Oil and Gas Terms Beginning with “P” — Page 2

Hydrogen ion potential, which is the log10 of the reciprocal of hydrogen ion, H+, concentration. Mathematically, pH = log10 (1/[H+]), where [ ] represents mole/L. pH is derived from the ion-product constant of water,… Read more →

A drilling-fluid test to measure pH of muds and mud filtrates, usually performed according to API specifications. The pH test uses a pH meter equipped with a glass-membrane measuring electrode and reference electrode,… Read more →

To effect hydraulic isolation, either with a sealing device, such as a packer, or with a specialized plastic or fluid, such as a sealing compound. Read more →

What Is a Packer? A packer is a downhole sealing device run on tubing or casing that compresses or inflates a rubber element against the wellbore wall to isolate the annular space between the tubing and casing string,… Read more →

A device for measuring in situ the velocity of fluid flow in a production or injection well in which a packer is inflated between the tool housing and the casing wall, causing the total fluid flow to pass inside the… Read more →

The fluid that remains in the tubing-casingannulus above the packer after the completion has been run and all circulation devices have been isolated. Packer fluids are prepared for the requirements of the given… Read more →

A device used to seal around a reciprocating or rotating shaft or spindle. A malleable packing compound is forced into place by an adjustable packing nut, or similar arrangement. This enables the seal or packing to be… Read more →

To effect hydraulic isolation, either with a sealing device, such as a packer, or with a specialized plastic or fluid, such as a sealing compound. Read more →

That part of a wireline logging tool that is pressed firmly against the borehole wall. The pad holds sensors that are focused in one direction and must be as close as possible to the borehole wall. The density detectors… Read more →

A type of fluid-mixing tank used in the preparation of treatment fluids or slurries that provides the agitation to achieve a well-dispersed mixture. Paddle mixers are generally equipped with rotating paddles that… Read more →

An oil and gas lease in which delay rentals for the entire primary term are paid in advance with the bonus consideration. Read more →

A gamma ray interaction in which the gamma ray, or photon, is converted into an electron and a positron when the gamma ray enters the strong electric field near the nucleus of an atom. The gamma ray energy must equal at… Read more →

The study of fossilized, or preserved, remnants of plant and animal life. Changes in the Earth through time can be documented by observing changes in the fossils in successive strata and the environments in which they… Read more →

Pertaining to a depositional environment or organisms from a marsh. It also refers to the type of environment in which palustrine sediments can accumulate. Read more →

Describing material deposited in or growing in a marsh. Read more →

The study of fossilized remnants of microscopic entities having organic walls, such as pollen, spores and cysts from algae. Changes in the Earth through time can be documented by studying the distribution of spores and… Read more →

A hydrocarbon compound that often precipitates on production components as a result of the changing temperatures and pressures within the production system. Heavy paraffins occur as wax-like substances that may build up… Read more →

A set of techniques used to prevent or considerably reduce paraffin deposition. Paraffin control might involve the following options:· use of paraffin inhibitors.· maintaining pipe surfaces in a water-wet condition… Read more →

A chemical injected into the wellbore to prevent or minimize paraffin deposition. The effectiveness of paraffin inhibitors is strongly dependent on crude oil composition.Paraffin inhibitors must be introduced into the… Read more →

(noun) A mechanical tool run on wireline, slickline, or sucker rods inside the production tubing to remove accumulated paraffin wax deposits from the inner wall, restoring the full bore diameter and maintaining… Read more →

A downhole tool, generally run on slickline, used to remove paraffin and soft wax deposits from the internal wall of productiontubulars and completion equipment. Read more →

A crude oil containing paraffin wax but very few asphaltic materials. This type of oil is suitable for motor lubricating oil and kerosene. Read more →

The group of hydrocarbons consisting of linear molecules with the formula CnH2n+2. Methane, CH4, is the simplest member. Higher members, starting at about C18, are wax-like and are called paraffin. Excessive amounts of… Read more →

A commonly used preservative for starch, xanthan gum, guar gum and other natural polymers that are prone to attack by bacteria. It is as a trimer of formaldehyde and has the formula O-CH2-O-CH2-O-CH2. Paraformaldehyde… Read more →

The deformation of rock layers in which the thickness of each layer, measured perpendicular to initial (undeformed) layering, is maintained after the rock layers have been folded. Read more →

The resistivity of a formation measured by flowing current parallel to the bedding planes. In anisotropic formations, the parallel and perpendicular resistivities are different. Read more →

A variable that is given a constant value for the purposes of certain calculations. For example, during log analysis of a particular layer of a reservoir, the water resistivity (Rw) may be set to a particular value and… Read more →

Pertaining to a method of seismic inversion to separate wavefields by iteratively developing a model of the data that conforms to the recorded data. Parametric inversion is used in processing vertical seismic profile… Read more →

Relatively conformable depositional units bounded by surfaces of marine flooding, surfaces that separate older strata from younger and show an increase in water depth in successively younger strata. Parasequences are… Read more →

A marine flooding surface or its correlative surface. Read more →