Oil and Gas Terms Beginning with “P” — Page 11

A proration unit is the area of acreage, fixed by a regulatory authority or by the field rules governing a pool, that a single well is judged capable of draining efficiently and economically at a given depth or… Read more →

An exploration prospect is a specific subsurface target defined by geological and geophysical analysis as having sufficient structural or stratigraphic closure, reservoir quality, seal integrity, and proximity to a… Read more →

The proximity log is a shallow-reading focused resistivity tool that uses a concentric guard electrode arrangement to minimize mudcake and borehole influence and measure the resistivity of the flushed zone (Rxo)… Read more →

What Is a Pseudogeometrical Factor? A pseudogeometrical factor characterises the radial or vertical sensitivity of a wireline logging measurement as a function of distance from the tool, expressing as a fraction how… Read more →

Pseudoplastic is a descriptive term for a fluid with shear-thinning rheological characteristics — the apparent viscosity decreases with increasing shear rate, allowing the fluid to flow more easily at high shear rates… Read more →

A pseudopressure plot is a specialized graphical analysis tool used in gas well pressure transient testing and production analysis that replaces actual pressure with a transformed variable called real gas pseudopressure… Read more →

What Is the Pseudostatic Spontaneous Potential? The pseudostatic spontaneous potential (PSP) is the theoretical maximum spontaneous potential that would be observed opposite a permeable formation if SP currents were… Read more →

What Is Pseudosteady State in Reservoir Engineering? Pseudosteady state (PSS), also called semi-steady state, is a reservoir flow condition in which pressure throughout the drainage volume declines at a constant rate.… Read more →

Pull-up (also written as pullup) in seismic interpretation is a velocity-related geometric artifact in which reflections beneath a high-velocity body appear on the seismic section to be shallower than their true… Read more →

A pulling tool is a specialized downhole device run on wireline (slickline or electric line) that mechanically latches onto and retrieves downhole equipment — most commonly wireline-retrievable plugs, standing valves,… Read more →

Pulse-echo is an ultrasonic wellbore logging technique in which a piezoelectric transducer mounted on a rotating tool emits a brief, high-frequency acoustic pulse (typically 200 to 500 kHz) toward the casing wall… Read more →

What Is a Pulsed Neutron Spectroscopy Log? A pulsed neutron spectroscopy log is a cased-hole wireline measurement that irradiates the formation with bursts of high-energy neutrons from a downhole generator and records… Read more →

What Is a Pulsed Neutron Spectroscopy Measurement? A pulsed neutron spectroscopy measurement is the specific downhole nuclear physics acquisition in which an electronic neutron generator fires high-energy neutron bursts… Read more →

(noun) A nuclear production logging measurement that uses a pulsed-neutron source to determine the fraction of oil, water, and gas present at each depth in a cased wellbore by exploiting the different hydrogen indices… Read more →

The cylinder of the downhole pump. Read more →

Pump cavitation is a damaging phenomenon that occurs in centrifugal pumps, progressive cavity pumps, and reciprocating pumps when the local pressure of the fluid being pumped drops below the fluid's vapor pressure,… Read more →

A pump manifold is the assembly of valves, piping, and fittings that connects the outputs of the drilling rig's mud pumps to the standpipe (the high-pressure line that delivers drilling fluid down the drill string) and… Read more →

Pump submergence is the difference in hydrostatic head between the depth at which a downhole pump is set and the dynamic fluid level standing above it in the casing annulus during production. Put simply, it is the… Read more →

Pump volumetric efficiency (PVE) is the ratio of the actual fluid volume discharged by a pump per stroke or per revolution to the theoretical maximum volume displaced by the pump's piston or rotor geometry, expressed as… Read more →

Pump-off is the condition that develops in an artificially lifted well when the rate at which the downhole pump withdraws fluid exceeds the rate at which the reservoir can feed liquid into the wellbore, so the standing… Read more →

The ability of the slurry to be pumped. Pumpability is usually measured by the API thickening-time test. Read more →

In the oil patch, the word "pumper" means two completely different things, and which one someone means depends entirely on who is talking. A pumper is either a truck-mounted pumping unit that pushes high-pressure fluids… Read more →

A document prepared to list the sequence, type and volume of fluids to be pumped during a specific treatment. Read more →

Pumping time is the duration during which a cement slurry remains pumpable after mixing, measured in the field as the safe interval between batching the slurry on surface and the point at which it can no longer be… Read more →

What Is a Pumping Well? A pumping well is an oil well that requires mechanical artificial lift to bring reservoir fluids to the surface because the natural reservoir pressure is insufficient to sustain flow against the… Read more →

Pumping well tests in petroleum and groundwater engineering are reservoir and aquifer evaluation procedures in which a well is produced (pumped) at a controlled flow rate while downhole pressure response is measured… Read more →

Push-down is a seismic interpretation phenomenon caused by relative seismic velocity differences between subsurface strata, where a shallow layer or feature with a low seismic velocity (such as a shale diapir, gas… Read more →

Pyrolysis in petroleum geochemistry is a controlled thermal decomposition technique in which a rock sample is heated in an inert gas atmosphere (typically helium or nitrogen) to or beyond the temperature at which the… Read more →

Pyrrhotite is an iron sulfide mineral with the chemical formula Fe(1-x)S (where x ranges from 0 to 0.2, giving the mineral a non-stoichiometric composition of approximately Fe7S8 to FeS depending on the specific iron… Read more →