Petroleum Institute.

(2) Te proper way to do a job; “strictly A.P.I.”A.P.I. BID SHEET AND WELL SPECIFICATIONS

A orm many operators use in soliciting bids on a well to be drilled andcompleted. Te orm is submitted to the drilling contractors in the areao the proposed well. Te operator asking or bids fills out the part o theorm giving name and location o the proposed well, commencementdate, depth or ormation to be drilled to, and other inormation. Whenthe drilling contractors submit a bid, they list the rig and equipment

to be urnished: drawworks, mud pumps, derrick or mast size, makeand capacity, drillpipe, tool joints, etc. Te bid sheet brings operator andcontractor together, as it were; they then arrive at rates and other matters.

A.P.I. GRAVITY

Gravity (weight per unit o volume) o crude oil or other liquidhydrocarbon as measured by a system recommended by the A.P.I.A.P.I. gravity bears a relationship to true specific gravity but is moreconvenient to work with than the decimal ractions that would result i

petroleum were expressed in specific gravity.

A.P.I. NEUTRON UNIT

A working unit set up by the American Petroleum Institute or thecalibration o neutron well logs.

APPALACHIAN BASIN

A sedimentary basin with thick deposits in the interior, becomingthinner as they approach the edges, extending rom New York to

Alabama. opographically, it orms the Appalachian Mountains, andwestward to the Allegheny Plateau.

APPRAISAL DRILLING

Wells drilled in the vicinity o a discovery or wildcat well in order toevaluate the extent and the importance o the find.

APRON RING

Te bottommost ring o steel plates in the wall o an upright cylindrical

steel tank.

AQUAGEL

A specifically prepared bentonite (clay) widely used as a conditioningmaterial in drilling mud.


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18 AQUAORY | ARC WELDER

AQUATORY

Undersea territory; offshore and coastline parcels o land offered or

lease by a oreign government.AQUEOUS FRACTURING

Te use o a water-base racturing fluid, which may be successully donei there are no resh-water sensitive sections. When shale sections withinterruptions or banding o clay are encountered, special stabilizingagents can be added to control the osmotic action, the absorption o thewater in the racture fluid.

AQUIFER

Water-bearing rock strata. In a water-drive oil field, the aquier is thewater zone o the reservoir.

AQUIFER, CONFINED

An aquier bounded above and below by impervious beds; also onecontaining trapped ground water.

ARABIAN LIGHT

A marker crude oil produced in Saudi Arabia that is high quality andagainst which other crudes, particularly those in the Middle East, aremeasured or quality and price.

ARAMCO

Arab American Oil Company; originally owned by Standard Oil oCaliornia (SOCAL) and exas Oil Company (EXACO), it is nowtotally Saudi owned and constitutes the national oil company othat country.

ARBITRAGE, PRODUCT

Te buying, selling, or trading o petroleum or products in variousmarkets to make a profit rom short-term differences in prices in onemarket as compared to those in another. A sophisticated method otrading in world petroleum markets.

ARBITRATION CLAUSE

A clause ound in concessions production sharing and other agree-

ments whereby the parties agree to submit disputes to arbitration andbe bound thereby.

ARC WELDER

(1) An electric welding unit consisting o an engine and D.C. generator,usually skid-mounted.(2) A person who uses such a machine in making welds.


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AREAL GEOLOGY | ARKOSE 19

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AREAL GEOLOGY

Te branch o geology that pertains to the distribution, position, and

orm o the areas o the earth’s surace occupied by different types orocks or geologic ormations; the making o maps o such areas.

AREAL MAP

See Map, Areal.

AREA OF INTEREST

A specifically described area surrounding a successul well in whichthe investors have a right by contract to participate in any uture wells

drilled by the same operator.

AREA OF MUTUAL INTEREST (A.M.I.)

See Area o Interest.

AREOMETER

An instrument or measuring the specific gravity o liquids; a hydrom-eter.

ARGILLACEOUSClayey or clay bearing; shale-like and having little i any permeability.

ARGILLACEOUS LIMESTONE

A limestone containing a significant amount o clay (but less than 50percent); cement rock.

ARGILLACEOUS SANDSTONE

Impure sandstone containing varying amounts o silt and clay; weak,

riable sandstone; clayey sandstone.

ARGON

An inert, colorless, odorless gaseous element sometimes, and in somelocations, produced with natural gas.

ARKANSAS STONE

A variety o novaculite ound in the Ouachita Mountains o westernArkansas. Whet stones are made o this material.

ARKOSE

A coarse-grained, pinkish sandstone rich in eldspar that resemblesgranite. Arkose is composed principally o quartz.


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20 AROMAICS | ASPHAL-BASE CRUDE

AROMATICS

A group o hydrocarbon ractions that orms the basis o most organic

chemicals so ar synthesized. Te name aromatics is derived rom itsrather distinctive odor. Te unique ring structure o their carbon atomsmakes it possible to transorm aromatics into an almost endless numbero chemicals. Benzene, toluene, and xylene are the principal aromaticsand are commonly reerred to as the B..X. group.

ARTIFICIAL DRIVES

Methods o producing oil rom a reservoir when natural drives—gascap, solution-gas, water, etc.—are not present or have been depleted.

Waterflood, repressuring or recycling, steam drive, and in situ combus-tion are examples o artificial drives.

ARTIFICIAL LIFT

Pumping an oil well with a rod, tubing, or bottom-hole centriugalpump may be termed artificially lifing crude oil to the surace or doingso by mechanical means. For other means o producing wells whennatural drives have been depleted, see Artificial Drives.

A.S.K. SYSTEM

Automatic station-keeping system; the name applied to a sophisticateddrillship-positioning technique consisting o subsurace acousticalequipment linked to shipboard computers that control ship’s thrusters.Te thrusters, ore and af, reposition the ship, compensating or drif,wind drag, current, and wave action. See Dynamic Stationing.

A.S.M.E.

American Society o Mechanical Engineers.

ASPHALT

A solid hydrocarbon ound as a natural deposit. Crude oil o highasphaltic content, when subjected to distillation to remove the lighterractions such as naphtha and kerosene, leaves asphalt as a residue.Asphalt is dark brown or black in color and at normal temperatures isa solid. See Brea.

ASPHALT-BASE CRUDE

Crude oil containing very little paraffin wax and a residue primarily asphaltic. Sulur, oxygen, and nitrogen are ofen relatively high. Tis typeo crude is particularly suitable or making high-quality gasoline, lubri-cating oil, and asphalt. Compare with Paraffin-Base Crude.


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ASPHALENES | A.S..M. DISILLAION 21

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ASPHALTENES

At the very bottom o the crude-oil barrel are the asphaltenes, composed

o complex molecules. Asphaltenes are polyaromatic compounds withhigh carbon-hydrogen ratios in their molecules rom which asphaltis made.

ASPHALTIC PETROLEUM

Petroleum that contains sufficient amounts o asphalt in solution tomake recovery commercially practical by merely distilling off thesolvent oils.

ASPHALTIC SAND

Natural mixture o asphalts with varying proportions o loose sand.Te quantity o bituminous cementing material extracted rom the sandmay run as high as 12 percent. Tis bitumen is composed o sof asphalt.

ASSEMBLY

A term to describe a number o special pieces o equipment fittedtogether to perorm a particular unction; e.g., a drill assembly mayinclude other pieces o downhole equipment besides the drill bit, such

as drill collars, damping subs, stabilizers, etc.

ASSET, WASTING

See Wasting Asset.

ASSIGNEE

A recipient o an interest in property or a contract; in oil and gas usage,the recipient o an oil or gas lease; a transeree.

ASSIGNMENTIn oil and gas usage, assignment is a transer o a property or an interestin an oil or gas property; most commonly, the transer o an oil or gaslease. Te assignor does the transerring and the assignee receives theinterest or property.

ASSOCIATED GAS

Gas that occurs with oil, either as ree gas or in solution. Gas occurringalone in a reservoir is unassociated gas.

A.S.T.M.

American Society or esting Materials.

A.S.T.M. DISTILLATION

A test o oil’s distillation properties standardized by the AmericanSociety or esting Materials. A sample o oil is heated in a flask; the


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22 ASROBLEME | AUHEGENIC CARBONAE ROCK

vapors pass through a tube where they are cooled and condensed; theliquid is collected in a graduated cylinder. When the first drop o distil-late is obtained, the temperature at which this occurs is the initial boilingpoint o the oil. Te test is continued until all distillable ractions havedistilled over and have been measured and their properties examined.

ASTROBLEME

An unusual structural eature discovered near Ames, Oklahoma, whichwas identified as an impact crater, an astrobleme, created by asteroidimpact. Te crater, known as the Ames Hole, is 8 to 10 miles in diameterand is 455 million years old. Numerous tests were conducted in theArbuckle dolomite beore the actual origin o the eature was recog-nized. Te crater-floor wells—rom brecciated (broken into sharpragments) granite, granite wash, and dolomite—are highly productive.Tis is the largest known productive astrobleme.

ATMOSPHERE, ONE

Te pressure o the ambient air at sea level; 14.69 pounds per squareinch, 29.92 inches o mercury, or 33.90 eet o water.

ATMOSPHERIC STILL

See Still, Atmospheric.

ATOMIZER, FUEL-OIL

A nozzle or spraying device used to break up uel oil into a fine sprayso the oil may be brought into more intimate contact with the air in thecombustion chamber. See Ultrasonic Atomizer.

ATTIC HAND

Historically, a worker or drilling crew employed on the derrick, usuallyhigh in the structure.

ATTIC OIL

An unscientific but descriptive term or the oil above the perorationso the productive zone in a vertical well. In horizontal wells, oil in thetop ew eet o a productive interval which will hopeully gravitate or bepressured into the horizontal drain hole.

AUSTRALIAN OFFSET

A humorous reerence to a well drilled miles away rom proven produc-tion.

AUTHEGENIC CARBONATE ROCK

A precipitate rom the bacterial oxidation o oil and gas ound at oilseeps in the Gul o Mexico.


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AUOFREAGE | A.U.V. 23

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AUTOFRETTAGE

Prestressing equipment, e.g., pump barrels, liners, valve pots, by

hydrostatic pressure to condition the equipment or extremely high-pressure service.

AUTOMATED WELLHEADS

Te remote control o pumping oil wells and flowing gas wells isa computer-age development employed in large fields with widelydispersed producing wells. With such a system, it is possible to receive ata central point, a district production office, measurements o gas produc-tion, real-time inormation on oil production and produced water. Wells

can be programmed to a pump-rest or on-off regimen. At the wellhead,automated systems include a remote terminal unit (R..U.), an adjust-able choke with electric actuator, a grouping o batteries, a solar panelto keep them charged, an antenna, transmitters to measure temperatureand wellhead static and differential pressures, and a radio to relay datato a computer in the district production office. Te operations o large,middle-aged fields with hundreds o wells have been adapted success-ully to automation. Offsetting the initial cost o such a system are thesavings in work-hours per well, in custodial travel, in record keeping,

and in net production o oil and gas.AUTOMATIC CUSTODY TRANSFER

Valves, gauges, and piping designed to measure production and divert itto the purchaser. See Lease Automatic Custody ranser (a LAC Unit).

AUTOMATIC MUD VALVE

See Valve, Lower Kelly.

AUTOMATIC TANK BATTERYA lease tank battery (two or more tanks) equipped with automaticmeasuring, switching (ull tank to empty and ull tank into the pipeline),and recording devices. See Lease Automatic Custody ranser.

AUTOMATIC WELDING MACHINE

See Welding, Automatic.

A.U.V.

Autonomous underwater vehicles. Tese are essential in deep sea fieldsor operations, repairs and inspections. It is distinguished rom theROV (remotely operated vehicles) which depends on an intervention vehicle to which it is tethered or supply o hydraulic and electric power.Te AUV has its own power source and thus is more flexible.


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24 AVIAION FUEL | AZIMUH

AVIATION FUEL

See J-4 Fuel.

AXIAL COMPRESSOR

See Compressor, Axial.

AXLE GREASE

Cold-setting grease made o rosin oil, hydrated lime, and petroleumoils. See Grease.

AZIMUTH

Tis term describes the direction o a horizontal well on the basis o theace o a compass. Hence, an azimuth o 90° would be due east and 180°due south.


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BABBI | BACK-OFF JOIN 25

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BABBITT

A sof, silver-colored metal alloy o relatively low melting point usedor engine and pump bearings; an alloy containing tin, copper, andantimony invented by Isaac Babbitt in 1862.

BACKFILL

o replace the earth dug rom a ditch or trench; also, the earth removedrom an excavation.

BACKFLOW GATE

See Gate, Backflow.

BACKHOE

A sel-propelled ditching machine with a hydraulically operated armequipped with a toothed shovel that scoops earth as the shovel is pulledback toward the machine.

BACK-IN AFTER PAY OUT

See Back-In Provision.

BACK-IN FARMOUT

A armout agreement in which a retained non-operating interest o the

lessor or the armor may be converted, at a later date, into a specifiedindividual working interest.

BACK-IN PROVISION

A term used to describe a provision in a armout agreement whereby theperson granting the armout (the armor) has the option to exchange aretained override or a share o the working interest.

BACK OFF

o raise the drill bit off the bottom o the hole; to slack off on a cable orwinch line; to unscrew.

BACK-OFF JOINT

A section o pipe with lef-hand thread on one end and right-hand, orconventional thread, on the other. A back-off joint is used in setting aliner. When a liner is lowered in and landed, the drill column can be


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26 BACK-OFF WHEEL | BAD OIL

disengaged rom the liner by rotating the drill pipe to the right. Tismotion unscrews the lef-hand threaded back-off joint rom the liner,and it keeps all threaded joints above the back-off joint tight.

BACK-OFF WHEEL

See Stripper Wheel.

BACK OUT

A term meaning to replace or be equivalent to. For example: “Windarms will ‘back out’ 600,000 barrels a year o oil equivalent.” Te windarm will generate the same number o kilowatts o electric power as anoil-fired plant using 600,000 bbl./year.

BACK PRESSURE

Te pressure against the ace o the reservoir rock caused by the control valves at the wellhead, hydrostatic head o the fluid in the hole, chokes,and piping. Maintenance o back pressure reduces the pressure differ-ential between the ormation and the borehole so that oil moves intothe well with a smaller pressure loss. Tis results in the expenditure osmaller volumes o gas rom the reservoir, improves the gas-oil ratio,

and ensures the recovery o more oil.BACK-PRESSURE VALVE

A check valve. See Valve, Check.

BACKSIDE PUMPING

See Pumping, Backside.

BACKUP MAN

Te person who holds (with a wrench) one length o pipe while anotherlength is being screwed into or out o it.

BACKWASHING

Reversing the fluid flow through a filter to clean out sediment that hasclogged the filter or reduced its efficiency. Backwashing is done onclosed-system filters and on open-bed gravity filters.

B.A.C.T.

Best Available Control echnology. A term made relevant by the CleanAir Act.

BAD OIL

See Cut oil.


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BAFFLES | BALD-HEADED BI 27

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BAFFLES

Plates or obstructions built into a tank or other vessel that change the

direction or reduces the velocity o the flow o fluids or gases.BAG HOUSE

A construction housing receptacle (bag) that captures and holds drychemicals, dust, and other particulate matter removed rom refinerystack gas by a cleaning or scrubbing acility.

BAIL

Te heavy metal arms or links that connect the swivel to the hook o

the traveling block. Te bail bears the weight o the drillstring as doesthe swivel.

BAIL DOWN

o reduce the level o liquid in a well bore by bailing.

BAILER

A cylindrical, bucket-like piece o equipment used in cable-tool drillingto remove mud and rock cuttings rom the borehole.

BAILER DART

Te protruding “tongue” o the valve on the bottom o a bailer. Whenthe dart reaches the bottom o the hole, it is thrust upward, opening the valve to admit the mud-water slurry.

BAKKEN

A geological shale ormation ound in the Williston Basin, particularlyNorth Dakota. It is a very productive ormation requiring horizontal

drilling and large racs.

BAKU

Located in Azerbaijan (then Russia) on the Caspian Sea, the largestoilfield in the world in 1898. Where Alred Nobel and his brothers madetheir ortune. (Alred also invented dynamite.)

BALANCING

See Makeup Gas.

BALD-HEADED ANTICLINE

See Anticline, Bald-Headed.

BALD-HEADED BIT

Bit worn smooth through use.


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28 BALL-AND-SEA VALVE | BAREFOO CHARER

BALL-AND-SEAT VALVE

See Valve, Ball-and-Seat.

BALL BEARING

See Bearing, Ball.

BALLING OF THE BIT

Te ouling o a rotary drilling bit in sticky, gumbo-like shale that causesa serious drag on the bit and loss o circulation.

BALL JOINT

A connector in a subsea marine-riser assembly whose ball-and-socketdesign permits an angular deflection o the riser pipe caused byhorizontal movement o the drillship or floating platorm o 10° or soin all directions.

BALL STOPS

See Plug Valve.

BALL VALVE

See Valve, Ball.

BANDING, REGIONAL

Bedding, usually thin, produced by the deposition o different mineralsor materials in alternating layers to appear laminated when viewed incross section; the existence o layering in an outcrop, the laying down osuccessive types and colors o sediment.

BANDWHEEL

In a cable-tool rig, the large vertical wheel that transmits power romthe drilling engine to the crank and pitman assembly that actuates thewalking beam. Used in ormer years in drilling with cable tools. Oldpumping wells still use a bandwheel.

BAR

A unit o pressure equal to one million dynes per square centimeter.

BAREFOOT CHARTER

A contract or charter agreement between the owner o a drilling rig,semisubmersible, or drillship and a second party in which the ownerrents or leases the equipment (usually short-term) bareoot, i.e., withoutthe owner or representative taking any part in the operation or mainte-nance o the equipment. Te lessee agrees to staff the equipment andoperate it without assistance rom or responsibility by the owner. Alsobareboat charter or boats or ships.


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BAREFOO COMPLEION | BARREL 29

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BAREFOOT COMPLETION

Wells completed in firm sandstone or limestone that show no indica-

tion o caving or disintegration may be finished “bareoot,” i.e., withoutcasing through the producing interval, i.e., “open hole.”

BARGE, REEL

See Reel Barge.

BARGE RIG

See Rig, Barge.

BARITE

A mineral used as weighting material in drilling mud; a material toincrease the density or weight per gallon or cubic oot o mud.

BARITE DOLLAR

A exas and Oklahoma term or a small disk-shaped piece o bariteound in sandstone or shale. Barite is a white or yellowish mineraloccurring in tabular crystals or as a compact mass resembling marble.

BARKERA whistle-like device attached to the exhaust pipe o a one-cylinderoilfield engine so the lease pumper can tell rom a distance whether theengine is running. Te noise the device makes resembles the bark o ahoarse ox.

BARNSDALL, WILLIAM

William Barnsdall and W.H. Abbott built the first refinery in Pennsyl- vania in 1860, shortly afer Colonel Edwin Drake discovered oil near

itusville in 1859. By the end o the Civil War, there were more than100 plants refining 6,000 barrels a day. Kerosene was the main product.

BAROID

A specially processed barite (barium sulate) to which Aquagel hasbeen added, used as a conditioning material in drilling mud in order toobtain satisactory cores and ormation samples.

BARREL

(1) Petroleum barrel; a unit o measure or crude oil and oil productsequal to 42 U.S. gallons.(2) Pump barrel; cylindrical body o an oil-well pump.


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30 BARREL HOUSE | BASIC WASH

BARREL HOUSE

A building on the refinery grounds where barrels are filled with various

grades o lubricating and other oils, sealed, and made ready or shipment;oil house. See Drum.

BARREL-MILE

Te cost to move a barrel o oil or an equivalent amount o productone mile.

BASALT

A general term or a dark-colored mafic (erromagnesian) igneous rock

that may be extrusive, erupted onto the surace o the earth by volcanicaction, or intrusive, as in dikes or sills where the igneous rock in amolten state was orced upward between the planes or suraces o otherrock ormations.

BASE LINE

(1) A careully surveyed line that serves as a reerence to which landsurveys are coordinated and correlated.(2) One o a pair o coordinate axes (the other is the principal meridian)

used in the U.S. Public Land Survey system. E.g., In Oklahoma, the“Indian Base Line and Meridian.”

BASE MAP

See Map, Base.

BASEMENT ROCK

Igneous or metamorphic rock lying below the sedimentary ormationsin the earth’s crust. Basement rock does not contain petroleum deposits.

BASE STATION

An observation point used in geophysical surveys as a reerence towhich measurements at other points can be compared.

BASIC SEDIMENT

Impurities and oreign matter contained in oil produced rom a well.See B.S.&W.

BASIC WASHA term or material eroded rom outcrops o igneous rock and depositedagain to orm rock o about the same mineral makeup as the originalrock; e.g., granite wash.


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BASIN | BAHOLIH 31

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BASIN

A synclinal structure in the subsurace, once the bed o a prehistoric sea.

Basins, composed o sedimentary rock, are regarded as good prospectsor oil exploration. Basins vary in depth rom a ew thousand eet to over30,000 eet.

BASKET PRICE

Te blanket or average price o crude oil on the world market. Forexample, the basket price o $80.00/bbl. could mean average price oaverage gravity. Lower gravity crude with high-transit cost would bringless than $80.00, and conversely, higher gravity crude with low sulur

and close to market would bring a premium a basket o crude oils odiffering gravities, sulur content, sweet and sour. Also reers to oil romdifferent markets with different prices.

BASKET SUB

A fishing tool run just above the drill or milling tool to recover small,nondrillable pieces o junk metal that have been dropped in the boreholeor are parts o broken equipment. As the drilling fluid is circulated, thesmall metal pieces are washed into the basket; a junk basket. See Junk

Basket.

BASTARD

(1) Any nonstandard piece o equipment.(2) A kind o file.(3) A word used in grudging admiration or as a term o opprobrium.

BATCH

A measured amount o oil or refined product in a pipeline or a tank; a

shipment o oil or product by pipeline.

BATCHING SPHERE

An inflated, hard-rubber sphere used in product pipelines to separate“incompatible” batches o product being pumped one behind the other.Fungible products are not physically separated, but gasoline is separatedrom diesel uel and heating oils by batching spheres.

BATCH INTERFACE

See Interace.

BATHOLITH

A great mass o intruded igneous or metamorphosed rock ound at ornear the surace o the Earth. Te presence o a batholith, ofen reerredto as a shield, usually precludes drilling or oil or gas, as there are no


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32 BAHYMERY | BEAD

sedimentary ormations above it. Te largest batholith in the UnitedStates is in Idaho, underlying nearly two-thirds o the state.

BATHYMETRY

Te measurement o the depths o bodies o water; also inormationgathered or such measurements.

BATTERY

wo or more tanks connected together to receive oil production on alease; tank battery.

BATTERY, TRICKLE-CHARGED

See rickle-Charged Battery.

B.A.S.T. REGULATIONS

Reers to procedures using “Best Available and Saest echnologies”required by the Department o the Interior on most ederal leases.

BAUME, ANTOINE

Te French chemist who devised a simple method to measure the

relative weights o liquids using the hydrometer.BAUXITE

A mineral, off-white, brown, yellow, or reddish-brown in color,composed o a mixture o amorphous or crystalline hydrous aluminumoxides along with silica and clay minerals. It is a common residual oclay deposits ound in tropical or semitropical areas. Bauxite occurs in various orms: concretionary, oolitic, compact, or earthy. Bauxite is themain source o aluminum.

B.C.D.

Barrels per calendar day (bcd). See Stream Day.

B.C.F.

Billion Cubic Feet o natural gas.

B.C.F.E.

Billion Cubic Feet o natural gas equivalent.

B.C.P.D.

Barrels o Condensate per day.

BEAD

A course o molten metal laid down by a welder (electric or oxyacety-lene) in joining two pieces o metal. See Welding, Pipeline.


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BEAKER SAMPLER | BEARING, OUBOARD 33

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BEAKER SAMPLER

A metal or glass container with a small opening fitted with a stopper

that is lowered into a tank o oil to obtain a sample.BEAM

Te narrow dimension on a ship; the opposite o the keel, or longestdimension.

BEAM-BALANCED PUMPING UNIT

See Pumping Unit, Beam-Balanced.

BEAM STEERING

A patented seismic program o overcoming attenuation and bandlimiting, impediments to high resolution.

BEAM WELL

A well whose fluid is being lifed by rods and pump actuated by awalking beam.

BEAN

A choke used to regulate the flow o fluid rom a well. See Flow Bean.

BEAN JOINT

In early pipeline parlance, the joint o line pipe laid just beore the breakor lunch. When the bean joint was bucked in, the pipeliners grabbedlunch buckets rom the gang truck and ound a comortable place to eat.

BEARING, BALL

A spherical revolving bearing. Te other type is the roller bearing.

BEARING, INSERT

Tin, bimetal, hal-round bearings that fit in the journal box arounda shaf to provide a smooth, hard surace. One-hal o the insert (incross section, a semicircle) fits into the journal box, the other hal intothe journal box cap. Insert bearings are designated bimetal because,although the bearing surace is made o babbitt, it is backed with a layero bronze, brass, or steel. Tere are also tri-metal insert bearings. Teyare made with steel backing, a sof alloy middle layer, and a Babbitt

outer layer.

BEARING, OUTBOARD

A shaf-supporting bearing outside the body or rame o a pump’sgearbox or engine’s crankcase; a bearing on a pump’s pinion shafoutside the gearbox; a line-shaf bearing.


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34 BEARING, RADIAL | BEDDING PLANE

BEARING, RADIAL

A roller bearing in a circular or cylindrical configuration. Te roller

bearings are held in a track or cage that may have either a cylindrical orflat circular shape.

BEARING, ROLLER

Cylindrical, pin-like steel bearings that are held in a circular or cylin-drical configuration by a metal track or cage so they can be inserted ina journal box or slipped on an engine or pump shaf.

BEARING, SADDLE

A broad, heavy bearing located on top o the Samson post to support thewalking beam on a cable-tool drilling rig or an oil-well pumping jack.

BEARING, STIRRUP

A bearing and its rame in the shape o a saddle stirrup; e.g., the bearingconnecting the pitman and the walking beam on an early cable-tooldrilling or pumping well.

BEARING, THRUST

A bearing to support the endwise or downward thrust or weight o amachinery part against another. Trust bearings can be constructed oball bearings or cylindrical roller bearings held in a circular rame orhousing that fits over a shaf.

BEAVER SLIDE

Te access chute or slide rom the ground to the drilling rig floor.

BEDDED

Formed or deposited in layers or beds; reers especially to sedimentaryrocks or strata deposited in recognizable layers.

BEDDING

Te stratification or layering o sediment or deposits that is typicalo sedimentary rock ormations. Bedding can be continuous or therecan be variations in the thickness o layers o the same type o rock,sometimes the result o weathering, which can be seen in outcroppings.

BEDDING PLANETe plane o a bedded ormation that visibly separates each successivelayer o stratified rock rom the one above and below. A plane o deposi-tion that shows a change in the manner or rate o deposits. Te beddingplane may show a difference in color and it need not be horizontal; itmay be bent or olded and still be recognized as a bedding plane.


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BEDDING SURFACE | BELLOWS-SEALED VALVE 35

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BEDDING SURFACE

An easily recognized surace within a mass o stratified rock repre-

senting a line o original deposition; the interace between two beds osedimentary rock. I the surace is airly regular and is a plane, it may bereerred to as a bedding plane.

BED LOAD

Sediment suspended in streams that eventually drops to the riverbottom as the stream spreads out and/or slows down. See Alluvial Fan.

BEHIND THE PIPE

Reers to oil and gas reservoirs penetrated or passed through by wellsbut yet to be tapped or produced. Behind the pipe can reer to tightormations o low permeability that, although recognized, were passedthrough because they were uneconomical to produce at the time. It canalso reer to ormations, which or technical reasons may have to beproduced subsequent to the initially producing ormation.

BELL-AND-SPIGOT JOINT

A threaded pipe joint where the spigot or male end is threaded and

screwed into the bell or emale coupling. Te emale end o a couplinghas threads on the inside circumerence. Line pipe screwed togetherone joint at a time orms a bell-and-spigot connection. See Box-and-PinJoint.

BELL HOLE

An excavation dug beneath a pipeline to provide room or the use otools by workers; a hole larger in diameter at the bottom than at the top.

BELL-HOLE WELDERA welder who can do oxyacetylene or electric welding lying on his backin a bell hole. Tis requires a great deal o skill, as the molten metal romthe welding rod is being laid on upside down and tends to all away romthe weld and onto the welder; a skilled welder. Upside Down Welder.

BELL NIPPLE

A large swage nipple or attaching casing head fittings to the well’scasing above the ground or at the surace. Te bell nipple is threaded on

the casing end and has a plain or weld end to take the casing head valves.

BELLOWS-SEALED VALVE

See Valve, Bellows-Sealed.


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36 BEL GUARD | BENZINE

BELT GUARD

A housing or cage made o sheet metal or heavy wire mesh built over

or around the sheaves and the flat or V-belts o an engine and pumpor engine and other driven equipment. Te belt guard prevents contactwith the moving sheaves and belts and protects workers should a beltbreak while running.

BELT HALL

In earlier days, a wooden shed built to protect the wide belt that runsrom the engine to the bandwheel on a cable-tool rig or an old beampumping well. Te belt hall extends rom the engine house to the derrick.

BENCH-SCALE TEST

esting o methods or materials on so small a scale that it can be carriedout on a laboratory table or specially constructed bench.

BENTONITE

A sof, porous, plastic, light-colored rock composed mainly o clayminerals and silica. Te rock is greasy to the touch and has the abilityto absorb quantities o water, which increases its volume about eight

times. Tis property makes it ideal or thickening or adding body todrilling mud. It was named bentonite or the Benton ormation in theRock Creek district in eastern Wyoming where it was first identified andnamed in 1898.

BENT SUB

A short, heavy tubular section or connector made with a bend o a ewdegrees in its long axis. Bent subs are used to connect a mud motor anddrill bit to the drillpipe. Tis permits the bit to drill at an angle rom

the vertical or rom the ormer direction o the borehole. Bent subs andmud motors are used in sidetracking and directional drilling.

BENZ, KARL

A German inventor who developed a gasoline-burning, internal-combustion engine in 1885 that propelled a carriage-like vehicle thatcarried passengers. See Diamler, Gottlieb.

BENZENE

An aromatic hydrocarbon present in small portions in some crude oils.It is made commercially by catalytic reorming o napthenes. Used as asolvent and as a component o high-octane gasoline. C6H6.

BENZINE

An old term or light petroleum distillates in the gasoline and naphtharange.


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BENZOL | BINDER

BENZOL

Te general term that reers to commercial benzene that may contain

other aromatic hydrocarbons.BEVELING MACHINE

An oxyacetylene pipe-cutting machine. A device that holds an acety-lene-cutting torch so that the ends o joints o pipe may be trimmed offat an angle to the pipe’s long axis. Line pipe is beveled in preparation orwelding joints together.

B.G.L.

Below Ground Level.

B.H.A.

Bottom hole assembly. Tose tools at the end o the drill string withspecial capabilities: the rotary steerable system, drill collars, stabi-lizers, reamers, hole openers, and the drill bit itsel. Tis assembly ofenexceeds 100 eet in length and is modified depending on drilling condi-tions, rock ormations and drilling objectives.

B.H.P.Brake horsepower. Also Bottom Hole Pressure.

B.H.T.

Bottom hole temperature. In deep wells, 15,000 eet and deeper, bottomhole temperatures are above the boiling point o water, ranging up to400°F. At these depths and temperatures, water-base drilling mudscannot be used, only oil-based. See emperature Gradient.

B.I.A.Bureau o Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department o the Interior.

BID SHEET, A.P.I.

See A.P.I. Bid Sheet.

BIG-INCH PIPELINE

A 24-inch pipeline rom Longview, exas, to Norris City, Illinois, builtduring World War II to meet the problem caused by tanker losses at

sea as a result o submarine attacks. Later during the war, the pipelinewas extended to Pennsylvania. Following the war, the line was sold to aprivate company and converted to a gas line.

BINDER

Te material that produces consolidation in sediments that are looselyaggregated or held together; a mineral cement that is precipitated in the


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38 BIOCHEMICAL CONVERSION | BIOGRADAION

spaces between the grains o sediment and cements them together into acoherent mass. A binder may be a clay that fills the pore spaces betweenthe grains o sediment; a soil binder.

BIOCHEMICAL CONVERSION

An experimental use o bacteria to separate kerogen rom oil shale.Certain bacteria will biodegrade the minerals in oil shale, releasing thekerogen rom the shale in liquid or semi-liquid orm. (From studiesmade by Dr. en Fu Yen and Dr. Milo D. Appleman, University oSouthern Caliornia, Proessors o Bacteriology.)

BIOCLASTIC ROCK

See Fragmental Rock.

BIODEGRADABLE

Capable o being decomposed by microorganisms; more loosely, subjectto decomposition by ultraviolet rays in sunlight or natural chemicalaction as well as by bacteria and like creatures.

BIODIESEL

A uel made rom soy beans, canola or other vegetable oils, animal atsor grease. (ASM D 6751)

BIOGAS

Methane rom decomposition or processing o organic matter.

BIOGENESIS

Formed by the presence or the actions o living organisms, or example,coral rees and atolls. Biogenesis is also the theory that lie is derived

rom previously living organisms. Also Organic Petroleum Teory.BIOGENETIC ROCK

Rock ormed or produced by the activities (living and dying) o organ-isms, both plant and animal, or example, coral rees, certain limestone,coal, and peat. An organic rock.

BIOGEOLOGY

Te biological phases o geology; paleontology, or example, is the study

o sedimentation produced by organisms, plants, and animals.

BIOGRADATION

Te breaking up and removal o a crude-oil spill on water by the intro-duction o oil-eating bacteria to the spill area.


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BIOHERM | BI 39

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BIOHERM

A mound or ree-like mass o rock built up by sedimentary, marine

creatures, such as coral, algae, and mollusks and composed almostentirely o their calcareous skeletal remains; an organic ree or a nonree, just a limestone mound.

BIOMASS

Wood and other plant material used to make methanol or cellulosicethanol as a supplement to petroleum. Also used or burning.

BIOREMEDIATION

Te use o microbes and other microorganisms in cleaning up oil spills.Te tiny organisms break up the oil by eating it and changing oil’scharacter and make up so it is no longer detrimental to man nor lethalto plants and animals.

BIOTECHNOLOGY

See Ergonomics.

BIRD CAGE

(1) o flatten and spread the strands o a cable or wire rope.(2) Te slatted or mesh-enclosed cage used to hoist workers rom crewboats to offshore platorms.

BIRDCAGED WIRE

Wire rope used or hoisting heavy loads that has had its steel strandsdistorted into the shape o a bird cage by a sudden release o the load, aswhen the rope parts or slips.

BIRD DOGo pay close attention to a job or to ollow a person closely with theintent to learn or to help; to ollow up on a job until it is finished.

BIRDNESTING

A problem associated with borehole washover milling operations. Metalcuttings are so large and stringy that they are not drilling-mud suspend-able. When the large, elongated cuttings rom the milled or shaved pipeall to the bottom o the borehole, they birdnest, pack and intertwine

and cannot be flushed up the hole to the surace by the circulatingmud. New milling tools have been developed that are able to cut small,mud-suspendable cuttings which are readily circulated out o the hole.

BIT

Te cutting or pulverizing tool or head attached to the drillpipe inboring a hole in underground ormations.


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40 BI, BUON | BI, INSER

BIT, BUTTON

An insert bit; a drill bit with tungsten carbide or other super-hard metal

inserts or buttons pressed into the ace o the bit’s cutting cones.BIT, CORE

A special drill bit or cutting and removing a plug-shaped rock samplerom the bottom o the well bore.

BIT, DIAMOND

A drill bit with many small industrial (man-made) diamonds set in thenose or cutting surace o the bit. Diamonds are many times harder than

the hardest steel, so a diamond bit makes it possible to have longer bitruns beore a round trip is necessary to change bits.

BIT, DIAMOND SHEAR

A rotary drill bit that is different rom the conventional roller coneand bull-nose diamond bit. Te diamond shear bit does not gouge orpulverize, but rather makes the rock ail in shear; that is, the rock isshaved or broken across its ace as a che slices a carrot or makes shavedice. Te bit body has sintered diamonds (synthetic, man-made) set in a

tungsten carbide body that has 5–7 screw-in nozzles or the stream odrilling mud that jets out and carries the cuttings to the surace. Tis bitis expensive, but may justiy its cost by outlasting other bits when usedin medium-hard ormations. Te diamond shear bit also is sometimesknown as a polycrystalline diamond compact bit or a Stratapax bit, atrade name.

BIT, DRAG

A type o old-style drilling tool in which the cutting tooth or teeth

were the shape o a fish tail. Drilling was accomplished by the tearingand gouging action o the bit and was efficient in sof ormations; theorerunner o the modern three-cone roller bit. A fishtail bit; finger bit.

BIT, FINGER

See Bit, Drag.

BIT, FISHTAIL

A drag bit. See Bit, Drag.

BIT, INSERT

A bit with super-hard metal lugs or cutting points inserted in the bit’scutting cones; a rock bit with cutting elements added that are harderand more durable than the teeth o a mill-tooth bit.


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BI, MILL-OOH | BIUMEN 41

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BIT, MILL-TOOTH

A bit with cutting teeth integral to the metal o the cones o the bit; a

noninsert bit. Mill-tooth bits are used in relatively sof ormations oundat shallow depths.

BIT, POLYCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND COMPACT

See Bit, Diamond Shear.

BIT, ROLLER

Te rock-cutting tool on the bottom o the drillstring made with threeor our shanks welded together to orm a tapered body. Each shank

supports a cone-like wheel with case-hardened teeth that rotate onsteel bearings.

BIT, ROTARY

Te tool attached to the lower end o the drillpipe; a heavy steel headequipped with various types o cutting or grinding teeth. Some arefixed; some turn on bearings. A hole in the bottom o the drill permitsthe flow o drilling mud being pumped down through the drillpipe towash the cuttings to the surace and also cool and lubricate the bit.

BIT, ROTARY-PERCUSSION

A drill bit that rotates in a conventional manner, but at the same timeacts as a high-requency pneumatic hammer, producing both a boringand a racturing action simultaneously. Te hammer-like mechanism islocated just above the bit and is actuated by air, liquid, or high-requencysound waves.

BIT, SPUDDING

A bit used to start the borehole; a bit that is some variation o the fishtailor drag bit, used in sof, unconsolidated, near-surace material.

BIT BREAKER

A heavy metal plate that fits into the rotary table and holds the bit whileit is being made up or broken out o the drillstring.

BIT RECORD

A detailed written record kept by the driller o the drill bits used on a

well: type o bit, eet drilled, ormation drilled, condition o bit whenremoved, condition o “dulls,” and notations o special problems.

BITUMEN

A naturally occurring viscous hydrocarbon that may contain sulurcompounds that is not recoverable by drilling. ar sands or oil sandscontain bitumen.


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42 BIUMINOUS SAND | BLAS JOIN

BITUMINOUS SAND

ar sand; a mixture o asphalt and loose sand that, when processed, ma

Handbook of Oil Industry Terms and Phrases,6th ed

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