Glossary
Amundsen, Roald - Legendary Norwegian explorer who set numerous records in the research vessel, Fram, during his Arctic and Antarctic expeditions with Fridtjof Nansen in the 1890s.
bbl - Barrels
/bbl - Per barrel
bcf - Billion cubic feet, a measure of natural gas volume.
bcf/D - Billion cubic feet per day, a measure of natural gas production from a reservoir.
bhp - Bottom hole pressure
boepd - Barrels of oil equivalent per day
bopd - Barrels of oil per day
CAPEX - Capital expenditure
Core sample - A cylindrical rock sample taken from the well bore for purposes of analysis.
Cross section - A diagram of a vertical section through a volume (as opposed to the surface view). Cross sections are useful for displaying the types and orientations of subsurface structures and formations.
Crude oil - A general term for unrefined petroleum or liquid petroleum.
Cuttings - Small pieces of rock that break away due to the action of the drill bit. Cuttings are screened out of the liquid drilling mud system and monitored for composition, size, shape, color, texture, hydrocarbon content and other properties.
DST - Drill stem test
Dynamic data - Well data that can be changed and the results compared to other well data. For example, increases in well bore pressure may cause production of water or sand to increase.
Dynamic range - The ratio of or difference between the highest and the lowest reading, or strongest and weakest signal, that can be recorded or reproduced by an instrument without distortion.
E&P - Exploration and production
EBIT - Earnings before interest and tax
EBITDA - Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation depletion and amortization
EOR - Enhanced oil recovery
EUR - Eventual ultimate recovery
Exploration - The initial phase in petroleum operations that includes identification of a prospect or play and drilling of exploration wells. Often includes appraisal and delineation activities leading to commercial production of the reservoir.
Facies - The appearance and characteristics of a sedimentary deposit, especially as distinguished from contiguous deposits. Mineralogy and sedimentary source, fossil content, sedimentary structures and texture distinguish one facies from another.
FDP - Field development plan
Formation - The fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy, a body of rock that is sufficiently distinctive and continuous that it can be mapped. In stratigraphy, a formation is a body of strata of predominantly one type or combination of types; multiple formations form groups, and subdivisions of formations are members.
Fracturing, hydraulic - A stimulation treatment routinely performed on oil and gas wells in low-permeability reservoirs. Specially engineered fluids are pumped at high pressure and rate into the reservoir causing a vertical fracture to open. The wings of the fracture extend away from the wellbore in opposing directions according to the natural stresses within the formation. Proppant, such as grains of sand of a particular size, is mixed with the treatment fluid to keep the fracture open when the treatment is complete.
Fram - Norwegian word meaning “go forward.”
Gathering system - The pipeline network and process facilities that transport and control the flow of oil or gas from the wells to a main storage facility, processing plant or shipping point.
Geophysics - The study of the physics of the Earth, especially its electrical, gravitational and magnetic fields and propagation of elastic (seismic) waves within it. Geophysics plays a critical role in the petroleum industry because geophysical data are used by exploration and development personnel to make predictions about the presence, nature and size of subsurface hydrocarbon accumulations.
GeoX - A multiple target, full-cycle economic analysis software enabling the identification of expected economic outcomes for given cases. GeoX™ is a trademark of GeoKnowledge.
GOR - Gas oil ratio
Horizontal drilling - A subset of "directional drilling," describes situations where departure of the wellbore from vertical exceeds 80 degrees. Because a horizontal well typically penetrates a greater length of the reservoir, it can offer significant production improvement over a vertical well, especially when hydrocarbons are located in narrow, low-permeability seams.
HSE - Health, safety and environment
IRR - internal rate of return
K - permeability
LOF - Life of field
MD - Measured depth
MDP - Master development plan
mmscf - Million standard cubic feet
mmscfg - Million standard cubic feet of gas
mmbbl - Million barrels
Nansen, Fridtjof - Legendary Norwegian explorer who set numerous records in the research vessel, Fram, during his Arctic and Antarctic expeditions with Roald Amundsen in the 1890s.
N/G - Net to gross
NGL - Natural gas liquids
NPV - Net present value
NRI - Net revenue interest
OOIP - Original oil in place
Permeability - The ability or measurement of a rock's ability to transmit fluids.
Petrotrin - The state oil and gas company of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Porosity - The ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the volume of the pores (interstices) of a rock or rock stratum to the total volume of the mass.
Rf - Recovery factor
RMS - Reservoir Modeling Solutions, a 3-dimensional modeling program. RMS is a trademark of Roxar, an Emerson Process Management company.
R/P - Reserve to production ratio
Shale gas - Natural gas produced from shale formations.
STOOIP - Stock tank original oil in place
Tigress modeling software - Used by Fram to create integrated reservoir models where various data can be compared and analysed. Tigress is a trademark of Geotrace.
TD - Total depth
TVD - Total vertical depth
USGS - United States Geological Survey
WI - Working interest