- Home
- Oil Rigs
- Rig Types
- Advertisers
- Desert Rigs
- Oilfield Jobs
- Jobs Offered
- Career Center
- Drilling Ships
- Petroleum Machinery and Equipment
- Oil Exploration
- Crude Oil Price
- Contract Drilling
- Fox Oilfield Services
- Global Marketing
- Overseas Markets
- Oil & Gas Equipment Manufacturers
- Heavy Duty Oil Field Trucks
- Geological & Geophysical and Dry Hole Money
- Oil Drilling Industry Membership Associations
- Government Oil & Gas Projects
- International Oil Exploration
- International Oil Production
- Fox Drilling International
- International Drilling
- Top Job Applicants
- More Top Resumes
- Job Opportunities
- Global Oil News
- Oil Investment
- Photo Gallery
- Resources
- Comments
- Contact Us
- About Us
- Sitemap
- Links
- Jobs
- Oil Tankers
- Oil & Gas Blog
- Oil & Gas Maps
- Oil & Gas Funds
- Arabian Oil & Gas
- Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Resources
- Oil & Gas Resource Links
- An Educational Oil & Gas Resources Guide
- Oil Industry References
- Bloomberg Businessweek
- Tribute to Oil Workers
- Daily News and Views
- Military Support
- Rig Construction
- More Resumes
- Post Your Resume
- Customers
- Rig Fleet
- Related Companies
- Introduce Your Company
- How to benefit from low natural gas prices
- Gasoline Prices
- Energy Technology Resources
- Resumes One
- Resumes Two
- Resumes Three
- Mining Jobs
- Job Inquiries
- Oil & Gas Bookmarks
- Jackup Rigs
- Drilling Rig Specifications
- Publish Your Resume
- Military Personnel Career & Job Placement Center
- Resume Writing Tips
- Getting A Job
- Show Yourself
- Videos
- Multimedia Page
- Ocean Oil Drilling
- Rigs For Sale
- Job Application
- Drilling Prospects
- Contract Inquiries
- Updated Job Openings
- Companies On Display
- Fox Oil & Gas Superstore
- Media Attention
- Drilling Photos
- Fox Petroleum Machinery Company
- Middle East Oil Drilling
- Oil Jobs
- Petroleum Education and Training
- Sponsors
- Favorite Travel Spots, Foods and Transportation
- Who are you and where's your rig drilling?
- Scholarships
- Announcements
- Directory Listings
- Speaking Engagements
- Friends of Fox Drilling
- Fox Exploration
- Ask Mr. Fox
Oil Drilling, Oil Exploration, Oil Production
Contract Drilling, Oil Drilling Prospects
Engineering Services and Project Management
Employment Opportunities
U.S. Areas of Interest
Land Drilling Rigs
2,000 Horsepower Drilling Rig Specifications
Mast: Crown TC450, Fastline Stabilizer, Anchor Assembly, 0.5T Air Winch, Buffer Device, Falling Preventer, Mast Transportation Device, Hoisting Drill Line, Casing Stabbing Board
Substructure: Escape Assembly, Dog House, Toolkit House, Tools Elevator, (8) Stand Pipe Rack, BOP Trail and Hydraulic Lift Tools, (2) 5T Air Winch, Trailing Block Floor
Drawworks: Drawworks complete with Single Drum (2000HP), Disc Brake, Driller Control House, Auxiliary Brake, Water Cooling System, (2) AC Motor, Automatic Driller
Hoisting Equipment: Traveling Block YC-450, Hook DG-450, Swivel with Drill Pipe Spinner, Drilling Wireline (dia. 33mm/1000m), Electric Drill Spooler, 450T Elevator Link
Rotary Table: Rotary Table ZP375, Chain Reducer, Carbon Shaft, 3-1/2" and 5-1/4" Roller Bushing for Hex Kelly, Master Bushing, Split Bushing 2-3/8" - 8-5/8", Split Bushing 9-5/8" - 10-3/4", Split Bushing 11-3/4" - 13-3/8", Bushing Puller, Bit Breaker Plate, AC Motor
Power Generation, SCR Unit, MCC & Power Distribution System: (4) Detroit Engine / Generator Units, (4) Generator Master Skid, (4) Generator Ancillary Items, Generator House, Motor Control Center, (2) Transformers, VFD
Air Supply System: (2) Electric Screw Air Compressor, Air Dryer, (2) Air Tank, Air Store House, Cold Start Engine Drive Air Compressor
Well Site Lighting & AC Motor Control System: AC Supply & Lighting System
Mud Pumps: (3) Mud Pumps F 1600, (3) Skid Mounted Mud Pumps (belt-driven unit), (6) AC Motor
Stand Pipes and Rotary Hose: Mud Manifold 4" 5000psi wp (double stand pipe), (2) Rotary Hose (65 ft.)
Mud Circulating System & Solids Control Equipment: Desander, Degasser, Desilter, Sand Pumps, Mixing Pumps (75hp), Charge Pumps (50hp), Agitators (15hp), Mud Tanks, Material House, Mud Mixing Device, (3) Shale Shaker
Fuel, Air & Water Supply System: Diesel Tank, Water Tank, Multi Oil Tank
BOP Equipment: 13-5/8" x 5000 Annular BOP FH35-35, 13-5/8" x 10000 Double Ram BOP 2FZ35-70, 13-5/8" x 10000 Single Ram BOP FZ35-70, Drilling Spool FS35-70, Choke Manifold 4-1/16" (10000psi), Kill Manifold (10000psi), Adjustable Joint TD35-70, Variable Flange F28/35-70, Remote Control Panel FKQ 1280-7, Manifold
Drilling Instruments: Instrumentation
Drill String: (2) Hexagonal Kelly 5-1/4", (680) DP 5" G105 31-1/2", (4) 9" Spiral Collar, (6) 8" Slick Drill Collar
Hydraulic Power Tools: Power Tong, (2) Hydraulic Power Cathead, Hydraulic Power Station
1,500 Horsepower Drilling Rig Specifications
Mast: Crown TC315, Fastline Stabilizer, Anchor Assembly, 0.5T Air Winch, Buffer Device, Falling Preventer, Mast Transportation Device, Rig Hoisting Line
Substructure: Escape Assembly, Dog House, Toolkit House, Tools Elevator, (6) Stand Pipe Rack, (2) BOP Trail and Hydraulic Lift Tools, (2) 5T Air Winch, Trailing Block Floor
Drawworks: Drawworks complete with Single Drum (1500HP), Disc Brake, Driller Control House, Eaton Auxiliary Brake, (2) DC Motor, Eaton Auxiliary Brake Cooling System
Hoisting Equipment: Traveling Block YC-315, Hook DG-315, Swivel with Drill Pipe Spinner, Drilling Wireline (dia. 33mm/1000m), Electric Drill Spooler, 315T Elevator Link
Rotary Table: Rotary Table ZP375, Chain Reducer, Carbon Shaft, Roller Bushing for Hex Kelly, Master Bushing, Split Bushing 2-3/8" - 8-5/8", Split Bushing 9-5/8" - 10-3/4", Split Bushing 11-3/4" - 13-3/8", Bushing Puller, Bit Breaker Plate, DC Motor
Power Generation, SCR Unit, MCC & Power Distribution System: (3) Detroit Engine / Generator Units, (3) Generator Master Skid, (3) Generator Ancillary Items, Generator House, Motor Control Center, (2) Transformers, SCR House
Air Supply System: (2) Electric Screw Air Compressor, Air Dryer, (2) Air Tank, Air Store House, Cold Start Engine Drive Air Compressor
Well Site Lighting & AC Motor Control System: AC Supply & Lighting System
Mud Pumps: (2) Mud Pumps F 1600, (2) Skid Mounted Mud Pumps (belt-driven unit), (4) DC Motor
Stand Pipes and Rotary Hose: Mud Manifold 4" 5000psi wp (double stand pipe), (2) Rotary Hose (65 ft.)
Mud Circulating System & Solids Control Equipment: Desander, Degasser, Desilter, (2) Sand Pumps, (2) Mixing Pumps (75hp), (2) Charge Pumps (50hp), (8) Agitators (15hp), (2) Mud Tanks, Material House, Mud Mixing Device, (2) Shale Shaker
Fuel, Air & Water Supply System: Diesel Tank (9200 gal.), Water Tank (500 bbl.), Multi Oil Tank (3900 gal.)
BOP Equipment: 13-5/8" x 5000 Annular BOP FH35-35, 13-5/8" x 5000 Double Ram BOP 2FZ35-35, 13-5/8" x 10000 Single Ram BOP FZ35-35, Drilling Spool FS35-35, Choke Manifold JG35, Kill Manifold YG35, Adjustable Joint TD35-35, Variable Flange F28/35-35, Remote Control Panel FKQ 6406, Manifold
Drilling Instruments: Instrumentation
Drill String: (2) Hexagonal Kelly 5-1/4", (400) DP 5" G105 31-1/2", (6) 8" Spiral Collar, (21) 6-1/2" Slick Drill Collar
Hydraulic Power Tools: Power Tong, (2) Hydraulic Power Cathead, Hydraulic Power Station
Tesco 10168’; 3100m
RIG SUMMARY: (2) Detroit Diesel 860HP Engines, Tesco 133,000 daN with 4 sheaves, Tesco 200 ton top-drive, 17.5” rotary table, Emsco 800 Triplex pump.
Cabot 1100; 4000m
RIG SUMMARY: Drawworks: IRI Cabot 2550 1200HP, 337500T hoisting capacity with 10 lines of 1-1/4”, Parmar Hydromatic Aux. Brake, Air Compressors, Gardner Denver RT 27.5” Rotary Table, IRI Telescoping 127; derrick, IRI Telescoping substructure with 162 Ton set-back capacity, Traveling Equipment, Drilling Line, Dead Line Anchor, Air Hoist Hydraulic Winch, 2 Gardner Denver Pz9 Triplex Mudpumps, Mud Tanks, Light Plants, Auxiliary tools and instruments.
3000HP Drawworks OIME Hercules E-3000
RIG SUMMARY: P/B (3) EMD-D79 Electric Motors, (1) Elmagco, 7838 Electric Brake, (1) Ross Hill 1600 SCR House, (3) Gen Set's, Kato 1000 KW P/B Cat D-399TA Engines, (2) CE-FB1600 Mud Pumps P/B (2) GE 752 Motors & (2) EMD-D79 Motors, (1) Gardner Denver PZ-10 1350-HP Mud Pump, Parco Mast 146' X 1,500,000# SHL On 14 Lines, Parco Substructure 57' X 43' X 32' Raised Floor, 34' GL To KB, (1) Ideco, 750-Ton Block, 1-1/2" Line, (1) BJ, Dynaplex 750-Ton Hook, (1) CE, LB-650 650-Ton Swivel, (1) Ideco, LR-375, 37-1/2" Rotary Table, (2) Cameron Type U, 13-5/8"-10M, Dbl & Sgl BOP, (1) Hydril GK, 13-5/8"-5M Annular BOP, (1) Closing Unit, 9-Station, 300 Gal. W/ Triplex & Air Actuated Hydraulic Charging Pumps. Drill Pipe: 5" 19.50# NC-50, Drill Collars 8" & 6-1/2", 1600 BBL Mud System Complete, Working Depth 30,000' DRILL PIPE: 379 jts of 5", 19.50 lb/ft, grade G-105 Drill Pipe, 46 jts of 5", 19.50 lb/ft, grade S-135 Drill Pipe, 26 jts 6-1/2" Drill Collars, 12 jts 8" Drill Collars.
Ideco H-44; 2987m
RIG SUMMARY: Powered by 2 Cat 3406 DITA diesel engines with Allison 5860 5-speed auto transmission. 108’ Ideco Mast, 160 Ton Ideco traveling block, 20.5” rotary table, 2 Ideco MM 550 7-1/4”X15” pumps, Mud System, Cameron BOP’s – 5000psi, Drill String, Generator Trailer, Dog House, Fuel Trailer, Auxiliary Equipment, Miscellaneous Equipment.
Lee C. Moore U-15; 2591m
RIG SUMMARY: 2 Cat 353 Engines, Parkerburg 16” Triple Hydromatic Brake, Lee C. Moore 127’ Derrick with 465,000# Gross Nominal, Lee C. Moore Substructure, Traveling Equipment, 2 Ideco C-250 Pumps, deliverable HP50, Drill String, Light Plant, Kelly, Miscellaneous Equipment.
National 840-E; 3500m
RIG SUMMARY: 1500HP Electric driven rig with double drum drawworks, cantilever mast and skid mounted raised drill floor. Hook Load: 500,000 Ton, 37.5” rotary table, 2 1300HP National 10-P-130 Triplex pumps, Mud Tanks, Shale shaker, Degasser, Desander, Delsilter, Mud Cleaner, Mud Gas Seperator, Ditch Magnets, Centrifuge, BOP’s – 5000psi, Drill String, Collars, Hand Tools, Camp Equipment, Swabbing Tools, Transport Equipment.
OIME 4000E; 12000m
RIG SUMMARY: Powered by: 4 GE 752 1000HP DC Electric motors, Ross Hill 1600 SCR House, 4 C.Emsco FB 1600HP triplex pumps each powered by 2 GE752 DC electric motors, 154’ Parco Mast with 16 lines, 40’ Parco substructure with 1,300,000# set back, BJ 1000 ton traveling block, National PS 750 ton capacity top drive, Ideco 49.5 Ideco rotary table, BOP’s – 10000psi, Drill Pipe, Drill Collars, Mud System, Solids Control Equipment, Auxiliary equipment. Very well kept, BOP’s overhauled, new pumps, excellent condition.
Cooper SP-106 (with camp); 3050m
RIG SUMMARY: Rig SP-106 is a Cooper 750 self propelled drilling and workover rig with double drum drawworks and carrier mounted telescoping mast. 1 Cat D-3412 DITA Engine, Hook Load Capacity: 160 ton Hook Load, 17.5” Rotary Table, 2 Gardner Denver PZ-9 Triplex pumps, Mud Tanks, shaker, Degasser, Desander, Delsilter, Mud Cleaner, Mud Gas Seperator, BOP: 5000 psi. Drill String, Collars, Hand Tools, Camp Equipment, Swabbing Tools, Transport Equipment.
National 80-UE (with camp); 3680m
RIG SUMMARY: SCR Rig, Cantilever, Self-elevating Drill Floor, 3 Cat-D-3512 DITA engines, Pyramid Mast with 1,000,000# capacity, 400 ton hook load capacity, 27.5” rotary table, with Swivel, Kelly’s, 2 National 10P-130 1300HP triplex Pumps, Tanks, Shale Shaker, Degasser, Desander, Desilter, Mud Cleaner, Separators, Bop’s – 5000psi, Accumulators, Choke Manifold, Drill String, Collars, Pipe. Comes with Handling Tools, Instrumentation, and Fabrications.
National 1320 (with camp); 5000m
RIG SUMMARY: Powered by (5) Cat D-399, 6075 Total continuous HP, Alstom SCR control system, 156’ Branham Mast, 450 MTon API Hook Load rating, Branham Substructure with 272MTon setback capacity, Drillers Cabin, Dog House, Branham crown block with 526 MT load capacity, National 660 G 500 Traveling Block, National 1320 UE 2000HP Drawworks, Dead Line Anchor, Varco TDS-3H Top-Drive, National / C-375 37.5”Rotary Table, Rig Floor Equipment, Utility Hoist Equipment, 3 National 12P160 1600HP 7500 psi Mudpumps, Mud Tanks, Cameron 10000 psi BOP Equipment, Drill String, Handling Tools, Casing Equipment, Instrumentation, Safety Equipment, Other Equipment.
National 110's (with CAMP & TRANSPORT); 3500m
RIG SUMMARY: Drawworks: National 110U 1500HP, Baylor/Elmagco Auxiliary brake model 6032, Cooling System, Drilling Line, Sandline, Crown Block Protection Device, National Traveling type 545 G 350 block and hook, Deadline Anchor, Rat Hole Digger, Varco 400 short ton TDS-9S Top Drive, National C-375 rotary table 650 tons static load rating, bushings & bowls, power plant, SCR, Air system, 3 National 10P-130 triplex pumps Mud system (1300HP) driven by 2 GE 752 DC electric motors, supercharging pump, Mud pump, standcharging Pump, Standpipe, Rotary hoses, Mud tanks, Mud Mixing System, Water Tank, Mud Processing Equipment, Storage Facilities, BOP’s Cameron/Hydril, Riser & Adapters, Casing/Tubing Equipment, Instrumentation & Communication Equipment, Floor Tubular Handling Equipment, Down Hole Equipment, Fishing Equipment, Lifting Gear, Safety Equipment , Maintenance Tools, Extensive Camps, Office Equipment.
National 110 (with CAMP & TRANSPORT); 3500m
RIG SUMMARY:
New SCR system installed. All major gears on rig overhauled. All traveling equipment refurbished / recertified. All engines overhauled. All systems refurbished/recertified. Replaced drill string. Rig sandblasted and painted. Summarized components: 142’ Cont. Emsco Mast, Substructure, Crown, National Traveling block, Swivel, Rotary Table, Drawworks, 4 Cat D398 Engine GE Generators, Cont. Emsco #FA1300 Pumps, Hydril, Shaffer BOP’s, Fabrications, Generators, Drill Pipe, Drill Collars, Subs, Hand Tools.
All traveling equipment refurbished / recertified. All engines overhauled. All systems refurbished/recertified. Replaced drill string. Rig sandblasted and painted. Summarized components: 142’ Lee-C-Moore Mast, Substructure, Crown, Ideco Traveling block, Swivel, Rotary Table, National 110-UE Drawworks, 4 Cat D398 Engine GE Generators, Skytop Brewster 1300 Pumps, Hydril, Cameron BOP’s, Fabrications, Generators, Drill Pipe, Drill Collars, Subs, Hand Tools.
All major gears on rig overhauled. All traveling equipment refurbished / recertified. All engines overhauled. All systems refurbished / recertified. Replaced drill string. Rig sandblasted and painted. Summarized components: 142’ Cont. Emsco Mast, Substructure, Crown, National Traveling block, Swivel, Rotary Table, Drawworks, 4 Cat D398 Engine GE Generators, Cont. Emsco #FA1300 Pumps, Hydril, Shaffer BOP’s, Fabrications, Generators, Drill Pipe, Drill Collars, Subs, Hand Tools.
Ideco 2100E; 6000+m
RIG SUMMARY: Prime Mover powered by 2 CAT D399-PC Engines, Pyramid Mast with 1,200,000 Lbs capacity C/W Crown Block, Ideco Traveling Block 6 Sheaves 500 Ton Capacity, Pyramid Substructure, Ideco Drawworks Drilling range 14,000 to 21,000 Ft, 2 Ideco Type 1600 Triplex Mudpumps, Rosshill SCR Drive System Model 1400:56, National Rotary Table, Catwalks, Pipe Rack, Swivel, Wire house, Drilling Line, Back Pressure Manifold, TripTank, Shale Shaker, Complete rig ready to drill.
CABOT 750 Series Model 2042
RIG SUMMARY: Drawworks p/b (2) CAT 3406 750 HP Diesel Engs, Ea w/ALLISON 750 Trans, PARMAC 22” Hydromatic Brake, McKISSICK 150-Ton Block w/BJ Hook w/ CABOT 112’H 300,000# Telescoping Mast, All Mounted on CABOT 750-C 6-Axle Carrier; 15’H x 12’W 250,000# Substructure w/Back-On Ramp; IDECO 17-1/2” Rotary Table GARDNER-DENVER PZ-8 Triplex Mud Pump p/b CAT 3508 Diesel Engine ELLIS WILLIAMS 600 Mud Pump p/b DETROIT Series 60 Diesel Engine 8’H x 11’W x 40’L 550-Barrel Mud Tank; (2) KOHLER 50 KW Gen Sets, EA p/b JOHN DEERE Diesel Engine; 120-Barrel Premix Tank (2) MISSION 5” x 6” Centrifugal Pumps; HARRISBURG Single Vibrating Shale Shaker; 8’H x 10’W x 36’L 500-Barrel Water Tank.
MAS 3000
RIG SUMMARY: Assembly 131’ x 18’ Hook Load 453,000# Substructure – Pyramid 22’w x 45’l x 18’h Box on Box w/10’h Massarenti built Pony Sub Oilwell 660 Drawworks grooved 1-1/8” w/Sandline (2) 12V71 0 Hour Detroit Diesel Engines Rebuild w/Twin Disc Torque Converters – Compound Drive Parmac Auxillary Brake Type 40SR Rotary Table – Oilwell B27-1/2 2-3/4" x 108" Elevator Links Block/Hook – Baash Ross Type DBM 548-300 Shorty – 0 Hour Rebuild Gray Type ‘F’ Swivel - 0 Hour Rebuild 5 Station Accumulator Baash Ross TP6 Drive Bushing & 40' Kelly BJ 250 ton 5" Drill Pipe Elevators BJ 250 ton 3-1/2" Drill Pipe Elevators Torque Sensors Type E Deadline Anchor Derrick Stand (2) Catwalks (2) Quincy air compressors Satellite Automatic Driller Mud Pits.
3000HP Drawworks OIME Hercules E-3000
RIG SUMMARY: P/B GE 752 Motors, (1) Elmgco, 7838 Electric Brake, (1) Ross Hill 1600 SCR House, (4) Gen set's, 1050 KW P/B Cat D-399TA Engines, (2) CE-FB1600 Mud Pumps P/B (4) GE 752 Motors, (1) Gardner Denver PZ-11 1350-HP Mud Pump P/B (2) GE 752 Motors, Parco Mast 146' X 1,500,000 SHL On 14 Lines, Substructure 32' Parco Raised Floor, (1) CE, 750-Ton Block, 1-1/2" Line, (1) BJ, Dynaplex 750-Ton Hook, (1) CE, LB-650, 650-Ton Swivel, (1) Ideco, LR-375, 37-1/2" Rotary Table, (2) Cameron Type U, 13-5/8"-10M, Dbl & Sgl BOP, (1) Hydril GL, 13-5/8"-5M, Annular BOP (1) Closing Unit, 9-Station, 300 Gal. W/ Triplex & Air Actuated Hydraulic Charging Pumps. Drill Pipe: 5" 19.50# NC-50, Drill Collars 8" & 6-1/4", 1600 BBL Mud System Complete, Working Depth 30,000' DRILL PIPE: 389 jts 5", 19.50 lb/ft, grade S-135 Drill Pipe, 215 jts 5", 25.60 lb/ft, grade S-135 Drill Pipe, 26 jts 6-1/2" Drill Collars, 12 jts 8" Drill Collars.
MID-CONTINENT U-1220-EB
Stationary diesel-electric SCR system drilling rig
RIG SUMMARY: Powered with diesel engines with AC electric generators. SCR system to convert AC to DC for powering the DC motors on the drawworks and mud pumps. AC is provided for AC motors, AC controls and AC lighting.
DRAWWORKS: Mid-Continent U-1220-EB, divided skid, electra - flow drawworks with four forward hoisting speeds and two forward speeds to rotary, and incorporating the input drive. Equipped with Baylor 7838 auxiliary brake. Powered by two (2) GE-752 electric motors.
MAST: Pyramid, lift open face cantilever mast, clear working height of 152 ft, static hook load capacity of 1,600,000 lbs on fourteen (14) lines.
SUBSTRUCTURE: Pyramid swing-up type with drawworks elevator, floor 35 ft high x 37 ft wide x 39 ft long, designed for casing capacity of 1,500,000 lbs and a setback capacity of 800,000 lbs.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: Wirth RTSS 49-1/2'' rotary table, opening 49-1/2'', static bearing load of 800 tons. Powered by one (1) ESE-752 electric motor. In emergency case it is possible to drive RT from DW by chain. Gardner-Denver SW-650 swivel, capacity of 590 tons, Weatherford KS 1500 AB kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: Pyramid travelling block, BJ Hughes hook, capacity of 750 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (2) Gardner-Denver PZ-11 (PZLE) triplex single-acting mud pumps, piston-type, rated 1,600 hp, complete with two (2) pulsation dampeners Hydril K-20-5000, powered by four (4) GE-752 electric motors.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Total capacity of 2,000 bbls with shale shaker, desander, mud cleaner, degasser, mud agitators.
ENGINE GENERATORS AND ROSS HILL SCR SYSTEM: Diesel engine - three (3) CAT D399, generators brushless revolving field generators, rated at 1030 kW. Ross Hill SCR Power System 1400 rated 1800 Ampers DC.
TOP DRIVE: Martime Hydraulics PDT 1x355 +1V load capacity main shaft 452 tons, elevator link hanger 370 tons, max torque continuous 37600 Nm (gear 1 high torque) and 28700 Nm (gear 2 high speed), speed 0 - 200 rpm, power range CAT 3412 DITA (715 hp)
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Annular BOP 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI, Hydril 13-5/8''x 10,000 PSI double ram BOP type x. Hydril 13-5/8''x 10,000 PSI single ram BOP type x. Control unit - Upetron CH6U - 76
INSTRUMENTATION: Time, weight, torque, mud pressure, SPM, RPM, ROP, Martin-Decker 8-channels recorder.
SKYTOP BREWSTER MODEL N-75
Stationary mechanically driven conventional drilling rig
DRAWWORKS: Skytop Brewster N-75A drawworks rated at 1,000 hp, complete with 1-1/4'' drum grooving, crown safety device. Driven by two (2) CAT D379 BPC diesel engines, rated at 550 hp each, complete with radiators, air starters and water separators. Power transmitted through two (2) National C245-125 torque converters and Skytop Brewster 721 mechanical compound. Equipped with Parmac 342, 34'' double hydromatic brake with overrunning clutch.
MAST: Skytop Brewster SB136-550, cantilever mast, clear working height of 136 ft, static hook load of 550,000 lbs on ten (10) lines.
SUBSTRUCTURE: Skytop Brewster, box on box substructure, floor 20 ft high x 26 ft wide x 45 ft long, designed for 550,000 lbs casing capacity and 300,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: Skytop Brewster RSH-22 rotary table, opening 22'', Varco kelly drive bushing. National P-300 swivel, capacity of 300 tons.&nbps; Weatherford KS-1500AB kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: Skytop Brewster TB-305 travelling block with Web Wilson hook, capacity of 300 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (2) Continental Emsco F-800 triplex mud pumps, rated 800 hp each, complete with Continental Emsco pulsation dampeners. Each mud pump driven by Caterpillar D398 BPC diesel engine, rated 825 hp.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Two (2) tanks, total capacity of 830 bbls, with Swaco linear shaker, Brandt SE-16 desilter, Brandt SR-2 desander, Swaco D-Gasser, Swaco centrifuge, three (3) 10 hp agitators, two (2) mud hoppers.
ENGINE GENERATOR: Two (2) CAT 3412 DI diesel engines, rated at 515 hp with 350 kW Kato SR-4 AC generators. Two (2) WOLA 108H12 diesel engine rated 235 kW with 200 kW WOLA ZP-201 generators.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Hydril GK 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI annular. Shafer SL 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI annular. Shafer SL 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI Single ram. Shafer SL 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI. Control unit - Koomey BOP Control System.
INSTRUMENTATION: SMART SYSTEM SWACO, Time, weight, torque, mud pressure, RPM, ROP, SPM, Martin-Decker 8-channels recorder.
IRI-1700
Stationary diesel-electric SCR system drilling rig
RIG SUMMARY: Powered with diesel engines with AC electric generators. SCR system to convert AC to DC for powering the DC motors on the drawworks and mud pumps. AC is provided for AC motors, AC controls and AC lighting.
DRAWWORKS: IDECO E-1700, four gears forward and four reverse, nominal horsepower rating at 1,700 hp. Drawworks equipped with 6032 Baylor auxiliary brake. Driven by two (2) GE-752 electric motors 1395 hp each.
MAST: IRI/IDECO HFM 142-770, open face cantilever mast, clear working height of 142 ft above the working floor.&nbap; Static hook load capacity of 770,000 lbs with ten (10) lines string-up.
SUBSTRUCTURE: IRI/IDECO high floor self elevating substructure. Floor 30 ft high x 34 ft long x 32 ft wide. Substructure is designed for 770,000 lbs casing capacity and 500,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: IRI/IDECO LR-275-K rotary table, opening 27-1/2'', static bearing load of 570 tons. Rotary table is driven by Independent Electric Motor Drive Unit. In emergency case it is possible to drive RT from DW by chain. IRI/IDECO TL-400 swivel, API working load of 400 tons. Varco 6600 kelly spinner.
TOP DRIVE: Maritime Hydraulics PTD 2x355 +1V load capacity 500 sh. tons, max. torque continuous 40,000 Nm, speed at max. torque 0-175 rpm. Top drive is driven by two (2) hydraulic power unit CAT 3412.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: IRI/IDECO UTB-400-5-550 travelling block, capacity of 400 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (3) IDECO T-1300, triplex single acting mud pumps, complete with pulsation dampeners, all the piping, etc., 6x8 precharge with centrifugal pumps powered with electrical motors. Two triplex pump is powered by two (2) GE-752 electric motors 1,130 hp and third triplex pump is powered by one CAT 3516 diesel engine 1,355 hp.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Five (5) tanks mud system, total capacity of 2,200 bbls, complete with shale shakers, desander, mud cleaner, degasser, centrifuge, mud agitators.
ENGINE GENERATORS AND ROSS HILL SCR SYSTEM: Four (4) CAT 3512 Turbocharged aftercooled diesel with SR-4 generators 1200 kVA each. SCR system includes four model 1400 Combination Alternator Controls and four (4) SCR Units.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Cameron U 13-5/8'' x 10,000 PSI double ram. Cameron U 13-5/8'' x 10,000 PSI single ram. Cameron D 13-5/8'' x 5,000 PSI annular. Cameron U 20-3/4'' x 3,000 PSI single ram. Hydril MSP 21-1/4'' x 2,000 PSI. Control unit - Koomey BOP Control System.
INSTRUMENTATION: Totco 8-channels drilling recorder for weight, depth, torque, RPM, Flow, SPM pump pressure, Totco Electronic Mud Volume Totalizer.
IRI-750
Self propelled mechanically driven drilling rig
DRAWWORKS: IRI 2042/160 750 Series double drum, nominal horsepower rating at 700 hp. Powered by two (2) CAT 3406 DITA diesel engines, torque converted with Allison model CLT 754 transmissions. Drawworks equipped with Parmac V-80 hydromatic brake.
MAST: IRI/IDECO 117-300, hydraulically raised and lowered telescoping mast, high of 117 ft, API hook load capacity of 300,000 lbs with eight (8) lines string-up.
SUBSTRUCTURE: IRI/IDECO, swing-up box / bridge type, floor 16 ft high x 13 ft long x 13 ft wide, designed for 440,000 lbs casing capacity and 260,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: IRI/IDECO SR-205B rotary table, opening 20-1/2'', static bearing load of 450 tons. IRI/IDECO TL-200B swivel, API working load 200 tons, Varco pneumatic kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: IRI/IDECO UTB-160-4-30 travelling block, capacity of 160 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (2) IRI/IDECO T-500, triplex single acting mud pumps, rated 500 hp each, complete with pulsation dampeners, all the piping, etc., 6x8 precharge with centrifugal pumps powered with electrical motors. Each triplex pump is powered with CAT 3412 diesel engine 510 hp.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Three (3) tanks mud system, total capacity of 945 bbls complete with shale shakers, desander, mud cleaner, degasser, mud agitators.
ENGINE GENERATOR: Two (2) CAT 3408 D diesel engines, rated at 515 hp with 292kW Kato SR-4 AC generators each.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Hydrill GK 13 5/8'' x 3,000 PSI annular. Upetron DF 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI Double ram. Control unit - Upetron CH6U - 76.
INSTRUMENTATION: Totco 8-channels drilling recorder for weight, depth, rate of penetration, torque, pump pressure, SPM, Flow, RPM, Totco Electronic Mud Volume Totalizer.
Cooper LTO-550
Self propelled mechanically driven ranger rig
DRAWWORKS: Cooper 550/4212-42, nominal horsepower rating at 502 hp, powered with one (1) CAT 3408 DITA diesel engine, torque converted with Allison CLT 5860 transmission with built-in converter - six gears forward, one reverse, full torque shifting. Drawworks equipped with Parmac SR-22, 22'' hydromatic brake and circulating water cooled brakes. All mounted on the carrier Cooper LTO-550.
MAST: Cooper 110/250, hydraulically raised and lowered portable mast, height of 110 ft, static hook load capacity of 250,000 lbs on eight (8) lines. Hydraulically twin cylinder raised and single cylinder telescoped, 5-sheave crown block assembly, racking board.
SUBSTRUCTURE: PD/100/80, floor 13 ft high x 12 ft wide x 36 ft long, complete with wooden setback area steps, ramp and handrails, designed for 220,000 lbs casing capacity and 200,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: Ideco 175-F rotary table, opening 22'', dead load capacity of 200 tons. Ideal Nsco swivel, rated 150 tons. Weatherford KS-1500AB pneumatic kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: Continental Emsco NB-30 travelling block and Byron Jackson hook capacity of 150 tons.
MUD PUMPS: One (1) OPI HDL 700, rated 700 hp, complete with all piping, 6x5 precharge centrifugal pumps powered by electric motors. Pump is powered by CAT D379 diesel engine.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Single tank, capacity of 400 bbls, five (5) compartments complete with shale shaker, mud cleaner, mud agitators.
ENGINE GENERATOR: Two (2) CAT 3406TA diesel engines, rated at 425 hp with 292 kW Kato SR-4 AC generators.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Upetrom DF 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI Double ram. Upetrom VH 9'' x 5,000 PSI. Upetrom DF 9'' x 5,000 PSI Double ram. Shafer Chasovoy 7 1/16'' x 5,000 PSI Double ram. Control unit - U Upetron CH6U - 76.
INSTRUMENTATION: Time, weight, torque, mud pressure, RPM, ROP, SPM, Martin-Decker 8-channels recorder.
KREMCO K-900
Self propelled mechanically driven drilling rig
DRAWWORKS: Kremco K-900 rated 900 hp powered with two (2) CAT 3408 diesel engines, torque converted with two (2) Allison CLT 5961 transmissions providing five gears forward and one reverse, drawworks equipped with V-80 hydromatic brake.
MAST: Kremco 118-370000, hydraulically raised and lowered telescoping mast, height of 118 ft, static API hook load capacity of 370,000 lbs with ten (10) lines string-up.
SUBSRUCTURE: Kremco 16-370, parallelogram design, floor 18 ft high x 13 ft wide x 15 ft long, designed for 350,000 lbs casing capacity and 200,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: National C-275 rotary table, opening 27-1/2'', static bearing load of 500 tons. National P-200 swivel, dead load rating 200 tons. Weatherford KS-1500 AB kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: National C540-G-250 hook block, capacity of 250 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (2) National Oilwell A 850-PT, triplex single acting mud pumps. Each triplex pump is powered with CAT 3512 TA diesel engine 915 hp.
ENGINE GENERATOR: Two (2) CAT 3412 diesel engines, rated at 425 hp with 350 kW Kato SR-4 AC generators each.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Three (3) tanks, mud system, total capacity of 945 bbls, complete with shale shaker, desander, mud cleaner, degasser, mud agitators.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Hydrill GK 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI annular. Upetron DF 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI Double ram. Control unit - Valvcon BOP Control System.
INSTRUMENTATION: Totco 8-channels drilling recorder for weight, depth, rate of penetration, torque, pump pressure, SPM, Flow, Totco Electronic Mud Volume Totalizer.
SKYTOP BREWSTER RR-750
Self propelled mechanically driven ranger rig
DRAWWORKS: Skytop Brewster H1-4610-A, double drum, nominal horsepower rating at 650 hp, powered with two (2) CAT 3406 DI diesel engine, torque converted with two (2) Allison CLT 5860 transmission with built-in converter - six gears forward, one reverse, full torque shifting. Drawworks equipped with Parmac SR-22, 22'' hydromatic brake and circulating water cooled brakes. Sandreel. All mounted on the carrier Skytop Brewster 618, four (4) hydraulic leveling jacks.
MAST: Skytop Brewster 112-300XF, hydraulically raised and lowered portable mast, height of 112 ft, static hook load capacity of 300,000 lbs on eight (8) lines. Hydraulically twin cylinder raised and single cylinder telescoped, 7-sheave crown block assembly, racking board.
SUBSTRUCTURE: Skytop Brewster 12-300, floor 12 ft high x 12 ft wide x 36 ft long, complete with wooden setback area steps, ramp and handrails,designed for 330,000 lbs casing capacity and 220,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: Skytop Brewster RSH-22 rotary table, opening 22'', dead load capacity of 400 tons. Ideco TL-200 swivel, rated 200 tons. Foster hydraulic kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: McKissick 765 travelling block and BJ 6150 hook capacity of 150 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (2) Gardner-Denver PZ-8 triplex mud pump, rated 750 hp, complete with all piping, 6x8 precharge centrifugal pumps powered by electric motors. Each pump is powered by CAT D398 engine.
ENGINE GENERATOR: Two (2) PZL-WOLA diesel engines with 300 KW PZL-WOLA AC generators each.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Single tank, capacity of 400 bbls, five (5) compartments complete with shale shaker, desander, mud agitators.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Hydrill GK 13 5/8'' x 3,000 PSI annular. Upetron DF 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI Double. Control unit - Koomey BOP Control System.
INSTRUMENTATION: SMART SYSTEM SWACO, Time, weight, torque, mud pressure, RPM, ROP, SPM, Martin-Decker 8-channels recorder.
OIME SL 1500 DRILLING RIG
DEPTH RATING
18,000’
DRAWWORKS
OIME SL 1500 1-1/4 DL
BRAKE
PARMAC 342 Hydromatic
ENGINES
(3) CAT 3412 Engines
MAST
PYRAMID 146 x 23’ 815,000# SHL w/6-Sheave Crown
SUBSTRUCTURE
PYRAMID 22.5’ KB Swing-Up
PUMPS
BREWSTER B-1300T, p/b CAT 3512, w/5” x 6” Charge Pump
OILWELL PT1100A, p/b CAT 3508, w/5” x 6” Charge Pump
ROTATING EQUIPMENT
PYRAMID HACKER 275 Rotary Table
GARDNER-DENVER 400-Ton Swivel
5-1/4” x 44’ Hex Kelly w/Hydraulic Kelly Spinner
TRAVELING EQUIPMENT
SOWA 350-Ton Block/Hook Combination w/(5) Sheaves
WELL CONTROL EQUIPMENT
HYDRIL GK 11” 10,000 PSI Annular Blowout Preventer
CAMERON Type U 11” 10,000 PSI Double Blowout Preventer
CAMERON Type U 11” 10,000 PSI Single Blowout Preventer
CRESS SPECIALTIES 6-Station Accumulator Unit
WKM HCR 4-1/16” 10,000 PSI Choke Manifold
WKM 4-1/16” Manual Choke Manifold
RIG HOUSES
ALBERTA LABOUR 12’W x 54’L Toolpusher’s Trailer, w/(2) Bedrooms, (2) Bathrooms, Full Kitchen, (2) Separate Office Areas, Insulated, Skidded
1998 ALBERTA FAB 10’W x 54’L Toolpusher’s Trailer
8’W x 38’L Doghouse
10’W x 48’L Parts/Change House
12’W x 40’L Mud House w/(5) 5” x 8” Centrifugal Pumps
GENERATORS
(2) CAT 3412 550 KW
GD Electra Saver II Air Compressor, 480-Volt, p/b Diesel Engine
GD PL-Series Air Compressor p/b Diesel EngineMUD SYSTEM
(5) 5” x 6” Centrifugals w/60 HP Electric Motor
MUD TANK SYSTEM
3-Pit System w/(8) Mud Agitators, 1800-Barrel System, 12’W x 8’H x 46’L
GALLAGHER 5” x 6” Pit Pump
(7) RADICON Mud Mixers, Each p/b 10 HP Motor
(2) DOUBLE LIFE Linear Shale Shakers
SWACO 2-Cone Desander
DOUBLE LIFE 8-Cone Desilter
WATER/FUEL TANKS
10’W x 40’L 400-Barrel Water Tank
8’W x 33’L 12,300-Gallon Fuel Tank
8’W x 24’L 7000-Gallon Fuel Tank
150 HP Boiler (In Deck, New 2006)
HANDLING TOOLS
Hydraulic Pipe Spinners, Makeup & Breakout Catheads, (2) Hydraulic Winches, Air Winch
AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT
TOTCO 700,000# Capacity Weight Indicator, VARCO Bushing
DRILL PIPE
(140 Joints) 4-1/2”, 16.60 Lb, Grade S-135, 6-1/8”, HB & PC
(250 Joints) 4-1/2”, 16.60 Lb., Grade X-95, 6-1/4”, HB, PC
DRILL COLLARS
(24) 6-1/2” x 4-1/2’XH Drill Collars (New)
(2) 8 ” x 6-5/8”Reg Drill Collars
Offshore Drilling Rigs
Semisubmersible Drilling Platform
Derrick: 165 ft. x 40 ft. Dreco, with a static hook load capacity of 1,600,000 lbs with fourteen lines.
Drawworks: National-Oilwell 1625 UDBE, 3,000 hp driven by three GE 752 DC motors, with hydraulic disc brakes and an Elmagco 7838 auxiliary electric brake.
Rotary Table: National-Oilwell C-495, 49-1/2 in. independently driven by one GE 752 DC motor.; Rotary skids out for riser running operations.
Top Drive: Varco TDS-4S, 650 short tons, continuous drilling torque rating 46,380 ft-lbs. Equipped with PH-85 pipe handler and remote 15,000 psi IBOP.
Motion Compensator: Shaffer 600,000 lb Crown Mounted Compensator with 25 ft. stroke.
Mud Pumps: Three National-Oilwell 12-P-160, 1600 hp triplex pumps each driven by two GE 752 Hi-Torque DC traction motors, rated to 5,000 psi. One (1) Lewco W446, 440 hp triplex riser boost pump, 661 gpm.
Solids Control: Four (4) Brandt LCM-3D high “G” Force Linear Motion Scalping Shakers, one (1) Brandt ATLMC desilter, 32-4 in. cones; one (1) Brandt LCM-3D/CMC mud cleaner.
Propulsion System: Four 2,400 kw Kamewa variable pitch azimuthing DC thrusters and Two 2,150 kw Kamewa fixed pitch azimuthing DC thrusters.
Storage Capacities: Liquid mud 8,156 bbls.; Base oil: 2,533 bbls.; Brine: 1,418 bbls.; Bulk material: 22,452 cu. ft.
Power Equipment: DC: Fifteen Siemens SCR units, each rated at 1,200 amps, 750 volts.; Main Power: Four Yanmar 2,300 kw diesel engines; two Bergen 2,605 kw engine generator sets.; Emergency Power: One turbo charged Caterpillar 3512 emergency generator providing 1,125 kw.
Subsea Equipment: Riser: 5,750 ft. of Stewart & Stevenson SSQR-F, 21 in. O.D. riser.; Tensioners: Twelve 160,000 lb. riser tensioners with 50 ft. line travel. Total tensioning capability 1,920,000 lbs.
BOP Equipment: Diverter System: Vetco KFDS/CSO, 20 in. nominal size diverter with Oil States Flex Joint.; 62 in. ID rotary opening with adapter removed.; 18-3/4 in. System: Two Shaffer SL 10,000 psi annular preventers and two Cameron TL 15,000 psi double rams.
Cranes: Two Seatrax Monarch 8032 cranes, 140 ft. booms, rated for 85 short tons at 40 ft. radius; Riser Gantry crane and skate; one BOP Bridge crane with 4 hoists (2 x 62.5t and 2 x 20 ton).
Mooring System: Four Amclyde CTW-350/48 double traction winch/windlass with eight mooring lines consisting of 4,500 ft. x 3 in. K-4 anchor chains and eight 10,500 ft. x 3-1/2 in. wire rope; electric powered storage reels for 3-1/2 in. x 10,000' wire rope and eight 15 metric ton Stevpris MK5 anchors.
300 Foot Jack-up Drilling Unit
Derrick: 160 ft. by 30 ft. Emsco 20RD, with a static hook load capacity of 1,000,000 lbs. with 12 lines (1-3/8 in. drilling line).
Drawworks: National 1320 UE, 2,000 hp, driven by two GE 752 DC motors, complete with Baylor 7838 electric brake.
Rotary Table: National C-375, with independent drive using a GE 752 DC motor with 2-speed transmission.
Top Drive: Varco Model TDS-4, local air cooling and PH-85 pipe handler, rated @ 29,100 ft.-lbs. high gear; 45,000 ft.-lbs. low gear continuous torque.
Mud Pumps: Two Emsco FB 1600, 1,600 hp triplex pumps, each driven by two GE 752 DC traction motors.
Solids Control: Five Brandt Rigtech 5th generation VSM 300 elliptical motion, variable speed, dual deck shakers. One shaker configured to take the underflow from the Brandt Rigtech 24-3 desilter, desander allowing it to function as a mud cleaner. One each Brandt Rig tech DG-10 Degasser. One Derrick Flo-line scalper shaker.
Power Equipment: DC: Four GE SCR units, each rated at 1,800 amps, powering eight GE 752 DC motors; AC: Four Cat. 3516-A diesel engines, 1,615 hp, driving four Cat SR-4, 2,150 kva generators.
BOP Equipment: Diverter System: Vetco KFDJ model J 500 psi fixed diverter with 36 1/2 in. opening complete with two 14 in. diverter lines and two 14 in. hydraulically actuated ball valves.; 21-1/4 in. system: One Shaffer spherical 2,000 psi annular preventer and two Cameron type U 2,000 psi single ram preventers; 13-5/8 in. system: One Hydril GL 5,000 psi annular preventer, one Cameron type U 10,000 psi double ram preventer, and two Cameron type U 10,000 psi single ram preventers.
Cranes: Two Seaking Model 1700 hydraulic cranes with 100 ft. booms, rated for 28 s. tons at 20 ft. radius; One Sea-Trax Model 6032 hydraulic crane with 130 ft. boom, rated for 30.5 s. tons at 20 ft. radius, 21.4 s. tons at 135 ft. radius.
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary
3-D Seismic: a tool used to “see” beneath the earth’s surface. It involves sending acoustic vibrations into the ground and measuring the length of time it takes to rebound off the subsurface rocks back to the surface. High-tech supercomputers are used to process billions of data samples and generate a detailed, 3-D image of underground structures. Geophysicists interpret the data to make estimates as to the depth of the reservoir, its porosity, fluid content and other information valuable in determining where oil and gas deposits are most likely to be found.
Acid stimulation: injecting hydrofluoric acid into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to break up and remove rock debris to help improve the flow of oil.
Appraisal drilling: drilling in the vicinity of a discovery to evaluate the extent of the reservoir and the amount of reserves it likely contains.
Associated gas: gas that is produced along with oil from oil reservoirs. Production originating from gas reservoirs is referred to as non-associated gas.
Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE): a term used to quantify oil and natural gas volumes based on “energy equivalents. To convert a thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of gas to equal one barrel of oil, divide by 6. For example, 600 Mcf = 100 BOE.
CO2 Flooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where carbon dioxide (CO2) is injected into the oil formation. CO2 acts as a solvent that releases the oil from porous rock and causes it to flow more freely to the well head, increasing recovery rates.
Compression: utilized to enhance production from low pressure gas reservoirs. Compression equipment allows the operator to lower back-pressure on the well and enable more gas to flow to the surface. It can then be compressed and delivered into a higher pressure gathering system for processing and ultimate sale. Compression is also used extensively in gas processing operations to aid in the recovery of natural gas liquids.
Development: drilling and related activities necessary to bring a field into production following a discovery.
Dome: a type of geological structure where a rock layer has pushed up into the rock layer above in a typically spherical shape.
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR): advanced technologies, such as water flooding, steam injection, CO2 injection applied to increase production, usually from mature, underdeveloped fields.
Fracture stimulation: injecting specially engineered fluids under high pressure into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to “crack” the reservoir and improve the flow of oil.
HES: Health, Environment and Safety programs.
Horizontal Drilling: drilling a well at a 90-degree angle instead of vertically. The well is drilled straight to a specific depth and then is gradually curved. Horizontal wells are advantageous for numerous reasons: to maximize production rates through increased reservoir exposure; to avoid sensitive environmental areas; to avoid a surface obstruction; or to drill several wells from a single location (i.e. offshore platform). Directional drilling refers to non vertical wells drilled at less than a 90-degree angle.
Interval: a vertical section of rock distinct from that above or below.
In-fill drilling: wells drilled between existing producing wells to enhance field development.
Mcf: a thousand cubic feet, a measurement of natural gas.
Multilaterals: pertaining to a well that has more than one branch radiating from the main wellbore.
Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs): Natural gas processed from and marketed separately, natural gas liquids include ethane, propane, butane and natural gasoline.
Outside operated assets: assets in which Occidental has a working interest, but does not serve as overall operations manager.
Permeable: measure of a rock’s ability to flow liquids or gases. Highly permeable rocks tend to have many large and well-connected pores. The more permeable the rock, the easier it is to produce oil and gas from the reservoir.
Play: an area where oil or natural gas accumulations of a certain type are found.
Porosity: percentage of void space within a rock. Only high porosity reservoir rocks, like sandstone, bear oil and gas.
Production: oil and gas yielded from drilling and pumping activities. Gross production: the total oil and gas produced from a field. Net production: the company’s share of production based on its ownership interest, or the terms of a production sharing contract.
Proved reserves: the estimated quantities of oil or natural gas that can be recovered with reasonable certainty.
Recompletion: the process of producing from another interval within the same wellbore. For example, after depleting a zone at 9,000 feet, the operator may “recomplete” the well at 8,000 feet.
Reserves: oil or natural gas contained in underground rock formations called reservoirs.
Reservoir: a porous, permeable rock formation containing oil and natural gas.
Reservoir modeling: a representation of a reservoir that incorporates all data pertinent to its ability to store and produce oil and gas. Geoscientists and engineers use reservoir modeling to simulate the movement of the oil and gas under various circumstances to ultimately determine optimal production techniques for the reservoir.
Spar: a revolutionary type of deep water offshore production facility.
Waterflooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where injected water is used to sweep residual oil to the wellhead, improving recovery rates.
Wellbore: the hole drilled for the purpose of producing oil and gas, or to inject water or other fluids. In some wells, multilaterals branch off from the main wellbore.
Equipment used in drilling:
1. Crown Block and Water Table
2. Catline Boom and Hoist Line
3. Drilling Line
4. Monkeyboard
5. Traveling Block
6. Top Drive
7. Mast
8. Drill Pipe
9. Doghouse
10. Blowout Preventer
11. Water Tank
12. Electric Cable Tray
13. Engine Generator Sets
14. Fuel Tank
15. Electrical Control House
16. Mud Pumps
17. Bulk Mud Component Tanks
18. Mud Tanks (Pits)
19. Reserve Pit
20. Mud-Gas Separator
21. Shale Shakers
22. Choke Manifold
23. Pipe Ramp
24. Pipe Racks
25. Accumulator
26. Annulus
27. Brake
28. Casing Head
29. Cathead
30. Catwalk
31. Cellar
32. Conductor Pipe
33. Degasser
34. Desander
35. Desilter
36. Drawworks
37. Drill Bit
38. Drill Collars
39. Driller's Console
40. Elevators
41. Hoisting Line
42. Hook
43. Kelly
44. Kelly Bushing
45. Kelly Spinner
46. Mousehole
47. Mud Return Line
48. Ram BOP
49. Rathole
50. Rotary Hose
51. Rotary Table
52. Slips
53. Spinning chain
54. Stairways
55. Standpipe
56. Surface Casing
57. Substructure
58. Swivel
59. Tongs
60. Walkways
61. Weight Indicator
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Oilfield Glossary
ABANDON: When production is stopped from a well that is depleted and no longer capable of producing profitably. A wildcat well may also be abandoned after it has been determined that it will not produce.
ACIDIZING: Treatment of oil-bearing limestone or carbonate formations with a solution of hydrochloric acid and other chemicals to increase production. The acid is forced under pressure into the formation where it enlarges the flow channels by dissolving the limestone.
AIR DRILLING: Drilling using air as the circulation medium (See DRILLING FLUIDS.)
A-FRAME: "A"-shaped openwork structure which is the stationary and supporting component of the derrick of a jack-knife rig and to which the derrick is anchored when it is in an upright or drilling position.
ANGLE OF DEFLECTION: The angle, in degrees, at which a well is deflected from the vertical by means of a whipstock or other deflecting tool.
ANTICLINE: Arched stratified rock structure with layers dipping downward in opposite directions from the crest.
BIT: The cutting or boring element used in drilling oil and gas wells.
BLOWOUT: Uncontrolled flow of gas, oil, or other well fluids from a well during drilling due to formation pressure exceeding the pressure exerted by the column of drilling mud.
BLOWOUT PREVENTER (BOP): Hydraulically or mechanically actuated high-pressure valve installed at the wellhead to control pressure within the well.
BREAKOUT: Act of unscrewing one section of pipe from another section, particularly when drill pipe is being withdrawn from the wellbore.
BREAK TOUR: When drilling crews start working eight-hour or twelve-hour shifts 24 hours a day. Prior to this time crews have been working only during daylight hours while rigging up.
BRING IN A WELL: Act of completing and brining a well into production.
BUDDY SYSTEM: Commonly used system among crew members to ensure that each man is accounted for, particularly when pulling a test where gas is encountered.
CABLE TOOL: Percussion method of drilling whereby the repeated pounding of a heavy bit makes the hole. Largely replaced by the rotary rig.
CAP ROCK: Impermeable rock overlying an oil or gas reservoir that tends to prevent migration of the reservoir fluids from the reservoir.
CAPPED WELL: A well capable of production but lacking wellhead installations and a pipeline connection.
CASING: Steel pipe threaded together and cemented into a well as drilling progresses to prevent the wall of the hole from caving in during drilling and to provide a means of extracting oil/gas if the well is productive.
CASING HEAD: Heavy steel fitting that connects the first string of casing and provides a housing for the slips and packing assemblies by which subsequent strings of casing are suspended and the annulus sealed off.
CASING HEAD GAS: Gas dissolved in crude oil which emerges at the casing head when pressure is lowered.
CASING STRING: Total feet of casing run in a well.
CATWALK: Steel platform immediately in front of the derrick substructure on which joints of drill pipe are stored prior to being lifted to the derrick floor by the catline.
CENTRALIZERS: Spring steel guides attached to the casing which help keep it centered in the hole and thus provide for a uniform cement sheath around the casing pipe.
CHRISTMAS TREE: Valves, pipes, and fittings assembled at the top of a completed well used to control the flow of oil and gas.
CIRCULATE: Cycling of the drilling fluid through the drill string and wellbore while drilling is temporarily suspended. This is done to condition the drilling fluid and wellbore before drilling proceeds.
CLOSE IN: To shut in (temporarily) a well that is capable of production.
COMPLETE A WELL: Finish the work on a well and bring it to a productive state.
CONDENSATE: Mixture of pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons that may be contaminated with sulfur compounds and is recovered or recoverable form an underground reservoir. It is gaseous in its virgin state but is liquid under the conditions at which its volume is measured.
CONTRACT DEPTH: Depth that well must be drilled to fulfill the contract.
CORE: Cylindrical sample taken from a formation for the purpose of examination or analysis.
CRATERING OR SLOUGHING: When the walls of a hole cave in.
CROOKED HOLE: Wellbore that has deviated from the vertical inadvertently.
CUTTINGS: Fragments of rock dislodged by the bit and brought to the surface in the drilling mud.
DERRICK: Load-bearing towerlike framework over an oil/gas well which holds the hoisting and lowering equipment.
DERRICKHAND: Crew member whose work station is in the derrick while pipe is being hoisted or lowered into the hole. He is usually next in line of authority under the driller.
DEVELOPMENT WELL: Well drilled for oil and gas within a proven field or area for the purpose of completing the desired pattern of production.
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING: Controlled drilling at a specified angle from the vertical.
DISCOVERY WELL: Exploratory well which discovers a new oil/gas field (see WILDCAT).
DOGHOUSE: Small house located on the rig floor or nearby that is used as an office for the driller and as a storage place for small tools.
DOG LEG: A sharp change of direction in the wellbore or an elbow caused by such a change in direction.
DOWNTIME: When rig operations are temporarily suspended because of repairs or maintenance.
DRAWWORKS: Hoisting mechanism on a drilling rig which spools off or takes in the drilling line and thus raises or lowers the drill string and bit.
DRILLERS: Employee directly in charge of a particular crew as opposed to a toolpusher who is in charge of all the crews on a rig. Operation of drilling and hoisting equipment constitutes the driller's main duties.
DRILLING FOREMAN: Usually the man in charge of a number of rigs; sometimes the operator's representative.
DRILL PIPE: Steel pipe, in approximately 30-foot (9-meter) lengths, screwed together to form a continuous pipe extending from the drilling rig to the drilling bit at the bottom of the hole. Rotation of the drill pipe and bit causes the bit to bore through the rock.
DRILL STEM TEST (DST): Conventional method of testing a formation to determine its potential productivity before installing production casing in a well. A testing tool is attached to the bottom of the drill pipe and placed opposite the formation to be tested which has been isolated by placing packers above and below the formation. Fluids in the formation are allowed to flow up through the drill pipe by establishing an open connection between the formation and the surface.
DRILL STRING: String of individual joints of pipe that extends from the bit to the kelly and carries the mud down to, and rotates, the bit.
DRILLING FLUIDS: While a mixture of clay and water is the most common drilling fluid, wells can also be drilled with air, natural gas, oil, or plain water as the drilling fluid.
DRY HOLE: Generally refers to any well that does not produce oil or gas in commercial quantities.
DUAL COMPLETION: Completion of a well in which two separate formations may be produced at the same time. Production from each zone is segregated by running two tubing strings with packers, or running one tubing string with a packer and producing the other zone through the annulus.
ELEVATOR: Clamp which grips a stand or column of casing, tubing, drill pipe, or sucker rods so that it can be raised or lowered into the hole.
EXPLORATION WELL: Well drilled in unproven territory (See WILDCAT).
FAULT: Geological term denoting a break in the subsurface strata.
FISH: Any undersirable object accidentally lost in the wellbore which must be removed before drilling can continue.
FISHING: Encompasses both the special equipment and the special equipment and the special procedures required to remove undersirable objects from the wellbore.
FLOORHAND: Crew member whose work station is primarily about the rig floor. There are normally tow floorhands on each drilling crews.
FLOWING PRESSURE: Pressure registered at the wellhead of a flowing well.
FORMATION: Sedimentary bed or deposit composed substantially of the same minerals throughout and distinctive enough to be a unit.
FOURBLE: Section of drill pipe, casing, or tubing consisting of four joints screwed together.
GAS CAP: Free gas, separate from, but overlying an oil zone that occurs within the same producing formation as oil. Since gas is lighter, it occupies the upper part of the reservoir.
GEOLOGIST: Scientist whose duties consist of obtaining and interpreting data dealing with the earth's history and its life, especially as recorded in rocks.
GEOLOGRAPH: Patented apparatus which automatically records the rate of penetration and depth during drilling operations.
GOING IN HOLE: Lowering the drill pipe into the wellbore.
HOLE: Common term for wellbore.
HORIZON: Distinct layer or group of layers of rock.
HYDROCARBONS: Organic chemical compounds of hydrogen and carbon whose densities, boiling points, and freezing points increase as their molecular weights increase. The molecular structure of the most common petroleum hydrocarbon compounds varies from the simplest - methane, a constituent of natural gas - to the very heavy and complex.
INFILL DRILLING: Drilling of wells according to a planned pattern and spacing to achieve full production from a new field.
JACK-KNIFE DERRICK: A cantilever mast that can be laid down in one piece for moving, as opposed to a standard derrick which has to be dismantled and re-erected piece by piece.
JET BIT: Bit having nozzles of various sizes through which the drilling fluid is directed to achieve a desired fluid velocity.
JOINT: One length of drill pipe or casing.
JUNK: Debris lost in the hole.
KELLY: Square or hexagonal steel pipe about 43 feet (13 meters) long which transmits torque from the rotary table to drill string, thus rotating the string and bit.
KEYSEAT: While drilling a well, a channel or groove is cut in the side of the hole parallel to the axis of the hole. Keyseating takes place as a result of the dragging action of drill pipe through a dog leg.
KILLING A WELL: The act of bringing a well under control which has blown out or is threatening to blow out; also applies to the procedure of circulating water and mud into a completed well before starting well service operations.
LATCH ON: Attaching elevators to a section of pipe.
LAYING DOWN PIPE: The operation of pulling drill pipe or tubing from the hole and laying it down on the pipe rack.
LEDGE: An irregular wellbore caused by penetration of alternating layers of hard and soft formations where the soft formation has washed out and caused a change of diametrical size.
LIQUIDS: Hydrocarbons in solution in natural gas which are liquefiable at surface temperature and pressure or by treatment and processing.
LOCATIONS: Point at which a well is to be drilled. Commonly termed "well site."
LOG: Systematic recording of data.
LOST CIRCULATOIN: Loss quantities of whole mud to a formation, usually cavernous, fissured, or coarsely permeable beds. It is indicated by the complete or partial loss of drilling mud returns. Until the zone in which the drilling fluid has been lost is sealed off, drilling cannot be resumed in most cases.
MAKE A CONNECTION: Act of screwing a single joint of drill pipe into the drilling string suspended in the wellbore. The addition of this joint of pipe permits deepening of the hole the length of the joint added, or about 30 feet (9 meters).
MAKING HOLE: Refers to progress being made at a given time when the bit is rotating and the wellbore is being deepened. In other words, drilling.
MAKING A TRIP: Hoisting of the drill string out of, and returning it into, the wellbore. This is done for the purpose of changing bits, preparing to take a core, etc.
MAKING UP A JOINT: Act of screwing a joint into another section of pipe.
MAST: Portable derrick capable of being erected as a unit, as opposed to a standard derrick, which cannot be raised to a working position as a unit, since it is of bolted construction and must be assembled part by part.
MIGRATION: Natural movement of oil or gas within or out of a formation.
MIXING MUD: Preparation of drilling fluids from a mixture of water and other fluids and one or more of the various dry mud-making materials such as clay, chemical, etc.
MONKEY BOARD: Platform on which the derrickhand works during the time the crew is making a trip.
MOTORHAND: Crew member responsible for the care and operation of the rig motors.
MOUSE HOLE: Hole drilled under the derrick floor and temporarily cased in which a single joint of pipe is placed awaiting connection to the drill string.
MUD: Usually colloidal suspensions of clays in water with chemical additives that are circulated through the wellbore during rotary drilling and workover operations. Can use oil as the main medium.
MULTIPLE-ZONE WELL COMPLETION: Completion of a well in such a way that production is obtained from several different formations.
OFFSET: A lateral deviation created by the tendency of a bit to sidetrack in a soft formation.
OFFSET WELL: Well location adjoining another well site.
OILFIELD: Loosely defined term referring to an area where oil is found. May also include the oil reservoir, the surface and wells, and production equipment.
OPEN HOLE: Uncased part of a well.
OPERATOR: Person, whether proprietor or lessee, who actually operates the well. Generally, the oil company by whom the drilling contractor is engaged.
PAY, PAY SAND, OR PAY SECTION: Producing formation, or that formation which represents the objective of drilling.
PENETRATION, RATE OF: Rate at which the drill bit proceeds in the deepening of the wellbore and usually expressed as feet (meters) per hour.
PERFORATE: To pierce holes through well casing within an oil or gas-bearing formation by means of a perforating gun lowered down the hole and fired electrically from the surface. The perforations permit production from a formation which has been cased off.
PERMEABILITY: Capacity of a porous rock formation to allow fluid to flow within the interconnecting pore network.
PIPE: Oilfield tubular goods such as casing, drill pipe, tubing, or pipeline.
PIPE RACK: Series of parallel heavy wooden or steel bents secured in place by bracing on which pipe is stored.
PLUG: Object or device that serves to block a hole or passageway such as a cement plug in a borehole.
PLUG AND ABANDON: Act of placing cement plugs in a hole to prevent unwanted vertical migration in an abandoned well.
POROSITY: Volume of pore spaces between mineral grains expressed as a percentage of the total rock volume. Thus porosity measures the capacity of the rock to hold oil, gas, or water.
POTENTIAL: Actual or maximum volume of oil and/or gas that a well is capable of producing.
PRODUCTION: The operation of bringing the well fluids to the surface and separating them, and storing, gauging, and otherwise preparing product for the pipeline. Also refers to the amount of oil or gas produced over a given period.
RATHOLE: Shallow bore under the derrick substructure in which the kelly joint is temporarily set while making a connection.
RELIEF WELL: Well drilled at an angle from a point close to a "wild" well that will intercept theoriginal well as part of control procedure.
RESERVOIR: Porous, permeable sedimentary rock structure or trap containing oil and/or gas. A reservoir can contain more than one pool.
RIG: The derrick, drawworks, and attendant surface equipment of a drilling or workover unit. (Several types of rigs should be included such as deep, shallow, stratigraphic, etc.)
RIGGING UP: Act of getting a rig assembled and ready to start drilling.
ROTARY DRILLING: Method of drilling in which the drill pipe is rotated to rotate a bit.
ROTARY TABLE: Equipment over the wellbore which transfers power from the engines to produce a rotary motion. Via bushings and gears the rotary motion is transferred to the kelly and through to the drill string.
ROTATING BOTTOM: Making hole.
ROUGHNECK: Industry slang for floorhand.
SAFETY WIRE: Steel cable attached to the monkey board and anchored to the ground at some distance from the rig. It is used by the derrickhand to slide clear of danger in an emergency.
SANDFRAC: Method of fracturing subsurface rock formations by injection of fluid and sand under high pressure to increase permeability. Fractures induced in the rock by the hydraulic pressure are kept open by the grains of sand.
SCRATCHER: Steel, wire-fingered device fastened to the casing which removes the mud cake from the hole to condition it for cementing.
SEISMOGRAPH: Apparatus used to measure and record vibrations in the earth. It is used to detect possible oil-bearing structures.
SET CASING: Installation of steel pipe or casing in a wellbore, normally cemented in place by surrounding it with a wall of cement.
SIDE TRACKING: Drilling past an obstruction in the hole, usually done using a special tool known as a whipstock.
SINGLE: One joint of drill pipe.
SLIM HOLE DRILLING: Drilling in which the hole size is smaller than the conventional hole diameter, enabling the operator to run smaller casing, thereby decreasing the cost of completion.
SPECIFIC GRAVITY: Ratio of weight of any substance to weight of equal volume of another substance, usually water as the standard for solids and liquid.
SPUD OR SPUDDING IN: Commencement of actual drilling of well.
STABILIZER: A centralizer installed in the drill string to center the string in the hole and to stiffen the string to resist bending and deviation.
STAND OF PIPE: Two, three, and sometimes four joints of pipe fastened together, called a double, thribble, or fourble, respectively.
STEP-OUT WELL: Well drilled adjacent or near to proven well to ascertain the limits of the reservoir.
STRATIGRAPHIC TRAP: Subsurface formation created by sedimentation that might trap an accumulation of oil and/or gas.
STRING: The entire length of casing, tubing, or drill pipe.
STRUCTURE: Subsurface geological feature capable of acting as a reservoir for oil and/or gas.
STUCK PIPE: Drill pipe, casing, or tubing that cannot be worked in or out of the hole as desired.
SUBSTRUCTURE: Foundation on which the derrick and engines sit. Contains space for storage and well control equipment.
SURFACE CASING: First string of casing set in well.
SWABBING: Operation using a swab to bring well fluids to the surface when the well does not flow naturally.
SYNCLINE: Trough-shaped subsurface structure of folded stratified rock. Opposite of anticline.
TIGHT HOLE: Drilling a well in which the information obtained is restricted and passed only to those authorized to receive it.
THRIBBLE: Stand of pipe made up of three joints handled as a unit.
TOOLPUSHER: Foreman in charge of the drilling rig operations and crew members.
TOTAL DEPTH (TD): Maximum depth reached in a well.
TOUR: Work shift of a drilling crew, usually pronounce as though it were spelled t-o-w-e-r.
TRAP: Any geological structure which precludes the migration of oil and gas through subsurface rocks, causing the hydrocarbons to accumulate into pools.
TRIPPING: Making a trip; operation of hoisting pipe out of, and returning it to, the wellbore.
TURBODRILL: Downhole assembly of bit and motor in which the bit alone is rotated by means of fluid turbine which is activated by the drilling mud. The mud turbine is usually placed just above the bit.
TURNING TO THE RIGHT: Slang term referring to actual drilling time as opposed to repair time, trip time, etc.
TURNKEY CONTRACT: Contract under which contractor carries out and completes his assignment for a fixed fee, as opposed to working on per diem basis.
TWIST-OFF: To fracture a joint of drill pipe in two, necessitating a recovery or fishing operation.
VUG: A cavity in a rock.
WAITING ON CEMENT (W.O.C.): Time period that drilling is suspended while the cement used to hold casing in the wellbore hardens.
WELLBORE: The hole made by a drilling bit.
WELL COMPLETION: See COMPLETE A WELL.
WELL LOGGING: Recording information about subsurface geologic formations; methods include records kept by the driller, mud and cutting analysis, core analysis, drill stem tests, electric and radioactivity procedures.
WHIPSTOCK: Long steel wedge used to deflect the bit from the original borehole at a slight angle for controlled directional drilling, for straightening crooked holes, and for sidetracking in or to bypass an unretrieved fish.
WILDCAT: Well drilled in unproven territory.
WORKOVER: To carry out remedial operations on an producing well with the intention of restoring or increasing production.
Engineering Services and Project Management
Fox Oil Drilling Company provides well engineering services ranging from specific engineering studies to the design and management of major drilling projects. Our goal is to tailor our services to specific customer needs, whether it be the provision of a single engineer in Thailand or the design, supervision and drilling of a full-field development project in the Gulf of Mexico. Our engineers have particular expertise in extended reach drilling, underbalanced drilling, high pressure-high temperature drilling, and completion and testing.
Extended Reach Drilling
Fox Oil Drilling Company can assist clients at any level of an Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) project, from detailed front-end design studies through well planning, project execution and closeout. We have established a special technology team to ensure consistency in planning and execution of ERD wells, and have developed a detailed ERD well template, ERD specific drilling guidelines and drilling rig analysis tools.
Underbalanced Drilling
Underbalanced drilling is an advanced technique involving the deliberate reduction of the drilling mud weight. This allows the well to flow while drilling so that the formation is not invaded by the drilling fluid. Underbalanced drilling requires special equipment such as drill-through blowout preventers and special facilities for storing or burning of produced fluids. With live hydrocarbons at the surface, Fox Oil Drilling Company is particularly attentive to carefully plan and control this operation.
High Pressure-High Temperature Drilling
Fox Oil Drilling Company has had significant experience assisting operators in safely and efficiently drilling High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) wells. We have assisted in the development of generic HPHT well control guidelines, which enabled safe methods of dealing with kick/loss scenarios, resulting in considerable customer savings.
Completion and Testing
Completion and testing services provided by Fox Oil Drilling Company include planning and design of surface completions; specifying equipment and services; and managing and supervising operations. Key skills include planning and design of wellbore cleanout, coiled tubing operations, HPHT drill stem testing, acid stimulations and high rate well testing.
Additionally, our well engineers also provide feasibility studies, design services, non-productive time analysis, well abandonment studies and rig interface studies. Previous work has included field development studies for well design, drilling unit sizing and field architecture options.
At Fox Oil Drilling Company, we understand that our success is directly linked to the success of our customers. For that reason, we continually focus on enhancing our equipment and services in order to better serve our customers.
U.S. Areas of Interest
Texas District 5: Two types of plays are driving activity in District 5: tight gas and shale gas. The median depth of the wells drilled in the Bossier and Cotton Valley formations is about 12,800 feet. The median depth of the Barnett Shale in District 5 is about 9,500 feet.
Texas District 6: The Cotton Valley play extends from District 5 into District 6. The median depth of wells in District 6 is 10,300 feet.
Texas District 10: The Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma extends into District 10 of the Texas Panhandle. The average depth of the Anadarko Basin wells in District 10 is about 10,300 feet. Most of the wells are drilled for tight gas.
Oklahoma: About half the wells completed in Oklahoma are in the Anadarko Basin. The median well depth is about 8,500 feet, but many wells are drilled to about 20,000 feet.
New Mexico: Wells drilled in Southeastern New Mexico are primarily drilled for oil. The median depth of those wells is 8,000. Some wells are drilled to nearly 17,000 feet.
Colorado: Colorado has four active natural gas basins with the Denver Basin being the largest. The median depth in the Denver Basin is 7,300 feet. Another increasingly active basin is the coalbed methane play in the Piceance Basin. The median well depth is 7,500 feet. The other smaller basins are extensions of the San Juan and the Raton Basins of New Mexico.
Wyoming: The median well depth in the Green River Basin is about 10,700 feet and those wells are drilled for tight gas. The Wind River and Big Horn Basins are also active areas.
Overview of Land-Based Drilling
Drilling Equipment
A land drilling rig consists of engines, a hoisting system, a rotating system, pumps and related equipment to circulate drilling fluid, blowout preventers and related equipment.
Diesel or gas engines are typically the main power sources for a drilling rig. Power requirements for drilling jobs may vary considerably, but most land drilling rigs employ two or more engines to generate between 500 and 2,000 horsepower, depending on well depth and rig design. Most drilling rigs capable of drilling in deep formations, involving depths greater than 15,000 feet, use diesel-electric power units to generate and deliver electric current through cables to electrical switch gears, then to direct-current electric motors attached to the equipment in the hoisting, rotating and circulating systems.
Drilling rigs use long strings of drill pipe and drill collars to drill wells. Drilling rigs are also used to set heavy strings of large-diameter pipe, or casing, inside the borehole. Because the total weight of the drill string and the casing can exceed 500,000 pounds, drilling rigs require significant hoisting and braking capacities. Generally, a drilling rig’s hoisting system is made up of a mast, or derrick, a traveling block and hook assembly that attaches to the rotating system, a mechanism known as the drawworks, a drilling line and ancillary equipment. The drawworks mechanism consists of a revolving drum, around which the drilling line is wound, and a series of shafts, clutches and chain and gear drives for generating speed changes and reverse motion. The drawworks also houses the main brake, which has the capacity to stop and sustain the weights used in the drilling process. When heavy loads are being lowered, a hydraulic or electric auxiliary brake assists the main brake to absorb the great amount of energy developed by the mass of the traveling block, hook assembly, drill pipe, drill collars and drill bit or casing being lowered into the well.
The rotating equipment from top to bottom consists of a swivel, the kelly bushing, the kelly, the rotary table, drill pipe, drill collars and the drill bit. The equipment between the swivel and the drill bit is referred to as the drill stem. The swivel assembly sustains the weight of the drill stem, permits its rotation and affords a rotating pressure seal and passageway for circulating drilling fluid into the top of the drill string. The swivel also has a large handle that fits inside the hook assembly at the bottom of the traveling block. Drilling fluid enters the drill stem through a hose, called the rotary hose, attached to the side of the swivel. The kelly is a triangular, square or hexagonal piece of pipe, usually 40 feet long, that transmits torque from the rotary table to the drill stem and permits its vertical movement as it is lowered into the hole. The bottom end of the kelly fits inside a corresponding triangular, square or hexagonal opening in a device called the kelly bushing. The kelly bushing, in turn, fits into a part of the rotary table called the master bushing. As the master bushing rotates, the kelly bushing also rotates, turning the kelly, which rotates the drill pipe and thus the drill bit. Drilling fluid is pumped through the kelly on its way to the bottom. The rotary table, equipped with its master bushing and kelly bushing, supplies the necessary torque to turn the drill stem. The drill pipe and drill collars are both steel tubes through which drilling fluid can be pumped. Drill pipe, sometimes called drill string, comes in 30-foot sections, or joints, with threaded sections on each end. Drill collars are heavier than drill pipe and are also threaded on the ends. Collars are used on the bottom of the drill stem to apply weight to the drilling bit. At the end of the drill stem is the bit, which chews up the formation rock and dislodges it so that drilling fluid can circulate the fragmented material back up to the surface where the circulating system filters it out of the fluid.
Drilling fluid, often called mud, is a mixture of clays, chemicals and water or oil, which is carefully formulated for the particular well being drilled. Drilling mud accounts for a major portion of the equipment and cost of drilling a well. Bulk storage of drilling fluid materials, the pumps and the mud-mixing equipment are placed at the start of the circulating system. Working mud pits and reserve storage are at the other end of the system. Between these two points, the circulating system includes auxiliary equipment for drilling fluid maintenance and equipment for well pressure control. Within the system, the drilling mud is typically routed from the mud pits to the mud pump and from the mud pump through a standpipe and the rotary hose to the drill stem. The drilling mud travels down the drill stem to the bit, up the annular space between the drill stem and the borehole and through the blowout preventer stack to the return flow line. It then travels to a shale shaker for removal of rock cuttings, and then back to the mud pits, which are usually steel tanks. The reserve pits, usually one or two fairly shallow excavations, are used for waste material and excess water around the location.
There are numerous factors that differentiate land drilling rigs,including their power generation systems and their drilling depth capabilities. The actual drilling depth capability of a rig may be less than or more than its rated depth capability due to numerous factors, including the size, weight and amount of the drill pipe on the rig. The intended well depth and the drill site conditions determine the amount of drill pipe and other equipment needed to drill a well. Generally, land rigs operate with crews of five to six persons.
Drilling Contracts
Contracts for drilling oil and gas wells can be obtained either through competitive bidding or through direct negotiations with customers. Typical drilling contracts generally provide for compensation on either a daywork or footage basis. The contract terms offered generally depend on the complexity and risk of operations, the on-site drilling conditions, the type of equipment used and the anticipated duration of the work to be performed. Generally, drilling contracts provide for the drilling of a single well and typically permit the customer to terminate on short notice, usually on payment of an agreed fee.
Daywork Contracts. Under daywork drilling contracts, the contractor provides a drilling rig with required personnel to the customer who supervises the drilling of the well. The contractor is paid based on a negotiated fixed rate per day while the rig is used. Daywork drilling contracts specify the equipment to be used, the size of the hole and the depth of the well. Under a daywork drilling contract, the customer bears a large portion of the out-of-pocket drilling costs and the contractor generally bears no part of the usual risks associated with drilling, such as time delays and unanticipated costs.
Footage Contracts. Under footage contracts, the contractor is paid a fixed amount for each foot drilled, regardless of the time required or the problems encountered in drilling the well. The contractor typically pays more of the out-of- pocket costs associated with footage contracts as compared to daywork contracts. The risks to the contractor on a footage contract are greater because the contractor assumes most of the risks associated with drilling operations generally assumed by the operator in a daywork contract, including the risk of blowout, loss of hole, stuck drill pipe, machinery breakdowns, abnormal drilling conditions and risks associated with subcontractors’ services, supplies, cost escalation and personnel. Insurance coverage can be maintained to protect against some, but not all, drilling hazards under this type of arrangement.
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary
3-D Seismic: a tool used to “see” beneath the earth’s surface. It involves sending acoustic vibrations into the ground and measuring the length of time it takes to rebound off the subsurface rocks back to the surface. High-tech supercomputers are used to process billions of data samples and generate a detailed, 3-D image of underground structures. Geophysicists interpret the data to make estimates as to the depth of the reservoir, its porosity, fluid content and other information valuable in determining where oil and gas deposits are most likely to be found.
Acid stimulation: injecting hydrofluoric acid into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to break up and remove rock debris to help improve the flow of oil.
Appraisal drilling: drilling in the vicinity of a discovery to evaluate the extent of the reservoir and the amount of reserves it likely contains.
Associated gas: gas that is produced along with oil from oil reservoirs. Production originating from gas reservoirs is referred to as non-associated gas.
Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE): a term used to quantify oil and natural gas volumes based on “energy equivalents. To convert a thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of gas to equal one barrel of oil, divide by 6. For example, 600 Mcf = 100 BOE.
CO2 Flooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where carbon dioxide (CO2) is injected into the oil formation. CO2 acts as a solvent that releases the oil from porous rock and causes it to flow more freely to the well head, increasing recovery rates.
Compression: utilized to enhance production from low pressure gas reservoirs. Compression equipment allows the operator to lower back-pressure on the well and enable more gas to flow to the surface. It can then be compressed and delivered into a higher pressure gathering system for processing and ultimate sale. Compression is also used extensively in gas processing operations to aid in the recovery of natural gas liquids.
Development: drilling and related activities necessary to bring a field into production following a discovery.
Dome: a type of geological structure where a rock layer has pushed up into the rock layer above in a typically spherical shape.
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR): advanced technologies, such as water flooding, steam injection, CO2 injection applied to increase production, usually from mature, underdeveloped fields.
Fracture stimulation: injecting specially engineered fluids under high pressure into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to “crack” the reservoir and improve the flow of oil.
HES: Health, Environment and Safety programs.
Horizontal Drilling: drilling a well at a 90-degree angle instead of vertically. The well is drilled straight to a specific depth and then is gradually curved. Horizontal wells are advantageous for numerous reasons: to maximize production rates through increased reservoir exposure; to avoid sensitive environmental areas; to avoid a surface obstruction; or to drill several wells from a single location (i.e. offshore platform). Directional drilling refers to non vertical wells drilled at less than a 90-degree angle.
Interval: a vertical section of rock distinct from that above or below.
In-fill drilling: wells drilled between existing producing wells to enhance field development.
Mcf: a thousand cubic feet, a measurement of natural gas.
Multilaterals: pertaining to a well that has more than one branch radiating from the main wellbore.
Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs): Natural gas processed from and marketed separately, natural gas liquids include ethane, propane, butane and natural gasoline.
Outside operated assets: assets in which Occidental has a working interest, but does not serve as overall operations manager.
Permeable: measure of a rock’s ability to flow liquids or gases. Highly permeable rocks tend to have many large and well-connected pores. The more permeable the rock, the easier it is to produce oil and gas from the reservoir.
Play: an area where oil or natural gas accumulations of a certain type are found.
Porosity: percentage of void space within a rock. Only high porosity reservoir rocks, like sandstone, bear oil and gas.
Production: oil and gas yielded from drilling and pumping activities. Gross production: the total oil and gas produced from a field. Net production: the company’s share of production based on its ownership interest, or the terms of a production sharing contract.
Proved reserves: the estimated quantities of oil or natural gas that can be recovered with reasonable certainty.
Recompletion: the process of producing from another interval within the same wellbore. For example, after depleting a zone at 9,000 feet, the operator may “recomplete” the well at 8,000 feet.
Reserves: oil or natural gas contained in underground rock formations called reservoirs.
Reservoir: a porous, permeable rock formation containing oil and natural gas.
Reservoir modeling: a representation of a reservoir that incorporates all data pertinent to its ability to store and produce oil and gas. Geoscientists and engineers use reservoir modeling to simulate the movement of the oil and gas under various circumstances to ultimately determine optimal production techniques for the reservoir.
Spar: a revolutionary type of deep water offshore production facility.
Waterflooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where injected water is used to sweep residual oil to the wellhead, improving recovery rates.
Wellbore: the hole drilled for the purpose of producing oil and gas, or to inject water or other fluids. In some wells, multilaterals branch off from the main wellbore.
Equipment used in drilling:
1. Crown Block and Water Table
2. Catline Boom and Hoist Line
3. Drilling Line
4. Monkeyboard
5. Traveling Block
6. Top Drive
7. Mast
8. Drill Pipe
9. Doghouse
10. Blowout Preventer
11. Water Tank
12. Electric Cable Tray
13. Engine Generator Sets
14. Fuel Tank
15. Electrical Control House
16. Mud Pumps
17. Bulk Mud Component Tanks
18. Mud Tanks (Pits)
19. Reserve Pit
20. Mud-Gas Separator
21. Shale Shakers
22. Choke Manifold
23. Pipe Ramp
24. Pipe Racks
25. Accumulator
26. Annulus
27. Brake
28. Casing Head
29. Cathead
30. Catwalk
31. Cellar
32. Conductor Pipe
33. Degasser
34. Desander
35. Desilter
36. Drawworks
37. Drill Bit
38. Drill Collars
39. Driller's Console
40. Elevators
41. Hoisting Line
42. Hook
43. Kelly
44. Kelly Bushing
45. Kelly Spinner
46. Mousehole
47. Mud Return Line
48. Ram BOP
49. Rathole
50. Rotary Hose
51. Rotary Table
52. Slips
53. Spinning chain
54. Stairways
55. Standpipe
56. Surface Casing
57. Substructure
58. Swivel
59. Tongs
60. Walkways
61. Weight Indicator
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Industry Terms Glossary
Abandon: To cease work on a well which is non-productive, to plug off the well with cement plugs and salvage all recoverable equipment Also used in the context of field abandonment.
Annex B: Operator's development plan for an offshore installation. It requires government approval before it can be implemented.
Annulus: The space between the drillstring and the well wall, or between casing strings, or between the casing and the production tubing.
Appraisal Well: A well drilled as part of an appraisal drilling program which is carried out to determine the physical extent, reserves and likely production rate of a field.
Associated Gas: Natural gas associated with oil accumulations, which may be dissolved in the oil at reservoir conditions or may form a cap of free gas above the oil.
Barrel: A unit of volume measurement used for petroleum and its products (7.3 barrels = 1 ton: 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic metre).
bbl: One barrel of oil; 1 barrel = 35 Imperial gallons (approx.), or 159 litres (approx.); 7.5 barrels = 1 tonne (approx.); 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic metre.
bcf: Billion cubic feet; 1 bcf = 0.83 million tonnes of oil equivalent.
bcm: Billion cubic metres (1 cubic metre = 35.31 cubic feet).
Block: A North Sea acreage sub-division measuring approximately 10 x 20 kms, forming part of a quadrant. e.g. Block 9/13 is the 13th block in Quadrant 9.
blow-down: Condensate and gas is produced simultaneously from the outset of production.
Blow-out preventers (BOPs): Are high pressure wellhead valves, designed to shut off the uncontrolled flow of hydrocarbons.
Blow-out: When well pressure exceeds the ability of the wellhead valves to control it. Oil and gas "blow wild" at the surface.
Borehole: The hole as drilled by the drill bit.
Capex: Capital expenditure.
Casing string: The steel tubing that lines a well after it has been drilled. It is formed from sections of steel tube screwed together.
Central estimate: A range of exploration drilling scenarios from which the following activity levels, based on recent historical experience, are adopted as the central estimates.
Christmas tree: The assembly of fittings and valves on the top of the casing which control the production rate of oil.
CNS: Central North Sea.
Commercial field: An oil and/or gas field judged to be capable of producing enough net income to make it worth developing.
Completion: The installation of permanent wellhead equipment for the production of oil and gas.
Condensate: Hydrocarbons which are in the gaseous state under reservoir conditions and which become liquid when temperature or pressure is reduced. A mixture of pentanes and higher hydrocarbons.
Connate water: Salt water occurring with oil and gas in the reservoir.
Coring: Taking rock samples from a well by means of a special tool - a "core barrel".
Crane barge: A large barge, capable of lifting heavy equipment onto offshore platforms. Also known as a "derrick barge".
Creaming Theory: A statistical technique which recognises that in any exploration province after an initial period in which the largest fields are found, success rates and average field sizes decline as more exploration wells are drilled and knowledge of the area matures.
CRINE: Cost Reduction Initiative for the New Era.
Cubic foot: A standard unit used to measure quantity of gas (at atmospheric pressure); 1 cubic foot = 0.0283 cubic metres.
Cuttings: Rock chippings cut from the formation by the drill bit, and brought to the surface with the mud. Used by geologists to obtain formation data.
Derrick: The tower-like structure that houses most of the drilling controls.
Development phase: The phase in which a proven oil or gas field is brought into production by drilling production (development) wells.
Drilling rig: A drilling unit that is not permanently fixed to the seabed, e.g. a drillship, a semi-submersible or a jack-up unit. Also means the derrick and its associated machinery.
Dry Gas: Natural gas composed mainly of methane with only minor amounts of ethane, propane and butane and little or no heavier hydrocarbons in the gasoline range.
Dry hole: A well which has proved to be non-productive.
E&A: Abbreviation for exploration and appraisal.
E&P: Abbreviation for exploration and production.
Enhanced oil recovery: A process whereby oil is recovered other than by the natural pressure in a reservoir.
Exploration drilling: Drilling carried out to determine whether hydrocarbons are present in a particular area or structure.
Exploration phase: The phase of operations which covers the search for oil or gas by carrying out detailed geological and geophysical surveys followed up where appropriate by exploratory drilling.
Exploration well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as a "wildcat well".
Farm in: When a company acquires an interest in a block by taking over all or part of the financial commitment for drilling an exploration well.
Field: A geographical area under which an oil or gas reservoir lies.
Fishing: Retrieving objects from the borehole, such as a broken drillstring, or tools.
Formation pressure: The pressure at the bottom of a well when it is shut in at the wellhead.
Formation water: Salt water underlying gas and oil in the formation.
Fracturing: A method of breaking down a formation by pumping fluid at very high pressures. The objective is to increase production rates from a reservoir.
G: Gas.
G/C: Gas Condensate.
Gas field: A field containing natural gas but no oil.
Gas injection: The process whereby separated associated gas is pumped back into a reservoir for conservation purposes or to maintain the reservoir pressure.
Gas/oil ratio: The volume of gas at atmospheric pressure produced per unit of oil produced.
Hydrocarbon: A compound containing only the elements hydrogen and carbon. May exist as a solid, a liquid or a gas. The term is mainly used in a catch-all sense for oil, gas and condensate.
Injection well: A well used for pumping water or gas into the reservoir.
IS: Irish Sea.
Jacket: The lower section, or "legs", of an offshore platform.
Kick: A well is said to "kick" if the formation pressure exceeds the pressure exerted by the mud column.
Lay barge: A barge that is specially equipped to lay submarine pipelines.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG): Oilfield or naturally occurring gas, chiefly methane, liquefied for transportation.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG): Light hydrocarbon material, gaseous at atmospheric temperature and pressure, held in the liquid state by pressure to facilitate storage, transport and handling. Commercial liquefied gas consists essentially of either propane or butane, or mixtures thereof.
mboe: Million Barrels Oil Equivalent.
Metric tonne: Equivalent to 1000 kilos, 2204.61 lbs; 7.5 barrels.
mmcfd: Millions of cubic feet per day (of gas).
Moonpool: An aperture in the centre of a drillship or semi-submersible drilling rig, through which drilling and diving operations can be conducted.
Mt: Million tonnes.
Mud: A mixture of base substance and additives used to lubricate the drill bit and to counteract the natural pressure of the formation.
Natural gas: Gas, occurring naturally, and often found in association with crude petroleum.
NGLs: Natural gas liquids. Liquid hydrocarbons found in association with natural gas.
NNS: Northern North Sea.
O: Oil.
O&G: Oil and Gas.
Oil: A mixture of liquid hydrocarbons of different molecular weights.
Oil field: A geographic area under which an oil reservoir lies.
Oil in place: An estimated measure of the total amount of oil contained in a reservoir, and, as such, a higher figure than the estimated recoverable reserves of oil.
Operator: The company that has legal authority to drill wells and undertake production of hydrocarbons are found. The Operator is often part of a consortium and acts on behalf of this consortium.
Opex: Operating expenditure.
Payzone: Rock in which oil and gas are found in exploitable quantities.
Permeability: The property of a formation which quantifies the flow of a fluid through the pore spaces and into the wellbore.
Petroleum: A generic name for hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas and their products.
Platform: An offshore structure that is permanently fixed to the seabed.
Porosity: The percentage of void in a porous rock compared to the solid formation.
Possible reserves: Those reserves which at present cannot be regarded as 'probable' but are estimated to have a significant but less than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Primary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir purely by using the natural pressure in the reservoir to force the oil or gas out.
Probable reserves: Those reserves which are not yet proven but which are estimated to have a better than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Proven field: An oil and/or gas field whose physical extent and estimated reserves have been determined.
Proven reserves: Those reserves which on the available evidence are virtually certain to be technically and economically producible (i.e. having a better than 90% chance of being produced).
Recoverable reserves: That proportion of the oil and/gas in a reservoir that can be removed using currently available techniques.
Recovery factor: The ratio of recoverable oil and/or gas reserves to the estimated oil and/or gas in place in the reservoir.
Reservoir: The underground formation where oil and gas has accumulated It consists of a porous rock to hold the oil or gas, and a cap rock that prevents its escape.
Riser (drilling): A pipe between a seabed BOP and a floating drilling rig.
Riser (production): The section of pipework that joins a seabed wellhead to the Christmas tree.
Roughneck: Drill crew members who work on the derrick floor, screwing together the sections of drillpipe when running or pulling a drillstring.
Roustabout: Drill crew members who handle the loading and unloading of equipment and assist in general operations around the rig.
Royalty payment: The cash or kind paid to the owner of mineral rights.
Secondary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir by artificially maintaining or enhancing the reservoir pressure by injecting gas, water or other substances into the reservoir rock.
Shutdown: A production hiatus during which the platform ceases to produce while essential maintenance work is undertaken.
SNSL: Southern North Sea.
Spud-in: The operation of drilling the first part of a new well.
Suspended well: A well that has been capped off temporarily.
tcf: Trillion Cubic Feet (of gas).
Toolpusher: Second-in-command of a drilling crew under the drilling superintendent. Responsible for the day-to-day running of the rig and for ensuring that all the necessary equipment is available.
Topsides: The superstructure of a platform.
UKCS: United Kingdom Continental Shelf.
UKOOA: U.K. Offshore Operators Association Limited.
Well log: A record of geological formation penetrated during drilling, including technical details of the operation.
Wildcat well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as a "exploration well".
Ety.: The term comes from exploration wells in West Texas in the 1920s. Wildcats were abundant in the locality, and those unlucky enough to be shot were hung from oil derricks.
WoB: West of Britain.
Workover: Remedial work to the equipment within a well, the well pipework, or relating to attempts to increase the rate of flow.
WoS: West of Shetland Isles.
Drilling Prospects
Fox Oil Drilling Company is actively seeking drilling prospects. We are targeting exploratory plays with large acreage positions and multi-million barrel of oil equivalent reserves.
The Company will take farmouts to drill with its own rigs and will also participate alongside other industry partners. Depending on the experience of the operator, Fox Oil Drilling Company will consider non-operating working interests. However, the Company prefers being the operator and drilling contractor.
Fox Oil Drilling's Chairman, Jason Fox, has been involved in oil exploration and production since 1972. The Company's team of geologists, geophysicists and petroleum engineers can evaluate your prospects in a confidential and timely manner. We welcome you to submit your prospects to us for review.
Oil exploration
Oil exploration is the search by petroleum geologists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface. Oil and gas exploration are grouped under the science of petroleum geology.
Exploration methods
Visible surface features such as oil seeps, natural gas seeps, pockmarks (underwater craters caused by escaping gas) provides basic evidence of hydrocarbon generation (be it shallow or deep in the Earth); however, most exploration depends on highly sophisticated technology to detect and determine the extent of these deposits. Areas thought to contain hydrocarbons are initially subjected to a gravity survey or magnetic survey to detect large scale features of the sub-surface geology. Features of interest (known as leads) are subjected to more detailed seismic surveys which works on the principle of the time it takes for reflected sound waves to travel through matter (rock) of varying densities and using the process of depth conversion to create a profile of the substructure. Finally, when a prospect has been identified evaluated and passes the oil companies selection criteria, an exploration well is drilled to conclusively determine the presence or absence of oil or gas.
Oil exploration is an expensive, high-risk operation. Offshore and remote area exploration is generally only undertaken by very large corporations or national governments, typical Shallow shelf oil wells (e.g. North sea) cost $10 - 30 Million, Deep water wells can cost up to $100 Million plus. Hundreds of smaller companies search for onshore hydrocarbon deposits worldwide, with some wells costing as little as $500,000 USD.
Elements of a Petroleum Prospect
A petroleum prospect is a potential trap which geologists believe may contain petroleum. There are five elements which all have to be present for a prospect to contain hydrocarbons. If any of them fail, then we get a dry hole.
Terms used in petroleum evaluation
Licensing
Petroleum resources are typically owned by the government of the host country. The government issues licences to explore, develop and produce its oil and gas resources, which are typically administered by the oil ministry. There are several different types of licence. Typically oil companies operate in joint ventures to spread the risk, one of the companies in the partnership is designated the operator who actually supervises the work.
Reserves and resources
Resources are hydrocarbons which may or may not be produced in the future. A resource number may be assigned to an undrilled prospect or an unappraised discovery. Appraisal by drilling additional delineation wells or acquiring extra seismic data will confirm the size of the field and lead to project sanction. A this point the relevant government body gives the oil company a production licence which enables the field to be developed. This is also the point at which oil reserves can be formally booked.
Definition of oil reserves
Oil reserves are a primarily a measure of geological risk - of the probability of oil existing and being producible under current economic conditions using current technology. The three categories of reserves generally used are proven, probable, and possible reserves.
Reserve booking
Oil and gas reserves are the main asset of an oil company - booking is the process by which they are added to the Balance sheet. This is done according to a set of rules developed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). The Reserves of any company listed on the New York Stock Exchange - which in practice means virtually every commercial company in the world - have to be stated to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In many cases these reported reserves are audited by external geologists, although this is not a legal requirement. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rejects the probability concept and prohibits companies from mentioning probable and possible reserves in their filings. Thus, official estimates of proven reserves will always be understated compared to what oil companies think actually exists. For practical puposes companies will use proven plus probable estimate (2P), and for long term planning they will be looking primarily at possible reserves.
Petroleum
Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and elaion – oil or Latin oleum – oil ) or crude oil is a black, dark brown or greenish liquid found in porous rock formations in the earth. The American Petroleum Institute, in its Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards (MPMS), defines it as "a substance, generally liquid, occurring naturally in the earth and composed mainly of mixtures of chemical compounds of carbon and hydrogen with or without other nonmetallic elements such as sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen."
Petroleum is found in porous rock formations in the upper strata of some areas of the Earth's crust. It consists of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, mostly alkanes, but may vary greatly in appearance and composition. Petroleum is used mostly, by volume, for producing fuel oil and petrol (gasoline), both important "primary energy" sources (IEA Key World Energy Statistics). Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics. 84% (37 of 44 gallons in a typical barrel) of all petroleum extracted is processed as fuels, including gasoline, diesel, jet, heating, and other fuel oils, and liquefied petrolem gas [1]; the other 16% is converted into other materials such as plastic.
Known reserves of petroleum are estimated at around 1000 gigabarrels, (that is, one thousand billion), and consumption is currently around 84 million barrels per day, or 31 gigabarrels per year. Since petroleum is a non-renewable resource, many people are worried about peak oil and eventual depletion in the near future. Due to its continual demand and consequent value, oil has been dubbed black gold. The combining form of the word petroleum is petro-, as in petrodiesel (petroleum diesel).
Formation
Biogenic theory
Most geologists view crude oil, like coal and natural gas, as the product of compression and heating of ancient organic materials over geological time. According to this theory, oil is formed from the preserved remains of prehistoric zooplankton and algae which have been settled to the sea bottom in large quantities under anoxic conditions. (Terrestrial plants tend to form coal, and very few dinosaurs have been converted into oil.) Over geological time this organic matter, mixed with mud, is buried under heavy layers of sediment. The resulting high levels of heat and pressure cause the remains to metamorphose, first into a waxy material known as kerogen which is found in various oil shales around the world, and then with more heat into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in a process known as catagenesis. Because most hydrocarbons are lighter than rock or water, these sometimes migrate upward through adjacent rock layers until they become trapped beneath impermeable rocks, within porous rocks called reservoirs. Concentration of hydrocarbons in a trap forms an oil field, from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping.
Geologists often refer to an "oil window" which is the temperature range that oil forms in—below the minimum temperature oil remains trapped in the form of kerogen, and above the maximum temperature the oil is converted to natural gas through the process of thermal cracking. Though this happens at different depths in different locations around the world, a 'typical' depth for the oil window might be 4–6 km. Note that even if oil is formed at extreme depths, it may be trapped at much shallower depths, even if it is not formed there. (In the case of the Athabasca Oil Sands, it is found right at the surface.) Three conditions must be present for oil reservoirs to form: first, a source rock rich in organic material buried deep enough for subterranean heat to cook it into oil; second, a porous and permeable reservoir rock for it to accumulate in; and last a cap rock (seal) that prevents it from escaping to the surface.
If an oil well were to run dry and be capped, it would likely fill back to its original supply eventually. There is considerable question about how long this would take. Some formations appear to have a regeneration time of decades. Majority opinion is that oil is being formed at less than 1% of the current consumption rate.
The vast majority of oil that has been produced by the earth has long ago escaped to the surface and been biodegraded by oil-eating bacteria. What oil companies are looking for is the small fraction that has been trapped by this rare combination of circumstances. Oil sands are reservoirs of partially biodegraded oil still in the process of escaping, but contain so much migrating oil that, although most of it has escaped, vast amounts are still present - more than can be found in conventional oil reservoirs. On the other hand, oil shales are source rocks that have never been buried deep enough to convert their trapped kerogen into oil.
The reactions that produce oil and natural gas are often modeled as first order breakdown reactions, where kerogen is broken down to oil and natural gas by a set of parallel reactions, and oil eventually breaks down to natural gas by another set of reactions. The first set was originally patented in 1694 under British Crown Patent No. 330 covering "a way to extract and make great quantityes of pitch, tarr, and oyle out of a sort of stone." The latter set is regularly used in petrochemical plants and oil refineries.
Abiogenic theory
The idea of abiogenic petroleum origin was championed in the Western world by astronomer Thomas Gold based on thoughts from Russia, mainly on studies of Nikolai Kudryavtsev. The idea proposes that hydrocarbons of purely geological origin exist in the planet. Hydrocarbons are less dense than aqueous pore fluids, and are proposed to migrate upward through deep fracture networks. Thermophilic, rock-dwelling microbial life-forms are proposed to be in part responsible for the biomarkers found in petroleum.
However, this theory is a minority opinion, especially amongst geologists and no oil companies are currently known to explore for oil based on this theory.
Extraction
Locating an oil field is the first obstacle to be overcome. Today, geologists use seismic surveys to search for geological structures that may form oil reservoirs. The "classic" method includes making underground explosion nearby and observing the seismic response that provides information about the geological structures under the ground [1]. However the "passive" methods that extract information from naturally-occurring seismic waves are also known [2].
Other instruments such as gravimeters and magnetometers are also sometimes used in the search for petroleum. Generally, the first stage in the extraction of crude oil is to drill a well into the underground reservoir. When an oil bearing structure has been tapped, the wellsite geologist (known on the rig as the "mudlogger") will note its presence. Historically, in the USA, some oil fields existed where the oil rose naturally to the surface, but most of these fields have long since been depleted, except for certain remote locations in Alaska. Often many wells (called multilateral wells) are drilled into the same reservoir, to ensure that the extraction rate will be economically viable. Also, some wells (secondary wells) may be used to pump water, steam, acids or various gas mixtures into the reservoir to raise or maintain the reservoir pressure, and so maintain an economic extraction rate.
If the underground pressure in the oil reservoir is sufficient, then the oil will be forced to the surface under this pressure. Gaseous fuels, natural gas or water are usually present, which also supply needed underground pressure. In this situation it is sufficient to place a complex arrangement of valves (the Christmas tree) on the well head to connect the well to a pipeline network for storage and processing. This is called primary oil recovery. Usually, only about 20% of the oil in a reservoir can be extracted this way.
The amount of oil that is recoverable is determined by a number of factors including the permeability of the rocks, the strength of natural drives (the gas present, pressure from adjacent water or gravity), and the viscosity of the oil. When the reservoir rocks are "tight" such as shale, oil generally cannot flow through but when they are permeable such as in sandstone, oil flows freely. The flow of oil is often helped by natural pressures surrounding the reservoir rocks including natural gas that may be dissolved in the oil, natural gas present above the oil, water below the oil and the strength of gravity. Oils tend to span a large range of viscosity from liquids as light as gasoline to heavy as tar. The lightest forms tend to result in higher production rates.
Over the lifetime of the well the pressure will fall, and at some point there will be insufficient underground pressure to force the oil to the surface. If economical, and it often is, the remaining oil in the well is extracted using secondary oil recovery methods (see: energy balance and net energy gain). Secondary oil recovery uses various techniques to aid in recovering oil from depleted or low-pressure reservoirs. Sometimes pumps, such as beam pumps and electrical submersible pumps (ESPs), are used to bring the oil to the surface. Other secondary recovery techniques increase the reservoir's pressure by water injection, natural gas reinjection and gas lift, which injects air, carbon dioxide or some other gas into the reservoir. Together, primary and secondary recovery allow 25% to 35% of the reservoir's oil to be recovered.
Tertiary oil recovery reduces the oil's viscosity to increase oil production. Tertiary recovery is started when secondary oil recovery techniques are no longer enough to sustain production, but only when the oil can still be extracted profitably. This depends on the cost of the extraction method and the current price of crude oil. When prices are high, previously unprofitable wells are brought back into production and when they are low, production is curtailed. Thermally enhanced oil recovery methods (TEOR) are tertiary recovery techniques that heat the oil and make it easier to extract. Steam injection is the most common form of TEOR, and is often done with a cogeneration plant. In this type of cogeneration plant, a gas turbine is used to generate electricity and the waste heat is used to produce steam, which is then injected into the reservoir. This form of recovery is used extensively to increase oil production in the San Joaquin Valley, which has very heavy oil, yet accounts for 10% of the United States' oil production. In-situ burning is another form of TEOR, but instead of steam, some of the oil is burned to heat the surrounding oil. Occasionally, detergents are also used to decrease oil viscosity. Tertiary recovery allows another 5% to 15% of the reservoir's oil to be recovered.
History
Petroleum, in some form or other, is not a substance new in the world's history. More than four thousand years ago, according to Herodotus and confirmed by Diodorus Siculus, asphalt was employed in the construction of the walls and towers of Babylon. Great quantities of it were found on the banks of the river Issus, one of the tributaries of the Euphrates. Ancient Persian tablets indicate the medicinal and lighting uses of petroleum in the upper levels of their society.
The first oil wells were drilled in China in the 4th century or earlier. They had depths of up to 243 meters and were drilled using bits attached to bamboo poles. The oil was burned to evaporate brine and produce salt. By the 10th century, extensive bamboo pipelines connected oil wells with salt springs.
In the 8th century, the streets of the newly constructed Baghdad were paved with tar, derived from easily accessible petroleum from natural fields in the region. In the 9th century, oil fields were exploited in Baku, Azerbaijan, to produce naphtha. These fields were described by the geographer Masudi in the 10th century, and by Marco Polo in the 13th century, who described the output of those wells as hundreds of shiploads. (See also: Timeline of Islamic science and technology.)
The modern history of petroleum began in 1846, with the discovery of the process of refining kerosene from coal by Atlantic Canada's Abraham Pineo Gesner. Poland's Ignacy Lukasiewicz discovered a means of refining kerosene from the more readily available "rock oil" ("petr-oleum") in 1852 and the first rock oil mine was built in Bóbrka, near Krosno in southern Poland in the following year. These discoveries rapidly spread around the world, and Meerzoeff built the first Russian refinery in the mature oil fields at Baku in 1861. At that time Baku produced about 90% of the world's oil. The battle of Stalingrad was fought over Baku (now the capital of the Azerbaijan Republic). Oil field in California, 1938. The first modern oil well was drilled in 1848 by Russian engineer F.N. Semyonov, on the Aspheron Peninsula north-east of Baku.
The first commercial oil well drilled in North America was in Oil Springs, Ontario, Canada in 1858, dug by James Miller Williams. The American petroleum industry began with Edwin Drake's discovery of oil in 1859, near Titusville, Pennsylvania; like the Chinese, Drake had been boring for salt. The industry grew slowly in the 1800s, driven by the demand for kerosene and oil lamps. It became a major national concern in the early part of the 20th century; the introduction of the internal combustion engine provided a demand that has largely sustained the industry to this day. Early "local" finds like those in Pennsylvania and Ontario were quickly exhausted, leading to "oil booms" in Texas, Oklahoma, and California.
By 1910, significant oil fields had been discovered in Canada (specifically, in the province of Alberta), the Dutch East Indies (1885, in Sumatra), Persia (1908, in Masjed Soleiman), Peru, Venezuela, and Mexico, and were being developed at an industrial level.
Even until the mid-1950s, coal was still the world's foremost fuel, but oil quickly took over. Following the 1973 energy crisis and the 1979 energy crisis, there was significant media coverage of oil supply levels. This brought to light the concern that oil is a limited resource that will eventually run out, at least as an economically viable energy source. At the time, the most common and popular predictions were always quite dire, and when they did not come true, many dismissed all such discussion. The future of petroleum as a fuel remains somewhat controversial. USA Today news (2004) reports that there are 40 years of petroleum left in the ground. Some would argue that because the total amount of petroleum is finite, the dire predictions of the 1970s have merely been postponed. Others argue that technology will continue to allow for the production of cheap hydrocarbons and that the earth has vast sources of unconventional petroleum reserves in the form of tar sands, bitumen fields and oil shale that will allow for petroleum use to continue in the future, with both the Canadian tar sands and United States shale oil deposits representing potential reserves matching existing liquid petroleum deposits worldwide.
Today, about 90% of vehicular fuel needs are met by oil. Petroleum also makes up 40% of total energy consumption in the United States, but is responsible for only 2% of electricity generation. Petroleum's worth as a portable, dense energy source powering the vast majority of vehicles and as the base of many industrial chemicals makes it one of the world's most important commodities. Access to it was a major factor in several military conflicts, including World War I, World War II and the Persian Gulf War. The top three oil producing countries are Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United States. About 80% of the world's readily accessible reserves are located in the Middle East, with 62.5% coming from the Arab 5: Saudi Arabia (12.5%), UAE, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait. The USA has less than 3%.
Means of producing oil
As oil prices continue to escalate, other alternatives to producing oil have been gaining importance. The best known such methods involve extracting oil from sources such as oil shale or tar sands. These resources are known to exist in large quantities; however, extracting the oil at low cost without negatively impacting the environment remains a challenge.
It is also possible to transform natural gas or coal into oil (or, more precisely, the various hydrocarbons found in oil). The best-known such method is the Fischer-Tropsch process. It was a concept pioneered in Nazi Germany when imports of petroleum were restricted due to war and Germany found a method to extract oil from coal. It was known as Ersatz ("substitute" in German), and accounted for nearly half the total oil used in WWII by Germany. However, the process was used only as a last resort as naturally occurring oil was much cheaper. As crude oil prices increase, the cost of coal to oil conversion becomes comparatively cheaper. The method involves converting high ash coal into synthetic oil in a multistage process. Ideally, a ton of coal produces nearly 200 liters (1.25 bbl, 52 US gallons) of crude, with by-products ranging from tar to rare chemicals.
Currently, two companies have commercialised their Fischer-Tropsch technology. Shell in Bintulu, Malaysia, uses natural gas as a feedstock, and produces primarily low-sulfur diesel fuels. Sasol in South Africa uses coal as a feedstock, and produces a variety of synthetic petroleum products. The process is today used in South Africa to produce most of the country's diesel fuel from coal by the company Sasol. The process was used in South Africa to meet its energy needs during its isolation under Apartheid. This process has received renewed attention in the quest to produce low sulfur diesel fuel in order to minimize the environmental impact from the use of diesel engines.
An alternative method is the Karrick process, which converts coal into crude oil, pioneered in the 1930s in the United States.
More recently explored is thermal depolymerization (TDP). In theory, TDP can convert any organic waste into petroleum.
Black Gold
Black gold, in most of the world, refers to Petroleum. The name is derived from the black color of crude oil combined with its status as a highly valuable resource, serving in the industrial age, in many ways, the same role that gold did in the pre-industrial era.
In the Appalachian Mountains of the United States, a major coal-producing region, the term refers to coal. In Taiwan, it means iron, petroleum, and coal.
The term was used in the theme song of the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies, along with the term "Texas Tea", another synonym for crude oil.
Classification
The oil industry classifies "crude" by the location of its origin (e.g., "West Texas Intermediate, WTI" or "Brent") and often by its relative weight (API gravity) or viscosity ("light", "intermediate" or "heavy"); refiners may also refer to it as "sweet," which means it contains relatively little sulfur, or as "sour," which means it contains substantial amounts of sulfur and requires more refining in order to meet current product specifications. Each crude oil has unique molecular characteristics which are understood by the use of crude oil assay analysis in petroleum laboratories.
The world reference barrels are:
OPEC attempts to keep the price of the Opec Basket between upper and lower limits, by increasing and decreasing production. This makes the measure important for market analysts. The OPEC Basket, including a mix of light and heavy crudes, is heavier than both Brent and WTI.
In June 15, 2005 the OPEC basket was changed to reflect the characteristics of the oil produced by OPEC members. The new OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Minas (Indonesia), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and BCF 17 (Venezuela).
Pricing
References to the oil prices are usually either references to the spot price of either WTI/Light Crude as traded on New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for delivery in Cushing, Oklahoma; or the price of Brent as traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE, which the International Petroleum Exchange has been incorporated into) for delivery at Sullom Voe. The price of a barrel (which is 42 gallons) of oil is highly dependent on both its grade (which is determined by factors such as its specific gravity or API and its sulphur content) and location. The vast majority of oil will not be traded on an exchange but on an over-the-counter basis, typically with reference to a marker crude oil grade that is typically quoted via pricing agencies such as Argus Media Ltd and Platts. For example in Europe a particular grade of oil, say Fulmar, might be sold at a price of "Brent plus US$0.25/barrel" or as an intra-company transaction. IPE claim that 65% of traded oil is priced off their Brent benchmarks. Other important benchmarks include Dubai, Tapis, and the OPEC basket. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) uses the Imported Refiner Acquisition Cost, the weighted average cost of all oil imported into the US as their "world oil price".
It is often claimed that OPEC sets the oil price and the true cost of a barrel of oil is around $2, which is equivalent to the cost of extraction of a barrel in the Middle East. These estimates of costs ignore the cost of finding and developing oil reserves. Furthermore the important cost as far as price is concerned, is not the price of the cheapest barrel but the cost of producing the marginal barrel. By limiting production OPEC has caused more expensive areas of production such as the North Sea to be developed before the Middle East has been exhausted. OPEC's power is also often overstated. Investing in spare capacity is expensive and the low oil price environment in the late 90s led to cutbacks in investment. This has meant during the oil price rally seen between 2003-2005, OPEC's spare capacity has not been sufficient to stabilise prices.
Oil demand is highly dependent on global macroeconomic conditions, so this is also an important determinant of price. Some economists claim that high oil prices have a large negative impact on the global growth. This means that the relationship between the oil price and global growth is not particularly stable although a high oil price is often thought of as being a late cycle phenomenon.
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary
Appraisal Well: Well drilled after the discovery of oil or gas to establish the limits of the reservoir, the productivity of wells in it and the properties of the oil or gas. See also development well
Block: Subdivision of sea area for the purpose of licensing to a company or companies for exploration/production rights. A UK block is 1/30 of a quadrant and is approximately 200-250 sq. km (a quadrant is one degree by one degree.)
Barrel: (bbl: barrel; mmbbls: million barrels) a unit of measure for oil and petroleum products equal to 42 US gallons or 35 imperial gallons
Blow-out: Accidental escape of oil or gas from a well during the drilling stage
Blow-out Preventer (BOP): High pressure valve fitted to the top of the casing to prevent blow-outs
Compressor: An engine used to increase the pressure of natural gas so that it will flow more quickly through a pipeline
Condensate: Liquid hydrocarbons separated and recovered from a condensate gas reservoir
Decommissioning/Abandonment: Removal of production equipment and facilities from depleted oil fields
Development well: A well drilled within the proved area of an oil or gas reservoir to the depth of a stratigraphic horizon known to be productive
Directional Drilling: Also known as deviated drilling; technique used in production drilling whereby wells are drilled at an angle from a central point so that a number of development wells can be drilled from a single drilling facility
Downhole: A term used to describe tools, equipment, and instruments used in the wellbore, or conditions or techniques applying to the wellbore
Downstream: Refining of crude oil and the marketing and distribution of oil products that occur after refining, as opposed to upstream
Downtime: The time during which offshore operations cannot be continued owing to adverse weather conditions, mechanical or other factors
Drill-bit: The cutting head attached to the drill-pipe
Drilling Muds or Fluid: Fluid, containing barytes, which is pumped through the drill-string to the bottom of the well, whence it rises to the surface through the space between drill-string and bore-hole wall. It acts as a lubricant and is used to control flow
Dry hole: Any exploratory or development well that does not find commercial quantities of hydrocarbons
E&P: Exploration and production. The "upstream" sector of the oil and gas industry
EOR: Enhanced Oil Recovery
Equity: Share or interest in an oil or gas licence or field
Exploratory well: A hole drilled: a) to find oil or gas in an area previously considered unproductive; b) to find a new reservoir in a known field, i.e., one previously producing oil and gas from another reservoir, or c) to extend the limit of a known oil or gas reservoir
Farm in: Where a company to joins a joint venture in return for paying disproportionately for future joint venture operations
Field: An area consisting of a single reservoir or multiple reservoirs all grouped on, or related to, the same individual geological structural feature or stratigraphic condition. The field name refers to the surface area, although it may refer to both the surface and the underground productive formations
Floater: An offshore drilling platform without a fixed base, usually held in position by anchor chains
FPSO: Floating Production Storage and Offloading
Integrated: When applied to an oil company, it indicates a firm that operates in both the upstream and downstream sectors (from exploration through to refining and marketing)
Jacket: Supporting structure for an offshore platform
Jack-up: Mobile offshore drilling platform with retractable legs, on which the platform rests on the seabed when operational
Joint venture: Oil companies generally participate in oil and gas projects through their equity share in a joint venture, usually unincorporated. The relationship between the companies is governed by a joint venture agreement
Lease: A legal document conveying the right to drill for oil and gas, or the tract of land on which a lease has been obtained where the producing wells and production equipment may be located
Licence: An exploration licence permits only geological and geophysical surveying and the drilling of shallow wells; a production licence confers exclusive rights on the licensee to search and bore for and get petroleum
Log: The results of a survey which gathers information about the subsurface formations. Logs typically consist of several curves on a long grid that describe properties within the wellbore or surrounding formations that can be interpreted to provide information about the location of oil, gas, and water. Also called well logs
mmcf: million cubic feet
mmcfd: million cubic feet per day
mmscfd: million standard cubic feet per day
bcf: billion cubic feet
Midstream: A term sometimes used to refer to those industry activities that fall between exploration and production (upstream) and refining and marketing (downstream). The term is most often applied to pipeline transportation of crude oil and natural gas
OPEC: Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries founded in 1960. Current members - Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Venezuela
Operator: One member of a joint venture is appointed operator and has the responsibility of carrying out operations on behalf of the joint venture
P&A (plugged and abandoned): A depleted well or dry hole that has been (typically) filled with cement with all surface equipment removed
Plateau Level: The level of peak production reached by an oil or gas field
Platform: A fixed structure resting on the seabed or piled into it from which development wells are drilled, using directional drilling, to exploit an oil or gas field. To date, these platforms are of two kinds, although several novel designs are in existence. Gravity structures, either concrete or hybrid with concrete base and steel legs and superstructure, which rest on the seabed by virtue of their own weight, or steel, which are piled into the seabed
Reservoir: A subsurface, porous, permeable rock formation in which oil and gas are found
Seismic: Data that is acquired by reflecting sound from underground strata and is processed to yield a picture of the sub-surface geology of an area
Semi-submersible: Mobile offshore drilling platform with floats or pontoons submerged to give stability while operating, kept in position by anchors or dynamic positioning
Spud, to: To commence drilling operations
Topsides: The top part of a platform positioned on the jacket
UKCS: United Kingdom Continental Shelf
Upstream: Upstream covers the exploration, production and transport prior to refining
Wellhead: The equipment at the surface of a well used to control the pressure and flow of fluids; the point at which the hydrocarbons and water exit the ground or sea bed
Wildcat: Speculative exploration well drilled in search of a new oil or gas accumulation
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary of Oil and Gas Terms
The following are abbreviations and definitions of terms commonly used in the oil and gas industry. Unless otherwise indicated, natural gas volumes are stated at the legal pressure base of the state or area in which the reserves are located and at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and in most instances are rounded to the nearest major multiple. BOEs are determined using the ratio of six Mcf of natural gas to one Bbl of oil.
“Bbl” means a barrel of 42 U.S. gallons of oil.
“Bcf” means billion cubic feet of natural gas.
“Bcfe” means billion cubic feet equivalent, determined using the ratio of six Mcf of natural gas to one Bbl of crude oil, condensate or natural gas liquids.
“BOE” means barrels of oil equivalent.
“Completion” means the installation of permanent equipment for the production of oil or gas.
“Development Well” means a well drilled within the proved area of an oil or gas reservoir to the depth of a stratigraphic horizon known to be productive.
“Exploratory Well” means a well drilled to find and produce oil or gas in an unproved area, to find a new reservoir in a field previously found to be productive of oil or gas in another reservoir, or to extend a known reservoir.
“Gross,” when used with respect to acres or wells, refers to the total acres or wells in which a company, individual, trust, or foundation has a working interest.
“Horizontal drilling” means a drilling technique that permits the operator to contact and intersect a larger portion of the producing horizon than conventional vertical drilling techniques and can result in both increased production rates and greater ultimate recoveries of hydrocarbons.
“MBbls” means thousand barrels of oil.
“Mcf” means thousand cubic feet of natural gas.
“Mcfe” means 1,000 cubic feet equivalent, determined using the ratio of six Mcf of natural gas to one Bbl of crude oil, condensate or natural gas liquids.
“MMBbls” means million barrels of oil.
“MMBOE” means million barrels of oil equivalent.
“MMcf” means million cubic feet of natural gas.
“MMcfe” means million cubic feet of gas equivalent, determined using the ratio of 6 Mcf of natural gas to 1 Bbl of crude oil, condensate or natural gas liquids.
“Net,” when used with respect to acres or wells, refers to gross acres of wells multiplied, in each case, by the percentage working interest owned by a company, individual, trust, or foundation.
“Net production” means production that is owned by a company, individual, trust, or foundation, less royalties and production due others.
“Oil” means crude oil or condensate.
“Operator” means the individual, company, trust, or foundation responsible for the exploration, development, and production of an oil or gas well or lease.
“Present Value of Future Revenues” means the pretax present value of estimated future revenues to be generated from the production of proved reserves, net of estimated production and future development costs. Future net revenues are discounted to a present value of an annual discount rate whcih is typically 10%.
“Proved Developed Reserves” means reserves that can be expected to be recovered through existing wells with existing equipment and operating methods. Additional oil and gas expected to be obtained through the application of fluid injection or other improved recovery techniques for supplementing the natural forces and mechanisms of primary recovery can be included as “proved developed reserves” only after testing by a pilot project, or after the operation of an installed program has confirmed through production response that increased recovery will be achieved.
“Proved Reserves” means the estimated quantities of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids which geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions, i.e., prices and costs as of the date the estimate is made. Prices include consideration of changes in existing prices provided only by contractual arrangements, but not on escalations based upon future conditions.
1. Reservoirs are considered proved if economic producibility is supported by either actual production or conclusive formation test. The area of a reservoir considered proved includes: (a) that portion delineated by drilling and defined by gas-oil and/or oil-water contacts, if any; and (b) the immediately adjoining areas not yet drilled, but which can be reasonably judged as economically productive on the basis of available geological and engineering data. In the absence of information on fluid contacts, the lowest known structural occurrence of hydrocarbons controls the lower proved limit of the reservoir.
2. Reserves which can be produced economically through application of improved recovery techniques (such as fluid injection) are included in the “proved” classification when successful testing by a pilot project, or the operation of an installed program in the reservoir, provides support for the engineering analysis on which the project or program was based.
3. Estimates of proved reserves do not include the following: (a) oil that may become available from known reservoirs but is classified separately as “indicated additional reserves”; (b) crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, the recovery of which is subject to reasonable doubt because of uncertainty as to geology, reservoir characteristics, or economic factors; (c) crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids that may occur in undrilled prospects; and, (d) crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids that may be recovered from oil shales, coal, gilsonite, and other such sources.
“Proved Undeveloped Reserves” means reserves that are expected to be recovered from new wells on undrilled acreage, or from existing wells where a relatively major expenditure is required for recompletion. Reserves on undrilled acreage are usually limited to those drilling units offsetting productive units that are reasonably certain of production when drilled. Proved reserves for other undrilled units can be claimed only where it can be demonstrated with certainty that there is continuity of production from the existing productive formation. Under no circumstances are estimates for proved undeveloped reserves generally attributed to any acreage for which an application of fluid injection or other improved recovery technique is contemplated, unless such techniques have been proved effective by actual tests in the area and in the same reservoir.
“Recompletion” means the completion for production of an existing well bore in another formation from that in which the well has been previously completed.
“Reserves” means proved reserves.
“Royalty” means an interest in an oil and gas lease that gives the owner of the interest the right to receive a portion of the production from the leased acreage (or of the proceeds of the sale of production), but generally does not require the owner to pay any portion of the costs of drilling or operating the wells on the leased acreage. Royalties may be either landowner’s royalties, which are reserved by the owner of the leased acreage at the time the lease is granted, or overriding royalties, which are usually reserved by an owner of the leasehold in connection with a transfer to a subsequent owner.
“3-D Seismic” means seismic data that is acquired and processed to yield a three-dimensional picture of the subsurface.
“Tertiary Recovery” means enhanced recovery methods for the production of oil or gas. Enhanced recovery of crude oil requires a means for displacing oil from the reservoir rock, modifying the properties of the fluids in the reservoir and/or the reservoir rock to cause movement of oil in an efficient manner, and providing the energy and drive mechanism to force its flow to a production well. Chemicals or energy is injected as required for displacement and for the control of flow rate and flow pattern in the reservoir, and a fluid drive is provided to force the oil toward a production well.
“Working Interest” means an interest in an oil and gas lease that gives the owner of the interest the right to drill for and produce oil and gas on the leased acreage and requires the owner to pay a share of the costs of drilling and production operations. The share of production to which a working interest owner is entitled will always be smaller than the share of costs that the working interest owner is required to bear, with the balance of the production accruing to the owners of royalties. For example, the owner of a 100% working interest in a lease burdened by a landowner’s royalty of 12.5% would be required to pay 100% of the costs of a well but would be entitled to retain 87.5% of the production.
“Workover” means operations on a producing well to restore or increase production.
Employment Opportunities
Fox Oil Drilling Company is the right choice for individuals with exceptional ethics, integrity and long-term vision. We care for our employees by promoting safety as a top company initiative. Other benefits include structured developmental career paths, competitive benefits and being part of a diverse, worldwide workforce.
Fox Oil Drilling Company is positioned for long-term growth. If you are looking for a career that offers challenging work and opportunities around the world, Fox Oil Drilling is the right choice. We are continuously seeking to provide career opportunities to experienced oil and gas personnel.
Fox Oil Drilling Company is an equal opportunity employer and practices careful, objective hiring methods. In addition, we have a longstanding practice of promoting from within, which encourages people to develop and grow inside the organization.
Drilling Superintendent
Equipment Operator
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary of Oil and Gas Terms
Abandon: (1) The proper plugging and abandoning of a well in compliance with all applicable regulations, and the cleaning up of the wellsite to the satisfaction of any governmental body having jurisdiction with respect thereto and to the reasonable satisfaction of the operator.(2) To cease efforts to find or produce from a well or field.(3) To plug a well completion and salvage material and equipment.
Abatement: (1) The act or process of reducing the intensity of pollution.(2) The use of some method of abating pollution.
American Petroleum Institute (API): The American Petroleum Institute is the primary trade association representing the oil and natural gas industry in the United States.
Annulus: The space between: (1) The casing and the wall of the borehole.(2) Two strings of casing.(3) Tubing and casing.
API: American Petroleum Institute
Api County Code: An indicator developed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) to identify areas such as counties and other subdivision areas identified within state boundaries. Defined by API Bulletin D12A, as amended. This code becomes a part of the API Well Number.
Api State Code: The indicator assigned to a state, as defined in API Bulletin D12A, as amended. This code is a part of the API Well Number (The Api State Code for Colorado is 05).
Api Well Number: A well identifier assigned as defined in API (American Petroleum Institute) Bulletin D12A, as amended. The API Well Numbers are assigned by the appropriate state or federal regulatory agency.
Appraisal Well: A well drilled as part of an appraisal drilling program which is carried out to determine the physical extent, reserves and likely production rate of a field.
Associated Gas: A well drilled as part of an appraisal drilling program which is carried out to determine the physical extent, reserves and likely production rate of a field.
Barrel: A unit of volume measurement used for petroleum and its products (7.3 barrels = 1 ton: 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic meter).
bbl: One barrel of oil; 1 barrel = 35 Imperial gallons (approx.), or 159 liters (approx.); 7.5 barrels = 1 ton (approx.); 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic meter.
bcf: Billion cubic feet; 1 bcf = 0.83 million tons of oil equivalent.
bcm: Billion cubic meters (1 cubic meter = 35.31 cubic feet).
Block: An acreage sub-division measuring approximately 10 x 20 kms, forming part of a quadrant. e.g. Block 9/13 is the 13th block in Quadrant 9.
Blow-out: When well pressure exceeds the ability of the wellhead valves to control it. Oil and gas "blow wild" at the surface.
Blow-out preventers (BOPs): Are high pressure wellhead valves, designed to shut off the uncontrolled flow of hydrocarbons.
BOP: See blow-out preventers
Borehole: The hole as drilled by the drill bit.
Bradenhead: A casinghead.
Casing: Pipe cemented in the well to seal off formation fluids or keep the hole from caving in.
Casing string: The steel tubing that lines a well after it has been drilled. It is formed from sections of steel tube screwed together.
Central estimate: A range of exploration drilling scenarios from which the following activity levels, based on recent historical experience, are adopted as the central estimates.
Christmas tree: The assembly of fittings and valves on the top of the casing which control the production rate of oil.
COGCC: Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
COGIS: Colorado Oil and Gas Information Systems
Commercial field: An oil and/or gas field judged to be capable of producing enough net income to make it worth developing.
Completion: The installation of permanent wellhead equipment for the production of oil and gas.
Condensate: Hydrocarbons which are in the gaseous state under reservoir conditions and which become liquid when temperature or pressure is reduced. A mixture of pentanes and higher hydrocarbons.
Coring: Taking rock samples from a well by means of a special tool - a "core barrel".
Crane barge: A large barge, capable of lifting heavy equipment onto offshore platforms. Also known as a "derrick barge".
Crude Oil: Liquid petroleum as it comes out of the ground as distinguished from refined oils manufactured out of it.
Cubic foot: A standard unit used to measure quantity of gas (at atmospheric pressure); 1 cubic foot = 0.0283 cubic meters.
Cuttings: Rock chips cut from the formation by the drill bit, and brought to the surface with the mud. Used by geologists to obtain formation data.
Deepen: To increase the distance below a specified reference datum.
Derrick: The tower-like structure that houses most of the drilling controls.
Development phase: The phase in which a proven oil or gas field is brought into production by drilling production (development) wells.
Drill: (1)To bore a hole, Also see Drilling(2)An implement with cutting edges used to bore holes.
Drilling: The using of a rig and crew for the drilling, suspension, completion, production testing, capping, plugging and abandoning, deepening, plugging back, sidetracking, redrilling or reconditioning of a well (except routine cleanout and pump or rod pulling operations) or the converting of a well to a source, injection, observation, or producing well, and including stratigraphic tests. Also includes any related environmental studies. Associated costs include completion costs but do not include equipping costs.
Drilling rig: A drilling unit that is not permanently fixed to the seabed, e.g. a drillship, a semi-submersible or a jack-up unit. Also means the derrick and its associated machinery.
Dry Gas: Natural gas composed mainly of methane with only minor amounts of ethane, propane and butane and little or no heavier hydrocarbons in the gasoline range.
Dry hole: A well which has proved to be non-productive.
E&A: Abbreviation for exploration and appraisal.
E&P: Abbreviation for exploration and production.
Enhanced oil recovery: A process whereby oil is recovered other than by the natural pressure in a reservoir.
Exploration drilling: Drilling carried out to determine whether hydrocarbons are present in a particular area or structure.
Exploration phase: The phase of operations which covers the search for oil or gas by carrying out detailed geological and geophysical surveys followed up where appropriate by exploratory drilling.
Exploration well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as a "wildcat well".
Farm in: When a company acquires an interest in a block by taking over all or part of the financial commitment for drilling an exploration well.
Field: A geographical area under which an oil or gas reservoir lies.
Fishing: Retrieving objects from the borehole, such as a broken drillstring, or tools.
Formation pressure: The pressure at the bottom of a well when it is shut in at the wellhead.
Formation water: Salt water underlying gas and oil in the formation.
Fracturing: A method of breaking down a formation by pumping fluid at very high pressures. The objective is to increase production rates from a reservoir.
G: Gas.
G/C: Gas Condensate.
Gas field: A field containing natural gas but no oil.
Gas injection: The process whereby separated associated gas is pumped back into a reservoir for conservation purposes or to maintain the reservoir pressure.
Gas/oil ratio: The volume of gas at atmospheric pressure produced per unit of oil produced.
Geographic Information Systems(GIS): A computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information.
GIS: See: Geographic Information Systems
Hydrocarbon: A compound containing only the elements hydrogen and carbon. May exist as a solid, a liquid or a gas. The term is mainly used in a catch-all sense for oil, gas and condensate.
Injection well: A well used for pumping water or gas into the reservoir.
Jacket: The lower section, or "legs", of an offshore platform.
Kick: A well is said to "kick" if the formation pressure exceeds the pressure exerted by the mud column.
Lay barge: A barge that is specially equipped to lay submarine pipelines.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG): Oilfield or naturally occurring gas, chiefly methane, liquefied for transportation.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG): Light hydrocarbon material, gaseous at atmospheric temperature and pressure, held in the liquid state by pressure to facilitate storage, transport and handling. Commercial liquefied gas consists essentially of either propane or butane, or mixtures thereof.
mboe: Million Barrels Oil Equivalent.
Mechanical Integrity Test: The act of setting a packer or retrievable bridge plug above the perforations in a wellbore and applying pressure to the annulus in order to ensure soundness of the casing.
Metric ton: Equivalent to 1000 kilos, 2204.61 lbs.; 7.5 barrels.
MIT: Mechanical Integrity Test
mmcfd: Millions of cubic feet per day (of gas).
Moonpool: An aperture in the center of a drillship or semi-submersible drilling rig, through which drilling and diving operations can be conducted.
MOU/MOA: MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING/AGREEMENT
Mud: A mixture of base substance and additives used to lubricate the drill bit and to counteract the natural pressure of the formation.
Natural gas: Gas, occurring naturally, and often found in association with crude petroleum.
Natural Gas Policy Act Of 1978: Enacted on November 9, 1978 and became effective December 1, 1978. The Act has been amended, and it replaced or amended the Natural Gas Act. Refer to 15USC 3301-3432.
NGLs: Natural gas liquids. Liquid hydrocarbons found in association with natural gas.
Ngpa: SEE: Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978.
O: Oil.
O&G: Oil and Gas.
Oil: A mixture of liquid hydrocarbons of different molecular weights.
Oil field: A geographic area under which an oil reservoir lies.
Oil in place: An estimated measure of the total amount of oil contained in a reservoir, and, as such, a higher figure than the estimated recoverable reserves of oil.
Operator: The company that has legal authority to drill wells and undertake the production of hydrocarbons that are found. The Operator is often part of a consortium and acts on behalf of this consortium.
Payzone: Rock in which oil and gas are found in exploitable quantities.
Permeability: The property of a formation which quantifies the flow of a fluid through the pore spaces and into the wellbore.
Petroleum: A generic name for hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas and their products.
Platform: An offshore structure that is permanently fixed to the seabed.
Porosity: The percentage of void in a porous rock compared to the solid formation.
Possible reserves: Those reserves which at present cannot be regarded as ‘probable’ but are estimated to have a significant but less than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Primary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir purely by using the natural pressure in the reservoir to force the oil or gas out.
Probable reserves: Those reserves which are not yet proven but which are estimated to have a better than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Proven field: An oil and/or gas field whose physical extent and estimated reserves have been determined.
Proven reserves: Those reserves which on the available evidence are virtually certain to be technically and economically producible (i.e. having a better than 90% chance of being produced).
Recomplete: An operation involving any of the following: (1) Deepening from one zone to another zone.(2) Completing well in an additional zone.(3) Plugging back from one zone to another zone.(4) Sidetracking to purposely change the location of the bottom of the well, but not including sidetracking for the sole purpose of bypassing obstructions in the borehole.(5) Conversion of a service well to an oil or gas well in a different zone.(6) Conversion of an oil or gas well to a service well in a different zone.
Recoverable reserves: That proportion of the oil and/gas in a reservoir that can be removed using currently available techniques.
Recovery factor: That proportion of the oil and/gas in a reservoir that can be removed using currently available techniques.
Reenter: To enter a previously abandoned well.
Reservoir: The underground formation where oil and gas has accumulated. It consists of a porous rock to hold the oil or gas, and a cap rock that prevents its escape.
Riser (drilling): A pipe between a seabed BOP and a floating drilling rig.
Riser (production): The section of pipework that joins a seabed wellhead to the Christmas tree.
Roughneck: Drill crew members who work on the derrick floor, screwing together the sections of drillpipe when running or pulling a drillstring.
Roustabout: Drill crew members who handle the loading and unloading of equipment and assist in general operations around the rig.
Royalty payment: The cash or kind paid to the owner of mineral rights.
Secondary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir by artificially maintaining or enhancing the reservoir pressure by injecting gas, water or other substances into the reservoir rock.
Shut In Well: A well which is capable of producing but is not presently producing. Reasons for a well being shut in may be lack of equipment, market or other.
Shutdown: A production hiatus during which the platform ceases to produce while essential maintenance work is undertaken.
SI/TA: Shut In /Temporarily Abandoned
Sidetrack: A wellbore segment extending from a wellbore intersection along a wellbore path to a different wellbore bottomhole from any previously existing wellbore bottomholes.
Sidetracking: The well activity of drilling a new wellbore segment from a wellbore intersection to a new wellbore bottomhole or target.
Spud-in: The operation of drilling the first part of a new well.
Surface Location: The location of a well or facility/measurement point.
Surface Reclamation: A restoration of the surface as for productivity or usefulness.
Suspended well: A well that has been capped off temporarily.
tcf: Trillion Cubic Feet (of gas).
Temporarily Abandoned: The act of isolating the completed interval or intervals within a wellbore from the surface by means of a cement retainer, cast iron bridge plug, cement plug, tubing and packer with tubing plug, or any combination thereof.
Toolpusher: Second-in-command of a drilling crew under the drilling superintendent. Responsible for the day-to-day running of the rig and for ensuring that all the necessary equipment is available.
Topsides: The superstructure of a platform.
UIC: Underground Injection Control
Underground Injection Control: A program required in each state by a provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for the regulation of Injection Wells, including a permit system. An applicant must demonstrate that the well has no reasonable chance of adversely affecting the quality of an underground source of drinking water before a permit is issued.
Well log: A record of geological formation penetrated during drilling, including technical details of the operation.
Wildcat well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as an "exploration well". [The term comes from exploration wells in West Texas in the 1920s. Wildcats were abundant in the locality, and those unlucky enough to be shot were hung from oil derricks.]
Workover: Remedial work to the equipment within a well, the well pipework, or relating to attempts to increase the rate of flow.
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary
3-D Seismic: a tool used to “see” beneath the earth’s surface. It involves sending acoustic vibrations into the ground and measuring the length of time it takes to rebound off the subsurface rocks back to the surface. High-tech supercomputers are used to process billions of data samples and generate a detailed, 3-D image of underground structures. Geophysicists interpret the data to make estimates as to the depth of the reservoir, its porosity, fluid content and other information valuable in determining where oil and gas deposits are most likely to be found.
Acid stimulation: injecting hydrofluoric acid into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to break up and remove rock debris to help improve the flow of oil.
Appraisal drilling: drilling in the vicinity of a discovery to evaluate the extent of the reservoir and the amount of reserves it likely contains.
Associated gas: gas that is produced along with oil from oil reservoirs. Production originating from gas reservoirs is referred to as non-associated gas.
Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE): a term used to quantify oil and natural gas volumes based on “energy equivalents. To convert a thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of gas to equal one barrel of oil, divide by 6. For example, 600 Mcf = 100 BOE.
CO2 Flooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where carbon dioxide (CO2) is injected into the oil formation. CO2 acts as a solvent that releases the oil from porous rock and causes it to flow more freely to the well head, increasing recovery rates.
Compression: utilized to enhance production from low pressure gas reservoirs. Compression equipment allows the operator to lower back-pressure on the well and enable more gas to flow to the surface. It can then be compressed and delivered into a higher pressure gathering system for processing and ultimate sale. Compression is also used extensively in gas processing operations to aid in the recovery of natural gas liquids.
Development: drilling and related activities necessary to bring a field into production following a discovery.
Dome: a type of geological structure where a rock layer has pushed up into the rock layer above in a typically spherical shape.
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR): advanced technologies, such as water flooding, steam injection, CO2 injection applied to increase production, usually from mature, underdeveloped fields.
Fracture stimulation: injecting specially engineered fluids under high pressure into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to “crack” the reservoir and improve the flow of oil.
HES: Health, Environment and Safety programs.
Horizontal Drilling: drilling a well at a 90-degree angle instead of vertically. The well is drilled straight to a specific depth and then is gradually curved. Horizontal wells are advantageous for numerous reasons: to maximize production rates through increased reservoir exposure; to avoid sensitive environmental areas; to avoid a surface obstruction; or to drill several wells from a single location (i.e. offshore platform). Directional drilling refers to non vertical wells drilled at less than a 90-degree angle.
Interval: a vertical section of rock distinct from that above or below.
In-fill drilling: wells drilled between existing producing wells to enhance field development.
Mcf: a thousand cubic feet, a measurement of natural gas.
Multilaterals: pertaining to a well that has more than one branch radiating from the main wellbore.
Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs): Natural gas processed from and marketed separately, natural gas liquids include ethane, propane, butane and natural gasoline.
Outside operated assets: assets in which Occidental has a working interest, but does not serve as overall operations manager.
Permeable: measure of a rock’s ability to flow liquids or gases. Highly permeable rocks tend to have many large and well-connected pores. The more permeable the rock, the easier it is to produce oil and gas from the reservoir.
Play: an area where oil or natural gas accumulations of a certain type are found.
Porosity: percentage of void space within a rock. Only high porosity reservoir rocks, like sandstone, bear oil and gas.
Production: oil and gas yielded from drilling and pumping activities. Gross production: the total oil and gas produced from a field. Net production: the company’s share of production based on its ownership interest, or the terms of a production sharing contract.
Proved reserves: the estimated quantities of oil or natural gas that can be recovered with reasonable certainty.
Recompletion: the process of producing from another interval within the same wellbore. For example, after depleting a zone at 9,000 feet, the operator may “recomplete” the well at 8,000 feet.
Reserves: oil or natural gas contained in underground rock formations called reservoirs.
Reservoir: a porous, permeable rock formation containing oil and natural gas.
Reservoir modeling: a representation of a reservoir that incorporates all data pertinent to its ability to store and produce oil and gas. Geoscientists and engineers use reservoir modeling to simulate the movement of the oil and gas under various circumstances to ultimately determine optimal production techniques for the reservoir.
Spar: a revolutionary type of deep water offshore production facility.
Waterflooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where injected water is used to sweep residual oil to the wellhead, improving recovery rates.
Wellbore: the hole drilled for the purpose of producing oil and gas, or to inject water or other fluids. In some wells, multilaterals branch off from the main wellbore.
Drilling Operations
The well is created by drilling a hole 5 to 30 inches (13–76 cm) wide into the earth with an oil rig turning a drill bit. After the hole is drilled, a metal pipe slightly smaller than the hole size (called a 'casing') is run into the hole. The outside of the casing is then bonded and secured to the hole with cement. The casing provides structural integrity to the newly drilled wellbore in addition to isolating potentially dangerous high pressure zones from each other and from the surface.
With these zones safely isolated and the formation protected by the casing, the well can be drilled deeper (into potentially more unstable and violent formations) with a smaller bit, and also cased with a smaller size casing. Modern wells often have 2-5 sets of subsequently smaller hole sizes drilled inside one another, each cemented with casing.
To drill the well,
A drilling rig is a structure housing equipment used to drill for water, oil, natural gas from underground reservoirs or to obtain mineral core samples. The term can refer to a land-based rig, a marine-based structure commonly called an 'offshore rig' or a structure that drills oil wells called an 'oil rig'. The term correctly refers to the equipment that drills oil wells or extracts mineral samples, including the rig derrick (which looks like a metal frame tower).
Sometimes a drilling rig is also used to complete an oil well, preparing it for production. However, the rig itself is not involved with the extraction of the oil; its primary function is to make a hole in the ground so that the oil can be produced.
Laypeople may refer to the structure which sits on top offshore wells as a 'rig', but this is not correct. The correct name for the structure in a marine environment is platform. A structure upon which wells produce is a production platform. A floating vessel upon which a drilling rig sits is a floating rig or semi-submersible rig because the whole purpose of the structure is for drilling.
Drilling rigs can be small and portable such as those used in mineral exploration drilling, or huge, capable of drilling through thousands of metres of the Earth's crust; large "mud pumps" are used to circulate drilling mud (slurry) through the drill bit and the casing, for cooling and removing the "cuttings" whilst a well is drilled; hoists in the rig can lift thousands of tons of pipe; other equipment can force acid or sand into reservoirs to facilitate extraction of the oil or mineral sample; and permanent living accommodation and catering for crews which may be greater than a hundred people in number. Marine rigs may operate many hundreds of miles or kilometres offshore with infrequent crew rotation.
Drilling Rig Classification
There are many types and designs of drilling rigs, depending on their purpose and improvements; many drilling rigs are capable of switching or combining different drilling technologies.
By power used:
Oil Well Drilling
Oil well drilling utilizes three-cone roller, fixed-cutter diamond, or diamond-impregnated drill bits to wear away at the cutting face. This is preferred because there is no need to return samples to surface for assay as the objective is to strike a formation containing oil or natural gas. Sizable machinery is used, enabling depths of several kilometres to be penetrated. Rock chips are carried to surface in bentonite and barite impregnated muds and logged; the process is known as mud logging. Another form of well logging is electronic and is frequently employed to evaluate the existence of possible oil and gas deposits in the well hole.
Rig Personnel
Personnel on a drilling rig vary greatly depending on the size of the rig, type of rig, and the type of well being drilled (directional vs straight, extended reach, etc). A list of the most common rig personnel is as follows:
Completion
After drilling and casing the well, it must be 'completed'. Completion is the process in which the well is enabled to produce oil or gas.
In a cased-hole completion, holes (called perforations) are made in the casing that covers the reservoir section to provide a path for the oil to flow from the surrounding rock into the well bore. In open hole completion, often 'sand-screens' or a 'gravel pack' is installed in the last drilled, uncased reservoir section. These maintain structural integrity of the wellbore in the absence of casing, while still allowing flow from the reservoir into the wellbore. Screens also control the migration of formation sands into production tubulars and surface equipment, which can cause washouts and other problems, particularly in unconsolidated sand formations in offshore fields.
After a flow path is made, acids or other fluids are often pumped into the well to fracture, clean, or otherwise prepare and stimulate the reservoir rock to optimally produce hydrocarbons into the wellbore. Finally, the area above the reservoir section of the well is packed off inside the casing, and connected to the surface via a smaller diameter pipe called tubing. This arrangement provides a redundant barrier to leaks of hydrocarbons as well as allowing damaged sections to be replaced. Also, the smaller diameter of the tubing produces hydrocarbons at an increased speed, in order to overcome the hydrostatic effects of heavy fluids such as water.
In most wells, the natural pressure of the subsurface reservoir is high enough to push the oil or gas all the way to surface. However, this is not always the case, especially in depleted fields where the pressures have been lowered by other producing wells. Installing a smaller diameter tubing may be enough to help the production, but other types of artificial lift can also be used. Common solutions are downhole pumps, gas lift, or surface pumpjacks - the "nodding donkey" pumps dotting the countryside in old oil fields in Texas and Oklahoma. The use of artificial lift technology in a field is often termed as "secondary recovery" in the industry.
Production
The production stage is the most important stage of a well's life, when the oil and gas are produced. By this time, the oil rigs and workover rigs used to drill and complete the well have moved off the wellbore, and the top is usually outfitted with a collection of valves called a "Christmas Tree". These valves regulate pressures, control flows, and allow access to the wellbore in case further completion work needs to be performed. From the outlet valve of the Christmas Tree, the flow can be connected to a distribution network of pipelines and tanks to supply the product to refineries, natural gas compressor stations, or oil export terminals.
As long as the pressure in the reservoir remains high enough, this Christmas Tree is all that is required to produce the well. If the pressure depletes and it's considered economically viable, an artificial lift method can be employed.
Workovers are often necessary in older wells, which may need smaller diameter tubing, scale or parrafin removal, repeated acid matrix jobs, or even completing new zones of interest in a shallower reservoir. Such remedial work can be performed using workover rigs—also known as pulling units—to pull and replace tubing, or by the use of a well intervention technique called coiled tubing.
Enhanced recovery methods such as waterflooding, steam flooding, or CO2 flooding may be used to increase reservoir pressure and provide a "sweep" effect to push hydrocarbons out of the reservoir. Such methods require the use of injection wells (often picked from old production wells in a carefully determined pattern), and are used when facing problems with reservoir pressure depletion, high oil viscosity, or can even be employed early in a field's life; in certain cases—depending on the reservoir's geomechanics—reservoir engineers may determine that ultimate recoverable oil may be increased by applying a water flooding strategy early in the field's development rather than later. The application of such enhanced recovery techniques is often termed as "tertiary recovery" in the industry.
Another way to classify oil wells is by their purpose in contributing to the development of a resource. They can be characterized as:
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Industry Terms Glossary:
Abandon: To cease work on a well which is non-productive, to plug off the well with cement plugs and salvage all recoverable equipment Also used in the context of field abandonment.
Annex B: Operator's development plan for an offshore installation. It requires government approval before it can be implemented.
Annulus: The space between the drillstring and the well wall, or between casing strings, or between the casing and the production tubing.
Appraisal Well: A well drilled as part of an appraisal drilling program which is carried out to determine the physical extent, reserves and likely production rate of a field.
Associated Gas: Natural gas associated with oil accumulations, which may be dissolved in the oil at reservoir conditions or may form a cap of free gas above the oil.
Barrel: A unit of volume measurement used for petroleum and its products (7.3 barrels = 1 ton: 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic metre).
bbl: One barrel of oil; 1 barrel = 35 Imperial gallons (approx.), or 159 litres (approx.); 7.5 barrels = 1 tonne (approx.); 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic metre.
bcf: Billion cubic feet; 1 bcf = 0.83 million tonnes of oil equivalent.
bcm: Billion cubic metres (1 cubic metre = 35.31 cubic feet).
Block: A North Sea acreage sub-division measuring approximately 10 x 20 kms, forming part of a quadrant. e.g. Block 9/13 is the 13th block in Quadrant 9.
blow-down: Condensate and gas is produced simultaneously from the outset of production.
Blow-out preventers (BOPs): Are high pressure wellhead valves, designed to shut off the uncontrolled flow of hydrocarbons.
Blow-out: When well pressure exceeds the ability of the wellhead valves to control it. Oil and gas "blow wild" at the surface.
Borehole: The hole as drilled by the drill bit.
Capex: Capital expenditure.
Casing string: The steel tubing that lines a well after it has been drilled. It is formed from sections of steel tube screwed together.
Central estimate: A range of exploration drilling scenarios from which the following activity levels, based on recent historical experience, are adopted as the central estimates.
Christmas tree: The assembly of fittings and valves on the top of the casing which control the production rate of oil.
CNS: Central North Sea.
Commercial field: An oil and/or gas field judged to be capable of producing enough net income to make it worth developing.
Completion: The installation of permanent wellhead equipment for the production of oil and gas.
Condensate: Hydrocarbons which are in the gaseous state under reservoir conditions and which become liquid when temperature or pressure is reduced. A mixture of pentanes and higher hydrocarbons.
Connate water: Salt water occurring with oil and gas in the reservoir.
Coring: Taking rock samples from a well by means of a special tool - a "core barrel".
Crane barge: A large barge, capable of lifting heavy equipment onto offshore platforms. Also known as a "derrick barge".
Creaming Theory: A statistical technique which recognises that in any exploration province after an initial period in which the largest fields are found, success rates and average field sizes decline as more exploration wells are drilled and knowledge of the area matures.
CRINE: Cost Reduction Initiative for the New Era.
Cubic foot: A standard unit used to measure quantity of gas (at atmospheric pressure); 1 cubic foot = 0.0283 cubic metres.
Cuttings: Rock chippings cut from the formation by the drill bit, and brought to the surface with the mud. Used by geologists to obtain formation data.
Derrick: The tower-like structure that houses most of the drilling controls.
Development phase: The phase in which a proven oil or gas field is brought into production by drilling production (development) wells.
Drilling rig: A drilling unit that is not permanently fixed to the seabed, e.g. a drillship, a semi-submersible or a jack-up unit. Also means the derrick and its associated machinery.
Dry Gas: Natural gas composed mainly of methane with only minor amounts of ethane, propane and butane and little or no heavier hydrocarbons in the gasoline range.
Dry hole: A well which has proved to be non-productive.
E&A: Abbreviation for exploration and appraisal.
E&P: Abbreviation for exploration and production.
Enhanced oil recovery: A process whereby oil is recovered other than by the natural pressure in a reservoir.
Exploration drilling: Drilling carried out to determine whether hydrocarbons are present in a particular area or structure.
Exploration phase: The phase of operations which covers the search for oil or gas by carrying out detailed geological and geophysical surveys followed up where appropriate by exploratory drilling.
Exploration well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as a "wildcat well".
Farm in: When a company acquires an interest in a block by taking over all or part of the financial commitment for drilling an exploration well.
Field: A geographical area under which an oil or gas reservoir lies.
Fishing: Retrieving objects from the borehole, such as a broken drillstring, or tools.
Formation pressure: The pressure at the bottom of a well when it is shut in at the wellhead.
Formation water: Salt water underlying gas and oil in the formation.
Fracturing: A method of breaking down a formation by pumping fluid at very high pressures. The objective is to increase production rates from a reservoir.
G: Gas.
G/C: Gas Condensate.
Gas field: A field containing natural gas but no oil.
Gas injection: The process whereby separated associated gas is pumped back into a reservoir for conservation purposes or to maintain the reservoir pressure.
Gas/oil ratio: The volume of gas at atmospheric pressure produced per unit of oil produced.
Hydrocarbon: A compound containing only the elements hydrogen and carbon. May exist as a solid, a liquid or a gas. The term is mainly used in a catch-all sense for oil, gas and condensate.
Injection well: A well used for pumping water or gas into the reservoir.
IS: Irish Sea.
Jacket: The lower section, or "legs", of an offshore platform.
Kick: A well is said to "kick" if the formation pressure exceeds the pressure exerted by the mud column.
Lay barge: A barge that is specially equipped to lay submarine pipelines.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG): Oilfield or naturally occurring gas, chiefly methane, liquefied for transportation.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG): Light hydrocarbon material, gaseous at atmospheric temperature and pressure, held in the liquid state by pressure to facilitate storage, transport and handling. Commercial liquefied gas consists essentially of either propane or butane, or mixtures thereof.
mboe: Million Barrels Oil Equivalent.
Metric tonne: Equivalent to 1000 kilos, 2204.61 lbs; 7.5 barrels.
mmcfd: Millions of cubic feet per day (of gas).
Moonpool: An aperture in the centre of a drillship or semi-submersible drilling rig, through which drilling and diving operations can be conducted.
Mt: Million tonnes.
Mud: A mixture of base substance and additives used to lubricate the drill bit and to counteract the natural pressure of the formation.
Natural gas: Gas, occurring naturally, and often found in association with crude petroleum.
NGLs: Natural gas liquids. Liquid hydrocarbons found in association with natural gas.
NNS: Northern North Sea.
O: Oil.
O&G: Oil and Gas.
Oil: A mixture of liquid hydrocarbons of different molecular weights.
Oil field: A geographic area under which an oil reservoir lies.
Oil in place: An estimated measure of the total amount of oil contained in a reservoir, and, as such, a higher figure than the estimated recoverable reserves of oil.
Operator: The company that has legal authority to drill wells and undertake production of hydrocarbons are found. The Operator is often part of a consortium and acts on behalf of this consortium.
Opex: Operating expenditure.
Payzone: Rock in which oil and gas are found in exploitable quantities.
Permeability: The property of a formation which quantifies the flow of a fluid through the pore spaces and into the wellbore.
Petroleum: A generic name for hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas and their products.
Platform: An offshore structure that is permanently fixed to the seabed.
Porosity: The percentage of void in a porous rock compared to the solid formation.
Possible reserves: Those reserves which at present cannot be regarded as 'probable' but are estimated to have a significant but less than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Primary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir purely by using the natural pressure in the reservoir to force the oil or gas out.
Probable reserves: Those reserves which are not yet proven but which are estimated to have a better than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Proven field: An oil and/or gas field whose physical extent and estimated reserves have been determined.
Proven reserves: Those reserves which on the available evidence are virtually certain to be technically and economically producible (i.e. having a better than 90% chance of being produced).
Recoverable reserves: That proportion of the oil and/gas in a reservoir that can be removed using currently available techniques.
Recovery factor: The ratio of recoverable oil and/or gas reserves to the estimated oil and/or gas in place in the reservoir.
Reservoir: The underground formation where oil and gas has accumulated It consists of a porous rock to hold the oil or gas, and a cap rock that prevents its escape.
Riser (drilling): A pipe between a seabed BOP and a floating drilling rig.
Riser (production): The section of pipework that joins a seabed wellhead to the Christmas tree.
Roughneck: Drill crew members who work on the derrick floor, screwing together the sections of drillpipe when running or pulling a drillstring.
Roustabout: Drill crew members who handle the loading and unloading of equipment and assist in general operations around the rig.
Royalty payment: The cash or kind paid to the owner of mineral rights.
Secondary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir by artificially maintaining or enhancing the reservoir pressure by injecting gas, water or other substances into the reservoir rock.
Shutdown: A production hiatus during which the platform ceases to produce while essential maintenance work is undertaken.
SNSL: Southern North Sea.
Spud-in: The operation of drilling the first part of a new well.
Suspended well: A well that has been capped off temporarily.
tcf: Trillion Cubic Feet (of gas).
Toolpusher: Second-in-command of a drilling crew under the drilling superintendent. Responsible for the day-to-day running of the rig and for ensuring that all the necessary equipment is available.
Topsides: The superstructure of a platform.
UKCS: United Kingdom Continental Shelf.
UKOOA: U.K. Offshore Operators Association Limited.
Well log: A record of geological formation penetrated during drilling, including technical details of the operation.
Wildcat well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as a "exploration well".
Ety.: The term comes from exploration wells in West Texas in the 1920s. Wildcats were abundant in the locality, and those unlucky enough to be shot were hung from oil derricks.
WoB: West of Britain.
Workover: Remedial work to the equipment within a well, the well pipework, or relating to attempts to increase the rate of flow.
WoS: West of Shetland Isles.
2,000 Horsepower Drilling Rig Specifications
Mast: Crown TC450, Fastline Stabilizer, Anchor Assembly, 0.5T Air Winch, Buffer Device, Falling Preventer, Mast Transportation Device, Hoisting Drill Line, Casing Stabbing Board
Substructure: Escape Assembly, Dog House, Toolkit House, Tools Elevator, (8) Stand Pipe Rack, BOP Trail and Hydraulic Lift Tools, (2) 5T Air Winch, Trailing Block Floor
Drawworks: Drawworks complete with Single Drum (2000HP), Disc Brake, Driller Control House, Auxiliary Brake, Water Cooling System, (2) AC Motor, Automatic Driller
Hoisting Equipment: Traveling Block YC-450, Hook DG-450, Swivel with Drill Pipe Spinner, Drilling Wireline (dia. 33mm/1000m), Electric Drill Spooler, 450T Elevator Link
Rotary Table: Rotary Table ZP375, Chain Reducer, Carbon Shaft, 3-1/2" and 5-1/4" Roller Bushing for Hex Kelly, Master Bushing, Split Bushing 2-3/8" - 8-5/8", Split Bushing 9-5/8" - 10-3/4", Split Bushing 11-3/4" - 13-3/8", Bushing Puller, Bit Breaker Plate, AC Motor
Power Generation, SCR Unit, MCC & Power Distribution System: (4) Detroit Engine / Generator Units, (4) Generator Master Skid, (4) Generator Ancillary Items, Generator House, Motor Control Center, (2) Transformers, VFD
Air Supply System: (2) Electric Screw Air Compressor, Air Dryer, (2) Air Tank, Air Store House, Cold Start Engine Drive Air Compressor
Well Site Lighting & AC Motor Control System: AC Supply & Lighting System
Mud Pumps: (3) Mud Pumps F 1600, (3) Skid Mounted Mud Pumps (belt-driven unit), (6) AC Motor
Stand Pipes and Rotary Hose: Mud Manifold 4" 5000psi wp (double stand pipe), (2) Rotary Hose (65 ft.)
Mud Circulating System & Solids Control Equipment: Desander, Degasser, Desilter, Sand Pumps, Mixing Pumps (75hp), Charge Pumps (50hp), Agitators (15hp), Mud Tanks, Material House, Mud Mixing Device, (3) Shale Shaker
Fuel, Air & Water Supply System: Diesel Tank, Water Tank, Multi Oil Tank
BOP Equipment: 13-5/8" x 5000 Annular BOP FH35-35, 13-5/8" x 10000 Double Ram BOP 2FZ35-70, 13-5/8" x 10000 Single Ram BOP FZ35-70, Drilling Spool FS35-70, Choke Manifold 4-1/16" (10000psi), Kill Manifold (10000psi), Adjustable Joint TD35-70, Variable Flange F28/35-70, Remote Control Panel FKQ 1280-7, Manifold
Drilling Instruments: Instrumentation
Drill String: (2) Hexagonal Kelly 5-1/4", (680) DP 5" G105 31-1/2", (4) 9" Spiral Collar, (6) 8" Slick Drill Collar
Hydraulic Power Tools: Power Tong, (2) Hydraulic Power Cathead, Hydraulic Power Station
1,500 Horsepower Drilling Rig Specifications
Mast: Crown TC315, Fastline Stabilizer, Anchor Assembly, 0.5T Air Winch, Buffer Device, Falling Preventer, Mast Transportation Device, Rig Hoisting Line
Substructure: Escape Assembly, Dog House, Toolkit House, Tools Elevator, (6) Stand Pipe Rack, (2) BOP Trail and Hydraulic Lift Tools, (2) 5T Air Winch, Trailing Block Floor
Drawworks: Drawworks complete with Single Drum (1500HP), Disc Brake, Driller Control House, Eaton Auxiliary Brake, (2) DC Motor, Eaton Auxiliary Brake Cooling System
Hoisting Equipment: Traveling Block YC-315, Hook DG-315, Swivel with Drill Pipe Spinner, Drilling Wireline (dia. 33mm/1000m), Electric Drill Spooler, 315T Elevator Link
Rotary Table: Rotary Table ZP375, Chain Reducer, Carbon Shaft, Roller Bushing for Hex Kelly, Master Bushing, Split Bushing 2-3/8" - 8-5/8", Split Bushing 9-5/8" - 10-3/4", Split Bushing 11-3/4" - 13-3/8", Bushing Puller, Bit Breaker Plate, DC Motor
Power Generation, SCR Unit, MCC & Power Distribution System: (3) Detroit Engine / Generator Units, (3) Generator Master Skid, (3) Generator Ancillary Items, Generator House, Motor Control Center, (2) Transformers, SCR House
Air Supply System: (2) Electric Screw Air Compressor, Air Dryer, (2) Air Tank, Air Store House, Cold Start Engine Drive Air Compressor
Well Site Lighting & AC Motor Control System: AC Supply & Lighting System
Mud Pumps: (2) Mud Pumps F 1600, (2) Skid Mounted Mud Pumps (belt-driven unit), (4) DC Motor
Stand Pipes and Rotary Hose: Mud Manifold 4" 5000psi wp (double stand pipe), (2) Rotary Hose (65 ft.)
Mud Circulating System & Solids Control Equipment: Desander, Degasser, Desilter, (2) Sand Pumps, (2) Mixing Pumps (75hp), (2) Charge Pumps (50hp), (8) Agitators (15hp), (2) Mud Tanks, Material House, Mud Mixing Device, (2) Shale Shaker
Fuel, Air & Water Supply System: Diesel Tank (9200 gal.), Water Tank (500 bbl.), Multi Oil Tank (3900 gal.)
BOP Equipment: 13-5/8" x 5000 Annular BOP FH35-35, 13-5/8" x 5000 Double Ram BOP 2FZ35-35, 13-5/8" x 10000 Single Ram BOP FZ35-35, Drilling Spool FS35-35, Choke Manifold JG35, Kill Manifold YG35, Adjustable Joint TD35-35, Variable Flange F28/35-35, Remote Control Panel FKQ 6406, Manifold
Drilling Instruments: Instrumentation
Drill String: (2) Hexagonal Kelly 5-1/4", (400) DP 5" G105 31-1/2", (6) 8" Spiral Collar, (21) 6-1/2" Slick Drill Collar
Hydraulic Power Tools: Power Tong, (2) Hydraulic Power Cathead, Hydraulic Power Station
Tesco 10168’; 3100m
RIG SUMMARY: (2) Detroit Diesel 860HP Engines, Tesco 133,000 daN with 4 sheaves, Tesco 200 ton top-drive, 17.5” rotary table, Emsco 800 Triplex pump.
Cabot 1100; 4000m
RIG SUMMARY: Drawworks: IRI Cabot 2550 1200HP, 337500T hoisting capacity with 10 lines of 1-1/4”, Parmar Hydromatic Aux. Brake, Air Compressors, Gardner Denver RT 27.5” Rotary Table, IRI Telescoping 127; derrick, IRI Telescoping substructure with 162 Ton set-back capacity, Traveling Equipment, Drilling Line, Dead Line Anchor, Air Hoist Hydraulic Winch, 2 Gardner Denver Pz9 Triplex Mudpumps, Mud Tanks, Light Plants, Auxiliary tools and instruments.
3000HP Drawworks OIME Hercules E-3000
RIG SUMMARY: P/B (3) EMD-D79 Electric Motors, (1) Elmagco, 7838 Electric Brake, (1) Ross Hill 1600 SCR House, (3) Gen Set's, Kato 1000 KW P/B Cat D-399TA Engines, (2) CE-FB1600 Mud Pumps P/B (2) GE 752 Motors & (2) EMD-D79 Motors, (1) Gardner Denver PZ-10 1350-HP Mud Pump, Parco Mast 146' X 1,500,000# SHL On 14 Lines, Parco Substructure 57' X 43' X 32' Raised Floor, 34' GL To KB, (1) Ideco, 750-Ton Block, 1-1/2" Line, (1) BJ, Dynaplex 750-Ton Hook, (1) CE, LB-650 650-Ton Swivel, (1) Ideco, LR-375, 37-1/2" Rotary Table, (2) Cameron Type U, 13-5/8"-10M, Dbl & Sgl BOP, (1) Hydril GK, 13-5/8"-5M Annular BOP, (1) Closing Unit, 9-Station, 300 Gal. W/ Triplex & Air Actuated Hydraulic Charging Pumps. Drill Pipe: 5" 19.50# NC-50, Drill Collars 8" & 6-1/2", 1600 BBL Mud System Complete, Working Depth 30,000' DRILL PIPE: 379 jts of 5", 19.50 lb/ft, grade G-105 Drill Pipe, 46 jts of 5", 19.50 lb/ft, grade S-135 Drill Pipe, 26 jts 6-1/2" Drill Collars, 12 jts 8" Drill Collars.
Ideco H-44; 2987m
RIG SUMMARY: Powered by 2 Cat 3406 DITA diesel engines with Allison 5860 5-speed auto transmission. 108’ Ideco Mast, 160 Ton Ideco traveling block, 20.5” rotary table, 2 Ideco MM 550 7-1/4”X15” pumps, Mud System, Cameron BOP’s – 5000psi, Drill String, Generator Trailer, Dog House, Fuel Trailer, Auxiliary Equipment, Miscellaneous Equipment.
Lee C. Moore U-15; 2591m
RIG SUMMARY: 2 Cat 353 Engines, Parkerburg 16” Triple Hydromatic Brake, Lee C. Moore 127’ Derrick with 465,000# Gross Nominal, Lee C. Moore Substructure, Traveling Equipment, 2 Ideco C-250 Pumps, deliverable HP50, Drill String, Light Plant, Kelly, Miscellaneous Equipment.
National 840-E; 3500m
RIG SUMMARY: 1500HP Electric driven rig with double drum drawworks, cantilever mast and skid mounted raised drill floor. Hook Load: 500,000 Ton, 37.5” rotary table, 2 1300HP National 10-P-130 Triplex pumps, Mud Tanks, Shale shaker, Degasser, Desander, Delsilter, Mud Cleaner, Mud Gas Seperator, Ditch Magnets, Centrifuge, BOP’s – 5000psi, Drill String, Collars, Hand Tools, Camp Equipment, Swabbing Tools, Transport Equipment.
OIME 4000E; 12000m
RIG SUMMARY: Powered by: 4 GE 752 1000HP DC Electric motors, Ross Hill 1600 SCR House, 4 C.Emsco FB 1600HP triplex pumps each powered by 2 GE752 DC electric motors, 154’ Parco Mast with 16 lines, 40’ Parco substructure with 1,300,000# set back, BJ 1000 ton traveling block, National PS 750 ton capacity top drive, Ideco 49.5 Ideco rotary table, BOP’s – 10000psi, Drill Pipe, Drill Collars, Mud System, Solids Control Equipment, Auxiliary equipment. Very well kept, BOP’s overhauled, new pumps, excellent condition.
Cooper SP-106 (with camp); 3050m
RIG SUMMARY: Rig SP-106 is a Cooper 750 self propelled drilling and workover rig with double drum drawworks and carrier mounted telescoping mast. 1 Cat D-3412 DITA Engine, Hook Load Capacity: 160 ton Hook Load, 17.5” Rotary Table, 2 Gardner Denver PZ-9 Triplex pumps, Mud Tanks, shaker, Degasser, Desander, Delsilter, Mud Cleaner, Mud Gas Seperator, BOP: 5000 psi. Drill String, Collars, Hand Tools, Camp Equipment, Swabbing Tools, Transport Equipment.
National 80-UE (with camp); 3680m
RIG SUMMARY: SCR Rig, Cantilever, Self-elevating Drill Floor, 3 Cat-D-3512 DITA engines, Pyramid Mast with 1,000,000# capacity, 400 ton hook load capacity, 27.5” rotary table, with Swivel, Kelly’s, 2 National 10P-130 1300HP triplex Pumps, Tanks, Shale Shaker, Degasser, Desander, Desilter, Mud Cleaner, Separators, Bop’s – 5000psi, Accumulators, Choke Manifold, Drill String, Collars, Pipe. Comes with Handling Tools, Instrumentation, and Fabrications.
National 1320 (with camp); 5000m
RIG SUMMARY: Powered by (5) Cat D-399, 6075 Total continuous HP, Alstom SCR control system, 156’ Branham Mast, 450 MTon API Hook Load rating, Branham Substructure with 272MTon setback capacity, Drillers Cabin, Dog House, Branham crown block with 526 MT load capacity, National 660 G 500 Traveling Block, National 1320 UE 2000HP Drawworks, Dead Line Anchor, Varco TDS-3H Top-Drive, National / C-375 37.5”Rotary Table, Rig Floor Equipment, Utility Hoist Equipment, 3 National 12P160 1600HP 7500 psi Mudpumps, Mud Tanks, Cameron 10000 psi BOP Equipment, Drill String, Handling Tools, Casing Equipment, Instrumentation, Safety Equipment, Other Equipment.
National 110's (with CAMP & TRANSPORT); 3500m
RIG SUMMARY: Drawworks: National 110U 1500HP, Baylor/Elmagco Auxiliary brake model 6032, Cooling System, Drilling Line, Sandline, Crown Block Protection Device, National Traveling type 545 G 350 block and hook, Deadline Anchor, Rat Hole Digger, Varco 400 short ton TDS-9S Top Drive, National C-375 rotary table 650 tons static load rating, bushings & bowls, power plant, SCR, Air system, 3 National 10P-130 triplex pumps Mud system (1300HP) driven by 2 GE 752 DC electric motors, supercharging pump, Mud pump, standcharging Pump, Standpipe, Rotary hoses, Mud tanks, Mud Mixing System, Water Tank, Mud Processing Equipment, Storage Facilities, BOP’s Cameron/Hydril, Riser & Adapters, Casing/Tubing Equipment, Instrumentation & Communication Equipment, Floor Tubular Handling Equipment, Down Hole Equipment, Fishing Equipment, Lifting Gear, Safety Equipment , Maintenance Tools, Extensive Camps, Office Equipment.
National 110 (with CAMP & TRANSPORT); 3500m
RIG SUMMARY:
New SCR system installed. All major gears on rig overhauled. All traveling equipment refurbished / recertified. All engines overhauled. All systems refurbished/recertified. Replaced drill string. Rig sandblasted and painted. Summarized components: 142’ Cont. Emsco Mast, Substructure, Crown, National Traveling block, Swivel, Rotary Table, Drawworks, 4 Cat D398 Engine GE Generators, Cont. Emsco #FA1300 Pumps, Hydril, Shaffer BOP’s, Fabrications, Generators, Drill Pipe, Drill Collars, Subs, Hand Tools.
All traveling equipment refurbished / recertified. All engines overhauled. All systems refurbished/recertified. Replaced drill string. Rig sandblasted and painted. Summarized components: 142’ Lee-C-Moore Mast, Substructure, Crown, Ideco Traveling block, Swivel, Rotary Table, National 110-UE Drawworks, 4 Cat D398 Engine GE Generators, Skytop Brewster 1300 Pumps, Hydril, Cameron BOP’s, Fabrications, Generators, Drill Pipe, Drill Collars, Subs, Hand Tools.
All major gears on rig overhauled. All traveling equipment refurbished / recertified. All engines overhauled. All systems refurbished / recertified. Replaced drill string. Rig sandblasted and painted. Summarized components: 142’ Cont. Emsco Mast, Substructure, Crown, National Traveling block, Swivel, Rotary Table, Drawworks, 4 Cat D398 Engine GE Generators, Cont. Emsco #FA1300 Pumps, Hydril, Shaffer BOP’s, Fabrications, Generators, Drill Pipe, Drill Collars, Subs, Hand Tools.
Ideco 2100E; 6000+m
RIG SUMMARY: Prime Mover powered by 2 CAT D399-PC Engines, Pyramid Mast with 1,200,000 Lbs capacity C/W Crown Block, Ideco Traveling Block 6 Sheaves 500 Ton Capacity, Pyramid Substructure, Ideco Drawworks Drilling range 14,000 to 21,000 Ft, 2 Ideco Type 1600 Triplex Mudpumps, Rosshill SCR Drive System Model 1400:56, National Rotary Table, Catwalks, Pipe Rack, Swivel, Wire house, Drilling Line, Back Pressure Manifold, TripTank, Shale Shaker, Complete rig ready to drill.
CABOT 750 Series Model 2042
RIG SUMMARY: Drawworks p/b (2) CAT 3406 750 HP Diesel Engs, Ea w/ALLISON 750 Trans, PARMAC 22” Hydromatic Brake, McKISSICK 150-Ton Block w/BJ Hook w/ CABOT 112’H 300,000# Telescoping Mast, All Mounted on CABOT 750-C 6-Axle Carrier; 15’H x 12’W 250,000# Substructure w/Back-On Ramp; IDECO 17-1/2” Rotary Table GARDNER-DENVER PZ-8 Triplex Mud Pump p/b CAT 3508 Diesel Engine ELLIS WILLIAMS 600 Mud Pump p/b DETROIT Series 60 Diesel Engine 8’H x 11’W x 40’L 550-Barrel Mud Tank; (2) KOHLER 50 KW Gen Sets, EA p/b JOHN DEERE Diesel Engine; 120-Barrel Premix Tank (2) MISSION 5” x 6” Centrifugal Pumps; HARRISBURG Single Vibrating Shale Shaker; 8’H x 10’W x 36’L 500-Barrel Water Tank.
MAS 3000
RIG SUMMARY: Assembly 131’ x 18’ Hook Load 453,000# Substructure – Pyramid 22’w x 45’l x 18’h Box on Box w/10’h Massarenti built Pony Sub Oilwell 660 Drawworks grooved 1-1/8” w/Sandline (2) 12V71 0 Hour Detroit Diesel Engines Rebuild w/Twin Disc Torque Converters – Compound Drive Parmac Auxillary Brake Type 40SR Rotary Table – Oilwell B27-1/2 2-3/4" x 108" Elevator Links Block/Hook – Baash Ross Type DBM 548-300 Shorty – 0 Hour Rebuild Gray Type ‘F’ Swivel - 0 Hour Rebuild 5 Station Accumulator Baash Ross TP6 Drive Bushing & 40' Kelly BJ 250 ton 5" Drill Pipe Elevators BJ 250 ton 3-1/2" Drill Pipe Elevators Torque Sensors Type E Deadline Anchor Derrick Stand (2) Catwalks (2) Quincy air compressors Satellite Automatic Driller Mud Pits.
3000HP Drawworks OIME Hercules E-3000
RIG SUMMARY: P/B GE 752 Motors, (1) Elmgco, 7838 Electric Brake, (1) Ross Hill 1600 SCR House, (4) Gen set's, 1050 KW P/B Cat D-399TA Engines, (2) CE-FB1600 Mud Pumps P/B (4) GE 752 Motors, (1) Gardner Denver PZ-11 1350-HP Mud Pump P/B (2) GE 752 Motors, Parco Mast 146' X 1,500,000 SHL On 14 Lines, Substructure 32' Parco Raised Floor, (1) CE, 750-Ton Block, 1-1/2" Line, (1) BJ, Dynaplex 750-Ton Hook, (1) CE, LB-650, 650-Ton Swivel, (1) Ideco, LR-375, 37-1/2" Rotary Table, (2) Cameron Type U, 13-5/8"-10M, Dbl & Sgl BOP, (1) Hydril GL, 13-5/8"-5M, Annular BOP (1) Closing Unit, 9-Station, 300 Gal. W/ Triplex & Air Actuated Hydraulic Charging Pumps. Drill Pipe: 5" 19.50# NC-50, Drill Collars 8" & 6-1/4", 1600 BBL Mud System Complete, Working Depth 30,000' DRILL PIPE: 389 jts 5", 19.50 lb/ft, grade S-135 Drill Pipe, 215 jts 5", 25.60 lb/ft, grade S-135 Drill Pipe, 26 jts 6-1/2" Drill Collars, 12 jts 8" Drill Collars.
MID-CONTINENT U-1220-EB
Stationary diesel-electric SCR system drilling rig
RIG SUMMARY: Powered with diesel engines with AC electric generators. SCR system to convert AC to DC for powering the DC motors on the drawworks and mud pumps. AC is provided for AC motors, AC controls and AC lighting.
DRAWWORKS: Mid-Continent U-1220-EB, divided skid, electra - flow drawworks with four forward hoisting speeds and two forward speeds to rotary, and incorporating the input drive. Equipped with Baylor 7838 auxiliary brake. Powered by two (2) GE-752 electric motors.
MAST: Pyramid, lift open face cantilever mast, clear working height of 152 ft, static hook load capacity of 1,600,000 lbs on fourteen (14) lines.
SUBSTRUCTURE: Pyramid swing-up type with drawworks elevator, floor 35 ft high x 37 ft wide x 39 ft long, designed for casing capacity of 1,500,000 lbs and a setback capacity of 800,000 lbs.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: Wirth RTSS 49-1/2'' rotary table, opening 49-1/2'', static bearing load of 800 tons. Powered by one (1) ESE-752 electric motor. In emergency case it is possible to drive RT from DW by chain. Gardner-Denver SW-650 swivel, capacity of 590 tons, Weatherford KS 1500 AB kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: Pyramid travelling block, BJ Hughes hook, capacity of 750 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (2) Gardner-Denver PZ-11 (PZLE) triplex single-acting mud pumps, piston-type, rated 1,600 hp, complete with two (2) pulsation dampeners Hydril K-20-5000, powered by four (4) GE-752 electric motors.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Total capacity of 2,000 bbls with shale shaker, desander, mud cleaner, degasser, mud agitators.
ENGINE GENERATORS AND ROSS HILL SCR SYSTEM: Diesel engine - three (3) CAT D399, generators brushless revolving field generators, rated at 1030 kW. Ross Hill SCR Power System 1400 rated 1800 Ampers DC.
TOP DRIVE: Martime Hydraulics PDT 1x355 +1V load capacity main shaft 452 tons, elevator link hanger 370 tons, max torque continuous 37600 Nm (gear 1 high torque) and 28700 Nm (gear 2 high speed), speed 0 - 200 rpm, power range CAT 3412 DITA (715 hp)
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Annular BOP 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI, Hydril 13-5/8''x 10,000 PSI double ram BOP type x. Hydril 13-5/8''x 10,000 PSI single ram BOP type x. Control unit - Upetron CH6U - 76
INSTRUMENTATION: Time, weight, torque, mud pressure, SPM, RPM, ROP, Martin-Decker 8-channels recorder.
SKYTOP BREWSTER MODEL N-75
Stationary mechanically driven conventional drilling rig
DRAWWORKS: Skytop Brewster N-75A drawworks rated at 1,000 hp, complete with 1-1/4'' drum grooving, crown safety device. Driven by two (2) CAT D379 BPC diesel engines, rated at 550 hp each, complete with radiators, air starters and water separators. Power transmitted through two (2) National C245-125 torque converters and Skytop Brewster 721 mechanical compound. Equipped with Parmac 342, 34'' double hydromatic brake with overrunning clutch.
MAST: Skytop Brewster SB136-550, cantilever mast, clear working height of 136 ft, static hook load of 550,000 lbs on ten (10) lines.
SUBSTRUCTURE: Skytop Brewster, box on box substructure, floor 20 ft high x 26 ft wide x 45 ft long, designed for 550,000 lbs casing capacity and 300,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: Skytop Brewster RSH-22 rotary table, opening 22'', Varco kelly drive bushing. National P-300 swivel, capacity of 300 tons.&nbps; Weatherford KS-1500AB kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: Skytop Brewster TB-305 travelling block with Web Wilson hook, capacity of 300 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (2) Continental Emsco F-800 triplex mud pumps, rated 800 hp each, complete with Continental Emsco pulsation dampeners. Each mud pump driven by Caterpillar D398 BPC diesel engine, rated 825 hp.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Two (2) tanks, total capacity of 830 bbls, with Swaco linear shaker, Brandt SE-16 desilter, Brandt SR-2 desander, Swaco D-Gasser, Swaco centrifuge, three (3) 10 hp agitators, two (2) mud hoppers.
ENGINE GENERATOR: Two (2) CAT 3412 DI diesel engines, rated at 515 hp with 350 kW Kato SR-4 AC generators. Two (2) WOLA 108H12 diesel engine rated 235 kW with 200 kW WOLA ZP-201 generators.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Hydril GK 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI annular. Shafer SL 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI annular. Shafer SL 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI Single ram. Shafer SL 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI. Control unit - Koomey BOP Control System.
INSTRUMENTATION: SMART SYSTEM SWACO, Time, weight, torque, mud pressure, RPM, ROP, SPM, Martin-Decker 8-channels recorder.
IRI-1700
Stationary diesel-electric SCR system drilling rig
RIG SUMMARY: Powered with diesel engines with AC electric generators. SCR system to convert AC to DC for powering the DC motors on the drawworks and mud pumps. AC is provided for AC motors, AC controls and AC lighting.
DRAWWORKS: IDECO E-1700, four gears forward and four reverse, nominal horsepower rating at 1,700 hp. Drawworks equipped with 6032 Baylor auxiliary brake. Driven by two (2) GE-752 electric motors 1395 hp each.
MAST: IRI/IDECO HFM 142-770, open face cantilever mast, clear working height of 142 ft above the working floor.&nbap; Static hook load capacity of 770,000 lbs with ten (10) lines string-up.
SUBSTRUCTURE: IRI/IDECO high floor self elevating substructure. Floor 30 ft high x 34 ft long x 32 ft wide. Substructure is designed for 770,000 lbs casing capacity and 500,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: IRI/IDECO LR-275-K rotary table, opening 27-1/2'', static bearing load of 570 tons. Rotary table is driven by Independent Electric Motor Drive Unit. In emergency case it is possible to drive RT from DW by chain. IRI/IDECO TL-400 swivel, API working load of 400 tons. Varco 6600 kelly spinner.
TOP DRIVE: Maritime Hydraulics PTD 2x355 +1V load capacity 500 sh. tons, max. torque continuous 40,000 Nm, speed at max. torque 0-175 rpm. Top drive is driven by two (2) hydraulic power unit CAT 3412.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: IRI/IDECO UTB-400-5-550 travelling block, capacity of 400 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (3) IDECO T-1300, triplex single acting mud pumps, complete with pulsation dampeners, all the piping, etc., 6x8 precharge with centrifugal pumps powered with electrical motors. Two triplex pump is powered by two (2) GE-752 electric motors 1,130 hp and third triplex pump is powered by one CAT 3516 diesel engine 1,355 hp.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Five (5) tanks mud system, total capacity of 2,200 bbls, complete with shale shakers, desander, mud cleaner, degasser, centrifuge, mud agitators.
ENGINE GENERATORS AND ROSS HILL SCR SYSTEM: Four (4) CAT 3512 Turbocharged aftercooled diesel with SR-4 generators 1200 kVA each. SCR system includes four model 1400 Combination Alternator Controls and four (4) SCR Units.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Cameron U 13-5/8'' x 10,000 PSI double ram. Cameron U 13-5/8'' x 10,000 PSI single ram. Cameron D 13-5/8'' x 5,000 PSI annular. Cameron U 20-3/4'' x 3,000 PSI single ram. Hydril MSP 21-1/4'' x 2,000 PSI. Control unit - Koomey BOP Control System.
INSTRUMENTATION: Totco 8-channels drilling recorder for weight, depth, torque, RPM, Flow, SPM pump pressure, Totco Electronic Mud Volume Totalizer.
IRI-750
Self propelled mechanically driven drilling rig
DRAWWORKS: IRI 2042/160 750 Series double drum, nominal horsepower rating at 700 hp. Powered by two (2) CAT 3406 DITA diesel engines, torque converted with Allison model CLT 754 transmissions. Drawworks equipped with Parmac V-80 hydromatic brake.
MAST: IRI/IDECO 117-300, hydraulically raised and lowered telescoping mast, high of 117 ft, API hook load capacity of 300,000 lbs with eight (8) lines string-up.
SUBSTRUCTURE: IRI/IDECO, swing-up box / bridge type, floor 16 ft high x 13 ft long x 13 ft wide, designed for 440,000 lbs casing capacity and 260,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: IRI/IDECO SR-205B rotary table, opening 20-1/2'', static bearing load of 450 tons. IRI/IDECO TL-200B swivel, API working load 200 tons, Varco pneumatic kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: IRI/IDECO UTB-160-4-30 travelling block, capacity of 160 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (2) IRI/IDECO T-500, triplex single acting mud pumps, rated 500 hp each, complete with pulsation dampeners, all the piping, etc., 6x8 precharge with centrifugal pumps powered with electrical motors. Each triplex pump is powered with CAT 3412 diesel engine 510 hp.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Three (3) tanks mud system, total capacity of 945 bbls complete with shale shakers, desander, mud cleaner, degasser, mud agitators.
ENGINE GENERATOR: Two (2) CAT 3408 D diesel engines, rated at 515 hp with 292kW Kato SR-4 AC generators each.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Hydrill GK 13 5/8'' x 3,000 PSI annular. Upetron DF 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI Double ram. Control unit - Upetron CH6U - 76.
INSTRUMENTATION: Totco 8-channels drilling recorder for weight, depth, rate of penetration, torque, pump pressure, SPM, Flow, RPM, Totco Electronic Mud Volume Totalizer.
Cooper LTO-550
Self propelled mechanically driven ranger rig
DRAWWORKS: Cooper 550/4212-42, nominal horsepower rating at 502 hp, powered with one (1) CAT 3408 DITA diesel engine, torque converted with Allison CLT 5860 transmission with built-in converter - six gears forward, one reverse, full torque shifting. Drawworks equipped with Parmac SR-22, 22'' hydromatic brake and circulating water cooled brakes. All mounted on the carrier Cooper LTO-550.
MAST: Cooper 110/250, hydraulically raised and lowered portable mast, height of 110 ft, static hook load capacity of 250,000 lbs on eight (8) lines. Hydraulically twin cylinder raised and single cylinder telescoped, 5-sheave crown block assembly, racking board.
SUBSTRUCTURE: PD/100/80, floor 13 ft high x 12 ft wide x 36 ft long, complete with wooden setback area steps, ramp and handrails, designed for 220,000 lbs casing capacity and 200,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: Ideco 175-F rotary table, opening 22'', dead load capacity of 200 tons. Ideal Nsco swivel, rated 150 tons. Weatherford KS-1500AB pneumatic kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: Continental Emsco NB-30 travelling block and Byron Jackson hook capacity of 150 tons.
MUD PUMPS: One (1) OPI HDL 700, rated 700 hp, complete with all piping, 6x5 precharge centrifugal pumps powered by electric motors. Pump is powered by CAT D379 diesel engine.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Single tank, capacity of 400 bbls, five (5) compartments complete with shale shaker, mud cleaner, mud agitators.
ENGINE GENERATOR: Two (2) CAT 3406TA diesel engines, rated at 425 hp with 292 kW Kato SR-4 AC generators.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Upetrom DF 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI Double ram. Upetrom VH 9'' x 5,000 PSI. Upetrom DF 9'' x 5,000 PSI Double ram. Shafer Chasovoy 7 1/16'' x 5,000 PSI Double ram. Control unit - U Upetron CH6U - 76.
INSTRUMENTATION: Time, weight, torque, mud pressure, RPM, ROP, SPM, Martin-Decker 8-channels recorder.
KREMCO K-900
Self propelled mechanically driven drilling rig
DRAWWORKS: Kremco K-900 rated 900 hp powered with two (2) CAT 3408 diesel engines, torque converted with two (2) Allison CLT 5961 transmissions providing five gears forward and one reverse, drawworks equipped with V-80 hydromatic brake.
MAST: Kremco 118-370000, hydraulically raised and lowered telescoping mast, height of 118 ft, static API hook load capacity of 370,000 lbs with ten (10) lines string-up.
SUBSRUCTURE: Kremco 16-370, parallelogram design, floor 18 ft high x 13 ft wide x 15 ft long, designed for 350,000 lbs casing capacity and 200,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: National C-275 rotary table, opening 27-1/2'', static bearing load of 500 tons. National P-200 swivel, dead load rating 200 tons. Weatherford KS-1500 AB kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: National C540-G-250 hook block, capacity of 250 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (2) National Oilwell A 850-PT, triplex single acting mud pumps. Each triplex pump is powered with CAT 3512 TA diesel engine 915 hp.
ENGINE GENERATOR: Two (2) CAT 3412 diesel engines, rated at 425 hp with 350 kW Kato SR-4 AC generators each.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Three (3) tanks, mud system, total capacity of 945 bbls, complete with shale shaker, desander, mud cleaner, degasser, mud agitators.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Hydrill GK 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI annular. Upetron DF 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI Double ram. Control unit - Valvcon BOP Control System.
INSTRUMENTATION: Totco 8-channels drilling recorder for weight, depth, rate of penetration, torque, pump pressure, SPM, Flow, Totco Electronic Mud Volume Totalizer.
SKYTOP BREWSTER RR-750
Self propelled mechanically driven ranger rig
DRAWWORKS: Skytop Brewster H1-4610-A, double drum, nominal horsepower rating at 650 hp, powered with two (2) CAT 3406 DI diesel engine, torque converted with two (2) Allison CLT 5860 transmission with built-in converter - six gears forward, one reverse, full torque shifting. Drawworks equipped with Parmac SR-22, 22'' hydromatic brake and circulating water cooled brakes. Sandreel. All mounted on the carrier Skytop Brewster 618, four (4) hydraulic leveling jacks.
MAST: Skytop Brewster 112-300XF, hydraulically raised and lowered portable mast, height of 112 ft, static hook load capacity of 300,000 lbs on eight (8) lines. Hydraulically twin cylinder raised and single cylinder telescoped, 7-sheave crown block assembly, racking board.
SUBSTRUCTURE: Skytop Brewster 12-300, floor 12 ft high x 12 ft wide x 36 ft long, complete with wooden setback area steps, ramp and handrails,designed for 330,000 lbs casing capacity and 220,000 lbs setback capacity.
ROTARY EQUIPMENT: Skytop Brewster RSH-22 rotary table, opening 22'', dead load capacity of 400 tons. Ideco TL-200 swivel, rated 200 tons. Foster hydraulic kelly spinner.
TRAVELLING EQUIPMENT: McKissick 765 travelling block and BJ 6150 hook capacity of 150 tons.
MUD PUMPS: Two (2) Gardner-Denver PZ-8 triplex mud pump, rated 750 hp, complete with all piping, 6x8 precharge centrifugal pumps powered by electric motors. Each pump is powered by CAT D398 engine.
ENGINE GENERATOR: Two (2) PZL-WOLA diesel engines with 300 KW PZL-WOLA AC generators each.
MUD TANK SYSTEM: Single tank, capacity of 400 bbls, five (5) compartments complete with shale shaker, desander, mud agitators.
B.O.P. EQUIPMENT: Hydrill GK 13 5/8'' x 3,000 PSI annular. Upetron DF 13 5/8'' x 5,000 PSI Double. Control unit - Koomey BOP Control System.
INSTRUMENTATION: SMART SYSTEM SWACO, Time, weight, torque, mud pressure, RPM, ROP, SPM, Martin-Decker 8-channels recorder.
OIME SL 1500 DRILLING RIG
DEPTH RATING
18,000’
DRAWWORKS
OIME SL 1500 1-1/4 DL
BRAKE
PARMAC 342 Hydromatic
ENGINES
(3) CAT 3412 Engines
MAST
PYRAMID 146 x 23’ 815,000# SHL w/6-Sheave Crown
SUBSTRUCTURE
PYRAMID 22.5’ KB Swing-Up
PUMPS
BREWSTER B-1300T, p/b CAT 3512, w/5” x 6” Charge Pump
OILWELL PT1100A, p/b CAT 3508, w/5” x 6” Charge Pump
ROTATING EQUIPMENT
PYRAMID HACKER 275 Rotary Table
GARDNER-DENVER 400-Ton Swivel
5-1/4” x 44’ Hex Kelly w/Hydraulic Kelly Spinner
TRAVELING EQUIPMENT
SOWA 350-Ton Block/Hook Combination w/(5) Sheaves
WELL CONTROL EQUIPMENT
HYDRIL GK 11” 10,000 PSI Annular Blowout Preventer
CAMERON Type U 11” 10,000 PSI Double Blowout Preventer
CAMERON Type U 11” 10,000 PSI Single Blowout Preventer
CRESS SPECIALTIES 6-Station Accumulator Unit
WKM HCR 4-1/16” 10,000 PSI Choke Manifold
WKM 4-1/16” Manual Choke Manifold
RIG HOUSES
ALBERTA LABOUR 12’W x 54’L Toolpusher’s Trailer, w/(2) Bedrooms, (2) Bathrooms, Full Kitchen, (2) Separate Office Areas, Insulated, Skidded
1998 ALBERTA FAB 10’W x 54’L Toolpusher’s Trailer
8’W x 38’L Doghouse
10’W x 48’L Parts/Change House
12’W x 40’L Mud House w/(5) 5” x 8” Centrifugal Pumps
GENERATORS
(2) CAT 3412 550 KW
GD Electra Saver II Air Compressor, 480-Volt, p/b Diesel Engine
GD PL-Series Air Compressor p/b Diesel EngineMUD SYSTEM
(5) 5” x 6” Centrifugals w/60 HP Electric Motor
MUD TANK SYSTEM
3-Pit System w/(8) Mud Agitators, 1800-Barrel System, 12’W x 8’H x 46’L
GALLAGHER 5” x 6” Pit Pump
(7) RADICON Mud Mixers, Each p/b 10 HP Motor
(2) DOUBLE LIFE Linear Shale Shakers
SWACO 2-Cone Desander
DOUBLE LIFE 8-Cone Desilter
WATER/FUEL TANKS
10’W x 40’L 400-Barrel Water Tank
8’W x 33’L 12,300-Gallon Fuel Tank
8’W x 24’L 7000-Gallon Fuel Tank
150 HP Boiler (In Deck, New 2006)
HANDLING TOOLS
Hydraulic Pipe Spinners, Makeup & Breakout Catheads, (2) Hydraulic Winches, Air Winch
AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT
TOTCO 700,000# Capacity Weight Indicator, VARCO Bushing
DRILL PIPE
(140 Joints) 4-1/2”, 16.60 Lb, Grade S-135, 6-1/8”, HB & PC
(250 Joints) 4-1/2”, 16.60 Lb., Grade X-95, 6-1/4”, HB, PC
DRILL COLLARS
(24) 6-1/2” x 4-1/2’XH Drill Collars (New)
(2) 8 ” x 6-5/8”Reg Drill Collars
Offshore Drilling Rigs
Semisubmersible Drilling Platform
Derrick: 165 ft. x 40 ft. Dreco, with a static hook load capacity of 1,600,000 lbs with fourteen lines.
Drawworks: National-Oilwell 1625 UDBE, 3,000 hp driven by three GE 752 DC motors, with hydraulic disc brakes and an Elmagco 7838 auxiliary electric brake.
Rotary Table: National-Oilwell C-495, 49-1/2 in. independently driven by one GE 752 DC motor.; Rotary skids out for riser running operations.
Top Drive: Varco TDS-4S, 650 short tons, continuous drilling torque rating 46,380 ft-lbs. Equipped with PH-85 pipe handler and remote 15,000 psi IBOP.
Motion Compensator: Shaffer 600,000 lb Crown Mounted Compensator with 25 ft. stroke.
Mud Pumps: Three National-Oilwell 12-P-160, 1600 hp triplex pumps each driven by two GE 752 Hi-Torque DC traction motors, rated to 5,000 psi. One (1) Lewco W446, 440 hp triplex riser boost pump, 661 gpm.
Solids Control: Four (4) Brandt LCM-3D high “G” Force Linear Motion Scalping Shakers, one (1) Brandt ATLMC desilter, 32-4 in. cones; one (1) Brandt LCM-3D/CMC mud cleaner.
Propulsion System: Four 2,400 kw Kamewa variable pitch azimuthing DC thrusters and Two 2,150 kw Kamewa fixed pitch azimuthing DC thrusters.
Storage Capacities: Liquid mud 8,156 bbls.; Base oil: 2,533 bbls.; Brine: 1,418 bbls.; Bulk material: 22,452 cu. ft.
Power Equipment: DC: Fifteen Siemens SCR units, each rated at 1,200 amps, 750 volts.; Main Power: Four Yanmar 2,300 kw diesel engines; two Bergen 2,605 kw engine generator sets.; Emergency Power: One turbo charged Caterpillar 3512 emergency generator providing 1,125 kw.
Subsea Equipment: Riser: 5,750 ft. of Stewart & Stevenson SSQR-F, 21 in. O.D. riser.; Tensioners: Twelve 160,000 lb. riser tensioners with 50 ft. line travel. Total tensioning capability 1,920,000 lbs.
BOP Equipment: Diverter System: Vetco KFDS/CSO, 20 in. nominal size diverter with Oil States Flex Joint.; 62 in. ID rotary opening with adapter removed.; 18-3/4 in. System: Two Shaffer SL 10,000 psi annular preventers and two Cameron TL 15,000 psi double rams.
Cranes: Two Seatrax Monarch 8032 cranes, 140 ft. booms, rated for 85 short tons at 40 ft. radius; Riser Gantry crane and skate; one BOP Bridge crane with 4 hoists (2 x 62.5t and 2 x 20 ton).
Mooring System: Four Amclyde CTW-350/48 double traction winch/windlass with eight mooring lines consisting of 4,500 ft. x 3 in. K-4 anchor chains and eight 10,500 ft. x 3-1/2 in. wire rope; electric powered storage reels for 3-1/2 in. x 10,000' wire rope and eight 15 metric ton Stevpris MK5 anchors.
300 Foot Jack-up Drilling Unit
Derrick: 160 ft. by 30 ft. Emsco 20RD, with a static hook load capacity of 1,000,000 lbs. with 12 lines (1-3/8 in. drilling line).
Drawworks: National 1320 UE, 2,000 hp, driven by two GE 752 DC motors, complete with Baylor 7838 electric brake.
Rotary Table: National C-375, with independent drive using a GE 752 DC motor with 2-speed transmission.
Top Drive: Varco Model TDS-4, local air cooling and PH-85 pipe handler, rated @ 29,100 ft.-lbs. high gear; 45,000 ft.-lbs. low gear continuous torque.
Mud Pumps: Two Emsco FB 1600, 1,600 hp triplex pumps, each driven by two GE 752 DC traction motors.
Solids Control: Five Brandt Rigtech 5th generation VSM 300 elliptical motion, variable speed, dual deck shakers. One shaker configured to take the underflow from the Brandt Rigtech 24-3 desilter, desander allowing it to function as a mud cleaner. One each Brandt Rig tech DG-10 Degasser. One Derrick Flo-line scalper shaker.
Power Equipment: DC: Four GE SCR units, each rated at 1,800 amps, powering eight GE 752 DC motors; AC: Four Cat. 3516-A diesel engines, 1,615 hp, driving four Cat SR-4, 2,150 kva generators.
BOP Equipment: Diverter System: Vetco KFDJ model J 500 psi fixed diverter with 36 1/2 in. opening complete with two 14 in. diverter lines and two 14 in. hydraulically actuated ball valves.; 21-1/4 in. system: One Shaffer spherical 2,000 psi annular preventer and two Cameron type U 2,000 psi single ram preventers; 13-5/8 in. system: One Hydril GL 5,000 psi annular preventer, one Cameron type U 10,000 psi double ram preventer, and two Cameron type U 10,000 psi single ram preventers.
Cranes: Two Seaking Model 1700 hydraulic cranes with 100 ft. booms, rated for 28 s. tons at 20 ft. radius; One Sea-Trax Model 6032 hydraulic crane with 130 ft. boom, rated for 30.5 s. tons at 20 ft. radius, 21.4 s. tons at 135 ft. radius.
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary
3-D Seismic: a tool used to “see” beneath the earth’s surface. It involves sending acoustic vibrations into the ground and measuring the length of time it takes to rebound off the subsurface rocks back to the surface. High-tech supercomputers are used to process billions of data samples and generate a detailed, 3-D image of underground structures. Geophysicists interpret the data to make estimates as to the depth of the reservoir, its porosity, fluid content and other information valuable in determining where oil and gas deposits are most likely to be found.
Acid stimulation: injecting hydrofluoric acid into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to break up and remove rock debris to help improve the flow of oil.
Appraisal drilling: drilling in the vicinity of a discovery to evaluate the extent of the reservoir and the amount of reserves it likely contains.
Associated gas: gas that is produced along with oil from oil reservoirs. Production originating from gas reservoirs is referred to as non-associated gas.
Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE): a term used to quantify oil and natural gas volumes based on “energy equivalents. To convert a thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of gas to equal one barrel of oil, divide by 6. For example, 600 Mcf = 100 BOE.
CO2 Flooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where carbon dioxide (CO2) is injected into the oil formation. CO2 acts as a solvent that releases the oil from porous rock and causes it to flow more freely to the well head, increasing recovery rates.
Compression: utilized to enhance production from low pressure gas reservoirs. Compression equipment allows the operator to lower back-pressure on the well and enable more gas to flow to the surface. It can then be compressed and delivered into a higher pressure gathering system for processing and ultimate sale. Compression is also used extensively in gas processing operations to aid in the recovery of natural gas liquids.
Development: drilling and related activities necessary to bring a field into production following a discovery.
Dome: a type of geological structure where a rock layer has pushed up into the rock layer above in a typically spherical shape.
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR): advanced technologies, such as water flooding, steam injection, CO2 injection applied to increase production, usually from mature, underdeveloped fields.
Fracture stimulation: injecting specially engineered fluids under high pressure into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to “crack” the reservoir and improve the flow of oil.
HES: Health, Environment and Safety programs.
Horizontal Drilling: drilling a well at a 90-degree angle instead of vertically. The well is drilled straight to a specific depth and then is gradually curved. Horizontal wells are advantageous for numerous reasons: to maximize production rates through increased reservoir exposure; to avoid sensitive environmental areas; to avoid a surface obstruction; or to drill several wells from a single location (i.e. offshore platform). Directional drilling refers to non vertical wells drilled at less than a 90-degree angle.
Interval: a vertical section of rock distinct from that above or below.
In-fill drilling: wells drilled between existing producing wells to enhance field development.
Mcf: a thousand cubic feet, a measurement of natural gas.
Multilaterals: pertaining to a well that has more than one branch radiating from the main wellbore.
Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs): Natural gas processed from and marketed separately, natural gas liquids include ethane, propane, butane and natural gasoline.
Outside operated assets: assets in which Occidental has a working interest, but does not serve as overall operations manager.
Permeable: measure of a rock’s ability to flow liquids or gases. Highly permeable rocks tend to have many large and well-connected pores. The more permeable the rock, the easier it is to produce oil and gas from the reservoir.
Play: an area where oil or natural gas accumulations of a certain type are found.
Porosity: percentage of void space within a rock. Only high porosity reservoir rocks, like sandstone, bear oil and gas.
Production: oil and gas yielded from drilling and pumping activities. Gross production: the total oil and gas produced from a field. Net production: the company’s share of production based on its ownership interest, or the terms of a production sharing contract.
Proved reserves: the estimated quantities of oil or natural gas that can be recovered with reasonable certainty.
Recompletion: the process of producing from another interval within the same wellbore. For example, after depleting a zone at 9,000 feet, the operator may “recomplete” the well at 8,000 feet.
Reserves: oil or natural gas contained in underground rock formations called reservoirs.
Reservoir: a porous, permeable rock formation containing oil and natural gas.
Reservoir modeling: a representation of a reservoir that incorporates all data pertinent to its ability to store and produce oil and gas. Geoscientists and engineers use reservoir modeling to simulate the movement of the oil and gas under various circumstances to ultimately determine optimal production techniques for the reservoir.
Spar: a revolutionary type of deep water offshore production facility.
Waterflooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where injected water is used to sweep residual oil to the wellhead, improving recovery rates.
Wellbore: the hole drilled for the purpose of producing oil and gas, or to inject water or other fluids. In some wells, multilaterals branch off from the main wellbore.
Equipment used in drilling:
1. Crown Block and Water Table
2. Catline Boom and Hoist Line
3. Drilling Line
4. Monkeyboard
5. Traveling Block
6. Top Drive
7. Mast
8. Drill Pipe
9. Doghouse
10. Blowout Preventer
11. Water Tank
12. Electric Cable Tray
13. Engine Generator Sets
14. Fuel Tank
15. Electrical Control House
16. Mud Pumps
17. Bulk Mud Component Tanks
18. Mud Tanks (Pits)
19. Reserve Pit
20. Mud-Gas Separator
21. Shale Shakers
22. Choke Manifold
23. Pipe Ramp
24. Pipe Racks
25. Accumulator
26. Annulus
27. Brake
28. Casing Head
29. Cathead
30. Catwalk
31. Cellar
32. Conductor Pipe
33. Degasser
34. Desander
35. Desilter
36. Drawworks
37. Drill Bit
38. Drill Collars
39. Driller's Console
40. Elevators
41. Hoisting Line
42. Hook
43. Kelly
44. Kelly Bushing
45. Kelly Spinner
46. Mousehole
47. Mud Return Line
48. Ram BOP
49. Rathole
50. Rotary Hose
51. Rotary Table
52. Slips
53. Spinning chain
54. Stairways
55. Standpipe
56. Surface Casing
57. Substructure
58. Swivel
59. Tongs
60. Walkways
61. Weight Indicator
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Oilfield Glossary
ABANDON: When production is stopped from a well that is depleted and no longer capable of producing profitably. A wildcat well may also be abandoned after it has been determined that it will not produce.
ACIDIZING: Treatment of oil-bearing limestone or carbonate formations with a solution of hydrochloric acid and other chemicals to increase production. The acid is forced under pressure into the formation where it enlarges the flow channels by dissolving the limestone.
AIR DRILLING: Drilling using air as the circulation medium (See DRILLING FLUIDS.)
A-FRAME: "A"-shaped openwork structure which is the stationary and supporting component of the derrick of a jack-knife rig and to which the derrick is anchored when it is in an upright or drilling position.
ANGLE OF DEFLECTION: The angle, in degrees, at which a well is deflected from the vertical by means of a whipstock or other deflecting tool.
ANTICLINE: Arched stratified rock structure with layers dipping downward in opposite directions from the crest.
BIT: The cutting or boring element used in drilling oil and gas wells.
BLOWOUT: Uncontrolled flow of gas, oil, or other well fluids from a well during drilling due to formation pressure exceeding the pressure exerted by the column of drilling mud.
BLOWOUT PREVENTER (BOP): Hydraulically or mechanically actuated high-pressure valve installed at the wellhead to control pressure within the well.
BREAKOUT: Act of unscrewing one section of pipe from another section, particularly when drill pipe is being withdrawn from the wellbore.
BREAK TOUR: When drilling crews start working eight-hour or twelve-hour shifts 24 hours a day. Prior to this time crews have been working only during daylight hours while rigging up.
BRING IN A WELL: Act of completing and brining a well into production.
BUDDY SYSTEM: Commonly used system among crew members to ensure that each man is accounted for, particularly when pulling a test where gas is encountered.
CABLE TOOL: Percussion method of drilling whereby the repeated pounding of a heavy bit makes the hole. Largely replaced by the rotary rig.
CAP ROCK: Impermeable rock overlying an oil or gas reservoir that tends to prevent migration of the reservoir fluids from the reservoir.
CAPPED WELL: A well capable of production but lacking wellhead installations and a pipeline connection.
CASING: Steel pipe threaded together and cemented into a well as drilling progresses to prevent the wall of the hole from caving in during drilling and to provide a means of extracting oil/gas if the well is productive.
CASING HEAD: Heavy steel fitting that connects the first string of casing and provides a housing for the slips and packing assemblies by which subsequent strings of casing are suspended and the annulus sealed off.
CASING HEAD GAS: Gas dissolved in crude oil which emerges at the casing head when pressure is lowered.
CASING STRING: Total feet of casing run in a well.
CATWALK: Steel platform immediately in front of the derrick substructure on which joints of drill pipe are stored prior to being lifted to the derrick floor by the catline.
CENTRALIZERS: Spring steel guides attached to the casing which help keep it centered in the hole and thus provide for a uniform cement sheath around the casing pipe.
CHRISTMAS TREE: Valves, pipes, and fittings assembled at the top of a completed well used to control the flow of oil and gas.
CIRCULATE: Cycling of the drilling fluid through the drill string and wellbore while drilling is temporarily suspended. This is done to condition the drilling fluid and wellbore before drilling proceeds.
CLOSE IN: To shut in (temporarily) a well that is capable of production.
COMPLETE A WELL: Finish the work on a well and bring it to a productive state.
CONDENSATE: Mixture of pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons that may be contaminated with sulfur compounds and is recovered or recoverable form an underground reservoir. It is gaseous in its virgin state but is liquid under the conditions at which its volume is measured.
CONTRACT DEPTH: Depth that well must be drilled to fulfill the contract.
CORE: Cylindrical sample taken from a formation for the purpose of examination or analysis.
CRATERING OR SLOUGHING: When the walls of a hole cave in.
CROOKED HOLE: Wellbore that has deviated from the vertical inadvertently.
CUTTINGS: Fragments of rock dislodged by the bit and brought to the surface in the drilling mud.
DERRICK: Load-bearing towerlike framework over an oil/gas well which holds the hoisting and lowering equipment.
DERRICKHAND: Crew member whose work station is in the derrick while pipe is being hoisted or lowered into the hole. He is usually next in line of authority under the driller.
DEVELOPMENT WELL: Well drilled for oil and gas within a proven field or area for the purpose of completing the desired pattern of production.
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING: Controlled drilling at a specified angle from the vertical.
DISCOVERY WELL: Exploratory well which discovers a new oil/gas field (see WILDCAT).
DOGHOUSE: Small house located on the rig floor or nearby that is used as an office for the driller and as a storage place for small tools.
DOG LEG: A sharp change of direction in the wellbore or an elbow caused by such a change in direction.
DOWNTIME: When rig operations are temporarily suspended because of repairs or maintenance.
DRAWWORKS: Hoisting mechanism on a drilling rig which spools off or takes in the drilling line and thus raises or lowers the drill string and bit.
DRILLERS: Employee directly in charge of a particular crew as opposed to a toolpusher who is in charge of all the crews on a rig. Operation of drilling and hoisting equipment constitutes the driller's main duties.
DRILLING FOREMAN: Usually the man in charge of a number of rigs; sometimes the operator's representative.
DRILL PIPE: Steel pipe, in approximately 30-foot (9-meter) lengths, screwed together to form a continuous pipe extending from the drilling rig to the drilling bit at the bottom of the hole. Rotation of the drill pipe and bit causes the bit to bore through the rock.
DRILL STEM TEST (DST): Conventional method of testing a formation to determine its potential productivity before installing production casing in a well. A testing tool is attached to the bottom of the drill pipe and placed opposite the formation to be tested which has been isolated by placing packers above and below the formation. Fluids in the formation are allowed to flow up through the drill pipe by establishing an open connection between the formation and the surface.
DRILL STRING: String of individual joints of pipe that extends from the bit to the kelly and carries the mud down to, and rotates, the bit.
DRILLING FLUIDS: While a mixture of clay and water is the most common drilling fluid, wells can also be drilled with air, natural gas, oil, or plain water as the drilling fluid.
DRY HOLE: Generally refers to any well that does not produce oil or gas in commercial quantities.
DUAL COMPLETION: Completion of a well in which two separate formations may be produced at the same time. Production from each zone is segregated by running two tubing strings with packers, or running one tubing string with a packer and producing the other zone through the annulus.
ELEVATOR: Clamp which grips a stand or column of casing, tubing, drill pipe, or sucker rods so that it can be raised or lowered into the hole.
EXPLORATION WELL: Well drilled in unproven territory (See WILDCAT).
FAULT: Geological term denoting a break in the subsurface strata.
FISH: Any undersirable object accidentally lost in the wellbore which must be removed before drilling can continue.
FISHING: Encompasses both the special equipment and the special equipment and the special procedures required to remove undersirable objects from the wellbore.
FLOORHAND: Crew member whose work station is primarily about the rig floor. There are normally tow floorhands on each drilling crews.
FLOWING PRESSURE: Pressure registered at the wellhead of a flowing well.
FORMATION: Sedimentary bed or deposit composed substantially of the same minerals throughout and distinctive enough to be a unit.
FOURBLE: Section of drill pipe, casing, or tubing consisting of four joints screwed together.
GAS CAP: Free gas, separate from, but overlying an oil zone that occurs within the same producing formation as oil. Since gas is lighter, it occupies the upper part of the reservoir.
GEOLOGIST: Scientist whose duties consist of obtaining and interpreting data dealing with the earth's history and its life, especially as recorded in rocks.
GEOLOGRAPH: Patented apparatus which automatically records the rate of penetration and depth during drilling operations.
GOING IN HOLE: Lowering the drill pipe into the wellbore.
HOLE: Common term for wellbore.
HORIZON: Distinct layer or group of layers of rock.
HYDROCARBONS: Organic chemical compounds of hydrogen and carbon whose densities, boiling points, and freezing points increase as their molecular weights increase. The molecular structure of the most common petroleum hydrocarbon compounds varies from the simplest - methane, a constituent of natural gas - to the very heavy and complex.
INFILL DRILLING: Drilling of wells according to a planned pattern and spacing to achieve full production from a new field.
JACK-KNIFE DERRICK: A cantilever mast that can be laid down in one piece for moving, as opposed to a standard derrick which has to be dismantled and re-erected piece by piece.
JET BIT: Bit having nozzles of various sizes through which the drilling fluid is directed to achieve a desired fluid velocity.
JOINT: One length of drill pipe or casing.
JUNK: Debris lost in the hole.
KELLY: Square or hexagonal steel pipe about 43 feet (13 meters) long which transmits torque from the rotary table to drill string, thus rotating the string and bit.
KEYSEAT: While drilling a well, a channel or groove is cut in the side of the hole parallel to the axis of the hole. Keyseating takes place as a result of the dragging action of drill pipe through a dog leg.
KILLING A WELL: The act of bringing a well under control which has blown out or is threatening to blow out; also applies to the procedure of circulating water and mud into a completed well before starting well service operations.
LATCH ON: Attaching elevators to a section of pipe.
LAYING DOWN PIPE: The operation of pulling drill pipe or tubing from the hole and laying it down on the pipe rack.
LEDGE: An irregular wellbore caused by penetration of alternating layers of hard and soft formations where the soft formation has washed out and caused a change of diametrical size.
LIQUIDS: Hydrocarbons in solution in natural gas which are liquefiable at surface temperature and pressure or by treatment and processing.
LOCATIONS: Point at which a well is to be drilled. Commonly termed "well site."
LOG: Systematic recording of data.
LOST CIRCULATOIN: Loss quantities of whole mud to a formation, usually cavernous, fissured, or coarsely permeable beds. It is indicated by the complete or partial loss of drilling mud returns. Until the zone in which the drilling fluid has been lost is sealed off, drilling cannot be resumed in most cases.
MAKE A CONNECTION: Act of screwing a single joint of drill pipe into the drilling string suspended in the wellbore. The addition of this joint of pipe permits deepening of the hole the length of the joint added, or about 30 feet (9 meters).
MAKING HOLE: Refers to progress being made at a given time when the bit is rotating and the wellbore is being deepened. In other words, drilling.
MAKING A TRIP: Hoisting of the drill string out of, and returning it into, the wellbore. This is done for the purpose of changing bits, preparing to take a core, etc.
MAKING UP A JOINT: Act of screwing a joint into another section of pipe.
MAST: Portable derrick capable of being erected as a unit, as opposed to a standard derrick, which cannot be raised to a working position as a unit, since it is of bolted construction and must be assembled part by part.
MIGRATION: Natural movement of oil or gas within or out of a formation.
MIXING MUD: Preparation of drilling fluids from a mixture of water and other fluids and one or more of the various dry mud-making materials such as clay, chemical, etc.
MONKEY BOARD: Platform on which the derrickhand works during the time the crew is making a trip.
MOTORHAND: Crew member responsible for the care and operation of the rig motors.
MOUSE HOLE: Hole drilled under the derrick floor and temporarily cased in which a single joint of pipe is placed awaiting connection to the drill string.
MUD: Usually colloidal suspensions of clays in water with chemical additives that are circulated through the wellbore during rotary drilling and workover operations. Can use oil as the main medium.
MULTIPLE-ZONE WELL COMPLETION: Completion of a well in such a way that production is obtained from several different formations.
OFFSET: A lateral deviation created by the tendency of a bit to sidetrack in a soft formation.
OFFSET WELL: Well location adjoining another well site.
OILFIELD: Loosely defined term referring to an area where oil is found. May also include the oil reservoir, the surface and wells, and production equipment.
OPEN HOLE: Uncased part of a well.
OPERATOR: Person, whether proprietor or lessee, who actually operates the well. Generally, the oil company by whom the drilling contractor is engaged.
PAY, PAY SAND, OR PAY SECTION: Producing formation, or that formation which represents the objective of drilling.
PENETRATION, RATE OF: Rate at which the drill bit proceeds in the deepening of the wellbore and usually expressed as feet (meters) per hour.
PERFORATE: To pierce holes through well casing within an oil or gas-bearing formation by means of a perforating gun lowered down the hole and fired electrically from the surface. The perforations permit production from a formation which has been cased off.
PERMEABILITY: Capacity of a porous rock formation to allow fluid to flow within the interconnecting pore network.
PIPE: Oilfield tubular goods such as casing, drill pipe, tubing, or pipeline.
PIPE RACK: Series of parallel heavy wooden or steel bents secured in place by bracing on which pipe is stored.
PLUG: Object or device that serves to block a hole or passageway such as a cement plug in a borehole.
PLUG AND ABANDON: Act of placing cement plugs in a hole to prevent unwanted vertical migration in an abandoned well.
POROSITY: Volume of pore spaces between mineral grains expressed as a percentage of the total rock volume. Thus porosity measures the capacity of the rock to hold oil, gas, or water.
POTENTIAL: Actual or maximum volume of oil and/or gas that a well is capable of producing.
PRODUCTION: The operation of bringing the well fluids to the surface and separating them, and storing, gauging, and otherwise preparing product for the pipeline. Also refers to the amount of oil or gas produced over a given period.
RATHOLE: Shallow bore under the derrick substructure in which the kelly joint is temporarily set while making a connection.
RELIEF WELL: Well drilled at an angle from a point close to a "wild" well that will intercept theoriginal well as part of control procedure.
RESERVOIR: Porous, permeable sedimentary rock structure or trap containing oil and/or gas. A reservoir can contain more than one pool.
RIG: The derrick, drawworks, and attendant surface equipment of a drilling or workover unit. (Several types of rigs should be included such as deep, shallow, stratigraphic, etc.)
RIGGING UP: Act of getting a rig assembled and ready to start drilling.
ROTARY DRILLING: Method of drilling in which the drill pipe is rotated to rotate a bit.
ROTARY TABLE: Equipment over the wellbore which transfers power from the engines to produce a rotary motion. Via bushings and gears the rotary motion is transferred to the kelly and through to the drill string.
ROTATING BOTTOM: Making hole.
ROUGHNECK: Industry slang for floorhand.
SAFETY WIRE: Steel cable attached to the monkey board and anchored to the ground at some distance from the rig. It is used by the derrickhand to slide clear of danger in an emergency.
SANDFRAC: Method of fracturing subsurface rock formations by injection of fluid and sand under high pressure to increase permeability. Fractures induced in the rock by the hydraulic pressure are kept open by the grains of sand.
SCRATCHER: Steel, wire-fingered device fastened to the casing which removes the mud cake from the hole to condition it for cementing.
SEISMOGRAPH: Apparatus used to measure and record vibrations in the earth. It is used to detect possible oil-bearing structures.
SET CASING: Installation of steel pipe or casing in a wellbore, normally cemented in place by surrounding it with a wall of cement.
SIDE TRACKING: Drilling past an obstruction in the hole, usually done using a special tool known as a whipstock.
SINGLE: One joint of drill pipe.
SLIM HOLE DRILLING: Drilling in which the hole size is smaller than the conventional hole diameter, enabling the operator to run smaller casing, thereby decreasing the cost of completion.
SPECIFIC GRAVITY: Ratio of weight of any substance to weight of equal volume of another substance, usually water as the standard for solids and liquid.
SPUD OR SPUDDING IN: Commencement of actual drilling of well.
STABILIZER: A centralizer installed in the drill string to center the string in the hole and to stiffen the string to resist bending and deviation.
STAND OF PIPE: Two, three, and sometimes four joints of pipe fastened together, called a double, thribble, or fourble, respectively.
STEP-OUT WELL: Well drilled adjacent or near to proven well to ascertain the limits of the reservoir.
STRATIGRAPHIC TRAP: Subsurface formation created by sedimentation that might trap an accumulation of oil and/or gas.
STRING: The entire length of casing, tubing, or drill pipe.
STRUCTURE: Subsurface geological feature capable of acting as a reservoir for oil and/or gas.
STUCK PIPE: Drill pipe, casing, or tubing that cannot be worked in or out of the hole as desired.
SUBSTRUCTURE: Foundation on which the derrick and engines sit. Contains space for storage and well control equipment.
SURFACE CASING: First string of casing set in well.
SWABBING: Operation using a swab to bring well fluids to the surface when the well does not flow naturally.
SYNCLINE: Trough-shaped subsurface structure of folded stratified rock. Opposite of anticline.
TIGHT HOLE: Drilling a well in which the information obtained is restricted and passed only to those authorized to receive it.
THRIBBLE: Stand of pipe made up of three joints handled as a unit.
TOOLPUSHER: Foreman in charge of the drilling rig operations and crew members.
TOTAL DEPTH (TD): Maximum depth reached in a well.
TOUR: Work shift of a drilling crew, usually pronounce as though it were spelled t-o-w-e-r.
TRAP: Any geological structure which precludes the migration of oil and gas through subsurface rocks, causing the hydrocarbons to accumulate into pools.
TRIPPING: Making a trip; operation of hoisting pipe out of, and returning it to, the wellbore.
TURBODRILL: Downhole assembly of bit and motor in which the bit alone is rotated by means of fluid turbine which is activated by the drilling mud. The mud turbine is usually placed just above the bit.
TURNING TO THE RIGHT: Slang term referring to actual drilling time as opposed to repair time, trip time, etc.
TURNKEY CONTRACT: Contract under which contractor carries out and completes his assignment for a fixed fee, as opposed to working on per diem basis.
TWIST-OFF: To fracture a joint of drill pipe in two, necessitating a recovery or fishing operation.
VUG: A cavity in a rock.
WAITING ON CEMENT (W.O.C.): Time period that drilling is suspended while the cement used to hold casing in the wellbore hardens.
WELLBORE: The hole made by a drilling bit.
WELL COMPLETION: See COMPLETE A WELL.
WELL LOGGING: Recording information about subsurface geologic formations; methods include records kept by the driller, mud and cutting analysis, core analysis, drill stem tests, electric and radioactivity procedures.
WHIPSTOCK: Long steel wedge used to deflect the bit from the original borehole at a slight angle for controlled directional drilling, for straightening crooked holes, and for sidetracking in or to bypass an unretrieved fish.
WILDCAT: Well drilled in unproven territory.
WORKOVER: To carry out remedial operations on an producing well with the intention of restoring or increasing production.
Engineering Services and Project Management
Fox Oil Drilling Company provides well engineering services ranging from specific engineering studies to the design and management of major drilling projects. Our goal is to tailor our services to specific customer needs, whether it be the provision of a single engineer in Thailand or the design, supervision and drilling of a full-field development project in the Gulf of Mexico. Our engineers have particular expertise in extended reach drilling, underbalanced drilling, high pressure-high temperature drilling, and completion and testing.
Extended Reach Drilling
Fox Oil Drilling Company can assist clients at any level of an Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) project, from detailed front-end design studies through well planning, project execution and closeout. We have established a special technology team to ensure consistency in planning and execution of ERD wells, and have developed a detailed ERD well template, ERD specific drilling guidelines and drilling rig analysis tools.
Underbalanced Drilling
Underbalanced drilling is an advanced technique involving the deliberate reduction of the drilling mud weight. This allows the well to flow while drilling so that the formation is not invaded by the drilling fluid. Underbalanced drilling requires special equipment such as drill-through blowout preventers and special facilities for storing or burning of produced fluids. With live hydrocarbons at the surface, Fox Oil Drilling Company is particularly attentive to carefully plan and control this operation.
High Pressure-High Temperature Drilling
Fox Oil Drilling Company has had significant experience assisting operators in safely and efficiently drilling High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) wells. We have assisted in the development of generic HPHT well control guidelines, which enabled safe methods of dealing with kick/loss scenarios, resulting in considerable customer savings.
Completion and Testing
Completion and testing services provided by Fox Oil Drilling Company include planning and design of surface completions; specifying equipment and services; and managing and supervising operations. Key skills include planning and design of wellbore cleanout, coiled tubing operations, HPHT drill stem testing, acid stimulations and high rate well testing.
Additionally, our well engineers also provide feasibility studies, design services, non-productive time analysis, well abandonment studies and rig interface studies. Previous work has included field development studies for well design, drilling unit sizing and field architecture options.
At Fox Oil Drilling Company, we understand that our success is directly linked to the success of our customers. For that reason, we continually focus on enhancing our equipment and services in order to better serve our customers.
U.S. Areas of Interest
Texas District 5: Two types of plays are driving activity in District 5: tight gas and shale gas. The median depth of the wells drilled in the Bossier and Cotton Valley formations is about 12,800 feet. The median depth of the Barnett Shale in District 5 is about 9,500 feet.
Texas District 6: The Cotton Valley play extends from District 5 into District 6. The median depth of wells in District 6 is 10,300 feet.
Texas District 10: The Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma extends into District 10 of the Texas Panhandle. The average depth of the Anadarko Basin wells in District 10 is about 10,300 feet. Most of the wells are drilled for tight gas.
Oklahoma: About half the wells completed in Oklahoma are in the Anadarko Basin. The median well depth is about 8,500 feet, but many wells are drilled to about 20,000 feet.
New Mexico: Wells drilled in Southeastern New Mexico are primarily drilled for oil. The median depth of those wells is 8,000. Some wells are drilled to nearly 17,000 feet.
Colorado: Colorado has four active natural gas basins with the Denver Basin being the largest. The median depth in the Denver Basin is 7,300 feet. Another increasingly active basin is the coalbed methane play in the Piceance Basin. The median well depth is 7,500 feet. The other smaller basins are extensions of the San Juan and the Raton Basins of New Mexico.
Wyoming: The median well depth in the Green River Basin is about 10,700 feet and those wells are drilled for tight gas. The Wind River and Big Horn Basins are also active areas.
Overview of Land-Based Drilling
Drilling Equipment
A land drilling rig consists of engines, a hoisting system, a rotating system, pumps and related equipment to circulate drilling fluid, blowout preventers and related equipment.
Diesel or gas engines are typically the main power sources for a drilling rig. Power requirements for drilling jobs may vary considerably, but most land drilling rigs employ two or more engines to generate between 500 and 2,000 horsepower, depending on well depth and rig design. Most drilling rigs capable of drilling in deep formations, involving depths greater than 15,000 feet, use diesel-electric power units to generate and deliver electric current through cables to electrical switch gears, then to direct-current electric motors attached to the equipment in the hoisting, rotating and circulating systems.
Drilling rigs use long strings of drill pipe and drill collars to drill wells. Drilling rigs are also used to set heavy strings of large-diameter pipe, or casing, inside the borehole. Because the total weight of the drill string and the casing can exceed 500,000 pounds, drilling rigs require significant hoisting and braking capacities. Generally, a drilling rig’s hoisting system is made up of a mast, or derrick, a traveling block and hook assembly that attaches to the rotating system, a mechanism known as the drawworks, a drilling line and ancillary equipment. The drawworks mechanism consists of a revolving drum, around which the drilling line is wound, and a series of shafts, clutches and chain and gear drives for generating speed changes and reverse motion. The drawworks also houses the main brake, which has the capacity to stop and sustain the weights used in the drilling process. When heavy loads are being lowered, a hydraulic or electric auxiliary brake assists the main brake to absorb the great amount of energy developed by the mass of the traveling block, hook assembly, drill pipe, drill collars and drill bit or casing being lowered into the well.
The rotating equipment from top to bottom consists of a swivel, the kelly bushing, the kelly, the rotary table, drill pipe, drill collars and the drill bit. The equipment between the swivel and the drill bit is referred to as the drill stem. The swivel assembly sustains the weight of the drill stem, permits its rotation and affords a rotating pressure seal and passageway for circulating drilling fluid into the top of the drill string. The swivel also has a large handle that fits inside the hook assembly at the bottom of the traveling block. Drilling fluid enters the drill stem through a hose, called the rotary hose, attached to the side of the swivel. The kelly is a triangular, square or hexagonal piece of pipe, usually 40 feet long, that transmits torque from the rotary table to the drill stem and permits its vertical movement as it is lowered into the hole. The bottom end of the kelly fits inside a corresponding triangular, square or hexagonal opening in a device called the kelly bushing. The kelly bushing, in turn, fits into a part of the rotary table called the master bushing. As the master bushing rotates, the kelly bushing also rotates, turning the kelly, which rotates the drill pipe and thus the drill bit. Drilling fluid is pumped through the kelly on its way to the bottom. The rotary table, equipped with its master bushing and kelly bushing, supplies the necessary torque to turn the drill stem. The drill pipe and drill collars are both steel tubes through which drilling fluid can be pumped. Drill pipe, sometimes called drill string, comes in 30-foot sections, or joints, with threaded sections on each end. Drill collars are heavier than drill pipe and are also threaded on the ends. Collars are used on the bottom of the drill stem to apply weight to the drilling bit. At the end of the drill stem is the bit, which chews up the formation rock and dislodges it so that drilling fluid can circulate the fragmented material back up to the surface where the circulating system filters it out of the fluid.
Drilling fluid, often called mud, is a mixture of clays, chemicals and water or oil, which is carefully formulated for the particular well being drilled. Drilling mud accounts for a major portion of the equipment and cost of drilling a well. Bulk storage of drilling fluid materials, the pumps and the mud-mixing equipment are placed at the start of the circulating system. Working mud pits and reserve storage are at the other end of the system. Between these two points, the circulating system includes auxiliary equipment for drilling fluid maintenance and equipment for well pressure control. Within the system, the drilling mud is typically routed from the mud pits to the mud pump and from the mud pump through a standpipe and the rotary hose to the drill stem. The drilling mud travels down the drill stem to the bit, up the annular space between the drill stem and the borehole and through the blowout preventer stack to the return flow line. It then travels to a shale shaker for removal of rock cuttings, and then back to the mud pits, which are usually steel tanks. The reserve pits, usually one or two fairly shallow excavations, are used for waste material and excess water around the location.
There are numerous factors that differentiate land drilling rigs,including their power generation systems and their drilling depth capabilities. The actual drilling depth capability of a rig may be less than or more than its rated depth capability due to numerous factors, including the size, weight and amount of the drill pipe on the rig. The intended well depth and the drill site conditions determine the amount of drill pipe and other equipment needed to drill a well. Generally, land rigs operate with crews of five to six persons.
Drilling Contracts
Contracts for drilling oil and gas wells can be obtained either through competitive bidding or through direct negotiations with customers. Typical drilling contracts generally provide for compensation on either a daywork or footage basis. The contract terms offered generally depend on the complexity and risk of operations, the on-site drilling conditions, the type of equipment used and the anticipated duration of the work to be performed. Generally, drilling contracts provide for the drilling of a single well and typically permit the customer to terminate on short notice, usually on payment of an agreed fee.
Daywork Contracts. Under daywork drilling contracts, the contractor provides a drilling rig with required personnel to the customer who supervises the drilling of the well. The contractor is paid based on a negotiated fixed rate per day while the rig is used. Daywork drilling contracts specify the equipment to be used, the size of the hole and the depth of the well. Under a daywork drilling contract, the customer bears a large portion of the out-of-pocket drilling costs and the contractor generally bears no part of the usual risks associated with drilling, such as time delays and unanticipated costs.
Footage Contracts. Under footage contracts, the contractor is paid a fixed amount for each foot drilled, regardless of the time required or the problems encountered in drilling the well. The contractor typically pays more of the out-of- pocket costs associated with footage contracts as compared to daywork contracts. The risks to the contractor on a footage contract are greater because the contractor assumes most of the risks associated with drilling operations generally assumed by the operator in a daywork contract, including the risk of blowout, loss of hole, stuck drill pipe, machinery breakdowns, abnormal drilling conditions and risks associated with subcontractors’ services, supplies, cost escalation and personnel. Insurance coverage can be maintained to protect against some, but not all, drilling hazards under this type of arrangement.
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary
3-D Seismic: a tool used to “see” beneath the earth’s surface. It involves sending acoustic vibrations into the ground and measuring the length of time it takes to rebound off the subsurface rocks back to the surface. High-tech supercomputers are used to process billions of data samples and generate a detailed, 3-D image of underground structures. Geophysicists interpret the data to make estimates as to the depth of the reservoir, its porosity, fluid content and other information valuable in determining where oil and gas deposits are most likely to be found.
Acid stimulation: injecting hydrofluoric acid into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to break up and remove rock debris to help improve the flow of oil.
Appraisal drilling: drilling in the vicinity of a discovery to evaluate the extent of the reservoir and the amount of reserves it likely contains.
Associated gas: gas that is produced along with oil from oil reservoirs. Production originating from gas reservoirs is referred to as non-associated gas.
Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE): a term used to quantify oil and natural gas volumes based on “energy equivalents. To convert a thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of gas to equal one barrel of oil, divide by 6. For example, 600 Mcf = 100 BOE.
CO2 Flooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where carbon dioxide (CO2) is injected into the oil formation. CO2 acts as a solvent that releases the oil from porous rock and causes it to flow more freely to the well head, increasing recovery rates.
Compression: utilized to enhance production from low pressure gas reservoirs. Compression equipment allows the operator to lower back-pressure on the well and enable more gas to flow to the surface. It can then be compressed and delivered into a higher pressure gathering system for processing and ultimate sale. Compression is also used extensively in gas processing operations to aid in the recovery of natural gas liquids.
Development: drilling and related activities necessary to bring a field into production following a discovery.
Dome: a type of geological structure where a rock layer has pushed up into the rock layer above in a typically spherical shape.
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR): advanced technologies, such as water flooding, steam injection, CO2 injection applied to increase production, usually from mature, underdeveloped fields.
Fracture stimulation: injecting specially engineered fluids under high pressure into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to “crack” the reservoir and improve the flow of oil.
HES: Health, Environment and Safety programs.
Horizontal Drilling: drilling a well at a 90-degree angle instead of vertically. The well is drilled straight to a specific depth and then is gradually curved. Horizontal wells are advantageous for numerous reasons: to maximize production rates through increased reservoir exposure; to avoid sensitive environmental areas; to avoid a surface obstruction; or to drill several wells from a single location (i.e. offshore platform). Directional drilling refers to non vertical wells drilled at less than a 90-degree angle.
Interval: a vertical section of rock distinct from that above or below.
In-fill drilling: wells drilled between existing producing wells to enhance field development.
Mcf: a thousand cubic feet, a measurement of natural gas.
Multilaterals: pertaining to a well that has more than one branch radiating from the main wellbore.
Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs): Natural gas processed from and marketed separately, natural gas liquids include ethane, propane, butane and natural gasoline.
Outside operated assets: assets in which Occidental has a working interest, but does not serve as overall operations manager.
Permeable: measure of a rock’s ability to flow liquids or gases. Highly permeable rocks tend to have many large and well-connected pores. The more permeable the rock, the easier it is to produce oil and gas from the reservoir.
Play: an area where oil or natural gas accumulations of a certain type are found.
Porosity: percentage of void space within a rock. Only high porosity reservoir rocks, like sandstone, bear oil and gas.
Production: oil and gas yielded from drilling and pumping activities. Gross production: the total oil and gas produced from a field. Net production: the company’s share of production based on its ownership interest, or the terms of a production sharing contract.
Proved reserves: the estimated quantities of oil or natural gas that can be recovered with reasonable certainty.
Recompletion: the process of producing from another interval within the same wellbore. For example, after depleting a zone at 9,000 feet, the operator may “recomplete” the well at 8,000 feet.
Reserves: oil or natural gas contained in underground rock formations called reservoirs.
Reservoir: a porous, permeable rock formation containing oil and natural gas.
Reservoir modeling: a representation of a reservoir that incorporates all data pertinent to its ability to store and produce oil and gas. Geoscientists and engineers use reservoir modeling to simulate the movement of the oil and gas under various circumstances to ultimately determine optimal production techniques for the reservoir.
Spar: a revolutionary type of deep water offshore production facility.
Waterflooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where injected water is used to sweep residual oil to the wellhead, improving recovery rates.
Wellbore: the hole drilled for the purpose of producing oil and gas, or to inject water or other fluids. In some wells, multilaterals branch off from the main wellbore.
Equipment used in drilling:
1. Crown Block and Water Table
2. Catline Boom and Hoist Line
3. Drilling Line
4. Monkeyboard
5. Traveling Block
6. Top Drive
7. Mast
8. Drill Pipe
9. Doghouse
10. Blowout Preventer
11. Water Tank
12. Electric Cable Tray
13. Engine Generator Sets
14. Fuel Tank
15. Electrical Control House
16. Mud Pumps
17. Bulk Mud Component Tanks
18. Mud Tanks (Pits)
19. Reserve Pit
20. Mud-Gas Separator
21. Shale Shakers
22. Choke Manifold
23. Pipe Ramp
24. Pipe Racks
25. Accumulator
26. Annulus
27. Brake
28. Casing Head
29. Cathead
30. Catwalk
31. Cellar
32. Conductor Pipe
33. Degasser
34. Desander
35. Desilter
36. Drawworks
37. Drill Bit
38. Drill Collars
39. Driller's Console
40. Elevators
41. Hoisting Line
42. Hook
43. Kelly
44. Kelly Bushing
45. Kelly Spinner
46. Mousehole
47. Mud Return Line
48. Ram BOP
49. Rathole
50. Rotary Hose
51. Rotary Table
52. Slips
53. Spinning chain
54. Stairways
55. Standpipe
56. Surface Casing
57. Substructure
58. Swivel
59. Tongs
60. Walkways
61. Weight Indicator
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Industry Terms Glossary
Abandon: To cease work on a well which is non-productive, to plug off the well with cement plugs and salvage all recoverable equipment Also used in the context of field abandonment.
Annex B: Operator's development plan for an offshore installation. It requires government approval before it can be implemented.
Annulus: The space between the drillstring and the well wall, or between casing strings, or between the casing and the production tubing.
Appraisal Well: A well drilled as part of an appraisal drilling program which is carried out to determine the physical extent, reserves and likely production rate of a field.
Associated Gas: Natural gas associated with oil accumulations, which may be dissolved in the oil at reservoir conditions or may form a cap of free gas above the oil.
Barrel: A unit of volume measurement used for petroleum and its products (7.3 barrels = 1 ton: 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic metre).
bbl: One barrel of oil; 1 barrel = 35 Imperial gallons (approx.), or 159 litres (approx.); 7.5 barrels = 1 tonne (approx.); 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic metre.
bcf: Billion cubic feet; 1 bcf = 0.83 million tonnes of oil equivalent.
bcm: Billion cubic metres (1 cubic metre = 35.31 cubic feet).
Block: A North Sea acreage sub-division measuring approximately 10 x 20 kms, forming part of a quadrant. e.g. Block 9/13 is the 13th block in Quadrant 9.
blow-down: Condensate and gas is produced simultaneously from the outset of production.
Blow-out preventers (BOPs): Are high pressure wellhead valves, designed to shut off the uncontrolled flow of hydrocarbons.
Blow-out: When well pressure exceeds the ability of the wellhead valves to control it. Oil and gas "blow wild" at the surface.
Borehole: The hole as drilled by the drill bit.
Capex: Capital expenditure.
Casing string: The steel tubing that lines a well after it has been drilled. It is formed from sections of steel tube screwed together.
Central estimate: A range of exploration drilling scenarios from which the following activity levels, based on recent historical experience, are adopted as the central estimates.
Christmas tree: The assembly of fittings and valves on the top of the casing which control the production rate of oil.
CNS: Central North Sea.
Commercial field: An oil and/or gas field judged to be capable of producing enough net income to make it worth developing.
Completion: The installation of permanent wellhead equipment for the production of oil and gas.
Condensate: Hydrocarbons which are in the gaseous state under reservoir conditions and which become liquid when temperature or pressure is reduced. A mixture of pentanes and higher hydrocarbons.
Connate water: Salt water occurring with oil and gas in the reservoir.
Coring: Taking rock samples from a well by means of a special tool - a "core barrel".
Crane barge: A large barge, capable of lifting heavy equipment onto offshore platforms. Also known as a "derrick barge".
Creaming Theory: A statistical technique which recognises that in any exploration province after an initial period in which the largest fields are found, success rates and average field sizes decline as more exploration wells are drilled and knowledge of the area matures.
CRINE: Cost Reduction Initiative for the New Era.
Cubic foot: A standard unit used to measure quantity of gas (at atmospheric pressure); 1 cubic foot = 0.0283 cubic metres.
Cuttings: Rock chippings cut from the formation by the drill bit, and brought to the surface with the mud. Used by geologists to obtain formation data.
Derrick: The tower-like structure that houses most of the drilling controls.
Development phase: The phase in which a proven oil or gas field is brought into production by drilling production (development) wells.
Drilling rig: A drilling unit that is not permanently fixed to the seabed, e.g. a drillship, a semi-submersible or a jack-up unit. Also means the derrick and its associated machinery.
Dry Gas: Natural gas composed mainly of methane with only minor amounts of ethane, propane and butane and little or no heavier hydrocarbons in the gasoline range.
Dry hole: A well which has proved to be non-productive.
E&A: Abbreviation for exploration and appraisal.
E&P: Abbreviation for exploration and production.
Enhanced oil recovery: A process whereby oil is recovered other than by the natural pressure in a reservoir.
Exploration drilling: Drilling carried out to determine whether hydrocarbons are present in a particular area or structure.
Exploration phase: The phase of operations which covers the search for oil or gas by carrying out detailed geological and geophysical surveys followed up where appropriate by exploratory drilling.
Exploration well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as a "wildcat well".
Farm in: When a company acquires an interest in a block by taking over all or part of the financial commitment for drilling an exploration well.
Field: A geographical area under which an oil or gas reservoir lies.
Fishing: Retrieving objects from the borehole, such as a broken drillstring, or tools.
Formation pressure: The pressure at the bottom of a well when it is shut in at the wellhead.
Formation water: Salt water underlying gas and oil in the formation.
Fracturing: A method of breaking down a formation by pumping fluid at very high pressures. The objective is to increase production rates from a reservoir.
G: Gas.
G/C: Gas Condensate.
Gas field: A field containing natural gas but no oil.
Gas injection: The process whereby separated associated gas is pumped back into a reservoir for conservation purposes or to maintain the reservoir pressure.
Gas/oil ratio: The volume of gas at atmospheric pressure produced per unit of oil produced.
Hydrocarbon: A compound containing only the elements hydrogen and carbon. May exist as a solid, a liquid or a gas. The term is mainly used in a catch-all sense for oil, gas and condensate.
Injection well: A well used for pumping water or gas into the reservoir.
IS: Irish Sea.
Jacket: The lower section, or "legs", of an offshore platform.
Kick: A well is said to "kick" if the formation pressure exceeds the pressure exerted by the mud column.
Lay barge: A barge that is specially equipped to lay submarine pipelines.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG): Oilfield or naturally occurring gas, chiefly methane, liquefied for transportation.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG): Light hydrocarbon material, gaseous at atmospheric temperature and pressure, held in the liquid state by pressure to facilitate storage, transport and handling. Commercial liquefied gas consists essentially of either propane or butane, or mixtures thereof.
mboe: Million Barrels Oil Equivalent.
Metric tonne: Equivalent to 1000 kilos, 2204.61 lbs; 7.5 barrels.
mmcfd: Millions of cubic feet per day (of gas).
Moonpool: An aperture in the centre of a drillship or semi-submersible drilling rig, through which drilling and diving operations can be conducted.
Mt: Million tonnes.
Mud: A mixture of base substance and additives used to lubricate the drill bit and to counteract the natural pressure of the formation.
Natural gas: Gas, occurring naturally, and often found in association with crude petroleum.
NGLs: Natural gas liquids. Liquid hydrocarbons found in association with natural gas.
NNS: Northern North Sea.
O: Oil.
O&G: Oil and Gas.
Oil: A mixture of liquid hydrocarbons of different molecular weights.
Oil field: A geographic area under which an oil reservoir lies.
Oil in place: An estimated measure of the total amount of oil contained in a reservoir, and, as such, a higher figure than the estimated recoverable reserves of oil.
Operator: The company that has legal authority to drill wells and undertake production of hydrocarbons are found. The Operator is often part of a consortium and acts on behalf of this consortium.
Opex: Operating expenditure.
Payzone: Rock in which oil and gas are found in exploitable quantities.
Permeability: The property of a formation which quantifies the flow of a fluid through the pore spaces and into the wellbore.
Petroleum: A generic name for hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas and their products.
Platform: An offshore structure that is permanently fixed to the seabed.
Porosity: The percentage of void in a porous rock compared to the solid formation.
Possible reserves: Those reserves which at present cannot be regarded as 'probable' but are estimated to have a significant but less than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Primary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir purely by using the natural pressure in the reservoir to force the oil or gas out.
Probable reserves: Those reserves which are not yet proven but which are estimated to have a better than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Proven field: An oil and/or gas field whose physical extent and estimated reserves have been determined.
Proven reserves: Those reserves which on the available evidence are virtually certain to be technically and economically producible (i.e. having a better than 90% chance of being produced).
Recoverable reserves: That proportion of the oil and/gas in a reservoir that can be removed using currently available techniques.
Recovery factor: The ratio of recoverable oil and/or gas reserves to the estimated oil and/or gas in place in the reservoir.
Reservoir: The underground formation where oil and gas has accumulated It consists of a porous rock to hold the oil or gas, and a cap rock that prevents its escape.
Riser (drilling): A pipe between a seabed BOP and a floating drilling rig.
Riser (production): The section of pipework that joins a seabed wellhead to the Christmas tree.
Roughneck: Drill crew members who work on the derrick floor, screwing together the sections of drillpipe when running or pulling a drillstring.
Roustabout: Drill crew members who handle the loading and unloading of equipment and assist in general operations around the rig.
Royalty payment: The cash or kind paid to the owner of mineral rights.
Secondary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir by artificially maintaining or enhancing the reservoir pressure by injecting gas, water or other substances into the reservoir rock.
Shutdown: A production hiatus during which the platform ceases to produce while essential maintenance work is undertaken.
SNSL: Southern North Sea.
Spud-in: The operation of drilling the first part of a new well.
Suspended well: A well that has been capped off temporarily.
tcf: Trillion Cubic Feet (of gas).
Toolpusher: Second-in-command of a drilling crew under the drilling superintendent. Responsible for the day-to-day running of the rig and for ensuring that all the necessary equipment is available.
Topsides: The superstructure of a platform.
UKCS: United Kingdom Continental Shelf.
UKOOA: U.K. Offshore Operators Association Limited.
Well log: A record of geological formation penetrated during drilling, including technical details of the operation.
Wildcat well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as a "exploration well".
Ety.: The term comes from exploration wells in West Texas in the 1920s. Wildcats were abundant in the locality, and those unlucky enough to be shot were hung from oil derricks.
WoB: West of Britain.
Workover: Remedial work to the equipment within a well, the well pipework, or relating to attempts to increase the rate of flow.
WoS: West of Shetland Isles.
Drilling Prospects
Fox Oil Drilling Company is actively seeking drilling prospects. We are targeting exploratory plays with large acreage positions and multi-million barrel of oil equivalent reserves.
The Company will take farmouts to drill with its own rigs and will also participate alongside other industry partners. Depending on the experience of the operator, Fox Oil Drilling Company will consider non-operating working interests. However, the Company prefers being the operator and drilling contractor.
Fox Oil Drilling's Chairman, Jason Fox, has been involved in oil exploration and production since 1972. The Company's team of geologists, geophysicists and petroleum engineers can evaluate your prospects in a confidential and timely manner. We welcome you to submit your prospects to us for review.
Oil exploration
Oil exploration is the search by petroleum geologists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface. Oil and gas exploration are grouped under the science of petroleum geology.
Exploration methods
Visible surface features such as oil seeps, natural gas seeps, pockmarks (underwater craters caused by escaping gas) provides basic evidence of hydrocarbon generation (be it shallow or deep in the Earth); however, most exploration depends on highly sophisticated technology to detect and determine the extent of these deposits. Areas thought to contain hydrocarbons are initially subjected to a gravity survey or magnetic survey to detect large scale features of the sub-surface geology. Features of interest (known as leads) are subjected to more detailed seismic surveys which works on the principle of the time it takes for reflected sound waves to travel through matter (rock) of varying densities and using the process of depth conversion to create a profile of the substructure. Finally, when a prospect has been identified evaluated and passes the oil companies selection criteria, an exploration well is drilled to conclusively determine the presence or absence of oil or gas.
Oil exploration is an expensive, high-risk operation. Offshore and remote area exploration is generally only undertaken by very large corporations or national governments, typical Shallow shelf oil wells (e.g. North sea) cost $10 - 30 Million, Deep water wells can cost up to $100 Million plus. Hundreds of smaller companies search for onshore hydrocarbon deposits worldwide, with some wells costing as little as $500,000 USD.
Elements of a Petroleum Prospect
A petroleum prospect is a potential trap which geologists believe may contain petroleum. There are five elements which all have to be present for a prospect to contain hydrocarbons. If any of them fail, then we get a dry hole.
- A source rock - When organic-rich rock such as oil shale or coal is subjected to high pressure and temperature over an extended period of time, hydrocarbons form.
- Migration - The Hydrocarbons are expelled from source rock by three density-related mechanisms: the newly-matured hydrocarbons are less dense than their precursors, which causes overpressure; the hydrocarbons are later medium, and so migrate upwards due to buoyancy, and the fluids expand as further burial causes increased heating. Most hydrocarbons migrate to the surface as oil seeps, but some will get trapped.
- Trap - The hydrocarbons are buoyant and have to be trapped within a structural (e.g Anticline, fault block) or stratigraphic trap.
- Seal or cap Rock - The hydrocarbon trap has to be covered by an impermeable rock known as a seal or cap-rock in order to prevent hydrocarbons escaping to the surface.
- Reservoir - The hydrocarbons are contained in a reservoir rock. This is a porous sandstone or limestone. The oil collects in the pores within the rock. The reservoir must also be permeable so that the hydrocarbons will flow to surface during production.
Terms used in petroleum evaluation
- Lead - a feature which may contain hydrocarbons
- Prospect - a Lead which has been fully evaluated and is ready to drill
- Chance of Success - An estimate of the chance of all the elements (see above) within a prospect working, described as a probability. High risk prospects have a less than 10% chance of working, medium risk prospects 10-20%, low risk prospects over 20 %. Typically about 40% of wells recently drilled find commercial hydrocarbons.
- Hydrocarbon in Place - amount of hydrocarbon likely to be contained in the prospect. This is calculated using the volumetric equation - GRV x N/G x Porosity x Sh x FVF
- GRV - Gross Rock volume - amount of rock in the trap above the hydrocarbon water contact
- N/G - net/gross ratio - percentage of the GRV formed by the reservoir rock ( range is 0 to 1)
- Porosity - percentage of the net reservoir rock occupied by pores (typically 5-35 %)
- Sh - hydrocarbon saturation - some of the pore space is filled with water - this must be discounted
- FVF - formation volume factor - oil shrinks and gas expand when brought to the surface. The FVF converts volumes at reservoir conditions (high pressure and high temperature) to storage and sale conditions
- Recoverable hydrocarbons - amount of hydrocarbon likely to be recovered during production. This is typically 10-50% in an oil field and 50-80% in a gas field.
Licensing
Petroleum resources are typically owned by the government of the host country. The government issues licences to explore, develop and produce its oil and gas resources, which are typically administered by the oil ministry. There are several different types of licence. Typically oil companies operate in joint ventures to spread the risk, one of the companies in the partnership is designated the operator who actually supervises the work.
- Tax and Royalty - Companies would pay a royalty on any oil produced, together with a profits tax (which can have expenditure offset against it). In some cases there are also various bonuses and ground rents (licence fees) payable to the government - for example a signature bonus payable at the start of the licence. Licences are awarded in competitive bid rounds on the basis of either the size of the work programme (number of wells, seismic etc) or size of the signature bonus.
- Production Sharing contract (PSA) - A PSA is more complex than a Tax/Royalty system - The companies bid on the percentage of the production that the host government receives (this may be variable with the oil price), There is often also participation by the Government owned National Oil Company (NOC). There are also various bonuses to be paid. Development expenditure is offset against production revenue.
- Service contract - This is when an oil company acts as a contractor for the host government, being paid to produce the hydrocarbons.
Reserves and resources
Resources are hydrocarbons which may or may not be produced in the future. A resource number may be assigned to an undrilled prospect or an unappraised discovery. Appraisal by drilling additional delineation wells or acquiring extra seismic data will confirm the size of the field and lead to project sanction. A this point the relevant government body gives the oil company a production licence which enables the field to be developed. This is also the point at which oil reserves can be formally booked.
Definition of oil reserves
Oil reserves are a primarily a measure of geological risk - of the probability of oil existing and being producible under current economic conditions using current technology. The three categories of reserves generally used are proven, probable, and possible reserves.
- Proven reserves - defined as oil and gas "Reasonably Certain" to be producable using current technology at current prices, with current commercial terms and government consent- also known in the industry as 1P. Some Industry specialists refer to this as P90 - i.e having a 90 % certainty of being produced
- Probable reserves - defined as oil and gas "Reasonaby Probable" of being produced using current or likely technology at current prices, with current commercial terms and government concent - Some Industry specialists refer to this as P50 - i.e having a 50 % certainty of being produced. - This is also known in the industry as 2P or Proven plus probable
- Possible reserves - i.e "having a chance of being developed under favourable circumstances" - Some industry specialists refer to this as P10 - i.e having a 10 % certainty of being produced. - This is also known in the industry as 3P or Proven plus probable plus possible
Reserve booking
Oil and gas reserves are the main asset of an oil company - booking is the process by which they are added to the Balance sheet. This is done according to a set of rules developed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). The Reserves of any company listed on the New York Stock Exchange - which in practice means virtually every commercial company in the world - have to be stated to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In many cases these reported reserves are audited by external geologists, although this is not a legal requirement. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rejects the probability concept and prohibits companies from mentioning probable and possible reserves in their filings. Thus, official estimates of proven reserves will always be understated compared to what oil companies think actually exists. For practical puposes companies will use proven plus probable estimate (2P), and for long term planning they will be looking primarily at possible reserves.
Petroleum
Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and elaion – oil or Latin oleum – oil ) or crude oil is a black, dark brown or greenish liquid found in porous rock formations in the earth. The American Petroleum Institute, in its Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards (MPMS), defines it as "a substance, generally liquid, occurring naturally in the earth and composed mainly of mixtures of chemical compounds of carbon and hydrogen with or without other nonmetallic elements such as sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen."
Petroleum is found in porous rock formations in the upper strata of some areas of the Earth's crust. It consists of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, mostly alkanes, but may vary greatly in appearance and composition. Petroleum is used mostly, by volume, for producing fuel oil and petrol (gasoline), both important "primary energy" sources (IEA Key World Energy Statistics). Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics. 84% (37 of 44 gallons in a typical barrel) of all petroleum extracted is processed as fuels, including gasoline, diesel, jet, heating, and other fuel oils, and liquefied petrolem gas [1]; the other 16% is converted into other materials such as plastic.
Known reserves of petroleum are estimated at around 1000 gigabarrels, (that is, one thousand billion), and consumption is currently around 84 million barrels per day, or 31 gigabarrels per year. Since petroleum is a non-renewable resource, many people are worried about peak oil and eventual depletion in the near future. Due to its continual demand and consequent value, oil has been dubbed black gold. The combining form of the word petroleum is petro-, as in petrodiesel (petroleum diesel).
Formation
Biogenic theory
Most geologists view crude oil, like coal and natural gas, as the product of compression and heating of ancient organic materials over geological time. According to this theory, oil is formed from the preserved remains of prehistoric zooplankton and algae which have been settled to the sea bottom in large quantities under anoxic conditions. (Terrestrial plants tend to form coal, and very few dinosaurs have been converted into oil.) Over geological time this organic matter, mixed with mud, is buried under heavy layers of sediment. The resulting high levels of heat and pressure cause the remains to metamorphose, first into a waxy material known as kerogen which is found in various oil shales around the world, and then with more heat into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in a process known as catagenesis. Because most hydrocarbons are lighter than rock or water, these sometimes migrate upward through adjacent rock layers until they become trapped beneath impermeable rocks, within porous rocks called reservoirs. Concentration of hydrocarbons in a trap forms an oil field, from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping.
Geologists often refer to an "oil window" which is the temperature range that oil forms in—below the minimum temperature oil remains trapped in the form of kerogen, and above the maximum temperature the oil is converted to natural gas through the process of thermal cracking. Though this happens at different depths in different locations around the world, a 'typical' depth for the oil window might be 4–6 km. Note that even if oil is formed at extreme depths, it may be trapped at much shallower depths, even if it is not formed there. (In the case of the Athabasca Oil Sands, it is found right at the surface.) Three conditions must be present for oil reservoirs to form: first, a source rock rich in organic material buried deep enough for subterranean heat to cook it into oil; second, a porous and permeable reservoir rock for it to accumulate in; and last a cap rock (seal) that prevents it from escaping to the surface.
If an oil well were to run dry and be capped, it would likely fill back to its original supply eventually. There is considerable question about how long this would take. Some formations appear to have a regeneration time of decades. Majority opinion is that oil is being formed at less than 1% of the current consumption rate.
The vast majority of oil that has been produced by the earth has long ago escaped to the surface and been biodegraded by oil-eating bacteria. What oil companies are looking for is the small fraction that has been trapped by this rare combination of circumstances. Oil sands are reservoirs of partially biodegraded oil still in the process of escaping, but contain so much migrating oil that, although most of it has escaped, vast amounts are still present - more than can be found in conventional oil reservoirs. On the other hand, oil shales are source rocks that have never been buried deep enough to convert their trapped kerogen into oil.
The reactions that produce oil and natural gas are often modeled as first order breakdown reactions, where kerogen is broken down to oil and natural gas by a set of parallel reactions, and oil eventually breaks down to natural gas by another set of reactions. The first set was originally patented in 1694 under British Crown Patent No. 330 covering "a way to extract and make great quantityes of pitch, tarr, and oyle out of a sort of stone." The latter set is regularly used in petrochemical plants and oil refineries.
Abiogenic theory
The idea of abiogenic petroleum origin was championed in the Western world by astronomer Thomas Gold based on thoughts from Russia, mainly on studies of Nikolai Kudryavtsev. The idea proposes that hydrocarbons of purely geological origin exist in the planet. Hydrocarbons are less dense than aqueous pore fluids, and are proposed to migrate upward through deep fracture networks. Thermophilic, rock-dwelling microbial life-forms are proposed to be in part responsible for the biomarkers found in petroleum.
However, this theory is a minority opinion, especially amongst geologists and no oil companies are currently known to explore for oil based on this theory.
Extraction
Locating an oil field is the first obstacle to be overcome. Today, geologists use seismic surveys to search for geological structures that may form oil reservoirs. The "classic" method includes making underground explosion nearby and observing the seismic response that provides information about the geological structures under the ground [1]. However the "passive" methods that extract information from naturally-occurring seismic waves are also known [2].
Other instruments such as gravimeters and magnetometers are also sometimes used in the search for petroleum. Generally, the first stage in the extraction of crude oil is to drill a well into the underground reservoir. When an oil bearing structure has been tapped, the wellsite geologist (known on the rig as the "mudlogger") will note its presence. Historically, in the USA, some oil fields existed where the oil rose naturally to the surface, but most of these fields have long since been depleted, except for certain remote locations in Alaska. Often many wells (called multilateral wells) are drilled into the same reservoir, to ensure that the extraction rate will be economically viable. Also, some wells (secondary wells) may be used to pump water, steam, acids or various gas mixtures into the reservoir to raise or maintain the reservoir pressure, and so maintain an economic extraction rate.
If the underground pressure in the oil reservoir is sufficient, then the oil will be forced to the surface under this pressure. Gaseous fuels, natural gas or water are usually present, which also supply needed underground pressure. In this situation it is sufficient to place a complex arrangement of valves (the Christmas tree) on the well head to connect the well to a pipeline network for storage and processing. This is called primary oil recovery. Usually, only about 20% of the oil in a reservoir can be extracted this way.
The amount of oil that is recoverable is determined by a number of factors including the permeability of the rocks, the strength of natural drives (the gas present, pressure from adjacent water or gravity), and the viscosity of the oil. When the reservoir rocks are "tight" such as shale, oil generally cannot flow through but when they are permeable such as in sandstone, oil flows freely. The flow of oil is often helped by natural pressures surrounding the reservoir rocks including natural gas that may be dissolved in the oil, natural gas present above the oil, water below the oil and the strength of gravity. Oils tend to span a large range of viscosity from liquids as light as gasoline to heavy as tar. The lightest forms tend to result in higher production rates.
Over the lifetime of the well the pressure will fall, and at some point there will be insufficient underground pressure to force the oil to the surface. If economical, and it often is, the remaining oil in the well is extracted using secondary oil recovery methods (see: energy balance and net energy gain). Secondary oil recovery uses various techniques to aid in recovering oil from depleted or low-pressure reservoirs. Sometimes pumps, such as beam pumps and electrical submersible pumps (ESPs), are used to bring the oil to the surface. Other secondary recovery techniques increase the reservoir's pressure by water injection, natural gas reinjection and gas lift, which injects air, carbon dioxide or some other gas into the reservoir. Together, primary and secondary recovery allow 25% to 35% of the reservoir's oil to be recovered.
Tertiary oil recovery reduces the oil's viscosity to increase oil production. Tertiary recovery is started when secondary oil recovery techniques are no longer enough to sustain production, but only when the oil can still be extracted profitably. This depends on the cost of the extraction method and the current price of crude oil. When prices are high, previously unprofitable wells are brought back into production and when they are low, production is curtailed. Thermally enhanced oil recovery methods (TEOR) are tertiary recovery techniques that heat the oil and make it easier to extract. Steam injection is the most common form of TEOR, and is often done with a cogeneration plant. In this type of cogeneration plant, a gas turbine is used to generate electricity and the waste heat is used to produce steam, which is then injected into the reservoir. This form of recovery is used extensively to increase oil production in the San Joaquin Valley, which has very heavy oil, yet accounts for 10% of the United States' oil production. In-situ burning is another form of TEOR, but instead of steam, some of the oil is burned to heat the surrounding oil. Occasionally, detergents are also used to decrease oil viscosity. Tertiary recovery allows another 5% to 15% of the reservoir's oil to be recovered.
History
Petroleum, in some form or other, is not a substance new in the world's history. More than four thousand years ago, according to Herodotus and confirmed by Diodorus Siculus, asphalt was employed in the construction of the walls and towers of Babylon. Great quantities of it were found on the banks of the river Issus, one of the tributaries of the Euphrates. Ancient Persian tablets indicate the medicinal and lighting uses of petroleum in the upper levels of their society.
The first oil wells were drilled in China in the 4th century or earlier. They had depths of up to 243 meters and were drilled using bits attached to bamboo poles. The oil was burned to evaporate brine and produce salt. By the 10th century, extensive bamboo pipelines connected oil wells with salt springs.
In the 8th century, the streets of the newly constructed Baghdad were paved with tar, derived from easily accessible petroleum from natural fields in the region. In the 9th century, oil fields were exploited in Baku, Azerbaijan, to produce naphtha. These fields were described by the geographer Masudi in the 10th century, and by Marco Polo in the 13th century, who described the output of those wells as hundreds of shiploads. (See also: Timeline of Islamic science and technology.)
The modern history of petroleum began in 1846, with the discovery of the process of refining kerosene from coal by Atlantic Canada's Abraham Pineo Gesner. Poland's Ignacy Lukasiewicz discovered a means of refining kerosene from the more readily available "rock oil" ("petr-oleum") in 1852 and the first rock oil mine was built in Bóbrka, near Krosno in southern Poland in the following year. These discoveries rapidly spread around the world, and Meerzoeff built the first Russian refinery in the mature oil fields at Baku in 1861. At that time Baku produced about 90% of the world's oil. The battle of Stalingrad was fought over Baku (now the capital of the Azerbaijan Republic). Oil field in California, 1938. The first modern oil well was drilled in 1848 by Russian engineer F.N. Semyonov, on the Aspheron Peninsula north-east of Baku.
The first commercial oil well drilled in North America was in Oil Springs, Ontario, Canada in 1858, dug by James Miller Williams. The American petroleum industry began with Edwin Drake's discovery of oil in 1859, near Titusville, Pennsylvania; like the Chinese, Drake had been boring for salt. The industry grew slowly in the 1800s, driven by the demand for kerosene and oil lamps. It became a major national concern in the early part of the 20th century; the introduction of the internal combustion engine provided a demand that has largely sustained the industry to this day. Early "local" finds like those in Pennsylvania and Ontario were quickly exhausted, leading to "oil booms" in Texas, Oklahoma, and California.
By 1910, significant oil fields had been discovered in Canada (specifically, in the province of Alberta), the Dutch East Indies (1885, in Sumatra), Persia (1908, in Masjed Soleiman), Peru, Venezuela, and Mexico, and were being developed at an industrial level.
Even until the mid-1950s, coal was still the world's foremost fuel, but oil quickly took over. Following the 1973 energy crisis and the 1979 energy crisis, there was significant media coverage of oil supply levels. This brought to light the concern that oil is a limited resource that will eventually run out, at least as an economically viable energy source. At the time, the most common and popular predictions were always quite dire, and when they did not come true, many dismissed all such discussion. The future of petroleum as a fuel remains somewhat controversial. USA Today news (2004) reports that there are 40 years of petroleum left in the ground. Some would argue that because the total amount of petroleum is finite, the dire predictions of the 1970s have merely been postponed. Others argue that technology will continue to allow for the production of cheap hydrocarbons and that the earth has vast sources of unconventional petroleum reserves in the form of tar sands, bitumen fields and oil shale that will allow for petroleum use to continue in the future, with both the Canadian tar sands and United States shale oil deposits representing potential reserves matching existing liquid petroleum deposits worldwide.
Today, about 90% of vehicular fuel needs are met by oil. Petroleum also makes up 40% of total energy consumption in the United States, but is responsible for only 2% of electricity generation. Petroleum's worth as a portable, dense energy source powering the vast majority of vehicles and as the base of many industrial chemicals makes it one of the world's most important commodities. Access to it was a major factor in several military conflicts, including World War I, World War II and the Persian Gulf War. The top three oil producing countries are Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United States. About 80% of the world's readily accessible reserves are located in the Middle East, with 62.5% coming from the Arab 5: Saudi Arabia (12.5%), UAE, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait. The USA has less than 3%.
Means of producing oil
As oil prices continue to escalate, other alternatives to producing oil have been gaining importance. The best known such methods involve extracting oil from sources such as oil shale or tar sands. These resources are known to exist in large quantities; however, extracting the oil at low cost without negatively impacting the environment remains a challenge.
It is also possible to transform natural gas or coal into oil (or, more precisely, the various hydrocarbons found in oil). The best-known such method is the Fischer-Tropsch process. It was a concept pioneered in Nazi Germany when imports of petroleum were restricted due to war and Germany found a method to extract oil from coal. It was known as Ersatz ("substitute" in German), and accounted for nearly half the total oil used in WWII by Germany. However, the process was used only as a last resort as naturally occurring oil was much cheaper. As crude oil prices increase, the cost of coal to oil conversion becomes comparatively cheaper. The method involves converting high ash coal into synthetic oil in a multistage process. Ideally, a ton of coal produces nearly 200 liters (1.25 bbl, 52 US gallons) of crude, with by-products ranging from tar to rare chemicals.
Currently, two companies have commercialised their Fischer-Tropsch technology. Shell in Bintulu, Malaysia, uses natural gas as a feedstock, and produces primarily low-sulfur diesel fuels. Sasol in South Africa uses coal as a feedstock, and produces a variety of synthetic petroleum products. The process is today used in South Africa to produce most of the country's diesel fuel from coal by the company Sasol. The process was used in South Africa to meet its energy needs during its isolation under Apartheid. This process has received renewed attention in the quest to produce low sulfur diesel fuel in order to minimize the environmental impact from the use of diesel engines.
An alternative method is the Karrick process, which converts coal into crude oil, pioneered in the 1930s in the United States.
More recently explored is thermal depolymerization (TDP). In theory, TDP can convert any organic waste into petroleum.
Black Gold
Black gold, in most of the world, refers to Petroleum. The name is derived from the black color of crude oil combined with its status as a highly valuable resource, serving in the industrial age, in many ways, the same role that gold did in the pre-industrial era.
In the Appalachian Mountains of the United States, a major coal-producing region, the term refers to coal. In Taiwan, it means iron, petroleum, and coal.
The term was used in the theme song of the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies, along with the term "Texas Tea", another synonym for crude oil.
Classification
The oil industry classifies "crude" by the location of its origin (e.g., "West Texas Intermediate, WTI" or "Brent") and often by its relative weight (API gravity) or viscosity ("light", "intermediate" or "heavy"); refiners may also refer to it as "sweet," which means it contains relatively little sulfur, or as "sour," which means it contains substantial amounts of sulfur and requires more refining in order to meet current product specifications. Each crude oil has unique molecular characteristics which are understood by the use of crude oil assay analysis in petroleum laboratories.
The world reference barrels are:
- Brent Crude, comprising 15 oils from fields in the Brent and Ninian systems in the East Shetland Basin of the North Sea. The oil is landed at Sullom Voe terminal in the Shetlands. Oil production from Europe, Africa and Middle Eastern oil flowing West tends to be priced off the price of this oil, which forms a benchmark.
- West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for North American oil.
- Dubai, used as benchmark for Middle East oil flowing to the Asia-Pacific region.
- Tapis (from Malaysia, used as a reference for light Far East oil)
- Minas (from Indonesia, used as a reference for heavy Far East oil)
- The OPEC basket used to be the average price of the following blends:
- Arab Light Saudi Arabia
- Bonny Light Nigeria
- Fateh Dubai
- Isthmus Mexico (non-OPEC)
- Minas Indonesia
- Saharan Blend Algeria
- Tia Juana Light Venezuela
OPEC attempts to keep the price of the Opec Basket between upper and lower limits, by increasing and decreasing production. This makes the measure important for market analysts. The OPEC Basket, including a mix of light and heavy crudes, is heavier than both Brent and WTI.
In June 15, 2005 the OPEC basket was changed to reflect the characteristics of the oil produced by OPEC members. The new OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Minas (Indonesia), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and BCF 17 (Venezuela).
Pricing
References to the oil prices are usually either references to the spot price of either WTI/Light Crude as traded on New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for delivery in Cushing, Oklahoma; or the price of Brent as traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE, which the International Petroleum Exchange has been incorporated into) for delivery at Sullom Voe. The price of a barrel (which is 42 gallons) of oil is highly dependent on both its grade (which is determined by factors such as its specific gravity or API and its sulphur content) and location. The vast majority of oil will not be traded on an exchange but on an over-the-counter basis, typically with reference to a marker crude oil grade that is typically quoted via pricing agencies such as Argus Media Ltd and Platts. For example in Europe a particular grade of oil, say Fulmar, might be sold at a price of "Brent plus US$0.25/barrel" or as an intra-company transaction. IPE claim that 65% of traded oil is priced off their Brent benchmarks. Other important benchmarks include Dubai, Tapis, and the OPEC basket. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) uses the Imported Refiner Acquisition Cost, the weighted average cost of all oil imported into the US as their "world oil price".
It is often claimed that OPEC sets the oil price and the true cost of a barrel of oil is around $2, which is equivalent to the cost of extraction of a barrel in the Middle East. These estimates of costs ignore the cost of finding and developing oil reserves. Furthermore the important cost as far as price is concerned, is not the price of the cheapest barrel but the cost of producing the marginal barrel. By limiting production OPEC has caused more expensive areas of production such as the North Sea to be developed before the Middle East has been exhausted. OPEC's power is also often overstated. Investing in spare capacity is expensive and the low oil price environment in the late 90s led to cutbacks in investment. This has meant during the oil price rally seen between 2003-2005, OPEC's spare capacity has not been sufficient to stabilise prices.
Oil demand is highly dependent on global macroeconomic conditions, so this is also an important determinant of price. Some economists claim that high oil prices have a large negative impact on the global growth. This means that the relationship between the oil price and global growth is not particularly stable although a high oil price is often thought of as being a late cycle phenomenon.
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary
Appraisal Well: Well drilled after the discovery of oil or gas to establish the limits of the reservoir, the productivity of wells in it and the properties of the oil or gas. See also development well
Block: Subdivision of sea area for the purpose of licensing to a company or companies for exploration/production rights. A UK block is 1/30 of a quadrant and is approximately 200-250 sq. km (a quadrant is one degree by one degree.)
Barrel: (bbl: barrel; mmbbls: million barrels) a unit of measure for oil and petroleum products equal to 42 US gallons or 35 imperial gallons
Blow-out: Accidental escape of oil or gas from a well during the drilling stage
Blow-out Preventer (BOP): High pressure valve fitted to the top of the casing to prevent blow-outs
Compressor: An engine used to increase the pressure of natural gas so that it will flow more quickly through a pipeline
Condensate: Liquid hydrocarbons separated and recovered from a condensate gas reservoir
Decommissioning/Abandonment: Removal of production equipment and facilities from depleted oil fields
Development well: A well drilled within the proved area of an oil or gas reservoir to the depth of a stratigraphic horizon known to be productive
Directional Drilling: Also known as deviated drilling; technique used in production drilling whereby wells are drilled at an angle from a central point so that a number of development wells can be drilled from a single drilling facility
Downhole: A term used to describe tools, equipment, and instruments used in the wellbore, or conditions or techniques applying to the wellbore
Downstream: Refining of crude oil and the marketing and distribution of oil products that occur after refining, as opposed to upstream
Downtime: The time during which offshore operations cannot be continued owing to adverse weather conditions, mechanical or other factors
Drill-bit: The cutting head attached to the drill-pipe
Drilling Muds or Fluid: Fluid, containing barytes, which is pumped through the drill-string to the bottom of the well, whence it rises to the surface through the space between drill-string and bore-hole wall. It acts as a lubricant and is used to control flow
Dry hole: Any exploratory or development well that does not find commercial quantities of hydrocarbons
E&P: Exploration and production. The "upstream" sector of the oil and gas industry
EOR: Enhanced Oil Recovery
Equity: Share or interest in an oil or gas licence or field
Exploratory well: A hole drilled: a) to find oil or gas in an area previously considered unproductive; b) to find a new reservoir in a known field, i.e., one previously producing oil and gas from another reservoir, or c) to extend the limit of a known oil or gas reservoir
Farm in: Where a company to joins a joint venture in return for paying disproportionately for future joint venture operations
Field: An area consisting of a single reservoir or multiple reservoirs all grouped on, or related to, the same individual geological structural feature or stratigraphic condition. The field name refers to the surface area, although it may refer to both the surface and the underground productive formations
Floater: An offshore drilling platform without a fixed base, usually held in position by anchor chains
FPSO: Floating Production Storage and Offloading
Integrated: When applied to an oil company, it indicates a firm that operates in both the upstream and downstream sectors (from exploration through to refining and marketing)
Jacket: Supporting structure for an offshore platform
Jack-up: Mobile offshore drilling platform with retractable legs, on which the platform rests on the seabed when operational
Joint venture: Oil companies generally participate in oil and gas projects through their equity share in a joint venture, usually unincorporated. The relationship between the companies is governed by a joint venture agreement
Lease: A legal document conveying the right to drill for oil and gas, or the tract of land on which a lease has been obtained where the producing wells and production equipment may be located
Licence: An exploration licence permits only geological and geophysical surveying and the drilling of shallow wells; a production licence confers exclusive rights on the licensee to search and bore for and get petroleum
Log: The results of a survey which gathers information about the subsurface formations. Logs typically consist of several curves on a long grid that describe properties within the wellbore or surrounding formations that can be interpreted to provide information about the location of oil, gas, and water. Also called well logs
mmcf: million cubic feet
mmcfd: million cubic feet per day
mmscfd: million standard cubic feet per day
bcf: billion cubic feet
Midstream: A term sometimes used to refer to those industry activities that fall between exploration and production (upstream) and refining and marketing (downstream). The term is most often applied to pipeline transportation of crude oil and natural gas
OPEC: Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries founded in 1960. Current members - Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Venezuela
Operator: One member of a joint venture is appointed operator and has the responsibility of carrying out operations on behalf of the joint venture
P&A (plugged and abandoned): A depleted well or dry hole that has been (typically) filled with cement with all surface equipment removed
Plateau Level: The level of peak production reached by an oil or gas field
Platform: A fixed structure resting on the seabed or piled into it from which development wells are drilled, using directional drilling, to exploit an oil or gas field. To date, these platforms are of two kinds, although several novel designs are in existence. Gravity structures, either concrete or hybrid with concrete base and steel legs and superstructure, which rest on the seabed by virtue of their own weight, or steel, which are piled into the seabed
Reservoir: A subsurface, porous, permeable rock formation in which oil and gas are found
Seismic: Data that is acquired by reflecting sound from underground strata and is processed to yield a picture of the sub-surface geology of an area
Semi-submersible: Mobile offshore drilling platform with floats or pontoons submerged to give stability while operating, kept in position by anchors or dynamic positioning
Spud, to: To commence drilling operations
Topsides: The top part of a platform positioned on the jacket
UKCS: United Kingdom Continental Shelf
Upstream: Upstream covers the exploration, production and transport prior to refining
Wellhead: The equipment at the surface of a well used to control the pressure and flow of fluids; the point at which the hydrocarbons and water exit the ground or sea bed
Wildcat: Speculative exploration well drilled in search of a new oil or gas accumulation
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary of Oil and Gas Terms
The following are abbreviations and definitions of terms commonly used in the oil and gas industry. Unless otherwise indicated, natural gas volumes are stated at the legal pressure base of the state or area in which the reserves are located and at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and in most instances are rounded to the nearest major multiple. BOEs are determined using the ratio of six Mcf of natural gas to one Bbl of oil.
“Bbl” means a barrel of 42 U.S. gallons of oil.
“Bcf” means billion cubic feet of natural gas.
“Bcfe” means billion cubic feet equivalent, determined using the ratio of six Mcf of natural gas to one Bbl of crude oil, condensate or natural gas liquids.
“BOE” means barrels of oil equivalent.
“Completion” means the installation of permanent equipment for the production of oil or gas.
“Development Well” means a well drilled within the proved area of an oil or gas reservoir to the depth of a stratigraphic horizon known to be productive.
“Exploratory Well” means a well drilled to find and produce oil or gas in an unproved area, to find a new reservoir in a field previously found to be productive of oil or gas in another reservoir, or to extend a known reservoir.
“Gross,” when used with respect to acres or wells, refers to the total acres or wells in which a company, individual, trust, or foundation has a working interest.
“Horizontal drilling” means a drilling technique that permits the operator to contact and intersect a larger portion of the producing horizon than conventional vertical drilling techniques and can result in both increased production rates and greater ultimate recoveries of hydrocarbons.
“MBbls” means thousand barrels of oil.
“Mcf” means thousand cubic feet of natural gas.
“Mcfe” means 1,000 cubic feet equivalent, determined using the ratio of six Mcf of natural gas to one Bbl of crude oil, condensate or natural gas liquids.
“MMBbls” means million barrels of oil.
“MMBOE” means million barrels of oil equivalent.
“MMcf” means million cubic feet of natural gas.
“MMcfe” means million cubic feet of gas equivalent, determined using the ratio of 6 Mcf of natural gas to 1 Bbl of crude oil, condensate or natural gas liquids.
“Net,” when used with respect to acres or wells, refers to gross acres of wells multiplied, in each case, by the percentage working interest owned by a company, individual, trust, or foundation.
“Net production” means production that is owned by a company, individual, trust, or foundation, less royalties and production due others.
“Oil” means crude oil or condensate.
“Operator” means the individual, company, trust, or foundation responsible for the exploration, development, and production of an oil or gas well or lease.
“Present Value of Future Revenues” means the pretax present value of estimated future revenues to be generated from the production of proved reserves, net of estimated production and future development costs. Future net revenues are discounted to a present value of an annual discount rate whcih is typically 10%.
“Proved Developed Reserves” means reserves that can be expected to be recovered through existing wells with existing equipment and operating methods. Additional oil and gas expected to be obtained through the application of fluid injection or other improved recovery techniques for supplementing the natural forces and mechanisms of primary recovery can be included as “proved developed reserves” only after testing by a pilot project, or after the operation of an installed program has confirmed through production response that increased recovery will be achieved.
“Proved Reserves” means the estimated quantities of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids which geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions, i.e., prices and costs as of the date the estimate is made. Prices include consideration of changes in existing prices provided only by contractual arrangements, but not on escalations based upon future conditions.
1. Reservoirs are considered proved if economic producibility is supported by either actual production or conclusive formation test. The area of a reservoir considered proved includes: (a) that portion delineated by drilling and defined by gas-oil and/or oil-water contacts, if any; and (b) the immediately adjoining areas not yet drilled, but which can be reasonably judged as economically productive on the basis of available geological and engineering data. In the absence of information on fluid contacts, the lowest known structural occurrence of hydrocarbons controls the lower proved limit of the reservoir.
2. Reserves which can be produced economically through application of improved recovery techniques (such as fluid injection) are included in the “proved” classification when successful testing by a pilot project, or the operation of an installed program in the reservoir, provides support for the engineering analysis on which the project or program was based.
3. Estimates of proved reserves do not include the following: (a) oil that may become available from known reservoirs but is classified separately as “indicated additional reserves”; (b) crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, the recovery of which is subject to reasonable doubt because of uncertainty as to geology, reservoir characteristics, or economic factors; (c) crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids that may occur in undrilled prospects; and, (d) crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids that may be recovered from oil shales, coal, gilsonite, and other such sources.
“Proved Undeveloped Reserves” means reserves that are expected to be recovered from new wells on undrilled acreage, or from existing wells where a relatively major expenditure is required for recompletion. Reserves on undrilled acreage are usually limited to those drilling units offsetting productive units that are reasonably certain of production when drilled. Proved reserves for other undrilled units can be claimed only where it can be demonstrated with certainty that there is continuity of production from the existing productive formation. Under no circumstances are estimates for proved undeveloped reserves generally attributed to any acreage for which an application of fluid injection or other improved recovery technique is contemplated, unless such techniques have been proved effective by actual tests in the area and in the same reservoir.
“Recompletion” means the completion for production of an existing well bore in another formation from that in which the well has been previously completed.
“Reserves” means proved reserves.
“Royalty” means an interest in an oil and gas lease that gives the owner of the interest the right to receive a portion of the production from the leased acreage (or of the proceeds of the sale of production), but generally does not require the owner to pay any portion of the costs of drilling or operating the wells on the leased acreage. Royalties may be either landowner’s royalties, which are reserved by the owner of the leased acreage at the time the lease is granted, or overriding royalties, which are usually reserved by an owner of the leasehold in connection with a transfer to a subsequent owner.
“3-D Seismic” means seismic data that is acquired and processed to yield a three-dimensional picture of the subsurface.
“Tertiary Recovery” means enhanced recovery methods for the production of oil or gas. Enhanced recovery of crude oil requires a means for displacing oil from the reservoir rock, modifying the properties of the fluids in the reservoir and/or the reservoir rock to cause movement of oil in an efficient manner, and providing the energy and drive mechanism to force its flow to a production well. Chemicals or energy is injected as required for displacement and for the control of flow rate and flow pattern in the reservoir, and a fluid drive is provided to force the oil toward a production well.
“Working Interest” means an interest in an oil and gas lease that gives the owner of the interest the right to drill for and produce oil and gas on the leased acreage and requires the owner to pay a share of the costs of drilling and production operations. The share of production to which a working interest owner is entitled will always be smaller than the share of costs that the working interest owner is required to bear, with the balance of the production accruing to the owners of royalties. For example, the owner of a 100% working interest in a lease burdened by a landowner’s royalty of 12.5% would be required to pay 100% of the costs of a well but would be entitled to retain 87.5% of the production.
“Workover” means operations on a producing well to restore or increase production.
Employment Opportunities
Fox Oil Drilling Company is the right choice for individuals with exceptional ethics, integrity and long-term vision. We care for our employees by promoting safety as a top company initiative. Other benefits include structured developmental career paths, competitive benefits and being part of a diverse, worldwide workforce.
Fox Oil Drilling Company is positioned for long-term growth. If you are looking for a career that offers challenging work and opportunities around the world, Fox Oil Drilling is the right choice. We are continuously seeking to provide career opportunities to experienced oil and gas personnel.
Fox Oil Drilling Company is an equal opportunity employer and practices careful, objective hiring methods. In addition, we have a longstanding practice of promoting from within, which encourages people to develop and grow inside the organization.
Drilling Superintendent
- The employee that supervises the work activity of the entire drilling department personnel to include carrying out objectives established by management. Essential functions include planning, scheduling, problem solving, conducting inspections and operational meetings, interacting with other rig department heads, and communicating directions to the Toolpusher. The ultimate objective of this position is to complete succesful oil and/or gas wells to the satisfaction of the client, company management and within compliance of applicable regulations.
- The employee in complete charge of the rig and all employees related to the rig. The Toolpusher is responsible for every aspect of a rig's functions and results, including hiring and firing.
- The employee directly in charge of a drilling rig and crew. The Driller's main duty is operation of the drilling equipment. The Driller is also responsible for the downhole tools and pipe measurements.
- The crew member who handles the upper end of the drill stem as it is being hoisted out of or lowered into the hole.
- A drilling crew member whose work station is on the drilling floor.
- Mechanics with experience in repairing and maintaining various oil and gas industry heavy equipment.
Equipment Operator
- Experienced truck drivers and dozer operators to move drilling equipment to well sites.
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary of Oil and Gas Terms
Abandon: (1) The proper plugging and abandoning of a well in compliance with all applicable regulations, and the cleaning up of the wellsite to the satisfaction of any governmental body having jurisdiction with respect thereto and to the reasonable satisfaction of the operator.(2) To cease efforts to find or produce from a well or field.(3) To plug a well completion and salvage material and equipment.
Abatement: (1) The act or process of reducing the intensity of pollution.(2) The use of some method of abating pollution.
American Petroleum Institute (API): The American Petroleum Institute is the primary trade association representing the oil and natural gas industry in the United States.
Annulus: The space between: (1) The casing and the wall of the borehole.(2) Two strings of casing.(3) Tubing and casing.
API: American Petroleum Institute
Api County Code: An indicator developed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) to identify areas such as counties and other subdivision areas identified within state boundaries. Defined by API Bulletin D12A, as amended. This code becomes a part of the API Well Number.
Api State Code: The indicator assigned to a state, as defined in API Bulletin D12A, as amended. This code is a part of the API Well Number (The Api State Code for Colorado is 05).
Api Well Number: A well identifier assigned as defined in API (American Petroleum Institute) Bulletin D12A, as amended. The API Well Numbers are assigned by the appropriate state or federal regulatory agency.
Appraisal Well: A well drilled as part of an appraisal drilling program which is carried out to determine the physical extent, reserves and likely production rate of a field.
Associated Gas: A well drilled as part of an appraisal drilling program which is carried out to determine the physical extent, reserves and likely production rate of a field.
Barrel: A unit of volume measurement used for petroleum and its products (7.3 barrels = 1 ton: 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic meter).
bbl: One barrel of oil; 1 barrel = 35 Imperial gallons (approx.), or 159 liters (approx.); 7.5 barrels = 1 ton (approx.); 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic meter.
bcf: Billion cubic feet; 1 bcf = 0.83 million tons of oil equivalent.
bcm: Billion cubic meters (1 cubic meter = 35.31 cubic feet).
Block: An acreage sub-division measuring approximately 10 x 20 kms, forming part of a quadrant. e.g. Block 9/13 is the 13th block in Quadrant 9.
Blow-out: When well pressure exceeds the ability of the wellhead valves to control it. Oil and gas "blow wild" at the surface.
Blow-out preventers (BOPs): Are high pressure wellhead valves, designed to shut off the uncontrolled flow of hydrocarbons.
BOP: See blow-out preventers
Borehole: The hole as drilled by the drill bit.
Bradenhead: A casinghead.
Casing: Pipe cemented in the well to seal off formation fluids or keep the hole from caving in.
Casing string: The steel tubing that lines a well after it has been drilled. It is formed from sections of steel tube screwed together.
Central estimate: A range of exploration drilling scenarios from which the following activity levels, based on recent historical experience, are adopted as the central estimates.
Christmas tree: The assembly of fittings and valves on the top of the casing which control the production rate of oil.
COGCC: Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
COGIS: Colorado Oil and Gas Information Systems
Commercial field: An oil and/or gas field judged to be capable of producing enough net income to make it worth developing.
Completion: The installation of permanent wellhead equipment for the production of oil and gas.
Condensate: Hydrocarbons which are in the gaseous state under reservoir conditions and which become liquid when temperature or pressure is reduced. A mixture of pentanes and higher hydrocarbons.
Coring: Taking rock samples from a well by means of a special tool - a "core barrel".
Crane barge: A large barge, capable of lifting heavy equipment onto offshore platforms. Also known as a "derrick barge".
Crude Oil: Liquid petroleum as it comes out of the ground as distinguished from refined oils manufactured out of it.
Cubic foot: A standard unit used to measure quantity of gas (at atmospheric pressure); 1 cubic foot = 0.0283 cubic meters.
Cuttings: Rock chips cut from the formation by the drill bit, and brought to the surface with the mud. Used by geologists to obtain formation data.
Deepen: To increase the distance below a specified reference datum.
Derrick: The tower-like structure that houses most of the drilling controls.
Development phase: The phase in which a proven oil or gas field is brought into production by drilling production (development) wells.
Drill: (1)To bore a hole, Also see Drilling(2)An implement with cutting edges used to bore holes.
Drilling: The using of a rig and crew for the drilling, suspension, completion, production testing, capping, plugging and abandoning, deepening, plugging back, sidetracking, redrilling or reconditioning of a well (except routine cleanout and pump or rod pulling operations) or the converting of a well to a source, injection, observation, or producing well, and including stratigraphic tests. Also includes any related environmental studies. Associated costs include completion costs but do not include equipping costs.
Drilling rig: A drilling unit that is not permanently fixed to the seabed, e.g. a drillship, a semi-submersible or a jack-up unit. Also means the derrick and its associated machinery.
Dry Gas: Natural gas composed mainly of methane with only minor amounts of ethane, propane and butane and little or no heavier hydrocarbons in the gasoline range.
Dry hole: A well which has proved to be non-productive.
E&A: Abbreviation for exploration and appraisal.
E&P: Abbreviation for exploration and production.
Enhanced oil recovery: A process whereby oil is recovered other than by the natural pressure in a reservoir.
Exploration drilling: Drilling carried out to determine whether hydrocarbons are present in a particular area or structure.
Exploration phase: The phase of operations which covers the search for oil or gas by carrying out detailed geological and geophysical surveys followed up where appropriate by exploratory drilling.
Exploration well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as a "wildcat well".
Farm in: When a company acquires an interest in a block by taking over all or part of the financial commitment for drilling an exploration well.
Field: A geographical area under which an oil or gas reservoir lies.
Fishing: Retrieving objects from the borehole, such as a broken drillstring, or tools.
Formation pressure: The pressure at the bottom of a well when it is shut in at the wellhead.
Formation water: Salt water underlying gas and oil in the formation.
Fracturing: A method of breaking down a formation by pumping fluid at very high pressures. The objective is to increase production rates from a reservoir.
G: Gas.
G/C: Gas Condensate.
Gas field: A field containing natural gas but no oil.
Gas injection: The process whereby separated associated gas is pumped back into a reservoir for conservation purposes or to maintain the reservoir pressure.
Gas/oil ratio: The volume of gas at atmospheric pressure produced per unit of oil produced.
Geographic Information Systems(GIS): A computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information.
GIS: See: Geographic Information Systems
Hydrocarbon: A compound containing only the elements hydrogen and carbon. May exist as a solid, a liquid or a gas. The term is mainly used in a catch-all sense for oil, gas and condensate.
Injection well: A well used for pumping water or gas into the reservoir.
Jacket: The lower section, or "legs", of an offshore platform.
Kick: A well is said to "kick" if the formation pressure exceeds the pressure exerted by the mud column.
Lay barge: A barge that is specially equipped to lay submarine pipelines.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG): Oilfield or naturally occurring gas, chiefly methane, liquefied for transportation.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG): Light hydrocarbon material, gaseous at atmospheric temperature and pressure, held in the liquid state by pressure to facilitate storage, transport and handling. Commercial liquefied gas consists essentially of either propane or butane, or mixtures thereof.
mboe: Million Barrels Oil Equivalent.
Mechanical Integrity Test: The act of setting a packer or retrievable bridge plug above the perforations in a wellbore and applying pressure to the annulus in order to ensure soundness of the casing.
Metric ton: Equivalent to 1000 kilos, 2204.61 lbs.; 7.5 barrels.
MIT: Mechanical Integrity Test
mmcfd: Millions of cubic feet per day (of gas).
Moonpool: An aperture in the center of a drillship or semi-submersible drilling rig, through which drilling and diving operations can be conducted.
MOU/MOA: MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING/AGREEMENT
Mud: A mixture of base substance and additives used to lubricate the drill bit and to counteract the natural pressure of the formation.
Natural gas: Gas, occurring naturally, and often found in association with crude petroleum.
Natural Gas Policy Act Of 1978: Enacted on November 9, 1978 and became effective December 1, 1978. The Act has been amended, and it replaced or amended the Natural Gas Act. Refer to 15USC 3301-3432.
NGLs: Natural gas liquids. Liquid hydrocarbons found in association with natural gas.
Ngpa: SEE: Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978.
O: Oil.
O&G: Oil and Gas.
Oil: A mixture of liquid hydrocarbons of different molecular weights.
Oil field: A geographic area under which an oil reservoir lies.
Oil in place: An estimated measure of the total amount of oil contained in a reservoir, and, as such, a higher figure than the estimated recoverable reserves of oil.
Operator: The company that has legal authority to drill wells and undertake the production of hydrocarbons that are found. The Operator is often part of a consortium and acts on behalf of this consortium.
Payzone: Rock in which oil and gas are found in exploitable quantities.
Permeability: The property of a formation which quantifies the flow of a fluid through the pore spaces and into the wellbore.
Petroleum: A generic name for hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas and their products.
Platform: An offshore structure that is permanently fixed to the seabed.
Porosity: The percentage of void in a porous rock compared to the solid formation.
Possible reserves: Those reserves which at present cannot be regarded as ‘probable’ but are estimated to have a significant but less than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Primary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir purely by using the natural pressure in the reservoir to force the oil or gas out.
Probable reserves: Those reserves which are not yet proven but which are estimated to have a better than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Proven field: An oil and/or gas field whose physical extent and estimated reserves have been determined.
Proven reserves: Those reserves which on the available evidence are virtually certain to be technically and economically producible (i.e. having a better than 90% chance of being produced).
Recomplete: An operation involving any of the following: (1) Deepening from one zone to another zone.(2) Completing well in an additional zone.(3) Plugging back from one zone to another zone.(4) Sidetracking to purposely change the location of the bottom of the well, but not including sidetracking for the sole purpose of bypassing obstructions in the borehole.(5) Conversion of a service well to an oil or gas well in a different zone.(6) Conversion of an oil or gas well to a service well in a different zone.
Recoverable reserves: That proportion of the oil and/gas in a reservoir that can be removed using currently available techniques.
Recovery factor: That proportion of the oil and/gas in a reservoir that can be removed using currently available techniques.
Reenter: To enter a previously abandoned well.
Reservoir: The underground formation where oil and gas has accumulated. It consists of a porous rock to hold the oil or gas, and a cap rock that prevents its escape.
Riser (drilling): A pipe between a seabed BOP and a floating drilling rig.
Riser (production): The section of pipework that joins a seabed wellhead to the Christmas tree.
Roughneck: Drill crew members who work on the derrick floor, screwing together the sections of drillpipe when running or pulling a drillstring.
Roustabout: Drill crew members who handle the loading and unloading of equipment and assist in general operations around the rig.
Royalty payment: The cash or kind paid to the owner of mineral rights.
Secondary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir by artificially maintaining or enhancing the reservoir pressure by injecting gas, water or other substances into the reservoir rock.
Shut In Well: A well which is capable of producing but is not presently producing. Reasons for a well being shut in may be lack of equipment, market or other.
Shutdown: A production hiatus during which the platform ceases to produce while essential maintenance work is undertaken.
SI/TA: Shut In /Temporarily Abandoned
Sidetrack: A wellbore segment extending from a wellbore intersection along a wellbore path to a different wellbore bottomhole from any previously existing wellbore bottomholes.
Sidetracking: The well activity of drilling a new wellbore segment from a wellbore intersection to a new wellbore bottomhole or target.
Spud-in: The operation of drilling the first part of a new well.
Surface Location: The location of a well or facility/measurement point.
Surface Reclamation: A restoration of the surface as for productivity or usefulness.
Suspended well: A well that has been capped off temporarily.
tcf: Trillion Cubic Feet (of gas).
Temporarily Abandoned: The act of isolating the completed interval or intervals within a wellbore from the surface by means of a cement retainer, cast iron bridge plug, cement plug, tubing and packer with tubing plug, or any combination thereof.
Toolpusher: Second-in-command of a drilling crew under the drilling superintendent. Responsible for the day-to-day running of the rig and for ensuring that all the necessary equipment is available.
Topsides: The superstructure of a platform.
UIC: Underground Injection Control
Underground Injection Control: A program required in each state by a provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for the regulation of Injection Wells, including a permit system. An applicant must demonstrate that the well has no reasonable chance of adversely affecting the quality of an underground source of drinking water before a permit is issued.
Well log: A record of geological formation penetrated during drilling, including technical details of the operation.
Wildcat well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as an "exploration well". [The term comes from exploration wells in West Texas in the 1920s. Wildcats were abundant in the locality, and those unlucky enough to be shot were hung from oil derricks.]
Workover: Remedial work to the equipment within a well, the well pipework, or relating to attempts to increase the rate of flow.
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Glossary
3-D Seismic: a tool used to “see” beneath the earth’s surface. It involves sending acoustic vibrations into the ground and measuring the length of time it takes to rebound off the subsurface rocks back to the surface. High-tech supercomputers are used to process billions of data samples and generate a detailed, 3-D image of underground structures. Geophysicists interpret the data to make estimates as to the depth of the reservoir, its porosity, fluid content and other information valuable in determining where oil and gas deposits are most likely to be found.
Acid stimulation: injecting hydrofluoric acid into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to break up and remove rock debris to help improve the flow of oil.
Appraisal drilling: drilling in the vicinity of a discovery to evaluate the extent of the reservoir and the amount of reserves it likely contains.
Associated gas: gas that is produced along with oil from oil reservoirs. Production originating from gas reservoirs is referred to as non-associated gas.
Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE): a term used to quantify oil and natural gas volumes based on “energy equivalents. To convert a thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of gas to equal one barrel of oil, divide by 6. For example, 600 Mcf = 100 BOE.
CO2 Flooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where carbon dioxide (CO2) is injected into the oil formation. CO2 acts as a solvent that releases the oil from porous rock and causes it to flow more freely to the well head, increasing recovery rates.
Compression: utilized to enhance production from low pressure gas reservoirs. Compression equipment allows the operator to lower back-pressure on the well and enable more gas to flow to the surface. It can then be compressed and delivered into a higher pressure gathering system for processing and ultimate sale. Compression is also used extensively in gas processing operations to aid in the recovery of natural gas liquids.
Development: drilling and related activities necessary to bring a field into production following a discovery.
Dome: a type of geological structure where a rock layer has pushed up into the rock layer above in a typically spherical shape.
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR): advanced technologies, such as water flooding, steam injection, CO2 injection applied to increase production, usually from mature, underdeveloped fields.
Fracture stimulation: injecting specially engineered fluids under high pressure into the channels of a low permeability reservoir to “crack” the reservoir and improve the flow of oil.
HES: Health, Environment and Safety programs.
Horizontal Drilling: drilling a well at a 90-degree angle instead of vertically. The well is drilled straight to a specific depth and then is gradually curved. Horizontal wells are advantageous for numerous reasons: to maximize production rates through increased reservoir exposure; to avoid sensitive environmental areas; to avoid a surface obstruction; or to drill several wells from a single location (i.e. offshore platform). Directional drilling refers to non vertical wells drilled at less than a 90-degree angle.
Interval: a vertical section of rock distinct from that above or below.
In-fill drilling: wells drilled between existing producing wells to enhance field development.
Mcf: a thousand cubic feet, a measurement of natural gas.
Multilaterals: pertaining to a well that has more than one branch radiating from the main wellbore.
Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs): Natural gas processed from and marketed separately, natural gas liquids include ethane, propane, butane and natural gasoline.
Outside operated assets: assets in which Occidental has a working interest, but does not serve as overall operations manager.
Permeable: measure of a rock’s ability to flow liquids or gases. Highly permeable rocks tend to have many large and well-connected pores. The more permeable the rock, the easier it is to produce oil and gas from the reservoir.
Play: an area where oil or natural gas accumulations of a certain type are found.
Porosity: percentage of void space within a rock. Only high porosity reservoir rocks, like sandstone, bear oil and gas.
Production: oil and gas yielded from drilling and pumping activities. Gross production: the total oil and gas produced from a field. Net production: the company’s share of production based on its ownership interest, or the terms of a production sharing contract.
Proved reserves: the estimated quantities of oil or natural gas that can be recovered with reasonable certainty.
Recompletion: the process of producing from another interval within the same wellbore. For example, after depleting a zone at 9,000 feet, the operator may “recomplete” the well at 8,000 feet.
Reserves: oil or natural gas contained in underground rock formations called reservoirs.
Reservoir: a porous, permeable rock formation containing oil and natural gas.
Reservoir modeling: a representation of a reservoir that incorporates all data pertinent to its ability to store and produce oil and gas. Geoscientists and engineers use reservoir modeling to simulate the movement of the oil and gas under various circumstances to ultimately determine optimal production techniques for the reservoir.
Spar: a revolutionary type of deep water offshore production facility.
Waterflooding: an enhanced oil recovery technique where injected water is used to sweep residual oil to the wellhead, improving recovery rates.
Wellbore: the hole drilled for the purpose of producing oil and gas, or to inject water or other fluids. In some wells, multilaterals branch off from the main wellbore.
Drilling Operations
The well is created by drilling a hole 5 to 30 inches (13–76 cm) wide into the earth with an oil rig turning a drill bit. After the hole is drilled, a metal pipe slightly smaller than the hole size (called a 'casing') is run into the hole. The outside of the casing is then bonded and secured to the hole with cement. The casing provides structural integrity to the newly drilled wellbore in addition to isolating potentially dangerous high pressure zones from each other and from the surface.
With these zones safely isolated and the formation protected by the casing, the well can be drilled deeper (into potentially more unstable and violent formations) with a smaller bit, and also cased with a smaller size casing. Modern wells often have 2-5 sets of subsequently smaller hole sizes drilled inside one another, each cemented with casing.
To drill the well,
- The drill bit, aided by rotary torque and the compressive weight of drill collars above it, breaks up the earth.
- Drilling fluid is pumped down the inside of the drill pipe and exits at the drill bit and aids to break up the rock, as well as clean, cool and lubricate the bit.
- The generated rock "cuttings" are swept up by the drilling fluid as it circulates back to surface outside the drill pipe.
- The pipe or drill string to which the bit is attached is gradually lengthened as the well gets deeper by screwing in several 30-foot (10 m) joints of pipe at surface.
A drilling rig is a structure housing equipment used to drill for water, oil, natural gas from underground reservoirs or to obtain mineral core samples. The term can refer to a land-based rig, a marine-based structure commonly called an 'offshore rig' or a structure that drills oil wells called an 'oil rig'. The term correctly refers to the equipment that drills oil wells or extracts mineral samples, including the rig derrick (which looks like a metal frame tower).
Sometimes a drilling rig is also used to complete an oil well, preparing it for production. However, the rig itself is not involved with the extraction of the oil; its primary function is to make a hole in the ground so that the oil can be produced.
Laypeople may refer to the structure which sits on top offshore wells as a 'rig', but this is not correct. The correct name for the structure in a marine environment is platform. A structure upon which wells produce is a production platform. A floating vessel upon which a drilling rig sits is a floating rig or semi-submersible rig because the whole purpose of the structure is for drilling.
Drilling rigs can be small and portable such as those used in mineral exploration drilling, or huge, capable of drilling through thousands of metres of the Earth's crust; large "mud pumps" are used to circulate drilling mud (slurry) through the drill bit and the casing, for cooling and removing the "cuttings" whilst a well is drilled; hoists in the rig can lift thousands of tons of pipe; other equipment can force acid or sand into reservoirs to facilitate extraction of the oil or mineral sample; and permanent living accommodation and catering for crews which may be greater than a hundred people in number. Marine rigs may operate many hundreds of miles or kilometres offshore with infrequent crew rotation.
Drilling Rig Classification
There are many types and designs of drilling rigs, depending on their purpose and improvements; many drilling rigs are capable of switching or combining different drilling technologies.
By power used:
- electric - rig is connected to a power grid usually produced by its own generators
- mechanic - rig produces power with its own (diesel) engines
- hydraulic - most movements are done with hydraulic power
- pneumatic - pressured air is used to generate small scale movements
- cable - a cable is used to slam the bit on the rock (used for small geotechnical wells)
- conventional - uses drill pipes
- coil tubing - uses a giant coil of tube and a downhole drilling motor
- single - can drill only single drill pipes, has no vertical pipe racks (most small drilling rigs)
- double - can store double pipe stands in the pipe rack
- triple - can store stands composed of three pipes in the pipe rack (most large drilling rigs)
- quad - can store stands composed of four pipes in the pipe rack
- no rotation (most service rigs)
- rotary table - rotation is achieved by turning a hexagonal pipe (the kelly) at drill floor level
- top-drive - rotation and circulation is done at the top of the drillstring, on a motor that moves along the derrick
- conventional - derrick is vertical
- slant - derrick is at an angle (this is used to achieve deviation without an expensive downhole motor)
Oil Well Drilling
Oil well drilling utilizes three-cone roller, fixed-cutter diamond, or diamond-impregnated drill bits to wear away at the cutting face. This is preferred because there is no need to return samples to surface for assay as the objective is to strike a formation containing oil or natural gas. Sizable machinery is used, enabling depths of several kilometres to be penetrated. Rock chips are carried to surface in bentonite and barite impregnated muds and logged; the process is known as mud logging. Another form of well logging is electronic and is frequently employed to evaluate the existence of possible oil and gas deposits in the well hole.
Rig Personnel
Personnel on a drilling rig vary greatly depending on the size of the rig, type of rig, and the type of well being drilled (directional vs straight, extended reach, etc). A list of the most common rig personnel is as follows:
- Company Man
- Derrickhand
- Directional Driller
- Driller
- Geologist
- Rig Medic
- Mud Engineer
- Mudlogger
- Measurement While Drilling Operator
- OIM
- Roughneck
- Roustabout
- Tool Pusher
- Motor Man
Completion
After drilling and casing the well, it must be 'completed'. Completion is the process in which the well is enabled to produce oil or gas.
In a cased-hole completion, holes (called perforations) are made in the casing that covers the reservoir section to provide a path for the oil to flow from the surrounding rock into the well bore. In open hole completion, often 'sand-screens' or a 'gravel pack' is installed in the last drilled, uncased reservoir section. These maintain structural integrity of the wellbore in the absence of casing, while still allowing flow from the reservoir into the wellbore. Screens also control the migration of formation sands into production tubulars and surface equipment, which can cause washouts and other problems, particularly in unconsolidated sand formations in offshore fields.
After a flow path is made, acids or other fluids are often pumped into the well to fracture, clean, or otherwise prepare and stimulate the reservoir rock to optimally produce hydrocarbons into the wellbore. Finally, the area above the reservoir section of the well is packed off inside the casing, and connected to the surface via a smaller diameter pipe called tubing. This arrangement provides a redundant barrier to leaks of hydrocarbons as well as allowing damaged sections to be replaced. Also, the smaller diameter of the tubing produces hydrocarbons at an increased speed, in order to overcome the hydrostatic effects of heavy fluids such as water.
In most wells, the natural pressure of the subsurface reservoir is high enough to push the oil or gas all the way to surface. However, this is not always the case, especially in depleted fields where the pressures have been lowered by other producing wells. Installing a smaller diameter tubing may be enough to help the production, but other types of artificial lift can also be used. Common solutions are downhole pumps, gas lift, or surface pumpjacks - the "nodding donkey" pumps dotting the countryside in old oil fields in Texas and Oklahoma. The use of artificial lift technology in a field is often termed as "secondary recovery" in the industry.
Production
The production stage is the most important stage of a well's life, when the oil and gas are produced. By this time, the oil rigs and workover rigs used to drill and complete the well have moved off the wellbore, and the top is usually outfitted with a collection of valves called a "Christmas Tree". These valves regulate pressures, control flows, and allow access to the wellbore in case further completion work needs to be performed. From the outlet valve of the Christmas Tree, the flow can be connected to a distribution network of pipelines and tanks to supply the product to refineries, natural gas compressor stations, or oil export terminals.
As long as the pressure in the reservoir remains high enough, this Christmas Tree is all that is required to produce the well. If the pressure depletes and it's considered economically viable, an artificial lift method can be employed.
Workovers are often necessary in older wells, which may need smaller diameter tubing, scale or parrafin removal, repeated acid matrix jobs, or even completing new zones of interest in a shallower reservoir. Such remedial work can be performed using workover rigs—also known as pulling units—to pull and replace tubing, or by the use of a well intervention technique called coiled tubing.
Enhanced recovery methods such as waterflooding, steam flooding, or CO2 flooding may be used to increase reservoir pressure and provide a "sweep" effect to push hydrocarbons out of the reservoir. Such methods require the use of injection wells (often picked from old production wells in a carefully determined pattern), and are used when facing problems with reservoir pressure depletion, high oil viscosity, or can even be employed early in a field's life; in certain cases—depending on the reservoir's geomechanics—reservoir engineers may determine that ultimate recoverable oil may be increased by applying a water flooding strategy early in the field's development rather than later. The application of such enhanced recovery techniques is often termed as "tertiary recovery" in the industry.
Another way to classify oil wells is by their purpose in contributing to the development of a resource. They can be characterized as:
- production wells when they are drilled primarily for producing oil or gas, once the producing structure and characteristics are established
- appraisal wells when they are used to assess characteristics (such as flowrate) of a proven hydrocarbon accumulation
- exploration wells when they are drilled purely for exploratory (information gathering) purposes in a new area
- wildcat wells when a well is drilled, based on a large element of hope, in a frontier area where very little is known about the subsurface. In the early days of oil exploration in Texas, wildcats were common as productive areas were not yet established. In modern times, oil exploration in many areas has reached a very mature phase and the chances of finding oil simply by drilling at random are very low. Therefore, a lot more effort is placed in exploration and appraisal wells.
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Yemen, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania), Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Louisiana, Alaska, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, Nebraska, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America, U.S.A., U.S., Worldwide
Industry Terms Glossary:
Abandon: To cease work on a well which is non-productive, to plug off the well with cement plugs and salvage all recoverable equipment Also used in the context of field abandonment.
Annex B: Operator's development plan for an offshore installation. It requires government approval before it can be implemented.
Annulus: The space between the drillstring and the well wall, or between casing strings, or between the casing and the production tubing.
Appraisal Well: A well drilled as part of an appraisal drilling program which is carried out to determine the physical extent, reserves and likely production rate of a field.
Associated Gas: Natural gas associated with oil accumulations, which may be dissolved in the oil at reservoir conditions or may form a cap of free gas above the oil.
Barrel: A unit of volume measurement used for petroleum and its products (7.3 barrels = 1 ton: 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic metre).
bbl: One barrel of oil; 1 barrel = 35 Imperial gallons (approx.), or 159 litres (approx.); 7.5 barrels = 1 tonne (approx.); 6.29 barrels = 1 cubic metre.
bcf: Billion cubic feet; 1 bcf = 0.83 million tonnes of oil equivalent.
bcm: Billion cubic metres (1 cubic metre = 35.31 cubic feet).
Block: A North Sea acreage sub-division measuring approximately 10 x 20 kms, forming part of a quadrant. e.g. Block 9/13 is the 13th block in Quadrant 9.
blow-down: Condensate and gas is produced simultaneously from the outset of production.
Blow-out preventers (BOPs): Are high pressure wellhead valves, designed to shut off the uncontrolled flow of hydrocarbons.
Blow-out: When well pressure exceeds the ability of the wellhead valves to control it. Oil and gas "blow wild" at the surface.
Borehole: The hole as drilled by the drill bit.
Capex: Capital expenditure.
Casing string: The steel tubing that lines a well after it has been drilled. It is formed from sections of steel tube screwed together.
Central estimate: A range of exploration drilling scenarios from which the following activity levels, based on recent historical experience, are adopted as the central estimates.
Christmas tree: The assembly of fittings and valves on the top of the casing which control the production rate of oil.
CNS: Central North Sea.
Commercial field: An oil and/or gas field judged to be capable of producing enough net income to make it worth developing.
Completion: The installation of permanent wellhead equipment for the production of oil and gas.
Condensate: Hydrocarbons which are in the gaseous state under reservoir conditions and which become liquid when temperature or pressure is reduced. A mixture of pentanes and higher hydrocarbons.
Connate water: Salt water occurring with oil and gas in the reservoir.
Coring: Taking rock samples from a well by means of a special tool - a "core barrel".
Crane barge: A large barge, capable of lifting heavy equipment onto offshore platforms. Also known as a "derrick barge".
Creaming Theory: A statistical technique which recognises that in any exploration province after an initial period in which the largest fields are found, success rates and average field sizes decline as more exploration wells are drilled and knowledge of the area matures.
CRINE: Cost Reduction Initiative for the New Era.
Cubic foot: A standard unit used to measure quantity of gas (at atmospheric pressure); 1 cubic foot = 0.0283 cubic metres.
Cuttings: Rock chippings cut from the formation by the drill bit, and brought to the surface with the mud. Used by geologists to obtain formation data.
Derrick: The tower-like structure that houses most of the drilling controls.
Development phase: The phase in which a proven oil or gas field is brought into production by drilling production (development) wells.
Drilling rig: A drilling unit that is not permanently fixed to the seabed, e.g. a drillship, a semi-submersible or a jack-up unit. Also means the derrick and its associated machinery.
Dry Gas: Natural gas composed mainly of methane with only minor amounts of ethane, propane and butane and little or no heavier hydrocarbons in the gasoline range.
Dry hole: A well which has proved to be non-productive.
E&A: Abbreviation for exploration and appraisal.
E&P: Abbreviation for exploration and production.
Enhanced oil recovery: A process whereby oil is recovered other than by the natural pressure in a reservoir.
Exploration drilling: Drilling carried out to determine whether hydrocarbons are present in a particular area or structure.
Exploration phase: The phase of operations which covers the search for oil or gas by carrying out detailed geological and geophysical surveys followed up where appropriate by exploratory drilling.
Exploration well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as a "wildcat well".
Farm in: When a company acquires an interest in a block by taking over all or part of the financial commitment for drilling an exploration well.
Field: A geographical area under which an oil or gas reservoir lies.
Fishing: Retrieving objects from the borehole, such as a broken drillstring, or tools.
Formation pressure: The pressure at the bottom of a well when it is shut in at the wellhead.
Formation water: Salt water underlying gas and oil in the formation.
Fracturing: A method of breaking down a formation by pumping fluid at very high pressures. The objective is to increase production rates from a reservoir.
G: Gas.
G/C: Gas Condensate.
Gas field: A field containing natural gas but no oil.
Gas injection: The process whereby separated associated gas is pumped back into a reservoir for conservation purposes or to maintain the reservoir pressure.
Gas/oil ratio: The volume of gas at atmospheric pressure produced per unit of oil produced.
Hydrocarbon: A compound containing only the elements hydrogen and carbon. May exist as a solid, a liquid or a gas. The term is mainly used in a catch-all sense for oil, gas and condensate.
Injection well: A well used for pumping water or gas into the reservoir.
IS: Irish Sea.
Jacket: The lower section, or "legs", of an offshore platform.
Kick: A well is said to "kick" if the formation pressure exceeds the pressure exerted by the mud column.
Lay barge: A barge that is specially equipped to lay submarine pipelines.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG): Oilfield or naturally occurring gas, chiefly methane, liquefied for transportation.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG): Light hydrocarbon material, gaseous at atmospheric temperature and pressure, held in the liquid state by pressure to facilitate storage, transport and handling. Commercial liquefied gas consists essentially of either propane or butane, or mixtures thereof.
mboe: Million Barrels Oil Equivalent.
Metric tonne: Equivalent to 1000 kilos, 2204.61 lbs; 7.5 barrels.
mmcfd: Millions of cubic feet per day (of gas).
Moonpool: An aperture in the centre of a drillship or semi-submersible drilling rig, through which drilling and diving operations can be conducted.
Mt: Million tonnes.
Mud: A mixture of base substance and additives used to lubricate the drill bit and to counteract the natural pressure of the formation.
Natural gas: Gas, occurring naturally, and often found in association with crude petroleum.
NGLs: Natural gas liquids. Liquid hydrocarbons found in association with natural gas.
NNS: Northern North Sea.
O: Oil.
O&G: Oil and Gas.
Oil: A mixture of liquid hydrocarbons of different molecular weights.
Oil field: A geographic area under which an oil reservoir lies.
Oil in place: An estimated measure of the total amount of oil contained in a reservoir, and, as such, a higher figure than the estimated recoverable reserves of oil.
Operator: The company that has legal authority to drill wells and undertake production of hydrocarbons are found. The Operator is often part of a consortium and acts on behalf of this consortium.
Opex: Operating expenditure.
Payzone: Rock in which oil and gas are found in exploitable quantities.
Permeability: The property of a formation which quantifies the flow of a fluid through the pore spaces and into the wellbore.
Petroleum: A generic name for hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas and their products.
Platform: An offshore structure that is permanently fixed to the seabed.
Porosity: The percentage of void in a porous rock compared to the solid formation.
Possible reserves: Those reserves which at present cannot be regarded as 'probable' but are estimated to have a significant but less than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Primary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir purely by using the natural pressure in the reservoir to force the oil or gas out.
Probable reserves: Those reserves which are not yet proven but which are estimated to have a better than 50% chance of being technically and economically producible.
Proven field: An oil and/or gas field whose physical extent and estimated reserves have been determined.
Proven reserves: Those reserves which on the available evidence are virtually certain to be technically and economically producible (i.e. having a better than 90% chance of being produced).
Recoverable reserves: That proportion of the oil and/gas in a reservoir that can be removed using currently available techniques.
Recovery factor: The ratio of recoverable oil and/or gas reserves to the estimated oil and/or gas in place in the reservoir.
Reservoir: The underground formation where oil and gas has accumulated It consists of a porous rock to hold the oil or gas, and a cap rock that prevents its escape.
Riser (drilling): A pipe between a seabed BOP and a floating drilling rig.
Riser (production): The section of pipework that joins a seabed wellhead to the Christmas tree.
Roughneck: Drill crew members who work on the derrick floor, screwing together the sections of drillpipe when running or pulling a drillstring.
Roustabout: Drill crew members who handle the loading and unloading of equipment and assist in general operations around the rig.
Royalty payment: The cash or kind paid to the owner of mineral rights.
Secondary recovery: Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir by artificially maintaining or enhancing the reservoir pressure by injecting gas, water or other substances into the reservoir rock.
Shutdown: A production hiatus during which the platform ceases to produce while essential maintenance work is undertaken.
SNSL: Southern North Sea.
Spud-in: The operation of drilling the first part of a new well.
Suspended well: A well that has been capped off temporarily.
tcf: Trillion Cubic Feet (of gas).
Toolpusher: Second-in-command of a drilling crew under the drilling superintendent. Responsible for the day-to-day running of the rig and for ensuring that all the necessary equipment is available.
Topsides: The superstructure of a platform.
UKCS: United Kingdom Continental Shelf.
UKOOA: U.K. Offshore Operators Association Limited.
Well log: A record of geological formation penetrated during drilling, including technical details of the operation.
Wildcat well: A well drilled in an unproven area. Also known as a "exploration well".
Ety.: The term comes from exploration wells in West Texas in the 1920s. Wildcats were abundant in the locality, and those unlucky enough to be shot were hung from oil derricks.
WoB: West of Britain.
Workover: Remedial work to the equipment within a well, the well pipework, or relating to attempts to increase the rate of flow.
WoS: West of Shetland Isles.
Home
About Us
Oil Rigs
Rig Fleet
Rig Types
Customers
Jobs Offered
Drilling Ships
Made in USA
Oil Exploration
Contract Drilling
Global Marketing
Heavy Duty Oil Field
Trucks
Oil Drilling Industry
Membership Associations
Fox Drilling International
International Drilling
Charitable Projects
Job Opportunities
Global Oil News
Oil Investment
Photo Gallery
Resources
Favorites
Comments
Contact Us
Sitemap
Links
About Us
Oil Rigs
Rig Fleet
Rig Types
Customers
Jobs Offered
Drilling Ships
Made in USA
Oil Exploration
Contract Drilling
Global Marketing
Heavy Duty Oil Field
Trucks
Oil Drilling Industry
Membership Associations
Fox Drilling International
International Drilling
Charitable Projects
Job Opportunities
Global Oil News
Oil Investment
Photo Gallery
Resources
Favorites
Comments
Contact Us
Sitemap
Links