Oil and Gas Terms Beginning with “B” — Page 3

What Is a Back-Off in Drilling Operations? A back-off is the deliberate disconnection of a drill pipe or BHA string at a selected threaded connection downhole, executed by applying controlled reverse (left-hand) torque… Read more →

Back-pressure is the pressure that opposes the flow of fluid or gas through any component or system, measured at the upstream side of the restriction that creates it. In petroleum engineering, back-pressure appears in… Read more →

A back pressure valve (BPV) is a one-way check valve installed in a tubing string, tubing hanger profile, or wellhead assembly that permits fluid flow in the production direction while automatically closing against… Read more →

A method for reconstructing the location and shape of the wave at an earlier time using the wave equation. Read more →

Back-stripping is a quantitative geological technique that reconstructs the burial and subsidence history of a sedimentary basin by sequentially removing the youngest sedimentary layer, correcting for compaction,… Read more →

To hold one end of a threaded connection while the other is turned to make up the joint. To ensure a secure connection, many types of threaded joints are made up to specific torque requirements in oil- and gas-well… Read more →

A back-up ring is a rigid or semi-rigid support ring installed directly adjacent to an elastomeric packer seal or O-ring on its low-pressure side, physically preventing the softer seal material from extruding through… Read more →

A back-in right is a contractual provision that grants one party the option to acquire a working interest in a well or lease at a future point in time, typically after specified economic or operational conditions have… Read more →

The pressure within a system caused by fluid friction or an induced resistance to flow through the system. Most process facilities require a minimum system pressure to operate efficiently. The necessary back-pressure is… Read more →

A type of check valve, typically installed in the tubing hanger, to isolate the production tubing. The back-pressure valve is designed to hold pressure from below yet enable fluids to be pumped from above, as may be… Read more →

A method for reconstructing the location and shape of the wave at an earlier time using the wave equation. Read more →

A modeling technique to assess the geologic history of rock layers through the use of geologic cross sections or seismic sections. Removal of the youngest layers of rock at the top of the section allows restoration of… Read more →

A supporting ring used with an O-ring, or similar seal, to prevent extrusion of the seal material under high differential pressures or excess wear under dynamic sealing conditions. Read more →

Backflow is the reverse movement of fluids within a wellbore system, occurring when pressure differentials drive formation fluids, injected fluids, or wellbore contents in a direction opposite to the intended flow path.… Read more →

Background gas (BGG) is the continuous, baseline-level concentration of hydrocarbon gas detected in circulating drilling fluid as it returns to surface during normal drilling operations. It represents the sum of all gas… Read more →

A backoff (also written back-off ) is a deliberate, controlled unscrewing of a drill string tool joint connection at a specific depth to recover the free portion of the drill string above the point where the pipe has… Read more →

Backpressure is any pressure that opposes or resists the flow of fluid out of a reservoir, wellbore, or pipeline system. In petroleum production, backpressure is the cumulative downstream pressure burden that the… Read more →

Backscatter is the return of radiation or acoustic energy toward its source after interacting with matter. In well logging, the term encompasses two distinct physical processes: the Compton backscattering of gamma rays… Read more →

In petroleum engineering, the backside refers to the annular space between the production tubing string and the production casing or liner, located above the production packer in a completed well. This space, also… Read more →

A backup curve is a secondary version of a wireline log curve that is plotted on an alternative scale or in an adjacent track, designed to appear on the log display whenever the primary curve exceeds the boundaries of… Read more →

The backward multiple contact test (backward MCC test, also called the backward swelling test) is a pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) laboratory procedure that simulates how an oil reservoir responds to a… Read more →

What Is a Bactericide in Oil and Gas Operations? A bactericide, also universally called a biocide in petroleum industry usage, is a chemical additive designed to kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria in drilling fluids… Read more →

A bad hole is a section of wellbore in which the actual borehole diameter is significantly larger than the nominal bit size, typically exceeding 110 to 115 percent of the bit diameter, or where the borehole geometry is… Read more →

In well intervention and pressure control operations, the balance point is the specific depth within a wellbore at which the upward hydraulic force exerted by wellbore pressure on a pipe string exactly equals the… Read more →

A balanced-activity oil mud is a type of oil-base mud (OBM) formulated so that the water activity of its internal brine phase matches the water activity of the formation being drilled. Water activity, expressed as a… Read more →

A balanced array is a multi-coil induction logging tool configuration in which additional transmitter and receiver coils are positioned along the tool mandrel and wound in opposing polarities so that their combined… Read more →

A balanced plug is a well cementing technique in which cement slurry is placed so that the top of the cement column inside the drill string and the top of the cement column in the annulus reach the same depth… Read more →

An oil-base mud in which the activity, or vapor pressure, of the brine phase is balanced with that of the formations drilled. Although long shale sections may not have a constant value for vapor pressure, aw, the oil… Read more →

A ball catcher is a downhole sub or assembly designed to intercept, retain, and isolate one or more balls after those balls have performed their intended function in actuating a downhole tool or diverting fluid flow. In… Read more →

A ball dropper is a surface pressure vessel and injection device used during hydraulic fracturing and matrix acid stimulation operations to introduce ball sealers into the high-pressure treatment fluid stream at… Read more →