Glossary

The abbreviation for billion cubic feet of gas. (see "cubic foot of gas")

The abbreviation for billion cubic feet of gas per day.

The abbreviation for bottom-hole pressure

Barrels of oil, a measurement of oil production.

The abbreviation for barrels of oil per day.

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit under standard conditions of pressure and temperature.

1. a measure of volume for petroleum products in the United States. One barrel is the equivalent of 42 U.S. gallons or 0.15899 cubic meters (9,702 cubic inches). One cubic meter equals 6.2897 barrels.

Impurities and water contained in the fluid produced by an oil well.

(SWR 14) Any well under the jurisdiction of the Commission for which the surface location is either:

• located in or on a lake, river, stream, canal, estuary, bayou, or other inland navigable waters of the state; or
• located on state lands seaward of the mean high tide line of the Gulf of Mexico in water of a depth at mean tide of not more than 100 feet that is sheltered from the direct action of the open seas of the Gulf of Mexico.

In the energy industry, a barrel is 42 U.S. gallons measured at 60° Fahrenheit.

the cutting or boring element used in drilling oil and gas wells. This bit consists of a cutting element and a circulating element. The circulating element permits the passage of drilling fluid and utilized the hydraulic force of the fluid stream to improve drilling rates. In rotary drilling, several drill collars are joined to the bottom end of the drill pipe column, and the bit is attached to the end of the string of drill collars. Most bits used in rotary drilling are roller cone bits, but diamond bits are also used extensively.

Nipple (pipe with threads at both ends) that can be blocked off from formation pressure and give a false pressure measurement.

an uncontrolled flow of gas, oil, or other well fluids into the atmosphere or into an underground formation. A blowout, or gusher, can occur when formation pressure exceeds the pressure applied to it by the column of drilling fluid.

Casinghead equipment that prevents the uncontrolled flow of oil, gas and mud from the well by closing around the drillpipe or sealing the hole.

hole pressure the pressure at the bottom of a well.

A head, screwed into the top of the casing, used to confine gas in the well until release through an outlet into a pipeline.

A downhole tool (composed primarily of slips, a plug mandrel, and a rubber sealing element) that is run and set in casing to isolate a lower casing interval while testing an upper section.

A well used for injecting fresh water into geologic formation comprised mainly of salt. The injected freshwater dissolves the salt and is pumped back to the surface as a saturated sodium chloride brine solution used as a feedstock in petrochemical refineries and in oil and gas well drilling and workover operations.