Technical Thesaurus oil & gas
Letter
Racking board
A platform high in the derrick on
well-service rigs, where the derrick man stands when racking tubing being
pulled from the well.
Racking pipe
The act of placing lengths of pipe
in an orderly arrangement in the derrick.
Radioactivity well logging
The recording of the natural or
induced radioactive characteristics of subsurface formations. A radioactivity
log, also known as a radiation log, normally consists of two recorded curves: a
gamma-ray curve and a neutron curve. Both indicate the types of rocks in the
formation and the types of fluids contained in the rocks. The two logs may be
run simultaneously in conjunction with a collar locator in a cased or uncased
hole.
Ram
The closing and sealing component
on a blowout preventer. One of three types -blind, pipe, or shear -may be
installed in several preventers mounted in a stack on top of the well bore.
Blind rams, when closed, form a seal on a hole that has no drill pipe in it;
pipe rams, when closed, seal around the pipe; shear rams cut through drill pipe
and then form a seal. See blind ram, pipe ram, and shear ram.
Ram blowout preventer
A blowout preventer that uses rams
to seal off pressure on a hole that is with or without pipe. It is also called
a ram preventer. See blowout preventer and ram.
Range/bearing
One of the methods that some
positioning systems operate in. A single station that provides a range and also
a bearing relative to another known station or trig (e.g. Artemis, Polarfix).
Range/range
One of the several modes of
offshore navigation, requiring at least two beacons (e.g. Syledis is often used
this way).
Rat hole
See mouse hole.
Rate of penetration (ROP)
The depth of hole drilled in a
specified time; usually given in feet per hour.
Raw material
One of the chemical ingredients of
a process. Basic raw materials are those which are present wholly or in part in
the product; that is, they have reacted chemically. Often referred to as
feedstock.
Reaction
Any process involving chemical
change by which new chemical products are formed.
Realtime
Applies to data available to the
operator as it is being obtained, as opposed to data recorded for later
analysis. Onboard data processing and sophisticated display units increase the
realtime information available, facilitate decision making and increase survey
efficiency (e.g. in a survey vessel: a back plot is out put in realtime to help
surveyors navigate the vessel).
Reamer
A tool used to enlarge or straighten
a bore hole; a milling tool used to cut the casing downhole. Reamers are run on
the drill string and are built with cutting blades or wheels that can be
expanded against the walls of the hole.
Reboiler
Equipment provided with a heating
medium for vaporising liquid at the bottom of a distillation tower.
Receiver
Any vessel or container which
receives materials or process liquids from another piece of equipment.
Reciprocal
Acting with a backward and forward
movement, as in reciprocating pumps.
Recorder
Any device for storage or display
of information: examples are: sweep recorders for analogue paper records;
seismic recorders writing to digital tape.
Recoverable reserves
That proportion of the oil and/or
gas in a reservoir that can be removed using currently available techniques.
Recovery factor
The percentage of oil that can be
ultimately withdrawn from the reservoir rock. It is an important factor for
calculating oil reserves i.e. the total volume of oil that should be
recoverable.
Recycling
In a gas condensate reservoir, it
is necessary to maintain the reservoir pressure in order to prevent condensate
forming (i.e. some of the gas liquefying) and soaking into the reservoir rock,
where it would be irretrievable. Condensate is removed from produced wet gas,
and residual dry gas is injected back into the reservoir in order to maintain
pressure.
Reduction of soundings
The correction of the observed
depths, for the height of tide above or below the plane of reference at the
time of sounding. Usually the term reduction of soundings does not cover
corrections other than those due to tide. See correction of soundings.
Reduction of tides
The processing of observed tidal
data to obtain mean values of tidal constants.
Reduction to sea level
A reduction applied to a measured
horizontal length on the Earth's surface to reduce it to the surface of the sea
level datum of the reference spheroid.
Reef effect
The process where an offshore
structure provides a favourable ecological niche for marine life, thus usually
increasing fish population in the area.
Reeve
To pass (as the end of a rope)
through a hole or opening in a block or similar device.
Reeve the line
To string a wire-rope drilling
line through the sheaves of the travelling and crown blocks to the hoisting
drum.
Reference fuel
A standard fuel with which other
fuels can be compared in measuring such things as octane number.
Refinery
A plant used to separate the
various components present in crude oil and convert them into usable products
or feedstock for other processes.
Reflux
The distillate which is pumped
back into the top of the distillation tower to control temperature and increase
efficiency.
Refractory
Materials which can stand high
temperatures and resist corrosion and abrasion. Particularly used for furnace
linings.
Relative permeability
A measure of the ability of two or
more fluids etc, to flow through the pore spaces of rock due to an external
pressure.
Relief valve
A device for relieving excess
pressure in a system, e.g. a rupture disc or piston shear pin valve.
Relief well
Directional well, drilled to
intersect a well that is flowing wild, through which heavy drilling fluid is
pumped down to kill the blow-out well.
Relinquishment requirement
An agreement whereby oil companies
give up their licence rights in unexplored concessions after a given period of
time.
Remotely operated vehicle (
An unmanned submersible craft
which can be used either for observation purposes or to perform hydrographic
surveys, or for working purposes. Also called remotely controlled vehicle
(RCV).
Rental payment
An annual payment made by an oil
company to a State in order to retain rights in a particular concession.
Repeatability
A quality desirable in a positioning
system, namely the ability to assign the same coordinates to the same spot
after some time has elapsed; the other criterion for a positioning system is
absolute accuracy.
Report Export Template
Inspection Manager Eventing Module
can output reports to numerous third party applications through Export
Templates. Templates are not an integral part of the Inspection Manager
Eventing Module application and may be 'plugged in. when required. e.g.
Inspecion Manger Eventing Module currently provides Export Templates for
Microsoft Word. Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access. More Templates are being
written.
Report Plug-ln
Inspection Manager Eventing Module
has a variety of standard reports. each of which may be exported to a third
party application via a Report Export Template. e.g. Some of the Reports. which
come with Inspection Manager Eventing Module. are: Default Event Template.
Structure/Event Pivot Table. Structure/Event Pivot Table and Regular Report.
Reserve pit
1. (obsolete) a mud pit in which a
supply of drilling fluid was stored.
Reserves (gas)
The portion of recoverable
non-associated and associated gas (excluding NGL), that can be recovered with
existing development techniques under the present economic conditions, and
which is committed to a sales contract.
Reserves (oil)
The portion of oil that can be
recovered with existing development techniques under present economic
conditions.
Reservoir
A stratum in which oil or gas is
present.
Reservoir pressure
The pressure at the face of the
producing formation when the well is shut-in. It is equal to the closed-in
pressure (at the wellhead) plus the pressure of the fluid column in the hole.
Reservoir rock
A geological term used to denote a
porous and permeable rock, such as sandstone which contains or is capable of
containing. significant accumulations of oil or gas.
Residual fuel oil
Very heavy fuel oils produced from
the residue from the fractional distillation process rather than from the
distilled fractions.
Residue
The non-volatile components of
crude oil which flow out of the bottom of a fractionating column during
fractional distillation.
Resin
A solid or semi-solid mixture of
organic substances of complex composition having no definite melting point. as
in plastic resins made from hydrocarbon feedstocks.
Retort
Container with a long neck to
allow vapour to escape for collection; used in the distillation process.
Retort solids
Amount of solids by volume in the
drilling mud determined by distillation using a retort.
Return on assets (ROA)
The net profit after tax expressed
as a percentage of the total assets employed in an enterprise.
Return on investment (ROI)
The net profit after tax expressed
as a percentage of the total money invested in an enterprise.
Revenue
The gross income from the sale of
products produced.
Reverse circulation
The return of drilling fluid
through the drill stem. The normal course of drilling fluid circulation is
downward through the drill stem and upward through the annular space
surrounding the drill stem. For special problems, normal circulation is
sometimes reversed, and the fluid returns to the surface through the drill
stem, or tubing, after being pumped down the annulus.
Rig
See exploration rig.
Rig down
To dismantle the drilling rig and
auxiliary equipment following the completion of drilling operations; also
called tear down.
Rig floor
See derrick floor.
Rig move
Rig emplacement offshore; uses
surveyors and navigation/positioning equipment; carried out by most survey
companies (drilling rig).
Rig up
To prepare the drilling rig for
making hole; to install tools and machinery before drilling is started.
Rigging up
The operation whereby tools,
machinery, fuel, water supplies, etc. are installed on a rig before drilling
commences.
Ring fence
A fiscal procedure whereby taxable
profits from oil or gas production cannot be offset against other losses made
by the company involved.
Riser
See marginal riser.
Riser pipeline
A pipe that connects a platform to
a subsea wellhead or spur line.
Risk capital
Equity capital raised to finance a
development that has technical, economic and other risks attached to it and
thus cannot guarantee a return on the investment.
RMSE
Root Mean Square Error. The square
root of the arithmetic mean of squared deviations from the mean. Also called
standard deviation, when the deviations do not represent errors.
Rock a well
To agitate a "dead" well
by alternately bleeding and shutting in the pressure on the casing or tubing so
that the well will start to flow.
Roller cone bit
A drilling bit made of two, three,
or four cones, or cutters, that are mounted on extremely rugged bearings. Also
called rock bits. The surface of each cone is made up of rows of steel teeth or
rows of tungsten carbide inserts. See bit.
Rollover
Where repayment of a loan on which
interest is accumulating is held over for a specific time period.
Rope socket
A device for securing the end of a
steel cable into a connecting piece -a clevis, hook or chain. A metal cup or
socket {like a whip socket) into which the cable end is inserted and which then
is filled with molten lead or babbitt, or in the case of piano wire fastened
with a special knot.
Rotameter
Instrument used for measuring the
flow rate of a liquid or gas in a pipe.
Rotary bushing
See master bushing.
Rotary drilling
Drilling in which the entire drill
string and bit are rotated, as opposed to turbine drilling.
Rotary helper
A worker on a drilling rig,
subordinate to the driller; sometimes called a roughneck, fioorman, or rig
crewman.
Rotary hose
The flexible hose that transfers
the drilling mud from the stand pipe to the top of the drill string via a
swivel coupling.
Rotary RPM
The number of revolutions per
minute of the drilling table, i.e. the angular velocity of the drilling bit
during rotary drilling.
Rotary table
The principal component of a
rotary, or rotary machine, used to turn the drill stem and support the drilling
assembly. It has a bevelled gear arrangement to create the rotational motion
and an opening into which bushings are fitted to drive and support the drilling
assembly.
Rotliegendes
Formations laid down during the
first part of the Permian Period in which natural gas fields are sometimes
found.
Roughneck
One of the assistants to a
driller; a labourer who works on the actual derrick floor of an offshore rig or
platform.
Round trip
The
process which occurs every time a drill bit has to be replaced, whereby the
entire drill string is removed from the hole in roughly 90- foot sections and
is then returned with anew bit on the end; also described as making a trip.
Roustabout
A general labourer in an oil
drilling and/or production operation.
Royalty
Usually a fixed percentage of a
specified crude or gas value per unit produced, to be paid to the host
government. It is a fixed charge independent of profit or loss.
Run in
To go into the hole with tubing
drill pipe, and so forth.
Runline
A line that a survey vessel is to
surveyor has surveyed.
Rupture disk
A thin, metal plug or membrane in
a fitting on a pressure vessel or line made so as to blowout or rupture when
the pressure exceeds a predetermined level; a safety plug
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