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Bcf - Billion Cubic Feet
Gas measurement approximately equal to one trillion (1,000,000,000,000) BTU’s
Brine
Brine is a kind of sedimentary rock found near shores. It is composed of the shells of many sea creatures that
have formed a layer of sediment, which then formed a layer of rock.
Btu - British Thermal Unit
The Btu is a unit of measurement for energy. It represents the amount of heat that is necessary to raise the
temperature of one pound of water by 1 degree, Fahrenheit.
Casing
A casing is used to line the walls of a gas well to prevent collapse of the well, and also to protect the
surrounding earth and rock layers from being contaminated by petroleum, or the drilling fluids.
Cathodic Protection
Cathodic protection refers to the method of preventing corrosion in metal structures that involves using electric
voltage to slow or prevent corrosion. It is used along natural gas pipelines, as well as in certain bridges or other
large metal structures that need to resist corrosion over an extended period of time.
Christmas Tree
A Christmas Tree, when referring to gas production, is the term given to the series of pipes and valves that sits
on top of a producing gas well. Since some gas wells have natural lift because of the high pressures
underground, they don't require an artificial pumping mechanism to produce the gas. In these cases, a
Christmas Tree is used in place of a pump to extract the gas from the well.
Compression
Natural gas is compressed during transportation and storage. The standard pressure that gas volumes are
measured at is 14.7 Pounds per Square inch (psi). When being transported through pipelines, and when being
stored, gas is compressed to save space. Pipelines have compressing stations installed along the line (one
about every 100 miles) to ensure that the gas pressure is held high while the gas is being transported. Current
pipelines can compress natural gas to nearly 1500 psi, but most tend to operate at closer to 1000psi.
Formation
A formation refers to either a certain layer of the earth's crust, or a certain area of a layer. It often refers to the
area of rock where a petroleum reservoir is located.
Fracturing
Fracturing refers to a method used by producers to extract more natural gas from a well by opening up rock
formations using hydraulic or explosive force. Advanced fracturing techniques are enhancing producers' ability
to find and recover natural gas, as well as extending the longevity of older wells.
Hydrocarbon
An organic compound containing only carbon and hydrogen. Hydrocarbons often occur in petroleum products,
natural gas, and coals.
Horizontal Drilling
Horizontal Drilling, heralded today as "causing the greatest change in the industry since the invention of the
rotary bit," is the most rapidly growing movement in the petroleum industry. Essentially, in addition to the vertical
shaft in an oil or gas well, special equipment allows producers to extend horizontal shafts into areas that could
not otherwise be reached. This technique is especially useful in off shore drilling, where one platform may
service many horizontal shafts, thus increasing efficiency. Horizontal wells can be categorized as short
(extending only 20-40ft from vertical), medium (300-700ft from vertical) or long (1000-4500ft from vertical)
radius. The larger radius wells are typically found off-shore.
Mcf - Thousand Cubic Feet
Mcf stands for one thousand cubic feet. It's a unit of measure that is more commonly used in the low volume
sectors of the gas industry.
Methane
Methane, commonly known as natural gas (or CH4 to a scientist), is the most common hydrocarbon gas. It is
colorless and naturally odorless, and burns efficiently without many by products. Natural gas only has an odor
when it enters your home because the local distributor who sells it to you adds it as a safety measure.
Muds
Muds are used in drilling to lubricate the drilling bit in rotary drilling rigs. These fluids cool the bit, remove
cuttings and debris, and coat the wellbore with a cake. Most fluids have a clay base, and are customized for the
specific formations that are encountered at a given site. The cake that forms from the fluids serves to coat the
walls of the wellbore until a steel casting can be put in place to prevent collapse.
Multiple Completions
Sometimes, in order to take full advantage of all the gas and oil present in a reserve, it is beneficial to drill to
several different depths from a single well to increase the rate of production or the amount of recoverable
petroleum.
Permeability
Permeability is the measure of how easily a fluid can pass through a section of rock. If fluid can pass relatively
easily through a given layer, then the permeability is said to be high. However, if a layer effectively blocks fluids,
or no fluids can flow through the layer at all, then the layer is said to be impermeable.
P.I.G.s
Not your typical farm animal, these robotic agents roam the pipeline collecting data. Intelligent PIGS are used to
inspect pipeline interior walls for corrosion and defects, measure pipeline interior diameters, remove
accumulated debris and for other specialty tasks. As the PIG travels through the pipeline, it takes thousands of
sensor measurements for later computer analysis and comparison with other historical data. Advances in these
technologies are improving pipeline reliability and reducing the need for excavating long sections of pipe for
inspection.
Porosity
Pores are spaces between grains of sediment in sedimentary rock. A sedimentary rock with larger grain size will
generally be more porous, allowing more fluid or air to flow through it. Very porous rock acts somewhat like a
sponge, soaking up water, air and petroleum. Generally, porosity, or the degree to which a formation can hold
fluid, decreases with depth because increased pressures press grains together, thus decreasing the space
between grains.
Separator Tank
These tanks are usually located at the well site. They are used to separate oil, gas and water before sending
each off to be processed at different locations.
Stripper Wells
Stripper wells are natural gas wells that produce less than 60,000 cubic feet of gas per day. Ohio, West
Virginia, Texas, Kentucky and New Mexico all have significant numbers of stripper wells. In 1994 there were
159,369 stripper wells in the United States, and they produced 940,420,777 MCF.
Viscosity
Viscosity is the measure of a fluid's thickness, or how well it flows. Water would have a very low viscosity since it
flows very easily, while maple syrup or molasses would have a very higher viscosity since they flow slowly.
Gas measurement approximately equal to one trillion (1,000,000,000,000) BTU’s
Brine
Brine is a kind of sedimentary rock found near shores. It is composed of the shells of many sea creatures that
have formed a layer of sediment, which then formed a layer of rock.
Btu - British Thermal Unit
The Btu is a unit of measurement for energy. It represents the amount of heat that is necessary to raise the
temperature of one pound of water by 1 degree, Fahrenheit.
Casing
A casing is used to line the walls of a gas well to prevent collapse of the well, and also to protect the
surrounding earth and rock layers from being contaminated by petroleum, or the drilling fluids.
Cathodic Protection
Cathodic protection refers to the method of preventing corrosion in metal structures that involves using electric
voltage to slow or prevent corrosion. It is used along natural gas pipelines, as well as in certain bridges or other
large metal structures that need to resist corrosion over an extended period of time.
Christmas Tree
A Christmas Tree, when referring to gas production, is the term given to the series of pipes and valves that sits
on top of a producing gas well. Since some gas wells have natural lift because of the high pressures
underground, they don't require an artificial pumping mechanism to produce the gas. In these cases, a
Christmas Tree is used in place of a pump to extract the gas from the well.
Compression
Natural gas is compressed during transportation and storage. The standard pressure that gas volumes are
measured at is 14.7 Pounds per Square inch (psi). When being transported through pipelines, and when being
stored, gas is compressed to save space. Pipelines have compressing stations installed along the line (one
about every 100 miles) to ensure that the gas pressure is held high while the gas is being transported. Current
pipelines can compress natural gas to nearly 1500 psi, but most tend to operate at closer to 1000psi.
Formation
A formation refers to either a certain layer of the earth's crust, or a certain area of a layer. It often refers to the
area of rock where a petroleum reservoir is located.
Fracturing
Fracturing refers to a method used by producers to extract more natural gas from a well by opening up rock
formations using hydraulic or explosive force. Advanced fracturing techniques are enhancing producers' ability
to find and recover natural gas, as well as extending the longevity of older wells.
Hydrocarbon
An organic compound containing only carbon and hydrogen. Hydrocarbons often occur in petroleum products,
natural gas, and coals.
Horizontal Drilling
Horizontal Drilling, heralded today as "causing the greatest change in the industry since the invention of the
rotary bit," is the most rapidly growing movement in the petroleum industry. Essentially, in addition to the vertical
shaft in an oil or gas well, special equipment allows producers to extend horizontal shafts into areas that could
not otherwise be reached. This technique is especially useful in off shore drilling, where one platform may
service many horizontal shafts, thus increasing efficiency. Horizontal wells can be categorized as short
(extending only 20-40ft from vertical), medium (300-700ft from vertical) or long (1000-4500ft from vertical)
radius. The larger radius wells are typically found off-shore.
Mcf - Thousand Cubic Feet
Mcf stands for one thousand cubic feet. It's a unit of measure that is more commonly used in the low volume
sectors of the gas industry.
Methane
Methane, commonly known as natural gas (or CH4 to a scientist), is the most common hydrocarbon gas. It is
colorless and naturally odorless, and burns efficiently without many by products. Natural gas only has an odor
when it enters your home because the local distributor who sells it to you adds it as a safety measure.
Muds
Muds are used in drilling to lubricate the drilling bit in rotary drilling rigs. These fluids cool the bit, remove
cuttings and debris, and coat the wellbore with a cake. Most fluids have a clay base, and are customized for the
specific formations that are encountered at a given site. The cake that forms from the fluids serves to coat the
walls of the wellbore until a steel casting can be put in place to prevent collapse.
Multiple Completions
Sometimes, in order to take full advantage of all the gas and oil present in a reserve, it is beneficial to drill to
several different depths from a single well to increase the rate of production or the amount of recoverable
petroleum.
Permeability
Permeability is the measure of how easily a fluid can pass through a section of rock. If fluid can pass relatively
easily through a given layer, then the permeability is said to be high. However, if a layer effectively blocks fluids,
or no fluids can flow through the layer at all, then the layer is said to be impermeable.
P.I.G.s
Not your typical farm animal, these robotic agents roam the pipeline collecting data. Intelligent PIGS are used to
inspect pipeline interior walls for corrosion and defects, measure pipeline interior diameters, remove
accumulated debris and for other specialty tasks. As the PIG travels through the pipeline, it takes thousands of
sensor measurements for later computer analysis and comparison with other historical data. Advances in these
technologies are improving pipeline reliability and reducing the need for excavating long sections of pipe for
inspection.
Porosity
Pores are spaces between grains of sediment in sedimentary rock. A sedimentary rock with larger grain size will
generally be more porous, allowing more fluid or air to flow through it. Very porous rock acts somewhat like a
sponge, soaking up water, air and petroleum. Generally, porosity, or the degree to which a formation can hold
fluid, decreases with depth because increased pressures press grains together, thus decreasing the space
between grains.
Separator Tank
These tanks are usually located at the well site. They are used to separate oil, gas and water before sending
each off to be processed at different locations.
Stripper Wells
Stripper wells are natural gas wells that produce less than 60,000 cubic feet of gas per day. Ohio, West
Virginia, Texas, Kentucky and New Mexico all have significant numbers of stripper wells. In 1994 there were
159,369 stripper wells in the United States, and they produced 940,420,777 MCF.
Viscosity
Viscosity is the measure of a fluid's thickness, or how well it flows. Water would have a very low viscosity since it
flows very easily, while maple syrup or molasses would have a very higher viscosity since they flow slowly.
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