| P&A |
abbreviation: plug and
abandon |
| packed-hole
assembly |
a bottomhole assembly consisting
of stabilizers and large-diameter drill collars arranged in a particular configuration to
maintain drift angle and direction of a hole. |
| packer |
a piece of downhole equipment,
consisting of a sealing device, a holding or setting device, and an inside passage for
fluids, used to block the flow of fluids through the annular space between the tubing and
the wall of the wellbore by sealing off the space between them. It is usually made
up in the tubing string some distance above the producing zone. A packing element
expands to prevent fluid flow except through the inside bore of the packer and into the
tubing. Packers are classified according to configuration, use, and method of
setting and whether or not they are retrievable (that is, whether they can be removed when
necessary, or whether they must be milled or drilled out and thus destroyed). |
| packer-bore
receptacle |
a retrievable receptacle anchored
into the top of a production packer to land a tubing seal assembly |
| packer
fluid |
a liquid, usually salt water or
oil, but sometimes mud, used in a well when a packer is between the tubing and the
casing. Packer fluid must be heavy enough to shut off the pressure of the formation
being produced, must not stiffen or settle out of suspension over long periods of time,
and must be noncorrosive. |
| packer
squeeze method |
a squeeze cementing method in
which a packer is set to form a seal between the working string (the pipe down which
cement is pumped) and the casing. Another packer or a cement plug is set below the
point to be squeeze-cemented. By setting packers, the squeeze point is isolated from
the rest of the well. See packer, squeeze cementing. |
| packer test |
a fluid-pressure test of the
casing. Also called a cup test. |
| packing
elements |
the set of dense rubber,
washer-shaped pieces encircling a packer, which are designed to expand against casing or
formation face to seal off the annulus. |
| packing
gland |
the metal part that compresses and
holds packing in place in a stuffing box. See stuffing
box. |
| pack-off |
(v) to place a packer in the
wellbore and activate it so that it forms a seal between the tubing and the casing. |
| pack-off |
(n) a device with an elastomer
packing element that depends on pressure below the packing to effect a seal in the
annulus. Used primarily to run or pull pipe under low or moderate pressures.
This device is not dependable for service under high differential pressures. Also
called a stripper. |
| pack-off (stripper) preventer |
a preventer having a unit of
packing material whose closure depends on well pressure coming from below. It is
used primarily to strip pipe through the hole or allow pipe to be moved with pressure on
the annulus. |
| pad volume |
the amount of fluid placed in a
well to serve as a pad, which is a special fluid used for any special purpose. |
| paraffin |
a saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon |
| parted rods |
sucker rods that have been broken
and separated in a pumping well because of corrosion, improper loading, damaged rods, and
so forth. |
| particle |
a minute unit of matter, usually a
single crystal, or of regular shape with a specific gravity approximately that of a single
crystal |
| pay |
see pay
sand. |
| pay sand |
the producing formation, often one
that is not even sandstone. Also called pay,
pay zone, and producing zone. |
| pay zone |
see pay
sand |
| PBR |
abbreviation: polished
bore receptacle, a section in the casing string to facilitate landing of the production
tubing (casing). |
| PDC log |
abbreviation: perforating
depth control log |
| pentane |
a liquid hydrocarbon of the
paraffin series |
| peptization |
an increased dispersion of solids
in a liquid caused by the addition of electrolytes or other chemical substances. See
deflocculation, dispersion. |
| peptized
clay |
a clay to which an agent has been
added to increase its initial yield |
| perforate |
to pierce the casing wall and
cement to provide holes through which formation fluids may enter or to provide holes in
the casing so that materials may be introduced into the annulus between the casing and the
wall of the borehole. Perforating is accomplished by lowering into the well a
perforating gun, or perforator, that fires electrically detonated bullets or shaped
charges. |
| perforated
liner |
a liner that has had holes shot in
it by a perforating gun. See liner. |
| perforated
spacer tube |
a ported, extended production tub
used as an alternative path for wireline measuring devices. |
| perforating
gun |
a device fitted with shaped
charges or bullets that is lowered to the desired depth in a well and fired to create
penetrating holes in casing, cement, and formation. |
| perforation |
a hole made in the casing, cement,
and formation through which formation fluids enter a wellbore. Usually several
perforations are made at a time. |
| perforation depth control log (PDC log) |
a special type of nuclear log that
measures the depth of each casing collar. Knowing the depth of the collars makes it
easy to determine the exact depth of the formation to be perforated by correlating
casing-collar depth with formation depth. |
| perfs |
perforations in casing for the
inflow of hydrocarbons and gas |
permeability
(of a reservoir rock) |
the ability of a rock to transmit
fluid through the pore spaces. - A key influence on the rate of flow, movement and
drainage of the fluids. There is no necessary relation between porosity and
permeability. A rock may be highly porous and yet impermeable if there is no
communication between pores. A highly porous sand is usually highly permeable. A
measure of the ease with which a fluid flows through the connecting pore spaces of rock or
cement. The unit of measurement is the millidarcy. Fluid conductivity of a porous
medium. Ability of a fluid to flow within the interconnected pore network of a
porous medium. |
| persuader |
a big tool for a small job, used to
overcome some excess friction. |
| petroleum |
a substance occurring naturally in
the earth and composed mainly of mixtures of chemical compounds of carbon and hydrogen,
with or without other nonmetallic elements such as sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. The
compounds that compose it may be in the gaseous, liquid, or solid state, depending on
their nature and on the existent conditions of temperature and pressure. |
| Pf |
abbreviation: the
phenolphthalein alkalinity of the filtrate, reported as the number of milliliters of 0.02
Normal (N/50) acid required per milliliter of filtrate to reach the phenolphthalein end
point. |
| pH |
abbreviation: an
indicator of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance of solution, represented on a scale
of 0-14, 0-6.9 being acidic, 7 being neither acidic or basic (i.e., neutral), and 7.1-14
being basic. These values are based on hydrogen ion content and activity. |
| phosphate |
1. generic term for any compound
that contains phosphorous and oxygen in the form of a phosphate 2. a salt or ester of phosphoric acid |
| pH value |
a unit of measure of the acid of
alkaline condition of a substance. A neutral solution (such as pure water) has a pH
of 7; add solutions are less than 7; basic, or alkaline, solutions are more than 7. The pH
scale is a logarithmic scale. A substance with a pH of 4 is more than twice as add
as a substance with a pH of 5. Similarly, a substance with a pH of 9 is more than twice as
alkaline as a substance with a pH of 8. |
| pickle |
a cylindrical or spherical device
that is affixed to the end of a wireline just above the hook to keep the line straight and
to provide weight. v: to soak metal pieces in a chemical solution to remove dirt and scale
from the metal's surface. |
| pig |
1. a scraping tool that is forced
through a pipeline or flow line to clean out accumulations of wax, scale, and debris from
the walls of the pipe. It travels with the flow of product in the line, cleaning
the pipe walls by means of blades or brushes affixed to it. Also called a line
scraper or a go-devil. 2. a batching cylinder
with neoprene or plastic cups on either end and used to separate different products
traveling in the same pipeline.
3. a neoprene displacement spheroid, automatically launched
and received, used to displace liquid hydrocarbons from natural gas pipelines.
4. in hydrostatic testing of a pipeline, a scraper used
inside the line to push air out ahead of the test water and to push water out after the
test. v: to force a device called a pig through a pipeline or a flow line for the
purpose of cleaning the interior walls of the pipe, separating different products, or
displacing fluids. |
| piggyback |
(nautical) to install anchors
behind each other in tandem |
| pig iron |
what a large heavy piece of
equipment is said to be made of. |
| pill |
a gelled viscous fluid |
| pilot |
a rod-like or tube-like extension
below a downhole tool, such as a mill, that serves to guide the tool into or over another
downhole tool or fish. |
| pilot hole |
in pipeline construction, the hole
drilled as the first step of a directionally drilled river crossing. It establishes
a pathway for the pipeline. |
| pilot mill |
a special mill that has a heavy
tubular extension below it called a pilot or stinger. The pilot, smaller in diameter
than the mill, is designed to go inside drill pipe or tubing that is lost in the hole.
It guides the mill to the top of the pipe and centers it, thus preventing the mill
from bypassing the pipe. Also called a piloted mill. |
| pilot
testing |
a method of predicting behavior of
mud |
| pin |
1. the male section of a tool
joint. 2. on a bit, the bit shank.
3. one of the pegs that are fitted on each side into the
link plates (side bars) of a chain link of roller chain and that serve as the stable
members onto which bushings are press-fitted and around which rollers move. |
| pipe |
a long, hollow cylinder, usually
steel, through which fluids are conducted. Oilfield tubular goods are casing
(including liners), drill pipe, tubing, or line pipe |
| pipe
fitting |
an auxiliary part (such as a
coupling, elbow, tee, or cross) used for connecting lengths of pipe. |
| pipe hanger |
1. a circular device with a
frictional gripping arrangement used to suspend casing and tubing in a well. 2. a device used to support a pipeline. |
| pipeline |
a system of connected lengths of
pipe, usually buried in the earth or laid on the seafloor, that is used for transporting
petroleum and natural gas. |
| pipeline
oil |
oil clean enough to be acceptable
to transport or purchase. |
| pipe ram |
a sealing component for a blowout
preventer that closes the annular space between the pipe and the blowout preventer or
wellhead. |
| pipe
ram preventer |
a blowout preventer that uses pipe
rams as the closing elements. See pipe ram. |
| pit |
a temporary containment, usually
excavated earth, for wellbore fluids. |
| pit level |
height of drilling mud in the pits |
| pit-level
indicator |
one of a series of devices that
continuously monitor the level of the drilling mud in the mud tanks. The indicator
usually consists of float devices in the mud tanks that sense the mud level and transmit
data to a recording and alarm device (a pit-volume recorder) mounted near the driller's
position on the rig floor. If the mud level drops too low or rises too high, the
alarm sounds to warn the driller of losing circulation or a kick. |
| pit-volume
recorder |
the gauge at the driller's
position that records data from the pit-level indicator. |
| Pit Volume Totalizer (PVT) |
trade name for a type of pit-level
indicator. See pit-level indicator. |
| plastic
flow |
see plastic
fluid |
| plastic
fluid |
a complex, non-Newtonian fluid in
which the shear force is not proportional to the shear rate. Most drilling muds are
plastic fluids. |
| plasticity |
the ability of a substance to be
deformed without rupturing. |
| plastic
viscosity |
an absolute flow property
indicating the flow resistance of certain types of fluids. It is a measure of
shearing stress. |
| platform |
see platform
rig. |
| platform
rig |
an immobile offshore structure
from which development wells are drilled and produced. Platform rigs may be built of steel
or concrete and may be either rigid or compliant. Rigid platform rigs, which rest on
the seafloor, are the caisson-type platform, the concrete gravity platform, and the
steel-jacket platform. Compliant platform rigs, which are used in deeper waters and
yield to water and wind movements are the guyed-tower platform and the tension-leg
platform. |
| play |
1. the extent of a
petroleum-bearing formation. 2. the activities
associated with petroleum development in an area. |
| plug |
any object or device that blocks a
hole or passageway (such as a cement plug in a borehole). |
| plug and abandon (P&A) |
to place cement plugs into a dry
hole and abandon it. |
| plug back |
to shut off lower formation in a
well bore. |
| plug-back
cementing |
a secondary-cementing operation in
which a plug of cement is positioned at a specific point in the well and allowed to set. |
| plug
container |
see cementing
head. |
| plug flow |
a fluid moving as a unit in which
all shear stress occurs at the pipe wall and hole wall. The stream thus assumes the
shape of several telescopic layers of fluid with lowest velocities near the pipe and hole
walls and the fastest in the middle. |
| plug pucker |
a tool used to mill over permanent
bridge plugs/cement retainers while retrieving the milled-out debris |
| plug valve |
see valve |
| plunger |
1. a basic component of the sucker
rod pump that serves to draw well fluids into the pump. 2. the rod that serves as a piston in a reciprocating pump.
3. the device in a fuel-injection unit that regulates the
amount of fuel pumped on each stroke. |
| plunger
lift |
a method of lifting oil using a
swab or free piston propelled by compressed gas from the lower end of the tubing string to
the surface. |
| Pm |
abbreviation: the
phenolphthalein alkalinity of the mud reported as the number of milliliters of 0.02 Normal
(n/50) add required per milliliter of mud |
