Oil and gas investing terminology

Greenhouse Gases GHGs A type of gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation. GHG emissions from oil and natural gas development include carbon dioxide CO2 , methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Groundwater Groundwater is the water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock.

It is stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers. Horizontal Drilling Drilling a well that deviates from the vertical and travels horizontally through a producing layer. See also Directional well. Hot Water Process A method for separating bitumen from oil sand using hot water and caustic soda, developed by Karl Clark of the Alberta Research Council.

Hydraulic Fracturing also called Fracking A government-regulated technology used safety for more than 60 years to recover shale or tight natural gas that is trapped in deep underground rock. Also known as fracking, the process of pumping a fluid or gas down a well which causes the surrounding rocks to crack and allows natural gas or oil to be produced from tight formations.

Bitumen close to the surface is mined. Bitumen deep within the ground is produced in situ using specialized extraction techniques. Inactive Well A well that has not produced oil or natural gas in 12 months. Induced Seismicity Seismic or earthquake activity, which is caused by human activity.

Infill Drilling Wells drilled between established producing wells on a lease in order to increase production from the reservoir. Initial Established Established reserves before production. Injection Well An injection well is used to place fluid underground into porous geologic formations.

This could be steam, carbon dioxide, water or other substances to help maintain reservoir pressure, heat the oil or lower its viscosity, allowing it to flow to a producing well nearby. Lease Legal document giving an operator the right to drill for or produce oil or gas; also, the land on which a lease has been obtained. Light Crude Oil Liquid petroleum that has a low density and flows freely at room temperature.

Limestone Calcium carbonate-rich sedimentary rocks in which oil or gas reservoirs are often found. Lined Pits Dugouts excavated next to drilling rigs that are lined with impermeable geosynthetic materials to safely store drilling fluids from natural gas or oil fields.

In order to protect waterfowl and other wildlife from coming into contact with this water, wire fencing is often used to cover the pit and brightly coloured flagging on the fence perimeter acts as a deterrent. Liquefaction facilities Facilities that process natural gas from a gaseous state into a liquid state.

The process is completed using a cooling process. The natural gas is super-cooled to minus degrees Fahrenheit minus degrees Celsius , converting it to LNG. In liquid form, natural gas takes up to times less space than in its gaseous state, making it feasible and more economical for transport over long distances. Liquefied Natural Gas Natural gas, when produced and used domestically, is shipped in its vapour form through a network of distribution pipelines to a local distribution company and then delivered to a customer.

Medium Crude Oil Liquid petroleum with a density between that of light and heavy crude oil. Methane The principal constituent of natural gas; the simplest hydrocarbon molecule, containing one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms. Middle Distillates Medium-density refined petroleum products, including kerosene, stove oil, jet fuel and light fuel oil. Midstream The processing, storage and transportation primarily pipelines sector of the petroleum industry.

Mine Tailings Process water remaining after oil sands mining that is stored in settling basins called tailings ponds Miscible Flooding An oil recovery process in which a fluid, capable of mixing completely with the oil it contacts, is injected into an oil reservoir to increase recovery. Mtpa Million tonnes per annum or year. Mud also Drilling Mud Fluid circulated down the drill pipe and up the annulus during drilling to remove cuttings, cool and lubricate the bit, and maintain desired pressure in the well.

Natural Gas Liquids Liquids obtained during natural gas production, including ethane, propane, butanes and condensate. Oil Sands A deposit of sand saturated with bitumen. Operator The company or individual responsible for managing an exploration, development or production operation. Particulate Matter Refers to microscopic solid or liquid particles that remain suspended in the air for some time.

Permeability The capacity of a reservoir rock to transmit fluids; how easily fluids can pass through rock. Pinnacle Reef A conical formation, higher than it is wide, usually composed of limestone, in which hydrocarbons might be trapped. Pool A natural underground reservoir containing an accumulation of petroleum. Thus porosity measures the capacity of the rock to hold natural gas, crude oil or water. Primary Recovery The production of oil and gas from reservoirs using the natural energy available in the reservoirs and pumping techniques.

Produced Water Water naturally present in the reservoir that is recovered during oil and gas production. Prorationing Government allocation of demand among pools and wells; pipeline allocation of demand among shippers. Reclamation The process of restoring the surface area of a well site, access road and related facilities to original conditions. Reclamation Certified rec cert Well sites that are remediated and reclaimed to the current regulatory standard.

Reformulated Fuels Gasoline, diesel or other fuels which have been modified to reflect environmental concerns, performance standards, government regulations, customer preferences or new technologies. Releases Releases can occur when the structural integrity of a pipeline is compromised.

For example, a rupture causing the instantaneous tearing or fracturing of the pipeline material would immediately impair the operation of the pipeline. A leak from an opening, crack or hole in a pipeline may cause some product to be released, but not immediately impair the operation of the pipeline. Remaining Established Crude oil reserves known to exist and that are recoverable under current technological and economic conditions.

Reserves An estimate of the amount of crude oil located in a specific region. Reserves must be accessible with current technology. In natural gas operations, the royalty is usually based on a percentage of the total production. Saline Groundwater Brackish Deep groundwater that is high in dissolved salt and unsuitable for domestic or agricultural uses.

Secondary Recovery The extraction of additional crude oil, natural gas and related substances from reservoirs through pressure maintenance techniques such as waterflooding and gas injection. Pressure is the key to collecting oil from the natural underground rock formations in which it forms.

Secondary oil recovery is employed when the pressure inside the well drops to levels that make primary recovery no longer viable. Sedimentary Basin A geographical area, such as the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, in which much of the rock is sedimentary deposits of sediment that solidify in layers and therefore likely to contain hydrocarbons.

Shale Rock formed from clay. Solution Gas Natural gas that is found with crude oil in underground reservoirs. When the oil comes to the surface, the gas expands and comes out of the solution. Sour Gas Natural gas at the wellhead may contain hydrogen sulphide H2S , a toxic compound. Natural gas that contains more than one per cent of H2S is called sour gas.

Spills Spills include accidental release of crude oil, produced water or other hydrocarbon products from well sites, batteries or storage tanks. These spills can affect land, vegetation, bodies of water e. Stakeholders Industry activities often affect surrounding areas and populations. People with an interest in these activities are considered stakeholders. They may include nearby landowners, municipalities, Indigenous communities, recreational land users, other industries, environmental groups, governments and regulators.

Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage SAGD A recovery technique for extraction of heavy oil or bitumen that involves drilling a pair of horizontal wells one above the other; one well is used for steam injection and the other for production.

Sulphur A yellow mineral extracted from petroleum for making fertilizers, pharmaceuticals and other products. Surface Runoff Water from rain, snowmelt, or other sources, that flows over the land surface, and is a major component of the water cycle. Surface Water Water collected on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, sea or ocean.

Suspended Well A well that is not currently producing oil or gas but has been safely secured and may produce in the future. Sweet Oil and Gas Petroleum containing little or no hydrogen sulphide. Synthetic Crude Oil A mixture of hydrocarbons, similar to crude oil, derived by upgrading bitumen from oil sands. Gravity is expressed in degrees with lower numbers indicating heavier liquids and higher numbers indicating lighter liquids.

Integrated — when applied to an oil company, it indicates a firm that operates in both the upstream and downstream sectors from exploration through refining and marketing Lease — a legal document conveying the right to drill for oil and gas, or the tract of land on which a lease has been obtained where the producing wells and production equipment are located.

Lifting costs — the cost of producing oil from a well or lease. Log — to conduct a survey inside a borehole to gather information about the subsurface formations; the results of such a survey. Logs typically consist of several curves on a long grid that describe properties within the wellbore or surrounding formations that can be interpreted to provide information about the location of oil, gas, and water. Also called well logs, borehole logs, wireline logs. Midstream — a term sometimes used to refer to those industry activities that fall between exploration and production upstream and refining and marketing downstream.

The term is most often applied to pipeline transportation of crude oil and natural gas. Natural gas liquids NGL — the portions of gas from a reservoir that are liquified at the surface in separators, field facilities, or gas processing plants. Non-associated gas — natural gas produced from a reservoir that does not contain significant quantities of crude oil.

Permeability — a measure of the ability of a rock to transmit fluid through pore spaces. Porosity — a ratio between the volume of the pore space in reservoir rock and the total bulk volume of the rock. The pore space determines the amount of space available for storage of fluids. Produced water — the water extracted from the subsurface with oil and gas.

Royalty — a percentage interest in the value of production from a lease that is retained and paid to the mineral rights owner. Separation — the process of separating liquid and gas hydrocarbons and water. This is typically accomplished in a pressure vessel at the surface, but newer technologies allow separation to occur in the wellbore under certain conditions. Shut in — to close valves on a well so that it stops production, or a well on which the valves have been closed.

Sour crude oil — oil containing free sulfur or other sulfur compounds whose total sulfur content is in excess of 1 percent. Sour gas — natural gas containing hydrogen sulfide. Spacing — the distance between wells producing from the same reservoir. Spacing is often expressed in terms of acres, e. Stimulation — the term used for several processes to enlarge old channels, or create new ones, in the producing formation of a well designed to enhance production. Examples include acidizing and fracturing.

Underbalanced drilling — drilling under conditions where the pressure being exerted inside the wellbore from the drilling fluids is less than the pressure of the oil or gas in the formation. Underground injection — the placement of gases or fluids into an underground reservoir through a wellbore. May be used as part of enhanced oil recovery or waterflooding processes or for disposal of produced water.

Upstream — the exploration and production portions of the oil and gas industry. Wellhead — the equipment at the surface of a well used to control the pressure; the point at which the hydrocarbons and water exit the ground Well servicing — maintenance work performed on an oil or gas well to improve or maintain the production. Wet gas — natural gas containing significant amounts of liquifiable hydrocarbons.

Wildcat well — a well drilled in an area where no current oil or gas production exists. A workover may be performed to stimulate the well, remove sand or wax from the wellbore, to mechanically repair the well, or for other reasons. Disclaimer: This content is provided for informational purposes only. Information on this website is not intended to be a solicitation of any kind.

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Formation damage — the reduction in permeability in reservoir rock due to the infiltration of drilling or treating fluids into the area adjacent to the wellbore. Fracturing — the application of hydraulic pressure to the reservoir formation to create fractures through which oil or gas may move to the wellbore. Gas-to-Liquids GTL — the conversion of natural gas to a liquid form so that it can be transported easily. Typically, the liquid is converted back to natural gas prior to consumption.

Gravity — a standard adopted by the American Petroleum Institute for measuring the density of a liquid. Gravity is expressed in degrees with lower numbers indicating heavier liquids and higher numbers indicating lighter liquids. Integrated — when applied to an oil company, it indicates a firm that operates in both the upstream and downstream sectors from exploration through refining and marketing Lease — a legal document conveying the right to drill for oil and gas, or the tract of land on which a lease has been obtained where the producing wells and production equipment are located.

Lifting costs — the cost of producing oil from a well or lease. Log — to conduct a survey inside a borehole to gather information about the subsurface formations; the results of such a survey. Logs typically consist of several curves on a long grid that describe properties within the wellbore or surrounding formations that can be interpreted to provide information about the location of oil, gas, and water.

Also called well logs, borehole logs, wireline logs. Midstream — a term sometimes used to refer to those industry activities that fall between exploration and production upstream and refining and marketing downstream. The term is most often applied to pipeline transportation of crude oil and natural gas.

Natural gas liquids NGL — the portions of gas from a reservoir that are liquified at the surface in separators, field facilities, or gas processing plants. Non-associated gas — natural gas produced from a reservoir that does not contain significant quantities of crude oil. Permeability — a measure of the ability of a rock to transmit fluid through pore spaces.

Porosity — a ratio between the volume of the pore space in reservoir rock and the total bulk volume of the rock. The pore space determines the amount of space available for storage of fluids. Produced water — the water extracted from the subsurface with oil and gas.

Royalty — a percentage interest in the value of production from a lease that is retained and paid to the mineral rights owner. Separation — the process of separating liquid and gas hydrocarbons and water. This is typically accomplished in a pressure vessel at the surface, but newer technologies allow separation to occur in the wellbore under certain conditions.

Shut in — to close valves on a well so that it stops production, or a well on which the valves have been closed. Sour crude oil — oil containing free sulfur or other sulfur compounds whose total sulfur content is in excess of 1 percent. Sour gas — natural gas containing hydrogen sulfide. Spacing — the distance between wells producing from the same reservoir. Spacing is often expressed in terms of acres, e. Stimulation — the term used for several processes to enlarge old channels, or create new ones, in the producing formation of a well designed to enhance production.

Examples include acidizing and fracturing. Underbalanced drilling — drilling under conditions where the pressure being exerted inside the wellbore from the drilling fluids is less than the pressure of the oil or gas in the formation. Underground injection — the placement of gases or fluids into an underground reservoir through a wellbore. May be used as part of enhanced oil recovery or waterflooding processes or for disposal of produced water. Upstream — the exploration and production portions of the oil and gas industry.

Wellhead — the equipment at the surface of a well used to control the pressure; the point at which the hydrocarbons and water exit the ground Well servicing — maintenance work performed on an oil or gas well to improve or maintain the production. Coiled tubing — a long, small diameter pipe flexible enough to be stored on and deployed from a large, truck-mounted roll. Used to replace jointed pipe in certain types of drilling, completion, and workover operations.

Compressor — an engine used to increase the pressure of natural gas so that it will flow more easily through a pipeline Development well — a well drilled within the proved area of an oil or gas reservoir to the depth of a stratigraphic horizon known to be productive; a well drilled in a proven field for the purpose of completing the desired spacing pattern of production. Downhole — a term used to describe tools, equipment, and instruments used in the wellbore, or conditions or techniques applying to the wellbore.

Downstream — when referring to the oil and gas industry, this term indicates the refining and marketing sectors of the industry. More generically, the term can be used to refer to any step further along in the process. Drill cuttings — the small pieces of rock created as a drill bit moves through underground formations while drilling. Dry gas — the volume of gas remaining after all water and natural gas liquids have been removed.

Dry hole — any exploratory or development well that does not find commercial quantities of hydrocarbons. Enhanced oil recovery EOR — refers to a variety of processes to increase the amount of oil removed from a reservoir, typically by injecting a liquid e. Exploratory well — a hole drilled: a to find and produce oil or gas in an area previously considered unproductive area; b to find a new reservoir in a known field, i. Field — An area consisting of a single reservoir or multiple reservoirs all grouped on, or related to, the same individual geological structural feature or stratigraphic condition.

The field name refers to the surface area, although it may refer to both the surface and the underground productive formations. Formation damage — the reduction in permeability in reservoir rock due to the infiltration of drilling or treating fluids into the area adjacent to the wellbore.

Fracturing — the application of hydraulic pressure to the reservoir formation to create fractures through which oil or gas may move to the wellbore. Gas-to-Liquids GTL — the conversion of natural gas to a liquid form so that it can be transported easily. Typically, the liquid is converted back to natural gas prior to consumption. Gravity — a standard adopted by the American Petroleum Institute for measuring the density of a liquid. Gravity is expressed in degrees with lower numbers indicating heavier liquids and higher numbers indicating lighter liquids.

Integrated — when applied to an oil company, it indicates a firm that operates in both the upstream and downstream sectors from exploration through refining and marketing Lease — a legal document conveying the right to drill for oil and gas, or the tract of land on which a lease has been obtained where the producing wells and production equipment are located.

Lifting costs — the cost of producing oil from a well or lease. Log — to conduct a survey inside a borehole to gather information about the subsurface formations; the results of such a survey. Logs typically consist of several curves on a long grid that describe properties within the wellbore or surrounding formations that can be interpreted to provide information about the location of oil, gas, and water.

Also called well logs, borehole logs, wireline logs. Midstream — a term sometimes used to refer to those industry activities that fall between exploration and production upstream and refining and marketing downstream. The term is most often applied to pipeline transportation of crude oil and natural gas. Natural gas liquids NGL — the portions of gas from a reservoir that are liquified at the surface in separators, field facilities, or gas processing plants.

Non-associated gas — natural gas produced from a reservoir that does not contain significant quantities of crude oil. Permeability — a measure of the ability of a rock to transmit fluid through pore spaces.