The American Petroleum Institute (API) is a United States trade

API
association that represents 400 corporations in the petroleum industry.

A closed-cup flash tester. Used to test the flash point of kerosene and
Abel tester
other distillates.

The pH of an oil, which may or may not influence the behavior of the oil,
Acidity
depending on the exact mechanism of by which the pH is achieved.

The ratio of air consumed to fuel consumed, by weight, in an internal

Air-Fuel Ratio combustion engine or other fuel-burning apparatus. Has impact on
performance and efficiency.

Any hydrocarbon in chains. Includes the alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes

Aliphatic
among many others.

The largest class of hydrocarbons. These include linear and branched

Alkanes
chain molecules typically used in the production of fuel.

Invented in 1952, these are often referred to as Hydrils. These blowout

Annular Blowout
preventers use a rubber seals to close around the drill string and seal the
Preventer
well.

The standard by which all crude oils are measured. API gravity is used to
determine the specific gravity of crude oil and thus its density. Lighter
API Gravity crudes are more valuable because they are more easily refined into
gasoline. Crude with an API gravity of 10 is equivalent in density to
water.

Any hydrocarbon that contains a dream structure in which all of the

Aromatic
bonds are of intermediate character between single and double bonds.
Hydrocarbon
They are often referred to as 1.5 bonds.

Inorganic residue that remains from burning combustible material. It is

Ash
the same as ash that remains after wood is burned.

Asphaltenes Insoluble, semi-solid particles. They have a high carbon to hydrogen

 ratio and are used in the production of asphalt.

American Society for Testing Materials. This is the group that develops
ASTM
products for testing grade of petroleum products.

Atomization How well particular oil can be broken into fine particles via mechanical
characteristics means.

Barrel A volume measure equal to 42 U.S. gallons or approximately 160 liters.

Bbl Abbreviation for barrel.

Benchmark crude oils are used as references for pricing oils. There are
Benchmark
approximately 161 different benchmark oils, of which the main three are
Crude
West Texas Intermediate, Brent Crude, and Dubai Crude.

An aromatic hydrocarbon which is obtained chiefly from coal tar. It is

Benzene used as a solvent for resins and in dye manufacture. It is one of the top 10
chemicals produced by volume.

Brake horsepower or British Horsepower. This is a standard measure of

BHP
power output for engines.

Any diesel fuel that is created through the transesterification of fat.

Biodiesel
Comes in various mixtures of 100%, 20%, 5%, and 2%.

Any fuel that is derived from biological carbon fixation that has occurred
Biofuel
relatively recently.

Methane produced from fermentation. Often produced by farmers via

Biogas
fermentation of animal waste and used to offset fuel costs.

Bitumen is the geological term that refers to the sticky, highly viscous
Bitumen semi-solid hydrocarbon present in most natural petroleum. It is
alternatively called pitch, resin, and asphaltum.
 A mechanical device designed to prevent oil from escaping a well during
the process of drilling. Called BOP for short. Blowout preventers come
Blowout
in two varieties: ram style and annular. In general, both styles are
Preventer
combined for added security. A single BOP usually contains at least two
annular BOPS and three or more Ram BOPS

This crude oil comes from Nigeria and has an API gravity of 32.9. Its
Bonny Light
sulfur content is 0.16%.

Named after a goose, this light, sweet crude comes from the north sea. It
Brent Crude
has an API gravity of 38.06 and a sulfur content of 0.37%.

The former name of petroleum company currently called BP. It is the

third largest publicly traded oil company in the world with oil reserves up
British Petroleum
18 billion barrels and the annual revenues of $308,000,000,000. It is
headquartered in London, England.

Bottom sediment and water is a reference to how much water and

BS & W
sediment contamination is in a reserve.

An instrument that detects water in petroleum. The monitor works

BS & W Monitor through changes in the capacitive reactance caused by changes to the
dielectric constant of the oil that are induced by water.

British Thermal Unit. The amount of heat required to raise the

BTU
temperature of 1 lb of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit.

An alcohol based fuel that is considered to be closer to gasoline than

Butanol
most others. Can be used in engines without any alterations.

C/H Ratio Carbon to Hydrogen ratio

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water

Calorie
by 1 degree Celsius.

The element with atomic number six. Carbon is the basis of all life and is
Carbon
one of the primary components of hydrocarbons used for fuel.
 A compound that increases the speed with which a chemical reaction
Catalyst occurs, but which does not enter into the reaction. A catalyst can be
recovered after a reaction is over and reused.

Alternative to the term Centigrade below that references physicist Anders

Celsius Celsius who developed the temperature scale, which sets the freezing
point of water at 0 and the boiling point at 100.

Temperature scale in which 0 is the point for water freezing and 100 the
Centigrade
point at which water boils. Abbreviated with a capital C.

The fifth largest publicly traded oil company in the world. It has oil
Chevron
reserves of 10.5 billion barrels and revenue of $204,000,000,000. It is
Corporation
headquartered in California.

Cloud Point Temperature at which wax begins to and form a solid in a fuel.

In this process sand filters are removed from pumping equipment and
Cold Heavy Oil
sand is produced along with oil. The two are then separated above
Production with
ground. In general, CHOPS is capable of recovering a 5 to 6% of oil in a
Sand (CHOPS)
given a well.

The sixth largest publicly traded oil company in the world with oil
ConocoPhillips reserves of 8.3 billion barrels and revenue of $198,000,000,000. It is
headquartered in Huston Texas.

The oxidation or destruction of a component. This is particularly

Corrosion troublesome in oil pipelines and tankers in which the metal is damaged
by contaminants within the oil.

The process in refining oil in which larger hydrocarbons are broken

Cracking
down into smaller components.

Light petroleum used to reduce viscosity of heavier oil. These are used to
Cutter stock
cut heavy oil in order to make it easier to transport.

Cyclic Steam Steam is injected into a vertical well for several weeks or even months in
Stimulation order to liquefy the petroleum. Oil is then pumped for as long as possible
 before the procedure is repeated again. It is sometimes referred to as
(CSS)
huff and puff.

Density Mass of a unit of volume. It is often expressed as mg/L.

In an engine, this is the combustion of the fuel after spark occurs. It

Detonation
produces a characteristic metallic sound, or knock.

Obtained by multiplying the API gravity by the aniline point (the

Diesel index temperature at which a chemical called aniline and diesel mix) of a
Diesel fuel, divided by 100. It indicates the quality of the fuel.

The process of heating a liquid to the boiling point, then allowing it to

Distillation
condense in order to collect molecules of different sizes.

Doctor test A qualitative method of determining whether oil is "sour" or "sweet".

An oil tanker with two hulls. These are generally considered to be safer
Double Hull
in the event that the tanker runs aground.

This is a light and sour crude with and API gravity of 31. Its sulfur
Dubai Crude
content is 2%.

E85 Automobile fuel in which 85% is ethanol.

A liquid mixture of two or more liquid substances that do not dissolve in

Emulsion
one another. One liquid is held in suspension, as in many salad dressings

The most common alcohol based fuel. It comes in various dilutions of

Ethanol
100%, 85%, 70%, and 15%.

The removal of oil from a well. The total amount of oil that can be
Extraction
recovered from most wells is in the range of 60%.
 Extra-heavy Crude oil with an API gravity of less than 10. The oil sinks in water.
Crude

The largest of the Supermajors publicly traded oil companies. It has

ExxonMobil reserves of 72 billion barrels of oil and revenue of over
$383,000,000,000. It is headquartered in Huston, Texas.

Temperature scale in which 32 is set as the freezing point of water and

212 as the boiling point. Generally only used in the United States.
Fahrenheit
Conversion to Fahrenheit from Celsius: F = 9/5C + 32, where C is the
temperature in Celsius.

The lowest temperature at which a liquid will generate sufficient vapor to

Flash Point
ignite.

Fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of

Fossil fuel dead and buried organisms. Also fuels include coal, petroleum, and
natural gas.

A separate identifiable part of crude oil. Gasoline and kerosene are two
Fraction
different fractions of crude.

The heavy distillates of the oil refining process. Generally used for
Fuel oil power stations and in large ship boilers. Contains a high degree of
contaminant and produce a great deal of pollution.

Refers to petroleum products which can be transport in a pipeline in

Fungible
succession, one after the other, without need for space between them.

The continuing rise in the average temperature of Earths atmosphere and

Global warming
oceans.

Diesel fuel derived for renewable resources, but which is produced for a
Green Diesel
standard fractionation rather than transesterification.

Greenhouse The process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is

effect absorbed by at the spirit gases and we radiated in all directions.
 The gas in the atmosphere that absorbs any bits radiation with them a
thermal in for reader range. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earths
Greenhouse gas
atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and
ozone.

Heavy crude oil has an API gravity of less than 20. The largest deposits
Heavy Crude
of heavy crude are found in Canada and Venezuela.

HHV Higher heating value

A mechanical device which is used to create a emulsion by rapidly

Homogenizer
mixing the two immiscible substance together.

HP Horsepower

A model of oil production over time. The rate of production of individual

Hubbert Curve wells grows exponentially from discovery until a peak is reached, at
which point production steadily, and sometimes swiftly, declines.

Hydraulic The process used to recover oil that is trapped in sedimentary rocks.
Fracturing Generally consists of drilling followed by the injection of air or water,
(Fracking) which may or may not have chemicals mixed in.

An organic compound composed of hydrogen and carbon that makes up

Hydrocarbon
the majority of petroleum and which is refined to make fuels.

Hydrogen is the smallest of all atoms. Two hydrogen atoms combined

Hydrogen together constitute molecular hydrogen, which can be burned as fuel or
used in fuel cells.

Hydrometer An instrument for determining the gravity (density) of a liquid.

International Oil Any oil company that is publicly traded.

Company (IOC)

Ionization The process of adding or removing electrons from atoms, thereby

creating charged particles called ions. Extremely high temperatures,
 electrical discharge, and nuclear radiation can cause ionization.

IP British Institute of Petroleum.

Iraqi National Oil The National Oil Company of Iraq. It was founded in 1966 and is
Company capable of production capacity of three million barrels of oil per day.
(INOC)

This is a sour crude with and API gravity of 33.74 and a sulfur content
Isthmus-34 Light
of 1.45%. It is produced in Mexico.

The organic matter found in sedimentary rock that contains a mixture of

Kerogen organic chemicals and hydrocarbons and so would form. The solid
hydrocarbon part is referred to as bitumen.

Kuwait The state oil company of Kuwait. It is proven reserves of 111 billion
Petroleum barrels of oil and estimated revenue of $67,000,000,000.
Corporation

The heat required to change the state of a substance from solid to liquid
Latent Heat
or from liquid to gas.

This occurs in tanks when a high density fuel is mixed with a low density
fuel and the lower density floats atop the higher density. The same
Layering
phenomenon is observed in salad dressing that are allowed to sit for a
long time.

LHV Lower Heating Value

Lifting A term used to refer to tankers and barges taking on oil or oil derivatives.

Light crude is any crude with and API gravity of greater than 31. It is
Light Crude
valued for the ease with which it can be converted to gasoline.

Light Ends The more volatile products of petroleum refining; eg. butane, propane,
gasoline. These are the smallest hydrocarbons and often the most
 valuable

A measure of capacity in the metric system equal to 0.908 US quarts dry

Liter
and 1.0567 US quarts wet.

Long Ton Measure of weight equal to 2,240 pounds.

The simplest of all hydrocarbons. It consists of a single carbon with four

Methane
attached hydrogen and is a gas at room temperature.

Metric Ton Measurement equal to 1000 kg or 2204 pounds

One thousandth of a millimeter or one millionth of a meter.

Micron
Approximately 0.00004 inches.

Heating oil, diesel fuels, and kerosene fill this category, which constitutes
Middle Distillate
the elements of crude with medium density.

Also called Sumatran light, this is a light and sweet crude with and API
Minas
gravity of 35 and a sulfur content of only 0.08%.

mm Millimeter. 1/1000 of a meter.

The smallest division of a compound that still retains or exhibits all the
Molecule
properties of the compound. A molecule of water for instance.

Volatile, colorless product of petroleum distillation. Used primarily as

Naphtha
paint solvent and cleaning fluid.

One of three basic hydrocarbon classifications found naturally in crude

Naphthenes
oil. They are typically used in the production of petrochemicals.

National Iranian The National Oil Company of Iran with oil reserves of 138 billion barrels
Oil Company and revenues of $78,000,000,000. It has a production capacity of four
(NIOC) million barrels of crude per day.
 National Oil Any oil company controlled by a state and which is not publicly traded.
Company (NOC)

National Oil The state oil company of Libya. It controls reserves of 50 billion barrels
Corporation of oil. Annual revenue is estimated at roughly $45,000,000,000.
(NOC)

The weight in milligrams of base (alkali) needed to neutralize the acidic

Neutralization
material in one gram of oil. The higher the neutralization number, the
number
more acidic the oil is.

Nigerian National The state oil company of Nigeria. It controls oil deposits of 64 billion
Petroleum barrels and earned roughly $12,000,000,000 in profit and in 2006. It has
Corporation production capacity of 2.39 million barrels of oil per day.
(NNPC)

Oil Crude petroleum and other hydrocarbons in liquid form

Oil Shale Oil shale refers to a type of crude oil that is trapped in sedimentary rock.

Ships used for transporting petroleum across water. Oil tankers can be
double-hulled or single-hulled. Oil tankers, the variety of sizes ranging
Oil Tanker
from a those that can safely carry tens of thousands of barrels of oil to
those that can carry over two million barrels of oil.

A class of unsaturated paraffin hydrocarbons. These include things like

Olefins
ethylene and propylene.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is an

intergovernmental organization of 12 nations that export oil. The
OPEC countries that make up OPEC are: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq,
Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,
and Venezuela. OPEC is headquartered in Vienna.

This is not a specific crude, but rather is a weighted average of petroleum

OPEC Reference that comes from OPEC countries. There are 11 different oils combined
Basket (ORB) into the orb be. It has an average API gravity of 32.7 and an average
sulfur content of 1.77%.
 Space left in a container to allow for expansion during temperature
Outage
changes it may undergo during shipment.

Combining elemental compounds with oxygen. This is the process that

Oxidation
leads to rust.

Oxidizing agent Any substance such as oxygen and chlorine , that can accept electrons.

Ozonation The use of ozone for disinfection or odor control.

Particulate Solids that are suspended in a gas or liquid.

On a global scale, this term refers to the point at which extraction of

petroleum is at its maximum and after which production of oil can only
Peak Oil
diminish. Peak oil can also be applied to individual wells and is the point
at which maximum oil extraction for that well occurs.

An intermediate chemical derived from petroleum. It includes such

Petrochemical
things as ethylene, benzene, toluene, and xylene.

Petroleos de The state owned petroleum company of Venezuela. It has 77 billion

Venezuela barrels of conventional crude oil and an estimated 235 billion barrels of
(PDVSA) extra-heavy crude.

Naturally occurring crude oil consisting of a complex mix of

Petroleum hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic
compounds as well as inorganic compounds.

A commercially recoverable deposit of oil. Subdivided into proven,

Petroleum
unproven, and strategic reserves. A new category was created into 2007
Reserve
termed resources.

pH is an expression of how basic or acidic something is. pH range is

pH
from 0 to 14, where 0 is most acidic, 14 most basic, and 7 is neutral.

Phenol An alcohol derived from benzene.

 Pipelines are used to transport a number of substances including natural
Pipeline
gas, fuels, hydrogen, water, and petroleum.

The destruction of water or air such that it is unusable due to toxicity or

Pollution
risk of illness.

Polycyclic Atmospheric pollutants that are byproducts of burning aromatic

Aromatic hydrocarbons. Many of these can be found in cigarette smoke.
Hydrocarbon
(PAH)

Polymer A chemical formed by the combining many single monomers.

Process of combining two or more simple molecules to form a single

Polymerization
large molecule called a polymer. Most plastics are made this way.

Pour Point Lowest temperature at which oil will flow freely.

The primary stage of recovery after an oil well has been drilled. Oil
flows to the surface under natural mechanisms that include pressure from
Primary
the expansion of natural gas as well as gravity drainage of oil from upper
Extraction
parts of the well and displacement of oil by water. Primary extraction is
able to recover 5 to 15% of the total amount of petroleum within a well.

A petroleum reserve in which there is a 90% certainty that the petroleum

Proven Reserve
can be recovered.

The state oil company of Quatar with total recoverable reserves capacity
Quatar Petroleum of 170 billion barrels of oil and production capacity of one million
(QP) barrels per day. Profits of roughly nine billion dollars.

First invented in 1922, these are not intended to completely seal a well
Ram Style but rather are used to reduce the flow of oil to a manageable rate to allow
Blowout time for capping. Modern ram bops are termed shear rams, and are
Preventer capable of cutting through drill pipe to completely stop the flow of oil
and the well.

Reduced Crude Crude oil that has undergone at least one distillation to separate some of
 Oil the lighter hydrocarbons. Reducing crude lowers its API gravity.

Anything, such as iron or the sulfide ion that will give up electrons. This
Reducing agent
is the opposite of an oxidizing agent.

The process of separating crude oil into useful components including

Refining
gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, fuel oil, and other products.

Heavy fuel oils produced from the non-volatile fractional distillation

Residual
process. Heavy oils that are leftovers after refining.

The term introduced in 2007 that adds categories for contingent and
prospective resources in addition to proven and unproven reserves.
Contingent reserves are those that are potentially recoverable, but for
Resource which commercial development is not yet feasible due to one or more
contingencies. Prospective reserves or prospective resources refer to
locations where oil may be found, but for which no actual discovery has
occurred.

The second largest publicly traded oil company in the world. It has oil
Royal Dutch reserves of over 20 billion barrels and annual revenue of
Shell $368,000,000,000. It is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands as well
as London, England.

The largest oil company in the world and perhaps the worlds most
valuable privately held company with an estimated total worth of 2.2 27
trillion in U.S. dollars. It has total estimated petroleum reserves of 260 to
Saudi Aramco
303,000,000,000 barrels of oil and production capacity of 8.3 million
barrels per day. Revenue has been estimated at $233,000,000,000 per
year.

Second Any biofuel produced from sustainable feedstock which is not diverted
Generation from either in animal or human food chains.
Biofuels

Secondary Secondary recovery of petroleum occurs after natural forces no longer

Extraction drive oil to the surface. Secondary recovery depends on mechanical
methods to increase pressure in the well including the injection of natural
gas or the use of pumps. Secondary recovery accounts for 30% of the
 total output obtained from an oil well.

Short ton An measure of weight equal to 2,000 lbs.

In reference to oil tankers, this means the ship has only one hull structure
Single Hull
as compared to those with two.

Formation of hard deposits on pistons in an engine as the result of

Slagging
contaminants, usually sodium, vanadium and sulfur.

The National Oil Company of Algeria. It has proven reserves of 39

Sonatrach billion barrels of oil and produces approximately 620,000 barrels per day.
It had net income in 2010 of $2.4 billion.

Sour Crude Sour crude has a sulfur content of greater than 0.5% by weight.

Weight of a particle, substance or chemical solution in relation to an

Specific gravity
equal volume of water at 15C.

The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit weight of

Specific heat
a substance by 1 degree.

To make something resistant to change. Organic material can be

Stabilize
stabilized by bacteria and will not give off obnoxious odors.

Two horizontal wells are drilled, with one well approximately 5 m above
Steam Assisted the other. Steam is injected into the upper well, sometimes along with
Gravity Drainage other chemicals, and heats the crude oil to increase liquidity. Oil is then
(SAGD) collected as it drains into below were well. SAGD can reach efficiencies
of up to 60%.

STP Standard Temperature (25C) and Pressure (300 mm Hg).

All products that can be gained by the first round of refining before
Straight-Run
cracking and other secondary processes are implemented.
 Government-controlled oil stockpiles maintained to protect a countrys
Strategic Reserve
economic and National Security.

Occurs in blended fuels where the denser fuels settle to the bottom and
Stratification
lighter fuels rise to the top.

An element that is present in crude oil and natural gas as an impurity.

Sulfur
Responsible for acid rain.

Super Tanker Any oil tanker capable of transporting more than 320,000 metric tons.

Surface-active agent. These products are basically soaps and help

Surfactant
substances that are immiscible, like water and oil, to mix.

Sweet Crude Sweet crude has a sulfur content of less than 0.5% by weight.

This is often referred to as the worlds costliest oil. It comes from a

Tapis single field in Malaysia and has an API gravity of 45.2 and a sulfur
content of 0.0343%, making it an exceptionally light and sweet.

The final stage of oil extraction. Methods are applied it to increase the
Tertiary liquidity of the oil and often include the injection of heat and chemicals.
Extraction Increasingly, oil-eating bacteria are being used in this step. Accounts for
5 to 15% of the total amount that can be recovered from a well.

The newest method in heavy oil extraction. Air is injected into the tunnel
Toe-to-Heel Air or for end of the well and then a fire is ignited in order to burn heavier
Injection (THAI) components of the oil. The lighter elements are then extracted. The fire is
self-limiting that due to the lack of oxygen in the well.

Topped Crude Oil from which the light hydrocarbons have been removed.
Oil:

Total Existent All of the inorganic components and hydrocarbon existing in a fuel.

Total SA The fourth largest publicly traded oil company in the world with oil
reserves of 10.5 billion barrels and revenue of $229,000,000,000. It is
 headquartered in Paris, France.

Toxic Poisonous to a living organism.

Toxicity The degree of how poisonous a substance is.

Geologically equivalent to proven reserves, their unproven status rests on

technical, regulatory, or political issues. Unproven reserves fall into two
Unproven
categories: probable and possible. A probable reserve has a 50% chance
Reserve
for petroleum recovery and is termed in the industry P50. A possible
reserve, also called a P10 reserve, has a 10% chance of recovery.

In this method of oil extraction, two horizontal Wells are drilled, with
Vapor Extraction one well approximately 5 m above the other. Chemical solvents or
(VAPEX) injected into the upper well in order to liquefy the petroleum, which
drains to the lower well and is extracted.

West Texas The most famous of the benchmark crude oils. WTI is a light, sweet
Intermediate crude with and API gravity of 39.6 and a sulfur content of 0.24%.