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Acreage	: The area covered by a company's exploration permits.
Anticline	: A structure in which strata are folded so as to form an arch or dome.
Appraisal well	: A well drilled subsequent to an existing discovery well in order to ascertain the extent of the field.
Barrel of oil	: Unit of volume used for petroleum products: 1 barrel = 159 litres (approx.) or 42 U.S. gallons or 35 imperial gallons.
Basin	: A segment of the earth's crust which has been downwarped or downfaulted, in which thick layers of sediments have accumulated over a long period of time.
Condensate	: Hydrocarbons associated with natural gas, which are liquid under surface conditions but gaseous in a reservoir.
Crude oil	: The oil that is produced from a reservoir after any associated gas has been removed.
Depletion	: Reduction in petroleum reserves by production.
Development phase	: The phase in which a proven oil or gas field is brought into production by drilling production wells.
Development well	: A well drilled with a view to producing oil or gas from a proven field.
Dry hole	: A well drilled without finding oil or gas in commercial quantities.
Exploration/wildcat well	: A well drilled without knowledge of the contents of the underlying rock structure.
Farm-in/farm-out	: A common form of agreement between exploration companies whereby the holder(s) of a permit (farm-out party) agrees to assign an interest in the permit, or some portion of it, to another company (farm-in party) that is willing to fund agreed exploration activities.
Formation	: A group of rocks of the same age, extending over a substantial area of a basin.
Frontier exploration	: Exploration in a sedimentary basin which has seen limited previous exploration.
Generation	: The process by which organic matter in a source rock is transformed into hydrocarbons at a depth in the subsurface.
Geology	: The science relating to the history and development of the Earth's crust.
Geophysics	: The physics of the Earth, a hybrid discipline involving a combination of physical and geological principles.
Hydrocarbons	: General term for oil, gas, condensate and other petroleum products.
Joint venture	: An investment undertaking by a consortium, usually with one member acting as operator.
Lead	: Inferred geological feature or structural pattern which on further investigation may be upgraded to a prospect.
Oil/gas seep	: A natural flow of oil and/or gas to the earth's surface.
Pay zone	: A stratum of rock in which oil and/or gas is found, and from which it is produced.
Permit/license	: An area that is granted to a company for a given period for exploration and development under specified terms and conditions.
Play	: A specific combination of geological features which is perceived as having potential for petroleum accumulation.
Possible reserves	: Undeveloped oil and/or gas reserves which best judgment indicates may be recoverable from a structure.
Prospect	: A potential hydrocarbon trap which has been confirmed by geophysical and geological studies to the degree that it can warrant the drilling of an exploration well.
Reservoir	: A porous and permeable sedimentary rock containing adequate pore space to provide storage space for fluids such as oil, gas and water.
Seismic	: A geophysical technique using low-frequency sound waves to determine the subsurface form of sedimentary rocks.
Sequence	: A succession of sedimentary rocks laid down in order.
Shows	: The detectable presence of hydrocarbons observed during the drilling of a well.
Source rock	: A sedimentary rock which is capable of generating hydrocarbons under optimum maturation conditions of temperature, pressure and time.
Top seal	: An impervious layer of rock which overlies a reservoir rock, thus preventing hydrocarbons from escaping to the surface.
Trap	: A geological structure in which hydrocarbons build up to form an oil or gas field.

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