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

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 at the surface while simultaneously… Read more →

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

A back-pressure valve (BPV) is a one-way check valve installed in the tubing string, tubing hanger bore, or wellhead assembly of an oil or gas well that permits fluid movement in the production direction while… Read more →

Back-propagation (also written as backpropagation or abbreviated as backprop) is the algorithm that trains artificial neural networks by computing the gradient of the network's prediction error with respect to every… 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 →

In oilfield equipment and operations, back-up (also written as backup) carries two distinct and important meanings that are both in common daily use across drilling, completions, and production engineering. The first… Read more →

A back-up ring is a rigid or semi-rigid support ring installed directly adjacent to an elastomeric O-ring or cup seal on the low-pressure side of the seal, physically occupying the diametral clearance gap between the… Read more →

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

Back-pressure in the context of Western Canada Sedimentary Basin surface production facility operations refers specifically to the pressure imposed on a producing well at the wellhead or downstream of the wellhead choke… Read more →

A back-pressure valve (BPV) in the context of tubing running operations and well workover programs serves as the critical well control barrier that allows the workover crew to run, retrieve, and service the production… Read more →

Back-propagation in seismic processing refers to the mathematical reversal of wavefield propagation through the subsurface, reconstructing where a seismic wave was at an earlier time by applying the wave equation in… Read more →

Back-stripping in petroleum system modeling applies the layer-removal and burial reconstruction technique specifically to reconstruct the thermal maturity history of source rock intervals in Western Canada Sedimentary… Read more →

Back-up rings in blowout preventer ram seals and high-pressure downhole tool assemblies represent the most safety-critical application of this sealing component in Western Canada Sedimentary Basin drilling and well… Read more →

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

Background gas (BGG) is the continuous, baseline-level concentration of hydrocarbon gas detected in the drilling-fluid return stream during normal rotary drilling operations, representing the sum of gas liberated from… Read more →

A backoff is a deliberate, controlled operation to unscrew a drill string tool joint at a selected depth in the wellbore in order to recover the free portion of the string above a stuck point, leaving the stuck portion… Read more →

Backpressure (also written as back-pressure) is the aggregate of all pressures acting against the outflow of fluids from a reservoir, wellbore, or piping system, effectively increasing the minimum pressure that… Read more →

Backscatter is the return of radiation or acoustic energy toward its source after interacting with matter, and in petroleum well logging it encompasses two physically distinct and commercially critical processes: the… Read more →

In petroleum engineering, the backside (also called the casing-tubing annulus, the A-annulus, or simply the annulus above the packer) refers to the annular space between the production tubing string and the innermost… Read more →

A backup curve is a secondary version of a wireline or LWD log curve plotted in an adjacent track or on a shifted scale to capture the full dynamic range of the measurement whenever the primary curve deflects beyond the… Read more →

The backward multiple contact test (backward MCT, also called the backward swelling test) is a pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) laboratory experiment that simulates how reservoir crude oil responds to vaporizing-drive… Read more →

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, completion fluids, produced water, injection… Read more →

A bad hole (also called a washed-out hole or an enlarged hole) is a section of wellbore in which the actual borehole diameter significantly exceeds the nominal drill-bit size, typically beyond 110 to 115 percent of bit… Read more →

In well intervention and pressure control, the balance point is the specific depth in a live pressurised wellbore at which the upward hydraulic force exerted by wellbore pressure on the cross-sectional area of the pipe… Read more →

A balanced-activity oil mud (BAOM) is a type of oil-base mud (OBM) formulated so that the water activity of its internal dispersed brine phase exactly matches the water activity of the formation water in the shales and… Read more →

A balanced array is a multi-coil electromagnetic induction logging tool configuration in which one or more additional transmitter and receiver coils are placed along the tool mandrel and wound in opposing polarities… Read more →

A balanced plug is a cement placement technique in which slurry is pumped into an open or cased wellbore through a drill string positioned at the target depth so that the top of the cement column inside the pipe and the… Read more →

Balanced-activity oil mud (BAOM) field measurement and brine phase activity adjustment constitute the operational core of shale stability management in Western Canada Sedimentary Basin wells drilled through… 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 of 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 →