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

A technique for acquiring deviation information from a borehole on a slickline. In high-angle wells, a multishot technique is usually used instead. Read more →

The mixture of liquid samples taken from the upper, middle and lower sections of a storage tank. Normally the storage tanks (upright cylindrical or horizontal cylindrical tanks) in the oil field contain crude oil, water… Read more →

Pertaining to a strike-slip or left-lateral fault in which the block across the fault moves to the left; also called a sinistral strike-slip fault. If it moves to the right, the relative motion is described as dextral.… Read more →

Pertaining to a type of filter medium in which the particles are fused together to give a designed permeability. Sintered filters are used in the APIhigh-pressure, high-temperature filtration test above about 375°F… Read more →

A property or characteristic that has the form of a sine wave. Read more →

Calcium carbonate, such as limestone, marble or oyster shells, that has a specified minimum and maximum range of particle sizes and may also have a specified distribution of sizes. It is used as a bridging agent in… Read more →

NaCl solid particles that have a specified minimum and maximum range of particle sizes and may also have a specified distribution of sizes. Sized salt is used as a bridging agent in saturated saltwater systems used as… Read more →

The degree to which a distribution has lost the bilateral symmetry of a normal distribution. Skewness is usually expressed qualitatively rather than quantitatively. Read more →

To slide the rig over, such as to move it from one well slot to another on a fixed offshore platform. This operation is accomplished by disconnecting the rigid attachments from the platform to the rig, and energizing… Read more →

What Is Skin Factor in Oil and Gas? The skin factor (or simply skin , symbol S) is a dimensionless number that quantifies the deviation of a well's actual productivity from its theoretical productivity in an undamaged… Read more →

The effective depth of penetration of an electromagnetic wave in a conductive medium. The skin depth is the distance in which the wave decays to 1/e (about 37%) of its value; it can be expressed as: Read more →

An increase or decrease in the pressure drop predicted with Darcy's law using the value of permeability thickness, kh, determined from a buildup or drawdown test. The difference is assumed to be caused by the "skin."… Read more →

What Is Skin Factor? The skin factor (S or S_skin) is a dimensionless number that quantifies the additional pressure drop in the near-wellbore region compared to ideal, undamaged radial flow through an infinite… Read more →

A specially designed drilling rig capable of drilling directional wells. Read more →

A process used in seismic processing to stack, or sum, traces by shifting traces in time in proportion to their offset. This technique is useful in areas of dipping reflectors. Read more →

A single-strand wireline used to run and retrieve tools and flow-control equipment in oil and gas wells. The single round strand of wire passes through a stuffing box and pressure-control equipment mounted on the… Read more →

The inclined plane below the vee-door that connects the rig floor to the catwalk. This part of the rig is simply a reinforced steel plate, and is used as a guide when dragging equipment or pipes up into the derrick or… Read more →

A completion device that can be operated to provide a flow path between the production conduit and the annulus. Sliding sleeves incorporate a system of ports that can be opened or closed by a sliding component that is… Read more →

An inexact term describing a borehole (and associated casing program) significantly smaller than a standard approach, commonly a wellbore less than 6 in. in diameter. The slimhole concept has its roots in the observed… Read more →

A laboratory test used to estimate the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) or minimum miscibility concentration (MMC) of a given injection solvent and reservoir oil. The slim tube is a long coiled tube filled with sand… Read more →

Bacteria that can live with or without oxygen and produce mats of high-density slime that cover surfaces. Their primary detrimental effects are the protection of sulfate-reducing bacteria and pore plugging. Read more →

Bacteria that can live with or without oxygen and produce mats of high-density slime that cover surfaces. Their primary detrimental effects are the protection of sulfate-reducing bacteria and pore plugging. Read more →

An inexact term describing a borehole (and associated casing program) significantly smaller than a standard approach, commonly a wellbore less than 6 in. in diameter. The slimhole concept has its roots in the observed… Read more →

The phenomenon in multiphase flow when one phase flows faster than another phase, in other words slips past it. Because of this phenomenon, there is a difference between the holdups and cuts of the phases. Read more →

To replace the drilling line wrapped around the crown block and traveling block. As a precaution against drilling line failure due to fatigue, the work done by the drilling line is closely monitored and limited. The… Read more →

A completion component designed to accommodate tubing movement or length changes while maintaining a hydraulic seal between the production conduit and the annulus. The size or length of the slip joint depends on the… Read more →

A downhole lock device, run on slickline, that incorporates a slip mechanism that engages on the tubing wall to anchor the lock at the desired setting depth. Slip locks are not depth-dependent and do not require special… Read more →

The difference between the average velocities of two different fluids flowing together in a pipe. In vertical ascending flow, the lighter fluid flows faster than the heavier fluid. The slipvelocity depends mainly on the… Read more →

To replace the drilling line wrapped around the crown block and traveling block. As a precaution against drilling line failure due to fatigue, the work done by the drilling line is closely monitored and limited. The… Read more →

Any self-gripping toothed device functioning substantially as above, but gripping components other than drillstring, such as wireline, metal sinker bars, or drill collars. Read more →