Oil Field Operations Overview
Associated Gas
• Natural gas produced with crude oil from the same reservoir.
• Can be dissolved in the oil at reservoir conditions or form a cap of "free gas" above the oil.
Appraisal Well
• Well drilled as part of an appraisal drilling programme to determine the size, reserve, and estimated production rate of an oil field.
Antifoam
• Chemical additive used to lower interfacial tension to prevent trapped gas from forming a foam.
• Common additives include Octyl alcohol, aluminum stearate, glycols, silicones, and sulfonated hydrocarbons.
Treatment Fluid
• A fluid designed to resolve a specific wellbore or reservoir condition.
• Used for stimulation, isolation, or control of reservoir gas or water.
Slurry
• A mixture of suspended solids and liquids.
Alkaline Flooding
• An oil recovery technique where an alkaline chemical reacts with the oil, forming surfactants inside the reservoir.
• Water is injected into the reservoir to displace residual oil, moving the displaced oil to adjacent production wells.
Abrasive Jetting
• Wellbore treatment using a fluid containing solid particles to remove deposits from the surface of the wellbore and/or completion components.
Understanding the Concepts of Barrel, Barrel of Oil, BBL, BCF, BCM, BIT, BLOCK, BTU, Cementation, Clastic, Commercial Field, Completion, Compressor, Contingent Resources, Conventional Oil, Core and Coring, and Creaming Curve in Oil and Gas Production
Barrel of Oil EQ (BOE):
• A unit of energy used to measure the volume of petroleum and related products.
• Based on the energy released by burning one barrel of oil.
BBL:
• Refers to a barrel of oil, approximately 35 imperial gallons or 159 litres.
• Used by oil companies to report their production.
BCF:
• Refers to a billion cubic feet of natural gas.
• Used to measure the amount of natural gas that is untapped or currently being pumped.
BCM:
• Means a 'billion cubic metres' and is generally used to measure natural gas.
BIT:
• A drilling tool used to cut a cylindrical hole in the earth’s crust.
• Can create hole depths of up to 30,000 feet.
BLOCK:
• A geographical area of land where an oil or gas reservoir lies.
• Awarded to drilling and exploration companies.
Blow-Out:
• An uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas.
• Blow-Out Preventer: A specialized mechanical device or valve used to control pressures associated with drilling oil and gas.
BOREHOLE:
• The hole made by the drill, including the open hole or uncased portion of the well.
• BTU: A British thermal unit measuring the heating value of a fuel.
• CAPEX: A company's capital expenditure used to improve fixed assets.
• Cementation: The chemical precipitation of ions in groundwater to form a new crystalline material between sedimentary grains.
• Clastic: Rocks composed of fragments or broken pieces of older rock.
• Commercial field: An oil and/or gas field is considered worth developing if it can produce enough net income at low risk.
• Completion: The process of making a well ready for production after drilling operations.
• Compressor: A mechanical device used to reduce the volume of gas to increase pressure.
• Contingent resources: Quantities of petroleum estimated to be recoverable from known accumulations.
• Conventional Oil: Oil found or expected to be found within a conventional reservoir.
• Core and Coring: A process associated with drilling to assess the productivity of oil well drilling.
• Creaming Curve: A statistical technique used to present the relationship between aggregated or cumulative resource from wells drilled.
• Derrick: A tower-like structure housing drilling controls and lifting equipment.
• Development Well: A well drilled in a proven area of an oil or gas reservoir to maximize economic production and recovery of reservoirs known reserves.
• Discovery: When a petroleum accumulation is found following several exploratory wells.
• Downhole: Tools, instruments, and equipment used in the wellbore or techniques applying to the wellbore.
• Downstream: The refining of petroleum crude oil or the processing of natural gas as well as the marketing and distribution sectors of the oil and gas industry.
• Drill mud: Drilling fluid used to clean and lubricate equipment during the drilling process.
• Drilling rig: A drilling component not permanently fixed to the seabed.
• Dry gas: Natural gas composed mostly of methane.
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Overview
• A process using advanced techniques to increase oil recovery from oil reservoirs.
• Restores formation pressure and improves oil displacement/flow.
• Three major recovery types: chemical flooding, miscible displacement, and thermal recovery.
• Also known as "improved oil recovery" or "tertiary recovery."
Exploration Well
• A concentrated area for drilling to determine hydrocarbon presence.
• Also known as a 'wildcat well'.
Erosion Corrosion
• A type of corrosion produced when scales, such as iron carbonate, erode, causing corroding metals.
• Common cause of failure in oilfield equipment.
Field
• An area with a large amount of oil or gas.
• Largest fields like the Rumailia field in Iraq produce millions of barrels of oil daily.
Fish
• Anything left in a wellbore is referred to as "the fish."
• Retrieval involves understanding the dimensions and nature of the "fish," wellbore conditions, tools, and the process of handling the recovered fish.
Fracturing/Fracking
• A method of breaking down a rock formation to force open existing fissures.
• Fracturing fluids for shale reservoirs are designed to reduce friction pressure.
• Gas Field: A field containing natural gas, with rare instances of limited producible oil.
• Gas Injection: A process to maintain reservoir pressure, with separate gas pumped back into the reservoir for conservation.
• Gas in Place (GIP) or Gas Initially in Place (GIIP): The quantity of estimated gas in naturally occurring accumulations before extraction or production.
• Gas Lift: The process of raising or lifting fluid from a well by injecting gas through tubing into the well.
• Gas Oil Ratio (GOR): Refers to the number of cubic feet of gas produced per barrel of oil.
• Gatherer: Any person or vehicle authorized to gather or accept oil, gas, or geothermal resources after production or from storage.
• Gathering Line: A pipeline located within an oilfield that gathers produced oil and/or gas for further transmission.
• Gun Barrel Separator: Used to separate oil, water, and gas.
• Horizontal Drilling: A method of drilling where the drill bit is turned in a horizontal direction to produce hydrocarbons from various areas at the same depth.
• Hot Oiling: Circulation of heated fluid to dissolve/dislodge paraffin deposits from the production tubing.
• Hydraulic Disconnect: A downhole tool designed to allow the retrieval of the running string.
• Running string: A small-diameter tubing string run inside the production tubing of a well as a remedial treatment to resolve liquid-loading problems.
• Hydrocarbon: A compound containing only the elements hydrogen and carbon.
• Hydrochloric Acid: A type of acid commonly used in oil and gas well stimulation, especially in carbonate formations.
Industry Mutual Hold Harmless (IMMH) and Oil and Gas Industry Overview
• IMMH is a UK-based indemnity scheme designed to bridge the contractual gap between contractors and sub-contractors.
• It serves as a background agreement where no direct contract exists between contractors.
Improved Oil Recovery (IOR)
• IOR involves processes that improve the flow of hydrocarbons from a reservoir to the wellbore.
• Examples include Enhanced oil recovery (EOR).
Infill Wells
• Wells drilled into existing reservoirs between wells already producing oil/natural gas.
• Increase in the number of wells per unit area improves recovery efficiency.
Injection Well
• Wells where water or gases are injected into the reservoir to maintain reservoir pressure.
In-situ Recovery
• Techniques used to extract hydrocarbons from beneath the surface without removing soil and other materials.
Internet of Things (IoT)
• A system of interrelated physical devices, appliances, machines that enable connectivity and shared data without human interaction.
Integrated Company
• A term used to indicate a firm operating in both upstream and downstream sectors.
Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF)
• An Oil and Gas trade organization established in 1999 to support the development of new technologies and innovation within the sector.