Oil and Gas Terms Beginning with “P” — Page 8

What Is Pour Point? The pour point is the lowest temperature at which a petroleum fluid will flow under its own weight when cooled under standardised conditions (ASTM D97 or IP 15). Below the pour point, the fluid has… Read more →

In hydraulic pumping, the crude oil that is pressurized at surface to energize the bottom pump. Read more →

Volume of fluid injected in a well during hydraulic pumping. Read more →

A fluid described by the two-parameter rheological model of a pseudoplastic fluid, or a fluid whose viscosity decreases as shear rate increases. Water-base polymer muds, especially those made with XC polymer, fit the… Read more →

A siliceous or siliceous and aluminous material that possesses little or no cementitious value. In a finely divided form and in the presence of moisture, however, pozzolan reacts chemically with calcium hydroxide to… Read more →

Pertaining to material that possesses little or no cementitious value, but that is capable of reacting chemically with calcium hydroxide at ordinary temperatures to form compounds with cementitious properties. Read more →

Abbreviation for concentration, parts-per-billion. For example, lead in a water sample is 10 ppb. Read more →

Abbreviation for density, pounds-per-gallon, more correctly written lbm/gal. For example, the density of water is 8.33 ppg at 60°F [16°C]. Read more →

Abbreviation for the expression of concentration, parts-per-million. For solid and liquid concentrations, ppm is stated in weight (mass) units. For example: (1) Calcite in a ground barite sample is 400 ppm. (2) Calcium… Read more →

A reaction by-product. In sandstoneacidizing, the reaction between hydrofluoric acids [HF] or spent HF acids with formation minerals can precipitate nondamaging products, such as silica, borosilicates or fluoborates.… Read more →

The formation of an insoluble material in a fluid. Precipitation can occur by a chemical reaction of two or more ions in solution or by changing the temperature of a saturated solution. There are many examples of this… Read more →

The closeness of agreement between the results obtained by applying a measurement procedure several times on identical materials and under prescribed measurement conditions. The smaller the random part of experimental… Read more →

The right that a party has reserved or acquired to operate a lease, well, unit and/or concession. Read more →

The right that nonselling participating parties have in a lease, well or unit to proportionately acquire the interest that a participating party proposes to sell to a third party. Read more →

In chemical flooding, a fluid stage, normally low-salinity water, pumped ahead of the micellar or alkaline chemical solution.One of the purposes of the preflush is to displace reservoirbrine containing potassium,… Read more →

A water-soluble starch that has undergone irreversible changes by heating in water or steam. Read more →

To mix with water and allow to react or yield in the water before use. Prehydrating is a common technique for incorporating bentonite in cementslurry or drilling mud. Prehydration may also be done for convenience in… Read more →

A concentrated slurry of bentoniteclay mixed in fresh water. The maximum practical concentration of bentonite is about 30 to 40 lbm/bbl because greater concentrations of bentonite are difficult to mix and pump. Water is… Read more →

The addition of a mud product to fresh water prior to adding it into the mud system. Bentonite clay and XC polymers are two additives whose performance improves by hydration in fresh water before adding them to a… Read more →

A class of high-performance thread types that are commonly used in modern oilwell and gaswell completions. Premium threads are available in a number of configurations and are typically designed to provide superior… Read more →

The phase of a petroleum system after hydrocarbons accumulate in a trap and are subject to degradation, remigration, tectonism or other unfavorable or destructive processes. Read more →

A core that has been preserved in the same state as when it was brought to the surface. The term implies that the core has been stored for a period before analysis. If this has not been the case, it is known as fresh… Read more →

The force distributed over a surface, usually measured in pounds force per square inch, or lbf/ in.2, or psi, in US oilfield units. Read more →

What Is a Pressure Buildup Test? A pressure buildup test (BU or PBU) is a pressure transient analysis method in which a producing well is shut in and the rate of pressure recovery in the wellbore is measured over time.… Read more →

An analysis of data obtained from measurements of the bottomhole pressure in a well that is shut-in after a flow period. The profile created on a plot of pressure against time is used with mathematical reservoir models… Read more →

The maximum pressure an electrical submersible pump can withstand. This pressure is directly related to the differential pressure between the discharge and the suction pressures, and it is always limited by the maximum… Read more →

The drop in average reservoir pressure from fluid production. All bounded reservoirs have pressure depletion (a drop in average reservoir pressure) associated with fluid production. Water influx counters this effect in… Read more →

A decline in well pressure with time due to production. Read more →

The pressure decline after halting or reducing fluid injection in a well. Pressure falloff tests in injection wells are analogous to pressure buildup tests in production wells. Read more →

A device used to measure pressure. Many different types of pressure gauges have been developed for use in well testing over the years. For bottomhole pressure measurements, these include helical bourdon tube gauges,… Read more →