Oil and Gas Jobs|Oil|Gas

Bbl	: A standard oil measurement that equals one barrel (42 U.S. gallons)
Bcf	: One billion cubic feet
Block	: Refers to a contiguous leasehold position. In federal offshore waters, a block is typically 5,000 acres.
BOD	: Barrels of oil per day
Boe	: A method of equating oil, gas and natural gas liquids. Gas is converted to oil based on its relative energy content at the rate of six Mcf of gas to one barrel of oil. NGLs are converted based upon volume : one barrel of natural gas liquids equals one barrel of oil.
British thermal unit (Btu)	: A measure of heat value. An Mcf of natural gas is roughly equal to one million Btu.
Coalbed Natural Gas	: An unconventional gas resource that is present in certain coal deposits.
Deepwater	: In offshore areas, water depths of greater than 600 feet.
Development well	: A well drilled within the area of an oil or gas reservoir known to be productive. Development wells are relatively low risk.
Dry hole	: A well found to be incapable of producing oil or gas in sufficient quantities to justify completion.
Exploitation	: Various methods of optimizing oil and gas production or establishing additional reserves from producing properties through additional drilling or the application of new technology.
Exploratory well	: A well drilled in an unproved area, either to find a new oil or gas reservoir or to extend a known reservoir. Sometimes referred to as a wildcat.
Field	: A geographical area under which one or more oil or gas reservoirs lie.
Floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO)	: A moored tankertype vessel used to develop an offshore oil field. Oil is stored within the FPSO until offloaded to a tanker for transportation to a terminal or refinery.
Formation	: An identifiable layer of rocks named after its geographical location and dominant rock type.
Fracture, refracture	: The process of applying hydraulic pressure to an oil or gas bearing geological formation to crack the formation and stimulate the release of oil and gas.
Gross acres	: The total number of acres in which one owns a working interest.
Gross production	: Total production before deducting royalties.
Heavy oil	: Dense, viscous crude that often requires the application of heat to enable it to flow to the surface.
Increased density/infill	: A well drilled in addition to the number of wells permitted under initial spacing regulations, used to enhance or accelerate recovery, or prevent the loss of proved reserves.
Independent producer	: A nonintegrated oil and gas producer with no refining or retail marketing operations.
Lease	: A legal contract that specifies the terms of the business relationship between an energy company and a landowner or mineral rights holder on a particular tract.
MBbl	: One thousand barrels
MBoe	: One thousand barrels of oil equivalent
Mcf	: A standard measurement unit for volumes of natural gas that equals one thousand cubic feet.
MMBbl	: One million barrels
MMBoe	: One million barrels of oil equivalent
MMcf	: One million cubic feet
MMcfd	: Millions of cubic feet of gas per day
Natural gas liquids (NGLs)	: Liquid hydrocarbons that are extracted and separated from the natural gas stream. NGL products include ethane, propane, butane and natural gasoline.
Net acres	: Gross acres multiplied by one’s fractional working interest in the property.
Net production	: Gross production, minus royalties, multiplied by one’s fractional working interest.
Pilot program	: A smallscale test project used to assess the viability of a concept prior to committing significant capital to a largescale project.
Production	: Natural resources, such as oil or gas, taken out of the ground.
Proppant	: Granular particles mixed with the fracturing fluid to hold open the formation cracks created by a fracture treatment.
Prospect	: An area designated for the potential drilling of development or exploratory wells.
Proved reserves	: Estimates of oil, gas and NGL quantities thought to be recoverable from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions.
Recavitate	: The process of applying pressure surges on the coal formation at the bottom of a well in order to increase fracturing, enlarge the bottomhole cavity and thereby increase gas production.
Recompletion	: The modification of an existing well for the purpose of producing oil or gas from a different producing formation.
Reservoir	: A rock formation or trap containing oil and/or natural gas.
Royalty	: The landowner’s share of the value of minerals (oil and gas) produced on the property.
SEC @ 10% or SEC 10% present value	: The future net revenue anticipated from proved reserves using the SEC Case, discounted at 10%.
SEC Case	: The method for calculating future net revenues from proved reserves as established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Future oil and gas revenues are estimated using essentially fixed or unescalated prices. Future production and development costs also are unescalated and are subtracted from future revenues.
Seismic	: A tool for identifying underground accumulations of oil or gas by sending energy waves or sound waves into the earth and recording the wave reflections. Results indicate the type, size, shape and depth of subsurface rock formations. 2D seismic provides twodimensional information while 3D creates threedimensional pictures. 4C, or fourcomponent, seismic is a developing technology that utilizes measurement and interpretation of shear wave data. 4C seismic improves the resolution of seismic images below shallow gas deposits.
Stepout well	: A well drilled just outside the proved area of an oil or gas reservoir in an attempt to extend the known boundaries of the reservoir.
Undeveloped acreage	: Lease acreage on which wells have not been drilled or completed to a point that would permit the production of commercial quantities of oil or gas.
Unit	: A contiguous parcel of land deemed to cover one or more common reservoirs, as determined by state or federal regulations. Unit interest owners generally share proportionately in costs and revenues.
VOLUME ACRONYMS
Waterflood	: A method of increasing oil recoveries from an existing reservoir. Water is injected through a special “water injection well” into an oil producing formation to force additional oil out of the reservoir rock and into nearby oil wells.
Working interest	: The costbearing ownership share of an oil or gas lease.
Workover	: The process of conducting remedial work, such as cleaning out a well bore, to increase or restore production.

Back to